Some refurbished cards!! A while back I had someone donate a BAG full of cards to me. I refurbished the handmade ones a while back and this time did some of the commercial ones along with some of the handmade ones I have received in the last while. I donate my refurbished cards to a non profit organization who puts them to good use!! It is a win - win!!

I would highly recommend doing the same! Seniors residences, churches, hospitals, etc can all use the cards for anyone who is needing a bit of cheering up or to honour a special occasion when they know that no one else will be sending along any good wishes.

Therese

White on white is always an interesting challenge. Am participating in a fat book exchange with this theme! It took a while for the pieces to fall into place but I am happy with the way it turned out!!

Used the d'vine swirl embossing folder on the pages. Added a flower stamp which I stamped with white pigment ink and embossed with pearl embossing powder. Added a tab with a white brad and tied on some white eyelash fiber. Layered two small silk flowers and added a small button in the middle which I hot glued to the page. These flowers looked very white before I glued them to the white page.

Added a white punched flower to the back to cover the tangs of the brad and added a tag with my credits. I printed the credits on white cardstock and punched them out with the large SU punch. Added a "lace doily" punched shape to the other side to complete the look. Tied them to the tabs with white crochet thread.

Really looking forward to what the others have created with this theme! It is always so interesting to see what others have created!!

Have a great day and be creative!!

Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

Yeah, my son is in the left seat!! He has been promoted to captain of the Navajo!! It is his birthday next week so I combined the two events in this card!!

I cut the "bravo" out of a magazine and added the "zulu" which when combined mean - good job!! I colour printed and added a photo of the plane he is flying!!

It is so great to know he has diligently applied himself to the tasks at hand and to now see him achieve his goal!!!

Therese

Cards for my exchanges!

Inked the flowers in several colours of pigment ink and stamped them over a polished stone background then embossed with a combo of pearl/pastel and iridescent ice embossing powders. A very subtle effect which I really liked but it did not show up very well on the scans. Made several so I have a few extra for special occasions later on. Layered the accent on several layers and over a card front which had been stamped with a script background.

Really liked the way these turned out. I so enjoy the versatility of the polished stone backgrounds.

Therese

Created this frame for a friend who is moving away!! Primed a wood frame and gave it a burnt umber wash. Quilted some of my handmade paper to cover just the front, rough trimmed it and then used modge podge to glue it in place. I put it under pressure for a while to make sure there was good contact between the paper and the wood. Once it was dry I trimmed the paper from the back and then sanded the edges to make them smooth and soft. I added a small piece of matboard as a backer for the open area. It has a small dowel in the back to make it stand up. I added friends with Scrabble tiles.

I can see so many possibilities for this process using a wide variety of paper - scrapbooking, hand decorated, gift wrap, music sheets, dictionary pages or maps!!

Have a creative day!!


Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/
Where you can find some papers for this project!

Here is the Father's Day card I made this morning to challenge myself to use the free clip art from Lisa V's site:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/index.html

Check out the site, spread the word and enjoy some clipart for your artwork!!

Can you guess where I got the buckle for my card? Leave me a comment if you think you know!!

Have a wonderful weekend and celebrate with the Dads in your life!!


Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My Art Lottery submission for June!! This is the Stylized flowers embossing folder for the Cuttlebug. Just love the look of these embossed backgrounds!! The D'vine swirl is so wonderful as well. I included a few embossed backgrounds for the winner to play with!! I have a set of Thanks small embossing folders and the set of heart dies as well which I have yet to really play with. I really like the fact that the popular dies and embossing folders are interchangeable within the systems. My sister is using her Sizzix with the adapter to use these Cuttlebug dies and folders. Works like a dream. There is a Cuttlebug Sandwich Stack on line that gives you a list of combinations you need to use the different supplies in the different machines.

I hope you will all have a creative weekend and enjoy celebrating with the fathers in your life!!

Therese
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My ATCs for a monthly swap!! The orange is created from a half circle of orange paste paper which helps give it a luminescent look. The orange also stands in as the O in orange on the front. I just cut around the R so the O would not show on the front and it gave a wonderful little place to tuck the half round flap!! I would have preferred a round little dotty stamp for the right hand side but for the stamp collection I have there was no dotty round stamp to be found!! I am happy with the flowers and with the way these turned out.

Therese

My T&T mingle page for June! We had a long list of themes to use and I chose Marilyn Monroe because I knew so little about her! It always amazes me how easily we judge people by the little we have heard about them and will often not even question ourselves any farther. She was a very beautiful woman who had a hard childhood, a dream for her life, an interest in a lot of things including literature and learning and who found it hard to overcome the "sexpot" image she adopted to survive.

Knowing more about her life makes me broaden my preception of her and makes me realize we are all generally living our lives to the best of our abilities. So this is my little celebration for another woman who has struggled with the path of her life!!

Therese

Have been out west to see my first grand daughter!! Yeah!! She is a wonderful little person and we so enjoyed being there to enjoy her and seeing our immediate and extended family members. I made two little brag books before I left for my daughter and her mother in law so they can always have current photos of the kids to show anyone who asks.

I made the red one with the heart for myself when I got back because everywhere I went people were asking to see the pictures!! These are fun little books. I modified a design I found on a blog a few weeks ago. They feature name tag holders to hold the pages and matboard covers which I covered with scrapbook papers, ribbon and embellishments!! I used small cable zip ties to bind the pages into the covers then tied ribbons on to the connection to hide them and a few more just for fun!! I consider these my very first scrapbooks!! It was a good place to start!!

Therese

Have decided to participate in a monthly ATC swap. This month's theme is RED or Faeries/wizards. The ATCs are due by the end of the month so I thought I had better go with easy so I worked with RED.
The background paper is one I made with leftover paint. I used a piece of paper I had been using to protect the surface of my desk when I am stamping and added paint until I was happy with it. Other times I use my leftover paint on a scrap piece of paper and stamp on it later when I decide to use it. Works both ways and gives you neat background paper.
I punched a page of a book to put under the heart. Very cool and yet so easy.
Found this font on my desktop - no idea where I downloaded it from - and decided to install it!! How cool - it makes Dymo tape lettering!! Worked perfectly for these and again so easy. The font is called GF - Ordner - Normal. These were a little on the small side so I cut the top and bottom, added glue to the back then cut them apart to apply them to the ATCs. Worked very well!!

I hope you are enjoying your long weekend! We have wonderful weather and it was just a beautifully warm day!! Loving it!!

Have a creative day!


Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

Created this card for my Art Lottery submission!! I have included some silk flowers so the winner can use them in her creations. More of the colour printed background paper that I have overstamped with a flower. It has been fun working with the paper and seeing what can be done to it!!

Here is the site I used to create the cool backgrounds I printed. It is a very versatile site with lots of options including changing the colour of any of the backgrounds. I used this option a lot to keep my patterned paper in the pink, purple and blue tones.

http://www.grsites.com/textures/

Have a creative day!!

Therese

Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

A quick and easy card!! One stamped image with two layers on the card front. We all need to have some quick and easy designs in our repertoire for those days when we need a card NOW!!!

Have a creative day!!

Therese

Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

A little sophistication in masculine colours!! The two SU tag punches make layering these very easy. There are now a collection of stamps that coordinate with the small tag punch as well which makes creating these small tags quick and easy. Stapled the ribbons on. The top and bottom of the card were stamped and stippled with a mask in place to create a space for the tags.
I used a large child's paint brush I bought at the dollar store to do the stippling! Does a very good job!!

Therese

Just loved this stamp with all the mail boxes in a row!!! I watercoloured the image which was stamped with black Staz On. The little red circle embellishes the tab which I created with the slot punch. The front of the card tucks in under the tab. Added the greeting tag with cording. Am just loving my punches for creating cool tags for my cards!! I used my 1/16" punch to create a hole on the spine to pass the cording through and also to create a bit of a depression on the card's front edge so the cording would stay in place.
To create a hole in the spine use your punch to create a half of a hole on the spine. When opened up there is a whole hole!! Use a punch appropriate to the size of your fiber or ribbon. Again, half of a hole on an edge will give your fiber a place to tuck into and keep it in place once it is tied.

One of the girls in class painted all the mail boxes in vibrant colours!! A reminder to me that it is what makes us different that adds spice to life!! Celebrate it!!

Therese

In anticipation of Father's Day I had a few cards that were more masculine in nature. Many have expressed a need for inspiration for cards for the guys in their lives!
Just love the way this one came together. I just ripped several decorative papers (light blue one is another of the colour printed ones) into layers to create the effect of water and added a brown/green one above them to create the horizon. Before I glued down the layers I stamped some trees to create a lake scene. The fish was stamped with black Memories ink, watecoloured and trimmed closely. Mounted it with foam tape to give a 3D effect!!
Makes you think of summer, lazy days and lots of sun!!

Therese

Cardmaking last night!! My first card used some of the colour printed background paper I created. I highlighted the paper with a small background stamp to add a bit interest! Lots of fun!!
I punched a hole (1 3/8") in the front of the card and layered a 1 1/4" tag on the back inside of the card so it was visible from the front. I embellished the word with a bingo chip !! Mine was used so I added a layer of Future Acrylic Floor Finish to bring back its lustre. Added a little ribbon just for fun!!
Like the simple design of this card which can easily be changed up by using different colours and paper!!

Therese

You may recognize this card design from one of my previous posts but I have uploaded it to highlight the decorative paper I have created and used.
When my colour cartridge on my inkjet printer ran out of yellow ink I thought I would see how many pages of full colour I could print with the cyan and magenta ink there was left considering it was going to be wasted if I just threw the cartridge away.
I printed 200 sheets of full colour before I ran out of magenta and just decided I would call it quits after more than a full day of printing pages!! I printed these pages on heavy weight colour laser paper.
The bottom decorative paper on the card is one of these printed sheets! I added some stamping of flowers and sprigs to add more interest.
You will see several more examples of the paper in the next few posts!!
I created this card for a silk flower challenge with my card club group. We traded hydrangeas last month and challenged ourselves to create with them for our card exchange this month. I really like this simple and cute purse card design!!
Therese

Fat book page

This is my fat book page for the This & That mingle on one of my email lists!! I truly enjoy the challenge of this mingle with its wide range of themes! As you can see I chose to do a page on Florence Nightingale! With only a small amount of reasearch it is evident that she was an incredible woman with much vision, passion and tenacity.

I folded an 8.5 x 4 piece of cardstock which I had printed with the title "The Lady with the Lamp" and the quote to create a receptacle for my tags. Each tag has a few facts about Florence's life. On the back an image of her as a young woman with a quote.

We have such incredible inspiration in those who have come before us!! A woman who lived her calling even in the face of rejection. That we should all be inspired to face our challenges with courage!!

Be creative!!

Therese

Welcome Mina!! She is my first grandchild and was born at the end of April!! Baby and Mom are doing well. I offered to make baby announcements. I finished them yesterday!!

I stamped the panel card with the SU harlequin background in pink pigment ink for a subtle background and I see that it is barely noticeable on the scan.

I cropped a picture of Mina on the day she was born and laser printed it on heavy copy paper. Mina is colour printed on the frames. I used the SU large tag punch to create the hole in the frame by punching it one way and then reversing and punching out the leftover corners. Easier than cutting them out by hand. After corner rounding I used the same pink to highlight the edges and the stipple background stamp to add a bit of texture to the front. Mounted the photos in the frames.

I created the four tags, colour printed them on white cardstock and punched them out with the 1.25" punch. I layered them onto a 1 3/8" punched shape in pink. Punched a hole at the top and tied in some pink baby yarn. The tags have the baby information - name, date and hour of birth, weight and length and the blog that her Dad created for her photos!!

I colour printed the bottom banner, ripped the top edge, glued the bottom to the panel and punched two holes on the top corners where I tied some white baby yarn. This creates a little pocket for the tags. Very happy with the way this baby announcment worked out!! Much happier that I will be seeing them all in person in just over two weeks. I just know that I am going to love being a grandmother!!!

Have a creative day!!

Therese