Julie Bonner Sketches #46 and 48

I just can't believe it's December already! I realized the other day that the whole year is almost gone and I've hardly scrapbooked at all! My primary focus used to be scrapbooking - that was what I loved. This past year I've learned so much about other forms of papercrafting that it's taken my time away from my true love. So, I decided this weekend that I had to participte in Julie Bonner's last sketches before she leaves her sketch site.

I was so sad to read the other day that Julie has decided she will be taking this year off from her 52 sketches 52 Weeks scrapbooking blog. Of course, I totally understand because there is just so much work involved in these things that it's hard to accomplish anything else. And, as she plans to focus on furthering her design career I can only wish the best for her. I look forward to following her on her personal blog.

I decided to use this week's sketch #48 along with a sketch from two weeks ago, #46, to create a double page spread.



I used some new Christmas paper we got in from the store from Webster's pages - I just love vintage style so these pages just make me happy! I'm working on getting them into the system now, so if you like them check it out over the next couple of days.



For the first page I used a base of Always Artichoke under the Webster's patterned paper "Christmas Sky". The paper is so decorative you really don't have to do a lot else! I found the laser cut frame in some of my mom's old old stash (we decided we think she bought this when we first started scrapbooking, about 14 years ago! Bout time it gets put to good use!) I added gold liquid pearl for the holly berries. The title letters are QuicKutz revolution Blossom - I stamped underneath them with an Autumn leaves flourish stamp in Chocolate Chip ink and added Kaiser Craft blush pearls. I think pearls are so awesome on vintage style! The gorgeous crochet flower was done by my mom - I added the red gem in the center.



This is another background paper from Webster's - Wish Upon a Star. The red border is made from the back of another sheet of Wish Upon A Star - this paper is heavy weight and double sided, so good good stuff. I punched the edge of the paper with a Martha Stewart border punch and added more Kaiser Blush pearls. I printed the photos in sepia tone because the original colors SO did not go with this paper and I really wanted to use the paper! The way I scrapbook I create three layouts of every theme - one for me and one for each of the kids to have one day. So, this will be mine:) I decided to cut the photos out with my nestabilities; then I took craft paper, embossed it with the cuttlebug, rubbed chocolate ink over the raised portions and used that as my photo mat. It gives a lot of texture and looks cool IRL! And, it matches the little deer on the patterned paper, who is a craft color stamped with words in chocolate chip ink. I stole another crochet flower from my mom (thanks mom!) and added it on top of more stamped flourishes accented with more Kaiser Blush pearls. The last step was just the journaling. I SO enjoyed getting back into my scrapbooking groove - hopefully I can wing a few more sketches before the end of the year. Have a great day!

Mono Masking, A Tutorial

For the Pat 13 ATC swap I signed up under a technique, Mono Masking, thinking in my head it is something I would like to try. Of course, once the fog cleared I realized that I wouldn't be the one doing the Mono Masking... only the other people in my group. SO, I decided to go ahead and try it and post a mini tutorial for the people in my group... I did get the idea from Pat Huntoon's Technique Junkie newsletter, so I hope I'm not infringing on any rights... These are all my own pictures and my own wording, but for the original idea you should check out her newsletter or think of becoming a member... they're awesome resources!! OK, with all the appropriate disclaimers aside, here we go:

1. To begin using this technique on an ATC, you need to use a 2.5x3.5 piece of background cardstock. Or, a little smaller if you plan to mount on additional cardstock, as I did. Stamp your image in the center of the cardstock piece. Mine happens to have a rectangular outline around it, which is helpful, but not necessary. The technique is called "mono" masking, part of this meaning your going to be working in one color group, so make sure your ink and cardstock are from the same color family.



2. Next, cut the sticky end of a post-it note to the approximate size of your central image and cover it. Again, my image had the border around it, so it was really easy to cut to the right size, but don't worry if you don't have a border around your image - it will be added later. Fold the post-it in half lengthwise, unfold it, and then fold it cross-wise and unfold it again. Then stick it down over your stamped image.


3. The folded lines will be your guides for the next steps. Take two new post-it notes and line them up in the center boxes so that they cover two corners of the cardstock and leave two corners exposed. Stamp a background stamp or a small stamp repeatedly to cover the open areas of cardstock.


4. Pick up the two top post-its and move them to the opposite corners, so the corners you just stamped are covered and the unstamped corners are exposed. Stamp a different background on the exposed corners.




5. When you remove the two top post-its, you should see all the background now. Use a stipple brush loaded with ink to lightly colored the exposed background, coloring a little heavier around your center post-it note.


6. Now, using the lines on your center post-it as a guide, use a marker in your color family to draw lines around the center image and in between the backgrounds where they meet. When you remove the center post-it, you'll see the stippling makes your border a little darker and it looks like a layered piece, even though you're working only on a single sheet of cardstock.


7. Finish your piece as desired. I did add a little pop of color to mine, because it was very brown, but I've seen the technique in blues and other colors where you don't need it.

Hope this helps you guys - enjoy your mono masking!!

World Card Making Day Post 2!

OK, I got a few more quick challenges done today, and almost finished a third but HAD to get these up by the deadline of midnight, so I'll have to finish the fifth and upload tomorrow...

So, I participated in the challenge hosted by My Favorite Things stamps... they provided a free digital stamp to work with. I'd never tried that before because I assumed the ink would smear, but I colored with my copics and had NO problems.... very exciting! The challenge requirements were to use black, pink, and white and to add some bling.... here's my sample:

The base is Pink Passion SU cardstock, followed by a layer of black. The top and bottom fourish lines on the card are from a roll of ribbon I got at Micheals for $1 - woo hoo! The center panal is a retired background stamp from SU, Houndstooth. I mounted the stamped image on a Label nestabilities, and added three circles down the side of the image to showcase some Kaiser flower gems. The big flower is a sneak peak of some new product we got from Glitz - the stickers are a good weight and have bling already on them - super cute and can't wait to use some more!! You'll be able to find them in the store this week... The sentiment is from an old TAC set.

The next challenge I did was for Hannah stamps... perfect opportunity to use one of my new Riley stamps! The challenge was a sketch and I followed it pretty closely...

The base is Always Artichoke SU cardstock, followed by a layer of Pink Passion. All patterned papers are from Imaginisce, and the flowers are from Bazzil and Prima. The brad says 'Go Wild' and is also from Imaginisce. It's a pretty basic card - just colored the image with Copics and put everything together according to the sketch....

I had a lot of fun this weekend getting some cards done!! Hope everyone else got some done too - will share my final project when I get it done... thanks for stopping by!

World Card Making Day 1

Belated Happy World Card Making Day! Happily, I had time to make two cards yesterday and am trying to pull off a few more today, so maybe I'll have another post to share later this evening.

I participated in two challenges at Splitcoast Stampers - the first one I chose was the Splitcoast teams challenge to use Chocolate, to followe Beate's sketch, and to give the card a thankful theme. We just got in some stamps from a brand new company in the store, and I immediately thought of one of a new set that fits this challenge, so here's a little sneak peak of one of the new sets from Darcy's that will be revealed tomorrow:

Aren't the pumpkins scrumptious??? The stamps come "prekissed" with the patterns and I think they're just beautiful... Be sure to check the store tomorrow to see this set and the other new sets we got in from Darcy's!! The paper I used was from two stacks from Memory Box, Butterfield and Embrace. The cardstock is SU Dusty Durange and Vanilla, the ink is SU Dusty Durango, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive and Always Artichoke, with Chocolate Chip for the sentiment and leaf, and the button is actually from Basic Grey's Archaic collection. I faux stitched around the image because despite my best attempts I can not figure out how to use the mini sewing machine!! I followed Beate's sketch pretty closely, although I did have to move my sentiment up a little to balance the weight of the card with those pumpkins on the left.

The next challenge I participated in was from Crafty Secrets.... love, love, love their stuff!! I have their French Mail stamp set and thought it would work great with my favorite K & Co paper...

The challenge was to add dimension to your card. I tried to accomplish that by using lots of layers and pop dots, along with some 3-D embellishments. The card base is SU's Bravo Burgandy and then a layer of Vanilla; all the patterned papers are from K & Co's BW Madeline mat pack; I find that if you pick up the mat packs the patterns are generally reduced and perfect for card making. I stamped the sentiment and the eiffel tower from the set directly onto the patterned papers. The postage stamp at the top is actually a Madeline rub-on over some of the patterned paper accented with the tiniest amount of platinum stickles - you can't actually see that in the pic. Over the eiffel tower stamp I used some bird rub-ons, and the patterned paper had the flowers at the bottom of the image piece, so my little cupid mail delivery man looks like he's walking along a flowered path. I stamped the cupid several times to get the shades; his body is stamped on Blush Blossom, his hat, wings, and letters are stamped on scraps of patterned paper from the Madeline pack so they match the card. He's raised on pop dots, so he's dimensional. Then for the heart accent in the lower corner, I cut it out of the patterned paper, cut some of the flowers out and popped them up at three different levels so it is very dimensional, plus added some Kaiser pearl accents. All the pink gem accents are from Zva. I then accented the flower centers, the mail, and the heart the birds are carrying with stickles. I love, love, love this card!! I think because it just uses so many of my favorite things - hope you enjoy it too!

Ok, gotta run - off to try to get a few more challenges done - happy crafting!

Disney PAT 2 Swap...

I participated in a Disney ATC swap a few months ago and didn't have time to post about it, so thought I'd take a minute and do it now. I joined three groups, which means I made 12 cards based on the Disney character that each person in my group selected. Most of these are pretty simple because the Disney themes rely a lot on the images, but I tried to throw a few things in here and there.

I had a dimensional Alice in Wonderland Jolee's to use, and I was picturing the Card Army in the garden in the movie, so I decided to make my ATC into a playing card. Pretty self explanatory - I just cuttlebugged the background with hearts and added the appropriate stickers.

For the Donald Duck card, I really wanted to try to do something different, so I found some Disney patterned paper that had some "antique" images to pull from. I cuttlebugged the background, and added the mounted image. The letters were stamped and then punched out with a 1/4" square punch. I used a scalloped circle as a guide to place my star eyelets on the side.


This one was fun to do... I used the SU cloud template and some brown ink to make dust clouds, then just added the stickers.

For The Nightmare Before Christmas, I used some halloween patterned paper from Little Yellow Bicycle. I found the image on the internet and did a cut and paste. I added a little dimension with Crystal Effects, some bling, and some letter beads.

For Hercules, I used some Best Creations beach paper, which has it's own glitter and had a large expanse of clouds, which I used for the background here. The image was downloaded from the Internet and then I added some letter stickers for the name. The strips around the edge are just paper, for some interest.

For Daisy Duck, the background paper is Bo Bunny dotted cardstock. I cut out the scallop with my Nestabilities, added a Daisy sticker and a little Sweetheart embellishment I had in my stash.

I love Heffalumps! This image was downloaded from the Internet as well. All the patterned papers are from Paper Salon, with a prima flower and some Kaiser flower bling. The scallop behind his head is a nestabilities as well.

For Toy Story, I found this cool Buzz Lightyear sticker set. I used spacy paper from Prima and then just added the stickers.

This one was just patterned paper, some ribbon, a flower, and a picture downloaded from the Internet. It's cute, but it was getting close to mailing time :)

The actual subject on this was Ursula, which is difficult to come up with! I used the bottom of the beach paper from Best Creations for the background, printed the poem directly on it, then added a sticker "U" and an image downloaded from the Internet.

This was another super simple one, because I couldn't find ANYTHING for James and the Giant Peach and I've never seen the movie, so I had no idea what to go for! I found the image on the Internet and enhanced it with glitter paper from Best Creations and some flocked halloween spider paper from Little Yellow Bicycle.

This one ended up being one of my favorites. I used the dragged Madras technique to make the background, then added the sentiment, which I just typed up in word and printed out. I had this file folder Tigger sticker, so I just added some orange plastic flowers from my stash and stuck a little bling in the centers.

I really love Disney, so this was a great swap... have another one coming up soon that I'll be able to share. Have a great evening!

A Quick Share...

Just wanted to share this pic of my daughter.... we went to a dolphin research center in the Keys a few weeks ago and Alyssa got picked as a 'volunteer' to get a dolphin kiss... totally awesome! She was psyched and I was super excited for her:)

ATC's are Fun!

Over the past few months I've been involved in a few more ATC swaps... I think I'm addicted! I just really enjoy developing a whole theme and expressing it in miniature. Maybe it has to do with my background in miniatures; that was the first craft I ever got in to as a teenager. I used to build dollhouses and dollhouse furniture - loved that, but it requires a lot of space! Scrapbooking kind of took over, but I imagine I'll get back to it one day.

Anyway, I wanted to share a few of the ATC's I've swapped. One really fun swap I joined was an ATC Fairy swap... I love all things mystical, so I was excited to get a couple of spots, and they were worth it, because I received some really beautiful and fun cards back in return. Here are the cards I made:

My photos on these two cards really don't do them justice; there's a lot of glittery stuff going on that you really can't see in the pics. On the stamped image above I outlined all the light lines and the fairy dust in her hands with my stardust jelly roll pen, so it looks very magical IRL; I colored the image with my copics. For the green scalloped edge I just used a very large scallop punch to take off the one edge, then I inked it and added the gemstones. The flowers are prima, and the center is a glitter brad.

This card definitely didn't photograph well; the base and the black layer are both glitter cardstock. The top layer is actually amethyst and the fairy stamp is embossed with a shimmery purple embossing powder. I also outlined the image with the stardust jelly roll pen. The moon was colored with a metallic sharpie paint pen. I used an edge punch to punch the stars so you can see the glittery black underneath. I added a few gems to the wing, but they show up dark in the pic.

I joined an Asian ATC swap and came up with these cards:

For this one I used specialty metallic gold paper and washi paper from Hanko. Hanko makes all kinds of beautiful Asian inspired papers with metallic accents - they look awesome on just about everything I've used them on. I added some QuicKutz photo corners. The image was stamped in red ink and then I did the crackle technique with three layers of UTE; I don't know, I guess I was going for the ancient pottery look - anyway, it looks OK IRL but is another thing that isn't showing up real well in the photo.

More washi and metallic gold paper here; I stamped the image right on the washi paper and embossed with detail gold embossing powder. I used my spellbinders to cut it out and added a prima flower with a gem center - very simple one here (I was running a little close to deadline!). The red cardstock is also from Hanko - it has a great ridged texture.

My next one is sort of funny because it was for a Jewish Holiday ATC swap. No, I'm not Jewish... I was invited to join by the hostess and decided it might be fun to learn a little about some Jewish holidays because I actually have quite a few friends who are Jewish; anyway, I DID learn a lot about different Jewish holidays - I didn't have any idea there were so many, with minor and major holidays. It was pretty cool to research and I received some awesome cards back in return... here's mine:

The holiday my card is based on is called Tu B'Shevat. It appealed to me because it celebrates trees and harvesting; everyone can appreciate the significance of that. It is referred to as the New Year for trees, and typical customs celebrating the holiday these days include planting trees and eating new fruits. Tu B'Shevat starts at sundown, so I brayered a sunset on my glossy cardstock background using three ink colors. The tree stamp is from Daisy Bucket and I accented the branch ends with pearl paint to represent little fruits.

The final group of cards to share was for a techniques based ATC swap.

The technique for this card is called "glitter stripe". It is illustrated in the background. What you do is tear strips and curl down the top edge. You glue them down, then rub Versamark down the card so that it hits all the rolled edges. Then you sprinkle on some glitter embossing powder and emboss. The seahorse was created with a metal embossing plate and black embossing powder - as it was drying I coated it with blue Pearl-Ex and added a stickles eye.

The technique for this card is called "Newsprint Reveal". I was glad to practice it here because I can see a lot of cool uses for this technique. Basically what you do is use a solid stamp with Versamark and stamp the image directly onto newsprint, then emboss it with clear embossing powder. Then you brayer over the newsprint with black (or dark) ink. Rub the ink off of the stamped image and the newsprint is revealed. Pretty cool for vintage inspired work!

The final technique I demonstrated was "Dragged Madras". You create your own plaid background by dragging ink over a straight edge onto your background in both directions. My horizontal stripes are in a very light purple, so they're a little difficult to see in the pic. I enhanced my background by adding some stamped flowers. To keep the focus on the background, I used a quote stamp in the center and enhanced it with a little punched butterfly.

That's it for now - I have two more big swaps to share with you so I'll try to get those up soon - one Disney and one for PAT-12... have a great day!

Recipe Cards - Finally!

OK, as promised months ago, (eek!) I wanted to share some recipe cards I have made as part of a few swaps I joined. As I shared in earlier post, I'm sort of new to the whole swapping thing, but I quickly got addicted! I have a lot of things to share, but wanted to start here. I LOVE recipes... I have a huge collection of cookbooks (over 200!) and recipes I've collected from various sources. I'm not sure why I love them so much.... I like to cook OK, but I hate cleaning up so I hardly ever do actually cook. Plus, my kids are pretty basic in what they'll eat, so I don't get much chance to experiment. But, I still collect... I've found some great recipes from those that I have tried!

The first recipe swap I joined was a Campfire recipes swap - I shared my recipe for Marinated Flank steak.... I tried to make it look kind of rugged since it was an outdoor theme...

The "smoke" is part of a swirl stamp set from Fancy Pants; the little grill is a Quickutz die. I just printed the recipe right on the patterned background paper. It was easy and I was really excited because the hostess chose me to win an award - how exciting since it was my first recipe swap on line!

I also joined an A-Z Cupcake Recipe swap. The idea behind this swap was that everyone shared a cupcake recipe based on a letter of the alphabet, so at the end of the swap you get to make a book of cupcakes... cute idea! I actually mainly joined this swap because I wanted to get an extra book as a gag gift for my mom... it's kind of a personal joke, but she really HATES cupcakes and so I thought it would be fun to poke a little fun at her on her birthday... she's a scrapper too, so she'll respect the work even if she doesn't care for the theme. Plus, I actually DO like cupcakes, and the recipe titles sounded yummy and so I signed up for two spots... here are my cards:

This was a pretty basic little card. The background paper was from Imaginisce; the border punch was from SU and the recipes I just printed on GP cardstock and matted. The frosting is in a pocket behind the recipe. The letter "L" is a Quickutz glued over a stamped cupcake.

For the letter P, the recipe I shared was for Pineapple Banana Smoothie Cupcakes, so I did a tropical theme. The paper is from Bo Bunny; I printed the recipe on SU Naturals cardstock and stamped a faint palm tree behind the recipe portion using Always Artichoke ink and a stamp from Rusty Pickle. The pineapple, letter P, and decorative flower were all QuicKutz, and the flower gem center is from Kaiser Craft. I love the Quickutz pineapple - super cute! Glad to have a chance to finally use it!

The next swap I joined was a Trifle Bowl recipe swap; I joined this one because I have a trifle bowl and they can be difficult to come up with ideas for! I love the idea of them, though; so pretty to serve in and fun.... I took two spots in this swap too, since the recipes already listed in the swap sounded awesome and I wanted all of them!! The ladies in this swap did a great job, too... it was really a fun one; here are the one's I did:

I used Bo Bunny dotted cardstock as a based, and created the card to kind of look like the trifle recipe I used.... the Ladyfinger trifle uses Ladyfinger cookies around the base, a fluffy mixture of cream cheese, 10x sugar, and whipped cream topped with cherries, so you can see how the card came about! I cheated and used my pineapple Quickutz again to make my "Ladyfingers"; the cherry is also a QuicKutz, and the rest is pretty self explanatory! Fun fun fun to do and in my favorite retro kitcheny colors!

The stamped peas and patterned paper all come from Basic Grey; I added a little stickles to the peas in the pea pod to make them pop, and the rcipe is cut out using SU's top notch die. Quick and easy, and I got to use the BG paper that I loved but didn't have a lot of use for!

My last swap was just for fun.... yes, I enjoy the Twilight series! I'm not a die hard fan sort of person, but I saw a recipe card swap for Twilight fans and thought it just sounded fun trying to come up with recipes inspired by the books; and it was! I wish I could fin more swaps based on book/movie ideas... it was fun seeing what different people came up with and finding out where their inspiration was from... Here are my cards:

This card uses paper from Marks Paper Company and an SU set for the pretty stamps behind the printed recipe portions. The Edward picture was downloaded from the Internet and cut out using my tag maker tool; I chose "Butterscotch Sauce" because the book refers to the color of Edward's eyes as "butterscotch"... I included the quoted passage on the card.

Bella actually makes Chicken Enchiladas for her father at one point, so I included a recipe for them... I just tried to go with kind of a southwestern theme since Bella is from Arizona. I used the back of some paper from Best Creations; In a clip art website under southwestern themes I found the wolf image and knew it was perfect! I again included the quoted paragraph on the card, this time on a little tag tucked behind the recipe.

You could also choose to do a drink recipe, and since I don't drink I needed to find a recipe; I actually found one called the Bella, so I picked it... I stamped the flowers on the black cardstock with white craft ink, and the patterned paper is from Prima. It was just a quicky fun one and I used blacks and reds for the romance and slightly goth undertones; the swap ended up being kind of a dud because I guess a lot of people didn't come through with their cards, and the hostess ended up having to do a bunch on short notice that for obvious reasons didn't have a lot put into them, and I still got some of my own back, so that was kind of a disappointment, but I did enjoy many of them; like I said before, it was really fun coming up with recipe cards that were based on a theme that really didn't have anything to do with cooking - great twist!

So, yea! Months later I finally have at least this much for you... Now I have a bazillion (OK, not really a Bazillion, but quite a few!) ATC's to share.. will have to do that in smaller bunches so keep an eye out! Have a great day and think about joining a swap - fun stuff!

More Big Changes...

Hi to all - I've been so SO lax at updating my blog... sorry! The reason is that once again I have gone through some MAJOR life changes.... I know, I know, after last year everyone is probably thinking enough is enough! But, not so, apparently :) So here's the scoop... I decided the time was finally right to quit my job and go back to school. Unfortunately, at the time I decided this and investigated the program I wanted to go in to, the program was starting and I had to get in ASAP... which meant getting my transcripts together and going through a bunch of financial aid stuff... yada yada yada. So, anyway, I am now just completing my first semester to become a Radiological Technologist, which means I'll be taking x-rays. The classes take about two years, after which I'll be able to take a registery test and then continue on if I want to become an ultrasound or MRI tech... which, I DO want, so I'll be doing that, but after the registry test I'll be a registered technologist and able to start working in the field, and the salary is good and I'll be able to support my family, so that's really good. In addition, I decided to start a home school program for my daughter because she was having some social difficulties in school and we're going to work on those in more intimate settings where there is better supervision. Luckily, our state has a virtual school program that is fully accredited, so she is on track with the work the other kids in the county are doing and just does it all on computer - I am there in the mornings to help guide her lessons and when I go to school in the afternoons my mom takes over if there is any left. Of course, all these changes have taken a lot of time and even though I've gotten some crafting done I haven't had blog post time, so I'll be working on getting those posts caught up... just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't dropped off the face of the planet and now that things are smoothed over you should be seeing my posts a lot more regularly!! Hope everyone is having a fabulous day!

PAT 11 ATC Swap...

Yes, I've been very quiet lately! I was feeling industrious a couple of months ago and signed up for several swaps at Splitcoast... I've never done internet swaps before so I was thinking it would be something fun and different. Well, it has been both fun and different, but I've also been hopping to keep up with them! I did two recipe swaps in April, and then four groups of ATC swaps for May, and next I have two more recipe cards and 8 more ATC's due mid June! I'm going to reveal the recipe cards all together in an upcoming post, but I wanted to share my ATC's.

I've only made a couple of ATC's previously and so I hadn't really gotten fully emersed in it, but I have to say I had a lot of fun with these little cards!! Participants in this particular ATC swap joined groups of different themes, and each person picked their favorite subject within the theme. So, everyone will make one card for everyone else's theme, and then you receive back the cards that are your favorite subject within the theme. Silly me, I was so excited I joined 4 groups... not a good idea for your first ATC swap! These cards require quite a bit of research and thought... mine are still probably very simple compared to what other swappers will come up with - I hope they're OK!

Anyway, enough jibber jabber - here's what I came up with!

Color Group #21

The four color mixes in the group were: white on white; monochromatic yellow; silver, robin's egg blue, and black; and black, turquoise, and terra cotta. I picked fuschia, celery, and basic grey, so I will receive four cards in those colors. Here are the four I did:





The white on white card was the first one I attempted. Normal monochromatic color schemes utilize different shades of color, but there really aren't a lot of shades of white to work with, so I decided to work with texture. I matted the different layers with mulberry paper and used a cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the background. The ribbon slide behind the frame is a Quickutz, and the corner piece is a spellbinders. I found the little frame in my white embellishment box - I think it's from Melissa Frances. I stamped and heat embossed flowers inside the frame, but they were hard to see, so I added Quickutz blossoms and white pearl paint for the centers. It was extremely difficult to photograph, but it was pretty cute IRL!



For the monochromatic yellow card I automatically thought of my new little bee stamp set from SU, so the whole card was created around that. I basically stamped the different pieces on different shadesof yellow and paper pieced. The dark yellow is mustard, and even through it kind of looks brown in the picture it is actually yellow. I paper pierced the edges as for a little added punch.



I think this was probably my favorite. I did the polished stone technique on glossy white paper, stamped the image on clear acetate, and then painted the back of the blossoms with silver alcohol ink. The black frame was created with a corner punch. The little silver frame was another find from my embellishments, and the butterfly sticker is actually a Jolee's sticker... hope that's not cheating, but I thought it looked great on the card!



This one didn't come easily for me. The colors naturally drew me to a western theme, but I didn't have anything to really go with it. In the end I heat embossed the horses on some Daisy Bucket patterned paper and added Quickutz hinges and stars to incorporate the western theme a little more. It still feels like it needed a little something else, but I never could settle on anything, so off it went! Still lots of other cards to make!

Designer Group #18

For this group each person chose a favorite designer or artist. I chose Laura Ashley, so those should be some pretty cards! Two members of the group chose Mary Engelbreit, one chose Susan Branch, and one chose Laurel Burch. Here are the cards I made for those subjects:





This is the first of the Mary Engelbreit cards I made. I didn't have any stamps or product from her, but I did find some cool dimensional stickers in the dollar section at Michael's, so I designed my cards around those. The patterned paper is from SU. I added the little red heart button and put QuicKutz leaves behind it.



This is the second Mary Engelbreit card. I used another of the dimensional stickers I found, mounted on a black scallop. I added some little white dots around the scallop with my white signo pen. The patterned papers are from SU; the felt flowers are from Zva Creative, and the pearl bling from Kaiser. I added some QuicKutz flowers and leaves to fill in.



This was the Susan Branch card. I have a lot of stuff from her, but unfortunately it is still in storage, since I don't have a full craft room at the moment. I found this stamp and colored it with markers. I stamped it again and cut the pie out and mounted it on a pop dot for a little dimension. The edging around the stamp is a SU rub-on. The red gingham ribbon is from SU, and the patterned paper and buttons are from my stash.



This is the Laurel Burch card and I have to say, it was fun to do! I actually didn't know who she was, so I googled her and found this painting on her website. I printed it out several times and cut out the little cat heads. I traced their wings on heavy glitter paper and cut them out and replaced the original wings, which printed out a little dull. I mounted them on different thicknesses of pop dots so it really looks like kitty heads flying through space. I added the bling across the bottom for fun. I was watching an old Star Trek when I was doing this one, so it was all in all a very cosmic experience. I wonder what Captain Kirk would do if he saw these things floating around through space!

Historical Figures Group #20

The cards coming to me will be about Albert Einstein; the other members chose Johnny Carson, Harriet Tubman, Louisa May Alcott, and 'signers of the Declaration of Independence'. For that one I chose Benjamin Franklin. Here are the cards I made:






For my Johnny Carson card, I wanted to have a sort of retro look. I found the little TV clip art with the picture of Johnny in it on line, along with the quote. The patterned paper is from an SU paper pack, and I rounded the corners and added the QuicKutz splat flowers to enhance the retro feel. It was pretty simple, but I really thought this one was fun!



This was another one that used a lot of computer help but was fun to do. I found this painting of Harriet Tubman on line and printed it in color and in black and white. I emplyed the spotlight technique to highlight Tubman, and used papers from Basic Grey to compliment the rich colors in the painting.



For the Louisa May Alcott card, I printed a copy of the original illustration for 'Little Women', which was actually drawn by Alcott's sister. My mother remembered the artwork and said the copy of the book she had was blue, so I made the card blue. I added some gold glitter paper under the illustration to mimic book foiling, and found some pretty laser cuts to add to the corners. The button was from my stash. This one was one of the last one's I made, on the DAY it had to be posted, so it was a very quick job, but I thought it turned out kind of cute.



OK, so I'm not at all sure how this one will be received! One of those things that looked a lot cooler in my head than it came out, so we'll see.... the subject was 'signers of the Declaration of Independence", so I printed a very small copy of the Declaration out on blue granite paper; the idea was for Ben to be flying his kite with a storm behind him. I found this cool Cricut die cut that was a town cryer, so I just cut the bell out of his hand and made a QuicKutz kite. The kite is mounted on pop dots and they are attached with a piece of string. My friend gave me the key, which, although way out of proportion, added a little fun to the piece. Again, in my head it was all much more exciting, so I hope the recipient likes it!!

Art Deco Group 5

The last group I joined was a group about different examples of Art Deco work and to be honest, I only joined it because no one else did and they needed a final group member. When it came to making the cards, I suddenly realized that I had NO idea what Art Deco was all about, and no supplies that fit the period, so I'm not at all sure how the cards are, but I gave it a go!






So for these cards I really didn't know what to do! The theme for this one was Art Deco ladies, and I loved this painting, with the square shoulders and angular features.... lovely. But what to do to it? In the end, the only thing I could think of to do was to use a corner slot punch so that I could add a thin gold frame around it and added a red flower to her hair. I mean, really, the painting speaks for itself.



The next subject was Art Deco architexture. I googled it and got a lot of pictures, and I really loved this picture of an elevator. I decided to make it come to life by making it dimensional. I printed it a couple of times and cut the 'walls' out. I made angular cuts in the corner so that I could bend the inner walls down toward the 'doors'. I added gemstones to the lighter panals on the door for a little fun.



This one looks really cool IRL. I found this example of an Art Deco building and printed it out about 5 times, then cut out the different layers of the building and popped them up. I added some thin lines of Glossly Glaze over the lines in the artwork, so it really has a lot of pop and dimension you can't see in the pic.



This is the final ATC for this swap, and it's a doozy! It might be too thick, so I hope the recipient is flexible bout that, but it was fun. The subject was Art Deco furniture, and I found this cool picture of an Art Deco screen, so I thought I would duplicate it. All the colors are little strips of paper 1/8 to 3/8" wide. I sponged them to mimic the heavy varnish of the original piece, and then I decided to add the title on the side so the recipient would know what the heck it was! The dragonfly brad was added from my stash just for fun...

Well, that's it for now!! Whew! I'll show you some of the recipes in my next swap... hope you enjoy!!