Blog Archives
Spring Card Camp 2 Day 1
So ok, I managed to wipe the stink off my having to prepare some income tax returns, and found some creativity to make a card for the Day 1 tutorial.
I have a confession to make though………………..when I use a craft knife, the only thing that gets cut is me. I have absolutely no skill in that area so I cheated. I cut the letters out nice and cleanly on my Silhouette Cameo. The part that I am proud of, is that I was able to produce a truly one layer card. More often than not, little stamping errors and smudges necessitate that I have to put the card front on a clean card base or add some doodad to cover a booboo (both technical cardmaking terms). So all things considered, this card is a success. Take a look:
Cuteness Overload
Simon Says Stamp has a stencil for the insanely popular Gnomes. While I have already made some cards with the “sold out” large Gnome die, that I ordered for and stole from Sandra, this time I wanted a one-layer rather than pieced Gnome.
Using the stencil involved some extensive masking. I may end up making my own layered stencil to avoid having to do all this masking in the future. In the meantime, after a couple of ruined cards with some stray ink on them, I got it right.
This card is just so stinkin’ cute, that I am sure I will be making more.
I used the Swirls background die from Concord and 9th which just tucked around the Gnome perfectly. Sequins from Lucie’s Little Things and some glittery Nuvo drops complete the card. His nose is made with transparent pink Nuvo drops and gives perfect colour and dimension.
2018 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Bloghop #9
Ok, I lied. I managed to make one more card before leaving for work.
I wanted to use The Daily Grind collection from Photoplay. I mean if you don’t use it for a coffee bloghop when can you use it?
I wanted to repeat the pattern on the background on the focal cup. I used Amplify to make the dimensional coffee cream. I like the idea a lot, but my execution of the card was hurried to say the least.
Check it out.
It has been a while
I actually didn’t realize how long it has been since the last post. It isn’t that I haven’t been busy in my craft room, as I am there putzing away every day. As an aside, I just went and looked up the definition of putzing. I didn’t want to offend anyone, and sometimes you say things just out of habit and you don’t know that the saying has a deep dark past. In fact, one definition of putzing IS a little sketchy, but the generally accepted one is “behave in an idle manner” and I certainly do that in my craft room, so it is staying in my sentence.
I have recently made two cards that are in my all-time favourites list. I used a technique called Layered Resist. This technique was demonstrated by Jennifer McGuire recently and I wanted to try it out. These cards take a long time to make as there are four layers of ink on them and four layers of embossing powder. If you don’t wait for each layer of ink to dry thoroughly, you are in for an epic fail. I managed to summon enough patience to wait for each layer to dry, before adding another round of embossing powder and both cards turned out well.
The cards almost have a 3D feel as the various layers look like they are at different depths on the card front.
Take a look:
Thinking of Arizona
We have had our first plant killing snowfall of the year. As usual, we all winge and moan about how crazy it is that snow came so early, when in fact it does this every year. In fact, the rarity is if we don’t get a September snowfall. What this inevitable snowfall does for me is to get me thinking about Arizona and my upcoming trip down south again.
Right now, Phoenix is in the middle of the Scrapbook Expo, and so, I wish I was there. Also this week, I signed up for a number of classes for Creativation in January, so the excitement for the winter season in Arizona is rising.
The challenge this month for the Phoenix Papercrafters group is Southwest/cactus. Recently, I made some cards using a paint dragging technique (inspiration from a Jennifer McGuire video). This technique really lends itself to the Southwest colours/desert sunset type of background and so I decided to combine that with some stamps/dies from Scraps of Love and Concord and 9th.
The paint dragging technique is super easy to do, but oh so difficult to have it end up just like you envisioned it. That is part of the charm of the technique……………………….you have to give up control………………….and embrace some of the weird parts to make it work. Actually, what I did was keep on thinking that the NEXT one IS going to turn out just like I envisioned it until I had eleven sunset backgrounds drying all over my house.
In the end, I loved all of the cards and the not quite what I envisioned backgrounds. Take a look:
Sook, this one is from Moab, Utah but still Southwestern in theme.
Concord and Ninth
It is no secret that I am a Concord and Ninth fan, but I seriously want everything in their February release. I continue to be amazed at how they build in extreme versatility into every set. I had to get the Birthday Stacks set. Who can resist a stamp set with images that can be a balloon or an ice cream cone, a banner or a party hat, a flat card or a 3 D card, an outline or a solid image. It is truly an outstanding stamp set.
I am making more cards with this set, but these two examples show how versatile it is.
What is this? A card for no reason?
I am so far behind, that I think I am first!
I have had no time to enter any of the usual challenges, and the 25 days of Christmas Tags was only 12 days long for me before the wheels fell off.
Because of being busy with other things, my “new” drawer is starting to overflow as well. There are many amazing stamp sets in there, that definitely need to come out and play. One of them is the plaid maker from Concord and Ninth. This is a brilliant stamp set both in its simplicity and engineering. What is great about it, is that they had the clever idea of making the thin lines of the plaid on a wide base with two of the thin lines on it. The lines stay straight and the wider stamp stays upright when lining it up in the Misti. I rarely make more than one card front at a time, but this plaid maker stamp is “the best” for mass production. Just keep stamping the pattern in black on to various colours of cardstock. The thin lines are not necessary as you have a lovely Buffalo plaid without them, but you can add them at a later date, to co-ordinate with whatever image and occasion you opt to work with.
DebSelby
Maverick Muses 