Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fall Leaves


Don't you just love it when you see something, and think,
"I can use that to make (blank-whatever your craft is)!" Maybe I'm in the minority on this, but often I see a pattern on someones clothes, or a picture or something and think..."That would make a great card."

The cards don't always turn out the way I have it visualized, but the process is always fun!

I think you know by now, that I love fall. I love the crips air, the crisp smells, the (usually) beautiful weather, and the wonderful blend of colors!

Walking with the dogs recently, I was enjoying all the beautiful leaves. They are almost at their peak color around here. Reds, oranges, yellows, and touches of green! I love the way some leaves have all of these colors togther too.

So it was the leaves that inspired this cards. This leaf was watercolored on watercolor paper (that's thicker than normal cardstock and can absorb more water). I only taped down the center of the leaf, and lightly curled up the edges so it looks like it's ready to blow away.




Sunday, October 25, 2009

Highlighting

This is the time of year that DH is gone some. I take advantage of that time to make my own personal cards that I will need for next years occasions. I have a list of what, and who, I need cards for, and I keep them in a card box for when they are needed. That way, I'm not scrambling to make a card at the last minute. I'll be using this card for Father's Day.


I used Mary Jo's Technostamper Monday Sketch for the layout. Make sure and check out her blog for the sketch and details.
The Highlighting technique makes a detailed stamp easy to work with. This stamp has a lot of fine lined detail, so to color the entire image, it would take patience and time. By highlighting just a small area with color, you still get the "pop" that color brings, but it doesn't take as long.
The image is first stamped on the piece of paper that you will be using on the card. I then stamped in on second piece of paper, and colored in the area that Iwanted highlighted. I wanted the color to be vibrant, so I used stamp pad refills for the ink, along with a blender pen.
The area that had been colored was then punched out with a circle punch. You line it up with your uncolored image and adhere it in place. You can also put a small layer behind your highlighted area if you want to seperate it a little more, but this time, I wanted it to blend right in with the main image.
Here's a close up of the Highlighting:




Give it a try sometime. It's a fun technique!

Friday, October 23, 2009

And Weddings

In additon to all the babies that are being born this month (in our "circle"), we also have two wedding to attend this month.

So again, since I was making wedding cards, I thought I might add some to my shop.

This happily ever after stamp is so fun! The card has some formality to it with the background papers, but the stamp lightens it up a little.

As you can see, I love this sizzix embossing folder. I used it on both of these cards.




The image on this card is stamped on watercolor paper. I used watercolor crayons to color it. There is something so romantic and peaceful about this image.

I have a few more wedding cards in my Etsy shop, but that's all for today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Babies

October seems to baby month for us. Well, not us specifically, but for our family and friends. We know 3 families that are expecting their little one this month.





Since I needed to make some baby cards for them, I thought I would keep going and make some for my Etsy shop. Here are just a few.





The circle on this one has an embossed diamond pattern. The giraffe is cut out and applied to the card with foam dots. For the little sweet heart :)












I really like this one. Rock-a-bye baby is stamped along the bottom of the striped paper. The star and moon are both raised with foam dots. Even though the star is pink, I think this card is neutral enough to work for either a girl or a boy.





Speaking of girls, where are they all. Of the 3 we know who are expecting, 2 are having boys, one I'm not sure about. As a matter of fact, most of our friends that have had babies in the last few years (yes, years) have had boys.









I think this is one of my favorites though. It's simple and sweet, just like a new born baby. There is a 3/4 layer of polka dotted white. The sentiment under the old fashioned carriage says, "rubber baby buggy bumpers." I made this same card in pink as well.


Ahhh, babies...I sure do love them!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Man Card #2


When I made Man Card #1 (see previous post), it was the first time I had used this background stamp. As I was working with it, I thought it would be fun to try making the labels different colors and depths.
I stamped the main background image in one color, then stamped different portions in coordinating colors, cut them out and applied them to the card with foam dots.
One big grouping of labels in different colors. I might have to try this again in brighter colors.
Another perfect man card...not too much of anything, but not completely blah either. No sentiment on this one yet, so again, it would work great for any occasion.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Man Card #1


When I started making this, I didn't plan on making a masculine card, but that's exactly what I ended up with.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, man cards are some of the hardest for me to make. There can't be too much fluff, too much puff....too much anything.
I love the way this one turned out though. There is some color too it (but not too much). Some pattern, but nothing that takes over. Even an embellishment, but a very manly one. It doesn't show up in the picture very well, but the brad in the lower right corner has text on it, "fabulous: adjective, amzingly good;wonderful;superb."
This would work great for any guy occasion!
This card also led me to the next, which turned out to me Man Card #2...next post :)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

She Gets Me With Another Circle

You all know how much I love Mary Jo's Technostamper Sketches. She helps me, inspires me, and has started many a card for me! It's been a few weeks since I've joined in for her Monday Sketch challenge. The few that I missed had many different circles, so it wasn't too hard to bow out. Now don't get me wrong. I have nothing against cirlces on cards. I love circles...I just do Not! love making them!

I was in need of a few baby cards though, and once I started I thought I should make a few for my Etsy shop. I went to see what Mary Jo had in store for Monday's challenge, and knew this would work for a baby card. The thing that really worked for me was the fact that even though I had to cut out a circle, most of it is hidden. So any imperfections in the roundness are hidden as well :)

Thanks for helping me out with anothe card MJ!

Make sure you check out her blog for all the sketch details.



Friday, October 9, 2009

Bright Birthday


My color selection for the cards I make tends to shift with the seasons, but I never get tired of the bright colors! Turquoise and orange are such a lively combination. What's really neat about these colors is that they can be used for a male or female card.
This card was pretty simple, but I love how it turned out. I used the same layout as some of the Holiday cards I have in my Etsy shop right now. The front flap is a half-flap. The stamped words along the side are actually on the inside of the card, but are visible the entire time.
I stamped the words in orange first. Then on a seperate piece of carstock, I stamped them again in turquoise. I cut a few of the turquoise words out and glued them on to the orange. Voila!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

More Post It Note Holders

Here are the last of these that you will see (for now). I'm telling you, these are fun, fun, fun. I just love these patterned papers.

I found these Post It notes that match the paper perfectly too! No more details today. You can check them out in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Post It Note Holders

I'd like to tell you that these are extremely difficult to make. Something only a qualified artist should attempt. But, I wouldn't be telling you the truth.

I love these Post it note holders! They are a fun item to add to a desk or set by a phone. Once you have one of these, you won't be searching for the pad of post it's all the time either.

The basic elements are an acrylic photo frame, some patterned paper, ribbon, a barrel style ballpoint pen, and some very good adhesive (you don't want your post it's to come off).

If you are looking for a small gift for a hostess, teacher, or office co-worker, this is it! I just added 3 new designs to my Etsy shop, and will be working on some more soon!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Pumpkins


I knew that pumpkins tend to take over a garden, so we weren't going to plant any. My daughter talked me into buying seeds though, and am I ever glad we did!
Yes, the vines sprawled and spread over everything, but they didn't really harm the rest of the plants.
My front steps are now decorated with 7 large pumpkins, and loads of mini pumpkins and goards. I love 'em!
I don't generally send "season" cards to my family and friends, but know some of you do! So my pumpkins inspired this card. A great Fall load of pumpkins. I stamped them on watercolor paper and colored them with watercolor crayons.
Happy Fall!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Holiday Cards Are On Sale

This deal won't last much longer. Buy any 2 sets of Holiday Cards and receive either $4.00 off your purchase, or one free single greeting card of your choice. I added two new sets of Holiday cards this week, and am working on some more.


I know it's still early, but snap them up now and get the deal!

Neither of these sets are specific to any Holiday. Both are sets of 5 cards with matching envelopes.

This first one is simple, and elegant. River Rock cards stock with a fleur de lis in the background. A simple sentiment of "Peace, Love, Joy," in a beautiful script.




















This set is a little more whimsical. 3 different patterned papers were used (you can oly see two in this picture), with some fun snowflakes in matching colors. No sentiment was added to this cards, so it can be used for any winter greeting!