Waiting for Spring

Yes, still waiting for spring. One of the signs I rely on to tell me it's really spring is the first sighting of the Goldfinch. I just love those little guys. They are so bright and cheery, and their happy little chirping puts a smile on my face every time.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING!!!!
Okay, I will calm down now....and try to patiently wait.

In my wait for spring, I decided to do an American Goldfinch card. I love the stamp, it's from Northwood's Rubber Stamps. I used another technique from my all time favorite TJN (Technique Junkies Newsletter). This technique is the Marker Wash from the October 2007 issue.
I did use watercolor paper as they state in the instructions, and have found that the results are much better when you do. The water is able to float around better and give you awesome results, I think, anyway.
I basically just scribbled brown marker around the edges of the card, then loosely colored the bird and the tree branch. I then spritz it with water and hit it with my heat gun to speed up the process and to keep the edges distinct where the water pooled.

I have been admiring a lot of the paper piecing I have been seeing online, and decided to give it a try on this card. So I stamped a couple more goldfinches, colored them and cut them out...definitely time consuming...but I feel it was worth it. Then I used pop dots to put space between each layer.
Here is a close up of the layers. It's a little fuzzy...but you get the idea of the dimension.
I was going to layer this on a lighter brown card base..to match the edges, but DH thought it got lost in all the brown..so he suggested the orange card base....YAY hubby! It definitely made the goldfinch stand out like I wanted.

Cricut fun

Here are some butterfly embellishments I made from a sheet of Basic Grey paper (Jade Pattern from the Motifica collection). I used the BUTTERFLIES font from dafont.com (uppercase "B") to cut the butterflies, using the Sure Cuts A Lot program with my Cricut. This butterfly has no body, just wings, so it is really versatile and you can use it with just about anything...and create your own body, too!
I have had this Basic Grey paper for so long...and that really was one of my least favorite sheets in that collection...until I made butterflies out of it, that is. I LOVE the way that paper looks when it is cut out. I used it for butterflies, a ric-rac type border and I cut my name out (letters welded together using the Sure Cuts A Lot program) then made a shadow for it in a dark teal color. So much fun to play that way!
I had to think of something to use for a body for these fun wings. I remembered making paper beads a long while ago, and thought they would be a great shape for a butterfly body. So, I cut out some extra long triangles of the same great paper, rolled them up...long end to short end. I stuck a bamboo skewer into the rolled up paper and rolled it over my Versamark Watermark pad a few times to get it full of ink. Then my plastic container of Clear UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel)came out and I dipped the inked up roll into the powder and embossed it. I did that 2-3 times to get it nice and thick. I wanted it glossy and I wanted it sturdy. I let it cool, and there was my body. I found a few different colors of copper wire, and grabbed some plain cream colored beads from my stash for the heads and put them together with glue dots.
I really like the way they turned out, and am certain I will be starting to use my "oh so very horded patterned paper" a whole lot more now that I see what it looks like when it has been through the Cricut!

Here is a close up of the paper bead, you can see all the great colors from the paper showing through. I am happy with the way all the colors pull together for the body and the wings.

I don't know what I am going to do with these butterflies yet. Part of me wants to make a framed name for The Room (my stamp/scrap room) using the name I cut from the same paper. But I also found a half finished scrapbook page of my Senior pictures from high school...and it is in similar colors and I have fall leaves everywhere..which is perfect because I loooove leaves, and I looooove butterflies. I just can't decide yet. But, in the mean time, I do enjoy looking at the butterflies on my work table for now.

Snow Birds

The color combination on this card was actually inspired by a co-workers new Columbia jacket. It was a teal/aqua color and chocolate brown. I just loved the way the colors seemed to compliment each other. So, I set out to recreate it. I found card stock that was as close as possible...and although this looks more blue than tealish..it is a little different in real life...less blue than it looks here.

I have been playing with this border punch for a while and have come to really love the look of it. That was sitting out on the table, so I played with it..and punched the edges of the teal/blue/aqua card stock. I'm not sure how I came to pick the cute little snow birds. I have always loved that stamp but, to date had not done anything with it that I thought really showcased the stamp. I think the biggest reason I picked it was because it filled so much of the open space of the teal...and I didn't have to figure out what else to add to it to fill in that space. I stamped the birdies in Timber Brown StazOn ink. I then used my Heidi Swapp edge distresser (looks like a pink Pac Man) on the long edges of the chocolate brown card stock...layered it all..and my card was done. I really like this card....because it is simple...because the colors compliment each other so well, and because it really gives a lot of attention to a favorite stamp. Hope you like it, too. :o)

Zen meets Cricut

This card is a mix of all kinds of things. The "H" and "B" were stamped..a great set of alphabet stamps from Just Jhone. They are large alphabets that are an open line image. I am into Zentangles which is a form of doodling, so I filled in the letters with some zen-doodling. I had just got my Cricut and had to play with it. The "appy" and "irthday" are from the Opposites Attract cartridge. I was also on the Triple Play (technique from TJN) card kick when I made this. I had some trouble trying to fit the HB on the flap I would normally have on a triple play card...so I had to improvise. So I kept the dimensions for the size of the card...and then remembered a great idea that I learned from a stamping friend Denise Krueger. She makes the most amazing cards and uses a single sheet of card stock as the base, just a tad larger than the card, then adheres the folded card to the base. It's a really fun look, and it worked perfectly for this card....and it still fit into a business sized envelope.
Jhone (from Just Jhone...now unfortunately closed) was the recipient of this card. It was destined to be hers, since it was her alphabet stamp set I used and we are Zentangle buddies...and it was her Birthday last month!

My first Wall Art

I saw this saying and have wanted it up on my bedroom wall just above our bed for a long time now. Well, since I now have a Cricut, and downloaded the Sure Cuts A Lot program...I decided to take the project on myself.
I used Scriptina font for the word "together". I don't know what the font was that I used for the rest of the words, just picked something fairly plain. "IS A" is a smaller font size and non-bold. "WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE" was larger and in bold. The leaf accents are from a dingbat font called Florals 2 that I downloaded from dafont.com . I put this all together in Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL). I didn't have the 12 x 24 mat...so I put the letters together so I could fit everything on three 12 x 12 mats and cut them out. I also didn't have the special release paper to put the words up on the wall, so I improvised. I used blue painters tape. I put the tape on a piece of foam board, sticky side up...and lined my letters up along the bottom edge of the tape (letters were backing side up). It was a great way to line up the letters. I should have maybe stuck that painters tape on my shirt a time or two, because it was a bit stickier than I had expected. But it worked fairly well. I did have to remake the the "S" in IS and the "N" in WONDERFUL because my tape stuck a little too well....but the really cool thing is that I was able to go make them quick and finish the project. I have no idea what I would have done if I would have purchased the words and ruined them putting them up. I think having the Cricut is going to be lots of fun!

Here is a shot with part of the bed in it...it is centered above the headboard.

This was really fun to do...and pretty easy, too. I think I will be doing more of this!!

I have a Cricut!!

I am now the proud owner of the Cricut Expression. It was my Valentine's Day gift from my hubby. I have had a great time with it so far...and I just decorated it with some left-overs from my first try at wall art. These are the inside of the leaves that decorate the phrase I put up on our bedroom wall. I kinda liked the way the insides looked...and I love leaves...so I popped them onto the Cricut, I thought they looked cool on it...so they will stay. :o)

Oval Butterfly

I found this technique at the Stamper's Quest Magazine
It still makes me laugh when I look at it. (you can see the original inspiration card if you click the link for the e-zine above). I really loved the look of the technique and I just got the Inspired By Nature stamp set from Stampin' Up and I wanted to use the grass instead of flowers. The original plan was to mask the grass and stamp a lions face so it looked like it was peaking through the grass. I found a roll of Magic Mask that hadn't been used in a long time...cut out a rectangle the size of my card and then used my Creative Memories oval cutter to cut the oval out of the center. That was the mask for my oval. Well, I sponged my ink around the edges, stamped my grass... the lion face just didn't work like I had planned. It was a little too big for the oval and the grass...and it was looking off to one side. So, I spent the evening looking at the card...trying to figure out what would be the best thing to fill that space...words? a bird? a bug? Ahhhh....a butterfly! I stamped and colored the butterfly, then stamped it and colored it again to cut out for dimension. I was pretty satisfied with the card...proud of my choice to fill that space. It had been a while since I had seen the original card that had inspired me...I remembered the oval and flowers...but not the butterfly. I really thought that was my own genius to add the butterfly. Well...I was in for a surprise when I went back a while later and saw that butterfly on the original! LOL! I still like the card...even if it isn't as "original" as I thought it was. It's a great technique and really fun to do. I think I would like to try making a mask from some of my Nestabilities. I gotta make a list of things I want to do!!

You really should check out the Stamper's Quest Magazine....lots of inspiration there!

Fairy Dance - More Triple Play

Here is the last Triple Play I made using the chocolate brown 12 x 12 scrapbook paper. I used the same blue patterned paper as the last one and Timber Brown StazOn ink for all the stamping. The Fairy is from Enchanted Ink, Swirls are clear stamps from Inkadinkado, and the saying is actually the green rubber from Appalachian rubber stamps that I thought the saying came from on the last card. I was wrong. I don't know where that other saying is from. (the o wind, o mighty wind). If you happen to recognise it, let me know, I'd love to have the correct credit given for it.
And here is a close up of the fairy.

Wind...am I crazy??

I know, the subject matter does really does challenge my sanity...but I have had this phrase forever. It's green rubber from Appalachian Rubber Stamps...bought it well over 10 years ago..and this is the very first time I have ever used it.

This card started with the color combination. I really loved the tealish blue patterned paper that came from a big paper pack from Hobby Lobby. I loved the way it looked with the dark brown paper. I went through my verse/phrase stamps and found this one (believe me...I live in North Dakota...I am NOT a big fan of the wind...but the phrase somehow makes it seem romantic in a way....okay...okay...bring on the straight jacket)Anyway...I bought these great swirly leaves and trees clear stamps from Inkadinkadoo...and they seem to be perfect with that phrase and it all seems to go so well with the Triple Play technique...had to use up another of that brown from the Coffee card below...and Ta Da...this is what resulted.

This is what it looks like inside. I used some cardstock scraps to line the bottom of the box in a coordinating color. I also figured out how to fold a dollar bill into a bow tie today! I added a snowflake brad to that bottom piece so it would hold the bill in place.

Pop Up Gift box

I can't believe it has been over a month since I have had time to do anything creative!!

Well, now I am working fast and furious to finish up a bunch of these pop up gift boxes to put money in for all our nieces and nephews.

All the paper is from Basic Grey Figgy Pudding Collection. I used 12x12 paper, cut it down to 8.5x11. I used the 1 inch strip from the 11" side for the band that holds the box closed. (all of the paper is double sided) I used the 3.5" strip to make embellishments on the band, and make little gift tags for the boxes.

I have a lot of the snowflake lever punches, and used them to make embellishments on the bands as well.

This one is my favorite so far. I love the colors.

Downhill

Remember my very first post? I had started a card, playing with my new color cored cardstock from Coredinations, but hadn't finished it.

Well, it's done! I added this cute little skiing snowman from Northwoods that I colored with watercolor pencils and a water brush. I cut out the snowman and put pop dots on his back side. I added some torn white paper in layers for snow...and it's finished. It only took me a couple of months. tee hee.

I am supposed to be working on Thanksgiving cards this weekend, but all this blustery, wintery weather has got me in the mood for snowy cards.

Wishing you...snowflakes

Last one for the night. (I think) ;o)

This was just too easy and I love the look A LOT.

First of all, have I told you all how much I love my Cuttlebug?? I do...and you just can't beat the dry embossing. The other thing I really love is the Cut 'n Dry felt pads from Ranger. I don't use anything else any more when I am adding color to the edge of a card or just grunging it up a bit. I also used it to add a touch of color to the raised parts of the dry embossing and it worked beautifully. I cut my felt into 1.25 inch squares, then just drag or tap them on my ink pads. I like the small square size because it gives me more control, and I can use a real light touch or get rough if I need to for the look I want. Love, love, love them!

That snowflake on the top of the card is a button. I found these wonderful flat back buttons at Wal Mart a few weeks ago. They had them in white and silver, and each bag has two sizes. They seem to be perfect for adding just a touch more dimension to the card. I love the soft colors.

I seem to be using lots of snowflakes today. I guess I really don't mind snow, as long as it is outside and I am inside..and WARM! LOL

sage flowers

This card just happened.

The flower images here, by Close To My Heart, are what I originally wanted to put on the first card when the color combination was sage and navy. I didn't really like the way that looked together. The sage layer with the rope border punch was just me playing around, but I loved the way it looked. So, while I had all the pieces just hangin' around my table...they ended up coming together in a card! It's so much fun when that happens! The colors in real life are just so striking together, they really pop and look great together.

Here is the second card made with one of the medallion parts. The navy blue center that the snowflake is attached to is the center that was cut out of the 2.25 inch medallion I tried this morning.
I stamped the background on this one, and used white embellishments instead of silver. Still using the Denim Adirondack ink and added to the edges. I am loving the look of that Denim ink on the edges.
The "Wishing you..." stamp is from Close to my Heart and inside it says "a Merry little Christmas". Both stamped in the Denim Adirondack ink.
Okay...off to play some more!

Snowflake Medallion

Here's my first creation with this really fun technique.

This is the 3 inch square punched with the rope border punch by Fiskars. The medallion is a deep navy blue. I really liked the navy blue on the sage green that I had together when I was figuring out the square size, an had plans to use some sort of flower in the center of the medallion. I just couldn't get that to work in my head....and I kept hearing my mind whisper "snowflakes". So I grabbed my beautiful snowflake stamps from Stubby Stampers. I love my snowflakes from stubby. I used Denim Adirondack ink to stamp the snowflake and to pull ink in around the edges. I needed to find another color to keep things exciting on this card between the blue and white...and the inspiration for that came from my friend Bibi in Norway. She sent me the most amazing Christmas card...back in June, I think. Bibi used this same color combination...white, navy blue and turquoise/teal. I love the way the colors pop, and make the white seem so cool, crisp and clean. I added the silver brads because they seemed to give it an even more "icy" feel, and the dry embossed snowflakes make it even crisper.

Snow Day!!

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted anything. Life, love, kids, work...they just all take a lot of time and attention. I'm not complaining, I enjoy all of them most of the time, but some days it can be overwhelming and I don't get the chance to create like I would like. (I'm sure there are plenty of you out there that understand that completely)

But...today is a SNOW DAY for me! Most of the state is covered in blowing snow, so I get to stay home and play.

A few days ago someone from a rubberstamping list I am on (YAY RST!) posted this technique from SplitCoastStampers.

I'm a gadget girl....love to have lots of toys. And ever since I saw that technique, I have been trying to figure out how to get my hands on that scallop punch. Money is so very tight and I really can't justify another purchase. Well, the light came on at 4:36 AM this morning! I remembered the Fiskars Rope border punch I had...and started to wonder what that would look like for this technique. The idea rattled around in my head until I couldn't take it anymore and had to run to the stamp room. I didn't want to take the time to boot up my computer to get the dimensions...so I just winged it. I grabbed a long chunk of navy blue from the scrap bin. Then I measured the punch...it was exactly 2 inches wide. I cut a 2.25 inch square, a 2.5 inch square, and still had some navy blue left over, so was able to make a 3 inch square.

The top one here is the 2.25 inch square. As you can see, it was a bit too small. But I kinda like the pieces it made. Same with the 2.5 inch square. The top one has a great little frame with a bit of fun punched in the corners, the second one gives you a perfect 2.5 inch frame. The stuff that falls out of the middle looks like it could be a fun layer on cards, too...or you can turn them a bit and put them inside of the frame. Lots of different options, I think.

The bottom one, the 3 inch square is the one that worked like it was supposed to. I can't wait to make something out of it!

I'm so happy it's a snow day!! I'll be posting later to let you know what the day produced.

First Snow

For all of you that are enjoying warm temperatures and sunshine.....ENJOY! This is what we woke up to this morning in SW North Dakota.

Although it is pretty to look at, it is a bit disheartening to know winter has already shown it's blustery face here in the Dakota's. I better prepare myself for a loooong winter! LOL!

Tissue box

Okay, last one today. I really, really loved the look of the trio of brown acrylic paints on the cardboard. It's just so rustic and old looking. This is a tissue box I painted. I am not certain where I got the tissue box covers from. I do know I bought a bunch of them. Good thing...cuz I had to make one for my stamp room and one for my bedroom. This is the one for our bedroom. The one I made for my stamp room had to have those black swirls stamped on it.

I ended up using that combination of brown acrylic paints to paint the bottom of the album box, 2 tissue boxes and I grabbed a small bare cardboard box that I had some jumbo copper paper clips in, and painted that, too!
I think I will be using this for home decor a lot. We live in the country and everything in our house is rustic...leaves, leather, wood, pine cones (can you see the pine cones in the fabric of the chair behind the tissue box?)...so this seems to fit in perfectly.

Here is a close up of the front panel of what will be the photo album. This isn't completed yet. The plan is to add a picture of our house to this panel and then add the word "HOME" with chipboard die cut letters. Pictures of our family will go on the inside and the pictures that my son took will be on the outside. You will have to wait a bit for the inside...I'm still not done with that part yet.