Friday, November 28, 2014

Goofy Butterfly on a Vine

I found some die cuts I made when I got some new Memory Box dies a while ago.  (And I still have more to play with.)  I don't know what I was thinking when I started this but it is a bit goofy looking.


I haven't mounted this on a card as it is bigger than an A2.  I think it's an A6 but I'll get a card done later.
I embossed the largest Elegant Oval from my Spellbinder die set on the Spellbinder die cut Label.  I adhered the white vine by Memory Box but this is where things got goofy.  I chalked the vine then die cut the butterfly (Flutters by Spellbinders) from some pink dotted paper and added some rhinestones.


There are itty bitty rhinestones on the antennas and eyes and small ones in the flower centers.  I don't particularly like this and don't really know what I want to do with it.  Any suggestions?  I have a better one in the next post.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

White Flower on Purple

I found this cool purple die cut in a stash and thought, I need to use this before it gets torn or something!  I got out my new "Elegant Ovals" by Spellbinders and embossed one into the purple piece.  Then out came some flower and leaf punches, my "Dotted Swiss" Cuttlebug embossing folder and I have me a card!


I cut the white card base to fit and I like how this turned out!


Here's a closer look at the flower and embossing.  I need to play more with the ovals and remember to spray my paper with a mist of water to keep it from tearing.  I think there is a bit of elegance to this.  I'll have to figure out what to stamp inside, whether it be birthday or maybe anniversary.

I hope you have a most blessed Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow.  We're enjoying time with our children in Wyoming.  Yes, it's winter here with cold and snow.  Nothing like southern Arizona!!  But we are grateful for our time here and time with family.  We are also grateful for all the blessings God has given us.  

Monday, November 24, 2014

Keep Climbing

A while back I used this great set by Our Daily Bread Designs called "Keep Climbing" to make a card for my hubby's birthday.  I decided to play some more with it and use some scrap paper as I have such a LARGE amount of leftover paper from classes.


I was given a brown chalk ink so I used it then stamped off once before stamping the mountain on the off white card stock.  I stamped the text if full brown ink.


I really like the words that came in this set.  Very inspirational! And I think the twine was plenty for finishing this masculine card.  So, no bling!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Sunny Sunflowers

I decided to try a Technique Junkies technique called Color Pop Background that was in the August 2014 newsletter but not sure if I like it with the stamp set I used.  The large background stamp is made by Heartfelt Creations called "Classic Sunflower PreCut Set"   Please tell me what you think....


I used watercolor pencils to color some die-cut images but am thinking I should have chalked or used Copic markers.


I also used my Clear Wink of Stella brush but the glitter seems to have disappeared!  Hmmm....  Maybe my brush tip wasn't wet enough.  Anyway, would appreciate your thoughts.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Rainbow Flip Strip Card on my Desk

You know what today is.  It's Desker Day (#285)!  A fun day to get the opportunity to view desks and projects in a massive universal blog hop!  This is brought to you by head desker, Julia of the Stamping Ground.  My desk has been busy as I'm trying to get a bunch of cards made to schedule posts for next week.


I just starting picking up some of the stuff I used when I took my picture.  You can see my K-Pad and brayer on the left, an acrylic block that I used for the stamping, a black ink pad, bone folder, scissors, sanding block, and ATG tape gun. 

And today's card...  I made this card using the Rainbow Flip Strip Technique in my June 2005 Technique Junkies newsletter.  I love going back and visiting "old" techniques.


I brayed on a piece of glossy card stock then stamped to make this card.


Here's a bit closer look at the technique.  Stamps are retired from the closed The Angel Company.  I still love most all my stamps from that company and use them a lot!

Now please pop over to the Stamping Ground and check out all the fun desks!  I won't be getting a lot of visiting done this week as I'm preparing to go on vacation.  I also won't be involved in next week's blog hop since my desk will be abandoned for a few days.  Oh, if you want to see some fabulous pics of Spain, check out Julia's Monday post!  WOW!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Flowers and Butterflies Easel Drawer Card

I am now ready to present both my Drawer Easel cards at the instructor meeting today!  Got my directions and photos completed so all that's left is to get the date of my class and the email with photo and class info in to the local scrapbooking store.


Last Friday you seen the set using Graphic 45 "Good Ol' Sport" paper and today this set uses Pebbles "Garden Party" paper.  I also used Spellbinders "Flutter" and "Labels 28" dies along with Tim Holtz's "Tattered Flowers" die.


And, of course, rhinestones!  Usually when I try to have a class that isn't cards it doesn't get students but hopefully this is cute enough to attract them.  The Easel drawer card is one of the great ideas on a Technique Junkies CD.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Easel Drawer Card

I've been working hard between spending time with friends from Minnesota, working, working out, and more but I did finish the masculine Easel Drawer Card I need for a proposed class.  I need to make one more of these in a feminine theme and hope to get that done shortly.


I used Graphic 45 paper and the little calendars from Vippies.  I had a bit of paper left over so I added a small card that fits in the drawer.  This was quite easy to make and I hope it will be a go for the class.  This easel drawer is on one of the many CDs from Technique Junkies, I just don't remember which one at the moment.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Desk Wednesday and a Popping Up Card

Another beautiful Wednesday!  A fabulous day to take some fun time and check out desks from all over the world!  If you are new to my blog and want to know more about this international blog hop led by head desker ,Julia at the Stamping Ground, please click on the WOYWW badge in the left sidebar.


I just finished adding some clear rhinestones to the Pop Up Box card I made for a sample for a February class.  I needed to get all my samples done so that I can make a poster for the 3 classes I'm having.  Just a few minutes after taking this photo things changed as I started on another project.


Here's a closer look at the card.  It's relatively simple as I don't want to overwhelm my "students", who are usually older than me.  The purple flower in the upper right is adhered to a strip of acetate from a box that held some dies.



Here you can see the floating flower a bit better.  All stamps and paper are from the days The Angel Company was in business.  This card does have a bit of southwest flavor I think.

Ok, now that you're at the end of my post I'd love to hear from you then please pop over to the Stamping Ground to view up to 100 of us who participate in this hop.  Be prepared to spend some time!  I often end up coming back tomorrow and occasionally on Friday to look around.  Thanks for spending some time with me!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Grey Skies

I didn't get any stamping or crafting done this weekend as we have friends from Minnesota staying at a RV part just a few miles away and we've been enjoying visiting with them.  So my post today is a bunch late but I did get a card made just a bit ago and just got the photos uploaded to Blogger.


I have had this set from A|Muse Studios for quite some time and am just now getting around to using it!  Bad me! The set is called "Silver Lining" but I believe it is discontinued. I used the Fiskars "Bubbles" border punch as it was the closest one I have to fit the theme of the card.


It came with the cloud dies to match cloud stamps but I like the cut-outs using a grey paper behind.  I did trim the grey and blue card stocks so the edges are all equal in layering.  I won some blue Dew Drops last spring and love how they look like rain drops.

So, now off to start a couple projects for a December class!  I'll post them when they're completed. Hope your skies are cheery!

Friday, November 7, 2014

A Birthday Scene

Today is my hubby's birthday and I finally got his card made.  I'll give it to him tonight when we celebrate this occasion at the Texas Roadhouse in Tucson, AZ.  I used a new stamp set that I purchased last weekend at the Mesa stamp convention made by Our Daily Bread Designs called "Keep Climbing."


I was intending to purchase a different set using an anchor but this set spoke to me since I used to live near the Rocky Mountains in northwest Wyoming.


The detail is fabulous!  And I love the Bald Eagle!  The birthday text comes from a stamp set by A|Muse Studios as it fit the tag so perfectly! 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Desks, Sunflowers and Chicken Wire

Hump day again???  Seems like it comes more than once a week or else the weeks are just flying by!  At my age it's definitely the latter.  But I do enjoy the opportunity to blog hop to different desks all over the world through our head desker, Julia, at the Stamping Ground.  Please pop over to her blog when you finish here and check out oodles of desks!  I love the great inspiration and fun projects I see.


My desk has been busy.  I went to a stamp convention in Mesa, AZ this past Saturday and enjoyed looking at all the fun stuff!  If you're interested in seeing what I purchased just check out my last post.  But anyway, you can see a couple things here and I did get a card made using a new stamp set and matching die by Heartfelt Creations.  There is a flower I made center front using the Flower Punch Board.  I used some scraps just to get used to the board and hope to make a bouquet soon.


The chicken wire was made using a die by Cheery Lynn Designs and I used silver metallic card stock.  The flowers were colored with assorted inks using sponges and my Brushstix. (I did find this site to give you an idea of what I used.)  I shaped them using a stylus on a thick piece of foam. Oh, the "Smile" is from a stamp set by A|Muse Studios. Before cutting the chicken wire I used a piece of Stick It to the back of the metallic card stock before die cutting and it really helped in adhering every bit of the wire to my green card stock. (I even know Ken Oliver personally and have taken classes from him.  He's a sweet and very talented guy.)


I kinda followed a You Tube on the Heartfelt Creations site to color and shape the flowers. I also colored the centers of the flowers with my clear Wink of Stella brush but that doesn't seem to be showing even with this close up.  Sunflowers are my most favorite flowers and I hope to grow some this next spring.

This card also qualifies for Red Rubber Inspirational's Fall Foliage challenge since sunflowers are considered a "fall" flower, at least to me.  You can check out that fun challenge, too!

Ok, now that you're at the end of my post please remember to check out the Stamping Ground for more desks and projects.  Enjoy!



Monday, November 3, 2014

Mesa Rubber Stamp Convention

This past Saturday I received 2 free tickets to the stamp convention in Mesa, AZ.  I, along with 2 friends, headed up and enjoyed a few hours of looking and shopping with hundreds of likewise minded stampers.  I took about $180 and spent about $130 of it.  I loved the products from Heartfelt Creations and Our Daily Bread Designs but also enjoyed K Kreations, The Stamp Doctor, and Scrap-Art.


I mostly purchased dies but got some stamps and paper, too.  Here's my purchases.  I'm hoping tomorrow maybe this afternoon to start playing.  I can use all but the paper and the mountain scene text for classes.  Was great fun and I was totally exhausted when I got home.  Now, off to play!