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I hope you will agree that this qualifies as Elegant! I stitched the corners through stickers and added a 3D floral arrangement in the center. The dotted background is scrapbook paper.
Distressing is not something I do very often in my artwork. But it is on my assigned list so...
This lady is a 3D sheet although I did not cut it as assigned. The background is from the same set and came with the fan affixed. I used an Adriondack inkpad direct-to-paper to distress the edges before mounting on a scrapbook paper with a crackle finish.
It is just coincidence that C is for Christmas as well as for Corrugated! I didn't plan to start making Christmas cards this early! I had the red corrugated cardstock and when I went through my supplies I found several premade 3D tags and embellishments that someone gave me. They happened to be related to Christmas, so this is where I ended up.
To this one I added some epoxy stickers for a finishing touch.
I had fun making this fireplace to hang my tag with stocking. I scored the corrugated stock to give the impression of bricks and finished with peel-off gifts on the mantle and the greeting.
A panel of corrugated stock was torn to make a top and bottom element. The three ornament stickers were hung from the upper block and a couple of bitty holly stickers frame the top. I used a fine-line watercolor marker to draw a broken border all around.
I chose 'buckle' for B but I didn't have a buckle! I made this one out of a label mount and some wire. I selected the ribbon because it was the only one I had in the size to fit the buckle!
I then designed a card to fit the colors of the ribbon. The dress is cut out of a printed scrapbook paper and the ribbon wrapped and attached (using silicon). I used watercolor markers to draw on a few styling details and added coordinating brads for buttons.
The completed piece is then glued to a text-printed scrapbook paper and then onto a card front. The final piece is the text sticker placed on the 'hemline'
The self-challenge is off and running! For the first-round A entry I chose 'applique'.
This piece is overall about 9.5 inches square. I began with 4 scrapbook papers in plaids resembling fabrics and cut two hearts out of each using my Coluzzle. These I arranged in a circle on a sheet of scrapbook paper with a quilted fabric print. In the center I arranged a triangle of each print, overlapping as needed.
I used a white gel pen to create 'stitches' on each patch, with a different stitch for each color.
I cut the piece down to a square and mounted on sturdy cardboard. I cut an aperture in a final pattern of paper and adhered it overlapping the outside edges of the square. I used a purple gel pen to mark out stitching around this binding.
This piece was then wrapped to the back using a bookbinding corner process. A final piece was cut to 'line' the back of the panel.
The final step was to install eyelets at the two corners and tie on a length of green plaid ribbon for hanging.
I received a lot of cards this season from online friends. Some were mailed from overseas and may yet still arrive so this entry will be updated to include those as time goes by.
Added 1/10/08:
Gerda
As of 12/30/07:
Bev
Claudette
Dutch Girls
Idabelle
Leanne
Lin
Maggie
Nancy
Sheena
I have a plan to challenge myself in the new year by working with assigned themes and techniques. I had my hubby help me brainstorm to come up with 7 words for each letter of the alphabet. I will work from these in letter order. On the first round I can select any of the words from letter A the first day, B the second, etc. In each successive round I will have fewer choices to work with (but more time to think about them!) It will take me to the middle of July (half-a-year) to finish my challenge.
Here is the list I will work from.
A
Antique, appliqué, aperture, adventure, acetate, alcohol ink, alphabet
B
Boxes, buckle, buttons, bones, bandana, bow, beedz
C
Crucifix, cornucopia, corrugated, camel, candy wrappers, caramel, crayon
D
Dragonflies, dangle, dogs, date, dawn, die cuts, distressing
E
Elegant, eagle, endearing, egg, envelope, ephemera, eyelet
F
Fabric, fabulous, fruit, fifties, fibers, foiling, frames
G
Gift-wrap, giant, gold, glitter, games, gel, grunge
H
Holes, holy, honey, hero, herbs, husking, hand
I
Iris folding, icon, indigo, illness, Irish, iron, icicle
J
Jewelry, juicy, joy, jump rings, junk, joker, jamboree
K
Kids, king, knight, kisses, knife, knit, kismet
L
Lace, lettering, love, lips, luscious, lumpy, luminescent
M
Mask, magnet, motor, mountain, minutes, mesh, metal tape
N
Notions, neon, natural, needle, night, napkins, nuts
O
Ornament, oil, onyx, opal, oval, origami, one-stroke painting
P
Pen & ink, pop-up, polymer clay, photos, papermaking, pockets, paste paper
Q
Quilt, quarter, queen, quick, quill, quirky, q-tips
R
Rubber stamps, ribbon, road, round, rainbow, re-inkers, redline tape
S
Shrink plastic, slit, stencils, serendipity, salvage, shaving cream, slide mount
T
Tins, tea, tags, transfer, texture, tiles, tuxedo
U
Underwear, used, uvula, upper, umbrella, underwater, UTEE
V
Valentines, values, vote, variegated, vellum, Versamark, volume
W
Window, white, wiggle, winding, walnut ink, watches, wire
X
Xylene, x-ray, xylophone, xqzmwa, XOXOX, xerographic, xylography
Y
Year, yellow, Yankee, yacht, yarn, yearbook, yeast
Z
Zipper, zebras, zone, zig-zag, zen, zoo, zenith
The challenge starts January 1.
This is a tile from http://fred-she-said.blogspot.com/. I cut away successive parts to make a 3D medallion of it. Doesn't she do grand work?
I mounted on a scrapbook paper with the look of brushmarks and added a velum sticker scripture to it.
Ohh, I do love these dragonflies. You've seen them before.
This time I added some coordinating ribbon and buttons to finish off the corners.
The text on the ribbons are vellum stickers.
I was gifted with these sparkly strips of paper that are supposed to by used to make 'lucky stars' with origami...
...nah, I used them for paper weaving. They are irridescent and have roses faintly printed on them so I mounted yellow roses done up in 3D over the panel.
It is trimmed around with gold peel-offs that I used a green Sharpie on. It is all mounted on a speckled scrapbook paper.
My family filled my stocking with wonderful resources for a new year of art.
This book has the basics of making books in the first half and 12 book projects in the second. What a great resource for making artist books.
This box contains an art journal with already created backgrounds. There is a set of cards with creativitiy ideas for art journalizing.
WOW, 650 paper craft projects!. That's more than enough for a year of crafting.
Instructions for fifteen origami boxes (I only know how to make one of these now).
A Monopoly game for the scrapbooker. You design your own board with family photos!
Crafter's Heaven!
For Christmas Day I decided to share with you some of the decorations in my house. I'm not ALWAYS in the studio!
I have angels collected from various sets, gifts, bargains, and some handmade. I gathered some together for this display on the mantle over the fireplace.
A snow village made of plastic canvas was made for me by a friend in exchange for some artwork I made for her. I have some fake snow that I sometimes use but this year placed it with fun-foam snowflakes in a trio of colors and over a translucent plastic drape imprinted with icicles.
The third display starts out as just a chest with a white cloth and a christmas candle in a holder. As the season progresses each card received is added to the table. This sits just inside my front door so all visitors can see it.
And finally, the last set of Christmas cards made this season. These I share as my Christmas greeting to you.
And so, Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Gotcha! We are NOT talking 'food leftovers'!
The snowmen are cut from a length of wired-edge ribbon. The blue borders are torn from the inside lining of an envelope from last Christmas. They came with the silver foil snowflakes. I added three silver peel-off snowflakes to each.
A little Christmas cheer that celebrates our soldiers. This 3D is framed up by a sticker border from (and you've heard this before) a dollar store sticker sheet.
No matter how this is scanned or photographed the dark green background comes up as black. Take my word for it - it IS green!
The angels are a 3D sheet I printed off a website I found.
You truly don't get to see the effect of these 3D cards unless you are viewing them first-hand. The camera seems to flatten everything.
Sometimes simple can be beautiful! I printed this background paper from the Epson site over a year ago! I finally cut it down into 4 cards. This one only got a single text sticker added (from a Dollar store sheet).
Sorry about the camera flash glare. It washes out the sticker color.
I don't remember butterflies ever being used as a Christmas card element before, but this 3D illustration features three of them on a poinsettia wreath. OK, I'll go with it.
I printed in two different sizes and used a backing of striped scrapbook paper for the smaller one.
When we were first married (almost 34 years ago) there wasn't a lot of money for things like Christmas ornaments. So I strung popcorn and made cookies to hang on the tree and made some paper decorations. That first year I made the woven birds that I have instructions for on my website.
For several years I made an additional set of a different style of ornament every year. I stopped when my tree got too full! Over the years some have been lost to attrition (the blown eggs, for instance) and some just did not last at all (dough ornaments tend to MOLD in Oregon).
But I do still have most of them left. Here are some of the handmade ornaments off my Christmas tree:
These are styrofoam balls with 4 pieces of Christmas fabric attached using Mod-Podge. Fancy trim covers the seams and is held on with sewing pins. I made three different styles using different patterns of fabric.
Christmas light bulbs are given antlers with pipe cleaner, a nose of pom-pon and two google eyes. A thread is used for a hanger. All assembly is done with a heat gun.
For these I started with standard glass balls (red and green). On the surface of water in a plastic tub I sprayed acrylic paint, first white, then red, then gold. With a skewer I made patterns in the paint and then dipped the balls down into it and hung them to dry. I added ribbon bows to the top.
These very simple angels are made with a length of ribbon, a binder clip from the office supply store, and a pony bead. Easy-Peasy!
These musical scrolls are Christmas hymns reduced to fit on a 1/4 sheet of buff colored paper. Then I lightly sprayed with gold paint and curled the corners. Gold metallic cord is hot-glued to the back for hanging.
These are from the VERY early days! I don't have instructions for these anymore but they use 3 inch ribbon, pipe cleaner, a bead, tinsel and a bit of narrow ribbon.
This is probably the most recent set made. They are teabag folding using black and copper printed wrapping paper. I made the folds on both sides of the ornament so they are reversible. They hang with a loop of narrow black ribbon.
I seem have misplaced a box of ornaments as I cannot find my drums made from cut-down frozen juice cans, velvet ribbon, pony beads, toothpicks and gold spray paint. I can't remember what else is in that box besides the wreaths crocheted on milk jug rings that my mom made for me and some ornaments from swaps. Hmmmm.....
I had such fun putting these together. They are the same pattern as the blue and white from yesterday but look like a snowflake on top of a poinsettia!
The curly green background is part of the original design. I mounted on this tattered plaid paper and selected from the 4 provided coordinating greetings.
These mandallas were designed with multiple layers and are cut and mounted using silicone. After this I went around the edge of each element with fine glitter glue.
Don't they look smashing?
The cutting sheets come with a selection of four greetings in coordinating colors.
