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I had more of these kits left than any other. I sat down and made 16 bracelets in one day. These are the 'Christ's Story' bracelet and will be boxed along with a card that tells the story with the beads.
I used to have al lot more of these leftover kits. Then my darling grandkids came to visit this summer and we used up 5 of them. So this week I finished up the last 3.
Next in my kit-finishing spree I make up these 11 stitched pamphlets. They are designed after a card I was taught and I added a fancy liner paper and more pages. There is a metallic card insert in the folded point and it tucks into a double slit in the square cover.
Well, this isn't REALLY backlog. Let me explain. I cleaned my studio and pulled out all the unused kits leftover from all the classes and workshops I had done. I decided, instead of re-storing them, to just make them all up and THEN put them aside together. Then when a bazaar table opens up, a donation is needed, or I want a quick gift - I'll be ready!
The first to be done were the stitched and beaded Christmas cards I finished on my vacation.
Next up were these 11 kitchen angels made of a hand towel, a dish cloth, a pot holder, ribbon, chenille wire, and rubber bands. I have 6 Fall and 5 Christmas designs.
This bedding set named Sally Blue is from Egyptian Peddler and I was drawn to the combination of this unusual blue and a buttery yellow in stripes and brocade.
I started with a scrapbook paper in two tones of yellow and placed strips of Eclipse paper over the stripes as a resist. Then I lightly brayered over the paper with Starry Starry Night (Whisper Ink Pad). I used the same to stamp diagonal stripes of decorative pattern. Then I used a scrolly larger stamp to create more decoration. Peeling off the Eclipse paper left me with this patterned paper. Neat huh?
I used it to wrap the inside and outside front of a base card and then turned back one corner to mimic a bedding coverlet. The stripes on the inside are rub-on stitching, the heart is a sticker and the three text blocks are Tim Holtz Adage Tickets on which I penned in a second line.
Ddd
More from the clipping file, I cut this illustration down close to these three fish. I think the speckled background brings to mind the fish coloring and the sandy bottom of their streams. After I put on the text sticker the background was too light so I used a sponge to add color from a Butterscotch Adriondack ink pad. I colored it around all the edges of all the panels and a little bit on the fish as well.
This print from a magazine was an ad for paper and how well it could be printed on. I tore it out and backed it with a torn strip of music. Three metal musical notes and a metal plaque reading 'peace' are glued on before I placed gold peel-off corners and a Christmas greeting.
This scrapbook paper with whimsical little clouds makes a perfect backdrop for this trio of birds that were taken from a week-at-a-glance calendar. I mounted them on a folded card base of linen textured cardstock. Up the left side are two rows of 'stitching' which is actually rubons!
Of course, I added a text sticker, also.
Ddd
Sunflowers from my file of clippings are matted with yellow cardstock and crackle-printed scrapbook paper. The cardstock base is made from the same yellow and the text is a sticker.
I saw these cute snowmen made from candles on the Michaels website videos. They are just eyelets pressed into the wax and a ribbon tied around for a scarf. When they used the taller pillars they pressed big brads in for buttons below the scarf.
For today's inspiration piece I chose this screen from images.smarter.com. I was drawn to the Asian branches, the graphic colors, and the marching rows of panels.
I started with sheets of mini-labels, taping several together to make 9 columns. I stamped the branches on them with 'Weathered Wood" Distress Ink from Ranger. The full branch was stamped twice and just the top half twice again. I used Sharpie marker in red to color the flowers and a warm grey watercolor marker for the branches. I laid removable tape over sections of 3 columns and peeled them off their backing. Then they were attached to black paper and the tape removed. This keeps the labels aligned properly. The three panels were then attached to the front of a white card and the feet cut from just the front layer.
The two stickers reading "Simple Delight" were applied to the front.
Ddd
This week I put up a display of some of my handmade books in the case at the library I manage. I included our instruction books on the topic on the table below for those who get inspired and want to have a go at it!
From left to right top shelf: Star Book, Japanese Stab Binding, Post Bound, Flag Book, and Stitched Pamphlet
Shelf two: Wire Binding, Case Binding, Ribbon Tied, Japanese Stab Binding, and Interlocking Accordion
Shelf three: Case Binding Over Comb, Swiveling Rivet, Accordion Book, Dos a Dos, Accordion, and Case Binding.
Ddd
I have just realized I have been remiss in not posting the beautiful cards handmade for my birthday by my Internet friends! SO LATE am I that I must admit my birthday was TWO MONTHS AGO!
Sorry to all these lovely ladies:
Astrid
Bev
Carla
Mary
Nancy 
Kim 
Laurie 
Thelma
Winnie
So again, many thanks for these lovely cards.
Ddd
Inspiration today comes from this Bed In A Bag set. I decided to mimic the colors, swirls, trims and even the general layout!
The same marker was used to color in a vine stape which was applied along the top edge after folding the deep yellow cardstock and trimming to fit the burgundy piece. Scraps of that trimming were used to stamp the text and a round punch finished the ends.
Ddd
This is another inspiration piece. The bathroom set is called LAUREN and is from YourBedroomSource.
A couple of curly clips mimic the swirls on the inspiration piece and added a 'dream' text metallic piece with foam tape.
Ddd
This card literally came to me in a dream! I used Butterscotch Adriondack ink to stamp my handcarved roses onto cream cardstock. I used a lot of masking to make a small circle of blooms, a large circle of blooms and one single large bloom.
I used a water brush over the stamping to pull yellow into the petals and a bit of green for the stamped hips on the buds. A warm grey marker was used to create shadows for what would be the under layers when the flowers were stacked. This grey was blended using the watercolor brush.
I used foam tape to separate the layers. Beaded line, silk leaves and plastic grasses (used as stems) were glued in and a bow tied on the stems.
The whole bouquet was mounted on irridescent dark-green cardstock using foam tape. Finally, a tag was mounted with foam tape and a gold peel-off greeting attached.
Ddd
This bunch of flowers was a full-page ad in a travel brochure that was in my mail this week. However, it originally was a group of three connected flowers plus a single face-on and a single side view. I cut them out of their leafy background and used foam tape to arrange them at three levels. The background is irridescent dark green cardstock on which I glued 'grasses' cut of dark green paper. The back flower is directly on the cardstock level, the triple group at one layer of foam tape and the front flower at two layers of foam tape.
The text is a texturized sticker.
Ddd
Does it seem I have a never-ending supply of pictures from magazines? Well, I go to the magazine sale at the library every year and buy up art, travel, photography, history, and graphics magazines and cut out anything that strikes my fancy. These I file - some by color some by theme - and then use them for cards, collage, and such.
So, here we are again with a photo from one of those magazines. This seafaring scene has been backed with a light cardstock and an ocean map then darkened with Ranger Distress inks. I mounted on a blue folded card base and added a fabric text sticker with the heads of brads on each end.
While I was searching for the right brads I found a clock face and it fit perfectly over the clock on the desk!
Ddd
I had a recent 7-day cruise and took along some relaxing pastimes. Besides reading 3 novels and a book of non-fiction, I stitched up 24 beaded embroidery Christmas cards.
Two days before we left I taught a class at church on how to make these two cards. I took all the leftover kits with me and finished all of them!
Now I'm that much more ahead of the holidays!
Ddd
The mottled background was made so long ago I can't remember how I did it and couldn't reproduce it anymore. This is the last piece I have of it, too!
I thought it looked good with this string of birds which is a magazine reproduction of a painting. I cut the illustration out with it's printed framing. The picture and background are mounted on burgundy cardstock and the text is added using rub-ons from a 'travel' set.
The white corners were drawn in with white gel pen.
Ddd
