Cut-Ups - Seventh Installment
Topic: Multi-Technique

In a gift of card supplies I got a sheet of text stickers. I used some of these to decorate some of the 6x6 cutup cards.

 

 

 

 

 

Now THOSE are some simple cards.

Ddd

 

Cut-Ups - Sixth Installent
Topic: Multi-Technique

For this installment of 6x6 cutups I used tissue tape (washi tape, paper tape) on my cards. I don't have a lot of this and I'm not fond of it being SO removable. For this reason I always make sure I wrap it to the back before adhering a unit to a card.

This one uses an opaque tape with number markings. I also added some wooden flowers.

 

For this card I added a single strip of translucent tape that echoes the butterflies in the lower papers.

And, finally I used a wrap of several strips of text-printed translucent tape on this one. I also added three double-layered silk flowers adhered with grey brads.

LOVE this color combination!

Ddd

 

 

 

Cup-Ups - Fifth Installment
Topic: Multi-Technique

After that little graduation break I'm back with more from the 6x6 cutup sessions.

This one features a standard sticker.

I added some punched butterflies to cover part of the text on the sticker.

Ddd

 

Thanks Mom
Topic: Multi-Technique

I had an opportunity to make a card for a young lady graduate to give her Mom as a thank you. The only request was that it be 'fancy'.

Unlike most cards I do, I sketched out a plan before I started. The card base is a pink 5 x 7 fold. I trimmed off a portion of the right front panel for mounting the flagged text. A white front panel was run through a heart embossing folder. White cardstock with text printed was cut out with butterfly dies, tinted with 'spun sugar' Distress Ink and mounted with the wings up on foam tape.

I tied sheer white ribbon top to bottom with a bow. A row of rhinestone trim graces the cut edge of the front. I finished off with lots of 'dew drops' in pink tinted hearts.

When open there is a printed white panel on the inside and another row of rhinestone trim.

I used a scallop border punch on the bottom edge.

Ddd

 

Cut-ups - Fourth Installment
Topic: Multi-Technique

Only one card to show today as I only used one vellum sticker.

This was mounted on cardstock matching the bordering materials and popped up on foam tape.

A clear sticker of text was added over the top of it.

Ddd

 

Cut-Ups - Third Installment
Topic: Multi-Technique

For day three of the 6x6 page cutups I'm featuring cards that use clear text stickers.

 

This sticker has a little color to it - unusual for a clear sticker.

 

this one is just your everyday clear sticker

This is a similar sticker but I mounted it to cardstock that matches the bordering materials

I didn't make as many with these supplies.

Ddd

 

 

 

 

Cut-Ups - Second Installment
Topic: Multi-Technique

Continuing with the 6x6 pads cutups... This set got puffy stickers from a sheet I got in a supplies gift package.

Love the shapes of these sticker:

Nice colors in these stickers, too

You don't find stickers like this every day

 

I mounted this sticker on backing to match the borders around the papers

Nice script on the text - the peacock printed on the paper is neat, too

 

Odd sticker, but the color worked

 

Little gold nail head stickers fill the holes to look like brads

 

I combined an additional clear sticker and a couple of alpha stickers for this one

 

And that wraps up another day.

Ddd

 

 

 

Cut-Ups - First Installment
Topic: Multi-Technique

I was inspired by the OWH blog to try using up a lot of my 6x6 papers at once by doing marathon cutting/matching sessions. Here is my process:

-- take a stack of 6x6 scrapbook cardstock

-- cut off a 3 3/4" chunk from one side (my cards are 1/4" smaller than an A2)

-- trim strip off bottom to leave 5 1/8" on the big chunk

-- separate into piles by size

-- when whole stack is cut up, pull one from each stack to create a harmonious grouping

-- do this to the whole pile of cutups

-- for each grouping select a sheet of plain color cardstock for bordering

-- cut a backing piece 5 1/4" x 4", mount largest piece of printed cardstock on it.

-- shuffle around other two pieces to get a pleasing arrangement, trimming as desired.

-- cut and adhere backing pieces for each of these

-- lay out card parts like they might be on finished card and spread on a large surface (do the whole stack)

-- pull out stickers, embellishments, stamps, trims, etc. and select something to use as decoration for each card front.

-- adhere smaller pieces to main piece using strong adhesive or foam tape

-- attach embellishments

-- adhere to a folded card base

 

So... having done that whole process over the course of 3 days I ended up with 42 finished cards! I grouped them by the style of embellishment used and photographed them by these groups for sharing.

Today's share is those decorated by a stamped sentiment:

This one actually got the third piece of patterned paper dropped. I did a little creative cutting on a backing piece and punched circles of the flower grouped paper. Each of the three flowers got a center of Stickles. The sentiment is stamped on a 'journaling' tag I was given in a swap.

I used a border punch on one piece of the patterned paper as well as its backing color and offset them. The text is stamped directly onto the patterned paper.

This piece also got one strip of patterned paper dropped in favor of a stamped and colored image of cats that I got in a swap.

So this is the way the project started. More to come!

Ddd

2012 Wrapup
Topic: Multi-Technique

It was too hard to choose only 12 projects to wrap up the year so I chose more. Hey, it's MY blog - I can do what I want... In fact, some of these are just representative of a larger pool of projects that I did this year.

So, with a retrospective of my favorite projects from 2012....

First is this Fantastic Folds card I dreamed up. It uses a stamp of a heart which is done in both green and red. When folded the card front shows a shamrock and the word 'lucky'. When extended (photo) it shows a field of heart flowers and says 'lucky in love'. I was so proud when the vision in my head worked exactly like I dreamed it!

Next is this ballet dancer stitching pattern I designed for my granddaughter's ballet recital. I stitched her with shimmery threads on black and gave her a piano keyboard stage.

Another stitching pattern I designed this year is the poinsettia. This was based on a sketch of an entirely different type of project and I picked it out of my sketchbook several months later.

I had this idea of making birch trees by scraping with the side of an inkpad through masked stripes on cardstock. Success! I used marker ink as watercolors to paint the scenery in the background.

This new stamp I picked up lends itself perfectly to watercoloring. I just love it and made a stack of these cards in one sitting.

I used small wooden lighthouse birdhouses as a base for some patriotic papers to create some summer home decor.

I did quite a few cards using a waxed paper technique that runs them through the Cuttlebug for embossing and ironing the pattern onto cardstock as an ink resist. This one using the gears folder and stamping with clock faces is one of my favorites.

When I took the online class on Stretching Your Stamps I made use of another of the waxed paper backgrounds to feature sentiment stamps. The assignment was to use text as a background.

 

This card that uses alphabet stamps was another one done for the online class. I made several versions of this text layout, but this one with the banners is my favorite.

I like projects that combine my interests and this technique of double embossing to create the look of a quilt was right up my alley.

I did a lot more stamping this year and learned to work with alcohol markers. I combine brands (mostly Copic and Bic Mark-It) to get the colors I want. This use on shimmer cardstock really came out well.

 

As a challenge to use a LOT of masking in rubber stamping to create a scene, I also combined it with watercoloring. Yummy!

One of the blogs I follow does a lot of sponging of colored panels and combining them with stamping. This was one I tried in that style for fall.

On that same blog she showed how to create a snowy scene with embossing and a slight shifting of the stamped image. Love this effect!

This quilt is just a representation of many I made this year. I chose this one because it combines many of the ways that I grew this year in quilting: original designs, modern quilting, making donation quilts, advanced free-motion quilting.

 

That's certainly not ALL my favorites, but they do represent the growth I have experienced in the arts this year through following other blogs, taking classes, lots of practice, letting my imagination take the lead, and making myself accountable to posting some artistic endeavor every single day.

This year I have played in 48 challenges, participated 60 swaps, sent 550 cards to Operation Write Home, was one of the stops on a blog hop for World Card Making Day, made 16 quilts, grew a larger garden than usual, took one online class, won several online contests with my cards, created some awesome art on my fingernails (!), made some jewelry, made some home decor items, did a lot of bulk baking, and set up a new quilt studio.

The only thing I did not do this year that I wished I had was to enter projects in the County Fair. I guess that's a new goal for 2013!

Ddd

All the Pretty Tags
Topic: Multi-Technique

The commonality between all of this batch of cards is that they use printed decorative tags as their focal feature.

For the first I pulled out a background I've had for a long time - a glossy cardstock stmped with Versamark and brayered with multiple colors. I tore some printed scrapbook paper for the left edge and then added a matching tag to the right side. On top of this I layered a square 'sample' from the packaging of some scrapbook paper (save everything!). Then I placed a cameo from a jewelry catalog as a feature. Multiple stampings of text from one of the Hero Arts sets and a ribbon are the finishing touch.

For this next one I started with an embossed white background and carefully colored in the raised elements with markers. I backed it with a green mat and added the same mat to the chosen tag. On the tag I stamped with oen of the Hero Arts stamps from the OWH sets and added the stamped solid hearts. When they did NOT stamp solidly I filled in with markers and it gives them a 3D look. Cool! I stamped the 'love text' heart on blue scrapbook paper and layered it over a white mat. This is popped up on foam tape.

I love this little bear I cut from the clip-art section of an arts book. The only disappointing thing is the face is so dark and then they did not color the hands so the head really stands out a bit too much. Oh well, it is what it is. I chose a lacy tag to back it and then used a razor blade to scrape some of the edges to remove printing and give it a shabby-chic feel. For the background I pulled out a patchy pastel with overall text script. The Hero Arts stamp set had this cute house and I used it to stamp over the whole background. The text and hearts on the banner are from the set as well.

This one has a totally different look. Dark tones are the main difference and bandinge every element i black is a part of this. I chose a couple of butterflies in different materials (one tatted and one punched) and different colors. The yellow is then echoed in the text banner and base card. The white is echoed in the heart border. Then I echoed the pink heart with the tag ribbon and glitter inside the white butterfly. The stamp set used for this one is NOT the Hero Arts.

4 tags - 4 looks.

Ddd

Four The Birds
Topic: Multi-Technique

A long time ago on a blog far-far away I collected some free pages of hand-painted birds and printed them out for later use. Later finally came.

I cut out the individual birds and matched them up based upon their coloring. First up were two that had a base rose coloring. I pulled out a background I had created by spraying doilies with Glimmer Mists. I had laid them on the same spot on cardstock to spray them with different colors. Rather than treat it as scrap I saved it to use. Glad I did. For the birds to stand upon I tore a piece of green patterned paper and created a branch of it. One strip of tissue tape and a few silver peel-off stickers bring it all together.

Next I used a little blue-colored bird. I echoed the black in the bird with black bordering on the other elements. The background for this one is from a commercial thank-you note I had received. Love the coloring of this. The center oval is from table scraps and I used a Nestability die to cut the scalloped backing for it. This is all raised up on foam tape and I added a black peel-off sentiment.

Finally, I had two of these golden birds. I treated them essentially the same with lavender card bases, embossed backgrounds, a printed tag, and diecut hearts. This first one only had a bit of ribbon and a rubon text.

The final one got a table scrap diecut popped up on foam with a rubon text. Then I added torn tissue tape borders to the top and bottom.

Ddd

 

Dots and Scallops and Pearls, Oh My!
Topic: Multi-Technique

I picked up some bits and bobs from the scraps pile and started layering and combining based on color palettes. I pulled out multiple colors of my favorite cardstock with raised dots to back them and created two cards.

First up is this square card. I had gotten the punched flower from a friend when she sent a card to me. The heart image was clip art from a book and I trimmed with a craft knife leaving a narrow border. The leaves of the flower were glued flush to the heart while the bloom has foam tape behine. This was all layered onto increasingly large blocks of the dotted cardstock in colors to match the images. As a final step I used Liquid Pearls in yellow on the stamens of the flower and the lacy scallops of the heart.

For the second card I started with a blue dotted cardstock and created a tall card base. I had on hand the peachy circles, snowflake dots, and the lacy strip of Color Me border. I cut a couple of additional borders with a scallop punch and layered all of these together. The two circle layers are held together with blue brads. I added Liquid Pearls to the Color Me border and Stickles to the snowflakes. As a final step I punched a large scallop border on the right edge of the card base and backed it with a white strip.

No greetings oneither of these leaves them open to being sent on any occasion.

Ddd

 

 

 

2011 Year End Wrapup
Topic: Multi-Technique

I noticed on lots of the blogs I follow that people are offering a year-in-review highlighting their favorite projects of the year. Thought I'd do the same and, WOW, is it hard! First I came up with a list of favorites that was way too long and then started paring it down. I even solicited help from family but finally ended up doing the last cuts by myself. It's like saying one of your kids are not among your favorites!

So I finally ended up with the top ten, plus a bonus! I couldn't cut one more! LOL!

In no particular order:

PROJECT 1: I like this one for the combination of techniques used to construct it. I used alcohol inks to color transparency, layered it over stamping on pink paper with multiple images of cherries, placed under a jar-shaped aperture, added a scored gold jar lid and a blue ribbon of fabric, and stamped a text label.

PROJECT 2: This card features atechnique using a scoring mat to create 'tiles'. I scored white cardstock, stamped with flowers and butterfies in blue, colored with more blue, and used blue distress ink on the background. I embellished with an embossed and diecut butterfly and a stamped diecut.

PROJECT 3: I  created these sheep from embossed diecut scallops after sketching a slide illustration at church (yes, I sketch all over my church bulletin). They were one of those things that came out exactly as I envisioned (love it when that happens). Used diecut letters for the text.

PROJECT 4: I have admired watercolor quilts for many years and even made a faux one with 1-inch squares of wallpaper from a sample book (many years ago). However, this project was when I was very new to quilting and used a grid-marked press on interfacing. One cuts the fabrics to 2-inch squares and lay them out on the grid and press. Then the whole thing is folded on the grids and stitched with 1/4-inch seams. Voila! I also learned to do stippling for the quilting on this one which won a red second-place ribbon later in the year.

PROJECT 5: I love this technique that creates a shaft of sunlight effect. Stamp the image, mask the light shaft, apply blue ink to the corners, color the image in the light area. The black borders and bright colors in the framing really enhance the effect.

PROJECT 6: This effect is created by stamping on the inside of an embossing folded before impressing the image. I used distress ink to showcase the embossing. The rest is just layering and stamping a greeting.

PROJECT 7: A test of my drawing skills. This started with a plain piece of paper with a denim print on it. I used markers to draw all the jeans details and cut a slit for the pocket opening. The rivets are brads and the belt label is a sticker. Printed paper mounted behind gives a nice lining to the pocket which was used to hold a gift card.

PROJECT 8: Ooooh, how I love this one! A stamp with dogwood blossoms was stamped repeatedly around the edge and colored with markers. I used multiple sizes of a Nestabilities die to cut and emboss the aperture and stamped inset. All layers/pieces were distressed with 'old paper' ink.

PROJECT 9: This necklace is made up of 1/4-inch squares of actual fabric adhered to a backing fabric with Steam-a-Seam2 and enhanced with threads in the 'ditch'. It is sandwiched between 2 pieces of microscope glass and bound with foil tape.

PROJECT 10: This project shows my best work on Copic coloring. I used an image from a swap and colored her to match the stitched background.

BONUS PROJECT: And here is the bonus project. I reprised my paper teapot making with 'one more for a friend' (the original won a blue ribbon at the County fair in the fall). I designed a cup to go along with the teapot. The color is off, but this is purple (her favorite color) and includes a rose (her favorite flower). The teapot (she collects them) features a rose-shaped button on the top for a knob on the lid.

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Happy New Year!

Ddd

 

CHRISTMAS CARDS - Bringing Home the Tree
Topic: Multi-Technique

Two layouts with the same papers - one plain and one with an over-all jingle bell pattern. I decided to treat them all the same and combined a rub-on greeting, a stamped image and a clear sticker.

The stamp is from a Tim Holtz set, stamped on a cream cardstock and rounded on two corners. This was one of those 'middle of the night visions'.

Ddd

CHRISTMAS CARDS - Seeing Red
Topic: Multi-Technique

These cards all use two of three coordinating papers. I had some large bells with glitter, some overall jingle bell print, and snowflakes with glitter.

This first set uses both bell prints. I stamped an old car image from a Tim Holtz set onto cream colored print paper and rounded two corners. Then I plopped a clear tree sticker on the roof and drew in a trunk on each tree.

Three more using both bell prints got stamped vellum greetings trimmed out with gold peel-off stickers of bells and holly.

The last two with both bell prints got a sash of gold-on-gold text print and a mini-tag sticker with a tiny snippet of ribbon. I gave the tags a clear sticker greeting.

Then I switched to a combination of the large bell print and the snowflakes. These two cards use a larger tag sticker with a folded ribbon snippet and a clear sticker greeting.

And finally, two more with the large bells and showflake papers. I only had one each of these embellishments to the cards are handled entirely differently.  I did start with a vertical band of green cardstock for both. On the left is a panel with rounded corners cut from an old card. It is popped up on foam tape. For the carousel horse sticker I first border-punched the green strip and added a clear sticker greeting.

Ddd

CHRISTMAS CARDS - Pinecone Paper
Topic: Multi-Technique

Four cards with the same two printed cardstocks and folded bases are all decorated differently.

These two use stickers of trees that are inhanced with gold glitter. The dark trees are clear stickers with glitter orbs. The white trees are glossy stickers with Stickles on the dots. The rhinestones came on the top of these trees.

The next card is decorated with a stained glass window cut from an old card. There was a smaller version as well so I added that on top. The greeting is a clear sticker. For the 4th card I used some vellum stickers of holly and pinecones.

I added a clear sticker greeting after the photo was taken.

Ddd

CHRISTMAS CARDS - In the Pink
Topic: Multi-Technique

I had several papers that were predominantly pink and combined them in a variety of configurations while keeping the folded base cards all pink.

These first three all use a holly print and a village and I added a strip of multi-patterned stripe crosswise. On the first card I cut a night sky scene from an old card to place Santa above the village. This is popped up on foam tape and I added a clear sticker greeting.

On the next one I added a piece of the musical tissue tape and a color clip-art of Santa with kids. The lower greeting is a clear sticker. Then for the last one I added two strips of tissue tape and a 3D sticker wreath. There is a clear sticker greeting to the right of the wreath.

With a different paper combination (kept the holly and added a dark swirl paper) I cut out an image from the page-a-day calendar and backed it with a shimmery paper matching the blue in thepapers. This was popped up on foam tape and a clear sticker greeting was added. Then for the second card I cut an image from an old card, popped it up on foam tape and added Stickles glitter to the wings and tail fo the dove. The greeting on the lower right is a clear sticker.

For the next set I kept the dark swirl paper and added an ornament print. The ornament on the first card is from the page-a-day calendar and is mounted on foam tape over the backing square. I used a thin gold border sticker to create a hanging thread. The other card has two irridescent angel stickers and a clear sticker greeting.

Lastly I went back to the holly paper and added some winter children. I border punched a strip of matching turquoise and applied foil print clear stickers of ornaments down the length. I drew in strings for them with a fine-line marker. The second card is made up of snippets of three of the patterned papers. They were offset on a green dotted background paper and separated by strips of gold border sticker. I embellished it with a 3D wreath sticker to which I added red Stickles.

Ddd

Many Mini Quilts
Topic: Multi-Technique

So I was quilting the other day. Actually I had designed a quilted wall hanging and had to work out the assembly as I was going along. I must have been more absorbed in it than I realized because I ended up dreaming up other quilting projects in my sleep.

But the projects I dreamed about were not quilted and they were extremely tiny. In fact, they were made up of 1/4 inch squares of fabric. Some of these squares were even to be cut in two to make itty-bitty triangle pieces. As many of my 'dreamed up' projects do, these worked out exactly like I envisioned. Here are the three projects I ended up with:

A necklace: squares of fabric were backed with Steam-a-Seam 2 then cut into 1/4 inch squares. These were laid out on a backing fabric along with those that needed to be cut into triangles plus a stem piece. They were ironed into place and a brown thread was used to stitch a grid where a real quilt would have had seams. I used more Steam-a-Seam 2 to adhere a backing fabric and trimmed the block down to 1 1/4 inches. This was sandwiched between two pieces of microscope slide glass and the edges sealed with silver foil tape. I adhered a bail with E6000 glue and added a rhinestone on the back of the bail.

 

A Pin: I used the same technique to adhere the fabrics but started with 1/4 inch strips of color and arranged them in a reversing pattern. Then I turned the block 1/4 turn and cut strips of varying widths. These were arranged from the center out using equal widths on each side and moving them up or down one color block to create a baragello design. I covered the back of a Tim Holtz 2-inch fragment with Glossy Accents and pressed it onto the fabric. When the glue was dry I cut around the piece, attached a silver cardstock to the back and bound the entire thing with silver foil tape. I used E6000 glue to attach a pin back.

A Card: For the last one I just played with strips and tiny blocks to create a fabric block. I created a backing by gluing fabric to a square of cardstock and attached the quilt block to it. This was popped up on foam tape on a scrapbook paper over a folded card base. A sticker text greeting was the finishing touch.

Now back to quilting in real size.

Ddd

 

At the Fair
Topic: Multi-Technique

Opening day at the fair yesterday and I came away with awards on 13 of the 15 items I entered! The only two things I did not place with were a pen and ink drawing and my newest quilt. Considering that I have been quilting less than a year I am not surprised on that front.

I did get a second place in the wall hangings division and that was quilted.

I got a first place on my beaded bracelet.

The rest of the winners were all in paper crafts. I got a first place with my paper teapot.

The remainder of these are in the rubber stamping division.

This birthday card got a first place.

My Christmas card got a third place ribbon.

I also got a third place on this embossed stamping.

This embellished card took fifth place.

Also a fifth place on this general 'greeting card' (ignore the neighbor's red ribbon laying on top of it).

The card I made with my hand carved stamps (along with the stamps themselves) won a first place.

This 3D card won a first place.

Also a first place for this watercolored card.

Another first place for this stamping with string art.

And, finally, a fourth place for this card in the 'other' category (doesn't meet the definition for any of the other categories).

WOW! I feel like I won the lottery! This was so much fun I will definitely enter again.

Ddd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circle of Roses
Topic: Multi-Technique

I started this card by stitching the pink circle. However, the 3D foil roses looked too plain in the center so I picked up a lacy medallion. Then I picke dup another one. Then I cut green backing for both of them. Then I distressed them with pink ink.

Layer...layer...layer. Glue...glue...glue. Foam tape...foam tape...foam tape. DONE...DONE...DONE!

Ddd