Cards, Classes, Techniques and More....

  I am very behind in keeping up with my blog this week.  It has been a super busy week and although I have spent a lot of time in my craft room, much of it has been finishing up projects or working on doing some organizing.

   My most creative day was actually back on Tuesday, where I was in the monthly Card Club class at Absolutely Everything, my LSS.   The entire focus of this class focused on techniques and fun ways to create all kinds of "backgrounds" for your cards and/or journals.  Since much of the time in class was actually creating the background, we did not have any time to finish the cards, but I have now finished most of mine had have them now to share.

   These first two cards using a really new technique that I had never used or tried before.  The only thing you need, that you may not have, is a small craft iron (you can't use your home iron, because of the steam and holes in the bottom)...it's needs to be a non-steam flat bottom iron.   Luckily, they are not overly expensive and you can find them in most craft stores or online, the link above shows one I found on Amazon.

    The other items are basic items that most of you will have.  Wax Paper, Embossing folders and cardstock.   To start the process, allow your iron to be heating and be sure to use a heat craft mat or safe heat resistant space to iron use.    Pick a fun embossing folder any the most design, the more you'll see the effect.  Cut a piece of wax paper to fit inside the folder and run it through the Big Shot/Cuttlebug, to embossed the wax paper.  Then place the embossed waxed paper inside folded Standard A2 size card.  (We used white in class, but cream or very soft colors may work too).  Now, place the card in between two sheets of plain paper on your ironing area and iron both sides.   Oh about maybe 30 seconds on each side....flip it and be sure both sides are ironed....being careful not to burn your paper.  You are melting the wax onto the insides of your card.  Once you are done, cut the card into two pieces down the center.    It's really hard to see the wax, but it will be there.     Now you are ready to see the magic happen, and all you need to do is choose any color ink...pick you favorite, any types will work and you'll want to apply the ink directly from pad to the side of the piece that has the wax on it.  cover it fully with ink and you'll see the embossed design appear.  You can used multiple inks, depending on the look you want.  

   This first card, was created with one half of my wax paper embossed card stock.  I love the look and will be adding a craft iron to my stash, so I can do this more often.   It's how to see the detail in the photo, but it is there and looks very cool in person.

    This photo shows some more of the background that we created and you'll see that I used the same technique on the Blue Card, where it shows up even more.    All of these backgrounds were also made in the same class and each one was done differently, but are all very easy to re-create.  The top one with the clouds and birds in the trees, is actually two "Impression Obsession" Cover-A-Card Stamps.  I stamped the Cloud Stamp,with Peacock Distress Ink and then the Birds on Tree image was added on top in Black.  So easy and they look so nice together.  All of these will be turned into new cards, I simply have not had time to complete them.

    The next card features one of the new Hero Arts Background Stamps (Fly Away Newsprint),and this one, we simply stamped in Sepia Ink, directly onto a Cream Card base.  All the "sewing" elements, were then added to create this fun little vintage look 'sewing' card.   The large flower was created using two different dies...the larger pieces, were also stamped with background stamps to add color the to Kraft cardstock.  The smaller blue flower in the center, was cut from blue patterned paper.

   And next we have a two cards where we focused on using masks and some cute stamps from Memory Box.  We also used Glossy White cardstock for first card, which adds a nice look.   Unfortunately I was not steady enough, when I added my Sentiment, which kind of smudged.  At home, I used a Fiskars Stamp Press, which works out much better for me and keeps me from smudging my sentiments.

    My next card is the last in this series and is one I really love.   This technique was done quite easily by using another Impression Obsession Stamp, inked with Versamark and stamped again onto white Glossy cardstock.  Allow the Versamark to try a bit. (no need for embossing powder or heating).  Once it's dry, you simply using a blending tool and color the background with your favorite colors.   The areas withe the Versamark resist the inks and you can then see the design.   

  As you can see it was a really fun class!   We also created background using images that were heat embossed and then heavily inked and misted.   The options are really endless and I love trying new ideas and also the ideas you may have done before, but forgotten, like me.

   My next exciting news this week is that I signed up for a very cool and fun new online "Lettering" class that is being taught by Joanne Sharpe.  My friend, Kerry had recently taken another (Journaling class  - Color Love) from her and told me about her site.  I haver been looking for some type of lettering class and hoped to find one online.  I thought it would work out really well for my Journal that I started with Dyan Reaveley and also for letter in my Smash Book, which has been neglected for many months.  (I'm bad)..!!     So...when I head what Kerry said, I was totally thrilled when another friend, Marti, also recommend the same class.   I signed up yesterday for Letter Love 101, which is a series of 29 different lessons.  Vidoes, PDF files and tutorials are all part of the class and there is even a private Gallery and Facebook group for all the students.   I did have to order a few supplies from Dick Blick, but found, I had enough markers to start with!   I will be using my Copics, for the most part, but a large variety of black markers is also needed, as well as some Watercolor paper and a few others things I simply needed to stock up on.    If you have seen some of the wonderful Journal pages that are over on Pinterest, then you've likely seen some of Joanne's work.  You can find follow Joanne's boards  HERE.  I also happen to have already had some of her wonderful art already pinned on my Board -  HERE!!

    One of the first projects we will work on in the class is creating our own little reference/practice type book, from a Composition Notebook and I want to work on decorating mine this afternoon and hope to share it over the weekend.  As with ALL online classes --- ALL the classroom content is private and copyrighted and for Students ONLY!    Needless to say, I will NOT be sharing any of that information.  I can however, share my own projects as I do whenever I take classes.   While this is not cardmaking, this is something I have always had an interest and and I used to doodle way back in High School, so to me, this brings back those memories.  f you would like to find out MORE about the Letter Love 101 class or any of Joanne's other classes, please to to her website HERE for more great inspiration and details.   After I saw this video, I knew the class was just what I was looking for!  Yippee!!

    I'm off now to work and that and then hope to try and take part in a few of my favorite challenges.  I have not had any challenge time this week and miss it.  I know that I am planning to join the 90 Minute Scramble tomorrow afternoon over at the Hero Arts Group, which is always fun.   The Outlawz also have some fantastic challenges this week and I hope to play in some of those too!  

    In the meantime, I'm very excited and happy to have some brand new digi images that arrived last night from Dilly Beans.  If you are into the whole fun look of mixed media, adorable whimsical images, then this is a  this is a store I think you'll love.  I was very happy when I found my images in my inbox last night and look forward to using them in conjunction with challenges and in my journals too!  Special thanks to Megan for taking care of my order and for the bonus images!  I'm so happy to have them and can't wait to start coloring them today!   

   Update:   After I finishing this post I went right to work on coloring up some of my brand new Dilly Beans images and I ended up making two new cards.   Both were created after seeing the new Tic Tac Toe Challenge posted today at The Outalwz.  Here is a copy of the Tic Tac Toe and below I'm also sharing my two newest cards, both of which would work out perfect for the challenge.

Card One

(Die Cuts, Pearls and Glitter)

  This card is also being submitted to the current challenge over at the Color Me Creative Classroom.  The current them is Anything Goes, but with a Girly Twist...and this image is very girly to me!!

Card Two

(Embossing, Flowers and Glitter)

   I am loving these images and they are so much fun to color.  I think they are also going to be very fun to add to my books !!  Yippee!!!

Ooops!!! I missed the deadline???

   As much as I think I am sometimes organized...other times I don't even remember what day of the week it is.  I knew the month was quickly ending so one of my main goals today was to finally work on a card for this month's Challenge over at Hero Arts.

   As soon as I saw the Neon Inspired Challenge I knew that I wanted these Vibrant new inks and I ordered the set of three from Simon Says Stamp.  I was in the middle of the Stretch Your Stamps class, when they arrived, so I put them aside and today was the day I dug them out to play!!   WOW...are these colors amazing and now I'm even more excited about the second set that will be coming out in September.  That set is the one that has the amazing purple and I can't wait to have it in my collection.

   I really did not have any design in mind and my first thought was to create something in a Heart Motif or to use the three inks together for a funky cool background.  In my first inking attempts I tried both hearts and a fun background and even though about putting them together on a card. 

    That was when I decided to combine these cool colors along with the wonderful color in my Dylusions Sprays and sprayed a fun little background for my card base.   I then did decide to use a variety of heart shapes, all of which were cut with my this awesome die set, by My Favorite Things.  (This is one of my favorite heart die cuts and one I use the most...a favorite for sure)!  

   Right after I had finished my card, I had headed over to the Hero Arts Blog to look up the Tag Name and  that's when I realized, I was TOO LATE!   The last day to submit a card for this fun challenge, was not the end of the month, as I had been thinking -- it was actually yesterday!  I totally missed out by a matter of hours!!  UGH!!   This is what happens when I don't write things down or circle dates on my calendar!   But, I guess the up side, is that I found I really like the inks and they they will be really fun to use for more projects.   I had actually punched all my hearts in white, colored them with the pads directorial and then run some of through my Cuttlebug in a variety of folders for different looks and texture!!   If you happen to know of any OTHER challenge look for neon themed projects -- let me know!!   

   Luckily, I can always use cards and no matter what, I LOVE to create and so it's always a joy for me.  I do LOVE challenges, as they force me to come up with ideas or use colors or designs that I might not think of on my own.  And that's exactly what happened with this week's project for the Paper a la Mode Challenge being hosted at The Outlawz.  The DT gals asked us to use some type of packaging on our project and at first that had stumped me?  All I could think of was a shipping box, but then opened up a package of Prima Flowers and realized I could use that "clear" packaging instead of Acetate and could use it to make a Window card and that's exactly what lead me to crated this sweet little Butterfly card.  

  Although it's hard to see in the photo, the top butterfly is actually adhered to the clear packaging which I added to the inside of the card, after I punched out the Butterfly.  My card base was actually cute on my Cameo and was cute from a sheet of Hero Arts Floral Design Cardstock.  

   My final card today, was one of two cards I had started on yesterday for the new Berry Themed Challenge over at The Outlawz.  Although I created another card, that I end up submitting (you can see it on yesterday's post HERE), I also had started on this adorable "Strawberry Card" which was also cut using my Cameo.   The entire berry is the card and I cut it ALL on white cardstock and then used my Distress Inks to color each of the pieces.  It then dried overnight and today I put it all together.  I think it's super cute and like how easy it was to make!!   I just can't get over how much I LOVE have my Cameo and how often I use it.  I think it's by FAR the best electronic die cutter out there and I'm so happy I finally bought one.  All that time I had both a Baby Bug Cricut and a Pink Expression and they sat there hardly ever being use.  It still kills me to see my Expression and Gypsy and all the cartridges I have, not being used and I really think I should sell it all!   If you know anyone who would like to buy a full package  -- let me know, as I'm sure I could offer then a great deal.   I'm planning to donate my Baby Bug to our local elementary school, but just have too much money invested in my Pink Expression and cartridges, that I can't give that away!  

  And that's it for today!!  Tomorrow, I'll be heading to my LSS for the monthly card club, which is one that I love some times and other times, don't really enjoy.  It all will depend on what type of cards were create and what style and theme they are in.   I don't LOVE all styles and since we have no clue until we get there, it's been a class that can be a bummer.   Tomorrow, is the last of the series I signed up for and I do not plan to sign up again.  I would much rather know what we'll be making and also was not fond of having to sign up an and pay for a minimum of three classes, all at one time.   I'll continue to pursue more classes, but likely something else.  I'm also hoping that the next class in Jennifer and Kristina's classroom will be announced soon.   And lastly, I'd like to find a really fun 'lettering' type class, one that is more like the doodling style you often see in journals.  If you know of any classes like that, please share!!

Sweet things....!!

   I don't know about you, but whenever I hear the word sweet my first thought always goes to some kind of sweet treat.   Like a yummy hot fudge brownie sundae or a piece of dark chocolate.  It's all about the sense of taste for me.  But, I also like people who are kind of sweet, so it can also have a nice meaning, since sweet people are also my favorite.

   Today, "Sweet" is the word I used as the sentiment on my very first card, which was inspired for this week's CAS Challenge at The Outlawz.  The theme for this week is "Berries" and when I think of berries, my very first thought is blueberries, since I love them and eat them pretty much every day.   I also love strawberries and raspberries, especially the raspberries that used to grown in my background, when I was a child.  Those and purple grapes were always a favorite treat and we would simply pick them fresh of the plants and eat them.  Delish!!!

    As much as I love berries, I realized right away that I don't really have any berry stamps or even digi images, so I knew that I wanted to use my Cameo and headed to the Silhouette Online Store to find a cut berry design.  I ended up finding a few that I loved and ended up coming this one, along with this one to create my card.   I loved the leaf design on the first image, but thought the raspberries from the second image, looked more realistic.  I added them both to one sheet and cut out all the pieces from white cardstock.    I then used my Summer Distress Inks and a blending tool to color the leaves and my raspberries.   One they had time to dry, I added them to a white embossed card base and computer generated my "Sweet" sentiment which I punched out with a circle punch and popped up off my card.  To give my berries my shine, I coasted them with 3D Crystal Lacquer, a product I totally LOVE and use often.     I put everything together and this is the card I created to submit to the challenge at The Outlawz and also to this week's CASology Challenge, where the theme is Fruit.

    My next card is one that was created for fun and not for any specific reason, although it was inspired by a challenge I came across called "Shopping Our Stash", which is all about creating with products you own and have not used yet!   In my case, I have used the product before, so I am not submitting my card to this challenge, but it's one of those bazillion things and I have an do not use enough -- sound familiar?

   I also think it's a great idea and maybe I should follow this more often!  I have now bookmarked the challenge site and hope to try and play soon!    I'm hoping I can use the idea to save money too and/or put it aside for things I want or need for the house (non craft stuff).   I tried the idea today and started by digging out my folder of pre-colored images.  I picked this cute flower image from Bugaboo and instead of making a A2 card, I knew I wanted to start using up a box of  Bazzill Cards that have been sitting in the bottom of one of my drawer units.  I picked out a card/envelope that matched and quickly had this super easy card one.   I need to do this more often, as I have lots of pre-colored and pre-printed digis in two big folders on my bookcase.  I also have another folder full of sentiments and needs to SHOP for all these folders each time I start a new card.   Here is one of my first Shop My Stash cards and more will follow!   It was made entirely with things that have been sitting here unused for weeks/months.

   This next card is another example of using things I have started and this card is one of many, many die cuts or die cut card bases that I have in boxes under my desk.  It's a simple red "Love or Valentine's Card" and it was already cut, and scored.  All it needed is a sentiment or some bling and I simply added a little center heart and I punched, along with a red bow to keep this gate-fold cut shut!   Again...it was all here and pretty much done!

  And last, I had two new cards for Operation Write Home to share.  Both were created today and based off this weeks' Sunday Sketch, which you can find every Sunday over at the Stars and Stamps Blog.  I have also added a copy here to inspired you.

Sketch #131

Card One

Card Two

  Both of these cards were created with scraps that I keep under my desk and older products that I have not used in a while.  It felt good to use up some of these things and I really hope I can do this more often.  I really would LOVE to repaint my room and maybe even put in a new floor.  But, until I do a major purge and have a lot less "stuff" to move around, it's too much work.   Plus, the last thing I want to do is end up on an episode of Hoarders..and let's face it....we crafters do tend to hoard some of our favorite goodies!  Kind of silly if you rally think about it, because what good is it doing sitting in a drawer?   LOL!

Let's Party!!!!!!!!

  Today has turned out to be another nice day.  I was able to sleep in....take my time doing my morning stuff and even went and had lunch with  Brian and Meghan at the Pub.  I love going down to see them and I went for an early lunch so we'd have time to chat and catch up on things.  I had a yummy Grilled Chicken Salad and one of Brain's namesake cocktails, called Brian's Beach Bum, which I love.

  Once I came home, I was thrilled to find a package had arrived from Amazon that contained the fan unit we are hoping will fix our fridge problem.  Hubby put it in shortly after he came back form work and we are now waiting to see if it will cool down the fridge.  I sure hope so, since there is hardly anything in there now and we've lost a bunch of food.  If all goes well and it's the solution, I will go shopping with Hubby this week and we'll have to do a big stock up, to make up for all the things we lost.   Typically, hubby does all our shopping, but every couple of months I go for along and we do a huge haul to stock up and that's exactly what we need.  He's pretty good about doing the shopping and I do appreciate it, but I still stay, he doesn't buy like I did and we tend to run out of 'stuff' more often.  I also kept a pretty well stocked freezer and that's rarely even full now.   I like a full fridge and lots of fresh fruits and veggies and you can see a big difference when I shop.  I also spend a LOT more, but to me it's worth it.

    I also worked on three new cards this afternoon and they were all pretty much done for fun, and without a lot of planning.  The first card is one that I will be submitting to a " Ahhhh Summer" challenge over at Crafting By Designs and it's a cute Bugaboo Image I have colored often for summer type cards.   This is the card and it was very easy to put together and also fun.  The "Let's Party" Sentiment and cute little Sun stamp are from a brand new set of stamps, by My Minds Eye, that were part of my August card kit,  from Simon Says Stamp.

   And speaking of the Card Kits, I had received my August kit a while back, when I was not feeling well and until today, I had pretty much forgotten all about it -- OOPS!  Luckily, once I quickly remembered, when I read today's newsletter from SSS and knew I wanted to get it out this weekend and make some new cards to share over on the Simon Says Blog.

   I have been buying these wonderful kits, since they first started in February and have totally enjoyed each one.  I am enrolled in their Card Kit monthly subscription and that way I am automatically set up to receive a kit each month at the discounted price of $19.95, (Plus shipping).   It also guarantees that I will receive each kit, unless I decide to cancel, which I can't see happening.  But, if I wanted to, it is an option and I can also Opt out for a month of so, should I need to down the road.  But,as I said, I really love them and especially love that they are designed by Kristina Werner, who now works for Simon Says Stamp.   Kristina includes a fun idea sheet each month and will also shares additional videos on her blog with even more inspiration for creating with each kit.

  My next two cards were created from the August "Flower Girl"  kit and this time, I went totally on my own and made up my own designs, which is fun.  Of course, they may not look as fabulous as some of Kristina's cards, but the idea is to try new things and that's exactly what I have done.     My first card was very simple in design and basically I took one of the cardstock pieces, but it in half and scored it to make my card base.  I then took three pieces of the patterned papers, (Ginger from My Mind's Eye) and cut them to a down to length of 5 1/4" to fit just the length of a standard A2 card.  (I leave 1/8" on each side for a little border).  I then simply picked out one of the pre-colored sentiment stickers that were included and added that on my card with a center strip in another contrasting color.   Very easy and pretty too!!

   My second card did not come out quite as I had hoped, but was fun to make.   I seem to be in a Butterfly kind of theme today and used them in a different way on this card.  I used the other half of the card base from above and created this card base.  I then used my Martha Stewart "All Over" Butterfly Punch and punched one butterfly directly through the front of the card and carefully placed a matching piece inside, and a second one on top of the cover.   I also punched another set on matching/contrast colors and added that directly to the front, with a small matching little butterfly.   I then had the idea of using a white gel pen to make little "flutter" marks, but unlike (Kristina, who rocks with her lines), it did not look as good as I hoped, so I used a fine tip Sakura Glue pen on top and covered it in Glitter.   Now I wish I had left the lines off, as I think it took away from my card.    I never seem to end up with a nice crisp look whenever I try and add white lines?  Bummer and I don't really know why, as they can look really nice?   Some people make the most awesome outlines and designs.  I guess I need more practice!!  LOL!

   And now I am off to check out the fridge, (crossing my fingers), and HOPING it is getting nice and cold.  I also need to come up with something to eat for dinner and without much here, I have NO idea at the moment what is left that I can make?    I guess we could always order something, but not sure what hubby has in mind!!   See you all later and hope you are having a fun and very creative weekend!!

Three for Friday!!

   Yippee!!   Can you believe it's already Friday...and that it's also almost the end of July?    Wow, is time sure flying by this week, I hope things do slow down a bit now, because I am no where near ready for Summer to be over.  As much as I make not love the super hot and humid days....I take them ANY day over a cold winter day -- for sure!!

     Today is another good day for me, (knock on wood), and a blessing.  I'm so happy to be creating and enjoying every minute at my craft desk.   I have three new cards to share and all three were inspired by new challenges, starting with this card which I created today for the "Anything Goes" Copic/Alcohol Ink coloring challenge being hosted today over at The Outlawz.

     This is fun little digi image from Bugaboo Stamps, that I printed out, and then colored with my Copic and Touch Markers.   I have found the I absolutely LOVE the TOUCH Purple shades and that they are prettiest purples that I have ever seen.   Perfect for me, since purple is by far, my favorite color and one I use often.  Once the had my image colored, I added a little bling for my flower centers and and then finished it off with some of my new Stickles Dry Glitter!  I then embossed a deep purple background for my mat and added that on top of green card base by Hero Arts.   This is my finished card and the one I'll be submitting to the challenge.

   
   My next card is also a card that was colored with a combination of Copics along with some of my brand new Shinhan Touch Markers, which I'm very quickly falling in love with.   I bought a few of my favorite colors to try out and I absolutely love the bright vibrant colors.  If you are new to the world of alcohol markers, these are what I would start out with.    The prices are awesome and you can also mix and match them with any other markers you currently are using.   I have purchased mine from  MarkerPop and  also from Susana's Custom Art and Card Design.   The purples are absolutely gorgeous and they were the very first colors I purchased.  I also have some of the gorgeous pinks and this skintone set that I purchased at SCACD.   I love how Susana has put together great sets which are perfect for those starting out or those who are not sure which colors to try.   I've been very pleased with how these color, I like the ergonomic style and that fact that these are also refillable and can be your forever markers.

  The new Twin Touch Challenge is a photo inspiration challenge, which you can find on their challenge blog here.   I have also included a copy of the photo, which is a set of three adorable pillows.

Photo Inspiration for #TTC22

My Card

   As you can see I used the colors of the gorgeous pillows as the inspiration for the color scheme for my card.  I chose a simple digi image from Bugaboo Stamps and colored it both my Copic and Twin Touch markers.   I am slowly adding Touch Markers to my collection and in time hope to have some in each of the colors, which I will need to continue to take part in their challenges, which I plan to do.   To add some extra shine to my hearts, I coated them with a layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer and the find touch was adding some of my brand new "Stickles Glitter", in the Diamond shade!   I am loving this new glitter line and think it will be very popular, especially since it comes in so many colors -- just like Stickles.

   My third card today had me back in the "Stretch Your Stamps" class, which I'm slowly catching up on an enjoying more and more each day.  The card I created today is another card that I CASed after seeing the fantastic card that Shari Carroll has shared in class.   The class I am working on today focused on using "Reverse Stamps" and the stamp that was used primarily is this ONE by Hero/Basic Grey.  This is one that  I added to my collection, when I saw it on the class supply list.   It's also the same stamp that Shari used on her card, although she did use different colors and stamped on a different background, which I also loved.  Shari's card started by stamping on book print and changed that up a bit by stamping on "music print", which I had picked up at a craft yard sale.  I also used one of my new mid-tone inks (by Hero) and this color is the Stonewash, that I bought in the full set at Simon Says Stamp with my class discount!   Thank you SSS!!!

   Once I had my background stamped, I cut it down into the shape of  ribbon/banner, as Shari did on her card.  I then added a matching sentiment and tied on a matching ribbon.  This was then mounted on top of a white layer that I had first embossed in my Cuttlebug.   I then added that onto a matching card from another Hero Hues set and had this lovely card.  My thanks to Shari for the fabulous inspiration! 

  And now I am off to add my cards to each of these challenges and then head back to my craft desk to do some more coloring.  I totally love to color and find it so relaxing and every since I started these projects this morning, all I want to do is color away my day!   And being that it's a cloudy and dreary day, that's exactly what I plan to do.  Hope you all have a terrific day and enjoy some time relaxing too!