My chocolate princess

My neighbor's chocolate lab is a teenager!  I've always called her my chocolate princess...she's such a sweetheart.

Maraschino Bazzill cardstock; white cardstock; mixed media cardstock

Provocraft embossing folder

Stampers Anonymous:  Crazy Dogs CMS271

Sizzix:  Crazy Dogs 661593

Unknown crown, primitive star punches

Glossy Accents, Jet Black archival ink, distress markers, Carnation Red enamel accents

Krylon gold leafing pen

Paint chip birthdays

I saw a card on Pinterest that linked back to creativelynks.blogspot.com that featured a paint chip on the card.  She added an image to her paint chip, I did not but did like the idea of the paint chip being the feature - hence my inspiration.

The A2 card is white cardstock.  I ran the vellum layer through a Provocraft embossing folder (Happy Birthday).  To prevent the vellum from cracking I used a premium crease pad instead of the top clear plate.

Happy Thanksgiving early

to a special friend who is facing the end of her life way too soon.

The Art Impressions image (3180) was stamped in Black Soot archival ink onto 140 lb. water color card stock and colored with various distress markers and a water brush.  I ran the bright lime green card base through the Provocraft Autumn Type embossing folder but only got a faint image - which was actually preferable.  I smeared Versamark Ink over it hoping the raised portions would stand out.  They did but not by much.  So I smudged a brown distress ink over the whole thing and was quite pleased with the end result.

To you, CR, I wish you peace and contentment and all the blessings that you can have.

RAKs

I'm behind in returning RAKs so I thought I'd play with some of my older toys and see how creative I could be using newer coloring mediums.

The top layer is mixed media cardstock because I wasn't sure what coloring agents I would be using.  I ran the top one through the Cuttlebug/ProvoCraft 'Friends Forever' embossing folder and colored it with distress markers (Twisted Citron, Fossilized Amber and Old Paper) and a water brush.

In the bottom one  I painted the embossing folder with Ranger's Pearl Paint before running the cardstock through the embossing folder.  Immediately wash your embossing folder unless you want it pearlized forever! Using the mini ink pads in the same colors I rubbed them over the raised and not raised areas then wiped a slightly damp towel across the card front.  The paint acts as a resist; mine was probably too dry to really act as a resist but it did give a neat look (IMHO) in real life.

Two looks using the same colors but different mediums.  Fun!

Warm soup

I needed to send some Campbell's Soup Labels for Education to a friend but didn't want to just dump them in an envelope and post them.  Fall is a wonderful time for soup and my 'Autumn Type' Provocraft embossing folder happened to be at my fingertips...perfect for the occasion!  And I knew I had a tin can stamp (doesn't everybody???) from Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers that I use to celebrate Tin Can Day on January 18.  A card was born!

The base card is black Bazzill cardstock, the embossed layer gray, the tin can on white with silver embossing powder.  I highlighted 'warm soup' with a silver metallic marker.  The card fits into a small business-sized envelope (...maybe 3.5" x 6.25"?).

Together...forever

NOT your traditional anniversary card!  Every once in a while I get a wild hair and make something totally unexpected for my sister's anniversary.  She and her husband know to never guess what type of card I might send.  Good thing, huh?

Mini Halloween 2; Provocraft Heartblocks embossing folder; archival inks (Red Geranium, Jet Black, Watering Can); Love thinlits and Shape Strip thinlits; Bazzill cardstock; core'dinations cardstock; heart stamp (Good Stamps Stamp Goods); MultiMedium

February cards

Bazzill card stocks, Winter House (ProvoCraft) embossing folder, Months debossing folder, Marvy heart punch

Bazzill card stock, Tim Holtz stencils (Harlequin, Schoolhouse), Worn Lipstick distress ink, Jet Black Archival ink, Mini Blueprints 4 CMS154, Simple Sayings CMS155, Spellbinders scalloped square dies

 
 


Happy birthday, mom! (Part 2)

So when you turn 80 yesterday's floral wall display just doesn't seem enough.  At least not for me.  Months ago I had asked her for ALL the family photos so I could start a pictorial timeline for myself.  Kind of like writing my autobiography except with photos.  I also wanted them so I could find enough to make a scrapbook for my mom.  I have made one for my siblings on their special birthdays over the past few years.  But she didn't comply so I had to use images I had in my own collection.  I also went to her public library and took photos of her yearbook pages.  (Sure couldn't ask her for her copies!)  And this is the result.

 Do you typically put something on the cover?  This has a protective vinyl sleeve so it couldn't be 3-D.  Rather than not be happy with a stamped image on the royal blue fabric cover, I left it blank and hope her baby picture will suffice.  I can always add something later.

 The pages are 8"x8" white or orange cardstock.  All journaling was computer-generated.  I know handwritten pieces are lovely but mine is more like chicken scratching and I wanted it to be legible for a long, long time.

 If you put the baby pictures of my grandma, mom and me side by side you'd be hard pressed to know who is who...except for the vintage, and less so, backgrounds.

 Isn't she a cutie?  She's always smiling!

 Except for this one photo...no smile.  Hmmm.

 The page layouts are my own efforts, ditto for the embellishments.  I wanted this to be as original as my mom.

 Like the pen nib cut outs pointing to mom?  Look at the lower right hand photo...she had an 18" waist when she was a senior!!! 

 My mom will just flip when she sees that bottom piece.  She'll be asking right away how I came to have that info. 

 Love that debossing folder!  The chain represents the family members and how we'll always be together, forever linked.  I'll have to tell her about that; she may not get that right away.

 These tags are from an old Provocraft die set.  I thought they made great journaling prompts.

Top photo: her 7 grandchildren





Bottom photo:  my youngest sister, her husband and daughter were unable to be here with us

 Mom's the clown on the left...Jesters for Jesus.

She racked up a lot of road miles when she worked for the State of Illinois...making sure schools followed the guidelines for the lunch program. 


Now she and my step-dad (but he's more like a dad!) travel extensively...I think Africa and Antarctica are the only continents they haven't visited.

Here they are on my sister's pond.  Don't you like how the shadow of the tree points to them?  That was an aftersight.





I didn't want the pages to be too fussy with embellishments.  The scrapbook is all about the photos, not the extras.  I also wanted it to be something she could use later in life recalling special moments, people, etc.  Maybe it would be the only thing that would help her connect to reality or in the here & now.  No matter, it's made with love and I hope it brings her much joy, both now and later.

Happy Father's Day!

My dad passed away 8 years ago but I have a wonderful step-father who is very special to me.  I was looking on Pinterest for something different and found several cards using a number of these elements so I came up with an idea regarding the special chemistry it takes to be a one-of-a-kind dad.

This card is a full sheet of 8.5" x 11" Bazzill brown card stock folded in half.  Using Watering Can and Tree Branch Archival Inks (R) I stamped all the images from Laboratorie CMS173 (SA) in a random pattern all over the card front.

On black card stock I stamped the text from The Chemist CMS172 (SA) using Snow Cap White Pigment Ink (R).  From brown cardstock I cut a frame for the new chalkboard and ran it through the Woodgrain Texture Fade (SA).  Brown and black distress inks were rubbed over the embossed areas.

The chemist and bottles (SA) were stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink (R) on watercolor paper.  I scribbled on my craft sheet with distress markers and pads (R), picking up the color with a waterbrush pen.  The images were cut out and have foam tape behind them.  I stamped the science table on white cardstock in Watering Can Archival Ink, tore it out and applied brown and black distress inks to the dampened edges.

From a scrap of brown card stock I die cut 'dad' using an old ProvoCraft alpha die.  More brown and black distress inks were applied to the edges; a Black Micron pen was used to enhance the letters.  A medium sized metal-rimmed tag was dipped into leftover distress ink/water on my craft sheet.  The sentiment (Simple Sayings CMS155) was stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink.  I blocked off the portions so I could alter the alignment.

(R) = Ranger
(SA) = Stampers Anonymous

My folks go to coffee 6 days a week with a regular bunch.  I hope this makes it to 'show-and-tell'!

Archaeology dig

I'm a member of a bulletin board where the recent topic of discussion has been about all the ancient stuff we never use any more.  One of the members challenged the group to use a tool, stamp, technique or ingredient that has NOT been used or done for at least 5 years.  So, I'm going 'old school' with this 10.75" square scrapbook layout.

Once upon a time (late 1990's) I road-tripped with 2 friends from NJ to numerous stamp conventions in the northeast.  On one such trip I found these really cool packages of EcoAfrica scrapbooking kits by ProvoCraft.  Each kit contains handmade papers, fibers, beads, metal embellishments, etc.  At the time I was very much into items from other countries as my husband traveled the globe for his job.  Into my shopping basket they went.  Only to be buried under mountains of other things I just had to have.  You know how that goes.

***Qualifying items for this challenge:  EcoAfrica scrapbooking kit, Color Box stamping guide, Rollagraph, Stampin'Up Heart of Africa wheel, Prismacolor pencils, animal stamps (U-2280, U-2284) from Art Impressions, and a Repeat Impressions map stamp (5419)

Other items used:  Ranger distress and archival inks, Sizzix mini mover & shapers globe, numerous card stocks

So proud!

One of my nieces will be graduating from the University of Illinois this spring.  And now she knows what she'll be doing this fall...attending grad school so she can get her masters degree in social work!  She's so excited...and we're so proud of her determination and hard work. 

I think she'll be tickled to receive a card acknowledging her efforts.  Keeping the card in the school colors of orange and blue, here I am jumping for joy at her recent announcement.  lol

Ingredients:  "Millie" M1932 from Art Impressions; Prima Marketing Flowers; Bazzill cardstock; watercolor paper; distress markers; Stampers Anonymous CMS155 "Simple Sayings"; Jet Black Archival Ink; Spellbinders 'Labels  Four S4-190; Provocraft "Congratulations" embossing folder; Martha Stewart branch punch; Stickles

Christmas is coming!

front

Have you seen this Merry Christmas Configuration Book by Jan Hobbins?  While perusing the aisles of my local Michaels recently I found a lone configuration book on the shelf.  Hmmm...why not give it a try?  I did use a lot of Jan's ideas but added quite a few of my own, including making my own candles.

I'll list the items I used but not the colors; I couldn't keep track of all that I pulled out and used.

spine

 

inside

close up of upper left

close up of upper right

close up of center

close up of lower left

back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sizzix:  Window & Window Box, Pine Tree, Packages & Bows, Christmas Bells, Tattered Poinsettia, Tattered Pinecone, Holly Branch, Victorian Carolers (Bigz); Stacked Words-Christmas, Holly, Beaded & Snowflake Garland, Festive Greenery (dec. strip); Branch, Bow, Deer, Cardinal, Pine Tree, Snowflakes (mini m &S); Snow Flurries, December Calendar, Textured Poinsettia (Alterations)

Idea-ology: Holidays Past Paper Stash, Seasonal Salvage Stickers, Grunge Board, Grunge Paper, Christmastime Remnant Rubs, Christmas Tissue Tape, Configuration Book, metal word bands, glass vial

Stampers Anonymous: Mini Holidays 5 (shrink plastic Santa)

Ranger:  Glossy Accents, Multi-Medium (glossy & matte), Rock Candy Distress Stickles, Clear Rock Candy Dry Glitter, distress paint, distress ink, distress stickles

Core'dinations: Adirondack, Kraft Core, Distress

Miscellaneous:  shrink plastic, wreath (bleached), made my own candles from tiny dowels & flame punch, Darice tiny silver bottle cap, Deco Art Glistening Snow Writer & Snow Writer & Snow-Tex, Floracraft Diamond Dust Twinklets, silk ribbon, button, metal sheet, fence (painted white), gold beads, brads, Provocraft embossing folder - Tartan

Now that my Frosted Film has arrived I can start work on my version of Tim's December tag for 2013.  And maybe participate in more challenges now that I have proper reading glasses (just 1.25 magnification...lower than the doc suggested but working just fine!) and can see what I'm doing.

Repeat Mother's Day idea

So I was trying to decide what kind of card to make my step-mother for Mother's Day when I remembered this embossing folder by Provo Craft.  After embossing it on white cardstock I colored the stems with several green pencils and the flower bits with a yellow and orange pencil.  Yellow Stickles was added to the flower bits.  Layered onto citrus green cardstock and tied up with a narrow yellow satin bow and my card was complete. 

After taking a photo of the card, editing it and putting it in the appropriate album on my computer I discovered that I'd used the same embossing folder on her card in 2011.  Oops!  But I used a different color combination, added paper lace, ribbon and a butterfly.  Hopefully she won't remember the image but this embossing folder is so versatile I do tend to use it a lot.

Card making frenzy

About half way through the month I look to see what birthday and anniversary cards I need to make for the following month.  This gives me time to make sure I can come up with ideas, purchase any supplies, and get them in the mail before the individual's special day.  I also make 12 cards that I call COM (Card of the Month) that I send out to a select group of family and friends.  These I do assembly line style.  Sometimes my birthday and anniversary cards are made the same way, especially if I like my idea and it can be done for males, females and juveniles.  I might change up the color scheme or embellishments along the way.

Here are the cards I created for March.  I used all Ranger inks and Stickles, Studio 490 stamps, Tim Holtz stamps and dies, Provocraft embossing folders, Bazzill cardstock, and Martha Stewart ribbons. 

Now I will focus on some sympathy and encouragement cards.  I find I'm needing them more and more these days and want to have some on hand so I'm not in a mad rush to get one made and mailed in a timely manner.

Happy birthday!

They say it's my birthday!  Yep, they're right!  So I made myself a card...nah, this one is for my aunt who turns 90 in a few weeks.  I saw the inspiration card in a recent Papercrafts magazine.

I used whitewashed core'dinations paper but embossed (Provocraft - Number Collage) the solid side.  Sigh.  So I drew around the numbers with a white Sharpie.  The candles were cut from corrugated cardboard, painted white, then inked up with distress ink.  The flames were smeared with some yellow glimmer spray.  Tim's new stamp set, Simple Sayings, (love this!!!) provided the label and phrase. A bit of crinkle ribbon was dropped into some Spun Sugar distress stain and tied into a bow.  Ta da!








***I've created a blog that will describe our journey as we battle Walt's lung cancer.  Please feel free to join us over there.  We can't thank everyone enough for their support.

Monochromatic sympathy card

I saw a card on Pinterest and knew that it was something I wanted to recreate, not necessarily as a sympathy card but perhaps a wedding or anniversary card.  Unfortunately the need for a sympathy card came first.  Here's my version of the card.

The base card is white Bazzill.  I embossed a piece of white vellum in a Cuttlebug folder.  Martha Stewart punches (fern-branch, flower) and Hero Arts flat-backed pearls add a decidedly elegant touch.  Narrow white gauzy ribbon finishes the card.  I opted for no words on the outside; not really room with this embossing folder. 

RIP, my friend.  Cancer took you away from us too soon.