December 16, 2013

mim#144: heat embossing on vellum


Just a quick post to share a card that I made for Melissa’s MIM#144, heat embossing on vellum. I was so happy to see this Make It Monday because I had asked Melis to share her secrets on this technique. I just wish that I had time to make a few more cards.

 
I blew the entire concept of using vellum when I covered it with a Flea Market photo overlay. Even though the softness of the vellum was lost, I do like how the card turned out, especially with the gold border. The sentiment is actually stamped on the overlay; the candles are embossed on the vellum.


The last three weeks I’ve been slacking on commenting on blogs, for which I apologize. My daughter had surgery to repair a torn ligament in her ankle and has needed someone to fetch and tote for her. During that time, Brianna fell (literally) into the ‘if it can go wrong it will’ group with the latest thing being catching a brutal case of the flu during an ER visit. With her stomach settling down today, we decided to look on the positive side and agreed that it was good that she has gotten the flu out of the way and lost about five pounds in the process. It always helps to see the silver lining.

nancy

November 25, 2013

joy



While making Thanksgiving cards, thoughts about the upcoming holidays kept popping up. One thing led to another and an idea for an Advent card came to mind beginning from a glassine bag by Melissa Phillips that had stayed with me.


The card is going to my two young great-nieces who love the colors purple and pink, which works out perfectly for an Advent card. I planned on sending it to them the third week of Advent so that I could use the word “joy” on it. The die cut is glittered using Heather’s MIM#141, applying glitter via heat embossing. After several attempts at different variations, I ended up mixing fine glitter into clear embossing powder and heating that. It required extra heat to melt, so the paper did get scorched. I’m sure that Ayla and Zoe won’t notice.


I don’t like to push my beliefs on others, but, since this is an Advent card, it really needed a verse or prayer that had something to do with Advent. (My niece and her family are the same religion as I, so I wasn’t concerned with insulting them in any way.) The prayer that I had on hand was too advanced for my great-nieces, so the Internet came to the rescue. I found a song, sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, that hit just the note I wanted.


So often cards do not turn out the way I imagine, but this surpassed my imagination. It shares a message of faith while being fun and girly. Even better, when I showed the card to my daughter, she started crying. No, I am not a horrible mother. It was the reason for her tears that touched me. Brianna immediately thought of my mom when looking at the card and shared, “Grandmรจre would have loved this card. It would have brought a smile to her face.” And that is one of the reasons why I make cards.


nancy

November 10, 2013

thank you


A few weeks ago, one of my religious ed students and I had a conversation about rainbow bracelets and the friendship bracelets from my daughter’s generation. Last Sunday, Amanda came into class with a rainbow bracelet she made just for me. I wanted to let her know what her kindness means to me, so I thought a fun card in bright colors would be just right for a note.


My inspiration for the card came from two places – a sketch from Studio Calico’s Sunday Sketch based on a layout by Shanna Noel and Dawn’s MIM#139, which is to create a square frame with Papertrey stamps. The arrow from tag-its #11 was used for the frame.

Thanks so much for taking time from your day to visit my blog.

nancy

November 2, 2013

blessed


Last week’s Make It Monday was the starting point for a card for my DRE. This week’s influenced the design of a card for a fellow fifth grade catechist and her husband. A mood board from Studio Calico’s LOAW picked the colors for me.

 
Pam and Kevin allowed me to vent after my challenging class last Sunday. More than that, they offered me sound advice and pushed me to move forward rather than giving the situation just one more week. I often need that nudge.

One of the things that I enjoy about card making is the ability to put a piece of my heart into the process. I like to think about the recipient of the card while choosing colors or sentiments or even while taping down a strip of paper. Cards seem to be my version of a prayer shawl.


I always like to add a little something to the inside of the card, even if it is a strip of washi tape. On this card, the dotted paper used on the front added a pleasing softness inside, so I went with it. And those little pumpkins are just cute.


Enjoy your weekend.

nancy

October 31, 2013

trick-or-treat



Just quickly stopping by to wish everyone a happy Halloween and to post an entry for this week’s Make It Monday, using inlaid die cuts.


The design is simple, but when making multiples with all of the die cuts involved, I don’t think I could have added more and mailed the cards on time. Brianna saw me cranking the handle of my Cuttlebug and asked if there wasn’t a motorized version I could buy. She is ever so practical.



To me, what makes this card is the patterned paper used for the eyes, mouth and stem. That detail added a little bit of whimsy to the pumpkin. And, with shifting the triangle dies ever so slightly, each pumpkin had its own personality.


I live on a busy street, so only the most diehard trick-or-treaters, adolescent boys, make it to my door. I’ve been tempted to shut off the floodlights, since the buying of candy, etc. seems almost too much trouble for two or three kids, but I just cannot allow myself to turn into that old fart each neighborhood has. Hope you get lots of children in fun and original costumes gracing your door.


Happy Halloween!

nancy

October 28, 2013

ever so grateful



Melissa Phillips is hosting this week’s Make It Monday and she created the most enchanting card with its focus being a dimensional leaf wreath. I had hoped to play along and use some of the vivid colors that are so prevalent this time of year. Well, I’m playing along, but the colors I used are of the softer, muted side of autumn.

I also managed to incorporate into this card a challenge from Studio Calico to use three stamping techniques with one stamp set. The set that I used is Papertrey Ink’s Autumn Acorns. The outside of the card used the stamps with embossing and paper piecing.


Tucked on the inside corner, the leaf stamp was inked using the rock-n-roll technique.


Today’s religious education class presented me with a test of my patience and, unfortunately, I didn’t pass. This card is going to our DRE to tell her how much I appreciate her help with the situation. (Yes, I am intentionally being very vague here.) I should be sending a card to Linda each week to let her know what she means to me. This is a start.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope your week is off to a great start.

nancy

September 25, 2013

papertrey september blog hop



From Nichole’s blog: The holidays are just around the corner and in any store you stumble into the aisles are decked out with new decor, including wreaths. Dig out a favorite wreath stamp set, layer small die-cuts & punches or even use unconventional materials like buttons or rhinestones to create a wreath on the front of a festive card. You can choose to make your card fall-themed, embrace the upcoming holidays or just something pretty to use for an everyday greeting.

 
I had forgotten all about the blog hop until Leigh mentioned it on the PTI forum on Monday. Thank you, Leigh. It just happened that I was working on a card that included a wreath in its design, so it seemed a good idea to actually post a picture of it on my blog.

 
This autumn blessings card is one of my monthly thinking of you type cards that I send to family and friends. They are my excuse for buying stamps and patterned paper.


Go here to see the incredible variety of creations from the talented Papertrey customers. Thanks for stopping by.

nancy

PS - I think that one of the reasons I stopped blogging is because of my frustrations with how the photographs appear on the blog. They look so much better in iPhoto. Really.

supplies:
paper:  vintage cream c/s (PTI); patterned paper from my stash
stamps:  Rustic Branches and Autumn Acorns (PTI); Happy Thanks (Hero Arts); Autumn Harvest (TPC Studio)
ink:  aqua mist dye (PTI); pumpkin pigment (MSC); pearlescent chocolate pigment (Brilliance)
dies:  turning a new leaf and LL: 1¾” circles (PTI)
extras:  tin types impression plate (PTI); gold and peach ColorShine (Heidi Swapp); sequins (Darice); enamel dots (MME); gem stickers (Paper Studio and Recollections); blue zircon and topaz gems (EK Success); gerbera daisy stickers (MSC)

April 7, 2013

mim#110: collage elements


Dawn McVey is hosting this week’s Make It Monday and she has challenged us to create a stamped collage. Even after watching the video a few times, I wasn’t quite sure how to tackle this. I wish that Dawn had shared a few more of her tricks with us as she made her fabulous card. It could be that there were more suggestions in the video, but my very stuffy head made it difficult for anything to be absorbed. (The allergy season seems to have started early here. Ugh.)

When starting this card, I knew that I wanted to make a birthday card and include elements from this tag by Nichole Heady. (It’s the second project.) I pulled out all of my PTI birthday stamp sets along with other sets that would work in a collage and got to stamping.


While uploading my photos, I came across another collage card that I had made for my daughter to send her an iTunes gift card. It appears that I lean toward neutrals with a single color pop when stamping collages.


We are in the midst of some gorgeous spring weather, so it’s time for me to go out and do some yard work. Hope you have some sunshine in your world today.

nancy

March 31, 2013

noted: happy day


Happy Easter. I hope that you’ve been able to spend a wonderful day with your family whether or not you celebrate this holiest of days. Without having little ones around the house, the festivities surrounding our Easter celebration have changed drastically. As a result, I had some time to play with paper and stamps this evening and gave Betsy’s Make It Monday a try. The challenge for MIM#109 is to heat emboss on a watercolor image.

Please excuse the messy embossing. The drafting paper that I used held onto everything.

Using the violets image from PTI’s Year of Flowers Collection, I added the color using the back of the violet stamp and some Heidi Swapp Color Shine. When I started the card, my intention was to capture the look of a field sketchbook, so I stamped onto drafting paper and backed it with Fawn & Flora Ledger paper (K&Company). That muted, journal feel was quickly abandoned after I tried out my new container of Zing! gold glitter embossing powder. (The jar was sitting right in front of me, tempting me. I succumbed.)


I got a little carried away with the gold glitter embossing powder, which is how the gold chevron ended up on the card. With that addition, I decided to enter this card in the Moxie Fab World Chevron Challenge.

Remember to take note of your happy days. Hope you have an overwhelming number of them.

nancy

March 25, 2013

a little mix of 2peas, mfw and pti

 
This card came about after I watched a video from the artclass with Wilna workshop at Two Peas in a Bucket. (This is an incredible workshop. Wilna Furstenberg is a gifted teacher/coach/cheerleader.) I knew that I wanted to work with tulle and sequins and spring-like colors. The card evolved a little bit more when I decided to incorporate Moxie Fab World’s ombre challenge into its design.


The card was completed the day the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop using sequins was announced. I quickly decided to hold off on publishing it to my blog until the twenty-fifth – not such a hard thing to do as you can tell from my archives – and sharing it during the blog hop.


Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

nancy

PS - This is one of those cards that looks better in real life. I truly wish that I did a better job photographing my cards.

February 10, 2013

pti anniversary: valentine’s treat


On day five of Papertrey’s sixth anniversary celebration, Nichole challenged us to “create some type of wrap, tag or gift packaging project that is inspired by a photo you found on Pinterest or another site.”  I hadn’t planned to participate today since I had quite a bit of snow to shovel and needed to finish my religious ed class prep, but that changed when I read the challenge. Part of my prep was to put together the Valentine’s treat for my class, so here I am. (Timing, as they say, is everything.)


The pencils that Dawn used in her Tremendous Treats: Valentine post  are adorable, so I stopped at Target last week and picked up a couple of packages. While there I bought a few sweet treats, too, remembering that I had some bags from when Brianna was little (probably from about 15 years ago) that would be cute and easy packaging. A Crate Paper post featuring tags created by Rebecca Luminarias was my inspiration with the fabulous mix of patterned papers. I used a Fillable Frames #9 die cut as the base for the layered bits and pieces of my tag.


My muscles were put to the test today and failed. The driveway is cleared, but my back and arms are hurting. It’s time for me to get close and personal with my heating pad.

nancy

February 7, 2013

pti anniversary celebration day 2


On day two of Papertrey’s sixth anniversary celebration, we were given printables to use on a card. I chose to work with Heather’s small version of her birthday graphic.


I should have used kraft paper since this is Heather’s design, but Echo Park’s This & That Graceful called out to me. It is interesting to see the many different versions of cards that have been created with the printables. You should check them out.

nancy

February 6, 2013

mim#103: hello


Betsy Veldman provided the video for this week’s Make It Monday, the diecut double-up. Although I used Spellbinders for the die cut portion of the challenge, the stamps and card base are from PTI.


Danni Reid is the first person that I noticed using negative die cuts last year. What caught my eye was the way that patterned paper could play an extra role in the design when used to fill the open space. Because I have a weak spot for patterned paper, this approach is one that calls to me.

nancy

February 4, 2013

moxie fab world challenge: background paper

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After watching a video by Shannon Tidwell, Two Peas 213 in 2013, I wanted to try machine stitching to give a textured background. [Just a little side note. I won a sewing contest when I was in junior high school. I made a really cute tunic dress using a turquoise plaid fabric. Each seam had the pattern perfectly lined up. So, even knowing I can sew, I often wonder, “Why I am so hesitant to stitch on a paper project?”]

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The adorable arrow stamp from the Studio Calico Woodbrooke Road kit  was a must use for this card. I stitched a grid then embossed the arrow image to create the background paper.  



The colors were from the final CR84FN challenge. I missed the challenge, but wanted to use the colors to pay homage to Mona and her DT for giving us two years of a great challenge blog. It didn’t hurt that the colors worked for what I had in mind for the design. (Just being honest here.) And do you see the thin frames of aqua paper? Those are the remains from an October Afternoon label sticker sheet. That idea is courtesy of Anna-Maria Wolniak. Love it.


In addition to being for my sister-in-law, this card is for the Moxie Fab World Make Your Own Background Paper Challenge. I had fun making this one.

nancy

February 3, 2013

what’s up?

This card originated with a Two Peas CHA Challenge to include three trends on a project. A timely Sunday Sketch from Studio Calico worked fabulously with the trends I wanted to use – arrows, wood veneer and washi tape. I started with the chevron tape and built the card from there ending up with a much brighter card than expected. It's a fun one, though, good for bringing out a smile.


While the card was on my desk, I recalled the Moxie Fab World Use 10 Embellishments Challenge. The only problem was that there were eight embellishments on the card, not ten. Thankfully, this was a fairly easy fix with the addition of two gems. The best part is that I still like the card even being more blinged out.

nancy

January 21, 2013

winter wishes


The holidays and my house have kept me from my blog, but the occasion of Make It Monday #100 has me typing away.


My sister-in-law fell two times and ended up in the hospital for Christmas. She is slowly healing and is now in a rehab facility for daily physical and occupational therapies treatments. To help keep her spirits up, I am sending her a card a couple of times a week. Some of those cards have been pulled from my stash and others have been made with Marsha in mind. This card with its glittery snowflakes falls into the latter category and incorporates three challenges:  Two Peas CHA Challenge#1 to use one color, Studio Calico Sunday Sketch, and Papertrey Ink MIM#100.


The card’s embellishments do not extend past the edge, but the layers are thick and cannot be squeezed into my standard card envelope. I used a larger envelope and added some stamping in the corner. The blue snowflake that is laying on the envelope will be used as a seal.

With warm winter wishes.

nancy

supplies: (I’ll try to get back and update.)