This 'n That

     I have been neglectful of my blog so am going to post a few samples of work I created but have not yet posted.  Some of you have commented that you like to see the scans, so here are a few items. These are a few items I made in December, all of which were mailed out.

Christmas Card - 2011

This is one of the 60 Christmas cards I made. It is made from scraps of Christmas cardstock that I have kept over the years - too nice to throw out and not enough to make many cards.  I saw a design for a triangle shaped card in a magazine and decided to try to replicate it, turning it into a Christmas tree.  As it turned out, each of the 60 cards is different.  I used Spellbinders dies to create some of the embellishments such as the deer and also used some K&Company purchased embellishments.  Now I need to start thinking about Christmas 2012!

December ATC for Wisconsin group

Tri-fold Calendar

The two front panels open up to reveal a 2012 calendar.

Christmas Tags for Cuttlebug Swap

ATC Background Techniques: "I"

     I love creating backgrounds so was excited to join an ongoing swap creating backgrounds using different techniques.  A group of six is making an ATC every month for each of the participants.  Rather than randomly sending any technique, my friend Carole who organized this swap (she is the background Queen!) decided that we should go through the alphabet, one letter at a time.  I think some of the letters might be a challenge!

Interference Resist with Alcohol Ink

     This month we are creating with the letter "I" in mind.  I found a technique in the wonderful book "Texture Effects" by Nancy Curry.  It is a simple but beautiful technique.  Simply randomly sprinkle powdered pigments such as Perfect Pearls on black glossy card stock then apply alcohol ink using a sponge or felt pad which seals the pigments.  You can then stamp using a permanent ink.  What you can't see in this scan is the depth and shine created using this technique.  I added the bird and cage to complete the ATC.

Tim Tag #6

   I'm trying to make my version of the 2011 12 Tags of Christmas created by Tim Holtz.  I have been using materials that I have on hand, so this tag is not exactly like Tim's but created in the "spirit" of his tag.  The original was created using a Sizzix collage folder which I don't have, but I do have a Cuttlebug collage folder which I used.  The idea of the tag is to emboss on metal and color areas of the tag.  I used metallic tape on a tag, embossed, then colored using alcohol inks.  The top of the tag is embellished with red mesh wired ribbon and a hand made embellishment I received in a previous swap.  I tried to take a photo but there was too much reflection, so I attempted to scan.  That didn't work very well, but at least you can get an idea of what it looks like.  

     The good news is that I have completed 6 of the 12 tags ------ looks like I will be finished soon now that things have quieted down.

                                                            Tag #6

Art Journal - Alice in Wonderland

    One of my internet groups has been involved in an Art Journal swap.  Each participant chose a theme, and the others have been creating a double sided page for her journal.  This month I created this page for the theme of "Alice in Wonderland."  I had found a 12X12 sheet of tags awhile back celebrating Alice and Halloween.  I couldn't resist even though I didn't really have a use for them -- I just thought they were clever!  But I sure was glad when I had to create this page - they were perfect!  I hope the gal who receives this page will enjoy it and want to add to her journal.

                   Front                                                      Back

End of the Year Swaps

     I'm coming to the end of the 2011 swaps and finally finished the last few (only one to go!)  It has been a good year with swapping, making new internet friends and learning new techniques.

Diamond Fold

  Now that I have a Scor Pal, well, both sizes and a Martha Stewart score board (!), I am able to have the tools to do precision scoring and folding.  The theme for the Cuttle Bug group for December was "Fancy Folds."  I could never have made this card without being able to make good, accurate score lines to fold this card.  The navy base is one piece of paper!  I used two Cuttlebug embossing folders and a die to create this along with Distress Inks - a great way to color coordinate different papers.  The silver snowflakes are foam stickers.  I think they were produced for kids, but I found them fun to use!

COTM - Snow

     I belong to group of Wisconsin stampers (and a few from other states, as well), and we have a themed Card of the Month swap.  Each month has a designated theme.  The theme for December is snow or holiday.  I purchased (very recently as in the last day or two as all Christmas stuff is marked WAAAY down!) a new set of embossing folders, so this is the first time I have used them.  I embossed white paper and used Distress Ink to add the blue highlights.  The snowflakes are a piece of printed card stock, and, yes, I used a sparkley snow flake sticker!!!

     The scan below is an ATC I made for the same group.  I had the blue and white CS out as well as those cute snowflakes, so I created this ATC.  I had purchased a couple of sheets of vintage images at the annual stamp/scrap show in Madison and used them to complete the ATC's

     Now all I have to do is finish up my 12 Days of Christmas tags.  I'm hoping to have them made by January 6, the original end of the 12 Days.  And, of course, a new round of 2012 swaps is set to begin.

     Thanks for checking  my blog - hope to post more and more regularly in 2012.

Art Journal Swap

     I love belonging to internet groups as I get to see lots of wonderful work created by artists from around the world.  I joined a new (to me) group about six months ago and have had fun joining in on the swaps.  By the end of the month a small group of us will be completing art journal pages.  Each person chose both a theme and an orientation (horizontal or vertical) with the goal of binding the pages into a book and adding our own journaling to the pages sent to us by our partners. 

     For the first half of December I created a 5"X7" double sided page with the theme of quotes about words.  Words!!!!!  I love words and quotes, so this was great fun.  I had trouble selecting only two quotes about words ---- there are so many really good ones.  But I settled on the two below.  Of course, one is by Emily Dickenson -- she always could say so much in so few words.  And I had never come across the other quote, but it is something I truly believe in.  

     The page is created on watercolor paper with color added using Distress Inks by Tim Holtz.  I stamped a few images, added some purchased embellishments, and computer generated the quotes.  

     I really like how the pages turned out and was so happy to receive a very nice e-mail from the recipient.

    A while back I was in a year long swap dealing with art quotes, a different quote each month.  I received some lovely pages and am planning on combining them with the six I will have from this swap.  It will be a wonderful handmade book!

Tim's Tags #4 & 5

Day 4

Day 5

     Trying to catch up so I don't fall too far behind.  Here's what I came up with for Days 4 & 5.  Day #4 - I used the Rays embossing folder and the Snow On the Edge die along with a Sizzix snowflake die and some "bling."  The label is  a Nestabilities die.  I was surprised to find that I do have some of the burlap ribbon - perfect for the "grungy" look of this tag.
     I had fun with creating the fragment embellishment using alcohol ink and Stazon according to Tim's instructions.  I let the ink dry overnight and the Stazon did remove the color.  I love the pair of deer so used the leaping dear on the tag layered over the tall pine folder.   I have an idea for Day 6 - better get going before I get even more behind!!!

Tim Tags - Days #2 & 3

I'm still trying to catch up with Tim's Tags for 2011.  I actually have the pair of deer die so I at least had the central image.  I used some printed music velum over a basic tag for the background and a purchased (!) embellishment for the the deer.  The border is a Spellbinders die.

Day #2

Day #3

I really had to "stretch" on this one as I didn't have a bold sentiment stamp.  I guess the only thing that I did was make some kind of foliage  embellishment.  Onwards and upwards to Days # 4 and 5!!!!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

This is my first year of participating in the Tim Holtz's 12 Days of Christmas challenge.  He encourages everyone to do what they can, to improvise if you don't have the exact materials he uses.  I don't have the pine cone die (yet!) so I die cut some green foliage and a brown poinsettia (Spellbinders) and added a purchased embellishment (K&Company.)  I'm half way finished with #2 - I'm only three days behind!!!!!

Tim Tag

I recently made a set of "Tim" sized tags using the new Winter Distress Ink set (limited edition) and two of Tim's stamps - Santa and Rays. After I colored the tag, I stamped the Santa image but was left with space on the bottom and top, so I filled it in with the rays, certainly not Christmassy but did the trick. I added glitter glue and a Poinsettia made with the new Spellbinders die set. I didn't add the fibers but included them in the envelopes - saves on postage as two were headed out of the country.

Wild West ATC's

WILD WEST ATC'S

I recently joined an internet group which offers a variety of swaps. One of the first swaps I completed is a set of ATC's with the theme of Wild West. I already had a few stamps I had purchased in Arizona, but I thought I needed something else. Lo and behold in today's newspaper magazine supplement there was an article about John Wayne! Who else symbolizes the Wild West??? I cut out some text for the background and the little pictures. The other ATC is a part of a landscape which is chalked and cut down to ATC size. Enjoy!

ATC-ABC Swap: "C" is for Crayon Resist

Here's a sample of the ATC's I made using Crayon Resist, a very easy technique. I stamped white CS using black ink, first using a text background stamp and overstamping with an open flower. I colored the centers and petals of the flowers with crayons and deliberately didn't fill in completely. I used several colors of Distress Inks to cover the images, then "polished" using a soft cloth. Finally I CB'ed the letter "C" from a scrap of copper colored foil. Quick and easy!!

More Projects

Here are some samples of swaps from the last few months.

Alice in Wonderland ATC's

Cards for Troops

This 'n That/ATC's

I have finally returned to making ATC's - it seemed that my groups had somehow gotten away from these for awhile. I joined the monthly round of themed ATC's through a Wisconsin group - this month's theme was "Farm Fresh" - Door County Cherries was my contribution:

Another group is doing monthly swaps of techniques. The following are my ATC's for "A" and "B" - looks like we will be swapping through 2013! Thanks to my stamping friend Carol S. from WA for organizing this. Her blog is awesome and inspiring.

"B" for brayered background with rubber bands, blue, blossoms and bling:

"A" for acetate and alcohol inks:

These are the cards I made for the "Cards for Troops" project for May. Each month, besides general BD, TY, etc., we are asked to send special seasonal cards such as 4th of July. I really enjoy making these each month - Usually around 30 0r so cards which are sent to a central location and then forwarded to troops stationed around the world for their use. Thanks to my stamping buddy Jan of Redrubberink for linking me up to this project. Of course, it's also a reason to add to my stash!!!!!

Welcome Miss Rosie

Who could ask for a prettier "fur ball?"

April Oriental Themed Card

I really enjoy challenge swaps, so the Oriental Art challenge for April is Kites. EGADS!!!! I don't have a kite stamp, so I needed to come up with an idea. After doing some reading about Oriental kites, I discovered that the fish kite (Japan) is very popular. Although I'm not good at Origami, I was able to fold the fish. Here's the result.

March Cards for Troops

A few months ago I found out from my stamping buddy Jan Hoeffler - Red Rubber Stamping -about an ongoing project to create cards which would be sent to bases where troops are stationed so that they would have a choice of handmade cards to send home to their friends and family. Besides general cards such as birthday, thank you, etc., each month there are two special themes. Here are scans of the cards I made (I made 4-6 of each):

Father's Day

More Father's Day

Graduation

Birthday

OSA - Monthly Themed Swap for March

March Oriental Card of the Month

This month the theme is Origami and the colors, silver and blue. Origami and I don't really get along. In fact, I am in awe of people who create those fantastic creations with little pieces of paper - no cutting, no glue, nothing but folding in and out. I gave it a valiant effort, but just couldn't create the simplest of kimonos, butterflies, or other projects for kids! When I was about to give up, I looked at the piece of partially unfolded paper and realized that, if I turned it around and folded up the point on the bottom, I would have a vase!!!!!!!!!!!! The Penny Black flower stamp looks perfect in its Origami vase.

Cleaning Up

Found some scans I forgot to post. I made this simple Valentine for a swap for Wisconsin Stampers group and for our monthly Shoebox group. I happened to find s super bargain on paper at a local stamp store - 15 cents for 12X12 good quality card stock - I couldn't go wrong with that!!! I used to Spellbinders dies to create the layered heart image and, of course, had to add some "bling!"

Through a stamping buddy, I found out about a group which collects cards to be sent to troops for their use. Besides general use such as Thank You and Birthday card, each month also has a couple of special themes. Here a few of the cards I made:

Finally, this is an ATC I made for the monthly ATC swap for Wisconsin Stamping. The card is only 2-1/2" X 3-1/2", the size of a sports trading card. These are fun to make, but sometimes challenging. I have a large stamp of a jester and was able to use a portion to create this Mardi Gras ATC:

Cards with Carole

My friend Carole came over last week to "play with paper and past!" Well, it really was glue, but that isn't alliterative. The group of cards below are Carole's creations - Chocolate and Coffee, St. Patty's for JJ, and a dramatic floral card that could be used for many different occasions.

These are the cards I designed for the day. We first made Flower Pot Cards (see "Going Potty" for more details. Then we created cards for spring and Easter.

We ended in the early afternoon with lunch - Adventures Wild Rice Chowder (thank you Juli for the recipe) and brownie cheesecake. Good thing we worked hard in order to work off some of the calories!!!!

Working in the Grotto - February

Just because I wasn't blogging doesn't mean I wasn't down in the grotto making cards. Here's some of what I created.

The above Valentines were created for older patients at Children's Hospital.

This card I created for my grandson is a re-working of a swap I received.

Looked perfect for a little boy!

Here's another card I made for Children's for the older boys.

The cards below were all created with one stamp.