O'Hares card

Yea! On to March! And I'm starting off with a whimsical nod to the green holiday. This card is done with another large Magenta stamp. But, isn't it worth the extra postage? Because of the size and detail to this stamp, it's best to brayer on the ink and then stamp on glossy paper. The shammrocks were stamped and cut out and added with glue. Color was added with water base markers. The name was done with an alphabet set from PSX. Behind the picture is a piece of white mulberry paper. Now on to some decorating with some fresh, spring greens!

Tulip Card

This is a great stamp by Magenta. It's a large stamp, and needs an extra large envelope, but makes beautiful images. It's versatile and useful for making a variety of cards. Today it is paired with a "Thinking of you" from Verses. The tulip was inked with pigment inks and stamped onto cream paper. A punch created the slits for the message to slide into. The tulip is on the front of the card, the message is on the inside piece but extends beyond the front piece.

Batik Card

Oh, lovely Laura at the store is offering her Batik class again on Monday. I did this card in her last class. To do this effect is really fun, but messy-so I always appreciate her offering this as a class so I can make cards at the store and leave the messy part there. Unfortunately, I'm on a road trip again this Monday so can't take the class. But, if you are around, call now so you can get in! You'll really enjoy a new and unique way to make lovely cards.

Celtic Blessing

Will be teaching a class today and then get to go craft with friends. Really looking forward to that. Hope to take my St. Patrick day stuff and get some of those cards done. Here is one of my favorite Celtic cards. It was all stamped with green inks. The circle,cup, and saying are from a couple of companies that specialize in Celtic stamps. The cup was stamped on paper and cut out and glued on. The shammrocks were inked and then continued to be stamped so the impressions got lighter each time. This gives some sense of depth to them as well. Hope you have a good day, too.

Rubberstamp Tapestry Spring Card

It's raining and warmer today, and the stink bugs are back, so I'm claiming it's early spring! And here's a card to celebrate it. This card was made with an accu-cut die to creat the circle and the overlay. The flower set comes on pegs which you stamp to create the scene or, in this case, a wreath. The words are from the same company so they fit well with the wreaths you can create. Dye or pigment inks can be used, but just test them first to see how it looks. I used both on this card. A little bit of glitter glue was added at the end.

Shrink Art

This is a card we'll be doing in Techniques III. It shows a lantern that was stamped and shrunk with Poly Shrink. It also has bamboo that was stamped with a watermark pad. You can see how it darkens the card like a watermark does-except it doesn't go away. Four other techniques will be presented in class as well. This is a good way to learn several new ways of stamping to see what you like. Take a peek over at Angela's Happy Stamper site to see more classes that will be offered over the next few months.

Umbrella birthday card

Here's another birthday card ready for my March birthdays. The stamp is by Rubbermoon. It is stamped with blue Versafine. The umbrellas were colored in with colored pencils. The word stamp is by Cat's Pajamas. The white piece was punched with a Fiskars punch. Inside it says, "May happiness rain down on you" by Housemouse. No rain here yet. Still getting snow. It's rather nice to be thinking spring thoughts, though.

Pirate card

One of the surprising facts my friends in my church homegroup have found out about me is that I have a morbid fascination with pirates. Two of the men have birthdays in March, so for them I did pirate birthday cards. Figured they get a chuckle out of them. The one here is using stamps from Rubber Stamp Ave. They are all stamped in black. I did mask the pirate so the map could look like it was behind him . The ship is actually by Visions of Ink and was stamped onto a cream paper that had been covered with "Old Paper" Distress Ink, then punched out with a Marvy Mega Punch. The words are by Stacy Stamps.

Cat Birthday Card

Been able to get some of the cards needed for all those March birthdays. This one is for a friend who lives a very busy life. Inside it says, "Hoping you have a purr-fect birthday". Am hoping this makes her smile. The cat was stamped in Memento Black and then color was added with Copic markers. On the top of the cat's tummy, the orange pen was stroked on and then "feathered" out slightly. Then taking the bleach pen over the orange, it lightend the color and blended it smoothly.

Watercolor roses

The paper used for this card was actually a 12x12 printed piece. Paper that big that needs colored can seem overwhelming, but if you think of it as pieces for cards and cut it ready to use, it's not so bad. That's what I did with this piece. Now I'm only doing this small triangle. To color, I used a blender pen and ink pads. Just touching the tip to the pad, the color was then put on the image. As you push out from the color spot, the effect blends and tones down the color so it all blends nicely. If the paper is damp, you can dry it with a heat gun before attaching it to the card. The words are by Hero Arts and some color was added to the lines. The words were attached with some double sided foam tape.

Bossy card

Surprisingly:-)I have been accused at times of being a bit bossy. I truly think it comes from all those years of being a teacher. You have a lot of little lives to manage, and helpful "encouragement" and positive "direction" just go with the territory. Now I'm learning the dance of managing older parents-once again trying to encourage and direct without over stepping. Don't always do the right steps. Same goes at work. So this is the card I gave at our staff party last year as a humorous nod to those annoying moments when I may be just a little too helpful and a bit too directive. The white and black pieces were punched with Marvy punches. The image was stamped in black Momento ink and colored in with Copic markers. The saying was inked with Versafine black. The saying on the inside says: "Here's to my friends and the strength to put up with me". On the back of the card where I put my mark that I made the card, I stamped "You're perfect except for 10 or 12 things".

Book print card

A while ago a card was posted where this flower was stamped over book text. This card shows how to use book text as part of the background paper. The flower is by Penny Black and was inked with dew drop ink pads. Since the dew drops are small they are easy to put the color just where you want it. The heart is a dimensional sticker.
I'm off to work on the birthday cards I need for March. Counted up and realized the count is up to 8!

Pulling for you Card

Just sent this card to a friend who is battling cancer. It's a long process, so sending get well cards seems inappropriate. When I saw this set by MSE, I knew this would make a good card for folks, like my friend, working through a long term illness. The grass was stamped with a green dye based ink. The rest of the image was stamped with Momento black and then colored in with Copic pens.

Birthday Card

Well now that the "love" holiday is over I'm really ready to do St. Patty cards. I love doing them. It's something about all those yummy greens after a long winter. However, I'm having to remind myself that March has turned into mega birthday month for me. Think there is something like six birthdays I need to get ready for this month, so first-onto birthday cards. Here's one that at least has green in it, so this somewhat abates my need for green. The stamp is by Printworks and was stamped in black and colored in with Copic markers. It's hard to see, but on the orange is a glaze pen which creates a slightly raised surface when dry. The candle flame was also covered with a glitter pen so it has a sparkle sheen which also doesn't show up well in the photo. The green paper has a design on it, but it is a printed paper that was cut to fit on the card. After wrapping the ribbon around the card and making a bow, the button was attached with a piece of waxed thread that was threaded through the button and tied around the bow.

Flower for all card

I'm sitting here looking at a dozen red roses my honey gave me for Valentine's day. He's really good about giving me flowers. Roses are great flowers for anyone, and this card fills the bill for lots of uses. I have made multipes of this and used it as a birthday, mother's day, sympathy, and just as a basic blank note card. The rose was embossed with white embossing powder onto the blue varieted card stock. Then just mounted up in layers onto the card. I've taken tags and stamped whatever words on it (Happy birthday, ect.) and tied it around the ribbon. Never hurts to have some card on hand that can be a go to card when you need one in a hurry.

Viola's card

Happy Valentine's day to you. I've posted a card I really don't like, but it was made with love for my mother-in-law. She thought it was great, which is why I made it. The part I do like though, was making the quilt heart. It started with a heart die cut over which was placed a piece of double sided adhesive. Using a 1 inch square punch, lots of paper pieces were punched and layed out over the heart. Then the excess paper was trimmed off. This was quick and easy. Next came the parts I didn't like. A larger die cut heart also had adhesive added to it, and the lace trim went around the edge. Then the quilt heart went on top. The word was embossed in white. The background to the card was stamped with a tapestry image stamped in purple dye ink. Purple is her favorite color. So, guess she felt the love so it's all good.

Friends quote card

And now I'm back-again. This card focuses on a quote about friends that is by Magenta stamps. It's stamped in Versafine Sepia and then the one part was highligted with pink chalk. The little punched heart was stamped with a design stamp and attached with double stick foam tape. A pink pearl was added to the heart as well.
The printed paper was mounted onto brown cardstock and then attached to the pink Memory Box card. A pretty quick and easy card.

Here is another zentangle that I made into a card for my honey. This is his valentine. I'm off the PA to check on Dad. Will be back soon, I hope. Have a good weekend.

Zentangle heart card

Have you discovered the fun of Zentangle? There are numerous books out on it, and Laura offers a fun class on it as well. I really enjoy it, and find it's an easy way to kill time when needed. All you need is paper, pen, and pencil. The books offer suggested designs, but look around and you'll find lots of inspiration in the items you see. Had lots of time to work on heart Zentangles over the weekend, and I turned my creations into a couple of cards. Here's the first card. Both the heart and the words were free hand done, with designs from Zentangle book #3.

Cuttle Bug Heart Card

Found some printed paper in my stash that would be good for valentines. Also found a paper piece done with the cuttle bug with the script folder in just the right colors to go with the paper. The embossed paper was then punched with a Marvy Mega punch and sanded. Behind the heart the circle was punched with a Marvy Giga punch, and then the scallop was done with a green Super Giga punch. The paper for the scallop was colored on one side but white on the other, so it was sanded with a fine sander so it looked distressed, and the white shows through. The Printworks stamp was inked with Versafine black so it would show up on the printed paper.

Dry Embossed Screen Card

Had an enjoyable class last week on dry embossing. This is one of the techniques that was done. After dry embossing the card, a screen was slid under the stencil and color was applied. Once removed, the Memory Box stamp was inked on top of the heart. It's all one color here, but tones of colors can be done and is quite effective. Will have to show that on another card in the future.

Lots of hearts Card

Here's a good card worth repeating, and is great for using up scraps of paper. Using a small Marvy punch, punch out 9 hearts. On this card 3 hearts were punched at a time out of the same paper. Apply double stick tape to the back and apply to the card. The word stamp is by Inkadinkado and was stamped with a Versafine Sepia pad onto light pink paper. Two brads were placed on the ends. Then foam tape was added to the back of it as well. Because this was going through the mail, the hearts were not decorated. However, when I did this card again, one time gems were added to the hearts, another time pink pearls were added.

Sally's valentine

Hi there, well, I'm back from PA and home until Sat. Talked to my friend, Sally in CA who said she got her valentine, so thought it was safe to post now. We've been friends since grade school and now live far apart, so this sentiment seemed very appropriate. Since the writing was pretty delicate, Versafine seemed the best ink to use. The design on the red card is a stamp by Penny Black that was stamped on both sides of the card. The little heart was punched with a Marvy punch, and a sticker with a gem in it was placed on top. The black piece was punched with a Marvy scallop punch. This was secured with a piece of double stick foam tape. The whole card was edged with a Chestnut Roan Colorbox Chalk pad. The extra white piece was punched from a Fiskers punch. A black satin ribbon was tied around the printed paper.

Memory Box Paper Valentine 2

You can't beat Memory Box for their fabulous papers. This simple card was made with one of Dave's papers and one stamp also from Memory Box, and a few Memory Box Jewels. Ok, I did add a stamp from Hero Arts and used pink pigment ink to add it to the corners. But talk about easy! Oh, the card is Memory Box as well. This was no more than 5 min. to make. Any yet, so pretty. I need a quick card today because I'm packing for the weekend an will be heading up to see how dad is doing. I'll be back on Monday. Have a good weekend.

Panda Card

One of the many things to love about DC is the panda exhibit at the zoo. We love our pandas! In fact, they are a part of our major news announced on tv. Our latest news is that it's mating season-and it's not going very well. So, the panda folks are stepping in to help where nature is not. (Honest, this is big news!) Did I mention we love our pandas? So it seemed only appropriate to post a card in tribute to our pandas. This stamp is by Coranado stamps. It was inked in black Versafine on white card stock and cut out. A little bit of color was added with colored pencils. Then the image was glued on black card stock and cut to outline the image. On the large white paper bamboo stalks were inked with green and stamped on the paper. That paper was then over laid with strips of torn green vellum. This was then mounted onto black, then green paper. The pandas were then placed on top. The chinese coin was glue on the side with Diamond glaze. Hopefully we'll have a new little panda to see next year-I'm sure it'll make the news.

Chinese New Year Card

Opps, missed it by a day, but wanted to wish a Happy New Year for all those who celebrate it. This card actually has no stamping on it. It was made completely with two pieces of printed paper (and some cards stock) The round piece was added to a band of black card stock that goes completely around the card that slides off in order to open the card. One black gem was placed in the middle of the circle. A nice easy idea today.

Memory Box Wreath Card

Love this wreath by Memory Box. It's so versatile. For the valentine, flower soft was added by applying a white glue first to the wreath (which was stamped in Versamagic Java) and then the Flower Soft was poured over the glue. The excess Flower Soft was removed and the card was allowed to dry. That's it! The printed paper is by Memory Box. The pink heart paper clips came in a box of mixed colors from Walmart. Ribbon pieces were added to it. The word stamp also stamped in Java, is from Printworks. The pink pearls are also by Memory Box.