Twill ribbon flower

Another type of ribbon flower today. This one was made with pink twill. On a circular piece of double stick tape, you lay the ribbon down after making a knot at one end and begin to twist the ribbon pressing it onto the tape after each twist. On this flower we started in the middle and worked out. As we got to the edge we tucked the end down with a dot of white glue. A self adhesive gem was added to the middle. A little bit of dry chalk was added to the edge of the punched leaves. On to some treasures we did with Tim Holtz tomorrow. More with canvases.

Goober flower

One night at the show there is a massive time of quick Make and Takes. This tag was done there using a "goober". A "goober" is just a circular piece of double stick acetate that is big enough to make a ribbon flower. We took this organza type material and gathered it and pressed it to the sticky stuff as we went. You don't roll the material, rather bunch and stick as you wind it towards the middle. Then an adhesive gem was added to the center. With the light weight of the ribbon, it had no trouble attaching and staying on the adhesive.

Hero Arts Canvas

So here is the first goodie from the show. Hero Arts offered a class using a canvas frame, their stamps, and their collection of Basic Gray papers. We used Perfect Matte Medium to lay torn pieces of tissue paper over the top of the canvas and then added the other pieces. Shari also showed us how to make the stand up paper flower by just cutting a spiral from a circular piece of paper and gluing it together. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but the banner piece has the word "friend" on it. Quick, fun, and easy!

Mists and Stencil Fern Card

Well I'm back from a packed weekend at the Collins trade show. We got in late last night and bed beckoned me so no posts from the show until I unpack. On Saturday will be the stencil class of things to do with stencils beyond dry embossing. This card is one we do involving mists. Will start prepping today. This is my most labor intensive class. Seeing the faces of those who want to learn these techniques once class is done does make it worth the effort. Hope you have a sunny start to your week.

Cuttlebug Egg Card

Traditonal colors for each season are what I normally gravitate to, but I went a bit "out side the box" on this card. Was pleased with the results. The eggs were punched with a Marvy punch on printed paper and then mounted onto the card with dimensional foam tape. The background was done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder using Memory Box paper. This paper is perfect to use with the folders because they are white underneath. Once embossed, all you have to do is sand the paper and the white shows through. The paper behind the embossed part looks rather blue, but it actually is a purple that goes well with the purple on the printed paper and with the ribbon. The words on the tag are by Memory Box and stamped with a Versafine purple onto a tag that was punched from a Stampn' UP! punch.
This will be my last post until I get back from MA. I'm heading up there today with my boss to go on a buying trip for the store. Nothing like spending other people's money! Will post some of the cards I do in classes once I get back. Have a good weekend!

Memory Box Egg Topiary

Got a few Easter cards done the other night. This one uses one of Memory Box's new Easter stamps. It was stamped with Momento dye base ink, and colored in with Copic markers. The greeting stamp is by Stampn' UP!. The punch is by EK Success. The pink velvet ribbon was placed on top of a strip of red line tape. The card is by Memory Box.

Sparkle embossed Card

Here's a card that was done with sparkly embossing powder. The word image was stamped with Versamark onto the paper. Then the purple sparkle embossing powder was poured over the Versamarked words. Because of the wetness of the words from the Versamark, the powder sticks to the image. Then all you have to do is heat emboss. Heat embossing with sparkle embossing powder is a little tricky- It's not as easy to see when the image has been heated enough. A light touch can help if needed, and all you have to do is add a little more heat. The image is by Rubbermoon.

Magenta Tulip

Been working on Easter and birthday cards tonight. This tulip is great for many occasions, but here it's being used for Easter. The message stamp is by Penny Black. Pigment ink was put directly onto the stamp. The edges of the paper were sponged with the same ink that was used on the tulip. This is a large tulip by Magenta. Hope your week is off to a good start. I'm just heading to bed. Been skyping with a friend overseas. Time differences means she's up early, and I'm up late, but it is a nice way to keep in touch.

Celebrating Spring

Now it's offical! Happy Spring everyone! To celebrate I have posted this card. It was one of those happy moments where I just let the creation take on a life of it's own-and that it did. It was done with Marvy Markers. Each flower was done individually, with light then dark colors being applied to each stamp. The paper was a very large white glossy paper and was cut after the images were applied to the paper. Most of the stamps were by Posh or Printworks.

Spring Paper Card

Super easy card today. This beautiful paper is by Penny Black. All I did was cut the paper to size for the card and stamp the words on. Why am I even putting this up? Because some times we all need a super easy card and this is just a reminder that you should never under estimate the use of good paper! -And a few beads and yarn never hurt either. Hope you have a great day today. It sure looks pretty out there.

Daffodil Easter Card

Well, onto the next holiday. Been really enjoying the daffodils that have started blooming around here. This card has one daffodil by Posh which was colored in with markers. When using markers, you can apply the different colors directly onto the rubber. When applying color, it is best to start with light colors and then go to darker colors. The paper is a matte white gloss so the details of the stamp shows up well. Each image was reinked before stamping so they all would be bright and vivid. The flower in the middle was masked so the top flower would not cover it up. The word was stamped with a Distress grey. Printed paper was used behind the white paper, then a solid green, and then a Memory Box orange card.

Last St. Paddy's Day Card

So if you don't do St.Patrick's Day cards, you'll be glad to know this is the last one for a while. Hope you had a good day. I celebrated the day with my boss having Margaritas! (Well, they are green!) This card was stamped on a white glossy paper with dye based green ink. The shammrock is made of stuffed material which I found at Michaels.

So Lucky card

A quick and easy card today. The shammrock paper is by Karen Foster which we got in for St. Pat's day this year at the store. The ginham is by Memory Box, and is actually overlaid on a piece of satin sage ribbon. The dotted paper is by Bo Bunny. The gems are from Memory Box and slid off all together in a row for easy placement. "So Lucky" was from the dollar bin at Michaels, and the question on the stamp (and answer inside) is by Custer's Last Stamp. Did you figure out the answer? "A rash of bad luck!" is stamped inside. "It's a little bit funny," as our friend, Hariett, would say.

Coin Card

Here's a fun card that was done for Lucky Laura at the store. Don't know anyone who has won more things than her. The stamp is by American Arts. This time of year you can find gold chocolate coins quite easily. They are attached with some double stick tape and held well. The circles were punched by Marvy punches and a little color was added with a sponge applicator. Used some scraps of printed paper on this card. Making the St. Paddy cards went a little easier for me this year because prior to making cards, I collected all the printed papers that I thought would work well together into a 12x12 tub. Also got all my solid green paper into one area as well. Made gathering and selecting a lot easier. Am ready now to do Easter cards the same way.

Celtic Card

Another Celtic Blessing card today. The words were stamped with Memento Black. Then lots of layering. The ribbon was folded but not creased, behind the green piece and the white piece and taped on. Button was attached with Tacky glue. Hope you are not the worse for wear with the time change. Atleast we woke up to a pretty day.

Cat in Spring Card

It's that time of year again-time to spring forward with our clocks. We lose an hour but gain another reminder that it really is springtime. The card today is also a tribute to spring. The words are by PSX and stamped with Versafine onto the card. The white part of the card is a matte glossy paper on which was stamped a Paula Best cat and then masked so the flowers would appear behind and under the cat. All around the cat are full surface rubber stamp flowers (mostly by Printworks)that were colored in with markers and dye base pads. Each flower is an indivdual flower stamped repeatedly is various colors. Color was added to the cat with a color duster and the butterflies were colored with markers and stamped onto the cat. More color was added to the sky with sponges. This is not a quick card, but it really doesn't take that much time to do. It is always satisfying to see the results when you make a card with lots of pieces like this.

St. Paddy's Inchie Card

Made this card for lovely Jen at work. She does a lot with inches. I enjoy making more inchie cards now that I have a 1 inch punch. Makes the card making go very quickly! The design on the side is also a punch. Some extra color was added to the design with a sponge applicator. The buttons have green twine tied through the holes and were glued on with Tacky glue. The words are part of a ribbon I had. It was applied with red line tape.

Pot of Gold Card

This card is made with a template I saw in the Take Ten magazine. The image was stamped with black Memento, and colored in with Copic markers. The shamrocks were punched out from some printed paper and mounted with double stick foam tape. Been enjoying using this template for making cards. It's been a good one. It's the same one used on the Top of the Morning card that was posted earlier this week.

Outlines St. Paddy's Card

Outlines makes this cling stamp. The images color in nicely, but I took the easier route of stamping on colored paper. The hat was stamped again on darker paper and cut out and attached with foam tape. Gems were placed in the center of the shamrocks. Pulled out some of my Celtic music today. Was sorry I couldn't find it when making my St. Paddy's cards.

Top of the Morning Card

Having one of those nights so this card seemed appropriate since it's the wee hours of a new day. Did have a good day yesterday-sunshine and time to do St. Paddy Day cards. This is one that followed a challange that was posted somewhere that escapes me as much as sleep does at the moment. Anyways, I enjoyed creating this card. The cat and words are by Stampendous. Color was added with Copic Markers. The mega and giga Marvey punches were used to create the circles. Isn't the ribbon great? Found that at Michaels and it fit perfectly with the Memory Box card color.

Celtic Birthday Blessing #2

Yesterday's post was a Celtic blessing used for a man's birthday. The card today is also a Celtic blessing for a women who has a birthday this month. The little felt butterflies were a find in the dollar bins at Michaels and easily attach with a pop dot or Tacky glue. This time the blessing was stamped with Versafine Black.

Celtic Birthday Blessing

Here's one of the March birthday cards that I've sent. Celtic blessings make a great card for birthdays in March. There are quite a few stamps from various companies that have great blessing stamps. This blessing was stamped with Versfine Olympic Green onto paper that was rubbed with an Old Paper distress pad. That gave it a textured look. The circle was stamped with Versamagic Pesto. The Celtic design was stamped with the Versafine Olympic Green. All this was placed on top of Celtic looking paper by Basic Gray. The recipient is a male friend of ours. Cards for men are often a challenge for card makers, so hopefully this will help give you some new ideas.

Cherry Blossoms Card

Found out this week that the cherry blossoms will be blooming later this month. Cherry festival is set as well! We do love our cherry blossoms here in the DC area. Loved this cherry blossom washi paper and it made a great background paper for this Memory Box stamp. The stamp was inked with black dye ink and colored in with Copic markers. Then tiny pink gems were added to the blossoms. The pink satin ribbon goes around the front of the card and an additonal piece was tied around the ribbon to make the bow. The card is by Memory Box as well.

Cat's Pajama's card

This image is by Cat's Life Press. It was stamped with Versafine black and colored in with Copic markers. The word stamp is by Amuse. Michael's always has good seasonal ribbons on sale and that is where the ribbon came from. The two scallops were punched with Marvy punches. My friend who owns two scotties got this card.

Chalk H2O Effects

Watercolor effects are some of my favorite looks. There are so many ways to achieve a watercolor effect. This card shows how to get a watercolor look with no water involved. Instead, a watermark pad is used and dry chalk. The beauty of it all is you don't want to color in the lines! All images were watermarked and then chalk was added with a q-tip. The words are by Hero Arts and stamped with a green dye base ink pad. The dragonflies are actually buttons. The shanks were cut off and then they were glued to the card with Tacky glue. Saw my first sign of spring on a walk around Lake Ann-crocuses are up! Yea!

Irish Stencil Card

This is a card we do in the dry embossing class. The card is dry embossed and then the color is added before removing the stencil. Pigment inks were used. Shading was done by overlapping colors. We're getting more spring stamps each day at the store. Come on in and be inspired!