Alex the Patriotic Pup

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I decided to spotlight one of my "kids" for the MiTi at Marco's Paper yesterday.  I turned an easel card into a photo frame easel card by simply layering a piece of acetate over a decorated piece of cardstock.  By using brads to hold the acetate in place, you can easily change the photo by simply sliding it under the acetate.

We used the watercolor palettes and the fine liner tool from USArtQuest to make the card.

If you weren't able to join us yesterday, check back in the next day or so and I'll post my usual step-by-step instructions.

Happy Saturday!

Fallen off the face of the earth . . .

Just in case you were wondering, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth (yet).  I have been a bit busy lately and that is likely to continue for awhile so my posts will continue to be a bit sporadic.

I normally don't post cards from my classes but I thought this card (from a recent Cheaper by the Dozen class) was quite appropriate for today's post.  I will be at the Adventures in Stamping convention in Akron this weekend, doing lots of demos in the Marco's booth.  This card combines two of the demo topics - coloring with Copics and embossing with the new electric Sizzix machine.  I'll also have the new stamp positioner from Scor-It and the new distressing tool from Zutter so be sure to stop and say hi!  The flower stamp is from Magenta.

If you can't make it to the convention but live in the Dayton area, I'll be doing a free Make-it/Take-it at Marco's on Friday afternoon (04.30) as part of their Spring Spectacular.  You can check out all the cool happenings on Marco's website - scroll down to the week of April 25th.


 

Going Green for St. Patrick's Day

Are you ready for St. Patrick's Day? I actually made this card the first year I started stamping.  As you can see, I had so much fun with the card that I just kept going and made a matching green envelope with a hand-stamped liner paper.   Over the years, decorating envelopes has become my unofficial trademark.  And, why not?  You've already got the supplies ready to go so add a stamped image, a dusting of color and a little surprise inside . . .

Make-it / Take-it at Marco's Paper

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting the Make-it / Take-it at Marco's Paper in Centerville.  We had several ladies join us to make this fun card, despite the cold weather and snowy roads left over from Friday night.

If you weren't able to join us, I've posted the supplies and steps for making the card below.
Supplies (all are available from the fine folks at Marco's Paper)

o 5-1/2” x 8-1/2” Carnival Cover cardstock – 80# pine

o 4” x 5-1/4” and 1-1/2” x 3-3/8” Cougar cardstock – 80# white

o 2-1/4” x 6” Kaleida Paper cardstock – 80# pink

o “Little More” rubber stamp by Rubber Cottage (RC-436D)
o Spellbinders Nestabilities – Long classic scallop rectangles (S4-145)
o Spellbinders Impressabilities – Pebbles (I2-1010)
o 10” of sheer pink ribbon
o Distress dye ink pads – Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw
o Flower Soft – Sweet Pea or Spring
o Foam tape or pop dots
o Swirl punch from EK Success (PSM87C)
o Sponges

Emboss white cardstock with “Pebbles” Impressabilities plate. Arrange embossing plate so that it is on the raised design side of the cardstock. Sponge entire piece with pink, yellow and green inks. Remove embossing plate.

Wrap ribbon around front of embossed panel and secure on back side with tape, trim off excess ribbon (save for later use on card front). Adhere embossed panel to front of card.

Cut scalloped rectangle and punch (2) swirls from pink cardstock. Stamp verse on white panel with green ink; edge piece with green ink and adhere to pink scalloped rectangle. Adhere panel to card front over ribbon using foam tape. With excess ribbon, loop around ribbon on card front and tie a knot on the right side of the card.

Adhere one swirl at top edge of verse panel with foam tape. Adhere second swirl on top of first swirl, offsetting the image to create a flower. Place a dot of glue in the center of the flower and add a small bunch of Flower Soft for the center.

We used the Wizard machine but the Impressabilities and Nestabilities will work with other die cut/embossing machines.  If you're having trouble getting a good impression, try spritzing your cardstock with Paper Glide first.

Check your calendar for Saturday, March 6th - I'll be hosting another Make-it / Take-it at Marco's.  Check back later in the week for a sneak peek . . .

Sketch 6 - Card #10

What a perfect card to end this very long series of posts - with an umbrella in my drink . . . now I just need the sun and sand to make my day complete.  For this final version, I replaced the printed paper strips with some lime green raffia tied in a knot and the verse is matted on a tag for the focal point.  Ah, finishing a project feels good and provides a sense of accomplishment.

So, now I have to ask the question that has been lingering on my mind since I started this series - have you finished all of your cards from the class?  If so, send some to me so I can share with others.

I did some purging in one of my closets over the weekend and found several unfinished knitting, crocheting and sewing projects.  I was reminded of a comment I overheard at my favorite yarn shop - KnitWits - the other day.  The gist of it was a challenge to finish at least one open project before starting any more new ones or to pick a day of the week and dedicate it to working on unfinished projects.  So, tonight I'm headed to the nest to finish up an afghan that only needs about 2 more rows.  The intended recipient has long since outgrown it (it was originally intended to be a baby afghan) and so it will be donated to a worthy cause.  Another completed project, the wonderful feeling of accomplishment and the happiness in the eyes of the recipient - its all good.  I hope your day is too.

Sketch 6 - Card #9

One more to go after this and then I'll have to find a new topic to blog about.  The butterfly is an Accucut die and I used string pearls for the antennae.  This particular version is a great way to use up all of those scraps of paper and cardstock in your stash.

Enjoy!

Sketch 6 - Card 8

It's tax time and while I'm waiting for a friend to arrive so I can help her with her filing, I thought I'd take a minute for a quick posting.  Only two more cards to go and I'll be done with all of the posting from the Versatility class.  Boy, has this been a long process.  Thanks so much for hanging in there.

This card uses a fun musical note punch from Punch Bunch, a few more notes stamped on the card front and a couple of strips of printed paper that has a musical score on it with pretty colors sponged all over. I can't remember which company made the note and the verse, but I'll edit the post if I find them.