Big Announcement

It's time for the big announcement - drum roll, please . . . . USArtQuest has formed a new design team and I am very excited and honored to have been chosen to be a member.  Other members of the team include Jan Hennings, Jessica Griffin, Julie Ranae, Lea Cioci, Sarah Anderson, Suzi Blu, and Terri Sproul.  Check out their fabulous blogs (links located on the right).

I had the pleasure of spending time with Susan Pickering Rothamel at her store and studio last year to learn all about the fabulous, artist-grade products offered by USArtQuest.  If you've taken any of my classes, you know how much I love this line.  Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think about the USAQ line.  Don't know what I'm talking about?   Well, hop on over to the USAQ website and check them out.  You'll also find some great how-to videos featuring several of the products.

Stay tuned for more news and happenings in the upcoming weeks!  This would be a good time to become a follower of my blog and to sign up for automatic email notifications so you don't miss out on any of the buzz!

Thanks for visiting.

Big News!!!

I have some very exciting news to share with you - I've been published again in the July issue of CardMaker Magazine.  My article is all about reverse stamping  and includes three cards, each using a different technique.

But wait -there's more!  I am about to embark on another aspect of my creative journey and I'm not going to do it alone.  Want to know why I'm all smiles and about to burst at the seams????  Well, I can't tell you just yet - you'll have to check back in a couple of days to find out all the details on this one!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a quick card that is appropriate for the upcoming holiday weekend - the unofficial start to summer - yippee!  This cute little chef is from Inky Antics and the inside contains the verse "my condiments to the chef" - also from Inky Antics.  Wouldn't this make an adorable thank you card to send to your host/hostess for this weekend's barbecue or picnic?

I colored this with my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.

CBD Card Contest Winners

Our first quarter card contest from my Cheaper By The Dozen class is over and the results are in.  We actually had a tie for first place so I asked my craft sister, Peggy, to cast the tie breaker vote to keep the judging as unbiased as possible.  Although the contest is set up to only have one winner per contest, I decided to do a first and second place this time.

And the 1st place winner is . . . . Barb Voelkel!  Barb submitted a twist on the "cocoa monkey" pocket card.  Using some printed paper, an embossed and popped coffee mug and a palette of soft greens, shades of taupe and accents of black, Barb created a winning card.  On the inside of the card, she layered the scalloped pocket and repeated the circles punched from the printed paper.  Tucked inside the pocket was a packet of cocoa and a coffee stirrer - a greeting card and a gift all in one.

Our 2nd place winner is the fun-loving team of Bonnie Brill and Jan Heller.  Their card was also a twist on the "cocoa monkey" pocket card.  Bonnie and Jan used a completely different color palette - purples, pinks and greens and included a packet of seeds in their Mother's Day version.  What a clever idea!

Thanks to all who submitted cards and to all my fabulous "Cheaper Chicks" for voting.  Don't forget that entries for the 2nd quarter contest are due to me by July 1.  Click here for all the contest rules.  Check the class list on the right for future dates of CBD classes.

Congratulations to Barb, Bonnie and Jan!

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 . . .