I am still here!

I realize it has been a long time since I posted anything new, so decided that it is about time.  So much has happened since I last posted, and it seems like I have lost an entire year.

But, I never quit making cards!  I even have all of my Christmas cards done and ready to go into the mail right after Thanksgiving.  I will not be showing them on my blog until after Christmas so that I don't spoil it for anyone.  This year I made them all the same.

Here are some of the other cards I have been making though:

This one was done for group swap.  The theme was "Music".  I had the background paper, and I decided to make a tent card.  I muted the background behind the Beatles by putting an overlay of vellum on it.  I fussy cut around the band and they are on an accordion folded base so they stand out from the background.  The tea bag medallion was made using the inside of an envelope that I stained with Distress Ink to colorize it. 

 

 

This card was made for a friend using a rubber stamp from Northwoods Rubber Stamps. It is colored using Twinkling H2O's.  I just love using them and the sparkle that they add.  I also enjoy this stamp.

 

 

The next 2 are cards I made to thank our Realtor for all of the hard work she has done for us the past 11 months.  I colored the background using Distress Inks, stamped the images in black and added some tea bag medallions.  I am quite pleased with the way they turned out and hope she likes them.

 

This card is my first attempt at Zentangle.  The rooster is a digital stamp.  After doodling him in, I fussy cut him out and then popped him up off the page with adhesive dots to give the card some depth.

 

Sorry to have been away for so long...I hope to find more time to post after the holidays.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Distressing without the stress these days

I am back again.  I made this card for my Mom using distress inks to color in the image.  I also used Distress Ink on the paper flower that adorns the front.



The edges of the card were distressed using Peeled Paint (one of my favorite colors).

 

Here is the card with the flap opened.  I used a Spellbinder Die (Scalloped Ovals) to cut the openings.

 

And with the inner flap opened, you can see the inside of the card where I stamped my sentiment.

 

Now this card was inspired by Splitcoast Stampers, but I did not have the large dies that they use, so I used squares and rectangles and put it together that way.  I made a teabag medallion to put on the front.

Thanks for looking.  I hope you have a great day!



Origami Dresses

I found a video online for folding origami dresses.  Once I started, I just could not stop!  I kept finding more little bits of paper that I thought would make a cute dress.  In the end, I had 30+ dresses!  I am working on getting them onto cards now.

On this one, the largest dress is 1 1/4" tall.  Using a rubber stamp, I created the clothesline poles.  Then I masked them and using my Distress Inks, I made the background.

This one I made by masking the circle before I shaded with my distress inks.

 

And this one was made adding a digital sentiment that I had.

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my latest endeavors.  Be warned - these can be very addicting.  I just wish I could make ones that would fit me as easily.  They are so easy to make.











Time Flies

My how the summer flew by!  I knew I hadn't posted in awhile, but I had no idea it had been this long!

In honor of the season (even though it is 19 degrees here this morning) I am going to post a couple of fall cards I have made recently.  Hope you like them!

This one features teabag folding.  And the tile was made by a friend of mine.  Love that spooky spider!

The fold on this one is Dahlia Fold.  I used an EK Success Border Punch to create the trellis.

Distress inks blended here and rubber stamping the flowers.

And it wouldn't be fall without some pumpkins!  I did this one with colored pencils and created the wording using WordArt in my Word program.

 

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

 



Honey Bee

I made this Honey Bee card to send to a special person and thought that it would also work for the challenge at Paper Issues!

The photo is one I took of a bee that was "Bzzzy" collecting pollen from a sunflower in the garden so he didn't notice that I was able to take his picture.  The tea bag medallion is one from Sue Bothum of Circle of Crafters.  I just love the fold as it produces so many layers.  The tile I used has little bees in the corners so it worked perfectly for the fold.  The sentiment is from Create with TLC. and cut out with my Spellbinders die using my Cuttlebug.  Peel offs were used for the white border around the photo.

I hope you have a good day!  "Bee well!"

Getting ready for Mother's Day

I have started making some cards for Mother's day.  Some of my friends have requested some so I am making them.

Here is one of them:

I used my Martha Stewart punches to make the background layers.  My Cuttle bug with Curls and Swirls Alphabet dies made the letters.  And of course a tea bag medallion to top it off.  A little bling in the corners to set it off.

I made a few in the same style.  I have various colors made like this too, and if you are interested in purchasing one, contact me and let me know.



I have also been making other cards too.  Just have not time taken to show them.

I made this one for my granddaughter's baptism.  I used a digi stamp from Create with TLC.  She has the most beautiful sayings and quotations for cards.  You really need to sign up to be a Follower.  Paulette is very generous with her creations.  The fold is from a dear friend of mine - The Leo Fold. 

And this one also made with a digi from Create with TLC.  This saying is so appropriate.  I love it.  I used a Spellbinders die to cut it out and shaded it in with Distress Ink in Broken China.

I hope you are all having a great day.  We hit 76 here today - totally unheard of here in northern Wisconsin in March.  I am not complaining about it.  I have seen my first robins of the year and the sand hill cranes are back with their noisy calls.  Someone told me today that they saw a flock of bluebirds yesterday.  Could it be?  Is spring really here?

We have had issues with a bear for the past 3 weeks.  It likes our deck.  This photo was taken on March 5 - see we did have some snow:

This bear has burdock's stuck to the fur on her back and face.  It has no fear of us.  I took this photo through a closed back door as she was less than 8 feet from the door.  I say "her" but do not know for sure.  When it stood up on it's hind legs and looked at me, I didn't think to look at the down side to determine gender!  I did notice that there were no "nursing" marks on it, so it does not have cubs.  Whatever - but it came out of the den early and decided to stay up.  It has been paying us regular visits so we are very aware of our surroundings when we leave for work in the dark and any other time as well.  In this photo, it was 4:30 in the afternoon!



Happy February!

We have had such a nice weather pattern going lately.  Whoever heard of 50 degrees in January in northern Wisconsin?!  Last week we were in the 40's all week too.  I know it won't last, but it sure is a nice change.

I have made a few more cards since I was last here.  This one is iris folding.  I have not done this technique in quite a while, but I like how it turned out.  I used tissue paper for the vase and tore apart some silk flowers I had to put in the vase.

This is one I made for a valentine.  The clip art came from TLC Creations.  You really need to check out what she has available.  Lots of goodies for your card making and scrap booking pleasure.  And be sure to become a follower so you can get even more goodies!  I used my Martha Stewart heart border punch for the edges and an embossing folder from Darcie (hearts) for the background.  I made a medallion for the front, inked the edges with Distress Ink in Fired Brick, and tied on some eyelash ribbon.

This one is made with with Spellbinders Elegant Posts for accents.  Of course a medallion made from a tile I made.  The background is made using the bubble wrap technique - paint bubble wrap with acrylic paint, press your card stock onto it and let it dry.  When dry, I lightly inked it with Fired Brick Distress ink.  The original color of the card stock is what I call paper bag brown.

I hope you are having a great day!  Feel free to leave a comment if you have time.  I like feedback!





A New Year! Happy 2012

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season.  Ours was great - quiet, but great.

I have had some time to make a few cards again.  YAY!  Gotta' love that.

Here is a card I made after making the mushroom paper.  It turned out pretty good, but was stiff.  I used it as a backing for my medallion.  I may have to try die cutting some of this paper in my Cuttlebug to see if it will cut.

This card is done with a flourish clear stamp onto paper that I inked up with my brayer.  I cut them out, and adhered them to rectangles cut from white card stock that I ran through my Cuttlebug first.  I inked the edges of the embossed pieces before adhering them to patterned paper.  Little yellow gems finished it off.

 This card was really fun to make!  It is folded accordian style and attached to a backing card.  Before folding it, the butterflies were stamped on the ends of a long strip of cream paper along with the flourishes and flowers.  I cut out the edges of the butterflies in certain areas so they can overlap on the front of the card.  This is what it looks like open!

It wouldn't be complete without a tea bag medallion, so that went on the inside.  The first card I made like this took FOREVER, but the second, third, and fourth went much quicker.  LOL!

This one I made for a friend that recently moved.  In the process of moving, they found a sketch of what the house was going to look like when built.  I used a Spellbinders die to cut out the opening so that the house would show through the front of the card.  I did this after attaching paint sample strips to the front of the card.  When opened, it looks like this:

FUN! 

I hope you all have a good day and are having good January weather.  Thanks for peeking in!

Tis the week before Christmas and all through my house...

Here it is the week before Christmas and I am getting my cookies baked and the last of everything put together for the festivities.  I wish we would get another inch or so of snow as it is looking brown and green in the yard for this time of year.  I will probably be kicking myself for that comment in a month though.

I believe most of the cards I sent have been received, so it is safe to show more of them here now.

This card is made with a photo I took of some pine boughs and winterberries that I picked and put in a bucket on our deck.  Mother Nature provided a dusting of snow and I went out and took the photo as it looked so pretty.  I attached the velvet ribbon and made a tea bag medallion to finish it off.

Not your typical holiday colors, but I really like the way this one turned out.  I used a silver sticker on the purple card and then covered the front with snowflake embossed vellum.  Using the same fold for the medallion as the previous card, I opted for this one to make the flower for the front along with the embossed leaves from Spellbinders Poinsettia set.

More purple!  This time using a cuttlebug embossing folder (snowflake corner) on white for the background, Spellbinders classic oval for behind the stamped snowman cut with a scalloped oval (also from Spellbinders).  The stamp is from Stampin Up "It's Snowtime" set.

And this is what I call embossed spot light technique.  I embossed the background and then another small piece that lined up over a portion of it and colored in only the small piece with colored pencils.  Clear as mud?  I thought so.

I wish all my family and friends a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS filled with love and peace.  May all your Christmas wishes come true.

But remember...when you stop believing in Santa Claus,

you start getting underwear for Christmas. 

May you always believe in the spirit of Christmas!

Creating some cards

Well, I have been busy creating my Christmas cards.  Christmas card making falls during hunting season and Thanksgiving and I am only half done with the cards I need to get done to send out for Christmas.  I will (again) ask Santa for more hours in the day this year.

Here is a card that is 2 types in one.  I made a box card and mounted it on an easel base.  The background is cut from 2 copies of the same image and cutting out parts (house, bushes, tree, etc.) and popping them out with dimensionals and adding stickles.  The box card is stamped and colored with colored pencils before cutting out the inside frame.

This card was made using my spellbinders Poinsettia and the styrofoam lid from a take out container.  I inked the flower with chalk inks before assembling it and putting it over the embossed background.

This card is done with a teabag medallion.  The paper came from a paperstck of Christmas papers that I got.  The medallion is made from tiles of my own creation.

That's all from now!  Time to get back at making the cards.  Don't want to spoil any more surprises for family or friends that may look at this blog..







Fall here and leaves have left

Fall is here and we have had beautiful temperatures in the 70's to 80's for the past couple of weeks.  After some heavy rain and wind a couple weeks ago, all of the leaves are now on the ground.  The Aspen still have most of their beautiful yellows and the oaks are pretty with their shades of rust and mahogany.

Our garden did pretty good considering it was the first year.  I was able to put up quite a few quarts of colorful tomatoes.

We found these pretty mushrooms growing on a dead downed tree, but have not been able to find out what kind they are.  They are huge - about a foot across.

If anyone knows what kind this is, please feel free to leave a comment.  In 1 weeks time, they have grown to about 20" across and gotten thicker.  So pretty in their form and shape.  BTW, no need to leave a comment about not eating these.  I know better than to pick and eat any fungus that I don't know what it is. :)

At any rate, I have also made some new cards and played with some new techniques.

This one is teabag folding for the frame around the image.  I created the tile for the medallion from the image in the center.  The background is called Acrylic Distress using acrylic paint, a cuttlebug folder, and sanding paper.  I cut it out using a Spellbinders die.

This one is made from a kit that I won in a contest years ago.  Embroidery on paper on the left side of the card and 3D work on the right.

This one is a bubble wrap background also done with acrylic paints.  Fun stuff to play with.  Also a teabag medallion and a Spellbinders die cut of course!

Sorry this is so blurry.  This is also bubble wrap background, but smaller bubbles that had some popped ones in it (don't you just love popping those?).  Another teabag medallion using a tile I created.  And Spellbinders Elegant Posts die cuts for the accent pieces.

I hope you are having a great fall where you are.  It is time to start thinking about Christmas cards again.  I did some shopping last weekend and picked up a few "must haves" to start making mine.  You know, things like paper, cardstock, glitter, embossing powder, a new Spellbinders Die, etc. 

I just love "Retail Therapy"!







Life is Sweet

Hello again!  I wanted to show a cupcake card that I made for a group anniversary.  It was fun to make this card and I plan on using this template to make cards for birthdays. 

The icing was made with fun foam.  I tried running it through my Cuttlebug with the Divine Swirls folder.  It worked, however the embossing stared to fade.  I quickly grabbed my Stickles bottle and went over the embossed lines before they disappeared entirely!

The cupcake wrapper was made by running my paper through my crimper.  I tied a thin ribbon into a bow and attached the center with a brad.  The cherry on top is a tea bag medallion folded using a tile I created.

The inside is a pop-up greeting made with a Spellbinders die cut from Fancy Tags.  The stars are some stickers I had on hand and I used some on the front of the card as "sprinkles" to tie them togther.

I hope you like my card today and also hope that you have a "sweet" day too!



Springtime in Northern Wisconsin

It is springtime in WI and we received over a foot of snow in the past 24 hours.  UGH!  I think everyone here is tired of the white stuff.

But, I have been making some cards since I posted the last time...gee, time goes by fast.  Has it really been a month since  posted last???

This is a Magical Marquee card that I made...or at least the front of it.  I got the idea from Jan at Stamppaperscissors where you can see her video tutorial.  I made the tulips using the Stampin Up Bird punch - just the wings though.  I did not have the correct punches for the openings on the card, but played with the idea using my nestabilities dies and found that they will work, it just takes some fiddling with.  When you open the card, the curtains pull back to reveal a hidden message...

Here is the first one I made.  I did not have the circle punch, but using my circles die for the Cuttlebug, I was able to finish it.

Here is a card I made a while back for a challenge in a tea bag folding group.  The theme was "circus" and I chose to do a circus wagon, complete with teabag folded wheels and a tiger that looks like he is going to jump through the bars of the cage.

I hope the weather is good where you are.  I am going to keep thinking spring.  It has to come eventually...RIGHT????