Why Put Photos in that Frame???

I'm back crafter's with a project that's not a card.  Surprise!!!

First before I get into that, I'd like to thank those of you who sent well wishes and prayers from my accident and let you know I'm well and finally secured another vehicle.  Here's a picture of my new (used) baby.  I'm in love with her- she's so quick and spirited and I love the color- one of my very favorites!!

Doesn't she just look fun?!  Her color is Lime Squeeze!  It makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

Ok, on to business- the Photo-less Frame Collage.  What I did was purchase this very clean and modern collage frame for my bff's birthday and I was going to put pictures of us in it, but I didn't want to do the expected.  So I looked through my stamps and digis and found ones that conveyed things I wanted to say to her.  I stamped out each image on a 6x4 piece of cardstock, and using Copics and colored pencils, went to town with each one.  I went through my sentiments to find something to say what I wanted and if I didn't have something I either typed it up and affixed it to the image, or I said what I wanted simply by handwriting my own sentiment.  I felt that made it even more personal.  On some of the cards I inked the edges, and on others I used various types of punches to decorate the corners and then backed the images with colored paper cut to 6x4 size so the color would show through the punched corners.  Obviously embellishing had to be very minimal since it was going inside a thin frame and I didn't want anything on the outside of the frame.  So I used spica pens, glossy accents, crackle accents, stickles, and glaze pens to give dimension and texture to the images.  The following pictures are of the images that were put into the frame, they are in no particular order.

BFF By My Side by Stamping Bella

Big Girl Panties by Stamping Bella

Fallen by Gorjuss

Callie's Happy Dance by Tiddly Inks

In The Hot Tub by AI "Girlfriends"

So there are all the components, now to put them into the frame for the final step.  Here they are all in the frame.

The Final Project

I wish I hadn't been in such a hurry and taken more time to get a better shot of the final project, but I wasn't thinking "Blog" at the time.  But you get the general idea.  I could have even mixed photos and images, or photos, images, and journaling.  It all depends on what size frame you have and what you want to include.  I have 2 more of these frames that I am going to do and each one will be done differently.  I have no set time on when they need to be completed, they are just in my stash as gift items, so we shall see what becomes of them.

I hope you enjoyed today's project and I hope it inspired you to think differently about photo frames.  They're not just for photos anymore!

Thanks for your time and until next time- craft on!

Be Happy and Carefree!

First, I'd like to apologize for not posting lately.  I, unfortunately, was involved in a car accident that totaled out my 97 Rav4, but thankfully I only suffered abrasions and some severe contusions from the seatbelts and airbags, and a moderate concussion.  My poor car gave it's life to save mine and everytime I see the damage to her, I am very thankful that I escaped without further injury.  

Front View

Now I'm in the midst of looking for a new mode of transportation and going through sticker and technical advancement shock.  Gone are the days when the biggest thing you could get on your car was the keyless entry and seat warmers and a sunroof.  Now your car is computerized and does everything for you.  I laughed and said it was going to take me a month to figure out how to use the radio and the wipers, let alone the coffee machine.  Yes, I jest about the coffee machine, but good golly, the cars do everything else for you- why hasn't someone figured out a way to have it do something useful like make coffee??  Maybe that's on next years model!  LOL!

Now on to the task at hand......  I made this darling card for a friend of mine whose birthday is today.  I used the adorable digi stamp from Sassy Cheryl called "Polly's Pink Flower Pot."

Sorry for the fuzziness of the picture- new phone and I'm still learning on it.  Everything used on the card were items I had in my stash. The card was colored using Copic Markers.  The papers used are Bazzill papers, Coconut Swirl to stamp on (a must), Heidi (the purple), Parakeet (the green), and the bittersweet orange, which is a favorite of mine, is Saltillo.  The flowers are from Prima's Bitty Bag of Flowers and I just picked out the colors to go along with the card and assembled them.  I glued them down with glossy accents as I didn't want to use brads and then topped each flower off with a Dew Drop in pearl. The pink ribbon is from my stash and I just cut a piece and set it off at an angle and secured it down using Red Tape on the back of each end and on several spots on the front.  The little "Be Happy" bingo card is from the DP paper 6x6 stack Simple Stories-Vintage Bliss, and I accented it with a  pink/white twine bow at the top.  To add dimension, I secured the bingo card down using a Tim Holtz Message Pin stuck through the ribbon.  I have a close-up of the digi and of the "Be Happy" embellishment so you could get a better look.

 Here you can see where I used stickles and smooch to embellish the image.  Also on the flower you can see where I added a Dew Drop in pearl to the center of the flower.  I used that flower as the basis for the floral embellishments on the card.  Can you see the little ladybugs and the bird on the digi too?  The photo just doesn't do the card justice.  It really doesn't show off the shading I was able to achieve using different stickles in combo with the copics.

 On the opposite side you can see the "Be Happy" card and look- It had a 7 and an 11, so I circled both since that's her birthday!  How awesome!  You can see how it's just a very simple twine bow and how the Message Holder Pin is easily stuck through the ribbon.  It is not glued down in any way.  You also get a close up of one of the flowers in the layers.  That Prima purple Bitty Bag has all shapes, sizes, and colors of flowers in it and was well worth the $6 I paid for it.  I still have tons of flowers left, and they are the perfect size for card making.  The place where I used to get them doesn't carry them any more, but I'll have to check and see if they are going to get them back in stock, or if it's something Prima has stopped making.












All in all I really do like the way the card turned out.  I only wish the pictures turned out better.  I'll have to play with my camera and phone and see which one works better to capture the clearest and most detailed pictures and then post a better picture.

Thanks for checking in and as always craft on and I've got a bunch of things in the hopper to be posting!

Three Ways To Say Thank You

Sorry for the delay in posting but a few bits of life popped up, so this card is rather appropriate.  It's a digi image from Tiddly Inks called Thanks Beary Much.  I think it's a great card for kids to send out as a thank you card or as a lighthearted thank you card.  I used the same image with three different color combinations so you could see how versatile the image can be.  All the images are colored using Copics.

Front & Close Up View

These images show the card done in bright colors with floral embellishments from Prima and stickles on the bears and the girl's shoes.  The image was cut out and glued to the mat which was attached to the background of the card which is DP paper from loose stock from my stash.

Front View & Close-Up

This version of the image is done in black, red, and white.  Glitter pens were used on the bears, and the chair to bring out some highlights, and a Glaze pen was used on the girl's hair and shoes to bring out a little gloss and texture.  The edges of the image was distressed using both black and red inks from my stash.  The Red rose was part of a Rose Ribbon from my stash and the white flowers are from Prima.  The little ribbon was made using black and white heart ribbon from my stash and belted together using a small piece of black velvet ribbon from my stash.  The DP paper is from leftovers in my stash.

Front & Close-up Views

And finally the third version is a combination of the first two cards.  I used bling from my stash since I used DP floral paper from my loose stock stash and thought using bulky flowers would be too overpowering.  I used colored Spica glitter pens on the bears, chair, dress, and shoes, and a Glaze pen in her hair for glossy highlights.  I lightly distressed the mat with pink chalk ink from my stash.

As you can see, you can get three different looks from the same image simply by changing the colors and embellishments up.  The one thing I usually keep the same is the sentiment inside which is, "Thank you beary, beary, beary much!!"

I hope you enjoyed today's cards and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them and I'll respond.  Thanks for following.

Craft on, and the next post is sure to be a surprise!

Thanks For My Freedom

Today is a special day in the U.S., it is Memorial Day.  A day in which we remember all those who have served and serve in the Military forces and especially pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives to give us our freedom.

When I saw this digital image by Mo Manning, called Patriotic Remembrance, it really touched me, especially with the boots and flags standing next to the young boy holding the flag and I felt it was very appropriate for today's holiday.

Front View

I did this card in Prisma Colored Pencils and Gamsol for a water color effect and then double matted it all the while staying with the red, white, and blue theme.  I distressed all the edges of the image and mats with my Tim Holtz distresser and used Java Brown chalk ink from my stash.  I used a white ink uniball pen on the blue mat to give it a stitched look.

Side View

I gave you a side view so you could really see the effect of distressing the edges of the mat and also how realistic the white ink uniball pen looks as stitching.  I love that pen!!

Close-up View

I wanted to give you a close-up view too so you could see some of the smaller details in this stamp and get a good look at the boots with the flag.  I apologize the pictures aren't as sharp as normal as I was using a different camera.  The sentiment on the front of the card says "Thank you for my Freedom."

I hope you all honored those who served and serve in the military who protect our freedom and give so much of themselves.  They change their lives forever so we can continue to live our lives the same way.

Craft on and see you tomorrow!

We Know Way Too Much.....

Today's post is a 4x6 card front that was inserted into a hanging frame, that held several other images, that I gave to my bff as a birthday gift.  The image and sentiment are from the AI Girlfriends line called Hot Tub Friends.  It reminded me so much of the two of us I just couldn't resist.

Front View

I masked off the other two girls that were in the tub, so it just left the two of us, giggling and laughing, and drinking- I know.... Us, drinking?  Unheard of!

I colored the images using Copics, and went a little crazy with the glaze pen to highlight the wine glass, bottle, shoes, lips, and blonde hair.  I used a bit of cocoa smooch to pearlize the brunette hair and golden smooch to accent the earrings on the blonde girl.  I distressed the edges using a blue chalk ink from my stash and inked the sentiment that I stamped in bahama blue memento ink with a marigold chalk ink from my stash.  I used a small piece of polka dot pool blue ribbon I had in my stash just for accent.  I had to keep the embellishments rather flat as it was going inside a flat 4x6 acrylic covered collage frame.  So I went for texture and shading as embellishment instead of layers.  I think it turned out nice given the limitations I had to work with.  I hope you enjoy it too!  I'll post a few more from this project so you can see the diversity of stamps I used, all to convey the message of how much her friendship means to me.  As the sentiment says "We'll always be friends.... we know WAY too much about each other."  Oh how true!  Thanks Cindy for always being my bff!!  

Craft on and see you on Monday with a special Patriotic post.

May's Awareness Month

May is an awareness Month for many things.  One cause near and dear to my heart is Bipolar Awareness, so I made a special card for Bipolar Awareness and Stopping the Stigma associated with it and all mental illnesses.

Front View

Here's the full front view.  The image is an old freebie digi stamp and unfortunately I don't remember what blog I received it from. I found the blog I received it from- A Day of Daisies.  The sentiment was typed freehand using Creating Keepsake's Peeking Posies font and another CK font I had in my stash. The image was colored using Copic Markers.  I embellished the coloring using yellow Stickles in the center of each flower, Mystic Green Stickles for the short stem portion near the top of the flowers on some flowers, and Tim Holtz's Distress Stickles in Vintage Photo for the Flower vines.  The Green Ribbon was embellished using the clear Glaze Pen to allow the shading of the Copics to show through.  

Close-up View

Here's a closer view of the card so you can see more of the details.
The DP (Designer Paper) for matting is from one of my new favorite lines- MME (My Mind's Eye) Collectable- "Noteable" series.  The solid cardstock is, as always, Bazzill, with the actual card being made from Suede Brown Dark.  I almost always use Coconut Swirl when I print out my digis from my printer.  I corner rounded each corner using my We R Memories Corner Chomper-Deco Style and then inked the edges of each piece with Java Brown chalk ink from my stash.  I then used some domed gems in light green in two different sizes from my stash on each corner of the images.  I put together the flowers using prima flowers from my stash- they came in the purple bitty flowers bag that I purchased from apassionforscrappinretreats.com and secured them using brads from the MME Find Your Wings and Fly- "Up & Away" and "Sky's the Limit" Designer Brads packages.  The colors just went so well together. 

One hint for you, if you fall in love with a line and you buy the paper and embellishments, don't keep them exclusively together.  By filing them by color you'll get much more use out of them as you'll find that the embellishments will go with so many more things, as well as the paper going with other embellishments.  It will help you think out of the box.

Finally, speaking of Thinking out of the Box, help understand Bipolar Disorder and help stop the Stigma.......

Until Thursday.................  Craft on and give someone a hug!

SPRING HAS FINALLY SPRUNG

Well what a surprise.  I've been a bit more productive at the crop retreat than I expected so I get to post my next card earlier than planned.  This sweet little fairy is called Spring Blossom and is by on of my favorite artists, Sylvia Zet.  You can check out all of Sylvia's action by visiting her blog at sylviazet.blogspot.com

I used my Copics to color this sweety and embellished her using Stickles and Smooch from my own stash.  She's got a lot of sparkle and shimmer going on in her world.  The matting paper is from MME "Up & Away" series, the Find Your Wings And Fly Collection, 6x6 paper pad.  The small bingo bloom card is taken from the Simple Stories 6x6 pad of the Vintage Bliss line.  The butterfly brads are from my own stash and I just love the way they lend some playfulness and motion to the card.  Again if you'd like the recipe I used for coloring the card please leave me a comment and I'll get it posted right away for you.

I hope you like her and I hope you leave me some comments on what you've read and seen on my blog so far.  I want to make sure I'm making it fun and interesting for you to enjoy and hopefully be inspired to get out there and create.  If there are any techniques you'd like to learn let me know and I'll be happy to pass them on to you.

I wish you all a great Sunday and I'll be back on tomorrow.  Craft on!

Grand Opening

Finally, the first official post.  I apologize for the delay, but a lot of life hit at the same time and several things had to be juggled about, but I finally got the card I wanted for this first post finished for my blog.  I hope you like her.

Full Front View

This little girl is a digi by Mo Manning called Girl with a Sign.  I love the versatility of this stamp as it can be used for any occasion by simply changing the sentiment inside the sign.  I love the way this shot came out as you can see the stickles I used, (Stardust on the lace, and Glam Pink on the hem) on her.  Plus you get a nice shot of the Ranger crackle I used on the sign to give it a more worn look.  She was colored using Copic Markers and the card was made from my stock of Bazzill cardstock.  I embellished just a bit using some ribbon and a bow I had in my stash.  I also accented her hair and shoes using a clear glaze pen.  It shows in her hair, but not as well in her shoes.  I guess it's the angle of the shot.  You can see some of the Spica pens I used on her dress and socks, but not so much in the grass, again I think it was the angle I used to take the shot.  I wasn't sure if I should post the recipe of colors I used in Copics to obtain this look or not, so on this first post I'll leave it up to you.  If you'd like me to include the colors I use, please leave it in the comments and I'll post them and I'll include them in the posts going forward.

Close-up Side Shot

Here you go, I found another shot I took where you can see the bottom portion a bit better with the Spica pens in the grass and the glaze on her shoes.

I hope you enjoyed my first card and I have my second card set to be posted on Monday the 20th as I will be at a Crop Retreat this weekend.  So everyone have a great weekend and I can't wait to see your comments!  Thanks!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

This site is currently being developed with a wish list launch target date of Sunday, May 5th.

While I see this primarily as a card making site, and heaven knows I can't wait to share all my card making techniques, tips, and out of the box ideas, I also envision more.  I look forward to sharing other paper crafting goodies, scrapbooking, crocheting, jewelry making, and any other art form that catches my fancy or as my friends call it, the shiny squirrel.  You know, you're focused on one thing and suddenly that shiny squirrel dashes right in front of you and completely distracts you on to another project.  Yep, that's me.  That's how I get involved in such eclectic projects.

Also, I'd like to dedicate this site to all the girls at the closing Algonquin Archivers Store.  Without the guidance, teaching, and mentoring from Vicky, Ann, Joan, Nancy, Michelle V, Cindy, Bonnie, Debbie, Lisa, Laura, Claudine, Michelle P, Tracy, and Lynn, I would not be where I am today.  Each one provided invaluable insight and suggestions on honing my skills.  I will greatly miss seeing you all and having you play such an intrigal part of my life.  Love you all and wish you all much success.

So hang on a bit longer folks while I fine tune everything and get this dream launched out of my head and into the world.