My Latest Mini Book

I finished this little cutie last week. I was begrudgingly waiting on wallet sized pix via snail mail. Savitri politely reminded me that I could create a 4x6 image using Photoshop. I know, I know ... next time. Not to mention that the pic (of the Jeep) is a glossy and I have a preference for matte finish.

I had some fun w/this. My motivation for this was a video from Donna Downey's blog. She was using newspaper and a glue stick to make pages for one of her albums. I thought "how easy is that?". Yeah, and messy too. The combination of ink and glue on my hands nearly drove me crazy. Though I would do it again.

I used lots of embellies on this one. Like the American Crafts thickers; the Making Memories expoxys, lots of buttons and flowers. Using up my stash.

The front and back cover is cardboard. I used some sort of yarn to keep it together. Oh, and I pulled out the seldom used Crop A Dile to punch the holes.

The one technique that I used was stamping on the letters, which can be seen on the cover.

These are just some of the pages. I may do a slide show to show the entire book.

This was ultra fun ... thanks for looking, here's some of what I used:
patterned paper: Basic Grey and K&Co.
paint: Making Memories and Plaid
letter stamps: Making Memories magnetic alphabet
chipboard letters and foam letters: American Crafts
plastic letters: Paper Studio
flower (cover): Prima

Happy Birthday Song on Paper

This is a scraplift! And an old one at that. I've been combing through some of my old CARDS magazines. I always go to my dog-eared pages first and sometimes wonder ... 'why did I like this?' I decided I would go to my mag stash more often for inspiration.

But this card is scraplifted from Alissa Fast and it's from the March/April 2006 issue (p. 99). I would have scraplifted more identically if I could have located my KI Memories note cards that she used as the base fo the card. Instead I had to use some note cards from Die Cuts With a View (DCWV); not a bad substitute just that I have those KI ones, but who knows where.

As for the happy birthday sheet music ... I just used Google Images to locate 'happy birthday sheet music'. I then imported the image into Photoshop and converted the image to a brush. That way I could better manipulate the coloring, which is a shade of brown.

Top it off w/stickers and it was a relatively easy card to produce.

Thanks for looking ... here's what I used:

note card and cardstock: DCWV
stickers: American Crafts
ink: VersaMagic
stamp: Katie & Co./Michaels $1
Happy Birthday sheet music: created using Photoshop

Someone's Turning 40 ...

... and I don't know who it is. My girlfriend asked me to make her several 4oth birthday cards for her girlfriends who will be turning 40 in the coming months. On some of the cards, there is a sentiment inside that says "You're not turning 40, you're 22 with 18 years of experience!" So true.

These were fun to make. Especially the one's w/the Black women on the front. I used Photoshop for those. I was working w/a scanned image and I converted the image into a brush. I used a muted brown color to give the image a vintage look. The only downside is that the image is not as crisp as I would have liked it to be. But I did print it out on patterned paper so that the focus would not be on the image. I should have went w/the frayed/distressed edges too ... oh, well.

Thanks for looking ... here's what I used:
Dress Card (above)
cardstock: Bazzill and craft supply
patterned paper: A Muse and K&Co.
ribbon: Michaels
dress die cut and scalloped circle: Quickutz
stamp: Stampin Up!
ovals: Nestabilities
dry embossing: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots
flower die cut: EK Success
bling: unknown
sentiment: created w/Photoshop

Black Women Card (above)
cardstock: Bazzill
patterned paper: K&Co.
ribbon: Offray
jump ring and metal embellishment: Making Memories
sentiment and image: created using Photoshop
other: sewing

It is, indeed, a Happy Anniversary

I had to make some quick fast anniversary cards. I am really excited. There are two cards here and they are for two of my very favorite couples.

My one friend is a longtime college classmate. We've kept in touch and I absolutely adore his wife. I often stay w/he and his wife when I visit them. They go crazy if I get hotel room.

The second card goes to my girl, my rock and her hubby. Their wedding was the first and only wedding that I have ever been in and I almost was not in it because it was my birthday weekend. They are so awesome. I love to visit them in Portland, Oregon.

So Happy Anniversary to my very close friends.

Thanks for looking ... here's what I used:
cardstock: Bazzill (card #1) and Die Cuts With a View (DCWV) (card #2)
patterned paper: ?? (will post this later; can't remember)
chipboard elements: American Crafts
ribbon: unknown
ink: Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink
dry embossing: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and Textile Texture
sentiment created in Photoshop
jump ring: Making Memories
other: sewing machine

My First Sketch

... and probably my last.

And do I really need a sketch of my fav design? The answer is no, but now I have goo-gobs of respect for those who create them. I do love this design though. W/the right patterned papers and color combination, you will have a classic card for a smiley someone.

I used PhotoShop CS3. I can maneuver around the program decently. But I had some trouble trying to get the scalloped element. After viewing a tutorial from Jessica Sprague, and playing w/some different color shading, I got it done (though I'm not so sure I can replicate it).

Another digital accomplishment. Yea, me!

It's the same thing, only different

So I've fallen in love w/my this little design. It's so simple and easy to put a card together. When I use the monogram I have the Photoshop template to work with or I can easily stamp a sentiment. I can use the Cuttlebug or not.

So here is a set of cards that I made for my girlfriends birthday. Now, if you ask "Did she get them on her birthday?" the answer is no. I will be hand delivering these babies.

Oh, but let me also say that I did not use ribbon or any foam adhesive (to give it some dimension) because I went to the post office the other day and they charged me 62 cents for postage on one of my cards. The reasoning: it's non-bendable - not because of the weight. What?
Here's what I used:
cardstock: craft supply and Die Cuts With A View (DCWV)
patterned paper: My Mind's Eye
sentiment created using Adobe Photoshop CS3
scalloped circle die cut: Quickutz
scalloped edge: Fiskars Threading Water Punch

Happy Father's Day

I made this card using last weekend's Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. It's simple and masculine enough.

Here's what I used:
cardstock: Bazzill, Die Cuts With A View (DCWV) and craft supply
patterned paper: My Mind's Eye
circle punches: EK Success
sentiment created using Adobe Photoshop CS3

Craft Critique :: Bazzill Just The Edge Strips

I have an article up on Craft Critique about Bazzill's Just The Edge Cardstock Strips. I grabbed these when I first spotted them.

I like this card. I am improving on my sewing. I wanted to paint the tab on the side, but I did not get around to that.

I like this edge. Funny thing is I purchased the strips before I got my hands on the Fiskars Threading Water Punch which has the same shape.

Here's what I used:
cardstock: Archiver's
cardstock strips: Bazzill
patterned paper: Basic Grey's Boxer
chipboard flower: Colorbok
tab sentiment embellishment: Making Memories
sentiment: created using Adobe Photoshop CS3
ribbon: Michaels
circle punch: EK Success
other: sewing

sketch this :: 53

Over at sketch this, the weekly sketches are posted on Tuesdays. There's one sketch for both scrapbook pages and cards (or any other projects that you'd like use it for).

So I needed a birthday card for my friend; now let's just hope that it arrives to her in time or nearly in time. I think that she will love the pink and brown - she's so chic (an interior designer).

Here's what I used:
cardstock: Bazzill and Die Cuts With A View (DCWV)
patterned paper: Basic Grey
sentiment: created using Adobe Photoshop CS3
ribbon: Joann
embossing: Cuttlebug
circle punches: EK Success
other: distressing

12 = a Dozen ... cards

I made a nice like pack of monogram note cards for my friend. She's been really busy, but has taken the time to do some kinds things for me. She loves to send out notes, this is perfect for her.

Here's what I used:
monogram: created using Adobe Photoshop CS3
cardstock: craft supply
patterned paper: K&Co.
ribbon: Michaels and others
scalloped circle: QuicKutz
circle punch: EK Success
scalloped edge: Fiskars Threading Water punch
embossing: Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots embossing folder

sketch this :: 50

Ooooh, I took a lot of time on this one. So many details. But no matter how simple or detailed, I just love making cards.

I am still a beginner in the sewing arena - and it shows, maybe not w/this card, but I need more practice. Luckily, I'm crafty enough that I can cover up my mistakes. ;-)

cardstock: craft supply
patterned paper: K&Co. and Anna Griffin
stamps: Rhonna Farrer
ink: VersaMagic
embossing powder: Creative Beginnings
heart die cut: CuttleKids
flower punch: EK Success
buttons: Bazzill and unknown
bling: unknown
sentiment: created using Photoshop CS3
ribbon: ??
other sewing