I just found out that Clearsnap is now hosting a bi-monthly color challenge that they have cleverly titled the "Out of the ColorBox" challenge. :) My designer friend, Niki Meiners, is the hostess. This week's challenge is AWESOME!!
Now, I didn't have the EXACT colors but I did come up with some that were pretty close. I used Glacier Ice & Daffodil pigment inks, and Lipstick Red Fluid Chalk ink. I think that it's certainly close enough for government work, right?
Every once in a while I have to just get on here and brag...tonight is one of those nights. While I was paying for a few odds n ends at Walmart earlier this evening my oldest son who will be nine in Oct asked "Mommy, when we get home can I make Grandmom a card?" "Of course!" I replied....inwardly groaning at the thought of having to wrangle up the energy to start a card making session...but also slightly excited because it's always a special treat to see my own children get their creative juices going. Well, as you know, I have FOUR kids...so I was preparing myself for a MASSIVE card making session. As it turned out, just the boys wanted to make cards...but then they also decided they NEEDED to make Grandmom a pair of earring to go with her cards...Here's what they came up with. Now mind you, I helped assemble the cards and earrings but the designs, they are all theirs. I let em go wild in the studio picking out colors of cardstock, buttons, twines, inks, stamps etc...and the earrings, they did it all, all I did was turn the loops on the tops of the headpins when they needed a hand with that...I have to say, I AM ONE PROUD MOMMA TONIGHT!!! My boys, yes BOYS, ages eight and six, almost nine and seven, made these gorgeous creations...I am so proud of them...and I bet their Grandmom is going to be even more so when she gets her surprise package at the end of the week! LOL :) Enjoy!
This card started with the scrap of yard you see tied around the center. EJ (almost nine) told me he wanted to tie it "around one piece of cardstock then stick that to a folding card" LOL!!! Here's a close up of his earrings...I want to make a pair for myself they are so gorgeous...and I just may!
Then Cbug (almost seven) created this more simple card, but much more complex set of earrings...you should have seen him trying out all these beads, figuring out which ones worked which didn't...he's got the designer eye on him for sure!!!
Can you see his "secret message" to Grandmom? He said he was going to write "I love you" behind the earrings so that she would "find it" when she took them off the card...how cute is that???
I have to get back into the habit of regular posting...this two posts a month thing has just got to stop!!
If you can come I will be hanging out at Charleston Scrapbooking today from 4:00-6:30 doing demos of the coloring techniques in my book - Coloring Techniques for CardMaking! I hope you can drop in. :)
This past weekend was a 36 hour crop at Charleston Scrapbooking. I have never gone to a crop to work, but this weekend I went and worked a bit! :) I decided it was time for some Springy styled cards...I really miss fun and happy colors right now. So I decided to use some Studio G stamps by Hampton Art Stamps...these fun little stamps come in a small package and are only 1.00 a set!!! I used two sets to create this card and just repeated my images accross the white strip on the front. I then colored the images using PrismaColor Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. A few embellishing type of finishing touches and I was done! While I know we are in the dead of winter right now, I just thought surely someone else out there yearns for a bit of Spring right along with me, so here you go, Enjoy!!
My
seven year old made cupcakes today all by himself...he cracked the
eggs, added the right amount of oil and water, turned on and off the
mixer...everything - all I did was oversee...it made me proud...and
kinda sad...he's getting so big!!! Then each kid decorated six cupcakes
and we brought eighteen different cupcakes to our fab friend and
babysitter - Kelsi, who turned EIGHTEEN today!! Happy Bday Kels!!!
My DH and I celebrated our NINTH anniversary...wow where has the time gone?? And while he is half a world away it didn't stop him from writing me the sweetest email that made tears come to my eyes.....I am so in love with this guy!!
Whew what a week this has been! I can hardly believe it is Saturday and I haven't had time to upload a creation since TUESDAY. Grrr, but I have a surprise for you! I have created a fun tutorial on how to create polymer clay buttons. See the button on my card? I created it from clay by stamping the outer rim, trimming, shaping putting to holes in and baking, then antiquing it once it was cool. I have noticed that buttons are still all the rage. They are everywhere and on everything. And there are some pretty nifty buttons too... but I don't want to spend that much money for an embellishment!!! So I decided to get crafty and create my own. For this card I used stamps from Hampton Art, Kraft Cardstock, and Colorbox Pigment ink from Clearsnap. If you'd like to know how I created the button, read on~
Begin by softening and kneading your clay (also known as "conditioning"). Use clay dedicated Acrylic Roller and work surface to roll clay to 1/4" thick. I use a smooth floor tile from the home improvement store so I can roll, cut, shape and bake all on one area.
Use a small spritzer to spray the surface of the stamp lightly with water.
Firmly press the stamp into the top of the clay.
Remove the stamp to reveal the beautiful impression.
Trim the excess from around the image using the Super Slicer or razor blade.
Smooth the edges of the clay to make the button round.
Pierce two matching holes in the top of the button using an Etch N Pearl or other sharp tool. Move the tip around in a small circular motion to create two holes of same size, large enough for ribbon to pass through.
Bake finished button according to manufacturer's directions.
Once baked and fully cooled, apply Antiquing Medium using a small brush. Be sure to get into all the crevices .
Wipe the surface using a clean paper towel. Allow to dry.
You are now ready to use your button to embellish any finished project! Enjoy!
My DH and I were married on March17th (almost nine years ago...where does time go??) and so since he is deployed I figured I had better get his anniversary card in the mail on Monday to be sure he gets it in time! I decided to get scrappy today! I pulled out my batch of Jillibean Soup papers, journaling sprouts & bean stalks. I threw in some awesome stamps from Hampton Art and the card just kinda came together on it's own...dots, brackets, ribbon, buttons and hemp...I mean can it get any more fun and scrappy?? Enjoy!
ETA: I just found Everything Old Is New Again and this card fits the
EONAC7 for using up your ribbon bits. That "bow" on there is just a little four inch piece of scrap ribbon that I couldn't bear to throw away so I folded it over onto itself, turned the tails out so the dots were showing on all sides and tied my button onto the middle using hemp! :)
HAHAHA I can't remember what movie that line is from (He's Not That Into You, perhaps??) but it totally cracks me up...you know the one where the guy is sings into the voicemail, then redials and thinks he has called someone else?? ANYWAY!!! Not that it really matters...
This week our product focus over at Jacksonbelle Embellishments has been on the adorable Jenni Bowlin Mini Papers and I will admit this is not my most FAVORITE card of all time (what can I say, sick kids all week....) I do love certain elements of it! :) The flower is one of the Prima Homespun Bittles that I just removed the bulky center and added a bit of bling to the middle of it! :) I feel like that totally changes the entire look of it, don't you? The stamps are from Hampton Art Stamps set called: Celebrate Ribbons...I used the one stamp to trim out the far right edge to give it a bit of interest, like it? I hope you enjoy!!!
