Sunday, October 23, 2011

Non-Traditional Christmas Card

I figured out what to do with my faerie from yesterday.  She was obviously putting the star on her tree!  In the photo it's hard to tell, but there is sparkly snow outside her window.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Hand-drawn

Everyone once in a while I get the urge to draw something.  Most of the time it goes quickly in the trash can, but last night I came up with something decent.  I did the original in purple (and liked it)...but my favorite color is green so I had to try it out.  I would like to incorporate her into a card somehow, but this headache is preventing me from thinking too hard about that right now.

Colored with watercolor pencils.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Black, Pink, and White

I bought some cute ribbon a couple weeks ago and have been looking for something to use it on.  I love the tiny polka dots on it.  (Please forgive my horrible scanner.  It has issues and I can't figure out how to make it work better!)

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Long Time, No Blog

It's been a long time since I last blogged...well over a month.  There is very good reason.  A rather happy moment in my life turned very bad and it left me feeling like nothing.  This is the last card I made before it happened and I honestly don't know when I will craft again.





I made this (it's a replica of my kitchen) to tell my parents that we were pregnant.  They were so excited.  The next week was my first prenatal appointment and my doctor told me there was no heartbeat - that I was going to miscarry.  It has completely changed me.  My craftiness is gone.  I don't know if it's because the last card I made was so closely tied to it, or if there is some other reason.

I am not looking for sympathy or other people's stories...they just make me angry at this point.  But sharing is supposed to make it better.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Two Awesome Cards

...That I can't show you yet.  One is for my friend J's birthday this weekend and since she is a follower of this blog it would ruin the surprise.  The other is for my mom, but my scanner is being incredibly stupid.  It won't scan the whole card.  It either scans the top inch or the bottom three inches.  I don't know what it has against this card!  But once I get that worked out, it will be on here.  Just didn't want you to think I was slacking or anything ;)

Jamie

Monday, August 1, 2011

Red, White, and Blue

I actually made this card yesterday, but decided not to post it until today.  Why?  Because I sat in a staff development session all day and have not had time to craft.  So now I share with you my red, white, and blue card.  I love the navy blue and deep red that I had in my scrap box.  This red is usually reserved for my Christmas cards because I am super picky about the reds and greens I use (love the deep, dark colors).  But since these were scraps, they didn't have to wait until Christmas to get used.  :)


The card was very simple to make.  I started with a red scrap that wasn't quite long enough to cover the card.  So I took navy cardstock and my MS punch for the border on each end.  I left 1/2" solid to cover the gap.  The center is just squares, starting at 1/4" going up to 2 1/4" in 1/4" increments.  Instead of lining them up square, I set them in a fan.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Back from TODA!

I am back from the TODA conference.  For those of you wondering what TODA is, it is the Texas Orchestra Director's Association.  Yep, orchestra teacher/director is my day job.  :)  I love it.

Today's card is inspired by my days at the conference and a friend who was also there.  We had  a blast and have a ton of ideas to take back to school in a couple weeks.  But until then, I insist on enjoying the rest of my summer!


The colors turned a bit brighter when I scanned the card.  It looks more pink than the real thing and I'm not a wiz with editing photos.  The background is a very pale purple, with leaves stamped in VersaMark ink.  The other paper is a shade I would call rose.  Once again, VersaMark makes the perfect non-color for stamping.  If you aren't familiar with the VersaMark ink, you should get some.  It basically darkens the paper you are stamping on a few shades.  It is always the perfect contrast color!  Both the stamps I used came from StampinUp!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Summer Scheme

I was inspired today by a friend's Facebook post of some flip flops she crocheted.  The base was a bright green and she added a cute white flower with a yellow center.  The color scheme was so vibrant and summery I had to put it on a card!  It became a thank you card for the OWH box.


The flower and sentiment are SU! stamps from the A Greeting for All Reasons set.  The fancy border is a Martha Stewart punch I picked up on sale (love it!).

Enjoy!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Wow!

So I saw this awesome card on Split Coast Stampers and thought I would give it a try.  It  took an hour to make!  I usually aim for 10 minute cards, so if I ever make this card again it will have to be for something incredibly special.  It is also huge (6"x6" when folded, 12"x12" when opened), so it will never get mailed anywhere.  But here you go.

 Folded

Opened

*Jamie*

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Variations on a Design

Last night I found myself wanting cupcakes.  Seeing as I already have ice cream at the house, I didn't run out and get a cupcake or cupcake mix.  So I settled on making cupcake cards.  The blue one will be sent to OWH, but the pink one will have to go to a friend...because I couldn't resist using a glitter background.  There is a bar of pink at the top, too, but my scanner refused to pick it up.  I rescanned several times, but it is just being stubborn!


Enjoy!

Monday, July 18, 2011

No Card Today :(

No card today...I am taking a professional development class.  It's a little slow-moving for me, which is why you're getting this post.  :)  Check in tomorrow for another crafty card. 

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Red, White, and Black

It's Saturday!  And I spent the majority of my morning cleaning just because I had the itch to do so.  Afternoon called for craftiness though, so I came up with this card to go in my OWH box.


The background is simple, white cardstock.  Red ribbon creates a pop (the ribbon came from a bag of remnants I bought at JoAnn Fabric).  The black background is 3-3/4"x3" and the white is 3-1/2"x2-3/4".  I inked the white edge with a little bit of "real red" ink for additional contrast.  The sentiment is actually two stamps from the same Stampin Up! set.  I have no idea the name of the set :(  The roses in the upper left are ribbon roses I picked up at Michael's yesterday from the dollar bin.  There were a dozen roses in the set!





This next picture has nothing to do with cards, just thought it was cute.  While I was working my tail off cleaning this morning, my dog decided it was a great time to nap at the back door...



Happy Crafting!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Two in a Row!

Yes, aren't you incredibly lucky?  Two days in a row!  This is another birthday card inspired by the Mario games.  I just borrowed Mario Galaxy from my brother (yes, I know I'm behind) and am enjoying it so far.  Video games are really just a summer thing for me.  It gets really tricky playing them during the school year between classes I teach, classes I take, concerts, and all the extra stuff that comes up.  But during the summer, bring it on!


The mushroom was paper pieced together.  The only ink is the little hint of white on the eyes.  Getting "1 up" to look decent was a pain.  I wanted the original 8-bit graphic look.  So I took black paper and cut 1/4" strips.  Getting them to line up without tweezers was a trick!

Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Birthday Card

It's been a while since my last post, mostly because I had to go visit family.  Not my favorite trip, but my grandmother is getting up there in age and I needed to go see her.

Today's card is a birthday card that I made for a friend a couple months ago.  At the last moment, it was decided that we would get her a different card to go with her theme.  I never wrote in it, so it will get used in the future.


I love the simple, yet elegant color scheme and it was so easy to make!  The lovely foil paper came from a pack one of my friends gave me called The Black Currant Stack (found at Hobby Lobby).  The rest is just basic black and white cardstock.  Cut the black cardstock to your card size - I used 6.5"x5" for this one.  I cut my foil paper half an inch smaller (6"x4.5") to get a nice border.  The center black square is 3 1/4"; the white square is 3".  Cut black cardstock into a 2"x5" rectangle for the background.  For the cake itself I started with two white pieces of cardstock - one 2.5"x1.25", the other 2"x1" - a clipped the top corners with my corner rounder.  I outlined the edges in black ink to make it pop a little more.  The pink foil on the cake was cut to width, then free-handed.  I added the dots and cake topper with a black craft marker.  Assemble and voila!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Fourth of July Weekend

It's Fourth of July weekend here in the US, celebrating our Independence Day.  Most normal crafters are busy posting their most patriotic designs.  Me, however, not so much.  Why?  Because when you are designing cards for Operation Write Home, you have to have holiday cards ready months in advance.  (They have to get to the shipper who packs the cards, make it overseas, get to individuals, and make it back over the ocean -which can take a while.)  So today you get to see a Christmas card instead.  :)


Now, I am slightly annoyed at my scanner right now, but there isn't much I can do about it.  The coolest thing about this card is that it is actually on a transparency sheet.  The blue background paper lines up with white on the inside so there is room to write.  The white embellished paper came in a handmade paper pack I bought at Hobby Lobby on a whim.  Mr. Penguin is from the Stampin' Up! punch pals. I colored him using my ever wonderful craft markers.  He is mounted with a dimensional dot for the 3D effect.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

It's a 2 Card Day!

Yup, that's right TWO whole cards!  The first is inspired by my friend, M, who likes Hello Kitty.  And how can I blame her?  Hello Kitty is rather cute.  I love her black, white, and pink color scheme.

The background card stock is pink.  I cut the polka dot paper with my cutterpede wavy blade.  Before I attached it, I folded down one corner and put a brad in.  The stamp is from the "Greeting for All Reasons" Stampin' Up! set.  I stamped the bright pink heart first and then slightly offset the white version.  The white is hard to see from the picture, but it looks really good in person.

The second card for today came from just playing around with the sponging technique.  It took me a while to learn a few things about sponging.

1) Be patient and don't press too hard!
2) You have to overlap your colors to get it to look cool
3) The darker color doesn't always have to be the edge.  It can bring attention to the center, too.
4) Lay your colors out before you start and do a test run on spare paper.  The colors may look okay together on their labels and pads, but can turn out differently when you start sponging!

I hadn't done anything in the purple realm before so I thought I would give it a try.  I think it looks cool.  The rose stamp is one I picked up randomly from Michael's because it was on sale at the time.  It is colored with watercolor crayons.  The varied tones of each color (SU! colors Elegant Eggplant for the flower, Always Artichoke for the stem and leaves) were a result of how much water was in my blending pen at that moment.  The background is a combination of Orchid Opulence, Lovely Lilac, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, and Regal Rose.  I used a corner rounder on the edges to give it a softer appearance.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Inspiration

Inspiration:  This weekend I got to spend time with my best friends.  I met these girls in college and now we are scattered across a couple states.  We get together every once in a while to chat and catch up with life.  One of said friends has a *slight* owl obsession (love you, S!).  We went shopping at Hobby Lobby and she was tickled by all the owl stuff they had put out for the fall.  I am rather enamored with the sponging technique right now, so it was only appropriate I do an owl on a sponged background.

Background inks:  (All are Stampin' Up!) So Saffron, Aprico Appeal, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
Foreground: Black craft marker

Monday, June 27, 2011

I entered a contest!


This is my first contest entry.  I finally got up the nerve to do it!  The card is inspired by my trip to Hawaii.  We stayed right on the beach in Kauai and saw the sunrise every day.  We didn't usually make it to sunset thought - I was sick with a stupid sinus infection the entire trip.  At least I was in a fabulous place!

The background is all sponging using Stampin' Up! colors and round daubers.  I created the rocky beach and palm trees with a black craft marker, then ran a bit of brown ink lightly over it.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but there is some shading on the beach thanks to the brown ink.

UPDATE:  The people at Crafting Ireland have published my submission!  It is in Issue 2.  Just flip the pages until you see it.  :)

First Blog, First Post

My friends all have blogs, so I guess I will, too.  This will be a place to show my crafty cards.  I make these purely for my own enjoyment when I am not teaching.  Most of the cards seen here will be sent overseas as I am trying to fill a box for Operation Write Home.

Here are a few examples of what I am sending.
This is obviously inspired by the Mario games that I have played recently.  I free-styled my Yoshi, egg, cloud, and ground.  The sentiment is from Stampin' Up!

This is a silly dragon that I used to practice sponging.  All the shapes were hand-cut. I used a small dimensional to make his wing pop out.

I thought this would be a great card for a little girl.  The pink paper with swirls is one of my all-time favorites!