Happy New Year, 2011!

Happy New Year Everyone!

2011 will be a momentous year for me. It will be the last year that I'm in my 40's. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about almost being 50. Other than some new aches and pains and about 15 pounds that I can't seem to lose, I still feel like I did when I was in my 20's. Nevertheless, I want to make this year a good one; full of creative endeavors.

First, I want to try new creative pursuits.  I think we all get too comfortable with the way we know how to craft.  Here's my first "new" creation:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This card was created using the Black Magic technique.  I'm sure this is an old technique for most of you, but I had never tried it.  The most challenging aspect of working with this technique was to find a stamp that was solid.  I don't have many of those.  I noticed that the retired SU set called "Fresh Cuts" had solid aspects to it, and as an added bonus, it also had script and line work all in one stamp.  I stamped the image in Color Box Frost White.  Then I went to my office job for 8 hours.  Yes, this is what works for me now; start in the morning and finish when I come home.  I think of ways I want to work my creation all day at work, and then when I come home, I just put it together.  Anyway, by the time I came home and was able to craft, my image was quite dry.  I used Prisma Pencils to color my solid images.  I chose a light and a dark shade of each color in order to create dimension.  I then highlighted the image with white gel pen and a gold glitter pen.  The DP is from a gorgeous pad of "Monet-like" patterns by K&Co.  I also used a little charm from a company called Blue Moon.  The charm was originally silver, but I embossed it with gold embossing powder.  You would never know it was originally silver, huh?  The ribbon, sentiment and punched oval and photo corner are all from SU.  I learned this technique on Splitcoast for their weekly technique Here.

 

Another new technique I'm honing in 2011 is learning to master Copics.  I acquired some new ones for Christmas, so now to use them!

Here, I colored my bear from SU's retired "Favorite Teddy Bear" with E31, E33 and E35.  There are also touches of R20 for giving her a little blush.  I took the flowers from the flower pot in the set and filled the wagon with them.  They were colored with shades of yellow, yellow-orange and blue.  The wheels of the wagon were cut out and popped up.  I added a little yellow hair tie to my bear's head and some stitching to the DP and there you have it.  The sentiment is from SU, and came out a little too light, so I went over it with a Glaze pen.  Oh, I also used a MS border punch for the top of the card.  This is for the Sketch Challenge over at Splitcoast, so you can find this sketch under challenges.

That's all for now.  Have a wonderful New Year's weekend.  I'm off to take down Christmas decorations and perhaps check out the Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast.

W.

Stampin', Bakin' and Wrapin'

Oh goodness, it's busy around here!  I don't think we've used the kitchen table to actually eat on for a week.  I baked all day yesterday, but I don't feel like I have much to show for it.  I tried some new recipes (bad idea), and some most of them did not turn out (ugh!).  I remember my mom having the same problem once in awhile when she was trying to do the holiday baking; sometimes you just have to leave it for another day.  Anyway, on to stamping.  I've been stamping with friends, family and by myself this week, tyring to finish up the Christmas cards.  Are you ready......?  I'm up to 6.  That's right, six cards.  Breathe Wendy, breathe!  Okay, so I'm an underachiever this year.  Here is what I've created recently:

This is for the Featured Stamper challenge today on Splitcoast:

I used textured cardstock for this, which turned out to be a bear to sponge on, but I kind of like the scene that resulted.  Very simple (the most difficult kind of card for me), but I think dramatic.

Here are the cards from earlier in the week:

An oldie but a goodie retired set from SU.  I stamped and masked my Santa and reindeer and added a masked moon, then sponged with Bashful Blue ink.  I paperpierced the mats and colored the images with Copics (still practicing).  I used that wrapped brad technique again on the bow.  I love this cheery card!

Lastly, I made this "Dear Santa" card, using a CTMH set called "Santa's List".  I colored the Santa again with Copics and cut he and the tree out and mounted them on sponged cardstock.  Added a bit of glitter and Liquid Applique for his beard, and there you have it.

Okay, I have to get back to wrapping...I mean baking, or is it stamping....if you don't hear from me within a few days, please come dig me out from under the mess.  Thanks!

Wendy

Motivate to Create

Just finished my third Christmas card.  I'm so thankful for Splitcoast challenges.  They not only get the creative juices flowing, but also serve as a sufficient "booty kicker" for those of us that are, shall we say, bit of procrastinators?

Today's Inspiration Challenge is based on Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, where you can find everything Christmas.  This is a wonderful site for those unique Christmas items.  I had an angel image in mind, so I searched their angel ornaments and decor and found this beauty.  Here's my card:

This is from a nativity acrylic stamp set I purchased at Michael's.  I paperpieced my image using DP from K&Co.  I also added a new twist with the ribbon treatment.  My friend Hope showed me how to use a brad to twist around the center of the bow to create a unique accent.  The bow is secured using red sticky tape.  I think it adds a nice touch. 

Supply list: 
Paper:  K&Co.
Stamps:  Michael's
Accessories:  Gold ink for distressing, Copic for the angel's cheeks, glitter pens, Tim Holtz Distress ink, ribbon scrap, Making Memories brad.

Have a wonderful Saturday,

Wendy

Happy Wednesday!

Well, we've made it halfway through the work week and I have a new card to post.  That means two people are receiving Christmas cards this year.  Yes, I better get moving.  Here's my Kris Kringle card:

The colors in this card are much more vivid than they photograph.  Unfortunately the photo came out a little overexposed.  Anyway, I watercolored this retired SU image and then used various glitter pens to highlight.  I then used Tim Holtz Distressing Ink (I believe it's called Old Paper?????) to age the image.  I cut it out and mounted it on a Top Note die cut and attached the Top Note panel to K&Company DP with brads over SU striped ribbon.  I then sprayed the entire card with Smooch Clear, which is probably why it's reflecting more light in the photo, but it sure is sparkly!. 

Well, two down, 18 to go....

Til Next time,

Wendy

A Homemade Christmas

Isn't that the best kind of Christmas, one that comes from the heart, not store bought, but created by your own two hands.  Well, my kids might have other ideas, as is evidenced by their extensive Christmas lists, but I love homemade gifts.  Before I move on to Christmas cards, I want to expound upon our Thanksgiving this year.  I was all for a take-out Thanksgiving dinner.  I know, I know, you're all gasping in horror right now and this statement totally contradicts my earlier statements in this paragraph, but I have been so tired lately that I really just wanted to relax over the Thanksgiving long weekend.  Okay, moving on, my family started in with "...but you are going to make your sweet potatoes, right mom?" and "what are we going to do without all the leftovers?".   So, you can guess what happened...I caved.  I ended up cooking Thanksgiving dinner, complete with all the family favorites and you know what...I realized I wouldn't have it any other way.  The house smelled amazing and the food was fantastic, as was the company.  We played games after dinner and laughed and laughed.  It was a good day, filled with memories.

 I wanted to share with you the centerpiece my son and I created together.  I found the idea in Family Fun magazine.  I had my DS collect pretty fall leaves, and DH halved a few walnuts for me (this was after I tried it on my own with disasterous results).  We glued twigs in the walnut half shells with a glue gun and then threaded a leaf onto the twig, creating a boat.  They sailed happily for a little while and then sadly, my little Thanksgiving boats sank, yes, they sank.  I found that walnut shells become waterlogged after a time.  Don't worry, I found that sealing them first with a matte spray sealer will keep them sea-worthy.

Along with celebrating Thanksgiving, I've been working like crazy on my Christmas Cards this week, which brings us to the title of this post.  I created the card below for the Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast.  I always get so excited when I have the opportunity to participate in one of the challenges, as it really gets your creative juices flowing. 

I used Copics to color my snowman image.  Copics are new to me, as my coloring medium of choice is usually watercoloring.  However, I find that I can take my Copics to work with me or to a friend's house much easier than I can my watercolors, so I will be using them more and more I think.  The inspiration site is called The Country Porch, which is just loaded of beautiful country decor.  I was particularly inspired by the quilts.  I used SU DSP and a CM square punch to create "quilt blocks".  I then glued them to a piece of cardstock and die cut this with the Top Note die.  I used a red pen to make stitch marks.  The card is embellished with punched snowflakes, button, ribbon and chunky glitter. I hope you like it.

Here is a list of materials used:
Stamps:  Flourishes
Paper:  Walmart cardstock, SU DSP
Misc:  SU ribbon, Top Note die, button, pen, chunky glitter (unknown brand).
Ink:  SU black, Tempting Turquoise.

Thanks for stopping by.

Wendy

IT'S A BASEBALL KIND OF BIRTHDAY

Hello Friends,

I hope you're enjoying the autumn weather as much as I am.  It's always my favorite season.  Today I have a couple easy projects that I made for my DH's birthday.  Now, DH doesn't frequent my blog very often.  He specifically asked me not to EVER feature him on my blog, but since the Giant's won the World Series this year and this is a baseball post, I don't think he'll mind to much being a participant in my little blog entry.

I don't know if you have this problem, but I deplore having rolls and rolls of wrapping paper around, only to discover nothing fits the occasion I need.  Well, I found a new (well probably just new to me) way to decorate a package to suit the individual you're celebrating.  A few years ago, I invested in (huge) rolls of butcher paper.  I ordered them online through a paper company.  I have both white and kraft.  Let me tell you, these rolls will last me a lifetime of wrapping and the total was about $50 for both.  I originally ordered them to stamp decorate, which is wonderful, but I thought of something different for my DH's birthday gift.  I went on-line and printed out vintage baseball adds, cut them out and used Craft Bond (new fave adhesive) to adhere the adds to the butcher paper.  This took me all of about ten minutes and just look how great this turned out.
THE GIFT

This idea is not only good for wrapping paper; you can also coordinate your card with your gift by using this simple technique.
THE CARD

I wanted to keep the card fairly simple, so I tore the printed adds and adhered them, again using Craft Bond to the card stock.  I added the white and black diamonds to use as a backdrop for my title and used my Cricut to create the title.  I found this quote at thequotegarden.com site, which pretty much sums up how much DH likes baseball.  I printed it out on regular copy paper and cut into a banner.  I added a button and some black and white checked ribbon, and there you have it. 

Hope you enjoyed this post. 

Til Next Time,  Wendy

Need Help to Get Out of a Slump

You would think that I haven't been crafting with my lack of posts recently, but I have been struggling with loss of mojo.  This ailment is characterized by either no inspiration or not being able to follow-through with an idea.  In my case, I have been struggling with one project; a baby card.  I had this idea for a baby bib card, but after three tries, it ended up in the circular file.  Then I took a break and came back with an idea for a jointed teddy bear.  Again, it just wouldn't come together.  I was tempted to do the unthinkable.....buy a card from Hallmark!  Of course there is nothing wrong with buying a card from Hallmark, but everyone knows I make my cards by hand and would feel slighted if I gave them a purchased card.  So, I completed the dreaded card tonight.  I told myself that good enough is and let it go.  My question is, what do you all do when you can't seem to get into the groove????

Sincerely,
Currently Creatively Challenged