Saturday, December 20, 2008
#52: I love snowflakes!
Here's the cover: .... and then a small scan of the inside:
The card is 6"x6" and I think all the stamps are from various $1.00 bins.
The round snowflake punch is an old one from All Night Media, and the snowflake border punch on either side of the "Get Well Soon" is Martha Stewart's embossing border punch. (Note to self: The embossing shows on the underside of the cardstock, so put the cardstock into the punch upside down....)
The wonderful sparkly chipboard letters are from the Dollar Spot at Target-- some of the prettiest I've ever seen! I only got two packages, so I'll definitely need to make a return trip for more, now that I've seen what a nice touch they add.
Hope all your holiday plans are coming together. Try not to stress, OK?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
#51: Why is it...?
Do I love all my stuff? Yep, unreservedly! Do I use my stuff? Er....not so much. I should be ashamed. Should be, mind you, but I'm not. Every once in a while, I go into a flurry of creating and then I'm so happy with myself, I remember why I started all this!
I've also realized that my favorite creations never make it to the blog because I am a card-carrying crappy photographer. If it doesn't scan, it doesn't appear here. And even if it does appear here, it's a little pathetic. But pathetic can be kinda cute, too! (example follows...)
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Penguin & Happy Birthday stamps from various dollar bins. My expensive stamps are carefully stored and I have a hard time remembering where... which is why I use my dollar stamps, mostly.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
#50: Impulsive Bunnies
Sunday, November 9, 2008
#49: I'm baaa-aack!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
#48: Faith & Emily Dickinson
I really enjoy some of Emily Dickinson's poetry, so when I found these beautiful stickers on close-out at Serendipity Stamps, I knew I had to have them. They work so well for a variety of occasions, such as get well, encouragement, or congratulations, especially when I need a card quickly.
The passage reads:
"We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise
And then, if we are true to plan
Our statures touch the skies."
Monday, July 28, 2008
#47: Thank You Cards
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
#46: Thank you, Cherylynn & Second Childhood Creations!
I remain grateful for the gift certificate that I was awarded, but feel compelled to add, at this later date, that there have been some recent concerns about the quality of customer service through Second Childhood. Please consider this before you order. I am anxious to clarify that although the experience I had in this instance was positive, I would not want anyone to feel that I have unfairly represented this particular online store. Thank you for understanding.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Now, how cool is this? And how generous is this???
Cherylynn of the online store Second Childhood Creations has a blog, as well. Before going to CHA last week, she asked for input regarding what her fans and customers would like her to look for at the show. Imagine that! Someone who wants to know what we'd like to spend our money on!
Cherylynn asked our opinions and also offered a generous $15.00 gift certificate to a randomly chosen response posted in reply to her question-- and bless her heart, I won! I had lots to say, of course (no surprise there) but I was surprised and honored to have that wonderful Random Integer Generator choose me.
Thank you to yet another Gingerwood cyber friend!
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Edited 2/1/2009
Saturday, July 19, 2008
#45: Rubber Stamp Tapestry
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Stamp Set: Auntie's Strawberry Garden by Rubber Stamp Tapestry
Happy Birthday Stamp by Leisure Arts
Circle Filigree Punch by Fiskars
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Sunday, July 13, 2008
#44: Another Angelina Fiber Creation
Here's another Angelina Fiber creation that more clearly shows the halo of fibers around the stamped image. This was inside a tri-fold "New Baby" card. The color name of this fiber is "Calypso Blue" and has a definite iridescent sheen to it, as do all of the various fibers.
I have mostly done solid color images, but at the convention, Class Act did some wonderful things with mixed colors. For example, they used a large dragonfly stamp and added bits of pink, yellow, and orange to several shades of green for a beautiful creation that looked as if it came straight from a sunny day at the pond. It was stunning! By adding a stick-on pin back, they provided many attendees with a small work of art that took only moments to create. I'm thinking that in the future, rather than adhere the image directly to the card with adhesive, I should add a pin back. It could then be a little gift within the card, especially for birthdays and Christmas.
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Stamps:
-Onesie from a 10-pack set of wood-mounted stamps by "Studio g" (A great deal for only $10.00 then used a 40% off coupon at AC Moore! Contains images of a baby bottle, onesie, rattle, diaper pin, baby carriage, umbrella with raining gifts, and four sentiments: "Bundle of Love," "Just Arrived," "Baby Shower," and "Welcome Baby."
-"Congratulations" $1.00 clear stamp by DMD, purchased at JoAnn's
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
#43: Angelina Fibers
- Preheat a dry iron to medium.
- Ink a rubber stamp with dye-based ink (must be rubber, not acrylic).
- Place the stamp, inked side up, on a firm surface.
- Place shreds of Angelina Fibers on top of inked stamp. You can use a single color (I used "Sugar Plum" for the heart above) or mix several colors.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the fibers.
- Press with the pre-heated iron until you are able to faintly see the stamp design through the parchment.
- Allow paper and fused fibers to cool slightly and remove from stamp.
- May leave the loose fibers around the image for a halo-type of effect, or you may trim the outline of the stamped/fused image.
I bought a number of packets of fibers at the convention. Since then, I've purchased a sampler pack of 19 colors from a vendor on eBay, and have noticed that AC Moore has the fibers available online. I haven't found any bricks-and-mortar stores, however, that carry the product.
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Lace Heart Stamp: Rubber Stampede
"God gave us memories..." Sticker: Seredipity Stamps
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Textile
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Sunday, June 29, 2008
#42: Transparencies
INSIDE/OPEN:
I am absolutely not any kind of an expert on using transparencies in card making-- I know more about using transparencies from the days of overhead projectors and pre-PowerPoint. Now that's showing my age, isn't it??!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
#41: The winner-- and more!
However, it just gets better: Mike was very pleased with how appreciative everyone was and decided to put together "kits" for three runners-up. The winner will receive a fully put-together/complete Heat Gun Holder, as shown in the tutorial. Additionally, though, three more Holders will be shipped, unassembled, to the runners-up. These "kit" Holders have already been put together, but then unassembled to make shipping a little easier. All that needs to be done is to insert the screws and cup hook (all included) into the correct holes.
So, here's the list:
THE WINNER!!: sandie994
RUNNER-UP #1: Cathy in AZ
RUNNER-UP #2: Renée K.
RUNNER-UP #3: SilverDragoness
I have sent e-mails out to Sandie, Cathy and Renée; SilverDragoness, I need contact information for you, please.
I do wish I could send out a Heat Gun Holder to every single one of you. However, you just never know what the DH might come up with in the future, when he's fiddling around in the basement...
Many thanks and best wishes to each of you!
~Mary (and Mike)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
#40: Heat Gun Holder Tutorial & Giveaway
Lightly sand rough edges of wood, if desired.
Center UPRIGHT STAND piece onto edges of BASE and TOP.
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STEP #3:
Drill 3 evenly spaced holes along ends of UPRIGHT STAND into TOP and into BASE pieces (total of 6 holes).
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Monday, June 9, 2008
#39: Fiskars Border and Corner Punch
The names of the punches are truly, truly awful (one that's a woven-type of style is called "Lattice Entertain You".....), but I just adore the beautiful intricacy of the one I purchased, called "Comin' Up Roses."
You must start with a square or rectangle that's measured in full inch increments. There are actually two punches, side-by-side: the corner punch and the border. You begin by pressing both simultaneously, then move your paper/cardstock along the very clearly marked base, pressing only the border punch, to make your design. When there's one inch remaining, turn the paper 90 degrees and repeat. One of the easiest punch systems I've ever used, with spectacularly intricate results. It almost appears laser-cut.
On this sample, I used a heavy cream paper matted on black cardstock, resulting in a simple, but elegant, sympathy card. With the right stamp and by substituting a pretty pink or green mat, and it could be a wonderfully feminine birthday card.
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Stamp: My Sentiments Exactly! Clear Stamps "Sympathy Sentiments" (Set #M123)
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Saturday, June 7, 2008
#38: A tradition, of sorts...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
#37: Maybe I'm on a roll....
Saturday, May 31, 2008
#36: Happy Birthday to our baby!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
#35: I love this card, if I do say so myself.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
#34: Simple Stamping
Monday, March 3, 2008
#33: Baby Shower Invitations
Saturday, February 23, 2008
#32: Great Minds
A little while ago.... OK, OK! Four months ago! Susan did me an enormous favor when she sold me a wonderful set of punches (see this post), making certain that I received them quickly and with the cheapest possible shipping. She went to a great deal of trouble for me and just could not have been sweeter about the whole thing. I sent her a card to say thank you: Susan modestly told me it was no big deal (although it was!) and then further compounded her kindness by telling me that my card inspired her. Holy smokes... talk about the ultimate compliment! She sent me a photo of the card she made:
Is that not gorgeous??? I asked Susan if she would mind having me share this kind of circuitous route of how crafters inspire each other and she graciously said to go ahead.
So, I had meant to share this and completely forgot until I received my package of new Cuttlebug embossing folders from All That Scraps a few days ago. All this new embossing reminded me of some of my old embossing and there you go. As I said... four months ago. Sheesh.
Thanks for the re-inspiration, Susan!
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Susan's Card
Paper: Basic Grey
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: "Stylized Flowers"
My Card
Daffodil stamp from Stampin' Up! "Perfect Petals"
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder "Spots and Dots"
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Sunday, February 17, 2008
#31: Best Wishes
Monday, January 21, 2008
#30: Organizational Efficiency, Part Two
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
#29: Organizational Efficiency
My husband was impressed by the thoughtfulness of the ideas offered and really happy with the safety factor associated with the holder, something that has always bothered him-- the biggest concern was that one (or both) of the "craft cats" would be in the middle of the project area offering personalized artistic direction and set the place on fire.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
#28: And then at the other end of the spectrum....
My last post celebrated new life; today I wanted to show you a sympathy card I recently made. There's very little stamping on it-- the cover's wording "With Deepest Sympathy" was stamped and then embossed with detail black. The card is actually a booklet, made with a tabloid size sheet of textured burgundy cardstock (approximately 12"x18") scored and folded in half.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
#27: Good things to come in 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
#26: Susan's Punches
Today, I just wanted to make something cheerful and colorful. The punches were calling to me, as well. This is the card I came up with, and every time I look at it, I smile. I might have to keep it for myself.
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I think Susan said she originally purchased the punches at Costco.
The flowers are brads, manufacturer unknown.
Ribbon is from after-Christmas clearance at Wal-Mart.
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