Friday's Cards

the free for all challenge today is to confine the art to 2 1/2" and so, this card is 3" square from scraps on the table. the watercolored panel is up on pop dots. the tiny tag sentiment was stamped on a pre made jewerly tag from avery.

which then lead to poking around in the rest of the pile of tiny things I have laying on the table waiting for me to glue them into something. the sheep are from a tiny clear set ( cant think of the mfg off the top of my head, stamped this way back in December some time) the edges were colored with an white gel pen and I added those eyes. these sheep do not have eyes on the actual stamp. this one is 3 1/2" square in real life. 

this snowflake was heat embossed on the vellum a month or two ago and so the only thing holding it to this card base is glue dots under the embossed parts so, the edges lift up a little and it lets the light move through it. debating tying on a string that wraps around the outside of that through the card to help hold it on. 

still have one more of these love you's in this color on the table the rest is scraps from previous projects and the tall skinny birdhouse was stamped on some millstone and colored with prisma pencils the pigments were melted with an colorless blender maker (prisma) all the edges were inked with some vintage photo and distressed. this one is A-7 in real life. the button is vintage, the blooms were part of a free gift for your order from Unity stamps a while back. 

WOW Angel Sympathy

So, this is round 2 for the white on white challenge seen here. They sold a bunch of my cards today at work while I came home for the TV guy to install a dish and the lady wants to come back for Sympathy cards. so, I have gathered up some older ones and made this new one. its an Stampendous Angelica image stamped with versamark and heat embossed with SU white powder on some PTI vellum cardstock. this is up on pop dots. the frame was cut twice for thickness.

This angel is also stamped directly on the cardfront and colored with the same markers (soft sky, blushing bride, pistachio).  I was hoping the light would move through it a little better than it does but, either having the pop dots or the pop dots were not thick enough I guess. (not really sure)  this whole thing is covered in wink of stella clear. ( but, I could not catch the glimmer from that) the sentiment reads "If God brings you to it he'll bring you through it" (Rivercityrubberworks) and that was a silver framed vellum tag that I drug a versamark pen along the metal and then sprinkled some of the white powder there to be a little more distressed and break up some of the silver. the powder was so fine it did not give it much texture the way the enamels do though. that cord is from May Arts and all the white cardstock is from Neenah. this is A-7 in real life. 

WOYWW #295 {Organizing Scraps}

Okay I am looking for ideas here... I have spent the last month and half messing around with these pocket inserts and such for doing the project life type scrap pages and now that I have most everything out of its boxes... it covers an entire coffee table. ( which is not very practical) 

In addition to this mess, when I stopped scrapping a few years ago ( I used to have a scrap rack with two bases and this thing took up an entire 6' table all by it self) and I moved the "scrap things" from that system to 6 of those plastic boxes that are like 12" inside. the kinds that are made by the people who make the Iris carts. that there is a plastic cart for these boxes but, they are just stacked on the floor in the closet. 

and then I got the bright idea I wanted to try the PL style... and I gathered a few things... and they bred in the dark... and now I need a better idea of how to store them, I love how this looks but, I think it will be full of dust shortly. 

So as I go around this week I am mostly looking for storage ideas. for these small paper things. I think I may have to "reorganize" the metal file cabinet I have that has paper things in it. you seen it last week with the bottom two drawers open that were holding scored cardbases and some envelopes and such. ( those things could probably move to the closet) just thinking out loud. oh and if you want to see the cards ( I am assuming you are here for the mess views if you came here from Julia's blog where this blog hop starts) all you need to do is hit the home button at the bottom and it brings up all the posts. or any of the tabs on the side for a kind of what ever. I am still making Christmas cards, tags and started on some spring things besides the cleaning. Happy Wednesday ladies and thanks for stopping by! 

White on White Poinsettia

This I ended up altering the exposure to get the white embossing powder to show up. ( the dried inks are way more subtle than this in real life.) 

one of the Monday challenges this week at splitcoaststampers was to heat emboss in white on white and color it and the thought was that the simpler less detailed images would work better for this... so, I though this one would work but, I think that because the places where you could color inside the petals do not extend to the ends of them it looks fairly strange like this. if you did not know it was a poinsettia image. ( it looks better in person) so, the base is some textured cover sheet that has that woodgrain on the whole thing of it. the smooth pieces are from Neenah. this one is 5 1/2" square in real life. 

Sunday's Tags with a Card

While I was making the card to honor Lee yesterday, I first cut this A-7 diecut on this card... it did not cut all the way on the edges under that ribbon... and her card did not have a ribbon or other cross piece in that section. so, I set it aside knowing it could be saved with creative embellishments... The butterflies on this are made from mulberry paper and were stuck to the gift tissue wrap of something June gifted me with. ( I pull that stuff off packaging ) and so... 

The other pieces were mostly scraps from the previous card also and then I was just digging through a green papers file folder for the idea of cutting the tags below and came across this paper and thought that is really pretty with those scraps and butterfly. (those butterflies have been stuck to a clear piece of packaging on my desk for some time now) and so. this one pretty much made it self. the flower is a Jolees's one and the sentiment is from my you have not opened it basket. ( Tim Holtz trying to think of the name of the set will find it later) This is A-7 in real life. 

So, this was the tag set I was SO Excited to get... it's from memory box... and it cuts a Frame and a circle... not a solid tag... so, this first one is 3 layers of papers and I finally got the idea to stitch them together. and it kind of works but, then I got the idea to try it again and stitch it with zig zag stitches. but, the thing that makes this one not really suitable to gift out yet is, I use clear thread on my bobbin so I dont have to switch out the bobbin every time I switch thread colors... ( 99.9% of the stitching I do is glued down to something so you cannot see the back side) so, this looks dorky with black threads on the top and clear on the back. 

so, this one is also 3 layers of papers with zig zag stitching and the stitching only goes through the top two layers and the third layer on the back is covering up all the stitching. the heart is a new I have not played with it yet die from Serendipity stamps. I could not get any to cut completely with cardstock but, I did finally get one from thin printed paper using wax paper and having it go through the big shot 8 times ( back and forth on each corner of the square it was in ) you know roll it in, roll it back rotate it 25 degrees. ( it's doubtful I will use it much because of that) 

Now, by the time I was done with that heart I was getting irritated so, I grabbed some really thick chipboard and cut one. ( it did not cut the tag out just made the indent) which was OK because, I took scissors to it and cut out the center and made a block for the center of the tag to be able to get it to cut whole shapes and not frames. The difficulty I have with the "frame" thing with this die is the largest classic circle die from spellbinders is just a tad too small to cover up the back side to glue to and the smallest grand circle die is a tad too large to use it for a backer. ( I think all these companies do this on purpose trying to get you to buy more of "their" products) makes sense. but, I sincerely hope memory box comes out with some kind of a "solid" backer for this tag set because, A its a great size ( around 4 inches this biggest one) and its Round which is way cool if you know how hard it is to hunt down round tag dies. So, this one was cut from a scrap that was a blotter of the stencil that was sprayed through on saturday. the sentiment is from Avery elle. oh happy day. I have not played with these before. the button in the flowers is vintage as is the lace and ric rac. 

and fourth times a charm. I found that leaving the shim I made taped inside the center of the die made it possible to cut thicker papers ( this is watercolor paper) without cutting the center hole into it. and this butterfly ( a k & co layered sticker) was also a recycled from a gift package. I had that sentiment set out still and then die cut that with an pierced fish tail die from My Favorite things. ( love this set) and I probably could have trimmed it a tad on the left but, I kind of liked how it looked "off the box". the printed paper is from Penny Black. ( I saved every scrap of this and then I got lucky and found out from Sabrina they make it in a stamp this pattern.) So, this one is my favorite of this batch of tags. 

Saturday's Projects

Now this was a hard thing to do, which is funny because, it is so fairly clean.

It was done for the Saturday inspiration challenge which was to visit Angela Maine's Blog and learn a design idea. (and that is the card I chose) and what I learned is it's a lot of work to do clean and simple but, you already knew that one right? :) it's not that I cannot do it, but it is way more work to have a white card to me because, I make mistakes. ( always ) the thing with lumpy cards is you can cover that up. with CAS you don't have the same embellishment opportunities. So, this card took over 2 hours to do. I was a little surprised when I looked at the clock but, it happened like this.

I had a different swirl done in this same die cut pattern on the table from a blue background I had made a long time ago, and when I ran the first swirl through the original 510 Xyron machine I have had for 16+ years... it killed it, { I have been on my last thing of glue for this machine for a while now so, of course I had to try to squeak one more thing through it.} but, I do not have anymore of the what ever it was I had made I used for the original swirl. so, I found this shimmery scrap in the bin and thought it looked a little like the stream ink used for the sentiment but, have since decided if I were to do this over again I would for sure make that swirl a paler shade. ( it's too jarring color wise to me)  So, the good part that saved me even more time was I was gifted with a new Xyron machine a couple of HYCCT's ago and it has officially come out of its box which saved me from having to go to the store. and funny true story its GREEN :) (my favorite) my old one was gray. the birdcage is up on pop dots over a scrap that had been splatter sprayed with shimmery inks and the birds wing is also a scrap that was altered for some long ago project. The sentiment is an old one from Stampa Rosa. The base is an premade DCWV one. ( I am on a mission to use these things up) 

This was actually the first thing I made on Saturday... and I had these technique tuesday (love you) dies still on the table and cut a few with scraps and then decided this one didn't look too bad color wise with this tall mug I cut a while back. The words are up on pop dots. and so, it's just a simple one its A-7 in real life. 

The mix challenge this week is to pick a color... a single color. so, I picked red. the base is Neenah columns and the shipping tag was stained with some barn door and then the colorwash (red pepper ) was sprayed through the doily stencil over the top of that. to make it mixed media I actually used another never been played with thing I found in my closet is a few years ago ( I know I know) hubs gave me a package of multiple colors of sealing wax with a metal monogram for them. and I just never had a lighter upstairs.. so, when I was done making a circle to press into for that stamp I blew it out and did not move my hand fast enough or spin the square candle fast enough to keep it from dripping and got a couple goofs. and then decided it didn't look too bad so I left them. 

This was done for the Queen for the day challenge from friday they had picked Lee Murphy to be this weeks's queen. and let me tell you this was just as bad as trying to do something from Angela's blog. I have such a hard time trying to CASE something from someone's gallery when they are a person you are familiar with their talent. my usual survival tactic for the featured stamper challenge is to switch something to a Christmas theme. (that is an automatic change so, I only need to make one more change) but, for this one. I knew the first thing that comes to mind to me when I think about Lee is Pearls... so, I went looking for something with Pearls and found this one. and my other thing I am doing is trying to actually USE some of these things I have been collecting. so out came this die set

from spellbinders has cross dies in (4) sizes in the set, and all 4 were used here. there are layers of pop dots between them. each was die cut from a slightly different texture cream scrap. and the distress ink is antique linen. the pearls are from recollections and the center gem is from queen & co? something like that. That ended up being very thick. 

So, I thought you better build up the framing around it to protect it a little. this is actually in a clear box. the sentiment is from Hero Arts cut with one of those Mama Elephant slim tags dies and the other dies are all spellbinders. The printed papers are from Authentique and Daisy D's.

This is A-7 in real life. 

Done with some of the scraps on the table this one is 3" in real life. the sentiment is from SU. the heart is from Unity Stamps the larger diecut heart is the smallest primitive heart on the sizzix bigZ die. 

Some Love Notes

this one is 6" square in real life and may become hubs if I don't make something I like better between now and then. 

these are both regular A-2 cards not the gift card holder kind. 

This one is A-6 done for this weeks ways to use it challenge to use an oval. the love you is an technique tuesday die and the oval was an small scalloped petite ovals spellbiners die. the embossing folder is from sizzix. 

and one for the mom's this is not a gift card holder just an A-2 sized card.

Gift Cards

The soap store wanted some valentines and mothers day cards and so these are 3" square in real life.

these three came home with me.

both of these are in the store

these are also in the store

as are these

the made my day is at home and the mom is at the store

both of these are in the store, the bird is a sticker and the hearts are diecuts of the splatter catching paper I had in the bottom of my spray box. lined with some krylon pen. 

the poppy is at the store and the shamrock came home it is that stamp I picked up a couple of weeks ago at the swap meet. 

these came home

now these I did wednesday night after I was home one of the things I have "found" cleaning out the closet is this package of Martha Stewart daisy stickers that I had bought for the M'bellish store when they were busy buying daisy cards and I had never got around to using them. forgot about them and in the way I have my space set up right now, I don't have a spot to put them away either so, I have used up about half the package so far. that sentiment is a new one from IO. 

the sentiment is from hero arts. the one on the left is a very pale yellow but, these were shot late after dark under the lights. 

these are all 3" also. the centers on these stickers are fuzzy to touch ~ so a cool thing. 

these I made for me to tuck into my gifts I will give for V day... they are a smidgen bigger than 3 inches and something that came in a variety pack of handmade papers once one side is these embedded hearts in the mulberry tissues and the other side is a mulberry tissue texture in solid red. but, this is the weight of a cover sheet so. it was score and fold able. 

WOYWW #294 {the case of the dysfunctional dies}

It's lots of photos this morning, I have been talking about cleaning out my closet for a few days now on splitcoast and someone said how do you organize your dies. so, there are some extra shots of that mess too. ( its a two-fer day right?) :) you can find out all the details and play along by linking up to this blog hop where it starts on Julia's blog here:  

So, on my table it self I had this basket of pre cut & scored card bases I had bought from paperzone when they closed and when I was cleaning I noticed they were starting to bend so, they all came out of the basket, and I am folding and scoring them and putting them "away" with the other papers so, that I may actually try to use some of them up. the basket on the paper cutter is filled with 3" cards. that are headed to the soap store later today. ( its a really cute little store in the old scrappers corner spot next to Nibbleys cafe) you can see a photo of them here on their facebook page. the wooden floor screen to the center left of their header photo is filled with chicken wire and those little squares are my 3" cards on this thing with wooden clothes pins. 

card bases being folded with some of the sentiments that were used on the 3" cards and some valentines. ( I will do a second post of the cards there are a few of them) 

so on the table behind that ott light on the right is this wooden little tray and inside of it are the dies I use most for sentiments. they are mostly inside these clear pockets from Memorex for holding CD's.  sometimes I stick the sticker on them ( like from My Favorite things) and sometimes I just grab a slick writer and jot down the name on the sleeve. way back when the only kind of metal dies I had like this were spellbinders I used to save part of the packaging and put magnets on that and then tuck them into the pockets. ( I have given up doing that) 

under the table is a pile of extra cut pads and a stamp foam sheet and the Pro size dies for the sizzix big shot. ( these are 12" square in real life ) (and heavy) there is one plastic box in that basket that was something a Gina K kit came in and all my spellbinders grands dies are in that one box together. 

in the corner, on the floor is a basket of fairly recent die purchases that have not been put away yet. because, if you scroll down to see the top of these cabinets you will kinda get the idea of how they get put away. and I started buying these plastic boxes with sheets of magnets that I had seen on Becca Feeken show on her blog a long time ago. ( the problem I have with those is when I buy them in bulk they put all the magnets on one end of the stack of all the thin boxes so the UPS people play hockey with the boxes and the ones closest to the end where all the weight is of the magnets come in shattered. so, if you buy these get more boxes than you get magnets) 

see those white baskets in the front? ( those were found at pier 1 imports) there is one more empty one in the closet waiting for me to get more cases and magnets. the cases are these and the magnet sheets on the inside are these.  some of the cases hold more than one die because, I have a whole bunch that were sold as single dies, so there is a box of butterflies kind of a thing. and I just grabbed that pen and wrote on the cases. the metal drawers on the left are holding spellbinders dies on their packaging with magnet strips inside the clear pouches from memorex. behind the white baskets are bigZ style dies. behind the tape spinner that is holding ranger square in pads are some binders. and in the green zippered one is alphabet dies from Sizzix and the smaller dies are alphabets and shapes from quickutz. on top of the metal drawers in the left side corner way in the back is a round tall metal basket and it is holding some border dies. ( the ones that don't fit into any of the other systems) 

there are two more kinds of dies in here that I did not shoot photos of, but, there are previous posts that show those photos. the one is the inside of those little metal drawers and that can be seen here. ( they are more "full" now. and the other is the top drawer of the dresser by the window that holds my cling mount stamps in its top drawer its too shallow for those dvd plastic cases from SU so, it has small die cut things and a small wooden tray holding the old green size sizzix original dies. you have to scroll down in that post to see inside the top drawer. hopefully it makes what I babble about make more sense, and hopefully everyone else was not too bored to tears. :) have a happy Wednesday people! 

PINK

I had the crazy idea that if I changed the blog design template the side bar would stop shaking...
 ( is it shaking for everyone else or just me?)

rustic birdhouses.

So, as I clean my space I am trying to use the new toys either stamps or dies its harder at this time of year when there are more new things than usual. This birdhouse stamp is from Impression Obsession and its stamped with versafine on kraft. These are both A-2 in real life. 

was thinking the ledger paper went with staples.. so this one the house is up on pop dots. sentiment is from A Muse and the rose is from wild orchid crafts. 

the grey corrugate is from fancy pants and the sentiment on this one is from rubber soul. Hub's dads birthday is in a few days and if I don't come up with something better for him I may just give him this one. even though its really not that much of a guy card. 

Embossed Fantasy & Snow Angels...

This was done totally inspired by this beauty found in Claudia's gallery yesterday as she is this weeks featured stamper. The blue shimmer is from stardream, the white powder is SU. this one is A-6 in real life and this was a third attempt. the clean and simple ones always seem to take longer or have more goofs that are not save able than cards you can layer on the sentiments. 

I originally started this card with some ocean tide from PTI but, it really is more green than this in real life and I also tried stamping the sentiment to the same panel as the tree but, it just looked funny with the tying on a ribbon. even a sheer one so, I ended up stamping this sentiment again on a scrap to pop it up over the ribbon. 

The February Christmas card challenge theme is snowmen and I got this cutie in my Christmas stocking ( its an itty bitty from Unity stamps) that stamped panel is up on pop dots. and this one is also A-6 in real life there are some glitter gel pens and stardust stickles on this trying for some dimension of where the snow should have been thicker.