Asian Inspired Mountain Scene Card

I made this card several months ago but never got around to posting it. Eeks! To create the card I stamped the mountains first. I then masked off the mountains and a portion of the top and bottom of the card so that I could ink in the sky. After I was finished with the sky, I removed all the masking and then stamped the dragonfly and Asian lettering. Lastly I embossed a straight line just below the mountain scene. A clean and simple look with no layers and didn't require extra postage for mailing!

Happy Hopper Seed Shooter

How about a fun, smile maker card? The Happy Hopper Seed Shooter is just that. I remember as a kid, sitting on the back porch with my grandpa, eating watermelon and seeing how far we could spit our seeds. Fun days and fun memories! I colored the image with Prismacolor colored pencils. The Summer Fun sentiment is computer generated.

I hope you all have been having a fun summer making lots of happy memories.

For today's post I would like to share with you a card I made using inchies...7 inchies to be exact! I had so much fun making this card. I used watercolor paper with Ranger's Distress Ink to create the background. The inchies were made using the same background technique and then stamping my image of the dragonfly before cutting into 1" squares. I used a bit of Stickles added to the wings to add just a bit of sparkle to my card. Clicking on the photo will allow you to view a larger version of the photo.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to view my card.
Happy creating!

Vase Card Series

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted last. I think it is time to do some catching up. Let me start with my vase card series, all using the same flower stamp and  die, and the emboss resist technique. The first one pictured above is actually the second one I made in this series. The flowers are stamped on a manila file folder with Versamark clear ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. Two different colors of Ranger's Distress inks were then used to create the emboss resist technique. The two different designer papers used are from Graphic 45's Couture collection. Awwww Graphic 45...love their paper collections!

Below is pictured the first vase card in my series. You might remember it as it was featured in a past post of mine. I call it my "Seventies meets Japan" vase card.

Once again the emboss resist technique was used, again stamped on a manila file folder but only one Ranger Distress Ink was used this time. No designer paper was used, only solid color cardstock by Bazzill and an embossing folder to create the textured background.

The third card in my vase card series brings in some brighter color using two different colors of ink and designer paper also from the Graphic 45 Couture collection.

The fourth design in the series is in the works and will be posted later once completed.

I hope you enjoyed my vase cards. Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

Altered Matchboxes / Graphic 45 Couture

I had fun this weekend with altering little matchboxes!

First I started with 8 of these...

I painted the drawers with Jacquard's Neoopaque black acrylic paint. I love this line of paint when painting on chipboard or cardstock as it does not warp or wrinkle the chipboard / paper. I then covered the outside of the matchboxes with Graphic 45's Couture paper collection.

Hmmm....I worked on the above photo...rotated it,,,,it still keeps inserting into my blog post in the wrong direction. So turn your head to the right a bit and you will see the photo correctly. :) I used the 6x6 pad for the solid part of my project, the 8x8 to cover the matchboxes and the 12x12 for the inserts inside each drawer.

I then cut two pieces of medium weight black chipboard (by Graffix) into 3 3/4" squares. I rubbed on some Inka Gold by Viva Decor on the edges of the chipboard pieces. Not a lot but just enough so that it showed and looked aged as if the gold had rubbed off some throughout the years. I also used Black Soot Distress Ink by Ranger to edge all my papers.

The handles on my drawers are made by using a jewelry spacer with a black brad. The feet were made using these beads from my stash. Looks like something that might have been used in the 70's judging by the color and the size of the hole in the beads.

I took some light weight spackle to fill in the holes so that I would have enough of the bead to attach to the bottom of the chipboard. Every craft room should come with a jar of spackle! :) Once the spackle dried, I painted each bead with the same black paint that I used to paint my drawers.

I assembled all the pieces using Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. The matchboxes are stacked two high and sandwiched between the two chipboard pieces. Then I glued the feet on using my hot glue gun. The beaded design on the top was made using a 3" stick pin, one of the green beads that I painted black, a gold jewelry spacer and a gold bead. When the boxes are all placed on the base chipboard piece, it leaves a hole in the middle where none of the boxes touch. So my stick pin runs all the way through the top and through the bottom chipboard piece. This left me just enough of the stick pin sticking out that I could attach a small rubber tip which now holds the stick pin in place.

Here are some different views of my finished project. Each side is a bit different as I used at least one different print on each side.

Here is a view with 4 of the drawers opened:

The box kind of has an Asian flair to it, don't you think? I'm calling it< "Couture goes Asian"! :)

I hope you enjoyed my altered matchboxes. Thanks for stopping by!

Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante Mini Album

I have been hoarding this paper for way too long. Finally decided to put it to good use to make this 4" x 4" mini album. The front cover, the back cover and the spine were made using chipboard that I covered from the paper collection. I added some metal gears and key for embellishments. The woman with wings on the front cover was "fussy" cut from the paper, mod podged on lightweight chipboard and cut again. Then pop dotted onto the cover. The back cover I kept simple and free of embellishments. The copper strip of paper on the front and back covers are from a piece of hand made paper that my son picked up for me on his last vacation trip. Other than the copper paper, all other paper used is from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante paper collection.

The pages of the inside of the book are made using envelopes that I purchased from Hobby Lobby. Each page is also a pocket that holds a photo mat for photos. There are also journaling tags featured throughout the album. I kept the embellishments down to a minimum as I like the photos to be the main focus of the album. Also...how could you cover up this beautiful paper with a lot of embellishments. I LOVE the paper from this collection.

I also included a waterfall feature for photos and journaling on the inside front and back covers. The above pictures show one of the pages inside and the front cover waterfall feature. To finish off the little album I used a black braided tie cord to tie the album close.

This album is special to me as it represents two stages of my life. I have been legally blind for the last 7 years. Recently I had surgery on both my eyes. So far the surgery on my left eye has not been too successful as I am still legally blind in that eye. However, there was great success in the right eye! I currently have 20/30 vision in my right eye without corrective lenses! I am seeing things that I have never seen or haven't seen in 7 years. The most important thing...seeing my family and loved ones faces again! It has been a life changing experience for me. I started this album before my eye surgeries and finished it after my surgeries with my new vision in my right eye. Paper crafting was a huge struggle for me while being legally blind but I refused to give it up. I am having so much fun now creating with my improved vision!

Here is a video that shows the entire album, front and back covers as well as all of the inside pages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzuJRb4yjDk

The design style of this album was inspired by Ginger / My Sisters Scrapper's tutorial on you tube. I included a link to her tutorial in my you tube video description box. Be sure to check it out as Ginger is soooo creative and has some fun albums and tutorials to share.

Thanks for stopping by!

Prima Almanac Coin Envelope Mini Album

A coin envelope with too many pages to photograph...scratchy voice from the worse attack of allergies ever...and a camera that isn't working right....what is a girl supposed to do? Why make a video of course! :) In spite of the poor quality it still seem easier to make a video rather than trying to photograph all the pages. I have not embellished the outside cover yet and I have a bit more embellishing to do on the inside, other than that it is done. It was quick and easy to make...fun too!

Thanks for checking out my video!