Flutter, flutter, butterflies.....

Just a quick project today. I made this in a class I took with my Stampin Up demonstrator, who is a wonderful teacher. It is a card album. I thought it would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift (Grandparent's Day, too). It's simple and you can have the kids decorate the card for a special touch. Let me know if you have any questions.






Photo Album Card

Materials:

• 1 sheet 8.5X11" SU cardstock Pixie Pink (to make 2 cards 4.25X5.5")

• 5 pieces SU cardstock Barely Banana 4X5.25"
• 4 pieces SU cardstock Whisper White 3.75X5"
  
• Assorted pieces in same colors for decoration elements (see pictures)
• Assorted SU Stamps
• Assorted Ink pad and markers in same color scheme.
• Coluzzle or die cutter for oval picture windows.
• Favorite adhesive, I prefer Glue Rings or tape runners.

Directions:

1. Paste the two pink card bases together, back of first card to front of second card. This should now look like a one page album.
2. Adhere banana cards to each page (cover, inside cover, both sides of middle pages and inside back cover).
3. Using Coluzzle or die cutter, cut oval window in middle of 2 of the white cardstock pieces, keeping the cut out oval for later. Place adhesive following the sketch seen here.
4. Place windowed white pieces on the middle pages of album. Place the two solid white pieces on the front cover and the inside back cover of the album.
5. Album is ready to be decorated with stamps. I used scrap paper and the cut out ovals as masks.

Summer Over Yet?

I know most people love summer and I used to, but then I got wiser. Summer and Winter could be replaced with year round Spring and Fall. Even temperatures is what I crave. 105 degrees is just too much. I do see a day that will be 95 for the high in our near future. Cold wave coming through...I am so ready for October to get here.

Enough about the weather, here is the project for today. This is an example of the polished stone technique which can be found by clicking on SCS. I stamped "happy" on glossy cardstock with embossing ink and applied clear embossing powder. I then applied the polish stone technique. Stamped the Lily and applied the ribbon. Most all products and stamps are Stampin' Up. Contact me if you have any questions.

First Sketch....

For today's project I decided to try my hand at a sketch. It took me forever it seemed and I am familiar with Paintshop Pro, no expert, but familiar. For the next sketch I am going to design the card first and then make a sketch of it. In order to see exactly what is needed, I sometimes need to work in reverse. I wanted to make a card from the sketch, but ran out of time. I will post it later once it's completed.

New Family Member & Tag Card

I want to introduce the newest member of our family, Missy. In an earlier post, I mentioned that she adopted us and she has. We are unsure how old she is or what she has gone through, but it has taken awhile for her to trust us completely. Missy was the one who came running into our house without a thought one day. Mom had been feeding her outside, in which she had taken over the feeding when a neighbor moved and couldn't take Missy along. Missy ran in, she stopped and looking befuddled, I know she thought, "How did I get in here!". So, back outside she went. This went on for awhile before last winter and then the temperature dropped. We could not let her stay outside in the cold we had this year. So, when she came in and was hanging out, she stayed. She seems to love it. She ran straight to my bed and slept for a week, curled on my comforter. She now sleeps with her buddy Tyke and Mom. She does occasionally go outside now, but doesn't want the door closed, so she pretty much stays in.








Today's project is a Tag Card. I made this out of a half of a legal sized envelope. The designer paper, cardstock, punches and stamps are from Stampin Up! This card was inspired by Maria Bell's tutorial. She does really great tutorials and always has get inspirations. Check out her blog sites if you get a chance.

Please let me know if you have any questions, they are always welcomed.......

Weekly Scripture Inspiration

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

New Addiction

Glass Micro Beads are so YUMMY! They are what I like to call crafting sugar. I will post pictures of projects with the micro beads once they are completed. BTW, I have found a wonderful company to obtain these beads, Penny Wise Arts. They have all colors and their tape is the best on the market for beading. I ordered on Monday and received the order on Thursday. The best shipping time for any company I shop with. They are at the top of my recommendation list. Also, they have archived on-line classes that have so much information and fun projects. You will get addicted too!

On to today's project....it is a wax resist card with paper clay embellishment. I stamped glossy cardstock with black Staz On, then proceeded with the wax resist technique. The embellishment is made of paper clay. To make a raised image instead of a depressed image from a stamp, take a ball of conditioned scrap polymer clay and press the stamp of choice into the clay. Make sure you have coated your stamp with cornstarch or automotive protectant spray first, which will act as a release agent. Once the image is deeply impressed, remove the stamp and bake the clay at manufacturer instructions. Once cooled, powder the mold you have made with baby powder, making sure it is well coated. Take a ball of paper clay and press it into the mold. Carefully remove the clay and let it dry over night. You now have raised image made from your stamp. Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, I apologize that the picture is a little blurred. I scanned this one. Enjoy....

Here Kitty, Kitty.......

I now have four, yes four, cats. My newest is Missy. She actually adopted us. We opened the door and she came running in. Needless to say we had kitty chaos for a little while. Tike and JB were protecting their home and Max, well, lets just say he runs from water bugs. She sized him up quickly. Hopefully, I will have pictures of my newest addition soon.

My old man, Max, now likes to sit on my chest at odd times, while I paint, blog and eat usually. I actually had to fight to eat my pizza and hamburger forget it. You would think I don't feed him. Also, open any fish can and you will be lucky to survive. He wants to believe that he is King, but really he is just a drama queen. His favorite past time is chasing JB, because JB runs from him, which in turns gets Tike to chase Max and fight ensues. Most of the time, we live in peace, but if Max is on a tantrum...everyone watch out. He loves to kiss up to the others and then turn and smack them on the head. Sneaky one he is.


Tike is my enforcer and protects his brother JB. JB never did see well from the time he was born, so this is a good thing. JB can jump though. He judges the area twice and then clears it. The highest I have seen is 5 feet 6 inches. I took them as a package deal, which I would do again in a heartbeat. They are my beautiful boys. Tyke has now taken to protecting Missy, so all is well on the home front and everyone, in this minute, is living peacefully.









Hope you enjoy today's project. The happiness card is made from paper towel art. I used Stampin' Up stamps for the images. I have two different cards pictured. The stamped images are pretty much the same, but the paper towel background will never be the same. Even if you use the same colors, I have never gotten the same results. The paper towel paper works for stamped images and painted images. Scroll below to see a short overview of the process. I have also used this image on a journal in an earlier post, the brown leather-look journal posted last month.

I am currently in the middle of a bid war for a retired SU set Gentler Times, so I am off to wield my bid sword. Enjoy.....

Paper Towel Art

1. Place at least three colors of acrylic paint in plastic cups or bowls and add water to thin. The thinner consistency, the lighter the color will be when done.
2. Cover your work surface with newspaper and then freezer paper (plastic side up).
3. Fold a paper towel (I have found plain Viva works best) in half, then half again, then half again, then half again....keep folding until you have about a 2-inch square (you can fold the towel in any shape, experiment to your heart's content).
4. Dip one corner in one paint color, lightly squeeze excess back into cup. Dip next corner in another color, lightly squeeze excess back into cup. Dip the next corner into another color... keep going until the paper towel is covered with color. Allow the colors to bleed into each other. Only thing is, make sure the towel is completely covered.
5. Unfold the paper towel, working carefully not to tear the towel.
6. Lay the towel either on the freezer paper or on an old clean window screen to dry.
7. Once dried completely, some of the 2-ply towels will pull apart to make two sheets. If this does not work, just use it as one sheet.
8. Mix tacky glue and water (reminds me of thin ranch dressing).
9. At this point you need to decide if you want the towel to be one complete sheet or if you want to tear different sheets into smaller pieces to layer. If you are layering, you will need a sheet of white cardstock to layer the pieces on for stability. Put this cardstock on your freezer paper. If you want just one complete sheet, lay the paper towel on the plastic side of the freezer paper.
10. Paint the glue mix on the towel and cover the towel completely. I use a soft flat brush, the form brush will tear the towel. If you are using pieces, treat them as you would decoupage.
11. When covered, set aside to dry completely on the freezer paper.
12. Once dry, peel the sheet from the freezer paper. It is ready to be painted, stamped (with Staz-on) and written on. Some of my favorite pens are Sharpies, glitter markers and wite-out pens. The texture is ruff, so do not use your good pens. You can cut it to any size and glue it to anything.
13. For a leather look, stop after step 6. You will need to leave the towel whole 2-ply and all. I iron the sheet with a low temp iron using an over-cloth if needed. This flattens out the towel and it becomes softer, almost suede like. To use this for a journal or card, just cut to the desired size and glue it to your project. I use Yes! paste for this which has less water. Once glued, you can stamp and embellish. If you want to paint on it, you will need to spray seal it first with matte spray.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I had to share the Halloween card that I assisted my mom with. I designed the pumpkin and the ghost, which is cut from cardstock. Then attached googlie eyes on the back to show through. She wanted a really cute ghost to go with the saying she found for the inside of the card. Enjoy......