Doing a bit of Watercoloring.....

and....I should do it more often.  It was so relaxing!   I didn't achieve anywhere near the color or shading that I wanted but I am happy with the vibrancy of this card!  I was charged up for water coloring after looking at the Moxie Fab The Wonder of Water Color Challenge.  I decided to use the sketch that Deborah Nolan has for her April card chain and split up a large background stamp by Impression Obsession.  I really, really like this stamp.  It has so much going on and it is one of those background stamps that you can trim it out pretty much anywhere and it will look just fine.  I watercolored with Tombow markers....mainly what you do is make marks on your image with the colors that you want to blend and then you blend them with a waterbrush.  I learned this technique last September at Scrapfest when I took a class from the Northwoods Rubber Stamp Co. people.  It is really a fast and easy way to color an image and even if your image is very detailed, like this one, the final product usually turns out pretty nice!  I then cut a "sash" to go diagonally across the card and stamped it with a Hero Arts sentiment.  I placed the sentiment strip up on foam in the middle of the sentiment and then adhered it at the ends.  This is hard to see in the picture but in real life it gives a nice, gentle dimension to the sentiment.  From there I just "multi -  matted" the card, put in some overhanging  corners and voila!  I hope whoever I am paired up with enjoys this card....I certainly enjoyed making it.  After all the pink from the Relay for Life card sets I was more than ready to make a color change!  So, here is my entry for Moxie's Fab's Wonder of Watercolor!

I love being part of these card challenges.  I enjoy receiving snail from people all over the world.  I especially like it when whomever is sending me a card includes a little letter....telling me about them selves and what their part of the world is like.  I appreciate that Deborah takes the time to organize this exchange and wish I knew of other's to take part in!

I did really enjoy making the cards for my friend who is taking part in the Relay for Life but I am so glad to be done done done with the making of the pink cards.  I can't wait to hear from her to see how she likes them!  I am ready to be involved in other card types though and also want to try some other small crafting projects.  It has been so busy....almost too much so to try "new" techniques or projects.  By that I mean that if I only have a little bit of time it is not enjoyable to me to just spend it "experimenting" rather than creating and producing.  Don't get me wrong...I love to experiment but I think that the time for that is out ahead of me.  Actually, it is getting closer as my time windows will open up more and more as my youngest graduates from HS and then in September will be leaving for college.  While one part of me is freaking out over the last of my three to be leaving the nest another part of me is getting used to the idea of time to and for myself.  Wow....what a concept!  Well, going to sign off as it is actually sunny here today....first time in days! and I want to get outside, put my ipod on and take a walk!  I hope you are enjoying your day too!

Be well,

Sheila

And......three more!

I don't know what happened but I think I totally pinked out and got on a roll.  I made three more sets bringing the total number of card sets to 9!.....That is a lot of cards and I am really surprised at how much I like dong this project.  I would make a set and 1/2 way through it another idea would occur to me.  In fact, I have a pretty simple idea for a 10th set but honestly, if I made another set I'm afraid I would be in danger of never stopping.  And, my friend needs these sets in CA by the end of the week so.....off to the post office I go.  I did want to share the  additional sets with you all though.  Mainly I am sharing these sets because I want to emphasize how fast they came together after I settled on an idea  for each card.  Then, I generally could power die cut.  In fact, I got to the point where I would be cutting out the pieces and parts for several different cards in one "pass through" which made it super fast.  I would basically be cutting two or three cards to be assembled and so really upped my assembly line greatly.  So, here are the cards and please excuse the lighting....it really makes the cards look washed out.  They are various shades of pink though!

I ran out of the same size flowers and the same color ribbon on this first set so it is a set but it does have some slight differences.  I thought I would change up the ribbon and flower differences with different sentiments so the 6 card set would still seem cohesive.  The "background" die cuts are actually two corner dies that I taped together and then glued down to great a background.

This next card finds me running out of the stripped paper so a few of the cards have a different striped background.  Again I thought it would be alright as the sentiments varied from card to card in the set.

This next set used up a lot of little paper scraps from patterns that I used on other cards.  It was so easy to make and really assembled super fast.  The window is popped up on dots for a bit of dimension against the embossed brick background.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope to be visiting you all too!

Be well,
Sheila

And then there were 6....

I have two more sets to share with you today.  For those of you who aren't aware, I am sharing the sets of cards that I made for friend who requested pink card sets for a breast cancer auction.  So, I have been immersed in all shades of pink for the last week and have two more sets to show you.  These are the 5th and 6th set and I have one more on the table ready for final assembly and embellishing.  I have really loved doing this project.  Last year I did the 60 mile Susan G Komen walk and this year, besides donations, I have spent time on these sets. And with the count currently at 36 cards (and numberous duds) I have had plenty of time to reflect on all the women in my life who have battled this disease.  And, as an added bonus, my oldest daughter was in town for a visit and she asked to craft with me.  It was wonderful and so great to see her get "her feet wet" in crafting!  She ended up creating a memory board that hopefully I will get to post here later this week.  But on to the cards....

This first set is a small card....only 4" x 4".  I used up lots of pink scraps by "quilting" a standard size piece of cardstock with 1" x 1" squares one night while watching  tv with the family....always a good time to do those time consuming yet brainless aspects of crafting.  Then I cut from that large sheet 6 smaller sections to be laid under the heart frame.  The dies are all Spellbinders.  Then just a ribbon, some bling, a flower and a bit of stickle and voila!  the card was finished!

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I always do an assembly line with these type of sets and they go so fast!

The next card features the  pink just in the way of the window and the center gem of the flower.  I LOVE this card.  So easy to make but it looks fancy and difficult!  This is note card sized at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2 " and just has simple embossed mats.  I love the look of the brink embossing showing through the window panes.  I believe the embossing folder is Sizzix....Tim Holtz one and the window die is Spellbinders.  The flower, leaves and "pine" are all punches.

And, again, here is the whole finished set!  I would actually keep this card for myself if I had a choice....that's how much I like it!  

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to put the last of the sets up tomorrow.  I am not sure if I will make one or two more....I guess it depends on how much I care about getting housework done today!

Be well,
Sheila

Pink-a Li-cious!

Okay - here is the third and fourth set of cards that I made for my friend.  I really like how these ones look.  Again, I used those domed sentiment stickers on one of the sets and  on the other I used a Penny Black sentiment that I thought was a nice one to use for this particular cause.  While these cards have taken a bit of time to make they haven't taken anywhere near as much as they might look.  I would design the card....some times drawing it out in my scribble and then assembling the die cuts on my cutting board.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I use the Grand Caliber and what I love about this machine is that it is so easy to put many dies on one cutting board.  Often I am able to put all the elements of one card on the board and so cut everything for one card out at one time.  When I make a card that way it is far less "pass throughs" and therefore, far less work than it appears to be.  Simply, it becomes a card making assembly line that really allows me to make a nice card set quickly.  So without further ado....here are the next round of sets!

In this particular set, which was super easy, I used all Spellbinder dies and left the uppermost die cut in the die in order to sponge pink around it and still keep a nice crisp white border.

And here is the full set.

In this next set I went again with the pre-made sentiments mounted on pink paper and just highlighted those sentiments with a whole lot of white texture.  Texture in the way of layers, cuts and embossing.  I like the clean look of this!

This particular set has a little story behind it.  I had this card made without the ribbon, the polkadot paper, the middle scalloped layer or the bling and sentiment.  Instead it had a glittered pink breast cancer ribbon popped up in the center and it was the first set I made.  And, I just couldn't stand it until I finally carefully deconstructed the card, changed it up a bit and ended up with what you see here.  I am glad that I did!  I know look back to the pix of the first take and blech!  So, sometimes it pays to sit on a card and revisit it with new energy later.  I was so "done" with the set the first time around that I couldn't conceive of ripping it apart to make something better.  But, after a day or two passed I was able to dive back in a change it around to something I liked much better.....so the moral of the story???  Never throw away those completed but ugly duckling projects....later they may become a beautiful swan ;-D

I plan to post the final two sets tomorrow and then get them out to my friend in California.  I have had fun with this project and although I was nervous in the beginning about the making of 36 cards it didn't end up being anywhere as hard as I thought it might be.  I am glad that I said yes and would definitely do a project of this size again. It wasn't too hard to come up with 6 different designs either....

Thank you so much for stopping by and I appreciate the lovely comments that have been made on my blog in the past!

Be well,

Sheila

For a Good Cause....

A friend of mine from out of state recently contacted me and asked if I would make several sets of cards for her.  She wanted them to for a small acuction and craft fair that was being used to raise funds for breast cancer research.  She is participating in the walk and also, more importantly, is a breast cancer survivor.  I told her "of course" and so these sets are what have been occupying my time this past weekend.  Her main request is that they be  pink....or have lots of pink in them.  I found some paper raging from fushia to bubble gum to pastel and got started.  I think that I will post two sets at a time so as to protect you all from pink overload!  I am pleased at how these sets are turning out and each set is comprised of 6 cards.  I warn you now though, the fushia cards don't photo well.  They seem very neon and glarey in the photos which in real life they look pretty fab!  I am not sure how my friend will be selling these....I am not sure if they are going to be part of assembled baskets or what.  I often send my chemo - peeps sets of breast cancer related thank you cards and note cards for quick thank you"s to all the people who help them with meals, rides for their kids etc.....this way the recovering person can always have a card on hand.  Many times I also make packs of all occasion cards for that same reason.

Here is the first set:  I had found this wonderful "Survivor" stamp and thought that I would scoop it up as since I do the "Chemo-Angels" program I knew I would get a lot of use out of it..  I love the sentiment.  As you can see, the fushia looks bad but irl it is really a wonderful highlighting color.

And, here is a pick of the whole set.....

The second set that I am going to show today uses the fuschia polka dot pp as well as fushcia card stock paired with some pale dust pink.  I then had picked up these sentiment sheets at JoAnn's on sale. They are slightly raised or domed plastic that is sticky on the back so one can peel them off and place them on to any light colored cardstock to coordinate with a card.  Each sheet has about 20 phrases in various sizes and shapes and they all pertain to a certain theme.  I like them for sets as they give me a wide variety of sentiments with out having to own a wide variety of stamps. Once I put them on my paper I simply cut around the form with a pair of scissors.  Then I usually pop them up on dots and place them on a larger accenting die cut. I pick them up as they are on sale alot! This particular set has different sentiments on each card...I have highlighted two.

Aren't these wonderful little expressions?

And here is a shot of the whole set.....I am really pleased with this design and will definitely return to it again.  Sooo easy to put together.  I am thinking perhaps all white for a wedding with a bit of embossing here and there.....

Well, thank you for popping by and I really appreciate the time you take to visit my blog!  Tomorrow I will be back with more sets!

Be well,
Sheila

Ooooo Baby Baby!

Hello  Everybody!  I want to share a project with you today that I had so much fun making.  My daughter Bessie asked my to make a baby shower card for a relative of her boyfriend's and I enjoyed the making of the card so much that I also made a matching gift bag for her to put their little baby gift in.  I think I have  made one baby card before this.  Really.  I can only think of one so I was a little excited at the idea of doing something a bit different.  I have just two "baby stamps" and no "baby" paper at all.  I did, however, find myself tantalizingly close to an Archiver's after I went out of town to watch my other daughter, Clarice, play in a rugby game.  So, of course I needed to drive the extra 10 minutes to go to a store that otherwise is 90 minutes away from my house.......anyways there was the cutest little 6x6 paper packs that were for babies and I was able to pick up ones that would work for both little boys and little girls.  And, since Joe is in Thailand, Corm was out, Clarice was at school and Bess wasn't home yet from Minn for her visit I had a few hours to my lonesome to pitter and putter around.  Wow.  So relaxing.  My stamp is a Whippersnapper Design Stamp and one that I just adore.  I can color it for either sex and and it has enough areas to color that it can really be color coordinated to whatever paper I am using.  I also finished up the inside of the card but forgot to photograph it...but it was CUTE!  Anyways, I wanted to mimic the look of a quilted baby blanket and so punched out 1" squares of the patterned paper....glued them together and then ran it all thru an embossing folder.  Then I mounted that quilted square on several mats and finally on a 5 1/2" square card.  I used Spellbinder dies for the fancy cuts and dyed my own seam binding with the same copic colors that I used on the buggy and  the balloon.

For the bag I cut the embossed paper  into 2" square pieces and then I lightly distressed the edges with brown ink.  I didn't do this inking on the card as I thought the card was too small of a space for so much  distressing....I thought it would detract from the focal point. But the bag, being so much larger, seems to need to have those quilted squares defined.  I also used Spellbinder's dies to cut out the "nameplate" and then chalked the uppermost cut piece while it was still in the die.  I used rub on letters for the baby's name and although it looks kinda crooked here it really isn't!  Also, I didn't plan to add the blue/white roses to the left side of the name but my fingers must have had some oil on them and the chalk on that side has a definite mark in it.  I didn't want to remake it as I had already applied the letters! The day was kinda dark here and so I feel like the photography doesn't show off how soft and sweet these colors really are!  I am though, really happy with how this little project turned out!  I love it when I come out of my craft room happy and satisfied.....don't you?  I am going to enter this bag in The Ribbon Girl Challenge.  This time it is for "just add flowers"... which I did!

I have been very busy lately trying to get 6 sets of notecards done for a friend who is using them as part of an auction item for a breast cancer fundraiser.  Her only request was to use pink and so I currently have 4 sets down and have begun to see shades of pink in my dreams.  I can truly say that I have never before used this much pink in any project.  Each set is comprised of 6 cards so by the time I am done I will have made 36 PINK cards.....I believe afterwards I will find myself turning to the color beige......anyhoo.....I will begin post those sets tomorrow.  After I get the next two sets done.  Thanks so much for stopping by and always being so kind with your comments!

Be well,

Sheila

Card Chain Challange

I haven't not been able to be a part of Deborah Nolan's Card Chain for some time now but this past March I was able to participate and had forgotten how nice it was to send and receive a hand made card.  I had the pleasure of sending my card to Maria who has been become a friend in the HA flickr group and an invaluable resource to me for Splitcoaster Stamper Gallery questions!  Here is the card that I sent to Maria....it was fun and BRIGHT!

I hope you like it!  I have been out of town for awhile on a vacation and so been absent from both crafting and blogging.....I hope to get caught up in the next day or two!

Be well,
Sheila