Sympathy Card for Co-Worker

I made a sympathy card for a co-worker who lost her brother-in-law.

I only used white cardstock and Tim Holtz Distress Inks for this card. The stamps and ribbon were from the Gina K Designs Spring Mix Kit.

I started with a basic 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 card. I cut a 5 1/4 x 4 piece of cardstock and debossed using the flourishes envelope with the Cuttlebug. I used Peeled Paint ink to add color, adding quite a bit around the edges. Next I taped a piece of brown stitched ribbon around it and taped it to the base card.

Using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge I cut out 3" and 2 3/4" circles. On the larger circle I added Vintage Photo ink around the outside of the circle. I added a little Walnut Stain ink to darken it just a little more. Using the Walnut Stain I stamped the stitched circle stamp in the smaller circle. With the Peeled Paint, I stamped off the flower stamp twice to lighten the color then stamped inside the circle. Next I stamped the Peeled Paint directly, offsetting a little to create a drop shadow look. With the Walnut Stain I stamped the Deepest Sympathy sentiment. I taped the smaller circle onto the top circle and used foam tape to attach the circles to the card.

Great American Scrapbook Convention

I stopped by the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, TX, this past Saturday. My main goal was to see Tim Holtz in action.

I got there about 10am and wandered around to see what was there. The only vendor that got my money was Stampers Anonymous but they got quite a bit.

I got to see Tim Holtz demo the alcohol inks and tell stories. Wow! What talent. I bought some of the inks so I can give it a shot. I would've loved to sit there all day and watch more demos but I wasn't feeling well and headed back home. Maybe I'll get to attend a workshop when he comes back in August.

MPS Pink, Green, & Black Challenge

I am participating in my very first challenge. It is by My Pink Stamper and is using pink, green, and black in a design. It's pretty simple but I really like it.

Birthday Flowers

I created this birthday card for a lady I work with who loves having a vase of flowers on her desk. I've seen a couple of videos recently on making these paper flowers from scalloped circles and had to give it a try. I cut the vase from the Walk In My Garden Cricut cartridge and embossed it with the cuttlebug. I added some distress ink to bring out the swirls and also on the edges of the vase. I cut the stems with the same cartridge. I rounded the corners of the card and distressed and inked the edges. I made three of the paper flowers and added some Prima flowers with bling as well. Added the purple ribbon. I know it still needs something but my brain wasn't working at this point so I left it like this. She really liked the card and said she got lots of compliments on it during the day (she is the person everyone sees when they walk through the front door of our business).

Happy 18th Birthday

Today is my son's 18th birthday so I decided to make a card that had no bows or ribbons for him. I used several colors of distress ink on a craft mat with water spritzed on it and then rubbed the card in. Dried and repeated a couple of times. (Watched a Tim Holtz video.) Next I added some distress ink around the edges of the card. Then I stamped with the image and the sentiment with an embossing stamp pad and black embossing powder. The powder went around the card as well but I liked the look so went ahead and heated. It looks better than the picture shows and my son really liked it. I definitely need lots more practice with embossing powders.

Smile Card

Decided to make a card for my brother. Distressed some purple paper and used a little Distress Ink on the edges. Added some colorful pattern paper. I used the cricket from Stretch Your Imagination and some Prima flowers. Stamped "Smile" on a piece of white cardstock and cut to size. Added a little bling for the eyes and flower center.

Yesterday I got an invite to a baby shower happening tomorrow. This is at work for a coworker whose wife is due in April or May. I decided to make my own card so I checked out the new Pink Stamper DVD I got this week. Sure enough there was a card for a baby. I used that as the model for mine. I used my Cricut and the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge for the baby instead of a stamp. I cut the baby in white cardstock and, for the first time, used chalk to color the skin. It's not perfect but it's homemade and looks pretty good for a beginner. Hope they like it.

50's Winter Dance Party

I took my son the the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center for the 50's Winter Dance Party, a tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. I got a few good pictures of the artists during the show. I wanted to do a scrapbook layout and decided on a page for each artist along with a main page. I saw a poster online for the original dance party and the colors were yellow and black so I used those for my colors. I included pictures of the original artists, some of the pictures I took, the autographed pages from the Playbill, a small copy of the poster for the original concert, and my tickets. I am just a beginner and would love comments on what others would have done with this layout. I'm already thinking I should've put the yellow border on top of black. And maybe added black musical notes.

First Blog - About Me

I am just learning how to create cards and scrapbooks. My baby will be going to college in the fall so I need a hobby that will allow me to be creative. I'm sure I'll be a student forever. People are always coming up with interesting ideas to learn.