want to win a prize???

Check out my friend Janice's wonderful new blog and website here. 

a few more cards

 The goal of this card was to create something crazy.  So I started with a crazy quilt design (I have no idea how quilters keep everything so perfect) and the title just fell onto the card.

 "hi" came about because I liked the background paper for a falling leaves challenge.  And we all can use a little "hi" once in a while, as a pick-me-up.  So, the first person to respond to this post will receive this card in the mail.

 I don't usually go for the distressed look but from time to time, it just seems to call out to me.  Live Laugh Love was one of those times. 

another card where the title came from the elements.  And the red triangles are actual sewing on here.  Not something I do all the time but for a little added texture, it went with the theme of the card.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody!  I have so very much to be thankful to God for . . . . people, nature, etc.  In terms of a card-making blog, I am thankful to God for my gift of creativity.  I am thankful to my Nook family for all their encouragement.  I am thankful to all my friends and family who have subscribed to my blog and leave me comments, both encouraging and critical to help me become a better card-maker.

Okay, on to the good stuff :-)

 There is really no pink in this card.  All the pink parts are actually a light beige.  Looks like I need to play a bit more with my camera.  I was able to curve the Merry Christmas to match the slope because it is an acrylic stamp.  Because the block is clear, I can play with the stamp before inking it and get it exactly where I want it to be.  I love my acrylic stamps!

 This is a layout (yes I do still scrapbook from time to time :-) that I created for a friend.  She started her kids' album but once they came along, it sort of got put to the side.  So Kelly, I have actually completed 2 layouts so far.  The blank spot on the right side is for you to put in some journalling.

 I made this card to give to my Mom at Thanksgiving dinner but then forgot to bring it with me.  If I get it in the mail tomorrow, she should have it by the end of the week.  It is a simple card.  I tore the leaf paper so there was room for my sentiment (thanks) underneath.  The pumpkins are cutouts that I pop-dotted.  Simple.

 I wanted to use several different patterned papers on this Santa card.  Not sure I like how they angled down towards the bottom of the card.  Maybe it's that extra Happy Holidays that throws me off.  What do you think?

Another layout for you Kelly!!  This started as a 6x6 page I did at a stampin' up workshop.  By adding a few more stickers and mats, I was able to stretch it into a 12x12 page.  It's Kelly's job to explain what the title means :-)

I hope you all are enjoying this Thanksgiving holiday.  And thanks for watching my blog!

just because

Today's card was made using the Lily Bee Design Victoria Park collection.  The letters are Basic Grey and the background is Bo Bunny double dot paper.  Oh yeah, and the thread in the buttons is bakers twine.  I love how I managed to make the colours of the Lily Bee Design paper to really stand out using a darker background colour.  I'm going to have to remember that for other colourful and bright papers!

Cards and Journal

Today's showcase is a mix of traditional Christmas cards and a page from my visual journal. I hope you enjoy my work today.

 The first card above uses the Bo Bunny Mistletoe Collection.  I love the whimsical feel of the paper and gifts.  And I think it's awesome that there are stamps as part of the collection.  Thank you Janice of the Scrapping Nook for choosing the paper for me.

I based the second card totally on the buckle.  I thought it would be perfect as part of Santa's suit but to use different colours than expected.  And then, if you still didn't get it, we all know what Santa always says :-)

 This card is made up of some of my Christmas scraps.  My matting them all in the same colour, they could be combined into a cohesive and matching card.  Not sure where I got the dimensional tree sticker but it had the colours to match the papers and was the right size so I added it to the card.

 I love the music paper on this card.  The patterned paper and the chipboard little girl are part of the Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium collection.  

 This is the very first entry into my visual journal.  It is somewhere in the middle of the actual journal but it's the first entry that I created.  I titled it "Playing" because that's what I did with this page.  I played with my mistable inks and masking.  I played with my stamps and my sizzix machine.  Do you like the flowers growing along the fence?

Another card using Graphic 45's Christmas Emporium Collection.

Shake and Emboss

Today, I started a new blog to inspire others who are dealing with fibromyalgia too.  You can find it here . . . . onthebrightsidefibromyalgia.blogspot.ca.  Thank you to all those who gave me input on yesterday's post. 

This Thinking of You card uses a cuttlebug folder to emboss the cattails.  I then used gold embossing powder for the sentiment.  That's all it needed!

I made this shaker card using acetate from those old projector films.  The acetate plus dimensional blocks created the area to fill with holly leaves and berries.  The leaves and berries is confetti that is usually used to decorate tables or, as my Mom does, to fill up a card so it falls everywhere when you open the card.  Fortunately, I found a neater way to use the confetti ;-)

3 Different Cards

Earlier today, I was wondering exactly how many followers I have.  Blogger tells me 0 but I know that isn't true because I've had several people tell me they are subscribed and I know that I am with my other email address.  So, if you're reading this in your email, could you leave me a comment, just so I have an idea.  Thanks.

Today's cards are all simple cards that look very different from one another.  Two are winter/Christmas cards and the third is a sympathy card.  

 I created this card (that's the sunshine in the corner) using mostly Creative Memories materials.  I tore the paper to give the card a bit of texture.  I wrapped the metal tag around the sentiment using some trim I had gotten at The Scrapping Nook.  I also covered the cups of cocoa with Glossy Accents to give it a more shiny and dimensional look.

 I {heart} winter! is another card made mostly using Creative Memories materials.  I punched out the hearts to fit in with the sentiment.  I embossed the shiny purple snowflake with embossing powder.  I think it looks kinda cute like that.

This tree sympathy card was created for a dimensional challenge during the September 2012 on-line crop at The Scrapping Nook.  I stamped out 2 images and then die-cut them using Stampabilities nesting dies.  I then layered the images, using dimensionals, on top of each other.  I'm not so sure this was a good idea for a sympathy card though.  It seems a bit much.  What do you think?

One more thing . . . . It has been suggested to me several times that I become a motivational speaker or write a motivational blog for/about fibromyalgia.  The more I think about it, the more it feels like a good idea.  I'm trying to come up with a name, something colourful, something that reflects who I am and what I'm about.  I'm brain-storming right now so any words that come to mind, even one or two words, would be awesome.  Not sure if I'll be doing a separate blog or whether I will work the cards and fibromyalgia into one blog.

Creative Memories

I have been very, very creative the last little while.  I'm going to post several photos in each blog post, just so you can see what I have been doing.  I welcome any comments, good or bad.  Let me know what you think.  What would you change?  What do you like about a particular card or project?  If money wasn't an issue, would you buy a particular card?  Why or why not?  I am trying to improve my skills but I need your help.  Will you help me?

The above 3 cards were all made using Creative Memories papers and stickers.  I thought they were nice and bright and very Christmas-y.  I could not fit the entire Nativity scene on one card but to make a second card, I had to stamp baby Jesus because there was only one in the packaged set.  

What do you think?  Would you buy any of these cards?  Why or why not?  I know that I would not buy the top card because things are out of proportion and it just looks off.  

Thank you for your feedback :-)

Pink and Black

I made this pink and black card a few days ago.  My goal that day was to create a feminine birthday card using fabric paper.  The only piece of fabric paper I had was this pink with black dots so I did lots of layer and matting to bring out the colours without each piece of paper blending into the next.  I added the ribbon and tag.  I didn't like the way the pink showed on the tag so redid it with black ink.  The original pink ink gave the black ink some depth.  I then added the pin, just because.  It was a fun card to make and I love how it turned out.

Cupcakes

These papers and stickers are from the Creative Memories "Cheerful Birthday" collection.  I was attracted to the bright colours and contemporary designs.  The cupcake square is pop-dotted over an embossed square, giving the card some dimension.  Do you like working with bright colours or do you prefer more muted colours?

It's Christmas

I am dedicating today's blog post to my friend Cheryl, from yoga, who just found out that her cancer has metastasized in her meninges.  I will be keeping Cheryl in my prayers and hope that you can say a prayer for her too.

Today's Christmas card uses some really old paper and letter stickers combined with some cute flowery trim and tag.  The trim looked kind of boring by itself so I set some eyelets as the centre of the flowers.  I think the card is a bit linear but I wasn't sure how else to get all those letters on there.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

"Sparkling" Trees

This is a Creative Memories piece of paper that I dressed up to create this special card.  I used liquid pearls to add the tree ornaments and some stickles on the star.  I love how I happened to have just the right coloured ribbon to match the trees.  I added a sentiment, which came with a card kit a couple of years ago.  I like how the dips and falls in "sparkling" worked with the snowy hill.  What do you like about this card?

Personalized Christmas Card

I created this Christmas card for Aunt Cathy and Uncle Peter.  I found this picture of Aunt Cathy in a pile of Cousin Nancy's pictures and thought it would be really cool to send it in a creative manner.  Aunt Cathy likes to skate so I started with some skating paper as the background.  The tags are bits and pieces of leftover paper and stickers.  A little bit of ribbon and voila! a card is made.

P.S. I'm still looking for some followers.  As soon as I have 10, there will be a draw for Wednesday's card.

Big Idea Festival

Today's card is inspired by Day 1 of the Big Idea Festival.  Stacy Julian's Big Idea was Happy Mail . . . sending a card, just because . . . Once you register (it's free!), you can join in all the fun too.

Once I have 10 different commentators on this post, I will put all the names in a hat and the winner will receive this card and an envelope of goodies.  So . . . . are you planning on joining in the Big Idea Festival?

Big Lots Letters

Here is a very simple card that I created for my Dad.  He has always been the Scrabble champion but I didn't want to create an actual Scrabble board.  When I found these chipboard letters in my stash, I thought they were absolutely perfect.  When I added the mosaic paper, it became the perfect card. 

Anniversary Card

This anniversary card was made for my friend Laurie, who asked me to create a bundle of cards for her, including birthday, anniversary and some blank ones.  If you look closely, you can see that it is using the same layout design as yesterday's Christmas card.  I dug really deep into my stash to find the anniversary vellum and patterned papers.  I'd love to read your comments and thoughts about this card.

Father Christmas

I have been working hard this week, getting a head start on my Christmas cards.  I knew that, once I got started, I would be able to keep going until I had lots of them, both for selling and for giving.  

Today's card was made using the Bo Bunny Father Christmas Line.  I also used a cuddlebug folder for the embossed 25.   I got this design from the cover of a magazine that had 3 pics across the bottom and one large one across the top with the title in the centre.  

I try to make as many different Christmas cards as I can.  I easily get bored creating the same ones over and over again.  What do you do when it comes to creating Christmas cards?  Or do you just buy what you need and put your creativity into other things?

New to the Blogging World

I have created this blog space to showcase my home-made cards and other papercraft creations.  Many of the items I create are up for sale but I am also looking for feedback.  If you would add something or take something away or something just doesn't look right, please feel free to leave a comment.  You can also leave a comment to just say that you liked something.  Plus, you never know when there might be a contest or giveaway.  

So, for my first display . . . . 

A friend of my mother asked me to make a card for her grand-daughter's 19th birthday and this is what I came up with.  I think it is a nice card to get from Grandma.  What do you think?