Tuesday, October 30, 2012

One More Halloween Card

It's almost Halloween and, hopefully, the post office can deliver this card 500 miles in two days.  I sent this one to my adorable grand-niece.


This is Flygirl by Saturated Canary. The paper is from my stash of Halloween papers, which is nearly gone so I can get new sheets next year!  The rickety fence is a Martha Stewart border fence and the stickers are just some fun little circles I found at Walmart.

Flygirl is colored with Copics.  She is such a cute little witch!  

While I keep those in the east in my prayers, I am also grateful for the first responders who put themselves in harm's way to minimize loss of life.  

How about a question to contemplate today?
What type of service to others or good deed done for other people do you personally find the most rewarding?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

My Brother's Birthday Card

This weekend I had the rare pleasure of celebrating my brother's birthday with him.  Over the years we have lived far apart or the date landed during the middle of the week.  But this year the stars and moon came together in the right sequence and we were able to get together with his wife, our mom and stepdad, my hubby, and friends.  This also gave me the fun of seeing his face when he opened his card. 

Once again I made a sketch from one of my own photos then colored it with Copics.  I'm having so much fun with these and they are quite the surprise for the recipients.  My brother is very low-key and the raising of his eyebrows with a surprised "oh" was enough for me.  Plus the fact that he kept the card sitting up in front of him all through dinner.  In other words, he loved it!


He loves sock monkeys and I found this sentiment online, which so typically describes him, too, especially the part about his expression never changing.

This is the sketch before I colored it. 
This is the photo I used for the sketch.

It's been a great weekend here and I hope yours was, too!

Now for this post's question to contemplate......

What world record would you most want to establish if you could?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

I've Been Tagged by Tags!

I have often admired all the wonderful tags I see on my favorite blogs.  With that said I didn't try to make any myself.  HOWEVER, I've since acquired a Spellbinders Grand Caliber and found a source of chipboard 12 x 12 sheets, so cutting the tag shapes (especially with my favorite dies) is easier with more possibilities.  Add to that my quest to use up scraps of papers and my love for vintage prints, now the Tag Bug has bit me!  Here are a couple that I just made:

For this tag I used the Nesties Curved Rectangles die for the chipboard tag and pasted dp from the Graphics 45 "A Ladies Diary Collection" for the background. The back of the tag is also covered with dp.  I love to collect vintage pictures from bloggers who offer free images from their collections, as well as pictures I find at antique stores.  

The corner embellishment is from Autumn Leaves Scrapmetal brad set.  The flower is a combination of paper flowers, an antique mini-doily and a decorative brad.  Punch a hole, add ribbon and I have an easy-peasy pretty tag.  

This tag is also shaped with the Nesties Curved Rectangles die.  The dp used, as well as the matching flower embellishment is from the K & Company Susan Winget Botanical set. The flower on the dp was too pretty to cover up, so I just placed a pretty rhinestone swirl as an accent.  

Christmas is only two months away so I will be focusing on holiday cards and tags.  I did treat myself to new papers and stamps/images so I see lots of fun ahead!

As always, I thank you for stopping by today.  And I am adding a little something extra to my closing.  I found a little box labeled "Chat Pack" and it is full of questions to spark conversations.  Here is the question for today:

"What is one item you own that you really should throw away... but probably never will?"

My answer to that would have to be souvenirs from Disneyland, Sea World and Legoland.  It's just the kid in me, I guess.  Feel free to leave a comment with your answer and also let me know if you love tags, too, and how you use them.   

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

A Few Halloween Cards

I haven't gone all out for Halloween cards this year, but I did manage to get some done with my favorite little witches.

This is Hazel from Wee Stamps.  She's just too cute to be a witch!  The papers I used are from my stash of years past.  Next year I just have to get new papers! The fence is cut on my Cricut and the black swirls are Recollections by Michael's.

Hazel is colored with Copics.

This card is actually recycled from a project I did last year when I made a CD case cover.  Just a bit of trimming and adhering it to purple card stock turned it into a sweet card.  This actually combines digital stamps from two designers; the Twisty Tree is from Tiddly Inks and the Witch and Frog is from Sassy Cheryl.  The bats were cut on my Cricut and the edge of the scene was cut with Bat Wing scissors by Fiskars and mounted on a piece of black card stock.

The images were colored with Copics and the background rubbed with chalks.

This is Betty Belfrey by Tiddly Inks.  Such a sophisticated witch!  I followed the pattern of the paper by using the Nestibilities diamond dies.  The black swirls are from my stash.

I love this little sign!  I think I should make one for my studio door.  There is a matching stamp that says "The Witch is Out."

Copics, as always, was my coloring media of choice.

I actually colored these little witches last year and, as part of my resolution to clean up unfinished projects, three fresh cards went into one of my shop locations.  Two sold the first week they were out!  Why did I wait so long?!

I hope your week is going well.  We are sweating through October here in Branson with temps in the 80s, but the chill of fall is just around the corner!  Thanks for stopping by and keep on crafting!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Make It Crafty "Ashlyn"

Yesterday I posted a card using the lovely Adele from "Make It Crafty".  Today I have a card showcasing the beautiful Ashlyn.  


The papers I used are from the "Love Letters" stack by Recollections (Michael's).  I so enjoy this collection and will be very sad when I've used it all.  All the papers are Kraft with red, blue, green or white designs.  The number of red papers is getting really low!  The flowers are a combination of silk stems, Prima roses and red glitter brads.  I've been using a lot of rhinestone swirls lately because a local shop that specializes in apparel with bling (Classic Creations by Nan) is also carrying my cards.  All the cards I have there feature the bling! 

Ashlyn is colored with Copics (of course).  She is mounted on a Nesties Label 9 cut from the "Love Letters"  collection of papers.

The weekend is here and I hope you all have fun plans.  Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Make It Crafty "Adele"

This will be a short post as it is getting late and I haven't even eaten dinner yet!  This was a good day as I was in the studio all day!
  
The beautiful girls at "Make It Crafty" are so much fun to color and even more fun to put onto gorgeous papers for unforgettable cards.  The card I made today features "Adele".  

The papers are from the K & Company Susan Winget Botanical collection. Beautiful pale colors and designs from nature.  The butterfly/flower in the lower right corner is from a coordinating set of embellishments. Rhinestone swirl is by Michael's Recollection.  The scalloped border (in tan cardstock) is Martha Stewart.

I colored Adele with Copics.  I have long hair but it is nothing like this! 

Today was pretty productive so I hope to have another post tomorrow with another "Make It Crafty" theme.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are having a great week!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Another Photo to Portrait Birthday Card

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Branson, including hosting our dear friends from Phoenix for a few days.  That was very fun with lots of shopping, dining out, walking, talking, playing cards, and did I mention shopping?  There is so much to do here and the leaves have been turning to brilliant reds, golds, and oranges.  Perfection!

Yesterday was our very good friend Steve's *0th birthday (let's just say he is a year younger than me!) and I made a very special birthday card for him.  Steve is one of the most talented singers here in Branson and particularly enjoys singing for the dinner crowds at Mickey Gilley's Texas Cantina, next to the theater.  I've enjoyed taking my own photos and turning them into sketches then coloring them with my trusty Copics.  Here is what I did for Steve.  

This is the finished card.  Lots of layers and dimension.  The back paper is from my scrapbook stash.  The gold sheet music, black musical notes, and piano keys came from the DCWV "Performance" matstack.  And Steve's image colored with Copics.

The sketch came from Photoshopping the picture and adjusting the drawing to a level of detail that I could color comfortably.  As I do more of these I intend to make less detailed sketches.  Even though I've done artwork all my life, sketching images is not my best suit, but I love the coloring.  I have found my niche in this technique and really enjoy it. 

This was the snapshot I took of Steve while he was performing.  He hates -- I mean HATES -- having his photo taken and didn't know about this one until I gave him the card.  He might not like being photographed, but he was blown away by the image on the card! That was very fun to see. 

So, once again, happy birthday, Steve!

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  I hope you are having a great week and that this beautiful fall season is bringing you crisp temperatures, crisp colors and even crispier piles of leave to jump into!