Scene with Make It Crafty Images

Back in April I was asked to make a birthday card for a teenager who loves horses.  This young lady has long blonde hair so that made me think immediately of my favorite images from Make It Crafty. I love coloring the flowing hair like Sweet Stephanie's. I also found the Exquisite Unicorn worked well as Stephanie's horse. To complete the scene the Crooked Picket Fence was perfect.

After merging the images in Photoshop I colored the scene with Copics. To keep the layers flat the Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles fit the scene and made a nice frame.  The card itself is aqua cardstock and the background layer was actually a scrap of designer paper I had in my stash.

The red flowers and leaves are from a stem of silk flowers.  I removed the plastic centers and replaced them with pearl brads from the bridal department at Michaels.  The small ivory roses are Prima.

I was pleased with how it all came together and I understand the young lady liked her birthday card, too.

Project Parts:

Images:  Make It Crafty

Paper:  Cardstock and designer paper scraps

Tools:  Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles, Copic markers, Spellbinders Grand Calibur Die Cutting Machine

Embellishments: Silk Flowers, pearl brads, Prima roses.

Thanks for stopping by today. I've come down with a nasty summer cold so I'm not creating much. But I think I still have another card or two to post later.  I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the weekend.

My Return to Blogging --- Again!

I know I have said this before --- I'm back again.  Well, here I go --- again! A week after my last post I had emergency gall bladder surgery which kept me out of my studio for awhile. Then some family issues took my energy elsewhere. My ever-expanding list of things to do includes getting back to one of my favorite activities --- cardmaking --- and blogging about it. As always, I follow many very talented crafters out there, and that list continues to grow, keeping me inspired and motivated. So, hopefully, I can get caught up and get going again!

The card I'm showing today is one I made back in April, but hadn't posted yet. It was a farewell card for a friend who was leaving the shop we worked in (I've since left, too.)

I am so hooked on the beautiful new Spellbinders dies! As much as I love the CAS layouts, I just can't help but flourish them up.  With these gorgeous dies I can have my flourishes but with far less work. Sort of a CAS technique. The die set I used here is Radiant Rectangles.

I still love coloring with my Copics and have taken up CAS in some of my stamp images. Especially on a card like this one, a simple design surrounded by ornate die cuts, created a balance I was pleased with. These images are from Our Daily Bread Designs.  The Bee Balm Flower and Hummingbird are simply colored with Copics. (I'll try to get back into the habit of keeping track of which colors I use.) ODBD also has a die for the hummingbird making it so easy to cut it out!

Scattered on the scrolls are tiny clear rhinestones.  The cardstocks are red Bazzill and simple Georgia Pacific white #110.  And that's all there is to it! My version of CAS. 

Project Parts:

Images:  Our Daily Bread Designs

Paper:  Bazzill and Georgia Pacific

Tools:  Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles, clear rhinestones, Copic markers, Spellbinders Grand Calibur Die Cutting Machine

Thank you for stopping by today. As long as health, home, and family issues stay in check, I plan to be back more regularly!

Graduation Day for a Cool Guy!

Celebrating Graduation with his Mustang

A friend of mine asked for two graduation cards for high school grads.  This is the first of the two.  The young man loves his red Mustang so the card just had to pay tribute to the 'Stang, too!  The images are all colored with Copics...lots of red.  Below I will reveal the secret to this image.  The photo doesn't show it well, but the card base is a shiny black... almost like black patent leather. I used Spellbinders Wacky Squares for the pieces on the front, one in red glitter paper and the other silver metallic embossed with the Cuttlebug diamond plate embossing folder.

Close up of car after coloring from sketch

Sketch made with PhotoShop from a photo

I didn't have rubber or digital stamps of a Mustang and to take the time to draw one would take till his college graduation, so I went surfing for a photo I could turn into a sketch.  I've used this technique before with PhotoShop.  The photocopy effect will take it to a pencil drawing, then I erase all but the essential lines to keep the basic form.  Then I start to color. 

Happy Grad!

This happy grad image is from Kenny K and was a perfect reflection of this happy occasion in a young person's life! 

Inside of card...Headed for the Future!

Inside I used another Kenny K digital image to top off the whole theme of the card.  The young man hasn't seen the card yet, but I hope he likes it!  I made it 5 x 7 so it can slip into a frame, if he chooses.

Thanks again for stopping by!  It's been a busy week, but I do have a couple more cards to post soon.

Happy Graduation to your special high school and college grads! May they all find much success in the future for themselves as well as their communities.

Project Parts: 

Image: Kenny K 

Paper: Shiny, glitter and metallic papers from my stash.

Tools:  Spellbinders Wacky Squares dies, Copic Sketch markers, Cuttlebug Diamond Plate embossing folder. 

Aurora Wings Peacock Masquerade

Maybe I wasn't blogging the past year, but I was reading favorite blogs and discovering new favorites.  One of my new favorite digital stamp designers is Aurora Wings.  I love the fantasy, details and romance of these images. It just so happened that a friend of mine wanted a card made for someone who loves peacocks, masks, and the peacock's blue color.  I found the perfect image, Peacock Masquerade, and went crazy finding all kinds of embellishments.  I actually bought more than I could possibly use on one card, so I see more peacocks in my future creations!

Detail of the Mask

Inside of card

This was a fun card to do. I love the image and the colors.  The black glitter paper added drama and I love the Spellbinders die. I went a little crazy with the glitter and embellishments, but I am happy with the results. So was my friend!

Project Parts:

Image: Aurora Wings Peacock Masquerade

Paper: Jewel colors from DCWV, black glitter paper by Best Occasions

Glitter: Art Accents Bluebird, Martha Stewart White Gold, Oriental Trading Co. Turquoise

Embellishments:  Spare Parts by The Paper Studio satin medallions and swirls; Hobby Lobby Peacock feather

Tools:  Spellbinders Majestic Labels 25.

Thank you for coming back to visit my blog.  It's good to be back!

My Return to Blogging --- Again!

Last year I tried to return to card making and blogging not long after my mother passed away. In fact I had made a couple of attempts to get back to some of my favorite activities.  The depth of grief was unanticipated, as was the lack of awareness of the passing of time.  Needless to say, Mr. Mojo could not survive in such a desolate environment, to he disappeared completely. As they say, life does go on, and some very fabulous things have been going on during the past year.  So, Mr. Mojo, the door is once again open and you are most welcome and needed!

If you follow me on Facebook you probably know that I became a first-time grandmother on July 16, 2013.

Adam Scott is now 9 months old and absolutely rocks my world! He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which sits on the site of the old Clarkson Hospital where I was born a loooooonnnng time ago! That was very cool for me. This week Adam and his parents moved to the Washington, DC area where Scott will carry out his last Navy deployment before he retires in December 2016. It is so hard to think of them 1100 miles away instead of only 400. But with Skype and as many visits as I can muster I will be able to watch Adam grow.  He is delightfully funny and a very happy baby.  So, for this post I am going to shamelessly post a timeline of photos of the little angel that has brought so much joy to my life this past year.

Adam Scott at 14 days old -- he actually slept through the whole photo shoot!

My first visit with Adam

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

Happy Family  

My Favorite Photo.  Eight months old

 Needless to say, I am very proud of my little man! I got a new camera in September so I have LOTS more photos.  Those will be posted in the near future on one of my other blogs, which I will link in later.

This is, after all, my blog dedicated to my cards and paper crafts, so the next post will be of one of my latest creations.  I've been blurking in the background, looking at my favorite blogs and keeping up with my friends. You are all amazing as always and definitely my greatest inspiration.  I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Thank you for stopping by today and I will see you again soon!