Reveal Number Four

Believe it or not, of all the pieces I cut last week (see collage in my post Organized Chaos) I made 20 more cards today, 4 each of 5 designs. And, I still have pieces for 20 more cards! I want to get those done tomorrow because I am expecting my Copics to arrive as well as more Cuttlebug embossing folders. I am ready to play again and make another organized chaos of new designs! My goal is 200 cards by Thanksgiving and I have 54 done so far. I have so many design ideas in my head, not to mention new tools and toys!

Here are the cards I did today. All are going in my shop at Branson Craft Mall.

Reveal Number Three

I am so crazy about Whiff of Joy stamps! Today I did more cards with Willow and one with Charlie. I have also gotten hooked on Copic! After seeing so many beautiful stamps colored with Copics I found a few (very few) at Hobby Lobby.

Below is Willow with hot chocolate, my first Copic colored stamp. I like the way she turned out, but was wishing I'd had lighter shades of the colors. Well, the good news is that I found Copics at a much more reasonable price at More Than Ink and ordered two sets. I can't wait to get them!

The next two cards are Willow with a lantern in blue once again, but with different card layouts. I used my Cuttlebug scroll die for the white embellishment.

A close up of the sparkly flowers that I can't remember the name of, but they made a colorful accent on this card.

I also colored Willow in green using watercolor pencils. The card is a tent fold to take advantage of the beautiful country winter scene on the scrapbook CS I used. Folded the dimensions are 6" x 6", extending to the full 12" length of the CS. I did several cards this way in a variety of the scenic CS. I bought the paper last year but I can't remember the maker.

Finally, here is mischievous Charlie ready with a round of snowballs for a poor unsuspecting passerby. As cute I he is, I would be prepared for a pelting! I colored him with the copics, also. The snowflakes are from the Cuttlebug die and the Swiss dot embossing folder added just the right touch of texture. The DP is from the DCWV Glitter Christmas Stack.

I made 10 cards today, but have pieces cut for over 40 more! Many of those will be note cards in sets of 4. When these are put together I'll use some of my other stamps and papers for a whole different batch! Whew!

Take the Handmade Pledge

Buy Handmade.org

As you do your holiday shopping this year, please consider supporting artists and crafters by buying handmade! I try to make many of my gifts and cards each year, and when I buy, I try to seek out unique and handcrafted items. Branson is a paradise of handcrafted items of all sorts and we welcome visitors, especially at this beautiful time of year.

There are a number of online stores where everything is made by artists in every imaginable genre. Etsy is growing rapidly in popularity and selection. You will soon be able to find my work there, too! Cafe Press is another and I can personally vouch for one of the artists, Heidi, who has a variety of products featuring her drawings.

Please take the handmade pledge and support our country's talented crafters. For quality, uniqueness and value, you won't find better.

Reveal Number Two

My assembly area is quickly turning into a stack of cards, but I have a long way to go.

Below is another Whiff of Joy Willow with a lantern, this time colored in blue pencil. The paper is a two-sided scrapbook paper (I don't remember the company) and I loved the snow-covered aspens. I sacrificed some of the full design to give the illusion that Willow is walking through the snowy landscape.

I have also put together five sets of note cards. Those below are stamped with the popular and beautiful Winter Wonderland Tree by Leigh Hannan of Impression Obsession.

Using two variations of the same color scheme, the tree is embossed in white with small pearl accents. Then mounted on white or turquoise glitter paper before mounting on opalescence card stock.

For this tree the stamp was embossed with blue glitter with silver sticker accents and wrapped with delicate ribbon. I mounted it on metallic paper, then on dp from the DCWV Glitter Christmas Stack.

I really love white on navy so I embossed the tree with white on a speckled card stock that gives the illusion of stars in the sky. Accented with small rhinestones and a silver bow it is mounted on lighter blue card stock, then on opalescence white card stock.

I like the combination of pink and green, so the coordinated papers in the DCWV Christmas Stack quickly caught my eye. This Christmas tree is from Leigh Hannan's Snowflake Collection at Impression Obsession. It embossed beautifully on the glitter paper. Then I mounted it on the pink glitter paper and added a hot pink ribbon bow. Of course that all goes perfectly with the pink and green plaid designer paper.

Well, back to the assembly line! These are so much fun! Thank you for stopping by!

Reveal Number One

While I am still in the assembly mode, I do have one card to reveal tonight.... drum roll, please!

It was love at first sight when I saw Willow and all her friends and images! When I finally got Willow with the lantern I couldn't wait to shade those wonderful folds and try different colors and media.

This card uses DCWV Glittered Christmas Stack papers and some metallic trims. I love that stack because it has some unconventional color combinations, like pink and black or lime green and pink, or burgundy and forest green. This selection looks like holly leaves and whimsical red flowers on a black background. I had already colored Willow with water color pencils creating a grey-ish gown and red trim, so this was the perfect background for her. Framed in metallic black seems a bit odd for Christmas, but very rich. The red velveteen bow helps to draw out the red more and is undoubtedly a Christmas touch.

I'll have more cards to reveal now that I am getting them all put together! Let me know what you think!

Organized Chaos!

This collage only makes my card mass-production look disorganized. Actually, I got quite a lot of piece work done today. Tomorrow I'll work on assembly and finishing touches. I love Christmas cards! So many colors and ideas!

We Interrupt Cardmaking for Special News!

With pieces of cards and layouts covering every flat space in my studio, I decided to take a break and catch up on favorite blogs. There was a lovely surprise waiting for me from Myrt at Myrt's Card-O-Craft! She gave me this very pretty award! Thank you, Myrt! Myrt is always there to encourage me and I appreciate her so much.

So, now, to spread the joy, I'll follow these steps:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog. (proudly displayed)
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs. (Click on name below for link)
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

Here are the 5 bloggers I am passing this award on to. It was very difficult to choose because there are so many talented, creative papercrafters out there! Hopefully this will get passed on to all of them soon.

JenMarie at Taylor-Made by JenMarie . She is a designer for Limelight Papercrafts and when you look at her creations you will know why.

Nancy at Windstar Creations. She is a busy lady, making cards and cookies. Check out the great programs she made for her son's JROTC Military Ball!

Heidi at Heidi's Cards. Not just cards, either, but she has a new line of products of her own artwork. Check out her blog for what and where. It's definitely worth a peek!

Leigh at HappiLeigh Scrappin. I recently started following Leigh. While facing her own challenges, she finds time to make some very fun pieces. My favorite is her CD Album.

Donna at Popsicle Toes. This will come as a real surprise to Donna as she doesn't even know me, but I just found her blog and she is a very creative lady!

Please be sure to visit Myrt and all the other ladies to offer congrats and see their fine work.

Blog Candy At Scrap Bitz

There are dozens of Blog Candy opps out there, but I have to tell you about what Suzanne at Scrap Bitz is offering! How would you like this package?

-1 Karen Lockhart Apron stamp, signed & colored by Karen
-1 Karen Lockhart button
-1 tin of Prima poinsettia flowers/holly
-1 roll of ribbon
-1 Copic Atyou Spica Gold pen
-1 bottle of Christmas Red Stickles
-1 6x6 Basic Grey "Wassail" paper pad (LOVE IT)
-2 packages of Christmas buttons/charms

Enter to win over at Suzanne's... oh, and tell her about your favorite holiday song. That's part of the rules. :-)

Coming soon.....

I haven't posted for over a week! But I have been working: processing the gazillion photos I took last week and designing the Christmas cards I need to get into the shop. The good news is that I sold nearly all of the Halloween cards and some of the autumn cards last month. I had the best month yet at the Branson Craft Mall. Very encouraging!

I have jumped on the Whiff of Joy train... because those stamps are so adorable!... and was finally able to get some of my favorites that were in such high demand. They are now mounted and I have had fun with colored pencils and watercolor pencils. I also broke the bank and bought a few Copic pens to try... they look so beautiful on cards I see in my favorite blogs.

Today I was stamping and embossing Christmas trees. It looks like my theme this year will be the Christmas tree.... I found so many beautiful stamps of them that I just couldn't resist. Simplicity will be the rule, too. That will be my own personal challenge.

With all this work going on I expect to be showing some new cards soon.... stayed tuned!

Making a Living as an Artist

Heidi left me a very good question in the comments of my previous post. She asked, "What are your comments about making a living in art? Liking it? Having success?" So, I thought I would discuss that in a post, rather than in the comments, and invite input from others who are making a living in arts and crafts.

Heidi, very good question. I am liking it because I have a head full of ideas -- more than I can keep up with! There have been frustrations, especially with the sudden down turn in the economy. This is a highly respected arts and crafts community, which is just one of the reasons for moving here. But, as with many other tourist areas, the gas prices severely stifled business. So, in that respect, it's been hard to get started building revenue. However, the tremendous drop in gas and the coming of the holidays are having a very positive impact on our number of visitors. In turn, I have sold more cards this month than the last five months combined. That is very encouraging! I'm hoping that the photography will take off soon, also.

I am not about to give up. My husband took an over-the-road trucking job for the pay so I can continue to strive for success. Once my products start to get into the hands of others word begins to spread, but that does take time. I will be going online with Etsy, for one and with other stock photo sites. Again, I need to be prepared for a slow start. As for the photography, there are a variety of outlets for that, including self-publishing a book.

So, that is the long answer to Heidi's question. The short answer is that I love it, it takes a lot of time, and I need to be patient.

Heidi has also started to put her terrific art on line at Cafe Press. I would love to get input and discussion from any of you who have taken the path of working artist, and I'm sure Heidi would, too.

I've been tagged!

It's been a few days since I posted, or even made any cards. But I have a very good excuse: my brother and niece from Oregon were visiting and we were keeping very busy! My niece is 17 and admitted last night that we wore her out! Keep an eye on my other blog Picture This At Last for some posts and pictures of the many things we got to do. Now I'm exhausted, too, but we had a blast!
______________________________________

I have been tagged by Myrt! Thank you Myrt! Myrt-aka-Marion can be found over at Myrt's Card-O-Craft. She makes beautiful cards and is delightful lady. Be sure to pay her a visit and leave a comment. She loves visitors!!

Here are the rules!
1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of the post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 facts about me...
1. I have green eyes and only recently found out that is the rarest eye color.
2. My fingers are long but my toes are short -- both are blessed with very strong nails.
3. My legs are short but my torso is long -- both now blessed with plenty of padding :-(
4. Our ancestry can be traced back to Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but I didn't inherit the poetry gene --- I rarely write a card sentiment.
5. Though I used to fly quite often, I developed an aversion to it over the years --- OK, the truth is I now have major panic attacks. But if I ever get the nerve back up I would love to visit Norway and England.
6. I am half Norwegian and a lot English, thus the reasons I'd like to visit those countries.
7. Finally, my life-long dream has been to make a living in art and I am in my first year of that endeavor: paper crafts, photography, and writing (not poetry).

Next I should tag 7 more people, but I am going to bend the rules a bit. This is one of the more popular memes right now, so I will ask each reader (even you blurkers out there!) to write something about yourself in a comment. It will be fun to learn something new about everyone and meet new bloggers.

Enjoy your week and, to my American friends, make sure you get out and vote on Nov. 4!

An Award From A Delightful Lady!

I love surprises! Today I logged on to find this wonderful surprise! A delightfully creative lady, Carolyn, over at P.M.S. etc. sent me this lovely fall tribute. She makes beautiful cards, often featuring the cutest little house mouse. Carolyn is also such a fun gal. Her posts always make me laugh. Obviously a woman who loves life and loves to blog, I am happy to have her as one of one blogging buddies.

Please visit her blog. While you are there congratulate her on the other beautiful award she received and take a look at her work. Carolyn has also recognized many other creative bloggers, so link into them, as well. My list of "Talented Papercrafters" grows daily because I find so much inspiration from others.

Thank you, Carolyn! You made my day!

Autumn Cards Using SC195 and SC197

It's been so much fun making cards for autumn. The colors and designer papers are so beautiful! It's also given me a chance to try out some of the SCS sketches. I'm a few weeks behind, but no matter. The following three cards were done using the SC195 sketch. It is actually quick and simple, especially when I use the Xyron to add the adhesive. Just peel and place!

SC195 - A

SC195 - B
SC195 - C

I had colored a few of these cute autumn angels from Lockhart stamps. Their size works great on the SC197 sketch.

SC197 - A

Here's a close up of the stamp. I colored it with SU markers.
SC197 - B

I still have paper and sketches that I want to use, so I'll be moving on to Thanksgiving cards, but not for long. Christmas is fast approaching and those are my favorite cards to make. Oooo, I just get giddy looking at my new stamps and papers and sketches. There are already so many beautiful cards made by talented papercrafters out there.

Thank you for stopping by and looking at my cards. I welcome comments any time!

Happy Autumn Cards

Here are a couple more autumn cards. The scrolls are Cuttlebug dies and cut from gold metallic cardstock. They add quite a touch of shimmer to the cards. These cards, like the ones in the last post, have no sentiments inside, but a blank card for writing a personal note.

I did a little bit of shopping at my favorite stamp store in Branson, Unique Impressions. Mostly Christmas items and I can't wait to use them. And a photo shoot trip to Silver Dollar City today yeilded about 300 photos of the Fall Festival now going on. My macro lens got quite a workout, too, on the beautiful bundles of fall flowers. Many of the photos will find their way to the fronts of notecards and autumn greetings. They do such an amazing job of decorating for the seasons and Christmas at the park will be aglow with 4 million lights, 450,000 just on the 5-story musical tree! Ooo, I can't wait! But I digress......

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

Celebrate Fall Colors

For the first time in 30 years I have just experienced a full four-season cycle. The winter wasn't very white, but that's ok! Fall is coming again and I must admit it is my favorite time of year. The air is cooling down from the summer humidity, the colors of the leaves are magically transforming, and the holidays are coming!

As much as I enjoyed making the Halloween cards, I'm moving on to Autumn Greetings, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cards. Mirroring the colors nature will be treating us to, here is a set of cards of the same layout, but with a shift in the color schemes. (Actually, I just don't like to waste materials so from a 12" x 12" sheet I try to use all the paper.) All cards are the larger size 5" x 7". The leaves in the center circles are Hero Arts and colored with pastels. These are the leaves that I posted close-ups of last month. The papers are a variety of card stocks and fall designer papers. Best of all, I have discovered Nestabilities and am in LOVE!

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you come back often. I welcome comments and do my best to respond and pay a visit in return.

More Halloween Cards

Yesterday I made six more Halloween cards, but without the cute kid cutouts. These were fun using designer paper. I loved the witches legs, which were the border on a scrapbook paper, so I made three versions using different colors of cardstock. I still have more ideas, more paper, and stamps I didn't use, but I think I'll move on to fall and holiday cards. Time is flying!

Halloween Dress Up

With Halloween less than four weeks away I wanted to be sure to get some kid's cards in my shop at the Branson Craft Mall. I love the Cricut Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge and it has so many adorable costumes, especially for Halloween. So today I made nine cards using several of the ghoulish kiddos. It was almost like playing with paper dolls again, which I loved to do as a kid.










I can't pick a favorite and there are so many other possibilities on this very versatile cartridge. Each card is 4 1/2 x 6 inches made of cardstock. A variety of Halloween designer papers was used for the backgrounds. All items on the cards are cut outs from the Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge. I hope lots of little kids get to enjoy these cutesy-scary cards.