Paying it Forward...

 

I'm trying out a new group on Facebook called "Card Swaps for Card Addicts" that matches you to a partner once a month and you swap that months "themed" card.  Before I was matched up with my partner however, I received a "Pay it Forward" card from a women in the group.   The idea is that once I receive the card from her, I post it, people like and comment and I pick two "winners" to continue the game.  These are the two cards I made to send to my two winners.  I was very pleased with them as they're using up the flowers I make from
the Mixed Media monoprints that I enjoy doing...

I was so pleased with the "Pay it Forward" idea that I introduced it to Seongsook's Stampers.  This is SOOOOO fun that I can only hope I will be picked again to play the "Pay it Forward" game.  What a fun, fun, concept... :)



Scrappy Backgrounds...

Last night I had a special request for one of my Scrappy Backgrounds.  I whipped it out pretty darn quick and got it in the mail...

 

This morning (5am btw), I see all the scraps still on my craft table and they were just screaming to get used.  I forgot how much I LOVE doing these.  In three hours, I had these all made, cut, layered and put on card bases.  All but the sentiments... they were a struggle.

 

You see, I have a little box of already stamped sentiments and I was DETERMINED to use only from that box.  Now, that wouldn't really be a problem if these cards were going to Operation Write Home.  There are plenty of missing you, thinking of you, thank you and happy birthday.  However, I want to use these personally and there just aren't alot of people to whom I wish to say I'm missing you, thinking of you, thank you or happy birthday.

More from Saturday's playdate...

I cut this down from one of the papers I created on Saturday at Susan's.  Using a gelli plate and one of Susan's favorite stencils, I added red, brown, white and gold acrylic paint.  After cutting it down, I mounted it on brown and then onto a card base.  It looked so much like a poinsettia that I added the three red beads.  I LOVE how this came out.  If I could create another thirty like this, I'd call it our personal Christmas card... :)



All in a day's work...

Working with acrylic paints and Staz-on inks yesterday at my friend Susan's, I created several sheets of paper with mixed media designs on them.  This morning, I cut some of them down to create these cards.  The one in the middle, I used handmade stamps that Susan had received in a swap AND one I made myself out of her stash.  The one on the right is done on a ripped out page of a book.  I thought by mounting it on black helped to "pull" the words out.  The one on the left seems very cheerful with the yellow in it.  All of these fulfill the current ODBD (Our Daily Bread Designs) Challenge.  All of the sentiments are from a RAK I received from my friend Sherry a few months ago...

A closer look...

 

Patriotic maybe?

 

Up close and personal...



Another Mixed media card...

I had been playing around with Mixed Media last week that I had learned while spending the day with Susan a couple weeks back (see post HERE) and had made this card.  On it, I used one of the many sentiments that Sherry had sent me a month ago (see post HERE).  In order to make the sentiment "fit in" with the rest of the card, I inked the edges with the same ink I had used on the piece.  Then, I used the "punchinella" that Susan gave me, both on the piece AND the sentiment.  For those who don't know, punchinella is the plastic ribbon that is leftover after sequins are punched out, it looks like this...

 

I used my Staz-on red and a dauber and randomly inked around the card and over the sentiment.  Neat effect, eh?!!  I then added the sentiment and popped it with dimensionals...

 

I decided to send the card to Sherry so she could actually see and feel what a Mixed media card looks like AND so I could send her some of the flowers I had learned to make.  Sherry is a HUGE fan of flowers and I can't wait to show her how we made these.  I had done Mixed media on a few envelopes while at Susan's too but when I put the envelope thru my printer to do the address, the ink smudged.  I printed the address on another piece of paper, layered it and adhered it with glue.  I really, really like mixed media on the envelope too but I think I'll put the addresses on first BEFORE I play around with a design on the envelope.  In my haste to get this in the mail, I never took a picture of it... my bad. 

 

But Sherry did!!  Woot, woot!!  So, why not blog about it, right?!!



From morning to night...

The first thing I wanted to do this morning was get rid of some red paper.  So I found this card on Pinterest to CASE.  I made six.  The bad thing is, I only used up three pieces of red out of thirty I'd like to get gone... :(

Next, I wanted to take a few of these sentiments from a  lovely RAK I received from Sherry and turn them into cards...

 

I headed straight for my previously made Scrappy Backgrounds.  Wow!  Eight quick cards... :)  It's pretty evident though, that it's time for another "Scrappy" session.  I only have five left...

 

 

And this has to be my favorite from the bunch.  Probably because it is so bright and happy.  I'm sending it to a very delightful young lady (a friend of Zack's) up in Marblehead.  I bet it makes her day...

 

And finally, this evening, I did eight of these.  I picked six papers from my scrap pile, cut into strips and used the same on all of them.  Then I just did some old fashioned over and under and over and under stuff.  Pretty fun...

 

So ends this day of crafting.  If I'm counting right, that makes twenty-two.  That makes one very happy crafter here and a future FULL box to Operation Write Home... :)

 

Just saying hello...

I saw these Martha Stewart flower stickers the other day and just HAD to have them... you know how that is, right?!!  And they pair rather well with the "Just Saying Hello" stamp that belongs to Sherry.  When we get together, I stamp a gazillion of these to use at a later date (ok, it was probably closer to twenty than a gazillion but you get the picture).  In reality, I should just buy the stamp since I like it so much but I can't find it anywhere but eBay and I can't bring myself to bite the bullet.  So for now, stamping some when I see Sherry will just have to do...

 

The sticker is dimensional and on the card on the right, I popped the whole panel and sentiment with dimensionals as well.  The card on the left, I removed the little banner and added the ribbon instead.  That panel is not popped.

 

I looked thru my 6"x 6" pads for a paper to coordinate with the sticker and found this one in the "Everyday Flair" by My Mind's Eye.  It wasn't the pad I was planning on using for Raeanna's challenge but I was itching SO BAD to make a card and this was quick.

 

The patterned paper is embossed with my NEW Stampin' Up Arrow folder... I just love it!

  

Another craft day...

 

Yesterday, I was very productive in my studio and am very excited to have another craft day all to myself.  I completed one special project, eleven Christmas cards and prepared a dozen or so cards for shipment to OWH.  So, today, my goal is to complete a minimum of twenty cards from a box I have of partially assembled cards.  For example, the starburst, all the pieces were cut but not adhered to anything.  It also needed a sentiment and I used one I stamped at Sherry's house last week.  The Christmas card, all the pieces were cut, not mounted and no sentiment and the missing you card only needed the sentiment.  I've been up since 6am, have completed five in four hours.  Will I make my goal?  Might need another coffee break before I hit a wall...