Playing catch-up with Christmas Cards...

I first made this card at Cheiron's Holiday Extravaganza  in 2016. I purchased the die and stamp set from Concord and 9th shortly after. I used a wood grain background stamp on craft and popped the center panel with foam board. The berries, I used Simply White Nuvo drops. These five make up for ONE of the four months that I missed making my "Five Christmas Cards a Month" challenge. Proof to me that it's been a MUCH too busy year...

 

Productive Weekend in SBB...

It's always a productive time when Deb visits for the weekend and this past one was no exception. Above are one each of twelve designs we did together, sixteen completed cards for me, twenty for her...

 Friday night, we printed out this list of things of which we had planned to do. At the end of the weekend, we checked off what we completed. There were several deviations from the list so the fact that we accomplished THIS much, is impressive...

My Halloween card for the Rome-a-dome. Colored with Copics from a set Deb owns... thanks Deb. I'm sure I'll be a hero down in Florida!

 Channeling Pam, who I crafted with last month in Virginia. Both background stamps are Taylored Expressions...

 Newton's Nook, Copic colored...

 These are Adorn-it images that Deb brought, printed on watercolor paper. We painted with Taylored Expressions liquid watercolors. I painted the two other images after Deb left with the paint still left in the paint wells. They go a LONG way...

From the Stamptember release by Simon Says Stamp... Sketched Flowers. Colored with Copics. Gina K sentiment.

 

ALWAYS a fun time! Always productive. That we won't see each other again until 2019, is daunting. I hope that's not the NEXT time I make a card... LOL

 

New plan... will it work?

 The weather is changing and it's much darker and cooler outside at o'dark thirty so, I thought I'd try a new plan to boost my creativity. Since I am DEFINITELY a morning person, up at the crack of dawn, instead of walking, I'll head straight to the Studio and try and be creatively productive. Walking can always be done later in the morning or early afternoon. For THIS day, that plan worked. Now, if only I can make it become habit... :)

 

 So, these are the monoprints from the previous post that have been turned into cards. The original monoprint, I used fluorescent acrylic paints and a borrowed stencil from Susan Hiles. After I cut it down, I mounted it on black, then popped on to a foiled piece we did in a Brutus Monroe class at Junkie Fest. Added the die-cut, sequins, beads and clear Nuvo drops and one finished card... yay!

Clear sequins, "Awesome" Waffle Flower die-cut and clear Nuvo drops... This one, after mounting on black, I used the Tim Holtz Mixed Media Thinlits Die to cut into the image... interesting result!

Some Crafty Goodness with Friends...

 On Saturday, September 8th, I crafted at Susan Hiles' house, here in New Jersey. We used our Gelli-plates to make some monoprints. I'm not sure HOW I'll turn these prints into cards but I made sure to have plenty of matching envelopes...

On Sunday, September 9th, I crafted at Pam Torkelson's house in Virginia. I have drooled over and admired Pam's cards for a number of years. We first met in a card exchange group that was an epic fail so, we started our own group... LOL. Pam is an AMAZING cardmaker! I really can't say that enough! I enjoyed every minute and every technique we did. Can't WAIT to do it again! 

 

We used a detailed background stamp, embossed in white and colored with Distress Oxides in rainbow colors. I absolutely LOVE her "friend" die! We triple layered it for emphasis...

 

 On this card we used the "Color Me" background stamp by Taylored Expressions. We heat embossed with white then colored with Zigs. When we spritzed with water. The results were mind blowing!! THIS background stamp is now on my wish list...

 

Another big background stamp and sadly, I don't know whose. We heat embossed in gold and used Nuvo Shimmer Powders, then spritzed with water. Very elegant result...

 

This was, by far, my most favorite!! This is the Simon Says Stamp Cosmos Background Stamp. We heat embossed in black and used Zigs to color. We colored in the background of the background stamp (that sounds funny... right?!) with a gray Copic marker. AMAZING result! Absolutely AMAZING!! And, of course, I placed an order with Simon Says Stamp and this is IN the order... :)

 

UPDATE: Added sentiment 3-7-19... yup, not a speed demon!

 



On Friday, September 14th, I crafted at Avra's house in Ohio. This, after spending four days in North Carolina preparing my mom for Hurricane Florence. FYI, she fared very well. Living north of Raleigh and on higher ground, there were no issues at her house. Thank God...

 

Anyway, at Avra's we worked on these. The paper was made with Concord and 9th's stencils and pre-printed paper that we stenciled over. The sentiment is also Concord and 9th...

 

On Saturday, September 15th, I joined the Ohio Stamp Junkies at their event held at Legacy Paper Arts in Powell, OH. We had a make and take, some delightful refreshments and lots of camaraderie. I was SOOOO pleased to be with all these talented women! 

 

Of course, I did my due diligence by dropping a few bucks in the store. Legacy Paper Arts is the last Scrapbook store in the Columbus area and I wanted to be sure to support them so they continue to stay open and profitable.

 



These four, and myself, ended the day at a Taco joint in Columbus. AWESOME Margarita's, great dips and chips and yummy tacos! We sat there for HOURS just hob nobbing and enjoying each others company...

 

So, after nine days, my car made it back to New Jersey with 1,500 new miles on her. I truly enjoy crafting and meeting new people. It was the highlight of my month...

 

 



Two Visits to Deb's...

 

 

Junkie Fest 2018

 These are the contents from our SWAG bag at Junkie Fest, held July 26 thru 29th in Minneapolis, MN. I've been home for a week and still trying to incorporate all these goodies into my own stash. The generosity of all these sponsors was absolutely mind boggling...

 

A room full of crafty peeps; from students, to Admins to teachers... very, very fun!

 

I took five classes to include Gina K, Taylored Expressions, Concord and 9th, Interactive Cards and Brutus Monroe. Some of these cards are from classes and the rest are from make and takes; Newton's Nook, Kitchen Sink, Catherine Pooler, the Ton, Hero Arts and Beth Duff Designs. There were SOOOO many make and takes that I did not get a chance to do them all...

 

Upon returning home however, I did place an order with Newton's Nook which arrived yesterday. Now I need to get a routine to craft and stop perusing the web... wish me luck!

 



Let's Go to the Beach!

 I don't think I've been this happy about how a card turned out in a LONG time! Maybe because attached to this image are many, many, many happy summers in Ocean Park, ME...

 

The image is from Whipper Snapper Designs and is called "Beach Time". The sentiment is from a Laurel Burch set but I only used half of it. I loved, loved, loved coloring this with my Copics. I used rice paper (from my mentor that I've had FOREVER) as the sand and water looking paper I found at Hobby Lobby. Oh how I want to be in Ocean Park, Maine, RIGHT NOW!!!

The latest and greatest creations...

I've had these Whipper stamps since last June and FINALLY got to coloring them with my Copics when Deb came for the weekend in mid-June. Yeah, I'm no speed demon, that's for sure... :)

 

One of the things I love about when Deb visits is that, with her advice on how to color, I learn several new Copics that I just can't live without. I then place an order with Oozak and fill in my collection. Yup, she's an enabler... LOL

 

 She also brought some NUVO Gilding Flakes that we proceeded to get all over the dining room table and floor. BUT, look at these gorgeous cards! How fun is that?!

 

Cards completed at Cozy Crop 2018...

 Another wonderful week at Cozy Crop, April 22 thru 29th, with the most talented group of ladies! My focus this year was cards. The week ended and I had fifty...

 

I CASE'd this from one Sherry Varga had made. She had done a BEAUTIFUL layered butterfly stamp on vellum that came out stunning. I used my Tim Holtz layered Thinlits dies to duplicate the look. I borrowed her Gina K. double stitched dies and sentiment to complete the card...

 

I had cut SEVERAL of these at Cozy Crop last year, assembled them at home and then... did nothing! I swear this die belonged to Deb Fischer but she says "Nope!" I turned them into cards using a sentiment from one of my Laurel Burch sets...

 

Using the MFT snow drift die AND Deb's kitty dies, I completed these...

 

Using the Kiwi Lane templates I won in a class last year, I made a few of these...

 

 We made a trip to Farmhouse Memories and I purchased these two fabrics; which, shockingly, turned into eight cards very quickly... :)

 I borrowed Kerri's (who wasn't even with us) Unity stamp to create three of these... LOVED them! After stamping and picking papers, I was waiting for the Unity girl to tell me what color her shirt was before getting out the Copics. Since they were "talking" to me, Rhoda named them Heather, Olivia and Alice. No, no, I'm not crazy... or AM I?!!

 From my miscellaneous box, three of these were made...

 

 And, using Joanne Grossman's die, I completed my five Christmas cards for April... yay!!

 

Thank you to all the ladies who let me borrow their "stuff". Fifty cards done... woot, woot! Now, to get some in the mail.

My FIVE for March. No, no, no... NOT late!

 A Laurel Burch image I borrowed from my friend Deb and spent three months coloring with my Copics (off and on, of course), yelled at me this morning that March was almost gone. JUST under the wire, here's my five Christmas cards for March...

 

The sentiment is from a Laurel Burch set that I own. Embossed in black on vellum, then layered. I'm sooooo pleased I made my goal on time... :)