Thursday, December 20, 2007

My Husband's Project


Ok, this is my third post this evening! I am trying to make up for the fact that I am leaving for Christmas Holiday's tomorrow, and won't be back till the 2nd of January. I most likely will not be posting till I come home. Now this is something I have to share. I am so proud of my Husband. He just completed this bed/loft system for my daughter. My husband does carpentry for a hobby, and this is his first big piece. We are really lacking in space in our house and needed a bed set for my daughter which was very compact. He started with a load of wood, a paper plan for the bed and his own design for the dresser underneath. After many weekends and evenings for the past few months ( when he has been home) he has finally completed this project and it is now sanded, stained, verathaned and in action as I write. I love having a handy husband :)!

Fun Bookmarks 2.5 x 7 inch

I have always disliked the short lives of cards. I love making them, but once they are given, they are gone, and not always to those who appreciate it. It has been my quest therefore to make things for my house and family, which can be used, appreciated, and which can beautify the environment. I have so far made wall art, and hangers, and come the new year have more projects planned. Today, I needed bookmarks. Now I don't know about you, but I hate ugly objects. I read a lot as does my daughter, so I made some fun little bookmarks. The first one is for me.
recipe:
stamps: SU Baroque Motifs, Hanglar and Stanglar ( strawberry fairy here) and Magnolia for the little bits and peaces.
Paper: Fabriano Artistico Hot Press 140lbs, Ruby Red CS, Daisy D's DP
Ink: Stewart Superior Burnt Umber, Basic Brown, Ranger distress in Vintage
Other: Re-inkers, Prismacolor pencils, Faber and Castel Pencils, Spica Olive, Orange, Melon and red, White gel pen, Stickles in Waterfall, glue dots, red tape.
Fairy was colored using color pencils and OMS. Stickles were for wings, Spica to dot her dress and simulate a strawberry. Leaves and mushrooms were stamped ( grass drawn in around mushrooms) and colored with re-inkers. Background Magnolia grass was stamped on olive DP and then the fairy and accessories added.

stamps: SU Baroque Motifs, Stanglar and Hanglar fairy ( lady bug fairy this time), Magnolia accessories.

Paper: Black, Olive CS, Unknown DP, red Bazzill, GP CS

Ink: Ranger Distress in Pine, Stewart Superior Burnt Umber

other: Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet, Prismacolor and Faber-Castell color pencils, White gel pens, Spica: black, clear and melon, Stickles in Waterfall and Black Diamond, re-inkers.

Image was stamped on GP CS, and colored in. Black dots were added with copic marker and then glittered with Black Diamond. Wings are Waterfall glitter.

This bookmark was made with CCdesigns stamps. The size is 2.5 x 7 inches. The mat is 1/4 inch less. First I stamped snowflakes to emulate stars and embossed them with white embossing pwd. Next I took a versamark pad and pressed it the whole length of the dark navy mat and embossed a second time with a clear holographic embossing pwd. This baby really sparkles. Next I cut out layers of white into rolling hills and attached. I stamped out a tree, colored it with copics and adhered a bit under the snow line. The sledding puppy was stamped, cut and colored with copic's and then adhered with very small and thin dimensional which are normally used for decoupage. The speed lines were hand drawn and added to show him zooming down the hill on a snowy night. Last the two layers were put together and faux stitching added with white stitching around the edge. Stickles in candy cane were added to the tree, and stickles in diamond was added to the snow lines. I took the picture now, before I laminate it because I figured that the light of my flash would bounce off the plastic. Once I laminate I will punch the thick hole of the cropodile, place a large eyelet and add some fibers. And voila, a miniature work of art that you can enjoy every day!

City of David truffle Box

I designed these boxes to match the city of David Card that I had made a couple of posts ago. I went looking for a template that would fit 4 Godiva truffles, this was to fulfill an order for 21 boxes, 21 place cards which matched, and Christmas cards. I couldn't find one that fit my needs so designed this one. It is all made from one 8 1/2 x 11 CS in Naturals cream. The outer scallop is Rust, and the inner one is Vanilla CS. Stamps used are CCdesigns snowflake for the stars on box and SU City of David which is soon to be retired. Image is colored with SU markers in Caramel, Rust, Brocade Blue, Olive and Chocolate Chip. Ink is Versa Brilliance in Olive Branch(?) and Gold Krylon marker was used to line the edge of the top. Organdy ribbon was put into a bow on the front through two holes.


Saturday, December 15, 2007

Craft Fair cards

Ok, some pretty basic stuff. These are some of the cards that I did for my Craft Fair. I try to keep those simple so that I can mass produce them. The first was inspired by Debbie Olson's card . I often struggle with simpler designs, so I often need to springboard from other peoples work.
The second card is pretty straight forward, and the last one is spring boarded from DuckWaddleQuack. She did these gorgeous ATC which I just had to use for this card. If you haven't seen her Gallery then by all means check it out, she has some amazing cards and designs, and is extremely talented. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

CCdesigns Wintertime fun

I'm a little later posting these cards then most of the other DT members. Sadly when you live in Canada and have things coming from the States, it takes a heck of a lot longer to get here. Also I've been in need of a break for awhile, so my creative processing has been a lot slower. The first card uses all CCDesigns stamps.
paper: Georgia Pacific White CS, Cosmo Cricket DP Dutch girl, SU sky blue, blue Bayou.
Ink: Stewart Superior Black, Ranger Distress Ink in China Blue and Jean
Other: Copic Marker, Airbrush system, Twinkling H2O's, Nestability Oval and Scallop Oval, May Art Ribbon, Prismacolor pencils, Orderless Solvent.
Image was stamped, colored with Copic, cut out, placed on paper teared BG wich was airbrushed first. Glitter applied. Trees were colored with Prismacolor then overlaid with Twinkling H2O's. Rest is pretty easy.


This second card of mine was something of a pet project. i just love this Penguin stamp and snowman from CCdesigns. But I felt my little guy needed a home. So I sketched out an Igloo, some snow balls, a bucket of fish and a sign post. Images were sketched out with Copic Pens to prevent bleeding when I went to color with Copic Markers. Stickles in various shades were added liberally and a little red bow was added for a splash of color. Paper colors are SU Blue Bayou, Sky, and Shimmer White. Thanks so much for stopping in.
Hugs
Sophie

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Another hanger for my daughter

Same again as yesterday, only this one matches my daughter's room. Process was the same but instead I used copper knobs, and Dashing DP. Image is Hanglar and Stanglar gingerbread kids. They were water colored with re-inkers on Fabriano Artistico Hot press paper. I'm taking a bit of a break so my posts will be short for awhile.


Monday, December 10, 2007

Housecoat/stocking hanger for my Son's room

I made these cute little hangers for my son's room. They are simple to make and very cute. My husband cut the wood panels out of pine for me and routered the edge with a decorative edge. He then sanded and brought it home. I sanded, sealed and then painted the panels. After adding 4 coats of ivory paint I added a satin finish. Next I used some of the old Christmas paper from last year's mini catalogue. It was adhered down with mod podge. Last a final coat of satin glaze was placed over. Images are from Magnolia and were stamped on Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper Hot Press. They were painted in with water brush and SU re-inkers. Next they were matted and attached with red liner tape. The final step was for my husband to attach the hardware. Drawer knob's for the front and the thing for letting you hang it. Thanks alot and have a great day.


Thursday, December 06, 2007

Craft Fair project

Just a quick post to show one of my Craft fair projects. Theses are sets of 8 mini note cards in a decorated round tin. Original idea came from Erica Martin . I just fell in love with her cute little tins. Since I had no square tins, I decided to use what I had which was round tins.Each card was cut using Spellbinder Nestability circle, then embossed with a matching circle front. Cards were done using different colors of Bazzil 12x12 CS which gives 8 cards per sheet. Stamps are Stampin'Up Sweet Treats, Like it a Latte, Magnolia cupcake, and Lockhart cupcake which can not be seen. Like it a Latte is dressed up with Puff Applique for the foam and glitter and Spica red for the straw and marshmallows. Sweet treats has Crystal effects shining up the chocolate. Magnolia Cupcake uses watercolor marker technique, crystal effects for icing and Spica red and green for strawberry. Tins were altered to match card colors. Thanks for stopping by and have a great evening.



Wednesday, December 05, 2007

2 of 4 Stampers Club Projects

Wow, the past little while has been something of a roller coaster ride. I had my Craft fair on Sunday, and was rather nervous seeing that it was my first time doing something like that. I was up the whole night leading up to it putting finishing touches on a bunch of projects. For the first time in my life my head never touched a pillow within a 40 hour period. I was an absolute grouch by the evening and ready for a mental breakdown. I'm not quite sure why i do this to myself. It was not to bad, I made good contacts and not bad sales, hopefully I've come away with enough experience to put to use for the next fair in Spring.
On to these two projects. These are for my Stampers Club on Friday, which I am working on in between filling some orders which I got on Monday and which are due Friday *sigh*(can't wait for vacation lol). They are worked around the use of vellum. The first card uses the City of David stamp set which is stamped on vellum CS with Versamark and embossed in Gold. Coloring is then done on the reverse with marker to produce a stained glass effect. The vellum which was cut in standard card size was overlaid over cream confetti CS card. The vellum on reverse side has glue dots to hold it in place. Glue dots are hidden behind embossed portions. Organdy ribbon was tied behind the whole.

This second card us made to display the dry emboss technique. Big on Christmas was stamped on Vellum CS with Staz-On and then flipped over. The SNW letters were pressed with stylus tool to create a raised embossed section. Snowman was stamped on Whisper White, colored, cut and glittered and then placed over main panel with a pop-up dot. Brads were used to adhere layer to Sky later. Holes were punched and bow tied. The other layers are Shimmer White, Sky and Blue Bayou card base. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to show you some of my Craft fair projects in the coming days.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Magnolia, and the Disaster that is my space!

Just a quick post. I did a little Magnolia card. I just couldn't resist taking a break from craft show prep to play with her. She is stamped on watercolor paper, masked and the SU French script is stamped over. Image was colored using Tombow and SU markers then brushed with water to blend. Riveting was used to make the seal. Little lamp is Magnolia, and hearts are from a punch with stickles added to it and the light of the lamp. Copper Tattered Angel Shimmer mist was added to the whole. CS is So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Au Cerise DP. Ribbon is unknown Organdy with Satin.
Pictured above is the disaster that is my space. It is a miracle that I can work here. Believe it or not it is cleaned up every evening and over the course of my work time becomes this again!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Fast Post


Well, I am one week away from my craft show. Needless to say I am working like a mad woman. Thankfully I remembered that I had a card I had not posted, so I am doing it now. Will try to post this week, but no promises. Room a disaster, cards and projects everywhere, think I am lost in here............not sure. This card was a Inkadinkadoo image ( think that's the company name). CS is Sage and Caramel, DP is Grettel Cosmo Cricket. Quickutz swirl, Swavorski crystals, Spellbinder Nestabilities, May Art ribbon, Glimmer mist in Copper. Thanks and so sorry for posting inconsistently.
Hugs
Sophie

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Burlesque Deer


Sorry have not been on in a while, unfortunately I had a large class at the library on Thursday, stampers club Friday and was sick over the weekend. Still sick, but was sick of not being able to stamp. So here is my card for today hee, hee. It is a joint venture between my husband and I. When I showed him my last deer card he suggested putting in a pole for a strip tease deer. I laughed and pooh-poohed the idea. The as I was humming this song on Monday Santa Baby I decided it would be fun after all to do the card with a more tasteful Burlesque deer doing a private showing for her partner. Hope you like, I had a lot of fun with it.
Images are CCdesigns from All That Scraps. Baby wording is Karen Foster Snap Stamps. Paper is SU Cool Caribbean, Cranberry and Thyme from last years in-color line. DP is Figgy Pudding from Basic Grey and image is stamped on Poison Ivory shimmer CS. Image is colored with Copic Markers and the whole of the card is distressed with Ranger Distress inks in Blue Jean, and Tea Dye. Thyme ribbon was used, Olivia Cuttlebug Alphabet for the Santa, and little bells for embellishment. Oh ya, pole was hand drawn after masking the deers arm.
Thanks so much and have a great day!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Stamper Club project 2 of 3

I realize of course that this may not be terrible exciting to ya'll, but its all I have to show at the moment. These are two of the projects for stampers club. The 3-D is not here at the moment because it does not yet exist. I kept procrastinating wanting to play with other stuff and now must pay the piper. I am scrambling to come up with the last design lol. Oh well, I'm sure I will pull a rabbit out of my hat. These projects all feature a element of working with paper. Paper Piecing and Torn Paper techniques. Well ta-ta, in a rush, hopefully something more exciting to show you later.


Tuesday, November 13, 2007

CCdesigns Reindeer Games

Just a quick stop in to upload one of my more recent cards. I'm presently preparing for a couple Classes and Club's and don't have much time to write. This is a card using the CCdesigns Reindeer Games set. They are so cute and so much fun to work with. I kept the design simple and un-cluttered to showcase the image more. Card stock is Confetti Cream, Pomegranate, and SU shimmer white CS. Image is colored in with Copic Markers and highlighted with Spica Glitter pens in Red, Gold and Clear. Christmas ball border is embossed with SU glitter embossing pwd. Lettering is Cuttlebug Olivia, and distressing is done with Ranger Distress ink in Tea Dye. Cheerio and have a great day!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

I had done the past few cards all at once the other night, and am posting them one at a time. This is a card done once again in a more Euro style. Can you tell I love the style? If you are tired with it it, well I apologize, but its what I feel like doing lately lol. The image is a Hanglar stamp from last Christmas, greeting is SU Riveting. Paper is Caramel, Real Red and Au Cerise DP and Cryogenic White shimmer CS. Embellishments are Prima, rhinestone brad and Quickutz swirls. Image is colored with Prisma's, Faber and Castel and odorless spirits. Ultra fine glitter is used to highlight the image from Art Institute glitter. Please enjoy and have a great night.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Keeping it simple


I decided to keep today's card simple, letting the image stand alone. I just love lockhart stamps, I find they need very little to be shown to their best advantage.
recipe:
stamps: Lockhart
Ink: Memory black ink, Ranger Tea Dye Distress Ink
Paper: Arturo White paper, Poison Ivory Shimmer CS, Ballet Blue CS
Other: Nestability rectangle and scallop rectangle, SU pretties kit, Tombow and SU water based markers, Spica glitter pens in clear and blue, Stickles Diamond, Ribbon through swap with Texas Jody Lynn.
Thanks so much and have a great evening.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Magnolia

At long last I am having the opportunity to post the Magnolia projects which I have been working on. One of my greatest inspirations for these stamps is the very talented Inge who is on the Magnolia design team. She has so many great cards with these stamps. If you haven't tried them out then by all means click on the link in my shopping section and go to their site. It is not hard to navigate, and they will invoice you with a total within a week. Shipping is also very reasonable. For this project I created another DVD pencil tin. The one I did for my daughter turned out so nice that I decided to do another for myself. Whenever I travel somewhere I always bring some of my daughters schooling and I am always in need of my own pens, pencils and erasers.
recipe:
stamps: Magnolia, SU stamp of authenticity
Paper: Creamy Caramel, Blue Bayou, Real Red, Vanilla, watercolor paper 140lbs, shimmer CS white
Ink: Ranger distress ink in Tea Dye and Vintage, Memory ink
Other: Re-inkers, watercolor brushes, SU markers, quickutz die, Nestability scallop rectangle, stickles, crystal effects, Spica glitter pen
The box was very straight forward to make. Basically it was colored, positioned, adhered and sparkled and shined up.
thanks for coming by and have a great night!


Monday, November 05, 2007

Hooray to new Christmas stamps!

I was so excited when I opened my mailbox and found this great new set from CCdesigns that will soon be released! They are just so adorable and fun to work with. I love the fact that they have these adorable little candy's to accessorize. There are a whole bunch of fun little sayings and so many extras that the possibilities are endless. I think that I am the most excited about this set. My first card is done in in Soft Sky, Real Red, Whisper White and Natural Ivory and Poison Ivory shimmer CS. Image was stamped using masking, and colored in with Copic Markers and the Airbrush system. Spica glitter pens were used to highlight portions. Ribbon is SU Old Olive, and all stamps are CCdesigns.
My next card has the image stamped on Watercolor paper. CS is River Rock, Chocolate Chip, and Basic Grey Fruitcake DP. Image was created with masking and colored in with re-inkers. Glitter was applied to different jellies. Glitter is all Art Institute Glitter in different colors. Crystal effects was applied to the tops of chocolates to simulate the ganash that is at the top of a truffle. Ribbon is May Art and all stamps are CCdesigns.

Lastly this box was created from the template on Flaxy Chick's Blog. I didn't quite get the template to work so I tweaked it to make a tab to join the sides without a gap. CS is Kraft CS, Real Red, Au Cerise DP and Poison Ivory shimmer CS. The panels of the image were cut with the Wizard Nestablilities. Image was colored with Copic Markers, Airbrush system. White applique or puffy white stuff ( can't think of the proper name) was used for the Santa hat and a candy cane was popped on the hand and highlighted with diamond stickles. Ribbon is May Art and all stamps are CCDesigns.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Taking a Break

I know I have been neglecting my Blog shamefully! Unfortunately I needed a break. For now I am running solo at home. My husband has started his training for his next tour to Afghanistan which means that before his 6 month tour, he will be gone for another 4-5 months of build-up training! This of course is a time of adjustment for myself. I have to do everything on my own, and it so far has not left much time for anything else. To give you an example, I had two classes at the local library which I was conducting. On the Monday, unable to get a sitter, I had to bring the kids with me. My daughter took my class while my son decided it would be fun to run off with pieces of peoples projects. Working on essentials in the evenings has been my focus and only now am I able to play a bit! Today's two cards are made with CCdesigne stamps. I can't tell you how cute and wonderful these stamps are. I can't get enough of them, and I can't wait to start showing you some of the cute Christmas stuff. I know, I know, others are doing Christmas, but somehow it seemed wrong until Halloween was at least over. For these two cards, I chose fun bright colors again. I realize that these are not my usual color schemes, but every now and then you have to push beyond yourself. I find they remind me very much of the colors used for girls rooms and bedding now days.
Recipe:
stamps: CCdesigns, Karen Foster Formal Snap stamps mini
Paper : Daisy D's DP, Memory Box, Bazzill, Opulent Orchid
Other : Cuttlebug folder, Quickutz tag, May Art ribbon, Copic Markers, Spica gold glitter pen

Most of the supplies can be found at All That Scraps.



This second card was another fun one.

Recipe:

Stamps: CCdesign stamps, SU Fancy Flexible Phrases

Paper: Daisy D's DP, Almost Amethyst, Barely Banana, Poison Ivory shimmer CS

Other: Copic Markers, Nestability Oval and classic scallop oval, White brads, May Art satin ribbon, Ranger Distress Ink in Tea Dye, Cuttlebug Tag, Copic Markers

Well this is what I have to show you tonight. I hope that you can all have patience with me in the next while as I am really struggling to get lots of stuff done on my own. I will try to leave the comments that I can, and post when I can, but may not be doing so regularly. Thanks so much and have a great day!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Tub Time!


I hope you aren't getting tired of my projects yet. I am really into so many different things right now. I want to play with everything but just don't have the time. This project was made with the CCdesign stamps. They are so adorable. You have to excuse my picture which does not do justice to the card. The colors are too bright here but I just couldn't get it right.
CS- Apricot, Orchid, Celery, Bashful Blue, Poison Ivory shimmer CS, Daisy D DP
stamps: CCdesigns, Karen Foster snap stamps
Ink : Wasabi, Orange, Orchid, Apricot
Other: Nestability circle plain and classic scallop, Copic marker, Airbrush, Bazzill Blossom, rhinestone brad, May Art Satin ribbon, glitter.
thanks so much and have a great evening.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

DVD pencil tin

Woohoo, last week my Magnolia stamps finally arrived! They are gorgeous. I can't wait to do more stuff with them. Ordering from the Swedish site can be a bit of a pain, It took over a month between when I ordered and when they arrived. Shipping was actually really fast and cheap all things considered. Anyhoo, I wanted to make something fun and feminine for my daughter. She never seems to have enough pencils, they always disappear on her so I figured I would make pencil tin to keep an arsenal of sharpened pencils. The main image is from the new September release of Magnolia. The background is Oh so Lovely. Both images are colored with Copic markers and the backgrounds are airbrushed with the markers. The Magnolia girl is enhanced with Faber and Castel color pencils, Solvent and twinkling H2O's. Spica glitter pens are used to add shine to the girl. Judikens MicroGlaze is added to protect the surface from the handling that it is sure to receive. Nestability scallop rectangle was used to cut the girls image and for masking. Hope you enjoy today's project, hopefully I will be back tomorrow with more!

Monday, October 22, 2007

CC design school fun!



Perhaps some would find it too late for a school themed card, but for me its never to late. I just love this set with all its accessories and sayings. I decided to do one of the Euro styles which I am so fond of. I wanted rich colors which would stand out and grab the eye. I find that the more I work with this style, the more a part of me it is becoming.
recipe:
stamps: CCdesigns
paper : Chocolate Chip, Old olive, Ruby Red, Basic Grey Infuse
Ink : black memories dye ink
Other : Tombow and SU markers, Prima flowers and leaves, May Art ribbon, rhinestone brad, stickles for lunch box, spica glitter pen.
The card was pretty easy and is pretty self explanatory, images were colored and cut.
Thanks so much and have a great night.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Craft Fair Projects


I thought that I would just show you some of the other craft fair project that I am working on. These are mini composition notebooks. They have been dressed up and will be sold with matching beaded RSVP pens. The images in the front are Lockhart and are stamped on Poison Ivory shimmer CS. They were colored in with Copic Markers and sponged with Tea Dye Distress Ink. The Backgrounds are SU Linen, and French Script. The paper is Garden Green, Celery, Eggplant and Pale Plum. Ribbon is May Art double sided satin ribbon and it is gorgeous. Sorry for the brief post but I'm trying to take pictures so that I can post again tomorrow and Monday.
Cheerio
Sophie

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Just Having Fun

I needed to take a break from the daily grind, and I decided to use this sweet little flower fairy. The layout is again in the European style. Yes, I am still very much in love with this style and am playing with it every opportunity that I can. I really hope that I captured the style.
recipe:
stamps: Hanglar and Stanglar, Magnolia, SU Fancy Flexible Phrases, SU Itty Bitty BG
Paper : Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Cryogenic White Shimmer CS, Bazzill, Basic Grey DP
Other : Copic Marker and airbrush system, Wizard Nestability Rectangle, Faber and Castel color pencils, Odourless solvent, Prima, Quickutz dies, brads, stickles, linen thread.

I started by stamping the image in black ink and then cutting it using the Nestability rectangle. I then embossed it using said Nestability, and then airbrushed it using Copic YR21. I removed the Nestability which was my mask and then colored in my image using my Faber and Castel pencils and then blended it with solvent and stumps. I added stitching around. The buckle is Magnolia and was stamped on shimmer CS and then colored in the same as the image. Everything else is self explanatory. Thanks so much for stopping by and having patience with my lack of posting time.
Cheers:
Sophie