Off to Jacksonville

I am back from Jacksonville for a workshop with Michelle Zindorf. I plan to photograph my cards since I think you can see them better, but here are scanned images so you can see them. My scanner and computer do not agree on the third card so you are missing part of it and I am not sure why ... I still need to figure out iPhoto on my new computer. Also, as you can see my rendition at the class was SO much better than when I tried doing the same thing at home with different paper and inks.

Bikini Girl!

I design images for Firecracker designs, and they are having a blog hop going on. I didn't participate since my computer was not reliable ( I NOW HAVE A BRAND NEW MAC >>> !!! ) but I did make this card from a digi manatee you can find at their site ..

I hope to do the blog hop with them next month.

TJ has a blog hop going ...

Technique Junkies has a blog hop going. The challenge is to make a card using this sketch and lots of TJ techniques ... sounded like fun to me! I turned the template on its side and used marker tapping and animal spots from the current TJ newsletter. The drawing is one I did for Firecracker and is available as a digital image there.

Giroids again!

I just drew one giroid and next thing I knew I had a stack of them.
I was always hoping to find my niche in art but I never thought ( or wanted) it to be drawing silly giraffes. I guess you take the talent you are given -- but gee, couldn't it be cats, or flowers, or something else???

I cannot explain the bird on the head of one giraffe ... it was on my table and just had to land there -

Catching up on birthdays

I am a little behind on birthday cards. The teapot image is from Designed 2 Delight.

Fat Tuesday ...My kind of day ...

Tuesday is time to take a teapot and make a card ... here is the teapot that was chosen. In the Mardi Gras spirit, I used my Martha Stewart bird punch to create the mask. I was quite pleased with myself.
The owl book mark is to include with a book I am sending on from paperback swap club. I always include a bookmark with a little note and a request that the next reader add another note when the book is passed on... kind of fun to start it and never know where it will end.

A little on the top

and a little on the bottom ... brayering is really fun. These atcs will go in their holder to Juliet - only I forgot there is no mail pickup today!

D2D B Cake

I earned another free image from Designed 2 Delight ... cute, huh!

Get around tuit

Next choice for the Zindorf tuts ... and it is my Valentine card for Mike. I wrote a schmaltzy poem about when get get around to it we can be old ... but for now ...
yadda yadda yadda.


And ... here is 1/2 of my February set of Christmas cards. Yeahhhh me!

Not my favorite

This definitely goes into the "not my favorite" pile. Maybe it is because this Zindorf tut takes an artist to make it work. Hope this next one will be easier.

Juliet's Owl

the Zindorf tutorial can be found here ... and my crackle stamp is THERE --- in Michigan. So I did the whole image and clear embossed the bird and did all the moon and sky and all and then held my breath, took a piece of crumpled LLBean catalog ( I stamp on them ) and added the "crackle" look.

Whew! It worked!

Unfortunately I didn't really crop it too well with my scanner and got an uneven scan of the off white background and totally lost the next layer which is teensy and beige. I was just glad I got it to scan at all!

OK Juliet ... your turn to pick!

I added the tail

I missed Sunday featured stamper Bar because of my computer issues. So here are my cards a bit late. It is interesting to see how my scanner made the colors change on the shells card, they really look nice to the naked eye.


This was such a cute bunny by Kraftin Kimmie... I cased the card but added the tail.

COMPUTER CRASH !

Can't do photos on Mike's computer so I will be back online as soon as I get MY computer fixed.

Z moonglow

Another Zindorf inspired card ... her tutorial is excellent. However, I managed to substitute different colors and use cheap cardstock from Walmart so her gorgeous sunset on the lake is more of a moonglow in a hazy sky. But I am happy. I am not a fan of square cards since I feel I need a square envelope and the post office is not a fan of square envelopes.

Designed to Delight ...

These owls were free at Designed2Delight. If you go there and get a set of owls for yourself, tell her Cat sent you and I will get another free image! Can't beat the price.

The sketch is from Splitcoast and was a bit complex but I like how it turned out.

Juliet's turn ...

This would have been the next challenge ... but I complained so THIS is what I got instead ...
This is one scary rabbit man. Fortunately as is my habit, I made several backgrounds and can play with doing something different as well. And yes, I cheated. The tutorial has you stamp right on the cardstock and color right on the cardstock. Then you versamark and clear emboss over it before doing the background. I cheated. I made the background. I made the rabbit .. and I taped 'em together.
Here is a look at Juliet's interpretation.
Now I am going back to the Owl challenge. You know, the one I complained about ... that one.

Tuesday is Teapot day

Mothermark at Splitcoast provides a picture of a teapot every Tuesday along with a story for everyone to play along. Today's teapot is a man in the moon, so this card was a natural followup. To read the stories and tomfoolerie, please go to splitcoast and check out the teapot gallery at MMTPT79 ... yup, this is week 79 of the challenges!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NISE!

I was going to publish your card here for all the world to see since I don't know your new address and don't trust the Bay City Post office to find you. But then I sealed the envelope before I scanned it!

HOPE YOU HAVE a wonderful day and the start of an even better year.

Big hugs and culver sundaes to you!

It only took 6 hours ...

This card took about 6 hours ... honestly, 6 hours. It is based on a tutorial by Michelle Zindorf seen here ... and while my finished result looks very different, I sure learned a lot along the way ...
1. You cannot substitute kaleidoscope embossing powder for clear embossing powder. It has a texture that catches the strands on your cotton ball which you are using because you don't have a sponge.
2. You cannot store white embossing powder in a hot closet over the summer and expect it to work. It doesn't. When you heat it, it clumps, then burns to the lovely golden brown you see here.
3. If you start with a piece that is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, and expect to add borders, duhhh, your card will not fit in an envelope that is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.
4. If you make enough mistakes, you can still be proud of your final piece and say, HEY ... look how I creatively changed the original.

That said, ... I do like Michelle's much more. Oh well.

Here's the next challenge ... and mine is turning out VERY dark. Maybe this is because I am substituting the colors of ink pads I have which are considerably darker. Guessing a star in the sky and I would have the sky at twilight - but then last time I added an evening star to a card that got too dark, it only looked worse ...

Marker tapping

This is such an easy technique. Hold 2 markers in your hand, loosely, and tap tap tap on paper. Sure looked like raindrops to me! Since it is POURING outside, seems appropriate for the day.

Juliet 2 ... me 2 ...

and the competition goes on, or the friendly challenges, yeah, that is what they are. Juliet created a gorgeous sunset and then went and did a sunrise as well in a different colorway. You can go see her cards here ... I on the other hand, started 4 different cards using the tutorial and came up with 3 that just didn't make it. I am kind of pleased with this one ... and planning to frame it and put it in my stamp room --- probably with the saying that Juliet shared from a Tim Holtz stamp ... creativity is
allowing yourself
to make mistakes
art is knowing
which ones to keep

Juliet's challenge

It was my turn to pick a card and this one really makes me think of Clearwater Beach. We drove across the state and down the coast and got to the gulf just as the sun slipped below the horizon. Everything they say about a sunset over the ocean is true, we live on the sunrise side and the sun kind of pops up with not a lot of fanfare. But the setting sun, and the noise and conch shell blowing on the beach, and dolphins breaking the surface of the water as they dove ... now that was a day to remember. And ... the sky was JUST THIS PINK !!!
For the whole tutorial, visit this blog... I am so lucky, I am going to take a class with Michelle in February.

... the competition goes on, or the friendly challenges, yeah, that is what they are. Juliet created a gorgeous sunset and then went and did a sunrise as well in a different colorway. You can go see her cards here ... I on the other hand, started 4 different cards using the tutorial and came up with 3 that just didn't make it. I am kind of pleased with this one ... and planning to frame it and put it in my stamp room --- probably with the saying that Juliet shared from a Tim Holtz stamp
... creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes art is knowing which ones to keep ( or in my case which ones to use as a background for a crazy octopus drawing ! Clearly I am more on the creative side than the artistic one.)

the OTHER Zindorf attempt ...

Here's the one I sent to Juliet ... since the background was the size of a business size envelope, the whole thing kept growing and growing. I ended up using a really pretty file folder as the card base!

Featured Stamper Nicole

I drew the froggy guy ... I think I overdid it on the brads. Featured stamper card is here

Steve co
coffee gatefold cat

Christmas cards # 6 - 10

Whew... I finished the January challenge to make 10 cards for Christmas. These all use a polar bear from Delightful Inspiration that I got free!

Warm Wishes!

My desktop weather watch tells me that my dear friend in Michigan is shivering along with my kids in New York and Massachusetts, so a WARM WISHES theme was just the thing for the Christmas cards I started today. I joined a challenge to make 10 cards a month so that I would have a stash when the holidays roll around but when Jan 29th rolled around and I still hadn't started, I realized I would have to get moving on it! I did a one-sheet-wonder and cut it up to create the cards you see here. I know, I know, there are only 5 and there are supposed to be 10. Guess you can guess what I will be doing tomorrow! These are generic enough to be used for Christmas or Hannukah, although I guess the red and green are a Christmas thing ...

Don't tell Kathleen

I finally got Kathleen's card in the mail. This is it !!!

Sickies and ouchies

If you have a friend who "coad a code" please feel free to take the snurflepuss image and make a card. Click on comments and tell me if you do - it's great ego food to think someone else likes my drawings.

Octo image is free to a good home.... and has been cleaned up and sharpened by my good friend Juliet.

I sent the manatee image to Pamela at Firecracker... you never know when you will need a manatee on crutches!

I have to say, my scanner does really strange thing when I color with copics. The colors are blended and much more smooth in real life. Oh well.

Jessica's Just Ducky

This digi stamp comes with an empty word cloud so you can have it say anything you want ... or leave it empty and it is a cloud. I did a cloud on the inside as well to carry out the theme --

Teaparty Tuesday

Tuesdays are the days that Mothermark posts a teapot and a story .... today is no exception. Click here to read the story. Seems Rapunzel's castle has a moat around it and all kinds of swamp things live in the moat.

My card shows an octopus who lives in the moat, but comes out to style Rapunzel's hair when she comes out of the castle to sun.

I don't even want to discuss how BIG this card ended up after adding borders and a brayer attempt at a Zindorf card that went awry and was sitting on my desk ... but here is my Octopus "all set" to do Rapunzel's hair at the castle ...