Jewelry?

Yeah, I love to make jewelry too ... and this is my latest with a piece of beach worn shell. I love to pick up the old beaten up pieces and marvel at their beauty.  I may make a bracelet to match.

Fall ...

I thought this card turned out really special ... but then it is for a special friend, so how could I go wrong. I actually made it a week ago and was waiting to hear that she got it before I would post it - then had to go hunting all over my computer for the image. Found it in the trash ... found a LOT of stuff in the trash, I guess I never empty it. Kind of like a mini gallery of where I've been.

There are 3 layers of different color chalk pad leaves behind the tree which is then spritzed with one of those glimmer sprays ... looks better in real life.  I love the patterned paper - may have to go back to the scrapbook store for more but LAST time I set foot in the scrapbook store, I came home lugging a big ol' Big Shot.

You can expect to see more die cuts in the future!  Just discovered it can cut ... coasters, pop cans and bubble wrap. Hmmmm. What can I try next!

Zindorf inspiration

Isn't this a nice masculine birthday card?  The tutorial is here.

Too bad I forgot the white gel pen.

Christmas cards ... and school tomorrow

I should be packing my peanut butter sandwich and heading to bed but instead I am posting the Christmas cards I made today.


I  didn't capture the stickle glitter that I hand applied to all the icicles and snowflakes --- gotta have glitz for Christmas.

What I like about these is that they are somewhat generic - the inside says "Wish I may, Wish I might ... Sure hope I don't melt tonight!"

I was pretty proud of how I used the gray copics to shade my snowman .... I mean snowcat!

Wednesday Sketch Day!

Not sure when I will get a card made and posted, but here is the Wednesday sketch.  I am off to Lansing to drop off Mike and his bike, he is going on a 300 mile ride this weekend. I can think of things I would rather do, so I am totally OK with being left behind in my dry stamp room ( biking that far is bad enough, but he is expecting rain 3 of the 5 days! )

card coming later ...

Stamp Camp

doorprize

I won the doorprize, a big gift bag. Kind of pretty!  My favorite card of the night was the coffee/tea card, might be nice to cheer someone's day.
 

The gal who showed the shutter card was a new demo, I think. She was so excited over crimping and smearing with black. Not my favorite technique.  The fabric flower is on a pin so you can take it off and put it on your favorite ... um ... bulletin board?  The new colors were fun to play with, and it was a nice evening out with friends.

Teapot Tuesday

Time for a teapot ... and this one really is unusual.  We all have been asked to make cards for a 108th birthday ... plus I need to make a card for my neighbor in Florida who will be 85 on Friday.

Imagine living that long. Sam is just as feisty as can be, and from what I hear, so is Eula who will be 108.

Guess you gotta be to live that long!

  I really liked the postcard look that I saw in Carol's gallery ... so here is my interpretation.

still thinkin Christmas

I think it helps me get excited about the school year if I promise myself that Christmas can't be far away. So here are today's holiday cards.

Ellen's Cardinals

Ok the snowman is cute, but aren't these cardinals just incredible?  I must admit I nearly lost it trying to make them ... those beaks are about the size of a pin head. You might see some pin holes in them since I was poking them with a pin to move them, my fingers were just too fat.

I tried to stack them for the photo so you wouldnt' notice that the one guy lost his beak --- but of course it shows. Sigh. I just can't win. It is someplace on my table downstairs, or on the cat, or on the floor, or on my eyebrow. Think it is probably time to make another one. Ever try cutting a paper punch in quarters and gluing it?

Once again the inspiration came from Ellen Kemper's Blog ... you can find her cards here...

New Copic Colors

No, these aren't the NEW copic colors, they are colors that are new to me. We stopped at Hobby Lobby and who can resist 30% off. However, I had no clue which colors I already have, so I went with greens since I knew I have very few.  Believe it or not, I didn't duplicate!

Here is the flowerpot I always color with any new markers just to see how they work. The yellow came out of my stash.

Then I pulled out my favorite digi frog and gave him shading and warts.

Happy Back to School

Can you believe this little girl was made with the owl punch? See the owl, upside down, for her hair? And the vest is her dress. I found a tutorial online and had to try it... Ellen Kemper is great with punches!  Now I want to try all the other things she does with the owl punch!

Teapot Tuesday

Today's teapot has an elegant feel. I am not usually an elegant kind of gal, but I gave it my best shot.

Got a little carried away with my new liquid pearls. They are fun to play with!

I should have turned the flash on ...

A card for Elaine

Fortunately Elaine never reads my blog --- and I have the perfect Christmas card all made for her. I thought it would be hard to follow last year's card which was a snowman dead, face down in the snow, stabbed with his own carrot ... but when I saw this card and found the tutorial online, I had to try it!

Gathering the ribbon for the elastic was an "ah ha" moment, I think I will be doing that again and again... but not for boxer elastic of course.

Couldn't find my sanding block and tried a pencil eraser. Some distressing, but not enough. So I took the card and rubbed it on the bricks in the basement. Worked great aside from the fact I have some slightly discernible red stripes on the powder blue paint of the brick wall. Oh well. Adds character.

Why do I feel I have to hide this card from Mike !

Hard to resist

Hard to resist casing this card by princess heather. If anyone ever asks you, distress stickles do NOT work the same as liquid pearls.   This is one of those nice generic designs that can be a birthday or sympathy card ( or both?) so I will wait to add sentiments as needed.

Wednesday Sketch Day!

Hmmm. This sketch is definitely square. How can I be going out of the box making a square card! Guess I gotta stretch a bit today!

Funny thing is, I was still able to take a square card and make it look like a rectangle!

A bunch of taters!

Today's Teapot was a basket full of fish ... and if you are going to have fish, you gotta have fish n chips. Here are the taters to go with the fish!  I got the template and pattern from Lynn Pratt ... and had a lot of fun preparing all the pieces.

So Proud!

Son David called from Mexico City where he gave a keynote address. I made this card to tell him how I felt about it.   It didn't scan very well.

My sister Karen is celebrating a wedding anniversary this month. So I have been busy this morning!

Copic Marker Drag

This technique is called dragged markers from the new Technique Junkies.  It is really fun to do and the blending is probably a good practice for me. It did use up a LOT of ink.

I used only 3 markers -- YR 28, R 17 and R00.  

Sketch challenge Wednesday

Photo is reversed, used my computer to take the picture after BREAKING my camera carrying it back from Florida

Teapot Tuesday

I am back, just in time for a Tuesday Teapot card. And this teapot is the perfect inspiration for me since my son has a brand new puppy in his life. Ever hear of a puggle? It's a mix of pug and beagle. My newest "grandchild" is a puggle. I think I need to make a card to welcome Jake.

Since I am in Florida

I needed some sunglass leashes.   I finally gave in to old age --- and decided to TIE MY GLASSES to MY HEAD !!

So I created these leashes and then grabbed my sandals to create a beachlike scene in Michigan.

Even more?

And more Zenn

Zentangle fun

Zenn and Sun ... nice combo ... I am in Florida

I am in Florida visiting with my daughter but wanted to have some new postings pop up now and then. So hopefully I have figured out Blogger's scheduling and you will see new things from time to time even though my computer is alone on a table in Michigan while I am enjoying watching the tide.

I have started playing with Zentangles ( Juliet got me hooked. You may remember Juliet from the series of Zindorf tutorials we did a few months back ... HI JULIET .... ) and found a great site.  Plus this notebook is perfect for dragging to the beach.

some Copic links

While I am in Florida, I have some blog entries date marked to pop up.

My friend Elaine sent me these links ...

• The Creative Closet:  Love this video, and especially like that the colors she used are in the written post.
• Zest Blog:  The link goes to the "Marker Monday" posts which have lots and lots of tutorials, remember to click on the previous entries link at the bottom to get all of the posts.  The "Marker Monday" link is also listed on the left sidebar. 
• Heather's Heavinly Stampations:  Lots and lots of tutorials here, from various hair colors to skin types, and all are easy to follow. 
• Thinking Inking:  GREAT tutorial on coloring a car, loved the result, and I hope you do too.
• Icopic:  Lots and lots of tutorials at this link, and I guess you could also consider this a resource (actually all of these links are a type of resource : )
• Debbie Design's YouTube Channel:  A couple of great videos here for you to view and pick up some nice tips.
• Distinctive Touches:  The link takes you to a great tutorial on how to blend colors using a feather type of stroke with your pen, very well done and helpful. 
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  • I Like Markers:  This is the "Cadillac" of resources, here you will find posts like this one, and just about everything you can image related to Copic markers.  In addition you are also exposed to color theory, composition and more are related topics, just a wonderful overall resource. 
  • Copic Creations Blog:  Wow!  Just amazing information here, everything you need to know and more, and there is always something new to discover as well. 
  • PaperFections:  Tons of information here, an amazing resource on all things Copic. 
  • Suzanne Dean:  Amazing videos, tutorials and templates to keep are resources. 

Warm gray cool gray

It's never to early to think Christmas!  I was having a good time playing with warm and cool gray copic markers. The image is from Firecracker -- and is on sale this month as a part of the Christmas in July sale.

I hope this post goes up as scheduled because I am M I A and visiting with my daughter in Florida.

Teapot Tuesday

What a cute teapot. We are making cards this week for kids with cancer. Sigh ... it is bad enough when grown-ups get cancer!

Usually my birds are good for tons of feathers but I just really cleaned them and vacuumed up every feather in sight .... so I could only come up with 3 little feathers which accounts for the one card hiding behind the other 3.

What a nice way to sit on the beach

I got this really peachy notebook and can go sit on the beach and play Zenn ... zentangles that is! My friend Juliet got me going on these and they are very restful and non-demanding. Perfect way to watch the summer go by.