Spring Cleaning!

Spring is finally here! Time to put away all the winter clothes, open the windows for some fresh air and wash the windows to get rid of the grime and dust. With spring cleaning on my mind I thought it was a good time to update my blog. I used another free template,this time from The Cutest Blog on the Block.   I will want to personalize it some more but this is a good start.  I might even entice my son to help me customize it as he is good with Photoshop.

I haven't had much time to create and I'm really missing the creative energy that comes from spending a few hours in my craftroom.  Luckily, last night I put everything aside and made a few cards. 

I bought the Graphic 45 Place in Time and French Country paper pads online.  I love the crispness of the paper and the beautiful patterns.  I always hesitate to make the first cut but I will let this simple card speak for itself. 

Recipe: 

Cricut Fabulous Finds for the black frame

Cricut Storybook for the red checkered swirl flower

Cuttlebug Chicken Wire Embossing folder

Twine and button from my stash

 

The next card was made with a number of scraps from DCWV.  I had been wanting to try box pleating paper and it worked perfectly using my scoreboard.

 

Recipe:

Cricut Damask Decor for the 4 layer flower

Pearls, gem and ribbon for embellishment

 

 

Hope you're having some nice weather too and happy spring cleaning!

Shabby/Vintage 50th Girlie Card

My BFF's sister will soon turn 50 and I was intent on making her a special card to mark this milestone.  I always enjoy trying new techniques and improving my skills.  To help me along, I participate in Wednesday's Sketch Challenge on the Cricut forum.  It is just for fun, no pressure challenge where a small group of ladies create card's based on sketches either made by the host or found from various blogs.  We always give proper attribution for these sketches.  There are no prizes - just the opportunity to share our creations, get some feedback and have some fun!  You can join in and learn more here.

I wanted to make a vintage/shabby card.  I have made a few cards in this style and have been inspired by the wonderful cards and creations of the Shabby Tea Room.  This week's challenge is "Anything Goes" and so I will submit this card - just for fun!

I based my card on sketch #1 by Milo Lilja.

 

Papers:  My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found Market Street

Ink: Tim Holtz Distressed Ink - Victorian Velvet and Peeled Paint

Handmade Crochet Flower and Paper Flowers

Cricut cuts for flourishes: 3 Birds on Parade, Cindy Loo, Elegant Cakes

and Martha Steward Seasonal Art Cake

Teresa Collins - brad

Miscellaneous ribbons, pearls and gems

I truly enjoyed making this card and building all of the different layers.  Hope you enjoyed it too and thanks for dropping by!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's my dear father's birthday on March 11th - he turns 77 years old.  Wishing him a wonderful day!

This card was part of the weekly challenge on the Cricut forum.  It is intended to be a sort of collage card.

Papers - Graphic 45, K&Company and DCWV

Images cut with the Cricut:  Banner, Party Hat, DAD

Stamped using Ranger Archival - black and sepia

Buttons from my stash - over 30 years old

Twine and brads

Thanks for dropping by!

Playing with Metal - Tattered Flowers

Today was a good day to just play in my craftroom and try something new. I had been wanting to try making flowers from old soda pop cans.  Tim Holtz recent post is about using the Tattered flowers die and creating all kinds of flowers using different materials.  He used burlap and tissue paper glued on grunge paper for some great creations and is launching a contest.  It is worth checking out here! 

Here's my finished flower

I started off by cutting the top and bottom off of the soda can.  I used a combination of can opener and the Tim Holtz scissors.  Once done, I simply washed the metal, dried it off and began the project.  I used the Tattered Flowers die with my Big Shot and it cut so easily - only need to pass it through once.

I had LuminArte Silks Acrylic Glaze paints on hand but I wasn't sure if they would adhere to the metal.  I decided to apply a thin coat of gesso and then add my glaze paints.  I used a combination of teal, ginger peach and nutmeg.  Once the paint dried, I used the Tim Holtz textured fade embossing folder on the three flower petals.  Curled the flowers using a small wooden stick and hot glued them together.  A simple, off-white button for the centre.

Having been inspired by Tim Holtz and his spring flowers, i decided to make a Spring-themed card. 

Papers:  K&Company, DCWV

Doily - Tim Holtz die

Cricut - Frames and Birdcage

Pearl embellishment, brad, Stickles in silver and gold

 

The doily was also cut from the soda pop can and painted with Solar Gold and Nutmeg Luminarte glaze.  The frames were cut with my Cricut Expression using Elegant Edges cart and the the birdcage from Straight From the Nest cart.  I simply added a few pearl embellishments, stamped Spring using Ranger archival ink.  Added a bit of Stickles to the birdcage and "Spring"

 

I will be trying some new techniques soon!

 

 

Feeling Like Spring!

It was a cold day today -17 degrees Celsius but with the sun it started to feel like Spring.  I'm looking forward to having the snow melt away and putting away my winter clothes!

During my free time on the weekend,  I experimented with watercolouring with Tim Holtz distress markers and also played with alcohol inks.  I will start today by showing a simple image that was watercoloured. 

Papers: Cold pressed watercolour paper 140 lb 

DCWV Green Stack

K & Company 

 

I used cold pressed watercolouring paper  and cut the basic flower shape using a Spellbinder die.  The image is from an inexpensive stamp from Michaels ($1.50 Cdn).  I coloured the butterfly with Broken China, Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint markers and then added some Stickles to the wing.  The "Spring" frame was coloured in Mustard Seed and I then added a few pearls to the flourish. I then applied Scattered Straw distress ink being careful around the image.  As I was working with the markers, I used a simple round paint brush with a bit of water to blend the colours. It seems to have worked well although I know I can improve with the shading.

I still love my Cricut Expression and the Gypsy for cutting the shapes .  The brown frame was cut using the Elegant Edges cartridge and the green base of the flower is from the Forever Young cartridge. I inked the edges with Vintage Photo.

I added the brads and glued a blue gem on a basic paper clip to add a bit more dimension.

Thanks for dropping by!

Winter Woodland

We have been experiencing a deep freeze for the past few days with the temperature below -25 degrees Celsius and then add the windchill and it is just unbearable to be walking any distance outdoors. 

Given the cold temperatures, I was certainly inspired to make a Christmas card.  I am still playing along on the Cricut forum in RAQ's Challenges.  The particular sketch for my card was a Viva sketch.  I have also decided to submit this card in the Merry Monday Challenge.  A great challenge but unfortunately I have not played along in a while.  The theme this week is "For the Birds".

Card recipe

Papers Graphic 45 and Bazzil

Cricut Winter Woodland

Snowflake embossing folder

Miscellaneous stamp and brads

Ink - Distressed Black Soot, Vintage Photo, Sepia archival, Versa white chalk

 

Over the holidays, I watched a few videos and was reminded how inking edges can add depth and layering also helps to give dimension.  For the cardinal, I used the Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge but altered it as the bird did not have a wing nor feathery tail.  I inked the bird's chest and tail in distressed Black Soot ink.  The blue, cream and green frames are also from the Winter Woodland cart. The pine branches were made with the Martha Stewart punch and inked lightly with white chalk ink.  The sentiment is a stamp that I purchased at Michaels a few years ago and it is just hand cut.  I embossed the bottom layer using the Snowflake folder and inked with distress Vintage Photo ink. 

I am really happy with this creation!

I plan on being back soon and thanks for dropping by!

 

Christmas Sleigh

Today was a very productive day as I updated my blog, organized my craftroom (a little bit), did laundry, bought a new Cricut catridge and made a card!

I bought the Pretty Pennants cartridge.  It's not an extensive cartridge but many of my creations have some form of a pennant so I thought it would be nice to add to my collection as I often cut that shape by hand and I'm not always pleased with the final look. 

Before I could design this latest creation, I needed to update my Gypsy and then my Cricut Expression.  I won't get into all of the details but suffice it to say that it did take 2 hours.  Sigh!  In case you don't know, the Gypsy is a handheld device that allows you to work with the images of the various cartridges that you own, scale them to the size that you want and then cut them on your Cricut machine.  It is simple for me and I just love working with it!

So here is my Christmas card.

Papers:  Simple Stories

Cricut: Winter Woodland (sleigh, santa's hat), Elegant Edges (frames)

Pretty Pennants (snowflake pennant)

Spellbinders for scalloped circle frames

Fiskars corner punch

Ribbon - beige silk, brown grosgrain, green checkered

Green ribbon criss-crossed in frame

Small gems and pearl

 

I've been following the Deconstructed Jen for some time now but never took the time to participate in their weekly sketches as I'm often a week or too behind. Happy I could this time and here is the wonderful sketch DS74 that gave me my inspiration!

Thanks for dropping by!  Please leave me a comment about my card or the redesigned look!