LOTV - All the Best

Happy Monday, everyone! Since today is release day for LOTV, I thought I'd share one more card made with the new Timeless Victorian paper collection, one of the beautiful new products available beginning at midday today (UK time, so that's early morning U.S. time, no matter what U.S. time zone you live in).

I love this sentiment from Set 25, Handwritten Phrases because it's appropriate for so many occasions - friendship, farewell, hello, get well, good luck - and probably more that I can't think of at the moment. And seriously, how could I resist the beautiful shades of lavender and lilac and aqua in these papers?...

Sometimes I like to put sentiments in unexpected places or orientations...this time, it's up the left side next to a lacy trim die cut from one of the papers in the collection...

I used a series of heart shaped dies to cut a framed opening, and put another, smaller heart frame inside the larger one...

A small floral cluster in the lower right corner balances all the interest at the left side of the card and forms a visual triangle with the sentiment and the lilac bow. A single lily is surrounded with little lilac and aqua roses and an embellished leaf stick pin...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   LOTV *new* Timeless Victorian collection

Sentiment stamp:   LOTV Set 25, Handwritten Phrases

Dies:   Xyron ShapeZ/Heart;   Papertrey Ink Heart Print;   Tim Holtz Vintage Lace

Punch:   Martha Stewart Rose Leaf          Flowers:   Wild Orchid Crafts

Leaf  stick pin:   Maya Road (embellished)          Pearls:   Recollections          Hug Snug seam binding

If you took part in last week's blog hop, remember to visit the Ideas to Inspire blog to see if you're a winner of one of three fab prizes.  The newest products will be available at the shop today. I suspect the site might be a bit on the busy side with this release if everyone heads over there at the "opening gun," but never fear, this release is worth the short wait! :)

Thanks for stopping in for a visit...I hope your week is starting with a smile!

Sending a Hug...

Happy Monday, everyone.  We're a little happier around here lately, now that the temps have cooled just a bit.(I never thought I'd consider mid-90 degree temps "cool!" )  That last nasty heat wave melted us when we ventured outside, and made us very thankful for working air conditioners.

I've got another pink card today...surprise, surprise! LOL  Today, it's "icy" pale pink combined with turquoise and golden yellow.

A couple months ago during my strolls around the Internet, I ran across a beautiful card with rolled paper edges here, and bookmarked it, knowing I wanted to try a variation of that technique on a card one day.  So, here's my interpretation of the technique...

Beneath the cluster of roses is a very pale pink mulberry flower, just large enough to cover any uneven edges caused by rolling the edges from the center...

Cheesecloth dyed pale pink peeks out from the center, topped with a pearl spray from a local craft store's wedding section.  The memo pin was dusted with white acrylic paint and embellished with a pearl and a silver spacer bead...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   Authentique Grace collection/"Sweetness" and "Beauty;

My Minds Eye Bramble Rose collection (turquoise)

Sentiment stamp:   Paper Sweeties "You Are Amazing" set

Branch punch:   Martha Stewart          Pearls:   Recollections          Paper flowers:   Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts

Tim Holtz memo pin          Miscellaneous supplies:   pearl spray, cheesecloth

Thanks for visiting today...I hope your week is starting with a smile!

Sending Smiles...

Good Wednesday morning, all!  With today's card, I got my "crafty" on. :)  I put together another digital paper with a fun torn paper edge detail, then got out the paints and dies for the window...shabbiness everywhere on this one!

I like this sentiment, because it's appropriate for several different card-sending reasons...friendship/have a nice day...get well...so sorry you're going through tough times...and maybe a few more.  I always like to keep a few of this type of card handy...you never know when you'll need one quickly.

I wanted this card to be feminine with a definite spring/summer feel, so there had to be lots of flowers along with the shabby crocheted laces...

The old and worn looking window was fun to make.  I started by die cutting the window from white chipboard, then coated it with a medium-thick coating of Ranger Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  When that had dried and crackled (with a little assist from my heat gun...have I mentioned that patience is not really one of my virtues? LOL), I brushed on a coating of white acrylic paint, wiping some of it away here and there.  The final step to making it look very old and worn was to take the tip of my craft knife, and actually chip away some of the paint all the way down to the chipboard base...

Here's a better view of the bottom of the window...

A side view, with a peek to the inside...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:  Digi paper (blue):  KPertiet/Designer Digitals/Color Challenge 92009-1;  Playing With Brushes Torn Paper;    Prima Almanac collection (pink)

Dies:  Poppystamps Small Madison Window;  Sizzix Flowers Branches and Leaves

Embossing folder:  Cuttlebug Dots       Flowers:  Prima, Wild Orchid Crafts, local craft store       Pearls:  Recollections

Laces:  local craft stores      Hug Snug seam binding      Handcrafted stick pin

Thanks for visiting today...I hope your week is a fun one so far!

Mojo Monday 287 - Feel Better Soon...

Before I share today's card, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank you for the sweet comments and emails I've received on my posts.  I started the new year with the desire to answer and acknowledge each comment left on my blog posts, but I've already let myself down on that promise.  Please know I do read them and they make me smile...and I hope to do better! :)

One question I received last week is one that I've already answered a few emails on in the past...but it was asked again, so I'm thinking maybe it's time to answer it here on the blog.  The question is about how I do the edge treatments on the patterned papers - most specifically the white edges. I almost always ink around the outer edges of the patterned papers I use...no matter what other treatments I plan to apply...usually with VersaMagic Gingerbread or VersaColor Cocoa, which are both rich, golden-brown colors.

For white edges, I use a dry-brush technique with white acrylic craft paint...put a little bit of paint on a small flat-edge brush, wipe a bit off on your mat, then LIGHTLY apply the paint to the edges, letting the uneven bristle marks show. I like to use the brown ink even underneath the white acrylic paint dry-brushed around the edges, because the light brown makes the white stand out even more.

Today's card is a good example of how I use all three techniques that I favor...inking, dry brushing, and distressing with an edge distresser.  I still use an old Making Memories edge distresser that came in a goodie bag at a CKU back in 2005, but when it disappeared for a while, I purchased a Tonic edge distresser, and now that the missing tool is found and back in the supply drawer, I just use whichever of the two jumps into my hand first...LOL.

It's been a while since my time to create has jived with current challenges...I had some time last evening, and decided it was high time I worked on a current sketch, so I chose this week's Mojo Monday  inspiration and got to work.

When I send "get well" cards, I like them to be bright, colorful, and filled with flowers.  I've been on a bit of a "pink" streak lately (and you'll see some of the results of this "streak" throughout the next couple of weeks), so this time I decidedly went after a different color combo...blue and orange...(well, there's a tiny bit of hot pink thrown in for good measure...wink).  So this card happened...

based on this inspiration sketch...

There's a cluster of colorful mini roses and leaves on top of a large, shabby white fabric rose, with loose pearls scattered here and there, a bright orange Hug Snug bow off to the side, and a "jeweled up" and painted memo pin to hold the little sentiment tag...

Beneath the shabby rose cluster is a piece of cheesecloth, and a piece of cardstock flourish pointing up to a small corner cluster of pearls...off to the side is a snippet of scalloped crocheted lace and the paper doily peeking out...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   Kaisercraft Miss Nelly collection (blue dot);   Crate Paper On Trend collection (yellow); 

Prima Zephyr collection (floral)

Dies:   My Favorite Things Royal Leaves;  Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork       Doily:  Wilton

White shabby rose:   Frogfeathers on Etsy      Paper roses:  Wild Orchid Crafts       Pearls:  Recollections

Scalloped Lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com       Hug Snug seam binding       Tim Holtz memo pin       Cheesecloth

I hope your week is going well so far...thank you so much for dropping by for a visit!

It's All There in Black and White...

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a fun weekend, and if you're one of the lucky ones to have this as a 3-day weekend, you've got one more day of fun left! :)

Today I have a twin set of mini note cards to share...that both feature a black and white damask patterned paper as the main focal point.  I cut the 6x6 paper so the damask pattern could be centered on each note card, surrounded with a die cut chipboard frame, then complemented with black and white stripes and a dash of contrasting color.

Bright rose pink is the contrasting color for the first twin in the pair. I love this sentiment because of its versatility. It's fitting for so many reasons...get well, sympathy, friendship, and more...

Just a light touch of clear glitter accents the damask design...

And for the second, a subtle golden tan color alongside the black and white...a little more elegance for saying "Thank You"...

And lastly, a peek at the inside details...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   Crate Paper Portrait collection      Edge Punch:   Martha Stewart Flower Bed

Crocheted laces:  local craft store      Black pearls:  Kaisercraft      Pearl circles:  Basic Grey

Sentiment stamps:  Paper Sweeties "You Are Amazing" set      Hug Snug seam binding

Thanks so much for visiting today...I hope your week is starting with a smile!

Tea (Thyme) for Two...

A crafter's dilemma:  when you find a set of papers you really like, you have to resist the urge to use them on everything you make and ending up with projects that all start to look the same.  My most recent favorite is Prima's Tea Thyme collection. But instead of resisting, I went with it, and did my best to coordinate one of my favorite papers from the Tea Thyme collection with different colors to add some variety.  To be honest, because I let myself go with the flow during the design process, the two most recent cards still look a lot alike. LOL

The first one is made up in pink and dark cream, with green as the accent color...

Tea-dyed wide crocheted lace sends your eye down to the large floral cluster in the corner, made up of tea-dyed white craft-store flowers and a pretty green Prima flower in the center of it all...all surrounded with lots of mini dark cream pearls.  The diecut cardstock flourish is dusted with clear glitter, but it's a little difficult to see that detail in the photos...

Supplies:

Patterned Papers:   Prima Tea Thyme collection (floral);  Crate Paper On Trend collection (background)

Dies:   Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork;  My Favorite Things Royal Leaves

Punch:   Martha Stewart Medium Branch      Lace:  TheFunkieJunkie.com      Green fabric flower:  Prima

Pearls:  Recollections      Miscellaneous:   white fabric flowers

For the second card, I used blue as the accent color.  In these photos, the blue looks more intense than it does to the naked eye. (I think that might be the effect of the Ott light creating contrast against the white backdrop.)  In real life, it's a dusty, subdued blue.  The differences between this and the pink card?  A smaller square card, a smaller floral cluster, more rounded lines with the corners and scalloped lace and paper edge...and, ummmmm.....ok...they're basically the same card made on different days...LOL.

In keeping with the theme of more rounded edges, I used a Spellbinders die shape as the sentiment block, and stamped the sentiment using a coordinating rose colored ink...

The floral cluster sits atop a tea-dyed craft store flower, using mini roses and branch punches to make the cluster.  I used cheesecloth again beneath the floral base, but this time I pulled some of the pieces of the cheesecloth up between the flower petals to add even more shabby dimension...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   Prima Tea Thyme collection (floral);  Echo Park Note To Self collection (blue and music patterns)

Punches:   EK Success Diamond Lace;  Martha Stewart Medium Branch

Scalloped lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com      Paper roses:  Wild Orchid Crafts      Pearls:  Recollection

Sentiment block:   Spellbinders Labels 20 die      Sentiment stamp:   Pebbles

Miscellaneous:   cheesecloth,  fabric flower (tea-dyed)

Thanks for visiting today...I hope your week started with a smile!

Spring...

Spring starts this week...they say.  After a beautifully mild winter with strange temperature swings, we're finally getting our "winter rains."  5 days so far, and still counting.  So while it's been a great productive week in the Korner, it's hard to get good photos to share with you, when we're under dark clouds. 

If you could have seen me this morning trying to photo at least a few cards, you would have laughed.  It was dark, then the sun (yay!) would peek through, so I'd run to the setup in the family room near the wall of windows to snap a few photos of cards.  Many times, in the 15 seconds it took me to get to the family room, it was dark again...and I mean dark. There are some mean clouds up there today, and I'm betting my family and friends in the Sierra foothills are getting the brunt of those mean clouds.

But there's a fun "Spring is Near" challenge at The Shabby Tea Room, and my card was finished last Wednesday, and it's down to the last hour, and I'm going to get this card posted come rain or shine! :)

The challenge was based on this photo - to use at least three colors, and dry embossing:

and here's the card I made for it:

Supplies:

Patterned paper: Echo Park Victoria Gardens collection     Pearls: Recollections     Doily: Wilton     Paper Roses: Prima

Dies: Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangles and Classic Squares Small, Cuttlebug Floral Edge Embossing Folder

Clipart: Flower Girl: Vintage Images;  Cologne Label: The Graphics Fairy;  Butterfly: Dover Publications

I chose to use lavender, pink, green, and cream from the palette in the challenge photo...

and dry embossed the three flower stems using a Cuttlebug embossing folder, then accented them with a light brushing of Antique Linen Distress Ink, and a dusting of coarse clear glitter inside the petals:

I'm still trying to get some photos of more of the cards I made this week, so I'll be back tomorrow morning with some new little pretties to share with you.  Thanks for stopping by!





Sending Smiles...

One more day until we celebrate another holiday here in the States (Presidents' Day) - rain or shine, long 3-day weekends are welcome! Hope you have some fun planned for the rest of your weekend, whether it's one more day or two. :)

There's a whole collection of pictures of these vintage "flower girls" - this one is my favorite - she just looks so bright and happy. Perfect for a "sending smiles" card!

Supplies:

Patterned Papers: Echo Park For the Record collection; BoBunny dots     Paper leaves and pearls: Prima

      White flowers & lace: local craft store      Hug Snug seam binding      Buttons & twine: stash

Clipart: The Graphics Fairy (flower girl & blue flowers), Stampington (postcard text),

Dover Publications (butterflies), unknown source for bingo card text

All occasion cards are fun to make...there's no limit to what types of embellishments you can use, no real need to leave a space for a specific sentiment, and every reason to make them cheerful and fun. This one uses vintage clipart from The Vintage Workshop blog (postcard background) and The Graphics Fairy (flower urn and orange roses).

Other Supplies:

Patterned Papers: Pink Paislee Nantucket collection (oranges), K&Co Ancestry collection (green)

Hug Snug seam binding      Orange crystals: Heidi Swapp

Pearl spray, pearl button, scalloped lace: local craft stores      Handcrafted jewel stick pins (Maya Road green leaf pin)

Thanks again for stopping by!



Hi, There!

I have a few more cards to share with you today, and a couple more will post in a day or so after I photo them.  I doubt I'll have much time to create new cards this week.  I'm about to embark on a project that, once I'm into it, I may regret ever starting.  But if I put it out there in the Internet world, I'll hold myself accountable for "diving into the deep."

Years ago when we decided this small corner room would be my craft room, my dear husband reworked the closet to contain lots of shelving and specialized storage needs for my various craft supplies - fabrics, paints and assorted accessories, flower arranging supplies, needlecraft supplies, etc.  Then he built a beautiful large oak cabinet for my scrapbooking and stamping supplies, with lots of drawers, cabinet space, and laminate work surface, including two pull out work surfaces in addition to the cabinet top.  I had a LOT of room, and everything was in its place.  That was then.

Over the years, like all good crafters, I've accumulated more.  I've purged my supplies and donated to various charities that put them to great use, but somehow these supplies keep growing. I like to say they're like the Tribbles on the old Star Trek episode (yes, I realize I'm really dating myself here...LOL).

So this week, I'm going to do a MAJOR purge and reorganization of all the supplies hiding in that closet. And it's scary, because there are some things I've looked for in the past few weeks, and I KNOW I have them, but I can't find them. I'm sure they're hidden in the closet, daring me to find them again.

So..."I'm goin' in..." I'm going to schedule a post for Wednesday after I photo the last two cards...and if you don't see me back here next Monday, send help - apparently I'll have buried myself under a mountain of supplies that multiplied as I pulled them from their hiding places!

Supplies:

Patterned Papers: Echo Park Victoria Gardens Collection, BasicGrey Basics White

Pearls & Leaves: Prima    Sentiment Stamp: Papertrey Ink

Chipboard Frame: Tattered Angels    Hug Snug seam binding

Fabric flower and Laces: Etsy   

Dies: Edge die-Tim Holtz Ornate On the Edge;  Large medallion: Tim Holtz Mini Baroque;

Sentiment block: Spellbinders Fancy Tags (1)

Supplies:

Patterned Papers: Melissa Frances 5th Avenue Collection

ATC Ephemera Card: Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden Collection

Flowers, leaves, lace, pearls: Prima    Scalloped kraft envelope: Maya Road

Stamps: Hero Arts (sending smiles), Tim Holtz (post card)

Burlap: local craft store    Handmade stick pin

Supplies:

Patterned Papers: Kaiser Craft Miss Nelly Collection

Postcard: Glitz Designs    Mini roses: Prima    Resin scroll: Melissa Frances

Chipboard frame: Spellbinders Labels 20    Sentiment Stamp: Papertrey Ink

Hug Snug seam binding    German glass glitter: Etsy    Lace: local craft store

Have a great week!