Still Unable to Post

Except for an occasional brief (unpredicatable) window of opportunity, we are still without our wireless internet service for yet another week! I can access my email via dial-up, but that is painfully slow and ties up the phone line. Strangely, the scanner/printer is also not operating--yikes!

How is it that we've become so dependent on things that weren't even available just a few short years ago???

As soon as my electronic life is re-installed, I'll post my latest creations...hopefully, by Christmas!

UNABLE TO POST

As of the last post on April 17, my mom wound up in the hospital with congestive heart failure for 2 1/2 weeks. When I finally got home and tried to catch up, my computer was down and will not be back up for another week. I'm using my dial-up laptop for tonight, but will have to wait for the rest of the week to update this blog.

Needless to say, things have been stressful for the past month; but everyone is recovering nicely so far, including my Dad from pnuemonia, my siser from Influenza B and me from back problems related to all the sitting, driving and stress. More later...

Mothers Day Card

This is the card I made to send my mom for Mothers Day. The rose (TAC) is colored with Twinkling H2O's. The image is wrapped with gold twine and green embroidery floss, then mounted to the card with foam tape. The scalloped band is a self-adhesive "sash" by DMD that I picked up at Target. Inside is "Happy Mothers Day" and the outer saying is by Stampin' Up.

New Toy!!

A Marvy scallop punch was not to be had--it's sold out everywhere! So I picked up a lone Fiskar's Circle Border Punch at AC Moore, the "Antique Elegance" design. Unfortunately, the card I had to make was a sympathy card, but it turned out great...one of a kind, as they say. (Hopefully no more sympathy cards will be needed for a long time.) I also punched the ends of the floral piece and inked the edges to give it a more antiqued look.





Mary was here the other day with her Cuttlebug which seems to be all the rage lately. Joan and I used the embossing folders and stored our card-sized pieces for future use, which is today. The bird is mounted on embossed parchment. The green card was embossed on cardstock which I sanded to highlight the delicate pattern.

RAINY DAY FUN!

Since today is Wednesday, Joan and Mary were here to stamp as usual. Mary brought her Cuttlebug for us to try, and we were amazed at how easy it was to create beautiful embossed backgrounds in seconds!

What was UNusual today, is that none of us finished a single card. Instead, we were sharing techniques. First, as shown in the tree and herb cards, we learned about resist stamping using two different embossing powders: one with clear embossing, and the other with black embossing. Both were done the same way by first embossing, then sponging appropriate color over the surface, then wiping off the excess ink with a tissue to bring out the image. Ink may also be applied using a brayer.

Next, we talked about covering a slide frame with background paper. Start with a piece of bg paper cut about a half inch larger than the frame. Next, trim the corners diagonally across and fold the paper over the back of the frame, securing with double stick tape. Then cut an X in the middle, trim the triangles and fold over the back of the frame, securing with ds tape. After tying yarn or ribbon around the side of the frame (optional) tape or glue an image on the back and attach to the card.

All in all, it was a delightful morning high and dry in the "tower"...

Squirrel Card

The squirrel is one small portion of a larger stamp, stamped on white cardstock and watercolored. There is an acorn, also watercolored, on the inside left of the card (behind the squirrel.) The inside right has the other half of the greeting, "...there's always room for more." This will eventually be sent to welcome a new Silver Stamper to the group...

Dry Embossing Card

Using a brass template, the Mothers Class made flower cards with a word "stem" and dry embossed flowers and leaves. We finished the cards with a brad flower embellishment in the lower right corner, added some dry embossing on the flap of the envelope, and will use them for Mothers Day cards!

Mothers Class Cards

These are some of the cards made by the Mothers Class on Monday of last week using the technique I described in the previous post. None of the moms had stamped before, but their cards came out great! This week we did cards using dry embossing, and I'm amazed at how quickly they caught on and made such beautiful cards again. Additional photos to be posted...

Cloisonne Butterfly

This is a card I made after watching Michael Strong on the Carol Duvall Show. I ordered his butterfly stamp and used it for several cards. However, I prefer this one which is a little smaller and more delicate. Here's how it's done:

First, gold emboss on black cardstock. This step is necessary in order to have the body and antennae in black and gold.

Next, select a suitable photo from a magazine. This one was done on the page of an old cookbook. The picture underneath was a piece of roast chicken--imagine that!

Then, cut out the wings and glue them over the image on the black cardstock. Mat on gold cardstock, then a larger piece of coordinating cardstock, then over a piece of patterned background paper, then onto the card.

Stunning cards in 10 minutes or less!

Stamping Room Reorganized

In order to accommodate my computer and desk, I just recently finished rearranging my stamping room and I love it! So do my cats, who keep me company from time to time. There's still room for 2 guest stampers, usually Joan and Mary. We are card makers exclusively--no scrapbooking! My digital photos are stored in my computer, with only a few favorites printed out, so there is no need to spend time (and use physical space) keeping page after page of photos and memorabilia. To my way of thinking, that's what walls are for!

Tomorrow, I'll be showing a Mothers Class that I teach how to make some greeting cards with a cloisonne look. It should be fun to see what variations they come up with!