Swap Album - "All About You"

This album is one I made for a swap I was in at Scrapinvintage. We had partners and needed to make an album according to the preferences of our partner and it was to be an "all about me" journal" with blank pages that they could use to add things to in the future.

I made a short video of the album but forgot to take pictures so...the pictures are clips from the video. I have asked Laurie to take pictures for me so I hope to update these photos.

This was a chipboard album bound with the Zutter Bind-it-all.  I made the wire roses on the cover.

Enjoy the pics!  Leave comments!

What did you think?  This is the first year I have made albums but I am really enjoying it. My next album I'll post will be the one I'm making for my dad's 85th birthday. He gets it the day after Thanksgiving so I don't have much time left!

Sneak Peak - Distressed Vintage Album

Here is an album I am working on. It isn't finished but I thought I'd show just a bit. When it is finished my plan is to do a video showing the entire album. It is a BoBunny album from their Weekend Market line. 

The designer papers, the trinkets, the brads, the colored rhinestones - all from the Weekend Market line. The flowers and butterfly were made by me.

The big pocket on the right page is embossed metal from a soda can - painted with acrylic black paint, sanded to show the metal on the design and then inked with alcohol inks.  I still have to add something for the clip (not sure what yet). 

Unfortunately this project is NOT part of my UseItUp pledge because all of the BoBunny products are new. The flowers are die cut from scraps of paper with pewter and black microbeads poured on a pool of Crystal Effects and the butterfly was stamped on a scrap, inked and then coated with ModPodge.

I have already "outgrown" the ring that came with the album so I will probably get a larger one.

So...I'm officially back.  I plan on having at least one other post this week and hopefully I will have this album done next week. I don't have a video setup yet but it's in the works.  If I don't have a video up when the album is done, I will at least post pics (with a video to come in a futue post).. 

If you have videos on your blog, what are you using for editing software? camera? Are you uploading to YouTube? Vimeo?

If you watch videos, what site do you prefer? What about UStream? Have you watched any live "shows"? If so, where?  UStream? GoToMeeting? another site (which one)?

Please post your comments!  ;-)

Seven Variations on a Theme

I decided to make variations of the same card, hence the name "Variations on a Theme". Here is the basic card.  I will be entering the first card in the Stampin For the Weekend for their 3rd year anniversary Blog Hop and Layers Challenge. I will also enter it in the Sentiment As Focal Point Challenge hosted by the Creative Card Crew. As a bonus, I will enter the Challenge #2 and Travel Stories at Just Keep On Creating.

I took the same basic elements, used different stamps, and used slightly different layouts.

The elements I used were:  white cardstock, a piece of designer paper (all of them used the same paper - some were from one side and some from the other), a piece of Sahara Sand matted with a piece of Cherry Cobbler, a piece of white (with a stamped image) matted with Not Quite Navy, and a sentiment stamped on a punched piece (although one was stamped below the sailboat). Most had a piece of ribbon tied with a "cheaters" bow.

So...have you thought about making many of the "same" card - just making variations?  These all turned out so different.  I think it's interesting that I didn't choose to make any of these a vertical card. Strange...it would have seemed like such a logical choice!

Nautical Variations

For some reason people seem to have difficulty making "guy" cards.  Looking through my cards, it seems like almost a full half of my cards would qualify to be "guy" cards!  The cards I am posting today are no exception.

The challenge I will be entering will be from Stamp n Doodle for their Masculine Challenge.  I will also be entering Challenge #2 & Travel Stories from Just Keep On Creating.

I am still enjoying the nautical cards but I am probably about ready to put them aside because I have a bunch of other cards in my head waiting to be made.

Do you ever get into a "rut" where you keep making more and more projects from the same set of papers or same set of stamps? I don't know If I'd really consider it a "rut" but maybe more just a "wealth of ideas" that need to be explored!  LOL ;-)

Monochromatic Lighthouse

I had a lot of fun with today's challenges.  I had some of my nautical stamps out (The Open Sea and Uncharted Territory) and the awesome Nautical Expedition paper.

I will be entering Mojo Monday's Sketch Challenge #240:

I was also going to enter this in the Divas By Design  Monochromatic Challenge #33  but, again, I missed the boat.  ;-(  HOWEVER...this week's challenge is "One for the Boys" - Challenge #34 and I think this card perfectly suits that category too!!!  Woohoo!!

I stamped the lighthouse and then masked it so I could get the sponge effect that I wanted.

Since the Mojo challenge was looking for a circle (but I really had a tall image) I used the Oval Scallop Frame Bigz die.  I used Dotto (a temporary adhesive) and attached a square of paper the size of the die on the die and then cut it out.  I left the outside square attached to the die and used the scallop frame to find the placement of the image.  Since I stamped n on a rectangle I had a little space at the top and bottom so that I could see where the cutout of the die was.  I used a bit of Dotto to hold the image in place and cut out the oval.

What is your favorite technique? I haven't done any masking in some time and after seeing the results here I will probably do more.

Do you usually use a lot of color or are you a more "neutral" type person?  I don't usually use bunches of colors and seem to like the regal color shades best.

Do you like the monochromatic look? I don't do it much, but every time I do I really like the results I come up with!

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Gymnast - Aspire!

I have a friend whose daughter just graduated from high school. She will also finish her Associate's degree in August and go away to the University of Wisconsin for college. She's a gymnast so I thought that giving her a set of "Thank you" cards with a gymnast on it would be very appropriate.

Of course, I had to find a challenge for inspiration.  The challenge I am doing is from Totally Gorjuss for Challenge #130 - It's a Sketch.  

Here is the sketch:

I didn't have any gymnast stamps so I found this great set from CTMH (Close To My Heart) called Aspire.  I did a set of a baker's dozen.  If you notice the left paper is different on each card.  My friend had given me a book of wallpaper samples that she had planned on using but never had and thought that perhaps I could find a use for them. I did.

I did find that attaching the wallpaper wasn't as easy as I expected.  I ended up using red line tape on the sides (which also held the strips of ribbon in place) and a Scotch liquid glue around the rest.  I tried several different adhesives and they either bled through (the liquid ones I tried) or they didn't adhere the wallpaper to the cardstock base.

I also found that I really needed to glue almost all the way to the edges because the paper had a tendency to curl. 

I sprayed a bit of Glimmer Mist spray on the "thanks" circles and the gymnast panels, let them dry, and then stamped the images.

Here is how I presented the cards to her:

The bottom white part is where I included the envelopes.

I figured that I like making cards and it was the logical choice for a gift. She will be writing thank you notes and this way she has some specialty gymnast ones she can use. Not a gift she will keep but a gift she will use!

So...what do you do for gifts?  Store bought or custom "art"?

Nautical Mojo

Time to get back to challenges.  This is actually a challenge that has already been concluded but I will be going to do some stamping with some people down in Naples and this is the challenge that that we will be tackling this week.  It is from Mojo Monday and the challenge is #237. I will also enter this one in the Just Keep on Creating monthly challenge - Anythng Goes #2 and Travel Stories. I thought this would qualify as a travel-related card (even though they only wanted travel stories and the card could be anything!).

I decided to go with a Nautical theme (after all, my son IS a Sea Scout!).

This uses the Nautical paper that was in Stampin' Up's Summer Mini in 2011 and is currently on the clearance rack (one of my favorite papers ever!).  The circles use a set called Open Sea and the sentiment is from Service and Sacrifice (which is also to be discontinued at the end of May).

This card came together very quickly - my only "false starts" were deciding if I wanted to use the Cherry Cobbler and if I did what would be in that shade. I tried all Not Quite Navy, all Cherry Cobbler, circles with one color inside and distressing with the other color and decided on the combination you see above.

I hope you enjoy it!  Let me know what you think.

Multiple Cards anyone?

One day last week I was asked by two different people how many cards I create at one time.  I said I almost always do only one at a time.  This got me thinking... I think I have only sent one (yes, one!) card to anyone in the last six years or so. Other people make more than one at one time?

I make my cards and I keep them as my "samples" and I guess I don't want to part with them.  I just plain LIKE making cards!  I have had people want to buy my cards but I have always suggested that I teach them how instead (I did have someone strongly pressure me to sell her one of my cards because it "was the perfect card and I need one tomorrow" - which I ultimately did and I charged her a whopping $2).

I have given a stack of cards as a gift and my intentions are always that I give more card gifts. But... why don't I make more than one?  I know that I waste a lot of paper creating a card and I usually have a half dozen or so "false starts" before I end up with something I like. It also takes me hours to make just one!

My challenge to myself was to make several at one time and find a design and just stick with it.

I started with the card I made a couple of hours earlier (the Christmas Dove).  I decided that I really didn't like the leaves I added (put on because of the sketch challenge I was entering).   Here is my first batch:

Okay, I'm on a roll..I should be in bed but I have more ideas that I want to work on... So here was my second card (closeup at the top of this post):

This was heat embossed with clear embossing powder and then sponged with Pumpkin Pie and Soft Suede. I rubbed the ink around in a circle with an extra sponge (so I didn't contaminate the colors) to be able to blend the colors a little more. I then stamped the background words from the Stampin' Up! Flores Suaves set (to be discontinued at the end of May). Of course I rubbed off any ink that was on the embossed image.

Yes, I should have gone to bed (the sun will be up soon....) but I wanted to do one more while I was "rollin'".  This one needs to be quick and easy. Here is the result of that one:

This was stamped (Inspired by Nature) in Versamark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I stamped the sentiment (from Service & Sacrifice) and punched it out using the Decorative Label Punch,. And ... I made several of them:

Well, I'm tired but I DID IT!!! I actually made several of the same card at the same time!!

What do you do?  Do you make one at a time?  Do you make a bunch at a time? A combination of both?

Do you give card sets as gifts? Do you sell your cards? Do you send handmade cards at various times during the year? Do you have a "stash" of cards ready to send out as you need them?

Christmas Dove

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?  LOL!  The challenge I am entering tonight is from Always Playing With Paper for their Merry Monday #16 (Merry Christmas) Challenge.

I haven't thought about Christmas cards for several months, but there's no time like the present to start thinking of ideas. I decided that I'd do something decidedly different than what I have been doing lately.

I selected a stamp set from Stampin' Up! that will be discontinued at the end of May (Gifts of Christmas) and two in-colors that will be discontinued (Poppy Parade and Pear Pizaazz.  I made the background pieces by creating my own designer paper stamping the same image all over the paper.  I cut the strips and distressed the edges.  

For the center piece I took Versamark ink and stamped the dove image and heat embossed it with iridescent ice embossing powder to give it a little sparkle. I took several pictures but I wasn't able to get the sparkle to show.  I sponged the two ink colors over the main image piece and rubbed off excess ink from the embossed area.

I took some leaves cut with a Sizzix Embosslit cut out of scraps of the in-color pad paper and inked a little of Poppy Parade over it.  I then sprayed a little Smooch to give them a little shimmer.

The especially nice thing is that I only used white cardstock (except for the small scraps I used on the leaves).  With a little ink anything is possible!

So, again, have you started on your Christmas cards yet?