Black and White card

Hi bloggers and followers,

I hope everyone is doing great!  As for us we are slowly getting the garden ready for Winter.  We had a not so bad Monsoon season this year but that meant, weeds took over most of it.  So we have been weeding when the sun is setting.  It works, but we have a small window of opportunity to do so.  But it works!!!!!!!!!

I am hoping for another round of beautiful roses but I'm not sure it will happen.  I can't complain since I had new roses all Summer long.  I bet it can't wait for the Winter break :0)  I am too, frankly.

Today, I have made this challenging black and white card with some new roses I have made a few days ago.  I wanted to make this rose for a while but I had to find out first how to get the lines where I wanted them.  As you can see it worked......  So here is what I have taken a few hours to put together today.  This card is an A2 size card.   I hope you like it........

 

Next photo below I have a description of a few of the dies I have used for this B&W card.

 

This card was made with the help of quite a few dies.  My black frame was cut in half. That frame is a die cut by Sue Wilson's called Californian, Beverly Hills CED1105.  I used some Marianne Designs set of 3 dies for my B&W roses.  Spiral dies for smaller white roses, some of the leaves from a Martha Stewart punch and other brand.  Budding branch by Die-Namites DN-1037,  Impression Obsession set of 36 flowers DIE140-D.  Some end branches from floral I had purchased at Michael's (mini foam balls in silver with a hint of glitter as well) etc.....

 

A photo of the flat view.  I gave some dimension to the half black frame with some tissue paper and then adhered some of the curved edges.

 

This is it for today my friends..........I hope it has inspired you to try your own flower arrangement if you are into flower making that is.  If not, the same can be done if you prefer to buy your flowers made ahead of time.  So, whichever way you choose to use flowers, just enjoy it.

 

Thanks for visiting my online paper corner. 

Have a great week, let your creativity relax you!

Nicole

A masculine Birthday card to share today

Hi Bloggers and followers,

I am glad you came back to check what I have to share with you today.  This card is made in a similar way to the one I had previously shared not long ago, you can see this one here.  I had been thinking since I had made the Eifel Tower card with presents card that I wouldn't venture myself into something of the same amount of work for a while but, I was happy to start another one for a special person who has no clue it is coming at him this year.  So I am posting this today, because I know he has seen his card and loved the surprise and loved that he has gotten a special surprise this year.

Here is today's share

My husband was really enjoying the progress on making this card. Many hours went into this but I can see myself attempting to make one more.  I had company that was also enjoying the progress of this one. 

As we probably all know, making a masculine card is always somewhat of a challenge, especially when we have made many cards to the same special person we run out of easy ideas.  So this one was perfect since I had the die cut tools by Memory Box to play with and the Sprightly Sprockets by Spellbinders S5-048.  But if you have die cut tools already, use what you have ladies.  I know there are more of these items out there and you have possibly have gotten some of these already.  So use what you have,  I encourage you always use what you have on hand.  It will be just as beautiful if not much better!  Enjoy playing.

If you need more details on how to get a template for the card and for the boxes, click on the link provided for you in the first paragraph there will be a link where my Eifel Tower card is at.  Follow that and you will get to the Noor Designs website, that is where the challenge was.

The garage doors I used a Marianne Designs die cut that comes with the hardware you need for the door.  I just doubled mine up for the purpose of a garage door.  But it also comes with a mail slot too.  The info for the door die cut is LR0312 Marianne Designs.  Just check the dies they have available at your favorite online store as you will find the leaves I used and much more.

 I also used some cheese cloth that I died in a little water and a few brown re-inker (water based) drop mix.  Dried with heat tool to apply to the bottom of the card floor so it looks like a man's working area.  If you have questions please ask in the comment box I will be more than happy to answer you in the comment area as well.

I hope you enjoyed this post.  I thank you for stopping in for a visit.  More cards to come. 

 

Have a great day!  Live it like this is the last one!

Thank you for all of your comments, you are all so precious crafters to me.

A card and a box companion

Hi bloggers and followers,

Today I am sharing a card and a box.  It turns out square or rectangular boxes are much easier to make than the round boxes.  This set is made with a Sue Wilson's die cut from the Spanish Collection "Seville" (4 dies set).

I was inspired by a video of a box base here, she also has a card to go with it on another video which I did not watch yet. A card and a box set out of the same die set that had been used.  You can also see some of the flowers I have done a tutorial on here.  If you scroll up from the flower tutorial you will also find how to make the yellow stamens out of paper clay on my blog as well.

The vine with swirls you see in the back of the flowers is by Joanna Sheen so here are the photos and some more details...

 

I colored the leave edges with a sponge dauber and then added very little on the rest of the leaves

 

I used the same flowers on the card and on the box

 

Half pearls were added about the acetate window

 

I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Thank you for visiting and following my blog

 

A tiny little box of fancy!

Hi friends and followers,

First of all let me thank all my followers for signing up as I see a few that are new as I appreciate all of you, I also hope I will continue to deserve your attention with what we all have in common, our favorite crafts.

Today I want to share with you a little box I made from scratch, there is something about round boxes that makes me want to add something special to it.  I like the round boxes best but, they don't love me back lol.

It was a learning process since I didn't want to go to the store and buy a round box that's my lesson for my next round box, "note to self", next time just go buy a few round boxes ahead of time.  Much easier to cover with the paper we love, than making the frame, lid and pray it all fits.......:0), lesson learned.

So this round box is not very big as it measures 4 inches (10cm) diameter and  4.5 inches (10.5cm) high.  It took a few flowers made from scratch I had made a few months ago.  I used a doily die cut on hand (Die-Versions Valentine lace), but it doesn't matter which one you have this one is 3 inches X 3 inches. I have folded and inked the edges of 8 doilies.  The next step was to adhere all round triangles onto a cut out circle for the base of about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.  I needed 8 of the circles folded twice to create a multi layered full circle. 

I woke up with this idea in mind and had to just go ahead and try it.  While I was adding a backing of Tulle.....is when I decided to add this embellishment to a round box as a topper.  So this creation was a fun and interesting as it was progressing slowly.  

So here it is:

 

 

 

 

 

Hoping that was inspirational to you.  This is ideal for small handout presents, to a very special person in your life.  This person will definitely see how special she is to you

Thank you for visiting, hope to see you again soon

Have a great day, make it count!

 

Autumn is upon us

Hi Friends,

Well, for some parts of the country Autumn has finally started to show its true colors, I am delighted because this is my very favorite season of them all.  Cooler, yes, cooler as I am enjoying every bit of it.

I hope where ever you are in the world, the new season brings smiles to your face. 

For today's card to share, I had an idea in mind for an Autumn design but had to try a few things first before I could put it on a card face and call it a good idea lol.  But my creativity on this one started with a bucket, then leaves, what you see on this card all came together by trying this and that to my final product.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

 

 I used the small leaf set from Impression Obsession mainly as well as their small bucket with handle.  I also used Cheery Designs lamp post.  Marianne Designs for other leaf accent, Gold leaf product, glossy accent, fast grab glue, translucent embossing powder, and inks.  Paper is from Digital stash.

 

 

 

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by...

Rainy days brings another card design...

Dear Friends,

Today I woke up with a card design on my mind.  The kind that I love to put on paper right away.  So after taking my coffee to my studio, I already had a paper I loved printed ahead of time so, I guess the pattern stayed with me through the night, enough so, when I woke up today, I could see the card done but made a few changes to it for the better while my eyes were open lol.

I wanted to take a few lines to speak about "Alzheimer disease" that just took one of my favorite Aunts away from us a few days ago.  Aunt Dora had been one favorite Aunt of mine, she had this really quirky sense of humor and yet she always sounded so well put together, she was a Mom of 10 children, so who wouldn't develop some sense of humor, right?  She loved traveling to see all Catholic churches around the world and she had seen most of the known historic ones that I know of.  That and many more attributes made her special to me although we didn't see her much unless we were vacationing as kids in her town or coming for a visit much later in her life until the disease took her independence away.  So God bless you dear Aunt Dora, she is in a much better place now as she had to live through the full extent of the disease for more than 7 years.  I can only wish for a cure and may God bless all family members who had to live through it all and people out there seeing loved ones die early on while the disease takes away the person you love so dearly.  Bless them too! Thank you for reading.

So today's card is here:

The vine with swirls die is by Joanna Sheen's collection only sold on her website.  The roses were made with My Favorite Things rose die, leaves from my older die stash sorry no name for you, I/O Sprigs, Cala lily made from scratch with paper clay stamens,soft wire for pig tails, corner die is by Tattered Lace.  The mini foam embellishments were taken from artificial plants we find at Michael's Craft store called "Full Bushes" sold in various colors.  I had actually purchased this to use on some of my cards.  Stardust stickles by Rangers and the paper I used was from my digital stash.

 Since I had my flowers already made in advance it took little time to complete this card.  Sometimes quick cards end up being a favorite in my cumulative bin of special cards.

 

I hope you enjoyed today's share and thanks for visiting

Have a lovely day, make it count!

 

 

Step card

Hi friends,

Today I'm posting a step card.  I recently took my sewing machine out of the moving company box, finally!  It had been a while since I had not used my sewing machine.  But, I'll have fun playing again!  I still had a few boxes to sort out from many moves, but YEY!

***

I was asked a week ago: "What is my favorite technique, medium and craft I have tried?"  I must say, in my approximately 14 years of active crafting, the one thing always comes back to me is undeniably card making.

I can't say I have a favorite technique, I enjoy all techniques that makes my cards complete at the time of creating them.  I love to step outside of my comfort zone when a card calls for it, and as for the embellishments, Flowers flower flowers and what goes well with them is my all time preference.  Above all...  It's amazing what can be made on such a small canvas from an A2 to square or A5 card format, how creative this craft let us be, the oh so unlimited possibilities. 

I love what is dimensional (flowers, bows, decoupage, card stitching with beads, etc) and I draw inspiration from my every day living, surroundings, my garden as I could go on.  I love to let my creativity surprise me.  I don't see my limiting myself to just one type of card as I would get bored quickly, so variety for me, is very important. 

I draw inspiration from multiple artists as it ranges from Encaustic art to flower creation, to water coloring, where ever the wind blows.  I try to bring most of the techniques I tried into my card making whenever possible.  One thing is for certain, there is always a project or two I'm working on.  This is another reason why my work can't be boxed into a particular style.  

Gardening and cooking are coming in second and third place on my favorite things to do. 

***

Today's card:





I wanted to keep this card as simple as possible. 

There were quite a few dies used in the making of this card.  Cheery Lynn Designs, La la Land, Memory box, Joy Crafts, etc.

 

My side projects at the moment, are among other things, playing with cold ceramic air dry clay made from scratch for embellishment use, I also finished a special masculine card that will be shared in a week or two.  I also will have a card and a matching box to share soon. 

 

The best of all for me right now, my favorite season is beginning... Cooler temperatures are so welcome right now.

 

Happy Crafting!

 

 

Have a great day everyone, thanks for visiting 

Have you ever made some Handmade paper?

Hi friends,

That's a question I like to ask all of you.  Have you every made your own paper at home from an electric blender and scrap pieces of cardstock?

A few years ago when we were living in Sunny California, I had some really fun friends who loved the crafting adventure of trying new things.  That is when I introduced them to my experimenting with making our own paper.  Of course you need a few items to make your paper but in the end, it is fun playing with water and fibers.......

The reason why I am talking about this today, is simply to introduce you to my newest card, which after cleaning my Studio a few weeks ago I came across my shoe box full of that paper I had made over 6 years ago.  That was so much fun as it brought so much awesome memories...."We had gathered about 10 of us into Phyllis's garage on a Summer day, prepared to make paper.  We all had saved our scraps from making cards and scrapbooking and we were a bunch of determined ladies who were up for the adventure.  We had so much laughter, but overall, that day was successful as we had made some really nice paper, some with rose petals from their own gardens and more fibers we were all trying to experiment with. 

If some day you are interested to go outside of the box, literally, make some paper.  Arnold Grummer's website is a good way to start and see how it is made with his videos, if you can find a cheap blender at a Goodwill store, a paper mill and, you are on your way to making paper.  I have a few of his books and tricks to make paper with flower specks and other fun looks I have gotten to really appreciate all the ways we can make paper.  That also includes making paper with cheap toilet paper mixed with your cardstock.  Etc......

Here is my handmade paper stash photo

Now here is what I made with some of my own paper a few days ago:

 

 

 

 

HEART PIECE:
I hope the photo is showing you all of the details and more.  This card was so fun to make.  I had to make my own heart so I cut out one heart size appropriate for my 5.5 inch square card.  The next step was to sew this to a backing CS as well as adding some tulle and cheesecloth that I had dyed from re-inkers for ink pads.  I put all of these layers together and sewn all of it at once.  I sandwiched the cardstock heart for a bottom layer, then tulle, cheesecloth, and finally my own paper.  I sewn all of the layers together and cut out the excess of material to have a semi clean look around the heart. 

FLOWER & LEAVES:
From the flowers I had made this Summer, I picked a rose that would coordinate best with my existing pink ink.  Inked up some leaves, made some pig tails with soft wire, shaped leaves until desired look was obtained, some stamens were added along with some strings of pearls.

TIPS & TRICKS:
I don't recommended to use handmade paper with slightly to extremely intricate wafer dies as this paper is thicker than the normal cardstock we all know and use regularly.  The texture of the handmade paper is slightly thicker and if pulled on when slightly wet, it will come apart easily.  So I recommend this paper for basic shapes for best results.  It can also be used for a card base, it will offer a Vintage look you never thought would be so attractive. (read more about products to use while making paper if interested)

Last but not least, I cut out my card base 5.5 inches square which would open like double doors at the front of the card.  Then, as you can see on the photos, I cut out 2 separate pieces of this handmade paper for the front of the card and did thinner strips inside of the card as well.  I stamped my Cardstock with my chosen stamp first (Justrite Stampers - Birthday Floral Clear, CR02106) then added my strips on each side that were cut with the help of a straight edge ruler where I wanted to cut by slightly spraying water to get the paper fiber wet where I was going to cut to give it a rough edge all the way around through.  Inked up the edges and rolled a bit while the paper was still wet for a parchment look.

I hope you enjoyed my different card today.  I don't make cards with my paper often but I needed to show you how I made this one.  It is fun to go outside of a craft comfort zone from time to time and see what there is to discover.  Some we love, while some we know we will not re-visit anytime soon. lol  Sounds familiar?

Have a fantastic day!  Back to crafting I go!  Thanks for visiting.
More to come....I have a few more cards to show you