Another photo of Moki

Hi friends and visitors,

Today I am just going to post a few photos of Moki since I have had a few requests from Moki's fans to see another photo of him so here he is:

He was just at the groomer last weekend, his fur was so so long he looked like a live mop.  So we had to take him in again.  Next trim will be next to his skin as it is warming up quickly here in the Southwest of the USA.

 

He always seems to take pride in posing for me.  After getting to know that while I'm moving my other arm to get his attention to see different angles when I take shots and it is fun to do.

 

As I said earlier in a previous post, he is 100% house trained but can still have accidents.  So today was the case.  So I hope it was just that, an accident because he didn't want to go outside to get wet in the rain.  Hubby is preparing to make a roof for him outside of his doggie door so when it rains or snows, he can go and if he chooses not to get wet, he will have that option.

 

On the card making subject I can tell you that I have made a fresh bouquet of flowers on a large pot (stamp).  I will post it today or tomorrow or as soon as I get the chance to take a decent photo.  It is so cloudy here today that each photo I take, looks under the weather, literally.

 

I have been making so many items in the flower making department.  I have experimented on daisy centers, I used some cold porcelain clay (home made) used a mold that gives me a realistic look.  I was so thrilled to see that all the work paid off.  I will prepare a tutorial for it.  Yes you can also use paper clay if you prefer to use this medium instead of the porcelain clay.

 

Hugs

Nicole

 

Back now, A card with a heart

Hi Friends,

Today, I am back to share my card with a heart which was easy to make with friends.  I will tell you how I made it after I post the photos of it.

I hope all is well and for those who had Mother's Day in Europe and Australia had a good one.  Here it is celebrated on May the 10th this year.

Here is the card I am sharing with you today:

 

Card size 5.5 in X 5.5 inch, I used 2 cut doilies by Cheery Lynn Designs for this.  All layers of doilies will be on foam dimensional.  The roses I made with the spiral roses by Impression Obsession

You will need of course white cardstock, Rose red Memento ink (or favorite ink brand you already have) half pearls, 3 handmade roses or purchased, leaves, a favorite embossing folder you already have but has to be large enough to layer the 5.5 inch square card base.  I used for the heart was my handmade paper from my scrap pieces of paper I usually recycle that way.  Or use paper you have that is pleasing for this card.   

 

I tinted the cheesecloth simply by adding a few drops of re-inker dandelion color in Memento and water (just a small ink/water bath as you only need 1 ounce to dip the cheesecloth in for the coloring).  I wet the cheesecloth first with water and then put it into the ink solution for a few seconds, then I remove the excess ink/water, unfold and set aside to dry.

 

Sometime this year, if I get all my organizing done (eventually), I will have a class here (more details later), just for local people, but for those of you who can't join us, there is a link below for lessons. Please take note that if you are into paper making you will need to keep all your scrap paper (recycling).  I normally use the scrap cardstock for it.  If you have pattern paper, or paper from the printer, this can be set aside separately.  No wax paper.  Make sure it is all paper.  If you have a Goodwill store near you check regularly if they have a electric blender dedicated to just paper making or for crafts in general, so you don't want to pay much for it. 

 

Visit: https://arnoldgrummer.com/ this is the site you can find all you need for paper making.  I have his books, techniques, what to use and they sell fibers, papermill, you will need to make your own paper.  You can also buy his products on Amazon as well.

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Note:  I will be taking photos on the paper making at the time.  We all develop techniques that works for each of us by practicing eventually. 

 

Back to the card instructions now:

 

I used my Spellbinder heart die cut to start with my heart paper shape.  I used half of one cotton ball to stuff the heart with.  Then fast grab glue is applied around the heart (making sure the glue doesn't touch the cotton or it will soak in the glue and disable the sticking the back to a piece of paper in the same shape.

 

Once your edges are all glued in, with the help of your thumbnail or a bone folder, trace a line away from the edge of the paper, but remember it is handmade paper and it is fragile when slightly wet.  So go gently around the edges.  Then, ink up the edges as you see on the photo.  If you want a vintage look you can also paint with some Gesso around the edge, on top of your inking.  Next, the final step is to apply your cheesecloth strips (I used 3 strips of about 6 inches long by 1.5 inch each to add to the back of the heart with glue and gathering the cloth as you go I began at the indentation of the heart.  Trimmed after all strips were glued on and in position, use another piece of paper to cover and secure the cloth at the back.  Now you are ready to add your flowers.

 

For a fancier look, I added some Stickles (diamond) by Rangers, at random around the cheesecloth, tip of roses, around the heart edge and inside the heart barely touching the heart or cloth so it is very subtle.

 

I hope you see that this is easily made and if you feel laborious make a few ahead of time so when you need another special card made in a hurry you can quickly make another one. 

 

I have been making so many flowers and stamens with the help of either paper clay or my favorite (handmade porcelain clay) so I can continue to make flowers with stamens.  So a card should be shared soon. 

 

Have a fun week

Hugs

 

Hydrangea punch made this flower, a photo tutorial is included

Hi Friends, and Happy St-Patricks Day!

As promised I have another flower to share today.  It started from a Martha Stewart hydrangea punch which I had been wanting to experiment some more with coloring my paper to get a Vintage look.

(Note:  I make my flowers from many different weight of paper and cardstock.  Most times my cardstock of choice to make flowers will be of Very Vanilla by SU which I wet completely (both sides) before gently crushing the whole sheet.  Then I stretch back open gently and leave to dry.  I then use my Ebosser cutting machine to flatten back up the whole sheet.  If you don't have a full size machine to do this step, simply bend in half you sheet and pass it through your machine.  Bend more if you have a Cuttlebug.)

 

Here is a photo of what you will need to help you create this flower.  Or use tools that has been used in the passed that didn't require you to purchase anything extra.  Distress ink  (Peeled Paint) will be needed.  Also add some fast grab glue and a reverse pair of tweezers to the tools.

 

Step 1

Find a stamp that can be used to make a stamen look to the middle of your flower.  Stamp in center with Memento ink so the ink won't smudge using water on it.

 

Step 2

With the help of a sponge or finger dauber, ink up the edge of the flower with Distress ink, also do the back adding color to the tips only.  The back can be seen once the flower is all shaped, so this is why I color the back as well.

 

Step 3

With a spray water bottle soak the flower on a paper towel.

 

Step 4

This is what your flower should look like after folding it in half, two petals meeting and then bending again so you only have one petal.  Press gently to give the flower some creases or imperfections.  Re-open the flower gently, lay it flat on your paper towel surface and gently dab with Peeled Paint Distress Ink in the center of the flower.  We are not looking for too dark.

 

Step 5

Go ahead and form your petals after the flower is completely dry.  (I use my heat tool to speed up the process).  On wrong side up, use stylus to cup all of your petals.  For the center, turn the flower the right side up and with a larger end stylus press down on the foam pad to see your flower come to life.  The middle should be lower than the petals at this point.

 

Step 6

Gently pierce the center of the flower with the help of the foam pad.  Remove tool and use reverse tweezers to widen up the hole, but just be gentle, the hole should not be too big or your flower will come apart.

This hole is made to accommodate your stamens, so be gentle.

See photo below.  Now you have a hole and the flower still has its shape.  We want to keep the flower's shape as intact as possible.

My stamens I had on hand were all white, so I improvised, I used some Memento re-inker with a paint brush I painted all of the stamen tips as per seen on the photo above.  It dried quickly.  Then I slipped the stamen through the flower hole starting from the top of the flower, sliding it all gently until the stamens are touching the flower in the center.  I then apply some fast grab glue at the base of the flower, the under side of it so it will not slip or move.

 

Step 7

There it is.  The finish product. 

You can see I made several colors of them.  In this finished flower you see on Step 7 there is still some glue that hasn't dried yet.  But it is showing that I had to add one more stamen tip in there because it always looks better in odd numbers.  Adding another two would have NOT gone through the hole anyway.  So it was just as easy to add just the tip of the stamen for a fuller look.  This one flower I have used for the demo, doesn't have the blue in the back so depending on the angle you are using the flower on a box or a card later on, it could show the back.  I prefer playing it safe and see the color on top and on the bottom.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.  I am not an expert at making them, but I try to include all the steps for an easier time and great experience.  We were the two of us making approx. 75 to 100 of them in an array of colors pleasing for card making.  Go ahead, try it!

 

Next share will be a card.  It has a heart, made out of my own hand made paper, cheesecloth, pearls...  So come back soon to see what I made recently.

 

Hugs

Nicole

A card to share....

Hi Friends,

Today I have a card to share.  I hope you enjoy it.  All of the flowers were handmade from cardstock.  White Whisper and Very Vanilla by Stampin' Up was used for this card.

Claudette die cut (Poppystamp) for the frame which I have folded in half twice for two separate pieces for each white and gold.   So when put together, it made a full square with a dimensional look.  Some gold (not mirrored) cardstock was also used on the first layer of the card as well as the sentiment.

Some seam binding in off white for a double bow was used on the corner of the card.  All other flowers came from dies of many brands. 

On my other favorite topic, I have a picture of Moki at almost 8 months old now.  He is a big boy now.  Yes, indeed, his house training is over.  Yes there will be a few accidents along the way but nothing like it was for the last 3 weeks.  Phew!!!!!!  He sure was able to test my patience until there was none left and wouldn't you know it, when I was starting to think he was too much to handle LOL, he suddenly got it.  It was almost as if I could see through his little brain, saying: "You better get it, Mom is really ticked off now" LOL.  I love my Moki to pieces, but I think if I ever get another dog, it will be adopted and known to be house trained.  You see me so happy to be 98% done with this training session.

8 months old here





A little note on cage training.  I have been suggested from the beginning to cage train Moki.  I was given many tricks and many reasons why it would be much better and faster to get him house trained.  I will reply this, I have tried to do so but he is crying loudly the second I close the door shut.  I have tried many times and the same thing happens. 

When I received Moki he was in his cage, being in there for 12 hours and was covered with his own wee, he was shaking from being so wet and cold.  The water in his cage had fallen all over the paper he had to sit on.  So when we saw him at first, he was clinging to the cage door, trying not to touch the bottom because it was all wet.  This memory I am sure, is very much in his little head from that day flying all the way here. So because of that, we chose to go the long route to get him house trained.  We since then have been feeding him his favorite meals in his cage to let him know that good things happen when he goes in his cage.  Just as long as we don't close it shut.

My making cards lately has been a challenge for me as I had Moki always requiring surveillance around the house (between gates) as we had prepared his doggy door for his use so we had to change the training to show him that he is able to go outside now whenever he wants to.  He was afraid of the door flap for over a month but he finally came to realize that it is not putting him into any danger.  He needed me to stay by the door up until last week so he felt secure going outside on his own.  Then one day we were enjoying our coffee when suddenly we heard the door flap, as he went outside on his own so we treated him with praises and treats so he would want to continue on.

So this phase is now over and yes you guessed it, we are so happy it's over.  Now we concentrate more on our daily living as I'm gaining more hours to possibly make cards soon.  Moki has a seat next to me at my height so he can sit there and be happy.  He is almost attached to my hip hee hee

Ok, so back to my work I go, now that I shared my latest news, I can move on to other fun things and focus more on some cards.  This is my favorite season of all, time when I try to make more flowers for my cards.  So I better get busy for more.

Have a pleasant day everyone.  Thanks for dropping in and for your patience.

I hope you had fun visiting and hope to see you all soon.  Another card will be posted soon.  But first, I will have a photo tutorial on how to make another flower.  No card made as of yet with this flower.  I will tell you that if you have Martha Stewart's Hydrangea large punch you will be able to make this flower.  See you soon!

Hugs,
Nicole

An unusual flower shared with you today

Hi Friends and followers,

Today I am posting a quick flower I made out of 2 simple die cuts.  See the photo below.  Dies are shown on the photo.  Red and white cardstock was used, wet glue, a Micron 02 pen, a foam pad and stylus will also be needed to cup the confetti.

My share for February 12th 

 

Just a quick note on how to make this flower

I have cut a few of the stars of both sizes.  All you need to do is layer all layers in a pleasing way by offsetting the pointy ends.  There are no limits on how many stars should be used, keep in mind the more layers the thicker the flower will be.  I cupped on a foam pad with stylus the confetti to add to the flower center, adhered it to the flower then with a Micron pen just dotted the confetti piece.  Click on the photo to see dies and flower details.

 

Enjoy!

 

More to come....

 

Nicole

Hello everyone!

Hi sweet friends and followers,

I am back on my feet starting to feel somewhat stronger.  It was a really long January as far away from my mind, would I get so sick with the Flu that kept on giving.  But, I am slowly and carefully getting back to my routine.  Well,.... A... routine of some sort.  With Moki, my sweet puppy, being so active, there were so many things I had to put aside until I was back to my ole self again.  He comes first all day long he is not easy to ignore even if I wanted to LOL.

He has grown quite a bit since I last posted his photo.  He has gotten his neutering and canine teeth removed as he had then all in double and by 6 months old, if they have not fallen on their own, it needs to be removed.  So, while he was asleep, we got everything done at once even adding an I.D. chip.  All of this made me feel much better now that all of his main visits at the Vet are over and done with.  Next visit in October.

As for my card making, my dear friends, I have been so bad at making anything else but flowers, that is the only thing I was able to do without too much disruption from my little Moki.  He is to say the least an attention seeking little dog and he's all mine.  Since I had the Flu my head has been more or less useless.  I can't seem to put ideas together too well.  So I am relaxing about it, letting it come to me again.

Sorry for those of you who communicates with me by email only, I wasn't able to reply to you in a reasonable amount of time as I am usually good at keeping up with daily flows of emails.  But, I am fine, just a little slower until I get to my 100% ole self or maybe 90% LOL

Good news, when I start dreaming about card making ideas I am on my way to creating again.  The two passed nights I woke up a few times with ideas in my head.  Smiled and went back to sleep.  So I am on my way there again.

I will try and post another photo of grown up Moki as soon as I can.  I haven't taken much photos of him since I have been ill.  But as soon as I give him a bath, I will take photos, his fur is also very long again.  Sigh, another trim on the horizon. 

Thank you for those of you who have regularly checked on me by email, it was nice to know I had many "Get well wishes" all of them were so appreciated, more than you'll ever know.  Will be back next with a card.  Keep coming back, it should be soon!

Big warm hugs to all of you
Nicole

Quick post

Hi friends,
I hope everyone had a beautiful Holiday and have some great projects on the mind for the beginning year.  I know I have many things I want to do and once I have a fully house trained puppy, I will have more time to dedicate to flower making and cards.  Soon, already, I will see my garden come back to life.  I have about 3 weeks left until I have to start preparing for the new gardening season for 2015. 

My goal is to have Moki trained by then so I don't double up on the amount of time I can't be crafting and away from my studio.  So I am sure the timing will be perfect. 

So that being said, I will leave you today with a few pictures of Moki, after I got back from a partial trim at the groomer.  I hope you like them.

I will be back soon with flower cards, my gathering with friends is resuming this week so I should be able to have a card made to post soon.

Had his eyes cleared up, paw fur trimmed and nails too

 He looks a little sleepy here

 

Showing his new teeth

 

Hugs

Nicole