November 5th Mid-Week Post

 Hey there, it's me on a Wednesday!

I've had a weird few days since I last posted.

So has Honey.

We decided it's the stupid time change.

While we wait for our bodies to adjust to the time/nature difference, we're just being lazy bums even more than we usually are HA! Taking a nap and getting plenty of bedtime sleep, that kind of thing. 

So, I finally finished my entry for the Autumn theme hosted by Mandy at Sunday Postcard Art.

The moment I saw the theme, my mind went to this Frantic Stamper Fall Harvest Card Panel die that I'd won a few years back and still had never used yet. It was like this voice said, figure out how to use it on a 4x6 card and do it!!! And it was either put it in the middle, the top or the bottom, lol. I also wanted to use the Crafty Individuals quote stamp (with Pinecone Versafine Clair ink). For my base, I used a 4x6 sheet of deckle-edge watercolor paper (Amazon), wet the surface with water and a mop brush, then brushed various colors left to right in an ombre fashion using my Grabie metallic watercolors. The photo doesn't pick it up but in real life the ombre is gorgeous. That would be my sky. Next, I die cut the panel out of white scrap card and colored it with Promarkers (and edged the frame with an Artistro gold acrylic paint marker). I glued the frame to the watercolored card base and stamped the quote. The panel comes with an extra small leaf die and pumpkin die, so I cut several more leaves and a few more pumpkins, colored them and added them to my scene. Then, at top, I stamped the Avery Elle Hello and the Impression Obsession Autumn words, using the Versafine Clair ink. I added some shading to the Autumn word with a lighter brown Micron pen for the finish.

Fun fact:

When I began making this, I was excited to use the panel die. I ran it through my Big Shot but there were several areas the cut did not go through, even after multiple attempts. So, then I wanted to trash it. But I hand cut them with a knife and after coloring it up, I realized it was an enjoyable experience overall and the tree alone was worth saving the die. But I came THISSSSS close to File 13ing it.

Yes, I did use my metal adapter plate with it, but not on the first pass as I would have had to have known I needed it beforehand. From now on, though, it's a definite with this die.

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This card has a Kraft card base and Kraft card mats, and the designer papers are all mystery stash scraps. The mats and papers are all edge- and ink-distressed (Vintage Photo DI).

Here's the sketch I used:

The sketch element 2 on my card is a scrap that was already cut out that way. I kept it thinking it would make a cool card topper or bottom. So, hey! Maybe it did!

😁

The cute children are very old Collage Stuff collage sheet images I had in my stash already printed out. I used QuicKutz nested hexagon dies to cut them out along with their Kraft card mats. 

The My Favorite Things die sentiment was cut once out of white card and again out of Kraft card, stacked a bit askew and added to the card for the finish.

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Do you have any vintage collaged Christmas papers, perhaps made by Paper Love? Well, I do. Too many sheets! A case, many years ago, of me not being experienced enough to realize that the 12x12 sheets were gorgeous but really hard to use! Anyway, I saw an opportunity to use a section of a sheet with this sketch (stretched to 6X6):

I used some very skinny gold German border scrap to make the V and used the Avery Elle sentiment die in place of the circle element, cut out of white card 2 times and stacked, then heat-embossed with gold powder. The base is cut from a dark reddish-brown Chatterbox card stock. The base layer is Recollections cream card cut with a Carnation Crafts die and edged with a gold metallic marker. The next layer is the Paper Love designer paper, cut with a Spellbinders Art Deco die and edged with an Artistro gold acrylic paint marker.

And done.

Here's a shot that shows the shine more. It's a really nice-looking card in real life and had I not gone with my gut I would never have used this paper. Now, to find other sections that can work like this and then throw the rest away!

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Well, that's it for me today.

Thanks for stopping by to visit me!

I hope your week is going great.

See you again on Sunday,

XXO

November 2nd Weekly Post

 Howdy, Folks!
Wow, November's here.

I'm shocked by this but shouldn't be. Time moves way too fast!
We are having some nice Autumn weather now (our Gulf Coast Texas kind, that is).

I have broken out my sweater and actually worn it.

😎
This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme is Autumn, but I guess I've been lazy since the theme was posted yesterday. Just wasn't in the mood to get right on it. Between you and me, I would have really appreciated a bit more advance time this week (like we usually get) as there was a lot going on. Most of the participants do digital but real takes longer, just sayin'!

😒

But I did start a piece and if I finish it, I'll make an extra post to share it later in the week.

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Meanwhile, here is the last Halloween I finished. I have 2-3 more in process, in their little box tops, where I can maybe work on them here and there and get them done for next year. This is what happens to me when I finally get interested in a theme but without enough time to fully indulge it. (Yes, I'm the one doing Valentine cards in March, lol.) 

ANYway, this card was made for my friend and neighbor who loves bloody, Friday the 13th, creepy gore kind of stuff. And this is my attempt at that but using only my remaining bits and bobs. Everything on here is a stash scrap and already stamped stuff, including the Lost Coast Designs stamped headless doll bodies, the My Cute Stamps Matryoshka doll faces and the Impression Obsession Boo! stamped in Versamark and heat-embossed with silver ep, then already cut with an Avery Elle seal die. All waiting there in the box along with the Fancy Pants glitter acetate Spooky sign with ghost, the die cut spiders (Art Impressions and Sizzix), witch hat (AI) and Making Memories flocked spiderweb paper scrap. I really am trying to use up stash.

I added some PinkFresh Ruby Glitter Drops for the finish.

I flipped the sketch I used horizontally to better accommodate my elements.

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I made this card for one of my nephews. I think it makes a great young guy card.

The sentiment is a big die I bought on Amazon. I cut it out of Recollections card stock, same as the card base. I added some Lawn Fawn diagonal-striped patterned paper, after using a Tonic punch on the corners. More Lawn Fawn patterned paper was cut for the stars using a nested Sizzix die set. I stacked 2 layers of the die cut sentiment to give it some rigidity.

And here is the sketch I used.

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I made this card for my cousin Ann.

I'd previously printed out the Free Dearie Dolls precolored image and sentiment, so I found some KI Memories patterned paper to mimic the sketch's lattice background and some dark purple SU card for the card base and image mat. I cut the image and paper layers with my new Carnation Crafts Pretty Shabby nested dies. I also cut a heart-shaped ballon die cut out of the SU scrap and included it on the image with a hand-drawn string.

And here's the sketch I used.

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That's all I have today.

Thanks for the visit

and

Have a great week!

XOX

October 26th Weekly Post

 Hello and Happy Halloween Week, if you celebrate.

We got the new dryer Wednesday, paid for delivery, installation and haul-off of the old. Then the new one wouldn't turn on: no juice. Honey had to go flip the breaker. We theorized that when the old heating element blew, it tripped the breaker. At any rate, all ended well.

😅

I wasn't going to make any Halloween cards this year, as I've been focusing on finishing up this year's birthday and Christmas cards. But then I received a couple of cards and so I spent the weekend making some. For the most part, I stuck to very limited supplies (paper scraps) and the bits and bobs in my Halloween box, but I did use some stamps and dies. And lots of Distress ink, lol.

The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art is Full Moon, hosted by Anne. Well, I couldn't pass that up.

 I took a white 4x6 card and stamped the Third Coast Stamps mooning witch with Nocturne Versafine Clair and clear-heat-embossed it. I already had a mask for her so I applied it, then I ink-blended Hickory Smoke DI at the top and Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon DI's for the bottom half. I removed the witch's mask and colored her with Promarkers. I cut the three wavy middle elements out of some TH Halloween Kraft card stock using an MFT die set. The EEEK! is some plastic dimensional letter stickers I've had for years and have forgotten who made. I used Black Soot DI to edge the card. I had the moon in my box from a previous play. I'd used an Altenew stamp and corresponding die to make it.

And then I put the postcard on an A7 Kraft card base matted with a piece of my paper scraps. Inside it says "It just wouldn't be Halloween without a full moon" and I handwrote "or 2".

😁

 

And the sketch I used, stretched to A7 portrait orientation.

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For this next card, I used paper scraps from the TH Seasonal collection on a Kraft card base.

And I ink and edge-distressed and ink-blended all of them:

You can see scraps of the original paper on the left. I liked the effect and thought the colors made the paper pop more. 

The images are from Gecko Galz and are mounted on black card scrap.

I cut a Clear Dollar Stamps label die out of black card, stamped the WRMK and MFT sentiments with Versamark ink and heat-embossed using Ranger Lemon Yellow embossing powder.

And here's the sketch I used.

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We used to have Halloween parties and send invitations, so I saved this ghost from a handful of extras. They've been sitting for years and I decided to use them. I fussy cut him out and added him to an A7 Kraft card base matted with a piece of scrap paper. Then I die cut the TH Graveyard border out of black card and added it and another piece of scrap paper at bottom to finish.

 

And here's the sketch I used. I flipped it vertically (upside down) and then stretched it to A7 portrait orientation.

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I used another ghost on this one, along with the Dies to Die For Spooky shadow word die, cut out of TH paper scraps (which I also used as the mat on the Kraft card base. Another Graveyard die cut as well. The orange circles were cut using my Coluzzle system and orange stash card. And done!

 

And the sketch I used. I flipped this one horizontally.

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I have one more Halloween card to make for our neighbors, so I'll share that one next Sunday.

Hope you can make it, thanks for visiting me!

Have a great week, XOX

October 19th Weekly Post

 Happy new week, everyone.

I'm posting a bit late because Life stuck out its big fat butt and got in the way.

So glad this is just a hobby and not a job.

Hehehe.

My Fall allergies are acting up and that means I've had to take my medication that makes me loopy. Plus, I've got painful fumble fingers, which always makes me frustrated. And then, our dryer died. It was a good dryer, lasted 27 years. We'd bought it in 1998 right after moving in here when the dryer we moved from the old house decided to die. The dude who sold it to us was the son of one of Honey's coworkers. What's spooky is, the day before the dryer died, the coworker died. Odd coincidence, huh?  We've ordered a new dryer from Home Depot and they'll deliver it Wednesday. 

Anyway, I've been in rare form with the zingers and smart-assery comments. And Honey is enjoying it, thankfully. And matching me. Our senses of humor have always been aligned.

😜

And with that, I'll segue into my make for this week's Note To Self theme at Sunday Postcard Art, hosted by Cindy.

What I've made is a perfect example of how our moods can creep into our art, perhaps because we express our thoughts when creating. I could have gone a million different ways with this theme, but I chose my current reality. I've been trying to use up scraps in my card-making, so I went to my scraps for this. I glued a scrap of KI Memories designer paper to my 4X6 card stock base. Then I took a Sakura Star Dust glitter gel pen and drew a checked border. Next, I added some Love, Elsie card stock scrapbooking stickers and stamped a 7Gypsies Note To Self sentiment on one of the Elsie labels, heat-embossed it and then went over it with a black Promarker before attaching it to the top of my card. I looked through my Tim Holtz Snarky Chat Stickers and chose the sarcasm one. Then I went through Tim's Big Chat Stickers and chose 3 words. I used a black fineliner to draw around some of the stickers and then added some blue-grey die cut stars from stash. 

And the best part? 

Haha, looking at it finished and realizing that next to the word attitude it looks like a hand raised in a middle finger salute! 

😎

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Moving right along, still making cards with my Summer scraps.

This is a guy card for a nephew, using a Di's Digi Stamps Summer Kitty which I printed out, fussy-cut and colored with Promarkers and Castle Arts colored pencils. The color I chose for the water matches the paper pretty well, so he looks like he's in a pool. I used scraps of tan sand patterned paper and also green terrycloth patterned paper (for the grass). I cut the stitched circle (pool deck) using an MFT die. I added a scrap of ribbon that had been hanging around for a while and die cut stars from stash. I stamped the Leave Memories and MFT sentiments to finish. The A2 card base and base mat are cream Recollections 110# card stock.

And here's the sketch I used.
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This next card was made for a dear artist friend and uses some of my favorite hoarded and very old patterned paper from Flair. (I think I have one more full 12x12 sheet.) The sketch I used (see below) required 4 strips of different papers but I cut the strips from this one pattern. Then I used bits and bobs from my Summer box: the wave borders, the fish, seahorse and starfish, all die cut out of white card from previous projects and not used. I used a white Recollections 110# card base and SU dark blue-grey card stock for the base mat and sentiment frame, cut with an Avery Elle seal die, as was the sentiment with a smaller die after stamping with a Wild Rose Studio sentiment on a scrap of white card with Versafine Clair ink and heat-embossing it. The mermaid had been cut out of an old planner.

And here is the sketch I used.
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Well, that does it for me this week.

My apologies again for posting late.

Hopefully our cooler nighttime and morning temps will cool my sarcasm jets a bit.

It feels wonderful outside right now (Monday morning).

Best wishes for a great week and thanks for visiting me!

xxo

October 12th Weekly Post

 Happy Sunday, Everyone!

I hope your week and weekend have been to your liking.

The last few early mornings have been in the upper 60's here, so I cannot complain. We are also entering into a dry spell, so I hope there aren't too many fires.

This week at Sunday Postcard Art, the theme is POE and is hosted by Audrey.

I went all digital with mine, thanks to a Gecko Galz digital stamp set I found in my files.

His life really fascinates me, so I felt drawn to play this week.

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I have a nephew who lives on the Texas coast south of us, and he loves to fish.

I began this card with a stenciled background, using A Colorful Life's Primitive Fish stencil with Distress Inks (Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge, Salty Ocean). I layered that onto a Color Mates 6x6 card base after punch-rounding one corner per the sketch (below).

Then I added some fish netting I found in my Summer bits and bobs. I die cut 2 Avery Elle banner flags in blue and white card scraps, then stamped the CC Designs and Hero Arts sentiments with Versamark and heat-embossed with white powder. Next, I die cut an Avery Elle Sinature seal out of white card and stamped the Hero Arts sentiment with Paradise Versafine Clair ink and clear heat-embossed it. I layered those on there after drawing a short fishing line with a Sakura silver-shadow gel pen. At the bottom of the line I added a hook cut with a Memory Box die (Christmas ornament die) cut out of silver mirror card.

 

Here's the sketch I used, stretching it to a 6x6 layout in PSE.

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I printed, colored and fussy cut this My Besties Winter Snow Globe Bestie Doll 9 for the focal image on this Christmas card made with an SU card base/mats and strips of mystery paper scraps from my Christmas box. I used Promarkers and glitter markers and gel pens to color her. I added the HOTP stamped sentiment and several holographic snowflakes, and on the light blue sketch element #3 I stamped a Technique Tuesday snowflake border with Versamark and heat-embossed it with Ranger Holographic embossing powder, thinking it would go with the loose snowflakes. But it doesn't really show up. I also have Ranger Poly Sparkle EP, maybe I should have used that one. I'm always confused by when to use which, LOL. One last useless fact: I purposefully put the text paper with the bigger words upside down, just for orneriness, heehee, er, I mean, creative license.

😜

Here is an angled shot to show all of the glitter and shine.

And here is the sketch I used, in an A7 size.

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Well, that about does it for me this time.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week ahead.

See ya next Sunday.

XXO