Two Cards...One a swap card and the other a wedding card

First I'll start with the swap card. This second swap group has a list of swaps coming up. Each person decides which swap interests them and they sign up for it. Usually you sign up by the first of a month and your card must go out by the 15th. Or you sign up by the 15th and your card goes out on the 30th. You can sign up way in advance if you are really organized and will remember! Even if you don't remember, the group posts who you send to in enough time to get it all done. It's a really good way to get involved without being committed to an 8 week swap-for 8 weeks in a row. Either way it is a lot of fun and I really enjoy doing them!

My card image is from Shirley's 2 Girls and is stamped with Adirondak ink and colored with COPIC markers. I used my Spellbinders nestabilities for the framed matting, 2 different cuttlebug embossing folders and Cuttlebug slider dies. The paw print is something I picked up at Hobby Lobby quite a while ago and I can't remember who made the ribbon. The copic markers I used were E33, G09, R08, YR04, E37, E31, E35, RV14, G02 and C1 and the colorless blender!

The wedding card is one almost exactly like one I made before and posted. I had this one stored in case I ever needed a really nice wedding card. It is a large card made from a whole sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock. I think the size makes it much more elegant...plus you can add more embellishments on a card that size.

I smudged my uncle's last name at the bottom of the "S" circle to protect his identity! (just in case you are wondering about the smeared area)...

Thank you for checking in on my progress...

Sketch Design for Croppinsville...

All of the designers for Croppinsville were requested to complete this sketch project. We could make what ever we wanted and then they would all be hanging in the store to show the different ways we interpreted the sketch. I decided to see how much I could get out of the 3 pieces of Bo Bunny paper. Croppinsville has this paper any many others for sale at their on-line store and in the store itself. Their prices on-line are 25% off!

The container is a tea bag container covered with Bo Bunny paper and cardstock and embellishments. The card was made using white cardstock with the different Bo Bunny papers and embellishments and the scrapbook page utilized the Cricut machine for lettering and Spellbinders dies for the other die cuts. The children are from: Me and my Sister...Aren't they cute!

Week 3 Swap - Die Cuts or Punches

Die Cuts and Punches can add a lot to your creations. One of my Christmas presents was a Cricut Expression machine, so I decided to use my new toy to make the die cuts for this particular card. I used the Plantin SchoolBook and Accent Essential Cartridges. There is a learning curve to this machine, as any, and I've still got a lot of learning to do!!

I used Bazzil Paper and Cardstock. The word "friend" has a shadow behind it and I think it makes the letters look nice. The butterflies (SU) were stamped with Versamark, and sprinkled with the Sparkle Sprinkle powder and cut out by hand. The stitched background on the greenish cardstock is also from Stampin Up. That background was also embossed with Sparkle Sprinkle embossing powder called Tequila Sunrise. I love the light reflections it leaves behind! I also used some brads and Stickles.

Joy used her nestabilities and cuttlebug embossing folder to create a neat background. I really like the colors of this card, they also remind me of some old time color combinations! She did a great job.

Week 2 Swap - Gold Foil or Leafing

Foiling or leafing can be a lot of fun, * IF * you are a patient person! My experience has been that you need to have the right conditions. If it's too humid one day, one type of glue may not work. What works one day, doesn't work the next!

On my card I used foil that is on a wide sheet. I can't tell you the name, because I've had it so long and out of the package that one can only guess who made it. HOWEVER, I really enjoyed this technique, and I will probably find a supplier that I like and use it regularly. The glue that I used was the Essential Glue Pad by Tsukineko. I also found that I needed to rub the foil with my bone folder after I laid it down onto the sticky surface. Hopefully you can see the whole rubberstamped image was foiled. Then I colored it in with my COPIC markers: R22, V17, RV19, YR65, YR00, B00, BV00.

Joy did a lot of detail cutting on the card she sent me. Those pink and white flowers (not the 3D flower petals) were all cut out of a fabulous paper by hand. I think I remember her saying the gold leaf butterflies were stamped with the Essential Glue Pad also. She also used her heart nestabilities.

If you have any recommendations on foil or leafing that you absolutely love, please email me! I'd like to get some recommendations before I make a big purchase!

Week 1 Swap - Dark Colors

Here I go again, getting involved in more swaps! This is a really good way to work on perfecting my skills and a really good way to get neat art from some one else!

This first swap is to make a card using dark colors. I had a really hard time with this one. I love dark colors, but it's really difficult coming up with ideas. I decided to use artichoke colors for my "dark" color and then go lighter from there. My swap partner, Joy, loves anything French and birds and owls so I decided to use a couple of those things on her card.

The card she sent me is awesome. She definitely knew how to make a "dark" card. She stamped with pigment ink and used gold embossing powder. Then she painted the embossed area with twinkling H2O's. It was really difficult to get a good picture. If you haven't used twinkling H2O's, they shimmer when they are dry. And the flowers are cut out and popped! It's a very beautiful card.

I hope you enjoy it!

Get Well Card for a Friend...

This is a get well card that I made some time ago, but needed to send it out and realized that I hadn't taken a picture of it. This is an older stamp set from Stampin Up.

Happy New Year and Time to Get Down to Business!

I'm hoping your new year is going well. I've been busy since my last post. Our youngest daughter graduated from college, we went to Denver for two weeks for Christmas and New Years, and I've been sick. So now I have been catching up on all the household duties!...and my blog. Sorry it's been a while since I've posted.

I've also been selected to be a designer for a store in the town near me. The store is called "Croppinsville" and I will soon have a link to their website. Online, they sell everything at 25% off and have TONS of Tim Holtz items. Besides Tim Holtz, Allie carries all the latest and greatest papers, embellishments, and a million other things. If you can think of it, she probably has it or can get it for you. The link to the store will be over on the right hand side of my blog and it will say: "Croppinsville"... Please check it out some time soon.

Today's pictures are of some new stamps that I got last month. They may not be new to the market, but they are new to me. My friend Joy was interested in seeing the stamps I bought from B-Line Designs. The owl and bird are from Hero Arts. If you have never seen B-line stamps, you can check them out at: http://www.blinedesigns.com