Bear Hug

Melanie's new stamp set arrived today...so I had to play with it (to reward myself for the rubber cutting! ;-)).

I made this simple little card for my hubby, cause we all need a bear hug sometimes!... It took me a few tries to get the bears exactly the way I wanted and decide what to erase before stamping or what to mask.... The background is embossed vellum (through the Cuttlebug) over stripped paper, it's hard to see in the pic. I colored the bears with prismacolor pencils and my paint thinner. This is a technique I need to work on, but I like it so far. (I found a 50% off coupon for Michaels so I finally bought the coveted pencils! ;-))

Teacher's wallets

It's the end of the year again! So for me that means gift-cards for teachers, and trying out new gift-cards holders... :-P

I made 4 of those little wallets, following the W model found on Lee's and Melanie's blogs (among others ;-)). I used those papers (gift wraps from Borders!) that I love so much for the outside, and for the inside I used different plain colored carstocks that I ran through the Cuttlebug Paisley embossing folder (it's hard to see on the pic unless you click on it to enlarge). This is my little twist, as I find it more sturdy with 2 layers instead of 1. For closure I inserted 2 ribbons between my 2 layers.

I wanted this to be as flat as possible and with no embellishments so that they can carry this easily in their bags (and it won't get damaged) and I didn't write inside either so they can customize it with the pics of their choice (or re-gift it!! --> the horror!... ;-)). Instead I wrote a little note on a minicard the size of the gift card.

My favorite thing about those holders is the texture inside, so cool! :-)

This is the perfect size to carry around those wallet size pictures.... I might have to make one for myself to carry around pics of my cuties! :-)

Apple tree

This card started with me just wanting to use that cute little tree ("In the treetop" by Lizzie Anne). I thought maybe I would make a card for my Dad for father's day. But I had a bad energy drop suddenly and inspiration left me! Too tired to stamp!? *gasp*

Anyway this is what my overloaded brain came up with. Nothing new here, the blings in the tree have been seen here and there... but I like it nonetheless.

In the end I won't send it to my dad. It didn't feel like a card for him. So I just added the sentiment from the set inside the card in red ink, I like it a lot, it says:

"Trees teach us to stay grounded, but also to never stop reaching for the sky!"

Hoppy Father's day

This is the card I made for my husband for father's day, "from" the kids! ;-) Noah cannot make one so he'll use this one and Naomi will write a little note in there, plus she will make her own card.... And I might make a different one just from me... When Naomi saw it she immediatly said "this is me and dady flying our kite!..."

This all started with me trying for the very first time paint thinner + colored pencils. I guess I should refer to those as "mineral spirits" and prismacolors, but I have the cheap version of all that!! LOL! So I used "oil paint thinner" found at Walmart in the arts & crafts department (I figured it should be about the same thing?...) and my Rose Art pencils (=school suplies, about $5 or $6 for 100 colored pencils...).
Now let me tell you I never used the "real thing" but I suspect it makes a slight difference because Rose Art pencils are kind of hard and they sometimes like "scratch" the paper (KWIM?) or leave pigment unevenly on the paper. So I suspect softer/smoother pencils would give a better result, but so far I haven't splurged on Prismacolors... I might soon though, since this was kind of fun and I won't be able to afford Copic markers anytime soon! :-S I am a little tired of the "kid coloring" where you can see all the pencil marks!! ;-)
Obviously I need to practice a little to figure out where to put more color and where to put less, etc... My sky is made with my favorite method: press your finger on the ink pad and press your finger on the paper! cheapest dauber ever! ;-) Of course you need a pale ink with chalky finish for that.... And the whole thing was made on watercolor paper, I have yet to try on regular cardstock to see the difference.
Now a little note about the design of this card. If you are wondering what the heck this ribbon is doing in the middle of my frogs, you are totally right! What happened is, I tried to make a little jumping mark below my frogs and hated it!! I had already finished my scene so I didn't feel like doing it all over again!...so I erased the mark as much as I could (which peeled the paper a bit...) and had to hide that mistake with the ribbon. I have to say I kind of like it because this was all pretty plain before, but it's not the way it was intended to be! ;-)
Sometimes you just have to find a way to transform your mistake into whatever pretend creativity!! LOL!

I won!???...

Oh my!!! I don't want to brag or toot my own horn too much *blushes* but I am so excited that I have to share!!!.... :-D
I entered Melanie's contest on her blog http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/2008/05/for-your-considerationhip-hop-entries.html , using her new stamps set, just for the fun of it, and ended up in a tie with talented Donna (http://stampamaniac.blogspot.com/) who is winning for the third time in a row, (and it's well deserved!).
I kind of have to pinch myself to believe it. Of those 12 entries all were fabulous, and I honestly didn't think I stood a chance, so I was shocked to see people vote for my card. I can't even tell you the boost for my ego, this really made my day to see people loving what I do. I guess we all need a little recognition sometimes!! ;-)
So I'm enjoying my little minute of "fame" ;-) , and I swear I'll get back down to earth in a minute! LOL
Meanwhile the little zebra is mine! *grin* The timing is perfect since I am not buying stamps this month (I was already lucky enough to get stamps for Mother's day!... ;-) )

Thanks to anyone who gave me their vote, isn't it funny that they don't even read my blog?
Now let me go on with my day with a big grin on my face....

Sunny thoughts

A fun little card for my niece who's 3 1/2, just to say Hi... The penguins and the sentiment are heat embossed (gosh, black powder is messy!) and then I colored with watercolor pencils. I never think about those round cards I bought a while ago, I should use them more often, it's fun. I also want to make more square cards, they have a special appeal I think, don't quite know why! ;-)

Lauren sent me those stamps for my b-day and I have to say when I saw them I couldn't repress a smile, but at the same time I was thinking what the heck, penguins on a beach?? Huh?!... I'm pretty sure they will bring a smile on my niece's face too! :-D

No stamping baby card

I have been MIA lately, my little crafty time was used to make a mini scrapbook for my hubby... and my energy level and ability to focus are so down lately that I feel too tired to make cards! Which is a shame because a little stamping therapy sure would lift my spirits!

Since I needed a baby card I got "back to it" today... I didn't really feel like coloring so I went with a no stamping card instead. It still took me forever, especially having to cut little details and then cut tiny pieces of foam tape to pop those up. The little carriage and birds are from a pack of baby boy paper from the Target dollar spot, I just glued them on cardstock for a little rigidity and cut them out, I added little brads on the wheels and that was it! The background is embossed with Cuttlebug's swiss dots folder (one of my favorites!) and I ran some white ink over the spots. The frame is made with Nestabilities and popped up, as well as the carriage and birds. I tried stamping a sentiment on a ribbon with my Palette ink but the ink bled in the ribbon so I just gave up and settled for a tiny ribbon accent instead.

I realized that when I look at cards in a store I am always drawn to the simplest designs, and/or the ones with dimension, so that's what I went for... and sure enough I love it! Now I should make another one just like that and the same one in pink (I also have the baby girl paper... with the green and pink carriage) so I have some cards at the ready for all those babies popping everywhere... :-)

Sunshiny hello

A very simple card, for someone who likes blue! :-) It is getting very hot here, and I was in the mood for a beach theme!

The sentiment was supposed to go on my ribbon, but I love that ribbon too much to hide it with anything! LOL And the colors were inspired by Lizzie's work with the new stamp set "by the sea" ( http://lettersfromlizzie.blogspot.com/2008/04/by-sea.html ) she even used that same orange ribbon. I love this color combo blue + orange, it is so bright and happy! :-)

The little things that look like mud stains on the pic were actually stamped in yellow and then I went over with my gold gel pen... it looks better in real life... ;-)

Happy Pregnancy tri-fold

I have been wanting to make a card for my cousin, whose wife is expecting their first baby, for weeks now, and I thought I better get to it today or she would have the baby by the time I send them a "congratulations on your pregnancy" card!!!

I had been waiting for Melanie's "Hip-hop accessories" set for that since I wanted a kangaroo and baby in pocket... ;-) This card was one of those that just come to me at once, the paper, the small size, the tri-fold... it just clicked in my head, and I really love the end result (especially the small size, I should make small cards more often! ;-)).

So the front has the chick (which I changed into a bird...) and it says "Un petit oiseau m'a dit que..." which means "A little bird told me that...", then you open the card and find the kangaroo with baby in pocket (I just sliced with a blade alongside the pocket top and tucked my little guy in there!) and it says "C'est dans la poche!" which means literally "It's in the pocket".

Now, in french "it's in the pocket" means something like "it's a done deal", (or according to my dictionnary "it's in the bag"...)... so I thought it was really fitting with the kangaroo... :-)
I colored the animals with my watercolors pencils. I have had those for almost 20 years, they're a great french brand and I was happy to see they are still ok! :-)

Pond Stationery Set

This is a set I made for a friend/former neighboor, who just had her birthday. I used "Pond Life" by Madras Design for PaperTrey Ink, I just love that set, the design is cute but not cutesy and it's perfect for any occasion. I just love the little fishes in there :-)... This was so much fun!

I made 8 cards, (I had planned on making 10 but the ink smeared on one so it suddenly became an 8 pieces set, and I used the last embossed one for the actual b-day card... LOL!) It's hard to see on the pics (you can click on them for a larger version) but I embossed frames with the Nestabilities and then stamped somewhat in that frame (or purposefully out for details).

The little tuft of grass is from Melanie's set "Hip-hop accessories", I just love this little tuft, I think it is the best thing to ground a nature scene, I am using it all the time now! :-)

Naomi's birthday (gel) card

After seeing Nichole's gel card with fishes (http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2008/04/4--introducing.html ) I just had to make my own version! (My card doesn't have a slider though).

So I used this concept for Naomi's birthday card, she's turning 7 in a week and is quite the beachcomber, always looking for new shells!...). I had never made a gel card before so, as much as it is old news for most cardmakers, it was pretty exciting to me! ;-D How cool is it that there are actually bubbles in the gel!? I had a lot of fun with this card and hope Naomi will have fun receiving it too. I was happy to stray away from princesses to tell you the truth! LOL!

I first cut the window with a punch but it was a little small so I used my Nestabilities. I glued the blue layer slightly off center so that I would get a tiny peek at the orange... The beautiful little wave at the top and the sand at the bottom are from Lizzie Anne's set "Shore thought", and the cute little seashells and starfishes are by Jolee's (love their stuff, and those are just too cute and perfect for someone living in Florida!! ;-)) My sister-in-law Christine, send those to me for my birthday among other embellishments... wait till you see the little palmtrees... ;-)

I didn't feel like using Stickles (*gasp*, what's wrong with me?) but wanted a glossy finish on my shells. I don't have crystal effects so I colored my shells with a versamarker and then embossed them with clear powder, the result was a little uneven but it actually goes very well with the shells giving them a bit of a "weathered" look IRL.

I had so much fun with this card that I will be making another one as soon as I get my hands on "By the sea" by Lizzie Anne. Right now it's on my wish list ;-) ... I already have part of the design in my head, I hope I don't forget before I get the set.

I actually bought a little notebook the other day to start writing down ideas! I think it's time to reach for it!....

(Click on the pic to see details)

Red bird

Just a very simple little card to accompany some happy mail... ;-)

Ever since I got that Cuttlebug folder I wanted to isolate one bird with color. I'm not too sure about those colors together, because red + green are associated in my mind with Christmas (and I just hate red+ green at Christmas time!) but I still like it... This little red bird all by himself makes me smile nonetheless. I could have gone with a smaller Prima though, because I feel like it is distracting the eyes from the bird... You can't see on the pic but the bird was covered with Stickles... ;-)

I think I'll try the same thing again but instead of the ribbon and flower I will just add a simple sentiment with 2 brads...

Butterflies B-day

OK, this one I can post without any explanation and I'm sure you'll figure out who it is for... ;-)

The upper left corner didn't come out the way I had planned but I love this paper so much (take a look at my banner ;-)) I just had to use it for Lauren who loves butterflies and purple. I would have loved to throw in a few tulips in there too but it might have been too much, LOL!

And I used stamps that she sent me for my birthday! ;-)

She won't get it on time for Saturday :-( so I thought it would be OK if she was to take a sneak peek inadvertently!... Hopefully she's too busy for that though... ;-)

Naomi's birthday invitations

My little Mimi is turning 7 on May 9th! :-)

We are having a scrapbook party in a local scrapbooking store. The girls will be assembling and decorating a little chipboard photo album, then have cake and that's it. Minimal clean-up for me, a crafty b-day, now that's my kind of party! LOL...

Here are her invitations, front and back (I made 11 of those, and as simple as the design was, it took me forever!). The flowers are made with the Cuttlebug flower dies, and the scallop is a Martha Stewart punch.

As you can see Naomi put a personal touch... ;-)