Leftover Tea

Most of these cards were made with leftover scraps from the teacup I made the day after mom died.  So I think they are simply gorgeous!  Simple, sweet...and enhanced with so much glitter!!!

Now, if this card doesn't get to to singing that 70s hit...or was it 60s?  I can't remember!

I'm old enough these days to understand that my entire life has been about creating the person I am today.  Fortunately, I have no complaints!  And I'm lucky as I have no regrets!

So, I used to think this saying was so true.  But not any more.  When one downsizes, that means they downsize their shoes as well!  No more heels - everything is flat.  No more shoes that sparkle and shine, everything is about comfort these days.  If you get a blister on your toe, it's time to increase the size!  LOL!!!

My neighbors grow roses and I am so blessed that I can look across the street and see all their beauty....and I didn't have to lift a finger!  I think they should have a tea party in their garden next spring.  Am I allowed to invite myself?

When I first looked at this card, it made me feel happy.  Thus the title.  Isn't it great when something just gives you that feeling?

A sheet of paper so gorgeous....made this card so easy!  Found the paper at the Stamp House here in town.

Nothing but scraps and leftovers.  So many people toss them.  I just make cards with mine!

I have been so busy this week trying to catch up from the estate sale.  A second sale coming up this weekend and I'll be there working.  Hope you can make it!!!

Cards made at the Abbey scrapbooking retreat

I promise that next time I'll take photos of all the other gals playing.  And the food.  And the rooms!  I was just way too busy this time!  So I made the 2 cups, the entire journal and still had time to make all these cards....mostly with leftover scraps.  I dearly LOVE the Julie Nutting stamps by Prima.  Again, you can order these by calling Design U'R Memories at 719-275-2526.  Tell them "Jenny" sent you!

We did the background for this first one in a make-n-take using Viva inks.  And I added the denim diecuts which I covered in stickles.

I won the ribbon on this one in one of the give-aways.  Her dress is glitter on scrapbook paper.

Judi from the Stamp House brought us each a goodie bag and I made these cards from items she gave us.

And, of course, I had to try one of the Prima dolls with a denim and lace dress, shoes and headband.  I really want time to make more of these paper dolls - I just think they are so adorable!!!

I stayed on campus this time so I could check out the rooms.  1970s style dorms which brought back a ton of memories from my year at Bob Jones University!  Not bad at all.  The swamp coolers kept it very comfortable all night long.  It was so quiet, I slept well.  The mattresses were just fine.  They provide sheets, blankets and towels, bar soap, kleenix.  So you really only to bring your personal stuff which made packing very light (for the bedroom - not the crop room!)

There's also this guy who schleps all your stuff from your car to your spot in the crop area!  I took my chair this time which really helped my back.  I had 4 totes, my suitcase and 2 other bags. It was so nice to have him take it all in and then take it all back out to my car!  And that's included in the price of the weekend!

Considering that my creative juices were really flowing - the weekend was a huge success!  Sure hope you can join us on 1/31/14 when the next one starts!  

In just two minutes

I taught Shelly how to watercolor paint today! OK - maybe it was 30 minutes....but it sure was fast! And I swear, I made this card in under 2 minutes! Judi at Stamp of Excellence in Canon city gave me the sentiment stamp this week......cause I was grumbling about my birthday and getting old! And Shelly brought over the tree today - is that simply gorgeous? From inkadinkadoo.

Just used black paper and stamped with versamark, sprinkled on heat n bond, then heated it up until that melted, laid down some multicolored metal flakes and scrubbed them off!

A 2-second card with lots of bling!!!

Mix n match Nesties

It's about time we mix and match our nesties! And do a little punch art while we're at it maybe.   This first card uses the new mega nestabilities curved rectangles (S5-005), Long Scalloped Rectangles, LG   (S4 143) , and Long Classic Rectangles, Large (S4-142), and a 1/16" drill punch.  Stamp is from Stamp of Excellence.  

For this one, I used the square scalloped die and the oval scalloped die.  Used a tiny flower punch and the drill punch.  Sort of gives it a look of lace.  

Your turn!  Get out your nesties and try layering different shapes - see what you can come up with!

Linda Hansen from After Midnight Stamps will be here tomorrow and we've scheduled a weekend to do nothing but play!  Isn't that fantastic?  So, of course, today I was busy experimenting with some of her products like Opals, Fantasy film, seaglass and more.  I think it's going to be an incredible 4 days!  She doesn't have to fly home til Monday evening.  So I expect a bit of shopping in there as well!!!

Record highs today

it was 83 degrees here......and I believe it!!! A perfect day to work on the back deck experimenting with copper etching.

So, who says you need ferric chloride? Yes, it does a great job, but it was $35.00 for the bottle. Peroxide and Hydrochloric Acid mixed together will do the same thing. I did 3 plates today, 2 were done with FC and 1 with the other mix. See if you can tell the difference!

This first one was done using stamps from A Stamp of Excellence.

Tried to photo this so you could see how it etches away and leaves the inked portions the original thickness so they are raised or embossed on the copper



Using Lucy McGoo stamps from After Midnight Stamps:



And Lucy stamps with seashells from Pugnacious



Just so you know, with either method, you are working with extremely dangerous chemicals. Work outside only. Do not do this inside. And wear gloves and a mask at all times. Even when you are sanding. Use only real copper, not copper painted metal. Read all the labels and warnings on the products. Be careful! Don't even try this if there are kids around! You can see here how it will eat the edge of the copper away where I failed to ink the back good enough.



So, the next step is to patina these. I'm loving the colors on this one. We'll see how they turn out tomorrow.



I will be doing a lot more of these as there are so many different possibilities. I'd like to try the watercolor painting technique after etching.....and do an overnight etch and see if I could get the embossed detail thick enough to emboss into paper using the Wizard....endless possibilities.

What a party!!!

I don't know when I've ever had so much fun on my birthday! It was a 12 hour party!!! When we arrived at a Stamp of Excellence in Canon City,



I noticed that there was a huge "WELCOME" drawn in chalk on the front sidewalk



And when I got closer - I saw my name!!!

I should have known right then and there to beware!!!  Inside, Judi, the owner, had a party table all set out!  What an incredible surprise!!!  

That Judi!  You just never can trust her!  

So, Kathy got her pups to join in on the fun....

And I decided this would be as good a day as any to give you a little tour of my favorite stamp store.....just take a look around.  Literally - THOUSANDS of stamps!!!  And just about everything a stamper would ever need!

That was just one wall in the front room, here's a look at a check out counter  in the next room....

there are only 2 rooms - well, it is just packed as full as it can be!

You could spend a couple of days just seeing what is in this little stamp store!  Fibers, papers, punches, scissors, embossing powders.....an altered artist's heaven, a stamper's paradise, a card maker's joy.....



So, we had cake first! Then we got mom and took her to lunch. After that, we went up to Colorado Springs to visit Creative Impressions, then over to Simple Pleasures. By then, it was time for dinner at the Black Bear Diner where I ended a perfect day with a perfect blackberry pie!

I didn't get home til 10 pm, but I am still giggling and laughing just thinking about the day. I don't know how anyone is going to accomplish anything at the retreat this weekend - for 12 solid hours yesterday, the conversation never once slowed down! I just had to laugh! I think I've already lost control over the weekend and it's still a few days away!

So stay tuned as I start to make final preparations for 18 women in my house this weekend! Oh dear! It's going to be so much fun! Tomorrow, a few of the girls are coming over to help me move furniture.

A huge thanks to Kathy, Rose, Susan and Mom for making my birthday beyond fabulous!!! A really special thanks to Judi for my wonderful surprise. And a big hug to Leesa and Janet for making the day fun!!!

D'Art

Domino Art. Working on samples for one of the classes I'll be teaching at the retreat. Oh my....are we just going to have a blast or what??? So, these are just about 2" x 1".....not very big at all, but ever so cute! My good friend, Linda Moore, is the originator of this idea. She lives out in Poway CA and if you ever get a chance.....take a class from her! You can find her at Stamping Details - a fabulous store!!! Just click on the link to their classes.

I used a stamp from Stamp of Excellence in Canon City CO



and for this one, my fav stamp from 100 Proof Press



so, ummm....I guess I'll be teaching a bit of wire wrapping as well! LOL! I think we scheduled 2 hours for this class...might have to rethink that one!

Playing at mom's retirement center

It's so nice here. They let her put her own "card making" table out in the center and she has boxes of stuff that just stays out there. It really feels like "home". And this is the card we're going to make this morning. I've used an old Stampin' Up set that you can probably find on ebay called "pattern of friendship". And the fabric tape measure is from Creative Impressions.



And then I thought we might do some monochromatic book tags. More sets from Stampin' UP:



Sentiments from a Stamp of Excellence:



and adding swirls can't hurt!



This is mom's neighbor at our card making party yesterday:



It's just good to laugh at any age!



We were making Blossoms here and you can tell from the mess on the table we had a great time!



But mom has my cleaning system down pat. We just pushed it all off into a bucket and had the table cleaned in less than a minute! My way to play!!!

I'm still not a card-maker!

but I'm at mom's this week and we are making cards like crazy! And we stopped at a Stamp of Excellence - my favorite little stamp house here in Canon City. I only picked up a "few" new stamps! Dare we define "few"???? LOL!!!

I liked this little gal, but added a flourish to her flourish.



And although I didn't really like this gal at first, after I added multiple flourishes and a flower....I think she has great possibilities! Love using the white pen on the background paper.



But this is my favorite. Isn't she just too cute? And of course, all the sentiments are wonderful (perfect!) as well. I've added a "blossom" from Creative Impressions.



I think mom is going to keep these and send them to my Great Aunt Mildred in Indiana. But what fun, sitting here with mom and all her friends making cards! Just a great way to play!

If you want any of these stamps, just call Judi at the stamp house!  719-275-8422.  And tell her to look at my blog!  I have no idea what the names of these stamps are, but I'm sure she will know!  And we bookmarked my blog on her computer....so I'm sure she'll be happy to ship them to you!!!

Just helping you spend your money and making sure the town mom lives in continues to flourish!!!

Tutorial - Collage stamping

Yesterday, one of the things I taught was collage stamping. Judikins sells rubber stamp masking tape by the roll which I happen to really like using. But you can run wax paper through your xyron using repositionable adhesive. Or, you can just use any wide masking tape. Doesn't matter. I suppose you can even use plain printer paper...but I do like it to have a sticky back.

Stamp several stamps onto it.



And then cut each image out really close to the border. I put them on wax paper as it's easy to remove them when needed.



Next, play with them a little. Layer them into any collage....something that you like.



The first thing you are going to stamp is the top piece of paper that you just laid down. Whatever you ended with on the top of your collage is the first stamp you use. Mine is the sentiment stamp.

My sentiment stamp had the author's name on it...which I really did not want as part of my collage....so I cut the part out that I wanted and left the signature.



Next, I laid the signature mask on my cardstock and stamped the sentiment over it like this:



When you pull the mask off, the signature is not on the card. Because you stamped it onto the mask.



Next, I'm going to place the mask for this part of the stamp over the area that I just stamped. In essence, I'm covering up what I just stamped so that nothing else gets stamped onto it.



The next stamp you use is the next to the last image that you added to your collage. In this case, it's the little girl. I just stamp that over the mask:



Next, I cover that image with it's mask.



Are you getting the idea here? The next stamp will be the top piece of my collage, in this case, the girl with the ball, just stmp her over the masks:



and then layer the mask on top of her.



The final stamp is my flourish. At this point, I did decide to change the angle of it just a little.



When you peel off all of the masks....your collage is left.



And of course, then you can start to ink and color your collage:



I used 4 stamps with this collage....but there is really no limit to the size of your collage or the number of stamps that you use. It is truly a wonderful way to get more use out of your stamps.....and just makes wonderful cards! The little girls are from CI Stamps (Coronado Island Stamps), the sentiment is from A Stamp of Excellence, and the flourish is from Autumn Leaves.

I think all of the gals had a great time learning this technique yesterday and they came up with some really fun collages. Just makes you want to play even harder!!!