Distressed Flower Card

Oops, I meant to post this June 21st, the first day of summer !


Putting an old scrap to use !

The floral image was stamped onto a piece of card stock I "distressed"
oh so long ago, but never finished. I wasn't happy with the way it looked.
I recently came across this old discard/scrap piece and decided I ought to fix
it up into a usable piece - or throw it away !

I partially stamped the French Script background on it and then water colored
the flower image. I had also trimmed the piece down, it was originally
stamped off center.

Because the trimming made the piece smaller than an entire card front,
I added some green mulberry paper behind a part of it.

I then tied on some thin yellow twine and two tags. I'll stamp a greeting
onto the white tag when I decide to put the card to use. It might
be for a birthday, a hello, even a thank you.

I may add a metal rimmed tag (I've many of those to use still!)
on the lower right corner, stamped with the bee image in that floral set.
Or perhaps add a couple of faux brads.......


Thanks for looking! Perhaps I've inspired you to put some of your scraps to use ;)

Truckin' Birthday Card

I've been under the weather the past few days, which really stinks because our part of the country has been having gorgeous, fall like weather ! I had planned on painting a room over the weekend, but an extreme case of vertigo on top of a summer cold put me in bed/on the couch. Blech.

I was finally feeling nearly like my old self last evening, so after some prep work on the walls to be painted, I decided to whip up this card for a couple of challenges I enjoy playing along with. It's always good to have a masculine card on hand!

I used Classic Pickups, 2005, and Highways and Byways, 2003, stamp sets from Stampin' Up! These are a couple of my favorite, most used sets, in addition to Classic Convertibles.

The truck was colored with two shades of red and a silver Prismacolor colored pencils. Details on the map were also done with colored pencils.

I sponged Bashful Blue ink for a sky and Barely Banana lightly over the map.

The sentiment was heat embossed white on a scrap of black card stock to resemble raised white letter tires! It is mounted with dimensionals.

The card measures 4.25" x 5.5". I couldn't really trim it any narrower due to the length of the truck image to mount it on a piece of black card stock cut to the 4.25 x 5.5 size. It is bugging me that there is no black backing piece, so I will cut a larger piece and mail it out in a bigger envelope when the time comes. I may run a wide black marker along the "ground" under the truck the length of the card. Yes, that bugs me too, the line between the top and bottom is too thin...... I imagine many of you can relate, especially when we think it needs something else and should have quit when we were ahead, that one more thing we added ruined it in our eyes (which is what I am afraid I may do to this card!). We are our own worst critics, I know ;)


Thanks for looking =)



I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Retro Rubber Challenge #65 Feeling Sketchy 
my stamp sets are 12 and 14 years old
EDITED TO ADD 7/2/2017: My card was a Top Pick !!!


Use Your Stuff Challenge #269 Road Trip
I recently made a road trip scrap page for a previous challenge here (and the other two challenges  I am entering today) , so I made a card that may fit the theme since it has a map and a truck on it !  I do have many more photos I could - should! - scrap from road trips over the years.....

Love to Scrap #98 - Boyz Rule
create a masculine project

Digi Scrap Freebies

As an affiliate for My Memories (STMMMS23251), I am able to offer links to you for free digi scrap products from time to time.  Today I am sharing the newest freebies. You will need to make an account (free!) to download the freebies. These are only available until July 2, 2017 !

You do not need the My Memories software to use these,
there are general files for use with other programs.

You can download a copy of  My Memories Suite
to try for free, then if you like it buy it for full functionality.

Be sure to use my discount code STMMMS23251 to save $10
and get a couple of bonuses!

 THANK YOU to those that have purchased the program

or had items printed through My Memories using my affiliate number !

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

A lovely quick page.

To use a quick page, download and install it into the My Memories Suite software . Open a new  "Create Your Own Project" and insert the Quick Page as an Embellishment. Layer your photos behind the windows on the page. So easy, so fast  !

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2

Three page elements. 

These will no longer be available for free after July 2, 2017 !

Birdhouse Shaped Card

I've had a bird house shaped card sample for years,

knowing one day I would trace it to 

make my own bird house shaped card. 

I finally got around to it !

I assume the original card was a die cut card

bought somewhere, it is perfectly trimmed

and folds neatly. I carefully traced the outlines

of the opened up card then did my best to

get the lines in the correct places to

cut along for the top of the birdhouse. 

It is cut from one piece of card stock. 

The original is below:

Here are a couple of closeups of my version:

SUPPLIES:

Everything other than the texture plate was from Stampin' Up!

Naturals card stock

Baroque Burgundy card stock

Various inks and markers

DD Ivy stamp set

Crackle Background stamp

Speckled background stamp, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Bird image (don't remember the set name)

Bird paper punch

Circle punches

Hand cut bird legs

Scraps of chipboard used for dimension behind roof and peg

Dimensionals under the bird

Texture plate, Fiskars

I thought about stamping and cutting the ivy from 

separate paper then attaching it to the birdhouse

for a more 3-D look, as if it were growing

up on it. I already had the other dimensional 

parts going on with it, so it would have looked nice.

Then I thought I'd rather stamp it directly

on the birdhouse so it looked like a cute,

painted and weathered birdhouse.

It saved time doing it that way, too ;) 

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Crafting By Designs - Animals (bird)

Use Your Stuff #268- Try Something New

(creating the birdhouse shaped card that I've never done before;

this is also the first time I've used this particular texture plate)

Thanks for looking =) 

EDITED TO ADD 6/25/2017
Honored to have my card chosen as one of the Top Picks at Use Your Stuff :) 

Father's Day digi scrap page

Today's project is a digital scrapbook page celebrating Father's

since June 18th is Father's Day (USA) this year.

I created this page with a kit by JMC Designs called Sea Shanty

and a template (slightly altered) from Dagi's Temptations.

This particular page was created in Photoshop Elements 14.

The quote printable was found at 

simpleasthatblog.com 

by doing a google search.

I'll add photos later.

It was originally created as my design team project for 

Digitally Made (thus the watermark).

Since we recently acquired a sponsor, I needed to change my project

to use their products. So, I'm sharing it with you today.

By the way, this months theme is to use 

a quote on your project if you are interested in joining us !

This is a challenge for 100% digital projects,

meaning nothing handmade. 

Thanks for looking =)

Photo Collage Map

I'm so excited to share this project with you today for the new 

Anything Crafty Goes challenge at Love To Craft!

It's a large, 24" x 36", photo collage map of the USA !

I've been working on this project off and on for several months.

I'm not exaggerating, it's true ! 

This was a real labor of love to be sure.

Read on if you would like to know how I did it, all by hand. 

First off, choose a photo (or more if you would like)

from each state you've visited.

You could also make it photos of friends and family

that live across the USA (or your home country),

perhaps places you'd like to visit one day.

Even use no photos at all, 

just make it a collage of fun papers or fabrics !

There are two ways to create the collage map:

cut actual photos to fit a pattern that you make

or

make a digital version, as I did, and have the images

printed in the shapes of the states.

Note that if you choose to have the digital

images printed in the shape of the states,

some may need to be larger prints
depending on your finished collage size.

I made my own digital template from one large USA map outline.

I enlisted the help of my daughter to figure out how to do this in Photoshop.

Once we were able to get one state done (and I noted the steps,

but don't ask me how now because I do not remember !),

I proceeded to do the other 49.
I did not add Alaska and Hawaii on this piece.
One day I hope to have photos from the state of Alaska to add.....

After having digital outlines of each state, 

I could start filling them in with my digital photos.

Doing it digitally I could manipulate them to fit

several on some states. 
Note that several states on the East Coast

will be near impossible to put photos in 
since they are so tiny !

Since I had a large swath of the country filled in with photos, 

I decided to have 12" x 12" prints made.

I thought this would be easier and take less time to assemble

than having each state printed individually to hand cut out. 

Plus, they probably wouldn't fit back together so well. 

I had my prints made at Persnickety Prints.
If interested, read my complete review here.
I had a quality experience all around and 
recommend them to anyone wanting 12" x 12" 
prints made (they print many other items as well). 

I sectioned the large digital map into 6 portions

and had them printed onto a drafting vellum paper.

I glued the sections back together to make one map

then proceeded to cut each and every state out by hand.
These created the pattern pieces to trace onto decorative paper.

Have I mentioned that this project took hours and hours 
and hours to create ?! 

Once all of the state outlines were printed and cut out,

I laid them back out onto a large table top

(best not to do when you have a cat "helper" nearby)

in the rough shape of the USA.

Next up,

deciding which paper or fabric to use on which state ! 

This is why I laid the map back out, 

so I could position the pieces of paper I wanted to use

on each state to get an idea of what I wanted where.

That took a while, too, trying to decide what color or

pattern should be next to another. 

Honestly now that it is hung,

 I think I am going to change California.

I wanted a different coordinating paper for each state

and needed one that could be easily pieced together for 

CA (I was using 6" x 6" papers) since it was so large.

It looked out of place to me when I was putting it together,

really does now that it is hung up. 

Moving on.........

Get all of the papers decided on,

trace the patterns you made then hand cut them out.
Do this only for the states you have no photos to put in.

NOTE: 

Turn the pattern upside down and trace on the back 

of the decorative papers, then you won't have any lines

showing when you cut them out. 

You may want to mark the state names on the backs ;) 

After all of your photos and state images are cut out,

you will need to lay them out on your background 

to get them aligned before gluing in place.

I used a large piece of mat board for my base.

It took me three times and even then, they still ended up being 

crooked to me after I started gluing them down ! Sigh. 

I forgot to mention that I did go over the outlines of the states
on the printed photos with a fine line black Sharpie marker. 
There were lines from my digital files/photos, 
but they didn't seem very distinct. 
. 

Finished and hanging!

This is a huge piece, just over 24"x 36". 

The frame is a lightweight composite material

with a piece of thin plastic in place of glass.

This makes it lightweight and easier to hang.

I bought the frame at Michael's on sale, 

Honey Belmont frame by Studio Decor.

The 6"x 6" paper pad also came from Michael's,

Recollections brand item # 484762.

The mat board is something I've had in my stash

from my job as a framer long ago. 

Yes, I have saved my patterns in hopes of filling in more states!

Thanks for looking :) 


I'm entering my USA map photo collage in the following challenges:
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes June 13-20
613 Avenue Create - #198 Anything Goes
Dragonfly Journeys #94 - Paper Piecing
Inspiration Destination -  #130 Anything Goes 
Crafty Creations - #343 Anything Goes
Addicted To Stamps and More - #246 Anything Goes

Sticker Fun Scrapbook Page 1

So, I bought a "fun with stickers kit" some time ago and hadn't put it to use yet (raise your hand if you are willing to admit you have untouched craft goodies, too!). I didn't feel that I had photos suitable for the colors/patterns of the items in the kit once I got it home and really looked at it, so I didn't use it right away. Honestly, I still don't have any photos planned for the pages (maybe photos of flowers), but I went ahead and made them. There are a few other pages I'll be sharing at some point.

It's a simple to put together page. Randomly apply stickers however you would like onto three tags that are aligned in a row (I trimmed around my clear stickers). Once you are done placing the stickers, cut the tags apart. Add ribbons and any other embellishments that you would like (I added rhinestones). Adhere to your page in a row, leaving a small gap between each tag. Simple and fun page filler!


I'm entering my page in the current Use Your Stuff Challenge, warm summer colors.

Thanks for looking =)

Simple Road Trip Scrapbook Page

Super simple scrapbook page I made to go with the "fancier" page I posted previously . Just a couple of the stops we made on our 3500+ mile trip last fall.

Grand Canyon Scrapbook Page

Today I'm sharing a paper crafted scrapbook page I made 

for the scrapbook album for my Dad's truck. 

I've been busy recently making some simple pages for it

to showcase the trophies and dash plaques he won with it.

I am also adding a few pages with a couple of photos 

that we took of it on our extended road trips with it 

early last fall and late this past winter.
I'll be sharing them as I finish them up.

Since Dad's passing, the truck was given to me to be used

as a daily driver. I don't drive it every single day,

it's just too nice of a truck to do so.

We did drive it over 3500 miles last September

through 11 states out West!

We even drove it to the summit of Pike's Peak,

14,115 feet elevation.

This past February we put another 1800+ miles 

on it driving through 7 more states down South!

This time it was taken below sea level

when we drove through two tunnels in Mobile.
Putting it through the paces for sure. 

There is so much to see in this great land of ours,

maybe next time we'll head to the East Coast

( I really want to go out West again though!).

Page details:

Papers and tag are from an old basic scrapbook kit I bought
at Big Lots several years ago. The tags and frame were all
printed on the packaging which had to be cut apart,
so I do not have the information about the kit any longer.
I added dimensional effects to the compass on the tag
and stapled on a brown grosgrain ribbon scrap.

Brown card stock was die cut with the
Monogram alphabet die set by Little B
(Canyon) then stamped with the old Sanded
background stamp by Stampin' Up!
I've no idea how old this stamp is, there is no
year printed on the sticker. I've had it for years.

I didn't realize when I pulled the two pieces of
Chocolate Chip card stock scraps out that they
were sightly different shades, so the die cut word
"Grand" is darker. It was cut with my old
Cricut Create machine and the Library Fonts cartridge.
The individual letters are glued together.

The tag was stamped with old clear stamps
by My Sentiments Exactly, Casual Multi.
Once again I am unsure of the age,
but I've owned them for many years, too.
I started "collecting" stamps in 2000
and haven't bought any new ones for
a while now, so all of my stamps are
oldies but goodies, perfect for the Retro Rubber Challenges ;)




Thanks for looking !

I'm entering my page in the following challenges:

Retro Rubber - #64 Anything Goes
(I'm guessing the stamps used are at least 10 years old)

Use Your Stuff - #266 Patterned Papers
(5 decorative papers, two card stocks)

Love To Scrap - #98 Boyz Rule

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crafting By Designs - Anything Goes

Stressed=Desserts Card

" Remember,

Stressed spelled backwards is

Desserts! "

A fun card I made a for a friend that was going

through a rough patch.

The images are oldies from Stampin' Up! 

Hang In There, 2002

Chocolate Chips wheel, 2003?

I water colored the image with inks from my ink pads

using an aquapainter. I added Crystal Effects

to some portions of the image.

I'm entering this card in the following challenge

Retro Rubber Challenge - #64 Anything Goes 

Thanks for looking =) 

Pretty Printed Digis Card

I created this quick digital card then printed it out and assembled it as a sample 

for the Digitally Made Challenge Blog. 

It was meant to show what the challenge is looking for
 (purely digital entries like the png below)

versus what it is not
 (printed and assembled projects like the card above). 

Below is the digital image that I put together with

Photoshop Elements

Hazy Fields watercolor flowers from designbundles.net

Happy Birthday png (altered) from lovesvg.com

If you are a digital crafter
or would like to try your hand at
creating digital art,
you are invited to share your work with us at
Digitally Made Challenges .

Thanks for looking !

Digitally Made June Challenge

Time for a new challenge at

Digitally Made !

This month we have a sponsor:

We R 3.

Our prompt this time is to Use a Quote

on your 100% digital project

(NOTHING handmade, we want to see purely digital work).

You can also be inspired by a quote and tell us

how you interpreted it in your project.

I created a computer desktop background 

 with images from We R 3:

Ladybug Matilda- pre-colored auburn

Watercolor paper- Ladybug Wishes

Digital Sentiment- Great Day
(all have been resized for my project)

 I used My Memories Suite V8 software to create it.

TIP: make a folder on your desktop to browse to
when using items from digital designers in the software. 
Place the items in this folder then open them up in the software.





The watercolor paper is inserted as a background on my 
custom sized project, based the on the pixels (1920x1200) of my monitor.

The ladybug image is inserted as an embellishment and resized.

The word bubble is a shape in the program,
colored white with a drop shadow added
and resized.

The sentiment is also added as an embellishment
on top of the word bubble and resized.

The calendar was easy to create in the program
because there is a special feature in the program 
for adding calendars. All you do is choose the month and year.
You can change the font and size as well as a few other 
options to design it to your liking. 
I did add the name of the month as a separate text box
 to make it much larger than what the auto calendar
feature would allow. 
I also added a white square punch, reduced opacity,
under the calendar. 

Saved as JPG, exported then added to my computer
as a desktop background, done ! 

REMINDER:

NOTHING HANDMADE should be submitted to our

100% DIGITAL CHALLENGE.

That is, NO printed images, etc. assembled into

tangible, HAND CRAFTED ITEMS.

That's why we call it a challenge=

to challenge you to use software

to create a strictly digital project

then share the finished jpg/png image with us !

There are many ideas for digital projects such as

digital scrapbook pages, email cards, social media banners,

digital paintings, digital art journal pages, collages,

backgrounds for your computer screen and more.

 Think of things that you would share online, digital images,

not physical hand made items you would give to someone in person.

Creating digitally is fun, plus there is no mess to clean up ;) 

Visit the rest of the design team members blogs

for more inspiring - and varied - digital projects:

• aNNie
• Cass
• craftysahmiam - you are here
• GranMargaret
• Sonia
• Susan

Thanks for looking =)

Pretty In Pink Birthday Card

This month at 

Making Memories Crafting 

we have a bingo board challenge:

We also have a sponsor:

  https://bugaboostamps.com/

My card details:

Diagonal bingo =  Die cut, Image and Bling

Supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Pink Pirouette and Whisper White card stock

Pink Pirouette, Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey inks

Roses In Winter and Elegant Greetings stamp sets

Bigz Clear Oval Accent Die and matching embossing stencil

Damask Decor embossing folder, Cuttlebug

Tulip embossing folder (inside)

Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon

Flat back pearl brad, unknown

Thanks for looking :) 

House of Cards Blog Hop

Hello ! 

 We've come to the end of another term at House of Cards.

 Unfortunately, we are saying a fond farewell to some of our DT members.

To say goodbye and thank you, we're celebrating with a blog hop

and Design Team call! 

The hop will run from June 1st 6:00 AM CST through June 15th Noon CST.

Make sure you leave a comment at each person's blog along the way because the prizes are hidden. We'll be doing random drawings from the blogs where they are hiding! After you're done, make a card using the inspiration photo above to share with us at House of Cards for another chance to win!

Here are our fabulous sponsors:

MHK Designs

Prize: Any three products of your choice!

All Dressed Up

Prize: 2 Images

Digi Stamps 4 Joy

Prize: $10 to use in store

Scrap n' Dippity

Prize $10 Gift Certificate to use in store

My card details:

Image from Digi Stamps 4 Joy

Meirenyu

Colored with colored pencils.

White acrylic craft paint and 

glitter nail polish for accents.

Bermuda Bay and Tangerine Tango card stock.

Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon.

Thanks for looking =)

 You should have arrived here from Em's blog.

Your next stop is Jane's blog.

Here's your hop order in case you get lost along the way

 House of Cards Challenge Blog