Monday, December 20, 2010

Merry Christmas to You!



I've only had time for one new design this season, and this is it! Inspired by my Christmas tree which, had lights strings go out on it 3 times already, lol.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Long Time No Post!



Yep, It's that time of year again, and my blog has been suffering from neglect! I've still been crafting, though not so much cards and more stuff for my daughter's wedding. She wants an autumn leaf theme, and I 've been busy making the aisle flowers from coffee filters. The aisle is super long so I'll be making them for awhile :) You can find directions for coffee filter roses on Martha Stewarts' web site, although I changed up her directions quite a bit for the ones pictured here. I have about 80 made, and could use about 80 more!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Have Some Cake!


(It's my birthday. Still needs more candles on this card to be accurate.)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Happy Halloween!


Cookies for my teen's party...

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Save the Date


Just taking a side trip away from pop-up cards a bit, to make save-the-date flat cards for my daughter's wedding. She wanted colorful, autumn leaf motif. I, of course, can't bring myself to make just one style of card (since she'll need 60). So it looks like a mixed bag of designs, including a few more not pictured here.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Falling for Handmade Craft Fair


It was good to meet all the fellow DC area crafters this past weekend at the first ever Falling for Handmade Craft Fair.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Card Display - Cheap and Easy



Yes, it's the last minute before a craft show and I needed a way to display cards. My requirements: to be able to see over the tabletop display (24" high), reach around the display (18" wide), and be as light as possible (thin particle board). These were made from stuff I had around the house, with the exception of the flashing (under $3 for 10 feet and glued on with E-6000). Even the hinges are upcycled and put on with craft brads, so that I can take them off later. I may add a safety chain towards the bottom of the 'V' but so far the boards are not sliding around at all on the tablecloth.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Arrgh!


Takes a little time to burn all those edges, but it's more authentic to me than using ink. You do have to wipe off any excess carbon. These pages are for 3 pirate-themed photo journals.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Haunted Tombstone


The vellum ghost slides out when you open the card.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Pinecone Branch - Color this time


Last year, I made this design in all white with a green background, and a touch of glitter.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Pinecones and Leaves


Each petal was hand cut for the pinecones, but a punch would probably do the job.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Pool Table



Although I used felt and sphere embellishments for texture, you can easily use green paper and a hole punch for the balls.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mummy!


I'm just too old to be still using googly eyes on my cards, but there ya go...

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Ribbon Scrap


This card was made from the ribbons that tie up fat quarter bundles.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010


If you live in the DC area, come visit me and about 50 other members of the EtsyCrest Street Team!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Sunflowers


These sunflowers are assembled from cardstock, felt, oil pencil, and acrylic paint. To get the 3-d effect for the centers, under the felt I've added a doughnut-shaped piece of foam.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Pizza Time!


He'll eat practically anything!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Layered Window Card



Each flap of this card holds a layer of the cover design, adding a little depth to it.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Fabric meets Paper


A metallic gold fabric print covers this handbound journal.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

The Umbrella




Make your umbrella pop from the page by adding a small piece of scrap chipboard to the back before gluing the umbrella to the card.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Just a Tiny moment to Say how Proud I am of my son!


He was a Parade Magazine/The League All American for Environmental Service, in particular for his projects involving energy and recycling waste at his school. Pictured in this screenshot of the White House vieo are the fourteen other winners from around the country, Secretary of Education Arte Duncan, and Vice President Biden. Way to go, Jake!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Office Decor!


This miniature patriotic bunting is perfect for showing your holiday spirit. I was making a few that say "Happy Birthday" and this one snuck in the mix.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Columbia Arts Festival


I was just a spectator for this event, enjoying a beautiful day! Double-click on pics for better viewing.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Monday, June 7, 2010

Moose Mania



The antlers swing up on this card when you open it - lots of motion. Should I make this one again, I'll try for even bigger antlers.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Graduation Time!



No crafting this week - Child #3 of 4 just graduated!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Last Minute Lacrosse Card


So my teen asks me this morning to make a team card for her lacrosse coach, to give at her end-of-season party tonight. I say, "What party?"

The netting in the sticks is made from a lace tablecloth. Plus I cheated, and used a metal storebought Thank You embellishment, to save time.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Tennis Anyone?



Wire mesh is used for the racquet cut-out, so the inside has to be as finished as the cover. Of course I had to buy a ton to get my 2" scrap, so I guess other wire mesh designs will soon be showing up here!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Copper Sunset


Just letting the metallic papers speak for themselves here.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Dad's Saturday Shirt


The best part about the weekend (according to my husband) is no shirt and tie. So out comes the "Best Dad Ever" t-shirt for this Father's Day themed card.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wedding Dance


Sometimes 'less is more', and in this case it certainly was true. The design seemed to work better without embellishments. My only major change was to put the groom in silhouette so that there was enough contrast between the bride and groom.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Challenge: a Swing Dancing Wedding Card!


This request is from my daughter who will be attending a fellow college students' wedding that has a swing dancing theme.

It's been a while since my last wedding card, and the pic above is my first mock-up of the design. Next up is to make any changes before I make the final card. I think I'd like the design to be all about the swirling skirt, which needs to be bigger. I'm thinking nice, upgraded papers, with real lace trim as the petticoat, and tulle for a possible added veil. Stay tuned...

Monday, April 26, 2010

Time Travel



The finished product - finally! The woodburned covers are coptic stiched to parchment pages, and postcard printed paper is added as dividers. This, I think, would make a terrific travel log.

Rising Candle Pop-up


tip: use the print of the paper to express design elements. I could have used solid colors for this cupcake, then scored in the cupcake paper ridges, but why do that when striped paper can imply those ridges? The same point here can be made for the cupcake 'icing' paper choice.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Work in Progress: Woodburned Journal Cover


I've got these clock faces burned in, but still have to sand, paint the edges, and varnish before assembling the guest-book sized journal.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Upcycle your Plastic Packaging


A while back, I bought a stamp centering tool called a Stamp-a-ma-jig. It essentially is a mini t-square with a sheet of clear plastic, and it worked great! As time went on, the plastic sheet started to scratch and turn white, mostly from age and my washing the ink off after each use. You can buy replacement sheets of plastic, but why do that when you can just hit up your recycling bin?

I used the security packaging from printer cartridges. Whatever you use needs to be fairly thick. Using only your ***OLD*** blades and scissors cut out the flat part of the packaging into a rectangle. Voila! You're finished! And the best part: I don't wash my new upcycled sheets: I just make a sheet for every four stamps (You can put one stamp design in each corner), then file them away. Be organized, and put all your birthday designs together, then it's pretty easy to see which stamp will work best for the card you're creating.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Easel Backs


The only requirement for easel backed cards? They must fold flat! Here is a mini collection of different ways to do it. Double-click on the image for better viewing, as they are in a print friendly format.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Changes in Color



new larger flowers, assembled from smaller flower punches. The goal: to use up all my scraps!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Refillable!




I've been making these for a while (without the tray) and it's always bothered me to glue the pads in. With the tray, a new post-it pad can be popped in easily!