Hey, Quick Survey....and, Yes, I WILL Post those Pics I Promised.....SOON!

Hey!  Just home on Saturday, and dealing with just a tiny bit of jetlag....I WILL post those Halloween cards I was bragging about, very soon, I promise!!  Paris was AMAZING!!!!! 

Meanwhile, I was just reading a bunch of blogs, and I came across one where the writer was talking about cutting all of her 12x12 dp into 6x6 pieces, and then filing them by color.

As I am still new to a lot of this, I was curious as to whether everyone else (or anyone else, for that matter) is doing this. I only use my dp for cards, or at least, so far that's what I do. It sounds like a good idea, but I am unsure whether it's the best one.  Do I need a bigger, better cutter for this??

Anyone have an idea to share on this?

I would definitely not separate according to color, I think, beacuse I like to credit companies when I post a card on my blog. I would need to put the pieces in a marked ziploc or something, I guess.....

What are your thoughts??? 

Thanks-
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is a Non-traditionalist, Christmas-wise...

With my fall birthdays covered, I need to start thinking about my Christmas cards....Yeah, I know Thanksgiving is first, and I definitely need some cards for that, but I pulled out some beautiful American Crafts Papers, the Dear Lizzie Christmas set, to be exact-ish, as well as some DCWV Shimmer stack and Linen stack papers, and got started on some prototypes.

I made this--

As you can see, this is not your red and green kinda card.  I dig colors that you don't see so much at Christmas.  These are Christmasy-ish.  Who cares? These are beautiful papers.

I layered the teal onto some white to give it some presence, and stamped and wet embossed the sentiment in white onto some teal shimmer cs.  This sentiment is from A*muse studio, the Holiday Greetings Inside and Out set.  This is a really nice set; big, substantial letters.  I like the shadow effect on the bigger type.

The snowflakes are done with a Martha Stewart punch out of cream glitter cs and pink shimmer cs.

The rhinestones are AC Moore, and the ribbon is a scavenged one from a floral bouquet. 

Easy, I can do this idea in many paper combos, blah blah blah....

I made this one next--

I bough this sentiment stamp in Chelsea, NYC this summer, along with one that says "got snow?"  I edged the card stock strip with some pink (one of my SU stampin' spots) and popped it up on foam tape.  The pearl is from my ever trusty AC Moore.

The snowman is from Stampendous, the Holiday Home set.  I have used this set to make "New Home" cards, like the one seen HERE.  This snowman is so teeny-tiny, but I think he makes it look like a greater great outdoors.  He's colored with copics.  

The cream cs is actually glitter cs, hard to see in the photo, and that's popped off of the pink with more foam tape. The pink is a shimmer stock that I ran thru the Cuttlebug with a Sizzix folder.  The clouds are an A*muse Studio die, and I ran those thru the Cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder.  Love me some texture!!  Add some baker's twine from The Paper Source, and I'm done.  (Don't you like the way the red works here?  I gotta add some more red in with these colors.....)

So, this one is easy enough to do in other papers, colors, etc, too.  This way, I can use up MANY of the papers in my stacks, and still get the same, or at least a similar look in lots of cards without having to go out and purchase a ton of the same papers and stuff.

So, those are the first of the prototypes.  I actually have two, no, well....two and a half more to share.  Next time.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

All Best-

Richard



Mr.Cardmaker is a Sneaky-Peeky Guy

So, I've been sort of spotty with my postings, lately, I know, but I am off to PARIS on Sunday (that's in TWO DAYS!!!), so I promise I will have lots to show when I get home.  Maybe even some stamping/cardmaking stuff from la France!

I made  the cutest little card set for Halloween, and just to make sure you come back in a week or so, I'll give you a peek at one of them....

I made this thing--

Wait until you see what this guy can do!!!  I have monsters, too!  Come back and see them!

See you in a week!
Au Revior!
All Best--
Richard

The CASE of the Pop-Up Truck

 I saw a really great video tutorial at Darlenedesign.com, where she used the SU Loads of Love stamp set to make a really charming pop-up card.  You can see this idea in video form at her website.  I loved it, and since I owned these stamps, I ran with it for my BIL Ronny's birthday.

I made this--

 And this was only the outside!  When you open it, it looks like this--

Isn't this FUN?  (sorry about the shadows)   The gift card sure doesn't suck, either.  Here's another view of the back and pop-up part--

I really like the way that the candles spring off the cake on those pieces of wire.  The cake is another SU stamp, but I do not know where from.  It was a gift.  It JUST fit into the back of that pickup!

SO, to make this , I stamped the truck onto white card stock, and colored the wheels and windows with copic markers, N3 and N5 on the tires, and N1 for the windows.  I stamped the same image on my random Target DP and fussy cut it out twice.  I also stamped the cake onto some SU DP, and cut it out too, and then I added some color with copics.  I stamped extra candles as well (for the ones that go airborne), colored them and cut them out too.  Oh, and I stamped EXTRA extra candles, because I wanted to back the ones that were going onto the wires, for added support. 

To do the inside background, which was done on separate card stock from the front, I used some Studio G chalk ink in a blue, and after masking off a circle for the sun and the bottom , used my Tim Holtz blending tool to make the sky.  I reversed the mask and then did the grass in a green ink, also by Studio G, and I used a yellow to fill in the sun. ( I really wish they'd label those little stamp pads with color names.) 
For the card front, I split the amount of green and blue, and I added clouds I made with my new A Muse studio clouds duo dies.  They are such cute little clouds...  I added trees with the same green as the grass both inside and out. 

I hand drew the swirls on the front of the card.  That always makes me so nervous! 

To make the pop-up part happen, I cut about a 1/2" by 1" tab right on the fold of the inside of the card and pushed it through in the opposite direction, so it would support my truck.  I layered two candles onto one of the ends of my wire pieces, did it two more times, and then adhered them to the back of the truck, and added a scrap of cs behind the wires to keep them from flopping around too much.  I also added a reserved cloud die cut to use as the exhaust coming out of the truck.

While attaching the truck to the pop out piece, I really paid a good bit of attention to what things were going to do when I tried to close the card.  Making sure you don't have wires exposed or crushed tires is really important at this point.  Go slowly, and don't mash down your adhesive until you're sure!

The sentiments are from the birthday messages  clear vision set by Hero Arts.  This set has a terrific assortment of birthday sentiments.  I use it often.  I thought Seize the Cake was perfect!

To secure the gift card, I colored two corner chipboard pieces with the same ink as my grass, and attached them with some 1/8" scor tape.  Hold the pieces on the edges of your gift card during placement to make sure it will fit! 

All that was left to do was to insert the inside into the card base with some scor tape..  I had some overhang, and I trimmed it off with scissors.  It was pretty heavy, so I did use an extra stamp when sending it.  I have a feeling he'll love it!

Thanks for stopping by! 
All Best-
Richard

PS-  I will most likely have some more to show you this week!  Keep your eyes peeled!!

 

The Halloween Card That Wasn't...

I was able to play with some "new to me" stamps that one of my generous benefactors gave me, the GinaK Designs set called "Nesting."  (Thanks Michelle!)  I really liked the owl image, and since I was doing Halloween cards this past week, I decided to go all fancy with it. 

I made this--

I stamped the owl with Memento Tuxedo Black on some light gray paper, and colored it with copic markers.  I used E25, E29, E53, for the feathers, and YR12 on the feet and beak and eyes.  I also used my glitter pen on the eyes, but it doesn't show in this picture.

Then for the background, I grabbed my extra large circle punch from Fiskars, and made a mask.  I placed the circle I punched where I wanted it, and used my repositionable Tombo tape to secure it.  Then, I pulled out some of my $1.00 stamp pads from Studio G and some Stampin' Up Perfect Plum, as well as some Broken China Distress Ink, and more Tuxedo Black.  I used sponge daubers and went from lightest to darkest to create my night sky.  I did LOTS of coats of ink, because things dry very differently, as I'm sure you have found for yourself. 

When I was happy with the sky, I took off the circle and masked off the sky.  I used a very soft yellow chalk ink and did a pouncing technique direct to paper with the ink pad to get as much ink as possible on my paper.  Then I went back with some white ink, and then went back in with the same yellow just right around the edges. 

After I was happy with the moon itself, I took the mask off and used the yellow on a dauber in order to infuse the sky with a bit of moon glow.  I also did the edges of the owl, to make it look like it was being backlit a bit.  I added some trees from two other GinaK sets, "Follow You Dreams" and "Happy Camper".  I really need to get myself a dedicated set of trees.  Anyone have a set of trees they ADORE?

I used GinaK Designs Pure Luxury Kraft cardstock for the base, and used Versamark ink and a verbiage background stamp on the top.  I layered some Fiskars DP with some purple cs, in order to relate to the focal image, and upholstered the bottom of the card with it.  I really like the sort of glowing leaves in this DP, so I made sure they were visible below the focal image.  I tore some value pack black cs to give it a rough edge, and backed my image with it, but this time I attached the black to the base first, and popped the image by itself over the black with some mounting tape.  Then I added the owl, the rhinestones, and that was it.

The interesting thing on this project for me, was how hard it was to make this a Halloween card.  The owl is really stately, so pairing it with kitchy, silly stuff was not going to work.  So, I went really dark and mysterious with it instead.  I could make it a Halloween card, I suppose, but instead I am using it as a birthday card for one of my best male friends who has a Fall birthday.  I think this is a nice, masculine card.

I am in the market for a great stamp for the BACK of my cards.  I think I would like to have my name and blog site listed, and I think a bit of a crazy font would make it just about perfect for my style.  Any ideas?  Hey, and what about watermarks?  What do YOU use on your pics?

Thanks for stopping by! 
For those of you on the East coast, I hope you made it through Irene unscathed!
All Best--
Richard

My Take On Halloween Colors, Cards, and My Bizarre Humor

Ok, so there's a big difference between Autumn colors and Halloween colors.  Think about it.  Halloween: Black and Orange (real Cadmium Orange).  Throw in some acid green, moonlight yellow, and purple. Oh, and a nice bloody red, if you want!
However!  Unless you're doing a really vintage looking Halloween project, BROWN just doesn't cut it, just like rusty orange, dusty blue and maroon really don't make it either.   I love autumnal colors. Save those for all the beautiful Autumn and Thanksgiving cards.

One man's opinion.  I'd love to see some projects where you prove me wrong, btw!!

How do I come to this conclusion, you ask?  Well, I pulled out my paper collection, which includes a beautiful pad of autumn papers from Me and My Big Ideas that my DSIL Jan gave me for my birthday.  LOVE these papers, but...yeah, not for Halloween.  Had to go to this cute collection of papers I picked up at Target's dollar bins.  This thing has no label.  Seriously.  Love to give credit where it's due, but...anyway.  Great papers.

I used them to make this--

This on GinaK Designs Ivory card stock.  The b&w swiss dot and striped paper is also GinaK Designs.  The stamps are from Studio G, and I have 4 little Halloween sets from them.  One dollar at AC Moore, these things.  Can't go wrong, and the all go together really well!    The moon was punched and detailed with copics, and white gel pen, and just about everything was sponged with Memento tuxedo black ink to age it all; Stamped everything with the same ink.  Ribbon is from AC Moore, as is the brad.  I used mounting tape to pop up the orage framed image, and a foam adhesive square to pop up the moon.  The label die is Sizzix for SU, the lots of labels set.  I did the swirls by hand with gel pen, and I really went for a non specific, hand-done look there. 
The inside and envelope look like this-

I really LOVE how creepy all these spiders are!  The label here is done with Spellbinders Nestabilities grommet tag dies, and again the stamps are Studio G.  I have just begun to decorate my envelopes!  Missed a lot of great  creative opportunities there in the past!  I like giving the recipient a hint of what's to come!

I decided to enter this into The Rubber Cafe's  Spellbinders challenge.  Check it out!!

Since I was in the swing of things, I made this too--

With this inside--

I had such a hoot making this one.  I giggled like an idiot at some moments here.  Don't you love the spiders on the ribbon? 

I started by making the pumpkins with my cuttlebug and Nestabilities small ovals dies.  I used scraps from the Target paper, some SU designer paper, and just orange cs from The paper company (my value pack).  I cut the stems by hand and I have a tiny oak leaf punch from somewhere and used scraps to make the green part.  I popped it off the base with mounting tape.

The letters are done from scraps with Sizzix wallflower letter dies and the cuttlebug.  These are so pretty, but some of them are rather persnickety, and take several passes and various pieces of cardstock in the machine.  I think they are worth the effort, though. 

The card base is GinaK Designs Kraft.  I used Versamark and more Studio G stamps to make the webs on the base, did the spiders in Memento Tuxedo Black and I used white gel pen to decorate and highlight things, including the spider eyes, the letters, and the faux stitching.  I also used glitter pen to highlight just about everything.  Hello, my name is Richard and I am a glitter pen junky.....

Since I made a ton of letters, and lots of ovals, not to mention a weird sense of humor, I also made this....Parents, avert your child's eyes--

I find this incredibly funny.  I am weird that way.  I did try to visually "bleep" some of the letters, but you get the idea. 

This isn't even a card yet.  Just the pumpkin.  This is a sort of family joke, so I apologize if it offends anyone.  It makes me giggle, though...

I have one more, but I'll save it for next time.  Leave 'em wanting more, they say...

And I hope you do.

Thanks for stopping by. 

All Best!

Richard

Birthday Cards for the Last Blast of Summer, and Some On the Road Fun

Hey, Readers!!

SO, I know it has been a while since I was here.  I had my birthday, and got LOADED up with stuff for card making, thanks mostly to my Dear Charlie (DC).  I am up to my eyeballs in new stamps and paper and ink and tools!  Woo to the Hoo! 

I actually made eight thank you cards, but I got a late start on them, and I wrote in and sent them BEFORE I realized I forgot to take photos!  ARGH!  They were really cute too.  Some were loaded up with stickers, some were CAS, some were hot pink and orange.....SIGH.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  Oh, well.

ANYWAY--

My friends Susan and Karlah have birthdays coming up, on the same day!  So I made two of  these-

I just realized the colors kinda photographed funny.  They really DO all go together, I promise.

This project started with the bright orange cs from SU.  I took a background stamp with indeterminate words, and inked it up with versamark ink.  Then I put the paper on top of the inked side, and rubbed it really well.  I find this works better than stamping on the paper, because I invariably miss a spot of pressure somehow.  

I stamped some birdcages onto white cs with stamps from Amuse studio, the Life is a Song set, with orange and tan inks.  I added birds in blue and yellow, and then cut them out .  I highlighted the edges with more orange ink.  

 I used A*muse Studio card stock for the base of this card.  I really like their cardstock for bases, because the backs of all their cs is WHITE, so you can write inside it without any issue.  Looks very professional, IMHO.  Anyway, I really wanted to stamp with versamark ink a nice flourish all over the cs to make a nice design.  DANG, if my stamp wasn't filthy!  I don't know what I used with this stamp before, (inkadinadoo's dot flourishes, btw) but it did NOT come off, and left some nice brown marks on my cs.  SO lucky I was stamping with versamark!  I grabbed my white embossing powder and took care of that mess in a hurry.  Then I took a sponge dauber and did some resist technique with some studio g ink. 

Now, from the files of what NOT to do, I trimmed the edges of the stamped orange piece, backed it with  with some blue cs, wrapped it with a piece of blue organdy ribbon, and popped the whole thing on my cardfront.  With my permanent adhesive.  Oh.....wait..... I wanted to stamp a chain for the birdcage....oh poo...

Yeah.  It's all about doing stuff in the right order.  I was just kinda happy I actually thought about rounded edges and ribbons ahead of time. 

HOWEVER!  It's aaaaaalllllllllll fixable!  I just grabbed my stampamajig, and I stamped in my chain, right over the ribbon and everything.  What?  It worked.

I backed the image with the yellow bird onto more blue cs, and popped it up with some mounting tape.  The orange cage is popped on with some foam squares, which sit just slightly higher than the mounting tape.  I like the multiple depths that achieves.  I only wish I had used a darker ink on the sentiment, but I definitely know better than to try and restamp over something like that.  We're just gonna call it "subtle".

So, these turned out to be pretty cute, and I definitely got a nice lesson in PLANNING.

In other news-
I went to the A*muse Studio "On the Road" event in Nashua NH last weekend, and had a BLAST!  Yeah, I was the only guy in the room, no big surprise there....We made SIX projects that afternoon, and they look like this-

These were SO fun, especially the little favor box that was SO easy!  I really love the loose leaf cardstock, and the woodgrain, which comes in several colors.  They were kind enough to gift us the Life is a Song stamp set, so I used it to make the card in todays post!  I had a great time!

Thanks for stopping by! 

All Best-

Richard

   

Very A*Mused, Indeed

Last Sunday, I was fortunate enough to make my way to Arlington, MA, to participate in an open house held by the lovely and talented Ms. Liz Ballard.  Liz is an A*Muse Studio consultant, and I happened to find her on my search for a copic marker instructor.  She led me into another area for the copic stuff, but she was kind enough to invite me to her open house, to meet some of her peeps, and to get acquainted with A*Muse studio. I had never been to Arlington, and I was definitely into seeing some new product lines...who isn't? 

Anyway, she had a small gathering, and together (more or less) we each made our versions of these really fun cards--

Adorable, right?  Notice I have no watermark on these photos.  These are Liz's design work, not mine.  I was just lucky enough to be able to make and take them with me!  Thanks for a great time, Liz, Andrea, Mary Sara, Amy and Kathy!!

Aren't those clouds just TOO cute?  Those were made with an A*Muse Studio die.  Had to have it, and the one that die cuts GRASS!!  And some Christmas stamps, and some paper......You know, I pretty much spent WAY too much money.  In fact, when Charlie asked me how much I spent, I had to tell him, "Nunya."  As in, Nunya business. 'Sright.

Speaking of the grass die, Liz was so sweet to let me play with hers.  I cut a couple of pieces, and smuggled them out with me.  I really liked them SO much.  I can't wait for my order to arrive, but I have to, because Liz is holding it until I am able to shop the Holiday catalog after Aug. 22.  Wah, I say.  Wah.

Now that the pity party is over, I'll show you what I did with the grass cuts.

I made these--

So, these had an interesting creation.  I had the two pieces of grass die cuts, each of them about 5 1/2" long.  I really had no idea WHAT I was going to do with them, but I really wanted to use them asap.  SO, out came all the inks, papers and stuff. 

I got out a sponge dauber, and I sponged SU grass green on the blades of grass. I set them aside, and on a piece of white cardstock, I put down some post-its to make a mask, and I sponged more grass green onto the lower 2/5ths of the paper.  I turned it around, and sponged SU Ballet Blue on the top part, leaving some light places to make some clouds.  I added the grass die cuts, popping just the bottom one off the cardstock, in order to give the illusion of depth.

Ok. Sky and grass.  Lots of empty space.  Lots of possibilities.  Now what? 

I pulled out some SU stamps, Pocket Silhouettes, to be exact, and went to town with some SU inkspots , and made the garden of flowers.  Then, feeling like it was a bit flat, I pulled out my GinaK Designs Follow Your Dreams set, and added the dragon flies, stamping them both on the card stock, and onto a scrap to be colored and cut out to stick on for more dimension. 

Ok. Looks pretty good.  Pretty good, but not great.

I cut it in half!  Way to give the elements much more importance! 

I knew I wanted to use some of the new A*Muse paper I had just picked up, so I pulled out a sage piece and made it the card base for both of the cards.  Then I grabbed some of my new papers from my friend Michelle, these DP pieces are from MME-Quite Contrary.  I scallop edge punched the checked paper, and pierced the scallops with my piercing tool.  Then I layered it with some DCWV teal card stock, and in the first card, I popped it off the card front with some mounting tape.  I think it almost looks like an awning. 

Then some more DP, with a green cs backing, this from one of my value packs.  Yup, still trying to use that bad boy up.  Truth be told, I really do like the lighter weight for layering; I just would avoid it for card bases.

Some ribbon and brads from AC Moore, and it's done! 

But wait.  Hmmm.....

I think it's still just a tiny bit flat.  Not to worry!  I have a Glitter pen!!!  After going over stems and dragonflies and flowers, I felt that the negative space was the thing that was still bothering  me, so in a moment of inspiration, I did the random flightpath of the dragonfly, my mind's eye's version of it, anyway, in the less populated areas of the card base.  Now we're talking.  Done and done.

I think my favorite part of doing cards is the organic emergence that happens when you just grab your stuff and get started.  There are definitely some cards that have hit the heap and will never see the light of day, for sure, but I even have a few early cards that just want some tweaking.  And I'll get to those one day.  Really.  But just stamp and cut.  DO it. I looked at that grass die cut for no less than 4 days before I got inspired.

My list of followers has really grown, thanks to my buddy Melanie's blog candy bribe (which is over, sad to say).  Thanks to everyone who's joined on recently, and continued love to my tried and true gang! 

I turn 48 (!) tomorrow, and having 48 followers to mark the day would be so cool!  That's only 4 more.  Surely you know a friend who could use some bloggy inspiration?  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Say hello, why don'tcha?

All Best--

Richard

Plain, Yet Fancy

I like what I see when I see people do cards on Kraft card stock.  Usually it's some fun, simple thing with a good bit of the kraft left visible.  Looks great, right?  Well, I decided to play around with this idea. 

I came up with this--

This was made with my friend Melanie Muenchinger's The Vine stamps from GinaK Designs, on GinaK Designs Pure Luxury Kraft card stock.  I ran the card front through my cuttlebug with the folder that came with it, and then added that piece of black cs from The Paper Company, which I cut with a nestabilities scalloped rectangle die, then embossed with my Swiss dots folder.  I had the flowers and vines cut out a while ago, but they are stamped on cs from DCVW, with Studio G chalk ink.  The ribbon and pearls were from the dollar bin at AC Moore. 

So, I put all of this together, popping up leaves and flowers along the way with both adhesive squares and my NEW friend, mounting tape.  Did you know this stuff is awesome?   And that it lifts stuff off your page, but not anywhere near as high as a foam square will do?  So you can do several heights of your elements??

I do now!  

However-- I decided there just wasn't enough LIFE in this card.  Enter my Sakura GellyRoll glitter pen!!!  Ok, I may have gone a LITTLE crazy with this thing, but isn't it cool?  Can you tell I just bought my first glitter pen?   It's around the pearls, all over the vines, it's just everywhere...

This bad boy was so delicate in moves, it let me touch the tips of my swiss dots and left the perfect amount of glitter.  I totally dig it directly on the Kraft too.  Gives a little glam to the roughness. 

Hey, so, head on over to Melanie's blog Hands, Head and Heart, and check out my last installment as guest designer for this "The Vine" series.  She's giving a chance to get some blog candy if you become or admit that you are a follower of my blog, and leave her a comment on her blog. I get all Dutch-like in that one.  Check it.

This has been such a great experience, living with this set, and being Melanie's guest designer.  I have never delved so deep into what a single stamp set can achieve.  I found it to be a great focusing exercise;  it makes you HAVE to be as creative as you can be.  Fun stuff!!  Thank goodness this was a great set to work with.  This one will show up again, I'm sure. 

Next time, I have to tell you all about my great stamping party experience with some gals working with A*Muse Studio products.  Oh, and I have been playing with using several companies stamps in one image, too.  More on that later!

Thanks for stopping by! 

All Best-

Richard

Lucky Me, Lucky Me!!!

A while ago, I did a posting or two about all the lovely things my buddy AJ Otto sent me to play with.  Paying it forward, she said.  Well, I have been graced to have not one, but TWO benefactors this week!!!  I got two majorly stuffed priority mail envelopes on Wednesday, and found them chock-a-block filled will stamps and papers and ribbons.....Enough to keep this newbie busy for weeks and weeks!

Who are these most generous ladies?  Well, as far as I can tell, they probably know one another, but I doubt each of them knew the other's movements.  They are Ms Emily Giovanni and Ms Michelle Woerner, both of whom I have come into with through StampTV.  They have both been so kind and encouraging and generous of spirit, and now they have been really generous with their supplies too! 

Emily sent me SEVEN GinaK Designs stamp sets.  I don't even know where to begin.  Then she also slid in some beautiful grosgrain ribbons to play with, too....Lots of it, in several colors.  Wow.  Lucky Me!

Then, in envelope #2, there were two out-of-this-world DP collections, a big bag of really beautiful buttons, more stamps, more ribbon (did I mention I am a nut about ribbon?), and a BoBunny cardmaking kit. (This I got merely a glimpse of, because my partner grabbed it and announced HE was going to make some cards now. Yours Truly has a birthday in a couple of weeks, you see...)  SO many beautiful things.....Again, Lucky Me!!!

And the CARDS!!!!  They each sent with all of these magnificent playthings, GORGEOUS cards, of their own making, of course.  That may have been the best part!! 

Well, I cannot thank these ladies enough.  I just can't.  However, they should be watching their mail; my feeble attempts are on their way.

SO, with my new toys, I made this!

This was made from a sketch from CPS, and I think I will enter the contest this week with it. 
The downlow on the supplies:
Cardstock: GinaK Designs, DCWV
DP:PinkPaisley
Ink: Ink it Up, plum and walnut
Dies: Spellbinders, labels four, grommet tags
Stamps: GinaK Designs, All Occasions Greetings
Embellishments: ribbons, buttons, brads

I used the inks to highlight the edges of almost all the cardstock and paper with a direct to paper technique.
The triangles are popped up with foam squares, as is the tag.  I used teeny tiny strips of paper to make the stitching on the buttons, and applied them to the card front with glue dots.

The papers are from Michelle, and the ribbon is from Emily.  Merci, Ladies!!
Am I lucky, or WHAT?  Maybe they should call me Lucky Breaks, instead of Richard Breaks.  That would be catchy, right?  Or is it Kitschy?  Yeah, maybe the latter....

Thanks for stopping by! 
All Best-
Lucky
Richard

It's a SEQUEL!!

There's a point in the summer when the wet, sticky air has been so hot for so long, the ocean lays back and decides it calls himself, "on vacation."  The waves are soft as a melody, and the noonday sun casts a light that commits to no certain time at all.  This is the time to pull your beach chair right up to the water's edge, and let the waves play around your feet. 

I had a longing for a beach day like that.  So I made this.

This was made with my friend Melanie Muenchinger's GinaK Designs set, Gifts from the Sea.  This set has the most beautiful beach sentiments, and the artwork on the shells is really outstanding.  There is even a stamp that does the speckles that were used to do the sand.  This was the first prize I won as a cardmaker.  I talk about that here, and here. 

Oh yes! And from the Toot your own Horn department, Sweet Melanie Muenchinger has another (!) guest spot with me on her blog, Head, Hands and Heart.  I answered a questionnaire, and also made another sample using her The Vine stamp set, from GinaK Designs.  She is such a magnificent supporter of Yours Truly, and she creates some beautiful artworks.  Check it out!

Oh yes, the card.
The background was done with my Tim Holtz Ink Blending Tool, and Antique Linen Distress ink for the sand, with Antique Linen and Tea Dye for the speckles, SU Marina Mist  and Baja Breeze for the water, and SU Bashful Blue for the sky.  I used post it notes to separate the layers.
I stamped the birds in Tea Dye, and stamped it off to make them seem further away. 

The shells were stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink, and I sponged over them with various colors.  I have used colored pencils on them before, but this kept them a bit simpler.  In with my other inks, I added SU Perfect Plum and Pretty in Pink.  I cut them out after inking them, and cut some foam squares in half width-wise, so they would pop off the card just a little less than usual., after attaching some 1/4 inch aqua ribbon from AC Moore.
(As a side note, I have these SU inks in Stampin' Spots.  I need to talk to my rep about them, because they seem really "NOT JUICY".  I may have gotten some old ones or something.)

The sentiment piece was a happy accident.  I originally wanted to stamp it directly onto the card face, wet emboss it, and then wet emboss a big sand dollar to look like a background for it.  This was pretty much a big fail at first.  In my frustration, I used the image to test out my Marina Mist stampin' spot in a direct-to-paper swipe, to see if I wanted to do the water that way.  Fail there, too.  But THEN......

When it came time to figure out exactly WHAT I was going to do to make the sentiment work, I looked down at the mess I had made. Inspiration struck!  I gently ripped the edges of the card stock away, and then sponged the rough edges with Tea Dye distress ink.  Well, what do you know?! It works! 

I attached the card front to a layer of sandy colored stock, then to a piece of aqua, leaving just a 1/16" reveal.  Subtle is the watch word on this one...

The waves were the last to be done.  The water was really pretty, but the sentiment is about WAVES, remember?  So, I got out my gel pen and drew some in by hand, and then added some depth with a green colored pencil.  Then to give them that last bit of punch, and to really wake up the whole thing, I added some Stickles to the waves, too.  I was really scared this would turn the whole thing into a cheesy mess, but I was very delicate with the application, and I think it really works.

I hope your weekends and vacations bring you to someplace restful.

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Got Ten Minutes?

If you've got ten minutes, you can have a card.  The Free for All Friday challenge at StampTV this week was to make a card in ten minutes or less.  I knew I had some summer stickers hanging out in the bottom of my embellies box, so I quick-like-a-bunny came up with this--



My apologies for the weird color.  I actually fixed this one TWICE, but it somehow doesn't translate to blogger.  I need to practice with my picasa program, I guess.

Now, could this BE any easier? SO I cut a piece of blue green DCWV cardstock to 11"x4 1/4", and using my Scor-Pal, scored it at 5 1/2 inches and made a topfold card base. 

I then, again on my Scor-Pal, which I use on EVERY project I do, I scored the dry embossed lines that you see on the edges of the card.  The series of five lines at the bottom started at 1/8" from the edge, and happen at 1/16" increments.  The lines on the sides and top are at 1/8" in from the sides.  

The cute stickers are A touch of Joleen's, the sunbather set, which I got for a dollar at AC Moore during a sale.  I have enough left in that pack to do another one of these (maybe in orange?).

The sentiment is by my friend Melanie Meunchinger for GinaK Designs, Gifts from the Sea set.  I stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. 

 And, there she is.  I think five minutes of the ten was deciding what I wanted to do. 

I like a challenge, every now and again.  Anybody know of any challenges/challenge sites out there worth checking  out?   Drop me a link, and let's see what you're doing for these challenges! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy your weekend!

All Best-

Richard

Necessity is the Mother of Creativity

Two of my clients just bought a new home.  They are particular favorites of mine, having been with me almost the entire time I've been at the salon where I work.  They are fun, hip, smart, great parents, and we always have a great time when I do their hair. Anyhoo...

 I wanted to congratulate them on their new home, and I find there isn't too much out there by way of sentiments that express that sort of thing (or at least not at my local craft stores).  I probably could've done a big search and found something online, but they were moving the very next day, and I thought, "wouldn't it be nice to get some real snail mail in your brand-new place?"  I like to jump on these sorts of things, mostly because my memory can be a bit shoddy these days, so I started digging through my supplies.

So, I made them this--

Please forgive the grainy photo.  I snapped this with my phone just before I mailed it....

I found a Christmas set that I could work with.  This is Stampendous' Holiday Home set, which I like because of the picket fence, which just says "home" to me. I stamped everything with Memento Tuxedo black ink, and used markers to color the house just a bit.  I attached the house and fence piece to the grass bit, and the popped it all off the surface with some foam squares.  The trees behind the fence were stamped right onto the cloud paper with Versacolor Split Pea.  The sentiment is from Stampendous' Everything Happy set, which I really like because it stamps really clearly, and is so cute and tiny. 

I used GinaKDesigns Pure Luxury 120#  white paper as the base and layered it with black and white stock from The Paper Co.  This is my value cardstock; not so fancy, but good for layering.

I used two papers from DCWV The StackIII, the sky and grass image papers.  I can't find anything similar to these papers anywhere, and I will be so sad when I run out of them.  I will have an "issue" with buying another StackIII just to get those papers, let me tell you!!

The inside was a bit tougher to come up with.  I did this--

Again, please forgive the lousy photo.  I really have to leave my camera nearby, so I won't be tempted to use my phone so much.  I really wanted to mail this one quickly!

Because I had no "new home" sentiment to play with, I got inventive.  I have these letter stamps that I bought at TARGET for $1.00.  I figured that this was a cutesy enough stamp set that I could go a little crazy, so I stamped the word NEW all askew like that in SU Ruby Red ink and hand drew the little bracket that tries to stuff the whole word into the sentiment.  I backed it all with some black and a tiny piece of my grass paper to tie it into the front, and there you go.  Oh yeah, those exclamation points are done by hand too.  Why not, right?

So, this was rather easy to accomplish, once I figured out where to go with it.  Stuffing words into sentiments probably wouldn't work with a more formal card, I know, but I think here it's rather fun.  And it sure doesn't look like something you bought at the drugstore!

I haven't seen them since they moved yet.  I hope they liked it, and that the move and settling in all went smoothly.

Thanks for dropping by! 

All Best-
Richard

Somebody Sang "Be Our Guest" to Me.......

I am always on the interwebs, looking for instruction and inspiration, learning new ideas all the time.  What I like BEST is finding those souls out there who not only are wicked talented, but are also SUPER generous.  These are the people who do hundreds of free online tutorials, and expect nothing in return, other than a peek at what you, yourself are doing with the info. 

Enter Melanie Muenchinger.  Melanie (not Mel, thank you) is a very talented designer and artist, as well as a wife and mother, and a HUGE support system for this burgeoning cardmaker.  I "met" this super talented gal at GinaK Designs StampTV, through our chatting back and forth during a release party, and by commenting on each other's work over these few months.  When I won a prize with my FIRST posting at StampTV, her Gifts from the Sea set was my pick out of everything else there.  I talk about it and show you a sample in my blog post, Spoils of the Winner. 

She is a such a super inspiration to me, and SO kind and supportive.  In fact, and HERE'S THE BIG, BIG NEWS!!!!, Melanie has asked me to be a guest designer for her JUST released stamp set The Vine.  I got this email from her from out of the blue, and she asked if I would be interested in getting a sneak peek at the new set, and would I like to have one?   WOULD I?  (hair lip, hair lip....)   I am such a fan of her work, of COURSE I wanted to work with this new set!!!

Next thing I know, the stamp set arrives on THE DAY of the release party, and I quick-like-a-bunny whip up a card with this set and post it HERE (lousy photo with my phone) at StampTV during the party, thinking I am getting the scoop on everybody.....SUDDENLY, other people are congratulating me on being Melanie's GUEST DESIGNER.  Wha?  What's that?  Hey, that's a cool thing, right?  HEY! I'm hanging with the cool kids!  (And if you know me, you know that is so NOT me...)

ANYWAY---I AM a guest designer!  You need to scoot over to Hands, Head and Heart, and see my sample card that I did with The Vine.  I'll wait for you right back here.  Go on.....(but come right back....)

Okay!  So you're back!  Wasn't that FUN?  Isn't she amazing?!   SO, while you were gone, I made these--

 On a GinaK Designs Pure Luxury 120# white cardstock base, I versmarked the vine image several times, and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I then sponged on Studio G ink to make the background, leaving the center brighter than the edges.  I stamped the vine onto green cardstock from The Paper Co., and on green plaid DCWV paper, and cut them out, and did the same with the flowers.  Then I layered everything together, popping up just about 2/3 of everything with foam squares.  I think I counted 27 squares in all!!  Then I used Stickles to glitter up the flower centers.  The sentiment was done with the same ink as the background.  I had such a great time, adding "just a few more" flowers for about 30 minutes.  Luckily, I had just bought some new foam squares, so I had no issue with running out of them!

On this card, I again used GinaK Designs 120# white for the base, then layered up pink and green cardstock from The Paper Company. This is a value pack of paper, and while it's not really the best for making card bases, I really like it for layering.   

I used a piece of light green CS from DCWV, and ran it through my ever trusty Cuttlebug with the Swiss dot embossing folder, and did the punched edge with an EK punch. I layered that with a piece of DP from AC Patterned Papers, the "Play" set on top.  Don't you love the Nestabilites Labels Four die with that paper?!  Works perfectly with the sentiment, too.  I sponged versacolor Split pea on the white piece while the die was still on to get the pretty framed edge.  I colored and cut three stamped images of the flowers out of the same CS I used to layer up the background, and did the same with the vine from the green.These are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and I filled in the designs with Inkssentials Glossy Accents for some shine, and again popped it all up with foam squares.    

 Did you like the one I did at Melanie's blog?  They are all really different, right?  I love how versatile stamps can be.  This set also coordinates with Melanie's Branching Out set, also available at GinaK Designs., so the possibilities are just about endless. 

I could not be more honored to do this, my first Guest Designer spot, with Melanie, and I have to let the world (or at least you, dear reader) know that she has been, continues to be a great mentor and inspiration. 

Having this opportunity has revved up my inspiration level to a hot 11, and I hope I did her artwork proud.  Many thanks to her, and especially to you for stopping by.  Come back again!

All Best-

Richard

Mildred (Paper) Piece

So, I learned to paper piece recently.  Not pierce, with an "r". I kept rereading the tutorial, looking at the pictures for the cute little holes that make such a cute edge and stuff.....uh, no.    Big DUH for me. 

Apparently, when you don't put the "c" into the word, it means you are inserting a different piece of paper, either stamped or some designer paper (DP) into some or all parts of your stamped image.  OHHHHHHHHHH......

Once I re-taught myself to READ WORDS, I made this--

I made the card base from some Aqua card stock, and then cut a coordinating lighter weight card stock on top.
 I stamped three boats onto the same lighter card stock with Memento tuxedo black ink and cut them out.  I then stamped the same boat onto three different DPs and cut out just the sails.  I used a glue pen to attach the sails to the boats, and put them aside. 
I grabbed two different blue card stocks, and this great photo paper that has water on it, and tore them at different angles.  I layered them up and arranged them until it made the waves I wanted to create, then carefully stuck them together and attached them to the card front piece.  I trimmed around the card front with my snips to remove the extra overhang. 
I left the edges loose, since they weren't going anywhere, and that let me carefully slide my boats into place between the layers. 
I used a gel pen to create the clouds.  I LOVE me some gel pen!!  I decided to pull in some more of the pink from the DP, so I got out my pink colored pencil and highlighted the clouds just a bit. 
All that was left to do is stamp the sentiment, attach the front to the base, and that puppy was done! 
These stamps are from GinaK Designs.  The card stock and water DP are from DCWV, and the boat DP is AC Patterned Paper, the Play set.  I love this paper!!

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Dang It All.....

I have to confess, it never is a fast process for me to make a card.  I can throw something together sometimes, but for something I really like, I usually can spend two+ hours on it. 

That's why it makes me CUCKOO when I find an error or a flaw in my project in the last ten seconds of production!  The litany of arghs and curses (yes, much as I try, the potty mouth does occur sometimes) is enough to send the dog heading for cover.

Example. 



Cute, right?  It took some time to figure out which punch on which edge, where does the ribbon happen, how about that swiss dot stuff?  Here, there, where?   Sweat, snort , layer......Carefully now with that ribbon ruffle.....whew.  Hey this looks pretty good....

Hey.....

Wait a minute....

What is THAT?
What is that LUMP on the top of my card?  LOOK at that...(it's in the pic, with the "dang it" next to it.)

What IS THAT???

I checked.  Nothing under there.  What the ...???

Apparently it's a flaw in the card stock.  Of all the crazy things.  Well, I am just OVER that!

OK, Mister Cardmaker.  Deep breath, Friend.  CLEARLY, we will not be chucking this one in the bin.  HOW are we gonna fix it?

Uh.....

Hmmm...

OH YEAH!  I have MORE PAPER!!

SO I did this--

See the extra little strip of card stock?  I'll wait while you scroll back and forth to check it out.)
How easy was THAT? 
I swear, I get my knickers into such a twist sometimes....Anybody feeling me on this out there??

Hey, thanks for stopping by. 
All Best--
Richard

The Power of the Cuttlebug and Color

 You may have heard that I am a major fan of my Cuttlebug, that cute little machine that does my die cutting and embossing.  Well, I have been at it again, and I came up with two cards.  Here's the first-

This was done with a Cuttlebug folder on black paper.  After impressing the design, I pulled out a white chalk ink pad, and did a direct to paper application, pressing lightly so I would get most of the ink on the cogs alone.  As you can see, some of the ink did indeed get on the background, but it sort of gives it a distressed sort of look.  I then did a very pale blue chalk ink around the edges, just for some depth.

The little telescope pop-up of the sky and sentiment (GinaK Designs stamp) was done by sponging yellow and pink dyes onto sky paper (DKWV paper) and then cut and embossed with, you guessed it, the cuttlebug.  It popped it up with some pop-dots for emphasis.  Seems I can't make a card without them these days.

I then dug out my growing collection of brads and pulled out an assortment.  I placed them in strategic centers of many of the cogs, and then I put the whole thing onto a white card base. 

I really like the strength of this card, and I think there is a terrific implied theme and message.  I think I will hold onto this one and think about submitting it for publication at some point.

But WAIT!  There's more.  Digging about in my scraps folders, of which there are MANY, I came across a piece of white paper that I had used to test out the very same embossing folder that I used in the above project.  Hmmm, I thought.  Hmmm.  I pulled out some ink pads and got to playing around.  Some soft pinks and white later, I had this one going.

This one's pretty too, right?  The telescope piece is smaller here, and the brads are perkier and shinier.  I get a much softer mindset here, too.  Not so labor-centric, but maybe more "busy Mum needs a spa day" feeling, maybe.  Not so much has changed, but you definitely get a different feel with a totally different color group. 

I also wanted to share one more card I made with that FAB gift from my buddy AJ.  This was made with the GinaK Designs set, Wishes, and some GinaK Designs DP (that's Designer Paper).



The images and sentiments are all embossed with embossing powder and my heat tool.  I used Versamark ink and stamped everything onto the DP and the background at the same time, and then took the DP away and did all of the white Embossing on it, and the black embossing on the white paper.

I moved pretty quickly, so the ink wouldn't dry.  It was NOT a panic or anything, because Versamark stays sticky for a fair amount of time, and I did do the flowers before I stamped any of the sentiment. 

I adhered the DP to the card base, carefully lining up my letters, and then I dry embossed the border design with my scor-buddy and bone folder.

If you look really carefully, you'll see the "g" in wishing did not work perfectly, and I could've lined up the papers a bit better.  Also, even though I used my thingy that supposed to eliminate grease and static before I embossed, I still have some loose flecks of embossing powder.  I really need to figure that one out.  Practice, practice!!   I also thought that maybe "joy & laughter" might better be expressed in something other than black and white, too. 

All in all, for a first attempt with this technique, I am pretty happy.  Thanks again to AJ for gifting me this set!

That's all from me for now.  Thanks for stopping by!!

All best-

Richard

Thanks Dad, and More Thanks

Father's Day is Sunday.  I love how making cards to commemorate events now has me aware of when things are happening.  I usually have a scramble to come up with a card on the last possible day to send them and get them there in time.  I have often been late, too.  Don't judge me. 

Anyway, I DID remember Father's Day this year, and actually made a pretty cute card for my Dad, too.
Looks like this--

I think this is the first card I have made where I actually DREW something on the surface and found it acceptable to use.  Those clouds were done with versamarker, my new friend, and white embossing powder.  I did the embossing twice, which gave the clouds some great depth, and did the lines with a white gel pen.  Oh yeah, and I did the grass with the gel pen, too. 
The stamp is from SU, their Loads of Love set.    I stamped the truck twice and cut out the bumper so I could coat it with some clear embossing powder and then bump it up with some pop dots.  It's a bumper, after all!  I hit the window, the door handle, hubcaps and flowers with Glossy Accents to give them some shine too.
Btw, I got the stamp set at a great bargain price from a shop that was selling some sets at 25% off the OLD prices.  Love me a bargain, baby!  I now need the companion set.  I do believe I'll have to call my demo and pay retail for that one, though.  Rats.   Hate paying retail on anything.
The sentiment stamp is from GinaK Designs, and the DP is from DCWV. 
Super easy, and cute, right?  Hope he likes it.  Thanks for everything, Dad!!

Speaking of thanks, I was very happy and humbled to get a package from awesome designer AJ OTTO the other day.  She made me the oh, so generous offer of sending me some stamp sets she was no longer using, and I gratefully said YES!  I was really excited when not only did THREE (possibly four) GinaK Designs stamp sets show up, but also some beautiful designer paper from their brand-new stamp set!  AND!!!!  Hold me back!  Some Nestabilities dies!  Ones that I NEED, too!  (OK, so "need" is maybe overstating things.  You know what I mean.) I was bowled right on over!   Such amazing generousity on her part.  Way to make the new guy feel welcomed and supported.  Many, many thanks to her.  Oh yeah, I made her a card with the stamps she sent, and with some of the DP as well.  Looks like this--

The images and border are done with two GinaK Designs sets, Cute as a Bug, and Bring the Bling.  I hand colored the bee and honey pot with colored pencils, and made some of the "bling" in the border bees with a fine tipped black marker.  I also made this one--

This set may be GinaKDesigns, but I don't find it on the website. Maybe it's discontinued?   I am a huge Armistead Maupin fan, and one of his books was called Babycakes, after one of the characters' nicknames.  I love the hot pink and green combination.I used the Glossy Accents on some of the frosting, and used Stickles to do the sprinkles. I kind of dig the use of negative space on this one, too. 

AJ says she's just "paying it forward", sending me this stuff.  I hope I can return the favor soon, and hope to carry on with the pay it forward idea.  Thanks again, AJ!

FYI-- AJ Otto does some amazing work, and you can see it and follow her blog by going HERE.  I love how she can take a handful of elements and make a huge statement.  She has an amazing feel for negative space, as well.  I hope to emulate her style a bit, as my own work progresses.  Rock on, AJ!

Oh yeah, I also did one more card with the sets she sent me.  I'll show you that one very soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers-

Richard

A Silly Little Tidbit and a Teaser Alert!

So, I just started doing this recently, and although most of us probably already do this sometimes, I thought I'd throw it out there.

I had a burst of creativity, and busted out my stuff.  I went to mount my cling stamp to a block, and whoops!, no block.  Rats, I say.  Rats.

Lazy is one of my middle names (along with hungry), so instead of going to FIND an acrylic block, I grabbed the lid of my stamp pad, and used it, like this.

How easy is THAT?!  Especially when you just have one stinking tiny little stamp to do....right?

If you use a bigger stamp, you should probably think about how the center of that lid will need some extra pressure, since it is much flimsier than the acrylic block.  I have had no issues with smaller stamps at all.

I am sending this to Top Tip Tuesday.  I hope they like it.  You can find them HERE.

Anyway, that's the end of my story.

HOWEVER!!!    SUPER prolific day yesterday and this morning, too.  I'll have tons to share with you very soon!  Watch this space!  

Well, Ain't I Just Krafty??

Remember my first prize winning set of stamps that I won from GinaK Designs?  I made this from it, and I had some colored shells left over.  I made a medalion with them and some shapes I cut with nestabilities dies on my dear friend the cuttlebug, and I was holding onto that waiting for inspiration to strike.  Oh yeah, and I used some Inkssentials Glossy Effects to make the inside of the conch shiny( like it oughtta be). 

I have not done too much with kraft paper, other than haul groceries home in it.  So, when GinaK Designs did a Kraft challenge a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be a great time to jump in with both feet.  Luckily, one of my pathetic little value paper packs had a sheet of Kraft in it, so I was ready to go. 

Here is my offering for that challenge....

I have a pad of paper called The Stack III, from DCWV (Die Cuts with a View).  I get a ton of great ideas from this stack, because it has patterned and photograph pages, and the colors are pretty amazing too.  I picked this up for a song at a local thrift shop, and I am so glad I found it before some other crafter got a chance! 
From this stack, I got this water paper.  I tore it to get the white edges to show, and layered it to make the ocean waves effect.  I used the sand stamp from the GinaK Gifts from the Sea set to stamp the sand, using two brown inks and some white.  I think the white is what really makes it pop. 

The colored cardstock is from my value packs from The Paper Company, and the sentiment is from GinaK Designs, the Enjoy the Sunshine set.  The ribbon is  a $1.00 special from JoAnn's, and I had the jute twine hanging around in my art supplies. 

Oh yeah, about the shell.  I had some shells I used as summer decorations in the past, so I dug this one out and drilled a hole in it so I could tie it on the card.  After ma few moments of sliding the drill bit across the surface of the shell, I figured out that if I drilled from the INSIDE, and started slowly, I could get the job done.  I actually made it work without shattering any shells.  Oh yeah.  It takes me a minute to catch on, but I get up to speed pretty quickly! 

All in all, I think this relatively simple card turned out to be a good one.  I am trying to get a handle on CAS (clean and simple) cards lately.  I have one to show you next time, but I have more to learn in this realm.  Seems negative space is my nemesis at the moment! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I love hearing your comments!

All best-
Richard