Mr Cardmaker has a Mojo-free day...

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to hear Vidal Sassoon speak about his long career in hairdressing.  He spoke most passionately about "process", and how you have to do something all the time, whether it's good or not, so you can make breakthroughs and come up with something really great.

So, with that in mind, on a very NON-MOJO day, I pulled out a stack of DP I hadn't used yet; Cotton Bloom from DCWV.  Pretty, happy paper, some glittery, nice stuff. 

I made these-

This could not have been simpler.  The top strip is popped up (doesn't it make you giggle when you accidentally write "pooped up"?)  with some foam tape, and is edged with a strip that was punched with a Martha Stewart punch.  The sentiment is SU, and the swirl stamp is GinaK Designs.  Blah blah blah, you gotta card.  I am going right now to round those bottom corners.  Be right back.

Ok, done.  Sorry about that.  Next!



This one has a bit more effort, working the ribbon under the dp strips.  Again, simple, simple.
It's sometimes nice to just let the pretty paper do the work for you.  I will remember these ideas when I am pressed for time.  I think I would definitely round all the edges on this one if I recreate it, though. 

Thanks for stopping by.
Next time, I have some MUCH more involved projects to share.  Stay tuned!

All Best-
Richard

Mr. Cardmaker is a User

I have been collecting all kinds of stuff for a couple of years now.  Paper, brads, stamps, inks, paper, cutters, glitter, stamps, paper, embossing powder, paper, stamps......oh, and some paper.  Other stuff too.

Anyway, I am making it my mission to use ALL of my stamps this year.  Of course, I will also buy more.  I feel it is my duty to support the stamp-making community.  I am going to drag out each set, one-by one, and use them!  I also have a love-it-or-die rule going on.  Sorta self-explanatory there, right?

However!  I did pull out a set that I have not given much use, and I did create a card with it.

I made this-

This was made with GinaK Designs set called Nesting.  I have previously used this set on THIS POST, and decided to see what else I could come up with.  I liked the nest image, and I like how the eggs on the yellow piece sort of reinforce the eggs in the nest.  There's just a little copic action happening on the nest and eggs, too.

The DP is from DCWV, and the card stock is all from SU, with the exception of the scalloped oval.  That's from DCWV as well.

The flourishes are done with an Inkadinkadoo set called Dot Flourishes, and they're stamped with Versamark.

I am also experimenting with doing MORE layers.  I am always so impressed by these cards I see with SO much great stuff going on. 

This could certainly be an all-occasion card, but I did stamp Happy Birthday inside. 

Thanks for stopping by!

All Best-

Richard

Mr Cardmaker is a Love Kind of Guy

For my DP Charlie--My Valentine.

I made this thing--

This was done with My Mind's Eye papers on GinaK Designs Kraft card stock.  The brown is SU, and that is attached to the striped band.

I then adhered the  pink strip with the Martha Stewart punched leaves (from PTI)to the underside of the green piece.  The green piece is popped up from the brown with foam tape.  To do the glitter hearts, I punched the hearts in the green paper, and then took a scrap of whatever else, ran my adhesive runner across it, and sprinkled some pink Martha Stewart glitter on it. I think they would NEVER look this crisp done on top of the paper. Oh yeah, that's a SU scallop punch used on the top of the green piece.

The frame for the sentiment is GKD, and the sentiment itself is SU.  I stamped it in Memento Rich Cocoa to go with the background.
The background script stamp is from Joanne's, I believe, and the heart punch is from AC Moore's dollar bins.  I STILL love poking around in those dollar bins! The pink pearls are also from AC Moore.

The tiny pink heart stamp in the sentiment is also from GKD, the same All Occasions Greetings set as the frame. That's a Spellbinders grommet tags die that cut it out.  Tiny piece of SU white satin ribbon through the tag holes.

That's my Valentine's valentine.  Hope you like!

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker may have a Couple of Misses...

THIS IS MY SECOND POST TODAY!!!

Please scroll down and check out my earlier post.  You'll enjoy it!

...............................................................

Hoo Boy.  You know how you get this idea, rush to pump it out, and in the end, you stare at the thing and wonder how it went wrong? 

Yeah.

I made these things-

 OK, to be honest, I don't hate this first one so much.  I think the colors are just a bit weird.
I used GinaK Designs All Occasions Tags set to make this, with PTI paper, SU Cherry Cobbler ink and Memento Tuxedo Black.  The tag is cut out with a Spellbinders Grommet Tag die, and popped up with some foam tape.

This one.....Yeahhhhhhh.
Mmmmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.     A love muffin.  And the streamers.   A red stardust pen.   Yeah, I think I gotta toss this one.  Too much of a whole lotta nuttin' going on here.

What do YOU think?

Give me a shout and let me know what you think.  The envelope, or the trash bin?

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Mr Cardmaker has a Lonely....

In my Pinterest travels, which now probably suck up no less than two hours each day, I came upon a card that had lots of birdcages, all filled with different birds.  It was really cute.  I did not bother to repin it, apparently, so I can't link to it.  However, it obviously left its impression on me.

I am thinking of my far away Mama this week, and I used the cage idea to make her a card.

I made this--

This is made on a GinaK Designs Kraft base, and I used My Mind's Eye  Quite Contrary paper to stamp my cages.  The cages are stamps from A*muse Studio, the Life is a Song set.  The fly away birds are from GKD, my friend Melanie Muenchinger's Gifts from the Sea set.  Oh yes, my panel backing piece is a random scrap, but the backing for my letters (which are Studio G) is done with SU Daffodil Delight.   The Button is from Basic Grey.

I popped the letters in the word "miss" up with foam tape, and used foam tape as well on some of the cages. 

Simple card.  I was hoping the yellow would keep it on the cheery side, since it's not the most "up" of cards... 

Thanks for stopping by!
Richard

Mr Cardmaker tries something new.....

Ok, so I have been all over Pinterest, looking for new and exciting ideas.  Don't know Pinterest?  FIND IT!!!  You will have sooooo much fun, and waste SOOOOOOO much time!  

I have seen really imaginative and creative cards, and somewhere along the line I got the idea to try something different.  Different for me, anyway...

I made these--

I did these with My Mind's Eye papers, on PTI white card stock bases.  The pink CS is PTI as well.  The ink is SU crumbcake with a SU stamp, and the hearts are from TPC Studio with Studio G ink.  The ribbons are from my AC Moore dollar bin stash.

To make the doily image, which is from SU, I stamped and embossed the image with white embossing powder, and cut out the center with a Spellbinder's die.  I then cut out the pink scalloped circles with another Spellbinder's die.  I saved the insides of the scalloped circle for the sentiment, and adhered the open circle to the back of the doily piece. 

Setting the inside circle took a bit of trickery, because I needed it to be placed perfectly, so no edges would show.  so, I used some removable adhesive, and gently stuck it to the pink frame.  I did this AFTER putting strong adhesive on the back of it, because I needed it stuck to the card base.  There was next to zero space to work with here, so imagine me cursing under my breath, because that's what happened several times while doing this.

The rest of the card front was given the big foam tape treatment, around the opening, and on the edges.  This was an adhesive nightmare to make work, especially since the inside circle kept falling off while I was trying to flip the whole shebang over.  DO NOT try this immediately after having coffee.

I finally got it all down and secure, and then I got to peel the bottom off, because, as usual, I forgot about RIBBON!...grumblegrumble.....It all worked out fine in the end.  There has to be an easier way, however.

I added the sentiment piece at the end, and trimmed the overhanging edge off by hand.
All in all, these look pretty good, but also look much easier than they were.  I think the idea is to LOOK hard and BE simple.  *sigh* 
But, I learned something, and I had fun, as always.  That's the name of the game.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my mad musings. 
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker has Thoughts of Spring

I got some lovely papers for Christmas from my DP.  I decided to put them and some stamps I hadn't gotten any ink on yet to work.  Besides, I'm cold, and I want to start thinking about Spring!

I made this--

This was made on an A*Muse Studio base.  I like the fact that their card stock has a white backing, especially for bases.  I DO wish they would come out with a heavier weight version, however, because once you get a layer or two, it is hard to get proper support .  A*Muse studio is known for their very simple styling, so they probably don't worry too much about tons of layers......anyway...

The DP is from My Mind's Eye.  I think.  Pretty sure.  Almost positive. 
I cut strips, and ran them through the ol' Cuttlebug with a distressed stripes embossing folder.  I LOVE the effect it gave to the striped paper.  Each panel was backed with some SU basic gray cs, and I stamped the sentiment (SU) with Memento London Fog.  The flowers are chipboard pieces from  from Me & My Big Ideas. 

I like the way the panels overhang the edges. I will use this for a birthday card, most likely.

Since I had everything out, I decided to make another one. 
I made this-

Same base, ink, and stamp.  I added buttons from my randon collection, and a flower and ribbon from AC Moore's dollar bin.  The top of the base is run through the Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder that looks like gauze or netting.
Strangely enough, that ribbon is straight.  The embossing folder sort of warped the base a bit for the photo..  This is what I mean about wishing A*Muse made a thicker CS.  Maybe one day!

Thanks for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is LATE for a Date! 365 of them, to be Precise...

Well, I really got a LATE start on anything to do with a calendar, but I did one anyway. 
Now, a calendar is a WONDERFUL way to get really creative, with twelve creative opportunities for each one!  Sounds fun, right?

LATE is not the way to begin this project.  Nor is the idea to "just make one."  This "just one" thing takes FOREVER to produce, and you (you=ME) will haul out every stamp you ever owned to figure the thing out.

However, I made this--

Ohhhh, this is not a great picture.  So much for the collage function on my Picasa program. Let me add some single shots.....

I 'll keep them small, so your wrist doesn't get tired scrolling down forever. 
The supply list is pretty extensive-
Jan-SU and Studio G stamps, Distress ink, Colorbox ink
Feb-TPC Studio stamps, Distress ink, Delicata gold ink
March- Fiskars stamps, Studio G inks
April- SU and Studio G stamps, Studio G inks
May- SU and GinaK Designs stamps, Studio G inks
June- no stamps, Distress inks, Studio G inks, white gel pen
July- GinaK Designs and SU  stamps, Distress ink, SU ink, Delicata ink
Aug- SU stamp and Ink
Sept- Fiskars stamps, Memento ink, copic markers
Oct- Studio G stamp, Memento ink, copic marker
Nov- SU stamp, Studio G inks
Dec- SU stamp and ink, sakura stardust pen

So, some months are more exciting than others, and there could be so much more done to the edges, AND there could be some dp used as backing or something, but I think I got really overwhelmed after March started.   I do think that's where I got my stride.  By August, I was getting panicky, because the mess was ENORMOUS, and dinner should've been started about 20 minutes before....I decided to do takeout after I did September.  That one was fun.  The Sakura stardust pen did a lot for December; I wish you could see it in this pic.

ANYWAY!  I learned.  I had some creative FUN.  And it doesn't suck or anything, really, so......

I will go at this idea again IN TIME to make some gifts for 2013.  I have a feeling some themes will be revisited! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Hope your 2012 is off to a great start!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker's Ski-Crazed Nephew has a Birthday

Nephew Elliot is a ski-all-the-time kinda guy.  The winter he learned to ski, he cried when the family came home from a Florida vacation to find all the snow had melted.  He pretty much hates Florida now.  No snow.

Anyway, he turns 18 this year.  He is co-captain of his soccer team, and a mean dude with a la crosse stick, let me tell you.  He is a great artist (like, OMG) and a really NICE kid.  Wicked smaht, too. That's a New England thing....not a typo.

So, I made him this--

This makes you happy about snow and skiing, right?  That's gotta be some black diamond stuff there....just sayin'. 

This image is from GinaK Designs, the Happy Camper set by Theresa Momber.  All except for the birds.  Those are also GKD, but from the Gifts from the Sea set, by my friend Melanie Meunchinger.  The sky was in need of something....Negative space is my nemesis sometimes, let me tell you...

So, to do this, I stamped the image onto the white card stock I was using, and again onto a scrap of card stock, which I cut out to use as a mask.  I like to use a good, heavy cardstock when I make a mask, so it doesn't get all mashed up when I do my stuff on top of it. I used repositionable tape runner to hold the mask in place.

I then used a foam applicator and applied some Iced Spruce Distress Ink all over the card stock, leaving it somewhat uneven, so I could make a subtle cloud look.  Then I used some Evergreen Bough Distress ink on the lower portion, and around the edges of my shape. 

The shape is a Labels Four die from Spellbinders, btw.  The white piece behind it is also a Spellbinders die, also edged with the evergreen bough.  Each piece is mounted on foam tape to pop it up a bit.

After I was happy with my ink, I removed my mask, and colored my image with copics.  I am NOT a copics expert by ANY means, but I do love the colors and I have a small collection.  I am LEARNING how to use them.  I did not pay much attention to the colors I used, so I can't list them here.  Oh well.  I did concentrate on making the mountain in the back a bit darker, to help it look further away.  I then added some Glossy Accents to almost everything to give it an icy feeling. 

The striped paper is My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found pad, and I punched some snowflakes with a Martha punch.  The base is DCWV, edged with more Rich Cocoa ink.  I did some faux stitching, added some of my dollar bin ribbons, mounted the whole thing on some white PTI card stock and viola!  Card.

I hope that Elliot likes it, and that it makes him want to go skiing.  Like he needs any encouragement from me.....

Thanks for stooping by!  I hope I inspired you, if not to go skiing, then perhaps to make a card!!
All Best-
Richard

Mr Cardmaker is a Quick-on the-Thanks Kinda Guy

Christmas came and went, and, at the moment, my condo is full of the (count them!) 14 storage crates (those 15 gallon babies) and 4 cardboard boxes that it takes to put the whole shebang away.  Oh yeah, we get hosed down with some Christmas around here! 

Christmas day, however, we were so happy to have so many gifts from loved ones around the country.  Needless to say, I wanted to come up with a really nice thank you card for everyone so I could express my gratitude. 

I came up with this--

Here is a really GREAT example of how that word "JUST" allows you to make a lovely, yet not-so-overworked and super-decorated card.  See it there in the sentiment?  Love that!

So, the base here is a 4 1/4" square, from PTI white card stock.  I love the 110# base weight.  I have used 120# in the past, and it is some really nice stuff, but I can never get it to stay folded, it's so thick!  Scor-Pal or not!  I now use my 120# for images I want to use my copics on.  Much better!

The blue cs is Baja Breeze from SU!, and it went through my devoted Cuttlebug with a swiss dot folder.  The designer paper is from My Mind's Eye, the Lost and Found pad.  LOVE this paper!  It has some really nice masculine patterns, and great colors--all very blue and brown and grey based stuff.  Pretty!

The envelope and the clouds were cut form the same collection of dp, and I used the envelope and cloud duo dies from A*Muse Studio. I popped the envelope up a bit with some foam tape.

The sentiment and note stamps are also A*Muse, from the Life is a Song set.  I am getting lots of use from that set!  I stamped them both with Rich Cocoa Memento ink.

I hand cut the tails on the sentiment strip, and edged it with some white ink.  I did the same edging on the piece with the notes.

I made 9 of these puppies, wrote them out and got them in the mail, PRONTO.  'Cause gratitude gets stale pretty quick.  Just sayin'. 

Hey, nephew Elliot's birthday is coming up.  I have a great card coming along for that ski-crazed kid.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by for my first posting of 2012!!!
All Best-
Richard