Sunday, May 29, 2011

Birds of a Feather Flying Together


This card was made by Bonnie for the Birds of a Feather swap.  I wonder where Bonnie found pink and lavender feathers.  She loves to color so maybe she got out her markers.  :-)


This is Marilyn's take on the Birds of a Feather swap.  I love that dotty background.  She did a good job pulling the ink pad over those dots.  I usually make a big mess.


This card was made by Sharon.  Isn't that bird sweet - I must find out who makes the stamp.



Kristi took off with another interpretation and this is the card she made.  Go Kristi, I love it!



Metoka made this card.  Love all the embellishments.



Debbie made this great card with all the accordian folds.  Great colors and coordinating papers on this card.  It is even better in person.

Good job ladies.

JR

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Birds of A Feather


The swap theme for my local stamp club was "Birds of A Feather" and this is the card I made.  I am always amazed at how well the stamped image works on Glitter Ritz glitter and the sparkle still shines through. I am planning to post photos of some of the cards made by other gals in the stamp club.  Everyone's cards turned out great.

Products Used:
Stamps:  Inkadinkado
Paper:  K & Co, Stampin Up
Dies:  Spellbiners Ovals and Scalloped Ovals
Embellishments:  Martha Stewart Pearls, Feather from a friend's chickens, Flower unknown & Krylon gold pen

JR

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Girlie Gusher


As promised here is my more feminine gusher.  Adding some pretty K & Co. paper tarts up all projects, in my opinion.  I also used Martha Stewart punch around the page punches here.  Left off the oil gush stamp and just used the pearls on this one, I am thinking of making one with flowers coming out of the derrick or jewels or hearts or ... I imagine it is endless.

JR

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

It's A Gusher!


OK, so not everyone is into oil derricks, but when I saw this stamp at Deadbeat Designs I HAD TO HAVE IT!  After all my real job is for a small independent oil company so these stamps spoke to me.  I embossed the derrick and oil gush with Judikins detail embossing powder.  I stippled a little color from Close To My Heart dye ink pads, lined the edge of the white panel with a black Sharpie marker, mounted on gold card stock and used a Spellbinders die that I just love and ran the tan card stock through a large Cuttlebug folder.  It seems a little stark so I added some pearls.  Tomorrow I will post a more girlie version of the card.

Hope your days are all gushers!

JR

Quick and Easy Cards


This card was made for an online swap where we were required to use a rubber stamp that we had owned for a very long time.  I dug this retired Stampin Up flower out of the back of a drawer.  The leaf stamps are by Magenta.  I used a DCWV card that I bought on clearance a while ago and a skeleton leaf that I bought ages ago and had never used.  The dew drops completed the card.  I confess I did get out my stamp positioner to line up the outline stamp as I cannot eyeball it effectively.  Nonetheless, it was very fast to make since I did not have to think a lot about color combinations I just tried to match the colors on the DCWV card as close as possible.  Speed was not a requirement of the swap, but it has been so hectic for me lately that it felt good to get it done quickly.

JR

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Enhanced Butterflies


I found this great butterfly paper (sorry I do not know who made it and I used it all up when I did a glitter demo ages ago so it may not be available now) and wanted to bling it up a bit so I outlined the butterfly with my Quickie glue pen and added the black glitter, Used double sided tape as a frame and added the black glitter, then I punched out the small flowers added glue and copper glitter, put a small jewel in the center and attached the whole shebang to some Hanko paper.  I really LOVE the texture of Hanko paper.  I like that the card is tarted up but still seems to appeal to guys and people who are not so into the bling.  Isn't it amazing that some people are not into the bling?

JR

Monday, May 23, 2011

Blog Candy!

I am late for a very important date - Blog Candy!  It has been so busy, but I finally gathered up some blog candy and Jack took a photo, which you will see below.  Here is how you can win:  make a comment to this post or any post through Sunday, May 29th.  The more posts you comment on the more chances you have to win, but only one comment per post will count to win.  Emails sent to me will not count.



The winner will be randomly chosen on Monday, May 30th.  I will post the winner and they will have 3 days to let me know where they would like their prize mailed, more about that once the winner is chosen.  Good luck everyone.

JR

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Faux Embossing 6


Last but not least is this card.  I used my least favorite colors on this card, but they are Marilyn's favorites.  By now I am managing to get enough paint on the stamp, blending my sponged colors better and even got the background stamping more to my liking. Below you will see that I added some pearls in the center of the flower, but I probably didn't really need to do a thing.

What do you think?

JR

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Faux Embossing 5

I am still trying to figure out how to get the background to satisfy me, but I was surprised by how well I liked the grid pattern on this Hero Arts background stamp, in fact I asked Stacy at Scrapbooking Made Simple to order it for me.  This class helped me to look at my background stamps with a new eye.

I added a couple of feathers, a gold leaf charm and big brad.

JR

Friday, May 20, 2011

Faux Embossing 4

OK I have gotten the hang of the paint on the stamp here, but I am still struggling with the background stuff.  Is just is not quite the way I want it.  I am feeling good about trying different colors though as I have a tendency to stick with my favorites, but purple is nice too.
I think this was Bonnie's favorite card of the bunch even before the flower was added.  It did not make Marilyn's list however and she usually loves puple.  Here is the card with a flower added. 

JR

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Faux Embossing 3

This leaf was actually my second try the day of the class and you can see, I am still struggling with getting enough paint on the stamp.  This was the first background that I sponged and I forced myself to try a bigger variety of colors on the background which a couple of my friends loved, while I tend to prefer more monochromatic color schemes.  Linda was encouraging us to try different things though so I plunged forward.  I struggled with the background stamps and didn't really like the result, but was encouraged when both Bonnie and Marilyn put this card on thier list of favorites.


I added gold ink from a Krylon gold leafing pen on this one and added some flowers at home and the card is growing on me.  This was a good reminder that everyone else does not necessarily like the same things I like, imagine that!

JR

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Faux Embossing - 2nd Try With A Flourish


I was not going to give up on that flourish stamp so here is my second try.  Better so I sponged some of my favorite colors (aquas and greens) on the card panel and added some stamps to the background.  I toned down the color on the dotty background a bit here, which I like better.


I was satisfied with the result so I added my signature bling and felt like it was good to go.  Tomorrow I will post a faux embossing panel that I was not so happy with, at least in the beginning.

JR

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Faux Embossing - First Try


Recently Linda Howard taught a Faux Embossing class at Scrapbooking Made Simple in Santa Clarita, California.  I think she teaches great, fun, easy and quick card classes. 

As you can see by the photo above I simply did not get enough paint on the flourish stamp.  At the time, it seemed like I had lots of paint on that stamp, however during this class I learned one must have GOBS of paint on the stamp (preferably a solid stamp or something with thick lines, nothing too delicate).  Linda provided Adirondak Paint daubers for the technique (in this card and other to follow this week the paint color was pearl, can you see the little bit of shimmer?), but I have since found that any white water based paint works well (black paints looks nice too).

I determined not to give up and throw it away (after all this is a craft and a learning experience) and so moving forward I sponged Tim Holtz' distress ink on the card panel in blues and a bit of green.  I then stamped the dotty background in one of the blues over the top.  I used my ruler to put the black ink around the outside because I may as well make an effort to have it straight and then chose a blue colored panel as a frame and mounted the whole thing on a card.  I decided that at home I would add some embellishments to try and hide or at least distract from my poor paint job and below you will see the finished product.  (Note:  I noticed some of the other students took a paint brush and painted straight on the card stock.)




It is not my best work, but I like the colors, the flowers and the glitz and have decided it is just fine as is.  Tomorrow you will see another card where I tried that flourish again.

JR

Monday, May 16, 2011

And the Winner is...TOMMY!


First of all I want to say that I know some comments have been lost.  It seems that Blogger had some problems last week and some of the comments that were made on my posts (with name suggestions for Troy now called Tommy) were lost in cyberspace.  For that matter some of my posts were lost, but I will redo them.  I am not sure if anyone suggested Tommy, someone may have done so and I never saw the comment so I have decided to gather up my blog candy and take a picture of it and post a blog candy giveaway later this week.  So watch for it if you are interested.

I am not sure how Jack decided on Tommy for Troy's new name, but it seems to have stuck.  I thought we should call him Mr. Squeaky because he squeaks every time he wants something, but I suppose that is not very dignified.  Tommy is proving to be quite a good boy.  No accidents in the house, he and Lily get along famously and he is starting to learn some tricks.  As you may know, Lhasa's can be quite stubborn so he needs a little work on coming when he is called, but it is amazing what he will do when he wants to do it.  He is teaching Lily how to play with toys and she is teaching him how to bark at other dogs.  I am not sure it is a fair exchange, but we are working things out.

Thanks to Randee at Lhasa Happy Homes for such a sweet boy.

JR 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Swirly Dirly with a Flourish


I just love flourishes and very girly girl stamps, papers and embellishments and I call them swirly dirly.  In my honor, my long time and very dear friend, Marilyn, recently proposed a swirly dirly swap for an online group in which we are both members.  I got out my K & Co. papers, a fancy Spellbinders label die, a Kreaxions cool punch that works for corners or edges, some pearls and some lovely pearl paper and created this card.  At 6' 1" and more pounds than I care to number I do not often feel like a little doll even though my parents called me Dolly when I was a kid, but this cards makes be feel girly and giggly just like all little and big girls deserve to feel.  I hope it makes you feel good too.

JR

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Bling Queen


My friend, Judy, was visiting over the holidays and she wanted to make a card for a Scottish friend that was being honored with an OBE by the Queen.  As you may have figured out I LOVE BLING and just couldn't resist going all out with this card.  We did not take a photo of the card that Judy made, which was straighter and even prettier than mine, but you get the idea here.  We used my Cricut Expression to cut out the crown, put the Bazzill paper through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder, added double sticky paper, jewels and glitter and a Krylon gold leafing pen for that little extra touch.  Judy thought that this was a bit time consuming, but I think it was well worth the effort for a special card.  What do you think?

JR

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hey Good Looking - What's Cooking - How's About Cooking Something Up With Me?


Our local stamp club has a sister club in South Africa ("SA").  The SA ladies suggested doing an apron card swap containing a recipe.  I confess my cooking days are pretty much over so I was not so sure what I would do.  I found this apron design on my Cricut Savory cartridge and cut it out.  The telephones and polka dot stamps are by Hero Arts.  On the inside I put my recipe for my favorite meal.

The telephone was made using my Cricut and I punched a circle out of an old phone book.  Luckily, my husband likes to eat out as much as I do and the dogs never met a leftover container that they did not like.

What's cooking with you?

JR

Monday, May 9, 2011

Welcome Troy - AKA ???? Blog Candy



I am the proud mama of a little boy furbaby.  Miss Lily chose her brother on Mother's Day.  We went to an adoption event that was held by Lhasa Happy Homes, click here to see their website.  They rescue small dogs here in the Los Angeles area specializing in Lhasa's.  Miss Lily needed a friend, but she is not good with all dogs so she needed to choose and after much barking and todo with most of the dogs, Miss Lily was an angel with Troy.  So Troy came home with us.  Unfortunately, he does not know his name so well - we think it was chosen by the rescue staff, but we are not sure he looks or acts like a Troy.  What do you think?  If you leave a comment with the name suggestion that we choose to give to our cute little boy I will send you some blue blog candy (it's a surprise and may not all be blue) so start leaving comments.  You have one week until May 15th.  Good luck.

JR

Friday, May 6, 2011

Purple Pleasing Peacocks


This card was made to send a RAK to an online swap group partner.  I knew she loved purple and I had this extra peacock with a bit of purple on it so I thought I could purple it up a bit.  The stamp is from Close To My Heart.  It was stamped on acetate and glittered with Art Institute glitter using a Quickie Glue pen.  The same was done with the butterfly.  I made the diamond shape with sticky paper and added the gold glitter.  Cut out a panel of a small sample of what looks like handmade paper, but I am sure is not,  with lots of fibers and used a scrap of purple paper with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  I added a few dots of glue and purple glitter in the top left.  My swap partner loved it which made me feel like I got it right.

JR

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Farewell to Lally We Will Miss You and Welcome To Our Own Sweet Easter Lily


Those of you who have visited my blog before may have noticed the photo of Lally our rescued Lhasa whom we loved dearly.  Unfortunately about a month ago we had to have her put down.  It was a very sad day.  The photo above was Lally begrudgingly posing for a photo a few Christmas' ago.  Lally would do anything for a treat!  She was a great treat to us for many years and we miss her.

On Easter Sunday my husband, Jack, our friends Marilyn and Ernie and I went to our local shelter and we met the sweetest part Pom part Chow little girl.  She was the first dog I saw and I knew right away she was the one, but my husband needed to see every dog before making up his mind.  Mostly I think he felt he just was not ready for another dog.  Miss Lily was so quiet and sat and watched us move on from her cage, but when we came back she turned her back on us.  I told Jack that he hurt her feelings.  The good news is that she seems to have completely forgiven Jack and now HE IS HER MAN!  In fact the two of them are quite taken with one another. 

Marilyn says that we scored because it turns out that Miss Lily came to us housebroken and already knew a couple of tricks.  Jack is teaching her more and they are a team around the house doing everything together.  She is 18 pounds of sweetness and love and we are so happy to have her in our family.


Here is a shot of Miss Lily in our front yard.  We have to keep her on a leash in the front yard because she is so thin she scoots out between the pickets on our fence.  We are working on that.  Welcome Miss Lily.

JR

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Double Embossing


Lori Lai teaches classes with an Asian / Hawaiian theme and she introduced me to this double embossing technique.  I made this card in a class she taught ages ago. The store where I took her class has closed, but she currently teaches classes at Stampin From The Heart in Mar Vista.  You can check out Stampin From The Heart's blog and class schedule by clicking here.  The flower panel was made by using a negative image stamp, Versamark ink, gold glittered embossing powder, markers, more Versamark and clear embossing powder.  I like the way the square flowered panel looks like a tile. 

Warning:  not all embossing powders are equal.  This was done with Judikin's embossing powders, but some colors and brands burn or change consistency more easily than others so experiment with what you have on hand.  I think that the Hanko paper adds a lot to this card.  What do you think?

JR

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

April Showers Bring May Flowers


Another Dreamweaver's card today.  This one was made with two panels, acetate on top with the rain stencil and white goop and the flowers were done with sticky paper, the daisy stencil, transparent glitter and pigment ink.  I think Rebekka does a great job designing, but this card was really quite easy to make.  What do you think?

JR

Monday, May 2, 2011

Fine Feathered Friends - Dreamweavers


Have you ever used Dreamweaver's brass stencils?  I recently took a class at "Stampin From the Heart" in Mar Vista.  The class was taught by Rebekka who is one of Dreamweaver's designers and teachers and this is one of the cards we made.  The owls were made using a brass stencil, double stick sheets, glitter and fun flock.  The words "fine feathered friends" were done with a brass stencil and what I call goop, but it is actually the paste that Dreamweaver's sells.  I will share a secret - I added the metal photo corners to cover up a smudge in one of the corners as I am a particularly messy crafter, but I think they look good if I do say so myself.  I am considering making a video to show how this is done.  Let me know if you would be interested in seeing it by leaving a comment.

JR

Sunday, May 1, 2011

K & Co.'s Pretty Papers and Magenta's Great Stamp

There is so much pretty paper out there these days.  I started as a die hard stamper, but just cannot resist all the great papers.  This paper is by K & Co.  The stamp is by Magenta, one of my favorite stamp companies.  This card was made for a swap with a theme of Seasons and I just felt spring was in the air.

JR