Passport

Another project for a friend.  She found these cute passport folders at the local craft store for $1.00 each.  I stamped up inserts for them.  The front page is vellum, I ran through my printer for the text, the little box in the center is for the photograph, got to have that for a passport! I want the feeling of a stamped passport so the layer underneather is stamped with seals and foreign language script.  It shows through the vellum without taking away from the text.  And, Of course, I had to stamp up a matching bag to deliver them in.  Hope she likes them.  I'll talk to you again soon.

 

Wishes...

I just got the Tim Holtz' ticket die and couldn't wait to play.  I stamped up a roll of newly die cut tickets with the words "make a wish", smudged different inks on them, then rolled them onto a little wooden spool.  I tied it off with a little bit of red embroidery floss and added a tag that says, "If I had 100 wishes I'd give them all to you!" Just a little something to give to someone special.  Have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.

Floral Friday

We made it to Friday.  Have a great day! I'll talk to you again soon.

Polka dot love

One of my go to design elements is polka dots.  To me, they add freshness to any design.  Big or little, a few or a lot, polka dots make me smile.

My card was inspired from here at the CASE challenge from Heart 2 Heart.  I initially chose this card because of the tonal quality and all the lovely layers.  My card is much thinner but, I kept the tonal and some of the layers.  My other inspiration was from the The Shabby Tea Room, using polka dots, something I dearly love to do.  I used the same shade of green ink on the whole card, stamping, distressing and playing with the Close to my heart mini misters (the felt flower and the pear). I could stay at my worktable all day but, I have to go get ready for school.  So I hope you have a "pearfect" day and I'll talk to you again soon.

Hot, red or green style!

If you live here or have ever visited then you probably know that our official state question is "Red or green?"  It is the most commonly asked question in regard to how you want your chilli.  This year they are predicting a super "hot" chilli crop.  So this card is my tongue in cheek take on the state question. 

A birthday card for a friend who we will be meeting for "new mexican" food in a few days.  This is the inside of the card... 

When I saw the challenge on the Heart 2 Heart blog this was the first thing that popped into my head.  Stop on over to their spot and look at all the other HOT ideas.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'll talk to you again soon.

All the papers, stamps and inks are from Close to my heart.

Altered T-Shirt

Take a plain t-shirt, this one was a crew neck that was just too high, you know the one, I always felt like it was choking me when I wore it.  I wear black a lot so I wanted to do something to make it more comfortable and still keep it versatile enough to wear under jackets and other pieces.  So I laid it out on my cutting board and got a plate, I used a clear glass plate so I could see the shirt underneath to get my placement right.

Once it looked about right, I cut the tee-shirt to create a new neckline.  I ironed the edge under about an inch to create a casing for the elastic then I sewed it leaving a small opening on the back side by one of the shoulders to add my elastic.  I threaded the elastic through and pinned it, tried it on and adjusted the gather and fit, sewed the ends of the elastic together and then sewed the opening closed.  Wha-La, a new/old tee.

It fits better and is much more comfortable and I am still able to wear it under and over other pieces.  Happy Wednesday, I'll talk to you again soon.

A challenging challenge

It's been a while since I did a Mojo Monday challenge and so I thought I try the latest one.  This is the sketch.

A challenge for me since I don't usually follow a layout plan, I'm more of a theme or color picture card maker.  Any way, here is my take on this sketch.

Can you tell I have back to school on the brain?  There's a lot going on with this card but all the images except the star are from the same very cool new Close to my heart set, Vintage Type, I used tulip, sunflower and outdoor denim inks and papers and the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut all the pointy edged circles (I'm sure they have an official name but I can't come up with it right now).  Have a great day and I'll talk to you again soon!

About Botanical

Earlier this summer I had the chance to visit a few art galleries and small boutiques.  In one of those, a simple little piece of art caught my eye.  It was a line drawing done on a vintage page from a dictionary.  It had just a little color but was very attractive in it's simplicity.  When I returned home I was still thinking about the piece and thought I might be able to recreate something that had the same simple appeal as the one I saw in the boutique.  I scanned a page from an old dictionary and printed it on to some cardstock.  Then I stamped some simple line images (retired Close to my heart) onto it and colored and shaded with colored pencils.  Trimmed it down and put it into a thrift store frame.

 

It reminds me, in feel, of the piece I saw. 

It was also a quick and fun little project that will be just right for a friend who loves to photograph flowers.  And, as luck would have it, I found a challenge that I think it is a perfect fit for.  Over at Moxie Fab World they had a challenge going on using botanicals. Slip on over there and look at some of the lovely botanical projects they have.  Have a great day, and I'll talk to you again soon.

Happy Friday

Getting back into the routine of work and home but having a little difficulty squeezing in creative therapy time.  Looking forward to a few minutes to play in the craft room this weekend.  Until then, have a wonderful day and I'll talk to you again soon.

A challenge or three...

Today was my first day back to school.  I spent the day working on the data base, ordering necessary supplies, preparing book lists and going through mail.  So when I got home it was time for a little creative time in the workroom.  I have been playing with the new Close to my heart Cricut cartridge Art Philosophy, the images are a-maz-ing! I cut the large tag, the scalloped oval, and the postage square frame using the Cricut then stamped and layered to my hearts content.

The stamps are from a brand new set from the new catalog called Sweet moments and I used three different coordinating patterned papers from a special kit called Miracle.  All from Close to my heart.  The ink colors are Sky, Sweet leaf, Bamboo, Colonial white and black.  Tags are some of my most favorite things to make.   This one was inspired by three different online challenges.  The first is the Heart 2 Heart challenge that called for celebrating birthdays,  the second was a mix and match challenge from The Shabby Tea Room .  That challenge was to mix at least three different patterned papers in a project.  The third challenge that inspired me was from Simon Says Stamp it was to make a tag.  I've never tried to combine challenges before and it was "challenging".  But, fun too.  I think I'm done for the evening so I'll say good night and sweet dreams to all.  I'll talk to you again soon.