Victorian-theme pages

These are pages I created for Debbie C.'s Circle Journal (Victorianrose on Stamp Shack). Her theme is "Quotes", so I combined the theme with a vintage flavor (another request of Debbie's.) It makes so much easier for me, since I, too, LOVE everything vintage or from the Victorian-era.

Two awesome new books at Barnes and Noble

I'm a sucker for technique books. I think most of my crafting friends know that about me. I mean, really.....how many books can one person own on the subject of collage? Apparently, not enough! LOL! Last night, we went to Barnes and Noble and I had a stack of eight books and magazines to devour. I mean they were so good, I had forgotten about my caramel macchiatto. I picked up "Living the Creative Life" by Rice Freeman-Zachery. Awesome book. She is an awesome mixed media artist, in her own right. Her book profiles various mixed-media artists, their styles, tips and tricks. Alas, the pocket book only limited me to a couple of purchases. The first one is called "Mixed Media Collage: An Exploration of Contemporary Artists, Methods and Materials." I like the book because it explores the use of computer technology, cloth (textiles), natural elements, paints, ink, transfer-techniques; and, it has a tutorial from one of my favorite contemporary mixed-media artists, Teesha Moore:

The other book that made it into my shopping bag is called "In This House. A Collection of Altered Art Imagery and Collage Techniques" by Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn. What an excellent book! If you enjoy creating altered journals, or if you participate in Circle Journal swaps, this book might pique your interest. It's paperback, with more than 120 pages of delicious examples of altered pages and artists' tricks and tips:

Pages for a Circle Journal Swap

These are pages I've created for a circle journal swap I'm hosting. These are for Lisa G.'s pages, and her theme is "All About Me." We're supposed to journal our "favorite" things (or not so favorite things); and other interesting (or not so interesting) trivia about ourselves. We're also supposed to add an ATC with our photograph on one side. Stamps on these pages are by Teesha Moore (Zettiology).

World Cardmaking Day projects: Distress Ink cards

I learned this at the Invoke Arts booth last weekend. I know I've seen Tim Holtz do this on his DVD, but I guess I needed to see it "live" and in person. You just take some manila cardstock (take a manila folder and cut it up). Then, choose three shades of distress inks in the same color family. Go from light to dark. Take the lightest color, and working down the center of the cardstock, start swirling your pad over the cardstock in a figure eight. Turn it 90-degrees, and swirl it again, turn it 90-degrees twice more and swirl again. Then, take the next color (medium shade) and repeat what you did the first time. Then, take the darkest color and just swirl it along the edges of your cardstock. If you do it over the center, you'll cover the pretty layering you've already created with the two lighter shades. How juicy your ink pad is will determine how much ink you want to lay down.

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!!

Today is 2007 World Cardmaking Day! And, to help mark the day, I'd like to invite you to take a trip down memory lane with me. I found pictures of my cards from the very first one I made, to one of my favorites from this year. On 2peasinabucket.com, I found nearly 500 projects of mine. A collection of cards, tags, photographs and altered art. I can't believe I posted that much on that site! On the Stamp Shack, I'm getting close to 80 gallery posts! Whew! But, since I don't want to bore you, I've picked four cards from the many I've made, I wonder if you'll notice a change in "style?" LOL!
This is my very first rubber stamped card. I visited a rubber stamp store in Minot, North Dakota (my husband was stationed at Miniot AFB between 1998 - 2002). I went to this store with my good friend, Tami, just to accompany her. I had no intention of buying any rubber stamps. I was so intrigued by the time we left. I went back to the store the next day, and the shop owner was demonstrating heat-embossing. Well, I thought I just HAD to give it a try. I bought stamps (two on this card), cardstock, heat tool, powder, Top Boss....all with the intent of making 150 of these puppies! Can you say OUCH?!?!?! My wrist and hand hurt so much from stamping, I decided to put away my rubber stamps for good (or so I thought). Tami thought I had developed a new hobby so she gave me a set of rubber stamps for Christmas. It was a large set of Christmas-theme rubber stamps from Stampin Up. I still have it too! I don't think I'll ever part with it.

So, five years goes by without even giving any thought to stamping. Then, in April, 2004, my next door neighbor told me about a rubber stamp store in town that was going out of business. I said, "Alright. Let's check it out." I went down there and found a gazzillion glorious stamps that I really wanted. All of her stamps were marked 70% off, can you believe it? I spent $60 in stamps and supplies before I left her store. That's $200 worth of products! It's so funny, because back then, I thought my husband would kill me for spending "so much" on stamps! LOL! Now........oh my.......I just have to laught at that thought. hehehehehe Here is a card I made in 2004, after getting back into cardmaking. This is the very first card I'd posted on 2peasinabucket.com, circa August, 2004. This is also the first card I'd made for my first swap. It was with a group of cardmakers (and military spouses) at Vandenberg AFB, California.

In one year, I had learned a plethera of techniques. It's amazing what happens when you log on the Internet and connect with others who share your passion for rubber stamping and cardmaking! I joined the PaperCrafts message board; participated in swaps, and just soaked everything and anything I could learn about rubber stamping. I went to a rubber stamping convention shortly before we moved to Nebraska. Shortly after, I learned how to play with a wonderful new product called Alcohol Inks. This is one of the first projects I'd made with AI's, back in 2005:

In 2006, I had one of my cards published in my favorite Stamping Magazines, Stamper Sampler. I created this card in January, 2006, and mailed it to Stampington & Co. I had forgotten about it, thinking it was a long-shot to get published by such an esteemed magazine. I got my card back in the mail in August, later that year. I thought they didn't want to publish it, after all. No letter. No reason why it was sent back. Well, imagine my surprise, when two weeks later, I had a postcard sitting in my mailbox saying that the card was going to appear in the October/November 2006 Stamper Sampler:

Fast-forward to 2007. I joined the Stamp Shack community, and am now a volunteer Creative Team Member. It's amazing how much the stamping industry continues to grow as it continues to struggle. Many shops close down because of a variety of factors. I believe the biggest one is lease being too expensive and not enough folks are shopping. Online shopping has become increasingly popular. Another HUGE change I've seen in the past three years is that unmounted stamps have surged in popularity due to the availability of EZ Mount and Creative Cling. Regardless of the changes, my passion for stamping and cardmaking continues to change and grow. This is a card I made earlier this year, shortly after learning how to color in images with prismacolor pencils and blending with gamsol. If you look to the sidebar, on the right, you'll find other cards and projects I've made over the last two years. Isn't it interesting to see where I had started (my first stamped card, above), to where I am eight years later, today? Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for stopping by!

Plastic Wrap Crystals

This technique is similar to "smacking acetate." You brayer your dye ink on glossy cardstock (not photo paper). Spritz with water until the ink just starts to run or in my case, "pool." Take a piece of really scrunched up saran wrap or plastic wrap and lay it over the cardstock. Use four "heavier" items to anchor down the corners of your paper; and leave the piece to dry. After it has dried, lift the plastic, and you'll get a "marbled" piece of cardstock (picture 2). I learned this technique from Jan (Far North Designs), who is a Creative Team Member on the Stamp Shack.

Artful Envelopes

I've long-admired the art of stamping on envelopes. I must admit, I've been gun-shy about the process. So, I have an opportunity, this month, to stamp these envelopes for a group project I'm involved in. A lot of masking, of course, went into creating these envelopes. They are both completely flat (single layer stamping and masking). On the first envelope, I used stamps by Lost Coast Designs, Leavenworth Jackson, Stamp Francisco, Rubberstamp Avenue, and Invoke Arts. On the second envelope, I used stamps by Teesha Moore, Purple Onion Designs, Stampsmith and Invoke Arts. Black ink is Stewart Superior Memories Black ink. All of the vibrant colors are courtesy of Nick Bantock inks by Ranger. Thanks for stopping by!

San Jose Rubber Stamp Convention and our 20 year High School Reunion

What a weekend! Phew!!!! This has been a memorable weekend, indeed! We arrived in San Jose, California on Thursday night. The journey was uneventful. I couldn't believe that we didn't have one late flight or lose our luggage! LOL! (Knock on wood!) Friday, the family spent much of the morning just putzing around. I got my hair cut, Lucas got his hair cut; and around 4:00PM, we met with the rest of Sean's family at Dave and Buster's for a joint Sean-Lucas birthday party. Later in the evening, Sean and I left the birthday party to attend a pre-reunion party with classmates who we hadn't seen in 20-years. So, our high school reunion-weekend began!

Saturday, I took some "me" time for myself and went to the Original Rubber Stamp Convention, hosted by A Stamp in the Hand. It was so much fun!!!! Here is picture of me and Leavenworth Jackson, at her booth:

And, here is a picture of the stash I bought yesterday. Many of these stamps are going to several Shackies from the Stamp Shack. Not going to say which ones...... That's a surprise!!

Now, onto our 20 year reunion. OMG! It was such an emotional night. I laughed, I cried. Yes...I cried! I got so emotional from seeing friends who I haven't had contact with for 20-years, I started crying. I LOVED every minute of our reunion. Many folks didn't know Sean and I got married (Sean and I graduated from the same class, but didn't date in high school). It was just an incredible evening. I found out one of my friends had lived in Nicaragua right after graduating from UC Berkeley. She helped to open schools there. Now, she lives in Costa Rica, doing the same line of work. Just incredible stuff! Another friend traveled to Japan, and taught English in Tokyo for two years. Then, she traveled to West Africa, where she met her future husband. Some friends moved to the Seattle area. Another friend is a professor at NYU, teaching dance. He and I were on the same dance team in high school, and he ended up going to Julliard. I solidified old friendships, even though I was pretty bad about keeping in touch. I met people I didn't even know in high school. It was just an incredible, indescribable, wonderful evening that I'll treasure forever! Here is a picture of me and Sean:


And here is a picture of me with my dear friend, and maid-of-honor, Mary. She was a classmate of ours also:

Family Arch

Ooops! I haven't had much of an opportunity to get caught up on Gothic Arches. The theme "family" was the theme two weeks ago. I created this arch to swap with an awesome artist, Lianna of Llama Tales. I hope this travels safely and quickly to Lianna. I can't wait to see what she's sending me.

Marvelous Mauve

It's a day to work with Mauve scraps today. I had some scrap mauve and burgundy cardstock, and complimenting paper, so off to work I went. The picture makes the paper look more pink, than a mauve/lilac color. I incorporated a few "standard stuff" like heat embossing, stitching, and pop dots. Just wanted to keep it all simple.

Hauntingly Yours

While I was working on another "masking" project, the idea for this card came to mind. The tricky part was knowing exactly where I stamped the moon lady's face, and where to add additional embossing ink for the "aura" surrounding her face. I used black, gold and silver EP on and around her face; and red EP for the sentiment. I decided to go with a textured cardstock (although I don't think you can really see it in the photograph), to give the card added interest. Finally, Swarowski crystals added to card gave the look for sparkling stars surrounding my moon lady.

Expanding my horizons a little more

I've had this stamp in my collection for at least one year, now, and I've never used it. I was attracted to it, the minute I saw it, but I think I've been too intimidated by it. I finally gave myself the "nudge" to use it in order to meet a challenge by a friend. I'm glad I did, because I'm rather pleased with how this card turned out. It's simple, and it didn't need to be cluttered by anything else like an overly busy background. I learned the "saran wrap" technique from fellow Stamp Shack Creative Team member, Jan Jenitis (blog-host of Far North Designs.) . Just take a good size piece of saran wrap and crumple it up. Dab it on your ink pad and start stamping on your cardstock. I used Nick Bantok Vermillion and Brown ink on my background. The stamp of this African man is by Stamp Cabana.

Cards from sketches

Just playing around with a couple of card sketches. I wanted to create two completely different cards using the basic same sketch (cards one and two above). One being a vintage collage, while the other being an asia-theme collage. I couldn't believe I struggled with the third one. As simple as it looks, I didn't have a sentiment that was the "right length" for this card. It kept chopping off the little boy's feet! LOL! And, my colors were way off, initially. After about an hour struggling with it, I finally pulled it off!

Altered Index Card

I created this altered "index card" for a swap I'm hosting on the Stamp Shack. The theme of the swap is "Notes to my Younger Self." It is inspired by a book I saw on 2peasinabucket.com. The premise is to take a photograph of yourself, when you were younger, and write a letter or note to yourself. It can be a piece of advice or just an observation you've made now, about the person you see in that photograph.

On the front is a picture of me, taken when I was 22 years old. I asked a friend to take a series of pictures of me for my parents. I couldn't afford a professional photographer. I had this lacy dress (which I had purchased to wear on special occasions), and the grounds of Villa Montalvo in Los Gatos, California provided the perfect backdrop. Back then, being as young and inexperienced about life, I did EVERYTHING my parents told me, without hesitation. I was the "perfect daughter," excelling in school, choosing career over anything else, and just being "perfect" in order to earn their love and admiration. In other words, I didn't want to "rock the boat."

My reflection of myself is written on the tag, which is tucked in the pocket on the backside of the card (on the right, in the photo). It says, "Sitting in this photograph is that perfect daughter. Hair done the right way, wearing the perfect clothes, wearing a happy smile. What others don't see is your desire to spike your hair, or to wear it orange and purple. To wear black clothes and to pierce your nose. You want a tattoo, but you're afraid of what your parents and friends might think. If you could do this all over again, I'd encourage you to find a way to be genuine to yourself. If you can't accept yourself for who you are, then there's no reason for others to accept who you wish to become."

The stamps I used on the pocket are by Stampin Up. Some stamps were DTP (direct-to-paper), while the flowers were heat embossed with Seafoam White EP (Ranger).

Thanks for stopping by!

Faith, Hope and Love

I had to create "something" this last Saturday. I "think" while I work, so this was a great thinking project. It gave me clarity. LOLOLOL!

This shrine is called "Faith, Hope and Love." I guess it could be a wedding-theme shrine or an anniversary-theme shrine.

It started out as a mistake. I stamped the King and Queen and discovered they were both too tall for the card I wanted to make. So, I set them aside. When I woke up at 6:45 AM. I walked into my craft room, and started pulling cardstock, paper, stamps, inks...and just started to create. Really didn't plan to work on a shrine, but Lynn Pirella's book on Art Dolls was the last thing I read last night; and I was inspired by a shrine one of the contributing artists had made.

By 9 AM, it had developed into a full-blown shrine-project. Before I went to do my grocery shopping, I made a pit-stop at Michael's and bought an 11 x 14 shadow box (they're all on sale at 40% off this week, by the way). Also, I picked up some beads with peridot (green) crystals, to stay with Stacy's color choices for the week.

Anyhoo, the rest is self-explanatory. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed making this shrine, and plan to make some more. I am thinking of selling a bunch of shrines that I make at a local co-op gallery. I've seen some things sold there, and I think my shrine would sell.

Rosarch Blot background

I pulled out my reinkers this evening and decided to create a Rosarch Blot background. All you need is glossy cardstock and coordinating reinkers. Two would be enough. Three would be more than enough. Anything more than three, you may end up with a muddy glob. Anyway, just take your two pieces of glossy cardstock. On one, drop your reinkers randomly. Not on top of each other, but spaced closely enough to cover any white spaces when you press the two pieces together. When you're ready, just press the other glossy piece on top of the first piece. Press, don't rub. Lift from one corner, carefully. Voila!

Oh, wow!

My dear friend, JENNIFER bestowed upon me the Nice Matters award. I don't know what I did to deserve such an honor. I believe that we are a reflection of the company we keep; so if Jennifer thinks I'm nice, it's because she is 10x nicer than me! LOL! We're just going to keep throwing this back and forth to each other. To pay this forward, I will shout out TEN names of folks who I think are super nice. I'm supposed to name five, but I think I shall name 10. In no particular order, here they are: GODELIEVE, KIM, TAMI, SUE, NANCY, LIANNA, JANE, JAN, DAWN, and DYMPHIE . These ladies bring sunshine to my days and I look to them to pull me through my creative slumps. They are all so wonderful, and I am honored to know them all!