Time Collage

Good Morning, Sunday, the eve of New Year's Eve.  This morning I was a flurry of activity. Getting my ducks in order, organizing, cleaning up.  Laying out my maps for 2013.  Making lists.  I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with time.  Maybe all of us do.  I am a day dreamer and so I feel that maybe some times I waste time, but then is it not daydreams the place of my mojo?  Is it not the place colors and form come together to tell the stories and share the dreams?  You see?  So as I was reflecting on all this, would I commit less daydreams and more doing for 2013, I happened to turn around and saw a collage on canvas I did several years ago.  I keep it on the wall right behind my work table, so that I will see it and it will prompt me not to get in this struggle with TIME, to just live in the moment I am in with love and peace.  So I took a
picture of the collage and did a journal page to keep with my lists and schedules, no I will not give up the day dreams as I march into 2013 for day dreams are where I meet my muse and where would I be without my muse, lol.  My wish for all of you, is that you march into 2013 with love and peace and live it like crazy.  Happy New Year! Hugs

thankful

Moving into the New Year, I am giving thanks this week for all the wonderful things that happened to me in the 2012 year.  It was a year of change and growth for me, a lot of learning, I think my brain gained a pound, lol.  This card was done with PhotoShop layers, there are 5 layers on this using various kits from Scrapbook Graphics.  The final layer is one of my Thanksgiving cards transformed into a "Thankful" stamp.  Card blank is gray and the edges of the card background has been distressed with Tim Holtz "Black Soot" Distressing Ink.

I love the layers function in PhotoShop, it is well worth the time to learn it, I have not even scratched the surface yet.  Hope everyone has a fab weekend as we begin to prepare for that New Year Celebration, hugs

Wild Hearts

Hi everyone, I was beginning to think I would never get back into it, lol.  I promised myself when I finished up my Christmas projects that I would snuggle myself in my favorite reading corner and devour 5 books, I had on my table and I did.  They were each one a treasure, I am listing my top three in order of favorites:  "Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, MD, "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn, she peels her characters like an onion, and "Cross Roads" by Wm. Paul Young, author of "The Shack".

So onto my card, I created a mini card kit to do this one, so it will be fun to see what else I can come up with for these elements.  The background was created using an old book page and a lot of alcohol and distress inks.  I created the hearts using photoshop and a heart I sculpted from a paper clip, it was then colored with Copics and a print n cut was created using my Cameo  The bow was created with a fabric ribbon scanned in, then extracted with Photoshop and then taken to my Cameo to create a print and cut.  The word circle was created with the Cameo and computer fonts.  I then did one of my flour sack flowers and sewed a button to the center, the word circle says, "Wild hearts - create symphonies, dance in flowered fields and paint rainbows in the sky!  In this pic, the word fields is misspelled I have corrected the circle, just had not fixed the card yet, oooops.   The card blank is gray to make the the colors pop and coordinate.

I so hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you are looking forward to a fabulous New Year. Hugs

Home is where the heart is.

I have been doing my morning exercises with PhotoShop, just haven't really printed anything out to work with, but decided to play with this one today..  I did the background using a mask by ViVa from their Penmenship kit at Scrapbook Graphics.  I used the mask at about 30% opacity in order to get the grey tone you see, if it were used 100% it would be coal black.  One of the wonderful things about the Cameo is that once you have your image, you are able to go in and do anything you want with it.  This bird house was one of the first designs I did on my own with the Cameo, it is simple, simple, simple, just some rectangles, circles and elipse.  Today I went in and changed the roof to polka dots with grey and black.  The stamp is from the Silhouette Library with some distressing.  The pink pink hearts from a Martha Stewart punch, I was playing with some of the new designer tape from "Scotch" laid a strip down on cardstock and then just punched.  I also used my fav. "Lori Whitlock" bow.  The best way for me to learn is to get the basics down first and then come in with the fills.  So slowly but surely I am getting there. Hope everyone is finished with the hustle and bustle and into the enjoyment of the season around them.  Hugs

Birthday wishes

 Friday? It's Friday? It's Dec. 14?  There is some serious time shifting going on in my world, lol.  I think it is all the new stuff coming into my studio, getting used to the change in how I do things, it sure does rattle things up.  But in a good way.  I have some January Birthdays heading this way and some ideas on my list to try out and so this morning I tried them, liked them and am sharing them with you.  First the background was done in "ArtRage", I used the water color brush, printed it out and then did some distressing with Tim Holtz dies, "milled rose" and "Victorian rose".  I know that the "ArtRage" might not be for everyone but it is one cool piece of software and the 30day demo is free, so if this tweeks your imagination go check it out. The altered paper clip was one of the ideas on my list, I pulled the end out, added 3 seed beads and then curled the end with my jewelry pliers, clipped it to my background and then mounted the background to my card blank.  You do get a little divot but it is worth the accent I think,  I then took some kitchen string and made a bow and untwirled the ends.  My other idea was to use white out tape on black card stock, then with my Copic Multiliner wrote birthday and did some doodles, I attached a page marker to the back and wrote wishes, it makes a cute sentiment block.  That awesome "owl" is from Dawn Inskip's "Ministry of Magic" kit at Scrapbook Graphics.  The leaves were cut from a "Memory Box" tree die onto kraft card stock and its' a wrap, one down 5 to go.  I have posted below the supplies I used for my new ideas.

Have a great day and fab pre-holiday weekend. Hugs

Forgiveness

I got my heart dented yesterday, there is nothing I can do about it, it is just one of those things that has to be let go.  I fell asleep, I guess before I had completely let it go and so it woke me up 5hrs. later, gnawing and painful.  A couple of times I willed myself back to sleep but then gave up the ghost and got up.  So one of the things I do when I am mulling over something is meditate, the phrase for my journal page came from the meditation, "forgiveness is the love we give our self when there is no one else to give it", such a rush of peace and power came from that, I thought I was done, fixed a cup of coffee, powered up the computer and looked at my list of things I wanted to accomplish today.

On that list was to check out a digital product "ArtRage", it was recommended by one of the wonderful members of the Silhouette Plus Forum, she suggested I download the demo in preparation for the Bamboo Create Tablet.  So I googled, found and started reading, yeah right, and what kind of learning curve does this have?  But, then I did not want to dismiss something that looked this cool, so I down loaded the demo.  OMG, it is straight forward, organized (I am sure by a genius) and simple to use, so I played and I played and made a cloud background paper.  Now please remember this is the first attempt, it is not perfect and the tools must be worked with to get the finesse down, so I will definitely be playing some more.  When I printed the background out, I just knew I had to do a journal page.  I used some of my favorites on this, the pinwheel is from "Wedding Sketchbook" by Julia Makotinsky, Scrapbook Grapics, the bee is from the Beatrix Potter series - Silhouette Library, how, how could I not include my favorite Lori Whitlock 3DBow, also Silhouette Library.  I used some washi tape at the top and the oval was created with the Cameo, it says, "A perfect moment can be as simple as this", with a giggle, added the bumble bee often referred to as an avionic miracle. Added some doodle and a star punch from a Martha Stewart punch and my journaling, which says, "only I have the power to let something go, that power heals the mind, heals the soul, and sets the spirit free", and that's all I have to say about that.  Have a great Thursday, hugs

Bookmarks for gift giving

Good Morning one and all.  As we edge closer to the big day, so many of us are focused on the finishing details for Christmas.  I am an avid reader, although lately my reading has been exclusive to PhotoShop for Dummies and other such material, lol.  I love gifting a favorite read to friends and always include a handmade bookmark when doing so.  My favorite style for a book mark is really simple but yields a great book mark.  Using 80lb to 110lb cover stock I cut a 2.5"wide x 11" strip, then I score a 1/4" gusset in the middle and fold, there you have your bookmark.   When tucked into the book it will hold 50 or more pages and does not have to be moved, just the front flap lifted up and moved after 50 pages or closed for the next reading session.  Then you do want to embellish it.  I used a sea scene and sentiment block from "New Life Designs" at Scrapbook Graphics, called "Sea Whistle" and then on the top of the bookmark attached one of the 3D bows, now the book is all ready to share and always looks like a present.  

Here is the bookmark showing at the top of the book.  I finally got an appt. for a haircut, hope I can make it there without being snagged by the pound, rofl.  Hugs

Circle Tags

I hope everyone has a fabulous day.  Yesterday I worked on putting finishing touches on some card baskets I am working on.  I did circle tags all day.  These were done entirely with my Cameo, using the text to path feature.  I used elements from Dawn Inskip, Barbara Anne Williams and Studio Emka.  These can be used inside the cards, as envelope seals and embellishments for the rip envelopes. They are 2" circle tags.
At one time yesterday I looked at the clock because I was hungry and it was 12:30 so took a break and ate some lunch and then went back to work.  When I looked at the clock again it was 4PM and it was a surreal experience, I was stunned and a little disoriented realizing 3hrs. had passed, talk about getting lost in your work, lol.  It has been 6mos. since I received my Cameo and still every day I learn a little something else about it, what an adventure.  Hugs

Naughty or Nice

Happy Sunday, sure hope I don't make the naughty list for being cheeky, lol.  This is for my son, just a reminder that someone is watching, he is 25 but will get a giggle from this and then pass it on to his wife cause it is a girl's shoe, hmm, two birds with one coal.

I drew the shoe with the coal and then colored with Copic markers.  EK Success photo corners and the text and check boxes were done in Silhouette DE, I think I need to make those check boxes darker, will do that. I did the adjustment to make the boxes darker. Have a great day, hugs

Chicken Scratch

Morning everyone, a couple of stories with my rip envelope for today.  Chicken scratch is slang for monies that were hard come by, for my Grandmother (maternal) who immigrated to America from Ireland in the early 1900s, it was change and small bills crammed into an old Folgers coffee can and shared sparingly.  For some reason I was thinking of her this morning and decided to embellish my envelope with a chicken in memory.  On to another short story, there is a small village/town a little south and east of where I live named Fair Oaks, it is known for its quaint houses and wonderful restaurants and one that is a blight and a blessing all in one, chickens roam freely on the streets, cars stop to let them pass and visitors feed and photograph them.  I have done many a photo shoot there and love to just sit and watch them.  So this morning I pulled up some of the photographs, took one to PhotoShop, extracted it and turned it into a print and cut to use with my Cameo.  The background is block with a basket weave frame I doodled with a sepia micron pen and added another little block with "A little chicken scratch for you".
Have you seen the Geico commercial about How Happy is She? Well, I am as happy as a witch in a broom factory, can you hear me laugh?  Have a great day and fun weekend.  Hugs

Last Minute Gifts

 I had the nicest surprise this morning when I opened my Silhouette DE and went to the Silhouette Library.  Emilee Stucky has a rip envelope.  Because I have had my face in PhotoShop for a month or more, lol, my Christmas shopping this year is mainly going to be for gift cards, so today's must do list included designing an envelope or pocket for a gift card, when I saw Emilee's design, I knew straight away it would be just perfect for my gift cards.  It was created for a 5"X7" card to be cut on 12"X12" paper, so I had to resize.  I have posted here all the dimensions you will need for a gift card size rip envelope and you can get 2 cuts from an 8.5X11" sheet of paper.  I used craft paper.  My embellishment for the envelope, tree is from "Frozen" kit by Dawn Inskip and the star from a Martha Stewart Punch.  The holly on the back flap is from Barbara Anne Williams at CuddlyBuddly.

 This shows a card in the rip envelope.

This shows back of rip envelope

These are the dimensions you want to use for a gift card and the design # of item in the Silhouette Library.

Have a fun, creative day, hugs

All 'bout cake

I have to admit, even though I have been here and posted some, I have not been here, lol.  Before I share about my card, I have something to say.  I have a whole new appreciation and admiration for digi designers. When I first made that decision to go on board with the Cameo, I did tons of research and one thing that just blew me away was how digi had grown, I knew about digi stamps, digi paper, but there is a world out there that just amazed me, the digi kits are wonders.  A kit comes with (approx.) 6-8 12"x12" design papers, 20-40 elements based around a theme, a coordinating alphabet, and then misc. other wonders.  There has not been a day since I got the Cameo that I have not visited a digi web site, I have studied and purchased so that I could take it all apart in my brain.  And still I had no idea what it takes to put one of these kits together, until the last week or so and this one is sooo minuscule it is ridiculous.

The kit for this card  has taken me over a week to complete.  I am rather proud of it, as it is my very first completely me card, nothing about it was designed or done by someone else.  First I did the background.  Then I designed the cake element using photoshop and the Cameo, cut it out, took my Copic markers to it, then scanned it into the computer and then back to the Cameo to create a print n cut.  The 3 alpha letters nearly did me in, but I did finally get them, also colored with Copics and finally the word blk..  Did I mention it takes a typical designer about a week to complete a kit, LOL, sure hope I can pick up my speed.  So this is where my heart and soul has been.  Hope everyone is having a good week. Hugs

Day dreams and a cup of tea

I created a tea cup for my card yesterday.  Colors with Copic markers, then scanned it in and cut it out with the Cameo.  The word tag is from a nested Silhouette Library set for my sentiment.  The photo corners are by Dawn Inskip from her "Handle with Care" kit.  Background paper is by Rosey Posey from her "Grain" kit at Scrapbook Grapics.  Bow from Silhouette Library.

Have a great day, hugs

You make my heart bloom

We have a drying out day today, but more rain for tomorrow is predicted, it is going to be a wet winter here. I stepped away from PhotoShop yesterday, my eyes needed a break, lol.

Using images from the Silhouette Library.  I welded three hearts together, added the sprigs, colored with Copic markers.  The banner also from Silhouette Library.  Used a craft paper card blank.

Have a great Tuesday, hugs

SWAK

Sealed with a kiss, this was sooo much fun.  I could not wait, so over the last couple of days I have jumped into the brushes in PhotoShop.  Oh my goodness, I love them.  I did this envelope with a brush, then printed it out onto craft paper cardstock, turned into a print n cut and cut it with the Cameo.  I mounted it on some cranberry red background leaving just a tiny bit of white from the card blank showing.  I used the lips from
"The Wedding Scrapbook" kit by Julia Makotinsky.  SWAK is Painter's Hand Font from the Silhouette Library and I added one of my fav bows.

Now the Bamboo Drawing Pad is so on my wish list, believe me when I say that drawing with PhotoShop brushes and a mouse is no easy feat, lol.  Have a wonderful week.  Hugs

Seasonal - Winter

A very blustery day here, leaves whipping and twirling with intermittent rain.  I love this sentiment by Dawn Inskip from her "Baby It's Cold Outside" kit from Scrapbook Grapics.  I used her background, placed the tag on the background, then moved a snowflake over the hole for the ribbon and printed it out.  I then lightly painted the snowflake with DecoArt "Ice Crystal" Glamour Dust.  Then placed a sweet paper bow from the Silhouette Library on the card.  Since I still have not gotten the drop shadow down using PhotoShop, I place them with Copic markers.

Stay warm and dry and create with passion, hugs

Thinking of You

Just a fun general card.  The stripped background is a Silhouette pattern paper.  The butterfly is from the Silhouette store and is part of the Beatrix Potter series.  The bow is my fav 3d bow done in pink stripes.  The thinking of you block, I do not have a clue where I picked this up, it is not identified but it works.

Have a great weekend. Hugs

Cupcake Birthday

Morning from a very soggy and wet Northern CA.  Yesterday I finally took advantage of the Silhouette Library Sale, wow, I stocked up on images.  This is all Silhouette, some Copic markers and Bammm, done.

Gotta run, hugs

Winter Wonder

Morning exercise with PhotoShop Layers.  All of my Christmas card orders are completed and mailed out, this is my favorite time, when all the hard work of the last 3-4mos. is done and I am left to my own meanderings and creatings.  I am now working on my projects and researching and learning.  I think this is the last of my basic layerings.  I will now begin adding a little as I go.  Many, many years ago when I took my first PhotoShop course, my professor stated that if we worked in a different area every day for the rest of our lives with PhotoShop, we would still not know all of its wonders.  It is now, that I fully understand and agree with these words.

Dawn Inskip in collaboration with MLE Card has released a new kit "Christmas Memories", what a great kit this is, some really fun elements by two very talented designers.  The background on this card is from Emka's  "Secret Place" pattern papers at Scrapbook Graphics. I took Dawn's snowman and laid it in along with the word banner "Winter Wonderland".  I then took Emily's trees from the same kit to my Cameo mat and created 2 different sizes and cut them out.  Then I set my drop shadows in the Copic markers.  The photo corners are from EKSuccess, the corner punch was a gift from my friend Carole, PaperArts, and little did she know that she would have to look at these corners forever more on my cards, they are truly my favs.

Well, carry on, hope you are finding the very best in your week, hugs

Christmas Joy at the Beach

Morning Exercise with PhotoShop and Silhouette:  A little beachy Christmas this morning, I used "Rosey Posey" Island Christmas Kit.  I layered the bells, ornaments and shell feature onto the background paper in PS. I then cut the rest of the elements with the Silhouette.  I love that pail, I filled it with a sponge and shell and then placed on background with pop-dots, then added a single shell beside the pail and did some shadows with Copic markers.  The sweet tag of "Joy" with jute for a finishing touch.

Hope all is well in blog land, hugs

Bird of Blessing

My goodness are we really at the approach line for the first week in December?  I have so much still left to do.  I am setting up 2013 as a major learning year.  I will get my brain wrapped around PhotoShop.  The Silhouette and PhotoShop have the ability to be a match made in heaven.  I know I have not even scratched the surface yet.
This is my morning exercise in PhotoShop.  First I did the torn paper block, using Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Wild Honey", I then scanned it in and took it to PS, I layered the berry twig from "Scrapbook Graphics" - Cenerentola and the darling bird from "One Thousand Nigts". Added a block of yellow to match the Wild Honey and then attached it to a blue card blank.  Of course added one of my 3-d ribbon from Lori Whitlock.
Hope your week is productive and creative, hugs

Merry Christmas Tree

Scrapbook Graphics introduced some new kits and this was a freebie, isn't that tree sweet?  This is a chipboard card, I am loving these right now.  I cut the block a little smaller than usual and then did a piecing for the left side.  I distressed with Tim Holtz "Wild Honey" and added one of the Lori Whitlock 3-d bows.

And it is all ready to bring a bit of Christmas Sunshine.  Have a great Sunday, Hugs

Snowflake Kisses

More play with PhotoShop, why?  When I do finally get my Bamboo Create Tablet, I want to only have one learning curve to process.  My skills with PhotoShop are soooo rusty, so just boning up with 1 morning exercise, each day.   I am still working with layers, so this is from Dawn Inskip's kit "Baby It's Cold Outside", I used her background paper and added the tag, then the snowflake, then I added an overlay "the 25) and gave it a little opacity.  Then brought in the sentiment.  I distressed the edges printed it out and then added a little DecoArt "Ice Crystal" Glamour Dust to the snowflake and under the "25".  The 3-d bow is from the Silhouette Library "Lori Whitlock".  I then mounted the block to a chipboard card blank.  Hopefully by January I will be ready to move on to brushes.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Hugs

May there always be some gold in your storm clouds

I decided to do two posts today, cause after today it is back to the grind stone big time, I have so much still left to do.  One of the top things on my wish list is a Wacom Bamboo Create Tablet, but before that happens I decided I really needed to bone up on my PhotoShop skills.  I use it almost everyday, but just for fluff stuff, nothing that entails any real knowledge of the software.  I did take a 6mo. class but it has either evaporated from the gray matter or is filed so deeply, I have not been able to retrieve, lol.  So while I work away, during break time I have been playing with layers, brushes are next.
This little card was done with layers in Photoshop, I first created the background paper using the rgb index for color and then scanning the colored card stock in with a piece of batting, then printed it out and took it to photoshop.  There I added the Unicorn from Dawn Inskips "Ministry of Magic" and the gold nuggets are from "Grazioso" by Rosy Posy both from Scrapbook Graphics.  The tag is from the Silhouette Library and the 3d bow is by Lori Whitlock also Silhouette Library.  Photo corners are EKSuccess.
Hugs

May All Your Songs Be Sweet Today

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, this is a birthday card for a sweet sweet lady turning 83 in the next few weeks.  She is an avid music lover.  I used the piano, sheet music and tag from "Grazioso" by Rosy Posy at Scrapbook Graphics.  The background paper is mine and I also used the Lori Whitlock 3d bow, added a flower and some bling.  I also did a little white wash with gesso on the piano block and tag.

Have a great day, hugs

Howl

It is Wednesday, I am almost back on track, it is a beautiful day and I am feeling blessed.  I capture Tweet's feathers (my parakeet) as she discards them.  I had a few laying on my table and wanted to use them.  I also wanted to do a few exercises with word art.  I try to use all the Cameo skills the I have acquired, periodically so I do not lose them.  The word circle says, "Howl at the moon, sparkle with the rain, gather sun rays on the way. The jouney is yours to treasure."  The circle has been airbrushed with Copics, the background for the moon was created using alcohol inks and the howling wolf is from the Silhouette Library by Nathan Jenne.  The backround paper with stars is a scan of one of my favorite shirts, lol.  Have a fab Wednesday, hugs

BBTB2 - Turkey

Our Fab Brenda is hostess today for our Bitten By The Bug 2 Challenge, she chose a turkey for us today.  Please visit our Challenge site for some great inspiration and fun.  Remember your challenge must be a cut from one of the Cricut cartridges.  Our challenge rules are posted at the top of our site.  Come play and have fun this week as we explore Turkeys.

This is a 6X6 card, the background paper is one of my designs, the Turkey was cut from Cricut cart "Thanksgiving" and then colored with Copic markers.  The "Blessings" sign is from Dawn Inksip - Count Your Blessings" kit.  The border on the left edge is a jute bow border.  Here is how to create one,  you will need 9 1/2" of string, jute, ribbon etc, Start off with three pieces. Tie 2 of the pieces into a bow, then lay the bows side by side touching, through the two inside loops pull the other piece of string through and tie it into a bow, you now have your starter for the boarder, keep going as long as it takes to create the length you desire.

This is my last post as a Design Team Member for BBTB2, I would like to say what an honor it has been working with all these talented women.  I have become totally involved with my Silhouette Cameo and desperately need some extra time to get to know it better and explore its many features.  I am also running out of physical work space, so for now I will be storing my Cricuts to make all this possible.  I will still visit the BBTB Blogs and gather inspiration.  Good Luck to everyone on the team in all your adventures in the coming year, stay safe, stay creative and be happy, hugs

The Project Revealed

 Wow, what a wonderful adventure this has been.  The project is complete and will be shipped out on Tuesday.  There were at least 140 hours put into this over the last month.  That makes this the longest I have ever worked on one card.  Over all dimensions closed are 22"X30" and open it is 44"X30".  It is bittersweet that it is done, so many people have already blessed this project and I pray many more will also before it reaches Malala.  Thanks to everyone who have followed my progress, commented and cheered me on.

The card open with 200 pockets for blessing and wishes to Malala

The left out side quad of the card, books from Silhouette Libray by Hero Arts, hand colored with Copic markers, the Markhor (national animal of Pakistan) my design using the Cameo and colored with Copics, grapevine by Hero Arts.  The trim on the side is a series of kitchen string bows tied together to create one long strand and then adhered with Fabri-Tac to the ribbon binding.

The middle portion of lower card, open book by Ginny Nelson, colors by Copic markers, chickens by Cali Arroyo, flying page design by me with the Silhouette Design Software, Kabuli (a short necked lute) designed with SDS by me and colored with Copics.

Lower right quad, stacked books, again by Hero Arts a little small than the set on the left, map of Asia tag by 7 Gypsies, embellished with Malala's intials, embossed with a Vantaj folder on small metal discs, waxed linen thread embellishes the tag.

Middle of card with flying pages, designed by me with the SDS, words cut with a computer font and cut with the Silhouette Cameo



There are 3 other posts following the progression of this project, each has details of the techniques and items used.  I hope everyone is blessed today and that all is well in the world, hugs

Do Ugly Turkeys Live Longer?

LOL, One of my core beliefs is that "I am what I think".  I was mulling over what I am Thankful for on November 1st in preparation for Thanksgiving Day and the idea came to me that for the entire month, if I think something negative, then I must find a blessing in it also.  So I have been doing this, a very interesting exercise by the way.  This morning I was up and before I jumped into my to-dos for the day, I opened my Silhouette Design Studio and worked a while with the design tools, I was playing with this turkey and the thought crossed my mind that it was the ugliest turkey I had ever seen, ought OH, blessing time.  This made me laugh out loud, so thought I would share with you too, so gobble gobble on and have a great day, hugs

The Project-Next to Last Post

Pockets Secured inside right

Good Morning all.  This is the next to last post for The Project, the next one will be the completed card and getting it ready to ship to Los Angeles and then on to Britian. It is so hard to believe that I am going into week 3 of The Project, the card is now bound, the book binding tape did not work, all I had was 1/2" wide and I think 1" wide would have worked but it would have had to been ordered, so I went to plan B.  The pockets are all secured and at the bottom it says, "Blessings for Malala" cut from dictionary paper.  The project gets harder and harder to photograph and still give your some detail.

 I have used layered ribbon and red line tape (a very strong double sided tape) to bind the card all together. There will still be some finishing touches on the binding.

I decided to add some metal photocorners on the outside edges, it serves two purposes, it helps to protect them from tearing, this card is apt to get some handling.  Also I added a magnet to the corner and it gently snaps into place holding the card secure.  Remember each of those 200 pockets will be carrying a message or 2 tucked inside.  Now it is on to the part I love the most, all of the art for the card, so see you soon with the finished project.  Have a great week and take care, hugs

Snow House -Silhouette Forum Design Challenge

Wow, something other than "The Project", lol.  One of the things I do to decompress from a big project is to walk away and do a project that is just for me, the pure pleasure of doing it, whether it is trying a different medium or technique, it does not matter if it works or ends up in the garbage can.  One of the things that drew me to the Silhouette were the sketch features, so little by little I play with them, get familiar with the icons, etc.  I needed a break yesterday so I sat down and started playing with the "scribble" tool.  I ended up with this little sketch and decided to put the pen to it and liked how it penned out, so I took it to my table and played a little with the Copics, then added some dimensional snow and flicked some gesso at it.  I still have a long way to go but this was fun, got the kinks out of my neck and I realized as I was looking at it, I could enter this in the Silhouette Forum Design Challenge, which has nothing to do with the sketch tools but the large and small tree which I used the scale tool to make smaller.
So I hope you are having a great day and enjoing the end of your weekend.  Hugs

Project has base colors and elements begin to make sense

 As I near the second week The Project begins to come together, the inside color is done and this was a doozy, the color was done with the Tim Holtz applicator and Distress Ink "Wild Honey", I love it, now, but I was not loving it earlier, the applicator drags on the paper, so you have to get a groove going, my shoulder thinks I have been trying to wretch it from my body, lol.  It is soooo soft and muted, the right side will be filled with 200 envelopes, so you will only see the color peeking around the edges and in between the envelopes.  The left inside will be blank with just the swirling color, and may be signed by overflow if needed.

 Here are the 200 envelopes all adhered together with the doves attached to the left upper corner, you can barley see them (sorry), but they are there.

The elements are starting to come together and make sense, I finally got the flying pages to look like they were actually flying with the "Rotate to Center" tool on the Silhouette, I was starting to sweat that portion of the design out.  I created the pages also with the Silhouette Design. I love it when it all starts coming together.  Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.  Hugs

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone, is this not the best?  This is from Design Seeds, one of my favorite blogs for color reference, some days just wander through the blog for color inspiration, some of the most beautiful scenes and colors.  Have a safe one with your friends and family, hugs

The Project - Final Color for Covers

Close Up of the Final Color

The final color is done and I am very happy with it.  There is some technique to this but there is also a certain luck of the draw and I was definitely lucky with this pull of colors.  This card will have movement and pop, so on to the hows.

 I used Dylusion Ink Spray for the final process of color and 91percent rubbing alcohol.  There is Bubble Gum Pink, Pure Sunshine, and Crushed Orange.  If you have not played with these sprays, this is INTENSE color, a little goes a long way.

The masking tape this time provided my boundries for the color, I was not concerned with the paper warping, it is a very fast drying medium and you are not going directly to the paper, spraying the colors in places within the boundries.  When the colors are sprayed then a layer of alcohol is sprayed over the entire surface which gets all those colors dancing.  Then it is time to lay the sheet ontop of the colors and press firmly over the entire sheet.




Also notice that I did not pull out the wrinkles in the plastic, I wanted those to be part of the rythum and movement on the paper.


 

 This is the first sheet pulled, there was still plenty of color after the pull, so I spritzed it one more time with the alcohol.

This is the 2nd pull, yeah, the covers have their color.  You will probably be doing this in a much smaller scale, when I do this with my card stock, I let it dry for about an hour and then I scan it in, I do not usually use the original as my card background. 

Happy Halloween, hope all your tricks are few and your treats many, hugs