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