Mojo Monday #238

Happy Tuesday everyone. Here's my take on this weeks Mojo Monday card sketch. Using Martha Stewarts Layered Arches corner punch on some 1.5" squares I was able to make the background. Love, love, love this punch. It's got to be my favorite punch so far. The butterfly and postcard are from Tim Holtz idea-ology "crowded attic" salvage stickers booklet. The silver bullets in each square are The Robins Nest "dew drops".


Here's the sketch . . . .

Enjoy your week. Thanks for visiting!


Brenda


SUPPLIES . . . . . 

Recollections 8.5 x 11 cardstock

MS Layered Arches Corner Punch

TH Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers

Metallic Silver/Black/White Robin's Nest Dew Drops

InLinkz.com

Tim Holtz Tickets

Ever wonder what to do with the strip of tickets after you've die cut them out using Tim Holtz ticket die? Well wonder no more. I found this very cool video that you must see. I am so inspired to try the methods shown in this video. Dianne at Art of Craft made this video and she makes it look so easy to be more creative. 





I'm always on the look out for new ideas, techniques and inspiration where ever I can find it. Not only is this video a must see but I went to her blog and was amazed all over again at Dianne's talent. So when you have a few minutes, I highly recommend her video and blog for some creative eye candy.


Thanks for visiting!


Brenda

Tag Swap

Hello everyone! Here's a tag that I created for a tag swap that I signed up for through Laura Denison at Following the Paper Trail. This is my first tag swap and these are the tags that I sent in today. I made 9 tags and sent 8 tags to Laura who in turn will send me 8 different tags back from the other eight people in my swap group. I'm so excited to see what everyone else has done and what creative masterpieces I'll find in my mailbox in another 10 days or so.

I hope the people that receive my tags will be inspired in some way. They were a lot of fun to make. Of course it's always fun to get all inked up. By the time I was finished, my hands were a very colorful tangerine color. But if I'm clean, I must not be doing something right. LOL


Thanks for visiting!


Brenda

Photography

One of my passions is photography. It's always been an interest but never really had the time or opportunity to learn. But recently I've taken a few classes and began a video subscription to help me learn more about the basics of photography. I feel that if I get those pictures that will "make" that perfect scrapbooking layout, then I'll be even more excited to scrap. I love being able to tell a story with a picture. My journaling needs a lot of improvement so the photos need to be the star of my layouts in most cases.

In my recent quest for information, I've found a wonderful blog that provides so many techniques for getting the best pictures along with photoshop and photoshop elements actions. The blog I'm talking about is Paint The Moon by Annie Manning. Her before and after photos are so wonderful. And the journey she takes you on using her family as her subjects for her photography shots is just delightful. I am excited each day to see what new photos she's taken and what I'm going to learn from her. I hope you'll take a few minutes to visit her blog. Her work is just beautiful.

Thanks for visiting.

Brenda

Mojo Monday #228

Well, it's Thursday and I'm finally getting around to posting my Mojo Monday challenge card. Glad no one sets their watch by my schedule. LOL


Using a Cuttlebug heart embossing folder on plain white card stock and dragging the Fire Brick Red Distress ink pad down the embossed paper gave the background this rough distressed look. I love it! So easy and quick to do and the outcome was exactly what I was hoping for to use as my background. For even more texture, I used some dot embossed white cardstock for the two large background areas of white. This card is all about the layers and textures and the mini pearls on the scallop was the finishing touch it needed.


Here's the sketch.

Thanks for visiting!


Brenda


SUPPLIES  . . . . .

Spellbinders Labels One

Spellbinders Big Scalloped Circle SM

Cuttlebug Heart Squares Folder

Fiskars Paper Trimmer

Scotch ATG 714

Barn Door Distress Ink

InLinkz.com

Mojo Monday #227

Here's a Mojo Monday Challenge card to share with you today. Yep, finally getting around to posting it (very, very early this Thursday morning). I love this layout. It reminds me of some of the pocket pages in my mini scrapbook albums.While this card doesn't actually have a pocket, it renders itself to looking like one.


The paper pad used is the Pink Paislee Queen Bee (6x6 pad). Add a few Prima flowers, some ribbon, pearls and a bit of distress ink and my card is complete.


Here's the sketch.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great day!


Brenda

CHA Turns Up The Imagination

Check out this wonderful project that Kathy Orta made for the Tim Holtz Booth at the winter CHA 2012. I love this gas pump. Kathy did such a fantastic job with this creation. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of her creative talent. CHA or Craft & Hobby Association is held twice a year and has the most amazing projects shown at each of the booths and previews the new product lines coming out for each vendor. Tim Holtz booth is always filled with the most creative ideas. In addition to the projects made by Kathy at Paper Phenomenon, there are also some amazing projects created by Laura Denison at The Paper Trail for the Tim Holtz booth and the Graphic 45 booth. You can see all their projects if you visit their blogs at the links provided. I've also gotten a chance to see many more craft projects through the videos posted on YouTube for the winter CHA 2012. I am in awe of the talent shown at these shows each year. Congratulations to all those who participated for a job well done.

Hey Kathy, sure hope this pump will be a tutorial you will sell. Did I say "I love this pump"?!

Brenda

Madison - Beautiful View

Here's my first Digital Scrapbook Page using the Kitchen Window digital package by Laurie Ann at After Five Designs. With a little bit of a learning curve, I managed to get this done relatively quickly. Much to my surprise, I am thrilled with how easy it was to complete. While it won't take over for my "hands on" dirty work with paper and ink, it certainly has a place in my creative world. I'm sure to get more scrapbook pages done using the digital embellishments and papers. And this may widen my ability to do hybrid pages as well. 


This little darling is my granddaughter, Madison. She's just one year old and already has her first cast on her right arm. And that's exactly how my son advised me of the cast. The "First Cast". So now she is sporting a bright neon pink cast from her wrist to just below the elbow. Watch out world, Madison is here to make her mark.


Thanks for visiting!


Brenda

Digital Scrapbooking

Hey Folks! Are any of you into digital scrapbooking? I am just getting interested in it and found this really cool site called After Five Designs. They have the most fabulous FREEBIE! Yes, I said Free. This picture is the digital freebie and if you go to this link, you can see how they used it in so many ways. They have done all the work for you but you still get to have creative input. The best of both worlds. Hurry over and see what else they have. There is a whole section of freebies for you to try it out. The art that actually has a cost is so inexpensive, it's crazy not to try it. Good luck everyone!

I will be attempting to work with this digital over the weekend and see how I manage with it. All my scrapbooking has been the old fashioned paper and glue. And while I so love working with paper, I love my computer too. So, we'll see if this is as enjoyable as working with my hands and getting dirty. Yep, always dirty with all kinds of glue and inks on my fingers and sometimes my clothes. You'd think I'd get smart and start wearing a smock or apron. Nope, never think about it until it's too late. My mind is always on the crafting ideas instead. Anyone else have that problem? LOL


Even if you're not interested in digital scrapbooking, the site is beautiful. I encourage you to take a peek at the artwork available at After Five Designs.


Have a great day!


Brenda

Sophia Grace & Rosie on Ellen

Just a quick post to share an absolutely adorable video. This video is sure to put a smile on your face. I found the link to these girls on another craft blog and thought it was the cutest thing. These girls haven't a shy bone in their body. Enjoy!



Have a great weekend everyone.

Brenda

Same Stamp, Two Looks

Sometimes I wonder how many different looks you can get with just one stamp. Well, here is a stamp I used on two cards that look totally different. I imagine that you could get 50 people to use the same stamp and get 50 different looks. I can think of at least 3 more ways I'd use this stamp and that's just off the cuff. 

One of these days I'll have to challenge myself and see just how many different looks I can get. Have any of you ever tried to get multiple looks with one stamp? If so, how many did you manage to get done?

Both cards are done using Distress Inks for all the shading and the stamp used is from Magenta Style. I'm sure I'll revisit this topic again but until then . . . . . . .  Happy Crafting!

Brenda

Copics vs ShinHan

Hello everyone. Hope you are all having a great Saturday. Topic of conversation today is Copics vs ShinHan. I found the ShinHan Touch markers while I was surfing the web last week. These are alcohol based inks and I thought they would be comparable to the "Fantastic" Copic Sketch markers that I use currently. Since I adore all of my Copic markers so much, I wouldn't think of changing. However, for those of you who don't want to spend so much money on markers, I thought the ShinHan Touch markers might be a good replacement since the cost is so much less than the Copics. While surfing the web, I came upon a site called Jerry's Artarama and they were having a sale on these markers (which looks permanent) for just $1.89 each. And to my luck they were also selling some sets of 12 (till Dec 31st) for $12 per set. So I ordered two sets of 12 (warm greys, blue greys, green greys, blacks) to try out and since I don't have a huge selection of gray markers in my Copics, I chose those to try. The nibs on these ShinHan markers are a fine point on one end and a broad tip on the other end. ShinHan does have some markers that have the same BRUSH tip as the Copics but they charge more for them. The prices I've seen on-line for those start at $5.30 each. 


Here are the results . . .

This is just scribbling color onto paper with markers onto Bristol Smooth cardstock 

Copic Cool Grays C1, C3, C5, C7, C9

ShinHan Blue Greys BG1, BG3, BG5, BG7, BG9

The biggest difference I noticed is that the ShinHan markers tended to smear the black ink I used to stamp the image. I used Memories Black Dye Ink which is normally okay for me to use with the Copics. If you look at the small circles in the body of the birds you can see the smear just a little bit. So I will have to experiment with the pad inks to see which ones work better. Memento ink may be a better fit for the ShinHan markers. The shading is pretty good. The fine tip nib takes some getting used to when you're used to using the brush nib on the Copics. Overall, I think the ShinHan Touch markers are a very good substitute for the Copics and since the price is so much less per marker it is better suited for those that are tightening their budgets.


Thanks for visiting!


Brenda

Happy Birthday Madison

Happy 1st Birthday Madison! You're a special little girl who has stolen our hearts. You light up the room with your smile. Madison and Colin are my sweet grandchildren. You can see in this photo that Madison adores her big brother.

Madison with big brother, Colin

I made this card for Madison's birthday. She won't care about a card at this age but it was fun to make anyway. The stamps are inkadinkado stamps and the paper punch is Martha Stewarts Layered Arches.



I will be talking about some alcohol markers I found recently. I ordered some and they arrived last night. I will compare them to the Copics and let you see how they compare for me. Until tomorrow . . . .  . . .

Brenda



First Mojo Monday of the New Year

This weeks challenge is a bit different for me. My friend Sue and I got to create our cards together today and I will show her card here as well as mine. Always more fun when you have company in the playroom. Thanks Sue for coming out to play. 


Sue's Card . . .

And here's my card . . . .

Using Prima's Printery Collection 6x6 paper pad

The sentiment stamps for both cards is from Inkadinkado's

Thank You Words clear stamps collection.

Here's the Mojo Monday Challenge Sketch #222

Working on a few things at once, we'll see which one gets up on the blog first.

Untill then . . . .  Thanks for visiting.

Brenda

Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope this year brings amazing times to all of you.

I started this blog in 2011, not sure where it would go or what adventures I'd have while doing it. I have to say, the hardest part of the blog is actually sharing my feelings and thoughts. The crafting part is easy and a lot of fun. But to those of you who know me personally, I tend to keep my thoughts close to the vest (so to speak). Very few people in my life really get to see or hear me open up, so . . . . . . .  . my quest for 2012 is to be more comfortable with sharing my thoughts with all of you. Instead of being that person that stands quietly on the sidelines, I will attempt to be more outgoing and share my thoughts a bit more here on the blog. Granted, it won't be easy but with your comments to help me along I'm sure to succeed. And . . . . .  with any luck I might get a bit more organized and blog on a more regular schedule. 

We never know what the future holds for us but it should be an interesting journey. I hope you all with come on that journey with me. Your comments are always welcome and much appreciated. Thanks for sharing your time with me this past year and I look forward to an exciting new year!

Brenda

Mojo Monday #219

Happy Monday everyone! Here's my Mojo Monday challenge card and it's finally being posted on Monday. Woohoo! Lighting needs some real improvement but I'm working on that and hopefully will be able to take a better photo very soon.  Here's my card . . . . . . .

I was playing with Adobe Elements 9 trying out the soft edge look. I've worked with other programs for this type of effect through the years but I am still learning the adobe elements program. My other programs seem much easier to me but I'm determined to learn adobe.

The card is embossed with Cuttlebug KassieÕs Brocade embossing folder and the paper used is from My Minds Eye™ Meadow Lark 6x6 pad. Stamps used are from Just Rite® "You Inspire Me" stamp set and a few prima flowers are added to complete the look.The punch used was Fiskars® Upper Crest edge punch. The challenge sketch is below.

So, is everyone as sad as I am that we don't have a Tim Holtz tag to look forward to each morning now? It was great while it lasted. Loved his final tag today. It was a nice ending to his 12 tags of Christmas. Click on the link if you haven't seen his tags for this year yet and get inspired.


Thanks for visiting!


Brenda

"Joy" Card

Hi everyone! Getting closer to Christmas . . . . . is everyone ready? Certainly not me. Why is it when you're a kid, time goes so slow and Christmas takes forever to get here. Then as a cruel joke, when you're an adult and you'd like more hours in your day Christmas just seems to sneak up on you. So not fair!

Oh well, on to the business of crafting . . . . .  . The tree for this card is made with the Martha Stewart scoring board with a 3.5"x 6.5" piece of green paper and scoring in .25" increments. Then I fan folded it and glued the top to shape my tree. The snowflake adhered to the top is a button which, along with the white chipboard letters are glittered. The poinsettia is also a button glued onto the "O". The tree trunk is a small piece of brown paper folded like the tree. Card is finished off with three silver dew drops in the top right corner. The background paper and the tree paper is from BoBunny's Father Christmas Collection. There is a lot of dimension to this card and can be seen better in the photo below.

I love the little cherub looking out from behind the tree in the background paper. So cute!

Hope everyone is watching the tags that Tim Holtz is doing on his blog. They are fantastic and he really goes into detail to show you all his techniques. Take a hop over and see them if you haven't done so already. Thanks for visiting.

Brenda

Mojo Monday #217

Hello everyone! Maybe one of these weeks I'll actually get the Mojo Monday challenge done and posted on Monday. But until that happens, here's my card for this weeks sketch.

Let me start by saying, I love this sketch! It appeals to my sense of balance I suppose. I will keep this sketch in my "to go to" stash of sketches. The paper is Recollections "Elegance" line that I found at Michaels. This paper is so pretty and is a 65lb cardstock which makes it perfect for making cards (backside is the soft ivory background color). The dark sage color ribbon was found at Wal-mart and gives the card so much texture and dimension. Much more beautiful than the photo shows. The metal button is the perfect fit and doesn't detract from the ribbon. 

Here's the sketch.

OK my crafty friends, I enjoyed this sketch so much that I am challenging you to make a card, tag or scrapbook page using this sketch too. Go on and have some fun. Thanks for visiting!

Brenda

Mojo Monday #216

Well, I'm back with the Mojo Monday #216 challenge after bowing out of last weeks challenge. Wasn't really into last weeks sketch but this week posed a challenge. So here's my card.

With Christmas fast approaching, this paper was calling my name (again). Using the BoBunny "Father Christmas Collection" 6x6 paper pad with a little help from my stack of dot embossed papers (red piece), a bit of Peeled Paint Distress ink for some edges and a few cutouts from Graphic45's Christmas Past Collection, this card came together quite quickly. The Merry Christmas stamp is from Inkadinkado. There is also a bit of clear glitter gel pen in a few places that the camera did not pickup.

Here's the sketch.

Such a beautiful day outside today. Here in Charleston we have temps in the 70's and a bit of a breeze with lots of sunshine. Think I'll go out and play for a while and maybe get inspired for a new project. Happy crafting everyone!

Brenda

SUPPLIES . . . . . . . . . .

Peeled Paint Distress Ink

Recollections 8.5 x 11 white paper

Father Christmas 6X6 Paper Pad

Tim Holtz Scissors

Scotch ATG 714

Graphic45 Christmas Past Coll.

InLinkz.com