Locker Tags - Valentine Style

The women's clothing store where I work has lockers where we can stow our purses "and other valuables" (which in my case, means hairspray!) while we're working.  A couple of my coworkers have been making holiday-themed name tags for the lockers, so I decided to take my turn and make some Valentine ones.

I needed eight tags total so I kept them fairly simple.  I selected some pretty papers from The Old World Stack paper pad by DCWV (a stack that is several years old and still one of my favorites), and die-cut two sizes of scalloped hearts.  I then die-cut two plain hearts, one from sheet music and the other from a coordinating cardstock.

For the base, I die-cut a plain rectangle from ivory cardstock and a scalloped rectangle from the colored cardstock.  Overall, the tags are about 3x6 inches.  I added a paper flower to the center and hand-wrote the names.  I think these will look lovely on our old-fashioned school lockers, and "the girls" can keep them when the name tags get changed out the next time around.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Spellbinders Nestabilities dies (heart, scalloped heart, rectangle, scalloped rectangle); patterned paper by DCWV, naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; paper flower by Paper Studio.

Ring My Bell - Valentine Thank You

Yes, I'm still making valentines!  Kind of.  This is a Valentine-themed thank you card for my mom's cousin, who gave me the corrugated cardstock I used to make the scalloped heart.  She had received a bunch of art and craft supplies from a friend who was downsizing, and she happily shared some items that were right up my alley.

After die-cutting the scalloped heart, I scraped it with titanium white acrylic paint and sprinkled on chunky antique gold glitter.  Once it was dry, I sponged gathered twigs distress ink around the edges.  I used a piece of vintage ribbon to tie on the smaller red heart, adding a mini Tim Holtz bell.  The Slavic-language sheet music is from an old hymnal in my stash.

Have a beautiful day!

Supplies:
Buttermints cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper and corrugated cardstock by DCWV; titanium white acrylic paint; vintage gold chunky glitter by Recollections (Michaels); spun sugar and gathered twigs distress ink; vintage sheet music and lace from my stash; tiny bell from Tim Holtz; pop-dots.

Healing Hearts Valentines

For the past year or so, I've been attending a monthly art therapy group for cancer patients, caregivers, family and friends.  I learned about the group from the hospital where my dad received his cancer treatments.  The group is facilitated by a local artist and we've done everything from mixed media drawings to needle felting to watercolor painting.  At the last minute, I decided to make Valentines for everyone this month.

This special card was created for the facilitator.  To suit his style, I wanted to make the card more masculine and grungy than one might normally expect a Valentine to be.  I started with the large heart, which was die-cut from a piece of gray corrugated cardstock.  Using an old gift card, I roughly scraped on titanium white acrylic paint and while it was still wet, sprinkled on some chunky vintage gold glitter.  After the paint dried, I sponged vintage photo distress ink around the edges.  The red heart was also die-cut, scraped with white acrylic paint, and sponged with vintage photo distress ink.  After tying on a piece of jute twine, the red heart was adhered to the gray heart using pop-dots.  The vintage sheet music underneath the hearts received the same white paint and distress ink treatment.

For the other members of the group, I made these simple die-cut hearts using a variety of patterned papers and cardstock in my stash.  The hearts are tied together with a piece of baker's twine, and I simply hand-wrote my sentiment on the back.  I was feeling cheeky and gave two of the guys the hot pink ones, which gave everyone a good laugh. (One guy's wife quickly swapped her red one for his pink one, however.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Solid cardstocks by Bazzill; corrugated cardstock by DCWV; patterned papers from various manufacturers; vintage sheet music from my stash; titanium white acrylic paint; rusty hinge and vintage photo distress ink; vintage gold chunky glitter by Recollections (Michaels); heart and scalloped heart Nestabilities by Spellbinders; baker's twine by We R Memory Keepers; jute twine from the hardware store; pop-dots.

Happy 80th Birthday, Bev!

The mother of one of my childhood friends recently turned 80, and the lounge where she tends bar once a week had a kick-ass party for her.  Her birthday was the day before Thanksgiving which meant a lot of people had the next day off and thus could go to a party on a Wednesday night.  Even her son from Texas was able to come, and the bar hired a popular local band to play.  A pleasant surprise for me personally was seeing another childhood friend and her sister there.  It was by far one of the best birthday parties I've been to in a long time.  I certainly hope I'm still rocking it out when I'm 80!

I created this card for Bev and thought it turned out really cute.  I used one of my favorite images by Tim Holtz and colored it with Prismacolor Premier pencils.  The flower is by Petaloo and it coordinated beautifully with these patterned papers by Teresa Collins.

Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Black and amber cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Teresa Collins; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; focal image by Tim Holtz; sentiment from Stampin' Up; Ranger Archival black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; banner die by Spellbinders; antique linen distress ink; Martha Stewart border punch; pop-dots.

Those Whom We Have Loved

The mother of one of my best friends from high school and college has passed away.  She had Alzheimer's and has been slowly slipping away over the past six years.  It's such a cruel disease and so hard on the person's family and friends.  So this weekend I've been making sympathy cards to send to my friend, his brother, and his mom's best friend and long-time neighbor.

Because it's easier to make sympathy cards for women, I started with this one for his mom's friend.  I think she will like the soft colors.  The stamps are all from Stampin' Up.  I stamped the large flower twice and trimmed away the outer petals from one of them in order to create a layered effect.  The Anna Griffin embossing folder used for the white layer is called Rosa.

Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Purple and lavender cardstock; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; rubber stamps from Stampin' Up; mowed lawn and seedless preserves distress ink; Ranger Archival black ink; clear embossing powder; Anna Griffin embossing folder; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; corner rounder punch; pop-dot.

Simply Wonderful Mother's Day

We've been so busy around here that the word for Mother's Day was "simple."  We had a simple dinner of roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and vegetables.  I made a clean and simple card using patterned papers by Simple Stories and a "simply wonderful" stamp from Stampin' Up.

All in all, it was a simply wonderful day.  I hope yours was, too! Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Yellow Swiss dot cardstock by Bazzill; naturals white cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers  by Simple Stories; sentiment from Stampin' Up; Versamark ink; black detail embossing powder; oval, scalloped oval, and label Nestabilities by Spellbinders; Martha Stewart butterfly and border punch; corner rounder punch; rhinestone stickers; pop-dots.

She Sends You Hope

A friend of mine had major surgery this week for a problem that has bothered her for quite a while.  I know she was hoping to avoid surgery, but sometimes that's the best option and in the long term, I hope she enjoys better health as a result.

I mailed this card the day after her surgery so she may get it before she has even left the hospital.  I paired one of my favorite gals from Artistic Outpost with a sentiment from Red Lead.  Both were heat embossed in black for a little dimension and shine.  The patterned papers are by Teresa Collins and were sponged with vintage photo distress ink.  I used a get well sentiment on the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Gold cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Teresa Collins; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Generation Redux image from Artistic Outpost; sentiment from Red Lead Paperworks; Versamark ink; black detail embossing powder; oval, scalloped oval, rectangle, scalloped rectangle, hearts, and banner Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders; border punch by EK Success; vintage photo distress ink; pop dots.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

I created this card for a friend who is turning the big 4-0.  We had a great time celebrating the occasion and I'm happy to say that she can still party like a rock star.

Since she's the baby of the family I decided to make her a sweet card using one of my favorite Tim Holtz images.  I combined it with pretty papers by My Mind's Eye and used four different Nestabilities to create some lovely layers.   The large ribbon flower from Michaels was jazzed up with a little glitter glue.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a grand day.

Supplies:
Dark pink and light pink cardstock; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; focal image by Tim Holtz; Ranger Archival jet black ink; oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; banner die-cut by Spellbinders; birthday sentiment from Stampin' Up; pumice stone distress ink; flower from Michaels; Stickles glitter glue.

Sing

Earlier this month I shared with you this card that I made for our friend Ron who had surgery and was in the hospital.  Well, that poor guy is still in the hospital following some unexpected complications and two more surgeries.  I'm sending him another card, but first I created this card to send to his wife, Jackie.  She is one of my mom's closest friends and she's been pretty open about how stressful the situation has been.

Sometimes we forget that when someone has a protracted illness or hospital stay, it takes a toll on the family, too.  My mom and I experienced this first-hand after my dad was diagnosed with cancer.  So I wanted to let Jackie know that we are thinking of her and sending our love and support.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but sometimes a simple little boost like that can help a friend make it through a tough day.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day!

Supplies:
Naturals ivory cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers from my scrap bin; bird stamp from Stampington and Company; Ranger Archival black ink; antique linen and gathered twigs distress ink; punchinella; Martha Stewart border punch; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; sing cut from an old book.

Aves de Amor (Love Birds)

While waiting for something to dry on another project, I created a small note card using a leftover piece of sheet music and patterned papers by My Mind's Eye.

The card turned out so cute that I made two more.

The bird is from Stampington and Company and I like its hand-carved appearance.  Hand carving my own images is still something I plan to try some day.  In the meantime, I'm happy to have this little bird to use.

This last picture made me think of the Bob Marley song Three Little Birds.  They look so sweet together that I hate to break them up.  But I started rubber stamping so I could make my own cards to send to friends and family, so these little guys will be added to the outgoing mail soon. 

Thanks for dropping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Black and very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by My Mind's Eye; bird from Stampington and Company; Ranger Archival black ink; vintage sheet music; antique linen, pumice stone and tattered rose distress ink; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; border punch by Martha Stewart; punchinella.

Vintage Tricycle Thanks

This is the thank you card I sent to my mom's cousin after we visited them last month (see this blog post).  Because most of the family lives in our vicinity, this cousin and her husband always have to drive here for reunions, funerals, or just to get together for fun.  But the road goes in both directions, as the saying goes, and we decided it had been too long since we had been to their place.  After a delicious lunch, we had a wonderful afternoon exploring their neck of the woods.

For this card I started with the vintage tricycle image by Deep Red Stamps.  I heat-embossed the tricycle in black and after selecting the patterned paper for the background, I lightly colored the trike with Prismacolor pencils to coordinate.  The sheet music and book text are both vintage scraps from my stash.  To integrate the new papers with the old, I sponged old paper distress ink around all the edges, stamped on a splatter pattern and randomly stenciled gathered twigs distress ink through a piece of punchinella.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Blue cardstock (unknown); very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned paper by Making Memories; Versafine watermark ink; black embossing powder; tricycle image from Deep Red; vintage sheet music and book text; Prismacolor Premier pencils; old paper and gathered twigs distress ink; splatter pattern background stamp by All Night Media; round and scalloped round Nestabilities by Spellbinders; sentiment diecut by Little Yellow Bicycle; black cardstock by Bazzill; punchinella.

Thank You For Your Service

As I mentioned a month ago in the post here, my dad and I are going to Washington, D.C., later this month on an Honor Flight.  One aspect of the trip that I am really excited about is the "mail call."  On the return flight, each veteran will receive cards and letters addressed to him, just as if he were still in the service and away from home.  I know that a few friends and relatives answered my call for mail and have sent something for my dad.  Now it's my turn to share with you what I sent.  In this post I'll show you the card I made; in another post I'll show you the small accordion book that coordinates with it.

The papers are from a Tim Holtz collection called Correspondence.  The muted blue and red tones were perfect for the vintage patriotic look I was going for.  The paper with the blue stars reminded me that I have a set of star-shaped Nestabilities.  The stars were layered with cardstock and more papers from the same Tim Holtz collection.  The sentiment was stamped and then cut with a Spellbinders banner.

For the focal image, I used a photo of my dad that I had printed but not used for my accordion book because it was too small.  However, it was the perfect size for a dogtag die that I have.  The photo paper was kind of wimpy so I adhered the photo to a piece of white cardstock before cutting it.  The result was a sturdier image with a wonderful embossed edge reminiscent of the rolled edge on my dad's actual dogtag.  The blue star and the dogtag were both adhered with pop-dots to allow room for the chain (a Tim Holtz product; I just cut the length I needed).

This card is 5x7 so I had plenty of room inside to write a special message to my dad.  My guess is that it will bring tears to his eyes, because I was tearing up as I wrote it.  I have many things to thank him for in addition to his service to our country.

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Supplies:
Dark blue cardstock from Stampin' Up; light blue and red cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Tim Holtz; frayed burlap distress ink; sentiment by Recollections (Michaels); Ranger Archival jet black ink; Martha Stewart border punch; star Nestabilities and banner diecut by Spellbinders; dogtag diecut by Elizabeth Craft Designs; ballchain by Tim Holtz; pop-dots.

In Time

Last night we learned that my mom's sole surviving uncle had a fall at home, broke his leg, and is rehabbing at a local care center.  We don't know how long he'll be there, so I made a card to go into the mail ASAP.

For this card, I used an image by Paperbag Studios that was one of the early stamps I bought when I started to make my own greeting cards.  I stamped it on a Daisy D patterned paper from my stash and set it aside until I chose my overall color scheme.

I used two patterned papers by DCWV for the bottom layer, but of course had to doctor them up a bit.  I stenciled distress ink through a piece of punchinella, then added coarse molding paste through a measuring tape stencil.  Once the paste dried, I tinted it with stormy sky distress ink.  I added more stenciling using just the ink.  Then I went back to my focal image and sponged on coordinating inks to tie everything together.

Making my own cards brings me such joy, and I don't know anyone that doesn't appreciate receiving a card or letter in the mail.  I think this is especially true of my generation and my elders, who grew up without email, texting or Facebook (or even cheap phone calls!  Remember how expensive it used to be to call long distance?).  For past generations, the mail was the method used to keep in contact with friends and family, both near and far.  It feels good to carry on that tradition.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  Have a great day!

Supplies:
Dark gray cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by DCWV and Daisy D; In Time stamp by Paperbag Studios; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Ranger Archival ink jet black; punchinella; Tim Holtz measuring tape stencil; Golden coarse molding paste; bundled sage, stormy sky, brushed corduroy distress ink; Ranger Archival ink watering can; oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; EK Success border punch; pop-dots.

Cute as a Button

Hello and Happy Earth Day!  Today I'm sharing a birthday card I created for a dear friend of mine.

I chose these papers by Authentique because (1) I love the color red and (2) the gingham pattern conjured up the image of a summer picnic eaten off a checkered tablecloth.  What could be more joyful than that?  I stamped one of my favorite images from Artistic Outpost on an ivory-colored paper from the same Authentique collection and colored her with Prismacolor pencils.  The sentiment is from Red Lead Paperworks; I've used it a lot because it's such a happy saying.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies:
Gray cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Authentique; focal image by Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival jet black ink; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; pumice stone distress ink; sentiment by Red Lead Paperworks; small oval and scalloped oval punches from Stampin' Up; oval, scalloped oval and lacy oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; border punch by EK Success; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.

Sweet Sympathy Card

When my parents first got married, my dad was working at a meatpacking plant, delivering meat products to grocery stores and restaurants all around the area.  He became good friends with one of the other drivers, Clarence, whose wife Marge also worked at the plant.  Clarence and Marge were some of the first friends my parents had as a married couple, and I would say that Clarence was my dad's best friend.  We spent a lot of time with their family when we were kids.  When Clarence died of cancer, that was the first time I remember seeing my dad cry.

Now Marge has passed, and it feels like the end of an era for us.  My parents are in Arizona for the winter, but my brother and I were able to attend the funeral.  In spite of the somber occasion, we enjoyed spending time with Marge and Clarence's sons and reminiscing about the good old days.  Family is important, but the friends who become family make the stories of our lives.

Have a wonderful day. 

Supplies:
Green cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; floral and sentiment stamps from Stampin' Up; green and purple markers; Ranger Archival black ink; Anna Griffin embossing folder; round and lacy round Nestabilities by Spellbinders; corner rounder punch; pop dots.

Yuletide Greetings

Usually by this time in December, my parents have been in Arizona for more than two months, enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures.  However, due to my dad's cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, they have had to postpone their departure date.  You wanna talk about two people being bummed out!  But on the bright side, my mom and I have been able to do some things together that we haven't done in at least 15 years.  That has included putting up Christmas decorations and doing some baking.

I also suggested that we make Christmas cards to send to their friends in Arizona.  Well, we ended up making quite a few cards because once we got going, she decided she wanted to send cards to a bunch of other friends and relatives, too.

I kept the design fairly simple and used a variety of patterned papers from my stash.  The cute focal image is by Inkadinkado.  At the last minute I added some gold Stickles to the lantern for a little sparkle.

We had a lot of fun sitting around the kitchen table working on these cards.  We made two of each design above and in the end, my mom took all but three cards!  So now I'm working on a second batch of cards for myself.

I hope you're enjoying all the holiday festivities.  Thanks for stopping by!

Extra! Extra!

The brother that is receiving this 4x4 chunky for his birthday will also receive this card.

I adhered patterned paper to a chipboard circle and colored it with distress inks to match the other patterned papers (all by 7 Gypsies).  The buildings were stamped directly on the background with black soot distress ink which helps to make them look like they're in the distance. 

The cute little paperboy from Artistic Outpost was stamped on a scrap of vanilla cardstock, colored with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out before being adhered.  I stamped "extra" twice on patterned paper and again used distress inks to tint them.  They are attached to each other with a garment pin from my stash.

I can't believe it's the last day of August already!  Make it a great one.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla and crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by 7 Gypsies; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; dried marigold, tumbled glass, walnut stain and black soot distress ink; titanium white acrylic paint; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; punchinella; circle chipboard shape from Hobby Lobby; Martha Stewart border punch; Nestabilities lacy round die from Spellbinders; garment pin by Making Memories; pop-dots.

Thank You

Here's another thank you card for a friend who helped make my birthday extra special this year.

The patterned papers are by My Mind's Eye.  The main image from Artistic Outpost was stamped on vanilla cardstock and colored with distress inks.  I added Glossy Accents to her glasses, a simple technique that I just love.

TGIF!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Plum and black cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper by My Mind's Eye; very vanilla and crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger Archival black ink; Victorian velvet, bundled sage and pumice stone distress ink; Momenta/My Little Bicycle die-cut; Prima paper flowers; brushed pewter Stickles; Glossy Accents; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; border punch by Martha Stewart; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.

It's Hard to Say Good-bye

I sent this card to a dear friend who recently lost her father to cancer.  Cancer sucks.

Supplies:
Red and tan cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; floral and sympathy sentiment from Stampin' Up; Marvy markers; Ranger Archival black ink; Pitt black artist pen; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; Anna Griffin embossing folder; corner rounder punch; pop-dots.

Asian-Inspired Poppy - Watercolor

Last night at watercolor class we once again had the chance to paint whatever we wanted.  For inspiration I used a landscape photo a friend of mine took while on one of her walks.  Unfortunately, I started out using too dark of paint where I shouldn't have, and the whole thing was pretty much a disaster from the start.  So I switched gears and worked from a painting I found on the internet.  It was a very simple and loose composition of poppies in just two colors, red and black.  It had an Asian or Japanese feel to it and looks as if it were done using sumi-e ink.

My painting had more foliage in shades of gray and black and another poppy to the right that I didn't like at all, so when I got home I cropped it out!  (Ah, the advantages of having a variety of craft-related tools at my disposal.)  I added a few splatters of black paint and little squiggles to the large poppy using a fine-tipped black Sharpie, and ended up with this 3x6 inch painting that I mounted on red cardstock.  It may eventually become the front of a greeting card, if I can bear to part with it.  Right now I'm enjoying it too much myself.

I can't believe it's October already!  Thanks for dropping by and have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Schmincke Horadam watercolor paints; red cardstock by Bazzill; fine-tipped black Sharpie; long narrow rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinders.