Has it really been that long?

I almost can't believe it! Time has been flying - so fast that I didn't even notice!

Anyhow, I have a little sumpin' to show you. Bright and cheery, more 'scrappy' than I usually do. All the paper is scrap paper from an 8 x 8 set I bought on clearance at Target a long time ago.

Well, what do you think? Bright, huh? :D Now, if only I knew a tween that needed a card! Only a couple of stamps went into the making of this one - the dragonfly (Inkadinkado) and the ABC's one (which is UM from a show many years ago - and unmarked!). Lots of Spica glitter pen (yay, new toys!) and a punch from EK Sucess. Fairly self explanatory - if a little wild.

Hope you're enjoying your day!

Inspired by Etha (hi Etha!)

You know how sometimes you see something that inspires you, but you forget the details before you get time to sit and create your own thing? That's exactly what happened here! I saw this card over at Etha's blog and something about it really caught my attention. Honestly, I thought it was the layout (I really, really thought I CASE'd her layout! lol) but turns out that I was entranced by the colors!

Several days after I saw her card I had a chance to visit Archiver's and managed to pick up the same patterned paper. Then I set out to make a card with what I could remember of the inspiration piece. (that's how I do it, look at stuff, get inspired, wait a few days & then create my own without looking at the original - takes you on an awesome journey sometimes)

So, what you do think? Are they alike? LOL

First I spent lots of time trying to cut out a pleasing shape from the patterned paper. Then I pulled out a green base card and adhered the pattern paper (Basic Grey) on top. It seemed like it was going to be a romantic card for a while, but I didn't have anything like a fairytale castle - so I went a different direction. Some inking with Distress Inks (what else?) made the edges stand out. Then I used my clear glitter pen to trace some of the lines of the pattern, then stamped the dragonfly & traced that too. The green paper was too stark - trimmed the edge of that with a Martha punch & layered a stamped piece behind it. A little more glitter pen on the edges of the green... then some on the stamped piece. Sheesh! :)

Because I didn't plan very well (another danger of this type of journey) I had to glue the ribbon down on top of the patterned paper - so I added bling to make it less obvious! This thing shimmers like CRAZY!

Thanks for visiting!

AI Foil technique

I love getting the Technique Junkies Newsletter. Such great ideas! I don't do nearly enough of them (not enough time in the day!) but I really liked the idea of this one. Especially since I *love* Tim Holtz goodies!

Now, I did alter the tech just a touch. You're really supposed to cover some cs with foil, then emboss it, then ink it. I like to change it up! lol

Instead I embossed cs, cut selected portions of the design out, inked foil, attached to foil to the BACK of the cs and embossed again. I really like how it came out! (so much that I'm working on another!)

The leaves were plain white skeleton leaves - of course they had to be dusted with Perfect Pearls! My new nestie ribbon tags and a couple of ribbons & I was done! I used a portion of a stamp for the tag (also dusted with PP) - it says 'Joy Beckons' here but the original stamp says 'Where you are, Joy beckons'. A lovely sentiment but way too big to fit!

Thanks for dropping in!

You want to see what I've been up to?

It's not cards! LOL Not even stamping (gasp!). :)

Actually, while I was reading some of the myriad of blogs I subscribe to I ran across this. Don't get me wrong, I will never do the wedding thing again, but I *loved* this. I loved the random eclectic look - add a candle and WOW. However, I'm not interested in fake candles. I have some, but they always look too yellow for me. I like *real* fire! :) Of course I also like to have a home, and really prefer not to get surprise visits from the fire department!

The only answer was to change it up a little. Make it my own - as Simon would say. :D

This was the first one I managed to finish. It went through a couple of different concepts (and one broken glass) before settling on this. I wanted to evoke the feeling of being at the beach, surf and sand being a bit overdone, but still pretty. I bought a fairly cheap ($5?) candle holder from Michael's and three different colors of thread. The beads and shell dangles I used for this one were already on hand (bonus) but I did buy a big jug of fabric stiffener. Ummm, how come I didn't know that fabric stiffener and Elmer's are practically the same thing?!

Because I didn't think I could make an effective form I taped parchment paper around the glass & did my wrapping over that. In retrospect I don't think it was strictly necessary. I strung a bunch of random beads on the beige color of thread (still on the spool) and started wrapping around the glass. I dipped my fingers in the fabric stiffener and ran them over the thread every so often - it is messy, so protect your surfaces! I repeated those steps with the blue thread (stringing the shell dangles on the thread before wrapping - good thing cause this thing is *tight*). Finally I wrapped with the white thread over the top and down onto the blue. Once I was done wrapping I allowed several hours of drying time. Dh had to help me pull the parchment paper off - the worst part was getting it back on the glass! It isn't glued on there, it's only held up by tension.

So, this next one was more of a nod to the wedding theme of the original. I wrapped the same white thread over glass, this time using clear glass beads. I couldn't use any parchment paper to cover the glass because of the shape, but the thread kept rolling over the surface and leaving glue tracks. I think it would've been less messy if the glass was a more regular shape, but I really wanted this to work! I've thought about etching the inside of the glass, but after my last experience I'm feeling a little... hmmmm, hesitant? LOL I don't think it's good enough as it is to give as a gift, but I can certainly burn tea lights at home.

Then, of course, I went in yet another direction (talk about crafty ADD). I wanted to wrap glass using wire instead of thread, but I just couldn't get the wire to stick well. E6000 wasn't cuttin' it. Finally I remembered that I still had some plain white candles from my foray into stamping on candles last Christmas. Once everything was wrapped I ran my heat gun over it to set the wire. If I ever do another of this type I think it would work better to heat as I wrap. You can see how the wire bunched in the middle - it didn't always look like that! It just wanted to scooch toward the middle as I was wrapping - I think I needed six hands to do it all at once!

I do think this is my favorite and it will probably be the one that burns the best (or at least with minimal worry).

So. Interesting? :) Hope you liked this crafty detour... promise I'll get back to cards soon!

Thanks for visiting!