Colour My World ... Card #5 & 6

Can't remember if it was during card #2 or # 3.  As Jennifer was going around the room, she passed by and said to me "Your husband's funny."  I think he was in the store for not more than 15 minutes ... I have no idea what he said ... and unfortunately, with his memory, he doesn't either! 

Here's card # 5 and #6 from my 1st class.  I really enjoyed the technique on card #5, where we used my favourite Ranger arcylic paint dabber ... Pearl ... as a resist to create the background.  You can't see it in the picture, but the Pearl colour gives the background a nice shine ... not too flashy.


With card #6, I went back to my usual colours ... wha!? ... you have to admit browns and blues do go well together :)  We spritz the image with pearlized water (Ranger's perfect pearl + water) and got this wonderful pearlized effect, which of course is not showing up in the picture ... you'll just have to take my word for it and use your imagination :)  I'll try to take better pics in the future ... but no promises ... I'm an amateur when it comes to taking pictures!



Colour My World ... Card #4

No, I don't have a problem counting ... and I did not forget about card #3.  Card # 3 is not ready ... I didn't like the results of that card, so I want to redo it.  Here's 4th card:

We used the distress ink, perfect pearls and water to create the background.  Then combine them to create a paint to colour the butterfly. 

BTW, the old letter writing stamp that I mentioned I did not have ... I actually have it.  However, I don't have this butterfly stamp or the flower stamp in card #1 ... just to show you I don't have everything! 

Colour My World ... Card #2

Here's the 2nd card from the class ... I decided not to stamp a sentiment in the circle until I plan on giving it.  Who am I kidding!?  I'll probably be keeping this as a sample ... I'll stamp it later :)

Me staying away from my usual colours did not last very long ... back to the browns ... Vintage Photo to be exact.  Hey, at least there's a bit of red on the card!

Colour My World ... Card #1

Yaaaay, I got to play in my room this weekend ... I finished some additional cards with embossing folders and The Greeting Farm images ... you know the big-headed girls ... I actually have a big-headed boy now :)  I also started to work on the cards from my 1st class with Jennifer McGuire.

Working on the cards brought me back to last weekend ... when we arrived at the store, there was already a line of ladies waiting to get in.  After I got my name tag with my table number, I started to head to the back as Jennifer came to the front ... I said "Hi" and she said "Hi, it's good to see you again."  I was a bit surprise ... I met her back in March and since then I'm sure she's met 100's of people, so I did not expect her to remember me!  But it was a nice feeling that she did :)

To be quite honest, I started the day quite tired from the craziness preparing for my team's arrival during the previous weeks.  However, I knew this day would relax and re-energize me for the week to come.  Here's the start of my journey to relax ... ah yes, this 1st card, it was my effort to stay away from my usual colours and decided to do something different ... so I picked up the Barn Door Red and Wild Honey distress inks ... and here's the final result:

Quick post ...

Apologies for disappearing for a bit ... a few members of my team were in town last week, so it was quite a hectic week.  Also, hubbie had a minor operation on Monday and has been home recovering and mommy's back from her trip.  So, lots have been happening!  Therefore, I didn't have the time to post anything ... however, my plan this weekend is to play a bit in The Paper Room, so I can relax.

Here's a quick post about another one of my favorite stamping companies "Hero Arts".  Of course, one of the advantages they have over other companies is that Jennifer McGuire works there!  Here are a few cards I made with their asian stamps ... I love these stamps ... and a lot others from them ;)

  

... in other words, I have quite few stamps from them!  It was really apparent just how many Hero Arts stamps I had when I noticed I had most of the stamps used for the classes with Jennifer McGuire.  I did get a few more that I did not have by the end of the night ... the only one I couldn't get since they did not have anymore was the old letter writing (it's a letter Jennifer McGuire's grandfather wrote to her grandmother ... I think I got that right).  Don't worry though, I will get it eventually along with a few others :)

Classes with Jennifer McGuire ...

On Sunday, I attended 3 classes (Colour My World, Festive Techniques, Creative Kickstart) given by Jennifer McGuire ... from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.  It was amazing ... it wasn't just all the techniques we learned that made it so great ... it was her fun and inspiring personality.  She's really sweet and generous and that really shines through.

As I mentioned in a previous post, her classes are fast paced ... she prepared 8 cards for each class ... we worked on 6 and the other 2 were to be done at home.  However, 6 cards in 2.5 hours was still a lot since each card had many techniques ... so I have homework :)  As you probably guessed, this is definitely homework I don't mind doing ;)  I figure I'll post the cards from the classes as I complete them ... so stay tuned.  This will allow me to share what I learned and my experience ... who knows maybe one of you would be inspired to take a class with Jennifer!

A few more cards ...

Thought I just share with you the other cards I made during the weekend.  The style is pretty much the same ... just different color, embossing folder, or image.  Yup, they're a few of the other stamps I have from The Greeting Farm ... translation for hubbie:  Yes, more big-headed girls!

I tend to use the same image and make variations ... I do that all the time ... it's like I need to do every color combination, etc.  in order to get it out of my system.  BTW, it's not out of my system yet, so I'll be doing some more.  I do need to practice coloring with my Copics markers ;)

Yaaay, an extra hour!

We move the clocks back this weekend ...

  ... this is what it meant for hubbie ... an extra hour of sleep! 

For me, it was an extra hour of crafting :)

This weekend I tried to finish up some cards I started.  As you may recall from a previous post regarding embossing folders, I had a bunch of cards that I made with embossing folders and just needed to add an image.  Over the past few weeks, I've been coloring a bunch of images that I stamped ... and I  F-I-N-A-L-L-Y put them together this weekend!  I made 14 cards ... I didn't have a chance to take pictures of them all.  However, I did take one of these 3 (sorry, it's a bit out of focus ... I took the picture quickly) ...

It's one of the stamps I have from The Greeting Farm ... when I talk to hubbie, I refer to them as my big-headed girls ... only way for me to describe them so he knows what I'm talking about.  He doesn't find them very cute ... oh well ... at least he likes my coloring :)

Penny Black Hedgehog ...

One of my favorite stamping companies is Penny Black Inc ... I have quite a few stamps from that company!  Why you ask ... well, it's because of these little guys  ... aren't they just adorable? 

BTW, he's a hedgehog.  Hubbie calls him a porcupine even though he knows full well it's a hedgehog!  Oh and he keeps saying that I'm going to get a thank you letter from Penny one day ... he's so silly!  Honestly, I really don't have THAT many stamps ;)

 

Oh, alright I have a lot of them ... I think I have 50 stamps with just this little hedgehog.  I'm not going to tell you how many in total from this company; I don't want you to think I'm an addict or anything.  To be fair, this is over a period of over 10 years!  Ok, I'm going to stop there before I make things sound worst than they are!

An Asian Touch ...

What a great day I had yesterday!  I had my class "An Asian Touch" yesterday, where I show different techniques with Ranger's Distress Ink ... and had a wonderful time with 5 really nice ladies.  Hopefully, I'll get to see them again.  The best thing about classes for me is meeting new people and sharing ideas and experiences.  It's nice to know I'm not the only nut out there :)  BTW, I also got to do a bit of shopping after my class ... yay, more toys ;)

Not only did the class get the creative juices flowing, but it eliminated the stress from my job ... you know the one that pays for all these toys.  This is really the best therapy for me :)

We made 4 cards ... the idea was for each person to make 2 cards with the bamboo stamp and 2 cards with the cherry blossom stamp.  The price of the course included one stamp ... however, most of them bought the other stamp ... I can understand ... I love these 2 stamps ... and of course, I have both of them!

Chinese Screen Card

Supplies:

One 8 1/2"x5 1/2" piece of cardstock (Black)

Two 3 1/2"x4" pieces of cardstock (Brown/Olive Green)

One 3 1/4"x 3 3/4"piece of glossy paper
One 3 1/4"x 3 3/4"piece of cardstock (Blue/Light yellow used here - inside card)
Versamark Ink
Distress Inks (Broken China & Brushed Corduroy/Peel Paint & Vintage Photo)
Blending Tool
Adhesive



Traditional Resist Card



Supplies:
One 8 1/2"x5 1/2" piece of cardstock (White)
One 4"x5 1/4" piece of cardstock (Grey/Olive Green)
One 1 1/2"x5 1/4" piece of cardstock (Red/Mustard Yellow)
One 4" diameter circle - watercolor paper (White)
Versamark Ink
Clear Embossing Powder & Heating Gun
Distress Inks (Stormy Sky & Aged Mahogany/Peel Paint & Vintage Photo)
Blending Tool
AdhesiveCorner Chomper

Box Card

Supplies:
One 8 1/2"x5 1/2" piece of cardstock (Purple/Brown)
- Score at 3 1/4", 4", 7 1/4, and 8". 
One 3 1/8"x5 1/2" piece of cardstock (Beige)
Distress Inks (Dusty Concord/Walnut Stain)
Blending Tool
Adhesive
Stickles (Star Dust)



Blending Distress Inks Card




Supplies:
One 8 1/2"x5 1/2" piece of cardstock (White)
One 4"x5 1/4" piece of cardstock (Sky Blue/Brown)
One 2 3/8"x4" piece of cardstock (Red/Mustard Yellow)
One 2 1/8"x4" diameter circle - watercolor paper (White)
Distress Inks (Stormy Sky & Brushed Cordunroy/Aged Mahogany & Vintage Photo)
Momento Dye Ink (Tuxedo Black)
Craftsheet
Mini Mister
Adhesive



Oh and before I forget ... I had a lovely assistant during this class.  At one point, we needed bone folders (a tool used to crease materials in crafts) since not everyone had one ... and in comes hubbie with 2 bone folders.  Yup, he was at the store waiting for me ... don't worry, he wasn't bored ... he was doing his own crafting ... WarCraft!

Can you tell what this is?

A friend of mine asked me to make a birthday card for her sister-in-law's 50th birthday.  Here's what I came up with ...

If your guess is a suitcase, then you're absolutely right.  Her sister-in-law loves to travel!  Here's the inside of the card ...

 

I love those Hero Art butterflies ... I stamped a whole bunch of them and colored them ... probably over 100 of them.  I've made dozens of cards with them ... I still have quite a bit left to make more cards :)



Birthday Wishes ...

Just a quick post today to wish a good friend happy birthday.  Here's the card I made him.

Happy Birthday CHG!  

Wishing you lots of everything wonderful!!

BTW ... "Happy Birthday!!" from Stagaire.

Here's a close up of the birds, I put "Fun Flock" on the white area of the chickadees ... not sure if you can see it.  I'll talk more about "Fun Flock" on another post.

Embossing Folders ...

Embossing has certainly come a long way ... my 1st embossing experience was with a metal template, stylus tool and the window ... during the day of course.  The sunlight would shine through, so I could see where to trace the image ... let me tell you it was a challenge holding up the paper for so long!  I'm sure neighbours and passerbys wondered what the heck I was doing ... what can I say I'm dedicated to my crafts ;)

A co-worker had asked me to make an octagon box for her niece's 1st wedding anniversary; I embossed the sides of the box with the metal template, stylus and window method!  Unfortunately, I did not have a camera back then, but here's another one I made ...

I later graduate to using an embossing light table ... much easier on the arms :)  And now some brilliant person invented embossing folders!  It gives your card the "wow" factor without much effort.  All you need is the embossing folder, which is inexpensive ... and of course the machine ... which is not inexpensive.  However, depending on the machine you get, you can also cut dies ... this of course leads you to more stuff!  I have a few die cutting machines ... out of all of them, I find the Sizzix Big Shot to be the most for your buck.  It accepts most dies made by different companies as well as embossing folders.

Ok, back to the embossing folders.  Here are a few cards I prepared ... all waiting for me to just add something to complete them ...yeah, I know I can get a bit crazy at times.  One of my favorite embossing folders is the cherry blossoms (pic on right).

   

Here's a few cards I made with embossing folders.  The picture in the middle is the mini cards I did for a "make 'n take" to demonstrate embossing folders.

Here's one I made for my friend's brother's wedding ... boy, that was a mouth full!  The wedding colors were pink and brown ... I knew about the pink; however, I found out after about the brown ... I guess things do have a way of working out :)

   

There's a technique I saw on YouTube where you roll ink on the embossing folder and when you emboss your paper, the image stands out ... I tried it out and got the result below ... what do you think?  BTW, I used Ranger's Distress Ink ... love those inks ... very versatile.

My Quilling Journey ...

Apologies for going MIA ... I was in Australia last week and just returned Saturday night.  The week before when I was scrambling to get myself organized for the trip ... btw, I found out 10 days before ... everyone was saying how lucky I was ... I wasn't sure since this was not a vacation and all I was feeling was the stress of sorting everything out.  However, I did enjoy meeting and connecting with my team, so the 23 hours of being on an airplane was worth it ... besides it gave me the opportunity to catch up on movies :)  Unfortunately, I did not have any time or energy to do any sightseeing.  However, I did see 2 kangaroos!!  I know I'm such a tourist ... it was really cool they were just outside our office building.  The building is on a university campus; it's very green ... apparently lots of kangaroos (except for the lunch time we went out looking for them) and other wildlife ... but no koala bears around :(  The week went by pretty quick even though I was working ... before I knew it, it was time to leave.  Sorry, my journey to Australia was not a very facinating one ... perhaps you'll enjoy my journey with quilling.

Many years ago ... can't even remember when ... that's how long it's been.  Anyway, hubbie and I were at Chapters, and I picked up a book on Quilling.  When I showed the book to hubbie, he asked "You want to start QUILTING!?"  No silly ... QUILLING!

Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.  Once hubbie realized it had to do with paper, he understood why I was interested ;)

At first I didn't get any of the quilling tools or materials, I wanted to try things out to see if I like it before investing in the tools.  So, initially, I would cut strips of paper from sheets and fringe the strips using scissors.  It's not difficult, but your eyes do get tired from staring at that strip of paper.  Eventually, I did get the tools and many strips of precut paper.  I got hooked on doing a whole bunch of these mini flower pots and tried my hand on decorating an Origami box I made.



Quilling can be time consuming ... but I don't do anything too complicated.  I like to add them on cards, scrapbooks ... gives a nice touch ... don't you think?

 

Can you tell I like putting roses on my cards!?