I feel like a kid with a new toy! I have been enjoying the card class so much that I lose track of time and have to rush to work but it has been worth it. I have learned so much in the past few weeks…new techniques, designs, and inspiration! This first one I realized that I will need to get myself a circle cutter as some point in time as it took a lot of trial and error finding the right round object to trace (this ended up being the top of a vase) in order to get the large circle shape that I then had to hand cut. The smaller circles that make up the flower petals I used a circle punch which made that step nice and easy. I love the look of the twine as a different accent instead of ribbon as well.
I played more with the simple flowers in this next one and even added a small area of color with the patterned paper on the inside that will show through the side design area of the card for a nice extra touch.
Reverse images were next up and I always wondered how to achieve this technique. I stamped the first image of the bird on the paper and then stamped it a second time on a piece of plastic. That way I was able to immediately turn the plastic over to put the reverse bird next to the original. It definitely took some practice and is still not perfect but with the hand-coloring of the birds it hides any small imperfections that may not have stamped quite as clearly in the reverse image. I will have to play with this technique some more and see what else I can come up with. Can you tell which was the original image?
Hope you enjoy the new cards. Have a great week!
I am still having a blast participating in the clean and simple card class. Day 3 techniques were using monotone colors while adding layers behind shapes to add depth. Day 4 used a large text stamp in which letters were cut out to add texture to the words while keeping things dramatic yet simple. I’m trying to use stamps and supplies that I already have and since I don’t have a large text stamp I found a patterned paper of X’s and O’s that created a similar effect. With valentines day right around the corner I stayed with the hearts and love theme.
Hope you enjoy the new cards!
How has your new year started? Things are starting off well here. I’m participating in a card class that began this past monday called Clean & Simple Card Making. I’ve already been so wrapped up in it I’ve had to force myself to take breaks to eat! So many tips and techniques and fantastic inspiration already and I’m only a few days in! Day 1 went over a couple simple sketches which we then built on from there. I had received a Cuttlebug for Christmas (so excited to get a chance to use it!!) so I used that to create the background texture of this first card. The center square is out of the same color cardstock as the background but I ran the edges over a black stamp pad to give the edges a little color and help it pop off the background and attached the small hearts with glue dots so they would be raised accents.
The second card was based off another simple sketch in which I decided to create a bright and cheerful birthday card. I found a lightly textured cardstock for the background and then used the candles paper with ribbon accent. A simple Happy Birthday greeting with a few red rhinestones to match the ribbon to complete this card.
Day 2 dove into “Perfectly Flat” cards which I always thought was a huge challenge but love the simplicity and how it looks. I have a few larger rose stamps which I played with some different positioning off the card with a simple greeting. Now I can see why I would love to find a few larger simple stamps and how they can be used to create more of a letterpress feel to the card.
I haven’t decided which is my favorite of the roses cards because I like parts of each of them.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
Can’t believe that another year has flown by! This past year had a lot of ups and downs… well many more downs then ups so the way I am looking at this year is there is only one way to go… UP! This year I’m going to start strong with my main goal in building my business. I need to take more initiative in making things happen and doing more with marketing myself. I’m looking forward to learning more and gaining more experience along the way. The journey is part of the experience and I’m ready to begin! Hope you all had a happy new year and are looking forward to many new experiences and good times throughout 2012!
Daytona Etsy Team’s Holiday Sale begins on Black Friday with 10% off using the coupon code DAYTONAETSY10! Check out a sneak peak at a couple treasuries that are including shops that will be participating in this special.
Sneak Peak 1
Sneak Peak 2
Sneak Peak 3
This holiday sale will run from November 25 – December 9th so be sure to stop by when you have a chance to check out the specials!
Last year I was first introduced to Washi tape and I instantly fell in love with all the beautiful patterns and designs. Some are simple while others are elegant and intricate. I had been looking for some for a while now but found it difficult to location it in the states. I’m lucky to have an awesome friend. She went home to Japan for a bit to visit her family and brought some back for me. I’ve never had a gift from overseas so super excited that she was sweet enough to pick some up for me.
Check out the beautiful patterns she picked out for me!
I can’t wait to start playing and seeing what designs I can come up with! Happy Monday!
Ready for Halloween? Decorate your home for the holidays with a little added flare! I love decorating the house for the holidays and created this mini Halloween bunting flag that I wanted to share with you. You can download the file for free here so you can decorate your own home. Hang it over your mantle, above the front door, up the staircase or anywhere you choose. Print out the pdf on cardstock, cut out the flags and glue onto twine or ribbon.
What you’ll need:
- Cardstock
- Color printer
- Scissors/x-acto knife
- Glue Stick
- Twine/Ribbon
How to:
- Print onto cardstock paper. (I glued mine onto a second sheet of cardstock to make it a little thicker)
- Cut flags with scissors or x-acto knife.
- Glue twine or ribbon to back of the flags.
- Press firmly and let dry.
Hope you have fun with these!
Little projects…. they don’t take that long but life always seems to get in the way so those 20 min projects start to add up. My list has seemed to have grown way too long to the point that it’s getting a little intimidating so tonight I finally decided to knock a few things off it. We replaced the kitchen countertops and re-faced the cabinets last year and the only thing left in the kitchen is to replace all the light fixtures and outlets. I figured this should be easy enough to do so I went out to the fuse box to flip off the power to the kitchen. Now this should have been easy but when your house is built back in the 80′s you begin to find all the problems as you start to update things. The wiring leaves a little to be desired and I couldn’t find the right fuse for some of the outlets. Getting very frustrated I started turning off everything and even tried the garage fuse. Nope that didn’t work either. So about to give up I decided to switch gears so I could actually get something accomplished. (I’ll have to leave the light fixtures for another project night) Since I had the power off to the garage I was able to fix a few things out there. The pull cord to the ceiling fan had broken awhile ago so we couldn’t turn the fan off. This was a simple fix but again just had to take the little bit of time to fix it. I found a new switch at Home Depot and it had detailed directions on the back to swap out. All I had to do was open up the bottom of the fan, unhook a few wires and connect them to the new unit…. and it’s as good as new! (and finally cleaner too)
The next project was again a small one but just need the short time to get it done. The old unit to open the garage door had gone on the fritz….randomly we would walk into the garage and mysteriously it would be open and it seemed that the unit had a short circuit. No problems here thanks to a friends great idea… a doorbell!! What a simple but genius idea! He said to buy a simple doorbell button and you could easily connect the garage door opener wires to the back of the button and voila! It worked!
I will need to drill a new hole for the second screw but I’m not able to find the drill at the moment so that will have to wait. At least it works and finally 2 small projects I can cross off my list! Now it’s time to relax since tomorrow morning is going to be a long 20 mile training run =)
Enjoy your weekend!
** photo overlay from Pugly Pixel **
Weather finally starts to cool off, football all weekend, running races begin and the leaves start to change colors (well not here but back home they do). I absolutely love fall and it seemed to creep up on me this year. We have way too many house projects going on and have been busy with guests in town. I actually pulled off the best surprise for my hubby’s birthday as well! He’s a huge Texas Rangers fan and they happened to be playing in town on his birthday. I had been working with his friend who was able to fly down and surprised him by calling from the front doorstep. I’ve never been good at keeping secrets but completely pulled this one off. We had a great time at the game (although it would have been better if they won) and then spent the night hanging out in Ybor City. Great visit with great friends!
Hope you are enjoying the fall weather!
Damask patterns come in so many different designs from simple to elaborate creating delicate and elegant patterns. I love how the the placement and pattern can easily change the feeling of the piece and create an elegant flair. Here are two new damask invitation designs that are available in my Etsy Shop.
What are your favorite designs?
