Memories card

I sent this card with an ATC swap recently. The paper and "friends" embellishment are from the Life's Journey collection by K&Co. I used stamps from TJ Designs (ruler, alphabet, children collage) and Stampers Anonymous (memories). A bit of corner punching and dry wall patching complete the card.

Until my next post,
Diane

Valentines ATCOTM

This month on the Stampers Corner Yahoo group our theme for the ATC of the month was Valentines. I stamped with VersaMark Dazzles the xoxo that is in the background (hard to see on the scan) and embossed with clear powder. I cut and embossed the Cuttlebug heart and embossed that too with Dazzles. The photo is from Tack-O-Rama.

Until my next post,
Diane

Playing with Wordle - and another foot story

I just found out about this cool site called Wordle.  Java needs to be enabled for it to work. You can enter a paragraph of text or get text from other sources and it creates a word cloud highlighting the most frequently used words in larger type. There are options to chane the font, colors and layout. After that I clicked print and then had it print as an Adobe Reader file. You can then play with this in Photoshop or Illustrator if you like but I did the lazy thing and just hit "randomize" a few times until I found a screen I liked. 

The "foot story" part is this portion of text was copied from last years Christmas letter where I explained my ordeal.

Until my next post,
Diane

Travel theme card part 2

This is a card I sent with an ATC swap recently. Like another a while back it uses K&Co Life's Journey paper. The stamped image and the "Enjoy the Journey" are Tim Holtz designed stamps by Stamers Anonymous. The collage stamp was inked with a Ranger Adirondak hand made ink pad (can't remember which one) and the Enjoy the Journey was embossed with Ranger Distress Embossing Powder. I used a Sakura clear glitter pen to highlight the words in the Victoria Hotel Amsterdam portion of the paper but it is hard to see on the scan.

Until my next post,
Diane

This gift of a letter...

Here's a card I sent with an ATC mingle recently. I used the Life's Journey paper by K&Co. The big stamp of the gal writing a letter is by Inkakinkado. The quote and faux postage cancelation are by Inque. I stamped the gal on vellum and embossed it then cut out a lot of the background. I added a few embellishments to finish off the card.

Until my next post,
Diane

Open Theme ATC...good friends

This is my submission for the Altered Designs Open Theme TGIF ATC. I used an image by Stampsmith and colored it in a little with watercolor markers. The quote is from Inque. The background paper is some more of the marbled paper I made last fall.

Until my next post,
Diane

Unusual Holiday ATC

This ATC was for the Stampers Corner Yahoo group. I picked Pi Day on March 14th which is also the birthday of Albert Einstein. I started by stamping 3.14 (the beginning of pi - the diameter of a circle) again and again with Ranger Distress Inks and embossing with clear powder. I then embossed the paper with a Cuttlebug folder and embossed the raised areas in clear. I sprayed some gold Glimmer Mist and then added a bit of dry Caran D'Ache crayon to bring out the linen texture of the paper. I added two stamps by Stamp Camp of Einstein and one of his quotes. The final touch is a Pi symbol that I printed backwards and made into a gel medium transfer.

Until my next post,
Diane

Music Themed ATC

This was an ATC I made for the Altered Designs TGIF Mingle with the theme of music. I used a background stamp by Inka and embossed with clear powder. I colored the background with Ranger Distress Inks and then stamped the Inque stamps. A few punched paper and acrylic notes completes the piece.

Until my next post,
Diane

Another Melissa another great instructor

Saturday I took another class at Memories Galore and had another instructor named Melissa. This time instead of altering a book we made a mini-book from scratch. We used the Renaissance Faire collection from Graphic 45. Melissa gave us plenty of supplies to add a bit more to this book and I'll likely make a few cards with some of the left overs. She had the chip board, paper, die cuts, ribbon and accessories all ready to go. We provided a few tools and adhesive and away we went. It gave me some ideas how to make some other mini-books using these papers. I've taken two great classes from this store. Their workspace is good size, the instructors provide complete instuctions afterwards so you can make more AND you get a 10% discount when you purchase items in the store the day of your class. It's a great way to make neat things and meet fellow crafters.

Until my next post,

Diane

Happy Valentine's Day 2010!

Today is Valentine's Day and here's the cards I made for my family. The cards are made using Sheetload templates, K&Co paper and images from various online sources. In this case I used, The Last Door Down the Hall, Karen's Whimsy, Graphics Fairy and Ink Stains. Thanks to all of you for providing images for all to use.

Until my next post,
Diane

This one goes out to the one I love

This is the Valentines card I made for my hubby. I made this card using the Mono Dies Tutorial from the Vol 8, Issue 3 (Feb 2010) of Technique Junkies. I joined a few months ago but I'm embarassed to say I haven't done much but look at the issues. I used Cuttlebug heart dies that I embossed a stamp by Impression Obsession that I embossed then colored with watercolor markers and an embellishment the I got a the $1 rack at Michaels.

Until my next post,
Diane

Hearts ATC

Here's what I made for the Hearts ATC TGIF mingle on the Altered Designs Yahoo group. I cut out the photo and background heart with the Fiskars shape cutter. The photo is from Tack-O-Rama, the stamps are by Inque and the collage piece by Leisure Arts.

Until my next post,
Diane

Open Theme ATC

Every week on the Altered Designs Yahoo Group we have an ATC Mingle. You make an ATC that fits the theme and post it to the group. On Friday you can view who you will send yours to and which one you will get. The last week of every month this year the theme is "Open" so you can do whatever you'd like as long as it is an ATC. I chose one I'd had made during my first recycled cereal box frenzy with oil pastels. This one uses stamps by Stampsmith and Inkadinkado. I added an Asian charm as an embellishment.

Until my next post,
Diane

Birthday Greeting Double Bug Style

I sure do like the Double Bugging technique with my Cuttlebug. It makes a quick and easy background that you can tailor to your embellishments. In this case I used the swirls embossing folder and two colors of ink by Memento. Inside I stamped a sentiment by Artful Illusions that says "May your birthday find you gratefully remembering the years behind you and joyfull living the moments of the day". I added an embellishment by Crafty Secrets a ribbon and the card was done.

Until my next post,
Diane

Oh Baby ATC

The theme for a recent ATC at the Altered Designs Yahoo Group was "Oh Baby". My strange sense of humor got the best of me again. I used background and border stamps by Hero Arts. The woman stamp is by 100 Proof Press. I got the picture of the baby from Tack-O-Rama. I was looking for an embellishment and came across the "Surprise!" in the exact colors I was looking for.

Until my next post,
Diane

Happy Birthday to a biker guy

I made this biker themed card using a template that I got from Splitcoast Stampers. I tailored it to a motorcycle rider by using Harley Davidison background paper and stamps by Artistic Outpost, Seaside Stampin' Ink and Crafty Secrets. The birthday stamps are by Inque. I added an Idea-ology embellishement by Tim Holtz.

Until my next post,
Diane

Vintage School Days ATC

Here's an ATC I made for a Stampers Corner Yahoo group mingle with the theme of Vintage School Days. The stamps I used are all by TJ Designs. I used a combination of Ranger Distress Inks and Adirondak Dye Inks. For the shrink plastic I used StazOn in Timber Brown.

Until my next post,
Diane

Distress Inks Class

Almost a month ago I took a class at Beach Scrapbooks from Tina on Ranger Distress Inks. We practiced using them with the blending tool on a tag. Then we used some mini-masks on a pre-stamped tag. Next we made this 12x12 layout that I'll end up cutting for cards. Most of the stamps I used on this page are from Stampers Anonymous. The final project was a card. It was a fun time and my only "complaint" was that it wasn't a bit closer to the house. I'm signed up for another class using alcohol inks. Even though I've played with Distress Inks and Alcohol Inks before it is always fun to take a class with others. You never know if you'll make a friend or pick up some great tips.

Until my next post,
Diane