Some More Journal Progress

 The journal is coming along, but there is still a lot to be done. Slow going but fun. The first signature is almost done. There will be two signatures in this journal. One of the journal pages photographed is made with the most beautiful wallpaper. I purchased several rolls of this paper on ebay - it is made in England and is just stunning. I will be using more of it in this journal.  Sorry for the shadows on the photos - it is a really rainy day and the lighting is not the best.

A Little Progress

Working on the Junk Journal

I have been working on my junk journal this weekend and created a few more pages and some pockets. I stenciled several of the pages using Vintage Photo and Weathered Wood Distress Inks and collaged another page. I sewed on one of the pockets - I need a lot more practice to be able to sew straight. The journal page with the Eiffel Tower image was made with a napkin. It is taking me awhile but I am having fun working on this project.

 Making A Junk Journal

I have always wanted to make a junk journal but was a little intimidated by the process. Lately I have been watching a lot of talented ladies on YouTube making junk journals and they are really inspiring. I decided to jump in and try making a journal. I started it a few weeks ago. I made the cover and back out of an old piece of embroidered linen that has been in my closet for ages. I had to put some lace on the back because the embroidered design did not reach all the way around. The inside of the journal is lined with a piece of wallpaper from a sample book. I love the design. That was the least intimidating part of this process so far. What to put in the journal and how to decorate pages is a little bit challenging. Listening to the fabulous artists who make these journals on YouTube, I am learning there is no right or wrong way to make a journal - the key is to just do it. Don't overthink it. That's what trips me up. I tend to overthink things. I hope I can get out of my own way and go nuts with the glue stick collaging things. I did manage to make one collage page and that is as far as I have gotten with the project.

Bagging It

I am still playing with decorative napkins, adhering them with the cling wrap technique. These are two bags I made recently. I am not very good at tying nice looking bows so I used my bow-easy to make the bows on the front of each bag. I punched two holes in each bag and fed the seam binding through to the back. Then I had to figure out how to secure the seam binding without gluing it so the gift recipient could easily open the bag. I purchased some beads at Michael's in the kids section - I think they are called "pony" beads. I fed the two ends of the seam binding through the beads and that worked.

Charming

I have been spending time making charms lately.  They are so easy to make. I use charm blanks, pop in different crafty materials and top them with either an epoxy or glass cabochon. I purchased the charms and cabochons on Amazon.

These charms were made with stickers (strawberry, cupcake and heart), napkins (two larger florals and star), and nail stickers (butterfly, small flower and red and green candy)

These are my favorite. The top row was made with stickers. The cloud and rainbow almost look 3D in person. Really cool. The bottom row was made with rub-ons. These are Easter rub-ons I have had for a long time. Super cute!

These were made with scrapbook paper

This is a card I made with a napkin from the Target dollar spot.  I love how soft and pretty that floral napkin is.

This is another tag I made using a paper napkin as a background. 

Tags and Charms

I just discovered a technique that has been around for awhile but is new to me and now I am hooked. The tags pictured below are all made using the paper napkin and cling wrap technique. I am now on the hunt for decorative paper napkins and Tuesday Morning seems to be a great source for them. The butterfly charms on two of the tags were made using butterfly nail art stickers and charm blanks with glass cabochons on top. I love how these turned out. Two of the tags have the caulk embellishments I started making four or five years ago. I also have a few card bases made using paper napkins and will be making cards with them soon.

April and May are busy card making months for me with my sister's birthday, my sister-in-law's birthday, my Dad's birthday and Mother's Day. Here is the Mother's Day card I made and the card I made for my Dad's birthday.

I used my Cricut Joy to make these. I really love using the pen feature which you can see on the interior of the Mother's Day card. I will be using it a lot more because my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired!  I am finding that it takes me longer to make cards than it used to. I guess it is like anything else, the more you do it, the more proficient you get.

My dining room table = hot mess. Maybe when things return to a little bit of normalcy I will clean it up. I definitely will clean it up if my Mom comes over or really anyone. With the whole stay at home business I have thrown caution to the wind, spread out and just let creativity take over.

I did manage to make another card. It is pretty dimensional, but it is difficult for me to make a flat card. Card surfaces to me just feel like they need dimensional embellishment. That was not the case when I first started card making. Flat was good then. Maybe I need a twelve step program to get back to non-dimensionality (is that even a thing?).  All I know is that I have to be just as creative to figure out how to mail a card like this. Usually, I just end up hand delivering dimensional cards :)

I looked at the date of my last post on this blog. Wow - 2014. Amazing to me that it has been six years since my last post. I guess the adage - life gets in the way is the best explanation for the time lapse. Now that many of us are sheltering in place because of the coronavirus, it kind of forces a slower pace. It seems that way to me anyway. It has been about three years since I have really been creative - again life getting in the way and all that. I did not realize how much I missed it until I started doing it again. Maybe Loretta - my grandmother - is giving me a little nudge from above to get back to me. Anyway, I finished a wood project and a birthday card. They were both made with the Cricut Joy.  This little machine is great especially for crafters who don't have much space to spread out and create.

Maybe it won't be another 6 years until I post again :)

More Cards

It would be helpful if I managed to post these cards as I make them, but I never can seem to do that! So here are a few that I have made in the last three weeks with no supply list because I have forgotten what materials I used!  I thought I would post them anyway and resolve to be better about posting the cards as I make them so I can provide a list of supplies used!

Graduation - this is a graduation card I made for one of my nieces who graduated from high school recently.  This card is inspired by a card designed by Michele Boyer featured in the Summer 2014 issue of CardMaker magazine.

Pet Sympathy - My neighbor had to put her dog to sleep recently and I made this card for her. 

Father's Day  - This card is a card I made for my Dad for Father's Day:

Another Graduation Card - Lastly, here is a card I made for a nephew who is graduating from High School (I made this card on my YouTube channel last week.  You can view the video here).

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Two Cards

Just a quick post to show you two cards I made recently. I made the first card for my Dad's birthday.   The paper I used for this card is called Hip, Hip Hooray by American Crafts.  The pocket on the front was made using the My Favorite Things Vertical Gift Card Greetings die.  The stars were made using a star punch and My Favorite Things Stacking Stars dies.

The Mother's Day Card was created with Aqua Mist card stock by Papertrey Ink for the card base.  The white background design was cut using my Silhouette.  I also cut out the word Mom on my Silhouette about 5 times and glued them one on top of the other so the word would look more substantial (like a chipboard accent).  I placed pearls in the center of the flowers on the background.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Thank You Card - MFT Sketch #175

Here's another card created from a My Favorite Things sketch.  I needed a Thank You card to send to my Aunt and thought this design would be perfect for the card I had in mind.  I made this card on my YouTube channel here.









Materials:

MFT Oval Stax 1
MFT Oval Stax 2
MFT Thank You Stamp
Pink Satin Ribbon
Paper Studio Bling
Sunny Days Patterned Paper By Prima

MFT Sketch Challenge

This week I thought I would join in on the MFT Get Sketchy challenge and create a card based on the sketch posted on the MFT blog.  I enjoy creating cards from card sketches.  It gives you a road map for putting together the card, but the freedom to select all the elements that make up the card (paper, stamps, embellishments, etc.).  Here is the card I created from the sketch.  You can see me putting together this card on my YouTube channel here.

Materials used to make this card include:

My Favorite Things Fishtail Flags STAX 

Fishtail Flags Layers STAX 

My Favorite Things Fancy Flourish die

110lb White card stock by Recollections

New Leaft card stock by Papertrey Ink

Sweet Blush card stock by Papertrey Ink

Spring patterned paper by American Crafts

VersaFine Onyx Black ink.

Thank You Sayings clear stamp set by Hero Arts

Matting Basics A  by Spellbinders 

 Matting Basics B by Spellbinders

Martha Stewart Crafts Butterfly Punch

Tonic Small Butterflies Punch

Recollections white paper flowers

UHU Glue Stick

Fabri-Tac.

That's it for today. Thanks for visiting my blog!

EK Success Punch & Stamp Review

I recently purchased two of the EK Success Punch & Stamp sets from Blitsy.com.  I have always liked the idea of stamping an image and having a coordinating punch that perfectly punches out that image. The EK Success Stamp & Punch sets each come with 7 stamps (rubber foam mounted stamps) and the coordinating punch.  You will see photos of the punch and the stamps at left.  I purchased the Retro Bottle Cap set and Just for You set.  I have to say that I am not a fan of the rubber foam mounted stamps.  Some of the stamps in the set stamp fairly well while others - especially the stamps with fine line type (you can see what I am talking about in the Gee Your Swell stamped image.  The Swell stamps fine, but you can hardly see the "Gee Your" part of the sentiment). For the Gee Your Swell sentiment stamp, I masked off the Gee Your Swell by punching a 1.25 inch circle from an Avery Label Sheet, inked up the stamp, removed the Avery Label mask and stamped.  I then stamped another sentiment from a photopolymer Avery Elle stamp set - much better!  You will see this in a photo at left as well.

I will use these sets, but probably not as often as I might have if all the images stamped well.  I think it would have been better if EK Success used clear photopolymer stamps in these sets instead of the rubber mounted on foam stamps.