My Rubber Therapy Blog

HAPPY Halloween everyone + RIO GRANDE RIVER TRAIL photos

Hi Friends

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 

 

In answer to yesterday's comments, I'd like to tell you that the card I made with the little digi stamp girl, the die cut is the lace part, the die cut itself is seen here Die cut link from yesterday's card share/  The number for this die cut is DL 153 Polynesian sails, it covers a whole A2 size card perfectly.  The middle is an oval shape with a nice circle mini doillie.  So you get two on the same die cut.  It has become one favorite among so many other I have in my stash.  Thank you for all the wonderful comments.  After I am done with so many cards, I must say I feel my brain is fried.  But after taking a whole week off from it and cleaning my work area I feel it comes back to me a little at a time.  But, I will definitely show them one at a time, when time permits my blogging everyday.  I am sure I speak for all of you on the Sandy Storm survivors, our hearts and prayers are all with you.

***********

Last Sunday, instead of doing our normal walk routine, it was a beautiful sunny day and cooler, so I proposed we went down toward the river which turned out to be so much fun.  We walked about 2 miles on the trail, the wild geese had started to arrive we could hear them quacking away from a distance.  But having this so close to our house, it was the first time I had dared adventuring there since it wasn't as hot as we have had it since May.  In the Fall the few trees we have here turns into a golden yellow, as I commonly call them golden trees.  When we married on November 3rd more than a decade ago, it was looking exactly like on the photos.  I have opened up a new folder on the right hand side called "RIO GRANDE RIVER TRAIL" or click here so you can enjoy the trail with us.  I am only going to show you one on here and the rest is in the album.  Enjoy nature!

 

Our walk was mainly in the sand like you see it there, so it wasn't always easy on the ankles, easy to twist an ankle on this terrain.  But clutsy me did rather well. LOL  All photos are copyrighted to me of course.  Go have a look!

Thank you for dropping in, add a comment on your way out, I would love to hear from you and know that you were here enjoying your visit.

Have a great day, happy crafting!

Sharing another card

Hi Friends

Here we are another Monday to share with you.  In the meantime I know there is a huge storm called Sandy on the East coast battling the shore right now.  I wish everyone a safe outcome as I know they have shut down all transportation in preparation of this as well as most businesses are following suit.

BE SAFE EVERYONE!

Here is my card for the day:

I thought this card was really elegant looking once I had added the flowers to it.

Recipe

That I needed to make this card.  Shimmering white and turquoise.  White CS is the base card.  I used the Swiss dots embossing folder for the background, a die cut from Cheery Lynn Designs, Spellbinder Label for the Birthday sentiment peel off.  I used the Tim Holtz coordinating ink to ink up the Birthday tag while the die cut was still on the paper.  This way you get a beautiful white edge a very effective look.

Flowers, as per yesterday instructions, the flowers came from Heartfelt Creations rubberstamps.  Stamped them in the turquoise ink I used for the Sentiment tag.  With the help of a stylus and shaping pad I cupped and formed the flowers and added some glitter glue in the middle.  Because I am making flat cards, I cannot stack many layers of it in order to keep all of it flatter.  It will flatten up some but will still keep some shape and will mail out perfectly.  Added some leaves I had cut with the newest leaves from Cheery Lynn Designs it comes in 5 leaves attached for convenience.  I really like it because it has the veins already into the die, therefore making it easier to shape on the shaping pad.

Enjoy!

Thank you for all the wonderful comments.  I am happy to have you as a visitor and if you like what you see, please sign up as a follower so you can get emails when I send out a new post.  You will miss nothing from now on.  Have a great day!

Keeping an eye on the storm as it is a few hours into this hitting the East Coast by now.  Be safe everyone.

Happy crafting!

I finished my cards, Happy day!

Hi Friends,

I just finished 40 cards.  I am pleased with the majority of them.  It was a fun series to make.  I am always happy to finish a new bunch.  I took photos of it all before sunset, and will share one at a time for the next little while.  So I hope you enjoy the viewing.  Nice to be able to come out for fresh air, hee hee.  Next, I have many special Birthday cards to make and my Christmas cards too!  Thank you for visiting...

Here is my first card of this new series:

Here she is....
Taking photos of shimmering papers is not an easy task.  I took 3 so you can see slightly different angles of the card.

Recipe

I love practicing my coloring with Copics.  So here is what I needed to make this card.  CS Shimmer white and shimmer pink.  White and green as well.  My card base is white, from now on what you see that is either embossed or die cuts, it is all done with my Ebosser machine.

Let's start with the flowers.  Heartfelt Creations stamp set, used pink ink to stamp the flowers with.  I cut out the flowers by hand and added some glitter glue in the middle of them after I have shaped each one of them with a stylus and a shaping pad.  For the leaves, it is a Cheery Lynn Designs set of leaves it comes all attached with 5 different sizes of leaves.  Very convenient.  It comes with veins in them so the shaping of them is much easier.  I added some peel off Birthday Sentiment directly onto the larger leaf.

Embossing and Die cutting.  The shimmering Pink background was embossed with one of my embossing folders, 3 dots grouped together pattern, I also used another embossing folder, this one has hearts in it.  This went to the middle of the fancy oval die cut also from Cheery Lynn Designs all in shimmering white.

For the little girl, it's another digital images from my stash.  I used 3 Copic pink colors, E00 and E002 for the skin and for her hair I used two tones YR21 and YR24. I added a few punched out butterflies, one of them is stitting on her foot.

Because this is meant to be a flat card, I couldn't stack many layers of flowers or add a pearl in the middle or any other type of embellishment, so by adding the glitter glue after shaping the flowers,  gave a fancier look to it in order to obtain a desired dimensional effect without being bulky.

Thank you for viewing, please leave a comment before you go.  I really love to read them and if you have questions add it to your comment, I will be happy to answer it via email.

Have a great day, happy crafting!

 

A few days before another card is shared

Hi friends

I am presently on a time crunch for a few cards to be made and then I will have a great assortment to share with you.  So I should resume on posting more cards on Monday again. 

I also wanted to share what happened to me today.  Well, as busy as I was making cards, I was using my Ebosser quite a bit, I got a moment of distraction and as I am sending my sandwich of shims into the machine, I realized it was a little too thick.  Helas, it was too late.  Once this machine grabs, let go because it will win against any pull you may want to try to get it back, but it is also dangerous to get hurt if you try and pull when the machine is ON and on a roll.  So if you ever do this, turn off the machine.

To continue this story, to make it shorter, the sandwich made it to the middle I was embossing with an embossing folder at the time.  It made it to the middle and never sent it back out to me.  It decided to eat up my plates and get stuck.....Yep!  My friend, I never thought this thing could possibly get stuck BUT leave it to me to involuntarily test a machine.  I tried for an hour to pull on one side and tug from the other, but there was no progress.  So I decided to wait for hubby. 

After he made it home, we were for a good hour working on it him on one side and me on the other trying to dodge any elbow or hands coming at me.  It was so hard.  We had to start the machine and it would only work for 1/2 second an hour later we finally released the lower sandwich to release the rest of it.  Only then did we get ready for dinner.  Phew!  It was a real workout.  So a word of advice to all of you, if you get this machine, make sure to always not overfill before sending it to the machine.  One person alone cannot remove the jam.  My machine survived all the pulling, pushing and tugging.  Yeah!!!!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Thank you so much for visiting, and leaving a comment!

Monday's share (UPDATE on EBOSSER)

Hi Friends,

 I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Mine is always good although, busy is more of the word I can use to describe it.  Loads to do in so little time but we get there in the end, don't we?

I have an UPDATE on my EBOSSER machine.  A few weeks ago I told you in a post that I didn't have highest regards for my EBOSSER I didn't quite expect the weight of all the plates together being so heavy for my weak wrist.  Well, it seems I am getting used to the weight of it, I just re-positionned my machine so I have a better angle to insert my plates in the front and picking up at the other end. But my main Update would be that, if you want one, get it!  Why?  Because once your A plate gets a little warped, all cuts out like a dream, intricate and all. I rarely have to shim up to finish a die cut anymore.  Rarely now does it resend me the whole thing because it is not shimmed properly.

So all I am worried about is to get access to spare A Plates as it is supposed to be in the stores but like any other product promised in the stores it is never there when promised so if any of you know where to acquire them soon, please slide a comment on here with the info, thanks. If you have an EBOSSER on your wish list for Christmas, the best way to make sure you get one is to pre-order one as it will be the HOT item this year.  I got  mine at www.Cheerylynndesigns.com but you have to call to order it, it is well mentionned on their site once you get to the EBOSSER's page.

I haven't used my Spellbinder Grand Calibur since I received my machine.  I am totally impressed although it took me a few weeks to master my own and live with the weight of the thick assortment of plates constantly being in use.  I can tell you also, that I have used my machine twice as much because of the ease I have when operating it. ALL GOOD NEWS.

If you don't use your manual Cuttlebug or similar machines often, then I wouldn't say that you would need the electric one.  Although if you are like me and use it everyday 10+ times it is worth the expense and it looks tremendous on your desktop.

That's that on my EBOSSER

About today's card, here it is with a short description of it:

 
Here she it, how did I make it?

This card was a truly quick one as I was crunched for time as usual.  This is another one of Digistamps I purchased that comes with a colored and a plain image as well with a background.  So I just printed out what I needed, find an appropriate rubberstamp sentiment, added a Cuttlebug die cut yellow corner. I used the oval Spellbinder die cut shape, cut around my business lady. I Finished putting all together my card and voila!  I told you it would be easy.  www.papershelter.com

Have a beautiful day!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments I read them all and when you ask a question I answer by email to you.  So continue to leave your comments, as you truly make my day when you let me know you are a regular visitor or a follower as I would love that number to grow.  I appreciate all of you, always.

Happy Crafting,

 

Friday's card share

Hi Friends

Well as you know I have taken liking to getting some fabulous digistamps online lately.  Space saver that is for sure.  But even more interesting than that, it is fantastic to have the ability to play with the sizes of your stamps rather than having to scan a printed image and resize it in a photo editor software which was way too time consuming to my liking.  So when I do get some digistamps I like to print it and see what size it is first.  Then, I resize as needed and print the final image on CS.

Well, this card is something I made it all came together almost by mistake but I just worked some details to make it look like a happy card that anyone would love to receive.  So I hope you enjoy the look of my little digistamp pig.

Here she is:

Now how lovely is that?
Look down below for the recipe...

This card was made with a smile on my face from the start to finish I hope it brings a smile to your face when you see it too.

How I made it?

Easy....peasy....breezy....piggy girl card

Everything was printed off the printer, the digistamp, I found and saved this gorgeous background paper.  The sentiment was also printed out.  I found a stamp I had gotten a while ago and finally got an idea to use it with my miss piggy stamp.  The rubberstamp is mounted on wood and it is from Hero Arts K5329 Lace frame.  This is the info in case you want this stamp.

Yellow CS for top corners.  I used white for digistamp and lace frame plus I used some Versamark ink to emboss the frame with some (Brand) Moon Glow (two toned embossing powder) Color name is (GeraniumCoralblush) from my old stash but still very pretty LOL, Bluff bazzill basic paper and printed background paper (love this paper) and another pinkish colored paper with dots was also printed out to add to the back of the pig, sitting on the laced frame.  Before I adhered the dot paper, I traced some pink lines with Copic E21 or E23 on the edges to frame it for a bit more interest.

I colored my pig with some Copic color E02 and RV21 or RV23 can be used if one or the other is missing.  E25 and E44 for the mud.  The Special Birthday wishes tag was another digistamp I had in my stash.  I  hope you can see the peel off use on this card as there is more than just the two bottom corners to see.  I found some left over dots from other peel off stickers and scattered them around the card.

Some Cuttlebug die cut corners were used in yellow to coordinate with the yellow in the flowers. About the flower, I had a yard of little daisy ribbon so, I cut out one of them and then punched out two leaves where I colored some darker green to it before shaping it into place under the daisy. Then a dab of glue was used to place on the pig's head.  It looks so pretty in the flesh.  I hope you can see it well on the pictures I provided for you.

Happy Crafting!

Leave a small comment on your way out and thank you for visiting once again!  Sign up for my newsletter so you get my blog page automatically when I post something new.

 

A Sympathy card

Hi Friends,

I wanted to show you the card I made for a friend.  She probably received it by now.

Hoping so...

This card was another version of one I made for Jo Anne more than a month ago.  Because I knew I would use the Thinking of you peel off sentiment, it was a little easier to make.  That was a good thing so I could speed up the sending it off to her.
Cardstock needed is white and dark blue for the card base, if you have specialty gold paper or silver it will work. I had a newly purchased background cling stamp that I really enjoy.  Used some small corner peel offs.  Spellbinder or other brands of cross die cut.  Mine happens to have 4 sizes of crosses so it was perfect for this card.  An oval die cut to cut the oval opening in the card on white CS.  Ink Danube Blue (Memento). Sponge dauber, glue dots (Small ones) 1 Blue Bling for the middle of the cross, it's an easy card to make, you'll see.

I alternated the cross sizes with gold paper and white that was slightly inked with the Danube ink with the help of of sponge dauber or any sponge you are comfortable to use.  Set all of the layers aside for now.  Take your white cardstock already sized as your matting it to the card size.  Cut out the oval window and emboss the edges for a nice finished look.  I inked the edge of the oval in the same blue.  Next step, I took another piece of white CS slightly smaller than the oval front piece and inked my background stamp really well and stamped my CS.  I always leave it aside for a minute to give it a chance to fully dry.  I added my peel offs, Thinking of you and corners. Then added my stamped background to the back of the oval opening by adding some 3D foam stickies behind the oval front piece. That gave me better control in the positionning of the background stamped paper.  Adhere the front matting oval and background to the main card piece.

The last part of this card is to stack up the crosses together.  I 3D foam adhered the bottom cross which is the largest of the 5. I worked my way to the smallest on top just by adhering them together with flat glue dots.  Once your crosses are lined up to your liking, you are now ready to add your cross to your master piece card.  You are done!

I hope you enjoyed the recipe enough to make your own card....

Have a fantastic day and Happy Crafting, thanks for dropping by, leaving a comment is a fun thing to do, try it! :)

Ta-dah! another card to share

Hi friends,

Today, I have another one of my cards I made a few weeks ago.  I also added the recipe so if you decided to give it a try you will have what you need to make it.  Low material quantity is needed.  1 Spellbinder label or shape (to make a mask), 3 rubberstamps, one piece of CS only to make the card base, white preferably.  Sponge to ink with, ink.... That's all!

This card is made on one CS and it is a white CS with lines in it, embossed into the paper as seen.

I used a Spellbinder die cut set, I used the larger size on the set cut out and set aside the inner part of the die cut, you only want to use the mask part. Leave a large enough area around the edges of your mask so you can ink up your background stamp without stamping outside of the mask. Tape with removeable tape the mask in position on your main card securily.  Then with the sponge dauber or any sponge you like to ink with, in a circular motion ink the inner edges within your mask.    Do the same with the sentiment. Last step is to go ahead remove the mask and stamp a flower in the same hue or anything that you want to pop with more interest, in my case, I preferred to stay in the same tones.  Easy to make.  Perfect for Sympathy cards as well.

Happy crafting!

Love to know you dropped by, so why not leave a comment, you will definitely make me smile.

Thanks for visiting

 

We had a Hot Air Balloon Festival here for the passed 10 days or so

Hi Friends

Well, the Balloon Festival is over but I had a chance to take a few pictures of some of them last week.  Took me a long time to remove them from my camera, I finally did get around to it am now able to share them with you.  I was so happy I could actually see them coming over our house but, unfortunately that day, the mass ascension turned out to be such a headache for so many balloonists and their riders.  The winds were tricky so many feet into the air was ideally quiet and then they would get a sudden gust taking them to where they had no plans to go.  Some landed on transformers, some were stuck on electric wires in town.  I know I wouldn't want to be in one of them when the winds are getting tricky this way.

I saw one balloon, going over my head quite high and a few minutes later, while it was starting to lower for landing it caught a windy spot and was taken quickly back to where it had just flown over me and back to where the river's edge is.  I know, I was hoping they would have a safe landing but not all were lucky to get a soft landing that day.  They would land and the wind would drag them even further.  I am sure all were happy to have landed and there were no serious injuries that I am aware of.

So here are some photos viewed from our yard.

Returning tomorrow with more cards to share, please if you have a quick minute, leave a comment I sure will appreciate it greatly. Thank you for dropping in I hope you enjoyed what you saw.

Happy crafting!

 

Sharing my Birthday cards

Hi friends

I decided to share my Birthday cards, only the ones that were made by hand.  I got many more but this is a card making blog so it is what it is hee hee.  I also thanked the wonderful family and friends who have sent me greeting cards by email and the ever so pretty cards purchased at the store.  It is as much appreciated than a handmade one. 

I must thank all my friends who took the time to make a card for my special getting older day hee hee but we are only as old as our heart feels, right?

Angela your card was a delight for the eyesight, no picture can show you everything.  There was glitter, embellishment with beads and gold borders, gold peel off dots, corners, friend, silk butterflies, not to forget the laced ribbon, wow, so many details that made this Birthday special with many special cards I received. I hope you are having a blast on your cruise right now. (lucky you!) Thank you Angela.
Gloria's card was stunning, all the details, the layers, background behind the ballerina, flowers and butterflies made this card another one to treasure as one of my very favorite colors is that yellow.  Well done on the color, without knowing it you were right on target.  Thank you Gloria
A side view
Now this is a card from Jo Anne.  Jo Anne is renown for making the funniest cards with older gal stamps.  When I think I have seen them all, she sends me another card with a newer fun stamp.  The colors were perfect which made this card the funniest of all.  The cutting around the images is not always easy to do but I can tell you did a marvelous job all the way around. Thank you Jo Anne.
Colleen, thank you so much for a beautiful girlie card.  Black white and red is such a spectacular combination as I love making cards with this look.  I didn't realize I took a glare with the flash when the picture was taken, but it doesn't take away the gorgeous work colleen did, well done my friend.  Thank you Colleen.
Dora sent me this dry embossed in white on a red CS it is stunning. The color red is shining through the 3 layered flower, the use of the black and white lined BG paper is also making the flower BE the focal point it deserves to be.  Loved the white peel off touch as well.  Thank you Dora
Naomi is a friend from Australia.  When visiting her 2 years ago (already) Naomi and myself went to a Pergamano class (it was my very first time) we had made a card with colored pencils on vellum.  This card when I took it out of the envelope, it reminded me of the fun class we had attended and the laughter we had, seeing my struggling, into finishing my card on her dining room table.  I will never give this card away, it is for memory purpose. Thank you so much for this precious and well detailed card as I know it took HOURS to make.  Thank you Naomi.  
Trish A. is another wonderful friend from Australia which we have also visited during our 3 week long amazing journey in this beautiful country.  All the fun we had shopping not to mention the BIG Brisbane Craft Show I had the pleasure to meet more fantastic ladies from NZ and more of the local ladies whom all shares the same cardmaking passion.  Trish you card is amazing.  You know I am a big fan of all the cards you make and share with me.  This card with the very thin die cuts is amazing to look at, the flower is so delicate, the simple and yet beautiful layout make this card such a happy card to receive and cherish.  Thank you Trish.

Another one of my California friends, Sue made this gorgeous card, but this one has a pull out piece as show in the following picture.

Sue you have done an awesome job with this special slide out card.  I am calling that card that way because I don't know the real terminology for this technique.  I love the colors as it is subtle and so seasonal as Fall is my favorite season because it is cool-ER. hee hee  I love good times and I love to make them great that is true.  I had a fantastic time at lunch with my friends in California almost a month ago now.  It was nice seeing you again Sue.  Thank you Sue.

Kathy sent me this beautiful Birthday card, I was really pleased to see her coloring on the cupcake, beautifully done.  Kathy and I always keep in touch online as she has been a long time follower of my blog and she is a great friend always in a great mood and has a heart of gold.  She visits her Aunt regularly to keep her company in her home.  I am sure she appreciates you very much Kathy.  Take good care and thank you again for your beautiful Birthday card to me.

Rose your card is simply terrific in so many ways.  It was a special treat to have your card in the mail a few days before my Birthday, I knew you had the same die cut and I wanted to see what you could do with yours, well you never disappoint my friend.  What a lovely idea to use the two loose corners with this beautiful corner die cut.  The 3D flower is amazing as it shimmers and sure it lighting up the room here where it has a nice spot in my creative room.  Thank you Rose.
My last card to share with you is another gorgeous card that pictures can't possibly capture and prepare you for all the glimmer and glamour you are in for when it comes out of the envelope.  I was wowing and awing away.  Phyllis made this beautiful card with peel offs and glitter and colored the glitter afterward.  A very girlie card and the attention to all the details wasn't spared.  But that is Phyllis she is making such beautiful cards all the time.  I am always wondering what card she has been making in her fantastically organised craft room.  Once again Phyllis it is another stunner.  Thank you so much.

Have a lovely day everyone.  Once again I am so thrilled to display all of your gorgeous cards into my creative room so I can get even more inspired from having them surrounding me. 

Happy crafting ladies!

Monday's card to share

Hi Friends

Here is another card I made not long ago I wanted to share it with you.  

My umbrella card

Another fun and easy card to make.

A dimentional card. 2 rubberstamps were needed.  One of the umbrella stamped twice and one for the sentiment.  Only white CS was used.  Spellbinder label and Tim Holtz Distress ink Crushed Olive.  Embossing folder ran through the machine and I inked up the edges. The first stamping of the umbrella was done on pattern paper.  I cut out the top part and set aside.  My other stamped image is centered on a die cut label, then I added my dimentional piece to it with foam dimentionals.  I then sponge daubed the edges of the umbrella piece while it was still in the die cut after embossing it.   Then used the smallest Spellbinder Label of the same set to add my stamped sentiment to.  The same inking of the edges is applied and the sentiment is adhered to the card and this is another easy one to make, for rainy days

Have a great day!

Happy Crafting!

The card I gave my friend this week

Hi Friends

Here is the card I had told you I would share as soon as my friend would tell me she received it.  I hope you like it as I had a great time making it.  Find the recipe down below:

Recipe

CS pale yellow, white, black.  INK black and Cantaloupe memento ink, Tim Holtz (Scattered straw).  Sponge dauber for ink.  A silhouette and sentiment stamps, Spellbinder shapes,  MS punches, for border and Butterfly.  Black grosgrain ribbon.  Cuttlebug die cut corner, white and black pearls, and verdigris embossing power for the tips of the butterfly wings.  Versamark and heat gun.  3D foam adhesive.

Making it

Stamped my silhouette lady in black and cut the image out as closely as I could.  Then I re-inked her as the black wasn't dark enough for my taste.  But since it is cut out, it covers the black easily not worried about going over the edge. Stamped my sentiment with black as well.  I made my card base with white CS 5.5 inches x 5.5 inches (square card)  I then cut out my yellow CS to mat my card.  At this point I am not adhering anything yet.  I also cut out my corners and sponge daubed the edges with black ink.

I chose my Spellbinder oval I would use to sit my pretty silhouette on and then lightly sponge daub with Tim Holtz scattered straw ink around the decorative edge of the white and matted it with black.  I used the same die cut but I traced around the outside edge and cut it out, it looked so perfect together.

Embellishments

I used 2 tones of pearls.  Black and white.  I cut a string of white pearls to size and applied it to the silhouette neck.  The black pearls went on each corner of the card  for more interest.  Now for the butterflies, after punching them out, I used some reversed tweezers to hold on to the small butterfly so rub both edges over the Versamark pad, to then apply some embossing powder (Verdigris) on the tips and heated it up for a gorgeous effect.  Then applied the butterflies at the end, when I was done adhering every layer together. 

Finishing

When there is a ribbon involved on a card, make sure not to adhere your CS to your card until you have tucked in the ribbon under the matting piece.  For the border in white, I cut a strip of white CS and made sure it could get twice the cutting of my border so it is coordinating with top and bottom, then covered the middle with the black grosgrain ribbon, then tucked in the ribbon to finally adhere this whole piece to the card.  Added my corners and black pearls.  Made a yellow matting piece for the sentiment, added my focal point image and then the sentiment.  Finally, added some craft glue with the help of a toothpick under the butterfly belly and put aside to dry.

I hope you want to try it

Enjoy

Happy Crafting!  See you on Monday...

 

 

 

For today (Leather look effect)

Hi Friends

I remember as a child when I would get excited about an event, i.e.: Christmas, a trip to a family member's, Birthday, I have very crisp memory of my anticipating any exciting event coming our way all the time, but what I also remember is that the time lapse getting there was absolutely and equivocally the longest you could ever make it LOL.  It took forever to get there.  Today, 40+ years later, LOL I don't have a chance to get too excited because it is here and gone in a blink of an eye LOL.  I am sure this is what most of us feel like.  Then come September I am thinking well Christmas is right around the corner I better start getting ready, but Christmas is there a few (it seems like) days later, does it get any faster than that?  hee hee

As for today's post I better get to it before it is also memory LOL. Well, today's card is a card I made for DH in celebrating his 35th year working for the same company.  I decided to celebrate it yesterday as he wasn't suspecting my surprise coming at all.  hee hee

So this is the card I made for him I hope you like it too:

DH's card
I showed two cards because one will show a little better effect once you view it larger.

I made this card because my friend Phyllis had made one in class a few weeks ago; I loved it so much that I knew that was the kind of card I wanted to make for DH.  So she sent me the instructions.  Thanks Phyllis.  I got busy the same night.  My first trial wasn't appealing to me.  So in the morning I gave it another shot.  So this is what I came up with shown in the pictures.

How did I make it?  It is supposed to look as if it is leather. But I am happy with this result.

You will need, 4 Tim Holtz distress ink pads.  Brushed corduroy, Tea dye, Scattered straw, and Vintage photo.  Some Ranger translucent embossing power (fine), I tried with the thick one and it ruined my effects so be sure to use the fin or ultrafine if you have that in your stash.  Sponge daubers for each color you will use.  Cut out sponges also work if you are used to work with them.

Also need some VersaMark ink, to use with your embossing powder and a heat gun and fine sand paper, cheap or used nail files are also working (I tried it).

Also need an embossing folder especially if you want to make a manly card this is the perfect technique for it.  So pick your embossing folder with that in mind.

I used some peel offs but it is all optional.  My CS choice was rusty color, black and white.

For the making of this technique:

I started with a 120 pound white CS the size of the embossing folder of choice.  You will notice that thicker is sturdier.  Run into the embossing machine.  Decide in how many pieces you want to separate your embossed sheet.  In my case I made two with mine I cut it in half lengthwise.

I did not do the whole piece at once because, when you sponge ink you start by inking in a circular motion from the outside edges.  So I started lighter and worked my way through the middle a little darker each time.  Note: This technique can be used with so many different colors, you just make sure you have 3-4 hues of that color for slight contrasting.

So when you are done coloring your embossed side, Gently apply direct to paper it doesn't have to cover everything.  But make sure it is not a freshly re-inked pad so it doesn't give you a gushy effect, you want to concentrate on the embossed design only (Mountain not the valley).  Next step is to add your embossing powder where you have inked up with VersaMark and heat up to get a glossy look. Also make sure when you are heating up with the gun that you are slightly away as your paper is still damp from all the inking you have done and you don't want to burn your work before it is almost finished. I let my work cool off first before I gently sand the glossy finish (5 minutes).  The result will leave you with a slightly lighter glossy finish on the tip of the glossy. (Optional) I added more Vintage Photo ink after sanding and wiped it dry with paper towel.  You will still have plenty of glossy finish and you can sand it where you want for a more rustic effect.  Just remember paper is paper,you don't want to go through the whole thing.  hee hee

So if you make this and want to share with me the look of yours, I will be honored to post your card here to show different looks that can be made with this technique.  I will try to make a feminine card and add it to this page once I am done.  So please don't be shy I would love to publish your cards.

Have a great day everyone, a smile is contagious, but did you know that complimenting someone (in person) on small things also makes you shine and shows you care about others around you?  I tried it, and I felt happy.  The lady was shocked, note being used to sudden compliments, (She was a black woman with such blue eyes, it was really beautiful, so I told her. She smiled and said: "Well, thank you! she was smiling and appeared to be shy.  Her daughter around 3 years old, said it was true, hee hee.  How cute.

Be back with more cards, I have one I just sent to a friend, as soon as she says she received it, I will post it on here for you. 

Happy crafting!

 

 

Hi I am back with more

Hi Friends

What a good time we had DH and myself.  The passed week was one to remember as we had been anticipating the visit of a dear friend from Denmark on Tuesday and once again on Sunday for dinner at a local restaurant.  I love meeting friends that have common interests and Maryann is definitely sharing this passion of cardmaking and crafting in general.  We took some pictures last night as we also had the pleasure to meet a lovely couple that lives in town.  Talk about irony, what would have said that it would take someone from Denmark to introduce a couple to us that is local?  We had a good laugh at it.

As you also know, I had another Sympathy card to make for a dear friend in Canada who lost her DH so suddenly.  I will show you that card on the next post.  But for now I am adding a picture of us having fun at the restaurant.  Funny enough, when we parted, there was this terrific sound and sight of fireworks in the background.  We sure parted with a bang!  In a very good way.

I had a Birthday card to make to a dear friend in Texas which is a fun one to make.  So I will share it with you once I know she has received it and not BEFORE.  hee hee  (one that is really fun to make and I really love, patting my shoulder on this one hee hee)

I was so thrilled to get so many comments this passed week, a big shout out to you ladies for leaving some love on your way out.  Thank you again for visiting, your words of encouragement are always so appreciated.  I also get some giggles from some of them, as you know, I will get a laugh out of them.  It sure works!

Here is my card for today:

A cute Birthday card
Too bad, my picture wasn't clearer than this.  Of course I took a picture of it before I sent it out so that is what we will get, sorry about that.  I should have looked at the pictures before releasing them.  Oh well, live and learn right?

How did I make this one?  I found a digi image that was really cute enough to make anyone smile.  I colored it with some Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol with paper stumps. Technique previously explained in the previous post.  The circle BG was found by looking for water imitation paper. Once my image was colored I cut around it, leaving a little edge to color in blue to go with the BG waterpaper. I started with a white card base, matted with a coordinating blue, then added some Really Rust CS(SU) that I embossed and used one of my Birthday sentiments from my stashwith coordinating CS.

I hope you enjoyed

What a fun time we had with Maryann and her DH on Tuesday.  We had so much fun visiting again yesterday.  We were thrilled to meet a really nice couple who lives here in town Leslie and Tim. 

Have a fun day, thank you for dropping by.  A smile is contagious, give it a try!

Happy Crafting

Hi everyone

Hi Friends

Here we are, another week begins...For today I am sharing another card with you.  I hope you enjoythe simplicity of it as well as making simple cards also cost a simple postage stamp.  From time to time I do splurge and make the fancier ones that has additional mailing cost, it is worth the cost.

My Papershelter digistamp card
This card was simple to make as I was in a hurry to make many at the last minute.  Paper Shelter always sells their digistamps with a blank image as well as a colored one.  So this one I didn't color myself.  I had to cut the stamp by leaving a small white edge around it.  I used the coordinating paper to complete this card.  Print and go!  A card is born.  I used one of my Birthday sentiment stamps and the cardwas done.  I must add I am so impressed with the quality of the print out I am getting. 

Enjoy and please leave some comments, all are welcome to it.

Have a really nice day each and everyone of you.

Will be back on Wednesday withmore to share...

Fall is upon us and I am Thankful for cooler weather, I truly am

Hi Friends

Saturday, I have started to Winterize my 2 ponds, cutting down the food to a minimum and something the fish can digest quickly at any moment if there is a freezing night, that could be right around the corner.  The days are still very warm still reaching the 90F, so I enjoy the days so we can clean up the gardens and prepare for a few short months of relief from the constant heat.  I am the first to welcome any coolness.  I enjoy the 60's and 70F's.  This is what we have in the mornings and passed 9 pm every night. Love it!

For today I want to share a card I made a few weeks ago and thought it was fun to make.  I hope you enjoy looking at it.

Here is my carnation card
This set is from Stamp TV, Gina K Designs
As you already know I have this passion for Stamp TV Cling sets and flowers from stamps are as fun to me as the ones I find in my pleasant garden.  So when I find a chance to color a flower I am going for it. This carnation was colored with the use of Prismacolor pencils. OMS= Odorless Mineral Spirit with a paper stump found in any Art Supply stores, it usually comes with a pad of sand paper to sharpen up the pointy edge of your stump.  I use many and keep stumps to use the same color with so I clean less = time saver.

On this flower I used 2 green colorsfor the stem and leaves and 2 red colors for the flower itself.  The look like ribbon in the middle was from a paper strip from scrap papers I could reuse, it draw my attention because of the gold lines in it.  The red CS was embossed and adhered over a white base CS for the card and after coloring the flower I have cut and embossed it with a Spellbinders Label from my stash. With a sponge dauber I ran across the edges with some red ink to add more interest.  Simple but very effective.

I hope you enjoyedyour visiting my blog and feel free to let me know you were here looking.  I love all comments short, long, humongous, I love them all.

Have a fun and creative day...  More to show on Monday

A card to share

Hi Friends

I hope you found my impressions on my new cutting/embossing EBOSSER useful.  This is the kind of reading I would love to get from a customer before I buy anything.  This way we know what to expect from the get go.  I am still happy with my machine, I will take the good with the not so good and make it work, I always do.

As for today's share it is one of my many cards I have made a few weeks ago so here it is and I will add a short description of it since it is fairly simple to make.  Why most of my cards are simple?  It is made to mail in a small envelope the size of the card for some people who love to send cards but like to keep the cost of mailing down to a minimum. 

This image came from one of my CD's that you print and make a card with.

I printed out the image and used some shimmering off white CS, and embossed a frame into the CS itself.  I also framed the outside edges with some gold peel offs.  The accent border of the same color came from the same CD source.  I always had a thing for Vintage.  So when I have a chance to get one card in with some Vintage interest I enjoy doing that.

I hope you will enjoy your day.  Mine is starting with a Sympathy card to make for a dear friend in Canada, her husband passed away at 49 yesterday morning. I do wish her well and my prayers are with you Janet.  Please take good care.

Adding a smile to someone's day is a great contagious gift you can give them, someone else's day may not be as good as yours.

Be happy!

Here I am, finally able to share my impressions...

Hi Friends

I am ready to share with you my impressions on my new machine the EBOSSER.  This is purely my opinion and no one is paying me to do so.  It is an honest opinion.

I had seen a video on the machine itself and with that one video, there was a larger embossing folder included with the machine itself.  So when I opened the box and noticed there was no embossing folder included I was a little disappointed I guess not all machines come with the extra folder.

The appearance is really slick.  I love the white which really coordinates with my room and tables and the nice handle that pulls out when needed and is hiding when not in use is really a plus for its look.  The rounded shape is also making it look modern.  It also comes with 2 thick plates and 3 shimming thicknesses. From A to E.  Heavy machine so it sits on the table and won't move while running.

Like all the cutting/embossing machines there are shims and plates of different thickness.  Remember, I  wanted a machine that will give my sore wrist a break from cranking the manual machines?  Well, the plates we have to use for the thin dies, are heavy to hold. (You have to hold the whole thing with your two hands).  The machine has a brain, if you overfill it with the wrong shims and plates it will spit it back out to you, gently so LOL. 

What annoys me sometimes, it will go through almost the whole way but it comes right back not being able to finish it, in one complete pass.  Don't get me wrong it is a fantastic machine, but not all Spellbinder dies are the same thickness nor is Cheery Lynn Designs or other companies (it also depends on the thickness of your paper).  I followed the instructions for the shims and such but it will work for one die once and if you try it again with the same die/same paper, it may not go through all the way the second time around.  So it is NOT perfection but it is nice to have something automatic to use when you have so many cards to make.

For myself, if I compare the Grand Calibur manual machine it had 100% one pass only die cut than I have with this new EBOSSER.  So my suggestion is, yes you should get it if you want an electric machine but be prepared to tape your dies more with this machine so if the first pass is not enough to do a lattice die for instance, at least you will have another go at it without scrapping the whole thing and start all over again.

The look, strength, the weight, working overall as well as embossing is a 4 out of 5.  5 being the top ranking in my personal book.  The weight of the plastic plates is what I don't like, but adding another good point is that you don't have to stay to catch the work behind the machine when it is done.  It is stopping on its own.  Another plus is that if you are like me and still have the older Sizzix die cuts that were about an inch thick, it will work in there as well, and will also cut fabric.

Another product I have discovered that works great with our complicated intricate dies is at Cheery Lynn Designs they sell the S112 Crafter's foam sheets.  I got the smaller lattice die from Spellbinders and the chicken wire die from Cheery Lynn Designs which are detailed die cuts so by adding the foam to the cutting side of the die it will prevent the paper from sticking to the die cut, therefore saving you tremendous time in the end.  I have tried it and works wonders for me.

So this is it, in my humble opinion about this great product that is the EBOSSER.  Another plus to this machine is that it will do A4 and letter size paper. 

Back with a new card tomorrow.  Sorry for the long read, I recommend it, you will only be more informed about it as I am not selling it and can be honest about the product like you would want the company who makes it, to be.

If you already have an EBOSSER and would like to leave your comments on your experience please do so I welcome any opinion and suggestions.

We had a fantastic visit with our friends from Denmark today, we should meet them again on Sunday for a nice meal at the restaurant.  (Note to self:  Bring camera for photos this time)

Have a fun day everyone!

Next post,

Hi Friends

Next post will be about my new EBOSSER machine.  We have some wonderful company visiting us tomorrow we have been preparing for Fall as well.  I made an Autumn wreath for the main entrance and had to wash all the windows with DH so I will be back with my reaction on my new machine on Thursday.  I hada chance to try it on Friday and Saturday now.  Pros and cons are to come.

I hope you had a fantastic weekend and have fun plans for the week.  Dinner plans for tomorrow night (Birthday dinner) then on Birthday night I want to go to Bingo as I have free cards for that night.  So on Thursday I should be able to return with some photos of cards I made and opinion on EBOSSER machine.

Have a fantastic day!