LWID, updates and a little vacay...

Ok, time for some housekeeping. My book club buddy at Dear Reader was the only person to submit for LOOK WHAT I DID and I have yet to give her proper credit and recognition. She has an ESTY shop here. At our last book club meeting, she shared with us her latest creations and her new pencils she had printed to advertise her shop. What a great idea! Swing by her blog and check out her shop. If she wants the scrapbook and paper pack, I can drive it over this week. I'll have to ask her. Otherwise, it will go into the next blog candy pile.  Thanks for submitting. I am not sure I will keep trying to get LWID off the ground, still mulling the option.

Also, I made one card that I did not end up submitting for the Gallery Idol Open Call.  I like it, but I did not feel it was strong enough to contend with all the other fantastic submissions. I hoarded the thanks stickers for years, so I am glad to have finally used them.

My staff assistant went to the local paper supply store and brought back sample books for me. Yippee! All the different papers and just the right size for card making. This is how I contribute to the reduce, reuse, upcycle, repurpose, freecycle movement. What fun! I just need to find the time to play.

Finally, I have the family in town starting this afternoon so I will be taking a few days off from Asleep in the Couch. Of course, if some thing great comes up, like I am selected for the next round of Gallery Idol, I will probably have to post. If you put it out there, the universe is supposed to send it back. Can't hurt to try believing it will happen. Funny thing is I would have to abandon my family to create my next round submission. I know. Cross that bridge when it comes. Worry about that when it happens. What if there were not what ifs? 

Alright, everybody have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!
 

Details: 
Ink: Antique Linen (Ranger), Chestnut Roan, Dark Brown Chalk Inks (Colorbox)
Paper: Kraft, White (PTI) 
Other: Stickers (JoAnn's Paper Craft Essentials), Rectangle (Spellbinders)

Last Gellery Idol Submission and KAH-wink-E-dink Winner

Howdy!

I managed to squeeze in one more card for the Gallery Idol Open Call. Not to brag, but I really like this card! I guess that is not bragging, just stating that I am very pleased with the final product. The competition is stiff for the Gallery idol. I am just proud of myself for entering a few cards. I do suggest you go check out the submissions. If you submitted, Good Luck in the process. 

Actually this card incorporates multiple challenges you will find the list at the bottom of this post, but I will highlight a few.  The card is based on the following sketch.

Pile it On's challenge is "Outside the Box". My card is outside the box in a few ways, I did not stamp for this card. As you know this is outside the box for me. Plus my embellishments hang off the edge of the car. This actually qualifies me for The Crafty Pad Challenge, too.

My favorite part of this card is the phone cord. I used my kraft twine and a sharpie to color it black. Then I wrapped it around one of my Ikea hooks to create the curl and used clothes pins to secure the twist. To make sure it holds the curl, I painted the Modge Podge mixture from my flowers on the twine.  What do you think of that?

I also wanted to let you know I won for last week's challenge at KAH-wink-E-dink. The challenge was to create your own embellishment. I submitted my "Thanks Berry Much "card from this post. How exciting! 

Wow, this trying to do multiple challenges is time consuming. Not sure if I will be able to do this every time I post a card, but it was fun for today. Hope you have a great time visiting all the links.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links: 

Gallery Idol

Phone book Challenge

Get sketchy

KAH-wink-E-dink
Pile it on  - Outside the Box
YNS - Cut it out and pop it up
The Crafty Pad (something hanging over the edge)
Inky Impressions (ripping, distressing, sparkles)
Creative Belli - punch holes for phone cord
Paper Craft Planet Simon Says Challenge - Bling

Details: 

Ink: Chesnut Roan Chalk, Dark Brown Chalk (Colorbox), Antique Linen (Ranger)

Paper:  Card base (DCWV), Phone book page, Black Card Stock (Recollections), Kraft (Reused Packaging), White (PTI)

Other: Ribbon(Hobby Lobby), Black Sharpie, Twine (Gartner), Modge Podge, Diamond Glaze, Label 1(Spellbinders), Clip art, printer

Thanks Berry Much

Apparently my creative mojo is kickin' in the a.m. It seems all my inspiration comes right before I wake up and as I am getting ready for work. I started this card last night, but got frustrated and quit working on it around midnight. I wanted something simple with the strawberries as the big POP, but last night nothing really came together the way I envisioned. Well, this morning I seem to have a better handle on how to make my vision happen. I watched Ashley Cannon Newell's video this week on using the Ranger blending tool and Distress inks to create vintage paper embellishments. Ranger's website is down, so I linked to Ellen Hutson's store for these products.  I used the same techniques to create emphasis on the sentiment and berries. Now, the berries are not floating on a cream card base with some words bouncing around them. 

I used my Copics to color the strawberries. I did not have any berry images in my collection, so I found these on google images and re-sized them for my purposes. The little seed marks did smear a little when I first started coloring using the R0000, but the other colors did not seem to make the printer ink smear. Actually, the smearing contributed to the success of the not totally ripe end of the berries. No mistakes, just creative discoveries.

I submitted this card for this week's CARDS Magazine blog challenge, will submit it for the Gallery Idol Open Auditions and based the lay-out on this stripped down Caardvarks sketch. I listed other challenges under the links section at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links:

Ellen Hutson

A New Design

CARDS Magazine blog

Gallery Idol
Caardvarks

Challenge:

Stamp Simply #140 - Gone Askew

oh-la-la creations - bright and cheerful

Kah-wink-e-dink - make your own embellishment

Details: 
Stamps: Series 12(Studio G)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Momento), Antique Linen(Ranger), Chai(PTI)
Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI)
Copics: R(24,29,39,0000), G(12,24,28,0000), Y(13)
Other: Clip Art(My Coloring Pages)

Fabric Stiffener Tutorial

Would you believe that Kim Kesti and I are on the same page? Well, we were both thinking about using stiffener with fabric to make it easier to cut and more structured. She posted about it here. This is my first "Tutorial" so be nice about the rough edges. I actually decided to create a tutorial after I had started the project so here it goes...

Pictures are in order from left to right:

1. I suggest you use throw away storage containers for this because the watered down Mod Podge will adhere to the walls of your container. Realized this after I used a nicer storage container.  (I also dipped the white panel to give it some texture on the card.)

2. I used a variety of dies to cut my flower shapes. I backed the fabric with kraft card stock to make it easier to cut in the Cuttlebug. Plus, I can use those shapes later so no waste. (Kim used the stiffener to make using the dies with fabric easier. Why didn't I think of that?!)

3. Once you cut the shapes, dip them in the diluted Mod Podge and shape them by gathering in the center and clipping with a clothes pin. I know I could use a few pictures here demonstrating this process. I'll do better next time.

4. I experimented with creating rosettes and bunting, too. 

5. I cut strips of fabric, dipped the strips in the mixture and then rolled the strips into balls and secured them with straight pins while they dried to create centers for the flowers. 

6. Voila, finished flowers.

Things I learned:

Already told you about the mixture container. When I made the mixture, I added too much water, so I had to repeatedly dip the fabric to achieve the level of structure I wanted. Next time, I would decrease the amount of water so I had a more dense mixture. Keep your mixture stirred, the Mod Podge settles on the bottom. Wear gloves, the mixture will adhere to your nails.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my tutorial. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Have a great day!

Stiff flowers, Moxie Fab, 2S4Y, Mojo and Belli

Over at Moxie Fab World, Cath posted a challenge to use fabric on cards. She asked us to be innovative. I know we are all making fabric flowers, but I have not seen anyone using fabric stiffener to give the flowers structure. I researched homemade stiffener and decided that combining water and Mod Podge would do the job. I made a "tutorial" and will post that later this afternoon. 

Back to the card. I used the sketch from 2Sketches4You and borrowed elements from Mojo Monday and Cardabilities, specifically, the flower placement and the twine placement. This works for the Creative Belli challenge because I used a brad and had to punch a hole to insert the brad. Plus, I will submit this for the PaperCraft's Magazine Gallery Idol open call.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links: 
Moxie Fab World
2sketches4you 
Mojo Monday
Cardabilities
Creative Belli 

Details: 

Stamps: Floral Fusion (PTI)
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Chai (PTI)
Paper: Kraft (Colorbok), artsy.licious Fine Flocked Paper-Willow (Chatterbox), white card base (Michael's)
Other: Fabrics (Amy Butler), Twine (Gartner), Mod Podge Matte, Pearls (Recollections, Queen&Co.), Rhinestone (Darcie), Brad (Bazzill), Valentine's Day 2010 Ribbon (Hobby Lobby)

LWID and Preserves

Hello happy readers!

It is time to share my LOOK WHAT I DID. Last weekend, I went strawberry picking with some friends and I wanted to show you the fruits of my labor. Get it?! Sometimes, I am so funny. You are looking at this year's strawberry preserves. I have not made strawberry preserves since I lived in California. I was making them on Mother's Day because I was so far away from my mom and her mom taught me to make the preserves so it was a connection of some sort. I lived in the center of strawberry field heaven and I had a lemon tree in my front yard. Really, it would have been a violation of some law of nature had I not made preserves. 

Well, it just so happen that my kitchen in Cali was smaller than my current kitchen which translates into creative storage and balancing of tools, pans, bowls, etc. Towards the end of making the batch, I stood up to get something out of a cabinet and POP! the corner of the cabinet cut my forehead. After one failed attempt to close the wound using a butterfly bandage and some medical attention at the local emergi-care office, I have a small Harry Potter scar and a great story about how I gave up blood, sweat and tears for my mom's gift.  The weekend's batch was much easier to make.

Edited: I used the Joy of Cooking recipe as the starting off point for the preserves. I decreased the sugar by a 1/2 a cup, used the juice of 2 1/2 lemons and only plumped for half a day.

So what have you been working on or accomplished lately? I said I would post pictures of the LWID Candy and forgot. This is the paper pack and the scrapbook. 

We already have one adventurous artist willing to share. Check out who posted for LWID  here and make sure to share your latest endeavor. 

I'll hope to post a small tutorial and a new card later today.

Thanks for stopping. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

I love the smell of INSPIRATION in the morning...

Happy Friday!

Do you ever wake up in the wee hours thinking about a card design? Well, I am not used to having my slumber interrupted by visions of cards dancing in my head. Today, I woke up with this card in my head. See, it all started yesterday when I finally took the last box (the ones I packed almost two years ago when I moved to Savannah) of craft supplies out of my car and opened it. I thought is was just a box of paper, but I was wrong. I found Thickers, stickers, ribbon, and a good bit of American Crafts patterned paper. What's scary is the fact that I still have more boxes in my parents storage room.

I opened the box, and immediately sat down to watch TV. My mojo was not kickin'. It might have been the big dinner I had with friends that put me in a little food coma. I had what you would call a delayed reaction because this morning, I was INSPIRED. I'm feeling good about making this card (and liking the final product), showering and still getting to work on time. For a minute, I debated the shower.

The sketch I used is from Card Patterns. I also used products that were over a year old so this works for the Cards Blog. Plus, it is a Thank You card, so I think I will submit it for the PaperCrafts' Magazine Gallery Idol Open Auditions.  Oh, did you notice? NO STAMPS! Rarely do I make a card without stamping. Watch out, I am living on the edge, today. Check out the flower, so many layers and pearls. Love it!

 

Thanks for stopping by Asleep on the Couch. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Have a great weekend!

Links:
Card Paterns
Cards Blog
PaperCrafts' Magazine

Details: 
Stamps: NONE
Ink: Chamomile (PTI)
Paper: a la Carte (AC Patterned Paper), Clear Acetate (Grafix), Paper Frills Bumblebee (Doodlebug Designs)
Other: Sprinkles Cucumber (AC Thickers), Decorative Trim (Hobby Lobby), Pearls (Michael's), Labels 1 (Spellbinders)

Aarrrr, 2Sketches4You!

Ahoy, Matey! We had graduation last weekend and I made some cards for several of the graduates. We are the Pirates, so I thought the pirate ship image was perfect for these cards. I had the main image completed this weekend and struggled with how I wanted to finish out the cards. When I saw the 2Sketches4You sketch. I had a revelation. The waves work perfectly for the challenge and to finish off the cards. 

I pulled out some old supplies on this card, puffy paint and liquid applique. LOVE the clouds! I hope the new grads appreciate the cards. I am still deciding on what the sentiment will be for each card. Here are a few ideas, "Godspeed", "Heave Ho" (for the one who has been here 8 years working on two degrees. Time to go.), "Smooth Sailing"... I keep coming up with new sentiments. Who knew that pirate ships were so inspiring!?

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links:
2Sketches4You

Details
Stamps: Pirate Ship (RubberSoul), Everything Happy (Stampendous), Mr. Campy (Cosmo Cricket)
Ink: Enchanted Evening, Aqua Mist, Chamomile (PTI), Blue Sky (Martha Stewart), Tuxedo Black (Momento)
Paper: Stamper's Select (PTI), Khaki (Paper Source)
Copics: R (39,0000), Y (13,15, 19, 0000), W2, C1, E (33,37,39), YG0000, Colorless Blender
Other:  Square Die (Spellbinders), Diamond Glaze, Souffle pen (Sakura), Puffy Paint (Tulip), Liquid Applique (Marvy)

Mother's Day Triple Whammy

Even though I was sure I would not get a chance to sit down at the craft table, I was able to do some crafting Wednesday night. This is a triple whammy card! I used this week's Cards Patterns sketch #62 to get the ball rolling. Of course, I needed to make a Mother's Day card, so I added Our Creative Corner challenge to make a Mother's Day Card with out flowers or blossoms.

Finally, I used the Embellish Magazine Color Challenge with Embossing. I really did not figure out a way to add the color green until it came to the packaging and I decided to use a green bow. Because it is bulky, I needed a deeper envelope. This PTI stamp box worked perfectly! I added a bow. BAM! Wonderful package for my dear mom. Actually, would you believe that I made all these decisions and only after the finally product was complete I realized it followed the Embellish challenge? I am sure my subconsciousness was involved. I did looked at the challenge colors when they were originally posted.

I took some advice from Ashley Cannon Newell. Recently she posted a video for PTI on how to use adhesive tape to make ruffles. Well, actually on using ribbon on cards, but I realized that the key is the adhesive. Boy, was it easier to put the two trims together and create the ruffles when I used Crop & Glue Lines High Tack  which I had in my stash from the CHA Supershow. What was I thinking trying to use liquid glue!?

I'd love to know what you think. Thanks for visiting.

Happy Day!

Links:
Card Patterns Blog
Our Creative Corner
Embellish Magazine

Details: 
Stamps: Fresh (American Craft), Glitter Stamping Starter set (Martha Stewart), Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Ink: Versa Mark (Tsukineko), Tuxedo Black (Momento), Chai (PTI)
Paper: Lemon Tart, Stamper's Select, Hibiscus Burst (PTI)
Other: Deep Impression Embossing Powder Clear (Stampendous) Decorative Trim Turquoise (Hobby Lobby) Decorative Trim White (Wal-mart), Labels 1, Square (Spellbinders), Pearls (Michael's), Diamond Glaze

Busted LWID

OK. So, my LOOK WHAT I DID idea is not the next big thing in crafting. But, I am not giving up on this idea, just yet. I know each of you have great stuff happening and I want to make sure that you get to share it with each other. I guess, I'll just have to bribe you... MORE BLOG CANDY! 

I will reopen the inlinkz for the LWID. The carrot is... another box of goodies, including a 12 x 12 red scrapbook and a selection of patterned papers. I'll take a picture and get the whole package posted next week. Is that tempting enough? Please share an LWID with the rest of us, we really want to know what you have been doing with your time. I'll randomly draw a winner from the people who submit for LWID.  

I'll start. Remember I said I was heading home to spend the weekend with my nephew? Well, this is the picture of us heading into the Braves game...

and this is about 20 seconds after we got back in the car at the end of the game...

We had a BLAST! I LOVE that kid! I know, I know... He is the CUTEST kid ever. I am busy with graduations, so the cards postings are not likely before Monday. I am working on some so I will have pics next week. 

By the way, I made Super 6 for Sketch 61 at Card Patterns Sketch challenge blog.  The link is in my side bar under the Featured Designs section. Go see what the five other card makers submitted for the challenge plus the winner's card.

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Here's how you post for LWID:

• Upload your LWID to your blog, click on your blog post title, copy the URL, and add it to Inlinkz below or upload your project to this flickr gallery, copy the URL for the flickr page and put that in the Inlinkz. 
• Pick your image and complete the process.
• Upload your projects by11:59 p.m  EST, Wednesday May 19.