Vintage Santa Framed!

I just love this vintage Santa, so I transferred his picture to cloth and framed him!  This is such a simple card to make and I think it looks complicated.  I just layered the card with black paper, designer paper, a strip of ribbon, a frame and the Sweet Santa backed with black.  I popped him us one level and added the pearls.  Voila!  A card ready to send out in just a few days.  Chrismas is only 48 days away. 

Paper: Cloud9Design, Bazzill black
Diecuts: Spellbinders Frameabilities Classic Frame
Embellishments: Wal-Mart black velvet ribbon, Kaiser pearls, my own Santa on muslin.

Enjoy!
B

Purchased this cute little girl with dog singing Jingle Bells last week from http://digitalpenciltoo.com/

This is my first card with digital image instead of a real, hold in my hand, rubber stamp.  I was hesitant to try this but found it to work just great. 

I printed the image on white cardstock and colored it with Prisma pencils and used Gamsol to blend the colors.  I'm not really good at this but I've studied several tutorials on different blogs and  decided to give it a try.  Lots of fun!  I'd like to figure out how to print on 110lb. cold pressed water color paper since that is my favorite for stamps to be colored by hand.  It holds up well and can absorb a lot of water. 

Hope you enjoy this little card.  If you have questions just email me or leave a question in the comments.  If you really love it, it's for sale at Jonesemporium.etsy.com  Thanks for stopping by.

Brenda

Stamps: Mo's Digital Pencil
Paper: Cloud9Design - Stocking Stripe, Bazzill cardstock
Ink: Computer, Ranger Distress Ink
Accessories: Prisma Pencils, Wal-Mart Ribbon, Cuttlebug machine, Spellbinders diecuts

Mona Maybe??

My newest Spellbinders Nestabilities Die is this one - Labels Four.  I love the wonderful, lyrical curves.  It works so perfectly with this very old rubber stamp I found in my stash.  I pared this image in chocolate with some dark brown Bazzill cardstock to make these sweet tags. I called them "Mona Lisa Maybe" and put them up for sale on my Etsy Shop.  What fun.  I think I'll make lots of tags with this great die.

Thanks for checking in with me.
B



Stamp: Illuminata by Inkadinkado

Paper: Bazzill Chocolate Cream Smoothies, Twig

Ink: Sentiments Timber, Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Photo

Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four Die, string

Simply Black and White, ah, with a little silver

Sometimes I just want to create a card quickly with out laboring over it and get it in the mail.  This was one of those times.  I needed a "Get Well Soon" card for a very elegant friend, but I knew she wouldn't appreciate anything too girly or too fussy, so I let this beautiful scrapbook paper speak for itself.  A bit of ribbon and a few computer generated words were all I needed to make it complete.

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, black and silver from stash

Ribbon: Black grosgrain from Michaels

Size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches

Christmas Card with Lots of Purple

Summer is gone and Fall didn't last very long, so I guess it's time to think Winter. And to me winter means Christmas.

So I made my first Christmas card today with Kazan's Sketch # 37 from 2sketches4you. They have a contest going on until midnight on October 17th. This is the first time I've entered a contest with a card. How fun! Hope someone likes it.

The inside is decorated also with a bit of the color scheme from the front and a little sign that says "Think Snow!"

The papers are "Artic Chill" by Fancy Pants Designs, and Bazill cardstock in a deep purple. Also used Cuttlebug die Ice Crystal, and Snow flake embossing Folder; Spellbinders Classic Rectangle Large, Classic Circle Large, and Classic Scalloped Circle Large.

Computer generated "Think Snow!"

Thanks for checking in with me.

The End of Summer

Wow! The end of summer is here. School has started and everyone's gardens are winding down. When my friend, Abbie Finley, called to say he had plenty of tomatoes to share, I went into the preseving mode.

After just a few minutes in his garden I had a 5-gallon bucket loaded with really red, ripe tomatoes. I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home for a few nectarines, two green bell peppers, and three Jalapeno peppers. Everything else I would need was waiting at home. I'm thinking red tomato relish! And, I have a wonderful new recipe to try.

Here are some of the beautiful ingredients.

My first task was to put on a pot of water to blanch the nectarines and tomatoes. Just a short time in the boiling water will loosen the skins so they slip right off. Actually the tomatoes worked wonderfully, but the nectarines were a bit more work.

After the boiling water they all go into an icewater bath to cool them down. This saves the fingers.

Look at all the wrinkly skins waiting to be shed.



Chop the Jalapenos. Carefully and with gloves on!



All the pretty peppers piled up.

Here is everything chopped and in the pot. I decided to use a tea bag for my pickling spices.

DIDN'T WORK!

Just a minute after putting the "make-do" bag in the pot, I broke it stirring. So, the next 5 minutes were spend picking out the little pieces of allspice, clove, cinnamon, etc., that escaped into the pot. Thank goodness, it was just a little rip in the bag.

So, then I went to the workshop, cut a proper muslin square and tied everything up with a cotton cord. Whew! Sometimes, shortcuts take a lot longer.

It was a long day. I picked, prepared, chopped, cooked and strirred, canned, and cleaned up from about 8:30am until 5:30pm. Long day, but I did lots of other things during the cooking and stirring session. The results were worth it.

Lots of wonderful sweet, tangy, spicy, ripe tomato relish.

Life is good.

Just like the card from yesterday, this one is created from bits and pieces, but my favorite part is a copy of the old stamp from Laos. I won't spend a lot of time explaining how it was made since there isn't much new on it. The pieces are: three different scrapbook papers, lettering from QuicKutz font Sunshine, flourish from Autumn Leaves, stamps and postmarks from an old letter, buttons tied with string, typewriter key labels from stash, a ready made tag that says "favorite things", and a vellum stamp from stash.

Make a card for some you love and include on the front something they will remember. Maybe an old ticket stub, a photograph, a copy of a report card, a bit of fluff or flower from a bouquet, etc.

I think one of the most fun ways to make cards is to incorporate into the making something from your past.

When I was about 10, I collected stamps. Money was in short supply, but my Mom occasionally let me have enough to send off for packets of "free" stamps. Back then, 52 years ago, free really meant free. So, I would get a 6 cent stamp, cut out the ad from a magazine, fill out my address, etc., and send it off in one of Mom's envelopes.

It was an exciting day when the mail carrier left me a big packet of free stamps. Now, I must admit, along with the free stamps were several packets that I could buy for just a small amount. And, occasionally, I had enough pennies saved to buy a packet or two. I probably spent less than a dollar at the most. One time I received a packet with four stamps from Laos. They were all of elephants, and were the most beautiful I had ever seen. I bought them for a few pennies and treasured them from that day to this.

For this card (5in x 7in), I made a photocopy of those stamps. You can see how I cut out one stamp (now I have a stamp border pair of sizzors, but not then), and mounted it on complimentary paper. The background paper is scrapbooking paper. The paper on right is torn and glued on top of that. A rub-on, letters, brads and ribbon completes this card. Make your own "Dare to Dream" card and send me a picture. I'll put in on this blog.

As always, hoping to hear from lots of you.

B

Happy Anniversary

Here is a card I made using one of the free photographs I found on the Internet. It is very simple and takes very little time to make. Maybe I should say "it takes very little time, the second time around." Sometimes I spend hours getting a card together the first time, but can make a similar one in just minutes the next time.

Pick a cardstock and find some vintage looking papers for the background. Cut a piece 1/4 to 1/2 inch smaller than the card, center, and glue. This card was made before I had a Cricut so I used a template to cut out an oval from the photograph and then cut a bit larger one with deckle sizzors. I found the flower in an old box of wedding finery and cut the red leaves from an autumn leaf branch from Wal-Mart. I printed "Happy Anniversary" on the computer and cut it out, and highlighted the edges with a black marker. There is a little pen work around the edges of the vintage look paper. I used dots and dashes and a few xoxoxo sometimes.

Make one of these. You will have so much fun.

Drop by again. I'm always looking forward to hearing from you.

A Brother is a Blessing

Since cards using vintage photographs are among my very favorites, I thought you might enjoy this one created especially for a brother.

The cardstock is white and is A2 size. I cut a piece of my own "homemade" paper 1/4 of an inch smaller than the stock and adhered to the front. I squared off the photo and matted it on a piece of brown cardstock and adhered it at a bit of an angle. Then I rubber stamped several postmarks, added a few old stamps, used a simple flower rub-on and glued on buttons. I always use a heavy string or beadspread cotton to tie through the holes on buttons. After all, buttons should be secured with thread. Right? The comment was created on my computer with a free Internet font called 1942 report.

I found the old photo at a yard sale and had some prints made at the local "Quick Print" on their color copier. Actually, I positioned 9 pictures on a page with a little bit of double stick tape and made several copies, all for around a dollar each.

The background paper is made with old postcards, family letters, and wills, layered and laid at interesting angles. Almost any old documents will work. The more faded, stained, yellowed, and worn the better. Only a color copier will give you really good results. Experiment and send me a picture of your designer paper and I'll post it on my site for others to be inspired.

This could be a wonderful way to surprise a brother with a card. Find an old picture of him or perhaps one of some of your ancestors and go on from there. If you have questons, please email me.
B

Tommy Turtle

This little guy is called Tommy Turtle. He comes from the same part of the country as the little red crab. As a matter of fact they are great friends. I made him by finding a simple picture in a children's coloring book and cutting him out. Then I traced around him on green paper and cut out the shape. Next I traced around just the shell on a green, blue and white paisley and hand drew in the shapes on his shell. I smudged each spot and a little around his head and feet, painted his toenails red (hey, maybe this turtle is Tomette) and glued the shell to the body. I gave him some eyes from the little pieces left over from using QuicKutz font Sunshine. I think his eyes are from the center of letter P. Also used that font for the word "Hi!" I hand drew a couple of flowers and cut out some grass free form. After a little pen work, glue all together, and adding a button the card was ready to send. Hope you enjoy Tom.

Last of the Laos Stamp Cards - Dream

O.K. I promise this will be the last of the Laos Stamp Cards, although there is another one lurking around somewhere. This one was a lot of fun because of all the exotic oriental images I found to use on it.

On the Internet there is a site with pictures of bank notes from every country. Some of them are beautiful works of art. I copied and pasted this one, being careful to use only part of it and also made it a bit smaller than the real one would have been. I don't want to be a counterfeiter. Whew! Also, I covered the picture of a man at the center of the note with a postmark. I chose navy, hot pink, and gold for the color scheme. You can see I pulled it from the peacock stamp. The ginko and dragonfly were rubber stamped, colored and cut out before being added. The buttons are from my stash and the flower is a silk flower, pulled apart and glued on with a tiny gold brad in the center.

Look around and use what you have on hand. I believe it is Jenni Bowlin that says "re-use, and re-purpose". She is the queen of that.

Card from the Past

Here is a simple little card I made a year or so ago and sold on eBay. It is so easy to make. You can find other ideas like it close at hand. First I found a coloring book with simple images, took it to a copier and reduced the image of the crab until I had it at the size I needed for this card. Next I cut it out and traced around the edges onto a colorful piece of paper; I used a bright red. I outlined each part of the crab with a black pen, like Pilot Varsity Extra Fine. Any smooth writing pen will do just fine. There is a minimum of shading done with brown chalk and a Q-Tip.

The background was done with six layers of cardstock. Three are sand and three are water. The top of each row of sand is smudged a bit with brown chalk and the waves are all cut free form and inked a bit with the black pen. To get uniform pieces for the eyes and eyebrows, I used little throw away pieces left after cutting out letters with QuicKutz Sunshine Font. Also used the font to say "Whassup ?". A few grains of sand penned in finished up this lil ole crab.

Hope you try one too. If you do let me know. I would love to hear from you.

B

Wheelbarrow

I love to create cards using different techniques. Although ones with vintage photographs are among my favorites, I also love to water color and use my Prisma Pencils. The card I chose to share today begins with a deep red cardstock and is layered with yellow, navy blue, and a petite flowered print from my older papers. The image is from SU! and is colored in with Prisma Pencils. I used an odorless turpenoid to smooth out the color and make it more like a watercolored image. The pot of yellow flowers and the watering can are stamped a second time, cut out, colored and popped out on dimensional dots. A bit of red Stickles on the wheel barrow and water can gives a bit of sparkle.

Hope you enjoyed looking at this little creation. If you have any questions, just email me. I would love to hear from you.

~B

Another Sister Card

I love to make "sister" cards! Maybe that is because I never had a sister. Well, I didn't have a brother either, but those cards aren't as much fun to create - no flowers, frills, no fuss.

This one is similar to yesterday's card in several ways - the photo is the same - just trimmed into a square instead of an oval, and I used another fabric swatch on the left. The sentiment is the same - "sisters are different flowers from the same garden". The background is again from the one-of-a-kind paper I made by copying old letters and documents. The embellishment is bits and pieces from here and there. I crocheted the light colored flower and pulled the two reddish blooms from a bouquet of silk flowers. I threw away all the little plastic pieces and anchored the three flowers together with a large French knot of crochet thread. The leaves are from a fall arrangement that I no longer use. The black photo corners turned up in a bin of sale goods at a local business supply store.

Even though there are literally thousands of beautiful embellishments on the market, I find a lot of pleasure in using items from around my home and craft room. I've been collecting little "treasures" for a very long time, so now it's great to use them to decorate my cards. I try to look at a piece and see what can be done with it other than the intended or expected purpose. Take a look around your home; you'll find lots of great little treasures just waiting to become a part of a very special card.

Day One

This is my first day in the weblog world. I couldn't think of a great name for my blog so I called it "Just Me....B". That will work for now. If you've stumbled on this by some twist of the keyboard, please say "hello" and let me know you are out there.

Today I am sharing a card I designed last year, because it is one of my all time favorites. It features a copy of a 70+ year old photograph of my mother and her two younger sisters.

It is created on white cardstock that has been distressed around the edges with brown ink. The background paper was made by photocopying several very old letters and papers that belonged to my family. The colorful piece of fabric on the left is from a discontinued swatch book for upholstery fabrics, button from mom's button box, and flower from Prima. It's really amazing what you can do with what you find around your grandmother's attic.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to "see" you again.

B