Patchwork Christmas

I have been itching to start making Christmas cards (I salute those of you who are well along this path - but this is early for me!) Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge this week is patchwork which was the perfect inspiration for me.

I absolutely love the Graphic 45 Christmas papers so I knewI would start there.  They remind me of home spun fabric. The first thing I did was cut up A LOT of paper into 1" squares.

When I started I was going to use 1/2' squares.  Three hours into the project I was awfully glad I chose the one inch size! I started playing with designs and finally decided to use a simple pattern of squares on edge. In fact it's simple I can't find the name for it! Once I had them all cut up they reminded be of the beautiful quilts of Marsha McCloskey called Blended Quilts. I've made a couple of them and throughly enjoyed auditioning all the fabrics. However, they take a LONG time to complete. Hence why I'm drawn to paper - you can actually complete things.

Once I started laying them out I had some floral designs which helped me decide on the type of embellishment I wanted to use - flowers.I had these beautiful small prima roses and I paired one with some Ideology leaves I had melted embossing powder on (thank-you for another great way to use the products you already own Tammy Tutterow).  

I also used some alcohol ink on a metal tag, and a Tim Holtz Rub-on. To Becmake sure the squares lined up nicely I cut 1" strips of red paper and glued all the squares onto the strip. It also helped add more depth to the card. Because I wanted it to look like patch work, I used a micron pen to make some dashes between the squares and then around the entire design. 

As I was making the card, I had one of my sisters in mind. She once spent 12 hours making a beautiful birthday card for a member of the family....so happy this didn't approach that time schedule. 

Hope there is magic in your life!

In addition to SSS, I'm also entering this in the Try It On Tuesday color explosion - seasonal!

Love 'Em - Don't Know Why I Don't Use 'Em

I got a text from my daughter last night trying to cajole me into sending her Girl Scout cookies in the mail. Turns out she really wants mail...and probably the cookies but as much as I like the Girl Scouts - having been one myself - the cookies are already plenty expensive and she can buy her own! But I did bite and decided to make a card for her on Sunday afternoon. I also wanted to participate in the Simon Says Stamp challenge of using a stamp you love but don't use often. Sadly I have, well, let's just say there were a lot of stamps to choose from.

The Fairy Stamp is a old Graphic 45 Stamp that doesn't seem to be available any more. I stamped her on a piece of manilla paper, colored in the edges with Spun Sugar and Bundled Sage Distress Inks, and went around the edge with Vintage Photo. I used Distress Markers and a water brush to color her dress and flowers, but the thing I now LOVE is the dry glitter I used on her wings.

OMG - this stuff is SO Cool. Well, it's from Tim Holtz, master of the universe, so I should have known, but it SOOOOO dimensional. Little late to this party, but I can't wait to use it again!

The other stamp I really like I got from my sister Daina and it was way before I knew Donna Downey was...as fate would have it she's one of my current inspirations! I stamped it in clear and emossed it with white....love the look. The other thing I want to mention is the trick I picked up from Tammy Tutterow about embossing the top of a brad. Super simple. Touch it to the Versamark pad, dip it in the embossing powder (with tweezers) and try it. And yes, I will say it. Don't touch it. It's metal. It's hot. You would think I get that. Nope. Ouch.

I mounted the whole paper on a piece of card stock and embossed some more dandelions, inside....and while for us spring is at least 6 if not 8 weeks away, it is sunny and the days are longer and it's all good!

Happy Mother's Day with Domestic Goddesses

I mean, who wouldn't want to be a Goddess, domestic or otherwise? I love the Domestic Goddess line of paper from Graphic 45, but am afraid it's a bit difficult to find these days. It's so tongue in check, that I thought it would be perfect for Mother's Day cards for my sisters and my Mom. All the cards are very straight forward. A bit of dimension and mix and match the papers up and I was pretty much done.

 This last one was for my Mom - she gets the trophy....as she's been at it the longest!!

 These cards were made so much easier by the addition of the chipboard cut in exactly the right shape for all the Graphic 45 tags. You can find it at Leaky Shed Studio. I was really impressed with how right on the size was; I didn't have to make any adjustments, and the dimension the chipboard added was fabulous.

I used the same paper, along with with Dreamer Paper from 7 Dots Studio and some chipboard letters to make a cover for my recipe book. I'm always clipping recipes out of magazines, and if I try it, and we like it, it gets put into a sheet protector and into the BIG BOOK of recipes...one of the kids named it years ago, and the name has stuck around.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Domestic Goddesses out there in Blog-land!