Gothic Arch - Things with Wings

Here is my swap card for Art for the Creative Mind Gothic Arch Swap "Thing With Wings". I made it as a triptych . I made the brick design by hand. The two columns at the front were stamped, embossed and then cut out. The same was done for the Gargoyles. They were then attached with two sided foam tape to give dimension.






I continued with the brick design on the inside and then added a piece of black paper on this I attached the dragon (which was coloured in with prisma pencils) with two sided foam tape for dimension.

The edges all around the arch inside and out were sponged with black ink to give an old world look.

Cowboys and Cowgirl Chestnut challenge card for Gingersnap Creations

Here is my card for the Gingersnap Creations Chestnut Theme, Cowboys and Cowgirls Challenge. I used a picture of a chuck wagon with men gathering for their meal. First I swiped a chestnut brown ink over the picture and then I used a lighter to burn around the picture to give it an aged look. I also burnt my thumb and index finger putting out the little flames. Note to self don't touch fire. The picture was then layered on three different sheets of brown and chestnut coloured cardstock. Then I layered them onto a chestnut plaid and attached this to a piece of beige cardstock. The little metal galloping horse in the corner was attached with diamond glaze.



Visit the Gingersnaps Creations website here!

Altered Box and Sewing ATC's

This Altered Box was made for a swap for Art For The Creative Minds. I covered a small round cheese box with coordinating Victorian looking wallpaper. Then I added lace around the top edge and attached flowers to a piece of foam that I glued on the top. I also added three small hatpins which I made. I hope my partner likes it. There is also a little gift inside, but that is a surprise for my swap partner.



These are two ATC's created for Art For the Creative Minds using a Sewing Theme. The spool of thread was drawn freehand.. The needle is a toothpick painted silver and the thimble was cut from a piece of silver paper and then I use the end of a pin to indent it. The second ATC recycles a picture that I received on another card swap some time ago.

Boths ATC's have material as backgrounds from some discontinued fabric books that I have collected.

Altered Pages

As a member of the Design Team I am very happy to be able to let you know some great news. Altered Pages has their new website up and running. Please take a look at WWW.ALTEREDPAGES.COM you won't be disapointed. Altered Pages now carries more than just Collage Sheets. It carries embellishments, rubberstamps, emphera etc. that can be used in your mixed media art or just plain rubberstamping.

Swap Cards for Card Swappers

This card is for a swap card using lace. The background is scrapbook paper. I used a cuttlebug folder to embose the piece of silver paper and used a friskars corner punch. I cut a piece of lace about 8" long and gathered it to form a circle. I used silk flowers and a brad and attached them to the flower. The flower was attached with 2 sided tape. I used a strip of two sided tape. I place one end of the lace down and then folded the piece over a pencil and then stuck it down. I kept doing this until I reached the end of the card. It gives a very nice ruffled effect.



This card is for the Blue/Green/Pink swap. I used the same technique for the Lace as I did on .

I used the same lace technique for this card as for the one above.

Swap Cards

I signed up for a swap with Pet as its theme. Here is the card I made. The piggy stamp is from Stampin Up. I used Gold Liquid Pearls for the dots. The leaves, stem and grass were cut by hand.




A friend of mine gave me this very greeny/yellow card stock awhile ago. I could not find anything to go with it. Looking thro my stash, I found two different kinds of striped paper. The image is from a swap that I took part in last year.

Great Offer

As a Design Team member of Altered Pages I would like to pass on this great offer:

Place a postal order before the old website closes and open the new one opens (same name - improved service),
Receive a FREE magnetic frame kit including all materials and instructions. The Kit makes two frames. One per customer please. (colors will vary)
See them on the homepage, www.alteredpages. com

Commissioned cards

My DIL wanted to give cards to the people that she worked for in the taxation office since it is the end of the season for the office where she works. Here are the ones that I designed for her. The first two are Jack Russell Terriers. The picture were cut from old calendars. The two ladies that she worked with have Jack Russells.





This one is a card for one of the men. The images were layered and a treble clef brad was added to the bow.



The picture of the Lavender Lady was created with clip art that was taken off the internet. The lady was cut out and I used a piece of sticky foam to give dimension. I used diamond stickles in her hair and on her necklace.



The Steampunk Couple was made using a collage picture from Altered Pages called Steampunk. The cog at the bottom was received in a swap. I mounted a watch face over the couples' faces and filled it with diamond glaze. This gives the illusion that there is glass in the watch face.



This card was made using a picture called the collage sheet called Golf by Altered Pages. It was layered with coordinating cardstock and golfing embellishments were added to compete the design

Swap Cards

These are card that I created for Card Swappers. The Thinking of you card uses a collage picture from "White Collage" available from Altered Pages.



This step card was made using pictures from the collage sheet "Antique Sewing" available from Altered Pages. The stamped image of the dress form was from an old rubberstamp that I have.




These are swap cards for the group Just Cards. The Blue Card with the pitcher is called The Delft Technique. You may find it on Splitcoast Stampers. I had difficulty with the tile effect, so I cheated. When I had the lines dry embossed, I put a strip of low tack tape along each one. That way when I stamped the image, the lines were not stamped over. The Mother's Day card uses an image from Altered Pages. I used a piece of material for the corner of Pink, Yellow and Orange card, and highlited it with stickles. The Sketch card uses paper lace and chipboard buttons and a little mesh.




Here is the Victorian Fan that I made for a swap for Art For The Creative Mind. I used a doily and a stick from a foam sponge applicator. The Butterflies are rub ons, Liquid Pearls was used on the middle of each ruffle, gold paint was rubbed on for a little colour and then small 1/2 pearls were added along with ribbon.

Two more get Well Cards

Two more Get Well Cards

More Birthday cards

Here are more great Birthday Cards that I have received.

Garden Journal

Here is a sample of the Garden Journal that I submitted to Altered pages

Layered Card

Here is a card I made using a number of layers. I inked up a cuttlebug folder with Antique Brown placed a page from an old book into it and ran it thro the cuttlebug. The bird is from Altered Pages collage sheet entitled "Vintage Birds Cards. The words " Birds Bring Music to My Garden" was printed on the computer.

Day 3 of Creativity

Day3: What words or phrases do you find inspiring and why?

I really like the phrase " You shouldn't be doing that" especially now that I have had a major heart attack. The reason I respond to this phrase is because it encourages me to continue my life the way it was before the heart attack just maybe a little slower. I do not want people feeling sorry for me and I will not let my medical condition hold me back.

I may not be the same as I was before, but I am alive and plan to live my life to the fullest.

Altered Pages Stamp

Here is a card I made using a Rubberstamp from Altered Pages. I used a piece of material (burgundy with gold design) in the making of the card.

Birthday cards

Not only did I receive a bushelful of get well cards I also received wonderful Birthday Wishes from my Card Swapping Groups.





I would like to thank everyone for the Well Wishes.

Get Well Wishes

Here are the the wonderful get well cards that I received from all my group friends. The cards really brightened my day when I returned home from hospital.

Baby card

This card was made for one of my coaches at work. She is leaving on Mat Leave the beginning of April. The little charm that says "It's a Boy" may be removed and added to a charm bracelet I also made an afghan to go with card, but forgot to take photo.

Heart Attack

On March 1, 2011 I suffered a massive heart attack. I had to have two shunts placed in my heart. If you go to read my blog on Life with a Pig,you will read how Babe saved my life.

What colors are meaningful to you and why?

I like the colours Black, Yellow and Red.

Black because it is slimming and always looks elegant.
Yellow makes me feel good and energized. I can only wear certain colours of yellow. Sunflower yellow if my best choice.
Red because it makes me feel empowered. I feel that I can accomplish anything when I wear red.

Funny even tho I like these colours for clothing I don't often use them in my card making.

Little behind

I have been a little behind in my swaps this month. I have lost my creative mojo. I really hope I get it back soon.

I am having trouble with my blog template. I just can't get rid of the "Undefined" where the date should be. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to change my template, because I really like it.

30 Days of Creativity

I seem to have lost my creativity mojo. I do not have any creative ideas left in my head and I am behind on my swaps. I decide to jump start my brain again by taking part in 30 days to Creativity.

Day 1: When you were a child, how did you express your creativity?

I liked to sew and knit. Right now I am knitting a scarf for a friend at work. When I was in high school, I used to knit for the teachers for spending money.

My sewing machine is not working at the present time. I was having trouble with my pressure foot and decided to take it apart to see if I could fix the problem. I couldn't, and now I have to take it to a repair shop.

365 Day Creativity

What will you make to greet the dawn of a new decade? Whether sketching self-portraits, welding wildebeest sculptures or baking banana bread, a daily project can be just the thing to break out of your routine while making creativity a part of your daily life. As Noah Scalin, the brains behind the Skull-a-Day project and author of 365: A Daily Creativity Journal, says, "A daily project is like a marathon. It's a ridiculously daunting task, but making an original creation every day gives you an incredible sense of accomplishment. It also forces you to push beyond your mental and physical barriers (especially the ones you've erected for yourself). You'll be amazed at what you produce and what you learn about yourself in the process." Bring it on, 2011!

Dark Eyes

As part of the Altered Pages design team, I create artwork which is used on their website for promotional purposes. Here is my latest creation known as "Dark Eyes"

Please visit Altered Pages for more information on how this was created, and raw materials order forms.

New Year Decisions

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and will have a Safe, Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I have had this blog for a few years now and have never really kept it up. One of my New Years Decisions, not "resolution" is to update my blog at least once a week. I will be explaining how I am trying to make my life better and also showing the swaps that I have received and the items that I have created.

Here are some of the cards that I designed for Christmas.

Card made for manager at work

This picture was from a swap I received. The background is a 100+ year old Lithograph Stamp
(it's difficult to see the lithograph because I used silver ink)

A friend of mine gave me some Christmas envelopes. I cut the Santa out.