a little mona lisa

So here's the deal: Last weekend I spent time making the "Mona Lisa" card fronts for a Coffee themed swap. Thinking I was incredibly creative, I used actual espresso and coffee grounds for the ink and embossing powder. To my chagrin, the final list was posted, and in a round about, polite way, it was hinted not to use actual coffee due to it's high acid content! Well, now I have a ton of coffee embossed Mona Lisa card fronts, not to mention the culls.
Here I have placed one, stamp by Tim Holtz for Stamper's Annonymous, on brown Club Scrap paper, as well as the phrase from the CS Reaching out Unmouunteds. I used a moldable blue foam stamp with patterns I created from an urn on another CS paper. Embossing powder in Gold and chalk inks from colorbox.
Since I have a ton of 'Lisa's', just send me something, leave me a comment, or email your address & you'll get a Mona Lisa in the mail!

a little sister

Here is Emily. Paper Club Scrap, flowers Prima, Ribbon Michael's, Buttons from my grandma.

a break in the action

Actually I'm working as mad as a Hatter on an ATC swap, and can't make up my mind! Every time I decide to take the cards in one direction, they just don't look right. Grrrrr. The theme is Tea party, and the extra challenge is to make a Triptych rather than an ATC. What is a Triptych? I'll explain it all once the cards are done. The mod podge is drying right now, or I'd scan one in. Homework for today: look up definition for Triptych...hopefully I'll have a yummy post ready for Wednesday!

a great program

The Font Thing is a free download to help you manage your fonts. Why would I need that you ask? Well, once installed on your computer you can type your journaling into a little box and it will show you how it looks written in all the fonts installed on your computer, especially since you have probably downloaded everything you could off Urbanfonts last week. How cool is that! No more time spent trying out each font, and going back and forth figuring out just which will work with your layout or project. I have a gazillion 'dirty' fonts installed, and never know just how much dirt I want on the page, now it is so super easy!
If that hasn't convinced you to get it, then this will: It organizes your Dingbats too! Woo hoo, everyone loves organized dingbats, right? What is a dingbat? Imagine you type the letter 'A' on your keyboard and instead you get a flower, or a moon, or a goat. Dingbats are little itsy bitsy designs in place of letters. Just enlarge them and you can have some great cut outs for your artwork. Dingbats, although super easy to use, just type, can get confusing when you don't remember what letter stands for which dingbat. With The Font Thing you see all of them in one place. I suggest you type the alphabet in the little box that pops up when using dingbats.

It doesn't look like it works with Vista yet, but I'm sure it will soon.

a sense of self expression

This layout is for my BOM (Book of Me). Although it sounds arrogant to make a book all about yourself, it's more about why I am the way I am, where I came from, where I hope to be going and what is important right here, right now. I've just started it, and haven't decided on 12x12 format, or 8 1/2 x 11. This layout is 12x12. Paper from Club Scrap Refresh (Feb. 07) but I'm afraid the kit is out of stock, Retired, as CS puts it, but you can still get individual sheets. Mosaic tiles from CS- Refresh also. Stewart Superior ink in navy, Eyelets every month Refresh pack, fibers and ribbons from my stash & the font is 'Artstamp Medium'. Fotos of Nicole Richie and Janet Leigh are Copywritten images, and not by me. The Gorilla resides in Disney's Animal Kingdom, Florida.

a fish story

 

First I snap the foto, then she hears the click! And that's the secret to making your child look so sweet on film!
Paper from Club Scrap Rhapsody (March 07), ink Stewart Superior which came with the Jr. Kit this month. Brads from eyelets every month Refresh pack, and fiber & button from my stash.
If you visit EEM, eyelets every month, and decide it's as great as I did, please use me as your referal! She gives away free stuff for that kind of thing, and you know I love free stuff!

a caffeinated lady

These card fronts were to be for a coffee swap. Coffee you say? Where is the coffee? Where is the cup, the spoon, cream & sugar? Both Mona and Leonardo's autograph have been inked with espresso and embossed with Sumatra grounds!
Glossy cardstock inked up with Adirondack Latte, caramel and butterscotch, with a hint of copper mixative. Then I created an ink pad combining scrapbooker's glue and very strong espresso. A heavy dash of finely ground unbrewed Sumatra. Once dry, I brushed off most of the coffe grounds, and only the finest grinds stayed for a velvety finish. These were mounted on Club Stamp Ivory Elegance cardstock distressed with Vintage Photo, mounted onto more Ivory Elegance cardstock with a velvet texture. Mona Lisa stamp is wood mounted from the new Tim Holtz collection at Stampers Anonymous and Leo's signature is unmounted rubber available at Club Stamp. I used no adhesive in these, other than eyelets and brads!
The aroma is fantastic, but now my desk is covered in coffee!

a set of cards

See what happens when someone gives me a challenge! This set of cards will be a gift from my mother to a friend who enjoys gardening. Papers are from Club Scrap Rhapsody & various other CS kits. Envelopes are brown craft paper from Allison's stash...snagging swag from a 4 year old, shameless I know... Stamps from CS Rhapsody, Farmer's Market, Nature's Wonders, brads and fibers from my own stash. Embossing powder clear from Ranger and Tim Holtz's Black distress powder. Inks are Whispers (in color) and Ranger archival black.
The box was embellished with the same stuff, and UTEE covering a wooden puzzle piece.

Cardvarks Challenge

Don't 'cha just love a challenge! I do and Cardvarks is a new Card challenge site worth checking out. New challenges are posted on the 5th and 20th of the month.
This week the challenge is to use buttons and staples. My entry uses Club Scrap paper from various kits with Unmounted stamps from CS Farmer's Market & CS Nature's Wonders, inks courtesy of Whisper's and buttons Colorbok.

a pair of dolls

Every girl loves paper dolls, these have just grown up a bit. The pattern came from Mirkwood designs and can be resized as you like. These ladies are 11" tall once assembled. I took this opportunity to practive some doodling, which seems to be all the craze these days & a bunch of Ranger alcohol inks, various fibers, brads and eyelets. Don't forget to select your hardware before you start inking so you can custom ink that too. Any opportunity to pull out the alcohol inks is a good day. Although the cutting and attaching of limbs is a job for an older child, grab a bunch of markers, and your little one and let them color away. A super fun way to use up little scraps you don't have the heart to throw away.

a little bird house in your soul

An Itsy-bitsy little birdhouse windchime is the perfect way to welcome in spring. I decoupaged the paper and cherub images with Matte Mod Podge, added the words "a little heaven" and a string of Club Scrap beads topped off with a Blue Moon Bead hanger. Each side has images of flowers or cherubs with their own titles. I plan on a second one painted and stamped.
The house is 3" tall.

a house of blocks

During a quick visit to my local stamp store I saw a project next to the register made from wooden blocks. Since I love projects, I had to figure out how it was done, and what my take would be.
Using the new Tim Holtz unmounted stamps, my favorite from Stampers Anonymous, and a bunch of Club Scrap/ Club Stamp um's I sat down with Allison and we began stamping away on our newly found blocks with a water based archival permanent black ink. Once the ink was dry I mixed up some Walnut Ink and the rest is history.
This was a really fun project, and so easy for kids. What I like so much, is that you can change the blocks around and keep playing after the project is done!
Allison colored hers with colorwash, and it worked as well as the Walnut ink, but her's is now pink/cantelope!

Anatomy of an ATC

March Madness is the theme this month over at the Club Scrap ATC exchange. I'm not a basketball fan, especially since my alma mater gave Chief Illiniwick the boot earlier this month, and we dropped out after the first round...I digress. But, I do fall into madness every once in a while, so I decided to go there. John falls deeper and suggested a 'Jack' theme, so I began.
Starting with a stock foto from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next colored with Tim Holtz's Old Paper distress ink, I added an alcohol ink background with Aidarondack Stream, Lettuce, Butterscotch & Meadow. Leprechaun hats were cut from Club Scrap Refresh (Feb. 07) light green, and colored with Stampendous Ultra fine glitter in Olive and fine glitter in Kelly Green.
I think I made over 30 of these buggers until I came up with 9 I liked, but that's the perfectionist sticking it's evil little head out again.

a winning Ranger Ink entry

I won!!! woo hoo!! Ya just gotta love that, and getting free stuff! Over at Rangerink links I entered this little tray from Club Scrap into the March Distress challenge, and low & behold was notified I won! (It was a random drawing) but who cares,I get cool stuff from Ranger!!!

**Update- They sent me a few acrylic paint dabers, a great metallic pen and goreous Cerulean Azure ink, Thank you Ranger!***

A quick creative break

As you may know I have been recreating my workspace for the past few weeks. I promised no distractions or artistic endeavours until I finished...but that didn't happen. Club Scrap posted a quick 'Spring' challenge, and a 74 degree day in March was all it took to grab the kid and camera and click away.
I saw the idea for a round 12x12 scrapbook layout in a magazine, and wanted to give it a try. It was a bit trickier than I originally thought. I printed my photos 9 to a page, made a circle 10" in diameter, and layed the fotos out before cutting. It turned out I needed 2 more, so I printed another page. Trying to salvage as much of the fotos, I ended up using 11 pictures, rather than 12, as my original intent was to make a clock for Grandma, for mother's day.
Once I mounted the pieces, the circle grew larger, and things didn't fit quite right, so it is a bit off center.
Paper is Club Scrap Textiles and Notions, written word vellum with my colorwash in violet, cantelope and pink. Other paper was few pieces from my stash I don't remember exactly who's designs. Bazzill cardstock, Ranger Adarondak inks for butterfly wings, and Buttons & Scrapper's floss from Karen Foster

and we begin

we all must start someplace.