Art Journaling - 1st attempt

I'm not really certain that this page is finished but this is where it is so far. I think it needs something else but want to keep the pallet this time to the three colors. I want an image(s) but nothing has clicked yet.  I have decided to date my progress up by the orings, so each day I work on a page I put the date down, which reminds me I need to do that to my second page which I have started. Yippee!

The Post Office Ate My Card

I honestly was having trouble coming up with a title to the post.  Well the Post office solved that.  Yesterday, Friday August 22, 2014 I took this card to the Post Office counter and it and a SASE measured, metered, weighed, assessed, inside leg measurement taken etc.  And then posted it to my eldest to post back in time for my husband's birthday. Now I have good faith in the Post Office to do their job so imagine my surprise when today my husband received an empty SASE in the mail from inside the card. Not a happy camper.  From the condition of the SASE I would say a worker interfered with our post, not a machine, but I am sure a machine will be blamed.  My question is if their machinery couldn't handle it then wasn't that up to the postal worker at the counter to inform me?  Anyway, about the card -

I made the front of the card to look like a peg board.  I took inspiration from Lindsay, the frugalcrafter's card but kept it simple with the tools "pointing" to open the card.

In the inside I made a pop up toolbox.  I wish I could say it was my idea, I knew I wanted a dimensional toolbox but honestly wanted something more interactive than this.  You know, pull out drawers with tools inside interactive.  Yeah, I aim high!

So trying to work out how to do what I want I did an internet search and found this pop up card.  I decided with a few changes it was going to be as close as I was going to get to what I wanted, well.... this year!!!

All the tools are hand stamped and colored and then individually cut out.

And yes - this is a HUGE card with a top hinge thanks to some gorgeous grid paper and YES! paste.  Seriously, with YES! paste all things are adhere-able and nearly all things are possible!

I really loved this card so much that I almost didn't send it to my son to send back.  I nearly sent another but I thought this was the most appropriate one between them.  So here, I share with the world and hope someone in the US Post Office contacts us with what is left of my card (my blog I.D. is on the back) or an explanation for what happened.  I am not hopeful that it is still intact and if it is I am not hopeful that it wasn't deliberately opened.

Ingredients
Card Size - 8.5 in x 5.5 in
Cardstock - Recollections 110 lb - white, 65 lb - red, black; Recollections - Bright & Basic;
Stamps - Little Yellow Bicycle - Birthday; Technique Tuesday - Tool Time;
Ink - Gina K Designs Color Companion Black Onyx;
Color - Memento markers;
Accessories - Swiss Dots embossing folder; silver peel off strips.

Never Frogget!

I think we can agree I just went dotty over the High Hopes blog challenge this week - Polka Dot Mania .

I stamped the Frog Prince stamp and Mushroom Two stamp with Gina K Designs Black Onyx and colored in with Derwent Inktense pencils.  The mushroom is in my eldest's school colors orange and brown.  I then fussy cut the frog, cutting off his crown, and covered in versamark and UTEE and heat embossed him.  Doing this gave him a mottled appearance that I wanted.

Using my Polka Dots folder I dry embossed the base.  And I diecut the mushroom with circles to make them big polka dots.

To be honest I put the card together and then struggled as to where to put the sentiment.  Then I decided to do a half dot under the image and to look out the little $1 Studio G alphabet stamps I picked up at Michaels.  Couldn't believe that I had a circle one in the lot so of course that is the one I HAD to use!  A bit of dotty ribbon added just enough to help anchor the image.

Ingredients
Card size - 4 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in;
Cardstock - Recollections: 110lb (295 gsm) white, 65lb green, kraft;
Stamps - High Hopes Stamps: Frog Prince, Mushroom Two; Studio G: alphabet;
Ink - Gina K Designs Color Companion Black Onyx;
Color - Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils;
Accessories - American Crafts ribbon; UTEE; Dimensionals; Circle diecut.

Oops there goes another rubber tree plant!

I created this card for the High Hopes blog challenge this week - Buggin' Out using their iconic (IMHO) High Hopes Ant.  Isn't he just the cutest.  I played with mixing patterns and I think it worked.  I can't decide whether to send it to my mother as a pick me up or MIL as a moving card!

Ingredients
Card size - 4 1/4 in x 5.5 in
Cardstock - Recollections 110 lbs/ 298 gsm white, 65lb purple, pink, and paperstack.
Stamps - High Hopes Ant
Ink - Archival Ink
Color - Koi watercolors
Accessories - computer printed sentiment; dimensional tape.

21st box card!

A card for our dear niece who turned 21 in July.  I really struggled with this as traditionally in England it is "key to the door" you are an adult now birthday.  To be honest, the world has moved on so I decided to go fun and whimsical and pile it on.

Growing up she absolutely loved pigs so I am hoping that she will see this as a nod to remembering how much she loved pigs, a wee mini trip down her childhood memory lane.   

I wanted to make this card even more over the top than a normal box card so I decided in the great British tradition that she needed some birthday bunting to celebrate her big day.  Now that took a bit of thinking.  In the end I glued together some thick cardstock and patterned paper (both sides) to make them look a bit like carnival poles but keeping them flat for when the card was closed.

I did a few markings and I think I made the pennants 1 in long and 1 in wide.  I marked the bottom of the paper a half inch in and then every inch so I could cut the angles needed and cut enough for the front and back of the banner. Using a small alphabet set I stamped all the letters I needed and found a bit of thin white crochet thread in my stash and glue the pennant together, sandwiching in the thread.

Those "brads/enamel dots" are actually patterned paper scraps that I punched out, and used Versamark and UTEE to make to match!  I may never buy a "real" one again! 

The big problem with a card for an occasion that doesn't open and close is that there is no where to put a gift card/cash so I made a small envelope to match the large one and tucked it inside the box.  I went ahead and put her name on it so she will hopefully thought to pull it out.

 This is the card all closed up.  I was going to start my post with it but realized that if people are reading in readers they probably wouldn't look any further when confronted with such a dull image.  Oh yeah, what about that matching envelope!!!

Ingredients
Card size - 8.5 in x 5.5 in
Cardstock - The Paper Studio: Texture Cardstock, The Classics; 
Stamps - High Hopes: Pig, cake, presents, hat; Justrite Stamps: Curlz;
Ink - Archival Ink: black;
Color - Koi watercolor;
Accessories - Crochet thread;
Tools - UTEE

Gnome sweet Gnome!

Hey Gnomies!  This is a card I created for our nephew and his fiancee on moving to their new home.  After keeping it really Clean and Simple and white for his parents card I wanted to ramp up the color and whimsy with this one.

The set didn't have the sentiment I wanted so I improvised using the "Gnome" from this set and "sweet" from Clear Dollar Stamps Nice Neighborhood.  That "bleeding" around the hat is my poor watercoloring.  I decided to leave well enough alone rather than overworking it and having to start over.

Ingredients
Card size - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches
Cardstock - Recollections: 110lb white, 65lb red;
Paper -  Recollections: Bright and Basic; Artist Loft watercolor paper;
Stamps -  Gina K Designs: Gnome One Like You; Clear Dollar Stamps: Nice Neighborhood;
Ink - Gina K Designs Color Companions: Black Onyx; 
Color - Koi Watercolors 
Accessories - googly eyes
Tools - Spellbinders rectangles

Swing card Anniversary

I found this card nearly impossible to photograph - I hope it comes across as pretty on screen as I thought it was in real life.  It is a diecut swing card but I modified it from the Splitcoaststamper tutorial as I didn't need to extend the die cut into the back of the card to get the swing.  I notice that the example in the tutorial is very 3D, well that just isn't going to happen in my international postage, card making world. HA!HA!

With lots of trepidation and too much worrying about getting it right the first thing I did was glue my patterned paper to my cardstock using YES! paste.  Oh my that stuff is gorgeous and I am glad I picked it up on clearance at Michaels.  It was my first time using it and I used the video instructions from Lindsay, the Frugalcrafter and it was sooooooo easy peasy.  It is going to be my go to way of adhering large sheets of paper to cardstock from now on.

I proceeded to die cut the card and the paper to cover the card and the cardstock to cover the paper that covers the card and... well you get the idea.

The inside panel is a happy accident.  I was going to go ahead with a really soft tone of pink and when I stamped it I thought, "Hmmm I'm having trouble actually seeing it!" so I ghosted it with gold metallic ink stamped over the top and I think it really looks special.  I will be honest, although this is an anniversary card it was LATE LATE LATE - so I just went with thinking of you.  You know, who doesn't like to be thought about?!

The front panel was stamped with Kitchen Sink Stamps 3 step stamps.  I kept is soft by stamping the same color with each step.  I LOVE that panel and look.

I decided I wanted to emboss vellum for the salutation (is there a better word? that seems so formal), so I die cut the vellum to fit over the center of the stamped panel and then stamped and heat embossed.

Once that was done some strategic glue placement and some pearls to accent it all.

With some left over patterned paper I decorated the envelope to match.

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
Cardstock - Recollections: 65lbs; Vellum; Basic Gray: Sugared paper stack;
Stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps: 3 step Hearts and Roses, Whole Family; Hero Arts: CL342
Ink - Memento: Angel Pink, New Sprout; Versamark
Color - Gold pen
Accessories - Pearls, Zing!: White Embossing powder;
Tools - Spellbinders: Grand Dies; Scor Pal; Yes! paste

A small Home sweet Home

A clean and simple new home card for my BIL and SIL.  I probably fretted more about making this than actually shows on the card itself.

I stamped in the center of the base cardstock and lightly watercolored the image.  I cut and die cut the top piece to show the image and then adhered it with dimensional tape... then I remembered I should stamp a greeting of course.  I dithered about trying to make the 2nd "home" darker and decided to stop and admit defeat.

Ingredients
Card size - 5 in x 5 in
Cardstock - Recollections 110lb and 65lb
Stamp - Clear Dollar Stamps: house inchie and Nice Neighborhood
Ink - Gina K Designs Color Companion Black Onyx
Color - Koi Watercolor
Accessories - Spellbinders square die, Scotch foam tape.