Tag Archives: card

I love New York

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So I made some cards today. I thought it’d be nice if I show you what I made and how. So here’s a quick photo how-to.

You’ll need some watercolor paints. I love the brand, “Winston & Newton” but as I always say, use what you’ve got.

Also, some cold pressed watercolor paper, cut into a card size, black ink pad, paint brushes, lip gloss tubs, and the “NEW YORK” stamp by VIVA LAS VEGAS Stamps.

I store my watercolor paint in lip gloss tubs so that I can save it and re-use it. I use it right there in the tub, then seal it when I’m done.

So, you’re going to need to fold your card sized watercolor paper, and paint yourself a nice little background, like so:

Then stamp it.

Sorry for the blur. I tried, you know.

You’re gonna need some markers. I used my copic markers. But use what you’ve got.

I colored in some areas, with a marker: blue, for the blue background, yellow for the yellow…you get the idea.

Anyway, you get the idea.

Also, I made envelopes, out of magazine paper:

I used the last few pages of last month’s issue of SPIN magazine, in case you’re wondering.

I know I posted late in the day, but I’ve been dealing with health insurance stuff, applying for school, faxing out transcripts, cleaning up, and catching up on emails from being away for a few days. Stuff piles up!

 

That’s all for now.

 

Hand Stamped Gift Tags

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So I use gift tags quite a bit. So I hosted a swap on swap-bot, for making a set of gift tags. I made a set similar to what I’d want to receive (but I didn’t).

I love them, don’t you? A bit of ink and PAN pastels really make the tags “sing”, don’t you think?

Hmmmm….what else.

I have to run to canal street to purchase some last minute supplies. Wish me luck. I ask you to wish me luck, because this time of year, New York City is tourist mecca, and the streets are so crowded. But there, I get the best deal on jewelry making supplies (at Pearl Paint, if you live in NYC).

After that, this afternoon my little one has an appointment with the dentist for the very first time. Oh my goodness. I don’t know what to think. Should I anticipate a tantrum? I do not know what to expect.

I was browsing through photos of her last year, trick or treating, and boy. She certainly does not look like a baby anymore. She looks like a little girl. I can’t believe it. Soon she’ll be a teenager, complaining that her little sister stole her favorite shirt.

Wow. I simply cannot believe it.

On a side note, I was reading THIS article, and thinking, “can’t we all just get along?”

I have experienced “judgmental mommies” and I have to say, it’s not fun. It’s really stupid to judge someone else because they allow their child to eat sugar, or watch television. Who cares, as my husband says. They do not pay your mortgage, he says. It’s true.

I never judge. I mean, why bother? I barely have time for everything as it is, I do not have time to sit and judge you, because you won’t let your 10 year old watch “Ratatouille”, or something. Everyone parents differently.

I stay home with my daughter, and I’m happy with that. I don’t need the snotty, “well, I tried to stay home, but I got so bored, I couldn’t stand it! I don’t know how you can just sit there all day.” This was told to me a while back by a woman on the train. We were talking about motherhood.

I want to say, that I don’t just “sit there all day.”  There are plenty of things that I do in a day being a stay at home WORKING mother, but “sit there” is not one of them.

Years ago, I was at a protest in Philadelphia, and I remember reading a sign that said, “Every mother is a working mother”. It’s true. We ALL are. Let’s just leave it at that.

 

I’m not one to brag, but…..

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I am the guest curator for Crescendoh!

Neat, huh? Click here to read a bit about me, and how I got to where I am now.

In the meantime, I have nothing crafty to share, except that I bought some yarn, and have some more fun garlands to make.

Oh, and I had a fun card making meetup. I forgot to take pics of their finished work, but in case you want to see what we do at my place, here’s a few shots of that anyway.

The floor always seems the easiest place to work from.

 

There were about 5 of us, but we had so much fun! I find it easier to teach a card making class from my home, since I have a big shot, paper trimmer, heat gun and other things that are difficult to travel with on a train.

We used that Big Shot so much. I think I should be compensated by Sizzix for probably selling about 3 or 4 or these. I love my big shot! Truly! You can do so much with it.

Anyway, that was my weekend. Busy, busy.

Oh, but I did make some toffee and chocolate chip cookies. They are simply amazing. Today, I have a swap to work on, and I am feeling inspired to create some jewelry.

Anything else to declare? Oh, well I know that fall is around the corner, because my workshops and attendance to my fun crafty events picks up rather nicely. So you’ll be seeing more posts, with fun pics of us in action.

And I just want to say, I still want Lombard’s pizza.

 

That’s all for now.

Shabby Chic Mini Scrapbooks

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So yesterday I mentioned how I got a whole bunch of nice black paper. Today, I figured, what’s better than making some stab bound scrabooks. I made a set of two, using some pretty flowers from the Sampler Kit.

The words there on the right read, VIDA and mean life in spanish. I inked the edges on the second one, and on the first one there, you can see there are buttons on the right. I used a sizzix die, to cut the shame of the pages. Inside, there are 22 black, blank pages. I of course, have no idea what the heck to do with them! I might give each of them to friends of mine, who just had baby girls.

Oh, and I used Baker’s twine, also in the Sampler kit from (I think) last month. Again, the binding is a simple stab binding. Very easy.

Now, can you see them? I love that flower. That was from the Sampler Kit’s monthly scrapbooking kit. I love them! I got enough to make these, and also save a few for jewelry making, which, thanks to James Brown and Youtube, am quite inspired to make a few designs today.

What else? Meh, not much. I need some more yarn. I have been feeling inspired to make some really nice crocheted stuff, but alas. I need yarn. I do have some pretty silk sari yarn, but that stuff is difficult to design/work with. I’m making some small things. I had found a crocheted flower pattern online, but decided to instead go with a flower design I had created a long time ago by mistake. I was trying to make a round granny square, and it ended up being a flower. So, since I remembered what I had done, I had made a bunch. But that was a long time ago. I just want to make them now, so I can make fun little things with it.

That’s all for today.

 

Envelope Art

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This weekend, I did a bit of envelope art, with my husband. It was so much fun!

I made one alone, and one with him. I’ll show you both.

For this piece, my husband and I worked together. I used my envelope template on regular artist sketchbook paper. The background stamp is a retired stampin up stamp. The ink is Stampin up as well. The frida is from my collection of print outs.

And we just used a regular pitt pen.

I did this one.

I played around with masking, on this. I stamped a butterfly (Stamp by 100 Proof Press), and glued it on to the paper, then sprayed with some homemade glimmer mist. Then, I added some paper tape, along the sides. Then, I stamped it with the typewriter letters, and applied a bit of magenta colored PAN Pastels.

That’s all, really.

Today is going to be a rainy day, in Brooklyn. That means, I can catch up on my projects, and get some work done. PLUS, it’s a rather cool out, which means I get to make some brownies, WOOT!

I lurv brownies, with a nice tall glass of Almond Milk. I do that, because in my head, I rationalize the bad with the good. I know it doesn’t make sense.

That’s all for now.

 

Tiny Little Thank You Cards

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Recently, I made some cool thank you cards, to send to my customers who order my lovely jewelry creations.

They are simple enough to make.

They are so easy to make.

You’ll need your Sizzix Big Shot, and the die, “Card w/Flower” , a thank you rubber stamp (I got mine from the dollar spot at Michael’s), and a 1 inch circle punch. Oh, and some pretty paper tape. Mine is from Tim Holtz.

I used a paper stack from Colorboc, but you can use whatever you’ve got. With the spares, I cut out 1″ circles, and filled in the little flower there.

That’s it really! Oh, and I inked the edges.

You like it? It’s easy enough, and a nice little way to say thank you to someone, or hello. Or I love you.

I don’t have much to say, because frankly, I’m feeling saddened. Someone related to me, wrote me off, and manipulated the situation to make me seem as if I am one to blame, when I did nothing.

I am a good woman, a great mother, and a good friend. I may have my flaws like everyone does. But I got to where I am because of my faith in a higher power, and because of my capacity to love. If you cannot love, you have nothing. Love heals. Love. Not anger about the past, or bitterness, or hatred towards a person. These negative feelings only make things worst. They only break you, and break the relationships you have.

LOVE heals. And love comes in so many delicious forms.

Accusing another person of something that you yourself may have, is something that just about every religion speaks against. And even if you are not a religious person, we can all benefit by looking at ourselves before we look at someone else and accuse them of outlandish things.

I don’t want to go into details, but suffice to say that someone in my extended family truly broke my heart immensly. Then, while having broken my PREGNANT heart, then went off to tell my partner about me,  as if that is her right, to speak ill against me to my own husband.

I love my family. I love my daughter, my husband and the little girl in my belly. I love my art group. I love. That’s the point. I LOVE. I love, unconditionally.

I don’t feel guilty about my decision to not speak to my abusive parents. It is wrong to abuse your child and then expect her to deny what happened, as if she deserved it, no. I did not deserve a damned thing. No one will ever make me feel guilty for my decision. This choice, I made out of love for myself. Because I deserve relationships that are NOT destructive. I deserve goodness. I deserve good things, no matter what this person in my extended family may think or believe.

That’s all I had to say. Now, I’m off to crochet like mad.

 

 

 

Frida, Hanging Out & a Sneak Peak

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Today I finished up a necklace that I made. It’s a photo transfer pendant on a chain, with pretty beads.

Here, Frida is accompanied by some handmade paper beads.

This piece is lovely and colorful, and matches with an array of outfits. And the recycled beads really make it, don’t you think?

So CLICK HERE to purchase this item.

Oh, and the sneak peak! Well, I’m working on a fun item. It’s a set of affirmation cards. I will show you what some of them look like, so far.

These are just pieces of kraft colored cardstock, from Papertrey ink, which I gessoed and then painted. Now, I’m working on the collage aspect.

What else? I’m feeling lazy today. I was supposed to be going out to the gardens with my daughter, but arg, being pregnant can really make you tired. Maybe I’ll just walk around the neighborhood with her today, and take her to the playground instead.

 

 

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Vintage Inspired ATCs

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I’m in a swap on ATCs For All, and this particular swap requires you to use text book pages on your ATC.  Here’s what I came up with:

The background is pages from a french dictionary. There is vintage lace as a pretty touch, Pan Pastels over the paper, and the little paper dolls are from Cosmo Cricket. I just love this set, so much!

Each little girl is different then the rest, and it reminds me of some old vintage paper dolls I have in my stash.

I like this set a lot. Maybe I should have made one for myself, eh? Ohwell. For me, pictures are enough.

What else? I’m still working on this project I’ve got up my sleave. Okay, okay, stop asking, I’ll tell you what it is: It’s a set of collaged Affirmation Cards. I’m really excited for it! I’m not done with it, but I’ll show you a sneak peak tomorrow.

The vegetarian thing is sticking with me so far. It’s a very strange thing to actually crave healthy foods when you’re pregnant. I sure didn’t crave it with my daughter Dakota. No way. I wanted pizza and peanut butter ice cream every day.

That’s all for now.

 

 

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On a card making binge

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So this week, I’m in a bit of a card making binge. This is because I’m teaching a card making workshop at the Ink Pad next week. I frankly was not feeling the mojo at all, and went so far as to tell Barbara (at the ink pad) that I in fact, was not feeling the card mojo. She of course, informed me that it would not be very nice to cancel a class, so I decided to just muster up the mojo however I could. That’s what crafting books are good for, right? So here, I made a couple cards.

If you are interested in making cards with me, learning the basics of cardmaking, and working with watercolors and a heat gun, you can call the folks at the Ink Pad at 212-463-9876.

The Class is on April 13th, at around 7pm or so. So come by after work!

I should mention that I have different approach to card making. You know, if you go to flickr, lots of folks make the cards in a similar fashion. I kind of like them to look a bit more interesting, simple and not so much clutter. So that’s that.

What else? This of course, got me into a card making binge this week. I made jewelry, don’t worry. But I like to mix it up here on my blog, and keep you interested.

Oh, and I bought some owl pendants on Ebay. AND….I think I’m going to teach myself chaine maille. My best friend Miyoshi is teaching herself, and thanks to ebay, I found some very cheap jump ring suppliers. So I think I want to teach myself chaine maille. That’d be fun, right?

And the Owl pendants. Oh my, I cannot wait to work with them. Having jewelry making considered a fine art, I do have to say, I enjoy it very much. I do draw and paint, but of all the fine arts, I love making jewelry. I’ve been drawing a lot recently. YES. I have. I do draw. In the words of my favorite artist (Basquiat), “Believe it or not, I really can draw”. I can. I’m sort of private about it, mostly because it’s sort of a strange style. There’s a book out, called “Zentangles” that is a bit up the alley to my style of drawing, only I’ve been drawing that way since I was in high school.

Oh! And I wanted to let you all know that I’m working on a web show. It won’t be live, sorry. It’s going to be pre-recorded, and put up on youtube. I’m excited. That’ll happen soon. Gimme about a month or two, to set it all up. And maybe a live show, not sure yet.

 

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Pretty Paper Flowers

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Here’s a fun item. The one thing I love is those beautiful paper flowers that are a bit expensive for my modest art supply budget. But they are pretty for making cards, or altered art.

I made a few of my own, here’s a few pics.

I’ll be making this for Andrea Currie’s Craftastic Live, and I do hope you’ll watch, so you too can save money by making your own supplies! You’ll learn how to make your own glimmer mist also.

Fun, right?

 

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