Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a joyous Christmas!

I've been so busy with Christmas preparations that I haven't created much of anything. Yesterday afternoon, I quickly put together a card, signed it & took it to the recipient....no time to photograph it for the blog.

I wanted to post something to celebrate the day so I pulled this card out of my collection. It was posted to the Fond Memories blog sometime ago. To me, it signifies the importance of this day.

Christmas blessings,

-judy

A Can of Cookies

An idea for this can of cookies popped into my mind while I was cooking supper one night last week. I emptied 2 cans of tomatoes. The cans had such nice white insides......I had to think of something to do with them.


So, I attached some Christmas paper to the outside, colored the metal rim with a Copic marker and added a button to the lid. I also glued ribbon along the top & bottom edges.

Pretty cute for a tin can!

Yes, I made the cookies, too. Spritz are one of my family's favorite cookies!

Supplies:

Making Memories Fa La La paper

Spellbinders Circle & Scalloped Circle dies

Ribbon

Button

Copic marker

Red Line tape

Spritz cookies

Keep creating!

-judy

Snowbound...

Good Morning!

I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas that I haven't had much opportunity to create anything to post. My creating has gone into baking & wrapping gifts...

The weather helped me out a bit this weekend.

We were supposed to go to my daughter's house for the weekend so we could see our grandson's church program. Instead, we were snowed in ....and still are. Snow & winds and bitter cold. Makes me wonder why I live in Minnesota!

This photo is a view out my kitchen door towards the east(right through the glass, way too cold to go outside!). The trees in the distance are about 1/2 mile away. The blowing snow wasn't quite at it's worst at that moment.

Tonight, I put together some cards for my employees. Yeah! I got to stamp & create.

I stamped the Thomas Kinkade Village Christmas with ADirondack Raisin on a cream card. I stamped "Merry Christmas" & embossed it with clear. I cut a dark red rectangle to fit the card front & embossed it with a Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder. I then cut an oval out of the center. I cut a slightly smaller oval out of gold paper. I glued the gold oval under the red one, then attached it over the stamped image on the card front. I punched out some tiny branches out of the same gold paper & glued them along the oval opening. I added a burgundy bow and a verse inside.......done.

I can check that off my list....

Keep creating........

-judy

Past, Present, Future

I posted this card on the Artistic Outpost blog...

This gyspy girl is my favorite of the Fortune Teller stamps. She's so fun to color.

Check out the Artistic Outpost blog for samples using the other new releases: Cutie Pie & Vintage Circus.

I must get working on my Christmas cards........not creating them, just signing, addressing & putting stamps on a few.

-judy

Fortune Teller

....another card designed with the Artistic Outpost Fortune Teller plate.


Check out the Artistic Outpost blog for more links to other designers projects. There are some really great samples on the blog as well as links to other Guest Designers's blogs.

I colored this image with Copic markers. Then I used Distress inks to age the papers.

I used a piece of acetate from the packaging on some Spellbinders dies for the title. Goin' green! I couldn't bear to just throw it away......

That's it for now......way too tired to write anymore.

-judy

Illusion...

.....a misleading image presented to the vision.



A bit of illusion created with 4 stamps from the new Artistic Outpost Fortune Teller stamp plate.

Here's a brief description of the steps to make this card:

One...I stamped the hand with Memento black ink on white paper. I stamped it again on Eclipse tape to make a mask which I cut out & applied over my stamped image.

Two...I stamped the man over the hand mask again with black Memento ink. (I used Memento ink because it is water based. I planned to color the image with Copic markers which are alcohol based. The water based ink will not smear because alcohol doesn't affect it.) I also stamped him on Eclipse tape to make a mask & put the mask in place.

Three...I stamped the Almanac calendar background, same ink. I removed the masks.....voila, a collage of all 3 images.

Four...I tore all the edges to the size I thought looked best.

Five...Now, for the coloring. I used Copic markers for all the color....no Distress inks. It was a challenge, believe me! I wanted to pull out my Antique Linen & start rubbing it over the image. I resisted.......I wanted to try achieve a similar look with the markers.

Six...I stamped "Illusion" in black ink & embossed it with clear powder. By using clear I kept the fine detail of the word yet added the shine & raised effect of embossing. (I would not have been able to do that over Distress ink until it had dried completely. One advantage of the Copic markers is that they dry very quickly.)

Seven...I matted it to green Bazzill & striped Reminisce paper. Card size is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2". I added some narrow black ribbon at each edge.

I amazed myself with this card. I wasn't too sure where I was going with the design when I started. (That is usually the case when I'm stamping. I may decide colors or stamps but never quite know the design direction until I get going.) I really like the colors & how the collage worked out.

Perhaps, it's the illusion that I'm seeing........

Smiles

-judy

Artistic Outpost New Releases

Today, Artistic Outpost is releasing the new stamp plates for December! Click here to see them on the AO blog.

As a Guest Designer, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a set called Fortune Teller.

Fortune Teller -

To tell the future, a gift exploited for fun or fortune, has had its place in the folklore and legends of most of the world's cultures.

Here's my first creation with some of the stamps.

I really like this gypsy woman....she seems to look right into one's heart. She's colored with Copic markers & distressed, too. I added some embossed copper tape & floss with beads....my interpretation of a fortune teller.

Here's a closer look at the beads & paper pierced design......a fun card to create!

I have a few more samples to show you in the next few days. I think my designs will also be on the AO blog with the new stamps. So exciting for me!

Enjoy!

-judy

Over the River.....

.....and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh..........

Can't you just imagine this sleigh full of gifts gliding over the snow?

I created this sleigh with a Spellbinders die. I love the vintage style.

First, I cut & embossed it out of cream colored paper. Then......guess what I used? Distress inks, of course, starting with Aged Mahogany over the entire sleigh. Then I rubbed the Black Soot pad directly over the embossed areas. The firm surface of the pad keeps most of the ink on just the raised areas...keep the pad flat.

Next I added Brilliance Gold to the packages & runners. I used foam tape to lift the sleigh from the card front on an oval of Cosmo Cricket paper matted with dark red paper. (Spellbinders oval dies) I added the little words around the edge of the oval with a stamp from Penny Black's Crystalline set. It was a bit hard to get it to curve so the words didn't print very well. I decided it was okay as the card is meant to look vintage & a bit worn!

To create the shaped cream border, I laid the oval on the back side of a piece of cream paper the same width as the card (5 1/4"). I centered the oval on the strip & traced it with a pencil. Then I cut straight in from each edge to about 1/4" away from the pencil line and continued cutting 1/4" away from the line. I turned it over, added Antique Linen & Vintage Photo to the edges & mounted it the top of a dark red paper. I added Black Soot to all edges of the card once it was put together. A verse at the bottom & a gold edged ribbon finish the design.

Supplies

Stamps: CHF Pretty Pattern, Joyeux Noel, Penny Black Crystalline

Spellbinders Sleigh & Oval dies

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill, Cream Linen

Inks: Distress Aged Mahogany, Black Soot, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Versafine Black Onyx, Brilliance Gold

Enjoy!

-judy

Skater's Pond Two Ways

Tuesday night I took a break from baking cookies (I quit baking tonight at 10:30 with 49 1/2 dozen.........close enough to the 50 I signed up to do.) to create these 2 cards.

Both cards use the same Thomas Kinkade Skater's Pond stamp as well as the same greeting yet they have a totally different look. Both are stamped in black ink: one on kraft color paper & the other on glossy white paper. That's about where the similarity stops....

I used Versafine Black Onyx to stamp the image & added just a touch of color with Copic markers to the ice, sky & windows. Frosted Lace Stickles gives the snowy areas sparkle. The snowflake paper is My Mind's Eye.

I used Distress Inks Antique Linen & Vintage Photo to age the image after stamping it with StazOn ink on glossy paper. The background paper is actually from Cosmo Cricket's Halloween line......the pattern just seemed to fit for this card. I used a Spellbinders die to cut just the ends of the mat & then ran a black marker along the edge. I couldn't find a ribbon to match so.......I colored a black & cream striped ribbon with Distress inks.........not waterproof but just fine for this card.

Make time to create something.

Enjoy!

-judy

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas

Have you seen the tags Tim Holtz is showing on his blog? He's doing 12 tags of Christmas. Great photos of the steps. Lots of technique tips.

Check them out! They're incredible!

I'm certainly inspired to create something.

-judy

Vintage Santas

December 1........the countdown to Christmas begins.

...and the countdown to the annual Cookie Walk at our church this Saturday. I'm baking cookies every night after work..........my goal is 50 dozen: 17 done, only 33 to go! The hardest part is giving up my stamping time.......

I went through my collection to find some vintage Santa cards to share with you tonight. These have become keepsakes. I send most of my cards to family & friends but there are a few that I can't seem to part with. All of these Santas are in that category.

I made this Santa 2 years ago.........

........he's colored with Distress inks. The actual stamp is a bit bigger than shown. I cropped it to fit the card. The foil tape was colored with Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks & embossed with QuicKutz embossing dies. The letters for "believe" were cut with QK Frankie.
This was last years card.........

.......created with a Tim Holtz stamp set. I had fun with this card.....lots of products used: Distress Crackle paint, Distress inks, Ranger Paint Dabbers, QuicKutz Abigail for "25" and some hardware.

The 3rd vintage Santa was made this fall............

.........with an Artistic Outpost stamp set called Snowy Woods. I posted this card on the Fond Memories blog and it was also featured on the Artistic Outpost blog. This Santa was colored with Adirondack markers......a switch from Distress inks. I did use Antique Linen over him to make him more vintage. I used 2 Spellbinders square dies to cut the frame, a McGill punch for the branches, a bit of twill tape & some hardware. The papers are by Cosmo Cricket.

Until next time.......keep creating!

Enjoy!

-judy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

I'll be spending my morning cooking.......that is after I sleep in a bit. We're having a small family group for dinner around 5:30 p.m. That gives me plenty of time to get the pies baked, turkey in the oven & a few other things done.

So much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day..........

....enjoy!

-judy

Mini Board Book

I know you're all wondering.......
.........yes, my new release plate of Artistic Outpost stamps arrived on Friday. I wanted to zip the envelope open right away. But as is my usual style, I set it aside until I finished some household chores. I wanted to be able to savor the moment. Besides, I needed an incentive to get some cleaning done. (I'm having Thanksgiving at my house so I have to clean.) Later, I sat down & opened the package. I mounted the stamps to cling foam right away. Sorry, I can't tell you more right now.

So to give you something to look at, I took photos of a mini board book I made awhile back. I must have had more time then.......

Front cover.........

Pages 1 & 2........

Pages 3 & 4..........

Pages 4 & 5.........

The back cover.........

I won't list all the products........there's a lot. If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment. I'll be sure to reply.

Until next time.......enjoy!

-judy

Still waiting

I'm still waiting for the new Artistic Outpost plate to arrive in the mail.....no package yet.

I taught a class tonight at Fond Memories. We made little paper boxes. The unique thing about the boxes is that the lid & box are all one piece of paper....the lid does not come off, simply lifts & opens. I found the template years ago....don't remember where, probably a magazine. It's a fun box to make out of 2 sided paper. I'll try get some photos taken over the weekend.

Too tired to create tonight......
-judy

Guest Designer for Artistic Outpost!

This is the moment I've been waiting for.......

Today, I was named a Guest Designer for Artistic Outpost for 2009!

Wow! I'm so excited!


I applied at the beginning of November. I found out I made the team about a week ago. I had to keep it a secret.........how hard was that! I wanted to shout it to the world!

I'll be designing several projects for one of the new stamp plates scheduled to be released in mid December. I hope to receive the stamps this week........ Then, let the creativity begin! Once the stamps are released, I'll post projects here. That is once I get the go ahead from Artistic Outpost.



I created this tag with the Artistic Outpost Bluebird plate for my application for Guest Designer.

I used Distress inks......of course, what else is there?

To create the swallows highlight, I stamped them on white paper with black Versafine ink. I used Adirondack markers, Denim & Butterscotch & Caramel, over the swallows to give them color. The background blue is Broken China rubbed on with Cut N Dry foam. I applied Glossy Accents to a Tim Holtz Fragment (clear acrylic shape) & glued it over the swallows. Once it was dry, I trimmed the paper around the edges. I'm super pleased with how it turned out!

I even distressed the ribbon so it would match. I rubbed Broken China over this wonderful new ribbon from May Arts.......I say new because it's new to Fond Memories, my favorite stamp store in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

I'm flyin' high tonight......soo excited!

-judy

Metal Embossing....

.......I'm going to stray from stamping today.

Here's a little sample of my metal embossing. I dressed up the lid of a simple craft pencil box with a piece of embossed foil.


First, I stained & finished the box. Then I cut a piece of chipboard to fit the lid. I traced the chipboard on a piece of aluminum craft foil to define the pattern area. Then I just doodled with my metal tools.......just fun for me. Some of the design is embossed & some is debossed (dented in). That was not by design choice......I wasn't too pleased with myself when I started working on the wrong side of the metal. Rather than start over, I just worked it into the design.

I used acrylic paint rubbed over the design to antique it.....give it an aged metal look. By buffing the metal with paper towel, the paint rubs off the raised areas & remains in the recessed areas. It makes the pattern stand out. I use this box to store some of my metal working tools.

If you're interested in any of the tools, check out Ten Seconds Studio or Mercart. You'll find lots of visual inspiration in their galleries. As always, if you have any questions about my art, please email me.

Create art!

-judy

Bluebirds

Bluebirds to send thoughts to someone special.......


I created this card using an Artistic Outpost set appropriately called "Bluebird". There are 8 stamps in the set including the "thinking of you" verse, bluebirds, & a nest that I used on this card. I colored the image with Distress inks: Scattered Straw, Broken China, Aged Mahogany, Vintage Photo & Antique Linen.

Distress inks seem to be my favorite coloring medium right now.......

The pattern on the yellow mat was created by repeatedly stamping the nest using Scattered Straw ink. A gold satin ribbon holds a Spellbinders ribbon slide for the verse.

Enjoy!
-judy

A Little Bird

Thanks for comments on the hummingbird photo. This little gem visited my petunias just outside my kitchen door one late summer day. My daughter spotted it & took several photos with my camera. I was amazed at the incredible clearness of this photo.

A special thank you to my friends who inspire me to create & motivate me to expand my horizons. You keep me smiling!

Here's a glimpse of a card I just posted on the Fond Memories blog.......

This was a fun card I put together with Cloud9Design papers & a coordinating sticker, 4 different Spellbinders dies, a little tag die from Cuttlebug, "Merry Christmas" verse from a tiny Hero Arts set & some needle punching. Amazingly enough......I did not distress it at all! Oh...I did add Stickles glitter glue to the berries.

-judy

Day One.........

....the creation of my very own blog. Exciting! A big step.

This is a place for Creating...my style.

Today, this blog is in it's infant state.....creation day. I hope it grows & becomes a place to inspire others to aspire & venture into new realms of creativity.

I have great dreams. I hope to eventually make some tutorials for a few of my stamping techniques. Maybe even venture to a video. That will be stepping out of the box for me. A challenge for sure. One thing I've learned about myself........I like a challenge.

Besides rubber stamping & paper crafts, I like to work with metal embossing, glass & soldered charms, photography & sewing. A few of those creations may crop up here, too.

I leave you with this photo of summer beauty....

.....as I sit in my warm house with snow falling on an ice covered landscape. Winter has struck in this corner of Minnesota.

Enjoy the journey.....

-judy