random reflections

Summer Card Camp

I couldn't resist a summer card camp when so many of my favorite designers are among the contributors to the projects. We've already had three inspirational pdfs, and a video. This week's colors are so summery.

I may be back with another card later, but the rest of my day looks pretty busy, so I'll be making up time later. This morning I saw a great idea on Laurie's blog, and immediately thought that I could do a similar card with this week's colors. It's another Mehndi Medallion creation. I already love this stamp set!

I used the technique from the video to create a window card. The card in the video also included the sentiment on the front, but no matter what I tried, the sentiment took away from the medallion, so I finally decided to do without it.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Select White & Hawaiian Shores (PTI)
Stamps: Mendhi Medallion (PTI)
Impression Plate: Diamonds (PTI)
Copic Markers: R85, BG13, YR16, V06 & Sakura White Gelly Roll pen
Dimensional Adhesive

CKC Convention Recap

Two weeks ago, my friend and I went to Buffalo for the CKC Convention. Aside from taking a lot of photos of the layouts in the Studio Calico booth, I totally forgot to take pictures. Mary and I both took three classes. All of hers were card-making classes (and she loved them). I took one scrapbook class with Technique Tuesday and made two 2-page layouts using papers designed by Ali Edwards. I love both layouts, but haven't chosen the photos for them yet.

They use a color combination I love and I liked the papers so much I bought a pack of them, even though I had a few left from the class. The class moved right along, but it wasn't had to keep up.

The next class I took was a copic airbrushing class. I have a small airbrush set-up using the air cans, but I've always been a bit afraid to give it a try. We used the expensive air compressors in the class, but they demonstrated the can set-up so I'm sure I'll not have any trouble with it. The class was taught by instructors from Clear and Simple Stamps and we made three cards while practicing the airbrushing techniques.

For the card on the left, we airbrushed over a doily and then lifted it up to create the background. For the middle card, we airbrushed the ribbon tags, and for the last card we airbrushed with a glitter pen. Here's a close-up of that.

The last class I took was called Terrific Trends by Studio Calico, and it focused primarily on using the Mr. Huey mists. We created a title for a layout by putting down letter stickers, misting and then removing the letters. I liked the technique, but the papers and embellishments they used for the layout did not fit the photos I had taken, (This is frequently the case, and I've learned over time, to simply take the papers home with me so I can create a layout of my own.) Here's the layout I finished this morning.

Matt's ADD has always made it hard for him to read without taking his medication. He did really well in college, but when he's working he needs the meds in order to focus on the job. One of the side effects of the medication is being unable to sleep, so he hesitates to use any after noontime. Thus the amount of reading he's done since he graduated has been limited to newspapers and crossword puzzles. When we were in Denver we went to one of my favorite independent bookstores, The Tattered Cover. While we were browsing, Matt picked up this book, started to read, and started to chuckle. We bought the book and in just a day he had read nearly a third of it. It was too big a moment not to capture!

I used a Papertrey Ink die and some stamps from All Booked Up, a Jolee sticker and button from my stash, and some patterned papers I picked up at the convention from Simple Stories called Elementary.

In both the Copic Airbrushing class as well as Terrific Trends, we got a chance to color some embellishments. The ones on the left were airbrushed with Copic markers and the Wood Veneer stars from Studio Calico were sprayed with Mr. Huey mists. I know I'll find a great use for all of them before long.

All in all, it was a great convention. The vendor faire was a bit better this year and I got some lovely embellishment at the Melissa Francis booth, and picked up a few papers that were on my wish list. Another benefit of the classes is I came home with three new stamp sets as well as quite a few papers and embellishments from both Technique Tuesday and Studio Calico.

 

Project 64: Goldenrod

It's hard for me to believe that we've done 25 weeks at Project 64. This has been the one photography challenge that I've stuck with week by week. I'm so far behind in Picture Inspiration, I wonder if I'll ever catch up (although I do have a few photos to share for that as well this week.) Whenever I hear the word "goldenrod" I think of the years my husband suffered from hay fever. I think just the sight of goldenrod blooming along the road was enough to set off a spate of sneezing! It was a lot more fun to find goldenrod on our walks this week. This is a first, but these photos were all taken with my iPhone. We've been keeping track of our walks on a great little app called RunKeeper, so I always have my phone with me. I must admit our pace/mile suffers when I stop to capture a photo. But here's what we saw this week:

All the fire hydrants here are goldenrod. I was surprised to see hydrants painted other colors in area where we were traveling.

I decided I rather liked this blurry photo of the school bus going down the street. Last week was the final week of school here, so it would be much harder to find one this coming week.

These were captured in someone else's yard; ours are budded but not in bloom. You can see the water droplets on the leaves which I love. We've walked in the rain several days this week.

 

And, finally, coreopsis poking their heads through a fence in front of an apartment building. You can find more goldenrod at Project 64.

Stamp It!

I got a preview copy of Papercraft's new special issue this week.

I was lucky enough to have two cards published in this issue. I've missed the last several submission calls, so it was fun to see themin print. Here are the two cards that were published.

Supplies:

Old-fashioned Hello
Cardstock: True Black, Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Happy Spots (Papertrey Ink)
Stamps: Just Saying Hi (Hero Arts) & Fillable Frames #5 (Papertrey Ink)
Rickrack and black wire from stash

Sympathy Card:
Cardstock: Fine Linen & Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Stamps: With Sympathy (Papertrey Ink)
Gems: A Muse Studios
Specialty Ink: Illuminate (Clearsnap)

 

Papertrey June Blog Hop

It's the 25th of June already, and that means the Papertrey Blog Hop. This month's challenges was a color inspiration challenge.

All these beautiful colors inspired me to create a card with the new Mehndi Medallion stamps that arrived this week. I was also inspired by the design of the little bag I got as a bonus at the Clinque counter this week.

I started with the color palette from the Papertrey inspiration piece and pulled out a pile of Brilliance inks, most of which have a sheen to them which adds to the look of the card IRL. Then I used the design from the cosmetic bag, but rather than overlap the images I left some space between them and filled in with some of the smaller designs. The sentiment is from Botanical Silhouettes and I love how it just seemed to enhance the overall design of the card. So, finally, here's my interpretation of the two.

Cardstock:  Select White, Pure Poppy & Orange Zest

A Scrapbook Layout!!!

Yes, I do scrapbook, but it sure seems to be sporadic. I still haven't edited all the photos from our trip and we've been home seven weeks. It's only four more weeks until we leave for Vancouver and Alaska! I did, however, get one photo from our trip scrapped for a Scrap-Mart blog post.

I love watching Sarah and Sadie interact. Sadie is the sweetest dog I've ever known, and she gets along with everyone. But she and Sarah have a special relationship.

I loved this Sassafrass Lass paper which came in a Studio Calico kit. The radiating lines prompted me to mat the photo on a circle from October Afternoon's Rocket Age line. I used some American Craft Thickers for the title along with October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket letter stickers. The paper flower is from American Craft, and the border is the edge of the Sassafrass Lass paper.

The Blue Hour

I'm loving the Night Photography class with Kent Weakley. I've learned so much in just the first three lessons. Our first assignment was to take a photo during the Blue Hour--that time after sunset before true darkness. Here's a set of five photos I took the other night of the Rochester skyline with the time each photo was taken. The middle photo is the one I posted for the Blue Hour assignment.

Taken at 8:34 pm

Taken at 8:37 pm

Taken at 8:40 pm "The Blue Hour"

Taken at 8:46 pm (The sky is still very blue.)

Taken at 8:52 (The blue is fading. This shot was taken from the bridge instead of the park along the river.)

Happy Father's Day

In the U.S., today is the day to celebrate dads. I'm biased, of course, but I think my kids have the absolutely best dad around. He's patient, kind, generous, intelligent, handy, and fun to be around. This year is the first year neither child was nearby for either Mother's Day or Father's Day. We hear from them, of course, but it does seem different.

We've already had a busy day. We took a longer walk than usual this morning, and clocked just about three miles. We've been to visit friends, the grocery store, the farmer's market, and to the garden to water our plants. In a bit, we're off to the pool with friends and will grab a bite to eat with them. Then we're off to the movies. The rest of the week looks equally busy, so although I have things to share, I'm not sure how much time there'll be for blogging.

Here are the two Father's Day cards I made this year. For Tracy on the left (based on the inside of a card by Betsy Veldman in a Card Creations magazine), and for his stepfather on the right.

Supplies:

Compass Card:
Cardstock: True Black and Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Stamp: Father Knows Best (Papertrey Ink)
Computer generated sentiment (Lucinda Fax font)
Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Typewriter Card:
Cardstock:  Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: 2008 Bitty Box Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Stamp: Office 101 (Clear Art Stamps & Framed (Papertrey Ink)

 

Hats Off to the Grad!

I needed three graduation cards this weekend, and was able to combine them with three different challenges. I used the same stamp set on all three, one reason why I love stamping. Just one set can give you quite different looks. The first card is for the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger and the Casual Friday color blocking challenge.

Here's the Tuesday Trigger called Rainbow Bright:

And the Casual Friday challenge:

And the first of the graduation cards:

And a peek at the inside:

The next card, for my nephew, is based on the CPS Sketch for this week.

And my card:

The last card is probably my favorite, and it's not for any challenge. I cut the card itself on the Silhouette, and then finished it off with my stamps and dies.

And the inside which holds a gift card. The message pulls out for a handwritten wish for the graduate.

I'm posting this late tonight instead of tomorrow morning because my friend and I are off to Buffalo early in the morning to the CKC Convention. I wasn't planning to attend, but Mary was interested in going, so it didn't take much to convince me. I'm taking one scrapbook course, one technique course, and one products-based course, all by companies that I admire. There'll be a recap in a few days!

Supplies:

Colorblock Card:
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Stamp:  For the Graduate (Papertrey Ink)
Die: Mat Stack 1 (Papertrey Ink)
Gems: Kaiser

CPS Card:
Cardstock: Terra Cotta Tile (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Road Trip (Papertrey Ink)
Die: Seeing Stars (Papertrey Ink)
Stamp: For the Graduate (Papertrey Ink)
Chamomile Tea Dye Ink (Papertrey Ink)

Gift Card Holder:
Silhouette
Cardstock: Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper:  Lime Twist Out of the Blue (My Mind's Eye)
Stamp: For the Graduate  & Big and Bold Wishes (Papertrey Ink)
Die:  Seeing Stars & Fillable Frames #1 for the top of the inside sentiment (Papertrey Ink)

 

CR84FN Color Challenge

I love this week's color combination for CR84FN. I'm getting this challenge in just under the wire, but missed the Waltzing Mouse Sketch challenge by just an hour or so! Here's the color challenge:

And the sketch, even though it's too late for the challenge:

Here's the card. No one specifically in mind for this one, so it will go into the stash. I pulled out a thank you note and a sympathy card this morning and sent them on their way. It's good to have cards ready to go when you need them.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned paper:  A Muse
Dies: Labels Four (Spellbinders)
Butterflies: Prima
Gems: Reflections (Michaels)
Sakura Jelly Roll Clear Glitter pen (for butterflies' bodies; hard to see in the photograph)