A Year of Card Techniques - (September) Mixed Media

If you are here for the Smarty Pants Blog Hop, please go HERE (not available until 9pm PST!), or you can check out all of my hops for today (there's only two!). We'd I'd love to have you!

 

Welcome to...

 

 

It's month nine of our year-long adventure into different card-making techniques, folds and paper crafting products. We hope you got the chance to hop with us each month.

It's not to late to hop and comment to be entered into our prize drawing. If you missed any of the previous months,  you can click on the month to be taken directly to the start of that month's hop.
January HERE   February HERE   March HERE   April HERE   May HERE   June HERE   July HERE August HERE

This month, we are mixing it up a bit with the mixed media techniques and you won't want to miss the amazing and fun cards we've got for you today. We really love feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in today's hop. Each comment on the 12 hops throughout the year will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Blitsy.com or Stampin' Up gift certificate (Winner's Choice).

Now on with the projects.

I started with THIS:

Made a mini album, with a whole bunch of different stuff... took pictures... gave it to my "secret pal"... and when I went to put in pics and write about it, the rest of the pics were gone! I can't ask my "secret pal," because then it wouldn't be so "secret" right? Ugh!

And so... I'm going to post a past project... since I use a whole bunch of different media all the time anyway. And OH CRAP! It's not a card... but then again my original project wasn't either. Oh well. It's still great techniques you can use for cards...

If you know me... you know I don't take many pictures of myself or scrap them either. I'd rather not. But... I did enjoy this piece and fun playing with the major components of it. I distressed the crap out of every picture. NOTE: They are printed on textured cardstock!!!!

This lace? I made it myself! Velum... punched with Martha Stewart, stitched through with my machine, then dyed with Walnut stain and crinkled... then formed in the shape of a heart. Say it with me now... "Awwwww...!"

These are "ghost letters" with paint on the back. LOVE IT!!!!!

Thrown together, distressed a bunch and put in a book... totally my style! If you'd like to see the original post, please feel free to go HERE (It's back from 2012!)

 

Hope you enjoyed my little blast from the past...

 

Up next is Denise! Today's lineup in case you get "mixed up" (so you can be sure to visit everyone!):

Theresa
Kim

Claudia

Debbie

Sharon

Lisa

Denise

 

April Showers Blog Hop

Welcome to the

 

We're so glad you are hopping with us today.

We've got all kinds of great baby and bridal shower related crafts and ideas for you.

You should have arrived here from Miranda (AKA: "Nana") at Nana's Scrap Spot.
If you just stopped by, be sure to hop to the very beginning at Theresa's blog scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com to get started and not miss any of the great projects.

Now on with the projects.

Ok... first of all... So sorry I'm late. Believe it or not, I was totally going to be on time like yeah, dude. But... the hubs got in a car accident last week and blah blah blah and (yes, he and my 11yo are fine) but, long story short, we had to go get another car today after finding out the insurance was going to pay us off... (which isn't very much, when your car was a 2006 and had 213,000+ miles on it... ugh...) Did I say I hate car shopping? Anwyay... I got home after midnight (my time - PST), and here I am... Did I say he insisted I go... to read and look over documents? Finishing up and putting it all out there. So... during the sunset, this was my view:

Note - this is NO filter, and there is NO tint on the windows. It was breathtakingly spectacular. and windy as hell outside

 

Moving onto my project and be mindful of the blurriness of some, as I asked for help and/or suggestions, and no one has spoken/written up...

 

Above, you see Mike and Ike (yes... named them.) They are two failures, but I was almost out of flesh-colored cardstock and had to salvage one, so I chose Ike. My best buddy Cricut Explore Air kinda dropped the ball... The intricate cuts on the faces didn't cut out too well. So I gauged Ike's eye with a Cricut hook. It came out as best as can bee oh wait. that was a whole hop ago... (you'll see the result a couple more pics down...)

This is everything I cut on the Cricut. Other cuts turned out just fine. I guess I'll have to check my blade.

I went with a peach gingham-type patterned mat because I rarely mat, and wanted to show ya'll that I don't have to have everything naked on top of white cardstock. Sure. It looked clean enough... but that just wasn't enough for me. It needed something else. OMG! Do I have to say it every time? Guess so... It's staying.

So... I cropped all the corners of the mat and card with the "picture" Corner Chomper. And I loved it... but it still wasn't enough... and so...

I took my chalks out of retirement hiding since I couldn't find a peachy-type ink in my stash that wasn't too orange and wasn't too red and wasn't too pink.

and chalked the edges. Yes. I know it's blurry. See the note above regarding this issue and/or other posts asking for help and if you can help, then please do and if you can't then... well... YOU figure it out. Shhh... it really is there. It's subtle. If you look very closely, you can see the fine peach edge...

And then I was hungry... so I broke out the Gelatos... first in a nice pink sorbet... then in a purple... because? why?

Everyone now... "It just wasn't enough!"

I colored and glued it all down...

(Side note... um... SQUIRREL!!!! This reminded me of Batman, and I've been singing/humming the tune since I got home. My husband thinks I'm nuts!)

This is where I gauged Ike's eye out. It was kinda fun. I might want to do another gauging after tonight's car-buying non-adventures. Did I say I hate car shopping?

And here she is... (Is she a baby or a bride?) haha... We shall see! Whatever she is at this point, she's being "showered with love..."

Seriously. 6 attempts. SIX! to get the inking and embossing powder right. Ugh. You're so lucky I'm not posting pics of every single attempt! Right about now... I'm totally wishing and needing for a MISTI (Most Incredible Stamp Tool Invented). Check out this video and you'll want one, too!

Clap your hands, folks! I finally got it right!

And with that... I applied a little heat and was D-O-N-E with it. Woohoo!

I'm totally lovin' the facial expression. It's about how I felt when the embossing powder finally adhered the way I wanted it to.

And Voila! The finished project... In case you didn't get it... It's a B-A-B-Y! but not mine!!!!

Hope you enjoyed your April "Shower" and hope the showers aren't too bad in your area. I'm stepping on deck tomorrow (swim meet) in 80-degree weather!

Thanks for hopping with us today. Be sure to comment on each blog along the way
to be entered in today's giveaway for a $15 gift certificate to

Your next stop is... Um... (looking around...) All I can see is... ME! But... You can start back at the beginning. I'm sure Theresa would love to have you visit again! Or check out any of our wonderful projects by following the links in today's lineup: 

Theresa ~ scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com

Card A Day Challenge Blog Design Team ~ cardadaychallenge.blogspot.com
Kim ~ katydidcards.com
Anna ~ http://grumpygrandmacreations.blogspot.com
Sarah ~ www.sarahbiswabic.blogspot.com
Sharon ~ http://piece-ofheart.blogspot.com
Holli ~ Sunflowerholli.blogspot.com
Amanda ~ http://salnclts76.blogspot.com
Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com
Alicia ~ http://goldengoddessdesigns.blogspot.com
Enclade ~ www.nanasscrapspot.com

Lisa ~ Lisa's Little Bits

See ya next time!!!! (*Waving frantically*)

Writer's Workshop: Make "last" Last.

4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: last.

At this time last year, we had our family reunion. My husband's side. Lots and lots of people. Our son (my stepson... but that doesn't matter) was there.

He didn't bring his girlfriend... She didn't want to come. We'd never met her. She felt that it was too big of a step. That in her "culture" (she was Vietnamese), it was a huge deal to meet parents. Forget the fact that our son was LIVING with her and HER SON was calling him "Dad" and had even given him a Father's Day card. So... he sat in his chair. For most of the day. His cell phone on his ear. Arguing with her about what he did wrong this time. He was so occupied with her. It was really sad. He said goodbye to us all and told us he loved us. And then he left.

Little did we know.

It was the last time we saw him alive and talking. It was his last good bye.  It was his last, "I love you."

Less than a week later, he swallowed his last cocktail. It was a corrosive. It gave him his last breath on his own.

And less than a week after that horrible day, he took his last breath on a ventilator. We said our last good bye.

RIP - Jr. I know this was one of your proudest moments.
We love you and this of you every day.

Please visit Mama Kat and check out other posts. There were lots of prompts to choose from, and much happier ones, too. I'll post another tomorrow that's more upbeat... but this is where my mind was today. Sorry for the bummer...

Paper Hoarders Design Team Challenge (Guest Designer) - Love/Anniversary Layout

Howdy there! Omgosh! It's been over two months. I know I've been busy, but... yeah. I've been floating around the internet, on Facebook, and my newfound time waster addiction, Pinterest!  So many ideas and so little time... Time has flown!  Then, there's the usual busy-family-kids-everyday-life things. And I got taken away... overwhelmed... You know...

But, Tanya, at Paper Hoarders, pulled me outta my funk and let me be a guest designer. Um... because of the shortened week, I'm a day off. I thought today was 2/22... and I was gonna be on time and everything! But... as we you can see, today is 2/23!!!! And so, I'm posting it a bit late. Silly me! It was done and everything! I was just taking my time loading it all and writing about it!

Alrighty. Let's get down to buswhacks! First... I don't have very many pics of me. And I most certainly don't have very many pics of me and the hubster. But... since Photoshop wasn't working for me all this week (it wouldn't save, wouldn't print the right size, and was just plain acting wonky [yes, that's a word... at least to me, it is!]), I switched to my trusty-ol' Fuji program and found THESE pics you see posted here.

I decided to do something a little different. I was looking for that edgy-distressed-type look... so... I printed them (via my own printer) on pearlescent textured paper, to get a silvery sheen. I love the way the pics turned out!!!! (Can YOU see the texture and the sheen?)

And me? I love playing with textures and mediums of all sorts. So... I even made my own vellum lace. I border-punched two different strips of vellum (two different punches - Fiskars Threading Water and Martha Stewart Embossed Snowflakes), one was white, and the other ecru. I sewed them together with a navy thread (to accentuate the background paper), crumpled them all up really tight!!!, sprayed them with Walnut Ink Stain, then misted with water, mashed them around a bit more... and

here's the REALLY good part! Hey! you know how you "lose" things or "forget" you have things, and then you find them, and they're all dried up (we're talking baby wipes I bought for my stamps... years... ago...) and you think that the only way you can do something with them is to either throw them away or re-moisten them and hope for the best? (Whew! THAT was a long sentence!!! My English teachers wouldn't be too happy with that!) Um, yeah... Guess what? I used those old, dried-out, newly found baby wipes to blend the stain and water and move it on down to semi-saturate my homemade vellum lace and "squeegee" off the remaining amount of stain. Woohoo! {flips hair over the shoulder, because I know I'm good now!}

And so... I adhered my pics to this awesome blue-ish toned and distressed paper with flourishes, painted a little Robin's Egg Blue around the bottom pic, cut the strips of the vellum lace (so it would form better to the curves of the heart I was gonna adhere it to), and adhered it all around the pics in the shape of a heart.

The Heidi Swapp Ghost Letters (LOVE) are painted Robin's Egg Blue on the back, then adhered with (get this) silicone glue, to add dimension, since pop dots would have showed through. I love the use of silicone glue (aka: silicone caulking - found in your local hardware store) to add a "ghostly" dimension. It's awesome!

And then, as a finishing touch, I stamped "forever" (a Studio G stamp) in the bottom left corner. I was going to add more... but... thought with all the pics (yes, I used FOUR of the same-type pose... because... well, we can never seem to get them right. but the point is... we do so many other things GREAT together!), that it was busy enough. Simplicity is key.

Anywho... I hope you like it. I had a blast making it. And thank you, Paper Hoarders for letting me join in again. I missed you so!

Tomorrow is Design Team day, and YOU can join in the challenge, too! Just go on over to Tanya's Blog and check out each of the DT members. Comment on them... please!!!! And you can link to your challenge result.

Oh yeah... the challenge was... Um... Love/Anniversary, using NON-traditional colors (no red, pink, or silver). I think I made it! Woohoo! (and this makes me first layout of the year! um... I've never even scrapped a pic of me and the hubster, so... that's a whole heck of a lot of challenges for me today!)

oh, and... PLEASE! don't forget to leave a comment for me, too! I'd love to know what YOU think about it!