Lilacs - Scrapbook Page

Wow, I did't realize it would be so difficult to get back in the saddle.  It is hard to find your scrapbooking mojo when you've been away from it for so long (or crafting in general!).

 

Been spending time reconnecting with the scrapbooking world over on 2peas in a bucket. 

I started out making a sketch ... but you'll notice I strayed a bit.

Here is my page.  Took me way too long!  LOL!

 

And the details.  Note that I made the tags myself.  Other than the letters and the bird, all of the embellishments were handmade.  If I am not able to buy all the goodies in the world, I will need to make them.  This is something I find fulfilling ... like old fashion scrapbooking before there were so many dies and pemade embellies to buy.  You'll be seeing a lot of homemade stuff on my pages. 

 

 

I will be entering it in the last Memory Keeping Monday Challenge (2peas is changing a bunch of the weekly challenges/video topics) which was to use any of the challenges covered in 2012's MKM challenges.  I chose the chipboard challenge posted 07/16/12.  I used the chipboard frame and bird.

 

Supplies: Papers - Reindeer Fly Paper (Holly Jolly - My Mind's Eye), Origins Collection (BasicGrey), papers from my stash; Ink - Walnut Stain (Ranger); Stamp - Designer Woodgrain (Hero Arts); Ribbon - Plum Pudding twill (Papertrey Ink); Punches/Diecuts - leaves (Stampin' Up!), burst (Martha Stewart) 1/4" and 1/2" circle punches (Stampin' Up!), Labels 8 (Spellbinders); Letters from Blush collection (BasicGrey); Chipboard - bird (Megenta), frame (unknown); Other - packaging (K&Co.), linen thread (Papertrey Ink), brown acrylic paint, vellum (blue and white). 

 

I hope you like and maybe get inspired by my page today.

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

CASEing Lucy's butterflies

I created this card after seeing the one HERE that Lucy Abrams made.  Hers is stunning ... and sadly I don't own such a big butterfly die or punch .. so I had to improvise!

But I like the results anyway! It just not quite as dramatic as hers.

(ETA - got the large butterfly die from PTI for Christmas .. will need to recreate this using it soon)

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!

Donelda

Embossing - Two Ways

So I was finally able to pull out some of my new toys that I received for my birthday and for Christmas.  I combined them with some old toys for a fun card.

New items used on this card: Half and Half die, and  Background Basics: Gingham (both Papertrey Ink)

Old favourites used: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Labels 8 Nestabilities, Around and About Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)

Now, one part of the card you might not be able to see from the full card is the dry embossed butterflies on the half & half die cut.  Here is a close up:

I hand embossed them using a light board!  A bit of work but worth the effort as the effect is so subtle!!

And I was really focused on threes ... can you find them....

Thanks for dropping by.  I have LOTS of new toys to play with so you will be seeing new stuff from me as the weeks continue and I find time to actually play!

Donelda

Christmas cards - Post 7

Today is finally Christmas Eve!  This is actually my favourite day of the year!  I love this day even more than Christmas.... because it's the anticipation that I love so much!! I love to watch my wonderful son getting excited, delivering gifts to his friends, having trouble falling asleep ... all of it is so special!  Tomorrow all the gifts get opened and then, all of a sudden, it's a whole year until we get to experience the anticipation of this day again. 

This card was made almost entirely from items sent to me from my most recent Secret Sister, Imke.  She was so sweet and die cut some of these wonderful PTI trees for me from felt.  She also sent me this increadible Martha Stewart punch!  And the paper was in a package from her as well!  It all came together to create such a lovely card.  Thanks again Imke!!

Here is a close up of the cardinal.  I sponged around the edges with some Fired Brick distress ink to give it added definition and allow the wing to stand out.

I hope you all have a very peaceful Christmas Eve spent with friends and family.  Thank you to everyone who has visited me here on my blog over this last year.  I appreciate your kind words about my work and your inspiration!  I will be taking a bit of a break over the next few days but will be back to share new creations soon!

Merry Christmas,

Donelda

CAS-ual Fridays #28 & Barb's Challenge - Damask Tag

This week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #28 is to create a tag or a card with a tag on it.  I combined it with a challenge set by a blogging buddy Barb who posted this beautiful table setting as inspiration.

Together I arrived at this tag.  From the inspiration picture I focused on the black demask table runner, and the color combo of black, white, and apple green.

I really love that burst punch (Martha Stewart).  And see that yummy ruffly ribbon ... it is from a past Secret Sister (thanks Linda!) and I've been trying to find a good use for it for a while now.  This elegant birthday tag was the perfect home for a bit of it!

Off to see what others created....

Donelda

Hello Pink Butterfly

Hi everyone!  Just thought I'd pop in and share this card I made a while ago!  I used one of my home-made templates to create a "half and half" die like the ones that Papertrey Ink are selling (and I do not own!). 

I saw on someone's blog they were proving that you don't have to 'own it all' to create beautiful cards! 

Here is proof!!

Thanks for dropping by. 

Donelda

Colour Q color challenge #97 - Stripes, Flowers, and Butterflies

I saw the latest Colour Q #97 challenge and was so inspired I just had to play along!  Those stripes called to me.  The colors were good too .. but orange and pink together .. this was really going to be a challenge!!

Here is my card.  I told you those stripes were inspiring.  I just knew I had to do a striped background.  I added the blue to the black and white (a great color combo on their own).  For the pink and orange, I decided to go with some punches. 

 The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  And see that die ... it might look like one of those new lovely ones from Papertrey Ink called Half and Half but it is not.  You see, I cannot afford them right now so decided to create my own!  I made a template with cardboard and just trace and cut.  A nice alternative .. maybe not as easy but it works for now!!  LOL!!

Thanks for dropping by!

Donelda

Yes, you've seen this before

I have been thinking of doing this for a while now.  Yes, most of you have probably seen this before .... think about it .... mmmmm, why does it look so familiar????????? 



think about it........






think about it ......





so familiar ......

Yup....it's my windows backdrop.  Every time I turned on my computer I kept seeing those 4 squares of color and thought how cool it looked with the white images on top ..... so I gave it a go. 

What do you think??!!

Enjoy your day!
Donelda

PTI Anniversary Tag - Dawn McVey

Papertrey Ink is having their Anniversary Bash and to celebrate their designers have created free tags that can be downloaded. And, in true PTI form, Nichole is giving away a great prize to one random entry!! Go to her blog to see all the details!!
I decided to use the images to make 3x3" cards. This is the first of 7 (I didn't use 2 of the tag images as I ran out of time).
This tag was created by Dawn McVey.  It features another Martha Stewart butterfly coated in blue glitter this time!  The sentiment is from Mixed Messages (PTI) and the designer paper is from In Bloom (PTI). 

This is the 6th of 7 entries ... make sure you scroll down and see them all!!
Donelda

PTI Anniversary Tag - Alli Miles

Papertrey Ink is having their Anniversary Bash and to celebrate their designers have created free tags that can be downloaded.  And, in true PTI form, Nichole is giving away a great prize to one random entry!!  Go to her blog to see all the details!!

I decided to use the images to make 3x3" cards.  This is the first of 7 (I didn't use 2 of the tag images as I ran out of time). 

This tag was created by Alli Miles.  I did a bit of adjusting (cut away the outer circle).  The designer paper is from the Pretty Pastals paper (Papertrey Ink), the butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch and coated with pink glittery goodness!  The flower and brown parts are colored with Copics.

This is the 7ths and last post using the free PTI tag images that Nichole gave out on her blog this morning!!  Make sure you scroll up to see all 7 of my cards and there is a group shot on the first entry!

Thanks for visiting.
Donelda

Elephant Parade

I continue on my quest to use up stuff from my scrap bins.  These elephants were punched out of some watercolor paper I had 'painted' with some reinkers.  Before punching out the elephants, I sprayed the paper with some water that had Perfect Pearls (Ranger) in it.  It gives the elephants a funky shimmer (see the smaller close up!). 

I added some starbursts (Martha Stewart) punches cut in half like a scallop border.  Very different and I like it!  The sentiment is from this year's anniversary set from Papertrey Ink called Round and Round , I really like the fonts used in the sentiments.  The background paper is BasicGrey (Phoebe collection). 

The elephant punch and the Basic Grey paper were given to me in a swap by my Secret Sister, Banu.  Isn't she the best??!!

Have a great day!

Donelda

Using Scraps 5 - Recycled Hello

This card was inspired from Maile Belles' card shown on page 24.  What a great layout!!   So what scraps did I use??  Well, all the paper on this card (with the exception of the base) is from Papertrey Ink packaging!!!  That's right.  I tend to keep the bands that go around the stamp sets when they arrive.  I realized as I dug through my scraps that I had 4 differnt colors of the same pattern so I wanted to use them together.  I cut them to be all the same size and popped them up on the card.  Then I added some black organdy ribbon.  Then, see that flower ... more of the same recycled PTI packaging!!  Yup, I punched out the starburst (Martha Stewart) and then cut slits to create petals.  A small circle of Sweet Blush cardstock (Papertrey Ink) with the simple sentiment completes the card!!!

I am having so much fun using up my scraps!!   Hope you are having as much fun seeing what I created.

Donelda

Paper Doily #3 and Color Combo Challenge

So these paper doilies (labeled tags by Martha Stewart and found at Michaels) has totally re-inspired me and my mojo is working overtime!!!

This time I combined using one with the new Color Combos Galore Challenge #144. The colors are so yummy!!!

I also realized that I didn't have to always use white doilies but I could change them to any color I wanted by sponging on my desired color! That is exactly what I did here and I can't wait to try some other colors.

This card actually has me perplexed. I like it and yet I don't. I think it is because the base of the card is soft and elegant while the blues and pinks are quite bright so I think the looks contrast too much. Maybe if I had changed up the combination of colors on my doily it would have blended in better with the card base. My attempts to 'connect' the 2 elements was to do some distressing on all items by sponging some Antique Linen and then some Chocolate Chip. Maybe I should have given it dimensional but I didn't because the ribbon and button was doing a good job of that.

What do you think??? I'd love your input!! Have you run out to get some of these doilies yet??? I hear from Christine Middlecamp (who has started a project with them that has totally inspired me) that they are hard to find.

Oh yeah, and when I was sponging on the turquoise color, I saw that it was leaving a beautiful mask on the scratch paper on my desk so I quickly slipped a piece of what cardstock underneath it and was able to create this card with it!! I don't have a whole sheet of tempting turquoise cardstock left so I sponged around the edge of a white card to create a card base. The sentiment says "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams". Eleanor Roosevelt

Supplies:

Celebrate Card

Stamps - Giga Guide Lines, Simple Little Things (Papertrey Ink), circle (g studio); Paper - Kraft, Tempting Turquoise, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla (all Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Anna Griffin); Ink - Antique Linen (distress ink by Ranger), Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!); other - paper doily (called 'tags' on package by Martha Stewart), starburst punch (Martha Stewart), circle and scallop circle nestabilities (Spellbinders), vintage cream satin ribbon {I used the back side} (Papertrey Ink), button (my own collection), hemp cord (Darice), sponge, sewing machine.

Future Card:

Stamps - Meausre of Life (Stampin' Up! retired); Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!), Jet Black (Ranger); Paper - Whisper White; Other - sponge, paper doily for mask (Martha Stewart), dimensionals.

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!! Leave me some commenting love :-)

Donelda

March 11 - Design Basics Lesson #10

Hello and welcome to another one of my lessons on design basics. I have been using a book called Design Basics Index by Jim Krause to teach myself about this topic. If you are interested in seeing the previous lessons, feel free to check out the list on the right column of my blog!

Lesson #10 - Visual Heirarchy - Color

Today we are continuing the lesson on visual heirarchy. On the last lesson, we considered how size makes one element become the "top" item in the design with all the other elements having a supporting role. Today, we are looking at how COLOR can make one element be the initial item our eye is drawn to ... or the top element in the visual heirarchy. Here, this lovely pink butterfly stands out upon the mainly black card. This card was extremely difficulty to photograph so in real life, the butterfly is so much "pinker" (it is actaully Pixie Pink from Stampin' Up! so if you know that color you can see how it is washed out in the photo). So, this whole lesson may not work / make sense if you are just looking at the picture here. I wish I could bring the real card into each of your homes so you can see how the pink automatically draws your eye to it!! Perhaps instead, you should make a similar card....just so you can see :-).

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda