Play Dates aren’t just for kids!

I love how stamping has connected me with so many people, some of which have turned out to be my very best friends. One of these is my super talented friend, Ree Nathan, who credits me for getting her addicted to stamping. LOL! She is now my wonderfully talented and creative SU demonstrator and I am her customer...what a fun role reversal! And we always enjoy our little stamping play dates together. Who else would get so excited over a UPS box showing up with new products in it the way we do! It is so nice to have that friend to share cool tips, borrow each others goodies and inspire one another to try new things. There is nothing like a stamping buddy! 

I don’t mean to leave out any of my other stamping buddies, but today I share this creation I made at a stamp night with Ree. It was shortly after my aunt’s funeral and I was still a bit emotional and low in spirits. I stamped, I weeped, We shared and I left feeling a whole lot better than when I arrived! Above is one of the cards I made titled Tropicalflora Thanks. It features some older SU designer series papers, but I couldn't resist using them since the colors were just perfect! For the background, I used the NEW embossing folder called Elegant Lines. (Had to order that one right away since I fell in love with it, and it has so many great possibilities!) I embossed the cardstock then used my chalks in accent colors to bring out the texture and the Razzleberry Lemondade DSP (designer series papers) were diecut with my NEW Island Floral BigZ die. The verse is an OLD Thank You which is one of my favorites over the years. You can easily substitute any phrase or designer papers to remake this card for any occasion. Most importantly, plan a play date with a stampin’ friend to recharge your creativity and your spirits!

2-2-2!

Do you know that my favorite number is 2. It is my birth date and I have just always loved that number. When I logged on to do a new post for today, I saw that I had 222 posts as of August 2nd. Pretty amazing, isn’t it!?? So I am now looking forward to hitting post 2,222...have some work cut out for me!

I am going to catch you up on some hybrid card inspirations using some of my digi desgins sold on MyGrafico.com. One of my favorite illustrative sets is the Hip & Happy set. I use this cross all the time. Most crosses have a rigid, stiffness to them, which reminds me nothing of the Jesus I know and love —
a compassionate and loving God that gave his own life for me. He surrounds me with his love and guidance so I tried to achieve that in my artistic interpretation of the cross. On this first example, I used it to create a sympathy card for our friends who just lost their father/grandfather just a few days after my aunt passed away. I typeset the verse and printed out the cross in b&w. I added a touch of soft pink on the swirls and heart as a soft accent. For the background, I used a flower and design element in black to create the hand stamped background. It is from one of my favorite new stamp sets called Que Sera Sera by K&Company. It is an eclectic mix of designs and verses. I used the same stamp to handcut a lavender floral accent that I raised up with a rhinestone accent.

Working with the same color combination of pink and black I also created this hybrid card for my cousin’s daughter’s Baptism. I just love digital brushes & Photoshop. I used my Mod Twist Garden brushes to create the background, which nicely complimented the lines in the cross illustration. This card was 90% digi, cut out and mounted onto card stock layers. Pretty easy. See below for another modified version of this same card art. That is the cool thing with using digital stamps, art and brushes, you can set up the art, print & experiment with lots of variations of the same design so no cards have to be the same!

I called this version Hip & Girly Baptism Card. The gold, pink and black made it just a bit fancier, yet it still has that girly style to it. You can also dress up hybrid cards by adding brads, ribbons, diecut borders, etc. For this, I kept it simple and classic.

A Layout Appearing at CHA

This is a design team project I created for Glue Arts using canvas creatively with their new Extreme adhesive products launched at Summer CHA. It is presently on display at the show!

I decided to create a wall hanging scrapbook layout for my office of my niece Lauren. Since she has on a leopard print bathing suit, I wanted to play on lots of texture and use earthy shades like teal, green and brown with the white contrast. To make the texture on my canvas sheet, I used Stampin’ Up!’s new embossing folder that I tried out at my demo friend Ree’s house during one of our stamping “play dates”. I loved how it accentuated the texture of the canvas. See the detail, here..

Next, I applied pigment inks to bring out the embossing and used some of my smaller Cuttlebug Fancy Corner embossing folders for the smaller canvas tiles.  I also rubbed some of the brown ink over the textured Core’dinations cardstock used in the background. Check out Glue Arts’ website for the step-by-step instructions!

2 years, 220 Posts, 1 Great Experience!

I just looked back to see how long it is has been since I started blogging. It was 2 years in June, and my how that time has flown by! In my years as a graphic designer I have seen changes in computers, technology, software, trends and it has been such an amazing journey. When I started my own design biz, I was simply thrilled to have a little Mac Plus computer that I could do my own typesetting on. Yes, that was in the days of paste up, where every add, logo and brochure had to be pasted up...mechanically. Each title cut out and glued onto a mechanical board and the colors had to be all cut out of rubylith or amberlith with an Xacto knife by hand!

Then came all the software and possibilites with Adobe leading the way. Designers could actually see how the designs would look using certain colors. This opened up the windows to new creativity. We could see the designs before they were printed! But then, suddenly software got all technical, and I suddenly went from being a creative type to having to know how to do pre-press art and set up. Thank God those days are gone...not fun, let me tell you! Laptops showed up giving me design capabilities on the go! The internet lent a wealth of resources, too!

Now the digital revolution has appeared on the horizon and technology continues to advance along with the software posing a need for more RAM and storage space...internal and external hard drives. Photoshop and phtooshop brushes add new life to images and art. Sites like Picnik offer special effects at your fingertips. Uploading, downloading, social media and networking are necessary parts of a designer’s life.

Today, I share with you a scrapbook layout that I did totally digital. It is a faux magazine cover featuring a few photos of Kylie from this summer. Dan commented on how the one picture looked like it could be on a magazine cover...and so the inspiration was born! You see in our house, you have to be careful what you SAY and what you DO. It may just end up on a scrapbook page! LOL

Class Kit Projects for CHA Summer 2010

I won’t be at the Summer CHA show, but I created some project samples for a Class Kit offered by Glue Arts, Cosmo Cricket and Core’dinations to store owners. I created some pocket note pads and gift card holders using the fabulous products and adhesives from these manufacturers. Be sure to email me if you want a complete supply list. I just adore Cosmo’s DeLovely collection’s yummy colors...vibrant jewel tones mixed with some summer brights...and the chipboard designs are so adorable. You will want this collection, trust me! Pairing them with Core'dinations textured cardstocks was very fun, especially using sanding blocks to add some distressing to bring out the texture and patterns. I have a template for the gift card envelope and measurements for the holder, which can be used with Glue Arts’ Glue Glider™ Pro and repositionable adhesive to create your own post it note pad or paired with high tac adhesive and patterned cardstock to create a custom gift card holder for gift giving. Here are some pictures. Leave me a comment and your email if you would like to receive the template/instructions.

Here are individual photos of the projects. I used gold cording with buttons and adhesive squares as closures for the holders. I also used Glue Arts new Raise N’s to give dimensionality to some of the chipboard layered elements. You can even cover a standard pen with some adhesive lines and cardstock to create a matching pen and notepad set. These tiny size holders can be glued to the inside of a standard greeting card or tucked neatly into a putse or backpack for school or shopping.

More New Designs to Share!!!

Before my Sun-Sational Summer Sale ended, I wanted to add some new sets to my shop so you can take advantage of the sale price. Inspired by the Fluidity collection, this Fluid Cross set features and outline and solid version of this cross made of decorative flourishes, flowing lines and hearts. Perfect for use for religious themes and occasions.

Versatile and bright, my new Spotsy Dotsy Floral Collection blends just the right amount of fun items in this clip art collection which is also perfect for embroidery or scrapbook purposes. This set included 4 designer 12" x 12" digital papers, 3 coordinating borders and 15 embellishments that work well separately or together for crafting cards, scrapbook pages and other creative projects. Try these out on a Military, Patriotic, 4th of July or Memorial Day project or liven up the baby and toddler pages of your scrapbook. Great for picnic, back to school and spring/summer themes. A fun mix of red, blue and yellow colored designs, borders and papers.

Sun-Sational Savings on Cheri Wenger Digi Store Designs

CHERI WENGER

SUN-SATIONAL SAVINGS

3 DAY SALE!!

 

Everything 25% off at CHERI WENGER STORE During JULY 25TH - JULY 27TH

SALE WILL END JULY 27 AT MIDNIGHT

This sale is only valid at CHERI WENGER STORE and cannot be combined with other store promos.

Collaborating to Raise Money for Breast Cancer Research

Artists, or at least the ones I know, are good hearted people who are always willing to lend their talents to help out when needed. So it was no surprise that when Lindsay posted a call on Mygrafico to do a collaborative set to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer that so many talented designers jumped right to it. In light of having several family members and friends diagnosed within the past couple years and one friend newly diagnosed, I eagerly wanted to create some designs for this set. So here is a peek at the set...

The set sells for only $5. It is a great way to get some fun graphics for use and also support Breast Cancer research. It is now available for purchase at www.mygrafico.com.

I created these 3 graphics for the set...

I hope you will take the time today and support someone you know who has been effected by Breast Cancer and brighten their day by showing your love and support!

Heck with California Girls — check out these Island Girls!

My sister’s summer visits are always fun-filled, especially when we get time to spend at the beach or in the pool. This photo was from a couple years ago during a visit to Ron Jons Resort in Cape Canaveral. The girls had their hair braided. Just loved this photo of Kai and Lauren stopping for a quick pic taken between hopping into the pool and floating on the lazy river!

I loved the dimension the flocking and chipboard added to this layout. I will share with you some cool things to try with your Glue Arts Ribbon Adhesive and Wall Art Decor Adhesive.

This is a close up view showing how I directly applied Ribbon Adhesive to the layout with glitter on top to create this shimmery line. These Me and My Big Ideas Sassy Icons chipboard elements were pre-glittered, but if you have some basic chipboard and want to glitz it up, try covering it with cardstock or painting it and using rub-ons, then apply Glue Arts’ Wall Art Decor Adhesive on top and sprinkle with glitter to add shimmer to your project!

Wall Art Decor Adhesive is also great for applying to the back of papers and cardstock before cutting on your Cricuit, Silhouette or other diecutting machine. It makes applying titles and delicate cuts so much easier (as you see in this detail shot above).

This flocked design accent was created using a new product I found called Design Adhesives by Clear Snap. The designs are sold in packs of 4. I found it at Michaels Craft Store. I used Summer Lovin’ Flock by Stampendous. How it works is you apply the design to your project, then remove the protective sheet to expose the adhesive design. Add glitter, flocking or even sand to create a great design accent. Keep in mind that the background color you are applying it to can alter the color of your flock, glitter, etc. I liked the stark contrast of using this summery palette of colors against the rich chocolate brown cardstock. I printed all the journaling out on my color printer onto some colored cardstock. I cut into strips using my Fiskars trimmer and used my Glue Glider™ Pro with high tac adhesive to apply to the scrapbook layout.

Give these tips and products a try on your next creation!

Beachy Grad Wishes

I know this post comes a bit late, but with my schedule lately, I haven't had much time to take photos of all my projects, format and upload. I am working on catching you up on some of my recent creations! Just wanted to share this graduation card/giftcard idea that I made for a friend who graduated recently. The concept can be used for any card & gift giving occasion.

outside view

full inside view (with gift card holder on left)

close up of gift card holder- showing gift card inside

You can size the gift card wrapper to whatever size you want to accommodate the store’s holder or you can take the gift card off the original holder and use temporary adhesive to attach it. Design note: I used up some left over scraps of patterned paper with some of my circle punches. The shells are from a retired SU set, which it still is one of my favorites. Today's challenge: Try making a card or scrapbook page using up a bunch of your old scraps!

Hazeldiddlies in Heaven Layout

Some of you may recall my post in tribute to my Aunt Floss who passed away on Father’s Day. Before going up to the funeral, I shared my blog post with my family. They loved it so much that I thought I needed to put it into a scrapbook page. I really didn’t have any large photos of my Aunt so you will have to excuse this cropped version being a bit soft focus. I used Crushed Berry, Prailine and Belgian Cardstocks from Basic Grey’s Bittersweet collection along with a a border, some hearts and a stamp image from the Bittersweet Element Stickers that coordinate with the collection. The paper used to print out the journaling is from Karen Foster Design. The flowers are from Prima.

The family had this on display at the viewing and it touched many who read it. There were over 200 of her dancing friends that grew to love her amazing spirit as much as her family. I left the layout behind, but it is forever imprinted in my heart and mind.

Today, Kylie and I saw two monarch butterflies happily dancing together on our way to the mall to run an errand. The significance? When my uncle passed away, my aunt and I would share stories about our “butterfly visits” that we would get from him. So we all have been waiting on the sign of 2 butterflies together to have that reminder that those two souls are now eternally together. So I have my smile on today having gotten my message from above. That is why I thought it very appropriate to post my layout today.

Total Fluidity

Recently I put fear aside, grabbed my trusty drawing pens and without any plans or pencil lines, I just started drawing stylized drawings and let the lines flow where they wanted to. I was pretty happy with the results, sort of a stylized tattoo feel to them. Next, I scanned them into my computer, live traced and did some clean up on them. Here are the finished results; two new sets for mygrafico, one a b&w brush set and the other a multi color version. They are both part of my Fluidity Line. See what you think! Click on the graphic to view in my shop.

Here are some examples created using the Fludity Brushes in Photoshop. It is fun to use color, texture or even patterned papers with these brushes! You can also add shadows, embossing and other cool effects. You can create your own page elements, layouts, background papers and more.

8 x 8 Digital Paper

Blog icon design image (can be reduced as an avatar)

create your own art for home decor, cardmaking or scrapbooking...

Colorize elements and use on layouts or use as decorative overlays ghosted onto photos.

These hopefully give you some ideas of what can be done with digital design sets. Can't wait to see what you can create with my sets! Be sure to post in the mygrafico ning community gallery or on my group page.

Next, I will be doing something with the sea shells I did in a totally different sketchy style! You will have to check back to see what I do with those!