Cards - SC - All Occasion Flowers

 I was brainstorming ideas of what Celebration paper would look like for art in the December show.

I created some decorative paper by blowing liquid acrylic ink on paper with a straw. I used yellow, purple, red, and orange ink.

It did not work out quite the way I thought so I decided to use the paper for card making instead.

The card base is yellow linen card stock in linen finish. 

I chose a piece of dark green white core card stock, ripped in half and adhered the piece to the right hand side trimming it to the card edge with scissors.

I cut the flowers with the QuicKutz Large Flower die from the decorative paper, red, yellow and purple card stock then just swapped out the pieces. The flowers are held together with scotch tape.

I used the red flower with the decorative paper ring and a purple center.  The stem and leaves were cut from the decorative paper. The leaves are from the Sizzix Flower Layers and Leaves die. Stem is just cut with the paper cutter and adhered with QuickDry Adhesive.

A white insert and ds tape with carrier on the flap.

Here I started with a dark purple linen card base measuring 6x12 inches and scored at 5.5" and just short of 1" for the flap.

This time I chose a light green white core card stock on the left.  This flower is mostly decorative paper and is very punchy in color.

Here we have a solid yellow flower with decorative bits in the center ring and the stem and leaves.

The other half of the light green card stock on the right.

Another mostly decorative paper flower with dark green panel.

Super happy with how these turned out.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a visit to the St. Albert Botanic Garden this week.  The dahlias are in full bloom and it was wonderful to be able to photograph a few.  At 6:00 am I was the only one around.  There is a path nearby and there are dog walkers and bicyclists but not a problem.

The is the Pam Howden Dahlia which is quite large.   I love the colors of yellows in the center, magenta on the tips and deep orange in between. 

It was a delight to enjoy the flowers. The very large garden is maintained by volunteers which take much pride in their work.

I finished Latitudes of Melt book this week.  Aurora with here white hair, pale skin looks different than the rest of her family and neighbours in a small outpost in Newfoundland.  With a blue and one brown eye she is viewed as a changeling an being from a different world. She loves the outdoors and walks the barrens, picks flowers and berries and is a free spirit. 

She was  found on an ice pack by a couple of fisherman.  Wrapped in a cradle tied to a wooden chair with a hat, a bit of food and a bottle of water.  The year was 1912 and the sinking of the Titanic was the latest news.  Many speculated that she was a survivor of the disaster.

She grows, goes to school, marries, has 2 children, is very happy and continues to live in the outpost.  When her husband dies she becomes she starts her life over as a caregiver.  She takes care of an elderly neighbour, then a unhappy and arrogant man until she has enough to buy her own house. 

Her son travels the world and studies ice.  Interesting.  Eventually her granddaughter living in Ireland tracks down Aurora's family who sailed on the Titanic.  Her mother was lost and her father was thought to have been on board but it was discovered that he remained in in Ireland.   This was a very good book and I would recommend it as a good read.

My old CCM bike has a new home.  It has been stored for the last 15 years or so, ever since I took a tumble while riding and decided that I will walk from now on.

I decided to respond to a wanted ad from someone looking for a broken bike he could fix.   I explained that it was not "broken" but it would need tires and a good clean. 

I met the gentleman with the bike and sent it on its way. He is a deaf senior and yes he will be able to fix the bike no problem.  I am so grateful to have it bless another.

I picked roadside daisies on my long walk on Saturday morning.  I wanted flowers to put in my art glass vase for the dining room table which will stay tidy now that sewing has a new place.

I was told that these are not really daisies and are really quite toxic weed. 

They did make me sneeze and so when the photo was taken they headed for the waste bucket.

The vase is by a Canadian glass artist named Robert Held.  He produces art glass in his studio on Vancouver Island. Check out his website. robertheld.ca

I have photographed this flower several times this summer.  I just love the watercolor feel to the colors which run from deep purple to teal and turquoise.

I was struggling to figure out what it was. I started with clover but that was not right, then I thought vetch but there was none with this coloring eventually I found out this week that it is Alfalfa!

This one was found on the side of the gravel road.  I guess the seeds are spread by the wind or by farm equipment or other means. 

I was very happy to find the final answer.

Along with flowers are bugs!  These are the ones I found this week.
Left - Red Turnip Beetle who loves canola but no canola fields in the city. Center - Blue Milkweed Beetle with glorious shining colors and then a Ladybug.  This plant had aphids so it was in it's element and had plenty to eat. There were smaller ones around so the family was going to survive.

Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was "Flame".  I found this quite challenging.  I wanted to photograph it without blown out highlights which was hard.  I tried votive in blue glass, in crystal, and it a vintage cut glass holder. Not really working. I eventually just lit a long fireplace match in front of a vintage mirror and fired off some shots.  I had laid my granite tile for a base to ensure no burn marks in my new photo studio.  You can check out my Flickr Photostream SMDPics to see the one I submitted.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #90 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #250

Ready 2 Go Stack Kit - No Greetings

I created this card to add to a couple of other kits to make a stack kit.

I chose a WeRMemoryKeepers - Funfetti - Confetti. I loved the variety of colors in this paper which allows making different cards with the same sketch.  I cut it to 4 inch squares. I chose a golden yellow card. The square was adhered aligned to the left side.

I wrapped a length of black grosgrain ribbon across the card front and taped the ends to the inside of the card.

The vellum butterfly was cut with the Stampin Up Beautiful Butterflies die where you fold the paper and cuts the large butterfly.  The colored butterfly was cut with the Sizzix Winged Beauties thin lits. I layered these and held them in place with a tiny black brad with a tiny black sequin for the head.  The kit includes green, blue, orange and magenta cards.

You can find the details here.















The details for the flower card are here.

Sympathy - Large Butterfly

I made this card for a friend who lost her dad in mid January. 

I started with the designer paper with large blossoms in warm tones.  I chose a green card to match the leaves in the paper.  I ripped the paper on an angle and adhered it to the card front.

I stamped the sentiment in the bottom right hand corner with SU Chocolate Chip ink with the stamp from Simply Sketched stamp set.

I cut a butterfly in blue with the Sizzix Winged Beauties thinlit set. I adhered it along the angle and used the corresponding marker to add some brown to match the sentiment.

Sharing with the challenge at Case This Sketch CTS #206 this week.

How To: Mixed Media - Shrink Plastic Flowers

I have decided to stretch myself this year and try more mixed media techniques.  Today, I worked with shrink plastic and alcohol inks.  I used Ruff 'N Ready shrink plastic.  I used a collection of Tim Holtz® Adirondack® Alcohol Inks to color the ruff side. I placed a couple drops of each purple, red, orange, green, and yellow then used rubbing alcohol to dilute the colors as I applied them to the shrink plastic.  It dries really fast and you want it quite light because it will concentrate the color when it shrinks.  Once dry, I used the Sizzix Bigz Flower #2 to cut a large poinsettia flower that was over 4" in diameter. I used a 1/8" long reach hole punch in the centre of the die cut flowers.  I then placed them on a pizza pan covered with parchment paper in a 275F oven and waited.  Soon they started to curl and shrink. After a couple of minutes they flattened right out. The final flowers are half the size of the originals at 2" across. Check in a bit to see the cards I made with these flowers.

R2G Card Kit - Large Flowers

Another Ready 2 Go kit.  Make from the left over card kits from February Card Club.   I cut the Sizzix Tim Holtz Cameo frame from warm mottled green background card stock.  I added it to a warm deep yellow card. I then layered a large yellow silk flower then an orange one then a medium yellow with a small orange one. I layered the large one onto the card to align the hole made with a push pin.
I placed the small to the largest on the large yellow brad and then put the brad through the hole.

Pressed apart the prongs of the brad on the inside of the card.  The bees were buttons but I used a pair of sharp cutting pliers to remove the shank then a utility knife to smooth down the back.  I then adhered it to the card front with a Zot.  I added a dotted flight path with a black marker.

Card - Texture

One of the girls I know asked if I could make a card for the mother of a friend.  The lady is in her 90's and is visually challenged.  She wanted a big, bright card with some texture.
I made this card 5.5x8.5 inches and chose a very bright magenta pink card stock for the base. I printed the greeting on a bright green layer which was trimmed to leave a small border.  I then added a white layer embossed with a large Cuttlebug Large Polka Dots folder.  The white layer was trimmed to create a background for the great pink silk flower. I added a silk leaf in the bottom right hand corner.  I added a yellow felt center. The large white brad holds the center, flower, and other layers together.

All Occasion Stack Class - Large Flowers

I started with large silk flowers in a couple of colors - pink and magenta. I found coordinating designer paper and then matching card stock.  I cut a Tim Holtz Ornamental die cut from it then glued that on the card front.  I chose a satin ribbon which I cut to length to cover across the card and tape both ends to the inside of the card. I set aside the short piece leftover.  I place the largest flower on my card front and made a hole in the card front with a push pin through the centre of the flower.  I then took the 2 small yellow daisy flowers in made holes in their centre with the push pin. I placed the tiny white brad through the small yellow flowers, then the white medium flower then the 2 larger flowers. This accent was then placed on the card front in the hole I made earlier.  Turn the card over and spread the prongs on the inside of the card.  I tied the short end of ribbon I saved earlier onto the ribbon on the card and trimmed the ends.

Card Club - Jumbo Flower

I started with an off white card to coordinate with the dots in my polka dot paper. I trimmed my paper and glued it to my card. I cut the flower with a QuicKutz die. It cuts all three pieces in 3 different colors. In the end I chose blue, white and yellow because the red in the flower did not match well with the background paper. I embossed the large flower with large polka dots and the centre with the small Swiss Dots folder. The leaf was cut with the Cricut - Create a Critter p.61. I taped all my flower pieces together on the back before I adhered it to my card. One could put double-sided tape on the card then lay the pieces one at a time onto it starting with the centre. Some girls added white gel marker detail to the leaf. I've added a sample with the white card and white gel marker.