Pink Quilled Flower Card for Your Sweetheart

This year I hope to get some cards up for sale. This is the first card I made this year that I will put up eBay. I hope this will be the start of something great as I can't seem to find a real job for myself!

The flower was created by husking paper strips. In other words, you weave paper around pins that were placed on points on a quilling board. These pins are situated in areas that are intended to trace that specific image you have in mind. To draw a simpler connection, think of it like connecting the dots of a drawing as a toddler. For this piece, I repeated the steps over and over again until I had a total of 6 petals.

Card measurements: 5.5" x 4.25"

Link to card on eBay (expires in 7 days): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280815459098#ht_483wt_1289

A Handmade Card Makes a Difference

My boyfriend sent this comic to me. I'm sure all of you out there will agree with it:

Flower Pot Cards

Digging up things sometimes makes you reminisce on how you have changed over time, whether it be over a short or long period. When I take a look back in time at what I have made, I right away see how my preference for techniques have changed or remained the same. Do you sometimes wonder how you've come to arrive at this point? I have to say that I love crafting for this reason--I never know where I'll end up next and it is never an unpleasant surprise like other aspects of our lives! Isn't this true for you as well? I can go aimlessly in any direction that I want and you can never say that I took the wrong turn for the worse. If anything, all you've invested was your time, a bit of money, and energy in exploring. I never have regrets. It is AWESOME...for lack of a better word. lol

So how have I changed or grown? I feel that instead of trying to copy someone else's work, I am more self reliant on creativity. Do I still look around for inspiration? OH YES! ALL of the time. I love appreciating other peoples' work whether they are a beginner or more seasoned in crafts. At times I learn and at other times, I am reminded of things that are worth revisiting.

Here is an example from a little over a year ago.

Both were given as birthday cards. It comes with my cat's seal of approval as well. lol

The above flower pot card was made with silk flowers. You pull up at the top to expose your writing area. Below is a card made from chipboard flowers.

I wet embossed the area of paper underneath the ribbon. Even though it is the dead middle of winter, I don't ever think it is inappropriate to give "flowers." So head over to Splitcoaststampers to follow their tutorial to make your own!

Sweetly,

Dimensional Magic Key Chain

I was playing with Dimensional Magic by Mod Podge right before the new years. It is a non-toxic alternative to epoxy resin. I have that as well, but I didn't want to suffocate from the fumes as it is the middle of winter and it would be a trade-off between that or freezing me and the cats. :D

I wanted to give a meaningful gift to my friend, Colleen, for her birthday. She and I have developed an appreciation for the work that artists produce over the years. She is a very skilled and experienced designer based in NYC. Now I know I can't top her in what she does, so why not rip off of her own designs? hahaha :X I decided to make a key chain that represents her professionally. Did I mention this was my first time using dimensional magic? I do feel bad that I was using her as a guinea pig, but what are friends for right?!? lol

Here are the basic steps:

1. Buy Dimensional Magic and a blank key chain from your local crafts stores--Michaels for me! I did have to go outside of NYC to find the Dimensional Magic in stores though.

2. Using your favorite image or sizing something by computer to be printed out, cut it to shape inside of the key chain. (This is where I will say to use photo paper or possibly laser printing!!! I printed with an ink jet on cardstock and the ink started to bleed as you will see in the picture below.)

3. Use glue or a decoupage medium to adhere the image to the bottom of the key chain. I use Mod Podge the Matte finish.

4. Seal your image with a decoupage medium by brushing a layer over the image that is now on the bottom of the key chain.

5. Finally, squeeze out the dimensional magic until it reaches the brim of the key chain. More likely than not, you will see bubbles. I found it to be a bit tricky getting them out.You must use a sharp needle! A blunt toothpick or needle-head, I will not say it is not possible, but it will be extremely difficult as this stuff is THICK and the bubbles will just roll under and over your point.

6. Put it in a dust-free, leveled-area free of disturbances that can happen over 24 hrs.

Do you see how the colors aren't as crisp and sharp from the bleeding?

If anyone is ever looking for someone to do a side project feel free to contact her near or far!--www.cdengdesigns.com

:)

Double Pocket Card with Vellum Bookmarks

This is a project that I found on Splitcoaststampers.com. This project can be found here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/diagonal_double_pocket_card/. You can leave it as is or you can attach it to a blank card to use as a standard card. I kept it simple and left it as is to use a bookmark holders.

These are the bookmarks I made from vellum. I chose green and yellow colors to go with the patterned paper used for the pockets. Disregard the blue ribbon; I was just trying to use up the last of it. :X The designs were made from using stamps and Versamark ink and then wet embossing it with a sort of pearlescent opaque embossing powder. To attach the ribbon, I hole-punched the top of the paper, set an eyelet, and strung the ribbon through followed by a knot.

Here you have the double pocket card by itself. As you can see, I spent very little time decorating it. I used the tiny Prima flowers sold in little bottles and the center is just lightly kissed with glitter glue.

So there you have a simple and inexpensive gift for all the book lovers out there!

Quilling Yellow Cone Flower

This birthday card was inspired by the above prairie cone flower picture I found on the web. It's far from capturing the beauty of its natural beauty, but hey, I tried! lol

The larger cone flower head zoomed in:

The smaller cone flower head zoomed in:

We saw snow in NYC today...along with sun? Either way, stay warm and safe!

Celebration of Our Love

This quilled piece was created last November. I was inspired by the the quilled art I made for Jenny & Brian 2 months before for their wedding (which I have yet to post :X) to make one for me and my bf. A lot less thought went into this one and in fact most of it was trial and error and completely different from the sketch that I had originally made for it.

The pictures and phrase were formatted in Photoshop and then printed on glossy photo paper. I already had the heart frame in mind, so it was a matter of cutting the paper out to the size of the quilled heart. I had a small frame, so I had to keep those measurements in mind as well. I like the sort of turquoise/brown color combo, so I tried really hard to stick to those colors. The rose that you see on top was just added to cover up a spot that I thought was too naked. That was freehandedly made from glitter clay. :)

Happy New Year All!

Suddenly a cold front hit us and it dropped from 50s to 20s. Crazy!

Hope you're all making good progress on your new year's resolutions so far. I am trying my best!

This is a holiday card...yes, I am always behind.

I think I like quilling. It's cheap to do, requires minimal materials, and your imagination is your limit to your creations! It is probably the most time consuming when you compare it to other types of card making styles though. Despite that, I feel the most accomplished and fulfilled after making quilled cards. Hope you will enjoy this snowflake design!