J & B Initial Framed Quilling

This project was requested by my friend for displaying purposes at her wedding back in Oct last year. It was actually the 2nd thing I've framed. I ran into trouble making this one because I was in the middle of moving. I tried to keep it safe, but in the middle of moving it was dropped (with weight on top of it) and of course the already made parts were a bit crushed. You can tell from the pictures that there was damage, but I tried my best to smooth it out as best as I can. You might wonder why I didn't redo it. The wedding was about a month away when it was messed up during the move. We had a great deal to unpack because we buy things for our apts like we own the place and are settling, so I expected to not be able to put in much time into it between then and the wedding.

This reddish-purple color scheme is based on the colors they chose for their wedding invitations. It was very hard to take a picture of this because I used a pearlescent cardstock as the backing.

I had to use a lot of straight pin needles to complete this project. lol

Adding more pieces. You can see how the purplish paper doesn't stay straight.

Originally I wanted to put this rose in there, but changed my mind because it didn't go with the flow of the other types of flowers (shown below).

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!

Almost 2012 Quilled Snowflake

Less than 30 mins 'til New Years 2012 as I am typing this. Have a happy, happy new year to you and yours!

Here's a quilled snowflake for you!

New Year's Eve!

Another year is coming to an end. What are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? I hope to get into better shape, grow as an artist, and have a more positive outlook on life. To learn from regrets and also to be able to look past that--be free of old worries. I normally do not care to mark the new year as a starting point for a new approach to certain aspects in life because it is, in fact, a regular day in life, but this year I am attracted to the motivational trick it plays with my head when everyone else is hyped. Let's hope I come through in the end!

It is no surprise to me anymore that I prioritize everything else before the blog. I would love to get better at integrating this into my regular routine. How do all of you bloggers do it?! Would love to bum some of the energy off of you! Tonight I feel a bit more drawn to blogging, but I don't know why. Maybe I saw Dec 31 and felt the need to get in one last entry for the year. Who knows...

So tonight I want to show you one of the few items I made for the Christmas season 2011:

What I have here is a quilled snowflake card. The sentiment was wet embossed and glitter was dusted on the snowflake itself. Below is a closer look.

Best wishes to all of you out there!

YUM!

Been baking a lot. Busy being a piggy. :)

Pecan blondies

 Green tea sugar cookies

 Chocolate chip walnut cookies