TMTA Stone

The theme at TMTA is to use a stone image. This is my interpretation of the theme. The stamps are Invoke.

Coaster Box

I have been wanting to make one of these coaster boxes for a long time. Then, I finally found some blank coasters at one of my local scrapbook stores. I punched the coasters using my bind it all. Four coasters were punched on three sides and one punched on four sides. I painted the outside of the coaster with two colors blue and green. I used metallic paints by Yasumoto. They are very cool paints that come in a palette format and coast only 6.29. The inside I painted with two shades of gold Yasumoto paint. I then stamped the inside and outside using Versafine ink. The last step is to tie it all together. I used a thin Martha Stewart ribbon.

Tiny Cards

This is a set of 3x3 cards I made for my daughter. I just got my first set of Nestabilities by Spellbinders and had to play. The stamps are Hero Arts, Lockhart, PSX and Crafty Secrets.

Saturday Image Bonus 42

Here are five Victorian trade cards to celebrate our nation's independance. These are sewing related cards. They were used to advertise thread and sewing machines. Let me see all the great projects you create with these wonderful images!

As always feel free to use any image for your personal use and artwork only. Do not post the orginal images anywhere else on the net, but feel free to link anyone here. I ask that if you use one in your artwork that you link it back to this message so we can all enjoy it.

Dream Ticket

Dream Ticket is my entry for TMTA this week. The theme is tickets. The stamps are from Stampers Anonymous. The inks are Distress by Ranger.

A Place of There Own

This is a new home card I made for a friend. I thought it was perfect for the Mixed Media Monday challenge this week "Place". Stamps are Stampers Anonymous and the Background embossing is Cuttlebug.

Copic Markers: Where to get them?

Well, I have had several questions about where I have bought my Copic Markers. These markers are from Japan and have been used by manga artists and architects for rendering for over 25years. They are refillable and you can change the writing nibs. You can also attach them to airbrush, but I haven't tried that yet.

Well, I get my Copic Markers online at Period Style and Merriartist. I also bought a few off Ebay.

Copics are wonderful markers. The colors are very vibrant and scan beautifully. If you are a stamper, you need to use a non solvent based ink. My favorite is a new ink called Memento. You also need a good quality heavy paper such as Neenah Classic Crest Cover(found at Xpedx) or Georgia Pacific Cardstock(at Walmart). These markers bleed through the card stock. That is how you know you are getting good coverage. I usually mount my finished image onto a card so you can't see the bleed through. The great thing about these markers is they can blend together making a seamless transition between colors. I am still learning how to blend these markers, but it sure is fun experimenting. There are lots of great tutorials online. This is a great one by a woman who works for Copic: I Like Markers.

Just remember that markers are not a permanent medium. Eventually over time they fade in the light. Most manga artist that use these markers for a living scan their artwork into a computer and then print it on high quality paper when they want a more permanent medium.

Father's Day Cards

Here are a few Father's Day Cards I made this year.

Love my Copic Markers

My Copic markers make me feel like a kid again. I love to color. These markers are so vibrant. It really is a joy to color again. After much experimenting I have found that I prefer Neenah Classic Crest smooth cover paper in colors Natural White and Solar White. I love Memento ink for the outline of the image. It is a nice juicy ink and does not smear with Copics.

Cupid Conductor

This is a card I made for the Daring Cardmarkers challenge Quick card. The stamp is a Magenta one I picked up at the flea market for one dollar. The card base is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.

Saturday Image Bonus 41

Here are five victorian trade cards from companies dealing with shoes. They all are lovely pictures of little girls and young women. These cards all date from the late 1800's. I am always amazed that a piece of paper has survived over 120 years.
As always feel free to use any image for your personal use and artwork only. Do not post the orginal images anywhere else on the net, but feel free to link anyone here. I ask that if you use one in your artwork that you link it back to this message so we can all enjoy it.

Beautiful Paper

This is a card I made for my sister a few years ago but I thought it would be lovely for the Create by Hand challenge this week patterned paper. The stamp is by Hanko. I cut out some of the elements and placed them on foam dots to create a 3D look.

Dream of Peace

This week at TMTA the theme is hands. I made this ATC to symbolize a dream of peace. Something I think we all dream.

Saturday Image Bonus 40

This weeks bonus images are from the Nation Cloak and Suit white sale catalogues from 1916 and 1920. They are all pictures of men in honor of Father's Day in the USA this Sunday. Happy Father's Day to all who are celebrating this weekend.

As an extra bonus while looking for some information on National I found this cool website with even more National Cloak and Suit images called DeMode.

As always feel free to use any image for your personal use and artwork only. Do not post the orginal images anywhere else on the net, but feel free to link anyone here. I ask that if you use one in your artwork that you link it back to this message so we can all enjoy it.

TGIF

I have always admired Sally Jean Alexander and wanted to try soldering but have been lacking tools. So,I picked up this set of tools by Simply Swank last week. They are sitting there and waiting for me but it seems so over whelming all the steps. Have any of you tried soldering yet? Have any tips? Hopefully I will take the plunge this weekend and I will have lots of items to post this weekend.

Vroom Vroom

This is a card for the challenge at Daring Cardmakers wheels. I stamped the image on metal with Stazon and attached it to the the card with eyelets.

A Tag for Michaela

The challenge at Tag You are It last week was Monogram. This is a tag for my daughter to put on her camp bag. The monogram was made with a Justrite Stamper monogram stamper. The other stamps are Invoke and Heidi Grace.

Fairy Paper Dolls

So I have dug out something old for this challenge at Theme Thursday because it was so fitting for the theme. This is a fairy paperdoll book I made for my daughter. I have also included images of some of the dolls. You can click on them and print for your child.

Looking Good

I made this card for the Three Crazy Amigos Challenge polka dots. To make my dots I used a Cuttlebug emossing folder Swiss Dot. The background stamps are Invoke and the girl drinking coffee is stamp from my new stamp line Paper Flowers.

Using ATC's for cards

Sometimes I make ATC's and they just sit around waiting for a home but not in this case. Here are two cards I made using the ATC's I made for challenges below. Both are birthday cards for very special women in my life , my sister and my niece.

Optimistic

This is a Versamark card for the Create by Hand challenge Versamark. I stamped with Veramark. It is very light in the scan. The stamp is by Stamp Mania.

Sailor Boy

By the Sea is the theme for Mix Media Monday this week. The hardware is Stamping Up and the Stamp is Stamper's Anonymous I believe. The poem on the side is Row, row your boat.

Dream Circle

The theme at TMTA this week is circles. This is my circle ATC I made for my older sister Ellen is turning fifty next week. I just can't believe it. She is a woman who has lots of dreams. In her forties she reinvented herself. After being an Occupational Therapist for years she decided to make violins for a living. How brave she was to change her occupation and to choose one so different. She is definitely a woman who pursues her dreams. I made this ATC to put on her birthday card. The image is one of my Saturday Image Bonus images. The stamps are Invoke.

Wings of Time

Create by Hand challenge this week is wings. I created this ATC with the new Invoke stamps I got at the Heirloom Stamp Show in Springfield, MA. It was a great show but quite a bit smaller this year. I got to meet MaryJo Mcgraw who was giving an instructional on how to use Copic markers. Of course I used my Copics to color in this card.