Saturday, May 28, 2011

Houses a la Whimsy

In our Paper Whimsy group we are making and swapping houses in various color palettes. I opted for the neutrals...We're in groups of four and each of us chose one of four templates so the houses are different shapes. When the swap is complete we'll have a lovely little village. Of course I'll share my village with you!
The back of my houses...
I am one of the unfortunate bloggers with the inability to leave comments on others blogs. (I certainly hope this issue is resolved soon.) In the meantime, know that I'm still visiting, oohing and aahhing all the way.
Wishing you a happy and safe Memorial Day. Please take a moment or two to thank a veteran or a veteran's family.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Let the Swapping Begin!

The partners have been announced and the swapping will soon commence in my flickr Altered Matchbox Swap Group.
Our theme this time round is Treasures of the Sea. Using one of the small 32 count matchboxes, the challenge was to decorate a sea-themed box and either stuff it full of sea-themed goodies or create a vignette or shrine interior.I decoupaged layers of torn tissue paper in shades of blue and green for the base of the box, then added fibers, micro beads, glitter, a real starfish, glass baubles and a copper seahorse charm. The drawer pull is a vintage starfish button that I found at an estate sale.
I opted tor a vignette and designed the interior similarly adding some little seashells I collected on the beach in Key West.
I thought this was the perfect habitat for the removable teeny tiny mermaid doll I made. Like any respectable mermaid, she carries an iridescent sceptor and travels with her seahorse pal.
Treasures of the Sea is closed but a new swap will be announced on my blog sometime in June. Everyone in the US and Canada (sorry, purely economic) is welcome to join in on any swap. It's a great creative outlet, you're guaranteed to make new friends and you will collect some beautiful little pieces of art!
I'll be sure to share other members Treasures of the Sea creations in upcoming posts. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.....

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Love Birds? Tag Art? Swapping?

Then you must visit Karla's Cottage and be part of what's certain to be an amazing project!
Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Featured Things With Wings Artists & Some Spring Inspiration

Altering matchboxes in different themes is such a fun challenge that I recently started a flickr group to host swaps. Many of the participants upload photos of their creations to the group. I thought it would be nice to feature a couple from each swap here on my blog.
Our Things With Wings challenge was to create a box and fill it with goodies all related to anything winged.
Lorraine, of Over The Rainbeau created this sweet box

and Les, of Harmony Road Studio thrilled her partner with this beauty.

Our current swap is Treasures of the Sea. Participants can either fill their boxes with tiny sea treasures or create a vignette inside the box. Sign-ups for this swap are through May 15th. If you'd like to join us, the link to the flickr group is at the top of the sidebar.

In Heather's (Speckled Egg) Spring Inspiration Swap we exchanged the larger matchboxes.
From Samantha....



And from Jeannie of I Craft....



For my wonderful swap partners...




Wishing you all a happy and blessed Mother's Day!


I'm linked with Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Pop In for a Pop Up Card

The merry month of May....time for graduations, weddings, Mother's Day. The month of giving greeting cards and a perfect time to spotlight a talented cardmaking artist!
Diane of 1 Card Creator is sharing a Pop Up Card tutorial for May's edition of Tutorial Tuesday.
You can use any image you want, I used Websters digital papers, that made it easy to print the hot air balloons in various sizes. You can use any object as long as you can print or stamp it in various sizes. I first put the outside of the card together and set it aside. You will be working with 2 cards, an inside and an outside card.If you have a scoring board, score 3 lines on the inside card 1 at center and then 3/4" to the left and 3/4" right of center.Without a scoring board, fold your card in half, measure 3/4" from the fold and draw a line with a ruler, turn it over and do the same on the other side.I then use a Word Window punch (Stampin Up) to cut 2 slots in the folded edge using the score or pencil line to keep them even. The punch can be positioned as deep as it will go or if scissor cutting measure 1 1/2" from top and bottom respectively. (This is a 5 x 7 card but the same measurements work for any size card.)Score the line between the 2 slots on both sides so you can fold it inside.
At this point you want to dry fit your outer and inner card together making sure there is no overhang, the inner card needs to be slightly smaller.Then tape the 2 cards together. If you look closely you will see where I used the tape, I tape it together 1 side at a time.I took this picture after I had placed a few on the card already, I can't give you an amount to cut, I always end up with left overs.The first few objects are your anchors, they should be the largest because they will have to hold a lot of weight, they are placed on the pop up fold and need to be folded like this. I use ultra strength Zots to attach these to the pop up fold.From these anchors you can just keep on building out, attaching one more up or down, behind or in front of, let your creative eye take over here. You can attach these with Zots or strong dimensional foam making sure that the sticky stays in contact with only the 2 pieces you are attaching. (otherwise your card will stick together when it's closed) Also make sure the card will close without anything sticking out.I will have some of my older pop up cards on my blog today so you can get an idea of what objects can be used.

I hope you'll visit Diane and browse through her blog of wonderful cards and other paper delights. She truly is the #1 card creator! And she did an outstanding job with this tutorial. Pop up cards seemed like they would be insanely complicated to make, but Diane really took the mystery out of the process.
I also hope you're enjoying the diverse array of tutorials and new artists featured here. If you have something to share, I'd love to feature you on an upcoming Tutorial Tuesday!