Dancing for Joy!

Just a quick store update we have received orders from Magenta stamps and sticks as well as A Muse this week. We also now have back in stock the ever popular Ranger Mini Misters. Now onto the regularly scheduled program...
My neighbour and Wednesday carpooling buddy retired last week so I figured a 'happy retirement" card was in order.
I rooted through my stamps and found this one by Penny Black that I have had at least a year and I have never stamped yet! I love these guys I figured it had the right sort of feel.
I began by stamping the image on on white smooth cardstock then I colored the image with my Prismacolor pencil crayons. I matted the image as shown and added some green rhinestone flowers I've also had a while. I stamped the first line of the sentiment on a scrap of yellow cardstock and matted it as shown and stamped the rest of the sentiment inside. The full sentiment reads "the joy of retirement is having nothing to do and all day to do it" I love it! I add some interest to the card I added black and white Fun Flock to the cow and sheep. I also added Ranger's Glossy accents to the beads on the pig's necklace and the sheep's eyes. Thanks for looking!
Card Recipe:
Stamps: Penny Black "the sensations", Impression Obsession "joy of retirement"
Ink: Ranger Archival black
Coloring: Prismacolor pencil crayons
Paper: Bazzill and My Mind's Eye
Other: Stampendous Black and White Fun Flock, Ranger Glossy Accents, Kaiser Flower Rhinestones

Upcoming Classes

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I've been madly creating make and takes all week (and teaching them as well). Tomorrow is the last Free A*Muse*Apalooza card make and take. Drop in anytime between 10:30 am - 4:00 pm with your adhesive and scissors in hand! We will be using some of A Muse's brand new Christmas stamps only a few stores in BC have these stamps in stock!

Glenda (from A Muse) will be up this weekend to teach her Holiday Headstart class. We have a few spaces left if you are interested in attending. The class is Sunday 10:30 - 12:30. Cost is $27. Please phone Crafty Capers to register 250-585-0022.

Crafty Capers Chirstmas in July classes are being offered every Tuesday this month. Class starts at 6:00 pm. Cost is $15 (including taxes). You will make 4 cards (of 2 designs). Preregistration required.

I'll be back next week posting some of the A Muse make and takes from this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Canada Day!

Well I hope everyone had a happy Canada Day. I spent the day updating the computer system for the HST that took effect today (boo, boo!) then we had a BBQ at my parents.

Marie Bowning from Tombow was teaching at the store last weekend. I was not even in the classes but I was given "homework" to remake some of the Tombow Tangles demo cards. I was practicing my strokes on a scrap piece of paper when I noticed all my tear drop shapes were kind of looking like the tail of a kite that got me totally off the topic of my homework, just like when I was in academic school!! :)

Anyway, this card was really fun to make! I cut out 2 kites out of scraps in my scrap bin and used a black Tombow marker to draw lines on them. I had some My Mind's Eye cloud paper in the store so used that as my background. I planned where my kites were going then drew squiggly lines with a brown Tombow marker then made different colored tear drop shapes down the tail - easy peasy! A quick and very summery card now if only summer would get to my part of the world.

Thanks for looking. Oh, and my homework will be done soon, honest! :)

Card Recipe:

Tombow markers: 195, 528, 665, 815, 946, 969, 993 & N25

Papers: Bazzil (solid colors), My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary (clouds), Upsy Daisy (yellow kite) & Basic Grey (red kite)

Other: Hero Arts white pearls

A Manly card

Well as promised I am, finally, getting around to posting another "manly" greeting card.

This card was super quick to make and used limited supplies as well!

I began by cutting a square hole out of a 4.5x5.5 piece of scrap cardstock. I used this as a mask. I placed the mask on the front of a white card and stenciled the green leaves using a Dreamweaver stencil. Once I was happy with the amount of leaves in the square I removed the mask and using my Scor-it board embossed a square around leaves to define the edges a little more.

I then put the stencil back down on the card (now without the mask) and taped it down with low tack tape. I decided to use my new Dreamweaver Glossy Black embossing paste which I applied into the holes of the stencil. I removed the tape and stencil while the paste was still wet. I used some oooold Luminart Primary Pigments (dry pigments similar to Ranger's Perfect Pearls) and sprinkled the pigments onto the wet paste. I let the paste dry overnight then brushed off the extra pigments with a blush brush and a Swiffer cloth.

I finished the card by stamping a sentiment in black ink.

Thanks for looking!

Card Recipe:

Stencil: Dreamweaver LJ846 Maidenhair fern

Inks: Brillance Pearlescent Tyme, Versamagic Green Tea & Ranger Mussel Black dye ink

Stamps: A Muse Happy Birthday Mix

Other: Luminart Primary Pigments, Dreamweaver Black Glossy Embossing Paste & Scor-It board

Changito Picnic!

My father in law's birthday is early next so I have been in "man" card mode for the past day or so. Tomorrow's card is gender neutral as well.

I was thinking about Canada Day and summer fun then saw all my Stampendous Changito monkeys. I thought they would make a good scene together. I don't normally make scenes so thought that would be a good challenge for me.

I began by stamping all the standing monkeys and about 1/3 of the tire swing monkey in the upper right corner on a piece of watercolor paper then colored all the standing monkeys with my Tombow markers and Tombow blender pen (N00). I used a green Tombow marker to fill in more grass around the BBQing Changito along the horizon. I sponged green ink around the monkeys for grass and blue for the sky with some of my inks. To make the grass more interesting I added little dots from my grass colored Tombow marker.

Next, I stamped the tire swing monkey on a scrap of watercolor cardstock and colored him and cut him out. I did not color him on the scene cardstock I just wanted the first partial stamp as a guide where to place him and I didn't want to cut his tail out! I sponged blue inside the tire because I did not want to try to cut that out either!

Stamped the sentiment in the upper left hand corner of the card with black ink. I layered everything as shown. Just wanted to point out that the green gingham is actually a placemat that my husband brought me home when he was in England last with his Dad. We'll see if he notices. :) Thanks for looking!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Stampendous - Changito tire swing, BBQ, Bubbles, Solo & Bday Messages

Inks: Versafine Onyx black, Adirondack Stonewash, Memento Bamboo Leaves

Tombow: White gel pen (for chef's hat), 192, 249, 847, 856, 885, 977, 992, N65, N89, N95 & N00 (blender).

June Make and Take

This Saturday, at Crafty Capers between 10:30 - 1:30, we're having a free card make and take!

I finally had a few minutes to get something made up for the class.

Sooo, if you are interested in making this card, for free, come by Crafty Capers this Saturday.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp used: Stampendous Ranunculus stamp.

Paper: Bazzill and Upsy Daisy pattern paper

A bouquet for you!

This one is for you Ann! I was lucky enough to be given a bunch of Penny Black and A Muse stamps by a great Crafty Caper's customer. I've had them a few weeks now I have been dying to play with them, especially the Penny Blacks, of course!

I colored this image on a circle of heavy white cardstock (not watercolor) and then when I was doing the background it went horribly wrong so that version went in the recycling! However while I was sitting there trying to figure out how to make a nice background around the hedgie I saw some leftover Tombow marker scribbles on my plastic sour cream container (aka my palette) and I wondered hmmmm... I cut out another circle with my Spellbinder circles and left it in the Spellbinder die. I spritzed the colors on my palette with water and grabbed a sponge dauber and starting at the edge of my die pulled each of the three colors towards the middle of the circle. Worked like a charm!! I then stamped my hedgie with Onyx Versafine ink and colored him up using the indirect Tombow coloring technique using my trusty palette. I wanted a really colorful designer paper for my background but the store seems a little lacking in the bright designer catagory at the moment so I used my Tombow markers and doodled up my background cardstock. It was quite easy just a bunch of dots, lines and hearts - trust me I am no artist if I can do it you can too! Best of all it matched my colored hedgehog.

I stamped the Happy Birthday (Stampendous) with black Archival ink. I matted the hedgehog image with a bunch of green and pink scraps cut out with my Spellbinder circle/scallop circle dies and assembled the card as shown. I'm pretty happy with how the card turned out very bright and cheery!

Thanks for looking!