Picturesque

After an internal battle with my will and common sense ended in gory defeat, I finally succumbed to this itch that has been plaguing me for nearly two months and begrudgingly (with a slice of giddiness) gave in an purchased the illusive Cricut cartridge 'Picturesque' on the secondary market. It goes without saying that this has become my most expensive cartridge yet (replacing 'Potpourri Basket').

Finally, it came down to a simple matter of supply. It does appear (via information from a well-placed source) that ProvoCraft will NOT be making 'Picturesque' available for individual sale any time in the near future. Originally, paired with a champagne-colored Expression, 'Picturesque' was to be an exclusively bundled cartridge to Home Depot. However, a contractual problem occurred and the deal fell threw. It is my understanding that the rumored 300-500 bundles were sold to a warehouse club--and were quickly broken up to sell on the secondary market by some savvy consumers. My source says that the cartridge will reappear in a new set of exclusive machine bundles that will be exclusive to a major retailer in approximately the same quantity. The retailer has been chosen, but has not been officially announced. Meanwhile, there are no plans through 2010 to offer 'Picturesque' as a solo cartridge.

In my opinion, that really is a great shame as this is a bursting-at-the-seams chock-full content cartridge. The artwork by Noralee Peterson is intricately detailed and filled with decorative flourishes and embellished elements. The cartridge features the following creative features: tags, corners, frameworks, cards and seals, shadow and blackout on over 99 individual pieces of artwork. Among the images included are: florals, dragonflies, butterflies, birds, nests, swans, vines, scallops, celtic knot elements, greek key elements, and iron work elements.

Here are a few photographs of some of the elements from the enclosed handbook:







My first project using 'Picturesque' was a quick greeting card. The three lighter blue cardstock pieces (card base, mat, and die cut) are all Bazzill cardstock from a Fourz pack with a grasscloth texture. The mat cardstock was punched with an EK Success border punch called "Swiss Cheese". The backing paper on the diecut tag is an SEI glitter cardstock. The "love" sentiment was cut on the Making Memories Slice (from the 'Think Pink' card) out of silver foiled SEI cardstock. The actual diecut tag I chose to cut on my Cricut Expression is called "cotton blossom" and was cut at 4" (Shift + Tag). The polka-dot ribbon is from Papertrey Ink's "Enchanted Evening" collection and the mabe pearl accent is from the Stampin' Up! Pretties kit. I used my ATG 714 adhesive to assemble the card. The inner sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration stamp set entitled 'Whimsical Words' (#119119). Finally, I used a Martha Stewart corner rounder punch to shape the final card.









With the addition of 'Picturesque' to my cartridge library (and Gypsy), I am now only down three cartridges of all that have been released thus far: 'Keystone International', 'Don Juan International', and 'Pink Journey'. As always, the search continues...

Well, I was rather wordy today. I hope you enjoyed the peek at 'Picturesque'. If you have a way to add it to your collection, I highly recommend it. It really is a beautiful set of images.

As always, have a terrific Friday ahead...and keep crafting!

Candy Corn Explosion

I came upon this lovely sheet of candy corn paper from a Die Cuts With A View Fall Stack from last year. It inspired me to play with a couple of Martha Stewart punches and create a couple of Halloween themed cards.

I have to say that I am completely in LOVE with the new Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page punch sets. Additionally, the new wing-edged punches are a dream when it comes to folding them up and conserving on storage space. I recently purchased the Spider Web punch set and finally found a source to order my Loopy Border set. I even re-purchased the Drippy Goo punch just to get the wing-edged version.

Both cards are A2 size and the card base is Bazzill textured cardstock in Raven. The first card features a Drippy Goo border on the decorative mat. The stamped skull image is from the new Stampin' Up! Halloween set entitled "From The Crypt" (#115460, $22.95). It was stamped on Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock (#100730, $7.50 for 40 sheets) with a Classic Stampin' Pad in Only Orange (#102696, $5.95). The sentiment is from the Stampin' Up! set "Teeny Tiny Wishes" (#115370, $36.95). The card is accented with a Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen in Orange.




The second card showcases the same decorative DCWV paper. I cut a piece at 3 1/4" x 5" and used both the Martha Stewart Wing Edger Spider Web punch and the Corner Spider Web punch to create the all-around border. To highlight the web cuts, I adhered the decorative paper to a piece of Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock cut at the same size. I used the Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch (#107214, $6.95) on the four corners as an accent.

Coloration

One of the things that fascinates me most about paper crafting (and crafting, in general) is choosing colors for a project. I swear I can literally spend hours flipping through reams of cardstock, paper stacks, mat stacks and decorative papers browsing and matching, placing swatches and pages side-by-side, changing my mind again and again. I guess in the end--and something I find true of many crafters--we are all paper addicts. Can you really ever have enough paper? I, myself, am trying to debunk this myth apparently. I would never admit this in public, but I think when you have so much paper you actually have to pack some of it away, there might be a problem. But, then again, I tell my therapist it's just my back-up plan.

This card began with a scrap piece of paper left over from a card project from a few days ago (the chandelier card). It was a strip of lovely cardstock from the new Die Cuts With A View stack called "Downtown Loft" that is an exclusive to JoAnn's. It was a green tiled cardstock that had squares of high-gloss interspersed throughout. Since it wasn't large enough to actually use as a card base or mat, I decided to take one of my Martha Stewart punches ("Oak Leaf") down from the rack and punch out as many pieces as I could from the scrap.

As I started playing with my punched-out pieces, I soon was fascinated with a wreath-like shape. I punched out a 1 3/8" circle of white cardstock and and 1 3/8" circle of decorative paper from scraps. Using a Zig 2-way adhesive pen, I attached each leaf stem to the back of the white cardstock circle. Once it was complete, I adhered the decorative paper circle to the white circle. Then I stared at it for a while and decided it "needed" a bit more __________? I ended up piercing a hole through the center and using a Stampin' Up! Corduroy Button in Kiwi Kiss. (Are we sensing a green theme?)

Next, I went looking for papers to mount my creation on. After much thought, I ended up choosing Stardream Fuse Mica cardstock in Fairway for my A2 card base. The card mat is from the DCWV "Taj Mahal" mat stack. After everything was adhered together, I was struck by the fact that an Indian influenced design worked so well with the seemingly incongruent wreath design. One might even daresay it's rather "Christmas-y" in it's overall look. Yet, it could serve as a general everyday notecard.

Sometimes it is a game of trial and error. But, that's not really the right term. For in my opinion, there are no errors...just ideas that don't quite workout like you thought they might. Expressing your creativity and experimenting is a very large part of the entire crafting process.

Keep coloring your world....and as always, crafting...

Card Glimpses

Of late, I seem to have found this deep fountain of ideas for card layouts and techniques I want to try. The problem of course is one as old as time. Well, actually, it is time. For as many ideas as I have, there never seems to be enough time to get them all realized. I suppose that is a good thing--since inspiration and creativity can sometimes be moody playmates.

I just received a huge order of new stamp sets from Stampin' Up! and have been busy preparing them (EZ-Mount) for the calendar cases I store them in. There really are some marvelous new sets and artwork in the 2009-2010 catalog. Among some of my new favorites are: 'All Hallow's Eve', 'Beware Pirates', 'Extreme Elements', 'Medallion', 'Pendant Park', 'On A Pedestal', 'Greenhouse Garden', 'From The Crypt', and 'Chic Boutique'. I also finally broke down and ordered the Color Caddy and extender kit. I was never quite sure this is the route I wanted to take for my Stampin' Pad storage, but now I'm very happy I did. Of course, not all of my pads fit. But, it does make a great home for the four major color groupings (Bold Brights, Earth Elements, Rich Regals and Soft Subtles), as well as the last twelve In Color ink pads. It provides a great visual reminder of the palette that is available in my stamping ideas.

The weather here has been ridiculously hot. Though, I suppose that's just further impetus to stay inside and create. Wherever you are and whatever your weather, keep crafting!

New Toys, New Cards

In the "I'm Sure This Is Not Breaking News" department, I must report that I've been a very, very bad boy on the spending front. (*gasps ring out from the stunned masses--or not*) I've recently become a big fan of Unity Stamp Company and their deeply-etched red rubber stamps. They've got some terifically quirky artwork. Many of their stamps are already mounted on cling mount foam and ready to use. The quality is superb. I recently joined their "Kit Of The Month" club, as well as purchased several sets that I just "had" to have.

I've also another terrible confession to make. As much as I love my Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol, as well as my Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write Many Marverlous Marker Set, I've succumbed to that Japanese virus called Copics. I embarrassed to say that my first purchase was a set of twelve (12) of the Original Copics. I bought them without really knowing enough to make an informed purchase--or realizing that I much prefer the Sketch marker. That said, I now own seventy-two (72) and counting Sketch markers and I LOVE THEM! Now, I am no where near the talent level of many of my fellow crafters when it comes to Copic technique and blending accumen. But I am certainly enjoying self-teaching myself. I can definitely see progress, but I have of hours of practice ahead of me. The major problem with Copics is that they are truly, hideously ADDICTING! No matter how many you have in your collection, it is never enough.

Of course, I also have been through the new 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! catalog (several times) and have been honing my lists up and down. Needless to saying, I'm chomping at the bit for July 1st to arrive so that I can place the first of what I'm sure will be several orders. So far, I haven't had the intestinal fortitude to add up the total of my current list. But, I do love surprises, LOL!

Well, enough about my shopping habits. Here are a few cards I've worked on in recent days. I've tried to include all the product information, but if you have any specific questions (and/or comments), please feel free to drop an e-mail or leave a comment and I'll try to get the information you need to you.


Feel Better Card: (base cardstock: Stardream Fuse Mica in Citrine; mat cardstocks: Stardream Fuse Mica in Lapis, Stardream Fuse Mica in Fairway, Stampin' Up! Whisper White; punches: EK Success Corner Adorner--Fountain Fun, Martha Stewart Branch punch, EK Success Corner Rounder; stamps: Stampin' Up! Pretty Peony Set (retired), Papertrey Ink Mega Mixed Messages; inks: Palette Hybrid Ink in Water Lily Green and Prussian Blue, Tsukineko Brilliance in Starlight Silver;)



Friendship Card: (base cardstock: Bazzill Bling in Emerald City; decorative paper: Basic Grey Offbeat Collection; mat cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White; punch: Stampin' Up! Tag Corner Punch; stamps: Gel-é-tins Sheltering Tree Set; inks: Tsukineko Memento in Cottage Ivy, Tsukineko Brilliance in Pearlescent Thyme, Tsukineko Memento in Potter's Clay, Tsukineko Memento in Rich Cocoa; accent: Uniball Signo UM-153 in Gold;)




Missing You Pocket Card: (base cardstock: Bazzill Textured cardstock, Stampin' Up! Whisper White; decorative paper: Papertrey Ink Men Of Life Collection; punches: Stampin' Up! Scalloped Circle Punch and 1 3/8" Circle Punch; ribbon: Stampin' Up! Striped 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon in Pacific Point (retiring); stamps: Papertrey Ink Mega Mixed Messages set; ink: Tsukineko Memento in Tuxedo Black; tab: K & Co. Mira collection;)




Anniversary Card: (base cardstock: Stardream Fuse Mica in Citrine, Stampin' Up! Whisper White; mat cardstock: Stardream Fuse Mica in Rose Quartz; decorative paper: Papertrey Ink Hodge Podge Collection; punch: EK Success Corner Adorner--Fountain Fun; stamps: Stampin' Up! Fifth Avenue Floral (#113734), Papertrey Ink Mega Mixed Messages set; copic markers: RV21 (Light Pink), RV04 (Shock Pink), R24 (Prawn), R27 (Cadmium Red), R32 (Peach), and V12 (Pale Lilac); ink: Tsukineko Memento in Tuxedo Black;)

Card Spotlight: A Rose Is A Rose...

I just received some new Stampin' Up supplies...so of course, I had to try them out. The result was this card. The base cardstock is textured Bazzill cut to 8 1/2" x 5" and scored at 4 1/4" on the Scor-Pal. I used two strips (4 1/4") of Bazzill textured white cardstock and the Martha Stewart Lattice Arch Border Bunch to create the edging. The decorative paper is from Die Cuts With A View Once Upon A Time paper stack. The particular design is called "Stained Glass Window".

The border strips are adhered to the decorative paper using my ATG 714 gun. I had carefully picked this decorative paper because I was dying to try out one of the new stamp sets I just received from Stampin' Up. The set is called 'A Rose Is A Rose' (#111560)--and I just LOVE it. It's designed for a two-step stamping process and it enhances the realism of the image in my opinion. I used some Stampin' Up Whisper White cardstock to stamp the image on.

I used Rose Red to stamp the base rose image and used Cranberry Crisp for the highlight image. The leaves were done with Kiwi Kiss and True Thyme. I then cut out the image and used All Night Media Pop Dots for the dimensional positioning. Two lines of the new Glitz Stickles in Ruby Slippers accent the border between the puched element and the decorative paper.

Pandamonium!

A recent project that I have to admit, I really love. The base cardstock is Bazzill. The decorative paper is from Basic Grey and is trimmed using the Martha Stewart Arched Lattice Border Punch. The panda paper is from Prima. A little touch of a Sakura clear glitter pen...and you just have to love a little pandamonium! :-)

Card Gallery

Here's a look at some of the card projects I've been working on of late:


Bazzill corduroy cardstock, Versamark, stamp by Basic Grey (Offbeat), Stampendous red tinsel embossing powder, K&C0. grand adhesions sentiment


Bazzill cardstock, Fiskars edge punch, Cuttlebug butterfly die/emboss combo, Perfect Pearls, Stampin' Up sentiment stamp (Dreams du Jour), Stampin' Up Stampin' Pad (Kiwi Kiss), Dew Drops Ink (Pearlescent Orchid)



DCWV glittered cardstock, Autumn Leaves ornament stamp, Stampendous red dragon embossing powder, Martha Stewart lace edge border punch, Versamark, All Night Media pop dots, Dew Drops Ink (Aquatic Splash)

Apologies & Drippy Goo

Hello dear crafters! If it seems I've done a disappearing act, I must apologize. It's been a long time (too long) since my last entry. There are many reasons for that, but suffice to say that I've been busy crafting in my absence. I have to--it helps to keep me sane!

I've been busy working on many different swaps that I've signed up for via the Cricut Message Board. I've been making ATC cards, greeting cards and layouts (yes, you've read correctly) for various groups I joined. I have to say that I really enjoy working on these themed based projects. For one thing, it forces you to keep crafting and to come up with (hopefully) new and original ideas. I cautiously started in one or two swaps--and now I'm in so many I have to keep a written schedule of when things are due and who they are due to. Yes, like many other things, swaps are highly addictive.

I do have to comment on one swap in particular. For the first time, I signed up for a recipe swap. I actually do like to cook. It's the clean-up I have a problem with. But nonetheless, this particular swap was a major challenge for me. It required a dip recipe layout in 8"x8" size for fifteen participants. I can't even remember what the last layout I did was. I've been so consumed with cardmaking and other papercrafting avenues, I really haven't done a "real" scrapbook layout in some time. So this was a challenging--and in many ways daunting--task for me. I have to say I think the end product came out well (and I will share some photos of it after my swap deadline passes). It was just an amazing amount of work. I used my Cricut for my page titles. But, the finished project involved some hand-cut embellishment pieces, stamping, construction and a lot of journaling. I have to admit, I was a bit rusty getting started. After about eight or nine layouts, the groove started returning. I just didn't realize it would be so much work to do fifteen of the same layout. Not that I'm complaining mind you. I had a lot of fun doing them and it was a good refresher--just very time consuming.

Anyhow, I felt I should drop in and update my blog and apologize for my MIA status. I hope to be more consistent in the future about posting on a frequent basis. Please hang in there with me.

Recently, I added the Martha Stewart Crafts "Drippy Goo" punch to my ever growing collection of her delightful tools. I have to say that this one is quite addictive. Obviously, it was designed for the Halloween season--but its uses are really only limited by your imagination. It's terrific for stylized grass, rain splatter, fringes--and so many other things.

Here are a couple of recent Halloween cardmaking projects that use the Drippy Goo punch. I think it's very eye-catching.

Create--and keep crafting!