Paris…redo

Sometimes adjustments just need to made to cards, and here's one I adjusted. I wanted more color in the background and a more elegant sentiment.

Hero Arts - "Paris"

PSX - "Merci"

Neenah card stock

Distress Inks - Dried Marigold and Salty Ocean

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Kick Start, Days 7 and 8

Days 7 and 8 of the Online Card Class, Kick Start, were "Give Yourself a Challenge." I decided to make a one layer card in French. Ha!

I used masking, distress ink, and a background stamp to fill in the center of my card before adding the sentiment and Gustave Eiffel's tower.

Hero Arts - "Paris"

Stampin' Up - French Script background stamp, Crumb Cake ink

Ranger - Milled Lavender distress ink

Memento - Tuxedo Black ink

Kick Start, Day 6

Julie Ebersole, one of the guest artists for Kick Start, suggested looking at web sites to find inspiration for card making. I chose this photo from Pottery Barn for my inspiration.

I used Operation Write Home's Sketch #123.

I took some liberties with the colors.

Basic Grey - "Out of Print" 6x6 paper pad

Memento Rich Cocoa

Hero Arts - "Year Round Sentiments"

Prima - flower

Kick Start, Day 5

Day 5 of Kick Start Online Card Class was "Smart Shopping." Jennifer McGuire encouraged us to look at crafting items with a critical eye, and she gave us questions to ask ourselves before making a purchase. Kristina Werner showed us how to shop for ideas in a craft store without buying anything. I wish I could walk out of a craft store empty handed!!

I went "shopping" at Ellen Hutson, and found a set of cards and stamps from Hero Arts. You can see my inspiration product HERE.

I used eyelets!! I haven't used them in ages!

American Crafts - "Merriment" 8x8 paper pad

Spellbinderss "2011 Heirloom Ornaments" dies

Stampin' Up card stock

ribbon and eyelets

Kick Start, Day 4

One of our homework suggestions for day 4 of class was to rework an old card or an unfinished card. The card I chose was only a week or so old, and technically, it was "finished," but I wasn't happy with it. 

Last week I purchased the digital cut file for the Hero Arts balloon. What do you get with this file? The first two die cuts in the picture below. I had to make some adjustments to the size for it to fit the stamp from the OWH set "Happy Birthday." On the far right, you can see where I stamped the image using my jig. I still had to trim the basket, and the cut file doesn't include the bow.

Here's my first attempt, including my notes on changes that needed to be made.

And here's my final draft. I'm a beginner in the Copic coloring world, so I used some of Sandy's tips for coloring HERE. I also added a punched bow.

Hero Arts "Happy Birthday" stamps, Silhouette cut file

Fiscars - cloud punch

Marvy-Uchida - bow punch

Copic markers

Stampin' Up - card stock

Neenah - white card stock

Kick Start, Day 3

Today's class focused on organizing supplies. I think all paper crafters find their organizational solutions evolving. I know mine have changed several times.

I keep my stamps on this shelf. (Holiday and seasonal stamps are stored separately, and I pull them out when I need them.) I usually have cards displayed on this shelf too, but I just loaded them into a box for Operation Write Home.

I've been putting my clear stamps in plastic sleeves. I got the idea from Jennifer McGuire on the Paper Crafts Connection blog. You can find a video HERE. I love this system!

This box holds all my dies. I need to organize them better within the box because I spend WAY too much time flipping through them. 

I posted more pictures of my space last January. You can find that post HERE. Things have changed since then!

Kick Start, Day 2

Before you can kick start your creativity, you need to know what you have in your arsenal. One suggestion in class was to catalog inks. I already had my Hero Arts inks done, but I needed to do the Mementos. I like grouping the inks on cards so I can see all the colors at once.

Yikes! I just remembered I have a few Color Box and Ranger inks I need to catalog! Duh.

Kick Start, Day 1

Yes, I'm taking another class from Online Card Classes, and this one's entitled, Kick Start. This class promises to give lots of ideas to kick start the mojo. Today's lesson encouraged us to organize our ideas. Funny, I already use several of the methods presented. The problem? I've been collecting the ideas, but I don't always use them!

The "Card Sketches" book is one I made back in February. I got the idea from Kristina Werner HERE and HERE. She even provided a PDF for the inside pages. The red book is what a tuck in my purse, and I picked it up at Target. You never know when an idea will smack you in the head!

I'm not a big Pinterest user, but I do pin things from the many blogs I visit on the board, "Inspiring Cards."

For color inspiration, I have several options. I usually let a paper collection dictate the colors. Sometimes, I consult my handy dandy color wheel. My favorite online color inspiration is Design Seeds. There's no shortage of color assistance!

I used an idea from Kristina's blog HERE. I was happy to see a way to use those pieces of patterned paper that are scenes. There's a few of them in lots of 6x6 paper pads.

I layered the punched clouds for a little dimension.

Little Yellow Bicycle - "The Escape" patterned paper

Hero Arts - "Year Round Sentiments," "Envelope Pattern," and white embossing powder

Stampin' Up - card stock, scallop edger punch

Neenah - white card stock

Fiscars - cloud punch