Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Sending Hubby to the Craft Store

Have you ever sent your husband to the craft store for something you need?  I did so with trepidation today, because I wasn't sure he would be able to find what I needed, but he was already going out, and, in the interest of saving gas, I thought it couldn't hurt.  I did get one phone call while he was in the craft store, but when he got back.....

It was perfect!  He picked up exactly what I needed! These little antique roses from Prima were just right for this next project!  Wow! He's a keeper!

I've been working on a card for The Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #103.  Here's the photo we were to use for inspiration:

I happen to love using navy blue with neutrals, and so I was excited to see what I could create.


See  how well those little roses worked with the design.  I used Soft Suede card stock for the base and added Sahara Sand and Night of Navy on the panels.  The back panel of Sahara Sand was embossed using a Tim Holtz Alterations pocket watches embossing folder.  The stamp sets I used were SU's Artistic Etchings, Creative Elements, an old, old set called Artifacts, and Something to Celebrate for the sentiment.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up's Cherry Cobbler Seam binding ribbon and I also added some Tim Holtz and Bead Landing gears.


So there we are, and now I'm going to go cut out some fabric to start making a baby crib quilt set for my daughter, who's due in June!  So excited about that!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Mojo Monday 230

This is just a quick one to post a card I made for my first ever entry for MOJO Monday.  I was feeling the blahs of the end of winter and the yearning for some warmer weather, so my card is kind of tropical in flavour, using the Stampin' Up 2011/2012 IN colours of Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade, with a splash of Pool Party Ribbon. 

Here's the MOJO Monday 230 sketch:


And here's my card:



I've had the SU Paper Daisies forever, and the Sweet Stitches brads, too, and this was the perfect opportunity to use them.  It was so much fun dying the daisies in a little water with drops of Cherry Cobbler and Tangerine Tango refill ink. 
I like the pop of Pool Party with the ruffled ribbon.  I used the Fabulous Florets, So Happy For You, and Something to Celebrate Stamp Sets for this card.


I'm also entering this card in the Ribbon Carousel Challenge - RCC42

Aloha! 

All Thumbs

All my life, I have struggled with clumsiness!  My father once said that I was the only person he knew who could walk across a room, trip over an imaginary object, then trip again over the same imaginary object on the way back!  Some days are worse than others, last night being one of the bad ones. 

You see, I fell in love with a card made by Andrea Ewen.  Take a look at it here.  I really wanted to CASE it and it looked doable.  I found some designer paper from DCWV Family Connections stack, I had some Always Artichoke, River Rock and Basic Black cardstock.  I downloaded a vintage newspaper page to use as background, and I had some SU Black Satin ribbon, even though I would have liked to have used the black check ribbon she had.

So I got started, but that's when the trouble began.  I've made many paper rosettes before using Tim Holtz's Alterations Paper Rosette die, but do you think this one would flatten without tearing!  Arghh!  Three tries later, and some mending work, I finally got it to work!  Phew!  Instead of a scalloped circle behind, I gathered two layers of black tulle into another rosette to put behind it.

 Then I tried using my new Stampin' Up Scallop Trim border punch along with the Scallop Trim corner punch and I just couldn't get them to work together properly, even after watching a tutorial on line.  I got one that was close, and I used my basic black marker to fill in the few little holes.  Hope you can't tell!  

I worked hard to make the full bow and add the Bead Landing found object and Prima Flowers rose to it, but then it looked like it wasn't going to fit.  I think Andrea's card was wider than mine, but finally I got it all together!



 It's not as nice as Andrea's, but I think someone will be happy to receive it!  Then I gave up paper crafting as a lost cause last night and watched the end of the Oscars!  I wanted "Hugo" to win something, but there was some tough competition.  Has anyone seen "The Artist"?  That was the first I heard of it, and it really cleaned up!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Happy Saturday!  Just a quick post to show a card I whipped up for a dear lady in our church who has been very sick.  Ken just took over some supper for them and I sent this card along.  I love these colours - Island Indigo, Pool Party and Sahara Sand!  I embossed the vertical banners with three different SU embossing folders, two of which are Adorning Accents.  The stamp sets are SU Bliss and Teeny Tiny Wishes, and the Butterflies are made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit.  I also made this card to enter in the OCCC "Over the Edge" Challenge!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Thirsty

Have you ever been deeply thirsty - parched, cotton-mouthed dry?  I had surgery a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't drink anything after midnight the night before my surgery.  Then the operation wasn't scheduled until 2 pm, and by then, I was so dehydrated they couldn't find a vein for the IV.  When I awoke after surgery, my overwhelming sensation was one of deep thirst and I could only handle ice chips, but they were sooo refreshing.

Have you ever been spiritually thirsty?  I have gone through spiritual dryness that was like a dark night and it was hard to bear, but, in the end, I found the River of Living Water, and it felt so good to dive in!


I want to share an Easter script I wrote, entitled Thirsty.  It is meant to be a multi-media presentation and involves a cast of 7; four men and three women.  It will take around 15 - 20 minutes to perform and includes 9 video clips.  Here are two samples:   1. Clip of  Dryness  and   2. Clip of Water.

If you are interested in performing this script, email me and I will send you a link to a folder of premade video clips you could use, or you could create your own.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Steal Like an Artist


So many people assume that they are not creative.  But I believe that we all have a drive within to create in some way.  Some are just not willing to risk critique, especially their own.  A friend of mine posted this link on Facebook a while back and it was very freeing: Steal Like an Artist!
With that in mind, I'm going to share a couple of cards I CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) from designs I found on Pinterest - a great way for the artist to be a collector.

This card was designed by Claire Daly and I found it on Splitcoast Stampers site - another great resource.  I modified only a little.  Since my card was larger, I added an extra butterfly.  The stamp sets I used were Creative Elements and Teeny Tiny Wishes, by Stampin' Up.  I downloaded and printed a manuscript to use behind the Pool Party panel in front.  The card base is Early Espresso.  I sponged and distressed the edges of both panels as well as using Crumb Cake ink to stamp some of the images on the manuscript in the top left corner.  The decorative label punch created the window in the front panel and I used an Antique Brad and some Basic Rhinestones from Stampin' Up to give it some bling!  I love the look!


The other card I want to share was CASE'd from a layout by Melanie Holtz, but I used different stamps and paper.
The stamp sets I used were Rue des Fleurs and Oval All from Stampin' Up and the DSP is Beau Chateau, also SU.  It gives the card a very French flavour, non?  I used a bit of SU's Victorian Crochet trim on one edge of two of the panels and some Making Memories antique copper brads to finish it off.  One thing I have been hesitant to try is sewing my cards.  I have a new sewing machine that is, as yet, untried and I don't want to dull the needle.  Do you use a special needle for paper crafting?  I just used a Soft Suede SU marker to create faux stitches.  The real thing would look better!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Sunflowers Lift the Spirits

I'm recovering from having had surgery a week and a half ago, and some good friends dropped by yesterday with some beautiful yellow daisies.  Amazing how a few bright flowers can lift your spirits and bring some sunshine into your world.


Interestingly enough, the day before, I had created a card using stylized sunflowers as its theme, because they felt so sunny and optimistic.  I learned a punch technique from Mary Fish, using the 2 3/8" Scalloped Circle punch and then turning the circle slightly to punch in the middle of the scallops, which created a perfect sunflower look.  Here's the card:


Before I go into the details about how I made the card, I should just tell you that most of my papercrafting supplies are from Stampin' Up, and I learned so much from my demonstrator, Tamara Casorso.



The stamps I used were from Stampin' Up's Punch Bunch and So Happy for You.The card base is More Mustard cardstock and I added a panel of textured Early Espresso and some unknown basket-weave DSP I had on hand.  The sunflowers are punched (see above) from textured Daffodil Delight and the centers are punched from textured Early Espresso with the 1 3/4" circle punch.  I embellished it with Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, Early Espresso 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, and some 1/8" Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon. I added a vintage rose from Prima Flowers and an Old Olive designer button.  I wanted to thread the button with some linen thread, but I was out.  I'll have to pick up some more from Tamara tomorrow (that rolls off the tongue doesn't it?) when we get together for Tamara's Technique Night.  I'm so excited to get out of the house!! 

More cards tomorrow!  I've been busy during my recuperation, doing what I love to do - Card Making!

Monday, February 20, 2012

My Two Loves

Hmmm!  Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.  I never thought that I would ever be a blogger.  I didn't think that I had anything interesting enough to say.  But, besides my wonderful husband, children and grandchild, two things absorb me totally.  One is writing and producing dramas, mostly for our church, and the other is papercrafting.  I thought maybe others may have the same interests and we could share ideas and experience for the benefit of all.  So I hope that my blog will be more a vehicle for collaboration, than just a showcase for my work.

I have shared my scripts on another website and been really blessed when others have used them for outreach in their own churches and ministries.  I don't charge anything, but would appreciate anyone interested in using my scripts emailing me to let me know.  My email address is hcooper52@gmail.com.

The first thing I'd like to share is the script I wrote for our church's Christmas outreach this past December.  It is one element of  "One Night in Bethlehem", where we transform our church building into the Bethlehem market place, with crafts and interactive displays, culminating in the play.  I'll talk about how to organize something like that in another blog.  This particular script was inspired by the children's book "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" written by Susan Wojciechowski, one of my all time favourite Christmas stories.  It is called "The Census Taker" and is about how a despised and rejected Census Taker/Tax Collector finds healing and love through learning to help others on that first Christmas night.  Here is the link to the script:The Census Taker .  Hope you enjoy it!

Tomorrow I will share my other passion:  card making and paper crafting! 

Hey!  This could be fun.