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2004.11.07

I seem to be on a roll here; my sweetie asked me to make some "thank you!" cards for his dad, just like I'd done for my mom -- hopefully they'll be enjoyed just as much. I decided to see if I could re-use some of the things we'd had fun with earlier work, and ended up with four card patterns for him.

The two new designs shown here were created by some wonderful friends who were kind enough to share. This one is hard to see, but has a sparkly embossed zebra superimposed on top of the others. The other two designs used were the embossed cream card created for my mother's gift (shown below in 2004.10.10), and the lovely giftwrappers we created for my birthday.

After cutting to an appropriate size, I glued the lovely stampwork onto a nice white card with "Thank You!" stamped on the inside, so they'd be easy to write on. I must say, having a group to work with really makes a huge difference in both the creativity and the fun quotient. ;)

2004.10.24

I found this stamp -- the spirally star and the phrase "Shine on" -- and for some reason it just reminded me strongly of my sweetie. So, this card is for him -- rainbows and all. ;)

This was almost an accident -- a good friend had this huge new stamp which was just an outline of the lovely color graphic on the wooden handle. Just for fun I tried it out, to see how well it would transfer. It wasn't too bad... so after I did the following card, I spent a pleasant hour idly coloring it in like the graphic, just to see if it'd look okay. I think it did!

Another large stamp that came out far nicer than I expected. Woot! On the inside I added a simple face-page and the stamp "May every day be a celebration of the heart!"

2004.10.10

My mom did something really, really thoughtful for my birthday, which I greatly appreciated. I wanted to say thank you in some way she'd enjoy, so I made up a small package of cards for her. Hope she likes 'em. ;) [Update 10/23: she sure does -- yay!]

The package consisted of 16 cards; four of each pattern I used. I repeated the paint chip bamboo I'd done before, which is shown below, and I used some pretty embossed postcards I'd found some time ago to make a nice, formal looking card.

The Double Happiness symbol is usually used for newly weds, I think, but I figured mom would forgive me that. Red is the color of life and good fortune in Chinese symbology, from what I've read, and the double happiness symbols are to ensure prosperity and good fortune.

2004.10.03

I like gift-giving -- it's a huge amount of fun for me. This year for my birthday I decided to throw a party myself, and I'd give away a small bag of cute little "tchatchkees," or "tiny treasures," covered with a nice stamped paper wrapper, for everyone who came.

Two wonderful friends helped me put all this together -- thank you so much, Michelle & Donji! I had red, yellow, orange, and black wrappers, with the cellophane baggie of tchatchkees taped within the triangle formed. There was also a little hand-made book within each one (also with red, yellow, orange, or black covers) describing some Halloween lore and the symbolism of the little toys within. Click on the thank you tag below for the text of the little booklet.

I was a little worried about how the party and tiny treasures would be seen, since this was the first time I'd ever done anything like this. I shouldn't have worried -- the party was simply wonderfully fun, and the tchatchkees were extremely well received! I had a great time, and we're quite sure we must do this again soon -- parties are fun! ;)

2004.08.13

Yes, it was Friday the 13th, but I've always had good luck on that day, contrarily enough. The backgrounds on both these cards were done with damp sponges and ink, with cut paper and/or stamped overlays. It made for a nice soft swirly effect.

Interestingly, the glitter leopard above didn't "melt" properly, due to the dampness of the paper I'd just been swiping with ink, but I still like it. The tassels & beads on this card to the left were fun to touch up and add as well.

This card was fun. It has some hand-made pressed paper decoration at the top, which I enjoyed learning how to do. The paper also had tiny flecks of brass (or something) in it, and there's a butterfly impressed into the paper. Paper making is surprisingly easy to do -- just messy!

2004.07.07

A dear friend invited me over for some cardmaking, and I ended up with two birthday cards for two other good friends. Serendipity is always such a pleasure! We're going to make a habit of this, I hope -- I really enjoy the gestalt of working with friends. It makes not just the entire process more fun, but you can get good ideas from each other. Cool! ;)

The card on the right was made by smearing pastels across the damp ink, and the butterfly was cut out and stuck on with dots. This card on the left was a whole bunch of stamps, topped off with an embossed gold feather stamp. Then that piece was cut out with raggy-edged scissors, to get an old parchment effect.

2004.05.06

Sometimes you've just got to go with the flow. After a math error caused me to end up with three smaller-than-expected cards, I experimented, for fun and so as to not waste the paper. Each card has a different phrase on it:

• "Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

• "We never outgrow our love for presents." -- Alexandra Stoddard

• "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." -- e. e. cummings

Once they were done I decided I might as well make matching envelopes too. Necessity is a mother! ;)

2004.05.02

The first card I made on my own (I'd made one previously at a "stamping party"). It's rough, but the textures came out really nicely.

The idea for this one came from a book on card-making. The bamboo stalks are those "paint chips," or color swatches on thin papers, which you can find in paint stores.

I made up the stem and leaf arrangement based on a Japanese-style scroll painting I did many years ago. Came out okay, I think.

Speaking of paint chips... the mosaic 'stones' are all paint chips, while the moon is of aluminum foil. It was a Mother's Day card, and part of the interior message read:

In astrology the new moon symbolizes all that is receptive in humankind, the emotional life, and the ability to react. The key word is personality, the inner individual's outer shell that is continually formed and changed by what she experiences... the Mother.
from Carl G. Liungman's "Dictionary of Symbols"

And on the back of each card is a little tiny version of this still-in-development graphic: