Drowning In A Sea Of Creative Chaos

Birthday Muffin!

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:49:00 +0000

Today I received four more uber-cute Magnolia stamps from Diana at Magnolia-Licious, so I just had to ink up Tilda with Tulle Skirt right away! I drew the muffin for her to sit atop; popped up on foam dimensionals as you can see by the side shot below:

The background paper is Basic Grey June Bug Crazy Quilt. The edges of all the papers are inked with Stampin' Up's Perfect Plum. Three Wild Orchid Crafts cherry blossoms and a Martha Stewart Oak Leaf punch were added next to the Scrappy Cat Birthday Wishes sentiment, also popped up on foam. I used a Spellbinders die to cut out the sentiment and another Martha Stewart punch (Double Loops) for the bottom of the card. The ribbon wrapped around that is Michael's Celebrations brand.

Here are the Copics used on this card:

Muffin: E30, E33, E35, E37, Y15, Y17, Y21
Tilda's skin: E0000, E000, E00
Hair: Y11, E33, E35, E37
Clothes and boots: C0, C2, C3, B91, B93, B95, B97

If you'd like to use this yummy muffin stamp for your own projects, you can purchase it over at my DigiDrawn site!

Love Birds

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:14:00 +0000

I noticed over at the Copic Creations Challenge blog that the current challenge is for a card with a bird theme. Since I hadn't made a card yet for my Lovebirds digistamp, I decided to create one and enter it into the challenge.

This easel card was made from numerous layers of green and yellow cardstock and Basic Grey's Origins Aromatherapy paper. I used my sewing machine to sew the patterned paper to a cardstock mat on both the front and inside of the card.

Here is a side view to see how the layers are raised on foam dimensionals for even more depth:

The image and it's mats were cut out using Spellbinders dies and my Cuttlebug. The background cardstock was punched with a Martha Stewart punch and decorated with Recollections brown pearls.

The ribbon is by Celebrations from Michaels and the daisies were purchased loose from my LSS. Another Martha Stewart punch was used for the leaves.

Copic colours for the Lovebirds are as follows:

Birds: Y11, Y15, Y17, YR04, YR07, YR09,

YG11, YG13, YG17,

W3, W7, E44, E47 and E49

Branch: E70, E71, E74, E79

If you want this digistamp, head over to my DigiDrawn site to purchase it HERE!

Hey Foxy!

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:01:00 +0000

While doodling the other day, I ended up drawing this little guy. At first I thought I would make him small with stitching lines so he could be a stuffed toy for a Tilda stamp. But I ended up creating the digistamp of him without the lines, about 4 inches square. This way, if I want to make him into a stuffie, all I need to do is add some lines and print him smaller, which is one of the benefits of digital stamps; you can change the size and orientation of the image!

The card I made for Baby Fox (I have yet to name him -- any suggestions???) has five layers (including the card base), popped up on foam dimensionals.

I started with Bazzil cardstock punched with Martha Stewart's Deco Fan set. The next layer is patterned paper (I am sorry, I no longer have the name of it!) matted on more Bazzil. Both are edged with ink; Memento Tuxedo Black and Versa Magic Cloud White. The next layer set are two ovals cut out and embossed with my Spellbinders dies using my Cuttlebug. Again, they were inked in black and white. The top layer is the Baby Fox and sentiment both popped up on foam too.

Flowers are from Michael's Bridal Department (loose), and the leaves were made with Martha Stewart's leaf punch. The leaves were inked with Stampin' Up's Mellow Moss ink and the veins were drawn with Copic G85.

The fox was printed on my Epson inkjet -- no problem at all with bleeding when I coloured with my Copics! His eyes and nose were topped off with All Night Media's Clear Gloss.

The sentiment is computer generated, and the inside of the card is stamped "It's Your Birthday!"

Here are the Copics used on the Fox:

N0, N1, N3, N6, N9
E30
Y32, Y35, Y38
RV11

Do you want this little guy for your very own? Then check out my DigiDrawn site to purchase this digistamp for only $ 3 CDN!

Do you want this little guy for FREE?? Then add your suggested name for him in the Comments. If I choose yours, I will send you this digistamp absolutely free!

Wild About Wild Orchid Crafts

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:49:00 +0000

When crafters praise the products and service from a certain company over and over again, you tend to take notice.

Once such company is Wild Orchid Crafts. The paper flowers they manufacture are absolutely stunning and they are showing up on numerous card crafter's blogs from all over the world.

Just the other day I placed my very first order. Since I wasn's sure which sizes to get, I chose a variety from 4mm to 25mm all in white (save for one which was sold out of the white, so I got ivory). Why all in white? Well, now I can use my Copics to create ANY COLOUR I wish! Besides five sets of Roses, I also chose some Cherry Blossoms and Cala Lillies. I also couldn't resist trying out a few clear crystals too.

To my amazement, the shipping was cheap, and FAST! It took just over two weeks to arrive all the way from the U.K. to Canada.

Here is my first card using my new treats:

And now there is a new blog set up just to inspire us card makers using their product. To celebrate, they are offerring a HUGE blog candy giveaway! Be sure to visit Wild Orchid Challenge by July 11th for a chance to win this incredible package:

I am also entering this criss-cross card (my first one!) into the Just Magnolia challenge.

Details of the card are as follows:

Magnolia Stamp: Tilda With Rose from Magnolia-Licious popped up on foam dimensionals
Patterned paper: GCD Studios "Tinted Rose Stripe" and K & Company "Smitten Pretties"
Bazzill Blackbird cardstock, Red cardstock
Roses: Wild Orchid Crafts
Thinking of You stamp: Danelle Johnson
Memento Tuxedo Black ink for edges and stamps
Versa Magic Cloud White ink for edges
Martha Stewart punch and zig zag punch
Sheer ribbon from stash

Copics:
Skin: E0000, E000, E00
Hair: E21, E25, E27, E29
Dress and Socks: R000, R20, R21, R22, C3
Rose: E50, G20, G82, G85

Fairy Tilda

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:20:00 +0000

I don't think I've used this "Lazy Summer Days Tilda" stamp yet.... with those pretty wings, she reminded me of a fairy so I thought I'd draw a nice mushroom for her to ponder upon.

The patterned paper used is TPC Studio Ancestral Teal Brocade. I inked the edges of all the papers with Tim Holtz's Walnut Stain Distress ink and used my Making Memories distress tool to rough up the edges before sewing the patterned paper to the cardstock layer. A Dollarama Crafts cotton lace ribbon was coloured with Copic # E50 and topped with a Dollarama Crafts flower and leaves.

The mini butterflies were punched with a dollar bin Michael's punch and topped with Diamond stickles to match Tilda's wings.

The sentiment is from Stampendous' "Friendly Messages" set. Here is a side view to show the dimension; I used Scor Tape (if you aren't using this wonderful stuff, get it from Diana at Magnolia-Licious) to adhere all the layers and popped Tilda and the mushroom up on Recollections foam squares.

Oh, and if you'd like this mushroom to complement your Tilda, fairy or even froggy stamp, you can!

Just click HERE to purchase my digistamp for your very own cards.

Copics list for this project:

Tilda's skin: E0000, E000, E00
Tilda's hair: Y28, Y32, E27
Dress: BG10, BG72, C0, C3
Wings: Diamond Stickles over BG10 and BG72
Mushroom: E50, E51, E53, E55, E57

Oh Canada!

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:01:00 +0000

With Canada Day coming up on July 1st I was feeling particularly patriotic... I had a card in my mind that I wanted to create so I spent today immersed in red and white!

"Happy Tilda" from fellow Canuck Diana's Magnolia-Licious store was coloured using Copics and raised on foam dimensionals over "grass" made with Ultrafine Sage Flowersoft. One tradition on Canada Day is for kids to paint red Maple Leafs on their faces; so I gave Tilda one too. Her Canada Day shirt is decorated with a Maple Leaf sticker. She is holding a flag I removed from a little Canada Day doll we've had forever but never really displayed.

The background is a Government of Canada postcard I picked up at a Canada Day celebration a few years back. Yep, I raided my Canada Day decor stash for this card!

Over the background I wanted to portray fireworks.

But how to do that?

Well, I got out my vintage Spirograph!

What fun it was to use my Zig Millennium pens to create a few colourful bursts. (And yes, it DID take me a few tries to get the hang of it again; I haven't used it in a few years). The center burst is also popped up on foam dimensionals.

The fireworks trails are made with Westrim Crafts Rhinestone Accent Flourishes. The centers of the bursts were filled in with silver Stickles for more sparkle.

Inside the easel card I added a red rose from Dollarama Crafts, and two white roses from Modern Romance at Michael's, all three given a dose of sparkle with silver Stickles too.

(I can hardly wait for my first order from Wild Orchid Crafts to arrive!)

The sparkly red paper is something my daughter picked up from Michael's years ago, so unfortunately the piece that was left didn't have the make on it.

A simple white satin ribbon from Offray finished it off.

Copics used:

Skin: E0000, E00, E01
Hair: Y11, E34, E35, E37
Clothes: R000, R00, R01, R01, R05, R08, W1, W5

Happy Canada Day to all my Canuck friends!

Don't forget to check out my DigiDrawn digital stamp site. I am pleased to announce I have sold a few stamps already! If there is anything you would like to see made into a digistamp, please let me know!

Many Many Thanks

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:08:00 +0000

What a nice surprise I received yesterday! A co-worker handed me a small white box with the explanation:

"I was cleaning out my house and I've never used these.... they're not even opened, so I thought you might be able to use them..."

To my surprise, I opened the box to reveal 12 wonderful Stampin' Up Stampin' Spots! These awesome water based ink pads were still perfect; not dried out at all. So of course, I just HAD to use them to make her a thank you card, with a monetary gift tucked inside.

I started out using a Tilda With Letter stamp coloured with Copics.

Using My Mind's Eye papers "29th Street Market Carefree Precious Pretty Petals and Baby Blanket", I edged all the layers with my new inks, including the one punched with my Martha Stewart floral edge punch.

A pink polka dot ribbon was added and I cut two mats with my Cuttlebug and Spellbinders dies.

I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch on vellum and dusted them with ink. The colours I used were Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery. Each one then got a pearl head.

A few paper roses and pearl sprays from Michael's "Modern Romance" line in their Bridal department along with MS Pine Branch and Leaves punch-outs (stained with some more Stampin' Up inks, natch) finished it off.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00
Hair: E50, E53, E55, E57
Dress: RV000, RV91, RV93, RV95

On a side-note, I've added a few more images over at DigiDrawn! If you want a couple of accessories for your Pirate-themed cards, you may just want to take a look!

Birthday Edwin and a New Venture

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:29:00 +0000

Following the Magnolia-Iicious Birthday Bash challenge to "Bling It!" this week, I created a monochrome, but definitely blingy birthday card featuring Bartender Edwin... except I've removed his drinks and replaced them with a birthday cake. Here are two photos; the first one above taken with a flash to show off the bling, the second below without flash to show the shading created by the three layers. First I raised the background on foam, then I added foam dimensionals to the mat under Edwin. Finally, the third layer is Edwin himself, raised on smaller foam dimensionals.

The bling on the card includes paper from DCWV's Glitter Stack. Three layers of papers are metallic. Two layers are edged with Encore Silver Metallic ink. Two silver brads are Scrapmetal Corner Swirls by Autumn Leaves. Ten silver self-stick brads were also used. A sheer white glitter ribbon was run through two layers. A final touch of bling was added to the candle flame with silver Stickles. The only colour on the card, the red flower, was a Dollar Store item coloured with an R29 Copic. Copics used on Edwin: C0, C1, C2, C3, C5 and C10.

And now to the New Venture. In the past few months I have been so overwhelmed with the incredibly nice comments about the extra objects I draw for my cards. I have even mailed out a couple of drawings to others. So, after a week of setting up a new site for them, I have started a blog called DigiDrawn to sell my drawings as digital stamps. Along with the objects I have done to accompany my Magnolia stamps, I will also have other drawings for sale as stamps too.

I would love to invite everyone to visit; even if you don't purchase, let me know what you think. I've never done anything like this before... so I guess we'll see how well it goes. I have seven stamps up so far, with more to come soon.

I hope to see you over there!

A New Pal

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:32:00 +0000

This is a first for me... my first Sketch Challenge! To celebrate two years of the Magnolia-icious Yahoo group, this week's challenge over at their Birthday Bash blog is to use Chris' sketch below to create a project with your Magnolia stamps. (Yeah, I rotated mine 90 degrees which is okay):

I never knew what a "sketch" was until lately; Doh! But it sure was fun to make this card.

I knew when I purchased this Tilda holding Hatched Chick that I could put nearly anything in her hands... as long as it covered the original image. So I drew a little kitten for sweet Tilda to have and hold.

Here's the original Easter-themed stamp I coloured previously if you're unfamiliar with it:

I used two sheets of matching paper from The Glitter Stack by DCWV, matted with two sheets of purple and yellow Bazzil cardstock. All papers were edged with my Copic V09 marker.

I used simple flower brads and ribbon from my stash. The sentiment is hand-written on a Cuttlebug punched tag, nested onto cardstock that was punched using my Martha Stewart lace edge punch. My Cuttlebug was also used to punch out the Spellbinder's oval mat as well.

Both the oval mat and Tilda are raised on foam dimensionals too.

Here are the Copics used on my card:

Kitty: C0, C2, C3
Kitty's Bow: R01, C2
Dress and shoes: B000, B00, R00, R01, C0, C2
Skin: E000, E00
Hair: Y32, E97, E99

I hope you likey!

Daddy's Little Girl

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sun, 30 May 2010 03:06:00 +0000

Thinking about Father's day and when I looked at my Tilda Picking Peaches stamp, all I could see was her holding her Daddy's hand...

So I drew Tilda's Daddy to guide her, and instead of a basket of peaches, made her a purse... perhaps Daddy's taking the lucky little girl to her favorite toy store.

I found this paper in my stash that I thought might look cool, but unfortunately can't recall who made it or what it is called (my leftover pieces don't have the name of it... it's probably buried on the card! Note to self: write down the make of the paper BEFORE gluing it down) Doh!

I layered the background on dark brown Bazzil cardstock, ran a zig zag stitch around it, and popped it up on foam dimensionals. Then the computer-generated sentiment was punched and added. Tilda's Daddy was attached flat to the back too. Then I popped Tilda herself up on foam to create the illusion of depth.

I used my Copics to colour everything of course; and also on the (formerly) white ribbon to match Tilda's dress as well as the (formerly) white flowers.

A few dark pearls kept this easel card fairly simple.

Here are the colours used:

Hair: E30, E31, E33, D35, E37
Skin: E000, E00
Dress, bib and socks: YR00, YR02, E50
Shoes and purse: E30, E31, E35, RV04
Sentiment: B21, B24
Ribbon and flowers: YR00, YR02

I hope you like it; it is so much fun to alter these images to create a whole new scene for them!

Pretty In Pink

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:20:00 +0000

Back to my good old Maggies! Yesterday in between some housework, I was able to put together a very pink card for Sweet Tilda. I used some more of my GCD Studios Rose Colored Glasses Collection "Soft Vines" and "Light Stripe" paper, inked, distressed and sewed onto Bazzil cardstock for the background layers.

I then used my new Martha Stewart Doily Lace double edge punch for the strip at the bottom, inked and embossed on my Cuttlebug. I added a few pearls to this for a touch of bling. I also used the punch for the sentiment base.

I wanted to use a doily (I have a pack of 30 Wilton doilies... gotta use them!) but the colour isn't true white; so I took my Copic RV95 to one side and coloured it in. I then cut it in half and used the white half under the coloured half for more layering.

Speaking of Martha Stewart punches, I am amassing quite the collection, what with 40 and 50% off coupons and a few recent giftcards I've received for Micheals. I have 11 small and 1 large single punches and 10 edgers (4 large, 6 small). So I used two more on this card; my Pine Branch in white and inked, and my new Oak Leaf, also inked.

The flowers are from Walmart, except for the larger rose which I got in the Bridal section of Micheals... I just used good old Copic RV95 again to colour it to match. The pearl spray is also from the Bridal section; they come in a pack of 18 by Modern Romance.

Here are the Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11
Hair: E70, E71, E74, E79
Dress and Socks: RV000, RV91, RV93, RV95
Shoes: C0, N0, N3

Unsure whether I'll get another card done on this holiday Monday; yes if it rains, no if it doesn't as I really should be outside cleaning the yard.

(Fingers crossed for rain!) ;)

Happy Birthday!

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sat, 22 May 2010 17:51:00 +0000

Departing (temporarily, mind you) from Magnolias, I created this card for daughter's 19th birthday yesterday.

I used the uber-cute Penny Black Micey stamp, coloured with Copics natch, and used my Cuttlebug with Spellbinder die to cut it out and popped it up on foam dimensionals. A final drop of gold stickles added sparkle to the candle flame.

The patterned paper is Bo Bunny's Back to Backs. I mounted it on two layers of Bazzil cardstock; all three layers having been inked in black and distressed with my Making Memories distressing tool. I then ran them through my sewing machine for a stitched edge.

I wrapped a bow around the paper, added a rhinestone charm and even more bling with a self-adhesive swirl by Basic Grey. A few white flowers tucked into the ribbon finished it off!

I think she loved it... ;)

FINISHED!

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

(click to biggify)

Whew! Well, with one day to spare, I finished my submission to our hospital art gallery Juried Art Exhibition. This year the theme is "Healing", so I chose to do a collage of Magnolia stamped Get Well cards. I found the perfect collage of nine 5 X 7 frames all attached into one display way back in February when I first had the idea to do this. Over the next four months, I ordered the stamps and uber-sticky Scor-Tape (great stuff!) from Diana at the Magnolia-Licious Store and started to plan what I was going to do. Some cards had to be landscape, some portrait. I wanted a variety of colour schemes and designs. I also wanted to vary the techniques and embellishments...

For awhile there I thought I would never finish on time. But I did! Last night I completed the final card and attached each one to their own frame; using the Scor-Tape to securely adhere them to the front of the glass frames so the cards can be opened.

Here are all the cards in the frame, including an inside peek at each (if they have an inside that is!) as some were slightly altered since previously posting them. (Click on the images to biggify)

Tomorrow morning I hand it in and my fingers are crossed that it will pass the approval process; if so, it will be on exhibit in the hospital art gallery from June to September along with about 50 other pieces created by medical staff.

After months of work, I hope it makes it in. Wish me luck...

Hang In There

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:40:00 +0000

A more fitting title it could not be, for I hung in there and got THE LAST ONE DONE!!!!

Yep, this is the ninth and final Get Well card for a hospital art project that has to have the theme "Healing"...

Of course I had to make a tent card to hang Tilda properly. I made the base out of plain white cardstock, then used my Cuttlebug to cut the opening and sentiment with Spellbinders dies. The patterned paper is GCD Studios Rose Colored Glasses Collection "Soft Vines" and "Light Stripe".

The flowers I purchased at Walmart, and I coloured the centers to match the paper and Tilda. The ribbon is years old, from Michaels. The top is held together with three silver grommets, two of which I threaded the ribbon through.

I always stamp Tilda or Edwin a few times to try out different colour schemes. This time I cut off her hands on the second stamp, coloured them in, and used them to layer her hands, making it look more realistic when holding the ribbon and flower.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00
Hair: E70, E71, E74
Clothes: RV91, RV93, RV95, C2

Tomorrow: The unveiling of the finished framed collage!

Under the Weather 2

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Repurposing.

Recycling.

Reusing.

Sounds green, doesn't it? Well, this time it's blue and yellow. Hey! That makes green!!!! (Ha! I just realized that.)

Because I am getting short on time and my first "Under the Weather" tent card was too big for the frame I am using for this art project, I created "Under The Weather 2" (catchy title, eh? I should get a job in Hollywood).

Actually, that first card was originally "Rain Rain Go Away". Then I thought I could use it for my "Healing" art project so I covered that saying with an "Under the Weather" sentiment. But it still didn't look right with the other cards in my collage, so I re-used the Tilda the old card and made a new landscape proper-sized card simply from cardstock... no patterned paper on this one!

My Cuttlebug was used for the texture behind her, and my Martha Stewart lattice punch was run down both sides of the card so I could thread ribbon through it. I can't take credit for this idea; I saw a beautiful card on SplitcoastStampers and just had to try it out.

Then I had a problem. No deep yellow ribbon. Drat. So I got out my trusty Copics and with a swipe, had the perfect match! Yay!

I raised each of the background mats on foam dimensionals, added a few Dollar Store roses, and viola! A card made in one evening.

On the inside I finally used my Get Well stamp, more ribbon and an umbrella brad I had bought but never used on, my original Under the Weather card.

Here's the Copics used this time:

Skin: E00, E11, R20
Hair: E21, E25, E27, E29
Jacket, boots, umbrella: Y21, Y35, Y38
Umbrella handle: C0, C2, C5
Roses: Y21, Y35, Y38
Ribbon: Y35
Sentiment: Y000, Y21, Y35, Y38

I hope to finish up my last card tonight so I can hand this in for judging Thursday, because I also have a card to make for my daughter's birthday Friday! Yikes!

Well, at least after all that, this long weekend I can make a replacement Tilda with Umbrella for my original Under the Weather card (or, as I like to think of it now, "Classic Under the Weather").

A Hug In A Letter

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sun, 16 May 2010 00:20:00 +0000

This next card made for my "Healing" art project used Tilda with Letter. While searching for greeting card sentiments, I came across "A hug in a letter to make you feel better."

Well, what a perfect match! So I began the card; this time I needed one with purples in it. I found a tutorial to make this Tri-Fold Shutter Card at SplitCoast Stampers so I decided to give it a try.

After doing a bazillion cuts and folds (okay, so I exaggerate; it was only a million or so) I finally got the thing put together, but not before my cat Dakotah knocked it around a few times, causing much swearing on my behalf.

The paper I used was My Mind's Eye Street Market Carefree "Graceful" Elegant Print / Poised Purple Paper (# 291048). I used Bazzil Basics Bouquet and Purple Palisades which was inked using ColorBox chalk ink.

I wrapped a ribbon around the middle bottom panel and added an old pressed purple paper flower I had picked up at an art store going out of business years ago. I re-painted the center, and added some Copics for highlights and shadows (Y000 and V12). The sentiments were printed off and coloured with Y000.

Four Martha Stewart punches were used: The butterfly, deco fan, branch and leaves punches.

My Cuttlebug was used with Spellbinders round and scalloped round dies for behind Tilda, raised on foam for some dimension.

Finally, a few pearls were added for a touch of bling.

Here are the Copics used in this project:

Skin: E000, E00, R20
Hair: Y11, Y21, E97, E99
Dress and tights: V09, V12, V15, RV000, RV00
Envelope: R20, C0, C1

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS ON MY LAST CARD. I WILL MAKE THE DRAW AND DECISION FOR THE WINNERS ON MONDAY SO YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO ENTER IF YOU WISH!

Boo Boo Edwin

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:06:00 +0000

Okay, so that's NOT the real name of that Magnolia stamp.... it's actually "Bandaid Edwin" ;)

This is another card for my hospital "Healing" art project. This time I made a Joy Fold Card (I have no idea why it is called that, but it was my first one). I wanted to create a scene that put this typical scraped-knee boy in a situation that perhaps explains his latest scars... biking in the woods.

I hand-drew the log and then struggled on how to do his bike. But then I remembered that Edwin already HAD a bike (in another stamp)! So I used that one as a model for the bike I drew leaning on the fallen log.

Edwin, the log and the bike are all coloured with Copics, natch. They are also popped up on foam dimensionals.

The paper used was K&Company Tim Coffey Fall Rust Stripe. Both the patterned paper and Bazzil cardstock were inked with Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then while still wet, my Making Memories distressing tool was run down the edges (I had forgotten how good that thing works!) I used my sewing machine to do some stitching on three of the panels.

The brad closure was a tad small, so I found a washer to go behind it. Since they were both a pewter colour, I used Copics to colour them to match the other coppery metals on the card.

A sheer beige ribbon finished off the front of the card. I think. I may add something more to it after I ponder it a few days... it wouldn't be the first time I did this.

But here is where I need YOUR help!

I don't know what sentiment I should put inside. All I can think of is "Take care of your Boo Boo". I know. Lame.

I am certain you clever people can come up with something much better!

So please, add your suggestion in the comments! I would be forever grateful!!!!

Not only that, but if I choose yours to use in the card, I shall send you a surprise by mail...

And just to be fair, I shall also choose another commenter randomly to receive a special surprise by mail too.

So put on those thinking caps - because mine, obviously, is defective.

Here are the Copic colours used:

Skin: E000, E00
Clothes and shoes: E50, E51, E53, E55, E57, E59, W1, W3, W5
Log: E29, E30, E31, E33, E35, E37, E39, E49
Bike: N0, N3, N6
Brad closure: E18, E47, W7

EDITED MONDAY, MAY 17TH 6:30 PM:

Thank you to everyone who came up with great suggestions for Edwin's sentiment! It was hard to choose, but here is what I thought would fit best with the "Healing" theme for this art exhibition:

Thank you Dawn from Creativity With Dawn and thank you for a perfect saying! As you can see, I even found a free "Bandaid" font to print it out in!

The winner of the random gift is:
Cabio of Cabio's Craft Corner! Thank you for your wonderful comments.

Congrats to both of you! Please email me your mailing addresses so I can send you each something I hope you will like. And thank you to everyone for your very kind comments.

Skateboarder Tilda

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sun, 09 May 2010 22:34:00 +0000

Well I got another Get Well card made for my hospital "Healing" art project.

I used Broken Arm Tilda... so I had to make a scene depicting just how this sad event occured. I started out making a Step Card. Then I thought "why not make actual steps and a railing? Skateboarders often try to slide down these rails...

Looks like poor Tilda needs more practice.

I started out with a base of 4.5" by 12" Bazzil Blackbird cardstock, scored it at 1.25, 1.5, 2.75, 4.5, 4,75, 6.5, 8.75, 9 and 11.25 inches and folded it for the stairs. At the back, I attached a seperate piece of cardstock measuring 4.5 by 6.5 inches for the background papers to attach to.

The background paper and matching patterned paper on the step and skateboard are both the same two-sided BoBunny Unforgettable #12U963 paper. Since this paper is all neutrals (grays and beiges), I coloured Tilda in neutrals only too. Silver paper was used behind the background paper and sentiment.

Prima flowers were stacked up, attached with flower brads and centered with silver sticky brads. The white ribbon is meant to mirror Tilda's head bandages...

The skateboard is a piece of patterned paper using my corner rounders and curled with my scissors at each end to make the curves. I outlined the board with silver ink to mimic a metal edge. I drew the wheels, coloured them in with Copics and glued them to the skateboard. To keep the shape of the board, I attached it to the card using a double height of foam dimensionals.

The hardest part of the card was that railing. It took two test models to come up with the proper cuts and scores to create it in 3D. I used heavy silver cardstock and attached it using my ScoreTape inbetween the steps.

Here are the Copics used:

Tilda: N0, W1, W3, W5, W7
Skateboard wheels: C2, C3, C5

Here's hoping Tilda doesn't try that trick again.

Happy Mother's Day!

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Here's an easel card I created for my Mother, given to her yesterday so this won't be ruining the surprise in case she sees this ;)

I used Tilda with Flowers coloured with Copics, of course. This is the first time I've used my new Georgia Pacific paper that I bought on our recent trip to the States. I must say it colours so well. Good thing I bought a few packages!

The paper used for the background is Daisy D's Heirloom Blue - Attic stripe #13918. Flowers are Dollar Store versions coloured with Copics. The butterfly is punched from peachy vellum using the Martha Stewart butterfly punch and highlighted with Copics as well as having Copic-coloured pearls added to the body and head.
Tilda and the sentiment are raised on foam dimensionals; her legs doubly-high as the red background is also raised as you can see from this side view. The leaves and branches are punched using Martha Stewart punches as well.

Here is the card I made for my Mother In Law. No Maggies on this one, just a simple card with Prima roses and more Martha Stewart butterflies; this time punched from a shimmery vellum. Pearls again were used, this time not coloured. The sentiment was coloured with E50. Background paper for this card is TPC Studio's Ancestral Teal Brocade.

Here's the list of Copic colours used on the Tilda card:

Skin: E000, E00, E02
Hair: E00, E79, E97, E99
Flowers: R00, R22, R27, Y17
Dress and boots: BG10, BG45, BG49
Leaves: G20, G24, G28
Basket: E50, E55, E57, E79
Pearls: YR02

For all those Mothers out there: Happy Mother's Day! I hope to spend the day making more cards!!!

Take Care

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sat, 08 May 2010 14:11:00 +0000

My third card for the hospital Get Well Card project: this time Cardiac-related as I do work in Cardiac Sciences.

Tilda with Heart Ornament was used for this one, coloured with Copics except for the heart which was filled in with a Freixenet gold paint marker. Since the marker is opaque, I had to re-draw the heart's original design on the front with black Copic Multiliner.

The Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace punch was used for the background cardstock. The patterned paper is Kraft Kuts Striped Girl by Fancy Pants Designs and both are highlighted with self-adhesive gold pearls of various sizes.

I found a heart charm, but it was silver so I had to change it to gold with the marker too. I also used it on the pearl sprays that were formerly white.

The sentiment was run off on my computer, filled in with the gold marker, then cut out.

The Martha Stewart branch punch was used on gold paper and inserted behind the ribbon bow, along with the gold pearl sprays.

Inside the bottom flap (not pictured), are two rows of lacey layers in gold and burgundy.

Tilda is popped up on dimensional foam and reinforced behind her legs with a strip of flat plastic so she doesn't tear when the card is opened and closed.

Copics used on this project are:

Skin: E00, E11, R20
Hair: E21, E25, E49
Dress and socks: R00, R83, R85, N0
Sentiment inside: R85, E51, E55

I have re-purposed a card I made a few weeks back: "My Rain, Rain, Go Away" card has been transformed into an "Under the weather?" card with the simple addition of a ribbon-backed sentiment.

So far I have four of nine cards done. But I am now down to less than two weeks before this is due.... yikes!

Caught A Bug?

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Here's another get well card for my hospital art project. I used Tilda with Bee, cutting off the bee's antennae and replacing them with wire ones, since Tilda was going to be positioned off the edge of the card front.

I found some Sonnets "Sky Paper" by Creative Imagination for the background, drew my own tree using Copics, Bic Wite Out and Raspberry Fizz Ultrafine Flowersoft. My Martha Stewart Garden Trellis deep edger punch was the inspiration for the fence; I added a strip on the bottom, scored it to resemble planks, then laid some cross pieces at the top and bottom. Sage Ultrafine Flowersoft was used for the grass.

Diamond Stickles were used on the bee's wings for a touch of glitter, after colouring in a bit of skintone and yellow on the left wing to give them the illusion of transparency.

Then I thought Tilda really shouldn't be allowed to be outside with just socks on, so I stamped Tilda Picking Peaches (just the bottom of the stamp) and cut out her shoes. Well, Tilda is being only a tad naughty now; kicking off her clogs before climbing the fence and saying hello to her bee freind.

The inside is just a simple sentiment over Basic Grey Lemonade Saltwater Taffy paper. Both sentiments were run off on my computer and coloured in with Copics.

Here's the list of Copics used for this project:

Skin: E00, E11, R20
Hair: Y21, E97, E99
Shirt and socks: V91, V93, V95, V99
Jeans and clogs: B000, B21, B34, B37, N0, N4, N6
Bee: Y21, Y35, Y38, N3, N6, N8
Tree: B000, E21, E25, E27, E29, G82, G85, G28, G94, G99

Paging Dr. Edwin

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:42:00 +0000

Here's the first of nine cards I am creating for an art collage project for our hospital art gallery.

I started with the "Bartender Edwin" Magnolia stamp, made him a labcoat, stethoscope and pills (instead of the tray of drinks he usually holds). I added a pen, Post-It Notes and scissors in his lab coat pockets. On the bottles and stethoscope, I used All Night Media's Liquid Embossing gloss (Licorice Opaque and Clear Gloss Finish).

My Cuttlebug was used to emboss and cut the sentiments (outside and inside), to cut the corner dies and blue swirls using a Sizzix die.

The inside of the card.

The card was decorated with a Dollar Store flower, Martha Stewart branch punch, Michael's pearls (the blue ones were coloured with my Copics) and a clipbord charm I just happened to have on hand. The patterned paper layer of the background is raised on foam dimensionals, as is Edwin.

The background paper was just perfect; the EKG (although showing quite the arrhythmia) is called Blips and Beeps Robo Stripe by TPC Studio.

Here are the Copics used:

Skin: E00, E11, R20
Hair: E21, E25, E27, E29
Shirt & Tie: BG10, BG72, BG75, BG78
Labcoat & Belt: C0, C2, C5
Pants: C0, C2, C5, C10
Shoes: N3, N6, N9
Scissors: YR00, YR04
Post-It Notes: Y11, Y15, Y19
Pill Bottles: E02, E04, YR00, YR21, YR24, W1, W3
Sentiments and Pearls: B34

Whew! One down, eight to go...

Happy Easter (Egg)

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 03:55:00 +0000

Good Friday we have a tradition in our home... ever since my daughter was very young, we would colour Easter eggs together while watching Jesus Christ Superstar (and a few years ago she and I would have the pleasure not only to see the show live, but to meet "Jesus" himself, Ted Neeley after the show). If you want to read more about that, then head over to my other blog and read THIS POST all about it (with pictures!).

Anyway, as per usual, today was our day to paint eggs. While daughter perfects the art of wax and dye versions, I hand-drew just one:

I drew Lazy Summer Day Tilda on a regular, blown-out chicken egg in pencil. Then, because I was hoping to use my Copics to colour her in as normal, I outlined the pencil with my Copic black Multiliner 0.3. However much to my dismay, the ink refused to set. When I went to erase my pencil lines, the marker started to smear! Gaaah!

So I went over it all again with my fine point Sharpie, then took the egg to the sink to wash away the Multiliner ink and pencil graphite. Which meant now I couldn't use Copics to colour her in. I had to resort to using my older "Fibracolor" markers, which are nothing like the wonderful blending you get with Copics. Ah well... I added Diamond Stickles to her wings, and viola! Done.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Now I have to get some sleep so I can get through cooking and cleaning for Easter dinner tomorrow.

Easter Card and Organization

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:32:00 +0000

With just a few days to go, I still haven't finished my Easter cards! Yikes!

Well, I got ONE done so far. Just a simple card with no extra drawings this time. I guess I'd better get busy tonight to get the other two finished...

Here is a closeup of Tilda on this one. I used lavender Stickles on the egg, and popped her up on dimensionals over some cute paper Diana at the Magnolia-licious Store sent me gratis! Thank you so much Diana! These sheets perfectly matched a heart I had previously made for another card but never ended up using - made from a Spellbinder's scalloped heart die, then run through my Cuttlebug for the dot embossing. Copics were used to colour it and then I sanded it down a tad to highlight the dots. Of course, Tilda was coloured with Copics.

I thought I'd include a few photos of my Magnolia stamp organization today. I have 34 of these cute stamps already, and I soon outgrew the small container I was storing them in. So I went out and bought another D ring binder to match the others in my room, plastic dividers and heavy duty top loading full sheet plastic pockets. I cut off the tabs on the dividers and adhered regular copy paper to each one to make them more sturdy to slide in and out of their pockets.

Each page has two stamps; I stamped a sample and then labelled them with some peel off sticker file folder labels. I then keep the stamp itself on the package it came in; it sticks nicely to the outside of the clear envelope! So when I want a certain stamp, I simply pull out the sheet and peel it off the package. Easy peasy!

You may have noticed that spreadsheet on the left... yes, I keep a spreadsheet of all the stamps I have, and want to get in the future. I record the stamp name, an image, where I bought it, when I purchased it, and a few comments about it. It's an easy way to ensure I don't accidently get a double! (Yes, I AM OCD, how'd you guess???)

I found that when I stacked up the pages though, that I had to alternate the location of packages on the pages; so I adhered the packages on the top of one sheet, the bottom of the next, so the pages would lay flat. I have already nearly filled this binder! (Oh what a shame....) ;)

You may have noticed I have a binder for my Spellbinders on that shelf too. I only have six sets so far, but I store them in a similar way. I purchased full page size magnetic sheets, adhered them to the plastic dividers for stability, then slide them into the same heavy duty plastic pockets. The dies snap to them very well, and it's so easy to see what I need and where it needs to go back! I didn't like that sticky tape they come on; it would often get stuck on my cardstock when I ran them through my Cuttlebug.

Here are the card details:

Background purple paper: K & Co
Matted paper: Magnolia
Stickles on egg: Milled Lavender

Copic colours:

Skin: E00, E11, R20
Hair: Y21, E25, E31
Dress: BV00, BV11, BG10, BG72, N0
Boots: BV00, BV11, N0
Egg: BG10, BG72
Chick: Y11, Y21, YR23

Well, time to get into gear and start thinking about those other cards I need to do. Oh yeah, and plan Easter dinner and some egg painting too...

Looks like it's going to be a busy, but fun holiday weekend! Happy Easter everyone!

Just For You

kuppem@cc.umanitoba.ca (Maureen) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:26:00 +0000

Wow this card took awhile to make; perhaps those 396 leaves on that tree had something to do with it...

...but I digress. I shall start at the beginning.

I wanted to do a card using my new Magnolia Tilda Picking Lilacs stamp using Flower Soft, so I drove over to the local scrapbooking store to pick up my very first jars so I could begin.

That was last Monday.

Then came my brilliant idea (since I now had all this Flower Soft!) to make a lilac tree for Tilda to pick her flowers from... yeah. Tres smart. Instead of simply DRAWING a tree, I realized my new Martha Stewart punch had just the right sized leaves (the same one used on the inside of this easel card). So I foolishly punched 22 times in four different shades of green cardstock. I then had to gather only the leaf shapes (not the flower petals, centers or swirly bits), piling them safely out of the reach of my cat Tawnee, who had plopped herself right in the middle of the table, unable to resist playing with all the pretty confetti I was producing.

I drew the branches and base of the tree with Copics, added glue and attached the leaves and Flower Soft piece by piece, using tweezers and toothpicks. Then I added some leaf details with my Copic Multiliner and glued some Sage Ultra Fine Flower Soft for grass at the base of the tree.

Cutting out that sucker took all of last night. (Click on all the images for zoomified versions)
I added some pearls, ribbon and a silver charm, as well as a layer of mulberry paper with silver threads running through it.

Well, at least I finished it... hopefully next time I'll think twice before trying to recreate Mother Nature down to a single leaf.

Here are the details:

Martha Stewart deep edge punch "Floral Vine"
Bazzil cardstock
Beary Patch 2004 Classic Holly Winter's Day paper
Recollections Self-adhesive pearls
Michael's Celebrate It Holiday ribbon
Floral / pearl charm
White and silver mulberry paper
Stampendous! "Just For You" Friendly Messages stamp
Delphinium Blue and Ultra Fine Sage Flower Soft

Copics:

Face - E00, E11, R20
Hair - E25, E49, E51, E59
Shirt and shoes - N0, N3
Highlights on shoes - Bic Wite Out
Jumper and socks - Y00, Y11, Y15, BG10, BG72
Leaves and grass shadows - G82, G85
Branches - E13, E15
Basket - E55, E57, E59