Lenny da Vinci

Moo Cards - Clocks

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:39:00 +0000

The current challenge at Make a Moo or Two is clocks. For my moo cards, I laser-printed a clock onto scrapbook paper, added some stamped images, and completed the project with text printed onto cardstock, and some tiny pieces of mulberry paper. Very quick and easy!

Fall Blooms

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Plumbago

Hibiscus

Mexican Petunia

Passion Flower

I'm still working on setting up my work space after the move, so I haven't had a chance to sew, stamp, paint, or otherwise put much of my creative energy to good use. I did, however, find some time today to take a few photos of what's currently blooming in my backyard, and I'm sharing them here with you for some color inspiration.

Today we also managed to plant some lettuce and broccoli, and are hoping that the mild fall and winter here will be kind to our cool-weather crops. We're planning some extreme container gardening for the spring, in the hopes of not only reducing our food bill, but eating better stuff as well.

I should have most of my supplies put away by tomorrow, and will soon have a few things to show you. I see moo cards and some projects with gel medium in my immediate future...

Sweet Home Alabama!

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:10:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel.

After two ill-fated moves in the past year, in only four days we'll be moving back to the Alabama Gulf Coast. South Alabama is a land of mosquitoes, hurricanes, spectacular thunderstorms, and unspeakable heat, and I love it all! This time we'll be less than 10 miles from Gulf Shores -- close enough to enjoy the beach often, but far enough away to avoid storm surge from a major hurricane. I'm looking forward to seeing pelicans again, and eating fresh seafood, and walking on hot sand, and simply experiencing the lifestyle that comes with living in a coastal area.

Now you know why I've been absent from this blog. My 3-week visit to Mobile was not only for visiting family, but for the purpose of finding a rental property as well. The past couple of weeks have been devoted to packing and organizing the move.

With all my supplies packed, I won't be able to make cards or any other art until at least the middle of next week. At that time, I hope to catch up on a few of the challenge sites, and will also begin planning holiday cards.

Thanks for sticking with me -- see you in a few days!

Paisley Thank You Card

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:20:00 +0000

I'm just back from my trip to Alabama, and am trying to get back into the blogging groove. I've got tons of ideas, but I'm still tired from the drive yesterday, and my motivation is a bit low. I made this card before the trip, and just never got around to posting it here. Scrapbook paper by NRN Designs, stamp and cardstock from Stampin' Up!

Summer Card

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Now that summer is nearly over and school has already started, I'm finally getting around to making a summer-themed card. This blank greeting card was a snap to make, with wavy-edged scissors from Fiskars, Pool Words scrapbook paper from the Paper Studio, grosgrain ribbon, and a stamp, ink, and cardstock from Stampin' Up!.

Hugs and Kisses Stamped Card

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:30:00 +0000

I keep pulling out those 2-step stamp sets lately. I usually just "stamp off" once for step 1, then follow up with the same ink color full-strength for step 2, but I've realized that the result can sometimes be boring. So this time, I used a contrasting color for step 2, and I think it's a lot more interesting. I finished everything off with a scrap of mulberry paper and some grosgrain ribbon. All stamps, ink, and cardstock from Stampin' Up!.

Gone South

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:03:00 +0000

I'm in Alabama now, visiting family, but I've set a few posts on auto-schedule for next week so you'll have something to look at here. Beyond that, there may be a brief dry spell, but I'll be back soon, so please stick with me! I'll try to pop in periodically while I'm gone, since my nieces are well-supplied and I may be able to complete a card or two.

Moo Cards - Wheels

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:44:00 +0000

"Wheels" is the topic this week over at Make a Moo or Two. I haven't participated in a challenge in a while, but I've been saving up a sheet of scrapbook paper that features cute vintage illustrations, and I thought the two images above would be perfect for this creative prompt. Have I told you how much I love to make moo cards? They're the perfect size for using up scraps of paper, they're quick and easy, and they're fun to collect and trade. They can also be attached to handmade greeting cards if you think you actually need to use them for something!

Easy Pincushion

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:35:00 +0000

I love those simple projects that can be completed in 30 minutes or less, and this pincushion from Heather Bailey falls into that category. Go over to Heather's beautiful website to get a free pdf pattern with easy-to-follow instructions. I made one small change, and that was to bring both ends of the ribbon out on the same side (not sure how I managed to do that, it just happened, so I ran with it!), and I threaded the ribbon through the button so I wouldn't have to sew the button on. Too bad I didn't have any fancy hatpins to dress up my photo!

Artist Trading Cards - Turquoise

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:51:00 +0000

Turquoise is the theme over at Think Monday-Think ATC this week, and that's a pretty good thing, because turquoise is my favorite color right now. And that's why I made two artist trading cards last night. I pulled out several paper choices, and couldn't make up my mind, so I just made both. And you know what? I didn't even bring out the rubber stamps!

On the left, I simply cut some elements out of one sheet of scrapbook paper, layered them onto the alphabet paper, and attached that to solid turquoise cardstock. I then punched a 1/4" hole and tied on a charm with a bit of grosgrain ribbon.

For the atc on the right, I used some petals I had cut out from a free sheet of collage elements, and some scraps of printed paper. The stem and the piece of green at the bottom are tiny scraps of fabric I had left over from a bag I made the night before (See, there's something to be said for not cleaning up after yourself right away!). Everything is decoupaged onto a piece of canvas I had painted a while back with acrylic paint.

Tonight I'll probably work on a square pincushion from a free Heather Bailey pattern download. I'll try to post photos in the next few days.

How-To: Boxes from Recycled Greeting Cards

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:25:00 +0000

I promised months ago to post a tutorial on how to recycle greeting cards into tiny boxes, and finally managed to photograph one tonight while I was making it. For a photo of more boxes, go to this post.

Before we get started, I have a couple of tips for box-making success. First, try to use a ruler that measures in sixteenths of an inch. You'll be able to measure more accurately. I don't have one, but I've made enough of these that I can estimate 1/16" fairly easily. Second, look for greeting cards that have a matte finish. For the box pictured here, I used a card with a glossy finish, and you can see cracks in the surface where I made the creases. A matte finish is less likely to do this, and will result in sharper edges and less cracking.

OK, first select a card and determine the largest size square you can cut from the front. You can go smaller than that if you like, but for your first box it's easiest to work as large as possible.

Next, on the reverse of your card front, draw your square, then place your ruler from corner to corner and draw an X in the center. This will mark the exact center of the square. On the back of the card (the blank area or the space where the greeting is), draw a square that is 3/16" smaller than your previous square. Mark the center.

Cut out the squares with scissors or a rotary cutter.

Beginning with the square you cut for the box top, fold all four corners to the center X and crease the folds.

Fold each straight edge toward the center, crease, and unfold.

Note the crease lines in the photo at left. It's important to complete all the folding steps above so that you make the correct cuts in the following step.

Using sharp scissors, cut from point A to point B. You'll be cutting through 2 layers of cardstock. Then cut from point C to point D. Repeat these cuts on the OPPOSITE edge of your folded card. IMPORTANT: You're only cutting on 2 sides, NOT 4.

Fold out the 2 sides you cut, as pictured at left.

Fold up sides 1 and 2 so that they're vertical.

Fold sides 3 and 4 over to hold sides 1 and 2 in place. If the little pointed sides don't stay down by themselves, glue them in place.

Repeat all steps for the box bottom. The top and bottom may fit very tightly together, depending on how carefully you cut and measured, or on your folding technique. Take this into account for your next box, and cut the box bottom smaller or larger accordingly. Be warned, these are addictive!

How-To: Fabric Gift Card Pouch

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:06:00 +0000

I sometimes feel like a gift card is a little bit impersonal, but so many people like to receive them, and they're so much easier to send long-distance, so I end up buying quite a few of them. Last night I was getting ready to put one in a card and send it off, when I came up with an idea to personalize it a little bit. The gift card pouch pictured here took only minutes to make, and I didn't have to buy any new materials for it.

I always have bits of fabric on hand that I've applied Wonder-Under to, just in case I want to do a project like this, so I was able to pull from that supply for my gift card pouch. In addition to the fused pieces, which are used for the outside, the lining, and the decorations, I used scraps of quilt batting (in this case, Warm & Natural).

First, cut 4 rectangles of my background fabric and 2 of batting, each sized 3-3/4" x 2-3/4". Set 2 of the fabric rectangles aside to be used for the lining. Fuse each of the other pieces of fabric to a piece of batting.

Cut your embellishments out of a contrasting fabric that already has Wonder-Under applied to the reverse side. In my case, I used a circle template to mark and cut circles in several sizes. Place those contrasting pieces onto your previously fused fabric/batting pieces and iron in place.

Using a decorative thread (I used Madeira rayon), embellish the surfaces as desired. Decide which embellished rectangle you want for the front of your pouch, and cut one end off at an angle. You could create a fancier edge, but I was trying to keep it simple. Zigzag that edge with decorative thread. This will be the top edge of the pouch front. If you want the edge to be completely smooth, you can use a satin stitch (a slightly rough edge doesn't bother me, so I just used a narrow zigzag).

Now fuse the 2 remaining fabric rectangles to the backs of your other pieces, completely covering the batting. You now have lined front and back pieces. Place one on top of the other, lining sides together, and zigzag or satin-stitch around the 4 raw edges. You're done!

In addition to the gift card, I was able to tuck a few other small goodies into my pouch. The next one I make will be about 1/4" bigger in both directions so I can use it for artist trading cards. The pouch pictured here almost worked for that purpose, but it was just a little too tight.

Artist Trading Cards - Wednesday Stamper/Two Tone

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Now that I'm working 8 hours a day, I'm fiercely protective of my free time, and I don't always use that time efficiently because I'm spending too much of it deciding what I want to do. Tonight, I want to make ATCs, but I also want to finish a book I'm reading so I can stock up at the library again before the weekend. So I challenged myself to stamp something quick and easy, so that I'll have time left over for reading. The current topic at Wednesday Stamper is Two-Tone, and that helped me narrow down my color choices, which really did save time. For the second ATC, I used mostly scraps (have I mentioned that I never throw out even the smallest bits of leftover paper?). Now, I'm off to finish my book. Maybe I'll get done in time to do some more stamping!

Artist Trading Card - Games

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:51:00 +0000

I haven't posted an artist trading card in a while, so I thought I'd play along this week at Think Monday - Think ATC, where the current challenge is games. I honestly don't know why I have pieces of a child's jigsaw puzzle in my house (since all my children are of the 4-legged, furry variety), but somehow they've made their way into my stash of stuff and are therefore fair game for artwork. For this ATC, I roughly edged one puzzle piece with a Krylon leafing pen, and glued a crossword to another piece. The background paper is "Guy's Life" from American Traditional Designs. As always, the folks participating at TMTA have produced some fabulous ATCs, so head on over there and take a look.

Moo Card - Birds

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:24:00 +0000

If you love moo cards, you should head on over to Make a Moo or Two, where you can find loads of inspiration in dozens of styles. This week, the challenge topic there is birds. On the moo card pictured here, I've heat embossed a tiny bird in winter white, and simply layered her over some stamped flowers and swirls in cheerful summer colors. As I nearly always do, I've added a bit of knotted ribbon.

Moo Cards - Black and White

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:09:00 +0000

Finally, I had time to make some moo cards! I love to work small, and the moo card is probably my favorite format for little pieces of art. The nice thing about moos is that they can stand alone, or can be added to a greeting card or other piece of art. The cards pictured here are for Make a Moo or Two, where the challenge this week is black and white. Here, I've simply done some very basic stamping with black ink on white cardstock, then framed it all up on black cardstock. All stamps and cardstock are from Stampin' Up!.

Christmas in June

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:30:00 +0000

The current challenge at Daring Cardmakers is Christmas in June. Not really a tough one for me, because I could make Christmas cards all year long and never get sick of them. I'm still trying to stick with quick, simple cards, and this one was very fast and easy. This time, I thought I'd depart from traditional holiday colors, so I used only black, blue, and white, plus a touch of gold in the ribbon. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug, and the ornament is stamped with a 2-step stamp. Stamps, cardstock, and ink from Stampin' Up!.

Quick Cards - Daring Cardmakers

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:04:00 +0000

The challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week is Quick Cards - cards with a theme of our own choosing, but that take 30 minutes or less to make. Most of my cards are made quickly, so for me this was mainly a matter of deciding which one to show you today. For the card pictured here, I used a 3-stamp set for the basket, and since it's a fairly loosely designed image, there was no need to spend time lining everything up perfectly. For the background I repeatedly stamped a vine across the cardstock - simple! The ribbon is threaded through two 1/4" holes. This card came together in only 5-10 minutes. All stamps, ink, and cardstock are from Stampin' Up!.

Twinchies

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:37:00 +0000

Today's challenge at Wednesday Stamper is to use a "twinchie" format for our stamped project. A twinchie is a 2x2 inch square piece of artwork, and I was completely unaware of the term until today. I'm note sure how I missed the boat on twinchies, but here are my first two. I think I'll probably like this size a lot better than inchies. Stamps and ink are from Stampin' Up!.

ATC - Hands

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Today's challenge at Think Monday Think ATC is hands. Although these garden gloves aren't hands in the strictest sense of the word, I thought they would probably count. For this ATC I used a French script background stamp, followed that with stamped chicken wire, and completed the stamping with bits and pieces from 3 other stamp sets. I then finished everything off with a bit of grosgrain ribbon, tied in a knot. All stamps, ink, and cardstock are from Stampin' Up!.

Heat Embossed Card

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:37:00 +0000

Heat embossing continues to be a favorite technique of mine, and my heat gun, embossing powders, and Versamark pad are always on my work table, ready to go. I prefer Versamark over traditional embossing inks, because it seems thicker and stickier, and stays wet long enough to cover a large area before adding the powder. On this card, I like the subtle design of the background, as well as that little bit of texture created by the embossing. And since our family has lots of special occasions in June, someone will be getting this in the mail shortly!

Moo Card - Cats

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:30:00 +0000

Cats are the current theme at Make a Moo or Two. Here, I've stamped my cat with black ink, then colored him with Prismacolor pencils. I added a few fish to the background (what cat doesn't like fish?), corrugated some red cardstock for extra pop, and finished everything off with a silver cord. Now I'm wondering how long that little bird is going to last! Stamps, ink, and cardstock from Stampin' Up!.

"Thank You" Card with Eyelets

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

The current challenge at Wednesday Stamper is to use eyelets in our stamped work. For this card, I stamped both the background and the greeting, then added eyelets for threading the ribbon. Since eyelets are one of my favorite embellishments, I added some more at the bottom of the greeting just for fun. All stamps, ink, and cardstock from Stampin' Up!.

Daring Cardmakers - Quoted by......

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:14:00 +0000

At Daring Cardmakers this week, Jane has dared us to use a quote on our cards. The quote that I've included here is from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year."

Good advice, I think! All stamps, ink, and cardstock from Stampin' Up!.

Purple and Orange - Inspire Me Thursday

cheryl@lennydavinci.com (Cheryl) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:19:00 +0000

The current challenge at Inspire Me Thursday is purple and orange. No orange here, but this is one of my favorite botanical photos, mainly because of the purple edges on the leaves (a little hard to see at this resolution). I think coneflowers are at their best in this stage of their development - so many interesting textures!