STICKY POST

Regular post below

 

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BLOGAVERSARY CANDY RULES 

 

1. Winner(s) must be a follower, who visits when you can...please don't follow just to get the goodies, and thanks. I will mail internationally too.

2. Please post the candy picture(s) on your sidebar (forgot to add this!)
 

3. Will add a few more surprises with each post I can do during the time from March 12 to March 19 when the candy is won. So watch the picture in the sidebar for updates.

 

4. All items are new, but depending on mailing costs, may need to take out of original packing to keep down the postage.

 

5. Please leave comments if you'd like to be considered & if you don't have a blog, please say how I may reach you if you're a winner. Comment moderation is on, so your info will stay private.

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Christmas Card Club Challenge 6 - Quilts

Hello & Welcome once again to our Christmas Card Club Challenge. This week Margaret selected our challenge theme to be Patterned Papers. Received an order from Gina Marie with a quilt die that I wanted to try, and it seemed perfect for this challenge. First time I've used a quilt die, and the piecing is just as tricky as it can be with actual fabric quilts.

My first try was in progress when I realized I'd made the card base as usual: 4.25x5.5 while the die is a 4x4. Already had the frame adhered to the card base when the light bulb went off. So had to cut some more card bases, in a square format. Another realization was it's a good idea to use double sided paper, and you don't have to cut the die but once to get the 2 patterns. Of course if one was skilled at pairing colors, more combinations would work, but since it was my first effort, I tried to stay with just 2 patterns per quilt. Ahem...onwards:

 

Gina Marie 4x4 Quilt Block stitched Flower Burst die - using 2 different pattern papers. This was the first try. Cut the die 2 times using different papers to get the 'quilt blocks'. Another tip is to keep each paper's block all together before cutting the block a 2nd time. Saves time separating the quilt pieces! Embossed the card base on this one with an EF.

The 2nd card with the same die, different arrangement of the pieces changes the design. This is also a 4.25 x 5.5 card base. Embossed the sides of this one with a border EF, trying to place the pattern of the embossing so that it overlapped correctly. Then once the sides were trimmed, the side embossing doesn't show anyway....

- This card base is 5x5 and fits the square in a more pleasing manner, I think. This time I selected a double sided pattern, which means you only need to cut the die once to get the 2 paper patterns. (If I'd given any thought before cutting at the start, I would have realized this! DUH!)

Also 5x5 card base. You can see that some of the pieces & frames of the different papers were interchanged. Outline stickers were used for the sentiment, and perhaps a larger font would show up better. I wanted the quilt to be the focus, so the small sentiment is ok with me. Another option would be to add a circle piece in the center, or a decorative button.

Aside from the rather tedious 'piecing', which I did while watching tv, this is quite a fun die to use. Thought I'd gotten the pieces inlaid quite well, but the camera picked up some flaws that the eye didn't catch. I was inspired to collect some of these quilt dies by my friend Carol L, who makes exquisite paper quilts. So thanks Carol for enabling and also telling me about Gina Marie dies!!

Please do go visit my fellow teamies, whose blog links are on the side bar. Don't forget that tomorrow will be: TA-DA: Random Generator thing-y for Blog Candy 1. So check back to see if you're a winner.

In the meantime, have a lovely Sunday. Big hugs & prayers to those in need of them.

Edit: Thanks to one of my CCC team members I'm reminded these quilts will fit into the Snippets Playground, where I have been too long absent. I didn't say in the blog, but quite a few of the bits used in the 'quilts' _were_ snippets. So I shall be linking in with Mrs. A & Parsnip at the Snippets Playground, Week 273 & 274!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Top of th' Morning to Ya.

 

 

Thanks for visiting so I could wish a Happy St. Patrick's Day to ye, whether you're Irish or not!

Just to share a wearin' o' the green and post the last of the St. Paddy's Day cards. Hope your day is just spiffy, and that you're going to have a marvelous weekend.

Some snippets and papers from the very old stash (VOS - and some of those are snippets too!)

 

 

 

Created this background with an old wooden stamp, and the loopy die is a Gina Marie die. Impression Obsession shamrock is one of my favorite shamrock dies because of the texture of the leaf, and don't remember what company the lucky die is...but the Horseshoe in the first card is part of the same set.

 

Now let's get ready for Easter!! Hugs & come again when you can. Don't forget to keep checking the sidebar.

 

 

 

CAS Water Color Challenge with Brusho Background for Spring

Good afternoon & welcome.Still sorting, storing, etc, and have quite a mess here, but progress is being made. Thanks to the advice of a sweet blog friend, I am trying to think of this effort as 'bites in time'....set a time goal as to how long to work, what to accomplish in that space of time, and rest when the time is up. Good advice, because this is certainly a daunting task.

Hope that anyone in the path of Storm Stella has shoveled out, kept their power going so there was heat, and nobody had any serious problems during the storm.

Check in the sidebar for another blog candy picture...as of now, TWO giveaways. Since the first week expires on the 19th, and I've not done a post until today, there will be a 2nd blog candy. Who knows, maybe another one??? Perhaps I can do one weekly and find loving homes for some good NBUS. And YAY I finally got to 350 followers, so another cause for celebration!!

There is still time to join in with the March CAS Watercolor Challenge. I've been trying to carve a bit of time to make something, and last night, on a little sort break, decided to try the brusho-cling wrap technique done by my sweet friend Loll on this card. Tried the first stage of this last night, so the background could dry overnite. I'm happy to say my 2nd effort turned out better than when I tried the cling some time ago. Think the fact that I used more intense colors this time made the difference.

 

 

 

- Lemon Brusho crystals sprinkled onto dry mixed media (90# canson), sprayed with a silvery/pearl spray - let that bloom. Added Emerald Green brusho, spritzed again with the pearl spray. That didn't seem to spread the colors as much as water does, so then sprinkled Color Burst Turquoise powder, spritzed this with several sprays of water, keeping about 12" above the piece. IMHO, the brusho crystals are easier to control than the C/Burst powders.

 

When this color started to spread nicely, used a cling wrap larger than the background size and just bunched & scrunched it over the wet color. Left overnight. IRL the pearly spray added a nice silver look to the scrunched patterns, but the photo doesn't show this.

 

Die cut with a Gina Marie Double Pierced Oval (and the negative has a nice row of double piercing too.) This die came from Gina Marie site - but couldn't find to link there. Probably just overlooking.

 

G.Marie Spring Flower layering set cut from white snippets...the flower has 3 layers, the leaf has 2.

Adhered together, edged with some Distress Inks. We will soon have dogwood blossoms in our area, and this shape made me think of the dogwoods.

 

- stamped the sentiment from a clear set, cut the snippet into a fishtail shape, scored 2 lines to add a little emphasis, and called it done.

 

Sharing at CAS March Watercolor AND at the Snippets Playground week 271-272, where Parsnip may say "You are a stranger". (but I hope not).

 

Thanks for joining me this afternoon. I'll be back to the Craft Salt Mines once I find some lunch.

Hugs