THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR AUGUST 10, 2011

Hey All!


I sincerely hope that his post finds you all well and happy.  Does anyone have any retirement funds left???  Can this world possibly get any crazier?  I just hope the financial effects have not affected you.


I've got some cards to show you, and no, I did not drink while making these!  I'll try not to make that a habit.  I also tried to minimize the full bottle of wine episode by saying that one bottle only consists of 3.5 full glasses. . .that doesn't sound too bad now does it. . .    :P


On with the post!  Here is my first card:

This is kind of a different card for me.  I normally don't do many images like this unless they are House Mouse images.  But this is such a cute image and I needed a get well card for an ill neighbor so it was perfect.  I don't know who the image is by because the image was sent to me by my sweet friend Sue.  I colored it with my colored pencils and oms.  I used the leaf image paper background to simulate the leaves of a tree and even ran the strip of cardstock through a leaf embossing folder to keep the theme going.  Not sure about that pink pillow though!  LOL  But it was for a nice woman and I wanted some pink in there so her little slippers, tissue box, and pillow got it.

My next card was for a very wonderful neighbor/fellow crafter named Nina.  She and her great husband Steve celebrated their 15TH wedding anniversary this past weekend so I made them this card:

I got the idea from an email newsletter from The Stamp Pad (the ones who sells the embossing templates I told you about in a previous post).  However I could not find a link to the actual card.  The images are from Inque and I stamped them simply with Versamark and embossed them with clear embossing powder to make them darker (I wanted more than just a watermark effect).  Stamped the sentiment and punched out a MS butterfly from DP and done.

My last card project has a WOW factor to it and all the credit for this design goes to an incredibly talented and creative lady.  Have you all been to Audrey's blog CUTE AND SOME? If you haven't, you have really been missing out.  Take a look at the card I made using her unique design:

Now, I know it doesn't look like much at the moment (and I could not get a good shot of this for the life of me).  But look at what you get when you slip the belly band off of this little guy. . .

Is this design not the most awesome ever?  She calls it the "Triple Twisted Easel Card" and boy is it ever easy to make!  This is one of those cards that really has the WOW factor.  She has an easy to follow picture tutorial on how to make them HERE.  I actually added the belly band to this card because, when closed, this card is a bit bulky.  The band holds it down and slides easily off to reveal the amazing insides of the card.  The image is a Gruffies image and it is colored with my pencils and oms.  I used liquid applique for the snow on the main image and glitter for the snow ridge on the side panels.  I also used silver tinsel embossing powder on the swirls for a sparkly effect.  This card when opened, measures a full 12" long.  Each panel is 4 X 4 inches.  She even shows you how to have them twist in any direction you want.  I'm telling you, she is always coming up with the most brilliant designs.  Thanks so much Audrey!!!  I hope I did your design proud, and I want to thank you so much for the tutorial.  You are awesome!

OK, there you have it.  We have been having some really hot weather and some great cloud formations.  I took this one this week while walking the boys in our favorite park:

These were some massive thunder heads building and the moon just added a really neat look to the shot.


I loved seeing everyone's work this week.  Some gorgeous stuff out there.  I'm so lucky to think that such talented people come to see me.  Can it get any better than that?


Love you guys!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."