WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

Hey All!

I need to get a couple of things off of my chest before this post gets started.  Because I feel you are all friends, I wanted to share a couple of things.  Today would have been my brother's 52nd birthday.  He died 13 years ago from complications of AIDS.  Happy Birthday little brother.  I also found out this past weekend that my father passed away.  He and I had been estranged for over 13 years.  I always had the thought in the back of my head that he and I would speak again, but it is obviously too late for that now.  I share this with you because if you have a similar situation, you really need to think about this and decide if it would be OK if the family member you are on the outs with would suddenly die.  I'm OK with what has happened, because it was his doing, but none the less, it is a very weird feeling to have to deal with.  I'm sorry to start out on a down note since this is usually an uplifting post, but I just felt I needed to share.  Thanks for allowing me to do so.  Anyway, out of the downer stuff and onto the fun stuff: . .

I have 3 more cards to share with you.  I've been up in that creative cave quite a bit over the past week and I have more than 3 to show, but I'm saving some in reserve!  LOL  Here is my first card:

I was browsing the web a few weeks ago, and found where someone had used a stamp of a spider holding candy corn.  So, I made my own.  The spider is an Inkadinkadoo stamp and the candy corn stamp is from Recollections.  You can't really see it in the photo, but the design on their backs is colored in with a silver glitter gel pen.  I colored the candy corn with my colored pencils, and drew in the spider web strand on each spider.  The sentiment is from Studio G.  Before I mounted the panel on the main card mat, I attached a fun fur yarn strand to give it a "webby" look and feel.  I used my Stampamajig to align the candy corn up so it looked like the spider was holding it.

Here's the next card. . .

This is in honor of Michelle Zindorf.  I LOVE here style and her cards are simply works of art.  If you've never seen her work, check out her gallery HERE.  I've looked at nearly 100 of her tutorials and just sit in awe of her techniques and talents.  I read on her blog a few days ago that she just lost her Mother. (Seems September is a month for losing people).  So I thought I would try something "Zindorfian" in nature.  The main limb was created by using a Stampscapes stamp that is actually 3 trees.  I just turned it sideways and stamped only one of the trees.  The branches are also from Stampscapes.  The owl is a Martha Stewart Stamp.  I sponged the background masking the moon off with a circle cut with Nesties.  Highlighted the top of the "limb" with a white gel marker for depth.

Here's my last card for the post:

This is an image that my sweet blogging friend Lee sent to me from St. Agnes.   The stamp is by Elzybells I believe. and it sure is a cut1e.  I colored it with my colored pencils and oms.  For some reason my camera always used the flash when I took the pictures of this card, so the colors are a little bled out.

OK, that's it for this edition.  I really do appreciate you coming to see what I've done.  I'll be doing my weekly round of your blogs in the next couple of days.  Can't wait to see what you've been up to!  Thanks to for letting me share my personal stuff with you.  I appreciate it.

Don't forget the "Pic of the Week" below!  I've not quite seen a turtle lay like this!  LOL  Check out his back legs!!!!


Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

Hey All!

It is Wednesday again, and time for another Wednesday Evening Post.  I've got a TON to share with you, including 2 projects with RECYCLING.  You won't believe what I used!  I've also got what I think is a really cool "Pic of the Week" at the bottom of the post, and a photo to share.

I also want you to meet a brand new blogger!  Lee and I "met" when she sent me an email wanting to know if we could be "pen pals".  Lee lives in St. Agnes, Cornwall and was such a sweet lady I immediately agreed.  She sent me several emails and we corresponded back and forth for several weeks.  Then I got to see a card she did and it was wonderful.  I started bugging her to start her own blog, but she kept telling me she wasn't computer literate blah, blah, blah.  So, long story short, she agreed to start a blog because I offered to help her set it up.  She is now up and running and I know she would love for you to visit.  Here is the link to her blog:  LEES CRAFTY CORNER.  She has already got quite the following and has only been up a few days.  Happy blogging Lee!

OK, on to my cards. . .

The first one is a sympathy card I did for a very sweet neighbor.  Her father passed away recently, and I wanted her to know how sorry I was.  Here is the card:

If you click on the picture, you will see that I added Flower Soft to the silhouetted images.  I stamped the image several times and left the space for the sentiment.  I did my own mix of Flower Soft for this card.  I had a jar of Nut Brown and a jar of Bright Orange.  So I mixed  up a little of each to come up with what you see. The stamp is a Penny Black.  Now, here is the RECYCLED part of the card. . .can you see it?  It's the little buckle on the ribbon. . .can you tell what it is????  It is the pop top from a can of Coke!  I got this great idea from one of Gina K's videos over at Stamp TV.  I think it is one of the best sites on the Web.  You can color them with markers and I made mine look like tortoise shell with a copper and gold marker.  The last thing I did was color the white of the ribbon with a tan marker to soften the white.

My next card is my first Fall card of the season. . .

This card started out as a different technique using bleach.  "How did that work out for you Curt" you ask????  Not so much!  Gina K made it look flawless, but mine just looked like I spilled bleach.  Oh well. . .So I started all over and went to a new technique.  Painting with Ranger Distress Inks and an Aqua Brush.  I am so in love with the Ranger Distress Inks.  I honestly believe they are the best and most versatile inks on the market.  I stamped this Hero Arts image with Versamark ink, then embossed it with fine detail black ep.  I used Rusty Hinge, Crushed Olive, and Fired Brick inks to color them.  I stamped the Ranger ink on a clear acrylic block then picked up the color with my Aqua Brush.  The colors are so vibrant.  Your going to see lots more projects where I'm using the Ranger inks.  The sentiment was computer generated.

My last card that I want to share with you is again one with some RECYCLED material.  It is also the first of the Thanksgiving cards I've made this year. . .

Can you tell what is the recycled piece on this one????  Here's a clue, it is part of the pumpkin. . . take a look at the picture below for another clue. . .

LOL, do you think I've lost my mind????  The picture below is the backside of the above. . .

Is this fun or what???  A blogging friend of mine in Texas had made a great card using a pumpkin made out of this.  I went nuts over it, and she surprised me be sending me some of it!  So, I made my card using the pumpkin I made out of it.  Makes you kinda want to start pulling other packaging apart doesn't it???  LOL  My pumpkin was created by cutting out 3 ovals with my Nesties and then I distressed the edges with distress inks and then glued them together.  The "stem" is ribbon obviously, and the sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Designs "Peaceful & Plenty" stamp set.  I forgot to look who did the paper.  Sorry.  It's a simple card but I think it is really sweet and has a country/folksy kind of look.

That's it for the cards, but I am hoping your will indulge me for just a moment.  I took the boys to a local park today for their daily jaunt.  When we take a rest, Gunther has this thing he does where he plops down and starts rolling back and forth (no, he is not rolling in anything smelly - LOL).  As he rolls on his back, back and forth, he makes this guttural, growling noise as if he is frustrated about something.  He has done this for years. However today, he really was into it and when he finished this is what he looked like:

OMG it made me laugh right out loud.  He had all those sticks and leaves stuck all over him, and his bandanna had come up and hung sideways on the top of his head.  I was laughing so hard that I could barely hold the camera still to get the photo, and I was so thrilled at how it turned out.  He is such a HUGE CLOWN!  Thanks for indulging me on this picture, but I just had to show it to you all.

OK, all done.  I hope you've enjoyed your visit!  Please don't forget the "Pic of the Week".  I think it is really a unique one.  Not the greatest shot I've taken but still unique.


I'll be visiting you all in the next few days to see what you've been up to!  Can't wait to see.  I hope you are all well and having a great week.


Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR AUGUST 25, 2010

Hey All!

I can't believe how fast Wednesdays come around!  Time seems like it is just flying.  I hope this post finds you and your loved ones well and happy.  On to this evening's post. . . . . .

I had a hard time deciding what to show you first of the 3 things I'm posting tonight.  So I've decided to post a card first.  This card has something that I think is an original idea, but then again, I just may not have seen it on the web.  Regardless, I've never seen it before so it is an original idea to me LOL.  Here is the card:

I fell in love with this stamp the minute I laid eyes on it!  It is a new release stamp over at Impression Obsession by Gary Robertson.  The stamp is called "Peeking Pumpkin".  I think it can be used for both Fall and Halloween cards.  I used a combination of colored pencils and markers.  I didn't want to use patterned paper because the image is so rich in detail.  I tried doing a scored frame around it, and that didn't do it for me.  So, I thought a little glitter would brighten it up but where would I put it?  So there it is on the photo frame corners.  This is the idea I was talking about.  Look at the pic below:

I put a strip of 1/2 inch score tape on some card stock.  I then used that punch you see at the top to punch out "pre-sticky" photo corners.  Once they were punched out, I simply peeled off the tape and put glitter on them.  The score tape holds it on permanently.  Fun idea?  Or have you seen it somewhere before?  The glitter I used is Martha Stewart and it is called "Brownstone".  

Speaking of Martha, this next project is thanks to her.  Take a look:

It is a cool coffin candy box.  Here are more pics:

This template is wonderful, and as you can see from the pic above, it holds a ton of stuff.  I added the oozing blood using the MS punch.  I also glued the inside paper to the black card stock before cutting the template so that it looks like the coffin is lined with creepy cloth.  I used rough twine to give it an even creepier look.  You can find the free downloadable template HERE.  

My final show and tell is another card:

This is the larger size of the Schnauzer stamp that I got from Bugawumps.  I made this for a friend who has had a streak of bad luck lately and I wanted to let her know that I was thinking about her.  I used the technique of using a Nestability oval die and cut the image so that his ears and top of his head stick up off of it.  I love this stamp so much.

Well that's it for another Wednesday Evening Post.  Hope you've enjoyed it and felt it was worth your time.  I'll be back on Sunday with a new High Hopes challenge card for you.  Until then, I'll be making my rounds of your blogs to see what you've been up to for the past week.

Don't forget the pic of the week!  It is new!  LOL


Hugs and good wishes to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR AUGUST 4, 2010

Hey All!

Happy Hump Day to one and all.  I wanted to start this post with some fun, exciting news. . .take a look at this:

I was the lucky winner of this awesome candy from Jodi over at Inked Inspirations!  I am so excited.  Can you believe she had 4 of these prize packs?  Jodi was one of my early readers and I have so been inspired by her work.  She is so talented and a master at coloring images.  Hop over to take a look - she will inspire you.  Thanks Jodi!  I love that I won!

OK, on to the rest of the post.  As promised, there will be no Halloween projects this post.  However, I am working on more and I will sprinkle them in my future posts all the way to Halloween.  Here is the first card I'd like to share:

Here's the story.  Our sweet Japanese neighbors across the street are moving to Osaka, Japan at the end of the month.  I didn't really "neighbor" with them a lot, but I was so fond of them just the same.  The husband was such a friendly guy, and the wife so very sweet.  When they were in Japan, she sent a couple of gorgeous origami cards to me.  What impressed me most about them is that when they first moved in, they walked around to our houses and presented us with food gifts from Japan to introduce themselves.  I've never forgotten that.  So, I wanted to do something special to let them know that I wish them the very best.  I went online and did research as to what the symbol was in Japanese for good luck.  I then printed it off and hand drew it for this card.  I wanted the card to be clean and simple and also have an Asian feel to it.  I love this technique that I used several months back on another card.  This is a labels die from Spellbinders.  I used the largest die and the smallest die to cut out the windows out of the first one.  Here is a close up:

                                                                  Click on Picture for Detail

The large die cut piece is raised up over the images which gives a great recessed look.  I added a little bling and glitter to give it a more finished look.  The flower images are from Artful Inkables which I have had forever but have never used.  I think they have an Asian look.  I actually "built" the flowers because every piece (stems and flower heads) is an individual stamp.  Inside, I have a computer generated sentiment in Japanese that I also looked up the reads "Gokouun o inorimasu" which means good luck.

My next card is also a neighbor related card.  Here it is:

I made this card for the new neighbors who just moved in to a house here on our cul-de-sac,  This image is from Paper Tray Inks' Board and Beams stamp set (a gift from my super sweet blogging buddy Chris).  I sponged the background sky and used a mottled green paper for the grass.  I stamped the trees, fence and house out on white card stock and then cut everything out and created the little scene.  I took it over with a fresh baked pineapple upside down cake.  Turns out, the new residents are a guy and his two sons.  I know he didn't know what to really think of this guy bringing over a freshly (still warm) baked cake and a handmade card over to welcome him to the neighborhood!  It was such a Martha Stewart moment. . .LOL  It felt very awkward to say the least, and I snickered as I walked back across the street.  Oh well, such is the life of this gay guy.  LOL

The last card I'd like to share for this post is a thank you card I did for a neighbor lady who was so sweet to take me out to dinner for my birthday:

I used two stamp sets for this card, and I'm sorry to say I have no idea who they are by.  These were stamps I purchased when I first started card making over two years ago.  At that time, I didn't know that lots of people were interested to know sometimes what stamps you used.  So forgive me.  The paper is by The Paper Studio.  I used two different colors of inks on the flowers, cut them out and popped them up on the stamped leaf thingies with pop dots.  Matted everything up with Bazzil card stock, added the sentiment on the little banner tag I made using a corner of a square paper punch.  I really like the colors on this.

So, that's it.  I'm sorry I was really windy on this one, but the cards needed some extra explanations.  I want to close this post with a couple of pictures that I would love to share with you.  Take a look:

I love this little couple.  See the little heart they are forming with their beaks in the first pic?  They stay around the house quite a bit, and are always together.  I watched them this Spring give life to two beautiful offspring.  The top pic is of them on my roof one evening, and the second is of them on my fence one morning.  I honestly believe that animals feel what we call love.  And I point to these little sweeties as proof.  I always tell my boys I love them and have since they were pups.  I've taught them to show me they love me back by giving me their paw.  I say "Do you love your Daddy?"  And they will raise that paw so gently to hand it to me.  The amazing thing is that with Shotsy, I will be petting him as I pass by, and without asking, he will extend that paw as if he is initiating the "I love you Daddy".  It simply melts my heart.

OK, mushy stuff over!  LOL  Just had to share.  There is also a pic of the week below for your enjoyment too.  Thanks for spending A LOT of time with me on this post.  Again, I'm sorry I blathered on so.  I'll be on my tour of your blogs to see what you've all been up to this week!  Can't wait to see.

Love you guys!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR JULY 28, 2010

Hey All!


Happy Hump Day!  Hope your week is progressing nicely with no bumps in your road.  The heat here has been unbearable.  It is so hard on people and animals.  I think I hate super hot/humid weather as much as I hate the bitter cold weather we have.


Before I continue, I want to share a little exciting news with you. . .I've been asked to be a guest designer over at High Hopes Rubber Stamps!!!!!  My very good blogging buddy Karen over at "1 Wacky Woman" actually tracked me down and called me from Canada to ask!  I am so flattered.  I will design for a 3 month period starting in August.  I'm so very excited.  I hope you'll check in to see how I do.  I'm very nervous!

OK, on with the post.  I have to WARN YOU!  I have several things to show you as usual, but there is one very DISTURBING Halloween card that I made that might creep some of you out!  LOL  After all, isn't that what Halloween is all about???? hmmmm????  I've saved it to the last so be forewarned!  BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.

Now, the first card is a cutie.  I made this as a thank you card for a very talented and super nice neighbor lady named Nina here in my neighborhood.  She has a crafting room full of stuff to die for.  I went over to her house for the first time last week, and our intent was to just share ideas and have a look see at all of her wonderful supplies.  Well, almost 6 hours later, I couldn't believe how fast the time flew!  It was so much fun.  She had this stamp that I just fell in love with and she was nice enough to let me borrow it (she doesn't know how lucky she is that she got it back LOL!)  I stamped off several of the image to tide me over until the one I ordered arrived.  Here is the card I made with it:

Is he not the cutest???  His name is "Fuzz Butt" and he is from Bugawumps.  By the way, I called and placed my order and the lady that answered (owner) is one of the nicest people to talk with.  We share a huge love for Schnauzers, so you know I love her right?  LOL  This stamp was fashioned after their Miniature Schnauzer named BJ.  Their current Mini's name is Bella and she is adorable.  I stamped Fuzz on white card stock and colored him with colored pencil and oms.  I stamped paw pads on the background strip, added the ribbon loops (they remind me of leash material), and used a sentiment that was computer generated.  I can't wait to get him in the mail!

I also wanted to make her something to express my thanks for her hospitality.  I'd just seen this project on SCS as the project for the week and I thought I would give it a go.  It is called an accordion card holder.  Here is my attempt:

As you can see, you make little divider cards with labels for the types of cards you can store in it.  I put 10 cards in it and they held beautifully.  You can see the accordion sides there in the pic.  I deviated from the original design a bit.  It was supposed to have a flap lid that closed with a magnet in front.  However, I didn't have a magnet so I made a slide over box lid which works just as well (Keeps the dust out better).  The card stock I used was really heavy so the box was much sturdier than using standard card stock weight.  The card stock is by Gartner and it is called "Bon-Voyage Postcards". For the dividers, I used glossy photo paper and computer generated the index names.  If you would like the tutorial for this box see it HERE.  

OK, to the first of my 2 Halloween cards for this week:  Here is the first:

When I first saw this stamp, I immediately pictured the card I would make with it in my mind.  And sure enough, it is just like I pictured it.  The stamp is from Hero Arts and is called "Distressed Frame".  I stamped the image with Archival Jet Black ink.  I then sponged the background masking off the area for the big glowing yellow moon.  Stamped the spider and the bats, added bling to the spider, matted it and done.  The inside says "Hope You Have A Creepy Halloween".  I love it when cards turn out exactly like you pictured they would.  It doesn't happen often with me, but it did this time.

WARNING * * * WARNING * * * WARNING!  Here comes the disturbed, twisted mind card. . .

LOL  How sick is this?  ROFL  This card did not start out this way, I swear it.  I ran the piece of black card stock through my CB with the spider web folder.  I then used Kraft White ink from SU using the "pad to paper" technique to highlight the webbing.  I punched out the spider using a MS punch and used fuzzy brown flocking powder to give the spider some fuzz.  So while I was flipping through my stamp catalog deciding what else I could use for the card, my eye caught this butterfly from Stampendous and, as they say, the rest is history.  LOL  I used white embroidery floss to wrap around the butterfly.  The inside of the card says "HOPE YOU GET ALL YOUR FAVORITE TREATS - HAPPY HALLOWEEN".  LOL   I guess you have to have a twisted sense of humor to appreciate why I love this card!

Well, that's it.  I'm so glad you stopped by to visit.  I really enjoyed all of your creations that I viewed this week!  That is why I appreciate your stopping by each week.  I still can't believe that all you talented people take the time to stop by and look at my "stuff",  let alone comment on it.  I love you guys!

Have a great rest of the week.  Don't forget the pic of the week below!

Hugs to All of You!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

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

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR JULY 7, 2010

Hey All!  Happy Hump Day!  I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.  I took the boys and my Mom and her dog Chunk to the local fireworks here in Carmel.  They were spectacular.   The boys haven't ever been that close to fireworks before.  When they started with these huge BOOMS, Gunther crawled in my lap and Shotsy went behind me and leaned up against my back.  Eventually, they got bored and sprawled out on the grass.  Such goofy dogs!  LOL


This post is going to be picture heavy, so you'll have lots to look at.  I wanted to share with you a note card set that I've made.  Here is a pic of each of the cards in the set:

Here is the box I made to hold the set:

The stamp set I used for this set is by Stampendous.  I love these bright colors.  I was just going to do one of my standard note card holders, but this morning when I went to SCS, they had this box featured for the project of the week.  The box is super easy to make.  You can find the tutorial here: BOX TUTORIAL.  There is a written tutorial as well as a video tutorial.  I used Bazzill card stock for this project.  I stamped the fruit images with Versamark ink then embossed it with clear ep.  I added crystal glitter around each fruit to give it a "sugared" look.  I then cut each out and placed it on the card with a dimensional.  The base card is kraft card stock.


My next project is not a card but something for the boys.  It falls under the altered category.  Here is a pic of the project:

These are wooden letters with little metal hook thingies attached to the bottom.  I got them at Michael's for $1 each.  I used Staz-On black ink to stamp the bones and paws on the surface.  These make great leash holders for the boys.  I also made one for my Mom's dog Chunk.


Something really weird happened last week.  A beautiful hot air balloon made an emergency landing right next to my house in the middle of the street.  I grabbed my camera and took these pics:

I'm standing in my driveway taking this picture; my house is right there in the foreground.

Look at it right there at my house!!!

Here they are deflating it.  One eye witness said that before it landed there by my house, it hit the roof of the house across the street before landing.  No one was hurt, but the guy operating the balloon was acting like that was where he was intending to land.  Yeah, right.  But it made for an interesting evening.


And since we are talking about my house, I wanted to share a pic of the front of it with all of my flowers blooming.  Here it is:

I've never had this many flowers in bloom before!  I HATE gardening, but for some reason the flowers are doing it to spite me!  LOL  Thanks for indulging me on this.  But this is just not something I see every year!


OK, that's it for now.  I've bored you enough!  LOL  Thanks for taking time to look.  I'm working on all kinds of new projects so next Wednesday's post will have lots more to show you.  I'll be stopping by all of your blogs in the next couple of days.  As always, can't wait to see what you've been doing.  I hope all is well in your world!


DON'T FORGET THE PIC OF THE WEEK BELOW!!!  I got a great shot of a wonderful turtle in a pond at a local park the other day.  I was so excited to see how well the pic turned out.


Hugs to all of you!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

HOUSE MOUSE MONDAY CHALLENGE #72

Hey All!  Happy Monday to everyone!  Hope everyone is doing well and had a great weekend.  Thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes I received this weekend!  More on this on my Wednesday post!

Today starts a brand new House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge.  This week, Christine has challenged us with the theme of "New".  New house, new baby, new job. . .you get it.  So here was my take on it:

This is a Gruffies stamp called "Hammock Hibernation".  The great thing about the House Mouse stamps is that they include the Gruffies and the Happy Hoppers which gives you so many wonderful images to use for every theme under the sun.  I chose to make this a retirement card, but wouldn't this make a great Father's Day card or guy birthday card?  I colored it with colored pencils and oms.  The sky was sponged AFTER THE FACT with light blue ink.  That is another great advantage of coloring with colored pencils!  The wax in the pencil resists ink.  I just color the image and then sponge the ink, not worrying about getting the ink on colored areas.  I then use a paper towel to wipe over it.  The sentiment is computer generated.  The paper is from the Paper Studio.  The sun embellishment is made of poly resin  and was bought a couple of years ago from a store that has gone out of business.  Here is a close up because it is so cute:

I really hope that you will play along with us this week.  I'd love to see what you guys come up with.

Thanks again for stopping by!  I hope you come back on Wednesday to see if you are the lucky winner of my blog candy!  I'll be posting the winner on my Wednesday Evening Post.  I already know who the winner is. . . .LOL!

Hugs to all of you and wishes for a great week!


Best,


Curt O'Brien


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

BIRTHDAY BLOG CANDY!!!!! WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR JUNE 16, 2010

Hey All!!!!  Happy Hump Day, and welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Evening Post.  As I explained to you all in last Wednesday's post, I'm celebrating a birthday on Saturday, and in honor of the occasion, I thought it would be fun to give YOU a chance to win some blog candy.  I also missed my 2 year Blogaversary in April, so I'm celebrating that too with this post and candy give-away.  The blog candy that I'm giving away is valued at about $85.00!!!!  So read through the blog and see what you can win and all the details regarding my birthday give-away!

I'd like to start the blog as I always do by sharing a couple of cards with you.  Besides June being the month of my birth, it is also known for the "month of weddings".  I have a friend that said she needed a wedding shower card so I made her one.  This is what I came up with:

I got this great dress and tux template from Lynn Pratt's blog HERE.  She is so talented and was so kind to share a downloadable template.  As with her card, mine is a gatefold too, but as you can see I altered mine to have a sentiment on the front and the card is square and bigger than hers.  I bought the wedding dress paper special for this card.  It is by The Paper Studio and you can see the beautiful scrolling which is done in silver.  The paper itself is sort of like felt, but it is a really gauzy see through material.  So see through that I mounted this paper onto white card stock so that it was really white.  It really does feel like cloth.  The front flaps are separate pieces and attached with dimensionals so they stand out from the dress.  I added a small ribbon to the waist and added a row of pearls for more detail.  For the tux, I simply added white pearls for the buttons that I colored black with a marker.  Here is the inside:

The sentiment was computer generated and the scrolly brackets on the inside were stamped with Versamark and then embossed with Silver Tinsel ep.  It sort of matches the dress scrolls.  This was a fun card to make and I plan on making more variations of it in the future.

June is also followed by July, and July 4th will be here before you know it.  So I thought I would get a jump on those cards.  Here is my first for the holiday:

Aren't they adorable???  This is a birthday present to myself.  LOL  This, of course, is a House Mouse stamp and it's called "Patriotic Wrap".  I made the red and white background paper by cutting strips of white card stock and glittery red card stock and piecing them together and securing them to another piece of card stock so it became one piece.  The glittery red really makes the card pop.  I colored the image with my colored pencils and oms as usual, but colored the background stars with a silver glitter pen and then added little lines coming from each star as if they are exploding behind them.  You can see them better if you click on the picture.  I added a bow and done.  The background paper is really dark navy blue IRL but in the picture it looks black.  The sentiment is inside on this one and simply says Happy 4th!

OK, now for the blog candy . . . . . .drum roll please. . . . . . . . . . .

Here is what's included:


Stampabilities Happy Hoppers Stamp (Buzzy Friends)
325 sheets of 6 X 6 papers! (big block with the bow on it)
1 bottle of Robins Nest dew drops
1 package of square metal embellishments
3 packs of mini brads in taupe, turquoise, and yellow
1 package of Nestabilities Long Classic Rectangles Large (valued at $25.00)
1 package of Nestabilities Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large (valued at $25.00)
1 Rubber stamp from Paper Pretties

How's that?  Would you like to be the lucky winner of this loot?  As I told you in my last post, I'm not going to make you jump through hoops to win it.  All you need do is leave me a comment on this post.  That's it, NO posting a pic on your blog, NO becoming a follower, NO clicking your heals three times, NO standing on your head and reciting poetry.  LOL  Although, I would love to see a pic of that!  LOL  There will also be no long wait either.  You will have until MIDNIGHT (EST) Sunday, June 20th to get your comment posted to be eligible for the drawing.  A winner will be randomly selected by Random.Org, and I will post the name of the winner on next Wednesday Evening's post.  Good luck to all of you!  I wanted to do this to say thank you for all the wonderful support that you all have given to me over the past two years.

Don't forget the pic of the week below!  I hope you are all feeling good and doing well.  I'll be seeing you on your blogs this week!

Love you guys!


Curt


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

WEDNESDAY EVENING POST - JUNE 2, 2010

Hey All!  How are ya???  I want to apologize first and foremost for being a horrible blogging friend.  I have neglected so many of you.  I have not meant to, but my time taking care of Jay has been so much more in demand, it has been hard to keep up with all the blogs I regularly visit.  HOWEVER, things have been getting better slowly but surely, and I am now pretty much back on schedule.  So I WILL BE SEEING YOU IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!  Thank you for being so supportive and understanding.  You have been wonderful!

As I stated above, I'm finally getting back on track hence my Wednesday Evening Post is on time!  LOL  I HAVE A WONDERFUL TECHNIQUE TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY!!!!  Take a look at this:

The sky and grassy hill is done with a technique called MELTED CRAYON.  This was such a blast for several reasons.  First, doesn't it have a Van Gogh feel to it???  Can you believe that sky and hill were done with ordinary crayons and a travel iron????  Take a look at the close up below:

If you click on the pic above, you'll see the texture (which looks like paint) and the glossiness of the finished background.  The "trees" are actually a two-step leaf stamp from Memory Box.  The scale of the leaf made it a perfect tree stamp for my scene.  I stamped the "trees" with Staz-On ink because the finished surface is slick.  I also stamped the sentiment with Staz-On as well.  I just can't believe that you can get this effect with a travel iron!  Look at these great backgrounds I created for future use:

Doesn't this look like granite?  I used brown and pink for this one.  Here is another:

I think this looks like a piece of jade.  The other thing that was fun about this project was going out and buying a big box of Crayola 64 Crayons.  Boy did that bring back memories for me.  When I opened the box and smelled that unmistakable smell of crayons, I was immediately transported back to my childhood.  Wow, the memories that crayons brought back to me.  It was like opening a magical time machine.  Some of the images and memories that it invoked were so vivid and fresh and not thought of in many, many years.

If you are interested in learning this fun technique, check out the great tutorial complete with a video HERE.

The next card I want to share is a card I made for ME!   LOL  I'm always making note card sets for others, and when I saw this stamp, I knew that this would be used for the following note card for me:

I love this Gruffies stamp!  The way the card turned out is exactly what I had pictured in my head when I saw this stamp.  I colored it with my colored pencils and oms.  The paper is by The Paper Studio.  I got another stamp that is nothing but piano keys, and I plan to make a different one using that stamp to create a background paper.

The final card I want to share is on a sadder note.  One of my teammates on the HM design team has a sister who is terminally ill.  She asked if we would send her a card.  She said that she loves frogs.  I don't have many frog stamps, but I did have this one from Anna Wight's "Fish Friends" by Whippersnapper Designs, so I made this card for her:

This was marker colored and the sentiment was computer generated.  I used a CB folder for the background because this one reminded me of frog skin!  LOL  I hope it cheered her.  I also enclosed a small frog charm inside the card for her.

Well, that's it for this post.  Can't believe it is June already!!!!  HEADS UP!!!!  My birthday is this month and to celebrate, I'm going to have a blog candy give-away!!!!  I think I've got some great stuff to offer up, so keep checking back!

Hope you enjoyed the post.  I'll be seeing you on your blogs over the next few days.  BTW, you still have time to enter for the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge Blog Hop blog candy give away.  So click HERE for the details!

Take care all!  I love you guys!  Don't forget the "Pic of the Week"!

Best,


Curt O'Brien


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