My mom has been cleaning out her basement and found this vintage Christmas wrap. Just thought I would share.

So many birthday's and too little time to do holiday cards. I'm going to have to start making cards way ahead of time. Here's a simple card I did for my sister-in-law.

I used 3 different Cuttlebug embossing plates, Birds and Swirls, Happy Birthday and Swiss Dots. Then the Flowers, Branch and Leaves die set from Sizzix. Again I used the flower technique from Paper Pleasing Ideas. Cut, paste, add ribbon and a little jewel, and it's ready to mail.

Today is my husband's birthday and I made this card for him.

I started by layering up different colored card stock and paper. I added eyelets on the side and bottom. My husband had given me some brass scraps from a project he was working on in the garage so I glued them on. I tied a Fisherman's Knot with twine and glued it to the top. Then added a picture of a Steelhead Salmon I found. The hard part was making the Little Cleo lure.

For the lure I used the foil that sealed a can of coffee. It was thicker than regular foil and I didn't need to fold it for thickness. I then ran it through the Cuttlebug Birds and Swirls embossing plate. I cut out the leaf that looked most like the lure. I put a pin hole at one end then tied monofilament line to it. For the hooks, I cut floral wire and bent them up then glued them to the back.

Here's a simple birthday card.

 I used card stock from The Glitter Stack as my background. The rocket, nose and tail printed on their corresponding card stock colors. Here's the template. Just right click and save image as.

 I glued on clear jewels and colored the cockpit with white crayon. Happy Birthday was printed on card stock then cut out using the Fiskars Frames Elegant template. Finally, I added a jeweled brad.

I must confess being a digital artist has it's advantages. I did use Photoshop and Illustrator to scan and draw. Since I did not want a black tail and nose, I redrew them as an outline and printed them separately on yellow card stock.

I just finished this Birthday Card. 

The background are Cuttlebug embossing plates. The edges were done with ek trimmers. The most involved part of this card is creating the flowers. I used a technique from Paper Pleasing Ideas.

The key is to really break down the card stock fibers so it's easy to peel apart. I did the small flowers using the same peel apart method but sewed them in the center with a seed bead. The leaves are a Sizzix die. Then I embellished it with pearls by Recollections and tiny flower punches.

Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to mail it. I may have to make a box. Enjoy! Carol

Halloween Card

I've been viewing Pinterest and am amazed at all the card pinnings and blogs out there. So I decided to get on board. Now I have several boards all about cards in Pinterest. I purchased all kinds of paper and card stock, punches and a Cuttlebug and now I'm hooked. My first attempt may not be as elaborate but here it is. A Halloween Card.

I used a Martha Stewart punch around the page Spider punch. The black background was then embossed with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots. The orange circle was embossed with Cuttlebug's Musical Flourish. The caption balloon was an ek tools punch. The cat and bats are a font called Helloween 2. I used a double stick 1/8" thick adhesive behind the orange circle, cat, bats and balloon. Then I covered it with spider webing. Happy Halloween!

Coming Soon

So things are a little crazy busy and I haven't been able to get to this blog like I was hoping. I hope to have more photos from an upcoming trip to Ludington. My first real fishing trip where we'll be catching salmon and steelhead. Can't wait!

Lensbaby Fun

I was at a picnic a couple weeks ago with friends. A fellow photographer pulled out a lens for me to try. It was a lensbaby. I've never used one before but found it to be a lot of fun. I took a lot of portraits and most turned out great! So I had to have one and bought the Lensbaby Muse on Amazon.

It's a matter of finding the sweet spot to keep in focus while everything else is a blur. You can get very close as in the picture above or shoot from a distance as in the photo bellow.

It comes with 5 aperture rings with the f/4 installed. It takes a little practice to move the lens around. Also the lens does not communicate electronically with my camera body. I'm using a Canon 50D. So I was constantly adjusting to get the right lighting.

I just covered an event at one of the local parks called the Ste. Claire Voyager Encampment. It's an event where people are dressed up in period costumes from the 1700's and they camp out over the weekend living as they would have back then. 

Well I have over 200 photos to edit and I took about a 50 of them with the Lensbaby. I'm really exited about these. Can't wait to show them. Anyway, if you're looking for something fun to do with your camera, try the Lensbaby. I suggest checking out some of the videos on YouTube and the Lensbabywebsite.