The Voice of the Turtle

Do you like goofy? This card was a make-and-take at Karen's in Burton/Davison and the eyeballs make me laugh silly! Inside this card is a phrase to match the outside but it looks better this way as far as a photo goes. The turtle was done in watercolor pencil and I tried to mimic the shading of a real turtle shell. These cards with peekaboo cut outs are so fun to do. You can add 3 D items such as flowers, shells, or eyeballs. Next time I will try this same idea but use a small shaker box set up. I think of Ernie Harwell and his inspiring poetry about the "Voice of the Turtle" on Opening Day of each baseball season. I may be slow but I get where I am going eventually!

Water Color Love

I am so in love with watercolors! Pens, pats of paint, crayon-like sticks and of course, the pencils. My new favorite is pencils with no wood on the outside. I got a box of 24 at Micheal's with my half off coupon a few weeks ago and they are so much fun.

On this particular card I used Tombo markers as I wanted a wet stamping. I was able to get some shading but it doesn't show much in this scan. I did get my bow to lie a little flatter here-just tied the piece in a knot and stuck it on with a glue dot. This may work better with thinner ribbon like this organza type. Five minutes tops with this card too. Changing the colors would give it a different feel depending on the season-or just change the type of flower. Good all around quickie in a pinch.

Sunflower Fair Morning

This was a Make and Take at Stacey's October Open House in Fowlerville. It was fun using the Scor-It Board for something other than scoring cards in half. We did the lines along the bottom and top. The flower was done with multiple ink pads by tapping lightly on the stamp for shading effects. This again is one of those 5 minute cards-the only thing that might take longer is for the glue to dry on the fabric leaves. The leaves come in lots of colors-cream, dark green, black, silver and gold. I wish there had been red! Or orange! If I am not mistaken, the leaves fibers are from May Arts. I got several feet of each.

I think you could use any large flower format for this card and have it come out nice and vibrant. I am going to try it with a leaf collage and possibly with a Pine tree since I have so many pine stamps. I just want to get the variants in the colors on the flora.

Oh Danny Boy..and Other Drunken Songs.

The song Oh Danny Boy always made my gramma cry. She loved how Jim Nabors sang it and also the renditions on the Lawrence Welk Show. It reminded her of home. It is a very sad song, I agree. But most of the singers I have ever heard were so drunk that it ended up funny. Often they would try to hit a high note and beer would snort out their noses. Most of the Irish and pseudo Irish I know are pitiful sots when drunk. Of course, every March 17, we all pretend we are Irish and do crazy stuff. That is what this particular card brings back memories of.

I personally did a 5K race every year-sometimes a longer distance if it gets dark and I get lost! Then it was off to the White Horse for green beer and holding up the wall-you didn't dare sit down because your back muscles went into spasms after running in the cold and wind. This card is stamped and painted with water color pencils. Don't you love the red noses? So true to life, I surely remember. I don't remember where the stamp came from-but it certainly is a "Limey" bunch of characters.

This card is for Jim Blackhurst-all that is missing is him on the table top!

Christmas Bling

This was a card I made a year ago. I had forgotten all about it until I was going thru a zippered bag of ephemera. The papers are from one of the Die Cuts with A View (DCWV) mat stacks from Joann's. I have purchased every mat stack they have done so far and there is always enough to share, so I always give some away. I also collect fibers-and cannot pass by a yarn shop or a sale at Hobby Lobby. Eventually, I will make a crazy quilt afghan with all the fibers I don't use in paper making or that I haven't traded away!

This card is standard A-2 size and took less than 5 minutes including drying of the Stickles! It would be so easy to make a stack of these, just altering the colors or the fibers to give it another look. The most fun about card making is to have no two alike. It's very easy when mat stacks, ribbons, and stickers are so afforable and easy to find.

John Deere

How many summers did I spend climbing on the haystacks and rolling in the lofts in the barn? I remember going to the chicken coop each morning and trying to gently steal the hen's production without getting my eyes pecked out! I hated being the one to go and would beg my sister to do it for me. She wasnt the coward I was.

My winter of 2ND grade was a turning point for me as far as animals and my relationship to them. I choked on a chicken bone and I felt it was a sign. I decided I could no longer eat them-which led to quite a strife in my home life. Being all meat eaters, my family thought I was a freak and still do to this day-I only ate tomato soup and cheese sammies for weeks until I no longer was eating anything. My parents took me to a shrink who messed with my head even more.

I found refuge sitting out in the field on the John Deere tractor about a mile from the farm house. No one looked for me and I could talk to the cows and field mice and felt I was one of them. I still to this day feel more at peace with furry creatures than I do with humans.

This card was composed of the tractor stamp from Stampin' Up Times and Seasons. All the papers are from my stash and the ribbon was something my cat had found and I traded for some catnip! The small flower brads are from Making Memories and the inks are Tim Holtz Distress inks which I applied with a water brush. I used a dimensional acrylic to highlight the fruits and veggies-my favorite food choices. Eat your veggies and meet me at the tractor under the willow tree.