Cards when you want to write a long letter

These cards are for when you want to write a long letter. I don't often write long letters, but there are times when I started on a regular card and couldn't fit in all I wanted to say. So I made some cards for those times when I feel like I have a lot to say. They are 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. A whole sheet of card stock folded in half. So there's a bunch more writing space.

The prints are gelli plate prints. The first has printing with leaves on top of it, and some have stencils, or stamps added. Voila, multi media. Some are printed with ink, some with acrylic paint, some with both, some with Posca pen addition, one with die cuts added. It's whatever I feel like doing at the time. 

And so the pile of prints goes down. These are the ones I was satisfied with and didn't want to add another layer or anything. Quite a few more in that pile that needs a little something more. I'll work on those another day. I also have a  bunch of rocks I want to paint, mandelas to make with the dotting stencils, stamps to carve, unending cards to finish, pop up card ideas, a wall hanging to quilt, a big quilt to finish piecing, a bunch of pillowcases to make.... oh I am sure The Idea Lady with Less Follow Through. 

Trying to follow through these days, clear out the cobwebs in my corners and my brain.

Birthday Blessings

 Three cards today, one made at 4 AM when I wasn't sleeping anyway. The first one is a gelli print. I put blues and a bit of green on the plate on top of a stencil, took off the stencil, and pulled the print. I loved it, didn't think it needed any more layers. The Birthday Blessings was from playing around with the Cricut that Loretta gave me, and I was experimenting to see the sizes. I cut out a whole page of these in different sizes, because I love the sentiment for birthdays, and have used it before on cards. Loretta's birthday is coming up, but since I can't send it to her, I'll have to figure out who to send it to. 

The second one is a piece of card stock I used to clean the brayer while gelli printing! I loved the colors, added a touch of yellow with bubble wrap, some stamping, and some glitter. It was fun. I never use glitter, but somehow ended up with glitter embossing powder, I think I got it in a thrift store box. But I was just laughing and glittering away... and now I'll have glitter in the craft room forever. 

The last one is a marble print scrap from a long time ago. You take a box, put a small amount of ink in it, several marbles, and fasten a piece of card stock in it, then tilt the box around until you get the effect you want. Sometimes just little lines like this, or use more ink and it has thicker lines. It's fun. I remember doing a bunch awhile ago, but I was clearing out my scrap box and there it was. 

I'm getting there, using up scraps, clearing out extra stuff. Thinking of my mother in law especially today, since her birthday was in September, and there are strangely no other birthdays in September in our family.  Every other month has at least one. So I'm sure I'll figure out who to send them to. 

Still super smoky here, we're in the red zone, that's second highest. I've been glad for masks, since I've even been wearing them in the yard. 

It feels so good to create. Yesterday I was in a lot of pain, couldn't sleep last night so I made cards! I have decided to just not get anxious if I can't sleep, just go ahead and get up and craft. Why not? Well today it meant I was up from 3 to 7 and then slept from 7 until noon. I don't like that. BUT.... for now, it is what it is. I know there are plenty of people out there in the same boat.

Have Courage

I don't know where this little paragraph came from, but the internet says Henry Ward Beecher. I mean the cutout. I've been cleaning out stuff and there's this envelope with stuff that meant something to me at one time or other. I was reading this and thinking about how true it is, and also came across this little piece of paper with stenciling on it.  Then I remembered the "Have Courage" die from Catherine Pooler, and it all came together. So someone will get a card with this little paragraph in it, because it just seems like it all fits together. 

Two posts in one day. Little by little things are coming together. I think there's hope somewhere here.

birthdays and sadness and thankfulness and trusting

so are birthdays sad? Sometimes, because the one who is having a birthday is so very far away and I have not seen my brother in more than a year, and before that,  years, and before that, years. And my mother and brother share a birthday, so that's sad too, because I can't wish her happy birthday, only in my thoughts. 

However, I have a brother. Even if he's far away and we have to work hard to stay connected. And with this pandemic, it makes me feel alone, because I often AM alone. I go outside and there is so much smoke from the fires it's hard to breathe. My little garden is suffering, it's full of ashes, and the zucchini doesn't ripen properly. Feeling like a failure with that. But it's not my fault we're in a heat wave, and there are like 500 fires in California. It's a long time until frost here, probably November, and I will probably have a bumper crop around October. And more tomatoes than I know what to do with. The yellow pear is NOT a yellow pear, however, they are ripening red, but they're pear shaped.

I've been working hard in the craft room, which I'd like to turn into partly a bedroom, so I can move the bed out of the dining room. It seems so endless, like I can't seem to make progress, but I can get into the craft room, and have even been making cards. I cleaned out 4 drawers, so I AM making progress.

Today's cards are odds and ends, things I had started, or that my sister in law did. She died this year, so there's more sad, I miss her lots. And as usual all the sad comes to the surface and demands attention. All the friends and acquaintances who died this year. Which reminds me that I need to write to Dorothy, whose daughter died a couple months ago. The sadness of seeing the numbers rise from pandemic deaths. The sadness seeing the hate and division in our country. Seeing my kitty lying around and wondering if Now is when she's dying. She's about 15 with diabetes, and intestinal issues since she had surgery from eating a bunch of sewing thread. But this morning she was speeding like a kitten from one end of the house to the other, leaping over furniture and landing on a chair and then falling off and racing out to the garage. Who needs television when she's acting like that!

This (above) is a stencil, then home made ink spray with Catherine Pooler inks

Found this stamped on a piece of paper in a drawer. I remember, stamped with crayola markers on a stamp. That was all I had at the time. I don't even know if I have that stamp any more but it was one of my favorites.

In Real Life, the purples match better, and you can't see the wrinkles, I may iron it a bit. This cross stitch was done by my sister in law Loretta, so I may send it to her brother for Thanksgiving.

I made this card awhile ago but loved it and didn't want to let it go. But I'm sending it to my brother for his birthday next week... That house is dry embossed from a little plastic rubbing plate in a kid's play set and then lightly brushed with distress ink. Twine from the Dollar Tree! Once in awhile there's some really good stuff there. 

Little by little, piece by piece, it's either getting put away or going in the out pile. This is still painful, since it's Loretta's, my mom and dad's, my mother in law's... who have all died in the last few years. 

So, birthdays and sadness. Thanksgiving and trusting come a little harder some days. 

More Cardmaking and Thinking

Sad days, it just feels like endless waiting. And in addition to a pandemic and a heat wave, California is burning up. You know how during an eclipse you can look at the sun through smoked glass? Well it was like that. 

There was ash drifting down everywhere. I went outside to check on my little garden and the plants were covered with ash, the ground was covered with ash, the car too. I didn't stay out long because it was coming down like light snow and I didn't figure it was good to be breathing out there. 

So I've been trying to declutter, and get things out to donate, and I decided to do some card making to use up a little stash as well as reward myself for working hard to dig through the piles and be brave and Let Go of Stuff.

This one is done with resist paper from a pad that I impulsively bought last year and never used any of it. Turns out it's fun, and a quick and easy elegant card with the "blessed" word die from I don't remember where. 

Sometimes when I am card making it's for something specific, or sometimes the plan is to replenish someone else's stash of my hand made cards. It's fun to make cards for them, and they love to use them.

Sometimes I am just making cards to make cards and that's today. So I don't know where they're going yet. 

I've been inspired lately by Jennifer McGuire. She comes up with such wonderful cards.

These next two are a two in one thing. I cut a cover die, then used it as a stencil on one card, and then used the die cut on the other card. And yes, I'm on a "blessed" kick, because I have been feeling blessed. Some days are such sad days, like when I hear of another friend or acquaintance who has died, and sometimes I have to force myself to think of what I am thankful for. There's so much. I am so thankful for a roof over my head, air conditioning, and that we aren't in the path of the many wildfires our state is dealing with, just to start. I am thankful I have a bountiful crafting stash. I am thankful that I remember how to quilt even though I haven't for awhile. I am thankful for the technology that helps me keep connected with my daughter and her family even though she's far away. I am thankful this heat hasn't killed off the zucchini plants even though they wilt nearly every afternoon. I told someone today to write down their thankful stuff, I need to follow my own advice more often. 

Simple patterned paper and a flower I got many years ago from an overseas Yahoo group friend. I used most of what she gave me a long time ago but this was in a pile that I was sorting and it matched the striped paper scrap so there you are. It looks like a more masculine card, so I'm going to find a sentiment that says "happy birthday" and send it off to my brother this week for his birthday. 

My brother and I have had our ups and downs, and he lives far away and I rarely see him, but once in awhile we talk on the phone. Sometimes relationships are valuable but need a little extra work, so there you are.

I saw this technique first on a video by MayMay Made It. It is SO quick and easy, it's just swiped ink on an embossing folder image. I've gotten so I do a stack of these and keep them on hand for a quick card. This is one of my favorite folders, and Tim Holtz distress inks, the little cubes, seems to work best.

I miss being out in a meadow like this. Early this spring, I let one little corner of the yard grow into a "meadow" and lo and behold there were some edible friends growing there. So I enjoyed a little browsing in the garden snipping off some tasty morsels, and learned more about mallow, and how to make a throat tonic from it. So even though I am not living in the country any more, I can still have a bit of country here. There's still one plant out there I've been watering, I have no idea what it is, but it's fun to just wait and see. And there's a dove that greets me out there every morning with a little "good morning" song.

A long time ago I made a bunch of cards with the red "Just Because" that I printed on the computer and just cut it to this shape.and tore the top. I found this lonely one in a pile, and saw another scrap of patterned paper to pair it with. The flower sticker on the bottom matches much better in person, it looks purple, but it's really red. 

My craft supplies are getting more and more organized and it is so fun to just be able to go in there, and whip out a few cards with very little effort. 

So if my house doesn't burn down, I should be able to really get going on card making and other crafting again, I feel so much better when I make time to make things. There are a bunch of rocks I washed for painting, some have a base coat on them. A wall hanging just needs quilting. A quilt is all cut out and ready to piece. 

 And so I write and write, and nobody reads, but still I have this desire to document my life somehow. I know my Grandpa Linton was the same, I come by this naturally. I wonder how things would have gone with him if there was internet? Hmmm. 

The first try with a Gelli plate

I got my Gelli plate awhile ago, but hadn't gotten around to trying it out. Today I ran across the

Biocolor paints, and decided that would work. What I discovered is Yes and No.

The first one I tried looked like mud. I was disappointed, for sure, but hey you can't be perfect on the first try. The only thing I have done so far is watch several videos. I love the abstracts you can do-- I already have stencils from my art journaling with inks so it just seemed like a natural progression. Then I remembered the thermofax screens that just came in the mail, and thought maybe it would work to spark it up.











Yes it did! I love it, and will make it into a card.


Then I got bold with purple and teal. I used the comb tool that came with the biocolor. Lovely.













Then I tried some masks. Apparently Biocolor is too flowing to use with masks, they just stuck on the paper and tore when I tried to get them off. Also, there were no distinct edges.

I think Biocolor is great, I love its plasticity. I think it will be good for backgrounds on the Gelli plate, and doing other biocolor-ish things... but not good for stencils and masks.

So off to the store for some paint. What I have is pretty dried out. The Artsy Adventure continues.

in memory of Dad

  I think I have my head swirling about. I told myself that today I don't have to DO... just BE. I've been running around so much I kind of feel like I am in a whirlpool. I wanted to make some hot glue stencils but can't find the glue sticks. Found the glue GUN though.

Thinking about my dad. The things he created-- anything wooden. Furniture. Buildings. a house! He and my mother designed it and were their own contractor.  He made the house with cement block. Plenty of wood in it though. He made the most beautiful exposed aggregate sidewalk.  A greenhouse. a couple tree houses. A barn. A chicken coop within the barn. Walls, doors. Shelves.

My uncle Lloyd loved to do stained glass, and my dad did some of that. He painted ceramics. He built a wooden car. Made toys. He taught my children (those who wanted to learn!) the basics of wood working. They helped him build walls, a tree house, a doll house.

It didn't dawn on me until recently that my father was an artist. He made the most amazing garden at the facility where he lived. When he could no longer garden, he made photo albums of activities, pets, people... and of course the garden He inspired other people to get involved too.

Inspiration for my journal page. Picture to follow when it is dry and photographed.

thrifty find...

See this stuff? Junk to some. It was all in a bag at a thrift store, and $3. I had been thinking about doilies, so they are welcome. There is a star stencil with all different sizes. A scallopy crown thingy. A bunch of huge stamps designed for using on fabrics. I threw out (actually put them in a bag of unused craft stuff that I am donating to that thrift shop) those yellow things since I 1) had no idea what they were and 2) didn't know how I would use them... but the rest is in my crafty stash. I might even use that embroidery hoop, as a frame for a creation.

They had some other bags, but they were $6 to $9... so will wait, and if they are still there in a couple weeks I know they will also be marked down. If they aren't there, oh well.

that ark stamp I am seeing on a journal page after today's DOWNPOUR...

the sun is shining for a minute...

Today's journal page... a tribute to spring, even though the rain forecast and low snow levels are teasing us. This is from a page of butterfly stencils I got at WalMart. I painted the whole page blue first with acrylic paint, then stenciled the butterflies. The purple one I didn't like the way it turned out the first time so filled it in, then re-stenciled with darker purple.

The stamped letters are Cheapskate again. Gotta get another alphabet.

handing...

Decided to experiment with different paints for stenciling the Mehndi hand. I bought a kid's airbrush system for $7 at Michael's... the "Sprayza". LOL I don't want to invest in an expensive system I won't use a lot; but I will get one if I think I will do a lot. With the "Sprayza" you use your own breath... and I was almost hyperventilating, LOL...

Things that I learned or remembered...

• biocolor is not the best for clear stenciling (the red) it blobs. So use it if I want blobs. :)
• acrylic paint works well with a stenciling brush and is pretty good for detail (the black)
• Distress ink with a foam applicator (the blue) is great for a dreamy look but you can't get into the nooks and crannies but I like the shadowy effect;
• The airbrush is good for fine detail (the green). And of course a better system would produce even better results.

The yellow around the edges I airbrushed. Then I didn't like it quite so bright so toned it down with distress ink (walnut) on a round foam applicator.

I was also reminded of Mother Teresa and her humanitarian work, and that God is always in the reach of every hand...

A great start to the day! Good morning!!

going buggy!!

well the colors are kind of creepy... those are the only colors left in my blopens. LOL... but I can see these as patterns on something or other. The stamps are Inkadinado, and the font at the top is Traci Bunkers' "Cheapskate" font stamps.

And the stencils are really flyswatters. LOL they caught my eye. Don't worry, I washed them before and after, so the bugs won't get painted...

Okay, so I have a strange sense of humor.

Going buggy, but having fun, busting the stress... that's what it is about.

Now of course everything looks like something to be stenciled or carved...