RIP AND FLIP POPPIES

I send my deepest apprerciation and kudos to Jessica Taylor for sharing the wonderful technique I used in this card.

Stampin' Up! is well-known for their exquisite Designer Series Papers. There are so many times that I really love BOTH sides of a single sheet of DSP. Therein lies a huge problem. Which do I choose for my project? Or should I even cut it up at all and rather hoard it in my ever-growiing stash?

Well, Jessica in her wisdom, has solved the problem somewhat. She shares a technique she has coined Rip and Flip, in which you can enjoy BOTH sides of the paper in a single project!

Even if you decide to add to your stash, you can get away with parting with only a small portion of a lovely piece. In using your DSP in this way, you will need a piece that measures a mere 4" x oh, maybe 5 3/8". Then stick the rest of the sheet away.

A closeup of the meshing of the two sides of a piece of beautiful Designer Series Paper.

Even though it's a really easy technique to try, here is a tutorial on how to accomplish this look.

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Poppy Designer Series Paper

Die Cutting/Embossing Machine

Happy Birthday die

Basic Pearls (to dot the "i")

Yes! That's ALL you need to make this easy card!

DIRECTIONS:

This is honestly the EASIEST card you will ever make, but still looks like a million bucks!

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a piece of gorgeous Designer Series Paper that looks good and coordinates well on BOTH sides. This piece should measure 4" x 5 3/8".

Holding this piece of DSP, tear off a section -- being sure to tear TOWARDS you. I tore off about an inch and a quarter. The reason you tear towards you is so you get that wonderful white torn edge.

Now, flip the torn-off piece over and add these two pieces to the card base, overlapping them a bit and keeping the white torn edge showing..

From white cardstock, die cut a small greeting. Add this to the smaller torn portion.

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Joint undertakings stand a better chance 

when they benefit both sides.

- Eurpides -

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Both

Sides

Smiles.

#365birds NOVEMBER 2022

I have been a member of Terry Runyan's #dailycreating group for nearly 3 1/2 years now. Up until recently I had been pretty faithful about following Terry's daily prompts. While I am still a part of her wonderful family-like group in that I post every day, I am not following her prompts right now.

In fact, I am marching to my own drummer, #365birds. After finishing Birdtober, and enjoying it so very much, I decided to set a challenge for myself. I took a few days to compile a list of 365 birds from all around the world. I typed up, printed out, and cut each bird name into strips of paper which I threw into a large glass jar. Each morning, I randomly pick a name from the jar, and that is my prompt for the day. 

I started this on November 3, 2022. That means I will complete this challenge on November 2, 2023. Gulp. Today I drew bird 62. I haven't missed any days yet, and hopefully that will continue for all of the 365 days. 

This post will feature a handful of the birds I've drawn since my challenge started on November 3. As I always do, I will add the bird's name and pertinent information above each of the portraits.

day 5 - prothonotary warbler

southeastern ontario and eastern united states

day 6 - scale-feathered malkoha

philippines

day 10 - spotted pardalote

australia

day 11 - great horned owl

north america / south america

day 13 - sandhill crane

united states

day 16 - strawberry finch

india

day 17 - silver-throated tanager

costa rica / ecuador

day 18 - red-crested turaco

angola / southwestern africa

day 19 - purple finch

north america

day 20 = mandarin duck

far east

day 22 - golden-hooded tanager

southern mexico / western ecuador

day 26 - livingstone's turaco

sub-tropical lowlands of southeastern africa

day 27 - palawan peacock pheasant

philippines rainforest

day 28 - dusky lory

papua-new guinea and indonesia

Well, there you have a sampler of my November sketches. If you would like prints of any of my drawings, I am always open for that. Just let me know!

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Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, 

life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

- Langston Hughes -

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Dreamy

Smiles.

ARGYLE

Do any of you remember argyle socks? Maybe they're even a thing yet. Dunno. Anyway, back when I was younger, they were definitely a thing. 

When I came across the die set All That Dies, I was reminded of argyle, and, of course, got excited. 

I still am bothered by my choices, however, in this card. I always associate argyle with being masculine. Right? So, why did I pair up the argyle design with a classic floral print. Yin/Yang? Or can we just look at it as combining design styles? Give your opinion on this very crucial matter.

Whatever we decide about the rightness or wrongness (?) of this card, I am drawn to the looks of the card. 

I definitely love the sentiment on it!

I don't know if you can see the Polished Dots 

in the center of each of the argyle diecuts? 

Here you go, a tutorial to recreate a card like this.

SUPPLIES

Cream-colored cardstock

Poppy Parade cardstock

Cream/Poppy Parade Designer Series Paper

Through It Together stamp set (page 69, Annual Catalog)

Die Cutting/Embossing Machine

Perfect Parcels die (For the label. If you don't have this die set, so many label dies would work)

All That Dies (page 164, Annual Catalog)

Polished Dots

Stampin' Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of cream-colored cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

To this, leaving even margins at the top, bottom and right side, add a 2 1/2" x 5 1/4" piece of Designer Series Paper.

Cut a piece of Poppy Parade cardstock to 1 3/4" x 5 1/4", and to this, add a piece of cream cardstock that measures 1 1/2" x 5".

Adhere this to the card front, leaving a similar border at the fold.. This may overlap the DSP a bit, which is fine.

From Poppy Parade cardstock, use the argyle dies from the All That Dies and cut three of the shapes.

Starting with the center argyle shape, add this to the cream strip, followed by the remaining two, spacing them evenly.

To the centers of each of the argyle shapes, add Polished Dots.

On a scrap of the cream cardstock, stamp a sentiment in Poppy Parade ink. Die cut this with a suitably sized label die. Add this to the bottom portion of the card over the DSP with a couple Stampin' Dimensionals.

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Good, old-fashioned ways keep hearts sweet, 

heads sane, hands busy.

- Louisa May Alcott -

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Old-Fashioned

Smiles.

SERENDIPITOUS THANKS

Have you ever made a sheet of Serendipity Paper? It's very time consuming, but oh, so very worth it when you finish. 

Every few years, I get the hankering to make a sheet of Serendipity Paper. I haven't done it for awhile, so I guess I'm due. 

I'm sure you're asking "What is Serendipity Paper?" If you look online, you can find a plethora of ways to create your own Serendipity Paper, and I've done it several of these ways. But, the sheet I used in my card is one of my favorite ways to create a sheet of this.

The four squares on the card are cut from my single piece of Serendipity Paper.

This card is basically quite flat. 

A closeup and personal view of the four Serendipity Paper squares, 

Each one has its own personality and is a unique work of art. 

They are mini collages.

I used all sorts of metallic embossing on my sheet, so I followed through on my "embellishment" by embossing in copper a small sheet of white cardstock and punching out little 1/4" circles with a paper punch. I love how that brought everything together. You can see my homemade embellishment in the center of the black circle,

The sheet of Serendipity Paper is done on a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock, then cut into 1" squares to use for whatever puspose you want. 

While the rest of the card is fairly self-explanatory, I will just give you a tutorial on how to make your own sheet of Serendipity Paper.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Grab an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock in pretty much any color. A neutral or black works well, but really depends on the other colors you're working with.

Go through any types of scraps you have, but nothing just too busy because you want to create your own busy-ness. Have something of a color palette in mind -- don't make it too haphazard,. For example, my Serendipity Paper was made up of autumn colors.

Tear the scraps or cut them into strips, or use a combination of whatever you want. Start out by haphazardly gluing random pieces to the large piece of cardstock. There is no rhyme or reason to how these are to be put in place. Just keep on gluing, overlapping the pieces. Just concentrate on not getting any single area too thick. You want to keep the density fairly even. Keep at this until the entire sheet of cardstock is filled. This is the time-consuming part. But have fun with it!

Once your scraps are all in place, grab some interesting stamps. Randomly stamp here and there all over the paper. Take a felt pen or two and scribble around. You can even scribble with metallic pens or gel pens. Do some more stamping, but with VersaMark ink, then emboss these images with metallic embossing powders. The sky is the limit with the fun and variety you can achieve with this. 

When your piece of Serendipity Paper is finished and dried, you can cut it up for use on a card or whatever else you might have in mind. This sheet is a true unique treasure trove. Often I will just use my paper cutter and slice off a 1" strip, then cut this strip into 1" squares. I will then leave the rest of the sheet untouched for future use. You coule even make your squares larger or smaller. Once again, the sky's the limit! 

The one thing, besides some consistency in looks, is that you be very careful with gluing the pieces down, especially if you get too thick in one area.. You don't want your masterpiece falling apart!

Now, get yourself to your Creation Station and use up some of those scraps you have lying around. They won't be scraps anymore once you make them part of a work of art!

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The artist is a receptacle for emotions 

that come from all over the place: 

from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, 

from a passing shape, from a spider's web.

- Pablo Picasso -

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Scrappy 

Smiles.

CHRISTMAS IN YOUR HEART

 Sending sincere wishes for a wonderful and safe Christmas from our house to yours.

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I will honor Christmas in my heart, 

and try to keep it all the year.

- Charles Dickens -

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Christmas

Smiles.