Distressed!

Yet another week has passed... actually two since I participated in the KWernerDesign.com Color Challenge, but here we are at #49! I really liked working with these colors. You can probably tell that I've been inspired by the bug, the Cuttlebug that is, this time around. My darkside is showing again with the skulls. Love skulls. The Tim Burton influence, I suppose. I tried my hand at paper distressing too. That Stampin' Up card stock sure is tough stuff! You wouldn't know by my posting that it is Easter! Oh well... it was a good diversion from afternoon dinner with the family. You know how that can be sometimes! Let them eat cake while I make my art of what ever kind strikes my fancy. For the time being, it is cards.

Enjoy,
-Roberta

Credits time:
Stamp: Distressed Halloween by Inque Boutique, VersaMark & Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder
Card stock: Rose Red, Pacific Point, Basic Black, & Kiwi Kiss
Fun stuff: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots & Skeleton Scroll Embossing Folders, brayer with Marvey Matchables Black Ink, MasterpieceStudios.com Mini Glitter Brads in white/silver, All-Night Media Pop Dots, Score-It, and OPI for nails sanding block used for distressing

On a roll...

I must be on a roll, but I came across this site for Inspirations by Makeesha Byl and I felt inspired to make this card for her color challenge. I don't usually work with so many pinkish reds, but I think it turned out alright. Enjoy!

Peace,
-Roberta

Credits:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy - Stampin' Up
Card stock & Designer Paper: Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Regal Rose
Ink: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip with Red Riding Hood rolled over the top with a brayer
Extras: Boho Blossoms Punch - Stampin' Up, Glittered brad (source unknown)

Color Inspiration #47

Well what do you know? I actually am making two challenges in a row here. Do I see a trend? This is for KWerner's Color Inspiration #47 challenge. Is it possible that I'll be able to keep this up? Don't hold your breath, but I am having fun with cards. I really like how this one turned out - it really fits my personality, my art style. I hope you like it as much as I do and as much as I had fun making it. Have a great week!

Peace,
-Roberta

Credits:
Stamps: Thank you - Stampin' Up; Gratuitous Graffiti - Stampin' Up (love this stamp!)
Card stock: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White -Stampin' Up
Ribbon: So Saffron - Stampin' Up
Other Stuff: Brads - 5/16" Neutrals (Chocolate Chip) Stampin' Up; Labels One - Spellbinders Nestabilities; Cuttlebug; Score-it;

With Spring Warmth Comes Healing

It may not be a masterpiece, but my first day back in the art studio working on a card is very healing. This is my first try at Color Inspiration Challenge and I truly enjoyed it. I needed to make an Easter card for my Aunt Edwina, so here you go! My layout came from the SplitCoast Layout Challenge CS220. Double bonus points? I didn't even think of that?! These colors have brightened my day as well... With the loss of my dog Guinness (see previous posting), this past week has been absolutely dismal. My other dog, Jac, has been very depressed too. We have taken to letting him sleep in our bed with us and we've been spending as much time keeping him occupied. I've been trying to walk him every night too as he wasn't sleeping or eating well. He seems to be doing better today. Thanks for stopping by...

Peace,
-Roberta

Credits: Bunny stamp - Hero Arts; "Happy Easter" - Clearly Impressed Mix & Match Greetings by Stampington & Company; Paper & Felt Flowers: Stampin' Up.

still in the mood - for cards

New Journey
Originally uploaded by quilted cavalier

Still making cards, by the way... simple cards, but cards nonetheless. This way I at least feel like I'm creating something. LOL! I've been suffering from migraines yet again. They had been gone, but now they are back again. Personally, I think its the stress from work that has caused them to come back. Good grief... And now the Fed announced a new refinance program which should create thousands of refinances (depending on the interest rates they offer) just at our institution alone. I'm not looking forward to that - again - not complaining! It beats not having a job for sure! I will get through this. We will all get through this. In the meantime my love of making art will keep my sanity.

Note - apparently signature only shows on posts through blogger, not on posts through flickr.

In the mood... for cards!

img214
Originally uploaded by quilted cavalier

I love art. Art of all kinds. That is part of my problem - staying focused, that is. Oh well, I like to think it is just the sign of a creative mind! What's new with me is that I've been in the mood for making cards. Not a bad thing after all. In the theme of (trying to) stay focused, I made a list of cards I need to make up ahead of time like the usual holidays and I'll be working on them the next couple of weeks. My aunts love getting cards from me, but last year I had so little time to make up cards either on the fly or ahead of time that they got very few. Yes, they like it when I call them, but they like it even better when I call them AND I send them a card for holidays a little occasions. It makes their day. I guess I understand that. So this year I'm trying to do the right thing and besides, I really do enjoy making the cards. Lately I've been into Stampin' Up "stuff" their papers and colors are so beautiful. To my journaling and mixed media bloggers out there - never fear! I am still dabbling in those media as well. The cards have lured me away only temporarily. I've got art quilt and polymer clay projects on the back burner that need to come forward too.

Today I made this card for my friend Sheri's little boy, Eddie, who just turned one. She's a scrapper, and frankly, it's because of her that I got into rubber stamping and card making in the first place (thanks, Sheri!). One day, about three years ago now, she and I stopped in at lunchtime at a local rubber stamp shop on our lunch (we used to work together). That fueled the passion that is now rubber stamping. Before that I had just been into art quilting and polymer clay, as if that wasn't enough! She's also the one who got me hooked on Stampin' Up when she invited me to a Stampin' Up party last year.

Least I forget, I finally ordered and received Susan Lenart Kazmer's book "Making Connections, A Handbook of Cold Joins for Jeweler's and Mixed-Media Artists" and I am so wowed by this book! All of my life I have collected little bits of things and cast off objects and in this book it's like she opens up a whole new world of what to do with all of this STUFF! OMG!!! I am so excited about it. I have signed up for her Resin class at the Bead and Button Show in June here in Milwaukee, but now I'm thinking I might take her three day workshop in which she gets into the techniques covered in her book. I am a bit afraid that it will be over my head, but in actuality, I already have quite of few of the class supplies and the class is open to students of all levels... I just might go for it! Jump right in with both feet and venture into the world of metal. How cool is that?

Take care and peace to you all!

and even more stamping...

this is a halloween card i've been working on for some time. i really love this stamp. it has that vintage feel to it. i have a lot of halloween stamps. it is a fun holiday for stamping. usually colors are much more bold for halloween, so i thought i'd use pastels on this one. the stark contrast with the black feels right to me. i used copic markers on this.

i am finally feeling so much better now. just about back to normal now. glad it only lasted one week, whatever this was. i have my last digital scrapbooking class tomorrow night. 

and even more stamping

this is a valentines card that i made for marc. i like the way the glitter turned out. it took quite awhile to make this, but marc really liked it. 

more snow. just what we need. marc's car is out of commission, so he has mine today. that means i must rely on someone to get me to work today. that means not being able to get home at lunch time. 

i did get a couple hours of studio time yesterday. i so needed it. stamping, coloring. i bought some new colored pencils too. i just love coloring with pens, pencils, inks & paints. that's my favorite time in the studio. I am working on this recycle material project for QAM. I am very excited about it. lots of ideas rolling around in my head. 

more stamping

can you tell i like the "erie moon" stamp from stampscapes? I use it a lot. I looked everywhere for just the right bat stamps. this one is from crackerbox palace in janesville, wi. the cat stamp is from rubbermoon. copic markers worked great on this stamp. it was supposed to be valentine's card for my aunt (cat lover), but i didn't have it done in time. the scanner cut off a bit of the cat valentine. 

stamping

i wanted to get some photos of my experiments in stamping out here. i used my scanner to capture the images, so hopefully they turned out well. There are a couple of stampscapes samples - the one with bats i made before taking the stampscapes class. although i think its ok, the images are much more vibrant with the coloring techniques i learned from bert.