Sunday, the last day of February and the last page in this journal

My son Andrew gave me a book a few years ago about cats who paint. This card from my friend Alan was for my birthday a few years ago. I always thought that I could probably teach Tinsel and Mr. Jones to paint, but I would have to set up a studio for them outdoors, fenced in, on the grass so they could scrub their feet off afterwards, with big plywood panels propping up canvases. I was actually serious about this, at least for a day or two. :-)

I stamped Sonoma Print on the tag and then wrote over it with a Micron pen. A bit of red ribbon brings out the flower color and ties the tag to colors in the cat's painting.

I think Max's paintings sell for hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars. Hmmm...maybe I could get a kitten and teach it to paint and supplement my retirement fund with cat paintings!

Sat. Feb. 27

I've saved this card for a long time from when I visited my friend Jean Akin in Portland, OR. The Memory Box stamp I used is the little thank you.

Portland, Maine also has a lovely rose garden across from the Forest Avenue Post Office.

We have the most beautiful antique pink rose bush in our backyard that is really more like a tree. Those roses have the sweetest scent.

I'm thinking I'm going to try my hand at making paper flowers later today. Or ribbon roses.

A contest from PRIMA

Prima has something really big coming your way….
but we can’t reveal it just yet! We know you’re going to love it! And don’t worry-we promise to share the big news with you soon. It’s really hard not to spill the beans, but we are sworn to secrecy. So, in the meantime, we have an exciting opportunity for you to win BIG and it’s open to everyone! There are two fabulous prize baskets worth $100 up for grabs. Prima will choose one winner from the US and one International winner. Visit their blog at http://prima.typepad.com/ for details! I'm loving this company just from what I'm seeing online and I can't wait to see their products firsthand when I go to the Trade Show in March with Lydia and Connie from Your Maine Stamper.

Sunday, the last day of February

My son Andrew gave me a book a few years ago about cats who paint. This card from my friend Alan was for my birthday a few years ago. I always thought that I could probably teach Tinsel and Mr. Jones to paint, but I would have to set up a studio for them outdoors, fenced in, on the grass so they could scrub their feet off afterwards, with big plywood panels propping up canvases. I was actually serious about this, at least for a day or two. :-)

I stamped Sonoma Print on the tag and then wrote over it with a Micron pen. A bit of red ribbon brings out the flower color and ties the tag to colors in the cat's painting.

I think Max's paintings sell for hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars. Hmmm...maybe I could get a kitten and teach it to paint and supplement my retirement fund with cat paintings!

Friday, February 26

Now that the power's back on (it was out for 24 hours) and it's warming up in here a bit (it's 52 right now with the heat on high), I can finally get today's post up.



With all this rainy weather, I've been nesting--staying in pajamas or comfy clothes all day, not going outdoors; moving furniture, sorting out clothes, mopping up the water seeping in under my floor tiles from the leaky patio door...I think you get the idea. Today's page features my favorite Gossamer papers and the Nesting Birds (D1315). Their little hearts are from Tree of Love (D1312). Letters from a couple of different alphabet sets and some pink dotted ribbon finish the page.

Catching Up is Hard to Do!

A favorite card placed on Memory Box paper and stamped with Bird Branch (E1035)

"Celebrate" tag stamped with Snow Puff Branch (D1279) on top of one of my favorite cards









Z-fold card from BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS class; Sringtime Wishes, Orchard Bird, and Spring Sings stamps

Easel Card sample--Now I know where it is!

Two More and I'm Finally Caught Up! Monday 2/22

I edged a piece of lightly colored floral Memory Box paper from the Frond collection with Ancient Page Agean Blue and then stamped the Sonoma Print in the same blue four times on top of that paper. I've been experimenting this week with stamping over printed papers to create new backgrounds and I'm liking the effect. I added a tag also stamped with the Sonoma Print and tied a pretty blue ribbon around the piece of paper before adhering it to the page.






More stamping on printed papers--Birds in the Vines stamped over a print from the memory Box new 6X6s, trimmed and matted on black. Another piece of the same paper stamped with Spring Sings and Heart Notes, punched in a scalloped circle and mounted on a black square. I chose the graphing paper pattern for the anchor piece and stamped the silhouette bird on another scrap of that which I trimmed and matted on black before adhering over the other stamped images. The black mats pull this piece together nicely. If I had realized this is what would develop as I went along, I probably would have mounted the larger sheet on black as well.

Three More--Still Catching Up! Sunday 2/21

Memory Box stamp: Nesting Birds



Memory Box stamps: Springtime Wishes; Orchard Bird; Heart Notes; Spring Sings; great new olive velvet rickrack from May Arts










Memory Box stamp: thank you; larger birds at feeder image from Magenta

Here's something new!

These are some of the new products from PRIMA that I've been talking up to Lydia at Your Maine Stamper. I can't wait to see this stuff in person when Lydia, Connie and I make the trek to MA for the Sue Gilman Show at the end of March! Thought you might like a sneak peek at some of the goodies!

Three for Wednesday

Trying to get caught up with posting!

Sunday, Valentines Day

I found the cards I used for today's page at the Center for Maine Craft at the turnpike plaza in Gardiner. The image is titled "Spring" and it's a copy of a painting by Gardiner artist Helen Stevens. I bought two cards (one A2 size and one a gift enclosure size) and the two smaller images were on the back of each, so that gave me four images in different sizes to work with. I LOVE this bunny. The two largest images were mounted on Snow & Cedar dotted paper. The two smaller images were added to a medium tag that I first stamped with Spring Words (Memory Box). I stamped only part of Spring Words on the small tag. I used the same Ancient Page Sage to edge the two tags and tied them with a pretty piece of blue/green sheer ribbon.

Saturday the 13th of February

Today's central image is from a card by Marta Peters from Moonlight & Roses, Moonlight Cards, Grover Beach, CA. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these kittens! I think it was originally intended to be a Christmas card but I think it makes the "purr-fect" Valentine!!! There's a little glitter on the carriage wheels and I added a bit of gold foil doily to create a tag in the corner for some extra shine. The tag uses a roses-themed kraft paper, which I also used for scalloped accents elsewhere on the page. The dotted paper is from the Snow & Cedar collection, and the stamp is Memory Box Wild Roses, with a few tiny hearts from Tree of Love stamped on the tag. I tied a piece of narrow cream ribbon around the page to finish it. Think I might have to get this copied at the copy shop to use as my valentine tomorrow!!!.

Friday, Feb. 12

Puppy love! Another greeting card I bought just for the picture. I stamped the journal page with Flower Bundle in Ancient Page Sage and edged the puppy image in the same green. I punched a large circle from a piece of the new Memory Box 6X6 paper, added a scalloped circle and a heart from Memory Box cardstocks in a pale green and Blossom to create the tag which I stamped with Flower Bundle. A piece of sheer cream ribbon and a pawprint finish the page.

Thursday, Feb. 11

The sun is shining. It did not snow last night. I'm going to the florist later today to purchase spring flowers. It feels like a daffodil day to me! I LOVE this little dog in the daffodils. This page is for all my friends who love Goldens. You're the best!!! I cut up a greeting card to make this page, punching out a piece of the blank inside to make the tag and edging it with a snippet from the front of the card. I stamped the pawprint in VersaMark and sponged on black chalk. I used overlapping stampings of Bay Flourish (Memory Box) to edge the page and stamped it once on the tag in VersaFine Olympia Green before adding the ribbon.

Wednesday, February 10

I'm loving this Wild Roses Memory Box stamp! And these colors! I stamped Wild Roses in Ancient Page Sage on the four corners of the page and on the manila tag. I added a stripe of paper from the new 6X6s and mounted the tag on the same. I added a strip of STORY tickets (Tim Holtz) and a line of Memory Box mint pearls to fill an empty space. I chose some cardstock stickers of jeweled flowers and a dragonfly (Recollections) that are just perfect for this page. I found a great flower brad (Recollections) and some blue/green sheer ribbon (Michaels) to finish the tag. This would make a great card front! An l and an o from a sheet of stickers in shades of blue make the perfect 10!

Tuesday, February 9th

Today's central image is from a notecard by Damariscotta artisit Irene Plummer. A piece of Basic Grey paper runs underneath it. Sonoma Print is the stamp I used on the tag and on the page border. This is paradise. Can't you just smell the frangipani blossoms?

Monday

The postcard at the center is from a show at the Gallery at Saturday Cove. I love this comfy room. Today's tag features Comfy Chair (D1184)--stamped first on the tag and then stamped again on Cool Beans striped paper which was cut out and applied with pop dots to make the upholstery. I stamped "You're my cup of tea" (a discontinued stamp) on a punched heart and pop dotted that around the pink/red ribbon. Another punched circle of paper hold stacks of miniature letters. This is a bit valentiney--the tag, the (love) letters--right now it's calling out for a story of a woman separated from a loved one, sipping tea in a comfy chair while rereading letters from her lover...

Sunday, February 7th

Cardinals are my mother's favorite bird. We have a pair wintering over with us. The male plumage is spectacular against the snow. It hasn't been snowy here for awhile, but I chose to recycle this Christmas card for today's page. I added a strip of Snow and Cedar dot paper under the image. I made a circular tag, punching out a piece of the discarded oversized image. On a smaller circle I stamped Thicket Birds (D1118). I stamped Batik Birds (D1313) on a small piece of white cardstock and then used a scalloped punch to select part of the image that became the center of the circle tag, covering the birds in the thicket. A piece of white dotted ribbon finished the tag. A totally happy accident happened when I realized that the birch tree on the tag could line up with the birch tree in the focal image.

Saturday, February 6th

LOVE this image! We have a pond in the yard that snakes through our woods and I can canoe it for nearly a mile. I have had amazing encounters with animals along the way--beaver, deer, great blue heron, and lots of ducks. Purple is also my favorite color. I had these great purple woodgrain stickers that I applied to the page and the little tag. I stamped Create Art (Memory Box G1330) onto a snippet of Memory Box paper (one with some French script) and cut out the "explore" part and adhered it to the tag along with a fancy purple bow. The compass sticker and a big 6 finish the page. This page also reminds me of my sister Gail. She spent hours and hours of her life fishing from a canoe, and for awhile the number 6 was her middle name.

An Extra Post Today!

I decided to enter a challenge today posted on Nicole Heady's blog to use an emboss resist technique to create a card. I chose some Papertrey ink cardstock, the Memory Box Sonoma Print stamp (C1311), some VersaMark and Tattered Rose Distress and Ancient Page Sage inks, Faith's Clear Embossing Powder and this is what I came up with in just a few minutes. I clear embossed Sonoma Print on the peachy rosy card front and on the inside and on a piece of cream, dabbed on the Sage ink over the cream image, layered that to the card, added a white heart edged in Tattered Rose and used the same ink to stamp "with love", and finished it up with a piece of cream sheer ribbon. When closed, the front of the card hides the heart message and the green inked embossed image is left showing.

Friday, February Fifth

I often buy cards that have images that speak to me, often with photographs or paintings by Mainers. My parents did wildlife rehabilitation for years and years--in fact, I live in the renovated woodshed that once housed flying squirrels, a beaver, numerous small mammals, and my kitchen was the deer pen for the fawns. Deer were my mother's specialty. (Dad loved the birds--hawks, owls, ducks, turkey vultures...) Every spring for over twenty years my mother bottle fed a fawn or two or three and we watched them grow. We even had two deer that lived their entire lives in our barn--Sue, because she only had three legs; and Betsy, because her legs were broken when hit by a car. Several times they crated deer in the fall and moved them to the preserve on Swan Island. Sometimes they would simply open the barn doors and release the deer into our own woods.

On this page, the stripey paper anchors the central painted image of the deer in the woods. I added a tag stamped with Tree Frame and a bit of green/brown plaid paper all tied up with twine. I added the saying that was inside the card on top of the tag and overlapped it onto the image a bit. This looks like winter in my woods. In fact, I often see deer across the pond in the woods, we find their tracks in the field, and recently my parents watched a big buck walk across our lawn one afternoon to browse around the apple tree. I live in a magical place and this page captures some of that magic for me.

Thursday, Feb. 4

How many geese does it take to make a gaggle of geese? Is this what a gaggle of geese looks like? I worked from the colors of the geese and their beaks, using a piece of Memory Box Twilight paper under the image and adding a chipboard orange flourish which mimics the vine shapes in the background paper. The tag is stamped with Leafy Shoot (Memory Box D1325) in Pumpkin Spice, edged in that same ink, tied with a piece of my favorite ribbon, and three Memory Box autumn jewels provide some sparkle.

Two-For-One Wednesday, February 3

You may recognize the first image of the field of phlox from yesterday's description.
The sheep is the focal image of today's page, a photograph by Alec Hartman of a ewe in East Vassalboro. I went to my black and white box for accent pieces for the image. I finished the page with a small white tag stamped with the Memory Box black-faced sheep, tied with a strip of black and white thin ribbon.
After only two days I can see a pattern for this month developing: a Memory Box image stamped on a tag added to each page as the final element. Let's see what I do with that...

The New Journal, February 2

My camera has a dead battery. While it is recharging I thought I'd write a bit today about the new journal. Last month I worked in a large 12X12 book with black pages and a spiral binding. It was a challenge for me at the beginning of the month--and the beginning of each page--to work in that large format. I have only done one 12X12 scrapbook page in my life. In fact, the only scrapbooks I've ever made are all 6X6. In looking for a journal for this month, I thought I wanted to try something with either a different orientation or a smaller size or something not square. I kept finding journals I liked but the pages were white or the binding wasn't spiral--I really like my journal to lie as flat as possible when I'm working on a page. What I've ended up with is a journal I've had on a shelf for a very long time. It has a hard black pebbled-finished cover and large spiral binding. The pages are a lovely creamy off-white. The book is only 5X7, so the page workspace is about 4X7. I can use the pages either vertically or horizontally. The first page I did was inspired by an Anne Steele photocard of a field of phlox, a card I found on the floor of my studio this morning--it must have fallen from one of the boxes on my desk. I always pay attention to what ends up in my path, so it seemed like a good starting place. I looked through the papers on my desk for coordinating colors and chose a small piece of light green dotted paper and a piece of the green script Memory Box paper. I had some purply pink Core'dinations papers, too, so I ran a small piece through my Cuttlebug and embossed and sanded off the Swiss dots. Once I layered all the paper elements onto the card, I added a large circle of pink rhinestones that overlapped all of the images. In the center of that I placed a torn BLISS Bingo Card (Jenni Bowlin). To finish the page I added a tag in the upper right hand corner stamped in a pinky purple using Batik Birds and the hearts from Tree of Love (both Memory Box stamps). Some hot pink and lavender dot ribbon finished the tag. I think I'm going to like working in this smaller format. Maybe I'll use of some of the tons of scraps and small things I have in my studio!

Anne

I know I said I'd post, but...

Look for something here tomorrow. I'm still looking for the perfect book! Anne

Monday the First of February

I have not yet started my February journal. I haven't yet found the book I want to use. My friend Connie is bringing me a book today to consider. If that doesn't work for me, I'll be off to the stores late this afternoon in search of a new journal. I really want to do page one and post it this evening. Check back later to see what I've done!