Nature

Paper Pumpkin Makes Me Smile!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

While I was visiting my children and parents during the Thanksgiving break I had a little fun with my November Paper Pumpkin kit.  My mother and I love to craft, differently mind you, but love it still the same.  So we sat down and did half of our kits together.  It was so much fun.

Paper Pumpkin Makes Me Smile!

Yes, this is only half.  The kit came with materials to make ten cards, two different designs.  I just loved them.  I usually don’t share these unless I do something different than the kit suggests, but it was the time spared that was the fun share.  My favorite part of crafting in any form is sharing it.

Paper Pumpkin Makes Me Smile!

And when you have kits as adorable as these, it is easy to share more than you might think.  These will be going to some special people, but not until they get some candy to go with them.  I will blog that part tomorrow.  I am going to turn the other five cards into candy bar wraps for the gift part and give them with these cards.  Fun stuff, right?  See you tomorrow then!

Paper Pumpkin Makes Me Smile!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Joy, Plain and Simple

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

As we have been showered with much needed rain here in Northern California, all I feel is joy and gratitude.  We have a long way to go, but every little bit helps.  I thought I would put my feelings into a card.

12-10

The Color Me Irresistible  Specialty DSP is so much fun to work with.  It was actually my inspiration.  I knew it had a raindrop pattern and the project just went from there.  I sponged with a dauber in silver encore ink all over in tiny swirls to give a cloudy gray look.  Turned out fantastic I must say.

12-10 (1)

The flowers were punched with the pansy punch hovering over the large dots in the silver fancy foil designer velum, using the dots as the flower center.  Nice idea, right?  I used a bone folder to curl the petals of the velum and decided I needed more flowers.  Basic gray became the flower background color and I punched another six of those.  I distressed those with a large stylus to give them dimension and lift.  Layered with dimensionals and glue dots, the side border came together.

A single stamp from the Your Presents set put the focus just right.  It was framed with a smokey slate oval and both were sponged with more silver ink.  The “i” was dotted with a metal rimmed pearl and a tiny ribbon was wrapped around.  Add one more awesome card to the mix.  A very rewarding project to make and enjoy.

12-10 (3)

Have a creative day!

Moana

Have an Adventure

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This is a break from the seemingly endless lines of Christmas cards.  But you know what, people have birthdays during the holiday season too and they need to be remembered as well.

Have an Adventure

This adventurous card is headed to someone who is just about adventurous as I can imagine.  Some stamp sets you look at and wonder when you will use it, but then you have just the thing.  This little mountaineering guy has been waiting for just that moment.  He comes from a set that has long since retired, but found a friend in the World Map background stamp for sure.

Have an Adventure

I really do love this combination.  I can see many more coming together with other masculine images to accent the world map.  Kind of a fun change from holiday colors as well.  Good for all I guess, especially the birthday boy!

Have an Adventure

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sheer Perfection Gift Set

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Sitting down with a tool in mind instead of color, design, or even a sentiment can get a bit interesting.  I wanted to make a quick pillow box with a new punch board I just bought and needed some paper that was six inches wide.  Sounds like an easy start, right?

Sheer Perfection Gift Set

The only thing I had at the ready was a retired velum stack, not the easiest stuff to make boxes with.  But, I was trying to be quick, so I stuck with it.  The board wasn’t too tricky, but I was scared of tearing the paper, so I was a bit timid.  It managed to work out.

Sheer Perfection Gift Set

I thought it needed a matching card and this little number came together.  But I kept on getting held up on embellishments.  Little flowers on top, nope, coloring, nope, tags, nope.  So, I just left it as is and called it all occasion.  Good enough?  It was for me.  And it turned out that my daughter needed a little thank you gift and card this morning, so treats went in and smiles will happen.

Sheer Perfection Gift Set

Have a creative day!

Moana

Glittering Holidays

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

After nearly a two week run of a clean and simple holiday gift set I have been more than ready to make something fabulous.  That is exactly what I did, if that sounds a bit showy, well, just look at it!  I have been planning it all week.

Glittering Holidays

I really just had the flowers in mind and knew they should go on top of a box.  So, to get my brain going, I picked some paper, ink and a stamp and got to work.  The paper alone was just lovely.  I stamped in a way to further elongate the tall box I had in mind.  I really wanted it to be about the flowers.  I did have to use my hot glue gun to keep these guys in order.  After they were assembled I attached them to each other.  The ribbon is threaded between them to hold them on top, so they are not attached otherwise and can be used again.

Glittering Holidays

The box is just scored every two inches for the side measurements and the same for the top and bottom.  Simple there for sure.  I closed the bottom, but just folded the top in place.  I am so going to use this for a wonderful gift, so I needed to get back inside.  Not just for a blog post, nope.

Glittering Holidays

My husband actually designed the card for me.  We chatted while he drove to work and he did a great job with the stamp choices I must say.  I stamped in silver ink and heat embossed in clear to give it an extra shine.  So pretty.  I added flowers with metal rimmed pearls in the centers and added a thin ribbon to finish it off.  The ribbon also helped tie the gift box in as a set.

Glittering Holidays

Have a creative day!

Moana

Joyful Season

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

This little red cardinal has eluded me a few times over, but today was my lucky day.  I wasn’t sure just which bird I wanted to create, but decided to stick with the cardinal.  Call it Christmas whimsy.

Joyful Season

The red inside was stamped first and then I added the outline in black.  It was easier for me that way.  I tried to do the outline first and then the inside, but wasn’t happy with my efforts.  I managed to get the extra front stamp pretty good giving the darker black around the face and I even got the beak color in the right spot.  Woo hoo!

 Joyful Season

The oval framelits worked nicely to frame the image.  I decided to frame it in early espresso to match the branch.  Again, nice results for sure.  These were layered up with dimensionals over another layer of real red.  That layer was put through the softly falling snow embossing folder and sanded a bit to add interest to the flakes.  A simple bow with a snowflake embellishment and the card was done.  How nice is that?

Joyful Season

Have a creative day!

Moana

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

A card that looks like a gift, but is a card, or is it?  I guess you could use this when you want to give a gift card and don’t just want to use the tiny envelope provided.  Either way, I like the look of a present shown here.

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

It has a hint of masculine with the color choices, but with that much ribbon I hesitated to give it the full masculine stamp.  You could probably get away with it though.  And I have to be honest, this is the first time I have used this adorable Christmas tree punch.  I guess I needed this awesome paper to inspire me to get it out.  It fit nicely as the gift tag.  So, I guess I will get to use it on other gifts this holiday season as well.

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

The DSP is layered on a piece of sahara sand cardstock with a narrow border showing.  I wanted to have a little more strength as I tied my ribbon on.  I do very much like a snug fit and probably winch it in a bit much sometimes.  I got the look I wanted though.  Why not give it a try your self?

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sparkly Seasons Pumpkin Patch

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

It may not look very busy, but these little pumpkins almost did me in.  I nearly got to the point of just showing you how frustrated I was and that there was not much to show for it.  Then I thought about iridescent ice, and the world came together.

Sparkly Seasons Pumpkin Patch

I love that stuff.  It can make the most simple things look almost magical.  I used three different framelits for my pumpkins and got to work.  I used a large stylus to create grooves and texture to the surface, but from the back side.  It really broke down the fibers a lot.  Then I began to water color streaks to give dimension.  That didn’t do a whole lot.  Then I spritzed water and swiped ink on with my finger.  It got better.  Then I sponged with pumpkin pie and added early espresso too.  At that point they looked okay, but still kind of sad.

Sparkly Seasons Pumpkin Patch

That is when I tried the iridescent ice.  I daubed the whole surface with versamark and sprinkled on the powder.  I only used one coating and thought that would be enough.  It was just right.  I did sponge a bit more with early espresso afterwards.  I layered the pumpkins together using dimensionals, with the stems too, and wrapped them all in linen thread.  I wanted to leave it then, but decided on a simple word phrase.  And there you go!

Sparkly Seasons Pumpkin Patch

Have a creative day!

Moana

Vintage Leaves, All Through My Yard

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

The weather has finally changed and I love the color change that follows.  Looking out my window I can see trees with leaves in all of these colors.  Just so lovely this time of year.

Vintage Leaves, All Through My Yard

This stamp set lets you create leaf images that have so much texture and the play of light across them.  How fun and validating is that.  Becoming the artist without knowing how to be.

Vintage Leaves, All Through My Yard

I stamped the leaves in different colors starting from light colors to darkest.  I had started with a different intention, but it didn’t work out.  I stuck with my background as the focal point and just enjoyed water coloring it.  It went together rather quickly.  A few simple layers, very light sponging, and a gentle wrap of gold metallic thread for an accent.  I love this kind of creative fun.

Vintage Leaves, All Through My Yard

Have a creative day!

Moana

Moonrise Wonderland

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This is the kind of thing I get to see all of the time.  The moon isn’t quite that large of course, but you get the idea.  I absolutely love it when you can see so much detail in nature.

10-29

I started with the moon.  The punched image and the negative sheet were both used.  The moon was sponged inside the mask with So Saffron and detailed some with Delightful Dijon.  The beautiful trees from Wonderland were stamped in versamark ink, after a hefty rubbing with the embossing buddy, and then covered in black embossing powder.  I had to be patient with the heat gun to get all of that powder melted, but it is so lovely.

10-29 (1)

I only used a few colors to create the background.  An aqua painter was  used along the bottom with Mossy Meadow to give me a bit of a hill and the ground.  Then Elegant Eggplant and Night of Navy were used to sponge in the sky.  I used the punched circle to mask the moon and it worked so nice.  Instead of using masking paper which is thin, I just used cardstock.  The ink has a hard time getting right up the to edge of the image and gives it a bit of a halo effect.  If yo don’t like it that way and want more exact detail, use something thinner.  This made me very happy.

It was layered up once on another piece of Elegant Eggplant cardstock and given a bit of height with dimensionals all the way around.  The inside cardstock was sponged lightly with more Elegant Eggplant just to tie it together a bit more.  All done!

10-29 (2)

Have a creative day!

Moana

Workshop Fun

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Workshop was yesterday and this is the first chance I have had to share it with you.  Two of the projects you have already seen, but this cute little pumpkin is new.

Workshop Fun

I had the opportunity to attend one day of a scrapbooking convention with all kinds of lovely things to see, touch, and of course buy.  One of the many make and takes available was this cute little pumpkin.  When my friend and I would go by this particular area, there was always someone using the stations, but I knew I wanted to try one out.  I took a few photos of the samples and did my best.

Workshop Fun

There are a few other pumpkins on my counter, but this is the one I ended up making for my workshop ladies to play with.  I used  a piece of dsp cut at 6 x 12 and cut strips measuring 3/4″.  You get 15 strips from the sheet exactly, no waste at all.  They were stacked, clipped together, and punched with the ever handy crop-o-dile at both ends.  A hearty brad was used to keep the strips together, then you just fan them out.  Promise, they fan out nicely and curl into this pumpkin.  Then stamping and die cutting the fun leaves and place them where you like.  Some of the samples had ribbon, you could top it how you like.

Workshop Fun

Have a creative evening, since the day is pretty much done.

Moana

Vintage Butterfly Basics

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This project started out as something entirely different, but I love where it ended up.  Would you believe I thought I was going to make something dark and dreary with a Halloween theme?  Well…like I said, it ended up lovely.

Vintage Butterfly Basics

The floral images were stamped in black and water colored with blackberry bliss and mossy meadow.  The ferns were also stamped in blackberry bliss.  Then the soft suede ink was put to work.  Lots of sponging and swirling and edging went into image.  I ended up with something that look almost tea dyed.  Just what I wanted.

Vintage Butterfly Basics

A double layer of blackberry bliss became the frame for the card front.  Linen thread was pulled through my blackberry bliss sponge to give it a tint to coordinate.  The tan color it comes in didn’t quite go with the soft suede.  Extra attention went into dimensionals to give  lots of height.

Vintage Butterfly Basics

A narrow boardered piece of soft suede card was embossed with the brick wall embossing folder and then sponged to give additional detail to the embossing.  All together, these elements created something lovely, just lovely.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Christmas Lighthearted Leaves

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What a crazy morning!  However, slow and steady wins the race, right?  Like I said earlier in the week, I planned on casing myself from another project that looked like Christmas to me.  Here it is, my ‘Believe’ card.

10-19

As I stamped these leaves last time I kept thinking about mistletoe.  Of course, by the time I got done painting all the leaves green, I kept thinking of seaweed.  So now I want to do an ocean project.  What a great stamp set, right?

10-19 (1)

I painted the ‘berries’ real read and went with cucumber crush for my green.  It is such a fun, bright green.  When I trimmed my cardstock down I was left with a few narrow strips and decided to put them to work.  I thought about using some quilling techniques, but kept it simple instead.  I did decorate one of the leaf images with rhinestones for a little bling and loved how it turned out.  So, just like all of the other retailers out there, I have made some Christmas happen before Halloween.  It was fun though, definitely fun.

10-19 (2)

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happy Birthday Workshop!

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday was just too busy, but wonderful at the same time.  I had the opportunity to throw a workshop for a bunch of ladies, which was fantastic! The workshop was actually the cover for the real surprise party though.  Worked like a charm!

10-18 (3)

These three projects were the fun distraction for all to enjoy.  I had done all of the prep work so it could get finished super fast.  Couldn’t keep dinner waiting too long after all.

10-18 (1)

Also, there were going to be many there that hadn’t done much crafting and it had to be fun, not frustrating.  The gal that the party was for is one of my regular workshop members, so she got through super fast and got to chat with all of her friends.  How convenient that they were all there.

10-18 (2)

We were all more than excited as the surprise was revealed.  Cheers all around and boy, did her face get super red!  It went great with her huge grin!  A fun part for her is that if people wanted to give a gift, they were encouraged to donate to her Stampin’Up! shopping spree!  What fun that will be.

  10-18

Have a creativc

Thanks and Giving

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

People all around us are kind and give, often more than we have asked for.  I love those people.  They inspire me.  To be creative, and more importantly, to say thank you right back.

Thanks and Giving

A full sheet of bermuda bay card stock went into this tall and lovely gift bag.  The scoring was done vertically at 2″, 4″, 6″, and 8″.  A quick twist horizontally for one more score at 2″ to make the bottom of the bag.  Two hole punches on opposite sides and the ribbon was squished in.  A very tight fit, it didn’t even need to be knotted off or adhered.

 Thanks and Giving

A leftover card front was scored in half to make this tiny card.  Just big enough to echo the stamp used on the bag both on the card front and inside.  The sentiment comes from the same lighthearted leaves set and works perfectly.  Plenty of sponging and this lovely project was all done.  All I need is something wonderful to put inside.  I just need to decide who needs it.

Thanks and Giving

Have a creative day!

Moana

Lighthearted Leaves

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I fell in love with this stamp set from the moment I saw it.  The images from Lighthearted Leaves are absolutely wonderful.  Artsy enough to get your attention, but not so simple as to be boring.  Such a nice balance.  I think I will case myself and make a Christmas version of this project.  I see mistletoe.

Lighthearted Leaves

I can also see an ocean theme.  The leaves kind of remind me of sea kelp and could be holding little fishies somewhere.  I do love an optional stamp set.

 Lighthearted Leaves

The layering is simple here.  Narrow borders help to not distract from the thin lines of the designs.  All around, I am very happy with how this turned out.  using the tags & labels framelits also make me happy. Subtle touches of color to accent the sentiment without taking over.  Just enough room to have a simple bit of ribbon and one little rhinestone in the center.  How perfect is that.  What more do you need than to ‘believe’?

Lighthearted Leaves

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sheltering Tree

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Who doesn’t love the look of the beginning of fall?  The leaves are just starting to turn in my yard.  Some bright, some darker, and then there are those lovely dark ones that look almost burgundy.  Those would be my favorite.

Sheltering Tree

The tree is stamped in tip top taupe, the leaves in pear pizzazz and the turning leaves in perfect plum.  The card base is also in perfect plum with a slight framing in tip top taupe.  Very clean look for sure.  A few wraps with some linen thread and it was nearly done.

Sheltering Tree

I did a little echo stamping inside the card with the accent leaf color, just a bit in opposite corners.  I like to have enough there to connect to the front, but not so much that it interferes with the writing room.  It is still a card after all.  The front is popped up on dimensionals and that is all there is to it.  the outer dimensions are 4 1/4 x 4 1/4, a little different for me.  I am not prone to square cards, but I was working with my scrap pile, and that is what I had at ready.

Sheltering Tree

Have a creative day!

Moana

Banner Blessings Gift Set – Friend

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

The morning took off without me, and there was nothing I could do about it.  This has sat at my computer waiting for me to take a lunch.  Well, never happened.  How about a tiny break?  Works for me.

Banner Blessings Gift Set - Friend

This is the first card of a set of four with a coordinating gift box.  It was so fun to make.  I actually made it for a special someone and I can’t wait to deliver it.  Should be tomorrow!

Banner Blessings Gift Set - Friend

I attached the island indigo torn card stock to the thin whisper white before I ran it through the fluttering embossing folder.  Everything got done at once.  The sentiment was stamped in black stazon and sponged a bit with coordinating ink.  I love the cotton ribbon, it makes such cute bows.  The inside stamping is actually negative punching.  I punched a butterfly or two from the white insert and revealed the card base.  Simple and very effective!  So fun.  Those pretty pearl accents.  I could really get used to those.  I had it dot the “i”, even though it wasn’t needed, I wanted to use one and it fit the image.  A bit of dimensionals and this card was done!

Banner Blessings Gift Set - Friend

Have a creative day!

Moana

 

 

Dazzling Diamonds Dragonfly

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I liked the randomness of picking one single stamp and designing a project around it.  Today was just the beautiful dragonfly from the Awesomely Artistic stamp set.  My favorite image honestly.  I wish I had more.

Dazzling Diamonds Dragonfly

The new DSP pack patterns sure are awesome.  I had a hard time deciding which side to use.  I usually enjoy the patterns, but can see myself making gift sets with all of the different papers here.  Total coordination really makes me very happy, even within a gift set.

Dazzling Diamonds Dragonfly

It isn’t always easy to get decent photos of my work.  The ladies in my club often tell me how much better they look in person.  Isn’t that true of so many things though?  But the dazzling diamond dragonfly here needed to be angled a bit for you to really see it.  I wasn’t sure how happy I would be with it on whisper white, but I love it!

Dazzling Diamonds Dragonfly

Have a creative day!

Moana

 

You’ve Got This

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Sometimes simple words are all you have, and sometimes that is all you need.  That is just how I feel this morning.

You've Got This

I took my time painting this lovely flower with a few of my favorite inks.  I stamped the flower in almost artichoke and did light water coloring to get the base down.  I added cajun craze but kept it light the first time through.  Adding more water helped to do a little blending, but I didn’t want too much of that.  I like that two colors together can create a third unexpected surprise.  In person, you can see the blended areas have nearly a cherry cobbler tone.  Cool, right?  I thought so too.

You've Got This

The entire image was accented in gold encore ink, still using the aqua painter.  That really creates a fun look and is surprisingly easy to control.  One simple sentiment in black stazon ink with a little gold metallic thread and this simple card was done.  Well, I did have to stamp inside as well.  I stamped off twice before I placed the stamp on the inside paper.  Nice and light.  And look, absolutely no sponging!  Crazy.

You've Got This

Have a creative day!

Moana