Lady in pink 12-14-08

Lady in pink 12-14-08,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

The pink on the lady's arm is not so vivid in person. I tore the paper and distressed it, attached it to a background of dark cranberry and some other alcohol inks (had it sitting in my box for months). Added embellishments and Hero Arts saying.

Sketch blog

Thank you Stephanie at SmilynStef's photostream for linking the sketch blog - it looks like I will definitely be visiting many times. Just say So Sketchy and click your heels of course. Please check out Stephanie's blog at Ingenious Inkling too.

Wild Stamping Sprinkles: Whipper Snapper Gift Card Tutorial

I just wanted to share a gift card holder that looks like it's simple to make and fun to visit.

Wild Stamping Sprinkles: Whipper Snapper Gift Card Tutorial

My first MOO

Present of a dog 2008,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I didn't realize how small these were - I see some of these and now I think "How did they get all that stuff on this tiny a card?" 1.1 inches by 2.8 inches is a small surface - though not as small as an inchie.

I'm entering a contest - coloring him in was fun again.

12-9-08 Friday colors

12-9-08 Friday colors,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I'm entering the contest for Art Creations, which I found looking at Herminekoster's blog. The lady has such a pensive look about her. I fell in love with her.

Another give-away at Chrysti's

You will adore this item - it's a beautiful pewter chair - if you haven't been there, go straight to jail.... by way of "Art by Chrysti". There were 28 comments the last time I visited. You will so enjoy her story behind this particular give-away! Well, I did....

Here’s the rules today:
Tell me how you would artify or alter one these pretty chairs, or otherwise make use of it (I just know some of you are re-gifters!) and if you are a drawing a blank there merely make me feel a smidge saner, and tell me what gives you that silly, not very sensical ‘Oh the Horror!’ feeling. Much like the relationship styrofoam and I have.
Do this by: Monday, December 15th
For every 15 entries/comments we get on this one, I’ll give away a chair. Not shabby eh? Up to 10 of them total. Excited? Spread the word!

I hope that helps in visiting her site. It's great to visit and perhaps win a gift for yourself or a friend you have in mind.

Giveaways at Chrysti's and Pattie's

Chrysti's 29 Days of Giving !
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” -Winston Churchill.....ArtByChrysti says: I'm starting the First Installment of 29 days of giving - come to my main blog, to read all about it -- win a $100 Gift Certificate, and more! I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! Visit Christi's to learn about the give-away.

I learned about this on my friend, Pattie's blog. You better check hers out too because there are only two more to go to make ten to enter her contest. You won't believe her beautiful watercolor ATCs.

Wrapped chocolate bars

Wrapped chocolate bars,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

The chocolate bars were made for the last minute challenge on the Hero Arts blog. We had to tag the entries as lastminute to submit for consideration in the the challenge. Let me tell you, I am so glad I am finished with these. I am giving these out to my co-workers and needed to finish them or I'd never start again. Cutting the card stock into 5.5: X 5.5" pieces was only the beginning. I have the directions for a wrapped chocolate bar on my previous post, which is made up as the front of the red Santa Claus suit, but I wanted a little variation in color, so I chose to use the Penguin from the Warm WIshes Hero Arts set. I tried stamping it in white on the green and black circles I punched, but it wasn't coming out for me.

I'm glad I could finish. Have fun shopping for whatever holidays you celebrate!

Make and Take candy bar wrap

Candy bar wrap,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I stopped by Paper Garden Botique on Saturday, November 22, 2008 to pick up some embellishments and found they were doing a "Make and Take" , so after my purchase, I sat down and put this little dainty together - it's so nice to have everything scored and cut to size because it went together super fast and was so much fun.

Directions for Hershey Bar wrappers
1. Cut a 5.5" X 5.5" square piece of red card stock
2. Score at 1.5", 1.75", 4", and 4.25"
3. Cut white piece of cardstock at 5.5" X .75"
4. Cut black belt band at 5.75" X 1"
5. White cardstock about 1" X 1.5"

To make the belt buckle, on silver cardstock, use the yellow square Marvy punch and then center it with the blue square Marvy punch and you get a framed square.

Since the white piece of cardstock was already adhered in the midde of the red card stock and the half circle already punched for me, I don't know exactly what size punch you'd use. Just make a judgement call. Lay the cardstock face down on your table, (I folded the scored lines to get better creases, put the candy bar in, fold the open sides in and tape one flap of cardstock over the other. Take the black strip, wrap the red cardstock and adhere in the back, same as your red cardstock. Turn the paper over. Take the smallest piece of paper, put it straight perpendicular to a red stamp pad and press it into the stamp pad on all four sides to get an edge of red around it. Adhere a glue dot to the back; take the silver "belt buckle" and apply tape to the back of the buckle. Now place the tag and buckle down so the tag doesn't show on the inside of the buckle. Voila!

Hero Arts 2009

I checked out the Hero Arts website to see where I would be hunting for 2009 Hero Arts stamps and guess what - my favorite local stores:

Paper Garden Boutique
details 2601 El Paseo Lane, Sacramento(916) 769-7431

Stamp Art Shoppe
details 1000 Sunrise Ave. #3B, Roseville916-773-4378

I love visiting both stores - unique artists.

I believe they should have their new stamps in by December 12th, 2008 as the Hero Arts website posted... crossing my fingers - Christmas list in hand:))

I darted in Paper Garden Boutique and made a "Make and Take" project. I'm not going to tell you about it until I capture it with the camera. COMING SOON - Make and Take....

Thumping, you say?

When Laura, aka leapfroglbna displayed her card on the Hero Arts blog and said the technique was "thumping", I had to check it out. It's really quite simple - pictures show the technique quite well. I hope you check it out as well as Laura's card.

I have to try that technique. Take care, call.

Technique resist

Technique resist,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I used the patterned paper that you can see on the left and the circle; used Hero Arts Design block Happiness Grows to clear resist, then used Distressed inks Shabby Shutter (green), Spiced Marmalade (orange) and Dusty Concord (purple) to swipe over the patterned paper. The green didn't make the embossed pattern show up because there wasn't enough contrast - another stamp would be better, however after application of the darker inks, it did show up - kind of ghostly images. I thought it was rather dark, so used some coordinated paper that came with the base cardstock (Miss Elizabeth - 99 cent store), some ribbon and gold pearls to lighten the mood of the card. After I'd gotten it all together, I fell in love with it. Isn't it fun when you try something different?

I used grossgrain ribbon and since it's a thicker type of ribbon, I just tied a knot in the ribbon. I like the way it turned out here. I do have an issue with bow tying, it's usually that if I get a good bow, I have so much extra to cut off. Oh well. I am glad that on the Hero Arts blog, karylim posted a link to a tutorial for tying a bow. I wanted to include it here also.

Cuttlebug November 2008

Cuttlebug November 2008,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I cut a sqare tissue box and stamped a tree set from Rubber Stampede (five trees in a row) in black. You can see the bright orange and yellow rimmed flower of the tissue box cut-out - just looks so much like a huge sun. I used flowers die cuts from the Cuttlebug as well as the "thanks" from a set of Cuttlebug alphabet sets. I had some sewing trim from making scarves that I cut off and added four sets of dangles on the right. I used a kind of olive green background cardstock from the "99 cent" store. It really does pop as much in real life as here. I do love it if I don't say so myself - well - I am saying so :))))

Gift tags 10-30-08

Gift tags 3 10-30-08,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

Made these for the mini challenge at Hero Arts during the last week of October.. They were such fun. I was able to use part of an embossed brown scrap, from which a scallop circle had been cut - worked perfectly here on the scrapling. Then I had a bit of lace to run down the side and narrow dark brown ribbon for top and a little up from the bottom. Some gems on both brow strips - the bottom strip I folded under.

The red and blue card backgrounds has the star from the Hero Arts "Warm Wishes" clear set. I took a blue toned tag (peal and stick) and stamped it with the inside of the Holliday tag of the Penguins. The saying on the red card is computer generated.

I wasn't going for as dark a red as I got, but it will work out just fine. I do like the narrow brown tone scrapling. And isn't that a fantastic name - scrapling - first time I heard it was on the Hero Arts blog. Strange name for a card, but entirely appropriate.

I loved making the little gift tags, using up all kinds of scraps from my scrap pile. As you can see, I did make a few.

AFM initials are important 10-15-08

AFM initials are important 10-15-08,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I entered in the Two Peas in a Bucket contest and won - it was a random generated pick, but I don't care.... Got two posts from on-line stamper friends to check out the post.

Here are the instructions direct from:the hostess:

Think about your initials in terms of your stamping project....

1. The project can be a card, ATC, Arch, Layout, Moo or any other stamped project.
2. There must be some stamping on the project.
3. You must use 3 techniques, embellishments, methods that represent your initials.
4. Post your card in the stamping gallery and click the checkbox for SOF Hangover Challenge # 3 - Initials are Important.
5. Enter in the description your initials and how they are represented in the making of your project.
6. You can enter more than once.

All entries must be posted by October 19th 11:59 CST. I will use the random generator to pick from the entries linked to this blog. The entries will automatically be linked when you click on the checkbox.

RAK: TBD

Here is my example:

My initials are SLC

S - Scalloped border

L - Lace

C - Charm

Hope that helps... You can use the colors for your initials, products names, a - adirondack, methods, - alcohol inks for a, techniques, p - punches. I am going to be flexible about the initials... It is just a fun way to think about combining 3 things...

So here's how I posted my entry:
A is alcohol inks: F is the Frame; M is the "motor car" as part of the stamp. This was a fun contest.

Michelle Zindorf - amazing landscape and skies

Found a great blog for sponging - unusual skies and backgrounds. Beautiful and awe inspiring were the first words that came to my mind when I saw the card. Michelle Zindorf's blog has a wonderful post from October 13, 2008 showing a landscape of bare trees and moon above. This is not just a static bare limbs card. It's amazing in its freshness and appeal. Obviously I fell in love with it. Check it out. I've added her blog as one to keep an eye on.

Heart Shaped Card

I found a template for a heart shaped card as I was looking through templates today - cut it out twice (white CS) and folded back part of the bottom card to adhere that little piece to the front. Chose the smallest heart shape, cut it out (white CS) and then matched it with a deep red and cut that paper in a heart shape following the lines of the smallest heart on my template.

I sponged it with Distressed inks - Vintage Photo and Milled Lavender. Stamped with 1 of a kind text (Hero Arts) on smallest hert. Stamped large heart with swirls stamp (Hero Arts). Adhered smaller hearts to large heart. Got some gold colored gemstones (from Michaels) and adhered in where it seemed best in the swirls and also on the number one. Adhered gems to the O in the of and on the "k" and "d". I wasn't sure whether I liked it, but it turned out that I do.

I've been tagged.....

I was tagged by none other than Deborah M. Nolan at Society of Stamp & Scrap-aholics who is creating a stamping center in her attic. You will have to see the changes and she is such a creative writer also. So, from what I understand, I have to list 6, yes only 6, random things about myself, then list the rules and then comes the fun part, tag 6 others. And you thought this was going to be lengthy.

1. I enjoy my job; I'm good at it; I admire my boss and other team members I work with. I don't always see eye to eye, but you can't have everything. We've worked together so long that we do create win-win situations and the final product is better. No, this is not a manufacturing plant, but one of the state departments in California.

2. I sang solo for a wedding in a church with organ and choir backup in the loft when I was in 7th or 8th grade. I had no idea the rehearsals were for a wedding... (stunned to say the least).

3. I've done tons of crafts throughout the years. I made ceramics from pouring the molds to the final displays in local florists' locations. I took some classes in photography (very beginner local classes) and shot some decent pictures. I started rubber stamping and had tons of parties with a great "Dots" rep who moved away and Stamping Up. I went to bead work, and now I'm back to rubber stamping which has never grown old to me.

4. We had a duck as a pet. He was a beauty. The dog and duck got along well.

5. I don't watch TV. I haven't actually turned the TV on to watch a channel in years. We have watched several series like "Friends" when we order movies from the library - yes, the regular library - the one with books. :)

6. I've lived in the same house for about 35 years.

I think those are pretty random things.

Now, to list the "Rules":

link to the person who tagged you
list 6 random things about yourself
tag 6 new people
let each tagged person know they've been tagged by posting a comment on their blog
link to the 6 people you've tagged
and let the person who tagged you know that you posted


I'm tagging these 6 people, in no particular order:

Lysa at Lysa's Crafty Creations
Jan at Far North
Louise at My Discoveries
Kristine at Just a Thought
Beverly at Little Shop of Crafts
Laura at Laura's Stamp Art Journal

Have fun visiting these blogs. I had fun just now, going through their posts and just plain relaxing visiting the blogs.

Fall card 10-5-08

Fall card 10-5-08,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I did make something for the Two Peas in a Bucket - here is my entry also for a new Cuttlebug challenge site.

Ewok 06032007

Ewok 06032007,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

My 16 year old dog, Ewok (like from Star Wars, because she looked like an ewok) went to sleep for the very last time. She was in a lot of pain; we had a little room to say goodbye in before the doctor gave her the anesthesia to put her to sleep and the overdose to put her out. She was a very sweet girl, so full of life until just recently.

She was just snoozin' in this picture. Not a real good one. She was hurting so much today, that a picture of her today would not show you the true character of Ewok. She was lively and still wanted to play when I got home from work most nights. She was such a good girl, protective but loved kids.

She used to play "Hide and Seek" with my girlfriend's son. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. She came running into the living room when I had guests once and ran to the side of the sofa, backed up and laid down peeking out and then moved back when she heard "her" boy coming. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen.

I'll miss her.

Stamptoberfest 2008

I'm sure there's a lot happening around the world for World Cardmaking day on October 4, 2008. I know Two Peas in a Bucket is starting today - a Friday warmup. Fellow stampers, do we need warmed-up? We were born warmed-up.

Two Peas in a Bucket is holding Stamptoberfest 2008! for all the events across the internet on World Cardmaking Day on Saturday Oct 4, 2008. Stamptoberfest challenges will stay open through Sunday the 12th when prizes will be awarded. And after that, hangover week challenges will begin on Monday the 13th for those who just did not get enough during SOF! I'm sure that stands for StamptOberFest.....

I've entered two of the contests already - a Journal in Fourishes and an ATC in Odd Embellishments. I know I'll be checking them out some more. Also, Hero Arts will be doing something on Saturday, October 4. Can't wait to see. I'm sure I'll be posting more as I check out the challenges.

Our Creative Corner contest through Sept 30, 2008

OCC 9-27-08,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I'm entering the contest at Our Creative Corner (OCC) this week. I'm basing my design on Amy Sheffer's design, but I turned it to accomodate the chipboard "Good Times" that I found at the "Dollar Tree" with some papers. I was in a hurry and didn't want to check through different colored papers to find matches, so I grabbed this cheap kit and put this together rather quickly. I put the butterfly up in the corner as I thought it needed something there. I also antiqued it with Ranger Distressed Linen and a darker color. I like the way it turned out.

No stamps used. It's a square 4" X 4" card and

Post-it note gift

Post-it note gift,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

Hero Arts contest and I wanted to make a gift, but what, something that's not going to be costly and yet has the potential for being a decent gift or something I could use if it wasn't gift-worthy, so to speak. Where else? Yes, the Dollar Tree.

Round and round I went.... ok, a journal... something that's not got a lot on it so I can hopefully do SOMETHING with it. And, mmm, ok, a little box with flower (before picture) that looks like post-it notes can fit inside... well, I guess I wouldn't exactly whoop it up over a gift of post-it notes... but oh well, I'm tired, I've passed this aisle how many times? ok, not 100s, but... enough is enough. TWO things.... I'm taking them home.

I either already posted the journal or will post it after this. On with the little box. I've included another link for a picture of the other side. I'm going to recap what's on the description of the project --- I painted the box in two light colored yellows so it looks a little antiqued - hard to see here. I painted the pink flower yellow and the circle white. I found flowers in just the right yellow and added white on top with a yellow brad. Had to pop dot around the wood circle as the insert is too far back. I stamped flowers and butterflies on the outside of the box and put gems in some of the flowers and each butterfly on the box has 4 small gems - each butterfly has a different color. I stamped the post-it notes (yes, each page) at the bottom with the two flowers from the box. Because this is a close fit for the post-it notes, I put sheer yellow ribbon, knotted it on both ends and will tie it once I put that last post-it note pack in. Once they start using the notes, it they want to take an entire pad out, they can use the ribbon to lift up the pads. My daughter-in-law fell in love with this. It has a fresh, clean feel to it. (I like it too, hate parting with the little thing - it's already destined to go in a basket for one of my best friends).
Hope you liked the make-over - oooh, do they have those make-over shows on TV still? Sorry - just haven't watched TV litterly in years - well to watch a TV channel... got a DVD. I was so happy this morning when I put the finishing touches on this. I really love the way it turned out.

Featuring a great card and blog today

Fetish for Paper - a great blog and a wonderful card today on Hero Arts blog and some great video links also. What wonderful ideas for new and fun ways to do a card. I'm sure people wonder how a card, an ordinary card can hold so much attraction for the scrapper or card maker. That's because artists take the next step and create a new a unique item, a creation with their unique signature.

Creativity spawns creativity. Having people of like minds gather in a community of sharing seems to multiply the awareness of the things around us that impact our lives. Either attending a convention, taking a class at your local craft store, or going on-line to peek at what everyone else has been up to. More and more, people are accessing the internet to expand their knowledge with new techniques and to remember those old ones that never fade away.

Splitcoast Technique

I made my way from Beverly's Little Shop of Crafts to Splitcoast Stampers to see how to make the lovely and unique card that made for the holiday Hero Arts contest for the week of September 18th. What a fun idea. I love learning new things. You could get all your materials ready before and make a bunch for your close friends or neighbers. It has its own envelope and would be a wonderful hand-carried card or for a longer message than what you'd write on a small gift card.

Difference between dye and pigment based inks

I always wondered what the difference was between dye-based and pigment inks. I found the article below at http://www.printerfillingstation.com/PFS/Pigmented.htm

Here is the difference between Standard dye-based ink and Pigmented ink.

Water Resistance
The dye in the dye-based ink dissolves in water like sugar does in water -- completely.
Pigment does not dissolve completely. It is more like a flour and water mixture.
Because of this, dye-based inks flow better and have been the standard in inkjet printers. But the dye will re-dissolve and the ink will flow across the paper if drops of water hit the paper.
Pigmented ink particles tend to settle into the tiny fibers that make up the paper. As the ink dries, the pigment particles get stuck in the fibers. Thus, the pigmented inks are more water resistant than the dye-based inks. Only about 5 to 10 percent of the ink will re-flow if the paper is hit by water.

Fade Resistance
The molecules in dye-based inks are spread out. You might think of dye-based ink on paper as similar to a beach covered with sand. Because of this, dye-based ink tends to fade quicker, since all of the molecules are exposed to the chemical and sunlight-caused reactions that fade the ink. You may notice fading of dye-based inks exposed to direct sunlight commonly in 6 to 12 months.
Pigment particles are similar to large pebbles on a beach. It is much more difficult for sunlight and chemicals to react with all of the pigment molecules, since most of them are hidden inside the "pebbles". Pigmented inks will usually last for many years before fading becomes noticeable.

Print Quality
It is possible to get more "color" into pigments than into dyes. Therefore, pigmented colors tend to be more vibrant than dye-based colors. And pigmented black inks tend to be slightly darker than dye-based inks.

Another great stamp store in Sacramento

For a long time, I've been trying to find The Stamp Art Shoppe's web site to check for events and classes as I love to browse, buy, and learn new techniques at her shop. I always got a message that I hadn't updated a program. I was confused, because that should not be an issue. Finally, I was checking Tim Holtz's site and his calendar link took me right to The Stamp Art Shoppe. The search engine I had first used did not have the correct address.

Now I can check for upcoming events online YAY! This lovely enlarged shop invites you in to enjoy the art of stamping, not just a crafty thing to do. They are in the same shopping center, but in the corner. Great place to wonder around, get ideas and learn a bit more than when you came in.

Sandy, the proprietor, is a creative person who has a style that is sophisticated and simple. I like the sharpness of detail that goes into each of her creations.

I entered the penguin contest Sandy put on at her shop. I fell in love with the entry of a peguin on the beach under the umbrella - so did not win, but I was happy with both my submissions. They will be great little gifts for those who delight in the unusual. Loved doing them. That little "Memory Box" penguin was sooooo cute.

December Journal 2008

December Journal 2008,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I made my December journal with the penguin tags. YAY.... SInce three tabs would have been better on this size, I just added a smaller stamped tab.

I do like the shabby chic style that the Hero Arts (HA) challenge of the week is having. I may be able to do a couple more cards.

Just hop on the HA site to view all the great submissions. I also post at a fairly new site. We've got a challenge for the month of September to recycle and see what percentage of the card can be made of recycled materials.... I had never really thought I needed a Cuttlebug, but now that I have one, I LOVE IT.

Shabby Valentine

Shabby Valentine,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

My Shabby Valentine. I'm hearing a crooning voice singing the music to "My Happy Valentine", only instead of "Happy", they insert "Shabby". Oh well... smile.

I never thought I'd ever use that little Heart that I embossed. I couldn't think of anything I'd want to use it for or with. What do you know........ I found a spot for it. I'm happy with this card. Love the colors and all.

Shabby Chic is in. So shabby up your chic and get it on a card! I love all the submissions as everyone gets past their first uneasiness and bafflement on exactly what Shabby Chic meant... See the Flickr group for Hero Arts to see what it's all about. The contest began Monday, so get moving to the Hero Arts site.

Hero Arts Contest week beginning 9/15/08

I was thrilled with last week's subject, because I'm using that little journal right away. It's a working piece of art right now - keeping track of the stamps sets I have that I can't read when I use them... yay!

I am excited over this week's theme. Straight from Hero Arts, (HA), Shari is hosting the HA week on the HA blog. As she says:

A week of blogging just wouldn’t be right without a challenge right? So to start things off, I’d like you to create a Holiday card, project or scrapbook page that uses an element of Shabby Chic design. Just load them into Hero Arts Flickr group with the tag “shabby” Be sure to use at least one Hero Arts stamp on your card and post them by September 21st at 11:59pmPST. From the entries we will pick winners for these prize.

I think the Shabby Chic theme is starting to stir the creative minds of my fellow HA bloggers too. Shari will be sharing lots of Holiday cards with us this week and I'm looking forward to them, one and all. :)

I can envision my December journal right now. Can't you just see that Penguin in the circle in the Warm Wishes CL243 set as Tabs for the journal? And if you want to borrow that idea, go for it. I hope to have enough time to stamp a little something on each page as I was able to do on my September journal, as well as sponge all the pages some color other than white... which looks wonderful, but I'm in a COLOR mood this month.

Have a wonderful week. Arlene

Tomatoes red and green

Tomatoes red and green,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I just had to take a picture of my beautiful tomato vine - it's growing up the chain link fence and as you can see, the colors are wonderful. They taste so sweet, you can just pop them into your mouth and be surprised every time with the flavor.

I've taken some to work and they are devoured. I leave them on a small table and see people popping them into their mouths as they walk by.

The red is such a vivid color that it makes me think of those fabulous Pacific coast sunsets. Mingled with the green, I'm thinking cards here; perhaps a background of olive green and oranges or yellows or reds to pop out at you.

A fabulous new card style

Please visit http://littleshopofcrafts.blogspot.com/ to see the twist on a pocket card - show off your beautiful patterned paper. This is a great way to use those scraps that we all collect. Love the card she did for the Hero Arts flickr group.

book of birthdays

book of birthdays,
originally uploaded by Laura ODonnell.

Laura ODonnell's planner turned out terrific - Love it. I think these would be a great gift. She took the planner and made it her own.

You can go see the easy-peasy perpetual calendar to learn how to make this. I wonder if I should make one.... maybe.... we'll see!

Guy cards

I hit the blog site for a stamp store in my area and thought I'd feature Ken's cards. Ken, hubby of the owner of The Paper Garden has started teaching classes. His cards are great! Wait until you see his pool table card... too cool, masculine and creative! I didn't want to say "cute" and shake the mystique of masculinity out of it. (shhh, they are cute)

Hope you get some neat ideas and if you're in the area, stop on by their shop, which is a card-filled paradise - Fulton and Marconi - on the Fulton Avenue side in Sacramento, California. Ken and Stephanie are both very helpful.

ATC Wine bottle background

ATC Wine bottle background,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I see all kinds of chipboard items for sale and also checked out the alphabet sets for use in the Cuttlebug - great little machine for dry embossing and die cuts. (I am curiously patting the little think mentally).

I purchased the Olivia set of die cuts (40% off, yay) and found it also had numbers and some fun items as well. A tag, vase, flowers, saysings were part of this wonderful set.

I've been floundering in my efforts to come up with material I want to put on an Artist Trading Card (ATC) because I'm not sure how to lay the foundation - layer a bit of chipboard with paper/cardstock, whatever... but the boxes (tissue, cerreal, cracker and whatever else comes to hand) are sometimes perfect for a background of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. I even used the distressed bars folder (embossing folder for the Cuttlebug) on the base for this ATC. I added the vase, tag (with ribbon), stem, flowers, and "hi" to the base and all were cut from the Olivia die cut set. I love the quiet design on the tag.

Our Creative Corner time to submit your creations

The challenge is simple - love it http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/2008/08/occ-challenge-limited-supplies.html - do not use more than a maximum of four layers. After playing with colors on Hero Arts, this should be a simple one now. :)))) What do we know about color.... ok, a little, but you can do this. You might even have one already made to order.

August 6, 2008 - someone's birthday....

I left the album and birthday card on the table for my daughter-in-law to open when she woke up, (I love Andi's comment on a previous post). The card was the wrap=around card which spelled out her name on the back. Rosalie is extremely talented in the art field, so I'm especially glad she liked the card and page.

I got a nice call from work saying how much she loved the card and the page. Made a great workday for me.

Pumpkin orange yellow and purple blue

Pumpkin orange yellow and purple blue,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I took two challenges - one on OCC
ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/2008/08/occ-sketch-challe... and the Hero Arts Color contest. I wanted to try the pumpkin orange, yellow and purple blue, but I had a hard time finding those particular colors, so I took the sky off of two pieces of DCWV 12" X 12" papers for the background and found I had used the Swirls embossing folder on a piece of bright yellow paper. I had colored by little chick in already, so it wasn't too hard to put together. I'm still not completely happy with my cuts - this was the second blue piece I tried. It came out fairly decent though.

Happy wrap-around front and back

Happy wrap-around front and back,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I finally got Rosalie's Birthday card done - did a wrap-around card - as a Toastmaster, we are reminded, never to do a "free" speech, meaning one that does NOT get counted on our project manuals. Therefore, I guess I'm adhering to that same philosophy in stamping now... never do a free card - make sure it gets entered into some contest. :)))

Rosalie is my daughter-in-law and I love her dearly. See the inside of this FUN card:)

Entries for 2 Peas 7/25/08

I entered this in the Two Peas in a Bucket contest at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=2606725. Thank you,

Anne, for your nice comment. When I pulled the 8th sheet from my papers, I wanted to go to another stack because both draws were light-colored. But I was able to use it as the filler between the heart and the outer heart ring. They were the same shades, but I would have liked a little more color. Still, it came out good.

Always stretching... and my flowers were from the Cuttlebug, which I absolutely love. Nice to have any color flower you want with a piece of paper and a bug - Cuttlebug.

Love Anne's tag. The colors are dynamite.

House Mouse on flower

House Mouse on flower ,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I have this little mouse up on my blog, but I'm going to enter him into the Hero Arts contest for summer theme contest. I just think he is so cute. Hope you like it.

House Mice - drinking cocoa

House Mice - drinking cocoa,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I went to a morning tea party in a friend's home with a total of 10 of us - had a ball chatting and indulging in quiche, fresh fruits and homemade biscuits. Two of the women played violin. It was a refreshing morning. We had a wonderful Strawberry Darjeeling and a English Breakfast Tea too. I thought, even though my card is not tea, it's the drinking in friendship of a beverage that many times brings us together (not really talking beer here:). The outer rim and mouse on the left are pop-dotted. I'll try to get a shot tomorrow.

Used House Mouse Stamp and HA clear "be happy" stamps. Stamped the back of the envelope with mice feet.

Two Peas - July 11 challenge

I must have missed the post to choose from in the upload gallery in the Two Peas in a Bucket July 11th contest.

I did something very simple, but I like the way it turned out. I used the swirl cuttlebug folder and set a Little House Mouse on top of some grid like paper. Used the same paper for the Hero Arts Hello Friend stamp. Hope you like it.

Two Peas - July 11th challenge

The challenge is out for Two Peas! I love it... should be interesting to try out.

I've been hanging out at the Hero Arts site looking at the great cards done by kids... way to go! My granddaughter is loving it. She loves looking at all the submissions by children, future stampers of the world.

Two Peas in a Bucket contest

I see only a few submissions and maybe this contest is over, but I made a Birthday card last night that I submitted and I have a Heart card there too.

My granddaughter and I worked a little bit last night. She likes to use the Cuttlebug and has a photo box with her Cuttlebug selections. We've been grabbing the tissue boxes before they're put in the trash. I'm sure they'll re revived on cards shortly.

Two Peas in a Bucket contest beginning July 1st

I finally found the contest beginning July 1st.

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/userblogpost.asp?id=38849

It's quite simple and I think I'll have a go!

Buzzing different sites

I've added "The Paper Garden" to my blog. It's a wonderful local store in the Sacramento, CA area in the Town & Country Village shopping center, right on Fulton Avenue, though the address is 2601 El Paseo Lane, Sacramento, CA. So, if you're in the Sacramento area, don't forget to buzz on by!

Stephanie and hubby, Ken, are very enthusiastic people who will help with ideas, finding "the" stamp, as well as testing punches for sizes... yes that's what I was doing yesterday - looking for a one inch square punch for inchies. I don't think I'm going to be an inchie trader, but I see ways to accent cards with the one inch size punch.

I've added Stephanie's blog also. She has wonderful ideas and is a very positive person - who wouldn't be if they're a stamper? Right? Right!


I was, of course, checking the wonderful submissions in the Hero Arts group on Flickr and came across a link on becs attwood's submission for a great tutorial on making a Pull-out Scrapbook, wonderful for wedding and baby showers. On g_taly's submission, she had yet another tutorial on making a pull-it pop-up card.

Charity event in the UK

arlene charity donation,
originally uploaded by newkidfish (Cathy A).

I'm so glad Cathy A. got my donation for her charity benefit. I had a lot of fun doing a "Masterboard" on "Our Creative Corner" and so had a few more cards to send her from that great challenge. A masterboard is a piece of cardstock (8 1/2" X 11") on which you stamp different items (small is good) and use as a master from which you cut and shape your cards. The challenge was to make 4 to 5 cards using the masterboard. It was a lot of fun and I got to use them right away by sending them to Cathy (newkidfish). And a great big thanks to Cathy for posting them on the Hero Arts blog. I have been thoroughly enjoying the Hero Arts Challenges. There's so much to learn and relearn and remember that "yes" you have done that technique before...

Water Lily Inchie Card

Water Lily Inchie Card,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

It's contest time again - like it isn't contest time every week? This time, it's an "inchie." I had never heard of inchies until I started reading all the blogs and wondered what an inchie was and what the excitement was all about. Now's the time to try it out... and with the help of all the wonderful tutorials at the Hero Arts website http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/.

I got my Hero Arts (HA) Water Lily stamp in from Stampin Treasures http://www.stampintreasures.com/ the day before and so I had an idea. I inked the stamp on a Rubber Stamp Paint Box long variegated ink pad with green on the stem. I loved the look, sponged, yellow over it (ordinarily I would have sponged the colors first, but I was working on a trial run and it happened to be turning into what I wanted), sponged some orange on, then added a bit of red to the right, a bit of blue to the left and was satisfied. I added the dragonflies and stamped the butterfly on red card stock (CS) from the Clear HA "Share Laughter". I popped the butterfly up. I had my finished piece... YAY! So what was I going to do with these? I was drawn to a piece of green CS that was in my scrap box and taped the inchies down, using a piece of CS as a straight edge. I was really surprised at how they lined up... I'm not used to this being an easy job. I taped this to a notecard and pulled the soft yellow Cubblebug swirls CS out and taped it to the bottom. I thought of the green sheer ribbon in my drawer, pulled it out and decided to tie it on the left side adding yellow gems to the ribbon. I put a glue dot under the bow to hold it in place. I had a great timel putting this together. This might not be my only inchie.. They're rather fun!

Hearts & red flowers white brad & buttons

Hearts & flowers red brad & button,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I wanted to enter the "Our Creative Corner" contest for this week, so I took some die cuts and the swirls embossing folder to work with.

Die cuts are the items on the cards that have been cut out by a die cut machine. This die cut machine is called a Cuttlebug.

This was a very strange card for me to do, as well as the card with all the die cuts for a summer garden.

Cuttlebug Flowers

Cuttlebug Flowers,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I spent Sunday morning sorting through my die-cuts that we had cut last night in several different colors to make a "sunshine" card. I just had so much fun. Stems are hand-drawn... I'm sure you could tell that... but a good time was had by all... me... me... me..

HA Clear Spread Sunshine from the Happiness Messages

WSW - Andi

Visit Andi's blog at http://www.andisperfectgravy.blogspot.com/. She's got WSW detailed for you on her blog - so many challenges.

Two Peas and me?

Ok, let's see if I can join the Two Peas contests. I have a long card to submit, true it's very simple, but I'm game.

I also want to post Andi's instructions on how to enter the contest, because I did see my card posted on the member stamping gallery and I replied to the thread.

You can see Andi's post on this page http://www.flickr.com/groups/heroarts/discuss/72157605593268253/#comment72157605670844836

Go to the 2peas Stamping board:www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=list&forum_id=221.

This will give you the first page of all the stamping board threads..

You can see lots of challenges.

The one I started is this one:www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id...

Now, to see all the Challenges in one spot go to the Master Thread here:www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id...

From the Master Thread you can see all the challenges, click on the blogs that host the challenge, as well as the thread where peas are also posting links to their cards...

Then, there is the Stamping Gallery:www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=recent&gallery=3

Send me Flickr mail if you have any questions or leave a post on the thread I created...over at 2peas...Hope to see you!

Entry for Our Creative Corner 6/16/08

I'm hoping to enter the sketch contest for WSW. I've posted three entries here and now I am going to try to link the cards somewhere on the OCC page. I like having a sketch... pretty cool! The contest is at http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/.

Garden with one tomato

tomato on 06112008,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

Well, I planted a tomato plant and it didn't die on me. As a matter of fact the little thing went and bloomed and now I have this little tomato ripening. Yes, I do have green ones, and I've planted a tomato plant last year, but this is record time for me to see a tomato ripen... and I didn't know these were (cheery) cherry tomatos... oh well... they'll taste yummy. I had to publish this because I DON'T have a green thumb... it may be blue, brown, red, purple and inky green, but growing stuff.. nah! So I'm giving myself a pat on the back here and it's my blog, so I can put whatever comes across my mind.... Happy Day!

One of my favorite stamps

IMG_1688,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I bought this stamp in 1999 I think. I usually stamp it in brown tones. I stamped this one and didn't get a good image in the upper left-hand corner, so I tore it and the other edges, antiqued and color sponged the flowers. I gold embossed the edges. I tore some quilted brown packing paper, antiqued the paper, antiqued some light tan cardstock. I glued the stamped image paper on top of the packing paper, which is attached to the note card. My daughter-in-law had a small stamp "Letters are written...." I will have to read the actual card since the stamp is no longer in her possession. There's a certain feeling about this stamp. I love it.

Oh Happy Day! Thursday 6/12/08

Gift small tin with saying,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

Just imagine! With so many artists, whose work I love, I was able to place in the contest with my Gift submission. I chose a color of cardstock that went with the silver - light blues and purples seemed to fit the bill. I thought words and small flowers fit, so there was something to read that was fun and uplifting as you turned the can. Then I was stymied, I knew I wanted to do something on the top, but what? As I was meandering the aisles of a local Walmart, I saw the package of blue flowers/brads/button and knew they were mine. With the letters from a set of Miss Elizabeth's min board book paper craft kit and some sheer lavender ribbon, I was on my way. I was thrilled with the finished can. Sometimes there are those moments when it all comes together. Visit Hero Arts blog, http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/ to see all the winners - it has to be difficult to choose even your top ten. Congratulations to all.

Two new baskets 06112008

Two new baskets 06112008,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

Finally something nicer than a box with the tops ripped off to hold my cards. Pretty to see through to the cards inside. Makes me happy just to see the colors staring out at me. I added a side-by-side photo of the two see through boxes below. I like the bright colors of the cards showing through.

Asian Card - cranes/storks?

Asian Card - cranes/storks?,
originally uploaded by Clarian's Hawk.

I'm trying something different. I have been writing on my blog and then grabbing the image to be inserted from there. I have been reading the FAQs on Flickr and found that "Blog This" will lead me to post directly from Flickr to my Blog - well, that's what I'm trying right now. Hopefully this turns out the way I want. The one issue I had when I would link to Flickr was that the area where the image was supposed to be was blank until someone clicked on the image and then it took the person to Flickr. Then when they wanted to go back to my blog, they'd be thrown out of the blog completely. Well, I'm ready to try this. And I do love this stamp... is it a crane, an egret? I'll have to research this, won't I?

2001 Stampin' Up Asian stamp
HA clear "Sharing Laughter" flower and line of dots
Ordinary paper punch

I love this stamp - comes in a set of three. I like the others, but there is something about this particular stamp that draws me time and again to try different colors, use it in different ways. I usually stamp a bunch, color as I have time and put them aside. Then I may come across some paper as I'm making something else and go for these images. I cut a piece of the olive green paper at a diagonal to sit beside the birds.

GIft - friendship in a Can

I especially liked the gift challenge on Hero Arts. I came up with a tin from the Goodwill store for 99 cents, which I peeled the cover off, then made a new cover for.... here's a prize that someone will love. I enjoyed taking the "Baby Boy" letters I bought at a Dollar Tree to adhere to a shere lavender ribbon. You'll see what I mean when you see this picture. Very easy.

You tuck the ribbon into the can and surprise! A little message pops out. A little bit of candy, a ring, an endearing message, anything to cheer, deepen your friendship. Have a happy day!