New Poll for Card Buyers

I've posted a new poll on The Card Chronicles to help all card designers determine the type of card the buying public wants to see. There's been a lot of discussion on the Etsy forums about single cards vs. multiple card sets. But I also want to know what type of card you're looking for. Please take a look at our poll and cast your vote.

Adopted Ancestors

I often use vintage photographs in my art and I'm always amazed to find them at garage sales, thrift stores and flea markets. I wonder why anyone would sell these snippets of history. Vintage photos are family treasures that I feel strongly should be preserved and given respect, so I always snatch them up when I see them. I have very few pictures of my grandparents and none at all of my great-grandparents. I don't know if they were lost or destroyed, or if they were too poor to afford the luxury of photographs. Here are some of my adopted ancestors. Oh - and by the way, if you happen to recognize anyone, please let me know!

An Award with a Twist

I've been honored to receive an I Love Your Blog Award from Jan of Expressive Papers. In accepting this Blog Award I'm required to answer the following questions with ONE WORD. So here are some things you never knew about me....

1. Where is your cell phone? PURSE
2. Where is your significant other? KITCHEN
3. Your hair color? ASH BLONDE
4. Your mother? STRONG
5. Your father? HONEST
6. Your favorite thing? FAMILY
7. Your dream last night? LOST
8. Your dream/goal? BUSINESS OWNER
9. The room you're in? OFFICE
10. Your hobby? CRAFTS
11. Your fear? SLOWING DOWN
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? HERE
13. Where were you last night? HOME
14. What you're not? STUPID
15. One of your wish-list items? RETIREMENT
16. Where you grew up? BUFFALO
17. The last thing you ate? CREAMSICLE
18. What are you wearing? JEANS
19. Your TV? NEW
20. Your pet? HUSKY
21. Your computer? GATEWAY
22. Your mood? CALM
23. Missing someone? MOM
24. Your car? JEEP
25. Something you're not wearing? MAKEUP
26. Favorite store? FRESH n EASY
27. Your summer? HOT
28. Love someone? SURE
29. Your favorite color? YELLOW
30. When is the last time you laughed? TODAY
31. Last time you cried? YESTERDAY

Tag Christmas Card

Those of you who are familiar with my work know that I always like to do the unusual. Well here's my unique Christmas card for this year. I pulled out my library tag template to make a birthday card and decided it could make a unique Christmas card. The inserted greeting could also be used as an ornament on the holiday tree. I had lots of fun creating this card and plan on experimenting with a few more.

Tag - You're It!

I've been "tagged" by The Spotted Sparrow, a great artist and papercrafter. Make sure to check out her blog for her projects and tutorials.

Playing tag is a great way to get to know each other and find some really great blogs. The rules of the game are these:
Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.

Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



Now for my facts:
1. I'm a baby boomer who still feels like I'm 20 - well, maybe 30!
2. As a young adult I loved "Peter, Paul and Mary" and played folksongs on the guitar.
3. My husband and I moved to Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, after living a rather conservative life in Buffalo, New York. And just in case your wondering - I'm just a recreational gambler that loses more than I win!
4. As a child, I never had a dog, but since I "growed up" I've always kept Siberian Huskies.
5. I love natural whole foods and could easily become a vegetarian.
6. I love walking, riding my bike and gardening. In Buffalo, I raised all my own vegetables, but here I can only raise cactus!
7. I've always loved creating things, but only started cardmaking and altered art about 10 years ago. It all started when I decided Christmas cards were way too expensive for the quality of the card you got. I made my own one year, and I never stopped.

I've chosen the following bloggers to play the game. Sorry if you've already been tagged - but it just lets us get to know you better!

Expressive Papers
Crafty This and That
Homespun Heaven
Quixotic Cards
Paper Lady Invites
Heart Hugs
Posh Doodles

Custom Mini Envelopes

Went crazy with cards this weekend - well, not really cards - envelopes! I love these mini envelopes for thank you notes, gift cards or small items. If you want to make your own, find a small envelope you like and open it up to make your own template. Transfer the template to chipboard or plastic and voila - and easy to use template for no cost!

My Newest Project

I have so many beautiful papers, diecuts and small embellishments that I decided to try my hand at making some mini note cards using these pieces. Now believe it or not, even though I love making cards, I really don't send that many! But I definately think I will be using some of these tiny treasures as gift cards and "thank-yous". I mounted the embossed and inked diecuts on textured cardstock and lined the card with parchment paper. Each card measures 2 3/4" square. I think it's a great way to use some of these under used, highly detailed die cuts.

New Card to Share

As promised, here is my newest card creation to share with you. My favorite style is collage and my favorite theme is the vintage woman. This is a 5" x 6 7/8" card - large enough for the longest love letter! The collage is mounted on textured cardstock. The pensive woman is a computer generated copy of a vintage postcard. The corner heart is a Spellbinder diecut. I've used a button brad, lace and faux stone lettering for lots of dimension.





Now it's your turn. Leave a comment with the link to your newest creation. We can all use daily inspiration.

World Card Making Day

This Saturday, October 4th is World Cardmaking Day! Can you believe we actually have a special day to celebrate our passion? Spread the word! Have a sale! Buy something from a new card artist! Post to your blog! Let's all join together and encourage each other. One of the great things about this hobby is that you can easily share your thoughts and ideas. And as much as designing our own cards, we just love to see what other card artists are up to. So get going - I challenge each of you to create a fantastic card to share with us on Saturday. I'll be posting one and I hope everyone who accepts the challenge leaves their posting URL as a comment at that time. Leave the computer for a while and go create!

New Poll - Vote Today!

The Creative Card Designs (CRCD) Team is conducting a new poll about the use of acid free materials in greeting cards. If you are a handmade card enthusiast and/or buyer, please help us better meet your expectations and needs, by casting your vote today at the Card Chronicles Blog:(http://www.creativecard-designs.blogspot.com/).

Do You Diecut?

Anyone who uses die cuts probably has more that one machine since there are so many claiming to be the best. I don't have experience with them all, but I always do a lot of research prior to purchasing anything, and I can say with confidence that there is no miracle machine. Each has advantages and disadvantages. I've singled out three as my favorites because each of them has a particular benefit for me. Probably the number one consideration in purchasing any die cutter is cost. There is a wide range of prices starting at about $30 to over $300. For a very reasonable and easy to use die cutter I purchased the Sizzix Sidekick. I think it was actually less than $30 with a 40% off coupon at my local craft store. I bought it mainly because I have a few slimline dies that I love and was having a hard time cutting thick or textured cardstock with them on my more expensive machine. It has proved to be a real time saver for those cuts. I also own a Quickkutz that I use almost exclusively for letters and numbers. The dies are small, very important when using the cuts for cards. It's quick and easy to grab and punch one or two letters. However, my favorite die cutter is the Spellbinder Wizard. There is a lot of controversy over this machine. You either love it or hate it. It's expensive and it's a little tricky to operated properly, as it's not as automated as the other cutters. And it takes a little thought to get your "sandwiches" set up correctly. But the wizard has the most beautiful embossed diecuts I have ever seen. It can cut using almost any die, embosses using Fiskar plates, flattens bottle caps, sets eyelets and snaps, flattens polymer clay, photo transfers, and lots more. I admit I haven't used the machine for all purposes, but knowing I could is good enough for me!!

Now why did I decide to focus on die cutters today? Because I found the best bargain ever at a garage sale this weekend. I've already said that you either love the Wizard or hate it. Well, I found someone who hated it - and I purchased a brand new machine with all the accessories for $10.00. The orginal machine I bought cost me over $100.00 and each replacement plate runs about $8.00. You know I'm a happy crafty camper!

Vintage Medicine - Oh My!

I've worked in the medical field for 40 years and have a small collection of old medical ephemera. I love reading the old medical almanacs from the 1920's to 1950's. The almanacs were actually printed by companies in an effort to sell their medicines, and distributed by drugstores and pharmacies. And what medicines they were! My newest creation is a magnet from an advertisement in the 1939 Jaynes's Almanac for vermifuge for roundworms! Basically, the entire booklet educated the reader on the symptoms and horrors of this parasite. I have no idea whether the medicine worked, but found the reading quite amusing. The advertisement is mounted on heavy chipboard, sealed with mod podge, edged in copper foil tape, and has a full magnetic back. It measures 2 1/2" square. I had a lot of fun with this; I think I'll be doing some more in the near future.

Thrifty Craft Shopping

I've discovered a new store for purchasing brand name craft supplies at discount prices. It's none other than my local Big Lots ! I stop in every time I pass by. You just never know what you're going to find or when new shipments arrive. My latest purchases were McGill giant punches at just $4 each. I bought six - library folders, ticket stubs, file folders, tags, and 2 types of envelopes. Even if I use them only a couple of times they will pay for themselves! I also found some K&Company metallic cards with envelopes in holiday colors that retail for $6, for $1.88 each. I bought them all. Now I'm ready for Christmas. They usually also have embellishments, ribbons, scrapbook paper, and sometimes even some Martha Stewart stuff at highly discounted prices! Just a couple of warnings - if you see something you think you might use, don't think you can come back for it later. It'll be gone! You also have to remember, shopping here is addicting, so don't expect to go once and forget it. The great prices will bring you back over and over again!

Vintage Car Notecards

I found some really great photos of vintage muscle cars and went out of my comfort zone a bit to create some notecards for the vintage car fanatics. I mounted the computer generated photos on metallic and textured cardstock, then mounted them on foam for dimension. The four embellishments are pewter colored eyelets. I love the way these cards turned out!