Experimental Birthday

Experimental Birthday
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

So...I need to do a better job of posting my cards. Sadly, I totally CASE'd this card several days ago and now I can't remember where I got the idea. And I checked all my usual haunts too. Oh well. Eventually I'll find it and then give that person credit! :-)

To the card...

I cut a small piece (cuz I'm totally hoarding my limited stash) of Gina K's Pure Luxury cardstock and brushed it with Broken China Distress Ink, then stamped it several times using Scattered Straw Distress Ink and a whispy plant stamp. I inked the edges with Wild Honey Distress Ink.

I sent a small piece of green cardstock through a crimper, then sprayed it with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz. I adhered that to a white cardblank, adhered the white cardstock piece on top and then stamped my sentiment in Wild Honey Distress Ink.

In real life, this card is kind of cool. I'm not sure it's "me" though. ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank); GinaK (Pure Luxury white cardstock); Bazzill (green cardstock)
Stamps: Stampabilities (birthday); Inkadinkado (plant stamp, #97205)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Wild Honey, Scattered Straw, Broken China)
ETC: Fiskars (crimper); Clearsnap (Smooch Spritz, Gold Glow)


Thanks for looking over here today....have a great weekend!!

~Cynthia

(Birthday)

(Birthday)
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I CASE'd this card from LateBlossom, off her Simplicity blogsite. But I added my own twist, so that totally counts, right? ;-)

Susan (aka LateBlossom) used a bracket stamp. I don't own one.

I know.

The horrors.

BUT, I do have some pretty cool grunge board brackets with some pretty cool swirlies on them.

Close enough!

My sad little camera (on my phone) totally washed out the colors, but the brackets are a lovely blue color, matching the sentiment's ink perfectly, in real life.



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamps: Stampabilities (Happy Birthday)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
ETC: Tim Holtz Grungeboard (Swirls), automotive sandpaper to sand brackets


Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for popping on over to my little spot in the blog-o-sphere! =D

~Cynthia

Butterfly CASE

Butterfly CASE
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I would like to triumphantly point out that this card was taken in 100% full bright need-sunglasses sunlight.

YAY!!!

I CASE'd this from the Less is More challenge for this week. It is almost impossible to see, but I dragged a glue pen down the card front, beneath where the butterfly is now adhered, making 4 lines of different lengths. Then I sprinkled glitter over those lines and placed the butterfly over it to make cute little 'flight lines.'

The butterfly is die cut (Cuttlebug) from BoBunny paper.

And the birthday sentiment is from my favorite Hero Arts set, Birthday Messages, stamped in ColorBox Pink ink.

Super cute, super quick!



On a side note, it was so much fun to visit other crafters' blogsites this weekend and see how many of us worship the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ. He is risen INDEED!!

~Cynthia

Happy Easter!!

He is RISEN!! He is RISEN INDEED!!!

Mix Media Art Journal Page

Mix Media Art Journal
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Perhaps I should have titled this "And Now For Something Completely Different." This is what I've been doing lately...playing in a Canson Mix Media journal. It's been rather fun and oh, so totally different from my happy happy cards! =D

I know the picture is way way way WAY bad. We have NO sun here today so I took this picture in the bathroom, where the light is half-way decent. But the page is really not as dark as it seems in the picture.

I used several techniques, but the new one for me was stamping on tissue paper, then using Mod Podge to adhere it to the painted page, thus allowing the tissue paper to melt into the paint, leaving the image clear. Can you see the funky sun faces? That's one of my oldest, but most favorite, stamps I own.

The words are hard to read. I had finished the painting part several days ago, but yesterday's Bible verse was perfect for it, so I finally finished it. It says (on the left) "His going forth is as certain" (and on the right) "as the dawn." That's from the book of Hosea, Chapter 6.

That verse really struck me yesterday, especially in light of Holy Week, Easter Sunday, and how Jesus' resurrection (His 'going forth' from the tomb) was so certain...a done deal, as it were. It gives me confidence that God is still in charge and He really does know what He's doing! :-)


I hope you have a wonderful, joyous Easter weekend! Thanks for stopping by today! :-)

~Cynthia

3.5 Minute CASE CAS!

3.5 Minute CASE CAS!
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I CASE'd this idea from LateBlossom over on her Simplicity blogsite.

It's a very CAS card.

I was heating up my lunch (Curried Sweet Potato Soup--OH YES) and I had about 3.5 minutes to stand around watching the soup ride the little carousel in the microwave.

I thought...surely I could make a card in three-and-a-half minutes. Surely I could.

So I ran into the craft room, got the brilliant idea to make a CAS card just like LateBlossom's and thus you have my....


3.5 Minute CASE CAS Card.


I simply stamped the birthday sentiment three times, in three different inks, and then used the ScorBuddy for some textural scoring interest.

*DING*

Ooo! Lunch is ready!! :-)



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank. Yeah, I know it looks blue, but we have NO SUN this morning and even though I took like 5 pictures inside, outside, under light, with no light, upside-down, holding my breath...this is what I got. *sigh*)
Stamp: Hot Off the Press (Mix Your Messages set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Dried Marigold)
ETC: ScorBuddy



Have a great day! And thanks for stopping by!!

~Cynthia

Birthday Re-do

Birthday Re-do
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Way back on March 28, I posted this birthday card, which I set aside on my desk until I needed to send it.

A few days ago I picked it up and noticed....A SPOT on my card! Somehow I had dripped something or other on it and the card was no longer 'sendable.'

So I fixed it.

It was simple, really. I cut the offending spot off and adhered only the front cover of the card onto a white cardblank.

I actually like this second go 'round better. I like the layers. I like how the white pulls everything together.

Disaster averted.

=D


Have a great weekend!


~Cynthia

More Metal

More Metal
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Here's the second batch of Metal Tags a la Linda Israel via her UStream channel.

The one on the left is the backside of the tag I showed yesterday. The bird is from My Mind's Eye.

The middle tag has a cherry cut out of a piece of Graphic 45 paper.

The right side tag has a punch from a Graphic 45 die cut sheet.

All the images have been distressed with Tim Holtz's Brushed Corduroy. The inks used on the metal tape are all Tim's alcohol inks. And all the text pieces are from an old English textbook I snagged from a library book sale a few months ago.

I still have to attach charms and string them. It's been fun finding text/words that match an image. They're like tiny little collages. :-)



~Cynthia

PS: Looks like more severe weather is headed our way Friday night and Saturday morning. If you don't hear from me for a few days....the dang power is off again. ;-)

Metal Tags

Metal Tags
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Yeah, I'm still here!

It's surprising how many times I've read that sentence on other people's blogs this week. ;-) And now I'm the one saying it! Ha ha ha!!!

I don't have a really good excuse either. I've just been busy elsewhere and haven't had much time to create.

I did, however, find the time to make these two metal tags. I watched a class on UStream, hosted by Linda Israel. She's quite talented! Linda made metal-like tags using chipboard (I used an old cereal box) and alcohol inks on metal tape--the kind used for actual duct work. (Which, unlike actual duct TAPE, is actually used for actual work on actual heating and air ducts. Mike Holmes says duct tape has many uses--duct work isn't one of them. Five points if you know who Mike Holmes is!)

So Linda die cut little tags (I used a tag punch) from chipboard she had covered with the metal tape. (I found that too many layers for the punch, so I punched the tag and then covered it with the metal tape.)

Then she spritzed the tag with alcohol and began dropping the alcohol inks on the tags, swirling the colors together. She stamped text all over the tag using Archival ink--I used Stazon. She punched holes in the top and bottom, used matte medium to adhere bits of paper and other images, and to seal the image when she was finished. Then she slipped jump rings and charms in the bottom holes. Finally she added chain to make the tag wearable. (I used rattail cord instead.)

Linda used a silver leafing pen for the edges of the tag. I don't have one so I just sanded the edges of the green tag to make it look like I had used a silver pen.

They are surprisingly light, for all the layers, and since I have multitudinous amounts of Tim Holtz's alcohol inks, I can pretty much make one for every outfit I own. HA HA.

The butterfly is from Graphic 45 paper and the little bird is from My Mind's Eye. I distressed everything with Tim Holtz's Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy. The text is from an old English textbook.

These are really quite easy to make and fast too. And with various ink colors, stamps, papers and images, you could dress them up or distress them down. ;-)


Check out Linda's UStream channel. She's so much fun to watch!


~Cynthia

I'm BACK....with a Sunny Birthday!!!

Sunny Birthday
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Boy, it was a looooooong few days with no electricity and the constant thunderous noise of generators running!! I ventured out a few days ago and I was really surprised at all the damage done near my house. Trees had fallen on power lines, leaving the lines dangling all over the place! BUT, we're back to normal...just in time for another round of severe weather tonight! :-)

Here's one card I managed to make. I think I got the idea from LateBlossom on her blog, Simplicity. I'm trying to use up my huge collection of colored cardstock!

I die cut the flowers and used a border punch for the "ribbon." The sentiment is stamped in more happy yellow.

And then I promptly mailed it off to a friend of mine! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (yellow and white cardstock); unknown striped paper
Stamps: Hero Arts (Birthday Messages set)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard Seed)
ETC: Fiskars (border punch); Sizzix (Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die cut set); Glue Glider Pro; Fiskars (Glue Dots)


I hope to visit blogs today. Without electricity, the house work has um....been neglected. Heh. Maybe I should do that first. ??

~Cynthia

Quick Post...

I'm just jumping on here for a skinny minute to let you know I won't be around for a few days. The storms Tuesday morning knocked out our power. Right now we're running a generator for the big things (like HEAT!) and trying not to run many little things (like COMPUTERS!)

I hate that I'm missing out on everyone's creations, but I hope to be back on here soon to catch up on all the blogs.


Take care!

~Cynthia

Birthday Branch

Birthday Branch
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

1. I couldn't think of a catchy title for this card.

2. I CASE'd a card at Splitcoast Stampers by krischir. She ran her main panel through an embossing folder. It was pretty.

3. I forgot to send my main panel through an embossing folder. It looked bare. I couldn't figure out why.

4. I used a corner heart punch, thinking it would cut the corner in the shape of a heart and do something about that bareness. I was wrong.

5. I took this picture outside, in the bright afternoon sun. This is what I got.

6.So now I have this dark, gray-looking, non-embossed card with an odd looking heart thing in the corner.

7. Happy Monday. Has anyone seen my mojo??


Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (green and pink cardstock); GinaK (Whatever pound, Pure Luxury White cardstock)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Flower and Leaf Branch, Birthday Messages set)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Forest Moss)
ETC: Artists Loft (Watercolor Pencil, for flowers); EK Success (heart corner punch thing)


I'm totally blaming all this on the barometric pressure, which is currently dropping like a rock as the storm system pounding Kentucky is headed this way.

Yes. That's my final answer and I'm sticking to it.

Did I say Happy Monday?

~Cynthia ;-)

Police Lineup: Purple Flowers

Police Lineup: Purple Flowers
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

And here's the last in my little Police Lineup series. ;-)

This time I used a Stampin Up set for my flowers and used the same color of ink for the squares and all the stamped images.

For some sass, I added a tiny star after the birthday sentiment.

Yeah, call me Sassy.


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamps: Stampin Up (Pocket Silhouettes); Hero Arts (Birthday Messages set)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Dusty Concorde)
ETC: Same little 3-square template made from scrap cardstock and Marvy's one-inch square punch


Have a great weekend!! See you on Monday!

~Cynthia

Police Lineup: Kraft

Police Lineup: Kraft
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

Here's the next in my little series of Less Is More challenge cards.

This time I used the same cattail stamp as an earlier card with a bit of Scattered Straw Distress Ink in each of the squares. The cattails and the sentiment are stamped in Walnut Stain Distress Ink.


Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank)
Stamps: Stampscapes (Cattails #016B); Hero Arts (Birthday Messages set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw and Walnut Stain)
ETC: Square template made from scrap cardstock and Marvy one-inch square punch



Finally, FINALLY the sun has reappeared! I'm off to get the chores done so I can spend some time enjoying it! =D

~Cynthia