Father's Day

Father's Day, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Since I don't have any June birthdays to worry about, I went ahead and got my Father's Day card done early! YAY for early!!! =D

I got the idea for this card from another card maker. BUT....I can't for the life of me remember who made it. Nor can I find it. Some day, when I find it, I will give credit to that person......

Anyway.

Super easy card. I punched three squares, swiped each with a different color of blue Distress Ink, then stamped the hammer. I specifically got all crazy with the ink so it looks kind of distressed and kind of like the hammer is up in the clouds. Heh.

I spaced the squares to accommodate the wavy sentiment and called it a day! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white card blank and remnants of a card blank)
Stamps: 100 Proof Press (hammer); Hero Arts (sentiment)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Black Soot, Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans)
ETC: Marvy (square punch); Glue Glider Pro

Thanks for checking it out! =D

~Cynthia

Shaped Congrats

Shaped Congrats, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Since I got this super sweet shout out from Nonna today, I thought I should get on the ball with the blogging and earn it!! =D

My oldest niece is graduating from high school this weekend and then going on to the University of South Carolina--my alma mater! So I decided to whip up a congrats card in the university's colors for her.

I got the idea from Ann over on the KingstonMama Crafts blog and Ann got the idea from Nichole Heady on her blog, Capture the Moment. Isn't it cool how an idea can ripple so far out, like a stone tossed in a pond?? :-)

First I cut white cardstock into a rectangle shape, cut the corners off to form a tag shape, scored the line across the top and glued that section closed...so that it just bends at the score line when it's opened. I also punched two holes at the top for the ribbon.

I cut another white border piece, stamped the script on it and layered it over two pieces of red cardstock which I used a border punch on and adhered them to the card.

I used two sizes of Lacey Circle die cuts to make the red and larger (script-stamped) white circle. Then I stamped the Gamecock on a scrap piece of white cardstock and punched it out, adhering all the circle layers to the border layers on the card. (The Gamecock is USC's mascot.)

Finally, I stamped the congrats sentiment, cut around it and ran a Black Soot Distress Marker along the edge to create a bit of contrast.


Supplies:
Paper: GinaK (white cardstock); Bazzill (red cardstock)
Stamps: Artful Legacy (Gamecock); Studio G (congrats); Lost Coast Post (cat story script)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot); Distress Marker (Black Soot)
ETC: Fiskars (border punch and 1/8-inch punch); Marvy Uchida (circle punch); Spellbinders (Nestabilities--Lacey Circles); stash (ribbon); Glue Glider Pro



So that's it for me today. Thanks so much for dropping by! =D


~Cynthia

12x12 Purse

12x12 Purse, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's another....um....consequence of my expensive trip to Michael's. ;-)

When the store redesigned the scrapbook section, they included new specialty "papers" in the traditional 12x12 size. Several designs of printed canvas caught my eye. I totally should have bought them ALL when I saw them months ago, but, you know, you have to draw the line somewhere! ;-)

But this past trip I saw the butterfly canvas sheet and loved it. And I made a super simple purse out of it!

I cut one 2-inch strip for the handle and then made the bag part out of the remainder. I chose to make only one handle that stretches from one side to the opposite side because the remaining canvas would have been really too small to hold anything.

This is guerrilla sewing at its best! No lining, no pockets, no zippers. Flipping the handle inside out was the most time consuming part of it.

I love the fabric and the tinted butterflies. I could totally see this tea-dyed too!



Thanks for looking!!

~Cynthia

More Necklaces

More Necklaces, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's Round Two of the necklaces I made from the Dollar Bin finds I bought at Michael's. (See this post for the lowdown on how I made them.)

I used a square from one of Reminisce's road construction papers for the necklace on the left. The whole page is filled with yellow signs--I had a hard time choosing just one! ;-)

The middle necklace with the monogrammed N is how they appeared originally.

The super awesome face on the right is from a piece of Graphic 45 paper. I showed that one to my mom and she thought it was weird. I think he's quite hilarious and that's the one I'm rockin' today!! ;-)


Thanks for dropping by!


~Cynthia

OLW--Kind of

OLW--Kind of, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

The challenge for this week's One Layer Wednesday card is to keep your stamped area no larger than 2x2. I'm hoping that does not include the sentiment! ;-)

Soooooo, I decided to punch out a two-inch square shape from a scrap piece of cardstock. Then I brushed in Wild Honey Distress Ink and stamped the crackle background with Tea Stain Distress Ink, using the negative shape as a mask.

Totally shoulda stopped there.

I stamped the tiny flower and the sentiment with Black Soot Distress Ink.

So now it kinda sorta looks like a dead flower in the middle of a dry, sun-baked lake bed in the midst of a killer drought.

*sigh*

Totally not uploading this to the OLW challenge blog. :-/



It's Monday. It's GOTTA get better, right??? ;-)


~Cynthia

What I've Been Up To

What I've Been Up To, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I hadn't been to Michael's in a while and that meant trouble. Expensive kind of trouble. ;-)

I love perusing the Dollar Bin. LOVE.

I found these cute monogram necklaces for...you know...ONE DOLLAR. All that remained were the letters A, E, O and one N. Odd combo. But as I looked closely, I thought...I can totally do something with those.

So I bought five.

And this is what I did with them.

The top one (the letter O) is the necklace in its original condition.

The silver, blank one on the left is what happens when you use Tim Holtz's pokey tool to pop out the little letter sticker thing from the metal square. And the green inside is what happens when you take the photo outside--nice trees, eh?

Keep the letter sticker to use as a template. The size is roughly 1.5 inches square.

I traced the letter sticker, then roughly cut out the shape from a piece of left over paper. Lay that (the negative shape) over cardstock/designed paper to see if your chosen image will fit in the metal square.

Trace around the letter sticker and cut out the image. I distressed the edges of both my images--Walnut Stain for the Flying Crow and Black Soot on the Skull. This covers up the cut (white) edges. Using the Black Soot gives the image a burnt look.

Next add a smidgen of Glossy Accents to the metal square, spread that around then press the image down.

Then really glop the Glossy Accents on top of the image. Use an old paintbrush or your finger to move the Glossy Accents into the corners. Use enough to seal your image into the metal square.

Let dry overnight and you have an amazing piece of jewelry!

The necklace on the right is from a Memory Box 6x6 packet and the awesome skull is from Tim Holtz's Paper Stash--Lost and Found.

And just for the record, I'm totally rockin that Skull right now!! ;-)



Happy Friday!!! And thanks for stopping by today!


~Cynthia

Bird in the Branches

Bird in the Branches, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Happy Tuesday!! Before I start with today's card, I gotta take a sec and thank everyone for their super awesome comments on my take on Tim's May Tag!!!

WOW.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I appreciate you taking the time to click over here from Tim's blog. Or, if you're a regular visitor, thank you for taking the time to visit me regularly!!!! ;-) I loved all your comments and enjoyed reading each one! Thank you very very much!!! =D

And now...on to today's card.

I made this one for my aunt. I wasn't sure what kind of card to make for her--she is in her 80s and her memory isn't what it used to be....if you know what I mean. :-/

So I just went with a simple, springy, happy, serene card.

I stamped the branches, using a Post-It to mask off the bottom of the panel. Then I stamped the birds. I used the textured side of the cardstock on purpose--that's why there are lines in the birds and the branches aren't crisp. It really does look a lot better in real life. More like linen.

I dotted the birds' eyes with a black pen, then tapped a glitter pen on the eyes to make them sparkle.

I added a strip across the panel that matches the blue cardstock beneath the top ivory panel.

Then I stamped the sentiment on the bottom using the same ink as the birds.

Also--in real life--the blue ink matches the blue cardstock a whole lot better. ;-)

I got the idea from this card by Lisa on her I'm in Haven blog.


Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (ivory and blue cardstock); Recollections (ivory card blank)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (Delicate Branches set); Endless Creations (birthday sentiment)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Gathered Twigs, Faded Jeans)
ETC: Sakura (glitter pen); American Crafts (Pigment Pro pen)


That's it for me today. I hope you find time to craft happy!!

And...as ALWAYS...thank you SO MUCH for stopping by today!!

~Cynthia

Tim's May Tag

Tim's May Tag, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

No, not Tim's Maytag washing machine! Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2012 for May! ;-)

When I saw Tim's tag this morning, I was initially at a loss. I didn't have any of those stamps or the Melting Pot for the UTEE or those flowers or that tiny wooden spool.

Hmmmm. What to do?

Well, when in doubt, try Step 1.

I found some dress pattern paper and glued that on the tag. I distressed the covered tag with Distress Ink in Frayed Burlap. Then I looked at the tall, length-wise stamps I had.

Ah! The sailboat!! (I love that stamp!!!)

Seriously, after that it just all came together quickly! YAY!

I stamped the seagulls from the same set that includes the sailboat and used Coffee Archival Ink for both. Then I stamped the compass in Aged Mahogany Distress Ink.

I distressed the edges with more Frayed Burlap and with a paper distresser. I grabbed a piece of seam binding and distressed that too--with Antique Linen.

I looked through Tim's paper pads and found a nautical page. I cut an appropriate piece and used that in place of Tim's tape measure.

I made that Sarsaparilla charm with Tim's acrylic charm Fragments, another piece of his paper, a jump ring, some Glossy Accents and a heart paper clip. Then I attached it to the tag. (I did end up moving the charm down the side of the tag a bit.)

Instead of the flowers Tim used, I braided some twine, distressed it, tied a knot and attached that with a glue dot.

I *really* like this tag. I think it's less a copy of what Tim did and more of a creation in the *spirit* of what he did. =D


Supplies:
Paper: Tim Holtz (Lost and Found Paper Stash); tag from scrapbook store
Stamps: Stacy Stamps (sailboat set); Stampabilities (compass)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap; Aged Mahogany); Ranger Archival Ink (Coffee)
ETC: Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Fragments); The Sewing Place (seam binding); Fiskars (Pop Up Glue Dots); Ranger (Glossy Accents); Making Memories (paper distresser); TomBow (Glue Stick); findings and twine--stash



Are you playing along with Tim?? It's a whole lotta fun!!

Thanks for checking my tag out today! =D


~Cynthia

Amana Birthday

Amana Birthday, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Well, I'm at a loss on this one. I've tried 3 times to edit today's photo, using 2 different editing programs, and each time I add it to the new post, the photo changes. Usually the head is cut off. ;-)

Once again, accept my apologies for a crappy photo. :-(

But anyway.

I used the same Amana die cut as the first Mother's Day card--and I used the same method. I die cut the flower from patterned paper, then used the negative of it as a stencil to shade the area under which I adhered the flower.

I layered that on black cardstock, then adhered everything on an ivory card blank. Then I stamped the sentiment off to the side.

In retrospect, I probably should have used a larger sentiment stamp.

Darn good thing I just bought one at my lovely local scrapbook store. ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (ivory card blank); Bazzill (black and ivory cardstock); Unknown patterned paper from stash
Stamps: Endless Creations (birthday stamp_
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters, Black Soot)
ETC: Memory Box (Amana Circle die cut); Glue Glider Pro; Fiskars (Glue Dots)


Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! And thanks so much for your kind words on my Mother's Day card dilemma!! =D


~Cynthia

Mother's Day Part Deux

Mother's Day Part Deux, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Thanks for the kind words on yesterday's card! Y'all are so sweet! =D

However, I decided to try again. I was cruising in blogland and found this card on the WPlus9 blog--scroll down a little if you want to see it, it's the fourth card listed.

I changed the color and the layout a bit, but I was definitely inspired by the cute card!

First I ran the front of a white card blank through the Cuttlebug with this fun embossing folder. Then I gently brushed Shaded Lilac Distress Ink over the raised images. I don't think you can see it too well in the photo, but in real life it's there. ;-)

I die cut two sizes of Nestabilities labels, then stamped the pansy on the smaller one and colored it with chalks. I edged the die cut with more Shaded Lilac.

For banners I cut two strips, then used a square punch to cut the little tails. I distressed the white banner with Shaded Lilac too.

I adhered the larger die cut using pop dots, adhered the banners to that with a glue gun, then adhered the white die cut with pop dots.

I stamped Happy Mother's Day on the inside, also with the Shaded Lilac ink.

I am SO MUCH happier with this card than the one I posted yesterday!! YAY!!! ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white card blank); Bazzill (lilac cardstock); GinaK (white cardstock)
Stamps: Stacy Stamps (Floral Minis); Paper Inspirations (Happy Mother's Day)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shaded Lilac)
ETC: Inkadinkado (Blending Chalks--Bold Brights and Soft Tones); Sizzix (Labels Nine); Cuttlebug (Birds and Swirls embossing folder); Marvy (One-inch square punch); EK Success (Pop Dots); Glue Glider Pro


OK, so should we take a vote?? ;-) Do you like today's card or yesterday's card better?


~Cynthia

Shhh! Mother's Day Card!!

Shhh! Mother's Day Card!!, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

OK, don't tell my Mom, but here's her Mother's Day card. She has the really bad habit of snooping around my blog sometimes! ;-)

I'm not sure about it yet. Tell me what you think. *I* think it needs something. More color? More pattern? Anything? Bueler? Bueler?

To the card!!

I punched the large lilac cardstock circle first.

I die cut the super cool flower next. I used some black and white patterned paper and distressed it (carefully!) with one of Tim Holtz's brand-new Distress Inks--Shaded Lilac. It's oh, so gorgeous, don't you think??

I placed the negative (leftover paper) of the die cut over the lilac circle and sponged more Shaded Lilac on the inside of the negative to create some depth of color beneath the die cut flower.

I added the strips of black and lilac, punch the borders. The top lilac strip is the leftover from the border punching! ;-)

The word "mother" is from Tim's new Chit Chat stickers. I adhered all the layers onto a white card blank.

On the inside I stamped "Happy Mother's Day" in Shaded Lilac.

So...what do you think? Additions? Subtractions? Bin it and go back to the drawing board????



Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (black and lilac cardstock); My Mind's Eye (Meadowlark collection--"Dawn" Circles Paper)
Stamp:  Paper Inspirations (Happy Mother's Day)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shaded Lilac)
ETC: Fiskars (border punch); Memory Box (Amana Circle die cut); Tim Holtz (Chit Chat stickers); Marvy (circle punch)


And that's it for me today. Thanks so much for visiting!! =D

~Cynthia

Masculine Birthday

Masculine Birthday, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I had this card rolling around in my head after I saw this card over on Crafting Clare's blog. I thought her card was so cute! Here's my take on it.

I die cut the postage stamp pieces out of ivory cardstock. Then I stamped the images, waited for them to dry, then distressed the edges with the same ink color.

I was going to mat the postage stamps on plain kraft, but I found this piece of leftover Graphic 45 clock paper and thought...how cool would that be??!!

So I positioned the postage stamps and then stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment.

And was immediately saddened.

The Happy Birthday got lost in all those clocks.

So I sat there for a moment, staring.

And then I thought...how cool would it be if I stamped the Birthday all over the place???

And so I did. And I think it looks rather cool. Like it was printed right on the paper.

Epic save!! ;-)

So then I adhered my layers and called it a day. Yippee!!



Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft card blank); Bazzill (blue cardstock); Graphic 45 (Kraft Reflections Collection--Before Your Time); Springhill (Vellum Bristol Cover--ivory)
Stamps: Stampin Up (present); StampCraft (party hat #48483B); Endless Creations (Happy Birthday sentiment)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
ETC: Cuttlebug (postage stamp die cut set); Glue Glider Pro


I've been so busy the past few days I haven't had time to post cards! This is so wrong. ;-) I *have* managed to visit blogland a bit and I also managed to make my Mother's Day card--which is Sunday! I'll post that one for you tomorrow and you need to let me know what you think about it. I still have time to make another if need be!! ;-)


Craft happily...

~Cynthia

Pink and Black

Pink and Black, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Today I've got a birthday card to show you. It seems kind of funny after all the Week in the Life pages the past few days. ;-)

I cut the card from hot pink cardstock. Then I cut a section of black and white cardstock and layered them.

I stamped one of my most favorite--and most used--flower stamps in Worn Lipstick. I edged the white panel and lightly distressed the whole piece with the same ink color.

I stamped the sentiment on the card blank and called 'er done! ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (pink and white cardstock); unknown source for black cardstock
Stamps: Stampendous (Agapanthus Cluster); Endless Creation (sentiment)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick, Black Soot)
ETC: Glue Glider Pro



Thanks for visiting with me today. Have a wonderful weekend!!


~Cynthia

WITL--Saturday

WITL--Saturday, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

And here we are. The end of 2012's Week in the Life--Ali Edwards' project.

On the left side I have three photos of some wee visitors--Carolina Wrens.

On the left I have a screen shot of the end of the NASCAR race at Richmond, VA, Saturday night. Sadly, my man did not win.

The other bit is an ad encouraging me to subscribe to The Baking Sheet--which I do! =D

All the pages are 7Gypsies papers.

I really had a lot of fun doing this project. I'm glad this fell on a week that had stuff going on, so some of the days weren't too boring! ;-)

I loved working in the Zutter Cover-all journal. I punched and bound all the pages beforehand so I was ready to go. I got the Cover-alls on sale at my not-so-local scrapbook store and bought all they had--FOUR. LOL!

Anywho, if you've never done a Week in the Life, I recommend it. Really, it didn't take a long time each day to put everything together. And now I have a very unique remembrance of this time.

Thanks so much for looking in today!


~Cynthia

WITL--Friday

WITL--Friday, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

We're almost there! Only one more day of Ali Edwards' Week in the Life!! =D

This is the middle spread for Friday. On the left I've got three photos of my view while sitting in the car while my mom's at physical therapy. It's rather nice out there. Lots of birds and a large meadow area. I do the crossword puzzle--that's the bottom right photo. ;-) The journaling is about what I do while waiting in the parking lot.

The other side is my 'Currently' journaling. I do that in my regular daily journal on the 7th, the 17th and the 27th of each month. And Friday was the 27th.

Big thanks again to Avital at Creativity Prompt for the free journal cards and tags! =D

And on the very far right you can just see a bit of the Graphic 45 kraft paper I used for pockets on both inside covers. Because I was on the road for the beginning of the week, these totally came in handy to hold journaling blocks, tags and letter stickers. Plus, that Graphic 45 paper just rocks. Kraft, black ink and clocks??? SWOON. ;-)


Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a beautiful day!!

~Cynthia

WITL--Thursday

WITL--Thursday, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's Thursday's page in my week-long voyage of the Week in the Life project...by Ali Edwards.

After all the excitement of the trip to Charleston, SC, the rest of the week seemed rather tame. For Thursday, I took a few pictures of the rainy view from the car where I waited on my mom during her physical therapy appointment.

It was so boring a day I added the price sticker from a loaf a bread I bought. ;-)

On the next page I added a list of news headlines from that day.

I did go back through the week and add a small journaling rectangle to document the number of miles I biked/walked for that day.

Thursday tag is from Cathy Zielske.
Banner tag is from Creativity Prompt.
Paper is from 7Gypsies.


Thanks for looking--have a wonderful day!!

~Cynthia