Year in the Life

Year in the Life
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I am seriously hesitating about posting this. It's the month of February in the Year in the Life scrapbook/journal/thingy I've got going. This is my first year and so far it's been a lot of fun to horde stuff to put in the scrapbook. (Fairly evident that I prefer to horde the ephemera rather than document through pictures, right?)

The reason I hesitate is...well...my life is kind of boring....as you can probably see here. I mean, trips to Subway and McDonald's dominate the page, as well as a newspaper article on the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Um.

Booooring. ;-)

I will admit that it's better than January's page: It snowed. I was sick. The end. Heh.

Anyway, this is what I've been up to. I've also been working on a junque journal and a 7 Gypsies/Graphic 45 journal. March starts a workshop/class over on the Strathmore website on art journaling. I'm pretty excited about that. Maybe March's Year in the Life won't be quite so boring! =D

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Cynthia

Easter Rejoice

Easter Rejoice
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

This is gonna be a quick post. The Internet has been in and out all morning. Boo!! ;-)

Here's my first Easter card! Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background, Nestabilities oval, Peeled Paint Distress Ink, Inkadinkado stamps (Delicate Branches and Rejoice), Fiskars border punch and Bazzill paper all on a sesame seed bun...I mean a Recollections white cardblank.

I'm crossing my fingers this goes through!


Have a great day!!!

~Cynthia

Simple Birthday

Simple Birthday
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I can't wait until the summer sun shines again. This winter sun is too dark for pictures of my cards!! ;-)

This card is for my nephew, who is turning 13 next month. Dang...where did the years go?? He's a huge University of South Carolina Gamecock fan and I found a great Gamecock stamp the other day. (That would be that reddish blob on the left side of the card.)

I scored two lines across the card bottom, then beneath that I stamped a simple Happy Birthday.


Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank)
Stamps: Artful Legacy (Gamecock); Hero Arts (Classic Messages)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Fired Brick); Memento (Tuxedo Black)
ETC: ScorBuddy


Sidenote: One of my biggest problems with 2010's December Daily project was not starting soon enough. I took care of that this week. Joann Fabric and Craft is having a scrapbook supplies sale. Many items are 40% off. So I totally loaded up on some albums. One of them is from SEI's Preservation Series. It looks like a composition notebook, but it holds 8x8 topload scrapbook pages and more can be added. And it's under TWO DOLLARS. Too funny!! This will help me immensely in reducing the size (width) of the album from what I ended up with this past year. My plan is to have a Christmas in July marathon and get the pages done then. Riiiiiiiiight! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Cynthia

*WHEW*

What a wild weekend!! I counted birds non-stop for four days and had a TON of fun doing it!! Currently, my little dinky town is NUMBER FOUR in the ENTIRE NATION for number of bird count checklists submitted to the Great Backyard Bird Count! We are running with the big dawgs now, baby!!! We are in a list that includes large metro areas like Atlanta, GA, and Charlotte, NC, and Tallahassee, FL. Also, our city beat out all the other participating locations in South Carolina. AND, we beat our all-time high record of number of checklists submitted! I know, I know... I AM A BIRD NERD! ;-)

But now it's back to the real world! I have managed to put off all house work for 4 days, so I might not have too much time for card making today. I miss creating!! =D


~Cynthia

Through the Gate

Through the Gate
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

I was back on Shelley Starkis' blog yesterday and she posted a beautiful card for the Jac-Inks' sketch challenge. She stamped little rabbits on a bench in front of a sunrise--and I thought it was SO CUTE!! I kinda did the same thing...without a bench or rabbits or really the hot orange sunrise she used either. Heh.

I *did* however use the idea of a large oval and some sunshine. I think mine turned out more like an English garden, early morning, with fog. What do you think?? =D

I used a Nestabilities oval die for my shape, temporarily taped the negative of that onto an ivory cardblank. I sponged yellow ink all over the oval then taped down a round die cut shape for my sun. Next I sponged some yellow, orange, and a bit of black Distress Ink all around.

I left the die cuts in place to stamp the gate and the trees (in Black Soot Distress Ink). Then I peeled those off carefully and stamped (also in Black Soot Distress Ink) my birthday sentiment below the image. (In case you haven't noticed, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Hero Arts set--Classic Messages. The font is small and very professional looking.)

And that was it! The card doesn't look a BIT like Shelley's, but I kind of like it. =D


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (ivory cardblank)
Stamps: Stampscape (Pine Tree--196F); Hero Arts (Classic Messages set, sentiment); Art Impressions (gate: I-2450)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Dried Marigold, Orange Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Black Soot)


Have a wonderfully creative day!! And thanks for stopping by!

~Cynthia

Trial and Error and Error and Error

Trial and Error and Error and Error
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

OK, this is the last in the series of CASE'ing the Less Is More cards.

First off, I used a larger tree stamp (in Walnut Stain Ink) on the same small clear block (in Tea Dye Ink). This was bad. You could barely see the tree. It looked like a huge brown blob.

Sadness.

So I cut that card up. Then I tried it again with different inks.

It looked like some sort of sci-fi experiment.

So I cut that card up. Then I tried it with a lighter ink and a different tree stamp.

Ahhh....much better!!!

Here I've used Antique Linen Ink on the clear block then stamped one of Michael's dollar bin stamps. I also colored the tree trunk and leaves with watercolor pencils. I added the sentiment beneath the block stamp.

Then I layered all my mistake-filled layers on a kraft cardblank and called it a day.



Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank); Recollections (white cardblanks)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Classic Messages set); Hampton Arts/Studio G (birthday stamp)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Walnut Stain)
ETC: Artist's Loft (watercolor pencils); clear stamping block; Glue Glider Pro



Here's my shameless plug of the week:

Starting this Friday, the Great Backyard Bird Count runs through Monday. This is a fun citizen-science project run by Cornell University and Audubon. All you have to do is count the birds you see in your yard, or wherever you see birds, and post them on the GBBC website. It's free and fun! The website is www dot birdsource dot org/gbbc I've been participating for six years now and I love the competition between birdwatchers from different states and counties within states. Plus, it helps the scientists at Cornell gather huge amounts of information about bird populations and migrations. You can do as many (or as few) counts as you would like or are able to. And you don't need to be a 'professional' or 'expert' birdwatcher! Whatever you can do really does make a difference! I'm participating again this year, so I probably won't be making many cards or posting much here this weekend. Please consider participating if you can. :-)

*shameless plug end*


Happy Wednesday to ya! ;-)

~Cynthia

Sunny, with a chance of off-centeredness

Sunny, with a chance of off-centeredness
Originally uploaded by HikerCynthia

This card just makes me laugh...in all the WRONG ways!! =D

It looks like some sort of lion thing gone wrong. Maybe if I added a few stick legs......

I was attempting to continue my CASE'ing of cards on the Less Is More blog. *sigh*

I stamped the same inked-up clear block as I did in yesterday's card. I stamped a larger flower image this time. Waaaaaay too big of a flower image. Way.

I do like the colors though and I will try this combo again in the future. Just with a different flower stamp. :-)

Yep.


Supplies (but don't try this at home, kids!):
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamp: Inkadinkado (Garden Delight set); Hero Arts (Classic Messages set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Dried Marigold, Mustard Seed)
ETC: Clear stamp block


After our beautiful 70 degree sunny day on Monday, we're back into the 40s and cloudy today. Maybe I'll find the mojo to make more sunny cards! ;-)


~Cynthia