Koi Fish Cross Stitch

I finally got around to stitching up this pattern I found on Pinterest. When I went back to the original post, I wasn't able to find a link to the designer. So, thank you to who ever did come up with this!
I'm working on backgrounds for the card since white is just to stark for me. The first background I did came out a little too dark and not watery enough for me. So I'm still working on coming up with a combination I like.It's a fast card to stitch up, about an hour after you do all the die cutting. 

Spicy Curry Shrimp without the Noodles.

I wasn't planning on taking a picture of this dish, which is one of my go to recipes when I don't know what to cook for dinner. It just happened to fall into the bowl this way and when I saw it, I thought wow nice shot! The reason all the shrimp are on top is because at the last minute I decided I would eat all the shrimp and leave the left over soup part for lunch. The recipe calls for rice noodles, which I didn't have so I added cabbage instead. 

Asian Cross Stitch 2019

Test card

I save a lot of cross stitch patterns on Pinterest, thinking someday I'll get around to doing them. :) July is Obon season here in the Bay Area and this card is just in time. The first card was my test pattern to see if the stitching would line up. The second card I blending ink on the background to give it a little pop of color. I used the word "hugs" becasue it was the only die cut I had that would fit in the space. The Hero Arts stamps I used are old but easy to cut out, so worked out well. I think I will make these for my card making group this month. The hardest part was threading the needle to add the beads in the center of the tree blossoms!

Quilted Card - 2019

I'm still on a Tuesday Morning roll. My local TM doesn't have a whole lot in the crafting section compared to what I see on my favorite Youtube peeps. With only one store in our area and being a big city, if good stuff comes in, it's not around for very long. 
I did score last week and got some kraft card stock, pattern paper (something I normally don't buy) and gold mirror card stock, which was a super good deal. 
So I wanted to make a quilt theme card for a good friend who makes some amazing quilts. I did borrow the quilt die cut from another crafty buddy (thanks Deb!) and spent the day making this card. It's not a quick card to make since I had to cut the paper at least 6 times to get all the pieces which flew all over my desk. Note to self, turn off the over head fan!
I was super excited to find the donut enamel pin, a favorite snack for my friend which fit great in the center of the card. So it's going out in the mail today and fingers crossed it gets to her before her birthday. 

Crazy Birds Thank You Card

I never knew Tuesday Morning had craft supplies.  I feel like I've been living under a rock!

There are Youtube haul videos on what's in the store (my  local one isn't as well stocked as the ones down south) that are very impressive. It's one of those things you just have to be there at the right time to get the good stuff. I was there (by accident) on a green tag sale day and I was shocked at the amount ladies were buying! Women had shopping carts filled with crafting supplies. I know the stuff is cheap but seriously how big is your crafty space?

I've always like Tim Holtz - Crazy Birds stamp set but never got around to getting it. Now that it's only $6.99, I picked it up and made this card for a patient at work. This person brings in a box of Sees candy every time we fix her glasses. We decided we should mail her a thank you card. The cool cat die is also a TM find. Guessing this image wasn't very popluar since it just came out but I got it for the glasses. I knew I would add them to the birds at some point. 

I used color pencils and gamsol on the bird. 

Supplies:

Tim Holtz - Crazy Birds, Cool Cat die (only)

Hero Arts ink - also a find at TM, works really well!

Kraft Card Stock - TM find, it's on the thin side so not good for base cards but the color was right. 

Diamond Glaze 

napkin cards - sea - 2019

A few weeks ago I did a binge in the Tuesday Morning's napkin aisle. A long the way I found out the best way to attach the napkins to card stock and which type of images work. 

With the current heat wave here in CA, I have all my fans going, not the best working conditions when trying to glue down paper one ply napkins.  I do prefer to iron down the napkins but when it's in triple digits outside and no AC inside, it's best to use a glue stick. 

I have a drawer full of brass charms, so decided to start using them on cards. I will add a sentiment to the cards at some point but I have to find the right ones first. 

Napkin Beach Card - 2019

Marathon Card 2019

I think using napkins for you cards is an old school technique, but it works pretty well. I watch several You Tube videos and decided I liked the plastic wrap ironing technique the best because you

can save most of the image without having to cut off the bumpy embossed edges. I also didn't like how messy I got when using a glue stick. 

One of the YT said the reason to use napkins, is the low cost to get some cool backgrounds. Never really thought of it that way but it makes sense. I went to a Tuesday Morning store this weekend and they had a whole aisle of napkins.  For around $2.00 you can get 15-20 napkins. I was told don't get the napkins at the dollar stores, as they don't hold up very well when transferring and peeling the layers apart. 

I went a little crazy buying up the images I liked buy the TM store isn't close so I knew I would be awhile before I went back again. Yes, ironing a napkin on to cardstock takes time but the end result is well worth the savings. 

Stamp is from Impression Obsession B19157

The little gold star came from my stash = know idea where it came from, I've had it that long. 

Used Copic markers to make the wood looking sign

Black embossing power

Foam tape for the office supply store. 

One of my go to cards. 2019

Hero Art Stamp 

This will be one of the cards we'll be making at the marathon next month. It's one I've done before but it's so fun to make! Most people don't have the stash of washi paper I have so it's fun they get to play with a nice variety of paper. 
It's also a good way to use up any washi paper scraps you may have.

I used full sheets of label paper (can get at any office supply store) to hold the washi squares. This was a trick I learned from Michael Strong years ago. 
Stamp - Hero Arts
Washi Paper - Hanko

One of my go to meals.

Finding recipes that fit the lifestyle of a single person is not easy. At last year's family Christmas party a cousin made these chicken wings. It's a very basic recipe and works well for me. A co-worker hates the idea of eating "chicken elbows" but then I don't think she cooks very much. :) 

Toss the chicken in olive oil and then season with salt and pepper. Don't use cheap table salt (I found that out the hard way) even finishing salt works better. Go a little heavy on the seasoning. Heat oven to 425 and bake for an hour. I like my chicken crispy so that's why I cook it for so long. 
Really a very simple dish and easy to reheat. 

Last Minute Card - 2019

I had to come up with a fourth card for my workshop at FabMo last week. My creative mojo just wasn't coming up with anything! At 11:00 pm the night before class, I saw something on Pinterest that inspired this card. The great thing about the card was I could use up my huge stash of water color backgrounds. I make backgrounds when I'm in a creative slump so I always have a stash. Slapping color down on paper always helps gets things going. 
As a bonus, the cut out part was made into a second card which will be going to my friend Susan's card rack at her church. 
The die is from Penny Black, Twinkling H2O watercolor and an old SU stamp set, Love and Sympathy

Piggy Card 2019

I know non card making people think we can just sit down and whip out cards without really thinking about it. This piggy card went through several drafts before I finally got to a card I'm willing to give to my card making buddies. It took about a month to do. 
I found some cross stitch fabric (not really fabric but very stiff paper) at FabMo and really wanted to make a card. FabMo also gets a ton of thread donated, so I now have a very nice supply. 
The parts you can't see is what took the most time and only other card makers will understand that. I would love to teach this in a class but the stitch part, even as simple as it is takes about an hour to do. 

Paper Crafter - Clean Up

You know your a serious paper crafter when it takes 4 hours (still not 100% done) to sort out all you paper. I was trying to get all my white (110 & 80 lb) card stock back in the same pile along with my black card stock. Those are the colors I use most on my cards. I had several class kits from workshops I've taught that I had to put away, so that added to the sorting. I also found a box of card fronts I started and filed away. When designing for a class, I make samples and if I think I can't teach it in the time frame I have, I file it away.

 I decided last night to put some of them together and send off to a friend who has a card rack at her church which helps supports one of the programs there.