Hello All!

I wish everyone the best this holiday season!!! I have been quiet, I know. I took a bit of a hiatus, but I did get family cards made and did a painting of a beautiful golden retriever who passed away recently. I will show it once I have the files ready. I have not had time to play and draw but I hope to get revved up in the new year. I will be back to posting soon ;)

Here is a little tea bag folding tile I did a few weeks back. It is a flower, not exactly seasonal for Canada LOL. I am already tired of snowflakes and snow-tires and snow brushes and snow shovels. I am sure there are others in agreement with me ROFL.... unless, maybe, you are on the other side of the equator LOL.

Big Hugs to you ALL :)

Poinsettia Foldy Flower

I thought I'd put pen to tablet and make something to share before the month goes by LOL! I left these tiles big to suit whatever you might need them for. :) These were fast and simple, ... and untested ;)

My computer is acting up ( like intermittently not turning on), I am going to see if my brother can fix it... I think it is the power supply (hoping anyway LOL) but I also fear he might blow it up, so if you don't "see me" for awhile you know what happened LOL.


I have not been able to keep up commenting on the posted cards and emails, I tend to get stressed/anxious this time of year. But please know, I have loved them all.

I may go offline for a few weeks ( only essential email and to fix blog subscriptions) to focus on designing and unfinished commisions.

Another snowflake medallion sheet from Alt. version

Carolivy64 of CoC was kind enough to make a sheet for this medallion. This might help save on paper and ink! ;) Thanks, Carol!

I have a ton more Circle of Crafter member cards to share. I hope to have a slideshow up by next week. Thank you to everyone for trying my designs out and for your generous creativity!

Snowflake Flower - another version

What do you think?

The Snowflake Flower in Christmas-sy colours.

Digi-Freebie: Doodle-dallion - Snowflake Flower

I made a snowflake flower today. It went really quick. This could be addictive, I see more snowflakes on the horizon ;)

My dear friend Penny made this sheet for my snowflake flower. She makes awesome sheets and cards, and folding instructions and .. need I say more! Love the verses, Penny! Please give Penny some love, at her WEBSHOTS or PHOTOBUCKET

I should have a hi rez available later this week plus more hues. It's a worky day tomorrow.

Hello!

Fred's gone AWOL again! This renovating, housecleaning, visiting, and turkey eating is really eating into my crafting time! I just posted some of the wonderful cards Circle of Crafters have made :) Please let me know if I have missed any! Just send me an email, a scan or link would be helpful too ;) These girls are a super creative bunch! You girls rock!

I've been working on more flowers, and a new design paradigm, it may prove a tad more versatile!

Cards By Circle of Crafters

Happy 10,000 and then some!

Whoa Nelly! That is completely insane (grin)! Thanks dear readers :)

Rosey Foldy Flower Card

A quick card. I found the background in PSP ( extra patterns when you register ;) ). The medallion is made with Basic Triangle Fold and it is two 5-tile medallions on top of each other. The tile and leaves are in the big 5000 Hits Challenge Download. I put yellow stickles in the center of the flower and glaze pen down the stem. Also notice, my printer and the black are STILL acting up :( LOL. This is one for my sweet Caileigh one of my Emma's friends and who I have looked after. They are going to have a "Mermaid Tea" at Caileigh's house... in 20 min... whooo I'd better get motoring!!! Chow.

ButterFlower

Was putzing this afternoon. I made a card... what a comedy of errors LOL! Printer partially printed the black letters. It's been so long since I've set an eyelet, I forgot how LOL and, in the process of "figgering" ( and my bad eyes), I put the front of eyelet in the back of the medallion and the glue (cuz I didn't get the eyelet in enough to hold to card - grrr)! Thank goodness the back looked like the front - just flatter. I glaze penned the stem and and sentiment ( in hopes of fixing up the hit and miss black). Leaves are put on with silicon so they stick out.

I plan to make a printable soon. I also have a "canned" template but it is for PSP ( you just edit the text), you can change background, and it has leaves as well ( I made leaf layer invisible and used the foldy flower leaves). I tried to save as PSD, so it could be cross-program compatible... no luck, I lost the ability to change the text so no luck sharing with Photoshop/Elements users, unless anyone has a tip ;) I will have to refresh my memory on how to make roundy text in Elements. OK I'll stop now, what a novel!!!

Butterdoodles are HERE.

Foldy Flowers PT 3: Pom Pom Dahlia by LILY STUBBS

Here is another way to use the foldy flowers. Lily Stubbs made this card for me :) It's a bookatrix with her Pom Pom Dahlia on it. The tiles used are anywhere from 1.5 to 2 inches depending on how big you want the flower to be... 1.5 " is the safest bet if you want to fit it on a standard 1/4 fold card. Lily says she used 18 tiles to make the dahlia.

Lily had me baffled and amazed for the longest time with this dahlia! Thanks to her great instructions, I think I can do these now ;) She also included a placement diagram ( to do steps 5 & 6)

EDIT: Lily wanted to add that you glue the individual petals onto the flower from the back ( back facing you)... in case you haven't figured that out. Thnx. :)





Please check Lily's SITE out, she is a very talented lady and, and, I believe, a pioneer in circle and multi-shaped tile folding! A true inspiration. I also drool everytime I see any of her punched and quilled creations!

Foldy Flower Instructions Part 2

ALTERNATIVE ASSEMBLY:

Make 8 1.5" Tiles and 8 2" Tiles. Fold as per instructions in PT 1 using 8 Tile Basic Flower for each size tile. Put the smaller medallion on top of larger medallion. How simple is that ?! And looks so pretty. Thank you to Carolivy of CoC for the use of this card and the clever gal made the sheets too and has let me share them with you. Just print them out and "go to it" ;)

Foldy Flower Instructions Part 1

Here is part 1 of our look at the now infamous FOLDY FLOWER LOL! Suggested size to print your flower tiles is 1.5 to 2 inches. ( 4 - 5 cm).

There are many ways and means to print your tiles. I use ArcSoft Photoprinter 4 to print my tiles. I can drag and drop tiles from my image browser into the program's template and print only the tiles I need. With this software I can get 30 1.5-1.7 inch tiles on one letter sheet. And I can mix them up. It's also great for printing photos, collages, montages, labels, etc. There is a freeware version of this software but it has been discontinued. BUT..... if you are Googly it can still be found! Alas, it can be downloaded from Winsite HERE but who knows for how long.

Microsoft Word is also good for printing tiles, insert tile, size it, and copy and paste until you have enough tiles on your sheet.



Note: The above uses the Basic Square Fold. An alternative fold that can be used is the Basic Triangle Fold. You can do this fold using above instructions BUT where it says mountain fold, you valley, and where it says valley fold, you mountain fold... when you "squash" you will get a small triangle instead of a square. It will work just the same but you will be assembling the medallion in the opposite direction. Also, the triangle fold is the only fold that will work with the "Rosey" foldy flowers. More on that later ;)

Tea Bag Folding Guide

I am feverishly preparing some Foldy Flower instructions; easier said than done around here LOL! In the meantime, I needed a tea bag folding guide that I could share. So I made one. This helps keep your flowers tidy and symmetrical ;) Print as a full page, better yet on thicker card or photopaper then laminate, so you can just wipe the wayward glue off when your guide gets too icky! LOL TOU: You can print/share with others if you like. Just keep my info on it.

This one is for 5, 6 and 8 tiles. I can make other numbers if requested.

ATTN: Questions RE Foldy Flowers

I have been receiving many requests regarding the foldy flowers... what are they? how do you do them? I am going to try and answer some questions and revisit these medallions this week. I also have instructions from a very gifted friend of mine!

Stay tuned.... :)

DIGI-FREEBIES: 5000 HITS - We Did It!!!!

.... and then some! LOL. Wow, over 600 hits overnight??? Thank you all for your support :) As promised, I am providing a link to the "digital candy" for all. It is a little bit of everything. I hope they might be of use to someone :) Here's to another 5000 :) (holds up a glass)

Please click the yellow link below to get the download, it doesn't show up too well on my blog and it won't let me change the colour LOL!

ZIP of Digi-Freebies DOWNLOAD

Thank You Circle of Crafters!

Have you seen my counter lately???! LOL! It is nearly up to 4700! Woweee! I have feedburner set on this account and it is telling me where most of my hits are coming from! Thank you Circle of Crafters Board! I just joined and it is a lovely site with many card techniques to suit anyone's tastes. What a talented group... and big group! I'll be posting a few more cards from some very talented individuals soon. Stay tuned.

Circle of Crafters

Here are some thank you tiles and a Blue Dancing Daisy.

Don't give up on me, check back NEXT WEEK

I have been M.I.A. for a few days, as you have guessed LOL. I have a bug and have been tending to my sick daughter and dealing with the first week of school and different scheduling of my daycare kids. Please don't give up on me. My son is turning us into a birthday flop house for the weekend - imagine five 10 yr olds hopped up on cake, junk food and pop in a small enclosed LR with a PS2, several Nintendo DS's, an internet enabled computer, pillows and sleeping bags ... recipe for fun... and ADVIL! So, I hope to be back to regular posting next week.

I was supposed to be done with childcare on the 15th but it has now turned into the end of September, which is good as my new job's start date is Oct 11th.

Card by Avril Raynel

A reader, Avril Raynel sent me a scan of this lovely card. Well done! She is now the recipient of some more Foldy Flowers :)

Card by Jackie Welch

My online friend Jackie Welch made this super card with one of my Flower Doodle-dallion sheets for a swap she was in. I love it! Thanks for showing me, Jackie!

50th POST - Digi-Freebie - Flower Doodle-dallion Decoupage Sheet

Wow, I made 50 posts. :) Here's to 50 more ;) And this post makes 51... I am on my way LOL!

In celebration, here is a 3D Decoupage Sheet, in my favourite colour, purple.

Doodle-dallion Flower Printable PDF DOWNLOAD

BTW, if you think this would make a good medallion rubberstamp, please comment; it may show up on a future UM Sheet :)

Dancing Daisy Card + Digi-Freebie

Yes, I know, Fred has been lax in posting. I made this card, it took me a good part of 2 days LOL! Good old Tracey usually has to overthink and stress and fuss over cards, that is why I don't get many done ( that and the need for a chunk of good uninterrupted time which doesn't happen with a house of 5 year olds, toddlers and a 10 yr old son who is constantly asking for the computer - and FOOD).... is this a problem that any of you face, not the kids, but overthinking cards? It could be that I am a perfectionist; if I can't do it perfect or how I think it should be, I tend to "not do it" or procrastinate LOL. Part of my overthinking may stem from lack of a good variety of crafting supplies... My philosophy was bred from a lack of extra monetary funds.... make do or make it up yourself. If I have my computer/digital tablet/paper and a printer full of ink... I am a happy girl .

Anyhoo.... card details:
2 prints of my Dancing Daisy ( then 3d decoupaged the flower and leaves, they are bent and angled.)
Print of my Luscious Chocolat digital paper.
Print of a beige striped paper I made in PSP.
Black CS for matting.
Made a cream strip in PSP and used QK Paige font to create Happy Birthday.
Some pink jewel flowers.... that fell off my DD's Dollarama hair clips - HONEST! LOL.
Polka-dot ribbon.... from American Crafts

All the pieces were put on one sheet of paper. I HATE wasting paper. LOL Thus, I have made a digi-freebie with all the elements I used. It is US letter-sized and background papers are sized for a 1/4 fold card.

Dancing Daisy Card Printable DOWNLOAD

Monday, Monday... and a Dancing Daisy

Happy Monday! uggh. 3 more weeks left providing childcare, one more week until school starts and one of the babies came to my door this morning with a rip roaring cold! .... and so the cycle begins.....

On a happier note, here is a doodle design up for rubberstamp consideration LOL! My little happy dancing daisy :) Oh happy times.... and in a happy pink... do regular garden variety daisies come in pink? Alot must be said for artistic license LOL!

Fred shall attempt to make a card today.... she is at the whim of her daycare kids and her temperamental printer though....black seems to be in the clogging mood as of late. This flower and my chocolate paper are beckoning me to "marry" them.

Have a happy Monday all!!

Foldy Flower Card from Cathy Noble

Oh thank you, Cathy for giving me something to blog! Isn't this pretty? I love paper embroidery. She used the Foldy Flower tile and she also made the neat background paper from it. I have sent Cathy some more foldy flowers to play with, check your email, Cathy ;).

Digi-Freebie #4 - Patterned Paper

Please click image to enlarge and save

Yippee! We have reached the half-way point, folks! Over 2,500 hits! Thanks so much, everyone for your support and visits!!

OK, OK, I know it is the same paper but in different colours! LOL I'll try for some more originality next week LOL! I like this one.... in chocolate, my favourite.

Let's discuss: Aero ( with the bubbles), Hershey or Dairy Milk? Dark or Milk chocolate? Personally, I am a Dairy Milk girl... but I have been known to savour the "bubbles" LOL.

Digi-Freebie #3 - Patterned Paper

Please click on image to enlarge and save.

More patterned paper, expect another one tomorrow :)

Digi-Freebie #2 - Patterned Paper

Please click image to enlarge and save.

Here is another paper. Look out for another one tomorrow ;)

Digi-Freebie - Patterned Paper

Please click image to enlarge and save.

Here is a paper I created from a doodle I did today( in one of its various incarnations LOL). It is reduced a bit in size and compression to save bandwidth but it should comfortably print to a full letter sheet. I made a gazillion papers today, just wait till you see what else I made - they are REALLY COOL... but you will have to wait until tomorrow ;) This could get addictive....

Doodly Hearts

I got to doodling again :)

Dover Stained Glass - Coloured

I coloured a Dover Stained Glass image. I love the Dover Stained Glass, especially the butterflies!

If there are any Painter users reading this, FYI, I mainly use the tinting brushes on a gel layer to colour in - soft glazing round and the blender - using several layers for glazing.

Want I do with these is print several on good quality photo paper ( matte looks awesome) and do a 3d decoupage technique, angle the wings a bit to make them flutter off the card :) Please click image to enlarge.

Another note re: getting good print results: I have bought Staples brand matte premium paper - it has a good weight to it and gives vibrant colours and dark blacks with my dye-based Epson photo printer. I hope I can find this paper again when my stash gets low LOL!

Card by Joanne Gelnar

Joanne saves the day! I needed something to post today LOL! Joanne never fails to impress me with her cards. Just beautiful!!! Here is the posting with the tile she used:

Flower Thingies

Now see, I wrote this at the time:

"Flowery I don't know what thingies. I'm not sure if they would make good tiles or not but I just like looking at them LOL." April 3, 2007

LOL! They look pretty good with this fold.... Sunshine Square :) Thanks, Joanne!

Digi-Freebie - Watercoloured Marble Papers

In my effort for a posting a day, here is some stuff from my vault LOL. Please click images for full high resolution images - they are huge! Digitally marbled papers suitable for background papers and for ripping and tearing LOL!

More Doodled Tiles

These are a little wild LOL! Not the style I am trying to go for but they are quite dramatic - usually I have no idea what is going to come out of my pen.... always a surprise! The tiles made from the original have an asian or celtic feel I think.