Just a note...

Sorry i haven't posted in about a month (wait, it has been EXACTLY one month since i posted, crazy!) Anyways, I don't have a card for you today, but I just wanted to vent about something random.

Don't you hate it when people ask you, "if everyone jumped off a cliff, would you?"

It's just so annoying because
a) if EVERYONE IN THE WORLD jumped off a cliff, i would because obviously i would be the only one left in the world
b) the person who asks you always says it so snarky, like I am the older wise one.

I'm sorry im just venting today, a new card this week!! :)

Overseas!

I'm going overseas to visit my relatives in August, and I wanted to bring some cards over for them. I wasn't sure what to write (they're not sick, it's not their birthday, and I'm not thanking them for anything, so I just decided not to have a message, and handwrite a note inside instead.

I did clear emboss resist with broken china distress ink.

I added lots of diamond stickles!

By the way, i named the post overseas because the card is blue... and it's for overseas relatives..... :) me and my bad jokes. *sigh*

one of a kind...

Hi! I made a really different card the other day, and I'm really excited to share! The sentiment isn't one of a kind, but I thought that would be a nice name for the card because of the rose. Without further ado:

I used broken china distress ink as the background, and spritzed it with water to get this spotty effect.

I stamped the sentiment "thinking of you" on the centerpiece cardstock multiple times with white ink so it would show up, but it wouldn't be too obvious.

Hope you enjoy! As always, leave any questions in the comments below!

Happy Birthday!

New card today! I was playing around with colors and decided to do purple and green. I pretty happy with the way it turned out. I also experimented with distress inks and water on some other cards I'll show later.

The green and purple complement each other well, especially when there is more of one color than the other. The prima rose ties it all together by having purple petals, green leaves, and gold accents!

I'm so excited! I now have a set of drawers just for crafting! Plus, they're colorful too! It looks something like this:

Have a fantastic weekend!

Moving

I've been REALLY busy with moving these past couple of weeks... you don't know you have a lot of stuff until you try moving it to another house. :) Anyways, I will be posting more cards soon! sorry for the delay. I'm also thinking about starting a youtube channel for cardmaking. I know some great ones out there that i watch all the time!

Thanks for being patient!

girly, pink, dance card!

Hello everyone! I have made 2 dance cards, one of which I will share with you in this post! It's another picture tutorial. ;)

First I sketched--with a pencil--a dancer (in a leotard) doing a leg hold.

I masked off the "sparkle" part of the "thanks for making my life sparkle" sentiment from hero arts finding joy set.

From the front

Then I outlined the drawing with black ink and colored in the leotard with a blender pen and pink ink (you can just do this with a marker or color pencil). I added lots of diamond stickles to make it sparkle!!! :)

After, I added some pink chalk ink around the drawing with a makeup sponge. I also added a cute inside joke. :)

To finish, I added some pink pattern paper (as seen above), and lace paper trim on the sides. I added a little knot and chipboard heart (from me and my big ideas) on the corner. I rounded the corners of the little piece of card stock where i stamped "thanks for making my life...", and the card except for the left top corner. I stamped "sparkle!" inside the card.

Hope you enjoy! As always, ask in the comments below if you have any questions!

By the way, I have a new web address for my blog: www.jmacarte.blogspot.com , so don't follow my old one!! :)

Awesome Google Logo...

Have you checked out the new google logo today (Les Paul's 96th Birthday)? It is really a masterpiece! You can strum the lines, and even record your own music! Don't fear if you missed it, you can look at all the Google Logos HERE, they are truly all amazing! You can hear my creation HERE. It is kind of horrible, but it was really fun to make!

Other cards coming soon because I have to make some for some friends (who are ballerinas, so dance will probably be the theme).

Hope you have fun with the Google Logo for Les Paul's 96th Birthday!

Essentials for Cardmaking

Hey everyone! Just finished Essentials for Cardmaking, hope you enjoy! Make sure to read fullscreen and zoomed so you can see the words. :)

Elegant Thank You

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't made a new post in a while, but I will update more frequently now because I am way less busy!!! I am going to try the step-by-step picture tutorial for a card today (i don't have a good enough camera for video yet--sorry!). Tell me what you think in the comments below!
Here's the card:

Today I made an elegant thank you card with some colored cardstock from the hero hues collection (love that!)  I started with the color latte from the earth folded cards pack. Using chestnut roan from color box chalk inks, I filled in the front of the card slowly using dabbing motions.

Then, I stamped one of the fall flourishes from Inkadinkadoo in copper (Colorbox Chalk Inks).

I used diamond stickles on the copper flourishes, and using a sponge and broken china distress ink, distressed just the corners of the card for a more vintage look.

I also distressed the sides of the card using scissors. Just scrape the edge of the blade back and forth on the card (don't use your "good" pair of scissors because it will make them dull!) You're doing it right if a bunch of white fluff explodes from the card every time you scrape! Do this on a paper towel or scratch piece of paper. :)

I made a fancy die-cut (because I didn't have one :) out of white cardstock by cutting a template and tracing it onto the cardstock and cutting it out. I wanted it to be more cream colored, so I used a sponge and chestnut roan chalk ink to lightly fill in the die-cut.

I stamped the "thank you" sentiment from the finding joy stamp set from hero arts using broken china distress ink. Then, I added a copper border around the die-cut using a blender pen. To finish off the card, I added two rhinestones to each end of the die-cut!

Thanks for reading! As always, post in the comments below if you have any questions!
By the way, essentials for cardmaking is almost ready!!!

Origami earrings!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to share a cute side project i've been working on...origami earrings! They are super simple and really FUN to make! Tell me in the comments below if you would like a tutorial! I don't have time now...but I could try to get that up if anyone wants it. :)

Here are two pairs of earrings I made with beads.

Here is a close up of an earring.

PS: I decided to take a different route for the essentials of cardmaking post, so it is going to take a little longer since I have to layout every page of the project... thanks for your patience! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Friday the 13th...

Anyone superstitious? Jason is coming to get you. :) Just kidding....
This post is going to be a little bit of fashion because I like to dabble in fashion from time to time, and if I have a revelation (yes, i just said revelation), I will post on this blog.

Spring is in the air, and you know what that means!! Floral (can't go wrong with it, really)! Here's some cute skirts and dresses:

forever21.com

This is basically what I think of when someone says spring/ summer dress. forever21.com

Did I mention you can never go wrong with a pair of nude pumps? forever21.com

I guess you can make anything dark, even a springy, light, floral dress! topshop.com

It doesn't have to be a skirt or dress (or top), the floral could just come from a statement necklace:

vintage rose earrings, or necklace:

all jewelry from forever21.com

Also, I'm loving neutral, flowy dresses for spring!

ae.com

topshop.com

Not exactly neutral, but gorgeous flowy dress, nonetheless. forever21.com

Papercraft submissions

Hey everyone!

Quick post today because I'm really busy....still..... :)
If you want your cards or any other crafts to get into a magazine, Paper Crafts is looking for submissions for late 2011 and 2012. The deadlines are usually on Mondays. Click here.

Look for a multi- part post(s) on the essential tools for cardmaking. I'll try to get that up soon!!

Thanks for your patience!

So SORRY! and Mother's Day Card....

I'm so sorry, I now realized I haven't posted in a week!! Its just been so busy, May is always a busy time for me. Here are some pictures of the mother's day card:

I stamped the flowers surrounding the prima flower with versamark ink, no heat embossing.

I used dimensional adhesive for the MOM lettering, and paper trims and pattern paper for the side.

I LOVE the prima flowers--there absolutely gorgeous! This one is from the Sugar Blooms Reflections, and it has gold accents.

I hope you enjoy this card! As always, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below!!

Favorites

Hello!

Today I have a blog post on 3 of my favorite stamp sets that you will see me use often on my cards. Also, these are great for beginners who are just starting their stamp collection or advanced cardmakers looking to add some extra stamps to their heap!

1. Sentiments for all occasions
It's important to have a stamp set that has greetings you can use for any type of card (birthday, get well soon, celebration, etc.)

I love the finding joy stamp set from hero arts (you can find it at simon says stamp for US $14.99).

2. pattern/ background stamp

This fall flourish stamp from inkadinkadoo (you can find it at simon says stamp for US $2.99) is one of the most- used stamps in my collection. It's great for all cards, from elegant to fun to serious! Just keep in mind that it is one of their mini stamps. :)

3. A good- sized flower stamp
You can do so many things with a standard flower stamp since they are great for any occasion, and this one comes with leaves as well!

Last but definitely not least is the corner flower stamp from Kaisercrafts. You can purchase this at Border's for US $2.29.


I hope you enjoyed this. Please tell me if you would like more of these types of blogs posts! Thanks so much for stopping by, leave any comments in the section below!

Masculine hello!

Hi everyone! This card is a little more masculine because the color combination is darker (browns, blacks, gold, etc.) I cut a piece of black construction paper (rounded one corner) and using a sponge, stamped 2 rectangles in the middle (peeled paint and broken china distress ink). Then, I blotted it a few more times all over the page, and wrote just saying hello with pastels.

Then I stamped copper borders using Colorbox Chalk Ink. I added some different sized buttons and tied a bow using twine, attaching it to the button with a glue dot.

I'm so sorry about the Mother's Day card! I haven't been able to work on it recently because I'm so busy. I promise I'll get it up in the next week! Thanks so much for stopping by! Please comment below if you have any questions.

Hello with a Flourish!

This is a quick card I made a while back (as you can see on the time stamp). I misted some water lightly on the stamp (fall flourish from Inkadinkadoo) before I stamped it, using different color inks for each part of the flourish. I stamped it twice in different directions, used blue water color on the bottom quarter of the card and a little on the sides. I wrote hello in a nice, fancy font.

As you can see, I added some glitter to make the card really pop. I think the little details can make a card go the extra mile!

Thanks for coming by! Leave a comment below if you have any other questions!

Sparkle!

Here's a card I made last week after taking a long break. The main piece is a flower made of tissue paper and pattern paper, with a hero arts sparkle clear gem in the center. The pattern paper on the side is from a digikit from Twopeas (Stacy Mark's courtship).The sentiment is "thanks for making my life..." on the front, and "sparkle" on the inside.

Here's a closer look at the inside.

A closer look at the flower

I used diamond stickles from Ranger on this pattern as well as the petals on the flower.

Comment below if you have any questions!

Just Saying Hello....

Hi everyone! A mother's day (it's on May 8th if you didn't know) card is coming real soon so watch for that! For now, be content with this flower-- inspired card:

 

I drew the flower myself and colored it in using water color pencils. Post in the comments if you have any other questions about materials!
Thanks so much for stopping by!