Can't find my sketchbook

You know it's time to clean when you can't find stuff.

I've been toying with ideas for my shops.  Since the beginning, I considered selling digital stamps of my artwork and die cut designs.  However, it's a really painstaking process to electronically clean them up properly.  (Either that, or I'm doing it the hard way for not knowing any better!)  I've also toyed with importing my drawings to my digital cutter software and making them in to die cuts.  My dragon ones, in particular, would be silhouette cuts - meaning, I would cut them and use the negative as a mat.  I'd put a paper behind it to fill in the cut details and then mount it in a frame or to a note pad cover or a magnet.  Something.

But I can't find my sketchbook.  It's been bothering me for a couple months.  I've looked where all my other sketchbooks are, but I can't find the one that has the sketch above.  While this sketch is over a decade old, but I know I saw the book in our new house because I scanned this image to give to someone who wanted a dragon logo for her business cards.  I thought it was a good candidate because it's a single tone.  You could print it in any colour you want and you would only need one colour.  I've looked in every place that I stash any of my art stuff.

I've also been drooling over a new machine. A BIG, expensive new machine.  There are two on the market that are fairly compatible with each other in features and price.  One has a higher upfront investment and one has a higher replacement parts investment.  Both offer custom die cut designs.  That means, I could take my sketches or electronic designs and have them converted into manual die cut designs.  (I actually find it easier to mass produce on a manual system rather than my electronic cutter.)

Ooooooooo.... the temptations!  Well, I am somewhat glad to say that, since I can't find my sketchbook anyway, this decision can happily sit on hold.  It's going to be on the back burner for at least a couple years.  I"m sure my book will turn up and I'll wonder why I ever put it wherever it is hiding!

Quilled Cat Farewell

One of our executive administrators has found a job downtown and moved on in her career.  So, I had to make a farewell card for her.  I know she likes cats, so I made sure to use one!  I used my quilled kitty and made a window card.  I actually ordered some frames to make a shaped window but it didn't arrive in time, so I had to use the only window-like die cut I had at the time, which is just a scalloped square.

This is actually a version of my quilled cat love you window card.  Instead of dangling a heart, though, this kitty has an upbeat balloon!  It says, "Congrats on your new job."  Then, on the inside, it says, "You will be missed."

The kitty is a little bulky to be on the inside, but since I was hand-delivering it, it wasn't really a problem.  I popped the balloon up on foam tape so it would have the same dimension as the quilled cat.

She liked it!

Monkey Birthday Card at 7 yrs - Give a Poem a Home

My collection of poems is ever growing.  I have always loved to write so I welcome the continual challenge!  I considered freelancing for fun and tried to find a greeting card company to accept my submissions, but my search didn't go very well!

Oh well, more free poems for you! This little card, I made for my eldest nephew's recent 7th birthday. He was born in the year of the monkey, so when this monkey digital stamp was offered as a freebie from Dustin Pike, I had to snag it!  When he offers freebies, he tends to offer both an uncoloured black and white image and a coloured one.  Normally, I like to colour the images myself, but I was in a rush this time, so I used the pre-coloured one.

It was absolutely perfect for my nephew's birthday!  Like, I said, I was in a rush so I kept the design simple.  Simple works best for masculine cards anyway! Where my contribution to this card comes in is the poem on the inside.

Taming the Lace

So, I decided to challenge myself to work with lace.  I needed to make a happy engagement card for my uncle.  He has spent his 50 years as a bachelor and now has finally found "the one".  Hooray!  So I set out to make a lovey dovey card and I wanted to use lace.

The lace did not want to behave.  It was very unruly, curling and bubbling here, there, everywhere!  Since I knew I was putting a panel over top of it, I decided to cheat and put some tape underneath the lace.

I got you good, wild lace! For the panel going over top of it, I knew the lace would be bulky under half. So I double mounted the top portion of the panel with foam tape and single mounted the portion going over top of the lace.

Tah-dah!  I used a sparkly marker on pink the hearts of the stamped tree.  It looks much sweeter in person.

For a first time using lace, what do you think?  I'm not a very frilly girl, so I don't know if I will use this medium again. You never know unless you try though!