Art of the Possible

Wavy Fishes

Inspired by the results I got with the ladybug card, I broke out more markers for this one.  I only used the thin end of night of navy, ballet blue, bliss blue, brilliant blue and brocade blue markers.

The circle that supports the fish is a two step image from the Simple Shapes set.  You don't always have to carefully hand color an image to give it color.  This is a great way to have a blue fish in a blue sea without having to hand color.  What other images can you color this way? 

This is the last of the Very Punny cards that I created last week.  I got some new Sell-A-Bration sets on Friday, so stay tuned for some more enticing samples using the other great SAB sets.

Fishy Tete a Tete

Check out the two little guys in the middle.  How did I get them to face each other?  I used the kissing technique (appropriate name, don't you think).

I used one of the solid stamps from the Simple Shapes set to get this to work.  First, I inked the fish stamp from the Sell-A-Bration set Very Punny in basic black.  Then I quickly stamped the fish onto the middle of the rubber circle on the Simple Shapes stamp.  Without too much pause, I turned the circle and stamped onto a piece of white.  This made a reverse image of my original stamp.  This is a great technique to use when the school is swimming in the wrong direction. 

I used the nested circle punches to make this card. Notice that the circles fit almost perfectly on the front of an invitation sized card (5 1/2" x 4 1/4"--1/4 of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock).  I love my tools--they make it so much easier to create the designs I want. 

Pig in a Bubble

I used Simple Shapes (page 160 in the 2006-2007 Idea Book and Catalog) to do these bubbles.  The little bubbles in the background were randomly stamped in a variety of pinks. 

The pig bubble was inked by squiggling with markers on the large circle stamp.  Then I did a single circle of pink passion around the outside with the outline circle from the set. 

I think it is fun to match something as solid as a pig with something so airy as a bubble. It plays on the unexpected.

How many more cool cards did I come up with from the Sell-A-Bration set Very Punny?  Stay tuned!

Baby Plaid

Where did I get plaid paper that was just perfect for this project?  I made it!  I used blush blossom and bliss blue markers (again, love the two ended wonderfulness of these markers) and a straight edge.  Just establish a pattern and then repeat it in two directions.  That's all plaid is!

My son even said that this baby was cute--and I couldn't agree more.  I have a friend who is expecting a baby in February and i can't wait to make her one of these cards.  And by using pink and blue, my bases are covered. 

This little cuttie is also in the Sell-A-Bration Very Punny set.  I'm having the most fun with this set--all the more because it was free!

Lady Dots

How can you not smile when this cute little lady is beaming at you?   The background of this card was created freehand (gasp!) using a black maker (isn't it great that it has two thicknesses?!)  and the white gel pen.

I used the two nesting sizes of tags to start my design.  But then I decided to trim down the black background tag to the barest edge for this design. 

This is a very quick, easy card and drawing the squiggly lines is very therapeutic!  This card also used the now unavailable Very Punny set.

The Purple Cow

This card keeps disappearing.  My son keeps trying to sneak it out of my office while I'm not looking (Ah, but Mothers are always looking, aren't we?).  I need to make him one of his own.

I used white craft ink and a sponge to create the clouds in the background.  Then I used the paper snips to quickly trim up three scraps of cardstock to create my grassy field.  When I trimmed the cows, I only detail cut the tops.  The bottoms, with the legs and udders, were cut into little tabs so I would have a good way to attach them between the grassy layers. 

This card is a tribute to one of my favorite childhood poems:

I never saw a purple cow                                                                                                                 I never hope to see one                                                                                                             but I can tell you anyhow                                                                                                             I'd rather see than be one.

This card was part of a Charette I did on Sunday with the Sell-A-Bration set Very Punny.  I love the little cows!