Brayered Background

I saw a card like this on (where else) Pinterest and decided it would be a good one to try my hand at brayering the background.  I've seen some amazing cards using this technique, let me tell you!  Anyway, first I punched a small circle out of a sticky note and placed it where I thought the sun might be as it was setting.  Then I inked my brayer with goldrush and lightly rolled it over the entire piece of colonial white cardstock.  Next I inked the brayer in some sunset ink and rolled again but just from the middle down to the bottom.  Lastly, I inked it one more time in autumn terracotta (no need to wash between colors as long as you go from light to dark) and worked that really well at the bottom.  A little bit of sponging around the edges and I was ready to finish the piece.  I removed the circle mask and stamped my tree in black.  Voila!  It reminds me of sunset on the savannah (hey, I've seen the Lion King!).  The tree is from D1543 Country Born.

Smiles, Caron

A happy happy for the week's end

As yet another weekend draws to a close, I thought I'd share another card I made.

This one has no stamping at all!  It didn't start out that way but I like how it ended up.  I used the Laughing Lola paper pack, black glitter cardstock and Art Philosophy for the flower.  I think it's elegant and funky at the same time!

Smiles, Caron

Getting "Pin-spired"

I admit it.  I'm a Pinterest addict.  I can skip around for hours getting all kinds of craft ideas, scrapbook layout designs, cupcake recipes, crochet patterns...you name it, I pin it!  If I were to actually attempt to create all that I pin, I would never do anything else.  I think it's more of a wish list than it is a to-do list but I have actually done a few of the things I've pinned, so there's that.  As usual, I get a lot of inspiration for making my cards at this site.  Why reinvent the wheel when you can simply add your own special twist?  Here's a card where I did just that.

I used D1550 Happy Autumn for the rose and leaves and D1510 For My Friend for the sentiment.  That small piece of striped paper is from the Babycakes paper pack and I added a touch of glitter with our Bronze shimmer trim.  The rose was inked in honey, rolled generously in goldrush and then rolled slightly in autumn terracotta.  I then added even more dimension by using a colored pencil.  I think it turned out quite pretty!

Smiles, Caron
PS:  By the way, if you click on the words in blue (hyperlinks), it will take you directly to that page of my online store where you can see the complete description and price.  Sure beats looking it up in the idea book!

Special blessings in store!

My friend is about to become a mom after waiting for almost seven years!  She and her husband are adopting a little girl from China.  I never knew it took so long but the time is finally arriving and they should be going to get their little princess next month.  I'm so happy for her!  In anticipation of the little one's arrival, her friends threw a baby shower and I wanted to share what I made for her.

I love all types of crafting so it's a treat when I get to create something other than cards or a scrapbook layout.  I hope her little girl likes it!

Smiles, Caron

A card for all seasons!

Here's yet another card my students recently created.  I wanted the milk jug to be cream colored but didn't want to color it myself so I stamped the whole image in black on colonial white cardstock and then cut the jug out.  Then I stamped the image again and glued the colored jug on top of the plain one.  Easy peasy!

Smiles, Caron

September Newsletter

September 2013A newsletter from Caron Little moments matter. Caron Barnard Close To My Heart Independent Consultant Supervisor 9549646067 "Fall" in Love! Autumn is a great time to fall in love with crafting all over again!  I don't know how it works for anyone else, but for me, it's a time to get back to business. Summer sort of slows everyone down which is a good thing but too much of that and laid back becomes lazy bones!  Even though I no longer have kids in school, I still like the structure the school calendar gives me. It's a nice way to ease back into a schedule of some sort and start getting some new projects going.  After all, the holidays are looming just around the corner! So, before the chaos begins, go through your craft stash, peruse your idea books, cruise on Pinterest for ideas and get ready to fall in love again with creating! Check my blog for class schedules! Smiles, Caron September is National Stamping Month! Cheerful wishes to lift your loved ones year-round Read Celebrate National Stamping Month by ordering our new, exclusive You Are My Happy stamp set trio for just $10 only during September. When you place an order of $50 or more you qualify for this whimsical triple stamp set of cheerful sentiments, images, and an alphabet to complement life’s silly, sweet, and serendipitous moments. The stamp set trio, which arrives on three D-size carrier sheets in two envelopes, is stylistically designed so all images coordinate to help you celebrate your happy times all year! Contact your Independent Consultant today to get your own You Are My Happy stamp set trio for just $10 — a savings of $37.90 over retail value! Offer valid September 1–30, 2013. Get your $10 You Are My Happy stamp set trio today! » Stamp of the Month: Poster Tidings Block out some time to make stunning holiday projects Read With the September Stamp of the Month set, Poster Tidings, you’ll have exactly the right words to express what you feel this upcoming holiday season. All of your favorite holiday phrases are included on these fun block stamps, and mixing and matching words is easy to do using the masking technique! The trendy “subway art” look is a cinch with the September Stamp of the Month, so make sure to get it while you can! Offer expires September 30, 2013. See the September Stamp of the Month » Have a Crush? Fall in love with quick and easy memory keeping Read With our two new My Crush™ books, Modville and Bluebird, preserving everyday memories and mementos is a snap! The little things that normally get lost in the busyness of life will be safe within your book’s pages. With just a little tape, glue, or even a paper clip, you’ll be able to preserve life’s adventures as they happen — ticket stubs, receipts, photos, and fast journaling And thanks to the coordinating My Stickease® images, journaling spots, alphabets, and envelope pockets in the four My Crush assortments, you’ll make beauty in no time at all. Fall head-over-heels for the ease of scrapbooking on the go with our new, handy-sized My Crush books!

Surf's Up!

Here's a nice birthday card for someone celebrating in the summer.  It's made with the Surf's Up paper pack.  What's great about this one is the use of scraps.  I didn't have much left of this paper after doing other projects but it was just too difficult to throw away the little bits.  So, I glued them all together to make my own patterned paper!  I also used the new stamp set D1560 Holiday Tags for the sentiment and Cricut Artiste to cut it out.  A little bit of Paradise baker's twine, a single Aqua dot and it's time to party on!

Smiles, Caron