It's been a while...

 It's been almost a year since I've posted any cards, and for good reason. I'm taking a hiatus at this time from cardmaking/scrapbooking. After moving to Kentucky, Tim and I started a new business "Sawdust 'n Solder". He does wood turnings and I do stained glass. Both glass and cards are time consuming hobbies so for now I'm focusing on glass. We're currently doing upscale fairs and art shows along with selling on-line. Here's a picture of the items at our last show.

We have our contact information:

Instagram: Sawdust n Solder Art
Our on-line store: https://sawdustnsolder.square.site
Our FB page: Sawdustnsolderart

I am missing coloring images with my Copics and might just steal some time to color but the bulk of my time is working on stained glass for now. 

Take care.

Gail

Arts and Crafts Shows

Since retiring, I've had a bit more time to dedicate to stained glass, my first love since 1986. I had put it aside for a bit and worked on paper crafts since it was just too hot to work out in the garage doing glass while living in Phoenix, Arizona. Now I'm in a small rural town in Kentucky and it's much cooler here. We brought my work bench with us from Phoenix and I set it up in the garage which is where I like to do glass. It's in a window facing the front of the house so I have a lovely view of a field, cattle and the occasional vehicle passing by. I've since bought some supplies for my glass hobby and have had sticker shock...prices have sky rocketed for stained glass, lead, and especially solder! What used to sell for $4 for a pound roll is now up to $22!! To continue doing glass, it's going to have to help support itself so Tim and I have started our own little business and we think our name will be "Sawdust & Solder". That covers his wood turning and other wood art and my stained glass. I continue to make cards and other crafts in addition to glass. 

I sent in my application to the Kentucky Guild of Artisans and Craftsmen and took them 5 examples of my glass work including a lamp, a window panel and boxes. Below are photos of 3 of the items I submitted to be judged by the jury. 

In yesterday's mail (8/30/21), I received the below letter. I've been accepted into the Kentucky Guild! This enables me to participate in art shows that are juried without going through the process ever again. A juried show requires each participating to fill out an application, pay a fee and then drop off examples of their art product. A panel examines the articles submitted and then decides if they are of a quality they want in their show. A  juried show draws a crowd of people specifically looking for higher quality art and to meet the artists. Tim has been a member for over a year now, but with COVID and all art shows cancelled, he hasn't been able to display his work in a juried show until now.

Our first show as Guild members is October 8-9, 2021 in Bardstown on Main Street. We will be there for this 2 day show and are as excited as a hamster on a new wheel. LOL! If you're in Kentucky, I hope you'll attend this fabulous show in Bardstown. It's Saturday and Sunday and we'd love for you to stop by and say hello. 

                                                                         Thanks for reading my post!

                                                                                    Gail

Box Cards

I've had some fun making box cards. I'm loving the stamp sets from My Favorite Things since I can get matching die cuts to them, making it a lot easier to make a box card. I also got my box card dies that I used on the pirate card from MFT which have taken away the measuring and exacto knife cutting like we did in the "old" days. 

Sharing these box cards with you. I love this little pirate set and I made all of these into birthday cards. 

Thanks for looking and please leave a comment so I know you were here!

Try to keep up!

Nothing like back-to-back posts to show you what has kept me busy for the past couple of months. I retired on April 1 and I don't feel very retired! 

I was invited by Woodstock Lavender Farm to teach classes this month. Of course, I agreed since it was a great honor to be invited and Mary May and Allison Horseman who own the Farm are friends of ours. I taught 5 evening classes and a Make 'n Take on a Saturday. I designed 5 cards and the students were able to choose from those examples. All combined, 101 cards were made over the course of my classes. 

I'd like to share the 5 cards with you that the students enjoyed making over the past couple of weeks.

It was quite an experience as my students ranged in age from 6 to 70 years old! Everyone left happy with their creations and that's what made it all worthwhile!  

                                                                                           Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                                                          Gail

Following our dreams

So much has happened in 2021 already. I'm now retired and am creating cards for Prickley Pear and also creating cards for the store at the Woodstock Lavender Farm. I've also been teaching classes at Woodstock which have been a lot of fun and a challenge when there are 18 students!

Today I'd like to share some cards I've created for Prickley Pear. The images are all from their botanical release and are simply beautiful images. To see these stamps at the store, please click on the links below.

This beautiful hydrangea is called "Sketched Florals - Hydrangea" 

These elegant roses are called "Sketched Florals - Rose" 

I adore poppies and this one is named "Sketched Florals - Poppies"

I've always loved Wisteria. This new stamps is called "Sketched Florals - Wisteria"

This sunflower stamp can be found at "Sketched Florals - Sunflower"

These lilacs can be seen at "Sketched Florals - Lilacs"

This gorgeous stamp of azaleas can be found at "Sketched Florals - Azaleas"

And, this beautiful stamp of Texas Bluebonnets can be found here

I've always loved flower stamps and these are magnificent clear stamps. The Texas Bluebonnets is a full set with sentiments and it even has a die cut, which I used, that cuts out around the top of the stamp enabling me to make a background of clouds in the sky. 

Thanks to Sharon and John of Prickley Pear for allowing me the honor of using these gorgeous new stamps! I hope you'll visit the store and see their new line of botanicals. They are the prettiest botanicals I've ever had the opportunity to work with. 

                                                                                       Thanks for visiting!

                                                                                               Gail

A new beginning

Hello from Kentucky, and welcome to a new blog post that doesn't involve a design team assignment! I think this is a first for me in many years and I'm enjoying a bit of extra time to craft and do other things than just cardmaking.

 
But, an opportunity has come my way and I just couldn't say no. Mary and Allison of Woodstock Lavender Company (https://www.woodstocklavender.com) in Somerset, Kentucky, have asked me to make cards for them to sell in their store. The cards feature stems of lavender (of course!). The three cards made for their first order are below. I'm so excited to have been invited to contribute to their store and I hope the cards sell well.

 
I wasn't planning on selling cards here in Kentucky and was enjoying a bit of down time since not being on any design teams at the moment. We have gotten settled into our home and our new routine, but are still busy getting the property in good shape after it was neglected for so long. But it's hard to say no to someone as kind and caring as the May family and so here I am posting the three cards for your thoughts and opinions.

Christmas is almost here!

Well, this is my last post before Christmas which is only 3 days away. I love the holidays and the pretty decorations that you see everywhere. I now live in a small rural town in Kentucky and it's as if we live in a Hallmark movie. Our little Main Street is decorated beautifully and every business has a wreath on the door. This is my week to post on Craft-Dee BowZ and I chose this very festive image by Whimsy named Santa's Helper.

I colored my image with Copics and had some wonderful Christmas papers. My white snowflakes are actually buttons with the backs cut off. 

I made my beautiful bow, below, using my bow tool. My bow tool makes the perfect bow with any ribbon or lace. Here's a double looped satin bow.

My bow tool is small, easy to do and is always within reach of my work table!

Our sponsor this month is The Paper Shelter and our winner will get to pick three digital images of your own choice!

I hope you'll take a moment to upload your projects to Craft-Dee BowZ and you have only one more week to enter before the end of our challenge and 2021 arrives!

Merry Christmas to you!!

                                                                             Hugs to all,

                                       --Gail

December has arrived!

Did you feel like December would never get here this year? I know I always look forward to winter and Christmas is my favorite holiday, like so many others! I love making winter cards the very best so I find myself making them on and off all year long. This month at Craft-Dee BowZ our sponsor is The Paper Shelter. I chose this pre-colored image named Little Hazel for my card this month

I used lots of fun dies for this card and I have not one, but two bows on my card! Here's my white organza ribbon bow.

And here's my 1/8" satin ribbon bow that's on my tag. 

Using my bow tool is so easy and my bows come out so nice. I always had issues with my bows and I'd waste ribbon trying to get the one I'd like to use for the project. Not anymore, since this little bow tool guarantees me great bows every time!

Our sponsor, The Paper Shelter, is donating 3 digital images of the winner's choice. That's an awesome prize and you might want to go and check them out now.  There are so many awesome digital images to choose from!

Our challenge here at Craft-Dee BowZ  is ANYTHING GOES and we're looking forward to seeing your projects!  I hope you'll join us this month!

                                                                                  Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                                                --Gail

Give thanks

Welcome to my blog and it's my week to post on Craft-Dee BowZ and share a card with you.  When I think of autumn, I think of mums, sunflowers, pumpkins and sweaters. I saw this adorable little image by Elisabeth Bell and thought she'd be perfect for my card this week. 

I colored my image with Copics and used some pretty leaves, sunflowers and pearls for my embellishments. I added a bit of sparkle to the flowers in her hair, too, and had this awesome paper with sunflowers on it that worked out perfectly!

My bow is a triple looped and I used grossgrain ribbon and then glued a button tied with twine in the middle of the knot. This bow was so simple to make, even with all those loops, using my bow tool. It's the perfect little assistant that I keep within arm's reach at my craft table!  

Our sponsor this month is month is Bugaboo stamps who is giving the winner of our challenge four images of the winner's choice!

                                                    

Our Team here at Craft-Dee BowZ have made some awesome projects using Bugaboo stamps, so please visit us and we hope you'll join us this month for our ANYTHING GOES challenge!

                                                                          Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                                      --Gail

I love making winter cards!

It's November 1 and autumn is moving into winter now.  If you haven't started your Christmas cards yet, now is the time!  We have our monthly challenge at Craft-Dee BowZ which is ANYTHING GOES. 

Our sponsor this month is Bugaboo. The most difficult part this month was picking only one image from the thousands available to use for this challenge! I chose Winter Birds - Snowman for my card. 

I colored my image with Copics and and used some fun dies on my card. I found these pretty metallic flat backed jewels in my Christmas embellishments, too. 

Here's my bow made from red grossgrain ribbon that has a green stitched edge. I added this cute silver snowman charm to my bow.

I can make the most beautiful bows with my bow tool. This double looped gross grain bow was a breeze to make and came out perfect! If you use bows on your projects, you need to give this little bow tool a try. It's simple, hangs by a ribbon at your work station and is compact!

Our sponsor Bugaboo Stamps is awarding the winner of our challenge four images of the winner's choice. I'm sure you're going to find more than four that you love, too!  

Everything that you ever wanted to know about Bugaboo Stamps: As if raising five children in the frozen land of the North was not enough of a challenge, Jodie Mackrell decided to dip her cold little Canadian toes into the world of papercrafting by opening an on-line store full of her illustrations. That was six years ago. Today Bugaboo Stamps is one of the leading companies in digital images, and we're still growing! From seriously snarky to sugary sweet to sublimely soulful all the way to the other side of the super sexy spectrum, you're bound to find all that you need and more to create your paper projects. Jodie works very hard to provide New Releases and Freebies every week!

Our Team here at Craft-Dee BowZ have made some awesome projects using Bugaboo stamps, so please visit us and we hope you'll join us this month for our ANYTHING GOES challenge!

                                                                          Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                                      --Gail

To swim free as a mermaid!

Are there days you'd just like to be a mermaid? I love the ocean and I'm a fan of mermaid stamps. If I could wish to come back as something after I die, I think I'd pick a mermaid. This image is from Sherri Baldy and I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. 

It's the fourth Tuesday of the month, so it's my turn to post here for Craft-Dee BowZ.  Each week a different team member gets to post a card or project of their choice. So here I am with my card. 

I colored my image with Copics and used clear glitter on the seashells across the bottom and then colored the glitter with my markers. They still have the glittery look without the mess of using numerous colors of glitter. 

I love my bow tool. I don't think I make many cards anymore that don't have ribbon or lace on them and my little bow tool helps me make the perfect bows. You can see my bow below and how pretty it turned out. It's a great embellishment on this card and I do love embellishments!  I can honestly say that a CAS card is a tremendous challenge for me and I'm more comfortable adding stuff to a card than keeping it clean and simple. 

Here's what my little bow tool looks like...pretty simple to use and it hangs on a nail right next to me!

Our sponsor this month is Gerda Steiner Designs and the winner of this challenge gets to pick two images from this fantastic on-line store.                                                             

You've got two more days to enter our ANYTHING GOES challenge at Craft-Dee BowZ!

                                                                    Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                            --Gail

Holidays with friends

It's October 1 and time for a new challenge at Craft-Dee BowZ.  Our sponsor this month is Gerda Steiner Designs and I used this image named Reindeer With Bird for my card. This little cardinal and reindeer are enjoying the holiday season together. It's getting to be that time of the year where I realize I need Christmas cards so I've pulled out my Christmas papers, images and embellishments!

I colored my image with Copics and used Ranger Glossy Accents on the ornaments and my reindeer's nose. I used 3-d white paint to make my snowflakes, snow on the trees and on the ground. I added some pretty dark red jewels to the upper corners and a string of ornaments along the bottom of my card.

My bow as made with my bow tool and I made 2 bows and slid the smaller bow inside the knot of the larger bow. You can't tell at all that there are 2 bows here, but the look is so pretty! My bow tool is wonderful to use and I keep it right next to me. It's small, lightweight and easy to use! 

Here's what my bow tool looks like. If you like ribbon bows on your cards and projects, this is the most economical tool you can buy to be guaranteed perfect bows!

The sponsor this month at Craft-Dee BowZ is Gerda Steiner Designs.  The prize is 3 digital stamps of the winner's choice! 

I hope you'll join us this month in our ANYTHING GOES challenge and we look forward to seeing your creations!                                                     

                                                              Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                                 --Gail