Cards & Lots of Other Things

This is really a catch up post.  I've been busy getting ready for my cruise, making lots of things, teaching classes, making art; just not blogging!

Saturday was World Card Making Day, and to celebrate a "holiday" so close to our hearts, Heidi and I co-taught a WOW! card class.  We had a nice group come to create, including Yvonne, a visitor from Germany!  Here are the two cards I offered:

The fence (I used real wood!) and leaves are cut from Sizzix dies, and the pumpkins are made from SU! oval punches.

This purse card was inspired by one I received from Sue W. from one of my yahoo groups. The real WOW is when you open it, and the sentiment explodes open:

On Sunday my favorite group...the once a month Paper Crafts group met to share some inspiration.  We all subscribe to Paper Crafts magazine, and once a month get together for a shoe-box style swap.  We take a project from the current issue, make it our own and then bring all the supplies necessary for everyone to make one of their own.  I liked a particular layout in the magazine, and turned it into a bon voyage card:

Heidi's project was an ornament.  We covered porcelain discs with decorative tissue paper, added some bling and a ribbon to hang it.  Here is mine:

Pat had us do fun Halloween treat bags.  Hidden magnets keep the bag closed:

Jenny B's card is simple and elegant and I just love it!  We used the beautiful SU! stamp set Circle Circus, embossed with gold ink and embossing powder, and created some lovely cards.  This is mine:

As I mentioned, I've been busy with cruise-related stuff.  No, not shopping or packing or doing laundry.  Making swaps, a travel journal and some cabin door art.  No picture of the third project yet, but here are my ATCs (all 175 of them), packed and ready to go:

A close up:

Yes, lady liberty is wearing a sombrero (well, we ARE cruising to Mexico),and holding a martini and a pizza carton (well, I AM a New Yorker).  The background is from a reproduction of a vintage NYC street map.

I made my travel journal from a grungeboard book, watercolor paper, and some handmade papers I received as a gift.  All bound up with my favorite new toy, the Bind-It-All.

The inside covers are a collage of papers and some stamping.  The journal has several of the pockets inserted to hold memorabilia.

I sprayed the journal pages with a a few different colors of homemade glimmer mist.  Not so much that I wouldn't be able to see my own writing, but just enough so the pages didn't look too bare.  Any further decoration will take place during and after the cruise.  I'm hoping to use some of the new techniques I learn to finish embellishing it.

If I ever finish my cabin door art I'll post that too.

Last of all, I did finally make one of those grungepaper 3- rose bracelets for myself: