The Odd Whimsy

So I'm fairly new to the world of card making. And while I like cards, they tend to annoy me because I find them to be too small for a lot of artwork. I know this is not true in most cases because I have seen some truly wonderful cards, but I'm used to working on large surfaces. So while surfing youtube one day I found a tutorial from splitcoaststampers on the easel card. And I fell in love. I have previously posted a easel card I made for a coworker (who loved it), but I thought I would post my first two attempts at it. Please excuse the poor lighting as they were taken from my phone. That's one of my goals of late, to not use my phone so much for photos! I promise I will get better :) Both cards are made with Graphic 45 papers, Le Romance, and Magic of OZ.   Thanks for visiting!-Altina R.

Things have been so nuts that I haven't had much time for anything! We have been resetting the deptartment at work, and my dad is having health issues again. Anyway, I did crank out this present for one of my BFFs 21st birthday this weekend.  She loves peacocks, so I used the image from the Art Nouveau cricut cartridge. I cut it at 9.25 using my gypsy to line it all up on the mat. I previously prepared a 8x10 canvas I got at hobby lobby by painting it aqua blue and then laying an iridescent cellophane that have been scrunched up on top before the paint dried. I assembled the peacock and glued the shadow directly to the canvas and then pop dotted the peacock to the shadow. -Altina R.   

I made a quick Birthday card for the little girl in Indonesia that I sponsor through Compassion International. She will be nine in July.   I made the cuts using the Cricut Alphabet that came with my Expression 2. The paper is from DCWV Preppy Princess (the sentiment), Magnolia Way (the background), and Lace & Linen (the butterfly) stacks. Enjoy! -Altina R.

With Graduations coming up this month and next I thought I would post this Grad card I made last year for some of my guy friends who graduated. I have noticed that most grad cards are either feminine or gender neutral, so I tried to make something that would appeal to my friends. I made this A2 size card using my Cricut and my Cuttlebug. I used the Wrap it Up cartridge and my Expression to make the diploma and the sentiment. I took some silver cardstock from my DCWV Immortal Love cardstock stack and cut it just slightly smaller then the black cardstock base I made. I used the diamond cuttlebug folder on the silver cardstock because it reminded me of toolboxes that you see a lot in truck beds. I attached the black ribbon to the underside of the silver before adding it to the base, used Zig two way glue for the sentiment, and pop dots for the diploma. Thanks for visiting!- Altina R.

Ok so to be completely honest I forgot that today was National Scrapbook Day. I feel slightly bad about that considering how much I LOVE scrapbooking.   I spent part of my day at work, and then had a family emergency and wound up back at home babysitting my little brother. Probably could have gotten some stuff done then, but I chose to catch up on Dr. Who instead XD Shame on me right?   Anyway, sense I didn't actually do any projects today I thought I would share one of my more recent cards. I did this for the April Stack-A-Holic challenge on dcwvinc.blogspot.com. DCWV is one of my favorite paper brands. I think its tied with Graphic 45.     The card is made using the Kidlet stack which I absolutely adore. I love the bright and fun colors, and its a versatile stack that could be used for just about anything. I cut the sentiment from the stack as well. I cut the image out using my Cricut Imagine and the Better Together cartridge.   Have a great weekend!- Altin

Recently I had a good friend's daughter turn one. I'm one of those sentimental type peoples, and I wanted to make her something that she would have for years to come. Her mother is a very creative person and adores anything girly and vintage. So I chose to use Graphic 45's Once upon a Springtime stack. I adore this stack because its the vintage fairies. Like you would see in old story books. I started with just a plain wood box that I purchased at Michaels. I wanted something that wasn't going to be difficult to cover. I sanded the box and painted it with a gesso primer. After that had dried I sanded the box again and put two coats of a sage green paint on the inside and outside of the box, letting dry between each coat. After it had dried I selected my papers and cut the ones for the background down to size. I cut them so it would show the green paint on the edges. I then used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the box. I even covered the bottom in the pink

So it's been almost a year since I posted :p as you can see I am not so great with the upkeep on a blog. But through this past year I have been thinking about what direction I want my life to go in. I recently turned 21, and I also got to go to NYC which had been a dream of mine since I was 8. And let me tell you, NYC was very inspiring to me. I have long wanted to do something in the creative world, and am considering getting a degree in graphic design. But for now while I start my journey I hope to keep up with this blog a little better for my personal creative outlet. So now for a recent project :) I have recently tried my had at card making, and while I'm still not positive I like it, it does help get my creativity satisfied when I can't work on a larger project. Today I made an easel card for a coworker of mine. She seems like she needed a pick me up so I made this "just because" card using Graphic 45's Olde Curiosity shop. I layered the some of