WOYWW what happened to March?

Seriously, what did happen to March? Did it just up and march away?

Things remain much the same here ... a small amount of creativity amongst the chaos ...

 

 

Well, there's the chaos with the most recent and very small amount of creativity, a simple birthday card (cut and paste, cut and paste, although I did add more gold bling to the existing gold bling). Anyway, not happy with it, can do better ... will do better (by Saturday ... nothing like a deadline to get the creative juices flowing, right?)

 

I haven't been entirely at a standstill. Went to a class recently given by Rachel Greig (of Darkroom Door fame) and made some rather nice cards, using some new products and interesting techniques.
Here they are ...

 

 

Oh, and of course, you really wanted to see the most recent retail therapy, didn't you?

 

 

That's all self-explanatory, isn't it?

Except for that papery stuff at the bottom, which is GEN-U-INE American

deli paper!   What's all this about?

Why don't you visit Julia at her Stamping Ground

 

book review "Mixed Mania ... Recipes for Delicious Mixed Media Creations"

by Debbi Crane and Cheryl Prater (2008, Interweave).

Once again, this book comes from my extensive collection of somewhat under utilised art/craft books. I've had it for a while and often delve into it for another look. Well, I thought it was about time I looked, and actually read it, pretty much from cover to cover.

The book contains 17 individual projects, using both paper and fabric, (and everything in between), with explanations and instructions which appear to be clear and easy to follow. The "useful" tools and supplies mentioned at the beginning are not compulsory (that's my kind of supplies), alternatives are suggested and the authors don't insist on particular brands. You might already have most of these items. All the projects are interesting and even perhaps a bit "quirky". (Again, this appeals to me. This is not "Cardmaking 101".)  Even if you don't want to do all (or any) of the projects, there is a lot of inspiration and useful techniques. There are quite a few projects which I would actually like to get around to making. Both the authors have a friendly and chatty style, which, in my opinion, makes for interesting reading.

Disclaimer: this review is totally subjective and all my own opinions ... but you probably knew that, right?

book review "Teeny Tiny Cards"

There were quite a few comments about this book when I showed it on WOYWW this week, so I thought maybe some visitors here might like to read a little review about it?  It comes from my huge stash of books (which would be called a library, if I could actually fit anything more on the shelves).  I bought it because 1. it looked interesting (which it is) and 2. it was on sale (another good reason). The title might be "teeny tiny" but there is nothing "teeny tiny" about the amount of lovely illustrations, projects and details. Covering about 40 projects, all by different designers, the instructions are clear and concise and the photos to go with them are really attractive. Various "styles" are covered: cute/quaint, (actually more "quaint" perhaps, than cute, which appeals to me), vintage, modern, quirky and borders on mixed media. It really is a pleasing mixture. And the "cards" are not just cards. There is a good variety of small, paper-based, card-type projects. All the material lists include things most papercrafters would probably already have and no brand names are mentioned. I think this book could appeal to anyone, from beginner to intermediate. The only slight criticism (and it is very slight), is that in the one ATC project, smaller measurements (than a normal ATC) are used and this I just found strange. If you have made ATCs you will know that the only criteria which must be followed is their size. Maybe these were meant to be "mini ATCs"?
This book actually inspires me to go make something, so it's a winner, in my opinion.