All You Need Is Love

Francine Domschine-Hill sent in this unique shaker card design using a paper punch design in the background of the shaker card.

Don’t forget that we have lots of FREE shaker card templates on our website here:  http://www.pennywisearts.com/supersimpleshakercards.html

If you’ve never made a shaker card before our simple tutorial will walk you through it step by step.  Shaker cards are a fun and interactive card to send or receive.  Whenever I need to really concentrate on something  I will  often pick up a shaker and tip it back and forth to create the soft swooshing sound the beads make as they roll back and forth.  It’s almost a hypnotic sound that helps me feel calm and relaxed.  Try it! 

Coming soon!  Free SVG cut files of our shaker card templates!!

Love

I “love” this shaker card made by designer Jean Sunderman.  The red and yellow colors are so vibrant and complementary!    The frame of the shaker box is beaded with red and gold micro beads and edged with a gold Krylon pen. 

Are you wondering how Jean crafted the neat petal design on the shake box frame?  The secret is to save the white kraft release papers from your O’So Sticky Tape sheets – these can by cut or punched to create all sorts of design elements and then used as masks on the tape sheet when beading. 

This part is IMPORTANT!!  Be sure to lay the SHINY release side down on exposed O’So Sticky Tape when masking – there is a non shiny side that will not release from the tape.

I have a tutorial here somewhere,….. I’ll see if I can find it to share!

Hugs,

Suzanne

Sweet Lil Valentine

This sweet lil valentine arrived in my mailbox from Dee Moran.  Dee found this darling girl to embellish on our Cute Cupids collage sheet .  I love the heart gem Dee added to this little cherub’s arsenal!

Blue For You

Blue and brown together really do it for me.  I love this color combo!  Designer Christine Plumb put them together beautifully in this layered up valentine card that she sent to me last year. 

Yes, it’s true, I save all the cards people send to me!  I treasure them because they are a symbol of the friendships that have blossomed over the years and I love to decorate my studio with others artwork as my inspiration. 

It reminds me of the time when I was being filmed to be on HGTV’s show Crafters Coast to Coast.   (I just looked, and by golly the tutorials from the show are still available online – just click the hyper link to be taken there…)

What a crazy time that was!  I had redone my studio just weeks prior to the arrival of the film crew.  As part of my new decor I had posted artwork by my “beadie buds” all over the cabinets that would be in the background.  The producer of the show told me that I had to take them all down, or have signed releases for them to be on television by the next morning.  I put the call out to my Yahoo group, the source of all that amazing art, and how I wish you all could have seen the look on her face when I handed the producer a stack of release forms an inch and a half thick the next day!  It was priceless!!

Not sure what got me off on that tangent but  in case you can’t see the hyperlinks in the above text, click here to see the four  projects that I made on HGTV:  http://www.hgtv.com/thats-clever/cowboy-boot-tray-painted-aluminum-wall-art-microbead-box-and-pen-set-lacy-beaded-thank-you-card/index.html

And click here to be directed to our PWA online community on Yahoo groups:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PennywiseArts/

 

Hugs,

Suzanne

Fit For Royalty

Julie Imsland crowned this fun imaged from one of our collage sheets using O’So Sticky Paperback Tape and a crown punch from EK Success.  The paper backing on both sides of the adhesive is such a bonus when using punches, die cutters and digital cutters!   (Yes, Cricut owners – I’m talking to YOU!)

The frame was purchased in the dollar bin from a craft store and embellished with a mixture of colored micro beads using 1/4” O’So Sticky Tape around the border.  The image is from our “Be Mine” collage sheet.

Heart Songs

This whimsical winged girl reminds us to listen to our hearts.  “Sing your heart songs” she says.  How can we remember to do that in our crazy busy lives? 

For me, listening to (and singing) my heart song is dropping my plans without second thought to help a friend in need.  To be there when she needed a ride home, to sit with her when she was afraid, to cry with her, to grieve with her and to just hold her.  It didn’t matter what was on my schedule, or what chores needed doing.  When she called my name, she was the most important thing I had to do in that moment.  She was the song.

How do you listen to your own heart songs and sing them?

 

Card designed by Julie Imsland, PWA design team member

Elegance in a Double Shaker

This elegant shaker card has a unique double window cut with  two separate shaker boxes.  It’s another great example of thinking outside the shaker box!  I only wish I knew who made this card so that I could give credit where credit is due.  Was it you?  Please let me know!!