More Butterflies on Etsy

I've added more butterfly hair adornments to my Etsy shop. The first one already sold thanks to a dear friend in the Midwest!
Thanks to all of you who have clicked over from FaceBook to check them out!
Click here to check out my store.

Etsy!

I finally opened a store with the online artisan community: Etsy!
(One of my summer goals... completed just before school starts again.)
Click here to visit my Etsy store!
Well, it's opened, but I only have one item up so far because I'm new and it's taking me a little while to get the photos to a manageable size so they will upload properly. So, please check back soon!

I appreciate all of you who insisted I open up my own Etsy shop, as well as those who encouraged and directed me along the way!

Daffodil Delight

Here's a simple card using some of the new colors [Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz*] and accessories that are now available from the new catalog. I really like the narrow taffeta ribbon and the bright, sunny (and sometimes retro) patterns of the new designer series paper.


If you need help gaining access to the new catalog, simply email me and I will make sure you get one! bassemjudith@gmail.com

You still have time to place an online order to participate in my August Birthday Celebration Promotion! Get a catalog, make your wish-list, place your order, and have fun creating (and also giving/ sending your complimentary birthday cards)!

*Pear Pizazz is an In-Color and is available for the next two years. Daffodil Delight is part of the permanent collection.

Something Other Than Stamping-Painting

I bought some canvases three years ago with the intention of painting a scene for my living room. Well, here they are. I finally got some deadline-creativity-motivation.

The idea is a Mediterranean countryside with an olive grove. I used gouache watercolor paints.

Stenciled Terra Cotta

I've been doing some gardening/landscaping at my house and wanted to get some Italian urns for my front pathway or door. However, on a recent trip to IKEA with a friend, I saw these flower pots for $8 or $9 with the saucer. So, I thought I would use these instead, but just dress them up with a beautiful stencil from Stampin' Up! (If you are my mom, make sure you are close to a box of tissues before you continue reading.)

Did you know they have a line of beautiful stencils? This one is called Adornment. Because this is for an outside project, I needed to use an outdoor acrylic paint from my local craft store.

Click here to see more stencils from Stampin' Up!
My mother is one of the most important artists in my life (happy birthday, mom)! She explored many different artistic fields as a student and displayed her work for her children to enjoy. (Not only did we enjoy seeing her art, it also inspired us. One of my brothers pursued photography, and another brother is a graphic designer. Mom saw our artistic inclination and sent us to Saturday morning art classes when we were young.)

She learned to sew because her mother sewed very well. (Happy posthumous birthday Gran!) She taught us to sew as well, even though we're no where near as good as our grandmother; she'd roll over in her grave if she could see some of the shortcuts we take! So, the sewing I've been doing lately is because of my grandmother and mother.

Then my mother and her friend became artisans. One would sew table linens and the other would stencil their original designs on them. They created many beautiful items and ran their business for about a decade. Mom allowed us to be involved by doing simple things like cutting ribbon, and tying bows with our tiny fingers, and later on hand-stitching mitered corners. (And no, cousins, it was not slave labor! She paid us for the work we did.) It was fun to work beside her. I'm so glad that mom allowed us in her workspace (and also in her kitchen) because it shaped us into who we are today. By day I teach, and by night I still enjoy art and creativity.
So, last month when I was painting these flower pots, she said I was going back to our roots: stenciling. Thanks mom, for giving me roots.

Eco Big Shot Projects

I have shown you some fun Big Shot projects lately, and here are a few more. They're so much fun to do, and easy to make [even my 4 1/2 year-old niece made some]!

This time I used magnetic sheets from Stampin' Up! You get four self-adhesive 6 x 13 sheets for less than $10. Click here to view.

The first few are made with recycled fiber felt and dressed up with some new, fabulous, easy to use embellishments from the new catalog: self-adhesive rhinestones and half back pearls. They instantly add pizazz to your projects!

Click to view the embellishments online rhinestones halfback pearls.

There are so many fun accessories in the new catalog! Click here to download.
Contact me if you'd like to your own copy: bassemjudith@gmail.com

The artwork in the previous two pictures was created by two very special girls!

Continuing with the green-recycled theme, I cut a butterfly from shipping cardboard for the base of this butterfly with the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, and then embossed a scrap of retired DSP with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die for the top.

If you'd like to order your own Big Shot, embossing, die cutting machine this is the perfect time! Get it for making back-to-school projects, appreciation gifts, party favors, home decor, scrap-booking...
Order one online between now and 31 August and I will send you ten handmade birthday cards!

Big Shot Fun With Butterflies!

I always loved the Beautiful Butterflies Die, and then I decided to make some projects using felt & this die. I picked up a couple of sheets of felt at a local store, and then hoping to find more colors, I went to a fabric store. Wow! They had so many beautiful colors of felt which were part of their recycled fiber felt. So, not only is the product stunning, it's also eco-friendly.

I started by making a bunch of butterfly hair adornments for my nieces (if you haven't gotten yours yet, then I haven't seen you, and I will be giving one to you soon), and then tried some other projects with them as well, stay tuned... I had so much fun making these that I entered some into a fine craft exhibit at a local gallery. Soon I will be selling them on Etsy.

If you are interested in learning how to use these products, please contact me, and I will be delighted to work with you. If you would like to purchase these products, click on the links or visit my Stampin' Up! website.

Father's Day

Here's a masculine card that I made for Father's Day. It's a card that members of my card club got to make and personalize. This card works great for guys who have short names: you could stamp their name instead of their title/ occupation.

I wanted to do a masculine background, but don't have a background stamp that's really manly, so I came up with a technique for this card. Contact me to book a party or join a card club or come for studio time and I'll show you how I did it.

Custom Wedding Card- Amethyst & Silver

Here's another custom card. The invitation is hidden under the card for privacy, but you can see its essential elements.

The Almost Amethyst CS was a perfect match. Then I made silver paper by applying silver shimmer paint to some gray CS.

If you want me to design a special card or invitations for you, please contact me.

Fancy Post-It Note Holder

I had seen some souped up post-it note holders and decided it was time to try it.
I made some prototypes for a class that one of my friends requested.
Then I made a few more for thank you gifts.
(Stay tuned for more post-it note projects.)
This one is my favorite! The friend I gave it to said I should open a store on Etsy.

I've been thinking about that for awhile now along with one of my artsy colleagues at school. Tomorrow I'll call City Hall and see what I need to do for tax purposes, and then all I have to do is pick a name and open my very own Esty store. What do you think?
Should I just name it after me (Judith Bassem)?
Should I use the same name as my blog (Creativa Bassem)?
Or should I go for something along the lines of artsy/ papercrafty/ stamping/ custom cards...?
I value your comments. Thanks! See you soon on Etsy!

I've been meaning to do this all summer, but now that I've put it out there in cyberspace where all of you can see my goal, I HAVE to do it! Thanks for keeping me accountable!

Custom Wedding Card- Raspberry Flowers

Here's another custom wedding card for you to enjoy.
My friend requested a card that would match the invitation.

I tried to coordinate both the style and the colors.

Contact me to customize cards just for you.

Graduation

One of my lovely colleagues requested a few wedding cards, and then when I gave them to her, she did a little impromptu publicity and showed all her friends. So, more people requested personalized cards. Here's a graduation card for a teenage girl who had red and gray for her school colors.

My seniors are graduating today too, and our colors are red and white.
Congratulations!

The glitter and the satin ribbon give it a girly touch.

If you want to make or order personalized cards, please contact me to set up a time.
It's my pleasure to create with you/ for you.

More Wedding and Shower Cards

So, here are some more wedding cards.
I thought I had more, but I don't know if I photographed them before delivering them.
The layout is pretty simple, use a couple of layers of card stock, run one through the Big Shot with an elegant embossing folder, then either use smooch spritz or shimmer paint to accentuate the texture and give the card stock a more elegant look, add satin ribbon, and a greeting. Voila!

If you'd like to make cards like this, just make an appointment with me for a party in your house, or your own personal class.

Chocolate Chip Wedding

So, it's wedding season. Some colleagues at work asked me to make shower & wedding cards for them. Over the next few days I'll be showing you what I came up with:

I wheeled the image from Very Vintage in Chocolate Chip Ink, and then ran the card stock through the Big Shot in the Finial Press impressions embossing folder.
(If you do this, stamp the image BEFORE you texturize. It's also easier to trim your paper to the right size BEFORE putting it through such a highly texturized folder.)

Teeny Tiny Wishes is the stamp set. It's perfect for nearly any occasion with 24 little sentiments. Click here to see all the phrases in this set. Sorry for the blurriness of the close-up. The camera I'm using is in a funk. It will corrupt data easily and it doesn't have a very good anti-shake mechanism*.


*I know that's not the technical term, but that's in plain English. I'd like to get a Canon Power Shot, because the picture rarely blur, and because I've never had a problem losing the images with one. We'll see...
...and you literally will.

Masculine-Feminine

I like to experiment with cards to explore their versatility. You don't have to invent each new card. Change the colors for a different look. Tweak this or that for a different feel.
I wanted to make a pair of masculine-feminine cards.

I wanted to try something I had seen on Kristina Werner's Blog:
heat emboss an image on clear buttons.

To lend a more feminine look to this card, I used Sage Shadow CS and the swirl textures plate.
Rounding the edges gave this card an even softer look.

Taffeta ribbon, surprisingly fit through the button holes to add the finishing touch.

Here's the masculine card. The earthy brown is Soft Suede CS. I crumpled the cs to add character and depth. To add more definition, I rubbed the surface of the cs with the ink pad; it almost looks like leather.

I edged the text with the open ink pad too. Twine gives this card a more rustic, rugged look.

You could use these cards for birthdays or just because.

If you'd like to have a custom technique class for you and a few friends, please contact me.

French Garden

I made these a little while ago for a group of gardeners. This is the stamp set called Garden from the Heart. It just calls out for watercoloring.

Something about the images made me think of Provence/ the French countryside, so I used French Script for a background stamp, as well as "merci" for the message.
Please contact me if you're interested in purchasing any of these cards.

Simple Easy & Elegant

Here's a simple card that is elegant enough for any occasion (just change the sentiment).

The "hardest" part was using the stamp-a-majig to line up the greeting inside the tag.

Materials used:
Bella Bleu DSP
Brocade Blue CS & Ribbon
Naturals Ivory CS
Lots of Tags Sizzlits 4-Pack Dies

Sweet Butterfly

There are so many fun stamps in the Occasions Mini that runs through 30 April.

Butterfly Accent is a solid image stamp that is on the $10 or less page ($7.95).
It's fun for backgrounds, or for the focal point of a 3 x 3 card.

On this one I used the "kissing" technique and the Bella Toile background stamp to add interest to this image. I decided to add a little more panache to this card by using French rather than English to express gratitude.

Order yours!
Bella Toile $17.95
Butterfly Accent $7.95
Tous mes remerciements $13.95
(or in English Thank You Kindly $13.95)

Gift Card Set & Mother's Day

You're invited to come to my studio to make a set of gift cards that are perfect for Mother's Day or for any other occasion.

You'll make 8 cards, a box to hold them, and stamp a gift bag.
The class fee is $20 and includes envelopes and all materials.

You may choose from a garden theme, spring flowers, or simple thanks.

You may also select colors (Almost Amethyst, Barely Banana, Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, or an assortment of Soft Subtles) that suit the person you have in mind.

There are two sessions, so choose the one that's best for you:
Saturday, 1 May, 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Saturday, 1 May, 12:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m.
Monday, 3 May, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Please give me at least 24 hours notice so I can prepare the materials you have chosen.

Box to hold the set:


Simple Thanks:


Spring Flowers:


Garden Theme:

Artistic Birthday

I've been incorporating a lot of texture and details into my cards lately, so I decided to try something plain and simple by playing more with composition and color. So these cards are perfect for Kristina Werner's One Layer Challenge.

These are birthday cards that incorporate just two stamp sets: Circle Circus and Well Scripted.
Circle Circus has so many circle patterns that simply beg for you to combine them into cool patterns.

Here's a simple trio.

Here's an experiment in repeating that pattern.

The font from Well Scripted is so elegant that it dresses up any card without having to layer lots of accessories.


Well Scripted comes from the Occasions Mini Catalog and is available for a limited time only.
Order yours today.

Sweet Pea

Here's another sweet little card using accessories from the Occasions Mini Catalog.
The image comes from an adorable baby stamp set called Little Angel.

I applied the texture to this card using the Finial Press Textured Impressions Die and the Big Shot. To finish the card I simply used matching Satin Ribbon from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

Click here to download a PDF of the Occasions Mini Catalog. (It's only good through 30 April.)
Click here to shop now.

Mini Butterfly Note

Here's a sweet little note to give to brighten someone's day. It's so tiny, measuring just less than 2'' x 2''. It fits into its own little glassine envelope. I decorated this one with an embossed butterfly.

It's so easy to make this little treat for someone special [you can make one in 20 seconds or less]! The Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die cuts and embosses in one simple pass through the Big Shot!

Order yours today!
The mini "kiss notes" and glassine envelopes are only available through 30 April!
(The notes and envelopes come in packages of 20 for $3.95 and 4.95 respectively.
Combined, each little kiss and envelope cost a mere 45 cents!)

Sweet Pea Felt Flowers!

These embellishments are adorable!
Sweet Pea Stitched Felt Flowers are available in the Occasions Mini only through April 30th.

I dressed up this guava juice bottle with Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon, a chipboard letter, and the sweet pea flowers.

Now it's a cute savings jar for a friend who is saving up for a special trip.

Order your own today so you can add them to sweeten up your creative projects!

A wider selection of Satin Ribbon colors are only available through April 30th as well.