CASADIA Update

This story all started when I saw a card Jennifer Rzasa CASED which was made by Laura Bassen. I decided to CASE Jennifer's card. I had a fun idea to start a card chain by CASEing cards, hence the name Case+idea=CASADIA. 

So many wonderful cardmakers from many genre's of card making have joined our chain. Thank you for making my silly little idea worthy of your time.


Laura Bassen

Jennifer Rzasa

Wida Miller

Shirley Bee

Amy Tsurtura

Lorena Canto

Ashley N Newell

Lalo Ik

Julie Hoffman

Jennifer Ingle

Julie 

Joyce Mehrberg

Erin Thiem

Amy Wanford

Joscelyne Cutchens

Nathalie

Lyndal Higgins

Rose Miller

Maria Fischer

Meredith MacRitchie

Dana Nelson

Pauline Pollington

We have run out of CASADIA participants!!! I would love to have it continue.

If you are interested in joining, just email me!
wida.miller@gmail.com

A Blog Named Hero Christmastravaganza Guest

This is my THIRD post of the day, for my Paper Made Bakery post click HERE

For my Papertrey Ink Blog Hop, Click HERE.

Hi Everyone!

Today is my day to show you some fun ways to give gifts at A BLOG NAMED HERO. I chose to focus on my favorite old and new Christmas stamp sets from Hero Arts and the most common way to give... gift cards featured 3 different ways!

First up, I cased myself based on THIS card and made a gift card holder to hold some good ol' fashion cash!!!

to make this card, I used a new embossing powder. It makes the trees glisten! 

stamps: My Thoughts Exactly Interactive Card Phrases, Winter Trees and Owl Christmas by Hero Arts 

other: Embossing Tinsel "snowflake" by Ranger

I have 2 more ways to give gift cards at A BLOG NAMED HERO, so click over and check it out! The festivities go on for 31 days with prizes to be won!

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop Challenge

This is my second post of the day. To see my Paper Made Bakery Post click HERE. 

I am participating today at Papertrey Ink. I really like their challenge because I have found inspiration from a book before. Check it out HERE.

Here are the choices. I loved the colors of the LIARS book.

My take:

I can never get the E to get perfectly straight. I even marked the front with a sharpie to make sure it's straight and still no luck! Oh well, it goes with the fun vibe of the card! Everything here is from PTI except the card stock :)

Paper Made Bakery and RIC Team UP!

My favorite challenge blog and my favorite kit club, Paper Made Bakery are teaming up! So I decided to enter the challenge! How did I come up with this card? Well, keep reading!

The concept is to use a runway photo for inspiration of a card. Here is the inspirational photo for this challenge. I made my card using the stems from the lollipop stamp for the black stripes, and then I punched the circles from one of the patterned papers found in the kit. I thought the colors looked similar. 

The kit is sold out, but you can get your hands on one if you enter to win Runway Inspired Challenge this week! Don't you want to? Check it out!!!

I have a bonus project on the Paper Made Bakery Blog so head on over and see how an envelope can become transformed!

Wida

Showflakes

I used my Martha Stewart Snowflake punch, my Paper Made Bakery Kit and some coarse glitter to make these little beauties. Don't you love the paper in this pack? 

to read more about this card AND see my glitter collection, let me SHOW you! click HERE.

Casual Fridays Challenge #78

Entering Casual Fridays Challenge today using something torn. My favorite thing to tear? WASHI!!!

If you want to know how I got the vellum background, click HERE to see the video!

Using Design

Hi Everyone,

For some reason, I was so inspired by this weeks Runway Inspired Challenge, yet was completely stuck all at the same time. I saw so much I could do, texture, stripes, the color scheme.

I sat down with lots of ideas and couldn't translate any of them. In the end, I settled for a simple design that goes a little somethin' like this:

It's a real working envelope! I embossed it and added a touch of red. I think this works because it plays into that gallon, quarter, pint, design concept that Moxi Fab World talked about a while ago. See? Trying to apply what I learned!

Wida

The Votes Are In!

Nope, not talking about the election!

I had a hard time putting ALL these embellishments in ONE card. I struggle with giving up special goodness away like that. I almost had a heart attack doing it!

Luckily, I was reassured by this wonderful kit by Paper Made Bakery which had lots more goodness

In my last post I asked which photo you liked better, my beloved window sill or my new way, which was shown above and many of my recent posts. Click HERE to find out the RESULTS!

Moxi Fab World: Tuesday Trigger Fantasy in Fall

They had me at rolled paper flowers. Here with another crack at the Moxi Fab Challenge. 

Now, to expand on my post on photography taking, I have 2 photos of the same card. Look at the difference in mood you get depending on location and light.

First my beloved window sill:

It's bright, it's fresh and kind of edgy. (it was quite easy to photograph too)

Now with my new method:

This one looks more calm and elegant. 

hmmm....which one are you loving?

I am loving this inspirational photo!

Lastly, I am leaving you with a photo that my kids made me take. When I get my camera out to take their pictures or ones of my cards, they want to do a photoshoot too. Here is Ben giving bunny ears to Karina's dog!

CFC #77 and Ramblings of an Analytical Blogger

Trying to make a boy card for Casual Fridays Challenge. I distressed the edges, made it look as random as I could and there you have it! Is it just me or does this card remind me of the awesome  Girl Friday herself DEB ? 

I am also entering this in the Paper Crafts Magazine November Challenge: Using Washi Tape!

I guess since I don't have much more to share today, I will share this story:


I watched the last Project Runway episode (a show about fashion designers competing for a spot to show in Fashion week and to launch their own line) and well, they didn't pick who I thought they were going to pick for the winner. They chose Dimitry Sholokhov because his design vision was clear, he was "ready"

and they didn't chose Christopher (my favorite) because, although he made beautiful clothes, he was all over the place with his designs. Kind of sounds familiar doesn't it?

In the last few months, I have tried "cute"

"Shabby"

"Clean and Simple"

interactive cards, watercolors, distress inks, and a partridge in a pear tree.

My journey has you all thinking too. Some of you know who you are and others are like me, not knowing at all. My favorite was Trinh who called herself "lazy CAS", funny!

Experimenting was fun.  I thought that was going to be the girl who tried a bunch of stuff on her blog. I was happy with that identity. BUT Project Runway changed all that. As I am approaching 10 months of blogging, I want to have a vision too. The best designers do. (IMHO)

Which brings me to an interesting idea. Because I analyze for a living, I tend to do that with bloggers too. I am able to review their work and conclude their design aesthetic. So I thought it would be fun to start a bimonthly Segment called Diagnosis Design. I will pick designers who, to me, are clear in their vision and through analysis, samples of their work, and interview, will diagnose their design. In the future, you will find a tab on the top of my blog with all my diagnoses! The segment will start every other Thursday starting December 6th. My first diagnosis will be of the spectacular designer Jennifer Rzasa. 

I hope you will enjoy it and with that find your own way too. Lastly, I wanted you to know that after much soul searching, asking, and analyzing, I have realized who I am as a designer. This new found direction I have tried to showcase in my posts recently. I hope the few people who visit my blog regularly notices the difference, because I certainly have.

Finally.

I am identifiable.

I would describe me as...DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

FRESH CLEAN AND SIMPLE. 

Certainly a design aesthetic I am going to continue to fine tune, but at least I have a place to center myself.

this concludes my monologue :)

Dynamic Duos Meet Paper Made Bakery

Well this challenge came just in time! 

I used the latest kit from Paper Made Bakery to create this "used up lots of patterned paper" masterpiece! ;)

The Christmas Treats kit contains lots of goodies to make a slew of cards and projects. See?

Head over to the Paper Made Bakery Blog to see why you don't have to be afraid of patterned paper!