Happy Birthday to those born July 17th! Free birthday card front.

Good morning,

I made this card front for a special birthday today.  It's for my daughter-in-law, a sweet and beautiful woman!

If you'd care to snag it to use for yourself, please feel free to do so.  It's in png format. 

Of course, her version has her name in pink in the upper, left hand corner, and who it is from under the border in white, under the xo's.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Cj

P.S.  Happy birthday, Kathy!

Christmas card closeups: Qulling, Sculpey, Tissue Paper Flowers

Good morning again,  (This is for Friday's post)

I'm back with the closeups of the cards I just mentioned in my previous post.  This item above is quilling, and I did this particular quilling set many months ago.  I also use quilled pieces under the items I glue on instead of sticky dots.

Over the years, I'll use a product and like it a lot.  I might be able to buy it again, but more often than not, it seems to be replaced by something that must be thought of as "New and Improved", but that I find I don't like as much.

Sticky dots made of some glue are some of the products I find very difficult to use.  I have trouble getting it off the waxed paper, especially LARGE sticky dots.  And then trying to get them OFF MY FINGERS and onto my project ... well, let's just say, "It ain't pretty!"

I got so tired of trying something new, and thought, "Ok.  I'll just have to find a way ... and hopefully, one that will NOT keep costing me money."  I tried the quilled circles, and they work terrific!

This is a close up the the sculpey flower I made some months ago; maybe last year.  Probably last year.  Since my surgery in July, I haven't done as much sculpey creating.  I have made so many items, that I have jars and jars.  So now, I'm using them in my card making.  I should have enough to last me years.

This little flower just needed to be glossed.  Another pet peeve.  Sculpey quit making and carrying their hi-gloss coating at Michael's.  I looked at Joanne's.  I like their glossy better than a less glossy one they had.

I finally asked about the product, and someone at the store mentioned that some of the items had been discontinued.  I waited to see if they'd replace it, but the answer must be no.  I don't know why it was discontinued.  I loved it.  It really made my items pop.

It can be found online, but for the most part, I am NOT an online shopper, usually.

I'm currently using Americana's TRIPLE THICK, and I like it pretty good.  And, it comes in a much bigger container!  YEAH for that!

Here is a closeup of the bear's face.  He's on all of my Christmas cards this year.  Maybe I should've given him a Santa hat!

A closeup of the doillie, red tissue paper flower, some more quilling, and three of my sculpeys; two having gems on them.

This is the gem on the other side of the red flower.

And that it's for the closeups!

Cj

A Sock Bear and Artful Christmas Graphics: Free pngs.

 

Christmas Cheer for the Holiday Season!

Good afternoon,

I spend a lot of time on pinterest.  I love pinterest.  It's addicting.

One of the things I found on it was a sock bear.  You can find it here:
http://www.funlobby.com/index.php/201201042489/teddy-bear-made-out-of-a-sock-10-images.html

It was so darn cute, and I thought I pinned it.  I searched all over, and cannot find it, so I did a quick google search, and found it right away.

So when I went grocery shopping yesterday, I picked up some white Hanes socks.  And last night, I quickly tried my hand at my first bear sock!  He's featured in the first two pictures.  The art work is mine, of course.

I went into Corel Painter 12, and picked some colors I liked and put them together, and then into Paint Shop Pro to create the art work.

I took a picture of my little bear, and pulled him into "the shop" and edited him to put him into my art work.  If you follow me, you know I love doing this kind of thing.  Since Christmas is coming, I thought he was perfect.

I made my bear, and then crocheted a scarf and flower hat for him to keep him warm.  He's kind of rough for my first attempt, but I learned a lot in crafting him, and "thank you very much" to the creator of this tutorial!

I also am amazed with fantasy flowers, and above and below, you find two I created this morning.  I love the colors ... again done originally in Painter.  They really shine!

All of the items above are in pngs, so feel free to download the graphics and enjoy.  Perhaps they'll find their way into one of your Christmas creations this year.

I was reading my Woman's World magazine.  The current one is available in the stores until Friday this coming week.  It's the December 10th, 2012, edition.  In it, I learned that adding 1 cup of beans daily for five days, will help you lose 1/2 to 1 pound a day, without changing any of your current eating habits.

The beans help you feel satisfied and full, and helps cut the fat down in your waistline.  I just have to try it, so this week, that's what I'm doing.

Pick up the magazine to find out more ... I don't receive anything from them, but I just love their magazine.

Today I made macaroni and cheese for lunch, and drained and rinsed canned black beans.  I added 1/2 cup to the mac and cheese.  It was delicious.

I've found that beans are terrific tasting in almost any dish.  I do need to pick up some "beano" though, as I get quite noisy from the beans.  Embarrassing.

When my kids were little, I made Kidney Bean Lasagna.  To them, that was lasagna.  I don't think they even realized it was meatless.

I recently told my second husband about this, and even though he cooks lasagna with ground beef, he added kidney beans to it and declared, "Hey!  I wouldn't have believed kidney beans would actually make my lasagna taste better!"

My kids also were treated to baked beans served over a slice of bread when they were growing up.  This was a wonderful meatless meal.  Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Hope you enjoy the graphics and my little sock bear.

I plan to make about 16 of these bears.  The package I bought had 8 pairs of socks, and it only takes one to make the bear.  I plan to give one as my "white elephant" gift at our Christmas party at work this year.

Have a wonderful Sunday.  See you soon!

And to all you Pinterest fans out there ... KEEP PINNING!  (I know I will!!!)

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com
I'm thinking of discontinuing this site as I can continue to offer pngs here ... and its free for me.

Free Graphics in Png Format-Fun for Scrapbooking

Good morning,

I know I posted one for today, done last night, but things are going well this morning, so decided to post again.

The above decoration features Cyber Monday:  today!  You should still be able to find BIG SAVINGS, and supposedly, bigger than Black Friday.

Here is the deco without the Cyber Monday Title, in case you like to use it another way in your scrapbooking projects.

I told you about making this bear on Saturday morning.  It was fun.  My original is much bigger, but this png above is 2 sizes, 2 colors.  I hope you find a use for him.

Last, but not least, is the bear in party fashion.  There's a little deco and a banner that states, "Yes ... I do love you!"  I have many other sayings on this banner, for my own personal use with the bear in making up my own set of cards.  Would look cute on a tag, too!

Tip that I read today:  courtesy of Woman's World (the 12/3/12 edition now on stands):  when you need to get your car repaired, you don't have to accept the price they charge you for parts.  You can ask what they'll charge you for a part (labor is separate usually), and then you can compare that price with what you can get by going to www.autopartswarehouse.com or www.advanceautoparts.com.  You might save as much as 40% .

Another thing I didn't know is that at www.retailmenot.com, you might just find a coupon code for online auto parts stores!  Yeah!  How wonderful!

So have a great Cyber Monday.  Have fun shopping, but don't overspend.

Enjoy!

Cj
http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com

Bear Frame Kit--Thank You Card -- Frames -- Free PNG download Kits

Good morning!

It is Thursday, 12/3o/10, and the last day to work for many, as most companies are giving tomorrow off for New Year's. I currently am on my 2-week vacation, and I'm enjoying it. Hate to see it coming to a close, but hey! I still have 4 days before next Monday!!!

The Bear Frame Kit is yesterday's offering at Easy As Pie Daily Graphics. There have been some problems publishing my website, but they appear to be done right now ... so I've gotten everything up. Today's kit will go up in a little bit.

This is a frame kit for Tuesday, 12/28/10. It's small, I know, but you can head over to my website to see the actual kit. It is much larger, and has several options for you to mix and match to come up with your own frames. I used the two pictures I just love in my example here.

This kit was offered on Monday, 12/27/10. It would make a good thank you card, which is what I'm planning on using it for. I love the flower border along the bottom. These are colors I'm also very fond of.

All the kits will be up till Jan. 1, 2011, and then they come down. So pick up any of the kits you want -- for free -- till the end of the month.

I love having time off to just experiment in my art graphics program. This thank you card was one that I spent some time just experimenting with ... to get the textures which I'm pleased with. It's so much fun.

Hope you've had a great week.

I'm sure most of you are looking forward to New Year's Eve. It will be quiet in our house, and I wouldn't be surprised if I slept through it again this year. I did last year. Since I go to bed very early, anywhere from 6 to 7 p.m., it is extremely hard for me to stay up. And, I am 60 years old now.

Have a great day. Run over and pick up the graphics.

Later!

Cj

http://www.easyaspiedailygraphics.com/