Thursday, February 21, 2013

* SECOND VGB: FROM KATHY MATTHEWS


I'm happy to present my Second VGB (Volunteer Guest Blogger), Kathy Matthews. Kathy is a multi-talented gal from Oregon. She dabbles in writing, plus when you visit her blog, you may see old photos from her family in a Sepia Saturday blog meme, you may cast your eyes on some of her wonderful vintage finds, you may read a book review or two or three, or marvel at her gorgeous photos of the Oregon lakes, mountains, and Pacific Coast!  I've told her a few times that she really should frame and sell some of them...they are that good! 

Yes, Kathy has a fun and interesting blog and she shares my optimist view about life. 


So, bloggers & friends....please e-mail me if you have something you'd like to share as one of my VGBs, too. I have no time limit set for this, so there's plenty of room. 

Card making: Resourcing Old Calendars Into Cards


Thank you, Becky, for letting me be a guest on your blog! 

Some time ago, I got the idea to make cards from an old Mary Engelbreit Desk Planner that I had saved for years. Because these cards are made from somebody else's artwork, I didn't feel like it would be very ethical to sell them.  In the beginning, I was going to give the blank cards away and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them.  After I was finished with them though, I decided to send them out to my friends and family instead. 

These cards are easy, fun, and allow for a lot of creativity.  Kids would enjoy this project also.  I came up with an idea to make a card that has more writing space for those of us who like to write a lot.  What I did was put the greeting card part on top, so when you open up the rest of the card you have a front and back of white writing space.  

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews


 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The white part above opens up to an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet for letter writing.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is how I made them.  I had already cut out pictures from the M.E. Desk Calendar.  I have a pair of pinking shears that are too dull for fabric and I like to use them for cutting the boarders.  I used two premade inexpensive blank cards from the variety store for each card.  The brown one above was a 3"x 5" and the white one was a 5" x 7".  I assembled the cards as I was watching TV, and then went to my kitchen island to spray on the sticky adhesive.


 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I have a favorite box that I use, so that the spray doesn't get all over the place. This tacky spray works just great for my purposes.  But you had better be sure when that you lay something down, that is right where you want it.  No re-dos with this stuff.


 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I have a stack of old newspaper pamphlets that I use inside the box.  I lay down a new sheet each time that I need to spray the sticky spray on the back of a photo, drawing or piece of paper.  Make sure to coat the backs of the illustrations evenly with the spray, and then place them were you want on your premade cards and smooth them down with your fist.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I ended up making 19 cards from the calendar that day. Here are a few of them:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

These were not all done yet, I decorated them later, by using paint pens to make the dots on the sides.  

The cards below I made using the same technique, but with my own photos.  They are not quite done yet either, but I wanted to include them in this post. I made a total of 30 cards that day.  

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here are some cards that I made from my pictures at another time. These are not layered, and are made from pre- manufactured cards featuring my own pictures:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

So, there you go.  Cut, paste and color, that is all there is to it.  

I hope that you all have a wonderful day, and thank you, Becky, for allowing me to showcase my little cards on your blog today.  

Kathy M.


Well, Thank YOU, Kathy for agreeing to be one of my guests!

Oh, and readers, I can vouch for Kathy's cards. I've received a couple from her and they are just beautiful.....and oh.....*hint*...I just LOVE the card with the old radio on the front! 

Please stop and leave a comment for Kathy. You can also e-mail her directly at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com  



"If you go looking for a friend, you're going to find they're very scarce. (But) if you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere." -- Zig Ziglar

15 comments:

  1. Oh wow. TALENT, TALENT, TALENT. Thank you Becky for introducing me to Kathy, and thank you Kathy for agreeing to play...

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  2. Kathy--Since I have a couple of TV trays that have a coating of a craft spray, along with some of my basement floor, I thought the idea of using a box to shield the spray was the work of a genius.

    Your recycling calendars and old cards is clever as well.

    Thanks for the hint and the inspiration. I don't think anyone wants a card with a photo snapped by me (I tend to cut people's heads off--totally accidental, I assure you) but your photographs are a different story.

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  3. Oh my gosh, thank you, Becky! For some reason I didn't realize that this was coming up so soon.

    Thanks, ladies, I appreciate your comments.

    Kathy M.

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  4. Charming cards and wonderful recycling!!

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  5. Kathy,
    How creative. I love the way you've re-used lovely photos and found a new purpose for them. And recycling, too. Genius!
    Donna

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  6. I really want to be talented. I do! And I try to be crafty. I do! These cards are so cute. Thanks for sharing your how-tos.

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  7. Your cards are beautiful Linda. I admire your talent. I bet friends appreciate the time and love you put into making these.

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  8. What a fun thing to do. And I LOVE Mary E.

    =)

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  9. Great job on the cards, Kathy. Loved seeing your creative process.

    Thanks for sharing, Becky!

    Take care. Susan

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  10. Hi Everyone! Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments for Kathy! She'll stop by again later, too.

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  11. Thank you, everybody, for your sweet comments! You guys make me feel so good.

    I have always enjoyed Mary Engelbreit's work and products so much, because she has figured out how to spread joy. It is fun to re-use her art in another way.

    It is also fun for me to use my own pictures.

    I will be stopping by to visit each of your blogs very soon.

    Thanks again for featuring me, Becky.

    Kathy M.

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  12. So glad that I stopped by today - such fun here and great tips from Kathy!

    Enjoy your weekend!
    Leann

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  13. Hi Becky and Kathy - I haven't been around much, so I'm doing a little catching up today. I've been lucky enough to have some of Kathy's cards. Some I purchased and some she gave me!
    Nothing like a home-made card. Now I better get back to homework.

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  14. Nice cards Kathy, plus love re-using the calendar images. I save calendars because I love the images. And I used to make cards too. It's a nice thing to do.

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  15. I like making cards too, and save calendars because I love the images. One of my favorite Engelbreit images says "snap out of it!" Nice work.

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