Flower Cutout

Sorry, could not think of a good title for this card. This card took FOREVER. The petals were all cut out freehand, and different patterns from various stamp sets were stamped in black. The petals were then mounted on white cardstock and cut out again. A jewel brad for the middle mounted on black then pink cardstock completes the flower and an extra petal is popped up on dimensionals on the side with "enjoy" stamp from Michael's $1.50 spot. Thin black ribbon with dots of crystal "Stickles" <-- "professional" glitter glue (Yeah. That's right, I just wrote that.) finishes off the card. Phew.

Retro Flowers

Phew! It's been a while. But I'm back. After a last-minute trip to Vegas for my birthday, and then immediately following a course in Management... and then working on the studio (as opposed to IN the studio)... things have been a bit nutty. But it is returning back to normal, and so I will find time again to post regularly.

This post is thanks to my friend Angela who instigated a card-making night earlier this week. This one was designed by her... and I just went along for the ride. The paper is from a giant "My Mind's Eye" paperpad that I lugged home from Oregon a couple years ago. The stamp is from Stampin' Up. It took about 4 hours to make 2 cards that night. Heh heh heh. So I'm not the fastest card-maker in the world. But the other one had a lot of cutting n' stuff... will post later. Need to take a better pic of it in natural light.

While It's Made

One of the shows I used to watch a lot (back in the days when I had a TV) was How It's Made, from the Discovery Channel. They'd always explain how something was made (hence the name) - ice skates, transit buses, boxing gloves, TV's, solar panels, baseballs, plastic utensils - just random items. There are some sample clips at the link above (but you have to watch a 30 second commercial on some new texting feature for some bank first...).

The music in the background of these shows was usually something funky. As they showed the thousands of plastic utensils coming off the mold in the factory, there'd be some upbeat funky music in the background. This piece reminded me of that - thus the title, While It's Made. (How It's Made was already taken... and this seemed to better reflect the fact the music is the soundtrack to the factory items being made.)

Not typical of my style. Not sure what that is yet anyway, but 'twas a fun piece to create nonetheless. No traditional orchestral sounds used. Sometimes you just need a break from all that. So instead of a KitKat bar, I did this. It was a one-dayer - about 5 hours I'm guessing. (No clocks allowed near where I write. You're done when you're done.) A dinnerless day that was, but sometimes food is not important.

Daily Tango

I always fear that I will write the same thing twice. This piece was painstakingly slow, and I kept thinking I wrote that bit already into something else. Nevertheless, it has been completed, so I can now move on. Hopefully, onto something more inspiring. Not particularly fond of this one. Ah well, them's the breaks.

UPDATE: The more I listen to this, the more I dislike it. I may have to take it down. It might just be that bad... we'll see.

Fairy Lily

Pink Cat Studios is a local stamp company that makes AWESOME stamps... Right in Burnaby! (Usually all the good stuff comes from the states... not so in this case). Pink Cat Studios has new releases every month or so and for this new release, it was their character "Lily" dressed as a fairy. There was a contest to celebrate the release of the new stamp. You have to create a card using the image provided (which is a 'sneak peak' at the stamps to be released) Note: Lily herself is cut out. I had hand spasms after cutting that out with regular sized scissors. 'specially those antenna. The wings are in the background. Lily herself is popped up for that 'dimensional effect'. Yeah. I know. Many of you are not at all excited by this... soooo.... moving on. This card was for my friend Eunice's bday... Happy Birf-day Eunice!

Retro Video Game Music, Part 2

Following my Retro Video Game Music post, I had a request to write something more intense. You know, not just like the game's starting out and everything's cool. But maybe fighting the boss of a level or something. So here it is. Ah, cheezy music, what's not to love? This one's for you Marco ;)

And in other news, truly hating the white walls of the little room in which I write. So imagonna paint it :) Sidebar: about places where music is created. They're usually very masculine - greys, blacks, darker colors, leather couch - think Barney Stinson's apartment (for those in the HIMYM know). Why masculine? Commercial music composition is a severely masculine field (haven't figured that one out yet...). Also, white walls are kinda... boring. Plus, all the keyboards/music gear is usually black or grey/silver in color so white looks kinda ugg with that. Just need to figure out the right color... stay tuned. *excited*

Retro Video Game Music

Back to it! With the million - no, zillion - no, floppity JILLION - Christmas cards out of the way (HIMYM reference - LOVE IT!), it's time to fire up the music gear again and plop down in front of the ol' keyboard.

In the midst of creating something orchestral, I came across a sound called "Techno Bass". The upper ranges of the sound (which it wasn't really meant to be played in) had that 'retro video game' sound. So of course, I had to pause, put the serious piece on hold, and create a new file to make a fun video game track. For no real good reason other than - "It's Funny."

I am a huge.. HUGE fan of the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). My all time fav game? The original Arcade Mario Brothers... still looking to finish it. Though I'm not sure it actually finishes... could be just an algorithm to add more animals at each level. In any case, this music would be the backtrack to that kind of game. All pixely with 2-D images an simple scrolling back and forth movement. I love those games...