Tag Archives: Cards

Shake that Snow Globe

Shake that Snow Globe
Shake that Snow Globe

Just to shake things up a bit, I diverged from my usual art and made this cute holiday greeting shaker card. It reminds me of vintage snow globes, and it was a fun and easy project.

Visit Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog  to see the tutorial or just follow below. Read the rest of this entry

Add dimension to handmade cards

Add dimension to handmade cards

Thank-you-card-by-Betsy-Skagen-0026

It is SaturYAY! The perfect day for rebuilding my stash of handcrafted greeting cards. One way I make my cards stand out from those purchased at a store is by adding dimension with layers. Read the rest of this entry

A little birdie told me Mother’s Day is drawing near

A little birdie told me Mother’s Day is drawing near
A little birdie told me Mother’s Day is drawing near

For moms of young kids, Mother’s Day can be difficult. I bitched for years about not being able to enjoy the “holiday” because it meant racing around trying to honor my mom, step-mom as well as my mother-in-law before she passed away. At least my husband would help my kids give me a gift–I know single moms have it harder.  .

Losing my Dad and nearly losing my mom this year gave me an attitude adjustment. Immensely grateful my mom is still with us, I am determined to relish this day. Read the rest of this entry

Angels we have seen on cards

Angels we have seen on cards

Angel-card--by-Betsy-Skagen-of-Paper-Calliope-108

I have a few angels at my house. By a few I mean a whole tree full.So I guess you could say I have a fondness for vintage angels.

You can see the tutorial for this mixed media card, which features vintage angels, today at the ColourArte blog.

Read the rest of this entry

Pastels and embossing ink make a nifty background

Pastels and embossing ink make a nifty background
Paper-Calliope-for-Altered-Pages-Royal-Card-1

I use a nifty technique with pastels and embossing ink to create backgrounds for greeting cards over at Altered Pages this week. I hope you drop by for a visit. I will send you lots of  air kisses if you leave a message there.

Paper-Calliope-forAltered-Pages-Royal-Card-Tutorial--Card--12

I used the technique to make this birthday card, which I already gave to someone special. I hope she liked it. Here’s some more backgrounds I made. It’s kind of addicting.

Read the rest of this entry

Tune into the NETwork for an important announcement

Tune into the NETwork for an important announcement
Tune into the NETwork for an important announcement

 

 

 

Time to tune in to your retro televisions because today is the big day!

A few weeks back I announced that I “made the cut” and was named to the ColourArte Design Team. Today my inaugural project is featured on the ColourArte blog.

Paper-Calliope--ColourArte-Retro-TV-Card-1c

Read the rest of this entry

The perfect holiday craft tutorial

The perfect holiday craft tutorial


Paper-Calliope-Robins-Nest-Holiday-Tray-four-trees

Are you ready? Halloween is over and that means we crafty people are about to get hammered by holiday must dos. Before you hit the panic button, check out this holiday card tray tutorial I posted over at the Robin’s Nest.

Eye-catching and unique, it is certain to be a “must” for many crafters’ to do lists. However, even if you have no interest in making the tray, you won’t want to miss finding out how it relates to reindeer poop and being naked amidst 73 cats. It’s not every day that you can find a holiday craft with those kind of connections.

Paper-Calliope-Robins-Nest-Holiday-Tray-card

Learn how to brighten someone’s day with this greeting card tutorial

Learn how to brighten someone’s day with this greeting card tutorial
Learn  how to brighten someone’s day with this greeting card tutorial

The Robin’s Nest recently gave a challenge to think outside the box when creating greeting cards. Since I don’t think a box exists that contains enough nooks, crannies, twists and turns to hold my little ol’ brain, this seemed like the perfect challenge.

I love creating three-dimensional and interactive cards such as explosion cards, pop-up cards and cards with secret compartments. (I also like creating irreverent cards with vintage images, but The Robin’s Nest might not want their upstanding name associated with that). At the same time, I think a lot of manufacturers would like designers to get back to the basics and offer tutorials that crafters can complete without an engineering degree, $47K in specialized tools and a tattoo of Tim Holtz’s autograph on their arse.*

With that in mind, I created a three-dimensional card that can be completed in one sitting, requires no special tools and remains flat enough to be mailed in a regular envelope. Read the rest of this entry

Sadly, I have no problem whatsoever finding a logical explanation for this

Sadly, I have no problem whatsoever finding a logical explanation for this

20140117_115637-pickup-Recovered-close-up

Don’t worry. I’m still going to share my mixed media panic attack story with you. The last thing I want to do is add more anxiety to your life by creating undue anticipation. However, this simply could not wait.

That is a problem because I am trying to find the right balance between topics. Paper Calliope is mainly about the art of mixed media, altered art and paper crafting. However, at last count, there were one million and forty-seven crafting blogs. Trust me on this. I know. I counted.* We don’t need one million and forty-eight.

That’s why I want to bring a fresh approach by recognizing how both the act of creating and the beauty of finished art brings calm, joy and inspiration to our anxiety-ridden lives. As actress Stella Adler said, “Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.” Read the rest of this entry

And the winners are:

And the winners are:

 

Paper Calliope is sweet on you!

Paper Calliope is sweet on you!

Thank you everyone for signing up to follow Paper Calliope. Since the blog is not yet a month old, we are small, but quickly growing. Feel free to send me feedback, ideas, suggestions or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at any time–it’s another perk of being a founding follower!

The Valentine Card winners of Paper Calliope’s first ever give-away are: Jonathan B, Jen C, Amanda W, Jill C and Wyatt N. Please send your snail mail address to info@PaperCalliope.com, so I can send you your prize. -xoxo-