Quietfire Style

Monday, October 17, 2011

A Grandmother Pretends

Judi Kauffman is becoming a frequent guest designer at Quietfire Design. Her latest: A batch of Halloween cards and an ATC.

Two of Judi's friends have recently become grandmothers, so she was elated to find a stamp that so perfectly fits their new role (the Erma Bombeck quote).

Judi used black ink for all stamping, both black ink and metallic copper ink to smudge and alter the edges of the pieces. The bats are punched from Black Iris Shimmer Sheetz (Shimmer Sheetz is from Elizabeth Craft Designs, the punch is from Stampin' Up!), the spider web border is a Martha Stewart around the Page duo, the spider is a Cuttlebug die. Judi said she's not sure if the ghost and pumpkiin brads are still available or not (she got them several years ago from Stainslaus Imports), but it would be easy to find alternatives.

Thanks for sharing Judi!!
Suzanne

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Birthday Card!

Made for my friend Susan in Connecticut! (ahem, way late. Sorry!)

Card Synthesis:

Handlettering on Arches Text Wove

Mitchell Roundhand Nib
Manganese Blue watercolour

Spellbinders Grand Calibur

Spellbinders

Nestabling, Turquoise Fleur De Lis Rectangles
VersaMagic Dew Drops Sea Breeze
Card Blanks
Core Color (Core’dinations)
Sookwang Be Creative Double sided tape
Glue Dots, Pop Dots

Thanks for dropping by!
Suzanne

Monday, October 10, 2011

Ancient Manuscript Making

Thanks to Georgia Angelopoulos for pointing this out to me. Great viewing for any beginning calligrapher or bookbinder! Some things haven't changed much over the centuries.

Interesting, I was taught to add the slit to my quill last - but whatever works - and I ain't gonna argue with Thomas Ingmire!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians!

Card Synthesis

Ecoline Inks: Vermilion, Safron Yellow, Grass Green, Lemon Yellow

Mitchell Roundhand Nib

Brushes

Arches CP 140# watercolour paper

Tim Holtz Sizzlet Strip - Autumn Gatherings

Sookwang Be Creative Double-sided adhesive sheets

Glitter Ritz Microfine Glitter, Autumn Leaves set, Chartreuse, Peridot

Spellbinders Grand Calibur

Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities: Rectangles, Labels 4

Cardstock

Take it easy on the turkey!

Thanks for dropping by!

Friday, October 7, 2011

What's Not to Like?

Judi Kauffman and I had a long phone interview prior to her beautifully written article in Scrapbooking.com which appeared a few days ago. During the conversation, I stopped her at one point and said "Say that again", and so a rubber stamp was "born"!

Judi is not a minimalist when it comes to stamping envelopes! The ones she shared with us will ferry her Halloween cards in style. She used two of the new Quietfire Design stamps, a black cat from Cherry Pie Art Stamps, candy corn from Rubber Stamps of America, M candy from Toomuchfun Rubberstamps, and a tiny ghost and spider from Rubber Stamp Tapestry.

{I just *love* that cat! Except for the eye colour, it could be the one who is planning to pussy-foot all over my keyboard.....}

I think we all want to be on Judi's mailing list! Thanks for sharing Judi!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs and Calligraphy

I have never been enough of a geek to pay much attention to the movers and shakers of the technological innovations of the last few decades (I just use their creations!), but it has been fascinating this week to learn more about Steve Jobs and Apple and how he has changed the world.

Thanks to byhandartist Jane Super who added the link to the video below on her Facebook Page today. As I listened, my ears perked up at the mention of Reed College - and I'm thinking, oh my, he's another westcoast boy - going to school in a hotbed of calligraphic artists. Lucky guy! And then he goes on to mention how dropping out of college led to attending a calligraphy class (any one know who the teacher was?) and years later to quality type in the creation of the Mac. It's one of the first story he tells on this video, but it's well worth listening to the whole thing. If you continue you will understand one of the YouTube comments shown with many thumbs up. I added my thumbs up.

I hope he looked in the mirror yesterday and said 'yes'.

RIP Steve Jobs

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Boo! ATC size

I went to an ATC trade on Sunday! Yes, miracles happen - I got out of the house. The stampers will have a go at me for being so lousy at thermal embossing.... Sorry!!! I need more practice, right?

ATC Synthesis:

Quietfire Wicked Halloween Rubber Stamps

Tim Holtz Candlelight Fright Sizzix die

Black cardstock

Sizzix Big Shot

Ranger Ultrafine Silver embossing powder

ATC Synthesis:

Midnight Dreary Cardstock

Quietfire Wicked Halloween Rubber Stamps

Tim Holtz Candlelight Fright Sizzix die

Black cardstock

Sizzix Big Shot

Ranger Ultrafine Gold embossing powder

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Meet the Artist - Scrapbooking.com

I'm a little in shock. I usually like to think of myself as like the Wizard of Oz hiding behind the curtain making things look bigger than they are....
Thanks to Judi Kauffman for this amazing Meet the Artist article (when I grow up I want to write like you!) and to Scrapbooking.com for publishing it!

A drawing student once asked me how she would know if something was art. I answered in a typical teacher fashion by saying she’d know it when she saw it. Suzanne Cannon’s rubber stamps are works of art. The first time I saw them I knew: Each letter, each curve, each tiny detail is evidence that a skilled human hand has created the calligraphy. This kind of artistry and mastery takes years of practice combined with a love of words. My instincts were confirmed when I called Suzanne in 2005 to interview her for a profile I'd been hired to write for a trade magazine. We became friends and finally met in person in January 2011.....

Read the whole article here.