Syzygy of Me

Demolition

2012-02-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

It was only two years ago when I was dreaming of my perfect craft room. I researched and planned and agonized over making sure I had a place for everything. And my dream came true. Here is the big reveal of my craft room circa October 2010.

I loved my new room. I had the perfect spot for everything in my rubber stamping and card making world.

Then my creative mind changed gears and I started sewing again. I had no room for a cutting table, ironing board, fabric storage, and all my sewing accessories. My sewing machine and serger lived cramped together on the same table with barely enough room for me to sew. My sewing area spewed forth into the basement entertainment area and where the pool table was supposed to go. I think that was the last straw for hubby.

Being very supportive of my creative endeavors, he suggested I take over his work-at-home office for my sewing area. He could move his office into the weird room we have in our house that doesn't really get used for anything.

How could I say no?

Last weekend was spent clearing out my craft room (gee, I have a lot of stuff!) and his office in preparation for construction to begin. We are tearing down the wall between our two rooms so I will have one HUGE craft room.

Here are a few pictures of our rooms.

My empty room.

Closet and wall to be removed.

The wall that is no more!

One big room!

The final room will be about 11'x23' (I think). And I will have no problem filling it up!

But before it gets put together, I have to decide what color I am going to paint it. Although I really liked the So Saffron walls, it is time for them to go. I was thinking of a neutral gray so I could accessorize with color. The floors will be bamboo, and you can see the two egress windows that let in a lot of light.

What do you think? What color would you use? (Please don't say tan or beige - our whole house is tan!) Should I go for color on the walls, or color with accessories? I am really liking aqua and orange right now (not necessarily together), but don't know if I want them on my walls. Help me decide.

Thanks for your input!

K

Ruffled Case for MacBook Pro Tutorial

2012-01-16T11:59:00.003-07:00

I have been wanting to make a case for my laptop ever since I got it for Christmas. I needed something to cart it back and forth to the workshops Apple offers when you purchase one of their products. Anything for an excuse to sew something!

I went shopping for some fabric the other day, and ended up buying laminated fabric. I have used fusible vinyl before as a substitute, but the laminated fabric is so much nicer. It is much softer and doesn't seem to crease or get scuffed as easily as the fusible vinyl. It is a little pricey, so I was a little scared to cut into it. I finally got up enough nerve, and I am happy to say it turned out much better than I had anticipated. Lookie...

Here is how I made my case.

My measurements are for the MacBook Pro 17" computer. If you have a different size laptop, you will need to adjust the measurements.

Here is what you will need:

2/3 yard outer fabric
2/3 yard lining fabric
fusible fleece
22" purse zipper (or one about 4" longer than the width of your computer)
rotary cutter, cutting mat, quilting ruler or scissors
sewing machine, thread, pins
gathering foot (optional)
zipper foot

Cut two 13"x18" panels each of your main fabric and lining fabric.
Cut 4 strips of main fabric 2"x40" for the ruffles.
Cut 2 strips of main fabric 3"x13" for the handles.
Cut two 12"x17" panels of fusible fleece, and fuse to wrong side of lining fabric following manufacturers instructions, making sure to leave 1/2" border on all edges. This is to keep the seams from being too bulky.

Using your gathering foot, gather the 4 strips down the center to make the ruffles. If you don't have a gathering foot, baste down the center of each strip using the longest straight stitch on your machine. Don't back tack at the ends. Gently pull the bobbin thread to gather fabric, working from both ends.

Mark the main fabric panel at even intervals where you want the ruffles to be. Mine are about 2 1/2'' apart.

Sew the ruffles in place and trim excess from the edges.

Center zipper on top edge of main fabric, right sides together, and pin in place.

You will need to clip the edge of the zipper tape so it will round the corner of the fabric and extend down the side a little.

Using a zipper foot, baste the zipper to the fabric using a scant 1/4" seam. Start and stop at both ends of the zipper tape. You will sew the side seems later. (No photo)

Close zipper and pin to other main fabric panel making sure to line up the corners of both panels. Clip the other edge of the zipper tape for both corners. Baste in the same manner as before.

Now you are going to pin the right side of the lining fabric to the wrong side of the zipper.

Sew in place just inside your basting stitch, which should now be a true 1/4'' seam.

This is what one side of the lining sewed in place will look like. Repeat with the other side of the lining fabric. Trim and clip corners.

At this point, you will have the zipper sewed in to the main fabric and the lining. Hang in there, you are almost done!

OPEN the zipper.

Next, using a 1/2" seam, you are going to sew the main panels right sides together from one end of the zipper, down one side to the bottom, across the bottom, and up the other side to the end of the zipper. ***Make sure you OPEN the zipper BEFORE you sew all the way around.*** Don't ask me how I know! :) Check to make sure the ends of the zipper tapes made it into the seams.

Repeat this step with the lining, but make sure to leave an opening (about 4") on one of the sides or the bottom to turn the bag right side out. (no photo)

Trim and clip all the corners, turn the bag right side out through the hole in the lining, and top stitch the opening closed.

Sew each handle right sides together using a 1/4" seam. Turn right side out. I stuffed a piece of cotton batting (1 1/4"x13") into each handle 'tube' to add a little softness and structure to them, then top stitched along each edge.

Pin handles a couple inches down from the zipper, and sew in place.

And that is it! You have just made a one of a kind case for your laptop!

The back side.

Ruffles galore!

I have to say I think this is my greatest sewing achievement to date without a pattern. I hope you were able to follow my directions, and let me know if you have any questions.

K

Linking up at Craftomaniac Monday Link Party, Making the World Cuter Monday, and Do Something Crafty Friday

Cards, Cards, and More Cards

2012-01-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

I did something today that I haven't done in a looooong time. I played with my stamps!

I have been so obsessed with sewing lately that I have completely neglected my stamps. I needed to make a thank you card that is way overdue, and I ended up playing for most of the afternoon. And it was fun!

You will have to excuse the poor quality of my photos. The editing in iPhoto is nothing compared to the Photoshop I am used to using. Looks like a purchase is in my future.

I wanted to play around a little more with my Modern Basics set from PTI. I have never been able to do much with it, and sadly, that hasn't changed. The following cards are hardly blog-worthy, but they're all I've got!

This was the first card I made, and although I like the tulip I made with it, this is a great example of knowing when to stop. I don't like the leaves. They look so out of place. Maybe it's because they aren't tulip leaves. Who knows, but I should have stopped before I added them.

Next up, another card fail...

Boring. Not much else to say about this one!

This is the best of the Modern Basics cards I made, and I actually like this one. The photo doesn't do it justice, so just pretend it is really pretty!

This is the thank you card I set out to make today. It is for some friends of my parents who were kind enough to give me some antique cups and saucers they had when they found out I collected them. I scoured my stamp collection for a tea cup, and this was the closest I could find. I like the repetition of the small image on this one.

And finally...

I bought the candle stamp on clearance the other day, and it worked out perfect with the large sentiment on this card. I used a Spica pen on the flame, but I'm sure it doesn't show up in the photo.

Even though these aren't the greatest cards, my New Stamp Basket now contains fewer stamps, and I am happy about that. And I can finally send the thank you card that is long over due.

Have a great day!

K

Recycled Juice Pouch Tote Bag (and mini tutorial)

2012-01-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

Have you seen all the things you can make with recycled juice pouches? I have always wanted to make something with them, but since I don't buy juice pouches for my kids (which wins me the Meanest Mom Award), I have never had any to use.

Fast forward to a Daisy Girl Scout event where I saw a table full of kids and their juice pouches. Jackpot!!! I seized the opportunity and collected all the empty pouches. I had just enough to make a little tote bag.

I love it!

There are many tutorials out there, so I didn't take pictures as I made mine, but I will share some of the tips I discovered to make assembly easier.

Unless you want your bag to smell like eau de tooty fruity, you will want to wash out the pouches. The easiest way to do this is to cut a slit in the bottom of each pouch gusset, making sure not to cut through the front or back. The slit will end up in the middle, and no one will see it. Drain out any juice, wash with hot soapy water, and dry thoroughly.

I used a zig zag stitch for assembly, tacking well at each end for added security. You will overlap the pouches when sewing them together, making a flat seam.

First, assemble your front and back panels, two side panels, and the bottom.

I made my bag 3 pouches wide and 2 pouches tall. The beauty of this is you can make it any size you want.

Two pouches fit perfectly for the bottom of the bag. Depending on the size you make, you may have to trim a little of the bottom to fit.

After you have all your panels assembled, you will attach all the sides together, saving the bottom for last.

Here is a little tip I thought of while constructing the bag. When you sew your sides to the front and back, stop stitching about 1/4" from the bottom edge. This will allow you to sew the bottom of the bag all the way around. Be patient while sewing the bottom on. The bags are very inflexible which makes this a challenging step.

Here is a bottom corner where the front and side edges are flared out to lay flat against the bottom.

I turned down the top edge and finished with the same zig zag stitch I used for constructing the bag.

One yard of webbing was the perfect length for the handles, each 18" long. This is the only place I used a straight stitch, and boxed the webbing to the bag.

Ta-da! That's it!

You can make lunch bags, beach totes, gym bags, zippered coin pouches...the possibilities are endless! And the best part is, they're virtually free! This bag cost only the price of the webbing, which was about $1. Can't beat that!

Now, don't you want to run out and collect some juice pouches?

K

Fabric Covered Calendar

2012-01-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

So I got motivated after my last post, and figured out the iPhoto thing.

Almost.

With over 18,000 photos to organize, it is going to take me quite a while. I worked for 4 solid hours yesterday and barely made a dent in what I want to do to organize them. I now realize it will be an ongoing project I can whittle away a little at a time. It will be soooo worth it, though.

Now, on to my project!

With the new year comes a new calendar. I am still old school and like to have things written down (on paper), thus a paper planning calendar. In years past, I have made my own covers with scrapbook paper or a cute folder decorated with ribbon on the spirals, but I wanted to do something different this year.

I recently found out about Vera Bradley's cloth napkins while browsing through her store one day. I am not much of a VB style person (no offense, Mom!), but I do think she has some pretty fabric that I can use to make my own things. Check out my etsy store to see what else I have made! (Click on the tab at top of my blog)

Here is how I covered my calendar.

To make it more durable, I used fusible vinyl on the fabric. I cut a piece of vinyl big enough to have about a 1" border around each side of the opened calendar. Fuse to fabric following manufacturer's directions.

Coat front side of calendar with Mod Podge, adhere fabric, and smooth to get a good contact.

Turn over and coat back side in the same manner. No need to coat over the coils, this area will remain unattached. I stacked my yearbooks on top of the calendar and let it dry overnight.

After the covers have dried, adhere red tape just to each corner as shown.

Fold down and burnish to make sure it sticks.

Notch a little piece of fabric at the coil on the top and bottom of calendar. Place red tape close to fabric edge around all sides.

To make mitered corners, place red tape on the diagonal of the already taped down corners. They don't have to look perfect (unless you are a perfectionist like me!) because you are going to cover them up at the end.

Adhere all edges, making sure to get a good adhesion. See the notch at the coil?

Cut two pieces of coordinating cardstock a little smaller than the size of the cover. Adhere to inside front and back covers with red tape on all sides.

The paper finishes the inside edges to make it look pro-i-fessional!

Ta da! A durable, fabric covered calendar! (Please ignore the vein-y wrinkled alien hand!)

My next project will have you standing by the trash can in your kid's school lunchroom. Can't wait to show you what I made!

K

I'm still here!

2012-01-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe almost another month has gone by between posts! I kinda have an excuse though. On top of fighting sickness over the holidays that just turned into the worst case of pinkeye anyone has ever seen, Santa brought me a new computer (A MacBook Pro!!!!) for Christmas, and I haven't figured out how to manage my pictures yet. Once I get that figured out, I have some fun projects to show you.

I never in my life thought I would say I love a computer, but I love my Mac! I am not afraid of it like I was my other computer. Oh, by the way, did you know that PC stands for Piece of Cr*p? That is what I came up with for my old computer. I would have a ceremonious 'throwing it out the window' party, but we may save it for the kids to use. I would love to see it in a million pieces though - I hated that thing!

Enough of my rant, I have some figuring out to do with all my pictures.

K

Teacher Gifts 2011

2011-12-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well here it is the last day before winter break, and I just finished up making my teacher gifts. The teachers loved the gift tags I made last year, so I decided to make them again for this year's teachers. I kept some of the same designs just to keep my brain from going into creative overload, and came up with some new ones.

Here they are...

All twelve designs.

Stocking from Jolly Bingo Bits colored with markers, tag punch.

Presents from Holiday Tag Team colored with markers, Nestabilities petite scalloped oval.

Ornament stamped in Versamark then Cherry cobbler, clear EP, ornament punch.

Ornament stamped in Versamark then Pacific Point, iridescent ice EP, ornament punch. So pretty IRL.

Snowman from Jolly Bingo Bits, colored with markers, Versamark pen along bottom and embossed with iridescent ice EP.

Peppermint candy from Jolly Bingo Bits stamped in Real Red, red rhinestone to center, tag punch.

Pennant Parade 'tree' stamped in Memento Bamboo Leaves, petite pennants builder punch, popped up on demensionals on red hand cut tag. Rhinestone as a star on top.

Snowflake from Serene Snowflakes stamped in Versamark with White EP, hand cut tag.

Holly from Holiday Tag Team colored with markers, wide oval punch.

Poinsettia from Patterned Pines colored with markers, decorative label punch.

Tree from Jolly Bingo Bits colored with markers, Nestabilities petite oval, glitter pen to star for a little sparkle.

Celebrate the Season from So Many Scallops, cherry cobbler ink, scallop circle punch.

All packaged up and ready to go!

I also made the teachers some magnets in the theme of the school's mascot - Tigers.

Go Tigers!

These were all really easy to put together, I just waited too long to get them started. I am the true definition of a procrastinator. Don't tell anybody, but I still don't have my Christmas decorations up. That will be happening today!

Unless I find something else to do.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by my Etsy store. I just added a few more items if you want to check them out.

K

The Perfect Tree

2011-12-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

Every year, we buy a permit from the National Forest Service (for only $10) to cut our own Christmas tree. You can cut any tree you want with a trunk 6" or less in diameter within the cutting boundaries they establish for that particular year.

Any tree in the whole forest.

You would think it would be a simple task, but the perfect tree doesn't exist in nature. You think you have found the perfect one, but discover a giant hole in the branches to one side. Or it has been growing on the side of a hill and the branches are crooked. Or it's too close to another tree and is flat on one side. Or two family members like it and two don't. Ugh! The joys of cutting your own tree!

Despite all the obstacles we always do find the perfect tree for us. And then after we cut it down, we find an even more perfect one on the way back to the car. It happens every time!

Here are some pictures of our tree cutting adventure today.

Bunny tracks in the snow. Aren't they cute? M wanted to track it down and keep it for a pet.

The perfect tree! Notice the beautiful blue sky. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

R cutting off branches to get to the stump.

M tries her hand at sawing, too. She still needs a little practice!

Manly men carrying the tree back to the car.

After we got the tree loaded, it was time for a snack and some hot chocolate for the drive back home.

What traditions do you have for your Christmas tree?

K

My Etsy Store is Open For Business!

2011-12-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

Yea!! I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to type that! I finally got my Etsy store stocked with a few items I've been making. I have a lot more things made, but still have to take pictures before I can list them. These shortened hours of natural daylight have put a damper on my picture taking.

Anyway, I hope you will take a moment to stop by my store, and please share it with others if you like what you see.

Thanks!

K

Handmade Gift Exchange, Winter 2011

2011-12-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Linda, of Craftaholics Anonymous, hosts a handmade gift exchange twice a year. The most recent one was in November. When you sign up, Linda matches you up with a 'crafter-pal', and you make gifts for each other. What could be more fun than exchanging handmade gifts?

Here is what I made for my crafter-pal.

The bracelet is made with wool felt rosette flowers, and secures with a snap. Rhinestones radomly accent some of the flowers. I crocheted the flower and used a vintage button for the center. The flower back has a clip and a pin, so you can use it as a clothing or a hair accessory. Cute!

If you are interested in what some of the other crafters made, visit the linky party and check out all the fun homemade gifts!

K

Hint, hint...my etsy store is opening soon!

Merry Christmas to Me!

2011-12-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of Silhouette America's Black Friday sale last week and ordered myself an early Christmas present. I have had my eye on the new Cameo ever since I new it was coming. Yes, I know I have a Cricut Expression, and I don't really need another electronic die cutting machine (can you tell I'm about to give an excuse?), but it seemed so much easier to use. And it is.

I have had my Cricut for over 4 years, and because I have used it no more times than I can count on one hand, I have to try to figure it out every time I want to make something with it. That is not fun to me. And the cartridges are wicked expensive, especially when you don't use all the images on them. With a Silhouette, I can buy only the images I want (most of them for 99 cents), or I can design my own. Plus it will cut any font I have on my computer. Score!! I was sold.

<3 my Silhouette Cameo!

The first project I wanted to make was a sign for my kids' bathroom. It is a smaller scale of a subway sign I want to make with our 'house rules'. I had a lot of fun figuring out how to design it, and I think it turned out pretty good. The kids, however, don't think it is necessary. ha!

After I uploaded these pictures I decided it would look better without the circle and line thingies that separate the phrases, so just pretend they're not there. ;-)

Can any of you stampers out there figure out what I used for the wood block?

You're right! It is a background block! I am so glad I figured out what to do with that huge box of wood I've been hoarding forever. I must get busy making some other signs with all those blocks.

I've been busy making things to put in my etsy shop, too, so stay tuned for more info.

I'm such a tease!

K

This is not a paid advertisement, I just love my new Cameo!

Time for a Christmas Card

2011-11-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We just returned from our trip to my brother's in Minnesota. It was great to be with our whole family for the holiday.

This card was a few weeks in the making. I am so out of card-making shape!

In its first phase, the wreath was stamped on a white card base, but it was so blah and boring. I even stamped a wreath on another card and added rhinestones thinking that would dress it up a little. But I couldn't make either one of them work, so I tossed them aside knowing something would come to me.

And it did!

Voila! So much better!

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Wreath for All Seasons, Mega Mixed Messages
Paper - Pear Pizzazz, GKD PL white
Ink - Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories - Nestabilities scalloped and regular circle dies, Big shot, taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, corner rounder

Now that December is almost upon us, I must get busy making my Christmas cards for this year. Do you have yours made yet?

K

Embossed Tree

2011-11-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

In keeping with my promise to post more cards, here is a really quick one I came up with the other day. As usual, it isn't exactly what I visualized, but I think I like this better than my original thought anyway. I love it when that happens.

Very simple, but simply elegant!

My original vision had an embossed frame all the way around the tree panel. Once I trimmed the panel down, the tree was no longer in the center. So I just embossed one edge and echoed it on the card base. I rather enjoy the asymmetry of it!

I used a ruler and my Versamark pen to ink the edges for embossing. That way, you can make the stripe as wide or narrow as you would like.

If you look closely, you can notice tiny little bubble holes left in the embossing powder. I won't be sending this card to anyone because of them, but I have never had that happen before. I know EP can bubble if you overheat it, but mine barely got melted before it was bubbling up. I have had this EP forever, so maybe it is just past its prime. Have you ever had embossing powder go bad? Do tell.

More cards to come as soon as I get them made - I've been busy playing with my new sewing machine!

K

Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt

2011-11-13T23:59:00.001-07:00

Remember the little sneak peek I gave you of one of my sewing projects? Well it's time for the big reveal.

I fell in love with Amy Butler's Barcelona Skirt pattern as soon as I saw it. I really dislike paying full price for patterns, but I didn't even think twice about paying an arm and a leg for this one, and it was so worth it.

Here is the first skirt I made.

I used fabric from the Blossoming line by Kathy Davis for Free Spirit. Don't you love the colors? I got many compliments from strangers the first time I wore it, and since I have enough fabric to stock a small fabric store, I thought I'd make another one.

I had originally purchased this fabric (from Hobby Lobby) to make a different style skirt, but it worked well for this pattern. I love that the layers are not finished seams and the edges fray a little. I altered the pattern for both skirts in that I didn't line or hem them. I left the bottom edge to fray just like the other layers.

Which one is your favorite?

K

My New Stamp Basket Runneth Over

2011-11-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Just because I have only stamped out of necessity during the last 5 months or so doesn't mean I haven't stopped buying stamps. It is an addiction, I tell you!

My New Stamp Basket will hardly hold any more stamps.

And that only means one thing.

I will be posting some cards in the coming days.

Woohoo! Karen stamps!

Hope you enjoy your weekend ~ K

What in the world have I been doing for the past three months?

2011-11-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a good answer for that, but I don't. I have just been living the life of a busy mom whose age has caught up with her. I can't stay up much past midnight anymore without having serious mental consequences the following day. I was so wrong thinking I would be able to get more done once the kids went back to school. I'm not sure where my time goes every day, but I am seriously thinking about enrolling in a time management course. Know of any good ones?

Despite not getting my house cleaned up like I would have liked by now (crafting is much more important to my sanity), I have managed to make a few things in the last few months. I taught myself how to knit many, many years ago, but never made anything besides scarves....knit, purl, knit purl.

Boring.

While browsing my local yarn store, I came across a book of ponchos, and decided I would make one for my next project. I bought my yarn and started knitting away. Within the first few days after I started my poncho, I saw two women on different occasions while I was out and about who were wearing ponchos. I was so excited! That shows you how far removed I am from the fashion world. I had no idea they were in style right now. I'm not sure what happened with the first one I made. Even though my guage was right, it did not come out the size it was supposed to. At least it was bigger, and I can still wear it. It just looks like I am wrapped up in a huge blanket! Sorry, I thought I had a picture of it, but I don't.

So I immediately went back to the yarn store and bought different yarn to make a second poncho. This one was made with another pattern, and I learned how to increase and decrease. I love this one even more than the first!

The yarn is alpaca wool, so it is super warm. And super soft. Not scratchy at all.

And I had just enough yarn left over to make a pair of fingerless mittens.

My husband asked what the point of fingerless mittens was, and I replied "So I can knit at the football games when it is cold out". Or to cook in the cold when we are camping. Or just to look cute!

I learned how to make a thumb with this pattern, and it was pretty easy. Until I got to the left mitten, and the directions were wrong. I didn't realize it until I was completely finished, so I had to rip it out (just down to the thumb) and figure out the right number of stitches. If you use this pattern, the correct # of stitches to knit on the thumb row of the left mitten is 23, not 29 as the pattern states.

The pattern for my poncho is out of the book Viva Poncho by Christina Stork and Leslie Barbazette. The fingerless mitten pattern was in the book Knit at Home by Leanne Prouse.

I've also been sewing a fair bit. Here is a sneak peak at one of my projects.

Now that I have remembered how edit my photos and post on my blog, maybe I'll be around more often!

K

Berry Pickin'

2011-08-04T16:48:00.000-06:00

I surprised our kids today with a little adventure. My daughter tried as hard as she could to get it out of me where I was taking them, but I wouldn't give in. I told them they had to wear their 'rough around' clothes, shoes...not flip flops, a hat, sunscreen, bug spray, and take long sleeve shirts and pants. They finally guessed it when we turned down the road that had nothing but farms on both sides.

We went to Berry Patch Farms in Brighton, CO.

The first thing M wanted to know was if there would be animals there. This picture was taken about 30 seconds after we got out of the car...

She didn't care what kind of animal it was, just so she could pet it!

We took a short wagon ride out to the raspberry fields. I was hoping their strawberries were in season, but they won't be ready for about two more weeks. Since the kids will be in school, we may have to brave the crowds on a weekend to pick our strawberries.

We decided to pick black raspberries first, and took off down a row.

Yummy sweet deliciousness!

The mosquitoes were ruthless, and we were swarmed as soon as we started down the row, even with bug spray on. M was over the picking about half-way through the black raspberries and just wanted to sit there.

So she helped by carrying the berries.

Picking went a lot faster once we got to the red raspberries. They were much plumper and the bushes weren't as prickly.

But M was still done. R did a great job picking berries between trying to catch all the grasshoppers he could find. And they were everywhere!

I didn't think of it until now, but the ratio of berries in our hands is about the same as the ratio of berries we each picked. (Except I should have about 10 berries in mine!) Can you tell who licked her fingers the most?

Here is our flat of yummy berries. I'm not sure if I will make jam out of them or just eat them, but they sure are tasty! M is smiling because she gets to pet the animals now.

There were beds and rows of flowers you could pick, too. These were so colorful, and the sky was overcast - perfect for taking pictures without harsh shadows.

We hung out for a while looking for animals to pet. The baby pig was in the house because she had just had surgery, so we had to settle for the chickens and roosters. I didn't get any pictures of the ducks because they took off as soon as they were spotted and aproached. Check out this guy's posture and see if you can't hear him...

.
We had a great time and look forward to our next farm adventure. I must call ahead to make sure the pig is out, though!

K

Faux Washi Tape

2011-08-04T00:15:00.001-06:00

After reading some discussions on faux washi tape, I thought I'd give it a try. I haven't jumped on the washi tape bandwagon; given my completion tendencies, I refuse to go there. So faux it will have to be!

I used paper tape from the dollar store. It took a few tries to get it torn the way I wanted it. Funny how it never tears straight when I go to put it on a patient's dressing at work, but that is all I could get it to do when I was trying to tear my drifts of snow.

Nichole posted a very cute snowman card and tag set that I styled my card after. I loved the simple snowman stamp she used, but didn't have any similar to it, so what else was I to do but make my own! I punched out a circle and two different ovals, taped them together and traced around them on my card. Then I added his face, buttons, and mittens. So fun! I also made my own polka dot stamps a long time ago by punching out a piece of scrap rubber with both size punches from my Crop-a-dile, and glued each 'dot' to opposite ends of a chopstick. *patting self on back*

Isn't he cute as a button? Haha! Get it?

I think it's past time for me to go to bed!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Hero Arts holiday sayings, home made polka dot stamp
Paper - Pool Party
Ink - white craft, Memento black
Accessories - 3/4" circle, large oval and wide oval punches, paper tape, markers, baker's twine, button, dauber

K

More Cards!

2011-08-02T18:16:00.000-06:00

I loved all the fab modern-style cards I saw when PTI first released their Modern Basics stamp set. So I bought it. And it has been sitting, uninked, in my New Stamp Basket ever since. I could never come up with something other than a CASE, and wanted to design something on my own. When the stamping bug bit me a couple days ago, I gave it a little more thought. But not much thought as you can see by the card I made with it...

Yea. Pretty simple. And pretty plain. But the colors are pretty, aren't they? This stamp was a lot easier to line up without a SAMJ than I thought it would be. It is very forgiving.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Modern Basics, SU Birthday Greetings (retired)
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - tempting turquoise, Memento pear tart
Accessories - SAMJ (I didn't trust myself to get the sentiment straight and centered!)

Since I was digging around in my New Stamp Basket, I pulled out some other stamps that I bought many moons ago. I got them at the $1 section at Joann's. These cards got me excited about stamping again. They are CAS at its finest.

I love this turtle. It totally reminds me of turtles I've seen while scuba diving. There is definitely something magical about swimming around with these magnificent creatures. The sentiment is perfect for a turtle because if you ever see one when you are in the water, it will look at you as if to say "How are things?", but before you get a chance to answer, it has already swum away.

Yes, this one is a little cliche, but I couldn't resist. The inside says "I was a crab". I may have to make another one and give them to my kids when they go back to school. Something about the incessant bickering, whining, and attempts at manipulation tells me I will be crabby until then. (Bad Mom!)

I punched an oval out of a sticky note and used it as a mask for the sand that was made with the Speckled jumbo wheel. Isn't the sentiment cute tucked in between his (her) claw?

This one is my favorite even though it is stamped a little too high on the card. The hand drawn bubbles were an afterthought, but they are so small I don't think it makes it too off balance.

Did you notice all my sea creature sentiments were in gray instead of black? I really like the look of gray for a sentiment, especially when the image is stamped with lighter colors. It gets the point across, but doesn't yell it at you like black would. In the crab's case, though, I could have used black!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Inkadinkado Summer assortment minis
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Rididng Hood Red, Kraft, Memento pear tart, tangelo, and london fog
Accessories - Speckled jumbo wheel, lg oval punch, sticky note for mask, London fog marker

I have lots of stamping ideas swimming around (no pun intended) in my head. Lets just hope I can get them onto paper!

K

Welcome to the Neighborhood

2011-08-01T00:52:00.000-06:00

Our new neighbors just moved in next door, so I made this card for them. I'm not sure I like the red chair, but since this was my second attempt, I am leaving it as it is.

The inside is stamped with "Welcome to the neighborhood".

We are really going to miss our neighbors who moved to Texas to be closer to their children. They were like surrogate grandparents to the kiddos, spoiling them with chocolate, ice cream, and candy. But we are excited about getting to know the young family that just moved in, and the kiddos are glad there is one more child on our street to play with.

I am hoping to get back to posting here more often. I have made a few cards this summer, but have been too lazy to take pictures of them. I have also sewed some clothes, but don't have any pictures of them, either. School starts in two more weeks, so I should have more time and energy then. The kids have sucked every creative ounce of energy out of me this summer, and I can't wait to get back in a crafting groove!

A Family Tradition

2011-06-20T15:20:00.000-06:00

One of the traditions my family had when I was growing up was to eat popcorn for dinner (supper) on Sunday night. I'm not even sure how it originated (Mom?), but in my quest to simplify our lives, I decided to continue it with my own family.

Seeing that we don't eat a lot of popcorn anyway, I was hoping the kids would embrace it. And embrace it they did. I was not so gently reminded last Sunday after I had already fixed pork chops for dinner that it was popcorn night, so the chops went in the fridge for another meal, and we had popcorn instead. That's how much they love the new tradition. Hubby wasn't so eager to embrace the new meal plan as his response was "What about the protein?" But since he doesn't cook, and knows better than to complain about what Momma cooks, he eats his popcorn without saying a word. :)

When I was growing up, we watched the Disney movie and/or Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and tried our best not to watch Lawrence Welk. We also drank pop with our popcorn. Well, we have traded the soda (I refuse to buy it and rarely let the kids drink it) for water or milk, and keep the tube turned off in favor of playing games. That is the most fun part.

Even though it is a very simple change, and may not appear to make a difference in our hectic lives, it is obvious that our kids look forward to knowing what we are eating and doing at least one night out of the week.

And that makes me happy.

What family traditions have you passed on from your childhood to your own family?

K

By the way, our popcorn is popped in butter and bacon grease (yes, you read that right!) just like when I was growing up. Sounds kinda gross, but don't knock it until you try it. It's way better than that microwave crud!

Guest Blogger at Blissful and Domestic

2011-06-07T00:06:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone!

I am so excited to be a guest blogger today over at Danielle's Blissful and Domestic. This is Hair Week on her blog, and you will find out how to make lots of great hair accessories and see lots of great hair styles. So come on over and check it out every day this week!

I promise I will get back to crafting as soon as the painters and workers get out of my house!!!

K

Ribbon Belt

2011-05-27T21:47:00.000-06:00

Want a great way to jazz up a pair of jeans without altering the jeans themselves? Make yourself a grosgrain ribbon belt!

I love ribbon and hoard it for my cardmaking, and I figured out a way to make a D-ring belt out of single sided grosgrain ribbon so that the right side shows on the back side of the ribbon when it is pulled through the D-ring.

Did I lose you there?

Let me show you what I mean...

You will need:
single sided grosgrain ribbon
2 D-rings the same width as your ribbon
sewing machine, thread
HeatnBond
iron

First of all, you want to seal the ends of your ribbon so they don't fray.

I passed the ends of the ribbon right next to the flame of a candle, not in it or it may catch on fire. The heat next to the flame is enough to melt the ribbon slightly to prevent it from fraying.

Pass one end of the ribbon through both D-rings. Turn the end under, pin in place, and sew.

I made a double row of stitching for a little extra security. Sorry about the bad color on this photo.

Cut a piece of HeatnBond the exact width of your ribbon, and as long as you want the end to double back on itself. I made mine a little over 8".

Carefully place the HeatnBond on the back side of the ribbon, paper side up, and lined up at the end of the ribbon.

Press according to package directions using medium heat and no steam (about 2 seconds), then let cool.

Peel the paper from the HeatnBond, double the ribbon back on itself making sure both the top and bottom edges are even, and press in place (about 8 seconds). I had to press a little longer to get a good bond.

And that's it. You are done!

Now you can go impress your friends with your jazzy new belt!

K

Lilacs

2011-05-18T15:36:00.000-06:00

I love spring!

Felt Bucket Re-do

2011-05-15T13:59:00.000-06:00

I am always on the prowl for aqua/teal/turquoise colored accessories I can use in my craft room. So when I saw this in the dollar spot at Target, I snatched it right up. It was the only one I've ever seen there.

The baseballs wouldn't really cut it in my room, so I ripped those bad boys off, and replaced them with some flowers I made out of felt. I even used a little scrap of the fabric I covered my stools with for the center of one of the flowers. Not only am I color coordinated, but I am fabric coordinated, too!

Matchy-matchy!

Here it is hanging quite stylishly by some painters tape on my sewing table. I needed a trash bin close by for all my snippets of thread and fabric from my serger, and this works wonderfully. Now if I could just figure out how to keep the cats out of it!

K

Felt Pin Cushion

2011-05-14T23:28:00.000-06:00

Since I have been doing so much sewing lately, I needed a pin cushion and came across this tutorial over at Wee Folk Art. I love their blog, and they have great tutorials with free patterns. Their blog is definitely worth a look. Just make sure you set aside an hour or two!

I ordered my felt from Wool Felt Central (20% discount when you mention Wee Folk Art), and as soon as it arrived I started on my pincushion. They have loads of colors of felt, and I was able to pick ones to coordinate with the colors on my sewing stool that I recovered. I love being color coordinated! :) I added the pink just because I love pink.

I don't think I have embroidered anything since I was about 10, but it's just like riding a bike; everything came back to me. There are some great sites out there with embroidery stitches, and I checked a few out just to get some ideas.

I embroidered the band that goes around the can before I stitched the bottom and tops on. The dome was stitched after it was attached to the can. You could stitch the top before if you wanted, but if you have a design that needs to be centered, it may end up a little askew.

This was a really fun project and would make a great gift for anyone who does needle work. I used the 3 oz size tuna can for my pincushion, and it is just the right size for me. I may make another one using a bottle cap just because it would be so stinkin' cute.

Thanks for stopping by!

K

Ruffled Tee

2011-05-13T23:48:00.002-06:00

After seeing a few t-shirt remakes out there in blog land, I decided to make one of my own. JoAnn's had their T's on sale for $3 this week, so I got pink and white ones to play with.

Here's what I made...

Is't it cute? It's so much better than a plain old t-shirt, don't you think?

If you want to make one for yourself, or a friend, or one of your munchkins, here's what you do.

You will need:
2 T-shirts
sharp scissors (can't emphasize sharp enough)
rotary cutter \
cutting mat / -or just sharp scissors
quilt ruler /
disappearing ink marker
pins
thread
sewing machine

I wanted to open up the neck line a little, so I cut the neck out.

Using a styling design ruler, I traced a new neckline with disappearing ink, then cut it out. I cut just below the neck band in the back.

With the second t-shirt, cut vertically into 3" strips. (I made a boo-boo in the center, so just discarded that strip. Note to self *don't cut left handed with a rotary cutter*) :)

Cut the hem off the end of the strips, and cut across tops to even them off. (top cuts not pictured)

Now you are ready to make the ruffles. Baste down the center of each strip, making sure not to back tack at the ends. I know I should have used a different color for my basting to make it easier to remove, but I was done basting before I even thought about it.

Before gathering the ruffles, mark the center of each strip with a pin, and pin to the center of the neckline. I placed the top ruffle about 3/4" from the neck edge. Then you can gather the ruffle evenly from each side to fit up to the shoulder seam. Pin in place. If you want to remove your basting stitches, sew just to one side of them. Since the basting stitch is in the middle of the strip, you will have a double layer to each ruffle.

Fold both layers of the ruffle toward the neckline, and pin the basting line of the second ruffle about 1/4" below the first ruffle. Start in the center as before, gather each side evenly, and pin up to the shoulder seam. Sew in place.

Continue pinning and sewing each ruffle in this fashion until you get the look you want. I used 3 ruffles on my shirt, but you could use as many as you want.

This is what the inside looks like.

Did you notice my necklace? That was my Mother's Day present to myself, and I didn't pay a dime for it...I made it, too!

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you make your own version of a ruffled T. They are so fun!

I'm linking up to Tatertots and Jello's weekend wrapup party.

K

Edit: OMGosh! I just got featured by Danielle over at Blissful and Domestic! This is the first time I've been featured for anything, and you just made my day. Heck, you made my whole year! Thanks, Danielle!

Inspired

2011-05-13T18:35:00.000-06:00

I picked up a copy of Paper Crafts Card Creations the other day, and was inspired by this card by Vanessa Menhorn.

My inspiration came from her use of the patterned paper. I am always looking for ways to use mine (before I decide to lose it!), and the large panel of patterned paper Vanessa used really spoke to me. I could use a good chunk of paper, much better than just scraps, and the layout would be a cinch.

Here is my card.

I love how it turned out! Even though it looks like there is a lot going on, it really is a simple card.

For the flower, I crumpled the paper after it was punched out, then tore it into two layers. I continued to crumple each layer while gently rolling the edges, and assembled the flower with the inside layers showing. This gives the flower a lot of texture and brings it to life.

Supplies:
Stamps - Warmest Regards
Paper - Real Red, Old Olive, Bella Rose DSP, GKD PL white
Ink - Real Red
Accessories - Fancy Flower XL punch, Little Leaves Sizzlets, Big Shot, button, linen thread

Thanks, Vanessa, for the inspiration!

On a side note, I have been doing a lot of spring cleaning. Deep cleaning. Well, not real cleaning, more like purging. The cleaning will come after the purge. I am on a mission to get rid of everything we don't use/need/want, and it feels so good. I was very successful selling a ton of unused craft items at our garage sale last weekend. I have decided it isn't worth it to try to sell all my retired SU inks, etc., so I will be donating them to the school. I know the kids will get a lot of use out of them, and I won't have to deal with selling and shipping them. It's a win-win!

I have been feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff (read clutter) we have accumulated in the 4 years we have been in this house (some of it has been around for much longer), and decided to do something about it. I have been reading Simplicity Parenting by Payne. If you are feeling overwhelmed by all the choices that face you and your children, feel stressed by trying to fit everything into the day, are overscheduled and not overjoyed, you should check out this book. It will help you simplify your children's lives which in turn will simplify yours. And I'm all about simple.

Hope you have a great spring weekend!

K

Stamps + Ink + Paper = Card!

2011-05-01T00:23:00.000-06:00

I finally stamped tonight.

Stamped? What's that?

It has been over a month since I've had inky fingers, and tonight was the first time I'd even considered stamping. It had been so long, I had to think about where my supplies were!

My card was inspired by this card by Julie Ebersole. I like the faux letterpress technique she has been showcasing and gave it a try.

Not bad for taking a month off, eh?

I am hopeful more ideas will come to me soon.

Supplies:
Stamps - Of the Earth, Hello Again, PTI Turning a New Leaf
Ink - Memento new sprout, bamboo leaves, tangelo
Paper - Tangerine Tango, Celery, GKD PL white
Accessories - corner rounder, SAMJ

K

I Used my Cricut!

2011-04-29T15:16:00.000-06:00

I have always wanted to put the word "create" in my craft room. You know, something to remind me that that is what I am supposed to do while I am in there, not just sit at my computer looking at everyone else's creations. :) So I put my very neglected Cricut to use today.

I made stencils out of cheap (Georgia Pacific) cardstock, and used them to paint the word "create" subway style on a canvas. See...

This was the first time I have ever stenciled anything, and it took me a letter to get the hang of it. Unfortunately the "c" is a little sloppy. Oops! And I can't believe I mixed upper and lower case letters. *gasp* I don't really get that trend because it's just not right to do that. But if I look at it in a creative light, I can live with it. I just wish the "T" was a little longer. *sigh*

For now, I set it on my stamp display tray, but I will find the perfect place to hang it.

Or better yet, maybe I should put it in front of my computer screen!

More fun projects to come...

K

My New Toy and a Yoga Headband

2011-04-15T12:13:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to finally own something I have wanted for a loooong time. You know how I have been doing other crafts besides making cards? Like sewing? Well, I finally splurged and bought myself a serger!

Woohoo!

I have so many projects and things I want to make, I can hardly contain myself. And Joann's Daffodil Dash sale this month hasn't helped. Well, I guess it has helped me save some money, unless you don't count spending money to save money as saving.

Here she is...

Isn't she purty?

And wait 'til you see what I just made with her...a Yoga Headband. I got a remnant of rayon/spandex for next to nothing, and made up my own pattern after studying a headband I paid about $12 for.

Here is a tutorial on how I made it.

Yoga Headband

supplies needed:
remnant of stretch knit fabric at least 4" wide
serger (if you don't have one, a zigzag stitch will work)
sewing machine
thread
pins

I cut my fabric 4" x 19" to allow for a seam allowance. It ended up a little loose on my head, but I'd rather have it too loose than too tight! It still has stretch and will hold my hair out of my face.

With right sides together, serge the seam. (This doesn't look as good as the first one I made, but it will be hidden anyway!) If you don't have a serger, zigzag the seam to allow for a little stretch.

Turn edges to wrong side, one edge about 1/3 of the width, and the other edge about 1/4 of the width.

Now take the smaller turned edge and fold over again. Pin in place.

With a regular sewing machine, sew in the ditch of the seam on the right side of the headband.

That's it! Easy as pie!

I chose to leave the edges unfinished, but you could certainly hem them with a coverstitch if you have that option on your serger.

I can't wait to make more of these in different colors. They are so comfy and so easy to make! And by my calculations, this headband cost only $0.25 to make. How's that for the deal of the century?

K

I Need to Simplify (WARNING - RANT!)

2011-04-13T12:15:00.000-06:00

Ok. I know it has been a while since I've posted a card, but I've been busy doing other crafty things. I've been crocheting doilies and pot scrubbers, painting and padding the top of the stool in my craft room, (thinking about) refinishing a cubby organizer for my daughters hair clips, elastics, etc., sewing scrub hats for me to wear at work, and making felt posies. I will post pictures of all my fun stuff as soon as I take some. I haven't taken the time to do that yet! Besides that fact, my craft cave is so messy from having 8 million projects in the works, I would have to clean it up first! *sigh*

I have also been going through our basement 'junk' trying to get it organized in our new storage area. *big sigh* What a job that has been! I can only say that I have waaaaaaay too much stuff. It has been rather emotional going through boxes of things I have kept from my childhood. Some things are easy to part with like all the rocks I thought were pretty because they sparkled, but what do I do with my vintage Freakies magnets? Do you remember them? Who knows why I kept them, but now I have to decide if I should just throw them away or try to sell them. And is it really worth it to go through the hassle of passing them on? Ugh! I have some major baggage, and that is just one example of everything I've found!

Needless to say, I have been in extreme purge mode. I even went through my stamps again, and now have another huge stack I am going to get rid of. I decided it is more of a hassle to keep them around 'just in case', and it limits my creativity when I have so many choices. Not to mention feeling bad every time I see un-inked sets I have had for years. Why do I need them? If they havn't been used yet, chances are they will never get used, so they have to go.

I am starting to feel the same way about all the color choices as far as my paper goes. I use mostly white, ivory, and kraft, so why do I have no less than 107 different colors??? And I'm not making that up - I counted them all! Why in the world do I need that much paper? Knowing myself and the reason I have it all, I could answer that question with one word. Comfort. Comfort in knowing it is there if I need it. But it is weighing me down. I am starting to think the convenience of having it all isn't worth the weight of having it all.

Remember all that velvet ribbon I bought on sale the other week?

I returned it all except for the red and green narrow spools. I intend to use them on Christmas cards, and that is all I really need. Not every color in every width. It wasn't until I was at a different Hobby Lobby and bought even more colors that I realized I had gone way overboard. Geeze, what was I thinking? I really don't have to have it all.

Sorry for the rant, but just wanted to let my dear readers know what has been going on. My creative energy has been more focused on other crafts lately, but I know I will get back to making cards. Sometime. I just have a lot of simplifying to do in the meantime.

If you have any tips or thoughts you want to share on how you simplify your stash or life, please share. I would love to hear what you do.

K

Fabric and Felt Case for Reading Glasses

2011-04-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

My eyes have been struggling for about the past 6 months (maybe longer - I'm in serious denial) to focus at short distances. Several months ago, I broke down and bought the lowest magnification reading glasses I could find, +1.00. This was a long process that involved trying on glasses everywhere I saw them - the grocery store, the drugstore, Ross, TJ Maxx, Walmart, and probably countless other places I can't even remember, in an effort to find ones that looked good on me. Well, that was an impossibility, so I settled for the cheap ones in the dollar bin at Target. That way I could buy a couple pair and have one in my purse, and one at home. I didn't care what they looked like anymore. After all, I didn't really need them, so no one would see me wearing them if I never put them on.

Whatever.

The cheapie glasses came in a cheapie plastic case with a zip top that offered no real protection. They wouldn't cost much to replace, but I had invested a lot of time to find them, and wanted something cute to carry them in.

So I made a case for them.

I went through all my scraps of fabric, and the one I wanted to use was barely big enough.

I had to cut both sides separately instead of one piece folded over, but was able to use just one piece of felt for the lining.

PTI felt is da bomb! I love using it for die cut flowers, and in this case (very punny!), it was perfect for a nice protective lining.

I started by sewing the two sides of fabric together. You can omit this step if your fabric scrap is big enough to cut a single piece.

Here is a scrap of velcro I used for the closure. I sewed the velcro just to the fabric layer. Don't laugh at the blue and white velcro - it was free!

With right sides together, I sewed the flap closure made of felt between the felt and fabric, making sure to line the edge of the flap with the seam in the fabric. I used an oval Nestabilities to die cut the flap, but you could freehand cut it to any shape.

Turn the seams to the inside and press (I finger pressed them because I was too lazy to go upstairs to iron it. I really need a second ironing board in my craft cave.) Then pin right sides of fabric together and sew the remaining two sides.

Turn right side out, sew the other velcro piece to the flap, and you are done!

I added a die cut flower with a matching fabric scrap center, and added detail stitching around the flower and flap.

I love my new little case, and also the fact that it matches my current purse and the more expensive reading glasses I bought.

Now if I would just wear the darn things so I could see!

You will need:
Fabric scrap
felt scrap, or other soft lining material
velcro for closure
pins
sewing machine
thread
optional: dies for flower and flap

I may be posting some of my other crafty projects I've been working on until my stamping mojo returns. I think it's still on spring break!

K

Sympathy Card and Fun Ribbon

2011-03-31T15:42:00.000-06:00

It seems like it has been forever since I posted. We took our new (to us) camper we got for Christmas to New Mexico for spring break last week. We went to Tent Rocks, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Three Rivers Petroglyph site, and Bandelier National Monument. We had a wonderful time despite my food allergic son reacting to something he ate and needing his epi pen for the first time. Talk about scary! I think I had enough adrenaline running through me for both of us. He is fine, though, and more aware of what a serious reaction feels like now.

Unfortunately when we got home, I found out I needed to make some sympathy cards. I went straight for my Versamagic chalk inks because I love the soft look that results from using them. They are my go to inks for sympathy cards.

The down side of using the chalk inks is there are no matching pens for them. (At least not that I know of.) Masking off the image twice for both colors was very laborious, but I love how this turned out. I made a second card just like it, but used markers for coloring on the rubber before stamping. It is pretty, but not as soft and comforting as this one.

I put a tiny drop of liquid pearls (I use Scribbles iridescent fabric paint) on the flower centers. Normally, I would have used Stickles, but personally, I think sparkly bling is too much for a sympathy card.

Supplies:
Stamps - Thoughts and Prayers
Paper - Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, GKD PL white
Ink - Versamagic chalk ink in Spanish Olive and Pink Petunia
Accessories - Scribbles fabric paint, SAMJ, Scotch tape for masking the rubber

Now, look what I found on sale at Hobby Lobby the other day.

Sparkly velvet ribbon. Isn't it fun? It is soooo soft!

I couldn't decide which color(s) to get, and since it was on sale for only $1, I had to buy every color they had in both widths. It's a good thing it doesn't come in other widths - I'd need a whole drawer just to store them all.

There are a couple ideas for how to use them floating around in my head, and I am hoping I get a chance to play with them soon. It seems like everything has kicked into high gear now that spring is here, and I am feeling myself not having as much play time as I would like. That, and I have been sewing and doing some other crafty things lately. My creativity is blooming along with all the spring bulbs!

Happy spring to you!

K

RAK from Lisa

2011-03-23T00:12:00.001-06:00

My BSF (Best Stamping Friend), Lisa, sent me an awesome package the other day. We 'met' on SCS, and have developed a great online friendship. She is a very talented stamper, and her coloring, shading, and sponging blows me away. I can only hope to be as good as her one day. You'll have to check out her blog to see what I mean.

Another thing that blew me away was what she sent me. Take a look...

When I opened the package, things just kept coming out of the envelope. I never thought I would get to the bottom of it! Everything from handmade buttons, to paper, to stamps, to ribbons, and even chocolate! (She knows me too well!) And take a look at all the Distress ink she sent me! Can you believe it?

I have to tell you, my favorite thing in the whole package was the adorable hand drawn original image by Lisa. It is the scalloped die cut in the front row. You are looking at the work of a future stamp designer if I do say so myself!

Well, I had to send her a thank you, so I used the stamp set she sent me and tried my hand at the Distress inks. I have a loooong way to go to get to the level of sponging genius as Lisa, but I'm gonna keep practicing.

I used a Post-it to mask the table, and drew the table edge with a marker. I used the Tim Holz blending sponges for all my sponging, and they take a little getting used to, but I like how they blend the ink so smoothly. It's hard to see in the picture, but I used a Spica pen for the stems, and put a little Stickles on the flower centers for a little extra sparkle.

Do you like the faint shadow from the jar? I was really impressed with how realistic it looked. Shadows are very hard for me to 'see'. One of these days I hope to have an eye for them!

Supplies:
Stamps - Everyday Jargon from Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - Sahara sand, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black, various Distress inks for sponging
Accessories - Copic markers, Spica pen, Stickles, Tim Holz blending sponges, Post-it note, half pearls, dimensionals

Thanks, Lisa! You are the BSF ever!

K

Less is More week 7 - Masculine

2011-03-19T11:04:00.001-06:00

Today's card is for...you guessed it...the Less is More challenge to make a masculine card. I woke up with a card in my head this morning, and was able to adapt it to this challenge. I love it when that happens! This card took less than 10 minutes to put together. And I really love it when that happens!

I stamped the shadows of the wheat like I was stamping off the excess ink on scrap paper before I clean my stamp. Really fast and with reckless abandon. I think it gives a great effect. Add a little twine and a square button, both masculine IMO, and you are done!

I used my Sakura clear glaze pen on the button, and I like it for several reasons. First of all, it dries with a little texture to it and isn't super shiny. Sometimes I prefer this look, especially on a masculine card. Secondly, it dries super fast which translates to no waiting to finish your project. Yea!

I added a couple tiny pieces of a dimensional under the button to give it stability.

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampabilities, PTI Birthday Basics
Paper - crumb cake, soft suede
Ink - Memento rich cocoa
Accessories - Baker's twine, buttons #5 Sizzlets, Big Shot, Sakura clear glaze pen, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great weekend!

K

Peppermint Penguin Package

2011-03-18T13:57:00.000-06:00

Say that three times fast! LOL!

My daughter's Kindergarten class is having a pajama party today, and each student was to take a small gift that starts with a "p" for a gift exchange. She wanted to take a penguin. Well, seeing that we had less than an hour to try to find a penguin before her gymnastics class last night, I immediately thought of decorating a "p"eppermint "p"atty with a "p"unched "p"enguin. She liked the idea. Except for the peppermint patty part.

O.k. Then what to decorate with a penguin? While we were at the store, she decided she wanted to use a roll of breath mints. Those were peppermint, and they would work just fine.

So she gets dropped off at gymnastics and I was left to figure the whole penguin thing out. Not that I minded. It meant I got to play and not feel guilty about it!

Without further ado, meet Mr. Penguin...

Isn't he the cutest? And so simple to make. Nestabilites ovals and a few punches for all the parts, huge googly eyes, and he's done!

I made the box to hold two rolls of mints, and it wasn't hard to do even without a template. I just put the rolls of mints on my scor-buddy and scored where I needed the folds. The box turned out to be 3/4" x 1 5/8" x 2 3/4".

Here he is from the back side.

A perfect fit!

The penguin was attached to the box with a loop of blue painter's tape so he could be removed and saved by the recipient if they wanted.

M was very happy with my little creation, which made me very happy because she can be quite picky. I hope her classmate likes it too.

Supplies for penguin:
Paper - basic black, pumpkin pie, GKD PL white
Accessories - Nestabilities ovals (body); Boho Blossoms (feet), Blossom Petals (wings), and small oval (beak) punches; googly eyes

Supplies for box:
Paper - basic black
Accessories - ScorBuddy, corner rounder, 5/8" circle punch, red line tape

K

An Unstamped Project

2011-03-17T15:09:00.000-06:00

While I was browsing at Joann's the other day, the thought occured to me to buy some fabric to recover a stool my aunt gave to me many years ago that I use at my sewing table. It was in pretty poor shape and needed a makeover...badly. The paint was chipped and dirty and dingy looking, and the fabric didn't even come close to going with my made-over craft room. The legs were all wobbly and every time I sat on it, I was afraid I was going to end up on the floor.

See what I mean? This is the only picture I had of it because I was in such a hurry to start my project, I forgot to take any before pictures. Oops!

Now, I have never refinished a piece of furniture in my life, and I was a little leery to venture into uncharted territory. That is one thing I don't like about myself, and it is directly related to my fear of failure. If I haven't done it before, I want someone to hold my hand through the process. And that comes from someone who used to take vacations to foreign countries by herself. What's up with that? Looks like there is something I need to work on.

Sorry about that. Probably a little too much information.

But anyway, I did it! And I survived.

And so did the stool.

My 'new' stool looks awesome if I don't say so myself! *pat, pat*

If you heard distant screams yesterday, it was probably me while I was trying to staple the fabric to the frame. For some reason, two of the sides were very hard to get the staples to go into all the way. I tried hammering them in the rest of the way, but no matter how softly or hard I tapped, they would bend. I kept thinking that it never looks this hard on all those home improvement shows I see on TV. I never see a pile of mutilated staples next to them while they are recovering something. What was wrong with me? I was actually sweating from using a staple gun!

So I screamed. Really loud. And then miraculously, the staples went in.

Well, almost. I still had to tap them in the rest of the way. But it worked this time.

I used Citristrip paint str*pper, and it worked like a charm! The paint bubbled up and slid right off within an hour. The label says it is safe to use inside (with lots of ventilation), but I took advantage of the 70 degree weather we had yesterday and did it in the garage. Even with all the ventilation, the citris smell was pretty strong. From my label reading at Home Depot, it has low VOCs compared to other str*ppers, so it is fairly safe to use.

The best part is I learned how to do something I have never done before, and nobody held my hand. I did it all by myself. And now that I have refinished something, my next project is to refinish my daughter's dresser and highboy that I have been putting off for about four years.

Yes. It is time.

K

OLW - What the Hex!

2011-03-16T23:21:00.000-06:00

Jennifer Styles is hosting the OLW challenge this week, and what a fun challenge it was! I have been struggling lately to stamp anything worth posting and this challenge got me out of my slump.

See the details of the challenge on Jennifer's blog here. Even if you aren't interested in making a card, reading about the history of the signs was very interesting.

Ta-da! Cool, huh? This was really fun to make, and with the help of my quilting ruler and SAMJ, it wasn't really that hard to do. The edge was colored with a Copic marker.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Heart Prints, Beautiful Blooms II, Amuse oval, Studio G tulip
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Real Red, Memento Danube blue, dandelion, cottage ivy
Accessories - Scallop circle Nestabilities, Big Shot, Copic marker, quilting ruler, SAMJ

I can't wait to see what everyone creates for this challenge.

K

Two for One

2011-03-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

The card I made today is for two challenges; Less is More's week 6 challenge, Off the Edge, and Mark's Finest Papers Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #46, to use lime green and gray on a one layer card. (Thank you Susan, a.k.a. LateBlossom.)

I got out some previously uninked sets from my New Stamp Basket, and stamped away.

Susan has used this color combo before, but I had never tried it. Now I can see why she loves it so much. I will definitely be using it again.

The tree might be a little small in scale for this layout, but I think the placement of the sentiment helps to balance the card. And bling because a little bling never hurt anyone.

Supplies:
Stamps - Forest Friends, TPC Patterned Borders, PTI Sentiments
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento pear tart, London fog
Accessories - London fog marker, rhinestones

A little note about word verification for the Less is More crowd...I turned off word verification last week and was inundated with spam comments, so I turned it back on. If you don't wish to comment, I'm ok with that. I don't judge my work by the number of comments I get, I only hope you find inspiration from my creations. Thank you for understanding.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

K

Color Challenge

2011-03-09T00:12:00.001-07:00

I made a quick card after I got home from work today for the SCS color challenge, concord crush, bashful blue, and pear pizzaz. I thought the color combo was an easy one this week, and the colors do look good together.

I had to nix my original idea to rock 'n roll the flower because I don't have the Concord Crush ink pad; I just have the marker. So I colored the center of the flower instead, and added a tiny blue rhinestone. The sentiment was popped not because I made a mistake stamping it on the panel, but because I thought it added a little interest and looked better that way. I do wish I hadn't stamped it on the panel, though, because now it looks like I did make a mistake.

Oh, well.

Supplies:
Stamps - Apple Blossoms
Paper - Concord Crush, GKD PL white
Ink - Bashful Blue
Accessories - Pear Pizzaz and Concord Crush markers, rhinestone, word window punch, dimensionals

Hope you're having a great day!

K

Hee Hee!

2011-03-07T13:22:00.001-07:00

If you haven't checked out the new CAS design team at Splitcoast, you have to take a look. Congratulations to Lisa, Maureen, and Regina...three very talented ladies!! Here is a link to this week's CAS109 challenge, Tickle Your Funny Bone.

Every once in a while I come up with a humorous card, but it is usually twisted. I guess being a nurse comes with the price of having a weird sense of humor. My card today is clean. Well, at least I think it is.

I hope the person who receives this can appreciate the humor. heehee!

I tried to keep the layers as simple as possible because there is a lot going on. Using a kraft card base helps the images pop without any additional layers. I had to restrain myself from adding any bling because I really wanted to.

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampingbella, Rubbernecker
Paper - Crumb Cake, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, dimensionals

Have a great week!

K

Not Too Shabby

2011-03-07T00:21:00.002-07:00

I really love the shabby, vintage look, but find it quite challenging to execute in a clean and simple style. So I have been playing.

Here are a few cards I made with my new Elizabeth stamp. They are a wee bit vintage (only because of the style of the stamp), but not very shabby. I wanted to make something more shabby, so today, I just started stamping. I rarely start a card without having an idea of what the finished card will look like, but not this time. I just let loose. (That is downright scary for an AR/OCD perfectionist!)

And look what I made...

White cardstock - not the best choice for vintage/shabby-chic. But then that's what happens when you just start stamping. This card isn't too bad, but I knew I could do better. (If I were to make this same card over again, I wouldn't leave as much space between the images on the lower part of the card. All that white bugs me.)

And I did do better.

Vintage. Shabby-chic. CAS. *Shriek* The more I look at this card, the more I love it. I may never give it away.

Supplies:
Stamps - Bliss, Very Vintage jumbo wheel, Elizabeth, Happy Harmony
Paper - Baja Breeze, GKD PL white and ivory
Ink - Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze
Accessories - lace ribbon, half pearls, dimensionals

If you are trying to go for a certain look, don't give up if it doesn't come right away. Keep playing, because you never know what will happen, and you just may learn something in the process. (I learned not to use white for vintage cards - duh!) Too many times I get caught up in the end result and forget to enjoy the process of getting there. Some of the best opportunities for creativity present themselves in 'mistakes', so embrace the journey!

K

Sweet Baby

2011-03-06T01:16:00.001-07:00

Today's post is my card for this week's Less is More week 5 challenge, to use pastel colors. I finally used my Itty Bitty Bits set that has been sitting in my New Stamp basket for months. This card also qualifies for the Ways to Use It challenge (WT312), polka dots.

I wasn't planning on making a baby card, but that is what this evolved to be. Anyone having a girl soon?

The colors are a lot more vivid IRL; it was hard to get a good photo of this card. The popped up images looked a little nekked, so I added a few half pearls and balanced them with a couple more by the sentiment, and the celery and daffodil images were stamped off once to make them more pastel-y.

Supplies:
Stamps - Itty Bitty Bits, Short & Sweet, Spunky Spots jumbo wheel
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Pink pirouette, celery, daffodil, Memento lavendar
Accessories - Scor-pal, mini pop dots, half pearls, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack

Now that I've used my Itty Bitty set, I'm not so afraid of it anymore. Have you ever been afraid to try or use something? Please share.

K

Quick and Easy

2011-03-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

I made a quick set of cards using my new Elizabeth stamp that I just got today. The stamp is very Victorian-ish, but I went with very clean and simple cards.

The image is stamped so the sentiment is on the lower right 'sweet spot' of the card. I felt this was the most visually pleasing of all the possible placements. I could have fancied up the cards with bling or pearls, but really liked the clean look without any added embellishments.

I was just playing around with different color combinations, and this is what I came up with.

I used my Versamagic chalk inks and was reminded just how much I really love them. The colors are soft, yet very rich. They take a little longer to dry completely, but the look is worth the wait.

Hope you have a great weekend!

K

Birthday Greetings

2011-03-03T00:04:00.001-07:00

My niece is turning 16 in a few days, so I thought I would make a card with a vehicle on it. She is having fun driving with her learner's permit, and I remember how important it was to drive when I was her age, so in this case, a car is ok for a girl card.

Or a truck.

I had fun coloring with my Spica pens yesterday, so I used them to color this image. Plus, having sparkles on the truck made it seem more girly.

Supplies:
Stamps - Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, My ABC's wheel
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Spica glitter pens, Copic markers, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by. Have a happy day!

K

Would the Real OLC Please Stand Up

2011-03-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ok. I'm back with a real one layer card for this week's ONE LAYER Wednesday challenge. If you're not sure why I am yelling, just see my first post for today!

The challenge was to use shimmer on your card, but not in the form of glitter or rhinestones. I wanted to use my Pearl Ex powders, but couldn't find them, so I decided to use my Shimmer Spritz again.

I actually have two cards. I gave up on the first one after I had completed the image. I was trying to put some shimmery organza ribbon on it, and it just wasn't working, so I made a different card. Then when I was searching for a sentiment to put on my second card, I found the perfect finishing touch, a sentiment, for my first one.

I am lovin' life right now!

Card #1...

The sentiment looks much better on this than the ribbon I was trying to use. Even though the ribbon was sheer, it was still too heavy. I used sticky notes to mask off the left side of the card, and kept them in place while spritzing with shimmer spritz. Only the image is shimmery. I rounded opposite corners to balance all the straight lines of the card.

Card #2...

I made a template out of typing paper (did I just date myself or what?) to use for my mask. A little repositionable adhesive kept it in place for sponging the background. As with the first card, I kept the mask in place for spritzing. All the corners were rounded to continue the curve of the oval for some added softness.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fast and Fabulous, PTI Simple Sentiments and Mega Mixed Messages
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rose Bud and Angel Pink for stamping, Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi for sponging
Accessories - sticky notes, petite oval Nestabilities, Big Shot, repositionable adhesive, daubers, Sparkle Shimmer Spritz

The shimmer on these cards was really hard to photograph, but it gives a very nice effect.

Hope you're having a happy Wednesday!

K

One Layer Wednesday - NOT!

2011-03-02T11:55:00.001-07:00

I am feeling really stupid right about now. I made my card for Susan's OLW challenge this week, and was really happy with how it turned out. However it is so NOT a one layer card! And that is what the challenge is all about! Duh! Somehow that slipped my mind as I was planning my card. It didn't even occur to me until I was logging on to post it. I would say something clever about losing my mind, but it seems I have really lost my mind and can't think of anything clever to say.

So I'll just shut up and post my card.

The image was colored with at you Spica pens (Copics for Fluffles), and I spritzed the card base with Shimmer Spritz. It is really shimmery!

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampendous Grasshopper Fluffles
Paper - Sahara Sand, Real red, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - At You Spica pens, Copics, Nestabilities circle and scallop circle dies, Big Shot, Sparkle Shimmer Spritz

I will be back with a real one layer card later. Right now, I have to go teach my crochet club at the school.

K

Missing You

2011-03-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

I made this card on a particularly dreary gray day last week. Somehow the mood of that day translated into this melancholy card.

I chose gray for the bird cages and sentiment to signify sadness and a yellow bird and bling to signify hope that we (whoever 'we' may be) will be together again soon.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Love Birds
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento London Fog, Dandelion
Accessories - yellow half pearls

Thankfully the gray weather didn't last more than a day. Otherwise, I would be banging my head against the wall.

K

Go Ride a Bike

2011-02-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge for CAS108 on Splitcoast is 'the great outdoors'. We've been having fairly nice weather lately...almost good enough for bike rides around the neighborhood.

I included some flowers with my papers, and along with the flowers in the basket, this seemed outdoorsy enough for me. The wheel hubs and flower centers are bedeckled with Stickles for a triangulation of bling, and a small row of piercing echoes the holes from the border punches.

I didn't stamp a sentiment because #1 I couldn't decide where to put it, and #2 sometimes it's nice to have a sentiment-less card. At least that's what I tell myself.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Paper - GKD PL white, My Mind's Eye calendar kit that was included with a magazine I purchased.
Ink - Tangerine Tango
Accessories - border punches, paper piercer, Stickles, SAMJ

Hope your week is off to a great start!

K

Another Challenge

2011-02-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

I was happy to take a break from my painting this morning so I could make a card for this week's Less is More 4 challenge. I was thrilled when I read the challenge - a recipe to use 3 squares - because I had the perfect sets for it...the newly released Bitty Background Blocks by PTI and Quilter's Sampler that were still in my New Stamp basket.

I absolutely love how this ended up. It evokes such a warm feeling. The 3 squares were stamped on scrap paper and cut out with pinking deco scissors. I used a real needle and thread to embellish.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Bitty Background Blocks, Quilter's Sampler
Paper - So Saffron, GKD PL ivory
Ink - Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Old Olive
Accessories - deco scissors, needle, thread

I've had a few requests from my readers to subscribe to my blog by email, and that suprises and flatters me! Since I am severely computer and blog design challenged, I didn't know how to set it up. So after about an hour or more of searching, reading 'help' topics that were no help, reading chat threads and such, I figured it out and now have it all set up. I would love to have you subscribe. And thanks to those who prompted me to figure it out! I appreciate you!

K

Catching Up on Challenges

2011-02-25T00:08:00.002-07:00

I really missed participating in some of the challenges out there, so I got caught up with some of them today.

My first card is for this week's CAS107 challenge to create your own background. I sponged mine, and used a stamp out of my new stamp basket. Woohoo!

I tried spritzing the background with water to get a watercolor effect, but it didn't work and just ended up warping my card. It isn't bad now that it has completely dried. Maybe I needed more ink to get the effect I was after. ??

I off-set the sentiment to the left to balance the image placement on the right.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Leaf Cluster and sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - various Memento dew drops for sponging and the image
Accessories - Nestabilities circle (to make mask for sponging), sponge, SAMJ

Next is a card for the Less is More week 3 theme challenge where the theme is spring. Spring makes me think of planting pots of flowers, so that's what I made on my card.

Last year, I bought all new planters for our patio, and they were all blue. I love how the blue makes the flowers seem so much brighter, so I colored my flower pot blue.

Supplies:
Stamps - Blooming with Love
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Star Dust Stickles for flower centers

And my last challenge card for now, this time for OLW42 hosted by Jennifer Styles. The theme is music.

Another (lame) attempt at a collage card, but I guess it's ok. My practice scraps were much worse! I off-
stamped the gray once so it wasn't so dark.

Supplies:
Stamps - Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Hampton Art sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Paris Dusk, London Fog

I'm glad there are so many challenges to choose from. They help keep my mojo flowing!

K

Back to Stamping!

2011-02-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yea! I was finally able to break the seal into my craft cave and stamp a few things. Our basement is finished as far as the construction, now I just need to paint and lay the flooring. I still haven't decided on what color I am going to paint the walls, and since I threw my back out reaching around a corner to turn a light off (of all things!), it may be a few days before I paint anyway. Any excuse I can use to be able to stamp is good enough for me!

I have never really been a huge fan of negative image stamps, but seeing some samples of them recently got my creativity flowing. And I just had to use my Archiver's 30% off coupon for something!

This image was embossed on black cardstock, then colored with chalks. (Something I haven't used in forever.) Once the image was colored and cut out, I very gently went over the embossing with my heat tool again to remove any traces of chalk. Just be careful not to burn the embossing. Don't ask me how I know, I'll tell you anyway - I had to do it all over again.

*sigh*

Lesson learned.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Poppy Background
Paper - Basic Black, Regal Rose, Rose Red
Ink - Versamark
Accessories - clear EP, heat tool, chalks, cotton swabs, ribbon, cobochons, dimensionals

This image was embossed with white on white cardstock and colored with Copics. It was easy to remove any stray ink with my Copic blender pen. I was amazed at what a difference this little step made.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Large Blossom
Paper - Rose Red, Regal Rose, GKD PL white
Ink - Versamark
Accessories - white EP, heat tool, Copic markers, ribbon, half pearls, dimensionals

Then I decided to play. The following images haven't been made into cards yet, but I can color them or leave them like they are, use them as the main image, or as a background.

I brayered the ink on white cardstock and stamped with Memento black. I think this would look even better if it were embossed.

Pink embossing powder on black and white cardstocks.

Yellow embossing powder on black and white cardstocks.

Purple embossing powder on white cardstock.

I have strayed into a different style of stamp, and I really like all the possibilities there are with these images. I like it even more that I went out of my creative comfort zone and liked the results.

What have you done lately that was out of your comfort zone?

Basement Update

2011-02-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

The construction crew made much progress this week, and our basement has drywall and the first round of mud and tape. Needless to say, it is a mess down there with fine white powder everywhere. They clean up everyday before they leave and have an evacuation fan running through one of the windows, but that powder is everywhere!

My craft cave door is taped shut, and I am almost afraid to break the seal. I really don't want to clean white powder off of everything, even though I know I will have to do a deep clean once the basement is done.

I have a few new stamps I am dying to try, so I will be back to stamping just as soon as I can.

We are heading up to the mountains for some snowboarding in fresh powder. Hope you have a great weekend, too!

K

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute to make my Valentine's cards. I had them made a little before 3:00 today, but haven't had a chance to post until now.

I made three cards in about 45 minutes today. I think that is a record for me. It usually takes me that long to make one!

First up, a card for my daughter...

I thought it would look cute for the dog to be looking at the sentiment. The heart was an afterthought, but I think it looks cute.

She loves dogs (even though we have cats), so when I saw this set on clearance at Joann's for $2.97, I couldn't resist. All the dogs in this set are really cute, and she'll love them all. I love how my brand X ribbon matched my Memento ink perfectly. When does that ever happen?

A card for my son...

Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Same idea - dog looking at sentiment - but different layout and colors. Twine instead of ribbon since he would think ribbon was 'girly'.

Supplies:
Stamps - Inkadinkado Dogs, PTI Love Birds, Amuse oval
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Real Red, Memento Rose Bud, Angel Pink, Danube Blue, Summer Sky
Accessories - Ribbon, Baker's twine, Post-it notes for masking

And of course, one for my hubby...

This set from PTI is so easy to use for CAS cards, and I made this card in the blink of an eye. The heart was added by the sentiment for the third leg of my red triangle.

I was patting myself on the back after I made these three cards today. I love them all! *pat, pat*

Hope you had a wonderful day filled with lots of love!

K

A Very Large Flower and a Prize

2011-02-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a card I made for the Less is More week 2 challenge. This time it was to use trees or flowers for the theme on a one layer card.

I stamped the flower in eggplant, then used my aquapainter to pull the color from the image to color the flower. It was hard to do on regular cardstock for such a large image, and I think using watercolor paper would have been a better option. I'll make a note of that for the next time I want to try this technique.

It's amazing what a little bling will do to 'make' a card. All the flower needed was just a touch of Stickles. Coloring the entire center of the flower would have been too much, but just a little bit gave it just what it needed.

I even managed to use two of my new stamps, so they won't be living in my new basket anymore. Yippee!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts large flower, PTI Simple Sentiments
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Elegant Eggplant
Accessories - Daffodil marker, aquapainter, Stickles

Our basement is almost entirely cleaned out now. I still have a few odds and ends to get packed up, and the crew will be here first thing in the morning.

I have a question for you. What color would you paint a basement? Our entire house is Shaker Beige with the exception of the bedrooms, and I don't think I want to do the same color in the basement. I want more color, but nothing green. Tell me what you think, and I may just have a prize for you if I use what you suggest!

Toodles,

K

Mega-Sized Birthdays

2011-02-12T11:08:00.001-07:00

This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to see my first post.

I've been double posting a lot lately. If I post before I go to bed, it's usually in the wee hours of the morning. Then my post the next day ends up on the same day. Oh, well, at least I'm posting!

Today's cards are for another one of PTI's sneak peek challenges. This time it is to think BIG. Something really big needs to be on your card, whether it is the image, sentiment, or an embellishment.

I saw the challenge in the wee hours of the morning before I went to bed, so I went to sleep thinking of these cards. I already knew what I was going to stamp when I woke up this morning, and I really like when that happens. I wanted to use a BIG sentiment, and had the perfect stamp for it.

This is my boy birthday card.

This is my girl birthday card.

Just by changing the blue to pink, I was able to completely change the look and feel of the card. All the other colors are exactly the same. The flames were rock 'n rolled which gives them a more realistic look.

Since the Nestabilities label dies don't give an even border between the sizes, I traced the sentiment panel on the colored cardstock, then cut around it adding an even border.

I have a BIG sentiment that serves as my BIG focal point, and there is lots of BIG white space.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fun With Shapes, Cheery Chat (both retired)
Paper - Brilliant Blue, Pink Passion, GKD PL white
Ink - Brilliant Blue, Pink Passion. Daffodil, Pumpkin
Accessories - B Blue, Pink P, Green Galore, Turquoise, and Lavendar Lace markers, Nestabilities label die, Big Shot, dimensionals

Hope you're having a great weekend!

K

PTI Tag & Frame Challenge

2011-02-12T00:01:00.001-07:00

Have you been checking out the sneak peeks at PTI? As always, I want almost everything they are releasing, but I must maintain some restraint. I have never participated in one of their sneak peek challenges until now. I just had to stamp something today.

The challenge is to make a tag that incorporates a frame of some kind. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I made a love themed tag.

This is about as far from CAS as I can get without it looking like my Kindergarten daughter made it. Something about a small canvas made it much more doable, and I'm really pleased with the shabby vintage look I was able to achieve.

Supplies:
Stamps - Polka Dot Punches, Tiny Tags, French Script background
Paper - Crumb Cake, Real Red, GKD PL ivory
Ink - Crumb Cake, Real Red, Versamark
Accessories - Nestabilities deckled rectangle die, Big Shot, Copper EP, heat tool, dauber, Full Heart, Jewelry Tag, and slot punches, mini scallop decorative scissors, lace trim, baker's twine, half pearls, ribbon

Whew! That took a lot of stuff, but it was worth it.

Now lets just hope I win the drawing so I don't have to buy it all!

K

Just Sitting Here

2011-02-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

I made this card a while back, and forgot that I hadn't posted it.

Instead of paper piecing the chair, I stamped it onto colored cardstock, then colored right over it with brown and green markers. I still had to cut the whole chair out, but that seemed easier than cutting out all those little pieces. This is a great alternative to paper piecing if the other colors you are using will look ok on the colored cardstock.

I sponged brown ink around the edges of the card, but can't remember what flavor it was. Oops!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Wish You Were Here
Paper - Baja Breeze, GKD PL ivory
Ink - Wild Wasabi, Memento rich cocoa, ? brown for distressing
Accessories - Copic markers, green rhinestones, sponge

Hope you have a great weekend!

K

Less is More Challenge

2011-02-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is my second post for today. Please scroll down for my first post.

When I was posting my OLW card to Jennifer's blog, I came across her post about a new CAS challenge blog, Less is More. I love challenges, so thought I'd check it out. Chrissie and Mandi will post a new CAS challenge every Saturday. Sounds like fun to me!

Their first challenge is to use black, white, and pink on a CAS card. I have made a few cards with the set I used for this challenge, but haven't posted them yet. I am working on different looks using the same stamp, so I came up with yet another look, and used that for my card today. I will post all of the cards I came up with in the near future.

I just got the typewriter alphabet stamps on sale at Hobby Lobby yesterday, and they worked perfect on this card. I omitted the "hello" on the sentiment stamp so I could stamp it below the typewriter with my new stamps. The ellipsis was made with a marker. I cut a slit in the typewriter so I could slip the white paper into it. The top of the paper is popped up on dimensionals.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts My Type, EK Success Antique Typewriter Upper and Lower Alphabet sets
Paper - Pretty in Pink, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - craft knife, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!

Now I must really get going on the basement. Hubby is giving me looks because I still haven't packed anything today.

But I have to eat lunch first!

K

OLW A Day Late

2011-02-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was so busy yesterday, I didn't realize it was Wednesday, and time for one of my favorite challenges. Jennifer Styles is hosting OLW this week, and it was a real challenge. Use 2 (and only 2) image stamps, no sentiments, and no embellishments of any kind.

Time to step it up a notch.

Here is my first card.

I used an acrylic block for my background image. I inked the block, then spritzed it with water before stamping on the card.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Heart Prints
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento Lady Bug and Angel Pink
Accessories - Acrylic block used as a stamp, H20 spritzer, corner rounder

And just because that card was so quick to make, I had to make another one.

This card measures 3"x4" to fit in a leftover envelope I had in my stash. The image would have been lost on an A2 card.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Turning a New Leaf, Stampendous Loopy Blooms
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento New Sprout and Tuxedo Black
Accessories - Copic markers R29, C7

Now I'm off to box up the basement. Hubby is chomping at the bit to get it done, and I'm dragging my heels. My craft cave will be virtually inaccessible during the finishing of the basement, and I'll never be ready to give it up. Even if it's only for a week (or three). What will I ever do?

Whootin' Hi

2011-02-07T01:16:00.000-07:00

What is it about a sale that makes us lose all rational thought and fork over our hard earned money? I mentioned before about our local Xpedx store putting all their stamping items on clearance, and I got some great deals the first time I shopped their sale.

Then I found myself stopping by again. I guess I thought I might have missed something the first time.

And I did. I bought a few more things. Things I really needed.

Whatever.

Then, you'll never believe what happened next. I went back again! And found more things I just had to have that I missed the first two times I was there. What is up with that? I was secretly hoping they had lowered their prices even more, but they hadn't. Obviously, I didn't let that stop me.

One of my final purchases was the woodgrain circle stamp by Hero Arts. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I could use it with my owl and bird punches, and this card was born.

One thing I love about punched animals, is you can make them any color you want, and they still look cute. Because I'm such a perfectionist, when I color stamped images, I usually Google real pictures of whatever it is I'm coloring to make sure it is colored correctly. But when it comes to punched shapes, anything goes. I think that is what makes them so fun for me.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts woodgrain circle, PTI Wise Owl
Paper - tangerine, saffron, marina mist, black, old olive, Bali Breeze DSP (retired), GKD PL white
Ink - Memento rich cocoa
Accessories - Two-step bird, owl, and 1/8" punches, dimensionals

The best thing about my new stamp is that I only paid $2 for it. The clerk knew I had been in three times, so she gave me even better deals on a few of my items. That's a good way to try to get me to go back, but I think I'm done.

Finally.

K

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #41

2011-02-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to see my first post.

Today, I am participating in a challenge from Mark's Finest Papers. It is to use self-made flowers on your card. Well, I looked in my stash and just happened to have a few crocheted flowers I made a while back. This one caught my eye because it looked like a daffodil, and I am really looking forward to spring. Probably because it is snowing right now.

I died the center of the double flower with a daffodil marker after I had wet the flower. This made the ink bleed into the center, leaving the outer edge a little darker in color. I hand drew the stem and leaves with a marker, so there isn't any stamping involved on this card. The scalloped panel is up on dimensionals.

Supplies:
Stamps - none
Paper - Daffodil, Wasabi, GKD PL white
Ink - daffodil and wasabi markers
Accessoried - hand crocheted flower, ticket corner punch, Nestabilities scalloped rectangle, Big Shot, ribbon, dimensionals, half pearls

I'll be back later with more cards. I've been negligent in posting this week.

K

OLW 3 Things

2011-02-05T14:57:00.001-07:00

Susan's challenge this week was to use an image, a border stamp, and bling on your one layer card. And you could not use a sentiment.

One of my new Hero Arts sets was begging to be inked, and since I need to clear out my new basket to make room for more new stamps, it got its wish. I love to sew (except on cards - haven't mastered that one yet), and I loved this set. I know it will see lots of ink.

I'm not sure why I chose these bright colors. Maybe because it was gray and snowing outside. I stamped the border stamps twice to frame the image, then added bling in the form of nail heads. Quick and easy. That's my kind of card!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts Sew Artsy
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento
Accessories - nail heads

K

OLW38 A Sketch

2011-01-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

I made two cards today for the One Layer Wednesday challenge hosted by Jennifer Styles this week. Although they are both one layer cards, one of them was much more involved than the other. This will show you the extreme looks you can create on a one layer card.

I have been making a lot of warm, sun and beach themed cards lately, and this one is no exception.

I sponged the sand and water, and used a brayer for the sky. I took Michelle Zindorf's brayer classes a little over a year ago, and love to play around with her technique. As you can see, you can create very elaborate cards with just one layer.

Supplies:
Stamps - All Night Media, Short & Sweet
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Crumb Cake, Cool Caribbean, Turquoise, Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, Orchid, Espresso
Accessories - Post-it notes for masking, circle punch, Copic markers, brayer, sponges, white gel pen

This card is much more simple, but still packs a punch.

The bird cage and stand are embossed to make it look like wrought iron. The triangulation of red in the three image areas pulls the whole card together.

The large bird cage image in this set doesn't have a perch for the birds to sit on, so I drew one with a black marker before I stamped the bird cage.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Love Birds
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Riding Hood Red, Versamark, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - clear EP, heat tool, quilting ruler, SAMJ

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're having a great week!

K

Christmas in January (No, I'm not kidding!)

2011-01-25T21:17:00.001-07:00

I have some cards made that I could have posted today, but I ended up going through a box of random stamps that I had purchased as a lot on e-bay a couple years ago and made a couple new cards. Every once in a while I find something in there I want to keep, and since my 'style' is still evolving, stamps I would never think of using become just what I was looking for. My purchase gets more valuable every time I go through that box!

I came across the complete set of SU's Holiday Blocks that has been retired for a while now, and I managed to use every image on these two cards.

I really like the purposeful random placement of the squares on this one. (How's that for an oxymoron?) I was able to triangulate the images even though there are five squares. There is good flow and color balance, and that makes me very happy. I do wish the holly image was a little closer to the left edge. It's funny what a difference 1/8" would make.

Supplies:
Stamps - Holiday Blocks, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Memento tuxedo black

Here is my second card before. Before what, you ask?

The SMUDGE! I was stamping my last word - joy - and noticed a big black thumbprint on the front of the card. It doesn't look that noticeable here, but you could definitely see it IRL.

UGH!!!

I finished stamping the word, and salvaged the card by cutting the images and sentiments into a panel which I popped up on another card base.

Disaster avoided! I kinda like it better, anyway!

These images were first inked in Versamark, then in colored inks so the Dazzling Diamonds could be used. This is a great technique for adding sparkle to your project, and this card really sparkles.

I used my SAMJ in conjunction with a quilting ruler (thanks, Susan, aka LateBlossom for that tip) for placement of the images and words. Those are two of my most valuable tools.

Supplies:
Stamps - Holiday Blocks, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Versamark, Razzleberry, Daffodil, Pacific Point, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Dazzling Diamonds EP, heat tool, dimensionals, SAMJ

Another reason I wanted to stamp some Christmas cards is to help clear out my new stamp basket. The Hero Arts sentiment set was part of my clearance purchase a couple weeks ago (it was 75% off!), and I couldn't wait until Christmas to use it. So far this system is working well for me. It has pushed me to used stamps that would otherwise get lost in the rest of my rubber.

My challenge for you is to find a stamp set you think isn't your style, and use it to make a card or two. My two cards today are proof that you might just make something you like.

Have a great day!

K

Looking for Inspiration?

2011-01-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I was at the library the other day to pick up the entire sixth season of LOST on DVD. Yea, I know, we're a little behind on that one. I never watched it on TV, but had to watch every season on DVD because my husband made me.

Not really.

I was hooked as soon as I started watching it. And since I was #168 on the hold list at the library, it has taken a while. I'm not sure I want to watch it though, because I know my questions won't get answered.

But I digress.

So I was at the library, and I thought I'd see if they had any card making books.

They did. I felt bad hoarding all of these to check them out, but I did leave a few behind. Ones that I could tell were not up my alley. You know, all the heavily embellished and technique heavy ones.

I haven't had a chance to look at them much yet. We were at the rodeo all day yesterday, and I have a sick kid at home today. But I'm sure I will learn a few things and find lots of inspiration.

If you haven't looked in your library for card books, I encourage you to check for them the next time you are there. What could be better than inspiration that's free?

K

P.S. The reading glasses are in the picture purely for aesthetics. I don't really need to use them.

Yea. Whatever.

One Down, Two to Go

2011-01-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was determined to do something with this unfinished card. It started out as a different color combination, and once I colored my image, I knew it needed a change. I decided to play off of the pink ice cream, so pink it was. Then that meant I had the perfect ribbon to go with it.

And I was a happy camper!

This time I remembered to embellish my card before I took the picture, and used a Sakura glaze pen on the hot fudge. It looks so yummy!

Supplies:
Stamps - Our Craft Lounge Life is Sweet
Paper - Rose red, Pretty in Pink, Daffodil, GKD PL white
Ink - Pumpkin Pie, Memento tuxedo black, Rose red for sponging
Accessories - Copic markers, Sakura glaze pen, dimensionals, Nestabilities, Big Shot, dauber, ribbon, linen thread

Here is a tip for cutting out images:
After you cut out your image, run a black marker along the edges to eliminate any slivers of white from showing through. See pics below.
Also, if there is a thin area on your image, put a piece or two of scotch tape on the back to lend a little support and keep the cardstock from tearing at the narrow point.

This is my image before the black marker.

This is after. See how it takes all the white edges away? Having a solid black edge helps it to "pop" off the background. On this cut out, I put tape behind the spoon and a little bit into the image for a little more support.

I have been using a lot more color and layers lately, even though the cards are still pretty simple. Maybe that is what is helping me out of my slump!

Whatever works, right?

K

Polka Dot Background

2011-01-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

Here are two cards I got stuck on and had to leave alone for a couple days. I stamped the polka dot backgrounds, and that's as far as I got.

Until today.

Funny how you can create when you think you are on a creative high.

Mind over matter.

At first, I tried this on a white card base and it was so not right. The yellow was exactly what it needed. No wonder I couldn't do anything with it before. Once I figured the yellow out, it all came together very quickly. I used my blender pen and reinkers to color the image - something I haven't used in years. It seemed so much easier now, and I will definitely try it again. I pierced the scallops on the rectangle to echo the scallops on the border.

Just as I was sitting here typing this, I looked at this card and wondered why I didn't Stickle the orange flower. So I just Stickled it and it looks amazingly better. Sorry, but I'm not going to retake the picture.

Supplies:
Stamps - Love Ya Bunches (long ago retired), Polka Dot background
Paper - Daffodil, Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, GKD PL white
Ink - Wasabi, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Blender pen, reinkers, Nestabilities, Big Shot, large needle for piercing, ribbon, Diamond lace border punch

The ribbon on this card was wrapped around a blanket or pillows I bought some time ago. Since I save everything I think I might be able to use in a crafty way, I need to start using some of it or it is going to take over my craft cave. The dark pink heart layer was cut out using deco scissors, and I only had to do it once! Woohoo!

Supplies:
Stamps - Whimsical Words, Polka Dot background
Paper - Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, GKD PL white (for card base)
Ink - Wasabi, Rose Red
Accessories - heart punch, mini scallop deco scissors, dauber, rhinestone, dimensionals, repurposed ribbon

Now let's see what other projects I can finish. I know of at least three in the wings...

Hope you have a super weekend!

K

A Productive Day

2011-01-20T19:42:00.001-07:00

Don't stop me now, I'm on a roll! I had a very productive day in my craft cave today. Ideas were pouring out of me, and the best part was I was able to execute them. Not execute as in mortally wound, but execute as in carry out.

Just thought I'd clarify. You know how (non)productive I've been lately.

Today's cards came from a Hero Arts set I bought on clearance a couple weeks ago. It has been sitting in my new stamp basket waiting for inspiration to strike. And strike it did.

The stapler is embossed which makes it look really cool IRL. Not sure if I like the staples all lined up like they are. Maybe random stapling would have looked better?? The black panel is up on dimensionals.

For this one, I hand wrote the hello with a pencil, then stamped the pencil so the lead was lined up with the end of the "o". I masked the pencil and stamped the paper, roughly lining the lines up with the angle of the sentiment. I used Baja Breeze ink stamped off once for the paper, Memento London Fog for Just a Note, and colored the pencil with Copics. I really like this one!

The envelope was stamped onto a mailing envelope and cut out. I actually stamped it twice and pieced just the flaps to add a little dimension that you can't really tell is there unless you touch it. Then I sewed SU's linen thread around the closure thingy. What is that called, anyway? I used Clear Dollar Stamps Military Sentiments, and popped up the envelope with dimensionals.

This is the card that started it all, and I really love how it turned out. The paper is stamped with Soft Sky, cut out, and punched with a 1/8" punch. I made a tiny slit at the top to put the push pin through, and popped up the pin on a tiny piece of a dimensional. The paper is adhered only at the top edge, and I curled the corners to make it look like it was really hanging by a pin. I applied Glossy Accents to the push pin after everything was assembled. The kraft card base makes it look like the note is on a cork board.

One thing I love about this set is that you can hand write whatever you want for a note or a sentiment on the paper image. I think that makes it look more personalized, and the options are infinite.

A couple tips:
*Baja Breeze stamped off once looks just like Soft Sky
.
*If you are using a dimensional on a colored card base for a very small layer, color the edges of the dimensional with the same color marker as the card base, and you won't be able to see the white dimensional under the layer!

Now I can store this set with my other "used" sets. Woohoo!

Hope you're having a great day!

K

It's OLW Again!

2011-01-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

I have tried unsuccessfully for the past few days to stamp something. Until I saw the OLW challenge for today. The challenge is to use more than one sentiment on your OLC, and no images. That sounded easy enough for mojo-less me to tackle.

I pulled out my PTI Birthday Basics set and used every one of the Happy Birthdays in it. (One of them got used twice.) For perfect placement, I lined up all the stamps on a lined acrylic block. Each one was inked with marker, and presto, my card was done!

I wanted to use one of my stitched lines stamps, but that would have violated the no image rule, so I scored lines instead. I really like how it breaks up all the white space around the sentiments.

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Birthday Basics
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - various SU markers
Accessories - Scor-Buddy

Here is a tip for lining up long stamps on an acrylic block: Lay the stamp image side down on your work surface, then press the acrylic block onto the back of the stamp. Most stamps will be straight if they aren't clinging to anything. This eliminates a long stamp from curving when you try to place it on the block by hand. Since you can see through the block, you can line it up perfectly along the grid lines (if the block has them), and you can make minor adjustments as needed.

Happy Wednesday!

K

Summer Scenes

2011-01-15T20:59:00.001-07:00

I can't believe another week has passed. I don't know where the time goes. This was a busier week than normal, and I didn't get much stamping done. I did take some time this afternoon to make a couple cards.

In keeping with using my new stamps before they get put away, I used one of my new Hero Arts sets that I got on clearance last week. It has lots of cute beach and summer-y images, and I managed to create two totally different looks on my cards.

First up, a warm, soothing card...

The image was colored with Copics using a sunset photo I had taken while on vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a guide. It took me right back in time. I even had a silhouette of a beach umbrella in my photo. Can you see the sky-blue pink? I love that color! I kept the card very simple so the image would take center stage.

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampendous Summer Scene, PTI Day at the Beach
Paper - Pumpkin Pie, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, crumb cake marker, rectangle Nestabilities, Big Shot, dimensionals

And now, for a more whimsical look...

I took the sentiment literally, and put some fun in the sun. I think flip flops (or ting tongs, as I used to call them) are fun, and they are a staple in my wardrobe all year long.

Since the sentiment and the image were about the same size, I overlapped them to make it seem like one big image. Otherwise they would have been fighting for your eye's attention.

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampendous Summer Scene, Michael's $ stamp
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Yo yo yellow, Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, dimensionals

Now that I have summer and warm weather out of my system, we can head up to the mountains to do a little snowboarding. This will be the first year both kids will be boarding instead of skiing. You know, because good parents don't let their kids ski. Heehee! (Yes, I'm a little biased!)

Have a great rest of your weekend!

K

CAS101 A Day in the Snow

2011-01-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today's CAS challenge is to use snow on your card. We just got about 6" of the powdery white stuff, much to my kids' approval. They can't wait to try out their new snow shoes that Santa brought them. Needless to say, I was in the mood to stamp some snow today.

I pulled out my Changito set that I used for my Christmas cards a couple years ago. I think he is the cutest little monkey, and there is a sentiment in the set that will ring true for many people across the country right about now.

I stamped the image first, leaving room to emboss the snow. Then I cut some curves for the snow, and continued to cut around the image. I added a little flock to his clothes and randomly dabbed Stickles for the falling snow. This turned out way cuter than I had imagined. Don't you love when that happens?

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampendous Changito Snow Play
Paper - bashful blue, GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - CB Divine swirls EF, Big Shot, Copic markers, Sakura quickie glue pen, white flock, star dust Stickles

Hope you aren't too buried in the snow!

K

Have a Donut (or Two)

2011-01-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

The donuts in my new Hero Arts set were not that appealing to me when I first saw them. I bought the set mostly for the coffee cup. Well, I'll be honest, it was mostly because I couldn't resist the 25% off sale. That's why I bought the set. But only because it had the coffee cup in it!

I'm not much of a donut-type person. I'm more of a cupcake person. And let's face it, donuts don't have the cute factor that cupcakes have. But the donuts kept nagging at me, and I had to make a couple of cards with them.

This card turned out very different than my original vision. I just couldn't work my original sketch idea into a card. The only thing that carried through was the donut. I thought I had a soft pink glaze pen, but it was much too "hot" for a donut, so I colored the pink with a Copic marker and used a clear glaze pen over the top. Then I added some fabric paint sprinkles. It turned out kinda cute!

Notice how the sentiment in the upper left 'sweet spot' balances the donut in the lower right 'sweet spot'.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Sakura clear glaze pen, iridescent white fabric paint, dimensionals, gingham ribbon, scor-pal

I was going to pop the sentiment up in the center of this card, but it looked way too busy. There was just enough room between the donuts to stamp the sentiment, hence the OLC. The donuts are colored with Copics, and I used my clear glaze pen once again, but this time on the loopy loops. These donuts look good enough to eat!

I triangulated the three prominent donuts to be visually appealing, and only needed small portions of the other donuts to complete the visual balance.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento tuxedo black
Accessories - Copic markers, Sakura clear glaze pen

And now that I have used this set, I can put it away. One of my craft resolutions this year is to use every set or stamp I buy before I put it away. I designated a basket for all my new sets and have it sitting on my craft table. (I adopted someone else's idea that I read somewhere). I figure if I have to have a stamp bad enough to buy it, I have to use it before it gets lost in the mass of rubber and photo polymer I have in my room. And by the looks of things, I better get stamping!

What craft resolutions do you have this year?

K

A Potpourri of Cards

2011-01-07T18:08:00.001-07:00

My mojo has slowly been returning to me after what seemed like being gone forever. There have been so many things going on around here, and my creative energy vanished.

It started coming back after my Little Ditty post. If you sent positive energy my way...thanks, it worked! Then I looked at the OLW challenge for this week which is as simple as using yellow on your card. So that's where I started. I made three cards with yellow, but I'll only post one of them. I'll spare you the pain of viewing the other two!

I rock 'n rolled the pears, and really like how the colors turned out. The sentiment was hand written, and I was going to be cute and do a play on words to say "To a great pear", but it just didn't look right, so I wrote it the correct way. I know, B-O-R-I-N-G. But I'm weird that way.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Fruitful
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Daffodil, Celery, Choc chip
Accessories - Wild Wasabi marker
Techniques - rock 'n roll

I finally finished this card after many attempts. My original thought for this card was to have the fruit out-of-the-box. Then I was stumped. It finally came together, though. It's not the greatest, but hey, I feel like I just started stamping again!

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI Fruitful
Paper - Only Orange, Green Galore, GKD PL white
Ink - Only Orange, Yo Yo Yellow
Accessories - rectangle Nestabilities, orange rhinestones

We are getting ready to finish our basement, and in moving stuff out, I ran across my box of sets that I am going to sell. Of course I had to go through them again and found a set I was surprised was in there. So I made a card with it.

Very simple, but the random placement of the bling makes it not so ordinary. I think I'll keep this set for a while.

Supplies:
Stamps - Delight in Life
Paper - Lavendar Lace
Ink - Lavendar Lace, Lovely Lilac
Accessories - ribbon, rhinestones

Our local Xpedx store clearanced all their stamping supplies, so I picked up a few things today. I've had my eye on the Hero Arts large coffee cup for a long time, and 25% off was the only excuse I needed to buy it. Not sure what I am going to do with the three big donuts that came in the set, but at least I have the coffee!

I paper pieced the band on the cup and ran it through my crimper. The photo doesn't show it well, but it gives it great texture. All edges are distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink which completely transformed the look of the card. It was very blah otherwise and lacked dimension even though the cup is up on dimensionals. Sometimes clean cards just need to get a little dirty.

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts, PTI Faux Ribbon (sentiment)
Paper - GKD PL ivory and white, Kraft, Enchante' DSP (retired)
Ink - Memento black, Choc Chip, Ranger Walnut Stain
Accessories - crimper, Nestabilities, dimensionals
Techniques - paper piecing, distressing

So there you have my feeble attempt at stamping again. I even used up some of my retired papers (a lot of them, actually), and managed to use up a sizeable piece of patterned paper. Woohoo!

I'll try not to be gone so long again!

K

A Little Ditty

2011-01-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

Where, oh where has my Mojo gone,
Where, oh where can it be?
I've tried to create,
But nothing looks great.
Please bring back my Mojo to me!

Lyrics copyright Karen Church 2010.

Sorry if this song gets stuck in your head.

I think I should've asked Santa for some mojo 'cause mine's all gone.

K

Paper Storage - An Evolutionary Process

2010-12-19T12:27:00.001-07:00

My paper storage has been just that, an evolutionary process. Much like any kind of organization, it evolves, changes, and gets better (or sometimes worse). Depending on our needs at the time, our storage and organization can take on many forms. I am really happy with my paper storage in its present state of evolution.

I will take you through my paper storage journey.

My first way of storing paper was in a 24 cubby paper storage organizer. The kind you find at office supply stores. Since I had all 48 SU colors plus the neutral colors, I had to double up the papers in each slot. It worked, but I wanted something better. Back then I didn't think to take photos of my storage - who does that sort of thing?

Then one day, my husband came home with two of these metal storage shelves from a friends office that was closing down. The were free!

I now had enough room to put each color paper in its own slot. Hurray! I had more than enough room for this shelf in the closet of my craft room. This was very early on in my crafting days, hence all the storage space, and it was important to me to keep my paper out of the light to reduce fading. I used the second shelf to store my stamps.

Then we moved.

And I lost half of my closet space.

I had to find a new way to store my paper. Or an old way. I went back to the 24 cubby system, but ended up with two of them. I still had to double up some of my paper, but it worked for the time being.

Then I decided to store my paper by color families in magazine holders. This was a much better system for utilizing my space - something I was losing at an exponential rate. (Crafting hoarders know what I mean!)

I layed the holders on their backs so I would have full access to pull the papers out, and it also lessened the space between my shelves in my closet. Each color family had its own holder. My 12x12 paper was stored in Cropper Hopper storage units in no particular order.

I haven't mentioned yet how I stored my scraps. At first, I had a binder for each color family and a page protector for each color. Boy, how I was organized! But if I needed access to more than one binder, it became quite a mess pulling out scraps all over the place. I decided to use a portable file box and used a hanging file folder for each color. (Still sorted by SU color families). This was a great method to keep all my scraps together, and I do use them. I always look at my scraps first before cutting into a new sheet. You know how I hate to waste my supplies!

This is my portable file box with all my scraps.
Then one day, my husband came home with a modular wall storage unit he got at a garage sale that he thought I could use in my craft room. He is always looking out for me! One of the units was a file cabinet, and perfect for all my 8 1/2 x 11 papers.

All of the SU colors fit in one drawer.

And the neutrals and other misc. papers fit in the other.

I still had to keep my scraps seperate because there wasn't enough room to combine them like I really wanted to.

Then my room got a make-over, and ScrapNcube had just what I needed. I wanted to put my scraps with my full sheets, and their file drawers are much larger than the ones I was using, so I was able to put them all together. That is one of the best decisions I have ever made. No more going to two different places for the same thing.

I decided to abandon the color families and organized by ROYGBV. That is the second best decision I have ever made. I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't do that sooner.

The top file drawer has all the SU colors including the neutrals and In Colors. Each color has its own hanging file folder. I keep my paper in the plastic wrap (no, I don't know why) and the scraps live in front of the full sheets. These drawers are huge - I have at least a full pack of each color plus scraps, and they all fit in one drawer.

The bottom drawer has misc 8 1/2 x 11 papers and all the retired papers that I now keep in the portable file box. I just stuck the whole thing in the drawer.

Now for my patterned paper storage. ScrapNcube's hanging file drawers are perfect for all my 12x12 papers. I purged a lot of my patterned paper when I was putting my room back together so I would have room to store what I really wanted to keep.

The first drawer has all my SU patterned paper, and the second drawer has SU solid/textured 12x12 papers and misc patterned paper from other companies. If I ever get back into scrapbooking, I'll use some of this paper. I find it very challenging to use it on my CAS style cards.

I think I have finally found the perfect paper storage for me - file drawers with a file for each color, scraps together with full sheets, protected from the light, and very accessible.

If you're still with me, I hope you have found some inspiration for your paper storage needs.

K

Teacher Tags

2010-12-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted. I don't know what I have been doing because not much has gotten done. I haven't had much mental energy the past couple weeks and haven't felt particularly creative. Bah humbug! Now if I could just get my Christmas cards finished and mailed (I know!), and my Christmas shopping finished, I'd be all set. Oh, and make another batch of caramels and a batch of French Waffles. I was going to do my waffles today, but I'm on call and can't start them for another 2 hours until my call shift is over.

On to my intended post...

One thing I have accomplished in the last weeks is making tags for the kids' teachers. I had every intention of making them each a pack of cards, but when time snuck up on me, I had to settle for tags. I came up with 12 different designs, and packaged them in a cello bag with a topper. I'm bummed I didn't get a photo of the finished bag because they turned out really cute.

Here are all the tags together.

Following are the individual tags.

I inked the stamp with Versamark, then Cherry Cobbler, and embossed with clear EP. Since the ornament punch is on backorder, these were all hand cut.

Snowflake stamped with Versamark, embossed with detail white EP.

Stamped with Versamark, embossed with marcasite EP. This is much sparklier IRL.

Just Frosty's head, colored with Copics. Nestabilities petite oval.

These are so pretty. Stamped with Versamark and Pacific Point, embossed with Iridescent Ice EP.

Versamark pen on bottom of tag, Iridescent Ice EP.

Versamark, detail gold EP.

I inked just this sentiment from the Jolly Jingles jumbo wheel. It was really fun trying to line it up straight on the oval and roll it by hand! :) I ran my cherry cobbler marker around the edge of these tags.

Nothing fancy on this one. XL decorative label punch.

Ditto on this one.

I removed the cat hair before this went in the package. I'm surprised her foot didn't show up in one of the photos. Moonshine was all over the table while I was photographing these tags.

And my favorite of the whole bunch...

Aren't they the cutest? I got the idea from one of the stamps in the Tags til Christmas set. I have had these ribbon slides forever, and they finally got put to good use. I used the small and large tag punches and a 1/8" circle punch for the buttons. Adorable!

I had so much fun making all these tags. I have never made my own tags in the past, but I can see some more in my future.

Just as soon as I get my cards in the mail, my shopping done, my caramels and waffles made...

Maybe next year!

K

Punch Storage - Before and After

2010-12-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

My old punch storage, a clear, over the door shoe holder, worked great. It was accessible and I could see everything at a glance. There were a few problems with it, though. I outgrew it, there was no place to put my smaller punches and border punches, the weight of all the punches started to warp the door frame, and my closet door wouldn't close all the way. Yikes!

The old way.

I really liked the rail system I saw other people using for their punches. I searched all the local stores for cheap curtain rods, and ended up getting mine at Bed Bath & Beyond (with a coupon of course). They are the BB&B brand 7/16" cafe rods that adjust from 28"-48" and were less than $5 each. I was concerned about the weight of the punches on such a small diameter rod so I purchased extra brackets so we (thanks, wonderful hubby!) could install one on every stud, and they have held up really well.

The new way. This looks so much neater. And I'm a neat freak, so that is really important to me. :)

The rods are spaced 6 " apart, and anchored every 18" on the studs.

The best part about this system is I can still expand the rods out to the next stud when I need to. It looks like that will be happening soon, because I don't have any more room on these rods and I just ordered more punches.

Like I don't have enough already.

K

Ribbon Storage - Before and After

2010-12-03T15:41:00.001-07:00

You may or may not have noticed how my ribbon was stored in my before picture. I picked up two cardboard ribbon display holders from JoAnn's one year at the end of the holiday season. They just gave them to me, and they were great for storing my ribbon.

Until I ran out of places to put them.

I could have painted them a pretty color, but that would have been too much trouble, and I always viewed them as a temporary storage solution. They were fine until I could figure out how I wanted to store my growing supply of ribbon.

This was the old way. I put SU ribbon in one holder, and all other brands in the other one. Once I ran out of room, they ended up stacked in front of each other. No matter which one ended up in front, I always needed what was in the back. Ugh! I had the cardboard holders, SU ribbon storage thingys, and jars with ribbon in them. Nothing but a big mess!! My ribbon needed some serious help.

When I use ribbon, I like to have the whole spool out. Once I decide what ribbon I am going to use, I tie it to my project and cut it from the spool. I hate to waste ribbon. Almost as much as I hate to waste paper. For that reason, using a dowel system would never work. I would be forever removing and replacing spools.

I considered using a gutter (or three), but didn't have the wall space.

The pretty little boxes with grommet holes wouldn't work for the same reason as the dowels.

I even tried wrapping my ribbon around clothespins that was all the rage a couple years ago. Boy am I sorry I wasted my time on that! I didn't like that system at all.

I tried wrapping the ribbon around large flat spools like the ones you can use for embroidery thread. Even though the ribbon wasn't wrapped tightly, it still came out with creases.

One option that was left was to go back to storing them in drawers like I did when I first started accumulating ribbon. Sometimes you don't know how good a system is until you try everything else. Since I was planning my own storage, I made sure to include what I needed for my ribbon.

One thing I like about storing them in drawers is that they are protected from light and dust. With the ScrapNcube drawers, I can organize them by color, and I put a divider made out of foam board between the rows to keep them tidy. This is a QB3 drawer.

This is what my ribbon looks like now. It's so much nicer this way!

I underestimated how much room I needed for my ribbon, and need another drawer or two, but I love this way of storing my ribbon. It is all together, protected from light and dust, and I can get to it very easily.

I put tiny tags of each color of ribbon on the drawer handles, so I can tell at a glance what drawer I need to open.

Since the SU grosgrain spools are so large, I have all of them stored in one of the larger drawers you can see in the above picture.

All in all, I am very happy with this way of storing my ribbon. It is everything I want and nothing I don't.

Hope you have a great weekend!

K

Are You Ready for a Tour?

2010-12-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Finally! It's only been 2 months since I received my ScrapNcube order, and I'm finally settled in.

Well, almost.

I just got an email yesterday that ScrapNcube is offering 10% off all orders placed for a limited time only. I have been keeping a list of what I need to store a few more of my items, so I will be placing another order soon. Then I will have to rearrange and get organized again. Merry Christmas to me!

Without further ado, here is my room before and after.

Wall A. This makes my eyes burn.

Wall B. This makes my eyes water.

Wall C. My 30 year old desk I had in high school!

Wall D. I can't stand it anymore!

Do your eyes hurt yet? I'm so glad I don't have to look at that ever again! I don't know how I ever made anything in that mess.

Are you ready for the big reveal?

Drum roll please...

Ta-da! My new Craft Cave! All organized and no clutter! Believe it or not, this was taken over two weeks ago, and with the exception of a few papers on my desk and my coffee cup, it looks the same.

Wall A. The white shelf holds only part of my stamp collection. I'm still working on that unmounting thing. The hanging file drawers hold all of my 12x12 patterned and solid papers. I work standing up in the corner so I can get natural light during the day.

Wall B. All of my 8 1/2 x 11 papers are stored in the two file drawers. The file unit was custom sized to fit between the corner tables to fit my room. From left to right in the cubes, I have my color organized embellishments, embossing folders, ribbon, more ribbon, individual stamps, and misc. punches and tools. Most of the items I have in the photo storage boxes will find new homes in the cubes I will be ordering.

Wall C. Empty space I can fill up with more cubes! I couldn't bear to take down my kids' artwork, so it just got rearranged. The window on this wall is the original basement window we left in place when we added on to the side of the house. It still lets light into the main part of the basement.

Wall D. I love my new punch storage. I kept my sewing table the same for now, but it may change.

So there you have it. I am still in awe everytime I walk in my new room. I hope it never wears off!

I will post some more detailed pictures of my before and after storage later this week. It is amazing how much room I saved by going with the ScrapNcube system. Plus, it is soooo much nicer to look at. I can't say enough about the superior quality of their products and the excellent customer service I received. If you are thinking about getting organized, I highly recommend that you check them out at http://www.scrapncube.com/ . You will not be disappointed, and it is worth every penny!

(Disclaimer: This is not a paid advertisement for ScrapNcube. I just love them and their products!)

Make it a great day!

K

Farewell CAS Design Team

2010-12-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

It is really hard to believe my time on the CAS DT has come to an end. This week was our final post, and I am quite sad. The new Design Team will be revealed this Friday.

The challenge for this week was to use some type of flower accent. I have some Prima flowers that are severely neglected and decided that didn't need to change so I used punched flowers on my cards.

I don't quite remember how I thought to use my 5-flower punch to make a poinsettia (I made this a couple weeks ago since we were going to be out of town), but I really like how it turned out. After I punched the 3 layers of the flower, I trimmed one flower down and scored veins in all of the petals. Then I shaped them to curve down a little bit. I had planned on sponging the edges for a little definition, but in my haste to assemble the flower I forgot. The center is made from 1/8" punches grouped together and topped off with a little diamond Stickles.

I realize poinsettias don't grow on pine trees, but the pine branches were the shape I wanted for a corner focal point. I really liked the card when I made it, but the more I look at it, the more it bothers me. It's a good thing I'll be sending out my Christmas cards soon!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Pines, Many Merry Messages
Paper - GKD PL ivory, cherry cobbler
Ink - cherry cobbler, old olive
Accessories - 5-petal flower punch, 1/8"punch, ScorBuddy, diamond Stickles, glue dots, SAMJ

I made another card with flowers that was inspired by one of the cakes in a recent OLW challenge.

The flow of flowers is exactly as it was on the cake. I wish I could take credit for the arrangement, but I'm not that creative. Mine would look like a jumbled mess.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Mega Mixed Messages
Paper - marina mist, baja breeze, daffodil delight, GKD PL white
Ink - craft white
Accessories - 5-petal flower, scallop circle, trio flower, small flower, and 1/8" and 3/8" circle punches, mini scallop deco scissors, 2-way glue pen, yellow glitter, white EP, heat tool

By the way, while we were at my parents for Thanksgiving, we continued to whup up on the boys in euchre. The final score was girls 8, boys 6. They almost caught us, but never got ahead. I think that is the first time they haven't pummeled us. And it's not because we don't know how to play. It's because my husband is lucky at cards and my Dad saves his hiney every time he gets the bid!

Hope you're having a great week!

K

CAS94 - Sponging

2010-11-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

The CAS challenge for this week is to use sponging. I love sponging, and if you take a look in the CAS94 gallery, you will find many, many ways to use it. That is what I love about sponging - you can achieve a variety of different looks with it.

I decided to sponge my background on this card.

I had never sponged with my newer Versamagic chalk inks, so I tried them on here. It took a little getting used to because the ink is a lot thicker than dye ink and tends to blotch up on the paper if you aren't careful. Ink can be applied by dabbing or rubbing when you sponge, and I found myself rubbing the chalk inks a lot more than when I use dye ink.

I really like the texture the watercolor paper gives to this image. It adds just enough interest without being overly obvious. I tried spritzing the background with water to get a watercolored look, but didn't notice any change with the chalk ink. *Note to self to use dye ink if I want that effect.*

This card looks much prettier IRL. The colors are very rich, and I could not get a good photo no matter what I tried, so just imagine it being a lot more vibrant!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes
Paper - Fabriano 120 lb cold press watercolor paper, espresso, cajun craze
Ink - various Versamagic chalk inks, espresso
Accessories - Nestabilities ovals, Big Shot, sponges, satin ribbon, home made bow easy, dimensionals

On a side note, we are at my parents for the holiday week. We girls whupped the boys in euchre last night 4 games to 0. I thought it very interesting that my husband wanted to play a different game after they had lost twice. Heehee! Paybacks!

K

Vintage Santa

2010-11-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw this set in the Holiday Mini, I knew I had to have it. This Santa reminds me of a mug my Mom has had forever that always decorates the mantle at Christmas. I have seen newer mugs in the same style, but they're just not the same.

Since the Santa reminded me of my Mom's vintage mug, I wanted to make a vintage style card. There is only one problem; vintage and CAS aren't very compatible. I gave it a try anyway.

Not too bad. This definitely has a vintage edge to it, but it's still pretty CAS. It's almost as close as it can get without stepping out of bounds.

The Ho!Ho!Ho! was made by masking off the "Hol" from the Happy Holidays stamp and stamping it three times. The dot on the exclamation point is the dot from the "i" of the same stamp. How creative of me!

Supplies used:
Stamps - Jolly Old Saint Nick, Jolly Bingo Bits, Season's Greetings
Paper - naturals ivory, cherry cobbler, kraft
Ink - Memento rich cocoa, cherry cobbler, espresso
Accessories - cherry cobbler, blush blossom, and pretty in pink reinkers, aquapainter, white gelly roll pen, blue marker, 2-way glue pen, white flock, dauber, edge distresser tool, lace, dimensionals

I'm pretty sure I won't use the other 2 images in this set (I think they're kind of ugly), but I'm glad I have this Santa. Have you ever bought a whole set for just one stamp? Do tell.

Have a great weekend!

K

CAS93 A Sketch Challenge

2010-11-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

This week's CAS challenge is a great sketch by Lori (ltecler). Here is her card.

One of my friends was just diagnosed with lupus this past week, and I wanted to make her a card of encouragement. This sentiment came in a pack with other sentiments by kids of all ages, and I thought it would make a great card for her. It worked out perfect for the sketch this week, too.

I flipped the layout so it would look like a right handed batter was swinging the bat. I left off the large layer and scored a simple frame instead.

The baseball is a Nestabilities die cut, and the seams were hand drawn using a circle die as a guide. The bat was cut out by hand, and a pink card base lends it a girly feel.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Inkadinkadoo, CHF woodgrain backgrounder
Paper - GKD PL white, kraft, pink pirouette
Ink - Memento black, kraft, going gray
Accessories - Nestabilities circle dies, Big Shot, daubers, going gray and red markers, dimensionals, Scor-Buddy

Have you hugged a friend today?

K

Trouble Maker(s)

2010-11-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I noticed a bunch of my cotton swabs all over the shelf where I keep them. At first I thought the kids must have gotten into them and made a mess putting them away. Then I saw the bite marks and realized my kids were innocent for once.

Here is the guilty one.

Is this a look of mischief, or what?

She thinks she might be able to get away with it this time. What she doesn't realize is that I have a camera in my hands.

"Yes! I got one!"

"Yum! These are so fun to chew on!"

"Here's one for you, Sis. I don't want to be the only one getting in trouble."

"Oops, I dropped it. Can you help me find it, Sis?"

"Here, take this one!"

"Aw, Mom! What did you have to do that for? No fair!"

Because I've already spent a fortune in vet bills on you this month, that's why!

Hope you're having as great a weekend as I am!

K

Seventy-five Sets

2010-11-12T00:26:00.000-07:00

As you know, I have been in the process of unmounting my sets. I have come a long way, but still have a looooong way to go. It has taken me a lot longer than I thought it would, but it is so worth it.

And this is why...

There are about 75 SU sets in this 11" space. That is eleven inches, not feet. I couldn't believe it when I started counting the sets in this cubicle. I had to count them more than once because it seemed unreal that I could have that many sets in such a small amount of space.

At first, I was overwhelmed with all my sets and how I would combine them, but once I got started, they just seemed to fall in place. I have trees sets and leaves together, flowers, Christmas sets, Halloween sets, and sentiment sets together. I can usually get at least four sets in each case, so you can see how that saves on storage space.

If I can combine the rest of my sets that I haven't unmounted yet in the same way, I will have more than enough room for all my stamps in this 8 cubicle shelf. I have a few sets that I will probably never unmount, but I will have plenty of space to store them too.

I have to admit that this is another one of my lame excuses for not stamping lately. Almost every time I pull out a set to stamp, I end up unmounting and combining sets. Then before I know it, it's time to pick up the kiddos from school, and "Mommy Time" is over.

One of these days...

K

OLW28 - Color Me Bad

2010-11-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

The one layer challenge this week is to use at least five (5!) colors on our card. Since I just made a Rainbow Fish card yesterday, I thought of a rainbow and all its colors for this challenge. I don't have a rainbow stamp so I improvised and used my Nestabilities circle dies to draw one.

I had the rainbow all colored in nice and pretty, but it looked a little flat, so I colored it again with my Spica glitter pens. That made all the difference in this card.

The clouds were sponged with bashful blue, and I rounded the corners to tie all the curves together. The rainbow and clouds are up on dimensionals.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Hero Arts sentiment
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento black, bashful blue
Accessories - Nestabilities circle dies, PTI cloud dies, Big Shot, Copics, At You Spica pens, dauber, dimensionals, corner rounder

O.k. I just realized this probably doesn't qualify for a OLC. Duh! Or is it ok to have a popped image? I think I already know the answer to that question, but thought I'd ask anyway.

Oh, well, I still like it. A lot.

K

Rainbow Fish

2010-11-09T01:16:00.000-07:00

I picked up a cute little fish set from the $1 bin at Joann's this past week. Sometimes I get lucky and find a great set. I had also been wanting the boundary waters border punch, and this set was the perfect excuse to get it. (Not that I need another punch. Just wait 'til you see the picture of the punch wall in my craft cave.)

As I'm still trying to get my cave organized, I was also making color swatches of all the Twinkling H2Os I have, and decided to use them for my card.

Isn't this fish the cutest? He looks just like Rainbow Fish minus his large glittery scales. This one glitters, but in a more subtle way.

I cut the circle out with a Nestabilities die, then used the border punch on the top. I made the fish by dropping various colors of Twinkling H2Os on wet watercolor paper so they would run together and feather a little. After the paper was completely dry, I stamped the fish and cut him out.

The fish's bubbles were made by gently touching my aquapainter to the dried paper and letting the water drops dry naturally.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Studio 112, All Night Media (seaweed)
Paper - GKD PL white, Canson 140 lb cold press watercolor paper
Ink - Memento black
Accessories - Twinkling H2Os, paintbrush, aquapainter, circle Nestabilities, Big Shot, boundary waters border punch, SAMJ, dimensionals

Hope you're having a great day!

K

A Little Behind

2010-11-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I wish I had one. Get it - a little behind?. Sorry, I'm feeling a little punchy today. Not sure why, but I just am.

I am behind in posting to my blog. I have a lot of excuses, too, but I'm sure you don't want to hear them all, so I'll just get to my post.

This first card was made for last weeks CAS challenge to make a sympathy card.

I tried out some new ink I recently purchased, Versamagic chalk inks, and boy do I like them. The colors are really soft and muted, and they dry fairly quickly. I thought the soft colors would be perfect for a sympathy card.

(One of my kitties is biting my hands as I type this. Motorboat always comes running to my lap when she hears my keyboard and bites my hands very gently until I pet her. Silly kitty!)

Back to my card.

Supplies used:
Stamps - PTI Turning a New Leaf, SU Sincere Salutations
Paper - GKD PL white and ivory, crumb cake
Ink - Versamagic chalk inks Aspen and wheat
Accessories - SAMJ

And here is my card for today's CAS92 challenge. It is a color challenge to use soft pink, old olive, kraft, and white with Marina mist as an optional additional color.

I told you I was feeling punchy today! The idea for this card came to me when I got the owl punch a couple months ago. A previous attempt at getting it on paper failed, so I gave up for a while. This color challenge seemed perfect for it, so I gave it another try.

The word hoot and the boy's eyes are up on pop dots for a little emphasis.

Can you tell who hooted?

Supplies used:
Stamps - PSX Antique alpha upper and lower, PTI Out on a Limb, Owl bellies
Paper - GKD PL white, pink pirouette, old olive, kraft, marina mist, so saffron, black, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink - kraft, old olive, marina mist
Accessories - 2-step owl punch, daubers, pop dots

Finally, here is one more card I made for this week's CAS challenge. I opted not to use marina mist on this one.

This was inspired by a card in the current SU catalog. Several things were changed to make it my own. The butterfly was antiqued by sponging softly with kraft ink.

Supplies used:
Stamps - SU The Art of Life, So Many Sayings
Paper - pink pirouette, old olive, kraft, ivory (instead of white)
Ink - kraft
Accessories - butterfly and border punches, dauber, dimensionals

If you haven't checked out the CAS challenge on Splitcoast yet, make sure you take a peek in the challenge gallery. There are some real beauties with this color combo!

Now that I'm almost over my nasty cold and our kitty, Moonshine, is going to be ok (she had some issues with her eyes but isn't going to lose her vision), I will try to get back to posting regularly.

Make it a great day!

K

OLW27 Holiday Card

2010-11-03T23:31:00.001-06:00

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I have been fighting my second nasty cold of the season, and haven't been doing much stamping. I've been sleeping instead. (And irrigating my sinuses - yuck!). I decided I had to stamp something for the OLW challenge to get me out of my rut.

This week the challenge was to make a one layer holiday card suitable for the inmates in the North Dakota State Penitentiary to send to their friends or family. One of Susan's blog readers heads up a group that makes cards to send to the inmates, and her letter to Susan inspired this challenge. In addition to being a one layer card, we were not to use any metal (wire, brads, etc.), gemstones or pearls, and limit the glitter. We could use ribbon, but I chose not to.

Here is the beauty I came up with.

The scored frame was an afterthought that totally makes this card. (At least for me). I like the clean lines of the card and scoring with the fancy font of the sentiment. A single gold star adds just enough interest.

I am bummed I sold my long rectangle Nestabilities sets because I wanted to use one to emboss the frame. I didn't think I used them enough to justify keeping them, and I have 'needed' them ever since. I can't tell you how many times I've eyed them at Hobby Lobby when I have a coupon burning a hole in my pocket, but they never make it home with me. Something else always wins out, and I end up eyeing them the next time I go. I know I don't need long rectangle Nestabilities - it's pretty easy to cut a rectangle - so we'll see how long I last before I cave. : )

Supplies used:
Stamps - Many Merry Messages, Patterned Pines
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Cherry cobbler, Encore gold
Accessories - Scor Buddy, SAMJ

If you haven't checked out Susan's blog for the challenge, go there now to get all the details. Let's allow these inmates to send some love to their loved ones this holiday season.

Make it a great day!

K

OLW 26 - Black, White, and Red All Over

2010-10-27T14:46:00.000-06:00

Today's OLW challenge is to use black, white, and red only on your card. At first I wasn't crazy about the challenge, but as the day went on, I started thinking about things I could do. After I got home from teaching crochet club at the school today, I decided to play.

My first card is an example of what not to do.

The card is too big to have the flourish floating around in the middle of it. Since there was so much space around the outside, I tried to fill it in with the flowers and ended up with too many. It just looks weird and not cohesive at all. I may end up cropping this one down to try to salvage it.

Here is my second attempt.

Ah, much better! Having the flourish stamped off the edges of the paper just a little bit creates much better flow. I was able to triangulate the flowers for a nice balanced look. The sentiment stamped in the lower corner continues to balance the whole card.

Look what I just did.

Look familiar? This is my first card cropped to 4 1/4" square. See how it helps to have the image stamped off the side? Once again the flowers are triangulated creating better balance without overpowering the design. The flourish would look better if it were angled up a little more to fill in the gap at the top, but I think this was a great save.

Lesson learned.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Baroque Motifs, Small Script, Warm Words
Paper - GKD PL white
Ink - Memento black, cherry cobbler
Accessories - black rhinestones, SAMJ

Hope you're having a great day!

K