I'm Crafty

New Blog!

2010-06-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! I am so excited to finally announce that my new blog has gone live -

jencuthbertson.com

If you followed me here, I'd love it if you followed me over there! All new posts will be over on the new blog starting today.

Many thanks for all of your support!!
Jen

You're Sweet

2010-06-28T20:39:00.001-07:00

Back after a long weekend in Las Vegas where I was reunited with 25 of my Chi Omega sorority sisters from USC! What a wonderful trip - lots of hysterical memories, singing, laughter, and the crazy feeling that we somehow very easily picked up where we left off 18 years ago! Crazy!

Prior to leaving on the trip I worked my fingers to the bone making cards for a big card call. Now that submissions have been selected for publication, I have a few I can share. This sweet card was my first foray into lace and I think it turned out pretty cute. I definitely have to work on my technique since I couldn't really get it to lie flat. Never fear, foam squares to the rescue!

Supplies: Cardstock - Riding Hood Red (SU!), DP - Garden Variety Paper Kit (Cosmo Cricket), Stamps - Garden Variety (Cosmo Cricket for Unity), Ink - Riding Hood Red (SU!), Lace - Joann

All My Love is Yours

2010-06-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

The theme for this month's waltz is masculine cards and I made this one for my hubby, incorporating this week's sketch into the design. Yes, I know it is pink and red but he will love it! If you've just happened by, head on over to Claire's blog or the 'Mouse house to get started! Even though the Seasons of Love set has been around for a little while, I just got it and haven't had much chance to use it yet. The heart stamp coordinates perfectly with the heart nesties and makes such a beautiful focal image. Of course I couldn't leave it alone so I added some blingy rhinestones to the edges of the scallop and the center of the white heart.

Why a bear you ask? Well, a long time ago my hubby and I started calling each other "bear" (kinda like dear I suppose but much bigger and, um, hairier? lol) Anywho, the nickname stuck and one of our wedding gifts were towels embroidered with Mr. Bear and Mrs. Bear. I've had this bear charm kicking around for a while and thought it would be the perfect touch for the card to "my bear."

Supplies: Seasons of Love (WMS), Riding Hood Red, Blush Blossom, Whisper White cardstock (SU!), Riding Hood Red, Basic Black ink (SU!), DP My Mind's Eye, Rhinestones (Crafta), Twine (PTI), Bear Charm (a great bead store in Phoenix that I will never be able to remember the name of!)

Birthday Wishes

2010-06-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

I made this card for the Embellish Magazine Color Challenge and really like the way it turned out! I loved the leather hair clips inspiration photo and mulled quite a few ideas over in my head before settling on this one. I've not used much coral in my crafting before and really like it! I did mute the color of the ribbon a bit with some distressing ink and think it blends in with the card much better. The yellow panel in the center has some flowers stamped directly on to it (I stamped off once before stamping on the panel). I also stamped some flowers in versamark onto the coral cardstock, cut them out, and adhered them using foam.

Supplies: Stamps – Asian Gardens (WMS) DP – Garden Gala (Webster’s Pages) Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!), Melon Berry, Tea Dye (PTI)Cardtsock – Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Melon Berry (PTI)Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, SpellbindersMisc - rhinestones (Crafta), ribbon (PTI), Corner Chomper (Crop A Dile), Foam Squares (3M)

Celebrate the Day

2010-06-13T16:59:00.001-07:00

I made this card for this week's Mojo Monday challenge and really like the way it came out! I just got the Basic Gray Cappella collection so I can start working on our wedding album (yes, 3 1/2 years later...) and thought I'd make a card for my hubby to give to him once I get our album finished.

You can't really see it in the photo but I used some Glimmer Mist and some Stickles on the center of the flower to give it some bling. There are a couple of different layers popped up and the fussy cutting of the leaves give the card a lot of dimension.

Supplies: Stamps - Love's Flower (Verve); DP - Cappella (Basic Gray); Ink - Chocolate Chip, Old Olive (SU!), Tea Dye (PTI); Cardtsock - Blush Blossom (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI); Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Spellbinders; Misc - rhinestone (K&Co), Stardust Stickles (Ranger), ribbon (Michael's), Scallop Edge Punch (SU!), Corner Chomper (Making Memories), Foam Squares (3M)

Bon Voyage, Connie

2010-06-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished making this card for my friend's mom who is finally retiring after talking about doing it since I used to work with them (almost 5 years ago!) I am so excited that Connie will be able to do more traveling and I'm sure my friend will be happy that she can do more babysitting! ;)

Oh, one more detail - since this is a card for her party that a lot of people will be signing, it is 8.5 x 11! Yes, definitely the largest card I've made, by far but I think it came out great!

Supplies: Stamps - Travel (Cloud 9); Ink - Tea Dye (Distress Ink), Tea Dye (PTI), Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red (SU!); Cardstock - Kraft (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI); DP - Travel Matstack (DCWV); Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Labels 10 (Spellbinders); Misc - Travel Stickers (Jolee's), Twine (SU!)

Just Because

2010-06-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I made this card for the Reader's Choice Color Inspiration Challenge over on Kristina Werner's blog and realized it would also fit the Cinema Saturday challenge to use plaid!

My personal challenge this week was to try and stamp the background rather than relying on designer papers. Don't get me wrong, I love my dp but I also want to incorporate more stamping into my cards. I've had the argyle set for a couple of months now but haven't used it and thought today would be the perfect chance to get it inky! I love how cute the panel turned out!

Supplies: Stamps - A Little Argyle, Beautiful Blooms II, Round and Round (PTI); Cardstock - Chocolate Chip (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI); Ink - Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Certainly Celery (SU!); Misc - Vintage Sparkler (Webster's Pages), Distressed Seam Binding (DebsSimpleTreasures, Etsy)

Welcome Little One

2010-06-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

I utterly adore Waltzingmouse Stamps and can't believe I almost missed the very first sketch challenge! This week has been absolute chaos and I didn't think I'd be able to get it done! But, I got home at 7pm and whipped this card out with life or death urgency! Well, maybe not quite that much but pretty close! I think it came out great for a "quick and dirty."

You only have 12 minutes to participate but head on over to the new WMS Sketch Challenge blog and check it out! I think you'll have another chance to participate this Saturday!Supplies: Stamps - Lil' Buddies (WMS); DP - Ducks in a Row (October Afternoon); Cardstock - Blush Blossom (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI); Ink - Basic Black (SU!); Ribbon - Crafta; Button - Favorite Findings; Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities; Misc - Puff Ball (Michael's), Copic Markers

You're Invited

2010-06-08T21:34:00.001-07:00

This week's challenge over at Cinema Saturday is to make something out of the box inspired by Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland!" While you may look at this and think it looks like a traditional card, it posed a big challenge to me to think outside of the box!

I had a stamp of the White Rabbit that I thought would be just perfect but when I pulled the stamp off of the backing, I saw that his scroll was filled in and would always say "You Are Invited." Outside the box #1 for me was making an invitation I was grumpy about. How can I use just one invitation? :)

The next part of my adventure started when I saw another stamp in the set that I realized I'd much rather use in the Rabbit's scroll. Who wouldn't agree that the "congratulations" message is generally much more useful?

Tada!! You can see my outside the box moment #2 below! I used my craft knife to remove the part of the stamp that had the message permanently attached to the scroll! Clever!!

As stampers, it is rare that we find something that is perfect, as-is, and since we are such a crafty bunch, we can certainly tailor things we buy to suit our needs a bit better. I am thrilled with my new stamp and will get a ton more use out of it this way!

Supplies: Stamps - Card Sentiments (Clear Art); DP - Garden Gals (Webster's Pages); Cardstock - Certainly Celery (SU!); Ink - Basic Black (SU!), Tea Dye Chai (PTI); Misc - Distressed Seam Binding(DebSimpleTreasures (Etsy)), Vintage Sparkler (Webster's Pages)

Die Tulpen

2010-05-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day - I have to settle down! I've never participated in one of Mercy's sketch challenges and, since I had some time this holiday weekend, decided to give it a go! I am seriously loving this cute flower set from Taylored Expressions - it will definitely be out for a while!

Supplies: Stamps - Garden Party Blooms (Taylored Expressions), Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Versamark, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Perfect in Pink, Gable Green (Stampin' Up!); Cardstock - Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White (SU!); Ribbon, Lace - Joann; Punch - Fiskars; Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

You Are My All Star

2010-05-31T13:49:00.001-07:00

I made this card for the Go To Sketch Challenge #3 over on the Paper Crafts Blog. I just got these great sports sets from Papertrey Ink and hadn't used them yet and thought they'd be perfect. I stamped all of the balls and ran the footballs and basketballs through my Swiss Dots embossing folder for the proper texture, and added red Stickles to the baseballs for the stitching, cut them out and used foam squares to pop them up. I stamped the sentiment on the bottom and thought it needed more so I stamped the sentiment on some navy cardstock and embossed it with white embossing powder. This one is going to my little brother who is a sports fiend - I have no idea how my dad and step-mom keep up with his sports schedule!

Supplies: Stamps - All Star Team, Have a Ball (Papertrey Ink); Cardstock - Stamper's Select White (PTI), orange and navy construction paper (my stash); Ink - Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Brilliant Blue (Stampin' Up!); DP - Get Happy (Cosmo Cricket); Misc - White Embossing Powder (SU!), Red Stickles (Ranger), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)

Thanks a Bunch

2010-05-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

I am totally digging the Reader-Inspired Color Challenges over on Kristina Werner's blog! Wow, we'd been away from them for so long and being back has been a lot of fun!

When I first saw all of these colors together, flowers were the first thing to come to mind and I went straight to a new set from Taylored Expressions that totally deserved to get inky! I finished off the stamped flowers with purple stickles on the tulip and rhinestone centers for the other two. The "thanks a bunch" sentiment was the perfect finishing touch.

Supplies: Stamps - Garden Party Blooms (Taylored Expressions); Cardstock - Brocade Blue, Whisper White (SU!); Ink - Certainly Celery, YoYo Yellow, Brilliant Blue, Perfect Plum, Bashful Blue (SU!); Misc - Purple Stickles, Rhinestones (Michael's)

Mojo Monday 140

2010-05-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is a card I made for the Mojo Monday sketch challenge. If you haven't tried it out, you should! It is a lot of fun and, as I've mentioned before, really gets me out of my comfort zone. I am so nervous of mixing patterns - love it but terrified I do it poorly - but was determined to give it the old college try and I'm so happy with how this came out! I love the twine with the little "wish" charm at the bottom, too. Cute!

Supplies: Stamps - Big Wish (Verve), Vintage Labels (PTI); Cardstock - Kraft (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI); DP - Joy Ride (Cosmo Cricket); Ink - Basic Black (SU!), Berry Sorbet, Tea Dye (PTI); Twine - PTI; Charm - Frost Creek Charms; Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Spellbinders

Sizzlin' Summer Fun with Verve!

2010-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

I made this card for the Sizzlin' Summer Fun challenge which is part of the May project parade over on the Verve Stamps blog. I got a couple of Julee's awesome sets during the last release and am having so much fun making summer cards with them!

I've been loving the beachy scenes that others have made with these sets and tried my hand at one of my own for this Father's Day card. I used some Cor'dinations and embossed, tore, and sanded it to make the sand, used some DCWV paper for the summer sky, and stamped the Father's Day greeting on the front. For the inside, I stamped the waves and bubbles on the bottom and cut out the cute sun on top.

Supplies: Stamps - Relax, Happy Days (Verve); Ink - Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange (SU!); Cardstock - Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White (SU!) Chocolate Box (Cor'dinations); DP - Tahiti Stack (DCWV); Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots embossing folder

Hats off to the Grad!

2010-05-21T18:07:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my little brother is going to be in high school next year!! And, just in case you were trying to do the math, I was 25 when he was born! :) I just got this great graduation set and had to put it to quick use because he graduates in a week!

Supplies: Stamps - For the Graduate (PTI); Cardstock - Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU!); Ink - Perfect Plum, Basic Black (SU!); White Embossing Powder - SU!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

2010-05-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is the first anniversary of the first sale in my Etsy shop and I'm celebrating with a sale of my own! For every 4 single cards purchased, you will get the 5th free! My shop announcement has all the details!

On to what is really on my mind and what is really important...thank you!!

This has been a whirlwind year and I've been so blessed to find a little online community of peeps just like me! "Meeting" all of you talented crafters via this blog, my shop, challenge sites, and forums in the past year has been so much fun! As big as this world seems sometimes, it is also very small and filled with so many wonderful people.

Crafting has been a wonderful outlet for me. Nothing clears my head after a stressful day at the office like rummaging around for the perfect paper and the perfect stamp that will ultimately make something lovely for someone equally lovely. I love every minute of it (well, unless my crafty mojo has gone missing) and always look forward to my "studio" time. Someday I hope to have a real studio (or at least a room in the house that isn't triple booked!) so I can be even craftier.

Many thanks and much love!!

Thinking About You

2010-05-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

I really can't explain how absolutely thrilled I was to see this color challenge on Kristina Werner's blog again!! Color challenges were the first challenges I started to participate in and one of the reasons this blog was started just about a year ago!

Talk about a challenge - this one has 6 colors! I turned straight to this great paper for inspiration - the paper has all of the colors in it except the gray and white so made a tag out of those.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fancy Phrases (Waltzingmouse)
Ink - Soft Sky (SU!)
Cardstock - Basic Gray, Whisper White (SU!)
DP - Honey Pie (Cosmo Cricket)
Ribbon - Soft Sky (SU!)
Pearls - Martha Stewart
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

May Blog Waltz with Waltzingmouse Stamps!

2010-05-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to be able to participate in another blog "waltz" with Waltzingmouse Stamps! If you've just happened by, please head over to Claire's blog or to the 'Mouse House to see all of the amazing creations folks have made with their WMS goodies! I for one am quite anxious to see creations from the new sets!

The volcano made transport difficult from Ireland and I don't have my new stamps yet, so I decided to use an "oldie but a goodie," and one of my favorites - Faux Fun Circles. Making stamp sets so Nestie friendly was a brilliant idea!! I heart my Nesties!

I cut the scalloped circles out of a chocolate card base and a kraft overlay, stamped the interior of the card with my favorite image from the set and then embossed it with white embossing powder. I then stamped the leaf image from the set around the scallop and tied it with a pretty bow. Don't you just love this ribbon? It was clearance priced at Stampin' Up and I think it works perfectly with these colors! Next I stamped the "happy birthday" sentiment from my Lil' Buddies set in red on cream cardstock, distressed the edges, and attached it to the center of the circle with a foam square for some dimension. I really like how it came out - seems a bit Tyrolean, don't you think?

Supplies:
Stamps - Faux Fun Circles, Lil' Buddies (WMS)
Cardstock - Chocolate Chip, Kraft (SU!)
Ink - Craft White, Riding Hood Red (SU!), Tea Dye Chai (PTI)
Ribbon - SU!
Embossing Powder - SU!
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Scalloped Circles (Spellbinders)

All You Need is Love...

2010-05-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

I made this card for this week's Mojo Monday challenge using a few orphaned supplies in my stash. First I found the card base sitting in a pile and decided to use it and thought chocolate brown would be the perfect compliment. I immediately knew I wanted to use Verve's "Love's Flower" set.

Supplies:
Stamps - Love's Flower (Verve)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Cardstock - Whisper White, Regal Rose (SU!)
Punch - Fiskars
Pearls - Hero Arts
Ribbon - Crafta

Time to Celebrate

2010-05-08T15:10:00.001-07:00

I made this card for my dear friend Beth. This is a special weekend for her - birthday today and her first Mother's Day on Sunday!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hero Arts
Ink, Punch, Cardstock - SU!
DP - K&Co
Distresser - Making Memories
Ribbon - my stash

Mother's Day Gifts

2010-05-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

I made sets of these lovely general purpose cards for our moms for Mother's Day. Just got them into the mail this morning and I sure hope they like them!

All supplies Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted:
Stamps - Vintage Vogue
Ink - Perfect Plum, Mellow Moss
Cardstock - Kraft, Cream
Misc - Scallop Border Punch, Pearls (Martha Stewart), Distressing Tool (Making Memories)

Mojo Monday 137

2010-05-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

It is contest time over at Mojo Monday - there is a fabulous prize for multiple winners so go check it out! Here is my take on the sketch -

I just adore my Fairy Tale set from Verve and just got to try out a new stamp from Hero Arts. I think they go perfectly together!

Supplies:
Stamps - Fairy Tale (Verve), Vine Panel (Hero Arts), Paris (PaperSource)
Ink - Pink Passion, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Tea Dye Chai, Chamomile (PTI)
Cardstock - Kraft (SU!), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ribbon - Crafta

Happy Birthday Waltzingmouse Stamps!!

2010-04-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

This month, Waltzingmouse Stamps is celebrating its first birthday with EIGHT new sets that will be released tomorrow. As part of the celebration, Claire has a little contest going on over on her blog - play along you can win the whole release! The card I made above features stamps from the L'il Buddies and Sweethearts sets.

I stumbled across WMS last October when looking for Halloween stamps (check out Halloween Party - I don't have it yet but will be getting it this weekend along with a few others!) and have been in love ever since. Waltzingmouse has quickly become my go-to company for fabulous and unique acrylic stamps that fit Nestabilities perfectly.

Thank you, Claire - you are a total inspiration! And, huge, huge, huge congratulations for getting your company off the ground and giving all of us so many amazing stamps and ideas with which to create such "fabby" projects!

Supplies:
Stamps - L'il Buddies, Sweethearts (WMS)
Ink - Melon Berry (PTI), Basic Black (SU!)
Cardstock - Vintage Cream (PTI)
DP - Be Loved (My Minds Eye)
Ribbon - Crafta
Copic Markers

North By Northwest

2010-04-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

This week's movie over on the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge is North By Northwest - one of my favorite movies! The challenge requrement is - uh oh - I completely missed the challenge requirement of adding paper piercing! Or maybe I didn't and you just can't see it? Allright, nevermind.

Because I was fresh out of "Mistaken Identity" paper, I decided to go with a travel theme since Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint are literally all over the place in this movie! There is a bit of busyness in this paper that I think lends itself well to the chaos of the film. I thought the sentiment was perfect, too. Sometimes we can be so conflicted or lost but our hearts always know the way!

Supplies:
Stamps - Whimsical Words (SU!)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Cardstock - DCWV, PaperSource, SU!
DP - DCWV
Ribbon - Crafta
Die Cutting - Cuttlebug, Spellbinders

Mother's Day

2010-04-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Glen and I are so blessed to have four amazing women about whom we celebrate Mother's Day - our mothers, my step mother, and Glen's aunt!

I really hope they aren't peeking because I finished these cards for them over the weekend. I'm trying to get used to my Copic markers and I'm really liking using them, just don't have too many. Thankfully I had several shades in the pink/salmon family so I could color these flowers.

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve
Cardstock - Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Forest Foliage, Rose Red (SU!)
Ink - Pretty in Pink, Bravo Burgundy, Rose Red, Mellow Moss, Certainly Celery (SU!), Tea Dye (PTI)
DP - Porcelain (Basic Grey)
Other - Pearls (Hero Arts), Stickles, Corner Chomper, foam squares, edge distressing tool

Origins

2010-04-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

I've had the Basic Grey, Origins paper pad for a while now and haven't used it! A travesty, I know! Anyway, I've had the Old Olive paper and this great floral print sitting on my desk forever and finally made this card! I love how the black pops off of the greens and the little silver buckle was the perfect add for the right side of the card to balance it out.

Supplies:
DP - Origins (Basic Grey)
Stamps - Whimsical Words (SU!)
Ink - Basic Black (SU!)
Cardstock - Old Olive, Basic Black (SU!), Rustic Cream (PTI)
Border Punch - Fiskars
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities
Ribbon/slide - my stash

Oklahoma!

2010-04-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

The movie of the week over at the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge is Oklahoma and the challenge is to use a bit of gingham in our creations.

Now I haven't seen Oklahoma in a very long time and am not sure I ever finished it when I did watch it but who doesn't know the songs? "Surrey with the Fringe on Top?" Or, my favorite, and inspiration for this card, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning." I thought the sunshine and the sentiment conveyed the "beautiful morning" while the subtle blue of the gingham and the distressing gave it a vintagy, barn feel. In my mind, the twine is an old, rusty piece of barbed wire and little miss lady bug is just along for the ride. :)

Supplies:
Cardstock, ink, twine - SU!
Stamps - Verve, SU!
DP - K@Co
Ladybug - Meyer Imports

April Waltz with Waltzingmouse Stamps!

2010-04-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be able to participate in the 2nd waltz with Claire and all of the talented crafters who love Waltzingmouse Stamps! If you've happened over here, waltz on over to Claire's blog to get started! You can also head over to the 'Mouse house to take a peek at what everyone else has done!

The April waltz is in honor of our mothers and Mother's Day! Daffodils and Narcissus always remind me of my mom since she has them growing all over her yard. I just love walking through her garden! So, it was easy to choose the stamp I was going to use on a Mother's Day card inspired by her.

I used the Spring Baskets set using the masking technique Anya showed us a couple of months ago. It is the first time I've masked and I think I'll be all over it from now on! Not hard at all and it gives a very nice impression of a bit of depth. I colored the flowers using Copics (really the first time I've used those, too) and filled the centers with Liquid Pearls. I hand cut the grass border and added a yellow button sun and some floaty clouds. I also sponged the "sky" with blue ink. Cute!

Supplies:
Stamps - Spring Baskets (WMS)
Ink - Soft Sky, Garden Green, Basic Black (SU!)
Cardstock - Garden Green (SU!), Stampers Select White (PTI)
Button - my stash
Twine - PTI
DP - K@Company
Copic Markers, Liquid Pearls, Foam Squares

Up!

2010-04-14T00:29:00.001-07:00

The movie of the week over at the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge is Up - one of the best yet strangest movies I've seen in a while! Our mission, should we have chosen to accept it, was to create a card inspired by the movie using balloons.

I loved Up! Watched it with my hubby and we were both so incredibly sad at the beginning wondering what the heck Pixar had done this time. To see that Carl and Ellie couldn't have kids and then when she got sick - oh boy! Long story short, that was only about the first 10 minutes or so of the film. The rest of the film is Carl's story of trying to make Ellie's dream come true and in the meantime, having a big adventure of his own.

I started with a fun paper kit from Cosmo Cricket to make the hills (in a world where dogs can talk and birds are named Kevin, striped and polkadot hills seem positively dull...), used a sticker from the kit for the large balloon and 1/2" circles punched from other papers in the kit for the smaller balloons. If you look closely, you will see the small balloons are covered with clear epoxy stickers to give them some dimension. The sentiment I chose was inspired by Carl's new aquaintance, Russell, who came along for the ride quite by accident but was there to give Carl a lift!

After putting the card together, I didn't think it was quite finished so I found some pom poms, cut one in half and spread the halves around to make the clouds! Aren't they adorable?

Supplies:
Stamps - Everyday Button Bits (PTI)
Paper Kit - Garden Variety (Cosmo Cricket)
Cardstock - Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Pom Poms - my stash
Epoxy Stickers - PTI

Small Wonder

2010-04-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

I made this card for my friends who just had their first baby - a little boy!

Supplies:
Cardstock - Soft Sky (ret.), Kraft, Barely Banana, Whisper White (SU!)
Stamps - Whimsical Words, (SU! I'll have to get back to you with the other set name)
DP - Itsy Bitsy Baby Boy (K&Company)
Ribbon - Crafta

Mojo Monday 133

2010-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I always get nervous when I see the Mojo challenges that appear to include lots of patterns and lots of layers and this week was no exception. My husband always says, "it wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy, right?" Right! This week I decided to take the spirit of the challenge and make a card in my style which is a little more simple. Trust me, I've tried layers, and they don't look good on me, lol.

I've had this great crafting kit from Cosmo Cricket for a few weeks now and have been dying to use it. After seeing how the banner sticker was the perfect fit for this challenge, I decided to build the card around it.

Supplies:
Paper/Stickers - Cosmo Cricket "Garden Variety"
Cardstock - PTI "Vintage Cream", SU! "Riding Hood Red" (ret)
Ink - PTI Tea Dye "Chamomile"
Leaf Ribbon - PTI
Flower Punch - Marvy Uchida
Buttons/Twine - my stash

Sense and Sensibility

2010-04-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, Sense and Sensibility is one of my all time favorite movies! I've seen it countless times and love it every time and cry every time Edward declares his love for Elinor! Oh my goodness, who wouldn't want a love like that? I feel super thankful and lucky to say that I've been blessed with that kind of love!

So, the challenge this week was clean and simple and while I think I may have stumbled into territory a bit more complicated than "clean", this card was still pretty "simple" to make! I just got some great lace (which I thought was cloth but feels like it is made of fibers - strange but cool!) and thought it would be great for the period aspect. And, the new stamp set from Stampin' Up! fits just perfectly.

Supplies:
Stamps - "Vintage Vogue" Stampin' Up!
Ink - "Mellow Moss", "Perfect Plum" Stampin' Up!
Cardstock - Kraft Stampin' Up!
DP - "Bittersweet" Basic Grey
Lace - Crafta
Pearls - Martha Stewart

Mojo Monday Challenge #132

2010-04-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

The last time Julee challenged us with a round or square choice, I chose the round - first time I'd ever done that and I had a ball! So, when the choice came 'round again, I tackled the square card! I hold back on the square cards because I don't know how to maximize use of the cardstock I have. I really only buy the 8.5 x 11" cardstock so maybe I'll have to get some larger stock so I can tackle some of these great cards!

And, in honor of making two cards trying to minimize scraps, here is the second (not for the Mojo challenge but for my "minimize waste" challenge!)

Supplies:
Cardstock - "Soft Sky" - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - "Big Wish" - Verve
Ink - "Soft Sky", "Perfect Plum" - Stampin' Up!
DP, Chipboard Sticker - "Kioshi" - Basic Grey
Ribbon - Crafta
Punch, Rhinestones - Martha Stewart
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

Bits and Pieces of Mojo

2010-03-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy with my new job that I haven't had much time for challenges lately and there were two that I really wanted to participate in - Mojo Monday and the Bits and Pieces challenge on the Moxie Fab World blog.

I started designing this card for the Mojo challenge (which I flipped vertical) and was so happy to be able to use the scraps from our Easter cards! Once I had it put together, I thought it would be perfect for the Moxie challenge, too! I really like how the patterns seem to work together even though each is very busy on its own.

Supplies -
Stamps - Waltzingmouse
Ink, Cardstock - Stampin' Up! "Soft Sky"
DP - Cosmo Cricket "Girl Friday", American Crafts "Dear Lizzy"
Ribbon, twine - Crafta
Button - PTI "Aqua Mist"
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

Easter!

2010-03-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Easter is a week from Sunday! We don't have any big plans this year but will go to services and I always like to cook a ham. Though, we did have a giant ham for Christmas so not sure we're ready for another one quite yet, lol.

Here are the Easter cards we're sending to family this year - I used the lovely "Spring Baskets" set from Waltzingmouse. The sentiment on the inside is just perfect - "Faith is putting all of your eggs in God's basket." Love it!!

Supplies:
Stamps - Waltzingmouse "Spring Baskets"
Cardstock, ink - Stampin' Up!, PTI
DP - American Crafts "Dear Lizzy"
Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities
Ribbon - Crafta

Spring Carnival

2010-03-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

My "Glorious Spring Wishes" card is featured in this amazing Spring Blog Carnival put on by the wonderful folks at Craft Critique. Hop along for some wonderful spring craft ideas!

I have been following Craft Critique for about a year now - really since I started honest to goodness card making/crafting. That site is my go-to for new crafty tools and ideas and their critiques are well documented and help so much when making choices for crafting projects.

Thinking of You

2010-03-20T19:39:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking lately that I just don't blog enough! I make cards all the time but the discipline of getting all those ideas online is a bit daunting, especially because I think I have to tell some elaborate story about how I was inspired, my creative process, and so on, and so on. Well, to that end, this little blog of mine has seen precious little of what I've made over the last year or so and it is time to change that! Ok, I'm out - gotta learn how to keep it short!

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve
Ink - SU!, PTI
Cardstock - SU!
DP - DCWV
Bird Punch - SU!
Twine - Pink Hedgehog

Happy St. Patty's Day

2010-03-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another fabulous blog hop with Waltzingmouse Stamps! If you've come across this post any other way, head on over to the Mouse House or to Claire's Blog to get started!

I had a lot of fun making this pretty card courtesy of Waltzingmouse Stamps and some amazing paper from Cosmo Cricket!

Supplies:
Stamps - Waltzingmouse "Irish Blessings"
Ink - SU! "Sage Shadow", "Chocolate Chip", PTI "Tea Dye Chamomile"
Cardstock - SU! "Sage Shadow", PTI "Vintage Cream"
DP - Cosmo Cricket "Earth Girl"
Rope - SU!
Pearl - Martha Stewart

Published! Woo hoo!!

2010-03-16T17:59:00.001-07:00

I really can't contain myself right now so I'll keep it short. I got home from work to find the April issue of CARDS and, wait for it...my card was in it!! Okay, so I've known for a while, but seeing it was just something else. I'm over the moon! Here is the original card -

Oh, don't forget to check back tomorrow for another Waltzingmouse Blog Hop! :)

Baby Central

2010-03-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or is everyone expecting these days? Some days I feel like I went from making Christmas cards to making congrats, welcome baby, you're invited to a baby shower cards and haven't looked back!

I have recently connected with my best friend from HS after about 15 years (thank you, Facebook!) and she asked me to make a "Congratulations" card as her sister is expecting! My honor and privilege, for sure! Anyway, made a few cards for her to choose from and will make coordinating tags and some other goodies to send up with the cards. I just got Papertrey Ink's "Baby Button Bits" this week (i didn't jump on it and it was on backorder for what felt like forever) and had a blast getting it all inky tonight! Fun fun fun!!

Mojo Monday 128

2010-03-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

I have to keep this post short because tonight is the big Verve release party! Hey, I know what my priorities are, right? I found these great patterned papers in a big pad of K&Co and knew they had to be used together! But, now that I look at them a bit more, it vaguely resembles the kitchen wallpaper I grew up with in the 70s! :)

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve
DP - K&Co
Ink, Ribbon - SU!
Buttons, Twine - PTI
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

Spidey Sense

2010-03-03T17:12:00.001-08:00

This card was inspired by the Cinema Saturday movie (drumroll, please...) "Spiderman" and Brooke and Sankari's challenge to use (another drumroll...) acetate! I love "Spiderman" - the reluctant superhero, love triangle, making a better life for family - all classic movie themes and so many ways to be inspired!

I've had a package of acetate for some time but haven't even cracked the seal! It was so inspiring to see all of the different ways people have used it for this challenge! Acetate isn't just for windows anymore (though that is what I chose to do for my card...)

I used a great hero sentiment from Verve and the traditional superhero colors of red, white, and blue. I'm just in love with the deco-ish circle stamp from Waltzingmouse and have used it all week. If you follow this blog a bit, be warned, I'm sure you will be seeing more of it, lol!

I cut out the center of the front of the card using a circle scallop nestie and cut out the slightly bigger scallop for the panel to cover the scallop cut-out (attached on the inside.) The red circle sentiment was stamped on the inside panel of the card.

Supplies:
Stamps - Waltzingmouse, Verve
Ink - SU!
Cardstock - SU!
Rhinestones - Hero Arts
Ribbon - Crafta
Acetate - PTI
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Hop!

2010-02-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for hoppin' on by my blog! I am so thrilled to be participating in the first ever (EVER!) Waltzingmouse Stamps customer blog hop! Claire and her designs have inspired me so much, I wouldn't think of missing it! If you just happened by, the first stop on the hop is Claire's blog, and I really suggest hopping along for the whole thing! There are a lot of really talented crafters out there!

I used my new Spring Baskets and L'il Buddies stamp sets for my card. The weather has been really nice here lately, and it has been staying light later and later in the evening - could Spring have, well, sprung?

The first thing I did was select the base card color (my favorite retired "Soft Sky" from Stampin' Up!) and the lovely "Girl Friday" stripes from Cosmo Cricket. Next I stamped the cute flower image with Staz-On so I could watercolor them in the same colors as the striped paper. I ended up turning the scalloped edge upside down from the way I usually attach it. Doesn't it kinda look like a tulip or a flower when turned that way? Then I punched some little butterflies, added some blingy rhinestones, and finished off the front of the card with a sheer blush ribbon.

The stamps were so darned cute, and I couldn't find a place for the little bee on the front so decorated the inside, too!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Hop on over to see what goodies Tiffany has to share!

Supplies:
Stamps - Waltzingmouse
Cardstock - SU! "Soft Sky", "Whisper White"
Ink - Staz-On
Designer Paper - Cosmo Cricket "Girl Friday"
Watercolors - SU!
Rhinestones - my stash
Punch - Martha Stewart
Ribbon - Crafta

Two'fer

2010-02-20T22:59:00.000-08:00

I am fascinated by the phenomenon that occurs when I "clean." That phenomenon is that I usually make a mess ten times bigger than the one I started with and need eons to even return to that original messy state. Thus is what happened to me when I started to "organize" my craft supplies.

Long story short, I found WAY more supplies than I ever knew I had (I am officially not allowed to buy any more designer paper. Okay, I mean REALLY but only after the American Crafts "Dear Lizzie" collection I just bought...) and need to start thinning them out in a big way. It is kinda cool to shop in my own home - saves gas and I don't have to put makeup on!

Okay, I digress again... I've issued myself a throwdown since finding all of these supplies and it is simple... USE THEM! So, whenever I get out a piece of cardstock and cut it in half to make a card, I use both sides and make two. I also try to use up as much of the paper as possible to eliminate the creep of my ever-growing scrap drawer. It has been fun and these two cards are the result of my first try!

Cattitude

2010-02-18T19:11:00.001-08:00

I've been dying to share these cards with you and finally had a chance to get some pics uploaded this evening.

I've recently been promoted within my company and will be leaving transferring to another department at the end of next week. I've been wanting to make a set of cards for one of my co-workers for some time and knew I'd better get it done quick! She has been a great resource for me over the years and I will miss her.

Since Karen adores cats, I knew I'd use my Inkadinkado stamp set and found the papers from a DCWV stack I've recently purchased. I really like the color combo of the blues and browns, too!

Supplies:
Stamps - Inkadinkadoo "Cattitude"
Ink - SU! Chocolate Chip, PTI Tea Dyes
Cardstock - SU! Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip
Ribbon - SU!, Crafta
DP - DCWV "The Green Stack"
Rhinestones - Michaels
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities
Distressing Tool - Making Memories

Clueless!

2010-02-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

This week over at the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge, Brooke and Sankari offered up "Clueless" as the movie of the week and "a touch of plaid" as the challenge. I love this movie (I think I've had a crush on Paul Rudd ever since!) and was so sad to see the downward spiral of Brittany Murphy over the past few years and her untimely death last month.

Yes, I know green doesn't seem very "Clueless" (a nice pink would have probably been easier...) but here's the scoop on why I did what I did...

You see, I've been challenging myself to unearth long-forgotten supplies with the requirement I use them for whatever I am going to get involved with in a particular week. Whether it is new paper, a stamp set, or embellishments, I pick something and stick with it! Sometimes it is so hard!! Anyway, this week, I picked a great ombre sheer ribbon with a beautiful yellow to green gradient. Little did I know how difficult it was to find plaid paper in my stash that would match but I did and my simple, little St. Patrick's Day card was born.

I'm gonna say Cher was Irish! That works, right? :)

Supplies:
Stamps - Waltzing Mouse "Irish Blessings"
Cardstock - SU!
Ink - SU! Gable Green, Garden Green
DP - DCWV
Ribbon - Michael's

Part of the First!

2010-02-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to participate in the first ever customer bloghop with Claire and her amazing team at Waltzing Mouse Stamps! I just got two new sets today that I can't wait to play with! Make sure to check back here or on Claire's blog on the 22nd!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

This week the lovelies at Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge offered up "Sleepless in Seattle" and a big, red heart as inspiration. Perfect for the had-yet-been-made Valentine's Day card for my hubby.
Another card for my hubby? you ask. Well, yes. You see, starting at the end of October (his birthday), it is one special occasion after another for us - birthday, holidays, our anniversary of when we met, our wedding anniversary, and finally Valentine's Day!

I knew I wanted to use my new Sweethearts stamp set from Waltzing Mouse. I don't think I've raved enough about Claire here on this blog. Love! Her! I'm expecting two new sets in the mail sometime soon from her February release. Can't wait to get them and can't wait to use them! Claire just gets it, that's all I can say, and I find myself wishing for an endless supply of money to buy her sets and an endless supply of time to use them.

Supplies:
Stamps - Waltzing Mouse "Sweethearts"
Cardstock - SU! "Whisper White"
Ink - SU! "Riding Hood Red"
Twine - PTI
Key Charm - Meyer Imports
Chipboard Heart - Cosmo Cricket
Glitter - Walgreen's enhanced with Stickles because it was a mess!!

Happy Birthday Papertrey Ink II

2010-02-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

Here is a card I made for the CPS sketch challenge as part of the big Papertrey Ink 3rd birthday extravaganza!

Happy Birthday Papertrey Ink

2010-02-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

purchase welcome little one

This month we're all celebrating Papertrey Ink's 3rd anniversary! I can't remember how I discovered Papertrey but it was about May or so of last year and I've been awed and inspired by Nichole and her amazing design team ever since! In honor of the third anniversary, Nichole has some amazing things up for grab on her blog - including the challenge of making a card using the reverse embossing technique.

I knew just what I wanted to make for this challenge - a baby shower card for my good friend, Beth. The shower is tomorrow and this challenge came along at the perfect time! I've never used reverse embossing before and was dreaming this card up in my mind all day today while I was at the office. As Nichole says, I couldn't wait to get home tonight and "get inky." I think it turned out so cute and I really hope Beth likes it!

Supplies:
Cardstock - PTI, SU!
Ink - Versamark, PTI, SU!
DP - Martha Stewart
Stamps - SU!
Sponge - Michael's

A Titanic Challenge!

2010-02-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

Guess what movie is featured over at the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge this week? Yup, you guessed it - Titanic! I'm not sure I love the way this card came out but it is what it is, right? I think the flowers need some zhuzhing or something since it seems a bit on the plain side. Man, I really need to sit down at the old crafting table to get my crafty mojo back! It has been a very busy couple of months and I'm very behind!

The challenge was to incorporate navy and silver as a tribute to the Heart of the Ocean and I just love that color combination!! I knew I'd use a navy card base and wanted to try my hand at some more advanced embossing. I am so intimidated by embossing text - it never seems to come out right! This time, I worked hard at lining up my text stamps (they look pretty straight, don't they?), stamped them in Versamark and went for it with silver embossing powder. I still need practice but was happy they were straight and pretty crisp! I then added a couple of fun flowers and some silver leaves to finish it off.

Supplies:
Stamps – Inkadinkado, PTI
Cardstock, Versamark – PTI
DP - DCWV
Ink, rhinestones, silver embossing powder – Michael’s
Button, twine – PTI
Punches – Marvy Uchida

I'm Krafty!

2010-01-27T22:24:00.001-08:00

I really try not to do this but knew I'd never be able to make two separate cards for two challenges this week. It has been one heck of a week and I've been in offsite meetings for work for the past two days! I feel really lucky that I was able to make this card in the middle of making our pork chops and roasting green beans for dinner tonight!! :)

So, the two challenges I made this card for were the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge ("Austrailia") and the Mojo Monday Challenge. It was a hodge podge from the beginning and it became quickly apparent that this was destined to be one card! I knew straight away that the CSCC card inspiration was the amazing love story between Sarah and both the Drover and Nullah ("I sing you to me" touches my heart every time I hear it and love the creations the DT came up with using it!!) The challenge was to incorporate kraft which doesn't feel like a challenge because I love it so much!

I then looked at the Mojo Monday sketch challenge and decided I just had to attempt a circular card (my very first!!) I always wonder how all of you talented crafters make the round cards and I'm not quite sure I got it right. I made a hinge out of the back panel but lost a lot of interior room. I've tried in the past to use my Spellbinders on a folded piece of cardstock and think I may need some extra practice with that technique. I really think that is the way to go.

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve
Cardstock, Ink - SU!
Ribbon - Crafta
Buttons - PTI
Cuttlebug and Spellbinders dies

Inspired!

2010-01-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

I love Burberry plaid! You know, the ubiquitous khaki, black, and red that pretty much dominates scarf season (at least in San Francisco where "scarf season" is relative and more of a fashion statement than a true necessity...)

Now before anyone goes thinking I'm Ms. Snobby McSnoberston, I own exactly one piece of Burberry plaid and it is my beloved scarf that was purchased for me by my hubby on an exquisite December trip to NYC many years ago. And, yes, we did actually need the scarves while we were there.

Anywhoo, I found the cute little plaid fabric hearts on Etsy a while back and thought they would be simply perfect on a Valentine's Day card. Well, I ended up creating the "line" of Burberry plaid-inspired Valentine's Day cards you see in the pic above. I've already sold a couple and think the rest will go quickly so I'm off to make more. Not only are they simple and elegant, they are also cozy, homey, and a bit folksy.

The creative process is a fickle one, sometimes, and I've been feeling like I haven't been able to craft my way out of a paper bag lately. But, these cards came together so fast the other night that I couldn't keep up! I had twine everywhere, two ink pads open at the same time, and stamps were flying around. I swear I had to spend a good amount of time just putting all of the stamp sets back together after I was finished. It was pretty cool, very inspiring, and definitely lots of fun.

Happy crafting everyone!

No Peeking, Bear!

2010-01-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

The Cinema Saturday Challenge this week was to make something inspired by "A Knight's Tale" and to use a star. There are so many great themes in this movie - action, adventure, romance and chivalry. So, I chose the latter to make this card to give to my hubby for our anniversary next week. Three years married! :)

I could write a novel saying how much of an inspiration my husband is to me but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say that he is my hero, he lights up my life, I found him by wishing on a star, and he always helps me find the silver lining.

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve "Thankful Hearts"
Ink - SU! "Soft Sky"
CS - PTI, SU!
DP - K&Co
Glitter - Crayola
Ribbon - Crafta
Cuttlebug small star die

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #21

2010-01-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

I love the color combo Dawn came up with for the latest Raspberry Suite Color Challenge! I've never really used soft yellows and think I may have to start! I've had the Jolee's Boutique stickers for eons and they've been on the table waiting for inspiration to strike. As soon as I saw the soft yellow this week, I knew I'd have to incorporate them somehow!

Supplies:
Cardstock - SU!
Ink - SU!
Stamps - American Crafts
Stickers - Jolee's Boutique
Ribbon - Crafta
Embossing Powder - PTI

Mojo Monday 120

2010-01-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

I just love how the mojo ladies at Verve can pull together colors, patterns, and all kinds of embellishments and make their cards just sing! You really should check out all of the fabulous examples on the Mojo Monday blog!
I, on the other hand, have a really hard time figuring out how to add activity like what you see above to my cards without being afraid of them, lol. Heck, as I kept muttering to myself today in the craft room..."if they were easy, they wouldn't be a challenge."

I've been thinking of making Valentine's Day cards for some time now but haven't had time to spend crafting. I sat down today and really think I'm going to need some practice getting back into the groove. And, it is a bit strange working in pastels after all of the deep holiday hues like deep reds, greens, burgundies, etc.

Supplies:
Cardstock - SU!
DP - DCWV
Ink - Versamark
Stamps - Verve, American Crafts
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Nestabilities Scallop Circle
EK Success Punch
Ribbon - Crafta

We're Back!

2010-01-06T20:19:00.001-08:00

Oh how I've missed the Cinema Saturday challenges over the holidays but we're back this week with a challenge based on "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Now, while I'm familiar with the story and the cartoon version of the film from the 70's or 80's, I haven't yet seen this version (though it has been added to my Netflix queue.) By the way, Sankari and Brooke, are you getting residuals from Netflix or at least a free membership? A good percentage of my rentals lately have been directly influenced by this challenge! :)

Anyway, the colors on this card were inspired by winter in Narnia but I didn't want to make the card Christmas-y because it is never Christmas there. I settled on this great glitter background paper with wintry trees touched with a bit of required sparkle. I added a sheer white ribbon and some stickles in the corners just for a tad more iridescence.

I chose the sentiment as I thought about the journey the children were on in Narnia. While much of what they went throug was scary, they also were befriended by a lot of creatures (Mr. Tumnus and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver) on the way to their final destination - the battle where Aslan defeats the White Witch. Since my husband's motorcycle accident last month, I'm constantly reminded to live for each and every day since we just don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Supplies:
Stamp - Verve
Cardstock - PTI Ocean Tides
DP - My Mind's Eye
Ink - SU! Sage Shadow
Ribbon - Crafta
Stickles - Ranger

Custom Birthday Party Invitations

2010-01-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks since I've been on blog hiatus, I've been pretty busy with my card business - particularly custom orders. I did a big holiday card order, finished up my friend's baby shower invites (see two posts down...), and the photo you see above is my latest - jungle-themed birthday party invitations!

I had a lovely woman contact me through my Etsy shop, said she liked my work, and could I do 10 invitations for her son's 1st birthday party. She gave me a couple of ideas and one was that his room was a jungle theme.

I had just made the monkey thank you card (see three posts down...) and thought I could make something really special with that design along with a new set of jungle animal stamps. Voila! The rest is history. I think they are just adorable and I hope she does, too!

Back in the Saddle

2010-01-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season has passed (boy they sure do pass quickly, don't they?), I wanted to at least mention why I was pretty much awol for the month of December. I'm sure it would be easy enough for me to say I was busy with the holidays which is certainly enough! But, we had some "excitement" of our own to contend with as well - my hubby was in a motorcycle accident on 12/9.

I have been so blessed and thankful for the outpouring of support from our wonderful family and friends that I have to thank them from every venue I have access to! Glen was able to come home from the hospital the night of the accident and, though it has been a slow road, is well on the way to a full recovery!

It was important to me, this Christmas (we ended up spending it "just the two of us"), to celebrate the season and all that it means to me. We were able to attend Christmas services at a neighborhood church, hear the Christmas Story, and sing proper carols. Not that jingle bells, white Christmases, and rockin' around a Christmas tree aren't fun too, they just aren't the "reason for the season" in my book.

Anyway, as 2010 is upon us, I wanted to wish everyone a blessed new year. May it be healthy and full of miracles!

It's a Boy!

2009-12-28T13:38:00.001-08:00

I just finished the invitations for my friend's shower and got them into the mail today. I think they're adorable and the train themed cards were special editions for the family (her hubby is an avid model train'er.) I'm really looking forward to the shower - too bad we have to wait until February! But, if the beginning of 2010 is anything like the end of 2009, it will be here really fast!

Thanks a Bunch

2009-12-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

I decided to play along with this week's Mojo Monday Challenge (hosted by the brilliant divas at Verve) and came up with this fun card. Am I allowed to say that I totally love it? :)

I've had this stamp set for eons and finally just used it for the first time today. I stamped the monkey and the tag first but had to let it sit for a while because I was stumped. Then I remembered I had that great vine ribbon and it just came together after that.

Supplies:
Cardstock - Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana, Whisper White - Stampin' Up!
DP - DCWV
Stamps - Monkey Businss - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery - Stampin' Up!, Versamark
Embossing Powder, Vine Ribbon - PTI
Nestabilities - Tags, Scallop Circle

Santa's Workshop!

2009-12-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

I am so pleased to have my first commissioned order! A lovely customer saw this card on my Etsy site and asked if I could make 30 for her to send in time for Christmas. If my craft room didn't resemble Santa's workshop, it sure does now! There is glitter, pretty ink, silver twine, snowmen, and ornaments all over. What fun!

I am so honored and excited to do it for her - I sure hope she likes them!

Thanks So Much

2009-11-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

This card was made for a friend who needed a thank you card for her grandmother. I've found a dash of extra inspiration when making cards either for people or with people in mind. I was skeptical when I saw the color combo from Dawn's challenge but am really pleased with how it came out - particularly the aqua and chocolate. I've always liked those colors together but haven't ever played with them.

Supplies:
Cardstock - PTI, SU!
Stamps - PTI
Ink - SU!, Versamark, PTI
Punches - Marvy Uchida
Twine - PTI
Button - PTI
Embossing Powder - PTI

Busy Bee

2009-11-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't know it by the amount of (er, lack of) attention I've paid to my blog lately but I've been really busy in the craft room! I'm getting ready to walk out the door on my way to Arizona for work for the next few days but wanted to share some of the great Thanksgiving cards we're going to send to family this week.

The Lycee Winter Fair went really well - sold over 20 cards and several sets of gift tags but most of all had a great day with my friends - the hubbies even showed up for a while and a grand time was had by all! (I think the salami/pate vendor across the room didn't hurt business either - he sold out!)

I think I over made for the fair and have a wonderful collection of cards I'll be adding to my Etsy shop over the next week or so but am really taking a break. Aside from my regular challenge sites, I'm booked up working on our Christmas cards and some baby shower invites. I can't believe that the holiday crafting window is closing and it will be spring-themed cards before we know it.

Happy crafting and I'll see you in a few days!

Published!!

2009-11-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, remember how just a few days ago, I was saying how I wanted to try to get published after all of the holiday hubub? Well, I got an email last night that one of my cards will be featured in the "New Arrivals" section of the April 2010 edition of CARDS Magazine! Yay! I am still in shock as I carefully bundle up the little guy and ship him off. Wow! This card (which I had to remove from the blog and can't show you until next May) was born of my friendship with Beth and the boy that will bless their lives next March. I was working on shower invite prototypes and, well, the rest is history. Or, is it the future? April is a long way off... :) I am over the moon, forgive me if I make absolutely no sense for a while...

Happily Ever After

2009-11-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to post and run but it is almost deadline time for the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge! Eeek, where has the week gone?

This week's challenge was to create a wedding card with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as the inspiration. What a great movie! My Netflix queue is filling up with all of the ones Sankari and Brooke are reminding me I love! :)

I chose the colors inspired by the Greek Flag and tried to keep the card simple and elegant. Maybe too simple? I tried adding a leaf garland a la the olive branch wreathes of the ancient Olympians (ya, maybe I was taking the Greek thing a bit too far...), but I couldn't find a color that went well wiht the blues.

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve, PTI
Cardstock - Stampin Up!, PTI
Ink - SU!, PTI
Ribbon - Crafta
Rhinestones - Martha Stewart
Embossing Powder - PTI

AWOL

2009-11-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I feel so awol lately, I just had to check in to say hello and that I'm alive and well and looking forward to playing in blog-land a bit more in the near future.

First of all, I have been a busy bee crafting up a storm for the Lycee Francais La Perouse Marche d'hiver this Saturday!! While I'm sure I can think of a million things I wish I would have made in time, I'm happy with what I have to show and hope that will generate some business for my tiny shop and maybe even some custom orders. This fair is open to the public and if anyone is local and wants to stop by, I'd love to meet you!! Here is a bit of what I've been working on lately...

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION! WHAT?!?!!?

Speaking of custom orders, I'm still plugging away on our Christmas cards (which got Claire's blessing, woo hoo!), and working on baby shower prototypes for my friend. Busy busy!

I'm not sure where the post-fair season will take my crafting. Aside from the two big projects, I'd like to re-stock my shop, participate more regularly in the challenges I love, and start working on some magazine submissions. Getting published would be a hoot!

Tribute to Heroes

2009-11-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

I just found out that I had this card featured in the Etsy Greetings blog on Tuesday! I made that card a while ago and love it as much today as I loved it the day I made it. Such a simple yet powerful sentiment!

Thank you, Silvercloud07, for creating such a beautiful treasury! What a great tribute to all of those amazing men and women who have fought for and defended our country over the years.

As we draw closer to Veteran's Day, I'd like to offer a simple, but heartfelt, "thank you."

Mojo Monday 111

2009-11-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Just another Mojo Monday....da da, da da da da.

Alright, moving on from my really bad singing pun and onto the challenge at hand! Julee has come up with another amazing sketch for us to use this week and I'm thrilled to be able to play along.

I knew I wanted to do a "red and green"/traditional Christmas card, and the holly paper from Anna Griffin just leaped out at me. I found a great dark green base and a coordinating lighter green paper and ink. The sentiment is stamped on confetti cardstock and there is a fun, felt poinsietta as an accent. Fairly simple to make but I don't think you'd know it to look at it.

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve
Cardstock - SU!
Ink - SU
DP - Anna Griffin
Poinsettia - Hero Arts

Think Pink!

2009-11-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

This week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge movie is "Legally Blonde." What fun!

The few things that come immediately to mind are the "bend and snap" scene, Bruiser Woods, and pink. I just got my newest goodies from Verve and had to use the new "Believe" set for the encouraging or uplifting sentiment.

Breast cancer awareness is near and dear to my heart as two family members have battled breast cancer and and won! I am so thankful!

Here is my card, inspired by the pink of the movie and the pink of the cause that means so much to me.

Supplies:
Stamps - Verve
Cardstock - SU!
DP - DCWV
Ink - SU!, Versamark
Pearls - Hero Arts
Ribbon - Crafta
Nestabilities - Label 8
Filigree Clear Embossing Powder - PTI

Giveaway Day!

2009-10-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Remember that giveaway I mentioned a week or so ago? Well, today is the day!!

All you need to do is go to the Etsy Greetings Team blog and leave a comment on the post with my giveaway! I will pick one winner randomly and announce it on Saturday morning!

Thanks for playing! :)

Hocus Pocus

2009-10-25T18:12:00.001-07:00

This week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge was to make something Halloween-y based on the movie "Hocus Pocus." I've never seen this movie but the responses I've seen about it made me put it in my Netflix queue. Too bad it isn't available to "play now"...

It is funny, or not, depending on how you look at it...Halloween, though not even here yet, feels over! Being a cardmaker, I'm pretty much at least one holiday ahead of the one that is closest, lol. I think I finished my Halloween cards in early September and have moved on to Christmas - full speed ahead!!

My challenge within a challenge was to make a Halloween card out of whatever was still out in the scrap pile - not allowed to pull out anything that had been put away for the year. Luckily I had a sentiment stamp set out that had a Happy Halloween greeting and one set that has fall leaves/Halloween images. The rest of the card is a hodge podge of paper scraps and cute stamped images. I'm really happy with how it came out and look forward to making a bunch of cards from the scrap pile. That will be my own personal challenge from now on!
Supplies:
Stamps - Inkadinkado
Ink - PTI
Paper - SU!, DCWV, Paper Source
Punch - Fiskars

Verve Release Day

2009-10-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

Last week was sneak peek week (say that fast three times...) at Verve for the big release party on Friday night. All week long, we were treated to wonderful peeks at Julee and the other designers' creations with 7 (!) new stamp sets. Part of the fun that Julee's come up with for release week is a 5-layout (or color combination) challenge. The cards in the photo below were my entries:

The card in the front is my favorite of the bunch. I used the Dutch Girl packet from Cosmo Cricket which matched perfectly with the Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist paper and the Riding Hood Red paper from Stampin' Up! I was trying to get away from holiday cards but I just think those colors look holiday. Meh, what can you do? I am really happy with how they came out no matter how I use them. You can see them up close at my Splitcoast Gallery.

Friday night's release party was crazy - those things move so fast, I don't know how to keep up! But, I ended up winning two stamp sets and can't wait to get them! Thanks, Julee, for being such an inspiration - I love your sets and they send such an amazing message!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #18

2009-10-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, two color challenges in one week - color me one happy camper! Ba dump dump! :) I was excited to see this and challenged myself to make something other than a holiday card. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays! But, I've been so preoccupied between deciding what cards we were going to choose for our own this year (making them is a whole other thing!), and getting cards made for the shop, I needed a bit of a break this week. Voila!

I had a bit of a hard time getting the layout determined for this card with a few wrong turns along the way. I'm pretty happy with how it came out and finally found a use for those pink Pima flowers I've had knocking around for a while. Yay! And, I can't finish this post without saying just how much I love the Beautiful Blooms stamp set from Papertrey Ink - use it all the time!

Supplies:
Stamps - On Your Birthday - SU!, Beautiful Blooms - PTI
Cardstock - Kraft, Chocolate Chip - SU!, Raspberry Fizz, White - PTI
Ink - Glorious Green - SU!, Black, Tea Dye - PTI
Nestabilities - Labels 8
Misc - Pima flowers, Fiskars border punch, Hero Arts pearls

Our Christmas Cards!

2009-10-20T16:07:00.001-07:00

It is always so exciting to come up with the card to send friends and family for Christmas. For years I have purchased said cards and loved every minute of it. Last year was the first year I actually sat down to make them (my SU consultant had been trying to get me to do them for years prior, lol) and had a blast. What to make to follow the success of that card? It took several tries (and the holly I'm featuring for the giveaway was a close 2nd) and we finally decided on this one...

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION
(if this keeps up, I'm going to need a graphic...)

I am just in love with the stamp set from Waltzing Mouse and the paper from Cosmo Cricket. Too cute!!

My Bear!

2009-10-18T12:49:00.001-07:00

This week's CSCC is a color challenge based on "Finding Nemo." What's not to love? I love, love, love that movie and I love, love, love color challenges! :) This movie is about adventure and relationships and I've been loving (can I say "love" more in one post?) the adventure of life that my husband and I are on. What a blessed journey!

This week is Glen's birthday. For whatever reason, I have not managed to get birthdays, anniversaries, etc, on the calendar in a way that I will remember to make cards for the people that are important to us! Note to self, you really must figure that one out - desk pad? Hang one up next to the craft table? Anyway... Glen was on a motorcycle ride yesterday so I wrapped his gifts and all of a sudden it dawned on me that I didn't have a card yet. I don't usually like tying personal cards into a challenge format but sometimes it is a good way to get the crafty juices flowing. The birthday card I made Glen was a wonderful departure from all of the holiday cards I've been making lately for my shop and upcoming fair:

This card features the navy blue, aqua, white, and two variations of the salmon/orange - a pale version on the designer paper and the twine, and a deeper version in the buttons. I sure hope he likes it!

Supplies:
Verve - Beautiful You stamp set
SU! - Brilliant Blue cardstock and ink
PTI - Aqua Mist cardstock and ink, white cardstock
DCWV - Be Mine Stack
Twine - Martha Stewart
Nestabilities - Labels 8
Buttons from my stash

Giveaway!

2009-10-17T18:57:00.002-07:00

I'm so thrilled to be a part of the Etsy Greetings Team - a wonderful group of artists I have the pleasure of being inspired by every day!

At the end of this month, the 28th to be exact, I will be featuring the following giveaway on the Etsy Greetings Team blog:

This little set I made features one card and four coordinating gift tags (the front and back of the tags are shown above.) Make sure you check it out!

Back in the Game!

2009-10-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Or games? Dunno but I think my crafty mojo is coming back! I've been away from the "studio" (or office or dining room...) for a while and got to spend last night and some of this evening reacquainting myself with my stamps and paper and ink! Ahh, feels good!

So, this week I wanted to make a point to play along with the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge - it has just been too long! This week's movie is "Elizabeth: the Golden Age" and wow, did I love Cate Blanchett in that! Well, I love her in everything. I have to say that, as far as films go, I liked the first one better, but I thought Cate was amazing in this one and who doesn't love Clive Owen? I'm just sayin'...

Anyway, the requirement was to use a crown and I just got these great crown stamps from Etsy so figured it was the perfect time to get them inky. I loved the designer paper, too, reminded me of brocade fabric, and the glitter...well, they didn't call it the "golden age" for nothing, right? ;)

Supplies:
Stamps - Terbearco (Etsy Shop)
Paper and ink - PTI
DP - DCWV
Glitter - my stash
Nestabilites - Labels 8

The First Christmas Card

2009-10-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

This week has been stressful - my sister found out her cat, Sampson, had lymphoma and had to put him to sleep Friday. Needless to say I haven't felt much in the crafty spirit. I did break out some supplies and tried to made the first of several Christmas cards. I'm not really in love with any of them right now but there seems to be some time to get them right.

This card was made for Mojo Madness 107 - a great weekly challenge by the wonderful designers at Verve.

I'd write more but we are off to see "Star Wars in Concert" - a fun evening with my hubby and pretty nerdy to boot, just like us! :)

World Card Making Day 2009!

2009-10-04T21:09:00.002-07:00

Even though this post is a bit late, I celebrated World Cardmaking Day (10/3/09) by making this card for my wonderful hubby!

I was inspired by Dawn McVey's Color Challenge and once I found the patterned paper with the aqua print, I was off and running.

This past week has been hectic - work travel, and lots of stuff going on at work and home - just feeling really busy. Saturday was no exception as we were going to meet my family in Berkeley for the USC vs. Cal football game. Okay, we live in SF but I went to USC so I am always happy to cheer for my boys live whenever they come this way. I made the mistake of holding onto all 5 tickets and thought we could just call and meet up whenever/wherever. As the day wore on - the game started at 5pm - I started to get more worked up over where and when we would meet and how we would find them and all that jazz. Well, as you all know, whenever one half gets nervous or stressed, it is very normal for the other half to get nervous as well. Anyway, Glen was a champ! Even texting me that he loved me "ALWAYS" from the barber shop as he was getting his hair cut. Awe... Anyway, our love story is precious to me and he is my rock.

This is the first card I've actually made for Glen and I think he was touched. Even though I have an Etsy shop, the most inspired cards I've made have been those with people in mind. The love and friendships I have in my life mean so much to me and, well, that is what life is all about isn't it? :)

Supplies -
Stamp Set - PTI
Paper - SU!, DCWV
Ink - SU!
Embossing Powder - PTI
Misc - Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Ribbon (Amazon.com)

Here Kitty, Kitty

2009-09-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

I just got some fabulous new stamps from The Cat's Pajamas, had to get them inky, and this card was the result! There's a lot going on here - from the new technique of using one stamp to create the background pattern, to heat embossing it, to the cat "collar" of the fuzzy spotted trim, the rhinestone, and the fun cat stamp and kitty paws around the sentiment. I had a coworker in mind as I was finishing it up - she loves cats and has also been really supportive of my card business. When I gave it to her on Monday, she just loved it.

This week is busy for me and I'm getting ready to travel for my "real" job so won't be able to participate in a few challenges I had hoped to. Looking forward to what next week brings!

Harvest Festival

2009-09-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

This evening I packaged up all of my cards - 3 plastic shoe boxes full!, made table signs, business card flowers, and stamped my Etsy shop info onto a bunch of bags all in preparation for the Coyote Valley Elementary School Harvest Festival tomorrow! This is the first time I've "shown" my cards to the general public and I'm both nervous and very excited at the same time!

If you don't see a link to my shop on the left-hand side of this blog, it is becuase the shop is on vacation for the day so I don't accidentally sell any of the same card in real life and online at the same time. Yikes! Not to worry, though, it will be re-opened this weekend with lots of new goodies - I've been a busy bee getting ready for the fair tomorrow so whatever I bring home will be available for purchase! Here is a taste of some new items to come...

New Challenge Site

2009-09-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential
To kick off their new challenge site, there will be a huge giveaway this Friday the 25th with the very first challenge going live this Saturday! The end of this celebration blog candy is Friday, September 25th, and will announce the winner on their blog the next day, Saturday, September 26th (the winner will have LOTS of goodies to play with for several challenges to come!) Spread the word!

Pretty Woman

2009-09-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

This week is the 50th challenge on the Cinema Saturday blog and the movie is Pretty Woman! I remember seeing the movie at the theater when I was in college and loved that it was set in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. 'SC wasn't too far away and it was a nice change of scenery to hang out on Rodeo Drive, lol. My best friend, Jeannie, and I used to "shop" for splurgy $20 Chanel lipstick which was absolutely the only thing we could afford!! I've seen it a number of times over the years and quite recently on Encore.

The black, red, and white colors of the card were inspired by the black tie evening Edward and Vivian have in (my favorite city, but I'm biased...) San Francisco. The paper piercing and the rhinestones symbolize the beautiful necklace Vivian wears on that date. The diva stamp is one I treasure as it was a gift from my husband when I first started getting back into stamping this past Christmas. I always think of her along with the "You're absolutely fabulous" sentiment from my Stampin Up! set so thought it would be the perfect addition to this sassy card. This film is a great reminder to all of us that we are fabulous, no matter what cards life has dealt us and deserve only the best!

This evening I was encouraged by my wonderful hubby when I was feeling insecure about something. He is so precious to me and and he reminded me that I am absolutely fabulous and should never forget it! My very own Edward - man I love that guy! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock - Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, SU!
Ink - Basic Black, Real Red, SU!
Stamps - (I forgot the brand of the diva and will update asap!)
Rhinestones - Martha Stewart
Twine/Glitter - my stash
Nestabilities - Labels 8

Birthday Boys!

2009-09-17T19:24:00.001-07:00

September is a special month since it is both my dad and my little brother's birthdays! My hubby and I bought back some special gifts from Europe and while I was getting the box ready to send this week, I realized I didn't have cards for them! How can I call myself a card maker if I don't have cards for my brother and my dad? I sat down immediately and made these two cards -

This card is for my dad and I think he'll really like it! I had to spend some time going through my supplies looking for "man card" stuff, lol. I think we all suffer from "man card" syndrome at one time or another. After looking through the stash for a birthday card for my husband's best friend, he commented that was what I needed, and boy, was he right!

The card below is for my little brother (he'll be 14 - I can hardly believe it!!) and I'm wondering whether it still may be too girly. The only items I have are some pirate stamps that feel way too little boy (though they would have worked for my dad!) or the super manly dad/grandfather type stuff like boats and trees. Definitely not for a teenager! So, teenager stuff is still on the list though I already have more than I know what to do with!

Happy birthday, Dad and Wade! I love you both very much!!

What Fun!

2009-09-12T00:19:00.001-07:00

I know it has been forever since I've posted but needed something to do since I've had to stay hush-hush with my latest post (draft format only until tomorrow!) Last week I found out I had won the Audrey Award with my interpretation of Forrest Gump from the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge and was asked to be a guest designer this week! The movie is a secret until tomorrow but check back and you will see my card featured. What an honor - thank you so much Sankari and Brooke!!

I've also been busy crafting up a storm for the Coyote Valley Elementary School Harvest Festival on the 25th. I've never "shown the goods" at a craft fair before and I'm nervous but excited to show my creations in public. Here is one Thanksgiving card I made that I like a lot - I scalloped the lower edge so it shows a bit of the confetti lining and the decorative paper at the top is fuzzy!

I am having such a ball making these little cards and am very thankful to have a hobby that brings inspiration every, single day!

Guest Designing from Helm's Deep!

2009-09-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

I am so honored to be a guest designer this week! When Sankari asked me, of course I said yes, but there was true panic as I wondered whether I could honor this movie, this challenge, and you all with my creation this week.

When I think of LOTR: The Two Towers, there are a few things that come immediately to mind - the big battle scene, Aragorn's attraction to Eowyn, in spite of his love for Arwen, and the dichotomy of Frodo and Sam's mistrust of Gollum but their understanding of the need to follow him. All of that on one card...including embossing...what to do? I know! Black and white to show the character struggles and something metal for the battle.
I knew immediately that for the black/white, I wanted to try a new trick my friend Maya showed me - to emboss white powder on black cardstock and black powder on white cardstock. I chose an image that spoke Elven to me (I really don't have very many options here, lol), cut the strips of paper, taped them together then stamped the image in Versamark ink and heat embossed them. My husband thought they looked like a gate and I made my first attempt at a

tri-panel card. I'd never made a card with this layout before and wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I really like it!

Depicting the Battle of Helm's Deep was tough! I tried to represent the metal of the armor and weaponry by using embossed aluminum foil! I simply took a sheet of foil from the roll in the kitchen and ran it through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. Voila!
My final zhuzhes were adding the ribbon tie to close the card, a vellum interior liner, and ruby rhinestones. Fun!

Thank you all for your continued inspiration and for the honor of being a guest this week! I can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #16

2009-09-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am actually really pleasantly surprised at how this turned out and I actually kinda like it!! (insert sheepish grin here) When I saw the colors for Dawn's Challenge this week, I thought "cool, I'm working in that color scheme already" as I've been making a bunch of fall-themed cards for a harvest festival I will be attending at the end of the month (yay, my first craft fair!!) Anyway, as I pulled the stock from the stash, I have to admit the kraft threw me for a loop and I wasn't sure how to pull it in. Anyway, long story short, I used it as the base and used the orange as an accent color. I'm not sure how well you can see them, but I have some great orangy rhinestones I used to zhuzh up the stars in the witch's vapor trail.

Supplies:
Stamp Set - All Hallows Eve (Inkadinkadoo)
Cardstock - Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink - Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Tea Dye (PTI)
Misc - Nestabilities Labels 8, SU! Dimensionals, ribbon and gold rhinestones (my stash)

Taming the Wild Beast

2009-09-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

I have really been trying to tame my craft supplies but to no avail! Every time I get anything out to use it, it invariably stays on the table resulting in the large pile of papers and goodies you see here:
I end up with the tiniest little stamping area you see over the paper pad (I love using these inexpensive easel pads for my glitter and stamping spill-over. And, they are perfect for backing up the paper piercing tool, testing stamps, ink colors, etc. Cheap!) and have more topple-overs than I care to admit. :)

This past weekend, my hubby and I went to Home Depot and bought some shelves to try to tame some of the clutter. I actually have a great storage nook but without shelves, I run into the same leaning tower of Pisa problem. Grab something that is supporting something else and, look out!

Soon I will be the proud owner of three new shelves and I am so looking forward to some better organization and clutter management. One day we will have a bigger house, too, where I just may have a whole room!

Two-fer

2009-08-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Until this weekend, I've tried to make one card per challenge but this time I just couldn't! I found the Viva la Verve challenge via Julee's blog this week and couldn't pass it up! I also found out that this week's Cinema Saturday challenge was "Forrest Gump." I really wanted to play in both sandboxes but knew that, with other projects I have lined up, couldn't spend very much time in the studio mulling over two separate ideas. So, one card it is!

As soon as I saw what the movie was, I knew I wanted to use something to represent the innocence of the early 60s as well as that of Forrest himself. I just got a great set of sayings from a DCWV stack which is where the "Gee, you sure are swell" came from. I was also inspired by "the movies" themselves and made a movie curtain look to the scalloped borders of the decorative papers. I debated using the buttons but since the ones I found reminded me of movie reels, and worked with the Verve challenge to use round things, how could I pass it up? Finally, I heat embossed the chocolate cardstock with the PTI Polka Dot Basics set. I really like how it turned out, like the movie theme, and like that I was able to pull in some fall colors. Fun!

Supplies:

Cardstock - Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana, SU!

DP - Indian Summer, DCWV

Ink - Versamark

Stamp - Polka Dot Basics I, PTI

Ribbon/buttons - my stash

Drat!

2009-08-26T13:53:00.001-07:00

So, I've been wondering what happens since I submitted card ideas to Cards this month for the January issue - do they email everyone? Just those who are "in"? No idea since this was my first time.

Lo and behold, I found the following on the Cards Magazine blog the other day:

Guess what, guys — I have one itsy bitsy big huge favor and I hope you don’t mind. Our January submissions were due tonight, but my computer had a weird glitch and lost all the email submissions that were sent from today back to August 4th. We have submissions that were sent on the 3rd and before. (And now my email is working just fine, whew!)

So if you submitted during that time (since last Tuesday), pretty please resend them to us at cards at northridgemedia dot net! We are extending the deadline until tomorrow night, August 11, at midnight, so that gives you some time to forward on all the beautiful submissions you have already sent.

I wish I could spell that sound Bear Grylls makes when he falls - cooohghgh. Meh, close enough. If you couldn't tell from the sound, it is that my submissions were members of the cast of Lost and I didn't realize it until it was very much too late. Cooohghgh.

Next.

I'm in...

2009-08-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

This past week while blog-hopping, I found out about a new challenge site - the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge (we'll just call it CSCC for short.) Given how much I love movies, this one seemed to be a natural but isn't necessarily turning out to be so. I've looked at past challenges and they seem pretty hard. I mean, it feels easy enough to churn out a Christmas card for a Christmas-themed movie, or a... See, that is the problem! Sounds easy, most certainly is not!! Big props to all of you who have the courage to play along and for those of you Audrey-winners out there.

This week's movie is (drumroll please...)

Gak, red stitching? I don't have a sewing machine!! Off to see what I can muster. Wish me luck, all!!

Okay back again Thursday evening (nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?) with my entry for my very first CSCC! Five ideas scrapped and one last minute base color change (my husband - "honey, it isn't baseball-themed if it isn't red and white") later and this is what I came up with:

I just love the little hearts popped up and the tag is cute even if it is a bit "homemade" looking (I need practice with puffy paint! It has been a long time since the 80's!) You can see the hearts better in this view:

Thanks for letting me play and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies:
Cardstock - PTI, SU!
Stamp Set - Out on a Limb Sentiments, PTI
Ink - Real Red, SU!
Colored paper - DCWV
Paint - Tulip
Die Cuts - Cuttlebug
Twine - Martha Stewart

Grommets - my stash and so old I can't remember

Raspberry Suite #15

2009-08-22T17:49:00.001-07:00

I know it has been a week since I've posted anything and it was certainly not my intention to abandon my blog for this long. It has been an odd week - lots of crafting but just not a lot to say about it.

I had a feeling another color challenge would happen this weekend so I checked Dawn's site today and found the colors above. Drat! I still don't have anything that is really melon-colored so have to go in search of it with patterned papers and other embellishments. One day I will have a full suite of colors, but for now I make due. Hope you like it! Off to order Chinese for dinner - yummy!!

Supplies:

Cardstock - Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Regal Rose (SU!)

Ink - Regal Rose, Old Olive, Certainly Celery (SU!)

Misc - corner rounder (CM), vanilla ribbon and buttons (my stash), flower punches and twine (PTI)

Maddie's Birthday Card

2009-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

I was having trouble coming up with an idea for a birthday card for my friend's daughter - I'd been procrastinating all week. But, since the party was yesterday and I still didn't have a card as of Friday night, I knew I had to get cracking! :)

I sat down at the craft table after watching the Giants lose in NY (boo!) and found the leftover supplies from the last Raspberry Suite challenge were still out - perfect for a 2yr old! So, what you see above is what I came up with. It really isn't RS#14 part deux because I used Chocolate Chip ink for the cupcake paper though I suppose I could have used the burgundy. Fun! Since gifts weren't opened for hours yesterday, I missed the reveal. I sure hope you liked your card, Maddie! And, you are just as cute as can be! There is a great pic of me and her mom (my great friend, Aileen) from the party that I'll share as soon as I get it off of my iPhone. Yes, I am technologically challenged sometimes which is ironic because I am an IT auditor...but, my hubby is great (and patient) and helps me out! Love him!!

Supplies:

Stamps - Polka Dot Basics I (PTI), Big Bold Birthday (SU)

Cardstock - Pink Passion, Orchid Opulence, Whisper White (all SU)

Ink - Pixie Pink, Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulence, Summer Sun, Versamark (all SU)

Embellishments - Nestabilities, glitter, Filigree Embossing Powder, vanilla ribbon

Raspberry Suite #14

2009-08-13T14:39:00.001-07:00

This one was fun and I can't wait to get the new purple buttons! I swear, my list for the August PTI release just keeps getting longer and longer - I am especially looking forward to the Scattered Showers additions from Dawn. That is probably one of my favorite sets (though my Every Day Button Bits is getting some love lately...)

I had a tough start to this color challenge - got out four pieces of cardstock on Monday night and they just sat and sat and sat until last night when I came up with this card -

This is probably the best bow I've ever tied - satin side up all around! :) It is hard to see in the photo (I'm still trying to figure out how to get the photos on my blog to look like the photos in iPhoto but I'm new to blogging and new to Mac so it may take a bit), but I embossed the burgundy cardstock with polka dots - tres cute!

Supplies:

Stamps (Papertrey Ink) - Every Day Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics I

Cardstock (Stampin' Up!) - Pink Passion, Orchid Opulence, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla

Patterned Paper - DCWV

Die Cuts - Nestabilities Circle and Scallop Circle

Ink (Stampin' Up!) - Basic Black, Orchid Opulence, Versamark

Misc - buttons and ribbon from Michaels (labels long gone), Filigree Embossing Powder and Rustic Cream Button Twine (PTI)

What is Blog Candy?

2009-08-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to catch up on all of the crafty lingo! :)

I found my way to Stephanie Castro's blog today and Stephanie is giving away a $150 gift card of appreciation - to any store you want! I can't pass up this opportunity for more goodies (can we ever really have enough?) All you have to do is tell everyone about it on your blog and then go over an put your address in Mr. Linky!

Here is the direct link.

Submissions

2009-08-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Yikes, I'm submitting four cards to Cards Magazine for the January issue! I wish I would have had the confidence to look for submission guidelines sooner because the deadline for January is tomorrow! I have all of the supplies for their Style Challenge, too, drat! Anyway, the February issue's deadline isn't until September so I'll have a bit more time to make some cards for that.

I've been crafting up a storm lately and am so happy with the way some projects are turning out. There is quite a difference in the cards I made when I started and the cards I'm making now. Each and every one of them has a bit of a personality and I just love seeing how they turn out. Kinda reminds me of what I heard about Michelangelo - how the figures existed already in the marble he worked with and he felt his job was to bring them out.

Anyway, I'm trying to get my Etsy shop up to date, get my Facebook fan page (I'm Crafty) up an running, participating in challenges, and just making cards for friends and family. Wow, feels like a lot! I am still behind on making a card for a birthday party this coming weekend - for my good friend's 2-year old daughter. One thing I definitely don't have in the masses of supplies I've found myself with...kids stuff! I'll make sure to post a pic of whatever I put together. Wish me luck! :) Oh, and I'll be back later this week with my answer to Dawn's latest...

Mojo Monday - Week 98

2009-08-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

What fun!

I participated in my first challenge last week and had a ball - there are so many talented crafters out there!! If anyone happens back on my blog, I loved looking through all of your cards and am inspired by each and every one of you!!

This week I wanted to keep challenging myself and decided to participate in the Mojo Monday layout challenge (see the sketch at right.) I started pulling colors together last night and got my stamping done, then finished it up tonight and, well, here it is! My husband helped me understand something which I don't think I've realized in the past as I've tried to finish cards the same day I make them. Sometimes they need to sit for a minute to get that extra zhuzhing they need. :)

Supplies:

Verve Stamps - Beautiful You

Stampin' Up! - Old Olive, Apricot Appeal, and Confetti Kraft cardstock, Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip ink, vintage brads

Nestabilities - Circle, Scallop Circle, and Label 1

DCWV - Summer Mattstack

Various - vanilla ribbon, paper flowers, and pearls

My First Challenge!!

2009-07-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Today I finally had the nerve to complete my very first color challenge - Raspberry Suite #13! Note to self - learn how to use blogger so I can upload the challenge color photo! :)

I wanted to participate last week but didn't have any of the colors. Thankfully, my Stampin' Up order came yesterday and everything I used came in my new box (except the white ribbon and the red buttons.) I used the new "Thoughts and Prayers" set, certainly celery cardstock and ink, and rose red cardstock (that was the closest I could get to the idea of berry without going too far into orange territory.)

Anyway, this was a great first for me and I hope to participate in many more!! Thanks Dawn!

Aloha

2009-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...one day after I talk about my European inspiration, I make a card that speaks to the tropics.

I bought the ribbon and the hibiscus stamp set before we left on vacation and just purchased the bamboo cardstock (from the "Travel" stack) on Friday. Voila! I hope you enjoy this little card as much as I do!! If only it matched one of the challenge color palates...