life in sunset

Wplus9 Color Cue #6

2010-07-25T15:05:00.005-04:00

Ouch. I have been missing for quite some time around here. Nothing big going on except an extended period of mojo loss. It has sort of started to come back though, so hopefully I will be posting some other fun cards really soon!

Today I just have a quick post to share the card I made for the latest Wplus9 Color Cue challenge. This is my first time participating. I stumbled onto Dawn's blog a while back and admired their stamps, but finally took the plunge when they released this adorable set. The challenge was to use these colors:
And here's my card:

I used the Woodgrain Silhouettes stamp set and PTI's Kraft, Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate and Berry Sorbet. With some careful masking, I stamped the focal image in brown on the kraft card base, then trimmed the layered cream panel (stamped with PTI's BB: Text Style) to fit over it. Then I stamped the rest of the background with the woodgrain pattern. I colored in the focal point with colored pencils and added a brown satin bow and a strip of glitter. The sentiment is from PTI's Year of Flowers: Violet stamp set.

Thanks for checking out my card. Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Happy happy birthday, USA!

2010-07-04T11:00:00.002-04:00

The summer is just flying by and I cannot believe that we are already at 4th of July!

I hope you all here in the US are enjoying a safe and happy day spent with loved ones. My holiday includes a family picnic, some tasty goodies (horseradish deviled eggs, fruit salad and homemade strawberry-watermelon sorbet are my contributions to the meal), and of course, fireworks. Sometime today, say a word of thanks (and a prayer, if you're the praying type) for all the soldiers here at home and far away. I have a couple in my life and although I may not agree with some things military, I am grateful everyday that they do what they do to allow me to live the privileged life that I have. God Bless America!

As a special little treat here, I thought I would share some cards today! I normally don't make cards for the 4th holiday, but I had a few requested by a customer and so off I went. I used mostly one stamp set for all three (this one by Papertrey Ink). I was amazed (and pleasantly surprised!) to find the variety of looks I could achieve using such a limited color scheme, theme and stamps. I am so happy with all three of these cards. What do you think?

The first one was very much inspired by the card in this post from Nichole Heady--I am so into rosettes lately and haven't a clue why. I basically used her same design, just smaller and, with a bit of distressing, made it into a vintage folksy Americana type card.

The second card is a celebration of our great nation, using Cupcake Collection and the sparklers from Let Freedom Ring. It is very hard to see in the photos, but the stars on the cupcake and the sparkler streams are glittered up--soo pretty in real life.

This last one is my favorite of the three. I was inspired by Christine Middlecamp's style in her Embellished Paper Doily series (see all 16 in her final post here). I picked up some of these Martha Stewart doilies a while back and this was the first one I have used. Just rummaged through my stickers to find some red.white.blue stickers and layered away. I sponged the edge of the doily with blue ink. On the rest of the card, I stamped a background by repeating a star image, and made a patterned strip by layering Polka Dot Basics and Text Style, topped with, of course, baker's twine. I *heart* baker's twine.

Notice that in two of these cards, I added in a nice light blue--not a traditional Fourth of July color--to temper the darker colors and add some variety. TIP: Don't be afraid to try something a little different!

Happy 4th of July!!

**supply list to come later**

Father's Day

2010-06-23T11:03:00.006-04:00

Finally getting on here to post my dad's day project...just a couple days late. :) I had planned to get this up yesterday, but we ended up spending the evening at a baseball game and didn't have time to finish it.

I make these cookies that my father-in-law loves. They are technically a sugar cookie, but they are made with sour cream which gives them this soft, cake-like consistency that he adores. (interestingly enough, they are one cookie that I really don't like!) I usually make him a box for Christmas and since Father's Day falls just about halfway through the year, I thought another box was in order. I started with the cookies, icing them in a nice dark blue and green, and made the rest of the project based on those colors.

Here is the card. Kept it simple with a leaf image on rustic white cardstock and I used PTI's woodgrain impression plate to give it some texture. I also used the Mat Stack II die and a circle punch to make a simple tag for the sentiment. A simple band of twill tape across the front finished it off.

Then I used one of PTI's large gable boxes to house my cookies. I dressed up the outside with New Leaf cardstock and Enchanted Evening saddle stitch ribbon, as well as a coordinating label using the Mat Stack I die.

And there you have it--a simple gift, fancied up just a bit to make it special.

I am off to maybe (finally) get some new things listed in my Etsy shop and get some housework done. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Cardstock (Enchanted Evening, Kraft, Rustic White, New Leaf), stamps (Masculine Motifs), ink (enchanted Evening, New Leaf, Tea Dye Duo), impression plate (Woodgrain), dies (Mat Stack I and II), ribbon (New Leaf twill tape, Enchanted Evening Saddle Stitch), large gable box--Papertrey Ink

Other: brads (Basic Grey), 1.75" circle punch (EK Success)

wedding wishes...

2010-06-20T14:17:00.006-04:00

The last couple of weeks have been a busy blur, all revolving around... June weddings, of course! On the 12th, my best friend Kristy got married to a wonderful man. They make such a great couple and I couldn't be happier for them. Here they are in glorious wedded bliss:

While they are still enjoying their honeymoon in Greece (so jealous!), I thought I would finally post the card I made them. Being a part of the wedding gives you inside info, and I wanted to make a card that really reflected their special day. I knew they had planned to drive off in a car decorated old-school style--it turned out like this:

So using that and their blue and white color scheme as inspiration, I made this:

I used a bit of glitter and lots of glossy accents on the car to make it shine, quite literally, and three bitty buttons and some twine made great cans. To make the garland, I used a teeny starburst punch (I think came from the Target dollar spot) and punched out tissue paper, which I then sandwiched around the twine with mini glue dots. I am really happy with how it turned out and they loved the special touch I put into it.

Their wedding was really a great day and got us in the mood to celebrate our 2nd anniversary, just two days later on June 14th. We decided to keep it low-key and just enjoy each other. We packed a picnic lunch and spent the day at an out of town beach where the crowds were very low. We never go to the beach and so this was a real occasion for us. And gosh, how time flies!

That's it for today...I will be back very soon with the card I made my father-in-law for father's day.

And as my husband's grandpa says: "Happy Pappy Day"! :)

Supplies
Cardstock (Stamper's Select White), ink (Spring Rain), stamps (Enjoy the Ride, Background Basics: Hearts), dies (Mat Stack 1), button twine: Papertrey Ink
Cardstock (blue): Bazzill
Other: grosgrain ribbon (Dollar Tree); gems (Hero Arts); Scor-Tape; glitter (Martha Stewart); buttons (Basic Grey); mini punch; corner rounder; Glossy Accents, Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger)

mmm...summer delights...

2010-06-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

There are very few things I like about summer: I hate the heat and am not particularly fond of the beach. But one of those few is gardening. Admittedly I am not that great at it, mostly because of laziness and lack of adequate watering (I blame it on my aforementioned aversion to the heat)--but oh, fresh herbs and veggies and flowers? I will take those any day and wait all winter to get them back. So for today, I have a little tour around our garden for you!

This year I amped up our planting a bit--

three basil plants instead of one (which got HUGE last year and sent little baby basils sprouting up all over the place), two sweet and one African Blue

6 varieties of tomatoes instead of three, including these four

4 containers of herbs instead of one

and 3 varieties of peppers including these little jalapenos.

I also planted lots more in our small vegetable patch than last year: we did sweet peas, green beans, two types of lettuce, more basil (spicy bush basil) and cucumbers, all of which have done better than expected so far, even if they were in small small amounts. :)

Even our pear tree is going strong with lots of fruit already.

Hope you enjoyed--celebrate by getting out and planting a little summer delight of your very own. :)

Baby Goodies

2010-06-01T16:52:00.005-04:00

Back to finally post the baby goodies I mentioned last post. We have some friends who were expecting-due on my birthday, May 19. Their little baby girl was a few days overdue, and then so as not to burden them, we held off on seeing them until this weekend, which means I can now share the gift I made!

I planned to give them a gift card to Target, because everyone with a new baby can use that. But, like I've said before, I always like to give a little something extra, usually homemade, for a special touch. I decided to make stamped onesies.

I used this adorable set from Papertrey Ink. Washed and dried the onesies first, ironed them flat, stamped with PTI's hybrid ink and sewed on some buttons--easy as pie and sweet as it too! :)
I rolled the onesies up and arranged them in a sweets box (I bought a bunch of these at World Market after Christmas and got them on super sale--they are are great for homemade treats, too, of course!)--I altered the box slightly by cutting out the top with my craft knife and fitting it with a sheet of clear cardstock so the onesies can be seen from the outside.

And here is the matching card:

I wanted to keep it clean and simple, and the rainbow colors echo the button colors. The sentiment I chose precisely because their first child's room is decorated with Winnie the Pooh stuff (see what I made him here) and it went with the heart theme! The inside has a pocket on the upper portion for a gift card and more score lines to mimic the front.

Thanks for stopping by--come back soon for those garden pics I promised, and maybe a card or two. :)

Supplies
1. Onesies
card stock (Stamper's Select White), Stamps (Baby Button Bits, Round & Round, Bitty Baby Blessings), buttons, ink* (Hibiscus Burst, Lavender Moon, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, Dark Chocolate, Enchanted Evening)--- Papertrey Ink
*all ink must be the old formula, not the new pigment formula, for this to work!*
Other: Onesies (I used Circo from Target), thread, treat box, clear cardstock, black ink, heart punch (EK Success), gems, white ribbon

2. Card
Card stock (Stamper's Select white), Stamps (Inside & Out: Baby, Simple Valentine), Ink (Hibiscus Burst, Plum Pudding, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, Spring Rain)---Papertrey Ink
Other: grosgrain ribbon (Dollar Tree), heart punch (EK Success), pop dots, gems

Holding out...

2010-05-22T11:30:00.003-04:00

Even though my husband had the mower out two days ago, our backyard looks like this...

...because I begged J not to mow the back! That's because if you look really closely at this bushy section of weeds under our pear tree, you'll find this:

And I am holding out for these:

Happy Saturday friends!

Birthday goodness

2010-05-20T15:03:00.006-04:00

May is a crazy crazy month in my family. I mean, really, crazy.

We have 6 birthdays and one anniversary in the span between May 10 and 19--nine little days!

So between finishing up the semester, graduation on May 8th, Mother's Day on May 9th and then this slew of occasions, I have been busier than expected and haven't posted at all. Yikes!

But today I have some cards to share!

Two of the aforementioned birthdays belong to me and my sweet husband (he is the 17th and I follow on the 19th). So yesterday was my birthday! I spent a quiet day at home, went to the gym and only *helped* fix dinner. God bless J, he does try. :)

But he has apparently been paying attention when I make cards, since I received this beauty (in addition to some yummy gourmet cupcakes):
The ribbon, the trio of buttons, the paper on the inside, the doodling on the front--all touches I use myself. He did quite a bit of stamping, too. I am so proud of him-thank you honey!
Since I am sharing birthday cards, here is the one I made for him:
This little robot and the stars are from a cheap set I got at Michael's but really cute stuff. I just colored it in with colored pencils.
I don't know about you guys, but I find my husband the absolute hardest person to make cards for! He sees all the cards I make and I get his comments about the ones that are *supposed* to be masculine (in my little girlie mind only, I guess, ha!), and so I always think he will be critical. I thought of this idea to put a trio of little thread knots on the ribbon--he liked it and so I might be using it again. ;)

Anyhow, that's it for today. I have some things planned--pictures from my garden and a baby project that I can't share just yet--so check back soon.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
1. My birthday card:
Cardstock (Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss), Ribbon (Orange Zest Saddle Stitch), ink (Ripe Avocado), buttons, stamps (Birthday Basics, Simple Alphabet, Ambassador Monogram Edition Alphabet)--Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper (inside)--My Mind's Eye (**I think**)
Other Stamps: (Gemstone Birds)--Inkadinkado;
Other: Ranger Black Archival Ink

2. Jimmy's birthday card:
Cardstock (Smokey Shadow, Stamper's Select White, Aqua Mist, Guide Lines I Grid), Ribbon (Ripe avocado twill), Ink (Ripe Avocado, Aqua Mist), Stamps (Birthday Basics)--Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper: (The Boyfriend)--Cosmo Cricket
Other Stamps (robot, stars)--Recollections
Other: black thread, Ranger Black Archival Ink, Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, number brads (K & Company), white gel pen

Ribbon-y goodness...

2010-05-01T14:26:00.008-04:00

Hello friends...

How many of you are still around, reading? Looking at the date stamp on my last post, over 2 months have passed since I last visited. And gosh, but it has been a crazy time! For those of you who may not know, I am full time grad student and have been working toward completing my MA. This is my last semester and I have been busy busy, but! I will graduate next weekend and I am excited to relax a bit and of course, have some time to create and share here!

Today is already the 1st of May--I can't believe it--and that means the Senior DT group challenge over at Papertrey Ink. This month Nichole challenged the girls to create something with ribbon. I was particularly inspired by Betsy Veldman. Her colorful and whimsical creations always speak to me, so today I had to do some crafting. My niece's upcoming birthday was the perfect excuse to use some of Betsy's techniques seen in this post.

First off a trick I have used before (which came from Betsy then, too): three little buttons wrapped around a big juicy bow! *click on the photos to enlarge*
This card uses PTI's Butterfly Dreams set and the coordinating die (which even cuts felt beautifully!), along with some Basic Grey patterned paper that I have been hoarding.

Then, since I just had to try Betsy's ribbon embellies, I made a coordinating journal. We usually end up giving all the kids in the family money for birthdays and what not, but I like them to have a little something to open up. :)
I used an entire 8.5 x 11 sheet to make a cover for two of PTI's skinny notepads. The cover features similar colors and a trio of felt embellishments. The inside is lined with a fun stripey pattern and a pocket for papers and things and the two notebooks are secured with Scor-Tape.

I am really happy with how these turned out, so thanks Betsy, for the awesome inspiration! :)

And thanks to you for stopping by--leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Supplies
1. Butterfly Card
Cardstock: (Stamper's Select white, Hibiscus Burst)--Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper: (yellow bitty box)--Papertrey Ink; (floral)--Basic Grey [Urban Prairie]
Stamps: (Butterfly Dreams, Blooming Button Bits)--Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Aqua Mist, Hibiscus Burst)--Papertrey Ink; (Archival Ink)--Ranger
Other: ribbon (Aqua Mist grosgrain)--Papertrey Ink; brads--Basic Grey; buttons (pink, yellow)--Papertrey Ink, (green)--Basic Grey; baker's twine--Martha Stewart; gems--Recollections; felt
Tools: butterfly die--Papertrey Ink; hole punch; Corner Chomper--We R Memory Keepers

2. Flowery Journal
Cardstock: (Stamper's Select white, Hawaiian Shores, notepads)--Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper: (Top to bottom, on flowers)--Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon; (inside-liner and pocket)--October Afternoon
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics II--Papertrey Ink
Stickers: yellow letters, chocolate numbers--Basic Grey; label--October Afternoon
Ink: (Berry Sorbet)--Papertrey Ink
Other: ribbon (Aqua Mist grosgrain; Ripe Avocado, Hawaiian Shores, Melon Berry twill; Raspberry Fizz satin)--Papertrey Ink; buttons--Papertrey Ink; baker's twine--Martha Stewart; gems--Recollections; felt; stick pins; embroidery floss; Copic marker; pocket--7 Gypsies
Tools: Corner Chomper--We R Memory Keepers; border punch--Fiskars

Joy...

2010-02-17T00:33:00.003-05:00

I love this little blog. Really I do. But ack! It's been two weeks since my last post, so it doesn't seem it, does it?

Things have just been crazy around here, between work and school demands and the recent holiday. The first things to go are this blog-o and my Etsy shop (got a small pile of new cards here I have yet to even take pictures of and yes, there is a craft room tour coming sometime). February is usually the worst month for me, because although it is short, there are no school vacation days and it is when assignments and obligations really pick up speed...I am counting, just three weeks until spring break already!

Tonight, as it is very late and I still have more work to do, I am just sharing quick an old card I had photos of on my computer. I actually made it as a New Year's card, but I love the colors and the design and think it could work for many many occasions, minus the "in the new year" sentiment on the inside!

I love this little trick I did: a plain old chipboard frame, embellished. I just traced it onto a piece of cardstock that I had stamped with a background stamp for the front (cut out the middle) and onto a piece of patterned paper (whole) for the back. A sweet little twine bow adorns the side...

...sigh. I am currently obsessed with baker's twine. :)

Wishing you a *joyous* Wednesday...

thanks for visiting!

Supplies
Cardstock (Melon Berry, Lemon Tart, Vintage Cream), Stamps (Background Basics: Diamonds, Heartfelt Basics), Ink (Vintage Cream, Melon Berry), patterned paper (Lemon Tart Bitty Dot), ribbon (New Leaf Saddle Stitch)---Papertrey Ink
Floral patterned paper (Nook and Pantry 6 x 6 pad), butterfly stamp---Basic Grey
Ledger paper (Slice Ledger 8 x 8 pad), glitter stickers---Making Memories
baker's twine, glitter---Martha Stewart
Other: chipboard frame (Colorbok), scallop border punch (Fiskars)

cupcake sweet

2010-02-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

One of the things that I adore about Papertrey Ink is that they think smart. They are crafters and know what is useful and fun to have in crafting supplies, and also what adds value to a purchase. One of those things is versatility and their stamps are probably the most versatile I have ever seen: classic, clean and simple fonts with the perfect wording; clean, crisp images that can be used for a variety of occasions and coordinating sentiments. They are also pretty good at incorporating new sentiments that coordinate with older images and vice versa. All around fantastic. (No one has paid me to say any of that...I am just reflecting on my status as a VSC--very satisfied customer!)

Today I have a little birthday card to share that I am absolutely in love with! It is also a perfect example of how easy it is to use multiple sets on a single card. I used the cupcake image from the new Baby Button Bits, the leaf from Turning a New Leaf, and the sentiment is from Tiny Treats: Valentine. While all three sets have very specific*intended* purposes, it is so easy to switch that up!
I inked the cupcake in two colors and stamped onto Rustic White cardstock, then covered the whole top piece in glue, and added a layer of fine glitter. I also used Scor-tape to add a thin strip of glitter along the bottom of the scalloped piece. I am normally not into glitter, but lately, can't stop myself from putting it on everything!!

And on a side note, I am totally digging this color combo--Berry Sorbet, Cream and Spring Moss. Note to self: use it again!

Hope your week is off to a terrific start--thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Cardstock (Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, Rustic White, Stamper's Select White), ink (Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss,Vintage Cream), stamps (Baby Button Bits, Turning a New Leaf, Tiny Treats: Valentine), ribbon (Vintage Cream), cream button twine---Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper (from Nook & Pantry 6x6 paper pad), button--- Basic Grey
crystal glitter---Martha Stewart
smooth gems---Hero Arts
Nestabilities large rectangle dies---Spellbinders
small tag die---Cuttlebug
border punch (Apron Lace)---Fiskars

be mine

2010-01-31T15:00:00.004-05:00

This morning we awoke to a back porch slick...with ice! It has been so cold around here lately, much colder than the average and that cold in combination with a little rain caused some serious accidents in the area. Thank goodness we didn't have to go out last night.

Today I finished up another custom order of some Valentine's and some birthday cards, which I will be sharing over the next few days. I wanted to take a few snaps, but didn't want to venture outside, so pardon the bad photos!

This little card was quick and easy. I was very much inspired by this card by Jessica Witty, which had been floating around in my head for a while. Then, when I found this yummy striped ribbon at Michael's, I knew it would be perfect for the concept!

I am off to hopefully get a few things done before we head to dinner with my brother- and sister-in-law and the babies--fun stuff! Hope you are enjoying the last bits of the weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Supplies
Cardstock (Stamper's Select White, Aqua Mist, Hibiscus Burst, Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy), Stamps (Simple Valentine), ink (Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy)--Papertrey Ink
Ink (Chesnut Roan)--Colorbox
Ribbon--American Crafts
heart punch--EK Success

Cupid...

2010-01-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

Do you ever get stuck in a rut, where you have lots of cards and things you need or have to make (holidays, birthdays, for an Etsy shop, in my case, or custom orders)? Sometimes I find myself really aching for just some time to play, just to relish in colors and textures and little treasures to add to cards...When that aching comes along, I know that there is nothing else to do but just that. It's good for the soul, I think, to just release. And besides, what is the point of enjoying a hobby if you don't?

Today I have a little gem to share with you. It is probably one of my favorite cards I've made in a while. It is the product of just such a session. I had just gotten some new Valentine's goodies, including the Cupid line from Pink Paislee. Bright, happy, not-so-traditional V-day colors--right up my alley. I also had found these little Valentine's metal charms from Making Memories on sale for a buck or so and they sat on my desk begging to be used. I used this fantastic dotted pattern as the spring board for the design, and adding a little here and there to funky it up.
The funny part is, once I had it done, I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with someone who normally gets cards that I like but that sometimes feel forced, you know? I happen to be blessed with a wonderful repeat custom order customer who gives me free reign to create what I like...this one is going to her. :)

Thanks for looking. Take some time today and create just for you...you never know what you'll get!

happy wednesday.

supplies:
cardstock (Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry), ribbon (Aqua Mist satin), stamps (Simple Valentine), ink (Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist)--Papertrey Ink; patterned paper (Cupid)--Pink Paislee; journaling strip--cut from a sheet of Jenni Bowlin memo pad paper; heart punches--EK Success; metal charm--Making Memories; button--Basic Grey; bakers twine--Martha Stewart; brown thread; white gel pen; Corner Chomper

Etsy Greetings lovin'

2010-01-26T13:12:00.002-05:00

Just a quick little post today...

The promotion week has started off strong. A few sales here and there, not for me yet. But I have gotten a lot of views, so I am happy with that for now.

One of our members created a special Etsy Greetings Treasury, featuring some lovely cards, including one of mine!

Check it out here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=108283

Etsy Greetings Team Valentine's Promotion!

2010-01-25T02:10:00.004-05:00

My talented team of Etsy cardmakers is doing a promotion for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday! Now is the perfect time to stock up on cards for this special day and many more. The promo runs from January 25-31.

Each participating shop is offering a featured item and many shops are also offering special pricing, discounts or other goodies. A list of all the shops can be found here, at the Etsy Greetings Team blog. Visit each shop for promotion details. You can also search for the tag "egvdaypromo" on Etsy to find items by participating shops.

Here's my promo: I am offering a Spend 5 get 5 deal. Spend $5 or more in my shop during the promo period and get a gift certificate for $5 off your next purchase. It's that simple!

I have just added a couple new Valentine's goodies, including this lovely:

Check my shop frequently for more items. (I am battling some sort of weird sickness and didn't get as much done as I would have liked on Sunday, but more things to be listed soon!) And spread the word!

happy shopping. :)

Birth Announcement

2010-01-18T01:10:00.004-05:00

Umm, yeah...so the whole posting a couple times a week on this blog? posting a Product Spotlight once a week? Not sure about those. Sorry for the false start for anyone who was waiting. I have half of the 2nd product spotlight projects completed and haven't gotten a chance to finish them up due to other obligations and not sure when it will happen. SO, although I love the idea of doing these, and will try to when I can, I think I got a tad bit (just a tad-ha!) over ambitious. Let's all face it-once a week ain't happening around here until school is done! (just 4 more months, just 4 more months....)

But, I am going to try to post at least once a week. I have several things lined up to show you in the coming weeks, including a craft room photo tour (which I haven't finished editing), so do check back. If there is anyone who checks this blog on a regular basis, thank you! I might be a lame blogger but I love any feedback I can get. Anyhow, onto today's post...

I have been working on developing a custom order of baby announcements for a client. Remember the ones I made for my nephew here? Well, this gal received one of those and wanted something for her daughter who is due the end of the month with a boy. Her only real requests were a car/truck theme and green or blue, though not pastels. I had a hard time coming up with something, but then a stroke of genius hit me and I came up with this:

Combined a Valentine's stamp with a truck that I had to make for an adorable baby boy welcome! And a matching pocket for a photo inside. What do you think? I hope she likes it, because I sure do. :)

Happy Monday (and holiday, to those of you off)!! I'll be spending my day off catching up and perhaps getting ahead on some lesson plans and class work. Fun stuff...

One Year!!

2010-01-07T16:30:00.005-05:00

I just posted this little gem today:

It is part of a stack of things that have been building up since before Christmas and I am gradually photographing them and getting them into the shop.
I can't believe that tomorrow already marks the one year anniversary of my Etsy shop! I has been a rough year through and through, and although I haven't really been 100% invested in developing the shop to its fullest, the opportunities it's brought have been worth it. I don't have all too many occasions to make cards and things for in real life, so making things for the shop gives me all the fun of creating for different occasions (and buying product I couldn't otherwise justify! :)

In honor of this mini-momentous occasion, I am running an Anniversary Sale:
Friday Jan. 8 through Sunday Jan. 10, I will offer 25% off all purchases. In addition, any item marked SALE will ship free!

There is no discount code needed--just commit to buy the item and wait for a revised invoice with your new numbers, then pay--Easy as pie!

Happy shopping!!

p.s. Product spotlight #2 coming very soon--it's lovely!

Make a Wish

2010-01-04T12:11:00.005-05:00

Lately I have been going through all the pictures on my computer and have been finding lots of crafty goodness that I made and photographed, but never shared. So I am going to try to do more of that in the coming weeks.

Today I have a birthday card I made as part of a custom order a couple months ago. It features some fantastic vintage sheet music I bought at a junk shop-whole book for a buck. I love the special touch it gives.
The wings are grungeboard. I first painted them with white acrylic paint, let them dry, then stamped a text background repeatedly in aqua. I then embossed them with a thick coat of UTEE and bent them to crack them a bit. I finished them off by inking the edges with distress ink. To adhere them to the card front, since they were quite heavy, I used hot glue, which also gives them a bit of dimension.

Thanks for looking and have a great Monday!

Supplies
Cardstock (Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, Vintage Cream), ink (Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, Vintage Cream), stamps (Background Basics: Text Style, Cupcake Collection, Vintage labels), ribbon (Ocean Tides), twine---Papertrey Ink;
Gems---Hero Arts;
Other: Distress Ink (Walnut Stain)---Ranger; white acrylic paint; Grungeboard---Tim Holtz; Versamark Ink; UTEE; vintage sheet music; hot glue; Fiskars border punch

Product Spotlight: Papertrey Ink Templates

2009-12-30T12:36:00.005-05:00

Hello friends. Hope everyone is recovering from all the Christmas festivities and gearing up for the new year. It seems so strange to me to say and write 2010! Do you guys make New Year's resolutions? I always do, but halfheartedly I think, which may explain why I can never seem to keep them up... :)

This year, though, instead of really making resolutions per se, I am focusing on my crafting and my Etsy shop. My one year Etsy anniversary is coming up-Jan 8, so stay tuned for a special about that- and in that spirit I am trying to stop being less of a blog slacker here. I am starting a new (hopefully) weekly post called Product Spotlight, where I will showcase my use of a particular product, be it a stamp set, tool, paper collection, whatever. This is the first of these posts!

Today, as promised, I am showing some gift card solutions. This Christmas I was feeling somewhat Scroogy and rather than spend hours in stores, I went the easy route with gift cards/cash. But I like people to still have that thrill of opening something, instead of just a plain envelope, so I went in search of something a little more fun.

Enter Papertrey Ink.

If you have been reading this blog at all, you know I am a huge fan of anything PTI. They make delicious papers, ribbons and fabulous stamps, among many other goodies. But one thing I hadn't gotten around to attempting was their My Timeless Templates, a line of printable templates for all sorts of packaging, designed my the insanely talented Lauren Meader.

(Note: Lauren has recently left PTI, but you can still buy her templates there and they have designed more in their new Click Simple template collection here.)

THE INFO: The templates are $5 each for a digital download which includes the templates for a full-size (and often a mini-size as well) version of the project and includes a full-color step-by-step PDF with design ideas, which is SUPER helpful when putting these together the first time. (The new Click Simple templates-and eventually the older MTT-will also be available in SVG files for cutting straight from your die-cutting machine, if you're into that.) Most of the templates use one to two sheets of cardstock, extra if you're adding embellished panels, but for those you can use scraps, like I did, which saves on paper. I had a little bit of trouble at first getting things lined up properly, but after you practice once, you get the hang of it and the results are fabulous!!

The first one I'm showing is the Time for Takeout box. This is the full size version. I put the gift cards in the bottom (they fit perfectly lying flat) for my nieces and nephew and then filled the boxes with chocolate money to trick the kids into thinking that was all there was ;) They loved them!

The second template I used is the Cash or Charge template collection, which actually includes three card/boxes specifically designed for gift cards or cash. The first one is a thin box with a slot that holds your gift card in place. It ties together, when untied, the front panel comes down to reveal your gift.

The last template I used is the third one in the Cash of Charge Collection, which is a sleeve and tabbed insert to slide your gift card into. I liked the simplicity of this one and it is super easy to put together, plus very versatile. I added patterned paper on the flaps and a button on the tab to jazz it up. I also used a punch to make tabs on the slide-out panel to securely hold the gift card in place.

All of these projects use PTI cardstock, stamps (on the #3 template), ribbon; patterned paper is al from Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses collection and the stripey twine is Martha Stewart. I also highly recommend using Scor-Tape to adhere these together-it's super easy to use, really strong and mess free. And it's not too pricey either-find it here.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed these templates and look forward to doing more. You should give them a try and let me know what you think!

Thanks for sticking with me on this long post! Hope you enjoyed.

Happy hump-day!

Two Years

2009-12-23T17:02:00.005-05:00

Kids seem to grow up so fast. I never believed that exaggeration when I was younger, but the older I get, the more I see it happening!

Tomorrow is my niece Phoebe's birthday. And since, yes, it is Christmas Eve, I wanted to make her birthday card as non-Christmas-y as possible.

Now, I know she is only two, but she is old enough to be able to enjoy the card a bit, so I thought long and hard about what to make. I wanted to do some sort of interactive card and I have had this card by Jennifer McGuire on my mind lately as I've been wrapping up gift cards-I decided to use something else for those (coming soon *wink!*), but really liked the idea of this card. Since P is at the age where she likes to look at photos and name the people she knows, I thought it would be fun instead of a gift card to include a photo of her in the card. This peek-a-boo shot was perfect!

Here are some photos of how it opens up:

I used mostly Papertrey Ink supplies (Raspberry Fizz, Aqua Mist and Summer Sunrise cardstock; Fresh Alphabet stamp set), but was in the mood to color, so I chose my favorite birdie image form Hero Arts (CL231 Happy Hello). A few ribbons and some metal accents was all it needed to finish it up. We'll see if she likes it.

I'm off to finish up some laundry, fix dinner and to relax, maybe with a movie, before the frenzy of celebration beginning tomorrow. Check back soon for some Christmas-y gift card solutions...

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! :)

brown paper packages...

2009-12-22T16:35:00.003-05:00

...you know how the song goes. Today has been a quiet day here at home. J went back to work after having a week or so off and I am glad. I love him, and have been happy to have time with him, but a girl needs the house to herself once in a while. :) I got a lot accomplished and enjoyed the silence. Just thought I'd pop in to share a couple photos.

I finished my wrapping today. I kind of like to keep it simple at Christmas time-kraft paper, twine and simple hand-made tags. It is faster, cheaper and easier than monkeying around with all sorts of papers and curling ribbon (which for some reason I can't stand) and I just like the classic, old-fashioned look to it.

Sorry for the bad photos. When I went into the living room to snap a couple of photos, I found this on the couch and didn't want to disturb him:
Our cats are so weird...

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas!!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #19

2009-11-24T11:14:00.005-05:00

Hi folks! I am back again, today with a card share!! It has been so long since I have been able to play in any kind of challenge, and I so love them! This weekend though I had a few minutes to play with some awesome colors from Dawn McVey, inspired by her Pioneer Woman t-shirt. Love the colors, love P-Dub, so I had to play along. Here are the colors:

There are lots of them, but I wanted to make a fun spin on a holiday card. I also got to break out a few new Papertrey Ink goodies that just arrived-including the Turning a New Leaf stamp set ( I am already in love!). Here's my card:

I used the small branch in the leaf set and stamped repeatedly to make a semi-wreath, then cut it out and accented with flowers from PTI's Peaceful Poinsettia set. Also stuck on some gems, clear that I colored with a Bic marker to sort of match Lavender Moon. Lots of cutting on this one, but I am pleased with the result.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies used
Cardstock: PTI Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, and Vintage Cream (on pink flower)
Stamps: PTI Background Basics Polka Dot Basics II, Turning a New Leaf, Peaceful Poinsettia, and Signature Christmas
Ink: PTI Spring Moss, Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, and Raspberry Fizz; Versamark; Colorbox Chesnut Roan
Other: PTI satin ribbon in Aqua Mist, PTI cream button twine, Kaiser Craft and Hero Arts gems, Bic marker, Paper Source envelope in Pool
Tools: Fiskars scallop sentiment border punch, Marvy corner rounder, hole punch, pop dots

Ranunculus

2009-11-21T21:22:00.005-05:00

Just a simple share for you today.

I have loved Ranunculus flowers forever. I see them in magazines artfully arranged with their lush petals piling out of cute containers. I coveted them when planning my wedding but opted for locally grown buds. I have one picture, torn from a magazine, that looks at me everyday from my bulletin board. I love them.

Nevertheless, I have never actually seen them in real life. That is, I hadn't, until yesterday. I went to the store to pick up some things for dinner and I opted for Fresh Market, which isn't my normal choice because it is pricey, but on occasion I go and make some good finds (particularly in the produce department). I always check out their fabulous flower dept and keep walking but yesterday I noticed, tucked into the corner, were bunches and bunches in all colors of these delightful flowers. Alongside them were another of my constant favorites, hypericum berries. As a little treat for the past rough weeks I've had, I scooped up some bunches and when I got home, set immediately to arranging the petite blooms in a small vase. The fading sun was streaming in the back door right onto the kitchen counter where I was arranging them, and it struck them in such a way that I had to grab the camera and take some snaps:

There was just something about fresh flowers, finally seeing these in real life, and the setting sun that just made my day. It is sometimes the simple things that make life so sweet.

Hope you're having a great weekend...look for the sweet things.
:)

And the award goes to...

2009-11-05T10:01:00.002-05:00

Me. For being possibly the worst blogger ever. I know, I know. I have missing for quite some time now, but rest assured, missing IN ACTION, definitiely applies here. This is a busy busy time for work and school for me, as always as the last third of the semester approaches. This year the last day is Dec 2--less than one MONTH away!! And that includes three days off for Thanksgiving. Yikes! This frenzy is not going to end any time soon...

The real reason I am posting today, and another reason I haven't had anything crafty to post here lately, is that my work has gone wholesale!! For the past few weeks I have been working like crazy in my (few) spare moments to complete my very first wholesale order!

I already have some holiday items in place (and more things coming) in a little shop called The Lemon Tree, in downtown Wake Forest, NC. It is a new shop, soon-to-be cafe as well, and in fact, it just opened on Tuesday. They specialize in handmade local products and on top of that, are part of a downtown revitalization project, and I am always a fan of keeping history alive and kicking. They are having a grand opening party today, so all you in the NC triangle area should stop by and check out this shop. Their website is here: http://www.thelemontreewf.com/index.html and you can become a fan on facebook, too: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wake-Forest-NC/The-Lemon-Tree/158271496198

Thanks to Stacey for working with me. I am excited for them and this oportunity for me. Hopefully soon I will have some new goodies posted in my Etsy shop and get back to our regular scheduled programming...is there even such a thing around here?

Have a great Thursday!

Reading Materials...

2009-10-10T18:11:00.006-04:00

Today I am going to share the last of my September birthday projects with you. This gift set was what I decided to give one of my good friends. She is tough to buy for, but is an avid reader, so I thought, why not hand-make some things she can use for her reading hobby. I made the entire set coordinating, because that's what I like to do (and it makes it much easier and quicker to put things together when you use one color scheme and several basic design elements), using Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection, another one that I have been hoarding. And I will apologize in advance for the picture quality; I took them quickly in my studio as I was getting ready to run out the door (more on why below), so they are not the best, but I REALLY wanted to share this little project, so here goes...

First up is the card I made her. I went with a little different size than I normally do, tall and skinny (and like her in that regard, in fact...):

The flap on the front pulls up to reveal a birthday sentiment:

Then, a few coordinating bookmarks, because voracious readers can never have too many:

The third element is a set of bookplates--which leads me to why I was late taking the pictures. I got this idea for bookplates just before Papertrey Ink released their new Vintage Labels stamp set, and once they did, I knew I had to wait until my order arrived, because it was too too perfect for these, and I ended up cutting it close--I printed the text and dotted line from my computer onto PTI's adhesive sheets, then stamped and cut them out by hand. Here they are!
The final element is a journal for her to keep track of books read. I kept this tall and skinny too, and easy, because rather than cut pages and somehow get lines on them, I used sheets from my Making Memories Slice ledger paper pad (an 8 x 8), just trimmed in half. Final size is 4 x 8 inches.

There are a lot of supplies used in these projects, so I am not listing them all, but if you have questions, just ask. Thanks for stopping by!

Three for Four

2009-10-09T23:45:00.004-04:00

Today I have just a quick post to share the third (and final) money holder/notebook combo that I did for September birthdays this year. And yes, I realize that it is now almost midway through October and that I am a lame blogger...but that's part of my charm! :)

This one is for my nephew Nate, who turned 6 this year. Like most little boys, he is very into trucks (and cars and planes and boats...), and since little boys don't care too much about cards, I thought an interactive one that was like a toy in itself was the way to go. I used a truck stamp from a Sandy Lion boy set to make my spinner, and papers from October Afternoon's Road Map collection (stripe) and My Mind's Eye Round & Round collection (signs), which worked perfectly for this project.

Here's the card:

And the inside:

This is the notebook. I tried my hand at stamping a plaid pattern, a technique that I saw Dawn McVey do, but try as I might, I cannot seem to get my lines lined up as straight and evenly as she can! :) The car stamp is from the same Sandy Lion set, but note, the paper color got a bit distorted when I heat embossed it...weird, but I decided to just leave it. It was for a 6 year old, after all.

These letter stickers I *think* came from Michael's in a set of their own brand--love the colors!

That's it for now. I am off to work on a custom Etsy order and some Christmas items. Thanks for stopping by and happy weekend!

Birthday Projects-episode 2

2009-10-03T00:47:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I am finally getting to part 2 (of 4) of my birthday project series (see part 1 here). I have been beyond busy with work and school and we are finally coming up here on a mini break (fall vacation days on Monday and Tuesday). Jimmy and I are headed tomorrow morning to this antique fair in Charlotte on the way to Asheboro to visit the zoo, provided that the cold I've acquired this week isn't worse by morning (I know, I should be in bed right now). But it seems that Fridays, my days off, are the only days for blogging lately...

Anyway, let's get to the project! I thought I'd show a girlie one today. This was for my niece Alexis who turned 10. She is into girlie stuff and pink and purple and so I thought I would go glittery and fun for her. I used Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday line, which I have been hoarding. I love love this line and one thing I like to do when I finally bring myself to use collections that I love so much is make gift sets like this to really get some good use out of them. Give it try!

Here is the card, using PTI's Button Bits set--adorable!!:

And the inside:

And her note/sketch book, featuring my favorite Hero Arts butterfly stamp all glittered up:
That's all I've got for today. Soon I'll have the other two birthday installments, and a blog award, so check back! Happy weekend!!

Birthday Projects-episode 1

2009-09-24T22:22:00.005-04:00

As I explained previously, this month is a crazy time for birthdays in my social circle. Seven, that's right, SEVEN, in one month. I have been busy lately working on various projects for friends and relatives and can now share them! I am going to start off with the kids: my younger sister, nephew, and niece.

This year, perhaps because I am lame, perhaps because I have been running around like a crazy chicken for too long, I decided to go the easy way and give them all the same gift, with variations. I was recently reminded of these drawing books that I remember from when I was a kid:

And, always one to try and foster the arts in young minds, I decided they would be a fabulous gift. So each kid got one of these books, a pack of brand new markers, a handmade (of course) card, and a coordinating handmade note/sketchbook personalized for each of them. (They also each got $25, too. Come on, I'm not that lame...)

The first project I will share is for the earliest birthday, my sister Hannah, who turned 13. She is most definitely not your typical tween. Any favorite outfit of hers requires camouflage. She hates pink and anything that might look like it could possibly belong to a girl. So, making her something is always tricky, but I think I succeeded! Here are the goods:

The card. The inside has a pocket and reads "just sending birthday wishes".
This airplane took some serious hot glue, but was well worth it for the cool factor! :)This book is a basic Canson sketchbook from the craft store (about $2 each, I think). I removed the cover and added a new one. They are a nice size for small notes/drawings: 3.5" x 5".

I used the new Cosmo Cricket line, The Boyfriend, which I love love! Other supplies listed below. One day here soon I'll be back with another card/notebook set. Until then...

Card:
cardstock, ink, twine, green bitty box patterned paper: Papertrey Ink
patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket
stamp (hey!): Hero Arts
other: white gel pen, hot glue

Notebook:
cardstock, ink, stamps (letters, grid, text): Papertrey Ink
patterned paper, journaling spot, arrow sticker: Cosmo Cricket
Other: white gel pen, embroidery floss

Shop Sale!

2009-09-24T16:05:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post to announce a sale that I am having in my Etsy shop this weekend:

Friday Sept. 25-Sunday the 27th, I am offering 15% off your ENTIRE purchase, even including sale items. Just enter the code "weekend deals" into the message to seller field at checkout and either:
1- pay for your order and receive a refund via PayPal --OR--
2-wait for a revised invoice from me and then pay

It's easy! Happy shopping!

I will be back later this evening with a big post of birthday goodies to share-see you then! :)

Chocolate Mousse

2009-09-20T11:41:00.004-04:00

I think I have a new favorite dessert.

I have now made it a total of three times: once to test it out, a second time to screw it up, and a third to finally get it right. And it's heaven.

It's Chocolate Mousse! Though I prefer the more refined sounding French version, Mousse au Chocolat...

It's a French classic, and after seeing the movie "Julie and Julia" (which is partially about Julia Child) a few months ago, I did some online investigation into her recipes. I stumbled onto this recipe from pastry chef David Lebovitz. He has a great food blog, which is both sweet and savory. He calls the recipe "Julia Child's Perfect Chocolate Mousse" and that it is.

I always thought that chocolate mousse was one of those things better left up to professionals. But it really is not that hard. A bit tedious, but not hard. It's rich, so not a dessert to make often, but I like David's logic:

"This recipe requires a vigorous bit of whipping. So if you've ever wanted to really know why French women don't get fat even though they eat all those luscious desserts, well...once you make this mousse, you'll soon learn the answer."

Amen to that.
That's all for today. I am making a cake and wrapping gifts and finishing up some birthday projects for a few of the (SEVEN) September birthdays we have this week and will have some goodies to show you soon. Hope you're having a fabulous Sunday afternoon!

Halloween!

2009-09-17T22:04:00.005-04:00

I know, I know...it's perhaps a bit early to be thinking about Halloween. But I am! Though I have been keeping super ridiculously busy with work and school, I have snuck in time to get thinking about this year's Halloween party and have gotten started on the invitation design. It is coming sooner than we know it. Heck, hard-core Halloweenies (hee...is that a word?) send their save-the-dates out in August, so by their standards, I am already way behind! :) It is still hot here but little by little the fall is creeping up on us. I can already feel the days getting shorter and the air getting (slightly) crisper. I am getting excited.

I finally got around today to posting some new goodies in my Etsy shop for the upcoming holiday. I posted sneak peeks of these a while back before the craft fair, but hadn't gotten time to take any good photos for listing. So here they are now!

First up, a simple set of Halloween stickers using this delightful PTI Halloween stamp set.

Then, a few sets of Halloween treat tags in three coordinating colors.

And, the best thing yet, my Boo Banner! I love this so much that if it doesn't sell, I will just have to keep it and display it proudly in my house.

Check out the shop for more pictures or to buy.

What do you all think? Ready for Halloween yet?? Got any plans? I want to know! :)

Night!

Sunday Scene-results

2009-09-04T15:40:00.006-04:00

Wow! It has been a busy week in my neck of the woods with school and work. But we have been having unseasonably cool weather here (cool enough to have the windows open these past few days) and I am itching for fall to start and so so happy for the long holiday weekend here in the US. My only plans are to play a bit with new goodies that just arrived and get some things done around the house since we spent the whole of last weekend preparing for....Sunday Scene!

I'll cut to the chase by answering some key questions that you're all just dying to know:
Did we sell a ton of stuff?
No. Not really. We sold two items (one of which was a card set, so we made almost enough to cover the entry fee). We had a few people take business cards.

Did we have fun?
Definitely! The weather was nice, hot, but breezy down on the river and there was good music. I think this was a really good experience for me, not having ever done any kind of craft fair before. I now know what to expect, what kinds of things to make, how I might display better...those sorts of things. And, if nothing else, I have a huge pile of new inventory I had been saving for the fair that I can now list in my Etsy shop-huge bonus! :)

I have a bunch of pictures to share of my booth (click on any of them to make them bigger):

That's me, manning the booth just as the event began.

These next couple are just shots of the booth. I had one table of merchandise and a second one where customers (mostly kids) could stamp a free card (tried to bring some people in).

I love love love the little banner I made for the table front.

These old shutters I bought at a local salvage yard, cleaned up and displayed cards hanging with Christmas ornament hooks attached to the back of the package with tape.

I had a couple of baskets of items, including this one with older sale items.I also bought this wooden box from the salvage yard (it's kind of half salvage/half junk). We improvised some hinges with ribbon and thumbtacks to hold it open and I concentrated my "head-start on Halloween" merchandise there.

This display rack was once meant to hold cigar boxes (also from the salvage store). I just backed each tier with cardboard and affixed decorative labels to the front of each.

All in all, it was a great day. Even Jimmy really enjoyed himself! The bottom line: Will I be doing it again soon? Probably not. But will I discount craft fairs forever? Not at all.

Hope you all have a terrific weekend!!

Sunday Scene

2009-08-28T23:37:00.004-04:00

Just a quickie today to make an important announcement.

As it stood last week, I was preparing for *potentially* doing a craft fair this weekend. I was worried that I wouldn't be ready by then. And I am not, don't think I will be. But I figure we're never really ready for the stuff that seems tough to us, so rather than fret, I'll just dive right in.

I guess there are always a million and one ideas floating around in my head and though I'd love to get them all done in time for such an important event, there's not enough hours in each day. So I am taking what I've got and giving it a go....

...Sunday Scene, that is! I will be there, this Sunday, August 30 from 4-8pm on Water Street in downtown Wilmington, selling my wares! :) I am really excited! Nervous, but excited and can't wait to see how it is and how it goes and what people think of my stuff. All you locals, come out and visit us! (J and I will be at our post the entire afternoon) See my work, listen to some live music, bask in the sun (fingers crossed), and maybe get some awesome art/crafts from the other vendors that will be there.

For those of you who can't come, you'll be missing out.

I have lots of cool things planned...

But I promise to take pictures.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Catch Up...

2009-08-21T16:47:00.008-04:00

...or " what I've been doing for the past THREE weeks!" Yikes. I am not worthy of a blog. :) I am trying to get back in the saddle. School (and work) started back for me on Wednesday and for the first time in a long time, I actually feel relaxed and prepared for the new school year. But I have been busy and I have lots of stuff to share today! So, first things first: some Etsy shop updates. I have been pretty inactive on my actual store lately, because I have been preparing like crazy.....

...for a craft fair!
I mentioned this in my last post, but to elaborate: this will be my very first craft fair of any kind, but I want to try my hand at selling direct to the public. The fair I am doing is actually a pretty neat concept put on by my city. It is called Sunday Scene, takes place on Sunday afternoons/evenings (4-8pm) on a popular downtown street and is an informal way for crafters and artists of all kinds to get together and sell. I have been reluctant to try it out, mostly because a lot of fairs cost a good deal to get in. (I am worried I may not even sell enough to cover the entry fee!) This one is only $20 a day, so I figure it's worth a shot, right? So, I have been developing new ideas and making lots of items to take to the fair. After, whatever doesn't sell will be listed in the shop. So, the first of new items is what I sneak peeked a couple weeks ago. Remember this: Well, this is the whole thing! It is a new concept I am calling Pick & Stick card sets. I have a few designs so far that come blank with designated space left for the customer to add their own choice of coordinating sentiment. They come in sets of four, with 6-10 sticker sentiments and in this case, self-adhesive button embellishments. I wanted to give a bit more flexibility with my designs. Here are some peeks of the other designs I have so far: Here are some peeks of another new line of items: And a few more peeks of projects I have been working on for the fair: Once it is all done (I am aiming to go in about a week, on August 30--we'll see if I can get ready [enough] by then!), I will reveal all the designs in full.

A few more glimpses of fun new stuff:

a brand new assortment of colorful envelopes

stocked up on cardstock

new stamps (= new projects coming soon!)

Wowzer! This got long. Thanks for sticking with me. Hope you've enjoyed the photos. Let me know what you think of the new stuff. Ciao!!

MIA & Shop Update

2009-08-03T16:40:00.003-04:00

Ack! I just realized that I have been MIA for two weeks now and that it was time for a blog post. After a rough patch for a while (call it a quarter life crisis or something of the sort), I got back on track. With school and work starting up again for me in a couple weeks, I have been a busy bee lately, trying to cross things off of my to-do list around the house and for the Etsy shop. I have finished-with some degree of completeness-my craft room makeover, cleaned out and reorganized our bedroom closet and dressers (as well as attic storage), tackled a big stack (3 years worth!) of magazines and sorted favorite pages into a binder, redesigned my recipe book template and started entering in all my new favorites, and made a light tent and am working on taking better pictures. [Pics to come of all this soon.]

I have also been working on some new things for my shop: new items, getting ideas for the upcoming holidays, dealing with my first wholesale order ever(!), and preparing to tackle my first local craft fair. I am also coming out with some new product lines for the shop, which I am really excited about and I have a sneak peek for you all today of the first one:

Any guesses on what this new line might be?? More info coming soon, so stay tuned!!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #12

2009-07-21T19:39:00.004-04:00

I know, I have been MIA for a while. It has been a rough past week or so (and a busy one) and then I haven't been feeling well the past couple days, all leading up to no crafting. Not to mention my mojo has also been MIA.... But perhaps it's back.

Here are the colors for Dawn McVey's latest Raspberry Suite Color challenge, and as soon as I saw them, I knew I'd have to muster up the spirit to play. :)

And this is the card I came up with. (Sorry for the slightly wonky pictures, it was getting dark...)
When I saw the colors, my first thought was Christmas. A punchy Christmas, I suppose, but nonetheless. But despite what some may say about timing, July is just too darn early for me and Christmas anything (Procrastinators everywhere, can I get a hallelujah?!), so I went a little girly. Still, I didn't have just the right red in my card stock supply and so I went to patterned paper, stumbling upon this perfect pattern from, of all things, last year's FaLaLa collection from Making Memories. Do you think it's a sign? :)

Once I got out a bunch of supplies that I wanted to use, this card came together in less than 30 minutes, which is record for me. I am the putziest of cardmakers around. I have been trying something new lately when I sit down to craft. Instead of waiting until the very end to glue everything in place (which I normally do, leaving me far too much time to move things around for hours), I have started looking at a piece, making a decision and gluing it down, and then building on that. Sometimes takes the card in a different direction, but not always worse. Sure makes things easier...Actually getting stuff glued on straight? That's a whole other episode.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies
Papertrey Ink-card stock (Spring Moss, Raspberry Fizz, Vintage Cream), stamps (Bird Watching Additions, Fancy Flourishes, Faux Ribbon), ink (Scarlet Jewel), button
Making Memories-patterned paper
K & Co.-heart bling
Prima-flower
Offray-ribbon
Other: Ranger Archival Black ink, EK Success border punch, corner rounder, pop dots

Hero Arts yumminess!!

2009-07-13T16:34:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Hope your week has gotten off to a good start. I am popping in quick with a little (read: BIG) announcement. As some of you may recall, I do love to participate in the fun weekly challenges over at the Hero Arts blog. I haven't gotten a project done for one of those in quite some time and I've been meaning to get back into them and let me tell you, this week is the week to do it! If you have never participated, please take a look-you'll thank me later.

Hero Arts has a big week in store: they are planning to unveil lots of wonderful, new changes to their already fabulous blog and website. Wednesday is the day for something HUGE (but I don't know what yet). There will be lots of games, ideas, and of course, prizes, all week, including DOUBLE prizes on the weekly challenge: to create a project inspired by something on their website (not the blog). They are also now on Twitter and Facebook with even more prizes and fun...Go check it out!!

Like I said, you'll thank me later. :)

A card for a dad

2009-07-12T11:32:00.003-04:00

I realize that Father's day was several weeks ago now, but I was looking through my computer for some other photos and found ones of this card that I made my father-in-law for Dad's day. I took them quickly before we left the house and just forgot about them. But I quite liked this card and wanted to share. ;)
Since my husband never usually leaves all card making and gift giving pursuits to me, this time I told him to choose what he wanted on the card and a technique for me to use (he watches me craft enough to know what some things are and how they work). He chose something to do with golf, because his dad likes that, and he also chose the argyle background stamp (which really does go quite well with the theme), the colors and he wanted something glossy (I had just smothered glossy accents on something else when he made that decision). The grass, tee and golf ball ideas were mine.
The golf ball I made with a lot of trial and error. What worked in the end? I made a template out of scrap paper and used my hole punch to punch a bunch of little holes. Then I put that over my card stock piece and sponged gray ink through the holes. I cut into a circle and sponged the edges, then covered with glossy accents. I like the way it came out. The tee is hand cut from a piece that I stamped with a woodgrain stamp with brown ink on kraft paper.
Thanks for looking!

Supplies
card stock-Papertry Ink
Stamps- Studio G (argyle, sentiment); Hero Arts (bird, woodgrain)
Ink-Colorbox chalk ink (blue, gray, brown); Ranger (black Archival ink)
Rain dots- Cloud 9 design
Other-colored pencil, Glossy Accents, 1/8" hole punch

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #11

2009-07-09T16:31:00.004-04:00

Hi folks! Hope everyone is having a great day. Here it has been drizzly all day, but that's okay because it's a good day for crafting and baking cookies! I wanted to post quickly a card I made for Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite color challenge. I finished it a few days ago but, as usual, did not finish in time to actually participate in the challenge. These were the colors:
I really liked the color scheme and immediately wanted to use my new stamp set "Fruitful" from Papertrey Ink for bright pink raspberries and red red strawberries. But once I started on the card and had all my elements out, I couldn't decide on how to arrange them, which took me longer than expected and past the deadline!
Anyhow, I am really happy with how it came out. This little card has a new home in my Etsy shop.
Don't you just love these delicious buttons from PTI, too?! I've got lots of new goodies to play with and still following along with Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking class over at 2ps, so hopefully I'll have something more to share soon. Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Papertrey Ink- card stock (Stamper's Select White, True Black, Pure Poppy, New Leaf); stamps (Fruitful-berries; Green Thumb-sentiment), ink (Fresh Snow), buttons, twine
Bazzill- card stock (gray)
Other: ribbon (Offray), Colorbox chalk ink (gray), white gel pen, EK Success square punch, Marvy Uchida scallop square punch, stapler

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-04T13:52:00.005-04:00

Hope all you Americans are having a fantastic holiday weekend! I wanted to pop in with some photos from our celebration, which we chose to do on the 3rd this year. It was in honor of my brother, Steven, who deploys for Afghanistan on July 19. He is a Green Beret in the 82nd Airborne division of the Army, a weapons specialist, and has had lots of training to do what he is now being called to do. But I can't help but wonder if that will be enough to keep him safe. We all enjoyed the day, celebrating our nation, our freedom, and the ones so near and dear to us that make these kinds of days possible. This is one of the first 4th of July's that really carries a lot of meaning for me and I know it won't be the last. This is me and my brother (a goofy picture from a couple months ago):
I don't get to see him all too often, not as often as I would like, and I am going to miss him.

But all seriousness aside, we did have a great time yesterday. We had perfect weather-it was about 85 and breezy as opposed to our usual 98+ and stifling thick air. We swam, ate lots of yummy food, and ended the night with fireworks, sparklers and bottle rockets. Can't beat that.

I made these cupcakes: red velvet with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate raspberry.My mom and I made these fun patriotic pinwheels and vellum firework skewers...they looked so great scattered around in red, white and blue bottles!Love love fireworks!!

Today J and I are taking it easy. We slept in after a busy past few days and perhaps an afternoon picnic and another batch of fireworks downtown tonight. Let freedom ring!!

Tomatoes!! (& a little helper)

2009-06-26T16:31:00.005-04:00

Random post alert! I have a few minutes and thought I'd do a quick post about some random stuff. I snapped these out in the garden a couple of mornings ago.

I am quite proud of myself, because although I enjoy attempting gardening, I am lousy at it and last year's tomatoes didn't do so hot. We had them in the ground, which I think is the culprit...our soil, or rather, sand, here is not good enough, even with additions and fertilizer. So pots on the deck seemed the way to go this year. My tomato plants grew up quickly and we have now been getting a good supply of fruits and eating lots of salads lately. Yum!!

On a completely unrelated note, I spent the better part of today cleaning and doing laundry in preparation for some friends who are coming for the weekend. They are staying in our guest/craft room and I needed to get it at least clean and tidied, if not completely organized and put away. When I pulled out a stack of papers and books from this crate table and turned my back for a few minutes, my little "helper" Lance snuck right in. He was just too cute. I had to take a picture. :)

K & B should be here very soon, then it's making dinner (beef with spicy peanut sauce, couscous, and of course, a big salad---we even got some small peppers form the garden today), and off to a baseball game. Should be fun, as long as it doesn't rain. Hope you all have a great weekend!!

2 makeovers!

2009-06-25T20:12:00.004-04:00

This makes three blog posts in one day for me! I have been getting really sick of looking at that old header that I had up and really have been wanting to do something custom and fresh looking for summer, so today I finally sat down and did it. While I was at it, I thought I'd go ahead and get a new picture too. :)

The second makeover I speak of is, of course, the crafty space makeover challenge for my Etsy Greetings Team. It just occurred to me that I have no idea if the "official" 4 weeks are up, and I wanted to get finished (really, completely finished) by this weekend, since I have some company coming to stay. But, as per usual around here, I haven't. I haven't really worked on it lately at all. I am kind of stuck at the point where I have piles of random stuff around that I don't want to deal with-ick! But I do have a few more pictures for you.

First off, remember that gargantuan printer that my dearest hubby rescued from the trash??

Well, it went back where it came from! And cleared up some much needed floor space. We also sorted and put away the piles of equipment and materials on the couch so that someone can actually sit or sleep there. We went from this mess:

To this:
Secondly, if you read my last update, you may remember the corner next to my supplies shelf being piled high with crap and looking a little barren, something like this:
I moved those ugly cardboard drawers and all the recycled cardboard (which I use in shipping) to the closet, and the drawers now hold all my Etsy stock and supplies in one place. The clear drawers on top now hold all my finished cards not part of shop inventory. There is still room behind these drawers for the guest linens and pillows. (That silver thing on the bottom, unfortunately, is part of the AC system in our old home and cannot be moved...poses a bit of a challenge)
(This closet is another story...I don't have a before picture but it was overflowing with wrapping paper and other junk, including two big bags of papers from my husband's desk that have been there since we moved....LAST April!--it's all gone now)

And the corner now holds a few photo boxes with alterables and recycled materials (which will most likely be moved), a few magazines I still need to go through and tear out good pages and then discard, and a basket for in-progress projects, which used to just sit all over my desk. I also moved the bulletin board to this corner and it fits perfectly! It used to be behind the door next my desk, but we almost always have the door open, which means I could never see it; now I can.
I still have a few problem areas that I am working on, (or have a solution for and just haven't gotten around to implementing). One is this little crate table beside the couch. It is stuffed with old magazines on one side (same as the ones above, I need to tear out inspirational pages and toss the rest...you can see on the top of the pile where I started doing this some time ago) and on the other are school materials: notes and readings from previous semesters and research materials. I need to catalog the materials from this past semester and find a better and more spacious home for all of it.Another thing I am working on is storage of my clear stamps. Currently, they are all in this red bin that used to be on the shelf and is now on my desk. It is packed to the brim and the collection is continually expanding...
...making it even harder than it already is to catalog these in my new system! I bought these small binders and sheet protectors at Staples and I am working on reorganizing all my stamps by type of image, not by set. I am stamping an index sheet, along with writing in the set info, and then placing the stamps on a backer of transparency film. Then I slide them into the sheet protectors. This system, though not remotely done, I think will be helpful. Instead of drudging through tons of stamps sets for a suitable "Happy Birthday," for example, I have them all on one or two pages, making my decisions faster. And Lord knows I need that!Thanks for looking at my progress! If nothing else, posting about it will help me get it done!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #10-take 2

2009-06-25T14:45:00.004-04:00

I promised I'd be back! This is the first card that I made for Dawn's challenge using these colors:
I really wasn't crazy about it, something about the two pinkish colors together in such large doses...but I had already suffered major adhesive difficulties and trashed one version, so I slapped it together and called it done! :) What do you think??

Thanks for looking!!
Supplies
cardstock, stamps, patterned paper, ink (melon berry, berry sorbet, vintage cream): Papertrey Ink
brown ink: Colorbox chalk-Chestnut Roan
ribbon, glitter: Martha Stewart
Other: EK Success border punch; Zig glue pen; corner rounder

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #10

2009-06-25T10:15:00.008-04:00

I am so excited to finally be able to play along in Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite color challenge. I always follow along, see the yummy colors, and intend to play, but somehow, the deadline always gets me. I think I am always thinking I have a week to do these things, and not so with this one. Anyway, when I saw the colors for this week, I knew I had to try:
But, they proved harder than I thought! I made a first card, which I hated (but will post later anyway), and then decided to try again. In honor of Dawn, I used her stamp set Scattered Showers from PTI, which I haven't used all that much since I got it. I also wanted to incorporate some of the embossing techniques learned from Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking class at 2peas. It's hard to tell, but I did an embossed resist on the cream panel before inking, and made the umbrellas into faux epoxy shapes. In the top right is a vintage French flashcard- "le temps"=weather and I picked this one with this stamp set in mind! I think I am happy with how it came out.
Thanks for looking! I'll be back later with my first attempt...
Supplies
cardstock, stamps, cream, melon, & berry inks, button: Papertrey Ink
ribbon: unknown
inks: Ranger Distress Ink-vintage photo, StazOn brown, Versamark, Colorbox Chalk ink-Chestnut Roan
other: thread, vintage flashcard, Fiskars border punch, clear embossing powder

kwerner Color Inspiration #55

2009-06-24T17:48:00.007-04:00

I really liked this week's challenge colors. As soon as I saw them, I thought of Basic Grey's Ambrosia line, which features a lot (all?) of them. But, since I don't have any of that line, I was forced to be creative! I kept it simple with this card, doing a bit of stamping with some new Papertrey Ink stamps, some hand-coloring and a gorgeous rust colored ribbon that I have been dying to use, but didn't know what with! Here's the card:
Thanks for checking out my card. I am working on a few other challenges this week. I also have some updates to the makeover challenge and some 4th of July crafty projects I've been working on with my mom to share, so check back soon!
Supplies
cardstock: gray, cream (Papertrey Ink), yellow (Bazzill)
stamps: Papertrey Ink, Bird Watching Additions & Faux Ribbon (sentiment)
ink: yellows/oranges(Colorbox chalk ink queue-Pumpkin Patch), gray (Papertrey Ink), black(Ranger)
ribbon: unknown
gems: Hero Arts
other: Bic mark-it markers, Prismacolor pencils

EtsyGreetings Featured Sale!

2009-06-22T11:34:00.004-04:00

Hi all! Quick post about my Etsy shop. I am running a sale featured on my team blog, the Etsy Greetings team. It is here: http://etsygreetings.blogspot.com/2009/06/etsygreetings-featured-sale-squeeze.html . The sale is a pretty good one, too!

The details: For two days only, Mon June 22 8am EST to Tues June 23 8pm EST, I will be offering 22% off all items in the store, including sale items! As a bonus, if you order two or more items, you will get free shipping on the whole order!! Just enter the code "TWOcool" in the message to seller and wait for a revised invoice.

The sale includes this baby, which is brand new and one of my favorite items. Hope some of you can check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26807958

Craft Space Makeover-Update (photo heavy)

2009-06-20T15:29:00.006-04:00

I am finally back with an update on the craft space makeover. I have two things to admit first though: A-the pictures I posted previously were pictures of the room after I had pulled everything out and started sorting; it doesn't always look like that (but hey, it's gotta get worse before it gets better, right?). B-I had started on my room before this challenge with the EtsyGreetings team began, but had kind of lost steam, so I have been dilly-dallying on really finishing up the last and toughest parts. :) But I have made some progress, and however minor the changes may seem, they are doing wonders for me.

Okay, first place to tackle I didn't even post a picture of before. It is the main shelf where I store most of my craft supplies. Now, many people would look (and have!) at this and say, "wow, you are organized!" All those labeled boxes may look organized, and in principle, are, but the problem is that they were just filled to the gills. Lots of them contained things I never use, not all of my supplies were on this shelf as a result, and new items didn't have any space. I also have a dilemma because of my organizing style: I like things to be closed up. I don't want to see a bunch of junk lying around...it just seems cluttery to me. But with my crafts, I like to see colors and things; it's inspiring. So the challenge was mainly to sort and get rid of stuff, and rework how things are stored on this shelf to make it both more visually pleasing and easier to find what I am looking for.

I started by making a big box of things to get rid of (hello, yard sale or, even better, blog candy?). Then I decided to make this shelf just for my stuff, and moved all the supplies that were for our home office elsewhere. Then I got some pretty storage methods and sorted all the old and new together. Then I put it all back! I am not quite finished...(I want to make a curtain to go around the lower shelves, to not have to see it all and to protect my supplies from the sun. I have some old flat sheets I am going to use but haven't gotten to it yet.)...but it is looking great and the increased function is phenomenal! Here's some pics of the new shelf:

Buttons are now stored by color in spice jars I got from World Market for $0.99 each.I scoured local Dollar stores for weeks trying to get enough of these old-fashioned clothespins to hold all my ribbon collection. They come 20 for $1. They are secured with ball head pins and the jars I got at Target for about $5 each. Perhaps a bit of a pricey solution, but my ribbons needed a place that works (this is so easy now!) and it looks soo nice!

I have collected lots of these little pails from the Target $1 spot for a while and am constantly moving things around in them. I put all my pens, markers, pencils and scissors (colorful stuff) in them. The peanut butter sandwich jar was one of my very first antique purchases (I was about 15) and it holds all my big stickers (smaller and lesser used ones have a shoebox). It used to be on the shelf above my husband's desk, where I could never get at them! :)

Here's the whole top shelf-Yum!

The second shelf: a 3-drawer bin holds specialty paper, chipboard and 12x12 sticker sheets. In the middle is my 8.5X11 cardstock, design magazines/catalogs, and then all my blank cards, tags and envelopes. A sectioned box holds small embellishments.

The third shelf: bin on the left holds paints, brushes, pastels and chalks. middle bins hold wood stamps (I still need to get a better system for these). The plastic shoeboxes hold a variety of stuff-stickers, sewing supplies, glitter/embossing powders, less used adhesives, my Slice machine and heat gun.Bottom shelf: left bin holds sketchbooks, blank albums and coloring books. Middle organizers hold 12x12 loose cardstock, patterned paper and paper pads. The right bin holds small paper pads and paper collections (I like to keep them together).

Ack! What a long post!! Hope you've gotten some ideas from the pictures and thanks for hanging in there. I have lots more to share from my makeover, so come back! Happy weekend!!

Savannah

2009-06-18T15:00:00.000-04:00

We had such a great time in Savannah. The air there is thick with history and richness. The live oaks draped with Spanish moss and the ivy covered brick, the cobble stone streets and the historic squares, the heat and the humidity, the food and the shopping, the hospitality and the liveliness...they all set a lovely backdrop for a fantastic trip. It is such a beautiful city and I thought I'd share a few of my favorite snaps...

water fountain at Forsyth Park live oaks at Bonaventura CemeteryWall of ribbon at @ Home store. I could have bought it all....

Just a note about this photo. It is not the best photo. It pretty much sucks, after a bit of editing. But, out of the 317 or so photos we took, this is the only one of the two of us together. (And we only have it because a woman agreed to take ours if we would take theirs...we need to get better at this). So, despite its flaws in lighting, I love it.
We hope to go back there soon, preferably in the winter though! :)

Anniversary card

2009-06-18T10:33:00.003-04:00

I wanted to post a quick share of the card I made J for our anniversary. I know he is not into frills and fussy stuff, so I tried to make something simple, bright and fun for him. In a way, the card is kind of like how we are. (Sorry for the terrible pictures...I was rushing to get them done and edited before we left on our trip...it shows!)
Supplies: Chocolate card stock, stamps (stars, grid on front)-Papertrey Ink; patterned paper, ribbon-American crafts; spinner-Tim Holtz; orange rain dots, letter stickers-Cloud 9 Design; other-white gel pen, orange paper (unknown)

He liked it, by the way. :) He took down the Valentine's card that has been on his dresser since February and replaced it with this one!!

Off to cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping. I'll be back later with a craft space makeover update.

New Goodies!

2009-06-17T19:35:00.006-04:00

I am back from a wonderful anniversary weekend in Savannah--lots of yummy food, beautiful sights and quality time with J. Can't ask for more than that. I will have pictures (out of the 300+ that we took) soon. :)

But for today, I wanted to post quick about some of the new goodies I got while we were away. I am always looking for little shops to go in and find neat things. It is one of my most favorite vacation activities. Fortunately for me, I found lots on this trip. First was a scrapbook store in the small town of Beaufort, SC. This town is very charming and on the way to Savannah. My mom had visited before and said we should stop, which we planned to and when I found they had a scrap store, I HAD to visit, especially since ours closed recently. There I got some new papers I've been eyeing, the Fiskars upper crest border punch I've been dying for, and some foam blenders for my distress inks that I couldn't find anywhere!!

A few shops in and around Savannah yielded these goodies: some wonderful new envelopes-shimmery vellum and map pages-that I will use for something special, old coins with holes, a tin full of vintage looking ephemera stickers, and a bunch of yummy vintage-y goods from a fantastic shop called @ home. Almost all I can say is YUM! The owner, Liz, is super nice and her eye for design completely delightful. The items that she has selected are fantastic and the way she merchandises them makes them so much more appealing. I could have spent hours and tons of money there...check out her blog for yourself here: http://www.vintagegeneral.blogspot.com/ I got some silk ribbon, which I adore (in a champagne color and light lilac), some vintage bingo cards, milk caps, playing cards and French flash cards.

Her site says online shopping is coming soon; until then, I will dream about returning to her shop (and probably stalk her blog relentlessly)! :)
Anyhow, look for these new goodies in some projects soon!

New addition to the makeover challenge!

2009-06-13T07:35:00.005-04:00

Just a quick post to let all of you following this craft space makeover challenge that we have a new addition: Danielle, http://blog.collectiveelements.com/. Here's a picture of her space:

She has a lot of stuff and a little space to work in, but I think she has a plan. Good luck to her!!

"Stuff" box

2009-06-12T19:16:00.007-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I know. We are leaving in the morning for Savannah and I should be finishing the laundry and packing, but I wanted to share a little tidbit on the craft space makeover before we go! On this blog post, Molly Lee highlights her transformation of some goodwill in/out trays to be used as temporary housing for her "I don't know" craft supplies, a "stuff" box, if you will. I really loved the idea and thought that it would work for me, particularly for my scraps of paper.

When I finish a project, I inevitably have lots of paper scraps. I have a bin in a drawer next to my desk for small scraps, but most of the time a sheet is nearly whole or a fairly large piece, and I like to put it back with the other full sheets to use it up the next time. The problem is that I don't always get to do this right away and slowly, I end up with these gigantic piles of paper cluttering up my work space.

So as I was doing some chores today I was thinking of what I could possibly have around the house that I could use for this purpose. And completely by accident, while doing some gardening (more on that another day soon), I found this in the shed:

How great is that?! I have no idea where it came from or why it was in there all this time, but I love it! It is a nice big size, perfect for those 12 x 12 papers, too. :) I washed it up and let it dry on the deck and perhaps when we get back it will get some spiffing up and a new home in the craft room. Yay!

Happy weekend all!!

Makeover!!

2009-06-11T16:56:00.004-04:00

Okay, well, perhaps a mini one. I think I mentioned a few posts ago losing creative steam due to excessive clutter in my crafting space. And just as I had begun to (finally) tackle some of the trouble spots in our office, the girls on the Etsy Greetings Team had started a challenge-to makeover your space in 4 weeks and follow along with the others. I resisted, thinking I had nothing to contribute or gain, but have given in....of course it helps to share your tips and tricks and issues with others!!

Unlike some others, mine is not a space issue. It is not an issue of not having storage space. Mine is mostly a function and organization issue. J and I live in a house with 2 small bedrooms, the second of which does triple duty as our guest room, home office for both of us, and my craft space and necessarily, it has to hold all the related supplies and equipment. As my interests and pursuits in papercrafting have expanded, so have my supplies and I was running out of where to put them so that it made sense. I also was holding onto lots of old things. You know the type. Never really used, can't foresee a use for it, but can't let it go. Those types... I also suffer from a growing addiction to ribbon, coloring implements, and clear stamps, all of which can be difficult to store, considering that I am the type that needs to see things to use them up.

So, a couple weeks ago, I finally pulled everything out of the closet, shelves and from the random piles stacked everywhere and this is what I ended up with:

Add to that mess these crazy shelves, with nothing on the top ones because I can't reach them without a serious stool, which we don't have....

and this monstrosity of a color printer that my dearest husband rescued from the trash heap

and a lack of financing for any over the top solutions and a makeover CHALLENGE is indeed what you have! I have made some progress (still stuck on a few issues) and have pictures coming soon.

In the meantime, check out the makeovers of these ladies, fellow Etsy team members:
Shannen, who inspired the challenge- http://happyelephantdesigns.blogspot.com/
Molly, who started the challenge-http://mollyleecards.blogspot.com/
Genelle, with a great space- http://www.scrapbookcompleted.blogspot.com/
Shannon, whose "Monica Room" had me giggling- http://www.aprilink.blogspot.com/
Karen, who started a blog for the challenge- http://www.lavendergreetings.blogspot.com/

We are off this weekend to Savannah, GA to celebrate our first anniversary and next week I will hopefully have some cool solutions to share, so come back!

CSCC#35: Some like it Hot

2009-06-06T11:06:00.003-04:00

The challenge this week for the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge is the 1959 movie "Some Like it Hot" and I am a guest designer!! I hadn't seen this movie, so checked it out from the library. It was funny, but still didn't win me over to old movies. Just don't care too much for them! :)
It was definitely a challenge! For this card, I was inspired by the black and white, the gender-bending comedy, and the element of disguise in the movie. I chose to do a black and white main card with pops of red (I just imagine Marilyn Monroe in red! :). I made the background black with a masculine pinstripe detail and then added my feminine ruffle in red at the bottom, reminiscent of a skirt. Then because I wanted to echo the surprise element found under the skirts of Joe and Jerry in the movie, instead of opening normally, this card has a hidden slider and the message comes out from beneath the ruffle. I went with a wedding theme because there is lots of talk of that in the movie! Here's the card:
Supplies: cardstock-Papertrey Ink, Bazzill (gray); stamps-PTI(lines, circles), Rubber Soul (image, sentiment); ribbon-Martha Stewart (red & gray), Offray (all other); other-Colorbox chalk ink, PTI ink

That's all I've got for today. Off to play with my niece and nephew that are visiting! Happy Saturday!

Look ma!

2009-05-30T14:36:00.002-04:00

I won something!! See that nice little blue and black Audrey over there on the sidebar? That's my Audrey award, for the Ever After card I made for last week's Cinema Saturday creative challenge. Like I said in my last post, I am so in love with this little card, and I am so thrilled to have won something for it! The best part is, I get to be a guest designer on the blog for next week's challenge-fun huh? I never win anything...I am excited! :)

On the creative side, I haven't been doing much crafting lately. I am into summer mode, which means cleaning and reorganizing the house, and my long overdue craft room is top of the list. It is a war zone right now. But soon I will be back with some photos of my space and my new storage solutions that I think I am going to be happy with, so stay tuned!

I am off to make some triple berry mini cream pies for dessert tonight. Happy weekend!!

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge #33

2009-05-24T17:59:00.004-04:00

I'm back! Two posts in one day, how's that for fun? :)

I have a share for you, but a bit of an intro first. I am starting to get into challenges. I have been doing the Hero Arts weekly challenges for quite some time now and really enjoy having something specific to create for. It works for me when sometimes I get the time to create something but don't have anything good or particular in mind (which happens a lot). Challenges give me a starting point and it's usually pretty easy from there. I just began playing over with Kristina Werner and going to start with Dawn McVey. They both do color challenges and I like them because I usually start my process by picking colors...just what works for me.

But, a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled onto this fantastic challenge blog by accident while hopping around online. It is called Cinema Saturday, as you can see by the title of this post and I love the concept: each week, they select a movie to base your creation around. Can be the music, themes, costumes, characters, lines...anything. They also give one or two basic requirements. I lurked for the last challenge, which was for the movie Twilight because I hadn't seen and didn't want to, but the movie this week was "Ever After," which is one of my favorite favorite movies, so I had to play along!

The movie is a modern take on Cinderella, but set in the 1500's, with Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, and a host of others great actors. It has fantastic music, costumes, setting, is well-written, and it has action, drama and romance all in one--just terrific! As I watched the movie, I was drawn to a particular scene in which we first see Danielle posing as a Comtesse and she first meets the prince. It is one of my favorites. She wears a beautiful green, ivory and gold gown and pearls in her hair, but still wears her peasant shoes and it illustrates perfectly that balance she is trying for between her dual lives. I used her outfit (the colors, the pearls, the lace) and that duality as inspiration for my card. I am utterly in love with it.

Here's a few shots of her in the outfit (from here):

And here's the card:
I love this sentiment (from Papertrey Ink) that I used and I think it was perfect for this card. Despite their "impossibilities," Prince Henry and Danielle end up together. Aww! Even I enjoy a good romance once in a while. Thanks for looking (and reading all this)! Have a good evening!

kwerner Color Inspiration #53-take 1

2009-05-24T09:11:00.004-04:00

If you normally read this blog, you should recognize this card. I am reposting in order to enter it into the color challenge this week at Kristina Werner's blog. I know the colors are not a 100% match (there's a little too little yellow and a little too much orange) but they are so close that I have to! Plus, I like these colors, so I plan to make a new card as well. Maybe later...
If you're new to my blog, check out this post for more info on what these cards were made for. TFL!

Going green...

2009-05-23T17:14:00.006-04:00

Warning: Long post following, but it's a yummy one, promise! :)

Today is Saturday and that means the farmer's market for us. It is one of the ways that we are trying to go green: buying local and organic when we can. This weekly event for us coincides with the challenge over at Hero Arts this week, which is to go green! The task is to use at least on Hero Arts stamps and some sort of recycled material on your card or project. All week I have been thinking and thinking and gathering materials, looking at things in a new light--what could I make with this?? sort of thing on my way to the trash/recycling bin-- BUT I had yet to create anything. Couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do. As it turns out, this challenge spread to more than just my creative projects...

This was our loot for the morning:
fresh flowers, wheat grass for the kitties, potatoes and onions, multi-color cherry tomatoes, beets, yellow squash, strawberries, snow peas, a beautiful head of red leaf lettuce, and fresh rabbit!

As I shopped this morning in the sunshine, unloaded all of our purchases, and began arranging the flowers in my mind, I was thinking about how shopping at a farmer's market and bringing home such wonderful food should equal putting out less waste. Just seems to me like earth karma or something. So as I struggled with finding room in the fridge for that giant bunch of beets, I had to cut off the leaves. But I decided on some new uses for them!

First, with the all-white bouquet I had bought, I couldn't resist those lovely purples stems mixed in! From these:
I got these:

Then, in a stroke of genius (or horrible insanity, I'm not sure which yet), I was suddenly inspired to use the materials I had gained in a card: the leftover leaves and the brown wrapping paper that had tied my bouquet. Here's my card:

This flower is made from recycled tissue paper that enclosed these new flourish stamps that arrived by mail yesterday. (Yum-o! Papertrey Ink this month, by the way) The best part, for me, are the leaves! I made them by rubbing the beet leaves onto white cardstock, VERY slowly and carefully, with an acrylic block to release the juices. All the color on those bad boys is natural--no ink involved!! I am tickled with myself, needless to say. :)
That's all I've got for now; I'll post later with the supplies. We are off to dinner at my parents. Thanks for looking! Hope you are all having a great weekend so far! :)

kwerner Color Inpsiration #52

2009-05-18T16:34:00.004-04:00

For a while now I have been reading Kristina Werner's design blog and following along (lurking, really) with the color inspiration challenges. Last one, I finally decided to play along! Only, I didn't pay attention to the deadline and by the time I got my card done and ready to post, the deadline was long passed (you can now find that card in my Etsy shop---see if you can guess which one). So when she posted the latest challenge, I was determined to just do it and get it in on time.
Here are the colors this week:
I really liked the colors picked this week, despite knowing from the beginning that it would be a tough one--I mean, no black OR brown?! I was inspired by the colors, Kristina's fantastic use of hand-drawn lines, and a need for some sunshine after two straight days of rainy COLD weather. (Seriously...Saturday I thought we were going to get some nicer weather but boy was I wrong!! Yesterday and today have been rain and storms all day and the temperature has dripped from the upper 80's on Saturday, to the low 60's today! Weather sure is crazy...) Anyhow, here is what I came up with for the challenge and sorry in advance for the bad photos! :) Size is 5 x 5 inches. And I think I am now obsessed with this butterfly stamp!!
Supplies: Cardstock (Bazzill-sand, mustard; Papertrey Ink-white, aqua); patterned paper-BasicGrey(aqua), PTI-lemon tart bitty dot; stamps: butterfly(Hero Arts), sentiment (PTI); buttons (Fancy Pants); ribbon (Offray); paper floss (Karen Foster designs); gems (Target); other: corner rounder punch, versamark ink, white embossing powder, pop dots (under butterfly wings), white Gelly Roll pen

Thanks for looking. I'm off to make a special birthday treat for J. His birthday was yesterday but we were celebrating with family, so tonight he gets his dinner choice and special dessert at home. More on that later...Have a good night!

38 long years

2009-05-16T11:28:00.004-04:00

Hope everyone is having a terrific weekend so far. After some rainy days this week, it looks like we're having some nice-and unseasonably cool(er)-weather this weekend---we've actually had just the windows open for almost a week now!!

I've got just a quick share for you guys today. It's an anniversary card I made for my in-laws, who celebrated 38 years yesterday--Congratulations to them!! I apologize in advance for the bad lighting...took these inside at night before I sealed it up in the envelope.

Without further ado, here's the card:

And some close-ups of the details...
Supplies: Cardstock, patterned paper, all stamps, white ink(on yellow heart)-Papertrey Ink; ribbon-American Crafts; ink-Studio G (aqua), Colorbox chalk (brown and gray); other-thread, (Zig) embossing pen, silver embossing powder (Ranger), paper piercer, Fiskars border punch

Thanks for looking and come again soon!!

I could...

2009-05-15T11:33:00.002-04:00

...claim that this is the reason I am not getting any work done:

But that wouldn't be fair to little Marco! He's just trying to get his nap in. :)

Just thought I would share this funny pic. I am off to housework and some planting, but I'll be back later for a share! Happy Friday!!

Gift...

2009-05-12T20:25:00.004-04:00

...card holders!!

I am happy to announce the first of a few new lines of product I have up my sleeve for my Etsy shop: Squeeze Card Co. This line, as I said, is gift card holders. As much as I would always rather give a personalized gift, that is not always easy or convenient. There seems to be the inevitable person for whom the best thing I can come up with is a gift card to their favorite shop or those "just because" kind of gifts. It is these moments that my card holders are aimed at.

This is my favorite one so far! :)

They are all uniform in size and basic design: clean lines, skinny ribbon, and fun images, with a little bit of scallops thrown in for good measure. They all measure 5 inches wide by 3 inches tall and they open up, with a little pocket inside for the gift card (or money). And the best part: they are all selling for a sweet $2.50, much cheaper than you could get in a store these days. Check them out here. There are more to be listed, hopefully tonight, but in the meantime, I'd love to know what you think!

I'm off to make a quick (late) dinner: BLT's. Yum!

The busy month of May!

2009-05-11T13:38:00.006-04:00

May is a busy busy month around here! Looking at my calendar I count: Mother's Day, 6 birthdays (including my own!), and an anniversary--all in the span of 9 days. That means lots of cardmaking going on in my studio and lots of shares coming to you.

First I have a quick announcement about my Etsy shop: I am now a proud member of the Etsy Greetings Team! This seems to be a great team who works together to promote each other's shops and offer fun challenges and support. I am excited to be joining. I have already seen some more exposure, including being a featured shop on one member's blog, The Downtown Boutique. There she features all sorts of wonderful handmade items. Check out this post and the right hand sidebar for my feature. You can also check out her Etsy shop, Rio Oso Designs, with lovely graphic design work.

Now onto some shares!! :)

First I wanted to show you the card I made for my mom to go with her banner, which she loved. I wanted it to have a similar feel, but threw in some girly pink to go with it. And I am in love with the fabulous satin ribbon from Papertrey Ink--must get more!!

Supplies: All stamps, card stock, ribbon-Papertrey Ink; trim-Wyla; ink-Colorbox chalk; border punch-Fiskars

This next one is a card I whipped up for our niece, who is turning 17. I am never good with this age group, being that I never was a typical teenage girl myself, so I always come up with something that seems just not quite right. This time, though, I think I got it right. (I like it so much, in fact, that you may be seeing it again in my shop!!) And, the funny part is that the card ended up matching almost exactly the Old Navy gift card and envelope that we put in it--so not intentional, but fun. This is kind of rock star cool, don't ya think? :)

The sentiment is embossed in silver, but I couldn't get a good shot of it in the fading sun.

The inside has a simple and super quick stapled pocket for the gift card. The message is behind it.

I also wanted to share this neat technique that I learned by [happy] accident. I wanted to put some Glossy Accents over the top of those hearts that I had colored in with pencil, but I didn't want to wait for it to dry, so I thought I would try out my Zig new embossing pen. After I little trouble starting (thus the wierd blue hue on the first heart), I got it rolling and colored all the hearts in quickly and embossed with clear powder. Apparently, the embossing ink doesn't quite stick to the waxy colored pencil, so when it heated up it left this crystally look, like melted sugar. Reminds me of creme brulee! But either way, it turned out to be a perfect look for the top of a cupcake! I will definitely try this look again.

Supplies: pink and gray card stock-Bazzill; white and black cardstock, sentiment-Papertrey Ink; cupcake image-Studio G; ribbon-Offray; metal dots-Colorbok; other: embossing pen (Zig) , clear & silver embossing powder (Ranger), Versamark ink, border punch (Fiskars), gray marker (Staedtler), staples

That's all I've got for you today, but there's more to come. Thanks for stopping by and happy Monday!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2009-05-10T14:00:00.002-04:00

In honor of Mother's day, I thought that I would post quickly here with a little project I made for my mom. The Hero Arts challenge this week was to create a card/project inspired by one of the 2500+ entries for their Win A Day on the Blog contest. I loved Tiffany's idea here of doing a banner for her mother. So, since the family is coming over this evening, I thought it would be fun to have a little banner on my mom's chair. And, since she has just redecorated her room in a white-on-white, shabby chic look, I thought it would be nice to use that color scheme and make it something she could hang in her room once Mother's day has passed. So without further ado, here is my banner!

Supplies: Stamps: HA K5155, F5158, K5107, LP128, LL230, CL290; Maya Road Antique Keys; Inkadinkado Chelsea Alphabet; date stamp (unknown) Other Supplies: twine; thread; cardstock, buttons, ribbon (Papertrey Ink); paper flowers & tag (Prima); chipboard key, swirls, & squares (Colorbok); acrylic paint; white embossing powder; chalk ink (Colorbox); Distress Ink (Ranger); Versamark ink; trinket pins (Maya Road); cotton trim (Wyla)
There are more pictures to be seen at my Flickr photostream.

I am off to get the shopping list and menu for the week done and then it's preparing for this afternoon's company. Hope all the moms reading are having a fabulous day!!

Branching out...

2009-05-03T20:06:00.004-04:00

I am not a seafood eater. Never have been, despite trying it over the years. Lobster in butter? Not for me, my friend. Fish & chips? No chance. Crabcakes? No way José. The thought of a shrimp makes me squirm in disgust. Not to even mention oysters, clams...the list goes on.

Well, given that I am trying to healthy up my diet I have been giving the issue some consideration lately. A couple weeks ago, we went out to dinner with a friend and J ordered pan-fried trout. I tried a bite to be obliging [he always complains that he tries my food and I turn my nose up at his when we go out! :)] and surprise! It wasn't so bad!! Maybe I can do this fish thing after all. I didn't admit that, of course.

But, on Saturday at the farmer's market, all the vendors with fresh meat and yes, seafood, made me do the unthinkable--I wanted to buy some fresh fish! I think for me, now that I realize that maybe all of it doesn't taste as bad as I thought, I need to prepare it myself to get over the semi-phobia I have with it. Not to mention, knowing that it is as fresh as you can get doesn't hurt either. I voted for flounder. Luckily for me (which I found out today), they were out so we went with a fillet of mahi mahi. The guy explained to me how to cook it, which was indeed humbling, as I fancy myself a pretty equipped cook. This was the one thing I hadn't a clue about. He recommended some simple methods and seasoning with ginger.

Tonight I prepared it for dinner, somewhat reluctantly, because even though I bought it, I was having second thoughts. I got on the internet as hunger pangs were starting to grip my tummy and looked for a recipe to guide me on cooking my first fish dish. I found this one from allrecipes.com and with a little tweaking, we ended up with this:

Ginger glazed Mahi, served with brown rice and steamed snap peas. Yum!

It really was fantastic. I can't believe I waited so long to give it a try and I know J is thrilled. He even proclaimed that it was the best piece of fish he has ever eaten. Anywhere. Period. Which is a pretty big compliment. :)

I still don't think I am going near a shrimp anytime soon...

Just landed!

2009-04-29T16:11:00.004-04:00

I have finally finished the baby announcements (!), all 100 of them, for my brother in law and sister in law, who just welcomed our new nephew to the family a couple weeks ago. As a gift, I offered to make some custom announcements for them. They wanted to go with bright colors and kind of a transportation theme, so I created several samples for them to choose from. The one they picked was this:
The front features a little hand-colored rocket with a baby boy touching down, and the sentiment "Just landed!".
The inside has an insert with all the pertinent baby info (created on my computer, in Publisher), and on the left side, there is a shallow pocket with brads to hold a wallet sized photo.

That's all I've got for you today...I have a few more work/school projects to finish up before I can really get down to all the summer goodness I have planned, so by next week there should be more to come. Thanks for looking!
Supplies: Cardstock (red, orange, white)-Papertrey Ink, (blue)-Bazzill; Stamps (rocket, tails, stars)-Sandy Lion, (letters, baby head)-Papertrey Ink; ribbon-Offray; Brads-American Crafts, Other-Prismacolor colored pencils; Ink-Versamark, Archival ink, Papertrey Ink

Hey Cupcake!

2009-04-28T17:46:00.004-04:00

Hi there! Hoping everyone is having a terrific Tuesday. I am just popping in to say that I am still here...chugging away toward the end of the semester, which means lots of creative time for me! :) I finished classes on Thursday but still have a final paper and take home test to complete, as well as some work projects and I am still plugging away at those baby announcements, which are almost done...check back in a couple days for pics of those. :)

For today, I have just a quick share of a card I made for a friend. I wanted to use these adorable Pink Paislee papers I just got, and happened to find some $1 Studio G clear stamps with the same sweet treats theme, so I slapped this together. I liked it so much that I made a second, similar one, which is for sale in my Etsy shop. Thanks for looking!
Supplies: Pink and white cardstock, yellow dot paper, button: Papertrey Ink; green cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, blue trim: Pink Paislee; stamps: Studio G; pink ribbon: Creative Impressions; Other: colored pencils, Glossy Accents (on center heart-hard to see)

Spring is in the Air!

2009-04-19T09:08:00.005-04:00

We have had a fabulous weekend so far...and it's not over yet! With lots of sunshine and temps in the upper 70's here, I am finally beginning to feel as if spring is really here to stay. Yesterday we made our first trip of the year to the farmer's market, although we didn't buy much: some organic local eggs, local honey, some tomato plants, wheat grass for the kitties and some fresh flowers. We also discovered that a little meat shop just up the street from us sells local organic rabbit and lamb at pretty good prices, so that is a trip we will make soon.

You notice I am using the word organic lately. What do you all think of that? I used to think, and still kind of do, that eating organic for most things doesn't make the slightest bit of difference in our health. On top of that, I've often wondered who can possibly afford it--milk at $5 for a half-gallon, eggs at $5 a dozen....just to name a few. In the grocery store, I buy organic when it is on sale, but I think I am catching the fever! Not to mention, when I am buying it fresh and local, eating better and supporting someone that I can see face to face, I can justify the cost. I'd love to know what other people's thoughts are: do you buy organic at the store? shop your local farmer's market? why? (or why not?) Let me know!

I don't have any crafty pics to share today, but in the spirit of spring, I have a few from our young garden.

I am off to make breakfast (eggs and cheese grits) and then it's strawberry picking for us! Happy Sunday to all!

New Baby Card

2009-04-09T00:48:00.006-04:00

Just a quick post here to share a card I made today for my brother-in-law & sister-in-law who are expecting a new baby this week. (Hope they aren't looking!) I was really inspired by the layout of the card here by Kristina Werner. I added a few things to give it a bit more interest, but kept the overall look. I am very pleased with the way it came out...may have to make another one! :)
Supplies:
All stamps, Cardstock, Dotted paper-Papertrey Ink
Button: BasicGrey
Ribbon: Papertrey Ink (cream), Offray (blue)
Other: string, Colorbox chalk ink, Studio G pigment ink

Thanks for looking and come back soon for a peek at the announcements I am making them!

Easter EGGstravaganza!!

2009-04-05T20:52:00.006-04:00

This has been a fabulous weekend!! Spring is finally here-we had temperatures in the upper 70s and lots of sunshine, perfect for preparing for and having our 1st (Annual?) Easter picnic. We are expecting a new nephew this week, so we wanted to have our get together early enough so that everyone could come.

We started the weekend on Friday, just J and I, by dying a few Easter eggs, the old-fashioned way with Paas and colored tablets.

The rest of the time was spent getting the house and food prepared for our event this morning. We had a semi-elaborate menu of: Tomato Caprese bites, fresh fruit, picnic ham, Greek lamb kebabs with tzatziki sauce, deviled eggs, garden salad, mini twice-baked potatoes, chocolate covered strawberries and cupcakes. Yum-o! I kind of went a little overboard, but it was so worth it--if you're going do it, do it big, right??

Big jars of drinks: Orange Lemonade and Lime Rickeys Raspberry Coconut cupcakes (you've probably seen these on here before...)

We had baskets for all the kids, hidden throughout the house, an Egg hunt, and played a few games with prizes.

I made the stickers on custom jelly bean packets and this Egg hunt champ bow with this great stamp set from Papertrey Ink and used lots of pretty ribbons.Our Egg hunt champ, who won with 20 eggs.

Here's me, just being silly.

It seemed as though everyone had a great time and I couldn't have asked for a better day. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Owl tree window card

2009-03-30T21:46:00.004-04:00

Just a quick post, since I haven't in a while. I had been wanting to do last week's challenge at Hero Arts (make a card with a window) all week and had an idea floating around in my head. It got to me so that I even made a sketch, which I never do. The idea was for this little card and I am quite pleased with how it came out, although I really cannot wait for the new woodgrain background stamp to come out, which would have made this a lot easier. The inside reads: "happy EASTER".

We spent the evening cleaning out and re-planting our window boxes with all the new goodies we got at two plant sales this weekend. We have finally been having some nice weather (65 and super sunny today!) and I am celebrating spring's arrival and hoping it will last.

This coming weekend is big one for us: It is Azalea Festival here, which means the parade and maybe a cruise through the streetfair on Saturday. There is family in from out of town, so a cookout that night at my mom's. And on Sunday we are hosting a big Spring/Easter picnic, complete with an egghunt for the kiddos. I am busy planning and organizing so that I can actually have fun at this party instead of running around like a loony and being grouchy at all that is not done. (Which will most likely still happen. But it is worth a try, I suppose. :)

Off to try and make a quick card. Wishing everyone a fabulous week!

Agghh!

2009-03-18T22:47:00.003-04:00

I am translating up to my ears these days, have lessons to plan, books to read, papers to write, a presentation to give, a performance to attend, (lots of) laundry to do, time logs to convert to spreadsheet...on TOP of work and classes and trying to convert myself into a lean, mean exercising machine--whew!

Hoping to get some crafty time this weekend, amidst the yardwork to be done, announcements to make, cleaning to....well, you get the idea. Happy hump day and have a good rest of the week! :)

Quick post...

2009-03-11T17:40:00.003-04:00

I have been busy these past few days, trying to catch up on schoolwork, housework, and workwork during my spring break and haven't had much crafty time. But today I was able to get a card made for my brother and sister in law, who just moved into a new house. I got these new $1 spring stamps (the branch and birds) at AC Moore the other day and have had this idea in my head, and it (gasp!) actually came out so well that I made a second one for my Etsy shop. Two someone's will be receiving a treat! :)
I am off to make dinner... we are having homemade Asian night: pork eggrolls, spicy chicken lettuce wraps, garlic beef and broccoli and rice. Yum! :)

Supplies: Stamps (Studio G-birds, branch; Papertry Ink-grid, sentiment, letters inside), cardstock (Papertrey Ink), patterned paper (Bo Bunny), Button (BasicGrey), Ribbon (May Arts), Other (thread, Colorbox chalk ink, PTI white ink, Pop dots, Glue dots, corner rounder, Fiskars scallop border punch, Marvy scallop circle punch)

Butterflies galore!

2009-03-09T09:13:00.003-04:00

For some strange reason, I seem to have a butterfly theme going on in most of my crafty work lately. Perhaps it is the approaching spring? I don't know, but we have had some excellent weather the past weekend and it should continue...what more can I ask for on my spring break? :)

I have a few things to share. First is a card I made for my friend Kristy for her birthday which was Friday. She loves butterflies and I made the card to sort of match this pair of turquoise butterfly earrings I bought her from Polestar on Etsy. The artist, Jen, has some beautiful jewelry at really reasonable prices and is a gem to deal with (sorry, couldn't resist the pun), so check out her shop!
All stamps, cardstock, ribbon: PaperTrey Ink, butterfly punch: Martha Stewart, Patterned paper: BasicGrey, pearls: Hero Arts, border punch: Fiskars

This next card I did for last week's challege at Hero Arts, which was to use little stamps (less than 1.5 inches). I was again inspired to do something spring-y and didn't have a lot of time to spend, so I whipped this little card up. (Now that I think about it, I seem to be obsessed with this new border punch as well...It is perfect for girly, springy cards!)
All stamps: Hero Arts, Border punch: Fiskars, Other: Stickles

Hopefully with a week of vacation I will be getting some more crafty things done and lots of new merchandise in my Etsy shop, so keep your eyes peeled! Happy Monday! :)

Quick card share...

2009-03-01T17:36:00.004-05:00

Have a take-home midterm to be writing and dinner to cook, so I won't stay long. Just popping on to do a quick share. It has been a while since I have submitted a card to a challenge, at Hero Arts or otherwise. Just haven't had time, haven't felt inspired or a combination of both. So this week, which had some fabulous guest bloggers, I decided to give it a go. I was inspired by this card by Kiara Lee. I especially liked her use of stamping on top of patterned paper, layered circles, and bright colors. I wanted to do a nice springy card using some new stamps. Not sure I am quite happy with how this came out, but here is my take on it...
Off to submit for the challenge and get to work. Thanks for looking!

New haircut and fast little post...

2009-02-26T00:23:00.003-05:00

Busy busy busy around here: lots and lots of reading, midterms, lesson planning, house cleaning, car selling, getting inspections, event planning, trying {still} to get in shape...I have been uber-busy these days with work and school and other important obligations. I am hanging on tight until after next week, when I will finally get a vacation and rest!

For today, just a quick photo. I had been toying with the idea of getting my hair, which has been growing longer since the wedding, cut off. I decided to take the plunge, but I didn't go as short as I have before. I am liking it. Here's a pic of the day it was done. She blew it out straight, which I have decided I like. Maybe we'll see more of that. Jimmy really liked that, so.... :)
Hopefully soon to come are some projects that I am saving until after the recipients get them...stay tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T14:11:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great Valentine's weekend so far. I know I am. :) I awoke this morning to a big surprise bouquet of flowers in the middle of my dining room table. Then we had heart shaped blueberry pancakes, eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast. I have spent the afternoon doing some housework and some crafting. After this past week, while I was laid up with a nasty cold, I sure was in need of both. Tonight we are off to a dinner date--someplace new and I need to dress up?! It is a surprise for me and I am looking forward to it, especially since we are trying to save money and eat better by not eating out as much. This will be a treat indeed!

I am also gearing up for the midnight release of new products over at PaperTrey Ink. This is one of those companies that as soon as you find them, you wonder why it took you so long. I just recently ordered a few things from them and have really fallen in love with their products-stamps, neat packaging materials. I have yet to try their matching paper, inks, and ribbon-which I hear are to die for- but my wish list is quickly growing longer and I am sure I will soon. They also seem like really nice people and I am always happy to deal with those kind. :)

I have a quick share before I head off to get some more housework done before dinner. This is the Valentine's card I made my hubby. I usually struggle doing masculine cards and on top of that, add that it is for Valentine's and I am stumped. But, I tried a slightly more masculine version of the traditional pink, red and white color scheme that I wasn't sure would work, and I ended up quite pleased with the results.

I finally found a use for this neat Collage Press journaling card that I had, highlighting the date for years to come. The hearts on the front and inside (and the "xoxo" inside) are from this nifty set from PTI.
Thanks for checking this out. Have a lovely day!!

Supplies
Cardstock (base red, blue, white): Bazzill
Heart patterned paper, blue fiber: BasicGrey
Journaling card: Collage Press
Ribbon, photo corners: American Crafts
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (hearts, "xoxo", "love"), Hero Arts (small letters, tiny heart[on journaling card], woodgrain[on background, hard to see]), Inkadinkado(large "u"), Studio G (inside sentiment)
Other: Colorbox chalk ink, Versamark ink, white acrylic paint & brush, staples

Several Birds with One

2009-02-08T00:24:00.004-05:00

Card, that is! Having limited time to complete crafty projects lately, I am trying to maximize those things that I do do to have more than one purpose. This week there are several exciting things going on.

Firstly, Papertrey Ink is celebrating its two-year anniversary this month and is offering lots of contests and huge giveaways on their blog. I am having fun looking at all their awesome new products and am making an awfully long wish list. :)

Today's(2/7/09) challenge was to create a card based on the sketch in this post. Since yesterday's challenge there was to use a color combo of red, blue, green and yellow, and I didn't get a chance to participate, I thought I would combine the two. Then, to add another element, I thought I would make a birthday card and incorporate a Hero Arts stamp to get the card into this week's birthday challenge over at HA. Here it is!

This card, rather than opening up the traditional way, is flat and just the small blue card in the center opens to the left to reveal the message. Instead of buttons or brads along the side, I opted for a trio of butterflies.
Materials used:
Scalloped note card-Staples
Cardstock-Bazzill
Patterned paper-October Afternoon
Ribbon-American Crafts
Birthday and message stamps-Papertrey Ink
Flowery box stamp (in center)-Hero Arts
Buttefly punch-Martha Stewart
Other-Colobox chalk inks, pop dots

That's it for tonight...I am sleepy! Thanks for looking!

Language links

2009-02-03T21:39:00.003-05:00

This past week I have been busy busy with school/work and creating and organizing my Etsy shop. And because of that, I haven't had much time to do crafting and I don't have much at all to post in that department. But, to give a little taste of what work I have been doing, I thought I would share some cool websites that I have discovered for language learning. I am soon starting a job giving private group French lessons and I have been exploring some new options for my students to continue learning and hear pronunciation outside of our lessons. Here are a few of the best ones:

BBC languages: has a 12-step learning program, interesting dialogues and videos, helpful worksheets, practice quizzes, and learning games for French, Spanish, German and others

Language Guide: has a site for many languages including English, Spanish, French, German with pronunciation, grammar review, and picture vocabulary guides-all with sound!

French Assistant: has lots of free basic lessons in French grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary with sound

As per usual, I also recommend "the pods" : FrenchPod, SpanishPod, ItalianPod (I use ChinesePod to supplement my quickly-fading Mandarin skills). Each site also offers an RSS feed of their newbie lessons for free through iTunes and some other sources. Check it out!

That's all for today. I am off to do some reading for class tomorrow. Bonsoir a tous!

HA Valentine Challenge

2009-01-26T16:53:00.004-05:00

I finally got back into the challenges over at Hero Arts this past week! It has been a good month since I have participated (just have been too busy or felt too uninspired...) and it felt good to submit a couple of projects. The first one was inspired by a card from Lisa Spangler of HA (which I cannot seem to find right now...I will update when I do). I had been dying to use one of these journaling sheets form Making Memories and the card came together quick and easy, which is good in my book.

The second card is actually not a Valentine, but a wedding card which I made for someone else to give. It coordinates with the bride's color combo (blue and gold) but since I used a heart stamp, I thought it could work for the challenge. And sorry for the bad photo, I was in a rush!
Thanks for checking out these cards! Hopefully more to come...

Yum!!

2009-01-26T09:11:00.003-05:00

This weekend, when faced with task of bringing the dessert for two meals at others' homes, I went with one I've been dying to do lately-cupcakes! I made two kinds to satisfy everyone...

First up, chocolate mint. Gooey with chocolate chips and chopped Andes mint inside and a fluffy chocolate cream on top with little chocolate shavings.

Second, and the all-round favorite, I think, Coconut Raspberry! We couldn't find unsweetened coconut anywhere, so we opted to crack, grate and toast our own and I am sure glad we did because the flavor was phenomenal. I am not a cake person by nature. But for these cakes, I'll make an exception. Moist and filled with fresh raspberry coconut goodness and covered in coconut cream cheese icing. All I can say is yum!

Off to work now, but I'll be back later with the card(s) that I did for the Hero Arts challenge. Happy Monday!

Let it....

2009-01-20T10:04:00.006-05:00

(tuesday 1.20)
...snow!? It is currently snowing, here, on the North Carolina coast! This is indeed unusual weather for a place where two days before Christmas it was nearly 80. I have a few snaps of the house and yard-Jimmy and I both got home early from work due to the weather and had some time to play. But not for long!

Palm trees covered in snow just really makes me giggle...

(friday, 1.23)
I also have a couple quick crafty shares. First one, I meant to post last week, since I made it for the Hero Arts challenge, which was to include pockets on a card (I never got around to entering it). I thought it would be a cute baby announcement, since the inside has a little file-folder style pocket for a photo and some info. And it uses their new elephant set and some woodgrain, both of which I looove!
This second one was for my father-in-law's birthday last Saturday. I used the woodgrain again-I'm on a roll with that-and some fun elements that I didn't expect to make such a nice manly-ish card. Also, I love the patterned paper I used here, from Collage Press (Jackson Lodge 6x6 pad). I had been hoarding it, not knowing what to use it on. Found something! :)

I am off to do some crafting and eat some of the yummy meringue cookies I just pulled from the oven. Hopefully, some Valentine's shares coming soon... happy weekend!

Announcement!

2009-01-19T13:40:00.002-05:00

Things have been so crazy around here. We just rang in the new year and January is more than 50% over already...geez! But I have been busy springing into action! You see, I am notoriously not good at action. Lots of talk, lots of dreaming, lots of planning, little bit of action. And I am not big on resolutions, because who really keeps them anyway? So this year, rather than make some I know I will not keep and rather than talk a lot about what I want to accomplish, I thought I'd just dive in.

So, in addition to the start of a new semester (and 3 new loads of schoolwork) and the return to my job, I have been working on getting into a healthy routine and losing some weight. Two weeks and 8 pounds down, which is not bad considering I have been a bit frazzled and sick in that time. So yay!

But the real announcement is here: I have not been making cards for long, but it is a hobby that I really enjoy and really spend a lot of money on. I only have so many friends and relatives, who also encourage me to do more, to give cards to. And even a smidgen of extra income never hurts. So, for a while I have been hatching an idea to try my hand at selling my cards. I have opened up shop on Etsy!! My shop is called Squeeze Card Co.--you can visit it here. I admit that it is harder than it seems, which is why I have delayed making an announcement about it. I only have a few items at this point, because making them takes more time than I have these days and because I am treading carefully around copyright issues so as not to make more trouble for myself later. After a lot of research, I was disappointed to find out that several of my favorite companies do not seem to allow the type of reselling that I am doing, but I am still waiting for "official replies"...bummer. But I am slowly making new inventory, photographing, editing and listing new items, so in the meantime, check out my shop and leave me a comment here telling me what you think.

Oh, and wish me some luck, 'cause I could sure use it! :)

Quick share...

2009-01-08T22:20:00.006-05:00

Just got back from the gym and about to watch a little TV before shower and bed, but I wanted to share something quick. This is a gift I made for a friend for Christmas and I realized that I have not yet posted it.

This friend is one for whom I cook a lot and she does not cook, but perhaps wants to get there and always asks me for recipes. I think that even if she won't cook them, someone else in her life will, because she is surrounded by good cooks! So, I decided to make a little recipe book, with a sampling of my favorite basic easy recipes and her favorite dishes of mine. The book was part of a package containing some food-related gifts: a couple different chai teas (she looves that), some exotic chocolates, a tea bag press, and I decided to make a matching tea mug with the extra rub-ons I had. It might not last long with washing, but it looks cute!

All patterned paper, stickers, stamps, brads and rub-ons used in this project are from Basic Grey's Offbeat line, which I had been hoarding for a while. I realized that the fruit and veggies theme, and the quirky, non-girly designs, would be perfect for it. Enjoy!

Other supplies used: chipboard arrows and tabs (Colorbök), acrylic paint (on tabs), rubber cement, cardstock (Bazzill), chalk ink (Colorbox), colored pencils, chipboard album(Maya Road)

Off to some DVR'd "Top Chef". Night!

School....

2009-01-05T22:47:00.004-05:00

...starts in two days. Argh!

First, to talk about New Year's! I hope everyone had a spectacular time. We wanted to keep up with tradition and spend it with my friend Kristy, and since they couldn't come here, we went up to Raleigh. We went out to dinner at this fantastic Brazilian steakhouse called Brasa, where we tried an astounding array of roasted meats served continually on giant swords by many foreign-looking men and indulged at the appetizer buffet. The price is a little steep, especially for someone like me who doesn't eat seafood or lots of meat, but hey, it's New Year's Eve, and we allow a treat once in a while.

Afterward, we went back to K & B's place and opened Christmas presents. We got some nice red wines and yummy-smelling candles for the house, and we got them some board games, which we played while drinking champagne. We stayed up to watch the increasingly ancient Dick Clark and the ball drop, after which we were all so tired we just crashed. Feeling more like an old person every day! :) The other high point of the trip was realizing that there was an AC Moore nearby with Making Memories Slice in stock, so I went and got one (and a second cartridge), each for 50% off using coupons and Christmas giftcards. And so far, I love it!

The past few days have been spent de-Christmasing the house, though we've been too lazy to take down the tree yet, and getting organized for school: supplies, books, meal & schedule planning, printing and reading, meetings, and panicking about when I'll have time to get anything done...we'll see how it goes.

Off to get ready for bed and snuggle in for some reading time. Night!