Stampin' & Kwiltin'

FINAL CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGNS

2011-12-11T10:21:00.000-05:00

I got inspired by a beginner Cricut class I took at the local scrapbook store to try my hand at using my Cricut to make the final batch of Christmas cards. It was fun and it was easy to use. The first card I made was actually an adaptation of a card shown in the manual that came with the Cricut cartridge Winter Woodlands. I changed the size of the card and had to make a number of construction changes due to the card size change. It is the card on the left with the reindeer. It was fun to do but too time consuming with all the detail gluing of the Seasons Greetings sentiment. The word "greetings" is in three pieces. I tried using my Xyron but it left all sorts of little adhesive pieces in the narrow spaces. So I only made a few of these and went on to try another design that would be simpler to produce. The second card had more steps, but was actually easier. The only detailed gluing was the pine branch and it was all one piece. I got to play with lots of toys making this card. The Cricut cartridge used for it was Winter Frolic. I used it for the ornament and the branch. Then I also got to use my Cuttlebug and an embossing folder on the background of the card. I use a folder that was made up of all different snowflakes. I also used a Nestabilities label die to cut out the Merry Christmas sentiment. Lots of fun and the card went together quickly. Oh...I also got to do some easy embossing. The ornament was to be cut in two pieces if you wanted a hanger of a different color than the ornament itself. I didn't want to do that becasue it meant more little detail gluing of the hanger cut over top of the ornament. Instead I pressed the hanger portion of the ornament onto my silver ink pad and then embossed that with silver embossing powder. They really look like metal hangers this way and it was very easy to do.

Now I declare myself finished making Christmas cards. I still have some writing and mailing to do but at least they are all made!

QUICK AND EASY CHRISTMAS CARDS

2011-12-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

As promised yesterday here is a photo of the quick and easy Christmas cards I made. I used my Cuttlebug and my new Tim Holtz Christmas embossing folder. The card stock I used was core'dinations. It is a cardstock that is one color on the outside and a different color on the inside, or in the core. By using this cardstock I could add interest to a very simple card through lightly sanding the embossing which reveals the lighter core color.
Two of the cards shown here have embroidered embellishments (the snowman and a snowflake) that I salvaged from a Christmas basket liner that was being thrown away. A third card has a dove and olive branch punched out of card stock and then covered in Dazzel Versamark ink. I used Frost. The final card is simple the embossed words "Seasons Greetings" colored with a glittery Gelly Roll pen.
I made a bout a dozen of these simple cards and then boredom set in. So off to design some different quick and easy cards. This time using my Cricut and some of the Christmas themed cartridges I have. Those are to be shown in a later post so stay tuned. Then I think I am done with this years Christmas card making and it will be on to other things crafty.

ONE STAMP THREE CARDS!

2011-12-07T23:00:00.000-05:00

It is less than three weeks to Christmas and I am deep into making, signing, and mailing out Christmas cards. I am having more fun doing it this year than I have had in a very long time. Last year I mailed out very few. This year...well...suffice it to say I think I am doing my part to keep the US Postal Service out of bankruptcy!

I had some cards left that I made in past years, and I had the few Christmas cards I made at the stamp camp several weeks ago. I've found a scrapbooking shop here in The Villages that carries some rubber stamps its called She Scrapbooks. I found a really cute snowman stamp when I was in there the other day and I used it to make a lot of my Christmas cards. Being that I get easily bored I can not bring myself to make all my cards the same. So here are three different designs I came up with using the one stamp.

I also found a package that had 4 different Christmas embossing folders from Tim Holtz. I used two of them on these cards. One is the full card background on the red card with the snowman in the lacy oval die cutout which was made with a Nestability die. The other is a strip embossing of snowflakes which I than colored over using a GellyRoll glitter pen.

On all three of the cards I added a hat (the snowman stamp is a bare headed snowman) that I had in another Christmas stamp set. The hats were colored and cut out and then placed on the snowman's head with a Stampin' Up Dimensional.

These were all fun cards to make and I did four of each style, but they were way too time consuming to make as many as I needed. There fore I needed a much simpler design. Watch for it tomorrow.

CARDS, CARDS AND MORE CARDS

2011-11-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I attended a Stamp Camp here in The Villages. I've helped put on Stamp Camps before, when I was a Stampin' Up demonstrator, but this was the first I took part in as a participant. What fun! I made 15 cards in 3 hours! Now that's what I call some serious stamping and card making. There were actually 4 hours allowed for the stamp camp, but I was off schedule and got there an hour late. No problem I got everything done.

Most of the cards were designed to be either Birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas cards. I couldn't do much to adapt the Christmas cards to become the Thank You cards I needed to send out, but was able to adapt all the Thanksgiving and all but one of the Birthday cards to be what I needed. So it was a very productive day for me and time well spent. Of course it was great fun!

The Thank You cards have all been sent out. I hope those who received them enjoyed getting them as much as I enjoyed making them. As for the Christmas cards I have a start on the cards I need to send out in a few weeks. I can hardly believe it is time to send out Christmas cards.

I very much enjoy the process of coming up with a card design, but when a large number of cards are needed in a short period of time Stamp Camps are a wonderful thing. I look forward to attending more of them.

My next stamping event will be this Friday. It is not a Stamp Camp, but just a time for me to take a project I want to work on and stamp and make cards with others who share in this passion. I am hoping to spend time making more cards for Christmas at this. They will be my own design and probably mass produced. I have a lot of mailing to do this Christmas season!

MORE FROM THE CRAFT ROOM and FIRST PROJECTS

2011-10-31T21:07:00.000-04:00

I finished up in the craft room today. I needed to make a card today for a friend and so that gave me the impetus to finish it up.

The main thing I needed to work on was the ironing board which had become a gathering place for items that still needed a home. I also had a box in the living room that needed to have a home found for its contents. Homes were found for all and here now is a view of my sewing area. I can't wait to do some sewing in it. I will do so before the weeks end! Even if it is only one seam. I am so loving my new craft room.

Like I said in the beginning of this post I needed to make a card today. One of the emails I got today told me of the death of the husband of a friend of mine in Maryland. I didn't have any sympathy card in my stock inventory so a card making session was in order. I have a favorite set that I go to when I need sympathy cards. It is Close as a Memory from Stampin' Up. I have other stamps I use but this is my go to set when I just want to card to come. I love it! It probably sound a bit strange, but I think sympathy cards are about my favorite cards to make. While making them I pray for and think a lot of the person or family I am making them for. I find making sympathy cards more than just a creative endeavor. It is a very personal and meaningful one. I also love doing the flower image on watercolor paper using my Stampin' Write markers to color the stamp, then I spritz it with water using my mini mister.

I didn't want the only card I made today to be a sympathy card so I also made a Thank You card. I have many Thank Yous to send out. So many people were so generous with their support before I left Maryland and I do want to thank them all. I made the first of my Thank You cards today as well. It's fall and so I pulled out one of my favorite fall sets Serene Sunflowers also from Stampin' Up. This card was going to a very special friend and I love the sentiment that comes with the set. It reads: "True friends grow separately without growing apart". I stamped this on the inside of the card.

I used several techniques in the making of this card. One was thumping which I used on the center of the sunflower. I inked up the center stamp with Close to Cocoa and then thumped the stamp with Chocolate Chip. I also added some bronze stickles to the center to give it a bit of dazzle and sparkle. The sunflower itself I inked in Mores Mustard and then using my Stampin' Write markers colored over the bases of the leaves with Bravo Burgundy and Pumpkin Pie. I think this gave some depth to the flower. In order to put on the stem and leave I used the masking technique.

I was so happy to be back in the stamping and card making mode. It's been a very long time. I look forward to doing more soon. After all I need lots of more Thank You cards.

NEW VIEWS OF CRAFTROOM

2011-10-30T19:34:00.001-04:00

That mess from the previous post is pretty much put together now. I like the way it turned out and look forward to spending time in the room creating. One frustration I have is that I've unpacked everything except for China cabinet boxe3s and I am not finding any of my 12x12 card stock and even worse I haven't found any of my nestabilities! I can't imaging that they were left back in MD but sure don't have a clue where they are. The card stock I can deal with, but I want my nesties!!!!!

Here are two views of the craft room. The first was taken while standing in front of the ironing board and looking into the closet. You can see the new home of my Horizon 7700. I can sew and then turn around and iron without too many steps. The rotary cutting will be a different matter. I think I will need to use the top of my stamp table for that. I love the white storage cubes. I think they look really nice and they really do help with keeping things organized. I am going to label the drawers so I don;t have to keep pulling them open to see what's in them. Label makers are wonderful things.

The second picture is of the stamping area. Yes I know I have way too much stuff, but I plan to use it all one time or another.

First thing up is making lots of Thank You note to send to my wonderful friends up in Maryland who gave me such encouragement and a wonderful send off.

I purposely didn't take a picture looking back at the ironing board. It still has a pile of things on it that I know where they are going but just ran out of steam. Tomorrow I will finish that off and take a picture of that corner of the room. One thing I still need for this room is a waste basket. That blue basket is a paper recycling container.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

2011-10-26T22:41:00.000-04:00

I am into my new home in FL. At the moment I am still working on the unpacking. I am being challenged by having to fit what was in three rooms into one. Well one and a small walking closet. Fortunately for me the master bedroom has two closets so the smaller one has become a craft closet for sewing supplies, fabric and other non-paper craft items.This picture shows the side of the room that will be used for me quilting and sewing. Not much space but I think it will work. As I said I have to store the fabric else where. So its in the bedroom closet. We'll see how it works but I really don't have any choice. There's just no space in this room for it.

This will be my stamping and scrapbooking part of the room I've had to go up and will also try and make some things accessible under the tables. All my paper crafting items and supplies are stored in this room. That's why there is not room for fabric.

When I get things all in place I will take some more pictures and then I can begin creating. It's been so long since I have had the time or desire to sew or stamp. I can't wait to get back to it.

I'LL BE BACK

2011-09-28T22:01:00.000-04:00

I haven't been around because much is changing in my life. In a little over two weeks I am making a major move and heading to Florida to begin a new life. As part of that new life I plan to refocus on my creativity. I have had nothing going on in that area of my life for many months now and I am looking forward to re-finding that part of me. See you in October. It may be closer to the end of the month since I will have to find things. Hopefully that will be more fun than the packing of them has been. I'm guessing it may be like Christmas; opening all those boxes and rediscovering my toys and tools.

IT'S A POLKA DOTS AND PAISLEY KIND OF DAY!

2011-07-06T19:13:00.000-04:00

Today it's a Polka Dots and Paisley kind of day. This is another older Stampin' Up stamp set. I say older because I stopped being a SU demonstrator in 2009 and so I know I got the set before that. I haven't even seen a catalog since then so I have no idea whether it is a retired set or not. Oh well.

I did not find this an easy set to work with. I had to spend a lot of time in the Split Coast Stampers gallery of cards for this set to get some inspiration. I did manage to come up with 6 designs. Today /i have here two cards where I used the flower stamp three times on each. On this first one I used same color flowers. Once again I used my markers to color the stamps, huffed on them and then stamped. Unlike the past two days this time I didn't use watercolor paper but just white card stock. I wish I could tell you what kind of card stock it is but I can't. I have many different kinds and over time I have lost track of what is what. The patterned paper here is another of my scraps that was found in the brimming scrap folder. The sentiment is not a SU stamp but is from a large set of stamps I got at Costco years ago. I'm not sure of the company, but know it is an acrylic stamp.

For the second card here I colored each flower differently. I forgot to say that I used my stamp-a-ma-jig for the first card as well as this one to get the placement of the flowers where I wanted them. I just love that little gizmo. Once again I use designer paper scraps and also my scallop punch which is from SU and I love it! The sentiment on this second card is part of the Polka Dot and Paisley set. The ovals were cut using my Cuttlebug and spellbinders oval sets.

So that is today's post. I am so happy that I got to do some stamping last weekend. I really need to make time to do more. I am a much more content person when I have put rubber and ink to paper withing 24 hours or so........

MORE EASY ELEGANCE

2011-07-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

The previous two cards had all three of the Easy Elegance flowers on them. For this card I only used one of the floral stems. I've been going though a major clean out of my home and part of that was sorting through organizing and, yes, even reducing my scrap stash. I have a file folder full to brimming with designer paper scraps. While working with this stamp set I remembered a scrap I had found of a paper that had a floral motif very similar to this stamp. Digging through the scraps again I found it and this is the resulting card. Once again the image was colored with my water color markers, spritzed with water and stamped onto water color paper. I pulled out another favorite tool to distress the edges of the water color paper to give a torn appearance to the rectangular piece, I think the jagged edges work well with the somewhat irregular appearance of the watercolor stamped image,

All in all I like the look of this card.

Tomorrow I'm move on to my use of the Polka Dot and Paisley set. It was a very challenging set to use. I needed to get some major inspiration and help from the Split Coast Stamper gallery for this set.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I STAMPED TODAY!

2011-07-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

It's been so very long, but today I actually allowed myself to take a break from all that needs to be done and made some cards. I stamped pretty much all day, rediscovering how much I love creating cards. I also rediscovered that I am not a neat stampers. Hard to believe one person can create such a mess is such a short time. BUT it was a lovely mess.

I haven't purchased any new stamps in over a year so I pulled out two of my old sets and challenged myself to use only those two sets for my days worth of creativity. The two sets I used were Easy Elegance and Polka Dots and Paisley. Both are Stampin' Up sets from when I was a demonstrator.

I love using the Easy Elegance set with water color paper. I colored the stamps with my water color markers and then spritzed them with water just before stamping onto the watercolor paper. This stamp set has three lovely long stemmed flowers and I used them in both a portrait and a landscape arrangement with the Top Note diecuts using my cuttlebug. I love my bug!

If you are not familiar with the Top Note die that is from Stampin' Up it has a perforation that gives you a cutting line to follow if you want to create two layers. I cut down the water color die cut so that it would layer over the top of the color. For both of these I stamped the flowers after cutting the shape so I could place them where I wanted them.

More designs later. I can't use them all on this one post becasue who knows when I have another day to stamp again for a while.......still so much that needs to be done around the house. Right now that is number one priority

UFO'S AND "CLUTTER"???

2011-05-10T22:15:00.000-04:00

First, do you all know what a UFO is? No, I don't mean a vehicle with aliens. In the quilting world and I assume general crafting world UFO's are UnFinished Objects. I am not doing any crafting these days. Instead I am in the midst of sorting though a house full if items and determining what to keep and what to get rid of. I need to fo this because I will be downsizing my living space in the not to distant future. So instead of creating I am discovering projects begun and then for a variety of reasons put aside ans forgotten. It is not an easy thing to discover how side tracked I get. Some things I choose to keep in hopes that one day my life will return to quilting and stamping. Other things will be tossed or maybe I will be able to find a new home for. There are quilters out there that like to finish stated projects. I hate to toss things, but I know this will have to happen.UFO's can become clutter. This is what I don't want to move. So for the moment there will be no reports on projects. I eagerly anticipate when I will be able to do so again. Any one want some fabric or wooden blocks???? What was I going to do with all those blocks from stamps I didn't mount anyway?

YES I'M STILL ALIVE!

2011-03-19T10:05:00.000-04:00

Life has kept me occupied with issues other than crafting at the moment. I do a little, but it's just not a priority at the moment. Maybe if I could figure out how to remake it a priority life would be better. But I did take time out to go on a wonderful trip related to quilting. I wish the week didn't have to end, but alas it did and I'm now back to what seems to once again be mere emotional survival. This too will end in time and I will move on to another chapter in my life. I did want to share with you a short peak at my wonderful week. For those who might read both my blogs please pardon the duplication.

GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS

2010-11-28T21:34:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is over which means though the calendar says it's still fall the season says its time to get ready for winter and Christmas. Here is a new Christmas card I made last week. The layout is quite simple, but I think it needed to be simple to highlight the background I created.

For the background I used my Cuttlebug and the snowflake embossing folder. In order to get a nice deep embossed image I used GinaK's heavyweight (120lb) white card stock. The debossed image became the right side of my background. This was so I could roll the blue ink over the cardstock using my hard rubber brayer. You can't tell in the picture, but the while layer behind the snowflakes layer has the edges painted with icicles stickles to give the sparkle of new snow when the sun shines on it. I colored the snowman and birds with my copics and added liquid applique to the hat brim and pompom.

It was a fun card to do and really not all that difficult.

BACK TO STAMPING!

2010-11-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

Along with other things I have been stamping. Several weeks ago, actually probably over a month ago but who's counting, GinaK did a video on StampTV on an emboss resist technique. I loved it and couldn't stop playing around with it. I used it on several different cards. This is the first I came up with. Not too impressive here in the photo, but it really does look much brighter in real life. The embossing and then inking and the resist is easy to do.

I wanted to try something different with it and I was using my French Script Stampin' Up background stamp for the writing in the background so for one of my next cards I used my oval nestabilities and created a mask to stamp over to get the words in an oval shape. I then used other of the oval and scalloped oval nestabilities to finish the layout.

I like how this technique can produce what I Think of as "clean and simple" cards without being just a stamped image. Now I want to try it moving away from the leave motif. I think it would work with any chunky solid stamp and I'm thinking of other backgrounds. I think it would also work with patterned or designer papers in the background under the embossed image.

ANOTHER MONTH PASSES........

2010-11-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe but another month has passed. I just don't have very good control of my time it would seem.
The good news for me is that though I have not been getting here to post craft updates I am crafting. I'm still moving slow to accommodate the pain of the broken collarbone, but I can pretty much do everything except for machine quilt medium to large projects.
The one thing I have been able to do with no problems at all because it only involves movement from hand to elbow is crocheting. So I started making these necklaces.

They are 7 lengths of trellis or ladder ribbon yarn each one single crocheted and then all tied together at both ends. My sister has been making these for over a year and had shown me how to do them last Christmas, but I never tried one till I was desperate to have something I could do. They are very pretty and are so light that you are not even aware they are around your neck. They are also quite easy and quick to make. I made about 50 or 60 of them in about three weeks. After today's craft festival at our church I have 10 left and now have ordered more of the ladder yarn. People love them, which of course I love.
I've set up a sub category of my Suzanne's Needle and Stamp craft business and call it Chains of Love. I've want to do something to help others and have decided that I will donate $1 from the sale of each necklace to a local shelter for homeless women and children. I chose the name Chains of Love since the necklaces are basically made up of only single crochet chains. That they are so popular makes me very happy for that reason as well.
Up to now my efforts at crocheting have been pretty minimal. I'm not very good at anything but single crocheting so these are perfect for me and I have now added yet another craft to my ever growing list of loves.

EEK!

2010-10-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

Oh my gosh it has been a long time since I have posted here. I admit that for the past three weeks I haven't been doing much thanks to a broken collarbone, but prior to that there was no excuse except pure laziness. For some reason taking pictures, processing them and uploading them here just became too time consuming....not sure why that is but that is all I can figure. Since my crafting is still somewhat limited, but I can now at least operate a computer and type two handed I will dig back into the archives of this summers photos. (I did at least take some pictures) and do some posting.

Here are two cards I made using the same stamped image, water colored in different schemes. I used Cuttlebugged embossed backgrounds in both as well as ribbons and brads. Layouts for each card is similar. Yet the cards are different. So what I have here is almost identical elements but two different cards. A fun exercise for me to do and also a lesson that you don't always need to reinvent the wheel to get a unique card.

Not sure when I will get other cards done. I have a special order I need to fill, but learned on Wednesday that card making is something that currently hurts my body to do. Why does it seem to be an unwritten rule that what ever side you dominantly use is the side that you always injure???? Yes, being left handed it was my left collarbone I broke and my left arm that doesn't like a lot of movement. Fortunately the special order is for a friend and I think she will understand if all 10 cards aren't delivered at once. I can knit and crochet with better ease so will get some new things done in that arena. So grateful I am not a one craft person or I would be a very sorry case right now!

NEW BADGE ON RIGHT!

2010-08-01T20:30:00.000-04:00

This isn;t really a craft posting. I wanted to point out a new badge posted on the right. It is for a group called BETA. Please take time to check it out. BETA stands for Bring End To Alzheimer. It is a new organization just started by three wonderful young people. I am proud to say I have known Leslie, the president of the organization, since she was a toddler. She and my daughter Stephanie started in the church nursery together. I've watched Leslie go through many stages of life as she found herself. She is a wonderful young lady who has a heart for helping others.

STOLES

2010-07-20T19:27:00.000-04:00

Since it is Vacation Bible School week I am not getting to do much personal crafting. Any craft time I have involves 105 kids from 3years old thru 6th graders, So, in order to keep posting I am digging back to what I have been doing since spring.

Today I am featuring stoles I made for each member of our church's confirmation class. I have been been making these stoles since the 1990's. I'm not actually sure when I started doing them but I know I began while Rev. Kaylor was pastor and he retired in 2000. I'll guess it was around 1998. I have used this design each year I have made them, but each stole is personalized with a label listing the confirmands name, the date of their confirmation, the location and the name of the minister that confirmed them. I used to also put the name of the confirmands mentor, but we don't use mentors any longer so that line has been eliminated. I print out the labels on my computer using pretreated muslin sheets that have been adhered to freezer paper. The dove is appliqued and the ribbon under the dove has a pretty edge. I try to find something with gold on it but this year I could find a ribbon with gold that I likes so I used a ribbon with embroidered roses on it. Some years I've had to make 12 or more. This year I think I did 8.

CARDS AND INCOME!

2010-07-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

Yes I have found time to do some stamping. I have even more incentive to stamp when it involves making some income and every once in a while that happens. Unfortunately not as often as I would like, but then I am a crafter not a marketer. A few months ago I received an e-mail from a friend of a friend who heard I made cards. He asked if I could make wedding cards and if so would I make him several for weddings he was attending this summer. OF COURSE! That was my reply with a few questions on the type he was looking for. His response was ones suitable for weddings....the rest was up to me. OKAY! Then I panicked....weddings are very important events, very special events and not just any greeting card would do. Could I create something that would meet his expectations???? Well I guess I had to since I already had agreed to!

I set to work starting to look for the wedding set I thought I had.....oh yeah...I sold it at a yard sale because I found making wedding cards to stressful because of the importance of the day! So first stop in making these cards was a trip to Michael's and the AC Moore....neither store had anything I liked anymore than the stamps in the set I sold.....things were not looking good....Fortunately then I had the opportunity to make a trip to BWI Airport; don't remember why or for who, but I did and this put me within a quick side trip to the only rubber stamp store I know of in the area! (Metro DC is just not known for its interest in crafts or craft supplies I have decided.) Fortunately they did have a couple of stamps I liked. At this point I'm starting to think no one must like making cards for weddings because there does not seem to be a demand for wedding stamps and there for no real selection to choose from.

I purchased the two stamps I liked best and these are the three cards I came up with. Fortunately my customer was pleased with them all. WHEW! Now I need to get back to using them once again and make more wedding cards. This has been the year of weddings. I've already attended two, have two more to attend and have declined invitations to four others....I guess all those kids I have watch grow from babies to young adults are now at that age.

Fortunately I am ready for what follows after weddings....I have lots of welcome baby stamps. I do hope I don't need them for a few years at least. Though come to think of it...there were a few weddings in the past three years so maybe I do need to start planning........

I'M BACK....I HOPE!

2010-07-18T22:58:00.000-04:00

No I have not fallen off the face of the earth, though there have been days when I've wished I had. I can't believe that it has been since April that I posted here! In that time a lot has happened in my life and the life of family and friends around me. There have been laughter and tears, lots of long hours working, weddings of family members and friends, funerals, even a few days off for vacation. Through it all I have managed to get some crafting done, though never quite got here to post about the projects completed and those in progress. I hope to do some catching up over the next few days showing some of these projects so I have a written record of them and my crafty friends don't begin to think I've become a crafting slacker...

Today I am sharing a photo of my completed quilt for my local guilds April quilt show here in Gaithersburg. I took the picture of the quilt last week as it hung in the American Quilt Society show in Knoxville, TN. I treated myself and my mom to a two day visit to the show. We had a wonderful time. I admit to having a bit of an ego. I was amazed at the thrill I felt when I came around the corner and saw not only my quilt hanging, but also saw several women seemingly enjoying looking at it. It was a wonderful feeling of affirmation.

I feel very honored to have a quilt in this show and I feel humbled as well. The quilts here were amazing. I don't think even in my dreams I could ever approach the talent and skill I saw in many of them. They were absolutely amazing and I could have looked at them for hours. I wish I could show some of them to you. Unfortunately I can't. Though viewers were allowed to take photos of the quilts we are not allowed to post them anywhere. I guess due to copyright issues. Personally, I would be thrilled to have someone want to show off my quilt, but I understand others wanting to not have that done with theirs and so I will honor this rule of the show. So you are stuck with just seeing mine.

I have one final photo I would like to share it is a close up of the top box on my quilt. The name of the quilt is "Good Things Come in Boxes". So of course I had to put something in one of my boxes. It's hard to see this when looking straight on at the quilt, but this last picture was taken looking from the side. The top box has a tassel hanging from the lid. It you lift up the lid under it in the box are diamonds. Well really crystals that are adhered to the quilt top. You get an idea how this works in this last picture.

So there you have it. I am back to posting. Tomorrow I will try and be back with a card or two I have made in my absence. Though I have been mostly sewing I have done a bit of stamping and need to do more, maybe this week....we'll see. This week is Vacation Bible School at our church and I am in charge of crafts for over 100 children. I do have many able helpers though so hopefully even with work in the afternoon following VBS I won;t be too tired to post or to craft on my own......
So till tomorrow.......

BIG THANK YOU'S & A QUILT

2010-04-03T22:09:00.004-04:00

First I need to give a big thank you to several people who were so wonderful in responding to the loss of my camera. There are so many wonderful and giving people in my life...I am truly humbled by their generosity. First a quilting friend offered me a camera that she no longer needed and she was willing to bring it to me Monday at out quilt guild meeting. Thanks Ellen for your generous offer which I found a god send. If you read this before Monday night you will see that though the offer was gratefully received other events have recently occurred which mean that maybe someone else can benefit from your offer. Secondly, my dear daughter brought me her camera which had recently been replaced by a newer model. It cam in very handy to take pictures during a bridal shower for my new daughter-in-law and is very nice as it is a small pocket size unlike my previous camera which was more powerful, but also much larger. Finally my absolutely wonderful brother without asking simply sent me a replacement camera saying he missed my pictures. I didn't even know he knew what kind of a camera I had, but he did and he sent me the same model so I wouldn't need to spend time with a learning curve and a new camera. I am so blessed!

So as I said Ellen maybe someone else can benefit from your camera. Stephanie...I may just keep yours to carry in my purse for those unexpected photo ops. Rich, I don't have words enough to thank you and now on to my new quilt project photos.......

My first photo is a picture of the fabric I had to work with. This came from the quilt shop where I work, Capital Quilts, in Gaithersburg. The owner of the shop was a bit amazed that she not only had purchased one but two bolts of this fabric. I did have to agree that this was a rather unusual fabric for a MD quilt shop to have in stock. Maybe it would work in a quilt shop in one of our western states, but Montgomery County, MD.....not so much. She challenged me to try and do something with it and I decided to take her up on the challenge. This is the quilt I came up with. It is a quilt called Chop Suey Quilting. It is either a large wall quilt or lap quilt size at 38" x 55". I chose my fabrics with a feel for the southwest, especially with using the turquoise.

The quilt is called Chop Suey I think because the way you make it you really don't know what you are going to end up with until you are near the end of the process. Here is a close up of the center of the quilt where I think you can see the use of the Indian themed fabric better. Can you find the cut up fabric?

This was a fun quilt to make and I will hopefully be teaching a class on how to make it. I say hopefully because if no one signs up for the class obviously I won't be teaching it, but I'm not going to worry about that right now. Too many other more critical worries at this point in my life right now.

One thing I became painfully aware of while finishing this quilt is that I am not a very good machine quilter. I'd like to blame it on the fact that my sewing machine is 24 years old and not really a machine designed to be used for machine quilting like the newer ones are, but in truth I'm sure it is more operator problems. It does do a pretty good job of piecing the tops though and I really do much more enjoy the process of piecing over that of quilting.

Yes, I am a self confessed topper not a true quilter!

STILL WORKING AWAY!

2010-03-20T09:22:00.002-04:00

I'm still creating and working away getting ready for the up coming quilt show and craft sale. Unfortunately until I make a few decisions and come up with some money that isn't already budgeted for something there will be no pictures.....(picture me with a very sad face). I just got back from a wonderfully relaxing few days at a beach. It was all I could have hoped for, and I did keep creating and working on things while there while listening to the waves crash on shore. Unfortunately on the first beach walk a rogue wave came much higher than all others and I was busily focusing on what would have been a wonderful picture of a seagull perched on a post coming out of the ocean. My friend did yell out watch out, since she was watching the waves and not the bird. A smart person probably would have stood still and just suffered wet pant legs and shoes. I on the other hand looked up saw the wave and immediately set to trying to out run it; me going backwards of course. NOT SMART! Next thing I new I was looking at the beautiful blue sky and was a very wet sandy mess. I was not hurt, but alas my camera did not fare as well.......hence no more pictures. I hope to have this figured out though soon as I can't imagine living without a camera for too long. I guess I will try to schedule a few more work hours into my day or finally get the Etsy shop up and running....oops can't do that cause I need a camera for the pictures.....I'll come up with something. Anyone have a spare few hundred $'s lying around? Well I didn't think so.......but it was worth a try......:) Now it is off to work.......

HELPERS!

2010-03-14T22:13:00.002-04:00

A girl can never have too many helpers! Since I am on my own now I created myself a couple of helpers to both keep me company and help me with the many tasks that seem to be piling up around the house. There never seems to be an end to the sewing projects between getting ready for the FSQ quilt show and boutique and creating class models and projects for the quilt shop. So I created Augie....she really knows her way around the sewing machine.....well at least she thinks its a fun and comfortable place to hang out on. She does have a bit of a problem reaching the foot pedal. Oh well at least she is cute and brings a smile to my face. Another great trait of hers is she is a wonderful listener and doesn't talk back....

Lately it seems that when I am at home and not sewing I am here on the computer. There's always work to be done here: Blog entries, e-mails to read, finances to track, research to be done.....yada yada yada......oh and yes for relaxation a few moments on Facebook, Splitcoast Stampers or Stamp TV. I thought I could use some help on the computer as well. Augie was busy at the sewing machine and well she really doesn't have fingers appropriate for computer work; enter Octie. She has tentacles perfect for hitting those computer keys. Unfortunately Octie likes simply hanging out on my laptop as much as Augie likes sitting by the sewing machine.

Oh well. I guess I will just enjoy them for their cutenenss and continue working on my own. They will just have to put up with my talking to them and sharing the events of my day and plans for future projects and activity. Just having someone to talk to makes them worth their weight in gold.

FRIDA THE FISH

2010-02-16T22:03:00.002-05:00

The ADD has kicked in and it was time to try a different project.....so meet Frida! Yes she is knit and yes she's a fish......

I actually started Frida last November. ADD kicked in then before she was finished and I was off on another project. I guess the snow has put me into a "finish it" mode this week. I have finished quite a few projects. All the others where sewing projects. With the Olympics on TV I have been looking for had projects that I can do in front of the TV. So Frida was finished!

For those that don't know Frida is an amigurumi fish. What, you may ask, is an amigurumi???
Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. According to Wikipedia, "The pervading aesthetic of amigurumi is cuteness." I think Frida is definitely cute! If you would like to make a Frida Fish the pattern can be found at Lion Brand Yarn's web site. You have to follow the link to patterns and then go to free patterns or do a search for Amigurumi.....there's a lot of cuteness to be found there.

FINISHED CHALLENGE

2010-02-10T21:14:00.003-05:00

It's been quite a while since I had attempted a quilt top with this many small pieces and this complicated. I guess that is what being snowed in does to you. There are only two different blocks in this top. They are 12 inch blocks and this quilt will be either a wall hanging or a baby quilt. I don't really think the materials or the design lend it to being a baby quilt unless there are some parents who are very willing to think outside the box. It could be a lap quilt for someone is a wheel chair though is it probably a little wide for that.

The interesting challenge I had in putting this quilt together was keeping track of where each fabric when and also coming up with easier and more current piecing techniques than the book offered. I wasted a lot of fabric using a method given in the book for one of the blocks.

The book I used was a old one and it was interesting to see how far we have come in making quilt making easier and more stream lined.

Now I have two quilt tops to quilt and bind before March 1. Hopefully the snow will stop falling and begin to melt soon so it is easier to get out and about. I have the batting for each, but a needing to get the backing for each. For those who are not familiar with Washington DC and metro area weather at the moment....we are currently drowning in snow. 30 inches here in Germantown last weekend and another 15 inches today and it is still snowing........I guess this is why I had time to complete several complicated quilt tops......

I really need to get back up to my paper crafting studio....I have at least another two days being basically snowed in so guess I can head there in the next few days.

I also will show you the little min I made today...the pinwheel blocks here are 1 1/2 inches square. I put the tape measure here so there was a reference point as to the side of the little quilt. I really like making these little guys. however people outside of the quilting world have no idea what they are. Simply they are little quilts. Most are used as a picture hung on the wall. A few may be used for quilts on the top of doll baby beds. They are wonderfully easy and quick little projects that use up scraps left over form other projects. What fun....

Now I am working on making several sets of coasters for the upcoming quilt show. I have till April 23 st make items that will be available for sale in the guild boutique...a great place to find gift items.

So much for a projects from several days being snowed in....I will have at least two more so we'll see what comes out of them.

PIECES!

2010-02-07T12:28:00.002-05:00

This is the beginnings of what I hope with be a wonderful wall hanging. This is the start of my Bloomin' Challenge for the 2010 FSQ quilt show. Anyone have any ideas what it will look like in a few days? I'm not even sure do. Hopefully it won't be too dark......that is my worry.

Stay tunes for more updates as I sew my way through the Snow of 2010.

DAY OF SNOW AND QUILTING

2010-02-06T19:22:00.002-05:00

'Twas a very snowy day in the mid-Atlantic. This made for a day of wonderful quilting, between the shoveling. I did finish my Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend quilt top. Maybe tomorrow I will baste it and begin quilting it. I also did some work on my Bloomin' Challenge quilt too. I don't have anything worthy of pictures yet but maybe tomorrow. I will have a few more days I think that can be devoted to quilting between the bouts of shoveling and digging out. So stay tuned....tonight a headache has set in and so I think it's time for some dinner and a little rest.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

2010-01-28T20:25:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been much time for sewing or crafting the past week or so, but there are deadlines looming so sleep has been dispensed with. The quilt show is coming up in April and there are challenges to be tackled and boutique items to be made. This is my work in progress for the guild challenge which it titled "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". The rules were all sides needed to be between 35 and 45 inches. The background needed to be black and there must be at least 10 diamond shape in the quilt.

The top is almost completed I have some tumbling blocks to applique on the top but haven't decided whether I am going to quilt first of after the applique. Probably after.....so I have a bit more to do before I begin the quilting. I have until March 1 to have it ready to turn in.

I do need to make time to get into the stamp room. I sold so many cards at Christmas that I hardly have any in stock. Oh...so much to do and so little time to do it. Good thing I rarely cook any more.

2010-01-23T12:40:00.004-05:00

Had a special birthday card to make so actually got some stamping done. Not happy with the photo but trust me it looks quite nice in real life!

I finally got around to using my cupcake die cut from Stampin' Up. It's really fun. I embossed the Bravo Burgundy cardstock with a Cuttlebug folder to give it some texture before I cut it out. I really liked how it turned out. The sprinkles on the cupcake are little sparkly diecuts that already had adhesive on them. I really didn't want to fuss with having to glue down the dots from the SU die cut; the candles and flames where tricky enough for my arthritic fingers. SO thanks Marnie for the Christmas present odds and ends.....that's where my sprinkles came from!

Other than this card I am now into some serious quilting as I begin to prepare for this years guild Quilt Show in April. Soon I will have some pictures of what I am working on right now it is all in pieces. By tomorrow there should be something worth sharing.

I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN

2010-01-19T20:48:00.003-05:00

I haven't forgotten my crafting BLOG, but I really am not doing much in the way of stamping or sewing at the moment. Life is a bit overwhelming right at the moment and all my energies are going toward "real work". By the time I get home I am exhausted....an unfortunate side affect of the RA...Doc said I just needed to get used to less energy and more fatigue. I'm still hoping that with time my body will adjust, I will figure out a sane schedule and I will be able to get back to these activities I love. I do need to figure this out sooner rather than later since I have the quilt show boutique to prepare for....items made mean items to sell.

Until then I do have a few cards I made before all this chaos descended that I can show you. This one uses a GinaK stamp. I have a problem with black embossing powder so use black craft ink and clear embossing powder when I want black embossing. The entire main image here is embossed in this manner. I used my cuttlebug and an embossing folder for the layer just beneath the image. Some designer paper and mustard colored brads for embelishments. I like this card becasue it is more masculine and I find those card ideas harder to come up with than pretty feminine ones.

CURRENTLY KWILTIN'

2010-01-08T19:37:00.003-05:00

The end of November found me working back at a quilt shop. I think I mentioned in my previous post that I will be teaching classes. This means I need class samples. The first was the placemat in the post before this. My second class, assuming people sign up will be a Double Irish Chain Quilt. The making of the model for this class took me the week following Christmas. It has been quite a while since I have made a quilt of this size. Most of what I have done the past few years have been baby quilt size or smaller. Here it is.

I am very happy with how it turned out and I couldn't have finished it in the time I did without my mothers help. I now remember the main reason I do baby quilts or smaller is there is so much less bulk to manipulate while doing the quilting. This quilt was from a book written years ago by Eleanor Burns. She labeled it a lap quilt. I think she must know people with very large laps. In my estimation it is a twin quilt.

No that this quilt is complete and hanging on the wall at Capital Quilts in Gaithersburg, MD I will look for my next quilting project, but I also do want to get back to some stamping. Now that the holidays are behind us hopefully I will find some free time to get back up to the stamp room.

NOT GOING ANYWHERE SOON!

2009-12-19T23:00:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness for sewing machines and power. I think without those to things I just might have gone stir crazy today. It started snowing about nine o'clock last night and it just stopped a few moments ago, which is 10pm, over 24 hours later.

I don't think I will be going anywhere soon. There are 21 inches of snow that must be dealt with in my driveway. And then there's the matter of uncovering my poor little car. Yes that's it in the second picture.......from what it sounds like on the news, though the snow has stopped falling things are not really improving. It's not a good idea to be out and about as the roads that have been plowed are turning into skating rinks. So other than shoveling snow tomorrow it will be another day in the house....The sewing is done for Christmas, but I do have some paper craft projects that need to be completed for gifts, wrapping of presents and maybe even another Christmas cookie batch or two.

I'd like to show you pictures of my completed sewing projects from today, but they are gifts and I would hate to give away any gift surprises!

And just think winter starts on Monday!!!!!!!

TIME PASSES BY SO QUICKLY

2009-12-07T22:54:00.004-05:00

Time does pass by so quickly.....I can hardly believe it has been almost a month since I posted here. There is a lot going on in my life but that is not for this BLOG. I have been getting some crafting done and even some baking which is so fun and tasty as well.

After being laid off from my Lay Director job at our church I was given the opportunity to go back to one of my employment loves; working in a quilt shop. What is not to love about working with people as they choose beautiful fabrics for their next quilting project? It had been so long since I had allowed myself to handle good quality fabric that I had almost forgotten how wonderful it feels and how beautiful it looks. What fun it even makes standing on your feet for four hours straight a joy! A tiring one but a joy non the less. I have also been asked to teach a couple of classes in the first quarter of 2010. That is another thing I haven't done in a while but have always loved doing. TEACHING QUILTING! My first class in January will be Pineapple Placemats. I've taught this before and love doing so and love this pattern for placemats. It is a quilt as you go pattern which means when you are done with the placemat block you are also done with the quilting. All that is left to be done is the binding. This is my class sample. Even I had forgotten how easy these are to make. So if you live in the Gaithersburg, MD area and you would like to learn a new technique for making placemats....why not get a true head start on next years Christmas gift list....check out Capital Quilts for their January - March class list and come join me.

Now as the weather outside turns frightful my kitchen is so delightful! I have finally gotten around to making bread following the directions from a book I have had for some time....Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Yummy and oh so easy. I was skeptical of a no-knead bread that sits in your fridge for up to 14 days till you want to bake it, but I am sold! It is wonderful in both looks and taste, and oh so easy! Most importantly for my life right now the loaf size is just right for one! This is a white flour loaf, but there is a new book out that shows you how to use the same technique using whole grains. This book is on my wish list. But for know I Am very happy with my white bread! It is very quick and very easy and even more tasty! YUM!

NO REAL GLASS BUT SOME CRACKED GLASS

2009-11-19T21:38:00.003-05:00

Life continues on its wild coaster ride. Twists and turns and bumps in the road. I thank God for time to spend in creative pursuits. Sometimes in the craziness of life it isall that keeps me sane.

At the moment I am spending more time in quilting pursuits than paper crafts, but that is because I have been helping out at the local quilt shop during some special events and sales they have been holding. This involve the "terrible" task of having to spend 4 hours a day looking at and touching absolutely gorgeous fabric. AND also seeing what wonderful combinations customers come up with for their projects or simply their stash.

I have a card here that I have not yet shown. It makes use of a technique I've heard about in many different forums over the past few years but I never got up the courage to try it until a recent video tutorial on GinaK's StampTV site. She made it look and sound so easy that I had to try it. The name of the technique is Cracked Glass. I think I have also heard it referred to as Cracked Ice.

I love the stamp set I used for this card. It is a retired Stampin' Up set called Illuminations. All the papers and inks I used were also SU as well as the Ribbon and hardware. The backgound die cut was made with SU's Top Notes die and the oval is from one of my Nestabilities sets.

I like the way the card tuned out but I do have to say though this is not a particularly difficult technique it can get messy if you are not careful with embossing powder going every where and even can be painful if you are once again not careful with the melted embossing powder before it cools. Please don't ask me to wxplain how I know these things...........

CRAFT FESTIVAL

2009-11-16T23:10:00.002-05:00

Lots of pictures in this post and little to say. It's late and past the time when I should be in bed, but I thought I would just pop in with a few pictures of my booth at our church craft festival a few weeks ago. Yes I made it all and yes I am a tad obsessed when it comes to crafting. I love creating things and sharing them with others. If I could afford to I would give things away rather than sell them. As it is I mainly recover the cost of my materials and then add a little for my time. Profit is not really a word that works with crafting at my level. I am a crafter not an artist. If I was an artist people might clamor for my items and I could make a fortune. oh wait the phrase is "Starving artists" not "Starving crafter". I guess I do okay after all........oh well what ever....enjoy!

A CARD AND LOTS OF WORK TO DO!

2009-11-11T22:14:00.004-05:00

A quick card to show so that you all don't think I am slacking.....I embossed the Upsie Daisy large image from Stampin' Up on some designer paper. I don't like black embossing powder because no matter how hard I try I get tiny black specks so instead I use Stampin' Ups black craft ink and clear embossing powder when I want a black embossed image. I wanted the butterfly to fly across the flowers but didn't want to "fussy cut" it so instead I punched it out in a circle and popped it up on a dimensional.

So that is my card. I have to confess it is one I made some time ago. I have been so busy with the preparations for the craft show and now special orders that I haven't had the time to process any of my current photos to upload here. Success does come with a price....but don't get me wrong I am happy to pay the price of business creating. So far I have completed two sets of 8 Christmas cards each and 25 various special cards. I have orders for 6 altered composition notebook journals, 10 more cards and a fall themed table runner. Plus I need to finish 2 sets of place mats, 2 table runners and 4 sets of pot holders to be taken to the museum gift shop by the end of next week.

I asked God for a sign as to whether I should work toward formalizing my craft business and get serious about marketing my work.....I'm thinking I may have received an answer. What do you think?

CRAFT FESTIVAL DAY

2009-11-07T08:36:00.003-05:00

It's the day of the Arts & Craft Festival at church. I am a vendor at it and am looking forward to being part of this fun event. It is a day I can combine two of my passions....creating paper crafts and fabric items including small quilts AND my church.

This is a special day for me as well since I am considering it the day I begin my craft business in earnest. I have sold my items on a limited basis for years through several craft shows and boutiques a year. I also have a few items at the Sandy Spring Museum year round and when asked I have done a few special order items. Now I have more time to devote to my passion of creating I am looking to taking on more special orders and maybe even having an Internet presence on E-Bay or Etsy, Probably it will be Etsy. So today is a big day in many ways. I also hope to be having a more regular entry here.

All that said I need to be heading out to the Festival. Bye for now.

Edited: Just an update to say the show went well considering the state of the economy. It wasn't heavily attended but those that did come found some wonderfully priced Christmas presents. All the vendors I talked with seemed happy with their sales and I know that not only did I make some much needed money, but I found some Christmas gifts so I declare my Holiday buying season officially opened!

2009-10-28T18:18:00.003-04:00

What have I been up to lately..........?????? You know I don't even have clue!

My life has been in such a state of turmoil I just seem to be moving from moment to moment. I have been laid off from the main part of my job at our church. Also my dear husband has been working out of town for the past three weeks.....There seems to be no order or organization to my life and though I am a "go with the flow" type of gal I do need some structure to keep me on task! So chaos has been rampant!

I do need money to support my paper crafting as well as quilting habit so I should be preparing for a craft show next week end. I have managed to get a few things done and this is one of them. Some little mini composition notebooks which I altered.

Tomorrow is a new day and I hope to be able to get myself back on task. I need sets of Christmas cards made and I need to get down to my sewing studio. In one week I have a major craft show. Anyone have any clues on how to stay focused when life is a total disoriented mess?????????

1 YEAR BUT COMPLETED!

2009-10-09T21:11:00.002-04:00

It took a year but they are done and they are sooooooooooo comfortable. Bring on the winter I am ready!

NEW VENTURE INTO DIGI SCRAPBOOKING!

2009-09-26T22:35:00.005-04:00

I just received my copy of My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up last week. I am in love! It is so easy to use. I have been wanting to get into digi scrapbooking for some time now. I've been trying to learn it using Adobe's PhotoShop Elements software and have not been getting anywhere fast. This was amazingly easy. Most of the album uses premade layouts but I did do about four of the pages from scratch! I next want to learn how to use other papers and embellishments I have on my computer that are not actually part of this program. Until I learn how to that there is plenty to use in the program including lots of stamped images. You really do get a lot for the $80 price tag. And you can do cards and calendars as well. Plus some multimedia stuff as well I think. This program will be available on October 1. It sure is a lot less messy of a way to scrapbook; though I still plan to do the real things.

I've also printed out the pages for this album. At least from my canon printer even on brochure paper which is almost a card stock weight, but not quite, it still looks like a printed page. Not as much visual dimension as I had been hearing people say there was. Maybe they have better printers or they had them professionally printed.

I'm not giving up on learning PhotoShop Elements yet, but at least I can do some projects for immediate gratification while learning it.

BACK TO CARDS

2009-09-16T22:27:00.005-04:00

Here are some projects I made after watching a video tutorial made by the fabulous GinaK on creating backgrounds using embossing folders and inking them. The video is called Inking a Cuttlebug Folder. I love these videos which she posts weekly on StampTV, but then I think I've said that before.

I created two cards using this technique. Both of the cards I made the backgrounds use chalk inks on the embossing folder. The fish card I tried to get fancy by using several different colors on the folder to give the illusion of an underwater setting. It turned out pretty bold. The background for the butterfly uses only one color and turned out much more subtle. Both the fish and the Butterfly are from GinaK's Eclectic Summer stamp set. Both the embossing folders I used where from Provocraft and I used them with my Cuttlebug machine. The inks wash off easily from the folders as they are completely plastic. This is definitely a technique that I will try again. It really makes the embossing show; though I need to say that it really is the debossed areas here that are inked.

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT!

2009-09-15T21:44:00.004-04:00

I've thought about this interesting challenge. It is to read 10 books between now and the end of the year. I love to read and don't allow myself time to do as much of it as I would like. There is so much else to do. I found out about the challenge from another BLOGGING, stamping, stitching and in general all around Internet friend LadyDoc. She posted it on her BLOG Tilting at Windmills, and she asked if anyone would care to join her? My response was: 10 books by the end of the year??? That would be not too much more than a book a week. There are only 15 weeks left in the year! But I also indicated I would look into it.

Well it turns out this challenge was started by a stitcher and listening to audio books counts. Ah, I like that! 1--I listen to audio books while I drive so I can count those. 2--I can kill two birds with one stone by listening to books while I stamp, quilt, knit, exercise or even clean house (well if I did much house work these days). Not that I would only listen to books. I would read at least half of them. But being able to listen as well as read does take some of the pressure off. I love to read but I am not a speed reader by any means! I like to enjoy a good read and that means taking the time to savor it! So Lady Doc I will take you up on this challenge. I don't have a complete list of what I will read or listen to having just found out about this challenge 30 minutes ago, but there are a few books sitting by my chair that I have been meaning to read and one n my car waiting to be listened to so here is the start of my list. I will finish it by tomorrow night.

1) Dragon Fly in Amber by Diane Gabaldon audio
2) The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
3) Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
4) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
5) Tales of the Beedle Bard by J K Rowling
6) This I Believe edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
7) I'm Not Wonder Woman But God Made Me Wonderful by Shelia Walsh
8) The Magician's Wife by Brian Moore
9) Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly by Robert Dalby
10) 12 Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur

this list may change as time goes on but these are the books sitting by my chair at the moment anyway............

So that's the start of my list. More to come tomorrow along with a card that I worked on today.

INSIDE OUT!

2009-09-13T19:36:00.002-04:00

We had a very special 50th Birthday Party to attend last month. It was for two of our dear friends. A couple whose birthdays are withing weeks of each other so they always celebrate milestone birthdays together. Yes, 50 is a milestone!

I know that 50th Birthdays are often "Over the Hill" birthdays. The colors for decorations are often Black and white. I can do black and white. I love that combination, but this is a couple with spice in their lives so there needed to be a dash of red added in to liven things up. If there is a color combo I like better than black and white its black, white AND red!

I've been seeing a lot of cards lately with elements that peak though the front from the inside of the card and I've been wanting to try one and decided this was the card to do it on. A lot of the cards I've been seeing use a frame around the hole where the element shows through and this is what I chose to do.

Here is the front of the card. The papers and card stock are all Stampin' Up. The small circle punched out and scalloped frame around it in the upper left corner were done using SU punches. The larger punched circle and scalloped frame in the bottom right were made using Marvy punches. The stamps I used where from unknown sources. I simply know they aren't SU because they were acrylic stamps. The black brads are from SU and the black organdy ribbon is some I have left from a SU spool that is now retired.

Here is the inside of my card. It shows the black circles with the sentiments that show through to the front. Also you can see the black scalloped border that I added for interest on the inside. This border was made using SU's scalloped border punch.

It was a fun card but I had to be careful to design it so that the peak through holes were placed in a location that could be reached by my punches. I could have used my circle Nestibilities I suppose and then I wouldn't have had to worry about this placement but I didn't so I did........

So long till the next posting which may not be for a few days since the next few days and nights are pretty well packed with outside the home commitments!

LAST OF ALASKA STAMPS

2009-09-12T15:59:00.002-04:00

My moose! This is the last of the three stamps I purchased in Alaska. I didn't color this one in as I need to find ways to use the stamps that don't take me 5 hours or more to do. They won't get used much if I stick to that method.

Gina K did a technique video called Smackin' Acetate and I tried to use that technique for my background. It's on her social network site Stampin' TV. I think I need a bit more work on this technique. Her background is so soft and smooth mine is rather jagged. Though the white in the sky area does look a bit like clouds.

It's a fun technique to try. It can get a bit messy if your are not careful but don't let that scare you off. I will be working some more with it.

Gina has a long list of technique videos she has made. So many things to try and so little time!

TIME FOR A DIFFERENT STYLE

2009-09-09T21:33:00.003-04:00

Once again I have need for sympathy cards. I think there must be something connected here with the age I and my peers have entered into...........So far at least most of the cards have been for parents of friends and not friends themselves. I guess that will be the next stage.

But enough of that talk. This card makes heavy use of white and gold with just a touch of black as the layer between the two brushed gold scalloped rectangles. I used my Scor Pal to emboss the lines a little over halfway down the front of the card stock. Using the ribbon helps hide the slightly uneven ends of the score lines.

The ribbon is a piece from my stash. No idea where from??? All the card stock is Stampin' Up. I especially love their brushed gold card stock. The inks and Gold Embossing Powder is also from SU. The stamps used are from Papertrey. I can't right at the moment remember the name of the set.

For as easy as this card was to make I really like the way it turned out.

I just checked on Papertrey's site. The stamp set used is Everyday Blessings.

MORE ALASKA STAMPS

2009-09-07T19:56:00.006-04:00

Several months ago I posted some cards I had made with a stamp I purchased in Alaska. It was a Hummingbird stamp that has Native Alaskan artwork in it. You can see those cards here if you missed them and would like to see them. I had purchased three stamps from the same company Earth Art International. They are part of their Animal Spirit Stamp line.

I really like coloring in these images but it is very, very time consuming and I must be in the right frame of mind when I do so because it is very detailed coloring. Here are two more cards. This time using the Bear image.

These are quite large stamps so I am really challenged on how to use them on cards. But I do love them and hope to find many ways to use them both colored and mono tone. So far I have been trying to use color schemes that are found in traditional Native Alaskan art. These include primarily red, black, white and turquoise.

The third stamp that I have is a moose. Soon I will show some pictures of it. I do have some cards completed just need to edit them.

ANOTHER TAKE ON SAME ELEMENTS

2009-09-06T17:38:00.003-04:00

So I am the first to admit that I get bored easily! I cut out all the elements for my SheetLoad of cards....see previous post...but I got interrupted by other life events before I got all eight cards done. When I had time yesterday morning to get back into my stamp room I needed to do something more creative than just make the same cards I had been working on days ago. I also wanted to do the GinaK challenge to use stitching on a card. But I couldn't just put aside into a UFO (UnFinished Object) pile the remaining pieces for my SheetLoad Cards. (I know myself well enough to know the likely hood of my going back and finishing these particular cards was pretty small. Have I ever told you all I get bored easily!) So I decided to challenge my self to use these pre-cut card elements and create a new card. This would not be boring and I would not set aside or waste the elements I had already prepared. I also would use stitching on the card so I would have my GinaK challenge card!

The result of my playing around is on the left. I eliminated some of the rectangles and added three paper flowers and brads. I do not like the stitching by had however. I like the look just not the time it took! Did I ever say I get bored easily and also am impatient...........?

I have a few more of the element sets cut out I will play around with them as well and see what else I can come up with. But that will be another post!

Shout Out to SheetLoad

2009-08-30T19:59:00.005-04:00

It's been a while since I have stamped and made any cards. Not sure what is up with me but I just got out of the groove and have been dealing with too many other things. BUT I missed my creativity and stamping mojo. How to get it back was the question I faced!

I have several sites that I visit when I need an inspiration boost. One of my favorite is SheetLoad of Cards. They put out a wonderful E-Zine monthly. Not only is it full of inspiration but the really break down how to make their featured card layout giving you measurements and supply lists and everything! Can it get any better when you are in a stamping slump????? I don't think so.

So SheetLoad is where I headed. Each month's E-Zine has a sponsor and it certainly helped inspire me even more when I found that the August SheetLoad E-Zine was sponsored by Sweet & Sassy another of my favorite companies. So it was a twofer inspiration hit!

Now I know that August is almost over, but all monthly E-Zines are archived and they are timeless. So you can refer to them throughout the year. And since it's almost September that means in a few days I'll get even more inspiration!

So what did I do with the inspiration I received from SheetLoad today. Why I made a card of course! I even went out on my own and made a few adjustments to there design which is just fine and in fact is encouraged! The card layout they did was for a square card and I just don't do square cards because I don't have square envelopes. So I played around a bit....see my mojo was returning...and came up with a rectangular card that is the same as their square one.

My other little added touches were using my Cuttlebug embossing folder tho emboss the background and layering my designer paper rectangles. Here's my card. (The Scalloped oval color did not scan well IRL it is much redder rather than the purple it shows up here And the oval is Shara Sand which is much browner than the blue it looks here.) I finally used some of my new Stampin' Up In Color card stock and I love it. I used Crushed Curry and Soft Suede. The third card stock color I used is Purely Pomegranate, a retired In Color. The Designer Papers are also from SU and are scraps I had left over from other projects. The ribbon is Purely Pomegranate double stitch ribbon and I used various SU and Marvey punches as well as my rectangle Nestabilities to punch out my shapes.

A wonderful side benefit of going to SheetLoad for my inspiration is I now have the pieces for 7 more cards cut and ready to assemble. I will do so using different sentiments so I have a selection of cards to use for almost any occasion. So if you have never been to the SheetLoad site why not do so now. You to may find wonderful inspiration there whether you want to make one card or multiples. They have the ideas.

August E-zine
SheetLoad main site.

I hope that now I have broken the ice and gotten back into my stamp room that I will be present here in the future more than I have been recently. See you soon!

BACK TO STAMPING!

2009-07-05T21:18:00.003-04:00

It was so nice to get back into the stamping room today. Doubly nice because not only did I stamp and create three cards, but I also did some cleaning and putting away of stuff that had been sitting out too long and the cards I made used images that I had stamped several weeks ago. (I don't know about you but for me it feels so good to finish up started projects!)

The images I had stamped were made using a stamp that I purchased on our trip to Alaska in May. I actually got three stamps but have only used this one so far. It is a hummingbird image filled in with symbols and designs used by Native American groups. I fell in over with their designs which were found all over Alaska on our journey. I also have a bear and a moose, filled in with designs in the same fashion as the hummingbird.

These stamps are from a line of stamps called Animal Spirit Stamps and they are put out by Earth Art International. The original artwork for these stamps was done by a Washington artist names Sue Coccia.

The first card I made is a very simple card that makes use of colors that are often found in the Native American artwork in Alaska: reds, black and turquoise. This is a very detailed stamp but it stamps wonderfully and clearly.

The second card still makes use of the image being stamped in black in a solid colored card stock but I moved away from using the traditional colors and pulled out my Nestabillities to add an addition point of interest on the card. One of the challenges of using these stamps for card making is that the stamps are rather large. So for this second card I cut out the hummingbird and placed it off center agianst a circle of lighter card stock. This is mounted on a scalloped circle that has been pierced in each scallop and all is then placed on a rectangle of designer paper. To me it almost looks as if the hummingbird is flying in front of the moon. I added the ribbon on the bottom to balance out the card.

It doesn't show in the pictures of the first to cards but on both of them I placed a tiny yellow Stickles dot for some sparkle on the eye.

My final card what the most fun but also the most work to make. For this card I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white card stock and very carefully colored it in using my copic markers. I say carefully because the spaces to be colored where very, very tiny! Fortunately I have a good selection of the original Copics which have a fine tip nib. I took awhile (about 90 minutes) to color in the whole hummingbird. I don't think I will regularly be coloring in these images but I really do like the look of it. When the inner child needs to come out and color in a detailed way I will consider doing so again. As detailed as the coloring is the card needed something more and the brads worked well to balance out the "get well" sentiment. (The sentiment by the way is from Stamping Up's new set Teeny Tiny Wishes. I'm pretty sure this is a set I will pull out often. I also used it for the "Happy Birthday on the first card.)

So the above is the result of my day of stamping. I have lots of new sets to lay with and hopefully will get a few more things done tomorrow. Until then be good and have fun with life!

THE FINAL RESULT

2009-07-04T22:14:00.002-04:00

The mystery has been solved. I am somewhat amazed that I finished it. It has been a very, very long time since I have finished a quilt project. Well, it's not totally finished since I haven't quilted it yet, but the top is done.

There were 5 steps to this mystery and 64 four inch blocks to be made. Its was quite fun and I continue to be amazed at Carol Doak's talent for design. I think this pattern is stunning! Here are all the blocks for the quilt top in various states of being put together in units following
directions of the 5 steps. I finished all the blocks just before lunch today. I thought they were pretty impressive just piled together.

After a quick lunch (quilters don't take long lunches when a project is near completion; in fact they usually don't eat at all, but I was hungry and needed to move my joints so I took a break) I sat back down at my machine and began the final assembly. In my haste I did make a mistake or to and so needed to do a bit of "unsewing". Not fun when you are putting together a top made of 64 paper pieced blocks because you use little stitches.

One of my favorite parts of quilting is watching the final top emerge out of the pile of blocks. So without final ado here is the solved Anniversary Mystery quilt top in all its glory..................

It's coming

Be patient!

TaDa....................

Here it is!

I have no idea what design I will use to quilt it. That decision will wait for another week or so. I've loved getting back to my quilting, but now I am really itching to get back to my stamp room. It's been a long time since I have been there as well. Life must be easier when a person only has one passion, but then that would be boring............

SO WHAT IS SUZANNE UP TO?????

2009-06-26T14:36:00.004-04:00

It has been so long since I havedone any posting here or any stamping or sewing I am surprised I finally got back to doing anything. For the past month I have been both traveling and working on some health issues that have kept me feeling pretty blue. Its time to get out of my funk and back to living. For the moment I have gone back to my first love, quilting.

I have been part of an online quilting group with Carol Doak the "Queen of Paper Piecing" for several years, but have not been active with them for at least two years. That's where I went to begin again. Carol was in the process of offering a mystery quilt project and though I was several weeks behind I decided to jump in.

Now you might ask what is a mystery quilt??? Well it's a quilt you make that is just what its name says....a mystery. There are clues (construction steps) given along the way. The first clue pertains to the fabric you need and the amount of each one. It is stated simply as things like 1 yard of dark for background, 1/2 yard multicolor small print, 1 yard light cool fabric etc...... You don't know what pattern you will be using just what the colors and values will be. Here is what I choose from the Step one instructions. (Note: the second fabric from the left didn't phoograph well it is actally a medium range rosey pink) Also givien qith step 1 was a cutting chart so you can cut our fabrics and have everything ready to sew as the other steps are revealed.

Step two was intructions for 16--4 inch blocks. Since this mystery is authord by Carol Doak it is a paper piecing project. So for this step there was a paper piecing pattern which is numbered in the order that you sew the fabrics on. I was instructed to make 8 each of two different color placements for this block. Here is the beginnings of my mystery. Things begin to get really intersting at this point.

Since I was a late comer to this mystery I actually already had printed out step 3 and was ready to go as soon as I finished step 2. Step 3 used the same block as step 2 in a different color pattern. We were to make 16 blocks and then sew them together into 4 sets of 4 blocks. Here that step is completed.

So now I have 8 single 4 inch blocks, 4 units of two blocks sewn side by side and 4 units of four blocks. I however still have no idea how the quilt will look when all is done. The mystery is still safe!

50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!

2009-05-09T21:51:00.004-04:00

I had a 50th anniversary party to attend this afternoon. So my morning activity was to make a special card for the special couple. They are not a very fussy or fru-fruy (I know, I know that's probably not a word and if it is it's probably not spelled correctly) couple so I wanted to make a very simple but nice card.

Being a 50th Anniversary there needed to be gold involved somehow. Fortunately I have just replenished my Stampin' Up Brushed Gold card stock. I was perfect for what I wanted to do. Using that and my Encore Gold stamp pad and gold embossing powder this is the design I came up with. There is also a stamped sentiment appropriate to anniversary celebrations on the inside of the card. The card base is white card stock.

I wish I could say they liked the card, but me being me......I left for the party without it. Hopefully they will be at church tomorrow. If not the card will go into the mail on Monday.

I've been making a lot of cards this weekend. So if I don't get to do much once I get back into the work week I will have plenty to showcase here on my BLOG. So do please come back.

BLOG CANDY ALERT AND RECYCLED ITEMS!

2009-05-06T20:38:00.002-04:00

Quick second post in less than a half an hour. But after making my post about the collage card I went and did some BLOG surfing myself. The first BLOG is visited was Judy Rozema's Joy in a JAR. Green items are "in" right now. We all want to be environmentally friendly. One of the ways crafters do this is by using recycled items in their craft projects. Joy has come up with a wonderful project that does just that. Check it out on her Tuesday posting. Also she is giving away some BLOG candy in celebration of her 2nd year BLOGing.

Now I have another project to try out on my ever growing list!

COLLAGE CARD

2009-05-06T20:10:00.004-04:00

This is actually an older card that I made quite some time ago, but it's been hanging around in my photos for the web long enough and so I decided to feature it today.

This is a style card that I find very difficult to do. Especially to do well. It's a one dimensional and one media collage. I used all different line drawn stamps and randomly stamped the images around the water color paper. All the stamps I used are Stampin' Up and most if not all are retired ones. Then I added some color using my watercolor crayons and an aqua painter. I think I may have been a bit too heavy handed with the color and a simple wash of color would have been more effective.

The card needed some dimensional element it was just too flat so I wrapped some hemp twine around the watercolor paper (after roughing up the edges) and attached a tag by hanging it off the hemp with a piece of hodge podge hardware. and placed brads from the same hodge podge hardware set. This unit was then mounted on a black card base. When I use black card stock for card basis I often place a piece of white cardstock that is sponged in a coordinating color from the front of the card or basic grey ink. I always do this if I am selling the card. If I am making the card to use myself I use a white ink pen to write my message and sign the inside.

That's it for today. Tomorrow is a day off work and I am trying to decide how messy I want to get. GinaK's technique today on Stamp TV is the shaving cream technique. I've never tried this but just may give it a try....it can also be used to lay color down on fabric so I can get a two fer' if I master it.

Thanks for stopping by. Please come back again!

OOPS! I'M WRONG AGAIN!

2009-05-05T22:45:00.001-04:00

Well, I don't have my story straight once again!!!!!!

The Belli Challenge has gone to a bi-weekly challenge so I am not late but right smack dab in the middle with my posting. So I guess that's the good news.....the bad news is I need to wait till next Wednesday to get my Belli fix!!!!!!!!

I'm just going to have to find me another challenge for tomorrow. With all the challenges out there that shouldn't be too hard. And is suddenly occurs to me I need to get a Mother's Day card made and in the mail......it's this Sunday!!!!!! EEK!

BETTER LATE THEN NEVER!

2009-05-05T22:25:00.004-04:00

Here is my Belli Challenge Card for last weeks challenge #64. The new challenge comes out tomorrow morning and so I am just under the wire. The challenge was to use large eyelets or brads on a card. I had planned to use my jumbo eyelets, but just couldn't come up with a design that I liked. I need to continue working with them to come up with something or just give them away. They've been lying around long enough. I did use some large brads though. Not particularly original but I got the used.

I so love Olivia. She's from Sweet' n Sassy's set Owl Occasions.

I used my nesties once again....love them too...I need to get some more sets soon I hope. Squares and Ovals are next on the list. And Olivia is colored using my SU markers. I didn't want a smooth color. The blotchiness I think gives the impression of feathers. The patterned papers are SU of indeterminate packs as they came out of my scrap pile and I am not familiar enough with all the old sets of paper to remember names.

So that is my card. To see more creations for this Belli Challenge visit the Creative Belli Blog. I know you will see some fantastic cards there. No doubt about it!

And don't forget tomorrow is Wednesday which means a whole new challenge will be posted on the Creative Belli Blog. I wonder what it will be????

BLEACHING

2009-05-04T23:10:00.005-04:00

If you are a member of GinaK's StampTV you may have seen this card already. If you are not a member you really should be! It's a wonderful place to learn new techniques and also to get to know some wonderful stampers.

This card is a result of a video GinaK did several weeks ago on how to use bleaching on your cards. She showed two different techniques and this is the one I have tried and really enjoy doing....fortunately I like the smell of bleach....if you don't this may not be a technique for you.

What I did was stamp the Iris image from GinaK's Elegant Flowers set using black craft ink from Stampin' Up. I then embossed the image with clear powder. You could use versa mark in and then emboss with black embossing powder, but I don't have much luck with black powder. Even with using an embossing buddy to reduce the static on my card stock I still get black speckles...so I prefer black ink and clear powder. In order to get the effect of bleaching you also want to stamp your image on colored card stock....NOT white!

I then painted inside the embossed lines using plain household bleach and a fine paint brush. I did not use an expensive brush in case the bleach would harm the bristles...it didn't but I was sure about whether it would or not. The cheap on worked fine and so this is probably what I will always use.

One of the neat things about bleaching is that you never really know what color your card stock will bleach to. And the bleaching is not always uniform throughout the image. I haven't tried another image but will. (My list of things I am going to do again is getting longer and longer!)

Above is a close up of my bleached Irises.

I finished off designing my card using my circle nesties and brushed gold cardstock, some fun ribbon, brads and digital background paper available from GinaK. The paper I printed out onto HP Brochure paper which is heavier weight than regular printer paper and smoother than regular card stock. It is not as smooth though as glossy card stock. Here is a picture of the finished card. The sentiment is also from the Elegant Flowers set.

Tomorrow I need to work on designing and making a card for a 50th anniversary party I am going to on Saturday. So I will probably work some more with my brushed gold card stock. Hopefully I will make it back to post a picture. If my mojo is missing I will show you the card I made for this last weeks Belli Challenge to use large brads or eyelets. Come to think of it tomorrow is Tuesday so I better get that posted here! Then next day there is a new Belli Challenge!

FLOWER SOFT

2009-05-02T14:20:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I purchased a new product to use in my cards making adventures: Flower Soft. I've only used it a few times bur am enjoying it when I do. This card was so quick and simple its almost a shame to even show you. But, sometimes we need quick cards because they need to get in the mail ASAP and there is not a lot of time for design thought.

The only stamping on this card is the sentiment "Praying for You". The tree branches are on designer paper. By themselves the branches were pretty boring. Outside my window is a beautiful ornamental cherry tree. At the time I was needing to make this card that tree was just beginning to come into bloom. It reminded me of a card I saw at Queen's Ink, a local stamp store, which is where I found my flower soft. I also got the paper there.

The flower soft is put on the branches in little tufts that look like clumps of cherry blossoms. It also takes a rather mundane looking card and gives it a bit of zip. Add some layers, moss green satin ribbon, and some lovely little self adhesive pearls and voila a lovely card ready to send to someone who needs a lift and a friend.

PAPER FOLDING

2009-05-01T22:27:00.004-04:00

I 've always been intrigues by articles in magazines showing paper folding on cards. Up until recently though I had never tried the technique. I think part of the reason I have been drawn to cards using this technique is that it reminds me of a style of quilt blocks that I like making.

I needed a congratulatory card for a FLYBaby Buddy and decided it was time to try the technique. I liked how it turned out but did learn several things in the process.

Here is the card and a close up of the paper folding image.

I choose to do a heart design. I guess actually the correct term for this technique is Iris Folding. I discovered my mistake in the name of it while searching for the web site where I got the directions. It is Iris Folding @ CircleofCrafters.com. If you are interested in trying the technique yourself I would suggest you visit their site. It's very helpful.

There are a few things I would like to add as tips for having sauces with this. The first is use as light a weight paper for the design paper that you are folding. Double sided paper will not work in my opinion. Most of it is just too heavy and you end up with a lot of bulk. My next card I make I plan to try Origami Paper. It's very light weight. My other tip would be get yourself some large punches or nestabilities to create the hole that shows the design. Unless you are much better with a hobby knife than I am (which very likely you are because I am terrible with them) cutting the hole using the knife will be the most frustrating part of the whole process.

Here is a close up of my heart. It doesn't show in the photo but the center paper I used was a glitter paper. This was a very simple card. The heart is the primary element. I want to play around with other design presentations for this technique.....

....we'll see if I ever do....I'm know for trying things wanting to do more and then moving on to a new technique. BUT I do have a lot of origami paper know and it will need to be used so there is hope it will happen....some day.....

TILE #2

2009-04-30T22:49:00.003-04:00

Here is the second tile I made following GinaK's directions on StampTV.

I can not say how much I love these and how much I enjoy making them. So much so that today I purchased more colors of Stazon ink. I am ready to go and make more.

Unfortunately it is past my bed time and so I must head off to bed.

At the moment I do not remember the name of this stamp set I used for this tile. It is a retired Stampin' Up set. That I do know. Except for the leaves they I do know are from GinaK's Elegant Flowers set. The set I used on my other tile.

JUST A LITTLE SIDE FUN!

2009-04-30T09:20:00.002-04:00

I took a little quiz I found on my friend LadyDoc's BLOG and I love the results....I haven't been to London in a long time so maybe it is time to go again.....

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.

A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.

A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything.

No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?<

I am a little of this and a little of that so I guess this does fit me.

Tonight I will be back to stamping.....I took a picture of my other tile this morning so stop back by to see it.

I'M BACK

2009-04-29T22:16:00.004-04:00

Wow it's been a long time since I have updated this BLOG. I have been dealing with some health issues and though they are not yet all resolved I have resolved that I need to get back into life. I've missed posting here and also missed spending time in my craft room.

My fingers aren't yet pain free and still are pretty swollen and stiff, but I can't wait for that to change because it just may not ever do so. (For those who do not know, I have been diagnosed with active and severe Rheumatoid Arthritis.) So it is time to stop feeling sorry for myself and move on to my "new normal" life.

GinaK's new video on StampTV was just the exciting kick in the pants I needed today. IT was on stamping tile coasters and how to do so without having to do any extra work to make them waterproof. Wow....they are so easy when you know how....if you want to make wonderful coasters for gifts you MUST watch this video!

Here is my tile.

I'm not sure if it will be used as a coaster or as a home dec. accessory tile propped on an easel. The tiles I found in my stash are a bit large I think for coasters. But the are waterproof and so certainly could be.

I followed GinaK's instructions pretty closely. Except that since the stamp I used, which is from her set Elegant Flowers which is available in the Floral Frenzy kit, is a solid image and I wanted to use several colors I colored the stamp using ink picked up on ends of Q-tips. I had to work pretty fast so the ink didn't dry in the stamp before I could stamp the tile. I wasn't sure it would work but it did.

I made a second tile using a Stampin' Up stamp, but haven't photographed it yet. It was a outlined image so I colored it in using daubers like Gina did on the video. I will try to get a photo of it in the next day or so. I also like how it turned out.

Now I just need to get some more tiles and padded feet for the bottom as well as more colors of Stazon! I see Christmas presents for everyone.......give them a try.

I MISS MY BLOG and NEWS ABOUT BLOG CANDY!

2009-04-11T20:37:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I am having some health issues and typing is not an easy thing to do. Hopefully after a visit to a new Dr next week I will either get some advice on exercises, diet or drugs to help my fingers function better. I did want to stop by though and pass on some news about a wonderful opportunity to enter into a drawing for some wonderful BLOG candy. You simply need to visit Creating With Chrissy and see what Chris is offering. It's a wonderful stamp set from Sweet & Sassy. Simply leave a comment on the BLOG entry about the Blog Candy. Of course while you are visiting her Blog do check out her other posts and discover how wonderfully creative she it.

Do hope to be sharing some cards and other projects with you in the new week. In the meantime have wonderful Easter tomorrow.

CHECK IT OUT!

2009-04-01T10:43:00.003-04:00

The Belli Challenge #61 that is.......Its April Fools Day today and in honor of that the challenge is to make a humorous card. Also as I said last night I am their Guest Designer for the week and I am honored with this designation......I hope that doesn't have any April Fools significance.....??? Also part of the Belli Challenges is to use what we have and often to unearth and use what we haven't used in a while.

Humorous cards maybe easier for some than others.....I found myself in the others category. The question became what is humor on a card? I knew there are lots of "lie down and roll on the floor laughing" humorous stamp images out, but alas I don't own any of those stamps......so I needed to take what I had and make it humorous. I think I got to cute not so sure about humorous...... You be the judge!

I have two cards. The first is a Birthday party in the making.....

I love my little SockMonkey from Stampin' Up.....he's as humorous as I get....but once again I think hes more cute really than humorous....He is joined by a few other of his Stampin' Up friends one from A Little Bird Told Me and the snake from Zoofari. They all got together, donned their party hats and are ready to wish someone a Happy Birthday!

I colored my images with Copics and "fluffed" up the little bird using my new Flower Soft kit. Sock money is wearing a brown marbled skin, but everything else is colored. There was a lot of fussy cutting of images on this card and also a bit of Stickle sparkle that didn't photograph well.

My second card is for all you BoaBabes out there.........

Once again I think the card is cute It will bring a smile to your face not a roll on the floor laugh..........

The stamp set I used hasn't been off my shelf in ages, but is one of my favorites....Hats Off a retired set by Stampin' Up I love giving this Babe a real boa!!!! This one was made by using some fibres stripped from a length of brown fuzzy yarn. She's also sporting pearls and a ruby ring......

I love the edge punch I used here. It was a yardsale find! Why people would want to give up some lovelies like this I'll never know but I'm glad they do! It obviously didn't show up nicely when it was white against while so I placed a narrow strip of black card stock behind it to pop out the detail of the punch.

So there you have it. Now its your turn.....try your hand at a humorous card and then head over to the Creative Belli Challenge Blog and link it up using Mr Linky! Come back to the Creative Belli Challenge and one day you to might have the honor and the thrill to be a Guest Designer!

Have a wonderful stampin' day!

SIMPLY A FISHY CARD!

2009-03-31T22:36:00.003-04:00

Just a simple card tonight. I've been working on reorganizing my stamp room and in so doing am uncovering some older well loved stamp sets that have not been used in quite some time. Fishy Friends is one of these sets. It is a retired Stampin' Up set. I have lots and lots of retired Stampin' Up sets. Some people are better at getting rid of their retired sets....personally I have separation anxiety just thinking about it doing so!

I wanted to use the set and I wanted a simple yet cute card. This is what I came up with. I choose the colors because the reminded me of underwater colors. All the images were stamped in plain black and all are layered on navy card stock. I didn't want boring so I added the navy strips punch with the word punch from SU and to one added five golden yellow brads and to the other the "miss you" sentiment embossed in white and two lavender brads. These strips are also raised on dimensionals to give some added interest.

That's it for my easy card tonight. Tomorrow morning I will post my Belli Challenge cards for this week. I am this weeks guest designer and am so honored to be so! Come back and see what I came up with for this weeks challenge and it was a challenge for me!

MORE SYMPATHY FOR PETS

2009-03-28T21:49:00.005-04:00

It seems that there is a rash of sick and unfortunately dying pets once again; so I find my self making more pet sympathy cards. These are so sad to make because in most cases the pets lost truly were family members and even the children of the couples.

I am still so grateful to have my Pet Stack card stock pack from DCWV. IT is my first go to collection of papers for these cards.

I've made cards both for the loss of cats as well as the lose of dogs. At the moment I only need the dog ones, but I will be ready for future loses.

The cat and dog stamps are from Inkadinkadoo and the sentiment on the dog card is from Papertrey. They each have a specific stamped message about the loss of a pet on the inside.

I've always wondered how these cards are received. At least until Thursday night when I saw a good friend who just lost her beloved Westie, Sherlock, last week. He was her and her husbands "little boy". They had no human children of their own. She told me how touched she was that I took the time to make a person card for the lose of a pet. That it showed them I really did care and understand what Sherlock had meant to them both.

So I will continue making these cards. I thank the Lord that he has given me this small talent that can be shared with others and provide them some comfort.

I did get my Copic Colour Challenge card done today and it is waiting patiently to be photographed. Oh and a little side note.....my mouth feels much better today. I am thinking rather than a tooth problem it was stress reated pain in my jaw.....I'm working real hard to reduce the stress that seems to be pervasive in my life at the moment.

BELLI BOOKMARK

2009-03-27T19:30:00.003-04:00

Belli Challenge #60 was to make a bookmark. The Design Team Projects were awesome! So many good ideas and new bookmark styles and techniques.

I love to read and I love bookmarks so this was a fun challenge for me. In fact I made four of them so I have some for gifts. This is my favorite of the four.

The base of the bookmark is a double sided designer paper from a marvelous pack I found at Costco a month ago. My Costco rebate check bought it for me (along with a whole basket of groceries). It is a gray background with brown collage design printed on it. I finally used some marvelous vintage style stamps I got from Clear Stamps about 3 years ago and never used.......oops! I stamped some images with Rose Red craft ink and embossed them with detail clear powder. I used the detail powder because I wanted some shine, but didn't want a lot of height to the embossing. Then I attached three Prima flowers in various pale pink shades. (The back of the book mark is a dusty rose color.)

I like my bookmarks to be laminated. They last longer this way and I don't need to worry so much if I get them wet with spilled coffee or tea or water. I don't have a machine that laminates but I use the self laminating pouches. this is actually why I made 4 bookmarks. That's how many I can fit on a page so everything seals well and I don't waste a lot of the laminating material. The laminate was trimmed down to 1/4. WARNING: If you laminate your bookmarks don't trim them right to the edge! The laminate sticks to itself NOT to the card stock so if you don't leave a edge of laminate everything falls apart!!!!!!!!!!

The final step was to use my Crop-i-dile and place a jumbo brad at the top of the bookmark and then loops a burgundy tassel through it. Normally tassels this full and nice can be pricey, but I found a bunch of them at a yard sale for less than 10 cents each. I think they finish off the bookmark nicely!

So that's my Belli Challenge for this week. I still have my Copic Colour Challenge card to do, but was waiting for my new Copic order from Korin it arrive and it came today!!!!!! I now have pretty new colors to play with and one of them I needed for the challenge. Tonight I am still dealing with my tooth ache so maybe tomorrow. IT'S SATURDAY!!!!!!!!

EYELET AND FLOWERS

2009-03-26T22:30:00.003-04:00

I wanted to work some more with the paper eyelet edging again so yesterday I pulled it out.

This card looks so much prettier on real life. I am not seeming to get the correct colors with my current camera.....The pinks show up correctly but the cards stock base reads way to gray! It should be Bordering Blue which is a light blue with gray tones, but is definitely blue. The gray cast here I think makes it look dirty which trust me it is not.

I places a strip of Rose Red behind the eyelet to make the holes stand out. The flower was created by layering two Prima flowers with a yellow brad.

I colored the one flower on the left with my copics and then put a touch if icicle stickles on the bud for some sparkle.

That's my card for today.......I haven't done the Belli Challenge for the week yet. That's on tomorrows stamp list. I need to make a bookmark for it. Also tomorrow I will hopefully get to the new Copic Colour Challenge. My brain just wasn't up to a challenge today. And right now I am dealing with some aching teeth after a visit to the dentist and after 4 Advil I think I just need to go to bed!

SNIFFLE GET WELL WISH

2009-03-24T22:57:00.003-04:00

It's Tuesday night and the excitement mounts as I eagerly await tomorrows Belli Challenge. To keep myself in stamping and card making form I did make several cards today. I'm still working on cards for our quilt boutique in April and I needed a few to send myself.

Fortunately no one I know is sick right now, but I got a new Lockhart stamp last week and wanted to use it.....I thought it was so cute....a little tissue box. Even though no one is sick right now I know that someone is bound to get the sniffles soon; what with pollen and allergy season bearing done on us as winter tries to leave to make room for spring.

The XX's are from a Gel-i-tin set I purchased in KC at last summers Flybaby gathering. The sentiments from Inkadinkadoo.

In making this card I got to pull out some tools that I really like but haven't been put to much use lately...they were today and you will see the fruits of their labors in other posts this week. I used my circle and scalloped circle SU punches and one of my favorite tools of all time....the perfect layers tool. I never have figured out why SU retired this tool. It makes getting nice layers of many different widths so easy! I'm so glad I got one before they went bye bye!

So that's it for today.....now to bed so I can get up bright and early and see what Chris and the Belli DT has for us tomorrow.

YARD SALE FIND!!!!!!

2009-03-23T19:05:00.003-04:00

I'm taking a momentary break from showing cards to post a picture of what I consider a wonderful yard sale find. I know can have all my markers withing easy reach and they are all stored on their sides so their points don't dry out. The copics don't need to be stored on their sides, but it is nice having then so since then I can see their caps with the numbers and colors. I am finding that I use my different markers a lot more having them out and accessible.

This holder is actually a retail "fixture" from our local stamp store that closed. A good friend of mine purchased it and then decided she didn't like using it. So her mistake is my gain......I don't know what she paid, but I got it for $1.00.

Not only is it a very useful organizational tool for me, but I really do like looking at the colors arrayed in front of me when I stamp. I love color.

Now I think I will go visit my markers and do a bit of stamping, coloring and card making!

ANOTHER COPIC COLOUR CHALLENGE #5

2009-03-22T13:54:00.005-04:00

This weeks Copic Colour Challenge was to be inspired by a card from Charmed Cards and Crafts a company in the UK. To see the card go to the Copic Colour Challenge Blog. We could use any color copics as long as our coloring method was copics.

My card is a loose representation of the inspiration card. I used the idea of vertical panels and also really liked the blue at the top. I simulated it by using mulberry paper and tearing one edge of it. The stamp set I used was a new one by Stampin' Up Just Buzzin' By. The images were stamped in Memento's Tuxedo Black. I colored them in using the following Copic colors:

Y11, Y15,YR09, R09, R37, G17, BV31, E21 and Black which is 100.

Each of the three panels is sponged on the edge with a different color of classic ink. The colors I used were also suggested to me by the inspiration card.

So that's it for this weeks Copic Colour Challenge..........I still have a few other challenges to do this weekend if I can manage to get off the computer, get my grocery shopping for the week done and come up with some ideas.

BELLI CHALLENGE CARD !

2009-03-21T20:41:00.003-04:00

The challenge given in this weeks Belli Challenge was to use wheels. The original intent was to use standard or jumbo sized stamping wheels, but a number of the design team members didn't have any so the challenge was revised to be that you could also use a stamped image that had wheels on it. For full details of the challenge you can go to the Creative Belli Blog. It is challenge #59. You have until Tuesday night, March 24 to up load your challenge card.

Personally my only problem with the original wheel challenge was choosing which of my many wheels to use. I have plenty of both sizes and really do not use them very much at all. Not sure why.....I just don't. I chose to use my On Spot one because I saw some fun possibilities for making it the main focus of the card. Here is what I came up with..........

I started out by rolling the wheel on Mellow Moss card stock using a freshly inked Mellow Moss ink cartridge. Take a helpful hint from me....if you re-ink cartridges to use with your wheels let them set for a hour or so to let the ink really soak in before you use it. Suffice it to say if you use it right away you get a rather inky mess.........

Secondly I placed the designer paper on the side.

I wanted to really take advantage and highlight the different circles made with this wheel so I found some small circle motif stamps and stamped them within the circles using craft ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder...another hint, well really tip....I don't think I will buy anymore colored embossing powders other than metallics. by simply using clear powder over colored craft or pigment ink I can have what ever color I want with only having one container of powder. Also it means I can stamp a whole lot of different colored images to be embossed and use one powder and emboss them all at the same time!

My next step was to create a little dimension so I used my little lady bug and punched her out with a small I think 1/2 inch punch (it may have been 3/4"). I stamped her in Riding Hood Red Classic Ink and colored over the antenna with a fine tipped marker. I placed them over several of the circles popped up with SU dimensionals. Additional dimension was attained by puting the sentiment under a piece of HodgePodge Hardware for SU.

The final embellishments used were a length of ribbon, a flower and button brad and then a few little pearls. This all was put on the Mellow Moss panel and was then attached down on top of a card base. I don't like my ribbon ends or brad prongs to show so when I use them I almost always make sure and use them with a layer of cardstock that goes on top of the card base.

So that is my Belli Card for Challenge #59. Thanks for visiting and looking at it!

ANOTHER QUILT CARD

2009-03-18T23:25:00.003-04:00

I did get my Belli Challenge card done tonight, but haven't had a chance to photograph it yet so I will post it tomorrow. Instead today I am reaching back into my photo file for another of my quilt cards I made. I found a scrap of designer paper in my pile....we all have piles of scraps don't we???? I hope I'm not the only one. Anyway this scrap was perfectly spaced to fit under a row of the quilt blocks stamped side by side on a strip of vellum paper.

The old olive scalloped strip underneath the quilt blocks was made using my scallop border punch and then paper pierced. Add a couple of flowers stacked an attached with a brad and a few other images and a note card is born.

The quilt block images are from Papertrey and the "Note for You" and sewing machine are from Stampin' Up sets.

Tomorrow not only will I photograph and post my Belli Challenge, but I also hope to figure out a card design for the Copic Colour Challenge. I tried it tonight, but nothing worked........maybe after a good night sleep my mind will be better challenged.....so till tomorrow.....pleasant dreams. It's way past my bed time and I am off to crawl in.

THE NIGHT BEFORE WEDNESDAY

2009-03-17T22:47:00.002-04:00

It's Tuesday night, which in itself is no big deal, but that means tomorrow is WEDNESDAY! That means a new Belli Challenge is posted......and you know I love those challenges. But I must be patient. And so while I wait.......................not so patiently........I will share with you a card I made for a through the mail shoebox swap I am in.

Can you tell how much I am lovin' my new Scor-Pal??? I always know I have a winner when I get a new toy and use it a lot! My Scor-PAl is a definite winner. It is right up there with my Nesties' Soon I hope to get a new set of nestie's to play with...(note to family: my birthday is coming up in case you might have forgotten. I know I'm shameless) Any way back to the card......

The images are from Inkadinkado though the leaf is from a GinaK set. I stamped all colored images with black craft ink and then embossed the flower with clear powder and the hummingbird with Holographic powder to give some shimmer. I like doing that when I am coloring small image areas. The little ridge that is crated helps me stay within the lines when coloring....especially with water colors and this was colored with Twinkling H2O's.

The card base and ribbon are the retired Stampin' Up In Color, Blue Bayou. I really miss this color and am hording what little I have left! The scalloped card stock rectangle is Riding Hood Red which is a current In Color which I will also miss after this July when it retires.

I find it interesting that when I started stamping 3 1/2 years ago I did so because I could create art without having to draw or color. I could let different colored stamped images do the work for me. NOW, though I still don't draw (and never will) I find that coloring images is quickly becoming my favorite part of card making. Do you have a favorite coloring medium? Do you even like to color images? I wish I could tell you my favorite coloring medium, but I am finding I love them all and the one I love best is the one I am currently using.

Well till tomorrow......when hopefully I will have time to take the Belli Challenge of the week!

WOOD GRAIN ON CARDS!

2009-03-15T19:36:00.003-04:00

Masculine cards can be a challenge. There just are a limited number of stamp sets and techniques that speak "man card!". On StampTV last week GinaK had a video tutorial on creating wood grain backgrounds. I can try and explain the process, but you probably would be much better served by heading over to StampTV and watching the two videos.

Just a quick rundown on the technique:

Take a piece of background card stock (Gina suggested More Mustard from SU) and run a Vanilla pigment ink pad across the front of the piece. (I suggest wearing rubber gloves unless you want inky fingers!).
I let dry and then did the same over the top of the vanilla with chocolate chip dye ink. (I forgot the dye ink part and used my Chocolate Chip Craft ink.
When inks are dried draw lines for the panels. I also added dots for the nails or pegs.
Voila a background that looks like wood paneling or flooring.

I immediately thought of a trophy fish mounted on a plaque and hung on the wall and so that is what my card is of. The fish I embossed in black and then colored with my Twinkling H2O's to get the shimmery look of fish scales.

So now I have a guy birthday card when needed. There are lots of other cards over at StampTV in their photo gallery. To see them search with STVTC4. People got very creative using colors other than brown. They are worth checking out.

BELLI CHALLENGE #58 IS HERE

2009-03-13T10:56:00.004-04:00

I love Red, Black, and White as a color combo on cards.....so that means I loved this weeks Belli Challenge. You can find the total details on the challenge on the Creative Belli Blog. I noticed the touch of green on the book cover that was offered as the inspiration for this challenge and so added it to my card as well. I really like that little extra spark it gives.

Besides the book cover for inspiration we were to use something we have in our stamping supplies and tools that we haven't used in a while. I choose to dig out my Stampin' Pastels. I've been so caught up in using my Copics, Pencils and OMS, and watercolors that I haven't used my pastels in forever!!!!! You know what I discovered???? All the things I've been learning and experimenting with in the other coloring mediums pertaining to shading and color choice has worked its way into my coloring with my pastels.......they always looked so flat to me, but I really like how this rose turned out. I did a lot of mixing and blending of colors on it and the leaves.

The rose stamp was another image sent to me from my pal Lee. It is from Meleanie Muenchinger's set A Year of Flowers that is put out by GinaK. IF you have never been to Melanie's BLOG Hands, Hand and Heart you really should check it out. She is one amazingly talented and creative gal.

Once again on this card I got to use a lot of fun toys......My cuttlebug and nestabilities; my wonderful new score-pal; my even newer eyelet border punch from Stampin' Up; ribbon and other fun punches.

The addition of the eyelet on the edge was a solution to a mess up. I'm just getting used to my new score-pal and all the lines for scoring on it and when I scored the fold I was a line off so the card was not folded in the middle. I hate to admit a mess up and like think I can work with them as a creative challenge and this is what I did to fix the lopsided card. I did need to do a bit of trimming, but I ended up with a 5.5 x 4..25 card like I wanted. I think I took a mess up and made it work and I think it worked to make a better card as well as the white of the eyelet softens all the darkness of the black. (actually the base card stock is SU's Basic Grey; the ribbon and Designer paper are true black)

Thanks for stopping by....I hope you take time to leave a comment....I love to read your thoughts.

IT'S A COPIC CHALLENGE #4

2009-03-12T20:20:00.005-04:00

This weeks Copic Colour Challenge was to use colors:

I don't have Y08 so I substituted Y15. I also used a green (YG63) and a brown (E25). The stamp set I used for this card is a new Stampin' Up set called Wagon Full of Fun. It will be in the Occasions Mini Catalog which will be out from April 1 through June 30. This is a real cute set. It also includes a Easter egg, a heart and four sentiments.

The card stock is Soft Sky and Taken with Teal. I don't remember which Designer paper this is, but I know it is SU and it is long retired. It's a single sided paper which they haven't made for a while.

For fun I colored the duck with Frosted Lace stickles.

I really had fun making this card but it was a lot of cutting with my paper snips and I actually used my hobby knife to cut out the wagon so I could get between the slats.

If you enjoy coloring with Copics check out the Copic Colour Challenges and join in the fun!

ONE FOR LEE!

2009-03-11T08:30:00.002-04:00

My good CO stamping FLYbaby friend Lee sent me some images last month. Several of them were House Mousies, which I had requested. She does such wonderful things with these little critters and I so wanted to try and emulate her work.....They scare the bejezzus out of me because they are so detailed. BUT I bit the bullet and thanks to a wonderful video on StampTV by Gina K I went to work.

Out came my pencils and OMS (Odorless Mineral Spirits). First I did some practice cards which where a bit simpler. One was a total CASE of the coloring that GinaK did in her lesson. I will post it here sometime, but for now you can see it in the gallery at StampTV. After mastering (or at least being happy with) my attempts at shading I pulled out all the stops and one of my House Mouse images. It was indeed a challenge. I needed to come up with the colors to use all on my very own.....What color is a Pansy (not being a gardener are those even pansies???? I think so.) And what coloring do mice have. Fortunately, I have not seen any real ones recently to know!

Here is what I ended up with........
I used a combination of Prismacolor pencils and Koh-i-noor Woodless Pencils. I love the range of colors Prismacolor has, but hate the way they constantly break when I sharpen them. I love the Kor-i-noor pencils they don't break and blend really nicely but there are limited colors. So I use them both and they work together just fine. I use the Mona Lisa Odorless Paint Thinner because that is all I could find in a local store.

Lovely Lilac is the SU card stock I used and the Designer Paper is from Papertrey's 2008 Bitty Dot Basics. The brads are Antique Brass and the sentiment is from a Inkadinkadoo set.
I love the font used for it.

I am very happy with the end result. And I think I am ready and willing to pull out a few more of cute mousie images Lee sent.

Now TODAY is Wednesday and that is a day I love.....it's Belli Challenge Day and also Copic Color Challenge......and I have some swaps I need to do......so after work I sure hope I have the mojo and time to STAMP!

TIME FOR ANOTHER CHALLENGE!

2009-03-09T18:15:00.002-04:00

This time my challenge card is for a Copics Colour Challenge. This is with a group of copics lovers and learners most of whom are participating in Korin's Copic Marker club. I am by no means a copic colouring expert....I'm not even totally sure I even have reached the novice stage yet. I still tend to want to use them like any other marker, which is to say I just don't get the blending stuff yet. BUT I am determined to learn......

I used Sweet 'n Sassy's Bee Happy stamp set for this card. I stamped the images using Memento's Tuxedo Black ink. The card stock colors I used are from Stampin' Up...Pretty in Pink and Garden Green.

The colors of the Copics I used were: Y63 and 67, Y 15 and 38, R 02 and RV11 and 13.

SIMPLE NOTE CARDS

2009-03-08T20:31:00.003-04:00

This weekend I finished up another projects of cards. This will be a set of 8 note cards. Once again I used my Lockhart quilt block. (I really need to find out if they have any other quilt block stamps besides this one.)

As far as stamping goes these cards were very very simple. Memento Tuxedo Black ink and two rubber stamps; one the quilt block the other from Stampin' Ups set Elegant Notes (a retired set). The coloring of the blocks didn't take a long time. I did it with my Copic markers. The thing that took the longest was choosing the color combos to use for each block. I guess that is appropriate though since when making a quilt often it is the choosing of the fabrics to use that takes the longest.

You cans see an up close picture of one of the cards and then get an idea of all eight. Each card has a different coloring scheme. This makes each card look different even though the stamp is the same on each. That's one thing I really like about quilting. Even if you use the same block and even the same colors you can make the blocks look totally different just by placing the colors in different places on the individual blocks.

I have some neat plastic boxes I purchased from Papertrey a year ago or so. They hold 8 cards and envelopes and have a silver elastic cord that goes around them. That is what the cards will be packaged in.

Another quilt boutique item completed. What will be next? One of these days I really really should sew.

ALTERED JOURNALS WITH A TWIST

2009-03-06T19:37:00.004-05:00

Another couple of projects made in preparation for the boutique at our Quilt Show in April. On the outside these look like quilt jjournals I have made before by altering composition books. But inside these are different. They are actually comp books with quarter inch graph paper rather than regular lined paper.

Why is this important you might ask.....well for quilters this is the type of book that can be easily used to sketch out quilt blocks or quilts. The usual scale would be 1/4 inch equals 1 inch when sketching a block. Using this scale you can sketch a 12 inch block using only 3 inches on the page.

Altering the first comp book went well. The second book not so well. I had a problem with this one that I often have....small sliver size gaps that let some of the comp book show through. I can't reposition the paper since I use either sticky strip or adhesive from my xyron to adhere the paper and those adhesives are not forgiving.....one they are down they are down for good! Can you see my solution???? Ribbon! Though I used it in four places it actually only covers up two oops spots. I just thought it would less like a oops cover up if I made it into a design element.

Other than the alphabet set which is of an undetermined origin all the stamps I used for both of these books are from Papertrey Ink. They are part of the Quilter's Sampler series with the exception of the images embossed in white on the Brilliant Blue. It is from the new set Background Basics: Retro.

I think composition books of all types are one of my favorite alterable items. Do you have a favorite thing you like to alter??? Do you even like to alter items?

THIS WEEKS BELLI CHALLENGE #57

2009-03-05T21:11:00.002-05:00

This weeks Belli Challenge was to use a color that we normally don't use and have a hard time with. For me that was easy. Unless challenged to do so....like here.....I rarely use yellows and oranges. So here is my card with both shades of yellow and orange.

I got to play with lots of toys while making this card. What fun!!!!!! The stamp set is a new one I just got from Gina K. Part of her Floral Frenzy kit she made available for her StampTV site. I colored it with pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits. I didn't want to do all the fussy cutting, but somehow I got color smudges on the white so needed to cut the off. The background I put through my cuttlebug and embossed and then sponged it with Really Rust ink to make the embossing stand out more.

The green layer was put through my cuttlebug and cut using a scalloped rectangle die. I then sponged it with Garden Green and pierced in each scallop. The layer of designer paper under it is from the Gina K Floral Frenzy kit. In real life it is more orange than yellow. This is all layered on more Garden green and then everything is attached to a More Mustard Card. Oh I forgot the ribbon is a yellow gold organdy. The sentiment is from the same Floral Frenzy stamp set.

IF you don't already know Chris has moved the Belli Challenges to their own BLOG. It is called the Creative Belli Blog. There is a blinky for it on my right hand side bar. You can click on it to go to the BLOG or on the link in this post.

I have had a busy and productive day stamping today so even if I don't get to stamp in the next few days I will have items to show here. So please do plan on returning. Also if you like. I would love to read any comment you might like to leave here. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you here again soon!

BACK TO QUILT RELATED PROJECTS!

2009-03-04T09:22:00.004-05:00

Its now the time of year when I am picking up speed in order to get ready for our annual Friendship Star Quilters quilt show.

Sadly I have not done any actually quilting, well at least haven't finished any quilting projects to display in the show this year. Happily that's because I have been focusing on my papercrafting this year and learning and perfecting new techniques and skills. I will get back to quilting, I promise, I enjoy it too much to totally give it up, but fabric has gotten so expensive papercrafting is just more affordable at the moment.

Even though I haven't made any actually quilts to hang in the show and don't have time to do so at this point (registration for items to be hung was Monday night) I do have time to get things together to display and sell in the boutique. Those items don't need to be completed till the show itself which is April 24-26. (Hint: if you live in the Gaithersburg are come and visit I'd love to meet you and I am pretty much there the entire show! We are at the Montgomery County Fair Grounds.)

I am working on quilt related craft items; some fabric some not. Here is a sample of my current creations. Post- it-Note memo holders with a matching pen. I received this idea from a FLYBaby Stamper on Splitcoaststampers and love mine she gave me. I've made a variation before using 4x6 acrylic picture frames, but didn't like them as well because the frame is thicker and the pen doesn't fit on as well, but this Christmas I found the metal 4x6 frames at AC Moore and purchased a whole bunch of them so I am ready to go!

I love how the Papertrey Inks Quilter's Sampler set blocks can be used for these holders. Just another use for them other than cards. Here is a picture of all three designs I have made so far. On the green and the blue ones I also used Papertrey's 2008 Bitty Dots Basics patterned paper. I love it! Its such a wonderful weight paper. The pink is a patterned paper from a set I purchased at Costco. Lots of lovely paper for a ridiculously cheap price. It is a double sided paper but a much lighter weight. Still the price was right and the colors and designs are beautiful.

I used my Copics to color the quilt blocks. They give such nice vibrant colors.

I also get my Post-it-Notes at Costco as they are much less expensive in bulk quantities than at the office supply stores. Right now my main problem is finding the RSVP Pens that I usually use for these.......

That's it for now. I will also make some of these in non-quilt related designs, but those are for another day.... Today is Wednesday and that means its 'Belli challenge day so I am off to see what today's challenge is about. Then off to work and hopefully back in time this afternoon to do the 'Belli Challenge.

NO TIME TO STAMP BUT A CARD NON THE LESS!

2009-02-28T20:48:00.002-05:00

I knew that the rest of this week was going to be way to busy to do any stamping or card making and it was. BUT I do have a few cards from my past card making sessions I have kept on file to share with you during busy times like these.

This card is one of those. I made it with items from my SCS Flybaby Winter Craft Kit. It was a fairly simple card to make since the stars are part of the designer paper. The only stamping was the sentiment which I stamped with Black craft ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. Ribbon and three chocolate brads and it is all mounted on Chocolate chip card base. Very quick and very easy.

BELLI CHALLENGE TIMES TWO part 2

2009-02-25T10:41:00.002-05:00

So as late as I was in getting up the card I made for last weeks Belli Challenge with inchies I will make up for it this week. You might remember my inchie card is going to a friend for here birthday today. Well last night I decided I needed a birthday present for here as well. It had to be REALLY REALLY simple to make (life is still out of control here in my world)! But of course I wanted something useful and nice as well. No one needs clutter (unusable items) or yukky looking stuff in there lives! So.........my friend is a teacher of 2 year olds (God bless her!), the Children's Ministry Director at our church and the Mother of the Bride for a June wedding (God double bless her!). You know how I purchased those inchies and never used them.......well at the same time I purchased a Monogram stamp set from Just Rite and......you're right never used it!
Note cards I thought. She is also writing nice thank you note to people who help her in her work. AND as the mother of the bride I figure nice note cards, elegant even maybe would work. So I dug out my monogram stamp set and set to work. After the prototype card was designed the other 7 to make a set of 8 were quick and easy.

Now this morning I get up and eagerly head to Chrissy's Blog to see what fun she has for us with the Belli Challenge this week (even though I don't think I will be able to take part as there is no more free time in this week for stamping. and what to my wondering eyes does appear.......Belli Challenge #56 Monograms or Alphabet sets!!!!!! I have a card! I have 8 of them....I don't have to miss a week of the Belli Challenge. Okay so maybe this is cheating......but a gal has got to do what she has got to do and I choose to think of it as a "God thing" Did you know there are no such things a coincidences they are all "Godincidences! Well this is one of those events. Here is my card for the #56 Belli Challenge.

Nesties once again....how did I ever live without my nesties???? I found the scalloped circle that would fit with my Just Rite monogram stamp and embossed the card front. I carefully stamped the monogram in gold encore ink in the center. Nice but definitely still boring. Next step scallop punch the bottom edge of the front of the card and paper pierce in each scallop. Better, but when card is closed you can't really see the scallop and the card is still boring.....place a strip of SU's Brushed Gold card stock at bottom edge of inside of the card....now we are getting somewhere, but the front of the card is still lacking something........AH HAH!...A little bow out of a lovely shiny very pale olive green ribbon I have that is edged in gold. I have just enough for the 8 note cards. Since I don't tie bows and I don't like the bulk of a tied bow on the front of a card I used my double slot punch on the top corner and thread the ribbon through is for a mock bow. Yep that's it! I like these cards and probably will be using this design again for other gift sets for birthdays and Christmas to come. Simple yet elegant and very easy to make.

Now I am sooooooo late for work I am glad that my boss (our minister is still sick and won't be there, but don't tell him that.....)

BELLI CHALLENGE TIMES TWO part 1

2009-02-25T10:07:00.006-05:00

It's Wednesday and that has become one of my most morning of the weeks. I have totally and utterly fallen in love with Chrissy D's Belli Challenges which I can check out soon as I get on my computer on Wednesdays. If you want to check them out as well as all of her other wonderful cards and achievements the title of this post is linked to her BLOG Creating with Chrissy. I have completed all the Belli Challenges since I found them thanks to another BLOGing friend. Christy T. You don't want to miss her BLOG Story About a Girl either.

This past week has been over the top crazy in my life, but that is another story about my personal life and work which I'm sure you don't want to here since if you managed to find your way here you did so to hear about stamping not my personal crises and joys. I didn't get to work on last weeks Belli Challenge till Sunday and though I did get it posted in the Paper Craft Planet
I didn't get back till now to get it posted here. So with out further delay here is my card for the Belli Challenge #55 to use inchies on a card.

Inchies have intrigued me ever since I learned about them, I purchased some inchie blanks from a LSS when I found them, but it wasn't until Chrissy issued this challenge that I ever got around to using them.

I needed to do a simple card because of the limited free time I have at the moment. No time for fancy coloring or fussy cutting so I set to work. First I made my inchies. I stamped some scraps of designer paper (I know not where from) using Pocket Silhouettes from Stamping' Up using Almost Artichoke then punched them out with my 1 inch punch. The greeting of Friend to Friend is also from this set and the Happy Birthday is just one I found in my Sentiment file that would fit on an inchie. It's also SU but I forget which set. After gluing them to the inchies I sanded and sponged the edges. My nesties came out to cut and emboss the rectangle they are on. A little embellishment with some ribbon and a flower and I was ready to figure out what I wanted to mount all this on. It was looking rather bland so I decided a patterned background would work. No paper I had seemed right so I created my own by stamping a Ballet Blue card with the Floral background stamp once again by SU using versamark ink. The watermark image it left was to pale so I embossed the whole cover with clear detail embossing powder. I think it worked and I am very happy with the card which will be going to a co-worker and dear friend to day to help celebrate here birthday.

So that's it for my much delayed entry for the #55 challenge. I am making up for its delay though in part two of this Belli Challenge posting coming right up!

BIG NEWS!

2009-02-20T22:38:00.002-05:00

I think that today is a very exciting day in the stamping world here on the internet. To find out what I am talking about look over to the side bar at the right and click on the Stamp TV blinkie. This is really BIG NEWS! Check it out with a click and see what Gina K is up to! You will not be sorry you did.

DOILIES ON CARDS

2009-02-18T20:29:00.005-05:00

I am slow on getting my last weeks Belli Challenge up here on my BLOG. These challenges can be found on ChrissyD's BLOG Creating with Chrissy. The challenge last week was to use a paper doily on your card. I wasn't sure I could find a doily but I eventually did and this is the card I made. I am totally in love with the look of doilies on cards now and am very happy that it was an unopened package of 25 doilies that I found so I can make lots of cards using them.

On thing I did learn was that it is very tricky to adhere your doily to the card front. They are very fragile, or at least mine were. They were very old though and that may have made the difference.

This weeks Belli Challenge is to use inchies on your card. You can find the details here.

Edited to add: I was once again surprised but thrilled to learn this card won the Belli Challenge for last week. A gal could get used to this. Picture me smiling!

ANOTHER SPECIAL AWARD

2009-02-18T19:41:00.002-05:00

I will actually have two posts this first one is to share this special award given to me by my special BLOGing buddy Susan. She is extra special because she's been with me since the beginning of my BLOG! She has a wonderful BLOG called Susan's Saga. If you have never been there stop on by soon. Not only will you see fabulous paper craft creations, but you will also get a view into life in Australia.

Now it is my turn to pass on this award.

The rules for passing this award on: you must post the award on your blog, name the person who awarded you, then pass the award to 6 other bloggers and leave a message on their blog that they've received the award.

Here are my 6.........
Christi
Terresa
Diane
Judy
Beth

I hope you wander over and visit these wonderful stampers and their wonderful BLOGS!

CRISP, CLEAN, & SIMPLE

2009-02-17T21:06:00.004-05:00

A FLYing and stamping buddy MissBoo started a new weekly challenge over on SplitCoast Stampers. IT is the CAS Challenge. CAS stands for Clean And Simple. This is a challenge for those who don't want to do cards that are overly elaborate with lots of layers and embellishments and that take hours to design and make. Those fancy cards are beautiful don't get me wrong. I love seeing them and I love making them when I need a card that will not be mailed, but I also like the idea of CAS cards. IF for no other reason but that they can be mailed for 42 cents (well at least until May).

I decided to take on MissBoo's first challenge. It was to take inspiration from one of two pieces of flannel and make a CAS card. One pieve of the flannel had butterflies and the other had frogs. I choose to be inspired by the butterflies since I knew I had lots of butterfly stamps to choose from. I'm not sure I have any frogs. I could have used the colors of the flannel for my inspiration, but I wanted to do a white card. Here is what I came up with............................................

You know CAS cards are not all that easy to do. Either that or they just take some getting used to doing. There's so much white space. My tendency is to what to fill in empty spaces. But I resisted. A caution also for working with mainly white cards. MAKE VERY SURE YOUR FINGERS ARE VERY CLEAN!!!!!!!! Also make sure your work space is clean. Smudges and fingerprints really show up on white card stock.

Having made my first CAS card I wanted to try and make another. Totally on my own no jumping off point from a challenge. I had recently found this wonderful quilt block stamp from the Lockhart Co. I decided to try a birthday card with it. Here is my card. I colored it using my copic markers and I was happy that I have quite a few of the original style markers. They have a fine point nib on one end and that was really helpful in getting into the small spaces on this stamp.

IF you have a few moments of stamping time why not try a CAS card. They may not end up being your favorite style of card but they can be fun and yes they can be a challenge.

Tomorrow I'm taking a break from cards and showing you what I have been doing to my stamp room. It took some work, but I'm loving it.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

2009-02-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

My husband is gone for the evening and I got a bit bored an so thought it was time for a change here! Also I had a suggestion to put a Follower list on my sidebar and I took that suggestion. If you would like to be a follower of this BLOG then please do sign up. I was very pleasantly surprise to find out when I did it that I already had 4 followers......thanks guys!

Also a big Thank you to my friend LadyDoc at Tilting at Windmills for this award. I love visiting her every time I see she has a new post. Never know what I'll find.....stitching news, paper crafting, wonderful YouTube videos, or just plain musings on life. I love cyberspace friendships! And I love reading all comments posted here. Plese let me know what you think of my new look!

2 MORE CARDS FOR HEROES

2009-02-15T20:33:00.005-05:00

Here are two more of my cards designed for Cards For Heroes.

I am really getting into using designer papers lately. I don't know what has taken me so long. They are wonderfully create so much interest on the cards and it takes so little time to use them. Lots to look at on the card but not a lot of stamping needed.

Both of these cards are Happy Birthday cards. The layouts for each of these cards came from sketch challenges. I wish I could remember whose, but unfortunately I can't. Often when I find a sketch I like I just copy and past it to a sketch file on my computer. Usually it is a year or so before I actually get around to using the sketch and by them I a=have totally forgotten where I found it.

One thing I have noticed when I use a sketch is that I stick pretty closely to the sketch. I am always amazed when looking at cards people make from a sketch that I sometimes have a very hard time even seeing the sketch in the card because they have changed things around so much. I never really thought of myself as a rigid follower of rules for things, but I guess when it comes to sketches I am. Either that or I am totally uncreative!

I really like the simplicity of this second card. Boy only three strips of paper and a sentiment layered on a scalloped oval. Can't get much easier than this. Yet with the colors and designs of the papers its not boring. Also it was a great way to use up odds and ends of leftover scraps of designer paper.

So that's it for the cards I designed for Saturdays workshop. Today I played around in my room working with doilies and quiltblocks and also making a few more cards with very simple and clean lines. I will show you those in the coming days.

I'm coming up on 5000 visits soon. I know that doesn't sound like much for people who ave that many visits in a month or two or some even in a week, but for me that's a big number. I'm thinking I might just have to come up with some type of BLOG candy so stay tuned for that announcement.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2009-02-14T16:33:00.002-05:00

A very Happy Valentine's Day to all. We don't celebrate it much here at our house, but I know for many folks it is a very important day. Since I had asked for a group of people to come out and help make cards today at our church I told them I would have a couple of designs just for them. These would be Valentine's cards they could take and give to whom ever they choose.

These were simple cards; a bit of punching and a little stamping, but nothing wither time consuming or difficult. Though simple because of the paper I choose to use for them they were I think classy. The papers I have had for several years....can we all say horde??? They came from a very large package of handmade papers I found at Costco at a price that could hardly be believed. I did two simple designs one using red paper on a white card stock base the other being a red card stock base with white paper.

I think everyone that choose to make them were very happy with them. As for the other cards we made for the Cards For Heros program, 8 of us finished 80 cards in two and a half hours. I thought that was pretty good for mostly card making novices. by this coming Tuesday these will be packaged up and mailed off.

Every one said they really enjoyed making the cards and had a good time, but I don't think I convinced any of them that they could do it on their own. Of course I think they all could if they would just give themselves a little credit for being creative! I will just have to keep working on them...........

I still have a few more designs for the project to show. I will post these tomorrow. For now I need to think of what my next project will be. Probably going back to preparing for the Spring Quilt Show!

Bye for now!

A SHEET LOAD OF CARDS!

2009-02-13T22:58:00.004-05:00

Today was a day full of card designing and then cutting and preparations for a big card making workshop at my church tomorrow morning. We will be making cards that will be sent to Cards For Heros. At this time I am expecting 10 women and we will be working for two hours making cards. Most of these women have little if any experience making cards so I decided the best bet was to design a batch of cards and then do all the gathering of materials for them and do the cutting of the elements. So today I came up with 5 designs for the Heros and 2 card designs for Valentine cards. (Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day I said that anyone coming to help could make a Valentine Card to take home and give to a special person in their life!)

Very early on in my planning I decided that I would use some card sketches I have been collecting. The first place to go to find a design was my stand-by favorite site for making multiple cards of the same design: SHEET LOAD OF CARDS! They make it so easy because not only do they give you the sketch, but a materials needed list and a cutting chart. So the first card I am showcasing here used the sketch from the Feb ruary 2009 Sheetload E-Zine. I doubled their "recipe" and now have 15 cards ready to be made plus the sample I put together. Here is the card........

It's on a white card base and all the card stock and papers are retired SU products. I know the card stock colors are True Thyme and Cinnamon Crisp, both 2006-07 In Colors. The designer papers I think were from a Simply Scrapping kit but I'm not sure. The stamps are from SU and Inkadoo. (The Inkadoo stamp is the scroll image in the corners.) I'm pretty sure both of the SU stamps are retired ones. I colored the flowers with BIC markers. I let people use a lot of my stuff, but my COPICS and SU markers are not included in my generosity; so they get to use my Sharpies and BIC markers tomorrow.

They also will be able to use my plain old colored pencils tomorrow and those are what I used on the second card.
This card is all Stampin' Up products. It is a mix of current and retired. Though the only things current are the Summer Sun and Garden Green card stocks and the brads. Both stamps I used are retired. The main image is from Nice and Easy Notes and the background is Print Pattern. I know both those names because they are both among my all time favorites.

Tomorrow I will show you the two Valentine's Cards I designed for them. They are both quite simple, but each use the wonderful handmade papers I have. So please come on back........thanks for visiting now!

A SWEET TREAT VALENTINE CHALLENGE

2009-02-10T21:25:00.005-05:00

Thanks to a FLYing and crafting buddy Teressa I found out about a fun challenge on the Paper, Pads and Pictures BLOG. I figured if I could bake a cake and come up with a card; I could make three Valentine wishes and come up with a card. It turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought it would. Here were the rules......

"In honor of Valentine's Day, I am putting together this "Sweet Treat" Challenge. Everyone has a Valentine's wish list. For this challenge we will for once and for all get those items we have been wishing for all these years. Here is my wish list:

Heart Shaped Box of Chocolates
Diamonds
Pearls
Rubies
Perfume
Romantic Dinner with that Special Someone
Cruise
Day at a Spa
Latest and Greatest Camera
Emeralds
New Craft Workspace
Bottle of Dom Perignon
Shopping Spree
Luxury Car
Sapphires

Here are the rules for the challenge:
1. Players should pick at least 3 items from the above list and post it to PCP or leave a comment here with you selected wish list no later than 11:00pm EST Friday February 6th. You may "wish" for as many items as you like!
2. On Saturday February 7th, I will post what the "wish list" items equal in supplies.
3. Your challenge will be to craft a card or scrapbook page using EACH item from your wish list and ONLY those items. There are a few freebies listed below.
4. Post your completed project on the PCP site or a comment here with link to your blog with the item no later than 11:00pm EST on Friday February 13th.
5. On Saturday February 14th there will be a random drawing from all the entries for a "Sweet Treat" goodie bag! My cat, Carlie, has promised to help me with the drawing to make sure it is kept fair. :o) I will post the winner both here and on PCP that day.
6. The following items are freebies for the project
a. white CS and 1 additional color of CS
b. black ink and/or black marker
c. 1 stamp
7. A special twist to the challenge...everyone MUST use a piece of ribbon somewhere on the project."

I chose:

a cruise
A day at a spa
A new craft workspace

So When the translation into card making supplies was given I had to use:

Cruise.....Glitter or Bling
Day at the Spa.....Paper Distressing
New Craft Workspace.....Stitching either hand or machine

And the ribbon, white card stock and one other color CS, one stamp, and black ink. YIKES!
I am a stickler to rules of a challenge and I was determined to use nothing more. Also in my small little mind, distressing and glitter and bling just didn't work together. It was time to stretch my conservative ways.

Here is what I came up with..........

I surprised myself! I love this card. Partly because I love this stamp image. I chose it for this card for a number of reasons. I think it works well being stamped in black, it is one stamp that includes image and words, it lends itself to distressing, and I could use glitter on the wings of the dragon fly. I wasn't happy with just the white and one other color card stock. The card was looking blah and so I choose to add a splash of bold color in the ribbon. My stitching was done by hand with black embroidery floss.

So that's it: The results of my three special Valentine wishes. If I can't have the actual wishes at least I have a pretty card.

All the materials I used are from Stampin' Up and as seems usual lately everything is retired except the Whisper White card stock. Part of me felt bad about using all SU items for a challenge posted by a Close to My Heart demonstrator, but I don't have anything from CTMH at least not yet.....who knows about the future!

MONKEYING AROUND VALENTINE

2009-02-09T21:47:00.005-05:00

Another card using my COPICS for coloring. Sometimes they work better for me than other times. This is one I was very pleased with.

I think SU's Sock Money is such a fun set. I don't ink it up as often as I'd like to. It's just one of those sets that needs the right inspiration in order to use well. The bottom border is another stamp from the set I used in my card posted yesterday; A Little Bit of Happiness. Besides the shading with pink and red COPICS I used my white gel pen and red stickles to add some detail interest. And I am so loving my rectangle nesties. That is what I used to cut out the sock monkey image and the scalloped background behind him.

The coloring on this card took a while, but other than that it was a very easy card to put together.

That's it for today.....I hope to have time tomorrow night to share the card I made for a Valentine Wish Challenge. It was a very challenging challenge because I had a very limited set of supplies I could use. So please stop back.

COPIC CHALLENGE

2009-02-08T13:46:00.003-05:00

I am taking part in a COPIC club through Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Korin has set up a Yahoo group called SNSS Copic Junkies that is handling these clubs. The price was right and she has an advanced group where the members can choose the COPICs they want each month. This is the only type of club that would work for me since I already have quite a few and it means I don't have to worry about duplicates. There is also a lot of information on Copics and tutorials on how to better use them. Its a new group and at the moment it is a very active group.

One of the members of the group has set up a Copic Colour Challen ge BLOG. The challenges will be listed every other Weds. starting on Feb 11. (They have listed the first challenge set of colors a bit early because everyone was so excited about it). The colors we were to use are

B28 - Royal Blue
V06 - Lavender
YR07 - Cadmium Orange

Or as close as you can get to there colors if you don't have the exact ones yet. I have the Lavender, but not the others so I had to substitute for them. I used

B26-Cobalt Blue
V06-Lavender
YR09-Chinese Orange

Here is the card I came up with.....

my blending with Copics definitely needs work. I think I must be too heavy handed. These were not easy colors for me to work with. I wanted to see if I could stick with just using these three and no others...not an easy task, but I did it. I love forward to learning how to be more effective in my using these markers. It will be a major art lesson for me. One that I am looking forward to participating in.

The stamp sets I used are SU sets I think both of which are retired. The large butterfly is from Bold Butterflies and the strip is from A Little Bit of Happiness.

BITTY DOT CHALLENGE FROM PTI

2009-02-07T21:10:00.003-05:00

Another day of celebration over at Papertrey on Nicole's BLOG {capture the moment}. Today's fun was sketch challenge, with a twist. The twist was that you needed to down load a connect the dots puzzle to find out what the sketch was. Nicole was rights it's been a very long time since I've done a connect the dots puzzle, but this was a fairly simple one.

The sketch itself was also fairly simple and I decided to use it to make a "guy" birthday card. I need a couple of these in the next few months. I also decided it had been a while since I used my watercoloring supplies and so I'd use them. This is the card I came up with.......

Almost Artichoke is the card base. I don't know the origin of the strip DP since it came to me via a craft kit. The image from SU's set For Father(which is a retired set). I stamped it on Watercolor paper using Stazon Black ink. The sentiments are from Lots of Thoughts (also a retired SU set). This is layered on top of a Ruby Red background. I don't remember the name of the background stamp I used but it is another retired SU stamp. (Yes I keep most of my retires sets. I don't buy a set unless I really like it and so I figure why would I get rid of it just because it is not a current set. I guess that is something I enjoy about being a hobby demo. I use what I like not what I think others will that I don't!) I finished off the card and the sketch requirements with the three buttons on the right side. I don't often use buttons because I don/'t want to risk the card being to thick to mail, but the just seemed right for this card and they are small buttons.

I made three other cards today for various challenges, but I will show them to you another day since I'm thinking there probably won't be much stamping time in the up coming week....and guess what???? None of the use quilt blocks! I'll spare you those for a while.

OVER THE RAINBOW CHALLENGE

2009-02-06T17:05:00.004-05:00

Papertrey Inks is celebrating its 2nd Anniversary the first two weeks of this month. There is a lot of fun stuff that has been going on on Nicole's Blog {capture the moment} in connection with this event. Today's fun is a color challenge called "Over the Rainbow". You can find the instructions for this challenge on her BLOG here. But be quick as the entries are due soon....like 3am February 7 EST which is midnight tonight PST! There is a wonderful prize for the winner of the drawing for this challenge, but I will let you go to Nicole's BLOG to read what it is for yourself.

So here is my card for the challenge...

Since I don't yet own any of Papertrey's papers or inks....just some of there stamp sets I had to go through my supply of inks and card stock to find things that were close. I used all SU colors since that is what I have. All the colors I ended up using are In-Colors from various years. I used Riding Hood Red for the base of the card which is current and then retired In-Colors Marigold Morning, Cool Caribbean and True Thyme for the pieces. The green was the hardest to match....I did the best I could. The flower is a retired SU stamp and the butterfly and square of flowers are Inkadoo stamps I recently found in a set at Costco.

I have been wanting to try Papertrey's colors of cardstock and inks, but didn't know what to start with so I was very pleased to read today that beginning Feb 15 you will be able to purchase sampler packs of the card stock. From there I can move into the colors I can't life without!