STOLES

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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

'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

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.

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

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'

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!