StAMPFEST SATURDAY

Twice a year I help with a Stampfest in our local community. Today was our winter one. We has a great time as 33 women gathered to learn new techniques and make cards and gift items. I think it is safe to say that they went home happy with the time spent and three cards, one candy gift box and this little note pad.

This was the project that I taught. I got the idea from a swap I received at SU's convention in Denver last year. The original was made by someone who will remain anonymous as there is no information on the project. Everyone loved it. They liked it even better when I told them you really didn't have to purchase the chipboard coaster that it was built on. All you had to do was visit your neighborhood bar and order a drink, then put the coaster in your purse before it got wet. They throw them away anyway......

The items used in this project are a chipboard coaster, approximately 4x4 inches, a piece of designer paper to cover the front and a piece of cardstock to cover the back. Also needed is a 3x2 inch piece of card stock scored along the 3 inch side at 1/4", 3/4", 1-1/4", and 1-3/4" and a scrap of card stock or designer paper to punch the three flowers with three brads for their centers. Finally you need a short wooden pencil like you get when you play miniature golf, two strips of magnetic tape with adhesive on one side and a small section, about 1/2 thick of post-it notes.

The tools I used were a crop-a-dile to punch holes for brads through the covered coaster and flowers and an adhesive like the Tombrow multi that SU now carries or a good glue stick like SU's.

I didn't take pictures of each step, as I am not in a tutorial state of mind with my posting yet, but I think seeing the finished item you can pretty much figure out how to put it together. Here are a few tips:

1. When covering the coaster be sure and get your adhesive all the way to the edge of coaster so paper sticks well at edges.
2. First cover the front then punch wholes along ege for flowers and brads. This way when you cover the back you cover the ends of the brads.
3. Lay your post-it note pad on front when you determine how far in to punch holes for the flowers. You want it to fit.
   
4. Place the holder for the pencil right up at top edge so you have room for the post-it pad.
5. The holder for the pencil is not folded into a open ended box. it is either like _l l_ or l_l_ with a top line added between the two l l's. (I hope that makes sense I couldn't figure out how to type a line on the top.) The pad of notes covers the bottom leg of the box and gives the pencil holder note strength and stability.
   
6. Place the magnet strips horizontally near top and bottom of back of covered coaster.
7. Don't use a whole post-it note pad it's too heavy.
   
8. Place some adhesive along top edge of post-it notes the post-it sticky is not enough to hold pad in place
   

Now you are ready to place this on your fridge or other metal surface for your note writing. When you use up your notes just glue on more....Have fun.

LEE CHALLENGES US TO EMBOSS!

Lee issued another challenge this week. We were to emboss something. IT could be anything and we could emboss anyway we wanted. Heated, dry cuttlebug whatever suited our card making fancy.

I have been doing a lot of embossing lately. I love using detail clear embossing powder over sentiments stamped using craft inks. The colors really brighten up and pop. I also used a great deal of clear embossing powder in working with the emergent colors technique earlier in the week. I'm beginning to think that I need to find a location where I can purchase clear embossing powder by the pound not the ounce.

For Lee's challenge I decided to use some colored embossing powder for a change. I dug around in my powder keg and found a jar of glittery red powder. It's hard to see in the scan but the circle in the center of the flower with the heart and the dots is embossed as is the "o" with the heart in it in Love.

The embossing in the flower center was fun and very easy. It is a sticky tape type decal that I rubbed onto white card stock and the embossing powder stuck to it really nice. I found this design and several more from Oriental Trading long before Stampin' Up came out with their sticky letters and shapes. I have a set of those coming on an order in mid February. I'm curious to see if they are the same type of product.

So here is my card for Lee's challenge. With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I'm working on having enough cards to send to family and friends. Fro some reason the scanned image makes the scalloped edge at the bottom look crooked. In real life it is not. Also when you open the card to the inside message the red band you see here is actually attached to the inside of the card and there is a scalloped edge at it's top.

I used stamps from four different SU sets in this card. I really need to do a better job of writing down the names of the stamp sets used as I use them. The only ones that I can remember the name of right now are Holidays and Wishes is the Happy Valentine Day and the stem of the flower is from Serene Sunflowers. All the sets I used except for Holidays and Wishes are retired sets.

Thanks for another fun challenge Lee!

EMERGING COLOR DAY 2

This morning I got up and decided that my Emergent background color had plenty of time to dry so it was time to finish the technique and see if it came out better and without little specks. It did come out much better but there still are some speckling. I'm not sure if I am doing something wrong or that this is just how it always turns out. I did this on glossy card stock once again. I like it on the glossy card stock better then the regular card stock because the shine of the glossy finish goes well with the shine of the clear embossing powder.

So it is easier to see the before and after embossing and brayering I am reposting the back ground that I stamped yesterday afternoon and also the card I made with it after finishing the technique. The background stamp colors I used were Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, Wild Wasabi, and Bashful Blue. The background stamps I used were from Carte Postal and Wanted.

I brayered Elegant Eggplant over the top after embossing. Then I stamped with versa mark using stamps from Big Pieces and the solid small circle from Pick a Petal. My card base is Wild Wasabi card stock stamped with the Canvas background and Wild Wasabi ink. I used the Birthday stamp from Hugs and Wishes for the sentiment stamped in Elegant Eggplant in River Rock. I punched it out using the Marvy scalloped oval punch and sponged around the edge with River Rock ink. Two antique pewter brads finish off the scalloped oval and it is mounted on card front with dimensionals to pop it up.

EMERGING COLOR

I had never heard up this technique until I found it on Linda Heller's BLOG Where the Rubber Hits the Road. She is doing a video each week showing a new technique. They are only up for one week and then taken down when the next goes up. She is following the alphabet in choosing the techniques.

This is the emerging color technique. I still need to do some work in perfecting it, but it is a fun technique and I think worth working on. It can be done on plain or glossy paper. It involves multiple colors ink, versa mark and clear embossing powder. Here are the steps I followed.

1. Stamp lined images in several different colors over a piece of white card stock. Leave some white space but I don’t think you want to leave too much.
2. Set aside to dry well before going on to step 3.
3. Wipe top of card stock with embossing buddy.
4. Stamp solid stamped image over the stamped images from step #1 using versamark ink.
5. Emboss with clear embossing powder.
6. Brayer a dark ink over whole sheet of card stock. This wlll take several coats. Get it so it is well covered.
7. Buff excess ink off of embossed images. You will see the designs stamped on in step #1 emerge from the dark inked background.

You may then cut out the images to use separately or use piece as background or strip.

I experimented with several images and papers. The problems I had was that even with using classic dye inks the embossing powder was sticking to some of the ink besides the versa marked images. This meant that the ink being brayered over the top was not solid, but looked speckled. Even when I used the embossing buddy I was still getting a speckled top layer. They were just small speckles and don't really show up here but they made it so I didn't want to use the dark background with the emergent color as a background or strip on the card. So for my first cards I have cut out the images. I've prepared another sample (actually the top picture) and am letting it dry really well. LAter tonight or tomorrow I will versa mark and emboss the solid images and then finish and see it this works better.

For now here are the two cards that I have made using what I have done with this technique so far. They are both birthday cards that I need for next week.

A COLOR CHALLENGE FROM LEE

This is the card that I made for Lee's first color challenge. The colors to be used were Orchid Opulence, Lovely Lilac, and Mellow Moss. I promise those where the colors I used. I just need to figure out how to get a scan that shows the colors accurately.

The base of my card is the Orchid Opulence, the first layer is Lovely Lilac, though in my scan it is showing very blue! I used the Mellow Moss in the strip that goes over the tow. The mottled background is the polished stone technique Using these colors and a bit of yellow as well. I colored some white flowers from the Pretties kit using my chalk pastels. and used a bit of mellow moss checked ribbon form my "leaves".

Thanks for the challenge Lee! I look forward to others.

IT'S A BIRTHDAY PARTY

I have been asked to do a birthday party at the end of February for a 7 year old little girl and 6 or 7 of her friends. Mom says she is an artist (the 7 year old that is) and likes to make things. These are the project ideas that I have come up with. They needed to be fairly simple, but still nice looking. There will be two cards, a junior sized legal pad with a cover to decorate and a goodie bag.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the goodie bag is the item that says friend on the front. The base of it is a trimmed down brown lunch bag. I picked up this idea about a year ago from one of SCS VSN challenges. They are very easy and fun to make.

Since the girls are only seven I am going to pre-cover the legal pad and the brown bag. I will also punch the holes for the handles of the bag and the girls will just decorate them. They also will each get a small stamp and a black ink cube to take home so they can stamp a bit more on their own.

A LITTLE GET TO KNOW ME FUN!

I got this list of question's from Leslie's BLOG. IF you decide to take these questions and answer them on your BLOG please let me know so I can visit and learn more about you!

1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say? Considering my age I would probably first say "you must be kidding!" and then I would pass out!

2. When was the last time you flew in a plane? August 2007 coming home from Stampin' Up's convention in Denver.

3. What did the last text message you sent say? I don't even know how to send a text message!

4. What features do you find most attractive in the opposite sex? understanding and support

5. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future? To live a healthy lifestyle without having to think about it. (Leslie's answer but I like it!)

6. Shoe size? 11, but at almost 6 feet tall I'm allowed to have big feet or I would fall over! Now that doesn't mean I like the way shoes look on them though!

7. Been to Mexico? Yes on a cruise in 2000. Cozumel

8. When is the last time you had a massage? A seated massage in 2006. Full massage never!

9. What was the last TV show you watched? I'm embarrassed to say General Hospital, but that's because I watch the soaps while I craft or cook.

10. What are your plans for the weekend? Saturday I'm taking a class on how to clean and maintain my Featherweight sewing machine. Then Sunday I'm going to watch the Super Bowl and stamp!

11. If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say? That depends............

12. What is in the back seat of your car right now? A reusable Giant grocery bag, a Stampin' Up tote bag with craft magazines, an umbrella and a bottle of water. Probably also a few other odds and ends.

13. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Lying in bed thinking I really should get up!

14. If you could marry any celebrity today who would it be? Nope not interested in marrying any of them except maybe Paul Newman since he's shown he believes in being committed to his marriage.

15. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope!

16. What is the best ice cream flavor? Mocha Almond Fudge or anything else with chocolate and nuts!

17. What is the last sporting event you watched? The Giants vs Green Bay game

18. Ever go camping? Since my DH loves to camp and thinks it is the only way to vacation yes. More often than you probably care to know about.

19. Last phone call? Some one in the area that wants me to provide crafty entertainment for her 7 year old daughters birthday party.

20. Are you allergic to anything? Not that I am aware of.

21. What is one thing you have learned about life recently? That it can be short and you have no idea how long your life may be or how short.

22. What do you do at work? A little bit of this and a lot of that! I work at my church and though I have an official job title my duties are "what ever no one else wants or remembers to do.

23. What is your mom's name? Vera

24. Ever cried for no reason? For some reason I rarely cry even when there is a reason. I find this very annoying!

25. Can you do the Crank Dat dance? Refer to Question #1's answer concerning age. I have no idea what you are even talking about! BUT I can do the Twist!

26. What is your favorite color to wear? Black

27. What is the longest plane ride you have ever been on? About 8 hours to Amsterdam.

28. What is the longest road trip you have ever taken? Oh my there have been so many long ones. Probably the longest though was the 5 week camping trip we took out kids on where we traveled out west and covered 8500 miles total,

29. What are your turn-offs? Not sure I have any. Can't think of any at the moment. Oh I just thought of one...people who think they know better than I do how I should live my life.

30. What was your last alcoholic beverage? A nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon

31. What are you craving right now? A nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon! But I will head to bed instead.

FLY BABY WEEKEND OF STAMPING FUN! part 2

I made a boo boo and got my challenges out of order. Lee actually gave us the third challenge. So sorry Lee. How could I have messed this up. I love making nugget boxes and of course I love chocolate and yours was to make a nugget box. Like with the Criss Cross cards; the Jan VSN was the first time I had attempted a Nugget Box. I had seen them and even received several in swaps at last years SU convention, but I never tried to make one because I thought they would be so hard. In fact they are so easy. I am thinking that I will be making lots of these for special Valentine treats. I have a whole, well almost a whole, bag of nuggets and if I give them as gifts I won't be tempted to eat them all. Back to this nugget box. This time I used designer doubles sided paper to make my box. I like the paper for the sleeve, but I think I prefer the more sturdy card stock for the bottom box.

Now back in order of challenges. Jennifer issued a second challenge. To make a card with no "BLING". I had another baby card that needed to be made and it is for a little boy so I figured this was the challenge for that. Boys don't need bling like little girls do. I used the same Baby Talk stamp set but of course this time its in blue. And since only paper and layers could be used for interest I worked with some papers I have to make things interesting. I hope Archer likes it and we'll just have to wait and see if some day he likes baseball. I colored these images with BIC markers. Nothing fancy, but I have 36 colors to choose from in my set. Lots more than I have in my selection of Copic and Prismas. They work but don't blend together well and you can see lines.

The final challenge of the weekend was from Sarah. It was a new one for me. It was to create a door card. I really had fun with this one. I decorated both the outside and the inside of the card. I used some retired SU paper from 2006-07 catalog. Paper that I love so much it had fallen into the I'm hoarding it category. The stamp set I used is also retired. It is "All About U".
I really enjoy using my retired sets, but I guess that is because I try really hard not to buy sets that I don't really really love. (If I didn't put that restriction on myself I think I'd probably end up buying them all!)

Here is a picture of the card closed. I tried something different with my oval and scalloped oval punches on this card and I like the way it worked. I didn't want to add another card stock color to the card, but wanted to use the layered oval and scalloped oval. Using the same card stock for both was not going to work it looked way too flat and I didn't like the way it looked with Purely Pomegranate under the oval. What I did was this....I had already stamped the work LOVE with green craft ink and embossed it with clear powder so I thought why not try embossing the edge of the oval. And I did. I ran the edge of the oval around on my craft pad being very careful not to get ink on my fingers and transfer it to the front of the oval. I slanted the oval just slightly so some of the ink went onto the front of the card. I then ran the edge of the card around in a pile of embossing powder. I held it with the long tweezers from my tool kit while I heat set it. When it cooled I attached it to the scalloped oval with two dimensionals just to raise it a bit. I did like the way it turned out. The LOVE oval is only attached to the door on the left side. This gave a very simple outside. When you untie the bow and open the card this is what you see on the inside. The U was embossed twice. I used the same craft ink that I used on the LOVE in the front. Embossed once with clear powder. While the powder was still hot and sticky I added more powder and heated it again. Then this time while it was still hot and sticky I sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds and heated it a third time so the diamonds would embed into the embossing.

This was a fun weekend of stamping. And I was able to get all the cards I needed to send out this week made using the challenges. ALSO I finished up the 30 set challenge that I began back in December. Since December 1 I have used 30 different stamp sets. Many of them ones that I have not used in a long time. I think I may just start on my next 30....Also I have been telling myself that I need to begin learning how to use papers not just stamped images on my cards rather than hoarding my lovely papers. I have been challenged by what I have seen friends do with their cards and papers. I have a ways to go to perfect using this new medium, but I am happy with what I did with them this weekend.

A big Thank You to Diane for setting up thse challenge weekend. And though I did not get to McFarland I think I can say I was content in my own stamp room playing with my friends in our virtual setting.

FLY BABY WEEKEND OF STAMPING FUN!

This weekend there were some SCS FLYBaby friends that had a get together in McFarland, WI. You might ask why McFarland? Well for stampers that's an easy question to answer....it's because that is where Gina K's store is located! They had such fun meeting Gina K. and inviting her to become a FLYBaby; which she did! They stamped and laughed together all weekend. Alas, many of us FLYBabies who lived further away from McFarland did not make it there, but we did stamp together using a set of challenges we issued to each other on line. Here are the cards I made for these fun challenges.

The first challenge was a sketch challenge posted by Diane. I had several cards I needed to be making this weekend to be sent out on Monday and I used this challenge to make a baby card for a special little girl named Aimee and her parents of course. It was a pretty straight forward card to make. I colored the image of the baby basket using my SU Stampin' Pastels and a blender pen. The stamp set used is a retired set called Baby Talk.

The next challenge was given by Beth. It was a lonely unloved challenge. We were to use a color card stock, stamp set and embellishment that we didn't really like and hadn't used in a long time.......The card stock was easy for me. I went right for my Bold Bright selections. They are my least favorite to use. Their name says it all. They are just too bold and too bright for my tastes. I chose Orchid Opulence for my card stock. It's really bright! The stamp set I chose was Botanicals. A very old SU set. It is a set I like a lot, but I don't think it has been off the shelf in two years. Which says a lot since I've only been stamping two and a half years. It is a set I purchased on E-Bay. The embellishments I choose where the old silver SU brads that are shaped like diamonds. I've just never found a way to use them. I'm stuck on thinking brad = round. I also used a piece of wide organdy ribbon I found languishing on the bottom of my ribbon box. I did add some Going Grey and Basic Grey card stock and Stamped the main image on water color paper coloring it in using SU watercolor crayons and an aqua painter. Guess what....when I got done I discovered I had a card I liked very very much. I only wish is didn't have to be a sympathy card that will sent to a friend who lost her young college student daughter in a car accident this weekend.

I issued the third challenge. It was simply to use one or multiple tags on the front of your card. I did two for samples. I will only show one here. On it I used a pre-made tag from SU. It was from their tag sheet sets that they don't make any more. I guess it doesn't really both me that they don't carry them any more because I have more than I will ever use and I got them in my demonstrator kit when I began as an SU independent demonstrator August 2005! Obviously not one of my favorite items to use. They are actually why I issued this challenge. I wanted to challenge myself to finally use one! I colored my image here with a compination of Copic, Prisma and SU markers. I'm still not sure which I like the best. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.

The last challenge card I will show in this post was given by Jennifer. We were to make a Criss Cross card. I made my first card of this type in last weekends SCS January VSN weekend. They are such fun and I was glad for the opportunity to make another so soon. Maybe this will help set into my mind that this is a type of card to make more often. With February coming I'm finding myself making lots of hearts, love, and Valentine themed cards. I did make three of them this weekend. This is the second one here. I also used one of the hat-pins From my SU Pretties Kit. I really don't like using these. I find them very difficult as a design element. In fact the one used here with it's ribbon was one I put together to use last weekend and I just couldn't get it to look right. I am happy with how it worked on this card. BUT it will have to be a card that I hand deliver to someone. Cards with these would definitely take extra postage and probably would need to go into a padded envelope.

So those are the first four challenges. I will post the rest of my challenge cards in another post later this evening. Right now my fingers are getting tired! And I'm going to go visit some other BLOGS to see what others have been up to this weekend!

FIXING A CARD

Yesterday I was working on some cards and I came up with this as a design for a Get Well card. I really like the watercolor effect of coloring the stamp with the Stampin'Up markers, lightly spritzing them with water and stamping onto water color paper. This was the technique I used here. I was proud of my self for using one of my hodge podge paper clips. (I've only had them since 2005!) I'm not really hoarding them. I just have a real hard time getting them to look right on a card. At times I think I am embellishment challenged. That sort of like bow tying challenged which I am also. Hence the flat ribbon on this card and no bow. Still the card wasn't quite right. I finally determined that in my opinion there was too much off white. What to do?



Well what I did was I carefully removed the water colored stamps image sheet and cut apart the flowers. Then I trimmed them down and distressed the newly cut edges. This is what I ended up with after re taping the images down. What do you think? I definitely like it better with the strips of blue showing between the images. I still think something is missing. Maybe there should be a bow or maybe some eyelets or brads in the upper left corner??? But I think I am done with this card and ready to move on.....

SCS COLOR CHALLENGE & BIRTHDAYS!

I needed to do two birthday cards today and wasn't sure were I was going to get my inspiration to start. Trying to decide both layout, colors and what stamp sets to use can be the most time consuming part of the whole card making process. I didn't have a lot of time to work with so I needed some help. Tuesday's SCS challengeis always a color combo challenge. Other than during VSN weekends I've never done any of the SCS challenges and I thought why not give it a try.

Well when I went to check out what the combination of colors was for the days challenge I almost decided to go it on my own. The colors to be used were Real Red, Blue Bayou, and Soft Sky. I wasn't so sure that this would work for me. Real Red is one of those colors that other than Christmas and Valentine's Day I just can't warm up to. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it is so bright. (The Bold Bright color family is my least used and least liked.) But I decided to give it a try. Boy was I wrong! These colors are dynamite together. I love them.....So here are the two birthday cards that I came up with.

There was also the added benefit that I used two more stamp sets that I haven't used in a while. Happy Everything and Happy Harmony. I will definitely be checking out more of the color challenges in the future. I also will be checking in on the sketch challenges to help with ideas for layouts. Both of these layouts came from past sketch challenges. Several weeks ago I printed out all the past challenges to use as a quick reference. It definitely helped here. After I chose which stamps I wanted to use I flipped through the past sketches to find a layout that would work with the shape of the stamped image. I think it took me an hour to design and make both these cards. Not bad for me.

MORE GOOD THINGS IN SMALL BOXES!

Here is another little box you can make that contains a yummy treat. I have been taking part in a Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) this weekend. It is like a stamping retreat where you get together with friends to party and play together while creating cards and other paper craft items. But it is done via the internet. Lots less expensive (once you have the computer equipment needed that is) that paying hotel and eating out costs. Challenges are issued every hour and you have 45 minutes to complete each of them. Of course since no one can really check up on you the time limits are done on the honor system.....I'm sure no one EVER takes longer than the allowed 45 minutes.......well may be a few.....okay so maybe I'm the only one who is SLOW! But I don't really care for me the object is too have fun. I'm usually done in 60 minutes and that includes the thinking what to do with the challenge time.

One of the challenges was to make a special wrapper or container for chocolate. This then could become a gift for someone special. I decided to try a Nugget Box. I've heard of these little boxes and seen a few but never tried to make one. They are amazingly easy. Why have I waited so long. I wanted to get started on some Valentine gift items and so that is how I decorated this one. If you would be interested in making a box like this you can find directions here.

The above photo shows the box closed. It is a match stick type slider box and the second picture shows it partially opened. Notice even the Hershey's Nuggets have their own pretty little jackets. Now if I can just resist eating them before Valentines day! Enjoy looking. If you what to eat you will have to find your own these are mine!

I'M ROYALTY!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Grand Duchess Suzanne the Mirthful of Lower Beanthrop in the Hedge Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Now what all this means I'm not sure, but please curtsy the next time you come by!

Thanks to Susan for helping me discover my royal nature.

GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL BOXES

This is a little box that my SU upline designed for us to make at our last team meeting. It is a really cute little box about 2 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches and about an inch tall. The box itself is very easy and quick to make. I'm thinking I may make a bunch of these for Valentines favors for those that attend the Tuesday night dinners at our church.


Of course a little box though cute would not be very exciting if it were empty. And of course this little box is not empty. There is a tasty little treat inside. A yummy York Peppermint Patty...one of my favorite treats. When the box is opened you can see it through a cute little hole surrounded by a scalloped circle. There is an acetate sheet behind the punched out hole protecting the patty.

PASS IT ON!

but because she is one of the few SCS and FLYThis morning I received a wonderful surprise when I found out that Lori a SCS and FLYBaby friend gave me an award! The "You Make My Day" award. Then this afternoon I also received the award from a very special friend Lee. I can say she is very special not only because she isBaby friends that I have actually personally met. Now I would like to pass this award on to a few of those who "Make My Day". If you haven't already I hope you will stop by and visit with them on their BLOG.



Kurtis "The Kub" what can I say...he is amazing as are his cards. I love visiting his BLOG to see his new creations and reading about his new adventures as a design team member for not one but two companies now. I also enjoy hearing about what's going on in his life from his proud moma's perspective.

I just have to send the award back to Lee. She is one amazing lady, and I might add has one amazing husband. They are both such giving people. Lee is always there with encouragement for me when I am down or struggling . Her talent and skill in card making has blossomed and I hope one day to be able to catch up with her talent.

My next award goes to Susan. Talk about special! Susan was my very first BLOGGING buddy. She is a very talented card maker and she lives in Australia. I so look forward to visiting her site and seeing what is being done down under. I also very muc look forward to reading the notes she leaves for me.

Finally I would like to give the award to LadyDoc. The work she did with her students in making cards to be sold as a charity fund raiser were amazing. That she was so willing to share her talent with others in this manner was truly inspiring to me. Also I love the name of her BLOG "Tilting at Windmills" . It reminds me of Man of LaMancha every time I visit there and Man of LaMancha is one of my all time favorite plays.

There are many more that I wish I had time to list here that have been an inspiration to me. There are also many SCS friends who make my day but do not have BLOGS to visit. Thank you all. You all "Make My Day" in so many ways.

MAKING IMPROVEMENTS

Sometimes when I make a card I think its finished, but something keeps nagging at me. Even though I am done something just doesn't seem right. This card is an example of that. I designed it from a sketch challenge offered at the Gina K. new product launch party on Saturday night. The more I looked at the card the part that bothered me was that you can't really tell that you are actually seeing a strip of the inside of the card on the far right. It looks more like I just messed up on stamping the patterned background. The "Thank you" sentiment and scalloped square actually hang out over the edge of the front of the card. It just seemed unfinished to me and the more I looked at it the more I knew I had to come up with something to finish it. What to do???

Well, this is what I came up with.
I'm not sure that the color I chose what the correct one. I think I actually picked up the wrong pad. But I am happier with the fact that you can tell there is an edge here and you can see the scallops cut into the edge. So now I declare this card finished.

For those wondering I haven't given up on my marker explorations yet. Watch for more of my finds in the next few days. I think for now I will be saving myself some money!

MY FIRST BELLA!

My first Bella card. And my only Bella stamp. It's Huggabella! I still have lots of work to do on my coloring but slowly I am learning. I think part of my problem is I get to much color and try to be too realistic. I also learned too late that one should not color in Bella's mouth. It made them look like clowns. I worked with my watercolor brush to remove the color and did so with a limited amount of success. I received the encouragement today to be ready and willing when learning to color images to throw away learning projects. I maybe should have thrown this one away, but it was my first Bella and I just couldn't.

This is also my first card with a Cuttlebug embossed background. Now that I could do with little problem. Actually other than the watercoloring I like this card.

THANK YOU'S

I am finally getting around to making my Thank You cards. I am also having fun using loved stamp sets that haven't been used for a while. I am trying to keep them simple, partly because I have a lot of them to make and partly because I am discovering I really like crisp clean cards.

This is one of the designs I came up with. I love the Geometric background stamp and was sad to see SU retire it several years ago. I find it very useful when I am struggling with masculine cards. The other stamp set used here is All About U which was just retired last month. I stamped the U with night of navy craft ink and then embossed it with the Hologram embossing powder which also retired. Right about now I am thinking I am glad that I am a hobby demo with SU and I can still use my retired sets with a clear conscience. It's hard to tell from my scan but the card is done on confetti white card stock. Two eyelets and some gingham ribbon on mellow moss card stock finish off the card and at least one person will get a thank you from me "sooner rather than later!".

365 PROJECT!

I found this interesting photo project called the 365 Project and was very intrigued by it. I love taking pictures and photo journalism and was thinking about doing it. Of course I was thinking very slowly about it. Then another FLYBaby friend on SCS posted on her BLOG that she was going to do it and that was enough of a push to get me started. So....if you would like to follow my life through photos check out my companion BLOG. It's called Life Out My Window.

RECIPES FOR A MONTH

This is my first project I'm working on in 2008. It was begun right after Christmas, but around my house few things are completed the same day they are begun. This actually will be an ongoing growing project through out the year I hope.

Along with a group of SCS FLYbaby Stampers I am working toward getting my life and home in order and out of CHAOS. I am also working toward healthier eating habits and money saving in all areas including food purchases. To eventually achieve these goals I need to work on my planning and organization skills. Hopefully this fun project will help me with both.

On a Christmas Eve shopping trip my daughter found several flip photo albums at Kohl's. She had seen a picture of one that had been altered to be a recipe album in one of my catalogs, books or magazines and wanted to make some. She also gave me one to make for myself. and this is what I came up with.

I didn't really need another holder for my recipes, especially one that only had room for up to 40 of them. I have been trying to be better about menu planning and shopping lists of foods I will actually use rather than just getting what looks good in the store at the moment I'm shopping, but haven't had much success. I came up with the idea of this recipe album that hopefully will help. I think the 40 slots for recipe cards should be enough room for the recipes needed for a months worth of cooking.

Along with the album I have come up with a template in MS WORD that I am using to type my recipes into. Also I have made what I refer to as my "Monthly Index" which are simply cards with lines for me to hand write in the titles of the recipe cards that are currently in the album with the name of the month stamped along the side. Of course I've added a bit of stamping fun to the cards because this is a fun project as well as hopefully a usable one.

It's a fair amount of work setting this up. But I'm having fun going through the family recipes and deciding which ones to make cards for first. Actually my daughter helped with that as well. She found all the ones she wanted for her book and since I did them for here those are my first as well. I have some tins from Oriental Trading that the 4x6 recipe cards will fit into and eventually I plan to alter one of those into a storage recipe box for all the cards that I have produced. Not sure when I will get to that though as I still have Thank You cards to design and make as well as a Swap I need to get done. BUT it is on my list of things to do sooner rather than later. When I get it done you will see it here, but PLEASE don't hold your breath as it may be a while.

For now I have more recipes to type into word and print out on lovely colorful card stock. And looking a head to next Christmas I might just make a few of these for gifts myself. By then they will be easy because I am saving all my formatted recipes!

STARTING THE NEW YEAR

Okay, I know that it isn't even New Year's Eve yet, but I am a very impatient person. I just figured out how to add a counter to my site and I was going to wait and add it tomorrow night at mid-night, but well like I said I am not a patient person so......though my site is over a year old the count is starting at 1 today!

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!!!!

Susan has tagged me and so now while I am gathering up energy to connect my computer to the scanned and take a few photos of some projects my daughter and I worked on yesterday I will offer a few facts about myself. 7 random facts according to the rules Susan sent. So here goes....

1. I lived in the same house 14 years when I was growing up and swore I would never live in the same house that long again....well never say never....I've lived in the house I'm currently living in for 24 years and there are no plans to move anytime soon!!!!
2. I love Disney World and would vacation there for a week every year and be very happy! Alas I haven't been in almost 10 years.
3. At 5 foot 11 inches tall I am the shortest person in my immediate family. I never thought I would be the shorty!
4. If I won a million dollars I would quit my job and devote myself to teaching quilting and stamping to others, and I would make quilts and cards to give away to people in need.
5. I am working had to clear my home of 24 years of accumulated clutter. Made some progress in 2007, but still have a long way to go....anyone want some counted cross stitch patterns? I have lots of them.....
6. (WOW 7 is a BIG number!) I am one of the few women in this world who has allowed her hair to go gray in a pattern and time frame that God sees fit. (actually I'm to cheap to pay someone to color my hair and too untalented when it comes to such things to do it myself)
7. In 2008 I hope to learn how to cook in a more healthy manner.

So there are my thoughts.....now for the really hard part, tagging 7 other people....

Diane
Keri
Lee
Leslie
Jennifer
LadyDoc
Jen

So visit their BLOGS learn about them and see the wonderful things they all do. AND don't forget to visit Susan and come back here I love to have visitors. Now I need to go break the news to those lovely 7 folks that they've been tagged.

STILL IN CHRISTMAS SEASON

It has been a wonderful Christmas. Our house has been full of family and lots of activity. Lots and lots of food and dirty dishes as well! How quickly one forgets what it takes to feed six instead of two.....

One by one family are making their exit and heading home or on to other destinations. Our oldest son had to leave first. He had to be back to work the day after Christmas so his was the shortest stay, but it was so good to have him home.

Today Jerry's Dad leaves to continue his Christmas adventures. He heads back to Detroit this afternoon, but rather than leaving the airport to go home he will board another flight and head to California to visit with family there for a week. This will be a very special trip as he will hear one of his granddaughters give her first sermon as she prepares to go into the ordained ministry.


Next to leave will be daughter as tomorrow afternoon she will head back home to MN. I wonder if it has warmed up there any in her absence??? I do know that earlier in the week they got lots of snow.... It's always fun to have her home. She's my girl in this home that is filled will guys most times. I miss my girl. She is the one that understands (I think) my passion (obsession) for crafting.


My baby....will be next, but that date of departure is yet unknown. That's okay though cause he's my baby....well I guess at this point more appropriate to say my youngest. At some point in the future he will head back north to Frostburg to finish his last semester of college. Then the house will be empty.....well almost.


The big guy will still be here so that will get us back to the two that we started with a little over a week ago. I'm thinking it will be very quiet around here. And I will have to readjust my cooking methods back to small amounts. And hopefully healthier items. Christmas foods are wonderful, but it is good for the waistline and heart that Christmas only comes once a year!!!!! I will both miss the noise, activity and chaos of the past week AND be glad for the peace and calmness the beginning if the new year will bring.

I hope all who read this have had as wonderful a Christmas as we have had here in the Brown household. And may your New Year be full of blessings, happiness and creative fun. Yes creative fun! After all this is a BLOG devoted to the fun of stamping and quilting!

What do I plan to do in the new year??? Play with all my wonderful creativity inspiring Christmas gifts.....I've been patiently awaiting being able to head back up to my stamp room and work with all my new toys. Ideas have been swirling in my head , just like those visions of sugar plums. I look forward to putting those ideas on paper. So check back I love having you visit me in my little corner of cyber space.

MERRY CHIRSTMAS!

Enjoy the presence of family and friendson this very special day!

ONE DAY TO GO

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I would be nice if I could report that everything was ready in my home, but alas I can not tell that big of a lie right before Christmas. There is much yet to be done. All will be attempted, but not all will be accomplished. There just aren't enough hours left in the count down. I will continue to tell my self that the most important things have already happened. All kids have returned home! If all the cookies don't get baked or all the last minute gifts don't get purchased or finished Christmas will still come and we will all be together to celebrate the birth of the babe in Bethlehem.

I would like to share a short story that was sent to me from an anonymous but very wise source. I hope you will take a short moment to read it and then reflect on the busyness that tomorrow may bring to many of us and how you will choose to deal with that busyness and those loved ones and friends around you.

The Box

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls,
career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear
across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his
busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no
time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and
nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, 'Mr. Belser died last night. The
funeral is Wednesday.' Memories flashed through his mind like an old
newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

'Jack, did you hear me?'

'Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of
him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,' Jack said.
'Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were
doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of
the fence' as he put it,' Mom told him.

'I loved that old house he lived in,' Jack said.

'You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make
sure you had a man's influence in your life,' she said

'He's the one who taught me carpentry,' he said. 'I wouldn't be in this
business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me
things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the
funeral,' Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his
hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no
children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to
see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing
over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house
was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture,
every piece of furniture... ..Jack stopped suddenly.
'What's wrong, Jack?' his Mom asked.
'The box is gone,' he said
'What box?' Mom asked.

'There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I
must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever
tell me was 'the thing I value most,'' Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered
it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had
taken it.

'Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him,' Jack said. 'I better
get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.'

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from
work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. 'Signature required
on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office
within the next three days,' the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old
and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting
was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
'Mr. Harold Belser' it read. Jack took the box out to his car and
ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope.
Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

'Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack
Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life.' A small key was
taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack
carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold
pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched
the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

'Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser.'
'The thing he valued most was...my time'
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and
cleared his appointments for the next two days. 'Why?' Janet, his
assistant asked.

'I need some time to spend with my son,' he said.

'Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time."

SLOW DOWN!

A quick post to encourage all to slow down and enjoy the process of card making and making them well. (Notice I said well not perfect!)

As Christmas approaches at lightning speed I am finding my self getting sloppy. When I get pressured by time, or I should say lack of time, I don't do some things I know I should do to help my cards be the best they can. This card is a good example of that.

Can you see what I mean? You don't have to look to close or too long to see it. I have learned from past experience that I need to use my stamp-a-ma-jig whenever I am stamping a sentiment directly onto my card. Do I always do it? Obviously not! And the times I don't are those times that I am in just to much of a hurry to get out the tool.

I probably should just leave it out on my stamping table. Then I would have no excuse.

So this post is an admonition to myself and anyone else who needs it to slow down and enjoy the process of making a nice card rather than taking the time to come up with a nice layout and design and then ruining it with a lopsided sentiment!

What was it we were told: "Do as I say, not as I do!" Or was it, " A picture is worth a thousand words"?

COLORING EXPERIMENTATION

A couple of posts back I talked about my wanting to learn more about coloring systems especially COPIC markers. I decided to try my own little experiment using various different products and methods of coloring to see if I could see any differences or come up with the product and method I preferred. I also was trying to answer for myself whether COPIC markers were worth the investment for me a non-artist. By non-artist I mean that I have very limited skill in how to shade and color things effectively.

This was not as easy to do as I thought it would be. One thing I discovered was that there were a lot of different variables to consider including paper and ink used to stamp the image. So though I have eliminated a set of options I am not sure that I am any closer to deciding the best set of products and methods for me to use. Here is the fist installment of what I discovered. Through out this process so far I have used a single stamp to color using different products.

I used Watercolor paper for these samples. As labeled; image 1 uses Prisma markers; 2 uses SU markers; and 3 uses the Copic Sketch markers. I have to say that though I already own all the SU markers I only purchased 3 colors of Copic and 4 of Prisma. I thought would just be enough of each to be able to experiment. I used watercolor paper because I had found a tutorial on making SU markers look like Copic markers. I wanted to see if this would work for me because if it did I could save LOTS of money.

So....what did I discover. Well one thing I discovered is that I want to try this again using SU watercolor paper with the SU markers. I used some off brand that I have on hand and I think that it still looks more like water coloring than markers. Which in and of itself is not bad, but I was trying for the bold marker look. Still I do like the way number 2 turned out. I don't really like the way 1 and 3 turned out as much.

Now to be fair, there are a couple of issues that I think gave an unfair advantage to the SU markers. The first being that I don't think either Copic or Prisma markers are made to be used on watercolor paper. (Of course I didn't think of this when I began my little experiment. I was thinking more about holding a variable constant; which in this experiment is really not a good idea!) The second problem is that I had such a limited color set to choose from with the Copics and Prismas. In fact the Copics I only have the primary colors red, blue and yellow because another tutorial suggested that was all you needed and you could just blend them. Blending I've discovered is something I can't seem to get the hang of. Part of the problem may be that I cannot find a Copic blender and though they told me Prisma would work fine I'm not sure it does.


So did I learn anything from this other than Prisma and Copics don't work well on watercolor paper. Yes, I did discover that one thing I don't like about Prismas is that they don't have a brush end the Copics do and I really like that. On the other hand to get into small spaces I like that Prisma has a fine point end. They both have a chisel point broad tip on one end. SU markers have both fine point and brush ends. SU markers however are water based inks. Prisma and Coptic are alcohol so are not going to run if they get wet and they work on surfaces SU won't. I've also learned that if I choose to get either Copics or Prismas I need to get a lot of them to do any effective amount of blending and that will be a big expense.

So where do I go from here.....I'm going to try my Copic and Prismas on regular card stock. And while I'm playing I am going to compare my Prisma pencils with turpentine ( I haven't found anyone who sells Gamsol around here yet and turpentine works it just stinks) and my watercolor pencils using plain old water. So stay tuned!

Snowman Returns

I have been asked by several people if I have a pattern for this little guy. I don't because I bought him at a craft fair, but I've pulled out my trusty tape measure and tired my best to come up with measurements for the hat and scarf. The face you can see here and simply copy the design. I assume it can be done with Sharpie pens and a little swipe of pink pigment ink on the cheeks.

For the hat and scarf you will need a small amount of red felt. Cut two pieces. The hat is a 3inch by 5 inch piece and the scarf a 1 inch by 7 inch piece. These measurements are approximate depending on the type of plastic spoon you are using, but they should be fine. If slight adjustments are needed I'm sure you all can figure it out.

To make the hat; along one 5 inch edge make cuts about 1/2 inch down the entire 5 inch length. This is the fringe at the top of the hat. The opposite 5 inch end you are going to fold up about a half an inch. This makes the brim around the bottom of the hat. Wrap the hat strip around the top of the spoon as shown in the picture. (Place a dab of glue at top of spoon to hold the hat in place) Overlap in the back and glue in place. Use a piece of hemp or twine to gather the top and tie in a bow. (I would probably put a dab of glue over the knot of the bow so it can't com untied, but that is up to you!)

The scarf is easy; simply fringe both 1 inch ends. Place the tootsie pop at the back of the spoon as shown in picture and tie the scarf around the stick of the pop and the handle of the spoon. When placing the tootsie pop against the bowl of the spoon I think I would use several glue dots maybe even one of the big pop up glue dots to hold it in place.

I hope these instructions make sense and will help those who want to be able to make these little guys for some special person. They are really cute and I think they would be pretty easy to make. Have fun!

No Cards Today!

I had hoped to stamp today for a bit, but instead I have been redoing the look of my BLOG. What do you think? I've been learning all sorts of new things and am even going to start to you labels. The computer and all you can do on it including BLOGGING is great, but it does eat up some of that precious free time that could be used for stamping or quilting. Well maybe tomorrow.....hope is what keeps us going! With out hope we would be, well just plain hopeless. So check back to morrow and see if I've found time for stamping fun!

These are two cards that I made for my SCS FLYBaby 30 set challenge. The challenge is to use 30 stamps or stamp sets that haven't been used in a while (or in my case maybe never) and make a card for each. The second part of the challenge is to not purchase anymore stamps or sets till the challenge is complete. I'm taking the first part of the challenge but am not sure I will complete it before I purchase new sets. I need to place an SU order before the end of the year to stay active next quarter and I don't want to miss out on the hostess set or new catty preorder both of which need to be placed before Dec 31..

The elephant comes from a set called Year After Year. I actually love this set because is so lends itself to watercoloring which I am very hooked on. The elephant is one of my favorites in the set. The patterned paper is Wintergreen which is a winter themed pack of Double Sided Designer Paper which is being retired at the end of the month. The ribbon is the double stitched Blue Bayou ribbon. I'm so glad the current In Colors will be around for another 6 months. I really love this set and will miss them when they retire at the end of June.

The Cherish card used the Vases in Vogue level 3 hostess set which will also be retired at the end of Dec. I purchased this set as part of the hostess preorder in June. Only in my dreams do I ever place a $500 order to qualify to obtain a free level 3 hostess set. I also like this set for it's water colorability. The card stock is Groovy Guava which is really growing on me as a color. The paper is the DSP in Always Artichoke (another of my favorite colors). The ribbon is once again the double stitched ribbon this time in Groovey Guava.

I have a third card I've made for this challenge but that will be for another post.

COPICS OR NOT????

No pictures to post right now just a question that is confounding me. There is a lot of buzz right now about COPIC markers. Now I am intrigued by them. The samples of cards I've seen using them are awesome. BUT they are pricey; around $5 a marker. (That's for the "sketch" style. I can't find anywhere locally that sells the "ciao" style.) My dilemma it are they really that good or are other less pricey markers just as good. Also is there any hope that a non-artist can use them effectively. When I color using markers it always looks like a 5 year old did it, and that may be an insult to five year olds. So my dilemma is I really like they way they can look, but can I really make them look that way and are they worth the investment?????

Got to run...have a teleconference call to be on in 15 minutes. I wonder what Shelli has to say....while listening I will scan a few cards and post later.