A Quick Birthday Card

Yes, quick...I promise! But only because I stamped this image weeks ago and set it aside. I had a vision that day, but it quickly didn't turn out, so I ended up stamping this card instead. Well, yesterday I forgot until the absolute last possible minute about making a birthday card for my daughter's friend. They were having dinner together at 7pm, and I remembered to make the card shortly after 6 (we left at 6:30). Thank goodness I set this stamped image aside! I didn't have much time to think I just threw it together. I suppose it turned out well enough :O)

For the flowers I stamped the SU! White Craft Ink first, used a damp paper towel to remove the white from the stems and the centers, then used my markers to color the rest. Huffed a few times and pressed the stamp to the PTI Kraft paper :O) I heat set it to avoid smearing the white and die-cut the image with my Spellbinders Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilites.

I think the hardest part was mixing the cleaness of the scalloped cut with the ruggedness of the Kraft paper. In the end, I incorporated both styles (with the clean SU! DSP and the rugged, distressed edges of the PTI Pure Poppy cardstock).


Ahh...here's to an easy week ahead after a very relaxing weekend!

Saturday Sketch...mytimess13

I created this card for Lauren's Saturday Sketch Challenge #13. Regardless of my lighting, background, camera settings...I can't seem to capture the colors very well in my photograph. Any photography techniques you want to share will be greatly appreciated! LOL

I've been wanting to create some handmade poinsettias and Lauren's sketch was the perfect opportunity! My intent was to use satin ribbon, but it kept fraying, so I ended up going with this generic, pink "satin" ribbon (satin is in quotes because this ribbon is made of polypropylene). It's a little stiffer so it was easier to handle. Basically what I did to create the poinsettias was cut strips of ribbon (the medium sized poinsettia is about 1 1/4 x 5/8"), folded them in half and cut from the center fold toward the center of the end of the strip.

Once you have three strips cut, pinch the wide centers of each ribbon together, then bunch the three of them. Use thin wire (I used 32 gauge) to hold the centers together. Work with the side pieces to spread the petals out evenly (the glue gun I used to adhere the flowers to the card helped me to hold the petals where I wanted them). Add some pearls, or other rhinestone stickers to the centers and you have handmade poinsettias! Not a spectacular tutorial, but I hope you get the idea :O)

Oh, and for the dove, I stamped in VersaMark ink, then Close to Cocoa and straight onto the paper. I used clear embossing powder right away and heated it. While the powder was still hot, I poured Dazzling Diamonds on the image, let it set for a few seconds, then tapped the excess glitter off and reheat to set the glitter. I like how the bird turned out :O)

Again, if anyone wants to share some photography techniques that will help me to capture the details and colors in these cards better, please feel free! I'll take all of the advice I can get :O)

All supplies are listed in my SCS Gallery.

Have a great weekend!

Thankful Journey...

So, after all of the hard work cooking, cleaning, and entertaining yesterday, I decided to stamp today :O) My small little reward to myself...

I really do like sketch challenges, so I decided to play along with the SCS Sketch Challenge from Wednesday. I cannot get this train stamp out of my head, so I had to use it. The sentiment truly has nothing to do with the train, but I'm slowly knocking out my thank you cards...this one is for a gentleman I need to thank.

I originally colored the stamp with my SU! Watercolor Crayons, spritzed with water, and stamped the paper. BUT, I really didn't like the dull color combination I ended up with. So, I tried the same technique with markers. It didn't blend very well, but the colors have that vibrancy I was looking for. If I did it over again, I would probably color or put drops of color on a transparency, spritz, stamp the ink "puddle" and then the paper. Not sure if it will work, but we used the technique at my upline's house one day, and it turned out beautifully. Ah well, hindsight is 20/20!

Oh, and I've never used the larger hodgepodge pieces until today. I had no idea how to adhere them so that they don't shift on the paper. Then I recalled some posts where I read that Crystal Effects was a great adhesive for the dew drops. I had a bottle of Crystal Effects but I really didn't know it acted as an adhesive (duh :O). So, I tried it on this piece of Vanilla Hodgepodge and it stuck! Very cool :]

All supplies are listed in my SCS Gallery.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! We sure did...

Color Throwdown Challenge #21

I don't know what possessed me tonight, but I felt the need to participate in a challenge (even thought it's clearly past my bedtime :O) I went with the Color Throwdown #21 since it is Wednesday and that's when they issue their challenge.

This is the card I came up with. I wanted to make a Christmas card since these are such unconventional Christmas colors. I know it's not my best card by any means, but I really like the piercing at the bottom. I think that part turned out cute :O) Oh, and I realize it's missing something, but I can't put my finger on it. If you figure it out, please feel free to drop a line! Maybe I'll add it :O)

All supplies are listed in my SCS gallery.

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Thank You Daisy...

I'm still pluggin' away at all of the thank you cards I need. I haven't gotten very far, but I finished one tonight. I just received my SU! Vanilla cardstock and the Upsy Daisy stamp set and wanted to use both of them together. This is what I came up with :O)



I used my Scor-Pal to emboss the lines after I stamped the sentiment. Then I used the Cuttlebug "border" Swiss Dots embossing folder on the bottom. I re-scored the lines afterward because they looked less defined after using the Cuttlebug folder. The tabs were made with the SU! Word Window punch; the flowers were stamped on SU! DSP three times (in Chocolate Chip ink) and then embossed with clear embossing powder. Pretty simple design, but I really think simple and clean works for me :] My supplies are listed in my SCS gallery.



Hope you all have a half day (if you have to work) tomorrow! I know I'm crossing my fingers :O)

Gotta love a good deal!

So, I was at Wal-Mart this weekend and I scoured the scrapbooking department to see if there were any "must haves". Nothing really jumped out at me so I mosied around the store to finish my "necessity" shopping. Who would have thought the dog food aisle would display the cutest, cheapest stamps in the store? Yes, the dog food aisle.

I was wandering to the Christmas department at the back of the store and my daughter (bless her heart) pointed out a large display of acrylic stamps - for a dollar a sheet! Granted there are only about 4 or 5 stamps on each sheet, but hey, that's plenty - for a DOLLAR! :O) I was happy with that find. Oh, and I did great...I only bought two sheets! I couldn't stop thinking about this adorable litte cub, so I made a card. It wasn't until after I posted it to my SCS gallery (where all supplies are listed) that I realized I just made a card with these colors a week and a half ago. Oops! Oh well.

I wish I had some fun flock...I could have made him fuzzy :] I'll try that next time...I'm sure I'll have purchased it by then.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

My Christmas List :O)

Earlier today while I was getting ready to leave for Tia's gymnastics meet, my mind was a flurry of ideas. I didn't have time to do anything with them and most of them have since flitted away, BUT, I did recall one by the time I got home. Recently, I have been keeping track of things that I want to purchase, and thought, hey, why not turn it into a Christmas "Wishlist"? So, I did...in Microsoft Word.

Today during my creative mental moment, I thought it would be neat to create a general wishlist online that I could share with family members. The family members who normally hound me with inquiries about what I want for Christmas :O) When they do, I feel selfish by giving them ideas...even simple ones, so I normally tell them I don't want anything, I would rather they get something for someone whe needs it more. Well, they end up getting me something anyway, without a clue as to what I would like to have. Don't get me wrong, their gifts are very thoughtful, and well received!! I wouldn't return one of them :O) But, I decided that this year I would make it easier on them if they insist on sending me a gift. I hope that came out right :]

So, I started searching for a website that would allow me to create a wishlist that wasn't specific to an individual store. I found one (heck, I found a ton) on the first search! This is the site I went with: www.wishlistr.com

I transferred my Microsoft Word wishlist to the site, created a very generic button, and posted it at the top of my blog. So, if you notice my new button, please don't think I'm looking for handouts! That's definitely not the case. I just wanted to make it easy for my family to find :O)

Oh, and I should probably post an update about Tia's first meet of the season today! She did fantastic!! Tia is an all-around, Level 8 competitive gymnast. Meaning she competes on all four events (uneven bars, beam, floor, and vault). She tends to score highest most consistently on beam and floor. She has struggled with sticking her landing on vault, and has really struggled with her bar routine. Last season Tia was lucky to get a 7 on bars (out of 10)! She never placed, but managed to qualify for Regionals during her State Meet because she decided to do a bar routine one level lower than what she was competing. She knew it would be an instant deduction, BUT, she pulled in her highest bars score of the season. Go figure. Oh, and since I'm bragging about my girl, let me just say that she placed SECOND IN THE REGION on beam!!!! I posted the video of her Regional beam routine on YouTube if you're interested in seeing her perform :O) This bit of history is to basically explain that she never placed (received a medal) on any of her bar routines last season.

Today, Tia managed to take 6th place on bars! I know it doesn't sound spectacular, but they only awarded medals to 6th place on each event. I don't recall how many girls were competing in her category, but it was well over 6. I was so happy for her! Oh, and don't let me forget to mention that she medaled on ALL OF HER EVENTS! Yes, all four :O) I don't remember what place she received on each event, but she took third all-around!!! She did such a great job :]

So, thank you for your positive thoughts and well-wishes...I think they worked! Hope you have a wonderful weekend (what's left of it). I'm hoping to craft tomorrow...with any luck, the flurry of ideas will return when I wake up.

Best Wishes

So I started my new job on Monday. It's going well so far and I'm learning a lot. I met a sweet lady who is moving up in the world and spent her last day with our office today. I liked her the instant we met, so it was important to me to make her a card last night. Just a little memento to let her know she'll be missed.

All supplies EXCEPT the Spellbinders Nestabilities (rectangle and scalloped rectangle) are listed in my SCS gallery.

This is just a quick post...I need to take my daughter shopping for her Secret Pals gift to give to a fellow gymnast at her first meet of the season tomorrow! She was injured yesterday, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We're hoping for a positive attitude and the ability to grin and bear the pain. Thank you!

Hope you had a wonderful week!

Benefit for Ethan Weiman

I thought I would share a post about Alicia Weiman's little boy, Ethan. Ethan has Neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer, and has been fighting the disease for over a year.

I've never met him or his mother for that matter, other than through blogging. Alicia is very sweet and VERY busy as evidenced by her posts, but she manages to keep up with her family demands and still make wonderful creations!

Tonight, I visited her blog and found her post regarding a benefit that's being held in November to support Ethan and his family. If I were a neighbor, I would pull my sleeves up and offer two helping hands. Since I'm merely a distant blogging contact, I thought, hey, why not post a quick message to share some info regarding Ethan :O)

Please read his story and the information regarding the benefit. There is a page where you can contribute financially if you're interested in helping out.

Thanks for taking a minute to read my post! Hopefully it spirals in a good way and reaches someone who can make a substantial contrbution to this sweet family in need.

Have a great weekend!

Saturday Sketch...mytimess12

I made this card for Lauren Meader's Saturday Sketch challenge. I took Lauren's advice from one of her posts earlier this week and created my own designer paper using Martha Stewart's Holiday Accent Stamp set. I bought the set at Michaels today -- it was on sale for just over $6! What a great find!!! There are a ton of stamps in this set :]

All supplies are listed in my SCS gallery. Thanks for checking in :O)

Wow...1K

I just logged on to upload the card I made for the Paper Craft Planet Sketch Challenge and noticed I hit 1,000 visits today. Phew...that took forever! :O)

The card I made for the sketch challenge is also a birthday card for a co-worker. Her last day at work is Friday and her birthday is next week, so we decided to surprise her and celebrate early! She was one of the ladies who joined us at my card party this Sunday. She always gets sooo excited when I bring a card into work, and seemed to really enjoy herself while making the Christmas cards at my house. I love her excitement :O) I'm sad to see her leave.

Thanks for swinging by. All of my supplies are listed in my SCS gallery.

Helena's Birthday Blog Candy

Good morning! Just a quick post to wish my friend, Helena a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Her birthday was yesterday and she's giving a load of goodies away for HER birthday as blog candy. Isn't she the sweetest? Be sure to check out her creations also...she's a wonderful, talented artist.

Happy Birthday, Helena!

All the best,

A New "Colorful" Challenge

Okay...I decided I needed to expand my challenge "horizon". Layouts are truly difficult for me to create, so I lean toward the sketch challenges on the weekend. Anytime I feel like I have an original idea, I recall someone else's card that probably put the idea in my head in the first place. I've been following Lauren Meader and Sketch Saturday's challenges almost faithfully over the past couple of months. I think I'm accepting the fact that my "layouts" will always be semi-plagiarized - sooooo, I thought about the other element of a card that always challenges me. Color combinations!


I'm a huge admirer of Dawn Easton's work. If you aren't familiar with her, she creates some of the most amazing cards in the industry. To me, her talent is not only in the layouts she develops, but her color combinations. She varies her colors with every project it seems, and she's not afraid to use the uncommon hues. I feel like I limit myself in my color choices, so I look to her for inspiration. I know SCS has a color challenge, but I prefer blog challenges :O) So, I asked her if she ever thought about starting her own color challenge on her blog, but she isn't at a point where she has the time to dedicate to creating a challenge, so she referred me to a couple:


http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/
http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/

I checked out The Color Throwdown first, and never even looked at the other link (I know, shame on me). I'll check it out, just not today :O) The color choices for this week were super!

The gears started turning right away. My layout is blah...because it's "my design" (please, how many people have created a card with the exact same, simple layout??) LOL. I'll still claim it though :] The stamp set "Remember" is by Lisa Johnson, for Papertrey Ink. I came across a piece of DP that shows a field of poppies and the buds growing in a periwinkle color (buds in a sage or olive tone). It makes me think of this set every time I look at it. Unfortunately, the colors are not the same so I couldn't think of a way to incorporate it into this card. BUT, it was my inspiration so not all is lost on the DP :O)


I like the end result well enough to send it off to my mother. She is one of the strongest women I know. You wouldn't believe everything she has overcome... I'm going to send it for no reason whatsoever other than the fact that it makes me think of her. Her favorite color being purple is just a bonus :O)


Oh, lest I forget. I'm so excited!!! I found a site that creates custom stamps (http://www.designyourowncard.com/rubber-stamps). I've looked at several sites before but my image never uploaded clearly so I gave up. This time it worked like a charm so I ordered the stamp of my logo that David Lettier made for me (I sign each post with it). This is the stamped image on the back of the card above:


Cool, huh? I'm so happy!! It arrived in just a few days and the stamp only cost around $5 or $6 without shipping. It's 7/8"...just about the size of the SU! stamp I normally use (the circular, "hm" handmade stamp). Love it, love it, love it!


Have a great weekend! I'm off to finish up my card party preparations for tomorrow.

Birthday Appreciation

My co-workers were so sweet yesterday! They celebrated my birthday by ordering Chevys Tex-Mex for lunch (the Farmer's Market Quesadilla is the BEST), bringing in a Cheesecake Factory assortment, the rich, chocolate cake from Costco, a huge, singing birthday card, and a beautiful bracelet and earrings set! They really made me feel special :] I sure am going to miss them when I change jobs in two weeks. They are easily the best group I've ever had the pleasure of working with! Our group dynamics couldn't have been intentionally matched up better. Even when the job was at it's most stressful point, I had my co-workers to look forward to working with. Ahh...great memories to cherish, and I won't be far away, so not all is lost.

After the wonderful celebration they pulled off, I had to whip up a quick thank you card for them! This is what I came up with. It's my first card that is made primarily with rub-on transfers. The only thing I stamped was the sentiment. I like the simplicity yet understated elegance of this one :]

Supplies are listed in my SCS gallery.

Have a great week!

Christmas Card Workshop

I'm finally hosting my first Stampin' Up! workshop since I signed back on as a demonstrator (this is my third go...remember?). The workshop is this weekend and I've sent an electronic invite to friends who I think might be interested in learning how to make cards...specifically, Christmas cards! I designed 4 samples that I will demonstrate at the workshop. I know most people charge for Christmas card workshops, but I wanted to run my first as a normal workshop and allow my customers the opportunity to learn how I do things, yet express their personal creativity by purchasing the supplies they need to create their own cards.

These are the cards I plan to demonstrate

I cased two of the layouts (far left and right) from my friend (and upline) Rosie. I really wish she had a blog to share her talent. She's a card-whiz! The layout for the third card from the left was cased from the Stampin' Up! catalog.

Here are the individual photos...simple, simple, simple!

All supplies are from Stampin' Up! Wish me luck :O)

Happy Birthday...Cupcake!

So, I finally caved and made a cupcake card :] I've seen them everywhere...Taylor VanBruggen even has a line of cupcake stamps along with a cupcake challenge every Friday...but I never thought much of cupcakes being the main theme for a card. They're cute and all, but they didn't reach out and slap me or anything. BUT, when I found the cupcake set from Inkadinkado at Michaels, I figured, why not? I'll keep them on hand just in case I fall into the cupcake craze :0] Which I haven't...

I needed a quick birthday card for a little girl, and I also wanted to play along with Lauren's Saturday Sketch challenge. I thought of the cupcakes, and thought - PERFECT! I think pink when I think of this little girl...hence the frosting and the crushed velvet brads. You've probably already noticed, this is a quick card!! The longest part was using the corner rounder to create my scalloped circle. Oh wait, I take that back. It was probably the coloring. I also wanted to create a shadow under the cupcake (like Lauren sometimes does with her images...she's the master at shading and adding shadows). It's okay, but you barely even notice it. Ha ha. Oh well...I tried.

How ironic that I'm creating birthday cards on my birthday! That's so like me! My husband and daughter made today an all around wonderful birthday. It started with a home-made breakfast, Starbucks (my favorite), flowers, a balloon, cards and a Starbucks gift card...followed by my daughter baking me a cake, and my husband frosting it. He ended up scooping part of the middle out of the top layer because it was a little undercooked, but he filled it with frosting so I'm sure it will be delish! LOL My home-made dinner is in the oven...pot roast with all the fixins! YUM!! My actual gift is the beauty parlor...I just didn't want to go today. Maybe I'll set up an appointment for Wednesday.

Oh, and I can't forget all of my wonderful family and friends who made today special as well! Almost everyone I work with sent a text wishing me a happy day, and I heard from most of my family! I received cards last week from everyone, and even my dad called today (he's usually kind of absent-minded about my birthday :O). It was special on many levels!

Supplies are listed in my SCS gallery. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!