Festive Challenges

Amazingly enough, I found some time to create a couple of cards today :O) Though I clearly should have been catching up on some work for this week :[ Oh well. At least I'm de-stressed for the time being!

Both layouts are from different sketch challenges. I like to see the amazing creations that others come up with for these challenges. It's inspiring to see such unique variety! Anyway...off we go.

Lauren Meader's Saturday Sketch #07

As usual, I LOVE the sketch that Lauren came up with! She always has something fun for us :O) I really am feeling festive today so I created Christmas themed cards. Naturally, red is the first thing on my mind when I'm coming up with my color combination, and instead of pushing the thought aside, I went with it! I know my main image is OLD, but I'm playing catch up in the crafting world this year :O)

I normally post my supplies in my SCS Gallery, but it didn't prompt me to today for some reason. I have no idea what I did wrong. So, I'm posting them here instead.

~ Supplies ~

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Sketch It and Short & Sweet

Paper: Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Old Olive; Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy and Kraft

Ink: Stampin' Up! Mellow Moss, Old Olive and Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Natural Hemp Twine; Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy Ribbon; Michaels White Satin Ribbon and Rhinestones; Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch; Marvy Uchida Scalloped Circle Punch; Ben Franklins Red Glitter and thin Red Ribbon

Sketch Saturday #18

This is my second participation in the Sketch Saturday challenge. I really like their layouts and their design team :O) Such unique creations every week! Still feeling festive, I created another Christmas themed card. I used the Brayered Sky technique for the background. The tutorial is on SCS. I love navy, silver, soft blue, and white together for Christmas cards. It's hard for me to veer away from these colors each year, but I force myself too! Ha ha. I don't know why I like that combination since all the trimmings on my tree are white and gold. I don't think I've ever created a white and gold card. Hmm...maybe I'll give that a shot.

~ Supplies ~

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Warm Words, Merry and Short & Sweet; Rubber Stamped Winter Woods

Paper: Stampin' Up! Soft Sky, Night of Navy, Whisper White; Sizzix Silver

Ink: Stampin' Up! Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Night of Navy, Basic Black, and VersaMark

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Silver Embossing Powder, Silver Brads; Spellbinders Rectangle Nestabilities and Ribbon Tags; Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl Embossing Folder; Sizzix Tags Die; Michaels White Satin Ribbon

Tag...You're It!

Yes, tag...like when we ran around the playground as kids...only now we're surfing the net :O)

Tagging Game Rules:
1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog some random, some weird
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

My Tagger:
I have been tagged by a sweet young lady, Heather, who I made the acquaintance of recently through sharing projects and blog comments :O) She's sooo sweet! Truly!! She is open, genuine, and friendly and she makes adorable cards! Please check out her blog at Heather's Heavinly Stampations and give her some warm fuzzies!

7 Facts:
1. I've been in the Air Force for 15 years!
2. I've only been married for 2 years (yes, first husband :O)
3. I have 5 brothers and 5 sisters
4. I own well over 100 Longaberger baskets (pathetic, huh?) LOL
5. I lived in Hawaii for 6 years, Cocoa Beach for 5, and England for 2
6. I am a proud mother to a beautiful, 14 year old daughter - Tia
7. My best friend is also named "Kristin", her son was born the same month/day/year as my daughter, we were both single moms in the same career field in the Air Force when we gave birth...yet we lived across the world from each other and didn't meet until our babies were 18 months old :O) Now that's a small world!

7 People:
I'm such a novice on the blogging circuit...I can't even imagine someone following MY blog :O) So, selecting from that list is out. I decided to select 7 blogs that I frequent when I'm looking for some mindless, creative inspiration.

1. Catherine Martinez at Inksomnia - This is a sweet young lady whose projects are amazing! She regularly stops by my blog which I think is so sweet and thoughtful, and the way she shares her creations is so unique! She almost brings them to life :O)



2. Helena at Creating a Likeness - Helena left a comment on my blog recently and I spent about 30 minutes checking out her blog. She's VERY creative and talented! I'm so impressed with her style and the fact that she creates many of her own images. I need to branch out I think...I'm so reliant on a good stamp set :O) Helena may just inspire me to do so! Plus she's from the UK which I hold near and dear since my daughter was born there. I really miss it.



3. Rebecca at StampinWheeles - I came across Rebecca's site when she left a comment on mine also. She is very sweet and super talented! I really like her style :O)



4. Alicia Weiman at Happy Stampin! - I'm not sure if Alicia will even have time to play blog tag as busy as she is with her family and designing her wonderful creations! I really don't have a lot of online "blog" friends...but I really admire Alicia and her strength (from a distance). Read her blog to find out more. She's a strong, amazing lady with a wonderful talent.



5. Tiffany Johnson at I Heart Art - Tiffany left a really nice comment about the card I made for my mother's birthday on SCS. I don't know her per se, but I admire her work and her enthusiasm greatly! Her cheerful personality really comes across on her blog, which holds my interest...and her designs are amazing!



6. Leonie at A Stamper's World - Leonie commented in my SCS gallery yesterday on one of my blog posts early this morning. Her site is relatively new like mine so I thought it would be nice if others would check it out and show her some love :O) She has also shared some wonderful creations on her blog.



7. Hmmm...#7, huh? I really need to make more acquaintances :O) This full time career is really holding me back in the crafting world! LOL! Lucky number 7 doesn't feel so lucky. I could leave a link to my daughter's blog, but she isn't keeping up with it so she probably won't read my post for months. I vote to break one of the rules and post this entry without a 7th link...I have been trying to finish this up since last night...it's high time! Ha ha

So, there you have it. Tomorrow I'll try to share a post about the surprise my sweet husband had for me yesterday when I came home from work :O) Actually, I need to share what he brought me back from England two weeks ago also. Maybe I'll work on that first thing when the wheels are really turning!

Until then...have a good night!

Floral Bird

So, this has been an excellent weekend! I was able to make a card on both Saturday and Sunday!!! Oh, how I love to relax by creating something for someone. It really wipes away a stressful week :O)

I made this card for my sister's birthday. This is one of those times I hope she's NOT keeping up with my blog! LOL. Seriously, if she is, no worries. She'll just have a sneak preview of her birthday card :O) This is also my entry in the Sketch Saturday (#17) challenge. I've never participated in one of their challenges, but I hope to make it a habit. They have such a wonderful design team! Very inspirational.

I kind of stepped out of my comfort zone with this one. It's a little busier than I'm used to :O) I think it's pretty though! Reminds me of my Aunt's Victorian decorating style...

You can find the list of supplies in my SCS gallery.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

A Beautiful Baby Girl

Our close friend, Jes, just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, named Kayla! She's in Hawaii where we lived for six years, and we miss her dearly. She was my daughter's gymnastics coach for almost five years and was a huge presence in both of our lives. She takes full credit for Tia's gymnastics success...as she should :O) LOL

I made her a card to celebrate the occasion and also used Lauren's Saturday Sketch Challenge template for my design. I haven't participated in Lauren's last two challenges because I've been stressed beyond imagination at work and it was like a mental block when I came home and tried to do some mindless crafting on Saturday. My husband was also out of town so that was probably a big part of my slump as well. Hopefully the inspiration I've been feeling lately will stick with me and I'll find some more time to create! Especially considering I just signed on to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for the third time. Yes, third.

The story goes like this...when I lived in Hawaii, I was a hard core Longaberger addict. I sold Longaberger to support my habit of filling my house with their products, and stamping was a side project occasionally. I signed up to sell Stampin' Up just to purchase my supplies at a discount...both times. Well, this time, I'm actually excited about selling to other people and sharing some quality "Mindless Creativity" time with some of my friends and co-workers.

Wish me luck!

All supplies are listed in my SCS Gallery

Another September Birthday :O)

One of our co-workers celebrates his birthday this weekend, so I whipped up a quick card last night for him. The vision in my mind was manlier than what I ended up creating, but, I think it turned out okay :O)


Just a quick post tonight. I'm enjoying a glass of Syrah and watching a movie...ahh, the best way to top off a LONG week.


Best wishes for a slow, relaxing weekend...

His and Her Birthdays :O)

Birthdays and other occasions seem to be creeping up on me of late! I have half a mind to take a week of leave just to relax and make cards and jewelry :O) Wouldn't that be the life? A primary responsibility of doing what you crave, what you enjoy, what is soothing to your soul...maybe some day. Until then, I'll share some cards I finally had a chance to whip up!


Her Birthday

I made this card for a very good friend at the office. I had the outline of an original design floating around in my head for a while, but I just couldn't make it work on paper. So, I cased a card that Taylor VanBruggen made for Papertrey Ink while she was a Senior Design Team member. I loved the card back when she posted it and I still do today. I'm very thankful to her for unknowingly providing the inspiration I needed :O) I really like the end result.



His Birthday


This card was literally thrown together at the last minute before bed yesterday. My daughter's boyfriend asked me to create a card for a friend of his while I was making the card above. At first I wouldn't even contemplate staying up later to put something together, but when I stopped and looked around my craft table, I saw the focal image of the tree with the brayered sky background and decided to do something with it. I created the image over a week ago for a sketch challenge, but just couldn't get it to work, so I set it aside. Last night when I committed to making it into something, my random thoughts from last week kind of got thrown onto paper...without part of the original sketch design I was going for :O) I like the focal image a lot...it really reminds me of an African sunset even though the tree is definitely not from that country! The end result is "good enough" I suppose and acceptable as a "male" or gender neutral card...so I'm happy it worked out.


Supplies for "His" and "Her" birthday cards are listed in my SCS Gallery.

Thanks for Having Faith

I posted this card in my SCS gallery last night and promised to share the story behind it on my blog. So, here it is :O)

I made this card for someone at work who is getting ready to go to the mid-East for four months. She is in a significant leadership role at work and asked me to be her replacement while she is out. I was truly shocked, yet honored when she asked me a few months ago. Of course I agreed to take her place...I am so humbled that she thinks that highly of me and respect her so much, I could never say no. I'm nervous about it, but I pray often that I won't let anyone down.

When I saw Lisa Johnson's new Papertrey Ink stamp set, Remember, I had to have it! I saw this sentiment and knew right away that it was perfect for what I wanted to say to her. The inside says, "for having faith in me". I do thank her for having faith in me...and pointing out what she deems good qualities of mine (that I don't necessarily see :O). Please keep her in your prayers over the next four months.

My supplies are listed in my SCS gallery (all but the button and red hemp twine...the button was in a bag of buttons I bought at Michaels and the twine is from Stampin' Up!)

Blessings...and a Sophomore

Wow...the days are flying by this week after the long weekend! I'm so drained but I really want to share the card I finished last night and my daughter's first- and second-day of 10th grade pictures :O) First things first...my baby!


Tia...a Sophomore?!

Seems like just yesterday that I delivered her in England. How time flies when you're a parent :) I have to say the title of my card goes hand in hand with how I feel about my daughter. She is truly a blessing in my life. She is so intelligent, beautiful, talented, and athletic...I could never say enough about her. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Her spirited personality touches everyone around her in a good way, and I love her desire to learn and go for what she wants. She's bold, fearless, and crazy :O) Hee hee...in a good way of course! Just look at that sparkle in her eyes...she just pulls you in!


Blessings

So, I've been wanting to create some more gender neutral cards and fine tune the art of it. So, when I saw Martha Stewart's stamp set "Leaf and Branch" I bought it straight away (at Wal-Mart). I knew I wanted to mask the leaves in dark green and beige, but I wasn't set on whether I should color them in or leave the outlines. After I pulled the remaining elements of the card together, I opted not to color them. I like the clean yet rustic look of this card. I haven't found a use for it yet, but I'm sure I will sooner than I expect. I have wonderful friends and co-workers who look out for me all the time...I expect one of them will be seeing this on their desk in the near future :O)

My supplies are listed in my SCS Gallery.

Hope your week is speeding by as well! Can't wait for the weekend and more inspiration from my favorite blogs and SCS :O)

SCS and Saturday Sketch

What a wonderful long weekend. I'm so thankful for the small gifts :O) I really just needed a little time off...one extra day should do it. My husband on the other hand...is on vacation to England for two weeks! I'm definitely envious of him. I LOVED England when my daughter and I lived there! I can't wait to visit again someday.

So, onto the fun stuff :O)

Lauren Meader's Saturday Sketch Challenge:

The sketch Lauren came up with this weekend was amazing as usual. I decided to create a Get Well card for a friend at work who just underwent surgery. I love pink and brown together when they contain the right mix of each...and I really like the In Full Bloom set from Stampin' Up! even thought it's a little dated :O) This is my first stab at the watercolor pencils...and I like the results! They're very easy to use. Instead of the aqua pen, I used a blender pen. They seem to have the same effect with less liquid. I used the large end of a stylus to dry emboss the dots on the vellum. I'm sure there's an easier way to come up with this effect but I haven't found it yet. I was hoping to find a Sizzix Texturz plate that I could use with one pull of the handle, but I haven't found it yet :( The only thing I came across was the Fiskars embossing plates. Either way the results are the same.

The list of supplies can be found in my Splitcoaststampers gallery.


Splitcoaststampers Limited Supplies Challenge 181:

It took me a while, but I finally figured out the challenge thing on SCS. Sounds silly to those of you who are overly familiar, but it really wasn't intuitive! Anyway, I think I have it down. I created this card for the LSC181. The rules were pretty simple...create a card using limited supplies and a snowman! That's what I did. I think the snowman and the bird are adorable :O) Makes me yearn for winter...can you imagine? Hee hee.

The supplies I used are listed in my SCS gallery.

Hope the remainder of your weekend is safe and relaxing!

Saturday Sketch...Take 3

Okay, so maybe I'm only meant to post weekly...in response to Lauren's Sketch Challenges :O) Yesterday's challenge was fun! I love the design.

I wanted to try Reverse Spotlighting and my original intent was to use one circle for the technique to represent the circle in Lauren's template...BUT, it made the card look boring, so I added a couple more. I like the end result. I'm not sure what prompted me to select these colors. I guess I just wanted something the really contrasted with the gray. I think these worked perfectly...and made the card fun! You can view the list of supplies I used in my Splitcoaststampers Gallery.


I made this card earlier this week for a co-worker. I wasn't sure if I really liked it at first, but it seems to be semi-popular on SCS. The more I look at it the more it grows on me :O) The colors are my FAVORITE...but the end result took a while for me. I got stuck toward the end on exactly how I wanted to finish the card. The embossed flower was the perfect touch I think. You can view this card's supplies in my Splitcoaststampers Gallery also.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! Get inspired and create something - it's soothing to the soul :O)

Saturday Sketch...Take 2

Wow...last week must have been crazier than I remember! I haven't posted since Lauren's last Saturday sketch?! No wonder all I wanted to do this weekend was stamp :O) I did knock out a few cards, but I'm only going to post two of them tonight. On to Lauren Meader's Saturday Sketch (on Sunday)...
I suppose I like the simplicity of the templates and the freedom to put my own spin on them. I didn't stray far from the template this time, but I did make the circle a window instead of a layer :O) Not hugely significant but a little different. I didn't know what kind of card I wanted to make when I started, so I just went through my stamp sets and waited for something to jump out at me. Stampin' Up! Fishy Friends did the trick. I have only made two cards with this stamp set and I think it's about six years old. Shame...

Anyway, I like the fun, carefree feel of the card, so I added the simple "It's Your Day" sentiment. I wanted to add bubbles to my pseudo "fish bowl", so I used Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects on the outside of the acetate. It turned out cute...though if the bubbles were colored in any way I would think chicken pox! I colored the fish using a Stampin' Up! blender pen and the ink from the lids pressed to the ink pads. I wish I had Pearlescent Watercolors for this project...I think the iridescent look would be completely appropriate for fish. My family owns a bait and tackle shop back home, so I remember vividly all of the fish and the silver residue the scales left. Unfortunately, I was left to figure something else out. I decided to color the fins with my silver gel pen. It was definitely silver but looked a little flat...so I embossed them in silver. I was disappointed that the embossing covered the details from the stamps, but figured it wouldn't be that noticeable behind my window of bubbles :O)

I also stamped some Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics circles on the turquoise cardstock to extend the illusion of bubbles. I like the black contrast in the ribbon and the squares. I can't wait to send this card to a sweet niece or nephew!

I made another card today where I derived inspiration from a shirt my daughter tried on yesterday. While the shirt isn't my favorite, I loved the flowers with sporadic sections of color. It made me think of the flowers in Lisa Johnson's new stamp set that was released on Sunday by Papertrey Ink...it's called Remember. But, in the absence of the stamp set that hasn't arrived yet, I used Lisa's first set, Flower Garden. It worked just as nicely, I think :O) I also used a masking tip that Lisa posted in June on her blog. She stamps the images that she plans to mask on acetate and cuts them out. I tried it with this card and it worked nicely. I actually cut out two templates for the flower I used because of the close proximity and the amount of flowers. I'll follow suit with future sets :O)

My list of supplies can be found in my new Split Coast Stampers gallery. Thanks for stopping by!

How do we survive?

...without internet?! You would think I grew up with this tangled, educational, inspirational world-wide web :O) BUT, we know that's not the case. I learned about computers in DOS-mode...which I suppose helps me to some degree nowadays, but that's neither here nor there. My dilemma last week while I was in New Jersey is that I didn't have interent access in my room. I could only link to wi-fi in the lobby of lodging or at the library. I must be getting really lazy these days, because I couldn't even fathom getting on the internet outside the comfort of my room.

So, lack of internet equates to lack of blog posts. I came home on Friday and logged onto all of my favorite sites to catch up. Saturday I awoke to a Sketch Challenge by Lauren Meader.
I've never participated in any "crafty" challenges before, but I thought, what the heck? I don't have a card that I NEED to make, so why not do the challenge and make one for fun?

I'm not exactly elated at the results, but the idea was genuine :O)



I first posted it on Splitcoaststampers.com. It's really a good forum to share inspiration. I love reviewing the amazing projects these talented members create. It also has great tutorials.

I guess I should share at least one more card with this post since I'm so behind in keeping up (does that even make sense?). This is a thank you card I made for a co-worker who was kind enough to bring me a lovely gift from Haiti! I'm such a lucky girl.



That's all I have for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Quick and Easy

I usually try to make cards that are unique in an obvious way...the way that makes people say, "How did you do that?" I love to watch them inspect the card and try to figure out how I created it. Of course, there are frequent occasions when I need a quick card! Here are a couple that I made in 20 minutes or less.

This was super easy! I used SU! patterned paper and the matching stamp set, plus two other for the sentiments. It was basically cutting the paper to size, folding and adhering it, and adding a few stamped images. Simple, simple, simple!

Looking for an even simpler card?! Here's one for you. Three colors of cardstock, one sticker flower (SU!), some mini, medium and large rhinestones, vellum, black staz-on ink, and a "Congratulations" stamp -- poof! Instant card. The colors look so good together, I couldn't resist. I made a similarly designed card in a previous post, but everything was stamped. No simple stickers and no rhinestones.

I love how quick this one was and how cute it turned out.

Okay...I really must get some rest, so I'm going to post this. I'll update the supplies and links tomorrow.

Second Lease on Life

I wanted to share a card I made for a special young man. His name is Dave but he prefers to be called by his last name, Lettier. Calling people by their last names makes me feel like we're on a football team together, but I'm torn on whether to respect or defy his wishes and call him Dave :O) I usually defy...unless we're at work. Here's a picture I took last week that he brilliantly altered.


Anywho...his birthday was in June if I remember right. We all went downtown to his local spot and ate sushi, listened to karaoke (some sang - NOT me), and just enjoyed each other's company.


Of course I made him a card to celebrate the occasion, which was actually a difficult endeavor for me. This man is a brilliant graphic artist who I admire greatly. I wish I had an ounce of his talent! So, how do I make a simple card for someone so talented? I just give it a shot with good intentions and hope he likes it a little.

This is the result...





I liked the idea of stamping and embossing on the acetate sheet, and I think this turned out nice. I used the Out On A Limb stamp set from Papertrey Ink, which is perfect for male or gender neutral cards. I also sponged Distress Ink on the edge of the acetate. The card inside the acetate is made of patterned paper. I really don't remember where I picked up the paper, but it was probably Ben Franklins Crafts (when I was in Hawaii) or Michaels. Oh, and the sentiment on the inside of the card is from Stampin' Up!


So, back to Dave. I work in a clinic, so I know I should respect his privacy, but I will say this, he almost died three and a half weeks ago. The doctors never truly determined a cause for all of his problems (that he is recovering from), and one physician even told him he couldn't believe he was alive. This is his second lease on life.


Please know that I'm being very deliberate by not going into details regarding his situation. I just wanted to share a little info about this special man. He has so much potential and talent...and such a unique outlook on life, that I can't wait to see where he takes it. I admire him greatly.


Maybe it's time to make him another card. The last one was a get well card that I don't think I took a picture of :(


Until next time...