Paper Musings

It's Mucksgiving Day!

2011-11-25T06:46:00.001-07:00

Since oldest son is a Chef and he works his tush off on Thanksgiving Day we celebrate the holiday the day after. Thanksgiving is a day to be together as family and being grateful for each other as well as all the other blessings we enjoy so it really doesn't matter what day it's celebrated on. Our family consists of only 7 people but it is quality over quantity that is important and I have a fabulous family. I also have an extended family of special friends that are the best in the world. So here is wishing all of you a very

Happy Mucksgiving Day

Til next time...

Day 3 Christmas Card

2011-11-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

I saw a card similar to this in a magazine and I just knew I had to CASE it. I kept the design fairly close to the original except I used a stamped,colored and layered poinsettia instead of a silk flower and my sentiment is from StampinUp.

Stamps: PTI Poinsettia, Argyle; StampinUp Sentiment

Cardstock: StampinUp Crumb Cake; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Ink: StampinUp Garden Green, Real Red; Memento Tuxedo Black

Copic Markers:

2 in a Row!

2011-11-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hot stuff! Another post in the same week. Try not to get too spoiled. LOL Today's post showcases a Christmas card I made with stamps from WaltzingMouse. I have loved Claire's work even before she started designing her own stamp line and I just adore her designs. With this card I was able to combine 3 of my favorite things - WaltzingMouse Stamps, Copic Markers and watercolor crayons. I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo but I also added a bit of sparkle to the tree with Copic's atyou Spica Glitter Pens.

Stamps: WaltzingMouse

Cardstock: StampinUp River Rock, Soft Suede; Neenah Classic Crest Natural White

Ink: SU Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede; Memento Tuxedo Black

Other: Copic Markers, Spica Glitter Pens, StampinUp Embossing folder & watercolor crayons, Papertrey Ink Jute Button Twine

Til next time...

1st Christmas Card of 2011

2011-11-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

In the weeks since I last shared a project I have been busy trying to learn some new software and to become more proficient with many of the programs I already have. I've also designed far more Christmas cards than I will need but the ideas just kept coming. Well they were until this miserable sinus thingy turned my head to mush. Sunday I felt well enough to line up all the cards I made and at least get them photographed. Planned on getting a post up on Monday but oldest son came over to spend some time with me so the blog got pushed to the end of the line again. Now, finally, here is the first of this year's Christmas collection...

If something looks familiar it's because I used the same Verve sketch as I did in this post . I really like the look of this sketch and I imagine I'll be using it again in the future.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, StampinUp

Cardstock: SU River Rock, Bravo Burgundy

Ink: SU Handsome Hunter

Other: Aleene's Paper Glaze, SU Grosgrain ribbon, Spellbinders tag die

Til next time...

A Whole Month?

2011-11-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! Sorry folks. I will need to get my projects photographed and posted soon. But not today - sore throat, chills etc. I appreciate your understanding.

Life Musings

2011-10-09T13:06:00.000-06:00

This week my oldest son turned 33 years old. Now 33 isn't usually considered a momentous occasion but for some reason it hit me hard. Where have all the years gone? Did I spend so much time being all things to all people that I didn't have time to be me? Was I the Mom I wanted to be or did I fall short? I do know that he is a chef because of me and I have proof, written in black and white. In the article written about him when he made Junior Chef of the Year, he stated that it was my love of cooking and the fact that we always ate home cooked meals together as a family and the kitchen was the heart of our home that influenced him the most. I am proud of my son, the man he has become and the great chef that he is. Today we will be celebrating him by gathering around a table together as a family, sharing food and brew, love and laughter. So maybe I didn't do too bad after all. I only wish the clock would tick just a little bit slower.

Stamps, dies & jute button thread by Papertrey Ink

Paper, ink, button & brads by StampinUp

Embossing folder from Cuttlebug.

Til next time...

Loving My Hot Glue Gun

2011-09-30T05:08:00.000-06:00

For the last year or so, I have been ignoring my hot glue gun in favor of my ATG gun and glue dots. That all ended when I started making pleated medallions and rekindled my love of making flowers. A glue gun makes all the difference when making medallions and flowers especially if that glue gun has a fine nozzle tip and has loooonnnng glue sticks so you don't have to keep reloading. I have a small low temp gun that is easy to use but the nozzle just isn't small enough for those tiny, hard to reach places. I considered getting the Aleene's set but at $28.99 plus tax, it was a little too steep especially considering that I already have my little low temp gun as well as my big high temp one. Then I happened to spy a real gem at Walmart - Dual Temperature, fine nozzle, works cordless for up to 5 minutes and takes regular width, 10 inch long glue sticks all for a whopping $6.97. A bag of 2 dozen, 10 inch long sticks are $3.97. Ya can't beat that so into the cart it went. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Chris was paying cuz we were at Walmart to get him razor blades and a video? Best deal yet! So what is all this leading up to? Today's card...

I combined VLV September's sketch challenge for Week 4 with this weeks PTI Make It Monday. The ribbon rose was a dream to make with the new hot glue gun and the combination of the rose, thick chipboard piece and ribbon loops never would have held with glue dots. With the hot glue it's not going anywhere!

Stamps: Verve - Fancy Florals, Tag Time

Paper: Lilybee - Picket Fence; SU - Old Olive, Wisteria Wonder

Ink: SU - Old Olive, Wisteria Wonder; Versamark; Distress - Crushed Olive

Dies: Verve - Tiny Sweet Tags; Cuttlebug - Scallop Squares

Other: Stampendous - white embossing powder; Michaels - Grosgrain Ribbon; SU - Old Olive ribbon

Til next time...

Fall Fun

2011-09-21T13:58:00.000-06:00

Fall is in the air. The leaves around here haven't started changing but the temperatures sure are getting pleasant. For the September VLV 3rd Week's sketch challenge I decided to go with a fall theme. I originally planned to use some Basicgrey DSP but once it was cut I just didn't like it so I had to go back to the drawing board. Ended up stamping my own paper but had fun doing it and it matched the ribbon I found in my stash. All in all it's not half bad even though it is so far removed from my original vision.

Stamps: Verve - Autumn Splendor, Bountiful Harvest, Happy Fall, Sweet Treat, Ecclesiastes 3:11

Paper: SU - Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade

Dies: Verve - Sweet scallop Tag, Embossed Oval; Spellbinders - Circles, plain & large scallops

Other: Tim Holtz Embossing Folder, ribbon from stash

Til next time...

Manic Monday

2011-09-19T10:24:00.000-06:00

Hope you all had a great weekend. Our card club met Saturday and what a blast. We are making Fall medallion wreaths similar to what StampinUp has in their Holiday Mini. It's a bit involved so we have to do them in 2 sessions. Can't wait to share with you once mine is done. I plan on making another one for Christmas.

Obviously I have nothing to show at the moment. Friday was spent on errands and laundry, Saturday was club, which is held at my home and Sunday was, well, Sunday. Hopefully I will have something for tomorrow even if I end up photographing some of my recipe pages.

Til next time...

Monochrome Madness

2011-09-16T16:56:00.000-06:00

Verve's Get Your Diva On challenge for September was to create a monochromatic card. I told Sankari that her challenge had me both stumped and intimidated at first. How do you even decide what color to go with? But then the light came on and I was off and running.

My first card (A) went together, zip, zap, zip once I had the color scheme figured out. I had been dying to use those loopy flowers from Verve's Making a Statement set as well as the leafy sprigs from Sunny Days and I love to antique things. Give me some Distress ink, a non-stick mat and one of Tim Holtz's blending tools and I could blend away for hours. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out but then it hit me - Why don't I try and take it up a notch or 2?

For the second card (B) I used the same color scheme (don't know why they came out different in the photos) and layout but used a different DSP, made lace flowers, sprayed some parts with Perfect Pearls Mist and added a lot more pearls. I honestly don't know which card I like better but I think I'll be doing more monochromatic cards in the future.

Stamps: Verve- Wishful Elegance, Sunny Days, Making a Statement (A); SU - Teahouse

Paper: SU - Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla (A), Bella Bleu DSP; Curious Iridescent Poison Ivory (B)

Ink: SU - Crumb Cake, Soft Suede; Ranger - Frayed Burlap Distress

Dies: Verve - Leafy Sprigs, Loopy Blooms; Spellbinders Ovals - Plain & beaded

Other: Michaels - Pearls; SU - lace; Ranger - Perfect Pearls Mist

Til next time...

Another Great Sketch from Verve!

2011-09-13T02:00:00.000-06:00

Week 2's sketch for September's VLV Sketch Challenge is another good one. Like Week 1, this card just fell into place exactly the way I wanted. Hmmm... 2 weeks in a row... maybe I should worry. Normally, when I do a challenge, I try to use only stamps from the company hosting the challenge. This time, instead of limiting myself, I just grabbed whatever stamps I needed to get the effect I wanted regardless of which company made the stamp. Creating without limits is so much more fun!

Stamps: Verve - Hope Perches, Tag Time; SU - Silhouette Sentiments Hostess Set; PTI - Background Basics Newsprint.

Paper: Prima - Romantique; SU - Cajun Craze, So Saffron, Old Olive;

Ink: Ranger - Distress Old Paper; SU - Cajun Craze, Old Olive

Dies: Verve - Tiny Sweet Scallop; Spellbinders - flower, circles

Other: Martha Stewart Picket Fence punch; Twine from The Twinery; Antique Copper Brad from Making Memories.

Til next time...

Seeing Stars

2011-09-12T10:37:00.000-06:00

Tripped in the hen house yesterday and landed flat on my face. Well, actually, it was more like a belly flop into the dirt. As I lay there, I looked over and there was Penny, with a worm hanging out of her mouth, bending over to see why I was down there. It was quite funny until about an hour later when the pain kicked in. A 200 pound woman makes a heck of an impact!

But that is not why I am seeing stars today.

I really liked the sketch for Week 1 of Viva La Verve's September Challenge. I like how this card came out even better. This was one of those times when everything just fell into place and my vision became a reality. Hope you like it too.

Stamps: Verve - Starstruck

Paper: Basicgrey - Out of Print; SU - Melon Mambo, Luck Limeade, Peach Parfait, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Ink: Ranger - Distress Black Soot

Dies: Verve - Tiny Sweet Scallop; Spellbinders - Stars; Quickutz - Star tag topper

Other: Ranger - Black Sparkle EP; SU - Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon; PTI - Rustic Jute Button twine

Til next time...

Stamping Backgrounds

2011-09-10T02:00:00.000-06:00

PTI's Make It Monday Challenge #31 was Creating Backgrounds With Non-background Stamps. Hmmm... wonder if someone told them how much I love stamping backgrounds? Had a great time making this card but I do have one complaint about the Spellbinders Fancy Tag die I used. I wanted to cut an oval to layer inside but the none of the Spellbinders oval dies are the right shape!!! I ended up using an SU punch.

Stamps: PTI - Fall Elegance, Simply Stationery, Embellishments

Paper: SU - Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Ink: SU - Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum; Ranger - Old Paper Distress

Dies: Spellbinders - Fancy Tags; PTI - Edgers #3

Til next time...

More Wild Colors for a Challenge

2011-09-09T02:00:00.000-06:00

I have stepped soooo out of my box for this one! And I've used a few things that have been tucked away too long so at least that's a positive. Had nothing planned for Labor Day and was recuperating from the previous day's Mountain Man Rondezvous in Wyoming so decided to tackle Waltzingmouse's Sketch Challenge #63. This is what I ended up with.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Cameo To Go, Faux Fun Circles

Paper: Prima - 6x6 Madeline; StampinUp - Baja Breeze, Rose Red, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette

Ink: SU - Chocolate Chip, Rose Red

Dies: PTI - Lace Doily; Spellbinders - Fancy Label; Sizzix - 3D Flower, Branch with Leaves, Embosslits Butterflies for SU

Other: EKSuccess - Border Punch; Rangers Liquid Pearls

Til next time...

Kooky Kolors for a Baby

2011-09-08T09:41:00.001-06:00

Not that I'm a little behind or anything, but this card was made for Waltzingmouse Sketch #61 found here. It's a bit of a mish mash of techniques including making my own custom ribbon with Copic Markers (a Make It Monday challenge), making a custom brad with stamps and Glossy Accents, and doing a Tim Holtz Distress ink thing. I don't know why I chose this color combo other than it appealed to me. I created the paper that the birds and brad piece were stamped on using the Wrinkle Free Distress technique with a bit of a twist but I may have used a bit too much water.

Over all I am rather please with this project even if it is a bit weird for a baby card.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Celtic Heritage, Faux Fun, Fauz Fun Circles, Fancy Flourishes, Vintage Circles

Ink: Distress - Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Black Soot; StampinUp - Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray

Paper: StampinUp - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray, Basic Black

Other: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Spellbinders Circle Dies, Copic Markers, Grosgrain Ribbon from Michael's, Glossy Accents from Ranger

Til next time...

Up, Up and Away

2011-09-05T10:04:00.002-06:00

August 20th we had our first card club meeting of the new year and we had a fabulous time. Our fearless leader, Kim, designed a card for us to make that was based on a photo she had taken. Earlier in the summer she had gone to the Panquitch Valley Balloon Rally and took this:

And this is the card we made:

I hadn't planned on getting this stamp set from StampinUp since I have a really cute Hot Air Balloon set from Verve but after making this card it just had to come live with me. Yep, that Kim knows how to sell!

All products used are StampinUp

Stamps: Up, Up and Away, Nature Walk

Ink: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Island Indigo

Paper: Baja Breeze, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Whisper White

Other: Lucky Limeade Ribbon, Houndstooth Embossing Folder

Til next time...

Sending Some Sunshine

2011-09-01T06:44:00.001-06:00

That's the theme for Verve's August Diva Dare. The challenge is to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up! I chose to use the sketch from Week 5 of the August Viva La Verve Challenge and I'm giving it to my friend, Tracey. Tracey has undergone a double masectomy and has survived both radiation and chemo in spite of the complications caused by Lupus. To look at her, you would never know what she has been going through. She is vibrant and alive, dyeing her 1/2 inch new hair a bright blonde in celebration. She loves bright and bold and bling so this card is definitely hers.

Stamps: Verve- Let it Shine, Tag Time

Paper: SU Daffodil Delight, Riding Hood Red; Basicgrey Indian Summer 6x6
Ink: SU So Saffron, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Bravo Burgundy; Distress Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge
Other: Verve - Tagged Rectangle Die; Spellbinders - Inverted Scallop Die; Stickles; Ribbon from stash

Til next time...

Playing Catch Up

2011-08-31T15:39:00.001-06:00

I've been trying to photograph some cards to post to the blog but have been running into a problem or two. Miss Maddie just has to be right in the middle of things.

I have finally managed to get it done so will be posting them over the next few days. In the meantime, I thought I'd show you my nifty neato dauber cases I just got from Scrapbook.com. I LOVE these cases!!!

They hold 40 daubers so I have all my StampinUp core colors in one and the In Colors, Shimmer Paint, spare daubers etc. in the other. Being organized makes this textbook Virgo a very happy camper.

Til next time...

PTI August 2011 Blog Hop Challenge

2011-08-25T09:48:00.047-06:00

WooHoo. Today is PTI's Blog Hop. You can find links to all the participants here. The challenge is to create something inspired by this photo. I knew what I wanted to do the instant I saw the photo. The challenge for me was to find the right paper and low and behold, it was hiding deep in my hoarded stash. The bow is my first attempt at wrinkled ribbon. I used SU taffeta ribbon to make a bow but it looked too formal so, knowing the ribbon was a synthetic, I used a heat gun on it.

Stamps: PTI - Vintage Picnic, Little Labels
Paper: SU - Cherry Cobbler, Confetti White; Chatterbox - Loft Bias Plaid;
Ink: SU - Cherry Cobbler, Bashful Blue; Memento Tuxedo Black
Dies: PTI - Mat Stack #5, Picnic Basket, Edgers #1; Spellbinders - Tag, Ribbon Slider
Other: SU Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon, twine from The Twinery

Copics Used:

Red Mat:

Til next time...

The Big Cheese!!!!

2011-08-24T10:56:00.000-06:00

W00T W00T!!!! I made this week's Big Cheese over on Waltzingmouse with this card. The prestige is good enough but I actually get a $10 discount on my next order of stamps for winning. I make cards because I enjoy it and because I like to give them to people. I don't do it to win awards but sometimes a pat on the back feels so stinkin' good!
I don't have a card to post today because I have been working on my entry for Papertrey Ink's Blog Hop tomorrow. It's a cutie so be sure to stop by.

Til next time...

Another Week - Another Verve

2011-08-23T07:00:00.002-06:00

Last week brought a wonderful sketch for Week 3 of the VLV August Challenges by Shannan Teubner. I had a lot of fun with this one, dragging out all kinds of dies, embossing folders, Copic Markers and even bling! Thank you Shannan for a fabulous sketch to work with.

Stamps: Verve Birthday Wishes Plain Jane

Paper: StampinUp - Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Groovy Guava, Whisper White; BoBunny - Gabrielle.

Ink: StampinUp - Groovy Guava, Bermuda Bay; Memento Rich Cocoa; Ranger - Adirondack Snow Cap

Copics: E02, E95, BG11, BG15

Other: Cuttlebug Butterfly Cut & Emboss Set; Cheery Lane Doily Die, BoBunny Gabrielle Jewels

Til next time...

Looking For A Diva

2011-08-22T07:00:00.033-06:00

The theme for Verve's August 2011 Get Your Diva On challenge was tags. Anything and everything to do with tags. If there is a hint of Diva in me anywhere, its showing up is pretty hit and miss but I gave it a shot anyway. To be perfectly honest, I think I am too practical to be Diva material but I am happy with how this card turned out.

Stamps: Verve - Let It Shine

Paper: StampinUp - Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White, Delicate Dots DSP.

Ink: StampinUp - Bashful Blue, So Saffron, More Mustard

Misc: StampinUp Ribbon, Verve Charming Oval Die Set, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Assorted beads & jewelry findings from Michaels, Mini Envelope template from Hot Off The Press, old yellow brad recolored with a Copic Marker.

Til next time...

Glitter Die Borders

2011-08-21T09:28:00.001-06:00

I hadn't planned on making a Sympathy card for this weeks Make It Monday technique. Then again, no one plans for a happy, healthy, loving and generous person to die without any warning. But someone special did die and I needed a very special card and this weeks technique fit the bill.

For Valerie Sorensen - August 15, 1952 to August 13, 2011

Stamps: StampinUp - Elizabeth, Simply Soft; PTI - Half & Half, Round & Round

Paper: Bo Bunny - Gabrielle 6x6; StampinUp - Early Espresso, Bermuda Bay

Ink: StampinUp - Early Espresso, Groovy Guava; Versamark

Dies: PTI - Half & Half, Mat Stack #5

Misc: Stampendous Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Ribbon, pearls & glitter from stash, Zig 2 Way Glue marker

Til next time...

Waltzingmouse Sketch #60

2011-08-19T20:53:00.000-06:00

I had so many ideas running through my head for this weeks Waltzingmouse challenge but this is something I have wanted to try for a while. It is a bit of a stretch but it fits. Hope you like it.

Hatbox Closed

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Asian Gardens Additions, Eat Cake, Very Vintage Christmas, Very Vintage Labels #5, Fancy Phrases

Cardstock: StampinUp - Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink: StampinUp - Rose Red, Basic Gray, Pink Pirouette

Misc: Spellbinders Die - Labels #5, Organdy Ribbon & Ribbon Roses from stash

Til next time...

Yaba Daba Do, It's VLV Week #2

2011-08-11T13:55:00.000-06:00

I am a paper hoarder. I buy all kinds of designer papers with the intent to make all kinds of gorgeous cards and scrapbook pages but then I put them away and never use them. Why? Because if I use them I won't have them anymore. I do the same with ribbon, brads, pearls etc. so I end up just using ink, stamps, cardstock and die cuts. I guess I need some kind of 12 Step Program.

Any who way...

I was so inspired by all the phenomenal work done by the Verve Divas this week I just had to step out of my little box. Stand back everyone. THIS is a biggie! For Verve's Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge for Week 2 of August, I broke down and used a whole 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 inch piece of some hoarded My Mind's Eye paper from 2006. And I used a piece of my cherished Blush Blossom cardstock that StampinUp retired along with 2 treasured pearls from Michael's. I told you it was a biggie! So here is my "Diva Wanna Be" creation:

Stamps: Verve - Bloom & Grow, Sweet Treats, Grateful Elegance, Celebrating You
Dies: Verve - Classy Label, Embossed Oval, Floral Circles, Elegant Leaves; Spellbinders - Large Ovals, Small Ovals.
Ink: StampinUp - Always Artichoke, Blush Blossom
Cardstock: StampinUp- Always Artichoke, Blush Blossom, River Rock
Misc: Martha Stewart Iron Fence Border & Corner Punches, Micheal's Pearls, My Minds Eye DSP.

Til next time...

Viva La Verve August Week 1

2011-08-10T12:30:00.002-06:00

I decided to give Verve's VLV Sketches for August a whirl and tackled Week 1's sketch yesturday. I'm not sure what direction I was going or hoped to go but looking at the mess I'd say I had a darn good time getting there.

My list of supplies for this 5 x 5 card is rather large. Am I trying to become a Diva or something? Check it out!

Stamps: All Verve - Accent Notes, Celebrating You, Hearts Desire, Love's Flower and Bloom & Grow as well as the Floral Circles and Elegant Leaves Dies.
Inks: StampinUp - Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, Pool Party; Ranger - Walnut Stain Distress; Tsukineko - Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: StampinUp - Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, Pool Party
Misc: Spellbinders Circle Die, EKSuccess Medallion Chain Punch, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Michael's Brads and Ribbon
Now to tackle Week 2's sketch!

Til next time...

August Apertures

2011-08-03T17:04:00.000-06:00

This weeks MIM technique, Decreasing Apertures, was very enjoyable for me. I got to use a lot of layers which meant a lot of colors and different treatments on each layer. This made my husband very happy because it meant I finally used some of those stamps, dies and Impression plates I've been collecting in my singlehanded attempt to keep Papertrey Ink in business. On this card I used 8 dies, 5 stamp sets, both sides of an Impression Plate and 5 colors of cardstock not to mention the 3 dye inks and 12 Copic Markers.

The pitcher of Mums was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copics.

All stamps, Impression Plates and dies are Papertrey Ink; Cardstock & Dye Inks are StampingUp.
Flowers were made using a technique from Nicole Heady featured in this post with the addition of a fringed paper center.

Til next time...

WaltzingMouse Sketch 58

2011-08-02T10:30:00.000-06:00

Have I mentioned how much I love making my own backgrounds? For this weeks WM Sketch Challenge I made a background using Dainty Doilies and Cameo Maker that is just perfect for a baby card. And just in time too because my friend Jamie is having her baby girl today.

All stamps are from WaltzingMouse; Ink & cardstock is StampinUp; Offray Ribbon; Cuttlebug Embossing Folders; K&Company brads; Spellbinders dies.

Til next time...

Metallic Ink Resist

2011-07-30T11:10:00.000-06:00

I happened to pop in on my friendly StampinUp Demo just as she was checking out the Workshop Wow DVD she picked up at the convention last week and got to see this technique demonstrated by Heather Summers. I was intrigued and just had to try it myself.

You pour a small amount of the metallic All Purpose Ink onto a paper plate then dab it onto your cardstock using a scrunched up piece of plastic wrap, leaving plenty of white space.

Allow the ink to dry, then sponge on dye ink over the metallic ink. Wipe excess dye ink off of the metallic with a tissue.

Once that is dry, you stamp over it with a solid stamp. I used Archival Ink so you can see traces of the metallic through it. I plan on trying it with StazOn to see if that will make a smoother, more opaque impression.

To finish the card I made a smaller piece of the resist for the sentiment panel.

You can try this technique with a detail line stamp and used sponges to color the image in.

Sources: Tsukineko All-Purpose Ink (Frost White); StampinUp Cardstock, Dye Ink & rubber stamps; Ranger's Archival Ink; Spellbinders dies; pearls from Michael's

Til next time...

Family Craziness

2011-07-26T08:43:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a week. A friend has been out of town and we have had to care for her dogs. Then we had to rush our daughter-in-law to the hospital with appendicitis. On top of that, while I was waiting at the hospital on Saturday for my daughter-in-law to be discharged, my wonderful husband ran down to Petsmart for dogfood. CAWS happened to be there with rescued dogs for adoption and "The Dogfather" found one he just couldn't walk away from. He had been abused so he's a bit skittish but he follows me everywhere. We took him to the vet yesterday for a complete checkup, shots, medicine for his eye and dewormer for his tapeworms. Other than the irritated eye and the tapeworm, he is in excellent shape. Once he learns to negotiate the staircase to my craft room, I'll be working on a few techniques I have wanted to try.

So here is MacTavish Muck-

Dry Brushing Make It Monday

2011-07-19T16:37:00.004-06:00

Why is it that when the word Challenge is mentioned, things become harder than they really are? Or am I the only one who goes spastic over card challenges? Dry brushing (MIM technique found here) is a very simple yet effective technique that should have taken me no time at all to do and here it is late Tuesday afternoon and I am just finishing up. Sheesh! My color scheme started out as Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Night of Navy and Very Vanilla but it ended up as Wild Wasabi, Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Island Indigo and Whisper White. I dry brushed white paint on the Indigo layer and then dry brushed the Pool Party layer with the matching Pool Party ink. I'm not sure if I like the paint but I think dry brushing with ink is a great alternative to sponging.

Cardstock, ribbon and ink from StampinUp

White paint from Making Memories

Snowcap White ink from Ranger

Stamps, basket and napkin die and Impression Plate from Papertrey Ink

Other dies from Spellbinders

White Lace and brad from stash

Til next time...

BBQ & Horseshoes

2011-07-16T07:57:00.000-06:00

Sorry there isn't anything to show today. I have company coming and still have potato salad, cucumber salad and deviled eggs to make. I would love to hear some opinions on the new blog design though. Tell me what's good, what's bad, what should be changed or kept. I'd really appreciate it.

Til next time...

Waltzing with the Mouse Again

2011-07-14T12:49:00.000-06:00

Did you ever have a project that just refused to cooperate? I decided to do this weeks Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge found here and had a card pictured in my mind but it fought me tooth and nail. I lost track of how much paper went into the recycle bin. It still isn't exactly what I planned but this is about as close as my ink and paper would allow.

I used several stamp sets, all by Waltzingmouse, cardstock and reinkers from StampinUp, Versamark, and glittery embossing powder from my extensive collection. The sentiment was cut out using a cute little die set from Verve.

Til next time...

What the Cluck!

2011-07-13T15:24:00.000-06:00

I just had to show this card I made for a friend's 50th Birthday. He was so impressed with my chickens that this spring, he got 3 of his own, hense the chicken card.

The chick and party hat are from a Crafty Secrets set called Farm Chicks , Candles with stars are from a See D's Birthday set I picked up used, Gingham background stamp is from Waltzingmouse, sentiment was made with a JustRite alphabet and the cardstock is StampinUp's Real Red, Baja Breeze and Whisper White. Ink used was SU's Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink and Copic Markers.

Til next time...

Too Much Nightlife

2011-07-12T03:35:00.001-06:00

Having a bit of a slow start today. Last night we went to the Triple-A Home Run Derby in Salt Lake City and had a fabulous time - Beer, peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs, live band, some incredible hits and a spectacular fireworks show. Got to watch a high school junior slam the ball right out of the park and take second place after the Pro. Actually, if you add up his Home Runs from all 3 rounds, he hit more HRs total than the League Players did and only lost the Derby by 2. By the time the fireworks were over and we got to the car it was getting pretty late and once we got home we had dogs to take out and chickens to lock up etc. and it took me a while to settle down. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep before it was time to get up, let out the dogs, open the chicken coop, feed the cats and take out the trash barrels and I don't do mornings at the best of times.

Today's card was made for my friend Kim and her husband's Anniversary. I used a new Verve set I had just gotten along with some PTI that hadn't seen ink yet as well as a StampinUp embossing folder that was still in the package.

Colors used are Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Soft Suade, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke all by StampinUp. Also by StampinUp is the ribbon and Tulip Border embossing folder Stamps are Verve's Bloom and Grow with the matching dies, PTI's Mat Stack 3 and Love Birds with their matching dies.

Til next time...

Megafortress Monday

2011-07-11T13:04:00.000-06:00

First I have to tell you... the last 24 hours have been unbelievable. Yesterday I discovered I had won a Top Mouse Award from Waltzingmouse Stamps for this card, then this morning I found out I won last week's Make-it Monday prize from Papertrey Ink for this card. I never win anything!! I've put up my Top Mouse blinkie in my sidebar and now I am going crazy trying to decide which stamp set I want from Papertrey Ink. I think it's going to end up being Daydreamer. What do you think?

Now on to today's card. My husband Chris is hooked on an old DOS game called Megafortress from 1991. I recently upgraded our desktop to an Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge Processor with 8 GBs of Ram, 1 GB of video Ram, a 240 GB Solid State Drive for the OS and programs and a 500GB Sata drive for all saved files and this man still wants to play Megafortress. Sheesh! So our youngest, Alex, set up a DOS shell so dear old Dad could play his game and Dad is now a very happy gamer.

Now that you have the background you will understand why Alex asked me to make a Father's Day card for him to give his Dad that looked like the box the game came it.

Here is the game:

I used Make-the-Cut to create the cut file for the plane then cut it out along with some clouds and wonky stars. The colors used were Poppy Parade, Pacific Point, More Mustard, Whisper White and Black from StampinUp. The Father's Day sentiment was from PTI's Masculine Motifs and the inside sentiment was created with an alphabet set from JustRite Stampers. The Poppy panel was embossed with the Cuttlebug diamond plate folder and the Pacific Point panel was embossed with the stars folder. I did the gray shading on the clouds with my Copic Airbrush System but I need a lot more practice with airbrushing.

So here is the card and it's not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Card Closed

Card Open

Til next time...

Double Flap and Finished Swap

2011-07-10T11:02:00.001-06:00

We finished all 51 of the swap cards yesterday and they are gorgeous!! I can't show you the card until Thursday but I can show you the card I made for my father-in-law that I based the swap design on. This is how Kim and I work. One of us comes up with a design and the other tweaks it and we go back and forth until we have it right. Once I post the swap card on Thursday and you compare it to today's card, you'll see what our collaborations can achieve.

I started with a Flap Fold pattern from Technique Junkies Fancy Folds and Motion CD then, as usual, I did my own thing to it. The stamps, ink and cardstock are all Stampin'Up, the bikes were colored with Copics and the faint texture you see on the Baja Breeze cardstock was applied with the Papertrey Ink Linen & Canvas Impression Plate.

Card Closed:

Card Open:

Til next time...

Double Gate Fold

2011-07-09T11:30:00.000-06:00

Have to do this quick. I'm helping a friend make her swaps for the StampinUp Convention this week. 51 of the same stinkin' card! Glad I'm not a Demo. So any who way...

One of the Father's Day cards I made for my husband was a double gatefold using SU's Plane & Simple set. I cut 2- 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 pieces of Wild Wasabi, scored and valley folded the at 4 1/4 then scored and mountain folded them at 2 1/8. I then overlapped the 4 1/4 inch ends to make a 5 1/2 X 4 1/4 card when closed.

Colors are Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake.

Til next time...

Katie's Kitchen

2011-07-08T08:19:00.000-06:00

One of the main reasons I haven't posted in so long is the total renovation of our kitchen area. We completely gutted the room and started all over from scratch with new electric, plumbing, insulation, wallboard, ceiling etc. It was a much larger undertaking than I thought and took far longer than expected but it was definitely worth it.

Here is the old, dark, dismal, cramped kitchen. It looks way better in the photo than it was in real life.

And here it is torn apart.

On it's way back together.

Here it is waiting for tile backsplashes and a big tile something or other over the stove.

Our tile installer got involved with a big job out in California and while I was waiting for his return I realized that tile would be too overwhelming. That and I really wanted the darn room DONE! So out came the paint, roller, blue tape, then starch & iron for the curtains. A trip to Hobby Lobby for something to hang over the stove and it is finally finished!

The west wall.

The north wall.

The south wall.

This has been a dream come true for me. The kitchen has always been the center of our home and family and now it is the heart and soul as well. We have already shared some great times together in this room and are looking forward to many more to come.

Til next time...

Another Challenge

2011-07-07T06:05:00.004-06:00

Wow! I've posted 2 days in a row! I'm on a roll. Today's card is using the technique for this week's PTI Make It Monday Challenge found here. The ink and cardstock is from StampinUp in Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz and Chocolate Chip. The flowers are from last years PTI Anniversary set, Round and Round, which is not available for purchase. All other stamps are from current Papertrey Ink sets. The dies are from PTI, ribbon from my stash, border punch from Fiskars and the buttons were made from cardstock using SU's embosslit, Sweet Buttons and coated with Crystal Effects.

Til next time...

Back & Up for a Challenge

2011-07-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I have posted anything. I know I've been very busy but just not sure with what. I've made a ton of great projects but forgot to photograph any of them before sending them off to their recipients. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of things starting with this sketch challenge from Waltzingmouse.

The colors used were Real Red, Peach Parfait, So Saffron and Certainly Celery in inks and cardstock from StampinUp. Rubberstamps are from Waltzingmouse, Dies from Spellbinders, border punch from EKSuccess and ribbon from my stash. Flowers were colored with Copics in the colors shown.

Tomorrow I will be posting my card for PTI's Make It Monday Challenge.

Til next time...

Keep on truckin'

2011-03-31T20:16:00.002-06:00

My chickens must have Spring Fever because they keep escaping from their enclosure to dig massive craters in my husbands rose garden. In between chasing them back in where they belong every half hour, gathering all the info I need to do the taxes plus all the other stuff I have to do on any given day, I managed to complete all 5 weeks of March's Verve Challenges. I just haven't managed to post the last 3 that I did. I guess I am really out of practice because these card designs are all over the place. One is great, one stinks and the rest are just "Eh" but I did do all 5 weeks. That should count for something at least.

For Week 3 I used some old Bo-Bunny paper from my stash. It was called Autumn Leaves but it sure looked like Spring to me. I created the Medallion with an SVG set I downloaded from Lettering Delights, MTC and my electronic die cutter. The stamps are all Verve, the edge punch is Martha Stewart, ribbon from Ellen Hutson, twine from The Twinery and a button from an old shirt of mine. LOL Oh, and the stitching was done by hand with some DMC Pearl Floss.

Til next time...

Color Improvement from Yesterday

2011-03-24T11:51:00.000-06:00

Geez Louise! Why didn't anyone mention how really awful that pink looked yesterday? ACK! I just did a fast switcheroo and changed from Pink Pirouette to Pear Pizazz. So much better... I hope.

Til next time...

Prismacolor to Copic

2011-03-23T20:31:00.000-06:00

I love my Prismacolor Markers. They’re fat, easy to hold, relatively inexpensive, American made, easy to blend and shade and come in plenty of colors. I saw no need to jump on the Copic bandwagon. Unfortunately I have been having a hard time removing the caps on my Prismacolors. I can use my pinky and ring finger around the cap and yank with the other hand but then I get ink all over the side of my hand and this technique only works on good days anyway. I tested some Copic Sketch Markers at a local store and found them much easier to open and not only are they comfortable in my hand, the oval shape prevents them from rolling away. So needless to say, I took the plunge… big time!

I got my first batch of markers at Christmas plus the Air Brush Kit. Never got to use them with all the remodeling but picked up an air compressor at Harbor Freight. Then I got a deal at DickBlick.com – one of those “Spend X amount to get 15% plus free shipping” – so I ordered more markers plus a set of Spica pens. Still didn’t use them but they were there just waiting for when I found the time. Well, last week, Dick Blick had another deal – spend $179 and get 20% off plus free shipping – soooo, I ordered more markers plus the second set of Spica pens. I must need my head examined. So here I am with 117 markers, 24 Spica Glitter pens, an air brush system and an air compressor. It is definitely time to get busy and use this stuff.

I used Viva La Verve’s Sketch Challenge for March/Week 2 and stamps from Verve’s Easter Joy set along with die cuts from Spellbinder’s Eyelets Pendant and Border sets and circle dies. Ink, cardstock and ribbon is from StampinUp.

I stamped the flower with Memento Tuxedo Black on 2 white circles. The one on the left I colored with Prismacolor Markers 147 Greyed Lavender, 129 Dahlia and 168 Dark Purple. The one on the right I colored with Copic V0000, V01 and V12. Blending and shading with Prismacolors is very easy so blending and shading with the Copics takes a bit of getting used to. Copics aren’t necessarily harder to work with, just different.

Airbrushing with Prismacolor markers is not possible so this was a whole new experience for me. I cut the flower from the Prismacolor circle to use as a mask, put the Copic circle back into the die, applied the mask and airbrushed with Copic Y00 then removed the mask and die. I was in awe. I cut a label and label mat with “the cutter that shall not be named”, stamped the sentiment on the white label with Su’s Rich Razzleberry, colored it with Copics then airbrushed with the Y00. I am hooked!

To finish the rest of the card I embossed the card front with SU’s polka dot embossing folder with my Big Shot, threaded SU’s Razzleberry Taffeta ribbon through the border die cut, added a bow and a few rhinestones from Imaginisce and there you have it.

If anyone is interested in trying alcohol markers and would like to buy my entire collection of Prismacolor markers at a very good price just email me.

Til next time…

My Two Cents... and a recipe

2011-03-22T11:48:00.001-06:00

The recent developments between MTC and Provo Craft have been preying on my mind enough that I finally have to say something and be done with it. Read on if you wish or scroll down to the very bottom of this post for just the recipe page.

On the cold, corporate level, these are what I believe to be the basics: Provo Craft and their partner/half owner Bank of America, filed suit against MTC for alleged copyright infringement and MTC settled out of court rather than run up legal bills it could not possibly pay. Quite frankly, if MTC had the time and money to fight PC and BOA, I think they could have won. The only thing MTC may have done wrong, in my opinion, was create a means to back up the Cricut Cartridges that the user owned but that feature was removed after only 2 weeks of existence so there was no reason for a lawsuit. If you are reading this then you use a computer, so you should know that once you buy your hardware, you are free to use any software that you choose. There are tons of legal precedents showing that a hardware developer cannot prevent a software developer from creating a program to utilize their hardware.

On the warm, human level, MTC is not a corporation. It is a young programmer, Andy, who wrote a program for his wife, Ann, so she could cut her own designs rather than use the cartridges full of designs that did not appeal to her. Once written, he chose to share it with the rest of us. MTC is the only reason I bought my Cricut Expression. And with he and Ann expecting, he really had no choice but to settle out of court.

On the warmer, personal level, MTC allows me to keep busy and to keep my mind off the pain. You see, I hurt… ALL the time. Some days it’s just a little and other days it’s a lot but the pain is ALWAYS there. I have arthritis in my spine and have had my neck fused. I have arthritis in my knees. Crafting has always been my oasis. I have often said that as long as I have the use of my eyes and my hands and can craft, I can overcome anything. When crafting, my mind enters another world where there is no pain but the arthritis is in my hands and has gotten to the point where it prevents me from crafting. There are days when I can’t hold a scissor or use a paper punch or even hold the paper to ink the edges so I use what the medical professionals call Adaptive Therapy. I find a tool to help me do what my hands can’t. I have a Teflon coated metal plate and magnets to hold my paper while I use the ink applicators from Tim Holtz (love you Tim) to ink the edges. I have magnets on my Stampa-ma-jig to hold everything in place while I stamp. And I had MTC and my Cricut Expression to do the fussy cutting around my stamping, my paper punching and die cutting.

I shouldn’t take it personally, but I feel like Provo Craft and Bank of America have told me to put my big girl panties on and just live with the pain. Well I have been wearing big girl panties long before I was a big girl and I’ve been dealing with this pain for most of my life with very little medication by crafting!!! So for now, I will continue to use MTC with my Cricut Expression. I will not be able to update MTC and will miss out on any new wonderful things Andy adds to the program until I can find a way to purchase a different cutter but I will be able to keep smiling, laughing, joking and creating. Thank you Andy and Tim and Penny and Kim and StampinUp and all my other fellow crafters who have made it possible for me to continue doing what I love.

Which brings me to the recipe I mentioned... It was my month to supply the recipe for our SU Recipe Club and since it was March I decided to do my version of Irish Soda Bread. This is the original recipe as I did it for years but now I use butter and put the whole batch into 1 greased cast iron skillet. I hope you enjoy it.

Til next time...

Paper Roses

2011-03-19T08:25:00.003-06:00

While trying to find some inspiration to get me back into the papercrafting mode, I stumbled upon the Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge for the 1st week of March here. I thought it the perfect venue to use a paper rose I made following Penny Duncan's tutorial here. I threw in some scrapbook paper scraps, an embossing folder, a Verve stamp or 2, a piece of lacy ribbon plus a few pearls and this is what I ended up with. Not too bad for one of my first projects since the kitchen remodel.

While you are at Penny Duncan's blog, check out all of her flowers. You just need Make-the-Cut software or any program that will allow you to use your own designs for cutting such as SCAL or Funtime and a compatible electronic die cutter. She also has her patterns in PDF format so you can cut all the pieces by hand if you don't have a cutter.

Til next time...

Kitchen Update...

2011-02-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Monday, February 14th, the cabinets will be delivered!!! And they will be installed on the 15th! I'm not sure if I thought this day was ever coming. The last of the "Let's see how filthy we can make Katie's entire house." work was completed about 30 minutes ago. I have a lot of cleaning to do! The last 2 really dirty jobs were the sheetrock mudding and the wood floor sanding so the entire house has a hazy film of white powder overlayed with red oak dust. Now I can finally vacuum and then dust and polish everything and have it stay relatively clean for more than 5 minutes.

Here are the lights we chose for over the sink and island as well as the ceiling fan. What do you think?

Til next time...

Surprise!

2011-02-09T11:53:00.001-07:00

The kitchen and bathroom remodel is in the final weeks and we are down to where we just need to supervise as others do the manual labor. My body is very grateful indeed! I will be sharing photos of the whole process shortly but thought I would start re-blogging by showing the pages I did for the Family Yearbook.

The title page as well as the last page was created in Photoshop Elements 9 using a digital kit from Lettering Delights called "Banner Day". I received it free for signing up for their newsletter.

Til next time...

Over the Hill

2010-11-12T15:48:00.009-07:00

Today I wanted to spotlight 2 of the decorations I made with my Cricut Expression and Make The Cut software for my husbands 60th Birthday Party. The grimreaper I found as a JPG file on a Graphics CD Collection I have had for ages (the copyright is 1990!) I did a bitmap trace in MTC, cleaned it up and resized it. Then I made the blackout shadow on a second layer so I can turn layers on and off when I need to cut. I then created the text, resized and adjusted then welded it all together and made a shadow layer. All the pieces were then cut out and assembled.

I found the "Over the Hill" SVG file here. I added text in the hill and used the Cricut markers to have the Cricut write it on my cardstock. Without removing my mat from the Cricut, I switched to the cutting blade and cut out the hill and text over it. I filled in the drawn text by hand with a silver marker.Til next time...

Digital Doings

2010-11-11T08:14:00.008-07:00

I have a confession to make. I have owned StampinUp's My Digital Studio for a year, have installed all the updates and even bought a download or two but never used the program... until now. It's slow and lacks many features that I would consider basic but it gets the job done and it's easy for those who aren't that computer savy. I would be in love with it if I could get it to go a little faster but overall I like the program and I am having fun with it.

Here is a page I made in MDS using the Autumn Spice digital kit. It is for an album I am making as a Christmas gift, highlighting our family over the last year. Now I have to get it printed so I can see who does the best job. Will post on my findings once I do that.

Til next time...

A little craftyness!

2010-11-04T14:24:00.009-06:00

Just thought I'd share an item or 2 that I have made within the last few months. The first is a wedding card I made for some dear friends. Paper, ink, butterfly die and ribbon is by StampinUp; stamps are from Verve and die cuts from Spellbinders.

The next item is a gift box tower made with my Cricut Expression, Make the Cut software and the Big Boutique Boxes set from SVGCuts.com The cardstock bottoms were cut from Bazzil and the tops were cut from Making Memories Pitter Patter line of heavy weight, double sided scrapbook paper.

Til next time...

Update

2010-11-03T08:37:00.010-06:00

Life is finally getting into a rhythm I can deal with. The chickens wake me up much earlier than I like but it gives me a jump start on the day. The dogs & I let the chickens out of their coop then I feed and clean everyone and everything. Once all the feeding and cleaning is done I am off to the craft room. So since the last time I posted I have stript the bathroom walls, mostly gutted the kitchen, finally started using SUs My Digital Studio, switched to Make the Cut for designing cut files for my Cricut, finished the library and craft room (Yes! It really is finished this time.) and threw a surprise Birthday Party for my husband's 60th Birthday. Now the only major thing to do is finish the kitchen and bathroom remodel.

Now I want to introduce you to the feathered girls, Penny, Hazel and Elvira. Penny is the inquisitive one, Hazel is the "I'm beautiful " one and Elvira is the ringleader.

Here are the guys from Chickoopy delivering the girls and their coop.

Penny

HazelElvira

Til next time...

I'm here!

2010-09-06T20:31:00.002-06:00

I'm really here and have so much to share but just haven't had the time. Please be patient with me. I bought a Cricut Expression and Sure Cuts a Lot and have been learning how to create my own SVG files. I plan on making some of them available for download. I have also been trying to get into a routine so I can take care of 4 cats, 3 chickens, 2 dogs and 1 kooky Father-in-law while leaving room for crafting and everything else. And I have been designing and looking for subcontractors to do my new kitchen and bathroom. I spent today ripping out the wallpaper in the bathroom, trying to help a neighbor whose husband is leaving her after 35 years, converting some clipart files for another friend, and barbequing a chicken(shhh! We call it "that other white meat" and I made the girls close their eyes while I put it on the rotisserie) for dinner. I also squeezed in some scrapbooking and worked on learning the finer points of using Inkscape as well as Sure Cuts a Lot. My days are full and I've never been happier. Now I just have to squeeze in some blogging time.

Til next time...

New Kitties

2010-07-28T13:26:00.005-06:00

I've been up since 6 AM so why am I just now posting to this blog? Well, actually, between cleaning up after the dogs, weeding and watering, feeding the birds and doing litter boxes, I haven't had breakfast and it is now 1:30 in the afternoon. And I had a bazillion other things to do which have all been checked off my To-Do List. Now I get to blog then do some scrapbooking. I may even get in a little reading before it is time to begin cooking dinner. Yay!!!

Anyway, back in February, our dog Toby was bitten by a very nasty spider which infected a joint in his leg. We ended up having to have the leg opened and drained so we were at the vets every few days for a month. During one of our visits, the Utah Animal Adoption Center brought in a van full of animals to be checked and fixed. The Vet Techs were swamped so I lent a hand by helping with the intake exams, weights and forms. One pet carrier contained two 6 month old kittens who happened to be littermates. They were so sweet and had been rescued just moments before they were to be euthanized. My heart melted and I just had to have them so I adopted them.

I won't go into too much detail but the first 2 months were a real trial. They had been exposed to a really bad respiratory thing but didn't show symptoms until after they were introduced to Bailey & Thaddeus so I nursed 4 very sick cats for several weeks. They had spent their entire lives in a cage so they were terrified of being on the loose, couldn't climb or jump, could not negotiate stairs and they had never been nose to nose with a dog let alone two of them. I handled it all, the eye and nose wiping, the pilling, the force feeding and the refereeing and I did it all with only one hand. What some of us will do for our animals!

Everyone is now happy, healthy and well adjusted and I can't imagine a life without them. So without further adieu, here are the girls.

This is Snowflake, who is super tiny even now at 11 months old. And she has a gray letter "K" on her head! She was meant for me even if she does think she's a princess.This is Maddie who now weighs nearly as much as the boys do. Obviously her favorite pasttime is eating and then beating up her toy mice when she isn't trying to beat up all the boys.
I put a bird feeder right outside of this kitchen window so here is the whole gang watching The Kitty Food Network. From left to right is Snowflake, Thaddeus Kosiuszko, Maddie and Bailey.

Til next time...

I'm Baaaaack!

2010-07-27T11:15:00.011-06:00

Didn't mean to be gone this long. The hand took several months to heal, which I expected, but then I got involved with a bunch of other things. Since I wasn't using it, I decided that it was the perfect time to have the craft room reorganized. I just love Ikea! I also rescued and adopted two 6 month old girl kitties. After 33 years of being the only female in a nearly all male household (husband, father-in-law, sons, dogs and cats) I finally have my girls. What a totally different dynamic! I have also managed to do some stamping, scrapbooking, gardening and house hunting. And in 2 weeks I'll be able to reveal my latest endeavor.

I plan to start posting almost daily now. I have so many photos to share of the girls (as well as the boys) the craft room, my work, the garden and I may even post about some of the homes we've seen. Here are a few shots of the hand, post surgery.

I was fine when they took out all the stitches until I looked down and saw the pins sticking out. Then I was OK until I saw the Xrays and could see where the pins went. After they removed the stitches I got to wear the nifty little cast with the pins STILL in my thumb joints. Ack!!
Finally the pins were removed and I could really start healing.

Til next time...

Fourth Day of Christmas and New Year Wishes

2009-12-28T09:19:00.003-07:00

Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas. I had planned on doing tags for each day but all I've managed to get done is Day 1 and that never got photographed or posted. The fact is, I have been having so much fun with my family and friends that I just haven't had the time or the desire to stamp or blog.
I have done some reflecting and can see how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband, children, family and friends as well as the gift of laughter. No matter how tough things get, there is always some humor to be found. So if I don't post again for a while I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year and a 2010 filled with laughter.

Til next time...

It's almost here!

2009-12-24T06:16:00.012-07:00

It's 6 AM on Christmas Eve as I type
this. We are having our big family dinner and gift exchange today because our oldest son is a chef and will be working tomorrow. I can't wait to see my husband's expression when he discovers the big surprise I have for him. I am so excited! And NO, all you comedians out there, I am NOT pregnant!

Here are the last of this years cards. This first group features stamps from Waltzingmouse. Upper left: cardstock & ink from StampinUp; paper from Basic Gray; Cuttlebug dotted swiss and holly border embossing folders; icycle border punch from martha Stewart. I began the center piece by stamping the Waltzing mouse Labels4 stamp onto Craft-a-Board, stamping the sentiment inside, cutting and embossing with Spellbinders Labels Four die, dusting the edge with pale green ink then glue and finally adding the Twinklets Diamond Dust. The icicles were also coated in glue and Diamond Dust.
Center Right: Stamps from Waltzingmouse; paper by Basic Gray; Cardstock & ink by StampinUp; Spellbinders Star die; Craft-a-Board; Tsukineko Frost White All Purpose Ink; ribbon & button from stash.
Bottom Left: paper & lace from Webster's Pages; ribbon from Ellen Hutson; cardstock & ink by StampinUp; stamps by Waltzingmouse; Gold embossing powder from JudiKins; Prismacolor markers; Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

This final group were all inspired by Ellen Hutson and use paper and trims from Webster's Pages and cards with matching envelopes from Memory Box. Additional products used (clockwise from upper left): Angel Stamp unknown, sentiment from Papertrey Ink, ink from StampinUp; Joy to You stamp from Hero Arts, Bramble Wreath from Memory Box, ink & cardstock from StampinUp, Stickles Glitter Glue, Distress Ink, Spellbinders Labels Three; Peace from PSX, cardstock, ribbon & ink from StampinUp, border punch from Fiskars, Glitter by Stampendous, Spellbinders Labels Five die, Distress Ink; Doves stamp by PSX stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Prismacolor markers and a white gel pen, Stickles Glitter Glue, Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles die. Both the Angel and Dove cards also have a border drawn with a Prismacolor Metallic Gold marker.

I hope to be able to post my 12 Days of Christmas Tags starting with Day One tomorrow but I'm not making any promises. The plan is to use my Slice and the Mistletoe Design Card as well as leftover papers and trims, various glitters and Tim Holtz finishes to commemorate each day from Christmas to Epiphany. Let's see if Life cooperates.

Wishing you all a very Merry, Peaceful and Blessed Christmas.

Til next time...

Laid Back Christmas

2009-12-23T23:00:00.001-07:00

I've taken things very slow and easy this year. I saw no point in making my hands hurt worse than they do so I eliminated many things from the schedule and really enjoyed the things I did manage to do. One of the things I really enjoyed was making my Christmas cards. I only made 2 a day and didn't stress over them. They became the highlight of my Christmas preparations - that and online shopping.
In this first group, the upper left card was made with paper from American Crafts; cardstock, ribbon, ink and ornament stamps by StampinUp; Cuttlebug border embossing folder; Label 4 stamp and sentiment by Waltzingmouse Stamps; Spellbinder's Label 4 die; gold thread.
The bottom left card uses paper from Cosmo Cricket; cardstock, stamps, ink, paper punches and label die by StampinUp; Cuttlebug embossing folder; gold thread; All Purpose Ink in Champagne Mist by Tsukineko.
The final card in this group features a frame cut from Ellen Hutson's Craft-a-Board using a Spellbinder's die which was then sponged with Champagne Mist All Purpose Ink. The deer is a stamp from All Night Media that I have had for years. Other products used were: embossing folder, cardstock, ink, and sentiment from StampinUp; paper from Basic Gray; ribbon from stash.

In this second group, starting with the card on the left, I have a very quick and easy card made using paper and a matching brad from Bo Bunny Press. The cardstock, ribbon, ink, stamp, paper punch and border punch are from StampinUp and the larger scalloped circle punch is from EKSuccess.
The card on the upper right features scoring on the Scor-Pal and a buckle from a Spellbinder's die accented with a Stardust pen. Cardstock, red & green inks, stamps and ribbon are from StampinUp; Spellbinder's large and small oval dies; Antique Linen Distress Ink.
The final card in this trio uses the Dotted Swiss embossing folder from Cuttlebug; Labels Two dies from Spellbinders; Stickles Glitter Glue; Prismacolor Markers; trees from HeroArts; Memento Rich Cocoa Ink; Green Ink, sleigh, sentiment, holly border, oval punches and cardstock from StampinUp.

Til next time...

Salt Lake City, New Mexico

2009-12-22T07:47:00.022-07:00

Strange title, I know, but there were some strange doings in Salt Lake on Saturday night. It was the Annual Christmas Luminaria Display at a Salt Lake City cemetery. We were invited to a "fun run" through the cemetery followed by food and "Holiday Cheer" at a nearby home. Sorry, but if I ever got this body to run I would end up with 2 black eyes and a possible concussion.
However, a leisurely stroll with camera in hand seemed quite reasonable and there would be assorted spirits of another kind at the other end so off we went.

Traipsing through the snow, trying to photograph thousands of glowing bags in the cold, foggy dark without functioning opposable thumbs was an adventure in and of itself. Our laughter seemed downright sacrilegious at times with Christopher hopping around, trying not to "step on anyone". In between our giggles, it was eerily quiet, especially when you consider that this cemetery is sandwiched between 2 somewhat major thoroughfares and there were cars driving through to see the spectacle. To look out and see row after row of flickering candles glowing through the foggy dark was awe inspiring. I can only imagine how incredible it would look on a clear night.

These photos cannot begin to convey the peace, tranquility and sacredness we felt there. Forget the tree, the decorations, the gifts and all the chaos that is now associated with Christmas. The real Christmas was in a cemetery on a cold, dark, foggy Saturday night.

Til next time...

Post Thanksgiving Post

2009-11-30T11:49:00.009-07:00

Where has the time gone? Where has the year gone? Tomorrow is the first day of December which means in only 32 days it will be 2010. I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. I've been plugging along, making my Christmas Cards and even photographing them but I just haven't been keeping up with this blog. No shopping or decorating and, usually a night owl, I've been going to bed by 8:30. Weird!

So here is the second of 14 different card designs I've done. I tried to make it clean and simple but it just didn't work out.

Til next time...

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Peaceful Poinsettia; Signature Christmas

Paper: SU Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Soft Sky; Basic Gray Eskimo Kisses

Ink: Real Red, Old Olice, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava

Other: Martha Stewart Border & Corner Punches; Spellbinders Labels One, Plain Circles, Fancy Labels; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder; Sakura Stardust Copper Pen

A Dickens of a Time

2009-11-19T15:48:00.008-07:00

I had a card all planned in my head. I would stamp snowflakes, cut them out, add glitter and use them as embellishments. It was going to be a great card except my hand wouldn't cooperate so I couldn't cut the snowflakes out. I have a Slice but the snowflakes are lacy so I couldn't stamp on them or so I thought. Then I remembered that Mistletoe is a new MS+ design card which means that I can cut shadows with it. Oh how I love my Slice and my hands do too.
I cut 3 different snowflake shadows in the 2 inch size from the Soft Sky cardstock, stamped the snowflakes with the Glue Pad, placed them face down on the glitter and then ran a 2 inch brayer over them to make sure the glitter was well smashed into the glue.
I cut and embossed the frame out of Ellen Hutsons Craft-A-Board using the Spellbinders dies, sponged some Soft Sky ink around the oval opening, stamped with the glue pad and smashed into the glitter.
I stamped my focal point onto the Neenah Classic Crest with Archival Ink. Once it was completely dry I colored with my watercolor pencils then used my aquapainter to blend the colors.
When doing the final assembly I used a few dimentionals here and there to keep everything level where necessary .

Til next time...

Stamps: SU Keep Christmas, Serene Snowflakes, Winter Post

Paper: Basic Grey 6x6 Paper Pad (Eskimo Kisses); SU Soft Sky; Ellen Hutson Craft-A-Board; Neenah Classic Crest Natural White

Ink: SU Soft Sky; Archival Jet Black

Other: Making Memories - Slice, Mistletoe Design Card; Spellbinders - Labels Eight, Plain Ovals; The Essential Glue Pad; Blue Pastel Glitter (?); Staedtler Karat Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils; Aqua painter

Tis That Season

2009-11-11T14:50:00.010-07:00

No it's not "The Season" yet but it's that season between Halloween and Thanksgiving when I put my nose to the grindstone and start cranking out my Christmas cards. I've managed to finish 4 different designs so far. Normally I do about 6 different designs in multiples of 8 but this year I came up with so many ideas that I am making 2 of each until my mind runs dry and then I'll make more of my favorites.

It all begins with a sketch. I toss all the newest stamps, papers, ribbons, dies, embossing folders etc. onto my workbench then pick up my pencil and my notebook and sketch out what I am going to do with it all. I add notations as to which stamp, paper or whatever I have in mind for each particular sketch because nothing is more frustrating then having a whole project worked out in my head only to have it gone the next time I open my book and look at the sketch.

As I actually create the card, I record measurements, colors, supplies etc. on the sketch in case I want to recreate it later. I use scratch paper from my printer when testing dimentions so I don't waste any of the good stuff or at least that is the plan. It doesn't always work that way. I took this photo just to show everyone that my work area does get messy. It doesn't always look like it does here.

Here I am testing a layout before I actually apply the adhesive just in case I need to do any last minute adjustments. Those are my thumb braces to the left of the layout board. They aren't doing much good sitting there instead of being on my hands. Looks like I'll be getting my money's worth when I have my surgery in January.

Til next time...

Harvest Blessings

2009-11-06T08:11:00.001-07:00

Here is another card made in September that never made it to the blog. I think because my Mojo went Walkabout in September and my cards showed it. I used Verve's Harvest Blessings stamp set and SEI's Mimosa paper with a bit of ribbon from my stash. Here is proof that you can have beautiful stamps and beautiful paper and still end up with a lousy card. The wreath was stamped in brown and colored with Prismacolor markers but you can't see the shading because the markers bled too much on the SEI paper.

Til next time...

Scoring Techniques

2009-11-05T07:45:00.001-07:00

I wasn't feeling too well the night of October's Card Club meeting so I stayed home. If I was coming down with something I didn't want to spread it to the rest of the group and besides, my SU Demo is one of my closest friends. By Saturday I was feeling fine and she needed to use my sewing machine so she just brought everything I needed to complete the projects over with her.
The technique page was fairly simple. I just had to use my Scor-Pal to score a grid on the 6x6 background piece, a border design on the 1.5x6 band, punch out the labels, attach the ribbon to the band and assemble. I sponged some Dusty Durango and Soft Suade onto the background piece, dusted the edges of everything with the same two colors but that grid was just begging for a little something extra so I used some small motifs from 2 Papertrey Ink sets and stamped them in Dusty Durango, Soft Suade and Creamy Caramel. NOW it was ready for assembly.
For the card, I scored the grid onto the Creamy Caramel and then dusted with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, wrapped the ribbon around it and then mounted it to the card front. The sentiment was stamped onto Very Vanilla with Chocolate Chip then punched out with the large oval punch and attached to Pumpkin Pie and Dusty Durango ovals cut with the same punch. All ovals were dusted with Vintage Photo, a crystal brad attached just below the sentiment and then the unit was mounted to the upper left corner of the card.
The pumpkin vignette was stamped on Very Vanilla with Stazon Black then watercolored with a blender pen and SU markers. It was then cut out, mounted to Dusty Durango, cut out again slightly larger, dusted with Vintage Photo then mounted to the lower right of the card. The final touch was a ribbon knot attached just to the left og the vignette. There was also a Christmas card but I spilled something on it so...

Til next time...

Stamps: Papertrey Ink- Simply Stationery, Background Basics Stars; SU Holiday Best, Gifts of the Earth.
Ink: SU Dusty Durango, Soft Suade, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip; Stazon Black; Vintage Photo Distress Ink.
Paper: SU Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Pie, Dusty Durango.
Other: Scor-Pal; SU Large Oval, Modern Label Punches, Dusty Durango Ribbon, Blender Pen, Markers and sponge.

Emboss Resist Swap

2009-11-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

I just love this technique and I love these colors. I recently bought SU's Razzle Dazzle after it finally dawned on me that it coordinates so well with all the "Bella" sets and it insisted that I ink it up. I used White Craft ink and Sparkle embossing powder on Very Vanilla then cut it out with a Spellbinders circle die. The border piece, which was done with Bella's Border Wheel used the same ink and embossing powder and was very easy to center since all my wheels are unmounted. I sponged a combination of Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Bashful Blue on both pieces then cleaned off any excess ink with a paper towel. The Very Vanilla card was embossed with SU's Flourish Embossing Plate. The Rich Razzleberry pieces were cut out then embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile Texture embossing folder. For the Card Club Swap I stamped "For You" in Rich Razzleberry on Bashful Blue, cut out with an oval punch then mounted to a slightly large Very Vanilla oval. The day after Club, my Fancy Tags die set arrived. Isn't that always the way? I just had to see how it would look so I stamped my sentiment in Rich Razzleberry on Bashful Blue, die cut and embossed it then, while it was still in the die, I used a sponge dauber with Rich Razzleberry to lightly dust the center oval and darkly ink the designs on the sides of the tag. I just mounted it over the excisting ovals which gives it a dimentional look.

Til next time...

Stamps: SU Razzle Dazzle, Bella's Bloom, Bella's Border Wheel, Great Friend
Ink: SU Craft White, Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Bashful Blue
Paper: SU Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue
Other: SU Photo Corners & oval punches; Spellbinders plain circles, Labels 3, Fancy Tags; Cuttlebug Textile Texture embossing folder; SU Flourish Embossing Plate; Hero Arts Sparkle embossing powder; sponge daubers & papertowels.

Just not my color combination

2009-11-03T08:48:00.006-07:00

It's official! Black and White is not a color combination that works for me. Perhaps it's because I just don't consider black or white to be colors. I don't know but I just don't work well with them so this may be my final attempt. I believe this was a Verve Challenge from back in September and the only thing I like about it is the Stamp set and the glittery embossing powder I used. Oh and my bows came out pretty darn good too. LOL

Til next time...

Stamps: Verve - Starstruck; SU Polka Dot Background
Ink: Versamark, Versamark Dazzle Frost, Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: SU Black, Neenah White
Other: Spellbinders Octagon Dies; Cuttlebug Embossing folders; Embossing Powders and Ribbons from my stash- origin unknown

Working on Website

2009-11-02T18:22:00.002-07:00

Sorry, no card post today although I did do the photography for several projects I will be posting this week. Today I started on a website so I can upload photos of my craft room and other stuff. It's a very rough draft so far but it is up and running so pop on over to Paper Musings, the Website and take a gander at my craft room.

Emboss Resist

2009-10-31T08:45:00.001-06:00

September's Card Club Technique was Emboss Resist. For the technique, we rolled the Stamping Wheel in Versamark, rolled it onto Glossy cardstock,embossed with clear embossing powder,brayered on black ink then wiped off excess ink with tissue.

To complete the card, the sentiment was stamped with black ink on a piece of Dusty Durango which was then mounted to a piece of Going Gray. I dusted with edges with Basic Gray then attached 2 black brads near the bottom. The Haunted House was stamped with Black ink on a piece of Basic Gray then colored with Watercolor crayons and an Aquapainter. The edges were dusted with Basic Gray then the piece was mounted to a piece of Going Gray that was dusted with basic Gray. The tree with owl was stamped 3 times across the top of the card with Basic Gray ink.

To complete the technique page I stamped a background in Basic Gray using stamps from Inkadinkadoo and dusted the edges with Basic gray. The spider web and haunted house were cut using the Spook Alley Design card in my Slice. The instruction piece was dusted with Lovely Lilac.

Til next time...

Stamps:SU-Haunted Hill Wheel, House of Haunts set; Inkadinkadoo
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Lovely Lilac
Paper: Basic Gray, Going Gray, Lovely Lilac, Basic Black, Barely Banana, White,
White Glossy, Dusty Durango
other: Clear Embossing Powder, Brads, Paper Piercer, Brayer, Watercolor Crayons,
Aquapainter, SU Black Grosgrain, The Slice, Spook Alley Design Card.

September Swap Using August Technique

2009-10-30T07:41:00.003-06:00

Our Card Club Swap for September had to use the technique we did in August which was Masking & Reverse Masking. I got a little carried away with it and used 3 masks but it was fun and rather easy once I got the sequence down. I used my Spellbinders dies and Eclipse tape to make my masks. I covered a scrap of cardstock that was 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 with the Eclipse tape then centered the scalloped oval face down on it. I taped the die down with removable tape to hold it then centered the plain oval die inside the oval and taped it in place before running the whole thing through my Big Shot. To make the card, I covered the front with the 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 inch mask and the scalloped mask, leaving just the center oval uncovered. I stamped the grapes in Adirondack Espresso and sponged the other edges of the oval with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I applied the oval mask to the center then removed the scalloped mask. I sponged the scalloped band with Sahara Sand, stamped the crackle in Sahara Sand then replaced the scalloped mask. Finally I removed the largest mask, stamped the scroll in Rich Razzleberry,distressed with Antique Linen nearest the scallops and Walnut Stain and Rich Razzleberry around the outside edges then removed all masks. I colored the grapes with Prismacolor markers and outlined the scallops with SU's Sahara Sand and Soft Suade Markers.

Stamps: SU-Fruit Stand, Baroque Motifs; Stampers Anonymous Crackle Creative Block
Ink: SU Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand; Distress Antique Linen, Walnut Stain
Other: Spellbinders Scalloped and plain ovals; Eclipse Tape; SU Markers- Sahara
Sand, Soft Suade; Prismacolor Markers- 147, 129, 168, 197,187,28

Autumn Technique

2009-10-29T15:13:00.004-06:00

This year, at our Stampers 10 Card Club, we are doing 6x6 Technique Pages each month along with a project that uses the technique. Then we have to use the technique for our Swap for the following month. Our first meeting of the year was in August and our technique was masking. I did most of my stamping at club then took everything home for assembly because I had a few changes I wanted to make (so what else is new) I used the large wheat stamp from JidiKins for my page background and dusted the edges of the instructions with the same inks as used in the sample. I trimmed my sample piece down so it would fit on the page better, snipped with a notched corner punch, wrapped it with pearl cotton then mounted it to Chocolate Chip. I left the masked piece full sized for the card but I liked the look of the pearl cotton so I repeated it for the card.

Stamps:SU-All Holidays, Autumn Days, Farm Life; Judikins-Wheat Sheaf
Paper: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Soft Suade, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink:Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Soft Suade, Chocolate Chip
Other:SU Ribbon, Scallop edge and Notch corner punches,Brads, Paper Piercer & DMC Pearl
Cotton

Grateful

2009-10-07T09:36:00.003-06:00

I've been playing with more of my Papertrey Ink stamps. I really like their sets and need to use them more. This card was made using their "First Fruits" set and Splitcoast's SC245. The main card was stamped using SU's Aida Cloth on Dusty Durango with Soft Suade. The horizontal panel was stamped repeatedly with a stamp from First Fruits on River Rock with Soft Suade and looks like printed paper when done. The right side of the piece of Apricot Appeal was cut with a Kaleidoscope Border Die from Spellbinders and sponged with Dusty Durango while the border die was still in place. The wheat was stamped with Soft Suade onto Naturals Ivory then cut out with a Spellbinders Labels 4 Die and edged with Dusty Durango.

I wanted to wrap the ribbon just around the panels and not the main card front so the panels had to be assembled first. I laid the card front down then covered it with a page protector and assembled the rest of the card on top of the page protector. Once the panels were assembled I peeled them off of the page protector, wrapped my ribbon around this unit then mounted it to the card front. To finish the card, I stamped the sentiment onto Naturals Ivory in Dusty Durango, punched it out with SU's Modern Label punch, dusted the edges with Dusty Durango and mounted to the bottom right with Dimentionals.

Til next time...

Happy Harvest

2009-09-30T13:51:00.003-06:00

I love everything about fall. The cold crisp nights, the colors, picking the last of the vegetables in the garden and watching the chrysanthemums bloom. I guess that is why I've been hoarding this paper from Basic Grey's "Mellow" series. After all, it screams "Fall" and if I use it, I won't have it anymore. Don't you just love my logic?
I paired the Basic Grey paper with SU's Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Pumpkin Pie along with a piece of burlap run through the Xyron. The card is patterned after Splitcoast Stampers' Sketch SC243. The stamps are from Papertrey Inks' Vintage Picnic stamped with Memento Black on Neenah Classic White and colored with Prismacolor Markers. All pieces were dusted with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

If anyone is interested in a list of the Prismacolor Marker colors used, please let me know.

Til next time...

Reversed Acorn

2009-09-25T11:32:00.004-06:00

Did you know that acorns are dark and the little hats are light? Obviously I didn't until I looked at a neighbor's oak trees but I think my version is prettier. Isn't this just the cutest acorn? I keep wanting to put eyes and a goatee on it. It's from Papertrey Inks First Fruits set. The card is based on Splitcoast's sketch SC242 but I made a minor change to make the final card more balanced. The background was stamped with SU's Woodgrain stamp then sponged with Creamy Caramel and Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The cardstock used was SU's Always Artichoke, Confetti Cream and Creamy Caramel and the inks were SU's Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel and Distress Walnut Stain. Spellbinders Rectangle dies were used for the center 2 panels and their mats. The Flourished leaves on the side panel are from Papertrey Inks Fall Elegance and the rest of the stamps used are from their First Fruits set.

Til next time...

Sunflowers

2009-09-24T15:37:00.003-06:00

I love making my own background papers. Yes it is time consuming and prone to failure but there is so much satifaction when it comes out right. For this card I pulled out my old Stamp-O-Graph from Mostly Animals. It was billed as a Stamp Positioner and Image Enhancer and was real handy for stamping the same images on multiple cards. The stamp positioner is attached to a gridded base with hinges so you can attach your card to the base, stamp it with the positioner, flip the positioner out of the way, work on your card then flip the positioner back into place and re-stamp your card. Clear as mud huh? So...
I stamped the background stamp onto the gridded base with the stamp positioner in place to see exactly where my design would land then, using a repositional gluestick I attached my Handsome Hunter card front into position then stamped the background onto it. I then flipped the positioner out of the way and colored the background with Prismacolor pencils. When you color a detailed design with colored pencils you tend to lose the detail so this is where my Stamp-o-Graph earns its keep. I flipped the positioner back into place and re-stamped the image OVER the pencil coloring which adds the detail back in. I may not use it every day since the Stamp-a-ma-jig is quicker but no way would I ever give up my Stamp-O-Graph.
I used Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge 244 for the basis of this card. I stamped the More Mustard panel with a text background from Papertrey Inks Background Basics Text Style in Close to Cocoa. After sponging Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edges I matted it with Close to Cocoa cardstock also sponged with Walnut Stain. I attached a round clip tied with natural twill ribbon to the top corner then mounted it to the card front. I stamped the pitcher full of sunflowers from Papertrey Inks Autumn Abundance onto Neenah Natural White with Memento Black ink then colored them with Prismacolor Markers. I clipped the 4 corners of this piece as well as the corners of the Close to Cocoa mat with the ticket punch from SU, sponged all with Walnut Stain ink then mounted to the card. Attached an antique turn button to balance it all out.
Til next time...

(Girl)Friends

2009-09-22T12:19:00.003-06:00

Verve's sketch for the 3rd week of September was with a twist of girlfriends. This card isn't girly but all the girls liked it so that's good enough for me. I used SU's Mellow Moss and More Mustard cardstock with patterned paper from We R Memory Keepers. I stamped the hot air balloon with Memento black ink on the reverse side of the patterned paper, colored it with Prismacolor markers and cut it out with a Spellbinders circle die. All pieces were aged with Distress Ink in Tea Dye. Mounted the largest printed piece to the card base then outlined it with a gold Stardust Pen by Sakura. Pierced holes on each side of the striped piece, cross stitched with gold thread then mounted across the middle of the card. Stamped the sentiment from Verve's Because of You in Chocolate Chip ink onto the bottom half of the Mellow Moss piece. Mounted the Mellow Moss piece then mounted the circle piece over it with Dimentionals.
Til next time...

It's sketch time Verve Style!

2009-09-21T08:08:00.003-06:00

For the first sketch of September I tried to keep things clean and simple. The twist was "little round things" so I chose polka dots and balloons. The card base is SU's Not Quite Navy with a panel of Neenah's Classic White. I cut panels of Barely Banana, Bashful Blue and Gable Green, stamped them with the polka dots from Verve's Bountiful Backgrounds in their respective ink colors then edged them using the large scallop border embossing punch from EKSuccess. I layered the scalloped panels, wrapped white grosgrain ribbon from Michael's around the top, attached a partial bow with a pearl brad from K & Company then attached the unit to the white panel.I stamped the balloons from Verve's Party Time on a small white panel in Memento black ink then colored them with Prismacolor Markers,matted it with Bashful Blue and mounted it to the top right corner of the card. Stamped the sentiment from Party Time on the bottom left in Bashful Blue. I can NOT believe I created a card with absolutely NO disressing!!

Til next time...

Back in the Saddle

2009-09-20T12:09:00.005-06:00

It has been 3 weeks since my last post and I need to pick myself up and get going again. Life is too short to waste and Shirley would tan my hide if I stayed in my shell any longer. To jumpstart this blog I am reposting the card I made for her family with details this time.

The floral vine is from a gorgeous set by Papertrey Ink called With Sympathy. The butterfly is from a Verve set called Enjoy and the sentiment is from StampinUp. Shirley loved Pink or Peach with green so that was my color scheme.

The cardstock I used was SU's Blush Blossom, Always Artichoke and Groovy Guava as well as Neenah's Classic White. I stamped the vine with SU's Always Artichoke and the flowers with Dusty Durango then colored with Prismacolor markers.

The label was cut from Blush Blossom using Making Memories Slice and the Studio Essentials design card. I stamped the sentiment in Always Artichoke, dusted the edges with Blush Blossom and attached the label with crystal brads that were colored with a Prismacolor marker. The butterfly was stamped with Groovy Guava, Dusty Durango and Chocolate Chip then cut out. I stamped the antennae in Chocolate Chip directly onto the card front then mounted the butterfly in place with Dimentionals.

I have a handful of cards and things that I have worked on over the last few weeks that I will be posting over the next week or so. Several sketch challenges from Splitcoast and Verve, 2 technique pages from this years Stamp Club as well as the projects from Stamp Club. Hope you come back.

Til next time...

Rest in Peace Shirley

2009-08-30T21:45:00.008-06:00

On August 20th a very special person in my life passed away. Dollhouse Miniatures first brought us together but love and friendship kept us that way and that love continued to grow and strengthen over the years in spite of a 27 year age difference.
She came into my life at a time when I so desperately needed a friend and mentor. She knew what it was like to be an only child and to have a mother who wasn't there to lean on and seek advice from. She knew what it was like to raise boys, to try and cope with a difficult child and to live with near constant pain. She knew what it was like to have to give up friends and family and move to Utah because of a husbands job. She knew all this and shared her experience and wisdom with me. And when I was feeling trapped and isolated she made sure I knew I had a home to go to and a person to turn to.
Tomorrow, August 31, 2009, she will be laid to rest but her love, her laughter and her zest for life will live on in my memories and in my heart forever. I have been so blessed to have called her friend, sister, and mother.
Farewell Shirley. I know you are at peace and have reunited with Joe. I will miss you.

Til next time...

The Perfect Sentiment

2009-08-25T09:54:00.006-06:00

Today's card is for Week 4 of August's VLV Sketch with a Twist, the Twist being to use a favorite color combination. This designer paper is from the Porcelain series by Basic Gray. I paired it with SU's Cameo Coral, Barely Banana and Chocolate Chip. I tried not to make it too girlie because the moment I came across this sentiment from Verve I just knew I had to use it and give this card to my husband. Last night I heard him open the envelope and then he joined me in the living room. He didn't say a word but I got a very long, long hug. The card said it all.

Stamps: Verve -Enjoy, Because of You, Bountiful Backgrounds
Paper: DSP- Basic Gray; SU - Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip
Ink: SU- Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke
Other: Spellbinders Oval dies

Thankful Thoughts

2009-08-21T08:01:00.004-06:00

For the 3rd week of August, Verve's VLV with a Twist challenge was to use tags. I added an additional twist of my own by making myself use something from my vast collection of "Why the heck did I buy this?" items. I chose to use some paper from one of those ginormous pads from Provo Craft. These are the first 2 sheets to ever be pulled from this pad! I also threw in a BIBHUIY (Bought It But Haven't Used It Yet). I bought the Tim Holtz mini stapler thingy with a box of additional staples the minute it hit the retail market but of course it hasn't seen the light of day since the purchase.

To coordinate with the printed paper, I chose Always Artichoke, Pink Pirouette and Rich Razzleberry. I cut the tag with a Cuttlebug die but it looked rather plain next to the scallop layers of my focal point so I mounted a scalloped circle onto the tag. Threaded some ribbon through the tag and used one whole mini staple from my stash. It worked rather well and it doesn't look tacky like office staples do so I just may get some use out of this "tiny attacher".

My sentiment is one of the free stamps I got for ordering from Verve and it got me thinking about the things I am grateful for. First and foremost is my husband, whose love, devotion and unswerving conviction that I can do anything has made me who and what I am today. Another thing I am grateful for is my card club. Last night was our first meeting of the new year. I shared the "overflow" table with a new member who is a delightful woman and I am so glad she has joined our little group. Shared thoughts and ideas about "Copics vs Prismacolor" with another new member who fits right in. And then there are the returning members who are now my friends and confidants. Those very special friends with whom you can share not only techniques and ideas for stamping, but your personal joys and sorrows. I am grateful for this group of very special women and look forward to another year of sharing.

Til next time...

Stamps: Verve
Paper: SU Always Artichoke, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry; Provo Craft
Ink: SU Always Artichoke, Rich Razzleberry
Other: SU Ribbon; Spellbinders plain & scalloped circles; Cuttlebug tag; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher; SU Dimentionals

Verve-a-licious!

2009-08-20T15:30:00.005-06:00

Managed to squeeze in some stamping time and I am doing the happy dance. Using the Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge with an Edgy Twist for Week 2 of August, I came up with this little number. I stamped the background piece with Versamark Dazzle in Frost and I just wasn't dazzled. Fortunately the ink stayed tacky longer than I expected so I was able to dig out a jar of Pearl embossing powder, sprinkle it on and have it stick. It looked really cool besides until I realized that I had to try to stamp a sentiment onto that embossed background. Back to digging into the 3 drawers of embossing powder that I was going to get rid of. Ha!! My hoarding has been justified!! So a little punching here, some embossing there, some ribbon and a bow and I ended up with a very presentable card.

Til next time...

Stamps: Sonlight Crackle Backgrounder, Verve
Paper: SU Elegant Eggplant, Almost Amethyst; Curious Iridescent Cryogen White
Ink: SU Elegant Eggplant; Versamark Dazzle
Embossing Powder: Judikins Pastel; Ranger Adirondack Eggplant
Other: EK Success Border Punch; Spellbinders Plain and Scallop Ovals

Curious Cat and a Major Booboo

2009-08-19T15:01:00.001-06:00

Last week I got out my Parchment Craft tools and proceeded to make my wonderful husband a new bookmark to replace the one he lost. I decided to make one with his Zodiac sign, Libra, and his initials. Oh how beautiful it came out but I decided to back it with some cardstock which is usually no problem. There is a spray adhesive specifically for vellum and it works like a charm. Hmmm... let me rephrase that. It works like a charm if you do not get sidetracked and use the wrong can!!! Yep, you guessed it. I grabbed the wrong can and used regular spray adhesive which can be spotted by a blind mouse from 30 yards away.

Oh well, stuff happens so I went ahead and set up to photograph it. I guess Bailey must have smelled those blind mice because he came along and crashed (literally) my little photo session.So now I am making a "New" new bookmark to replace this mess and will limit my photo sessions to afternoon naptime. Live and learn.

Till next time...

AWOL from Extreme Conditions

2009-08-13T09:13:00.006-06:00

Sorry to be gone so long but things just got in the way again. Last week I was given a cortisone shot in my hand. NOT a pleasant experience in the least and I honestly can't remember the rest of the week after that! LOL And the shot didn't do much good either. Bummer!!

Saturday I went to a friends Open House/Stamp Sale and I was her best customer (no surprise there). She was getting rid of last years SU In Colors which I hadn't bought so I got everything - pads, reinkers, 2 packs of Pink Pirouette cardstock - for a great price along with a Hostess set that I somehow missed, a few brass embossing templates and other miscellaneous stamp sets. A great haul!! Sunday we went down to Riverton for a wonderful visit with some friends. It has been so long since our last visit that I almost forgot just how much I love being with this couple.

Monday I had a visit from a delightful woman who needed some instruction on Parchment Craft Techniques. Somehow she found me through the Internet and gave me a call. It looks like I will be picking up my needles and embossers again. In fact, that is what I've been doing off and on for the last 2 days - making my husband a new parchment bookmark to replace the old one that he thinks he left in a library book. Throw in a visit to the dentist, gardening, canning bushels of string beans, reading a darn good book and all the other assorted things I do around here and there is my week so far.

And while doing all of the above, I have to contend with this obstacle. Now just how am I supposed to get anything accomplished while working under these extreme conditions??? If I can work around this beast I will be posting my Technique Junkies One for One Swap for July, the Parchment Bookmark once it's done and hopefully getting around to this weeks Sketch Challenges.

Til next time...

First Mojo Monday Sketch

2009-08-06T09:49:00.009-06:00

I finally made my first card using a Mojo Monday sketch. I don't know where the rest of you begin a project but I usually start mine with a sketch. From there it depends on what the card is for. If there is a particular theme, then I will pick out the stamps and then the color scheme. If it's a WTH kind of card then sometimes I'll pick out my colors first but I almost always start with a sketch. MOJO98 looked like an interesting one so I jumped in.

I ended up picking out my color scheme first on this card because I wanted to use some printed paper for a change and this piece from SU caught my eye. You can probably guess, since this design is 2+ years old, that I am a paper hoarder. The choice of using Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky were pretty much a no brainer since those were the colors in the print. Groovy Guava was never my favorite color but it added such pizzazz and it combined perfectly with Dusty Durango. So on to the stamps.

I looked at all the catagories of stamps I have and pulled down the 2 Step Stamping Binder on a whim. And yes, all of my stamps are unmounted, stuck to page protectors and stored in binders by categories. After flipping through a few pages I came upon this SU set called Flowers for a Friend. It just sort of jumped up and said "Use me and I will look so nice with those new punches that you just had to have and haven't used yet" so use them I did along with those punches.

After fiddling and fussing for a while this is what I ended up with. The sentiment, from JustRite Stampers was an afterthought that worked out rather well. I used a StampinUp Texture Plate on the Wild Wasabi base but it wasn't very deep. If anyone knows how to get a better impression with these please let me know.

Til next time...

Stamps: SU, JustRite
Paper: SU Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Dusty Durango & SU DSP
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Dusty Durango, Groovy Guava
Other: Spellbinders circle dies; Martha Stewart Corner Loop and Edger Loop Continuous Edge punches; SU ribbon; SU Dotted Texture Plate

Happy Heritage

2009-08-04T08:20:00.008-06:00

I have wanted this set from Hero Arts the moment I first saw it. I am half Polish and my husband is half Russian so these Matryoshka dolls have a lot of sentimental value. We have several sets of the real thing that my husband brought home from Russia. They are so amazing and now I have a stamp set as well thanks to Terry Redmond at More Than Ink

Til next time...

Stamps: Hero Arts Dolls; Sonlight Backgrounder; Inkadinkado sentiment
Paper: SU Barely Banana, Real Red; Neenah Classic Crest White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; SU Barely Banana, Real Red
Other: Spellbinders oval dies and label die, Prismacolor Markers

In the Salt Lake City, UT Area?

2009-08-03T13:43:00.001-06:00

FYI:

Open House ~ 10:30 am to 2:30 pm
Margot’s Place
2793 E Cherry Lane, Layton, 84040
801-547-9435 or 801-663-6995

Just for fun we will be having door prizes and treats!
(and of course a little make-n-take)

Items for sale will be cash and carry (checks accepted too!). No holds. What isn’t sold on Saturday will be listed on Ebay, so make an offer – you never know!

Please feel free to pass this sale notice along to any of your friends who might be interested.

How to Ruin a Good Sketch

2009-08-02T09:26:00.014-06:00

For July's Stamp Club Swap I wanted to use Card Positioning Systems CPS124 No problem there, it's a great sketch. The problem was the Swap Theme -Vacation. I just wasn't feeling it. I mean, who the heck makes a card for a vacation? So after hours of struggling I came up with this. Everyone said they loved it but I think they were just being kind but at least it does remind me of Oregon.

After getting some other obligations out of the way I decided to redeem myself and come up with something worthy of that sketch. Holy Cow & Hot Tamale can I fly when I'm not constrained, especially by something I don't like! I pulled out punches and ribbon, my watercolor pencils & stamp positioner and went to town with my new Waltzingmouse stamp set. Now this is more like it! Claire of Waltzingmouse Stamps often ends her blog posts by saying "Hope it tickles." Well this definately tickles me. Hope it does you as well.

Til next time...

Paper: SU Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Soft Suade
Ink: SU So Saffron, Soft Suade, Ranger Archival Sepia
Other: Ribbon- SU Certainly Celery; Fiskars Border Punch; Staedtler Watercolor Pencils

Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop

2009-08-01T08:58:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the first ever official Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop. Verve turns two today and we’re celebrating with a hop, hop, hop! The party kicked off over on the Verve blog, so if you’ve just happened along, be sure to hop on over there to start from the beginning! And to make this party a real shindig, there’s a mystery jackpot hidden at one of the stops along the hop. One lucky commenter on that blog will win Verve’s entire August release! But of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery if you knew which blog, would it? So if you’re feeling the love, give a little shout out to the bloggers in the hop and you just might have a reason to jump for joy!

The Viva la Verve Sketch with a {twist} this week is to CASE a Verve Diva. I chose to CASE Jackie Pedro. You can see her card here. The {twist} was that since Jackie used printed paper, I could not. I ended up making 2 versions and since I couldn't decide which one to use I am posting both. Hopefully all you visitors will help me to decide which one to submit for the challenge. Card A used Barely Banana, Dusty Durango and Burmuda Bay. Card B used Barely Banana, Purely Pomegranate and Soft Sky. Stamps used were Verve's Up Up and Away, Inkadinkado's Textile Borders with a sentiment from StampinUp. The stamps used to create the look of printed paper are a miscellaneous assortment from Inkadinkado, Hero Arts, My Cute Stamps and StampinUp. Plain and scalloped oval punches are from StampinUp and the plani and scalloped circles are dies from Spellbinders. For the final touch I used clear buttons from Hero Arts tied with DMC Pearl Cotton.

Thanks for stopping by! Now it’s time to hop on over to Christi's blog, for a little more Verve-y goodness.

Til next time...

Bye Bye Birdies

2009-07-31T08:01:00.003-06:00

I'm working on 2 cards that I hope to upload sometime today. Should have had them done and photographed but cleaning, draining and refilling the hot tub seems to take longer every time I do it. Hmmm... could that be (GASP) age? So in the meantime I'll just fill you in on my Robin Family. This is the final shot taken the day before they all flew away. I feel like a proud Grandma. Hope they come back next year.

Until next time...

A Rose Parade in July

2009-07-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday was Stamp Club and for our projects we used the rose from StampinUp's Fifth Avenue Floral and the Manhatten Flower embossing folder.
On this first card, we stamped the rose leaves from A Rose is a Rose with Certainly Celery by stamping off on the base stamp and using the ink full strength on the detail overstamp. The white panel on the left was done by inking up a crimper with Certainly Celery and running the cardstock through, reinking as needed then smoothing out the cardstock. We tied a piece of white satin ribbon towards the top and mounted it to the left side of the Cameo Coral card. We ran a piece of cardstock through the Big Shot with the embossing folder and used the debossed side. We randomly brayered Regal Rose and Summer Sun onto it then cut it and our leaves out and mounted as shown. The final touch was to stamp the sentiment onto a strip of vellum and mounting across the bottom of the card with brads. Quick, simple, yet so elegant! I saw this technique on Patty Bennett's Blog here, back in April but never got around to trying it.

The second card uses a technique I first saw on Patty Bennet's Blog here. I didn't have the Fifth Avenue Floral set at the time so I used Embrace Life to experiment then gave the card away without photographing it first. What a dummy! Any who way... At club we only used 2 colors of reinkers so the results were very subtle. I ended up taking all the parts home because I wanted to stamp some sort of background on the card. I ended up using SU's retired Lace background in Pale Plum. The leaves were cut using a Sizzlets die which I then shaded with my Prismacolor Markers (Green Tea & the Colorless Blender) and I sponged some Mellow Moss onto the sentiment label. Once I got all the parts done to my liking I couldn't remember how the card went together so I just winged it.

Until next time...

Viva La Verve July Week 5

2009-07-29T08:46:00.001-06:00

I actually made it through to the 5th and final week of these twisted challenges. The twist for this sketch was "texture" so for me that was embossing.
I started by stamping a sunflower background by Sonlight in Barely Banana on Very Vanilla. I originally stamped it in So Saffron on Barely Banana but then thought that might be overkill so I changed to the Vanilla and Banana. I then inked the edges with Mustard Seed Distress Ink. I cut a piece from Summer Sun, embossed with Cuttlebug's Music folder then inked the edges and raised portions with the Mustard Seed Ink. Used and EKSuccess border punch on the narrow Chocolate Chip strip at the top and embossed the Chocolate Chip piece at the side with the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss folder then tied with SU's Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon.
The center flower was cut and embossed from Summer Sun with a Spellbinders die. While still in the die, I stenciled the raised dots in the center with black and the petals with Mustard Seed. After removing it from the die I then pounced some Chocolate Chip in the center. The flower was then mounted to a Very Vanilla circle edged with Always Artichoke.
The sentiment from Verve was stamped and heat embossed on a piece cut from Always Artichoke with a Spellbinders Large Label die. I added 3 pearls around the flower and a small pearl to the dot over the "i" in Life and called it good.

Until next time...

Verve Challenge Week 4

2009-07-28T08:40:00.001-06:00

Viva La Verve Sketch With a Twist for Week 4 of July involved using vellum. I LOVE using vellum. I have done many styles of Parchment craft with vellum - Tarjeteria Espanola, Tarjeteria en Pergamino, Brazilian Cartoes Rendados, Pergamano and I teach it hence my user name for Splitcoast Stampers "TarjTeachR". I love the lace look you can achieve by embossing on vellum. After doing this card I have a real itch to get out my parchment tools and do a full blown, traditional Parchment card.

The background, Lavish Lace by SU (1997), was stamped on white in Pixie Pink. The large vellum circle was cut and embossed with Spellbinders Contemporary Hearts Medallion, mounted to a Passion Pink circle then a Chocolate Chip scalloped circle. Stamped the flower from Verve in Pixie Pink on white, cut out and mounted in the center.
The smaller circle was cut with a plain circle die, embossed with the medallion center from the Contemporary Medallions set then the border of diamonds and posies was hand embossed using the diagonal grid from Pergamano. I then pierced 4 holes in between each diamond and posy and cut into crosses. This piece was then mounted to a Close to Cocoa plain circle and a Chocolate Chip scallop circle.
For the rectangular centerpiece I stamped the floral silhouette from Verve in Chocolate Chip on a Passion Pink plain rectangle then mounted it to a Chocolate Chip scallop rectangle.
The sentiment by SU was stamped on white in Pixie Pink, cut with SU's Word Window punch then mounted to a Chocolate Chip piece cut with SU's new Modern Label punch.

Til next time...

A Waltzingmouse Anniversary

2009-07-27T09:18:00.003-06:00

On July 17th, my youngest son and his wife celebrated their 5th Wedding Anniversary. They had both liked my new stamps from Waltzingmouse and they love the color purple so the card sort of made itself. I don't use much designer paper on my cards but I had some of Basic Gray's Wisteria line and took the plunge. This card is very simple and basic so it really doesn't need any explaining but I just thought I'd share.

Buried Alive

2009-07-24T09:44:00.003-06:00

I have been buried alive in "stuff" for the last few days. I am finally dejunking under the stairs where I tossed everything after closing down my Dollhouse Miniatures business over 10 years ago. I am nearly done but I still have 2 small table saws, a drill press and router table for the Dremel along with 2 jewelers lathes that need to find new homes. I have a 1/2 inch scale house that is only a quarter finished so I will probably just toss it along with my 1 inch scale fully landscaped gazebo unless we blow it up with fireworks.

I am hoping to upload several projects I have done since my last post as well as the final update on the baby robins before the weekend is out. Today is a major holiday here in Utah so I'm not sure just how caught up I will be by that time but here's hoping.

Until then...

Birthday Wishes - Verve July Week 3

2009-07-14T14:07:00.007-06:00

Today I did my Verve Sketch with a Twist for Week 3, the Twist being Score Lines. I also incorporated Color Challenge 214 from Splitcoast Stampers which was to use Bordering Blue, So Saffron, Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip. The Sketch included a bow so I thought I would use a paper bow using a template from Hot Off the Press instead of ribbon. All in all I like the simplicity of this card as well as the color combination.

Using the Scor-Pal, I scored diagonal lines on the Pink Pirouette base then embossed the floral vine on the wide Chocolate Chip strips with the Cuttlebug and scored double lines on the narrow piece of Chocolate Chip that will act as my ribbon.

I stamped the background stamp from Verve's Wishful Elegance on the Bordering Blue piece in the same color ink. The sentiment is from the same stamp set and I stamped it in Chocolate Chip. The bow was traced onto Chocolate Chip, cut out and folded then held together with a crystal brad that I colored with yellow alcohol ink.

Hope you like. Til next time...

Another Bird Update

2009-07-13T16:33:00.001-06:00

This photo was taken Sunday, just 2 days after the last photo I posted. They sure do grow fast!

Waltzing Mouse

2009-07-12T16:16:00.011-06:00

Last week I received 2 stamp sets, Celtic Heritage and Irish Blessings, from Waltzingmouse Stamps in Ireland. Besides being very talented, I find Claire Brennan to be warm, funny and generous and just plain delightful. I finally managed to squeeze in time over the weekend to have a go at these new stamps. I had the whole card designed in my head but just couldn't decide what color to use for the main card itself so I did 2 versions. Now that I see them here, I think I like the white one better.

The decorative ends on the label were made with 2 coordinating corner punches. Punch a corner with each of the 2 punches then neatly trim away from the rest of the cardstock. Trace onto another color of cardstock and cut out slightly smaller. Stack the 2 pieces and Voila... very nice accents to coordinate with the border punch.

Cardstock -SU Bashful Blue, Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, River Rock; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ice Blue, Wisteria; SU Mellow Moss

Punches - Martha Stewart border; EK Success Corner punches

Other - Scor-Pal; Spellbinders Labels die, plain squares

Baby Bird Bulletin

2009-07-10T14:48:00.004-06:00

Just an update on the Robin and her brood. The eggs hatched and there are 3 babies in the nest but "Baby Huey" is the only one I've been able to photograph. He (or she) is the biggest and has no fear so to take this photo all I had to do was whistle and he popped up looking for food. He certainly won't be winning any beauty contests yet. LOL

Another Verve - July Week 2

2009-07-10T13:58:00.009-06:00

I am really loving these Verve stamps. For the second week of July's Viva La Verve Sketch with a Twist, the twist was to use either the Poppin' Pastels or the Burned Batik technique. I went with the Burnt Batik technique although I did it the Technique Junkies way.

Colors used for both paper and ink were SU's Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery and Cameo Coral along with Neenah's Classic Crest Solar White cardstock, Versamark and clear embossing powder from Ranger Ink.

Stamps were from Verve's Floral Symphony and Artful Elegance sets, and the sentiment from SU.
Other supplies used were Cuttlebug's Dotted Swiss embossing folder, circle dies (plain, scallop and inverted scallop) from Spellbinders and SU's word window punch.

Hope you enjoy this card as much as I enjoyed making it.

Major Mojo - Verve July Week 1

2009-07-09T20:38:00.007-06:00

I have been having such a great time playing with all my new stamps I haven't taken the time to post anything here to share. My bad! One of my recent purchases were several sets from Verve. I discovered that Verve posts a weekly "Sketch with a Twist" on Splitcoast Stampers. This first card was my initial design for the 1st week of July's sketch. The twist was to use distressing.
The colors are SU's Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Bashful Blue. The Chocolate Chip panel was embossed with a Quickutz Embossing folder, punched with a Fiskars Embossing Border Punch then highlighted with Brilliance Galaxy Gold. The Very Vanilla panel, the ribbon slide label and the Fleur de Lis were cut and embossed with Spellbinders dies.

While I liked this card, I thought I could take it up a notch so I cut the ribbon slide label from Chocolate Chip, embossed the sentiment in gold and used a gold organdy ribbon. I also tucked the Fleur de Lis behind the upper right corner of the Very Vanilla panel.Tomorrow I will be posting the card I made using the Sketch with a Twist for the 2nd week of July.

Until then...