Random Numbers

I will tell you for a near fact (is there such a thing as a near fact?) that when I make cards, 196 times out of 197 (how random) I will start with cardstock and add pattern paper.  I rarely will ever use pattern paper as a base for a card.  

This is the 100th time!  I picked the busiest paper!  Check out this busy, pattern paper, with a scallop of another busy paper, and a small circle of white cardstock on which I placed my sticker.  It looks like that one house is the spotlighted house on the street!  A little sentiment sticker, and one of the Wonder & Wishes Poinsettias . . . the outside of the card is complete.  

 

And so I moved to the inside of the card!  I wanted something to pop.  The reverse side of my

Wonder & Wishes paper was a busy dot print.  The likely candidate for the inside is always white.  An estimated 93 times out of 94 (random) I will put a piece of white on the inside of the card.  But only one time (1 time) in an estimated 412 (super-random) will I use pattern paper for the inside!  

So I cut another piece of that dot paper . . . I folded, I made some cuts and scored, and suddenly I had a neat little pop up!  I split a sticker in half, and wallah!  A pop-up message!  "At Christmas, All Roads Lead Home!   

 

Instructions?  Indeed! 

1) Make your regular card base mine was a piece of pattern paper (pattern paper!) measuring 4 1/4" x 11", fold in half to make your card.  
2) Cut another piece for the "pop factor" that measures slightly smaller upward to 1/2 inch smaller around (you can do 4 1/8 x 10 3/4" . . . or 4 x 10 1/2 . . . or 3 3/4" x 10".  Trust me, it all works.  Fold this piece in half equally. 
3) Take this "pop factor" piece and follow my cutting/scoring instructions below.

4) Adhere the "pop factor" piece into the card base.  IMPORTANT:  Glue the center first, and then hold the card slightly close when you glue the ends.  If you glue everything flat, the card is stiff and doesn't open quite right. 
5) Cut a piece of paper (pattern or cardstock) into a strip to put your popping piece onto the card.  See more instructions in the photo below. 

 Instructions confusing . . . give a shout! 

Wonder & Wishes x 4 = Perpetual Craftiness

I made a card today that reminds me of the energizer bunny.  The card is perpetual . . . it keeps going and going and going.  I still marvel over it every time I make one.  It's like it is being turned inside out!  But it's paper!  They're like magic.  You always end up back at the beginning again. 

My very first version was a 9" x 9" version made for a Girl Scout skill aid.  It wasn't very decorative, and it was done to reinforce camping skills with tasks representing steps of a skill on each fold.  I recently saw them as 6 x 6" cards and caught the fever to make them again.  Today was my first Christmas version, and let me tell you . . . the pictures and the video do not do the card justice.  It is really, really cute!  REALLY!

I used pattern paper and stickers from Little Yellow Bicycle's Wonder & Wishes line.  It is beautiful stuff, with so many choices for backgrounds.  I was ready to go Christmas crazy!  Keep in mind there are four sides to this card.  There has to be a little planning in place because you have four separate canvases to work with, a few areas that carry over to another part of the card.  And some of them have to be split in half to complete the folds.  Confused?  Don't be.  Once you've done one or two they are a breeze!

I've included instructions further below.  So here are my four canvases . . .

Two pattern papers.  I popped the smallest gift box.  I added some of the pom poms to the elf shoes and hat.

Two different pattern papers, ornament stickers, and twine.

The brown dot paper carried through . . . added angel and tree to center panel.

Built the gift from pattern paper, border and other stickers.  Notice how I pieced it around the folds.  

 And on to the video!  The quality is not great, so apologies in advance, but you'll get the idea of how the card works in action . . . 

 

I hope you'll try it!  I did include some instructions below.  So many possibilities!  Have fun!  

Oh - and keep in mind that they are great learning aids for kids!  Worked like a charm for those "Girl Scout Kapers."  

How'd I do it . . . 

Start with four pieces of cardstock measuring 3 x 6" (just a 1/2 sheet of cardstock). I scored 1 1/2" in on each end (on the dotted lines below).  If you change up the size, just be sure that you score a quarter of the way in on each side.  Be sure to crease the folds before you put your adhesive on.  You will want to use a really strong adhesive (I used tacky tape) in the areas marked "glue" below.  Once you've glued the horizontals to the verticals, just work through the motions of the folding, trimming any areas where "it gets stuck."  Once everything is moving the way you want it to . . . decorate! 

Light Bulb Moment

I have had this idea in my head for quite some time.  It is not a complete idea.  It is as if there is a short in my bright idea light bulb.  This idea comes, and then it goes.  But it always returns.   

Sometimes the idea arrives as a package deal with a smattering of creativity.  I think it out for a while, and then I dismiss it.  Other times it appears to be more of a therapeutic idea, with no creativity involved.  And then I forget about it for a while.  But it always returns, and usually comes back with new ideas for how I might accomplish this idea of mine. 

It has been dismissed several times by the notion that it has likely already been done by someone else.  Have I checked into it?  Well, no I have not.  Why?  Because if I found out it had been done already in some fashion, then I know that I absolutely would not even attempt it.  I don't want to see any other versions of this very simplistic idea.  I just want to move forward with mine.   

Is it something huge?  No it is not.  It is small and it is easy. 

It was several days ago when I sat down to write about this idea, and how I might set about in making it a reality.  But to write about it (to blog about it) would nearly be a commitment to the idea.  So it was dismissed yet again.  Yet hear I sit on Thanksgiving night, and I am writing in my blog about this idea. 

I spent the day with some treasured people . . . my family and friends.  And believe it or not there was this light bulb in a kitchen ceiling at my sister-in-laws house, and it was not consistently lighting.  It was on and it was off.  I silently watched the dilemma of my husband trying to fix it, and I thought about my silly little on again, off again idea.  My sister-in-law explained that when this light is not working at night, the kitchen gets pretty dark. 

Hmmm . . . does this mean that if I don't attempt to follow through with this idea, I'll be in the dark?  Perhaps it was a sign.  I do believe in signs. 


So maybe . . . just maybe . . . there is a commitment here to something.  Maybe . . . just maybe . . . there is a "Coming Soon" sign to be put out.  And maybe . . . just maybe . . . I will encourage others to join me on the journey. 

Maybe. 

I Gypsied Up a Calendar Class

I ponder whether those of us who are crafty make up our own words.  My new word is "gypsied."  As in . . . "I gypsied my 2012 calendar."  I also went down the hall and did some "gypsying."

Of course I'm talking about my Gypsy which was used on my Cricut.  For the last four years or so I have signed on to teach a calendar class at my LSS, New England Scrapbook Co. in Canton, Connecticut.  This year, I gypsied up a calendar.  This class is always well attended, but the amount of prep time is insane because I do a lot of die cuts and stamping.  Cutting and stamping for all the kits is a lengthy endeavor that takes many long days and nights.  And there were some mishaps that added to my stress . . . including Winter Storm Alfred (the big loser storm) who left me powerless for a week and stopped the cutting, stamping, and kitting production.

The Gypsy is a newer tool in my arsenal that I have just begun to use.  I have had my Cricut for nearly two years, and I can honestly say that it got very little use.  In the last four months since owning the Gypsy, I have used my Cricut more than the entire two years of owning it.  I have taken my Cricut use to a whole new level.  Not only was each month cut by "welding" letters, as shown in the June design below, but I was able to design the calendar "on-the-go" and then plug in at home when I was ready to choose paper and cut my designs.  The most intricate month for design was June.  I designed in layers, cutting a cream layer as a base for my clothesline, a black layer for pants and socks, floral layer for the dress, checked layer for the shirt, and then a striped layer for the bathing suit (or are those striped items "unmentionables"). 

I carried the same titles throughout, using the black script welded on the Gyps.  Also used throughout the calendar were the date stamp (from Close to My Heart), and the definition stamps for ten of the months (from Clear and Simple Stamps), and the black ribbon. 

I absolutely love those script letters!  Nice thing is that everything is saved on the Gypsy so I could use it to gypsy myself up another project. 

Hmmm . . . gypsy is my newest verb!


 

Take Advantage of Doppler Radar

October was National Breast Cancer Awareness, and I wanted to get this card posted before the month ran out.  Winter Storm Alfred had a completely different plan as we were without power for 146 hours (that is 6 days and 2 hours). 

Although in many ways cancer is much like our weather . . . you can't stop it from coming, it puts you in quite a state of panic, and as we have seen with the crazy weather this year, it definitely does kill!  The key to cancer is Doppler radar.  Early detection . . . mammograms, colonoscopies (which my spell check still does not pick up), screenings, etc. 

But I digress . . . 


While shopping in a South Carolina scrapbook store I came across this amazing rubber stamp.  I tried to walk away . . . I really did.  I even checked out without it.  But then I saw some amazing "Fight Like a Girl" pink, black and white paper with dots, scallops, and stripes on a stand nearby and it was like a fishing expedition.  Hook, line and sinker!

Hmmm . . . what do you do with a card like this?  My thought was to make a card that would hopefully work to inspire someone during their fight, or let them know that folks are thinking about them. 

So I created this little shaker card . . . using the adorable stamp and the fabulous paper to make the bra.  I stamped on white, then stamped on the pattern paper and cut out the pattern paper, adhering to the white.  I colored using my copics, added some confetti to the shaker and I really love the result. 

So after making this, it was scoffed up by a friend of mine.  She added an inspirational personal note inside, and is making it's way to a friend of hers who just finished several month's of treatment. 

Mission accomplished!

So . . . folks . . . take advantage of the Doppler Radar!  

146 Hours of Education and the Story of a Tree

I had 146 hours of education over the last couple of days.  It was education without power.  It was scary.  It was interesting.  It was trying.  It was stressful.  It was also calm.

Winter Storm Alfred dumped some heavy wet snow here in New England.  It began last Saturday, October 29th, and while the weather forecasters were predicting power outages, I don't think we really thought it would be this bad.

The problems . . . HEAVY WET SNOW + TREES WITH LEAVES = DAMAGE

We were not finished with Fall here in New England.  And it was not a light fluffy snow.  It was big flakes of wet snow.  The kind that look absolutely magical from your window . . . like Christmas.  The kind that usually last for a few minutes before turning to the little teenie flakes that look so pretty when they land on your mitten and you examine their shape.  No, these were the ones that land on you and stick so that you are completely soaked when you get inside.

So the leaves were covered with this heavy stuff, and the branches were weighed down.  By the time I arrived home from work on Saturday, we had no power.  As I exited my car, I could just hear cracking noises in the wooded areas.  It was eerie.  Cracking, and then snow falling from limbs.  Cracking, and then limbs falling.  Limbs taking out other limbs.

I got into the house while still light . . . no power . . . and as daylight turned to darkness it became an entire night of listening to noises outside.  As we tried to sleep in the night and would hear loud noises.  We would go to the windows and look with our flashlights.  One such flashlight adventure at around 4:00 a.m. showed a really sad sight.  One of our back yard trees, which surprisingly had no leaves left on it, had completely split about 10 feet up from the ground.  Half had fallen in one direction, skimming the side of the house and just missing our fence.  The other half fell in the other direction.

Flashback to about 1994 when our kids, who were early elementary school (perhaps around 1st and 3rd grade) found what they thought was a weed growing in the middle of the front yard.  Mama tree is our very favorite tree out front, and she had sprouted a baby tree.  We told them it was a baby tree, and that we would have to pull it out because it was not growing in a good place and would likely die. So my girls dug up that little one-foot baby tree and moved it to the back yard.  They put it in our fenced in half of the yard.  They thought our dogs Angel and Ashley would enjoy sitting under the tree in the summer. 

We kind of laughed.  We never thought that little thing would survive, and my husband said he would wait a few weeks and remove it.  But we mowed the grass around it for years.  We dealt with how stupid it looked in the middle of the fenced in yard until it became a real tree.  Flash forward to the summer of 2011 and it is the tall tree in the backyard that our dogs Lola and Charlie enjoy sitting under in the summer.  (Lola and Charlie are the two "paws" that have not yet been introduced on my blog).

Our tree will be gone later today or tomorrow.  Our newly purchased chain saw will be taking her down completely.  So sad!

So . . . what have I learned in 146 hours:

1) Trees break!  It's a sad, scary noise that they make.  It is a little heartbreaking too . . . even for the ones that don't have sentimental value.

2) If you have to drive 70 miles to fill your tank with gas, you will be down about a quarter tank when you get back home.  

3) Friends and neighbors help each other in situations like these.  People's true colors really come through loud and clear in these situations.   

4) You can make things on a grill that look horrible, but taste pretty good in dim light.  And you can eat really burned stuff without getting sick, even if the aftertaste doesn't go away for a few hours.  

5) Your situation may be bad, but it could always be worse.  A friend of mine had power come back on in her home, and a fire started, gutting their in-law apartment and causing damage to the main house.  It sent her husband to the hospital and scattered her pets so they were hard to find.  They are in a hotel and will eventually have a happy ending.  It will just take longer. 

6) Dogs and cats are nice to have around when you don't have power.  They are also warm.

7) My husband was a great guy on Days 1 through 3 when he was not working due to the power outage at work, but once he went back to work, we discovered that we are on opposite ends of the communication spectrum.  Emotions were a little high these last few days.  I will now blame work for all of our communication problems.  However . . . HOWEVER . . . the chainsaw that I immediately purchased via my work computer on Monday morning (because I figured by the time we found an open store with power, every chain saw would be gone) which he thought was a bad idea . . . admittedly became a good one by Friday when he went to buy supplies to get it running.  Five points for me in the Game of Matrimony! 

8)   Hand puppet shapes on the wall can be fun.  However, they don't hold my attention and the flashlight kind of scares my dog, Samantha.

9) You can, indeed, wear certain articles of clothing for multiple days . . . the ones that people don't notice. 

10) AM talk radio isn't too bad when it is the only show in town and it is your lifeline to what's going on! 

I could go on and on for hours.  Going to bed early and getting up early isn't so bad.  I can miss my television shows and not die.  Feet do eventually warm up with the right amount of blankets and dogs strategically placed on the bed.  Blah, blah, blah!

Creatively . . . I was useless.  There was not one iota of creativity in me.  My energy went to working 11-12 hour days and surviving the elements at home. 

It was 146 hours of education.  It was 146 hours of reality check.  And as I type this, I notice that my house has a certain hum to it when there is power.  It is a hum that kinds of says "Home!"

Something About Lucy

You've met Samantha.

You've met Jennyanydots.

You've met Buzz. 

It is time to meet another of my 4-legged roomates . . . Lucy.  There is something about Lucy! 


Lucy was named after Lucille Ball . . . my daughter was (and still is) a huge fan back in 2003 when Lucy came to stay.  She was just 3 weeks old after being rescued from an underground pipe.  She was rescued with two siblings before her feral mama relocated the rest of the litter.  She was one sick little kitten, loaded with parasites, had a horrible respiratory infection and an even worse eye infection.  Had she not been rescued, she likely would have not lasted much longer. 

Little Baby Lucy . . . just 4 weeks old.

Since coming here to live with us in 2003, let's just say it has been interesting.  She pulled the usual kitten shenanigans on our dogs . . . diving from high places, swatting butts from under furniture and doing karate moves on her hind end to their faces. 

Lucy (a little over a year old) trying to get new puppy Lola to play!

She peskily picked a fight with our older cat, Jennyanydots, just one too many times and had a tiny sliver of her lower eyelid sliced by an angry older kitty claw.  A visit to the vet determined it could not be repaired (without a micro-surgeon) and that her tear duct had been damaged.  The result is a cat who always seems to have an eye infection . . . but does not.  The amount of times visitors have said, "Oh, you should have that checked out by a vet." as we re-tell the story and watch them cringe when they hear of her lower eyelid mishap. 

Lucy grew up to be a friendly little girl who could hold her own with our dogs. 

 

But in the last few years things have changed a bit.  Poor little Lucy stopped cleaning herself and we noticed she had a growth on her tongue.  So she had some surgery to remove it, and things have not been the same since.  It took a long time for her to trust us, and she took to hanging out in the basement a great deal.  She also chooses to "selectively" clean herself.  She cleans her top half, but her bottom half has gone to hell!  We often refer to her as "dirty kitty."  She has nice white front paws, and really dingy gray back ones.  She smells like basement!  But we put up with "dirty kitty", and I often sing the "Smelly Cat" song to her (from "Friends").  She seems to enjoy that . . . but she does not enjoy the occasional bath forced upon her.

Check out my crazy blinky eye, my dingy not-so-white belly, and my fabulous posture when sitting. 

And there is not much we can do to improve her tongue issue!  She is literally missing a part of it after the surgery . . . proven by the day I attempted to snap a photo and caught this lovely shot. 

I think she was trying to send me a message. 

She's a dirty little thing, but she's our dirty little thing! 

Unity Autumn Harvest Challenge

Little time to talk . . . just wanted to post a card I made for the Unity Challenge.  It's a little busier than I would normally like . . . but I used a lot of stamps on this one from the September Unity Kit of the Month.  I used the leaves to make a background of leaves.  I also used the three stamps that made up the "postage" and then the "grateful" ribbon banner.  That is a lot of stamps on one little 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 canvas.  I just couldn't stop.

I also tried out a new gadget I got as a bit of a prize from a recent crop I attended . . . it is a ribbon sewer (I think that was the term).  It is what enabled that half moon border of ribbon that is sewn into the card at the bottom.  Quite interesting . . . still need to play around with this one.

And today I must get busy . . . working on a big project for an upcoming class . . . no time to spare!

Cheerio!

Pushing the Limit

I've always been super frustrated with the scrapbooking tools that I buy and then have little success with using.  It is not that the product does not work . . . it is more that I have to wrap my brain around it until something clicks with using it.  The Cricut has been one of those items.  An expensive little venture, so if you're not using it, then you've got a problem.  I am a hands-on person . . . love metal dies and cranking through Big Shots or Revolutions.  The idea of leaving my scrap table to figure out some computer gadget was an issue for me . . . and frustrating when sizes didn't match.  Loading and unloading different colors.  OY!

So seeing some videos and blog posts on the Gypsy had me intrigued.  The concept of designing anywhere, and then plugging in seemed to have some merit for me.  So I purchased the Gypsy a month or so ago, to go along with my Cricut.  I wondered if I was just digging a deeper hole for something that I clearly did not use enough.  I think I have used my Cricut more this last month than I have in the two years I've had it!  Seriously!

I designed a layout for my local scrapbook store . . . their October Kit of the Month . . . a little layout that I called Boo . . . produced the original and then 15 kits.  

Then I "welded" some letters for an upcoming class that I am teaching at the store - a 2012 Calendar. 

Still feeling like I needed to dive deeper into the pool, I decided to give the My Creative Time Throwback Thursday Challenge a try.  The challenge was to use an older cartridge with a card feature on it, and to use a Halloween theme.  I used Wild Card, and with my gypsy, I put a cut-out with a web.  I actually had to measure on the little grid (on the gypsy) to change the sizing on my card to the standard 4 1/4 x 5 1/2".  Then I had to make sure the pieces fit right.  

And then . . . new breakthrough . . . I realized I could cut it all at once by putting the different colors of paper in the right areas of the grid on my mat.  I loaded black, white, and pattern paper on my mat in all the right places according to the grid.

I hit the cut button . . . and done in one push of the button.  CRAZY! 

So here is my challenge card . . . Bazzill Cardstock, Pattern Paper from Basic Grey, Black Ink, stamping from the My Creative Time All Around Halloween set, and some leftover embellishments from my stash (bat, ghost clip and stars). 

I inked the web over the tombstone to get the web effect on the edge.  Cool!  And the little spider on the scallop circle up top . . . he carried through to my inside corner as well . . .

 Always nice to learn some new things with the tools you have - a worthwhile challenge indeed!

Carol Burnett Theme Song

Anyone doing something they truly enjoy realizes that the time you spend doing it, no matter how long, goes by far too quickly.  Weekends . . . days off from work . . . vacations . . . time spent with loved ones . . . weddings (all that planning, and the celebration is over so quickly).

My weekend was a perfect example.  I was attending a mardi gras themed scrapbooking crop in Litchfield Beach, South Carolina.  All of the planning and preparation to get the car packed, a 15 hour drive, and the weekend begins.  I was so looking forward to a weekend with my friends, Julie and Linda, and in a blink of an eye it is over.

There were some raffles, a "scrappy bear game", a mardi gras mask decorating contest, a secret pal activity that ran throughout the weekend (where you secretly left gifts and supplies for your secret pal).  Prior to the event, I was contacted by my friend Linda's secret pal via e-mail.  I dutifully answered the e-mail answering all of the questions so her pal could do some shopping.  There were about 30 croppers at this event . . . 29 women and John.  John had introduced himself to all of us via a message prior to the crop.  When I arrived at the crop, my husband helped me bring my things into the cropping space, and John came over to say hello to us.  When he heard we were from Connecticut, he became very excited and mentioned he had been e-mailing me.  I realized that this was Linda's secret pal.  John suddenly looked over my shoulder to where my husband was standing and said, "It's strictly scrapbooking."  We all got a chuckle out of it.  Throughout the weekend, Linda had absolutely no idea that John was her secret pal.  It was an awesome reveal on the last day. 

My first gift from my pal was an awesome stuffed snoopy (holding a mug of root beer) and a six pack of root beer.  I was in heaven!

I had vowed now to do the mardi gras mask contest, because I felt so far behind in my scrapbooking.  But my Twinkling H2O's were calling me.  We were provided with a plain white mask from Oriental Trade which we could decorate anyway we wanted.  I went with traditional mardi gras colors and painted sections.  I then took some seam binding and ribbon in "the wrong colors" and colored them with those same H2O colors and stapled them around the rim . . . added some dew drops and jewels and I was done.  My creation took the prize!

We had a Close To My Heart rep who set up a corner of the room with all kinds of great items.  The crop was not run by her, but she was absolutely AMAZING.  She made the weekend so special providing designer paper, cards and envelopes for us to make cards for the military.  She also surprised us all with some little gifts throughout the weekend, including a fabulous two-page layout.  I even took two classes with her, one was an amazing card class using buttons.  So cute.  

We took a ride to a local scrapbook store, and I absolutely fell in love with the "Save the Hooters" stamp they had in the store.  I passed it by at least three times, talking myself out of the purchase.  I checked out.  I was done shopping and then suddenly I was making a last minute purchase to get the stamp.  They also had some great paper called Fight Like a Girl by Glimpses.  I used one of them to create the shoe design below.  Way too cute.  I also bought some confetti in black, pink and white to make the shaker in the card.

 But the real prize for me was time spent with friends and meeting some new friends.  We had some laughs over the weekend.  There were some phrases that will be repeated!  But the fact that it is over so quickly is reminds me of the theme song from the Carol Burnett show . . .

      I'm so glad we had this time together,
      Just to have a laugh or sing a song,
      Seems we get just get started and before you know it,
      Comes the time we have to say, "So long!"

Goodnight everybody!

Happy Fall - Unity Stamp Monthly Challenge

Unity's Monthly Challenge (as opposed to the Sketch challenge) was to create anything using leaves.  I went to my Harvest of Memories stamp set and used the four leaf stamps and the "happy fall" stamp to make the design below.  Hardest part was keeping those darn stems attached to the leaves as I was cutting them out.  Stamping on different pattern papers and cardstock was going to make the design really pop, so I used two fall pattern papers, a Bo Bunny dot paper, and then solid green and brown cardstock for the leaves, and I stamped in brown ink.  The sentiment was stamped onto the cream cardstock.  I then framed my sentiment with the leaves, popping some to give a little more contrast to the design. 

As much of a hassle as those stems were . . . I'm so happy I left them on! 

Happy Stamping! 

Unity Kit of the Month Sketch Challenge - September

I absolutely love to get detailed with stamping . . . not just to stamp, but to cut, color and embellish where I can.  Sometimes I love the end result, and sometimes . . . well, not so much. 

My September Kit of the Month had not arrived yet, so I decided to find some stamps from the August set to use on the sketch.

The sketch . . .

 The August kit had those cute little soda bottles that were just calling to me.  Where I grew up, we called it pop.  But here in New England, it is soda.  I started with the image on white, intending to maybe use a circle punch to get the circle design in the sketch.  But suddenly, I was off on a tangent with scissors and markers to make something more.  And I absolutely LOVE the end result (which you can't see in the first photo, but you can totally see in the second one below).  

 I used some crystal lacquer to get the bottle effect below, but I also made bottle labels for the cola and the grape soda.  These little bottles are so stinking cute!

Here's to successful creativity!

What's Shakin'

So what's shakin'?  Not much crafty stuff going on.  Life is a little busy.  The Monday to Friday job in the insurance world has me hopping . . . the weekend job at my local home away from home (New England Scrapbook Co.) keeps me busy.  The combination of the two makes me too tired to be creative (sometimes).  But . . . I better get my craftiness going because I'm less than two weeks from my vacation . . . a weekend crop in Myrtle Beach with friends followed by a few days of R & R with my husband.  That's pretty much all that is shakin', but I suppose that's a lot.  

When I saw this little stamp set from Unity, I just had to get it.  I kept thinking . . . what the heck will I do with a salt and pepper shaker.  But they are so darn cute, it is the perfect little card.  I used a card from the Doodlebug Card Tower along with pattern paper from Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer (beautiful collection of paper and stickers which was available at NESC).  The red and cream checked makes me think of a picnic tablecloth, and the reverse side is the floral print that I used as my "ribbon accent."  Paper as a ribbon accent . . . absolutely.  I cut a half-inch strip, broke the fibers down using my ruler (a bone folder would have worked better, but I couldn't find mine).  Run adhesive on the back side and just glue a little, fold a little, glue a little fold a little, etc.  Trim when you get to the end and ta da!  A paper ribbon accent! 

I stamped the salt and pepper shakers onto a very light cream cardstock, and then the lids on a shiny silver pattern paper that I had on hand.  I cut the shakers and lids out, glued the lids to the top of the shakers, and then popped them onto the card.  I used black and diamond stickles for the salt and pepper.  I then covered them with a coating of Glossy Accents to give that glass look to the shakers. 


Super easy and fun!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #99

My weekly expedition into color continues with The Play Date Challenge #99.

These colors are simply gorgeous.  Lilacs and lemonade!  That was the first thing that came to mind for me.  I thought I did a great job of matching up my colors until I looked at this photo.  Somehow things look a little blue.  Amazing what the right lighting can do for you!

I used a Magenta stamp with black Memento Ink, and then used my Twinkling H20's to add color to my stamped image. 

 

 If you've not tried the H20's . . . I highly recommend.  They are super fun to work with, and very "twinkly".  See the close up shot below. 

Until next week . . .

Happy Scrapping, Stamping, Papercrafting!

Never Ending Halloween Card

I am in love with this super cool never ending card idea and have so far made two designs, both Halloween.  It is just super cool and fun.  Check out the video of one that I made using Stampin' Up's Frightful Sight DS paper and some of their latest stamps.  I used three sets to design this card . . . Out on the Limb, Gift Givers and Wicked Cool.

I've got some thoughts in the works to do a few birthday designs as well!  Get ready.

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #98

I can't seem to tear myself away from The Play Date Cafe Challenge . . . and here I am again this week. 

Their inspirational photo this week . . .

And my design, which was inspired by a sketch I saw recently . . .

This is Stampin' Up paper, stamp, ink and brad.  I pulled in all the colors from the paper on the stamp design as well. 

Looking forward to next week's challenge!  Love The Play Date Cafe! 

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #97

Another Play Date Cafe Challenge! 

I love this weekly challenge, and I think it's about the beauty they bring to colors.  The photo that they post for inspiration is always so inviting.  This week's challenge was really awesome, because it included one of my favorite color combinations . . . black and white with a splash of red.  

So the idea behind the color splash was to create something in black and add just a splash of color . . . and they specifically said RED! 

So here is my design . . .

The cardstock, paper and flower were from my LSS, New England Scrapbook Company . . . and let me just say, the flowers are blooming at NESC this week, as they have a great collection of new flowers in the house!  AWESOME! 

I used my Stamping Up Top Note die (cut in half and trimmed on the sides) to create the illusion of a flap.  I also mixed two stamp sets . . . the birds and sentiment were from Close to My Heart.  The border at the bottom where my splash of red appears is from Unity Stamp.  My stamped images were embossed using white ink and an opague embossing powder.

Loving this challenge!  

Case Study Challenge #54

Have I been so darn busy in the last four months that I've not had time for the Case Study Challenge?  Indeed I have!

Imagine my surprise when I find out that this week's challenge is "no restrictions and no given inspiration."  It's signature style . . . to do what you love most and pull out your favorite supplies and make something that says YOU!! 

I'm a mish-mosh.  My style depends on the day.  People say that I'm "linear."  But I like die cuts and stamps and mixing them together.  I like paints, markers, stickles, and anything that gives dimension.  I like ribbon and ink . . . and things that unfortunately take time to dry!  And I also like to use up what I have. 

So for this card I used all those things I love!  I started with Bazzill cardstock base and some Bo Bunny Dot paper.  I used a Cottage Cutz die and a My Creative Time Stamp.  I embellished my die cuts and stamp with stickles, markers, and some crystal lacquer for the candy corn.  Add a little bit of ribbon . . . and some time to dry!

Lots of time to dry!

The Scrapping Cottage Challenge #4

Unable to sleep as I listen to the crazy wind outside . . . leftover remnants of Hurricane Irene.  So why not work on another challenge (while I still have electricity! 

I absolutely LOVE the Cottage Cutz Scalloped Doily.  What I especially love is the open space in the middle, as it's perfect for a stamped image, sentiment or both. 

I love navy and yellow together, so I decided to use some leftover scraps from a previous card for this sketch design.  I pulled in some navy cardstock for my card base, and cream cardstock for my doily and one border (as well as the inside of the card). 

My original design had all the holes poked from the doily, but I preferred the look with the pieces still intact, so I cut another doily.  It gives it a certain tone on tone elegance rather than having the bright yellow and dark blue showing through.  

I used the "Grow March 2011" stamp set from Pink by Design Stamps.  Love that it has outline and fill stamps! 

A simple, fun design. 

Mojo Monday 205 - Sketch Challenge

While I spent most of my weekend watching coverage of the hurricane, I did manage to get a little creativity to flow . . . enough to tackle the Mojo Monday challenge!

In typical fashion, I pulled some coordinating pattern paper and cardstock from my bin.  I used a scallop punch and snowflake punch for my borders . . . some twine, some ribbon, and button and a stamp from My Creative Time (love that stamp!).

Looking forward and hoping to have the time to jump into next week's challenge as well!