Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

At the last minute I decided to give it a whirl. The theme was Polka Dots. That's it - just polka dots. And here is what I created in the last 20 minutes. Simple, perhaps a bit crude, but fun none the less. Thanks for taking a peek!

Grateful!

The best way I know how to pull myself out of a slump is to do what I love to do. So I made a card! Big surprise there! I purposely used the First Fruits set by PTI because of the one simple word: GRATEFUL. And as I was making it, I thought about all the things I can be and SHOULD be grateful for. No, I'm not going to make a list of things of what I should be grateful for - that's not me - I know what they are and everyone who happens upon this blog has their own list for their own reasons. But I will share the card with you!

This is a small-ish size card - 4.25" square. And because I don't own any envelopes that size, I had to make one to fit using Lauren Meader's envelope formula. I am mathematically challenged, but even I can follow her formula. It works for ANY size card, so give it a try!

I'm not crazy about the green ribbon, but it adds a touch of color to the card and in real life is not so GREEN! The little charms are hung off of a cut out that I made with my Cricut using jump rings. A little secret for you from my jewelry making crafty phase - don't try to pull the jump rings apart by pulling it apart from the left and right. Just split them open by pushing one side forward (away from you) and one side towards you. Close the jump ring the reverse of the way you opened it. You will preserve the shape of the jump ring by doing this.

I first sponged around the outside of the cutout with SU! ink to give it a bit of dimension. Then I used eyelets to make sure my jump rings didn't tear through the paper. I stamped the leaves from the First Fruits set onto shrink plastic in several different shades of ink to give them a fall-type effect. You can see a close up here:

I love how they 'dangle' across the card front!! I also added two lines with my Scor-Pal. I know I'm not using my Scor-Pal as much as I could be, but I'm learning! I added the leaf in the back because I thought card front needed to be brightened a bit more.

And finally the envelope and of course, I had to make a sticker to make sure the envelope was sealed!

Thanks for stopping in! Until next time, I hope you create!

My Son.

My one and only child ships out tomorrow morning for his second tour over in Iraq. I've know since before he finished his first tour that he would have to do a second tour and he has been warning me all month that this would be the month they go. This is not a shock or anything, but it's hard to send your child to go fight a war. The worry, the close calls he has had, missing him, etc. etc. is very hard on me and I hate it. I don't hate many things, because it takes a lot of energy to hate something. Energy better used towards something productive, so for me to hate something doesn't happen often. But war - yeah - I hate it.

He chose this life. He has always wanted to serve his country. From the time he was 8 years old, he told me he was going to be in the Army. He has been to places I will never, ever go to. He has seen things I will never see. He has seen things in his young life that NO person should have to see. He is my son, and I support him unconditionally, regardless of my worries and fears.

I carry a piece of shrapnel in my purse that he sent home to me when he was on his first tour. I carry it to remind me that people are doing things and living through things much more difficult than what I'm doing and hopefully, they are making a difference. When my son sent that piece of shrapnel home, the note that came with it said something along the lines of, "Don't worry Mom, I'll duck quicker next time!". He has always been the optimist and doesn't sweat the small stuff.

So, as my son heads off for tour number two, there will be a count up clock like I had on my last blog. It will count up until I hear from my son. When I hear from him, the clock will be reset.

Things are better over in Iraq. A lot of change has happened and I'm hopeful that this tour that he embarks on is better. Better as far as war goes anyways. Thanks for listening!

Don't be 'Dragon' Me Down on My Birthday!

No - it's not MY birthday, but I made a birthday card for a friend's Mom. The Front and Back stamps from Art Impressions can be a bit tricky. But with a little imagination, you can make them do what you want. This dragon is supposed to be looking out of the right side of a card. I love the dragon, he is a friendly looking dragon, which is great for a birthday card. However, I'm left handed and we ALL KNOW that left-handers are the ONLY ones in their right minds!! (Just a quick factoid for you ---only 7 to 10 percent of the population is left-handed!) Alas, the dragon is right handed. What's a left-handed stamper to do?

The words were computer generated with my own thoughts on how to make this right-handed dragon work on a left-handed card! So I flipped him around to show his dragon wings and big belly show on the front side so he appears to be looking into the card. Isn't he a cutie looking in on the 'party' going on inside the card?

And of course, using CE, I made his eyes glass over in awe at the inside!

I also used PTI Kraft card stock as the main base of my whole card and Prisma Colored Pencils/Gamsol technique to color in my dragon. The inside also includes SU! papers and Favorite Teddy Bear stamp to do the confetti look on the inside. And to give the inside of the card a party look I used Ranger Stickles. You can get a closer view below.

Thanks for stopping it - I'm glad you came! Until next time!!

The Lack of a Blog Roll.....

I've been asked why don't I have a blog roll. Answered simply enough by the fact that I don't want to absorb other crafters 'looks'. I want to be ME and be inspired by the things around me.

I used to have a blog roll on my old blog, but I found myself checking them daily, sometimes multiple times a day. And after several months of doing this, I found myself absorbing THEIR creativity and not coming up with my own thing and just letting the mojo happen.

I don't have any saved in my favorites file or bookmarked specifically because of this. There are a few regulars that I visit, but I actually have to type in the web address to get to them. Therefore, making it more meaningful when I do visit. Below are a few that I find inspiring.

Waltzingmouse Makes: She is a sweetie that I 'met' on a forum that I frequent. Amazing creations!

Jak: Truly an artist!

Michelle Wooderson: She has the 'shabby chic' ~meet~ 'you-clean-up-good' look (at least that's what I call it!) that I love and can NEVER duplicate.

Lauren Meader: I call her the Packaging Guru. This woman lives in a VERY busy home, (compaired to mine!) and keeps it all in check. And all the while she is crafting and coming up with amazing things!

Kurtis Amundson: YES - he is of the male persuasion and he is a card maker! Very simple, yet elegant designs. Not a lot of flourish or bling, but he doesn't need it to make it happen!

So those are my top five that I frequent at least once a week. Who is in YOUR top five? I'd love to hear from you!

Birthday Card!!!

A friend at work asked me to make her a birthday card for a friend of hers. Whenever someone asks me to make them a card I try to give them three to choose from in my stash. Unfortunately, she asked for something funny. I don't have very many funny stamps, so I have to make three from scratch. I have this woman from Rubbernecker and she makes me laugh every time I color her in!

You can see in the picture below there is a lot of texture on this card. First by the layers of K&Co. patterned paper, second by the edges I inked, and thirdly I distressed the edges of the brown layer. I also added some brads, adhereing them using my little trick. And to top it off, I added a piece of old lace I found in my stash of ribbons.


Her eyeglasses, once again, have Crystal Effects on them. I can't help it! Any time there is some shine needed, I add the stuff. Love it! I used my Zig Painty pen to give her eyeglasses chain a silver look. Although in the picture it looks like they are glowing, but it's just the metallic silver of the pen.

Until next time!

Glad you visited!

Variations on a Theme - Part 2

If you saw yesterday's post, you noticed two similar cards with similar attributes, but different looks. Today's card has the same basic look, but with different colors, it gives the card a whole different feel.

The bird, (from Unity again) only has two colors in it to bring out the colors in the papers and the ribbon. It's a bit more mature, and after all, J is mature! She is one of my best friends and she always is looking at things from different perspectives. If I see a centipede, I say, "YUCK!". If she sees a centipede, she will tell you how useful they are in the bug world. She isn't a know-it-all or anything, that's just how she is.

Just like yesterday's card, I colored the bird in with my Prisma pencils and cut it out with my Nestabilities. With only two colors being used, the card looks a little more monochromatic rather than colorful. And with the colors being in the papers and ribbon, the bird appears to be more of an accent, although it is still a focal point.

Again, I used Ranger Stickles on a few points on the bird - because you can never have too much sparkle. Well, you can have too much sparkle. If the card was all Stickles, that would be too much sparkle. And it would be gaudy and appear that a small child had gotten into your supply of Stickles and went crazy on your card when you weren't looking. So I take that back - yes, you CAN have too much sparkle!

And finally, I used the same format as yesterday's card and decorated the inside. These two cards were very easy to make and have a simple layout, but look completely different from each other. It took me about 10 minutes per card which I really like when I have to do more than one.

That's it for today! Thanks for stopping by!

Variations on a Theme - Part 1

Today I needed to make a birthday card and a belated birthday card. Unfortunately, I forgot my new DIL's birthday! BLAH! (Happy Birthday C!). I'm horrible with birthdays, and being the 'newbie' in the family and living thousands of miles away from me, and my DIL for only 3 months, she took the full force of my forgetfulness! So for today's Variation on a Theme post, I will show you her card. See Variations of a Theme - Part 2 for the on-time birthday card.

I am in love with Unity Stamp Co. stamps. I have loved them from the first time I saw them and I have become even more enamored of them as time goes on. This Hey Chick set is fast becoming one of my go-to stamp sets. The little birds are so cute and the "Hey Chick!" sentiment defines me to a T.

So for C, I decided to make a simple card with a little bit of sparkle. I used Stazon black ink to stamp the chick onto watercolor paper. Even though I wasn't going to be using watercolors, I wanted to use my Prisma colored pencils, mineral spirits and blending stumps to color her in and watercolor paper adds a bit of texture. Also, the water color paper holds up to the blending needed to achieve that look.


Can you see the little bit of sparkle on the chick? I love the way Ranger Stickles create the sparkle. If you haven't tried Stickles to add some sparkle, you should! They are a type of glitter glue that, once they are dried, add a ton of sparkle to your project! They come in a wide variety of colors too!

When I am making a card for someone, I decorate the inside of the card as well. After all, a piece of paper slapped onto the inside kind of deflates the card when you open it up and are let down by the lack of decoration on the inside. I wanted to carry on the theme and came up with this simple decoration.


See tomorrows post for more Variations on a Theme - Part 2 for more details on a similar card. Thanks for stopping by!

A little batty!

I made this for my youngest nephew who is 5. The sentiment fits him perfectly. He is a very smart young boy and he is always teasing his Auntie!

I used a bat image from SU! to stamp randomly on the cardstock with Versamark and then heat embossed the bats with clear embossing powder to give it some dimension. I also used CE on the eyes again. I know he will love that! After coloring with Copics my bat and hat from Unity Stamp Co., I adhered the bat to some more of that black sparkle paper and some SU! orange. I cut the hat out at attached it with dimensionals. The buckle on the hat is colored in with a gold Zig Painty pen.

That's all for today. I've got to go make a belated birthday card, an on-time birthday card and a RAK yet today. Whew! That's a lot of stamping!!! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Witchy!

I don't have a ton of Halloween stamps, but I did pick a few up from Unity Stamp Co. last week, this little lady being one of them. And though she may be green and have a wart on her nose, she is adorable!

I colored her in with my meager supply of Copic markers and attempted to do a little shading with them. I understand the concept of light and shading, it's getting it down on paper that I have to practice at! Did you notice the sparkle spider? The paper is already sparkle-y because the glitter is in the paper! And her baby blue eyes have my favorite trick of using Crystal Effects on them.

The papers are by SU!, PTI and K&Co. and for a finishing touch I used a Martha border punch and added some Robin's Nest Dew Drops. They are just tiny little pieces of glass which I attached with glue dots.

Thanks for stopping by. I hoped you liked today's card. I'm looking for ideas for what to dress up as this Halloween, because we dress up at work. Last year I went as "Late to Work". I came to work wearing my lounging pants, top, bathrobe and slippers. My hair wasn't brushed and I had a note from my hubby stating why I was late.....because the dog ate the alarm clock! LOL! Everyone got a kick out of it and I got to be comfy at work! Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, what are you going to be this year? Have you dressed up in the past? What were you? I would really love to hear your costume ideas!

Lone Wolf

I was commissioned by a woman at work to make a birthday card for her Dad. I don't know her Dad, but I do know her. So after thinking about it, I asked what were her Dad's favorite colors and how did she feel about wolves? With those two pieces of information, I came up with this...

This set, aptly called 'Wolves' from SU! was retired in 2004, but it's my main-stay for masculine cards. I used PTI Kraft card stock for the base of the card and Vintage Cream for the main image and sentiment to be imprinted on with SU! Chocolate Chip ink. The bordering card stock for the frames of both the main image and sentiment are SU! Bliss Blue and Chocolate Chip. Notice how I distressed the border of the wolf image and inked it up in SU! Chocolate Chip ink after the fact. Inking after distressing really gives a lot of dimension to the paper.

I adhered the wolf image to a double layer of SU! Bliss Blue and Chocolate Chip card stock with dimensionals to give it even more dimension. Using my Cricut, I cut out a frame, shadow and insert to house the PTI Out on a Limb sentiment and accented it with MM brads.

The inside is decorated also as you can see here...

And did you happen to see the wolves' eyes? I colored them in with an SU! Bliss Blue marker and dropped a tiny bit of SU! Crystal Effects on them - even more dimension!

I know she will love the card - I hope her Dad does too! Thanks for stopping by!

Home Sweet Home

This is a fun set from PTI called Boards and Beams, and at the new stamp release last month (next one is coming up on the 15th!), they released Home for the Holidays, which is a set that you can use to 'decorate' your home for the holidays. I'm undecided if I want the additional set or not, so I decided to get the set out and play with it.

I colored my house, fence and trees with the few Copic markers I own and used the SU! Curly Label punch to hold the sentiment. I added some dimensionals and a bit of ribbon and I was done. The part that took the longest was coloring!

Thanks for stopping by!

I've been a little busy....

....over on SCS, but I'm done now! I hope to post my challenge cards this week. A few of them are LAME! But that's okay. I tried to make all my challenge cards out of Unity Stamps which forced me to be uber-creative (read: lame!). But they are only lame because I don't own a lot of them. If I had a lot more of them, then perhaps my cards wouldn't be lame because I would have the proper stamps to make the challenge cards the way I would like to. If you don't know about Unity, take a peek at their web site here. I'll post more soon. And NO, I didn't win anything from Mandy over at Limelight, but that's okay - it was FUN and that's what I like!!!

Whew! Only one more, not two!

That's good, because I don't know Mandy at all, but she sure makes you work for the blog candy! And I lOvE it! Because when you don't work for it, it's really not as fun, because anybody can leave a comment and be on their way. It's when they make you work for it that gets me going!

So, I made a mistake in my last post and said Mandy had two more to go, but it's only one more. And for WCMD What's in your bag? #7 she wants to know what shoes I'm wearing - if any. Well, I am wearing shoes, well, not actually shoes, slippers. You can see a glimpse of them on the post below with Fatness. But now you get to see the WHOLE thing! And brace yourselves, these are some amazing slippers! (scroll down....)

Ta-DAH!

I love them! They are warm and comfy and help me to relax. This is actually the second pair I've bought after the first pair and I parted ways. They ALWAYS have dog hair on them, because of Fatness. As much as I love the English Bulldog breed, they shed 24/7/365. I brush and brush and brush him and it never ends. He doesn't shed seasonally, which means I am always vacuuming and dusting and washing and brushing him. Well, I don't dust and vacuum him, but you know what I mean!

I call these my Bozo slippers. If you grew up in the Midwest, and are as old as I am, you know who Bozo is. If not, you can call them my Ronald McDonald slippers. They keep my feet warm, and since I just put on socks yesterday (the first time in 6 months!) because it was so cold, I've been rebelling by wearing slippers with no socks!

I hope you had fun today looking at all the goofy stuff in my house! Until next time!

That Mandy is getting tough....

On her blog, she now wants to know if I, or anyone I know, own the movie, 'The Devil Wears Prada'. Unfortunately, I don't own it, nor does anyone else I know. So for WCMD What's in your bag? #4, I'm going to have to pass. But I can quote you some lines from the movie. It's one of my favorites.

"...because after all, YOU can do anything riiiight?"

"Emily does it all the time." "She does? Oh right, she does!"

"Why are you still doing the twins homework?"

"You look nice." (evil glare!) "Well, she does!"

Great movie - if you've never seen it, you should rent it!


On to WCMD What's in your bag? #5

Candy! For me specifically, cHoCoLaTe!!! And this stuff is the best! And NO, I'm NOT giving it away to the ankle-bitters in the neighborhood! This is all mine! The kids will get their treats, every single one of them. Even the ones that pull up in mini-vans from other neighborhoods and come to my door with a pillowcase full of candy. Because after all, that's part of the fun!


And, now for WCMD What's in your bag? #6. Whew! What a doozie! She wants a picture of a sleeping family memeber! Well, the only one sleeping now is my dog. We will call him Fattness for internet purposes. He is a two year old English Bulldog and is 65 pounds of fun on four inch legs! And he is snoring-LOUDLY-as I type this. And you see that bit of red in the bottom left corner? That's my foot. Because if I'm in the room and he wants to sleep, he has to be touching me. He is the best dog I have ever owned (and I've owned many different breeds my whole life). He protects me and cares for me and loves me as much as I care, protect and love him!

I believe Mandy has two more to go for her WCMD extravaganza! I can't wait to see what she wants next!

World Card Making Day!

Today is World Card Making Day and there are a lot of activities all over the blog-o-sphere. You can read about WCMD here. Be sure to check out all the blogs listed - you can see some great art and perhaps enter to win some blog candy. You can play along with some of the challenges on SCS. I'm working on one of the challenges on the SCS forum and I'm playing along with Mandy from Limelight Papercrafts on her blog here.

Mandy wants to know a few things about what I have around my house. Well Mandy, let me tell you what I had for breakfast......for WCMD What's in your bag? #1:


And what I use as a mouse pad for WCMD What's in your bag? #2.....well, that's a hard one. We don't have a mouse pad. We have an optical mouse by Logitech, and we don't need a mouse pad, it just sits on the desk top.

And now here is the hard one. For WCMD What's in your bag? #3, she wants to know what I'm working on. That isn't finished. And I'm still creating it. And tweaking it. And it isn't very good yet. But here it is in all it's glory!

That's what I'm doing today. I'll be back later with the rest of Mandy's requests to see what's in my house. Now go back and check out all those links I posted up there. You are going to have some fun today!