Stamping Sara

Valentine, Valentine, here are some more Valentines

2012-01-23T02:53:00.000-06:00

I'm back with three more Valentines to share. I like Valentine's Day. It's a no pressure holiday for me. No crazy events to plan, no long list of gifts to get, no copious amounts of food to fix, just fun with the kids.

My first Valentine to share is all black and red on kraft. Kraft is like my new white. Seriously, I look at a color and think "how would that pair up with kraft?" I have used more kraft paper this year than white or black. I just love the stuff.

My second Valentine uses some more krafty eye candy. I used the black and red color combo again. I'm a little partial. Those were my school colors.

The last card I have is a little off the reservation for me but a lot of fun.

inside...

I'm not normally a cutesy card maker or one to use animal print but this card was just asking to be made. I'm sure it will go to a kid who will appreciate it.
Supplies:
Paper: Canvas Corp (black dots, black damask, red hearts, pink zebra, gold, silver)Papertrey Ink (black, pure poppy)
Dies: Accucut (hippo) Sizzix (Tim Holtz tiny tags and tabs, Hardware, Popup Heart)
Other: Fiskers (border punch) Marvy (heart punch)

Dead beat Blogger shares Deadbeat Designs Valentines

2012-01-22T14:53:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am a dead beat blogger. I am finally back to crafting and blogging some now that the trauma of the holidays is over. The weather is more spring-like than winter here in Austin and I find it much easier to feel refreshed.

I dug around my stamps and stash to come up with a few Valentines. Today I want to share the ones using Deadbeat Designs stamps. I love these stamps and I used my two favorites on these cards.

First up is my tree of love.

I used the Tree for All Reasons and the heart cluster. Of course I had to throw a little kraft paper, twine and some flower soft. I finished off with two little tags from Tim Holtz Tiny Tabs and Tags die.

The second card I have to share with you today uses my all time favorite hot air balloon. I adore this stamp. I bought it with the assumption it would sit nice and pretty in the box of other stamps I adore and never be kissed with ink. However I have used this little guy enough times that I think I'm going to go back and get the other hot air balloons from Felicia's Scrapbooks.

I finished this card off with the heart cluster again. I also used my color pencils to fill in the parts of the balloon that I didn't use patterned paper on. I feel like everyone is tooting the Copic horn right now but I still love my colored pencils. They are so much more forgiving than markers(not to mention cheaper)and for me, easier to blend.

Hopefully the crafty bug will hang around and I'll have some more goodies to share soon.

Supplies: Paper: Papertrey Ink (kraft, sweet blush) Unknown (dots)
Stamps: Deadbeat Designs (Tree for all reasons, Large Balloon, hearts)
Ink: Ranger (archival black, distress ink fired brick)
Tools: Sizzix (Tim Holtz Tiny tabs and tags)
Other: Flowersoft (mix by Felicia's stop in and get some!) Stickles (Christmas Red) Unknown (dark twine) Prismacolor (colored pencils)

Christmas Cookies?

2011-12-09T21:09:00.000-06:00

Some traditions are just meant to be upheld. I've been decorating and baking Christmas cookies since I could stand on a chair at the kitchen counter. I've rolled, cut, glazed and frosted many a cookie. I didn't really feel like upholding that tradition this year but it lives on in Simon and Lizzy. They couldn't wait to make cookies.

It's great that they are able to frost and take care of their own cookies now.

Of course I only let them decorate the ones they're going to eat, for obvious reasons...

Even Dad got into the decorating this year...

Advent Calendar Take 2

2011-12-08T20:58:00.000-06:00

I posted my advent calendar here. I filled it, showed the kids on the morning of December 1. Sent them to school with a promise of opening the first day after dinner. At 11am I received an email from Fletcher that Mocha had eaten my lovely advent calendar.

At first there was no way I was going to make it again but the kids were very excited so I sat down and made a new one. Sadly Mocha did not eat the ones I disliked the most. She ate mostly my favorites. She could have at least opened the tops but she just shredded them instead.

Here is the new calendar, moved to a higher location with no hearth to get a boost on.

And the kids with one of the days...

I think this might just be a new tradition at our house. I want to make new ones every year. I'm thinking these envelopes might be a great thing to use in my December Daily album.

Quick and Easy Gift Idea--Dare to Be Fabulous x 30

2011-12-07T20:58:00.000-06:00

This year for a quick present why not create a signature note card for someone? I whipped up 30 of these Dare to be Fabulous cards in a little over an hour. I used different colors and ribbons to create a variety of looks but still the same design. It was also a great way to use up bits and pieces of ribbon and paper.

Initially I started with this pomegranate and black combo. I felt like it has a more modern feel. I love how rich the Pomegranate looks when paired with the black.

Then I tried a dark chocolate with some vintage cream from Papertrey. I feel like this card has a more elegant appeal.

Lastly I tried out a blue with the brown. I think this has an almost western feel. I started to use twine on the card but I went with ribbon to help tie all the card sets together.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate, True Black, Vintage Cream, Stamper's Select White) Stampin' Up (Purely Pomegranate, Buckaroo Blue)
Ink: Chalkbox (chestnut roan) Stampin Up! (Purely Pomegranate, Buckaroo Blue)
Other: Ribbon (various suppliers from the vast reaches of my ribbon stash)

Advent Calendar

2011-12-01T06:34:00.000-06:00

I have always wanted to make the kids an advent calendar. We've had the junky ones with the bad candy before but never a good one. Last night I sat down with my 25 (26 if you count the mistake!) basic office envelopes (55 for $1), a bunch of Christmas stamps and embellishments, my vintage photo distress ink and applicator, 25 clothes pins, and a pile of candy and toys.

I started by sealing the envelopes and stamping. Think I applied a little vintage photo around the edges but of course that wasn't enough so I covered everything with vintage photo. It gave the envelopes a very aged and rustic look. Once I had the envelope embellished I cut about 1/8 inch off the top to create the pocket to hold goodies. The envelopes are clipped to a garland across the mantle with a clothes pin. No fires for a while as I don't want my candies to melt!

Over all I am very pleased with the turn out. There are a couple of days I was not as happy with once they were done but it was past my bed time so I put them at the beginning and I won't have to look at them for long!

A couple of my favorites...

I just love this new stamp from Deadbeat Designs. As soon as I saw it, I had to have it. I think I'll do my Christmas cards with it this year

Supplies:
Paper: Making Memories (numbers)
Stamps: Deadbeat Designs, Papertrey Ink, Inkadinkado, Studio G, Misc. Unknown
Other: Making Memories (poinsettas, frame embellishments) Ranger (stickles)Office envelopes, Clothes pins, Garland

Thirteen Days of Halloween Cancelled

2011-11-09T17:43:00.000-06:00

As you've probably figured out my plans for the 13 days of Halloween were changed.

I received a call Wednesday October 19 that my mother had fallen and they were not sure of the cause. Thursday the 20th at 4am I received another call that there was an inoperable clot in the mid section of her brainstem. I immediately flew to see her. She died six days later and was buried on November first.

For now I have just put the projects I had to share back and perhaps I will feel up to sharing them next Halloween. I will be back soon to share some new projects and cards for the upcoming holidays.

Thirteen Days of Halloween: Day 1 Lizzy's Card

2011-10-19T06:39:00.000-05:00

I am attempting to actually complete my 13 days of Halloween this year. I have a few things made and a few in the works. I had a great item to share for today but something better came along. While at the scrapbook store Lizzy created a card to sell. Unfortunately no one bought it that day. I am sharing it with you today for the first day of Halloween.

She's selling her card for $3.99 and it comes with an envelope and free shipping.

Scrapbook Thursday Kindergarten Rodeo

2011-10-13T00:34:00.000-05:00

I am in love with my kids' school. They really do a lot with their students. One fun day was the Kindergarten Rodeo. I made Lizzy a Texas shirt with Accucut dies and she wore a jean skirt. She brought home so many great things she made for the occasion. I tried to fit as many as I could on the layout.

My personal favorites that she brought home are the thumbprint bluebonnet and the wanted poster.

Deadbeat Designs Christmas Cards

2011-10-09T00:32:00.000-05:00

I have a couple more Texas/Western style Christmas cards to share this week. They are fairly simple but I like them.

I have to admit I did not come up with the idea of using a bluebonnet stamp for a wreath but I also don't remember where I saw it.

Hot Air Balloons

2011-10-07T00:28:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the hot air balloons? They are everywhere right now. I found this great balloon from Deadbeat Designs at Felicia's Scrapbooks. I liked it because the balloon itself is very plain and allows you to decorate it how you wish. I am getting into a Christmas state of mind so my balloons took a merry format this time.

I filled my balloons in with a combo of colored pencils and paper piecing. I just pulled some small scraps from my (overflowing) scrap bin and added them to the balloons. I used kraft paper again and embossed silver snowflakes and a Merry Christmas Greeting.

I finished the card with silver stickles and some sponged white ink for a hint of clouds. I like the idea of Santa delivering presents in a balloon instead of a sleigh.

Scrapbook Thursday Birthday Bowling

2011-10-06T00:31:00.000-05:00

I love to bowl. I think my love to bowl has rubbed off on my kids. We play Wii bowling all the time. I think my love for bowling comes from living in a small town with few options for entertainment. We made a choice last year to not have a big birthday party for Simon. He picked family bowling instead.

Texas Christmas

2011-10-05T00:26:00.000-05:00

It seems I have embossing on the brain lately. I have another fun embossed card to share. I plan to send this little guy to one of Fletcher's die-hard Texas relatives. They will appreciate it. Me, not so much.

Cracked Glass

2011-10-03T00:22:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting to try the cracked glass technique for sometime. It seems when I think of trying it I don't have the thick embossing powder and when I'm at the store I don't think of getting the embossing powder. Finally the stars have alligned for me and I was able to give this technique a whirl. I have to say I really like it. It was suprisingly easy and has that wow factor. I would make my own tutorial but so many have already made tutorials that are far better than any I could create for you. Just google it.

and up close...

By far this is not a perfect use of the technique but I think it was good for a first go around.

Scrapbook Thursday Go Texans!

2011-09-29T00:28:00.000-05:00

Remember when I said I'm not a chronological scrapbooker? I really meant it. I have a flash back to 2008 to share today. My husband is a huge Texans fan. When the team started it was all he could talk about--Houston had a team again! Of course he can't help but try and win our children over.

This is another fairly simple layout. Really I don't know what else to do but use the Texans embellishments. My husband really liked the page so that's all that matters.

Texas Tree for All Reasons

2011-09-27T00:17:00.001-05:00

I have another tree for all reasons card to share with you. Of course since it is a Texas card I felt the need to pull out my ever reliable kraft card stock to give it a rustic, western feel.

I used the small Texas and Bandanna stamp from Deadbeat Designs to finish off the card.

Maybe a Cupcake will Help?

2011-09-26T00:05:00.001-05:00

I have yet another Tree for All reasons card. This time I took a whimsical slant to the card and used the tiny cupcake stamp as leaves. I finished the card with some glitter pens.

Halloween Mini Album

2011-09-23T00:08:00.001-05:00

I have a fun Halloween mini album to share today. This album was all about fun and treats and not so much spooky Halloween. I adore all kinds of Halloween, cutesy, vintage, spooky--anyway it comes. It is a holiday, for me, that is all about having fun and being silly. It helps that my husband is such a Halloween fan--we all get into the fun.

The cover...

Inside the cover. I couldn't resist using such a great patterned paper for the inside. The haunted house is cut from glitter paper with the Tim Holtz Alteration Die Rickety House.

The small strips on the diagonal pockets are from the bottoms of the patterned paper. The other side of the strip had the bar code. I've noticed more companies doing this. It's a great little add-on.

All of the costumed little friends were made with the paper doll die and clothes. I altered and added to create each costume.

The final page of the album is sort of an explosion page. It folds out to add more pictures or journaling.

As you can see I didn't do a lot of embellishing. I wanted to leave room for pictures. I'm sure that as I get pictures in the album I'll start adding little pieces here and there. I made the binding nice and thick to allow for thicker pages.

Scrapbook Thursday Thanksgiving 2010

2011-09-22T00:22:00.002-05:00

I love autumn. Unfortunately I live in Texas. My chances to make fall themed layouts are pretty slim. Basically there's Thanksgiving. Even on Thanksgiving it's often in the 80's. I used some non-traditional papers for this Thanksgiving layout. I've been working on using up some of the papers I've been stashing. Seriously, I don't know why I think I shouldn't use something because it's "too pretty" for a layout.

We don't normally have a crowd for Thanksgiving. My birthday is often the day of or the day after and I like just the four of us. Last year Fletcher's grandma was able to come so we extended the invitation a little wider.

Spring Tree for All Reason

2011-09-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

I have another tree for all reasons card to share with you today. This time I took the card in a more spring style with pinks and greens. I also used the little dragonfly stamp from Deadbeat Designs.

I have been getting a lot of mileage out of my sponges and ink applicators by Ranger. I have been known to be a lazy stamper when it comes to inking the edges of my cards. I often just don't do it and when I do I'm lazy and use the stamp pad directly to edge method. The result is a much harder line and usually darker color. I love how soft and smooth a sponge or applicator makes the edge of the card. I feel the pink edges really softened and gave a more finished quality to this card.

It's beginning to feel like fall....

2011-09-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

Well, not actually. It's still in the upper 90's here in Central Texas but the calendar says it should start feeling like fall, Starbucks has released their fab fall beverages (pumpkin spice latte Yum!) and with the horrible drought the grass is brown and the leaves are falling off the trees. This is as close as I'll be getting to fall this year. Since my autumns in Texas are anything but the wonderful pumpkin patch scouring-apple picking-leaf pile jumping-scraf wearing days of my dreams, I chose to convey all the wonders of autumn in a card.

I am very much in love with the tree for all reasons stamp by Deadbeat Designs. The tree on it's own has so many possibilities but when you pair it with the additions that Mark has created (and a few found additions in my stamp stash) you can truely create a card for all reasons.

For the card I am sharing today I stamped the bare tree and then used the leaves stamp by Deadbeat Designs in four different colors to create my multi-colored leaves and the fallend leaves on the ground. To round out the warm golden feeling I used some metallic watercolors to fill in around the leaves.

Scrapbook Thursday Pool Party

2011-09-15T00:18:00.000-05:00

I'm back with another scrapbook layout to share. I did something in this layout that I never do. I split the layout over two pages. Normally I treat a 2-page layout like two pages that coordinate. You know, a shirt and pant. I have always been reluctant to split the title or a picture. I dived right in with this layout.

With the orientation and number of pictures, it just made sense to split the title the way I did.

Scrapbook Thursday First Day of School 2010 Edition

2011-09-08T00:13:00.001-05:00

I think if I was a chronological scrapbooker I'd be about a year behind. But I'm not. I scrapbook what I want, when I want which means I still have pages from when my babies were actually babies to do. Although it's a lot to keep up with what I've done and not done, it is fun to use new baby products that I wouldn't normally get to use. So today I have the First Day of School Pictures from 2010. I still need to do some journaling but I haven't decided what yet.

These layouts are pretty simple. The paper was fairly busy. Sometimes I like to just let the layout be about the pictures and the paper. I don't think every layout has to be uber embellished and something I spent hours making.

Baby Photo Frame

2011-09-06T06:28:00.001-05:00

I have a thing for designer photo frames. Before I stepped up my crafting I spent a lot of money on those embellished frames. Now I just don't see the need. It's easy to create a personalized frame. I made a frame for my friend who just had her little girl. She adores vintage things but is not a big pink fan. Of course you can't do a baby frame without some pink but I tried to focus more on other colors.

I didn't have pearls in a shade I liked so I pulled out a prisma marker and just shaded the pearls so they had an aged look. It also helped them stand out more.

Supplies:
Paper: Graphic 45 (Bride to Baby), Papertrey Ink (sweet blush, lemon tart, coasters)
Dies: Sizzix (Tim Holtz Tattered Florals) Papertrey Ink (Banner Builders)
Ink: ColorBox (Old Rose, Prussian Blue)Ranger (Distress Ink--Vintage Photo) Memento (Rich Cocoa)
Other: Papertrey Ink (dark chocolate baker's twine) Recollections (white pearls)

Birthday Banner

2011-09-02T06:59:00.000-05:00

Lizzy turned 6 this year and my brother turned 30. There birthdays are only three days apart. We had a small family party here at home and had a bigger extended-family party when we arrived in Missouri. The theme was Princess and the Frog. I wanted to make something extra special for the party. I finally settled on making a banner with the accucut die Felicia's Scrapbooks had just added to the classroom. Of course it up being much bigger than I planned. It took 2 rows on the wall and I had to stand on the otherside of the room to get it all in a picture.

I didn't have Princess and the Frog papers so I mixed in some various princess papers, frog papers and birthday papers. I decorated the banner with 6's, 30's, crowns, butterflys, rosettes and of course frogs. I love all the fun details on the banner. I think we're going to put up the name part in Lizzy's room for her. She doesn't have enough wall space to fit the rest.

Last but not least, the birthday girl and boy...

Why Kraft is the New White and Ice Cream ATC's

2011-08-16T11:32:00.001-05:00

I signed up for an Ice Cream ATC swap in a facebook group I joined. I knew exactly which stamp I wanted to use and that I wanted my ice cream to have some bling on it. I pulled out a piece of white paper and dusted it off to use. I was not in any way thrilled with the results. Truthfully I am having a small love affair (obsession) with kraft paper. I feel I can't make a project without using it. I pull it out for card fronts and insides, to make envelopes, tags, scrapbook pages--you name it I use it. I think it adds an instant soft feel to my projects. It also makes the shabby chic look easier to obtain.

Here is the first ATC I made on white...

And the revised Kraft edition...

I finised the ice cream cones with candy cane stickles on the cherries, cinnimon stickles for the "chips" and white liquid pearls (love this stuff!) for the "whipped cream".

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (kraft, white) Unknown in the scrap bin (flowers)
Stamps: Imaginece (ice cream cone) Stampin' Up (sweet from So Very)
Other: Stickles (candy cane, cinnamon) Liquid Pearls (white)

Fabric Album

2011-07-11T04:42:00.002-05:00

I have been enjoying the cooler weather in Missouri (at least until recently), family and good times. Of course I couldn't resist taking a fun class with my mom at Scrappin' Oasis in Warrensburg, MO.

The album has 6 chipboard pages. Each page has a strip of fabric on the bottom of it. We both chose papers from My Mind's Eye in their Stella and Rose line.

I made several of my pages with hidden pockets and pull out tags for additional pictures, journaling or memorablia.

Our class kit also came with 3 clasp envelopes. The sample used the envelopes on pages, which I did here...

I also used one envelope as it's own page that folds out...

This is my favorite page...

We spent four hours at the store putting our album together and another (at least) eight hours at home embellishing and finishing the album.

The album was a lot of fun to put together. I enjoyed using fabric as an edge to the album. My album has a very shabby feel to it. I don't often do much with that style so it was a good change of pace. The paper flowers added some nice touches to pages. The album as a very thick profile so it was finished off with twine instead of rings (but it just added to the shabby). I can't wait to pick out some family pictures to complete my album (and maybe a few more embellishments)!

ATC Class

2011-07-10T16:55:00.001-05:00

By request I have designed a set of ATC's to teach at Felicia's Scrapbooks. There are 12 ATC's that will fit nicely into one of the printer's trays by 7 Gypsies. The ATC's feature Tim Holtz products as well as several fun grunge/distress techniques and styles.

Make it Monday with Papertrey Ink

2011-06-24T21:32:00.000-05:00

For the first time ever I have managed to create a Make it Monday with Papertrey Ink card in the same week the technique was featured. The technique this week was reverse masking. I used a star die from papertrey to create the reverse mask for the card front. It's a nice, simple card. I think it will eventually land in Simon's hands.

Anniversary card

2011-06-08T20:36:00.001-05:00

I have made some very elaborate and thoughtful cards for my husband over the years. He has opened them, smiled and then never looked at them again. Today is our anniversary. I have been busy making banners and cards and cake balls for a party in Missouri. Not to mention I spent the day packing. At 3pm I decided to make my husband another (I assumed unappreciated) card for our anniversary. I was tired and took the lazy way out. I found a picture online, printed it and glued it to the front of the card.

Then I added the sentiment "I would travel through time and space with you forever..." to the inside. He had tears in his eyes after he opened the card and saw the pencil holder I whipped up. He has them tucked away to take to work and show his friends.

My husband is a Doctor Who fan but he is also a Star Wars and Star Trek fan and has not liked any of those cards in the way he liked this one. I will never understand the difference.

Quick Birthday Card

2011-06-07T13:08:00.001-05:00

I honestly couldn't think of a better birthday card for my Lizzy. She loves pink, she loves sparkle, she loves hearts and she loves Hello Kitty. This one is simple and straightforward.

Supplies:
Paper: Random scraps from the scrap drawer.
Diecuts: Sizzix (Hello Kitty) Papertrey Ink (cupcake)
Other: Tulle

Steam Punk Shadowbox

2011-06-01T20:30:00.001-05:00

I have another shadowbox to share with you. After all the cards I created with the Tim Holtz Alterations, I was in a bit of a Steam Punk/Industrial mood. I pulled another of the shadow boxes out of my stash and came up with this fun project.

Fairy Shadow Box

2011-05-21T17:33:00.001-05:00

I've been playing with this fairy shadow box for awhile. I am not really a fairy person but these papers were singing to me at the store and I just couldn't resist. I am very much in love with the idea of the 3-D scrapbook page in a shadow box. At this rate I will soon have to trade in the dog to make room for more shadow boxes in the house.

A Pear of Friends...

2011-05-14T08:54:00.001-05:00

My Little Shoe Box has a contest running for layouts and cards using their Farmer's Market line. You can read about the contest here if you are interested in it. At first I wasn't sure I had any pictures to go with the paper. No gardening or farm pictures. But the paper was too cute to pass up on so I picked a few sheets at Felicia's Scrapbooks and brought them home. I quickly found inspiration when I looked at some pictures of my daughter and (as she puts it) her BFF. This is the layout I ended up with.

Supplies:
Paper: My Little Shoe Box (Farmer's Market--Cherries Jubilee, Sweet Pea, Fresh from the Field, Tutti Fruiti) Bazzil (Candy Apple)
Tools: Spellbinders (scalloped circles)
Other: Twill Tape, Baker's Twine

AccuCut Craft Contest Entry

2011-05-01T09:12:00.001-05:00

I created this little birthday album for the AccuCut Grande Mark Challenge. Today is the deadline (I am of course right at the deadline!) to enter for a chance to win some fun prizes!

To create the multiple layers I placed my chipboard and paper over just the tiers I wanted to cut. The first page is just the bottom tier, the second page is the second tier and then the entire cake. I also cut another paper pattern for the "frosting" and then fancy cut it out and finished with stickles. If you're in the Austin area (or just passing through) Felicia's Scrapbooks has all the dies I used and the papers.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (dotted Swiss--Irish Eyes, light aqua) Jillibean Soup (Spotted Owl Soup--Silly Owls and Dancing Hats) Chippboard
Dies: Accucut (cake-tiered, banners #4)
Other: Unknown (yellow baker's twine) Ranger (yellow Stickles) May Arts (wired pom poms)

Last of the Tim Holtz Cards

2011-04-23T01:38:00.001-05:00

I saved my two favorite cards for last. First up is the caged bird. I really love how this card turned out. I used the time pieces embossing folder by Provo craft with some tinfoil. The cage is also cut from tin foil. I got the yummy tarnished look on the background by combining latte and ginger alcohol inks. The bird is shaded with silver. The really neat thing about the caged bird die is the wing comes separate so you can make your bird look like it's taking flight or have the wing hang out of the cage like I did.

My last card was a lot of fun. I used the winged heart again and the gears die. I also pulled out my texture fades by Tim Holtz (see told you, a collector). I accented everything with silver for this card. I've always been partial to red and black (my school colors growing up) and silver just seems to be the natural companion.

To get the silver wings I cut them from acetate and then smudged some silver additive from my alcohol ink collection all over them. The crown is finished with silver stickles.

The gears were embossed in the dotted Swiss folder (Provo craft) and covered in silver ink.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at my takes on the stash of Tim Holtz products I have. Hopefully I'll get them out more now. If you have your own stash (collection) I hope you'll pull yours out and let them get some use!

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil(Raven,Candy Apple) Reynolds(tin foil)Cheerios (chipboard)
Ink: Cats Eyes (silver)
Tools: Sizzix (Caged Bird, Gears, Winged Heart, Texture Fade) Provo Craft (time pieces, dotted Swiss)

More Cards with Tim Holtz Dies

2011-04-22T01:32:00.001-05:00

The first card I'm going to share with you uses the hardware die and the carnival ticket die. The Hardware die I know will get more use. I love, love, love skeleton keys and key holes. So does Lizzy. She has already asked me to make several keys for her with it. I do use the ticket die quite a bit. I think it will be even more popular soon as I see a lot of circus/carnival style products popping up.

I also finally made use of my coord'nations/Graphic 45 cardstock. This was so easy to use, I just rubbed it with my sanding tool and have tons of texture and dimension on the card.

The second card I have to share with you doesn't use any dies at all but does use a Tim Holtz stamp set that never sees much ink or love.

My last two cards are coming soon....

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (pure poppy) My Mind's Eye (red stripe from lush) Coord'nations (clocks)
Tools: Sizzix (carnival tickets, Alterations hardware)
Stamps: Ranger

Tim Holtz Dies

2011-04-21T09:30:00.003-05:00

I have a confession. I am a collector of the new Tim Holtz dies by Sizzix but I don't use them! I love how they look but then they just don't quite make it to the project. I set out to use the dies and came up with a few cards. The cards are a new style for me. I'm not sure what to call it, sort of industrial, sort of steam punk and a little vintage.

The Old Jalopie

It's hard to see in the picture but the Jalopie has windows too that are distressed. I used a piece of acetate and some smudges of stazon to finish the windows.

I had a lot of fun playing with the shading on this old car. It used a bronze cat's eye to give the impression of rust. It was fairly easy to put all the pieces together and I appreciate that it came with the detail pieces separate so I didn't have to try and cut them off. I'm glad I got the die, even if I only use it this once!

The Winged Heart

The winged heart is so easy to cut and put together. All the pieces are separate so you can have no wings or no crown. I will definitely be adding this die to more projects. I didn't have any shiny paper for the crown so I used some tinfoil on a piece of chipboard.

I have a few more cards like this to share with you over the next few days.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (Raven) Kaiser Kraft (map)
Tools: Sizzix (Old Jalopie, Winged Heart) Paper distresser
Other: Acetate, Stazon, Tulle

Very Happy Birthday

2011-04-19T06:43:00.001-05:00

I saw this technique on Papertrey Ink. It was their first Make it Monday. Of course I couldn't get my act together to make it until several weeks later! The idea was to use one sentiment in multiple styles to create a background.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (True Black, Hawaiian Shores, Basic White)
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Birthday Basics)
Other: Flower

Happy Birday

2011-04-10T21:16:00.001-05:00

Another Birthday card to share with you. I have fun playing with whimsical images like this little birthday bird.

Supplies:
Paper: Scenic Route (birthday paper) Papertrey Ink (pure poppy, vintage cream)
Stamps: Archiver's Exclusive (birthday)

Simple Things

2011-04-05T09:09:00.001-05:00

I am really in love with color combos that include black. I feel like it's a clean, simple but elegant look. For this card I paired yellow with black. I normally do not use yellow at all but this card makes me want to add it to my repertoire.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (True Black, Lemon Tart)
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Life) Sentiment unknown)

Pink and Black Birthday

2011-04-01T15:28:00.001-05:00

I have 3 new cards to share. They are all Pink and Black with some bling! I had a lot of fun playing with this color combo. It has always been one of my favorites.

First up I have what I call a fashionista birthday

Second card I have to share is another fashion themed card. The sentiment is blank but it could be used for anything.

The last card is in the theme of pink and black with some bling but features cupcakes.

All three cards are up in my etsy store.

Supplies:
Paper: Making Memories (Sabrina) Papertrey Ink (Black, White)
Dies: Papertrey Ink (dress form; cupcake) Sizzix (Happy Birthday)
Other: Tulle, ribbon

Western Tent Topper Cards

2011-03-14T05:00:00.001-05:00

I created a couple more cards to go with the Western Tri-Shutters. These are tent toppers. I again made one masculine and one feminine card.

Western Cards

2011-03-13T05:04:00.001-05:00

More Western goodies to share today. I love the look of the tri-shutter card. I think it's a neat, interactive card and fairly simple to put together. I used some Dead Beat design stamps and the Inkadinkado horses.

Kindergarten Rodeo

2011-03-12T05:00:00.001-06:00

Lizzy had a Kindergarten Rodeo yesterday. I had a hard time finding Western wear so we ended up making this t-shirt using Accucut and Sizzix dies.

More Vintage Valentine Goodies

2011-02-12T08:40:00.001-06:00

I have two more vintage Valentines to share. Both images were found online from free sites. The paper is by My Mind's Eye.

Forever Ticket to Love

2011-02-07T06:55:00.001-06:00

I have a fun vintage Valentine to share with you today. I found this cool digital image online. I wish I remembered where I found it but I can't. I have always had a thing for hot air balloons so this image really spoke to me. I just knew my new Just the Ticket stamp set from Papertrey Ink would finish this layout nicely.

Mamma Razzi Album

2011-01-22T09:21:00.001-06:00

I created this little mini-album using some Mamma Razzi papers by Bo Bunny. I used the positive and the negative parts of a Sizzix die. This could be made using just about any shape.

Supplies:
Paper: Bo Bunny (Mamma Razzi)
Tools: Sizzix (Album Brackets and Arrows, Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals)
Other: Tim Holtz (Film Strip ribbon) Chipboard

Getting my Mojo Back

2011-01-10T17:07:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but after the holidays my creative mojo takes a vacation. I have not been in the mood to create since I got home from Christmas. Well, at least until I went to the crop at Felicia's Scrapbooks this weekend. The crop was in her new location. The location is beautiful and has so much more room. My evening started off slow as I managed to leave with the house minus the papers I had chosen to scrapbook with.

This layout is from some older pictures. I do not scrapbook in chronological order. I scrap what I want to when I want to. I always end up with some hole in my albums so periodically I go back and fill in so the album is complete. It ends up being a lot of fun since I get to see old pictures and experience the memories all over again.

Supplies:
Paper: Creative Imagination (sea shells on the bottom) Bazzil (Kraft, Green, Blue)
Other: Webbed ribbon, Flowers, buttons.

Christmas Cardnials

2010-12-14T06:55:00.001-06:00

I am yet again rushing to complete all my Christmas crafts. I wanted to stop in and share a little music themed Christmas card I created for the weekly challenge at Inspire Swap Chat.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hobby Lobby (cardinal) Hero Arts (sheet music background stamp)
Paper: Papertrey Ink (avacado, cream, red, dark chocolate)
Tools: Oval Nestabilities, colored pencils
Embellishments: Making Memories (music poinsetta) Lace (bag from Patty's house)

Art Tags

2010-11-14T16:40:00.001-06:00

I am not normally a tag maker. I love to look at them but the tag as a blank canvas does not usually spark creativity in me. Since I've been playing with the Tim Holtz dies I have found new inspiration. So much inspiration that I created a class of 4 art tags.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil, Manilla Folders, Tinfoil, Old Dictionary, Old Sheet Music
Tools: Sizzix (Tim Holtz Tag, Tatterd Florals, Gears, Swirl) Marvy (pink scalloped circle) Cuttlebug (clockworks folder)
Other: Gimmer Mist (olive vine, Santa baby, pumpkin spice) Ranger (Alcohol ink)

Bo Bunny Scrap Pink Finalist

2010-11-07T08:45:00.002-06:00

If you remember this layout from a few weeks ago...

I was a finalist in their contest. I didn't win, the layout that won was really awesome. Felicia at Felicia's Scrapbooks and Fran entered and they were finalists too.

Fall Flowers

2010-11-06T22:07:00.002-05:00

I love autumn. I love November. In Texas it's a mix of warm days and cool nights with the occasional wet and cold day. It has taken me a long time to adjust to fall in Texas, the changes are not as dramatic but the trade off is the days are still warm enough to get out and about.

I have some autumn flowers to share with you. Making flowers has become quite the phase for me. On the plus side I'm giving my Tattered Florals die from Felicia's Scrapbooks quite a work out.

I call these peonies. Or maybe cabbage roses?

And these are the Tim Holtz style roses in fall colors

And last but certainly not least my daisies.

Countdown to Halloween Day 4

2010-10-29T03:51:00.000-05:00

There are only 2 more days until Halloween. Truthfully, I'm ready to put the ghosts and witches away and trade them in for some fall foilage and Christmas goodies.

Today I am sharing some little Halloween cones I made. I don't remember where I saw them at the first time but they remind me of Tussie Mussies. I just used some scraps and trims I had laying around. They were fun to put together and I think everyone will like them!

and here they are filled with goodies!

Countdown to Halloween day 2

2010-10-28T05:52:00.001-05:00

I told you yesterday I'd share the second card I made for my parents. Here it is. I really liked the pop up bat die by sizzix but didn't want to buy it this year. I came up with my own pop up bat.

Front...

Inside...

To create the bat I cut 3 circles with my Nestablities and flolded them in half and the put adhered the halves together to create the body. The wings were cut by hand.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (black) Unknown (orange)
Embellishments: Tattered Angels (Halloween chip, Harvest Orange Glimmer Mist) Martha Stewart (bat punch)

Countdown to Halloween

2010-10-27T06:52:00.001-05:00

I have been finishing up the last of my Halloween projects. Today I am sharing one of the cards I made to send to my parents. I'll share the other one tomorrow. I can never settle one just one card for them. This year they are getting 4 cards as both kiddos made a card for them.

First up, my card...

The kids took advantage of some great Halloween card kits I received in a swap at Inspire Swap Chat.

Simon's Card...

Lizzy's Card...

They had some help with cutting the paper as I don't let them use my paper trimmer. It's a rotary blade and I have cut myself a few times on it. The design is all theirs.

Supplies (my card only)
Paper: Papertrey Ink (Kraft, white)
Stamps: Inkadinkado
Other: Ribbon and button

Baby Cards

2010-10-25T07:06:00.001-05:00

I had a request to make 2 boy and 2 girl baby cards. I don't really have much baby stuff. I was not much of a card maker when I had my kids and I just don't know that many people with babies. I had a stashed baby girl card but nothing for the boys. I ended up making a onsie card and another little cutie with a giraffe stamp.

The onsie cards are super easy and very cute. I'd show you a tutorial but there are like 100 of them out there.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (blush, aqua mist, craft, cream) Imaginisce (baby boy)
Stamps: Imaginisce (giraffe)
Other: button, circle punches, nestabilities (circles and rectangles)

Partridge in a Pear Tree

2010-10-21T05:52:00.001-05:00

Aaah it's Christmas time or at least time to get crafting on those Christmas items! I am still friends with my embossing powder so my cards today feature embossing. It makes a simple card elegant. The partridge in a pear tree cards are available in my etsy shop.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey ink (cream, ripe avacado) Stampin' Up! (purely pomegrante)
Stamps: Martha Stewart
Other: Gold embossing powder, Versa Mark

More Halloween in Wonderland

2010-10-20T07:04:00.001-05:00

This card I created specifically for my brother. He likes Alice in Wonderland and under much protest and complaint, loves frogs. When I saw this little frog I knew he was getting it on a card!

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (black cardstock) Graphic 45 (Halloween in Wonderland)
Other: Ranger (glossy accents) Uknown (tulle, fiber) Sara's bin of embellishments (key)

Easter Layout finished (finally)

2010-10-14T03:10:00.000-05:00

I have had this un-finshed layout in my scrapbook area for like a year and a half. I started it at a crop and brought it home for a title and just never did it. I've thought about doing it several times but just couldn't do it. I finally finished it this past weekend with my new Slice.

Halloween in Wonderland mini album

2010-10-13T18:59:00.001-05:00

I am still very much in love with my Halloween in Wonderland papers by Graphic 45. I altered this tin and created a mini album full of little details all from a couple sheets of paper! I wanted everythign to shimmer, sparkle and have a touch of vintage feel to it.

Dear Embossing Powder and Watercolors:

2010-10-10T14:59:00.000-05:00

I am sorry I had you both shoved to the back of the craft bin. In all fairness, you are both fickle friends. Some days you produce beautiful works and other days you make me want to drown you in the kitchen sink.

To my embossing powder: I think I have finally found the missing piece in our relationship--the embossing buddy. With this little guy we have been able to create several successful cards in the last few weeks.

To my watercolors: I have found the correct amount of water to add and additional "swirling" time to make you work right.

I promise to pull you out and use you more as I really do like the results the three of us come up with. However if you become fickle again, I will stash you in the back of the bin again. There are so many options that I can't be bothered with fickle supplies.

and the inside (I just love when the inside is finished)...

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (dark chocolate, cream) Bazzil (blue and Burgundy)
Ink: Stampin' Up (chocolate chip) Versamark
Stamps: Hobby Lobby (French script) Great Impressions (flower)
Other: Ribbon, Embossing powder (gold), pearlescent Watercolors, Stickles (gold and baby blue)

Happy Campers

2010-10-08T06:04:00.000-05:00

While I was at home working, Simon and Lizzy spent the summer with Grandpa and Grandma having great adventures. One of those adventures was a backyard camp out. Simon has been camping before with Grandpa, but this was Lizzy's first time to sleep out under the stars.

I really liked using the Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy line. Besides being super cute, it comes with a sheet of title strips and a sheet of journaling blocks. The hard part was narrowing it down to what would fit on my page. I have some more adventures with the grandparents that I will be scrapping with Mr. Campy.

Supplies:
Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Mr. Campy) Bazzil (Green)
Embellishments: American Crafts (red buttons) Papertrey Ink (twine)

Hope--Scrap Pink

2010-10-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

Bo Bunny gave product to scrapbook stores for their customer's to use for a layout about how breast cancer has affected you. I created the layout below. It has all Bo Bunny products except 2 colors of Bazzil Card Stock.

The journaling says: I hope you never have to worry about breast cancer. I hope you and your children live in a world where there is a cure.

Halloween in Wonderland

2010-10-04T06:31:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the Halloween in Wonderland collection by Graphic 45? I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and immediately had Felicia at Felicia's Scrapbooks order it for me. Of course when I ordered it, I had no idea what I might do with it. The papers are mostly Alice in Wonderland with just a few touches here and there to make it Halloween. I will be using many of the papers and elements for non-Halloween things. I started with Halloween by making some wall art to go on our mantle. I have had some canvases for quite a while so I finally pulled them out to use when I went to the Scrap Pink crop this weekend.

The trio on my mantle...

The Mad Hatter...

The Rabbit...

Alice and the Queen...

As you can see, it didn't take a lot of embellishing to create these. The papers are so wonderfully detailed. I added some star dust pen and a little glossy accents and I was finished.

Supplies:
Paper: Graphic 45 (Halloween in Wonderland)
Other: Glossy Accents, Star Dust pen, Canvas

Vera Rose

2010-09-21T07:29:00.000-05:00

My cousin just had his first baby. They named her Vera Rose. I thought it was such a pretty name. I wanted to send them something for her room. I ended up making a name wall hanging. I got the idea from Felicia at Felicia's Scrapbooks.

The lace was white and I dyed it with Vintage Olive Glimmer Mist. The roses were made using the Tim Holtz tattered florals die. The leaves were some leaves I had from a package but the colors were off. I used the Vintage Olive Glimmer Mist again to make the leaves match my project.

Pumpking Carving

2010-09-01T07:55:00.000-05:00

More Halloween...

I have a pop-up ball from Sizzix. It's a neat die but I have a hard time finding things to use for it. I decided it would make a good pumpkin. I have had this sheet of Halloween paper for several years. I love it but wasn't sure how to use it. This is what I came up with:

Inside...

I made the black paper shimmer with orange by spritzing it with vanilla breeze glimmer mist and then rubbing it smooth with a paper towel.

Do you have any other ideas for my pop up ball? I was thinking Christmas ornaments but what else?

Supplies:

Paper: Bazzil (Raven) Copper (Paper World) Green (Bazzil) Rusty Pickle (All Hallow's Eve)

Tools: Sizzix (pumpkin #4, pop-up ball, vine)

Other: Tattered Angel (Vanilla Breeze Glimmer Mist)

No stamping mummy

2010-08-31T08:02:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post today. I wanted to share my no stamping mummy card. I like a quick card like this to have in my back pocket. This one is one the kiddos can make too. The concept is simple, tear strips of white paper, punch a couple of circles, ink the edges and glue it all down.

Supplies:

Paper: Bazzil (black, white)

Ink: Colorbox (pewter)

Other: Red pen, wipes for messy fingers.

Witchy Halloween

2010-08-30T08:49:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it is already time to start creating for Halloween. It is still blazing hot here and I feel more like swimming than trick-or-treating but I pulled out the Halloween stuff anyway.

I love the Halloween stamps Inkadinkado has out there. My all time favorite though is the witch on her broom. I think it is a stunning image and makes a great card with little effort. For some reason I always feel like witches should be paired with purple. I have no idea why but I do. I envisioned my witch on this card flying in the wee hours of the morning.

This card is fairly simple. I started to brayer it but was too lazy to drag the brayer out and clean up after it. I stamped my images in Archival black and then sponged the purple on starting with the lightest color. I finished it off with the stardust pen. Just a card base and one layer of white card stock.

Supplies:

Paper: Black and White (?)

Stamps: Inkadinkado

Ink: Eggplant, Grape and Plum (Inque Boutique, Colorbox) Archival Black

Other: Sponges, Stardust pen, wipes for messy messy fingers

Scrapbook Thursday--Breakfast and Mojo

2010-08-19T05:18:00.000-05:00

For the part of the past school year that we had Mocha, Lizzy has gotten up pretty much every day and shared a bowl of cereal with Mocha. Mocha is very patient and waits for a cocoa puff or cheerio to be offered. At least until no one is looking and then the bowl is hers. We are so happy to have her though. She is Lizzy's best friend.

Bo Bunny has a lot of lines out there right now. They all seem to have one sheet that has these blocks for journaling and embellishments. They are really neat since it matches perfectly with the line and it takes little effort.

Supplies:
Paper: Bo Bunny (dog line) Bazzil (orange)

Scrapbook Thursday--Halloween from the past

2010-08-12T05:14:00.000-05:00

Another blast from the past here. We're headed back to the fall of 2008 again.

The circle border was all punched from one sheet of paper (really about 1/3 of it). It had these awesome circles and it was expensive so I wanted to use it to its full potential. The cool little Halloween guys were from a swap I did on Inspire Swap Chat. Unfortunately I don't remember who made them but they are perfect.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (orange and black) Heidi Grace (Halloween circles)
Other: Card candy from a swap, Circle punch

7 Gypsie's Part 2

2010-08-09T08:41:00.000-05:00

Of course one tray was not enough for me. I bought a white one to finish for my mom's birthday. I like it, it's more knick knacy but I still really like how it turned out.

7 Gypsies Printer Style Trays

2010-08-06T20:20:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the printer-style trays by 7 Gypsies? I have had a bit of a thing for printer's trays for quite some time. I used to put little knick knacks and such in them. My husband is not so fond of the knick knacks so I don't have one any more until I saw these at the scrapbook store. I bought one for myself in black with the 12 ATC size openings.

I used a lot of Tim Holtz things on this project. The roses are made by one of his tutorials. There is a really easy to follow version on Splitcoatstampers. I also finally took advantage of some sheet music I just had to have off etsy. I used mostly photos because I thought my (thinks he's a decorator) husband is not fond of this type of thing on the wall but I like it. Once I get my own scrapbook room instead of splitting a room with him it will go in there. Until that point he will be tortured.

Supplies:
Paper: Sparkly black paper (paper world), cardstock (bazzil)
Embellishments: Film strip ribbon (Tim Holtz) Key hole (Tim Holtz) Key (?) Metal sentiment (Making Memories)

Scrapbook Thursday--We are all Mad Here

2010-08-05T05:08:00.000-05:00

I posted a few weeks ago about our Alice in Wonderland birthday tea. Here is the resulting layout. I was able to re-use the stickers I utilized for decorations because I put them on cardstock before I hanged them from the light fixture. I also put some of the doilies to good use.

It is busier than most pages I make but Lizzy is a busy girl and The Mad Hatter is a little over the top anyway.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (red, white, pink) Reminisce (fairy tales)
Other: Doilies, Stickers from fairy tale line

Scrapbook Thursday--Mojo Magic

2010-07-29T05:05:00.000-05:00

Another installment of Scrapbook Thursday.

For the first time ever I have scrapbooked a horse page. It was fun. I think the western/horse papers out there are darling but this is the first time I've been able to use some.

The line by Creative Imaginations has a sheet of strips that I cut up to get the different patterns and word lines. Over all I am very happy with these pages. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the kids together or separately. Since we did it together, I scrapped it together.

My amazing scrapbooking (jealous) dog.

Supplies:
Paper: Creative Imaginations (horse line) Bazzil (dotted Swiss) Papertrey Ink (kraft)
Embellishments: My box of flowers and buttons

Scrapbook Thursday--Pumpkin Patch and Fall Pictures

2010-07-22T04:54:00.000-05:00

Let me continue to take you back in time to fall pictures. One layout from 2007 and one from 2008. A word of caution about my all over the place scrapbooking. I often end up moving pages within my scrapbook (sometimes like 1/2 the album!) and I also end up with holes to fill when accommodating double and single page layouts. If I scrapped in order then I'd know how many pages to make each layout and I'd always know how many sleeves I need. But I don't operate that way. I will tell you if you scrap all over the place (like me) it's worth switching to the D ring binders like American Crafts makes. They are sooooooooo much easier to swap layouts around and add a page here or there. Now on to my 2 layouts to share with you.

From 2007....

This layout was fun to make. I only used card stock and die cuts. I put the journaling on two of the pumpkins in the vine.

From 2008....

I had that Fall transparency for literally years. I finally cut it up so I could (would) use it. I have trouble parting with supplies sometimes. I think is this layout or this person worthy of the supply. It's silly I know. Like I'm not worthy of a layout with the good stuff on it.

Supplies:
2007
Paper: Bazzil (no idea on colors but they are pretty)
Tools: Sizzix (Pumpin and swirls strip)

2008
Paper: Bazzil (Dotted Swiss not sure of the color name) Random bin at Michaels (transparency)
Tools: Quick Kutz (branch strip) Spellbinders (leaves)

Scrapbook Thursday--Halloween Layout

2010-07-15T04:47:00.000-05:00

I have fallen off my Scrapbook Thursday bandwagon. The next few weeks are an effort to get back on the wagon and to scrap the growing pile of pictures!

I only scrapbook when the mood hits me and I only scrapbook what I want to. Therefore I am often all over the place with what I am scrapbooking. I used to try and force myself to go in chronological order but I've decided it's not worth it as I'm usually not happy with the layouts and I end up scrapping nothing instead of something. Sometimes I go back to skipped pictures. Sometimes they just get left out, but I'm ok with that. The photos don't go away there just isn't a page in the scrpabook for them.

My all over the place method to scrapbooking is how I ended up doing Halloween pictures recently. I'm not sure of the papers. I know the right side of the layout is Little Yellow Bicycle but I'm not sure about the left side. The stickers in the corners of the pictures are by Rusty Pickle. I am so sad they are no longer in business. I loved their products.

Supplies:
Paper Little Yellow Bicycle (right side pattern) Unknown (left side pattern)
Stickers: Rusty Pickle
Tools: Stampin' Up (note book edge punch)

Christmas in July

2010-07-14T17:47:00.000-05:00

The Shabby Tea Room challenge this week is Christmas in July. I love Christmas. I have been making cards the last few months for Christmas. For this challenge I wanted to make something with softer colors. I used two colors that are not really traditional Christmas colors but I have a feeling this year Christmas colors are going to be non-traditional, vintage-ish and muted. The Santa stamp I used is my all time favorite. I don't think the sparkle shows up as well as it should in this photo but it's like the 10th photo I took on the third attempt at photos so I'm sticking with it.

Supplies:
Paper: My Mind's Eye, Bazzil
Stamp: Snowflake Stanta
Other: Jelly Roll Stardust pen, colored pencils

Shadow Box

2010-07-09T16:03:00.001-05:00

I found some awesome shadow boxes on clearance for just 3.99. The boxes are by K and company and come stuffed with 12 x12 papers and embellishments. I liked them so much I went back and bought 2 more. I may have to stop and see if they still have some on my way to Felicia's Scrapbooks this weekend.

I've been dreaming up a special project for my friend Laura and this shadow box fit the bill. She has a horse, Mojo, and was so kind to let Simon and Lizzy have several rides on him one day. While I was there I took a lot of pictures of the kids and then when she let Mojo pick up the pace, I took some pictures of her. She has a really neat office that is painted green and has lots of inspiring things in. I wanted to make a little piece of inspiration (I hope!) for her.

While I do love the color scheme that came with the box, it would not quite do for her green room. I started by painting the box lid green, the inside edges black and the little curio-like item black. Then I started playing with pictures and other stuff I had to come up with this.....

The dragon fly was created with the new Tim Holtz die Fanciful Flight. Instead of cardstock, I used acetate and alcohol inks to create the stained look for the dragonfly on the outside of the box. The inside dragon fly only has the body and the "skeleton" part of the wings. If you haven't used this die it is pretty awesome. You can cut both the detailed and the solid parts of the wings out of different materials to get a really pretty look. Plus the die can make numerous different bugs since all the pieces are separate.

Another interesting element I made was the little clear piece on the color photo. I utilized a Tim Holtz Fragments (I think he is my new scrapbook god) with some more alcohol ink. Then I flipped it over and stamped the silhouette stem in black Stayzon. If you stamp it on the same side as the alcohol ink it isn't as vibrant and if you use and metal additive (like I did with silver) the ink tends to not stick where the additive is.

And a final view with the lid off to stop the glare. The horse photos on the side are Mojo but I added the green tint to some of of the photos and just printed in a wallet size. The little bottle was found in the beading section (I could easily get lost in there but I need another habit like a hole in the head).

Supplies:
Paper: Scenic Route (not sure of the print, other side has strips)
Tools: Sizzix and Tim Holtz (Fanciful Flight)
Stamps: Stampin' Up (silhouette stems)
Other: Making Memories (asphalt and ripe avocado paint) Making Memories (metal sentiment, millinery flowers and leaves) Ranger (alcohol ink--Lettuce and Silver additive) Ranger (glossy accents) Tim Holtz (Fragments)

Christmas Gift Cards

2010-07-09T06:47:00.000-05:00

Another of the infamous Christmas swaps was for 3x3 cards to use in place of those plastic tags we normally add to gifts. I strive every year to make all my tags as I think it looks cool under the tree. Most people do not appreciate it but I enjoy making them.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (white)
Stamps: Making Memories (Fa La La)
Other: Ink, stardust pens

Missing kiddos...

2010-07-08T06:42:00.000-05:00

I took my children to visit Grandma and Grandpa for a few weeks. I came back to try and score a summer job and a teaching job. I miss them like crazy but they are having a great time. I wanted to send them both a card this week but I didn't have a lot of time. I dug around in my stash and found a set of puzzle cards that I bought but hadn't used. I thought these would be perfect for Simon and Lizzy. I always try to make their cards interactive since they ooh and aaah over it.

For Lizzy....

For Simon....

Supplies:
Lizzy's Card
Paper: Archiver's $2 bin of death (puzzle cards)
Stamps: Ek Success (Disney Princess)
Other: Markers

Simon's Card
Paper: Bin of death (puzzle cards)
Stamps: Heidi Grace (sea life) Studio G (shells)
Other: Stampin' Up (Caribbean blue, creamy caramel) Markers

Christmas in August...

2010-07-07T08:36:00.000-05:00

I've been joining several Christmas card swaps over on Inspire Swap Chat. While I usually don't use swapped cards for Christmas, there are some beautiful cards I've been receiving that I might be able to part with this year. Mostly I keep swapped creations to get new ideas from. For each swap I always make 1-2 extras for myself so by the time Christmas gets here I should have quite a stash of cards.

The August swap was to swap a card with a snowman on it. I have some cute snowman stamps but I wanted something different. I perused the gallery at Splitcoaststampers for a while and I saw a card similar to this but not exactly the same. I haven't found it again and I don't remember what the search parameters were. So no, I am not this creative but it has opened my eyes to new uses for the Nestabilities!

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (Kraft, White) Bazzil (red scraps)
Tools: Provo Craft (Swiss dots folder) Spellbinders (circle nestabilities) Unknown (small heart punch)
Other: Unknown (ribbon, gems)

The Alice in Wonderland party...

2010-06-09T03:30:00.000-05:00

My darling little baby girl turned 5 this past Sunday. I started a trend with my children of over the top themed parties. Even when it is just us or us and a friend I still go out of my way to make it special. I enjoy planning and theming the parties. I may have missed a calling in life!

Lizzy's request this year was a tea party. She went through several different themes before settling on Alice in Wonderland. I will be making a scrapbook page soon with the pictures but here are a couple of my favorites. Sadly my little girl ended up being sick on Sunday, mostly after her party but you can tell she wasn't feeling 100% in the pictures.

Graduation pop up ball

2010-06-08T10:24:00.000-05:00

I recently purchased the pop up ball die by Sizzix. I have been playing around with this little guy, trying to come up with some neat ways to use it. I have learned that extra heavy duty cardstock is a must! One of my friends from my local scrapbook store, Felicia's Scrapbooks, was having a party for her daughter's high school graduation. I had the idea of turning the ball into a grad cap stuck in my head. The card is made in her school colors.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzil
Tools: Sizzix (Pop up ball die, Tim Holtz flea market alphabet strip)
Other: Felicia's Scrapbooks (large brad for the button on the cap and a tassel )

More Butterflies

2010-05-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

So it seems the butterfly has caught my eye. Actually I've been sitting out a tool or stamp set that hasn't seen much use lately and leaving it out until I use it for 3 projects. This card is project #3 for the Martha Stewart butterfly punch. Project #1 was the card candy I made for a swap at Inspire Swap Chat, project #2 was the thank you card and here is #3.

My original thought was to have all cream butterflies on the cream card but I still had a few scraps of the gold paper sitting out and I thought the two together looked very elegant. I added some gold glimmer mist to the cream butter flies after I embossed them in the cuttlebug folder.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (cream) Unknown (gold)
Stamps: Stampin Up (silhouette stems)
Other: Versa Color (gold ink) Martha Stewart (butterfly punch) Tattered Angels (gold glimmer mist)

Butterfly Thank you

2010-05-25T07:23:00.000-05:00

Papercrafts Magazine is having the Gallery Idol contest again. I have entered almost every year but have never been chosen. This year the first round is to create a thank you card. I made two for the first round. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed. Otherwise, these will go to my stash. I find, other than birthday cards, I use thank you cards the most so these will not go to waste!

Supplies:

Butterfly card
Paper: Papertrey Ink (ripe avocado, cream) Unknown (gold paper)
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (through the trees--thank you)
Other: Martha Stewart (butterfly punch) Tattered Angels (gold glimmer mist)

Black and Green Thank you
Paper: Papertrey Ink (ripe avocado, kraft, black)
Stamps: Stampin' Up (Stem Silhouettes)
Other: Creative Impressions (ribbon) Tim Holtz (leaves)

Christmas in June

2010-05-23T06:50:00.000-05:00

I joined another swap (the postage is killing me for all these swaps!) at Inspire Swap Chat for Christmas cards in June. I use a lot of Christmas cards so this swap will probably actually get used by me. Of course when I receive those over the top awesome cards I can't bare to part with them.

For those of you out there in blog land who are not familiar with how a swap works, here is a run down of the basics.
1. You go to a site that has swapping boards (I use Inspire Swap Chat, which is a group of ladies who swapped on the old Papercrafts Mag site before it was revamped) and sign up.
2. Hostesses post swaps with a theme, size, quantity requirement and due date. Find one you like and sign up.
3. Send your cards, enough postage to get them back, and an envelope to return them in to the hostess by the due date.
4. The hostess will swap out all the cards. You get back however many cards you sent in with in a couple of weeks.
5. Enjoy the creations you received back. I often get new ideas or color combos from swap cards.

Now on to my cards. This past holiday season I made the decision to work through the Halloween and Christmas papers in my stash before I bought any new stuff. However I ended up winning some blog candy that was the SEI Alpine Frost collection. I made a few cards with it last year. I pulled it out to use for these cards because I didn't get to use as much as I wanted last Christmas.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hobby Lobby (cardinal) Inkadinkado (Cool Christmas) Papertrey Ink (limb)
Paper: Bazzil (various colors) SEI (alpine frost)
Tools: Nestabilities (ovals, scalloped ovals)
Other: Colored pencils, ink, ribbon

Oh What a Lovely Tree Swap

2010-05-21T07:43:00.000-05:00

I joined yet another swap at Inspire Swap Chat. This time to use your favorite tree stamp. Of course I went back to my Through the Trees set by Papertrey Ink.

The trees are stamped in black on the green cardstock. To give the illusion of shadowy grass, I sponged on some more black ink at the base. I finished with the peace sentiment from Through the Trees and a prima flower.

Supplies:
Card stock: Bazzil (raven black) Archivers (2 shades of green that I'm not sure what they were called)
Stamps: Paper Trey Ink (Through the Trees)
Tools: Nestabilitites (labels ?)
Other: Black Ink, Gem, Prima flower

Mark the Page...Butterfly Style

2010-05-20T10:33:00.000-05:00

I am an avid reader. In a perfect world I would own a scrapbook store where I could divide my time between crafting, chatting with other crafters, baking something delicious in the back to share and reading. Since this is not a perfect world crafting and baking often take a back seat to a really good book.

I joined a swap at Inspire Swap Chat to make these neat corner bookmarks. These bookmarks are larger than others I've seen but that is just fine with me, less chance it will fall out! There are several tutorials out there to make these so I won't bore you with another one. I googled large corner bookmark tutorial to find one I liked.

Supplies:
Patterned paper: Basic Grey (Wisteria--Violet, Porcelain--Chintz)
Stamps: Michaels ($1 clear stamp )
Ink: Versa Color (grape)
Tools: Martha Stewart (butterfly punch)
Misc.: Ribbon (died and crinkled by me) Stickles (ice) Gems (no idea just in my stash)

Sandy Beaches

2010-05-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've been giving my brayer a work out the last few days. I wanted to try my hand at a beach scene. Michelle Zindorf has wonderful tutorials that make it seem effortless. However my experience has been that they are a lot of work but very rewarding!

This card is already on it's way to my friend Deb from Inspire Swap Chat. She loves the beach and has sent me so many beautiful beach cards she made. My card is not as great as hers but I think she'll like it.

Supplies:
Paper: Papertrey Ink (white) Unknown (brown)
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Cool Caribbean, Cameo Coral, Creamy Caramel) Close to my Heart (Robin's egg blue, Walnut) Memento (Cottage Ivy)
Stamps: Imaginese (Flip Flops) Inkadinkado (leaves)
Other: White gel pen, brayer, paper pierce and template

Spooky Through the Trees

2010-04-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

I've been in an embossing mood lately. It started with trying to replicate some Michelle Zindorf cards. I am no brayer master but I enjoy trying. Anyway I wanted to pair my Cornish Heritage Farms tree background stamps with the tree trio from Through the Trees.

Black and Red were my school colors growing up and I'm rather partial to the combo. Of course I think kraft looks great with everything (I use almost as much kraft as I use white!) so the colors were easy for me to pair up.

I started by stamping the tree background stamp in Going Gray ink on kraft paper. After the ink dried, I stamped the tree trio in versa mark, then black ink and heat embossed black powder to give it a really black look. I finished the image by stamping some of the birds from Through the trees in red. Since the ink will not stick to the embossed areas, it gives the impression that some of the birds are in the middle of the trees.

Texas Cards

2010-04-21T12:14:00.001-05:00

So I think I have been here long enough to semi-not-exactly-sort of jump on the Texas bandwagon errr should I say covered wagon? I am not in love with Texas but this wonderful spring we are having as put me in like with Texas :) Of course once the memories of cool April breezes and bountiful wildflowers have melted into 100+ degree days of bathwater warm swimming pools and fire ant infested backyards I will change my opinion back to definite dislike. Yes, I am a fickle friend that way but hey there's a lot of Texas lovers out there to compensate for my fair weather ways.

On to the cards....

I utilized a lot of flowersoft for these cards. It's a really fun medium. I have had 2 pots for a year and never really used them other than trying them out the first day I got them. I added 3 pots of the new ultra fine flowersoft 2 months ago and still didn't use any. The wildflowers inspired me to pull these little gems out of my stash and use them.

I paired the flowersoft with Deadbeat design stamps (3 bluebonnets), Accucut dies, some horse stamps and a few embellishments here and there.

The horse and bluebonnets:

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (Kraft, Red, Navy)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (horses) Deadbeat Designs (bluebonnets)
Other: Whale punches (scalloped photo corner) Accucut (scalloped card) Flowersoft (Delphinium blue) Colored Pencils

Bluebonnet Trio (I've made a card similar to this before)

Paper: Bazzil (kraft and the violet)
Stamps: Deadbeat Designs (bluebonnet)
Other: Creative Impressions (ribbon)

Texas Flag:

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (kraft, red, navy, white)
Dies: Accucut (Texas) Sizzix (rustic stars)
Stamps: Deadbeat Designs (bluebonnets)
Other: Flower Soft (Delphinium blue)

Longhorn:

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (white, red, navy)
Dies: Accucut (longhorn) Sizzix (picket fence)
Other: Flowersoft (sweet pea, Delphinium blue, citrus) Ranger/Tim Holtz (distress crackle paint Picket fence white)

The small horse card: For some reason flickr does not like my file and I'm too lazy (not knowledgeable enough) to figure out why.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzil (navy, kraft)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (horses)
Other: Creative impressions (ribbon) Colored pencils

All five of these cards will be offered in a class at Felicia's Scrapbooks soon (end of May or beginning of June). Check their website or blog for class details.

My new favorite medium and a flower tutorial

2010-03-26T16:18:00.001-05:00

I have a new favorite medium--old texts. I went to half price books and for the bargain price of $3 I found this old dictionary full of illustrations and of course, text. I have been pulling pages out and cutting, distressing and embellishing. Considering that one sheet of scrapbook paper would be around a buck, I consider this to be a great value.

On to my flowers....The flower is pretty simple. I cut 6 scalloped circles of text paper and 1 scalloped circle of card stock. I used pearl ex in hairspray on my text pieces.

Once the circles dried I folded them first in half.

then slightly over half (like 2/3 but it's not an exact science...

then fold back the edge of over lap and repeat for the other side.

Do this will all six circles and then adhere them to the cardstock circle.

When you have them all adhered you can pick a center. Buttons, brads, gems, other flowers, pretty much anything you can think of could be used.

Finished flower

I hope you liked this simple little flower. I have been using it a lot. It can be adapted with solid circles or bigger circles too.

Wannna know why I haven't posted lately?

2010-03-11T16:46:00.000-06:00

So it's been a while since I last posted. It's been a while since I got to make anything other than prep for my class last Saturday. Wanna see why?

Simon is not a good photo taker. He's like his dad, if he knows his picture is being taken he over thinks it. His best pictures are spontaneous.

So T-Ball and Baseball have been filling my weekends and free time. Now that games have started my Saturdays are full but the week days and nights have evened out some.

I've looked back over my goals I set for this year. I've done great with sending out cards and there haven't been any birthdays to send cards for yet but I have a stash of cards ready. I cleaned out a huge amount of stuff that I realized I'm probably not going to use and passed some along to others. I also have been using embellishments I love instead of saving them. As far as the scrapbook pages go, I've been working on them but I haven't finished the 2 a month I wanted to. Maybe I'll get motivated and do a bunch in one day! My Etsy store remains empty but I have hopes to get it filled and I'm still plugging away at the digital calendars. So all in all I've been sticking to the goals pretty well.

Deep in the Heart.....

2010-02-22T18:59:00.000-06:00

I started a MMM group on InspireSwapChat. Every other Monday we send our partner a themed item and a short letter about ourselves. This week the theme is our hometown. Of course I happen to reside somewhere that is sooooo easy to find product that represents our area. Basically if you shape anything like Texas, slap a bluebonnet on it or the Texas flag it will sell.

On to my card... I started with kraft paper and a blue bonnet stamp. I started using the stamp but it was all one piece and a real pain to get the look I wanted so I pulled it off the block, cut it apart and then mounted the leaves with some tack it over and over so I could use it with an acrylic block. Presto! Perfect bluebonnets.

I wasn't quite satisfied with the Kraft look. I wanted a more rustic feel so I dabbed on some Rock Candy distress crackle paint. That stuff is so awesome! It dries in about the same amount of time as stickles but gives a clear crackle look to your project. I finished up with the tea duo inks from Papertrey in the crackles and I had the look I was going for.

I have started making "faux" knots on my projects. Rather than pulling the ribbon all the way around the back, I tape down each end of the ribbon to the back side, just over the edge, of the cardstock. Then I take a smaller piece of ribbon and tie a nice knot or bow anywhere I want to on the ribbon. I think it's easier to place it, uses less ribbon and if you knots and bows are not weight baring (meaning they hold the ribbon in place) you can get a nicer looking finished piece.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (kraft) Stampin' Up! (True Thyme, Vintage Violet)
Ink: Papertrey Ink (chai, chammoile) Stampin' Up! (True Thyme, Vintage Violet)
Other: Quick Kuts (Texas Die) Sizzix (tiny heart) Ranger (Rock Candy crackle paint) SEI (brown ribbon)

The cards you never want to make....

2010-02-11T10:49:00.000-06:00

For me (and probably everyone else!) that's sympathy. I hate having to make this kind of card because it means I need to send one too. I don't really keep these cards made up as luckily I don't have to use too many. My husband needed a card to give to a friend who lost a loved one. I recently purchased the Through the trees stamp set by Papertrey Ink. It came with a sympathy sentiment and the trees seemed appropriate and masculine enough for his friend. Normally I rely on Roses in Winter to fulfill my sympathy needs.

I really like the new stamp set. This tree came in two pieces for ease of stamping and the leaves lined right up with the tree limbs.

Garage sale goodies

2010-02-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was the bi-annual garage sale at Felicia's Scrapbooks. Customers bring their scrapbook items they are no longer using and sell them to other customers for store credit. As you can imagine, it is a very popular event. Not to mention after you sell some of your stuff you have store credit to buy some more stuff to replace what you sold! I sold a few things and in the next couple days I should find out how much credit I have.

Of course I can not pass up a good deal and I found a few deals on Saturday. By far the best deal was what I found on ink pads. I purchased 2 separate lots of ink pads. Over half the ink pads were still in the original wrapper. The others were all in great shape. All the inks pictured below cost me a grand total of $5!

You may be wondering what the little white tags in front of my fabulous ink purchase are doing there. I stack my inks in a bin. So I can easily see what color the ink is and how it looks on paper, I always rub one of the little labels in the ink pad and then stick to the edge of the ink pad for easy reference.

Memo Board or Organizational center...

2010-01-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not really sure what to call this. It's sort of a memo board, sort of an organizational center. All around it's cute and functional.

The big open area is for using a dry erase marker. The top layer (under the cork) is acrylic so you can dry erase to your heart's desire. The bind it all wires are for keys and the really great thing is the top layer is not glued down so you can lift the acrylic and swap out the picture at the top. I decorated my own push pins to match.

Birthday Cards

2010-01-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

It has been requested several times that I create a birthday card class. It's strange I think just about everyone would say they use birthday cards the most but I almost never make birthday cards. Usually I make a general card that I know the recipient will like and use that. It was fun to use some new stuff and make birthday cards this time.

The class is for 10 cards and will be on February 26th at Felica's Scrapbooks.

Valentine Class

2010-01-20T08:28:00.000-06:00

It seems like we barely get out of Christmas before it's time for Valentine's Day. The first class I ever taught at Felicia's was a Valentine class and I've learned a lot about teaching classes since then! I have four of the five cards that will be in my class to share with you.

My first card is an easel card.

The second card is a side step card.

The third card is a crossword I created (see that degree in education paid off as I learned to make crosswords in a class!).

The last card is a surprise pop-up card. I love the stamp set I used for this one. It was a set by SeeD's full of coffee stamps. The entire set was $3.99--great bargain.

and the open view...

Supplies:
Patterned paper: Scenic Route
Cardstock : Bazzil
Stamps: Imagiese (bird) See D's (hearts, coffee cup)
Dies: Sizzix (Rustic Hearts, Owl) Embossing folders
Ink: Chalkbox