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28 May 2012

Memorial Day: a day of accomplishments

I had high ambitions for this Memorial Day.  I got up at my usual time and since John was at work and the kids were asleep I got started.  My objective?  I could use however much paper I wanted I just could not have an scraps (I have too many all ready).  Okay, I can do this.

I took one pack of paper by Basic Grey (Kioshi) and used that as my starter paper.  I added some plain cardstock, but most of todays paper came from that pad. 

The first scrapbook layout and two cards were made for the MOJO Monday and the CR84FN scrapbook challenges. 

In addition to the Basic Grey paper I used Black archival ink by Ranger, Walnut Stain ink by Tim Holtz, plain papers by Recollection and Bazzil, stickers by Basic Grey, and clear transparencies from a kit that I got at CKC. 


Celebrate card...tag by Graphic 45, ribbon by Technique Tuesday, buckle from JoAnn's, Celebrate from a CKC kit, paper by Basic Grey

pattern paper by Basic Grey, green paper by Bazzil, transparency from a CKC kit, ribbon from my stash, eyelet by Making Memories, black paper by Bazzil

Purple paper by Recollection, green paper by Bazzil, Good Luck tag by K&Co, all pattern paper by Basic Grey, ribbon from my stash


Tag by K&Co, pattern paper by Basic Grey, green paper by Bazzil, Purple paper by Basic Grey, ribbon from a set of sheet I bought



All pattern paper by Basic Grey, green paper by Bazzil

I LOVE this one!!!  Butterfly by K&Co, fresh air from a kit purchased at CKC, card base by Recollections, patterned paper by Basic Grey


All patterned paper by Basic Grey, quote from a CKC kit, eyelet from Making Memories

Book page from Song of the Siren by Philippa Carr, chipboard by Die cuts with a View, all pattern paper by Basic Grey, lady by Graphic 45, quote from a CKC kit, lace by Recollections...I love this one too!!!


made for a friend of mine, picture is of her grandmother, patterned paper by Basic Grey, butterfly and gear stamp by Hampton Arts.  I made this card in memory of her grandmother who just passed away.  She had been her grandmother's caregiver. 



Most of the collage materials by K&Co, all patterned paper by Basic Grey, Ribbon from Michael's, frame by Making Memories, stickers by Basic Grey





27 May 2012

A Mirror Makeover


My father-in-law used to buy things from Publisher's Clearing House so that my mother-in-law could keep her hopes alive of winning 10 million dollars.  Today's refit craft is one of those "GRAND" gifts that he ordered from PCH and then gave to me.  It was a granddaughter frame and I was supposed to give it to Hannah, but she did not want it.  What I did was scrape off the granddaughter poem and took off the flower that was glued on there.  Then I redid the whole thing. 

I first added a wire of seed beads in purple and green (using this week CR84FN colors).  Then I made flowers from paper (a gray and a purple).  I used a prima flower at the top of the mirror along with a Tim Holtz metal charm, some rhinestones and then on the bottom a rub on that said "someone to watch over me" along with some Prima leaves.

I thought it turned out cute....especially since my "canvas" was so tiny.  The mirror is about 7x2.

Very simple, but I promise you it is 100% better than the PCH mirror that I started with. 


Owl be seeing you in the fall


 Here it is, the moment everyone has waited for SUMMER BREAK!  The never-ending task of finding things for your kids to do has begun.  Trevor is just about living at his buddy's house and will go camping next week.  Hannah, on the other hand, is discovering she needs a hobby.  She applied for a job today, and personally, I hope she gets it.  She is kind of obsessed with money so earning her own money would be good for her.  Good for her to earn her own cash and have to budget it on her own.  Praying that happens....hopefully, she is too.  We will see what God has in store for this little baby girl. 


Today I made a card based on a sketch that my buddy, Shand Stamper made for her baby (affectionately called My Stamper Baby).  Shand was making onesies for her little baby girl and said I could have a copy of what she was using.  Here is the copy, I used some watercolors to make it look like ME!  And then I went digging in the scrap bin for papers to match.

I decided to use this week's Retro Sketches challenge as my inspiration for the card base.  What a cute sketch.  If you are into card making, this is a great place to get inspired for your designs.  http://retrosketches.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! 

One Layer of Fun

It is no secret I like layers.  All  my scrapbook pages, my cards, my home decor....I want the layers.  When I saw this challenge I had to participate just because it was something I usually didn't do...ONE LAYER!  (check out the challenge here.....http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/ )

I decided that I had to create the illusion of layers by layering stamps.  I am pleased with the results, hope you are too.

To get the look:
All stamps by Technique Tuesday-I took the stamps and layered them my creating masks so that I could keep stamping the single fruits on top of each other.  I used the A Little Fruity stamp set, but since that is no longer available you could use their Fruit Stand set.

The embossed border was a cuttlebug embossing folder and I inked it using Technique Tuesday berry ink

The lines and dots were drawn by me using a Martha Stewart black pen




That's it...hope you enjoy

Time to create

For the first time in my working life, I actually have a relaxing summer. It is sort of strange, something I am not used to having. I have many goals for this summer...

Seal the driveway
Stain the deck
Repair broken lattice on the deck
Paint my bathroom cabinet
Paint my kitchen
Install new windows
Paint the eaves of the house
Cut down some trees
Buy some patio furniture
Fix my front sidewalk
Paint the concrete leading into the garage
Repair nicks in the living room paint
Install a bathroom fan
Install new gutters on the front of the house
Stain kitchen cabinets
Replace a rotten deck board
Get the plumber out to work on the pipes

3 days into summer (I am only working on "work days" Monday-Friday...my weekends are still MY time) and we (John and I) have gotten the driveway done (we are just waiting to drive on it), I have replaced the lattice and I have painted the bathroom cabinet.  Doing good so far.


Today card was made because of the extra time that I have in the mornings. I decided to make some string art (for this weeks Mojo Monday sketch) while I was waiting to go to work one am.  I was  thinking about all the extra time and how it was a gift and I was so grateful for it. 




The patterned paper is all by K&Co
The blue line on the white cardstock was hand drawn using a Martha Stewart pen
The white cardstock is by Recollections
String by DMC flower thread (no longer made) 597
Embossed strip by my Big Kick using a Cuttlebug embossing folder
Blue Bayou ink by Stampin UP! 

A parting quote for me, the restless one....
Make use of time, let not advantage slip.
William Shakespeare

Because I had extra paper left from the 12x12 page, I made two more cards (trying hard not to leave scraps) 

Hello card uses Technique Tuesday stamp Petite Posies for both the Hello and the dots
It also features K&Co patterned paper, DMC flower thread in 597 and white cardstock by Recollections


Best Wishes features a Spellbinders scalloped oval cut, Best Wishes stamp is by Fiskars.  Papers....white cardstock by Recollections, green from a kit I purchased at CKC, and patterned paper by K&Co


20 May 2012

A inky binky spotted background


Today I was surfing the internet for some new info and I meandered over to one of my usual stops, Unruly Paperarts.  Today the post the I read was about the inky backgrounds.  I ADORE ink!  I think I use it on every single thing that I make.  It takes me back some because 20 years ago when I started my first scrapbook I was scared of even an ink pen.  16 years ago, I would not have used ink for anything and now.....I rarely make anything without ink.

My absolute favorite are the Distress inks (a dye based ink). I love what they can do with water, they way they blend, run, and sort of meld into one. 

Then my second favorite ink is the exact opposite...solvent inks.  They will adhere to just about anything, will not change shape, form, or how they look.  Actually, they are a bit of wonderful with the Distress Inks and I use them just about as often as I use the Distress Inks.


Today's projects are ink based.  If you have not tried experimenting with inks you should.  You will get messy and quite possibly so will your work surface but hey that is part of it right?

I cover my table with 2 craft sheets.  They are heat resistant (which is fabulous when you use the heat gun as much as I), they are wonderful for blending inks and sometimes I even use them for paint palates. 

I have many ink blending tools and I like to line them up next to my craft sheets so they are within my reach.  And next to those I stack my Distress Inks.

The project pictured is a very ink intensive project.  The background was inked with my spray inks  (Michelle's Musings).  On top of that I have layered stamped images....using stamps by Technique Tuesday, Hero Arts, Hampton Arts, Tim Holtz, Hot off the Press, Stampin UP and 7 Gypsies.

I used many different inks to achieve this layered look (almost as many inks as I used stamps)....Distress inks, staz on, stampin UP, archival ink, pigment ink, and a chalk ink.  I even added a little texture by using Distress embossing ink and white embossing powder.

The umbrella man is a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder and the flourish is a Cuttlebug die.  Both of which I inked with Walnut Stain Distress ink on top of Evergreen Bough Distress ink.

I decided this was a perfect occasion to use the great quote..."Not all who wander are lost".


Have a fantastic day!!!!




Rolled Rose Tutorial


Today I wanted to share with you my rolled rose technique.  It's not a perfect flower, just a simple little flower you can make and it can provide a wonderful accent to your projects.
I begin with a little square of paper and draw a little spiral (ok I admit sometimes-most times I free hand the spiral).  Then I cut out little waves on the outside of the spiral line.   

  You end up with a little spiral that looks like this (left).  I like to spritz the spiral with water then I wrap the outside edge (not the center) around a stylus.  I keep winding it around the stylus until it looks like the picture below.

 I then use some glue to hold the flower in place.  You will wrap the center of your spiral under the bottom of the flower and it has it's own built in base.  Then you can glue it onto your projects.

I am picturing 3 cards that I made today using this technique.  NO two are alike because I don't use a pattern, and I love that effect.



 These projects all feature:
Tim Holtz Distress inks in Evergreen Bough
Ranger Archival black ink
Scallop frame by Sizzix
All paper is from my scrapbin (I know the blue is MME)
string from my ribbon scraps
Floral patterned paper by Creative Memories
Bird, butterfly, music note paper and Wonderful  by K&Co
wire from a spool I bought years ago at Old America
Striped ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Quote from a kit from CKC
the leaves were handcut by me.

To get the colors on the leaves I put some Evergreen Bough directly onto a craft sheet.  I spritzed it with water and ran my cut out leaves through the ink.  I dried it with a heat gun and then drew on the veins with a Zig marker.












13 May 2012

Looking Ahead

Today may be Mother's Day but I am all ready trying to look ahead to the next holiday...Father's Day.

Today I thought I would make a few cards that could be given to men.  Two of which I thought were best suited for Father's Day.

I used the CR84FN colors to inspire me....and what great colors they were....mint, blue and neutral.  Oh, this was perfect for a mans card.

Also featured on today's cards are my favorite paper line EVER!  I am  on my third pack of 180 sheets and I guess this will be the final package that I get as I have not found it anywhere in more than a year.  Bohemia by My Mind's Eye.


Products also featured:
Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Walnut Stain and Evergreen Bough
K&Co made the hot air balloon (so very cute)
Graphic 45 made all the early Hollywood inspired tags (what a great line that is too)
Hour glass by Bo Bunny
Gears by Tim Holtz
Embossed tag and scalloped cirle by my lovely Big Kick
Edges on the cards (that are die cut) by Creative Memories
All patterned paper by MME
Kraft cardstock from the open stock shelves at Hobby Lobby
Bingo number by Maya Road
Ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Letter stamps by the Miss Elizabeth's at the Dollar Tree
Dad rub ons from a kit I got at CKC, and it was a CK one












Review: The Wildest Sun