Hello...

Hello! Depending on your age and music exposure, you could have a song by  Adele, Lionel Richie, The Cars, or Pink Floyd running through your head! Personally, I heard a hollow echo from my much neglected blog!

So many things happening; so  little blogging. I am still sans computer and it is killing me that I have a ton of photos and nowhere to place them... That is my primary excuse for not posting.  A second and much more exciting one is that we will be closing on a new to us home very soon. We had originally planned to build on our land in the country, but  came across a deal that was too good to pass and on our first viewing it just felt like home. So now we will be remodeling and moving for the next two months. I am also super excited that I will finally have my very own craft room!!!!!

I am going to try to make a few crafty posts from my phone before things get completely crazy.  I also hope to visit some blogs soon (fingers crossed that my new computer will be arriving soon. Until then, I hope you will bear with me!

Wishing everyone happy days!!

Murphy's Law

Hello! Just in case you've been wondering, I am still here! I spent some time doing several uninteresting, yet important things around the house, and finally got a chance to get back in my crafty space. I've been working on my #1DD's scrapbooks and refilling my card stash, and it has been so wonderful to be creative again. I have all kinds of photos of my projects and was all ready to start blogging again. I turned on my laptop and everything lit up like it always does with one exception...no monitor.  So now I am without a way to properly post. Hopefully, I will be able to get it fixed! I used my phone for this post and it's not the best!

I did manage to get a photo uploaded (sorry for the shoddy pic) and thought I'd share it while I filled you in on the status of my blog.  This is one of my 'clean up' cards. I used bits and pieces of things I had in bags and boxes.

I don't have any steps to explain since it literally took minutes to put this together. I hope I will be back to proper blogging soon, and thanks for your patience!! Have a wonderful day!

Live Simply

Hello! I am finally making a little time to update my blog today.  We are on break from school and I had hoped that I would have all kinds of crafty time this week, but other things took priority and left me with barely enough time to post!

I do have a card to share though!  A few weeks ago some young ladies from our church, my daughters, and I went to a youth retreat.  It was a wonderful time for me to get away from the busyness that normally takes over my days.  I always enjoy this retreat because I get to know the kids from our church and other churches  a little better and they never cease to amaze me with how wonderful they are.  This year, I made notecards before, and took some quiet time at the retreat to write a special note to each of the girls.  I think they were all appreciative and surprised to receive them.  Even my girls were excited about the cards!

I don't usually use the bigger pattern side of the pattern paper (love those smaller designs), but the large pretty designs are starting to grow on me.  They make it really easy to put a card together- fancy paper, framed sentiment, pearl dots, a little ribbon and a bow!  

I pulled out my buttercup liquid pearls and made lots of little dots to add a little pizzazz to the scallops.  I'm not sure when I used this last, but it wasn't the least little bit dried up! SCORE!

Well, tomorrow will be another busy day for me.  We are doing a massive clean out of our home in the hopes of preparing for a new home!  My kids cleaned out their room today and there is an enormous mountain of laundry now... This doesn't include the giant bag of trash they hauled out or the boxes of things to be donated...  It will get better, right??

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful rest of the week.  Happy Easter to my fellow Christians and the secular celebraters out there!!

Card Recipe: Paper-daffodil delight, whisper white, rich razzleberry, Floral District dsp, Stamp Set-Trust God, Ink-Baja breeze, Accessories-Baja breeze seam binding, buttercup liquid pearls, oval framelits, scallop oval die

Not crafty but creatively busy

Hi!  I'm sorry to say I don't have anything paper crafty to share today, but I did want to pop in and say that while I might not be on here as much for the next few months, I do love my followers and blog friends!!  I promise to be back in full swing by the end of May.

Between Solo and Ensemble state contests, Circle the State performances, Wizard of Oz musical performances, softball, tennis, and everyday activities, our life has been busy, to say the least!  I haven't even thought about making anything in over a week... well... I've thought about making lots of things, just don't have the time to make it a reality!  Things are going really well for us, though and I'm focusing on grabbing my happiness as it comes, no matter what form it takes.  I hope you will bear with me and my lack of posting for a few months.  I may even surprise myself and squeeze some creative time into my schedule!  If that happens, I promise to share!!

I will leave you with a photo of my fantastic DD in her role as a talking apple tree.  She took great joy in using her softball skills as she pelted apples at Dorothy and the scarecrow!

Thanks so much for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Is it spring yet?

Hi!  I don't know about you, but every year about this time I start wishing for spring.  Not the occasional sunny cool day, but REAL spring where I can put my winter coat away for long term storage!  It doesn't help that our winter weather started later than normal and seems intent on hanging around a bit more... So I decided that if I couldn't see spring flowers outdoors, I would make them indoors.

I made both of these on a chilly, wintry, snow day and I have to admit that it did make me feel a bit warmer!  Circle of Spring was one of those stamp sets that I couldn't wait to order, so I hate to admit that this is the first time I've actually used the wreath and bow images.  I also pulled out some really retired dsp called Tea Party.  As a matter of fact, I had to dig in my retired supplies to find the markers and base paper to match it!

I used patterned paper to make the brick wall.  I wanted to use something other than plain cardstock, and I think the subtle floral pattern made an interesting background.  The jury is still out on the polka dots...  

I hope that no matter what the weather (or season) you are having, you will be inspired to create something that makes you feel better too!  Have a wonderful week!

Card Recipe: Paper-Tea Party dsp (ret), pretty in pink (ret), whisper white, Stamp Set- Circle of Spring, Ink-memento tuxedo black, smoky slate, pretty in pink, certainly celery, almost amethyst, Accessories-brick wall embossing folder, wonderful wreath framelits, small scallop circle punch, word window punch, modern label punch 

Sending out Valentines

Hello! As many already know, I was just a little behind at Christmas time and didn't get many cards made, and had to resort to (gasp!) store bought cards.  While I'm not going to beat myself up over this, I did want to send out some sort of handmade cards to a few people who always enjoy receiving them from me.  Valentines seemed to be the perfect solution and who wouldn't like to get a sweet card in the mail just like you did when you were a kid?  I only made three different kinds of cards and most of them were like the first one shown.  

There is something so cozy and sweet about a card that mimics a quilt. I thought the papers from Love Blossoms dsp worked so well for this and my trusty square lattice embossing folder makes a great 'quilted' design.  We will not discuss how many little squares I cut or how long it took me to fiddle with the patterns until I got them where I wanted them...

This one was a special card made for my best friend's son, who is crazy about both of my girls.  This was especially for him from them.  We thought he would love the monsters and the manly colors on this one! And who doesn't love wiggle eyes???

I made a couple of this design using the super pretty blushing bride glimmer paper.  It is a very basic design, but the glittery hearts really dressed it up!

I hope you enjoyed my Valentines and I would like to suggest that you make a few special cards to brighten up someone's day.  It is a little gesture that can have a tremendous impact.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Recipes: Paper-Love Blossoms dsp stack, garden green, whisper white, crumb cake, rose red, blushing bride, blushing bride glimmer paper, Stamp Sets-Teeny Tiny Wishes, Make a Monster (ret), Gift Givers (ret), Ink-rose red, blushing bride, memento tuxedo black, Accessories-square lattice embossing folder, small scallop circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, word window punch, modern label punch, speech bubble punch, large heart punch, various wiggle eyes

Happy Mother's Day???

Hi!  I am back again with another 'early bird' card!  It feels good to have cards completed ahead of time-now I just need to remember that I have them and where!!  

Today's card could be either a birthday or Mother's day card, but since Mother's day is before my Mom's birthday, I went with the latter.

As you can see, I'm still working on perfecting the center of the cup stamping without great success... I also slid the stamped layer to the left so a little more of the pretty paper is peeking out.  Have I mentioned how much I love the patterns in this stack?!  Wink of Stella also makes another appearance on the two hearts.  Oh, and that ribbon?  It is camouflaging a stamping alignment boo-boo, but it's such a pretty band aid ribbon!

 
I am so glad you stopped by and hope you are enjoying my experimenting as much as I am.  Eventually I WILL get that cup right!!  Have a fabulous day!!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, Birthday Bouquet dsp, Stamp Set-A Nice Cuppa, Ink-pool party, blushing bride, soft suede, Accessories-blushing bride pleated satin ribbon (ret), dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Ahead of the Game With a Beautiful Ride!

Hello! I am so very excited to share today's card! Not because it is some super amazing creation, but because I actually have my DD's birthday card done more than two weeks before her birthday! Can I get a Woop! Woop!?  Usually I'm still putting the last minute touches (or just beginning) the day or two before...  So color me happy that this is finished and I'm pretty pleased with it too.  

I have so many blogging friends that create these amazing scenery backgrounds for their cards and I'm always more than a little envious-still am!  However, I decided to put on the big girl panties and try making my own background.  It's not super awesome, but it doesn't totally suck either, and I know that DD will like it regardless.  You see, there is a little story behind this one.

DD#1 turned 16 during softball and musical season; after that came the part time job, and she was so swamped with everything that she wasn't even concerned about not having a drivers license.  I think I was more put out by doing all of the driving than she was about not driving.  At the end of the summer DH found a super great deal on DD#1's dream car-a VW beetle...and get this...it's a convertible!!! What?!  It does however have a manual transmission (which she is still attempting to master) and needed a bit of work.  So here we are in the middle of winter, her almost 17, and still not able to completely enjoy her freedom.  How does this relate to the card other than the Bug?  When she saw the stamp set Beautiful Ride, she went crazy! She wanted me to get it for her and couldn't believe I wasn't going to order it. "But Mom, you could use it on the scrapbook pages for the pictures of the car!", "Look at all the cool things you could make with this!", and promoting every other creative idea that popped in her head. Really laying it on thick...  So I did what any caring and loving mom does and told her no.  Then I secretly ordered it and hid it from her, because that's just how I am!  Then while she was at my parents helping them on the farm, I made her card, photographed it, and hid that too!

I am really looking forward to seeing her face when she opens the envelope and sees her card.  I even did a little selective inking of the stamp to turn it into a soft top, and added a sweet Shadow head peeking out the back because Labs love car rides too!  So now, even though she can't go cruising with the top down, she can look at this and remember that summer will be here before we know it!

Like I said earlier, my landscape skills need a lot more practice and my sunny corner looks more like a grade-schoolers sunshine, but I'm getting there and isn't art all about the journey anyway? How metaphorically perfect is that? Oh...I think I may need an intervention on my use of the Wink of Stella brush... I covered the car and the sun with it...but it's so very sparkly and pretty! My precious!! Oops, was that out loud?!

Now I just have to patiently wait for her birthday (and remember where I hid the card).  Maybe I'll even let her use the stamp set... After all, it is her birthday...

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a marvelous week!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, bashful blue (ret), basic black, Stamp Sets-Beautiful Ride, Happy Home, Ink-assorted markers, memento tuxedo black, silver sharpie, Accessories-pastels, colored pencils, dimensionals, Wink of Stella

A Tea-riffic Card

Hi! I'm back again with another 'snow day' card!  I have to admit that while I wasn't thrilled about missing work, it was fun to play with some new goodies!

Today's card could be used for different occasions-thank you, thinking of you, birthday, accomplishments...  This is also another card that changed from the original plan in my brain.  I wanted to use  Birthday Bouquet dsp for this card because the feminine patterns went so well with the whole teacup idea.  So I planned out my card, cut my paper and when I went to put the layers together I couldn't bring myself to cover so much of the pretty paper!  I mean why on earth would I used such beautiful paper and then just slap another piece of paper over it so only a small edge peeked out?!  So my original stamped image was set aside and I stamped a new smaller layer to pair with the pretty paper.  I really love the way this turned out and can think of several people who would enjoy this one.

I did have one issue with the stamping.  I have always loved rubber stamps and haven't worked much with the photopolymers.  I could not successfully get the center of the cup to stamp as well as the edges.  I ended up adding the sentiment to the center, which worked out well, but I really need to play around with this stamp a little more to see what the trick is.  I'll share my knowledge when I get it!

The majority of items used for this card are from the Occasions catalog which is currently available.  I have a link to the catalog in the left column if you would like to take a peek.  But I digress.  I already mentioned the beautiful Birthday Bouquet dsp, and the images are from A Nice Cuppa, but I think my favorite thing is the Wink of Stella pen.  Oh my word, could adding shimmer be any more easy???  I'm not sure if it shows up well on screen, but the steamy heart was treated to this glimmery goodness and it is so pretty!  I don't often make cards this 'girly', but I really like the way it came together, and now I have an all occasion card to add to my stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me and I hope you have a wonderful week!  Find your inner shimmer and make something awesome!!

Card Recipe:  Paper-whisper white, blushing bride, Birthday Bouquet dsp, Stamp Set-A Nice Cuppa, Ink-pool party, blushing bride, soft suede, Accessories-pool party seam binding (ret), Wink of Stella, dimensionals

The Sky Is the Limit!!

Hi! Today is a very snowy, chilly day and the powers that be decided we didn't need to go to school today!  My initial reaction was 'there goes another day of spring break...' but that was quickly replaced with snoozing for a few more hours and then spending a mellow day creating at home.

I am slowly getting some ink on the stack of stamp sets that had yet to be used and today's card features one that can be earned for free during Sale-a-bration.  It is called Sky Is the Limit and it works wonderfully for travel and masculine cards in general.  This card was truly an experiment since I had an idea of what might look cool.  I wanted to stamp the plane directly onto the dsp, flying over the map design.  Now there might be a fantastic way to do this that I'm not aware of, but when I tried it, it didn't look great.  So I did what I always do when I mess up, I covered it up! LOL!

Since the dsp had an aged and grimy edge to it, I carried that feel onto my stamped layer.  Then I went over the clouds with a q-tip and some whisper white ink.  While it didn't end up being as cool as I thought it would, I think it turned out OK.  Sorry about the washed out look, not sure why it's like that...

Well, that's it for me today.  I have more cards to share with you, but will space them out over the next week or so.  I'm not sure my blog could handle me posting so much all at once after the long period of neglect!  Have a wonderful day and may all your mistakes turn to masterpieces!

Card Recipe: Paper-crumb cake, Epic Day dsp (ret), Stamp Set-Sky Is the Limit, Ink-soft suede, whisper white, Accessories-hemp twine (ret), dimensionals 

Sprinkles are for winners...

Hello! Winter has finally shown itself in Indiana. We went from temperatures in the 60s at Christmas to the teens in January.  While it is not unusual for it to be this cold, it was a bit hard to adjust after the warmer temperatures we just had.  My girls finally got the snow they were hoping would appear at Christmas, and the first snowfall even came with enough frozen rain to give them two snow days.  I, however, was not ready for snow days. Snow days mean make up days, and make up days mean no small breaks before spring break... yuck!  On a positive note, I did manage to make potato soup, cinnamon rolls, read, and play with my stamps and paper-oh, and laundry...lots and lots of laundry...

I have a stack of stamp sets that have not seen ink yet, and I thought this would be a great excuse reason to make some cards.  It had been so long since I've done any real creating that I forgot how to do a few things, like layering stamped images. Let's just say it's a good thing that paper has two sides...  The second take went much better with my paper mask in place!  Rather than pulling out the ink pads and aqua painter, I went with pastels so I could sit on the couch and watch The Matrix with DD#1.  Family time + cardmaking. SCORE!!

I'm not sure when I've made a card with more layers, but since the embellishing is nonexistent, the layers add the needed interest.  It also went well with the stacked cone!

 

When I showed the finished card to DD#1, she asked about sprinkles.  I quoted Flo from Progressive and told her sprinkles were for winners.  Maybe, if I remember how to layer the scoops next time, I can have sprinkles on that card!  She actually laughed! 

I hope that your creative experiences are as fun and possibly more successful than mine!  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!!  Have a wonderful week!

Card Recipe:  Paper-Gingham Garden dsp (ret), crumb cake, watercolor paper, Ink-memento tuxedo black ink, pastels, Stamp Set-Sprinkles of Life

Thinking Warm Thoughts and Sale-a-brating

Hello!  Winter recently decided to show up at my house.  Normally, I don't mind visitors, but the ones who just randomly show up dumping snow, ice, and freezing temperatures are not so welcome... On the plus side, it did bring me the gift of  two snow days (yes, I'll be paying for this gift later...), and the chance to play with some new Sale-a-bration items.  Normally, the cold, snowy scenery would put me in the mood for Christmas cards, but I was really cold and wanted to think about sunny, spring afternoons instead!

There are TWO wonderful items featured here that you could receive for FREE during Sale-a-bration.  What is Sale-a-bration? It is an annual event held by Stampin' Up where you purchase $50 in product (before tax & shipping) and earn a free item.  It will continue through March 31st. I have a link to the catalog on the left side of the screen.  Both the stamp set and the paper are part of this year's fabulous selection of freebies!

The stamp set is called Botanicals for You and features the sentiment, flower, and leaf images seen on my card.  There are also three coordinating sentiments that are a bit smaller, and two additional flowers that are a little larger than the one I used.  The dsp is called Wildflower Fields and every single paper is fantastic! As you would expect, there are a lot of floral and nature prints, but there is also a pretty cool modern print that would work great for a more masculine card.  Personally, I love the fact that with just a little stamping and layering, I made a simple card that would work for a few different occasions.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I would love to stay here all day, but my family thinks they need food, and the recent snow play has left a mountain of laundry in the bathroom... Winter, next time call before you show up.  Maybe I won't be home!!

Have a wonderful day and I hope whatever the weather, you find some time to be creative too!

Card Recipe: Paper-Wildflower Fields dsp (SAB), old olive, whisper white, Ink-blackberry bliss, old olive, Stamp Set-Botanicals for You (SAB)

Playing with embossing again!

Hello and thanks so much for stopping by today!  I had so much fun playing with my embossing folders the other day that I couldn't stop.  This time I've made a 'wreath' with the embossing.

The center of the frame was the perfect spot for the sentiment and the only other think I added was a twine bow.  While I love making my pattern paper and inky cards, I have really enjoyed making these simple cards lately.  They are perfect for when you want to make something and don't have a lot of time.  I also tried some embossing on white and using black ink, but my first attempt was a disaster, and the second attempt is still sitting on the table.  I may end up salvaging it, but for now it's looking a bit messy...

My nearly empty card box is starting to fill up, and I'm hoping to get some scrapbooking going again too.  Soon the kids will be starting spring sports, and preparing for musical and spring concerts as well.  I better create while I can!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and I hope you have a wonderful week! Happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, kraft, Ink-white craft ink, soft suede, Stamp Set-Circle of Spring, Accessories-Holiday Frame ef, cherry cobbler bakers twine, linen thread

Super Fast Cards!

Hello and happy New Year! I am so happy to be able to share another crafty little creation with you before my Christmas break comes to an end.  Tomorrow, I will once again be waking to my alarm clock and heading back to school.  Part of me is glad to be getting back to a routine, but most of me would really like to have a few more days to relax!

Over the weekend, I was attempting to clean and reorganize my crafting area to make creating a little bit easier to squeeze into my schedule.  I managed to get a lot of things put in their proper places, but I have a whole basket of 'need to go through' that still needs a home.  I also came across some ideas I had jotted down from things I had seen on pinterest.  One was using the embossing as the focal point of the card.  Well, I had more than enough embossing folders to try out, so cleaning was put on hold so I could make a few cards!  I also used more of the kraft paper that has been setting on the table for who knows how long.  The cards came together so easy that I managed to make some for different occasions-even Christmas!!

I ran the kraft layer through the embossing folder, then rubbed the white craft ink pad over the surface.  A layer of kraft framed my sentiment strip and all of that went on the card base. Super easy and super fast!

I can't say I made a lot of progress on my organizing, but I do have a few more cards in my stash.  Plus, I put away my supplies after I used them, so maybe this is a new way to motivate me to not only clean up, but also use my supplies!!  Sounds good to me!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to be a little more active on here now that things are settling down from the holidays.  Have a marvelous week!!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, kraft, Ink-white craft ink, soft suede, Stamp Set-Curly Cute, Accessories-snowflake elements, beautifully baroque and vintage wallpaper embossing folders