A day of crafting

It's been so long since I crafted just for fun. I've been so busy - and my daughter dragged me to a knitting class (ok, it wasn't that hard, but really, another hobby??). Anyway, Kai has the flu, so we're forced to stay home. He's feeling a little better, so I've taken the opportunity to get some crafting done. I finished a rosary that someone asked me to restring for them, started a bracelet made entirely of jumprings - needed a break from that for a while and made these projects. It's always so good to get back into my studio...I miss it SO much when I'm away, especially for so long.

I really liked the Just Buzzing By set from SU. So, I decided to make flavor infused honey for Christmas gifts this year. I found the bottles at Specialty Bottle. I stamped the images and colored them with copics. I cut them with my nesties and adhered them with mod podge. I will make a coordinating tag to hang around the neck of the bottle with the name of the honey - Orange, Ginger Lime, Tabasco (for my dad, sounds great for cornbread), mint or apple cinnamon, which was a special request from Emma. She wants to start selling honey. I don't think she realizes the time and money that would go into one little ol' bottle of honey!

This is actually my first set of nuggets. I got the stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. So much fun! This will make great gifts for the kids in youth group! Shhhh...don't tell them!

Let's get organized!

OK, since I've started couponing, I've outgrown my old planner. And, I don't have down time at this job, so no need to take my bills to work (I do miss being able to pay my bills at work, but hey, everything's a trade off, right?). So, I went back to a 3 ring binder with pocket dividers. I used Bear-ied in paperwork from the Gruffies line. I thought this little guy was really cute when I bought him over a year ago, but this is the first time I've used him! I colored him with copics. I stamped the layers of varied paper with flourish stamps and viola - my new planner. I printed the insides from organizedhome.com. Maybe now I'll enjoy paying bills and making my grocery list -hmmm... not likely.

Happy Bday to Jace

My design team terms have all ended and I'm going to take a break for a while and stamp purely for fun. Here's my first for fun project. I used the Lots of Bots set from SU. I started with a gable green base, layered with pumpkin pie and basic grey dp. The nuts and bolts are stamped with brilliant blue stamped on gable green and layered with brilliant blue and pumpkin pie. I added some screw brads for fun. A birthday card HAS to have a ribbon right? So, I added pumpkin pie to mine. The robot is cut with a spellbinders label die.

The boss' bday and late father's day

My boss likes coffee and she's always cold, so I made her a coffee themed fleece tie blanket. This is the card I made to go with it. I used a rose colored paper I've had forever - it may or may not be Bazzill. The flowers are paper studio and just silk flowers with a dew drop in the center. The stamps are flourishes, which I had to redo 4 times because I had a five year old trying to "help" me. The dp is from Me and My Big Ideas.

My ex-husband's grandma recently moved into a nursing home. He got a lot of her recipes. So, my daughter came up with the idea of making him a recipe box. He has this print hanging in his dining room. So, I suggested printing a bunch of french pictures and doing a collage with this as the focal point. I think it turned out pretty well.

The card is made with the same print and is very simple. I just used a nestability and some dots. The smaller black frame is handcut, because nestabilities still hasn't granted my wish and made the in between sizes that I need for this shape! C'mon guys - get to it. I promise to be first in line to buy them!

Time to celebrate Pamikins week and a new pic of the mascot

Yes, that's right, another year has gone by and it's Pamikins week again. What? You've never heard of such a thing. Well, my sister Pam, decided many years ago that one day wasn't nearly enough time for her husband to spoil her as much as she deserves to be spoiled on her birthday, so Pamikins week was born. The nice thing about this is that her birthday is tomorrow, but since it lasts a whole week, this card won't be late! I used the SU set "Just Beachy". I stamped the fish and the surf wagon, colored them with copics and cut them out. I cut the circles with my nesties and stamped the fishes on the Cosmo Cricket wave dp circle. Then I adheared the cut out fish over them and added some google eyes, just for fun. Then I drove the surf wagon around the red circle. The base of the card is a tomatoey red cardstock paired with summer sun (SU) and a limey bazzill. Then more Cosmo Cricket dp. I was trying to decide upon what to add to the card when I remembered seeing a ribbon blossom like this about a hundred years ago. So, I pulled out a bunch of green ribbon and VIOLA! Happy birthday Pami!

And, for those of you who've been wondering what Wasabi has grown up like, here's a new picture of her. She rarely comes and sleeps on my desk anymore - she sticks to Kai's little chair in my studio. But, last night she came and got right up in the middle of everything, so I snapped this shot. Cute, huh?

A jewelry day

I started this necklace last night. I did the first two strands and then wanted a heart with drill holes going through it widthwise, rather than lengthwise. I looked everywhere for one or even a pendant heart. No luck - who woulda thunk it?? Anyway, I went to the dollar store to buy cat litter at the end of the day and found this on a bracelet, which matched the other heart beads really well. So, I'm finished. This is the first 3 tiered necklace I've made that's turned out very well.

Her loss, my gain

I tried to talk my mom out of buying this set. She has the SU set of wild animals - they aren't silhouettes and she thought she'd put them with the tree. I told her that she wouldn't like it. But, she didn't listen. So, now it's mine!

This is a bookmark for one of my son's Sunday school teachers. This Sunday is recognition Sunday. His teachers are a married couple who's granddaughter is in the class and they are so nice.

Kai asked me if I would make them a thank you card, but I figured I'd rather make them something they could use.

I started with post its, pumpkin pie, marigold morning, more mustard, cameo coral, brilliant blue, not quite navy and night of navy inks. After a few mishaps (I haven't used a brayer in a while), I got this, which I was ok with. The brayer, if you haven't ever used it, has quite a learning curve (at least for me). After inking the background, I stamped the silhouettes and inked the edges slightly with black, then mounted it on brilliant blue cardstock. I stamped the sentiment on marigold morning cardstock and inked it with pumpkin pie and a little black before mounting it on brilliant blue as well. The base is brilliant blue, layered with pumpkin pie. I hope that Kai's teacher likes this and gets some use out of it. I'm planning to make his wife a book thong with my beads, but not tonight - I'm tired.

No stampin' today

My parents are coming for a cookout on this, the 3rd day of the 3 day weekend. A day for family and remembering those we've lost. Nothing is going as planned. I've been trying to get the house clean and there's still much to do. I have a closet in my studio full of stuff and I want to get it cleaned out. My bedroom, I'm embarrassed to admit looks like my closet threw up - clothes everywhere, on my dresser and my desk that need to be hung up and a clothes basket full of clothes that need to be put in the dresser. Why do I stress about this - because I want to be perfect. I know that I can't be. But, I guess I want to come as close as I can.
I fall short in every area of my life: as a mom, as an employee, as a daughter, a friend and as a person. I want to be the best person I can be. I can't be perfect, so why does anything less than that seem like failure.
And, I like most, try to think of a quick fix cure for whatever isn't perfect. There is no quick fix cure. I've made a schedule for our family to keep the house clean and if we follow it, the house will be clean. Still, there will always be things that aren't on that schedule - it still won't be perfect. I will always fall short, no matter how hard I strive - so why does it upset me so much. Do I really think that other people have it all together and I'm the only one like this? No, I do know that everyone has problems. So, why do I still, even after recognizing all of this feel like I'm less than I should be.

Naked baby fishin'

I made this for my ex-grandma-in-law's bday. She likes the kewpies and I do, too. I colored them with copics, stardust pens and a white pen. The dp is from SU. It is paired with wild wasabi, bashful blue and so saffron. The flowers are paper studio. The ribbon is SU. The button is from my lss.

Chi-hua-hua

Yeah - who wouldn't want a chihuahua on their birthday cake? This is another new stamp from doggonestamps.com. I colored it with copics and souffle' pens. The dp is Two scoops from Basic Grey. It's paired with pirouette pink and wild wasabi. The ribbon is from Walmart.

For all the kids who wish they were in Montana right now

I know - late in the season for a sled card, but this is such a cute image, I couldn't resist. SEI paper again with black and tangerine. The ovals and circles were done with nesties. The image was colored with copics and stardust (to accent the snow).

Martini, shaken, not stirred...

OK, I'm a chick...I don't watch James Bond movies. So, I had to go looking for a quote and "Martini, shaken, not stirred" was one I found. Well, my dad told me a joke...what did the duck say when he went into the bar? Put it on my bill. So, the inside of this card says: "Martini, shaken, not stirred. Put it on my bill."

This is another new stamp from http://doggonestamps.com/ Where they're having an awesome sale right now. This is Duck, James Duck. Too funny, huh? I paired him with one of my old loves that I've rediscovered - SEI DP. The ribbon is ribbonfx paired with a charm that I was lucky enough to have onhand. The sketch is from this week's sketch over at splitcoast.

Stamping - how I have missed you

OH - I have missed stamping! I colored this frog last week and put the card together this evening. I colored him with copics and sakura glitter pens. The paper is k & co. I used chocolate chip, wild wasabi and an unknown lemony colored yello. The sentiment - dedicated to my future prince charming, wherever he may be - was printed on the computer and punched with two sized oval punches and a label punch. The background for my prince was done with my nesties. The flowers are paper studio, ribbon unknown and charm unknown.

Another new stamp from Dog Gone Dogs!

That's right - it all started out with a few sketches of pups, but Dog Gone Dogs has more than just dogs. This beautiful stamp was just released. I stamped it with black ink and colored it with primas for a change - it just seemed to cry out for a lighter touch. I wish you could see the glitter on the wings! The card base is pirouette pink layered with wild wasabi and another layer of pirouette pink, stamped with a script background stamp. The flower girl is mounted on a curvy rectangle that I inked with a meadow scene, layered with wild wasabi and purely pomegranite. I stamped all of the flowers with the same script background and added a center of dew drops.

Bring on the Spring!

I love this little girl. My "little" girl, who is about to turn 16, used to wear pigtails and hulahoop! This is one of my new stamps from doggonestamps.com. I used some previously hoarded su dp with wild wasabi, bashful blue, only orange and real red. The flower is a silk flower that I disassembled and paired with a polkadot prima. The eyelet is from We are Memory Keepers. It was kind of a muted orangey color, so I colored over it with an orange copic - just one of the great things about alcohol based markers. The eyelet says "You are my Sunshine". My dad used to sing when he shaved in the mornings and he often sang this song. The quote is part of the dp set and is by Ghandi. Come back soon and check out more of the cute new stamps I'm going to be creating with over the next few days!

My first card in a LONG while

I haven't made a card for fun (rather than work) in a long time. I got this SU set - Hit the Road, just shortly after the Spring/Summer catty came out. But, I haven't had a chance to ink it up until now. What better way to spend a snow day than making a snow day card? The papers are baha breeze, red ridinghood and white. I stamped the baha circle with a swirl bg stamp (haven't used one of those in a long time either). I added some liquid applique snow and my pup had the perfect place to try out his 4 wheel drive (something I wish I'd had this morning, maybe I could have gotten out of my driveway and gone to church). I embossed the white with my cuttlebug. The snowman strip is from a piece of KI memories dp I've been hoarding. It's shimmery, so there is a little bit of a glare. The snowman is a metal tag...no idea where it came from. I have a bunch of them that I found when looking for an embellishment today. Ok, well, my son is ringing the bell, which means I'm supposed to be out there helping him clear the drive...hope you enjoyed the card!

Snowed in

So much for spring! Actually, I've kind of enjoyed it. The kids have gone outside several times (for about 5-10 minutes each, the wimps). I imagine if they head out today, they'll stay out longer because it's not blowing and it's not as cold as yesterday. I've really been trying to get some things done around the house - the laundry is totally caught up. Or at least it was until the boys went out and got wet 3 times! But, to me, a snow day just cries out for one to be lazy. I have enjoyed cooking. I was going to make cookies and decided we didn't really need them. So, I'm going to make ham loaf. When I did a freezer inventory the other day, I realized I had a lot of leftover ham. The ham is thawing and I brought the grinder attachments to the KitchenAid mixer up from the pantry and have washed them all. I'm going to try the asian sauce I made the other night with shrimp with beef tonight. Unfortunately, Gage has drunk all of the orange juice. But, I have some clementines, which will work nicely - so sweet!

And, now - brace yourselves. I have set the boys up with a movie and I'm going to make a card! I know, hard to believe, it's been so long. I'm excited and a little nervous, actually - it's been so long, I'm afraid now that I actually have time, I won't be able to think of anything to do! So, wish me luck and come back soon to see what I did.

WOW - it's been a long time!

Things have been absolutely crazy at work lately. I was tired when I got home several nights in a row and got nothing done. Now I'm trying to get caught up on housework. I did get most of my laundry caught up last night. We've invited the church youth pastor for dinner on Monday, so we have a deadline and have to get the house cleaned up!
I tried a new recipe last night - sort of. I made lo mein and then made shrimp cooked in garlic, orange juice, hoisin sauce and a little cayenne pepper. The sauce, while simple, was really good, but I think it lends itself better to beef. So, I think next time I'll dredge some thin beef in cornstarch and cook it in oil. The cornstarch might thicken the sauce just a little and I think it will taste great! I also think it would be better with rice. Throw in some crab rangoon or potstickers with broccoli and we'll be good to go! I'm getting better with Asian cuisine, although my crab rangoon isn't as pretty as what you normally see in a restaurant.

Birthday hound!

Birthday Betsy has come to town! This is another amazing stamp from http://doggonestamps.com/ I colored Betsy with copics and cut her out. I LOVE to cut out my images - want a tip on cutting? I use cutterbee scissors - keep them SHARP! Put your thumb in the thumb hole and your middle finger in the other whole. This will give you more control over the scissors. It takes a little getting used to, but is very helpful. Finally, move your paper, turn the paper, not the scissors when you cut for a smoother line. Anyway, this is for the sketch challenge over at http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/doggonestamps I used basic grey dp, pumpkin pie and pacific point.

Homage to star wars

I loved this frog from the minute I saw him! Maybe it's because he's green, maybe it's the wisdom he exudes, but he reminds me of Yoda. Hence, the quote. I loved the asian-like print of the basic grey. All papers are basic grey except the card base, which is buckaroo blue. I colored the image with copics and for the first time, really got into using the blending marker. Love it now - expect to see it a lot more in the future. I colored the primas to match with copics as well. So, in the spirit of the Lenton season, I hope that you will be inspired by this to do or not do.

That's all folks!

Another adorable stamp from doggonestamps.com! I knew when I saw this little piggy, for some reason, I wanted to make a very cartoony back drop for him. So, here he is in his cartoon meadow. I found the quote and it just felt right. I really like the cartoon feel of the picture paired with the elegance of the quote and the lines of the curvy rectangle nesties - it just feels like a story book. This is for the challenge on papercraftplanet.com in the doggonestamps forum. The challenge was to make a purple card. Well, I'm not much of a purple kind of gal. But, I do like almost amethyst. So, I paired it with certainly celery and so saffron. Then I threw in some black to ground all of those pastels a little bit. I'm not sure where I got the ribbon, but it matched well. And now a message to spellbinders - PLEASE make another set of the curvy rectangles! Everytime I use these I have to cut the second layer by hand because the next size up just seems too big to me. I promise -if you make them, I will be the first in line to snap them up!

Sweet giraffe

Isn't this giraffe a cutie? I colored him with copics and cut him out. He is mounted on nestie ovals, layered with nestie labels. The card base is sunshine yellow, chocolate chip, and k& co. dp. The nesties are done in red and choclate with the same dp. I embossed the red layer. The giraffe ribbon has a sparkley ribbon slide. The flowers are prima and paper studio set off with a rhinestone brad.

Happy Valentine's day!

I'm early! That hardley ever happens. This is my new stamp: Gabby and Zoey Bows, from doggonestamps.com This card is for my sister and brother in law who got married on Valentines day 22 years ago when they were just babies. They are total dog people. So, this stamp is perfect for them. I colored the pups with copics and cut them out, chopping the bow on the tall one's head to make her a him. The card base is tempiting turquoise layered with chocolate chip and twitterpated dp - an ancient relic from SEI. The pups are mounted on nestie's labels in pirouette pink, chocolate chip and tempting turquoise. The flower is a spellbinders die, embossed and inked with pink passion. The center is something I've had forever. Hope you all like it!

Doggone stamps!

This is my first card with my new stamps from doggonestamps.com. This little guy is SO cute! He's called "Black Lab" and you can just tell he want's to play. It would make a cute valentine's card, too. Unfortunately, I have no recipients! I stamped the pup with archival black ink. I colored with copics and sponged the grass and sky. The dp is pet stack from DCWV. No idea where I got that brad, maybe oriental trading co. The cardstock is from Hobby Lobby, no idea of brand or color, just picked what matched the dp. I used su hardware on the sentiment and the ribbon is offray.

New Design Team

I have just accepted a position on the design team at doggonestamps.com They are a new stamp company. You should really go check them out! They have the cutest stamps! I just placed my first order and as soon as I get them I'll get some cards posted here. Come back soon to see them!

Two posts in one day??!!?!!?!

I made this card for the featured stamper challenge on SCS. I knew when I saw this card: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1139669?cat=500&ppuser=64518 in BevR's gallery I wanted to use it for the challenge. I changed the stamp set, the colors and papers, snowflakes to flowers and the shape of the sentiment. I just love this little beaver from Clear Dollar Stamps! He's so cute! And - believe it or not - no basic grey on this card! I used a new paper pad from Me & My Big Ideas - remember the stick people stickers from about 10 years ago?? The card base is mellow moss, layered with chocolate chip and MAMBI dp. I cut the panel on one side with jumbo scallop scissors and layered it with more MAMBI dp. I layered blue and moss ribbon to accent. The flowers are silk flowers that I've taken apart, primas and Queen and Co. The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate chip, layered with a chocolate chip oval. I just realized I forgot the corner punch - I do have it, will have to go stick it on.

No stampers were harmed in the making of this card

I managed to avoid injuring myself this time. I made this invite for supper club, which we are hosting this month. Only 15 more to go, although I'll probably change it up a little. I did all of my Christmas cards the same one year and I've never used that stamp set again since then! I used Stampin' Up's Voila, which I haven't used for a while (one of my New Year's resolutions, rather than spending more money on stamps. On a side note, I had several things in a shopping cart at Treehouse Stamps and decided that I should not spend the money. So, if anyone at Treehouse Stamps is watching and would like to offer me a position on your design team, the answer is yes! Anyway, I stamped the chef on white Georgia Pacific cardstock and colored him with copics. The cardbase is made of real red, layered with black cardstock, which I embossed using my cuttlebug swiss dots folder and SU red and white DP. I added black sheer ribbon and ovals nesties. I put the chef on the ovals and added white dots.

It drew blood

Now you know this cute little coon didn't bite me - nope, he's safe. It was all Magick's fault. For those of you who don't know, I adopted a cute little siamese - my mascot, pictured over here on the right, Wasabi. She fit just right on my desk. Well, then we inherited her much larger and not quite as graceful (yeah, I'm being nice, he's a big ol' oaf) brother, Magick. He is my self-proclaimed new and improved mascot, because, you see, he doesn't just sleep on the desk beside me and purr. No, he likes to get right in the thick of things and help out. This only becomes a problem when he jumps right in the middle of whatever I'm working on (3 or 4 times). Well, this time I was trying to poke my brad through two layers of that pretty ribbon and a layer of paper. I couldn't find my paper piercer, so I used a straight pin, which helped not a bit. So, when Magick crash landed on my desk, the brad went right through all those layers and into my finger. Oh, well, at least I got the brad through, right? So, if you've made it through the story and you're still reading, here's the card recipe. That cute little (not rabid) racoon is from Clear Dollar Stamps. Go check them out - they have amazing stuff. I colored him with copics and made him a little hairy with a fine line SU marker in creamy caramel. The card base is elegant eggplant, layered with basic grey (of course, is there any other kind of paper? I really need to get out more), chocolate chip and more BG. When I was little (like kindergarten) I loved green and purple together, so I really liked that this DP let me go back to that color combo. Anyway, The "frame" for the coon is made with curvy rectangle nesties, I hand cute the closer layers (the chocolate chip and the elegant eggplant) because I really don't like all the space that the curvy rectangles leave - are you listening spellbinders - make more sizes, I'll buy them! I added a cocoa-y ribbon layered with a limey ribbon and used my label punch with the flowered BG behind the hardware. I punched a lime oval stamped with the sentiment and layered it with a chocolate chip oval. I popped the ovals up for dimension. This is for the lady I work with who will be leaving us at the end of the month. She is so sweet, I will really miss her. I hope she likes the card, thank goodness I didn't get any blood on it!
OH - BTW, thank you to those of you who've wished me a happy birthday. We've had some sickies in the family and I've been finding it difficult to find time to stamp. I've missed it and I'm glad I finally got to make something! I spent my birthday at the bowling alley chasing a group of 5 year olds. My son's turning 5 tomorrow, so we had his party on Saturday. However, my mom has promised me a belated celbration at Olive Garden this weekend! :)

Back again

OK - I haven't been doing too well keeping up with the blog this year so far. I do have an excuse. I had the stomach flu - I haven't been that sick for a long time and hopefully won't again for another long time. Anyway, here's my last thank you note (at least until my birthday in 9 days):

My mom and dad got me Stampin' Up's Under the Stars for Christmas. I paired the bear with this great camping paper from Cloud 9 Designs (it's from Fiskars, who knew?). The base of the card is cranberry crisp, layered with plaid dp, black and camping dp. I stamped the bear with jet black ink and colored him with copics. He is standing on a nestie-cut circle made with the camping dp, layered with black and nestie-cut ovals in plaid and cranberry crisp (wow, just seeing that makes me want to make fruit crisp for dessert tonight, but I think I'll hold off a while longer before trying food like that). The ribbon is twill and I stamped the sentiment on cranberry crisp layered with black and punched with SU ovals.

Grateful puppy

This is my first time using this cute little puppy even though I've had him for a long time. I stamped the pup on a diamond shape and colored him with copics. Then I matted it with red and black. The card base is wild wasabi (my personal fave of all time) layered with black, red and K&Co dp. The ribbon is SU pumpkin pie. The little cactus and the sentiment are part of the pup set.

Frenchy's Friday Inspiration Face-Off

OK - it's a brand-spankin' new year. What are your resolutions? Got 'em? Now - that's your inspiration for the day. Make a card inspired by your New Year's Resolutions. Here are a couple of mine that I was inspired by: Remember to be grateful (this is a thank you note), try to use more of my old stamps in a new way rather than buying new ones (ok, you know there will be exceptions in cases of emergency when there are great new stamps released, but for this card I used a retired SU set), simplify (although I'm planning to apply this to my life rather than my projects, this is a very simple card).

I started out with Big Celebrations, which I bought when it was retiring a couple of years ago, but I've only used it a few times. Rather than using my old stand by copics, I used SU markers with a watercolor pen to color it. I sponged a little baha breeze on the edge to compliment the blue color (You can't see it well in the picture) in the basic grey DP. I cute the image and it's black mat with nesties as well as the layers of the card. I placed them all on a real red card base, added dots ala markie's mom and tied on a ribbon. So, show me what you've got: make a card inspired by your resolutions and post a link here. If you post to SCS use the keyword FFIF12.

Happy New Year!

OK - I finally got a chance to use my new flourishes sweet treats set. I love the cake stand! I stamped it on white Georgia Pacific Cardstock with Jet Black Archival Ink, colored the scallops and feet with copics, then stamped it on Basic Grey Two Scoops and paper pieced the "flat areas". I stamped each cupcake with walnut stain, colored the "icing" with glue pen and glittered it. Then I cut each one out and placed it on the cake stand. I used glaze pen for the cherry on top. The card base is from my brand new package of that lucious pink pirouette, layered with chocolate chip and basic grey two scoops dp. I stamped the sentiment in walnut stain on pink pirouette layered with chocolate chip. This is one of those "simple cards" that takes forever. The layout is simple, but the paper piecing, glittering and cutting out of each cupcake took a long time. I am happy with it, though. After all, who could resist glittery cupcakes?