Erin's Craft Ideas

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-03T11:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know! Christmas is over! Well, why not start on my cards for next year? Haha! Even I'm not THAT ahead of the game! I'm just still in the Christmas mood, and wanted to create a card using the PI Christmas Stocking Girl from MFT. She's fairly new to my collection, and I wanted to ink her up. It worked perfectly w/ the January Guest Designer challenge of paper piecing that is going on now!

The Christmas tree is actually made out of snowflake dies! I don't have a tree die, (Kim ~ there's an idea!), so I looked through the dies that I do have and wondered how a tree would turn out if I used snowflakes and glued them together! Well, this is exactly what I wanted it to look like!

The paper piecing that works for the challenge is on her pajamas! I added flocking on the stocking top and her slippers to add some texture.

Copics to color her face and hair. A little sewing around the edge of the dp. I die cut the post card words out w/ the Framed Greetings die, and added the Swirly Flourish die underneath.

Have a great day!
Happy New Year!

Dressing up gift cards!

2011-12-25T23:43:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! Just wanted to share a special book that I made for my parents for their Christmas gift. I purchased gift cards for them for Christmas, because they have everything, so what could I buy them? And how boring are gift cards? I mean, they are wonderful to have. The freedom to buy whatever you want, instead of getting something specific that you may not like, and have to return. I personally love gift cards, but the presentation is usually lacking. Until now!!!!

I bought them quite a few, because they are awesome, and deserve quite a few! When I had them all in my hands, I thought, ok, I have to do SOMETHING cool for them! I first thought of an advent calendar. You open a door, and a gift card is behind it. So, this is where that idea led to!

The Christmas Gift Card Holder Book! LOL! Ta dah! ;D

Here's the cover. I used a regular white piece of paper, and white embossed the Dec. 25th. Then I used red Smooch spray, green Tattered Angels spray, and white paint mixed w/ water to create a snowflake effect. I sponged the edges w/ green Ranger Distress ink. And the snowflake is an MFT die!
The shape of this album is a shape found from svgcuts.com I believe? Not sure....Simon Says Shapes I think is the name.

Blogger is being ridiculous, so you'll have to tilt your head to look at this first page. {eye roll} I drew the entire oven. I used copics to color. White gel pen for the criss cross on the towel, silver gel pen for the oven racks. The silver brads are "knobs" for the oven. And above the oven are signs for panini's and soups from Panera Bread.....the first gift card! The tile work behind the stove is actually just grid lines that I created w/ my ruler. And I created the wood floor as well.

This page is pretty easy. I was tired by this point, so I made it super simple. I created a bookmark, which my mom can peel off and use. She still loves to turn the page of a regular book. I love the touch of a button to turn the page! ;D Behind this bookmark are gift cards for Barnes & Noble.
The stamps I used are from MFT's I {Heart} Books! I colored her w/ copics.

Again, this one was pretty simple. I had too many ideas floating around in my head, I couldn't settle for just one. I found these carrots from a Flourishes set that I colored w/ copics and cut out. The turkey is from another set, I can't remember which one. I think an Inkadinkado set for recipes, if I'm not mistaken. The plate is resting on a "table". To get the gift cards out for a series of restaurants, pull on the carrots and turkey! I cut the words 'Bon Appetit!' on my cricket.

This page was one of my favs! I took two MFT sets w/ full dress showing and stamped them on paper. For the robe, I applied a generous layer of glue and adhered pink flocking all over it. Front and back! For the dress, my dad had given me tons of fabric samples a few years ago. I still have them and use them when necessary. I cut two sides of the dress, and glued them together. For the skirt, I took a piece of suede material and cut it in half. I took a sliver of pleather and created a belt. I stamped the words 'Oooh La La!' and cut them out.
The gift card is for Macy's and I have it peeking out from behind the clothes rack!

These next two were for my dad. He received a few gift cards for Lands End. Well, when I think of Lands End, I think of coats, hats, boots.....ah, boots! That is actually what I created here! I drew a template from paper, and adhered pleather to the toe and suede for the sides. I used eyelets and brown ribbon for the laces. On the inside, I wanted to make it nice and warm, so I put some liquid applique in there and heated it up right after I put it on! I wanted to make it look like wool!

And the last page! iTunes was the last gift card of choice. I could have gone in so many different directions, but time was NOT on my side, so I had to keep it simple. I found a sheet of music in my vintage folder, so that's my background. I drew the notes and cut them out. The gift cards are peeking out behind.

For all of the gift cards, I created a very simple envelope for them to sit in and keep them contained. I tucked most of them behind the background paper to make it easier for my themes on each page!

I hope you enjoyed viewing this! My parents LOVED it! My mom even talked about putting it on her tree each year! :D

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas!

MFT Product Tour Time!!!

2011-12-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hello MFTers! I hope that you are enjoying the Product Tour! For a full listing of participants, go to Kim's Blog!

Today, I am focusing on my little cutie, the Pure Innocence Heartwarmer! I wanted to come up w/ a clever idea of what I could do with him and his snowballs (thought of stamping a PI buddy and having a good, old fashioned snowball fight), but, I wasn't sure how well it would photograph. I might try that at some point....
I went onto Pinterest, and saw a cute idea of a snowman inside a jar! And then I got my idea!
A Snowball Fight In A Jar!

I used a regular mason jar that I found in my laundry room. I painted the lid white, and adhered the silver ribbon that you see that's kind of frilly and wild and crazy. I used the Fancy Flourish and Let It Snowflake die-namics to create my scene. Along w/ the Wonky Scallop Border. The Fancy Flourish is to mimic wind and on the wind are snowflakes falling onto the snow already piling up at the feet of our little Heartwarmer! The rhinestones are the sparkly snowflakes falling even faster than the regular flakes! All you see are the flashes and sparkle as they fall from the sky! I used my brand new Icicles Border Die for the top to add some detail and make it look even colder!!!!

Inside you will see 2 white circle punches. These are to signify snowballs. I took white liquid paint, and mixed it w/ water, and sprayed the inside of the jar to make it look like the jar got hit w/ snowballs. Of course, my camera couldn't pick up that detail. But, in real life, it's speckled under the snowballs! There's one to the upper right of the Heartwarmer, and then behind him to the Left. You can see it in the next picture.

This is just a different angle of the jar.

This is what the jar looks like on my hutch in my kitchen! I used fresh pine all throughout my house this year for Christmas, and I LOVE how it turned out! This is just one of my shelves!

Happy Shopping my friends!

It's Party Day at MFT! Let's get revved up for release time!!!

2011-12-05T23:59:00.000-05:00

We have made it to Release Day! Are you SO excited???!!!! This month's release has just been AMAZING! I have SO enjoyed being a part of it! Thank you MFT for inviting me!!!! I have had a blast stamping and creating special projects! For a complete listing for today's participants, please visit Kim's Blog!

Our challenge today is to highlight the newest Die-namics. And to use them in ways one might not think to use them. Well, if you are a regular to my blog, you know that I am always thinking beyond the norm. Once again, I have created 2 unique ways to use the Oval Open Scallop Doily! Some of you might already have this, as it was part of the VIP kit offered earlier this month (last month!). If so, break it out and start using it! It is one of THE most awesome doilies that MFT has come out with! LOVE the oval shape! It makes a perfect background panel, as you've seen the DT use in their card samples. But, today, I have two new uses for them!

First up, a sunshiny card for anyone who is feeling blue. This will surely brighten their day! When I took the picture, I didn't even need to use a flash! Hahaha! Are you laughing???!!!! ;D

I took a piece of white paper and die cut it w/ the Oval Open Scallop Doily Die-namics. I sprayed it w/ Gingersnap Smooch Spray to get that speckled look. Then, I adhered it to the kraft cardstock. I used a ruler to make the rays of sunshine, and a paper piercer. I sewed the lemondrop twine from MFT to make each ray of sunshine. Once I finished that, I felt that the sun just wasn't good enough. So, I sewed rosettes along the inside holes to finish it. I used the Banner Die to create the sentiment, and Wendy Alpha. I sewed rosettes w/ the same twine on the banner to match the sun.

Here you can see a closer look at the sewing and speckled sun.

The second card that I created is a bouquet of flowers, using the Inspired By Flowers Set #4 that was featured on Day 2! The Oval Open Scallop Doily Die-namics is the white bouquet holding the flowers together. I used the Framed Greetings Die-namics for a panel on the front and inside to write a little note.
For the flowers, I stamped them in Memento Black, colored them w/ Copics, and cut them out. Then, I took my mouse pad and a stylus and curved the edges of the petals to give some dimension.

I die cut the Fancy Flourishes & Leafy Flourish to create "leaves" and just add some pizazz to the bouquet! I adhered everything on a piece of acetate.

Here you can see a better view of the doily. What I did was cut from one side to the middle, and then made a cone and glued it in place. I used pieces of Fancy Flourishes for the stems to keep the flowers above and over the doily.

And so now you have learned 2 NEW ways to use your Oval Open Scallop Doily! Because it WILL be yours! You KNOW you have to get one, if you don't already have one! Don't miss the boat!!!!! Grab it tonight at the release!

Here's some VERY important info!

Now that we've teased and tempted you all week long, it's almost time for you to shop for your favorite http://www.mftstamps.com/brand-spankin-new">Brand Spankin' New products from http://www.mftstamps.com/index.php?route=common/home">MFT.

But first... it's time for our Die-namics Feature and Pre-Release Pep Rally!

Our Design Team has been busy creating jaw-dropping and inspiring projects for you, and we've saved the best for last.

We've taken an in-depth look at this month's http://www.mftstamps.com/die-namics">Die-namics, while re-visiting the amazing sets being released tonight at 10 PM EST http://www.mftstamps.com/brand-spankin-new">RIGHT HERE in the MFT Boutique.

And while we are at it, how about we make your life even easier with a "cheat sheet" of all that's new? Head over to the http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/">MFT Blog to print out a shopping list.

Here are the details about the upcoming release on December 6 at 10 PM EST:

You can attend the New Release Party on December 6th from 8-10 PM EST http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/my-favorite-things-f164/">HERE in the MFT forum, where you can enjoy fun, games, and PRIZES!

The MFT release, including all new stamp sets and Die-namics, is on December 6 at 10 PM EST. You'll find all the newest products http://www.mftstamps.com/index.php?route=common/home">HERE at release time.

You have just a few more hours to submit your entry for this month's guest designer contest. Check out the http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/my-favorite-things-f164/">forum for details on how YOU can win $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, and play along with the MFT Design Team for a month.

If you'd like to see all the designers' posts for today, please click on over to the https://www.mftstamps.com/blog/">MFT Blog NOW. Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily. The winners will be posted on December 6 just before the release party, on the https://www.mftstamps.com/blog/">MFT blog.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy MFT Release Day!!!!See you at the party! Be there or be Oval! Sorry, ANOTHER bad joke!!!! I just can't stop! ;D

MFTeaser Day 6!!! Pure Innocence FUN!

2011-12-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

Hello there!!! Welcome to Day 6 of the MFTeasers! What inspiration we have seen so far for this release! Are you having fun and getting LOTS of ideas for the sets you're going to buy soon?!

Today is all about Pure Innocence! Oh how I LOVE this line! I love them all! But the Pure Innocence line reminds me of my kids, so this line is very dear to me! To see the full listing of participants, see Kim's Blog!

I have been given the honor of working with Pure Innocence Heartwarmer! What a sweetheart!!! He warms my heart! Just so darling! When I took him out of the package, I instantly knew that I HAD to create a scene with him! As I was looking over my stamp room, I found a piece of wood (well, I have a lot of wood scraps), and thought that it would make a perfect wall hanging!

Here is what I started with. The wood that I actually used (this is just another piece so you can see what it looked like before I painted it!) measures 6" x 6" square.

Then, I painted the wood gray / some of my kids' paint that I stole from them!, sponged in some blues and purples to give it some shadow. I sponged black ink around the edges to finish it off a bit. I colored my little Heartwarmer w/ Copics, and really tried to color like the rest of the MFT Design Team. They are teaching me just by looking at their awesome creations, how to color the MFT images. They are GREAT teachers! Of course, I still have a LOT to learn, but I'm getting there! I love the shading!

Anyway, I drew the tree to fit my piece of wood. The sled is the MFT Woodgrain Fence Die-namics. I rounded the edges on the ends. The fence is my new favorite die!

Here you can see the whole project with ribbon!

Now I have another Christmas decoration to hang in my home! So fun!

Thanks for stopping by! Here's some NEED TO KNOW INFO!

Here are the details about the upcoming release on December 6 at 10 PM EST:

The guest designer contest is ON! Check out the http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/my-favorite-things-f164/">forum for details on how YOU can win $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, and play along with the MFT Design Team for a month.

If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to the https://www.mftstamps.com/blog/">MFT Blog NOW. Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily. The winners will be posted on December 6 just before the release party, on the https://www.mftstamps.com/blog/">MFT blog.

Card ingredients:
Paper: white, Red Ridinghood, wood
Inks: Memento Black, copics, Black Creative Memories Journaler; Black Soot, Stormy Sky, Milled Lavender (all Tim Holtz Distress inks); gray kids paint
Embellishments: flocking, Woodgrain Fence; Wonky Scallop Border; Let It Snowflake

MFTeaser Time! Day 2!!!

2011-11-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome! Today is Day 2 of the MFTeasers!!!! I'm so glad you could join us! I'm so excited to be a part of the teasers this month! I am so honored to have been invited, along w/ 6 other talented MFT Junkies! Check out Kim's blog for the full listing of participants!

Today we are featuring the BEYOND gorgeous line, Inspired By! MFT has a new addition! Inspired By Flowers (set 4) & Inspired by Months of the Year! Oh my goodness, let me tell you how AWESOME these sets are! I already know that I will be using the Months of the Year constantly! It already has a permanent place on my desk for easy access! And the Flowers are just fabulous to stamp with! Just wait! You NEED these two sets! I'm so 'inspired', I am going to get the other Flowers sets so that I have a complete collection! I already have tons of ideas for these flower sets! I'm sure, as you peruse through the other designers' blogs, you'll start to get ideas for these sets as well!

For my card today, I decided to make a chocolate sunflower instead of a regular, yellow sunflower. I was 'inspired by' a flower garden down the street from me that has a chocolate sunflower! It was SO beautiful, I just had to re-create it here for you today!

Card ingredients:
Paper: dp from The Crafty Stack (DCWV); white, Chocolate Chip
Stamps: Inspired By Flowers (set 4); Inspired By Months of the Year
Inks: E09, Y00, Y13, E77, E07, R59, E49, YG17, G28, YG06; Black Memento; Garden Green
Embellishments: Oval Tab Die-namics; Labels 8 Spellbinders; straw

I hope that I have 'inspired' YOU today! Enjoy the rest of the teasers! Below you'll find some valuable information for upcoming events!

Here are the details about the upcoming release on December 6 at 10 PM EST:

You can attend the New Release Party on December 6th from 8-10 PM EST HERE in the MFT forum, where you can enjoy fun, games, and PRIZES!
The MFT release, including all new stamp sets and Die-namics, is on December 6 at 10 PM EST. You'll find all the newest products HERE at release time.
The guest designer contest is ON! Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, and play along with the MFT Design Team for a month.
If you'd like to see all the teasers for today, please click on over to the MFT Blog NOW. Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily. The winners will be posted on December 6 just before the release party, on the MFT blog.

Have a truly Inspired day!

History Lesson!

2011-11-13T02:16:00.001-05:00

Last fall we took a trip to Gettysburg Battlefield. It's always fun to go there! (I think!) My husband and I are history freaks, so we take every opportunity to go somewhere historic! The kids just love it! NOT! Haha!

Anyway, this layout and the colors are based on Swirlydoos' Swirlyhues Second Challenge. I did half of it by the deadline, so I completed it tonight! Whew! I'm completely exhausted! I baked cookies and worked on this at the same time!

Ok, for the swirly challenge (even though I'm not in the running because I'm late), the tutorial I used was sugar letters. However, when I created my chipboard letters, I didn't follow directions. I took Crystal Effects and adhered on each letter. Then I took microbeads and poured and pressed them onto the letters.
Then I took Dazzling Diamonds, and sprinkled just a little bit onto each letter to make them sparkle.

I followed the sketch to a T. And added a few things here and there. In the bottom Left corner, I made a rosette w/ ribbon. I attached a couple Kitchen Sink Stamp leaves around it. The banner is from My Favorite Things, and I attached each flag w/ brown thread which I made rosettes on either side. Underneath it all was a plain piece of 12 x 12 which I sprayed with several Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. I used Tim Holtz's swirl mask. I used vellum for the journaling, as well as the thin layers beneath the pictures. I didn't really want them to show up, and I wanted my plain piece of 12 x 12 that I sprayed to show up wherever it could. Behind that piece of 12 x 12 is a piece of Cored'nations Cardstock, sanded and distressed.

Thanks! Have a great day!

A bridal shower card

2011-11-13T02:09:00.001-05:00

Hi! Today I would like to share with you a card that I made for a friend. She is going to a bridal shower tomorrow, and when she picked up something from my house yesterday, I offered to make her a card to take w/ her.
This is what I created!

I was inspired by THIS CARD by the lovely and very talented Cindy Lawrence! I loved that she punched the side of her card! Genius idea! I took from her card and made it my own. The letters spelling out LOVE are chipboard w/ Summer Flower Soft. The swirl is from MFT's Swirly Flourish Die-namics, as well as the scallop border, from MFT.

On the inside, I stamped a wedding dress from To Have and To Hold by SU!, and put some more flower soft where the flowers go.

Thanks! Have a wonderful weekend!

Pamper Yourself!

2011-11-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

This weekend I finally had a chance to tackle an order that has been waiting quite some time. My brother's girlfriend and her mother own a spa, and they have asked me to create gift certificates for their clients. I have made several sets for them. Fortunately business is good, and they are flying out of their spa! They have asked me recently to make another set!
I just love how these have turned out!

To create the front, I used MFT's Sew Nifty Die-namics for the mannequin, and the stamp set for the image. I also used their Swirly Flourish Die-namics for the swirl, and the Zig Zag Die-namics layered on the ribbon. The WTG Girls Day In set by MFT provided the sentiment, which works perfectly for this genre! The bird and sentiment are punches from SU!. The Eiffel Tower is stamped and then cut out.
I wanted to go vintage/French/definitely female. I hope that I have achieved that look.

The inside was done in Word. I downloaded special font, included their logo in the corner, and the bottom has their information which I was able to pixelate in Picnik to protect their privacy. I pixelated their logo a little bit.

So, besides these 20 gift certificates that I have created, and a few scrapbook pages, I really have not had any time to stamp. I'm really bummed about that and hope that it changes soon! Christmas is coming, so that means that Christmas cards will need to be started! I have started brainstorming on some ideas. I look at my Santa stamps and just wish I had time to play around w/ them! I know I could come up w/ some really cute ideas! One of these days! LOL! My Pampered Chef business has taken off, so I have been busy w/ that! That's why I'm at my office desk instead of my craft desk all the time! Haha!

Well, I'll see you all soon w/ a new project! I have some teacher Christmas gifts to make and I don't want to bombard myself w/ projects 5 days before Christmas break starts! Time management!!!!!

Have a wonderful day!

The Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-10T17:28:00.000-04:00

What could be better on a sunny afternoon than going to the pumpkin patch w/ your kids?! My mom and I have been doing this since my oldest was a baby! We would go and take pictures with the biggest pumpkin, the tractors, the cornstalks and hay bales, and yards and yards of pumpkins just waiting to be decorated by little hands! This year was no different!

I took pictures of them sitting on pumpkins, then holding baby pumpkins on their heads (my son came up w/ that brilliant idea!) ;D We took pictures of each of the kids sitting among the miles of pumpkins, and by the beautifully vibrant mums!

That evening I uploaded the pictures to my computer and formatted them to my liking for Facebook sharing, and decided to print a couple off to take w/ me to a crop that I attended this past weekend. It was rather funny (to me), that several people thought that I was up to date on my scrapbooking since I was working on something SO current! Hahahaha! Oh, if they only knew! I WISH I was current! I fell off the bandwagon about the time I had my first daughter. Perhaps one day I'll get back into a routine of doing scrapbook pages daily! Or, at least once a week! For now, though, it will have to be when I'm inspired, and when I have a whole day!

I'm so inspired by the gorgeous creations from Swirlydoos and their subscribers and design team. I decided to take my embellishments, sprays, inks, sponges, stamps, embossing powders and papers, and create a page! At least it would keep me busy for the better part of the day! The crop was from 9am to midnight! I had a whole day, uninterrupted by children and their activities!

Here's what I created!

This is the full page view

Here's a closeup of the flourishes and basket of pumpkins

A closeup of my embossed and sponged chipboard letters

This is a little collage of each of my kids in the same spot on the farm

Have a GREAT autumn harvest!

Here are the details (as best as I can remember!)
Paper: Prima dp; Choc. Chip; chipboard; Kodak Photo Paper; white c/s; a smidgen of Tim Holtz's Christmas paper (for the grass)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists
Embellishments: Flourish die from MFT; roses from Prima; leaves behind chipboard letters, basket of pumpkins and pumpkins in corner from Kitchen Sink Stamps; scallop border tearing edge from Creative Memories; Smooch ink in green for vines on background paper; Tim Holtz rosette die that I made into a fence

Swirlyhues First Storyboard Challenge!

2011-09-25T20:57:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Yes, it's been a while! I have hit a creative funk, or brick wall, and have not really been crafty in quite some time. This weekend, though, I think I finally pulled myself out of it! I was invited to join a new group of some awesome and fun ladies that gather at Archivers in OH! What a fun day that was! I didn't want to bring cards to work on, so I brought all of my supplies to create a scrapbook page for Swirlydoos FIRST Swirlyhues Challenge! Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a subscriber! Although, why wouldn't you? The products in the kits are amazing! I get excited every time I get my click 'n ship email notification!!!

Anyway, on to the scrapbook page!

The rules for this challenge: Follow the color scheme, follow the sketch, and use a tutorial that is posted on their website. The tutorial I used was Emboss Resist. I embossed swirls on all of the strips of kraft paper. Then I took my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and sprayed all over the strips. And then I took my Smooch ink and highlighted the swirls.

This is the whole page!

This is a shot of the emboss resist on the strips of paper. For the swirls on the background paper, I cut out the swirl on another piece of paper, and laid it down and sprayed over top of it. I took the paper away and then stamped the swirl on top of the ghost image. I added Smooch to the little loops to add detail and contrast.

This is the bottom. Lots of detail here!

Details:
Paper: Et Cetera Ledger - Bo Bunny; Kraft, So Saffron, Baja Breeze

Ink: Moonlight, Tattered Leather, Olive Vine, Gingerbread - all Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap, & Brushed Corduroy - T.H. Ranger Distress Ink ~ All along the edges of each piece of paper

Embellishments: French Flourish - wooden border at the bottom interlaced w/ assorted ribbon; UTEE, Versamark - embossing elements; brown brads; circle punch; Prima Flowers; Smooch ink - Turquoise; assorted flourish stamp; T.H. Distressing Tool; Zva Creatives rhinestone flourish; Turning a New Leaf die - PTI

"Time" for a change!

2011-09-04T16:17:00.001-04:00

Last Christmas, I received a clock similar to this one:

I am a substitute player for my mom's Bunco group, and the subs get to come to the Christmas parties and end of year parties. It's a White Elephant party for Christmas, and one of the ladies had a clock like this in her garage that she wrapped up and gave! I was lucky enough to receive it, and knew right away that I could re-purpose it! This clock that I'm showing you is a lot nicer than the one that I got! LOL! It had the yellow plastic around it, but in the middle it was a picture of some advertisement for a pharmaceutical drug! Um, yeah, I really want to hang THAT up in my house! LOL!

It has sat on my desk all year, just waiting. Well, I had some time on my hands this week, and I decided to tackle it!

Here is the result!

So, what did I do?! Here are the details:

I took the clock completely apart, and measured the inside where the numbers are. I took a piece of white 12 x 12 c/s and drew a circle around the clear part that goes inside and hugs the plastic. Then, I took Antique Linen and Tea Dye from Tim Holtz and w/ my sponge applicator, sponged around the edges to give it an aged look. I sponged Choc. Chip all around the edges to finish it.

For the numbers, I took two different sets: Recollections Big One Double for the large numbers, and Inkadinkado's Somerset Alpha. for the smaller numbers. The ink is Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate.

For the stamps in the middle, I used all Kitchen Sink Stamps: Multi Step Ivy for the ivy behind the fruit; Multi Step Peach; Multi Step Berries; and 3 Step School Days for the apple.

For the yellow plastic: This was hard! The first time around, I sprayed the whole thing white. Then, I took Tim Holtz's Picket Fence Crackle Paint and slathered it all over. Once it dried, it took away the paint and showed the yellow! Yikes! SOoooo, I had to start all over again. I sprayed it once again w/ white. Once that was dry, I sprayed sealer all over it. I let that dry. Then, I put 2 coats of the Picket Fence Crackle paint on. Once that was dry, I sprayed a little, ok, a lot of Tattered Angels Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist. Once that was dry, I once again sprayed a sealer and let everything dry. And thus, you have aged plastic! LOL!

I took my other plain clock down, and put this one up! OMG, I LOVE IT! My family even loves it!

Do you have something in your stash ready for re-purposing?! Now would be a GREAT time to dig it out and work on it! Have fun!

A scrapbook page done!

2011-08-12T20:30:00.000-04:00

For those of you who know me best know that I don't often scrapbook. It takes FOREVER, where a card only takes a few hours!

But..... I was inspired by Swirlydoos' Sketch last month for the Vintage Fae kit, and decided to work on it! I started it before I left for the beach, which was around the end of July. So.... I've been working on this for 3 weeks give or take! And now I have finally finished it! I had to tweak it a little because I'm not at the Swirlydoos level....yet! And also, I am LOVING all the delicious Prima flowers that come in the kits, but I'm totally hoarding them! I can't part w/ them! Even if it's for my own scrapbook! Instead of Prima's, I stamped Kitchen Sink Stamps Hearts and Roses roses. The rest I'll tell you about after the pictures!

Here's a closeup of the roses and the pics of my kids.

Ok, here are the details:
Paper: Apricot Appeal, designer paper from PinkPaislee Butterfly Garden; and a random mossy green from the kit, Vintage Fae.
Stamps: Kitchen Sink Stamps Hearts and Roses; alphabet and numbers from Inkadinkado's Somerset Alpha.; little swirl under the numbers is from Cloud 9 Design's Simple Thoughts - Travel.
Embellishments: the swirls are punches; the huge semi circle was cut using my Cricut; the word panels are Labels 8 spellbinders; the filmstrip was also cut using my Cricut. I hand cut the butterfly from another dp from the kit; the ribbon is twill from Amuse Art Stamps.

I'm back! And I've been busy!

2011-08-09T11:06:00.000-04:00

I'm back! This summer has been quite crazy! We just came back from a wonderful vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC! And now that we are back, and aren't planning on going anywhere soon, I can get back into stamping and hopefully scrapbooking! We'll see what happens!

Anyway, so while we were on vacation, we had some terrible news about two deaths in the family. So, as soon as I got home, I got to work on some sympathy cards.
Then, my sister asked me to make a baby shower card for a friend of hers. And lastly, I visited a friend this past weekend that was in town that I had not seen in several years, and they had just recently moved into a new house!

So, here we go!
First up, a sympathy card for my great aunt.

Stamps used: Kitchen Sink Hearts and Roses and Big Leaves. Sentiment by My Favorite Things: Clearly Sentimental about Sympathy.

Next is a sympathy card for my cousin.

Same sets used from the first card.

Here's the inside.

This is the baby shower card for my sister's friend!

Stamps used: Kitchen Sink Stamps Multi Step Baby.
And this is the front of the envelope, using the same KSS set.

And lastly, my friend's new home card. I looked at her pictures of the inside of the house and I chose Sage and Brown.

Stamp set used: Fifth Avenue Floral by Stampin' Up!.

And that's what I've been up to this last week!
Have a great day!

Kitchen Sink Goodies! - a public service announcement to multi step stampers

2011-07-11T10:26:00.001-04:00

OMG, I just HAVE to share! Kitchen Sink Stamps has come out w/ some VERY awesome stamp sets and a new way to store those awesome sets!!!! You have to check them out HERE!!! Such fun sets that you cannot live without! And the cases are perfect! You can fit 4 small sets in one! Or a large set, and two small sets. Or 2 large sets. Or, 2 medium size sets and a small set. Or....... Think of all the possibilities and SPACE you'll save now!!!! And your collection will be so nice and organized!
AND, if you go to one of the design team blogs, they have a code that you can use and get 10% off!!!! Even MORE incentive to stop over at the 'sink and grab up some goodies!!!!

Have a great day!
Now back to your regularly scheduled program!

This is not a Kitchen Sink Stamps promotion. This is purely my own doing, based on the enthusiasm that I hold for Kitchen Sink Stamps!

A VERY Belated Father's Day gift!

2011-07-08T23:02:00.000-04:00

As you've probably guessed from recent posts of mine that I'm ALWAYS behind the 8 ball! Well, just recently, as the summer picks up w/ stuff going on, trips to take, and the ever pressing swimming to do! ;) So, the crafting takes a back seat.

I had a shadow box in my hoard of alterables for quite a while now. Just waiting to be used. I looked at it one day and decided I was going to use it for my dad. On Father's Day, we went over to my parents to swim, and before we left, I took a picture w/ him w/ each of my kids. I FINALLY got the pictures developed and then they sat! Finally, I had enough time to at least get started. Just around that time, SVG Cuts came out w/ 3-D letters. I'm ALL about 3-D anything, so this was totally up my alley! And it was the perfect thing to add to this shadow box!

On a recent trip to OH for Stamping Around OH, my friend Wendy and I stopped at Archiver's and Hobby Lobby where I stocked up on Graphic45, Crate Paper, Bo Bunny, etc. All vintage papers! I was, and still am, in heaven!!!! And I figured out that it's cheaper to get the individual sheets as opposed to the kits that you get. Because I don't do stickers, and all the other stuff that they put in there. I just want the paper to do w/ what I want. I really did well that trip! Money wise! I even had money in my pocket when I got home! RARE! Let me tell you!

Anyway, so I used some of my new papers in here! The calligraphy that you see at the top of the Time Book sheet and the ticket saying "Happy Father's Day" is my own. I listed each one of my children, and then put a check mark under the appropriate number that reflects their ages as of May, 2011. (In June, they all had a birthday!) I did a little stenciling (never done before!) to add some graphics and spice it up a bit! I'm not as good as the experts, but it's my first time! And now I know I need to start looking at purchasing more stencils! LOL! The hardware is all from Tim Holtz.

And here's a closeup of the letters so you can see how they really POP!

I can't wait to give this to him! He's going to love it! (He's a huge fan of my work!) My husband loves it so much that HE wants one for his office! Better get to work now, or he won't get it til next summer!!!! Hahahaha! ;D

Sketch Challenge - MFT

2011-07-08T22:42:00.001-04:00

Hi there! Back again w/ 2 cards that I made for this week's sketch! The first one is a birthday card, and the second is my anniversary card to my husband.

Here's the first one. I was experimenting w/ some Graphic45 paper I received from my Swirlydoos kit this month! The kit is Vintage Fae and there's lots of vintagey goodness in there!!! You should definitely check it out HERE! The sentiment on this card is actually from Clearly Sentimental About Happy. Well, that's what I'm calling it. I received it as a free gift when I purchased a couple (ok, a TON) of stamps from MFT when I was at CHA last summer! Oh, and the flourish die on the bottom right is also from MFT, along w/ the scallop border in the middle!

This card was fun to make because it is for my sweetie! We celebrated our 9 year anniversary on July 5th!

I purchased this set only a few weeks ago, but even when it first came out, I knew I would use it for an anniversary card! I got the idea from Jodi Collins' card here! I, of course, had to change mine up to fit the sketch, but the basic idea is the same. Thanks Jodi!
My faces are colored SO much better now that I know what I'm doing! And what colors to use! I watched Sherrie Siemens' video on skin and hair (still struggling w/ hair! Don't judge too harshly!) that you can find here.

The reason the card ended up being pink and black is that those are our wedding colors! I know it's girly for a guy to get a pink card, but oh well! What can you do?!

The set that I used is a Flapper Doodles set called I Love Us (appropriately named!). I used several MFT Die-namics on here. The open bracket die, the flourish die, and the flower in the middle. W/ the open bracket, I cut as normal for the pink c/s. For the black behind it, I wanted to create a background, so I just embossed it and then hand cut it around the edges. For the ring around the couple, I drew lines w/ my Spica pen, and then in the spaces that I created, I stamped a heart (part of the set).

Have a wonderful day!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-08T22:21:00.001-04:00

I'm sure you're wondering if I'm off my rocker! I'm not! I promise! I misplaced my memory card USB, and I finally had a chance to do some uploading, therefore, I'm a little late! But I hope you all had a nice 4th of July! We did! LOL! We came home from Gettysburg on the 4th and went over to my parents' to swim and have ribs for dinner! OMG! YUM!!!!

Well, MFT had their monthly guest designer contest that ties in w/ their monthly (really bi-monthly!) release. The challenge was to use texture! I had to participate! I LOVE adding texture to my cards and creations! And layers and embellishments and .... You get the picture!

So, this is what I created. It's a pennant card and I gave it to my mom and dad for the 4th just because. I normally don't give cards just for the heck of it, but I felt like this was a perfect opportunity! And guess what? They actually received it ON the 4th! Imagine that! ;D

Isn't Fred Bear SO cute?! Ok, the texture parts are the stars (embossed) and the corregated Crumb Cake panel w/ white paint splotches.

Here are the details:
Paper: Night of Navy; White; Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: Fred Bear Well Done; Mini Banner Alpha. (both My Favorite Things)
Ink: Copics (variety of colors); Cherry Cobbler, Memento Black, white paint
Embellishments: pennant die - SVG Cuts; Simply Scallops die-namics (MFT); stars - star punches (SU!); mini banner - Mini Banner Die (MFT); Stars Border- (MFT); Maraschino Twine - The Twinery, sold by MFT

I hope your 4th was a fun day!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

2011-06-28T23:29:00.001-04:00

Today is my mom's birthday! AND my daughter, Olivia's! How awesome that my daughter was born on her grandmother's birthday!

I wanted to participate in My Favorite Things' weekly sketch, but....I was too late. :( This week has been so crazy w/ us celebrating all 3 kids' birthdays on Sunday at a local park, and then going to a kids theme park the next day w/ friends.

I went online this afternoon to find out the deadline for this week's sketch, thinking that it would be 10pm, and sadly discovered that it was 12pm. Darn it! It was already 2pm when I checked!

But, I had to make a card for my mom, anyway, so the sketch still worked for me! I opened up a new pack of paper from a stack I got when attending Stamping Around Ohio called Circa 1934 by Cosmo Cricket. What a fun stack!!!

I softened the picture because the metallic on the bowl made the picture so bright!

Have a wonderful day!

THE Farm Book!

2011-06-24T20:27:00.000-04:00

I have taken on a pretty large project over these last two months! And I am here now to say that it's done! Whoo hooo!!! Do the happy dance!!!!!!! It was a pretty daunting task, I do have to say! I was asked to create a scrapbook for a baby nursery that is a farm theme! And it should have gotten to the baby BEFORE the baby was born. But, since life has a way of interrupting even the best of intentions, well.....it's a bit late! But, still within the month he was born, so not TOO bad. But still. Not quite good enough.

Anyway, it's done! And I am VERY proud of the way it turned out! I just hope the mother who will be filling it up w/ baby pictures will love it as much as I do! I mailed it off today, and I wanted to keep it for myself!

The project, when looking at the whole picture, should have been easy. Create a scrapbook, farm themed, for a baby. There aren't any pictures, because the darling baby wasn't born yet. And leave pockets throughout for advice cards to slide in. Ok, easy peasy, right?! Well, when you're Erin Smetak, that's not the case! I don't do easy. And I don't do fast. And I don't do sloppy or simple. I take time to research the project, I pay attention to detail, I'm all about color combos, and I like to work outside the box.
That being said, I had an absolute BLAST working on this book! I drew quite a few things free hand, and was pleased as punch w/ the results! I used my Cricut A LOT! And lots of paper! Lots and lots and lots of paper!

Ok, let's get on w/ the show! Just a warning: This is a LOOOONNNGGGG post!

The cover!

Page 1! Why not start out w/ cows in the pasture? And a sweet message to the recipient!

Pages 2 & 3! The farm!

Page 2: I found a picture of a waving OH flag, and printed it out and attached to a flag pole that I made and colored. The chickens and fence were cut w/ my Cricut. The green panel is for a 4x6 picture. I have these on every double page layout, just so you know... The clouds I drew, cut out and sponged. The grass was sewn along the edges for some detail.

Page 3! I drew (w/ my ruler) this silo. Behind the silo is a hidden pocket for advice cards! I made the sign using Spellbinders dies. I drew the chickens and wrote the welcome message. The fence was cut w/ the Cricut. I sewed the edge of the grass on this page too. To match. And the clouds are the same as the first page, and will be the same in all upcoming pages!

Page 4: Who doesn't like pigs?! Especially nice and clean ones?! That's a rarity, I'm sure! The heading, so to speak, is made into a swirl to mimic the shape of a pig's tail! I wrote, "This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home...." I layered it w/ a scallop circle cut on my Cricut, along w/ those cute piggies, and then created another pocket!

Page 5: And here we have some very dirty piggies! I reversed the c/s when cutting the piggies and put Crystal Effects (liquid glue from SU!) that once dried, it gives off a nice shine! I drew the flowers along the back edge of the muddy pond and colored w/ Copics. The fence was cut w/ the Cricut.

The double page!

And the closeup of those bad little piggies swimming in the mud!!!

Here's page 6 w/ rows of corn stalks ready for picking! When brainstorming what each page would be featuring, I HAD to add corn to the list! What's a farm book without it?!The corn stalks were all cut w/ my Cricut! I tore Chocolate Chip cardstock and sponged the edges to make it look like it was just watered or it had just rained.

Page 7 features a cob of corn (hand drawn and colored w/ copics) and the title for the layout cut w/ my Cricut. The wonderful thing about the internet is that I found free fonts to add to my collection and was able to download/upload them to my cutting software and what you see above is how that idea turned out! LOVE IT!

Pages 6 & 7 double page layout!

Page 8 we travel to the barn! This barn is one of a kind, as it was hand drawn and colored w/ Copics. The hay bales and barrel of apples are courtesy of Kitchen Sink Stamps. The horses are from My Favorite Things. The "B" stands for the last name of the family receiving this, and "F" for Farm! The chicken in her nest at the top of the page is cut from my Cricut.

Page 9 continues the horse theme w/ a great quote that I found online! I used the Bleeding Cowboys font for this.

Pages 8 & 9 double page layout.

Page 10 brings us back out to the field toiling the soil! When I created these pages, I felt like conveying the message, preparing the soil like you're preparing your home for a new baby! However, I just couldn't make it work. So, I'm stating that here on my blog! Haha!

For page 11, I mimicked the background paper and created large flowers grown from the newly toiled soil where the recipient can include circle pictures in the middles of the flowers! Oh, the tractors were cut w/ my Cricut!

Pages 10 & 11 double page layout.

Page 12 we are grazing w/ the sheep! The sheep and windmill were cut w/ the Cricut. The grass was die cut using my My Favorite Things grass die namics. The sentiment was die cut using Spellbinders dies.

Here's a closeup of the quote. I found this quote, which was quite lengthy, and tweaked it and made it my own.

Page 13 I wanted to use a LARGE sheep to drive that sheep theme home! Think I succeeded?! LOL! I cut it out w/ my Cricut, which was nice, because this same sheep is what I used on the page before, I was just able to make it larger! I LOVE that versatility! I stenciled the Baaa! and then created a talking bubble and cut it out.

Pages 12 & 13 double page layout.

Page 14 is boring! I know, I dropped the ball here! But, I just wanted at least ONE page that didn't have anything other than a picture here! I found this shape that I cut w/ Marina Mist cardstock, online, and thought it would be perfect as a layer behind the picture!

Page 15 is a little more lively! But not much! LOL! I used the same shape, w/ the same Marina Mist c/s and used that to create my little scene! The lambs shown here are from Kitchen Sink Stamps. The sun is a My Favorite Things Die namics, as well as the sentiment panel. The grass was hand cut, and I sewed the green beads to the bottom to add a little detail. It looks like food for the lambs, right?! I did a little research on lambs, to get the coloring and find out a few facts, and I learned that they like to eat grain, and grass. Well, brown beads just didn't look right, so I went w/ green!

Here's a closeup of the sentiment panel. I wrote out the first stanza of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

Pages 14 & 15 double page layout.

Page 16 is going in a completely different direction. I really wanted to incorporate some sort of flower in this book. I decided on sunflowers, because they are mainly grown in fields in the midwest. I know Kansas is the Sunflower State, but, why not have them in OH?! The sunflowers are from Kitchen Sink Stamps. The tag w/ a sun quote was cut w/ the Cricut after printing the quote out. I sponged the background to make it look like a harvest sky. I wrapped rafia into a bow and around the page.

Here's a closeup of the quote and a sunflower.

Page 17 continues the fall theme w/ pumpkins and fall leaves! I drew and cut out the tree, and then embossed it w/ a woodgrain embossing folder from Tim Holtz. The grass is the My Favorite Things Dienamics. The pumpkins are from Kitchen Sink Stamps. I sponged the background to match the opposite page. The leaves are a Martha Stewart oak leaf punch. I sponged choc. chip ink around the edges, along w/ the tree to highlight the embossing.

Pages 16 & 17 double page layout.

Page 18 I bring another animal to the book. Sweet little rabbits! What a cute little family they make! Just like the family who is receiving this book! The rabbits and grass are from Kitchen Sink Stamps!

Page 19 I made a little plate of vegetables! The carrots are hand drawn, and colored w/ Copics. The lettuce and tomatoes are from Kitchen Sink Stamps! They won't be released until next month! You should have come to Stamping Around OH! You could have gotten them a month early! The peas are a 1 3/8" SU! punch, and sponged. The pod is drawn to fit the peas, and sponged as well. The ladybug is cut w/ the Cricut.

Here's a closeup of the vegetables and quote from Shel Silverstein! I wanted to end the book w/ something humorous!

Pages 18 & 19 double page layout.

Page 20! The last page in the book! I made this SUPER simple so that there's LOTS of room to journal! Since I didn't leave a whole lot of room to journal throughout the book, they can journal at the end. The gardener is from Can Ya Dig It WTG from My Favorite Things, along w/ the new plants! I drew a line of soil for the plants to have a base. I went w/ this image of her planting new plants, because to me, when you have a baby, you're planting new life, just like she's planting new plants!

Here's a close up of the bottom!

Thanks for traveling through this farm w/ me!

It has been a joy to work on this book!

Stamping Around OH!!!

2011-06-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

Oh my gosh, what a fun weekend I had!!!! My friend Wendy and I headed to Smithville, OH for Stamping Around Ohio! We stopped in Akron at Archivers, Hobby Lobby, and World Market before heading to our destination!

All day Friday was all about Kitchen Sink Stamps! If you follow my blog and are a regular reader, you know that I LOVE my KSS stamps! The 3-D effect of flowers, fruit and animals {among other things} are just second to none! I have such fun w/ these stamps and really stretch them to fit what I'm working on. They don't just adorn my cards, but, also my recipe boxes, altered gifts, and scrapbook pages! We received and worked w/ 4 new sets that won't be released until July! SO fun to work w/ sneak peeks! All I have to say is, you should have been there! The best part about this? I got to meet Maria Colosimo! The OWNER of KSS!!! Whooo hoo!!!! What a sweetheart she is! She is every bit as wonderful in person as she is online! I was able to stamp with her, and she is just awesome! Meeting her totally made the trip!

Here's Maria and I on Friday!

And here's Maria, my very good friend Wendy, and I on Saturday before Maria had to hop on a plane home!

Then, on Friday night, and all day Saturday, we participated in Stamping Around! Tammy Hershberger was kind enough to open her store where she works, and let us all stamp and shop all weekend!
Tammy taught a class on Friday evening, and then Saturday, Maria taught one more class, and then Julie Masse, who is the co-founder of Stamping Around, taught a class. Then Barbara Anders and Christina Fischer each taught a class!

Here's Christina and I!

And here's Barbara and I!

I had a blast w/ these ladies! They are just so sweet! They will actually be at CHA working the MFT booth this summer if you are planning on going! You HAVE to stop and meet them and all the other MFT DT there! They are ALL so nice and sweet and talented and awesome!

Retirement Splendor

2011-06-15T09:57:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Today I am sharing a card that I made last night for my husband's assistant principal that is retiring this summer. I literally had to whip this card up last night, as he is giving her her gift today!

Yesterday morning I had gone through the MFT Design Team's blogs for the Technique hop. Each month they all do a different technique. This month was using paint! FUN! I was SO inspired, I just knew that I needed to case/copy their designs and incorporate them onto my own cards. I did that actually w/ Arlene Cuevos' card HERE. To me, that just speaks of a beautifully tended garden with fun, whimsical little flowers and garden embellishments! The card invites you in and makes you want to walk through her garden and smell all the wonderful smells of summer and flowers!

Of course, my interpretation isn't as whimsical or as inviting, but it adds a vintage touch and some elegance.

You can look at the fence that I cut out of chipboard and painted w/ Tim Holtz's Crackle Paint.

Here are the details!
Paper: Kraft/Crumb Cake c/s; My Mind's Eye Dreamy; pink dsp (unknown); chipboard, white c/s; Pretty in Pink c/s; Certainly Celery c/s
Ink: Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distressing Ink & Vintage Photo Distressing ink; Kraft/Crumb Cake ink
Stamps: Canvas b/g (SU!)
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Picket Fence Crackle Paint; MFT Dienamics: Rolled Rose, Dainty Doily; Spellbinders; lace; rhinestone swirls; sewing machine

Have a GREAT day!!!

My Personalized Notebook

2011-06-06T23:19:00.000-04:00

I have started a new crusade! My friend Janene started a group for couponers. She invited me to join, and I have been learning all about the art of couponing and saving and I have to say, it's addicting! I'm thinking that it's all in making lists of what you need, and when you need it, and learning the sales trends, and when to get things and when to wait. Luckily for me, my wonderful husband has been doing this already pretty much since we've been married, or at least since we've had kids! And now that I have finally seen the light, I have jumped on the bandwagon too! And my husband couldn't be happier! It's so nice to be a happy family! :D

So, today I was perusing Splitcoast and I found on the MFT thread, the Guest Designer challenge. Now, I've been participating in the sneak peeks for their upcoming release, but I lose track of when the guest designer challenges are and when things are due. Well, I found that the challenge deadline was tonight at 10pm. I wish that it would have been Pacific Time, but I still managed to get it in at 9:59pm EASTERN time! I would have liked to have sewn around the edges, and prettied it up a bit. But, after it drops into my purse, it becomes a warzone, and God help this little notebook cover! Esp. when my little ones get in my purse! Once they spy this, it suddenly will become theirs and disappear! Or worse, they will grab a crayon and write all over it! Oh the horrors!!!!! ;)

Anyway, on to the project!

This is the front cover as a whole.

The inside, so you can see that I really am going to use this! ;)

Closeup of the top.

Closeup of the middle.

And closeup of the bottom.

The MFT challenge was to personalize something. It was either this or my coupon binder! ;) That may be next! Who knows!

Here's the details:
Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery,white
Stamp Sets: MFT's Typewriter Alpha. & Who's That Harvesting Girl
Ink: Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Black Sparkle Spica pen, Creative Memories black journaling pen, Copics, Memento Black ink pad
Accessories and Embellishments: Honeydew twine from The Twinery; Swiss Dots embossing folder; Decorative Doily Die-namics (MFT); Dainty Dots Die-namics (MFT); Banner Die-namics (MFT); Mini Banner Die-namics (MFT); Simply Scallops Die-namics (MFT); Grosgrain Die-namics (MFT); 3/4" circle punch (SU!); circle nestabilities.

Have a great day!

Teacher Thank You Gift

2011-06-02T00:58:00.003-04:00

Hi there! Just to warn you, this will be a long post w/ lots of pictures! Grab a drink and a comfy seat and settle in!

My son "graduated" from Kindergarten last night! So exciting!!! What a great year we had! I am so thankful for the wonderful teacher that he had this year! For his first official school year, it rocked! His teacher just loved him, which, if you know him, that's easy to do! And it made for a wonderful teacher/student relationship all throughout the year. It's so amazing to see how far he has come in one year academically! I am so proud of him! But.... this post is not about him! It's about his teacher! I wanted to make her something really special, because she truly is a special, one of a kind, teacher.

I decided to make her an organizer for her desk. As I was decorating it, I thought, well, this would look fantastic on MY desk! As I LOVE all things vintage! And I'm not sure if his teacher would appreciate the vintage feel. Oh well! I hope she likes it!

I took 3 Papertrey Ink stamp mailers (for lack of a better word) that my friend Wendy gave to me, and I cut them to 3 different heights to achieve the look that I had in my head.

All of the paper that I used is from the Swirlydoos April kit Bella Volo. I LOVE the Bo Bunny paper!!! It was perfect, as it all matched!

This is the first (back) layer. I created a notepad holder to place inside.

This is the cover of the note pad holder. I used Oval Nesties, letters from KSS, butterflies from SU Sizzlet, twill tape, lace, chipboard swirl, prima flower, rhinestones.

This is the inside of the note pad holder.

Here's a different look at the note pad holder.

This is the next box, holding a set of note cards.

And these are the note cards. I created the background paper entirely. I used these stamps to create the background: Bliss (SU!), Tim Holtz Letter to Santa, KSS Letters From the Past, Inkadinkado Bold Damask, and Oval All (SU!). I used the Martha butterfly punch, brown brads, MFT scallop die, lace, twill tape, buttons, and a quarter of a doily that I sponged brown.

And the smallest box! I decorated pens, and created a post it note holder for this box. And then decorated the front w/ some small embellishments.

Here's the front of the post it note holder.

And the inside of the post it note holder. I know, you can't tell what that is, right?! ;)

Here it is w/ the post it note holder tucked into the box.

This is a closeup of the pens. I just took strips of the paper that I used for the boxes, and rolled them up, and stuck them in each pen!

Here's the finished product!

This is just to show in relation to other things on my desk.

And the side of the boxes. I decided to leave them clear so that she can't lose anything and it's easy to look inside!

That's it! This project took me about 2 months to complete as I have had other things to work on in between. I would work on a little bit at a time, and it's finally done! Just in time too! As the end of school is Friday! Hahaha, nothing like waiting until the last minute!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-05-29T01:29:00.000-04:00

Today, ok it's 1:20am, YESTERDAY, was my dad's birthday! He's now 63. I can't believe that! When I was younger, 63 meant you were old! And if you know my dad, he's not old by any means! He's got more energy than I do! And I'm a busy mom of 3!
I'm so lucky to have my dad for a dad. I have had a wonderful childhood, and just to have my dad around has been such a tremendous thing! When I got married, I danced w/ him to Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler, because I feel like he's the wind that keeps my wings up. He's always giving advice, always lending a helping hand, always around when you need him. He's just awesome! And anyone who has been in contact with him will tell you how awesome he is! When he talks to you, he gives you his full attention and makes you feel like you're the most important person in the world! It's no wonder my kids LOVE their PaPa! Especially my youngest daughter! He is her hero! He's mine as well!
And not to discount my mother! She is just as awesome as my dad, and together, they are just fabulous parents and I am so lucky to have them in my life. Really. I'm not sucking up or bragging. I'm just so thankful for my parents!

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you always!

To the Graduate

2011-05-29T01:21:00.000-04:00

I was invited to a high school graduation party today, and in 10 minutes, I created this card. Now, I have had this party on my calendar for about a month. But, I seriously have not had time to make a card until today. And of course, my husband decides to have some of our friends over for a little party tonight as well. So, I have to clean my house from top to bottom, make a card, go to the grad party real quick, then come back and party! I had the basic idea from Lisa Somerville's card HERE that she spent 10 hours on! It's absolutely gorgeous! I wish I had more time to make mine look nicer, but 1. I literally had 10 minutes; 2. I still needed to get ready to go out the door; 3. It was for a teenage boy. So, really, I didn't need to spend a lot of time on this!

Ballet and Bling

2011-05-23T13:58:00.000-04:00

Do they really go together? Ballet and bling? Well, I think they do! This week at CAS-ual Fridays, the challenge was to use bling! We were invited to our cousin's dance recital this weekend, and I wanted to make her a card congratulating her on a job well done! After I completed it, I thought this would be perfect for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge!

Details:
Stamps: Isabella Paper Dolls, MFT; You Go Girl, TPC; Paper: Melon Mambo dsp, Melon Mambo c/s, Pumpkin Pie c/s, white c/s; Other: Spellbinders, MFT Dizzy Border Die-namics, rhinestone swirls, label punch (SU!), Pumpkin Pie grosgrain, copics

Yo ho, Yo ho, a Pirate's Life For Me!

2011-05-21T00:11:00.000-04:00

Hello, all ye landlubbers! If'n ye weren't on the VSN ship, did ye miss the boat?! Were ye at the dock on time? We had ourselves a jolly good time! Ye still have time to play, til 8pm EST, Monday, May 23rd, so get stampin' already! Waddya waitin' fer?!
If'n ye don't feel like partyin' on the ship and just be a lazy pirate, then, settle on down fer I've got some treasure that I found tonight! Do ya gots yer rum to drink? Good, let's get goin'!

The first challenge of the night was a color challenge. That was all well and good....til I saw the color combination! Me eyes almost went blind, the sample for the challenge was SO good! So, I started working on me own card, and then me eyes almost went blind again! From the brightness of me card! Me thinks I need some sun blockers over me eyes! Take a look for yerself! Beware!

See, that green is BRIGHT! Yikes! 'Ere's some details on this card:
Stamps: KSS Hibiscus, Starburst by Making Memories Great Escape; Paper: Green Galore, white, kraft; Ink: Bermuda Bay, Green Galore, So Saffron; Embellishments: Oriental Weaving embossing folder, Spellbinders, MFT Jumbo Scallop Die-namics

The second challenge was to hide somethin'. Well, that be easy, since I'm always hiding me treasure from thieverin' scallywags. I just have to always remember the last place I hid it! Can you find me buried treasure? I think the scurvy's got me and me memory's going out to sea.

You found it! Thank ye, lad! I've been lookin' fer that ruby bracelet! I need to trade that in fer some spices on me next journey to the Orient.
Stamps: Do the Hula leaves and pink hibiscus; hand drawn palm tree and treasure chest; Paper: kraft, white; Ink: copics, blue and brown sponging for sky and sand, gold gel metallic pen, Creative Memories brown journaling pen, white Spica pen, red stickles

The next challenge was to make something w/ Aaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh. Sorry there laddy, I got carried away. I meant, the letter "R". We had to make a card featurin' 3 things. So, I made a list. I could only come up with 3 things. Me rum, which is me favorite and I won't be sharin', so don't ask! Me ruby broach necklace. Again, I won't be sharin' me jewelry. Ye might like it too much and steal it! And me bandana. Nothin's better than wearin' a bandana and an eye patch! Even if ye gots both eyes a workin'!

This one's pretty self exlanatory, so unless ye only got 1 eye, I'll not be explainin' it to ya.

This challenge was me own! I love when I can get me fellow shipmates motivated to do a little work around me ship. I do like a ship-shape ship, ya know. If we hit high seas, I don't want to be losin' any freight cause it ain't been put away right! Less money in me pocket, and that means a mean pirate be had! Arrgghh!!!

Me challenge was to create a "X" (criss cross) card. I always like to bury me treasure near a natural x like two trees criss crossin', because who knows who be walkin' the beaches and mess up me x in the sand?
Stamps: The Open Seas; Paper: The Open Seas, Ink: Printer ink, copics; Other: linen thread

Arrrrggghhh, this be the last challenge. This treasure I be bringin' up be pretty darn boring. Oh well. I can still trade with the Orient. I might get last year's spices instead of this year's spices, but that's ok!
The challenge was to use a boat image or beach image. Whilst I love the beaches, I live fer the sea. The best sea farin' is when it's gray and cloudy. Not that I don't like me sun. It's just that I don't have to squint me eyes, or sweat from the heat, or get all red and blushy because I'm sailin' me ship. So, this is what I created.

The beads on the side are inspiration from me fellow pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. Hanging from his hair are several beads, and I thought to add them to this card so it's not completely boring and a deep snooze!
Stamps: The Open Seas; Paper: Basic Gray, Bordering Blue, white; Other: linen thread, Spellbinders, assorted beads.

That be it from this end of the port bow. You might want to go starboard side to see the rest of crew and their creations. www.splitcoaststampers.com and look up VSN Stamp Night in the forums.
Good day to ye, laddies! Keep your eye on the main sail and the horizon, ye dirty swashbuckler!

Pirate music!

2011-05-18T12:06:00.000-04:00

For all visitors!

I have downloaded Pirate music on here to get ready for Virtual Stamp Night this Friday and Saturday!!!! Get your Pirate on and come play with us!!!!
www.splitcoaststampers.com
Snap to it, or ye be walkin' the plank!

CAS-ual Friday card!

2011-05-15T15:31:00.001-04:00

Today I have zero mojo! It's a crime!!!! I have quite a few projects that I'm working on simultaneously, and this week, including weekend, I have not wanted to even set foot in stamp room, let alone get some work done.

So, since I have the WHOLE day stretched out in front of me w/ nothing to do, why not challenge myself? The biggest challenge that I have are CAS cards. Otherwise known as Clean And Simple. To me, they lack layers, and sponging, and oodles of paper on ONE card! They are very simple, and I am very complex. We don't get along usually. But, my good friend, Karolyn Loncon, is a Girl Friday for the CAS-ual Fridays Design Team. And since she's a friend of mine, I subscribe to her blog. Friday morning I opened her post and there was the second challenge, using buttons and twine! Well, gee, I have both of those items!

Then, today comes, and I wasted a whole morning finishing a romance novel I downloaded. I came down here after lunch, and decided, if I can't do something for one of my projects, I'll make a CAS card!

This is what I created:

I used my SU! bird punch for the birds and branches. I used pink baker's twine (The Twinery) to make rosettes so that they imitate berries on the branches. And then the buttons I used as music notes. I didn't do so hot w/ the rest of the notes, but you get the drift!

So, there's my first CAS card in a LONG time! Maybe I'll be inspired to make another next Friday!

Locks and Keys project

2011-05-04T13:04:00.000-04:00

I was asked to create a piece for an artist in MA who is doing a project dealing with locks and keys.

Click here to see what I've created! (I think I posted it here, but you can see it on the fence on her blog)
Mine is the first one posted w/ pink and green and individual hearts.

http://locksandkeysproject.blogspot.com/

Aaarrgggh!!!! The first post of VSN: Pirate Adventure!

2011-04-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

Ahoy, there me hearties! Tonight on the VSN Pirate Ship, we celebrated the Mini VSN! We had 5 lively challenges, indeed!

1: Use of fabric. Now, when ye think of me pirate ship, what sort of fabric do ye think I 'ave? Well, I created a card using the back of leather for sails! Now tha's usin' me thinkin' cap!

2: A sketch challenge. Me fine pirating friends aboard ship challenged us to create a card based on a drawing! Now that's like makin' a blueprint of a map, I tell ya'! Well, 'ere's what I came up with. And I used me favorite song too! "Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life For Me!"

3: Create a card using an inspirational picture. Avast me hearties! But, me own eyes have seen many a beautiful sunsets and many a beautiful beaches along the coasts of this country! I took the inspiration picture and I made it me own!

4: A color challenge. Now, me parrot is the only animal aboard ship, you know! And this challenge was all for Pretty Polly! Use green, yellow, orange and a splash of blue. Well, I wouldn't be a pirate if I followed the rules, now would I?! I did the exact opposite! I used blue, with a splash of yellow, green and orange! Me parrot loved it! Harrrr, harrr!!!!

5: Use woodgrain. What's me pirate ship without the wood? Not a seaworthy ship, to be sure! I decided to create a boardwalk instead though. And don't get yer panties in a twist because she doesn't 'ave a head! And no, she was not beheaded! This 'ere is a MFT stamp, "By the Seashore". I made her walk on the boardwalk, because her seeing eye dog 'as a hard time pawing through the sand. Since they're up on the boardwalk, that dog can direct her right quick on the way to get down the 'walk. ;)

{5 a: This is a different view so that you can kind of see the ripples in the water made w/ the gel pen.}

And that be the end of this short little jaunt 'round the bay! Git your sea legs ready fer the main sail on Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21!
You have until Monday, May 2 at 8pm to upload yer cards for the Mini to be eligible for the favorites gallery.
Go to www.splitcoaststampers.com for more details.

Pure Innocence Note Pads

2011-04-28T01:05:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Today I would like to share several note pads that I made for my husband to give to his secretaries. He's in charge of 3 schools, therefore, he has 3 secretaries! Lucky him! LOL! Maybe I could borrow one sometime! ;) As you all know, today was Administrative Day across the United States. Well, my husband was actually on a math field trip to another school, so he wasn't able to celebrate today.
He had asked me, after seeing the note pad that I made in the post below, to make him 3. One for each secretary. They all could be the same. Well, they are, and then they aren't!

Here's what I mean!

Here's the first one w/ a short name. I was able to make it a true banner! Did a little stitching, used several dies: MFT's spiral bound; Star nesties; Star punches; MFT's Banner die; SU! circle punch.

And this is what I did w/ a longer name! Same elements as the picture above!

And this is the card that will accompany the note pads, and other gifts that they may receiving. I used Framed Greetings and the spiral bound dies from MFT.

I'm done! Off to bed! Whoo hoo!

Warning! Turn Sideways! {eyeroll}

2011-04-24T21:13:00.000-04:00

Hi! Frustrated here. Blogger is being ridiculous, but I just wanted to show you this notepad that I made my cousin who held the Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. I always make her something as a thank you for having us over. This time I actually made something that she can use! I have a bunch of those long note pads that you get in the dollar bins at Mike's, and I took one of those and created a cover for it. So, turn your head sideways so you can get the full view. In both of my photo editing programs, the pictures are straight up and down. I download to Blogger and they come out sideways. Go figure!

This is a close up (sideways as well) of the roses and Stampendous butterfly that I won from Eva's blog during her Butterfly Blog Hop! The roses are Kitchen Sink Stamps. Paper is Melon Mambo dsp, Melon Mambo c/s, and Tempting Turquoise c/s, w/ the leaves punched w/ Certainly Celery c/s.
It turned out so well, and my husband liked it so much, I have to make 3 more for his secretaries for next week! I always show him things that I make. Like his opinion is really trusted! LOL! He doesn't know a stamp pad from a paper cutter!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday! I had Easter at my house this year! It was just easier since we're the only ones w/ kids on both sides of our families. So everyone comes to our house and we cook like fiends! It was great though! The traditional ham, and the makings for ham sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, Napa Cabbage salad (ramon noodle salad), and corn chowder! YUM! That chowder came out beautifully! I found the recipe on All Recipes.com while looking for crock pot recipes. I had never had corn chowder before, but thought I would take a chance! I'm so glad I did! My husband and I LOVE it! We make it quite often, just for the two of us! The kids won't touch it w/ a 10 ft. pole! It was a nice day though, spending the day w/ family! And it just dawned on me that I didn't take a single picture! Oh well! We'll just have to have everyone over again! LOL!

Have a GREAT week!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T22:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter!!!! Today I have created several projects that kept me busy all morning! This afternoon we headed to an annual family Easter Egg Hunt! It was so nice to see family since we haven't all been together since Christmas! We are a close Italian family, so we all like to get together whenever we can! And we never want to leave!!!!

My cousins hold this event each year at their house. They hide all of the eggs, over 200, I believe. All w/ pieces of paper equaling the amount of money that can be received! Usually $.25, and up to a couple $5.00 eggs if you can find them! They also cook almost all the food for like 30 of us! All they ask us to bring are salads or desserts. I'm the appetizer and dessert queen in my family, so I said that I would make dessert. I decided to make cupcakes, and I made little scenes on the cupcakes. Yeah, I think I watch WAY too much Cupcake Wars and Food Network! LOL!

Happy Easter!!!

Decades Swap

2011-04-18T21:42:00.000-04:00

Hi! Today I have a few cards to share w/ you. I am participating in a decades swap, and I just wanted to share w/ you 3 out of 5 cards that I have completed so far. I still have two decades to go!

Here we are w/ the Roaring 20's! What works better than those fab Flapper Doodles from My Favorite Things?!

And how can you resist this?! I went online to search fads, styles, culture for each decade. For the 50's, I found blue polka dot everywhere! I am using an image from a Crafty Secrets set. Did a little paper piercing, but kept it simple. This is also a layout from Card Patterns, but I didn't get my entry in on time. Oh well!

And this bathing beauty is a tribute to the 60's. I'm sure you're sitting there thinking, HUH?! Let me explain. When I think about the 60's, I think about The Beach Boys. They are my all time favorite band, EVER! So, why not incorporate that into my creation? So, I went through some of their songs on my playlists, and California Girls popped up. I thought, now that would be perfect w/ this MFT set, Catch Some Rays. So, I played around w/ the layout and different stamps, and this is what the finished product looks like.

For the Birthday and Girl circles, I used MFT's newest stamp set Typeset Alphabet. I took the letters and formed them into a circle on my block, lining it up w/ a nestie that I was going to use, and inked it right up. Perfect! So, just another versatile way to use an alphabet set!

That's all folks! Once I complete the other two decades, I'll share them here as well.

OH! And I'm participating in the latest VSN (Virtual Stamp Night)! Come and join us! It's April 29th for the mini (kind of like an appetizer) and then May 20th and 21st for the main event! The theme is Pirates! And NOT the Pittsburgh Pirates either! LOL! It all takes place over on www.splitcoaststampers.com in the VSN thread! I'll be there cheering everyone on!!!! Come and hang out! If you don't know what you do there, here's the details: On April 29th for example, the evening festivities would start at say 6pm. So, they post a challenge at 6 and you have 45 minutes to complete the challenge, using only what you have available. (There will be a list of any product that you might need than you may not have). Then, you post it, and at 7pm, another challenge is posted, you have 45 minutes to complete the challenge, post it, and then another challenge. One right after another. Til like 11pm. I think that would be the last one.

Anyway, if you're interested, go HERE to check it out! Hope to see you scallywags there! We'll all be on deck fer a swashbucklin' good time! Aaaarrrrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!!

Kitchen Sink Birthday gift

2011-04-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

Today I created a quick little birthday gift for a friend of mine who celebrated her birthday last week. She's one of those people who appreciates the things that I make, so I don't mind making things for her. I had told her that I was going to create 4 blocks throughout the year for her. Seasonal blocks. I gave her the Winter block at Christmas time, so now it's time for Spring!
I looked online to see what flowers bloom in the spring and see if I had any Kitchen Sink Stamps in that flower. I saw tulips, and pulled out the 3 Step Bitty Tulip Bouquet. There are two different size tulips, so it was perfect! I utilized both sizes, one for the block and the other for the card.

Here you can see the closeup of the pattern that I created w/ my Scor-pal. I wanted the embossing to be subtle, so that the tulip oval panel would really shine.

And the block! This turned out SO cute! If I do say so myself! I wanted to keep it for myself! LOL!

Details:
Tulips: 3-Lady Bug (Memento); 2-Lady Bug (stamped off); 1-Lady Bug (stamped off twice); 4-Rhubarb (Memento); 5-Cherry Cobbler (SU!)

Stems/Leaves: 3-Bamboo Leaves (Memento); 2-Bamboo Leaves (stamped off); 1-New Sprout (Memento); 4-Cottage Ivy (Memento)(stamped off once on the card only).

Paper:
      Card: Cherry Cobbler (SU!), white
      Block: Marina Mist (SU!), white, green felt (MFT), Lovely Lavender (retired SU!)

Embellishments:
      Card: Scor-Pal dry embossing; brushed gold brads; oval nestabilities; Antique Linen (Ranger) Distress ink, Inkssentials Blending Tool, Inkssentials Blending Foam
      Block: SU! block; green felt (MFT); glue dots; SU! Butterflies Sizzlets

Key to my Heart

2011-04-07T13:33:00.000-04:00

I was found online by an artist in New England who has created a fence full of locks and keys. That is the main theme of her project. Tons of people have given her all different types of locks and keys and mementos. She was searching online one day and happened upon my blog, and asked if I would like to submit something for her fence. Well, if you know me, I NEVER say no! And what a cool project this was! How COULD I say no?! Well, I finally was able to devote some time to create my special memento. This memento is in my children's honor. I created a key on my Cricut, made it pretty large, and cut it out on thin chipboard. Then I did the same thing w/ SU! dsp. I mirrored the image so that I could cover the back of the key as well. I adhered the paper to the chipboard key, then sanded the edges. I used an SU! heart punch for the 3 hearts. I wrote the same message on all three, and then attached ribbon to the backs and popped them up w/ pop up dots. I added heart brads to make them pop a little more. I added a scallop border (also SU!), to the side to add a little dimension. And pink and kiwi kiss corduroy buttons for some added detail. And ribbon to hang it on the fence, and it was done! Another thing checked off of my to do list!

These first two pictures are pretty much the same.

And here's a close up of the middle of it.

If you would like to see her blog and some things that others have sent in, click HERE!
If this is something that you would be interested in, email me and I can forward your information to the artist!
esmetak@gmail.com

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this! And I have actually been working on it in my head since she contacted me, and the image changed a half a dozen times! But, this actual, physical key was NOTHING like what I envisioned! Guess that sometimes happens! But, since I consider myself an artist of sorts, I am all about helping fellow artists out! So, if you don't want to create anything, at least stop by her blog and leave some love!

Bake Sale!!!

2011-04-07T13:21:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, my son's school held a bake sale to raise money for a new playground, in addition to their book fair that was also going on. I, of course, said that I would definitely make brownies and cupcakes for the bake sale. Those are easy to make, and not an all day thing. Um yeah..... About that all day thing! I went to the store the day that they were due, and found cupcake wrappers (for lack of the real word!) where you can just place the wrappers/inserts??? on a baking sheet and fill them! No muffin tins needed! Whoo hooo! You know I was able to cut my baking time in half just by doing that?! I was able to fit 24 to 28 cups on one baking sheet! Awesome!!!! They were medium sized, not too big, not too small. Since they were that size, I wanted to make something special and pretty and make people WANT to buy them! I remembered that Jen del Muro had created a Poppin' Petals Treat Trio a while ago, and after purchasing the template from My Favorite Things, I used my Cricut and cut out 18 boxes. I didn't do the individual boxes, WAY too much work for cupcakes! And for this little bake sale!

An individual box of cupcakes ready to go!

The empty box using hoarded SU! paper!

Here are the cupcakes ready for packaging!

These are the finished cupcakes in their holders and bagged up individually for sale!

A fun vintage thank you card!

2011-04-03T21:56:00.000-04:00

Today I created a thank you card for a friend of mine! She very kindly let us visit her while she was at work when we were in Michigan, and gave my children some University of Michigan goodies! I wanted to thank her w/ a special hand made card!

Details:

Stamps: Define Your Life (SU!), ticket by Tim Holtz

Paper: October Afternoon Thrift Shop, black, vanilla

Ink: Real Red, Vintage Photo, Onyx Black

Embellishments: black 3/8" grosgrain ribbon, nesties, red, green, and yellow brads

Shabby Chic - MFT

2011-04-03T14:00:00.003-04:00

Hi! This month MFT's Guest Designer challenge was to do Shabby Chic. Since I didn't have any plans to leave my house all weekend, I had time to play along! YAY! I haven't had time to play in any challenges in quite some time, so it felt good to get my fingers inky w/ MFT goodies!

Ok, on to the card! So, to me, shabby chic is vintage. And that's what I created today. My plan was to have a few layers, add a little sewing, and use some of the pearl shoots that I bought at Jo's a while back! I LOVE them! I might have to buy more just to use on my cards! They are the perfect embellishment! Well, I think so!

I also wanted to incorporate several dies, and keep the stamping to a minimum. I wanted the dsp to shine, and not be hidden by stamps. I think that the wishing you a beautiful day is a little large for this 4"x 4" card, but oh well! It's on there w/ glue dots and isn't about to come off anytime soon! I think I went a little crazy w/ the glue dots! Anyway, I wanted to use the Decorative Doily die-namics in a different way, because I have to be different. And after a quick peek at what some other people did for the challenge w/ the doily, I had to change it up. I cut the doily out, then I cut it into a spiral and wrapped it like a rolled flower. It turned out exactly like I envisioned it! I added some pearls to make it look even MORE like a flower! Then I took the Rolled Rose die-namic and did the same thing. The Framed Greetings die-namic is above w/ the sentiment.

Here's a close up of the doily rolled up like a flower, and the other two rolled roses.

I tucked the pearl shoots up underneath the bow, and it's perfect!
For the simply scallops that you see, I wanted to something fun and different to them, so I stitched along the edges of the scallops! Fun little detail!

And that's about it! Wish me luck! There are a bunch of awesome entries in the gallery!

A Bird Recipe Box

2011-03-31T00:42:00.000-04:00

This recipe box was supposed to be done for a Christmas present, but with my life being so crazy, it kept moving to the back of the list. Until this weekend! My friends and I got together to stamp on Sunday, and I brought this recipe box to work on. I completed the front before I had to go home. And yesterday and today I finished the rest of it! Hopefully I can give it to my friend soon! Then it will truly be off of my to do list!

This is the total view of the outside.

Close up of the front.

Close up of the top w/ handle one way.

Close up of the top w/ handle the other way.

Inside view of the tabs.

I used Lost & Found paper by My Mind's Eye. I LOVE this paper! It's SO fun to work with! Lots of glitter which only adds awesome details, and lots of inspiration from these lovely pages!

I used a stencil in some of the corners that I purchased from Swirlydoos.com. They have some awesome stuff there!

The pennant sign on top spelling out Recipes is from My Favorite Things. I stitched french knots on each one, as well as on either side of each tag on the inside. Total, I made 43 french knots! By the end, I FINALLY got it! That's a fun little detail when you get it knotted right! I watched a youtube video to learn how to make one.

I bought a bunch of pearl shoots that I was going to use in my cousin's wedding card box, but they ended up not being used. I thought that they would be a fun little touch! When I look at the top of the box, it looks like there's a sun w/ clouds, and it's raining pearls! LOL!

For the tabs inside, I used Labels 4.

I hope my friend likes it! If not, I'm totally keeping this one! And I don't even like birds!!! LOL!

Another baby tag

2011-03-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

I finished the other baby tag for my friend. She still has not had the baby! She's allowed to have him now! Now that I've completed the other tag! LOL!

I had a heck of a time making an elegant tag, and I am not too crazy about this, but, I'm running out of time, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cross that my friend Wendy found for me through SVG CUTS. Thank you Wendy!!! This cross is so ornate, and so decorative, I didn't want to take away from that. So, I just used ribbon and some pearls. I'm sure my friend's husband will say something about how it looks girly, but I just don't know what else to try!

This is a view of the whole thing.

And this is a closeup of the cross. It's such an awesome cross, I am definitely using it again!

I cut the cross out w/ my Cricut on Bashful Blue paper, and adhered it to the ribbon w/ a pin from an SU! kit of pearls and pins that I've had forever.
Well, here's to hoping she likes it! If not, she can either use the star tag that I also made for her, she can just go without, or make her own!

Baby Tag

2011-03-16T21:17:00.001-04:00

My friend is having a baby in about 15 days, hopefully! Maybe sooner! She asked me to create a tag for her because as soon as she brings him home, she's having pictures taken, and wants to put the tag around his head.
Like a gift from God. At least, that's what I'm thinking....

Here's the first one. I'm going to make another one, in case this wasn't what she had in mind.

This paper is from the retired Simply Scrappin' Special Delivery Boy. The colors used are Apricot Appeal, Soft Sky, and Wild Wasabi. (And white). I also used stamps from Nursery Necessities, In the Stars, and So Many Scallops. I used the SU! star punches, label punch, as well as the scallop punch. I created the tag shape myself.

A Butterfly Hop!

2011-03-13T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today I am participating in Eva Dobilas' Butterfly Hop! What a fun idea!

Here's my butterfly card!

For the butterfly, I die cut one out of black cardstock, because my original idea was a black and white card. Then after I put the layers together, it was missing something.....COLOR! So, I added Melon Mambo dsp behind the white top note and swiss dot embossed panel. And I got out my Perfect Pearls and after embossing the butterfly, I brushed/smooshed some pearls all over it. I added 3 pink rhinestone brads in the middle, and then put the middle up on pop up dots to make it look more realistic, like it's flying off the card. I also added a rhinestone flight trail. I found the idea somewhere, but I can't remember where! If you thought of it, please give yourself credit!

This is just a head on shot.

Enjoy the blog hop! Go here to get back to the linked list!

A framed scrapbook page

2011-03-11T23:19:00.000-05:00

My cousin is getting married tomorrow, and I wanted to make her something special that she can hang in her home. I don't usually go all fancy, but now that I have discovered Swirlydoos, I might just have to change my scrapbooking ways! I bought a scrapbooking kit from Swirlydoos last month and have been saving it for this particular project. This past week I sat down to work on it. Nothing like waiting til the last minute!

The kit can be found HERE and lists all of the ingredients! Fun fun stuff!!!! I was so excited and happy with this first kit, I bought another one, and then I purchased a 6 month subscription! Now I'm guaranteed to get one each and every month!

Now on w/ the project!

I took part of a sketch that was in their newsletter that they included in the kit and switched it up a little. I had to make it mine.

This is a picture of it at an angle so that you don't see the glare of the glass.

Gina and Michael: Best wishes to you both! I love you both and I hope you have a fantastic and wonderful marriage! Love ya!!

A Set of Blocks, Season by Season

2011-03-08T16:36:00.000-05:00

I have a really great neighbor that is older, she's got 2 grown sons, and grandchildren, and just loves my kids! I really enjoy our conversations, and when we're coming or going, there's always a friendly wave. Recently I've had to call on her to watch my daughters while one of them is still napping, so that I can collect my son from school. It's so nice to have someone so close that I can call on in a pinch for the 10 minutes that I would be gone. Because if not, I have to wake up the 1 1/2 year old just to go down the hill to collect her brother!

Anyway, I wanted to make something special for her. I meant to get this done for Christmas, but, it just kept getting pushed back and pushed back on my to do list. Last week, I sat down and completed the 3 remaining blocks. Here are all 4 that are now in my neighbor's hands and she loves them!

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Most stamps Kitchen Sink Stamps. Tree on Fall block from My Favorite Things Die-namics. Rejoice on Winter block from Bo Bunny Christmas paper pack. SPRING letters on Spring block from a Studio G alphabet.

Have a great day!

Calling all butterfly admirers!

2011-03-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend Eva Dobilas is hosting a Butterfly Blog Hop! You can find all the details here! If you scroll down past her gorgeous Easter card, you will find everything that you need to know! I will also be participating! So, come and join us for a super fun blog hop!!!!

Get your craft on!

More VSN

2011-02-27T17:03:00.001-05:00

Here are some more projects that I have made. 8 challenges left to do!

For this one, we had to create something from a fairytale, your dream come true, blah blah blah....

For this one, we had to create something based on something from our childhood that we loved and cherished. I don't recall anything for myself, so I used Jack's Blue and created a little bed for him w/ fabric. Because nowadays, that's where you'd find him! Waiting to be snuggled at night! For the elephant itself, I stamped him from It's a Jungle Out There by MFT, cut him out, and ran him through my xyron. Then I sprinkled Blue Eyeshadow flocking on top.

Clearly, you know what this challenge was? Use sheet music. Well, I used a stamp instead. Love Nina Brackett's Vintage Borders set w/ the music notes! Use it quite often! I do have sheet music, but I like to hoard it!

Vellum challenge. And had to emboss it. Took the passage about Love is Patient, love is kind and printed it out in same color as Rich Razzleberry ribbon. Embossed vellum w/ Manhattan Rose embossing folder. Cut both paper and vellum w/ largest nesties in whatever label set this is. I can't remember off hand and am too lazy to get up and look! Hahaha!

For this challenge, we had to make something for coming into a kitchen, and we had to use a key. So, I made an entry into my kitchen. The doily there is an SVG file that I wanted to make into a decorative Victorian lock, but w/ the 45 min. time restraint, I just had the image cut like it was. I made it into a gate fold card, so that when you open it up, it's like entering into my kitchen.

And here's my kitchen! Well, not really! These utensils are based on my utensils in my kitchen. I drew these over a month ago to use on another project but I kept getting a mental block every time I worked on it, so I just had these sitting on my desk, collecting dust. Til now! The oven mitts are handmade. I sewed them together, and there's a little cotton in each one to make them puff up a little.

That's it for now!

VSN! WHoo hooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-25T20:57:00.000-05:00

VSN has officially started! Whooo hoooo!!!!!!!!!!! I love VSN! I have not been able to participate for a couple of them, but I'm participating tonight! Well, kind of... In between taking care of kids and doing yucky laundry!

So, here's the second VSN challenge: wedding/heart song. My wedding song was You're the Inspiration by Chicago. Kevin serenaded me w/ it when we were dating, and that became our wedding song when we got married! So every time we hear it, we look at each other and just smile! :D

Anyway, so go on over to Splitcoast and see what's up! Challenges are going on right now til 10pm, then start up again at noon tomorrow and go on all day!

See you over there, crafty peeps!

Stylish Blogger Award!

2011-02-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

I just received this award from a fellow blogger, Kate! Thank you so much, Kate! You have made my day!

Many Thanks, MFT Style

2011-02-24T23:55:00.001-05:00

I have been needing a thank you card for quite some time. Like, since September. And I just haven't gotten around to it. There's always something more pressing to do. Well, I took advantage of the MFT Sketch 8 this week over on Splitcoast to make that thank you note and get it off of my to do list!

Front View

Here's a close up of the rolled flowers and pearls and stick pin.

Inside card view. I kept it simple so that I would have enough room to write.

To create this card:
Jumping off point: MFT Sketch 8
Paper: Ella Blue (GCD Studios); Sahara Sand (SU!)
Ink: Onyx Black
Stamps: Thanks a Bunch (MFT)
Embellishments: pleated ribbon (MFT), So Scallops Die-namics (MFT), Framed Greetings Die-namics (MFT), Rolled Rose Die-namics (MFT), flat bottomed pearls, stick pin, pearls and glass pieces (SU! Pretties Kit), popped up glue dots

Happy Birthday Dear Friend

2011-02-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

This week my friend Wendy celebrated her birthday, and I made a card for her! We get together once a month (not often enough!), so I was able to hand it to her instead of mailing it. This is also for the MFT sketch challenge this week!

Details:
Paper: Recipe card (Melissa Frances); Pretty in Pink c/s, Certainly Celery c/s
Ink: Choc. Chip, copics
Embellishments: brown sparkle chipboard, bakers twine (Making Memories), brown brads, lace, Simply Scallops die (MFT), Happy Birthday embossing folder

Mr. & Mrs.

2011-02-18T18:20:00.000-05:00

I have created signs for my cousin's wedding reception that will hang on the backs of their chairs! This was totally her idea, and I ran with it!

I cut the letters out w/ my Cricut, using a downloaded font. The swirls are also a downloaded svg. file.

The flowers are Kitchen Sink Stamps Hearts and Roses. I used Rich Razzleberry ink pad for the rose, and Always Artichoke and Mellow Moss for the leaves. I had sprays of pearls that I'm using for her card box, so I took a few strands and created a little focal point. The roses are sitting on rosettes that I made that match the Rear View Mirror thank you's a few posts down from here.

Here are the two of them together.

And the details:
Paper: Cottage Wall, Rich Razzleberry (SU!)
Stamps: KSS Hearts and Roses
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss
Accessories: downloaded font, downloaded svg, pearl shoots, flat edge pearl (SU!), Tim Holtz rosette

A Valentine for my sweetheart

2011-02-13T10:57:00.001-05:00

I have been so busy w/ wedding projects for my cousin, gift certificates for my brother's girlfriend, and just the daily exhaustive life of a stay at home mom, that I have not taken time to just play w/ my stamps and create something just for me. Last night and this morning, I took the time to do that. And you know what? It reminded me of why I love this hobby in the first place! It challenges me to be better than I was yesterday, and to keep creating outside the box and of course USE YOUR STUFF!!! I keep buying, buying, buying, and never using! That's one of my New Years' resolutions, to use my stuff! I buy it because I like it, so why not use it and admire it! LOL!

Ok, so this card is based on a sketch that My Favorite Things has drawn up. I changed it just slightly because well, I had to. You can see the sketch HERE. And here's my take on the sketch:

I went vintage travel with this. My challenge to myself is to use My Favorite Things and show them in a vintage light. It seems to be working...?

I think I'm going to give this to my husband for Valentine's Day. He knows how much I love maps, and there clearly is no one else in the world like him! Thank God there's only one! LOL!
Have a nice Valentine's Day!

Here's the details:
Stamps: MFT's Going Places and Framed Greetings
Paper: My & My Big Ideas Passport, Baja Breeze (SU!)
Accessories: MFT's Spiral Notebook die & Bracket Edge die, metal brads and clips, real postage stamps

Rear View Mirror Thank You's

2011-02-12T00:04:00.001-05:00

My cousin, Gina, who is getting married in a few weeks (I can't believe it's only a few weeks til the BIG DAY!!!!), and she is having me create her rear view mirror thank you's. These thank you's will go to the valets and after the reception, when the valets bring the cars to their owners, they will slip one of these on the rear view mirror as a final token of thanks. It says, "Thanks for sharing our special day with us! Safe travels! Love Gina and Michael".

To create this lovely thank you, I took Rich Razzleberry c/s and ran a slim piece through my cuttlebug w/ the Tim Holtz Paper Rosette die. Then, I created the rosette. I punched two pieces of Rich Razzleberry w/ the 1 3/8" circle punch (SU!), and put on both sides of the rosette to hold it in place. I let those all dry for a few days. Ok, a week! Now that they are properly dried and ready to go, I am now finishing the fronts. The other wedding color is Tempting Turquoise, which I used to punch hearts from my SU! punch. I took SU! clear heart buttons and stitched one on each heart. I took Very Vanilla and punched out two swirls each. Then, I created the verbiage and printed it out w/ purple ink. I die cut each section w/ the Spellbinders Fancy Tags. And now I am adhering all pieces to each rosette! Fun! For all 75! LOL!

And since I don't have a zoom lense, you can't see a clear view of it, but you can get the jist of it!
Have a great day!

Baja Breeze gift certificates

2011-02-06T21:04:00.000-05:00

I have been asked to make gift certificates for my brother's girlfriend. She and her mother own a spa, and they asked me to create some gift certs to give out to their customers. I was asked to make long ones that open up like a card, and short smaller ones that are one sided. The first pic is the long one. Clearly....!

I used Baja Breeze, white and Kraft as my color scheme. The stamp sets used are Toile Blossom from SU! and the bottom stamp border is Vintage Borders by Nina Brackett for Gina K. Designs.

I incorporated the same sets and colors for the short/small version as well.

This is a close up of the short/small version. I cut out each hole to dress it up a little since I couldn't add any embellishments. I only had to make 20 of these (and 20 of the long version).

Have a great week!

Wedding treats!

2011-02-04T17:52:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited for my cousin! She is getting married next month!!!!! We are 1 year apart in age, and actually grew up in two different states, but we have been close since we were little! Thanks to our moms! She was in my wedding and now I have been asked to be in hers! I am so happy that she has found the love of her life, and is starting this new chapter of her life with him!
She knows that I am crafty, and has asked me to create several things for her wedding! This blog post only features the first item. The other items aren't quite finished yet!

The first item is a little mint pouch! I made 50 of these for the hotel bags. You can see all of them in the first picture here. Her wedding colors are Tempting Turquoise and Rich Razzleberry. She isn't a stamper, but after showing me these colors, the SU! colors matched PERFECTLY! How divine!
I created little tags that say, "Mints for your pillow! Sweet dreams!" I created them using the fancy tags from Spellbinders Nestabilities, and the Large Oval punch. It fits perfectly inside this particular die!

Other blog posts to follow as I complete each project!

Ms. Organization!

2011-02-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

I like to be organized. That is not always the case, but I like to TRY to be! I am now working with my dad and two other individuals in a company that my dad has created called G.R.I.P. Solutions. Right now I'm working with our webdesigner to build a website to display and sell the products that my dad has created. All of these products are created/invented w/ disabled people in mind. However, I have a few products at my home that I use, and there's nothing wrong w/ me.

Here is our website: www.mygripsolutions.com It's almost complete! We are waiting for a new banner that will take our site to a new level! Feel free to explore the site! I have the G.R.I.P. Pad and use it on my lap when stamping in front of the tv. I also use the G.R.I.P. Pad in my car to hold my purse in place on the front seat when I slam the brake pedal too fast! I also use it for long trips to hold the dvd player in for the kids in the middle console. Once it's on there, it doesn't move! And then I use the G.R.I.P. Pad whenever I go stamping. Sometimes when you're working at a table that gives when you bear down on your stamp so only half of the image shows up on paper? Well, I put my G.R.I.P. Pad down on the table, followed by my Stampin' Up! self healing mat, and then my paper and stamp, and it makes a perfect impression every time with the added support of the G.R.I.P. Pad! The nice thing too about the G.R.I.P. Pad is that it comes in different sizes and colors! Get yours today! ;)

Since this is a serious product line, and we have a serious future ahead of us, I wanted to start with my best foot forward. I try to take advantage of the opportunity to create something instead of just going out and purchasing something that I'm just ok with. Why not create something that you are totally in love with? I needed a binder of sorts to hold important documents, my notebooks, and any other important material needed to get my job done or have on hand if needed. I searched my stash of office supply items and found some plastic manila folders. I bought these by mistake several years ago for another organizing project, and just kept them, knowing that I would eventually use them for something else! And that time had come! I went through my SU! dsp and found Love Note that I fell in love with!!! Grabbed some Tim Holtz stamps and other companies stamps and went to work! Working w/ 3 colors really made it quick and easy to create this binder! After the pages were cut and designed, I ran them through my sewing machine to create pockets. I would advise using a strong needle for this! On the very last pocket, I actually broke my needle because it was fighting w/ the plastic folder! Not my most brilliant moment! But, I'm still a novice when it comes to my sewing machine, so I'll chalk it up to, "I just didn't know!"

Here's the front:

I used Tim Holtz and Kitchen Sink Stamps roses to create this little collage.

This is just showing the pocket. For the rest of the pages, just the bottom is stitched and the side by the rings is stitched for reinforcement.

I used MFT stamps and dies for the top part of this page. Nesties and inkadinkado stamps for the middle.

Here's a close up of my MFT banner!

Some of these are Tim Holtz and some are unknown. I can't remember the brand of stamps that I used...

I used Tim Holtz and Inkadinkado stamps here. I used a martha punch and some lace behind it to anchor my centerpiece. When I stamped the wings, I thought they were bird wings, but then I realized that I have always looked at that stamp upside down! It's actually two baby angels holding hands! Isn't that so sweet?!

You can kind of see the angels better here... But not much. The nice thing about doing the rings to hold the files in place is that I can add to it as needed!

And this is what it usually looks like w/ all of my stuff in it! LOL! I feel like a real business person instead of a stay at home mom! And THAT feels GOOD! :D

What a wonderful friend I have!!!

2011-02-04T16:57:00.000-05:00

I have some of the best friends in the world! And my friend Justine is one of them! We have a few things in common, and the rest is just entertaining! We met on the Paper Craft Planet site a couple years ago, and became fast friends! We share a fabulous and wonderful friend in common, Karolyn, and the three of us get along like long lost sisters! I have actually never met either one of them in real life, but thanks to wonderful technology, we have been able to skype, and actually see in real life what the other looks like! Hahaha!
Anyway, earlier in January, Justine had a small hospital stay, and Karolyn and I sent her flowers. To thank me, she sent me not only a card, but a small treasure trove of embellishments for my vintage cards!
Because I'm like a kid at Christmas, I opened it all up before I thought about taking a picture of it first! So, the picture that I have below is after I have opened it and looked at everything! She had a really nice bow, and the one I have on here is not so nice! But, the package itself is so pretty! And oh my gosh, the treasures inside! I will definitely be hoarding these lovely items forever! Ok, I MIGHT use them! Maybe for Justine and Karolyn!

Thank you SO much Justine!!!!!! I LOVE it all!!!!!!! Maybe you'll see some of these things on that recipe box I promised you at Christmas! You might get it sometime this year! LMAO!!!!! ;)