Dragonfly Dreams

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-11T10:49:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentines Day! I call this a perfect holiday because it includes chocolate and love. I still do treat myself to a bit of chocolate every now and then. The sugar free is ok but nothing like the real thing. I made my cards and sent boxes out to the kids. I sent my daughter a bag of Michigan Cherry coffee and when the package was all taped up it still smelt so strong of the lovely aroma. The postal service is going to love me.
I am still making an effort to create cards with new items that I haven't used yet. This stamp is from KaiserCraft called Lady Jude. She has been sitting on the shelf for quite some time now and it was time to give her a try. I love her vintage look but I wasn't quite happy with the amount of black the stamp creates. I guess the way to get around it would be to use markers and outline her hands and face with black and the dress with the color of choice. I might try that next time. I colored her with RV 17 Copic marker to match the SU Melon Mambo card stock that I embossed with Tim Holtz's Regal Flourish embossing folder. The diamond designer paper is the Laundry Line from My Minds Eye and the floral is from Prima's Madeline. I used the sentiment stamp from SU's Clearly for You stamp set and punched it out with the SU Curley Label punch. I colored the pearls with the same RV 17 Copic marker. I thought I would try something different with my bow so I didn't include any tails. I just left the tails long and wrapped them around the back of the card.

If you have this stamp, don't give up on her. I certainly love her too much to do that to her. Sometimes we just need to play around with something before we get it right. Always try to use your stamps with a different technique if you don't like the way it turned out the first time. You never know, you might have given up on a beautiful stamp before trying it again.

It is cold and snowy here in Michigan. I think it is a good day to stay in my PJs and make a big batch of chili. I had the most perfect morning today. I sat at the kitchen island in the quiet and stillness of early morning with a candle burning, a good cup of flavored coffee and my iPad. I could see the snow blowing over the back yard and hear the wind howling every now and then. It was rather cozy, but I had a hard time keeping my mind from imagining myself basking in the Florida sun. I have to learn how to enjoy things as they really are. There is always something good in the moment even if it is 20 degrees and 5 inches of new snow. I know my friend Carol is probably having a hard time believing that now that she is in 80 degree weather. Keep laughing Carol, Port Huron misses you.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Using something new

2012-02-02T16:50:00.002-05:00

I wanted to thank all of you for the lovely comments about my new room. I hope you can take away a few ideas for your own stamping space. I must have looked at 100 or more pictures before I knew what I wanted, so in giving back, I shared my space with all of you.

For today's card, my assignment was to use some products that I have had for awhile but were still sitting on the shelf. I used some of my favorite card stock which is from Stampin' Up. I like it's thickness but mostly I love their colors. This card was made with Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Cream and a tiny piece of Old Olive. The artichoke panel was embossed with the "Branches with Leaves" folder from Sizzix and the cherry cobbler shape is embossed with Tim Holtz's "Regal Flourish" folder and then die cut with Label 20 from Spellbinder's . The branches were sanded lightly for texture and dimension. I was actually surprised with myself that I haven't used this stamp set before now, because it was one I yearned over for along time. It is Established Elegance from Stampin' Up. There are 10 luscious stamps in this set and I had to hold myself back from trying to use all of them on this one card. The dress form and other designs were stamped on a cream panel and then embossed with one of the Textured Impression Embossing Folder called Designer Frames from Stampin' Up. I cut out around the embossed edge which created a cute frame and then rubbed some Antique Linen Distress ink on the edges. The rhinestones are a pretty champagne color that are from Michaels.

Wow, so we are into February already. Valentine's Day is just around the corner so I better start thinking of something lovey dovey to make. I will have to sit and think about that one. Trying to come up with something different for 26 years, gets challenging.

I hope all of you are getting through the winter blahs. So far we have been pretty lucky with our weather. I think we have only had snow on the ground for 3 days at the longest and then it melts. We have had more rain than snow, and for Michigan that is unheard of.

~Have fun and enjoy!

New Stamp Studio

2012-01-22T11:09:00.021-05:00

This is the pride and joy of my new studio. I have always wanted a chandelier but the DH wasn't too thrilled to have one over the tub. I have now found the perfect place for it, right over my stamping desk.

As you can probably gather, I have taken on a Paris theme to my new space. Most of the items have been gifts to make it such a special room of love and kindness. The dress form was a gift to myself.

The room is very long. It is the bonus room up over the three car garage and measures 11' x 30'. It didn't take long before it started to feel small. The white cabinets were a great find on Craig's list including the island. I still need to patch a few nail and screw holes. I also want to add some more trim to fancy up the island.

It was difficult to use all the cabinets because the side walls were so short due to the angle of the ceiling. The guys who put up these side cabinets, called them my "Snookey" cabinets. They are rather low but I really like the extra storage. The table below them can be pulled out and raised if needed. I have my photo tent underneath the table and it sits on the floor. I just raise the skirt and it is all set up with the lights. One flip of a switch and all the lights are on. The table made a perfect place for my coffee maker and 100 calorie treats.

This is a close up of the island and my desk is just beyond it. I had the granite made a little longer on the end so that an extra friend would have a place to stamp.

This shelf was such a find. It was being thrown out at the hospital and since I now all of the maintenance guys, they were happy to load it into my car rather then the dumpster. A new coat of spray paint and I have a beautiful treasure for my favorite wood stamps.

This is where all of my wood stamp sets are stored. A majority of them are Stampin' Up but the others are categorized and stored in extra cases from Stampin' Up. Of course they are stored by category- sentiments, words, flowers, tags, holidays ect.

I put up a curtain and took down the closet door because the door opened in and it took up too much of my storage space. It isn't a very big closet but I was able to get two tall book cases in there as well as a shelf. It has a nice bright light so it is very easy to find things.

This is how I store some of my punches. The edge and matching corner punches are on the shelf along the other side of the room.

This cabinet is where all of my designer paper is. The single sheets are stored by color in the stand up paper holders. The packs of paper are stored by theme and manufacturer.

This cubicle unit is several of the three drawer units stacked on top of one another. The four larger square cubies underneath were another freebie from the hospital. There are two separate units that are on wheels. My paper racks were bolted on top of them and had been used in our ER for their history sheets. At first I was going to discard them but thought it would be nice to have the drawers up off the floor. My DH put a piece of wood across them so they would match the dimension of the drawers.

The four small square drawers are from another cubicle on the other side of the room. They don't actually fit nice and square in the unit, but they work. This is where I have all of my clear stamp sets. I can either finger through them or pull them out onto the island to find what I am looking for. My ribbons are on clothes pins in the candy jars above by color.

This is the area behind my desk. I have two of the Stampin' Up ink pad carousels and I love them. My miscellaneous pads are stored in the CD rack on the right and shelving unit on the left. This area is something I still would like to change. I want a white decorative shelf there but I'm not sure what to do with the misc. ink pads.

You can see my paper storage units underneath the cabinets. I have all of my embellishments in those cabinets and jars of buttons on top of the paper.

This is a view from my desk. It is a desk that I had in my old space and was built by my DH's grandfather. It needs a new coat of paint and I am planning on painting the yellow decorative pieces the same darker color of the room. I already have the new hardware that will really dress it up. I knew I didn't want my desk up against the wall. I wanted to be able to look out the window and skylights while I was working. I also wanted to be able to see the TV.

The rack that is attached to the back of the desk was a hand-me-down that my friend Carol no longer wanted. It is perfect storage for keeping things up off my desk. As you can see, I am hooked on Copics. The little rolling cart on the left side of the desk is just temporary right now until I figure out where to keep all my glues. I have my Ott Light over the desk for detail work. I still don't have everything in it's final resting place yet. I think I will have to work in the space for awhile until I can really know where everything needs to be.

My die cutting area is at the left end of the counter. This counter runs 19 feet along this side of the room. I wanted some things to be easily accessible so I decided to put it out on the counter. It still left me with workable areas along the length of the counter.

This is a view of the other side of the island. I have my paper cutters in the drawers and the lower cabinets are just a catch all right now. That is another area that needs attention when I know what I want to store in there. I love being able to get up from my desk and move around to the different stations I have created for cutting without having to walk clear across the room.

Further down the counter to the front of the room is where I store my Stampn' Up wheels, stickles and dollar stamps. The wheel storage is something my DH made me several years ago before he had his stroke. The spinning storage is from the storage line that Michael's carries. I purchased extra clips and I have the stamps grouped together by category. I find it so easy to find the stamp for that little area on a card that just needs a little something extra. I do have the black one that Hobby Lobby caries but it only has one ring. It does spin so much smoother so I am trying to decide where and what I want to hang on that one.

Next is my Cricut area. This was a limited edition Cricut from a few years ago. My son snagged one for me for Christmas on a Black Friday from WalMart. I have all of my cartridges in the drawer underneath. There are plenty of storage cubes around this area as well as speciality paper storage underneath.

This is my sewing area that was created from the counter top that originally came on the island. In order to use the deep upper cabinets we had to brace them up even though they are bolted to the wall. My DH knows me well and he said there is no way I was going to be able to keep from packing those cabinets full. The table leg on the counter doesn't seem to get in my way at all. I find it rather cozy when I work there. I was able to find a lamp shade that had French words on it and I added some trim for elegance. We still have some trim work that has to finish off the underside for aesthetic reasons. The pantry unit on the left side of the desk was something that I really wanted to use but had almost given up hope in finding a place for it. Due to the height and the limitations I had with the side walls, there weren't many places I was going to be able to put it. This is what I ended coming up with.

I guess the hardest part was having the cabinets and then trying to layout the room so that I utilized most of them. There was still a 30'' and 18'' upper cabinet that I wasn't able to work into the plan, so they will be used in the garage.

It is still a work in progress but I am really enjoying it and I realize just how fortunate I am to have such a place. If you have any questions or suggestions please share them with me.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A bit of Winter

2012-01-14T08:35:00.004-05:00

I thought this card would be appropriate today because it looks like our snow might be here to stay. Mind you it is only an inch or two, but it is mid January and I live in Michigan. I just hope Mother Nature isn't planning on delivering it all in March. That would certainly make for a very long winter, and I'm not a winter person. I know, then what in the heck am I doing in Michigan. I ask myself that a lot.

I made this card back in November when I got my Grand Calibur. It is made using the second to the largest Label 4 and then folded in half. I chose navy card stock for the base since the tree is a pale blue. I know it looks black in the picture. I certainly am going to have to invest in some new lights for my photo tent. I used the next smaller die and cut it half before I ran it through the Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder. The tree is actually one of the "Dress It Up" buttons with the shank cut off. I do not own the scallop oval die that it sits in but it is one of the navy blue ones and I think it might be from Marianne. I also use a MS edge punch for the doily band across the front. The picture below shows a better image of how I raised the tree to give it dimension. I absolutely love this shape for a card. I think it gives a touch of elegance even before it gets decorated.

I am sure everyone is waiting for CHA to arrive. It always means a bunch of new goodies goes out on the market for us to agonize over what to buy first. I must say, I have been very good on the shopping. Seeing exactly what I have after moving my studio and the cost of my new room, I find myself saying "I really don't need that". I almost feel a bit guilty having such a lavish room all to myself, but then I remember the phrase; "When mama is happy- everyone is happy". Here's to a happy weekend.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Kindness Matters

2012-01-07T08:14:00.003-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. I honestly have only been on the computer a half dozen times since then and that was to do some Christmas ordering. I kinda got lost with Christmas decorating and my new stamp studio. The kids were home for Christmas and as I had mentioned before, the timing of the new studio was not ideal. I did manage to get 95% of my things moved in. It was enough that I could set up the spare bedroom in my old place so the kids had somewhere to sleep. Moving Elliot's things out of the loft that is now my studio was a bit easier than I thought it was going to be. I still need to do some repainting and decorating in the new spare bedroom but that can wait. The walk in closet in the new spare bedroom still has that 5% of my things nicely stored. I can now just walk it up to the studio and put it in it's place- as soon as I find out where that would be.

I promise to post some pictures of the new studio as soon as the chandelier is hung. Yes, you read that right, a chandelier. I have always wanted a crystal chandelier hanging over our tub, but the DH thought that was a bit ridiculous, especially since there wasn't an outlet already there and we hardly ever use the tub. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to have my crystal since this was my dream craft room and my daughter gave me money for Christmas just for the cause. It arrives today and hopefully will be up by next weekend. I think it is going to take me a few hours just to put all the crystals on it in the right place. I am hanging it right over my desk so I get a perfect view every time. I was fortunate enough that after the desk and island were placed, there was a can light right up over my desk- a perfect spot.

Today's card reminds us that it is just the little things that can make a difference in someones life. Kindness is certainly something this world could use more of. It may be a simple as a smile, a thank you, holding the door for someone or just letting someone know you care. It really is the little things that can have the biggest impact. I used SU Cherry Cobbler and Kraft card stock. The embossing folder was one of the new Sizzix's and the green tag was created with a mini embossing folder from Stampin' Up. The sentiment was also from SU. I decided to keep my computer down in the spare bedroom and all of my supplies are upstairs now. It was a bit easier when I needed to know the details of my card when I was posting and everything was right in the same room. Oh well, if anyone wants to know the stamp set it came from I can reply back to you.

I hope you all are having a wonderful New Year. I am hoping that things start to slow down and I can sit and enjoy my new space.

~Have fun and enjoy!

2011-12-03T10:00:00.001-05:00

A quick Christmas card before I head back to the tasks of my new stamp studio. It certainly isn't moving along fast enough for me, but I have had way too many holiday obligations to focus on the project. If I had been smart, I wouldn't have started this project until January. Oh well, I am up to my eyeballs in it and there is no going back now.

This Christmas card is all Stampin' Up. The image is from the set Christmas Lodge which is in the holiday mini catalog until January 3rd. I also used the top note die and the petals a plenty embossing folder. If you click on the picture you can see that I added some glitter to the roof top to look like snow and add that needed bling. Looking at it now, I guess this is a very patriotic Christmas card and not your typical Christmas colors. Every now and then we need to spice things up to keep it from getting boring. I try to force myself out of my comfort zone every now and then for creative growth. Talking about creativity, make sure you catch Tim Holtz's 12 tags of Christmas on his blog. His videos are awesome and very detailed. He has a new tag every day that he creates the night before. Talk about pressure.

I hope you all are having a much more calming and relaxing week than I am having. I swear next year is going to be different and I will have my Christmas cards made in November and no major projects for December other than the ritual Christmas trimmings. On second thought don't go betting money on that, I am know I am a glutten for punishment any time of year and I would hate to be responsible for your financial losses.

~Take care and enjoy!

Not a Thanksgiving card

2011-11-24T10:55:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I know this is a day that we look back and give thanks for all that is good in our life. I am no different than the rest and I have a lot to be thankful for, but I also spend a few moments reflecting back on the things that aren't so good and I remember the lesson that was learned from them. Sometimes it wasn't anything that I had control over and it was just life playing out in front of me. Still there is something I can learn from it, may it be tolerance or just acceptance. I think it helps me to be a better person when I get reality handed to me on a platter. Although I would much rather some turkey and stuffing on that platter.

Today's card was created based on the cutout window. It isn't a Thanksgiving card I had this left over from a piece of scrap paper that I cut a tag out of. Before I tossed it out I noticed how centered the cutout was. Yes my friends, I saved it for future use. The embossing was done using a Paper Studios Flourish Journal embossing folder. These are very inexpensive from Hobby Lobby and they often are 40% off. The stamped image is from a Prima cling mounted set. I has three adorable old fashioned girls in it. If course I added some bling and a nice Prima rosette that I brushed some gold on the edges.

I am cooking the big meal today but it is going to be a challenge not to divulge too much into it. I am up to a total weight loss of 50lbs. with a few more to go. I started this journey last March and I would like to be at my goal by this March. I never felt that it was really hard especially in the beginning. I guess when you set your mind to it, it becomes a part of your life. When I started changing my diet and walking, the weight just fell off. Now it is getting tougher. I only see little changes which is ok. I will still have a little bit of everything, just is smaller portions. I know I could loose it more quickly if I really buckled down but I don't want to be craving certain foods. I want this to be a lifestyle change. So far so good!

The big move is happening this weekend. My new stamp studio is painted and we are starting to move the cabinets and counter tops up. I am exhausted just thinking about moving all the items from my current room. I get up every morning just hoping those elves have done it all for me. No such luck, I guess they must be busy with other things for Santa.

~Have fun and enjoy!

2011-11-12T18:16:00.001-05:00

Paris has always been a dream of mine. I don't know why but maybe it has something to do with two years of French class in high school. I can remember thinking that there must be some good reason I was sitting there trying to learn a language that was darn near killing me. Oh well, if nothing else it was good for my soul.

The designer paper is from My Mind's Eye the Lost & Found collection. I love the 6x6 pads because they are a perfect size for a card without all the waste. The images are much smaller so they also fit better. The Eiffel Tower and the J'adore are already printed on the paper as it the book print and pink swirls. The font is from the SU set Fabulous Phrases and I stamped it onto one of the tags from Four Frames. I then punched it out with the Decorative Label punch. The trick for the brown layer behind it is to punch out another tag with the Decorative Label punch and then cut it right down the middle from top to bottom. Move the ends out until they make a nice looking layer along the side and glue them down. Easy Peasy! A few mini Prima flowers, some rhinestone swirls and seam binding pulled it altogether.

Taking a trip to Paris is out of the question anyway right now with the renovation of my new stamp room. If I had to make the choice between what to spend the money on, it would be a no-brainer. A new stamp room would win hands down and I can stay there forever. I can always visit Paris in my own little mind and the trip could be as fantastic as I wanted it to be.

~Have fun and enjoy!

New prospects

2011-11-05T09:36:00.003-04:00

Sorry for being absent lately. I am in the process of creating a new stamp studio and it has all of my attention. I am taking over the loft of the three car garage which is 30' x 12'. I am one lucky girl. It was my son Elliot's room or should I say mini apartment. I had planned on moving up there after he finished college and got his own place but it is hardly ever used now. I was joking with him one day and said he didn't have to worry about coming home one weekend and find I had booted him out of his room. His answer shocked me and sent me right into overdrive. He said it was fine if I moved his things into the old stamping room since he isn't here. Last year he stayed the summer at school and worked over there. I should have been quite content with the room I had. It even had a full bathroom and walk-in closet, but there wasn't any room to put tables so my friends could come over and stamp. See, I am thinking of them and not myself (Ha Ha).

Sherman Williams has a 40% off sale this weekend so I bought the paint last night after days of trying to decide what color. Today I am going to a cabinet store to look at cabinets. I am still looking at one on Craigs list but the measurements aren't exactly what I wanted. All of a sudden things are moving along- a lot quicker than I was expecting.

But onto what this blog is supposed to be about. Today's card is rather simple and it uses all Stampin' Up products. I stamped the large Medallion and then embossed with the Framed Tulips embossing folder. The bird is from the Notably Ornate set and the Birthday sentiment is from Perfect Punches. The little friend tag is from Tiny Tags. The Pear Pizzazz seam binding was just looped and glued and of course some pearls for my bling.

I would love to hear from anyone as to how they store their supplies. I am not sure if I want larger cabinets or if more narrower ones would work better. I have some storage items from my current room that I still want to use so I was planning on only having 16 to 20 feet of running cabinets along one wall and an island in the center. I still will have some time to decide that. I have three narrow 5' tables that I want to use along the other wall that will be right behind my stamping desk. I want to be able to turn around and have easy access to things and my desk be completely clear except for a few items that will fit in a rotating tool caddy. The front of the room will still be a sitting area with a couch and love seat that I am saving for Elliot for his first apartment. He had this in his room but I wouldn't let him take it to college because it was new and I figured it would get trashed with the college life. This way he leaves he will at least have some decent furniture without having to spend any money. Who am I kidding, it would be more like my money.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-22T13:07:00.007-04:00

No tricks, just treats. I made a dozen of these for family and friends and because they are such nice people I just filled them with candy. No worms or spiders for this bunch. The box is the Sizzix Box #3. The coaster are from the MS collection at Joanns. The spiderweb border is also from MS's. Boy she sure has grown in the craft department hasn't she. The top panel was created from the Stampin' Up Square Lattice embossing folder. Below are some individual pictures and if you double click on them you can enlarge the image.

This one I made specially for my son Elliot- hence the skull embellishement. What young guy doesn't love a nice skull. I found those at Michaels and they are from the Jolee's Boutique line. I din't think the in-laws would be too keen on having one on theirs.

I used a set of stamps that creates a belly band for the chocolate nuggets and stamped half in black and half in purple. The sentiment and crow were stamped and punched out with a 1" punch. I just used a glue dot to attach them. Six of them fit just perfectly but I did have to add some paper grass due to the depth of the box.

The DH is already home and his surgery went fine. The surgeon said the mass was starting to invade the brain and was very vascular. Because of the invasion, the surgeon could not take much of the brain tissue without risk of causing some injury. He got what he could but now DH will have to have an MRI in three months. If it looks like it is starting to grow back then he will have a few radiation treatments and that should be it. The mass was not cancerous but when they grow they cause pressure on the brain that creats unwanted side affects.

I shaved his head for him two days before the surgery. It was really weird cutting off what little hair he had left. He sort of liked it and thought maybe he would just keep the look but I reminded him that he was going to have a nasty scar. By the looks of the incision and the 45 staples that starts on the top of his head and makes a big "C" down to just infront of his ear his hair on the sides aren't going to cover it entirely. The incision will still be noticeable up on top of his head. They took the dressings off for him to come home, so now we get a good look at it all day long. You guessed it, Elliot couldn't wait to get a picture of that. He was teasing him and said he could go as a baseball for Halloween. It does resemble the stiching and curve on a baseball.
Well I better go and play nurse for awhile.

~Have fun and enjoy!

So tiny, yet so big

2011-10-14T20:19:00.002-04:00

I just love these little paper roses that have been popping up everywhere. I got these from Michael's and I think they are Recollections brand. I also found some white, pink and blue in the dollar bin and a few weeks later they were half off. They aren't very big, in fact they are about the size of a dime but they can make a big impact. I like them because they are small enough to incorporate into any project without covering up the main images. If you purchased the cream or white ones you could very easily color them any color you need. Copic markers would do a very nice job on these as would some of the glimmer mists.

Don't you just love the little bunny. She is my favorite little figurine and I think she gives off a sassy image like "I'm here and what are you going to do about it". Anyway she just makes me smile every time I look at her.

Unfortunately I needed another sympathy card. I love this SU embossing folder Framed Tulips- not too overstated but again just enough. I really wanted the sentiment from River City Rubber Works to be the main focus of this card. The tag is a pre-made that was in a package with several other designs. I can't find the package right now to tell you who makes them-sorry. The border on the inside of the card was created with the MS Monarch Butterflies punch.

I just purchased a nice supply of the new Tim Holtz Distress Stains. I hope to get into them soon so I can post some different projects.

~Have fun and enjoy!

How about some purple today

2011-10-08T09:33:00.005-04:00

I only have one set of dies for my Grand Calibur but it is my most favorite- Label Four. I don't know if it is the shape as much as the unique type of card it creates. I am not a big fan of purple because I find it hard to get the right hues that go together. I always thought as long as it was some shade of purple it would match but I have found that isn't so. Maybe it just happened to be the hue of purples that I have. Anyway here is a card with the grand label four and it is folded in half. It is one down from the largest in the set. I don't use a full design for the second layer because I am frugal with my paper and I don't see the need to have the designer or textured paper on the back, but that's just me. If you find that you have an unlimited amount of paper then by all means have at it. I guess that's the hoarder in me because I do actually have more paper than anyone has the right to, and I have always said that if our house ever did catch fire it would burn for hours for the amount of paper and rubber that is in this room.

I used a Sizzix embossing folder and a Tattered Angels tag as the main images. There is a bit of pearl Glimmer Mist on the tag but it doesn't show up in this photo. The purple rose below was originally cream but I sprayed it with deep plum Glimmer Mist and you can see a bit of the iridescence there. A few other embellishments and there you have it. I have a few other cards created with this die and I will be showing you them over the next few weeks. Hopefully Santa will bring me another die for Christmas so you all won't get board seeing the same design.

It has been a gorgeous weekend so far. I took yesterday off to bask in the sun and get a head start on the outdoor winter duties. My DH is having brain surgery on the 18th and he won't feel up to the outdoor tasks before it starts to get too cold, so we started this weekend while we are having 78 degree weather. I am one of those people who gets a bit crazy when things don't get done. His parents are coming for the surgery and to help out. I will take a week off work while he is in the hospital and then they will still be here to help him out after I go back. As far as In-laws go they are the best. They are always there when you need them and they have never interfered. They stay involved in all the grand kid's festivities which is quite amazing since the kids are spread out across the country. They are really wonderful people and I don't tell them how lucky I am to have them and how much I appreciate them as much as I should. I will make sure I do that next week while they are here.

Say an extra prayer for us. I am very optimistic that everything will go fine but with my DH's history of having a stroke it is still worrisome.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Friends

2011-10-01T19:46:00.004-04:00

Friends, what would we do without them. Friends are the ones we know we can be ourselves when we are with them. They enrich our lives when they make us laugh and they share their shoulders when we need to cry. They give us an honest answer even if it isn't what we want to hear and they are someone who would share their last piece of card stock with you. But most of all a friend is someone who makes us a better person just for knowing them.

I made this card for one of my best friends from high school. We don't keep in touch as much as we should, but when we get together it seems as though we were never apart. She is so easy to be around and she really knows where I'm coming from and understands me. Not that my other friends don't do the same. It's just that this friend has known me for 35 years and we went through the milestones of growing up together. Happy Birthday Foster.

I used all SU for this card except for the bling and the ribbon. The stamp set is Vintage Vouge and I stamped the images in Early Espresso. The card stock is actually Baja Breeze although it looks a bit darker in the photo. I embossed the background with Elegant Bouquet.

I am all bundled up tonight due to the cold damp temperatures we are having here in Michigan. Just to let you know how cold it is- I am still bundled after 30 minutes. Even with my own internal thermostat set on high I can still manage the extra layers. Oh wait a minute. I think I spoke too soon... Ok that feels better- one less layer and no socks. Gee I can't wait for this to be over! I bought a new blanket for our bed and I just dreaded putting it on. I almost thought about buying a twin and putting it on only half of the bed- his side. I guess I'll call it part of my exercise kick boxing routine when I continue to kick the covers off. I ought to have the thinnest legs around pretty soon.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A paper bag book

2011-09-24T14:23:00.004-04:00

Today I wanted to share with you a paper bag book that I recently taught at our stamp club. I thought the sentiment on the front was very fitting for the theme of the book. It was my imagination that filled the pages inside. The paper bags are sandwiched between two pieces of ruler with bolts.

For this book you need a yardstick or ruler, 5 small paper bags, 1/2" long bolts and nuts. If you purchase a ruler, try to get the ones without the metal edge. I had a difficult time finding yard sticks that didn't have the store's logo printed on it. This is a book that I made awhile back and I had an old yardstick laying around the house that was logo free. The paper bags that I used are 5 1/2" x 3"-the tiny size that would hold penny candy (remember those days of penny candy). You can probably find these on line. I purchased mine from a local supply store that has all kinds of products for businesses.

I cut the yard stick to 4" and drilled the holes about 6/8" from each end- you will need two of them. I then punched holes in my bags 1/2 inch from each side. Notice the yard stick is slightly longer than the bags. You might want to lay one of the rulers that has already been cut and drilled on to one of the bags and then mark where the holes should be punched. Just make sure you are an even distance from the top and bottom of the bag. I stamped and embellished the pages prior to putting the book together.

I sponged ink onto some of the pages and on others I used some acrylic metallic paint. I didn't cover the pages with any printed paper because I wanted the paper bag color to be clearly visible and the main visual of the book. After all it is a paper bag book. Take a look below and make your book your own creation. You can click on any of the images below to get a closer look at the pages.

I hope you enjoyed today's idea. I've got some straitening up to do in my studio (some new goodies need a place to call home) and I still want to get the living room carpet cleaned. Just where does the day go?

~Have fun and enjoy!

Plastic wrap and a dab of paint...

2011-09-18T20:43:00.004-04:00

Just plain plastic wrap and a bit of metallic paint is what I used to create a background for this card. Glossy card stock works the best for this technique. If you click on the image below you can get a better view. I crinkled up a wad of plastic wrap and then lightly tapped it into a small amount of pearl and light gold metallic ink that I put on a paper plate. I then tapped it "off" onto the plate before I stamped it lightly onto the card. I sort of bounced it here and there around on the card stock.

The black medallion is from Stampin' Up and is one of my favorite background stamps. I put some dabs of gold Liquid Pearls on the medallion. I used two of Martha's border punches at the bottom. Some ribbon, a flower and a few rhinestones gave this card a finishing touch.

I have been in an organization mode since my mind has been toying with moving into the bonus room up over the 3 car garage. Right now it is my son Elliot's room, but he is hardly ever there. He is away at college but stayed this past summer to work. I have a feeling there was more having fun than working, but that is the life of a 22 year old. The rent was cheaper during the school months if he signed a 12 month lease. So as he says "it is like the rent was free". I don't think he has heard the old adage- nothing is free. This boy has a lot to learn. Anyway I don't want to move my studio up there until he finishes college and gets his own apartment- just in case! We'll see how things go.

Not a whole lot to talk about today. Summer is coming to a close and the nights are getting much cooler. The DH is having brain surgery next month to remove a meningioma that is getting quite large. It was an incidental finding on the Cat Scans and MRI he had 6 years ago when he had his stroke. It has really started to grow this year and the neurosurgeon said it is time to take it out. I was getting concerned about his increasing deficit on the left side and this meningioma seems to be causing it. I'm not looking forward to this and I am sure he feels the same way. The good news is that we bought an iPad2 so I will have something to entertain myself while he is in the hospital. That thing is truly awesome. I am blown away by what this thin tablet can do. I love the face to face video chat (as long as I look half way decent and my hair is combed). We just got it today so we have a few things to learn.

~Have fun and enjoy!

All because of an extra coupon...

2011-09-10T20:11:00.005-04:00

It all started with a 40% coupon. I mentioned to the DH that I had an extra coupon to Hobby Lobby if he wanted it. We were out shopping that night and he said alright that he would be my "coupon mule". That is his term for being used to get an extra item with a coupon. Any way, I had to return some candles and while I was in line waiting, he asked me if I wanted him to use his coupon on a Spellbinders Grand Callibur. I about fell over. He said he might as well buy it now for my birthday (which is in November) while he had the coupon and then his shopping for a gift would be done. I ran as fast as I could to the Spellbinders isle and there at the end of the isle that beautiful pink machine was saying "I'm all yours". Not much courting or yearning with this one. I had only recently mentioned how much I liked my friend's and said I wouldn't mind getting one for my birthday. I think DH has forgotten that I have already received my birthday gifts well into 2025 at least. Oh well who am I to remind him of his absentmindedness. The dies just happened to be 40% off that night so he also had me pick out one. Silly me said he is going to have to put it away since my birthday isn't until November. He said he would hide it in my stamping room. He isn't good at hiding because you can see I already made a card with it.

Next Friday is my daughter's wedding anniversary and since I am sending a box I thought I would make a card that doesn't have to fit the parameters of being sent through the mail. I used the largest Grand Label 4 and then the next size down for the DS paper. The burgundy rosettes were made with the Bigz Sizzix Flower 3-D die. I just love that die and I can see me getting a lot of use out of this one. The cream flower is Prima and the butterfly was punched with a MS punch on vellum. I then added some stickles to the edges of the wings. The ribbon is actually a closer match to burgundy than what shows in the picture. It isn't really that red. The sentiment is from SU as are the punches.

I will be teaching our stamping club members how to make a book with small paper bags. They are the really small ones that would be used to hold penny candy. The spine is two pieces of a ruler and 2 bolts go through to hold it altogether. I better get cutting. I have sixty 4" pieces to cut and then drill two holes through each piece- yikes!

~Have fun and enjoy!

A different shape

2011-08-27T09:40:00.002-04:00

I am so in love with the Grand Calibur from Spellbinders. I don't own one, but one of my friends in our stamping group brought hers to share with us. I didn't think I would ever really want one, but it only took one cut and I was hooked. This card was made with the Grand Label Four. The green is the second to the largest die and the cream is the next size down. The second die makes a card that can fit in an A2 envelope. I didn't have any patterned paper with me so I cut what I could with card stock. When I got home I ran the cream card stock through my Cuttle Bug with the Victoria folder and then rubbed distress Antique Linen ink over the top. I used the Lacey Oval Spellbinder for the sentiment. The sentiment itself is SU Wings of Friendship. The butterfly is from K&Company.

I already have the Calibur on my wish list. I almost purchased one last night when I saw a 55% off coupon from AC Moore but you can't use them on-line and they don't have any stores in Michigan- bummer. I guess I will just have to keep waiting and dreaming.

Summer is coming to a close and I am relishing every bit of the warm weather we have left. I have to say I love fall but the caveat is knowing winter is right behind it. Oh well, we have to take the good with the bad right! If we didn't have winter- there would be no spring.

~ Have fun and enjoy!

A Patriotic Thank You

2011-08-17T19:22:00.004-04:00

No, I know the 4th of July has come and gone but today's cards were made for a different occasion. Our local stamp store is trying to help out a little boy who wants to send a thank you card to every military soldier on active duty. Wow, now that is quite an undertaking. I could only wish to be half as ambitious. I don't remember the details of his name and how many cards he needs but if you are interested, just send me an email and I will send you the details. I am fortunate because there is a decorated box at the store and anyone can just drop their cards in. The store will take card of getting them to the little guy.

I had picked up a package of these Americana borders (clearanced of course) by K&Company and went to work on my contribution. They aren't anything too fancy or ornate due to the overseas shipping but they were made with a lot of gratitude.

I myself was an Air Force brat growing up all over the United States. I didn't like it at the time but I am sure it helped to make me more resilient in where ever or what ever situation I am in. My mother was a saint for putting up with all the moving. It is amazing how much these soldiers sacrifice for such little pay. The justification in pay is certainly out of whack when we compare them to professional sports players. I never could and never will understand that one.

These cards really only took me minutes to make. The border on this card had metallic red stripes for a bit of bling since I had to refrain myself on embellishments.

Well I hope these cards will inspire you to do the same. Our department at the hospital has taken care of sending items of need to several troops over the years. Socks, candy, reading material and essentials to name a few. Things you would think the gov't would provide, like sunscreen, chap stick and deodorant. Another one of those things that is mind boggling. We always get some type of communication back as to how these little things mean the world to them and help to make a miserable situation bearable. Isn't it true how we put off doing something because we can't come up with something "grand" that we think will make an impact when it really is just the little things that mean the most. So the lesson here is "don't think to hard and don't send a card because you don't think it is nice enough. Whomever is going to receive it will think the world of it just because you thought of them.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Hello

2011-08-02T18:19:00.003-04:00

Hello, I'm back. I was on vacation last week and I forgot to schedule a post to my blog while I was gone. That's one of the great features of blogger. Just write up the post ahead of time and tell it when you want it posted for viewing. Of course you have to initiate the whole process for it to happen. Just another one of those times where I have to sit and laugh at myself.

I don't like to mention when I will be going away because you never know who is out there reading your blog. I was up visiting my father at our family cottage in the Upper Peninsula. It's way up North almost as far as Copper Harbor. I posted pictures last September here on my blog. Take a look back through my old posts and you can see why I think this is one of the most relaxing and beautiful place.

I took a whole suitcase (that I could hardly carry) of stamping things with me to keep me entertained if we had a rainy day. As it was I never opened it up. That means my supply of cards is low but it also means we had the most beautiful weather.

Today's card is an a "just thinking of you" kinda card. I used one of the new SU hostess sets for the flowers and the coordinating punch. The embossing folder is Square Lattice from SU. I used Spellbinders dies, a MS butterfly punch and EK Success border punch. I am in love with the new SU colors, two of which I used on this card- Wisteria Wonder and Pool Party. The darker teal is Not Quite Navy. Did you notice the stick pin in the knot of the ribbon. It was from the ones I made awhile back while I was in Florida.

Not much else to report. My daughter and son-n-law will be here tomorrow from North Carolina and I have a few things to take care of before they get here. I swear there aren't enough hours in a day. Either I am getting older and moving a bit slower or I am just busier than I have ever been. This whole crazy thing of working full time really cuts into my hobbies. I should be knocking on wood because I am very fortunate to have such a good job and I don't know where we would be if I didn't have it. I guess I just want the best of both worlds- who doesn't.

For "Beautiful" you

2011-07-17T10:55:00.003-04:00

So what has everybody been up to? Now that we are into the middle of summer, it's time to just sit back, relax, and enjoy mother nature's beautiful bounty. The flowers are in full bloom and the luscious fruits of the summer are ready for eating. I myself have eaten my share of watermelon, raspberries, strawberries and nectarines and I must say, they sure help with the diet. Today I have lost 40 lbs since the second week of March. How did I do it? A healthy diet of wheat and whole grain items, low carbs and sugar free. I walk 5 days a week at a fast pace for 30 minutes. I am at a plateau and I would still like to lose another 20 -25 lbs. so I am going to have to switch it up a bit. I might just have to drag myself down to the elliptical in the basement. It is set up with a perfect view of the TV in the family room so I have no excuses. I'll let you know how that works out.

Today's card was made with one of the newer MS punch sets called "Vintage Floral" and the bird cage stamp is from Studio G. I cut my book page paper to a 3.25" square and punched the corners first then the sides. The pretty floral ribbon was on a bolt from Hobby Lobby in the clearance isle so I bought the whole thing. The sentiment is from SU "Fabulous Phrases" and then punched out with the "Modern Label " punch.

I don't remember the name of the Sizzix embossing folder I used and I apologize for that. Here is a little tip when you are embossing light colored paper. Take a blender tool or sponge and apply some Distress ink- the raised design will really pop as the ink gives it some depth . I like to use Antique Linen but on other cards that are a medium or darker color, I have used a white opaque ink.

I hope you enjoyed today's card. I am sorry for the delay between posts but during the summer I don't like to be tied to the computer. I have been very excited about the new Stampin' Up catalog and with CHA right around the corner there will be oodles of new "yummies" for us. Has anyone seen the new Spellbinders that are soon to arrive. They are beyond awesome. Start saving your money ladies. I will be found checking the cushions for extra change.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Creat Joy

2011-07-07T20:46:00.003-04:00

I am finally back, but not up to full speed. I almost had to tie myself to my chair to make this card. I don't know where my mojo has gone, but I better find it quick. A big box of Stampin' Up was on my door step yesterday and the new catalog is just yummy. I am hoping it is just what I needed for some " get it in gear" inspiration. I think my never ending kitchen project has consumed me. The walls and ceiling are painted which took some time because I was on the contracted painter's list and I wasn't at the top. The DH and myself tiled the back splash and I am happy to report we are both still alive and he still has ten fingers. I sealed the tiles before the grout which will get done this weekend. I think I am still going to reseal the entire area again so the grout is sealed. I cook my spaghetti sauce all day in a slow cooker on the counter and it gets stirred several times. The chances of the sauce splashing up on the tile is quite likely and I don't think the orange splatter would fit the "old world" style I am going for.

I had a few days off to myself and I finished several of those little projects that kept nagging at me. Boy it sure feels good when they are done. Maybe that was another reason I was having such a hard time taking the time to stamp. I ordered several of the newer JustRite stamps and a couple of Tim's Sizzix dies which are also sitting in a box on the floor. You should be seeing some cards from them soon-I promise.

Today's card was inspired by the piece of floral scrap paper I found in a basket on my desk. The flower is one of my homemade ones that are cut circles and heated around the edges so they curl. The stick pin was from a batch that I made while I was in Florida.

I love this bird cage stamp that was from the $1 bin at Michaels. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set. The pink border is Martha's "Swirling Lace" with a pink velvet ribbon over the top of it.

It's hard to believe that we are already into July although the flowers are in full bloom and look like they have been enjoying several days of sun and rain. I am anxiously awaiting our ripened tomatoes. There's nothing better than a homegrown tomato for your salad or BLT if they make it that far.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer and what ever it is that makes it so enjoyable. For all you mom's out there that have school age children, I hope you are getting to sleep in a little later. For those of us who have to hit the pavement, just having a few extra hours of sun at the end of the day is pure happiness.

~Take care and enjoy!

Carolynn

2011-06-19T14:48:00.005-04:00

It's not about waiting for the storm to pass,

but it is to learn how to dance in the rain.

This was Carolynn's favorite quote and she certainly lived by it. Carolynn passed away on Friday afternoon. She would have been 39 next Thursday. Needless to say there is a big hole in the hearts of all who knew her. She was one of the Nurses in our radiology department but she was known by almost everyone in the hospital. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 6 months ago. This picture of her was taken shortly after she was told she had 3-6 months to live. She wanted to capture family pictures while she was still rather healthy and still had her hair so her children would remember what a beautiful and wonderful mother she was.

A few months ago I had posted the journals that I had made for each of her girls. I knew Carolynn would want to write down random thoughts and words of wisdom to each one individually. The youngest just turned one last month and I am so happy that Carolynn got to witness that as well as her first steps.

As I sit here trying to decide on a color of paint for my kitchen it seems so trivial in the broad spectrum of life. I really feel guilty that the most trying thing in my life today is simply choosing a paint color when I know what Carolynn and her family have been through. I am having a hard time finding the justification in all of this. I really wish there were some other circumstances that would wake us up and show us what is really important in life.

I can't think of anything else to post today. My thoughts are with Carolynn's family and I'm not finding the joy in stamping these last few days.

Relaxed and Rejuvenated

2011-05-30T10:08:00.005-04:00

I am back from a very relaxing and enjoyable 2 week vacation in Cape Coral Florida. I can't begin to tell you how rejuvenated I feel. I was a bit worried about the 90 degree weather since I have started getting my own little personal heat waves. I picked up one of those hand held battery fans that can fit in your purse as my savior, but I was pleasantly surprised how comfortable I felt. I got up every morning and had my breakfast and coffee on the lanai and then went for a 4 mile walk with temperatures being in the mid 70's and a humidity of 80%. That sounds awful but there was a constant breeze off the gulf that kept it refreshing. By mid morning the sun and breeze had burned off the humidity. I guess it helped that I have recently lost 30 lbs and have been eating really healthy. When I was done with my walk it was into my swimsuit for an afternoon of sun and the pool. How much more relaxing can you get than floating in a pool reading a book and spending time with dear friends. Seeing the dolphins, manatee and stingrays in the beautiful sun and the lightning storms far off in the distance didn't hurt either.

Carol and I went to our favorite stamp store in Fort Myers called The Owl and the Pussycat. As usual that place has a tendency to do some major damage to my wallet. I purchased several stamp sets from Character Constructions. The one that I used for today's card is from the Paperdoll pARTs "Mannequin Cafe". It is a rather large dress form and I had grabbed my x-large acrylic block. I had a terrible time stamping it and I finally gave up and improvised. As all good stampers we know how to cover out mistakes- hence the white flowers on the dresses. I needed two Birthday cards and they both had some blank spots in different areas but at least they were in an appropriate place. The verse is a separate wooden stamp that they had and was so fitting.

There is a new metallic marker out by Sakura called Pen-touch Calligrapher. I used the gold to edge the navy card stock. The trick is to use it periodically even if you aren't using it on a project, at least draw a line on scrap paper. This will keep the ink fluid and the tip moist.

I hope you all are having a relaxing Memorial Day and remembering those that gave their lives so we could enjoy all the privileges we have here in the USA.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A wonderful woman we remember

2011-05-21T10:19:00.001-04:00

This was for one of my friends from our stamp club whose mother just passed away. Her mother was in our stamp club when I first joined and I think she was in her 70s. Dorothy (Dot)did absolutely gorgeous work and she was truly a beautiful woman. I thought the sentiment was so fitting for not only her daughter, but for all of us who knew her. I will always remember her every time I see the H2O paints. Dorothy would spend hours painting images for her cards with them. When Dot went to an assisted living apartment, she couldn't take all her stamping things with her and she wasn't capable of enjoying the craft any longer. Her daughter Mary had a sale so we were able to buy some things that we continue to use and enjoy just as Dot did.

I decided to give the sewing technique a try. My mini Janome sits on the table right next to my cuddlebug and it is a shame that I don't use it more often. I am more of a "particular" kind of gal, so when the sewing isn't straight it kinda bugs me. I have learned to let go of that now that I see what an added touch it gives. The little flowers are from the Recollections collection at Michaels. I just love these little jems because they are small enough to fill in a small space, yet big enough to make a statement. The leaves were from a MS punch and the sentiment from River City Rubber Works is on a layered Labels 18 Spellbinders.

Orange has never been my favorite color, but in this case just a little brought out the orange in the paper and made the teal pop. Sometimes you just have to give an unfavored color a chance.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Hooray for you!

2011-05-14T09:33:00.000-04:00

Hooray for you! One of my dearest friends became a great grandmother so I made this card for her in celebration. It was when I first got several of the new Spellbinders and as you can see I couldn't make up my mind which ones to use so I ended up using a few of them. The one thing I like about the newest Spellbinders is how you can layer several of them from different sets.

I used Floral Doily Motifs for the lighter pink and white layers and then I added the darker pink tag from Fleur De Lis Accents. I also used one of the newer MS punches Vintage Floral along the bottom. The corners are Sizzix. I had a really hard time with the corners as they didn't want to punch out fully. I had to go in with a pair of scissors and do a bit of trimming. I guess I should have used a shim to get a better cut.

I like to think of this color combo as Neopalitan because it reminds me of the ice cream. As a kid I never used to eat the strawberry- just the chocolate and vanilla. Now if you put a bowl of Neopalitan ice cream in front of me I might just leave the vanilla, but I doubt it. More than likely you would just see an empty bowl.

This week I am getting together with my friend for some much needed buddy time, stamping and just laying in the sun.

~Have fun and enjoy!

I wish you a carefree day...

2011-05-08T08:48:00.003-04:00

A wish for all the mothers out there to have a carefree and restful day. I can't help but think of my own mother today. May has always been a difficult time for me ever since my mother passed away 7 years ago. She actually died in January but in the U.P. the winter burials don't happen until the earth has thawed, so we buried her the end of May. It was like she died all over again. For all the years I lived up there, I never realized how the elements can play a part in the healing with the death of a loved one. Her birthday is May 13th so you can see why May is bitter sweet for me.

I decided to play with some of the new Spellbinders again. Today's card uses Labels 21 and Fleur De Lis Motifs. The DS paper is DCWV from the Blossoms & Butterflies Stack.

Not much else to report today. I am getting anxious for gardening now that the weather is getting nicer but it means there is much prep work to be done in the flower beds. I don't mind the hard work because it means there are some beautiful sights in store for me in the end.

Today we are cooking steaks out on the grill and just kicking back. I like the rest of you will be reminiscing of when we brought our babies home from the hospital and how could they possibly be all grown up now. It is also a time when I remember the challenging times of raising them and how at a loss I felt at times. Back then I couldn't have imagined how those times would shape and form them into the beautiful human beings each of them have become.

~Have fun and enjoy- we deserve it!

A Graphic 45 Vintage Lady

2011-05-02T19:55:00.003-04:00

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new Spellbinders. Today's card was made as a sample for the Faux Mother of Pearl technique that I taught at our stamp club last month. The light blue panel that I stamped the Graphic 45 Vintage Ladies on is the sample.

I put a dab of Liquid Pearls around the Fleur De Lis Rectangle Nestabilities. It was just enough without being too much. The blue pearls seemed to take center stage anyway. I also snuck in an emblem from the Fleur De Lis Motifs Shapabilities set. Gotta say, I looove all of them.

I have a new baby and no it isn't a new puppy. I picked up a new car on Friday. When the DH said I should look at the new Ford Explorer, I thought he was nuts. I certainly didn't want anything as boxy as that thing as I remembered it. Instead I was looking at the new Edge and my eye wandered over to a white pearl beauty with leather interior. This thing certainly wasn't boxy, in fact it has some awesome curves. It can even parallel park by itself and all I have to do is say "I'm hungry" and it will show me all the restaurants in the area and how far I am away from them. I have to say, I was really impressed at all the new safety features they have added. There is a little light that comes on in the side mirrors when there is a car in your blind spot. When you use the "cruise", you can tell the car how far of a gap you want between you and the car in front of you. When you come up to a car that is going slower than you are, your car will slow down to maintain the gap. Once you move over to the other lane, you go right back to the cruise speed you had set. And the most impressive feature is air conditioned seats. At 50, it is every woman's dream.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

2011-04-23T09:11:00.022-04:00

I have been getting a lot of requests to see the before and after photos of my kitchen cabinet makeover. We still aren't done with the overall kitchen project. We still need to put tile under the cabinets and pick a new paint color. I am leaning towards a darker sage color but I want to pick the tiles first. You might not notice much of a difference in the photos, but let me tell you that in person, it is a world of difference. I never liked the pink tinge of the maple frost cabinets from the day we bought the house. I was hoping that by putting granite counter tops in would help but I still saw the tinge. Now it just seems warmer and more inviting. I also wanted more of an "old world" look on a budget so you will see a lot of trim work that I put up to bring in that feel.

In the before images, the painter had already taken the doors over the refrigerator and under the sink so he could show me samples of what the glazing would look like. I was horrified when he showed me the fisrt sample. The door was glazed over the entire surface and I had only wanted glaze in the grooves. It was just a bit of miscommunication. I told him in this instance, even though I love shabby chic, that was not the look I was going for. The before pictures were taken at night and the after ones during the day, so the lighting is a bit different. You can click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

This was a cabinet we had custom built to match the kitchen cabinets. It is more in the dinning area and I wanted to pull the two room together yet distinguish each of them since it is really one very large area. The carpet is the great room.

AFTER

We added the crown molding at the top and the trim work on both sides.

BEFORE

This cabinet looks odd because the counter was originally in an "L" shape when we bought the house with Formica counter top. We took the "L" shape off and turned the cabinets into the island. We had maple trim made to match so we could "beef" up the island to make it look like it wasn't just a set of cabinets plopped in the middle of the kitchen. This cabinet actually was the corner of the "L" and faced the small rug so you could get at it from the dinning area. We just turned it sideways to become part of the kitchen. Luckily it had a maple frost side.

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

This is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. I love how the glaze took to the emblems we put on the pantry doors and the long drawer. I was a bit worried to add something to the upper two cabinets, thinking it might be too much, but the painter left us the paint and glaze and showed me how to do it if I ever change my mind. The DH and I glued all the ornament pieces and trim on ourselves before the doors were spayed.

BEFORE

AFTER

This is the island after we added a bit more trim work to fancy it up a bit. Everyone thought I was crazy when I said we were painting the cabinets cream and the island black. Even my daughter had to admit "mom was right once again". I just adore it and it looks even better with the pendant lights hanging over it. We added those after the painting was done and pictures had already been taken. I will include those when I reveal the finished makeover.

BEFORE

AFTER (from the other end)

So that's my kitchen so far. I am not in as much of a hurry for the tile and paint only because I am enjoying the transformation that has already taken place. Once this settles in, I will head to the tile store for some more brain aching decisions.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A Forest Fairy

2011-04-17T12:37:00.011-04:00

I needed to make some samples of the "Faux Mother of Pearl" background technique for our stamp club this month so I used some of the new paper from Graphic 45. The background technique can be found here.

The paper is from the "Once Upon a Springtime" collection and I also used the stamp set that coordinates with this line. Aren't these fairies the cutest! I would have liked to go a bit darker with the green ink I used for the pearl background but it was my first try and I think lighter colors were suggested.

I wanted to keep it sort of woodsy because we all know that is where you can find the best fairies. I kept the colors in the forest hues and didn't go overboard with the embellishments. I even found a brown flower in my stash. I used a few MS punches for the foliage and the main image was stamped on Labels Fourteen. Graphic 45 has become one of my favorites and I am giddy over the fact that they now have stamps to go along with their papers. I can't wait to make a more "girly" card out of this paper.

Starting to get a nice brown base for my trip to Florida. I know, I know, it isn't healthy for me, but it sure feels good. Especially with all this cold weather we have been having. It is snowing again as I write. Now how can you blame a girl for wanting some artificial sun when we are still getting snow in the middle of April. I guess the dusting we are getting is nothing compared to what my dad got up in the UP- a whopping 6 inches. Just another reason to be happy with what you have and where you are.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A jelly bean Easter card

2011-04-09T13:25:00.005-04:00

How about a quick and easy project that could be used for any occassion. For this month's project at our stamp club we are going to make this sweet Easter card with a jelly bean sidekick.

My friend Kay had bought a smaller version of this from a craft show that was the size of a note card with a 3" tube filled with M & Ms. The card was decorated for Christmas and the M & Ms were red and green. Kay brought it over to me and asked if I could replicate it, aka- make a pattern. I did one even better by making it bigger. Her daughter Kelly found these larger 6" tubes at her local stamp store for $1 each. I tinkered around with a pattern until I came up with this. The tube was perfect for filling with jelly beans. Actually you could fill this with just about anything. A few chocolate eggs or Hershey kisses would also look festive. A bit of green grass in the bottom would also be cute.

You could alter this to fill the tube with bath salts for a Get Well card or if you measured it out and included the instructions for the amount to use, you could fill it with hot cocoa powder. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with. If you would like the pattern just send me a comment.

The weather is finally getting warmer. We are expecting mid to high 60's with thunderstorms tomorrow. I just hope the storms come earlier in the evening. Last week we had a doozey in the middle of the night. It was the loudest crash of thunder I have ever heard and immediately followed by the sound of breaking glass. I thought for sure one of the windows had shattered. I got up and went downstairs to investigate but I couldn't find anything broken in the kitchen or great room. I went to my stamping room and there on the floor was one of the old fashioned candy jars that I keep my ribbon in, laying on the floor. It wasn't broke so it must have been the metal lid making all the clatter as the jar was hitting the floor. I guess the way the house shook was enough to knock the jar off the shelf that is at least 5 feet off the floor. Luckily I have carpeting or it would have been quite a mess trying to save all my pretty ribbon from the shards of glass.

Our local stamp store just got in the latest Spellbinders so I have been making quite a few trips in to make my purchases. You are only allowed to use one coupon per day so it will take me awhile to get all the ones on my wish list. Yesterday I took my DH in with me on our way out to dinner so he could get one for me with his own coupon. My son calls him "my coupon mule". I would love to hear his answer if they ever asked him what he is going to make with the things he purchases for me. I doubt very much that we are pulling anything over on the store clerks. They know exactly what we are doing. Once in Michaels, DH was in line behind me and the gentleman at the register asked if he could just put his purchases in the same bag as mine. Quite the astute fellow he was.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Get well...

2011-04-03T09:54:00.008-04:00

SORRY ABOUT THE PARAGRAPH SPACING. SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENING IN BLOGGER TODAY. Get well soon my friend. Here is another card with the stamps from Waltzing Mouse that coordinates with the Spellbinders dies. I just fell in love with this "Rescue Remedies" set for the Labels 4. There are some fabulous examples in the gallery at their website so head on over to check them out. The paper is DCWV Botanicals and a MS punch quickly turned this card into a perfect "pick me up" for a sick friend. Of course I couldn't get away without using some seam binding ribbon. The kitchen cabinets are finished and I am in the process of putting the kitchen back together. I had to take down the decorative displays I had up over the top of the cabinets and trying to remember how I had the greenery placed was a bit of a challenge for this old brain of mine. Luckily my DH had taken some "before" pictures so I now had a map. I am sure I could have come up with something different, but I liked what I had and changing it might have meant a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy something new. The cabinets set me back quite a bit and I am now saving my pennies for new tile and having the ceiling and walls painted (which means no new stamps). Actually I talked the guy that did the cabinets down $385 dollars and he will paint the walls and the ceiling for $200. Now that is some serious bargaining. We had an electrician come in to give us an estimate for putting pendant lights up over the island. Wow, can I just say I am in the wrong business. I could buy quite a few stamps with that kind of money. I didn't even try to dicker with that guy. The quote didn't include the patching of the drywall in the ceiling where holes will have to be cut in order to run the wiring through each beam. That was the part that intimidated my DH and to say the least, I wouldn't have even let him attempt it. I have some connections with the construction guys at work and the drywaller said he would come over to do it when we were ready. Five small holes- right! Today we are putting the under cabinet lights back up. Next weekend we may be tackling the running of wire and installation of the lights. Wish us luck, I think we are going to need it. ~Have fun and enjoy!

Labels Ten

2011-03-26T19:35:00.002-04:00

Like a kid in a candy store. That was me when I finally was able to open my Waltzing Mouse stamps. I had purchased enough sets to get the free shipping (and then some). Since it was coming from Ireland, I figured I would rather spend my money on rubber stamps rather than postage. I literally didn't know which set to start with. I chose the set that coordinated with Spellbinders Labels 10 and the sentiment is from the set called Fancy Phrases. I also couldn't wait to use some of the paper from DCWV Botanicals. Along with everyone else I have fallen in love with seam binding. I had ordered almost every color under the rainbow from a store on "Etsy"- Christopherpines.etsy.com you will love what she has, I promise.

The kitchen is coming along nicely. The cabinet doors have been painted and glazed and they started priming the cabinet trim today. After two coats of paint the trim will get glazed the beginning of the week. The island will be done once the cabinets are totally finished since it will be done in a different color. We purchased some pre-cut wood scroll designs from the trim section at Lowe's that were put on the long drawers and pantry doors. They look absolutely beautiful with the glaze in all of the intricate grooves. We also added some trim and rosettes and I can't wait to see how that turns out.

It has been really cold again and the flurries were flying today. Rather depressing to see more of the white stuff. No one wants to even say the word S-N-O-W around here. It can't come soon enough for me to be in sunny Florida sipping margaritas beside the pool.

~Have fun and enjoy!

My Thoughts for You

2011-03-19T09:26:00.004-04:00

I have been so busy with home improvement projects that I have not been able to get any cards made. I even have several stamp sets that I ordered from Waltzing Mouse that I have been dying to get into. They are located in Ireland so I waited anxiously for 5 weeks for them to arrive.

In the meantime I wanted to share with you a few things that I made for my co-worker who is battling liver and pancreatic cancer.

I thought long and hard over this project because I didn't want to pressure Carolynn into feeling like she had to write something to her children, but then I though what mother wouldn't. I made a book for each one of her girls. The one above is for her oldest daughter who is 12. I had just bought this Sizzix die and thought it would be perfect. The books measure just under 9" x 5". I covered thin cardboard with Be Mine designer paper from DCWV and a coordinating pattern on the inside. I added blank pages inside for her to write her thoughts for each child.

The one above is for her middle daughter who is 8.

This book is for the youngest who will be one next month. I chose the paper that had angels on it that looked like a baby. This pack of paper is absolutely beautiful and I love every single pattern. The paper for the angel and the cherubs on the other book are clear embossed with some glitter in it. I didn't do any stamping on the paper. In fact I didn't do any stamping at all on this project. The labels were printed on the computer so it had each child's name and then I cut it out with my Spellbinders.

I have been quite busy with a kitchen cabinet project. I have never liked the color of them from the moment we first looked at the house which was 5 years ago. They are beautiful hardwood cabinets which are rather new but they are maple frost and every time I look at them I see a pink tinge of color. We took apart an "L" shaped counter and turned it into an island and then we put granite on all the counter tops. We then beefed up the island with extra trim and some fancy turnings. There are 37 cabinet doors and 11 drawers and it was going to be a small fortune to replace them so I was hoping the granite would compliment them but take away the hue I didn't like. The granite did make a huge difference as did the new island. It has been a few years now and I am having another decorator's itch- hence a new color of cabinets.

I found a professional painter who is spraying them with an ultra fine sprayer. I wanted a smooth finish without any brush or roller marks. I wanted them to look like I bought them that way. They will be cream and antiqued with a coffee glaze just in the grooves. The island is going to be black. I still have to pick out the tile for the back splash and new paint color for the walls, but I want to see the finished cabinets before I pick out any colors. I will post some before and after pictures when all is said and done.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Hope...

2011-03-07T17:13:00.002-05:00

Hope- what exactly does the word mean. I guess depending on your circumstance it can take on many meanings. According to the dictionary it means: "to cherish a desire with anticipation" or "to desire with expectation of obtainment". What if hope means a bit longer with the ones you love.

I was asked by some friends at work to make one of these letters for our co-worker who is bravely battling liver and pancreatic cancer in the advanced stages. I had made these for a few people but under different circumstances. I always used the first letter of the recipients name. In this case her name starts with "C" but I didn't think it was appropriate because I didn't want it associated with the word cancer. I thought long and hard about what letter to choose- days even. Since no one can tell her exactly how many weeks or months she has left (although they said 3-6 months in January) I thought it would be fitting to "HOPE" for a miracle, that the pain is a little less tomorrow, to be able to see your youngest take her first steps and see her celebrate her first birthday, for your oldest to understand that even though you may not be there- you will always be looking over her. This is why I chose "H". My prayers for her are daily and I hope I am never put in this position.

It was just a paper mache letter from Hobby Lobby that I painted and then stamped some flourishes on it. The sentiments are rub ons which were put on when the paint was completely dry, and then some. I didn't want to take the chance of ruining it as I have a tendency to be a bit impatient. I found a few embellishments to apply and did put her initial on it to make it a little more personal. I really liked how it turned out and I loved how it has a touch of femininity to it with the pink.

Not much else is new here. I finally received my stamps from Waltzing Mouse Stamps that fit several of the Spellbinders dies. Hopefully I will be able to get something made with them soon. We are still feeling the chills of winter and the snowflakes that go along with it. It seems that it will never end. We are expecting more bad weather on Wednesday. All I can say is "Carol- here I come".

~Have fun and enjoy!

A mirror update

2011-02-27T06:59:00.012-05:00

Ok, as promised here are a couple of pictures of the mini bathroom makeover. I guess I should call it a mini update. We did the makeover two years ago by painting and putting granite counters on as well as new sinks and faucets. This current update included sprucing up the mirrors and making them a bit more modern. We added frames around the mirrors and it was easy as pie. One of our easiest projects we have taken on. Before my husband had his stroke, we (he) did all kinds of home improvements from building a beautiful 2 tier deck to painting, to putting in a gas fireplace and building the hearth and mantle. He had also built a few pieces of furniture. These days not so much. The detail he once paid such close attention to, just isn't there. His motto now is "no body will notice". Maybe not, but I notice and it drives me crazy. Not so much because of noticing the imperfections but because I remember the way things used to be. He was only 43 when he had his stroke and in the past 6 years, I still find myself thinking of what our life would be like if he hadn't had the stroke. I know, that doesn't get me anywhere and it isn't healthy, but there are those days when I can't help but look back. Ok enough self pity- back to the update.

This bathroom was one of the selling points for me when we bought the house. The walls were a very pale pale blue with grayish blue formica counter tops. It was the space that I liked and I was able to look past the previous owner's color pallet. The new counter tops and paint really made the difference but the mirrors need a little TLC. Below are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

It sure makes it a bit easier to look in the mirror at this poor tired face each morning. I loved how they turned out. I don't think the pictures do them real justice. I still am not used to how the frames pulled that wall in. The bathroom doesn't seem quite as spacious but it was large enough that it could withstand it. It now seems a bit richer and warmer to me.

Today I have someone coming to give me a quote to paint my kitchen cabinets and island. Right now they are maple frost and I hated the tinge of pink I saw in them when I first walked in the house. There are 36 cabinet doors and 11 drawers. It would cost a fortune to replace them so when we moved in we put on granite counters to help draw your eyes away from them. With Elliot still in school and the cabinets being in excellent condition, I can't see replacing them yet. My next best option is to paint them. I am thinking cream with brown glaze in the grooves and the island black. This painter sprays them and that is exactly the finish I wanted. Lets just see if I can handle the sticker price. I have absolutely no idea how much this is going to cost. Wish me luck.

~Have fun and enjoy!

For a wonderful couple...

2011-02-19T23:16:00.003-05:00

I decided to do an anniversary card in a different fashion and went with the "joy" theme. This was for a wonderful couple who mean the world to me and I cherish their company and our conversations immensely. I think I am the fortunate one not only because of their friendship but because I often take with me their words of wisdom that give my life such comfort. They make the perfect couple and compliment each other wonderfully. What more can you say about a beautiful marriage.

I used "Linen Closet" by DCWV designer paper and chipboard. The white beaded oval is from Spellbinders as is the photo corner. The fancy edge under the large rose ribbon is from EK Success. I found the rose ribbon at JoAnns quite by accident. I was hoping to find it in pink also, but no such luck. I think I might try to spray it different colors with some of my spray dyes.

I have been busy today with a bathroom update project. Not a very big one, but one that will make a big impact. I have three mirrors in my master bath that are each 42"x36" and they are just plain mirrors. Three years ago we painted, put in granite counters, new under mount sinks and new faucets. The mirrors just needed a finished look so my DH and I made a trip to Lowe's and picked up some nice 3" trim and rosette blocks. He cut the trim and gave everything a first coat of black paint. Tomorrow a second coat of paint and if everything is dry, we can put the trim on tomorrow night. I will post some before and after photos next week.

DH says I watch way too much HGTV because I come up with all kinds of ideas for home improvement and design changes. He is a really good sport about it and willingly plays along with with my insanity. Thankfully I have a full time job to keep me busy or I would be changing things all the time around here and we would certainly be broke. Aside from all that, the other project that I have swirling around in my head is to paint and glaze my kitchen cabinets. Right now they are maple frost and to me they have a hint of pink to them; something I have always disliked since we first move in 5 years ago. They are beautiful raised panel wood cabinets and I know several of you are thinking I am crazy to want to paint them, but I want cream with the brown glaze in the cracks. It would cost me a fortune to replace them and there is already granite on the counters so I am sort of stuck with them. I would like to find someone who paints cabinets to give me a quote. I have been researching on doing them myself but there are a lot of cabinets and I am afraid that 1). I will get halfway into the project and find I am in over my head and/or 2). I will not do a professional looking job and the cabinets will look horrible. In that case I would be better off not having touched them. If anyone has any words of wisdom or knows of anyone in the northern Detroit area who refinishes cabinets- shoot me an email.

On another note, I am not looking forward to tomorrow's weather. We had a few days in the low 50's this past week which melted the 2 feet of snow we received the week before, and now we are under winter storm warnings again. Freezing rain and up to 6 or 8 inches of snow into Monday morning. Oh how I envy my friends in Florida. Carol please mix up a batch of margaritas and I will be there in a flash to keep you company by the pool.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Vintage hearts

2011-02-10T19:40:00.002-05:00

I made this card last week while I was off on my mini home vacation. I cut the bottom layer of the hearts out of cream felt with my scalloped Nesti hearts and the next layer was punched from some very old sheet music my mother-n-law graciously gave to me. I distressed it a bit more with Antique Linen ink. The top layer I used the Nesties again but I had run the paper through my Swiss Dot Cuttlebug folder first. The background was done with the "Victoria" Cuttlebug embossing folder and then I rubbed an opaque white ink pad over the raised image. I love the softness it created.

The stick pin is one of the handmade ones that I made a couple of years ago. There is a picture of some more in the Splitcoast Stampers Gallery under Stick Pins. The seam binding was the perfect color for the look I was going for. I love how it crinkles up when you mist it a bit with some water and then scrunch it up in you hand. The tiny little tag is from SU with the medium jewelry tag punch- another of my new favorites.

Not much else to say tonight but burrrrr. This morning was the first time I saw a negative number on the dash for the temperature and I hope I don't see it again anytime soon. I know living in Michigan the odds of that aren't good. I have been busy making some flowers out of organza and I am proud to say I didn't burn the house down. I will leave it at that and share some pictures of the flowers with you in my next post.

~Have fun and enjoy!

For a little one...

2011-02-03T20:04:00.004-05:00

I still haven't gotten away from pink but this belongs to a little one who is soon to arrive into this world. One of my co-workers is due next week and I made this card to match the color of "her" new room. They haven't named her yet; I guess they are waiting to surprise all of us.

Any way, I used my new Lacey Circles Spellbinders and Abstract Flower EK Success punch. The bunny is one of my first stamps from 10 years ago. I couldn't resist the little pom-pom for his tail. I thought about coloring him in and then thought better of it because I didn't want too much brown.

The hubby is out of town and I decided to treat myself to a much needed mental vacation while we are still full staffed at work. Having the house to myself is a vacation in itself and I enjoy it as much as if I had gone to Paris. OK I lied there a bit, but I really do love being home by myself. I was off yesterday to enjoy the storm from home and through the end of the week. After next week I won't be able to get any vacation time until May 12th. Not that I am counting those maternity weeks.

For starters ,yesterday I had my coffee in bed while I watched the news and read the morning paper all the while it stormed like the dickens outside. I kept waiting for the maid to walk in and ask me if there was anything else I needed, but she must have been busy with other things because she never showed up- oh how I love to daydream. After spending a bit of time in my stamping room, I watched "Sex And The City 2" (even though it didn't get great reviews, I liked it) one of the four chick flicks I rented in anticipation of the big blizzard and my time alone. It snowed even more while I was watching the movie and it was so comfy as I sat cuddled in a blanket and still in my PJ's. Of course I had a candle burning to make it even more of a perfect day. Enjoying the snow coming down meant only one thing. It had to be cleared from the dive way. The night before my DH left, he gave me snow blower 101 lessons. I am sure the neighbors were quite entertained if they were watching me try to clear over 12" of snow from a rather long driveway. Just the way I was dressed was a laugh in itself. I feared I was going to hear applause as I shut off the machine when I was done. Aside from a minor scrape on the garage door, only one damaged landscape light and a piece of broken siding as the snow blower got a little too close, I didn't do too bad of a job, but let's just say I probably won't be left alone again with any pending storms.

This afternoon I watched "It's Complicated" with one of my favorite actresses Meryl Streep, and still have to watch "Eat Pray Love" with Julia Roberts. I didn't even venture outside today since it is only in the teens but with the wind it feels like zero. The temp when I got up was only 2 degrees without the wind chill- certainly is "stay in the house weather" for me. Tomorrow on the play list is "The Kids Are All Right" with Annette Bening who won a Gloden Globe for the movie, and Julianne Moore. Not roles I would expect for either one of them. I haven't made any plans for the rest of the day, but that's the beauty of it and exactly what a mental vacation is meant to be.

I don't usually watch TV in the family room on the big screen TV. The room is very large and open and it takes a NASA scientist to figure out the three remotes to watch a DVD (my DH left me directions before he left). I like the comfort of the front sitting room which is decorated on more of a feminine side and the TV has only one remote. Today I watched the movies on the big TV and I saw the room from a whole different perspective. It is amazing how different we start to see things when we start thinking of our own mortality, what matters and what doesn't, and how fortunate we are. I looked up at the high 20 foot ceilings and the bridge that over looks the room and I saw a beauty to the room that I didn't appreciate before. It made me love my home even more than I already did. It really is the simple things in life that should make us happy.

~Have fun and enjoy!

I will call her Carolyn...

2011-01-22T17:21:00.006-05:00

I created this angel for Valentines Day, but in the process of making her I learned of someone who is in much need of a guardian angel. With symptoms of what she thought was a stomach ulcer has turned out to be the harshest of words- cancer. She has been told that there is nothing they can do for her pancreatic and liver cancer but to give her chemo treatments to ease the pain. She has devoted her life to being a mother of three small children with the youngest only 9 months, as well as a nurse who has taken care of very ill patients. I am hoping that this angel will shine light on her life as she does those around her. The star represents all that she is to her family and loved ones. I think I will name her Carolyn.

I created her by using a cone and hot glued crepe paper in rows as I gathered it. Once I had all the layers on, I sprinkled chunky glitter on the edges. Her wings were a Christmas ornament that I cut in half and glued on. Her head is a wooded ball that was painted white and wiped off for a white washed look, and given chalk color to her cheeks. Her crown is ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby on a bolt. I bought the whole bolt because it was on clearance and could no longer buy it by the yard (so you may be seeing a lot of it on up coming cards). Her collar is made from MS Scandinavian Snowflake punch in pink and SU Scallop Circle punch in sheet music from 1937. I wanted to keep a vintage feel to her so the old sheet music fit the ticket. I punched out three of each and rubbed distress ink on the edges. I sprinkled the edges with glitter and alternated the two styles. The brad at her neck is also from SU but I put a pearl in the center.

This is a close-up of her necklace. The light bulb is part of the Industrial Chic line of charms found in the bead department at Michaels. I bought several different packages to use as altered art. Each package has three different charms. The word "life" was actually part of a stick pin, but I broke it off and glued it to the chain. The chain was from some old broken necklaces that I threw in my altered stash and the star is a button that I covered in glitter.

I think about Carolyn all the time and try to imagine what she must be feeling. I think until you are put in that awful place, there is no way any of us could possibly understand. It has made all of us at work, take a step back and look at our own mortality. I thank god that my children are somewhat grown and that they could live without me if they had to. That they could remember me without having to look at a picture and be told who I was. That they could have fond memories of growing up with a mother who loved them unconditionally. What breaks my heart the most is that not all of Carolyn's children will have that and she knows it. I don't think there can be any greater pain than that. Life just isn't fair.

~ Have fun and enjoy what you have!

I Even Love the Box

2011-01-16T11:48:00.005-05:00

Oops, I know it is a bit late for Christmas but as I was going through my pictures, I realized I had forgotten to post this cute little guy. I think I had mentioned that the gal that was teaching our Copic classes moved to New York. Cathy will be sadly missed and they haven't found anyone to replace her yet. My images may look like I have been coloring with Copics for a long time, but truth be had, without her guidance it would look nothing like this. I am almost ashamed to say that I have yet to color anything with my markers other than what we have done in class. My Copics sit on my desk and have become a very expensive table accessory. I think I need to add "using my markers" to my resolution list.

I don't have a picture of the colors I used but here are the numbers in case you are interested. The stamp is called "I Even Love the Box" by Mo Manning.

Face- E000, E00, E11, R20
Fur- C00, C1
Hat- R22, R27, E09
Bow- G20, G40, G82
Box- E42, E44
Wrapping Paper- YG91, YG97
Tag- E30, YG95, R27
Pajamas- YG91, YG95, YG97, E31, E35, E37
0 Colorless Blender

Not much else is new here. It has been cold and snowy so I have found hanging out at home is the best place to be; other than that thing that supports my stamping habits called work.
I have been following the release of the new Spellbinders along with everyone else in the stamping world. They look like they are getting quite fancy with the new designs. And how many more new things can Tim Holtz come out with? I can't wait for CHA to get under way so we can get a glimpse at all the new products.

Did anyone try the Kahlua cake from my last post yet? If not, you don't know what you are missing. I have a nice hot cup of coffee sitting here on my desk and a piece of that cake would be heavenly with it. My waistline says otherwise. I guess I will have to settle with the flavored creamer in my coffee at my treat.

Until next time-

~Have fun and enjoy~

Ella Blue

2011-01-09T18:54:00.005-05:00

It was the hubby's birthday this past week and I think I was pushing it a bit for a masculine card. I just fell in love with the name of this designer paper by GCD Studios called Ella Blue. I found it at hobby lobby and it has the most beautiful papers. Some are flocked, glittered and foiled. There were 12 designs and 4 of each in a 8x8 pad. This was the least feminine design of them all.

I have had the Medallion Chain punch from EK Success for quite some time and I had forgotten about it. I was stamping with a friend and she was using this punch. I loved the look so when I got home I pulled mine off the shelf. I thought a medallion was a masculine shape so this would be a perfect chance to use it, and it matched the swirls in the paper. I know I can very easily make this punch look really really girly but I gave it the masculine test first. Come to think of it, all but one of the punches I used on his card are from EK Success. The white label is from Stampin' Up.

Onto the best part of his day. I tried a new recipe for his birthday cake. A co-worker had brought this cake into work and I asked her for the recipe. She is from Poland and said this was a favorite of her family. I know why.

You have got to try this cake. It is called Babka Kahlua (Black Russian cake in Polish). You guessed it, it has vodka and Kahlua in it and it is absolutely heavenly with a cup of coffee. Here is the recipe.

BLACK RUSSIAN CAKE

1 yellow cake mix (without pudding)

6oz. chocolate instant pudding

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/4 cup vodka

4 Tbs. Kahlua

3/4 cup water

glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup Kahlua

Mix the first three dry ingredients together, add the oil and eggs and mix well. Add vodka, Kahlua and water and mix again. Mix may be on the thinner side but the pudding will start to thicken it up. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool 5- 10 minutes and loosed from the pan out onto a plate. Let cool another 10 minutes. Poke holes in the top of the cake staggering every 1/2 inch and pour the glaze down into the holes. I used a larger skewer to poke the holes and spooned the glaze over the top trying to get most of it into the holes but allowing it to soak into the rest of the top of the cake as well. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

It has been really cold here and we missed a good amount of lake effect snow they were predicting yesterday. I guess my in-laws and father got it all in the U.P. and that is just fine with me. My good friend left for Florida this week and she is now sitting in 70 degree weather. I know she is feeling really sorry for me being stuck back here in the cold- HaHaHa.

Now is the time of winter when I start to work on stamping projects other than cards. I have one that I made yesterday that I will be sharing with you later in the week.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Just a different color...

2011-01-03T19:58:00.005-05:00

Since I was so late in getting my Christmas cards made and sent out, I didn't have a chance to post these and I didn't want them to be seen on my blog before they were delivered. I guess I am having a hard time catching up. I made the same card but in three different colors. I think the purple is my favorite. What do you think?

I embossed cream shimmer card stock with the Cuttlebug Victoria folder and then cut out 100 labels using Spellbinders Label 16. There were 50 of each size- run each of those through a die cut machine twice (once to cut and again to emboss) no wonder the fingers are tingling from carpal tunnel. Boy the Vagabond would have come in handy. I had borrowed the wreath stamp so I apologize for not remembering who makes it- maybe penny black? I embossed the stamped image in queens gold and then used stickles in the coordinating color. I just happened to have satin ribbon that matched the card stock perfectly. It was truly amazing how closely the purple matched.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and are on the right track for keeping your resolutions. I never set myself up for one certain goal. I just try my best at every thing I do and when I slip up I don't beat myself up. Tomorrow is always a new day to try it again and hopefully I learned something from yesterday.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Busy in my spare time

2010-12-27T19:44:00.004-05:00

A big apology from me for the lack of chatter. I have been a bit busy in my spare time and I really thought I had posted more recently- sorry about that. Where did the time go? I had last week off from work and I got everything that needed to be done without any stress, OK maybe just a little. I don't know if I procrastinated because I knew I was going to be off but it was down to the wire for making my Christmas cards and cookies. I embossed and cuttlebugged like a mad woman the weekend before Christmas. I had the perfect setup in order to get all fifty of my cards completed. I used my Big Shot to die cut and then moved them over to the cuttlebug for embossing. It was a piece of cake since I didn't have to keep changing out the plates. I made all the cards the same except I changed out the color here and there.

Once the cards and cookies were done, it was onto a birthday gift for one of my dearest friends- Carol. She really likes purple so I knew I was going to make her a chunky tag in that color. I had been in cahoots with her husband Jean Paul to find me a picture of the two of them for this project. The first ones he gave me were a bit too large for the ornament plate so he shrunk them down and it meant another challenging time of trying to get them out of her house without her seeing them. Mission accomplished- she didn't have a clue. On my previous chunky tags I covered the 2x4 with pages from an old book but to make this one more personal I used sheets of music that were given to Carol from her sister-n-law who passed away last year. Being the generous person that she is, Carol had shared her precious treasures with me not realizing she would be getting them back in a different form. Once the paper was attached using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio gesso I distressed it with Dusty Concord and Bundled Sage. I then stamped the flourishes onto the block. Don't ask me why I don't stamp the paper prior to attaching it. I guess I need to see the block in 3D to know which flourishes to use and just where to place them. Since this was a gift I decided to use a sealant on it by covering it with Speedball Matte Medium. I think it gave it a chalky look and I 'm not sure I would go that route again.

Now the fun begins. The picture above is the front and it was embellished with a Tim H. ornament plate, some flowers and one of my homemade stick pins. The large flower was actually cream color but I sprayed it with Forever Violet Perfect Pearls Mist. You can see the other sides of the tag in the images below.

This side says it all of the wonderful friendship that has come to mean so much to me and more than she will ever know.

~Have fun and enjoy!

I still believe...

2010-12-05T19:22:00.004-05:00

I think I was 9 or 10 when I finally found out that there was no Santa. I had my doubts, but this Christmas was the one that stole my childhood holiday magic. It was 1969 or 70 and my father was stationed in Alaska. We were on our own for Christmas that year- my mother, my little sister and myself. I had asked for a Barbie case that opened up and the beds would fall down from the wall and the other side of the case was a kitchen area. It was as big a small suitcase. I remember looking at it every day in the Sears catalog and hoping against all hope that Santa would bring me it for Christmas. We lived in a mobile home because my mother didn't like base housing so we would move the trailer to where ever dad got stationed. It was great because we always had the feeling of "our" home and it wasn't as unsettling when we had to move to a new place. Anywhoo, I almost forgot where I was going with the living arrangements, but being a small place without many places to hide Christmas presents, my mother's closet was about the only place and I knew it. I remember opening her closet a few days before Christmas and there was the most beautiful thing hid in between her dresses- my Barbie case. I had to hold myself back from opening it up and playing with it. If I got caught it might go back to where ever it came from. It was after all too early for Santa to bring, so I thought He might be bringing me something even more wonderful and this was going to be from my mom and dad. I think I checked that closet every day until Christmas just to admire my gift. My Aunt Mary lived in the same town (mom's sister) and on Christmas eve she didn't want to see us by ourselves so she sent my cousin and her boyfriend over to pick us up. I remember it being dark and a bit snowy. My cousin told us to lay down in the back seat and not peek while they loaded the presents into the trunk of the car- Right, who was she kidding. She was speaking to the Christmas present sleuth. Of course I had to peek to make sure the Barbie case made it to the trunk. The presents from Santa never got wrapped and I was surprised that my case still didn't have paper on it. The next morning there sat my Barbie case in front of the tree unwrapped. It had a tag that read "To Kim from Santa". I couldn't believe it. I was a bit disappointed because all the surprise had been taken out of Christmas morning. The disappointment was soon forgotten because I had the best time playing with a new Barbie and the case. The image of Santa may no longer be there but the spirit of him still lingers inside.

Today's card was made with the Christmas days from my childhood in mind. Very vintage and old looking. I think it is the champagne glass glitter from Stampin' Up that sets the tone. I also used one of their new punches- Decorative Label and the stamp set "Tags til Christmas" for the dec. 25th label. I just love this stamp set because each image has a coordinating punch. The paper is also from SU- Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake and Deck the Halls designer paper. I used one of Tim Holtz stamps- Christmas Miracle in Always Artichoke and distressed it with Vintage Photo and then some glass glitter around the edge. I also used his die-cut for the rosette. The little oval flourish is also from the same stamp set. The ribbon is vanilla seam binding from SU that I ran over a Distress ink pad. I think I used Antique Linen for that.

Here is a closeup of the rosette.

I hope you all are keeping Christmas in sense that it was meant to be and not driving yourselves crazy. We still don't have any snow so it doesn't quite feel like the season for me yet. Tim Holtz's twelve tags of Christmas is helping me get there as well as the Christmas music I listened to all day today.

~Have fun and enjoy!

One last tag...

2010-11-27T20:07:00.002-05:00

OK this is the last of my tags and I hope it gets you into the Christmas spirit. I stamped the background with a large 6x6 music stamp that I had gotten quite a while ago from Cornish Heritage Farms, one of my favorites. Over the top of that I stamped the black flourish from Fancy Pants. The sentiment was a single unmounted that I picked up at a stamp convention so I have no idea who the manufacturer is-sorry. I punched it out with the Modern Label SU punch. The Hero Art poinsettias were distressed with Vintage Photo Ranger ink and then I brushed a bit of gold on them to tie into the gold on the little jingle bells in the center. Old St. Nick is a chipboard tag from K & Company- Christmas Cheer with gold embellishments added for a bit of bling. And there you have it- a very quick and easy tag. Now head into your stamping area and grab your supplies to create your very own.

The Christmas season has officially begun and the parties are right around the corner. Our small stamping group of ten friends is celebrating next Wednesday with a potluck. I really enjoy getting together with this group gals and with the surprise in store for us, I am sure it will be an eventful evening. For those of you who read my blog, I'm not giving away what Carol has planned. I can tell you her house is decorated beautifully for the season which will add to the occasion. Our larger stamping club party is later in the month which is also a potluck and we do a very fun gift exchange. It is amazing to see how aggressive a group of women can get over the packaging, because we have no idea what is inside. The prettiest package seems to really make the rounds.

I have three more parties in the following two weeks. One is for the hospital administration and physicians which is always a nice time at one of the local golf clubs. The other two are put on by the Radiologists for the employees (and guest) in Medical Imaging and the following week is from the Cardiologists for those who work in Cardiology and their guest. It just so happens that my department is part of both. One will be at another golf club and the other is at a banquet hall. These are rather large parties with at least 200 people at each and they have always provided an evening of good food, drink and celebration. Somewhere in there I have to find time to put up the tree and decorate the house. I probably should have done that this weekend not that I'm thinking of it. Oh well, I'm not going to stress over it because in the end it always seems to get done. The one lesson that I have learned as I get older is to let the little things go and only stress over major life issues- the aged heart and body just can't handle it any more.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Christams Joy

2010-11-21T14:50:00.002-05:00

As promised here is another Christmas tag. I used my cuttlebug Christmas Tree embossing folder for this one. Are you wondering how I didn't end up with the top of my tree at the edge of the tag? This is a little hint that I learned from Tim Holtz- cut a slit on the fold of the folder. Make sure you don't cut all the way across or you will end up with two pieces instead of a folder.I cut a slit just wide enough for the tag and then slid the tag in from the top down into the folder just to where I wanted the top of the tree. That Tim is one crafty guy- and someone who can afford to try these things if he ruins the first one.

After I embossed the tree, I used Brilliance Copper ink to color the tree. I then used Distress Ink Shabby Shutters to very carefully color the background with a blending tool. I then added some bling here and there and the ornaments were buttons that I cut off the backs and glued on. I proceeded to take it a step further and add some black to the trunk of the tree only to drop the brush on the background just under the sentiment. I found this little poinsettia stamp and thought it was perfect to try and hide my mistake. I had just one chance to perfectly align the stamped image over the black mark- sometimes things just work out. So I then added a few more here and there. The border at the top is a sticker that I added more bling to and then some lovely chocolate seam binding to top it off. As I was making this card, I wasn't happy at all with the way it was turning out, but in the end it turned out to be my favorite. It might have been all I had to do with salvaging it. Anyway I hope you like it.

I am sure everyone is getting ready for the big turkey day. I plan on cooking just a small turkey this year- enough to feed us and still have a few leftovers. I don't even think I am going to be doing any Black Friday shopping (on line that is) and there certainly isn't anything I could want bad enough to hit the actual stores. I may have to just spend some quiet time in my stamp studio, using up some of the stash I bought last year. Sounds like a plan to me.

I hope you all spend some time with family, thinking about what you are thankful for and realizing how fortunate you are for the things you have.

Christmas tags...

2010-11-16T19:22:00.005-05:00

I'm glad you stopped in today because over the next few posts I will be sharing with you some Christmas tags that I made. I don't know why I enjoy making them as much as I do. It may be the height of the tags that allows me to feel more creative. I think with the shorter cards, I feel limited- does that make sense? I guess I am a vertical kinda gal. The size of these tags is 3 1/8 x 6 1/4. I made the tags for a challenge over at Waltzingmouse. This one I called my Victorian Christmas tag because of the lace and the cuttlebug folder I used for the background which was then distressed with Ranger Antique Linen Distressed ink. The poinsettia in the upper left is from Hero Arts with a bit of gold ink brushed onto it. The rose was done in the same fashion with a small paint brush to add the gold just on the edges. The roses were a great find at a dollar store and came in a wide variety of colors- this rusty red is my favorite. The Christmas Tree is from a Fiskars punch and the black paper had been sprayed with the Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist. If you enlarge the image you might be able to see it a bit better. The Sentiment is a tag from K & Company which I just adore. The tiny little jingle bells I used on the flowers were from Hobby Lobby- too cute. The ribbon is black seam binding that I scrunched up after I attached it to add to the vintage feel. I don't know exactly how I am going to use these tags. Maybe I will put them in a shadow box.

It is cold and damp here tonight and I am in my jammies already with my slippers and a luscious soft scarf wrapped around my neck (no this isn't that kind of site, I'm just letting you know how cozy I am). I can hear the wind blowing outside as the rain is hitting the windows. I am imagining the rain as snow being pelted against the windows like the stormy winter nights I experienced as a child in the U.P. and it conjures up all kinds of wonderful memories. I miss those days when we would bunker down for 2 or 3 days to ride out the storms. I'm sure my father didn't enjoy it since he did all the snow removal and we probably drove my poor mother bonkers being cooped up inside for so long. Now, it would give me a good excuse to stamp all day- oh please, like a need an excuse. Oh well I'm sure the snow isn't far off. I hit the Yankee candle store last night for the buy 2 get 2 free so I am ready for a cozy winter.

I still have two more tags to share with you, so keep checking back for a bit of Christmas inspiration.

~Have fun and enjoy!

My little Pretties

2010-11-12T20:40:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I won this set of the new Perfect Pearl Mists from Ranger. I left a comment on their blog and they randomly picked three winners. Let me tell you that I was tad bit excited when I received the email that I had won. I had watched the Tim Holtz video on their blog showing how to use the mists before I tried them. As Tim states, these mists are made for darker papers and materials. I sprayed a few flowers and couldn't really see the color. Then I tried the mists on black card stock and it was amazing. I tried three of my favorite colors from the set and you can see the results below. If you click on the image you can see the names of the colors I used.

Since the mists didn't show up on my lighter colored flowers, I bought some of the new Inkadinkado spray ink in black. I had previously bought the raspberry shade and the flowers I sprayed were a nice vibrant solid color. I am hoping to spray a few flowers black and then add the mists on top for added color. I will let you know how they turn out.

It has been a crazy week for me as far as a sleeping schedule. I notice that I don't seem to do well with the time change the older I get. I do however do better with the fall time change than I do in the spring. That one kicks my butt for at least a week. On top of changing the clocks, we also had a major electrical power shutdown at work from 8:30 pm until 4:00 in the morning this week. Our equipment needs two hours once the power is back on before we can use it. Guess who was in at work turning things on so we were good to go by 6:30 am. You got it and then I stayed for a 12 hour shift. I was in bed by 7:00 that night only to wake up in the middle of the night for 2 hours. I did go back to bed for a few more hours, but I felt like a pot of coffee wasn't even going to help me navigate the day.

Tomorrow I am hoping to clean out the garage and the DH better be right there beside me helping me to pitch out a whole lot of junk, and I mean junk. Maybe I can fit some stamping in on Sunday.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A bit of early Christmas

2010-11-04T21:28:00.003-04:00

It's time for another chunky tag and I can't begin to tell you how much fun I have making these. I could make these all day long. Now that would be a dream job! This time it's Christmas and I made it for the "Tag You're It" challenge over at Waltzingmouse. I started with a six inch 2x4 and I covered it in pages from an old book. I distressed it with ink after I adhered the pages and then I did a bit of subtle flourish stamping here and there. Nothing drastic, just for a bit of contrast and character. I was going for the "glitzy" look on this one so I got out the rhinestones and a pretty glass knob for the top. Hobby Lobby has a nice selection of knobs, especially when they are 50% off. I found this lovely Santa at the stamping convention in Novi. They don't have a brand name on them but it says they are printed in Germany.The Joy plate is from the Tim Holtz line and the flowers are Hero Arts. I did distress the flowers a bit to tone them down a touch. The poinsettias were the perfect flower to pull it all together.

You have got to try one of these. Just pick a theme and go to town. The sky's the limit and they look gorgeous sitting on a side table or shelf. I don't have much time to chat tonight, I just had to get this picture posted. I will let you know more later.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A Rainbow Masquerade

2010-10-23T16:37:00.003-04:00

I think she is ready for the masquerade ball, don't you? This pretty gal is called Rainbow Beauty from Loralie Art Stamps. After digging my heals in for many years, I finally got into the Copic Craze. I told myself I didn't want to get started with the Copic markers because of the expense and there were just too many colors. And knowing me, I wouldn't be able to have just a few of them- no sir. I guess they are sort of like potato chips, you can't have just one and before you know it, you have eaten half the bag. Well that is exactly what happened. I now have a very nice collection of Copic markers and worth every penny. Frankly it was a bit overwhelming for me. I couldn't even imagine which colors to start with. I tried to start with colors I liked but would buy three in a color family for blending. I then started to take classes at Mary Maxim our local stamp store and I would buy the colors needed for the project . We have a great teacher by the name of Cathy Groden who is Copic certified. The best thing is the classes are free and we just need to bring our own markers.

For the card we added a bit of glitter to her mask and tulle under her dress. The paper is from Graphic 45- another love of my life. The shadowing behind her is done with Prismacolor pencils- Jasmine and a bit of French Grey under her feet.

Below is another one of my Halloween creations. The bats were a find at JoAnns and are actually clothing patches. I didn't realize that until I peeled off the backing and realized they weren't sequin stickers. Sometimes I have to just sit and laugh at myself. Lord knows others are already doing so.
The flower is Prima with a Making Memories Spellbound brad in the center. I finished off the bottom with a MS Drippy Goo punch. The DS is DCWV under a piece that I embossed with the Skull Cuttlebug folder.

Well there you have it. Halloween almost here and gone. I have to try and pull my Halloween costume together this week. We have a neighborhood party each year. In years past we have gone to three different houses like a progression party, but the last two years we have all paid $40 a couple for liquor and to have a tent rented with tables and chairs and a DJ. The tent is set up on our neighbor's tennis court. It gets decorated to the nines and we all bring a dish to pass. Last year it was a beautiful warm evening. Let's hope this year is just as nice. My witches costume isn't the warmest.

~Have fun and enjoy!

It isn't my favorite color

2010-10-13T19:15:00.004-04:00

Orange isn't my favorite color but you would have never guessed it by my projects of late. It must just be the fall season with the leaves changing colors and Halloween being right around the corner. My DH says this is the reason that I like to shop at Lowes rather than Home Depot. He said there is too much orange for my taste. He might be right for a change. I'll let him have this one.

I have received a lot of compliments on the chunky tag from my last post. I really had wicked fun (that one is for you Elliot) creating it because it was so personal and I love the way it looks in my foyer. I have created a few more but that is for another time.

Today's card was created using Tim's Patchwork texture fades embossing background and die cuts from K&Company called Handmade which I found on clearance at Michaels. I love crowns so of course that had to be a highlight of the card.

We had gorgeous weather this past weekend so we sat outside and soaked up the last of it. We went out for dinner and ate outside watching the sun set over the lake. There were a few white swans that decided to stop by and make the evening even more memorable. If I hadn't had known better I would have thought it was still August. And to top off the night we went to Michaels on the way home. The hubby had a coupon and so did I- double heaven.

I better get working on some Halloween cards since it is right around the corner. I still have to come up with ideas for costumes for DH and me for our neighborhood party. Any ideas, please send them my way.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A "Chunky Tag"

2010-09-29T19:40:00.008-04:00

Here is my take on "Chunky Tag" art. So what do you think? I have to confess that I didn't come up with this idea. I saw it here on Sherry Cheever's blog and knew I had to try my hand at one. The base of this beauty is a 2x4 scrap of wood. I cut panels from pages of an old book. This one happened to be an old medical dictionary. A bit of color with distressed inks, a blending tool and then some stamping. The base was now ready to alter, which for me is the fun part.

Most of the metal embellishments are from Tim Holtz. If you find it hard to alter- start by collecting some of his products and I guarantee it will just happen. His line of products are made to alter anything and I mean anything. The sky and your imagination are the limits.

The picture on the front is a picture of my mother, my grandmother and me when we arrived from Spain in 1961. My father was in the Air Force and I was born in Madrid. This was my first trip to the U.S. and the first time my grandmother got to hold me. The little picture above was one of my first passport pictures. I guess I was getting a bit bored with the whole process. This grandmother is my father's mother and she died when I was only two, so this project holds a very special place in my heart. It also represents an accumulation of several firsts.

This is the top which I thought was going to look fabulous with a crystal knob on top, but when I tried the one I had it just didn't look right. Once I put the black one on, it was a perfect fit and tied in with all the stamping.

Last year I took several old family photos and had them copied onto good quality paper. I had several copies made and put them in a drawer where I store my clip art images. Now when I do my altering I can use family photos instead of people I don't have a clue who they are. It gives my project a more personal and meaningful touch. I rubbed a bit of distress ink on the image and then I cut an oval to fit the Ornate Plate opening. Remember how I don't throw anything out? Well the oval was cut out of the plastic packaging from an embossing folder and then I used Ranger's Glossy Accents to adhere the picture to the plastic. How is that for being resourceful! I purposely didn't add any brads to the holes on the plate. I liked the look and thought it would lay flatter without them.

I plan on making a few more of these this weekend. My DH cut several pieces (10 to be exact) of wood for me from scraps he had. Some are 4 inches tall and a few are 6. He also cut several pieces of fancy trim that he had down in his work shop and I painted them all black. They will look like little shelves on the tag when it is finished. I can't wait to get started.

Have fun and enjoy!

Happy Fall, or is it?

2010-09-25T18:25:00.003-04:00

Happy Fall! You wouldn't guess it from today's post would ya. This card is screaming summer. Maybe because I'm not ready to give into fall yet. Don't get me wrong, I actually love fall- the colors, the smells, and the rituals of apple orchards and carving pumpkins, but I also like warm weather and my flower gardens. In Michigan you certainly can't have both.

The butterfly embellishment from K&Company Poppy Seed was my inspiration and the rest of the card came together from there. I fell in love with the colors and the little bit of glitter on the wings. The designer paper is also from K&Company called Floral Dreams which was cut out with spellbinders scallop octagons and then I added purple rhinestones. It looks a bit busy in the picture but the rhinestones actually sparkle to add glamour. I went on a little shopping spree last Saturday and found this new border punch by EK Success called Palm. Don't you just love it.

As I had mentioned in my last post, I said I would provide the information for making the simple basket. You can find it here at Gina K. designs Stamp TV. It is actually called a Flower Basket. On another note, I spent some time today cleaning up my stamp studio. I get a little crazy when it starts to get cluttered and I find myself working in a 2x2 foot section on my desk. That's when I know it is time to start putting things in their place. Over the summer, I had purchased a few new cuttlebug embossing folders and it was time to label them and put them into the cuttlebug binders/carrying cases. Now when I am not sure exactly what background I want, I can flip through and see what catches my fancy. Tomorrow I need to get some spools of ribbon onto dowel clothes pins and into my antique candy jars. You can see how I store them by going to my October 2009 post. I have so many spools stacked on top of one another that if one goes, they are going to go over like bowling pins. Can't have that in a tidy room now can we. Well you know what I will be up to tomorrow. I hope you find something just as fun to do.

Have fun and enjoy!

A very simple basket

2010-09-19T18:23:00.004-04:00

A tisket a tasket, a very simple basket. One of our stamp club members showed us how to make this very easy basket that could be whipped up for any occasion. The basket base is made from a 8.5"x 8.5" piece of card stock and a 11"x 1" piece for the handle. A bit extra is needed to decorate it in designer paper and card stock for layering. Several of the members made Halloween themed baskets which turned out very cute and festive. I on the other hand went for my favorite colors. I haven't yet decided what I am going to fill the basket with. The way things have been getting away from me, I'm just glad I completed the basket part. The idea of what to fill it with will come to me in the middle of the night I am sure. I used Stampin Up Cool Caribbean card stock which is no longer available but is one of my absolute favorite colors and I was really bummed when they decided not to carry it as one of the new colors. The designer paper is from K& Company-Floral Dreams. The flower is handmade one using a SU border punch and scallop circle. It is a combination of one from Deb Valder and Daniela Dobson. If you click on their names it will take you right to the tutorials. The teal resin flowers are fillers for decorative jars. The package also contained clear yellow ones. I found them in the flower section at Meijer just by chance. You know one of those great finds that you really weren't looking for but couldn't pass up. The tag is also from SU which was in the spring mini occasions catalog called Kisses as one of the Sending Love Notes selections and the sentiment is from Hero Arts. I was very tempted to dress this basket up a bit more, but sometimes I end up going overboard and then realize less is more. I decided to stop while I still could.

We are still having some nice weather here in Michigan but the days are sure getting shorter. They call it our Indian Summer. I was able to sit out in the sun today and soak up a few rays while I watched the birds come in to fill their bellies. The humming birds probably won't be around much longer before they have to head down south for the warmer weather, but the other birds will stay all winter- as long as I remember to feed them. I really enjoy sitting outside in our backyard and I appreciate the serenity it brings me. I don't know how people can live in concrete jungles like downtown New York; I never could figure that one out. I guess I am sort of a country bumpkin. The older I get; the further I want to be from the hustle and bustle. Well I can't think of anything else to share with you today. I had to make birthday cards for two of my childhood friends today and I will share those with you in my next post. I will also try to find a tutorial for the basket.

Have fun and enjoy!

The end of the earth...

2010-09-12T17:37:00.011-04:00

Well this is where I have been for the last week and a half. We decided at the last minute to take a trip up to my parent's cottage in the Upper Peninsula. Yep, all the way to the end of the earth in the Keweenaw Peninsula- about as far north as you can go without a passport. The cottage is about 20 miles south of Copper Harbor on an inland lake called Gratiot Lake. It sits in a valley and is completely surrounded by trees. All the way around except where there are cottages and the cottages are only on the west and north shores- the rest is all nature. The weather was beautiful during the day but very chilly at night which had already started to turn a few trees into their beautiful fall colors. It made for some great evenings around a roaring bonfire and yes there were smores. I especially look forward to the evenings up there because of the stars. I swear when you walk out of the cottage is it like you just stepped into a planetarium. The stars can be seen from the opposite shore all the way behind you where the tree line is. Being so far from any town the sky is pitch black so there are thousands of stars to be seen. I love laying back in a chair and watching the satellites and shooting stars. I try to get up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning just to look at the stars. The mornings were just as beautiful with the mist on the lake from the cooler nights and warmer water. You can see a few of those pictures further down.
It was my son-n-law Brandon's birthday so I tried to keep it masculine when I made his card. I used Tim Holtz'z paper Vintage Shabby and a few strips of scraps to add some color. I layered the designer paper onto chocolate card stock but it looks a bit more rusty in the picture- turned out better in person. I had been looking for small sentiment stamps and I found a bunch at the convention in Novi last month. The happy birthday is one of them.

Onto some more vacation pictures. You can click on any of the pictures to get a larger view. See how the fall colors are already starting. You can even see the reflection in the water. Two ducks just happened to get in the photo. My dad and taken the DH and I for a nice slow boat ride around the entire lake. The sun was shining and it made for a perfect ride.

This is just a picture to show you the trees up behind my parent's cottage. Like I said the lake sits down in the valley and when the trees are in their peak fall colors, this hill is breathtaking. The sun was just starting to set so it dabbled the trees with a bit of sunshine. Notice how calm the water is in the evening.

I went out on the dock with my coffee and camera one morning and took this picture of a fisherman getting ready to head out to do some fishing. The misty morning is a favorite of mine.

There are a few family of loons on the lake and they put the finishing touch on a beautiful evening around the fire with their calls. There is nothing more relaxing than staring at a bonfire and listening to the loons. If this piece of heaven wont take away the stress then nothing will.

I also caught this fellow at the foot of the dock looking for his breakfast. I sure am glad I didn't have my toes in the water that morning.

We spent an evening picking apples in an old abandon copper mining town called Central. We used to do that as kids and I really cherish the memory of being able to do that again with my dad. I'm sure my mom was somewhere looking down on us. Back in the 1850's it was a roaring town of about 1250 people. My grandmother would spend her summers up there in her younger days. There are a few of the old houses still standing (barely) but guys use them as hunting camps for deer and bear season. Yes I did see the tell tale poop piles of bears. I felt safer since we had the dog, until I turned around and saw him sitting up at the road next to the car waiting to get in- some watch dog!

After picking apples we headed through the woods to Eagle Harbor. This is the Eagle Harbor Light House out on the point on Lake Superior. You can just see the white light coming around in the tower.

And here is another wider angle picture as the red light is coming around. Breath taking, isn't it? The long grey building on the left side of the picture is a hotel and dining called The Lake Breeze. My mother and grandmother used to work there in the summers when my mother was a teenager. My grandmother was the cook and my mother waited tables and helped with the rooms. My grandfather died in 1950 when my mother was only 14 so my grandmother had to work and she did what she did best-cook. She sure made a great pasty.

I really hate the drive up there. It takes us 10 hours in good weather but I am always thankful I did when I get home. There is no place like it. Everything is richer and more colorful and life seems to move a bit slower up there. Just the place I needed to be.

Have fun and enjoy!

I have a Dream...

2010-08-28T08:25:00.003-04:00

" I have a dream". A bit off track of the famous one, but still a dream. Mine would be to be able to create as my paid profession. I am always careful of what I dream of because I don't always think it comes in the form we had anticipated. My fear is that my dream of being able to stay home and play in my stamp room all day- every day, may come in the form of a lay-off. I have to say I would certainly like my dream to be of my own choice. I have always envied Tim Holtz for being able to do what he does. I guess that is most likely a dream of all us crafters. None the less it is still fun to dream.

I had a few of the designer paper scraps from Heidi Grace-Winnefred St. which I got on clearance at JoAnns last year. I have a special attachment to it because my grandmother's name was Winnifred- Grandma Winnie. She has been dead 20 years now but I still think about her often. Ok, back to the card. I wanted to use the tag which is from K& Company and I used a stamp set from Fiskars-Family. It had the perfect word to fit the tag and the beautiful flourish that filled the spellbinders scallop oval. I took a Sakura gel pen- Clear Star to certain parts of the flourish to give it some subtle bling. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see the metallic color at the tips. Some pretty seam binding, a Prima flower and some rhinestones finished off the card. The flower pattern in the bottom right corner of the paper created a perfect edge to put my rhinestones on a diagonal for bit of a different look. I kind of like it.

Not much happening this weekend. We had our neighbors over for a cookout before they move today. We certainly are going to miss them. They were a very nice couple and always included us when they had parties or a family get-together. They are moving less than an hour away so we will still be able to see them every once in awhile. Tomorrow night we are having some other friends over for a cookout that is long over due. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous so it should be a nice relaxing evening out on the patio with good friends and good wine.

Have fun and enjoy!

Settling back in...

2010-08-22T14:18:00.004-04:00

Life can finally start to slow down and we can settle back into a slower pace of life. Elliot moved back to school yesterday and with less angst on my part. Last year I felt the need to make sure he had all the comforts of home. I don't know who I was trying to comfort, him or me. This year as long as he had his clothes and essentials I was fine. He on the other had was ecstatic to be out on his own again. I spent the day getting the house back into shape and his room thoroughly cleaned. Even though I seldom go to that end of the hall, I no longer have to be hit by the smell of dirty clothes. I did what laundry he didn't take and I wondered if the child has any underwear or socks because I folded and put away dozens of them. I had forgotten his motto- why do laundry when you can just go out and buy more.

Today's card is a birthday card for my mother-n-law. I made the large yellow flower out of satin ribbon and a button. I just gathered the ribbon with a running stitch along the edge and then used hot glue to put the button in place. The white flourishes are from an EK-Success punch called Swirl Flourish and the border punch is MS optic dot. the designer paper is DCWV- Cafe Mediterranean. I stil haven't used any of the new products I purchased from the Novi stamping expo. They keep calling to me but I just can't seem to find the time- maybe tonight.

I think we have gone through our dog days of summer. The temperatures have settled back into the low 80's with low humidity. It is so nice to sleep with the windows open again. My flowers finally look great and I and I can actually sit out on the patio and admire them again. I love fall but I am certainly not looking forward to it this soon. I feel like I fell asleep and woke up three weeks later to the end of summer. The days have certainly gotten away from me. Hopefully mother nature still has a few nice weeks in store for us.

Take care and enjoy!

Forever Friends...

2010-08-02T21:08:00.003-04:00

I think I'm back! I'm starting to find a little bit of the stamping mojo I seemed to have been missing as of late. It might just be the anticipation of the Novi stamping convention that is this coming weekend. I have my wish list of items that I am hoping to find and a list of things I already have. Mostly colors of mists, stickles and flowers that I don't want to duplicate. I definitely have enough stamps, so this will be a tool and embellishment expedition.

I just picked up this DCWV paper "Cafe Mediterranean" and the colors just flowed as I put it together. Help me out here- the butterfly at the top of the card; is he right side up? I couldn't quite figure out which way was up. I don't know, maybe it isn't even a butterfly.

I found a really good deal on this new MS border punch- "Optic Dot" at Michaels this weekend. For some reason it was marked ($7.99)50% off as was the corner and I was even able to use a 40% off coupon on the corner punch because the clerk said it wasn't clearance. The corner punch rang up at $4.99 and only $2.99 after the coupon. Of course I had to go back and see what else was on the rack that didn't really tickle my fancy at full price but for $4.99 would be a nice addition to my collection. I ended up only getting the "Rain Drop" edge and corner. The others just didn't do it for me, not even at that price. I have no idea why these were so cheap because they are the newer designs. As you can imagine I was in pure heaven.

Did you know that Paula Dean now has designer paper plates, napkins, placements, place cards and confetti. Before you know it she will have punches and paper. The light teal flowers that I used on my card come in a package of 300 for $1.49 but they were on sale for 30% off that at Michaels. Each one is four petals but putting two of them together makes a real cute full flower. You can see the embossing on the petals in the image below. I put a small Prima paper flower in the center. The lighter celery leaves are from Creative Impressions and I just love them. They are very airy and they shimmer so nicely. I didn't have any rhinestone flourishes so I made my own. Not quite as fancy but they work.

Not much else happening here. Again the weather man is teasing me with thunderstorms tomorrow. I am beginning to think he is enjoying this.

I will let you know if I find any of the "must haves" or "to-die-fors" this weekend at the convention. I am very disappointed that Ranger won't be there. That means it will be hard to find the new Tim Holtz items. I was hoping to save on shipping costs with buying direct- oh well!

Have fun and enjoy!

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper...

2010-07-26T20:47:00.004-04:00

No, I did not fall off the face of the earth, but it sure feels like it. I can't believe it has been that long since my last post. I literally have not felt like stamping. Yes, you heard me right, and I can't believe it myself, but I really have not had the mojo for it. This card is even a few weeks over due. The poor little guy is already 5 weeks old. How awful it that!

I really love this buggy stamp by 100 Proof Press and I have used it before in baby blue ink. Not wanting to be too traditional I decided to go with Early Espresso and Soft Sky by SU. The "Baby" stamp was only a dollar by Studio G. I ran the espresso card stock through the Cuttlebug and the image was cut out with Spellbinders label 2. A bit of lace to give it a vintage look yet not too frilly. After all it is for a boy. The teeny tiny rhinestones are actually a smokey brown but didn't photograph well. Hopefully the poor child hasn't already grown out of the outfits I am sending along with the card.

I have been insanely busy at work and it has left me with little energy to be creative. We are working towards our accreditation with the American College of Radiology for Nuclear Medicine. The paperwork that has to be filled out is endless and the images that get sent in have to reflect our best work. Needless to say I have been very picky as to which images I am allowing for submission. There was also some juggling of vacation schedules to get our service engineer into to do his work on our cameras in timing with when the physicist had to come in to do their testing. All of this Quality Control on the cameras gets submitted as well for review. Once the ACR gets your initial application and their money- we are given only 45 days to complete all of this. And if that isn't pushing it, we had another isotope shortage which limited the number of exams I could select my images from. I am now certainly aware of "when it rains, it pours" and I am soaking wet!!!

Once this is over I will have the rest of the summer to sit back and relax. That is, once I create an on-line education program on Radiation Safety for the entire hospital. Did I mention that I am required to educate anyone who works around or may come in contact with radioactive materials or our department, on an annual basis. Only now instead of having to get up in front of a group at department meetings, it will be a self study program on-line. I don't know how I am going to handle not seeing those looks of bewilderment or just pure boredom on their faces. I sure am going to miss that-NOT. And to think employees still need annual evaluations. Just where does the time go. I guess it just flies by when you are having so much fun.

I am looking forward to a distraction in a few weeks. The rubber stamp convention is in Novi and a bunch of us from our stamp club will be madly spending our money we have been hoarding and stashing away for months. "Calm down honey, it is just the pop can money I have been collecting"- Hee Hee.

Hopefully that will help with the creativity mojo, but I am disappointed that Tim Holtz won't be there. Maybe next year and if he does, I highly recommend taking one of his classes. It is worth every penny.

Have fun and enjoy!

The same but a little different

2010-07-06T19:52:00.004-04:00

Happy 6th of July! Since I didn't make any Fourth of July cards this year, I waited until I could post something that wasn't patriotic. I have been busy prodding Elliot to put away all the things he brought home from college and decided the spare bedroom was the perfect dumping ground. I couldn't even find the bed when I walked into the room and his room wasn't much better. It is amazing the difference between boys and girls when it comes to organization. Luckily we had family coming home so it had to get done.

This card is using the same color scheme as my last post but still a bit different. I found the white flower applique in my stash and decided this was a perfect card for it. I punched out the bird from my favorite Stampin' Up punch. I love how the wing can be a different color to pull in the designer paper. The border is a Martha Stewart punch-scroll lace. This card was for the birthday of one of my stamping buddies who had just celebrated her big day.

For all of you that live down south, you may not have much sympathy for me but it has been in the 90's here since the 4th and expected to be even hotter tomorrow. My favorite two letters these days are A & C. Our typical temperatures are in the low 80's so this takes a lot out of us. My daughter Becky and her husband came home from Raleigh N.C. for the holiday and she said this heat was nothing. Becky isn't one to sit still so whenever she comes home there are always some projects that get taken care of. This visit it was to clean out the garage and some transplanting in the gardens. I love her energy because it encourages me to get up and get things done that desperately need attention but boy it sure wears me out and the hot weather didn't help. Needless to say that after doing some gardening very early this morning, I am pooped. A nice cold shower this afternoon and a nap didn't even seem to pep me up. It's back to work for me tomorrow and maybe some less manual labor- something I can handle.

Here's hoping a good nights sleep rejuvenates me and my creativity. I have a ton of new products sitting on my desk just begging to be used.

Have fun and enjoy!

A bit of pink and a shabby rose

2010-06-26T11:56:00.004-04:00

Wow did that week ever go by fast. I can hardly believe it will soon be the 4th of July. It seems like I just got all my spring garden work done. Oh, that's right- I did just finish that, didn't I. Well the best of the summer is yet to come and now I can sit back and just enjoy it.

Today's card is using one of my homemade flowers made from a strip of designer paper folded in half and then scrunched and twisted- shabby, don't you think. I hot glued it to a circle piece of paper to be used as a base and then I could use it when I wanted. I certainly don't have the time to be making the flower as I make the card. I find that if I spend an afternoon or evening making a bunch of flowers to supply my stash it makes the card making process a bit easier. It might also be the design element that gives me the idea for the color scheme of my card. Isn't it amazing how one little piece of paper, ribbon or button can be the spark that creates the idea for the card. I just love it when that happens. I am amazed each and every time. See, it doesn't take that much to amaze or amuse me.

The designer paper is by GCD Studios which was a 6x6 pad of paper I found an odd lot store. I had never heard of this company but I liked the patterns, so for $2 I thought I would see what I could come up with. I found the seam binding on an Etsy site and I just love it. I bought about 20 different colors and it was only $.30 a yard. Needless to say, I have a small fortune tied up in seam binding since I figured I might not be able to find it again- so I stocked up.

Here is a close up of the flower. I sprayed a bit of glimmer mist on it to give it a bit more color. I believe it was Tattered Rose since that is the bottle that is sitting on the outside of the shelf. The velvet leaves were from Michaels in the bridal section.

Darn- should have cleaned up the bit of glimmer mist that got on the button. Oh well, I guess that is what makes it shabby.

It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day here. They are promising thunderstorms later today, but I'm not holding my breath. If it happens I will just accept it as a wonderful surprise. I have been keeping my eye out for the humming birds. I haven't seen much of them this year. Maybe I should just get a nice tall glass of iced tea and sit out on the deck to keep a watch for them. Sounds like a plan. I hope you can come up with a similar excuse to relax.

Take care and enjoy!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T09:45:00.008-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the men out there. Not that any of them are reading my blog, but I thought it would be gesture of kindness none the less. It's the thought that counts-right. These are the Father's Day cards I made this year. I used the new Tim Holtz embossing folder clock parts and some Graphic 45 tags. I colored the brads and dew drops with my Copper Copic marker. I love how you can get coordinating embellishments from a marker. Looove my Copics! A year ago you would have never heard me say that. I dug my heels in and said there was no way I was going to get started on those markers because of the expense and the number of colors they offer. I could see a small (OK large) fortune investing in a new addiction. I finally broke down and the rest is history- all 108 of them. And that is nothing compared to some of the ladies I stamp with.

You can see the embossing a bit better on the image below. I also pulled out my all time favorite Label 4 Spellbinders. The color scheme is pale yellow, black and burnt orange but the yellow sort of faded with the sunlight. You can click on any of the images for a larger view.

Here is another version with the same products. The three tags are actually straight by it looks as if I had a few too many margaritas while making this one. Must be the angle of the camera. Yep definitely the camera angle.

We are planning on a quiet day around the house. It will be gorgeous sitting outside today. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get the thunderstorms that were promised yesterday. I swear- how many jobs could you still keep and be wrong so many times. The weather people have it made. Don't they realize the anticipation they create when they say it is going to rain and the let down when it doesn't. I also have been trying to juggle the sprinkler system around their hit and miss forecasts. Oh well, the sunshine was just as nice, only I have to pay for the watering of the grass and flowers.

I hope you all have a great week. Nothing big planned for my week. Let's hope it stays that way. Cooking out every night and an evening on the patio will suit me just fine at the end of a work day.

Have fun and enjoy!

An altered book

2010-06-12T09:39:00.010-04:00

Well it is finally here- My altered book of doors. It is hard to believe this was once a children's hard cardboard book. Altered takes on new meaning here when you can't even see a hint of what it once was. I sanded the pages a bit since they are very shinny and I wanted to make sure I had good contact between my sticky tape and the paper. For the cover I used Distress picket fence crackle paint and then rubbed Distress vintage photo and antique linen ink over it to give it a vintage feel. You can easily use paper for the cover. I printed the sentiment off the computer and the beautiful flower is from Prima.

I had mentioned that I want to make another book with actual pictures of doors that I had taken on a recent trip to Duke University but I decided to use one on the cover from the door of a little building that was out in the courtyard of a bed and breakfast we stayed at in Savannah, Georgia. I edged it with a Martha Stewart punch as I did on almost all of the pictures inside. The images are postcards that a dear friend Kay, had given to me. The number of cards fit the number of pages exactly and it was if it were meant to be.

All of the inside pages were covered with paper. I kept my color pallet in the greens so it would compliment the foliage and flowers. I didn't want my paper competing with the images. I then layered the images on the different papers to see what paper enhanced the image the best and then I decided which two sets went together so I could place them side-by-side in the book. A little bit of thinking in the beginning but after than it was just a matter of getting into my embellishment stash and deciding what I wanted to used and which page I could incorporate it into.

I picked up a package of Heidi Swapp overlays on sale at the Mega Meet in Novi last month and now I wished I had grabbed a few more. I used almost the entire package in this book. You will notice them as they are the clear and black images. Of course I had to have a bird and a crown or two.

The one above are my favorite pages only because of the cottage style of the roses. Notice the crown above the door on the left. The clip on the edge of the page was actually metallic yellow but I colored it with my copper Copic marker.

I had this tongue depressor and decided to use it as a tag for my sentiment. The burgundy scallop above the image was actually a left over piece from a border after it was punched. I thought it looked like a valance so I used it along the top of the picture. See-never throw anything away that looks useful. I colored the metal flower with my copper Copic and I used a spanish olive Copic marker on the butterfly

Not that crazy about the last page but I thought the corner overlays looked cool. This was the project that I taught at our last month's stamp club. Everyone really enjoyed it. The ones that haven't altered anything before, were a bit intimidated at first. I think they really appreciated having someone to walk them through it to get them started. I had purposely bought some very small books for those who just thought they could never do a project like this. A larger book can be a bit overwhelming at trying to figure out how to fill the page. If that is the case with you, get a 3x3 book to start with. It will be something that you can tuck onto any table or shelf in the house when your are done.

Well believe it or not, I still have some more work to do out in the gardens. We went to a family wedding up in Traverse City, Michigan last weekend so I didn't get anything accomplished at home. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and it was nice to spend the weekend my extended family. My DH and I went to a winery owned by one of his distant cousins. It was located up on a bluff over looking the lake. It felt as if you were up in the clouds looking down- absolutely breathe taking. The wine wasn't bad either.

Have fun and enjoy!

A bit of distress

2010-06-03T21:51:00.004-04:00

No nothing is wrong here on the home front and I have been the picture of health, (unless you saw me trying to walk after spending 3 days bending in the gardens pulling weeds). Sorry for being MIA for so long. The days have just gotten away from me lately. I had promised you pictures of an altered book but I haven't had time to edit the photos. Instead I am sharing with you a very large altered tag measuring 4" x 8.5". I used three different ATC stamps from the Tim Holtz line and some of the new distress colors- wild honey, Victorian velvet, bundled sage and a bit of chipped sapphire. I added some distress stickles here and there for a bit of bling. The grunge board butterfly was painted with worn lipstick distress crackle paint and then I rubbed vintage photo distress ink over it so the cracks were more pronounced. All of the embellishments are from the Tim Holtz line except for the two paper flowers which are Prima.

Mother nature has been helping me quite a bit lately by keeping my new plants well watered. Along with that came some really great thunderstorms. For those of you who know me, you know how much I enjoy a good rumble of thunder and a good bolt of lightening is an added touch. After a weekend of hard labor in my gardens it was very relaxing to sit on the porch and watch the storms roll in. On Sunday I made the mistake of drinking iced tea all afternoon to help with the hot temperatures we had. I woke up at 4 o'clock and was wide awake so I got up and surfed the net for awhile. When I saw that it was getting light enough outside, I headed out to plant some new rose bushes. I had them all in by 6:30 am. It was so peaceful and quiet with just the sound of the chirping birds. Just when I finished- a flock of about 50 geese flew over the house and they were so low that I could hear the flapping of their wings. It was truly a beautiful morning. It is an awesome thing when you can enjoy the simple things in life.

I can't believe all of the new Cuttlebug products that are out on the market right now. I bought the new 5x7 embossing folder called clock works and I used it on my Father's Day cards. It was a perfect fit with the masculine Graphic 45 papers. I really like these larger folders in that they don't leave a blank edge around the outside. Now I just have to figure out how to store them. My other smaller ones are in the pockets and storage case that came out when the Cuttlebug first hit the market. Maybe they will start making larger pockets.

Well I still have plenty to do around the house. I am excited to have my friend Carol home so we can get some serious stamping done together. I have really missed her this winter. I promise I will get the altered book loaded next week.

Have fun and enjoy

Just for you Dad

2010-05-22T10:55:00.005-04:00

Well the rain has cleared and it is time to get out into the garden. What is it about smell of clean and refreshed after a good rain. That has got to be one of my all time favorite smells. Right up there with baby powder, fresh brewed coffee, cut grass and a bonfire. Chocolate is a gimme!
I think I am up for a mess in the garden with the wet dirt but it has to be done. I have neglected the flower beds for a few weeks now and if I don't get to them, my neighbors will think I have become a weed horticulturist.

It was my father's birthday last month and this was the card he received with a gift card to his favorite family diner. He enjoys the taste of a home cooked meal and the company he has when he visits his favorite restaurant. Throughout their marriage my mother did all the cooking and now that she is no longer with us, my father has learned to eat his own creations or should I say Stoffers. On a side note- I remember my mother telling me that when I was two and she was in the hospital having my sister, my father took care of me and he cooked the only thing he knew how to; eggs. I was fed eggs cooked every conceivable way and most likely some unconventional ways I am sure. It must have been a long week and hence I didn't eat eggs again until I was an adult.

My father lives 10 hours from us so dropping in for dinner here at our house isn't very realistic. He has become friends with the owners of the restaurant who will actually be a part of the extended family when their daughter marries my cousin's son. Being so far away from him, it comforts me to give him something that adds a little joy to his life. I know he misses my mother deeply and since I can't be there to visit him regularly this at least helps to fill the loneliness. I don't think we will ever get him to move closer to one of us kids. His home is where he and my mother spent their lives together and he enjoys spending the summer at their cottage which is only a 40 minute drive from their home. I am looking forward to seeing him in two weeks at a family wedding- boy the old man can still dance.

Well the weeds and earthworms are calling so I better get going. I hope you all have a wonderful week. As I had stated in my last post- I was going to do an altered book on the architecture from a recent trip. I soon realized that the shape of books I had purchased for the stamp club weren't the right dimensions and I would need a much taller book. I still created a book of "Doors" but with post cards of doors a dear friend Kay had given me. It turned out totally awesome if I do say so myself. I will take pictures of the book tomorrow and post pictures later in the week.

Have fun and enjoy!

More Treasures

2010-05-15T09:36:00.005-04:00

As promised here are the pictures of the other pieces of Idea-ology that I made in Tim Holtz's class last Saturday. This necklace was the frosting on the cake and very easy to make. The black heart was created with a mold and ultra black embossing powder. Tim had this already done for us so all we had to do was rub some of his paint dabbers on it to get it to look like soap stone. He even had several pieces of dictionary print in our packets so we could choose what word we wanted. It might be hard to see but I chose "Cherish" because it is a piece that I will cherish for a very long time. Take a look at the close up.

And last but not least, here is the charm bracelet we made. Can you believe we made all three pieces in two hours. Unbelievable! We each received a set of fragments and a full set of the alphabet charms so we could spell out what ever we wanted. Oopsie! Looks like I spelled DREAM backwards on my bracelet. I had mine turned over so that when I connected my jump rings, everything was facing forward. No big deal- all I have to do is unfasten the two outside letters and put them on the other end. the "A" can stay where it is. Click on the picture for a closer look.

Here is picture with all my "little pretties" together. When I have all three of them on, I am just stylin'- Tim Holtz style.

Not much else to talk about today. I have the house to myself for the weekend which is pure heaven. I am working on an altered book of "Doors" which I need to finish this weekend. On our Florida vacation we went to Raleigh, N.C first to visit my daughter and son-n-law and see the new house. While we were there we went to Duke University and I took a ton of pictures of the architecture. The arched doors and doorways were magnificent and I wanted to capture them in a book. I am teaching an altered book class this week and I want to have mine finished as a sample.

Don't forget the "Closing the Door" sale over at The Stamp Castle. Everything is 25% off while supplies last until the end of the month. I think I will be doing a bit of shopping myself to pick up a few more alphabet sets. Which means I had better see what is on my shelf so I don't order duplicates- one more project to add to this weekend. At this rate I am going to be out in the garden pulling weeds with a flashlight.

Have fun and enjoy!

Flowers for Mother's Day and a sale

2010-05-09T09:40:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. One day certainly isn't enough to set aside and celebrate for all we do but we'll take it and make the most out of it. These aren't the typical flowers you might receive on Mother's Day but they certainly are one of my favorites. Yesterday I attended one of Tim Holtz's Ideology classes and I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had. I am still on cloud nine from the experience. Remember in one of my last posts I told you about the night I was going to register on-line for one of his classes and I wanted to be ready as soon as the registration opened up at 7:00 PM. We were in Florida and I had my son and hubby waiting to go out to dinner but we couldn't go until I was registered. I had to throw them a few crackers to hold them over. Well it is a good thing I kept them waiting because I was told yesterday that the class sold out in 19 minutes. I looked around to see how many were in the class and I know there were at least 75 people there. Tim really knows how to draw a crowd (and get paid good $ for it).

We started off the class by making these shabby flowers. Tim and his assistants had all the pieces cut ahead of time for us and each project was in it's own little package so all we had to do was put it together. There were three projects and we completed them in 2 hours. I will be sharing the other two with you later this week.

The flowers were created with several layers of different material including upholstery, burlap, silk, lace table cloth and grunge board. There were all cut with Tim's new Tattered Florals Sizzix die and one of his vintage buttons. It was very quick and simple and the layers were pulled together with linen thread up through the layers and the button and then back down for a knot in the back. This one has a clasp on the back so I could wear it on my shirt. After the class I went to the Mega Meet show to shop and was the envy of several other shoppers who were dying to know where I got it from.

Tim commented that you can cut up to 5 layers of thin material with this die. He showed us a flower he made out of blue jeans and it was awesome. Of course he could show us anything and we would think it was awesome-right! He then went to his booth at the show and did demos the entire afternoon. I found him and his staff to be very friendly and down to earth. I really enjoyed his charisma and the creative inspiration he provides.

On a second note, I am very sad to report that I got a message from Joanne at THE STAMP CASTLE and she has decided to close her store. I really enjoyed working with her and I know this wasn't an easy decision for her but the economy has made it's impact. Right now she is offering 25% off everything in the store while supplies last until the end of the month.

Well it sounds like the rest of the family is waking up so I better put my crown on and get ready to eat bonbons.

Have fun and enjoy!

15 minutes or less...

2010-05-06T07:51:00.003-04:00

So this is what you can create in 15 minutes or less. I kid you not! Sunday night I was getting ready to climb into bed when I realized it was a co-workers birthday the next day and I needed a card and a treat. Mind you this is 9:30 at night and I am up at 6:00 in the morning. I ended up making some blueberry muffins to have with coffee and start the day of a totally messed up diet.

The card stock was a pre-made folded card that I inherited in a stack of odds and ends and this was the only black metallic one. It looks like snake skin which I thought was very fitting for a masculine card. The rest is just punched borders with a MS punch and I even used the scrap pieces as stripes. The sentiment was stamped onto a new EK Success punch called Real Estate Sign.

I thought I would get something new on my blog this morning before I head off to work so this post is another creation that was done in 15 minutes or less. I am off to see Tim Holtz this weekend so I will have something from his class on my next post.

Have fun and enjoy!

What makes you happy...

2010-04-29T20:30:00.002-04:00

Do one thing every day that makes you happy. I just love this new set from JustRite stamps called Kaleidoscope. It uses a 2 3/8" wood block and fits nicely in the Spellbinders Scallop Circle Nesties. Don't forget tomorrow is the last day for you (my peeps) to take advantage of the sale at The Stamp Castle created just for you. Head on over and pick up this lovely set at 10% off with free shipping by entering the code KIM. That is quite a savings. If you were ever thinking about getting started or just wanted to add some fonts to your collection- now is the time.

I used one of my favorite MS punch sets- Deco Fan border and corner punch to make the two squares and then overlapped them. The bottom border is my newest MS punch which I just got today- Modern Garland. How fitting to christen it with what makes me happy. No it isn't the materialistic punch that makes me happy, it is the process of creating that does it for me. Well maybe it is just a little bit the punch. I do seem to covet those beauties and they have their own shelf to show off. I stamped the image with Memento Rich Cocoa and then sponged everything with Antique Linen Distress ink. The small pink floral trim is satin and I also sponged that to help it blend in better. The designer paper is from My Mind's Eye- absolutely yummy! The card stock is Stampin' Up (of course) Cameo Coral and Rose Romance. I am sorry if the true colors aren't showing up in my photographs. I don't seem to have the patience to play with the color scales when I am editing my photos. It infuriates my son the artist to no end. Sorry Elliot!

Well enough for tonight. This is just a quick post so I could get another post in before the sale is over and Grey's Anatomy has already started.

Have fun and enjoy!

By the Sea...

2010-04-25T15:16:00.004-04:00

Well maybe not quite by the sea here in Michigan, but certainly by the lake. By the Sea is one of the new sets released this month by JustRite. It uses the 2 1/4" x 3 1/16" block. I thought it was so fitting for where I live since we are considered the "Blue Water" area here on Lake Huron and there are several lighthouses around. Don't forget the special sale over at The Stamp Castle just for my blogging friends. With a $30 purchase you can get free shipping by entering the code KIM and everything is also 10% off. This sale will only run through April 30th so hop on over and you can pick up this beautiful set and a whole lot more.

I am really putting myself out there with this card today. I am just a newbie with the Copic markers and my coloring technique is far from great. Of course when I stamped the image I did use the correct ink, but forgot to use the right paper. The colors started to bleed and when I used my colorless blender to pull some of the blue that bled outside the area I had intended, I made more of a mess- hence the silver star. I would have liked an anchor or something more nautical but the stash wasn't delivering today. Here is a closeup of the image, try not to be too harsh on me.

These are the colors I used to color the image. I have a good collection of Copics and right now I just get too overwhelmed when trying to select the right color. Our local craft store (Mary Maxim) has free, yes I did say free, Copic classes but they fill up fast- as you can imagine. I need to attend a few more so I can get comfortable with my new little gems.

I used Spellbinders Labels Eleven nestabilities for the main image and the font was created with SU Modern Label and Word Window punches. The font is also from SU- Short & Sweet. The designer paper was a scrap piece that looks like gray wood and I ran it through my Cuddlebug with the Argyle embossing folder.

We are expecting thunderstorms later today so I am in my glory. I know- call me crazy but I love a good thungerstorm, the more lightening the better. Let's hope this is a good one.

Have fun and enjoy

JustRite stamp sale!

2010-04-21T20:33:00.004-04:00

I have a nice little surprise for all of you as a way to thank you for following me through my blogging journey. Joanne over at "The Stamp Castle" is offering a special sale, to my peeps only, on JustRite stamps. From now through April 30th you can get free priority shipping on your purchase of $30 or more. You also will receive 10% off regardless of how much you spend. Just click here and enter the code KIM. Don't forget the code for the free shipping.

There are some new sets that are really awesome. I didn't have enough time to make a new card tonight to showcase the stamps, so you might remember this one from a few months ago. The sets I used for this card are Romantic Sentiments 1 5/8"and 2" Square Decorative Frames. If you haven't used JustRite stamps before you will be totally in love with them once you try them. Don't forget to check out the alphabets. You can customize your sentiments to any occasion. There isn't much time for this sale, so spread the word and happy shopping.

Have fun and enjoy!

Happy Everything...

2010-04-18T21:40:00.005-04:00

Happy everything! I love this sentiment from a Hero Art set of small stamps. It is so versatile that it can be used for several occasions. This is a gift card holder that we made at our monthly stamp club. Two of the other members taught this month so it gave me a chance to relax, chat and enjoy making the project. I want to start by saying that this idea came from Gina K designs and you can find it here on stamp Tv. It was very easy to make and the fun part was embellishing it.

This is the bottom outside flap which I decorated with MS Doily Lace Trim border punch and some embellishments from Jo Ann Fabric dollar bin. Right now the top front is laying flat, behind it. In the first photo you can just see the scallop of the trim.

And Voila, once you open it, this is what you see. I had an old Kohls gift card in my studio that was a bit out of season, but it worked. I love how the gift card stands up straight so it draws your attention to the gift. I know- the card itself is worth a million bucks but it wouldn't get you too far if you took it to buy a new pair of shoes or a dress.

The card stock is SU-Tempting Turquoise and the ds paper is from Paper Studio. I also used SU punches on the "Just for You" sentiment which is also from the SU set Oval All

You know the old adage "Laughter is good for the Soul", well my soul is great. Is that really an old adage or did I just make that one up? My husband won tickets to see Howie Mandel and we went to see him Friday night. He was hysterical and I can't remember when I have laughed that much.

I am still trying to get more organized in my studio. You know how you decide to change one area and before you know it you have to organize a different area to fit things that didn't belong in the first one. OK so I may not be making any sense but I have a huge mess to show for all my effort today. I am going to need a few more hours this week to get it back into shape. I hope you all have a great week.

Have fun and enjoy!

Gettin' out the nesties...

2010-04-11T20:26:00.003-04:00

So what have you all been up to this week- me not much. Yesterday I took my grandson to the movies to see "How to Train your Dragon" in 3-D. I think I enjoyed watching him more than the movie itself. He will be six next month so you can imagine how small he looked in the large theater seat with the big 3-D glasses on. He sat there intently, not taking his eyes off the screen as he put one handful of popcorn into his mouth after another. The look on his face was priceless as his hand searched for more popcorn and found the container empty. That tiny little face with the big dark glasses looking at me, was my cue to get more. In one part of the movie there are ashes that float in the air and in 3-D they looked like they were going to land in our lap. His amazement was seen as he looked up at the ceiling to see if that is where they were coming from. True innocence and wonder.

I am working on getting my nestabilities more organized and accessible. I find that if something is stored too far out of reach, I am less apt to use it and hence the reason I have some that I haven't even touched yet. I love how Becca Feeken organized hers so my DH is building me a storage unit for mine. I already have them in CD cases, now I just need to label them in some sort of order. Check out Becca's idea on her blog here.

While I had the nesties out I figured I should incorporate them into today's post so I chose Label Six. I had originally used the two largest to create a frame and the one I ended up using was actually the leftover piece. Ok switch gears a bit and save the frame for another day. It happens all the time. The vision I have before I start isn't what the finished product looks like. But that's OK.

The sentiment from SU was stamped and punched out with a new punch by EK Success- Real Estate Sign and then I used Spellbinders Renaissance Hearts as side pieces. I used three different border punches. The large white Daisy Fan is from MS and the pink fan is EK Success Double Crochet Lace. The smaller green border is Scallop Trim from SU. The designer paper is from Crafty Secrets- Heartwarming Vintage Collection and the card stock is an older color from SU- Pink Pirouette. I hope you like it and have a great week.

Have fun and enjoy!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T13:51:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to wish you all a Happy Easter. I had a few minutes in between my meal prep so I thought I would share with you an Easter card for the occasion. Last month at our stamp club I taught the group how to make several different flowers to help our embellishments budgets. I wasn't clever enough to originate the ideas but I found several out there on the net. It seems that making flowers is really hot right now.

The bunny for this card was from a package of Studio G bunny cards I found at JoAnns with envelopes for $1. What was so great was that by cutting the bunny card front and back apart, I ended up with two. After I had done that with all eight cards is was like bunnies were multiplying all over the place. One side is pink and the other side is white. I chose to put some polka dots on this one with a Hero Arts Clings- Cling dot background stamp. I love the size of the dots. It will come in quite handy when I do my vintage stamping. I thought about using a floral or swirl design on this little guy but didn't want him to get lost in the designer paper. The dots were stamped in Versa Magic Sahara Sand. The designer paper is from K & Company - McKenna Floral Paisley and it might be a little hard to see but it has glitter here and there. I used SU Certainly Celery for my card stock and sentiment. The sentiment was cut and layered with SU punches and the corners are Cuttlebug.

Now onto the luscious satin rose. I found the tutorial for this flower here. Princess Leia (aka Tia Bennett) did a great job showing how to do this with paper but I liked the end result with the satin ribbon instead. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her picture. Go on over to the link and take a look, you'll know what I mean. I won't spoil it for you.

Well the rest of my dinner is calling so I better head to the kitchen. If I don't get dinner on the table soon we won't have any Easter candy left and what is a girl to do if all the chocolate eggs are gone! Oh that's right, you buy them at 50% off tomorrow!

Have fun and enjoy!

Thank you for being my sunshine...

2010-03-28T10:15:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to pop in today to see how you are all doing? I am feeling pretty good because I finally got my stamp studio in order. Everything is picked up and put away, OK 99% of it is. I now find myself in a bit of a bind as to where I can store all of my Martha Stewart punches. Over the last six months I have been feeding my addiction to her punches and as I purchased them I would put a few on my desk and a few on a shelf. Now that I have gotten them all together I don't have a place large enough. It looks like I am going to have to put up two new shelves. Oh boy, my husband is going to love that. I am running our of wall space. I can only imagine what these walls are going to look like when I move up to the loft after the last little chick leaves the nest.

Today's card is one that I had made back a few months ago. For one of the stamp groups that I get together with once a month, we take turns bringing a stamp and we all use that image to make a card. It is nice to see how differently we each create something with the same stamp. It is also nice if it is a stamp that you have a hard time using because you can't really visualize how to use it. We all have those stamps that look great on the shelf but blocks our creativity when it comes time to use it. Anyway, it gives us ideas on how to get more use of that stamp.

I can't remember the name of this stamp or what company makes because it wasn't mine. It is just one stamp that looks like a collage. I didn't know how to color it so I just added a bit of color and then added some Perfect Paper Adhesive and a piece of tan tissue paper. I scrunched up the tissue paper and let it dry. That led to my kraft and red color scheme. The sentiment is from JustRite - Romantic Sentiments and you can purchase it at The Stamp Castle. I punched it out with the SU Curly Label punch. The cream layer is punched with the MS Eyelet Lace border punch and then I used Antique Linen Distress Ink on the edges of all the layers. The embellishments are from Prima.

I am getting very antsy for the nicer weather. Yesterday when I woke up it was only 16 degrees and went up to 47 by the afternoon. Today it started out at 42 but we are expecting some rain. By the end of the week it is supposed to be 67. Hamburgers and steak on the grill I say, maybe even some shrimp. I'm not holding my breath though, it is Michigan after all. It will still be a few months before I can get the planting started so for now I am in a holding pattern. I find this time of year the hardest but the most exciting. I am not a patient person so waiting to plant is very hard for me. It was easier up in the U.P. where I grew up because there was still snow on the ground until the middle of May. It takes a long time for 200 inches of winter snow to melt-don't ya know. Don't get me wrong, I really miss living up there.

I hope you all have a nice Easter and remember it is customary to eat the ears off the chocolate bunny first.

Have fun and enjoy!

A little vacation creation

2010-03-21T12:06:00.012-04:00

So has your weekend been? It has been cold with a few flurries here in Michigan. Hard to believe I was just sitting out by the pool in the sun two weeks ago. These pictures are a nice reminder of warmer days. Hey isn't today supposed to be the first day of spring!

My good friend Carol had given me this Maya Road mini album for my birthday last November and I just got around to making it. I made it while I was at her place in Florida and I took the pictures outside next to the pool. Carol has a beautiful stamp room that faces the canal they live on and has sliding doors right out to the pool. I could even see the dolphins from her stamp desk. It is like stamping heaven with a view. She is one lucky woman. I don't have much to post today but several pictures of my mini book. I didn't turn this into a calendar which is what the album is meant for. Instead I themed the book around my favorite paper Mariposa which is from DCWV. The paper has embellishments of it's own so I just added a few do-dads here and there.

I made the bird nest embellishment on this next page. Carol had bought one for each of us and when I saw them I knew I could make one. I made some with three white round eggs and some with brown wire. They turned out pretty good for a first try.

I stamped the branch and bird nest on this next one. Notice the little blue eggs in the nest. The chip board pieces are from Prima's Raspberry Tea collection

This next one is my favorite page along with the cover. I like how the bird turned out with the crown. Since I like birds and crowns, this was a perfect combination. The egg charm was a finding at Michaels and the flowers are from the MS water lilies punches.

This next one I stamped the sentiment and then used my Sakura Star Dust pen to add some glam to it.

This is a side view of the book. Once you flip through the pages you can flip it over and look at the other side of the page. I was able to incorporate stamped images and glitter that makes it hard to tell if it was already on the paper or not. I am going to be teaching a class at our stamp club on how to collage a book. I know this is very intimidating for some people and I wanted to show them that the paper you choose can really be the start of the book and actually do some of the work for you.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did making it. I guess the atmosphere I was in didn't hurt either. I was able to complete it in one full evening while waiting for my son's plane to come in at midnight. That is what is so great about these small books. I was a bit tired the next day but being able to sit by the pool in the sun with nothing to do but drink a margarita and a read good book cured that. Now I have to tackle my stamp studio. When I got home I just set everything that I brought with me and all of the new things I had purchased right in the middle of the room. Today I have to put everything away. That is going to be a challenge.

Have fun and enjoy!

Life is good....

2010-03-15T19:31:00.006-04:00

Can you guess where this is? I have been on vacation for the last three weeks. I didn't say anything before I left that I would be gone from home for so long because I don't feel comfortable putting that information on the Internet as an invitation to a burglary.

Anyway my friend Carol, whom I visited last year in Florida, was going to Hawaii with her husband and they offered their place to my family for 15 wonderful days. I have to say it was a much more enjoyable trip this year- very relaxing and nothing but wonderful memories. We drove to Raleigh, N.C. first to visit my daughter and son-in-law for a few days. They just bought a new home in November so we had to go and check it out. From there we drove to Georgia and spent the night in a bed and breakfast. We ate lunch here at the above picture. Do you know where it is now? I'll give you a hint- Food Network. That's right, we had lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant. It was such a nice afternoon. We spent a few dollars in her store which is an attached building to the restaurant and then we walked around and enjoyed the beautiful sights of Savannah. We then headed down to Cape Coral and the drive went by faster than I thought because there was so much to look at along the way.

This is the view I had every morning on the lanai with my coffee and the morning paper. I have to say this is what I miss the most. Even though I was on vacation I was still up at 6:30 so I could absorb this image. My son Elliot was on spring break while we were down there so he flew in for a week. We saw a lot of dolphins. They would come up and down the canal looking for fish and as if right on cue, they would surface two and three times right out in front of us.

We went to Captiva Island for the day and this handsome young man (my son Elliot) braved the cold water in the Gulf of Mexico to find me some nicer shells out in the deeper water. I knew he loved his momma. It is hard to believe he will be 21 in May but he certainly looks like a grown young man in the pictures and handsome at that if I don't say so myself. We spent the day looking for shells and relaxing in the sun. I was playing with the camera and decided to take some pictures of the waves. It looks so refreshing doesn't it? The beach at the edge of the water is actually all small shells about the size of a quarter and smaller.

Captiva is known for their spectacular sunsets and after we had dinner at a quaint restaurant we were treated to this beautiful sunset to end a perfect day.

I did a bit of stamping and visited my two favorite stamping stores in Fort Meyers- Strawberry Fields and The Owl and The Pussy Cat. I had a nice little chat with Regina who owns The Owl and The Pussy Cat regarding a comment that was left on my blog last fall and my hunches were right all along. Sometimes my intuitions scare me when I see how true they are. As usual she had some wonderful findings that will find their way into my projects.

I have to say that this has to be one of my most memorable trips. To make it even better, I got on the computer and visited some of my favorite blogs. I happened to leave a comment on Tim Holtz's blog a few days earlier and I couldn't believe it when I saw that he had a random blog candy give away and I had won. I had emailed him back with my info. and told him how excited I had gotten when I saw my comment and that my husband came into the room and thought I had won tickets to Ellen- which I told him noooo, it was something better than Ellen. I told Tim that I was waiting to go dinner until after 7:00 when I could register for one of his classes in Novi. I told him I was going to have to throw my family a few more crackers to hold them over until I was registered. Yippee, I am now going to get to go to one of Tim's classes May 8th. Mario emailed me back and said he wished he had been a fly on the wall that evening and he would send me out a box of goodies when they returned home from Ranger. I can't wait to see what I won.

Sorry that I didn't post any cards today. I have some pictures of a book that I made that need editing and I was just too tired yesterday from the drive home. I will get those up and posted the end of the week.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I will as I still am re-living some cherished memories.

A little bit of shabby

2010-03-06T08:57:00.005-05:00

So how has your week been? As you can see from the lack of posting, mine has been rather busy. I did find some time to create this little rustic gem. As I had mentioned in my last post, I wanted to get out of my rut and spice things up a bit. So with one arm tied behind my back I put my Martha Stewart border punches away. But I didn't say I would put all my punches away.

Today's card is a bit on the shabby chic side but in more earthtone colors rather than the typical lighter softer colors. The DS paper is Double Take- Sweet Shoppe Collection layered onto hot pink card stock. I distressed the edges of the paper to pull in the shabby and then layered a piece of celery paper that had been embossed with Swiss Dot in my cuttlebug. It is a bit difficult to see but the ribbon is actually a metallic burgundy color, unless you enlarge the picture it looks brown. The pink flowers were punched out using the MS Water Lily punch and completed with Prima Velvet Heirloom Rose Leaves in Meadow. The brown flower is also from Prima that I sanded and then applied Beedz-Shimmer iridescent glue to make it sparkle. It is very easy to get the shabby look if you are using Prima or Melissa Francis products. Another product line that will help you achieve a shabby look is Maya Road. The "Strength for Today" sentiment tag is from Melissa Francis- Indexed Ticket Company the Lighter side of Breast Cancer. This was a great find in a clearance bin and there are several tags in the booklet. The scallop chipboard tag is from Prima's Raspberry Tea collection which I just love and I stamped the "best wishes" sentiment on it with sepia ink. A few embellishments and my card was complete.

Don't be intimidated by trying to achieve this look. If your are a newbie to shabby, I would suggest you start with something from Melissa Francis and build around that. Just rough up your embellishments and paper. You can even rub some distress inks on your paper to tone them down a bit or you can go the lighter side of shabby and use the whites and creams. I would love to see what you create, so send me a link to your projects. If you have any questions I would be happy to share my techniques with you.

I found time to create an easel book with my favorite paper- Maripso from DCWV which I will share with you in my next post.

Have fun and enjoy!

It's all about lines...

2010-02-25T19:52:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone is staying warm. It looks like the upper eastern states are getting snowed in again. Get out the hot chocolate and marshmallows, light a candle, wrap up in a warm blanket and put in a good movie. Boy I must be getting old if that is a perfect evening.

I'm not at my own computer, but lucky for me I had my flash drive with me that had some of my photos on it so I could get something posted. Today's card is all about lines. I used my score-pal for the simple background around the main image from Stampin' Up. I thought it was simple yet elegant and I liked the look of the clean lines. I would have much preferred the look of the scoring from the backside of the white panel because the lines from the score-pal are more crisp and visual, except in order to achieve that look I would have had to turn the image over and score from the back side. That would have been difficult to see where my image was since I didn't want the score lines to run through the image. I also did some scoring at the bottom. The borders are both Martha Stewart punches and the scallop punch already has the double line which carried my theme for me. The newest one is the pansy border- very cute isn't it? This probably isn't the best photo but I was trying to show the shimmer that I had added to the flowers with a bit of stickles. The blue flower is from the ones I had made and posted on a previous post. I had so much fun making them that I decided this is what our project will be at next month's stamping club. I think we will set up four tables and make different flowers at each table. I guess that means I better get started on some different techniques.

I happened to go through a box of my cards and I noticed the different phases my card making has gone through. Do you find yourself doing the same thing? At times all my cards have pretty bows other times it is the border punches (which I have seemed to be stuck on for awhile now). I guess it mainly depends on what new product I have just purchased. I think I need to spice things up now and then. I have some time off and I plan to do some serious stamping so we will see what the creative juices can muster up. Don't forget- you can still get your JustRite stamps over at The Stamp Castle.

Have fun and enjoy!

Red, White and Black

2010-02-16T07:15:00.002-05:00

Ok I know, enough of the Valentine cards already. I promise after today I will move on. I think I like to make Valentine's Day cards because it reminds me of growing up and making the container that would hold that special one from a special somebody at school. Sometimes it was a large milk carton decorated with red and pink hearts, but most of the time is was a large pocket envelope decorated with a paper doily and cupid that hung on the front of our desks. Oh how Innocent those school-day crushes were. Close your eyes for just a moment and go back to a time when you remember that special boy walking into the classroom or coming out to play on the playground. What wonderful memories. I wonder what that boy looks like now forty years later.

As I said in a previous post, there were a few cards that I wanted to post but I was sending them out and they visit my blog regularly so I didn't want to spoil the surprise. The first card was created with the SU stamp Medallion. This stamp looks great with versamark on dark card stock. The border is MS Deco Fan punch and crochet trim on the other side. The heart is also from the Martha Stewart (MS) line. The sentiment is from SU as is the Modern Label punch with the Word Window punch in cream layered on top. The card stock is SU Real Red.

The last two cards are just a different classic color version of each other- Real Red, White and Black. They both were made with the Cuttlebug- Victoria embossing folder. Again the MS Deco Fan punch for the border and hearts. I pulled out my Spellbinders Heart nestabilities for the larger red heart. The sentiment was the same as on my first card.

My latest pleasure is making my own flower embellishments. I have been searching for all different techniques and trying a few and I will show you some in the next few posts. My mind is just a boggle with all the new products that have come out since CHA and I am having a hard time trying to pick my favorites that I can afford to add to my madness. Well I better end here so I can get to work. Gotta be able to pay for all of this somehow.

Have fun and enjoy!

Love is in the air..

2010-02-12T19:27:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you- Love is in the air (or at least on the tin). I know there are some people who absolutely hate this holiday because if they aren't in a relationship or at least a happy one, it's like a slap in the face. I say to them- just celebrate the love and kindness of friends because where would we be without friends!

Here are two projects I did for the big V day. I found both of them in the dollar bin at Target. Of course they were undecorated, because we all know that if they came as they look in the pictures they would have to be in the (at least) 10$ bin- Ha Ha Ha.

Yes I still can't get away from the MS punches. And I see she is coming out with even more. Just where does she expect me to store all of these. The shoe rack hanging inside the closet door of my stamp studio is busting at the seams as it is and there are several sitting on my desk with no where to go. Don't worry your pretty little head about that Martha, I will find room some where believe me. You just keep thinking of new designs to collect money from me and as long as I have a 40% off coupon I'll be right there in line.

I don't' know if I mentioned it but I received my valentine's day gift 2 weeks ago. I came home from work one night and there were pink roses in a vase on the kitchen island and a pink gift bag. I asked "what's this" and my DH said the roses were on sale and inside the bag was the new M.J. "This Is It" movie that had just come out on DVD. The roses were light pink with a tinge of green on the edge, and soon a bit of brown, but they looked so shabby chic that I would have loved to have been able to put them on a card. Right now they are just a sweet memory.

I have a few more Valentine cards that I made and need to post but I have to wait for the recipients to receive them so I don't spoil it for them. I am thinking I had better get started on some Easter cards since that holiday is early this year and I will be off to Florida again without anything to post. Having my morning coffee on the lanai is exactly what I need.

I am looking forward to returning to the Owl and the Pussy Cat in Fort Myers. The owner always has so many neat and unique ideas. I had better start saving my pennies.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and try not to eat too much chocolate. Did I just say that?

Enjoy!

Going Green...

2010-02-07T14:06:00.005-05:00

So today I thought I would go green and I got out some of the punches that I don't use too often and decided to create my own embellishments. The flowers on today's card were created with two sizes of punches from The Paper Studio. I used an old dictionary for my paper and punched out two large and one small flower for each one. I will go into more detail how I made them further down in the post.

I am starting to see the new products from CHA in the stores. It's like Christmas all over again. I did a bit of surfing on some blogs while the lucky ones at CHA sent back pictures. You wonder how there can be that many new products coming out each time. I haven't seen the new Tim Holtz's Sizzix dies yet. Hopefully it won't be long. It looks like Tattered Angels had some new bling spray coming out that looks yummy. I can the possibilities for these flowers.

Today's card is using the new DCWV paper Mariposa. This stack of paper is absolutely beautiful. I bought the 8x8 stack so the images are a better size for my cards. Each sheet will give me at least two full pieces for cards. I used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace Trim punch for the vertical border. The sentiment is from the Loving Thoughts JustRite set which can be purchased at The Stamp Castle and I layered it on Spellbinders Labels Four Nestabilities. The card stock is SU Baja Breeze as is the ink I used for the sentiment. You will notice that the Mariposa paper has a butterfly in the design. I used one of the new embosslits from the Stampin' Up Jan 5-April 30 mini catalog called Beautiful Wings to punch out a few more butterflies. To give the card an overall antique look I sponged everything with Ranger Distress Antique Linen.

Now onto the instructions for my homemade flowers. The blue and teal ones were sponged with Brillance inks Jade and Sky. I did make some of the flowers with printed card stock but I like the shabby look of the dictionary print. I offset the larger petals to make the flower fuller and more dimensional. After I sponged them I misted them with water to get the edges to curl. Once they dried I glued the layers and added the button to the center.

These orange/copper colored flowers I sprayed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist- Tiger Lilly. I also misted them with water and when they were dry I sponged on some Gold Brilliance ink. The pink flower was colored with Pink Brilliance and a bit of Gold on the center petal. I haven't decided if I like the look of the white on the underside of the flower or not. I think they look more homemade that way. Well that's it for today. I have to get ready to watch the new commercials and put up with the football in between.

Have fun and enjoy!

The beginning...

2010-01-31T09:50:00.006-05:00

So how do you like my new blog design? I am absolutely loooving it. I worked with Michelle from Laycock Designs and she designed it for me. She also created a couple of watermarks for my pictures and my siggy at the bottom. I kept waiting for my son Elliot to design something for me and I know he is more than capable with his art background and his Mac computer (he is a whiz on that thing) but... when the grades come in from college I didn't want to hear that he had to spend time creating my blog rather than studying. I also thought that I would be waiting so long that I would have had to change my debut card to "The End" rather than "The Beginning". He really is a great kid but mom's priorities are not on the top of his list and that is very understandable for a 20 year old away at college.

I created this card a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was a perfect choice for today's post with my new design. I can't even begin tell you the excitement this has created for me.

As you can see I am still into the MS punches. The corners on the designer paper (Paper Studio) are Eyelet Lace and the hearts are Lace Scalloped Heart. The card stock is from SU- Red and Baja Breeze and I used a Marvy punch on the Baja Breeze corners. The sentiment was punched out with the Modern Label punch from SU. The flowers are from Prima.

Not much else to post today. This past week has me looking forward to Florida even more since the temperatures haven't gotten out of the 20's this week and it is snowing as I speak. Don't forget to head on over to The Stamp Castle for your Justrite Valentine sentiments. They are a perfect fit with several of the Spellbinders Nestabillities and you can still get them on sale.

Have fun and enjoy!

Testing the siggy

2010-01-28T19:49:00.002-05:00

Change is coming...

2010-01-27T21:19:00.003-05:00

Change is coming. Soon you will see a complete makeover of my blog. I have been anticipating this for quite some time and I just have to wait a few more days. In the meantime here is another Valentine's Day card.

I used red foil paper for the frame which is from Spellbinders and it didn't photograph very well. You can see the top looks much darker than the bottom. The black doily is one of my new favorite MS punches- Doily Lace Trim. I used the new JustRite Loving Thoughts sentiment with the 2" Decorative Square set. Both of these sets can be purchased at The Stamp Castle. The decorative square was cut out using Spellbinders Labels One. Of course the scallop circles from Spellbinders is a must have for the sentiments. The small black designs on each side of the frame are the leftover pieces from the Lattice Borderabilities Petite from Spellbinders. See that is why you don't throw anything away.

I have to get started on next month's project for our stamp club. I am going to show how to make a matchbook with a sweet surprise inside. I was thinking it would be a great treat for Valentine's Day and then I remembered our club night is the third Thursday of the month and Valentine's Day will be done and gone. I had already made one and decorated it with hearts so now I need to make some samples for Easter. I will post instructions and samples in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I hope you will share with me the anticipation of my new design.

Have fun and enjoy!

~Kim