My Crafty Life

Rub on pictures

2008-05-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

I know. I have been such a bad blogger. I finished all of my mother's day cards and mailed them all out (2 days late!). Ha. It was fun, but I doubt I'm ever doing that again. It was hard to complete them all. If you are able to pull that off every year, I bow down to you.

I have been going to IKEA a lot lately because we're turning the toy room into my daughter's bedroom. I found these glass picture frames that were awesome. I also had some Heidi Swapp rub ons that I have been meaning to use for months. I never use rub ons, but these were so cute that I just had to have them. I love that excuse when I'm shopping, "I'm going to need these one day. I don't know what for, but I will use them for something." I have a ton of stuff that I have bought for that specific reason, including the rub ons. I glued ribbon onto the back of the frame, then put the rub ons on the front. Here it is hanging in my cubicle at work:

Here's a close up

Just a side note: I used those white clips because I accidentally threw away the clips that came with the frames. Opps! Also, the picture frames are in a pack of four.

More for Mom

2008-04-01T20:57:00.001-07:00

Here's some more Mother's Day cards. Only about 25-30 more to go! :)

ETA: Michelle, for the center of the flower in this last card I stamped it with Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid. Then I embossed it with Kaleidascope embossing powder. I placed a page pebble on top. :)

Gearing Up for Mom

2008-03-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

One of my resolutions for this year was to send a birthday card for everyone's (family, friends) birthday. A couple of weeks ago I decided to add onto that resolution (which is going okay, by the way - although I have had to keep going back to my previously made cards rather than continuously making brand new cards) - I want to send all the mothers in my life a mother's day card. My mom, my gramma, my sister, my aunts, my mother-in-law, my sisters-in-law, friends who are moms. . .the list goes on. I never realized how many moms are in my life. We'll see if I do well on this if I decide to do the same for father's day. :)

I got a head start on the many cards I will need this weekend. This is my favorite one. For Christmas I got this card making kit from an Aunt. It had die cuts of different shapes, cards, and envelopes. It really wasn't my style, not that I didn't appreciate it because she thought about how I like to make cards and that's why the gift, it just wasn't my style. BUT, there was this awesome die cut dress in it. The dress is probably the only thing I liked in the card kit, but after this card I think it's worth it.

supplies: dress (card kit - don't have the name of it); stamps: sentiment (My Sentiments Exactly!), line stamp (fiskar's); red paper (TAC), designer paper (Me and My Big Ideas), vellum; glitter brads; ink Brilliance Graphite Black, Versamagic Jumbo Java

a late valentine

2008-02-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

My whole family has been sick with the flu. Ugh! We seemed to take turns with it, first my daughter, then my husband, then me. Finally, it seems to have left the house. Now I can get back into the swing of things.

Here's what we did for Valentine's day. I am so excited because my daughter just started preschool and now I get to do all those crafty gifts I've been dreaming about.

As craft happy as I am right now, the one thing that I don’t want to do is overtake the project. I do want my daughter to have a part in it. We had her write her name on all of the princess valentine’s day cards that she picked out. Then she got to pop the popcorn. Daddy made the chocolate, and she helped drizzle the chocolate on the popcorn. Then I put the popcorn in the bags and tied them. My daughter helped to stick the cards on the bags to finish them off. Voila! I think she did wonderful for her first gift craft for the kids at school, and most importantly, I think she had fun. Here’s how they turned out:

Of course, mommy had to have a valentine's day project too. For my coworkers I altered the mailboxes from the dollar spot and made felt fortune cookies to put inside the mailboxes. The felt fortune cookies were surprisingly easy. I made 60 of them in a couple of hours. Inside the fortune cookies I stuck little fun facts about Valentine's Day and love.

Budding Photographer

2008-01-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have been wondering how to make my photographs of my cards better (well, better without having to buy one of those lightbox things - because I'd rather spend my money on stamps, of course!). I stumbled upon a discussion of this very subject at SCS. One of the suggestions was to put the card on the stove and use the stovelight above for lighting. I thought, "I have one of those." So I tried it out tonight. I made a card specifically to try it out. I laid a cookie sheet upside down on the stovetop to give me a level area and place white cardstock on the cookie sheet and behind it. Then I turned on the stovelight and I also had the kitchen light on, the dining room light, and the flash on the camera.

Here's my results. I love it! It's way better than my past attempts at good photographs. I adjusted levels in my photo program, but I always do that - so the results really are from just the stovelight!!

love is

2008-01-19T21:27:00.000-08:00

I loved this sentiment from TAC as soon as I saw it. I hope to find many ways to use it.

I'm Back

2008-01-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

Vacations are so relaxing and so nice when you are on vacation (or at work thinking about vacation), but it always feels so good to be back with your own stuff. You know what I mean? Here's a card I made today. I'm trying to get back into the crafty swing of things.

Stamps are TAC; paper is Chatterbox.

Meanwhile, please have patience while I catch up with all my SCS2 sisters' blogs. It may take me a couple of days.

Do any of you have resolutions for 2008? I have a few. There are a lot of the same - eat healthier - type of resolutions. But I also want to send all of my family and friends handmade (by me) birthday cards. You mean I don’t already do this? haha. No. I have a very long list of family/friends and it always looked too intimidating to conquer, but was always in the back of my mind. Since I don’t buy cards because I make them myself, this is actually a goal that I have been wanting to set for myself since I started seriously crafting about 5 years ago and I’m finally diving in and trying it out. Yesterday I started trying to gather everyone’s birth dates on my calendar so that I can keep track and spend time making a card, made especially for them when their birthday comes around. EEK!! I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into, but I'll see how it works out. All you lovely ladies knows how much love goes into making a card, and that it can take time, which is why I haven't tried to set this goal for myself until now.

They Caught Me

2007-12-25T03:38:00.000-08:00

I meant to post after the ornaments, but it seems the holidays attacked me and sucked up all of my time!! I am leaving for vacation, in fact, I should be getting ready to leave for the airport. I'll be gone for 2 weeks (with no crafting! how will I survive?). When I get back I'll begin posting again.

To all my SBS sisters - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Snowbaby Ornaments

2007-12-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

I altered the 12 Days of Christmas to the 12 Days Before Winter Break (I work for a school) as a special treat for my coworkers.

Today was day one. They received: ONE crafty lunch with me. haha. So at lunch I hosted a craft. We made snowbaby ornaments. They had lots of fun making them and we hung them on a mini tree here at the office. Here are all of the finished ornaments.

Christmas Came Early

2007-12-01T09:41:00.001-08:00

I ordered 2 surprise boxes from TAC, along with some stamps (of course) for my Christmas present to myself. Here's a picture of all that I got! I can't wait to start playing with it all.

I couldn't fit all of what I got into the picture - this is just a part of one box.

Here's a project that I worked on last week. It is wood letters that I got and decorated (I like the ones from Walmart best because of their size and flatness).

For those of you that haven't done these, they are so easy and look so neat. I made some for my daughter's room that spells out her name. For Christmas I'm making some for my nieces and nephew. First you paint the letters, for this project I used a metallic blue and painted two coats. Next you use mod podge and add designer paper. Cut the letters out and sand them down so that there aren't rough edges. Then add embellishments. And voila! Beautiful.

I love Christmas, so hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more Christmas projects these next couple of weeks.

Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers

2007-11-24T19:43:00.000-08:00

I found the Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers through Splitcoaststampers and thought I would give it a try. It sounds like it will be lots of fun. I can't wait to get to know all you ladies.

Some things about me:

I'm mommy to a beautiful little girl, Chloe, who is turning four soon and starting Preschool in January. She is growing up way too fast.

I've been stamping for almost five years, but more seriously in the past 3 years or so. My favorite stamp companies right now are SU, TAC, and Pennie Black. I really want to start exploring other stamp styles like Paptertreyink and Hanna Stamps because they are so cute.

I also like to scrapbook, both digital and paper. My other hobby is planning parties. I have so much fun planning parties with all sorts of different themes and occassions. The last thing I planned was a robbery mystery western party. It was so much fun.

I have a laid-back life and I like it. On my time off I just spend time with my husband and daughter, and craft of course. Our favorite family hang out is Disneyland - YES, we're totally a Disney family!

Well, those are my little tidbits about myself. I haven't posted in this blog in a few months, but I've missed it and can't wait to start up again, especially with SBS2!!

Challenging Fun

2007-07-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

I've been participating in the fan club challenges over at Splitcoaststampers. It's been such a treat. Here is what I stamped for yesterday and today's challenges.

Adoption and love

2007-07-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have been hunting around for some cute adoption stamps. I wanted some that I could possibly use in our future son's lifebook. I'll do most of the lifebook digitally, but there are a couple of special pages that I would like to hand make myself - and of course I'll need stamps for that. ;p I found a couple of stamps that I like here (it's in the "misc wording catagory). Here is the first (of hopefully many) card I've done with my new stamps.

Secret Buddy

2007-07-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

At work we have a Secret Buddy thing going on. I'm the one that runs it, and plans the lunch for the final reveal (after 6 months of gifts being secretly exchanged).

This is the gift I got for my final reveal to my buddy:

These are the favors that were made by me and a coworker for the reveal lunch. It is a terra cotta pot that we painted. Then I stamped them with ants on the bottom, bugs on the top with their initials in between the top bugs. (Bug stamps are TAC; initial stamps are Martha Stewart) There are cookies and gummie worms inside the pot. It was a picnic themed lunch with sandwiches, potato salad, chips and dip. We also had ant and watermelon cupcakes that my coworker baked.

2007-07-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

New hobby. No results.

I've been trying to do crochet as a new hobby. I've been interested off and on for a couple of years, and I finally dived right in last week. I haven't posted because, quite frankly, it hasn't been going well. I know that it will just take time and practice. As soon as I have something that doesn't look like a mangled ball of yarn I will post pictures.

New hobbies, though fun, take time. When I first started stamping. . .I don't even want to think about how bad my cards looked. I've been reading up everything I can on crochet and how to crochet. Until then. . .

The End of Vacation

2007-06-30T17:49:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day of vacation. Here's what I've been creating the past week.

Vacation Crafts

2007-06-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

I'm half way through our vacation. It's been nice. Here's some of the crafts I've been working on:

I've been wanting to turn a lunchtin into an address "book" for us. I'm glad that I could finally complete it. Paper is Basic Grey and Cool Caribbean (SU). Ribbon is Martha Stewart.

Here are the inserts that I made to separate the addresses.

I've had this Starbucks coffee thing for so long. Stamps used: Roses in Winter (SU) and dragonfly (Denami Designs). I like how it came out. You can't see from the picture but the dragonfly wings have glitter on them.

Another lunchtin. I'm not sure yet what I'll put in this one. But at least it's pretty to look at now, rather than the plain white. ;p

For a few years now I've been wishing on and off to learn how to sew. That bug has bit me again. *sigh* I see all these cute crafts and want to do them all. I'm going to be researching sewing while I'm on vacation. I want to start with something simple and easy. Would a child's apron be easy? ha.

Thank Goodness For Summer Vacation

2007-06-24T10:39:00.001-07:00

I've been swamped the past few weeks and haven't done ANY stamping. I know, how sad is that? But now I'm on vacation for one full week. Hooray! What does that mean - more stamping time. Here's the first of hopefully many:

This is for a bridal shower that I'll be going to today. Stamps are: the sentiment stamp is $ clear stamps at Joann's and the swirls are TAC.

Here is a project that I bought months ago and never finished - until vacation. ;p It's finally done and already up in my daughter's room.

More Digi Pages

2007-06-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

I'm just whipping right through these digital pages. Here are a couple more that I completed.

Secret Keeper

2007-05-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

My office has a secret buddy thing going on. It's been fun. This month I got a giant clothespin and decorated it. I am going to be clipping it to some monogrammed notecards (store bought - I know, I know, BOO ;p). Here's the altered clothespin:

Materials: clothespin (oriental trading); ribbon (martha stewart); buttons (don't remember); girl stamp (Stampin' Up); punches (marvy uchida); ink (versachalk); pen (Sakura).

Not Too Shabby

2007-05-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

I did my very first digital scrapbook page. Whoo-hoo! I worked on it last night and this morning. It's not too bad for my first time, I think. I still have much to learn. I feel this pressure to perform, kind of like when I first started making cards. In time, I was just doing it out of it being fun. So, I'll give this time.

The background and ribbon are downloads from Two Peas in a Bucket.

These are the resources I have been using, either to download backgrounds or embellishments, or for inspiration:

http://www.designerdigitals.com/

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?gallery=4

http://www.scrapgirls.com/

http://digishoptalk.com/

I looked at several different printing options. We don't have a printer at home and don't plan on buying one just for this, so I needed a way to have my pages printed. I also like the idea of having them printed professionally. I was going to go with shutterfly because of the rave reviews on their printing quality. But I didn't like the idea of having to make a book. I prefer having the pages printed out and then adding them to an album of my choice. It also gives me greater freedom in being able to add to my albums. I don't have to finish an entire completed scrapbook before printing my pages. So, for now, this is who I've decided to print with

http://www.sbtoshare.com/

I'll post about their quality when I have my pages in hand.

Happy crafting!

Dipping my Toes

2007-05-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping in - toes first. haha.

I have a 3-year-old daughter, and I'm not yet finished with her one year scrapbook (*shame*). Yes, I know. Me - a crafter. How embarassing that I'm so far behind. For years my husband has been telling me to do digital scrapbooking (he's a computer geek and doesn't understand my craft obsession; his thinking is, "but it'll look better on the computer"). I haven't done it yet because I love doing it by hand. I love the textures, the feeling, being able to hold it. But I'm two years behind.

So today I did some research, found a printer that has good customer recomendations and is a good price. And this long weekend I'll try to find the time to start trying digital scrapbooking. It's not something that I originally wanted to do, but as I browse through digital scrapbook galleries, I'm getting excited about it. It still looks crafty. I'll post my layouts when I've done them.

Going in for a dip. . .in the digital pool.

I'm so Excited - and Other Stuff

2007-05-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I got some new SU stamps, but I've been so swamped that I didn't have a change to play with them until a couple of days ago. So, here's what I've been up to:

New Finds: I found this next thing (and it's incomplete right now) at Michael's the other day. This is how it looks closed (it started out white; I painted it brown).

This is how it looks opened:

It has 12 small board books. My grandparents had planned on visiting this summer to see my daughter, but my gramma hurt her hip. So they are postponing until next year. They really do miss her, so I'm going to put pictures of my daughter inside and send it to them this summer when they wanted to come see her.

Other Crafty Stuff:

I love stamping. One other thing that I love, and consider to be very crafty, is planning parties. It's something that I get such a kick out of - everything from the theme to the placecards. It is so much fun. I do a lot of the parties at work, mostly because I love to and not everyone loves to plan parties and potlucks and such. My company is fabulous in that they really do focus on teamwork, and trust, and communication, and other virtues. We have a company teambuilding every year, and we have a department teambuilding 1-2 times a year.

So, one month ago my boss approached me and said that he wants me to team up with one of my other coworkers and we're going to plan a teambuilding for the entire department! How fun is that? I'm so excited. We thought of several ideas (everything from a scavenger hunt to a game show to an obstacle course). The idea that won out was a wild west themed murder mystery party. It is going to be so much fun (how many times have I said that?). Our boss liked our ideas and even entertained the idea of letting us do another one next summer. AH! LOVE IT! Our teambuilding will take place this fall, probably October or November.

Rubber Stamping Fun Blogs

2007-05-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Rubber Stamping Fun just started a program and "hired" 145 rubber testers for new stamps. We receive the stamps, make some fabulous stuff, then blog about it. If you are a reviewer and want to be added to this list leave a comment or PM me at SCS (screenname: mpchipmunk).

This is the list of blogs participating in the Rubber Stamping Fun "Rubber Testers."

A Peek Into My Stamping Room

A Little Scrapbook Therapy

A Secret Garden Grows Here

Chic n Scratch

Confessions of a Ribbon Addict

The Crafty Cat

Crafty Mommy

Crafty Thoughts

Diaries of a Stamper

Distinctive Touches

Donna C

Erika Designs

Heartfelt Greetings

Hope Stamps Eternal

Imagine. Dream. Create.

Inking Aloud

Inky Dreamz

Inky Paws

It's Not All Black & White

The Journey of Life

Kraftin' Kimmie's Korner

Love Bloom's in Me

Made by Me

Mama Dini's Stamperia

MustangSarah's Card Creations

Prairie Paper and Ink

Rubber Rambles

Sillybirds Stamping Diary

Silver Stamping

Stamp Away the Day

Stamp Chat

Stamping, Crafting, Family. . .

Stamping for Sanity

Stamping with Inky Fingers

Tah Dah!

Texas Chattin' Bunny Softie Stamper

Whirlpool of Imagination

Not Just Any Day Job

2007-05-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

I love the company that I work for. They promote a team atmosphere and stress the importance of working together and treating each other with respect and doing our best. They try their best to make us all feel valued. Every year we receive staff appreciation gifts in May. So last week we received ours. It was awesome. A messenger bag, thermos, leather planner, pen, pencil, highlighter, and fleece blanket. All with our company logo. Our department wanted to send thank you cards to some of the higher ups that run the staff appreciation every year, and I was asked to make them. Here are my designs:

Adoption Fund

2007-05-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven't posted in a few days. Here's what I've been up to while I was so quiet here:

This lunchtin was from my secret sis in the last round of Splitcoaststampers Divine Secret Siblings. I finally got around to decorating it. I like it too much to part with it, so I'm keeping it as a "bank" for the money we're saving and fundraising for our adoption.

Speaking of fundraising for our adoption, I've been busy gearing up for a craft fair. Here's the cards that I made today. I'm almost done filling one box full of cards. For cards, my goal is 3 boxes full (plus altered and other craft stuff to sell). The craft fair is in July. Think I can make it all in time. ;p Cards I will be selling for $3 each. I'll post pictures of other items I plan on selling as I make them.

Impatiently Waiting for the Mailman

2007-04-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

I have 4 packages on the way with tons of fabulous goodies. One from TAC, one from Stampin' Up, one from ebay, and one from a craft company that was having a sale online. I'm impatiently waiting to play with all my stuff. In the meantime, I'm exploring outside my style again. I found this paper by DaisyD. It reminds me of a surfer style and it's not normally me, but I like how the cards turned out.

I found this layout here:http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/535590
and wanted to try it out.

This dragonfly (by Denami Designs) is quickly becoming my favorite stamp. So I paired it with my favorite sentiment. The sentiment is by TAC and says, "Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale." I used Daisy D paper again. The green dragonflies were stamped in Certainly Celery and colored with chalks. The blue dragonfly was stamped with Brilliance pearlescent blue; colored in with a Sakura gel pen; then put a 3d glaze on top of that. I added the ribbon and the eyelets for finishing touches.

Something New

2007-04-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try a style that doesn't quite look like mine. I checked out my favorite stamping site and focused on fabulous cards that I wouldn't normally be drawn to. Afterwards I had enough crafting mojo to create this:

Surprisingly, I like how it turned out. The depressing thing was that I didn't actually stamp anything. The peach background is a cuttlebug embossing folder. The flowers were dies from the cuttlebug. The sparkly dots are from a Sakura gel pen. The white dots are from my new Souffle pens (which I am really starting to love - they give a different texture). The happy birthday cuttlebugged background was distressed with sandpaper and then I used direct to paper with a Brilliance pearlescent inkpad (if you can't tell - LOVE those inkpads). The brown flow-feeling designer paper is Cosmo Cricket. It's my favorite paper and I only had a small strip left. Enough to use for this card.

To The Dollar Spot I Will Go

2007-04-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been yet, run, don't walk to your Target Dollar Spot. LOVE the Dollar Spot. I went this past weekend and it was like falling in love all over again. So when I went this past weekend I filled my cart with buckets and plain black picture frames. This is what I've been doing to my picture frames:

My favorite so far is the black one. I still have more to alter since I pretty much wiped my Target out of their black picture frames. ;) Oh happy days.

Jump Up and Down News

2007-04-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

First, the card. The backstory of this: for months I've been looking for stamps that I could use for a lifebook. We're adopting from Viet Nam and a lifebook is very important. I wanted to find stamps that I could use in putting together the pages. No such luck so far. Until yesterday, on a whim, I went to a small neighborhood scrapbook/stamp store. I found these two stamps: a dragonfly and a sentiment stamp that says, "I'll love you until the day after forever." They're not meant specifically for adoption, but they'll be cute to use. And, of course, I had to play with my new goodies. . .

And in other jump up and down news, my husband and I both received bonuses at work (we work for the same company) for a job well done. So I have $350 to spend on stamping goodies! Hooray! I want to buy some big items that I wouldn't purchase before because they were too expensive. The first thing I thought of was a cuttlebug alphabet. I couldn't justify spending $80 on an alpha set before. But I'll splurge. This shopping spree will be so much fun.

Craft Mojo

2007-04-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm having a good crafting mojo week. I have bursts of time where I'm just "in the zone" craft-wise. And other times, not so much - but we won't talk about that. ;p I love these times where I could just craft all day long and ideas just keep coming. It's fun.

I found this super cute flower at Walmart today - a pack of 2 for less than $1. Of course, I had to get it, and I had to use it tonight. The background is Pretty in Pink (SU) stamped with Crosshatch Background (SU), "wish" (SU), and a candle (TAC). The crosshatch was stamped with Brilliance pearlescent Orchid. Wish and the candle were stamped with Baroque Burgundy (SU). On top of that I layered a designer paper (the company name is escaping me right now), which is punched with a corner punch that is wrapped in ribbon, and a circle punch - to reveal the wish and candle. And, of course, there is that nifty flower!

I did a father's day card for my grandfather last year that I really liked. You can see it here. I decided to revisit that design and wanted to see if I could improve on it. This is what I came up with. I stamped Artifacts (SU) randomly with Brilliance pearescent Rust. I sponged Brocade Blue, Not Quite Navy, and Chocolate Chip on it, and used Creamy Caramel for the edges (all inks SU). I added a blue ribbon and a vellum layer (with Birthday Wishes (SU) and Chocolate Chip on the edges). All of this is layered on Basic Grey designer paper.

A Crafty a-FAIR

2007-04-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

For the past two years I've been on the fence about doing craft fairs. I'm finally taking a giant jump into the world of craft fairs. Well, I'm at least dipping my toes in. There's one in the next town over that I'll be signing up to do. It's in July and has fairly good traffic. It's not too huge for me to be over the top intimidated, but it's not too small that I won't get enough people looking at my stuff. If this goes well then I'll do more craft fairs in the winter. I already have a growing collection of cards that I can sell. And I'm starting on the other stuff. Here is the first of many. A coaster.

The angel is Penny Black, the corner swirls are TAC. I stamped it with Staz-on Black, then colored with Sharpies.

I Heart Spring Break

2007-04-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

I've spent most of our Spring Break crafting (and spending time with my daughter and husband, of course), and that makes me happy.

I wanted to do two things tonight - use my Brilliance Moonlight White ink on a transparency, and play with my new Basic Grey paper(s).

I stamped the Deco Designs flower (TAC) - my favorite stamp at the moment - with Brilliance Moonlight White on a transparency. I layered that on Basic Black (SU) and put little lines all the way around the black layer with a Sakura gel pen. I added white eyelets to the top and a big blue paper flower to the bottom (attached with a brad). It is layered on Pretty in Pink (SU). The back layer is Basic Grey paper on pink.

Working with Vellum

2007-04-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

I always loved the overlay soft look vellum can give to a piece. Here's me trying to create that.

I've had the birthday cuttlebug embossing folder for months and had yet to use it. After running it through my cuttlebug I lightly inked it with Brilliance pearlescent Orchid (I LOVE the Brilliance pearescent inks - they are wonderful!!). The flowers are TAC; I colored them in with chalk and then added a 3D glaze on top. So they're all shiny in real life. The vellum layer (attached with purple flower brads) is stippled with a brown making memories ink, then I stamped the SU sentiment in the center with Elegant Eggplant.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

I made Easter baskets for my coworkers. Today was our last day at work before Spring Break. I got the idea from Beate's blog. She did an awesome tutorial on making these Easter baskets (you can find it here). They were really simple to do and turned out super cute.

Lazy Crafting

2007-03-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

I actually have 5-7 craft projects that I absolutely have to get done by the end of this week (because of birthdays and other occasions), but what did I do instead. I made cute cards.

Make n Take Club

2007-03-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of months I have been thinking about starting a craft club of sorts with some of my friends. I love making stuff, and I don't always have someone to give it to; I just want to experiment and make it. I wanted to have a couple of friends over, make a preplanned craft/card that I thought of ahead of time. I've hosted a couple of craft nights, and we've always had fun.

Interestingly enough, a friend texted me a couple of days ago wanting a craft night. So I put in the idea of having doing these every other month. They loved the idea. In exchange (since I won't be charging them), they will cook our meal for that night. So they (who likes cooking more than I do - I suck at being innovative, or tasty, with my cooking) will cook, and then I will plan and demonstrate the craft for the night. Then they'll make it themselves and take it home, happy.

I'm so excited. I gave both girls personalized etched mugs for Christmas last year and they loved them so much I think that will be our first craft. We'll etch stamped images on mugs. I can't wait.

Card Candy

2007-02-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

This is my first crack at Card Candy. It was another one of those things on my very long list of "so-darn-cute-I-have-to-try-it." I wanted to try a different look or technique for each one.

The umbrella was colored in using chalks, then I cut out another top part of the umbrella and put it up on pop dots to make it 3d.

The heart is colored in with chalks.

The sentiment was stamped in versamark, then I brushed on pearlex powder. It looks shimmery and really nice IRL.

The flower was stamped with the rocknroll technique.

The cherries were colored in with chalks, then I put a glaze on the cherries to make them look shiney and 3d. Then I punched out the corner and added a brad.

My First Frame

2007-02-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

I altered/decorated my first frame. It was fun. I like how it came out and am already working on my second one. I used modpodge to glue all the paper on, Chatterbox paper, ribbon, MMflowers, brad, and stickles on the centers of the flowers.

New Tools

2007-01-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

I have been playing with all the new goodies that I got at Michael's. LOVE LOVE LOVE the crop-o-dile, by the way. Okay, so I didn't read the instructions before I used it the first time, but when the eyelet got stuck in one of the base things it scared me into reading the instructions and now I'm a crop-o-dile pro. ;p I can use eyelets again, hooray!

The Purple One

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Details: I used scraps of paper that I had lying around for this card, so I'm not sure about the colors or companies, could be anything quite frankly. The stamps are road to a friends by TAC.

The Pink One
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Details: Used blush blossom, basic black by SU, the dark pink is a scrap piece (dont' think it's SU). Cherry stamp (which were stamped with always artichoke and regal rose, SU) and saying stamp (regal rose) are both from TAC. I used chalks on the cherry's, then put crystal effects to make them all glistening. I got that ribbon from Michael's yesterday. I used heart brads and a white eyelet (hooray crop-o-dile!). I also used a stipple brush with artichoke ink (SU) around the cherries.

The Blue One
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This one is my favorite.

Details: Weathered, butterfly, and smile stamp all TAC. Used brocade blue to stamp the background stamp, and I used Brilliance pearlescent sky blue for the butterfly and smile. Distressed the edges of the white paper and used a stipple brush with brocade blue around the butterfly. Added white eyelets and blue ribbon.

I admit

2007-01-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

I admit, I HATE eyelets. HATE. Well, no. I love the way they look. I have been able to set one correctly maybe once. I gave up on eyelets years ago, all the while wishing that I wasn't somehow inadequate when it came to eyelets.

Then I heard whisperings of a new thing called a crop-o-dile. For months I ignored the crop-o-dile calling out to me.

No. I hate eyelets. I will not bend. The temptation to make pretty cards with eyelets will not overtake me.

So today I went out and bought a crop-o-dile. ;p I blame my husband. He gave me a gift card to Michael's for my birthday. I'm going to be trying it out today. Will post results.

Gearing up for birthdays and valentine's day

2007-01-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

Will You Be My Valentine?

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I made this mailbox for my niece for valentine's day. I always thought valentine's was blah when I was a preteen, so I hope this will make her day. I also made three 3x3 cards that match the mailbox to put in it.

Details: Chatterbox paper, Whisper White and Blush Blossom from SU, Pumpkin ink from SU, TAC stamps (love these hat lady stamps), ribbon from Michael's $ bin. I made the scallop circle using a cuttlebug die. The notches were made with a corner punch.

Happy Birthday

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My friend's birthday is later on this month. I don't think I've ever made her a card before (the horror). So I made her a birthday card. I hope that she likes it.

Details: Chatterbox paper, Blush Blossom and Whisper White from SU, TAC stamps (road to a friends), bronze brads, Creamy Caramel ink from SU. I sponged creamy caramel ink below the chatterbox paper.

The Frustrations of a Secret Keeper

2007-01-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

I wish I could post more. I go through these times where I have so much crafting . . . mojo (?). . .and I'm having one of those times now. I've been making a lot of stuff. A lot of it is for a package for my secret sister, so I can't post though - yet. I'm taking pictures and will show them after the reveal. It's fun doing this secret sister thing; it's hard not sharing it all.

TOTES GALORE!

2007-01-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

I love making these paper totes. They're so darn cute. I made 3 totes, each with matching cards - 2 cards per tote.

I'm torn. These are so cute that I don't want to give them away. But they're so cute that I *do* want to give them to someone.

Details: Chatterbox paper (of course!). Template for the tote itself is from an issue of Paper Crafts (can't remember what month). Stamps are TAC.

First Card DSS

2007-01-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in the Splitcoaststampers Secret Sibling Program. This is the first card that I received from my SS. It's totally cute! And via email she seems like a very upbeat, nice person. I love this. I'm so glad that I decided to participate.

Joining the Mailbox Craze

2007-01-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

I bought only four of the dollar spot mailboxes at Target. They're cute and I'll put little candies and things in them for my nieces. This is the first one I've altered. They are way cute and I'm loving how easy it is to alter.

Details: Used Chatterbox paper, black ribbon, pink and black brads, stamps from TAC. Terrifically Tacky Tape was used to put it all together.

3x3 swap

2007-01-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Here's the card that I'm making for the 3x3 swap that I'm in. The goal was to do a spring theme using something new you got for christmas. So I used my new cuttlebug, even though it really wasn't a christmas present. I'm excited about my first swap.

Details: Ladybug and flower stamps are SU. Stamped ladybugs in versamark; used Choco. chip and handsome hunter inks for the flowers. Colored with SU color pencils. Used divine swirls with the cuttlebug for the background. Made a pink slide diecut with the cuttlebug and cut off one side of the slide diecut to make a tag.

This is me. . .being daring

2006-12-30T23:48:00.000-08:00

I've been stamping and making cards for the past four years or so. I've gotten most seriously into it in the past two years-ish.

For the longest time I have been waiting, meanwhile really wanting, to joing swaps and such. I didn't feel like I was good enough (you haven't seen the first cards I ever made, I honestly just wasn't good enough).

I finally feel confident enough in my card creating to branch out and put myself out there. So I've joined the Divine Secret Siblings group at Splitcoaststampers and joined my first swap.

This is me. . .being daring. I know, I'm a wild one. ;p

Play Time

2006-12-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

Playing with my cuttlebug. I love it. Now I just need to figure out how to use my Fiskar's texture plates with it and I'll be using it all day long.

I used the divine swirls embossing plate for the background. The tag was made with the sliders die. Tulip and bird stamp from TAC.

Happy Early Birthday to me.

2006-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Yay. I got a cuttlebug today. I've been hearing all about it and with Michael's 50% coupon I convinced my husband that it should be an early (like a month early) birthday present. I'm so excited. Off to go play. . .

2006-12-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

This was my first try at one of these paper totes. Used my new chatterbox paper. I've fallen in love with chatterbox papers. I use them in everything now.

party center pieces

2006-12-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I love to do is decorate for parties. We have a department lunch to exchange secret santa gifts every year and I like to go all out for the decorations just for my love of throwing parties. I really like how the centerpieces turned out this year so I brought them home.

For the flowers I found this awesome holiday bouquet at Whole Foods. It was vibrant and really pretty. I had a medium sized square vase that I got from IKEA (love IKEA!). In the vase first went pomegranate seeds. Then on the sides are sliced limes. It looked really elegant in person; I don't think the pictures do it justice.

Inspired by

2006-12-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

I saw a card in the DD gallery at Splitcoaststampers and thought it was the cutest thing and can be found here . I used it as my inspiration for this birthday card. I like how it turned out and I got to play with my new TAC stamps. Yay!

More Christmas Crafts

2006-12-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

Personalized wine glasses for xmas. We went to a winery the other day and got some nice sparkling ciders that we'll put with these glasses. Christmas is less than one week away. Yikes!

Ornaments

2006-12-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

I got a request to see these ornaments that I made. I already emailed it but thought I would put it here too.

For each of my coworkers stockings I made one glitter ornament and one clear ornament. I really wanted to personalize the clear ornament. So I thought of something they each like and found a picture or text to represent that (so for one person it was the Dodger logo, another it was an angel because she collects angels; the one that is pictured says "Seriously" because she loves Grey's Anatomy). I printed that out on transparency paper (found at an office supply store). I cut them out and rolled them in, added the snow.

They look cute. I wish the photo looked better. It's so hard to photograph the clear ornaments because the light keeps overpowering it.

I do hope that my coworkers like them.

Oh, how I love my crafty holidays

2006-12-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

I made glitter ornaments. I really wanted to make the reinker ornaments like I've seen on SCS. But, I don't have any reinkers. None. By accident I found on hgtv.com how someone did similar ornaments with varnish and glitter. So off I went to create. Here are the ornaments. They will be gifts for coworkers and some family.

Speaking of gifts for family and friends. I'm making personalized mugs and wine glasses. I'm nearly done with the mugs. For those we're giving mugs to I'm making a set of four mugs. We're doing a set of 2 wine glasses and a bottle of martinelli's sparkling cider for the other gifts. Here is an entire completed set of mugs.

Okay, the details: I bought the glitter and varnish paint at Joann's. I took the clear ornament and I put some varnish in it, made sure it was completely covered and let the excess drain. Then I poured the glitter into the ornament and shook it to cover it completely. And ta-da!
For the etched glass mugs I stamped the image with versamark and embossed the image. Then I used etching cream and etched it. To etch the name on I used alphabet stickers. I keep the etching cream on for half an hour because when I did it for the 15 minutes it said on the bottle it just didn't look good. It looks very crisp and clean when I leave it on for a long time.

Dear Santa,

2006-11-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm finally finding my Christmas spirit for this year and I started working on possible designs for our Christmas cards. I need it to be something that I can replicate easily, as I'm going to have to make 30 or more, and something that can hold my daughter's annual Christmas picture - and of course, I want it to be cute.

This is the first design I tried tonight. I have a couple more in my head that I want to try out but I really like how this one came out. I took acetate and cut it to 10x7 so that I could fold it into a 5x7 card. I cut the base sheet of black paper to 4x6 (so that I could "hide" the picture on the inside of the card). I used a circle punch and just punched out black paper for the buttons. The buckle is a grey designer paper I happened to have on hand cut into a square and I cut a slit to fit the belt through. Then I used a needle to track around the belt, stamped the tree with staz on and stamp the merry christmas message in versamark and then in green. There are little details that's hard to see in the picture, like the holes for the buttons - I used an eyelet setter to make round divets to mimick a button.

Christmas gifts

2006-11-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got the look I wanted for the mugs we'll be giving for Christmas. Now I have to work on the wine glasses.

First Post

2006-11-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

I wanted a separate place to share my crafts. I felt like it was getting in the way and not on topic with my other blogs. So here it is. More later.