Scrap Happens!

Tutorial Tuesday

2012-02-28T19:09:00.001-07:00

I know that you will just love the video up at Stars and Stamps today. http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/2012/02/tutorial-tuesday.html
(I do hate that it is difficult to link to a page using BlogPress, but I am too lazy to go fire up my computer, it was a long day at the office!) My new blog friend Ted generously shared his video today about heat embossing.

Heat embossing is one of those techniques that has a bit of a learning curve but, had I been able to watch this great video, I would have attempted it much sooner. I especially like the part of the video where he shows what clear embossing powder can do. Sigh. Thanks to Ted, I must now go buy some clear powder and that lovely copper color that he used for his lion card is also very beautiful...

Scroll down two posts and you will see the card that I made for sketch #110 with the seahorse on it. I heat embossed this seahorse stamp with black powder before coloring it with markers. Cindy, my CTMH mentor actually encouraged me to try this technique long before I ever gave heat embossing a try. The coolest thing about coloring a heat embossed stamp, is that the embossing powder leaves a raised edge, so there is NO chance of coloring outside the lines or ending up with a runny outline. YAY!

I am super worn out from work today... I don't know why so much more than usual... So thank you for stopping by and won't you please also stop over to Ted's place and see why I have just fallen in love win his cards and tutorials. :). http://www.happilyevercrafter.com

Moneysaver Monday

2012-02-26T20:37:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick tip for anybody following along with my Monday tips on saving money on Scrapbooking supplies. My tip is this - think "scrapbook" wherever you go. It's no secret, any time a product or embellishment ends up in the "scrapbooking" aisle, the price is marked up remarkably. This especially applies to sewing supplies, ribbons, buttons, and such. How can you save money on embellishments??

Some of my favorite places to look for buttons and snaps are dollar stores, drug stores, and second-hand stores. You can always get huge amounts of them for much less. Local Mom-and-Pop scrapbooking stores also tend to have great deals on these embellishments. Sometimes you can even buy them in bulk! Fun!

Scroll down to see yesterday's bear card that I made for Sketch #110 at Stars & Stamps and you will see the three silver snaps that I used on this card... Snaps can be found in lots of styles in the sewing supplies... I got 100 snaps for a dollar. You can attach the decorative side of them easily to a card with just a dot of glue. Compare this to similar decorative embellishments I found for $4 a dozen... What a huge savings!

Thanks for stopping by! Next week, I'll share a super cool trick about brads.

Sketch #110

2012-02-26T13:28:00.001-07:00

If you stop over to Stars & Stamps today, you can grab sketch #110... I rather liked this one.

As you can see, I rarely ever end up using the exact measurements as the sketch has. Instead, I tend to work around whatever sized image I want to use for the focal point... Here are three cards and a few supplies used.

Background patterned paper was a scrap of something that I must have more of. I don't know the designer. The digi stamp is a new one by Bugaboo. I love her! I colored with my Bic Mark-it markers. I used a Dazzles sentiment and a few scraps of shamrock ribbon and some fuzzy brads. Oh... And an EK border punch.

I used Kraft cardstock and some of my precious denim patterned paper. (Denim paper is just one of my favorite things!) when working with denim paper, distressing the edges of the paper with a darker blue makes the edges really stand out. I did this with the three horizontal strips, and added the silver snaps, because they go good with denim. :) The stamp is one that I bought in a gift shop in Yellowstone for a hundred dollars. Ok... It wasn't really THAT expensive, but it was a bear stamp, so I had to have it. Bears are one of my favorite things too! I colored them with pencils. Oh, and that sentiment is heat embossed with white powder.

I used Kraft cardstock for my base and some wood patterned and map patterned paper from the Tradewinds DCWV mat stack. I used a Spellbinders Nestie punch for the mat that I stamped the seahorse on. That cute little seahorse came from the dollar bin at Michael's. I heat embossed with black embossing powder so he has a LOT of texture and dimension, then colored with markers. Doesn't he look real? I added pearl paint to the wood strips and thought to myself that I really must practice with pearl paint because my pearls are totally asymmetrical and lumpy. I do love that seahorse though... The seahorse stamp is the one that has caused the uproar of the weekend around here. I stopped for a few goodies at Michael's on Friday and came home with some paper and new stamps. Hubby got all judgemental and started asking if these were stamps that I really NEEDED or if I just WANTED them. I didn't particularly like his tone or the way he was eyeballing my stash... It was then that hubby declared me to be "...one rubber stamp away from an episode of Hoarders." The good news is, his doctors are hopeful and expect a full recovery, and he should be out of the ICU by some time next week. :)

Thank you for stopping by!

Thanks A Latte!

2012-02-25T13:04:00.002-07:00

Just catching up this weekend with some Tutorial fun... This card was featured in last Tuesday's tutorial at Stars & Stamps. Although a ton of fun to make, there really isn't much room for writing on the inside so I souped mine up with some extra white liner paper on the inside and of course, I had to do some of mine in purple. :) I also used different embossing folders and some paper that was already corrugated and a sentiment by Bugaboo digi stamps.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sailing Away...

2012-02-11T20:56:00.001-07:00

Here's a little card about Sailing.. I cut a ship using the Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge (pirate boy accessory) and added just a few embellishments. I cut the ship first in brown and then white and paper pieced the sails. I added an extra layer of white to the middle sail to make it look a little extra billowy. I also added a few pieces of twine by piercing the card and threading the twine through, like big stitches. The sky background is from the DCWV Playtime stack and to finish, I inked some paper with different shades of blue. I cut the paper into strips using scalloped edge scissors backwards instead of the usual direction to make waves instead of scallops. Some creative layering of these elements turned out to make a fun ocean. I think that this would make a fun card for a parent to send home to a child. :) I haven't yet decided on a sentiment! Or maybe, I will leave it just like this.

Beachy Thinking of You!

2012-02-07T15:28:00.001-07:00

Here's a beachy card with an idea that anybody can expand on. I used sand paper for a layer on this card to make it extra beachy! Here are some things about working with sand paper that you should know.

First, I would like to thank my dear hubby for his assistance with this card. I've never seen him quite so engaged! When I asked him if he had any sand paper, not only did he take me to his work bench to find just the right kind, he also gave me a few tips on working with sand paper that I will share! That brings me from my first tip...

When stealing sand paper from your husband, DO ask if you can use it first. It's only fair. I wouldn't want my hubby rooting through my paper scraps, even if they look like trash to him. :)

Sand paper comes in all kinds of different grains (roughness) sizes, colors, shapes and it even comes in sheets with sticky backing! Just peel it off like a sticker, and it sticks! I found the adhesive to be pretty serious so don't count on being able to reposition it after you place it on your card! The different grains of sand paper come in different colors, too... How fun!

When cutting your sheets of sand paper, do NOT use your good scissors. Hubby says that sand paper will ruin your blades. He suggested cutting it with a straight edge and a craft knife that I have a replacement blade for. I used that, and an old pair of scissors that I didn't care about, to make this card. Isn't that sweet? Hubby saved my blades!

Expanding on this, I would also recommend not putting your sand paper through your Cricut..l (whew, tempting! I probably would have tried this!) Don't use your favorite punches, or deco-edge scissors either, unless you don't care about dulling them.

DO experiment with paint or ink on your sand paper... I colored on mine with a Bic Marker to draw the little windows and footprints. This gives me ideas for making pretty sand painting cards later on. :)

DO take advantage of that sticky-back paper, and do use a strong adhesive to stick anything to the sandy-side of the paper. I used glue dots. They worked great!

DO take advantage of trips to Home Depot with your hubby... I have found that aside from good quality time together, you can browse the selections of sand paper together and have a good time! I owe mine coffee and a big kiss for showing me the sand paper ropes. Thank you, Hubby!

Have fun, and be sure to share your sandy cards with me!

Masculine, Nautical

2012-02-06T20:43:00.001-07:00

I think that I deserve a little bit of a handicap this week... Although I do love to make cards with beachy, nautical, sea-themes, I live in Idaho. That's pretty far from any beach, and I can't say that I have had very much ocean- like experience apart from the occasional rare vacation or two in my lifetime. When I Googled "nautical" though, I came up with lots of fun photos, this one especially intrigued me...

I have seen these flags on boats before, but I wasn't aware that they meant anything special. So I learned a lot this week, and then I made this card by paper-piecing some 1.5 inch squares of colored paper. I figure that some knowledgeable sailor might enjoy sending this card to a loved one or family member... I think it is both masculine and nautical, and the flags spell out, "LOVE.".

Bling without glitter?

2012-01-26T13:39:00.001-07:00

Not gonna lie. I do love to use glitter. But when making cards for Operation Write Home, glitter is a no-go, because it can be dangerous to the troops. The challenge then, is how to make blingy cards without it? Here are a few fun supplies.

Today I have used some paper with gold and silver foil. I used some "Dazzles" stickers from a Paper Wishes catalogue that I get in he mail. I used some gold thread, a gold gel pen and some Liquid Pearls paint that I picked up at Michael's. The pearl paint is new to me. . . I think it is a new favorite.

The gold butterfly sticker has holes in it where I stitched some interesting lines with the gold thread. I do love the gold Dazzle sentiments. They look embossed, without the work or mess of embossing powder. I used he gold pen to doodle a few lines when I was done. This card turned out very sparkly and fun, without glitter! I'm so proud. :) here is a close-up of the butterfly... It's so pretty.

It's finally snowing like crazy here and I am having a quiet day off... Time for soup and a nap maybe? :) Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch 105

2012-01-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

Ugh. Snow + rain + cold weather + little sleep + lots of working + gym time (I should really learn not to go outside right after my workout) = head cold of the century! I am going to be spending some quality time with my NyQuil this week, folks! The cards could get interesting!

Here is sketch 105 from Stars & Stamps:

My card:

I used pink ribbons instead of paper strips. Now that I look at it again, it seems like it needs a bow somewhere. Or maybe two or three.

And since I was in a pinkish mood and I had some leftover flowers from the other day, I used them to CASE one of Sandy's cards from last year. (hers was red white and blue with stars on it.)

The trick here is to glue the flowers and border strip down, then run the mat through an embossing folder. I used my new folder from Stampin'Up. Then I added the buttons and floss!

That's all folks... Thags for stobbig by!!! ( I'b so sduffy!!!)

-nancy

Moneysaver Monday!

2012-01-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hello! Did you have a good weekend? I had to work. But it was great to see my work friends and as always... learn new things. It doesn't matter how long you work for, when you work at a hospital, you always learn new things. And never, never say that you have "seen it all." Because lo and behold, that is when something unique will happen. We will leave it at that! :)

It's time for Moneysaver Monday! I'm so excited! I have been continuing to sort and reorganize my stash and I came upon an idea that I thought I would share that is great for both scrapbooking and cardmaking.

I love to dive the clearance bins at my favorite craft stores!!! Here are just two of some cute note pads that I bought from the bins last year:

TWO CUTE NOTE PADS. 50 PAGES FOR 25 CENTS EACH!

Clearance priced at 4/$1.00 these will be great for projects - I'll tell you why. The little note pads are 4" wide, which is perfect for cutting down to a 4 x 5.25" size. I can use them to line cards made with dark cardstock so that they have a nice writing area. They are also great to use for journaling on a scrapbook page. I could build a whole page around that cute ladybug paper. . . cards for that matter, too. Compared to more expensive, packaged "journaling tags" or lined cards that you can buy pre-made, these are much less expensive. And when you make cards in bulk like I do, that is a great deal.

A PAD OF SENTIMENTS

Here is a little 100-sheet pad of note papers that my friend let me borrow. Each page has a different verse, saying, or scripture on it. They are meant for use as sticky-notes. Think decorated Post-It's. You can find cute note pads like these in lots of office supply or greeting-card stores. Each page is already decorated and they are on such cute papers! They are also already the perfect size. I could make 100 cards from this stack of papers, by layering each verse or sentiment on the front or inside of a card and adding a few cute embellishments. This is another great find... as 100 "sentiment" stamps would cost much more, or printing them would cost more in ink and paper than this little stack did. Thanks for letting me borrow your stack, Dee! Here, I made you a card. :)

That is all for this weeks' segment of, "Moneysaver Monday!" lol... thank you for stopping by!

Black and white

2012-01-19T19:02:00.002-07:00

I'm joining in on a challenge today for Stars & Stamps. The challenge is black and white and just a touch of color... I used just a bit more than a touch of shiny paper to go with my b&w... but I couldn't help it. :) I love the shiny redness!

Also, I had quite a bit of "help" this evening from Alley Cat, the next-door neighbor fur-friend who seems to be visiting us a lot more frequently lately. I don't mind the visitation, but clearly... Alley needs to learn some scrap manners!

Serious Organization Skillz!

2012-01-17T01:00:00.056-07:00

Remember this header for my blog? Maybe I need to put it back up again. Actually, this photo reminds me of a time when I didn't have quite as many supplies as I have these days. It's amazing how your hobbies and supplies can expand and quickly grow... Sometimes out of control!

Over at the Stars and Stamps blog today, the Tuesday Tutorial is all about organizing. I am hoping that lots of the OWH ladies will be sharing their own organization ideas and photos. Here are a few of my own favorite techniques and photos.

One thing that I always have on my workspace is this small storage drawer. It's little but perfect for storing all of the little things that I use very often like chalks, clear acrylic blocks for stamping, dimensional squares, and other tiny embellishments... So I don't have to search for them. Next to it is a rotating caddy that holds frequently used tools like my bone folder, a stylus, pencils and pens, a craft knife, and several different kinds of adhesive. Oh, and my OWH stamp. :)

(left) This is one of my favorite storage pieces... my Cricut is perched on an antique shelf unit that I got years ago from a family member. There is also room in it for my cartridges, my Cuttlebug supplies, a bin with stamps and a few other containers with frequently used tools and supplies. (right) In the corner is an inexpensive cabinet that I bought at Walmart... I actually have two of these cabinets and I love them, here is why...

The cabinets are deep enough to hold the large 12x12 drawer organizers and wide enough to leave space for shoe-box bins to the side. In the drawers I store stickers, rub-ons, chipboard and other embellishments. The shoe-box bins hold flowers, scissors, punches, floss and stitching supplies and etc. I also purchase lots of the plastic 12x12 storage bins from Michael's. I sort them by Holidays... One bin for Halloween, one for Valentine's Day, etc. When the holiday I need rolls around, I just pull the bin and everything that I need is inside... Mat stacks, stamps, embellishments, etc. I purchase a lot of my papers and embellishments on clearance in the off-season and tuck them into the appropriate bin... By the time the holiday comes, I often open the bin and find goodies that I forgot about. What a fun suprise! My second storage cabinet is organized the same way.

Here is a fun way to store more clear stamps. I bought a pack of trading-card protector sheets and those little individual stamps fit perfectly in the pockets in a large 3-ring binder. I have them divided by seasons... Spring, summer, winter, fall. I have a hard time passing up these little stamps!!! But I do use them a lot.

One thing that I also like to do is cover containers with my favorite papers. These make pretty and functional storage places... That round tin has Mod-podge and sponge brushes inside! It is my dream to have a craft room some day with a fairy tale theme. I would love to paint a landscape scenery on one wall and have lots of greenery and decorations. These containers are a small first step towards my dream room. I figure I will keep making them from time to time, until my room happens.

Thought I would share my glitter storage box... Because it is unique... And because I just gotta be me. :)

Don't forget to stop on by the Stars & Stamps blog to link up with your own storage ideas. I can't wait to see what ideas you guys have to share! Thanks for stopping by!

Money-Saver Monday

2012-01-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

One thing that I have been pretty good about in the past is sharing ideas for saving money on your paper crafting adventures. . . I have decided to save up these ideas and share them on Mondays when I get good ones. . . thus, please allow me to introduce Moneysaver Monday - Baker's Twine!

That cute striped baker's twine is everywhere these days. . . I keep looking for it in stores, but haven't found any yet. That leaves me with online options. . . I have found a few sets, but they are pretty proud of them. One site was selling strings of three colors for around $20. Another sold them individually for around $3-5 but you only get a few yards of each color.

Last night I heard of an idea, and today, I decided to give it a try. As usual, it is impossible to credit the original thinker-upper of the idea, because now I have "Googled" it and found more than a few people. There are also a few ideas of how to get this done, but here is my tried-and-true method (I just tried it, and it's true!) for making colored, striped bakers' twine.

For this project you will need a roll of "10 size" crochet thread (I got 400 yards of the stuff for $3.00)

A small wooden dowel or chopstick (free, if you go eat some Chinese food, yum!)

A marker (I have tried a Copic, a sharpie, and a Bic Mark-It, they all work great.)

A Diet Pepsi (optional)

Seriously, why did I leave my soda in the photo?

I began by taping the end of the thread to the dowel so that it would stay. Then I just started twisting, to get a single layer of thread to wrap around the dowel. Hold the tension equally so that it is not wrapped too loose or tight in any spot. Stop whenever you think you have enough twine for your project.

Use a marker to color the thread on just one side of the dowel. Make your "stripe" as wide or narrow as you like. Be geneous with the ink and try to color the thread equally, so that there are not any light areas. Don't worry - the ink does spread all the way through the thread and it does color the dowel a little bit. I don't care about this, I have about a million dowels. I also just thought, that you could use a pencil if you wanted to try that. Whatever you use, be warned, it will be inked.

I decided that it would be a good idea to use my heat tool (for heat embossing) to help the ink dry. I used it on the thread for a minute or two - being careful not to hold it too closely so that the thread would not burn or discolor. That was nice... it is pretty cold today. Got my hands warm. :)

Voila... I now have the means to make 400 yards of any color striped bakers' twine in any color that I want. . . and warm hands too. Bonus! Let me know if you try this, and what you think. I am super excited, and can't wait to make cards with twine on them. :)

Sketch Challenge 104

2012-01-15T12:21:00.002-07:00

I'm going to try to do a little better this year with keeping up with the weekly sketches at Stars & Stamps. Did you know that you can stop by there and get a .pdf file with all of the last 100-some odd weekly sketches? I have mine printed out and put into a binder... they are a great resource for when you just need a little kick to get your mojo going.

Here is today's sketch #104 and a link to the post so you can stop by and get your .pdf file if you like, or just participate in the sketch challenge. What a fun card, I might do some more following this sketch today. :)

Sketch:

Card:

If you love this little monkey as much as I do, you can find him and many more other great digi-stamps over at Dustin Pike's place. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh and by the way.. Happy Birthday, Dustin! I didn't even know, how serendipitous is that?

You Make Me Smile!

2012-01-14T18:49:00.003-07:00

Here is a little card from today. I used a few old techniques and some new ones too.

I used some A-2 sized craft card stock bases. The patterned papers are by Close To My Heart. I used the new Art Philosophy CTMH Cricut cartridge to cut the flower pieces and stamped them with the "Hooray Bouquet" stamp set using Baby Pink, Tulip and White Daisy inks. I mounted the flowers to mats (with CTHM sparkle brads) of dryer sheet covered white card stock and a mat of craft paper that I used a border punch on. The sentiment is from the same stamp set - I stamped on white with Tulip ink. The marquee shape is an EK success punch. The dryer sheets that I used are a spring floral scent, so these cards smell delicious too. Here is a trial-and-error tip... When attempting the dryer sheet technique, use the heaviest card stock or even water-color paper that you have. The mats turn out much more crisp and flat than if you use a lighter weight paper.

Close up!!!

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Thanks for stopping by!

A year of fun!

2011-12-30T18:42:00.008-07:00

Over at the Stars and Stamps blog, they are hosting a little end of the year impromptu hop in which we are supposed to show ten of our favorite cards of the year. Fun!! Did I make ten cards this year?!?

I must admit that this year turned out to be much different than I anticipated it would in very many ways... Overall I can say that I have been very blessed to find myself among people who I consider to be true friends. There's nothing like a little rough water to show us who cares enough to show up with the life rafts. :) I love you all, and you know who you are!!!

Although I didn't have near as much time to put into my cards and crafts this year as I would have liked, I did learn a lot, grow a lot, heal a lot, love a lot and work a lot! So here are my ten picks... And my wish to all of you for a very happy, healthy wonderful 2012.

A favorite of 2011 - cards made with dryer sheet backgrounds - they smell so good!
THIS was definitely my favorite new trick of the year!!!

A manly birthday card - I love my Cuttlebug diamond plate embossing folder and some shiny paper!

Always a favoite - Dustin Pike digi stamps. And this year I am trying to learn to use Copic markers.

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Another favorite this year - kraft paper (I used it for everything!) Close To My Heart Stamps and patriotic themes.

Hats were in style this year, thanks be to the Royal Wedding.

More Close To My Heart goodness and scented dryer sheet backgrounds. Yum!

My favorite Cricut Cartridge of the Year - Create-A-Critter

More manly, kraft paper shiny metal goodness. And a few stolen nails.

I have discovered Stella, from Bugaboo Stamps!

Some of my personal Christmas cards said it all. Stole the basic layout idea from Pinterest. Used an embossing folder for a textured background. Used a decorative edge punch. Used some music paper. Used lots of layers and pretty florals. Used some tiny punches and my iRock tool to set some tiny stones, and just a tiny pinch of glitter. THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas Goodies!

2011-11-27T12:30:00.006-07:00

I'm so glad that it's time for Christmas goodies! I love to make my own Christmas cards and gifts for friends, neighbors and teachers. Here are a few goodies that my crafty buddy and I made yesterday... and a few little news tidbits too.

Here is a gift that is fun for neighbors or friends - it's a Jiffy-Pop popcorn tin,decorated! I admit that I have gently scraplifted this from a sweet lady at the craft fair last year and made a slightly different version. . . here are some helpful measurements for making your own.

I used my Cricut to cut the following pieces using George and Basic shapes:

One 6.5” white circle
Two black 1” circles
Five black 3/4” circles

I used the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge to cut a 4” true-to-size hat (from the groom doll).
I used the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge to cut two 2” holly leaves and a 4” holly tag. I cut a 3x2” orange rectangle and cut it in half for the nose.

Put the white circle on the Jiffy Pop by lifting the tin around the edges and placing it over (but not replacing) the instructions. Glue the other parts down leaving the handle at the top. Add a tag and your little gift is ready to hang on your neighbor’s door … what a fun little surprise!

We also made some pretty cards yesterday (again, I am shamelessly scraplifting from a beautiful card that I found on Pinterest). . . It’s fun to find a design that you like and then try to make your own with what tools you have on hand. My snowflakes and embossing and papers are different from the original that I found… but here are some more measurements for you if you want to try this layout. I love it!

The card base is A-2 or a piece of red cardstock measuring 5.5 x 8.5” folded in half.
The white paper is 4 x 5” and one edge is punched with a snowflake border.
The red embossed mat is 2.75 x 4.75 – we embossed with a beautiful Spellbinders snowflake die.
The music paper was cut with a 2” circle and the red ring is a 2” ring cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge, and a 2.5” scalloped circle was cut on white paper.
The holly leaves and bird stickers came from a sticker set from JoAnn’s
Finally, we used some of the punched snowflakes from the border punch and added them randomly with some gems (We used the iRock tool)
Inside is another white paper liner with the snowflake border punch along the right side edge.

I want to try this card using some other colors, as I think that it will look really beautiful in blue, purple and green too. . . and we are in search of some other bird stickers like cardinals and such.

Here is one more project that I have been wanting to do for quite a while. I won a cute Cricut cartridge as blog candy a while ago from Kerri over at Big Smiles From KBear. It’s a darling cartridge called Gingerbread that cuts out lots of cute gingerbread shapes. The hardest part, was finding paper that is Gingerbread colored – I finally found some cardstock by Worldwin Papers called “Spice.” Perfect! We also used some patterned papers from the new DCWV Christmas Stack and created these little goodies:

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The card bases are A-2size with corners rounded.
The bottom layer is “Spice” paper measuring 4 x 5.25”
The next mat is white cardstock measuring 3.75 x 5”
The next mat is patterned paper measuring 3.5 x x4.75”
Round all of the corners of your mats.
The white strip is 3.75 x 2” with one edge punched with a cute border punch.
The cookies were cut using the Gingerbread cartridge at a 4” size.
After gluing the white “icing” down to the cookies – we glued random baubles (red and black scrap crystals) and used lots of stickles to decorate the cookies… you have to zoom in on the pic to see just how sparkly and cute they turned out! I love them! I used the *Holiday Cheer* stamp as a sentiment on two of mine – I’m pretty sure that is a Daisy Bucket stamp, but I don’t remember for sure. Sorry. :(

Now then, I did mention Pinterest earlier, and I have to admit that I finally jumped on the Pinning bandwagon and I love it – I’m still a newbie though, so I haven’t figured all of it out quite yet. When I do, I am going to try to figure out how to add pins to my posts so that you can share if you like. I’ll be giving this a try later, to see if I can get a pin to work for this post.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for returning to my blog this year. I know that things have been a little slow this year and I haven’t had time this year to do near as many tutorials, videos or posts. . . I’m working on a few plans for 2012 to improve this, so thank you again and see you soon!
-Nancy

October Expressions

2011-10-27T17:54:00.001-06:00

Here are some goodies made with the October Expressions – Card-making kit from Express the Moment! I can’t resist these cute papers and embellishments by Bella Blvd! Too Cute To Spook is the name of the line and that is just way too appropriate. :) Can you tell that I love these little Frankensteins the best?

Kim picked out the perfect assortment of ribbons, punches, buttons and embellishments and some rub-ons by FancyPants to compliment these cute papers. There is a whole sheet of black chipboard pieces and a full sheet of letter stickers and decorations too.

Here’s a link to a little tutorial on the spinner card by TikiBoo. . . there are a lot of different spinner card tutorials, but hers is a great one. All of the little papers and embellies in this month’s kit just screamed, “SPINNER CARD!” to me, so there you have it.

Don’t forget to stop by Express the Moment for your kits. . . and check out the ETM blog for more fun kit ideas too. Thanks for stopping by!

Bundle Up!

2011-10-23T17:40:00.000-06:00

Ok card makers... we only have until October 31 to finish Christmas Cards for the troops! Time has been flying by around here and I feel like I barely had time to get any Halloween goodies made. I did make a few (I'll share 'em later!) but today I slipped in a little goodie for OWH.

I recently got all of my new holiday goodies in the mail from Close To My Heart. (Still Enabling. . . no website. . . call me, if you need a fix.) I bought the Wonderland paper packs and a cute little stamp set called Bundled Buddies. I have decided that these are what I am going to make my personal cards with this year. . . so I wanted to give them a little test run. Here is my card for sketch #92 . . .

Click here to go to the weekly sketch!

I think that I love the non-traditional blues and browns of the Wonderland papers, as well as the woodland critters (and we do live in Fox Hollow!) . . . I stamped with Chocolate brown, distressed with Twilight and Crystal Blue and colored with Copics. This is going to be such a fun year for cards! I love them.

Bloghop!

2011-10-01T01:00:00.002-06:00

Thank you for stopping by - today I am participating in a bloghop for world card-making day. Doesn't that sound like the best day ever? You can click the banner above to visit tons of great blogs with holiday cards for this event. Thanks, Opration Write Home - for another fun blog event!

Here is my holiday card for the hop - I used some of my favorite holiday papers, stamps and embellies. You know, the kind that you have to FORCE yourself to use because you don't want to use them all up because they are too pretty??? This candy stripe paper is my most favorite thing ever. :)

I saw a similar layout in a recent card magazine* and decided to try an A2 sized version of it. If you want to make this card, here are the measurements:

Card base (white) 8.5 x 5.5" folded in half.

Green mat: 4 x 5.25"

Candy stripe mat: 3.75 x 5"

Two green rectangle mats: 2.5 x 2.25"

Two patterned paper mats: 2.25 x 2"

One green mat for sentiment: 3.75 x 2"

One patterned paper mat for sentiment: 3.5 x 1.75"

One white mat for sentiment: 3.25 x 1.5"

I also used a 10" piece of ribbon, a stamped sentiment (Peace On Earth set), my favorite Mistletoe papers, a mistletoe sticker, white and green markers for faux stitching and some New England Ivy and Cranberry inks, all by Close To My Heart.

Thank you for stopping by!

* Paper Creations - Fall 2011 - page 62 - there is an adorable Halloween card on page 62 by Mz. Jenny Gropp. I do love those layers!

Virtual Card Making Party

2011-09-11T18:55:00.001-06:00

I was able to spend most of today reflecting on the events of September 11, 2001. My son was just a baby then, and he doesn’t remember that day. I had just worked a night shift and was on my way home from the hospital. The radio station in my car, which usually had the “morning show” and lively music, was full of news. . . every station was, and I could barely comprehend what I was hearing. I raced to get home and turn on the TV and I caught the live coverage, just as the first of the twin towers collapsed. I spent the rest of the day watching the news and didn’t sleep a wink, even though I had been up all night the night before. What I remember most, was talking to my Grandmother in Tennessee, who was crying and upset. She herself had lived through Pearl Harbor and she was just certain that the days’ events would bring about the beginning of World War 3.

I couldn’t think of a much better way to spend today than by doing something to say thank you to the families of the heroes who have served and protected our country. Especially those who are deployed now – and so you guessed it, I dusted off my very dusty supplies and spent some time participating in todays’ Virtual Card Making Party.

You can find a list of the blogs participating at the Stars & Stamps Blog but I will link all of the ones that I participaed in here. On a Virtual Card Making Party hop, you visit each blog and make a card like the one on the blog. The rules are simple and really fun. . . this is the second VCMP I have been able to participate in this year and I hope that there are more!

I’m a bit behind the curve and I probably won’t get all of my cards done in time for the deadlines, but I figure, better late than never and I am really just hopping along for the fun of it anyway. Here are my cards. . . (Sorry, no fancy photos, I didn’t have time to do much but take some quick snapshots and besides, my camera is being terribly naughty!)

Card one for the challenge at It Was Here A Minute Ago. . . (cute name right?) Is to make a card with an animal on it – I used the digi stamp of Steve the ferret that Sandy made for me last year. I still love this digi to pieces! Thanks Sandy!

Card Two is for a challenge at Stamping With A Mission – make a card about nature. I was inspired to make a fallish one and used some paper from my new DCWV stack and a stamp set from JoAnn’s. I’m loving the autumn colors!

Card Three is for a challenge at Paper Therapy Ponderings – try to make a Christmas Card without the traditional Christmas Colors. I think I did okay with the white and brown but I couldn’t help but sneak in the red and white ribbon. I can’t for the life of me remember where the gingerbread house digi stamp came from. :(

Card Four (also known as card five. . . lol) was made for the challenges at Handmade By Julie. We were asked to pick a number and then follow the sketch that goes with it. I picked #37 and made this card . . . and then moving on to the fifth stop, I realized that the object at Scrapping With Purpose was to make a card about “Falling for You.” While I realize that this is probably cheating, I am gonna go ahead and roll with it. :) I’m already behind!! I hope I can be forgiven. :)

Stop #6 – Visions of Paper asked for a manly paper pieced card. So I stamped this car on white and on yellow paper and pieced it to make this NASCARCARD. The flags were also stamped on yellow, then white and pieced. I love this cuttlebug folder with the diamond plate to go with the manly car cards.

Going to break for now and come back for more after dinner if I have time – otherwise I will see how many more I can get done this week. Thanks for stopping by!

September Expressions

2011-09-10T23:14:00.001-06:00

What a wild end to the summer – I just realized that I have NO posts since my last kit from Express the Moment. Sorry!!! We have been so busy squeezing in some last camping trips and fun things before the summer is over. We’ve had some beautiful weather and some really fun times!

Just in case I need another reminder that school is now upon us. . . I got to work with this month’s Expressions card kit from ETM. I just don’t know where Kim finds these great products. . . this month’s kit is packed with some great papers and embellishments from Pink Paislee’s Old School collection. What a fun chance to make some neat back to school projects like thank you cards for teachers, and good luck cards for kids!

This month ETM is joining forces with “Page Maps” – there is a whole page of their card map samples in the kit. I cut out a few, and placed them next to the cards that I made from the “maps” so you could see. Card Maps from the Page Maps site have always been one of my favorites. If you visit their site, you can find tons of card and page layout ideas that you can download and print for free. I keep mine in a binder. . . what a great resource!

A few more cards: I did use my Cricut to cut this apple and bus (Doodlecharms) because I just couldn’t help it. Back to school is so fun. Don’t you think? You can click on any of these photos to see them larger if you like.

More cards. . . I do love the letter stickers in this kit, and there are several buttons and some red and white bakers’ twine. There are some adorable circular shaped felt embellishments and some really great clear acrylic layovers that are very fun to work with. All of these things are in the kit for just $15 . . . don’t forget to swing by the Express the Moment Blog too for more fun examples of things that you can make from other ETM kits.

Hey, before you go, take a look at this handsome 6th grade fella. I can’t believe that this is the last year of grade school, where did THAT time go? I suppose that I had better get to work on his grade school scrap book, maybe I will be able to share some of that later this month. Thanks for stopping by!

August Expressions!

2011-08-07T18:00:00.001-06:00

Awesome, another month closer to school. :) Not that I haven’t enjoyed this summer, because it has had some pretty amazing moments. But I do love fall and back-to-school time the best of all of the seasons. But quick, before the summer is over, here are a few fun summery projects and cards from the Express the Moment August Expressions (card making) kit!!!

Here is a card with a cute frame and kite background. . . some of these adorable bright colored summery papers are by My Mind’s Eye and they are from the Citrus Lime collection. I do love MME. :) I was thinking that some fun summery quotes would be fun for these bright cheery cards. One thing that makes me think of summer is summertime music. You know how you can hear a song and just automatically think of summer? There are tons of them out there. I used “Bright, bright sun-shiny day” as a sentiment for this card. What summery song titles can you think of to use as sentiments?

I can’t get by without using this week’s card sketch from Stars & Stamps with this kit. This is amazing. . . the twine, buttons, letter stickers and everything I needed to make this week’s card sketch were included in this month’s kit. Cool huh?

This card was made on a small round scalloped edge card base. The card base wasn’t in this month’s kit. But I have about a zillion of them around here and wanted to use some. :) I cut two 4” circles to make the inside and front of this card. I added a 1” strip of orange patterned paper and a flower and button, and stamped the sentiment directly onto the dotted background paper. This one is one of my favorites. :) If you don’t have a round or scalloped card base or the means to cut one, it would be easy enough to make one by just adhering your circles with a scrap of paper or cutting them so that the edges touch, just fold along this part. You could even trace around a can, bowl, or other round object to make your own card base.

Just look at this patterned paper with the little bingo numbers on it. So cute! I made this card with several layers of the bright patterned papers and then I added a Dustin Pike digi stamp and a sentiment inside. “Age is just a NUMBER.” Isn’t that so true?

This one was fast and easy – I added a small mat of striped paper to an A2 size card base and rounded the corners. I added a small border strip and a title that came along with the kit. “Soar – spread your wings and fly.” What a fun card to give to a kiddo headed off to college right? Of note, this paper totally reminds me of Fruit Stripe Gum. Remember Fruit Stripe Gum?

Did you take a ton of fun family photos with your sisters brothers aunts uncles cousins kids and other family members? Wouldn’t it be neat to send them a tiny memento of your summer fun? And it’s made out of toilet paper rolls!!! I saw somebody make an album similar to this somewhere on the internets. I don’t know who, or possibly, it was a couple of sources. I do not know who owns the rights to thinking up the Toilet Paper Roll Album. At any rate, they were brilliant. This is one version of the Toilet Paper Roll album that is fast and easy. Let me show you how I did it.

First you will need to save up or go dumpster diving for some empty toilet paper rolls. :) Check the kids’ bathroom trash. They usually have several! I bought really cheap TP last time, so these were fast and easy to come by! You can use as many rolls as you like. My little album used five rolls. First, smash them flat. Use a bone folder or other tool to crease the edges firmly. Then, put your rolls under something heavy for a while. Like a stack of books. A ginormous pile of scrapbooking paper. (I KNOW YOU HAVE ONE!!!) Or your Cuttlebug! Those things are heavy. At any rate, smash them. So that they are super flat. You can work on the rest of the album while your rolls are flattening.

While you are waiting, Cut enough pieces of paper to cover both sides of your rolls. My rolls measured exactly 2.5 x 4” but you should probably measure yours first, just to be sure. I’m pretty sure that most toilet paper rolls are the same size. But maybe not!!! I also distressed the edges of each piece of paper and cut and punched a few other embellishments.

I also cut three pieces of paper that measure 2.5 x about 3.75” – just slightly shorter than the other pieces (above) and added a variety of tabs to them. These pages slip INSIDE of some of the rolls and you can pull them out for a cute surprise. :)

By the time I was done with the previous steps, my rolls were pretty flat. I distressed the edges on both sides with some dark brown ink. You don’t have to do this, or you could distress with a different color, or even paint with white acrylic paint. Whatever you like. :)

The rest of the job is to adhere the papers to both sides of the rolls in a book fashion. . . think chipboard album, only tiny. :) I added a few scraps, punches and stickers to each page along with photos of the day that my brother, Alex and I spent at the pool with my niece and nephew. Of note, if your printer prints certain sizes of photos onto a large page, like a page of wallet sized photos, this works perfectly for this size album!

Here is one of those tab pages. You could also slip little things into these spaces like mementos, ticket stubs, programs or whatever you like! The last step is to use a hole punch or drill to punch through each roll. DO NOT put your tab pages inside the rolls, until this step is over. You don’t want to punch through the tab pages. Also, if you have a good punch, like a Crop-A-Dile or an industrial strength drill press this works much better for punching through all of those layers rather than a little hand-held traditional hole punch. Your hand will thank me. I joined the pages with a couple of spare rings and added a bunch of ribbon scraps to the rings. CUUUUTE!!!

This tiny album really didn’t take long to make. I meant to time it – so I could say exactly how long it took, start to finish, but I wasn’t watching the clock closely enough today. I do know that I started building this little album when hubby started watching the NASCAR race today and when I finished, there were still 243 laps to go. So about 6 hours. Just kidding. :) It really only took an hour or so. And it was fun!

That’s all for today, thanks for stopping by! (And for hanging in there, this is a huge post!)

Goodbye, July

2011-07-31T16:27:00.001-06:00

What a fun month! Although I spent a great deal of July in Physical Therapy for my broken knee, I feel like I was also quite productive and was able to do a lot of fun card things! Aside from all the challenge cards and just regular cards I have been able to throw together for OWH I was also able to have two card drives.

First was one with the ladies of the Taylorview ward LDS church. . . this card party, put together by my boss’ wife Treasa was a ton of fun and I got to meet lots of nice new people. We had a great time and I think that the final card count was around one hundred. . . I still need to finish stamping the backs and boxing these up. . . shoulda done that first, I suppose. . .

Here’s a little phone pic of our tables and some of the ladies. I had different projects to put together at each table. . . Christmas cards, general cards, ruffle cards, star cards, etc, varying in degree of difficulty. The ladies got to rotate through the tables at their leisure. This was a lot of fun, at least I sure thought so. :) And the cards, what a variety we ended up with! And so beautiful! I would definitely love to do this style of card party again!

Yesterday was another crop for Express the Moment and Kim was so gracious to allow me to have a “drop zone” box at the crop and I had a small make-and-take or make-and-drop card

for the ladies to put together. I don’t think that anybody took their card home. . . they ALL went into the drop box, along with many other cards that the ladies made throughout the day, and some cards that they brought in with them, to donate for the troops. I’m so darned proud of all of them! I got to give some cuttlebug lessons too so that was a good time. . .

We made card similar to Sandy’s awesome star card (lower left) only with different textures and stamps. . . I was also able to post the due dates for the upcoming holiday cards AND ETM will be having another crop in October, so I am hoping for a HUGE card drive before the Christmas Card deadline of October 31st. We can doo eet!!!!!!

Gratuitous photo of my awesomely embellished new crop bag. For you boys who don’t know, a crop bag or tote is a lot like a purse, only with EVEN MORE STUFF inside that you don’t want to know about. I see punches, scissors, pencils, tools, brushes, a nail file that is not for nails, and aherm, yes, that green bladed thing is indeed a scalpel. Hey, I pilfer tools where I can. :) Best of all, there is my major award! My super bling! My OWH patch. . . I love it. It is perfect on my tote!

Last but not least for today, here is sketch #80 from OWH. . . and DON’T miss out on this awesome treat. . . some nice lady has recompiled ALL of the OWH sketches to date into a .pdf file that you can download and print for your very own records. How handy is that! I have copies of all of them in my OWH binder and use them all. . . seriously all of the time.

Here is sketch #80, and my sketch card. I used paper from a new DCWV paper pack that I picked up yesterday called the Tradewinds stack.

That’s all for today and I have a long week ahead. . . so many things to catch up and do before school starts. Can’t believe that it is August already. :)

Challenge Time

2011-07-24T13:05:00.001-06:00

For those who love challenges, there is always something fun going on. Here are a few weekend challenge cards that I have thrown together. . . first for sketch challenge #79 over at Stars & Stamps and another for the Copic / Marker challenge over at Crafting By Design.

As you can see I have hauled out my stash of Halloween / Fall already and I am really resisting the urge to go wild with Halloween projects. . . Halloween is my favorite holiday and I just love all of the great cute and spooky paper crafting products that are out there!

I got this great digi stamp from Bugaboo . . they have some really great digi’s and sentiments too. The inside of this one says, “Today’s witches ride swiffers.” Bwahaha! I am a big fan of the Swiffer mop. Truly. I turned this week’s sketch sideways for this project to fit the stamp. . . but I might have to follow this sketch again because it was a whole lot of fun.

This chillin’ cat is from Hambo . . . now really. how else is a black cat supposed to cool off in a heat wave like this?

That’s all for today. . . hubby and I are Chilling Out too and might go catch Captain America at the theater here in a bit. . . hey, they’ve got AC. :)

PP&P Challenge

2011-07-17T16:41:00.002-06:00

One of the things that I love best about my mentor Cindy’s blog is that she is always teaching something of value. Please do stop by to see her recent posts about using color on your cards. . . I always love to learn about tones, hues, accents, warms and cools. . . and it is amazing how paying attention to such details can really help turn out some cute cards!
Here is another example of mixing warms and cools to make the accents really pop!

For this card I started by chosing that bright cheery polkadotty spring paper for a BG. . . I thought I would get the last little bit of spring colors out of my system before I retire all of my springy stacks and scraps to the bottom of the shelves. . . it’s time to get out the autumn and winter colors and I just can’t wait. :) Talk about some fun colors!!
The cartridge that I used is to create the snail and mail are from my latest purchase, Create A Critter. . . and I can not do without it! I love this cartridge! I can also use this card in a challenge over at Crafting by Designs. Hooray, my first entry!
Don’t forget to join Cindy’s challenge about warm and cool cards . . . it’s very fun!

I didn't make new cards. . . :( But let us revisit an example of the difference between a few, I thought that maybe these cards that I did for the 4th of July S&S Bloghop would suffice.

Close To My Heart + Cricut = I think I just wet my pants. :)

2011-07-16T16:23:00.001-06:00

So I woke up around 2:30 in the morning, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Yesterday’s 2 1/2 hours of Physical Therapy on my poor broken knee was brutal. I was so exhausted after a week of work and PT that I fell asleep shortly after I got home. . . so I was up walking to help with the pain and I made myself some iced tea and went outside because the full moon was so bright that it was almost like daylight! The yard looked and smelled so pretty. Anyways. Where was I?

OH! So I jumped on the computer to see what is new with Close To My Heart . . . convention is going on right now and I am a little relieved that I had not decided to go, I would have missed out on the trip anyway due to my accident. . . but new catalogues are coming next week and I’ve been so excited to see what the new products are going to be. It was then, that I clicked on a few links on my CTMH site and saw this video.

I can’t even wait to get my hands on this cartridge and I am just super excited that CTMH has joined forces with Cricut to create something so awesome. . . Christmas cards are going to be a blast this year! In addition, the new catalogue will be marked. . . stamps that go along with the shapes you can cut out on the Cricut are outlined in red. This will definitely cut down on having to cut out small shapes which can sometimes get tedious and difficult. My Idea Books will be here before next weekend, I bet. Who wants one? :)

July Expressions

2011-07-14T21:37:00.001-06:00

You are not going to believe what appeared in my July Expressions Kit from Express the Moment. A whole set of Liberty papers and embellishments by Bo Bunny and oodles of embellishments to match! The red white and blueness of it seriously caused me to hyperventilate. I really had my eye on this paper this year. . . but hadn’t purchased any yet. . . oh my gosh it was like Christmas in July!!!

I love the 4th of July . . . I have lots of favorite holidays. But what really gets me excited about this month’s kit is Express the Moment’s support of a cause that is so important to me, Operation Write Home. Stay tuned for more exiting news about their involvement. . .

And so for my first projects, I set about to make two things. . . a little easel card that I will use to display at my booth at the ETM Crops, and a sign to hang in the shop for a drop box for donated cards. I love these. :)

Then I just started creating. . . all of these are cards that could be great for July birthdays, announcements, or they would make really fun Any Hero cards.

The next ETM Crop is July 30th – so don’t forget to sign up for that one, local peeps! And for you not-locals, if ever you wanted to own one of these $15 card kits, this would be the one to get to see what they are all about. I still have lots of leftovers so more cards will be coming, I’m sure. . . what a great one! I am still so excited!!!

S&S Sketch #77

2011-07-10T12:33:00.001-06:00

I really look forward to the weekly sketch from over at Stars & Stamps. I don’t always do all of them. But I have been saving them all to a file. They sure are great for when you need a card idea or when you want to “practice” using scraps and different papers, or maybe try new stamping techniques. That’s what is fun about making cards – you can practice just like any other hobby, technique or sport . . . practicing makes you better and more confident in the work that you do! And it’s so much fun!

Here is sketch 77 and my card. I am running out of kraft paper. This is a very bad thing.

This card was made using papers from my DCWV Playtime stack and I stamped the clouds and balloon with my CTMH set called “Over the Rainbow.” My circles aren’t exactly the same dimensions as the photo. I used a ready made Kraft Border by CTMH and punched the bottom scalloped circle with a nestie. The clouds were stamped in white and sky. The balloon was stamped on a separate scrap of kraft paper and I stamped it first in daisy white, then with sunny yellow and I colored the basket part with chocolate. The bottom sky paper has glitter inlaid, the kind that won’t flake off. :) Non-flaky glitter makes me happy because it is ok for sending cards to the troops. There are dimensional squares behind the balloon, and the yellow dotted paper.

Little Scraps of Heaven Designs - Blog Hop Day!

2011-07-08T23:00:00.006-06:00

Welcome, welcome! This is my first participation in a blog hop by Little Scraps of Heaven Designs . . . if you have come here from Janet's Blog you are in the right place! If you just happened to visit my blog today, you can start the hop at Tricia's Blog.

My name is Nancy and I found LSHD through my many card making adventures with Operation Write Home. While I am primarily a card maker, I love all kinds of paper crafting projects and scrapbooking too. I love the things that LSHD have to offer crafters like myself . . . here is my blog hop project I made to share today! It's a clean and simple but very cute summery card. . .

I made this card by using paper from "The Playtime Stack" by DCWV. I love it because it is kraft paper based. . .and I am really into the kraft (cardboard looking) paper right now! I cut several different patterned papers down to 4x6" (photo sized) and printed the cute LSHD kite digi onto each one. I used the cloud paper as a base and cut out the kite pieces and bows from the other pieces of paper and layered them. The kite digi also has those cute motion dots. . . I simply pierced through each dot to give this card a cute combination of paper piecing and piercing! (Say that five times fast!!)

Here's a closeup of the card work and the inside of the card.

I love blog candy but the toughest part is deciding who to give the blog candy to - therefore I am offering the little digi-sentiment that I made for this card to everyone for stopping by! You can download it by clicking the picture to get the bigger version and then selecting "save as" . . . it would be fun for making your own little kite card or layout.

Thanks for stopping by to see my little project. . . don't forget that there is a GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY from LSHD for participating in this hop! To be eligible to win, all you have to do is visit each blog on the hop and leave a comment. What is this GRAND PRIZE you might ask? It's amazing. . . $100.00 in cash, plus $100.00 of FREE PATTERNS from Little Scraps of Heaven Designs too! WOW!

Now then, hop along to Lisa's Blog and see what she has made. . . and thanks so much for stopping by!

July SoTM–American Celebration

2011-07-04T13:47:00.001-06:00

Hey friends – especially you Operation Write Home people! I wanted to be sure to put up a post about this July stamp of the month. I think that it has a lot of appeal to those of us who are crazy about making patriotic holiday / hero cards for the troops.

The reason why I want to announce this LOUD and CLEAR is two fold – My Close To My Heart website is scheduled to close July 19th. I have decided not to continue selling online. The great majority of my sales come from close friends and customers who love to receive those catalogues in the mail. I do plan to continue with that, for as long as my paycheck will let me. I love CTMH!

Also – this fantastic stamp set is a STAMP OF THE MONTH set – which means that you can ONLY buy it in July, and after that, IT WILL BE GONE! Nooooooooo! So please, if you would like the opportunity, take it now.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS AMAZINGLY CUTE STAMP SET HERE BEFORE JULY 19th OR EARN IT FOR FREE.

As always, you can earn the set for free for your purchase of $100 or more – but you don’t have to purchase anything else if you only want this set. Here is the set, and a card, and some project photos.

The firecrackers are adorable with those sparkly stars!

For this project, I used red white and blue embossing powder to stamp and heat emboss the background on some kraft paper. Next I stamped and embossed the “Celebrate, AMERICA and LET FREEDOM RING” on another layer of kraft paper. I added some bling to make those little fireworks pop.

Here is a closeup of the background paper and it shows how I popped up the “AMERICA” layer with some dimensional squares.

Now then, my mentor Cindy over at Papers Pads & Pictures also used this stamp set this month for a blog hop. (Sorry Cindy, I am totally stealing your photo!!!) I just wanted to share how she even used one of the firework stamps for an alternate card -

Isn’t that the cutest snowflake ever???!?!?!? Cindy is a genius, I tell you!!!

Thanks for stopping by to look! I hope that your holiday celebrations continue to be safe and fun. . . Happy 4th of July!

Virtual Card Making Party–Day Two

2011-07-03T09:53:00.010-06:00

If you haven’t jumped in on the 4th of July Card Making Party over at Stars & Stamps you are missing out on a ton of fun! Here is my collection of cards from yesterday and there are 8 more challenges today!

We get to start with Patricia over at Thinking of Inking who wants us to make a card using one designer paper, two stamps, and a three word sentiment:

Well, I messed up a little bit. I forgot the DESIGNER paper, but maybe that embossed white paper counts? I used stamps from the Close to My Heart July stamp of the month (heat embossed with silver gold and red) and my sentiment from the same set “Let Freedom Ring” is also heat embossed with white. I followed one of my current favorite layout patterns by Sandy from OWH. . . I love these colors together!!! (Psst. . . those July firecracker stamps are only for JULY this year and then they will be gone . . . also, my CTMH website is closing, so if you want this super cute set, snag it now! Last chance! They are great for making patriotic cards!!!)

Speaking of Sandy. . .over at It's a colorful world. . . We were asked to use the same image and make two different cards for two different seasons. So here is a nice autumn leaf for fall and a vibrant green leaf for spring! I'm still struggling to learn to use Copic markers, so this was good practice for me. Not gonna lie, blending the greens was kind of a disaster. There you have it, spring and fall. S.S.D.D . . . it means, Same Stamp, Different Day!

Super quick, easy and fun! This one helped me get caught up and I even had a little time to clean up my work space a little bit. Ahh. Learn how to make this little pinwheel card over at Hello From Kate!'s place! I didn't decide on a sentiment for it yet. . . this card is so cute I could use it for just about anything. . . what did you put on yours?

Beware of stopping at Sarah's Stamping and Stuff if you are hungry, where the challenge is to make a food related card... here is a little one made with more of some of my favorite Imaginisce supplies. This DOES make me hungry. . . is it time for BBQ yet?

Oh my stars. . . I colored a bunch of these little bears from Little Scraps of Heaven Designs with Bic markers a few posts back. It feels good to give them a home. . . how nice of ScrappinBear's Studio to have a bear challenge today! I did a slightly different take on the ruffle technique and used a star border punch, putting the ruffles out to the right. . . I feel like I might have gone a little overboard. But isn't he festive?

Ooh! I am totally entered to win some cute Bugaboo stamps over at My Craft Central! I love Bugaboo stamps! The challenge at My Craft Central was to "Color Me Crazy" - or color a stamp with a color that you would not usually use. Just check out Tammy's red white and blue frog, and her yellow turtle! I admit that a purple elephant is probably not too far out of the norm, especially on a card for a baby or toddler. Pink elephants however, now that is a different story!

Stamping with a Mission challenges us to create a card using words how they would not otherwise be used. She gave the example of "bee" instead of "be" and I think that is just what sort of stuck in my head - also, I have been wanting to use this cute Imaginisce bee. . . what a great opportunity. I heat embossed him with black, colored with markers and used black flocking on him so he is fuzzy too!

Last one! Mouse Print Creations wants us to make a card with an animal on it. . . I think that I have a couple of those already this weekend that fit the bill. . . but I love my new Create A Critter Cricut cartridge and I can't seem to get enough of this frog. I enjoy trying to see how many funny ways I can make his little face turn out. I used circle punches to create his eyes for this one. . .

So that's it for the Virtual Card Making Party from OWH and this has been by far one of my favorite blog-hopping, weekend challenge kind of activities. . . It's been so much fun and I just really enjoyed all of the other blogs and cards that people have made. Tomorrow I will have lots of time to browse through everybody's cards . . . we will also be doing the usual 4th of July things like the parade maybe and the city fireworks. . .I can't wait!

I wish all of you a safe and Happy 4th of July - God Bless and Good Night!

Independence Day Weekend!

2011-07-02T07:40:00.011-06:00

Hello everyone, Happy 4th of July weekend! I can’t think of a better way to spend my day. (Well, camping would be nice, but is not in the cards for me this weekend, with my broken knee!) Not in the cards! Hahaha! Whee!

There is a fantastic event going on over at the Stars & Stamps forum for Operation Write Home today and tomorrow. . . every couple of hours there will be a challenge and different blogs to visit. It looks like each blog will give a project to do. You can participate in as many or as few as you want. There are going to be prizes and fun things along the way.

For example, the first challenge is up and running at Brenda’s Stamping Corner. . . Her challenge is to make cards using camouflage. It just so happens that I had some scraps of camo paper in my “patriotic” stash – I love these patterned papers by Karen Foster Designs!

I will be posting photos and links all day for the card challenges I am able to participate in. I hope to do a lot. . . For my first two I chose to make “Any Hero” cards – so these will be completed with a short letter of thanks to a random service person. Soon, these little home made cards from Idaho will be half-way around the world, in the hands of one of our deployed heroes. I can’t think of a greater way to spend the 4th than by thanking our troops for what they do for us every day. Without them, we wouldn’t even have our freedoms to celebrate!

So check back again for my other weekend projects, and thank you for stopping by! Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone.

Challenge at Brenda’s Stamping Corner – use of camouflage. These “Any Hero” cards will go to a random service member, so I kept them clean and simple.

For the Challenge at 2 Paw Prints! This card had to have a fish bowl. Oh my gosh! It's like a treasure hunt! Do I have a fish bowl??? Let's thank my little digi-image by Dustin Pike. I also used my cuttlebug embossing folder with the swiss dot pattern, a random scrap of orange and yellow ribbon and some acrylic beads for the bubbles. . . and I colored with Kirsten's Copics - she says it's my weekend for visitation with the markers. . . yay!

I do not believe I would have otherwise been inspired to use the combination of colors challenged by Tanya over at Tinkerin In Ink. . . I will definitely have to participate in more color challenges in the future - I found this to be both challenging and fun! BG patterned paper is positively ancient DCWV and the rose stamp is Rosy Regards from Close To My Heart.

(Insert brief intermission for an afternoon nap!)

Over at Our Little Inspirations we are invited to make a card describing what freedom means to us. So here, I tried something new. I have never used a photograph on a card for the troops before, but when I think of freedom, I think of this beautiful country that we live in. Here is the view from my back yard. Well, it's a little further than that. Only 45 minutes from our house, is the country that I love best. It's where my ancestors lived, it's where my family has vacationed for generations, it's where I will take my grandkids some day, and it's where my ashes will go when I die. . . and we are free to live and love in it because of our heroes, past and present. I thought that maybe a random hero might enjoy this photo of "home" . . . maybe one of them will recognize this beautiful place.

Here is something vintage for Holley over at Holley's Hobbies. . again I do not think that I would have otherwise been inspired to go for the vintage look today, but these challenges are really fun, and I am having a good time using up some of my old stash!

This is getting tricky. . . over at Petunia's Paper Passion we have been asked to make a card with a moon on it. She has a beautiful woodsy card, with a wolf howling at a night sky. Try as I might, I could not locate a stamp, patterned paper, or die cut of a moon. So I took things into my own hands and created this "Get Well" card with some cute medical brads, a silly sentiment, and a hand doodled original image. . . after 20 years of patient care, do you really think that my mind goes anywhere else when I think of the word, "moon?" Seriously.

I learned something from Marti at the Essence of Paper today. . . there is a name for that kind of patterned paper or a sentiment with just words on it of a coordinating theme. . . it's called Subway Art and I have some cute camping Subway Art paper in my stash! I decided to use mine as a cute background. This entire card is Imaginisce. I don't yet have all of this "Happy Camper" line of goodies, but oh yes, they will be mine!

Here's my last one for Saturday - Scrappily Ever After's challenge is to make a card using, or inspired by this photo. I had so much fun using a photo on a card earlier in the day, I decided to give it another go.I printed the photo on a plain cardstock paper and then added it to the card along with an "America" stamp by CTMH. I blinged up the flowers by adding stickles and outlined the letters with a clear star gel pen and added some red white and blue bling - this card is very sparkly - the photo doesn't do it much justice.

That is all for Saturday's cards! Please stay tuned for Sunday. . . and thank you all for stopping by - I have had the most fun ever hopping and creating with all of you today!

Sketch 75 and PP&P Challenge!

2011-06-29T18:57:00.001-06:00

What do you do when your Mojo runs out? When your muse has gone on vacation without you? When you have piles of paper at your fingertips and can’t figure out what to do with it? Such has been my life, a little bit. I usually don’t struggle this way. Being down with my bum leg, I assumed, would give me loads of time to sit and scrap and just get better. As it turns out, I have no oomph. No inspiration. Help!

Here are a few ideas. . . one being the usual rescuer of my creative soul. . . the Stars & Stamps blog which always has great tutorials, challenges and sketches. Here is last Sunday’s sketch #75 which is different, and has turned out to be a whole lot of fun.

Here is my card – made with some favorite new paper from Imaginisce and a cute bear stamp set by Close To My Heart. I colored him with Copic markers. Kirsten, if you are reading this, you left your Copics at my house. :D

I love the summery campy look of this card. I used a wood grain paper in the background. Try as I might, I haven’t been inspired to make a sentiment on or in this card. “Wood you be mine?” . . . “Wood you like to go camping?” lol. . . help me out here folks. :)

So speaking of fun summery cards, Cindy’s latest challenge over at Papers Pads and Pictures is all about making a summery themed card. You should definitely check it out, and get yourself entered to win some fun paper goodness. These challenges have had only a few entries each week and so hey, your chances to win are fantastic! I’m just sayin’!!! Plus Cindy always has such fun things to see and do at her blog. I know that you will love it.

On the slate for the near future is a bunch of fun 4th of July things and a blog hop with Little Scraps of Heaven Designs (see previous post!) that promises to be a lot of fun. Between the LSHD bear and the little guy on this card, you would thing I would be finished with bears, but I can’t BEAR the thought of being without my favorite critters. . . lol. . . (groan). . . . okay sorry. :) Thanks for stopping by!!!

The Truth About Markers!

2011-06-19T14:22:00.001-06:00

So… I do get a lot of email questions about coloring stamps and digital images for making cards and scrapbook layouts. Coloring is fun – especially when you have a lot of down-time like I have had lately! I also keep a stash of stamped images and markers handy next to the couch, for coloring while watching TV or movies. It’s relaxing, and fun. . . and then when I make cards I have loads of ready-to-go images to just slap down on the card and I’m finished!

Markers. . . there are a ton of different brands and varieties. Permanent, water-based, alcohol based, washable, cheap, expensive. . . which ones are best? I must admit that in my stash I have several of all varieties. In my quest to decide which brand I love best I gotta say that each different type has its valuable uses. I think that today’s video tutorial will explain it best. I hope that you enjoy watching and learning. Here are three still shots of finished digi-stamps that I promised. The stamps used in this video are from Little Scraps of Heaven and it was awfully nice of them to allow me to use their stamp as an example. Thank you!!! They have so many cute digis. . . go see!

Click to see them larger. . . the first bear was colored with water-based, washable markers. The second, with permanent, alcohol based markers. The last was colored and blended with the same permanent alcohol based markers. . . the video demonstrates how this was done.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for watching! :)

Sketch 73

2011-06-12T20:46:00.001-06:00

Another fun one from OWH Stars & Stamps Blog. . . don’t forget to grab your weekly sketch and check out Kate’s instructions on how you can collect them all!

Favorite Color Cards!

2011-06-12T10:01:00.001-06:00

Did you hear? I went on an awesome trip. Not the kind to Cancun or the Bahamas, either. I slipped and twisted my leg badly – dislocated my knee and tore up some ligaments. Booo hiss! This is not how I want to be spending my summer!

Things are getting better slowly but surely and I am at least able to get around to the crafting table more often these days! Cindy, over at Papers Pads and Pictures had a fun idea for the new challenge. . . and a lot of cool bonus information on your favorite colors!

I’m not gonna lie. I had a hard time with this one. I love gem or jewel tones best. Ruby red, emerald green, amethyst purple, sapphire blue. . I love red and purple together! But if I have to narrow it down to just one, I will choose some pretty shades of purple. Two of my favorite ink colors by Close To My Heart are Gypsy and Pansy Purple. I used them together, along with the You And Me stamp set (D1495) to make this fun purple tri-fold card. I have made lots of Birthday and Christmas tri-fold cards in the past – but this one seems like it could be for just about any occasion.

I love that swirly flourish stamp, and I used one of my favorite latest techniques . . . I used my iRock tool to affix some purple gems to the ends of the swirls. Here is a little closeup.

Oh, and if you need a little brush-up on that tri-fold pattern, my video is still here on YouTube!

Be sure to stop over at Cindy’s and enter your card for the challenge – your favorite-color card can be any style, occasion, layout, sketch or design that you like, but it has to be your favorite color! As a bonus, leave me a message. . . tell me what your favorite color is, and why? Do you have one particular color or shade of cardstock or ink that you just have to have?

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch 72 and Mom. . .

2011-06-05T12:50:00.001-06:00

My mom is coming for a visit! She’ll be here Friday. I have been trying to keep her stocked up on some pretty cards to send to her friends, since a lot of them live here in Idaho and she is out in Tennessee.

As always, I’m inspired by this weekend’s sketch from Stars & Stamps. Mom loves music. She has always been a wonderful musician, singer and pianist. She provided me with all sorts of music lessons as a kid. I still have my love of music – and love to incorporate it in my art whenever I can. I found some beautiful papers in the Performance stacks by DCWV. If you haven’t seen them, go look! They are gorgeous. . . and I have lots of coordinating goodies to go with. . . Here is my first card from the stack, and I will post more from the stack later on. . . I’ve downloaded a ton of musical quotes for sentiments and I am shooting for at least a dozen cards for Mom. Here is sketch #72 and my first card. What can you do with this fun sketch? Be sure to post it over at S&S!

June Expressions

2011-06-04T14:20:00.001-06:00

How fun to have a kit full of fun things to make to celebrate DAD! And just in time for Father’s Day too. Have you purchased your June Expressions card kit from Express the Moment yet?

Here are the projects that I have completed with the kit so far –

The kit includes a pillow box that is super easy to assemble and decorate – there is also a whole page of tags and a sheet of letter stickers.

There are little metal photo hangers that fit perfectly on the ends of the tags. Here is another tag project – I attached it to a cute little bag that came from the kit. I thought that it would be fun to fill the bag with Dad’s favorite candy!

Here is a card on an A-2 sized base. The kit includes these little “information” pockets by 7Gypsies that are just adorable. I thought that this would be a really fun card to make from the kids – each one could write what they love about Dad on a blue tag and the tags fit so cute in the pocket. Fun! Are you digging the adorable striped paper?

Another card – with a tag and a punch-out, a button, a heart and some cute ric-rac ribbon.

The kit also includes a blue paper sack that is the perfect size for decorating and filling with goodies for Dad – like a burned CD or a gift card to their favorite store!

Here are two really fun cards that I have enjoyed making lately – the tutorials for both can be found at the Stars & Stamps blog by clicking the “tutorials” button – there are new tutorials every week and these ones are both really simple and fun! With all of the cute patterned papers in this kit, who can resist making a crazy tie card for Dad?

These last four are shots of a fun project that can be made using the kit… the blue pocket card base is included. I cut strips of patterned paper to fit over each panel on the card. I added the “coupons” letters to the front, and some buttons to make an enclosure on the back. When I was a kid, I used to love making coupon books for my Dad. I didn’t have much money to buy him things (and what does Dad really want, anyway?) so I would make coupons for some of his favorite things that I could do. . . like mowing the lawn, making him a cold drink, or scratching his back. One of my Dad’s favorite things was a taco salad, at Taco Bell. . . I remember when they first started making them . . . he was so crazy about the idea that they were served in a fried flour tortilla that you could also eat when the salad was gone. Heehee…. we shared many a taco salad and had some good times!

Happy Father’s Day, to all of you and your families. . . here’s to the Dads that make it all possible. Here is my Daddy-O. . . Happy Father’s Day, Dad! He passed away many years ago, but this Father’s Day my mother will be in town and we will be making a trek to the local zoo, where we purchase a donation plaque in his name, every year. What a nice way to remember him!

Memorial Day Bloghop!!!

2011-05-28T06:00:00.005-06:00

Welcome Operation Write Home Bloghoppers!!! Thank you for stopping by!

If you came here from The Corner Studio

you are on the right track!

If you wandered here aimlessly, you can join in on the fun by starting at Stars & Stamps. This will set you on the path to more than one hundred great Memorial Day card projects by the fantastic group of cardmakers for Operation Write Home!

Here is my little bloghop card. I created this new layout and design myself. . . if you are interested you can click here to see the tutorial post. I call it a "Z" card because of the zig-zag fold. It's a great way to use up a ton of random little embellishments, stickers, stamps, buttons etc. . . and so easy to make! I thank you for stopping by. . . now please click and travel next to the Friskars blog. . . The Friskateers!!! How exciting! Have a safe and happy weekend! Hugs to all.

Eets Zee Card!

2011-05-23T20:40:00.001-06:00

Welcome. . . I’m glad you stopped by for my little tutorial. . . this is a card that I made up this week. . . for the Operation Write Home Memorial Day bloghop! My card will be featured on the hop this coming weekend, but here is the tutorial so that you can play along if you like!

I call this a “Z” card because it is built on a fun little “Z” shape base. It sits up like a fun little decoration, and the inside edge matches the front. When closed, it looks like this:

Here is a a few shots of the card when it is standing up:

Here is another example of the “Z” card. . .

This card is fun to make to use up a whole lot of small embellishments, stamps, or leftover bitty things that you might have lying around. It would be a great use for small stickers or punches without causing the “sneeze” effect (just looks like a bunch of small things splattered all over the front of a card, without much organization!)

The instructions for making this card are really pretty simple.

Your base measures 4.25 x 12”. You can use a patterned, or solid piece of cardstock for this as shown. The 4.25 x 12” piece is scored at 3.25 and 6.5” and are folded as shown. Layer the card base with pieces of white that meaure .25 inches smaller than the surfaces that you want to cover. For example, the Red white and blue card has white pieces that measure 4 x 5.25 (inside), 4 x 3” (middle) and 4 x 3 1/8” (front.) Make sure you glue that front piece flush with the right edge so that the blue part doesn’t show when the card is closed.

The squares and 1 x 1” and 7/8 x 7/8” . Decorate each of these squares with your stamps, punches, or various small embellishments. I used a few Close To My Heart stamp sets for this – “Beautiful Day” and “Happy Holidays” stamp sets both have tons of small cute stamps.

The last step is to add these squares to the card as shown. The third row over, is centered on the fold and they stick out over the fold a little. Here is a shot of the card when open:

You can see how those squares stick out a little over this folded edge. The fourth row of squares is adhered to the inside of the card, as shown. Don’t be afraid to use a ruler as a guide to center these squares until they are exactly where you want them to be. Here are a few more helpful hints: Gluing the third row down first kind of gives you a good guide for where to place the rest. Also, you can use a light adhesive first, or some kind of glue that is slightly repositionable until your squares are where you want them to end up permanently.

Thank you for stopping by for the tutorial, and if you are blog-hopping for the weekend, I hope that you have so much fun! My week is going to be crazy busy, as we are trying to prepare for the holiday weekend. . .big hugs and Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all!

Red White & Blue!

2011-05-23T20:14:00.001-06:00

This weekend Stars & Stamps posted their 70th sketch for those really fun sketch challenges. I love this one, because it talks a lot about the simplicity of using things that you have at home to create shapes. Here is the sketch:

To make a big round shape as shown at the right, you could trace a saucer, jar, or any other round object . . . what a great idea for when you don’t have exactly the right shape!

Here is a little card I made following this sketch – I didn’t end up tracing something round, but I used a few leftover oval shapes that I had in my scrap bin, and a digi-stamp that came from the Stars & Stamps blog too.

I’m still using a lot of red white and blue as you can see – due to the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and the 4th of July. Have you made any red white and blue cards? If so, you should definitely stop over to Cindy’s Blog and participate in the Red White and Blue challenge! Scroll down a little to read about this challenge – but be sure to post your card up top for your chance to win some great stuff. . . and check out Cindy’s other pretty things too. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to stop by for the Memorial Day Blog Hop. . . coming soon! I just finished my blog hop project and I can’t wait to share!

The Cheeseburger Card

2011-05-18T15:39:00.001-06:00

Here in Idaho, we are just hitting some high temperatures that everybody is happy about. After over 200 days of temperatures below 70 degrees, we are finally creeping up there. 72. . . 74. . . ohboy! That means that our (albeit short) summer is getting here. . . and I can’t wait! I love outdoorsy things like camping, bbq and just enjoying the sun! It’s also fun to make summer cards for birthdays, Father’s Day and summer get-togethers like barbecues and holiday parties! I actually made this card last year for a party we had for work.

Kate, over at the Stars & Stamps forum was looking for a little tutorial help, so I thought that this would be a fun summery card to share. I made up a little video so that you can see the fine details. Here is a close-up too, of those paper pieces. Doesn’t this card make you hungry?

And here is the video:

The Cheeseburger Card!

A fun thing happened since the other gals started making their cheeseburger cards over at S&S. . . I think that sharing ideas with others is one of my favorite things because it’s what other people bring to the table that inspires me even more. You can see the tutorial, and other people’s cheeseburgers here. . .

Among the ideas shared came a lot of great ones like patterned picnic paper with ants on it. .. so cute! Way to go Velda! She also used a punch for the cheese called “drippy goo!” I love it! Kate made hers with orange paper for cheese . . .no two cheeseburgers are turning out exactly alike and I love that. I can’t wait to see what other people can do with this.

Big thanks to all of you guys for playing along with me! I just checked in on my YouTube Channel and noticed that I currently have 126,700 views of my tutorial videos, and that is amazing. As long as you guys are enjoying them, I will keep cranking them out. Do we have any requests? :)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

One Million Cards For Operation Write Home!

2011-05-15T17:37:00.001-06:00

Today I want to share with all of you – the happy announcement that Operation Write Home has shipped their ONE MILLIONTH card to a deployed soldier! I couldn’t be happier for everyone involved in this fantastic organization. I think that a photo of the millionth card says it all. . .

The card itself was made by a lady named Seongsook . . her blog has always been a favorite stop of mine along my way for inspration for cards for the troops. The card was made following a sketch from the Stars & Stamps blog . . the sketch was made by Julie . . another fabulous OWH supporter and great card maker! The card ALSO contains a digital stamp made by Paula just for OWH cardmakers. I think that it is really cool that this card showcases the effort of so many involved with the cause! Amazing! Now then, grab your kleenex and be sure to catch this video about the millionth card. . .

Now then, no time to rest! It’s time to work on that next million! :D So grab your stamps and paper. . . I also want to share with you guys my efforts for the weekend. . . Express the Moment had a crop on Saturday and Kim generously allowed me to have a booth to celebrate Operation Write Home and teach others about their cause. Here are a few shots of my table. . .

(Thank you Debbie for helping me with deocrations!!!)

Here’s me, showing my book of pamphlets, coloring pages, and sketches. . .and holding up the box for us to fill up with hand made cards!

Thank you Kirsten for helping me with the photos!!!

Kim gave me a few minutes to do some teaching about OWH so I gave a little lesson. :) I will never forget how quiet the room was and how everyone was giving their full attention. . . when told everyone the part about the millionth card, there was an audible gasp and a big round of applause! I wish I could have caught this on film for my OWH ladies to see. Kim also donated BASKETS of scrap paper and embellisments – so I spent the rest of the day giving card tutorials and lessons. At the end of the day, our little group had made 54 cards. More are on the way. . . as people have said that they have more at home to donate to this box!

Whew! What a weekend! I am so proud of my friends at OWH, and at Express the Moment . . . and I am super excited to continue with this quest. . . Memorial Day is coming soon and we will be gone camping but I will have a little stop along the OWH blog hop. Be sure to watch for that over at Stars & Stamps – there will be plenty of inspiration to be found I am sure! One last thing – be sure to stop over at the Homefront Blog for more news about that card. We are hoping to keep tabs on it during its’ journey to the troops and back home again. . . it will be a story worth watching for.

Thank you for stopping by!

May Expressions!!!

2011-05-07T14:48:00.001-06:00

Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all of you! I’m a little sad. . . we kind of had a tradition in the making of going into the park (Yellowstone) for Mother’s Day but this year the weather is holding us up. Parts of the park still have way too much snow and as much as I love going in to see all of the new babies and beautiful spring weather, Mother Nature has different plans for us this year. So we will hold off for a little while longer!

What better to cheer me up than the May card kit from Express the Moment?? The kit came just in time to help me stock up on on BIRTHDAY cards this year. That’s right, the whole kit is birthday themed with some great papers and embellishments by My Mind’s Eye, BBP, 7 Gypsies and a whole assortment of things hand picked by Kim.

Here are a few thumbnail shots of the cards I made with this kit – and don’t miss out on this bonus video with this months’ lesson on finishing touches.

At only $15 you can see what a great value these kits are. For you locals in the area, I will be at the ETM Crop next Saturday the 14th in Idaho Falls. I even get to host a booth which will be all about using your leftover supplies to make cards for the troops! Kim is generously donating some of her own leftover supplies so we will all get to practice. I can’t wait!

May Expressions–Finishing Touches!

If you enjoyed watching the video, feel free to browse older examples by going to my YouTube Channel . . you will find some videos with older kits in them for more examples of what you get in your kits from ETM.

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Mother’s Day to all of you Moms out there!

Istream Ustream We Allstream. . . .

2011-05-01T18:23:00.001-06:00

Another wonderful thing that I have discovered lately is called Ustream. It’s sort of this mad mix of live video chat and YouTube videos. Once a week, Operation Write Home has an hour long program about their latest news and card making ideas. This is a great program – if you can’t catch it live, you can watch the recorded version later. (How convenient!) If you are lucky enough to catch the live shows, it’s a lot of fun, because you can chat with the other viewers, while the program is going on.

Here is an awesome use of “Ustream” in a complete sentence. “I watched all of last weeks’ Ustream episodes on my laptop while my husband was watching NASCAR on the couch.” - and yes, it was great quality time as well. We even shared a blanket. :)

Here are a few handy links:

The Operation Write Home channel has a live show on Thursday nights at 7:30 MST. This one is super fun – it includes segments like the reading of hero mail, and “Extreme Card Makeovers” which are always entertaining.

It’s A Colorful World channel has shows at various times that are announced – mostly by facebook or on the Stars & Stamps blog. These shows, by Sandy, focus more on tutorials and fun things to keep us card makers inspired and current with some of the latest tips and techniques.

Here is one of the latest shows by Sandy – it’s a tutorial about how to make this ruffle card. The tutorial shows are fun because you can find your list of supplies on the S&S blog before hand. Then you get to watch the show and make a card along with everyone else – then we can all post the cards back at S&S to share with each other. Genious! I love it. So here is my ruffle card. I went with Red White and Blue since Memorial Day is coming up at the end of the month. So……go Check out Ustream. You will love it too!!

Hats Off To You!

2011-04-30T22:22:00.001-06:00

It’s time for another fun challenge . . . once again Cindy and I are teaming up to host another fun project challenge. This one is all about hats. Cindy and I were talking on the phone last week about all of the fantastic hats lately. . . I think that it is a combination of the royal wedding and next week’s Kentucky Derby that really got us rolling on this one.

At any rate, your challenge is to make a card (scrapbook page or other altered projects are also allowed, we are not exclusive!) inspired by hats. Here are a few images to get you started.

I found this fabulous website. . . Lady Diane Hats . . . if you can’t be inspired by this page, I don’t know what will do it. . . lol. . . just look at all of those hats!

Here is my personal favorite hat from the wedding. Go Victoria!!!

I made a hat card by using half of a circle punch. The brim of the hat was made by tracing a sideways figure-eight shape on a scrap of white paper. Then I just sort of trimmed it to fit. I added a bunch of toulle and some flowers and ribbon. . .

Cindy has some more fantastic examples at her blog. To show even more examples of inspiration, here are some other hat cards from the archives. Any hat goes! Cindy is generously dontating another great prize package for this challenge. All you have to do is hop over to her blog and add your entry to her page by May 13th. Don’t miss out on this easy chance to win!

. . . old graduation hat cards made by me and Stephanie. . .I miss you Steph!!!

PP&P Project Challenge!

2011-04-15T16:53:00.001-06:00

Oh, do I have a surprise this weekend! I have teamed up with my Mentor Cindy over at Papers Pads & Pictures to join in on a really fun new adventure. Every other Friday, we will be hosting a project challenge. The object of this will be to share some fun paper crafting ideas and new techniques! Cindy has generously supplied a lot of fun things to get us off to a roaring start. . . among these you will find a free blinkie to put on your blog or website to show that you are participating . . . and a prize pack worth over $20 of fun scrapbooking products!

How can you participate? Cindy’s blog is located here. Our very first challenge which begins today, April 15th, is a sketch challenge. All you have to do is make a card or layout project following this sketch.

Here are a few fun examples that Cindy and I made to get you started.

There are no restrictions on what products, colors, themes or techniques you use to make your card. When you are done making your cards following the sketch, just go here to post them using the inlinkz system used at many other challenges. You can find more details at Cindy’s place but the basics are pretty simple. . . Go make a sketch card, post it and you are entered to win! :) We want to encourage everyone of all skill levels to join us for this fun! Thanks for stopping by, and good luck! I know that the winner will love the prize pack that Cindy has chosen!

Sketch #64

2011-04-10T14:19:00.001-06:00

Here is today’s sketch from Stars & Stamps . . . I do love to make my sketch cards every weekend! Continuing on with the Manly Man theme I have created a card using the stamp set called “Finish Line” by CTMH.

Here is the sketch:

I turned it sideways for this card so that it would better fit the stamp that I used.

Supplies used include: More Kraft cardstock cut to an A-2 size for a base.

I used a layer of silver metallic paper cut to 5.25 x 4” and layered with a piece of black measuring the 3.5 x 4.75 size as shown in the sketch. I ran these through my cuttlebug using the template that looks like tire tread, or the aluminum stuff that you see in a lot of automotive places. Kirsten says it looks like the toolbox on her truck. :)

I layered again with a blaze orange paper (very manly) and a piece of white that I stamped the Indie car on. I stamped the checkered flags on orange and colored them in with a white gel pen.

Here are some fun techniques used in this stamped image. . . I gave the car some motion by stamping it first in the bottom right corner. Then, without re-inking I moved the stamp up and to the left a little bit and stamped again. Then I moved the stamp up and to the left again and stamped a third time. This is called second and third generation stamping and it is really fun to do to make it look like your car. . . or whatever. . . is moving somewhere. Plus, I think it makes it look the dust clouds look pretty cool. :)

Also, I distressed the edges of my white mat by using direct – to – paper distressing. This means that I used my black stamp to apply ink directly to the edges of the paper – instead of using a cat – eye or a sponge dauber that leaves a more softly distressed look. DTP distressing is more chunky and hard looking. I think it goes good with the manly – man look of this card. Fun!

Back later with more of today’s sketch cards, this sketch is easy and fun!

Manly Man Cards

2011-04-10T12:47:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it is hard to create cards with a more masculine feel. That is my goal today, as I am working on some Father’s Day cards for the troops. Father’s Day cards need to be mailed in by May 21st so that gives us lots of time to work on it!

Over at Stars & Stamps, this weeks’ challenge was Father’s Day cards and I am just loving all of the submissions that are in so far. I’m definitely going to have to be on the lookout for some more manly themed stamps.

That being said, I also got my copy of Paper Crafts magazine in the mail this week and there is a TON of really fun things in there too. . . something that really caught my eye was a card by Kim Kesti that was made to look like a tool belt. Too cute! You’ll find it on page 17 if you have the latest issue. (May / June 2011)

For a base, I used some Kraft cardstock from JoAnn’s cut to make an A-2 sized card.

The blue wood pattern in the background is from the DCWV Green Stack.

I cut a piece of orange cardstock that measures 3.5 x 2.5” I cut a strip of orange cardstock that measures 2 x 6” . . . this strip was scored and folded a bunch of times to make the pockets. After gluing this to the 3.5 x 2.5 piece, I rounded the bottom corners and attached it with eyelets. I won’t lie – it took a couple of tries to get those pockets just right and I had to just kind of trim the left and right edges with scissors to get the piece to fit right before I glued it down and added the eyelets. Last, I cut some 1/2 inch strips and made the belt by attaching eyelets on one end. I used a brown colored pencil to add some scuff marks and fake stitching to the edges. I added the “dad” letter stickers from my stash. I also used my Cricut cartridge called Indie Art to cut out the wrenches (1.5” and 2” size) and the gear from some shiny silver paper. I totally stole a tiny piece of sand paper and some nails from my husband’s junk in the garage. I don’t think he will notice. :)

I also lined the inside of the card with some orange and white paper to make a nice writing surface. Here is a closeup of the pockets. Aside from being a little tedious to make those pockets fit just right, this card was fun to make and I think it sure fits the “manly” category, don’t you?

Thanks for stopping by!

April Expressions

2011-04-09T09:43:00.001-06:00

Have you seen the new and improved Express the Moment website? It’s full of ten different kinds of awesome! I’m so very excited! I also have something else exciting to share that I am sooooooo proud of. Kim included some sketches from the Operation Write Home site in the ETM Expressions Card kit this month. Operation Write Home has been one of my biggest passions and it feels pretty darned cool that Express the Moment is sharing my love for them by spreading the word about making cards for the troops. What an awesome collaboration of two of my very favorite things! Life doesn’t get much better.

Alrighty then. . . the April kit is just packed full of springy cuteness. The papers and embellies are by Making Memories this month. The line is called “Dilly Dally” and there are all kinds of flowers, butterflies, bugs and pretty colors to work with. Combine these great supplies with a few sketches from Operation Write Home and you have everything that you need to crank out a TON of cute springtime cards.

Here are just a few:

I love pink ric-rac and these cute pastel colors.

Also included in this month’s kit – a ton of paper butterfly punches in a variety of different colors, and more ribbon than you could use in a lifetime. Haha.

There are quite a few letter stickers and rub-ons and a 12x12 sheet of perforated sentiments that can be used as an easy layer.

I also wanted to share these ones made by my scrapping buddy Kirsten. . . she’s doing such a great job! Wow! Way to pitch in, lady!

Now go on and check out the new Express the Moment site and look at all of the neat things there. (I especially enjoy the “design team” page – wow, those ladies are hot don’t you think? Hehehe!) I can’t wait for the crop in May. . . ohboy! It’s only $15. . have you signed up?

Sketches galore!

2011-03-27T18:54:00.001-06:00

You won’t want to miss a stop over to Stars & Stamps this weekend where there is a big birthday celebration going on for the Commander in Chief Sandy A!!! There are all kind of free digi’s for downloading that you can use to make cards for the troops. There are also three, THREE sketches today:

Kirsten and I got together today for a little troop-card-making time and here is what we came up with. We really wanted to use the stamps that we got that are from My Cute Stamps . . . proceeds for the Konnichiwa set were sent to the Japanese disaster relief fund . . . the website says they raised over $600 by selling this stamp set, so that is awesome!

We also used our new CTMH sets called Kanji Phrases (C1339 – $18.95) and a good portion of Kirsten’s Far East paper stack by DCWV. That pretty teal ink used for the bottom card is called Juniper. . . it’s a lovely shade.

I will have some exciting new things coming soon including a challenge run by my mentor Cindy at Papers Pads & Pictures . . . if you are a Facebooker you might want to add this page to your “likes” because a lot of our stuff will be advertised through FB. Cindy’s challenges will be a new thing starting next month, you won’t want to miss out!

Where was I? That was a post full of randomness. . . but most importantly, Happy Birthday Sandy, and thank you for all that you do!

March Expressions!

2011-03-13T21:18:00.001-06:00

It’s time for Card kits from Express the Moment! This month’s goodies came from Fancy Pants Designs – a line by Lili called “It’s the Little Things!” Did you ever notice that it’s the little things in life, like a handwritten note, or something in the mail besides BILLS that can really make your day?

Here are the cards that I have made with this month’s kit so far. I hope to have time to crank out a few more, and work with the other kits from Express the Moment that are out this month too. The page of the month kit is adorable – and I have really gotten into this year’s Moments project – a 12 x 12 album! More about this later. . . ON WITH THE CARDS!

I really wanted to focus on making complete cards this month. That meant, adding sentiments, paper on the inside of the cards, and even liners for the envelopes. The huge amount of patterned papers in the March kit made this really easy and fun to do. This “precious moment” card has a lot of uses, don’t you think? A matching lined envelope just really gives it a nice finishing touch.

The kit also includes a full sheet of chipboard stickers in these fun little banner shapes. I have seen lots of projects with banners on them lately… Banners must be IN!!! I doodled the letters onto these triangle banner shapes to make a baby card and attached them to a ribbon. How much fun is that!!! Not into making a baby card right now? You could write “love” or something else on your little banner. I like that you can make up whatever you want!

There is also a full 12x12 page of what looks like playing cards with these little hearts and birds on them in the kit. I cut out two of the aces and added them to this card with the hand-journaled sentiment, “What a great pair!” You could also cut out the numbered cards to represent a special date, or an age! For instance. . . to make a birthday card for me, you should use the “2” and “9” cards, for 29, of course!!

Kim also includes envelopes of different sizes in her kits. When you get tired of making those A-2 size cards, you can always try your hand at something different. This card is 4 x 9 and includes a liner of really fun old-school tablet paper, perfect for writing a long love note to somebody special.

This last card is also a big one – 7 x 5.5 – I was thinking that this would be a good size to include my son’s school photos in – since I like to send the big ones to Grandma and Grandpop. What a fun kit! Now don’t forget to stop by the gallery page at Express the Moment for more exact measurements and instructions, and to see what everyone else is doing with their kits. That’s the fun part. . . besides getting these kits every month, that is!

Here is one more look at the papers and embellies that I used on the insides of the cards. . . I especially love the look of the school paper on the black card – and what an easy way to get your kids to write a note on the inside of a card too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch #60

2011-03-13T19:57:00.001-06:00

Have you been over to Stars & Stamps this weekend to pick up the latest sketch? This one WAS a bit challenging. . . but how would you otherwise have the chance to give it a try? Kirst and I went for an asian theme using papers from her new Far East stack and some kanji-type sentiment stamps that I picked up at the dollar store ages ago. We stamped the tree (by Inkadoo) in CTMH Chocolate. Yay!

Here is a phone pix of our card!

What can YOU do with this sketch?

Make like a bunny and blog hop!

2011-03-04T21:16:00.001-07:00

(Did you come from Julie’s place? Great job! You have arrived safely!)

Hey there. . . thanks for stopping at Scrap Happens for the Operation Write Home bloghop! I’ll make this short and sweet. . . as you blog hoppers read this, I will be making a 300 mile journey to the nearest Hobby Lobby with my friend Kirsten in tow. :D We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time and the snow is starting to melt enough that we feel like we can make the trek safely. . . that’s what girls like us from the frozen tundra of Idaho have to do to get supplies, besides the local WalMart or online shopping! So my hopping will have to wait until Sunday. . . but here is a little treat for all of you!

Here is my springy card. . . there are a lot of things that remind me of spring. . . flowers, baby animals, ABOVE ZERO TEMPERATURES. . . and starting to plan a garden. . . one of my favorite things is fresh strawberries and blossoms on the fruit trees! Fruit papers and embellies are very IN this scrap season. . . most of this card is made by papers and stamps by IMAGINISCE called BERRYLICIOUS. I also used a “You’re Sweet” sentiment stamp by CTMH!

I followed one of the latest sketches from Stars & Stamps to make this card because well, those sketches are just one of my favorite things about Operation Write Home and the S&S blog! I can hardly wait for Sunday and the new sketch every week. I have printed each one and keep them in a binder. They are SO very handy when you are in need of a quick card idea or you just want to have fun using your scraps!

Blog candy time! Here are a few little sentiments for you to print to go along with your fruity scrap stash. I hope that you will get the opportunity to use them . . . maybe along with a future sketch challenge or something fun!

To use them, just right click for the bigger version and click save or print. . . if you have a photoshop program or something similar, you can resize them however you like.

Also, I am still dealing stamps and ink and such by my favorite company, Close To My Heart. Anyone who makes a purchase through me this month (March 1-31) Will be entered in a drawing to win a free MARCH Stamp of the Month Set. Here it is. . .

Just stop by my Close To My Heart shop any old time! These bunnies remind me of an old version of a Peter Rabbit book that I had when I was a little girl. I just love them and I couldn’t leave them out of the blog hop. . . they are bunnies, after all!!!

Thank you for stopping by. . . hop along now to Yvonne’s page . . . she is One Creative Momma for sure! Big hugs to all!

Sketch Challenge #57

2011-02-27T10:08:00.001-07:00

Top O The Mornin’ to ya! Are you going to be doing a little card making this week? I was lucky enough to have a little scrap time with my card buddy Kirsten last night. We are a wee bit behind with the sketches, but wanted to follow this cute one, Sketch #57 from over at Stars & Stamps. Here is the sketch. . .

Rather than the 2” circle, we used some stamps that we have collected for the upcoming Day ‘O Green . . .

Just look at all of the lucky green and gold goodness. . . how fun!

If you are in need of some more inspiration this week, stop on by Stars & Stamps where you will find a tutorial for last weeks’ very cool idea by Pam from Airborne Wife Stamping. I haven’t had the time to try this one myself yet, but the example card and the ones posted by the S&S ladies are breathtaking! The technique is to stamp a flourish of some kind, add paper flowers, and then run the whole bit through an embossing folder. Add some brads and a sentiment. . . I am definitely going to have to try this one out later this week. Isn’t this beautiful?

Next Saturday is blog hop day for Operation Write Home. . . I can’t wait! I will definitely have some fun things to share and some blog candy too. My latest winners are helloholley and my friend from across the pond, Bronwen who both replied to the last post. . . it would be way too hard to pick just one, so I will be sending each of them a little goodie. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Finding Your Own Style

2011-02-12T11:30:00.001-07:00

Good weekend to you all! The new schedule is falling into place nicely. I think that I have found that Saturdays will be a good time for me to update with new lessons, ideas and such. I have something fun to share today. . . a discussion on finding your own style!

I’m going to use the new page kits from Express the Moment as an example today. Page kits are new for 2011 and they are great fun. At $9.99 they are a great value for making a two page layout as everything is included in the kit. Most pieces are pre-cut or ready to cut with a few simple instructions. These designs, by Amanda Gibson are very fun and quick to put together. I just did mine this morning. . . here, I will share!

Above is a photo of the page as it is designed by Amanda. I love it! As I was putting mine together, I had a few thoughts in my head. (ouch) I was thinking a lot about personal style. As you can see, Amanda has a fantastic gift of penmanship. . . you can almost instantly recognize Amanda’s designs by the swirls, doodles and hand-written sentiments. What a talent! And although I really admire this gift that she has, I wanted to make my layout. . . my own. So today, I will discuss personal style.

One of the things that I love best about these kits is the opportunity it allows you to create or exercise your OWN personal style. What does this mean exactly? It is perfectly OK to create your pages and make them look EXACTLY like Amanda’s example. It is perfectly OK to CASE, scraplift or copy any of the cards on my blog, to look exactly like mine. But isn’t it fun to add your own touch of personality. . . defining the project as uniquely your own?

Maybe when you craft with friends, or admire the work of others, you notice that you can always tell who created it? On card day, for example, I can always tell who made each kit. My friend Tiffani has a great love and talent for distressing. Everything must be distressed! Deb is a beautiful seamstress, and a lot of her creations include stitching, and the use of ribbons and buttons. Stephanie is the queen of the Cricut machine and can make ANYTHING with her Cricut! And my style? . . None of my layouts or cards would be “Me” if they didn’t look like they had been recently cropdusted by a fairy of some sorts. I always have to have sparkle, glitter and bling!

And so although I love the hand-doodling on Amanda’s example, I finished the layout and set to complete the pages in my style.

Rather than doing all of the doodling on the page, I added a few of my own finishing touches. Instead of using the doodled “love,” I took advantage of the opportunity to use my new favorite letter stamps. (CTMH – Bohemian Alphabet, E1019)

I also doodled on my hearts with glitter gel pens in pink, green, blue and clear star glitter. I outlined all of the lettering “all u need is…” and the “love” letter stamps with clear star glitter too.

Now when I add my photos and place the pages into my album, I will really feel like the finished project is my own. A great combination of Amanda’s awesome design talent and a little personal touch of “me.”

Uniformity is ok. Sometimes it is preferred. But allowing the creativity of your own unique, personal style to shine through can be a beautiful, enjoyable thing. And that, is all I have to say about that for now.

What is your personal scrapbooking style? Have you developed one? Is there the use of a particular product or technique that repeats itself in your work? Leave me a comment, including some contact information. Tell me about your personal style. Next Saturday, I will pick a random comment and send out a little RAK. This is something that I also would like to do more often.

And now to address this week’s emails and questions – there are a lot of great things coming up! Don’t forget the ETM Crop next weekend, Feb. 19th in Idaho Falls! February kits (Moments, Expressions, Page and Recipes) are all available at Express the Moment and they are fantastic! The Spring / Summer CTMH Idea Books are also released. You can see an online version here. All of my old video tutorials can be seen on my Youtube Channel here. Yes, I will have new videos this year too! There is a blog hop for Operation Write Home coming up in March and I will be working on some troop cards tomorrow!

I have also been asked a lot recently about how long I have been Scrapbooking. It just so happens, that this year is my 20th High School Reunion and so. . . I was searching through a few odds and ends looking for old classmates and such. My Mother has always been one of those OCD people who keep EVERYTHING. I have an entire box in the garage of old school papers that she kept, neatly filed by grade AND SUBJECT. (clearly, she did not have to work outside the home!) Right inside one of the folders for my 5th grade year, I found a real treasure. It is an autograph book that I made at the end of the school year. Inside are notes written by my 5th grade friends and doodles that I drew. The entire book is made of yellow construction paper that I cut (not so neatly, I might add.) and stapled together into a book. On the cover, please note the use of markers, sticker and stamp. Oh, I remember my Nancy stamp! Haha. . . enjoy! And thank you for stopping by!

February Expressions

2011-02-08T21:02:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest news from Nancyland. . . I am terribly excited really to share the excitement that I have over a change in my job status. . . I have switched to a “perdiem” status at the hospital meaning that I will still get to enjoy working with my fantastic co-workers at EIRMC a few times a month on a “as needed” basis. I have ALSO started back part time with my great friends and mentor, Dr. Taylor at Southeast Idaho Urology. These are all good changes! But change is not always easy or swift. . . as I make this transition I also find myself at the beginning of a month which of course also includes EXPRESSIONS KITS from EXPRESS THE MOMENT. . . oh, my favorite time indeed!!!

So please excuse my slowness this month in sharing the February Expressions Kit . . . it’s packed full of paper goodness from the Echo Park “Be Mine” line and includes a bunch of really fun pre-folded card bases that Kim found AND ribbons from the ribbon store in Shelly that I have yet to explore on my own. . . .

Here are a few goodies that I have to share for this month… the first three cards were made following sketches from the Stars & Stamps blog. . . ETM ladies. . . if you haven’t picked up on these sketches yet, YOU REALLY WANT TO, I assure you!!! I will link up my cards to the sketch posts later this weekend when I get my blessed days off!!!

Here is a fun thing to do with baker’s twine and a few buttons. String those buttons together and leave the twine in one piece. . . adhere the buttons with glue dots. Fun and cute! I found an example of this button and twine technique idea in the latest issue of my Card Maker magazine. Fun, no?

Here is one of those neat pre-folded card bases. Simply cover the front and inside with some patterned paper and some sticker embellishments from the kit. Cut out some of the journaling cards and have your family members each write love notes on them. Slip the cards into the pocket as shown and voilla. . . a really fun Valentine gift for someone special.

Here is another fun pre-folded card base that you can use to hold photos, a small gift or gift card. . .I turned mine into a CD holder. Just stamp on a blank CD label to make it match the colors of the card. I think that this makes a fun Valentine for a man or a teen.

Loads of fun things are coming up for Express the Moment including a new website and a crop on the 19th. I hope to see a bunch of you locals at the crop and as always I hope that you all get the chance to check out the great kit values at ETM . . . please bear with me as I adjust to my new schedule. . . it IS going to be really nice once things settle into place! Hooray!

Thanks for stopping by!

Free Sketches!

2011-01-22T11:30:00.001-07:00

This was just posted on Facebook by Jeanne from Operation Write Home. It’s a link to a pdf file that she compiled – an entire year’s worth of card sketches (one for each week) from the Stars & Stamps blog that can be printed in 13 pages. Organization tip: do you have a 3-ring binder to keep card ideas in? Printing files like these can give you oodles of inspiration when you hit a tough spot. In your binder, you could also save pages from card magazines. You could also print templates made by me! I have a few. Keeping your very own Card Idea book can be a lot of fun.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PDF FILE!

Thanks for this Jeanne, you rock!

This is such a neat thing – new card makers will have no problem at all getting card ideas from these great sketches! How do you use card sketches? Just go by the measurements provided in the sketch. Substitute patterned and plain cardstock for the different colored areas. Add your own twist by adding stamps, embellishments or stickers. . . rotate the sketch for a different look! Here is an example.

And if you love it like I do, don’t forget to take part in the weekly sketch challenges over at Stars & Stamps.

More fun new goodies

2011-01-22T09:40:00.001-07:00

I found this video about another new product that will be available in the Spring/Summer CTMH catalogue. . . I hadn’t noticed these! I’m so glad that this video is out! These look like a lot of fun – and maybe an inexpensive way to get some great border looks without the cost of a whole bunch of those expensive border punches. I’mma get me some.

January Expressions

2011-01-21T10:18:00.001-07:00

I just noticed that I failed to blog my January Expressions cards. . . yikes! There are tons of exiting things going on over at Express the Moment, including a new web layout, and new kits for this year. There are scrapbooking kits (a year long project to DIE for this year – I love it!) recipe kits, PAGE kits (new this year) and my favorite, the card kits. If you haven’t been to ETM lately to check things out, you definitely should. Getting my kits each month is definitely a highlight. . . I love that everything comes packaged and ready for me to go. . . with so many cute matching embellishments and fun things to do.

For January, Kim picked the cutest paper by Fancy Pants Designs from a line called Hot Chocolate. She also included a print out of “page map” card sketches . . . I love the Page Maps sketches because you are never without an idea of what to do with your cards. Rather than making up new designs this month, I decided to follow those sketches and demonstrate that you can easily make one card following each sketch. . . these kits are fantastically huge and there are ALWAYS plenty of supplies inside!

There is even this cute frame inside the kit – I decided to demonstrate how this can be made into a fun shaker frame for a holiday photo. Just save the baggie that that the frame is packaged in. Cut a piece of 4x4 cardstock and mount a photo to the center. Adhere the baggie to the front of the photo, using adhesive only along the outside edges of the 4x4 cardstock. Next, you need to put some dimensional squares or foam tape on each corner, INSIDE the baggie. This will give your baggie some open space for the things to shake around in. Add some snowflake punches to the inside of the baggie. Fold the edges of the baggie around and secure them to the back of the 4x4 cardstock. Finally, adhere the baggie to the frame, making sure that your photo is centered. Now give it a shake. Fun!

Thanks for stopping by to see the Expressions goodies. . . I can’t wait to start showing off my “Moments” project each month this year. And hey locals – ETM is having a crop on February 19th! Check out the details on their site . . . this event is a ton of fun and will help get you started with your kits for 2011. There is always great shopping too. . . and we will be making some super cute cards! I can’t wait!

You are making cards out of . . .what?

2011-01-19T17:23:00.001-07:00

So. . . in the past couple of months I have been really stretching my imagination and exercising my creativity. Too bad that doesn't burn as many calories as an exercise class, right? Hmm. . . I was inspired by a few different sources to try stamping on surfaces OTHER than paper. So far, my experimenting has been full of a few interesting results, both good and bad. Here are a few things that are fun to stamp on: ribbon, buttons, fabric, acrylic and baggies. Things that do not work so well: major appliances, the cat, and my husband. . . although the kids rather enjoy it and can have a lot of fun with their custom "tatoos."

But eureka. . .I had ONE thing that worked very well. . . here is a fun NEW thing to try. . stamping on a DRYER SHEET!!! (. . . . huh? . . .) Yes, I know. (. . . cricket noise. . .) I SAID . . . A DRYER SHEET!!! Please, allow me to demonstrate.

Last weekend, my friend Kirsten was making cards with me, and I started stamping on a dryer sheet. I got the whole, raised-eyebrow, "You're stamping on. . . what?" reaction. . . and since then I have really kind of gone wild with it. Here are two DRYER SHEET techniques that I have found that I have just fallen in love with.

First, stamping on the USED dryer sheet. Not only will this make beautiful cards and scrapbooking embelishments, it will also inspire you to DO YOUR LAUNDRY. Bonus! Remove the used dryer sheet from your clean laundry and rather than discarding it, lie it flat and press it for a short while. Cut the dryer sheet and mount it to a piece of cardstock by taping it on the back side of the cardstock. After the dryer sheet is mounted, stamp on it. Be prepared to use a heavy amount of ink to do this, as the dryer sheet soaks up quite a bit of it. The image will be very soft . . . here is an example of a card stamped on a used dryer sheet. A close up shows the soft image very nicely. I distressed the edges using ink as usual and mounted the stamped image to the card with brads. I have also found that a strong adhesive, but not a liquid one, works best when mounting dryer sheets to your cards. Brads or eyelets are also a good idea to give your project an extra bit of staying power.

What a fun, soft image. You almost want to touch it. It is, in fact, a very fun, soft feeling surface that adds a nice touch to a sentimental card.

Here is a tutorial on another method - using a NEW dryer sheet for card projects. I must admit that I love this technique even more. The opportunities here are fantastic - not only does a new dryer sheet give your cards a lovely scent but you can taylor them to the occasion. Imagine a "New Baby" card made on a dryer sheet that is made from a fantastic baby powder smelling dryer sheet . . a spring time boquet of flowers on a floral scented card. . . a purple, lavendar stamp on a lovely lavendar scented card. . .oh, how fun!

I have found that stamping directly on to a new dryer sheet gives a more crisp image than on the used dryer sheet. The ink does mix with the fabric softener, and takes a little while to dry. . . so be prepared. Although neither of these other two example cards show stamping directly onto the new dryer sheet, I did find even another way to use new dryer sheets when making cards. . . check this out!

First, I cut the new dryer sheet so that it folds nicely around a piece of cardstock that measures 4 x 5.25"

I have found by suprise, that several brands of dryer sheet already come folded in a 4" size. All I had to do was trim down one edge a bit. And yes - the dryer sheet cut nicely in my paper trimmer.

Next, adhere the dryer sheet to the cardstock by using adhesive on the back. Through trial and error, I found that it does not hurt to mist your paper with a bit of spray adhesive on both sides. Although this is not totally necessary - it does insure that the dryer sheet will not "lift" from the cardstock later on. Glue failure is the bane of my existance! A little extra glue never hurts.

If you use a glue tape that has blue dots like I do, do not use this kind on the front of the card. The blue dots will show through the dryer sheet. It does work nicely on the back though.

After your paper is covered with the dryer sheet, run it through your cuttlebug or other dry embossing type of machine, and emboss it with a pattern. After you do this - you will notice that something magical has happened! The dryer sheet and the paper have been pressed beautifully together and become one solid, pretty smelling piece of paper! Of note, if you use a piece of colored cardstock instead of white, it makes the final piece a soft pastel color. It's fun. . . you can even use patterned paper in the middle for a neat result. Try it!!!

After this step, you can then distress the edges of your dryer sheet paper just as you would any other sheet of paper. You can trim the edges. You can use a border punch. I DID notice that the inside of my embossing folder was left with a fine film of fabric softener. This wiped away easily with a soft cloth.

Embellish your card as you normally would and suprise your sender with this fun, smelly little card. I once tried to make smelly cards by attaching silk flower embelishments to them that were sprayed with scented oils. I called the cards "scentiments" and they were fun - I think that these are even better smelling cards, however. What a suprise! I love it!

If you enjoyed today's stamp sets, they are available through my Close To My Heart site. . . I used "Bowl of Cherries" B1348 and "Rosy Regards" B1369

I can't wait to make New Baby cards using this technique. Are you going to try it? If you do, let me know, I would love to see. Thank you for stopping by!

January Goodies

2011-01-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it's January and I am off to a fine start on the night shift this weekend at work. :) Before I delve too much into my dark little kingdom of vampire-like day dreaming, I wanted to leave some links for my awesome customers who have asked me WHAT IS GOING ON WITH CLOSE TO MY HEART???

CTMH is moving to a new system of Idea Books this year. The spring/summer book will be out very soon. The new books are said to be bigger. . with even more ideas and goodies, and there are a lot of really fun new things coming very soon! In the meanwhile, there is a smaller idea book called Inspirations to tide us over. You can see the online version here. Or by going to my CTMH site and clicking on the "View January Inspirations" link in the bottom right hand corner.

The Inspirations book is full of great things including this beautiful Workshop On The Go kit. (above) WOTG kits are awesome because they give you everything you need to make a layout and several cards. The kit includes the instructions. Would you like to put one together with my help? I would gladly participate. :) At any rate, here is a pic of the kit. You get an entire stamp set, a paper packet (patterned and cardstock paper) a packet of brads buttons, ribbons and metal embellishments, the instructions, AND A SPRAY PEN!!!!!!! These new spray pens are awesome. You add water, the ink color of your choice, and some pearl paint. Shake it up - and you have a very inexpensive version of one of those other brands of glittery or glossy colored spray products. This is by far my favorite toy so far this year. I played with it yesterday. Hubby said it sounded like I had lost my little mind, the way I was squealing and spraying paint everywhere. Wheee! Whee whee wheeeeeeeee! (have you all seen that annoying Geico ad with the pig?)

There are also many sets of stamps in the Inspirations books. I ordered a bunch because, if you get the WOTG kit, it unlocks the other sets at very special prices, just for January. You can get additional stamp sets for $5, $10, $15, or $25 . . . I got this beautiful set of Bohemian Alphabet stamps that I will be using a ton this year for $25 and a few other sets to show off soon too. There are great Valentine stamps available. I did not order the January stamp of the month this time since I splurged on the alphabet set, but here is a pic of it - it's beautiful. I saw a post where a lady made these great powder room wall hangings using this set. . .the shoe and the dress form were adorable and perfect for this project.

Bohemian Alphabet

January Stamp Of The Month

Here is a link to a video about my favorite new toy. . . the SPRAY PEN! They will be available individually with the new spring / summer idea books coming in February. Now then, I need to know how many of these Idea Books to order. A few of you have expressed interest in getting one, any more takers? Contact me here, or by email. nancykeller at myctmh dot com. :)

Have a safe and happy weekend. I am working lots, but I will be back to my paper and glue by the end of next week. Yay!

Altered Candy Box

2011-01-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Since Christmas is over, I feel okay about sharing this project that I made for a co-workers' daughter for a gift. This was one of the most fun projects that I have done for a while and it turned out so cute and sparkly!

The story behind this box is that my co-worker is taking his young daughter to Disneyworld to have breakfast with the princesses. . . this gift was what he gave her to tell her that she was going. Can you imagine the amount of SQUEE that ensued? I wish I had it on film. :)

First, I totally stole an empty candy box from work. Someone nice left a box of See's truffles for us at the nurses' station. The candies made a quick disappearance, and I later found this box in the trash - I rescued it as it was way too pretty to discard. Candy boxes are always fun for decorating.

I used my Cricut cartridge called Storybook for all of the accents on this box. I cut the crown out of some gold foil paper in three layers - the background, normal cut, and accent layers. I added lots of bling for the crown gems. The crown was put together using dimensional foam squares. The letters for her name (Isn't Aurowyn a beautiful name?) were also cut in three layers - Shadow for gold foil, normal in pink cardstock, and accents again in the gold foil. The layers were glued together and I added some pearls to further embellish each letter.

The crown and letters were added to white cardstock which was added to the top of the box. A light dusting of clear acrylic spray paint gave the top of this box a little extra staying power. Then, I added dots of stickles and glitter gel pen dots to the outside edges of the paper. I also cut four corner flourishes on the gold foil paper. I creased these in half using an embossing tool and added them to each corner of the box. The bottom of the box was covered with a pink glittery paper that I found in a DCWV stack - garden party I believe. This was done by measuring the sides of the boxes exactly and cutting the strips to match. I think that I also even covered the bottom of the box - but I did not need to do anything to the inside of the box as it was already covered with a pretty brown paper.

It only seemed right to add the "wish came true" sentiment cut on gold foil to the inside of this box. I hope that maybe later, this little gal will get to keep all of her princess mementos inside this box. Inside the box I made a card from the princesses to invite Miss Aurowyn to come and see them. I did a google search for Disney Princess clip art and came up with a million results. I printed and cut this one to size on my printer and added even more glitter, flowers and embellishments.

I am a font collector of sorts - each of the fonts shown on the inside of the card here were downloaded for free. I tried to match each princesses' name with a font like the one used in the movies - there is even a font called "Walt's Hand" that looks like the writing in the body of the letter.

Best wishes to Aurowyn and her family - I hope that the vacation is great - and I want photos! :D

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! It's 2011. . . a new fresh start for my scrappy little blog. . . I have a few good news tidbits for all of you! First of all, here is your invitation to join me for this years' paper engineering projects! There will be a lot of them, I'm sure!

Don't forget to add my page to favorites, or join me on Facebook for updates and new projects!

And now the news!

After careful consideration (ok, about two seconds) I have decided to continue to be a consultant for Close To My Heart. . . I can't wait to share all of the new fun things with you that CTMH has to offer this year. There are some REALLY great new products and new idea books coming. Let me know if you would like a hard copy in the mail. . . you can also continue your CTMH shopping on my site, 24/7 . I am expecting a package of new-years goodies in the mail any day now. If it wasn't 8 below zero outside, I would probably be sitting on the front step, stalking the delivery guy! Here's a little hint. . . butterflies! Oh, I can't wait!

Kim has graciously accepted to continue to put up with my scrap insanity and I will continue to help out with the Expressions card kits this year from Express the Moment. If you're not already getting ETM kits by mail, now is a great time to sign up. There are card kits, scrapbooking kits, recipe kits, and this year. . . page kits! I can't wait to see what these are all about. Stop by ETM to take a look!

I will also continue to have tutorials, templates, and many card and page ideas this year. I have decided to make a resolution to work on more scrapbook PAGES this year too . . . although I haven't yet decided if I will be making this years' album a 12x12 or an 8.5 x 11.

How about you. . . do you have any requests for techniques, projects or products this year? I am taking requests to get my new years' mojo flowing. As always, thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to also stop by Operation Write Home. . . my favorite organization for inspiration and warm fuzzies. Won't you make it a resolution to join me in making a few cards for the troops this year? Today's invitation comes to you by way of a layout idea from Stars & Stamps - Sketch #50. Print these weekly sketch ideas and you will never run out of card layouts. . .

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy New Year to YOU!

Express The Moment - A Year In Review!

2010-12-06T21:44:00.001-07:00

I have to confess, I am one of those crazy people who loves to fill out those Facebook and e-mail games about all of the things that you did or remember best about the last year. I love New Years!!! Last week, when I picked up my December Expressions kit from Kim over at Express the Moment I had a fun thought, why not think back about the year and revisit some of my favorite cards from the 2010 kits???

I also thought that this would be a really fun reference for those who are new to Express the Moment or who might want to snag one of these kits - I will also link to all of this years' posts so if you pick up any of those past kits you can see some ideas of what to do with them. I love to pick up extras of my favorite kits, and I am sure that this December kit is going to be one of those!! The December kit features papers and embellishments by Fancy Pants Design - it's a line called Christmas Magic and I love the rich browns, reds, greens and blues. There are TWO acrylic stamps inside, and an entire book of journaling papers that make great card liners! So here is what I accomplished with the December kit, and a little year in review for you too.

In January we used adorable bird paper and there was a video about things to do with chipboard.

Febuary kits were Valentines, and I made a video about making pocket cards.

March kits were full of flowery, butterfly goodness and there is a video for stair-step cards.

For April kits I made the slider card tutorial.

May's google-eyed birds still have me giggling. I loved that paper!

June kits were a favorite of mine, and I made a video about what to do with letter stickers. You don't want to miss this one!

July was worthy of two posts, here and here and featured the awesome Close to My Heart 3-paper 16-card trick. . . and lots of reference to Operation Write Home!

August cards were also done using this template and there are also instructions for making money holding pocket cards.

My September post includes a lot of fun altered projects like a pencil holder, a notebook and even some cute quick bookmarks. This one was also a very fun kit!

October was another fun month for cards and more altered projects, a boo bucket, candy bar wrappers, tubes, candles and of course fun spooky cards!

November was fun with the owl paper. . . I think that Kim had a thing for birds this year, don't you? What a hoot!

I have had more fun this year being on the design team for ETM. . . I can't call it work because all I do is create cards. . . so a big thank-you to Kim for the awesome kits this year!!! Now would be a great time to pick up some of those older kits or sign up for the kit club if you are interested. . . isn't a $15 a month kit a fantastic Christmas present to yourself? And just think of all of the leftovers you will have for making those cards for the troops (go Operation Write Home!!!) . . . not all of the kits are glitter free, but all of them have something inside that can be used, and all of them are such a great value! Merry Christmas Express the Moment, and Happy New Year too!

In 2011 I would like to make the following resolutions. . .to work on my software and editing so that I can provide even more fun video tutorials and templates and to organize things so that they are easier to find rather than searching the archives!!!

Brew Holders Revisited - Cocoa Style!

2010-11-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

One week later, we are still shovelling out from at least a foot of new fallen snow. I shouldn't complain, areas nearby got several feet, and "it doesn't show signs of stopping. . . . " lalalala....

So maybe back in September you got to see the Brew Holder template that I originally designed for Halloween treats. . . I put apple cider in them and mentioned at the time that this would be fun to do for Christmas with hot cocoa instead. . . well this morning I gave it a go and other than a slight difference in size of the cocoa packets, it was a success!!

This packet was made on a red cardstock base and I used a couple of different Imaginisce patterned papers and my cricut cartridge called "Joys of the Season" to cut the mug and snowflake. As you can see I also added a candy cane (because candy cane in your cocoa is just YUM) and here are a few other tips and tricks if you want to try this yourself. Again, what a fun little inexpensive suprise for a friend, teacher or maybe a secret pal.

Tip number one is that cocoa packets (especially the kind with marshmellows) are thicker than the packets with cider. So make sure that you glue the envelope shut AFTER adding the packet inside. Also, use a lot of good quality high-tack glue or scrapbooking tape.

You could design the front of your brew packet with whatever kind of stamp, die cut or other embelishment that you want. . . I just loved the look of this mug. Other ideas for things to put inside include tea, cider or any other Christmas drinks. . . I'm not really sure what Wassail is, and I'm not sure that there is a drink mix for Hot Buttered Rum, but there you go. Have fun with it!

Here are links to the video and the template again if you would like to watch and print again.

To print the template - left click on the template above. It should open in a new window as a larger size. Right click on the template and select "print". If you need me to email this template to you, the best way to reach me is at nancykeller at myctmh dot com.

Award? For me??? :D

2010-11-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

What a nice suprise! I just got this cute thing from Miss Adri over at Ma Cherie Creations. Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? It definitely brightened my blustery, snowed-in blizzardy day. :)

And now I will play along with the game that goes with the award. . .

These are the rules for accepting ...

When you accept the award, you must:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.
2. Share 8 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards

I also follow a ton of blogs and I really enjoy surfing around to see what is out there. . . but I can only pick eight, so here we go!

It's A Colorful World

A must stop for me. . . there is always so much inspiration coming from Sandy, not to mention that she is the Queen of Operation Write Home, a cause that I am very passionate about!

Sea Garden

A blog that I found on one of the OWH blog hops originally, I can't get enough of Seongsook's creations.

Dustin Pike

I don't often pay real money for things online like digital stamps and such, but I have collected many from Dustin Pike and they are worth every penny. . . he is my favorite Doodle artist! I can't even tell you how much I love creating cards with his designs.

Scrappin' Navy Wife

Nikki is another artist that caught my eye a long time ago when I was introduced to Operation Write Home. Her cards and creations are so unique and I always love to peek in and see what she has been up to.

Heather's Coffee Break

My morning browsing usually starts with a cuppa joe and some blog surfing - it is only appropriate to stop by here and see what Heather has been up to. It's ALWAYS something cute.

Moments With Kim

I can't get enough of Kim and her cute family and the fun links and ideas she comes up with. Kim is the Commander in Chief of Express the Moment and I will also always be grateful to her for the fun times that I have with ETM!

Papers Pads and Pictures

Cindy - another fellow OWH bloghopper - is responsible for my addiction to Close To My Heart products and I completely blame her for the burn on my table caused by the heat embosser. JUST KIDDING CINDY! I love you!

Card and Page

When I grow up, I want to be able to create beautiful things like Windy . . . I'm pretty sure I found Windy along the way at OWH but it could have also been from magazine surfing. . . Windy's work has been featured in CARDS magazines and I am always looking forward to seeing what she has been up to.

And now eight things about myself...

1.) I love those Dancing shows on TV, I save them all on the DVR and watch them while I am stamping. . . Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Your A$$ Off, etc. I love them.

2.) I love animals and share this love with my son - we have been blessed with several fun different types of pets over the years - dogs, cats, tortoises, birds, hamsters, fish, and our current furry creature is a ferret. We love him! I have promised my son that some day we will travel to Austrailia to see the zoo where Steve Irwin used to do shows.

3.) I have been working in health care pretty much all of my life. I started as a habilitation tech, worked as a CNA, and got my nursing license in 1994. I currently work in orthopedics. Hospital shift work is hard, but seeing broken people get better is very rewarding, and I have met a ton of lifelong friends along the way.

4.) I am a big Star Trek geek and I love anything "Trekkie." Hubby and I are sad that the Star Trek Experience is no longer at the Hilton in Las Vegas. What will we do for vacation now? My favorite series? Voyager. No wait, TNG. . . ack, I love them all. Live long and prosper! Make it so!

5.) My underwear has to match my outfit. This poses a problem for the new "standardized scrubs" rule at the hospital. We are being forced to wear navy blue. Hmm.

6.) My favorite movies are the Epic historical adventure types like Braveheart, Gladiator, and such.

7.) I used to play Dungeons and Dragons with dice and paper and a pencil. :) My favorite part though, was doodling sketches of the characters in the margins.

8.) I live only an hour or so outside of Yellowstone National Park. I love where I live. I love to go to the park, I live to camp and ride and enjoy the outdoors. They say that Yellowstone is one huge cauldron or ancient volcano that is going to blow up and kill us all some day. I am ok with that. . . what a way to go!

Hey thanks Adri for the cute award. . . and thanks for stopping by. We are snowed in today. All of the roads and schools are closed. There is a blizzard moving in. We only have a foot or so here in town but in Island Park (just outside of Yellowstone) they are measuring the snowfall in feet instead of inches. I am spending the day working on my Christmas cards. :) Cheers!

Make-It Monday!

2010-11-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a little post for the locals. . . Next Monday the 22nd I thought it would be fun to have a little make-it and take it project to get you ready for making your Christmas Cards! Just stop on by my place any time Monday 10am-2pm or 4pm - 6pm (I need a little break in the middle to go get A.J. from school) :)

I will have all of the supplies you need to make a tri-fold Christmas card. Don't be intimidated. . . they are super easy! I have been hoarding some of my favorite Christmas papers and supplies for this project and everything will be provided for you to make one similar to the card above. I have a variety of paper and stamps to pick from so you can custom make your own.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Victorian Valentines . . .

2010-11-13T07:00:00.006-07:00

No, you have not stepped into a time machine. . . it is November, 2010 and not February, nor is it the Victorian Era, although I have been doing some studying of that time period and I have such fun things to share! Thank you for stopping by my blog for the Operation Write Home Valentine's blog hop - this Veteran's Day weekend we are celebrating by making Valentines for the troops! If you have come here from Ronda's place - Musings at the Button Box - then you are on the right path!

Here is my little goody to share and a little lesson too. I got this fantastic book of Victorian clip art from my good friend Janice in Texas. I haven't done much with Victorian style images, and so I started doing a little research. What I found has entertained me for weeks - here are a few tidbits about Valentines in the Victorian era!

Handmade Valentines were HUGELY popular in the Victorian Era (1830-1901) - so much so that they were more of a big deal in their time than Christmas cards. The people of Victorian times would spend hours, even days. . . and sometimes a small fortune making these very special cards for their loved ones. New technology during this time - like beautiful embossed and sanded papers, colorful lithographs from Europe, and fancy calligraphy were all beautiful parts of these early hand made cards! Victorian Valentines were such a big deal that it was common for ladies to recieve one as the means of a marraige proposal. . . elaborate Valentines that were several inches thick were sometimes given in boxes along with gifts like gloves, pressed flowers, or if you really wished to show someone your affection, you included a lock of your own hair!

Girls made Valentines for their sisters. Mothers made Valentines for their children, and young men made them for ladies who were the object of their desire. It was not considered to be proper for a young single lady to make a Valentine for a man - but if she recieved several, she might have to choose which suitor's Valentine was the best! There are tales of ladies sending Valentines to their husbands who were gone to war - and of sailors making Valentines for their wives using sea shells and coral. What a fantastic likening to our cause at Operation Write Home!

I spent a lot of time pondering the other materials of the time - Victorian Valentines would have been made from pieces of tissue, exquisite lace, satin ribbons. . . I found references to the use of balsa wood, feathers, beads, gems and gold leaf. . . a card makers' stash of supplies must have rivaled what we have available even today! Oh what I would give to travel back in time to see some of these things! Victorian Valentines could include pop-ups, spinning parts, birds' wings that flutter - a mirror in the center to reflect the face of the recipient, and verses and sentiments - lovingly penned in a time when penmanship was considered to be in itself, a work of art.

So here is my take on a Victorian style valentine (sans lock of hair). I encourage you to try this style yourself by using any number of Victorian style embelishments that are available right now, there are many! To give a few ideas, I did shop in the cake decorating aisle of the craft store to buy some different sizes and shapes of doily kinds of papers. Mount these by cutting them into strips and using paper and foam squares to add dimension. Other things to use from your stash: dried flowers, feathers, beads, pearl accents, gold foil papers, ornate buttons and pieces of velvet and silk ribbons - hat pins are also a lovely accent. I would love to see what you come up with!

A little blog candy: leave me a comment today if you have enjoyed your stay and in return I will choose randomly one winner to get a Victorian Valentine Kit. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you via blog or email. Due to cost I will only be able to provide shipping within the USA.

Now off you go Boni's page - Dude Time Doodles!!! . . . and thank you for stopping by!

If you have a moment, stop here to see some more examples of some beautiful Victorian cards. The Candice Hern website itself is amazing, I could spend forever just reading and learning . . .

Be Not Afraid! Of the heat embosser.

2010-11-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today I took on a project that I have really been meaning to do for quite a while. I keep hearing and seeing things about heat embossing with stamps. I even experimented with it a little at card day once. Usually my results were not so good. I am also one of those types of people who. . . if there is some sort of accident to happen. . . it will happen to me. So, I have lived in fear of the heat embosser for quite some time. Facing your fears - however, can be the best way to get over them, or so I have heard. So armed with New Heat Embossing Tool. . . I gave it a go today. . . with help from Tiffani who is my heat embossing hero!

Here are the results, and a few extra goodies that I have been meaning to post for Stars & Stamps. I really am that far behind. Sorry :(

I used some navy blue cardstock, some lighter blue cardstock, some white cardstock, my snowflake embossing folder for Cuttlebug, and the stamps are from the Close To My Heart set called Nature's Gift. (Pg. 40, C1424) I embossed with a white embossing powder on the dark blue paper - I LOVE the look of this.

I used a stamp set called Ice Crystals (Pg. 42, C1428) that Tiffani bought. The set comes with 13 pieces of snowflakes, you build the flake however you want. I stamped and embossed with gold, white and silver as I added pieces to the flake, starting with the gold, then white, then silver tips. I love how this works out too!

Another from the Ice Crystals set, and a Tag from Christmas Melodies (Pg. 50, D1324) I did also add a little bit of stickles to the flakes after embossing to give them even more dimension and sparkle. I love snowflakes! This stamp set is so much fun to work with!

Here is another Moose from the Nature's Gift set . . this set is one of the lesser expensive stamp sets in the catalogue this month, and I love it. This is my set of choice for my own cards this year I think. :) And also, because I am not completely exclusive, I added a strip of paper with the snowflakes stamped and embossed with white to the bottom half of the card - that little snowflake stamp set is from Michael's dollar bin! Love the dollar bin.

More moose - this one was done on a pretty metallic brown paper and I used a metallic red paper to mat the moose stamped and embossed with a pretty copper color. The colors didn't turn out as well on film as they do in person. This card looks like a cherry chocolate card - it's actually one of my favorites!

To show the detail of those Nature's Gift stamps - here is an example of one done with ink (New England Ivy green) instead of embossing powder. I guess I was afraid that the heat embossing would take away a lot of the detail of the stamps, but I was really excited to find out, that heat embossing leaves as much detail as stamping alone!

Here is one for Stars & Stamps that I finished a few weeks ago and I am sorry that I took so long to post it.

Inside. :)

And another for Stars & Stamps. I love their layout ideas. This one was fun!

Thanks for checking out my cards - I think that Tiffani finally ran screaming from my house because I was going so crazy with the Christmas cards. I also had the TV tuned in to the "Sounds of the Season" music channel in the background - maybe it's a little too early for all of the cheesy carols? Sorry Tif!!!

(Don't forget, if you like any of the stamp sets, you can get them here or through your Close To My Heart consultant. . . there are so many beautiful Christmas sets to chose from this year!)

November Expressions

2010-11-06T18:17:00.001-06:00

Well hello! I was so sad to take down all of my Halloween layout today. I'm so excited to jump into the holidays! I spent a little while this morning wandering around in the craft store oogling all of the Christmasness. . . I found my supplies for the Veteran's Day blog hop coming up for Operation Write Home. . . don't forget to sign up for that! It's going to be great!

The start of a new month means great new kits from Express the Moment and the kits are beautiful this month. The Expressions card kit has a page in it that I just love. It's probably one of my favorite kits of the year - one of the 12x12" papers is a page that can be cut into 3x3 sentiment cards. They are so cute and fun! Owls are a favorite thing of mine too. . . here are some of the cards that I made with this month's kit. Be sure to stop by Express the Moment for ordering and more information. . . you know, I was just thinking what a fun gift a monthly card kit would be for somebody that you really, really love???

P.S. Adding another - here is a good example of how I love to use my ETM kit to make cards for the troops - I always have TONS of scraps left over to make cards to send to my heroes. :) This one is for two challenges for this week. Hurray!

OWH Blog Hop Time!

2010-10-29T14:39:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone - I wanted to leave a post although I have been sicker than sick. . . I don't even know what kind of crud I have, but it is something evil and nasty! I got my flu shot about three weeks ago so I am pretty sure that it is not the flu??? Whatever it is, it has me down and out and I haven't even been able to make any cards lately (now THAT IS SICK.) Today, I think I might be feeling like half of a person again. . . and this is some TERRIBLY IMPORTANT NEWS. I have drug myself, snot and all, to the keyboard to post this just for you.

Won't you please stop on by Operation Write Home and sign up to participate in their Veteran's Day blog hop (if you are a blogging type of person, that is. . . ) This is exactly the kind of blog hop that got me inspired to be a part of OWH and it is one of my favorite activities of the year. Lots of fun things will be going on here for the hop - so look forward to that. Meanwhile, Happy Halloween to you all. . . my Halloween is going out with a whimper and a whole lot of snot. Maybe I should be some kind of mucous monster . . . I wouldn't even need a costume for that. Being sick sucks.

Card Day Club!!!

2010-10-18T18:18:00.000-06:00

The meeting of the Card Day Club is back up in full swing again for the fall / winter season and I couldn't be happier. . . what could be better than a bunch of card-making friends getting together for cards and coffee and yacking and more coffee and making cards and talking and glitter and coffee and making more cards? Here's how it works - everyone brings an original card and enough kits for everyone to make one of their card. . . in the past we have each brough up to two or three cards with kits and we have made everything from cards to tags and even gift bags - when you go home you have a treasure trove of great creations. . . the hardest part about this is sending those cards away. :)

Here is this month's takings and a little bit of how they were made.

This is one of Jan's cards - the front is a patchwork pumpkin cut with Cuttlebug and the sentiment "Sew" and inside is "Thankful for You!" I was thankful that I didn't have to cut and piece all of those pumpkins. :D Jan did that for us! What a fun card, very fallish!!!

This is one of Hanna's "Thanks" cards - very pretty autumn colors and the ink pad that she brought to share was AMAZING - it has several different colors that separate and then slide together when you use them to give a fusion of different colors to stamp with. . . I forgot to ask where I can get my hands on one of those stamp pads. . . they are very cool! Zoom in on those stamped leaves on the envelope to see what I am talking about. They turned out so pretty!

This one is Tiffani's cards - perfect for a friend. The inside reads "While taking a moment to count my blessings I thought of you and what a blessing you are in my life!" What a neat card - card day just wouldn't be complete without a pink and brown Tiffani card. This one is actually more of a deeper reddish pink than is usual for Tiffani. . . way to go Tif, I am proud of you!!! ;)

Here is Tiffani's Halloween card made on this great black and purple glittery paper - adorable! Those bat wings were cut from an oval shape - one wing from each side of the oval. Google eyes. . . they are the best!

Stephanie made these great witchy cards with a digi stamp she found of the shoes - The background papers are embossed with Cuttlebug and Steph used her iRock tool for the little blings on the sentiment . . . so cute! I love this card!

Hanna has been holding out on us. She found these card bases at Artco and bought ALL OF THEM. :) The embossed leaf paper base is beautiful - and the inside leaf paper is vellum with a sentiment stamp "So Thankful For You." Hanna always finds these cool little touches like the leaf punches that are tied to the tag on the front. I am going to have a super hard time sending this card away. Thanks Hanna!!!

Here is another of Jan's cards. Since October is breast cancer awareness month, Jan made this card with the pink ribbons. The sad part about this card is, I think that each one of us has someone appropriate in our lives to send this card to. I wish it weren't so. Jan was inspired by her very own Mom who is going through her own struggle right now, back in Minnesota. Big hugs to Jan's Mom and to Jan for bringing this card!

Here is my card - I printed a digi image of the Grinch and was inspired by my stamp set from Close To My Heart called "Peace On Earth." The sentiments read "What if Christmas doesn't come from a store. . " (front) and "What if Christmas means a little bit more? - The Grinch" (inside)

The next meeting of the CDC is slated for Friday November 12 at Jan's house - there has been talk of having a "Mom's Day" at the CDC which means that you get to bring your Mom to card day and they get to take part in the fun. My Mom is in Tennessee, and i'm not so sure that my Mom-In-Law is the card making type, so I will be needing a Mom to borrow for the occasion. Any takers? :)

Thanks ladies for a fun day!

October Expressions!

2010-10-14T15:33:00.001-06:00

It's time to showcase some projects done with this month's Expressions kit from Express the Moment!

First a few cards - quick and easy to make with this cute papers and embelishments from the We R Memory Keepers Black Out collection!

I have to admit. I am loving the papers and colors for this month but I am soooooooooooo carded out! I don't need any more Halloween cards! But Halloween is a great time of year for treats and small gifts for friends, co-workers, teachers, family members. . . so here are a few embelished project ideas that are quick, cheap and super easy to assemble. Just add candy!

On the left is a "test tube" or plastic container that you can get at the craft store for about a dollar. I wrapped the tube with a strip of leftover paper and added a pre-made chipboard tag from this month's kit. A little ribbon and some candy inside - what a fun gift. :)

To the right is a glass candle holder. I added some of the rub-ons to the candle holder and added a great autumn scented candle to the inside. Fun for someone who isn't into candy. Sugar free! Woot!

Here is a simple 8x8 page for my album this year. On the backs of the WRMK papers, there are squares of 6x6 patterned papers - I thought this one would be fun for a photo mat.

Those 6x6 papers are also the perfect size to wrap candy bars with - this makes an extra special treat for someone for Halloween - just buy some regular or king-sized candy bars and cover them with the 6x6 papers by taping the paper first to the back of the candy bar and wrapping around. Add some ribbons and tags and you have a really fun treat for your favorite monster!

Here is a "You've Been Boo'd" bucket made from a paint can - also available from craft stores for around a dollar. You could also use an empty coffee tin or mason jar. Decorate the outside with patterned paper, and attach a pocket or envelope for the "Boo'd" poem. Attach tags, buttons, brads, ribbons or any other embelishments. Fill the jar with candy and you have a really fun thing!

The "You've Been Boo'd" project is something that has been going around for quite a while - every year neighbors and friends exchange little tins or baskets of goodies for Halloween - the idea is to leave the gift for someone without them knowing that it was you - the recipient then has to "boo" two other neighbors and so on! You can find instructions for the game and templates to print the poem from lots of websites by searching Google - You've been boo'd. There are lots of different variations of the poem but here is one that I have kept in my files because it is one of my favorite versions - I'm sorry I do not know the original author!

You've Been Boo'ed!

Since this is the time for goblins and bats

Halloween spirits & ghosts & cats..

Weird happenings & witches brew...

These are the things I wish for you.

May the only spirit you chance to meet

Be the spirit of love and warm friends sweet

May the only goblin that comes your way

Be the neighborhood phantom, whom you'll want to give away.

So by tomorrow, pick two friends sweet

And give them each a Halloween treat.

You only have one day so hurry!

Leave the treat on the doorstep then flee in a flurry!