I fell off the wagon...

Ok, so I fell off the blogger wagon. I have no excuse. I will be better...tomorrow. Today was a super long day at work and then I came home and made tomato soup (from SCRATCH) and so now I am in a lethargic state (read: completely unable to remember what manufacturer I used for just about anything). Tomorrow I will finally share that swap card as well as a few other choice projects that are waiting in the wings. Until then, dear readers, I bid you farewell...

Derailed Plans...

So I was planning to share a swap card that I'd been working on all day, but it ended up being one of those cards that just doesn't seem to come together right so you just have to put it down. Long story short, I had to walk away this evening. Maybe I'll share the card tomorrow. Instead, I'm sharing a love card. Wedding, anniversary, just because...



This card was one of those that just fell into place (unlike today's adventure). The green Bazzill stock is randomly stamped with one of the Rhonna Farrer flourishes in Artprint Brown Memories Ink. The sentiment, "all you need is love," from Hampton Arts is stamped on natural twill ribbon and attached to the card with adhesive. The brads, from American Crafts, are really more for decoration. I don't like it when the items I use on the outside of the card come through the front because it makes the inside look kind of messy sometimes. It's not so bad with brads, but sewing really looks icky. So that is today's card. I'll try to write a longer post tomorrow. Nighty, night...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Ok, so it's 90 degrees outside and the sun is blazing. Isn't that the perfect time for holiday cheer? In honor of the holiday season I wanted to share a super easy and perfect for mass production holiday card.



This card uses all Bazzill cardstocks and starts out with a solid white base matted with a pale green layer (not forgetting to round all of the corners first, of course). I then took more white cardstock and ran it through my Xyron Machine and placed it sticky side down on a sheet of decorative cellophane from Michaels. Using a Paper Shapers snowflake punch, I popped out the three snowflake images. I also used a 1 1/4" circle on some dark and medium green cardstocks for the backgrounds of aforementioned snowflakes. I adhered the circles to the pale green layer using 3-D tape. Fast, fast, fast. You could pop out an entire Holiday mailing list of these babies in an hour. And they really make a nice presentation, giving off just a little shimmer from the cellophane.

I'd love to share more, but it's been a really long day and I have to wake up super early to take my lovely husband to work. So good night wonderful readers. Sleep tight...

Today is a big day...

I recieved my certificate of approval from the Secretary of State to start my business! Now I am working through all of the other paperwork. There is so much to do, from name registration, to website building, to Federal tax identification. It can really make your head spin! I'm really looking forward to everything though. Change is good...

Day four and still going strong!

Today I wanted to show an anniversary card to follow-up on yesterday's wedding card. This anniversary card is s-u-p-e-r easy and quick, making it an ideal candidate for the last minute greeting. All cardstock on this card is from Bazzill. I used punches from EK Success for all of the paper shapes. I use the flower shape on all sorts of projects. It's such a sweet and understated little shape. The sentiment is one of the Michaels $1 bin finds and the ribbon is white 3/8" grosgrain from Offray. I also used rhinestones from Darice and a touch of glitter to make the cute little hearts sparkle.



I hope you all like this thank you card, because I certainly do. The patterned paper is Chatterbox, the green cardstock is Bazzill, and the pinky-orange is from Prism. I also stamped my sentiment on white Strathmore stock with Olive Pastel ink from Color Box. The sentiment is actually two separate words from different mini sets from Stampendous. One set is a thanks set (I masked off the "s") and the other set is a thinking of you set. The ribbon I found at a small store here in Columbus (I'm not sure of the manufacturer) and the brads are just white brads from American Craft that I dipped in Olive Pastel ink, then dipped in clear embossing powder, then heat set. The pretty little decorative frame is from Quickutz. I used 3-D tape to make the paper "frame" feel more like a shadow box. Enjoy!

Good Evening!

Hello again, lovely readers. Welcome to day three (in a row). Today I will be sharing two cards with you all...



I really like this card. I've also come to the conclusion that my style is decidedly simple. I am a big fan of simple. Clean lines are my best friend. Anyway...the navy, orange, and green cardstocks are all from Bazzill. The white cardstock is Strathmore Vellum finish Bristol. I've been using this a lot lately as I have some left over from a class last year and I read somewhere that it was really great for stamping. I tried it and I am super happy with it. Not only does it take ink well, but it is also a super heavy weigt so it makes a fantastic card base. The patterned paper is Chatterbox. The ink is Versa Color Atlantic. The ribbon I found at Michaels. Don't you just love that double-stitched goodness! The Prima flower is adorned with a rhinestone from Darice. The sentiment (which I love) is from Impression Obsession. Isn't that just such a lovely thought? The earth must be really happy in spring and summer (at least in Ohio)! I also used 3-D tape and my Fiskars mini scallop scissors to make the sentiment really become the focus of the card.



My husband and I have seen quite a few couples take their vows in the past year or so. Now that we are coming up on our fourth anniversary we joke that "we've been waiting for everyone else to catch up." Kidding, kidding! The recent flood of weddings has me painfully aware that I don't stockpile enough wedding cards. There is nothing fun about realizing that you need to make a wedding card at 11:00 the night before a good friend's nuptials. So this card is meant to give me a nice quick option to recreate in the days (or more likely, hours) before some of the weddings we have to look forward to. The blue cardstocks are from Bazzill and the white is Strathmore. The ink is (surprise, surprise) Versa Color Atlantic. The sentiment I picked up at Michaels in the $1 bin and the swirls are Autumn Leaves/Rhonna Farrer (an Archivers Hot Spot purchase). The rings are a Quickutz die. For the "man's" ring I just left the diamonds off. The silver stock I used for the rings is an Envelopments paper (Luster, I think is the color). I used 3-D tape, glitter, and a Making Memories brad for the finishing touches.

Well, I hope these posts continue to suffice. Check back tomorrow for an anniversary card option (so maybe you'll be ready for next year when those friends are ready to celebrate another big day) and a little something else that is yet to be determined. Ta-ta!

One quick card before bed

The day got away from me, but here I am!



This card is just so blissfully simple. And who doesn't like their own personal cheerleader once in awhile? The polka dotted paper is from Chatterbox. The orange and blue cardstocks are Bazzill and the white cardstock is Strathmore Vellum Finish Bristol. I love the weight of the Bristol, so heavy and luxe! The "Hooray" sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly is stamped in Atlantic Versa Color ink. I also used 3-D tape to give the sentiment some dimension. I finished off the lovely little card by adding a strip of Offray white grosgrain ribbon over a decorative edge cut with my mini scallop scissors by fiskars. I then rounded the bottom corners and voila! Clean and easy...awesome. Nighty night!

New (at least to you) Cards

So, I said I was going to get better at this and here I go... My family has always been super supportive of my crafting efforts. Every year at the family reunion I take the samples I have and they place orders. I've been busy, busy, busy getting these samples ready over the past few weeks and that is (partly) why I have been so absent. So I thought it would be fun to post some of the cards I have made over the past month or so. For the next week or two I will post a few cards at a time so you all can see what I've been up to.



This card I affectionately call "Hello Mr.Snail." The patterned paper is Chatterbox (sadly, a discontinued style) and the green cardstock is Bazzill. The white cardstock is Strathmore vellum finish bristol board. The large brass brad and the brown grosgrain (I believe) are from American Crafts. The snail is from Stampendous. I colored him in with various colored pencils and highlighted his shell with Ranger Glossy Accents (I love that stuff!). I also used some 3-D tape to make my little snail friend "pop."




The next card is one of this year's "Trees-Covered-in-Rhinestones" cards. I seem to really like these, as I do at least one every year. The little trees are from the Quickutz Campsite die. They are popped up with a little 3-D tape just like Mr.Snail. I cut off the trunks and replaced them with narrow brown satin ribbon from May Arts. The green cardstock is Bazzill, but I'm not sure where the red linen came from (I know I bought it at Archiver's). I used pear ink from Paper Salon with the "Happy Holidays" sentiment from Inkadinkado. I stamped on the same Strathmore bristol mentioned above. The red ribbon is Offray (found at Joann's). The red rhinestones are from Darice and the brass snaps are from Making Memories.

Well that's all for today. I hope these projects (and the promise of more to come) make up for my bad behavior lately. I really am going to get better...

I'm a bad blogger...

But I intend to get better very soon! I've been working on a few projects that I intend to discuss shortly, so have no fear...I will return and the wait will be worthwhile.

I Love a Challenge!

This is a card for a "No Stamp" swap. You could do anything you wanted, but you couldn't use stamps anywhere. I didn't realize how much I rely on certain stamps! I especially lean on the sentiments to convey my messages, but here I used a Lasting Impressions-Sentimetals "Thank you" plaque and I think it works quite nicely. I also used patterned paper from My Mind's Eye and solid cardstocks from Bazzill.

Sympathy

I know this isn't a cheerful way to start out, but...

This is the card I made for the young man my husband worked with that passed away this week. It had to be big (8.25 x 5.25) so everyone would be able to sign it. There are two white pannels on the inside so there is plenty of space. The young man's family speaks very little English so I asked one of the women at the Cafe to help me write something appropriate in Spanish. The sentiment in English means "With Respect and Fondness."

Both patterned papers are from Chatterbox. The ribbon is May Arts. The brown and white cardstocks are Bazzill. The brads are American Crafts. The font is Teen Light - Regular. I also chalked the edge of the sentiment with French Blue chalk ink from Clearsnap/Colorbox and the sentiment is raised on dimentional tape.

First post

I am new at the blogger world and am still a little confused about how everything works, but I think I am catching on quickly. I have created this blog to lend a little exposure to my (also very new) business. I am a stationer and I think everyone should communicate through notes and letters. How much fun is it to find a bright and cheerful envelope amongst the bills and junk in your mailbox? We should all write letters more. The world would be a happier place.