A Happy Home

I love the Boards & Beams stamp set by Papertrey Ink. I have used it so much! The houses are super fun to color and they are a great size so it's really easy to create quick cards (that look like they took forever...shhhhh).



In addition to the Boards & Beams set, I made this card with patterned cardstock from Crate Paper and a few buttons that I had laying around. I love adding Glossy Accents to the windows of the houses! I feel like it adds such a cool effect. I used Prismacolor Pencils rather than markers to color my house. I haven't gotten swept into the Copic marker craze. I've never been able to use markers for anything other than writing and doodling. The pencils give me more control with shading and their itty bitty tips get into the details of the images. Well, thanks for looking. I hope you've enjoyed it. Cheers...

Recipe:
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate & Kraft - Papertrey Ink, Lagoon - Bazzill
Ink: Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Boards & Beams - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Crate Paper
Other: Buttons, Embroidery Floss - DMC, Prismacolor Pencils, Foam Tape, Glossy Accents - Ranger

WCMD

I've noticed several of my favorite bloggers getting excited about this year's World Card Making Day celebration and I thought I would help spread the word. Essentially, WCMD is a holiday card crafting kick-off and all-round fun event geared at getting paper crafters of all sorts excited and sharing with one another. WCMD is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of October. That means next Saturday! Visit the WCMD website for more information on how to get involved including event ideas and a gallery.

Blog Hoppin' Santa!

Hooray for Blog Hop! This is the first time I've been able to participate, so I am really excited. I made a Santa card for tonight's events.



I stamped Santa in Charcoal Palette ink and colored him with Prismacolor Pencils and odorless mineral spirits. Then I glued him up and added Fun Flock to his beard, jacket, and hat. It doesn't look as lumpy in real life as it does in this photo. Hmmm... I also added Glossy Accents to the cranberries in the wreath so they are all shiny and bumpy.

The patterned strip on the card base was created using Guide Lines on the Linen Vellum. I haven't used that vellum enough. It's really fabulous stuff!

I hope you've enjoyed my Blog Hop entry this month. I look forward to getting to do more of these events!

Recipe:
Cardstock: Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink, White - Strathmore, green - unknown
Specialty Paper: Linen Vellum - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Believe, Guide Lines, and Faux Ribbon - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Charcoal - Palette, Moonlight White - Brilliance, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink
Color Medium: Prismacolor Pencils
Fiber: Red embroidery floss - DMC
Other: Fun Flock - Stampendous, Glossy Accents - Ranger, Foam Tape - 3M

I'm Punting

I haven't gotten as much accomplished today as I had originally hoped, so I'm going to drop back and punt in order to buy some time to do my Blog Hop project (pardon the football reference - we are in the thick of Buckeye Country, if you don't make at least one a week you are shunned by your neighbors). My craft room (and the adjoining landing) looks like a craft bomb exploded. Or, perhaps, there was a window open during the wind storm. That pesky wind storm is going to be blamed for quite a bit over the next few days/weeks/as long as I can get away with it...

At any rate, I wanted to share the card that got me into the Gallery Idol contest in the first place. This is the one I finished 15 minutes before the deadline. We are two hours ahead of Utah, so that meant this card was being posted at 1:45 am. I slept in the next day.



The most interesting part about this card is the base. I had wanted to do a card with a shape, but had a really hard time making anything work the way I had envisioned. Finally I had the idea to cut a semi circle out of the front of a standard 4Bar so the card would still have visual interest, but still be able to fit properly into a standard envelope. I then covered the entire front of the card in handmade paper so the edge would be nice and soft.

I used Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses and Faux Ribbon sets for this card. I stamped my butterflies onto cardstock and then carefully cut them out and scored their wings. This allowed me to attach only their middles to the card and bend up their wings so they looked like they were flying.

There is glitter on just about everything. I have the hardest time getting glitter to photograph well. Does anybody have any tips? I'll be back later with a Christmas theme. Ta-ta....

Recipe (this one is a little rusty, but I'll try):
Cardstock: White - Strathmore, Kraft - Papertrey
Patterned paper: Red Dots - Paper Source
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses & Faux Ribbon - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Dark Chocolate - Papertrey (it may have been called Burnt Umber Palette at the time I made this card though)
Tools: Nesting Circles Dies - Quickutz, Corner rounder, die cut machine, Threading Water Punch - Fiskars
Ribbon: 1/4" Brown Satin - American Crafts
Other: Foam tape, glitter pen - Sakura

AAACK!

I'm not a delinquent, I promise. We lost the internet from last Thursday to Tuesday. Someone a block over had a tree fall (I assume it had something to do with the wind storm) and the resulting damage caused our DSL to implode. The AT&T tech didn't show up on Monday (like he was supposed to), so I had to call and get snarky. I'm not a naturally snarky girl, so that made me a little uncomfortable, but it also got me moved to the top of the list on Tuesday.

I spent most of my internet-free time cleaning my house and typesetting invitation samples, therefore I don't have anything to post today. Tomorrow I'll post twice though. I'm planning a regular post and a Papertrey Blog Hop post. I am so excited for the Blog Hop! I've never been home and able to participate. To be honest, I won't even be home for the first part of the Hop, but I'll post before I leave and check in as soon as I get home. See you all tomorrow!

Holy Hurricane Batman!

Yesterday brought crazy gusts of wind. Hurricane Ike wrecked Ohio (nothing like Texas, but still more action than we usually see here). Frankly, I was surprised. We lost the internet around 3:00 in the afternoon and power followed at 4:30ish. Our power came back early this morning and was gone again by late afternoon. It is back for now. We'll see how long it lasts. I missed the Papertrey release party last night. I was bummed, but there wasn't much I could do about it so I tried not to dwell.

Anyway, I made bookplates for the release this month. I was really happy with how they turned out, so someone may get these for Christmas. Heck! A few people may get these for Christmas.



I used the Birds of a Feather nest and eggs along with one of the polka dot backgrounds in the Polka Dot Basics set. I used the Simple Alphabet to create my text. The name line is actually the high-wire stamp from the Birds set. I covered the eggs with Glossy Accents so they would have a little dimension without adding bulk. I put the bookplates in one of the Papertrey Nugget Tins decorated with ribbon.

I ordered a couple of Christmas sets this morning (you know, while the internet was working) so I will be pumping up the holiday fun shortly. Hold on to your Santa socks, people!

Recipe:
Cardstock: Kraft - Papertrey Ink, White - Strathmore
Ink: Moonlight White - Brilliance, Dark Chocolate & Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Simple Alphabet, Polka Dot Basics, Birds of a Feather - Papertrey Ink
Ribbon: 1/4" brown satin - American Crafts, Hemp Cord - Darice, Aqua Mist Twill - Papertrey Ink
Other: Nugget Tin - Papertrey Ink, Glossy Accents - Ranger, Corner Rounder - EK Success

I'm Back . . .

A little later than I expected, but back none the less. This has been a busy couple of weeks. I've been working to get my business in line with my launch later this month. I won't bore you with the details.

I've also been working on several different projects that I can't share just yet. Sometimes it's a bummer to work really hard on things, only to not be able to share them with everyone. But it will be that much cooler if I can share a project along with an announcement. Hopefully that will happen one day soon.

For today though, I have a Christmas card. I've been thinking about Christmas a lot lately, and I figured this might be a nice way to encourage others to think Christmas, too. It comes so fast. One minute it's Labor Day and the next you are fighting for your life in a department store. Not this year.

Anyway, it's a pretty simple card. Mostly Papertrey products. The cranberries (or holly berries, or whatever berries you like) are dotted with Glossy Accents so the have a slight texture and shine. You don't really see it in the photo, but it's there.



Alright. I need to draw this fun to a close. I am currently suffering from a mighty wicked cold and I need a nap. This is one of those "sleep-23-hours-a-day-wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-gasping-for-air-see-double-of-everything" sorts of colds and the longer I'm on the computer the more I become a cranky pants. Peace out...

Recipe:
Cardstock: Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink, White - Strathmore, Green - Bazzill
Stamps: Rustic Branches - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Spring Moss, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Ribbon: Spring Moss Saddle Stitched - Papertrey Ink, Brown 1/4" Satin - American Crafts
Brads: Round Copper Mini Brads - Making Memories
Dies: Nesting Flowers Dies - Quickutz
Other: Foam Tape - 3M