State Fair Bedding

WooHoo - another day at my craft table. I think I am kinda a slow crafter... I don't get as many projects done as others seem to. My color scheme was based on the Inspiration Challenge on SCS (IC134-State Fair Bedding). Today I made this card - it took me a long time cuz I kept changing my mind. The first 3 tries were hideous.

I've seen lots of people do this type of challenge and so I thought I would try it. I can't wait to look at the gallery and see what everyone else created!

The colors I used are Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Real Red, and Tempting Turqoise. I loved how these colors went together in the quilt. I also wanted to focus on the florals. I always take a look at Jen's sketch for you to try at i{heart}2stamp. And that is what I used for the layout. The main flower was clear embossed using the One of a Kind stamp set then I outlined the petals with a white Unibol pen. I added a punched half-inch flower center embossed with Real Red ink on Whisper White cardstock. Then I usd the flower shape as a guide to create a larger layer to place underneath. Embellishments are Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, white rick rack, white rub-on words, rhinestone brads.

We are surviving a couple of really hot days, probably the only hot ones we get here in the Portland Metro area. Our summers are starting later and later. The weather is so wacky.

And as I am writing this my daughter Lil comes in asking for a new kitten. Her friend has kittens and she already picked one out. Her cat Sunshine died last summer. My other daughter Emily asked for a new kitten two weeks ago. She also has one picked out. Her best friend has an extra cat which is all black and named Banana. If I add two kitten to my household I will probably be considered a hoarder.... I already have 3 dogs and an adult cat, plus my two daughters and the extra kid that lives here. I mean, come on.... And I am such a sucker so I might as well get kitten supplies now. Someone, stop me please!!!!!

No Stampin' on Saturday

Yay! I finally found some time to craft. I spent last weekend and this week cleaning and fixing up my house and it looks really good right now. I will continue working on it but at least it is presentable to guests. My bunco party was a hit and everyone seemed to have a great time.

I found a blog, Our Creative Corner that was referenced from another blog and there was a fun challenge on it - use Basic Grey paper on your project. I love Basic Grey paper and will probably make a few more projects before the challenge deadline on July 4. I made this card using a sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. So I am combining 2 challenges as usual.

I used Bazzil cardstock, Parasol from the Lilykate collection by Basic Grey. Stampin' Up! rubons were used for the sentiment, other flowers, and butterfly. Then I put rhinestones by Marcella in the flower centers. The ribbon is Making Memories and the charm is a mystery. I've had it for a long time.

A co-worker asked me to make a wedding card for him to give to his cousin. I wanted to make a card taht was not too froufrou cuz my co-worker is a guy and his cousin is a guy, however I wanted the bride to like it too. So I made two cards for him to choose from. The first is based on a sketch by Beate (Fresh and Fun) and uses Spring Silhouette DSP by SU, the other embellishments are by K&Company. I used Soft Sky, Creamy Caramel, and Shimmery White. The layer of Creamy Caramel just barely peaks out from the top layer and I wanted to mimic the glittered borders on the embellishment so I used a bit of glue and glittered up the edges. Lastly I used generic satin ribbon as dividers.

I like this card for a spring or summer wedding. The embellishment says "always and forever". Both cards turned out fairly well considering I put them together really quickly while I was takng a cleaning break and I was super tired. I wasn't sure this was manly enough so I went on to the second card and used a much strong color combination.

The next card is made from Old Olive textured cardstock and Basic Grey cardstock. I added a simple line of paper piercing along the right and bottom edge. The embellished paper is from my local scrapbooking shop, Arts and Scraps. It came in an approx. 18x18 size sheet. It is gorgeous! It's offwhite and pearlescent. The flower is an embellishment from K&Company and the sentiment is a Basic Grey rubon. This is the card my co-worker selected.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm a slow blogger...

Wow... as time goes by I am more and more amazed at how much other stampers blog - some post daily. And at how many hits they get. Some counters are in the thousands within the first month or two.... Craziness. So I don't have a card to share just now, I have made a couple that I hope I'll have time to post later. I did FINALLY finish that buffet and it looks really good. I am frantically getting my house ready for Bunco on Friday night. My house is generally quite a mess, those that know me know that I am not exagerating and there are a lot of repairs to make (the renters were horrible). On a happier note, my order of Decor Elements came in and I am SO excited to do something with them! All of my walls are textured so I am not exactly sure what I am going to do with them. Any ideas???? Well, back to the household projects....

Challenge cards

My arms are so sore from sanding, stripping, and staining but I had to get a few cards in... three actually.

This first card is Beate's weekend sketch challenge (WSC51) and I used the Always stamp set. I love the color challenges on SCS so I picked CC163 which is Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink. What a pretty combo.

I embossed the bird in chocolate chip and then used markers to color in the flowers. I used my brand new Cuttlebug (WooHoo!) on the pink cardstock, scalloped and paper pierced the chocolate cardstock. Added some pretty ribbon and a sentiment (a little crooked).

This weekend I also discovered a brand new card sketch blog called 2sketches4you and so these two cards are based on the very first sketches on that blog. Go check it out.

I used Lovely Lilac, Apricot Appeal and Mellow Moss cardstock. The printed paper is from Paper Loft. I embossed the flowers on the edge, they are from the True Friend stamp set. The flowers are Prima flowers, ribbon from Michael's and I used SU rhinestone brads for the centers. This was a fun and quick card to make. Who's birthday is coming up???

This card uses Green Galores and Tempting Turquoise cardstock and patterned paper from daisy d's. The stamp is from one of the label sets - but I can't remember which one. Then I used silver hodgpodge, my three for you punch, tiny green buttons, and various ribbons. This card is bright and cheerful. It's much brighter in real life.

I missed making a card for Jen's sketch for you to try. She does that on Saturdays. I jotted it down for future reference though so maybe later this week....

Thanks for stopping by!

Craft Storage!!!!

So I was feeling really crafty this weekend, really energetic. I think it was that salad for dinner on Friday night.... somehow as I was checking out my favorite blogs, I happened on to craigslist. I've been looking for something to store my Stampin' Up! supplies in that can stay in my dining room. That's where I do most of my crafting. This photo shows how my supplies are stuffed in industrial shelving in my bedroom. This is just one wall, the other wall looks the same and my bed is sandwiched inbetween. All around the foot of my bed are unopened bags from my favorite scrapbooking store and boxes of craft stuff I don't have room for.

Anyway, I found this fabulous storage buffet on craigslist for $60!!!!! What a deal and tons of storage!!!! I couldn't believe the deal, and then I couldn't believe that it was still available - you know how great deals are snapped up so fast. I decided to strip it and stain it darker to go with the look of most of my other furniture and I bought some other drawer pulls. I hope that I'll be completely done and ready to stuff it with stuff by Tuesday after work!

Don't fall over....

Yeah, can you believe it, 2 posts in the same week! One right after the other.... Crazy!

The following 2 cards are based on Sharon's "Black and White plus 1" challenge that you can see here. For my extra color I used Soft Sky. I will really miss it when it's gone. Maybe I'll buy a few packs of cardstock and stash them. Anyway, I also used a sketch challenge from Beate that you will find here. I haven't used these stamps in forever, A Quiet Life, but I have loved them for a long time. Spring Silhouette DSP makes a lovely background for this card. I also added a bit of white zigzag ribbon and a silver ribbon slide.

For the second card I used Jen's Saturday sketch (here) and the same color palette. I also used a bit of paper from Spring Silhouette DSP. I broke out my silver hodgepodge hardware and the Fresh Cuts stamps set. What a super cute set and a great special going on right now. The details are in the bar at right.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting ready for Father's Day!

As June rolls around I start thinking about Father's Day, I'm sure most others do too. My dad's birthday is also right around the holiday so I generally send 2 cards. Last year was a triple whammy for him: Dad's birthday, Father's Day, and his first official day of retirement were all on the 17th! I decided to combine the SCS color challenge (CC168) and Ways to Use It challenge (WT167) for this card. I've never done a trifoldy card like this one nor had I used the horses in the Wanted set either so it was like four challenges in one. I like how it turned out and I think my dad will too.

I also made my dad this little wallet. I've been seeing several renditions of a wallet here on the internet, but when I was ready to make this one, my kids were busy on the computer so I just winged it. Most of the wallets I had seen looked as though they had been actually stitiched. My sewing machine needs service and I havent' tried sewing on cardstock yet so I improvised. I used a Chocolate Chip marker and template to make the little dots and then used a Close to Cocoa marker to draw a thin line through all the dots. Looks like stitiching. Again I used the CC168 color challenge. I "monogramed" his initials on the front with gold embossing powder. I thought about making some fake bills to put inside... wouldn't that be a change, heeheehee, me giving him money! I ended up not doing that but it would have been funny.

The inside has four pockets with pull out cards. Photos of the kids will go on these. The colors for these projects were Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla. I also used Close to Cocoa paper for the wallet. I used Outlaw DSP too. I sponged Chocolate Chip around the edges and on the front and back to give it a worn look. I hope he likes this card too.

Tomorrow I'll post some other challenge cards I made earlier today. Challenges are fun!

Thanks for stopping by!