I Scream, U Scream, We All Scream for... Sherbet???

Pin It Happy Wednesday!  I hope your week is off to a brilliant start; mine is humming along quite nicely!  :)  I wanted to share a card I made for the CR84FN Color Challenge...  The colors this week are particularly yummy -- remind me of sherbets! -- and I just had to play!

**  (Ever find something in your stash that you just look at and wonder where it came from and how it got here??  Well, this was my first time using this flower border punch and that was exactly what I thought when I laid eyes on it today!  Now I'm wondering where has it been all my life!  I will definitely be using it again in the very near future!!  ;)  **

This was the inspiration board from CR84FN:

Thank you for visiting today.  Would love to say "hi" if you have a moment to leave a comment.  Here's hoping the rest of your week is sunny and bright -- and that the rest of mine has some sherbet in store!!!  Haha!  :)

Supplies:

• Martha Stewart "Daisy Lace" Deep Edge Punch
• Neenah "Solar White" Cardstock
• Patterned Paper - "Bright Blossom" by S•E•I
• Hero Arts stamp - "Made with Love"
• Hero Arts Hero Hues black dye ink
• Punch Bunch small flower punch
• Pearls, Copic markers, adhesives

Shabby Sunday

Pin It Just want to get a quick post in on this **lovely** Sunday morning...  I created this card for the current challenge going on over at The Shabby Tea Room -- just a lot of eye candy happening at that site!!!  :)  The colors are divine and I loved the idea of playing with pennants!

Hope you like it -- I'll be back with more details and another project later.  Hope your Sunday is filled with love and sunshine!  :)

Happy Anniversary!

Pin It My grandparents, lovingly known by all us grandkids as Mime´ and Nana --

{sidenote:   it's all my fault -- as the oldest grandchild, I unwittingly named my grandfather "Nana" lo-o-o-o-ng before I was old enough to know that the name was typically one bestowed on grand-mothers...  (I was 18 before I realized that Nana was actually a feminine name!)...  The fact that my good-natured grandfather never even flinched when one of us girls called him "Nana" in public makes him even more of a man in my eyes.  He is truly a special man!} 

-- celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary earlier this month!

You know, all these years later, there is still some question about whether their anniversary was actually on the 6th or the 8th (or whether they even paid the preacher for his services ;) -- it's all in who's telling the story! -- but the things that are not in question are the ones that truly matter: a life and legacy of love and family and sharing and commitment...  And we are all blessed to have been witnesses to these.

Happy 66th Anniversary, Mime ´ and Nana!

Much love to you and yours!  Thank you for stopping by -- I would love to hear from you!  :)

Supplies:

• Prima patterned paper - "Madeline"
• Hero Arts stamp - "Everyday Sayings"
• Neenah "Solar White" Cardstock
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Vintage Photo
• Prima Flowers
• Ribbon, trim, other flowers by Recollections, beads, gems, adhesives

Spring Flowers? Yes, Please!! :)

Pin It

I can't believe that Spring has... Sprung already!  I love this time of year (even though it's a pre-cursor to the scorching summers we get here in Texas -ugh!) when everything starts to come alive again (my roses are already blooming!!!) and we can celebrate the sweet colors of the season.

Today I wanted to share an everyday card I created which highlights some of the things I love most -- flowers and "shabby" pastels!  I love it!!

This card has a lot going on, I know, but I think it works...  I have 'fessed up before -- though I love simplicity (and admire it in others' work), it just hasn't ever been my thing! :)  

I created the flower using a technique I described in this post.  It's such a fun technique (warning: can produce really sore fingers! :) and packs a punch.  The flourishes I die-cut on kraft cardstock and then applied a couple of layers of gesso for texture.  Just before the final layer dried completely, I added some Rock Candy Stickles for sparkle (add just before the gesso dries so that you can mix them together for extra texture!).

Hope you like it -- please let me know what you think!  I appreciate you stopping by and would love to hear from you!  :)

Supplies:

• Hero Arts stamp - "Everyday Sayings"
• Patterned papers, colored cardstocks, kraft cardstock
• Claudine Hellmuth white gesso
• Rock Candy Stickles
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks- Vintage Photo
• Brads, adhesives

And One More...

Pin It Ok, so I was so inspired by the colors in this week's Play Date Cafe Color Challenge (and had a few scraps to work with :) that I just had to make one more card!  And here it is:

I embossed with my favorite embossing folder ever and then used my Copics to add a little color pop to random dots for a background.  I also used various sized strips of colored papers to create the bottom border.  I think it turned out pretty cute...  Hope you like it, too!

A reminder of what the challenge palette looks like in case you want to play along, too:

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate your comments!  :)

Supplies:

• Basic Grey patterned paper - "Wander"
• Hero Arts "Hearts" Frame Cuts Die
• Neenah "Solar White" cardstock
• Sizzix Embossing Folder - "Flower Rings"
• Copic Markers - BG02, BG09, YG25, YR15, YR16
• Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen
• Grosgrain ribbon, pearls, beads, flowers, adhesives

Color Challenged?

Pin It Hi, there!  I have been sick ( ech...  this thing that's going around is a real bummer!!! ) for the last two days and needed to do something to get myself going again...  I had so much fun with last week's Play Date Cafe Color Challenge -- and scored an honorable mention for this card here, thank you very much! :) -- that I thought I'd give it another whirl...

Only problem: I find this week's color palette much more challenging!  Oh well, all the better to pull me out of my icky funk!  :-/

Without further ado, here's the current challenge info over at The Play Date Cafe.  Individually, I love each of these colors!  Collectively, they had me flummoxed!

PDCC#123

And here's what I came up with (and I love, love, Love it!!!).  I'm super-excited about how it all came together and I hope you love it as much as I do!  :)

Don't you just love it when a project gives you all kinds of grief and fits and then turns out looking like you'd planned it that way all along?  And only you know the heartache it caused you throughout???  (I'll keep your secret if you'll keep mine!!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  Please leave me a comment...  Which colors do you have a hard time wrapping your head around???

Supplies:

• Basic Grey patterned paper - "Wander"
• Hero Arts "Hearts" Frame Cuts Die  
• Hero Arts stamp - "Everyday Sayings"
• Neenah "Solar White" cardstock
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks - "Faded Jeans"
• flowers, gems, brads, adhesives, white gel pen

Sad... but not Sad!!

Pin It Happy Friday!  Today I thought I'd share a card I made for a good friend who recently suffered the loss of a beloved pet.  I always struggle with sympathy cards -- even (gasp!) picking out the store-bought kinds!  I really feel like the traditional designs we've always seen are dignified and lovely and, well...  boring and just not me!

So, here it is -- and I think it is dignified and lovely and not boring!  :)  What do you think?

Supplies:

• Hero Arts Stamps - "Large Open Flower," Large Solid Flower," and "Everyday Sayings"
• Neenah "Solar White" Cardstock
• Hero Arts Inks - "Soft Pool" Shadow Ink & Hero Hues Black
• Memento Ink - "Tuxedo Black"
• Copic Markers - B02, B04, BG01, BG02, BG05, BG09, and 0
• Tim Holtz Distress Stain - "Picket Fence"
• Martha Stewart punches 
• black cardstock, pearls, adhesives 

From Dreary to Dreamy!

Pin It Just wanted to post a quick card I made for the Play Date Cafe Color Challenge #122.  While I have been a longtime fan of this blog (and love the color challenges they host!), I've never competed before...  But this challenge called to me --  I love (love, love, love) this color combination!  The buttery yellow and the charcoal play together so sweetly!  :)

So, here's what I came up with:

I heat embossed the Hero Arts Large Fabric Design in white over a pretty fabulous piece of grey patterned paper, layered some of my favorites from S•E•I's Bridgeport collection, and then finished with some charcoal grosgrain.  See??  I told you this color palette rocks!  :)

Here's a quick look at the PDCC inspiration color collection:

Hope you like it...  This was fun -- I will look forward to playing in another PDCC soon!  You too?  

Thanks for visiting!  Your comments are always welcome and appreciated!

Supplies:

• Hero Arts stamps - "Large Fabric Design" & "Everyday Sayings"
• Patterned Papers - Basic Grey's "Ambrosia," S•E•I's "Bridgeport," & DCWV's "Citrus Stack"
• Martha Stewart punch - "Monarch Butterfly"
• Grosgrain ribbon, gems, pearls, beads, paper flower, adhesives  

  

Gettin' Sketchy Wit' It

Pin It Ok, so I've been having hardwood floors installed in my house for the last couple of days and while I am super-excited about the way they are going to look, this means I have been relegated to my craft room for the entirety of my existence since the work began...  While I thought this was going to be great, I have found there is a big difference between being in here by choice and being in here by force!   :-/

The good news is I have had a lot of time to ponder the important things in life (re: why on God's green earth Ben would choose Courtney despite the forest of red flags the whole world kept trying to point out to him!  Really, don't even get me started!  :) and work on a couple of projects...

This one gave me a bit of a challenge.  I had originally planned the card to be a 6x6 and to be arranged according to a sketch I had drawn.  I find, admittedly, most of my sketches to be quite (umm...  well...) sketchy.... (haha!), but in the interest of full disclosure, here's what it looked like:

See?  I never claimed this was my strong-suit!  :)

But once I had it laid out, I found it a bit awkward.  I decided to change the card size to 5x5, ditch the mustard seed Kraft-core background for plain Kraft cardstock, rotate the sketch clock-wise 90˚, and add a couple of embellishments.  I like this much better, and hope you do, too.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave a comment - I would love to hear from you! 

Supplies:

• Hero Arts stamp - "Dogwood"
• K&Co. patterned paper - "Wild Saffron"
• Tim Holtz Distress Markers and inks - Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Crushed Olive, Shabby Shutters, Vintage Photo
• Copic Markers - YR21, YR24
• May Arts - Jute, natural
• Prima paper flowers
• Kraft cardstock, pearls, white embossing powder, adhesives

Think Spring!

Pin It So, it's still raining here (we're told we won't see the sun again until Monday!), which makes it a great day for crafting!  (any excuse, right?  ;)  I decided to try my hand with some spring-y colors and see what I could come up with...

I started with the sketch for the current Lawnscaping Challenge.  I loved the simplicity of it.

I knew I wanted to create a flower from layers of paper and paper flowers and that I wanted this flower to take center stage on my card.  And I knew I wanted to make the rectangle behind my flower much thinner than the sketch showed (almost like a stem -- or a stick on a pinwheel!)...  So this is where I ended up and I am very pleased with the results -- if I do say so myself!  ;-)

I hope you like my card.  Let me know what you think!  I also hope you're finding some time in your day for some crafty fun!

Supplies:

• K&Co. paper - "Que Sera Sera"
• Neenah Cardstock - "Solar White" 
• Martha Stewart Punch-Around-the-Page Set - "Double Arches"
• Prima paper flowers - white
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass, and Spun Sugar
• Hero Arts stamp - "Tree, Birds, and Messages" set
• Hero Arts Shadow Ink - Soft Pool
• kraft cardstock, brad, adhesives

Thanks for stopping by!

Cure for a Rainy Day

Pin It It's raining today, so I need a little color in my life!  And when I need a little color pick-me-up, I very often almost always reach for this Hero Arts "Poppy Background" stamp.  It's so fun to color with my copics and very, very versatile (I love to play with it with different color combos...).

***(as a sidenote, I've never thought of myself as an "orange" kind of girl, but in looking around my house, I notice that warm and sunny color has somehow weasled its way into my heart (and decor)...  hmmm...)***

Pretty simple, but packs quite a punch!  (I don't know if you can see it in the photo, but I applied Glossy Accents to the two focal flowers just to give them a little pop!)

Anywho, this card has cheered me considerably, so I thought I'd share! ;-)  Thanks for visiting; here's hoping it's a sunny day where you are!

Supplies:

• Hero Arts "Poppy Background" stamp
• Neenah Solar White cardstock
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink
• Copics (R24, R29, YR15, YG03, YG17)
• Glossy Accents
• Basic Grey "Ambrosia" grey paper
• Black cardstock, grosgrain ribbon, adhesives

Night Owl

Pin It Confession time!  I love, love, love Darcie's stamps!  There isn't a single set made by this fantastic company that I don't think is beyond adorable!  So, I wanted to share this cute little wall-hanging that I made for a dear friend who just had a little baby boy (and then I liked it so much I had to make another one to sell on etsy ;)  Check out my listing here.

This little sweetie was stamped on watercolor paper, heat embossed, and then inked up with my new Tim Holtz Distress Markers.  **ahhh... LOVE!**  The chipboard shadowbox (with acrylic faceplate) is also from Darcie's and is covered with papers from K&Co.'s Wild Saffron line.  How cute is this?!?  =)

Supplies:

• Darcie's Frame - "Raine" - small
• Darcie's clear stamps - "Owl You Do"
• K&Co. papers - Wild Saffron
• Tim Holtz Distress Markers and Inks
• Perfect Pearls
• Hero Arts black ink, clear embossing powder 
• buttons, jute, twine, adhesives

I will be posting a couple more of these super-cute wall hangings in the next couple of days, so check back soon!  Thanks for visiting!  Please leave a comment!  :)

Floral Thank You Card

Pin It I have been a scrapbooker for quite some time, but have recently developed a real affinity for card-making.  It just seems to embody all the things I love (supplies!) and the best thing about it is the instant gratification of having a completed card in a (relatively) short period of time!  =)

I created this card to enter in the  March Hero Arts "Fabulous Flowers" Contest  (also new to these contests -- we'll see how that goes!).  It has a flower I created by cutting different sized flowers with my Cricut (I cut four at 2.5", two at 2.25", four at 2", two at 1.75", four at 1.5", and two at 1.25") and then rolling the edges till the paper was really soft.  Then I stacked them, pierced a hole and secured with a brad.  I heat embossed the "Thank You Definition" background stamp on my patterned paper and assembled! Ta-da!!!  I was definitely nursing some sore fingers for a bit afterwards, but I thought it was worth it!  =)

Supplies:

• Hero Arts Thank You Definition Background stamp
• Hero Arts "Tree, Birds, and Messages" - thanks stamp
• Kraft Cardstock
• K & Co. "Wild Saffron" 12"x12" paper
• adhesives, brad, hemp twine

Let me know what you think!  Thanks for looking!

First post!

Pin It This is my first post and I suppose I could act all calm and try to appear collected, but that would be a lie.  A bold-faced one, to tell the truth.  My insides are nervous as all get-out even though I know it will probably be quite some time before anyone actually reads this!  Haha!

So, a little about me -- hmmm...  I have a full-time job that runs me ragged most of the time and two dogs (Emmitt and Neville) who finish the job the rest of the time.  (a little Christmas tulle never hurt anyone, right?)

Emmitt (the well-loved Mutt) and Neville (the also well-loved Corgi)

But, thankfully, I have a hobby that keeps me sane and as low-stress as possible (at least until I go to balance my checkbook at the end of the month!  Ha!  You scrapbookers out there know what I'm talking about! ;)  And that's what brings me here.  There are a ton of paper-crafting blogs out there -- (I know... I visit most of them!)  -- and I just love the way we can share with and learn from each other and how this medium can bring like-minded people together from all walks of life.

So, there it is -- I'm hoping this blog will be a way to connect and share inspiration with other paper-junkies!  =)

Thank you for visiting!  Please leave a comment and let me know you're out there!