A Wandering Crafter

Ouch!

2012-01-19T22:50:00.002-05:00

Today, David and I finished our last round of immunization shots for Hepatitis A & B that we started in July, 2011 before our South Africa trip. It's really only a total of 5 or 6 shots, but they had to be spaced out over many months. We are now suppose to be immune for life!

I'm glad that I didn't notice how long the needles were until after I'd received my shot. I might have cried!

But, alas, I was a big girl for taking these two shots and got a Tootsie Pop for being so!

Wendy

Blue One! (bonus picture)

2012-01-19T22:50:00.000-05:00

My nephews heard of this crazy VW Bug "game" where the rules are, when you see one, you shout out the color then punch the person beside you in the arm. About the second time my sister and I took a jab in the arm, we decided to change the rules! Now you only have to shout out the color. BUT, someone else has to see the Bug you're calling out in order to get the point.

I find myself playing this silly game when I'm driving all alone. But this point goes to me...

Have a fantastic Friday!

A New Side Dish

2012-01-18T20:18:00.001-05:00

Recently, asparagus has found a place on our dinner menus. We actually prefer white asparagus when it's in season. But when green asparagus looks this good, it's hard to pass it up... especially when I'm looking for something fairly quick and uncomplicated to cook.

Tossed in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, it cooks up in no time. Tonight we paired this asparagus with sautéed pork chops. Quick & delicious.

I hope your Thursday is terrific!

My Beautiful Grandmother

2012-01-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

I spent most of today with my grandmother (on my mother's side). She'll be 85 years old this coming Monday (Jan 23). I will be out of town and unable to celebrate her birthday so I'm spending quality time with her this week. Her health is failing and therefore she has good days and bad. Today wasn't an exceptionally good day, nor was it one of her worst.

I love you, grandma, and think you're still just as beautiful ever!

Hope Wednesday is a wonderful day for everyone!

A Cool New Phone

2012-01-16T23:02:00.002-05:00

This was the highlight of my day today! Even though it took 2 hours at the cell phone store, I think the upgrade is going to be worth the time invested.

Hope you've had a fantastic day! I can't wait to see what tomorrow has to offer!

A Year in Pictures

2012-01-15T21:56:00.000-05:00

One picture, every day, for a year. Add to that a blog post to share the picture and why I took it.

This is what I've decided to attempt for 2012. I'm excited to try this challenge. My hope is it will slow me down so I might see all the blessings that are given me on a daily basis.

While I hope to post beautiful pictures, I know that's not very realistic seeing how some photos may come from my phone or iPad or the camera flash might not work, etc. This isn't a photo contest. It's a personal quest.

I am already aware that I won't be able to post photos daily sometimes due to travel. In those instances I will upload a group of photos in one post when I get internet access.

I hope you'll enjoy this adventure as much as I think I will!

All of that said, it's time to get started. What better place to start than on a Sunday at Church...

When in town, this is where I look forward to being on Sunday mornings, Harrisburg United Methodist Church. My sister and her family have been members for a while and I've been attending for a few years. I've not officially joined, but everyone there makes me feel like family. It's a wonderful Church!

I can't wait to see what moves me tomorrow. Thanks for coming on this photo journey with me!

Wendy

Stars & Stamps Sketch #99

2011-12-17T13:22:00.000-05:00

My husband and I have never been big on celebrating Valentine's day, even when we were dating. I'm extremely blessed that he expresses his love for me many times a day and often surprises me with fun stuff for no reason. Therefore, Valentine cards are hard for me to make. But I do like the idea of everyday "love" cards so I thought I'd make a simple, understated, card using this sketch.

I also wanted to try a ribbon tying technique from a tutorial by my friend and former shipper, Dixie. It worked like a charm and was so simple! If you didn't see the tutorial, check it out here!

Patterned Paper: Echo Park "For the Record"

Stamp: Hero Arts CL342

Punch: Martha Stewart

Inks: Archival Sepia and Distress Tea Dye

"It looks corporate."

2011-12-03T16:46:00.001-05:00

This was my husband's comment when I showed him my interpretation of Stars & Stamps Sketch #97 challenge. My thought: "Whatever! I've finally completed a sketch challenge!! YAY!" Card making & crafting in general has had to take a backseat for the last few months.

I was thrilled when I saw this sketch. Very symmetrical... I'm all about the symmetry!

I look forward to finding more time for card making in the up coming months!

Thanks for taking time to take a look,
Wendy

Stars & Stamps Sketch #78

2011-07-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

This week's Stars and Stamps Sunday Sketch looked relatively straight forward
so I jumped right on it.

This is my interpretation

Funny, it has the same color scheme that I used on a Summer Card Camp card I made earlier this week. I didn't intentionally use the same papers. Perhaps my subconscious is desperately trying to use the rest of this never-ending 7 Gypsies paper stack! LOL

I will most likely use this sketch again and again. I like that it's clean and simple!

Thanks for reading!

Abracadabra!

2011-07-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

Just over 2 yrs ago I purchased this antique pie safe to go in the kitchen of Villa Gorilla. I bought it for a great price at a consignment store. I love this piece of furniture.

With limited actual cabinets in the kitchen, my intention was to use it storage of dishes, pots, pans, etc. Instead, it became the game cabinet and place to put stuff we really didn't have a place for just yet.

Then, one afternoon...

The proverbial light bulb went off and "Presto-Chango!" From Pie Safe to Craft Safe! My craft supplies have a new home and are much more convenient to access!

There is some tweaking to the organization and paper storage solutions to be figured out, but I'm thrilled that my supplies are no longer shoved into the bottom of the coat closet when company is coming!

Thanks for reading! Now go get crafty!

Summer Card Camp

2011-07-12T15:41:00.000-04:00

This is the third week of class and my first posted card. Better late than never! The picture isn't the best due to poor indoor lighting and it was too windy to go out doors.

Supplies:

Paper: 7 Gypsies Savannah paper pack

Sentiment: Hero Arts CL272

Background word stamp: Stampabilities "Le London Script"

Inks: Archival Jet Black and Adirondack Hazelnut

Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities "Labels Eleven"

I've lost my mind

2011-05-11T17:33:00.000-04:00

Next week my husband's company is having their annual strategic planning "event." It starts Wednesday at dinner, ends Friday at lunch and I'm in charge of cooking for 13-16 people. I'm making lists like crazy. And what do I do? I decide to stop and tackle this week's S&S Sketch 68 and Midweek Throwdown. Yep, I've lost my mind.

Like always, this started out with scraps on my desk so I'm considering this one my prototype. I will probably make changes if I decided to do multiples.

The butterfly punch from EK Success and the "Time to stamp" from Hero Arts are new.

Craft therapy works wonders! I think I can get back to my list making now that I've gotten just a little inky!

Same Sketch 66, New Midweek Throwdown

2011-04-28T12:07:00.000-04:00

Today's card is my interpretation of this week's Stars & Stamps midweek throwdown... making an Any Hero card.

I'm not sure why, but I've always thought that Any Hero cards shouldn't be overly embellished. Obviously I want it to look nice, but I try to always keep them gender neutral and somewhat "flat." This is about as flat as you can get!

To make the "thank you" sentiment stand out, I decided to mask an area so when I used my script stamp so it would leave a void. Once I stamped the sentiment, it appeared to just be floating and needed to be grounded. I tried to faux stitch around the sentiment but it looked extremely goofy.

I started over. This time I masked outside the area for the sentiment using sticky notes. Once I got the desired amount of distress stain, I removed the stickies and applied a mask on top of the distressed area then stamped my script stamp. I removed the mask and stamped the sentiment.

Sentiment is Hero Arts and the red star paper is from Basic Grey's "Life of the Party."

Thanks for reading! Hope you get a chance to get crafty!

**After thought/note to self: A picture with each step might be easier to follow**

Last week's throwdown, this week's sketch

2011-04-27T13:43:00.002-04:00

Stars & Stamp's throwdown last week was to make a monochromatic card and I really wanted to attempt this challenge. This week's Sunday Sketch looked daunting to me but also seemed like a good time to try the monochromatic thing.

With any challenge, I like to use scraps, cut into the right measurements, then I try to figure out what papers, stamps and embellishments I'm going to use for the real card. I love it when a card totally comes together by accident! My scraps started looking monochromatic... Then I found the text paper in my stash. TA-DA! All I needed was an embellishment.

My sister let me borrow her EK Success label punch but it felt too big. So, playing around, I put the punched label, partially back into the punch, punched again and viola, a whole different shaped label! I think I need to own this punch.

I know the sentiment should probably have been stamped in brown, but I just couldn't do it. I thought the card needed a punch of color. Plus I had this tiny blue ribbon handy. Overall, I liked the finished product. Hope you do too!

Happy crafting everyone! I'm off to check out what this week's Stars & Stamps Midweek Throwdown has in store.

S&S Sketch Challege 65

2011-04-17T20:52:00.000-04:00

I can't begin to tell you how excited I was when I finished this card using this week's S&S Sketch #65. Those who know me, know I have a really hard time using more than one patterned paper at a time on a card and here I've used three! So, not only have I stepped way outside my box, it has to be the fastest card I've ever created!

The paper was a gift from a good ~~friend~~ ~~enabler~~ friend. It's Basic Grey's "Life of the Party" 6x6 pad. The present stamp is a mini set out of a dollar bin and the sentiment is Hero Arts CL184. I double stamped the present -- once on the cream and once on the patterned paper. Cut the box part out & popped it with dimensional tape. The ribbon is from my stash and the bow was made with the "bow easy" (it was more handy than walking to the kitchen for a serving fork).

Thanks for taking time to read this post. I hope you have a wonderful (and crafty) upcoming week!

S&S Sketch 64 x 2

2011-04-15T20:46:00.001-04:00

With the Phantom out of town, I decided to play at my desk a little and work on this past Sunday's Stars & Stamp's Sketch (#64). For a second time now, I boldly decided to leave my primary scrap supplies at the Gorilla when I left last weekend. I'm trying to force myself to use supplies that I have but never use!

On both of these cards I used Tim Holtz "Tissue Tape" along the left side and bottom. On the more feminine card I chose to leave it as is, off the roll. On the more masculine card I made it a little more "vintage" using Tea Dye Distress Ink.

Everything else was purchased long, long, long ago with exception of the lace. My Sister graciously gave me globs of her lace (making only a dent in her "stash") that she recently purchased at Fancy Gap Pottery & Fabric in Southwest Virginia. Thanks Sis!

I hope your weekend is fantastic! Thanks for taking time to stop by!

Crafty Weekend at the Gorilla

2011-04-14T18:14:00.002-04:00

Last weekend a couple of friends joined me at the Gorilla for a "girls weekend of crafting." We had big fun relaxing, laughing and eating chocolate (before and after dinner...and breakfast...and lunch)!

I didn't get 101 cards made like Dixie, but I'm "ok" with that! I had just as much fun with the 3 cards I made...

My main objective was to make my interpretation of S&S sketch #63 even though I had already missed the deadline (that would be the top card). Thank you, Dixie, for the flat bling! I have to get some of those.

Card bottom left: I was simply playing with the Distress Ink and water resistance technique. In the center of the flowers I used Black Diamond Stickles.

Card bottom right: I was playing with a new embossing folder. I am very tempted to say this is my interpretation of this week's S&S sketch #64. But I still have time to perhaps come up with a second card. The body of the butterfly was punched in black then covered in diamond glaze not only for a little "pop" but to help make the antennae a little more stable. Only three areas of the wings are popped with dimensional adhesive.

Thanks for reading! I hope there's lots of card making and crafting going on this weekend!

S&S Sketch Challenges 60 & 61

2011-04-02T17:07:00.000-04:00

Let me start by saying that I know the rest of ya'll have moved on and are currently playing with or even finished three mid-week challenges and sketch challenge 62. I've been unable to craft for several weeks so I'm trying to catch up. The goal was to do challenges 60, 61 and 62...that was until I saw that challenge 62 was a three-fer! Helllooo! I can't keep up with one sketch at a time, much less 3 in one week!

So I took a deep breath and attacked the last two I missed. Here are my interpretations.

Sketch 60

Sketch 61

Thanks for reading! Have a great rest of the weekend...

Inspiration?

2011-04-01T18:30:00.000-04:00

It's a lovely day where I am today and after the last couple we've had, it was a welcome change. While letting my dogs out I noticed the shadow of a weed and it reminded me of a punch that I have.

Do you suppose Martha got her inspiration for this punch from a weed?

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Sunrise, Monday Morning in California

2011-03-15T12:44:00.002-04:00

This was what I accidentally saw Monday morning. I was trying to keep the room dark for the Phantom to sleep a little longer before a "grueling day" of meetings.

Turns out my shuffling in the dark for a power cord woke him and he said, "you can open the drapes a little for light." After getting a peek at what was outside, I had to fling them wide open and take this picture.

We only brought the little camera this trip, so use your "enhancement skills" and look at it kicked up a 1000 percent...

You can't imagine how breathtaking it was in real life. Yet another reminder of how blessed I am and how thankful I am for all of God's gifts.

Today, please take the time to be thankful for something beautiful... a flower, a bird singing, a child laughing or even the rain. And please take a moment to pray for all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Personal Cards Using S&S Sketch 59

2011-03-10T15:07:00.001-05:00

This week's S&S Sketch 59 came in very handy for a couple of quick cards I need for personal reasons. My niece's birthday is actually today but I will be seeing her on Saturday and will give it to her at dinner.

The second is for a friend who had surgery this week. She's been on my mind and I'm wishing her a speedy recovery! (Hers I need to get in the mail!)

The color in the photo doesn't truly represent what it looks like in real life but you get the idea!

I would love to knock out a dozen gender neutral cards using this sketch for the East Coast Shipper, but my upcoming schedule may not allow for crafting. I'm wandering off again this Sunday and my to-do list is long.

Have a wonderful rest of the week, weekend and following week! Make an extra card for me!

S&S Sketch #58

2011-03-01T09:25:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I packed up my craft supplies and ran away to the "Gorilla" (our getaway in Virginia). The next 3 weeks are going to be crazy busy for me so I was going to craft all weekend...until I got to the house and turned into a slug. I totally perfected the art of doing nothing! And it was wonderful!

I did, however, manage to make two cards for this week's S&S Sketch.

S&S Midweek Throwdown

2011-02-19T14:26:00.001-05:00

This week's MWT is to do a masculine card. I actually like the challenge of making masculine and gender neutral cards.

I hadn't planned on this card being my submission for the challenge, but when I showed it to the Phantom (aka my husband*), he took one look at it and said, "OMG, this is the coolest card you've ever shown me. And it's very masculine. Of all your cards this is the best. I love everything about this card. Can I keep it?"

WOW! Seriously? I was completely blown away! It's an OK card and all, but never did I expect that reaction.

*Shipper Dixie has dubbed my husband "the Phantom" since she's never met or spoken to him and questions his existence. It's actually quite fun and even the Phantom enjoys his elusive identity.

*Edit* The only products used in making this card was Graphic 45 paper, inexpensive card stock, Momento "Potters Clay" ink for the sentiment, a dollar bin acyrillic stamp. Distressing around the sentiment was Adirondack "Pebble" (my newest favorite ink!).

Multi-tasking again

2011-02-13T14:18:00.001-05:00

Having been a little under the weather the last few days, and feeling much better today, I couldn't wait to get to my craft area and do something fun. Last Wednesday's MWTD was to use Red, White, Blue & Kraft and this is today's Sunday Sketch Challenge both from Stars & Stamps. Thank you Tricia for the sketch!

Here's my interpretation...

The background is Basic Grey's "basics kraft paper" and the red, white and blue are generic card stock. The dragonfly is double punched, once in kraft and again in black (punch from Paper Studios). Wanting to create a shadow effect, I glued the black one down flat then popped the kraft one on top. Since it would be hard to pop such a slender tail, I decided to glue it flat onto the black so hopefully it won't get damaged in transit.

If it's not too late, this card may also be finding it's way to Sandy for a special request by a Hero's Mom.

Have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by. Now go get crafty! The East Coast Shipper needs you!

Two Throwdowns and Sketch #55!

2011-02-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

So after my post yesterday about the piggy's behind & the farm animal MWT, the East coast shipper kind of "picked on" me saying she wanted to see a card using the stamp.

I can't tell you how excited I am! Not only have I achieved a card for the MWT, I have also accomplished this week's Sunday Sketch challenge and the most thrilling thing for me is that I combined 3 patterned papers and COLORED an image with pencils! (ok, don't get excited about the coloring 'cause it's not all that great but the 3 patterned paper thing is big!)

I took this picture really quick as we were headed out the door for a Super Bowl party so I apologize for it looking very similar to yesterday's post.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! I hope your weekend has been a blessed one! Have a fantastic week everyone.

S&S Sketch 54

2011-02-05T17:40:00.000-05:00

Here's this weeks Sunday sketch from the Stars & Stamps blog:

Here's my interpretation:

In addition to the challenge I also made a handful of these "Thank You" cards for Operation Write Home.

I've had so much fun that I thought I would also attempt the Midweek Throwdown challenge but I don't have anything representing farm animals except a stamp of a piggy's behind! Now what kind of sentiment could you put with that? LOL Well, there are plenty of the Sunday Sketches that I didn't attempt so now's my chance! I'm on a creative roll! (ha ha)

Have a great weekend everyone!

My dogs

2011-01-12T07:45:00.064-05:00

This is Zoe. She's a black lab, dalmatian mix. We picked her out of a litter over 11 years ago because she was a female and because I loved her markings.

Zoe likes to eat paper products -- boxes, tissues, books and magazines. We affectionately call her "goat dog."

Recently, I have discovered that if I leave a personal item such as my bedroom slipper or a tennis shoe for her to "take," she is less likely to attack paper products when I (we) leave the house. She'll move the shoe around the house but won't chew on it at all. Must be a "security blanket" thing.

But "goat dog" has another habit that is totally funny... she sits on the ottoman. If she's waiting on me to let her out or feed her breakfast, or first thing in the mornings when she's not fully awake, she'll sit on the ottoman.

Sometimes she sits so far back, her hind legs stick straight out towards her front legs.

I love Zoe the goat-dog, bunches. I really hate that she's becoming a "senior dog." I see old age affecting her especially during times like this when we have snow, ice and generally cold weather.

Zoe has a German Shepherd "sister," Jesse. Jesse is just as beautiful, just as old, but not nearly as destructive nor does she have bizarre ottoman habits. She is, however, smart as all get out and is the sweetest shepherd you will ever meet. She loved to play fetch but she's becoming a "senior dog" too. She has back problems and has been a real trooper in dealing with them. She's not fond of the snow and ice either!

Thanks for reading! Go get crafty!

Wendy

Icy outdoors, playing indoors!

2011-01-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

My husband went into work this morning and called to tell me he had arrived safely but the roads were bad and that I should stay home. So, for exactly one nano-second I thought about cleaning house. Then I decided to play at my craft table!

While putting together the first card I came across some old dimensional adhesive that I really don't like. It's hard to use, the little backing things are annoying and there's a ton of waste, unless you're like a friend of mine who will cut up the sheet after all the dots are gone... that's not me. I decided I would work on using up these mini pop dots since I can't throw away something perfectly useful. Do you think I used too many?

When I discovered I had a second full sheet of these blasted things, I made another card and switched it up a little. I think I like the second one best.

I will continue to use the now loathed pop dots until they are all gone. When they are all used up, I will return to using my new favorite dimensional adhesive.

Stay warm and happy crafting everyone! I hope your Wednesday is a fabulous one!

Wendy

S&S Sketch 51 -- Finally

2011-01-10T20:55:00.001-05:00

I was finally able to come up with something much better than yesterday's card! It took way too long to come together but I had an excuse ... beautiful snow falling all day!

So, between going out with my old pups and standing in front of the window to watch the snow falling, I pretty much took all afternoon to make a huge mess on my desk and this very simple card.

If you were one of the many snowed in today, I hope you stayed warm and enjoyed it as much as I did! Looks like we may be "iced" in tomorrow so perhaps I will work on getting more cards made.

Happy crafting everyone!

News Flash!

2011-01-09T18:02:00.001-05:00

You should never, ever, ever try to create a card when, a) you're not feeling particularly crafty and b) you try to be crafty with only scraps on your desk that don't compliment each other!

If you do you'll end up with something as unattractive as this!

It started as simply playing with a new background stamp I recently purchased. Then, while on the computer looking at a current radar (we're suppose to be getting snow tonight) I remembered it was Sunday so I went to check out the S&S Sunday sketch.

Maybe tomorrow we will get snow and I will give this another shot! I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! Stay warm!

New Year, New Look

2011-01-06T19:33:00.003-05:00

After an extremely busy end of the year, I'm looking forward to crafting again. Being a new year, this seemed like the perfect time to dust off the old blog and give it a new look.

So this is my first crafty venture of 2011 -- update the look of the blog! But I'm not sure I'm all that thrilled with this look. Perhaps I'll live with it for a little while and adjust accordingly! I love the map at the top (it's sooo me)! But I'm not so sure about the colors.

Anyway, I will sign off with this sad, sad picture of where my craft supplies have been patiently waiting for far too long...

Happy New Year everyone! May 2011 be a fantastic, creative and most of all, healthy year for us all!

S&S Sketch 41

2010-11-06T21:26:00.000-04:00

I almost forgot to post my interpretation of last Sunday's Sketch Challenge from Stars & Stamps! This challenge was provided by Shannon at Northern Girl Stamper.

My husband and I have never celebrated Valentine's day. So my plan is to make cards for OWH that say "I love you" without catering to a specific day of the year. This sketch challenge seemed like a good place to start.

The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's "Scarlet Letter" collection. Stamp is from a $1 bin. Brads from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great time crafting!

A challenge complete on a Tuesday?

2010-10-26T14:55:00.001-04:00

How is this possible? It seems I'm always last in the line up of pictures posted for the Stars & Stamps Sketch Challenge! LOL

This week's challenge was offered by Erica. It seems I'm still in a "gender neutral" frame of mind. I'm finding it very hard to think about any holiday right now so perhaps I'll stick to general themed cards! Those should be good anytime as box fillers.

Two, two, two challenges in one!

2010-10-23T21:03:00.000-04:00

This week has been a busy one for me so today I combined last Sunday's OWH Sketch Challenge #39 with the OWH Midweek Throw Down to make a masculine card. As a result, this is what shipper Dixie will be getting when I return to the real world --

I'm off to sit around the fire and enjoy the brisk, Virginia, Fall evening...

Oh Good Grief!

2010-10-17T15:44:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a card that would not come together no matter what you did? This card gave me a fit! It didn't seem to matter what direction I turned it, edge I inked or element I popped, it just wouldn't look right to me. But I stuck with it and finally came up with something I'm not totally ashamed of...

I'm embarrassed to say how many silly hours this card took. And this card is why I hate to cut pretty patterned paper. I had to stick with it because I cut the newly purchased Basic Grey "Jovial" 6x6 paper pack and was determined to use every bit of the 2 sheets I butchered! (people who know me are probably laughing right now and I'm OK with that because I'm aware I have issues!)

I knew I wanted the snowman to be white but struggled with how to trim his arms so they would look right and not be so delicate. Finally, it dawned on me to stamp the image directly onto my background before placing the white cut out on top. I simply eliminated his arms from the one stamped on white.

Anyway, I'm very happy to be done with this wintery card set of only 9 and look forward to working on this week's S&S Sketch Challenge! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Wendy

S&S Sketch Challenge #38

2010-10-13T19:20:00.000-04:00

Hello fellow crafters! I've recently returned from a family trip to Disney World and boy did we fun. The weather was perfect, the lines were short and 9 of us survived working as a "group."

Being blessed with the freedom and opportunity to enjoy such things in life makes me very thankful. First and foremost I'm thankful to God for blessing my family with so very much. But I'm also thankful for the Heroes that fight to protect our freedom every day.

I decided to use this week's Stars & Stamp Sketch Challenge in two ways... one for the challenge and one for Any Hero letters. The sketch was provided by Kimberlee. She has some adorable cards on her blog, The Life of a Princess.

My interpretation is slightly different than the original sketch, but I think it works. For variety, I made half the cards horizontal and the other half vertical.

Card stock: Bazzill and inexpensive

Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye "So Sophie" Collection
Stamp: Hero Arts CL184

Thanks for reading and happy crafting!

First OWH Christmas Card for 2010

2010-10-01T19:48:00.000-04:00

At my LSS today, it was an Operation Write Home card crop day. Having done a "wintery" card a couple of days ago, I decide today was the day to take the plunge and create the first Christmas card. I didn't get to spend the entire day at the crop, so I was only able to make 9 of these, but I think they're pretty cute. Simple, but cute. I elected to leave the sentiment off hoping it may be more versatile as some people prefer Happy Holidays to Merry Christmas.

Card base: Georgia Pacific Cream Colored & Kraft: Inexpensive

Red patterned paper: Double-sided paper from Creative Imaginations

Stamp: Hero Arts Clear and Music Notes Cling

Thanks for stopping by! Happy crafting this weekend!
Wendy

Getting ready for colder weather

2010-09-29T21:17:00.001-04:00

Today I went to my LSS's weekly Wednesday free crop with one goal: to help shipper Dixie process OWH cards. At the last minute I decided to take more than my tape gun and this is what happened.

The Stamps: Hero Arts Sentiments & new Cling "Seasons"

Ribbon & card stock: inexpensive and/or on sale

Ink: Staz-On Saddle Brown

Falling snow: Uni-Ball White Gel Pen (best white pen in the universe)

Snow under the tree: White Liquid Pearls

I'm trying to work myself up for Christmas cards but it just seems too early! I know for OWH, it's not too early at all, but we're still getting warm weather here so it's hard for me to get in the Christmas card mode. So this is my best shot at a "winter" card.

Side note: I did managed to lend Shipper Dixie a hand with processing a few cards, too)

Thanks for stopping by!

Stars & Stamps Sunday Challenge #36

2010-09-26T17:37:00.008-04:00

Wow! I've actually completed a challenge the day it was issued and not right before it expired! Better yet, I'm excited I completed a weekly challenge! Two in a row! LOL

This week's S&S Sketch Challenge was provided by Paula. You should definitely check out her handiwork at Handmade By Paula. Thank you, Paula, for the inspiration.

This is my take on the OWH sketch #36. I need to practice my "stitching." I've always loved how this looked, but I've never attempted it on anything until now. My clock should have probably had "hands" but I couldn't decide what "time" I wanted it to be so I left it blank. Perhaps a Hero will have a special time that they'd like to draw in themselves.

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey's "Granola"

Solid card stock: Bazzill

Clock Stamp: unknown

Sentiment Stamp: Hero Arts (set CL184)

Finally, time for crafting!

2010-09-25T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have at last been reunited with my craft supplies and boy did I enjoy last night at my LSS! Not only was it fun to actually be playing with paper and ink, it was wonderful to spend time with some very funny and creative women.

This card will actually work for 2 challenges! This first challenge is the Stars & Stamps Sketch Challenge #35. Thanks Renee for the sketch idea!

The second challenge is from In Style Stamps Blog. They hosted this challenge in honor of OWH's 2nd Birthday!

Here is my interpretation of the sketch.

Patterned paper: My Minds Eye So Sophie Collection, "Splendid Surroundings"

Card stock: Bazzill and inexpensive kraft paper
Sentiment: Borrowed from one of the funny, creative ladies

Bonjourno from Italy!

2010-09-10T07:22:00.019-04:00

Hello fellow crafters! This post is coming to you from the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Even though it has rained the last two days, its still quite lovely.

Our travels began in Rome. When we leave Amalfi we will continue back north to visit Florence before heading home.

At each of our stops, I've done what all of us crafters do and scouted to see if there was some sort of craft store. Sadly, I've not found any so far. Surely they are here, I just haven't found them yet. My husband did, however, find a working paper mill and museum in Amalfi. The paper is still made by hand and sold to a variety of people, companies and Churches, all over Italy, including the Vatican.

Speaking of the Vatican, we were fortunate enough to take a private tour with a guide named, Serena. Midway though our tour, we happened to cross paths with Serena's boss, Angelo. He was giving a tour to another couple and said, "Hey, would you guys like a surprise?" Of course we said "yes" so he proceeded to make a phone call and an employee of the Vatican showed up to usher us through a secured back gate to the Studio del Mosaico. Here is where the Church's mosaics are restored and created. It was absolutely fascinating!

I'm off to my family blog to tell of the experience we had taking the cooking class from Mamma Agata. I know my family can't wait for me to return and cook for them all that I've learned. That post should be ready a little later today, so if you're interested, please feel free to to pop on over to Wendy's Party in a Box...

Ciao, Ciao for now!

I've wandered back to Virginia

2010-08-14T21:43:00.000-04:00

I've wandered back to the Gorilla for my nephews and sister to have one more summer "adventure" before schools starts back. My brother-in-law's vacation was also this week and he seems to have enjoyed the last couple of days.

Like yesterday, we played today for a long while in the river. We fished and had a blast throwing rocks.

After lunch, everyone needed some down time. I decided it would be a perfect time to complete last Sunday's Sketch Challenge #29 from Stars and Stamps.

My sister's toy box

2010-08-09T13:38:00.000-04:00

Last week while working at my friend's scrapbook store, my sister brought some toys from her toy box to hangout and play with me. I love this stamp! Ten of these will be going to Shipper Dixie for OWH tomorrow.

The cream colored card stock is something inexpensive. The colored card stock is Bazzill.

Momento "Bamboo Leaves" and "Desert Sand" ink. Butterfly punch by Martha S. and the stamp is "Silhouette Flower," a cling stamp by Hero Arts.

Thanks for taking a look! Don't forget to squeeze in some time to create...

Stars & Stamps Sunday Challenge #27 & #28

2010-08-05T18:22:00.000-04:00

Challenge #27
Yesterday, I needed a card to send to a friend so I went to my "go-to-source" for card sketches, Stars & Stamps, and decided since I failed to play along in last weeks sketch challenge, I'd use that as my guide. So here is my interpretation of Sketch #27.

The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's 6x6 "Nook & Pantry" collection, kraft paper and unknown brown and cream paper. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts acrylic set. Butterfly punch by Martha S.

Challenge #28
This morning, when I returned to my craft supplies that are currently spread out across a 6 ft table at my LSS, I realized I had enough scraps to complete Challenge #28 laying right in front of me. I actually made 3 cards with this sketch but this interpretation is my favorite.

Again, he patterned paper is from Basic Grey's 6x6 "Nook & Pantry" collection, kraft paper and unknown brown and cream paper. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts acrylic set.

Thanks for taking a peek! Have a fantabulous weekend...hmmm, "tabs" I should make something using tabs!

A Larger Dragonfly!

2010-08-04T13:31:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I stumbled upon a larger dragonfly punch by The Paper Studio! The dragonfly measures 1-1/2" x 1-3/4".

In addition, I had to have this 4-1/8" x 5-3/8" "Le London Script" word stamp by Stampabilities.

This week I am working at my friend, Traci's, scrapbook store so she can enjoy relaxing with her family at the beach. Ok, maybe "working" isn't what I'm really doing! I'm playing more than "working" (shhh, don't tell Traci)!

Now I'm off to work on this week's, or perhaps last week's, Stars & Stamps Challenge!

If you want to see something really pretty, take a look at what my sister, Amy, has been up to on This Busy Girl.

Have a great day!

S&S Sketch Challenge 26 & The Dragonfly

2010-07-24T17:36:00.002-04:00

Woo-Hoo! I've managed to participate in an S&S Challenge and get it posted!

I've had this Hero Arts "Silhouette Spray" stamp for several months and never used it. (isn't that illegal?) Anyway, I stamped it using Adirondack Bottle Green then colored the tips with the best ever white gel pen, the Uni-Ball Signo "Impact White." Love this pen. The patterned paper is from a very old paper pack from DCWV's "Old World." The jury is still out on which is most favored, the green or the pink...

The Dragonfly:
I've been looking for the perfect dragonfly punch... this isn't it. BUT, I very much appreciate Dixie loaning it to me to play with! I'd love to find a dragonfly punch that is as cute as this one, only a little larger...but not too large.

For this card I punched the dragonfly in both black and yellow card stock and then layered them with 1/16" foam mounting tape. I wanted to give the illusion of a shadow. I embossed the base with the Cuttlebug "swirls" and used my new Stampin' Up "word punch" for the sentiment base. The sentiment is from a Basic Grey "value" set.

Thanks for reading! Now go get creative...

Time to clean up

2010-07-16T17:02:00.000-04:00

It's been a fun week, but the time has come that I must clean off the kitchen island. My husband and some friends are coming up for the weekend and since the island serves as our dining table, it might be nice to have a place to eat.

My last card to show is using a new EK Success edger punch I purchased yesterday. It was on sale at JoAnn's in Christiansburg, VA. I briefly looked away and it jumped into my basket!

All total, I will be handing over 54 cards to OWH's shipper Dixie when I return home. (And I promise, family, I am going to return!) The backs of all the cards have been stamped and they've been lovingly tucked in envelopes.

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful, crafty weekend!

Could it be another one?

2010-07-15T16:56:00.001-04:00

Late last night another idea popped into my head... and no, it wasn't painful! (I can hear my peeps asking)

Here's the prototype. It may be my new favorite masculine card. I might make 10 or 12 of these!

I may do some tweaking when I start assembling but for now I think it works.

Ingredients: Tim Holtz Gears Die on kraft paper then distressed with StazOn Timber Brown ink. The blue and maroon paper is from 7 Gypsies "savannah" collection. The background paper is Basic Grey's "dialect" from the Basics collection. Sentiment from Hero Arts. Brads from Michael's.

Thanks for taking a look! The weekend is just around the corner -- hope you get a chance to get inky!

A Personal Challenge

2010-07-14T14:13:00.001-04:00

Patterned Paper. I have a problem working with patterned paper for some reason. So I challenged myself to make cards using something other than card stock and stamps. Then, for some reason, I had to go and make the challenge even harder by making masculine or gender neutral cards. UGH!

I think I did pretty good thanks to the "Savannah" paper pack by 7 Gypsies! The paper is double sided.

The card on the right is suppose to have one final touch but I don't have my CM corner rounder with me. Rounding the two bottom corners will give it an extra little "humph."

I'm really enjoying my workspace at the river. We jokingly call the island in the kitchen the "landing strip" and I'm practically using the entire thing. Only problem, you definitely need to have some sort of craft mat under your project when using small brads! And somewhere on this island is a clear sentiment stamp...

Thanks for reading. Take a few minutes to create today...even if it's only dinner!

Let's Get Crafty

2010-07-09T13:50:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I posted. It's been a while since I made anything to show. But that's about to change...at least that's the plan.

I packed up my craft supplies and headed to our Virginia getaway place (lovingly known as "the Gorilla") on July 1st. My family soon followed and we had a wonderful 4th of July extended weekend. We did things like read and nap after playing in the river. This is my sister Amy and her youngest, Gabe.

Everyone has returned home and I have elected to stay behind and hopefully be creative for several days. I've wanted to do this for a while now and this seemed like the perfect time.

Last night I made these two cards for Operation Write Home.

Card on the left: I used a Hero Arts sentiment stamp. I can't recall where the flower stamp is from. I used Adirondack "brights" Watermelon for the flowers and Memento Bamboo Leaves for the stems.
Card on the right: I used Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and the Tim Holtz compass mini mask on inexpensive kraft paper. The word stamp is also Hero Arts stamped with Brushed Corduroy.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone's weekend will include something crafty...

Summer fun has begun

2010-06-07T15:21:00.000-04:00

It's beach time! Every year we take a beach vacation, first a week with my hubby's family and then a second week with my family. I'm the lucky one that gets to stay put the entire time!

Every year I take my craft supplies and try to squeeze in some form of paper crafting when possible. I hope to do more this year than in years past. Here's a couple of cards I'm made quickly last night before dinner. I recently bought these Tim Holtz embossing folders and wanted to play. The first scrap of paper I came across happened to be the blue and I already had the kraft paper cut to the right size.

I'm trying to decide if I like these enough to make a handful for OWH or if I should come up with another couple of prototypes.

Pictures aren't the best, but when you stack 3 coolers on top of each other and the wind keeps blowing the cards over, this is what you get.

Thanks for taking time to read! Have a fantastic rest of the day!

Stars & Stamps Sunday Challenge #17

2010-05-20T17:40:00.001-04:00

Wow! What a busy past couple of weeks I've had. So busy, in fact, that I was unable to participate in Challenge 16. But, looky here! I have not only completed Challenge 17, I'm getting it posted 2 days before the next Challege! Woo-hoo!

This week's Stars & Stamps Sunday Sketch Challenge was provided by Lora Brinkman. Be sure to visit her blog and check out some of her handiwork.

Here is my interpretation of the sketch:

Supplies:

Paper -- Basic Grey "Sublime" Collection on plain inexpensive black paper

Stamps -- Inkadinkado Gem Stone Birds and the words were from Paper Studio stamp set

Button Brads -- Probably Paper Studio as well. Definitely bought on sale somewhere.

I really like how this card turned out and I had fun making it. In fact, I liked it so much I made 12 for shipper Dixie's stash.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!

Stars & Stamps Sunday Challenge #15

2010-05-05T12:00:00.002-04:00

Wow! It's been way too long since I've done a Sunday Sketch. It's hard to believe that I've missed the last 5!

This weeks Sunday Sketch is provided by Bev Epstein...

Here is my interpretation...

I decided to go ahead and make 8 and turn them into Any Hero letters.

Thanks Bev for the sketch idea!

National Scrapbook Day

2010-05-02T16:29:00.010-04:00

Ok, so National Scrapbook Day isn't like Christmas. I would compare it more to Arbor Day (the last Friday of April). Arbor Day you plant trees, Scrapbook Day, well, you scrapbook.

This past Saturday was National Scrapbook Day. Along with a couple of friends, we helped the owner of Scrapbooks & Etc organize some activities to celebrate the day. There was an all day crop on Friday and Saturday with sales, lots of good food, fellowship with friends, etc.

The plan was to start a scrapbook of my Outer Banks trip. 20 hours of available scrap time. I was pumped! How much did I get done? I made a tag. An incomplete, ugly, useless tag. My sister had her distress inks out and this is what happened. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast the entire 20 hours but wasn't creative even a smidge... until after I got home.

Operation Write Home decided to rebel against NSD as started throwing out card challenges on their website. You'd be giving a "theme" and a time frame to create and upload a picture of your card. I managed to get a couple of the last challenges completed and I think they turned out pretty good.

Personally, I believe we should change the name from National Scrapbook Day to National Paper Crafting Day! (but being a Rebel was a lot fun)

Thanks for reading and have fun creating whatever you're creating!

From Cardmaking to Scrapbooking

2010-04-28T16:40:00.039-04:00

For probably close to a year now I've been making cards and have set aside my stamps and embellishments for working on any scrapbooks. I have plenty of scrapbooks that I should do, I've just not been inclined to do them. Well, I think it's time for a scrapbook. It will be a small book about the Outer Banks trip I just took with my sis-in-law.

Since I don't tend to scrap or make cards in any one place, this will require me switching out my totes from "happy birthday/love you" sentiments to my "journey/destination/travel" stamps and embellishments. This means I have to face my "craft room." Right now, I want you to remember the music from the shower scene in the movie "Psycho". That is what I heard in my head when I realized that I had to face this...

I worked for several hours cleaning, sorting, putting away, throwing away, setting aside and it now looks like a place where a person could really create something beautiful... that is if a person actually used the space to create instead of letting it be a placeholder for "things I'll get to later."

I did decide to leave out a couple of my card stamps so when I have an overwhelming need to make a few cards for OWH I can quickly get hold of some supplies. Does anyone remember Jenga? LOL

Time to come home

2010-04-15T22:15:00.007-04:00

It's the last day of my trip with the sis-in-law. I've got some incredible pictures to scrapbook when I return. Here's just a few of the fabulous sites we saw while visiting the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Hmmm, these pictures remind me of a song... "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which is not like the other, by the time I finish singing this song?"

100 points to the person who can tell which show that song was sung! (LOL)

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend everyone!

Feeling the need...

2010-04-09T23:30:00.003-04:00

...to create. Sadly, I'll have nothing to show for at least another week.

I am very blessed with the freedom and ability to travel. I've been doing a lot of that lately back and forth to our fairly new vacation home in Virginia. Hence the name of my blog. I tote my crafts from my primary residence to my LSS (Scrapbooks & Etc.) to "Villa Gorilla," my home away from home. I also carry my supplies to the annual family beach vacation or any other destination I think I can squeeze in a minute to stamp, staple, die cut or emboss!

But I'm getting ready to embark on a travel first with my sis-in-law. A road trip. For the last 9 years we've made an annual trip to some destination and until our trip last year to Arizona, we've never even rented a car. We've always flown to the destination then used public transportation or hoofed it once we arrived. It was part of the adventure! This year's trip, we're driving to the Outer Banks. It's a good thing we like each other.

My plan is to be sharing some pretty scrapbook pages in the next few weeks. If I don't do a book of some sort as soon as we return it might not get done!

I did get the chance to go visit a little bit with my fellow scrappers this evening at a Friday night crop and enjoyed every single second!

Guess that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! Keep creating! Until next time...

Oops! Just a little late...

2010-03-29T17:56:00.000-04:00

for last week's Sketch Challenge number 9. This sketch was provided by Seongsook. To see more of her beautiful artwork, please visit her blog, Sea Garden.

I recently purchased the Inkadinkado Clear Stamps, "Gem Stone Birds" and knew I wanted to incorporate it in a sketch challenge. This was the one! I stamped the image onto a patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket before cutting it out.

So far, I believe this has been my favorite result from a Sketch Challenge. Normally I keep my challenge cards separate from the OWH cards that I want sent to our Heroes. I really don't know why. It just started out that I kept my challenge cards more for myself. That is until this card. I loved this card so much that I made 10 additional.

I hope it makes a Hero's family member or friend as happy as it makes me.

I am excited about next week's Sunday Sketch Challenge which can be found here. There's a possibility I could be as happy about next week's results as I was this past week!

And maybe I'll even get the challenge completed in time to make the "Challenge scroll of fame!" (;-)

Thanks for reading! Have a great day, everyday!

Two Challenges, one card

2010-03-19T19:12:00.003-04:00

So here it is Friday night, the eve of the big Stars & Stamps Spring Blog Hop and it dawns on me that if I'm going to accomplish this week's Sunday Challenge, I'd better get it done tonight! This way I will have all day long Saturday to hop from blog to blog!

I struggled again this week with the Challenge. In fact, I struggled so much that I almost didn't attempt it. Then it dawned on me, these sketches are suppose to strike creativity, not spark fear of what's outside the box! This is the Sunday sketch challenge...

Each Wednesday, a Midweek Throwdown is also presented. This week it's a "Stash Challenge: Flowers." It really wasn't intentional to combine the two challenges, but I'm thrilled it worked out that way!

I'm pretty pleased with my interpretation:

Card making frenzy!

2010-03-14T15:26:00.000-04:00

Ok, perhaps "frenzy" is a little strong for what I've accomplished the last few days. But I have managed to make 50 cards for OWH plus the S&S Challenge #7 card! I'm pretty excited about that since earlier this week I had company and didn't have a lot of time to get inky!

The plan is to make more after this post, but the spousal unit had his camera out so I got him to take a couple of shots. This one I thought was quite the clever idea but hubby didn't get it right away. "It's suppose to look like a postcard," I explained. His response, "oh."

I sincerely hope everyone has had a wonderful Sunday. I believe another stamp is calling... I'm off to make more cards!

Beyond a Challenge

2010-03-12T20:53:00.008-05:00

This week's OWH Sunday Sketch Challenge was way too difficult for me. Here was the challenge sketch provided by Erika P this week. It's a great challenge... for me!

If you look at any of the cards I've created & displayed here, you'll notice that I'm not a multi-patterned paper user. It overwhelms me. So this challenge was way out of my box.

I took the easy way out. Yes, I will confess that I used patterned paper that somewhat resembled the sketch that I felt I could get away with for this week's challenge. And the whole "vertical sentiment" thing was totally beyond my realm. So I clear embossed a heart stamp then used white Zing for the sentiment.

Best part about this challenge is that it made me use paper I bought that I was probably never going to use in the first place. I apparently bought it hoping that I could get over the whole "multi-pattern" phobia. So here's my interpretation...

Thanks for stopping by!

Just Playing...

2010-03-07T11:33:00.005-05:00

Currently my most used craft supplies are sitting on my dining room table in three totes. They landed there after returning from an OWH card crop at my LSS, Scrapbooks & Etc. Friday afternoon. Tomorrow they will be traveling with me to Virgina for the week. While I have a great craft room/area, it seems that I am more suited to be "a wandering crafter!"

Friday night, I'm playing on my computer, which is also on the dining room table, when I'm pretty sure I here this faint little voice coming from one of these totes! This voice is saying, "I'm a new stamp and you must play with me! Quit reading boring emails and pull out an ink pad!"

Next thing I know I have half of all the supplies in these totes spread out and I'm making a card. I really intended on just stamping this flower image on scrap paper to see how long it would take to cut out. Didn't take too long and then it laid there staring at me like, "now what?" Then I thought, "wouldn't it look good to have a flourish as a stem!" Here comes another set of stamps and inks. Well, one thing led to another and 6 of these cards will make their way to my OWH shipper, Dixie.

S&S Sunday Challenge #6

2010-03-02T00:57:00.001-05:00

I made my mind up I wasn't going to get caught off guard this week when it came to the S&S Sunday Challenge! Last week I missed the chance to get my card displayed with all the other beautiful cards. I did, however, complete the challenge and you can see my interpretation here.

This is the 6th sketch challenged provided by Velda S.

While I like my interpretation (otherwise I wouldn't be posting it), I'm not sure I'm all that crazy about it. I originally started it with the thoughts of making it a Mother's Day card as well as the Challenge card. But this really isn't for either my mom or my mom-in-law (I was going to use a different sentiment originally!). It does, however, meet the challenge requirements.

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts. Hope you have a great week.

Better late than never, I suppose

2010-03-02T00:17:00.004-05:00

Where does the time go? How can it be possible for Stars & Stamps Challenge #6 to be posted? I've had so much going on that I didn't have time to make and post my interpretation of Challenge #5!

Do I skip this challenge? I don't think so. So what if I missed the chance to have my pretty card scroll with all the other pretty cards. It's not a competition, it's a personal challenge. So, before I moved on to this week's sketch, I made last week's. I love this card. It just evolved in front of me and I think it turned out better than I could have planned.

Right behind this card, I completed Challenge 6! Stay tuned for my interpretation of that one!

Stars & Stamps Sunday Challenge #4

2010-02-20T20:59:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I've actually completed the 4th S&S Sunday Challenge. I had no natural lighting so the picture isn't all that good but hopefully you get the idea.

Papers: Bazzill, Prima, Basic Grey & Georgia Pacific

Inks: StazOn Sable Brown & Adirondack Snow Cap

White Zing Embossing Powder

I Miss My Paper!

2010-02-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

Vacations are fun but I can't wait to get back home to my craft supplies. I believe I'm going through card making withdrawal! I've been looking at everyone's lovely cards for the various challenges and cards in general and I'm feeling the need to craft. Sadly, there isn't a craft store within miles and miles of where I'm located.

When I return home I will have only an evening to complete this week's S&S Sunday Challenge. I've managed to do the last 3, I'll be super challenged to do the 4th. But I've been thinking about what I want the card to look like:

LOL -- Obviously this is the challenge sketch. If you're not already playing along, it's not too late to join. There are no prizes for participating, only the satisfaction of showing your interpretation of the card.

Thanks for reading!

OWH S&S Sunday Challenge #3

2010-02-10T18:39:00.004-05:00

Woo-Hoo! 3 Sunday Challenges in a row! I am on fire! LOL Those that know me know that I've never gotten involved in any sort of craft challenge. Secretly, I've always considered myself to be "craft challenge impaired." Especially when I comes to challenges that offer prizes. I freeze. Completely blank goes my brain. I know there's no way I could complete the challenge...ON TIME!

Look at me now! 3 in a row & on time!! Early in fact! (this week at least)

Here was the challenge:

Here's the most basic quick card you'll ever see. It only took me 4 hours (LOL):

This is the first time I've used the sentiment on the card. But I love what it says because I am truly grateful for so many things in my life.

Thanks for reading!

Technique Challenge: Heat it Up

2010-02-10T18:25:00.000-05:00

The OWH S&S random mid-week challenge this week was to use embossing powder and your heat gun! I will confess that I made it a few weeks ago after I bought this stamp and the white Zing. I had to play right away and this was the result...

The picture doesn't do the embossing a great deal of justice, but in person it looks great. This card makes me happy.

Thanks for taking a look!

What a fun weekend

2010-02-08T14:51:00.005-05:00

Last week my sister and I worked at our favorite scrapbook store, Scrapbooks & Etc., so that the owner could set sail on the high seas. It was hard work too...hard to sit and make cards all day, each day!

I did actually do some work on the store's blog, my blog, a brochure for a new group at Church, etc. But I did manage to get these two cards made for Operation Write Home (OWH).

I made 14 of these

And 10 of these

Tomorrow there is a schedule OWH crop at the store and Wednesday there is always a free crop. I'm planning to get a lot of play time in both days. Thursday, hubby and I head to Florida for business and to visit some friends.

I will be without craft supplies for 10 days! YIKES! If we were driving, I might would take some of my supplies. Instead, I will have to do the next best thing -- be on the hunt for scrapbook stores everywhere I go while down there!

Thanks for reading. Hope you have a wonderful week.

Challenge #2 is finally finished!

2010-02-05T14:03:00.000-05:00

I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get a few minutes to work on this week's Stars & Stamps Sunday challenge. Here what I ended up with --

I used Bazzill cardstock & the patterned paper is

Hey Sugar: Candy Girl from Cosmo Cricket

Sentiment and swirl stamps unknown (but was probably bought on sale!)

The 2nd Stars & Stamps Challenge

2010-02-02T02:37:00.006-05:00

(OK, I know there are only 2 people glancing at my blog right now, but I wanted to see how a 2nd post looked! So quit laughing!)

Here is this week's OWH Stars & Stamps challenge. For now I'm only posting the sketch in case you want to play along and have time to do so before I do! I won't get a chance to play until midweek but hope you'll join in on the fun.

For more information, please visit OWH Stars & Stamps

I can't wait to tackle this challenge. It will be two in a row for me!

Thanks for all two of you stopping by! Love you guys for bearing with me! ;-)

Welcome

2010-01-31T13:45:00.001-05:00

Welcome my new blog that will be dedicated to my paper crafting! I will definitely be tweaking the look of the sight over the next few days.

A few months ago, I got involved with a wonderful organization called "Operation Write Home" (OWH). This organization has talented card makers all across the USA make cards for deployed soldiers. What we do is hand make a card front and leave the inside blank. OWH takes these cards and ships them to various military units so that our Heroes can, in turn, write back home to their loved ones. It has been so much fun getting involved with OWH.

OWH has recently started a "crafter's blog" called OWH Stars & Stamps. This blog was for us crafters to give us ideas, challenges, tutorials, etc. and is a great way to connect with other crafters.

Last Sunday was our first challenge and here was my inspired interpretation of the sketch that was posted. It was my very first challenge. I am not a crafter that keeps up with all the craft companies and any challenges they may offer. I really don't keep up with the latest and greatest products either. I leave that job up to my sister!

Speaking of the sis, she is also making cards for OWH and makes beautiful cards. Her scrapbooks are gorgeous as well. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you wanted to look at her blog, My Corner Studio to see what I'm talking about.

I have another blog that I started around June of 2009 that I like to use more for cooking, traveling, talking about family events, etc. It's called "Party in a Box." Feel free to take a peek at it too.

Thanks for stopping by!