Thursday, April 28, 2011

Off for a Few Days

Cricut Man and I are off for a few days to see family so no new posts on Gal Pals for a few days. 

A quick update. . . .The craft room is mostly finished - at least the DaySpring restoration part.  Now it's just a matter of waiting for the carpenter that we already had scheduled for some other projects to come and put the beadboard up.  He's not available for another 2-3 weeks so we went ahead and moved most of the craft room down in the basement for a little while.  It will probably be early June before I get everything back to normal.  We created a little order to things as we transferred stuff to the basement and there's a clean work table so hopefully I'll be back in business next week when I get home. 

Take care and have a great rest of the week and weekend.  See you back online next Wednesday morning.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Bluebirds of Happiness

Well since my craft room is scattered all over the house and basement right now and I can't find a darn thing, I thought I'd share one of the pictures of the bluebirds I was telling you about last night.  Isn't he beautiful?


And then for a little bluebird inspiration, here's a really cute card from the Splitcoast gallery using the little $1 birdie stamp I think all 3 of us own.  I love the effect of stamping on patterned paper.  Why don't I ever remember to do that?  Well maybe if I ever get back into my craft room I can try that out.  (Can you tell I'm feeling a little sorry for myself right now? - Maybe I need a little bluebird of happiness attitude!).

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sunny Fun

This is a card posted on Splitcoast using the Sunny Fun stamp set I got with our free merchandise.  The person who did this has some really cool ideas on her web site.  In fact this is actually a scratch & sniff card she did with the new embossing powders and some KoolAid.  Click here to check out her web site.
And if you go to the home page of her web site to see today's post, she's got a super cool idea for a Father's Day using My Digital Studio and the Open Sea brush set.  Looks a little complicated but I might have to give it a try.

See ya' tonight.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Because I Care

Just an update on our recent SU order.  I checked status this morning and it should ship this afternoon which means it will be here Wednesday.  We were entitled to a hostess set and $15 of goodies so here's the 1st of the 2 shared items I picked for us.  Hope you're not disappointed.

It's a hostess set called "Because I Care".  Thought it was really beautiful.  Here's a couple of cards from the Splitcoast gallery.



Val is up for trying to come to the shop tomorrow night.  She may even have some driving privileges.  She was supposed to go to the doctor last week I think.  But I told her we'll call and check in on her in the morning and if she is still restricted from driving she'd like to take you up on your offer to pick her up after you get off work.  I can then take her home as it's on my way.

Take care and HAPPY MONDAY!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Disaster Strikes

This is what my beloved craft room looks like right now. . . .




A vicious trickle of water that the guys seems to think came from the garage - probably several weeks ago as we were tracking snow and wet mud in on the cards - found its way to a small section of an uncaulked seam in floor and soaked its way into the dry wall in the craft room.  I'm just sick about it but trying to just take it one step at a time.  I'm so thankful the "Cricut Man" :-) is home and overseeing the work.  He tells me they should have most of it put back together today and then it's just a matter of getting the carpet sanitized and cleaned to make sure there's no mold.  The carpet thankfully was indoor/outdoor so it sould withstand the small amount of water and dampness.  There's no signs of mold in the carpet so it should be OK.  Keep your fingers crossed they don't run into any other complications.  I need my Girl Cave back!!!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Unique Style


I can't quite remember how I stumbled on this person's blog but I just love her unique style.  Take a quick peek at her blog if you have time - she's got wonderful stuff.  I hope to set aside some time to try out some of the ink techniques.  I found myself on more than one occassion wanting to do some cards that are just a little more grownup or elegant.  I think these are a perfect blend of the clean designs I tend to be drawn to and a splash of sophistication.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Why Don't I Do This More?. . . .

I was cleaning up the craft room the other night and came across a couple of unfinished scrapbook albums.  I found myself sitting and looking at the pictures and reading the journaling.  They are the same set of pages I've been looking at and reading for probably 5 years now.  No new pages I'm sad to report.  Except a couple that Allan and I worked on together a couple of months ago.  I just don't know why I don't scrapbook more.  Especially when capturing the memories and stories feels so good. 

Maybe I should think about using the upcoming National Scrapbook Day as a sort of New Year's Resolution to put the card making on the back burner for a little while and refocus some energy and time on my scrapbooks.  Will have to give that a little thought. 

In the meantime here are 3 very, very simple pages Allan and I put together to document his family for his Aunt Lorraine's 80th birthday.  She passed away this year but seeing these pages triggers the memories of Allan's stories of her.  Isn't that what it's all about?




Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Serenity of Nature


This is the card I made this weekend for my Mom's birthday.  Sure do hope she didn't get her new laptop yet and isn't checking out the blog as her birthday is not until Thursday.  I CASE'd the card from a past issue of Stampin' Success - the SU demonstrator's magazine.  Just loved the colors and the collage.  The stamp set Nature Walk is another one from the Occassions Mini that I ordered.  The background is a SU block stamp called Sanded.  I really love the effect it gives.  Will have to think of more ways to use that one. 

Am looking forward to Gal Pal night tonight.  Have some fun color combinations I want to play with.  See ya' there. 

P.S. Will also call Val today to check on her.  I have her acrylic cases that I'm hoping I can drop off to her.  Sure do miss her.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Change of Plans

Remember last week when I post this card and said it was my pick for the weekly family newsletter?  Well, I totally spaced that it was Easter week so I had to quickly change plans.  Here's the Easter card I made instead. 



CASE'd it from another SU demonstrator.  I thought it was so pretty.  The stamp set is Easter Blossoms and it is in the Occassions Mini.  Was kind of on the fence about ordering the set but the more I looked at what other stampers were doing with the cherry blossom stamp the more I just had to have it.

Got a few other cute cards done this weekend.  Will share them later in the week.  Hope you had a good weekend too.  Happy Monday!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Simple Flourish


This is a card one of my SU team mates made for a swap when we had our last downline meeting. I thought is was really simple and elegant, and a great "go to" idea for those times when you need a quick thank you or thinking of you card. Plus I love that color combination - Old Olive green with the Early Espresso brown.  I've got quite a few other craft projects that I need to get done - prep for the upcoming class and a flurry of family birthdays in the next few weeks - so I'm thinking this will be a great one for this week's family newsletter.

Hope you have a good weekend.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

All Things Trees


Was telling someone yesterday that I count on my pine trees for comfort.  When I'm weary they just seem to have a way of soothing and calming me.  I spent a lot of  my time as a child in a big mulberry tree in my backyard.  That tree always felt like home to me.  And when I was a teenager  there was a big majestic oak tree in a cotton field behind our neighbor hood that I would run to for comfort.  I just love trees - everything about trees.  Of course the leaves in fall and now the excitement of watching the buds emerge in spring.  I find myself this week checking my burning bush and ninebarks every day to see the progress the buds are making. 

I thought of all these things this morning because I was reading the SU news posting on the demonstrator page and noticed that the released some new digital content for My Design Studio and one of the new brush sets (stamp sets) that went digital is one of my favorites - "Lovely As a Tree".  Click here for the pdf with all the new content.

I have this stamp set in wood so at first I wasn't sure I would get it digitally but then I got to thinking about how cool it would be to incorporate some of the images into my journal.  And also thought about how it might help with mass producing cards for the holidays.  Also thought the digital images would really lend themselves to chalking.  I've seen lots of samples on SCS where they've chalked these images and they're just beautiful.  Will have to think about it a little more.

Well I guess I've rambled enough.  Sorry for the long post.  Hope you enjoy Mona's beautiful card.  Kind of my homage to the trees.  She worked wonders with that embossed leaf die and love, love, love the 2 step stamping technique she did for the background (or is that patterned paper?)  Mabye she'll tell us?!  Stay tuned or watch for comments to this post ;-)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tulips of a different kind.. . .


Here's the card I did for the weekly family newsletter.  This card kind of came together in pieces. I used a picture my brother John sent me of his Tulip Poplar tree in bloom.  Isn't is gorgeous?!  And a couple of weeks ago while flipping through a copy of CardMaker from last year looking for inspiration for Easter cards I found a beautiful quote. . . ."Blossom by blossom, the Spring begins".  I was looking for a way to use that on a card and then John's photo came along.  And as I sat down to make the card Sunday night, the bulk SU patterned paper I had ordered the week before was sitting on the work table and the greens just complimented the photo beautifully.  I was pretty pleased with the final product.

With both Gal Pals recuperating, I'm feeling a little lonely.  Hope everyone gets well very, very soon.  Know that I'm thinking of you and sending healing thoughts. 

Happy Hump Day! :-)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

3 through 10

Here's the rest of the cards for the "10 From 1" class.  Some photographed better than others.

Will probably use tonight's craft time to get them on a display board for the shop.  See ya' this afternoon.








Monday, April 11, 2011

Ta Da. . . .


Well I spent quite a bit of time in the craft room this weekend getting the rest of the cards made for the "10 From 1" class I'll be teaching at Memory Lane on May 7th.  I got them all done and took them to the shop yesterday to show Debbie and get some guidance on what the next steps are.  Tonight I'll be photographing them all, getting them mounted on a display board and finalizing the instruction sheets. 

This card is one from the last 10 From 1 set I did as a gift for my mother.  This set used a doubleside paper and I used both sides of the paper in the card designs.  Kind of a nice variation that I'll talk about during the class.
 
Here's the link to my Splitcoast gallery with the rest of the 10 cards and the matchinng gift box.

Hope you enjoy.  Looking forward to some craft time tomorrow night.  Will try to call our gal pal Val today to see how the recuperatioon is going.  Keep sending her those healing thoughts.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Sneak Peek



Here's the 1st two cards that are part of the 10-From-1 card class I'm doing at Memory Lane on May 7th.  The colors didn't photograph too well - they are much more vibrant than the pictures show. 

I don't know why but I just really love this paper.  Polka dots always make me happy and the turquoise and peach color combination is one of  my favorites right now.  Plus since I'm typically drawn to the clean and simple card styles it really lends itself to that kind of creativity.  Looking forward to getting the other 8 done.  Will take them to the shop this weekend to get Staci and Debbie's approval. 

What a new experience this will be.  Just writing the instructions and tracking the supplies and tools so the cards can be replicated is a new challenge for me.  It's funny how you forget all the little steps that we tend to do so naturally that may be important for a new card maker to know.

Happy Friday. Looks like we are finally going to get a really nice weekend day in terms of weather.  Looking forward to that for sure!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Resources Galore

Kind of in a hurry this morning so not much time to blog.  But I did want to let you know that I've been working on the sample stamp set pages we talked about Tuesday - I've got 3 done!!!  Probably 40 more to go ! :-) 

I've also been exploring the MDS community site SU set up.  It's a little overwhelming and just like Splitcoast you can stay lost in there for hours.  But wanted to pass along the URL so you can bookmark it - mydigitalstudio.net.  Hope you'll check it out.

One thing I did find when exploring around was a video on how to get different colors into different parts of a stamp.  Remember when I said the stamped images aren't layered so you can edit any layers to make parts of the stamp a different color?   Well it seems like someone figured out a workaround.  Here's a link to the video on the MDS community page that shows you how.  It's a little convoluted but it works.  The next rainy day I'll have to try it out.

Gotta' run.  Have a good day.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Heard from the Heart


Since I don't have much of a stash of new cards this week for posting to the blog, I'm posting this one I made last year.  It uses the SU Heard from the Heart stamp set which is one of the sets that come with My Design Studio (MDS).  We had a fun discussion at Memory Lane last night about how to use MDS to expand on the number of stamp sets you can have available.  Even though Staci was gently teasing me about my over zealous organizational plans :-), I'm going to try to put a notebook together with printed pages of the stamped images (brush sets) on MDS.  Now - anyone want to take bets on how long it will take me to get that done????

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Exploration

While waiting on some new updates for My Digital Studio to download I've been surfing around.  Stumbled on the blog from Beatte, the woman on Splitcoaststampers that does most of their tutorials and the weekly newsletter.  Found out she's the Creative Director for Splitcoast.  She should be - her stuff is over-the-top beautiful!!!  Here's the card she had posted for today. 

What caught my attention about this post was the number of Copic markers she used.  Ever since Mona was talking last week about her recent exploration of Copic markers, I've been noticing how much of a presence they are.  Honestly I don't think I could handle them - or should I say make the best use of them - as I don't have much of an artist's eye for blending and shading yet.  But someone like Mona and even Val with the various art classes she's taken, might be able to do wonderful things with them.

The other thing I've been exploring - and we'll talk about it more tonight - is My Design Studio.  They informed demonstrators yesterday about some new updates that are available.  So I was hoping to do a little show and tell tonight - whether it's at the store or at Val's (if she's up for a visit).  See ya' then.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Pretty Pastel

This is the card I came up with for the family newsletter this week.  Had the pink paper laying around on my craft counter for awhile.  Intended to use it for an Easter card but just somehow haven't found my inspiration for that yet.  So I took some green satin ribbon strips - which were actually the little things from the inside of my sweater - you know - the straps you are supposed to use to help hold a sweater or something slippery on a hanger.  Now that's what I call recycling! 

After seeing Val's cute little Stampin' Up "Hi" embosslit as I was delivering the order to her on Saturday, it made me want to use a similar punch I had in my stash.

Plans are a little up in the air for tomorrow night.  I told Val I'd call her mid-day to see how she was feeling and if she was up for company we might stop by to see her.  She was doing pretty good Saturday.  Mostly focusing on keeping the swelling down and pain under control.  Keep sending healing thoughts her way :-)

Have a good Monday. 

Friday, April 1, 2011

Looks Like We Made It

Remember that song from Barry Manilow?  Silly me - I never realized it was about 2 old lovers contemplating cheating on their new partners until I just read the lyrics.  Was going to try to wrap some metaphor around the song title and connect it to Val making it through her surgery and me making it through all the silly tears this week.  But maybe I need to find another song.  Anyway. . . .

Happy Friday! 

Here's the card I made last week for the family newsletter.  So clean and simple.  I love it!  I used my little Punch Pack and punched out a little flower from each of the 5 SU In Colors.  The sentiment is from the Just for You stamp set.  Blinged it up a little with pearls in the center of the flowers.

This weekend is supposed to be about getting our taxes done but that box of SU goodies that came this week is just calling to me.  And now that I feel a little calmer in spirit maybe my creative juices will start to flow again.

This next pic is for Mona.  It's a SU demonstrator sample card that uses Awash with Flowers.  Even though that stamp set is a 2-Step stamp set, this card shows what cute things you can do with just using the line art stamps in the set.  So cute.  (Mona - I'll bring the SU magazine that talks about some of the other techniques on Tuesday)



Have a great weekend!