Sunshine State

I off to the Sunshine State again.  Had a good time catching up with you, Staci and Betty at the shop last night.  Sorry to hear you both are feeling a little on the puny side.  I hope it all passes soon.  I'll be sure to keeping sending you sunshine vibes while I'm gone.

This is a card I made for the family right before we left last month.  I was in a hurry with no time for stamping or playing with paper so I turned to my stash of Doodlebat fonts and found this really cute one.  It's called CK Summer Day.  Check out the other fun images. . . .

  

If you don't already, check out the Free Font Friday link on the Creating Keepsake web site.  That's where I got this one and many others.  They really come in handy!  

Have a sunshiny day today :-)

Family

What's Brewin' Gal Pals?  Can't wait to catch up with you tonight.

This is the card I made for the family this week.  I was inspired by this post on Pinterest.  I bought the "Take A Sip" wheel stamp from Stampin' Up years ago and surprise had never used it.  So when I saw the card on Pinterest I knew the theme would be just perfect.  But I can't for the life of me get a good impression from those wheel stamps so I unmounted it and put it on a long acrylic block and just stamped the image panels that way.  

I couldn't figure out how to get the sketch in the Pinterest card to work so I used one from this post.  I just loved the idea of using the scraps from my coordinating paper packs for this.  Plus embossing the entire panel gives it a cool look.  I thought the swirls kind of matched the theme of the steam from the coffee and tea.

I loved how it turned out so much that I made a few notepads to take with me to Easter dinner for my neighbor family.

Aren't they cute?!  Wish I would have kept one for myself.

A Full Heart

Had a good weekend at home.  My heart is very full. 

This is the clean and simple Valentines card I made the family this year.  Used the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set from Stampin' Up.  Love that set!

Happy Easter

In case I don't catch up with you today, hope you have a Happy Easter this weekend.  I'll be spending part of Sunday with my neighbors family.  Wish Cricut Man could be with us but hopefully my mother will make sure he has a good time with the Jax family on Sunday.

Am planning a cozy "Party for One" day in the craft room on Saturday.  Feels so good to be home.  Got in late last night and will head to work mid-morning. I'm sure the boss has a long list of stuff waiting for me.

This post is the family Easter card I made last week.  Used the Art Impressions "Easter Tots" stamp I bought at the Jax craft store (A Small Cleverence).  How dang cute are those little chicks?!  I just love them.  I used Mom's Crayola colored pencils and then paper pieced the easter egg with the $4 Colorbok "Spring Morning" papers from WalMart.  Check out the cool blog they have.  I don't know. . .maybe I'll turn into a WalMart shopper yet?!  [NOT! :-) ]

See ya' Tuesday night - if not before!

Another from Paper Wishes

Here's another from the Paper Wishes card kit I have with me.  It was fun to make.  Nice masculine card don't you think?  It's hard to tell in this picture but the "Happy" part of the card is actually a pre-printed transparency sheet with different patterned papers behind it.  Definitely looks much better in real life.

And the one cool thing I discovered in making this was how cool the glimmer paper is - especially the blue and emerald green.  I think I might be ordering more of that very soon!

How was craft night by the way?  E-mail me with the details if you have time.  Always warms my heart to hear from home.  Can't wait to get back.  I take off at 6:30 tonight and land around 11:30 p.m.  Can't wait to see Maddie and snuggle down in my own bed for a few days.  Even if it has to be without Cricut Man.

Our Super Star

 

 

Was sifting through e-mail and found the picture Mona sent last week of her quilt at the cabin.

Wow! It turned out so great and looks fantastic on her brass bed.  Love the mathing pillow shams!

Our Gal Pal Super Star!  Thanks for sharing Mona!

A Star is Born

 

One of the plans for my remote crafting time in Florida was to work my way through all those Paper Wishes card kits.  Each one has a shape card.  This kit was from a Dec/Jan timeframe so this card was designed as a Happy New Year's card.  I kind of liked how it tured out. 

Mom and I have decided to use our craft night time for a trip to Michaels and Hobby Lobby and then back to the house for some cocktails and card kits.  That ought to be fun!

Hope you have an equally good time at the shop tonight.

3x3 Crafting

 

Hi Gal Pals,

Hope you had a good weekend.  I heard it's been snowy and cold.  We had hard, blustery rains here most of the weekend.  Which was fine by me as it made for some really cozy days in the apartment - each of us cuddled up with our crafts.  Although I have to tell you, crafting on half of the 3' x 3' kitchen table in the apartment is quite different than my craft room.  But it's been kind of fun and creatively challenging.

I thought I had done such a good job of packing my craft supplies but I can't believe how much I accidentally left behind - no colored pencils or pens, no sponge.  And this portable Fiskers paper trimmer just stinks!!  Can't get a straight cut on it to save my soul!.  I'm going to remedy that on my next trip to Michaels or Hobby Lobby.

Last post I told you that Mom and I were going to take a bit of a road trip to find the one last independent craft store left in Jacksonville.  It turned out to be a GREAT store.  It's got a bit of an odd name - "A Small Cleverness" but it's just like Memory Lane in that it has supplies for all kinds of papercrafting, not just scrapbooking or card making.  And just like Memory Lane they have a group of about 30 women who are loyal to the store and make for quite an energetic environment.  We sat and talked to a few of them and had some great conversation.

The store is pretty well supplied.  They have an entire wall of Memory Box dies and tons of cool stamps.  I went nuts!  And even though I overspent a little I did keep it under $100 ;)

I was kind of bummed at my planning though because they were actually doing a really, really cool card class with a rep from Impression Obsessions when we arrived.  Man! you should have seen the cool cards they were making featuring their dies and the mega mount background stamps.

And I'm equally bummed that they're having one of the owners from Memory Box dies do a class on the weekend in April that I'll be back in Missoula :( 

But from the looks of their bi-monthly newsletter it looks like I might have some other opportunities for crafting fun.  So in the meantime, I'll be content to craft on my little half of the 3x3 table.

Hope you like this Easter card I made for my Mom's neighbors.  Remember how I thought the black outline Easter egg Dazzles were just not right? - well after making this card I'm thinking maybe they're not so bad after all.  Kind of reminds you of stained glass, huh?

Take good care.  Have a great Monday.  See you next week!

P.S.  Mona - the paper on this card is from a $4 12x12 paper pack from WalMart.  Can you believe it!  Only for Mom would I venture into WalMart :-)

News Flash-Cricut Man Zentangles

Hi Gal Pals,

Check out what Cricut Man did last night. . . .a Zentangled inchie card! 

This week's family newsletter card was a stretch as I haven't had a chance to do any papercrafting yet.  So I thought it would be fun to do a Zentangle inchie on each card.  As usual, I started late and greatly underestimated the time it would take.  So Cricut Man came to my rescue. 

I asked him after they were all done how he liked Zentangling and after he rubbed his bleary eyes he scrunched up his face and said he doesn't think he'll be doing that again anytime soon. . . .as a true business consultant he said something like. . . ."I'm not sure I see the value add".  Eeesh!  He completely missed the meditative part of the whole experience!

We landed safe and sound last week and took a few days to settle in and get our bearings.  Allan's treatments are going well.  It was good to get the 1st week behind us.  We celebrated with a nice long walk on the beach Saturday morning and dinner at a local seafood shack with my family on Sunday afternoon.

I'm spending days this week over at Mom's helping with a few things around her house.  She's doing much better on the mobility side of things but she's still feeling pretty frustrated with all the things she still can't do and feeling cooped up in the house.  So we're going out today in search of a local craft shop - the Michaels, JoAnne's, Hobby Lobby option didn't work out.  There's only 2 indie shops left and they're about 30 minutes away but we're going to venture out today to check them out.

Hope all is well with you and that you're heading to the shop tonight.  I miss you like heck - especially today.  But I'm looking forward to being home in a couple of weeks. 

Until then. . . .

P.S.  Two other Zentangle designs.  Sorry for the blurry pictures.

 

 

Scraps

Click here for image credit

 

We haven't had a good scrap card in a long time.  And after a weekend of playing and making things with all the scraps on my craft counters, this find was a little inspiring.  I really love the way she cut some off at the edges and popped others up for dimension.

 

Here's another in a different color scheme. . .

 

 

Birthday Traditions

I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys tonight, singing "Happy Birthday" to Mona and indulging in an Iron Horse cheeseburger!  Aren't birthdays a wonderful thing? - - - even when they're not yours!

Here's a card that I made for my Dad's birthday last month.  I tried a new technique I saw on Pinterest.  I used the Lovely As A Tree stamp set and a bunch of miscellaneous birthday sentiment stamps that I found in my stash.  I really liked how it turned out.  I may have to give it a try with some softer girly colors.

See ya' tonight.

Heart Grows Fonder

"What would not I give to wander

Where my old companions dwell?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder:

Isle of Beauty, fare thee well!"

~Thomas Haynes Bayly

After a very LONG work week of Operation Freshmen Recovery (only time will tell how many we were able to recover), I selfishly declared Saturday "My Day" and visited the place where my "old companions dwell" . . . .my "Isle of Crafitng"!

What a wonderful day it was.  I made quite a few things as I was cleaning up all the scraps, tools, stamps and papers laying all over the counters.  I'll be posting pictures of those throughout the next week or so. 

But to get things started, here's a card I made for my Mom and Dad's anniversary last November.  It uses the Everyday Enchantment DSP and the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set.  I loved how it turned out.  I'm not sure Dad probably gave it a 2nd thought but the peach and coral colors are 2 of my Mom's favorites. Without a sentiment on the front this card could also easily be a nice Valentines or Thinking of You card.

Speaking of Mom. . . .She's back home now and the family has a good plan for the week as she trys to figure out what she can and can't do around the house.  Hopefully with time and continued PT she'll be back to good later this year.

Have a good Monday!  Looking forward to our Birthday Celebration at the Iron Horse tomorrow.  I saw Staci Thursday at the shop and told her we wouldn't be there.  Boy! Memory Lane was hopping with customers and activity - Yeah! for them.  Guess I didn't realize Tuesday card group is now so big that they've spilled over to Thursdays.  Can't wait until I retire so I can join the fun! 

Repeats

I was in a hurry yesterday and lacking a little creativity for a design for the family card.  So I went back out and browsed Gal Pals in hopes of finding something I could repeat.  Found this one from way back.  Used a holiday paper pack I picked up a few months ago.  Just love that blue and red combo - reminds me of those SEI papers from a couple of years ago.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and that the week ahead will be smooth sailing!

Digital Paper

Ooops - I had a bad link in this post from earlier this morning.  Here's the corrected link.  You'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the current post to see the free download offer.

Here's one of those free digital paper kits I was telling you about last night.  Click here for the page to download. 

Had a good time at the shop last night.  So good seeing Dawn, huh?

Have a good one today.

Things to Share

 

http://creativepassionclasses.com/learn-copics-with-michelle-houghton/

Last week at the shop I was telling Val about an online class site I stumbled on which had a free Copic coloring class.  It's a series of 11 e-mails (2 a week it seems) that steps you through the Copic basics from the numbering scheme, to picking out your starter set, to the basic coloring and shading.  So I just thought I'd share the web link in case you're interested.  I can also share the 11 PDF files once I get them all.

And I wanted to make sure you saw the message from Paper Wishes about the free e-book they are offering for metal stencils.  It has a bunch of card ideas and embedded "how to" videos.  Kind of a cool marketing technique.

 

Click here for the link to the e-book

 

See you later today at the Holiday Party at 4:00 or the shop at 5:00 (ish)

 

Carpe Diem

Card Credit

After we bought our Memory Box dies last week, I rushed home to Google around and see what people were doing with them.  Oh My Gosh!  the cards on the Pinterest board are just over the top!!!

You've just got to take a little time today on your lunch break and surf around there a little.

Cricut man even made one with my new snow globe die and matching stamp.  Here's a cute sample of what it looks like from another blog. . .

Card Credit

 

I'll get his mounted on a card and post it soon.  He's decided the Cuttlebug machine is pretty cool.  While he had it out I had him smash 50 bottle caps for the 3 additional Countdown to Christmas frames I'm making this year.  He's now decided the Cuttlebug needs to be renamed to Allan's Smashing Machine :-).  He thinks more guys might be interested in playing with paper if the toys had cool names!

Hope you had a good weekend.  Happy Monday

Sweet View

Wanted to post this sweet little card that someone from Tuesday card group made last week.  How adorable, huh?!  Can't remember what brand the die is but it's one they have at Memory Lane.  I may just have to put that on my wish list for Santa :-)

I hope everyone's week ended on a high note and that there's a good weekend planned ahead.

See ya' back here next week.

Time to Get Ready

 

Well, now that Thanksgiving is behind us and most of the leftovers are gone, it's time to start thinking about Christmas projects.

 

Here's a cute, cute, project that Tuesday card group made last week.  They are gift card holders that used this Hot of the Press template.  Debbie said they are getting more in for the shop.  Can't wait!  Count me in for one, Deb :-)

 

They look pretty easy to do.  See how Frosty's hat lifts up to reveal the slot for the gift card?  And the cuff of the mitten moves in a similar way.  Apparently there's also a Christmas tree shape and the top of the tree lifts up.

 

Too cute!

Thanksgiving Mini Album

 

Remember the little mini album I was working on last week?  Here's how it turned out.  Had to use my last little wobbly turkey :-)  Although I have to fess up about a big creative deviation I had to take.

 

Originally I wanted it to be a hostess gift for my neighbor who invited us for dinner Thanksgiving Day.  I thought it would be cool to have everyone at dinner write a note of Thanks to her and document what they were grateful for.  Kind of a nice keepsake - even though I know the guys would have just rolled their eyes.  I guess they should be thankful they were spared from having to do that as I messed up the construction of the album. 

 

Even though Debbie told me not to adhere the ribbon on both covers, I did it anyway - not out of stubbornness mind you, but just because I wasn't paying attention.  And lo and behold, she was right - the accordion folded part of the album didn't unfold.  Dang it!

 

But I saved it by adhering the back / open part of of the folded pages together and then cutting on the front folds.  That turned it into a conventional little book which Cricut Man and I will use to preserve some Thanksgiving pictures and thoughts for this year.

 

Gotta love those Creative Deviations, huh?!

Cupcake Diva - A BIG Hit!!

Just wanted to put a plug in for my new best friend - Maygan a.k.a the Cupcake Diva.  Her gourmet pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting were the BIG hit of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Everyone ABSOLUTELY Loved, Loved, Loved them!  Thanks Maygan.  Can't wait until Christmas and the Triple Chocolate Chunk cupcakes.

See everyone at the shop tonight!