January 31, 2009

2S4Y Rae's Bonus Sketch/Card-A-Licious

I had a little time to work on a card today, so I decided to combine Rae's 2S4Y bonus sketch with this week's Card-A-Licious challenge (orange/green/journaling tag). Here is Rae's sketch--

And my belated birthday card for my friend, Staci--

I think this is the first time I've made a square card. Since I'll be hand delivering the card tomorrow, not having a square envelope won't be an issue. I used cardstock (Making Memories) and patterned paper from a very old Provo Craft slab. They papers are kind of bright and a little obnoxious. I added some ribbon (Target $1 spot), eyelets (Making Memories), and a stamped sentiment (Inkadinkado). Since I didn't have a premade journaling tag, this is my attempt at making one. :) Thanks for looking!

January 29, 2009

Cuttlebug Be Inspired #16

I recently found the Cuttlebug Challenge blog and decided to make a card today for the distressing challenge. It took me almost all day, but with a two year old, everything takes almost all day. Since I like using distressing on masculine cards, I made this Father's Day card--


I embossed the cardstock with the Spots & Dots embossing folder and added some machine stitching around the edges. I distressed all the edges of the cardstock and tag (love the tip for using a little water--it made the distressing a lot easier) and used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in vintage photo. The star is a Sizzix die cut I painted and sanded. Thanks for looking!

January 27, 2009

2S4Y Weekly Sketch--Laura's Sketch 18

So I finally got my Wii Fit out this morning after a lot of "reminders" from my husband that I hadn't even opened the box yet. After recovering from the shock that my Wii Fit age is 51 (uhh, I'm only 32!) and getting my butt kicked by the beginner strength training exercises, I decided to make myself feel better by making my card for 2S4Y. This week Laura has this sketch--


I decided to use some of the patterned paper I purchased over a year ago to make my son's scrapbook. Who am I kidding? I'm NOT a scrapbooker no matter how much I try. If I ever do make a scrapbook, each page will have to be the size of a card. I've been into stars lately, so I used a large die cut star in place of the circle and came up with this card--

I printed the sentiments on my computer, and I love that I am no longer limited by the stamps I have (and I have a LOT of stamps). I can say whatever I want now. My two-year-old son has been singing "twinkle, twinkle little star" a lot lately (although I'm probably the only person that can understand him), so he was the inspiration for this card.

I've really enjoyed all the tips and tricks that everybody has been posting on their blogs, so I thought I'd share a little trick I used on this card. I wanted to give the star a little dimension, but I didn't want to use a ton of little foam squares. I cut a smaller star out of some scrap craft foam and used tacky glue to adhere it to the back of the chipboard star. It's a cheap way to provide some subtle dimension.


Now I'm off to do a little cleaning before I head to work. Thanks for looking!
Cardstock: Making Memories (navy blue), ivory linen cardstock, Bazzill (light blue)
Patterned Paper: the Paper Studio
Other: painted Sizzix star die cut, Making Memories brad, Tim Holtz distress ink vintage photo

January 26, 2009

Etsy Special Delivery

If you're wanting to do a little good this Valentine's Day, you can make or buy a few cards to donate to Etsy's Special Delivery. The cards will be donated to Citymeals-on-Wheels to bring nutritious meals, handmade greeting cards and companionship to thousands of homebound elderly New Yorkers. The cards need to be received at the Etsy offices by Monday, February 2, so you're running out of time! I made these two simple but sweet cards. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to make a few more.

January 25, 2009

One World One Heart Giveaway

I recently found out about the One World One Heart event which currently has over 550 participants (click on the link for a complete list of participants). I'm jumping on board a little late, but I've been wanting to host a giveaway on my blog and figured this was a great opportunity to do so. I'm giving away this brand new set of K & Company Amy Butler Lotus Greeting Stamps.


To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on THIS post by midnight C.S.T. on February 11, 2009. I will select one winner on February 12 using a random number generator. If you do not have a blog I can contact you through, please be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. Thanks for participating in my little giveaway!

January 23, 2009

2S4Y Kazan's Sketch 18/Caardvarks Polka/Card-A-Licious

This is the first time I have managed to make one card that worked for three challenges. I based my card on Kazan's fun sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You--

I already had my patterned paper picked out when I saw the new Caardvarks challenge was to make a card using polka dots (and I LOVE polka dots). Then when I was visiting blogs looking at all the great 2S4Y cards, I found the Card-A-Licious blog. The challenge there was to make a card using a circle, a flower, and something sparkley. So I came up with this. . .
I spent most of my free time this week making my cards for my application for the 2S4Y Spring Design Team. I was lucky to have today off so I was able to finish this card during naptime (which began with an hour of several very loud rendititions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" coming from my two-year-old son's room--apparently he didn't want to take a nap). Now I need to get a little quick cleaning done before my husband gets home from work so it looks like I got something other than card-making accomplished today. Thanks for looking!
Cardstock: Bazzill (my splurge)
Patterned Paper: Making Memories (17 cents on clearance at Michael's)
Sentiments: printed on my computer
Stamp/Ink: Vap! scrap candle stamp, StazOn Timber Brown
Die Cuts: Sizzix circle and daisy
Other: buttons, ribbon, water color pencils and Stickles on the candles

January 15, 2009

2S4Y Weekly Sketch--Laura's Sketch 17

Over at 2 Sketches 4 You this week, the Spring Design Team Call was announced. Laura also offered this inspiring sketch--

I made this card based on Laura's sketch, and it also works for the EtsyGreetings January challenge--

I had made several attempts at a card for the EtsyGreetings challenge, but nothing was working. I already had stamped the red "love" background, and when I saw Laura's sketch on Monday, everything fell into place. The cardstock is Making Memories, and I used some silver and red ribbon from my stash. My husband gave me a very nice Canon printer for Christmas, and I used it to print "all you need is love" on white linen cardstock. (He also gave me some Beatles CDs which influenced my choice of sentiment.) I did some machine stitching, and I love that the stitching isn't straight (so unlike me). I finished it off with a Sizzix die cut heart painted silver. I love the way my card turned out, and I love the extra piece that hangs over the edge of the card. Thanks for looking!

January 10, 2009

2S4Y Weekly Sketch--Kazan's Sketch 17

I finally finished up my card for Kazan's 2S4Y sketch--

I was having trouble figuring out what to use for the circle element. I ended up using three different sizes of Sizzix die cut circles. Here's the thank you card I made--


Cardstock: Martha Stewart and Making Memories (brown)
Patterned Paper: Martha Stewart
Punch: Martha Stewart
Stamp: Stampabilities
Ink: Staz-On Timber Brown
Miscellaneous: brown ribbon

Thanks for looking!

January 8, 2009

2S4Y--Peet's Bonus Sketch

I've run into a creative block for Kazan's sketch this week over at 2S4Y, but I did finish a card for Peet's bonus sketch-

I made this Valentine's Day card--


I used white linen cardstock, a silver flat card (Archiver's), heart patterned paper (Heidi Grace), die cut heart (Cricut), "XOXO" sentiment (studio g), and finished off with zig zag stitching on my sewing machine.

I have my card for Kazan's sketch almost finished--I'm just having a hard time finding the right finishing touch. I'll have it posted before the Saturday deadline, though. Thanks for looking!

January 1, 2009

2S4Y--Katie's Bonus Sketch

I finished up a quick card for Katie's bonus sketch over at 2S4Y--


My son turns two tomorrow (*sigh*), so I made this card for him. I'll try not to cry when he destroys it. :)

I used the same cute car patterned paper (Sandylion) I used for Kazan and Heidi's sketches a few weeks ago--I love this paper! The other patterned papers are various scraps leftover from other projects. I made the "2" with my Cricut. I haven't used my Cricut a lot because I would get so frustated when it wouldn't cut things out properly. I finally changed the blade, and it works like a dream. Now I see what all the fuss is about! I think I liked the card better before I added the stars and the "Happy Birthday" tag, but it's still pretty cute. Thanks for looking!

Caardvarks Guest Designer

For the Caardvarks Corny Challenge back in November, the prize was a guest designer spot for a future challenge. I was so excited my card was chosen as one of the four winners! One of my goals this year is to become a design team member, so this is a step in the right direction. The first challenge of 2009 begins today with a Becky Fleck sketch challenge. I love working with sketches because having a little bit of direction makes the whole process a lot easier. I was given this fabulous sketch to work with--


I made this birthday card--

Another crafting resolution for 2009 is to make more masculine cards, and I think this would be suitable for a guy. I used ivory linen cardstock, striped and polka dot papers (MME), brown paper (Provo Craft Slab), cardboard painted with blue paint, die cut star (Sizzix) painted with off-white paint, die cut tag (Sizzix), "wish big" sentiment (stamped with g! studio letter stamps), and hemp cord. I inked everything (Tim Holtz Distress Ink in vintage photo). Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! As the new year begins, I'd like to share my resolutions for 2009.


Personal Resolutions
Be more positive.
No more gossiping.
If I can't say something nice, don't say it!

Get organized and STAY organized.
Even if it takes all year doing a little at a time.
Get rid of the stuff we don't use or need.

Be more patient.
I forsee lots of deep breathing and counting to 10 in 2009.

Exercise. :)

Eat right.
Fruits and veggies.
Drink water.


Creative Resolutions
Blog at least twice a week.
One card blog and one blog about something else.

Make more masculine cards.

Land a spot on a design team.
Any design team. :)

Spend less time thinking about
what I want to make and more time making it.
Turn the computer OFF!

List at least one item weekly in my Etsy shop.

One thing I really began to embrace in the second half of 2008 was enjoying time with my family and not stressing about all the stuff that doesn't get done. My son turns two tomorrow, and I'd rather continue spending quality time with him than have an immaculate house and tons of completed craft projects.