Papercrafterthoughts

Questions About the Clock

2011-07-28T22:04:00.002-04:00

Hi all!

I had a question about the clock & figured I'd post in case anyone else was wondering :)

To make the clock, I followed these steps:

Stretch canvas fabric over embroidery hoop.
Sew buttons (I sewed in this order to help with the placement - 12, 6, 3, 9, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11)
Cut a circle from a piece of cardboard to fit inside the back of the hoop. I used a recycled priority mail box.
Place the circle in the back and cut an X in the center of the canvas & through the cardboard. This is where the clock mechanism will go.
Insert the clock mechanism and hands according to package directions. I used the kit pictured below (even though I didn't need the numbers). I found that some of the material started to fray where I cut, so I applied a bit of clear nail polish and let it dry before attaching the clock.
After trimming the fabric around the edges of the embroidery hoop, I added some more clear nail polish to minimize any fraying.

If you flip the clock around to the back you would just see the cardboard with the clock mechanism box thingy (that holds the battery). You could cover this, but I kept it open since there's a hook for hanging on the mechanism.

Hope this clarifies it a bit. Sorry that I don't have any photos....the clock is now with the birthday girl :)

Time for a Birthday

2011-07-26T20:41:00.003-04:00

Thursday is my good friend Mandy's birthday. I met Mandy through SCS a few years ago when she invited me to a local get-together with a small group of stampers. We've been friends ever since, and I'm so glad!

Recently Mandy hooked me up with an invite to Pinterest (so if I'm not working on my grad course, you can take a guess what I'm doin'). I'm totally addicted! Right now, I've been pinning a ton of stuff for my classroom. (Check it out here...& let me know if you need an invite) After seeing one of Mandy's pins a few weeks ago, I knew that I had to make this for her:

a button clock!! She loved it (and so did I....guess who may be making another)

Here's the card that I sent with it. Don't ya just love buttons?

Ho-Ho-Holey Smokes!!!

2011-07-22T11:30:00.004-04:00

I'm crazy busy with a graduate course right now, but I had to pop in to share some EXCITING NEWS!!!

The A·Muse Studio Holiday Catalog & Inspiration guide is here for viewing!!! Products will be available starting August 22nd, but you can get your wish lists starting by browsing the catalog in .pdf form. I can email any the file - so let me know (stephaniestamps@comcast.net).

And let me just say.....HO, HO, HOLEY SMOKES!!!! The holiday catalog is 44 pages of pure papercrafting goodness!! There are 32 new holiday sets - I'm talking Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, winter, fall, and Valentines. We have 2 new colors - wasabi & pebble - offered in our fabulous cardstock, ink, and satin ribbons. MY FAVORITES in the catalog have to be all of the dies - oh mylanta!!! There's new patterned cardstock, felt, baker's twine, fun embellishments, and much more. You've gotta check it out!

and the good news keeps on coming because....

sales for the catalog start just in time for A-Muse-A-Palooza. I'll have more details on this in the upcoming weeks, but I will tell you now that there's a ton incentives (yep, that means FREE STUFF). Keep in mind - we can make a workshop happen even if you're not local. Email me and we'll work out the details :)

Pillow Fight

2011-07-11T00:28:00.003-04:00

I've been searching for fabrics for my sun porch for a few months (enter semi-grumpy sigh here) - I have an amazing talent for envisioning things (typically home decor related) that do not exist. In this case, it was fabric. Ugh!!! I wanted an orchid purple in a Sunbrella-type fabric. My only other condition was that it needed to go with browns because I wanted to keep the same rug on the porch. I thought I toss in some orange accents to make it real fun & funky.....yeah, keep dreamin' when you can't find anything!!

So this week I rethought my search and decided to forego the Sunbrella-type fabric. Yes maybe it will fade faster, but at least I had some choices. Even though I switched from orange accents to chartreuse when I found this fun chartreuse print, I couldn't be happier with the results. I was even able to use some of my Simply Chartreuse ribbon from PTI as an accent on the chair throws.

I'm really happy with the results and I hope my mailman appreciates it tomorrow when he drops off my mail. I keep my margarita machine out there & I always wonder if he ever eyes it up :)

In case you're wondering, the fabrics came from JoAnn's. My chairs are from IKEA - I've had them for 3 years now and I love them more each year!! The bench was a clearance find from Marshalls - it has a funky fabric covering it, so I recovered it with a solid brown. My rug is also 3 years old and from Target and the wicker ottoman between the chairs is from TJ Maxx & More.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

2011-07-05T21:10:00.002-04:00

You probably don't know this, but I live in a town of with some notoriety. It's home of the first banana split, the original home of Rolling Rock beer, and the first professional football game was played here. Natives include champion golfer Arnold Palmer (who still lives here) and Mr. Rogers. And training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers is held here every summer. (well, maybe...depending on the lockout)

It's a great place to live and to go for walks. I have a standard 'beat' that covers 4 miles and takes about a little over an hour to walk. I love the older homes and beautiful landscaping. As well as the quirky tidbits here and there like seeing a toddler's sand and water table directly in front of a statue of the virgin Mary or a fenced-in area for a group of 6 shih tzu's that also had a large laundry basket inside. Definitely gives me plenty to think about :)

I made this card late last night to submit for the Gallery Idol contest (scroll to my previous post to see my other entry) & thought my observations would be perfect to share along with it in this post.

Happy Fourth!

2011-07-04T20:01:00.005-04:00

I just finished a yummy dessert:

and I figured I'd show a card I made for this year's Gallery Idol sponsored by PaperCrafts magazine. Have you submitted anything? You have until midnight tonight to do so and there are some FABULOUS prizes....isn't PaperCrafts uber-generous!! I love seeing everyone's work.

The theme for this round is Congratulations. I was inspired to make Periodic Table name tags for my students this year, so I applied this inspiration to my card.

I created the elements on Word and printed them out. The beaker and test tube were hand cut while the graduation cap was cut on the Cricut. I threw in some real graph paper to really geek it out! I just love it and plan on using it for my graduation cards for next year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Throw Out Your Scraps!!

2011-06-28T17:16:00.012-04:00

I don't know what it is about the end of the school year/beginning of summer, but it sets off my organization mojo like nothing else!! I've been working on the craft room which has turned into a bit a cave lately. I'm reducing, purging, cleaning out and guess what happened in the middle of it all?????? I decided to make some cards from the scraps I was about to toss.

I made a total of 5 cards thanks to some inspiration from SCS and from my blogger pal Siobhan's Use It Tuesday challenge.

And now....(in no particular order)

CASE of this card:

It works for the Use It Tuesday challenge (use the colors red, white, and blue) as does this next card. And yep, I broke out the sewing machine!!

Did you notice that I had a lot of scraps from this dp? I love the little strip of brown at the base of the card!

Up next, a CASE of this card on SCS:

And my final two cards from my scraps:

The best part was pitching the rest of the scraps......

or looking at this cutie pie enjoying the extra space!

Since I used scraps in these cards, I'm not listing the ingredients. Please feel free to email me if you're curious about something I used :)

A Typed Thank You (kinda)

2011-06-27T20:57:00.004-04:00

'm a bit of a stinker about certain things. While I could care less if you wear white after Labor Day or if you park facing the wrong direction on the street (even if I have gotten a ticket for it), I do think thank you's should be handwritten. I'm not a huge fan of my handwriting, but I think it's this little bit of effort that really conveys your gratitude. Well, that is, unless it's illegible and that's another post.

Here's a card I made in about 10 minute (including the embossing) for today CAS challenge over at Splitcoast.

Hope you had a great Monday. I was super productive - measured out my new classroom (now I can break out my graph paper & start design - yes, I'm geeky), trimmed shrubs, baked a pie (strawberry - yummmmmm), and blogged :) Here's to a Tuesday where I have just as much energy...fingers crossed!

Ingredients (All products A·Muse Studio unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Just My Type

Paper: Sugar, Onyx, Cherry

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Versamark

Accessories: Embossing Powder - White, dimensionals

You're Berry Sweet

2011-06-25T12:00:00.004-04:00

Don't you love lazy Saturday mornings? It's a bit cool here in western PA for late June, but I'm not complaining! The hot, humid days of July and August are right around the corner.

I've been busy making thank you's and have been loving the Fruit Fusion: Berry from PTI. I love strawberries and always have. When I was really little, my mom would send me to the garden with a colander to pick strawberries. I'd come back with 3 or 4 and a red stained mouth.

Recently, a recipe for strawberry pie came across my Google Reader. Can't wait to give it a try. At least enjoying these cards results in 0 calories!

The first card is fairly self explanatory. I really like the double banners die from PTI. I got the coordinating stamp set but haven't inked it up yet. Soon hopefully :)

This next card has a bit of an Oops...even though you wouldn't realize it at all. I wanted to go for a letterpress look, so I inked up my impression plate from PTI. I didn't get much of an impression because I totally forgot to place my embossing pad in the Big Shot. Oh well it did give me a nice polka dot background & didn't damage the impression plate.

You're Berry Sweet ingredients:

Stamps - Fruit Fusion: Berry (PTI)

Ink - Cranberry and Lichen (A·Muse Studio), Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper - Cranberry, Sugar, and Onyx cardstock (A·Muse Studio), Aqua Mist (PTI)

Accessories - Fruit Fusion Berry & Double Ended Banners dies (PTI), gingham ribbon (Bazzill), Onyx stitched ribbon (A·Muse Studio), silver pearls

Thank You Berry Much ingredients:
Stamps - Fruit Fusion: Berry (PTI)
Ink - Cranberry and Grass (A·Muse Studio), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - Kraft, Grass Gingham, Sugar, and Onyx cardstock (A·Muse Studio)
Accessories - Fruit Fusion Berry die & Polka Dot Basics Impression Plate (PTI), red felt, Onyx twine (A·Muse Studio), black Stickles

The end is here

2011-06-20T12:45:00.002-04:00

Ahhhh....the school year is over! The month of May is always hectic for me with all the individual meetings with my students and their families to discuss their programs for next year, trips for competitions, and wrapping up the current school year. This year set a different stage - one that I hope to never encounter again. In the state of Pennsylvania, times are extremely tough for education. All employees at my school received furlough notices in May and six talented teachers came in for their last day a week ago. It's been a heart-wrenching and nerve-wracking time for everyone, so you can see why I haven't been in much of a bloggin' mood.

But we all need to look toward the future - yes, I'm one of those teachers that takes time over the summer to plan for the upcoming year as well as look back over the accomplishments of past year. I also can't wait to take time for myself - yea, more stamping....more blogging!

To start, here's a quick card I made to send to a student thanking him for an end of the year gift. I had the lawn mower stamp out making my father's day card, so I inked it back up to create this fun CAS card.

Ingredients:

Stamps - Hey Man (A·Muse Studio)

Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper - Sugar, Gingham Grass (A·Muse Studio)

Other - Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils

You Rock My World

2011-04-27T22:12:00.005-04:00

It's been too long since I participated in a challenge, so you can imagine how happy I was tonight when I was scrolling through Google Reader & came across this fun color challenge at CR84FN

This is one of my favorite color combos - even if it makes me think of Dr. Seuss :)

Here's my take:

I even broke out the embossing gun...holy smokes - well, not literally (it's been a while since I've embossed, but it is like riding a bike)

I'm off to make some thank you's and a congratulations card - looking forward to sharing 'em with you :)

All products are A·Muse Studio unless otherwise noted. You can get A·Muse Studio products by visiting my webstore (www.amusestudio.com/stephanie - I'm consultant 1061) or by shooting me an email (stephaniestamps@comcast.net)

Stamps: Clever Girls, Grunged Sunrays

Ink: Sky, Cherry, Tuxedo Black (Memento), Versamark

Paper: Sugar, Sky

Accessories: Baker's Twine (Martha Stewart), Red Pearls, Red Glitter Embossing Powder (Ranger), Dimensionals

Lily of the Valley

2011-04-24T21:59:00.003-04:00

I adore my flower of the month sets from Papertrey, especially now with all the beautiful colors popping up here and there. I'm so excited that spring is finally here!!

I created this card for my mom for Easter. It features the Lily of the Valley set. I first stamped a script background from Background Basics: Text Style using Rustic Cream on the kraft cardstock. I colored the leaves of the lilies with my copics and the blooms using a q-tip and Fresh Snow ink. And thankfully snapped the pic on my kitchen counter before sending it off :)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I've enjoyed some time with my best friend (shopping, of course), went to see Water For Elephants (good - but read -or better yet, listen to the audiobook first), and relaxed. Now, I'm all set for the remaining (and most hectic) weeks of school.

To Dye For

2011-04-24T21:55:00.003-04:00

My students created these fabulous entries for our 6th annual Egg Fashion Show. Enjoy!

L'egg'o Land

Despicable Egg

Peggupine & Reggcoon

A Deviled Egg (hee hee)

Happy Easter!

A·Muse Studio Open House

2011-04-19T15:37:00.004-04:00

Hi guys!! Sunday was my open house, so I spent last week and the weekend getting ready. It was so much fun!! My regular stamping buddies came as well as one of their mom's and a few gals from work. Even though no one came as a direct result of the flyers I hung up, I'm hoping the word got out there about the newest company in rubber stamping!

Here are some photos of the make & takes from the day.

The first project was a calendar page. I printed this cute calendar onto our super smooth Sugar cardstock and allowed the gals to get inky with some daubers and the flower from Beautiful Botanicals 2 and the butterfly from Just Because. I just love the effect the daubers give & you should have seen the different versions made that day - GORGEOUS!!

Another project was a fun card. This showcased our cardstock (both solid & pattern), Nestabilities, and the Fast & Fabulous set - The Scoop. I loved showing off those nesties to the gals from work - they're scrapbookers & never saw them before.

The third make & take was a cute candy matchbook. I found some adorable gummy Easter bunnies at Target & had the gals create these fun holders using some Lemon Whip cardstock, our egg die w/the polka dot cardstock, some fun ribbons (both stitched grosgrain & organdy), and buttons.

I think everyone was happy with what they got to make & loved being able to see the products in person. Aren't we all a little touchy-feely when it comes to stamping projects!!

I offered the following 5 specials at my Open House & I'm offering them to my blog readers as well. If you are interested in these, please email me (stephaniestamps@comcast.net) & we'll get your order all set up. Special prices will be good until April 30th and do not include tax & shipping fees. Here's a link to the catalog - I've listed the page numbers of the items, so you can check each out.

Special #1 - $37 (plus applicable taxes & shipping)

Just Because stamp set (p.28)

Lemon Whip cardstock (p.84)

Lichen ink (p.84)

Heather ink (p.86)

Organdy ribbon - Sugar (p.94)

Pearl Stickers - Sugar (p.93)

Special #2 - $36 (plus applicable taxes & shipping)

Contemporary Greetings stamp set (p.67)

Assorted Summer cardstock (p.85)

Assorted Polka Dot cardstock (p.88)

Memento Tuxedo Black ink (p.103)

Twinkle Stickers - Mini Dots, Multi (p.93)

Special #3 - $33 (plus applicable taxes & shipping)

Smile Inside stamp set (p.10)

Assorted Summer cardstock (p.85)

Stitched Grosgrain - Onyx (p.94)

3 Tombow markers - Sky, Lime, & Bubblegum (p.97)

Memento Tuxedo Black ink (p.103)

Special #4

Buy 10 Copic markers, Get One Free (your choice of all colors)

Special #5

Spend $55 on dies, impression plates, and/or Nestabilities & Get one bag of buttons free (your choice of color)

*Please note: These are my personal specials for this month to celebrate my start with A·Muse Studio. They are not offered by the company but rather directly through me. If you are interested in them, you will need to contact me directly. As always, give a holler if you have any questions!

Hmmmm.....

2011-04-13T23:36:00.003-04:00

Don't you love when you get everything you need to make that card you couldn't wait to recreate? Me, too!!

I love the new mustache craze - yes, I know it's silly but oh so fun!! I saw this card in the A·Muse catalog & couldn't wait to make my own stash of 'staches!! My fifth grade students are excited too because we're going to make mustaches on a stick later this week or early next...picturing them holding up their mustaches, deep in thought, and vocalizing "hmmmmmm" - I love it!!

I'm getting ready for my A·Muse Studio Open House this Sunday. I've posted so many flyers & I hope to get a good turnout. Now I just have to get some more examples created with my goodies that arrived in the mail today, prep for the make & takes, and type up my specials (which I'll also list online). Anybody know how to add more hours to the day?

My First Craft Show

2011-04-05T10:28:00.001-04:00

This Saturday, I set up a table for the first time at a Craft & Vendor show. Unfortunately, the weather & lack of promotion by the show organizer meant a VERY small turnout (I'd say less than 40 people). While I was hoping to make more connections to share info about A·Muse Studio with local crafters, I did learn a lot from this show.

The lessons I learned: (sorry for the poor photo quality - my focus seemed off)

Font needs to be BIG and easy to read. I placed price labels next to all items & while I thought these were really good, there were people that struggled seeing them. This photo shows the left side of my table which held my Easter-y items: pencil packs, skittles purses, bunny poop, tic tac holders, bunny nuggets, and cards. In the back right corner of the photo, you'll see bags of donut seeds.

Here's a photo of the different types of notebooks I sold. I placed a sign on the crate listing upcoming holidays & events, thinking people would use these as a reference and make the purchases. Um...I don't think a single person paid any attention to this. Now this may have been due to the small crowd. The magnetic post-it note holders were a hit. Next time, I will place them on a cookie sheet, so people can see them 'at work' - again, no one seemed to read my little sign stating 'magnetic.'

This is the right end of my table which held more notebooks and information about A·Muse Studio. The photo below shows a close up.

Here I had a mailing list sign up, business cards, flyers for my open house, free water bottles with my business information, and a large sign about my open house. I will say that this did capture attention - too bad more people weren't there :( Especially when I had to lug a bunch of water outta there.

Now for my big seller...golly!

Leave it to dogs! While I figured these would sell, I didn't think they'd outsell my Easter stuff. I guess it's hard to judge because of the lack of traffic, but I will make these for any future shows I decide to do. The image on the bag topper is from the Cricut cartridge Create A Critter.

I'm really pleased with my first attempt at a craft show. I know it wasn't an elaborate set up like I've seen from others, but I was happy with it. After dealing with being sick all week, it's a miracle that I was even ready.

BTW...if you're in the western PA area and would like to come for my A·Muse Studio open house (Sunday, April 17th 12 - 4), please email me (stephaniestamps@comcast.net) & I'll send you more information. I have 3 projects (+1 for kids) planned along with specials, door prizes, food, and more.

Don't Ya Hate It When....

2011-04-04T22:23:00.003-04:00

you're swamped with a LONG to do list and you get sick! Because I do!!

It all started last weekend. I was busy each day & could feel I was fighting a cold. I pushed through because I needed to get ready for my first craft show on Saturday (more on this later). By Tuesday, I was done for and out of commission for the next two days. I'm back to about 95% today, finally!

The worst part of being sick last week was that I wanted to do all kinds of fun stuff on the little bloggeroo to kick off the opening of my A·Muse Studio webstore which officially opened on April 1st. No big deal - I'll use this week as the big celebration!

So....to kick things off, I have a card to share with you using the A·Muse Studio set Life Is A Song.

While I wasn't a fan of birdcage images at first, I think I've been converted. I have so many ideas to go with this set, and I love that it works for so many occasions. If this set interests you or you'd like to check out the other fabulous stuff offered, please head over to www.amusestudio.com/stephanie and check things out.

Take care!

Thinking of You

2011-03-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

Remember when you're young and dandelions were the most beautiful flower in the world? Today, they still are for me:

Just stay away from my lawn, dandelions....and this love fest can continue!

Supplies: Stamps - Beautiful Botanicals, Essential Sentiments, & Polka Dot Pattern s(A·Muse Studio); Ink - Lemon Whip, Shell, & Grass (A·Muse Studio); Paper - Sage (A·Muse Studio), Lemon Tart & Sweet Blush (PTI); Accessories - Stitched French Roast ribbon & Diamond Glitter (A·Muse Studio), Corner Rounder

Let's Be Brief

2011-03-21T21:22:00.003-04:00

Happy Spring!! It was a beautiful day here in Pennsylvania. Don't you just love how those first warm spring days reinvigorate you! I'm always tired leaving school on Mondays, but not today with the sun shining and the thermometer reading 71!

I've been working on craft show goodies (and I'll post photos soon), but I wanted to share a mini card that I made with a favorite A·Muse Studio image.

This image is from the Brief Notes set - perfect for guy cards. I thought this little number would be fun to give to a male teacher. Teacher Appreciation Week falls at the beginning of May - wouldn't it be nice to attach this to a bag of cookies or Moose Munch! This set includes 14 images/sentiments and sells for $21.99. Plus there's a cell phone & laptop image that I have a ton of ideas for already.

If you haven't checked it out already, I've updated the A·Muse Studio page here on the blog. Please check it out if you're interested in learning more!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps - Brief Notes (A·Muse Studio); Paper - white, navy; Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), red, copics; Accessories - square punch, white gel pen, corner rounder

News

2011-03-17T23:58:00.005-04:00

I'm very excited to share that I've signed up as a consultant for the brand-new A|Muse Studio! If you haven't heard, A|Muse has started selling their stamps, papers, inks, and more through catalogs and home parties. I decided to join at the beginning of the month when the announcement was made, and I'm SOOOOOO HAPPY with that decision!

After great anticipation, my kit arrived yesterday. Wowza! I'm not sure what I'm drooling over more - the paper, the ink, the stamps, the catalogs...okay maybe I can just drool over all of it! Let me tell you my initial reactions:

1. I ADORE the cardstock - super smooth & a great weight. so many gorgeous colors. love that one side of the sheet is colored and the other side is white - I'm picturing some fabulous white cards with a surprise burst of color when the recipient opens it up!

2. The ink - A|Muse Studio sells pigment ink in the same colors as the cardstock. It's wonderful to work with. Goes on so easily & stamps evenly!

3. The stamps - Stamp sets are mostly cling rubber - alphabets sets are clear. I think it's great that they're all ready to go - no adhering labels! I love how A|Muse included many classic favorites in sets and at great prices. Along with the new image sets, my wish list keeps getting longer.

4. One stop shopping - Remember when you started to stamp and wanted this product and this product but each was sold through a different retailer? A|Muse Studio carries many popular items - Copic markers, Nestabiliites dies, matching buttons, and more. I love how custom dies and matching stamp sets are available. I love how convenient this is.

I'm just started playing with my new goodies, so I'm sure this list will get longer! Here's one card that I made with the Vintage Amuse set. I think the sentiment is hysterical.

Hee hee! Isn't it the greatest! A|Muse has a wide variety of images. I definitely take a special liking to those stamps with silly sentiments. Must be my personality.

You can check out the A|Muse Studio catalog here. On April 1st, my web store with A|Muse will go live. I'll be adding the link soon. If you'd like to place an order with me, you can go through my web store (starting April 1st); or, if you can't wait until April 1st, please shoot me an email and I'll help you out. Also if you live near the western PA area, I'll be holding an A|Muse Open House. Let me know if you're interested & I'll send you out some more information.

I'll be sharing more A|Muse Studio information here on the ol' blog, and I'm working on creating a special section just for that. I'm so excited to start this journey and happy that I could share it with all of you!

Show Time?

2011-03-15T23:20:00.003-04:00

I've decided to set up a table at a local craft show, mostly due to an announcement I hope to make tomorrow. (Maybe you've figured it out already) This will be my first time selling anything, so I've been busy researching what works for others. One of the items that I came across were mini composition notebooks, and I made a few tonight to sell. Here's one of my favorites:

I made a bunch of these including some that would work perfectly as teacher appreciation gifts. Since Easter, Teacher's Appreciation Day, and Mother's Day all follow the date of the show, I'm planning my marketing around those occasions.

Have any of you sold things at craft shows? What works well and what doesn't? I'd love to hear your feedback on this.

Supplies: Stamps - All Booked Up (PTI); Paper - DCWV pattern paper, scraps; Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), copics; Accessories - mini composition book (Walmart), RSVP pen (Pentel), ribbon (Offray), scallop circle & circle dies (Nestabiilties), 1 3/4" circle punch

Happy Pi Day!

2011-03-14T23:14:00.003-04:00

Yep - it's 3.14 today & as a teacher of gifted kiddos, I certainly celebrated. We read the story of Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, investigated pi like the Egyptians, tried to draw perfect circles like Archimedes, composed music to pi, conducted pi scavenger hunts, made personal pizza 'pi'es, and of course ate 'pi'e at 1:59 (3.14159...). The kids had a great day & I enjoyed a nap as soon as I got home! The combo of daylight savings & Pi day can sure tire a gal out!!

Here's a photo of the cards I made to thank families who sent in pies for our celebration. Just a CAS card - right up my alley! The image is from one of my favorite sets by My Cute Stamps.

It's been nice to hear from everyone & I'm hoping to get to stop by blogs tomorrow.

Supplies: Stamps - Sweet Kawaii (My Cute Stamps), Fillable Frames 5 (PTI); Paper - Scarlet Jewel & Distressed Dots (PTI), white, black; Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), Copics; Accessories - Dimensionals, ribbon (Offray)

The Hiatus Is Over

2011-03-13T15:07:00.004-04:00

Hello all! I've been taking a serious break from blogging, and I'm excited to jump back in. I want to thank those of you who sent emails to see if all was okay. I think that I just needed to focus my energy and time on things besides blogging. I've always been the type that wants to give 100% plus to everything. I think I realized that I have to include taking care of myself in that and prioritize. I know many of us have this issue, so I'm taking it one day at a time. And now I'm ready to get rolling again with this blog!!

I'm in the midst of some exciting things - more of which you'll hear about in the days to come. I thought I'd share I card that I made at the end of August. It seems like an eternity ago, especially because it was the end of my poor eating habits. I'm so proud to say that I've lost over 45 pounds since September. I'm super stoked about this - although I'm using my papercrafting funds have been dipped into to grab some clothes that fit. It's a sacrifice I'm happy to make.

I love this set from Hero Arts - gotta love office supplies!! It was a super quick & easy card, as you can tell - perfect to keep in my desk when I need to send a thank you to a student or a note to a parent.

Again, I'm glad to be 'back' and I've missed you all!!

Supplies: Stamps - Just A Note (Hero Arts); Paper - kraft, white; Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), Versamark; Accessories - black ribbon, staple, red embossing powder

Happy Birthday, Book Lover

2010-07-29T08:36:00.000-04:00

My friend Mandy celebrated her birthday recently and here's the card I sent her.

She's an avid reader, so I knew that I wanted to use the latest PTI set on her card. I also made a coordinating bookmark for her, both of which were inspired by this design from Niki Estes. I loved all the detail Niki put into her card and wanted to make one similar.

Right now, I'm with Mandy and two of our other friends enroute to Chicago for CHA!! I'm so excited. Maybe I'll get to meet some of you there :)

Brady Bunch Buttons

2010-07-27T18:21:00.002-04:00

I forgot all about the Dare to Get Dirty challenges over at SCS until I saw my friend Erin's recent blog post. So far I've worked on three challenges (two cards) and I'll share the first one with you.

For this challenge, we had to use a TV show as our inspiration. I used the opening sequence to the Brady Bunch as the inspiration for the layout of my card. It was funny because my dad was over for dinner tonight and I showed him the card and asked him to guess which TV show. He said Hollywood Squares, which definitely would work too.

Two more days until leaving for Chicago & CHA....I'm so excited!!

LONG time no post

2010-07-26T10:54:00.004-04:00

Hi!! I'm so sorry that I've been MIA from the blog/craftin' world. I've been working on all of my summer to do items and only have 2 things left. I'm so stoked that all of the closets, drawers, and cabinets in my house are cleaned & organized. Wahoo! The bad part was I just didn't seem to be in the bloggin' or craftin' mood, so I figured I'd wait and it would return. Guess what? It did!

I made a birthday card over the weekend and a card for the CAS challenge at Splitcoast today. I'm really hoping to get in some of the Dirty Dozen challenges before leaving for CHA.

The CAS challenge was to interpret the title "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" in a card. This is a really simple card, but I love the graphic nature of it. I used one of my favorite sets from Practicing Creativity to create the big dots...this set makes it sooooo easy to line things up :)

Hope all is well with you guys! I'll be making the rounds soon & can't wait to see what you all have been up to :)

Busy Busy Busy!

2010-07-09T22:55:00.002-04:00

(Warning - jibber jabber ahead!!)

Last week kept me VERY busy and rarely at home ....but with all fun things :)

Early in the week, my best friend and I headed to Cleveland (about a 3 hour drive) for a day of shopping! What a fantastic day. We first went to the outlets in Aurora - no big finds there. Then to Eton, which is gorgeous! We ate at the Stone Oven Bakery for lunch, and I had the most amazing mushroom onion foccacia pizza....yum! I found some great inspiration for a card at Anthropologie (hope to make that soon!!). The day also included trips to Beechwood Place and Legacy Village where I saw the most beautiful hanging baskets and discovered that California Pizza Kitchen removed my favorite pizza from the menu (Santa Fe Chicken).

My mom and I spent the next day together visiting a local Italian market and Target while she waiting for her car to get inspected (at the world's slowest auto repair shop - 4 hours and they didn't even get the oil changed!!!) So my appointment to get my hair cut & toe nail polish changed the next day was thoroughly enjoyed.

At the end of the week, my dad and I drove to Washington DC to finalize some details for the field trip I'm taking students on in the late fall. The weather was perfect - especially considering all the walking we did. And I got all the info I needed. While we were there, I thought my dad would enjoy visiting the Newseum. I've never been there but have wanted to go ever since one of my students told me what a nice museum it is. She was so right!! The Newseum was filled with major news stories that have shaped our country. Here are some photos I snapped...wish I would've taken more!

The view from the outdoor observatory deck on the 6th floor. You can see what a great day we had - not a cloud in the sky!!

Here's some memorabilia from the Birmingham church bombing in 1963. My students read a book that centers around this, so I thought they'd be interested in seeing this photo. The museum's collection had a fantastic range from sports to comics to Internet to notorious criminals and much more.

This is a photo of part of one of the Twin Towers. This section of the Newseum was very well done and included so many different newspapers from September 12th.

If you're planning a trip to DC, I would highly recommend making the Newseum a stop on your trip. It's a bit pricey, seeing that most museums in DC are free admission...but worth it! And, be sure to eat there. My dad and I thought the museum cafeteria was our last choice after not finding anything really suitable for lunch nearby. Boy were we wrong! It was delicious!! The food is provided by the Wolfgang Puck catering company and very reasonably priced.

So after that hectic week, I spent a lot of time this week working on my projects around the house. Pretty soon I'll be done with my 'to-do' list....that is if I finally stop procrastinating about cleaning up the basement!!

Christmas Cards...In This Heat?!?!

2010-07-09T22:36:00.003-04:00

Finally!! The weather has broke. We've had a week of days in the mid 90s - ugh!! I've been getting up at 5:30 to go walking, and I'm really proud that I've stuck with it despite the heat and having to get up at the crack of dawn.

I've been on the go quite a bit for the past two weeks & I have some photos to share in the next post. So I was so happy to make a card tonight. Hopefully I can create some more tomorrow. Tonight's card is based on the 98th Fall to Layout challenge at the Clean & Simple Stamping blog.

Here's the layout:

And here's my take. I thought I'd get going with my Christmas cards, and this layout was perfect for my idea.

I broke out the Cricut to cut out the letters and snowflake....wish I used it more often. It sits out and is easy to use; I'm just never inspired to use it on projects. I love the new Create A Critter cartridge but have hesitated buying it knowing it probably won't be used enough to warrant spending the money. Plus I know other things I could spend it on :) If you have a Cricut, do you use it or are you more like me?

Details:

Stamps - Winter Swirls (PTI)

Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Frayed Burlap & Antique Linen (Distress Inks-Ranger)

Paper - kraft, white; Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Rustic Snowflakes (PTI)

Accessories - Aqua Mist button (PTI), baker's twine (Martha Stewart), Alphalicious & Speaking of Winter Cricut cartridges

You're Too Kind

2010-06-27T23:16:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend! It was HOT here today! Yikes! Perfect time for a little trip to Target :) I'm proud that I still went walking and I'm going out first thing tomorrow too. I really would like to get back into a regular routine b/c it really makes me feel good.

I'm happy to say that I back on a regular routine with creating (and posting). It seems that my desire to make stuff has returned...yippee!! Here's another thank you that I created for an end-of-the-year gift. I hope it arrived safely!

I just love the butterfly set from PTI! And I would have never guessed that as I've never been a fan of butterflies! I guess when you see so many things that you like that have butterflies your mind starts to change :)

On a separate note, I'm getting in a lot of reading this summer too. Yay! I've already finished Three Cups of Tea and I'll probably finish The Shack tonight. I'm listening to Water For Elephants on my iPod as I walk and I just bought One Day today at Target (please pronounce as Tar-jzay for rhyming effect). I'm really knocking off my list of 'To Read', especially when every movie I've watched lately leaves me wondering why I watched the whole thing. I signed up for swaptree Friday and I'll be sending out 2 books tomorrow. Does anyone use swaptree? I'm a big advocate of the library, but I love that I can swap out the books I have bought for others I'd like to read.

Details:

Stamps - Butterfly Dreams (PTI); Whimsical Words (SU!)

Paper - white, kraft; dp - DCWV (Summer Dream matstack)

Ink - Sweet Blush (PTI), Chocolate Chip (PTI)

Accessories - nesties, white grosgrain ribbon, pop dots

Quite The Pair

2010-06-26T23:41:00.004-04:00

Wowza! It's been a productive day. I started off with a walk (4 miles - wahoo!), followed by laundry and cleaning out my kitchen cabinets! My pantry is completely cleaned out & reorganized and I even changed a few cabinets, switching the glasses and serving dishes cupboards. I love when I can check things off my summer to-do list, don't you!

Today, my best friend and her husband celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary. I made them this simple card which I got a call thanking me for this afternoon. Her husband requested that we reinstate our cooking club that we had going on a few years ago. Once a week, we get together at each other's houses and cook a new recipe. I think we're both excited about starting it back up and Monday's the big day! So far Tortellini Soup & a tomato-onion salad w/bread is the tentative menu.

Hope you had a great Saturday as well!

Papertrey June Blog Hop Challenge

2010-06-25T18:51:00.002-04:00

Can you believe that this is my first Papertrey Ink Blog Hop? I'm so excited, especially with the challenge that was presented - all about color! I have so many favorite color combos, so I went with one inspired by this dress I really wanted to buy at Macy's on Wednesday. I have no place to wear the dress, so I did the next best thing - make a card using it as inspiration :)

So here's my card with the color combo of Hawaiian Shores, Lemon Tart, and New Leaf

The neat thing with this card is that I can see myself making tons more using different color combos and different sentiments! Heck, I can even use the other frame sets :) With my mojo a-flowin' today, I may even get them done tonight!

Alright, I off for a walk to return the movie to the Red Box so I'm back in time for the start of the hop.

Thanks for dropping by!!

Details:

Stamps - Polka Dot Basics II, Fillable Frames #5 (PTI)

Ink - New Leaf (PTI)

Paper - white; Lemon Tart, Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf (PTI)

Accessories - Frame #5 die (PTI), buttons, pop dots

Thanks For The Gift

2010-06-25T14:39:00.002-04:00

After Stampin' Up, the next stamp company that I fell in love with years ago was Stampendous. I love their fun & whimsical images which definitely bring out the kid in me. I have a bunch of Fluffles images and picked out a fun one to use with the current Stampendous Sketch Challenge.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I'm sending it to my mom to thank her for my birthday gifts. Yep, I celebrated the big day earlier this week. We had a nice day visiting an AC Moore about 1 1/2 hours away. I thought I was going to leave empty handed until I found three awesome A muse sets on super clearance - I'm talking $3.50 per set!!! Along with some great finds at the Gap, I had a fantastic day.

Sweet, Sweeter, ...

2010-06-25T10:56:00.002-04:00

I created this quick & easy thank you for a student who gave me a gift card to a local ice creamery as an end of the year gift. I knew immediately that I wanted to use my Martha Stewart ice cream punch for her card. It just so happens that today's Free For All challenge at SCS is all about ice cream. Perfection!!

Side note: I finished watching Leap Year and I did predict the ending...darn it! Oh well, it was a free rental. Now I just need to walk it back to the Red Box :)

Moxie Fab - Bicycles

2010-06-24T22:27:00.003-04:00

The latest Moxie Fab Challenge is all about bicycles. I love the Hero Arts bicycle but decided it wasn't a must have. Especially after I bought the A muse vintage set that has an adorable bicycle in it.

I thought the sentiment that came with the bike definitely called for a bumpy road ahead, so I created a little hill for the bike to go up. Now I've got an encouragement card for my stash.

okay, I'm going back to watching Leap Year. I had a free rental at the Red Box, and it was the only thing that looked interesting that I haven't seen. So far, it's okay....but I have a feeling I know what's going to happen. I hate that - how 'bout you?

Everything's Coming Up Roses

2010-06-24T15:42:00.003-04:00

I finally have a day at home! Which meant I was bound & determined to get going on that list of cards that I need to make & mail. Hopefully I'll finish them all up tonight so I can get them to the post office tomorrow.

Here are two cards that I made using the latest Flower of the Month set from PTI. I love roses, so I was excited to add this set to my collection.

The first card was designed with today's Ways To Use It challenge at Splitcoast requiring heat embossing. I will be the first to say that I LOVE the look (and feel) of heat embossing, but I HATE the task. So this definitely was a challenge for me! I'm very happy with how it turned out - the graphic nature of the card & the bold colors are great!

The second card is a nod to all the fabulous floral cards that I've been seeing using polka dot dp. Aren't they great?! So I had to create my own with some helpful inspiration from Nichole Heady! I love how she popped up the center of the rose on one of her cards during release week. Here's mine:

Just love how this one turned out, too!!

On a separate note, I bought new storage containers for my flour, sugar, spaghetti, etc. yesterday. I keep all of these items in my pantry and wanted containers that would keep them fresh and use the space the best. I decided to go with the new (I think) OXO pop containers. Have you seen them? They're really cool! I'd love to hear if anyone has been using them and how they're working out.

Funk Free :)

2010-06-23T00:22:00.003-04:00

Oh my goodness! I have been in this funk for three weeks now - not wanting to create much of anything. I'm happy to say that I'm finally getting over it :) Which is good because I have so many thank you cards to create and send out.

I made this quick & simple thank you tonight with some color inspiration from Kristina Werner.

And here's what I came up with:

I think it's 'sew' cute!! I started the inspiration with stamping overlapping circles, but it just wasn't cuttin' it. I'm really glad that I switched to a different idea. I hope the friend that I'm sending it to likes it.

Wednesdays With MyGrafico

2010-06-02T00:46:00.003-04:00

This week's MyGrafico Challenge is a sketch challenge. And up for grabs is this great set from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff perfect for graduation cards (I'll be showcasing my graduation cards later this week).

And here's the sketch:

And my take:

I think the library card is so versatile & couldn't wait to use it. I also used some of my new Basic Grey Basics Kraft paper....LOVE THIS STUFF!! Be sure to hop over to our Ning community to see the fabulous creations by the rest of the design team and join in on the fun!

Today, we're having a Minute To Win It event in my classroom!! Afterwards, some colleagues and I are heading to Buca di Beppo for dinner. I can't wait :)

Nothin' Can Bug Me Now!

2010-05-31T22:20:00.002-04:00

I've not been into the crafting mood much lately, but I did manage to make this card for a friend's birthday. She got me some Martha Stewart glitter and flocking for Christmas, so I wanted to be sure to add that to the card.

I have to get my rear in gear with graduation cards....commencement is on Friday! Which means Friday is my last day of school!!! Wahoo :) Watch out summer, here I come!

Hope you all enjoyed Memorial Day!

Short & Sweet

2010-05-26T22:46:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone!

I just got home from a trip to Harrisburg with some of my students for the PA Computer Fair. Although they didn't capture any top prizes, we had a great time.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get a card created for this week's MyGrafico Challenge. I did want to share the challenge with you & pass along some NEWS!! From this point, all MyGrafico Challenges will be held at the MyGrafico Ning Site! It's a great community and we're all excited! You can join us with this week's challenge, our 50th!! Create a card using the color scheme of one of the following medals:

Cool, don't ya think? And here's the set up for grabs:

Just in time for Memorial Day! Hope to see you at our new challenge home!!

Final Countdown - Student Birthday Cards

2010-05-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

I made my last birthday card for a student last week. It was for a sixth grade boy and it definitely stumped me for what to do for him. I'm happy with what I came up with.

I used my first CTMH set and some yellow MS flocking powder....that flocking was a huge hit and reinstated my 'genius' and 'super cool' status among my students. Haha!

Tonight I'm getting together with my 3 college roommates -should be a fun time. We're eating at Mad Mex and there will be margaritas involved :)

Details:
Stamps - Something Special (CTMH); Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Ink: Danube Blue (Memento), Versamark
Paper: Green (Bazzill), Brillant Blue (SU!), white
Accessories: Daffodil Flocking Powder (Martha Stewart), Nestabilities (circle & pinking circle)

Anyone Else Blooming?

2010-05-20T11:33:00.000-04:00

Prepare yourselves....I love flowers! I planted my annuals and have a bunch of perennials in bloom. My rose bush that I planted last year had 96 blooms/buds last week. There will be lots of photos forthcoming....starting with this photo of some dahlias and coleus in a small pot on the back stoop of my sun porch. Aren't the colors gorgeous? I love spring!

Thanks to road crews....grrr!!

2010-05-19T23:47:00.002-04:00

My normal commute is 30 minutes one way. I can handle this - listen to audiobooks, talk on the phone (I have hands-free!), sing along to the radio. My trip consists of traveling through rural areas of southwest PA....in other words, my main problem typically consists of deer!

BUT THAT ALL CHANGED AND REACHED MY BREAKING POINT TODAY. There is bridge renovation occuring in the town where I teach. I have to cross this bridge at least twice a day to get between the high school and the elementary school. For the past month, the lanes have been SIGNIFICANTLY narrowed which I really disliked. Especially when my new car is literally 3 inches from being creamed from an 18 wheeler. Today the bridge was reduced to one lane and they began to install the temporary traffic lights late this afternoon...that is right at the time when the high school and the elementary dismiss. (I know...smart!) I'm finished before the elementary dismisses students and I saw buses starting to travel to the school 20 minutes after dismissal time. My 30 minute commute turned into 55 minutes....grrr!

Here's another thank you I made for a student who had a piece of slate painted for me for teacher's appreciation week. This is my second piece of slate from a student & I must say that I love them both! This one is teacher themed and my other has a winter theme...both were great gift ideas in case you're in need of an idea :)

I LOVE the apple punch from Martha Stewart...in fact I picked up a couple of other punches this weekend. I think I've found my new obsession :)

Have a good night and thanks for enduring my grumbling :)

Wednesday With MyGrafico

2010-05-18T23:12:00.002-04:00

It's Wednesday - time for a new MyGrafico Challenge! This week is a sketch challenge:

And here's the fun set that's up for grabs! Perfect for those dino-lovin' kids!

The design team used this set for the sketch and came up with some great cards!! Here's my take:

Fun, don't ya think? Hope to see you join in on the fun :)

Thanks for stickin' around :)

2010-05-18T20:58:00.003-04:00

Hi....it's me, Stephanie...remember me?

I survived my busiest week of the year, and I'm slowly recovering to my "normal" self. Soon I'll have caught up on my cleaning, laundry, sleep, lawn care, and blogging!! I do have a bunch of cards to share with you - some thank you's for Teacher Appreciation Week and a couple birthday cards. I'm going to space them out while I'm finishing up the school year....only 13 more days!

This was a real simple and real quick thank you I made with some colored cardstock, rub-ons, and a circle punch.

Be back tomorrow with the MyGrafico challenge and another card...woo hoo - 2 posts :)

Happy Mother's Day (from Coco the Nut)

2010-05-09T21:02:00.002-04:00

Today my mom came over, and we had a fabulous day. We went to a buffet at one of our favorite restaurants, did a little shopping, and watched The Blind Side. Of course I had to create a little card for her from Coco (my cat) and Fluffles from Stampendous is the perfect stamp for that!!

My mom loves purple, so the card definitely met her approval. Hope you all enjoyed Mother's Day!!

Details:
Stamps - Grasshopper Fluffles (Stampendous)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Paper - white, Green Apple (Bazzill); Flower Shower matstack (DCWV)
Accessories - Nestabilities, gemstones

Caardvarks May Challenge

2010-05-08T22:44:00.003-04:00

I finally broke out my Delightful Dahlia set & dies from PTI. I've had them since the release, but never got to inking them up. While I love the card I created (thanks to the great sketch from this month's Caardvarks challenge), I'm kicking myself for not creating one of the many cards that I need to make.

The Sketch:

My card:

I purchased some new Copics from Dick Blick this week. I've been waiting (and waiting) for PTI to restock their sets. Then it finally dawned on me that I should see how much it would run me if I bought them somewhere else....luckily, I found a great deal on the markers & shipping at Dick Blick. If you're in the market, I'd highly recommend them. The markers arrived on Thursday night, and I knew it wouldn't be long before I broke out the buttery yellow - I've been wanting them the longest!!

Hope you've enjoyed your Saturday. It's been super windy and colder here - yuck! Where's the sunshine when you need it? I bought a bunch of my annuals yesterday and decided to create my own hanging basket. I always do two urns for the front of my house with a mixture of calibrachoa, sweet potato vine, geraniums, spikes, and angelonia, but not my hanging baskets. My favorite greenhouse is not opening this year because the owner's wife died a few months ago. The greenhouse was her baby as anyone could clearly see from the flowers and plants they sold. I went a few other places and didn't see anything that came close to the caliber of hanging basket, so I guess it time to give it a whirl! I'll be sure to take a photo - probably after it's grown awhile :)

Details:
Stamps - Delightful Dahlia & Text Background (PTI)
Ink - Sand (Versacraft), Ocean Tides (PTI), Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics (Y21, Y26, YR24, YG91, YG93, YG95)
Paper - kraft, white; My Mind's Eye Home matstack
Accessories - Delightful Dahlia dies, pearls, satin ribbon

Fall To Layout #89

2010-05-07T00:34:00.003-04:00

Natasha posted another great sketch over at Clean & Simple Stamping tonight, and I couldn't wait to play along. I need a card for a coworker who always lends a listening ear, even though her workload is always overflowing. I think she'll really like this!

Details:
Stamps - Butterfly Dreams & Signature Greetings (PTI)
Ink - Ocean Tides (PTI); Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Paper - Very Vanilla (SU!), Dark Chocolate (PTI), My Minds' Eye Home
Accessories - Butterfly die (PTI), buttons (Foof-a-la), pink embroidery floss, gemstones, dimensionals

With Gratitude

2010-05-06T22:22:00.002-04:00

I started this card a few days ago for the Caardvarks monochromatic challenge. I couldn't get the card going in the direction I was hoping and then was too tired to finish it before the deadline. I finished it tonight, yet I still struggled with it. I like all of the individual elements, but I'm not sure if I like it all together. Maybe it just needs some color :)

Two things I do adore about this card though are the woodgrain flower & the label cut from felt - ooh la la!!

Details:
Stamps - Woodgrain Background & sentiment from 2009 Anniversary set (PTI)
Ink - Sand (Versacraft), Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Paper - Very Vanilla (SU!), Dark Chocolate (PTI); Jillibean Soup Core'dinations
Accessories - felt, Labels One Nestabilities, flower punch, satin ribbon, button, Rustic Button Twine (PTI)

Wednesdays With MyGrafico & Mom

2010-05-04T23:58:00.004-04:00

Good morning! I had jury duty today, but I was excused when I called to check in last night. Darn it.....I thought I'd get all this work done. Next week is my crazy week at school & then it should be smooth sailing...only 21 work days until summer vacation! Wahooo!!

This week's MyGrafico Challenge is perfect timing with Mother's Day on Sunday! Anyone have special plans. My mom & I will be going to one of our favorite restaurants and spending the rest of the day together.

This week's giveaway is this great set from Sarah Paris.

Just create a card using MyGrafico images and the following sketch & you could win the set for your collection!

And here's the card I made...the image actually comes from the companion set to this set and it's FREE!!

Isn't it pretty!! I shaded the edges of the label with some chalk and popped it up from the My Mind's Eye paper. They're hard to see, but I also added some pearls in the upper right corner.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team came up with over at the MyGrafico Challenge Blog

Details:
Stamps - Mother's Day sentiments (Sarah Paris for MyGrafico)
Paper - kraft, white, green, dp - My Mind's Eye
Ink - Copics
Accessories - chalk, Labels One nesties, satin ribbon (Offray), pearls, dimensionals

We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Post...

2010-05-01T23:58:00.003-04:00

Tonight I began to monkey around with Photoshop to see if I could create a new background. So far, I made some fun polka dots. I'm ready to add some more layers to the background, but I wanted to share my excitement over figuring this all out first.

UPDATE: Added some scallops & trim...wahoooooo :)

Red Apple, Green Apple

2010-04-30T09:30:00.000-04:00

Here's the last of the cards from the Teacher Appreciation set. Can I say that crafting with kids is tiring? I've napped the past two nights :)

I like the play on a stop light with this card....plus it was super simple with some paper piecing :)

The weather is gorgeous here. I have yard work to do tonight and then I'm hoping to work on some Mother's Day items. Can you believe tomorrow is May?

Details:
Stamp - Apple (Imaginisce)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - white, black; red, yellow, and green (DCWV matstack)
Accessories - gingham ribbon (Bazzill)

Bus Ride

2010-04-29T00:22:00.000-04:00

Here was another option. Now that I'm looking at the card again, I think it would be great to give to a bus driver. I go on a TON of trips with students, all driven by different bus drivers. There are a few that I'm SOOOOO thankful to have driving....especially when they keep my tendency to get bus sick to a minimum. It definitely takes a special person to do that job - my mom must've realized this when she'd send out fresh baked cinnamon rolls to my bus driver as a child.

Details:
Stamps - Bus (Imaginisce)
Ink - Fresh Snow (PTI); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - white, black, yellow (DCWV matstack); dp - Cricut stack
Accessories - white gel pen

No. 1 Apple

2010-04-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of card crafting lunch. Picture 5 excited (aka impatient) 4th graders, a plethora of papercrafting materials, and Gogurt packages....ahhh, the life I lead!

Here's another option I gave to the kiddos for cards. I really wished they all picked this one. I really like it, and it's super simple to make. One only student chose it, go figure :)

This uses the Martha Stewart apple punch that I just picked up at Michael's. I really like this punch and have a bunch of ideas for it!

Details:
Stamps - Fillable Frames 1 (PTI)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - white, black; dp - DCWV
Accessories - square punch (SU!), apple punch (MS), dimensionals

Punch Out Crime - Wednesdays With MyGrafico

2010-04-28T01:47:00.003-04:00

Hi there! We have a fun challenge for you at the MyGrafico Challenge Blog this week and a chance to win a set from my very favorite designer at MyGrafico, Zenware Designs!!

And here's the set I'm talkin' about:

Just perfect for kids' cards, especially little boys! However....coming from an ex-Wonder Woman wannabe, girls would probably like it too!!

The challenge this week is to use PUNCHES on your card/LO/project along with your MyGrafico image - don't have any MG images, check out the tons of freebies available here.

Here's my card. I was really happy with the coloring of my little batguy...whaddya think?

I used my absolute favorite punch on this card - my corner rounder! I know that sounds silly, but it's definitely one of those punches that I think every cardmaker should have. I thought the circle & pinking circle die cuts gave the card a little extra punch.

The sentiment is embossed on the card....anyone else love how embossing looks, but hate embossing? I really need to get one of those embossing buddies....maybe I'd change my mind a bit.

Details:
Stamps - Superheroes set (MyGrafico); Signature Greetings (PTI)
Ink - Versamark; Copics
Paper - white, yellow (DCWV matstack), dp - Bitty Star Basics (PTI) & Fun In The Sun Summer Matstack (DCWV)
Accessories - black brads, circle & pinking circle Nestabilities, white embossing powder, corner rounder punch, dimensionals

Sweet Donut

2010-04-27T11:40:00.000-04:00

A few summers ago, I visited Baltimore and found Lexington Market. It's a wonderful market filled with loads of goodies. I enjoyed a delicious hand carver turkey sandwich and the best doughnut of my life. I've been on the hunt for another sour cream doughnut that tastes as good, but I guess I'll just have to return to Baltimore for that!

After receiving their Earth Day bookmarks, my fourth graders asked to make cards with me again. We made cards this Christmas to send to the hospital, so I figured it was only a matter of time before they'd want to make more. Since Teacher's Appreciation Week is next week, I thought the kids could make cards for their homeroom teachers (I only see them for about 2 hours a day). I made a bunch of examples, so they could have some choices.

This card was based upon the request to use the Sweet Kawaii set. It's one of my favorites, so there wasn't any argument from me! I created an argyle-esque grid in the background using my Scor-Pal.....it's hard to see in this photo, but it looks great in person! It was a big hit when I shared it....especially when they can pick the treat image of their liking.

I have a bunch more to share, but I figured I'd space them out...this way I'll have more posts for my poor, neglected blog. It's not much longer until summer vacation....is it bad that I'm just as excited as the kids? okay, maybe more!

Details
Stamps - Sweet Kawaii (My Cute Stamps)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!); Copics
Paper - white, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede (SU!)
Accessories - brown gingham ribbon, adhesive pearls, Scor-Pal

My Newest Favorite Stamp (set)

2010-04-26T22:36:00.003-04:00

My PTI order arrived last Thursday after a painfully long wait - gosh, those preview days were killing me :) And I can say that I'm just ecstatic over my woodgrain background set!! It is soooooooooooo easy to use and looks fantastic...can't wait to use the impression plate next.

Here's a sympathy card that I made using it as well as my anniversary set:

I just love the simplicity of the card - perfect for a sympathy card which I didn't have any of in my stash. The image isn't as bright blue as my photo - I'm in the process of studying up on cameras and making a big purchase. Any advice on SLRs....feel free to send it my way ;)

Can you believe it's the last week of April already? I hope the summer doesn't fly by like this! I have a bunch of things planned - stamping (yea!), CHA in Chicago (YEA!!), Washington DC (to prep for a field trip in the fall, and NYC (with my BFF)....I'm hoping one of these summers that I'll get to Europe - guess I'll have to stop watching the PTI releases then :)

Details:
Stamps - Background Basics: Woodgrain, 2009 Anniversary Set (PTI)
Ink - Versamark; Paris Dusk (Memento)
Paper - kraft, Very Vanilla, Night of Navy (SU!); Terracota Tile (PTI)
Accessories - none

Earth Day

2010-04-22T01:07:00.002-04:00

Today is Earth Day, and I thought it was the perfect time to break out the Go Green set from My Cute Stamps. I created these fun bookmarks for my kiddos, who LOVED them...and asked to make Teacher Appreciation cards for their homeroom teachers with another My Cute Stamps set.

Cute, don't ya think? I bought the new EK Success zig zag edger punch...and it's awesome!!

I'm off to a majorette open house in a little while back at the school. At least I got to come home for a little R&R :)

Details:
Stamps - Go Green (My Cute Stamps)
Ink - Versamark; New Leaf (PTI)
Paper - kraft, white, So Saffron; DCWV
Accessories - zig zag edger punch, red gingham ribbon (Bazzill), silver eyelet, glossy accents (on heart)

Wednesdays With MyGrafico

2010-04-21T19:18:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I've been around the blog world....from April until mid-May, I am swamped at school. Last week wasn't the best - our competition went well, but practices didn't go so smoothly. Why do kids have to become middle schoolers? Just a little too much stress atop a mounting list of other stuff to deal with, which leaves me exhausted!

Anywho...today is Wednesday and time for a new MyGrafico challenge!! This week is a sketch challenge and there are TWO PRIZES!!! One is this adorable image from Clip Art & Scrap:

And second is you could become our Guest DT for the month of May!

So all you need to do is create a card using MyGrafico images using the following sketch:

Here's my take:

Sunflowers scream dark red, gold, and black/white gingham to me. I used some of my new Jenni Bowlin Core'dinations paper on this card - isn't it great! Be sure to check out the fabulous creations of the rest of the MyGrafico Design Team.

I'm off for some dinner & then to hop around blogs...thanks for hanging in there with me :)

Quick Card....Quick Post

2010-04-15T23:50:00.004-04:00

I was browsing Google Reader late tonight when I came across Natasha's sketch & samples at Clean & Simple. I instantly wanted to create my own version!

Here's my take on the sketch:

So simple, so fun, so easy! Just love it!!

One more day of crazy contraptions & challenges in prep for my students' competition on Saturday. This competition is appropriately called Brain Drain....but could also be called Brain (and every other part of you) Drain! It is fun building devices to shoot mini Koosh balls. It is fun building devices to shoot mini Koosh balls. It is fun building devices to shoot mini Koosh balls. (nope, repeating it doesn't make it true!!)

Wednesday With MyGrafico and Al E. Gator

2010-04-14T00:45:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! Gosh...it's been awhile since I've blogged. School is keeping me busy, and I haven't been in the bloggin' mood :( I'm really pleased with myself though - I submitted 5 items for the recent PaperCrafts Holiday Cards & More call. I typically submit 2 or 3 if I'm lucky, so 5 is pretty good in my book! Plus if these guys don't get picked, I have a headstart on my Christmas cards for next year :)

Alrighty then...onto this week's MyGrafico Challenge. This week, we have a color challenge for you and here's a photo of some blankets from Land of Nod for some inspiration:

The DT created cards using this week's set up for grabs - Baby Animals by LadyBug

And here's what I came up with:

I was even inspired by the diamond design in the blankets and pulled out my Cuttlebug argyle embossing folder to emboss the layer behind Al E. Gator.

See ya later.....

Details:

Stamps - Baby Animals (LadyBug for MyGrafico)

Ink - Copics

Paper - white, Night of Navy (SU!), Dark Chocolate (PTI); dp - Bitty Box Basics (PTI) and Flower Shower and Fun in the Sun matstacks (DCWV)

Accessories - letter stickers (Creative Memories), argyle embossing folder (Cuttlebug), stapler

Happy Mail

2010-04-08T23:12:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post - I haven't been feeling well tonight. I started this card last night, coloring and die cutting the butterflies. I was excited to find Courtney's (Practicing Creativity) latest set, For the Love of Dots, in my mailbox when I got home. Oh my goodness....this set is divine! I can't wait to play with it some more. I LOVE the big dots & I REALLY LOVE how easy it was to line up! I created the fun background for my card with it....different color combo, but I think I'm likin' it!!

On a separate note, has anyone read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein? I'm about 3/4 of the way through the audiobook, and I'm enjoying it so much! It's told from the perspective of a dog recalling all of the pivotal moments of his life. Such a sweet story....even though I know what is inevitable at the end. Do you listen to audiobooks? I've found over the past few years that I really enjoy them. My drive to school is about 1/2 hour, so it's nice to have for the trip as well as walking or doing any lawn work.

Details:
Stamps - For the Love of Dots (Practicing Creativity); Butterfly Dreams & Signature Greetings (PTI)
Ink - Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango (SU!); Ocean Tides, Sweet Blush (PTI); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - Ocean Tides (PTI); Chocolate Chip (SU!); white
Accessories - dew drops, butterfly die (PTI)

'Bee' Happy...It's Wednesday With MyGrafico

2010-04-07T07:31:00.003-04:00

Good morning! If you haven't guessed already with the move to Wednesdays, we've made some (minor) changes at MyGrafico. Each week, we'll be alternating between sketch challenges and color/element challenges. Our design team has changed a bit too, including a special guest DT - be sure to stop by the Challenge Blog to check it all out.

This week's challenge is a sketch challenge. And here's the sketch created by our very talented DT leader Martha:

It's a great sketch to work with!! The DT worked with this fun set from Chi Chi Memories. It could be yours - just play along with the sketch and an image from MyGrafico. Post a direct link to your card on the Challenge Blog by Tuesday night at 10pm, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday.

Seeing this happy images made me think bright colors...which I realize I use quite often anyway - haha!! And here's what I came up with:

My favorite image was the little bee. I've been seeing a lot of bees lately - both on cards and zooming around all the fruit trees that are blossoming here. I did a little paper piecing on some DCWV cardstock in my stash...I really like their textured blue paper - the perfect cheery sky!

Well I hope you're having a great day! We're having unseasonable warm weather here - mid 80s!! So much better than the crazy amount of snow that fell not too long ago.

Details:

Stamps - Spring Is Here (Chi Chi Memories for MyGrafico); sentiment - Fillable Frames 1 (PTI); clouds - Cheer Up (My Cute Stamps)

Ink - Real Red (SU!); Copics

Paper - white, black, Summer Sun (SU!); dp - Swing Set (The Goods from American Crafts)

Accessories - black embroidery floss

MyGrafico Monday....strike that :)

2010-04-05T10:25:00.002-04:00

In case you're wondering why I don't have my typical MyGrafico Monday post up....it's because we're moving to Wednesdays! 'Bee' sure to hop back on Wednesday for our challenge and a chance to win a super cute set!! Take a peek over at MyGrafico to see if you can guess which set we'll be using!! Wonder if I can fool you :)

Egg Fashion Show 2010

2010-04-04T22:00:00.004-04:00

Each year, my students decorate eggs for our annual Egg Fashion Show. It was a great year, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites:

Percy Eggson and the Egglympians (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Alien Eggvader

Eggy Gaga

Miss EggDonald Had A Farm

The Incredible Edible Egg

Egg 2 D 2 (R2D2 from Star Wars)

A Butt-egg-fly and The Very Hungry Cat-egg-pillar

Hope you enjoyed the show :)

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:47:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with loved ones. It was a wonderful day here. Here's one card that I made to give out....didn't get time to photograph the others (see below), but I liked this one the best anyway!

The end of last week became very busy with my formal observation for the year, adviser-advisee with my high schoolers, and a get together with colleagues after school. Friday was so beautiful that I worked the entire day outside - you should see the perennials already poking out from the mulch! My plan for yesterday was to wash my car, do laundry, and work on cards. I don't think I'm meant to make plans....first I discover that there must be a crack in the pipe leading from my basement to my outdoor faucet - no car wash. Then my mom called saying she called an ambulance because she was having some chest pains. I'm so happy to report that she's doing just fine - we think taking the steroid for the lung infection she has too close to a nebulizer treatment (along with a little overeating at the Chinese restaurant) was the culprit. She's calling her family doctor tomorrow for a follow up. To put my mind at ease and to make sure she relaxed the rest of the day, I insisted she come to my house for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We had a great day chatting and watching movies....guess I'll be doin' the laundry tomorrow :)

Details:
Stamps - Jelly Beans (My Cute Stamps); Polka Dot Backgrounds II (PTI)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), Fresh Snow (PTI); Copics
Paper - DCWV Spring Stack, white
Accessories - blue satin ribbon

Daffodil Days

2010-03-29T23:27:00.000-04:00

I was so jealous as I visited my mom this weekend. She has daffodils blooming and I expect her tulips and hyacinths will be by the weekend as well. There's a house near the elementary school where I teach where the entire (and I mean entire) yard is covered in blooming crocuses...can you say ooooh and aaaaahh! I absolutely love flowers and have a perennial garden with some beautiful varieties. The problem is that after caring for all of my flowers throughout the summer, I have no desire to plant bulbs in the fall. So here we are in spring with me wishing that I would have planted some bulbs....maybe this year!

To tide me over, I made this card with the latest Flower of the Month set from PTI. I'm not totally satisfied with the card as a whole, but I like all the individual parts (tilted image, sentiment on vellum, October Afternoon dp, zig zag chain edge punch).

Hope your week is off to a good start. I have so much going on this week - hair cut tomorrow, Egg Fashion Show in my class (Wednesday & Thursday), get together with some girls at school on Wednesday, make Cake Pops for my high schoolers for their Advisor-Advisee period on Thursday, and my formal observation on Thursday. I will need that 4 day weekend!! And with the weather forecasted to be in the upper 70's, I absolutely can't wait!!

Details:
Stamps - Flower of the Month: Daffodils (PTI)
Paper - vellum, white, Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip; October Afternoon - Ducks In A Row: Peek-a-Boo
Ink - StazOn; Copics
Accessories - button (Foof-a-la), gingham ribbon, zig zag chain edge punch

MyGrafico Monday - For The Birds

2010-03-29T07:07:00.000-04:00

You're really gonna want to join us for this week's MyGrafico challenge!! The set that's up for grabs is SOOOOOOO ADORABLE!!! Look:

Told ya!! And it's perfect for PAPER PIECING which happens to be this week's MyGrafico Challenge - create a card/project/LO using MyGrafico images and paper piecing. If you don't have any MyGrafico images to work with, head to the freebie section where you'll find lots to choose from :)

The design team has some great ideas with this set, so be sure to check them out over at the challenge blog and on their blogs too! Here's mine:

Can you see why I love this set so much? I already have a ton of ideas :)

Details:
Stamps - Springtime Birds (Cocoa Studio for MyGrafico), sentiment - Flower of the Month: Daffodil (PTI)
Ink - New Leaf (PTI)
Paper - kraft, white; DCWV - (Flower Shower & Green matstacks)
Accessories - flower punch (EK Success), baker's twine (Martha Stewart), button (PTI)

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

2010-03-24T23:32:00.003-04:00

My pal Kelley hosted the most recent Everything But the Kitchen Sink challenge - a sketch challenge based on the wonderful wall decor in her craft room.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my creation:

Yep, I used some new goodies again! The violets set from PTI & some fun October Afternoon paper....love it!!

This post is going to be short...I think I overdid it walking tonight. I walked 4 miles, which normally isn't a big deal. For some reason, I'm feeling it now....so I'm heading to bed.

Details:
Stamps - Year of Flowers: Violets (PTI)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Paper - kraft (SU!); Ducks in a Row: Sleep Tight (October Afternoon)
Accessories - Swiss Dots embossing folder, adhesive ribbon (KI Memories), Embossed Curves border punch (Fiskars)

Blog Award

2010-03-23T23:59:00.004-04:00

I received this sweet award from Tina yesterday - be sure to visit her blog! That girl is so fun!!

Here's the rules to receiving the award:
1) share 10 things that make you happy.
2) share 5 bits of trivia about you.
3) Pass this award to 5 other bloggers....

so......10 things that make me happy (other than the obvious family, friends, pets)
1. Coming home to a clean house
2. Fast internet
3. The hands free link in my car - just press buttons on the steering wheel to talk on the phone...amazing!!
4. Back to school shopping....I just love buying new school supplies
5. Chick fil-A (oh my heavens!!)
6. My perennial garden - I can't wait for those flowers to start poking through the ground!
7. DVRs - if you watch TV, do I need to say more?
8. Sleeping in until 8, stretching, and being lazy in bed until 9
9. Shopping road trips - Easton Towne Center in Columbus, OH is one of my favs
10. Taking off my shoes after a long day - ahhhhhhh!!

and now.....5 bits of trivia about me
1. I sang a lot in high school (choir, ensemble, and musicals). During an ensemble practice before a show, I tore a giant hole in my black nylons. When the 17 year old me didn't have an extra set of nylons, my teacher handed me a black Sharpie marker and had me color in my leg!! Thank goodness for rubbing alcohol!
2. I'm an only child and only grandchild on both sides!! Who needs more when you have perfection - haha!!
3. I worked at an amusement park for 6 summers as a teenager. I have no desire to visit any amusepark at any point in the near future!
4. I'm afraid of frogs! Always have been....when I was younger, I'd make my mom unlock another door to our house if there was a frog on the sidewalk blocking my path! I know this is ridiculous, especially since I don't have problems with things like snakes.
5. I'm not a big chocolate fan. My mom had a candy store when I was growing up, and she'd make a lot of homemade candy around the holidays. In fact, I hate the smell of melted chocolate.

Now to pass it along.....it's so hard to choose just 5 bloggers, so I'm passing it along to anyone reading this! I get such joy from the connections I've made through blogger that it seems only fitting to share the brightside award with any of my readers :)

Take care!!

Moving Up In The World

2010-03-23T23:18:00.003-04:00

I was so excited today to hear that I'll be getting a new laptop at school! Wahoooooooo!! This makes up for a bunch of the aggrevation that I've been going through lately :)

Tonight I played with some more new stamps and oh what a night!

I created this card with Courtney Baker's (Practicing Creativity) newest set, Look Up! - wowza! This is such a fantastic set...absolutely perfect for paper piecing, which is one of my all-time favorite techniques! And I just love how the card turned out!

Have a great one!

Details:
Stamps - Look Up! (Practicing Creativity), Cheer Up (My Cute Stamps)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - white, black; dp - DCWV (Spring Matstack & Flower Shower Matstack)
Accessories - black embroidery floss, paper piercer

Congrats!

2010-03-22T23:30:00.003-04:00

I have a stack of new stamps that I can't wait to use....but when I have the time, my energy level isn't there! My allergies have been killing me lately - ugh...which means sinus headaches!

Tonight was a different story! I needed a card to congratulate one of my seniors for being one of six students selected for a scholarship at the college she'll be attending next year. I'm so proud of her & so excited! I know she likes purple (at least that's the direction she's heading with the prom gown), so here's what I came up with:

I typically have never been into butterflies. I think it might have something to do with a pair of (ridiculously expensive and ugly) shoes that I had to buy (& get dyed to match) - the satin shoes had dragonflies all over them!! But, I've been seeing butterflies images & cards everywhere and I've been loving them! When PTI came out with their latest butterfly set & coordinating die, I finally took the plunge. And wahoooooooo, I'm so glad that I did!

I'm off to visit three or four blogs, write a personal note to my student in this card, and fill out my census form before I head for bed. I took a nap tonight when I got home, so I'm feeling pretty rejuvenated right now....hopefully I can say that bright & early tomorrow morning!

Take care!!

Details:
Stamps - Butterfly Dreams, Polka Dot Basics II, Signature Greetings (all PTI)
Ink - Grape Jelly (Memento); Versamark
Paper - kraft; Dark Chocolate (PTI); dp - Flower Shower (DCWV)
Accessories - butterfly die (PTI), white gel pen

MyGrafico Monday - Good Things Come In Threes

2010-03-22T07:00:00.005-04:00

This week's challenge at MyGrafico centers all around the stamp that we're giving away to one lucky participant:

This cute Fairy Tale set inspired the THREE challenge - add three of the same item to your card. "Why?" you ask......well, three is an important number in fairy tales. Think a minute, and I bet you can think of how many things in fairy tales revolve around the number 3......the three bears, three little pigs, etc. 7 is another number commonly found in fairy tales.

So here's my card....perfect for engagement!

The inside reads: "Before you find the prince. Congratulations!" I added three red pearls. Initially, I had three lip prints but I just didn't like how it was looking. I think the single looks much better.

Be sure to check out the challenge blog to see the other fabulous creations created using this set! And join us and you could win the set! All you need to do is create a card with 3 of the same items or follow the Wednesday sketch (or both!!) using a MyGrafico image. Add a direct link to your card/project/LO on the challenge blog by Sunday at 10pm, and the set could be yours!!

Details:

Stamps - Fairy Tale set (MyGrafico)

Ink - Copics

Paper - white, black, Real Red

Accessories - red pearls

Grin & Bear It

2010-03-21T23:58:00.003-04:00

Just a short post to share a silly card! I've been so busy with Stephanie stuff since Thursday - outlet shopping after school Thursday, went to the park after school Friday, stamping day all day Saturday, and went to a scrapbooking party today. It's been nice, but I am tired!

One of my students had a fairly serious accident while trying to pop a wheelie on her bike last week. She crashed, broke off two teeth, and got scraped up. Her mom said she was being a trooper. The kids in her homeroom all made cards which reminded me of the perfect stamp in my stamp chest:

Tee hee!! She'll howl with laughter! I even added some Glossy Accents to the puddle for effect...hahaha!!

See you soon with my post for MyGrafico Monday :)

Details:
Stamps - Get Well Critters (All That Scraps)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Paper - white; Green Galore, Melon Mambo (SU!); dp - Flower Shower matstack (DCWV)
Accessories - black brads, Glossy Accents, dimensionals

So did ya go green?

2010-03-17T21:27:00.003-04:00

List of to do's for today:

Wear green - CHECK. Did you? I hope so!
Give elementary kiddos St. Patrick's scratch off Luck O' The Irish cards - CHECK. Funny story here: I told my first graders that I had a treat for them. They were excited until I reminded them that the leprechaun could play a trick (some of the scratch offs revealed 'bad' luck - i.e. an extra homework assignment) with this treat. One of the boys turns to the other and exclaims (yes, exclaims), "Oh no, it might be YAMS!" Now, picture me trying to contain all of my laughter! Where in the world did 'yams' come from? I just love it!
Wash car - CHECK. That is if spraying off the salt residue & muck at the car wash counts.
Deliver birthday gift to mom's neighbor & play with Stella (mom's pooch) - CHECK. CHECK.
Post a new card on blog:

CHECK. This is the other card that I created for the PC submission call. I love the concept & the general look, but think it needs a little pizzazz somewhere. Couldn't put my finger on it, so I left it alone!
Visit those blogs that I haven't gotten to yet - well, I guess I'll be goin' :)

Details:
Stamps - sentiment (Happiness Messages-Hero Arts)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Paper - kraft, Chocolate Chip (SU!); white (Georgia Pacific); dp - Flower Shower Spring Matstack (DCWV)
Accessories - striped baker's twine (Martha Stewart), dimensionals (The Paper Studio)

I Love A Sunny Day!!

2010-03-16T20:38:00.002-04:00

And I love a forecast where the next five days are to be sunny even more!!! I came home from school and went to the local park with my best friend to walk. We walked for about 1 1/2 hours...wahoo!! Spring is back :).....I was hoping to take my car through the car wash at Sheetz, but there were 9 cars in line. Maybe I'll go & hand wash it tomorrow...luck might be on my side!

I have a quick card to share for you today. This is one of the two cards that I submitted to the PC call. I really wanted to submit more, but my mojo just wasn't up for the task.

The dp on this card is from the new Flower Shower Spring matstack from DCWV that I picked up at JoAnn's. There are so many fun patterns in this stack...definitely one of my favorites.

****Warning: Sappy teacher stuff ahead. Feel free to disregard****

On a different note, I have a new group of students - two first graders!! Keep in mind, before these two little guys, my youngest group were fourth graders (and my oldest - seniors!). I taught first grade the year before I took the gifted support position and I've had first graders before, but these two are just the highlight of my day! They're a hoot!! Just so refreshing, FULL of energy and giggles, and a zest for learning....anyone know a way to keep them from turning into middle schoolers? :) - they can grow up as long as they skip straight from 6th grade to the middle of their junior year when they're human again! haha!! I'm just joking. In fact, I'm having a really difficult time thinking about my seniors graduating. These students are the ones that were at the elementary when I took the position seven years ago. I've watched them grow into amazing young adults. They started practicing for their last competition with me last week, and it really hit me that they'll all be out in the 'real' world next year. Wow...time flies!

Details:
Stamps - sentiment (Happiness Messages-Hero Arts)
Ink - Paris Dusk (Memento-Tsukineko)
Paper - kraft (SU!), Enchanted Evening (PTI); dp - Flower Shower Spring Matstack (DCWV)
Accessories - Williams Blue ribbon (Offray)

Monkey See Monkey Do

2010-03-15T23:39:00.002-04:00

I'm happy to report that I've made four cards in the past two days....doesn't sound like much, but I've been on a dry spell lately. I was even happier that I was able to create two cards after school tonight....just a few more blogs to visit then I'll be caught up & ready for bed!

I'm made this card last night quickly when I realized one of my students' birthdays was today....why didn't I just make all the cards this summer when I had this brilliant idea????? I finished it up first thing this morning and guess who wasn't in school today! That's okay....gave me a chance to bring it home for a photo opp!

It's a fun birthday card, so I'm hoping the 4th grade boy that I made it for likes it. I realized that I need more boy stamps when thinking about what to make. I wanted to make something with Legos or Star Wars (which would have been right up his alley), but those things do not exist in my craft room.

Keep your fingers crossed that the craft mojo sticks with me...I want to make scratch off St. Patty's cards for 14 youngsters - again why didn't I get this done when the idea hit me?????

Details:
Stamps - Birthday Monkeys (Stampavie)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Paper - Green Galore, Only Orange, Soft Sky (SU!); white; dp - Grade School (DCWV)
Accessories - binding edge punch (Fiskars), white grosgrain ribbon, red pearls (Mark Richards)

MyGrafico Monday - Challenge 40!!

2010-03-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

So sorry that I've been MIA since last Monday. Having four student competitions in four weeks atop my normal hectic teaching load totally drained me, and I needed to take some time off of crafting & blogging. While I love blogging, creating, and connecting with all of you, the break felt really good.

But now I'm back....and with BIG news!!! This week's MyGrafico challenge is our 40th! Not only will the winner receive this fabulous set from BlackLeaf Studios, but she'll also be invited to join us as a guest designer!

The challenge this week is to create a VINTAGE card/LO/project and be sure to use MyGrafico images. With so many freebies available & great deals on sets, we can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Here's my take on the challenge (which I'd like to add was a HUGE challenge for me!!):

Love these images, but I'm not a vintage card maker....in fact, I hope that this looks vintage-y :) I added some Tea Dye distress ink, doesn't that make it vintage? In case you're wondering about my image panel, I just turned the Labels One nestie on its side. Looks cool, doesn't it :)

Be sure to head over to the MyGrafico Challenge Blog and check out all the fabulous creations by the design team!

Details:
Stamps - Vintage Chic (BlackLeaf Studios for MyGrafico)
Ink - Copics; Tea Dye distress ink
Paper - Very Vanilla; DCWV
Accessories - ribbon (striped & black); Labels One nestabilities, gold liquid pearls

MyGrafico Monday - In The Navy

2010-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's Monday.

bad news: I have an uber-hectic day at school getting kiddos ready for a computer fair where they'll show off their websites, multimedia presentations, graphic designs, and more.

good news: I have a new challenge for you from MyGrafico!! This week, we'd like to see you create a card with the following color combo: NAVY, RED, and PALE YELLOW(yes, I know this isn't colored pale yellow...you'd wouldn't be able to see it if it was :).

The design team created some fun cards with this terrific set by Sanqunetti Design.

It will go to one lucky random participant from this week's challenges - remember we have challenges on Monday and Wednesday. Play along as often as you like and add a direct link to your card on the MyGrafico Challenge blog.

And here's my take on the challenge:

I love the color combo....probably because I can see myself wearing an outfit with these colors. Haha - I know I'm weird! Just wish I would have used my swiss dots embossing folder on that red layer....I always think of these things after I have the card photographed!!

Details:
Stamps - Blooming Friendship (Sanquetti Design for MyGrafico); sentiment - Autumn Blessings (PTI)
Ink - Paris Dusk (Memento); Copics
Paper - white, Real Red, Night of Navy (SU!)
Accessories - satin ribbon, button, dimensionals

ahhhh..the weekend

2010-03-06T20:57:00.003-05:00

It's been quite a stressful week at school. I wanted to quickly post these photos of some items I created for a friend's Stampin' Up fundraiser. I was using the Top Note die....definitely a favorite!

We had a fun day & she raised some money for her kids' music school. I needed a day out with these gals after my week. Now I'm going to relax the rest of the night, and I'm planning a day filled with cleaning, laundry, card making, and visiting blogs tomorrow :)

Have a great night!

(I'm being lazy right now and not posting details. If you'd like to know anything, please shoot me an email & I'd be happy to share!)

Happy Birthday Dad

2010-03-02T22:40:00.001-05:00

Today was my dad's birthday, and I'm happy to report that I got high marks for all of my good deeds :)

First up was his card:

He really liked it, which says so much! My dad always appreciates the cards I make, but doesn't always 'get' it. Finally a card that impressed him :)

But then I really knocked his socks off!!! My dad loves to give scratch off tickets. In September, I found a tutorial for creating your own scratch off item and knew that I'd be making my dad one for his birthday. For his scratch off, I had four choices which he could choose one to scratch to reveal a gift. Here's the card with the scratch off coating on:

And here are the choices underneath the scratch off surface:

I had to add a whammy, which really made my dad laugh! He thought it was the coolest thing and plans on taking it to work to show his friends....now, he must've REALLY liked this!! And it wasn't because of the fun Jolee's Boutique Slot Machine embellishment :) (BTW, he scratched off the Breakfast On Me space). If you're interested on how to create your own scratch off, check out this tutorial (I followed everything from this except adding glitter).

The night also included some gifts (the Darjeeling tea and a great cookbook) and a yummy dinner (corn & pepper salad, peppered steak, rice, and gobs for dessert). My dad has done so much for me over the years, so I'm so happy that he really enjoyed everything.

Details (Dad card):
Stamps - none
Ink - none
Paper - kraft & Night of Navy (SU!); pattern paper - Bitty Star Basics (Papertrey Ink), Celebrations (Provo Craft), Alex's Plaid (The Paper Studio), Bright Tints Yellow Gingham (Paper Pizazz)
Accessories - navy grosgrain ribbon (Offray), star punch (Fiskars), embroidery floss, Fabric Thickers - By the Yard: Leaf (American Crafts), corner rounder, washers, dimensionals

This Little Piggie Had A Birthday

2010-03-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

One of my student's celebrated her 12th birthday on Sunday (almost a leap year baby!!), and I've been waiting all year to make her card. But last week, I had a panic attack and had to check my idea w/her. You see I've had this student since she was in first grade (she's in 6th now), and she's always LOVED pigs! I wanted to be sure b/c the last thing you want to give a preteen girl is a card with pigs on it!!

Guess who still LOVES piggies :)

I know she'll love this card - the colors are right up her alley, too!! Now I just have to get all of her classmates to sign it before giving the card to her w/the special birthday coupons!

Details:
Stamp - Happy Piggies (Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Paper - white; pink & dot paper (DCWV); Bitty Boxes (PTI)
Accessories - Circle & Petite Scallop Circle Nestabilities; brown grosgrain ribbon (Offray), dimensionals

MyGrafico Monday - Try a Trifold

2010-03-01T06:51:00.000-05:00

Happy March everyone! I thought I'd post over the weekend, but I took a break from crafting & blogging....and just relaxed! Boy did I need that! I'm feeling super refreshed & ready for the last 14 or so weeks of this school year.

Okay enough about that! On to this week's MyGrafico challenge - trifold cards. Have you ever made any? I haven't - I stick to the same things sometimes with my cards & any fancy folding doesn't really fall across my craft table. I don't know why because my card was super simple to make & I think it will make quite the impression.

This week, the design team used this fun Tea Party set from BlackLeaf.

And here's the card I created:

Just love how you can pull the greeting out of this! The tutorial for this trifold card can be found here on Splitcoast.

Now you should check out the other fabulous trifold creations by the design team and join in on the fun at the MyGrafico Challenge blog. You might walk away with the Tea Party set!

On a side note: I had to laugh a little using the tea set image because my dad and I were arguing on the phone about tea this weekend. He's just started to drink hot tea within the last 6 months; and even better, he's been expanding his horizons beyond the basic Lipton. He drank Twinings tea (or Twinling as my dad called it!) at Cracker Barrel a week or so ago in a purple packet. I looked it up and told him it was Darjeeling...he insisted it wasn't until 10 minutes of the Seinfeld-esque discussion went on & he realized it must be Darjeeling! Guess what I'm looking to get for his birthday on Tuesday!!

Details:
Stamps - Tea Party (BlackLeaf for MyGrafico); Dot Flourishes (Inkadinkado)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!); Copics
Paper - Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla (SU); dp-Rich Razzleberry (SU!); Cherrywood Ln. (Heidi Grace for Fiskars)
Accessories - corner rounder, Round Tab punch (SU!), Boho Blossoms punch (SU!), rhinestone, computer generated sentiment

White

2010-02-26T21:48:00.003-05:00

Now I bet you thought I'd be featuring an all white card - nope! Guess what's been falling from the sky AGAIN!!!! Ugh...I can't take it anymore!! Today, we had school cancelled AGAIN which was super bad!!! My students were going to finish their posters for a statistics poster contest. The posters had to be postmarked TODAY - so I traveled on the worst roads I've ever driven on to the school and finished them up only to get an email (when I was finished) that the deadline was extended until Monday. UGH!! My middle & high schoolers had a competiton tomorrow which they've been preparing for since September. With the weather and the distance we travel to the competition, we had to cancel going. When will spring arrive?

Well the silver lining to my snow cloud is that I have the whole day tomorrow to stamp - that is after I'm done shoveling!!

Details:
Stamps - Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Ink - StazOn Black
Paper - white, black; Soft Sky, Real Red (SU!)
Accessories - vinyl chipboard letters (The Paper Company), white rickrack, Embossed Curves border punch (Fiskars)

The good news of the day is that the PTI dies are back in stock & I was finally able to place my order! I tried 30 minutes after the release and everything had already sold out....I've been impatiently waiting, so now I can stalk my mailman :)

Happy Girl

2010-02-24T20:59:00.002-05:00

And do you know why?

Yep!!!! My first card was published in Paper Crafts latest special issue, Stamp It! Cards. If you've not picked up your copy yet, I HIGHLY recommend it (and not just because they're a certain someone's card on page 16). It is jammed packed with incredible ideas organized into all the major card categories from All Occasion to Wedding. The magazine retails for $5.99, and you can get 20% off by entering the code "STAMPIT20" here.

And here's my first published card:

It seemed like Papertrey's Button Bits set was a popular set in the magazine, and you can easily see why. It so cute & so versatile! I've just been over the moon since receiving the project acceptance notification from Susan Opel in September. Waiting for the release of the magazine in January seemed like forever, but it was definitely worth the wait!

Heartfelt Thanks

2010-02-24T00:18:00.003-05:00

I needed to create a few thank you's for students who gave me some Valentine goodies - including the cutest shoe charm bracelet! I had everything except the stitching finished when I finally got off my lazy tush and broke out the sewing machine.

Simple, but cute & effective...perfect for a thank you in my book!

So who else watched ladies figure skating tonight? My heart just broke for the Canadian skater that just lost her mom. What courage that young girl has! I was truly touched as I have been many times over these Olympics games.

Details:
Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (SU!); Mixed Messages (PTI)
Ink - Real Red (SU!); Melon Berry (PTI); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - white, Real Red, Ruby Red, Pink Pirouette (SU!); Melon Berry (PTI)
Accessories - sewing machine, dimensionals

You Know You're Weird When.....

2010-02-23T01:56:00.007-05:00

You just love to organize! (and no....I don't love it enough to come to your house!!)

I just posted a fun project to keep your stamping items organized, so you're not buying duplicates when you're shopping. Here are some peeks:

I listed all the instructions ALONG WITH THE INVENTORY SHEET FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD & PRINT on the Rubber Romance blog...hope you'll head over to check it out :)

Okay, I'm off to bed. It's super late & the morning will arrive in no time. I didn't get a chance to drop by to visit my blog pals for awhile, but I'm really hoping to change that tomorrow! Hope you're all well :)

MyGrafico Monday - Ahoy Mateys!!

2010-02-22T07:18:00.002-05:00

Arghhhhh...it's Monday! Actually I don't mind Mondays that much. Thursdays are always the worst day of the week for me - hard to get out of bed & always so much to do! I think part of the reason that I like Mondays is because I can share a new MyGrafico challenge with you.

This week's Monday challenge is to add chipboard to your card/LO/project. The design team's creations featured some fun Pirate images from the set that will go to one lucky winner:

So here's my CHIPs Ahoy Matey card (hee hee!!):

I created that burnt edge look using some distress ink in Walnut Stain....I love that stuff!! Be sure to check out the great ideas the design team came up with for this week's challenge here.

Details:

Stamps - Ho Ho Ho & A Bottle Full of Rum Stamps (Blackleaf for MyGrafico)

Ink - Distress Ink - Walnut Stain & Tea Dye; Copics

Paper - Soft Suede (SU!), white

Accessories - chipboard button, hemp twine, sinamay ribbon

Whatta Weekend!! (and ribbon flower tutorial link)

2010-02-21T20:21:00.004-05:00

Finally....sunshine!!! Talk about a mood changer :) And just in the knick of time! I've been super busy with four different competitions at school right now. The snow days have really left us pinched for time which makes my days super hectic. I haven't been up for much stamping when I get home then, so I've vegged out & enjoyed the Olympics!

Early this morning, I created this cheery birthday card for one of my stamping buddies. We get together every month; and starting this month, we'll meet at her house (which by the way is gorgeous!!). I knew I wanted to incorportate the PTI Everyday Button Bits set & teal in the card b/c she likes them both.

Turned out cute, if I do say so myself! :) I think she liked it, too!

A few people asked me for the tutorial on the flower that I made for my one-sheet box. I used the tutorial found here....I think using a different width & type of wired ribbon made mine turn out a bit differently than the one shown. To make the flower on the card, I just cut a bunch of scallop circles from tissue, crinkled them, attached them with a button in the center, and scrunched them to my liking.

I hope you all enjoyed the sunshine too & that we all have a LOT more of it soon!! (unfortunately, there's lots of snow in the forecast for western Pennsylvania...yuck!)

Details:
Stamps - Everyday Button Bits (PTI)
Ink - Chocolate Chip
Paper - Taken with Teal, Real Red, Chocolate Chip (SU!), white; dp - KI Memories
Accessories - paper piercer, ribbon, buttons (PTI & Foof-a-la), dimensionals

Think Spring!!

2010-02-17T19:01:00.004-05:00

As I told you last night, I had this birthday card to post. My best friend loves flowers, so I knew right away that I wanted a card with a flower. I created a tissue paper flower & used PTI's Turning A New Leaf for the leaves. I just love how it turned out!

and this is the inside:

What a fun color combo too!!

Sorry this is going to be short, but my fingers are still numb from another round of shoveling/breaking up ice. Think spring, think spring, think spring!!

Details:

Stamps - Turning A New Leaf, Polka Dot Basics II, Signature Greetings (all PTI)

Ink - Melon Mambo(SU!); Versamark; Fresh Snow (PTI)

Paper - Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Certainly Celery (SU!), white; Bitty Box Basics (PTI)

Accessories - tissue paper, Petite Scallop Circles Nestabilities, button (Foof-a-la), Vintage Button Twine (PTI), scallop border punch (SU!), corner rounder, dimensionals

Flower Box

2010-02-16T23:34:00.004-05:00

My best friend celebrated her birthday last Thursday. But with all this stinkin' snow, we haven't been able to get together to celebrate. Here's the little one sheet box I made for her to hold half of her present - a bottle of OPI nail polish in Light My Sapphire.

I stamped a piece of white cardstock with PTI's Polka Dot Basics II in Chocolate Chip then added this fun ribbon flower I created from some wired ribbon from Offray. Isn't it the cutest?! It was so easy & I know she'll love it.

Stop in tomorrow - I'll be posting her card!

MyGrafico Monday - Go Wild!!

2010-02-15T07:15:00.000-05:00

It's Monday...hopefully, I'm back in school!! We were cancelled every day last week due to all the snow...ugh! This week's Monday challenge at MyGrafico is a fun one - incorporate PLAID in your card/LO/project. The design team used this fun camping set by Kelly Medina.

I had fun with this one.....check it out:

You could win this set by participating in the Monday challenge or Wednesday's sketch challenge or both! Remember to post a direct link to your card on the MyGrafico Challenge Blog. Can't wait to see all the plaid cards :)

Details:
Stamps - Camping In The Wild (Kelly Medina for MyGrafico)
Ink - Copics
Paper - kraft, white; My Minds Eye, DCWV, PTI Bitty Boxes
Accessories - circle punch; dimensionals

Happy Heart Day!

2010-02-14T22:06:00.002-05:00

Just poppin' in to wish you all a very happy Valentine's Day! I haven't been too crafty lately...think I have the winter blues. I do have some stuff to share this week and a get together this weekend, so I really hope that I get out of my slump soon!!

Thought I'd share one final valentine with you. This one was inspired by this card by Charlene (Willow & Paisley).

I just loved the layout when I saw it as I scrolled through Google Reader and couldn't wait to create my own version. Thanks for the inspiration, Charlene!

Anybody watching the winter olympics? I was so happy to see Canada capture their first 'home' gold medal tonight and really excited for Apollo last night....now I'm waiting for my favorite event - curling!! haha - I know I'm weird :)

Details:
Stamps - Simple Valentine (PTI)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Paper - white; Imaginisce Perfectly Posh Fancy Hearts
Accessories - felt, button, ribbon

Valentines from a Nut

2010-02-10T22:17:00.003-05:00

As I type this, I'm super duper happy because my street is getting plowed!! Yippee!! They've gone up and down the street a few times with 2 different plows...yea!! I should have one more round of shoveling tomorrow morning then I'm heading out to the post office & possibly my bf's to drop off her birthday gift. Still gotta make a card!!

First I thought I'd start to share some of the valentines that I'm taking to the p.o. - these ones are from Coconut...my cat! Yes, I know this is bizarre....keep in mind, I've been trapped in my house for days now. (okay, I know I'd probably do this regardless of the snow...it's nice to have an excuse for my zaniness sometimes!!)

I picked up this Stampendous Fluffles Valentine set last year - isn't it super cute?! I added some flock (Martha Stewart pewter) to the first card - love the feel, but I like the look of Fluffles w/out it.

Details -Cupid Fluffles Card:
Stamps - Fluffles Wuv (Stampendous); Simple Valentine (PTI)
Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), Melon Mambo (SU!); Copics
Paper - Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip (SU!), white
Accessories - satin ribbon (Offray), scallop border punch, corner rounder, white embroidery floss

Details -Cupid Kneading Card:
Stamps - Fluffles Wuv (Stampendous)

Ink - Tuxedo Black (Memento), Smokey Shadow (PTI)

Paper - white, Smokey Shadow (PTI); dp - Ring Around the Posie (Stacy Claire Boyd for CK)

Accessories - heart punch, scallop trim border punch, white Gelly Roll pen, dimensionals

Grumpy Smurf!!

2010-02-10T12:42:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry to inform any of my dear pals who leave comments that I had to activate word verification on my comments. I really tried to keep it as easy as possible because I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of your comments, but I've been getting a ton of spam lately. I think if I didn't just spend another hour & a half shoveling snow (yep...we're at around 3 feet of snow here w/a blizzard warning!!) that I might just delete them as I have been doing and get over it. But no...I'm Grumpy Smurf today!! Literally too...I think I'm partially blue working out in a windchill of -1!! I'm off for some hot tea & biscotti then some heavy duty card making....that is until I need to shovel again in a few hours!! UGH!

Valentine Bookmarks

2010-02-09T23:06:00.002-05:00

I already made Valentine Treats for my elementary students, but I loved PTI's Tiny Treats set so much that I decided to make them bookmarks as well. I absolutely love that I was able to make a different bookmark for each student....a total of 13!! Now I need to work on some food treats for my middle and high schoolers...food is a must for them!

Here are a few of my favorites:

I wanted to add something to the top of the bookmarks but didn't care for anything that I tried. I figured it might be better to make them simple...otherwise I'd be picking up ribbon or eyelets off my classroom floor!

Details:
Stamps - Tiny Treats, Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)
Paper - Pure Poppy, black, white
Ink - Fresh Snow (PTI), Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics
Accessories - circle punch, gingham ribbon, dimensionals

MyGrafico Monday - A Color Challenge

2010-02-08T06:41:00.001-05:00

Good morning!! I'm excited to bring you one of my favorite color combinations as this week's MyGrafico Monday challenge - PINK, BROWN, and OLIVE GREEN. Just perfect for finishing up those Valentines.

This week the design team was asked to come up with creations using Sarah Paris's Keys To My Heart set shown here:

I decided to use one of the sentiments as my focus and created this card:

My ribbon was already curling, so I decided to go with it instead of fight it. I love the whimsical look it gives the card along with the Petal Pink Liquid Pearls I added to the sentiment.

So why don't you join us....create a card with the pink, brown, and olive green color combo and provide us with a link to it on the MyGrafico Challenge blog. You could win this terrific set!

Details:
Stamps - Keys To My Heart (Sarah Paris for MyGrafico)
Ink - none
Paper - white, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette (SU!)
Accessories - border punch (SU!), corner rounder, brown polka dot ribbon, button, baker's twine, Petal Pink Liquid Pearls

I'm Snowed In!!

2010-02-06T22:56:00.003-05:00

Within the past 24 hours, we've had at least 24 inches of snow fall in my area. 24 inches of snow!!! We're under a state of emergency, meaning no one should be out on the roads....um, duh - there's 24 inches of snow out there!! Thank heavens for my wonderful neighbors who shoveled out from around my car as I shoveled my sidewalk and then my neighbor with a Bobcat plowed out my parking area....otherwise, I might still be out there!

I'll be snowed in again tomorrow (and maybe Monday...I don't know how promising school will be), so I'm hoping to get some cards made. I spent some time writing personal notes in cards and addressing envelopes, so I can mail them on Monday. I did make one new card tonight based on this AMAZING card by my blog buddy Siobhan. Be sure to stop by Siobhan's blog & give her some love - she's oozing with talent & is just so darn sweet!!

I just loved Siobhan's layout & knew that I had to CASE the card as soon as I saw it!! I'm quite happy with how it turned out!

Details:
Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (SU!); Hearts (Inkadinkado)
Ink - Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry (SU!); Melon Berry (PTI); Versamark
Paper - kraft, So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (all SU!); white
Accessories - love sticker (Kelly Panacci for Creating Keepsakes), Rich Razzleberry ribbon, button (PTI), dimensionals

Wood You Be My Valentine?

2010-02-04T23:45:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick card that I made for this week's CARDS magazine challenge - to create a valentine without any reds or pinks. I had a lot of fun with this on, especially since I was able to use my new Stampin Up Cling Mounted I {Heart} Hearts set. Love all the heart designs in this one!!

Details:
Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (SU!)
Paper - kraft, white, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Lemon Tart (PTI)
Ink - Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Accessories - scallop edge border punch, grosgrain ribbon, button (PTI), dimensionals

Tuesday Trigger

2010-02-03T23:05:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesday Trigger totally reminded me of this card I made last week. So talk about deja-va when I was making my card for the challenge!

Here's the inspiration piece from The Red Thread

and my card:

I love the untraditional valentine colors! Just perfect to send to a friend! Speaking of which I need to figure out what I'm getting my best friend for her birthday which is next week. I think the only thing that we don't have in common is papercrafting! Hopefully I come up with something by this weekend when I'm hoping to go shopping - if the weather cooperates!!!

Have a good one!

Details:
Stamps - none
Ink - Smokey Shadow (PTI)
Paper - Summer Sunrise (PTI), white; Block Party (Summer Daze Collection, Flair Designs)
Accessories - Scarlett Jewel button (PTI), button twine (PTI), heart punch

Moxie Fab with a little Taintor-tude!

2010-02-02T22:50:00.002-05:00

Have you checked out the current Moxie Fab challenge? It's based on the super fun styling of Anne Taintor! I had such fun with this challenge because I love the cheeky sayings & I've been loving the retro style from watching the first two seasons of Mad Men from Netflix.

Here's my card:

and isn't the pattern paper awesome!! I found this printable paper as a freebie on Becky Oehler's site awhile ago....I just love how it went with this picture!

Hope you all had a great day!!