VC Rocks June Blog Hop

I'm back with this month's VC Rocks Blog Hop. If you're just starting here at my blog, click on the link to head to the beginning of the hop on the VC Rock home page.

This time, our theme is 'Fun With The New Catalogue.' For those who are unaware of us, VC Rocks is a Yahoo! group that consists of Stampin' Up fans... it started as being basically for demonstrators only, and it's now open to customers, too. We're active in the summer, celebrating the start of the new catalogue year. Usually, we have anywhere from 3 to 5 blog hops over the summer season.

June was the final month for the Stamper's 10 group I in which I participate. As soon as I saw the sneaks of the cards we were making I knew I was going to tweak the one Laura, my demo, designed using the Sea of Textures bundle. I must give her special thanks; when our group met Monday, she forgot to bring the dies for this set. She was totally willing to run home and get them. We all told her there was no need. Many of us, including me, ordered the set that night. It didn't hit me until Wednesday that I would need the dies in order to finish my card for the hop, and she loaned them so I could get this card finished.

Because the card we made is a fun fold, I have a few extra pictures this time. I'm thinking of doing a 'Make & Take' for the group to explain the card a bit more. Tonight, I"m late getting this post up because I was at a work event, and I'm exhausted. One more week and another school year will be complete.

 Ok... enough chatter.. here are the pictures of my card!

Card Details - all products Stampin' Up

Stamps: Sea of Textures

Cardstock: Traquil Tide, Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Fresh Fig, Whisper White

DSP: Traquil Textures

Inks: Fresh Fig, Crumb Cake, Tranquil Tide, Soft Seafoam, Calypso Coral

Other: Under The Sea Framelits, Stampin Dimensionals, Tombow glue

Tired Tuesday...

Still not sleeping well... not sure what that's about at this point.

I had a wonderful day of hanging out a home in sweats, though. Tuesday is laundry day & I love to stay  home and relax as much as possible. I had a fun Skype conversation with my favorite 3 year old today (my dear, sweet niece). Got to see my new nephew, too. We didn't Skype for long because something odd was happening with the connection. I could see them, but they couldn't see me. So frustrating!

Here's today's card. Another masculine birthday card. I made this one at a 2015 Stamp-A-Stack. It was designed by Susan Easter, who was my first Stampin Up demo. I love to go to Stamp A Stack classes. Sometimes I'l tweak the designs & sometimes I won't. This time, I didn't, beyond maybe altering the colours a bit... specifically, I think I switched the colour of the coral & the fish. But I am not sure, to be honest.

Bonus: I own this stamp set & I can remember all the card details!

Card Count: 4/365

Card Details - All Products Stampin Up

Stamps: By The Tide
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Real Red, Always Artichoke, Early Espresso
Cardstock: Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Manic Monday

I have been spending an inordinate amount of time on Youtube & Pintrest of late. I think I'm obsessed. I see a lot of people are using Facebook Live. I'm not as big a fan of that, somehow. That said - if you're a Tim Holtz fan, he's doing a week of sneaks. Today was stamps & there some great ones. Luckily for my wallet, he's staggering the release over 3 months. Even better, I only like about 6 of the 18 he's releasing...and it so happened to work out so it was two in each of the 3 months. I love it when that happens!

Although I've gotten off to a late start, I want to try to post a card a day. Now, not every card will be new. Some will be ones I've forgotten to post from ages ago. I'll try to remember to note that in the post. On the Card A Day Challenge blog, which is a blog that gives a daily prompt to inspire crafters to keep up with cardmaking. Right now they're also including monthly prompts. For January, the idea was to use the same set for a week. Well, I'm not really in the mood for that right now, so instead, I'm going to feature a company or theme each week. Since yesterday's card was from Stampin' Up, I'll focus on SU cards this week. And I'll do my best to also focus on birthday cards.

Today I give you two cards, both using retired sets. I made them in our Stamper's 10 card club at least 2 or 3 years ago... I know that because the demo who led that group no longer lives here. I can't remember the names of these sets so if you know, please share in the comments!

Card count 3/365

Card Details
All Products Stampin' Up

Filligree Birthday Card
Stamps:
Cardstock Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso
Ink: Early Espresso
Other: striped ribbon, twine

Nature card
Stamps: French Foliage (background)
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Always Artichoke

Thank You On Pi Day

I can see I'm not doing as well with posting weekly as I'd hoped to. :) 

Life is rolling along here. I've been inspired to start my yearly spring cleaning. Every year I have a friend who comes over &  helps me to purge my scrapbook/cardmaking supplies. I have reached a point where I'm frustrated enough with the mess that I'm starting without her. There is so much I want to go. Magazines I know I won't read. Paper I know I won't use. It's time to seriously downsize the stash. 

I've gotten the inspiration for that thinking as a result of a group in which I just participated. It was a study based on a book called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. If you're uncomfortable with Christianity, it may not be great for you, unless you can look past that & focus on the techniques he's discussing as a means of achieving broader emotional health. It talks about self-care, and part of that, for me, is having a workable space. 

I'm also excited because it's starting to feel like spring, and that\, I hope, will mean healthier eating. I always, always struggle in the winter. I'm committed to really trying to create some good habits this spring/summer that I can carry over into the fall & winter. 

Today's card is for two challenges.

Crazy4Challenges C4C327 - feature circles and/or pies

Global Design Project 027 - Thank You

Apparently, March 14th is referred to as Pi Day.. 3.14 :) I never think about it because, quite frankly, as soon as I was finished school and didn't have to think about math, I didn't. LOL. It was my LEAST favorite subject in school. 

I didn't have any pie related stamps, so I went with a circle.

Card Details - All Products Stampin' Up

Stamps: By The Tide

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pool Party, Soft Suede

Ink: Early Espresso, Mint Macaron, Pool Party, Calypso Coral 

A few challenges

Well, the rush of Christmas is over. It was a wonderful two weeks. I got to spend some time with family and friends. Got caught up on some email that had been sitting around... blogs  I follow, which have various things I like to pin (either a card idea or a recipe, usually). And I saw the latest Star Wars movie. It was fantastic. So much better than the last series.

I made 3 cards this week. I love going to my friend Angela's... she always gives us great ideas. And yet she puts out a nice range of stuff so that we can change whatever we want. My first card is a great example of that.

She made this card using the new balloon animal set from Stampin' Up. As much as her card was cute - and she had a lot of different samples of balloon animals to choose from (my friend did a fish, one person did a penguin, one did a giraffe, and so on) - I just wasn't feeling it. I have just never been all that enamored by balloon animals, and looking at the set, I just didn't trust that I'd have success with it. So I went in a completely different direction and played with the Sprinkles of Life set. 

I'm entering it in the following challenge:
Casology - Week 179 Simple

The next card I have is also for a challenge. 

Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

I don't think I'm used to blending Stampin' Up inks anymore since I fell in love with Distress Inks. The top half of my rainbow isn't as well blended as I'd like. 

My last card is also for a challenge. This blog is a new one for me; I found it by accident through someone else I follow.

The Male Room - Anything Goes 

I love this stamp set. I don't think I'm ultimately going to buy it, though. Ang owns it, and there are too many sentiments I won't use. I've ordered the embossing folder. I have other masculine sets that will work really well with it.

Card Details - All products Stampin Up

Ice Cream Card

Cardstock: Mint Macaron, Whisper White

Ink: Mint Macaron, Crushed Curry. Sahara Sand

DSP: It's My Party
Other: Punches

Plane Card

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pacific Point

Stamps: Sky's The Limit

Ink: Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss, Marina Mist, Memento Black

Globe Card

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake

Stamps: Going Global

Other: World Traveler Embossing Folder, Circle Dies

Christmas card challenge

Wow, the fall has been busy. I've had a lot on my plate professionally. I did manage to get away for a long weekend in Vegas to celebrate my 45th birthday. I took a lot of pictures, which are STILL sitting on my camera. Went old school this time & took the pictures on my Canon, as opposed to my phone.

I also ended up having to replace my monitor. It crashed on me a while ago and one of my wonderful cousins gave me one of her old ones. So even when I was able to make cards, I've not been able to post them. Surprisingly, I've done well at carving out time to do some card making. Self care is too important to ignore, and I find my card making and scrapbooking to be a great stress relief. So I've got lots to share over the next while.

Today's card is for two challenges
 GDP: Christmas
TGIF: Christmas

It's a CASE of a design by a great card maker at a local store. I went in and did it as a make & take. One of the things I love about these events is the freedom we have to change things up. I did my snowflakes differently, and my colours were a bit different for my background. I fell in love with these trees. They remind me of the Wonderland set from Stampin Up, which I didn't purchase, because I have similar stamps. The background is done with Tim Holtz distress inks. The greeting & the trees are embossed in white.

All the products used on this card are Tim Holtz. I can't remember what colours of distress ink I used, or the name of the set.

VC Rocks August Blog Hop - Celebrate Friendship

Alas, it's time for the final VC Rocks Blog Hop of the season. Our theme this month is 'Celebrate Friendship.' It's a very appropriate theme, because one of the many highlights of this group is the relationships we get to form with some terrific stampers. We have a lot of fun. 

The card I made is one I've been holding on to for a few weeks. I made it at a Stamp A Stack. I absolutely adore Awesomely Artistic. I don't own it yet, but it's one the list of sets I'll definitely be purchasing soon. I also love the color combination, Susan, the event organizer, gave us. Blackberry Bliss is one of the best new In Colors to arrive in a long time. Part of me would love it to replace Elegant Eggplant. Part of me would just like to add it to one of the color families, because it's quite a distinct color, and it goes beautifully with many of the current colours. The card also features a bit of Tip Top Tape, which is a wonderful new neutral.

I've been doing a lot of stamping lately. I attended a crop last week and got a great deal of projects done. I will be posting again soon!

Enjoy the rest of  your weekend and please check out the rest of the blog hop! Just go on over to VC Rocks for the links.

Card Details - All Products Stampin Up
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Blackberry Bliss
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Tip Top Taupe
Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Other: Itty Bitty Accents flower punch, Oval punch, Dazzling Details Glitter

Day 13

Good afternoon....

Another wonderful day here. I have been thinking, and in an effort to get more traffic, I am offering blog candy. Post a comment to all my July cards, and then at the end of  "Christmas in July" I'll randomly draw a name and send one person their favorite card.

I slept in for some strange reason. Well, I didn't so much sleep as I lacked the energy to get up. I was awake, listening to TSN 1040 sports talk radio.

Went to Crafty Capers for Coffee & a Card. A friend usually goes with me, but she had to work, so she couldn't make it. She had hoped I'd be able to buy her a kit, but there weren't any left. I promised her I'd show her the card & we could make our own version this summer.

That card is very summer, and not at all Christmas-y, so I won't post it today. I'm saving them for August.

Today's card is one of the 2 other cards I made the same day as yesterday's card.

I just gave it a quick water colouring this afternoon and then photographed it. I also had to fix the flaps. Apparently I didn't use very strong adhesive on the larger flap, or the the inside piece, as both came off. I was going to take a picture to show you how it opens, but it's pretty self explanatory. Each of the die cut flaps are tucked under the white lined piece, but they aren't attached to each other at all. You simply lift each one and write your message inside.

The flaps were cut using a Big Shot. I don't remember what die we used. Simply score about a 1/4 inch or so in, so you have a piece to fold under and adhere the flaps to the base.

BTW - in yesterday's post I said I thought the paper was Simple Stories. I'm not so sure of that anymore. It may well be Echo Park.

Day 11

Life is good.

I had a wonderful day today. Tomorrow my brother, sister in law and niece leave. They're actually going on a cruise with our (as in brother & my) parents, to Alaska. I'm really curious as to how the munchkin will do. I just wonder if she'll be bored. She does love 'bowts' (a close proximity to her pronunciation of boats.. it may be a bit more like 'boots', actually) though so I can imagine she and Dida (her grandpa, my dad) will have fun looking out the window at them.

Anyway, today was fun because on her last day here, I finally figured out the way to get past her nervousness around my chair. We played with technology. Basically, I found some fun Youtube videos that she was so enraptured by that she forgot to be nervous. They weren't even wheelchair related; they were some Sandra Boynton books. When it was time for me to go, she gave me a big kiss with no need of mommy or daddy to hold her. So my day was made. :)

Had a relaxing afternoon. Then tonight I went to the movies with a friend. We went to see movie Minions. It was utterly hilarious. It stood alone quite well, and as a prequel for the two Despicable Me films, it was fantastic. I have not laughed that hard in AGES.

Today's card.... I thought I'd posted this card in the past, but I can't seem to find it in any previous posts. It was one I made on a Monday Coffee & a Card at Crafty Capers. I also don't see a picture of it on my computer, either filed in my previously blogged folders (I sort by year) or my general 'cards & layouts' folder. So I'm hoping I've not posted this in the past.

This card features a lot of Tim Holtz stuff, if I recall correctly. The tree & the deer should be Stamper's Anonymous. The tag is stamped and covered with distress inks. The stencil is definitely a Tim one. I think this card was the first time I used stencils, and I fell in love. I don't remember what company made the die for the Merry Christmas.

This card was a lot of work, but totally worth it. I'd try something like it again, though it's definitely not something I'd ever try to mass produce.

Until tomorrow...

June Blog Hop

It's time for the June 2015 VC Rocks Blog Hop!

This summer VC Rocks is celebrating its 15th Anniversary as a summertime online gathering place for those who love Stampin' Up! products.  So all of our blog hops will be a Celebration.  For June 2015, the theme of the Hop is:  CELEBRATE THE NEW.

Today I'm featuring some cards that I made while crafting at a friend's house. She's a demo & a few of us get together once a month to make cards. Sometimes we shop and sometimes we just pay $5 to cover the cost of her supplies. This time, I shopped. That said, for this hop, I used her stamps, and I only own one of the two sets I'm featuring today - though I will be getting the second one at some point! LOL.

 The first card didn't photograph well. I wanted to take the picture standing up so you could see the fold. I think this fold is called a Z fold and I would love to do a Make  & Take of it for VC Rocks if folks are interested. I do own the set (Butterfly Basics) and the framelits. Love it!  Thee verse is especially gorgeous. I think I'll use it as an encouragement card.

This card also has a unique fold and it features the Sprinkles of Life set. I don't own it yet, but I will be ordering it soon. I love that part of the proceeds from its sale goes to Ronald McDonald House. And in general, it's a great, versatile set. It also goes really well with the Cherry On Top DSP (not pictured) and washi tape, which I used here. And are the new In Colors fantastic or what?

Thanks for looking today! Hop on over to VC Rocks to see what else folks are posting!

Now that summer is here, I will have time to start sharing all the cards I've made over the past six months. I look forward to posting more!

Card Details

Butterfly card

Stamps: Butterfly Basics

Cardstock: Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Whisper WIte

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Blackberry Bliss, Garden Green
Other: SU Ribbon, framelits

Birthday card

Stamps: Sprinkles of Life

Cardstock: Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla 

Inks: Mint Macaron, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Watermelon Wonder, Hello Honey

Other: Sprinkles of Life washi tape, Tree Builder punch, Tag Topper punch 

VC Rocks August Blog Hop

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. So nice to be back, especially today as we're having our final VC Rocks blog hop of the season. For our final hop, we're Rockin' Our Creativity with projects that give  Stampin Up Colours the starring role. I love the One Sheet Wonder Technique, and I decided it would be a great way to creatively use a range of SU colours.

I got 4 cards made. I ended up veering away from the template I found because I did something wrong. Either way, I'm relatively happy how the cards turned out.

Although the set I used, Betsy's Blossoms, retired in June the wonderful thing about the OSW technique is it works with such a wide variety of stamps. I got my colours from the Gingham Garden DSP I used. What surprised me the most is how much I liked the Island Indigo/Midnight Muse combo. I find that the trick is to choose your DSP first, and then look for stamps that go well with it. And when you choose the DSP first, you can use it as the guide to what colour inks to use.

I know there are a a variety of other great projects for you to see, so hop on over to the VC Rocks site to see the list of other participants! You'll find links to the other blogs there. I'll be back with more cards next week; I was at a crop tonight and I got about 6  more made.

Card Details:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Melon Mambo
Ink: Island Indigo, Midnight Muse, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Old Olive
Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms, Sassy Salutations

Amazing kids and some cards...

I've been really busy lately. And truly, some things have been happening that have really gotten me down. But on Sunday, we had a really neat event at our church greatly lifted my spirits. Last fall, our church had a World Hunger Campaign. It inspired some of our children, and one, in particular, took the initiative to suggest a benefit concert. The idea was to highlight the talents of our kids as a means of raising money to help a small  village called Sarako, in Sierra Leone. 

Some of the children played instruments, some sang. Here's a picture of the young man who came up with the idea, playing his fiddle. 

The goal of the project was to raise $6500 to supply a gravity fed water system for the village. There are 465 people living in Sarako and they have 300 children and youth under age 18. These children often miss school because they have gotten sick from drinking contaminated water. The event actually raised 104% of what they need for the project - $6,739.80. The project is expected to cost $6439.80 

Since it's been a while, I thought I would share a few cards I've made and actually give out lately! Usually I make them and they sit in a box for a while, as I create them faster than I need them.

This first card is one I made at a Scrapbookin' Adventures event. I've posted before about the Use Your Own Product workshops - they're my favourite. These are usually scrap scrapbook pages, but one time we did an entire day of just cards. It was a great way to use paper that, in my case, wasn't really inspiring me anymore. You can see the original card that Jenn made by checking out this link.

I do prefer Jen's card, as the sentiment pops more, and I like the flowers she's used. I had planned to add some Primas to mine & never got time. This card is the only one I 'finished' that day... After this first one I decided to simply do the base work & finish them at home so I could look through more of my stash. I had only brought two stamp sets with me that day. 

This card is one I made on my own, just fooling around with paper & stamps. I got the Stardust set a while ago at a garage sale, and I've been having trouble getting the hang of it. I hate to say it, but I think it may be one I don't end up keeping. That said, my friend really did like it and we used it as a thank you card for a woman at our church who ensured we had childcare every week at our Mom's Morning Out Bible Study group.  

Last, a card I made for a bridal shower. It was a CASE of this card. I regret that I didn't include the ribbon, and that my matting around the image wasn't bigger/bolder. Live and learn!

Card Details: All products Stampin' Up, unless otherwise noted 

Top Card  - All products Stampin' Up

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry

DSP: Cottage Wall

Other: Scallop Border punch

 Middle card

Cardstock: Bazzill

DSP: My Mind's Eye

Stamps: Stardust

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Bottom Card

Cardstock: Rich Razleberry, Pumpkin Pie  

DSP Razzleberry Lemonade 

Stamps: Sweet Celebrations

Punch: Fiskars

Busy Spring

It has been a busy spring so far!

I took part in a craft  fair at the end of April, which was a lot of fun. It wasn't extremely busy, but I enjoyed the experience. I'm on the list to do it again in the fall. The timing was a little complicated, as it was held the same day I needed to get help from my family to finish getting things packed here. I had to have everything done so that I could be out of my apartment while it was being painted. They also took out my carpet and replaced it with some nice laminate that looks like hardwood. I love not having carpet anymore!

The renos were done the first week of May and I still have boxes to unpack. The nice thing about that is that I've had time to ponder some of my stuff. I can see some things that can be given away, rather than put back out. 

I haven't done much in the way of cardmaking of late, simply because so much of my stuff is packed up. These two cards are older ones from my stash that I never blogged, and I've finally had reason to send them out. The first was a birthday card for a young man I've been mentoring for the past 5 or so years; he turned 19 on May 2. I made 3 that are all similar to this one at a Stamp-a-stack a few years ago. It's always good to have masculine cards. I'm going to try to make something similar again, but using Gorgeous Grunge instead.

This one is also one of 3 from a Stamp-A-stack design. The nice thing about both of these cards is that it was very easy for us to individualize the cards.

I made this card on National Scrapbooking Day. We got a package of neat card front sized dies from American Crafts to use. The chevrons are cut from a strip of patterned paper. Sorry for the crappy photo; I took it from my phone. I can't find the charger for my proper camera yet, and I find it very hit or miss to get a decent photo from the iPhone.

A shot of my table at the craft fair.  I'm going to try to sell the rest of these at a craft fair we're doing at our church at the end of May. Then I can get a fresh start and begin prepping for the fall craft fairs.

I am so behind on my challenges. It's rather sad. Not sure if I should try to catch up or just admit it isn't gonna happen this year.

Card Details

Wish Big - All products Stampin' Up

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink: Basic Grey, Basic Black

Stamps: Clockworks

Happy Birthday - All products Stampin Up 

Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Early Espresso, 

Ink: Early Espresso, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz

Stamps: Just Believe

Other: Twine, rhinestones, punches

Hello - All Products American Crafts 

Sailing On With a Masculine Card

I'm a wee bit grumpy today, I decided I would do a challenge to try to alleviate my bad mood. My day actually started out not too badly. I made some progress on some technology issues I've been trying to sort out. Ran in to a friend and had lunch with her a the mall. But I also had a dentist appointment, which is never fun. My jaw's been sore all day and I didn't even have much done. 

The weekend was lovely though... since I don't have my wifi working, but I do have unlimited texting, a friend & I were texting back & forth last night as we were watching a show we both enjoy. I swear no matter how old I get, it'll always be more fun for TV/movies and the like to be a shared experience. 

And earlier on in the weekend, a friend came by and we got a whole bunch of stuff organized. I'm ready to get new shelves in the right side of my closet. That's going to make my stash so much more manageable. Once we were done, we popped over to the scrapbook store. I actually didn't get anything, but she did (I'd decided I should wait, as I couldn't remember how much my dentist appointment was going to be). And while she was shopping I got to see a friend's new baby. Siigh. 

Well, I am getting tired, so I'm going to crawl into bed & listen to some SportsTalk Radio. The Canucks managed to blow another game tonight so I'm sure people are furious. 

This card is for two challenges. I wanted to do something spring-y again. One of the challenges called for getting inspiration from a song or movie/book. At first I was going to skip it completely. Then I was sorting through my box of card images & kits and saw the sailboat. That immediately resulted in the strains on both Lionel Richie/The Commodores singing Sail On, and Christopher Cross singing Sailing Away. These two songs don't make as good a mashup as you might think. ;)

The image panel uses reverse masking to get the sky coloured.

Check out the challenges here: 

The Friday Mash Up - Masculine/stitches or sewing/masculine with stitches or sewing

Sweet Stampin: Inspired by a song, movie or book

Card Details - All Products Stampin Up

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand

Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Basic Grey

Stamps: Unknown

Other: Brads

Challenge cards!

I cannot believe how fast this week has flown by. It was busier than I had expected it to be. Saturday evening I went to a local pub to visit with a friend who was in town from Newfoundland. A whole group of us went because we have missed her a lot and wanted a chance to catch up. Normally, I'm not a pub person, especially when I don't know the majority of the group attending, but J. is worth it. The food &s service was far better than I remembered from the last time I was there, so that was a nice. And even better, aside from seeing J., I got to catch up with an old friend. 

The theme of catching up with old friends carried over into Sunday. I went out for a coffee in the afternoon (after guiltily staying home from church because I was tired from the night before. And ok, the hockey game that was on may have played a small factor, too) with an old friend, D. She's a little younger than me - we met a when I went back to university after a little sabbatical of sorts. It was fantastic to sit and catch up with her; I'd forgotten how easily we've always chatted.

The rest of the week has been full of crafty stuff and Bible study related stuff. I had my usual Tuesday morning group and I started a new one this afternoon. I did the coffee & a card drop in on Monday, though I haven't photographed that card yet. And I told D. I would teach a couple sessions at an art event the Women's Centre is doing in April, so I've been working on writing up the draft of my plan. Given that, I came up with some cards and did some challenges, to help me figure out what kinds of things I want to teach people. 

This first card is for the latest Wednesday challenge at Simon Says - Wedding or Anniversary and what I like about it is that it has simple layering.I actually found the stamped circle in my stash. The rectangle framing it is a wee bit big, I admit, even with the hearts. 

Next we have card for Addicted To Stamps & More - Holiday  This card uses an  embossing folder. I haven't decided if I want to get into those, as one of my focuses in the workshop is how to keep costs down. Once you get into owning something like a Cuttlebug or a Big Shot, that is not so easy. That said, there are stores around where you can go in and use their machine, and the folders themselves are pretty cost effective. 

The last two cards use one of my favourite sets of all time - Circle Circus. The first version is for the Just Us Girls - Color Challenge. It's a take on another card I did a while ago that I never got to post. I love random stamping, and I love the simple layering and distressing on this card.

The second one is more masculine, both in colour and design. It is for the challenge at Less Is More - Masculine . I almost used this card for the JUGS challenge, but it doesn't really have 3 or more colours plus neutrals. Although it may look like there are two different greens, they are all the same. The differences are just due to the camera. This card will be a great way to teach people about punches and all they add to a card.

Well, that is all I have for tonight! Back on the weekend! 

Card Details - All Products Stampin Up!
Celebrate Today
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise
DSP: Flowers For You
Stamps: Sweet Celebrations
Ink: Tempting Turquoise

Merry Christmas 
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Garden Green, Very Vanilla
DSP: Frostwood Lodge
Stamps: Christmas Lodge
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Thank You
Cardstock: Whisper White
DSP: Summer Smooches
Stamps: Circle Circus, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango

Celebrate Today
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise
Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Lucky Limeade
Other: Buttons, Punches

Seize The Birthday

I am officially OVER winter. It snowed yesterday. That wasn't actually too bad; it was still a gorgeous, sunny day and the roads were fine. The snow started some time after midnight and ended pretty early. I enjoyed the fact that the snow was actually pretty for a day

By today, though, it was starting to get slushy and messy. I went to church for Bible Study, took one look at the ramp down to where we meet, and realized it as NOT gonna happen. Pure ice. The good thing was, in going home, I had time to finally get some pictures uploaded to Costco that my mom sent me of my niece. Mom hasn't mastered uploading and I'm just as happy to do it, so she just forwards them to me.  

I'm trying to get motivated to finish some cleaning up.... I'm hoping to have tea with a friend on Friday, so that'll be good incentive.

Cards for today

Seize The Birthday - Chevrons

My twine has come untied; I'll have to get some help to fix it so that the banner hangs better before I send this card out. You can't really tell, but I did give some of my paper a light sanding. And the banners are hand cut. I folded some pre cut strips of paper in half and attached it to the twine. The design was totally not mine; it's a CASE from a card at the sb store.

Card Details
Cardstock: American Crafts
DSP: Bella Boulevard
Stamp: Imaginisce? Not sure... 

Under the wire....

I've got another challenge card to post today. My plan was to post it before I went out, but I ended up not able to do that. I actually did NOT sleep in for the first time in a while. I just got caught up in listening to something on the radio and by the time it was over, I had to get ready to go out.

Today I started volunteering for the first time at a local high school. A friend runs a games' club and he thought it might be nice for the few teen girls who come if there was a woman in attendance as well. We taught a few of the kids how to play Euchre today. Well, I was learning for the first time, too. It reminded me a great deal of a game my parents used to play when I was young, but my mom says that isn't what they were playing. I'll have to confirm the name of their game again and see if I can figure out the differences.

Today's card:

I'm entering it in 3 challenges.

CCEE Stampers - Inspiration Challenge I was inspired by the image of the moon and the trees in the poem.
Late Night Stampers: Something New - the stamp set I used is new to me.
Tis The Season - Inspiration Challenge Inspired by the deer/wreath combo. The texture of the wreath reminded me of this tree. And of course the moon is the same basic shape, and I've got some of the earth colours, too. I did consider a sentiment for the front, but in this case, I thought it would take too much away from the arty panel. As a result, I put it all on the inside - a verse & greeting. My camera  died, though so I didn't get a picture of it.

Back tomorrow with a baby card. Right now I need to spend some time organizing my Pinterest boards.

Card Details - All Products Stampin  Up
Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Silver Encore pad.
Stamps: Warmth & Wonder

My 2014 goals

As promised, I am here with my New Year's resolutions, and some cards.

I have written before about my thoughts om resolutions. I'm not a huge fan; they can be things that just serve to demoralize people when they end up not meeting their aims. I think a lot of times that's because people are externally motivated. They take on what they think they should do, rather than what they really feel called to do in their hearts. If you say you're going to lose weight, or give up sugar, or stop drinking pop (one of my issues) to please others, it will not happen - or at the  very least, it is highly likely it won't be sustainable.

So after some time in prayer, I made some decisions. I had gone back and forth as to whether I wanted to do the 'One Little Word' Challenge. I admit that initially I didn't quite get the point. In time, though, I saw how it could work for me and I've decided to take on a word for the year. I started with the word 'roar.' That sat wrong with me because, quite frankly, I couldn't bring myself to grab inspiration from a Katy Perry song, no matter how much some part of it speaks to me. Then I fell back on the word 'brave,' - also a song title, but one by an artist I like more. It still felt wrong, though; I wanted a word that captured both somehow.
I spent some time looking at concordances, thinking about favourite bible verses, studies, past conversations with my pastor,  and sermons that spoke to me, and I found the word. My word. My word is BOLD. That word encompasses where I am at in life. A lot of what I mean by that is pretty personal, so I will leave it there. My other 2014 goals are:

• I'm doing the Goodreads challenge again. I have a lot of books on my shelf calling to me, and I genuinely love to read. I'm aiming for 40 books - I think I can do more, but I know I can do 40. You can find me here

• I'm going to work on my health. I would like to aim for one to two pounds per month, but I'm less concerned about that than just being more mindful in what I eat and how I take care of myself overall.

• I'm going to finish my cousin R's album, do one for my cousin DJ, and get up to date on Jade's. R and J are both almost done; I have a bit of embellishing to do and I need to put the pages in the albums. DJ I haven't started, but I'll use R's as a model so it won't take long.

• I'm going to get MY pages in albums, and I'm going to get our family's negatives and older photos on to CD.

• I'm doing the Christmas Card Challenge (10/month) and the 100 Cards in 100 Days Challenge at Splitcoast. For the 100 cards challenge,  my Stamper's 10 Club cards and the ones I sometimes make on Monday's at the stamp store (the $2 Coffee & A Card), don't count, but Christmas cards made at those places do. 

• I'm considering doing a challenge where I use all my stamps at least once this year. I'm not willing to commit to that one  yet, though. It depends how many sets I have; I want to do an inventory first.

Well that was a lot of chatter. Here's a photo of the cards I finished up last week when my Scrappin' Sisters and I got together on the 2nd. The two single cards are from a fundraiser in the fall that the local stamp store put on for cancer. I wasn't there; I just bought the kits. It was the same weekend the scrapbook store put on their yearly event for Children's Hospital. The other cards were from a day we had here at my place in November or December. I'm friends with a CTMH demo and we had a crop here. We usually have it in her Mom's common room, but she was ill at the time.

Note - yes, the bottom right card is upside down in the photo. It isn't in real life; I just didn't realize what I had done when I put it down to photograph and I don't have time to fix it right now. The two cards are exactly the same save for the fact that I switched the dsp over and used the other side on one.

Challenge objectives

100 in 100  - 8/100
Christmas Card challenge  - 8/10

Last cards of 2013

It has been a wonderful day here - absolutely gorgeous weather. Yes, it was a little windy at times (the garbage can that is situated our parking lot, near my car, blew over and I nearly got smacked by it. I'd still rather have it there than not, though, so no complaints here), but that's nothing compared to the storms that are beating up other parts of the continent. 

I went to the stamp store nearby so I could see if a sample for Monday's coffee & a card was available. It was; it's a lovely card so I will go make it, though I think I'll likely add a few tweaks to it to make it my own. I also wanted to make a list of some patterned paper they have, so I could check whether I had already had it. I've been looking at the paper for ages, and saying I needed to check if I have it. Only when I'd get home, I'd forget what lines it was she has, which makes checking difficult, to say the least. So I finally made a list. 

I found 4 cards from 2013 (I think it was 2013... a couple could be 2012) that I have never blogged that I will share with you today.

This first card almost definitely was made somewhere between January and June of 2012.   I say that because I know it was made at my SU Club. I also know it was made when my friend J. was there, because we talked about who we would each give it to (we didn't want to a mutual friend to get two cards the same). She didn't participate in the Club that ran from Sept 2012 to Jan 2013. She took a year off and rejoined this September. And I know by the colours that it wasn't made this fall. 

This card is another one I can almost pinpoint due to the products used. That paper the butterflies are made with is from Sale A Bration in 2012, I believe. I don't think it was 2011 Sale A Bration, though if I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me. One of the things I love about this card is that while the butterflies make it a little more feminine, I know some guys I could get away with sending it to if I wanted to do so. 

 

These last two were definitely made in 2013 - I would go so far as to guess May 2013, before the new catalogue went live. On some level I realize it's ridiculous that I can remember that. But I can recall it was our first time meeting in my demo's new house. Her studio space is gorgeous! And her wonderful hubby created a little ramp so I can get in without having to navigate a big step. With help I probably COULD do a wheelie and make it, but I wouldn't feel as safe as I do with the ramp. 

Anyway... I'm sure it was May, because we were talking about the colour changes, the new catalogue, and retirement related stuff. Also, it was my party that night and I was able to get everything I wanted from the list. This first card, despite how neon it looks, is actually made using Certainly Celery. It was this night that I decided I'd be fine subbing Pear Pizzazz for Certainly Celery. I know lots of people say that when these colour changes happen, the new colours can be very similar to older ones. Normally, I don't agree. In this case, I do. I can barely see the difference between PP and CC. I have NO idea why it looks so bright. I'm sure it didn't when I originally took the photo. I had concerns about the orange background of the table, so I made a point of having a look. It's bizarre.  

I have no idea why the colour is so off on this card.

 This image is so pretty to colour. I almost bought the set, but I have friends who own it, and I know, given that it's a larger stamp, that it'd give me fits. For the number of times I'd use it, I'm  much better off to just ask  my friend A. to bring it over when we crop.

Card Details - All products Stampin' Up
Live, Laugh, Love
Cardstock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, En Francais
Ink: Basic Black, More Mustard
Other: Scallop border punch, ribbon, Dazzling Details

Just For You
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
DSP: Everyday Enchantment, Naturals Composition Paper
Stamps: Just Believe
Ink: Soft Suede, Versamark
Other: Butterfly punch, brads

For You
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White
DSP: This & That
Stamps: Elements of Style
Ink: Night of Navy, Basic Black
Other: Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Calypso Coral, Night of Navy & Certainly Celery Markers, blender pen

Happy New Year again!

I've had an extended New Year's celebration. It doesn't really feel like the new year to me until school starts up again, even now that I'm no longer a student. My brain is just somehow wired that way. Everything officially 'starts' for me when the kids go back. Any resolutions I make I start on that day, too.

This year, it'll be the first day of my attempt at the '100 projects in 100 days' challenge on Splitcoast. I'm also going to challenge myself to cut way, way back on sugar/sweets starting on the 6th. It just feels like time. I'm ready to commit to healthier living and moderation.

Today I had 4 friends over and we spent time playing with paper. The first, most important thing I did was finally get my Stampin' Up cardstock organized the way I want it. I'll have a picture tomorrow; I forgot my batteries were in need of a charge. I have a really good stash of cardstock and I have no excuses to buy anymore for a while. 

I also made some cards, so I would have a wee bit of a head start when the 100 day count starts on Monday. For now, though, I was looking on my computer and I found some cards I've never blogged for some reason. I'm going to post them over the next couple days.Then on the weekend I'll post some scrapbook pages. 

This first set of cards was one I made ages ago. I've looked back at old blog posts, because I was sure I'd already posted them, but I can't find them. For a while there, a few years ago, I was in a swap group where four of us each took a turn and sent out a kit to each member. We'd all make a card for each person and mail it to them... it was all about seeing the different ways people could put together the same materials  I loved these little Penny Black hedgehogs.The image wasn't stamped on watercolour paper, so I was reluctant to try a blender pen. That said, as you can see, I wasn't happy with how the hedgie looked fully coloured. I didn't particularly care for him with the white body, but it was still better than the alternative. That said, had I been thinking, I could've used pencil crayon to make his front lighter.

 This second card was just something quick I came up with on a Tuesday evening, summer of 2012, at the scrapbook store. I remember that it was a Tuesday because the street market was on. The store was right next to the place where the market happened, so they stayed open late those nights. I just needed something quick and easy to invite the youth in our church to an event we were having. Our church doesn't have too many youth; I only had to make about 15 of these. They came together really quickly, as the campfire was  made using the Cricut.

Card Details

Hi

Cardstock: Stampin' Up, Bazzill

DSP: Echo Park

Stamps: Penny Black

You're Invited

Cardstock: Stampin' Up

DSP: Bo Bunny

Stamp: Unknown