Stretch Your Dies Class Day 1

Here is my card using fun foam with a word die. I used SU! Hello You Thinlits to cut the happy from white fun foam. Next, I used my heat tool to shrink it just a bit. Then I colored it using a B29 Copic marker. The stars are cut out of fun foam using an old Sizzix die.  The red stars are colored with Copic marker R 29. The background is SU! Sahara Sand.  I used the birthday from PTI Wonderful Words Additions to stamp repeatedly in SU! Sahara Sand ink. I added small strip of DCWV foiled cardstock. I think this will work well as a masculine birthday card. 

Buying Frenzy!

I have sold a few cards lately, so I had some money I could spend on craft supplies. Here are some things I bought this weekend. 

First I went to Hobby Lobby. I bought a 3-pack of Copic markers in shades of green for coloring Poinsettia leaves. I also found a white Prismacolor pencil to try on a new shading technique.  I was happy to be able to use a coupon on those Copic markers!

Here is a quick shot of my coloring. I watched a couple of You Tube videos to get some tips on shading the red.  

Then it was on to Michael's. Where I found silver Cardstock on sale. I thought I had picked up 5 sheets, but it really stuck together. So when I got to the checkout, I actually had 10!  The man behind me had to make a few remarks, but the Michael's worker was very gracious. I also picked up this glimmers red. It's not glittery, but it shines beautifully. The paper has an almost suede like quality. I don't have anything specific in mind for it, but I look forward to playing with it. I had been wanting to add to my Stickles collection, so when I found this Studio G glitter glue, I was quite excited.  Picked up red and gold for holiday fun!

I was on the hunt to find a specific type of ribbon, so I stopped by JoAnn's as well.  Here it is. It's an emerald green. Half is sheer, the other half satin, and it has a metallic line right down the middle. This ribbon is quite inexpensive, but I love the look. 

I have been on the search for some distress inks. I want to use them in a starry night background. I could never find the exact colors, but I think these will work. I was delighted to discover they were on sale!  (The colors are Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans.)

I also picked up this Mister Huey's mask. It's called "circles mask."  I have a card in progress that needed something. This may be it!

Finally, last week when I sat down on my work chair, it suddenly dropped all the way down!  Startling!  I tried using a folding chair, but it wasn't high enough. So Mike took me to Staples and we found this beauty!  Good thing my craft room is pink!  I thought the salesman told me it was $50, but it turns out it was $15. And there was a discount on the total purchase, so it ending up being $13!  Mike says I need to go back and get another. When he moves out, it could be my guest chair. Seems like a plan. 

I purchased some more fun items on-line. I'll share when they come.  For now, I'm looking forward to finishing the card I mentioned earlier, and working on a Christmas card order!

Ta for now!  Go do something amazing!

CiCi

Challenging Myself

I have an abundance of paper crafting supplies!  In my current efforts to simplify, I am acutely aware of how much paper and how many stamps I possess. I tell myself it's time to purge, yet something keeps me from it. I suspect this is related to my desire to create additional income through my creations. 

This struggle needs to be resolved. I either need to use these supplies, or I need to let them go. So, I have given myself a challenge. This morning I stumbled upon The Deconstructed Sketch website. Here there is a treasure of card sketches. I printed off sketches 1-40. Now I am challenging myself to create a card a day based on these sketches. 

Here is my take on Sketch 1. 

I have been so anxious to use this DSP from Stampin' Up that I have refused to put it away!  So my color decisions and stamp choices were based on that paper. 

I am pleased with this card. To improve it, I would do something more with the corners of the blue rectangle. Also, my placement of the white border was a bit wonky. I do like the colors, balance, and flow. 

:):  it's your choice!

Cathy

New Beginnings

"And suddenly, you know, it's time to start something new and to trust the magic of new beginnings."

- author unknown

I am living alone again.  Emily and Thomas have moved to their own home for the first time in over a year. I am happy for them, but selfishly, I know I will miss their company. I spent the weekend crying and feeling sorry for myself. But, now it is Monday morning and time to accept life on my own. I acknowledge it as a gift. However, frankly, it can also be a bit of a chore!  

This morning I have begun the process of reclaiming my spaces. The cat food bowls are now back on their mat. I have changed the pictures in the dining room to better reflect the season. (I was able to do that because I can get in the closet again!). I feel confident that it can slowly expand and feel comfortable in the whole house.  

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

I believe I have taken that step. 

Week End Update

This morning I was playing with Pea-Nuckle. Of course, I am constantly drawn to anything that looks like it's coming out of a hole, so I tried to combine the techniques!

Combating Clutter

I have spent the past week or so fighting the clutter bug!  Actually it started last month when I invited (paid) 1-800-GOT-JUNK to my home for a major clean up.  They hauled away 3/4 of a truck load worth of junk.  Much of this mess can be attributed to my son, who moved away and left me with much of his gaming horde.  But with three room cleared, my home took on a new life. 

With such a large load cleared, I have been tackling smaller jobs.  Last week my DD helped me clear much of the stuff from my closet.  It almost echoes in there now.  We also purged the bookcase in my room.  With e-books, I no longed feel the need to hang on to most books.  I held on to the few books that cannot be downloaded.  That took up one shelf.  The bottom shelf is for my notebooks. 

Today, I will continue to climb the mountains of paper.  It is a daunting task, but I will succeed!

Challenge #4

This was a color challenge. Ripe Avacado, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, and Enchanted Evening were the designated colores. I actually love all of these colors, so I wasn't too worried about completing this card.

However I did run through a few different ideas before I chose this extremely simple card. Again, simple is my style, and I'm sticking with it!

Paper: PTI (White, Ripe Avacado, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, Enchanted Evening)

Stamps: PTI (Wonderful Words Additions)

Ink: SU! (Old Olive)

Tools: PTI (Wonderful Word die, medium scallop edge die); Sharpie pen

Challenge #3

Card Challenge #3 was to design a card with an image peeking through a hole. I have school on my mind, (I start back August 1st!) so this little apple seemed a good choice. There is always a need for a thank you card at school. So here's my simple little card.



Paper: PTI (Kraft, Pure Poppy, White)
Patterened Paper: PTI (Dotty Biscotti)
Stamps: PTI (Fruit Fusion: Apple, Think Big Favorites #2)
Ink: PTI (Fresh Snow); Palette (Noir); Stampin' Up (Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green)
Dies: PTI (Fruit Fusion: Apple, Limitless Layers: 1-3/4" Circle Collection)
Other: PTI (1/8" New Leaf dotted ribbon); pop dots

Challenge #2 This card challenge was to create a card using hot pink and grey. I have always loved this color combination, and it put me in mind of my little grey whale stamp. So here is my second card:

Paper: PTI (Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, White)

Ink: Stampin' Up! (Rose Royal, Going Grey)

Stamps: PTI (Take Note, Whale Wishes)

Dies: PTI (Whale Wishes); Nestabilities (Circle, Scalloped Circle)

Other: Stampin' Up! (Punch); Stash (white ribbon, wiggle eye)

Today is Papertrey Ink's Stamp Affair in Cinncinatti. I really wish I could have attended, but decided I'd spend my money in a different way! I just got a brand new mattress and box springs. I really needed new bedding. The old set was purchased in the 80s!

So I'm trying to catch up with the Stamp Affair Challenges. I'm going to have to stay busy! (And I was really looking forward to a nap today!)

Challenge #1 was to create a project featuring patterned strips that are created with decorative elements. I actually read this wrong the first time. I thought I had to stamp the background. I really like the background I stamped on this card. The tiny birthday cake is popped up, but it looks flat in the photo.

Paper: PTI (Berry Sorbet, Lemon Tart, White)
Stamps: PTI (Get to the Point, Tiny Treats Christmas, Tag It #1)
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Cameo Coral)
Die: PTI (Mat Stack #1)
Other: JoAnn's (ribbon); Stampin' Up (rhinestones, markers); Copic (markers)

Card Camp Week #2

Week Two of Summer Card Camp! I made two cards today with this week's color combination.

First, the summery colors made me think of flowers and birds, so I grabbed a couple of punches and viola! flowers and birds. I wanted to give the card a bit of texture so I ran it through my Big Shot with the Music Background Impressions Plate (PTI). In my family, you can never go wrong with music! Lately, I've been trimming a edge of the front of the card in order to add a border. I used my lacey punch here. Finally, every card needs a little bling. I recently learned that Copics will color rhinestones. Since, I'm always concerned with finding rhinestones in the correct color, this was a true revelation to me. Here I colored rhinestones green for the centers of the flowers and black for the little birdie's eye.

My second card was actually my first. I found this shiny black cardstock I bought a couple of years ago. I thought these summer colors would just pop on that black. Trouble was I couldn't stamp on the black. I tried using some glitter, but didn't care for the effect. Then I stamped with white ink thinking I could go over it later with chalks. But that ink would never dry! I ended up using the chalks, but it made the stems and flower centers kind of fuzzy. Oh well, I still like the effect. I really wasn't sure how to get a sentiment on the front of this card. Then I spotted my oval scallop punch and decided to give it a try. The green oval is on pop dots, so it stands up just a smidgen.

Hope you enjoyed my first two cards for the week. I can't wait to see what other fun is in store!

Cathy

Sock Monkey Balance!

I just got this set after pining over it for a couple of years. Now that it's retiring, I had to buy it. I was determined to use him today, so he is purple with blue accents. What fun! This card will probably find its way to my DD who found out today she has been cast as a water nymph in "Camelot." Her husband has a monkey "thing," so he may like this little dude, too.

Asymmetrical Balance

Now here's a cheerful little card. I designed it based on a sketch demonstrating asymmetrical balance. I found I needed something pretty heavy in the 3-cluster to balance the rest of the cards, so I had some fun digging around in my vintage buttons collections from Papertrey.

Symmetrical Balance

Thursday's camp experience was about using a sketch and design concepts. Here is my first card. I was just determined to use that patterned paper. I've had it for ever so long. It's the right color for this week's challenge. I finally put it on this card. I just don't like it very much! Time to recycle the rest.....

Colored Flowers

Now here is a series of cards that are identical except for the colors used. I was trying out a new technique. I used my Stampin' Up markers to blend colors. It worked very well. I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm such a visual person! I just love looking at all these cards at one time! Notice that I changed how I made the borders on each card. It was fun to think up different ways to achieve the same concept.

Tuesday's Card #2

Here is my transparency card. I had a really hard time not copying the original card! I just kept changing aspects of it until I had my own version. I'm pretty happy with this card, and I think some little girl in next year's class will like it, too.

Tuesday's Card #1

Here is the next card I made using the color combination. I was trying to make a transparency card, but ended up with a "peek-a-boo" card instead! I really love those little flowers from Papertrey! Can't wait to ink them up again.

I'm "attending" Card Camp this week. It's been a push to participate, but all my cards are complete and I'm ready to share!

For Week One, we were given the challenge to create with five colors: purple, pink, orange, blue, and white. Here is my first attempt. I have wanted to make a card using all my different "birthday" stamps. The ribbon looks red in the picture, but is really pink....

Papertrey Make It Monday #16: Sympathy Cards

Here is my sympathy card. There's a little shimmer mist on the card base.

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

Here is my card spotlighting flowers. The tulip bouquet is from Friendship Jar Fillers Spring. There is a little bit of sparkly highlighting on each flower. It was fun to create this stand up card.