Saturday, January 30, 2010

Enjoy the Moment

After being down for the count for a couple of days with a stomach virus I finally made my way back to my craft room. My first project is for the Mojo Monday Sketch Blog challenge.  I kept the stamping simple with the use of Papertrey Ink's Turning a New Leaf and Mega Mixed Messages sets.



Products: Papertrey Ink Stamps, buttons and twill, Crate Paper and Collage Press patterned paper, Spellbinders Nestabilities

I created the second card based on a sketch by my talented friend Wendy. Check out Wendy's She's Gone Crafty blog each Saturday for a new sketch. 



















Products: Gorjuss Girl stamp by Sugar Nellie, Papertrey Ink sentiment stamp, Bella Blvd patterned paper, May Arts ribbon and Doodlebug sequins

Copic Markers: Skin - E00, E02, R02; Hair - E57, E55, E99; Dress and stockings - R83, R85; Shoes - B32, B34

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Monday, January 25, 2010

My Favorite Things Challenge

So sorry to be absent from the blog - definitely not my intention!  My old Toshiba laptop finally died and I had to replace it.  I'm still loading software and trying to figure out Windows 7 so there hasn't been a lot of time in my craft room. Of course if I would do some of the tutorials rather than just fumble my way around...but that's another story.

Today's project is for My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club challenge. The choices were to include texture, use the sample card as a sketch or specific MFT stamps.  I took the easy way out since most all of my cards include some form of texture anyway!  My favorite way to texturize is by using an embossing folder plus for this challenge I also included a piece of chipboard and some ribbon twill. 

I combined one of my very favorite paper lines, Cosmo Cricket Early Bird with some of my new favorite stamps, the Pure Innocence line from My Favorite Things.
















Products:  Stamps by My Favorite Things and Purple Onion Designs (sentiment); Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, Maya Road chipboard and pin, Fancy Pants pin, Papertrey Ink ribbon twill,  Fiskars Border Punch, Martha Stewart punch (butterflies), Kaisercraft pearls, Making Memories paint, Autumn Leaves stamp (swirls on the chipboard branch), Cuttlebug Embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Quicktuz tags

Copic Markers: Skin - E00, E02, R01; Hair - Y21, Y26, E31; Swing - E55, E57, W1; Dress - R01, R11, R20; Shoes - BG72, BG75; Leaves - G21, G24, W1; Background - BG0000, BG10

As always, thank you for stopping by. 


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Craft Room Cleanup

I walked in to my craft room on January 1 to be confronted with this:





















It looked very intimidating at first and truthfully I almost just closed the door! But I knew there was no way I could ever feel even remotely creative in the chaos. I thought I would share with you how I managed to get it straightened out in a relatively short length of time just in case yours happens to be in the same shape!

First of all, I knew I would get frustrated if I spent all my time cleaning so I decided to spread the project out over three days. Plus I gave myself a time limit for each day - no more than three hours per day. Secondly, I divided the room up into sections and tackled the sections one at a time.

(as always, all photos are clickable for a larger view)

Day 1:
I chose to clean my work table and the floor in front of it first. Afterall if I did suddenly get the urge to make something I would need to get to that area!  And yes, that meant I had to walk over all the "stuff" that was in the floor,  and consequently, in front of drawers, shelves and closet to put things up! If I spied something in another part of the room that needed to go in the same spot as what I had in my hand, I would pick that up too if I could.  But for the most part I kept to my section for the day.  Time spent: 2.5 hours

Work table Before:

Work table After:



Floor in front of work table Before:


Floor in front of work table After:














Day 2:
I felt good about my progress so it was easier to walk in the room on Day 2 despite the fact I still had to step over the stuff in the doorway to actually enter the room.  On this day, I chose to clean off the computer desk and bed. I did not have as much time as I did the previous day so I had to work fast.  A lot of the surface of the bed and computer desk was taken up by "homeless" completed layouts.  I took them along with the albums they belonged in downstairs to be done while watching television that night (and yes they all have homes now!).   Time spent: 1.5 hours
Computer desk before:















Computer desk After:














Bed Before:

Bed After:

Day3:
By day 3, the room was really taking shape and I was excited to see an end in sight!  On this day I cleaned up the last two sections - the floor in front of the bed and the stuff in the doorway and and in front of the closet.  Time spent: 3 hours
In front of bed Before:

In front of bed After:















In front of closet Before:

In front of closet After:

Doorway before:

Doorway After:


Here are some additional after photos:



















By spreading the cleanup over several days, giving myself a time limit per day as well as dividing up the room into sections, I really accomplished a lot without getting frustrated and tired of the effort.  Try it next time and see if it works for you.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Aqua and Red

Even though I have been reading the Whiff of Joy Challenge blog for several months now this is my first time to participate in one of their challenges. Challenge #61 is to use the color combo of aqua and red. I like these colors so much so much I made two cards.  I stamped both card images with Memento ink onto Prism cardstock and then colored with Copic Markers.

For my first card, I used Whiff of Joy Willow with Strawberry Basket image: 

















Other supplies: Papertrey Ink cardstock (for card base), sentiment stamp and buttons;  Jillibean Soup patterned paper and journal square; Belle Blvd patterned paper; Martha Stewart ribbon; Doodlebug flower; Kaisercraft pearls; Spellbinders Nestabilities

Copic Markers: Skin E00, E02, R02; Hair: E55, E57; Dress: BG10, BG11; Basket: E31, E33; Fruit: R22, R27, R29; Leaves: G21, G24, G82; Background: G0000, BG0000 


For this card, I used Whiff of Joy Kneeling Willow:

 
Other supplies: Papertrey Ink cardstock and button;  October Afternoon patterned paper; Prima canvas tag; Jenni Bowlin button; Doodlebug flower; Kaisercraft pearls; Spellbinders Nestabilities

Copic Markers: Skin E00, E02, R01; Hair: E55, E57, E29; Dress: BG10, BG11, BG72; Pinafore: C00, C01; Bow and shoes: R22, R27, R29; Background: B0000

Thank you for visiting.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Brr......it's really cold. It doesn't seem to make a bit of difference that I live in the sunny South!

Since the whole country (and many other parts of the world) appears to be in a deep freeze a cold weather themed card seemed appropriate especially since it also fits the Simon Says "Hot Chocolate" challenge. The stamp is Whiff of Joy's Willow with Hot Chocolate and I stamped it with Memento Ink onto Prism cardstock and then colored with Copic Markers.  I also used some of my very favorite Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, Jolly by Golly.


 

Supplies:  Bazzill Basics cardstock; Papertrey Ink buttons; Cosmo Cricket patterned paper and chipboard; Spellbinders Nestabilities

Copic Markers: Skin E00, E02, R01; Hair: E57, E29, E15; Jeans and sweater: BG10, BG11, BG72; Socks and sweater trim: R27, R46, C1; Background: B0000 

Stay warm!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Sketch Challenge



Yesterday was my birthday so I celebrated by making a birthday card for someone else.  When I saw the above sketch on the Taylored Expressions blog I knew it would be a great way to get me started after my December hiatus from papercrafting.  I just purchased my first Taylored Expressions stamps last month so the timing couldn't be better. I combined the Branching Out set with Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg patterned paper.  




Products: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, Taylored Expressions stamps, Spellbinders Nestabilities, May Arts ribbon, Papertrey Ink cardstock and buttons, Memento Ink

I hope you all are staying warm. I cannot figure out this crazy weather. It is snowing here in Alabama as I write this, a rare event for us!  But the excitement of the BCS Championship game tonight helps to keep us warm today.  Roll Tide!

 

Saturday, January 2, 2010

My Favorite Projects of 2009

To celebrate the new year and at the same time pay homage to the closing of the Lifetime Moments gallery, I thought I would share my top 12 favorite projects of 2009.   I think most all of these were created either for the LM Style newsletter, featured on the blog or posted in the Up to the Minute Gallery.  I really am going to miss designing for Jackie.  

1. First up is this card I made to give to my husband for our anniversary.  The frogs make me smile every time I see them:




Products: Jillibean Soup patterned paper, Making Memories epoxy hearts, May Arts ribbon, Maya Road chipboard, Cuttlebug embossing folder

2. This layout is special to me because I treasure the photo of my grandmother holding her grandchildren (including me, the toddler on her knee, not looking at the camera):

Products: Webster's Pages patterned paper, Prima flowers, Basic Grey chipboard letters, My Little Shoebox letter stickers, Heidi Swapp heart stamp 

3. A matching card and gift wrap for my granddaughter's first birthday using some fun summery colors:

 
 
 

Products: Pink Paislee patterned paper, Maya Road chipboard heart, American Crafts and May Arts ribbons, Fiskars border punch, Prima flowers, My Little Shoebox letter stickers, Cuttlebug embossing folder 

4. I like this for the simple fact that I used camo paper on a Christmas layout featuring some photos of my son when he was a boy:

 
 

Products: Making Memories patterned paper and twill, Melissa Frances and Jenni Bowlin journal tickets, American Crafts thickers, Ki Memories epoxy letters and paper clips,  My Little Shoebox letter stickers

5. I created this heritage layout with an extra loving hand as my Uncle Van is no longer with us:



Products: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, 7 Gypsies oversized photos corner, photo turns and tags, May Arts suede ribbon, Papertrey Ink twill, Jenni Bowlin button

6. I discovered Copic markers this year and they have proven to be quite the addiction:


Products: Bella Blvd, My Little Yellow Bicycle and Pink Paislee patterned papers, Kaisercraft pearls, Maya Road chipboard, Whiff of Joy stamp, Copic Markers

7. This wedding layout of my son and daughter-in-law couldn't be more simple but it is one of my favorites in the whole album:

 
 
Products: Melissa Frances patterned paper, Basic Grey bling rub-ons, Kaidercraft pearls, Martha Stewart heart punch, Maya Road pin 

8. I love this Pink Paislee paper and brought some samples back with me from summer CHA.  I couldn't wait to get started on this layout of my two step-granddaughters:  


 
Products: Pink Paislee patterned paper and letter stickers, Webster's pages stickers and trim, Making Memories pins

9. I made this card to go in a gift basket of beach related toys for my two step-granddaughters this summer:

Products: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, My Mind's Eye coaster, Ki Memories ribbon, Fiskars border punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Jolee's dimensional stickers

10. I really like re-purposing themed paper for everyday photos.  In this case I used Fancy Pants Christmas Magic paper for a heritage layout.  

 
 Products: Fancy Pants patterned paper and felt, Prima flowers, Basic Grey letter stickers, Autumn Leaves twill  

11. I made this card for my husband on Valentine's day.  

Products: My Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper and stickers, American Crafts ribbon, Fiskars border punch

12. This tag mini album was destined for my creative journal.  It serves to remind me that I to concentrate on the good and simple things of life rather than on material possesions. 

 
 





Products: Pink Paislee, Bella Blvd and Basic Grey patterned papers, Basic Grey and Daisy Bucket stamps, Prima flowers, Maya Road chipboard and trims, Heidi Swapp chandelier crystal, Webster's Pages trim, American Crafts ribbon, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, My Little Shoebox letter stickers


I hope you have enjoyed my little walk down memory lane.  Here's hoping for a great 2010!