Ahoy, mateys!

Now that I'm done with all the October family birthdays, I was excited to be able to sit down yesterday and spend some time making whatever my little heart desired. I wanted to work on Christmas cards, since A) it's almost November already, and B) I have some fun new Christmas stamping goodies that I haven't even had a chance to use yet.

Sadly, my back decided to be achy yesterday, and I discovered that it wasn't very comfortable to sit for prolonged periods of time at my dining room/crafting table. Drats and double drats. I did, however, manage to make one card, and it's an idea that's been in my head for a few weeks:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®, unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Under the Sea set, Pirate Chickie, Small Solid Palm Trees (all DeNami Design)
Card stock: Cool Caribbean, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake
Ink pad: Jet Black StazOn
Markers: Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Garden Green, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Going Gray, Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Cupcake Builder punch, 1" circle punch, hemp twine, wave pattern scissors (Provo Craft), Crystal Effects, Champagne Glass Glitter, Dimensionals

I suppose if I could only finish a single card, there's some consolation in the fact that it's a cute one (at least in my humble opinion). I bought the little Pirate Chickie stamp at the Rubber Stamp & Scrapbook Expo about a month ago. I already had the palm tree, boat and treasure chest stamps, so as soon as I saw the pirate, I knew I had to buy it so I could make this card.

I started out with the Cool Caribbean card base and added a layer of Bermuda Bay for the water. I tore a piece of Creamy Caramel into an island-y shape and adhered it on the "water." Then I added another layer of Bermuda Bay (with the hemp twine for embellishment) in front of the island and popped it up with Dimensionals to create some depth.

I stamped the boat, trees, pirate and treasure chest on white card stock, colored them and cut them out. I tucked the boat behind one of the waves and played around with the placement of the other pieces until I had an arrangement I liked. To create the "treasure" in the chest, I put a small amount of Crystal Effects on the chest and then sprinkled on some Champagne Glass Glitter -- it has just the right sparkle. Then I used markers to add some sand and wave details.

For the sky, I used the Cupcake Builder punch to create clouds and a circle punch to make the sun. I left some open space in the upper right corner of the card in case I decide to stamp a greeting later. I'm pretty happy with how this card turned out. And I think it was easier than it looks; the only part that took some time was cutting out the little pieces, but I actually enjoy that.

Thanks for stopping by! Arrgh!

A farmer in the dell

I can't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween. I think costumes are a lot of fun and all; but since I don't go to Halloween parties or anything, I don't really have a reason to dress up. Well, this year I decided I'd wear a costume to our infant/toddler Halloween party at work.

I had a few criteria for my costume:

• It had to be identifiable for the toddlers, but not scary.
• It had to be comfortable. When we have our Halloween party, I spend a lot of time running around moving furniture and putting up/taking down decorations. That's in addition to the usual running around that is required with toddlers.
• It couldn't be too fussy (no time to make something intricate or search for hard-to-find items) or cost a lot of money.

I finally settled on being a farmer. I found some overalls ($15) and a hat ($5) at Ragstock and borrowed a shirt from my sister. (I couldn't find the red-and-white gingham-print shirt I really wanted, but my sister had a green-and-white one that was similar.) For a couple of other little details, I put braided pig tails in my hair -- tied off with red bows -- and bought a brown eyebrow pencil at Walgreen's (about $4) to make freckles on my cheeks. So I spent about $25, but it's all stuff I could technically use again. I'm not sure about the overalls, though; they're pretty big, and I don't know when else I'd wear them. So they might go in the donation bag. And I guess I don't have a lot of need for a cowboy hat, either; but then you never know ...

We had our party this morning, and I got up really early to make myself presentable. Thankfully I'd had my sister part my hair before I went to bed last night, so I could just roll out of bed and start braiding. It took a few tries, but I was finally happy with the finished product. I also discovered that it's really hard to draw freckles on my own face while looking in the mirror. The whole left/right thing was just throwing me off. It probably didn't help that it was about 5:20 in the morning.

Anyway, the party was a hit, and the toddlers seemed to like my costume (Olivia asked me if I was a "cowboy girl"). Maybe next year I'll start planning earlier and come up with something a little more exciting. Thanks for stopping by!

Cards for OWH

I haven't been doing much stamping the past couple of weeks (other than finishing my Halloween cards, which I had to do so I could mail them), but I made myself sit down today and make the last few cards I needed for Operation Write Home (OWH). Now I have thirty-five cards in a variety of categories (birthday, love, thinking of you, thank you and blank):

Tomorrow after work I'll sort the cards, tuck them in envelopes and get them packed up to be mailed this week. Yippee! This will be the second batch of cards I've sent to OWH. I feel like I could/should still make more, but I have to stop and send them at some point, right? Then I can start working on the next batch.

It's a good thing I'm finally getting these sent off because November is just over a week away, and I need to start thinking about my novel for National Novel Writing Month. I don't have any plot or character ideas yet, so I better spend some time brainstorming this week. I'm already feeling like I can't possibly write 50,000 words in a month. What have I gotten myself into?

Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween cards are done!

This weekend I finally finished my Halloween cards, so I thought I would share the last batches of cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits
Paper: Too Cute to Spook - Full Moon patterned paper (Bella Blvd), Whisper White, Basic Black, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, Wild Wasabi, Going Gray, Crushed Curry, Pool Party
Ink: Jet Black StazOn^®, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, Wild Wasabi, Going Gray, Crushed Curry, Pool Party
Accessories: Black and white fibers (On the Surface), 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, 1-3/8" square punch, Stampin' Dimensionals^®

I think this set of cards was my favorite. They're a fairly simple layout, but I think it works here. I love this patterned paper, so I wanted it to be visible on the cards. And I like how the punched circles matted on black squares coordinate with the polka dots. I probably wouldn't have put these colors together myself and thought of Halloween, but I think they work!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Too Cute to Spook and Best Witches (Unity Stamp Co.)
Paper: Too Cute to Spook - The Boo Crew  patterned paper (Bella Blvd), Whisper White, Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry, Pool Party
Ink: Jet Black StazOn; Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry, Pool Party and Blush Blossom markers
Accessories: Black fibers (On the Surface), Basic Black 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Ticket Corner punch, Dazzling Details, Rock Diamond Stickles (Ranger), black rhinestones (EK Success), google eyes (Inkadinkadoo), Stampin' Dimensionals

This patterned paper is from the same line as the polka dots, and I think it's adorable. I had purchased the stamp sets at the Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo a few weeks ago, so I was excited to run across these coordinating papers in Archiver's. I used a large piece of the paper on each card and then a layered focal image stamped with either the monster or the witch. Some fibers and a bit of a sparkle here and there, and that's it! These cards also have a pretty basic layout, although they took a bit longer because of the coloring.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Blue Bayou, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry
Ink: Jet Black StazOn
Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, Bitty Bat punch, Cupcake Builder punch, and Jack o' Lantern layering punch (EK Success),  Spooky Fence die (Amuse Studio), Stampin' Dimensionals

I made two cards with this design. They were quick -- minimal stamping, mainly just punch, glue and go! The jack-o'-lantern is a three-step layering punch, so by punching the layers in different colors, I made the jack-o'-lantern look as if it is lit up. The moon, clouds, bats and fence finish off this not-too-spooky scene.

Well, now that my cards are done, I just have to send them off. (I often forget that the work isn't done just because all the cards are made ...). Thanks for stopping by!

A few more cast members

Well, I had a quiet, but fun, birthday. I slept in a bit Thursday morning and spent a good portion of the day lying in bed in my pajamas reading a book. In the afternoon, my dad brought over a bouquet of flowers for me, and I watched Singin' in the Rain.

Then while I was at belly dance class that evening, my sister put up streamers to decorate the apartment, and my parents and brother brought over cake, ice cream and presents.

One of the "presents" my mom gave me was an ice cream bucket filled with my old Legos from when I was a kid. There's nothing quite like receiving something as a present that was already mine, and we all had a good laugh about it. (My sister said she is going to start doing this; I told her I have a bunch of DVDs I've never opened that she could literally "regift.") But it was fun to have them and compare the different pieces then and now. I think one of the things that's changed the most with Legos is the people. I had forgotten, but they used to be large round heads attached to a small piece that also had jointed arms. The hands were small circles that could be attached to the knobs on the other Legos. That's it; no bodies.

I had three people in my old bucket o' Legos. I had to build bodies for them, which was interesting. They're about twice the size of my other Lego characters, so I'm not sure how I'll incorporate them into any future stories. Maybe they'll be stricken with gigantism. Or they'll be the last three ancestors of a Martian colony that crashed into Earth two hundred years ago. Who knows.

But without further ado, here are the new members of my cast:

Lucas (in white) is the self-proclaimed Biggest Star Wars Fan Ever. He has all of the movies memorized, and he even made his own light saber (it's hard to see in the picture).

Sally (in blue) is a vigilante, The Exasperator. She tracks down robbers and then tells them bad jokes until they agree to give back what they stole.

 Cy, the cyborg, has one regular hand and and one magnetic bar. It's handy for picking up the screws he drops when doing self-repairs, but it makes rolling through the refrigerator aisle at Sears a challenge.

The two detectives, Clive (magnifying glass in the right hand) and Basil just opened their own locksmith business, Sure-Lock Homes. They are hobby sleuths and discuss their cases everyday over high tea.

The guards, McCartney and Harrison, are in a Beatles cover band on the weekend. They are talented singers and musicians, but they consistently get reviews that they are too stiff on stage.

Cleo and Patty have their own Vegas-based snake-charming show. Currently they are on hiatus after an unfortunate incident with an escaped python.

Jean is the understudy for Pebbles Flintstone in an off-off-Broadway production of The Flintstones: Their Hip-Hop Caveman Life. She believes in fully immersing herself in her roles.

Mac lives in Antarctica with a colony of emperor penguins. He is mastering the intricacies of waddling and hopes to someday be able to catch fish without a fishing pole.

Li'l Pete is Paul's ultra-rich cousin (see A cast of characters) and the styling director for Paul's fashion shows.

Rocky wants to be a movie director and is making money throwing boxing matches so he can pay for film school.

So there you have it. I'll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory: "It's not enough to make the Legos move; they also have to capture your heart." -Howard Wolowitz

They say it's my birthday!

Happy birthday to me.

Happy birthday to me.

Happy birthday to me-e.

Happy birthday to me.

Today is my birthday. Thirty-six. I feel like I'm getting old. I had to renew my driver's license this year and I realized that the next time I renew it will be when I turn forty. Egad.

On to happier thoughts ... The toddlers in my class (with the help of another teacher) made me this adorable sign for my birthday. They put it up on one of our classroom doors late Tuesday afternoon, so I found it when I came in yesterday. (I took this pic at home; sorry the contrast between the cream paint and the top of the cupcake isn't great. I just had to bring the sign home so I could enjoy it on my actual birthday.) I got some homemade M&M cookies, too. Yum!

I don't have anything exciting planned for my birthday. I have belly dance class tonight (yay!), so I don't really have time to go out for dinner. My parents and brother are coming over after class with cake and ice cream, though, so I'll get a little treat.

I did take today, tomorrow and Monday off work to "celebrate." No big plans -- unless you count stamping, reading, watching TV and lying around on the couch big plans -- but that's fine by me. There are plenty of productive things I should be doing, but who really wants to be productive on her birthday?

Have a great day!

Scoring challenge

This month the SoShelli.com Creative Challenge is to create projects using scoring. I've used my new Simply Scored Tool several times, but for this card I went all out:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Create a Cupcake
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Baja Breeze card stock, Whisper White card stock, Early Espresso card stock, Designer Series Paper (DSP) Patterns Stack - Brights Collection (Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight)
Accessories: Simply Scored Tool, Dazzling Details, Basic Rhinestones, Corduroy brads (Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Breeze), Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, 1" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, Sticky Strip

I used the Simply Scored Tool in three different ways on this card:

• Textured background -- With scoring grooves every 1/8", the Simply Scored Tool is perfect for making textured backgrounds. I love to make score lines at random widths for an interesting effect.
• Scored ribbon -- I used Sticky Strip to adhere a piece of Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon to a 1/2" wide strip of Baja Breeze card stock. To add texture to the ribbon, I scored the card stock  every 1/4". Then I added the scallop border behind the ribbon and adhered it to the card.
• Accordion flowers -- I cut three strips of DSP of different widths (the wider the strip, the larger the flower) and scored them. For each strip, I scored every 1/2" on one side of the paper, flipped the paper over and again scored every 1/2" (in between the current score lines; when done the score lines are every 1/4"). Then I punched the scallop trim border and accordion folded the strip. I used Sticky Strip to glue the two ends of the paper strip together, making sort of a tube. Then I spread one end of the tube open, flattened it to make a flower and glued it to a circle of card stock covered with Sticky Strip.

For embellishment, I added card stock circles and corduroy brads to the flowers and then placed a thin line of Dazzling Details glitter glue on each of the peak folds (it's a little hard to see in the picture, but it's a great little sparkle in real life). I also added Dazzling Details on the banner and a few rhinestones for a little extra glitz. I stamped a birthday greeting on the banner, but you could make this card work for just about any occasion.

Thanks for stopping by!

Zipper pulls

When I started decorating barrettes I planned to give them to my cousins' daughters for birthday presents. I wanted to give something handmade to the boys, too, but I couldn't figure out what the "boy equivalent" of barrettes would be. I finally came up with the idea of making zipper pulls. So this weekend I made three zipper pulls:

Supplies:
Shrinky Dinks plastic sheets, 1/4" hole punch, 9 mm jump rings, 1" lanyard hooks, permanent markers, clip-art images

I thought about using stamped images on card stock, but that wouldn't be very sturdy for rough-and-tumble little boys. I could laminate the paper, but that still wouldn't be great. So I decided to try Shrinky Dinks^®.

I wanted to stamp images and then color them in with permanent markers, but I don't have any kid-friendly stamps that are large enough (they do shrink quite a bit). So instead I used pre-made images. I looked through some clip-art images on my computer, found a few I liked, then enlarged and printed them. I placed each image behind the Shrinky Dinks plastic and used permanent markers to trace the outlines and color in the images. I punched holes slightly above the images, cut them out and shrank them according to the directions on the Shrinky Dinks package. Once they were cool, I added a jump ring through the hole on each piece and attached a lanyard hook to the jump ring. Done!

These were easy to make -- and, even as an adult, I still thought it was fun to watch them shrink! You could create just about any kind of zipper pull, as long as you have an image to trace (or draw, if you're more talented than me). Thanks for stopping by!

Telescoping snowman card

Back in August when I made my first telescoping card for a challenge, I saw that a few other stampers had taken the idea and made adorable snowmen cards. I finally had a chance to make one myself.

This is the snowman fully open.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Best Yet
Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Standard Circles Large Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1" square punch, Word Window punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 1/4" circle punch, Small Heart punch, white brads, Dazzling Details

I used three of the circle dies from the Standard Circles Large Nestabilities: the largest, the third largest and the third smallest. I attached the circles together with small white brads.

I punched small black circles for the eyes, mouth and buttons and cut an orange triangle for the nose. For the hat, I punched a black 1" square and a Word Window shape. I added a small strip of red to one side of the black square and then glued the square onto the Word Window so it overlapped just a little. I freehand cut two twig arms and added a punched heart in one of his hands. For a little sparkle, I covered the nose, heart and hatband with Dazzling Details. I really wanted him to have a scarf, but I wasn't sure how to add one without affecting the ability to turn the circles.

I used the bottom circle of the snowman for a stamped greeting and a space to write a message. To "close" the card, you just twist the circles together:

This is the snowman with the bottom circle
twisted up.

Here is the snowman card closed.

The snowman card will fit in a standard A2 size envelope when it's closed (here is a picture so you can see it). I think I might also try gluing the bottom circle of the snowman to another piece of card stock so it's a little sturdier. Maybe a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of blue with a torn border of white at the bottom to look like a snowbank. Then I could add some sparkly snowflakes, too.

This was a fun card to make, and I think it was easier than it looks. I'm definitely going to make more of these for my Christmas cards this year!

Birthdays in blue and brown

Sometimes when I sit down to make cards I already have an idea of what kind of card I want to make or what I want it to look like (although often the finished product is nothing like what I imagined at the beginning). Other times I start out with a certain product, such as a stamp set, color combo or specific accessory, and build a card around that.

For the cards I'm sharing today, I started out with a pack of four fabric tags in shades of blues and browns (another one of those supplies that I've had for years). I selected some coordinating colors and made four birthday cards with the tags. Here are the first two cards:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Plane & Simple
Card stock: Bordering Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Whisper White, textured brown (source unknown)
Ink: Bordering Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Soft Suede
Accessories: Fabric tags (Making Memories), 2-1/2" circle punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, 5/16" neutrals brads, blue brad (source unknown), Dots & Designs rub-ons, mat pack, paper piercer, Dimensionals, Simply Scored tool

I thought the Plane & Simple set worked well with this color combo, so I used it to create a couple of masculine birthday cards. I tried a new (for me) technique on the left card. I have this stamp set in clear-mount style, so I put both the stamps I used on the background (goggles and compass) together on the clear block and stamped the card. With both stamps on the block, it was twice as fast!

I struggled a little bit with the card on the right. I decided to add the rub-on dots to the tag for a pop of color and pattern. I've used rub-ons on ribbon before, and you do have to use a little more pressure when rubbing because the surface isn't smooth like paper, but they still work just fine. Well, I discovered that these tags weren't quite so easy. I think it took me about twenty minutes of very firm rubbing in every possible direction to transfer the dots onto the tag. Sheesh. My arm was sore by the time I was done. I think it looks nice, but I don't know that I'd try it again.

Here are the other two cards I made with the fabric tags:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Vintage Labels, Turtle & Co.
Card stock: Buckaroo Blue, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, textured brown (source unknown)
Ink: Bordering Blue, Buckaroo Blue, Soft Suede
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Stripes embossing folder, Fabric tags (Making Memories), French Blue grosgrain ribbon, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Large Oval punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, corner rounder, Blender Pen, Chit Chat rub-ons, Dimensionals

I used embossing folders to add texture to both of these cards -- a quick and easy way to make a background. For the top card, I thought the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder worked well with the floral pattern on the tag. I like the feminine feel of this card even though it uses a traditionally masculine color combo.

For the bottom card, I went with an embossed stripe background. Combined with a simple scalloped edge and white rub-on greeting, it gives this card a clean, classic feel -- not too fussy, but definitely not boring.

Thanks for stopping by!

A 'novel' idea

I am going to write a novel. Really. I'm sure it won't be a good novel. It probably won't be an interesting novel. It might even be an oh-my-god-I-can't-read-any-more-of-this-crap novel. But I'm going to write one. In a month.

Pennants, polka dots and petals

It's fun -- and pretty gratifying -- when you have an idea that actually works out the way you imagine it. The last die I bought from Stampin' Up!^® for my Big Shot was called Perfect Pennants. It has two scalloped circles (which I love for layering with circle punches) and three triangle shapes for making pennants and banners.

I've made a couple of banners as make-and-take projects at Stampin' Up! events, and they're very cute. But I'm not really likely to make many banners on my own, so I wanted another way to use the triangle shapes. That's when I had the idea to combine them to make diamond patterns. Here are two cards I made with this idea yesterday.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Regal Rose card stock, Au Chocolat DSP
Accessories: Perfect Pennants die, Boho Blossoms punch, pink and brown suede flowers (unknown), neutrals 5/16" brads, mat pack, paper piercer

For this card I cut four of the medium-sized triangle out of a piece of Au Chocolat DSP. I lined them up point to point and glued them on the front of the card. They fit almost perfectly; I just had to trim them a little bit. I used the piercing grid in the mat pack to pierce lines of holes in the Regal Rose card stock. I layered the two suede flowers with a flower from the Boho Blossoms punch and a Very Vanilla brad and glued them in the middle of the card.

 

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Regal Rose card stock, Very Vanilla card stock, Au Chocolat DSP
Accessories: Perfect Pennants die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Boho Blossoms punch, pink and brown suede flowers (unknown), neutrals 5/16" brads, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch 

To make this card I first embossed the card front with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. Then I cut two of the largest triangles from the Perfect Pennants die out of the Au Chocolat DSP. I turned the triangles point to point, overlapped the points until the dot pattern on both pieces was lined up and glued the triangles together. I also trimmed off the end of the point that was on top so it didn't show from behind the flowers.

I punched two strips of Very Vanilla card stock with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch and then cut the strips in half lengthwise. I glued the half strips behind the triangles so just a little bit of the scallops was visible. Then I adhered everything to the card, trimming the ends of the triangles so they lined up with the sides of the card. I finished the card with the layered suede flowers, punched flower and Very Vanilla brad.

I really like the look of these cards, and I can't wait to try this technique with other colors and patterns. Thanks for stopping by!

World card-making day 2011

Today is world card-making day -- yippee! Probably the perfect "holiday" for me. Happily, I didn't have any plans today, so I dedicated the day to making cards. Here are the results of my hard work this morning and afternoon:

Honestly, I had hoped to have more than nine cards made, but the top row of cards took me a lot longer than I thought they would. I used a pack of fabric tags from Making Memories that I've had for years, and I had to match the colors on the tags with ink and card stock and then figure out how I actually wanted to use the tags in the layouts. I wouldn't have expected that to be such a challenge, but I guess today it was. I'll share more pictures and details about some of these cards next week.

All of these cards are going in my next stash to send to Operation Write Home. That puts me over twenty cards, so I'll probably sort what I have into categories (thinking of you, birthday, etc.) and see if there are any categories that need a few more cards. I should be able to send them off in the next week or two!

If I have any energy left later this evening, I might try to make a few more cards. (At the moment I have to take a break so I can eat dinner and watch the season finale of Doctor Who.) I do want to try making a snowman Christmas card with the telescoping card technique. And I have more Halloween cards to make, too. A card-maker's work is never done ...

Whether you made any cards or not, I hope you enjoyed your day. Maybe next year I'll plan a stamp-a-stack or even just a bring-you-own-supplies-and-make-some-cards event to celebrate world card-making day.