Friday, April 30, 2010
Stamper's Dream sponsors JustRite challenge!
...and JustRite stamps. Then, post your entry to your blog or an online gallery, and link using the new linking system on the JustRite Inspiration Blog challenge post. All the details can be found there as well. You will have until next Thursday, May 6th at 9am central to make your project and enter a link to it on the JustRite blog post. Then the winner will be chosen and announced a little later that day on the JustRite Inspiration Blog, as well as on the Stamper's Dream blog. So...get busy making those cards! We would love to have you play along!
Here is what I came up with:
I flipped the sketch to create this card. The waves are reversed though (I should have put the smaller one on the bottom to strictly adhere to the sketch--oopsie!) Otherwise, the elements are there.
I used the new JustRite By the Sea Borders & Centers Oval set to create this. Instead of using the sentiment in the oval shape, I cut out the words and added them into the waves. I paper pieced the boat and clouds and just used those portions of the main image since I wanted to create my own waves for the sketch elements. I added some piercing holes for the wind.
Materials used: Stamps-By the Sea Borders & Centers Oval (JustRite Stampers); Memento tuxedo black ink; Designer paper-The Boyfriend: tube socks (Cosmo Cricket), Fly a Kite 8 By 8 pad (October Afternoon); Creative Memories cutting system; fibers; slit punch (SU!); adhesive dots (Recollections, Michael's); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories).
Head on over to these wonderful blogs to see more sketch-y cards:
Stayed tuned: Next week is JustRite week at Stamper's Dream. All week the design team will be showing you the newest stamps that just arrived in the store. You won't want to miss it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Just playing....
I took a literal approach to the Fly a Kite line and came up with this: I cut out the triangular shapes and cut some in half vertically and horizontally and then glued the pieces onto the solid ones to form the kites. I poked a hole under the kite to add the embroidery floss that goes down under the sentiment. I added some black dots around the main panel and around the cloud.
Easy and fun!
You can find this October Afternoon paper pad at:
Stamper's Dream store .
Materials used: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Designer paper- Fly a Kite 8 by 8 pad (October Afternoon); Farm Fresh word sticker (October Afternoon); embroidery floss.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I'm Speechless....
For those of you who can hack it...I just had to share what my youngest child did last night. I *think* I am finally over the shock of it.
I was double bathing the youngest two. Had my seven year old son in one bath and my 4.5 year old daughter in my bedroom bath.
I left her to go wash my son's hair (I know, not really supposed to do that but I feel they are both old enough to handle a few minutes alone....)
After washing his hair, I returned to do the same for her. She had a strange look on her face... One I have seen too many times.
Me: Lauren, what did you do?
Lauren: Nothing.
Me: Lauren, I KNOW that face. You know I will find out so you should just tell me.
Lauren: Promise you won't get mad?
Me: (internally groaning knowing this will be good) Yes, I promise.
Lauren: I am sorry, I had an accident.
Me: (Frantically looking around the tub for anything) You did? Where...I don't see anything. Maybe you just thought you did. (Please. Please)
Lauren: No I did.
Me: Where?
Lauren: I put it in there (Pointing to the jets in the tub.)
Me: (Oh Crap! Literally. Counting backward from 10.) Ok honey. Next time don't do that. It is fine to have an accident now and then but it is not ok to "hide" the evidence.
That.....was not fun. Luckily, only 1 jet was involved.
Ok....if I made you cringe at that. This will make you laugh. I found this in my son's folder today. If you are not familiar with the Black Eyed Peas it might not make sense. If you are...it appears that he was trying to write some of the lyrics to their songs but got sidetracked a few times with some popular first grade rhymes: Just thankful the teacher didn't find it.....or maybe she did?!
..................And the week has only JUST begun!
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, April 26, 2010
My Sweet Cute Chick
Today, I wanted to share a recent scrapbook page I made. I purchased a huge kit of Cosmo Cricket (Garden Variety, Material Girl, tiny letters, etc.) during a HSN special and had to play with it. So I chose a picture of my youngest when she was 2 (probably my favorite age ever!) and came up with this: And a few detail shots:
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thanks and Blog Candy Winner!
Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes!!! I am having a wonderful day with my family!!!
My husband got me a Cannon Rebel camera and a Kodak photo printer. (*I know. I am spoiled!) Now I have to figure out how to use it all!
Just wanted to pop in and announce the winner of the Crafts 'n Things magazine. Random.Cara picked number 37 (my age today!). Congrats to Diane who said...
"I am also a subscriber...thanks for the chance!!" Diane, please email me your address so I can send that out to you!
Thanks for playing along!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sew Fun!
We have lots planned this weekend....going to a local festival, baseball games, dinner with friends and celebrating my birthday! Cannot wait for the fun to begin.
Today, Lauren and I are making a cake (she insisted!) It is a fun thing for us to do together. (I think she just wants to lick the bowl when we are done!)
All of the new stamps from Gina K designs are now available in the store! Here is a card I snuck in this week. Couldn't resist Asela's new set Sew Pretty--- I coupled the retro girl image with some October Afternoon designer paper, wild card and sticker! Here is a peek at the dimension of the dress:
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!! I will be popping back in sometime tomorrow to announce the blog candy winner!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
What's Up? and blog candy
I am MIA a bit this week because I have undertaken the HUGE task of moving my craft space back down to my craft room (from my bedroom.)
I moved it upstairs when my husband was deployed and now that he has been home a few months....he thinks it is best that it moves back to the cave :)
The good news---I will have TONS of good things to share soon. I NEED to purge in order to make room for the new!
In the meantime, how would you like to win the new issue (May/June) of Crafts 'n Things Magazine? I love this magazine for the variety of projects they offer. It is fun to see so many other craft ideas and figure out how i can relate them to paper: Here is a card I have in the current issue:
And this card was in the March/April issue:
If you would like to be entered to win the May issue, just leave a comment on this post and let me know your favorite crafty projects besides cards! You have until Friday, April 23 at 8 p.m. central time to enter. Random.Cara will pick a winner and you will have four days to contact me after that. (Subscribers can enter twice!)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Gina K Preview Day 1 and a Farewell
But first, I want to let you all know that I have stepped down from the Gina K design team. Last month was my last "official" month on the team. This decision was very tough for me and I assure you it was for one reason ONLY -----> to lessen my mandatory work load at this time. My baby starts kindergarten in the fall and I really want to cherish these last few months of having a little one home. Gina is absolutely amazing and I have no doubt that we will still be working together a lot! I am so grateful for her friendship and I will still be around peeking some sets here and there (like today!) and posting lots of Gina K goodness on my blog. Thank you, Gina! LOVE you lots!
Now...onto the stampy stuff! Here are two creations I made with Oh Boy! The first is a nursery wall decor piece. I love all the transportation images in this set and think it would be so cute to put each one in a frame for a collection of wall art. I created one with the sailboat:
I painted the wood frame with some white paint. Then, I created the scene with lots of paper piecing----I paper pieced the sailboat with some paper and did the same with the clouds and sun. I layered the sail and sun for some dimension. I popped up a few layers and added some (wonky) stitching and a little button.
You can see some of the dimension/detail in this picture:
I paired this image with some Joy Ride dp and chipboard. I free hand cut the clouds and added some tiny dots for fun. The truck is colored with Copic markers.
Materials used: Stamps- Oh Boy! (Gina K Designs); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Copic markers; Memento tuxedo black ink; ribbon (SU!); designer paper- Joy Ride (Cosmo Cricket); Ready Set Chip-JoyRide (Cosmo Cricket); black pen.
Designers Participating in previewing tonight:
Melanie Muenchinger - Gifts from the Sea illustrator
Tami Mayberry - Oh Boy! illustrator
Geri Utterback - our Center Stage Spotlight Designer!
The Release Party is this Thursday, April 22 on StampTV. There will be challenges, contest questions, chatter, as well as tons of samples from the Design Team members from 7-10 (central time) all leading to the new products being available in GinaK's online store at 10pm.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Streamer Flower Tutorial
I promised to come back and explain that little fluffy flower...so here it is....the secret to that little flower embellishment is .................................................................................................
STREAMERS. (Also known as crepe paper but waaayyyy cheaper when you buy it like this!)
You can find rolls of this in the Dollar store in many colors. I chose white because I like the idea of dying it to make different colored flowers or adding ink to the edges with Copic markers. Imagine the possibilities!
All you have to do is unroll a section and pull the strand to remove a lot of the crinkle (but not all of it.) I used a Spellbinder blossom die to cut the flower shape (I cut about 6 layers at a time.)
After I had the amount of layers I wanted (this is about 10 layers) I inserted a paper piercing tool through the center and moved it around to make a larger hole.
Then I inserted a brad through the center:
Next, just crumple in each layer toward the center one layer at a time. Crepe paper is VERY easy to manipulate so this is simple and you can move quickly. After you crumple the layers in, just start to separate each layer starting with the last layer you crumpled in. As you work the layers just seem to fall into place:
I used a little green floral wire to create the leaves just to show you another option:
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Happy Thoughts
I am sad to report that my son's team was demolished last night. It was the first game in a triple elimination tournament. They lost by......a lot :(
The game started out well...they made a great out and then....they didn't do much on the field. My son is a slugger...he was first up on his team and hit a triple. (It easily would have been a home run but he stopped for a bit to admire his hit to deep center field!) Nice!
Sorry...I am just proud of him and hard he works. He has a lot of strength and athletic ability but mostly he plays ALL the time. He gets home from school and he says, "Mom, wanna have a catch?" EVERY DAY. So he is good....but he also works for it.
He didn't cry after the game last night. Instead, he optimistically said before going to bed, "I think we are gonna be third in the tournament." I doubt it...but I LOVE his attitude!
Another game tonight.....:)
Here is a card I made a few weeks ago and never posted. Life got busy I guess.
I used Jillibean paper and stamps for this. I stamped the flower and stitched along the stamp lines with some dark embroidery floss. I added a bit of machine stitching along the edges and on the side of the sentiment.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Stitched with Love
Things are busy---it is tournament week for my son's baseball team..which means lots of extra games; my oldest started taking piano lessons and LIKES them! (woohooo!); and last night I dropped my blackberry into the hopper (nice, eh?) I should clarify that it was a clean toilet :) In my defense, I keep it in my back pocket at all times in case school calls, etc. and the jeans I was wearing were loose so it just jumped right out. Sigh!
Last night, while I was watching TV I was playing around with the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl papers and came up with this: I love how easy it was....and how fun it was to actually stitch the squares to make them look more quilt-like!
I used a sentiment from Stitched with Love Borders & Centers by JustRite Stampers. and paired it with some Cosmo Cricket Material Girl adhesive Chipboard stickers and twill ribbon.
Did you know that you can find JustRite stamps and Cosmo Cricket paper at Stamper's Dream store?
Materials used: Stamps- (JustRite); Memento tuxedo back ink; Cardstock-ivory (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Material Girl (Cosmo Cricket); Material girl adhesive chipboard (Cosmo Cricket); twill ribbon (SU!); sewing machine; corner punch (Fiskars).
Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sister Love
We had a blast at Atlantic City on Friday night and then on Saturday went to my parent's beach house in N. Wildwood.
Although one of my sisters couldn't make it this year---it was great to see the rest of them and have time to catch up and have FUN!
To fill you in: I am one of eight children. The oldest is a boy and the rest are all girls. About fifteen years ago a few of us decided to head to the shore to clean my parents shore house to get ready for the summer season and we had such a fabulous time. After that....more joined in until it became an annual event in the spring. Each year we set the date around Christmas and everyone tries their hardest to get there. This year all but one could make it. (Yes, we invite my brother. He came one year but I think it freaked him out a bit!!)
Here are the sisters that made it:
L to R: Clare (youngest: eighth child); Kate (third child); Biz (fifth child); Jeanne (sixth child); Re (second child; oldest girl); Cam (seventh child: gifted and exceptional :) Of course I had to get a beach picture. My sister Re and I spent Sunday afternoon reading on the beach (heaven!)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Some Day My Prince Will Come...
Challenge: Choose favorite children's book and make a project inspired by the book. Include a photo of the book along with why you chose it and how it inspired your project.
Requirement: use any March Release stamp set: A Beautiful Life, By Your Side, Fairy Tales, Friends, Happy Spring, Nana's Needlework, Nana's Needlework Sentiments, Sending Sunshine, Spring Mix, Spring Has Sprung
Deadline: Monday, April 12th at 8 pm
Materials used: Chipboard shoe (Creatology: Michaels); stamps-A Beautiful Life (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; soft sky ink (Stampin' Up); decorative pearls-pink (Recollections:Michaels), white (Want 2 Scrap); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); designer paper- Ellie's Day Out "Purse Shoppin'" (Nikki Sivils); Spellbinders square and scalloped square dies; Cuttlebug (Provocraft); silver cording (Gina K Designs).
For more inspiration, check out these Gina K Designer's joining in on the hop tonight:
- Jessica Fick
- Nina Brackett
- Tami Mayberry
- Melanie Muenchinger
- Theresa Momber
- Carolyn King <---You are here!
- Cathy Tidwell
- Lee Murphy
- Erika Martin
- Jennie Harper *March CSS Guest Designer Winner*
That is it for me for this week. I am heading to the airport in the wee hours of the morning for my annual sisters weekend in NJ. We are going to Atlantic City on Friday night and then to my parents house in N. Wildwood for the rest of the weekend. I cannot wait!!! See you next week---I have some FUN stuff to share!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
PC Sketchy Hop
Today, you will see some fresh new cards created with some of the amazing sketches the fabulous Go-To Girls created for Go-To Sketches. In addition, you will be entered to win it by commenting on each of the participating blogs listed below!!!!!!!!! (Leave a comment on each blog to increase your chances of winning!) Three winners will be selected from all the entries!!!
The comments will close at midnight on Thursday, April 8.
Here is one of Maren's awesome sketches from the book:
Here are my takes on the sketch--
and another...
Amy Sheffer http://pickledpaperdesigns.blogspot.com/
Paper Crafts Connection http://papercraftsconnection.com/
Betsy Veldman: http://www.scrapbookgirl.typepad.com/paper_scissors_and_superh/
Thanks so much, Maren, for the amazing chance to play along with your sketch! Love ya!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Finally got that nose piercing.....
Just kidding!!!
Just found another creative use for my rhinestone stickers....something to think about next time your teenage daughter wants to run out and get one. (hee!)
<------Here is how the adhesive rhinestones are sold so you can choose a small earring or a larger one! They actually stick very well!
Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I will actually post some cards tomorrow!