new challenge, new stamps

Thanks to a friendly heads-up from Em, I decided to take a crack at this week's Unity sketch challenge on SCS.  
Here's what I came up with:

I used my new Unity/Melody Ross set called One of a Kind for my images, along with some My Mind's Eye dp and brads from the Lost and Found collection, some Tim Holtz tissue tape, and my newly-rediscovered Colorbox Chalk ink in Warm Red (found that and my other Cat's Eye pads while I was purging for the scrapbook yard sale -- needless to say, I kept them!). I also broke out my ink blending sponge thingies to add some ink to my focal point -- they work really well, and I don't get ink all over myself.
Oh, and I used Copics for a bit of color. Yes, me. Copics. Anyway, you can pick up just about everything I used here at Scrappy Chic (of course!).

Speaking of which, I'll be out there tomorrow to see how much dough I made at that yard sale. There wasn't much left for me to pick up -- always a good sign!

(PS: hey Ann, if you're reading, my sewing machine is a brother 6000i -- really nice, and easy to learn! See you soon!)

cha-cha-cha...

...as in, "happy birthday to me -- cha-cha-cha..."

Yep, it's my birthday. So far, so good. Or: so far, so extra-good! I got some great birthday happy mail from two of my craftiest blog buds, Emily and Meg! Our story is one of the rare few where people who met online end up neither married nor scamming each other for cash ;) At least, not yet!

First up is Em's, which came a couple days ago -- this means that Emily is super-on-the-ball, because she's shipping from Canada to the US, which might as well be the slow boat from Timbuktu! Fun fact: it's Emily's birthday too! Feel free to drop by her blog and see the cute card her husband and son made for her. Here's what she sent me:

First: that card is so stinkin' cute! I love her amazing coloring skills. (I envy them, too!). You can get the details on that card here. And then, that cute little arrow set! So versatile -- I can already see a couple card designs, plus they'll work great for layouts! Thanks, Em!

Next is Meg -- her little packet of joy came today, right on time (she thought it would be late!)

Not only does this card totally sell me on the Sunshine impression plate from PTI, it also features the cutest little paper-pieced, party-hat-wearing pup! And the button collection (with the cute and thoughtful tag) is almost entirely full of colors I don't have -- get out of my head, Meg! How did you know? You can see the details on this card, as well as the one she made for Em, right here.  She does a fine job of telling our behind-the-scenes story, too. Thanks, Meg(let)!! I will indeed have a glass of wine for you!

Speaking of which, tomorrow is the real birthday celebration for me -- my awesome husband is having a little party at a local wine bar. I'm sure some great layouts will ensue!

Well, I'm off to do...well, whatever I feel like! Ha! You go do the same, birthday or not!

A tiny bit of organization (in a world of chaos)

First, a disclaimer: organization is not my best trait. In fact, I suck at it. Especially when it comes to all my crafting goodies. You probably won't ever see any lovely "here's my beautiful studio" photos -- unless you ask really nicely anyway.

But, inspired by a combo of frustration and Dawn McVey, along with a little help from Meg (who has also done some organizing lately!), one category of craft madness is now orderly: my dies! Specifically, my Nesties and my PTI dies. Here's what my nesties used to look like:

Um, that's a dollar-bin 4x6 photo album. This actually worked well, until I had more than, oh, two sets of nesties. In short order, it looked like this:

Not pretty. A big jumbled mess. And I don't have many sets, even! So, I took some advice from organized types over at Splitcoast, combined with Dawn's post, and decided I'd use a loaf pan and some vent covers. MacGyver, here I come!  

Luckily, Meg found her vent covers first, and gave me some Home Depot aisle-searching tips. Logical: they're near the vents. Not logical: the vents share space with water heaters in my HD, bathroom stuff in Meg's. Anyway, they were there! The package looks like this "placemat":

I didn't intend for Dexter to drink out of my glass. She has water-dar. Anyway, a pack of three goes for about $4.50. I only needed one pack, but I got two in case they disappear from the Depot.

Next, I cut some cardstock into A2-sized pieces, and cut the vent covers (which are very thin magnets) into 4x4.5" pieces. Some tacky glue brought the two together, and then I dug through my mess of dies to arrange them all in their newly magnetic, labeled homes:

Nice. My new "files" fit perfectly in a standard-sized loaf pan (got mine at a thrift store for 80 cents). For the PTI dies, which are solid and light-ish, I used smaller cardstock sheets and about an inch of self-adhesive magnet-on-a-roll for each. Like this:

These went into a smaller loaf pan (another 80 cents). Now the two loaf pans sit neatly, side-by-side, right next to my Big Shot:

I used my SU treat cup boxes as bookends. Oh, and Cuttlebug/Quickcutz embossing folders fit in a standard loaf pan too, so those went in with the nesties (the only die that sticks up are the long rectangles -- the rest fit!). Sizzix embossing folders are a tad too wide, so they're in a little basket (it's in the corner of the photo), along with the larger 5x7 folders. Whew! That took awhile to figure out, but  man does it work!! 

(PS: sorry for the cruddy nighttime/shiny flash photos!)

Now, for the rest of the studio....Oy.

Sympathy x3

Sympathy cards are always so hard to make. A couple weeks ago, I had to make three in a row. Here's the first one:

I used a butterfly die-cut (October Afternoon paper) on an embossed panel of Aqua Mist and a sentiment from Through the Trees. This went to a coworker whose father passed away suddenly -- she isn't someone I know extremely well, which kind of makes it easier to do a card. Does that make sense?

Next:

This went to a relative who also had a sudden loss. The Top Note die-cut is embossed with PTI's Linen/Canvas plate, though it doesn't show in the photo. Used the same sentiment along with a background strip stamped in PTI's Vintage Cream (which looks kind of pink -- anyone else have that problem?). Papers are from Basic Grey -- Porcelain, I think.

Finally:

There's that sentiment again -- this time with an image from the same set (Through the Trees). The kraft layer is embossed with the other side of Linen/Canvas, and the base is Spring Moss (what a lovely color, by the way). I also added some sponging to the main image, along with a hand-drawn border. This one went to a guy at work -- guy sympathy cards are extra-hard!

Well, I was pleased with the way these cards turned out (finally). Anyone out there have tips on sympathy cards? Or images/sentiments you turn to a lot? (Clearly, mine is Through the Trees!)

More fun with die-cuts!

I tried out another new Sizzix die -- this one's called Flourish and Leaf. It cuts -- get this -- a flourish and a leaf! The two shapes work well together or separately. I did both on these cards.

First:

A little more Halloween goodness. Here, some more Matilda from Cosmo Cricket -- the dp and cutie chip stickers. Like the spider cards in my post from a few days ago, I used more awesome glitter paper for the die cuts on today's cards. It's made by Best Creations, and it's amazing! It's thick, sparkly, and the glitter is magical -- it will. not. come. off. At all! Not even if you want it to. Worth every penny.

Next holiday:

This time, I focused more on the leaf. This would work for either Thanksgiving or just a lovely autumnal thank-you card. The dp this time is Jillibean Soup -- it was white with red script, but I gave it a good dose of Glimmer Mist. Now it's orange. I love orange! The stamp is from  We R Memory Keepers Maple Grove collection -- one of those tiny 99-cent sets that come in so handy. At the bottom, some lovely May Arts silk ribbon.

Holiday 3:

This may be the closest to shabby chic I've ever come, no? (Not that I'm saying it's all that close!) Lotsa layered bits -- the die cuts, papers (Basic Grey Jovial), border (KI Memories), crocheted lace, twine, and a nice chip button from Jenni B. The green dp is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder from this set (which I picked up at Scrappy Chic awhile ago and then kinda forgot -- hard to remember Christmas in July!). I threw a few olive pearls in the corner just for kicks.

So, three holidays -- one die. Cool beans.

I'm off to craft some more. Any big plans for your weekends?

Beer, Boy, Baby.

Layouts again. Three today!
First up:

Yep, it's a page about beer. The Beer Fest at Ashley's, to be specific. That's our local hangout, and we dig it. So, the funny thing about this layout is that it uses a baby girl line -- ha! The line is from Pebbles, and it features pink and a lovely cocoa shade -- and that dotty paper is textured -- the dots are all shiny and raised. Also here: a big ol' border punch from EK, some Thickers, some velvety ribbon, and a Kaisercraft stamp. Oh, and leftover beer tokens :)

Next:

Oh, I love this picture! It's actually from the same day, later on, when we went to the Fisher Building to see Spring Awakening. The Fisher lobby is just built for this line. Which is lucky, because Graphic 45 is not always the easiest stuff for me to use. The bottom paper is stamped with borders and text, and over the title is a top hat stamp from Oxford Impressions. Cute, eh? Same Thickers as above, and some very sparkly, glittery Making Memories ribbon round this one out.

Finally:

It's a little-me layout! A very little me, and my cute mom. I really love Basic Grey's Jovial holiday line -- it's super-funky, graphic, and it uses a color palette that's a bit of a departure from their previous holiday lines. I like it. Most of the bits here are Basic Grey, along with a Making Memories buckle and some Glimmer Mist. Try hard to ignore the wonky stitching - my zig zag stitch is acting up again. I think my bobbin is wound funny or something. Oh, and this layout is one of a pair -- but the other one's a secret :) I'll tell you about it someday not too far from now!

Anyway, I hope you like what you see! You can see this stuff at Scrappy Chic, of course. Enjoy your day.

A little spidery spookiness....

There are more layouts to post, but I'll switch to cards for a sec. I got to try out a new die from Sizzix -- and it's 3-D!

Here's my first attempt:

Well, you can't see the die in action yet! Here, it's just a bunch o'pattern, some stickles-covered stamping, and a little pleated accent.
Now, the inside:

It ain't easy photographing a 3-D card interior! I die-cut orange and black glitter cardstock from Best Creations for this one, then sprayed the (white) back with Charcoal Chalkboard glimmer mist...not that you can see it :) Then I made another.
Number 2:

I really like the front of this one -- Cosmo Cricket Matilda paper, Thickers, and some May Arts ribbony/fiber stuff that looks like a cross between Swiss Cheese and a spiderweb.
And here's the inside:

A matte black and grey web and spider this time, and more Matilda. Also hard to photograph!
So, does this die only work inside cards, you ask? Nope! Check it:
#3:

Now that's a photo I can get behind. A grey web, popped up with one to three layers of foam tape at various points -- plus a big glittery orange spider. Tee hee. The die-cut is still 3-D, but it sure photographs better! It would also work really well on a Halloween layout. Or one about spiders, if that's your kind of thing. And if it is, I'm worried about you :)

These cards are on display at Scrappy Chic right now, if you'd like to see how much more fun they are in person (and, you know, you live here. Or want to come visit me!). You can get the die there, too, of course!

Thanks for stopping in! I got a Stampin' Up order yesterday that's asking for some attention. I'm on it!

More Layouts!

Oh yes, I have more. 

Here's one:

That's my little cousin, who really, really likes mac and cheese. She was waiting as patiently as possible for Thanksgiving dinner to be served. This is as patient as she gets! Big bunch of Reminisce on this layout, along with some Thickers and a Fiskars pumpkin punch. 

How about some more family?

This was just last month, when most of us were Up North (Honor, MI, in this particular photo). We'd just wrapped up a night at the bar with karaoke and pitchers. It was late, and we all look a little startled. It's a cute photo, though! Thanks to my aunt Donna for taking and sharing it. American Crafts City Park line for the papers, and their Thickers and Dear Lizzy journal cards too. The "togetherness" stamp is from Unity, and the ribbon is Making Memories.

One more, from the same evening:

 

Andrew playing with his then-brand-new iPhone. I love the look on his face...wonder what happened to his photo? Jillibean Soup papers here, along with various other goodies. This one didn't photograph as well...it's brighter in real life. 

All these layouts (and the stuff to make 'em) can be found at Scrappy Chic. Thanks for stopping in!

Two for you.

Hi there -

I've been remiss about blogging lately, but that sure doesn't mean I haven't been making anything! Let's see, what shall I share today....

How about:

A photo of my sweet boy? I'll take it. I already scrapped another photo from this day (at Mad Cap coffee in Grand Rapids - yum) -- you can see it in this post. But here's Andrew, enjoying his delicious and beautiful caffe miel. I used Imaginisce's Apple Cider line again here, and I like that it works for more than just specifically Fall stuff. Also here: Core'dinations cardstock (from one of the Cosmo Cricket embossed decks), some cork from Karen Foster, alphas from Prima and Sassafras, May Arts ribbon and a BUNCH of buttons. This layout's quite heavy!  Here's a little detail:

Love all the staples from the Tiny Attacher, and the way the letters kinda lift up on the edges. Nifty.

One more for you today:

First, yes, that title is a direct reference to LL Cool J. This is an older photo, and Andrew suggested this title as soon as he saw it. Turns out, it fits our Marty quite well -- she's bounced back so well! Mostly Sassafras Indie Girl on this one, along with some Thickers, glitter cs, and (believe it or not), some emboss resist -- didn't turn out too swell, but there's Tim Holtz stamps and Glimmer mist involved. Glimmer Mist actually sticks pretty well to embossing, so the end result is just kinda messy looking. Oops!  Oh, there's stitched lines there for the journaling, which you can see better here:

Both of these layouts are already on the walls at Scrappy Chic -- feel free to check 'em out!

I'll have more for you soon -- a bunch of cards, plus the seven (7!) layouts I made today at the crop. That's a record for me for sure!!

Have a pleasant day!

Two thanks and a tree or two.

Hi there!
I have a few cards today, so let's get down to business!

First:

A pal of mine at work who knows I'm a crafty girl was super-thoughtful. While walking the streets of Paris(!), she found herself outside a scrapbook store(!), dashed in, and picked up a little souvenir for me -- a sweet patterned-paper pad. So thoughtful! Of course, I had to use the paper on the thank you card -- two of the patterns are here, along with a little (French) word of thanks, some chartreuse ribbon, and Peach Parfait cs. There's score lines along the edges -- they're easier to see if you click on the photo, I think.

Next:

All right, this might not be my favorite card ever, but I think it's ok...I got the tree stamp from Memory Box awhile ago (at Mega Meet in May, I think) and hadn't used it successfully yet. I think if I tried this again, I'd measure and cut way more carefully. Anyway. Oh, the German? This is a thank you for my aunt and uncle, who sent us a German phrasebook -- Andrew's got a choir event there next spring, so it's time to brush up! I used a Studio G dollar alphabet for the Deutsch.  By the way, Aqua Mist and Spring Moss make a lovely duo, but it's super-tough to photograph! I think I need a different color in the background -- the green looks khaki to me.

Finally:

While the German card almost works, this card here definitely fits the bill for Susan's One-Layer Wednesday challenge this week -- trees!  I broke out a fairly new tree here -- I picked it up at Gwen Frostic in Beulah. Wait, you've never heard of Beulah? Shocker. It's a tiny town up near the pinkie of Michigan...and it's home to Gwen Frostic. Feel free to check it out next time you're in town :) Gwen was a lovely lady and is a Michigan treasure. Just a way-out-of-the-way one.

Anyway, the tree is stamped on Rustic White in Soft Suede, then watercolored with more Suede and Old Olive. I also painted over the tree with this stuff called Ritzy Ditzy Glitz. Man, that's a goofy name. It's like Glimmer Mist, but with just the glimmer, not the color. It's very subtle. So subtle, the camera couldn't see it!  The bottom is sponged with some River Rock, and the sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Basics. This card will go to an old pal of ours who digs camping -- his birthday is later this week.

Today is back-to-school day in MI (for K-12, anyway -- I'm on week 3!). Andrew went back to work, my mom went back to work, all my friends' kids are back in school...I guess it's officially fall!!  Hooray! Any fall stuff you're looking forward to? For me, it's our local cider mill -- yum!

Apple season

Hi there, people --

So yesterday I woke up to a lovely, cool (even chilly!), breezy day. So nice! I also woke up with crazy-bad allergies...or so I thought. I picked up some allergy stuff that's worked for me in the past -- no dice. Turns out, I have a stinkin' cold! Dang those students and their germs. I haven't had a back-to-school cold in ages.
Anyway, enough complaining from me! How about a layout? Maybe a card? OK, here you go:

First:

Yep, it's another little-me layout! I love these pictures, and I totally remember going apple-picking with my grandparents this day. I thought the photos went really well with the Apple Cider line from Imaginisce, which has all these lovely shiny accents on the papers and some really cute embellishments, like these:

Denim stickers! You can also see the enameled bits better here. I used a few of the stickers, along with some Thickers. Stickers and Thickers. nice.

This line has a few single stamps that coordinate quite nicely. Here's a card with one of them:

I'd originally stamped, die-cut (labels 1) inked (distress old paper) and watercolored the apple bushel for the layout, but the scale didn't quite work. So I used the sticker of the same image on the layout, and used the stamped bit here. This features leftovers from the layout (both dp and Bazzil swiss dot cs - love that stuff), along with another denim sticker. Oh, and for once you can actually see the glitter on the apples in the photo! Yay! I used Stickles for that. This card is 4x6 - is that even a standard size? Hm.

You could see both of these projects in person at Scrappy Chic if you wanted to. :) I have more projects from August's kit to show -- and I will, soon!

We went to the Detroit Jazz Festival yesterday (which was really awesome, even though I was spending hours in the chilly wind with a cold I didn't know I had). We took some nifty photos that I'm sure will make it onto future layouts.  Anyway, I'm off to get some things done around the house. I did a major pantry clean-out already, but now the rest of the house is a wreck. How does that happen? Day-quil to the rescue....

Use it or lose it...

Or maybe I should say, use it, then lose it!

So, like any good crafty chick, I have lots of goodies, and some of them go unloved. Turns out, there's another craft yard sale coming up at Scrappy Chic, so I'm challenging myself to either use some of my unloved goodies or sell them. First up is a set of 3 wood-mounted sentiments from Hero Arts. I'm pretty sure I got them as a monthly special at a local shop a few years(!) ago, but I'm quite certain I've never used them. Here they are in action -- first:

Used Dot Spot and a cute Jolee's big gem (they're in "settings," which I think is cute). Ink/cs is PTI hibiscus burst. Next:

The same in Hawaiian Shores/Tempting Turquoise. And third:

Finally, in Raspberry Fizz. All three:

A nice little set of 3.5x5 notecards. I like the jewels, I like the layout, but the sentiments? They're still gonna go. The font is just too wimpy for me! Hopefully that'll mean a bit more shoppin' cash in my pocket!! You could be the new owner, if you hit the yard sale on September 26th :)

In other news, Team Creative Critters won a strong third place in the PaperWorks Ultimate Summer Challenge (I blogged my card here). It was so fun working long-distance with Meg, Donna, and our fearless captain, Em! I also have a couple sweet blog awards under my belt, but that'll be the next post :)

Hope you are all having fun, wherever you may be!