Happy Birthday Josie!!--Personal Challenge #3

Isn't this so fun and vibrant?! I love it.

This was made especially for my good friend and roomie, Josie. I wanted to make something bright and exciting to exemplify her character. What's brighter than neon pink and green?

The RS background paper used one of the stamps from my Personal Challenge #3, "Adorning Corners"--my challenge from last week. I made it last week but couldn't post it until today encase she peeked and my blog. I then colored in some of the spaces to add more black, and "painted" them a little pink with my waterbrush (since I didn't have a watermelon marker). There's also some stickles on the background paper but you can't see it in the picture. It was time consuming, but I think the rs turned out great. Looks almost East Indian. I also used one of the other stamps to ink pink on the larger white flower.

Materials: All CTMH. Watermelon and white daisy cs, Adorning Corners ss, black and watermelon inks, black marker, just blooms.

Other: Prima flowers, skittles, stickles.

Personal Challenge #3 quick card

This was a fairly quick card that I was able to use the stamps from my Personal Challenge #3, "Adorning Corners". CTMH's Fancy Cuts Botanicals added in the speed. Just a little sanding and pop-dotting to make them stand out better, as well as using one of the stamps on the largest flower added more detail. I stamped one of the images on scrap paper and used it as a guide to pierce the image on the cardstock. Simple and whimsical.

Materials: All CTMH. Adorning Corners ss, colonial white and sorbet cs, fancy cuts botanicals die-cuts, sorbet and juniper inks, paper piercer, sanding kit, pop-dots.

Earth Hour

Trying to cram a card in between chores and Earth Hour tonight. I managed to make this card below before I had to rely solely on candle light. I did start working on another card which you can see a sneak peak of in the picture above. Isn't that a cool pic? Who new my point & shoot could take nice ones like that?!

This owl card is for my good friend Eric who's birthday is on the sixth. The inside says "Happy birthday to a wise old bird"! Hee hee! I am regretting coloring the eyes of the owl in with green. Think they get lost. Oh well.

Materials: All CTMH. Emporium L2pp. Cocoa, sweet leaf, and twilight inks. Buttercup and sweet leaf markers.

Other: "Birds Galore" stamp by Inkadinkado

For Maria

the front
the back (color's off in this pic)

For those of you that read my blog often, you might have read my posts on my first ever sewing project. My awesome friend Maria let me borrow her sewing machine so that I could take my time and complete my project on my own.

Maria's favorite word is "Believe", so as a thank you to her I made her this "I Believe" quote box. I discovered this on Rachel's blog here. Rachel always has great ideas and takes most of the guess work out for you. Thanks Rachel! .....so anyways, back to Maria....I wanted to make this for Maria's birthday in October, but since it was sooo far away and I really wanted to make this box I decided to make it for a thank you gift. There's quotes/sentiments on both sides of each card with a special hand-written "I Believe" from me. I really hope she loves it. If you notice...I'm still addicted to the "Unforgettable"pp. Can't help it!

Hope you enjoy and try one for yourself!

Materials: All CTMH. Unforgettable L2pp, Unforgettable MyStickease, cocoa ink, cocoa marker, sorbet and chocolate ribbon rounds, cocoa grosgrain ribbon, designer brads, Fancy Cuts botanicals, sanding kit, sponge.

Other: Labels 1 Nestie, printer paper.

Personal Challenge #3--Quick card

This was an easy card to make. First off, I used the "Top it Off" card sketch from the Originals book from CTMH. I love flipping though this and getting an idea for a card. It's so easy since it gives you the dimensions of the paper you'll need. I just set the focus to the left instead of the right. Made this even easier by using one of the cardstock stickers from the matching MyStickease set. I stuck it to some cardstock and then pop-dotted it to stand out. Still using the Unforgettable pp...just so adorable and retro looking!

It was also an opportunity to use my new Label 1 Nesties I got in the mail last week! I was so excited to get these that I was running them through my Cuttlebug while I had guests over last Sunday. Can't help myself when I have a new toy! It also uses one of my other new finds, Robin's Nest skittles. They are so cute and fun. Bling!

Had to stamp one of the "Adorning Corners" on there to continue with my Personal Challenge #3. Just sneaking it in. ;)

Materials: All CTMH. Unforgettable L2pp, Unforgettable MyStickease, Adorning Corners ss, cocoa ink, pop-dots, sponge.

Other: Labels 1 Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Robin's Nest skittles in "Men's Collection".

Mojo Monday #79

Now that I'm done with my dress I can get back in the Mojo groove! I was so sad I couldn't play last week, so I was extra excited to play today.

I seem to get attached to the pp that my scrapbook club is using for the month. This month was the "Unforgettable" L2pp which is one of my favs from the Spring Catalog. I used the "dirty kissing" technique to stamp the feathers making a cool colorful effect. The finished bird is pop-dotted. The lace is from a bunch of scraps that my Grandma gave to me from her sewing stash. I was so excited to get all these scraps since I've seen a lot of crafts lately using lace.

It also uses the "Adorning Corners" ss which is the set I picked for my Personal Challenge #3. You should really try this challenge for yourself. If you do, post a link in the comment section.

Enjoy!

Materials: All CTMH. Unforgettable L2pp, Bird Basics ss, Adorning Corners ss, Intrinsic Background ss, cocoa and juniper inks, natural hemp, paper piercer, sponge.

Other: lace scrap from Gram, pop dots.

What an honor!

While up to my elbows in fabric and straight pins, I received a "Wonderful" blog award from Rachel over at Wonderfully Whimsy that just made my day. This is my first time getting a blog award! Yeah! Now to give them to my top 10 (some of them are also favs of Rachel)......

Nona at Nona's Pearls of Wisdom

Sparkle at Sparkle Creations

Aaron at Booth #32

Tresa at Fabulously Artsy

Josie at Josephine's

Karen at Karen's Creative Corner

Michelle at Stamp and a Smile

Danielle at Wild Dragonfly Designs

Yaneri at A Crafter's Tale

Vicki at Wizard's Hangout

Of course a special nod to Rachel's blog since I visit almost every day. Thanks girl!

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing (Lol!).........


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TAH-DAHHH!!!

Yeah! My dress is finally finished! I finished on Friday and have been so busy that I couldn't post until today.

There are pleats in the center of the bust and at the bottom of the sleeves. Let me tell you....those were not fun! The material is slippery and was hard to keep in place as I ran it through the machine. A few times the machine decided to EAT my dress; once so bad that it made a hole trying to get it out which I then had to patch. Grrr! Creating the "V" in the neckline was the hardest part. I would pin the two pieces together and get ready to sew it only to see that the fabric had moved and the cuts didn't line up. After about 20 tries, I finally got it in line and ran it through. I did all of this hard stuff first since I new I'd be really frustrated if I saved it for the end and it hindered me from finishing.

The rest of the sewing went pretty smoothly. I would get a little scared running the 4-5 layers of fabric where the pleats were through the machine, but it handled it like a champ! I really lucked out too because the length was perfect AND even! Yeah, one less step!

When I tried on the finished product it was too big. I had measured myself (three times) at one size, but this was two or three sizes too big. The other ladies in my Eastern Star group said to just go by your shirt size, but I didn't want it to be too small. Better to big and take in than too small and start over. I was a little peeved, but I new I could conquer this easily now that I've learned how. I was able to take the sleeve in and the bodice to make it more form fitting.

I think it turned out pretty darn good for my first sewing project. When I wore it to our Eastern Star event last night, all the ladies commented on how well it look and they were surprised that it was my first time. It made me very proud. This has made me realize the old saying "you can do anything you set your mind to" is so true! I thought I wouldn't be able to do this, but I just kept telling myself that I could and "Viola!" I did it! Try something new and daring yourselves; you might be surprised of your abilities!

(can't wait to start crafting again though!) ;)

Cutting complete

Yea! I did it! All the cutting for my dress is complete! It only took me about four hours to do it all. The first picture shows my first pinned section. If you notice, I pinned it OVER my size line. This was before I called my grandma and found out that was supposed to be my CUTTING line! Good thing I called her! Oh it was soooo much fun re-pinning it.....ugh! If I never see a straight pin again I will be in heaven. My back is so sore from crouching and kneeling while I was pinning and cutting. After all the pieces where done, I rewarded myself by vegging and watching movies.

This is the skirt back that I had to cut on the fold.

The pinning goof.

...And the recovery.
One of the bodice/sleeve pieces finished.

Tomorrow will be the easier task (I hope) of sewing it all together. Good thing these are my days off! Huge thank you to my friend Maria for lending me her sewing machine and showing me how to use it! She is a great seamstress and quilter.


Hopefully in the next day or two I'll have the finished product done to share with you.

Baby steps

For those of you that have been keeping tabs on my progress....I took a baby step in starting my big sewing project. I decided that it would be great practice with the whole sewing thing if I hemmed my living room curtains. I bought them from Ikea only THREE and a half years ago!! They've been just a raw--highly vacuum hazardous--edge the whole time.

Me and the straight pins got to know each other pretty well. Needless to say, pinning is not my favorite. (note to self...don't pin on the carpet unless I want to un-pin it from the carpet) ;) Now that the curtains are FINALLY hemmed I could wash them safely too. They look so much better! And I think I measured quite well don't you? Look how great they lay. The stitch is mostly straight too.

Tomorrow is the "Big" day. I'm going to finally start on the dress I need to make by this Saturday. It's the long black one worn by the model. (of course it has to be the longest one) It feels very daunting, but I think that if I measure twice and cut once like everyone says I'll be OK. This time I'll pin on my kitchen floor. Stay tuned.

Natural inspiration

I was taking a longer route on my walk the other day when I came across a pussy willow tree starting to bloom. These have always been one of my favorite plants. As I was touching the willows, it occurred to me that I could find a way to replicate it on a card. How was the big question. I have never used flock before and didn't know where to find it, so I got this idea to use pom-poms and just cut them in half and ink them up. The inking made a mess of my fingers and cutting them in half had the potential for making a big mess, but I think it turned out OK. I will never be able to mail them; they're to fragile.

Materials: All CTMH. Parchment, cocoa, crystal blue and colonial white cs, Just Because ss, cocoa and bamboo. inks, Nature's Ambiance rub-on (joy), edge distresser.

Other: small white pom-poms, and a little patience.

How cute is this?! I just love it! I still was sitting on those rub-ons I bought and thought of this card. The super cool punctuation mark is a Connection Club award that I painted with acrylic paint and added some CTMH rub-ons. Yet another use of my ss from this week's Personal Challenge snuck in there too. I love how there's dots everywhere. And I got to use some more of my new skittles I received in the mail via ebay!

Materials: All CTMH. Buttercup and sweet leaf cs, Magic Moments L2 pp, September Word Puzzle ss, cocoa ink, hollyhock and chocolate ribbon rounds, Nature's Ambiance rub-ons, liquid glass, sanding kit.
Other: heart rub-on from Colorbok, Robin's Nest skittles in Men's collection, EK punches.

Simple card

I found these adorable rub-ons for only a dollar at JoAnn's last week the same time I found the paper from the previous post. Too cute! I used the line of flowers here above the sentiment--conveniently from the September WP from this weeks Personal Challenge. The "friend" stamp is also from the set. Notice how I had to cram the sentiment to fit my card. Cut it a little to short...oops! ;)

Materials: All CTMH. Colonial white cs, September Word Puzzle ss. Topiary, cocoa and watermelon inks, window charm.

Other: rub-ons from Colorbok, Prima flower.

For those of you that are loyal readers....I haven't started my sewing project yet. Being new to this craft, I accidentally bought the wrong size pattern--who knew that they came in "sets" of sizes? Tried to exchange it Sunday, but got there two minutes after closing. Then with the snow yesterday,....I know....excuses, excuses.

Mojo Monday week 77 sketch challenge

Here's my take on the Mojo gals sketch for the week.....

I found this paper by Heidi Grace Designs at JoAnn's last week and it was just too cute to pass up! When I saw the Mojo Monday sketch for today, I was like..."Yeah! I can use my cute 'pea' paper and my new skittles!" I had just the idea to pull the sketch off. The Just Blooms works perfect, and did you notice....I snuck in a stamp from my Personal Challenge. The flower stamp is from the September Word Puzzle that is the set for this weeks Personal Challenge. Sweet leaf and blush coordinated perfectly.

Materials: All CTMH: Buttercup and sweet leaf cs, That's Amore L2 pp, September Word Puzzle ss, Connections ss, sweet leaf and blush inks, tulip marker, just blooms, window charms, sponge.

Other: Sweet Pea paper by Heidi Grace Designs, Robin's Nest skittles in "Easter".

We had a CRAZY snow storm today! It wasn't really that bad at my house, so when I left for my dentist appointment at 11 this morning I was unpleasantly surprised at what awaited just north of me. I thought taking the freeway would be the best bet since I only had to go one exit--road most traveled=less snow--HAH! Yeah right! No more than a mile up the freeway it came to a dead stop. Cars were in the ditch on the side of the freeway. It took almost 20 minutes to get off the exit! Nobody in the Pac NW knows how to drive in the snow!

This particular exit forks left over the freeway to another freeway, and off to the right to go under the second freeway but still over the original freeway (if that makes sense). The left ramp was blocked with multiple semi trucks pulled over to put chains on. That funneled everyone else to take the right side of the exit where there was a delivery truck blocking one of the left turn lanes. More cars stuck trying to get up the small hill to my dentist made for one crazy and stressful trip for just a simple cleaning. I took pictures on my phone while I was stuck. I'll try and share later. Most of the snow has melted now, but so much for "springing" ahead!

Change?....no good

So I was visiting random craft blogs today and noticed a lot of them had really cute backgrounds. I thought, "hey, why not hop on the bandwagon and check out the site for my own"? After much perusing and several attempts to get things just the way I want them-with much failure by the way-I decided to just change back to my old layout.

I know, boring. But I like the way it looks and I think that it doesn't distract from the artwork like a lot of the other backgrounds can do. Often times I'm so fascinated by how some one's background looks that I don't really focus on why I'm there--the ARTWORK!! Many are very cute blogs, but I like my plain 'ol "free-with-purchase" layout that the good folks at Blogger offer.

No artwork for me today. Sorry. I'm starting my first ever sewing project. Yikes! Hopefully if I don't get too much grief from the sewing machine and/or fabric I'll be crafting and blogging again soon. Most likely I'll need a break from trying to decipher patterns and pinning fabric that I'll be desperate to craft. Still have my Personal Challenge to work on after all. ;)

More scraplings!

These are so fun to make! Plus since they're smaller you can use all kinds of scraps. Doesn't mean it takes less time to make one though.....still a creative process. ;) You should try one for yourself. Post a comment so I can see it.

Materials: All CTMH. September Word Puzzle ss, Say It In Style ss, Huge Thanks consultant ss, Intrinsic Backgrounds ss, Simple Stitches ss, That's Amore L2pp (cardstock), Emporium L2pp. Chocolate, garden green, heavenly blue, moonstruck and black inks, black marker, garden green grosgrain ribbon, blending pen.

Other: EK circle and scallop punches, glitter glue, blue sparkle.

Sparkles Scraplings

Aren't these so cute! Fellow blogger Sparkle made these very "green" scraplings. What's a scrapling? Well, it's what you get when you cut a traditional 4.25"x5.5" card down to a 4.25"x4.25" square card. The remaining 1.25"x4.25" is your new scrapling to create something oh so fabby as this!

Also check out one of my fav bloggers, Aaron to see her take on the scraplings. What a great use of scrap that you might have thrown out! It was also a great use of the Just Because ss for my Personal Challenge. I'm going to make some more using my next Personal Challenge ss, the "September Word Puzzle". Yet another one of those sets that I just had to have, but have never even used it yet. Stay tuned!

Materials: All CTMH. That's Amore L2pp, Just Because ss, Intrinsic Backgrounds ss, Say It In Style SS. Chocolate, blush, and tulip inks, colonial white pigment ink, clear sparkles, just blooms, copper brad, sponge.

First Mojo Monday entry!

I decided to do it! The Mojo Monday blog found here posts layout challenges every Monday (obviously). It seemed like a fun idea to participate, and maybe even win a prize! It was also a great opportunity to use stamps from my Personal Challenge. Wish me luck!

Materials: All CTMH. That's Amore L2pp, Just Because ss, Intrinsic Backgrounds ss. Chocolate, blush, tulip, cocoa and garden green inks. Chocolate ribbon rounds, sanding kit, edge distresser, blending pen, sponge.

Other: EK scallop punch

Sara turns 30!

One of my closest friends, Sara just turned 30! The last of us to reach this milestone. Sara and my other BFF, Katie have been friends since we were 10 and in the 4th grade. Twenty years of friendship...I can't believe we can still tolerate each other! Lol! ;)

Here's the card I stewed many hours over trying to make it bold and somewhat flowery. Sara loves both, so I think it came out well. I used paper as ribbon around the dimentional element for some whimsy, and some actual ribbon with the smaller element to form the all important triangular focus. A little glitter on the numbers to add some bling (which Sara loves too) helped finish it off.

The gift card holder is something I made to match and the idea comes from my great blogging friend and CTMH Upline, Nona. You can see her video tutorial on how to make your own here. She always inspires me and has cool stuff to scraplift!

Materials: Making Memories L2pp, "Thoughtful Seasons" ss, "Friendship" big and small alpha ss, cocoa and indian corn blue ink, dimentional flower elements, hollyhock ribbon round collection, colonial white grosgrain ribbon, love letters rub-ons, sponge.

Other: EK scallop punch, glitter glue.