November Card Club

I was more excited for Card Club this month than before for several reasons: first, I was the hostess, so I got to get all of the neat goodies that Stampin” Up! offers to it’s hostesses; second, as the hostess, I got to choose what kind of card/technique Anne would demonstrate for us; third, this is the only month in which my two crafting clubs meet back-to-back (they are usually a week apart) so it was a fun conclusion to my crafting weekend.

The card/technique I chose was a “Magic Card.” I am usually pretty good about being able to follow written directions, but this card has eluded me for quite some time; I was thrilled when Anne agreed to show us how to do it. Ultimately, it was a lot of steps, but this time they were well worth it…I LOVE IT!!! I am definitely going to have to try this with other stamps, themes, designs, and so much more.

Thanks, Anne, for teaching me this fantastic new trick!

A Challenge, in so many ways

For my card club in November, the challenge was to make a card using circles. This very broad scope left the field wide open for interpretation and creativity; that should make it easy, right? Wrong! And, to top it off, I was the one who picked the challenge (since I was the hostess in November). When I did pick it, I had an idea in my head; I went home and tried it out, but it was not working out well…so back to the drawing board.

Circles…circles…circles…what to do with circles…? I couldn’t believe I was having so much trouble with this challenge. I tried to put it out of my mind, hoping that an idea would just come to me in a dream or something – no luck. I was sorting through my stamps one day and came upon a background stamp. Hmmmm…maybe I can use this. I thought and thought and thought; finally, I broke out my circle stamps and went to town on the image. I wrote it up, sketched it out, and decided on a card.

Think I was finished? Not even close. I decided on paper colors, chose the ink, found a phrase for the inside, stamped all the images, punched all the circles, assembled the layers, and voila…the card was complete. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I look at a card when finished and think, “Yup…I like that…I did good,” but this was not one of those times. What was wrong? What was missing? What needed to be changed? I was at a loss. It turned out exactly like I planned, but it was different than my sketch. I asked so many people what they thought I should change…add a ribbon, add a brad, add color, change the layout, change the stamp, and on and on and on…

I wasn’t sure what to do; I thanked everyone for their input (thank you all again…though I didn’t take your advise, I was happy to receive it), but decided to just stick with my original card. The more I look at it the more I realize that I do kind of like it (not full fledged “I like it” yet, but it is getting there).

I am interested to see what you think about the card. What would you change? Let me know.

Recipe: Pastoral Toile and All Natural stamp sets, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, and Very Vanilla card stock, Going Grey and Staz-on ink, 1½ and 1¾ circle punches, and dimensional spots.

November W’ink

Each month there is more and more to learn and do at our W’ink Club Meetings. This month was no exception; Sharon pulled out all of the stops and spoiled each of us way too much (thanks, Sharon…you are so generous).

We made two cards and one exciting project for the upcoming holidays:

Cracked Glass

This technique takes layering to a whole different meaning; not only can you do it with paper and accents, but you can also do it with embossing powder, which is what helps to make the cracked glass technique so successful. After lots of layers and lots of heat, followed by a nice cool-down in the freezer (mine chilled out on a Heath Klondike bar…mmmmm), I was able to go crazy with the cracking. I think this is the only good kind of cracking glass there is. A little rub with some ink and it was good to go.

A little bit of everything

I so enjoy seeing all the different cards and projects we make in club, but this card is one of my favorites; it has all the things I love: layers, pretty paper, ribbon, sparkle, black/white color combo, and embossing. I do not think I have ever made a “Happy New Year” card before, but after making this I think I may try to change that in the future.

A little sparkle for the tree

For our project this month, we customized some clear glass ball ornaments with shimmer paint and our choice of ink colors. It took a bit of time, but they turned out beautifully. As the colors dried and the glitter was added, each ornament sparkled and dazzled – each unique, but spectacular just the same.

We don’t have another official W’ink meeting until February; I am going to miss it.

W'ink Challenge

Trust me when I say that I had no intention of participating in the W’ink challenge for our November Club Meeting. I was so busy and it didn’t even phase me not to make anything. I had a few moments before a meeting later in the evening and thought I would “just see” if I could “put something together” for the challenge.

We were given a sketch provided by the Mojo Monday blog, week 108 to be exact. All I knew is that I didn’t want to make a card, but what could I do? I decided to use a picture frame with a photo of me and my husband (I have several pictures of us in my office, but I have a larger one of us on the counter top…I decided to swap it out). All I knew was I didn’t want it to be “girly,” and I wanted the accent to be a ribbon with a bow (tied on top of the glass). I did a little treasure hunt through my patterned paper and found exactly what I wanted.

It turned out great…well, at least I think so. What do you think? Click here to see what Sharon, W’ink’s demonstrator, thought of it.

Recipe: Urban Garden Designer Series Paper (two different patterns), Soft Sky and Basic Black cardstock, black organdy ribbon (wide), black 8’x10’ picture frame, and a photo of the most handsome husband in the world (taken at Lake Powell).

Beautiful...

So, my husband is still not awake yet (this is a big surprise since he is usually awake before me) so I was cruising around the crafting blog superhighway again and came across a beautiful card by Michael Funke at Stampin-Style.

I have seen many different holiday cards: some are cutsie, some are funny, some are religious, and some (let’s face it) are just a bit over the top excessive. When I saw this card by Michael, I was floored; it is so beautiful. I actually read all about how he made it and now I want to make one myself…not today, though, but definitely soon. I couldn’t help but to try to share his creation with more people.

I hope you love it as much as I do; check out his blog to see more of his creative projects and ideas.

Thanks, Michael, you have made my morning!

Quiet time in the morning

It has been a while since I have posted a creation for a challenge, so I thought I would take a little bit of time to do one this morning before my husband wakes up. I went to all of my favorite challenge blogs, but decided to check one more place. I went to Card & Scrap Sketches to see what the new sketch was; I decided to make a card with this sketch in stead.

So, this has happened with clothes, food, and even television, but it rarely happens to me with stamps. I had an idea in my mind about this sketch and I went to my supplies to find what I needed. I looked through each set and thought, “I can’t find anything I need,” even though I have a plethora of images from which to choose. I knew I wanted to use the grass image from the Asian Artistry set (I got a thank you card from Sharon with this image on it and I fell in love with it), but I was having a difficult time finding the right image for the lower part of the sketch. I decided to alter it a bit and use a saying instead…I hope that is ok, Monica.

I hope you like it; I like the way the sparkle on the three wild flowers picks-up on the bit of sparkle in the ribbon. It feels like a little bit of Spring in the middle of the cold Winter (actually, I don’t think it is officially winter yet…oh well).

Recipe: Asian Artistry and Friendship Flowers stamp sets, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Sage Shadow, and Whisper White card stock, Perfect Plum and Sahara Sand classic ink, Pale Plum Stampin’ Write Marker, dazzling diamonds, and narrow white organdy ribbon.

A new spin on an old favorite

Can you remember back to a previous post of mine raving about some adorable Halloween treat bags decorated with the Stampin’ Up! Big Shot Top Note and punches? I was blown away by them…super adorable. After visiting Gretchen’s blog multiple times a day to look at them (and after attempting my own version of them) I thought, “Wouldn’t it be adorable if I could make some for Christmas?” Then it happened: the clouds parted, the light shone down, and a miracle occurred: CHRISTMAS GIFT BAGS WITH THE TOP NOTE AND PUNCHES!!!

I was on top of a cloud. I immediately sent Terri an e-mail stating that I found them…she seemed to get as excited as I was about them (if this was even possible). I want to start by saying that I think Gretchen is amazing with the creations she makes, both the treat bag and her many other projects. As I looked at her bags and then looked around “crafting-blog-ville,” I saw so many versions of these bags. I took them all into consideration and nailed down one of my own.

It was Halloween night and I was able to complete my faces between Trick-or-Treaters. After I finished I just lined them all up and looked at them; I was so happy with all of them. Even now, I love to look at them. I have given up on choosing a favorite because each day it changes. Which is your favorite?

Thank you to everyone who has created their own version of these; I love seeing how new ideas and projects get re-interpreted by different people around the world.

Some News

I spoke with my sister yesterday (yes, actually yesterday...which means this post is current) and she said that she finished some really cute Christmas stuff and she would be getting it in the mail to me withing the week. I can hardly wait to see what she sent....

I told her that I would send her samples and supplies for my Christmas Treat Bags (that's a teaser...pics will be on my blog tomorrow). I can't wait to share them with all of you; if you are going to Anne's Christmas Card Making Event tomorrow, then you can see me put more of them together (since I don't send out Christmas cards, it is a great time for me to put these together)...if you ask nicely I may even let you do one yourself.

That's all the time I have now; I have to leave for my "day job." It is so cold out (and I don't think the defroster got all of the frost off the car so that means I have to do a little scraping); I would rather stay wrapped up in a blanket with my girls (my dogs) at my feet.

Bye for now...check back tomorrow.

Have I seen that before?

I was taking pictures of different cards and projects in my office and set my camera down on the countertop. As I was setting-up my next picture and looked over to the camera I saw this picture on the screen. I snapped it just so I could look at it more; I love the way it turn out. I suppose I am just used to looking at everything from a certain angle; I couldn’t believe how different my ink holder and printer look from this slightly lower angle.

It makes me want to crawl around on the floor looking at different objects…well, not really, but you get the idea.

There was something odd, though…

I came home from work and found in the mailbox not only an envelope from my sister, but also one from my mother. Since it was a bit before Thanksgiving, I knew right away that the one from my mother was a Thanksgiving card, so I opened it and saw the creative card she made (left). Feeling upbeat after that unveiling, I opened the package from my sister and found a Thanksgiving card from her; it was exactly what I liked: layers, colors, and layout…a hat trick of creativity (right). There was something odd though…something vaguely familiar about her card, but what could it be. I looked again at my mother’s card and then it hit me…can you figure it out?

Both my mother and my sister used the same stamp in their cards. The image in my mother’s card is a bit smaller and used as an accent whereas in my sister’s card, it is the star of the show. I sat there just looking at the two of them, back and forth, mesmerized at how different the same stamp looked in each card. Each card is so much characteristic of it’s maker, but still so different.

Wow…

October Card Club

I know, I know: I am a bit late with this, but oh well….

Shimmer Paint was the theme for club in October. I had used it a couple times before, but this time we used it differently: as a spritzer and mixed with reinkers. I love the way the sparkle brings these two holiday cards to life. Anne was so inventive with her use of materials and layout for both the Happy Holidays card and the Give Thanks card.

Though this was enough to entertain me during club (well, this and my constant jazzing of Monica…hi Monica), I think what made me laugh was how Anne wanted to “shimmer” everything, “What else can I spritz with shimmer paint?” she would say. I love it…I do the same thing. It still surprises me how much a little sparkle can change a project. It’s like magic!

Ta da…introducing the Amazing Anne and her Shimmer Paint transformations!!!
Thanks, Anne. What a fun afternoon.

A Halloween Treat

I got a Halloween package from my sister (ok, so I am little behind in posting) and it some pretty cute treats in it: a card holder (it is supposed to hold about six cards with envelopes, but I am currently pushing that limit as it hold all the cards I need to file away), a super cute Halloween card, and a little treat box (for some reason, the treats inside seemed to disappear not long after they arrived…spooky).

I enjoy seeing what little treasures she sends me.