On more of a Springtime note:

How exciting is this? We have made it to Easter in our trip down memory lane. One doesn't see many non-Easter Bunny Easter cards circulating out there; lucky for me, I have one of my own. Again, this is from my sister, Rachel, and I just love it! As I mentioned before, it is as though this card was made just for me because it utilizes so many of my favorite techniques:

Color: So Saffron (oh, I just love it, love it, love it), moss, black, and white. As a "yellow fan," this pairing helps to show the lightness of the yellow without it being too overpowering.

Texture: Embossing is such a simple way to add depth and dimention to any project and I just love the way the flower pattern offsets the sharp edges of this card.

Accents: It doesn't take much, but just a few brads helps to both ground the front of this card and add a little extra touch to elevate it to the next level.

Simple: The best projects always are; I don't mean "simple" in easy, but as in clean and uncluttered. I enjoy the simple and straightforward saying, the reservation used in the tulips, and the overall crispness of the card.

I love it all. Thanks for this "just for me" card, Rach.

A little retrosection.

I saw a freind of mine the other day and was so happy to finally meet-up with her and catch-up on all that has been happening. Her daughter, Sydney, is a little over six months old and she is growing up so quickly. I was able to make her birth announcements and loved being able to lend a hand. It was a challenge: I wanted to coordinate the announcement with the invite and thank you card I received without being too matchy-matchy. I decided to stick with the same color palate, but to put my own spin on the layout and style. If you are a follower of mine, then you will know: I love waterfall cards! What a great opportunity to utilize one of my favorite card templates for one of my favorite friends. Click on the picture to read more.

And then it was green....

A little further down the "Holiday Brick Road" is St. Patrick's Day. Here is another example of a card from my sister, Rachel. When it comes to holiday cards, I think she does the best: her cards are clearly for a specific holiday, but they don't ever seem too "holiday-holiday." For example, regarding this card, if you took off the leprechaun and the sentiment and replaced them with a different combination (perhaps "Happy Birthday"), the card would still be appropriate and enjoyable. I so enjoy this about her cards; click on the picture to see what other treats came with this card.

Valentines's Day in October

I suppose it isn't too far-fetched since I love Fall!

I woke up this morning and there was a bit of a nip in the air and I loved it. Though I do not like to wait for the car to hear-up in the morning on the way to work, I do like the way the crispness helps to wake me up and get me ready for the day.

Here are a couple Valentine's Day items:

The first is from Sharon; what I like the most about this is that it is very non-traditional V-Day: colors, pattern, textures, etc...that's me: non-traditional! The second is from my sister, Rachel; this holds some sweet candies and is so cheery - I still haven't eaten the candies because I don't want to take it apart to get to them. Thanks gals!

This One's for You...

At the end of the day, I really like this card. Have you been in the process of making a card/project and thought, "this is not looking well at all," but when it is all finished you think, "I really like the way this looks"? Case and point: this card. It was a tough challenge for me for my Card Club: masculine birthday with no ribbon, buttons, brads, etc...now those are all my favorites...what was I to do? Click on the picture to see what else I thought.

So, what do I specifically like about this card? I love the heat embossing - I am utilizing this technique more and more and the more I use it the less cumbersome it seems. I also love the colors: Soft Suede...I can't say it enough: LOVE IT! I think it serves as a nice back-drop to the crispness of the celery, navy, and pale blue. Finally, I really like the shape of this card: it was a first for me, but since using it here, I have enjoyed playing with rounding only some of the corners of a card/project: sometimes just one...sometimes all but one...whatever I feel like doing at that time.

Why, you may be wondering, a masculine birthday card right after New Year's? I am glad you asked: the beginning of February is my wonderful husband's birthday; this one's for you babe (the post...not the card)!

Not all Glitz and Glam

Here is another New Year card that I received; this card is from my mother, Susan. As you will soon realize, if you don't already know, I like shapes, color blocking, and punches of color (among other things) when it comes to cards. I think this card hits so many different points on my "I like this card check-list." I enjoy how the circles offset the sharp edges of the blocks as well as how the So Saffron (one of my favorite Stampin' Up! colors of all time) circle pops against the purple and blue.

I am not sure if she did, but it seems that she created this card just for me (and Mom, if you didn't, well, let's just say that you did); I may just CASE this card in the future for other occasions.

Thanks, Mom!

Up, up, and Away!

As promised, here is a little more inspired by the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which kicked-off its 39th season yesterday. There is something amazing which occurs when you see the sky filled with hot air balloons of all shapes, sizes, and colors: you are automatically eight years old again.

Do I attend the Fiesta every year? No. Why not? Well, for one, I am not what you would call "an early person" by any stretch of the imagination and, for two, being in the midst of large crowds is not what I would consider to be a fantastic time. Lucky for me I have been able to view the Fiesta without actually attending it: since the office in which I work is about a block from Balloon Fiesta Park, from my desk I have a panoramic view toward the West which serves as either the "we are just taking off and getting on our way" avenue or the "we are coming in for a landing" avenue. For the entire week the sky will be full of balloons; it is beautiful!

Here are two cards, both inspired by hot air balloons. They both utilize the Sweet Centers stamp set by Stampin' Up!, but in a different way. The first, designed by Anne, creates the balloon portion utilizing iris folding; this is a difficult and labor intensive technique, but the result is great. The second, designed by Sharon, creates the balloon portion utilizing a Sweet Treat Cup which, in this case, is filled with purple skittles...my favorite. They both are so unique - just like each ofthe balloons in the sky. Click on each picture to learn more.

And we're off...

Happy New Year!

Oh, I just love this card...I loved it when I first made it at my W'ink Club and I love it still today. It is clean, crisp, bold - all the things you want in a fresh start. Click on the picture to see what I had to say about it before.

Coming at you...

Just in case you didn't know, home sweet home to me is Albuquerque, New Mexico and has been for quite some time. During which time, I have grown to appreciate "New Mexican" food, however I have to admit (...and I almost cringe to say) I am not in love with it. I enjoy a nice plate of Carne Adovada, but as a whole, well, I'd rather have a salad or pizza or...well, almost anything else. I can hear the lynch mob congregating on my front porch already, but just think of it this way: I am leaving more of it out there for everyone else to enjoy!

All joking aside, I do enjoy being here in New Mexico...especially in the fall: the nights are cooling down, the smell of green chile roasting, exciting breezes, and the International Balloon Fiesta (that starts tomorrow...how exciting...maybe I'll talk more about that later). I decided to start out my return to blogging with this New Mexico card...I really love it. Click on it to see what else I have to say about it!

Technically speaking, how long is a while?

...I only ask because I feel as though it has been a while (well, that is an understatement) since I have posted anything. Oh, my poor blog is so neglected; however, that is about to change. So much has been happening, not that I am making excuses, over the past few months; one of which - I decided to reorganize how I store my cards/projects. Through this process I was able to get "reaquainted" with several of my favorite craft project/gifts/etc and would like to share them with you. Over the next little while, I am going to be giving you a chronological taste of some of my favorites, both older favorites and new favorites. Tune back in to see them all; let me know if you enjoy them as well.

Better late than never…

As with many things, I have been on the fence about converting my scrapbooking from hand-prepared to digital. Because of this lack of decision, my 2009 scrapbook has not even been started yet (I didn’t want to do it all and then decide I wanted to do it digitially over). As per my recent decision, I have decided to give the digital scrapbooking a try. I thought I would start with the cover page of my 2009 scrapbook; what do you think of it? I am anxious to get the rest of my pages completed before this year is completed (because I haven't done any of 2010 yet either...ugh, I am so behind).

I am interested to know what you think about digital scrapbooking versus hand-prepared scrapbooking. Let me know.

What a Hoot

I have a confession to make: I have not always been a big fan of the new clear treat cups which have been used lately in various projects. It is not that I don’t think that they are fun, it is just that I never saw them used in a way which I thought was very “out of the box” so to speak…until now. I have to say, the owl idea was a bit hard to picture, but thanks to the foresight of Falisha, we made it happen. What an adorable party favor at a baby shower…a pregnant owl. I still cannot believe how adorable they ended up being… I LOVE THEM! It is amazing to me how a little time, a variety of punches, Reece’s Pieces, and great company can create something so fantastic. What a great idea Falisha (oh, and thanks again for letting me keep one for myself).

Recipe: Soft Suede, Glossy White, Confetti Ivory, Pumpkin Pie, and Bordering Blue cardstock, Flower Trio, ¼” ¾” 1¾” 2¼” circles, and five-point flower punches, round sweet treats cup, Reece’s Pieces, Soft Suede classic ink, and lots of laughter.

Digital: With and Without

For my card club swap, the theme was Sympathy. Needless to say, I was not super excited about making this card for two reasons: first, who wants to think about sympathy and second, I didn’t have any sympathy-type stamps. What I did have was Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio program. I remember seeing this tree – which I love, but never purchased the stamp – and thought it would be great.

My idea was to use the tree image and print it out on my CraftRobo – if you don’t remember how much I absolutely love this machine, then give me a call and I will tell you all about it – and use the negative space for the card. Well, I did, then added a sentiment and some ribbon; I thought it was ok…I didn’t really like how all the little corners of the tree kept popping up (I wanted there to be some depth, but a consistent depth…not fly-aways). Then it hit me, “I have to do this nine more times for the swap.” That is when I really got discouraged.

MDS to the rescue! Instead of utilizing the image from the program, I should use the entire program to create the card…duh!!! I have to admit, I was a little nervous (I mean, I never used it before – aside from the time my mother gave me a crash course, but she was sitting there the whole time – and I would be giving them to members of the card club for review…who wouldn’t be a little freaked out?) to say the least.

As with most things, slow and steady wins the race proved true in this case. I went through several versions of this, but finally settled on my favorite. Seeing the two side-by-side, I think the digital card is a pretty fair translation (better in some cases) of my original idea. Looking back (and after a few suggestions form my club members), there are a few things I would do differently, but that is a story for another time.

I am looking forward to getting to know the MDS program and all the ways it works.

Hand-made Recipe: Basic Black, Whisper White, and Mellow Moss cardstock, black grosgrain ribbon, dimensional spots, mini glue dots, MDS tree image, CraftRobo, corner rounder punch, and lots of time.

MDS Recipe: MDS program, Basic Black, Mellow Moss, and Whisper White cardstock, and corner rounder punch.

To Clear or Not To Clear…that is the question

Ok, I have been on the fence about this for a while. As you should know by now, I am a big fan/user of Stampin’ Up! products. They have begun to offer their line of stamp products in a new clear mounted option in addition to their wood mounted option. My dilemma: to stick with wood or to convert over to clear. This is a tough decision…one I don’t really want to have to make, but suppose I really should. I had tried the new clear mounted stamps at classes before, but didn’t really see the big difference…until now!

At stamp club we created this card using the new clear mounted stamps and it became so clear (ha ha…not pun intended) to me that they were the way to go. I love this card and the flower motif we were able to use; I love the way the two layers purposefully do not align. There really isn’t a specific reason I decided to make the switch to clear, but after I finished the card I thought, “Ok…I am ready to change…I am ready to stop being stubborn and set in my ways and make a change.”

Let me know what you think about clear mounted stamps…I am curious to know.

New Beginnings…

Can you believe it is already June? Wow, June 1st…the first of June….

I thought that, with it being the first of June, I would share with you one of my “firsts.” A friend of mine recently had a baby girl and (for the first time) I volunteered to make her baby announcements. I had never made/designed a baby announcement before nor had I made more than a few of the same card before, so I dove in head first not knowing what lay before me.

With my friend’s blessing, I am glad that I am able to share these with you (how awkward would that have been…?). All I knew was that she just had a baby girl named Sydney (and the particulars or course) and that I wanted the announcement to coordinate with the invite and thank you card from her shower:

Black, purple, and pink…I knew pretty quickly that this was going to be a challenge. Lucky for me I had an idea which had been stewing in my mind for some time: a waterfall card. Do you remember when I posted a few cards and had that idea? (Click here to read about my epiphany) Well, I knew it would be a perfect way to get the necessary information across and still maintain the “cute” factor. A little planning and not so little time later, the product was complete:

I love the way it came together. Even now, months later, I still love it. I know that it took some time, but while I was doing it I just kept thinking about my friend, her family, and her new daughter and how much I knew they would also love it…that helped the process move along. I am so happy that she trusted me enough to make these for her; she is amazing!

Happy Memorial Day!

I don’t care what the calendar says, for me, today marks the first day of summer!
I love the summer: the blue skies, the gentle breezes, the smell of chlorine from the pools (I know…I have issues), the cook-outs, the late nights, and – well, you get the idea. What does summertime mean to me? One word: outside!

So, I made this card at a Technique Tuesdays class a little while ago with a friend of mine in mind, but I never really got around to getting it to her. I had it out on my work table with the sole idea that if I kept looking at it, then I will be motivated to write something and send it off to her. No luck (sorry – you know who you are – the time has passed for me to send this off to you, so you will just have to enjoy it this way). But, the more I saw it the more I realized that summer was coming and, hence, the thoughts I already mentioned.

Anyway…so, Happy (unofficial) Summer to everyone…have a blast!

Recipe: (all Technique Tuesdays products; I don’t know the fancy names for everything…sorry) Craft, Green, Brown, and White cardstock, craft blue ink, classic brown and green ink, cloud template, owl/branch/leaves clear stamps, and copic markers (several colors).

Just because I care!

Four words with tremendous meaning. I don’t remember from where I got this card (a swap, or my sister, or a friend…it is blank inside), but I came across it as I was doing some spring cleaning and that sentiment hit me pretty hard: just because I care.

I suppose I am not the greatest when it comes to accepting sentiment or support, but I know that there have been several people who have tried to offer it to me lately and have not been received as well as they deserve. To them, I deeply apologize and am truly sorry. It is difficult sometimes to see weakness in yourself; if you are like me, then you try to ignore it (or revert to the little boy mentality, “rub some dirt on it and it will be fine”) for as long as you can until it become impossible to do so and then you are left in a place even worse than before.

Just because I care.
Not because I am going to want something from you later; not because I think I owe it to you; not because I feel sorry for you; not because I am nosy; not because I feel like others need to see me making an effort; not because I think that I am “supposed to”; not because I am trying to “fix it”; not because I think I know what you mean; not because I (fill in the blank)…. Just because I care.

Thanks to all of you (you know who you are).

A little of this and a little of that…

I made this card in my stamp club a little ways back (and then left it in my folder so I forgot all about it until I looked in there again) and think it is just adorable. It has a little bit of everything in it, but they all work so well together.

The pattern paper helps to tie in all the colors, the saffron adds a bit of pop, the glitter on the flower tag brings some sparkle and the matting helps to make it all polished. I think it is great and super fun (both to make and to admire afterwards).

Thanks Sharon!

A package for me

I recently got another package from my sister, Rachel, in the mail filled with various goodies. When I got home one day my husband said, “You got something from your sister – it feels like she sent you a brick.” And he was right; it weighed a ton (thanks goodness for those flat-rate boxes).

She made me a set of four coasters; they had the medallion motif on them in brown. I thought they turn out great…what a neat way to customize coasters (made from inexpensive tiles). She also included a card holder (recipe card, note card, or…in this case…greeting card) using a flower motif in brown and a clothes pin. How creative. She also included two different thank you cards…you can never have enough thank you cards.

I have to veere off course for a moment…I kind of hooked my sister on this amazing tree stamp. So much so that she just had to get it herself. I love it, but I am not taking full responsibility for this…I am partially blaming it on Sharon (yup…you, Sharon) who was instrumental in getting me hooked on it in the first place. We made a card at our stamp club using it and I was hooked. So, I suppose it Rachel’s turn to “pass along the hooking” to someone new…I think she is up to it.

I love getting packages in the mail (well, honestly I love getting anything in the mail that is not junk mail), especially when they are so much fun….

Thanks Rach.

Happy Mother’s Day!

...just two weeks late.

I am going to be serious for a moment (I know, it is a little out of the ordinary for me).
This day helps me to realize that I have been so blessed in my life: I have a wonderful mother, an amazing mother-in-law, and so many other women willing to lend a mother’s ear, shoulder, or smile to help me out. I hope all of you know how much you mean to me and how much I treasure you.

Thank you all for everything.



Recipe: Echoes of Kindness, Well Scripted, and Watercolor Mini stamp sets, Soft Suede, Craft, and Whisper White cardstock, Certainly Celery Designer Series Paper, Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, and Rose Red classic ink, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Rose Red Stampin’ Write Markers, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, ½” circle, corner rounder, and wide oval punches, ½” double-sided Soft Suede and ¼” Grosgrain Certainly Celery ribbon, large white grommet, sponges, dimensional spots, sticky strip, my own fingers (for tearing), and lots of patience.