Just a teaser

Alright everyone. Huge thanks to those of you who signed up for this class sight unseen. The sample is now complete and will be in the store later today.

This Ten Seconds Studios Framed Mirror Class is based on a class created by Linda Brown for Craft Stamper Magazine. It's going to be a fun one! If you are signing up for this one be prepared for the class to go longer than the usual 2 hours.

better late than never

Here is a fun picture from when my sister and her family were here with us. Four kids painting very intently...so cute. They were so very serious about their art.

Now here's a fun before/after comparison. This first one is a picture I took of Hannah at mom's wedding. Now...
here's one I took a couple of days ago. Notice anything different???

Catching you up

It's official...my mom is now Mrs. Westover. That will take a little getting used to. The wedding was a beautiful celebration. Look at the happiness on their faces...it's a beautiful thing.

And here is a picture with all of us together...a new family.

The back row is: Crystal (my sister who just moved here from Mexico), Bob, David (my new brother), Mervin (my little brother).

The front row is: Brenda and Carol (my new sisters), Mom, Birdie (my sister from Mexico City), and me

The wedding came right on the heels of our week at Drift Creek Camp. My sister Birdie and her family, my kids and I, and my friend Courtney went out to Drift Creek Camp to provide art projects for the Middle School Camp. We had an awesome time. And of course I used some of my free time to create some fun sample cards using some of the products that we took out for the kids to use.

This card features a fun background made by embossing with white embossing powder, then adding Alcohol Ink. I loved how it turned out.

The background of this one was made with Color Wash sprays, then stamped in sort of a collage style.

Last, but not least, this simple little card has a cuttlebug embossed background, and the focal point is a piece of paper that I stamped with a script background then with an image from an awesome stamp set by Amy Butler for K&Company called Lotus Floral.

And all of that is why I have not been posting much lately. Well, ok, lets face it, life is just full of better things to do than sit in front of my computer all day, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. Meanwhile, I'll share with you as often as is realistically possible.

Stamp outside the...paper

This was an experiment for sure, but I can't wait to get back to our local store, All Fired Up, and practice some more. All Fired Up is a place where you go to paint your own ceramic pieces. They provide all of the paint, brushes, clean-up, and then fire the piece for you. When the piece had been fired I brought it home and added some soft felt "feet", and I now have a great coaster to set my drinks on.

Now the great thing is, this is another fun way to make use of my stamps. I used one of my favorite images from the Kamon clear stamp set by Kodomo Inc. It was actually pretty easy once I got the hang of it. I started by painting 3 coats of a very light yellow base, then chose a dark grey to do my stamping with. To stamp, I simply poured some of the dark grey paint into a piece of Ranger Inkssentials Cut-n-Dry Foam. The key, I discovered, is not to have to much paint in the foam, if it is too wet it won't work very well. To finish it up, I simply painted a border around the tile. The shop did the rest, and in a few days I got to go pick it up. Fun huh!

It's Officially Summer Vacation!

In celebration of Matt (my husband) and Hannah (my daughter) finishing their last days of school, here is a refreshing, summery card for you.

This card was created by stamping all the oranges, masking them, then stamping the background. I love this background stamp by Kodomo Inc. The stamp is only 1 5/8" square, but it is so well designed that it is easy to line up the edges and create a seamless background.

Supplies used:
Kodomo Inc. - Oranges (Suiboku: Sumie-E 002),
Backgrounds (Asian Background I and Asian Background II)
Impression Obsession - Relax and Enjoy stamp
Tsukineko - Tuxedo Black Momento Ink
Judikins - Eclipse Masking Tape
Kraft Card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")
Pink Cardstock
Button Brads (unknown)

New at Kodomo Inc.

Kodomo Inc. has posted a couple of new project ideas designed by yours truly. Head over to Kodomo's website to check it out.

Night Pier Card

I received this beautiful stamp from Impression Obsession at a class I took in San Francisco. I finally made some time to play with it.

If you have any interest in learning how this card was made, continue reading this paragraph...if not, just skip down to the next one. I stamped the image 4 different times, once each on regular matte cardstock, acetate, brown cardstock, and glossy white cardstock. The sky and sand were colored using Distress Ink and the Blending Tool. The shiny water was cut out of the acetate, and was colored using Aqua and Pearl Mixative Alcohol Inks. The pearlized quality didn't really show much in the photo, but is really neat in real life. The pier itself was embossed with Distress Embossing Powder before being cut out and layered over the other pieces. Lastly, the moon and the shell were painted using various new Light and Bright colors of Ranger Alcohol Ink. I used Matte Accents over the outside of the shell to make it more like a real shell...just the "inside" remains shiny.

We have been enjoying life around here lately. Up until a couple days ago, weather was sunny and beautiful. We were getting some important jobs done around here, like replanting our lawn. Now the storms and rain we are getting are giving the new grass some important time to establish itself, and it's starting to actually look like a lawn again. As I sit here, the birds are greeting each other very noisily as they feast on worms.

School is winding down, end of the year parties and field trips are in full swing, and Hannah is loving all of the extra excitement. We'll see how she handles summer at home this year. I have a feeling she'll be good and ready when school starts again in the fall.

Noah...well he is spending all of his time and energy growing. Seriously, like a weed! One day none of his pants fit (luckily he had some shorts, and it was warm weather), then shortly after that most of his shoes didn't fit anymore. When I went to measure his feet, he had skipped a size and I had to buy him size 10's. Hannah had times where she suddenly grew too, but not the extreme growth spurts that Noah has. A couple days ago I went and bought him size 4 jeans, and when he wore them yesterday, they really didn't look big on him at all. How can watching your kids grow up make you so proud and so sad at the same time?

Chatterbox and more

Hi everyone!
I'm back from a fantastic trip to San Francisco. I was privileged to travel with Stampin' Cat Studios fabulous owner, Lisa, to a trade show.

We had a great time attending classes by some of my favorite companies, getting familiar with some products that were either new, or new to me, and spending lots of money (mostly Stampin' Cat Studio's money...gotta' love helping someone else spend big).

My highlights of the trip: finally learning to work with Ten Seconds Studios products (LOVED it, by the way, yes, it will be showing up in class very soon), finally getting my hands on a new Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen, playing with the Copic Airbrush system, and playing around with some fabulous new product by Chatterbox.

We didn't know going into this class that the project was going to be a couple of scrapbook layouts. Now neither Lisa or I are scrapbookers, and we weren't really interested in making layouts. The teacher was so gracious to let us use the fabulous product from their new...well...Fabulous Collection to do our own thing.

Here are a couple of cards that I made during that class time. Let me just say, they named this collection appropriately for sure. I absolutely love it! It even has it's own stamp set! As well as an amazing set of die cuts...seriously, the picture on the link doesn't begin to do it justice. They are beautiful, and the cork die cuts...I don't even know what to say, they are so fun.

I had a blast playing with the products, and I hardly made a dent in it. I have so much left to play with, so be prepared to see some more of it in the coming months.

Everything on those two cards except for the twine, and the jump rings...oh, and the ink I stamped with, is from the Fabulous Collection by Chatterbox.Last but not least, check this out. Matt came home the other day and said, "get the camera, you have to see this rainbow." It must have just been perfect conditions, because I have lived in Oregon all my life, and have seen some beautiful rainbows, but this one was above and beyond. It was the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen. Matt took the camera out and started snapping away. He got some really nice pictures. I just couldn't help thinking about how amazingly creative our God is. I'm glad God loves beautiful things too, I must take after Him.

Catching Up

Well hi again everyone! This is going to be a random post, catching you up on what's been going on in my life recently. I realize spring break has been over for awhile now, but I'm just now getting to sharing with you what we did with our vacation.

We have some wonderful friends in California that welcomed us to their house for a whole week. We had a fabulous time with them, enjoying the wonderful sunshine, beaches, good food and bonus...visiting Disneyland and California Adventure. I thought I'd just include the above picture since this was the whole reason that our son was so excited to go on vacation! Lightning McQueen! Getting his picture taken with him, seeing him in the Pixar Play Parade, and getting a new Lightning McQueen toy made Noah's day...scratch that...the whole trip. He wasn't even smiling in the picture because he was just so in awe.

Next event: Noah started getting sick toward the end of our trip, and by the time we stopped at Matt's parents' house on our way home, Noah REALLY wasn't feeling well. He snuggled in with Daddy, and was content to just sit there and pet Poppa and Mommas new little kittens. This kitten in particular settled right in and seemed to enjoy just cuddling up.

Of course, Noah's sickness was followed by Hannah's sickness, which is followed by me currently loading up on Airborne in an attempt to avoid some not so pleasant symptoms on Easter.

I am supposed to be singing in 4 church services on Easter, and have all kinds of rehearsals coming up in the next couple of days, so I REALLY don't want to be sick. So far the Airborne seems to be helping. Or maybe it's the prayer...either way, I'll keep doing both.

In other exciting news: My sister Birdie just recently announced to the world that she is pregnant with her 3rd child!!! AND while we were on spring break my mom got ENGAGED! So it looks like this summer we will be having a wedding! It's so crazy to watch my mom enjoying new love, I hear myself telling her some of the same things she told me as I was dating and preparing to get married. So funny.

Ok, finally, I have gotten back into my craft room and created something. This was a bit of an experiment, and it was finished up last night when I was tired. I'm just saying... The experimental part was that I used a Copic Colorless Blender Pen and dipped it in my new light and bright colors of Ranger Alcohol Ink and used that to color in the image. My inexperience definitely shows, but I'll keep practicing.

The Tulip Girl stamp and the background stamp are both by Cornish Heritage Farms. The background is the new Distressed Circles Scrapblock. I LOVE it! I definitely see it becoming another "go-to" stamp in my collection.

Oh, just in case you want to know. The Tulip Girl was stamped with Tuxedo Black Momento Ink before being colored in. And the background was stamped on vellum and embossed with Tattered Rose Distress Embossing Powder...LOVE the great texture that the Distress Embossing Powders provide.

Oh, and the Trinkets Pin from the Ideaology line by Tim Holtz says "thoughts" on it. I liked how that went with the "Wishes" sentiment from the Expressions set by Hot Off The Press.

My goal at the beginning of the year was to post at least once a week, so sorry about the long wait for this post. But I'm sure you understand that family and home life have to be my first priority.

Blessings to you!

More Woodgrain

I have been crazy busy this week, as shown by the fact that I haven't posted anything in over a week. This is one of 5 projects featured in my upcoming Wonderful Woodgrain class. The woodgrain elements lend themselves well to simple designs with clean lines and a modern, earthy feel.

The stamped images in this class are primarily by Hero Arts. They have some really great new stamp sets. I already bought several of their sets, but my wish list from their catalog is long.

Good Morning everyone,

This morning I would like to draw your attention to a website that I visit almost daily...Craft Critique. If you are a crafter, product information is so helpful. Sometimes we really aren't sure which products are as good as they say they are, exactly what they are good for, etc. This site offers reviews of all sorts of craft products, by crafters just like you and I. I have found these to be very beneficial. In fact, I'll just tell you a little story.

I've been teaching a technique class in which I use the Palette Stamp n' Stick Gluepad. That was the only gluepad I had tried. I was satisfied with the results I was getting, so I stuck with that one. Well, back in October I read this review on The Essential Gluepad by Tsukineko. Based on that review I decided to give The Essential Gluepad a try. I love it. Both inkpads still have their place and I use them for different applications. The Cuttlebug Embossing Techniques Class that I teach now incorporates both of those gluepads and teaches students the very best applications for each inkpad.

I have had a link to the Craft Critique website on my blog ever since I discovered it (shortly after starting my own blog). But I know that with all the lists on the side, things can tend to get overlooked. I hope you will check it out, there is a lot of great information available that could save you money by helping you to make an informed decision when buying your crafting products, as well as helping you gain a better understanding of products you may already own.

Hero Arts Woodgrain Stamp

I've been playing with the new Woodgrain Pattern stamp by Hero Arts...SO FUN! Here I used Distress Inks to create this great "wood panel". I was very impressed with how realistic this looked.

The additional elements were both die cut out of Core'dinations Cardstock with Spellbinders dies.

This post is going to be short and sweet (as most of mine are) because I have a ton of things to do today, but I just wanted to share this with you.

Wonderful Woodgrain

Lately I've been finding myself drawn to simplicity. Maybe it's the fact that my house has been feeling overwhelmingly cluttered lately, I don't know. But when I decided to teach a class incorporating the new woodgrain products that have been flooding the papercrafting market recently, simlicity seemed like the perfect fit for these intricate woodgrain patterns. The card you see here incorporates woodgrain patterned paper by Hambly Screenprints.

I'm glad I can easily simplify creatively, but I think I need professional help decluttering my house. Anyone want to volunteer???

Snow and Daffodils

No I don't have any pictures of it, but yes, it is indeed snowing on the daffodils here in McMinnville. I am sure I've said it before (lol), but I love snow. It is just so magical how it covers up all the leafless trees and bare dirt, and turns them into something spectacularly beautiful. I realize this snow isn't going to be sticking around long, but I'm sure going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Meanwhile, I do have a picture to share with you.This is another of the quick and easy cards we will be creating in the Scripture Blessings class.
I love the beautiful fonts they used in this stamp set by Cornish Heritage Farms.

I hope you all have a wonderful day today!

Nestabilities Jewelry

I've been loving making jewelry lately. This is one of several items that I made for a class coming up soon at Stampin' Cat in Salem. This bracelet is made with Shrink Plastic. I used the Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders to create the ovals. I love it as a bracelet, but have already decided that I am going to make a necklace that is just the same.

On a more personal note, illness has his our household again. It is really crazy. We are generally a pretty healthy family, so this winter has been really unusual for us. It seems like someone has been sick almost constantly. And I have definately had more than my fair share. It is making me really ready for some sunshine...I would LOVE to lay in the sun and soak up some rays.

Scripture Blessings Class

So, I am still going on this wonderful Scripture Essentials 1 set by Cornish Heritage Farms. I really do love this set, and am so thrilled that I get to teach a class using this set. March 7th at 1:00pm at Stampin' Cat Studio, will be the debute of this class. We will make 6 cards is 2 hours...or so...it might go a little over that. But unlike usual, I've actually kept the cards in this class fairly simple, so we could make more of them. The cards you see above are some of the cards we will be making in that class. I really am excited about this class, and I hope that you will join me if you live in the area.

Matthew 11:28

I love this verse, what a great word of encouragement. The design of todays card was formed by the words of the verse itself. When I think of calming, relaxing, and restful colors and designs, for me the delicate simplicity of Asian design is what comes to mind. So I chose a muted blue for the cardstock color, embossed the one end with a simple twig design, then stamped the Asian floral image with VersaMark ink before adding the verse.

Supplies:
Stamps - Scripture Essentials 1 set (Cornish Heritage Farms) , Kamon clear stamp set (Kodomo Inc.)
Ink - VersaMark
Cardstock - Black Linen, Gulf (Bazzill)
Other - Forest Branches Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), Black Distress Embossing Powder (Ranger Industries), Black Ribbon, Black Brad

Framed

Can you find the verse on this card? Still going with the Scripture Essentials 1 set by Cornish Heritage Farms. I stamped the verse on the little bird, then stamped it again on the inside. You might have to click on the image in order to see the it very clearly. Unfortunately there was no sun in Oregon today which made photographing this card a bit challenging. I forgot to take a picture of the inside, it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6

The self-adhesive white paper lace is by Creative Imaginations. I love that stuff, it is great for inking up to match whatever your doing as well as leaving as is. I just wish they sold packs that were all white. The pack I have is some white, some black. It's great, but as much as I love to alter things, I would LOVE a pack that was all white, ready to be altered.

Oh, and the background image is the Climbing Leaves Backgrounder also by Cornish Heritage Farms. I stamped it with VersaMark ink and embossed with white embossing powder.

It took me forever to figure out what I needed for a finishing touch on this card. After sorting through all of my embellishments, I finally ended up with a Metal Art Frame by K&Co.

I hope you guys don't get sick of this scripture set, because I've only used 3 of the verses so far, and I have 5 more to go.

More Scripture Essentials

I have several friends and family members who are anticipating big changes in their lives right now or very soon, so I am not sure which friend this first notebook is going to. I'll just have to make some more. Besides I want one for myself.

The notebook is 5" square, and is filled with plain white paper. The design and sentiment were embossed with Black Soot Distress Embossing Powder. I stamped with VersaMark Ink rather than the Distress Embossing Ink because I didn't want to be able to rub off any of the release crystals, I just wanted the rough texture that this embossing powder provides.

When I finished making this I was trying to decide whether it needed anything else or not, and I decided, no, I like the simplicity. It allows the simple truth of the verse to be the focus. Thank God for that truth!

Supplies:
Paper Products: Heavy Black Chipboard, Gulf Cardstock (Bazzill), and White text weight paper
Stamps: Scripture Essentials 1 (Cornish Heritage Farms) , Botanicals (Hot Off the Press)
Ink: VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Tools: Bind-It-All Machine (Zutter)
Other: Distress Embossing Powder (Ranger), Labels Two Nestabilities Dies (Spellbinders), Black 3/4" Binding Wire (Zutter)

Scripture Essentials

I finally have in my hand the new stamp set that I have been most anticipating, the Scripture Essentials 1 set by Cornish Heritage Farms.

And guess what, notice the "1" at the end of that title. I'm assuming that means there will be more scripture sets coming, yeah!

Anyway, the yellow paper was created by stamping the Canvas Backgrounder (CHF) with Lemonade Pigment Ink (Ranger), then adding Scattered Straw Distress Ink (Ranger). I finished it off by spraying it with a mixture of Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls and water, although shimmer doesn't really show in the picture.

Supplies:
Cardstock: MatteKote (Judikins) and Black
Ink: Jet Black Archival, Lemonade Pigment Ink, and Scattered Straw Distress Ink (Ranger)
Stamps: Scripture Essentials 1, Silhouette Blooms 1, and Canvas Backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Dies: Curved Rectangles Mega Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Other: White Opal Liquid Pearls (Ranger), White Tulle, Self-Adhesive Pearl (K&Co.), Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls (Ranger)

Igloo Boy

I haven't done a scrapbook page in a really long time, but this picture was to cute not to do something special with. Noah had been out in the snow helping Daddy and the neighbors build this igloo for quite awhile so when it was finally finished he just took a rest inside and looked out at me so sweetly. Seriously, who could resist that smile.

Vintage Collage Card

It's so interesting how the mind works. For example, the creative process of this card. Can you guess where this card started?

Believe it or not, it all started with the striped piece of cardstock that I had die cut a month ago to use on a project and then didn't end up using. I have a drawer that I put things in that have been stamped, die cut, inked, etc. then not used, or projects that I just couldn't finish to my satisfaction, so they got put away for a later time. Anyway, this was in my drawer, and I love it, so I decided I'd better put it to use. This paper is "Sisters" Stripe Paper (Wild Asparagus) from My Mind's Eye. I absolutely LOVE their Wild Asparagus papers...love, love, love. Anyway...

My next step was to choose color that went with it, then go through all of my embellishments, stamps, and other items to find things that fit the mood I was going for with this card. I just pull a bunch of stuff out, then as the idea starts to form, things that don't fit get put back away and pared down until I like what I've got left.

This card, however, didn't really start to come together until I started looking through my collage images. The flower image on the side is what made it all start to turn into something in my mind. The collage images are from the Vintage School Days Collage Pack by Tweety Jill. This was my first time using them, and they are great. Really nice, useable images.

For those who are interested, here is the complete list of
Supplies:
Labels One (Nestabilities Dies) Spellbinders
Vintage School Days Collage Pack (Tweety Jill)
"Sisters" Stripe Paper (Wild Asparagus) My Mind's Eye
Cardstock: Gulf (Bazzill), Textured Cayenne (Paper Accents), Cocoa
Ink: Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Foliate Quad Cube (Stampendous),
Flourishes set and Card Sentiments set (Crafty Secrets)
Dark Brown Marvy Memories Marker
Self-Adhesive Paper Lace (Narratives by Karen Russell) Creative Imaginations
Antique Silver Paper Fastener (7 Gypsies)
Claudine Hellmuth Sticky-Back Canvas (Ranger)
Velvet Flower (Maya Road)
Antique Silver Brad

Butterfly Card

I recently came across this wonderful stuff, copper fabric. The coolest stuff ever. I had just purchased the Nesting Butterflies Die set by Spellbinders, and it looked like a match made in heaven. So I cut the copper fabric using the medium sized Nested butterfly, and then used the Floral Screen Cuttlebug Embossing Folder to add some texture to it. I love the airy, sort of ethereal, look it has. I used some thin copper wire to attach it to a piece of copper sheeting and turn it into a bookmark.

Some extra copper sheeting was used to create the “Flights of Fancy” embellishment using the top part of the Curved Rectangle die by Spellbinders. The wording is stamped with a saying from the Vintage Butterflies set by Cornish Heritage Farms, and is embossed with copper embossing powder.

I used the same "Flights of Fancy" sentiment as well as another stamp from the same set, "Effortless Beauty", to create the embossed background.

I cut out two Curved Rectangles and tore the top off of one of them to create a pocket for the bookmark to rest in...a card and a little gift all at the same time.

Supplies:
Spellbinders Dies: Curved Rectangles (Mega Nestabilities)
Nested Butterflies (Shapeabilities)
Cardstock: Textured Cayenne (Paper Accents)
Destination London (Bazzill)
white (unknown)
Copper Mesh Fabric - Amaco
copper wire
copper sheet metal
Antique Glass Beads - Mill Hill
Cuttlebug Folders - Floral Screen, Swiss Dots
Red Lace (Rusty Pickle)
Decorative Brad (JoAnns)
Stamps: Vintage Butterflies set (The Saturday Evening Post) - Cornish Heritage Farms
VersaMark Ink (Tsukineko)
Copper Detail Embossing Powder
Crop-a-Dile

Butterfly Mobile

As soon as I bought the Spellbinders Nested Butterfly die set, I knew that one of the first things I wanted to do was make a mobile for my daughter Hannah’s room. She is the ultimate girly girl, so I made her mobile very delicate, feminine and full of bling. The Spellbinders Scalloped Circles are cut out of transparency sheets, and the designs are stamped with The Essential Glue Pad and glittered with fine Vintage Glass Glitter. As they float around the sparkle coming off of them is just mesmerizing. It was hard to really capture the beauty in a picture though.
The main elements of the mobile are 16 acetate scalloped circles, 10 die cut butterflies, and a FUNdamental Swanky Frame by Technique Tuesday. I wrapped the Swanky Frame with tulle to soften the look, and added some butterflies and flowers.

The butterflies were made of a fine Thai Kozo paper, and sprayed with a mixture of Rangers' Adirondack Color Wash, Perfect Pearls, and water, before being stamped with VersaMark Ink to add a subtle design. I also sprayed sheer white ribbon to match the butterflies, and used it to tie the butterflies onto the mobile.I just love their little antennae...fishing line tipped with Glossy Accents and dipped in the Vintage Glass Glitter for just a bit of sparkle.

Hannah was so excited to hang it up in her room! “Mommy, it’s beautiful!” makes it so worth going over the top with all the sparkle and bling. Now the question is, will it help her sleep in on Saturday morning?

Snow!!!

Ok, forgive my excitement, but seriously, we had the biggest, fluffiest snowflakes coming down today that I have ever seen!
I'm not kidding at all...just look at that! Yes, that bright white spot is a giant puffy sheet of snow falling through the air. Some of them were huge. Now I know, they were actually multiple snowflakes that became close friends as they were falling through the air so they were just hanging out together for awhile. They were just so big, it was crazy.

It doesn't take much to get an Oregonian excited. I don't know how many times during the couple of hours that the snow was falling that I said, "Seriously, look at that one...oh my goodness, that one is HUGE...oh, my goodness, seriously, this is crazy..." You get the idea.

New Tim Holtz stuff!

Now I realize this may not be as exciting to everyone as it is to me, but just look at this new stamp set by Tim Holtz! For me it's all about texture...talk about a versatile stamp set. I can't wait to be holding this one in my hot little hand. Of course there is more greatness where this came from.
Also from the mind of Tim Holtz, some more great products in his idea-ology line.
Great stuff!!!

It's that time of year!

The CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Convention and Tradeshow is coming right up, and along with that comes all kinds of new product releases within the industry. So, to assist you in checking out some of the new products, etc. I have started a list of company blogs. For now I will leave this list up at the top of my blog so you don't have to scroll way down to find the links. Keep checking back because I will keep adding links as I have time. There are some fabulous new products coming out...enjoy!
Oh, by the way, the paper shown above is from a new line by 7 Gypsies. Isn't it beautiful!

Another Mini

I'm loving the mini valentine cards right now. This card has many of my favorite companies represented.

Stamps:

Cherish sentiment - Faith Collection - Kodomo Inc.

Polka Dot background - Tiny Textures set - Tim Holtz Collection - Stampers Anonymous

Flourish (stamped on background and on the butterfly) - Reindeer Flight set - Tim Holtz Collection - Stampers Anonymous

Ink:
Alabaster Fluid Chalk Ink - ColorBox
Pearlescent Poppy Brilliance Ink - Tsukineko
Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries

Die:
small butterfly - Nested Butterfly set - Spellbinders

Embellishments:
Clear Jewel Trinket Pin and White Velvet Blossom - Maya Road
Rhinestones - Hero Arts

I might have to photograph this again tomorrow when there is light though. The colors are not true in this picture. I'll try to fix it, because you really need to see how beautiful that Pearlescent Poppy Brilliance ink is.

Just a simple little valentine card (2 1/2" x 3 1/2"). I used a heart stamp that I have as a pattern to cut out the window. Stamped a cute little bird image from the Bird Notes set by Crafty Secrets. The sentiment is from the same set. Added some Distress Ink to define the edges of the red patterned paper.

Surprisingly, of all of the valentine cards I have made so far, this was my husbands' favorite...totally shocked me. Of course since I make him choose favorites who knows if he actually likes it, but he had to pick something. lol.

I was so shocked that I asked, "Are you sure? That's really your favorite?" It was confirmed. My poor husband. To be fair though, he's usually a pretty good sport about the whole thing. And I try not to set him up for failure with a "Do you like this?" question. It's almost always a group of items..."Look what I made today, which one do you like best?" There really is no wrong answer there, just surprising ones sometimes.

LOVE mini

This little mini valentine (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") was inspired by a design I saw on Debbie Olsons' blog:
The cute little floral image is from the Lotus Floral stamp set from the Amy Butler line by K&Co.
The designs in this set are all just wonderful. I can't wait to play with them some more.
I made the little corner accent by cutting a square with the Labels One Nestabilities die by Spellbinders, then cutting it into four pieces. I added some twine and a little metal Asian coin. I don't know what anyone else will think of this card, but frankly I don't care because I could look at it for hours. Every now and then I have a project like that, one I just love in spite of, or maybe because of its calming simplicity.

This laid back Valentine card is going to be a part of the Be My Valentine card class to be held at Scrap-a-Latte next month.

This card began with the LOVE squares in the center. These are from a stamp set by Magenta called Floral Love. I've chosen to do one of my favorite techniques for vintage style stamps, the Shabby Chic technique. I started with dark brown paper, stamped and embossed with clear ink and powder, painted with the Pebble Adirondack Paint Dabber, then wiped the paint off of the embossed areas with a damp paper towel.

The background was created with the Butterfly Bliss stamp set by Impression Obsession. I stamped the swirly pattern with VersaMark Ink then stamped the butterflies with paint.
When I had finally done that much I was stumped. I just sat there and stared at it waiting for inspiration to come. I finally ended up coming back to my favorite standby embellishments...Maya Roads Metal Blossoms and Kaisercraft pearls. With my love for classic and vintagy (is that a word???) things it seems like those embellishments show up alot.

Speaking of loving Maya Road, check out some of the new items that will be coming out soon!
www.mayaroad.typepad.com/mayaroad
Wow! Loving it...can't wait to get my hands on some of those vintage leaf pins!

Check back tomorrow for more Valentine designs.
(Yes, I'm actually going to post two days in a row.)

It's officially my first project of 2009

I am an earring girl, and since I had some scraps of copper left over from a project, I decided to make them into earrings. The shape of the metal was die cut with the Tiny Tags set by ProvoCraft. The leaf design was embossed into them with the Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder by Cuttlebug. I added some black paint to bring out the design, then applied Glossy Accents to both sides.

The little green "beads" were made with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel), Alcohol Ink (Lettuce) by Ranger Industries, and Gold Pearl Ex. I am really pleased with how they turned out, I have the perfect outfit to wear them with. They would even look great with a simple seed bead instead of the UTEE bead that I used.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's already 2009. A year seems to fly by awfully fast these days.

This is my husband and I on our anniversary trip this year. We stayed on the Long Beach penninsula in Washington. Our trip was planned smack in the middle of one of the largest amounts of snowfall that Oregon has seen in a long time. Sooo...we had to take the long route over the coast range and up along the coast to get to Long Beach. It was pretty crazy because they actually had snow too, and they hardly ever even get a little skiff of snow. We went for a walk on the snowy beach one morning. So beautiful! We saw a bald eagle flying over, and lots of little water birds of various kinds shared the beach with us. There were alot of heron on the beach too. It's a very pretty place, I think if we went again we would go in the summer though because it was COLD.

Well, I started this blog one year ago, and it was fun for me to look back over the entries that I've made in the last year. I find it interesting that at the beginning of the year I chose to put my focus on the word prioritize. I wasn't sure how I would actually see that focus play out in my life over the year. But I've spent significant time praying about this, especially in the middle of the night when I was laying awake and everyone else was peacefully sleeping. Now looking back, I do see that my priorities have actually changed gradually throughout the year. I've become more and more aware of how very quickly my children are growing up. I don't want to miss it, I want to just take it in and enjoy this special time in the life of our family. If you've been following my blog, you may have noticed that the amount of blog entries dropped significantly over the course of the year. Now, I could blame that all on priorities, but truthfully, some of it is just a lack of knowing what is interesting for you to read. Some of it is priorities too. My goal through this next year is to post an entry on my blog at least once a week.

As for 2009...I believe that my focus for the year is this, live intentionally. The things I do in my life do have meaning and purpose, even in the daily grind, and I want to be intentional about using my resources, time, and talent to intentionally bless my family and others, and to grow as a person. How that will look at the end of this year remains to be seen...

So happy 2009! What will it hold for you?