Independence Day!

I decided to make an Independence Day card for a friend of mine...I saw a sketch at Clean&Simple Stamping that just spoke to me and said..."I would make a great patriotic card!".  Here is the original sketch:

Of course, this was just a sketch and the stars could be anything but I decided to do something different and use...uh, yeah....the stars as STARS!

I actually have this wonderful Creative Memories star punch that also embosses that my friend, Cyndi, gave me a while back.  I love it.  It does a regular 5 pointed star and then it does a cut out star that is embossed.

Here is my take on the sketch:

I used some very old red and white Making Memories paper I had, white cardstock from who knows where and a piece of blue Bazzill.  The little blue stars on top of the white stars were done from Pink Paislee paper and punched with a little Fiskars thumb punch I have. The sentiment was done with various stamps I had around...the happy was from a Stampendous set...and the 4, t, h, and ! were from some teensy wood mounted stamps from Hero Arts that I've had for nearly 10 years.  I cut the sentiment out with an EK Success punch.

Below you can just about make out the bit of embossing...even though it's a bit blurry.

I've always loved red, white and blue together....they just make you want to stand at attention with your hand over your heart.
I'm entering this in the following Challenges:
Little Scrap Pieces: Use a Star
More than Favors: Wacky Wednesday #73 4th of July Theme
Paper Crafting Journey: Challenge - Feeling Krafty 
By the way, my friend Donna sent me the following video the other day.  It's of 2 girls and a boy (all siblings) singing The Star Spangled Banner a capella.  It is amazing....I hope you enjoy it. It gave me goosebumps and brought a tear or two to my eye....

Happy Crafting!

Flash! 4 Cards in 30 Minutes!

My hands worked faster than the speed of sound on these cards.  OK, not really but I did make 4 cards in 30 minutes.  Of course they were the same card but still....that is a good time for moi!  I totally CASEd this....for those of you who don't know what CASE means...well, it means that you find something to steal inspire you and use it.  I was totally inspired by this and decided to steal use it.  (Oh and CASE means "Copy and Steal Everything")  Here is the original:

and is from Danielle Walls at Neat and Tangled.  She has a really great blog with all kinds of wonderful ideas! I loved the simplicity of this card made with Lawn Fawn's Flying By set.
Here is my take on it:

I added another splash of color with some Washi tape because...well, ya know....I now have 427 rolls of it and need to start using it!  (slight exaggeration on the number of rolls....)

I stamped and cut the plane out of some Doodlebug scraps I had and added it with foam tape to the punched circle which was mounted with foam tape, as well.

And I made 4 of them in 30 minutes:

I am going to a benefit crop tomorrow for a real American Hero...Travis Mills who was critically injured in Afghanistan in April.  He lost both arms and legs but is doing really well and is actually walking again with prostheses.  If you'd like to read his story (and it is an amazing one and if you're American will fill your heart with patriotic pride) you can find it HERE.  He has an amazing wife and adorable child and the positive outlook Travis and his wife have is amazing.

I've made these cards for servicemen to use for Operation Write Home.  My father was career Army...I remember the year he spent in Viet Nam in the mid '60s...there was no Skype, internet, cell phones, etc. back then.  We went a full year without hearing his voice.  He wrote letters to my mother daily...but of course, it took a minimum of 7-10 days for them to be received so when the news was received it was old news.  How technology has certainly improved a terrible situation when our loved ones are deployed far away for long periods of time. 

As we approach Independence Day I want to express my appreciation to all the servicemen out there as well as to their wives at home.  I always said wives of servicemen were the unsung heroes....

I entered this in the following challenges (again, thanks to Sunshine Honeybee for letting me know about challenges...if it weren't for her I'd never enter!):
Craft Your Passion: Things with Wings (this counts as having wings, don't you think?)
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner: Anything Goes

Happy Crafting.

Hello to You!

Happy Thursday to you from Georgia!

Here is the last card made in my recent card class.

I used green cardstock as our base and then stamped it with some flower stamps randomly with green Hero Arts ink.  The flowers were stamped with the "hello" stamp on white paper with slightly different orangey ink colors and then die cut.  I added green satin ribbon for stems and I see the one on the left is slightly off center....sort of like nature in reality! LOL!  A tip for adhering really skinny ribbon....run it through you Xyron Sticker Maker (put through a few pieces at the same time to save on adhesive).  That works very well and easily.  I added a bit of bling to the center of the flowers because, as you know, a girl MUST have bling!
This stamp set used for the sentiment is an all around great one to have...and at about $6 retail...well, you just can't go wrong....!

I have entered this in the That Craft Place Challenge: It's All Green.  (Thanks to Melissa the Challenge Queen, for the heads up!)

That's it for today....off to a tennis match shortly.  I'm feeling all achey and painy....not a good sign! LOL!!!  My tennis partner is going to be so happy with me, I'm sure! (I can hear her now..."Susan, can you NOT keep the ball in the court???")  LOL!

But for now...maybe another cup of coffee will help....

Happy Crafting!

Cards, Cards, Cards!

It is a beautiful day here in Georgia today....not too hot, sunny, blue sky.  What am I going to do?  I think I am going to hole myself up in my "studio" (I love the way that sounds but you could call it a basement craft room if you want) and scrapbook.  I have been making tons of cards that sit here and stare at me because I don't want to part with them....it's time to get back to some scrapbooking!

But for today...another card.  This is the 3rd one we made at Archiver's.

And of course, this card is made with more beloved Hero Arts products!  We cut the flower from two different sets (have I said what a fan I am of these Framelits???!):

We made a little flap with Kraft cardstock which was stamped with some white ink and that was adhered to the front of the regular A2 sized card.  Sort of a card on a card, you know?

...and stamped a little sentiment inside.  This is a great little sentiment set that I picked up at Archiver's...

We added just a touch of bling....a little button and some baker's twine and said "Voila!...Cute card!"

Now, I saved the best for last....my daughter and her family have been on a little vacation and they sent me this picture yesterday of my little granddaughter, Taylor, enjoying a view of the lake.  (Personally, I bet she was sitting there oblivious to the lake and eating the grass because that girl PUTS EVERYTHING IN THAT CUTE LITTLE MOUTH...but it is such a cute photo!)

Happy Summer Day and Happy Crafting!

Flutterby, Flutterby....

I can't tell you how many kids I worked with as a speech therapist who said "Flutterby" for Butterfly.  It was so darned cute it was almost one of those errors you didn't want to correct, you know?  (sort of like when a kid says Pasketti or Basketti for spaghetti!....cute as a kid....not so cute when an adult says it.)

What is it about butterflies we love?  Color, movement?  Everything?  I just love 'em...don't need to analyze it...but they are such beautiful creatures.  I only recently learned, though, that from the time a butterfly comes out of its cocoon it only lives about 2 weeks.  Egads!  Awful....I think they need to evolve a bit more and hang around!

But we immortalize them with our crafting...lots of butterfly crafts out there, aren't there?

Here's another card done with all Hero Arts products....did this one at Archiver's in the card class recently.  I loved this card....the techniques will be so useful on other cards, as well.

 We used a Hero Arts Frame Cut...you can see it here:

and used it to cut a window in the card.  We stamped  a piece of white cardstock for the mat on the inside of the card.
We stamped and cut out the butterflies and watercolored them with some Tombow pens and added some pretty Stickles (turquoise).

 Then using the "open" flower we stamped the outside of the card with Versamark, applied opaque embossing powder and heat set it.
I love that look....really love it.
We used a simple sentiment on a banner, added a button and I finished it with some baker's twine and we were done!
Here's what the card looks like sort of closed up....

Such pretty "FLUTTERBIES!"

I'm entering this in the Speedy TV Challenge on Embossing HERE  and the Made Especially for You Challenge on Embossing.



Happy Crafting.

My Continued Love Affair with Hero Arts

There is a new blog out there in Blog Universe called A Blog Named Hero which I've been following lately.  It is perfect for me....a true fan of Hero Arts!  I love seeing all the projects with stamps that I need want.
The latest challenge there is to create a project with the Kissing technique where you basically touch one stamp image to another before you press it onto your paper.  You can add an ink color or you can kiss and remove some ink.  I first learned about kissing in a CKU class several years back (more than 5!) taught by the fabulous Jennifer McGuire.  I loved the technique then and still love it now.
I played around yesterday with some different images I have and decided on this one:

I also used a messy swirl woodblock stamp that unfortunately is no longer available.  I've had this stamp for years...thought about selling it in a consignment sale but something said to me...Keep your Hero Arts Stamps...they are classic!

 I just love, love, love the movement it gave to this stamp!  So happy with that result.  I did it in green, I did it in orange...and then I decided to use blue to simulate a lovely summery day.  I used some Colorbok pigment ink and kissed with the swirl stamp to remove some of the color being careful to wipe of the stamp each time.  And then I used some Zing clear embossing powder to heat set it.

 I added a little white crochet thread to just give it a bit more {oomph}!  (I get tired of saying DIMENSION! HAHA!)

 I really just love the way this turned out!  I may have to keep this one! ;)....my love affair knows no limit....

I'm entering this in the Hero Arts Challenge #6 KISSING as well as the Speedy TV Challenge on Embossing and Made Especially for You.

ADDED 7/1/12:  I also liked this technique for STRETCHING YOUR STAMPS....this allows you to take two stamps and make an entirely new image!

I've added this to Yes, Virginia...How I Stretch My Stamps.

Happy Crafting!

Hero Arts Card Class at Archiver's

I don't know if I could say I have a very favorite stamp line but I do know that if I did Hero Arts stamps and products would certainly be vying for the top of the list!  I am just drawn to the stamps this company produces.  Haven't purchased a bad one yet!
I went to Archiver's yesterday and took a card class that featured Hero Arts products.  It was a lot of fun...I don't know that I learned anything new but I did like each card and find that they will be easy to duplicate or expand on.
Here is one card we made....I love blue and green together.  What was fun about this card is that we used a die to create the little mini card on the front.  We just positioned it so that it would give us a flap at the top.  It would be nice to put an additional sentiment here...or to even put a gift card in.  Cute!
We did some heat embossing with clear embossing powder on the front of the small tag which gave a nice sheen.
Otherwise it was just some simple stamping.  But I love the way it looked!  We tied some teensy ribbon around the bottom and that was it!

 Here you can see the little card on the card!

 We also used some foam tape for some dimension.  I like dimension....who would have ever thought foam tape or dimensionals would have had such staying power! LOL! I remember the days when everything was FLAT!  Stickers, paper, stamps and ink....all flat! ;)

I entered this in the embossing challenge at Speedy TV and Made Especially for You.
Happy Sunday and Happy Crafting!

Expressions of Food

As I mentioned in my post yesterday I love, love, love all types of Creative Expression and if you walk my little Avenue with me you'll see all kinds of different forms!  Yesterday I posted the oh so adorable towels that my friend, Cyndi embroidered for David and Taylor.  Too cute and what fun!  I don't think I ever had anything as nice as that when I was a kid!  I remember I did have a favorite towel as a young teen and once saw my brother walking out of the bathroom with that towel around his waist.  Boy was I mad!  But I digress....

I think food can be a wonderful form of expression.  I like to cook.  I didn't always like to cook but have developed a love of cooking ore making healthful foods....fresh ingredients, pretty colors, wonderful textures....love it!

My tennis teams have some wonderful cooks on it and I'm always scooping up new recipes and ways of doing things.  My good friend, Ann, brought this to our tennis matches on Tuesday night and it was so tasty!  I'm going to share this wonderful recipe here....it sounds so weird but it was a big hit with my family...including a 3 year old, a 2 year old and a 1 year old!

Berry Salad

Rinse and cut a bunch of strawberries:

Don't you love that glass bowl?  I bought that from Southern Living at Home several years back.
Anyway, back to the recipe.  Add some blueberries:

Add some raspberries (you could also throw in some blackberries but those are not my favorites):

And then you make this very weird pasty substance which is 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (told you it was weird).

Then you just pour it over the fruit...and refrigerate for a while and it is DELICIOUS!

Five adults and 3 toddlers ate the whole bowl with dinner last night!

Try it, Mikey...you'll like it!

And if you make it...let me know....

Happy Crafting and Happy Cooking!

Expression Through Embroidery

A really quick post here today...I've been busy the last few days and couldn't do any crafting.  Not complaining though...life is good!  We've had great weather and I've been outside a good bit.

Anyway...I like all forms of creative expression whether it be scrapbooking, cardmaking, fiber arts, painting, architecture (which I loved seeing in Spain), beautiful cakes like the one my friend, Kelly, did for Taylor's birthday, etc.  My good friend, Cyndi, has ventured into a new form of creative expression....machine embroidery!  She recently bought one of those fancy schmancy embroidery sewing machines and has been cranking out all kinds of great things.  She made the cutest little apron for Taylor for her birthday....and then the other day she gave my grandkids these oh-so-cute personalized towels...

Aren't they just the cutest???

Thanks, Cyndi!

Happy Crafting, ya'all!

Scrapbooking Around the World

My husband is in Thailand right now but wherever his travels take him he has his Scrapbooking Radar on high alert for me.  I love when he sees things he thinks I'd like to see....and with the technology that is available today I get to see what he's sharing almost immediately...and it's almost like being there (except I don't get to touch!....and I didn't have to travel 20plus hours to get there!). 
So he happened on this place yesterday and took these pictures for me and I thought you'd get a kick out of them, too.

And look at the Cricut up on the top left!

I think he's trying to entice me to give Thailand a try again...I went back in 2009 for a week and enjoyed the visit there but the travel time was sooo long and I wasn't sure I wanted to return.  But dangle that scrapbooking carrot in front of my nose and it becomes enticing!

Dave, if you read this....I'm checking airfare!  ;)

Happy Crafting!

Do You Remember Rosie?

Do you remember the beloved robot, Rosie, of the Jetsons?  I just googled The Jetsons and saw that the original series was only on from 1962-1963.  I was a VERY SMALL child then so don't go calculating and thinking...hey...that Expression Avenue lady must be ANCIENT because I am not! ;)
Anyway, I loved that cartoon.  George, Jane, Astro, Rosie, Mr. Spacely....
I loved Rosie.  I wanted a Rosie.  I still want a Rosie.

I was my own Rosie over the weekend doing a bit of much needed cleaning but did manage to do the layout I posted yesterday as well as this commissioned card needed for a young boy who is having a birthday soon.

I sort of struggle with boy cards...I think it's because I like lace and butterflies and flowers.  I know you can "masculinize" those things but I do struggle with that.  Anyway, I was thinking about little boys and what they like and I thought of my need for a Rosie and VOILA...I decided to do a robot card.

 OK, he's not Rosie but he is cute!  I got the design for the robot and the Happy Birthday from the Silhouette Store and cut them with my Cameo.  Added a few googly eyes and some brads....probably could have dressed him up a bit more but this card will be opened and then it will ON TO THE GIFT and the card will be discarded! LOL!
The papers are Echo Park This and That which are definitely BOY papers.  I added some Washi tape, an edge cut with a zig zag Papertrey Ink die I have.  The pennant is from a Hampton Arts stamp set, the "smile" word inside is from Lawn Fawn and there is a bit of a chevron stamp that I actually almost totally covered up because it was too distracting for me that peeks out on the sides and is also Lawn Fawn. 

I do love that it is so easy to create a shadow with the Silhouette software....you can easily offset your shape and create a perfect shadow for any design you have.  Easy Peasy.

Well, I hope some of you can remember Rosie....and some of you will remember the theme song:

"Here's George Jetson....His boy Elroy, Daughter Judy....Jane, his wife"! 

Loved that show.....

...but last night I watched the vampire show Trueblood.  So different from sweet Rosie....

:)

Happy Crafting!

Family

I did this layout yesterday of a 4x6 photo of the best thing ever....FAMILY!  We don't often get together but I was lucky to have everyone around on my birthday which was also the day before I left for Spain!  What a great week that was!
I don't usually scrap 4x6 photos...1 on a page.  I just think they look lost and tend to get photos printed into larger sizes.  But I saw a layout in the latest issue of Scrapbooks ETC that inspired me to give it  a whirl. 

 I used all kinds of things on this layout....it's a really mish mash/hodge podge of stuff!
I used:
Dear Lizzy Papers
Hero Arts Stamps and Dies
Unity Stamps
Velum
Embossing ink
Embossing powder
Regular Dye Ink
A border punch
 border cut out on my Silhouette (the one on the right)
The banner cut with my silhouette
Purposefully messy stitching with the Beast
Gold Brads
Adhesives
Foam Tape

That's a lot of stuff if you ask me!

And why did I put a bicycle on the layout...well, I just thought it was so cute with the little printed Dear Lizzy paper....and it sort of gave me my "Triangle" if you know what I mean! :)

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!  We're getting to spend it with our son in law, daughter,  and the grandkids so it will be a good day for us!

Happy Crafting!

Sending Love Your Way...

I recently bought several sets of Lawn Fawn stamps (up there on my list of favorites) and used the "You've Got Mail" set to make this card.  It is a really cute set and could make some really fun little cards (it has a really cute mailbox) but I chose it to make a more serious themed card.

 I used a combination of Stampin' Up Inks and Distress inks....and I distressed the edges of the mat and postcard to give it a "worn" look.

I used Authentique paper and some Papertrey Ink cardstock  You can't tell from the picture but I used a little Rock Candy on the stamp.  Some Papertrey Ink ribbon finished it off.

Happy Crafting!!!

Taylor Turns One

I had the oh so cute photo of Taylor just getting into her birthday cake that I wanted to scrapbook right away.  When I looked at it and saw the beautiful swirled roses in the frosting I thought how perfect the rose trim would be against it.  So I "whipped" out this layout last night....since the photo was an 8x10 it didn't lend itself to a ton of embellishing.  I like that.  Makes my life as a scrapbooker simpler.  You don't get that need to "fill".  LOL!

I tucked some tulle under the right side of the layout to give it that even more girly feel and since she had such a cute little tutu on in the photo.

Here is that pretty rose trim:

I cut the title out on my silhouette with a handwriting font that I have and then offset it slightly to create a shadow.

Hope you all have a wonderful day and get in a little time for some creativity!

Me?  I need to clean...!

Happy Crafting!