Project Life: Week 37

When you look at my pages for Week 37 you may wonder..."how on earth is she so far behind?  She doesn't do much other than slap pictures in her book.  How long can that take???"  Haha!  Well, it's the behind the scenes that takes so much time for me. That dreaded photo selection and editing!

But I did get Week 37 done...and have most of Week 38 done....and Week 39 was just last week...so I'm catching up!  Yadda, yadda, yadda...

Here is the left side:

I used Simple Stories journaling cards, stickers and papers and a few Studio Calico wood veneers.  I stamped the wood veneers with some Basic Grey stamps. 

Sometimes you just gotta journal where you can...

Isn't this action shot so cute.  My little guy is the one in the white shirt.  I love the look and concentration on his face:

Here is the right side:

The sentiment below is a brush from CZ design.  My daughter has a theory that it doesn't matter what shoes a child will put on...they will always be on the wrong feet!

The journaling card was made on my Silhouette Cameo with a design from Hero Arts and  Simple Stories paper as well as a Becky Higgins journaling card.  I used a little Basic Grey arrow stamp to point in the direction of the photo the journaling is about.

And that's it for today.  Easy peasy...only took me 6 hours.  LOL!!!

Baby watch continues...we are T-6 days from the due date....any day now....  Stay tuned...

Happy Crafting!

Simon Says Stamp Card Kit-September

I am behind on all my crafting....I'm 2 weeks behind on Project Life...I am a month or two behind with my Simon Says Stamp monthly card kits...and there is no reason except a bit of laziness! LOL!!!  But life is grand and there are not complaints here.

We are still on baby watch....My daughter is due with my new little grand-pumpkin in a week.  But she usually goes early so you know what that means...  It would be sort of ironic if she goes over her due date, you know?  A friend of hers in about 9 days post due date but unless it is medically indicated will not induce.  I admire that.  I would be shrieking "Get this watermelon out"!

I did make a few cards with the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit for September the other night.  Here is the kit:

To be honest (my husband hates that saying...he says it implies you are usually NOT honest) it was not my favorite.  I liked the stamp set and I loved the papers and the wood veneers but I found the chalkboard printed papers just a bit difficult to work with.  Sort of a challenge, you know....  The papers included were from My Mind's Eye.  They had some great printed words on them but they didn't always cut well for standard cards.  Wah, wah, wah.

But I did have a great time trying...and here are two I came up with...both inspired by cards I saw posted elsewhere.  If you inspired me...well, thanks!

The first one was made with the Simon Says Stamp exclusive Expressions for You die and stamp set. 
I cut the "you" out with some coordinating paper and then used the stamp that said "make me smile" which I heat embossed with some white embossing powder.  I just masked off the "smile" since the printed paper already had "smile" on it.  Would make sense to say "You make me smile smile" now, would it?  ;)

 I added a few little blingy things and that was it for this card.  Simple and easy (once I figured out how to use that paper!).
The second card was made with a full printed sentiment....I just trimmed it and colored it with some Copics and Wink of Stella Glitter ink and added an inked wood veneer bird to the top of it.  I also used a little Wink of Stella glitter ink to the little bird for a little sheen.  I love the Wink of Stella brush tip glitter pens....they give the sheen of glitter without the mess!

Here you can (maybe) see the glittery sheen a little bit.

I'm entering the first card in the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge HERE and the Simon Says Stamp Using a Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Product HERE

Happy Crafting!

Project Life: Week 36

Oh my goodness!  I am officially behind.  I worked on Project Life yesterday and thought I was just 1 week behind but when I looked at the dates I am 2 weeks behind! Yikes.  And with my daughter about to give birth ANY day I just know I am going to get even further behind.  Time to just slap some photos in that album and get caught up!

Anyway, here is Week 36....I used Fancy Pants papers and a few flair buttons and pretty much made all my journaling and filler cards.  Well, I didn't "pretty much"....I did!

I began the week in NYC and went to see Kinky Boots on Broadway.  (Bucket list item check off, by the way!).  It was the most fabulous show I have ever seen!  The show won the Tony for Best Musical for 2013 and the actor who starred won best actor in a musical.  He was awesome and it was such a fun show!  I was able to snag that photo off the WWW and was happy that I found such a great picture to always remind me of that fun day!
My "week" card shown below was done with an arrow image from the Silhouette Online store that I cut out with my Cameo...the font I used was called "Broadway" which I thought was just perfect and a bit different from the usual block style fonts I seem to gravitate to!

I love how big and bold it looked!

The clapboard below was also an image from the Silhouette Online store.  I also added a little arrow that I inked a bit from Pink Paislee. 

Here's the right side:

 I used templates from Jessica Sprague and from the Lily Pad.
My grandkids started back to "school" last week (preschool for David and Mother's Morning Out for Taylor).  I think they look so cute with their bags!
David started playing on a little soccer league and just had the best time running, running, running!

And lastly, the card below was also cut with an image from the Silhouette store...and is by Lori Whitlock, I believe.

I love how well it cut with my Cameo.  What a great machine...couldn't be happier with it. 

And that's it for today my little chickadees....need to get some photos ordered so I can get on with week 37 and 38!  That baby will be here before I know it!!!

Happy Crafting!

Thank You

I made a set of cards for a friend of mine who has done some very nice things for me recently.  She's also the friend who owns the house at the beach that I rented earlier this year for a month.  What a lovely time that was.  I enjoyed it so much that I am booked for a repeat in 2014!

Anyway, she's helped me with a few other things and I wanted to make a few cards for her.  She requested something beachy so this is what I came up with using the Hero Arts Let's Chill clear stamp set.

I used Salty Ocean distress ink to ink up some white cardstock, tore some paper for the "sand" and stamped the other items with Jenni Bowlin and Memento inks.  I colored the palm fronds, coconuts and the little crab with Copics and  added a bit of Crystal Stickles to the coconuts.  The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.  The palm fronds were adhered with foam dimensionals.  It came out purdy cute, I think, and my friend liked them so there you have it!

Lots of fussy cutting but it was fun!

We had a full day of rain today but the weather today was fantastic.  So pretty!!!  It was warm and sunny...I really am dreading colder weather.  Give me 80s any day! ;)

Happy Crafting!

Happy Birthday, David!

Today is my grandson's 4th birthday!  I can't believe he is 4 today but he is always reminding me that he is a "big boy" now.  And yes he is!

This was after hard tough soccer session! :)  Had to have a snack after all that effort!

I decided to make him a big boy card.  No cute teddy bears or babies for him.  *sigh*....

Instead I cut an image with my Silhouette Cameo that was a 3x3 numbers card that I adapted for my standard sized card here:

The numbers design is by Lori Whitlock and then I used a little flame from Samantha Walker.
The sentiment is from Paper Smooches which I inked with Versafine Ink and then threw some clear embossing powder over.  That gives it a nice little sheen and lift, methinks.

I gooped a bunch of Stickles on the 4 and the flame to make it stand out a bit more. Who doesn't like sparkle, right?

Oh and I used some foam tape on some of the layers to give it a bit more dimension because we just can't have a totally flat card now, can we?  HAHA!  I can make a flat card....just more fun to stick that foam tape under! LOL!

That's it for today, my friends!

Happy Crafting!

There's a Baby on the Way!

Sometimes you make a card and you just love it, right?

Most of the time I go...'eh...' after I make a card but the one I am sharing here for my daughter who is expecting babynumberthree in less than 3 weeks I JUST LOVE!  We had a little get together with some family and a few of her friends last night and I made the card for that occasion.

I made it with the Lawn Fawn set Plus One. It's just such a cute set!

I used some older KI papers I had.  Some of the clouds were punched out with a Fiskars punch and some were cut out with my Silhouette Cameo.
I used Copics and Wink of Stella pens to color the beak on the stork and the little bag the stork is holding.  I added a bit of yellow rickrack for an extra burst of color.

I loved my little clouds.

And I loved my little sparkly bird. ;)

Below is the sentiment I put on the inside of the card:

I made an envelope with my We R Memory Keepers Envelope board and then stamped it to jazz it up a bit.

And lastly, when I was in New York recently I went to this great paper shop and bought these really small envelopes that are great for gift cards.  I stamped and colored the outside of the envelope for just a little bit more fun and just paper pieced the little "bun"!

And that's it.  I think it was perfect for the occasion and she loved it so that's a bonus!

Happy Crafting!

Over the Hill

I have talked about struggling with MANLY cards.  I just don't love making 'em.  Give me a flower or something frilly any day over man stuff! LOL!

But I was asked to make a card for a friend's friend who is turning 30 and so I thought...well, heck...I will give it a try and was really happy with my effort.  Maybe there is hope for me, after all!

I did the over the hill part with my Silhouette Cameo.  How I did it is this:
1.  I created a rectangle approximately 5 1/4 inches wide.
2.  I clicked on edit points and then adjusted the top line of the rectangle to make it look like a hill.  I'm not the greatest at editing points so it did take me a while to get it smooth looking.
3.  I made a copy of my new shape.
4.  I created the text using the font Aharoni.
5.  I dragged it to my new "hill" and let the text wrap on the path and adjusted the spacing out, as needed. 
6.  I then brought my saved shape over and slid it in place making sure my text overlapped the hill slightly.
7.  I selected the whole kit and caboodle and then clicked on the weld button and had a new shape!

It sounds easy but since I didn't know what the heck I was doing it did take me a little while!

I added some gel pen stitching around and then created the banner with a Simon Says Stamp die...heat embossed it with some Zing powder and a Paper Smooches stamp which I was able to curve a little bit.

I cut out the "30" twice with my good pal, Cameo, and then glued them in place...popping the top layer up.

Here is the inside of the card embossed with some clear embossing powder and with a Lawn Fawn stamp:

I decorated the envelope a bit with a Simon Says Stamp set called Envelope Sentiments.  What a great set this is:

And here is the back flap:

T

The paper I used is from Papertrey Ink and the black cardstock (which cuts well in the Silhouette) is American Crafts.

And that is it for today!

I entered this in the Welding Challenge at the Silhouette Blog HERE.
Happy Sunday and happy crafting!!!

A Great Find!

I love a great find, don't you?  And I love good storage, don't you?  
I got both when I happened into Michaels the other day and found this great rolling cart ON CLEARANCE!  I searched for a photo of it online but I couldn't find one...I found some similar and they were priced as high as $100 on eBay.   I paid $29.99.  Yep...great find!

Here is a photo of the box:

It comes unassembled but putting it together was a breeze.  It even came with an allen wrench so I didn't have to go hunting a correctly sized screw driver. 
Here are photos of it assembled:

 It comes with 2 chrome shelves as well as 6 drawers large enough for 12x12 paper and 3 drawers that measure about 9 inches wide.  I am storing some tools on the top shelf for now and a Close to My Heart divided box with journaling cards etc. on the second shelf.   The colored cardstock you see is actually behind the cart on my wire shelves....

 The cart also comes with drawer dividers that you place in the 12x12 drawers which are fabulous for storing smaller items like Stickles, buttons, flair, etc.

 I stacked up some of my Thickers and other assorted items in the deeper drawers and since there is clearance between the drawers they still close easily.

I have this sitting at the end of my work table and am storing Project Life items on it as well as some of my tools.  It has given me some space to get some of those things off my work table and a bit more room!
I did have a plastic cart with those snap shut containers which is great for going off to crop but a hassle when working because any time you want something you had to take the container out to open it.  Here I just slide a drawer?  Easy and fast!

Great find as I say!  I think this will be PERFECT for me!

Happy Crafting!

Project Life: Week 35

I was able to get a little "forward movement" yesterday working on my Project Life and completed Week 35.  Since we are currently in week 37 I shouldn't feel too overwhelmed that I'm behind but I really do prefer the feeling of being caught up! 

Week 35 was a week where both my grand kids and their parents spent part of the week out of town on a little family trip and where I ended the week by flying to New York City for a few days.  I met up with my sister, Pam, and my nephew, Scott.  Scott works in Manhattan at the Standard Hotel which is right on the Highline in lower Manhattan.  What a great hotel with a fabulous view of Manhattan.  I just love city lights. 

Anyway....back to Project Life!
I did simple layouts using Basic Grey journaling cards, some chipboard buttons and some flair.  Easy Peasy as I like to say.  The pages came together very quickly AFTER I SPENT  almost twenty-two hours working on my photos! LOL!!! 
Here is the left side:

My daughter had and rode horses growing up so I bet she just LOVED that the tots were not scared of the horses.  They loved their pony riding!
I made the week card by just taking one of the Basic Grey journaling cards and stamping it with some Hero Arts stamps and some Jenni Bowlin ink.
I thought these chipboard buttons were really cute:

Here is the right side:

Today also happens to be the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States.  I was able to visit the National 9-11 Memorial which was built in the footprints of where the Twin Towers collapsed.  It was a very powerful reminder of what happened that day but how we were not defeated by these senseless acts of murder.  The niece of my college roommate whose name was Jean Destrahan Roger was a flight attendant on the first plane to hit a tower.  She was 25 years old.  I found her name which was inscribed as are all the names of those who lost their lives and you can see it in the center photo.  We will never forget.

I added a little flair as well....but kept these pages pretty simple. I am going to add an insert page with some of the other photos from the Metropolitan Museum of Art which I posted the other day.

I hope today is a day of happiness for you and that the families of those who lost lives that day get some comfort knowing their loved ones have not been forgotten.

You're the Best!

I wanted to make a quick card for my nephew, Scott, who took care of us so well while we were in NYC last weekend.  We were only there 2 full days but he jam-packed those days for us and we had a fabulous time.  On Friday my Fitbit Flex showed we did over 18,000 steps and over 7 miles WALKING!  Woohoo...and I love, love, love city walking.  My grandmother lived in a city in Germany and I have very fond memories of city walking.  Love the smell of that exhaust! LOL!!!

Have you read the book The Lovely Bones?  I love that book.  Anyway, when the main character died (no spoiler alert needed as she dies in the first few pages!) and goes to heaven she learns that every person's heaven is slightly different.  Her heaven smells a little like skunk because she always loved the smell of skunk.  My heaven will smell like diesel!

Anyway, Scott was so sweet to spend his weekend with his mom and his aunt and I wanted to send him a little thank you to let him know how much I appreciated him.

He works at the Standard Hotel at the Highline in lower Manhattan so if you're in the area look him up!  He's in charge of special events.  The stories he could tell! :)

Here is the card made with Sizzix dies and stamps and My Minds Eye papers.

It says "Thanks so much" on the inside.
I used Hero Arts ink.
I also decided to spiff up the envelope a bit.  I lined it with some yellow print from the pad although I didn't take a picture of it.  Trust me...it matches...

And then I used some Simon Says stamps to dress up the front a bit:

and there is a stamp on the back that says "Open me ASAP".  Too cute.

And that's it for today...it was good to get back in my room and MAKE SOMETHING!!!

Right now though I'm addicted to watching tennis.  The women's final is today...Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka...both are huge grunters...should be a fun match!  Go, USA!

Happy Crafting!

Where Have I Been?

Wow, it's been nearly a week since I posted!
And somewhere along the way I seem to have lost my mojo.  Time to find it! Maybe today....

I took a short trip to New York City over the weekend.  My nephew works at the Standard Hotel in lower Manhattan which was great!  "Them thar" hotels in Manhattan can be pretty pricey.  The hotel is great...rooms were small but comfortable and we had a nice view of Manhattan.

We did all kinds of fun and interesting things including a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see some fabulous works.  I saw Van Goghs, Gauguins, Picassos, Monets, Jackson Pollacks....all very cool to me.  I need to return and take a bit more time.

My favorite impressionist...Claude Monet....

I never was a fan of Van Gogh until I saw an original many years back and was so amazed by the brush strokes.  Van Gogh had a new fan.

We saw some old sarcophaguses....or is it sarcophagi? yep....it's sarcophagi.

Look at the carvings on this:

Fabulous!
From the top of the Met you get a great view of Manhattan.  It was hazy but I don't think I've ever been in NYC when it wasn't! LOL!

 We saw Picasso...

 I don't recall who this artist was but was amazed by the way the light was captured.  It made me look up to see the light source but of course there was none....it was just the paint and the strokes of the artist.  Amazing....

 And of course a Jackson (I think I could have done this) Pollack:

And we saw some modern stuff too....like this:

Whoops....no photographs allowed in that section but I took this before was reprimanded by the curator!  LOL!
Pretty good picture, at that!

More pictures of some other NYC sites and sights later!

Happy Crafting!