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:

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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!