My Red Carpet Show

It is 12:35 AM.  Trust me . . . you do not want to see a picture of me.  :)

Here is a look at what I was able to make at the 2015 Papertrey Ink Stamp-a-Faire:

Thank you Papertrey Ink for all of the work that went into this day!  I enjoyed what part I could be a part of.  Thanks to everyone stopping by to look and leave comments.  You make my day!

Mix and Match Challenge

I absolutely loved this challenge as well.  Betsy is my card making hero.  Dawn is my color hero.  It was a win-win for me!

Ultimately, I chose to come up with my own color combo.  I went so far out of my box that I lost it somewhere.  Seriously.  I lost my mind.  I have NEVER water colored with real actual water colors in my life.  And, I loved Laura Bassen's use of the clear bobbles from her "thread nest" video.  I could hear Tim Gunn over my shoulder saying "make it work".  So, I did what she said she used to do and put glossy accent bobbles on my card for the first time ever!  EVER!  How is that for out of the box?

I am crossing my fingers and hoping this looks ok.  I will admit that it isn't my best work.  But, I think the point is to get outside of your comfort zone.  And I smashed that out of the park!

I used Peerless Water Colors for the background.  I purchased them a year ago!  I bought them off of a discussion I was following (but I cannot remember where . . . it was a year ago).  I thought I would crack into them today.

The color scheme of Scarlet Jewel, Hawaiian Shores, and Summer Sunrise is way out there for me.  I adore Hawaiian Shores.  It is probably my favorite color.  I tend to go in spurts with Summer Sunrise.  But, I just don't find myself reaching for scarlet jewel ever.  I think it worked.  I see Tina scrunching her nose at it, and Heidi turning her head sideways as if she needs to see it in a new direction.  But, I gave it my best effort.  I did NOT play it safe.  It is Project Runway . . . go big or go home!

The balloons and Sentiment stamps are PTI.  But the sunshine stamp is from Verve Stamps.

It is late . . . I am exhausted.  Thanks for looking.  I hope that I can complete the remainder of the challenges.  If not, I still had a fun day!

Thread Nest

I have never seen or heard of a thread nest until today.  Brilliant!!  I liked the idea so much that I ran to the craft store to get some of the thread.  It is late.  No time for unnecessary words.  :)

I had lots of fun with this one.  Thanks for looking!

Unconventional Materials

I am playing along with Papertrey Ink today.  We were issued a challenge to use unconventional materials from the hardware store not to exceed $10.

So . . . here are my materials.

First in full disclosure, I did not go to the store to shop.  I am just thankful for the time to craft today. At 5:15 pm today (local time), I went to my husband's garage.  I started looking around.  I saw the wood filler right off but didn't pick it up. I rummaged around.  I found this bright orange flag.  I grabbed it thinking that would make for an interesting color and material.  Under the shelf with the flags, I saw this tag on a plastic pot.  So, I yanked it off.  I saw this string but passed it over thinking it was too easy.  I looked a little more and thought I would grab the wood filler.  After I found the inspiration for my card, I went back and got the string.

My original thought was to use the flag as a four wheeler flag.  Then I had the idea to remove the plastic.  I thought picnic blanket.  So, I came back to my room and sat . . . and sat . . and sat staring at these things.  What on earth could I possibly do?  I was afraid to stamp on the orange flag as it would be a smearing nightmare.  So, I started thinking about all the things that are bright orange.   And the idea hit me . . .

So here is what I came up with:

Hilarious!  Right?  I folded that flag piece in half and went to my sewing machine.  I was originally going to use the wood filler as texture for water.  But, it honestly looked so good as sand.  This was certainly a stretch for me.  It was fun and entertaining.  I hope my inspiration comes across.

Here are some other shots of my finished work.

I looked up the prices for the materials on Home Depot.  The wood filler is $2.98, a set of 15 flags is $3.88, the string is $2.57.  I am still counting the tag as free.  So with tax I am coming in real close to the $10 mark.  I think that is pretty good for grabbing a few things from my husband's garage.

I am excited to see what others have done now.  Thanks for looking!!

It is Time . . .

. . . for my once a year craft day!  Yay!  That is so sad though.  I miss getting to spend time in my little craft room just working away.  I finally have my very own room and life has just somehow got in to the way.  But it is ok.  I am having a blast making memories with my family.  And somehow . . . in years to come . . . I don't think I will ever regret the time I spent with them.

I am playing along with Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-Faire again this year.

So without further ado . . . what you came here to see . . .  My Patterns Challenge Card!

I am also crazy about finishing a card to the complete . . . full!  So here is a peek of the inside of the card and the envelope.  

I had such a good time putting this together.  I hope you enjoy!  I will hopefully be back to share even more crafty goodness!

All supplies are from Papertrey Ink.

Moments Inked

It has been WAY to long since I have posted on my blog. I am still out here but my real life hasn't afforded me many opportunities to be crafty. :(

But . . . Oh my word!  Did you see the new Papertrey Ink planner?  I am in love so far (ya know . . . The last three days)!  I wanted to pop up a quick post to show you what pens I am using. I use the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens. I have both the 10 and 20 count sets. I only had my 10 count with me when I took this picture.

I am using colored ink as well as lots of black. I can find coordinating pen colors (using the 20 pack) with most of the PTI colors. So, I am a happy girl. I have noticed slight ghosting sometimes when I use the black pen. It is not noticible and not any more than you get with the printing. I know lots of people have and love these pens. I wanted to give an update on how awesome they work with the planner. 

Peace. Love. And staying organized. 

Project Life 2012, Status Complete

Warning:  Lots of photos ahead

We had a pretty big year last year.  I had a hard time keeping up with my Project Life book.  I am so proud to finally tie up all the loose ends.

Here is a look at the overview of my book.

I have it all put together in Blurb.  A quick upload and my beautiful keepsake is on its way!

Here is a closer look at the cover.

It is really similar to my 2010 and 2011 covers.  I got the original template from Weeds and Wildflowers.  It was a free download that I do not think exists any more on their website.

For my book, I used the Weeds and Wildflowers {Every}Day Life Pages.  They were already put together for me.  All I had to do was add the pictures and add journaling.  I did make some tweaks as I don't do a traditional Project Life.  But, I enjoyed it and wouldn't have finished it without having so much of the "work" out of the way.

Here are a few of my interior pages.

It is amazing times in our family.  I have enjoyed spending time with my children, spending romantic evenings in front of the fire with my husband, and getting my house completely organized and set up. God has been faithful to us in 2012.  He has been faithful to us in 2013 as well.  We are so blessed.

I hope you enjoy a peek into my little Digital world of Project Life.

Farewell Stamp-a-Faire 2013

Whew!  What a weekend!!  I had a great day yesterday working on my cards.  I was able to finish up the last two today.  Yeah!!  (Top Chef . . . Top Chef . . . Top Chef)  I would love to win Top Chef for being among those who completed all the challenges.

Well, that is it.  Stamp-a-Faire is over.  I go back to real life.  Maybe life will bring me back to my blog more frequently.  Who knows?  Thanks for stopping by.

Here is a look back at all of my projects.  I am going to leave these on top of my desk for a few days.  It brings me such joy!

This has been so fun.  Thanks again for all the comments and kind words.  It means the world to me.

Sweet Sugar Coated Embelishments

Yes!!!!  My final challenge . . . completed!!!!  I used Danielle Flanders technique.  So cute!!

Everything you see if from Papertrey Ink.

Now, I am channeling my inner "Top Chef".  I have never won anything from Papertrey Ink after all these years.  My whole family is praying that I win.  :)  Hey, I am not above a little supernatural advantage.

Thanks for following along and peeking into my creative life.

Gallon Quart Pint Challenge

I am back to share my Gallon Quart Pint Challenge card.  These sorts of challenges really are a challenge to me.  But, I tackled it head on and am excited about the results.  I wanted to go outside my normal.  I really love Pinefeather.  It is such a beautiful color.  It was nice to use it outside of "holiday" type projects.

For my card, I chose Pinefeather as my gallon color.  Simply Chartreuse is my quart color.  And my pop of color or pint is Raspberry Fizz.

Products used:  Card Stock, dies, stamps, and ink: Papertrey Ink; Embossing Folder: Quickutz; Jewels: Jewelry isle of Hobby Lobby

Thanks for looking!  I have one more project left!  Yes!!!!

Limited Ingredients Challenge

Ok, ok.  I said I was done.  I was cleaning up and about to walk out of my craft room when this little number hit my brain.  So, I stayed and made it.

I really did use limited ingredients.  I have learned to let go.  In the past, I would try to cram several things into my card . . . another color, another element.  I would wind up with cards I just wasn't very happy with.  So, I let go and see what comes.

Thanks for stopping by all day today!

Whipping up Scent-sational Cards

I am back to continue playing along with Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-Faire.  Dinner was great.  The company was excellent.  The kids are in bed.  :)

Here is a card that I am going to give to my son.  We enjoy having hot cocoa together.  He is such a great kid.  He will love this!

Well fellow crafters, I am most likely done for the day.  I will be back tomorrow to finish up the last 3 challenges: Gallon, Quart, Pint Color Challenge; Limited Supplies Challenge, and the Sweet Sugar Coated Embellishments challenge.

Happy Stamp-a-Faire!

Custom Accents from the Oven

This was so fun!!!  I have never, ever in my life done a shrink plastic craft.  It was a total hoot!!

I admit that I was a bit worried when I peeked into my oven and saw this.

All the pieces were warped and turning into balls of ruin.  Then . . . all of the sudden.  They began to flatten into these cute little pieces of fun.

I loved making this super colorful and fun card.

I die cut a the largest star in the Seeing Stars Die Collection in matte.  I bought the inker type of alcohol ink so I couldn't stamp.  I don't own any other inks outside of PTI and a few tool inks like Watermark.   I used two of the biggest flourishes from Fancy Flourishes in clear.  I did a take off of Dawn McVey's idea to just keep them clear and add some glitter.

I am about to take a break and go have dinner with my wonderful husband.  I'll be back later to finish up the rest.  Six challenges down and four to go!!!!

Sprinkle of Salt

This is by far my favorite challenge today.  I don't know what it is exactly.  Then as I was making my card . . . I gasped.  The results are truly stunning.  I wish my camera owuld capture just how beautiful this really is.  I am almost shocked this is my creation.  (Well, ummm, my creation almost completely copied from Nichole.)

Here is my card with the salt only.

Here is the salt and color.  Beautiful!!!

And here is how it turned out:

My favorite card today by far.  Thanks Nichole.  So fun!!

Mixing Mists to Match

Errr.  I thought I had a Hawaiian Shores refill.  I had something all planned out.  I had a hard time changing my direction.

It was weird when I started putting the ink into the alcohol.  My clear bottle turned orange.  And it still is orange.  Isn't that strange?

Thanks for looking.  All products are Papertrey Ink.

Rolled Dough Designs

Whew!!  One word . . . miserable!!

Yes, that is my miserable mess.  This is what dried overnight.  Not a happy camper.

But, it isn't my first hiccup and probably won't be my last.  So, I moved forward.

Barely.

And finally squeezed these out.  Literally.  All over my desk . . . again.

But, I was super happy at how cute they are.  So, I moved forward some more.

I am going to gracefully put this challenge behind me.  I will revisit it another day.  But seriously, ain't nobody got time for that.  :)

All supplies are Papertrey Ink.  The clay is Paper Clay.

Tea Staining Techniques

I am working on the Papertrey Ink Stamp-a-Faire projects.  Last night in the wee hours, I put a small strip of white muslin in a pan of boiling water and tea.  I got up and put it in the dryer this morning - very skeptical.  I pulled it out and was amazed.  I think if I do this again, I will apply some of Melissa's techniques for getting various shades and colors.  I just pretty much pushed mine down in the tea and it came out pretty much the same color.  But in the end I was so pleased with the results.

I used the Frilly Flowers dies for the flower.  The background was embossed with the Guide Lines impression plate with the Angled Labels as a mask.  It is stamped with Guide Lines II and Mat Stack 1 collection stamps.  I finished the flower off with a Berry Sorbet button for just a pop of color.  

Fun technique.  Thanks Melissa!

Breakfast Bake and Take

I am blogging all day (and probably tomorrow and early Monday) about Papertrey Ink's Stamp-a-Faire 2013.  It is a fun day of crafting, learning, and hanging out in my craft room.

Here is my contribution to the color and sketch challenge earlier this morning:

Ahhhhh, it feels good to be back in my craft room making some goodness.  I was so tired and so uninspired this morning.  But, I finally have myself in gear.  This card took WAY too long, but I love the results.

Thanks for following along with my Stamp-a-Faire 2013 journey.  I should also point out that we are having internet dropouts.  Oh the joys of living in the country!!

Stamp-a-Faire 2013 - I am ready!

I was putting a video together to show you my preparations.  I have been working all day to get my craft room cleaned up, cook, clean, and all the other essentials that a mom of 3 has in a day.  I am tired. It is late.  When I loaded my video clips into iMovie, I couldn't resist.

We moved into our home less than 3 months ago.  So, needless to say . . . my craft room is very much neglected.  :(  I haven't really been able to do anything in it.  Ok, very little.  I am looking forward to "breaking it in" tomorrow morning and all day.

Thanks for watching!  I will be back all day tomorrow sharing projects and such.

Here is a little peek where I will be all day:

The Planning Part 3 - The Structures

I am in the middle of describing my craft room planning.

Can anyone say "Excessive Compulsive"?  :)

I want this space to be perfect.  Ideal.  I want it to be me.  I don't want to constantly be tweaking and updating.  I want to do things that make sense.  So basically, I will drive myself crazy because I am not sure the perfect room could ever be designed.  Things are constantly changing.  But stupidly, I set out to do just that . . . design a perfect, for me, craft room.  

Fundamentally, I had an overall need for this space.  I needed a workspace (or desk), a computer station, and I really, really wanted a sewing station (but it wasn't a necessity).  I would also need some sort of bulk storage or large cabinet.  So, I started there.  

It became apparent as I was looking at the various furnishings that nothing seemed to fit the bill.  I really needed a more custom design.   I didn't have a lot of space, so I had to be smarter.  The second thing I discovered was that I know nothing about cabinet making.  I would draw things out and wonder if it made sense.  How deep are cabinets customarily, what are normal drawer sizes, and what makes sense in the cabinet world.  I was praying one day and when I got up, I felt like I should head to Home Depot.  I walked around all the beautiful cabinet displays.  I picked up a few brochures and asked a couple of questions.  I walked out feeling extremely discouraged.  It felt like a total loss.  

Later that night, I was looking through the various things I had picked up from my local Home Depot.  I became intrigued by this little book.  

It had all these various cabinets with sizes.  I could begin to see what possibilities my little room held.  So, I went to work on my list again.  

I started taking measurements.  What could fit where?  Can something fit in a drawer?  Do I want it to fit into a drawer?  Where in the flow of my room would this item work best?

You can see in this photo that I began to break things up.  Certain things I wanted in my craft area.  Other things seemed to fit better in my computer area.  And then I had my sewing area I was still hopeful to find a place for.  

So with the included layout plan sheet in hand, I began forming what would soon become my craft room.  

I began putting my needs and wants into cabinet form.  Here you can see two distinct work spaces . . . a craft space and a computer space.  The right side is planned to be my craft station.  There is closed storage up above with an open shelf that runs along the top.  Open storage towers would run around the edge of both stations.  The station on the left would serve as my computer station.  It would have a larger opening to allow my computer to fit.  Both stations would have drawers under the counter top and drawer banks surrounding the work space.  

I still had a little bump out area directly behind the door and computer station.  Originally, I wanted that to be a huge deep storage shelf.  As the house was being framed, I realized what a need little area that really is.  Perfect for my sewing area.

So, here is the idea for my sewing area.  It is just wide enough to house my sewing machine and serger full time.  YEAH!!  It would have closed uppers and a drawer bank down one side of the work space.  

Using the Home Depot cabinet book as my guide, I was able to judge the space so much better.  I could see what size an actual cabinet is, how it related to my space, and what is a "normal" look.

I realized that despite the good prefab cabinets they sell, there were still quite a few holes.  They didn't have any of the upper open shelves.  That would all have to be custom done by me (ok, who am I kidding . . . it would be my amazing husband).  I was still piecing cabinetry together from 3 vendors and doing quite a bit of work ourselves.  

Sigh . . . regroup . . . rethink . . . and pray.

The next thing that became obvious to me is that I was not utilizing one entire wall to the far right of the drawings.  And . . . most importantly . . . I didn't have anywhere to put my large storage cabinet. 

In the mean time, I had to meet the cabinet maker at our house to go over the kitchen, baths, etc.  In passing, I showed him my room.  I just shot from the hip and said.  I wanted some sort of small storage cabinet here.  A long work station here.  Some uppers.  And continued around the room.  

A couple of weeks later and look what showed up in my cabinet plan.

There it was.  My room!!  It is with the Master Suite Cabinets because my little place in the world is off the back of the master suite.  It was love at first sight!!  Well, almost.

You can see I made a few tweaks and changes.  Actually, I made a lot.  I think there were like 6 total back and forth plans between us.  This is really close to the final version.  

My little place in the world just became a reality.  

Oh, waiting is so hard to do when you are so totally happy and completely in love with the space!!!