Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge

I decided to make several of the same card to simplify things a bit. Inspired by sketch #302 at Mojo Monday and a card I saw on Pinterest, I churned out 4 cards very similar to this one. Card base, purple panel & butterfly are all Club Scrap paper. swirl stamp is from a set called Henna by Tia Bennett. Sentiment is Rubber Stampede. Ink is Club Scrap's Amethyst. I added little pearls on the butterfly and swirl with Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White.

Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge

Another Thank You card for my birthday gifts and another outside of my comfort zone! This one follows the sketch provided at Paper Pals Arts...#164 which I took a little creative license with by rotating a quarter turn and changing the placement of the focal image.

Quite a variety of papers & techniques on this. I rummaged through my Club Scrap paper scraps for the 4 strips, then I added washi tape to one, dry embossed 2 (Darice brick wall & honeycomb folders), then inked and added embossing powder to the teal one for shine, just inked the purple, on the pink one, I stamped the hearts w/versamark ink and applied pefect pearls for more shine. The sentiment & heart are from a Hero Arts set called Glow Girl. On the sentiment, I stamped and embossed on plain white cardstock, then embossed with clear powder, then added teal pearl watercolor over top. The partial flower behind it was inked with picked raspberry distress ink and coated with clear embossing powder. Card base is Club Scrap and the panel is a single sheet I bought by Teri Martin called Moments Wash. There is a lot going on on this card and I found it very difficult to accurately capture in a photograph. There is a lot of shine that just isn't coming across in the picture.

My sister Jennifer is likely to see this post before this card finds its way to her mailbox, so I'll send my thankful wishes here across the internet too. 

Play Date Cafe & Friday Mashup Challenges

Continuing on with my Birthday thank you's, here's one that's very different for me. I have tons of patterned paper that I love, but I never seem to reach for it when making a card, so I decided to give it a try.   Following The Play Date Cafe Challenge #191 colors of Cream...Melon...Cantaloupe I used paper from DCWV Ciao Bella to thank a dear bird lovin friend of mine. In addition, I took direction from The Friday Mashup challenge #119 by using their sketch AND using a favorite new stamp set (Melissa J-Flower Fusion #11). I inked just the leaves to make the arrows or chevrons and I turned the sketch 90 degrees right to suit my needs. Sentiment stamp from Club Scrap and the green fiber is from dollar tree. Ink: Tim Holtz Wild honey & a very old Apricot Zig marker that i'm amazed still has any juice!

Again...its possible Farley will see this post before she received the card itself, so Thank you so much!

                 

ColourQ Challenge Thank You

Since I received so many wonderful gifts from all my crafty friends for my birthday, I spent some time yesterday working on proper Thank You's. This one uses a stamp & embossing folder set from Stampin Up  called Wildflower Meadow along with white embossing powder & Tim Holtz yummy distress inks (Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers & Salty Ocean) on plain white cardstock. Sentiment from Rubber Stampede. Lime green card base is from Club Scrap's Culinary kit. 

Since she'll see this post before she receives the actual card...Thank You Nancy for the Stampin Up set!

I used the color palette from ColourQ Challenge # 198

Happy Father's Day

This past Wednesday, June 12, 2013 marked 4 years since I lost the first man I ever loved....my Daddy. I was quite sick on the anniversary and so I wasn't able to properly honor the day, so I'm taking the opportunity of Father's Day to do so. 

The image below is a scan of a photo taken in 1996 (pre-digital) and though the quality is not great, the emotion it conjures is. I simply cannot find the words to express how much I adored this man and how much I miss him every single day. Below is an excerpt from my blog post last June 12, and I think it bears repeating.

If you are fortunate enough to still have your Dad, or a Dad in your life, hug them often and be sure they know how much you love them; you'll be glad you did when they are no longer around.

I'll leave you with a verse to a song that he often sang for no particular reason:

A Bushel And A Peck

I love you a bushel and a peck

A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck

A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap

A barrel and a heap and I'm talkin' in my sleep

About you, about you

'Cause I love you a bushel and a peck

You bet your purdy neck I do.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy.

Another dear friend is having a birthday!

This dear friend is a major music fan and in particular Carole King. Hope she likes this one :)

I found the image of the 45 online and used the print & cut feature in my Silhouette Studio software.

I also traced and cut the center adapter thing which i inked with Mustard Seed distress ink. The black donut around the adapter was just white cardstock that I inked with Black Soot DI & sprayed with perfect pearl.  

I welded two circles together in the Sil software to make the card base and did another print and cut for the inside circle & greeting. Then, I created a traditional 45 sleeve for the envelope since I'm hand delivering.

The stamps on the sleeve are from a Club Scrap kit called All That Jazz stamped in Club Scrap's Earth ink.

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday to our dear friend Cliff!!

Looking forward to spending your special day with you and Lisa today!

Advice from a fish: Know when to keep your mouth shut but don't give up without a fight!

It's that time of the year....graduations galore!

Hard to believe, but I'm posting again just a mere 3 days after my last post. And just to show that miracles never cease, I played with paper tonight and made a card!

I'm not really a fan of the green and gold combination, but its Bri's grade school colors! I used my Silhouette studio software to trace an image I found online. I just love this little jumping girl and her high heels! I printed the sentiment onto another piece of the gold/yellow paper and threw a little bling on by adding a jump ring as a bracelet and a couple sparkly gems. The paper is all from Club Scrap, but I honestly don't know what kits.

I'm linking this up to the Freshly Made Sketches blog for their sketch challenge #87.

Thanks for looking!

Ok, this is embarassing! I haven't posted since when????

Life sure can get busy, that's all I can say. However, I finished a full semester of World Civilization and got an A for my efforts, so that's good. Inching my way toward a degree. Someday...

I just started a new job (which was also a promotion!), so that's awesome!

Yesterday, I volunteered at the CF Great Strides Walk in Cincinnati. The rain held off during the walk and I heard we raised over $230,000...so that's really awesome!

In addition, I've been crafting with a bunch of different & new-to-me mediums lately, but I haven't been sharing, so maybe i'll try to get a few of my creations posted. "Statement" jewelry seems to be all the rage and I really love it all, so I tried my hand at making a couple necklaces using recycled tshirts. These are both available at my Etsy shop if you're interested.

Of course I love all things purple, so this one might be hard to sell!

and here's a pink one here:

 

Thanks for looking!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all!

Last night my "200 proof mick" (his words, not mine) boyfriend and I watched Celtic Woman on PBS, so I thought it fitting to share the song they closed with. Absolutely beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDThVsJdnFI&feature=share&list=AL94UKMTqg-9CsFFHyeZACkDTCJnVT-YeA



The Parting Glass

Of all the money that e'er I had

I spent it in good company

And all the harm I've ever done

Alas it was to none but me

And all I've done for want of wit

To mem'ry now I can't recall

So fill to me the parting glass

Good night and joy be to you all

So fill to me the parting glass

And drink a health whate’er befalls

And gently rise and softly call

Good night and joy be to you all

Of all the comrades that e'er I had

They're sorry for my going away

And all the sweethearts that e'er I had

They'd wish me one more day to stay

But since it fell unto my lot

That I should rise and you should not

I gently rise and softly call

Good night and joy be to you all

Fill to me the parting glass

And drink a health whate’er befalls

And gently rise and softly call

Good night and joy be to you all

But since it fell unto my lot

That I should rise and you should not

I gently rise and softly call

Good night and joy be to you all

Good night and joy be to you all.

Happy Valentine's Day

Just sharing a cute card I made for my sweetie. I know it's corny, but he's a carpenter and so it seems appropriate!

I'm updating my post because it was brought to my attention by my sis, that this card could qualify for Nancy's Squirrely challenge which requires the following:
A New Tool - I used a new layered die cut from the Silhouette store for the tape measure
Embossing Folder - Diamond Plate from Cuttlebug
Something from my stash - The yellow paper is used for the card base is at least 10 years old and the screw brads are probably 5 or more years old, so I think that qualifies
For a Guy - This is definitely for a guy :)

Happy New Year - Birdcage

Here's a little project I made using my Silhouette and a Febreze Flameless Luminary base. Again, love the result, but hate the photos. I guess I need to take the time to take better pictures.

Holiday Card Workshop - Day 7

Here are a couple cards I made for two very dear friends. I didn't want to post them before they were received, and then I forgot I even had photos of them.

So, the technique on Day 7 of the Holiday Card Workshop was using reverse stamp images. Love the look. Hate the photos.

Finally, some scrapbooking!

My BFF Lisa came to my house yesterday with her husband and while the boys watched our beloved Bengals lose, Lisa and I spent some quality time scrapbooking!

These are all photos taken on a day trip to Smith-Berry Winery in New Castle, Kentucky with Lisa and her husband Cliff as well as Cliff's sister Donna and her husband Bob.

A total of 11 pages in about 4-5 hours, so i'm quite pleased.