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.

Happy New Year - Tussy Mussy

My dear friend Farley made a Tussy Mussy or two (or more) and I wanted to get in on the fun. What is a Tussy Mussy, you ask? Read on...

During the English Gregorian period (1714--1760), pestilence was rampant and indoor plumbing was not. Elegant ladies would often carry small bouquets of fragrant herbs and flowers to fend off noxious odors. Also known as nosegays, tussy mussies remained popular through the Victorian era.Tussy mussies came to be used as gifts, especially when a suitor would call on a young lady. Every flower had a meaning, and ladies referred to a book called the "Tussy Dictionary" to decipher the message.

Luckily, I don't have any noxious odors to fend off, and usually I find Victorian stuff to be a bit frilly or girly for me, so I tried to keep my tussy mussy elegant & simple.

Since Simon Says Stamp challenge this week is Anything Goes, I'm submitting my tussy mussy.

Thanks for looking and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

Paper: watercolor paper, Provocraft clock print & Club Scrap.

Embellishments: Happy New Year is a free download from SVGcuts.com & cut on my Silhouette. Clock, gear & ribbons from my stash.

Thanksgiving Wishes

My wonderfully sweet SO's mom shared this with us this morning and after I sobbed my way through it, i decided it would be a fitting post for Thanksgiving Day. Thank you to all Dad's, Mom's, Grandparents, Military, First Responders, Teachers, Caregivers & Volunteers. 

If the boy walking to his Military Dad for the first time doesn't get you, the look on the little girl's face at 1:22 will.

To all my friends & family, I'm grateful today and everyday for your support, encouragement & friendship. 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget

that the highest appreciation is not to utter words,

but to live by them. 

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy - 

Holiday Card Workshop - Day 6 Part 2

Stained Glass Coloring:

In today's lesson, the super amazing Shari Carroll shared her technique for coloring stamped images to look like stained glass. Unfortunately i didn't have a stamp similar to what she used so i had to improvise.

The bell shape was cut on my Silhouette and then stamped/white embossed with a rhombus stamp from an old Club Scrap kit from 2006 called Retro. I tried using the distress ink markers, but i felt the pinks/purples all looked too muddy and similar, so I turned to some bic mark-its and sharpies and some old Tombow markers. Since most of these are permanent markers, i wasn't able to get that blended look by spritzing like you can with distress. I'm just ok with the final results after many epic fails.

Holiday Card Workshop - Day 6

Masking and ghost stamping:

Well, i honestly didn't do either masking or "ghost stamping" on this project, but i was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's card which i can't show you since it's part of the class materials. I'll describe it instead :). It was a white snowy hills landscape with a gorgeous star filled sky that was done with distress inks and stamps. It reminded me of this card that I pinned recently so I went to work on my interpretation. I felt this endeavor was better suited for an art piece than a card (although one could argue that Jennifer's cards are art pieces in and of themselves!).

This Cincinnati skyline was created in Silhouette Studio software by my wonderful sister and it's taken from a photo she took while visiting for use on this scrapbook page. I'm not sure if that link will work. Anyhoo, I cut one from black paper and one from a grey to create the illusion of the buildings reflecting on the Ohio river. I inked the base piece with Worn Lipstick and Dusty Concord Distress inks and i flicked watered down Metallic Pearl paint to create stars...the cutout stars are backed with silver paper from Club Scrap's culinary kit and i spritzed the entire background w/Perfect Pearls & water.

For the transparency overlay, I just created that on my computer and printed it to fit. I think it will look quite nice hanging somewhere in my house for the holidays. I couldn't get rid of the glare for the photo :(.