A Blog Called Wanda

L-O-V-E Foldout card!

Monday? Already? Truly, how is that possible? I guess there's nothing we can do about it, but boy this weekend went by fast! Saturday we hung out with family all day (after getting our taxes done in the morning) and then yesterday was a Super Bowl pizza festivus at our house! I did get in some crafty time to make another Valentine to share on the bloggy blog. I got the idea from this month's issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. It's a fold-out card - and I don't believe I've ever made one before! 

 

 

Here is the inside of the finished card. By the way, it's hard to take a photo of a fold-out card! LOL. I used some adorable paper from Amuse Studio, sent to me by my friend Teadub!

 

Here is the image from the magazine...and the papers....

 

I printed the template right onto my cardstock and cut it out, instead of making a template first and then tracing. Either way works. Here is the link for the template:  CLICK HERE!

 

 

 

I made a red card base - it's 5x5 inches square - and then lined it with the white paper.

I added some Doodlebug rub-on letters to say I LOVE YOU.....

Here's how I decorated the front of the card - very classic Valentine-y don't ya think? Didn't go too crazy with it. That bright red with white is so crisp and fresh.

 

 

Here's one last view of the inside. You should definitely try this one! It wasn't too hard at all, and you could really have fun with paper choices on this.

As always, thanks for spending a bit of your day with me! Have a great week! More Valentine's to come...my craft room looks like a cupid expolosion right now! XO. 

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CHA Goodie Boxes!

Hi peeps! Today I'm posting a super fun project that I've been saving to show you! I'm typing this before leaving for the convention...and when you read this, I will most likely be in my car somewhere on I-5 on the way home from LA. Since I was going to meet the Taylored Expressions Baker's Dozen crew I wanted to make them something special. I made cute goodie boxes to leave at their hotels as a little check-in surprise! I was cooking up this idea for weeks and it was hard to keep a secret.

I used tons of my favorite Taylored Expressions Cuppie stamp sets and lots of sparkly glitter. I hope you enjoy looking at this project. There are lots of pictures in this post!

Here they are all ready to get loaded into the car:  

 

 

 

Here's a close up of my coloring before I put any glittery parts on....

 

I used images and saying from all of these stamp sets. I kept the palette simple - pink, aqua and black. This let me play with a lot of images but still have a clean look.

 

 

 

Look at all those little candies....so cute!

 

Here they are all spark-a-lay!

 

I made little matching notecards to go inside the boxes. To make my mini cards (about 3.5 inch square) I used my Cuttlebug and a large scallop square Nestie. I love making little scallop cards like this. Somehow they seem more fun!?  

 

Here is my little stack of cards ready to go!

 

 

This is what I put inside for the gals....

 

 

Okay, these little cupcakes are the cutest thing ever! I found them at Bed, Bath and Beyond! They are meant to be little single cupcake holders....but I filled them with candy. Then the gals can use them later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I printed the names out on my computer onto thick cardstock....

 

 

This is the back and side view.... 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming by today to check out my project! I hope you do something creative every day! Have a wonderful day....see you soon!

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Grab Boxes For Sale!

Hi everyone! It's time for a new year and that means time for some cleaning and reorganizing in my craft studio!  I am very blessed to have so many awesome crafty things to play with...but alas...there isn't room for it all anymore. So, I thought I would sell some grab boxes. It's like a grab bag, only bigger - and better!!

I'm putting together some goodie boxes...the big, flat priority mail boxes from the post office (see more info below) filled with stamps, stamp sets, paper, ribbon, doo-dads, glitter, dies, stickers, flowers, magazines, embellies, etc... The stamps are either brand new or gently used. (I'm pretty careful with my crafty things.) I think I have enough stuff to do twelve boxes.

Here are the details:

1. USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Box (13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8") filled with stamps, stamp sets, paper, dies, glitter, flowers, magazines, ribbon, embellies, and/or stickers.

2. $55.00 - which includes the $10.95 shipping charge and much more than $55.00 worth of goodies! OR, if you're local, and I'll be seein' you, choose the paypal option for a Grab Box for $44.05 (no shipping)!

3. Payment via Paypal to United States addresses only. I will use Paypal shipping so you can track your goodies.

If you are interested, please click below!

 

Shipping Options

OUT OF AREA - INCLUDES SHIPPING $55.00 USD LOCAL - NO SHIPPING $44.05 USD

Crazy for Quatrefoil???

Hi everyone! How are you? Are you all ready for New Year's Eve? I think we are boring this year and staying home and warm and toasty by the fire with some movies! I don't think we're going out. Sometimes we go to our waterfront and watch the fireworks at midnight and enjoy the festivities and sometimes we go out to dinner. This year I think we'll be lucky to actually make it to midnight! I'd love to know what you're doing! I'm happy it's Friday (I was the ONLY person at my office this week!) and happy to be sitting here sharing a project.

Before I get started too far...there are still some Grab Boxes left! (see the post below this one). I'll be packing them up this weekend and shipping them on Tuesday. Get 'em while they're hot!

I like to make calendars for my gal pals each year - for them to put in their work cubicles or on the fridge. I use the clear plastic 4x6 frames with the magnets on the back. I look for them on sale at Michael's. I keep the design simple so that it will fit inside the frame and look good all year. I think I've been doing this 8-9 years now! This year I went quazy for quatrefoil and used it for my calendars and cards! I am IN LOVE with this design element. It seems to be everywhere (as you'll see later in my post). It's classy and feminine and retro all at the same time. What could be better than that?

I paired the crisp white quatrefoil overlay with some bright spring green Stardream paper. YUM! Isn't that super cool? Sorry, I'm getting carried away.

 

Here are the cards that went with the calendars! I found a matching stamp - it's from Savvy Stamps. LOVE that too! It's hard to see the banner of very light pink to accent the sentiment. I chose this kind of old fashioned floral paper because the whole look was starting to give me a 50's Palm Beach/Lily Pulitzer vibe....

 

Here's the supplies...That's my current iPhone cover! EEEEEEEK!

 

 

I'm pretty sure I have some sort of Cuttlebug injury after cutting all these out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful, fun, fabulous weekend!

Country Snowmen!

Hi everyone! What's going on?! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Are you ready for that one last week leading up to Christmas? I'm trying my best to finish up all the last minute wrapping, cooking, baking, cardmaking, blogging and shopping today so that I can actually take a breath and enjoy the season a little bit. Sometimes I feel like I just go through life so fast that I miss it! So, I'm going to try really hard to relax next week, and take a look around.

Yesterday we went to my youngest brother's house and visited with my two brothers, their wives, and their FIVE sons under FIVE years old! They are so fun! I have to tell you that I was pretty tired when we went home though! I wish I had 10% of that energy!  It was so nice to see everyone and talk and hang out. It did my heart good.

Before I dive into my share for today I just wanted to express my thanks for all the kind, sweet, wonderful comments everyone left for me on Friday and Saturday about my guest designer spot on the Penny Black blog! That was such a fun experience and I read and appreciated each nice note. Thank you!

Today I'm sharing some fun country snowmen cards I made - inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest. I saved it to my Christmas board a while ago, and then decided to make them! HERE is the INSPIRATION, from Anna Wight.  I love her work. She made pins and magnets out of her snowmen, but I made cards. Are you hooked on Pinterest yet? Oy. So many wonderful ideas.

I made six cards in all... They all have the same layout, but I used different colors and different ribbons and backgrounds to make each one unique. I had fun picking out little accents to put on their scarves.

 

 

It is too hard to pick a favorite...

 

I started with circles punched out with my Marvy Uchida punches. I made two different sizes. Then I added some distress ink around the circles. The first step in rustic....

 

 

 

Next, I got out my blo-pen and used black ink to add splotches and spatters to my circles...

 

I didn't want them all the same, or all too perfect, so for their carrot noses, I freehand cut triangles from a sheet of Bazzill paper.  

 

Some coal for their eyes and mouths...in the form of enamel accents!

 

I added some pink chalk to give them rosy cheeks...

 

Here they are, with their scarves on! I wrapped ribbon around a piece of foam tape to give them "necks" for the scarves.  They're starting to come together now... 

The background papers were all stamped using antique linen ink on cream cardstock. They're all from Hero Arts. Music notes, text, and plaid. I couldn't just pick one so I made some of each. I also distressed the edges of the paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren't they so fun and country shabby-chic? I just had such a great time with this project. Hope you enjoyed it too!  

Have a FABULOUS week!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi everyone! Just a quick post today to extend my heartfelt wishes to you and your families for a lovely Thankgiving! I hope you eat too much, get too many hugs, and don't have enough fingers to count all of your blessings! I love Thanksgiving because the message is pure and simple - be glad and grateful for all that we have. Have a wonderful day! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Show and Tell from this weekend!

Hi friends! How are ya? Hope you're having a great week and doing some fun stuff mixed in with the day to day stuff of life! I have been dying to share with you what I did this weekend. Tonight I finally had time to take photos of my projects and sit down and write a post about it.

My friend Richele and I met many years ago when we both taught classes at one of our local stamp stores. She is super sweet and SUPER talented! Mad talent! Her style is Tim Holtz/Ranger/Grunge with the most attentive eye for detail and a splash of femininity too. (Her blog here) She works closely with Tim Holtz and does design for Ranger, among other crafty things.  Well...Saturday afternoon I called her up to say hi and she says "I'm teaching classes all day tomorrow at Scrapbook Territory, why don't you come with me?" I had to think about it because I had about a bazillion things I was supposed to get done. Luckily, my gut told me to call her back and say "yeah!" and that's just what I did! Lucky me! That was definitely the right decision.

She taught a melt-art class in the morning and a Grunge Christmas class in the afternoon...it was a crafty marathon...all day! Met some really nice people and made the neatest projects. I'm inspired in a whole different way after letting go and being messy! hahaha. Okay...enough blabbing...here's the goods...First up, our lovely teacher, Richele.

 

 

Here's Nikki and Marsha concentrating on their UTEE melting pots. From the looks of all those cords, I'm glad we didn't blow a fuse!

 

We did some mold and pour molds and made faux resin flowers out of the melted UTEE. I have never done this technique before and I really liked it. I always thought it was complicated or difficult...but it isn't. I may invest in a melting pot at some point!

 

Here's Richele pouring the UTEE into some fun foam shapes over dictionary pages to make embellies for cards. What a cool idea!  

 

 

 

One of the other things she showed us was to take paper flowers and leaves and run them through the melted clear UTEE until it's coated. It dries fast, and dries into this amazing glass like finish. LOVE this! I'm also picturing putting some chunky glitter on them before they dry???

 

 

 

 

 

For one of our projects we took one of our flowers and some leaves and used them to make a piece of jewelry. I decided to make mine a pin. Isn't it pretty!? I'm so excited to wear it on my favorite denim jacket! I wear pins a lot so this is great!

 

See the close up of the "dew" on the leaves? That's actually dry! We sprayed them with Perfect Pearls mist. OOOOOOH LA LA! This is hecka fun!  

 

 

 

Here are my faux resin flowers!  

 

Got me some o' this on Sunday too!

 

Now all that stuff we made in the morning class was more than enough fun for one day...but NOPE...there's more! Here are the projects we made in the afternoon Ranger Grunge Christmas class!  These cards have a real retro vibe that I like a lot. Very classy.

 

 

 

With this project I became infatuated with Perfect Pearls Spray in Heirloom Gold....wowza!

 

This ornament is a die cut on a piece of grungeboard and then crackled, and painted and sprayed and on an on. All these layers really make a wonderful outcome.

 

Richele gave us lots of goodies and stickers and Stickles and we went to town making ATC's. Here are my two favorites. Lots of distress ink and embossing. MMMMMMMM. I think I will probably end up gluing these onto card fronts for some Christmas cards.

 

 

 

 

On a totally different topic...when I went to leave the house Sunday morning the hubs pointed out that the normally blue hydrangeas in the front yard were doing some weird stuff now that it's November! Check out the color on this one!

Thanks for letting me share my good time and my projects! This week is going to take a serious turn on Friday so I need some good vibes and prayers coming our way. My dear hubs is having a Tonsillectomy. He's been sick and generally not feeling well for a long time and we're hoping that getting his tonsils removed will start him down the path of feeling like his old self again. Not sure when I'll get a post up next - so check back in with me. HUGS!

Guest Designing for Scrapbuggy...Part two!

Hi friends! Today I'm posting my second post as a Guest Designer for Scrapbuggy!  A while back I was contacted by the sweet owner of Scrapbuggy.com, Gia, and she asked if I would like to do some projects for her! Well...of course I said yes! She specializes in QuicKutz and she sent me some of her exclusive dies to play with. I posted some last Saturday and then this card today. Thanks again for the opportunity Gia! It has been so nice working with you!

This vine and flower die that she sent me is fabulous! It could work for a card, as I've done, or for scrapbook pages. It's large enough to cover a good size area. My finished card is 8x4 inchest to give you an idea of scale. I decided to make a happy summer card.

 

I layered two different colors of green vine to add some interest and depth to the project. I used two shades of pink and then also popped up some of the flowers with foam tape. Added some yellow blings to the centers...voila!  

 

Here is my pile o' die cuts! Isn't this a happy sight?  Even though this die is on the large size, I cut everything out with my Cuttlebug.

 

  

 

 

Thank you for coming by the blog today! Have a very happy Saturday! I'm off to see some of my stamping gal pals in the bay area to have some pizza and gab the day away. I need to hear all about the Stampin' Up convention deets.  Cannot wait!!

 
 
 

Guest Designing for Scrapbuggy! Chairs to You!

Hi friends! Today I'm posting as a Guest Designer for Scrapbuggy!  A while back I was contacted by the sweet owner of Scrapbuggy.com, Gia, and she asked if I would like to do some projects for her! Well...of course I said yes! She specializes in QuicKutz and she sent me some of her exclusive dies to play with. I will post some today and some more next Saturday. Thanks for the opportunity Gia!

My first set of cards is made with a really fun chair die. It has a big, comfy chair and a pretty, formal chair. Here are my projects:

 

 

I cut my chairs die out with my Cuttlebug and I used the DCWV Adhesive backed paper for easy application to my card base. These chairs are great because they can be shabby-chic in white or masculine and formal in brown. You know which I chose! The seat cushion is a separate piece of the die so you can make it with a different paper. Love that!  

 

The "Chair" sentiments on both cards are from PTI... 

 

Can't you just imagine yourself in this big comfy chair with a bowl of popcorn and a movie? If I had my own little beach cottage it would be decorated exactly like this - flowers and white and blue everywhere! I made a little rug out of a piece of cardstock cut into an oval.  

 

 

 

Please pop over to Scrapbuggy.com and check out Gia's great dies!!  

Happy Saturday everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!

Take care!   

 

This is silly!

Alrighty...This is a loooong post that shows my weird train of thought and the roundabout ways that I get inspired! So, the story starts last week, when, out of the blue I got a sweet email from the Editor of Papercraft Inspirations (The biggest card craft magazine in the UK). She asked if it would be okay if she featured this card in their magazine!!! I'm like, um, yeah!

One of my goals has been to be published in a magazine...but I have been too chicken to submit anything. I don't care how long I've been stamping, I just don't want to be rejected. I need to get over it (but that's a story for another time). I guess their magazine has a feature in which they show cards from people's blogs! Yay! I will keep you posted, and let you know when the issue comes out!

I decided to hop over to the Papercraft Inspirations Blog to check it out...and I saw THIS adorable card from Humble Chan!! ACK. Seriously I had a cute meltdown! I knew that I had to find time to put my spin on this!!! (What is it with me and the cute fruits lately?) The ones on Humble Chan's card were store bought embellies, but I thought "I can make those!"  Okay, so that is the roundabout way that I came to make these:

 

 

I made all of these in just a couple of hours!! Really, it's just circles!! I used all my nice PTI felt and my circle nestabilities and went to town. The black for their eyes is jet black enamel accents. I used some Tacky Glue to put them together. Could not be simpler! OMG... I love this project. Totally makes me smile. I wish I had more felt...I woulda made a bunch more. Get it? A bunch more! LOL!

 

Kinda makes you want a margarita, no?  

 

He reminds me of the Fruit of the Loom guy!  

 

This one is my favorite!  

 

Not too many supplies really.... 

 

Look at them posing... 

 

 
I got to thinking, and I remembered that I have this nice words set from PTI that has a saying about a peach! AYYYYY. I found the stamp set and then I HAD to make this CAS card!  

 

 

 
We will have to examine my fruit fetish later, but for now I hope this made you smile too!  Have a wonderful, sweet day!

 
 

Shabby chic button heart!

Hello! Today I want to share a project that's been rambling around in my noggin for quite some time. I was inspired by the super talented Shari Carroll and a project on her blog. I had saved the link to this gorgeous project she made and just needed some time to sit down and create my version of it. Well...I finally did it! (The link and more about her project are later in the post!) This project took a long time and some patience, but I think the results are worth it. It was really fun to go through all my brads, buttons and blings to find all this pink! Maybe you will try it too?!

 

 

 

 

Here is Shari's GORGEOUS canvas project! OMG, can you see why I was inspired? Here is the link directly to the project on her great blog.  She is a designer for Hero Arts and I've been a fan of hers for a long time. Please pop over and check out her blog!

 

First I lightly drew a heart in pencil on my cream cardstock. That was the easy part! ha. I started with the bigger buttons and brads first and then filled in with the pearls and the rhinestones. It doesn't have to be perfect. This took some time...

 

Here's the back of the project! The buttons and things were put on with glue dots. The brads I just poked through the paper.  

 

Because the back was so bulky, I mounted the cream piece with the heart on foam tape. I kept the rest of the card relatively simple and light. Let the heart be the focus. 

 

 

 
Thank you for stopping by today! Hope you're having a good week. Now this project is very classy and serious... My project for later in the week is super silly and cheery! Nope, I'm not giving any clues... 
 
 

Purple Passion!

Hello! How are you? What do you have in store for the long Memorial Day weekend coming up? It's really almost Summer now. You wouldn't know it here. Yesterday it poured rain for a good part of the day. Then, I came home and was watching TV when they interrupted to say there was a TORNADO warning for a county not too far from us! WH-AT? That does not happen very often - thank goodness. What a wacky season this has been. I'll be ready for some sunny skies and long days. We don't really have solid plans for the weekend...we'll see what develops.

I have a card "project" to share today. It's two projects in one. A card, with a pin attached! I'm not normally into purple but I love this royal velvet shade from PTI. It's yummmmy. Dark blue purple. I was inspired by our hydrangeas out front!

 

 

Here's how I made the pin... I cut four flower shapes from the purple felt with my Cuttlebug. I cut circles out of paper for the backing.  Chose a pretty pearlescent brad for the center and some leaves...

 

 

 

Layer the four flowers by folding them in half and then putting them over/under each other like how you would close a box. I used hot glue to hold everything in place. Be careful not to glue to the edge of the petals...you want them to stay fluffy.  

 

Here is one layer of the backing. I put the brad through the whole thing and then covered it up with the green circles you see below. Again...used the hot glue.  

 

 

 
 

Voila! Here is my finished flower pin! Now, to put it on the card... 

 

I layered my patterned paper pieces and then made two holes for the pin back to go through. Do you like the impression plate? It's new from PTI and looks like rattan or cane. Love. The sentiment was stamped onto a strip of vellum and then wrapped around the card. I mounted the green/cream piece with foam tape to allow room for the pin the be on the card.  

 

Here you can see the finished project from the side.  

 

At the last minute I decided to add a pop of matching ribbon!  

 

My inspiration from the garden... 

Okee Dokee...that's what I got for ya today! I hope your week has been good and that your weekend is even better! Don't forget that Taylored Expression June Sneak Peeks start May 31st. I've been working hard on my cards. I think you're gonna like these stamps! Hugs.    

Some stuff...

HI!! Haven't seen me around here for a few days!! It's been a very busy weekend...full of good times, stamping and great friends. I'm just sitting down to watch the Oscars and update the old bloggy blog. My stamp classes at Paper Garden over the weekend went really well. A good mix of people. I had a dad show up to stamp with his daughter...which was super adorable! I met lots of new people. Many of my friends took class too. It was a blast! I snapped just a few pics so I wanted to share with you. Thanks to everyone who came - for making it so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is some pretty new silk ribbon from Japan - oh my!

 

I have a quick and easy project to share today too. I needed a clipboard for my classes - to use for my email sign up sheets and such. You know, being a crafty gal and all, I couldn't just have a plain old clipboard! I had purchased a bunch of these plain clipboards on ebay a while ago and they were super cheap. I got out some patterned paper and some cool stickers that all went together...and voila! A cute clipboard in about an hour!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 Okay peeps! Have a great week! Thank you for stopping by today!

  
 

Announcements on a Sunday!

Hi friends! I have some announcements for this Sunday morning...and then I'll be back with some cards tomorrow. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! We have been kind of lazy so far, but in a little while we'll be heading out for some errands and a nice lunch together.

First announcement is just a reminder that I am teaching two Spring Cards classes next weekend at the Paper Garden Boutique! I'm very excited and there are a few spots left. Please CLICK HERE for all the information about signing up. Below are some pictures of the projects we're making. Five cards with a cheerful Spring theme. I'm using brand new stamps and papers from Memory Box and some favorites from Impression Obsession, Amuse and Hero Arts. Hope you can join me!

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Second announcement: Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my last blog post about the Sucre goodies and giveaway... The winner is lucky comment #13! Renee! WOO WOO! Congrats Renee! If you read this before I email you, send me your address so I can pass it on to Sucre. YAY!

 
 (I couldn't figure out how to get this darn thing on my blog, so I took a picture of it!!!)
 

Lastly, I just wanted to share this cool poster/image from Mary Engelbreit. It made me happy! Have a fabulous day everybody! :-)

 
 
  
 

Stuff I can't live (stamp) without!

Hi there! Well, here we are...almost to another year! Hope your week was a good one and I hope you have a fun and happy time tomorrow night, whatever you're doing! Today's post does not have a project, cuz girlfriend is tired tonight!  From time to time, people will email me and ask me what kind of camera I have, or what kind of ink I like best, etc... I wanted to take some time to answer those questions and I wanted to share my favorite crafting supplies! If you have a question about something, please don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment after a post...I'll be happy to help!

Every crafty girl has those few things that she cannot live without. These are mine:

1. My camera is a Canon G11 that the DH bought me for Christmas last year. I am never without it in my purse or in the car...she goes everywhere! LOVE this camera. Small enough to fit in your bag and it is fully manual or automatic.  

 

 
 2. Come on now, you knew Copic Markers were second, right? Hee hee. Ever since discovering these markers, life has not been the same. Best. Tools. Ever. 

 

 

 

3. My trusty Cuttlebug! I use it all the time with my embossing folders and my Nestabilities. Also, lots of stamp companies are starting to make dies and this is small enough to leave on my desk.
 

 

4. My Genesis Paper Cutter...Where do I begin with this? Everything you've ever heard about it is true. It was very very expensive and worth every penny. These used to be hand made by a family in New England somewhere and when you ordered it you got put on a waiting list...it took ten months to get it! That was about 6-7 years ago. Now, they are advertising instant shipping! I have never had to sharpen it or do anything to it. Cuts like a dream.
 

 
 

 

5. Martha Stewart Scoring Board. Gotta love Martha...and this! It even comes with an envelope template. Buy it at Michael's with a 40% off coupon! 

 
 

 

6. My favorite go-to inks, especially for stamping my images when I am going to use my Copic Markers. Gives a nice, crisp image and doesn't bleed with my markers. Comes in a ton of colors.

  
 
 
Distress inks for, well, distressing! haha. Love this color for sponging around the edges to give that shabby chic feeling.
 
 

 

7.  Lately, this is my favorite cardstock. I like that it is packages in three different sizes and by color families. My favorite ones are "tropical" and "primary" colors. Stores nicely and is colored all the way through. Vivid, pretty colors.

 

 

8. Scor-Tape! Egads, how did I live without this before? This is great stuff. Comes in many sizes and is super strong. You can tear it with your fingers so you don't have to use scissors like some other double sided tapes. I like it because I can adhere a very heavy piece of a project and it won't come apart.
 

 

9.  Martha Stewart craft punches! Oh, Lawdy...don't get me started on this... I did an entire blog post already about my obsession with these. Fun times.
 
  

 

10. Paper Source note cards/paper and envelopes in yummy colors. I like buying big, thick, juicy envelopes from them in colors that match my projects exactly. The closest Paper Source store is about 80 miles away so I don't make it there as often as I would like. This place is incredible. The store is a visual extravaganza for us paper lovers. Check it out!

 

 

I won't even try to decide what my favorite stamps are, or what my favorite kind of patterned paper is...because I love them all! There are so many great stamps and paper collections! I try to mix it up in that regard and try different things. I hope you had fun reading this post. I would love it if you would leave a comment and tell me what your favorite tools are! That way, we can all learn from each other! I'll be back this weekend with some photographs I've been saving for you and an end-of-the-year wrap up post. Hugs. 

 

Happy Halloween Everyone!

BOO! Are you having a good day? Getting ready for trick-or-treating? Finishing costumes? Eating candy? Whatever you're doing, hope you are having a great day. Not too much going on at our homestead. We don't really get trick-or-treaters at our house too much, but we have candy just in case. I think we'll just hang out. I have some treat boxes to share that I made for a few of my close friends and the DH. I didn't make them, but rather, just kind of put it all together. I did make the tags using the uber cute PTI Tiny Treats set!

 

 

The loot! Vampire Pez's, spider rings, pumpkin notepads, an eyeball stress ball...which feels kinda weird actually, and of course...CANDY!

 

Here's a close up of the tags. I used my basic Halloween color palette of orange, black and green. This set is so adorable! It has all these tiny sayings that match the pictures...you could make a million things out of it.

 

 Mr. Buddy in his Halloween t-shirt waiting for a warm fire!

 

And, really, isn't this what Halloween is ALL ABOUT!!! CANDY!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

  
 

Dreadful Edibles and Deadly Morsels...

Spooooooooky Treats in store for you today here on the bloggy blog! I work with a small group in my office, so it's fun to be able to bring in treats and such for holidays. Before this job, I always worked in a giant office with lots of people. I never wanted to bring treats because I wasn't able to bring enough for everyone! Now that I have about 10 co-workers I bring in stuff all the time. I had fun making these spooky candy jars for the peeps! I will make some kind of cupcakes too...just haven't found the right idea yet. Do you make treats for Halloween?? Share!

 

 
 

The little treat jars I found at Michael's a while ago. I filled them with candy corn and pear Jelly Belly beans to look Halloween-ish! The labels are (again...I know) from the Martha Stewart collection for this year! I love them! They are really thick and the writing is metallic! Just a really simple and quick project but a fun one.

 
 

 

 

 
 

We had a crazy whirlwind weekend! We drove to Los Angeles and back in two days (900 miles on the car!!!) and attended the Scream Awards show!! I will have lots of details to share, but I want to wait until after the show airs tomorrow night. It was a fabulous, weird, fun, wild time!!!

 

Vintage-look Paper Flowers!

I have a fun project to share with you today! I hope this post inspires you to make some pretty vintage paper flowers to use on your craft projects. I had so much fun making these and if I didn't have a job and chores, I would have made many more! They are time consuming, but easy. I have seen these made before by many stampers and I've been wanting to make some and put my personal twist on them. I really would like to make some Fall colored ones next...with glitter...hmmmm...

Here is a picture of the finished flowers, once all dry and ready to go!

 

 

This collage image below shows the steps I used, The fist picture, in the upper left, shows my favorite paper choice for the project (from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Collection). It is double sided! Perfect! I used my Stampin' Up scallop circle paper punch to punch out all the flower pieces. You can see them all in stacks before assembly. The next trick, in my opinion, is the get them pretty much soaking wet. Spray them with your mister and then crumple them up in a ball and gently unfold them...

After they are all wet and crumpled, stack about 7-8 layers, then poke a hole in the center and add a pretty brad... Once they are all put together the way you like, you need to let them dry for a while. I put the whole tray out in the sun to make them crispy! You can see all the water in the pictures. Fluff them up and mess with them to get your desired effect before drying them. The possibilities are endless! 

 

 

A good view from the side to show the layers and the fluffy bits...

 

 

 

The paper will fray and start to break apart - giving the perfect touch of shabby chic-ness...

 

Mr. Buddy got his mits on this one...or maybe it was his teeth...I guess he was just helping right?

 

 

 

 

A pretty bride card!

Hey everyone...I'm sitting here in shock watching the live stream news about a giant fire in San Bruno, CA which is very near where I lived and worked for several years of my life. It looks like a gas main blew up and it is really scary. I'm sending some prayers out that way to all the residents and emergency personnel that are dealing with a horrible situation right now. Somehow, stressing over my blog post for today seems pretty minor.

Tonight I'm changing out of Fall mode to share a custom card I made for a photographer friend. She wanted to send one of her brides a thank you note using her wedding color (pink) and a photograph. My friend gave me this very artsy, cool photo she took and I made it into this clean and simple/elegant card...

 

 

My "go to" wedding font is usually Scriptina...which I used here. I printed the words on a piece of vellum to soften the contrast of the photograph. Vellum always seems wedding-y to me too.

 

Layers of white and yummy pink Bazzill cardstock...

 

 

A gorgeous Prima flower...

This is a great technique to use for scrapbooking too. Pretty with portraits, weddings and such. For our honeymoon scrapbook album I printed out my vacation journal entries on vellum and then put the vellum sheet over some of our favorite pictures.  I need to get crack-a-lackin on some new Fall projects! Take care and have a wonderful night!

Punch Drunk!

Today I'm going to share an obsession... I've alluded to it in the past and you've seen the results of my obsession. Today I'm putting it all out there - my addiction to Martha Stewart punches! I'm buying the entire Martha Stewart punch collection one 40% off coupon at a time!

For a long time I have wanted to catalog them somehow so I could have a reference while I'm making a project. Today I decided to finally do it. First I got out all of my punches and laid them out on my extra table. Oy. Don't make fun of me...

 

Then I cut strips of black paper into 5.5" x 2" and punched out all the edge punches. This way I can see what I have at a glance without having to dig through the punch drawer. It was kind of fun to see them all at once and remember what's in there.

 

Then I put each of the strips onto white paper...and voila! Here is the end result! I think I will try to find some plastic covers to put the sheets in. I think this will help me use them all instead of just choosing my favorites all the time.

 

 

What do you think? Do you have a craft obsession? Are you willing to admit it? Thanks for sharing this with me today. Have a good one!

I'm back - with a neat project!

Hi everybody! It's been a busy weekend and I cannot believe it's Sunday night again. Dang. Where does the weekend go? It was a nice weekend full of activities. Friday  night the DH and I went to the movies after work and saw Ironman 2. It was great - and I must say I am a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan! It was nice to be out and about on a Friday night. We don't usually do that.

Yesterday morning I went to a monster craft garage sale. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look. There were so many peeps there, that I had to park almost two blocks away! After that it was time to do errands (purchased items for today's project among other stuff). Last night was a pool party for Jilli's husband's retirement celebration. It was a fun party and it was nice to meet the rest of her family.

Today I have been crafting up a storm and doing laundry. It's hot here! All of sudden it went to 80 degrees! I will just say, hopefully for the last time, allergies suck. Okay, got that out of the way. Achoo.  Achoo. Achoo.

For the past 6-7 years I have worked at the Rubber Stamp Convention here in Sacramento. It is put on by Kat from A Stamp in the Hand Company. It is something I look forward to every year. I have become friends with the awesome gals there and even visit them when I'm in LA. I can't wait to see them next weekend when the show comes to town for 2010.  Holla! For several years I worked the register for ASITH booth. Last year I worked at the Denami booth. This year I will be demo'ing for a stamp company in their booth. SO...this is a long story leading to today's project!

I have not been able to find my stamping apron. I used it for many years when I used to teach classes all the time.  I've looked high and low and it's nowhere to be seen. DING. Light bulb! Make a new one! The idea came to me to have a denim one this time. My old one was pink. The ideas just kept popping int my head, and after a trip to the kitchen store and Joann's - voila!

The supplies...

 

The blank canvas...and the planning stage...

 

The templates...I drew the branch and leaf templates free hand. The bird template is copied from a piece of chipboard I had. I didn't end up using this pretty green ribbon.

 

The first few pieces are starting to come together!

 

I put my name in the center with some bling! Here the leaves are on and some pretty aqua flowers...

 

This part took forever! I sewed the aqua rick rack on by hand to the part that goes around my neck...

 

Here it is...almost done! The flowers on the pocket are a set of iron on patches that came in a package with the small aqua flowers. SO pretty and they matched exactly. I picked out all the fabric first and then just happened to get lucky to find the flowers.

 

 

I couldn't resist this iron on patch! It's on the bottom in the corner. Sometimes we all need to remind ourselves that we are rock stars! {smile}

 

Some close ups...

I was working all spread out on the dining room table - not in the craft room. Mr. Buddy always wants to be by my side when I'm at home. This is Buddy on the good sofa about one minute before getting his bootay kicked off the good sofa! He knows he's not allowed on there...but he was trying to look cute and get away with it. Not!

I hope you have enjoyed my little project for today! If you come to the Rubber Stamp Convention, you can see me wearing it in person! It's all day Saturday the 22nd at the Scottish Rite Center on Carlson Street, right next to Sac State! 

My Craft Studio!

Hi everybody! For the past two days we have been cleaning and doing yard work non-stop. Whew. I'm about done with all the chores for a bit. It's beautiful outside and it was time for a good old fashioned Spring cleaning at our house. We even did the windows. How great does that feel? I love it - afterwards! haha. Everything is in tip top shape and sparkly.

Given that we have been cleaning and doing chores...I have not had time to stamp anything this weekend to post on the old bloggy blog. However - I thought it would be a good time to share pictures of my craft studio! What the heck, it might not be this clean again for a while!

This is the view from the door as you walk in. The table on the right is a new addition and I like it for extra stamping room and for when someone comes over to stamp with me! The bins right in front on the main table hold all of my necessities: scissors, adhesives, glue, bone folder, exacto knife, etc.

The shelves were all here when we moved in. The people who owned the house before us worked from home and this was their office. The only drawback of my room is that there is no window in here. I have track lighting above and some flourescents under the cabinet.

My 'office' area with my laptop and my printer.

The main stamping table area up close. Love the pink phone from Pottery Barn kids! Gotta have tv to watch movies while stamping! My colored pencils, brads, and embellishments are right above.

This was the closet for this room! Now it is stamp, paper and photo storage. On the bottom rack are all of our family photograps by year and event. The next shelf up has all of my Stampin' Up sets from the last 16 years. I don't really get rid of them. You never know when you might want an oldie!

My craft studio is actually two rooms combined into one big room. Again, this was like this when we moved in. Love that long counter and also there is a sink! The door leads out to the backyard. This was a porch and the former owners enclosed it to make their office larger. The opening is for a sliding glass door. On the right in the clear bins is all of my 12 x 12 paper stored by category. My friend JRR made the beautiful Welcome sign that hangs in the doorway!! Love that!!

That's a LOT of paper!!

P.S. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE the Container Store???

This is my die cutting and paper cutting area. I have my Cricut and my Cuttlebug out where I can use them often. The dies and such are stored right there too. I love my giant steel edged paper cutter!

When we moved into our house every room had shag carpet! EVEN THE KITCHEN! No, I'm not kidding! Cootie factor was high. Needless to say, we replaced all the carpet before we moved in. I picked out this patterned carpet for my craft studio to make it pretty and feminine. I didn't realize it at the time, but it also hides the dirt very well!

Stampin' Up sets and photo storage:

I keep all of my ink together here. That way I can always find what I need. Each drawer has a different brand of ink. Top drawer is for Memento and Brilliance. Next drawer is for Versamagic, etc.. On the top are the ink pads I use all the time.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of my craft studio! I spend a lot of time in here. In fact, if Mark isn't home I have been known to spend the entire day in here - lunch and all! There is a 1/2 bath right outside the door, so technically I don't have to leave! I just need a mini fridge and I'd be all set! I am so lucky to have such a great place to stamp. I remember back to when ALL of my stamping supplies fit into this little red toolbox I bought at Target. Those days are over!

I would love to see what your stamping/crafting space looks like! If you leave a comment, link me back to a picture of your room!   

Since you asked...What are Copics?!

Hi There and Happy Saturday to everyone! We are immersed in March Madness at our house since Cal is in the dance this year and we won our first round game! Woot woot! BUT....we have to play Duke tomorrow - the #1 seed in our bracket. I have a glimmer of hope - because this is the time when anything can happen! Right? Okay, enough basketball talk.

Over the past few weeks I have had several people ask me "What's the dealio with the Copics?" I thought I would take some time today to give a brief run down on Copic Markers. First of all - I love my markers and would save them in case of fire or earthquake. I'm attached. For life. Using Copics has improved the quality of my work by leaps and bounds. I have been a stamper for 16 years and had always used colored pencils or watercolor pencils up until I discovered Copics. Now they are my weapon of choice.

This is my personal stash - so far -

Copic Markers are alcohol based art markers from Japan. The Manga Comic Book and Anime artists use them for their incredible images. Do a google image search for Manga and you can see some of the amazing work they do! With markers! More and more local art stores and stamp stores are starting to carry them. They average about $5.50 each. They come in three different shapes with different tips. I prefer the oval sketch markers which have a brush tip on one end and a highlighter type tip on the other end.

Copic Markers come in 350 colors. Yes, I said 350. (gasp). That is the best part! This makes it possible to blend 5-6 different shades of the same color together to get those real-looking results. The markers are labeled with a color name but also with color numbers to allow you to select the same color family for blending.

 

I have a color chart that I use to help match patterned paper for my card projects. It's easier than trying to guess with my eye. I copied my chart onto the kind of paper I color with the most so that I know ahead of time what I will get. I then can hold the patterned paper up to the chart and see exactly what shade matches.

When I color something, I use a minimum of three shades of the same color. A light, medium and dark shade. Copics also have a colorless blender pen which acts like an eraser of sorts in case you need to lift color off or if you make a mistake. It takes a lot of practice but I believe the results and the enjoyment are worth it!

If you happen to live in Northern California and are interested - I am teaching Copic Marker classes at my home the weekend of May 1st and 2nd. Email me and let me know if you would like an informational flyer and I'll get one to you.

So, I had to make a card today and I thought this cute hedgie image from Penny Black would be a good one to use to illustrate coloring tips.

I used warm grey, cool grey, browns, and tans to make the hedgie 'fur' on top. Their faces and tummies are with a very very light red and some pink for their cheeks. The ladybugs are actually colored with two shades of red and a pink. The grass was not in the picture/stamp but I thought they needed to be grounded. I used three shades of green and drew it in. This is much easier than it sounds - really.

Yeah, I bought the Martha Stewart Ladybug edger punch.....you know I did.... After the ladybugs were colored, I went back with a clear gel pen to make them shiny. Then, I went back over the dots with a black gel pen to make them pop!

 

And this is how BTC (aka Buddy The Cat) spends his Saturday in the craft room. He has his own bed with a heating pad and a fleece from Old Navy. But he's not spoiled. Nah.

I hope I have answered some of your questions today. If you have more, feel free to email me. Have a great weekend everyone!

An Artsy Day in Berkeley!

Yesterday I spent the day in my second home town...Berkeley. This is where I went to college and where I feel most at home, except for actual home! It's a crazy town full of life and learning and art and beautiful things. I want to share my little artsy day with you!

There are three must-go-to art stores all right near each other on 4th Street, just off University Avenue.

My first stop -Dick Blick Art - they have EVERY SINGLE color of Copic Marker....yeah baby...

Next stop - Paper Source - Heaven on earth for this paper lover...

Beautiful window displays with giant paper flowers:

OOOOOHHHHHHH....

AAAAAAHHHHHH....

You never know when you might need a Gnome soap-on-a rope...This is where you could get it! Handmade even! Hahaha.

Next stop is Scrapbook Territory. By far the best overall scrappin' and craftin' place in the entire bay area:

 

Owner, and fellow Cal alum, Diane, with store dog #1 Wilbur:

This place is HUGE...and always has the latest and greatest stuff. Good thing I live far away so my shopping is curtailed somewhat.

Awesome ribbon selection:  

  

Here are some gorgeous tree blossoms I found along my way:

And here is the part where I show you the most amazing, breathtaking, spectacular, gorgeous view of San Francisco that you have from the hill above the football stadium...

But not on this day! Just some good old fashioned FOG!

 

My day ended with dinner with my sweet friend Patty. A perfect day. It's Friday again, and my week off from work flew by in what seemed like a nano second. I did sleep in every day and generally was crafty and lazy. Tonight is stamping with friends and tomorrow is a Rubber Stamp Convention. Enjoy your weekend everyone!  

The Light Box Experiment...

I have been complaining about taking pictures of my cards, and not being happy with the results. SO...the DH and I bought all the stuff this past weekend to make a Light Box. The theory is that you make a perfectly white light box so that you get true color and eliminate shadows when taking indoor pictures.

The directions I used to make the box can be found here: http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/

I bought the foam core board and tape at Michael's and the lights/bulbs at Lowe's. Total cost was about $35.00. It took us about an hour to make it. I followed the directions exactly and the finished light box is a 20 inch square. Here are some photos of it:

My final thoughts on the project.

I think that the box is too large. If I made it again I would probably make it a 15 inch square. Be sure that whatever type of light bulbs you buy, that the box says 'daylight' so the color of the light is not yellow. I used 100 watt daylight CFL bulbs. Also, the more light, the better. I may end up buying another light to put on the top pointing down. Overall, the colors in the card photo above are much closer to reality than what I was getting without the box. This experiment is still ongoing...

Please let me know if you have any suggestions that have been working for you! 

A Rose is a Rose - a craft project!

I saw the instructions for Grunge Paper Roses on Tim Holtz's blog and I just knew I had to try to make some! So, yesterday some friends and I got together and decided to go for it! The instructions are long and I must admit I was intimidated. That being said, once we got started it was an easy process. Many steps, but not so difficult. The results were very satisfying. I would say that these cannot be made with 'regular' cardstock, you really need to buy the Grunge Paper. Any type of glue works, and be patient...it takes a while for everything to dry. The best part is puttin' on the bling at the end! I hope you enjoy reading about these and that you give it a try too!

 

 

 Rose #1 without any bling yet...

Roses #1 and #2. To make the pink one, I covered the rose pieces in white pigment ink first and then went back over it with two colors of pink pigment ink. Then I sprayed it with glitter mist to give it a sheen. The red one was made exactly according to Tim Holtz's directions with pearl-x and misters.

I made three roses in all. The white/silver one was made by covering the grunge paper with eggshell color acrylic paint - about three coats on each side. The antique silver glitter was (generously) applied as the final step after the rose was assembled.

I'm not sure what I will do with the roses, now that they are done! I was thinking they would make very nice package adornments. I was also thinking of making one or all of them into pins to put on a hat or a cool jean jacket. The possibilities are endless.  
  
I would love to hear what you think of my project. Also, let me know if you've tried this and how yours turned out! Happy crafting! 

You can find the fantastic and detailed instructions here on the Tim Holtz Blog: http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/12-tags-of-christmasday-12.html