Etsy Inspired #80

Hi, and thanks for joining me in another Etsy Inspired Challenge.

This weeks inspiration shop designs by cathy has some of the most beautiful (recycled!) silver jewelry I have ever seen. I'm a sucker for silver jewelry anyway and I love that her pieces have that rustic and eclectic look (as she also says in her shop announcement). The oxidation makes them look so cherished. Seriously, check this store out!

Here is the (now sold!) piece that I was inspired to create from:



I know, total *sigh*.

And, if you're familiar with EIC you'll know that there are always fabby sponsors willing to give away wonderful prizes if you participate! (Deets on the EIC blog, so be sure you play along, ok?)

This weeks sponsor is The Digi-Kitty. Really fun, whimsical digital stamps. The winner this week will receive an Easter bundle that contains 8 (EIGHT!!) Easter images! Wow!! The Digi-Kitty also has an Etsy store HERE. Check it out.

Okay, so now onto my card. I really love this jewelry so I thought I try the good ol' faux metal technique and see how it turned out for my card. Not too bad although the sentiment is a little tough to read :( . And I got to use my awesome new Lawn Fawn stamps (will definitely be using these more soon, so fun and they stamp like a dream!).




and a close-up of the sentiment:



Please be sure to stop by the Design Teams blogs, see what they've created and leave them a wonderful comment!

Ashley
De
Emily
Heather
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Shannon
Laurel (March Guest DT)



On another note there's been a lot of sadness in our lives lately, so I hope that you will all hold each other a little tighter, tell one another how much you love each other, and know how very much your friendships are appreciated.

I thank you for being a part of my life...even if it's in a small way, just by stopping by and saying "hi", you touch my life.



{Supplies:
Cardstock: White (Gina K Designs), Black (SU)
Ink: Black (Memento), Versamark (Tsukineko)
Embossing Powder: Silver (SU)
Stamps: Sew Lovely (Lawn Fawn), A Charmed Life (Melanie Meunchinger for Gina K Designs)
Punch: Loop Border Punch (Martha Stewart)
Dies/Embossing: Oval Nestablities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Ribbon (stash), brad (Tim Holtz for Ideaology).
Die-cutting machine: Cuttlebug (Provo Craft). }



All my best,

Facing the Unknown

We are facing something unknown in our household. The impending loss of a loved one. Eddy's dad is so very sick. He has metastatic lung cancer, is already at an advanced age and his mind is fading so fast.

Needless to say, we are beyond devastated. The tears just keep flowing. We feel so helpless, since we don't know when only that it won't be too long. Maybe 6 months? Maybe a year.

I had e-mailed my sister (who I made the butterfly for) since today is her birthday and she sent me the following poem from Henry Van Dyke which I will now post and share with all of you. It made me cry like crazy, but also gave me a sense of peace.


GONE FROM MY SIGHT -- Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side
spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and
starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty
and strength. I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where
the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"

"Gone where?"

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in
mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and
she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her
destined port.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the
moment when someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout: "Here she comes!"

And that is dying.

Thank you so much...all of you...who are keeping Eddy's dad (and all of us) in your thoughts, prayers or whatever you subscribe to. It is appreciated so much more than I could ever express in words.


All my best,

Etsy Inspired #79

Today's Etsy Inspiration shop is just super cool! It's called 3Dots Jewelry and there are some really beautiful designs. Love the stuff in this store! I played around a lot with different designs and ideas before making my card. Here is my inspiration piece from 3Dots Jewelry:



Isn't that just gorgeous? Love the wood with all the different colored glass beads.

There's also another terrific sponsor this week. (There always IS with the Etsy-Inspired Challenges, which is why YOU should play along by creating something and linking your blog HERE. ) This weeks sponsor is: Stretch N' Bubbles!! Prizes include 4 digital stamps for first place and 3 runners-up get 1 free digital stamp of their choice. More of their images can be seen on their blog HERE.



So, hopefully you've had some time to take a look at all the wonderful goodies at BOTH places by now, right? Great!

Without further ado, here's my inspiration card from 3Dots Jewelry:



It was just too much fun playing with my wood grain background stamp and breaking out the cork for some additional texture on this one. Way fun!

Please be sure to check out the rest of the DT's inspirations, by clicking on their links below and leaving them some love. ;)

Ashley
De
Emily
Heather
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Shannon
Laurel (March Guest DT)



Thank you, as always, for stopping by. Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

{Supplies:
Cardstock: Stampin' Up; Other - Cork (QuicKutz)
Ink: Distress Ink (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Embossing: Clear embossing powder (Ranger)
Stamps: Woodgrain background (Hero Arts), Daily Designs Sentiments (PTI)
Die-cutting: Tags Five, Standard Circle Nestie (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Page Pebbles (EK Success), Bubble Sticker & Metal Dots (Colorbok), Silver Elastic Cord (SU), Faux stitching - ScorBug & white gel pen (Inkssentials by Ranger)}


*edit: Yes, this post was written prior to today. I thank you all for your kind thoughts & well-wishes for Eddy's dad and for thinking of me, too. xoxo


All my best,

Gift of a Butterfly

I have the most wonderful sister in the world, I really do. And I knew that I wanted to make her something super special for her birthday (and now I'm hoping she doesn't see this post...EEK!). So I was wracking my brain on what I could do that would be crafty, unique and something that she would really love.

I tried to pull a bunch of elements and techniques together and tie them all into one really unique piece. I know my sister loves butterflies, so that was my starting off point. From there I just started thinking of what I could add that could make it my own, yet tie it to the relationship that I share with my fabby sis.

I hope you'll like this project as much as I do. It really became a labor of love:




This was so much fun to make and I have a feeling I may make more stuff like this in the future. Not as easy as a card, by any means, but I really loved putting all the elements together for it.

I'm also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Mother's Day/Girly Challenge. I think it fits. :)

Thank you for stopping by to have a look & I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.


{Supplies:
Inks: Distress Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger), Versamark (Tsukineko)
Paint: Acrylic Paint dabber (Ranger Adirondack)
Stamps: Old Letter Writing (Hero Arts)
Paper: Garden Gala Collection (Webster's Pages), Adage ticket (Tim Holtz Idea-ology), old dictionary paper
Chipboard: Butterfly Coaster Album, Olivia Mini Alpha, Butterflies Mini (Maya Road)
Metal Findings: Foliage, Ornate plate, Word stick, Word key (Tim Holtz Idea-ology)
Coloring Medium: Cherry Maya Mist (Maya Road), Chestnut Embossing powder (Zing! by American Crafts), Distress Crackle Rock Candy (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Trinket/Stick Pins: Vintage Black Pearl (Maya Road), Antique (Jenni Bowlin)
Flowers: Velvet blossom (Maya Road), Rose: created by me out of muslin. (Color created from Distress re-inkers mixed with Perfect Pearls and water.)
Additional embellishments: Pearls (Hero Arts), trim (random in ribbon drawer)
Extra: Copper Wire. }





All my best,

Etsy Inspired #78

I was so incredibly honored and excited beyond words when sweetie Ashley from the Etsy Inspired Challenge blog asked me (ME?!?!) to be one of their guest Design Team members for the month of March. Woooo-hooo! Of course! How cool is that? :)

These girls put a lot of work into finding really cool inspiration shops. I hope that anyone stopping by takes a little time to not just look at what I've created, but to look at the shops that helped inspire MY creations during my time as a guest DT member.

This weeks sponsor is none other than Glue Arts!! I know I adore my Glue Glider Pro! ;) And just look at this prize pack:

• GlueArts Tote Bag
• Glue Glider Pro (GGP)
• GGP Repositionable tape refill
• GGP High Tac tape refill
• GGP Perma Squares tape refill
• Wall Art Decor Adhesive
• Adhesive Squares (roll)
• Ribbon Adhesive (roll)



Today's Inspiration shop is the Fantasy Art of Maigan Lynn

Maigan is ALSO offering a wonderful prize! The winner will get to choose 3 4x6 prints of their choice. So be sure to play along.

Here is the piece that I found from her shop to work from:


So colorful! Isn't it?

So here's my interpretation of that:



I've fallen in love with trying do just about anything I can to make a rose in any way I can!! Hahha! This was super easy, but so fun and it just works, don't you think?

Please check out what the rest of the DT did by visiting their blogs, listed below:

Ashley
De
Emily
Heather
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Laurel (March Guest DT)
Shannon



For more details, please check out the Etsy Inspired Blog Thanks, as always, for stopping by to have a look at what I love to do.


{Supplies:
Cardstock: SU
DSP: Sugar Rush (Basic Grey)
Ink: Distress Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger Ind.)
Stamps: The Artist In You (Donna Downey for Unity), Friend Definition background stamp (Hero Arts)
Flower: Petaloo
Brads: SU
Coloring Medium: Perfect Pearls (by Ranger), Copics
Fabric: JoAnne's
Rhinestones: Kaiser }



All my best,

Exciting News!

I have some super exciting news!

I was asked to be a Guest Designer for the month of March for the awesome Etsy Inspired Challenge Blog. Who? Me? You sure you got the right girl? After the initial shock, the happy dancing around the house, jumping up and down like a lunatic and then calming down enough to reply to the e-mail I, of course, said "yes".

I am amongst some really wonderful company. These women really rock out the weekly challenges. Most have been on a variety of Design Teams and have been published, so to be given this opportunity I am extremely humbled and honored.

I hope that during the month of March I can show what "Art Inspiring Art" means to me and do the very best I can.

Please check out the Etsy Inspired Blog TODAY for my introduction (*blush*). And then come right back here on Saturday for my VERY first Etsy Inspired Challenge card. I'm very proud of it.

Thank you, Etsy Inspired and especially Ashley & Tiffany who I am grateful to know personally. You bless my life.



All my best,

Painting..and Dancing in the Rain

I know I just blogged a few days ago (*edit: umm, I blogged yesterday I really don't know what day it is anymore. Oops!) , so it's really crazy for me to do another blog post so soon. I just really wanted to try some new techniques and do some different things with some of the supplies I had on hand, so that's what I decided to do.

First, let me start (before getting to the card) that it was a little hard getting motivated. We've had some rough news that Eddy's father MAY have lung cancer. With that thought in the back of my mind, I kept putting my work aside and then picking it back up again when I felt like I could. Any good vibes, prayers, happy thoughts, or whatever you subscribe to would be much appreciated. His dad is a good man and never smoked.

*heavy sigh* Now the card.

I really wanted to use some of the paint that I received during the Ranger class taught by Claudine Hellmuth at CHA. Wasn't sure what I'd do with it, but I wanted to try something...anything. I've also been wanting to use some of the paint dabbers from Ranger (also acrylic paint). There's a lot going on with this card!! Techniques galore! My fave.



and a close up of the sentiment (which is stamped with acrylic paint then covered with Distress Rock Candy Stickles):




It IS raining here now in so-called Sunny California and with the news of yesterday it seems fitting. But I'm hoping that we will also find ourselves dancing in the rain, too, and not just waiting for the storm to pass.

Thank you for stopping by & taking a look!

{Supplies:
Cardstock: SU
Canvas: Sticky Back canvas (Claudine Hellmuth Studio for Ranger)
Inks: Distress Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries), Versamark (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Urban Chic, Good Thoughts (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous) and Aged Print Frame (Hero Arts)
Paint: Claudine Hellmuth Studio for Ranger, Ranger Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers (Purple Twilight and Black)
Embossing: Distress Embossing Powder (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Coloring Medium: Forever Violet Perfect Pearls by Ranger, Rock Candy Distress Stickles by Ranger
Embellishments: Word Stick, Staples using Tiny Attacher (both Tim Holtz Idea-ology for Advantus)}



All my best,

Inspiration Box

One of the most creative and gifted paper-crafters I know, Sarah Martina, made her first template and it's just the sweetest little box ever. (Please go HERE to see her template on the Clean & Simple Stamps blog.) I have a real love for working with templates, so when I saw hers I knew I wanted to try to make something with it, too.

I chose to emboss the entire box (not an easy feat, let me just say) and change out the handles using binder clips as the handles with ribbon attached. I saw it on Lauren Meader's blog HERE and I thought it was sooooo cute AND I've been just itching to try it, so thought I'd try it on this box.



I used two of my new Tim Holtz stamps, which I just love! And some of the new Distress Inks as well. I can't tell you how much I adore his new line of stamps, inks, and other goodies. In case you can't read the stamp it says, "Live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering". Isn't that fabulous?

Hope that you all have an amazing weekend and live in your moments.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies:
Cardstock: SU
Ink: Distress Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger Ind.)
Stamps: Urban Chic and Shabby French (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)
Flower: Prima Artistry Flowers
Brad: i-top brad maker (Imaginisce)
Ribbon: SU
Crimper: Fiskars
Brads: Making Memories
Embossing: Textile texture (ProvoCraft) }


All my best,

Valentine's Day...the day after

I was out & about yesterday. My sweetie & I spent the majority of our day in Napa. We've finally been having some Spring-like weather so we decided to enjoy the day & took a drive up to Napa.

It was a glorious day:





and one of my sweetie!



We had a really nice time. His mom thinks that Valentine's Day is a holiday so we stopped by and had a really lovely evening with his family after we did our thing and had just a great time with his family.

His mom had sent us a beautiful Valentine's card and I had not had a very good week health-wise so I didn't get around to making her a card until late Saturday night. Then I saw a post on Tim Holtz's blog that got me inspired. Here <---click . So, I made her this:

Close up of the roses & tiny tag:



It doesn't look like his at all, but I did get my inspiration from his. That's what counts and I wasn't TRYING to copy it anyway.

Hope you all feel loved and had a wonderful Valentine's Day. And that you are staying safe and warm wherever you are.

{Supplies:
Cardstock: SU
Inks: Distress Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Stamps: The Artist in You (Donna Downey for Unity)
Other: Sticky back canvas (Claudine Hellmuth for Ranger), shaped clips & brads (Making Memories), Adage Ticket (Tim Holtz for Idea-ology)}


All my best,

Easel Madness continues!

I really NEEDED to make a card for Valentine's Day for a card swap. I haven't been feeling particularly crafty, though. (I hate when that happens.) But, I really wanted to get this done so I could get it mailed out.

I don't have many (or any!) Valentine's Day stamps so I went searching through my paper stash & found some really fabby paper from last year and My Mind's Eye. I figured if I worked with that I'd be inspired....right? Oh, I wish it were that easy. But, the task did get done. I just decided to make ANOTHER easel card!! WOOOO!! ;)

It turned out pretty cool even though my page pebbles make the letters look a little weird. :| I still think it's groovy even though it's pattern heavy.

Ta-Da!!



Thanks, as always, for stopping by to have a peek!

{Supplies:
Cardstock: SU
DSP: My Mind's Eye (Irresistible Flying High & Irresistible Flower For You)
Ribbon & Twine: SU
Button: DeNami Design
Punch: Fiskars
Staples: Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Embossing: Swiss Dots folder (ProvoCraft)
Page Pebbles: Making Memories}




All my best,

Winners of Blog Candy!! CONGRATS!!

My procedure for randomizing was a tad complex, but I put all your names in a MS Excel list (some of you got listed more than once because of already being followers, being new followers, etc), THEN I generated a random numbered list from that. (So it would be more fair.) From that numbered list is how I'm picking the winners....or getting my randomly picked winner. Haha! I really wanted it to be as fair as possible. I hope you all agree.

Without further ado, the winners:


Winner of Drawing #1 - maiahs_momma! Congrats! Woooo! You win Courtney Baker's beautiful set with matching buttons!! This set is so versatile! You'll love it.




Winner for stamp set #2 is: Heidi!! Yay!! Congrats! Hope you enjoy the beautiful set from Taylored Expressions. :)




And now for the drumroll & what everyone REALLY wanted to win (including me! Hahhaha):

The winner of the most fabby $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp is:

TARA!!!!!!! WOOOO!! Lucky YOU!!!



All winners, please contact me ASAP! So I can get your prizes to you. This has been WAY too much fun for me & I hope to do it a LOT more often so, please keep your eyes peeled or glued to my blog.

I kept this as fair as I could, so I'm super happy for the girls that won. :)



All my best,

Thanks! Giveaway Commenting Closed

Thanks so much to all of you who wandered over to my little part of the blogoverse and commented and/or followed me for a chance to win some really terrific stuff.

My birthday was wonderful!! Really, I couldn't have asked for a better day. I was spoiled rotten in so many ways. I feel so blessed to have a loving family (even though they are far away), a really wonderful guy in my life, and such amazing friends who have touched my life beyond words.

I hope that all of you enjoyed maybe taking a peek at my blog. I try not to over-post. ;) Once a week or so. No over-posting from me! Heheh. But, most of all thanks just for visiting. I really enjoyed reading all of your comments and thanks to all my new followers and subscribers.

I promise to have a few new cards coming up soon. But only after I've posted the winners for the Blog Candy. I'll be randomizing the names, then randomizing AGAIN tomorrow. So keep your eyes peeled to my blog for YOUR NAME!!! :)

Have a wonderful week.

All my best,

It's my Birthday & I'm Giving Stuff Away!

I LOOOOOVE BIRTHDAYS!!

I love them so much. I feel like a little kid. It's the one day that's all yours. To feel special. To feel celebrated. I love that. It's just awesome. I'm a bit of a dork, but so what?! :D

I decided today I'm going to share my birthday with all of YOU! WOOOOOOOO!!!! Instead of doing Blogaversary blog candy, I decided to give stuff away for my Birthday. How fun is that? I think it's pretty darn fun.

I bought a few stamp sets at CHA. This really great one from Courtney Baker (which can also be purchased directly from her --> Practicing Creativity Designs:



Isn't that great? Valentine's, friendship, just an all-around fun set.

The other set that I purchased is a super cute set from the really talented folks over at Taylored Expressions. This is a set in which a portion of the profits from the sale of the set goes to charity (in this case the Eden Project).




(For more details on this set click HERE ).

I will be including a bag of GORGEOUS buttons from the fabulous DeNami Design with each stamp set! How cool is THAT?! Are you getting excited yet? I hope so.

Here's a peek at some of their eye-popping buttons.... so pretty.





OK....now if both those pretty stamp sets and those yummy buttons weren't enough I have one more thing up my sleeve. Are you ready?

This is an update from last night an earlier today, but the PHENOMENAL Heidi from Simon Say Stamp is sponsoring my Blog Candy and has generously offered this voucher!! So follow, comment & win! :) And check out their awesome store! Simon Says Stamp!

YAY!!! I hope you're all on board with my birthday celebration NOW!! HAHHA!!!



*~*~*So here's the nitty gritty details on what you need to do: *~*~*

One comment per person- unless you become/ or already are a blog follower.

1. Leave a comment ON THIS POST letting me know what you love about birthdays – especially your OWN! :D

2. Leave a link on your blog to my giveaway (link back to this post, please) you can even add my cute little blinkie if ya want! ;)

3. Leave a way for me to contact you. (ie: blog or email address - you can e-mail me privately if you don't want to leave your addy on the blog. My e-mail addy can be accessed to the right...see the button?)


If you become a (public) follower, or already are one, you get to leave an additional comment! Just let me know you became/ or are a follower (extra chances to win...just sayin')! (I know how many followers I have already and how many are checking my blog out through Reader, so it's not hard to guess who's new & who isn't.)

The fine print:
Commenting will be open for through Feb. 7 at 11:59:59 PM PST On Feb. 8th I’ll start sorting & winners will be posted NLT than Feb. 10th. Plenty of time to comment & win some goodies. :) I vow to keep the awarding as random as I can, once sorted.

{*** I closed commenting at 10:16 PM PST. If you tried to comment and couldn't between that time and 11:59 PM PST, please send me an e-mail (button on the right), in lieu of commenting***}.

*~*~So looking forward to reading your comments.*~*~*

There's only one thing left for me to do ----

All my best,

(I posted just a little early....I couldn't stand it. But my b-day IS Feb. 1st!)

** You can follow from the VERY top of this page. It's kind of transparent, but it does say follow. Let me know if you have any problems. Thanks! :) **

My Lost Twitter Pics from CHA!

Today I was going back to look at some of the pictures I had tweeted from CHA and guess what? THEY WEREN'T THERE!!! Nor were ANY of the pictures I had tweeted from prior to 1 day ago. *poof* gone. I'm so sad.

Now some of my older photos are gone forever (because I deleted them from my phone), but the rest I just uploaded from my phone to my computer. So, at the very least I can blog my lost CHA pictures. I think I'll even re-tweet some of them. Grrr to YOU, TwitPic!! *fist in the air*

So I decided to make a collage (ala Tiff at iheartart )

Here are the pic with links etc... Hope you enjoy it!!


(if you click the pic you can see it at a larger size)

Row 1 (L - R) Mackie from @Vintajco natural Brass, @OhMyCrafts, @collageartist (Claudine Hellmuth) teaching us at her Ranger class, Stuart & Heidi from @Stampavie, the beautiful papers from Webster's Pages, and a demo from @tim_holtz.

Row 2 (L - R) The beautiful make n' take from the Idea-ology booth; Angela from @Fiskateers and me; me and Margie (@MRomneyAslett) from The Girls' Paperie; the gorgeous display from @graphic45; the banner from @AmCrafts (American Crafts) their booth was HUGE!

Row 3 (L-R) Kelly - @lawnfawn with her friend Erica; one of the beautiful displays from the DT of Maya Road; more from Maya Road; my good buddy @Moeneeke doing a make n' take at the CHA Consumer show; a peek at the @tim_holtz dies (so awesome) & embossing folders; the welcome sign to the convention center. :)

Row 4 (L - R) Total gorgeousness from the Idea-ology line (love all the new papers!); it's Tiff! - @iheartart; I had just finished making a really cool bracelet with Claudine Hellmuth (@collageartist) over at the Ranger booth; I felt bad, but I caught a snapshot of @CraftyChica on the phone.

Row 5 (L - R) The @CraftCritique folks during the consumer show; the beautiful booth of Taylored Expressions @TExpressions; the really fun chicks of @Craftster (from whom I bought I really awesome shirt!!); awww!!!....me and Monique (@Moeneeke on Twitter), I so loved meeting her; the crazy Cricut Cake by Provocraft (still don't understand the concept, but I'm not a baker, so whatever...but the cupcakes were good.)

I hope I gave you all the necessary linkage & means to follow via Twitter. Tell 'em @papergrace sent ya. :D

I'll be ready to get my hands inky again soon. But today was a recoup day & a day just to hang out with my kitties getting snuggly. I love them.


All my best,

CHA!!!

Just a quick post to let you all know that I'm so excited to be attending the CHA SuperShow & Tradeshow this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center. Going to this is like a pilgrimage, of sorts. Getting to see all the up-and-coming new products and all the new and exciting things our fave crafty companies are going to be showing us this season.

I leave tomorrow evening...hopefully Mother Nature will play nice. She sure hasn't been lately. Nothing but rain for us West Coasters lately. Wreaking havoc on all the best travel plans.

I plan to take lots of pics. I will also blog AND Twitter. So, if you don't follow me on Twitter, you can do so from the sidebar on the right. Yes, I'll have to approve you. But, as long as you're not some weirdo, it'll be fine. ;)

To all my fellow CHA friends.... SEE YOU SOON!!!


All my best,

Call me!! ... For a DT Call at Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog

I really never considered submitting for a Design Team before, quite honestly. But, I gotta say I love the folks over at Simon Says Stamp soooooo much that when they put the bug in my ear about this call, I figured what the heck...why not give it a go?

I went over to the blog (this one right HERE <---click me) and when I saw HOW many people want to be on this design team I almost (ALMOST) changed my mind about doing this. HOLY SMOKES is that a lot of people who want this gig! Of course, they all know what I know. Simon Says Stamp rocks. It's simple. :) No, I'm not kissing you-know-what, c'mon people!! You all know me better than that. Right?! Right.

So today I made a few cards. I made four. One I just didn't like that much. The colors just didn't work for me that much. It reminded me too much of how blah it is outside. So I'm not posting that one. I dig the other three so those WILL get posted. ALL three!! WOOO!! Banner day!! THREE cards in one glorious day. Lucky you. HAHHAH!!

Card one:


I really love this set from Hero Arts (Speckled Ornaments) I can see it being used for so many things, but a monochromatic card was calling out to me. I loved using an Italian dictionary page and stamping on it with Versamark then using Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder. That stuff is so cool.

Card two:


Lots of Basic Grey Origins goodness going on in this card. The paper & the canvas tag...all origins. Just love it. I also love that it has earthy AND bright tones to it. What a great paper line. Glammed it up with a little satin ribbon before adding the natural element of a wooden button.

Card three:



Yep, it's all about Tim Holtz in this one. :) Got the Distress Inks going on, the alcohol inks, distressed edges, Perfect Pearls and the fragment tag. I think the PTI sentiment fits perfectly with that awesome Hero Arts Poppy stamp, though. Bold & bright. Love how this one turned out.

Lots & lots of supplies. Too many for me to type up right NOW!! ;) But I may amend each card to add the specific supplies I used tomorrow.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by to look.

I'm heading off to CHA on Friday! Wooo-hoooo! So excited! Can't wait to meet everyone & have a crafty good time. Hope to bring back some goodies. And be on the look out around my birthday (HINT, HINT) for some really awesome bloggy-goodness. :)


All my best,

Ease-l Does It! ;)

Dumb play on words, I know, but I couldn't help myself. So sue me. (NO DON'T!!) I've been wanting to learn how to make easel cards for awhile now, but all of the templates and instructions just blew my little pea-brain right out of the water...until yesterday.

GOD BLESS SPLITCOAST STAMPERS!!! (Click to be taken to their tutorial for the easel card.) So awesome!

I dove right in. Got inky pretty quick & made a birthday card for one of my girlfriends back home. This little card right here:



I love that Basic Grey Indian Summer paper, don't you? I can't bear to use it. I just want to keep it forever it's so gorgeous.

Then later in the day I decided to make a Valentine for a secret card thing I'm doing. I changed the size of the card (the sizes are given on the tutorial link above) and went to work. Here's the result of THAT effort:



Pretty huh? I used Stampin Up's Bella Rose DSP as the focus then worked with that: punched out some butterflies using Martha Stewart's butterfly punch, made circles out of metallic cardstock for the butterflies to rest on, and stuck some small metallic alpha letters on small punched out pieces of c/s then covered them with a page pebble. Easy!! (The red is Riding Hood Red, just in case anyone is wondering).

Both were super simple and I love the result. I'm afraid that the next 10 or 20 cards I make will ALL be easel cards. :D

On another note: Today I'll know whether any of the cards I submitted will be picked up for submission by PaperCrafts Magazine. If you don't get an e-mail you didn't get picked up. This was my first time submitting, and I guess it's a bit rare to get picked up the first time. :( Also, another negative for me is that my style may not fit theirs. *sigh* Still, I'm praying for a miracle!! :) Crossing myself, fingers, toes, eyes...whatever. And I won't give up. So, if you read this: Think happy thoughts for me, okay? They're muchly appreciated. :)

**Edit: Thank you to those of you who were thinking of me today. My first cards submissions were NOT accepted, unfortunately. I wish I could say I'm not crushed, but I am. If nothing else, I am honest. I know the disappointment of this initial rejection will pass soon enough, but right now it does feel a little weird. Then I'll start it all over again. It's one of my few goals for this year. Someday you'll see my creations in a magazine. :)


Thanks for stopping by! Have a fab Thursday.

All my best,

My Blogaversary...how far I've come

Today is a day of reflection for me. Turns out today is my blog's 1st Birthday. I don't have 4,000 followers and 28,000 hits. I have a small-time blog. A hand-full of followers with just over 2,000 hits, that are (in all honesty) mostly me.

I don't want to bribe people to follow my blog. You either like what you see here, or you don't. I can't (and won't) promise to blog to try to keep anyone entertained. Plus, I'm just not that entertaining.

What I do, is get a little inky every now and again. When my health cooperates, when I have the energy and when I just plain old feel like it. I have learned a LOT since I first started making cards and am now finding where my strengths are. I have learned how to utilize social media (escpecially Twitter) in reaching out and making friends, finding like-minded souls. It truly has been a God-send at rotten and rough times. I am eternally grateful for my Twitter friends.

When I first started making cards I thought you had to follow the rules. But what I know now, is that in crafting, there are no rules. And that any rules there are?... Are meant to be broken, stretched, cut, paper pieced, inked and distressed. :)

So today, on my blogaversary, I wanted to share the very first card I EVER made. It's horrible. But at the time I was so proud. The colors don't match, nothing about it is right. Except that I gave it with love.



There will be no blog candy today. So sorry. I will do that on another day. Maybe my birthday?! (Keep your eyes peeled...it's coming up soon! :) )

But, thanks to those of you who do read my blog, who do follow, who do care. I wouldn't still be here 1 year later if it weren't for all of you.

My thanks always,

Color Challenge - Chocolate Orange

I was invited (well, coerced...heh!) by one of my dear Twitter pals Dreena over at Prairie Papercrafts to participate in a color challenge. I was a bit unsure. I'm feeling a bit unsure of challenges these days. But, since I *DO* think she's awfully groovy, I figured I'd do it anyway. Plus, she said she'd tell the Coffee Gods on me if I didn't participate!!! Can't have that now, can we?

I've been itching to play with my new Hero Arts stamps since I got them so this seemed like a really good time to dig in. :)

I'm posting the card tonight to link on Dreena's blog & will update with all the supplies tomorrow (there's TONS!).



I really loved making this card. It was a blast. And I have the perfect person to send it to. (Hugs, Ashley!!! This card is YOURS!)

Thanks for looking and I hope you like what I made.

*Edited to add the loooong list of supplies:

{Supplies:
Stamps - Engraved Flower, Ledger, Essential Messages (Hero Arts)
Cardstock - Chocolate Chip, Kraft, & Naturals White (SU)
DSP - Ambrosia Collection by Basic Grey in Citrus, Mandarin & Fresh-Squeezed.
Other Paper - Grunge-paper (Tim Holtz Ideaology -Advantus)
Ink - Walnut Stain, Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick (Tim Holtz Distress Inks for Ranger Industries), Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger Ind.), Perfect Pearls in Forever Red, Perfect Gold & Perfect Copper (Ranger Ind.).
Etc - Staples (Tiny Attacher - Tim Holtz) , Ribbon (Michaels). I also used Ranger's Glossy Accents as "glue" and SU's Dimensionals to help pop-up the petals. }

All my best,

I have an addiction...to Grunge Roses!

I was totally hooked every single day to all 12 days of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. Each tag that he created was so stunning, creative, and just mind-numbingly WOW!! He takes you through each step and I was just blown away with his creative process. But then... Day 12. GRUNGE ROSES!! I was swept away to a whole new level of I MUST LEARN TO DO THIS!!! (Sorry for shouting.)

I needed to get all of the supplies. None of which Michael's or JoAnne's really carries. Only one place to go for that: Stamper's Corner in Elk Grove. So, when I went up there for the Hero Arts Debut Party I completely ravaged their Tim Holtz section. It's heaven at that store. Honest.

With all the tools in hand...I put everything aside. I'm lame. I had Christmas, had to go back to Vegas...blah, blah, blah. Excuses, excuses. I know. BUT!! I did finally make them!! This weekend. Yay me!! I started making one before realizing I had the wrong Sizzix die. Oops. But was encouraged to go forth and conquer. So I did. What a mess!! Ink, glossy accents, all kinds of goop everywhere. I doubt Tim is as messy as I was. But, ohhh....OHHHH....the results!! AMAZING! I'm hooked!!



All the supplies needed can be found on Tim's blog. I hope you make them too. They ROCK!!

AND YAY!!

All my best,

Acetate & Sewing for Christmas!

I spent quite a while trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my Christmas cards this year, but when I saw theses beautiful acetate sheets: I knew I had to incorporate them in my cards somehow. Pretty, huh? :)

I also wanted to try to make the cards relatively easy to mass produce, because as we ALL know...I HATE MASS PRODUCTION!! Grrr...

So, it became: One piece of acetate per card, the card-stock base, a piece of card-stock to stamp on for UNDER the acetate, a small piece of DSP (which I did in a wide variety), and then I decided to sew on them, too. I did 3 main colors. There was a red (Riding Hood Red - which you'll see below), a light blue textured card stock, and a dark blue (Night of Navy). The pieces of c/s that are below the acetate varied between Kraft & white. And... the stamped sentiments varied between "Merry Christmas" & "Seasons Greetings". The inside sentiments varied more, but I'm too lazy to type it out. (Just bein' honest.) I also hand-tore each piece, to give it a distressed look, just to give it a little extra somethin'-somethin'. And THEN, added ribbon. Which varied between Very Vanilla & Whisper White, depending on the card. :)

And here is ONE of the three cards that I made, this one I sent to my dear, sweet friend, Lydia aka understandblue who was sweet enough to take a picture of it for me to post for you today. Thanks, sweetie-head-honey-bunches-of-wild-oats!! xoxo



Thanks for stopping by and having a look!

All my best,

Hero Arts puts on a Party!

I had to say thank you to all the folks over at Stampers Corner in Elk Grove, CA...they were one of the stores that held a Hero Arts Catalog Preview/Debut Party on Saturday and it was soooo much fun!!

I went up for a good part of the day & was so lucky to be able to spend some time with my sweet friend, Ashley (from the Etsy Inspired Challenge Blog and Heart Hugs Designs) and I asked her to join me at the event. I had planned to go a little nuts, so I made sure my credit card could handle it before doing all my shopping. :)

It was a really nice time, though. There were a lot of shoppers - super nice turnout!! Way to support your LSS, Elk Grove!! Wooo! There were make n' takes (which we stood in line for) and cookies and we found out some hot & exciting news about the new Tim Holtz product line which is to debut at CHA!! CAN'T WAIT!!!

But the new stamps....are just gorgeous. So many really beautiful backgrounds, clings, woodmounts, clear... the options are endless. My shopping bag weighed a ton. I bought a bunch of the new clings, the new Silhouette Grass wooodmount stamp (so glad I bought that as they sold out really quickly), and 2 sentiment sets. I even received quite a few freebies, too. It was just a great time. So happy I went, got to spend a bit of time with Ashley, and got my mind off of my stresses for a bit.

Of course, then I was up til the wee hours last night/this morning finishing my Christmas cards (ugh!), but they're at least done and on the way. Hope they brighten your day a little knowing how much YOU brighten my life, my friends.


Leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow to spend my Christmas with my mom & dad. So, until I get back...Merry Christmas my beloved friends. Thank you for all your prayers, good thoughts, happy vibes. Every last one of them were (and are) appreciated. It's for people like you that I sit here and smile today. Many hugs to you, and blessings to you as you celebrate (however you do...IF you do) on Christmas.




Much love,

Where do I go from here?

Next month will (potentially) be my "Blogaversary". But I've come to some realizations as of late. I'm not exactly sure why I'm blogging. Is it for me? Or for other people?

I have a lot of things to think about. May shut the whole thing down. Need to get my head straight and know what's best for me.

So next month may be the end of papergrace. I just don't know. All I know right now is that I have a lot to think about.

Wishing everyone the best for a happy, healthy & Merry Christmas.

All my best,

Mass Production Nightmare

I was asked by Eddy's co-worker to make her some Christmas cards. I was hesitant because I'm just not a fan of doing multiple cards and doing things en mass. I really don't have the space for it and I almost ALWAYS wind up designing things that are too complicated and take me forever to do.

I started having nightmares about paper, glue, and glitter all over the house. Dreams of the cats running off with pieces of the cards were dancing in my head. Not pretty. Did I really want to do this? Is the aggravation going to be worth it? My back started spasming in anticipation.

I started the prep work. Got the card bases cut & embossed (cardstock in Real Red & Always Artichoke by Stampin Up!) & embossed background is Snowflakes (Provocraft)). Got my little snowbanks all cut, punched & stamped. I was ROCKIN'! Started getting the ovals going...hmmm... Cuttlebug or Big Shot? Tried both. Less slippage in the Cuttlebug so I cut & embossed all the Nestie Petite Ovals for the Verve (Christmas In the Air) sentiment in my Cuttlebug. This wasn't going to be that hard! HAHAHAH!! Stamped my sentiment using Walnut Stain Distress Inks by Ranger. Then I sponged the edges (Bashful Blue - SU!) and glitterized them (with Frosted Lace Stickles - Ranger). Easy peasy, right? Boy, was I wrong. Day 2 was yet to come.

Day 2 - started early, well, for me. I had to put more Frosted Lace on the Snowbanks, let those dry then stamp snowflakes, more Frosted Lace... in the meantime the cats decided to pay a visit. AND, they wanted up on my craft desk. UH-OHHH!! NOOOO!!!!!! The Stickles are still wet!!!! You know what that means, right? Oh, yes. Stickle-y Frosted Lace kitty paws. Grrr.... Just shocked that nothing was ruined. And the cats were banished from the craft room/office and very unhappy.

So, I thought I really don't have THAT much left to do, right? Just round off the corners for the paper for the inside of the cards, stamp that sentiment, adhere the insides, the snowbanks, the outside sentiments, then HAND CUT the little trees...all 60 (yes, SIXTY) of them, then adhere those and tie on silver elastic cord. How long could that take? HAHHAHAAHAH!! Let me just say I will never paper-piece a card for anyone other than myself to give ever again. My fingers still hurt. I'm crazy. I finally finished them all around 9-something PM, yes...PM last night.

Here, my dear friends, are the finished cards:



Other things went wrong, like running out of adhesive for my Glue Glider, I had the wrong adhesive in my Xyron (which I used to adhere all the trees) so 9 trees got "eaten" and I had to redo those. I cut a bunch of the cord the wrong length...fun stuff like that. It was a rough project, but from what I hear she loves the cards. :)

Now...what to do for my OWN Christmas cards?


All my best,

Holy Toothpicks!!!

It's that time again. That time of the month where those crazy and insanely gifted ladies over at the Everything but The Kitchen Sink blog have dreamed up another one of their challenges using an ordinary household item. Here's this month's challenge:




Crazy, huh?

I had to think about this one for a while. Then like a star shining from the sky...it hit me and I knew what I wanted to do. :)



and my obligatory close-up of my Star of Bethlehem:



I will say that this challenge, well...challenged me. :D I had this idea in my head all along, but I had a heck of a time really getting my Star to look just right. Or shine bright enough. Hahahaha!! Don't think I'll make a bunch of these for Christmas as much as I like it, though. I hope YOU like it, too.



{Supplies:
Stamps: O Holy Night (Inkadinkado)
Cardstock: Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!), Metallic Silver (Paper Temptress), White (Georgia Pacific), DSP - SnowKissed Solids Digital (2Peas/Betsy Tuma)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)
Embossing Powder: Silver (Stampin' Up)
Glitter: Crystal Fine, Sterling, and Florentine Gold (all by Martha Stewart)
Rhinestone: Clear (Colorbök)
Elastic Cord: Silver (Stampin' Up)
Etc.: Toothpicks (Safeway) }




All my best,