Hunk a Junk....product rant!!

Happy Sunday!! What a beautiful day we are having here in southern NJ!!
I am posting quickly today to discuss a certain crafting tool I have......the Chizzel-it. I got it several months ago on sale. I tried it....it sanded paper nicely. That was all I tried at the time. Then it went into a tool drawer where it was lost with all of my other "I have to have this" but I never use it tools! Well, I take it out to use it today and................it does not work!!! Ugh!! I got new batteries...........nothing. So....I used this one stinkin' time....and now it died. I would say it did not hold up well..............wouldn't you? Does anyone else have this tool? Did you have better results than I did? I would have to give this a big fat zero for reliability.
Well....that is my klip for the day. I thought I should let all of my fellow crafters know:)

Worlds Collide

I always said that my blog would be just about my paper crafting life....not my personal life. I did not want to stray too far off topic. But, i have not had as much time to post here...and it is due to my personal life.....so I guess the two have collided.
I will try to be brief. My parents live in Florida and I live in NJ. Two years ago my Mom had a stroke. While she did recover some, my Dad has been her caregiver. Now, my Dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has about a year left with us. I am trying to move them up here with me so I can care for them and my family.
That is the short of it. So...needless to say my blogging, as well as some other things have suffered. I have some jobs for clients to catch up on...and I will still be posting....but there might be small gaps in my posts. Thank you for understanding. If you beleive in the power of prayer as I do, please pray for me and my family. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
And now.......well soon.......back to the regularly scheduled blog!!

Baby Mia

This is a card I made for my friend and her new born baby Mia. It is nice to be able to give such a personalized card! She really loved it! Besides a little bit of tedious cutting...this card was simple to make:)

The card has a pretty in pink base, and then is layered with paper from the Spring Showers designer paper pack. The flowers that dot the *i* were punched from this paper as well with the spring bouquet flower punch. The letters are a computer Disney font. They were printed in outline form on pretty in pink card stock and then cut out. I used my beloved paper snips to cut the, with the exception of the bottom of the letter a.....for that I had to use my not so favorite craft knife!! I stamped the letters with the Canvas background stamp...which might be hard to tell from this picture. I then sponged the edges with pixie pink and chocolate chip. The letters are attached using dimensionals so they would sit up off the paper a bit. Of course I just HAD to tie some ribbon on the *M*. Because this card was for a newborn....I did not use any bling. However, the flower above the eye is screaming to me....*place rhinestone here*!!!

That is the klip for today! It is time for me to get the boy to the bus stop. Then I need to tend to my cats, the wash and general cleaning....*sigh* Have a wonderful day!!

Everything used to create this card was from Stampin' Up!

JJ Sparkles......

....... is the nick name I gave to my niece. I made this lunch box for her birthday. Inside was her gift. The box matches her room decor and has lots of bling........what little 5 year old girl doesn't love bling!!

Besides the ribbon and the bling, everything on this box is from a Simply scrappin' kit from Stampin' Up! I love those kits! They are great for scrapbboks, cards, and gifts. Everything just works soooo well together....and lots of stuff comes in the kit. This particular kit was from this year's sell-a-bration.....but there are always wonderful kits to choose from!

THe scrapbook kit consists of paper and self adhesive die cuts....so the embellishments went on in a snap!! The background paper was attached using sticky strip. The rhinestones were attched using glue dots, as was the ribbon around the side of the lid.

These boxes are really fun to make! It was preety easy too. I made in an evening while watching tv. They make great keepsakes. My niece just loved it!!

That's my klip for today! Hope you have a great Thursday! Happy crafting!

Circles and Flowers and Bling, oh my!!

Yes, my post titles can be corny.......but I hope you like my card:) This is the last card I did for the swap Nazi swap, and it is my favorite!!

This card measures 6 5/8" x 3 1/4". I am loving these long notes!! And I love that the come pre cut and scored!!

I stamped the background and the center circle with my fine lace background stamp in cool carribean. The larger so saffron circle was stamped using the weavy texture stamp in the You Make Me Happy stamp set, and the edges were roughed up with the distressing tool. The same background stamp was used on whisper white card stock with old olive ink. The four small circles were stamped and then punched with a 1/2" circle punch. And of course these little circles were saying "bling,bling". The flower was too! I used dazzling diamonds glitter on the polka dots of the flower - and this was adhered with two way glue.

The decorative paper from petals and paiselys came next. The bottom was torn using the tearing edge tool, and the sentiment was stamped in basic black on the inside bottom of the card.

Well, that is my little Klip for today! Hope you enjoyed it! Happy day and Happy Stamping!

Everything used to create this card was from Stampin' Up's spring mini catalog...except for the rhinestones....they were from Wal Mart!! Stamp set used - You Make Me Happy.

More swapin' fun!

Here is another card I just did for a swap. I think swaps are fun and a wonderful way to share ideas with fellow crafters!!

As cute as the four little doodle stamps from this set are, I had a brain freeze at first when I tried to create a card with them! I saw the decorative paper that I used, really liked it, and then began to work from there. So, pretty much everything was deigned around the paper! THe card base is old olive and the first layer is not quite navy. I attached the layers to the card with gloe dots in the corners, so they would not be in the way when I punched the circle window through the layers. I had to push REALLY hard....but the punch went through all of the layers!! The ribbon had to be tied through the window! That little window was just begging to have ribbon tied to it! (lol) I layered piece of whisper white card stock on the inside. I thought the doodle flower image would show up better on white than olive. Plus I really wanted to color the image, not just stamp it with black on green. The image was colored with markers.

Even though the pattern of the decorative paper was busy, I wanted to add something else. I punched out the flowers in the not quite navy and old olive and dotted the center with my trust white gel pen.............one of my favorite little pens!

Well, that's it for today! Hope you enjoyed this simple little card, and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

Everything used to create this card is from Stampin' Up! Stamp set is doodle that and the decorative paper is from the petals and paisleys pack - both featured in Stampin' Up's Spring mini catalog.

Bling Bling......

Hello? (lol) I am still here...hehehe. I love participating in my friend Jami's (aka the swap nazi) card swaps! I send a few cards and get back a wonderful box of creativity! This id one of the cards I made for the swap.

I have really been liking the bling lately......love adding a few rhinestones to a card to make it pop! Well, in this case....more than a few! I use glue dots to attach the larger rhinestones, but I have found that I am LOVING Stampin' Up's liquid glue for the small ones!! Honestly, I have owned the stuff for three years and have never found a use for it until now!! It is thick so it stays where I put it. It does not dry right away so I can Slide a stone a bit if I need to. And when it does dry....it is rock solid baby!!

This card features the You Make Me Happy stamp set and the Petals and Paisleys designer paper from Stampin' Up's spring mini catalog. I stamped the tempting turquoise card base all over with the little stitiched like stamp from the set. I stamped it horizontally and diagonally all over. The flower is stamped in cranberry crisp. The side panel is layered with so saffron, cranberry crisp and the designer paper. I added tempting turquoise brads to the corners.

The sentiment is stamped in the bottom corner with basic black ink.

I like the way some bling can take a simple card and make is pop. My idea initially was to have the rhinestones look like a flower as well....................but to me it kind of looks like a star? Oh, well....I still liked it....and it was fun to make!!

Well, it's off to bed for me! Soon anyway;) My little guy is sick (again) and will probably be up before the birds!!

Address Tin

A friend of mine asked me to come up with an address holder for a bride to be. She wanted something that the bride could leave out and would match the colors of her home. I cane up with two different ideas, and this is one of them. All of the supplies used are from Stampin' up! unless otherwise noted:)

Using sticky strip as an adhesive, I attached the paper (from spring showers) to the outside and top of the tin. I found a template on Splitcoast stampers that helped me cutting the top paper to fit the handle. I sponged the white metal that showed with creamy carmel craft ink and then heat set. The ribbon around the center and lid was attached using glue dots. The metal hodgepodge accent that surrounds the word addresses was attached using sticky strip. THe alphabet letters for the dividers were printed on very vanilla card stock and punched with square punch. Then they were attached to the dividers in a staggered manner. I wanted to provide plenty of address cads, and these were printed on the computer. On the inside lid I created a pocket for stamps. I also included a pen that I inserted the decorative paper into to match. I tied some ribbon to the handle, but i did not want ot cover the entire handle so the box could easily be picked up and used. The tin is from Provo Craft. This was fun to make......I want to make one for myself one of these days!! I have my addresses on the computer...but everytime we get a new computer I seem to have a terrible time transferring the addresses....and really need to get them recorded the good ol' fashioned way!

Embossed roses

I love heat embossing! The look, the feel, the fun!! For this card. The bouquet was stamped with black craft ink and embossed with glassy glaze embossing powder. Then the image was colored in using real red and garden green markers. The roses on the corners were stamped, colored and cut out. Then I applied versamark all over the image and embossed with glasssy glaze 3x's. Gave them an epoxy look, don't you think? The bouquet was attached to the real red card base. I used a craft knife to cut the rectangle frame out of the basic black card stock. The tri rose border was stamped on the black using white craft ink. The images are from the "Life's Special Moments" stamp set. All products used to create this card are from Stampin' Up!.

The boy is home from school today....he woke up VERY early complaining of an extremely sore throat.....poor guy. He can't have the rapid strep test until tomorrow morning. At least advil provides a little relief!

I hope you enjoyed this card! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Friday Night Slacker!

Well, I went to bed early last night and made nothing that I planned to. I did , however, play around with paintshop (which I know NOTHING about) and created a signature watermark. I don't know if I will keep this one........but I was excited that I actually could do it!! Do you think it's a keeper or should I go back to the drawing board?

This card was created for a swap I was in last year................hosted by the bestest swap hostess evah - Jami Sibley. She is an amazing artist as well!

All products that were used to make this are from Stampin up. Hard to see from this picture, but this card closes like a matchbook. The flowers along the bottom were done with the daisy punch, and the brads are from the pewter hodgepodge hardware kit. I decided to offset the focal piece. I used saran wrap to pounce pixie pink ink lightly on the shimmery white card stock. Other card stock colors used - chocolate chip, pixie pink and pretty in pink. The flower is from the all natural stamp set. First it was stamped in pixie pink and then the edges were stamped in chocolate chip. The edges were also sponged with chocolate chip. The flower was stamped in versa mark and embossed with glassy glaze enamel embossing powder. The inside has a layer of pretty in pink.

I have to get to bed early tonight - as I will be judging all day tomorrow. Have a wonderful weekend!

For a special girl!

I made this pail for my niece Erin! She just loved it!! The colors and flowers match her room decor. I bought the pail at Home Depot. I initially wanted to cover it with decorative paper, but that is challenging for me because the pail is wide at the top and narrower at the bottom. Has anyone ever covered a pail like this with paper? I would love to hear how you did it! The name was printed on my computer. There are rhinestones on every flower, they are from Wal Mart. The gross grain ribbon on the top and bottom of the pail was attached using sticky strip. I used Stampin' up's punches - daisy punch for the top row of flowers, and the bottom row is one of the flowers from the spring bouquet flower punch. Paper colors are pink passion, pixie pink and lovely lilac. Ribbon is from all over the place.............I am a ribbon collector of sorts! It did not take half of the time i thought it would to tie the ribbon on the pail. Buttons are Bold Brights from Stampin' Up! The large flower was stamped and cut out. It is from Stampin' Up! - but I borrowed the set and cannot remember the name*blushes*. If you know the name of the set, please let me know. All of the flowers, buttons and bling are attached using mini glue dots.

Hope you enjoyed this! I am off to the boy's school to do some volunteer work.....just as soon as my car defrosts! Happy Friday!!

One layer cards - a love/hate relationship!

I love the look of one layer cards - elegant without too much fuss. I, however, have a hard time getting mine to look nice.............and I have a hard time NOT adding more!! I was inspired by this card at splitcoast by Julie Buhler. Beautiful!! She inspired me to give one layer cards another go!

I used my creative memories cutting system to make an oval template for the shading and to make the oval opening in the one card. I shaded in positively pink using a stipple brush. The flower stamp is from clearly wordsworth and the sentiments are from Stampin' Up! I used the crayon resist method with my classic inks (perfectly plum and garden green) to color my flower and leave a little bit of lighter area in the colored image. On the one card I used my scalloped scissors (another love / hate relationship here!) on the bottom and dotted the scallopes with my perfectly plum marker. The card with the oval frame was pierced with the tools from my crafter's tool kit. I also used my color spritzer on the bottom of this card. And of course both cards have a small rhinestone (from WalMart) in the center of the flower for just a bit of bling! I think I like the card with the oval opening the best out of the two. What do you think? What would you have done differently? Leave a comment with your two cents:)

***added 1/26*** I did another variation of this using bashful blue. The flower is watercolored with so saffron and sage. I think this is now my fave of the group!

I have a nerve posting this right now.........as I have dirty dishes in the sink and the boy needs to be fed....hehehe. I am off to the kitchen! Have a wonderful day!

Finally back for 2007!!

Wow! I really slacked off on my blog. One of my goals for 2007 is to keep current with my blog.....so here I go!!
I made this card for my son's friend for his birthday. I love using different patterns and textures in my projects....but I had to really play with this to get it to work. Everything used to make this is from Stampin' Up! I got to play with my new wheel - "rough around the edges". I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE textured wheels with the whisper white ink cartridge! Since Stampin' Up! does not offer this in the jumbo cartridge, I made my own with an uninked cartridge. I always keep a few on hand! On the old olive paper I just used old olive ink DTP (direct to paper) in long strokes acoss the strip. The striped paper is double sided designer paper "Four Season's". The base of the card is in bravo burgandy.
For the focal monogram part, the burgandy square was weathered using the distressing tool from Stampin' Up's cutter kit. The edges were sponged with bravo burgandy. Then I did some faux stitching using my uniball white gel pen and my crafter's tool kit. There is a wonderful tutorial on splitcoast stampers by a fabulous artist - Sharon Harnist. The letter M is from the Headline Alphabet, stamped with bravo burgandy and was cut out leaving the ivory paper showing around the edges a little. I sponged bravo burgandy ink on twill tape, laced it through a buckle from my hodgepodge hardware kit, and attached using sticky stip adhesive. The word wish was stamped with white craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.
I hope you liked this card! Please check back often, as it is my goal to keep this place updated! If I don't......e mail me and ask me what the heck I am doing! (lol)
And keep your eye out....................I am going to be posting a little give away soon!
Happy Crafting!