I Heart the Art Journal - 2010

Do you ever feel like God, the Universe, or whatever higher power you personally believe in is trying to send you a message? For me, I often need a sledgehammer to get through to my noggin. Let me explain...

• My friend, Roberta, first introduced me to her Dream workshop. Setting goals and writing them down have a much higher chance of success. When I moved away, Roberta and I kept in touch for a couple of years, but then we lost touch. She recently found me through blogging and we have resumed our friendship :) Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences.
• My friend, Lauren, has participated in 52Q for ~2 years. I have admired her ATC cards that she has shared on her blog and wished I had time to participate. Then she posted a link to Bruce Mau Design's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. Lauren is participating in Tiggerye's I Heart the Art for 2010 (weekly Saturday prompts).
  
• Maggie, owner of Cuttlebug Challenge blog, recently posted that she hopes to participate in Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project.

See what I mean? A sledgehammer. When I saw Lauren's journal cover, I was intimidated and thought I should not even try. Yesterday I spent 3 hours in my craft room and I didn't create single card, but not for lack of trying! Some days are like that...okay, a lot of days :)

I woke up this morning and decided I have to do this. No thinking or planning allowed...just do it. I love the top note die, so I grabbed that. I knew if I wanted to stay motivated to do this for 52 weeks, I needed to choose paper for my project that makes me smile. You know I went for my scraps first! I pulled these Creative Imaginations papers and a scrap of red Bazzill (red is my favorite color and Bazzill is my favorite card stock). I picked two pieces of chipboard that happened to be cut the same size. I cut the CI paper to those dimensions. The heart was on my table from yesterday's lack of success trying to make valentines.

I decided to do the first prompt, "Aim to..." on the inside of the front cover. My aims were taken directly from Mau & Rubin:

• Begin anywhere
• Love your experiments
• Process is more important than outcome
• Spend out- don't save for a special occasion- now is special

I managed to "spend out" on the heart on the front cover, the stamped "i" on the front cover, and for the pink Thickers letters. None of these products had ever been opened.

So what do you think?

Drink Coaster Calendars, versions 3 & 4

You may recall I wanted to make 20 mini desk calendars as teacher gifts for Christmas. My first two are in my December 12th post. I did get those delivered before winter break (before the big snow), but I have not made any more until today.

I don't have a lot of this SU Raspberry Tart paper, and I calculate that I could make 6 more calendars (total; 3 of each version shown above). I was brain dead, design-wise. With the help of my sweet friend, Tracy, this is what she and I came up with. It is a lot of fussy cutting, but I like 'em! Do you see that fun shape behind the fussy cut stamped flowers on the left? That is the SU ornament punch (upside down). That was one of Tracy's ideas! Fab friend, isn't she?

My finger tips are sore trying to put in the jump rings. I have learned that I have no talent for using pliers :) I am determined to get all 6 of these completed today. That will make 8 finished, 12 to go...

Thank You x4

I am rockin' creative blog post titles :) I am caught up on my thank you notes! I CASEd myself for these cards (see previous post & tutorial here.) I used four coordinating papers, which I personally prefer to just two, but sometimes you just have to go with the papers you have.

Happy 2010! I am truly thankful for you, my blog friends. It means the world to me that you stop by and especially when you have time to leave a comment. I am overwhelmed by the talent and inspiration from all over the world right at my fingertips. I can't believe I have been blogging for 2.5 years already. I am grateful for the friends I made early on as well as the more recent acquaintances. Blogging is a wonderful world. So many lovely people sharing their individual talents!

May you and your families have a happy and healthy 2010.

June

Happy Birthday x3

Hello, Blogland! I have been practically non-existent this month. I hope to remedy that :) If you have followed me for more than a year, you probably know that I love it when I create a card from nothing but scraps or when I use stash (old or new, I feel rejuvenated to use up stash).

For these three cards I used scraps of K&Co. 8.5"x8.5" Birthday Scrap Kit items (papers and 3D cupcake stickers and die cut cupcake), scraps from my Bazzill scraps (small Nesties Labels 1), my last 3 American Crafts "happy birthday" rub-ons and ribbon scraps!

Here is a quick tutorial:
1. Cut white card stock at 5" x 3 3/4"; xyron.
2. Punch 12 squares at 1 1/4" of designer papers (I only used two coordinating papers for these, but my personal preference is to use 3 or 4 coordinating papers like this one.)
3. Adhere squares left to right, starting at the top left corner.
4. Die cut with SU top note die. Embellish as desired.

Enjoy your last week of 2009!

Masculine Christmas card

I had a customer request for a masculine Christmas card, no cute; e.g. she did not want "to a deer friend" or "merry chrismoose". So this is my card. I used Memory Box paper, scraps of Bazzill card stock (purplish burgundy color and white bling), SU sage shadow and plum markers, ribbon scraps, 3 MM snaps and my Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder. I wasn't quite happy with it, but the customer loved it. To quote my friend, Roberta, "Done is better than perfect."

How long has it been since I've entered my craft room? The remaining coaster calendars, despite the best of intentions, are still untouched (I have 18 to go...see previous post). We have all been taking turns being sick. Kathryn finally joined in last week with fever and congestion. Now I have her cold, minus the fever. This one is really mild compared to the one I had before T'giving. Nothing to really complain about, thankfully! I worked really hard the past two days trying to re-prioritize my "to do" list in preparing for the holidays. I still have ~5 gifts to make/purchase, package and send. Then I can finish up dh & our girls, then start on thank you notes. The teacher coaster calendars will have to be New Year gifts :) Eventually I will get to visit all of my favorite blogs. It has been too long! Please be patient with me :)

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Cuttlebug Style!

On the first day of Christmas...
For the next twelve days Cuttlebug Challenge blog will have some yummy eye candy in the theme of the song. You may be wondering what mini desk calendars made out of coasters have to do with "a partridge in a pear tree." Think "tree" => "recycle"...I re-purposed the coasters into teacher gifts for Christmas. To see my tutorial and detailed supply list, click here.

I purchased the self-stick calendars from www.vippies.com. Click here to order. I chose medium size; it fits perfectly in the ProvoCraft Cuttlebug Flourished Frame embossing folder!

I plan to make these for teacher gifts. The top one is for my daughters' delightful teacher, Mrs. Jacobs. The second one is for a co-teacher (and equally wonderful), Mr. Neach. I plan to make one for each teacher and teacher assistant, the secretaries, therapists, and bus driver & bus driver assistant. 2 down, 18 to go...

Mass-production would be the smartest way to go, but I do not have enough of any one designer paper to make that happen. Not to mention, I wanted Mr. Neach's calendar to be masculine. The rest of the recipients are all female, so I can do a little mass-production for the remainder of the gifts. I decided to start with papers I have the least amount of to use them up. I had just enough of the blue/brown SU papers and felt flowers to make two, but not enough felt flowers. I have a bit more of the green/sage stripe paper, but this one will also be one-of-a-kind. I have a little SU Raspberry Tart...I think I can eke out 6 calendars from it. I'll keep you posted on my progress :) Actually the 12 days of Christmas does not end until January 5th, so if I don't finish before winter break, I will give these to the teachers when school resumes in January.

To put you in the Christmas spirit, listen to John Denver & the Muppets sing their version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Miss Piggy really gets into it ~3:00-3:03! Just fast forward to that point if you are in a hurry :)

Hey, Cupcake!

I hope you can see the shimmer in the pearlized swirl paper and the glittery K&Co. 3D sticker.
The papers are all from K&Co. 8.5x8.5 Birthday Scrapbook kit, except for the pearlized paper, DCWV base card and the Martha border punch. The yummy ribbon is a scrap from blog friend Leslie :)

Thank you, my friends, for wondering where I am and if I am okay. I had a nasty stomach virus last week and I've had some dental work done this week. I'm not sure if it is the pain or the Novocaine or both that makes me grumpy and irritable. I have been absent from blogging and crafting completely. I finally made this card today because I am out of birthday cards. I was inspired by Julee's Mojo Monday sketch, but I could not work in the other circles or the bow. I hope some mojo comes my way!