Simply Elegant Paper Crafts

the junked up craft room phenomena

2012-01-28T06:57:00.000-05:00

Hello, bloggy friends! I haven't been around lately because my dh & I are getting ready to put our house on the market in a few days. We are hoping to move nearby and try to find a home with a little bit of yard for our children to play in. Our home resides on .15 acres right now. We don't need a larger home; that's just more to clean :) Those of you that know me are aware that my home is usually very neat...and every two weeks it is clean too! I periodically purge every drawer, cupboard, and closet throughout our home to stay ahead of clutter; we have very little closet storage in this house, which I think of as a blessing. Space finds a way to get filled with non-essentials (which does not apply to paper crafting...hoard away, my friends!) A year ago we even pulled up all the wall-to-wall carpeting and replaced it with hardwood and pergo. 18 months ago we upgraded the kitchen appliances and counter tops. When we moved here 7 1/2 years ago we liked this house, but with all the upgrades, we truly love it. If we could simply teleport this house to a nicer lot, we would do it.

How does non-crafty stuff end up in my craft room?

Last year when we re-did the floors, we decided to move my craft room from the teeny tiny baby bedroom upstairs to our basement. I love it! I wish I had done it sooner. Now we are all always together; the girls have their toys in their part of the basement and dh has his computer and we have our big t.v. down here too. As I unpacked my craft room I made an executive decision...all that *schtuff* we-don't-know-what-to-do-with-but-can't-seem-to-throw-away was NOT coming inside my craft room.

I hope you are sitting down...put down that coffee; I don't want it coming out of your nose when you see this...

I actually thought that I would slowly work through it, but an entire year has passed. It was a pile of 17 boxes, but after my craft room purge last fall, it became 21 boxes pictured here. This seems so intimidating. My mom wants me to just move it to her basement for now, but I don't think that is a good solution; it just delays the inevitable.

Where to start?
Some of this stuff are my childhood toys that I loved and my girls have enjoyed too. Can you spot the Fisher-Price Creative Coaster? Or that white wooden giraffe hat rack? My Mary Poppins plate? These things have been well-loved and are truly falling apart beyond repair. My dh & I are taking pictures of these beloved items so that I can scrapbook them later. After we check to make sure the pictures look good, these will go in the trash.

Wish me luck and quick decision-making :)

For sale

A few of the boxes added from the craft room purge are things I hope to sell. If you know anyone who might want purchase the following items, please have them email me. I priced these items below what I could find on ebay, but I will entertain any reasonable offers! I will include the links so you can see pictures for each sale...shipping not included in sale price.

1. Pazzles Inspiration electric die cutting machine (PC compatible, not Mac) - $250

2. For sale: Cosmo Cricket "Love Notes Collection" 12 x 12 - $9

3. For sale: Lot of Dies and Embossing Stencils - $10
SIZZIX-Texturz Plates Kit - Texture Plates feature double-sided patterns.
SIZZIX Embosslits: Gift
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Die Set: Butterflies

4.  Lot of chip board, tags, circles, & frames and 2 Accordion Album Tins - $10

5. For sale: Lot of 2 Bazzill Basics Paper Inspiration Books -$10.

6. For sale: Two Pooh Counted Cross Stitch Kits - $15

7.   For sale: SEI "Lovebirds Collection" 12 x 12 - $9

8. For sale: K & Co. 6 x 6 album - $8

9. For sale: Lot of 8 new QuicKutz Revolution Dies  - $50

10. For sale: New Cuttlekids Shape Maker with 4 sets of dies and storage - $50

11. For sale: Color Box Stylus Mold your own tip patterns - $15

12. For sale: New Cricut Superman cartridge - $15

13. For sale: New QuicKutz Spicy Chicken - $75

14. For sale: Three retired Stampin' Up sets - $16

I hope your weekend is fun, happy, and productive!

You're My Love Story

2012-01-26T03:00:00.001-05:00

I created this card using products purchased from Shop Pumpkin Spice. Pumpkin Spice is my favorite store! I can always find *new* papers for 30% off (or more) and shipping is super low. I hope you will check it out for your paper crafting needs. The papers I used are all from "Yours Truly" by Echo Park. This is a great collection of papers; both elegant and fun. My sentiment is by My Pink Stamper, "From the Heart." I added i-rock gems by Imaginisce. You can find all of these products at Pumpkin Spice (links embedded.)

This may be my valentine for my sweetie. I stitched the patterned paper together using my sewing machine. I usually find this many patterns overwhelming, but I actually think this works...it does look much better IRL, I promise :)

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Wall Decor and More ("I [heart] U" cut @ 1 1/4")
sentiment: My Pink Stamper "From the Heart"
papers: Echo Park "Yours Truly"
gems: Imaginisce i-rock
butterflies: Sizzix Embosslits "Beautiful Wings"
hearts: Stampin Up! punch

Happy Thursday!

My Pink Stamper- January challenge: Be My Valentine!

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am so elated when I create a card using my scraps. I eked this card out from bits of old KI Memories papers that I have already created several cards from over the past few years. I think I am ready to toss the little bits that are left in the trash can...almost ;)

My card was inspired by this month's My Pink Stamper challenge:

Be My Valentine!

Make something for Valentine's Day. It can be a card, scrapbook page, home decor, a treat or mini album...anything goes!

I found this winged heart on my Cricut "Winter Frolic" cartridge. The cut is actually a border that I cut apart and layered one atop the other with foam tape for added dimension. I embossed the wings with my Provo Craft "D'Vine Swirls" Cuttlebug embossing folder. I doodled a heart and stamped the "XO" inside the heart. I also stamped "hugs & kisses" at the bottom. Both of these stamps are from one of my favorite My Pink Stamper stamp sets, "From the Heart":

For more valentine inspiration, hop over to My Pink Stamper. I'm on my way over there right now :)

Winter Blues challenge - Shopping Our Stash

2012-01-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

I created this shape & scene card for this week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash. Here are the details:

Shopping Our Stash #36 - Winter Blues

Shop your stash for items that are BLUE.

You can have other colors, but make sure

the primary focus is the color BLUE.

My immediate thought was Echo Park "Winter Park" collection...so many winter blues in that pack of papers. Then I remembered that my Campin' Critters cartridge has lots of cute winter cuts. I flipped through the spiral notebook of images and decided upon the snow scene and the deer on skis. I searched my sentiments and happened upon this one by My Pink Stamper "From the Heart" stamp set.

Supplies:

Cricut cartridge: Campin' Critters

sentiment: My Pink Stamper "From the Heart"

card stock: Bazzill scrap (deer), Stampin' Up chocolate chip (deer) and whisper white (card base)

decorative papers: Echo Park Winter Park

"Snow Storm" and "Park City" (deer hat, backpack, and skis)

"Dark Blue/Light Blue" (both sides for mountains, tree bases, and lake water)

"Teal/Neutral" (both sides for trees and snow)

Now it is your turn...shop your stash for blue items and link your card, LO, or project at Shopping Our Stash #36.

Happy Tuesday!

Delightful Birthday & Amore

2012-01-18T06:00:00.003-05:00

What, no patterned paper? This month's Artful Delight card kit has yummy patterned paper from My Mind's Eye "Kraft Funday" collection, Jillibean Soup "Hearty Barley" collection, and Studio Calico "Memoir" collection.

I created the first card with the Bazzill "strawberry splash" and "kisses" card stock, the Jillibean Soup card
base, the Creative Impressions red crepe ribbon, and the My Mind's Eye "Everyday Fun" rhinestones.

For my second card I used the Hero Arts stamp (sentiment) from the kit and the My Mind's Eye "Everyday Fun" rhinestones.

Both cards were made from images on the Cricut "French Manor" cartridge.

My mom borrowed this cartridge from me and she has had it for a few months. I just got it back, so I was excited to use it :)

Happy Wednesday!

My Pink Stamper January blog hop WINNER

2012-01-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

Thank you all who stopped by my blog this past weekend to let me know what your goals for yourself are for 2012. I enjoyed reading all of your responses.

The winner of the My Pink Stamper "Even More Punny-licious" stamp set is:

Shelly said...

What a great journal! It is so fabulous! I love your paper choice and I love the sentiments you chose. Awesome June!
The one thing I will do for myself is take a dance class. I've always wanted to and have never made the time.
Thanks, June!
Shelly

January 13, 2012 10:01 PM

Shelly's blog is called "My Paper Love." I hope you will stop by and leave her some love.

Shelly, please email me with your home address and I will ship this to you. Thank you for leaving such lovely comments and being one of the sweetest bloggers on the planet! I hope you enjoy your stamp set.

Little One: Across the Border challenge

2012-01-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

My dh's little cousin just announced that she is having her first baby; a baby boy due in June. I got my inspiration from this exciting news and this week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash:

"Across the Border"

Use any border punch or create your own border.

The decorative papers are by October Afternoon: "Modern Homemaker" and "The Thrift Shop." My sentiment stamp is My Pink Stamper "Sweet Baby." The jumbo yellow brad is Making Memories, and the "onesie snaps"are i-rock pearls. All other products are by Stampin' Up! (button, felt flower, ribbon, card stock, and decorative label punch. The onesie was cut from Cricut "Everyday Pop-Up Cards" and the scallop border is from the "Accent Essentials" cartridge.

Now it's your turn to shop your stash for a favorite (or neglected!) border punch...or create your own border from circles, rhombi, whatever your creative mind wishes to make. Link your project at Shopping Our Stash challenge #35.

Happy Tuesday!

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious Blog Hop: A fresh clean start

2012-01-13T21:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to My Pink Stamper's January 2012 blog hop. You should have arrived here from Kassidy's blog. If not, start at the beginning on Robyn's blog, My Pink Stamper.

Robyn's challenge this month at My Pink Stamper is "a fresh clean start." Make something for yourself (or someone else) to welcome a fresh clean start to the new year. It can be a card, LO, or project...anything goes!

This truly was a challenge for me. I had no idea what I would create. You may recall I purged my craft room last fall. I am pleased to say that it is still neat and organized, but I have lots and lots of projects that I would like to make time for. One is scrapbooking more often, which I have worked on already this month...yay me! Then I recalled that in 2010 I created a "I {heart} art"mini book where I created little pages just for me; doodles, stamping, whatever I wanted to do that day. I really enjoyed making those pages; it was good for my soul. Then it hit me! In my projects stash I have a book I purchased years ago that I wanted to alter. This would become my 2012 Art Journal. I am so excited about this project; something just for me using what I love...my favorite color is red and I adore polka dots. Add some ever-so-versatile My Pink Stamper stamps, and my title pages practically created themselves ;)

This is the BEFORE picture (below):

I covered the brick and red pages with this time-themed paper and cut out "2012 ART journal" using my Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cartridge:

and added a few doodles to the "R":

Then I added some My Pink Stamper sentiments in red ink:

I drew doodles and stamped two more My Pink Stamper sentiments:

All of my sentiments came from "Biggie Christmas." The "for" came from the bottom left-hand corner; the "Me" is actually the first two letters of the "Merry Christmas" stamp in the bottom right-hand corner:

Your next stop is Chelle. Before you go, please leave a comment letting me know what you will do for yourself this year. You DO NOT have to follow me to win, but please come back on Tuesday, January 16th to claim your prize if you are chosen as my My Pink Stamper hop winner. The prize: My Pink Stamper "Even More Punny-licious" stamps.

Happy hopping!

January Card Kit Inspiration for Shop Pumpkin Spice: "Fun Love"

2012-01-12T03:00:00.002-05:00

Shop Pumpkin Spice, my go-to online store for my favorite paper crafting supplies now has a monthly card kit! In addition to low prices and low shipping costs, the January card kit, "Fun Love"is only $15.95. The January kit includes (2) 6x6 pads of My Mind's Eye papers (Kraft Funday & Love Me), white card stock, kraft card stock, buttons, doilies, twill, twine, crochet flowers, bingo cards, alpha stickers, and die cuts. I created three cards from this kit and I still have oodles of paper and supplies to make loads more. Grab yours now before they are sold out!

Here are my cards:

"Love Birds"

This card is 100% from the kit! The die cut frame, the alpha stickers, the papers, and card stock too. I cut the birds and bird cage from the Cricut "Sophie" cartridge and added a few doodles to the birds.

"MINE"

The My Mind's Eye papers, twill, and Jenni Bowlin bingo card are all from the kit. The black card stock is from my scraps, and the cream card stock is from my stash. I added faux stitching with my paper piercer and marker.

"Ticket"

The ticket, My Mind's Eye patterned papers, the red heart button, and the twill are all included in the kit. The dark brown card stock is from my stash. The card base is kraft card stock, also from the kit. This card was completely inspired by my DT sister, Abby. I think of her as Fab Abby; love her! Abby's card is much more enchanting. Thank you, Abby, for giving me permission to CASE you. *MWAH*

Now go grab your January Shop Pumpkin Spice Card Kit!

A Delightful Party

2012-01-11T06:00:00.004-05:00

Leeanne of Artful Delight has created a marvelous kit this month! Everything you see here is included in her January Artful Delight card kit. Only the black card stock and the MFT scallop die are from my personal stash. The stamp set (pinwheel and "party" sentiment), red seam binding, button, My Mind's Eye papers, and the pink card stock are just a teeny tiny sampling of the goodness included. The January Artful Delight card kit was sold out, but Leeanne purchased more product to put a few more kits together. Get yours now while you still can!

I am also entering this at The Kraft Journal: "Favorite Colors" challenge. You know red is my favorite color. I like the "pop" the red seam binding and red button add to this card.

Happy Wednesday!

Back to Black challenge: City Crafter Challenge blog

2012-01-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

(*For the ShopPumpkinSpice blog hop click HERE*)
(*second post today; scroll down for weekly SOS post*)

Kirsty Vittetoe has graciously asked me to be a guest designer this week at City Crafter Challenge blog (CCCB). My jaw literally was on the floor when I received her invite. I have admired Kirsty's work for nearly two years as well as ALL of the members of her CCCB design team. Seriously, if I ever met Cheryl, Ros, Linda R., or Kirsty in real life I would likely act like a star struck teenager. These ladies are some of my favorite paper crafting idols. That pretty much sums up my elation at being a part of their team for the week of July 10, 2012 :)

The challenge this week is "Back to Black": create a card or project with a silhouette; the image may be stamped, digital, or die cut, but must be black.

I created two cards for this challenge, and I stamped in black for both (I know, you are shocked that I didn't just use my Cricut, aren't you?)

For this sympathy card I stamped and embossed the daisies on Graphic 45 "Butterfly Kisses" from the Once Upon a Springtime collection. Both stamps are by Stampin' Up! I added hot rocks by Imaginisce under the sentiment and on top of the black velour daisy trim.

For my shoe card I stamped and embossed the shoe ("My Sentiments Exactly!" stamp) on black card stock. I fussy cut it out and popped it up with foam tape. I cut my nested circles using my Cricut "Accent Essentials" cartridge. My papers are "Modern Homemaker" by October Afternoon that I purchased from Kirsty's Pixie Dust Paperie shop last Spring.

Please stop by City Crafter Challenge blog for more silhouette inspiration, link up your creation, or to just say "hi!"

Happy Tuesday!

All that glitters, sparkles, or shines...shop YOUR stash!

2012-01-09T23:55:00.001-05:00

(*For the ShopPumpkinSpice blog hop click HERE*)

I created this card for this week's Shopping Our Stash challenge #34: All that glitters, sparkles, or shines OR Dilli Beans image. I dug up these papers from The Paper Company Studio "Hugs & Kisses" collection from February 2010. Each of the papers are pearlized and have a pretty sheen. I printed out the Dilli Beans digi stamp (#330 Hanging Hearts Snowman) on kraft card stock and colored with my colored pencils. I used a border punch and "pink sorbet" twine from The Twinery below the image, then popped the panel up with foam tape. Link up your shiny creation at Shopping Our Stash #34.

I am also entering this at The Kraft Journal: "Favorite Colors" challenge. You know red is my favorite color and I adore polka dots, so I made red polka dots on my krafty snowman.

Happy Tuesday!

Artful Delight + Sketch Inspiration = Prizes for you!

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

(*For the ShopPumpkinSpice blog hop click HERE*)

Artful Delight is this week's sponsor at Sketch Inspiration. What is up for grabs? The January Artful Delight kit and some other goodies. (Check out all of the details at the Artful Delight blog.)

Check out this terrific sketch #302:

I used my January Artful Delight kit and here is my take on the sketch:

The Jillibean Soup kraft card base (and envelope), the Bazzill card stock (red), the My Mind's Eye designer papers, and the felt flowers/button embellishment are all included in the January kit! Please hop on over to see more inspiration here:

Abby
Debbie
Julie
Kelly
Artful Delight blog

Happy hopping! When you link your project, be sure to tag it with #302. Good luck! I hope you win. One can never own too many paper crafting goodies :)

Surfing LO - Surfer's Healing for children with Autism

2012-01-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

Another LO! I was going through my blue basket on my work desk (the "quick fix" basket and catch-all) and I came across the girls' surfing photos from last summer. I decided to look in my kits for a LO that would work with the surfer's bright orange. I did not find a kit, but I did find a card stock sheet of images to cut and use on a LO.

This was our first time attending a Surfer's Healing camp. It was an amazing experience! This is s FREE therapy for children with Autism. We only saw one other girl while we were there, and more than 100 boys. They provided lunch for every family. I hope we can attend again next summer. These surfers are well trained in working with these very special children.

Every child gets two rides, but Kathryn's surfer "Ki" (spelling? rhymes with eye) took her out three times. He fell in love with her. Each time she was screaming, "Mommy" on the way in (she can't stand to have her eyes wet), but when they were out waiting to catch a wave she told Ki that "I'm really good at this. I'm gonna be a surfer when I grow up." She cracks me up. I love Kathryn-isms.

This scrapbooking thing is becoming an addiction...

The Kraft Journal & Artful Delight monthly sketch

2012-01-04T06:00:00.004-05:00

Would you like a chance to win an Artful Delight kit? Just make a card or LO and follow Abby's sketch:

Here is my take on the sketch using the January Artful Delight card kit:

Link your creation to the right-hand side bar at the Artful Delight blog. Maybe YOU will be the randomly chosen winner! I am hooked on Leeanne's delightful monthly kits. Each kit includes coordinating card stock, a variety of embellishments, and plenty of *new* collections of patterned papers. These kits are a great value. It is only the first week of January, and only one of the January scrapbook kits are still available and two card kits. Check out the contents of the kits here. For more inspiration, check out the lovely creations by the DT on the Artful Delight blog. Previous months' scrapbook kits are on sale for $23.50...and there are coupon codes to use in conjunction! Yep, now you know what to spend that Christmas money on:

Save $5.00 off your minimum purchase of $15.00 -use coupon code "FIVE"
Save 20.12% off your minimum purchase of $50.00 - use coupon code "HAPPYNEWYEAR"
FREE SHIPPING with a minimum purchase of $75.00 - use coupon code "FREESHIP"

I am also entering my card in this week's "Anything Goes" challenge at The Kraft Journal. There are lots of gorgeous krafty cards and projects on that blog if you are looking for lots of inspiration.

Happy Wednesday!

Challenge Rewind: Pick any SOS challenge from 2011

2012-01-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

This was an easy one for me! I chose to go back to SOS challenge #9: "Technique Turn Back: use supplies gathering dust and/or a technique you have not used in a while (or ever)."

I dug out some of the first stamps and papers I ever purchased (all papers and both stamps are by Magenta.) Then I dusted off those Pearl Ex powders to use on my stamped and embossed image. I layered over some equally ancient black hand-made paper. All of this stash is ~12 years old!

This was a real rewind in time! My cards used to look like this...oh my, how I have grown :)

Now it is your turn! Choose ANY challenge from SOS (Shopping Our Stash) from 2011. Be sure to state which challenge you opted for, then link your creation to Shopping Our Stash #33.

Happy Tuesday!

Six Flags LO

2012-01-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it? Another LO from me. I didn't even want to start yesterday's LO, but once I got going I had so much fun! After completing the Alaska LO, I filed away the extras from that travel kit (card stock, brads, fibers, ribbons, etc.) When I went to put away the extra travel-themed scrapbook paper in my "Travel" scrapbook paper file, I could not fit the file back on the shelf. Yikes! I looked on the shelf for something I could remove, and I saw a box of pictures I had developed to make a theme park LO back in 2008. This scrapbook page is from a kit from 2003! The instructions included tracing out and fussy cutting "the THRILL of it." Oh, I remember having to stencil and fussy cut my titles. No more! I used Making Memories rub-on alphas (black lettering below) and my Cricut "Plantin Schoolbook" cartridge for "THRILL."

The kit was a one page kit using the SEI paper (circles) and Making memories double-dipped card stock colors. Does anyone else remember that card stock? I hoard it. It is a great weight and the colors are wonderful. I used the purple and orange as mats for these photos, then I went to my "Making Memories" card stock file in search of more for a second page. I found a 12x12 in the orange (my last one!) and matted 4 photos in the purple again. Then I found some red card stock in my red scraps that matched the red circle in the SEI paper. I used it to cut "THRILL" and I matted two photos in the red:

Simple, but I am happy with it :)

Scrapbook Resolutions (WARNING wordy post)

2012-01-01T03:00:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! My best wishes to you, my bloggy friends, for a wonderful 2012.

Do you have new year's resolutions? Diet and exercise are always popular resolutions, but I think my resolution for 2012 may be to scrapbook more often. *gasp*

I am an avid card maker! I am a very slow crafter, so scrapbooking a 2-page LO for me can be a 17 hour chore. Yes, I admire you gals that slap together gorgeous LOs in 30 minutes. I wish it came that easy for me. I never intended to start scrapbooking EVER. But a dear friend gave me two beautiful baby scrapbook albums as a baby shower gift nearly 10 years ago before the birth of my twin girls. That was probably the most difficult moment in my life to be gracious...I smiled and thanked her, but in my head there were a few explicative words that are not in my spoken vocabulary. At the same time, I felt guilty to NOT want to scrapbook my two sweet angel girls. Another dear friend, Roberta, helped me get those albums done shortly after the girls' first birthday.

It was at that time that my dh asked me if I would make a travel album of each of our annual vacations. I stifled a groan, but I did want to do this for him and for us. Several months later we moved to Virginia and I got a part-time job teaching classes at a local scrapbook store called Memories. I enjoy teaching and I loved the 40% off employee discount. The teacher "pay" consisted of two identical class kits provided by the Memories designers. One we were required to make for the store to display and keep and the other was our compensation. On occasion I would make both kits at the same time, but not usually (yeah, I am regretting that now.) So now I have a gazillion kits (only a slight exaggeration).

Still, this resolution seems monumental to me. You may know that I did a craft room purge last fall. I survived that despite being really really busy. I was able to donate a lot of stuff, but there is still plenty of stash that I am still hoarding. I need to make space for new product that I know will find its way to my craft room! So this is where my resolution comes in...start using those kits and I will s l o w l y make some wiggle room for new papers and supplies.

In stead of starting chronologically, I started with our most recent trip. I asked dhDH (dear husband Doug Houck) to develop his favorite pictures of our 20th anniversary Alaska trip from last summer. I pulled out the kit from the first class I taught at Memories (summer 2004!) I moved elements around and did not use the coin tags, ribbons, fibers and some other embellies, but here is the left-hand page:

In 2004 the Memories kits did not have 2-page LOs (my personal preference). So I took the other page from that kit and swapped out some papers so the right-hand page would (hopefully) flow with the left-hand page:

It is difficult to see in my photo, but I matted these photos on the same navy and dark brown card stock used in the background on the first LO. I also used another leather frame for "2011" and mini brads for "Alaska" like the ones used on the first page. I promise it looks better IRL :)

As much as I did not feel like doing this, I am pleased that I completed it and I am motivated to keep going! And it only took me 2.5 hours. And I am gonna ask dhDH to help me. I will ask him to develop 6-8 of his favorite pictures from each trip, then I will make a 2-page LO of each trip. One year down, nineteen to go :)

A few years ago this gorgeous tapestry travel album was on clearance from Creative Memories. I snatched it up for this project:

Do you have any paper crafting resolutions? I'm hoping to choose from my Memories kits and then decide what pictures will be a good fit...and not just for the travel album. I want to get my baby pictures out of the sticky album before the pictures are completely ruined. I also want to work on the girls' school albums. I am not going to worry about chronological order just yet...I want to focus on getting LOs made.

What are your resolutions?

Imagine Tim Holtz

2011-12-30T15:00:00.021-05:00

(*2nd post today* I actually made this card first)

I hope this blog title captured your attention! Santa brought me a Cricut Imagine for Christmas, which I distressed with Tim Holtz "Vintage Photo" ink for dimension (and a little foam tape too.)

If you know me at all, you know that I suffer from great anxiety when it comes to technology...so I am immensely proud of this first card EVER using my Imagine. A year ago I overcame my trepidation with the Cricut Expression (which currently I use nearly EVERY DAY that I craft.) Now dh is asking me if I am going to sell the Expression since I now have the Imagine. I don't have an answer for that, do you?

Learning this new machine is my newest challenge...and the Gypsy that Santa also brought!

Happy New Year! Be safe. I have a new year's resolution I will reveal on January 1st; I hope to see you then :)

Kraft Delight! (Two kraft happy cards) & Artful Delight kit reveal

2011-12-30T02:00:00.002-05:00

I really enjoy kraft card stock; it seems to work well with any color scheme. I wanted to play along in the current challenge at The Kraft Journal: try something new. Santa took advantage of the black friday sale on the Cricut Imagine. Yes, I was very good this year :)

Can you believe this machine comes with three cartridges plus pre-loaded images? I just had to try it out, and look what I made:

The faux stitching is pre-printed on the diamond mat, but I re-traced with my black marker for a little more "pop." I inked the edges with my black ink pad too. Then I added my own faux stitching with my marker to the bird and branch. I chose the "layers" option on the imagine for added dimension. I actually printed out the bird 3 times: the first is glued down flat, the second is popped up, and the third I fussy cut the wing and popped it up too. The orange seam binding is from my December Artful Delight kit. Then I layered on a kraft card base. My sentiment is from My Pink Stamper "Punny-licious" set.

And the kraft happiness did not end there! My dh's cousin (and his wife) will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. They are two of our favorite people in the whole world. My DT sister, Abby (I think of her as "Fab Abby") created this card using the Artful Delight December kit, and I just had to CASE it. Here is my version:

The December card kits sold out awhile ago, but you can still get the scrapbook kit! The kits are loaded with goodies for hours and hours of entertainment. The kraft card bases I used above (and envelopes) are included in the January Artful Delight kits...here is a little peek at both the January SCRAPBOOK kit and the CARD kit:

**EDIT: Leeanne forgot to add the Pink Jute in the picture. Each kit will include approx. 4 yards of Pink Jute from Really Reasonable Ribbon.**

SCRAPBOOK KIT

this kit will include

My Mind's Eye - Kraft Funday collection 12x12 sheet (1 each)

Admit One
Pinwheel Party
Celebration Paper
Front Page News
Remember This
Picnic Paper

Jillibean Soup - Hearty Barley collection 12x12 sheet (1 each)

Canola Oil
Quick Cooking Barley

Studio Calico - Memoir collection 12x12 sheet (1 each)

Cupboard
Wallpaper
Homestead
Book Jacket
Linen
Flower Bed

Coordination cardstock - Bazzill 12x12 sheet (1 each)

Kisses
Papaya
Kraft
Avalanche
Strawberry Splash

Embellishments - size and color may vary per kit
1 package - My Mind's Eye- Kraft Funday collection - Happy Days Circle Garland
2 - Jillibean Soup - Brown Felt Blossoms
10 - Studio Calico - Cloud Chip shapes
1 package - My Mind's Eye - Kraft Funday collection - Everyday Fun Rhinestones
1 - Studio Calico - Huey's Masks - Intertwined Circles
1 sheet - Studio Calico - Kraft Butterfly Stickers
1 package - My Mind's Eye - Kraft Funday - Happy Days Layered Stickers
1 package - American Crafts Thickers - Sunrise (chipboard stickers)
1 bottle - Studio Calico - Mister Huey's Color Mist - Cameo
1 yard - Red Twine - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Pink Twine - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Creative Impressions - Red Crepe Ribbon
4 yards - Pink Jute - Really Reasonable Ribbon

CARD KIT

this kit will include

My Mind's Eye - Kraft Funday collection 6x6 sheets (2 each)

Admit One
Pinwheel Party
Celebration Paper
Front Page News
Remember This
Picnic Paper

Jillibean Soup - Hearty Barley collection 6x6 sheets (2 each)

Canola Oil
Quick Cooking Barley

Studio Calico - Memoir collection 6x6 sheets (2 each)

Cupboard
Wallpaper
Homestead
Book Jacket
Linen
Flower Bed

Coordination cardstock - Bazzill 8 1/2 x 11 (4 each)

Kisses
Papaya
Strawberry Splash

Embellishments - size and color may vary per kit
1 package - My Mind's Eye- Kraft Funday collection - Happy Days Buttons
2 - Jillibean Soup - Brown Felt Blossoms
10 - Studio Calico - Cloud Chip shapes
1 package - My Mind's Eye - Kraft Funday collection - Everyday Fun Rhinestones
1 - Studio Calico - Huey's Masks - Intertwined Circles
1 sheet - Studio Calico - Kraft Butterfly Stickers
8 note cards & envelopes - Jillibean Soup - Kraft
1 stamp set - Basic Grey/Hero Arts - Life of the Party Birthday
1 bottle - Studio Calico - Mister Huey's Color Mist - Cameo
1 yard - Red Twine - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Pink Twine - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Creative Impressions - Red Crepe Ribbon
1 1/2 yards - White Seam Binding - Really Reasonable Ribbon
4 yards - Pink Jute - Really Reasonable Ribbon

Lots of kraft happiness here! Why not pick up an Artful Delight January kit and play along at The Kraft Journal? The January kits are selling like hot cakes! There is only one scrapbook kit left and a few card kits. Pre-order for January by sending an email to Leeanne: leeanne@artfuldelight.com

Enjoy your weekend and be safe :)

Warm hugs to you (Christmas thank you note)

2011-12-29T03:00:00.002-05:00

I created this card as my weekly Thursday inspiration for ShopPumpkinSpice. I need a few more thank you notes to write out my Christmas thank you notes, so I decided to play with my Echo Park "Winter Park" collection.

I cut the trees from the "Winter Frolic" Cricut cartridge. I added Imaginisce hot rocks to the center of my snowflakes and Stickles to the top of the snow. My sentiment, "Warm hugs to you" is by My Pink Stamper. This will be fairly easy to reproduce.

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday with friends, family, and your favorite paper crafting supplies :)

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Winter Frolic
sentiment: My Pink Stamper "Sympathy & Comfort"
papers: Echo Park "Winter Park"

Journaling cards (snowflakes)
Park City (small tree)
Sledding (large tree)
Snow Storm (background)

gems: Imaginisce hot rocks

glitter glue: Stickles

other: white card stock and snowflake punch (manufacturer unknown)

Happy Thursday!

thoughts of you

2011-12-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

I created this card from the papers, sentiment stamp, and button from my December Artful Delight card kit. The December card kits are sold out, but there is an Artful Delight scrapbook kit that has your name on it! Click here to get it before it's gone forever.

I love brown and blue together, do you? I used the Mojo Monday sketch #209 as my inspiration. Everything shown here came from the December Artful Delight card kit except for the lace ribbon, ink, and card stock (all three are Stampin' Up!)

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #32- Tie it up OR Bugaboo image

2011-12-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I chose to use this adorable Bugaboo penguin image for this week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash. My papers are BasicGrey "Eskimo Kisses" 6x6, which I think is an equally cute collection. My sentiment is from My Pink Stamper "Sweet Goodness." I added glitter by Stampin' Up for the "ice" and glossy accents to my penguin and his skates. The three little gems are hot rocks by Imaginisce.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create a card, LO, or project using a Bugaboo image OR "tie it up" with ribbons, rid rac, twine, etc. Link your project at Shopping Our Stash.

Happy Tuesday!

My Pink Stamper 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway : Day 10

2011-12-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

I am delighted to be a part of Robyn's (aka My Pink Stamper) 12 Days of Christmas 2011.

I purchased test tube holders and filled with muesli and red glitter "magic reindeer food" for my dds to spread on the front lawn to remind Santa Claus to stop at our home. I created this box to hold the test tube and made a video tutorial. I hope you will watch it! This is my second video ever.

Here are the written instructions to go along with the video:

Supplies:
EK success (Martha Stewart) test tube
My Pink Stamper "Winter Treats & Sayings"
score board
photo tape (strong adhesive) and Extreme Adhesive Squares (or Glue Dots)
card stock (cut @ 4" x 11"; I used navy blue linen card stock)
patterned paper (I used Echo Park "Winter Park" collection)
scissors

Tutorial:
1. Score the 4"x11" card stock @ 1/2", 1 3/4", 4 1/4", and 5 1/2".
2. Rotate card stock 90 degrees. Score @ 1 1/4" and 2 3/4".
3. Rotate card stock 90 degrees. Score @ 8" down to the 1 1/4" score line (from step #1). Score @ 8" up to the 1 1/4" score line.
4. Cut away tabs (as seen in video).
5. Cut (or punch) a 1" circle from the small scored square near the 4" side. I used my Cricut Expression and the "center point" function key.
6. Add tape to sides.
7. Fold all score lines and assemble.
8. Decorate as desired. (I cut the red layers @ 1 5/16"x 2 13/16" & 1 15/16"x 2 5/16"; the house paper @ 1 1/8"x2 5/8" & 1 1/8"x 2 1/8").

My challenge for you, should you accept it:
Use a food item from your pantry (baked items work well!) and create a winter/holiday treat container for it.

The challenge is purely for fun...leave a comment at My Pink Stamper for a chance to win some fabulous prizes...only two days left!

Gift Card Holder....thanks a latte!

2011-12-22T03:00:00.002-05:00

Hi! Here is my weekly Thursday ShopPumpkinSpice inspiration. I created this card from My Mind's Eye "Lost & Found Christmas" collection. I embossed the damask paper with my D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, then lightly sanded to make the swirls "pop." I popped up the heart and added red Stickles around the border to mimic the red glitter striped MME paper behind it. I then added glossy accents to "cafe" for added dimension. Finally I added the Maraschino twine. I placed the gift card on the shape, then cut thin strips of foam tape around it to form a pocket. I adhered my top...voila :)

My daughters' fourth grade teacher loves Starbucks coffee, so I wanted to create a special gift card holder for her.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Cricut Lite "Love You a Latte" cut @ 7 1/4"
paper: My Mind's Eye "Lost & Found Christmas" Boughs paper, Tinsel paper, Holly paper, and Trees paper
embossing folder: Cuttlebug "D'Vine Swirls"
twine: The Twinery "Maraschino"
Other: red stickles and glossy accents

Don't forget to ShopPumpkinSpice for 30% (or more) off all of your paper crafting needs. Shipping is very low and for orders over $50, shipping is FREE. I love to shop at Pumpkin Spice!

Happy Thursday!

have a VERY MERRY Christmas!

2011-12-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

I made this with the papers in my Artful Delight December card kit. November's kit was more wintery/Christmas and yet I created two cards (party hat and love card) that were NOT Wintery/Christmas. The sentiment stamp and liquid appliqué are both from the Artful Delight November kit. The December kit is definitely not wintery/Christmas, so I challenged myself to create a Christmas card with it. Just a peek into how my brain works :)

The liquid appliqué just adds a little pizazz, don't you think? A few weeks ago when I purchased my Cricut 3 Birds on Parade cartridge, I knew I would likely become one of my most used cartridges. This Santa bird is so adorable.
I cut him as soon as I got my December Artful Delight card kit, but I couldn't come up with a sketch for the card. He has been sitting on my craft table for three weeks! Then I saw this sketch:

I fell in love with Jen's card for her Deconstructed Sketch challenge 31. My Santa bird finally had a home :)

All Artful Delight card kits are sold out...but don't miss out! You can pre-order your January kit or you have a chance to win it. Follow the Artful Delight sketch and link your card or LO to the right side bar at the Artful Delight blog. YOU could be the lucky random winner! Contest closes 12/24/11 @ 1:59AM CST. There are a couple of scrapbook kits still available; they contain even more delightful paper and the paper is 12x12 rather than 6x6.

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #31- Soft as a Snowflake

2011-12-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

This week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash is "Soft as a snowflake." Think: Flower Soft, felt, snowflake stamps, papers, bubble stickers, puffy embellishments, flocking, fun flock, fabric flowers,..as long as it has something "soft" on it and/or an element of snow (snowmen, snowflakes, snowy scenes) - it works!

My take on the "soft" challenge is mulberry paper.

This year for Christmas I ordered small calendars from ritzcamera.com for some of our friends and relatives. They are ~4"x4", so they easily fit in an A2 envelope. Sending the calendar alone in an envelope seemed too impersonal, but I didn't want to wrap each calendar nor did I want to make another Christmas card to send with it. I opted for making these tags.

I made this set of 4 tags completely from scraps! I love that :)
The navy linen card stock, white mulberry paper, silver mirror paper, Impress indigo blue ink, and the EKSuccess fibers have been in my stash for 10-12 years. The SU stamp and coordinating punch have been around for a few years, but I think I had only used it once before now. The newest stash (months old) is the Twinery "denim" twine and my Cricut cartridge "Tags, Bags, Boxes & More." I cut the tag @ 4".

Link your "soft" project at Shopping Our Stash...I can't wait to see what you make!

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Thank You & Urge to Purge challenge update

2011-12-18T14:06:00.001-05:00

During my Urge to Purge challenge (purging stage), I re-purposed a blue basket as a "quick fix." I.e. cards/projects that were not quite finished. By the end of the purge, this basket is nearly overflowing with partially completed cards and treat boxes. In an attempt to keep calm during this busy holiday season, I decided to get a start on my Christmas thank you notes. Thanks to my purge, I happened upon these card fronts (Memory Box stamps) that I tossed in my blue basket. Today I cut my white card bases and stamped "thank you" (Denami Designs stamp). Six cards in less than one hour...love that!

I completed my Urge to Purge challenge two weeks ago! This was my plan:
Phase I: Purge

Phase II: Re-organize.

I did this in three parts: a) my craft room, b) my craft room closet, c) the stuff piled just outside of my craft room.

Since I am pretty organized, the re-organization was completed rather quickly. See the piles of stuff (post purge...pre-organization) before & after pictures:

These are my AFTER pictures of my closet. You may recall in my BEFORE picture posted last month that I could not walk in the closet to get to the wrapping paper in the back!

Now I can breathe...my craft room is once again the happy place I love.

Happy Sunday!

It's nice to snow ya, Shop Pumpkin Spice!

2011-12-15T03:00:00.003-05:00

I created this card for my Shop Pumpkin Spice blog inspiration. Lately I have really enjoyed planning my cards around the stickers in my Echo Park collections. Both snowflakes (and the small dark blue circle) are stickers from Echo Park "Winter Park." I placed each one on scraps of acetate, fussy cut them, and popped each one up on dimensionals. My sentiment is from My Pink Stamper "Winter Treats & Sayings."

My inspiration came from this card by my lovely blog friend, Amber.

Happy Thursday!

December Artful Delight Sketch...win a FREE kit!

2011-12-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hello Friend! I created this card using my Artful Delight December card kit. Once again, there is only one card kit left...Leeanne has packed this one with great papers, embellies, ribbon, stamp set, and more! The Bazzill card stock, BasicGrey Piccadilly papers, and Amy Tangerine 3D chipboard stickers were all included in the kit. Even the Glossy Accents to my orange petals was included in this kit. So much yummy goodness. Thank you, Leeanne, for creating these wonderful kits that are so much fun to play with. No wonder the sell so quickly!

Would you like a chance to win a FREE Artful Delight kit? Use your supplies and follow this sketch:

Link your card or LO to the right-hand sidebar on the Artful Delight blog. You could be a lucky random winner!

Other Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Sophie p.64 "Flower 6"
sewing machine

Happy Wednesday :)

Shopping Our Stash #30: Tag it Krafty!

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Life is SNOW GOOD! No, we don't have any snow yet except for that snow storm we had the last weekend in October. Snow in October? Crazy. My dd keeps asking when it is going to snow...I wish I knew the answer to that question :)

This week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash is to create a tag OR use kraft card stock OR include a tag on your project OR use a Dilly Bean image.

I intended to use some scraps of Doodlebug papers, but I couldn't get it to come together; did you notice there is NO patterned paper on my tag? I did use a scrap of wavy corrugated card stock left over from last week's SOS card. And to think I *almost* threw that scrap away! My Big Shot has been broken for weeks and my dh just fixed it for me. Now it works so smoothly :)

My image is called "Snow Lady" by Dilly Beans stamps. I added some glossy accents for interest.

Now it is your turn...shop your stash and create a tag or use kraft card stock or incorporate a tag on your project. Link your project at Shopping Our Stash # 30. See you there!

Supplies:
Cricut cartridges: Tags, Bags, Boxes & More; Elegant Edges
Cuttlebug embossing folder: Seeing Spots
card stock: blue Bazzill card stock, red card stock (ACMoore), and kraft card stock.
sentiment: Thickers "Hat Box" chipboard stickers
twine: The Twinery "Maraschino"
image: Dilli Beans stamps "snow lady"

I enjoy Artful Delight kits!

2011-12-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

On December 1st I posted the reveal for Leeanne's December scrapbook kit and the December card kit. All of the kits are a great value. Leeanne includes hand-made embellies in her kits, like these dimensional flowers and the butterfly. Aren't they gorgeous? They are both time-saving and lovely. Everything you see here was in my kit…a sentiment stamp set, the ribbon, the BasicGrey Picadilly papers, and the blue Bazzill card stock. I only needed some white card stock for the base card, my sewing machine, and some ink for the stamp.

I am entering my card in the Flower Fusion challenge #46 at the Cricut Circle blog: incorporate purchased flowers on a project and include two Cricut cuts. I cut the curvy orange layer with Accent Essentials and my 1" squares with Plantin Schoolbook.

Now hop on over to the Artful Delight blog for loads of inspiration for both cards and LOs!

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #29 - Light and/or White

2011-12-06T06:00:00.086-05:00

I used some really old stash for this cute card! The wavy corrugated paper has been in my stash for 10+ years, and I used a scrap of red polka dot (*I think*) is BoBunny small dot from 2005. To recreate this card I could also use October Afternoon Modern Homemaker, Jillibean Soup Blossom Soup, Jillibean Soup Homemade, Echo Park For the Record, Echo Park Happy Days, Echo Park Play Ground, or Echo Park Dots & Stripes Christmas…my lovely friend Court used Imaginisce Santa's Little Helper (see Court's cute card here.)

My bird is cut from My Mind's Eye Abbey Road (2009). I hoard that paper, but I am sure I could find something in either their Lime Twist or Lost and Found 2 collections.

What's in your stash? Shop your stash and create something light (think candles, fireplaces, Christmas lights) or mostly white and link your creation at Shopping Our Stash. I'll see you there :)

Other supplies:
Cricut cartridge: 3 Birds on Parade p.44, cut @ 3"
sentiment: My Pink Stamper Winter Treats & Sayings
stickles: red and green (on lights)
yellow card stock: scrap from XPEDX

Happy Tuesday!

Shop Pumpkin Spice December blog hop: Featuring Echo Park papers!

2011-12-04T03:15:00.002-05:00

Happy December! The is the first stop for this month's ShopPumpkinSpice blog hop. We are featuring all of their Christmas/winter collections today! I chose Winter Park :)

As soon as Echo Park's Winter Park became available at ShopPumpkinSpice, it was in my cart! The new Echo Park Style Essentials are available as well…yeah, I bought that too :)

I finally had a chance to sit down and play with my Winter Park a few days ago. This snow card evolved rather quickly. All of the papers used are from the Pumpkin Spice complete set (includes the coordinating solids like the red I used above). The string of mittens and the ticket sentiment are both stickers from the collection. I also used my i-Rock tool and gems to add a little interest to some of the mittens and my red paper. The Martha Stewart border punch and the clothes pins were in my stash (Santa had them in my stocking last year).

Before you hop away, Ann is our featured designer this month. Here is a sneak peek of her kit, featuring Echo Park's Times & Seasons, available for purchase here at ShopPumpkinSpice:

Here is the complete line up:

June http://simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Carissa http://happilyeverpapercrafter.blogspot.com/

Lenae http://sugargemscrafts.blogspot.com/

Court http://courtscrafts.blogspot.com/

Ann http://raindropechodesigns.blogspot.com

Pumpkin Spice Store Blog- http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/

Happy Hopping :)

Masculine Birthday card

2011-12-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

It's December already?! Where did November go?

I started my craft room purge at the end of October. I needed to purge the craft room, the craft room closet, and the 21 boxes piled outside of my craft room. I finished the craft room portion the morning we left for Florida to visit my grandmother (early November). I planned to start on the closet when I returned, but then my dad did not do well on his 6-month nuclear stress test. He went in for a catheterization, and they determined he needed a triple bypass. I packed my bags and went to my parent's house (the Thursday before Thanksgiving), the night before his surgery. I stayed with him until the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The surgery went very well! He ended up needing a quadruple bypass. His recovery is slower than expected because he did not tolerate the pain meds well, so we post-poned Thanksgiving. During the few days I was home prior to the surgery, I worked feverishly on my blog posts that I knew would need to go up while I was gone. I had 6 auto-posts!

With all of this going on I know I missed a lot of posts by you, my blog friends. I am slowly trying to get around to visit each of you. AND I still really want to get my craft room back in order. I hope to start on that again next week. My dad won't be able to do any heavy lifting this holiday season, so dh & I are going to my parent's house this weekend to help put up the Christmas tree and decorate the house.

Today is my dh's birthday! I went in my card calendar to get out his card this morning…I never made one. I thought I had…Artful Delight to the rescue! I pulled out my July scrapbook kit that was full of yummy My Mind's Eye Lime Twist papers, die cuts, stickers, and this hand-made embellishment (felt star with button.) Those kits are jam packed with crafty goodness :)

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Accent Essentials (circle cut @ 4 1/2")
paper: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Out of the Blue "Remember" Argyle paper, Fly a Kite "Spring" Stars paper, Fly a Kite "Spring" Zag paper, Fly a Kite "Soar" Fly paper, and Fly a Kite "wish" title die cut.

Happy Friday!

Artful Delight December kits are here!

2011-12-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Leeanne, of Artful Delight, has done it again.

Look what she has in her December

SCRAPBOOK KIT:

Basic Grey Picadilly collection (12x12 sheets - 1 each)
Farm Life
Home Sweet Home
Blue Plate Special
Cloth Feed Sacks
Lemongrove Avenue
Bread Box
Eat at Joe's
Fresh Baked Bread
Flap Jack Breakfast

Authentique Gathering collection (12x12 sheets - 1 each)
Together
Harmony
Bloom

Lily Bee Design Head Over Heals collection (12x12 - 1 each)
Slushie
Dreamy

Coordinating Cardstock - Bazzill (12x12 - 1 each)
Turquoise Mist
Green Tea
Red Rock
Jacaranda

Embellishments - sizes and color may vary per kit
1 package American Crafts Thickers - Jewelry Box in White
3 - Basic Grey Picadilly collection Wood Buttons
1 package - Amy Tangerine - Hi Friend Remarks stickers
1 sheet - Authentique Gathering collection Icons
3 - Basic Grey Picadilly collection -Metal Flowers
5 - Amy Tangerine - Field House Paper Leaves
1 package - Basic Grey Picadilly collection - Die Cut shapes
approx 10 yards - Orange Twine - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Light Blue Ric Rac - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Orange Seam Binding - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 Artful Delight handmade Orange Felt Loop Flower
1 Artful Delight handmade Light Blue Felt Loop Flower
2 Artful Delight handmade butterfly embellishments
1 large handmade rosettes (Debbie)
1 handmade circle scallop
2 handmade brown and white flowers (Debbie)
1 handmade orange and white flower (Debbie)
*the picture shows 2 large handmade rosettes but it will only include 1*

and CARD KIT:

Basic Grey Picadilly collection (6x6 sheets - 2 each)
Farm Life
Home Sweet Home
Blue Plate Special
Cloth Feed Sacks
Lemongrove Avenue
Bread Box
Eat at Joe's
Fresh Baked Bread
Flap Jack Breakfast

Authentique Gathering collection (6x6 sheets - 2 each)
Together
Bloom

Lily Bee Design Head Over Heals collection (6x6 - 2 each)
Slushie
Dreamy

Coordinating Cardstock - Bazzill (8 1/2x11 - 4 each)
Turquoise Mist
Green Tea
Jacaranda

Embellishments - sizes and color may vary per kit
1 stamp set - Paper Smooches - Word Up
1 package Basic Grey Picadilly collection Wood Buttons
1 package - Amy Tangerine - Hi Friend Remarks stickers
1 sheet - Authentique Gathering collection Icons
3 - Basic Grey Picadilly collection -Metal Flowers
3 - Amy Tangerine - Field House Paper Leaves
approx 10 yards - Orange Twine - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Light Blue Ric Rac - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 yard - Orange Seam Binding - Really Reasonable Ribbon
1 Artful Delight handmade Orange Felt Loop Flower
1 Artful Delight handmade Light Blue Felt Loop Flower
2 Artful Delight handmade butterfly embellishments
2 small handmade rosettes (Debbie)
1 handmade circle scallop
2 small handmade orange and white flower (Debbie)
1 - 0.5 fl oz bottle of Glossy Accents

These kits are a crazy good deal! Leeanne packs each kit with lots of card stock, decorative papers, embellishments, and beautiful hand-made embellishments. I have made at least 6 cards from each of my previous monthly kits and I have plenty of scraps to double that number.

I think the hand-made embellishments are my favorite items each month…they are *almost* too pretty to use; I really want to hoard them! They make creating beautiful cards and projects even easier. I received my card kit last week. These papers and embellies are even prettier in person. I have the kit spread out on my work table. I am giddy with excitement to start playing!

Send Santa here to buy a single kit or monthly subscription. For a chance to win a free kit, create a card or LO using this Artful Delight monthly sketch:

Link your creation on the right side bar at Artful Delight. I hope to see you there!

100% Artful Delight: warm winter wishes

2011-11-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

**Post edited to add: Sorry, this card kit is now SOLD OUT. But there is one October card kit left…on sale for just $18. I will also reveal the December kits here TOMORROW. It is fabulous and I predict they will sell like hotcakes.**

This card was created completely using the November Artful Delight card kit. The card stock, designer paper, snowflake embellishment, decorative brad, ribbon, stamp, and even the foam tape were all included. Only the ink and regular adhesive came from my stash :)

The snowflake is even prettier IRL; so much dimension and shine. If you already own this kit or the scrapbook kit, I hope I have inspired you to get it out and play some more. If you do not own it yet, there is still one kit left! For more inspiration, check out the Artful Delight blog.

Shopping Our Stash #28: Digi stamps OR sentiments

2011-11-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome Christmas! It is my favorite time of year. I really enjoy Christmas music, and I will even play a little throughout the year..January, July, and October too. I also enjoy creating cards from my stash...especially really old stash like these fun SEI doodley-doo holiday papers and the ancient chipboard tag by K&Co. My "welcome" sentiment is My Pink Stamper "Yummy-licious", the "Christmas" was hand-written by me, and the reindeer image is by Bugaboo...isn't he the cutest reindeer ever?

I created this card for this week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash: Digi stamps OR sentiments. I hope you will play along with us :)

Happy Tuesday!

Shop Pumpkin Spice for My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2

2011-11-28T03:00:00.003-05:00

I purchased the entire set of My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 (12"x12") collection at ShopPumpkinSpice. I enjoyed playing with it, but I realized that I *needed* the coordinating embellishments. So I placed a second order that included this burlap trim, large brads, and layered sticker. What a difference! It's a good thing the are packaged in plastic because I drooled all over them…seriously, they are even prettier IRL.

My sketch is by Debbie Carriere, Mojo 216.

Supplies:
papers: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Sunshine "Forever" Classified Paper (both sides) and Sunshine "Forever" Dotted Paper
burlap trim: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Sunshine
sentiment: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Sunshine "Lovely" layered sticker
brads: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 Rosy "Ordinary" brads

Happy Monday!

Shopping Our Stash #27- Anything Christmas OR Winter

2011-11-26T06:00:00.004-05:00

Inspired by this week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash: Anything Christmas OR Winter, I made a set of these cards for Operation Write Home. Lots of old stash was used to create this card...I find that so rewarding :) I really enjoy making cards for the soldiers, especially because they appreciate it so much.

I hope you will shop your stash and create a card for Christmas or winter and link it up at Shopping Our Stash. There is always lots of inspiration there!

Supplies:
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Biggie Christmas"
Cricut cartridge: Winter Frolic (trees) and Sweet Treats (present bow)
ink: Memories (soft celery) and Stampin' Up! (whisper white)
gems: Michael's Rhinestones
paper: Doodlebug Design, My Mind's Eye, and KI Memories; card stock by Stampin' Up!

Now go create! I understand that paper-crafting burns off lots of calories consumed from Thanksgiving meals. Actually I just made that up, but let's see if it works; I found a few pounds that I would like to lose :)

My Mind'e Eye Lost & Found is bannerific; DT call

2011-11-24T03:00:00.004-05:00

I enjoy making a card from scraps of previous projects. I created this "NOEL" card from the scraps of my ShopPumpkinSpice "All that Glitters" featured designer kit.

I also recently purchased the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 entire collection of 12x12 papers (40 sheets total for $25). Quite a bargain! I couldn't wait to play with them. This banner on the Sunshine "Forever" paper caught my eye. I cut it out and stamped the My Pink Stamper "From the Heart" sentiment in the oval. The doily was rescued from under a bowl of soup at a local restaurant.

Both of these collections have so much glitter and shine; my photos do not do them justice.

Pssssssst...I happen to know that Denine, owner of ShopPumpkinSpice, is adding to her DT. Check out the details here. Denine is an absolute delight to work with! I hope you will apply. I love being a part of her DT.

Happy Thanksgiving! Don't forget to ShopPumpkinSpice for terrific weekend sales (give Santa a nudge!)

Party Time!

2011-11-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

I created this fun little shape card with the papers and hand-made embellishment from the November Artful Delight card kit. I even used the polka dot ribbon from the kit, but I used the back side (solid brown above the sentiment.) Only the sentiment stamp and brown ink are from my personal stash. I used my Cricut "Sweet Treats" cartridge to cut the shape card @ 5 1/2".

Both the scrapbook kit and the card kits are a fantastic value…you might want to give Santa some obvious hints like a pre-pay 3-month or 12-month subscription to Artful Delight. Send your dh here. Also...there is only one November card kit left...I think it has your name on it!

My Pink Stamper - November challenge "Unique Fold"

2011-11-22T09:00:00.001-05:00

Robyn's challenge for us this month is to create a card with a unique fold. I have been wanting to try a telescope card; it is super easy! I used My Pink Stamper "From the Heart" stamps for my three sentiments and my Cricut "Elegant Edges" cartridge for the shapes.

This is how the card looks when it is open:

From the Heart stamp set:

Telescope card tutorial:

1. Cut oblong frames (Elegant Edges p.48) @ 2 1/2", 3 1/2", and 4 1/2". Cut oblong shapes @ 2 3/4", 3 3/4", and 4 3/4".

2. Adhere frames to base shapes.

3. Stamp My Pink Stamper sentiments inside each frame.

4. Center the smallest shape upside down atop the medium shape. Using a paper piercer, punch hole for brad and attach the brad. Now center the medium shape upside down atop the largest shape. Using a paper piercer, punch hole for brad and attach the brad.

Looking for more inspiration? Head over to My Pink Stamper to see more pinkalicious eye candy :)

It's your bird-day!

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the comfortable temperatures and I love to see the leaves change color. The brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows are so beautiful. When I was purging my papers, I came across my BasicGrey 6x6 "Indian Summer" paper pad. That collection is full of warm autumn colors. I have neglected this pad, so it was time to come out and play. I also had the urge to doodle, so I doodled lots of scribble borders.

Supplies:
Sentiment stamp: My Pink Stamper "Punny-licious"
Cricut cartridges: Everyday Pop-Up cards (bird) & Create a Critter (maple leaf)
paper: BasicGrey "Indian Summer"; Stampin' Up! chocolate chip card stock
punch: Stampin' Up!
ribbon: my scrap jar
marker: Creative Memories journaling pen.

Happy fall, y'all :)

Shop Pumpkin Spice for Echo Park

2011-11-16T03:00:00.000-05:00

I love my Echo Park papers. Last week I played with Echo Park's Country Drive papers and stickers. I enjoyed challenging myself to use the stickers included in the collection that it got me thinking about using them some more. I realized that I had not used my For the Record collection in several weeks, so I perused the stickers I found there. (Both the bird and scalloped border are For the Record stickers.)

Last week we went to visit my grandmother. I owe her a thank you card for treating us to lunch when we went to visit her. This bird made me think of my grandmother because she loves birds. Voila! Isn't it great when a plan comes together? All of the decorative papers are from For the Record, even the sentiment! Only the solid blue card stock and the four black mini brads are from my stash.

Supplies (links embedded):
Echo Park For the Record:

Advertisement
Picket Fence
Lace Stripes
Noteworthy (sentiment)
Alpha Stickers (scalloped border)
Element Stickers (bird)

Bazill card stock

black mini brads

If you are looking for crafty supplies, don't forget to ShopPumpkinSpice first. Denine has the new Echo Park "Winter Park" available!!!

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #26- Never Been Inked Stamp (or neutral colors)

2011-11-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

This card was created for this week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash: Never Been Inked Stamp OR Neutrals (craft/beige/sand/ivory). I went with a never been inked image by Dilly Beans Stamps. The giraffe is digi image #171. I printed him at 4" tall and colored with my copic markers. I layered him on double-sided paper by American Crafts. I added a pink snap (Making Memories) and some twine. The sentiment is a QuicKutz rub-on. Other than the twine, this stash is at least 3 years old! I have a few baby boy cards in my stash but only one baby girl card, so that is why I chose this color combo.

Shop your stash or a virgin stamp (or digi you have not used yet) OR make a card using all neutral colors and link your creation at Shopping Our Stash.

Happy Tuesday!

My Pink Stamper November blog hop WINNER & Urge to Purge Update

2011-11-14T16:55:00.000-05:00

Thank you for participating in the My Pink Stamper blog hop. The winner of the "Yummy-licious" stamp set is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-11-14 21:05:50 UTC

Mrs. Green said...

Wow - you are so lucky to have gone to Alaska! Jealous! :)

Congrats! Please email me by Friday, November 18 with your home address. Enjoy your Yummy-licious stamp set :)

******************************************************************************

Urge to Purge Challenge Update:

I started a craft room purge on October 23rd. I was successful in keeping a promise to myself to purge some area every day until I had completely purged every drawer, shelf, and storage container. Some days I could only spare 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or an hour. It took longer than I expected, but I did get it done. I finished the morning that we left for Florida to see my grandmother. What a difference! My craft room already feels like the happy place I want it to be, despite the piles in the floor awaiting Phase II: re-organization. My work desk is clearer, allowing me to create with ease.

We were gone for a week…no internet, no crafting, no blogging, oh my! This little break from purging was welcome, but I am ready to get back to my plan:

Phase I: Purge
a) craft room (check!)
b) craft room closet
c) outside craft room

Phase II: Re-organize

Tomorrow I will attempt to begin on the closet. Wanna see what awaits me?

Not so bad, right? I don't know if I will purge a whole cart or just a few drawers at a time. But there is more:

Oh my. How did this happen? This is also where Santa hides his gifts. He ordered most of his gifts at amazon.com yesterday, so I'd better purge and make room before they arrive :)

Will you join me in my venture? Some of you started with me already and have accomplished quite a lot. A few of you are starting later, let me know how you are doing. I would love to have the closet done before Thanksgiving…or by December 1st…

Happy Monday!

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious blog hop - LO or Mini book challenge

2011-11-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the November My Pink Stamper blog hop! You should ave arrived here from Carissa (Sprinkled with Glitter). If not, start at the beginning on Robyn's blog, My Pink Stamper.

This month our challenge was to use a My Pink Stamper stamp set and our Cricut to create a LO or mini book. I find challenges good for the soul :) I took this opportunity to create a mini book of our Alaska trip this past summer. My husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with an Alaskan cruise, then we rented a car and drove the Dalton highway. We went all the way to Deadhorse, Alaska. My dh even got his feet wet in the Arctic Ocean! I did not take a picture of every page of my mini book, but here is a sampling:

"Alaska" is cut @ 2 1/2" from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge.

For my project I used "From the Heart" stamps (front cover: "Eskimo Kisses")

Inside front cover "Lost without you!"

"xoxo"

"hugs & kisses"

"I'm falling for you." (a little June Houck punny humor!)

"I'll love you forever & always"

"bitten by the love bug"

"you're my love story"

"heartthrob" (dhDH, not the burger)

"I love you"

"You will always have my heart." (and solid hearts)

Inside back cover: "you will always be my Happily Ever After."

I love this biggie stamp set! Here is a peek at the entire set:

I am giving away a My Pink Stamper "Yummy-licious" stamp set. Just leave a comment, then email me with your home address if you are the winner (winner will be chosen Monday, November 14th.)

Happy Hopping! Your next stop is Shelley.

Here is the entire hop list in case you get lost along the way:

Robyn (My Pink Stamper)

Michelle (Meesh's Pieces)

Agnes (Flowerdisco)

Renee (RockinRenee)

Angela (Simple Creations)

Cristi

Julie (readysetstamp)

Carissa (Sprinkled with Glitter)

June

Shelley

Helen

Edna (Create With Expression)

Courtney (Court's Crafts)

Sharon

Tracy (CraftJunkieToo)

Roberta

Karlee

Maria

Happy 11-11-11!

Shop Pumpkin Spice blog hop WINNER

2011-11-10T19:20:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all of your lovely comments on my "All that Glitters" card kit that I designed for Shop Pumpkin Spice. It was such a good experience for me. I checked the store website and Denine is selling my card kit for $15.25. Crazy good price for all of this:

November Shop Pumpkin Spice Kit

By June of Simply Elegant Paper Crafts

Kit will include:

1 – My Mind’s Eye - Lost & Found Christmas Paper Collection

(9 unique Double-Sided, glitter accented paper)

1 - My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found Christmas Accessory Die Cut Sheet

1 – Set of My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found Christmas Brads

1 – Set of My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found Christmas Trims

1 – each of

24" of 7/8" Red Grosgrain Ribbon

24" of 7/8" Antique White Grosgrain Ribbon

3 - Sheets of Ivory - Bazzill 8 1/2" x 11" Simply Smooth Cardstock

1 - Set of Instruction on creating each of June's amazing projects.

Shipping will start tomorrow! Wowee!

My random WINNER for the November ShopPumpkinSpice blog hop is…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Missy said...

Such pretty cards June, love, love the papers you used!!!

November 5, 2011 11:46 AM

Congrats, Missy! Please claim your Graphic 45 paper pad by sending me your home address via email and I will ship your paper pad to you :)

Love card using Artful Delight's November card kit

2011-11-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

I created this shape card using my November Artful Delight card kit. I challenged myself to make a non-Christmassy card. All of the paper, Prima alpha stickers, and Prima flower are from the kit. Only the gems (Imaginisce hot rocks) are from my stash. I used my Elegant Edges cartridge to cut the card base and mat and my Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

The kit is FULL of yummy 6x6 papers, 8 1/2 x 11 card stock, ribbons, prima flowers, Hero Arts stamp set, etc. Check it out:

Crazy good value, right? Order your kit here.

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #25 - Chipboard OR Stickers OR Rub-ons

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

I started cleaning up my work table and I came across this BasicGrey "Oliver" chipboard piece left over from a card kit (postage stamp-shaped journaling element.) Rather than putting it away, I decided to make a card around it. I shopped my stash in search of coordinating chipboard and rub-ons. I happened upon a 6x6 BasicGrey "Origins" paper pad with a baggie of spare die cuts from a BasicGrey "Origins" card kit that I purchased in 2009. I made the cards from the kit two years ago, but I saved the extra die cuts.

For this challenge you can choose either chipboard OR rub-ons OR stickers; you don't have to use all three. My sentiment is a BasicGrey rub-on, and the floral/branch accents are American Crafts rub-ons ("Accents book two".) My chipboard element is also a sticker...do I get bonus points for that? :)

The scallop rectangle was cut from my Cricut "Elegant Edges" and the circle was cut from "Accent Essentials." I used a black marker to add stitching on the circle and doodles to the little yellow flower die cut.

Happy Tuesday!

Shop Pumpkin Spice blog hop: My first card kit reveal!

2011-11-05T03:15:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the monthly ShopPumpkinSpice blog hop! Denine, the owner of ShopPumpkinSpice, is selling a card kit that I designed. You will receive all the instructions, die cuts, papers, brads, ribbons and trims needed to make these three cards and gift box:

All of my papers, brads, die cuts, and trims came from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas collection. These papers are stunning and some of the papers have gorgeous red glitter in the design. I am calling my kit "All that Glitters." You will have plenty of bits and bobs left over to keep creating.

Denine truly has the best prices I have ever found. Her shipping is super low and shipping is free for orders over $50. You can start shopping here. Don't forget to mention that June sent you :)

You have TWO chances to win a prize:
1. Denine is giving away a $25 gift certificate on the ShopPumpkinSpice blog (US residents only).
2. I am giving away this Graphic 45 8x8 paper pad:

You have a chance to win one (or both) prizes! Denine will randomly choose the gift certificate winner (make sure to leave a comment at every stop), and I will randomly choose the winner of the Graphic 45 pad. I will announce the winner of the Graphic 45 pad on Thursday, November 10th. Please come back to claim your prize :)

Here is the hop order:

Ann http://raindropechodesigns.blogspot.com/
Carissa http://happilyeverpapercrafter.blogspot.com/
Lenae http://sugargemscrafts.blogspot.com/
Court http://courtscrafts.blogspot.com/
June http://simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/
Pumpkin Spice Store Blog- http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/

Next up is your last stop, ShopPumpkinSpice blog.

Happy Hopping!

Shop Pumpkin Spice for Country Drive

2011-11-03T03:00:00.001-04:00

I made this for my Thursday inspiration at ShopPumpkinSpice. I challenged myself to use the stickers in the collection, since I rarely do that. All of the papers and stickers are in the Echo Park "Country Drive" collection. I wanted a break from making autumn/Christmas cards, so I chose this cheery collection to work with. I used my Imaginisce i-rock tool to add gems to the flower centers.

Please come back for the ShopPumpkinSpice monthly blog hop (begins Saturday, November 5th.) I have been working on something special :)

Happy Thursday!

I am always here for you & Warm hugs to you (Two cards/One post)

2011-11-02T11:14:00.000-04:00

When I lived in NC, I became friends with a group of 5 other ladies who also loved to paper craft. We officially met once a month and took turns hostessing luncheons at each of our homes, but we had 2 or 3 "field trips" every week to local craft stores. Oh, how we enabled each other! We named ourselves the "Supremes." We had such a strong bond; I knew what we had was really special. This was the most difficult part of having to move away from NC...leaving these talented and lovely friends.

I made this card for a Supreme friend of mine (Diane) who lost her husband (Frank) unexpectedly on September 30th. Frank had an incredibly sexy voice...think of a combination of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, and Denzel Washington. When the Supremes got together we would tease Diane and say we wanted to call her house just to hear Frank's voice when he answered the phone :)

Supplies:
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Sympathy & Comfort"
Cricut cartridge: Everyday Pop-Up (tree cut @ 5")
ink: Stampin' Up! (chocolate chip)
twine: The Twinery Cappuccino
paper: Bella Blvd "Family Dynamix"
punches: Fiskars (clouds)

I made this card for my Aunt Janet. My uncle passed away October 11th. It was just about a month from the time he found out he had cancer. I still can't believe he is gone, but memories of his quick wit and sense of humor will live forever in my heart. I love you, Uncle Ed!

I used the new My Pink Stamper "Sympathy & Comfort" stamp set. As usual, Robyn has created a versatile stamp set: "warm hugs to you" could be used any time for family and friends.

Supplies:

stamp: My Pink Stamper "Sympathy & Comfort"

Cricut cartridge: Sophie (cut @ 5")

ink: Memento (tuxedo black)

ribbon: Michael's

paper: Jillibean Soup "Dutch Mustard"

punches: Creative Memories (corner rounder)

Sympathy cards are so difficult to make, aren't they? But these lovely sentiments from My Pink Stamper's "Sympathy & Comfort" stamp set are a craft room staple. For more inspiration, click here. This is the set:

*This is my second post today. If you are looking for my Urge to Purge challenge update, please scroll down or click here.*

Happy Wednesday!

Jingle Belles: Not a Creature Was Stirring & Urge to Purge Days 10 &11

2011-11-02T11:06:00.000-04:00

My non-traditional Christmas card was completely inspired by my long-time blog friend, Lauren Bergold. I remember in 2009 that Lauren made this pink Christmas monsta card, which I have CASEd for the current challenge at Jingle Belles, "not a CREATURE was stirring." This card was so much fun to make! I grabbed some pink scraps of patterned paper from my "baby" file, and I found the blue (with a splash of pink) patterned paper in my Making Memories folder. The pink card stock came from my Bazzill scraps bag. I used two Cricut cartridges: Elegant Edges (card base) and Mini Monsters.
The tree and border punch are both EKSuccess punches.

I never would have thought to CASE Lauren's card if I had not been working on my craft room purge. I have gone through all of my papers, and I remember seeing these pink papers. When I see pink, I think of Lauren. When I think of Lauren, I think of her ingenious monsta cards (as well as her elegant creations too!) She is my paper art idol, and I am her self-proclaimed #1 fan :)

Urge to Purge Days 10&11:

I did not get a chance to post yesterday (Day 10). All I have left [of Phase I: part (a) PURGE craft room to create space] is this bookcase:

I promised myself that no matter how tired I was that I would do something each day, even if it was only a 5 minute task. That was all I could handle yesterday too: a 5-minute task. I started with those DVDs and VHS videos on the top shelf (far left). I moved the DVDs by our main t.v. with all of our other DVDs and I moved the VHS videos to our bedroom (the only t.v. with a VHS tape player.) Wanna see?

Now I have a little more space on the top shelf. Today is Day 11, and I hope to start going through some of the magazines and books on the middle right and bottom shelves of this bookcase.

Happy Wednesday!

Delightful card kit! second post today

2011-11-01T06:05:00.000-04:00

This is my first official post for Artful Delight! One year ago, Leeanne began to sell scrapbook kits full of new paper collections from top companies, perfectly coordinated with alphas, brads, ribbon, prima flowers, and more. Her scrapbook kits are a great value. A few months ago, Leeanne began selling card kits too. Her card kits have sold out fast ever since; they even contain stamp sets!

These are just a few of the supplies from the November card kit that I used to create my card:

Click here to see the entire kit and a list of its contents. The only supplies I used from my stash are the card base and the ink!

Artful Delight also has a monthly sketch challenge. The prize is an Artful Delight kit for one randomly chosen winner. Make a card or a LO using this sketch for a chance to win:

I am so grateful to you, my blog readers. Leeanne told me that when I was a guest designer for her last August that some of you placed orders. I am so thrilled that you supported her (Leeanne is such a sweetie), but also that you took the time to tell her that you came from my blog. Thank you! *MWAH* (cyber kiss on the cheek.)

Happy November!

Shopping Our Stash #24 - Sports or Western

2011-11-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

I created this card for the current challenge at Shopping Our Stash: Sports or Western. Since I have two little princesses, I was completely stumped! When I was purging my craft room I found a fabric remnant that screamed, "grass." I found this cutie-patooty horse on my Create a Critter cartridge, I went in search of my cloud paper (from the Artful Delight July scrapbook kit), and my Bazzill card stock scraps and a card was born :) I added some doodles...you know I had to add some polka dots to his bandana :)

Supplies:

Cricut cartridge: Create a Critter (horse cut @ 2 1/2"; phrase cut @ 2"; star cut @ 1 1/2")

paper: My Mind's Eye "Lime Twist" (cloud paper); Bazzill scraps

corner rounder: Creative Memories

pens: Uni-ball Signo white gel pen and Creative Memories black journaling pen

fabric: remnant

Happy Tuesday!

Caution Warning* Purging is Contagious! Urge to Purge Challenge: Day 10

2011-10-31T12:04:00.000-04:00

*CAUTION* If you are starting on the purge with me, it is contagious! My dh actually purged his side of the garage (my side is always in perfect order.) He did a fantastic job, and he did it in less than an hour. The next day he purged his side of the closet and all of his dresser drawers. I had a trunk full to take over to the donation center. The closet looks fab too. Yesterday morning dh made a comment on the crowded coat closet. Our coat closet is teeny tiny and barely holds all of our coats and jackets. I said, "Let's purge it!" He said,"I was afraid you would say that." But thirty minutes later we have a better organized closet and a few more items to donate in the trunk of our car.

I am finding my purge spilling over to my other household chores. I have now cooked everything that was 2 or 3 months old from my freezer. There is nothing in my freezer older than 2 weeks right now! I am planning meals around what is in the fridge too. We had a small nearly-finished rotisserie chicken, a crown of broccoli, and some mushrooms that needed to be eaten. Yesterday morning I made broth from the chicken carcass and we had broccoli mushroom soup for lunch. Yum! Next up: the pantry :)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming: craft room purge, DAY 9.
Today I purged this corner (BEFORE pic):

The rest of my house is so tidy, how does my craft room end up like this?

Plan of attack:

1. That pile on the floor are my girls' artwork from this school year. I have photo albums for the girls' artwork, but I am behind on this particular project. I take pictures of most of it, then put the pictures their photo albums. I keep one or two of my favorite pieces, then give the rest to their grandparents to fight over (LOL). The rest goes in the trash. I don't have time to tackle that right now, so I found an empty box, stuck it in there, and moved the box outside of my craft room.

2. I cleaned up the piles on top of the shelves, putting things away that already have a place. The piñata is from the girls birthday party; K wanted me to keep it. Under the piñata is an Iris container that holds unfinished LOs. It got moved outside the craft room too. (My dh is freaking out a little about all the stuff outside my craft room right now!)

3. Most of the stash in that shelving and stacked crates are scrapbooking kits leftover from my teaching days at two local scrapbooking stores. I actually purged those last summer, so I kinda left them alone for now.

I know I said I would not re-organize until I was done purging, but I did move the two identical white shelves together:

and moved the crates (scrapbook kits) across the room with the paper sorter:

Not perfect, but much tidier :)

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween Treat Bags & Urge to Purge challenge: Day 8

2011-10-30T19:57:00.001-04:00

I have a durable clear plastic container from Michael's (Iris is the manufacturer). It is large enough to hold 12x12 papers and it is about 4" high. I use it to store all of my Halloween-themed paper collections, rub-ons, ribbon, etc. I have not been able to close the container for the past couple of months! I purged the container on Friday. I made a small pile of the scraps from paper collections that no longer inspire me. I also have two K&Co. Halloween-themed small paper pads and die cuts. I coordinated these K&Co. cute monsters with the paper pads to create these treat bag toppers. My children have several food sensitivities, so I purchase organic lollipops, organic gummy bears, organic sour patch kids, and organic chocolate for Halloween. When they are at school I take the treat bags around to our neighbors to give to my children when we come trick or treating. I have two more bags to make, but I thought I would take a break and blog :)

I have been slowly purging my craft room. So far you have only seen the wall opposite my work station. Today I purged my entire work station. This is actually the BEFORE picture. All of the shelves and drawers look a lot better now, but not the top work surface. All I have left to purge is the bookcase and the corner (back left in picture.) My goal is to finish purging both by the end of the day on Wednesday.

Have a happy Halloween!

Shopping Our Stash #23 - Fall colors challenge (& URGE to PURGE: DAY 7!)

2011-10-29T06:00:00.002-04:00

I created this card for the current challenge at Shopping Our Stash. Use autumnal colors to create a card for any occasion...you may make a seasonal or non-seasonal card. Just make sure you use fall colors and your stash :)

I used a K& Co. die cut that I bought from Michael's on clearance last year. The orange spider web paper is from a small K&Co. pad I purchased the previous year. The image is a Bugaboo digital stamp that I colored with my copic markers. The fun fur behind the die cut is a scrap of yarn left over from a scarf I knitted for my mom 8 years ago!

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Elegant Edges cut @ 5" and 5 1/4"
paper and die cut sentiment: K&Co. Halloween
digital stamp: Bugaboo
markers: copic

URGE to PURGE challenge: Day 7!
I am very glad that I chose to do just a little each day. I am finding that it gives my brain time to figure out what I should start on next. Moving on to my work station...

Here is my issue: Eight years my friend Martha introduced me to a local scrapbook store. They had wonderful scrapbooking and card-making classes. I took a class every month and purchased class kits for those classes that I could not attend. One year later, I began teaching 2-3 classes each month at that store. Our "pay": we received two identical class kits; one to make that would belong to the store, and one for our own use. Sometimes I would make both kits at once, but often I barely had time to get the store sample done (my twins were 2-5yo at the time…need I say more?) The store was bought out and then closed four years ago, but I still have two crates full of unmade scrapbook kits (translation: these papers have retired long ago!)

The kits came in large durable ziploc bags. Since the papers are all perfectly coordinated, I store the scraps together in the same ziploc bag. Whenever I need to make a card, I will sometimes search through these bags. E.g. masculine card: I will find the scraps from a Father's Day card kit class. This saves me time in having to coordinate papers when I want to create a quick card.

Plan of attack: To go through these scrap bags and decide if I want to keep or purge. I grabbed another box, which I am calling "the staging box." My staging box will house those kit scraps that I don't really want, but I might need when I make LOs from those old class kits (e.g. if you make a wrong cut, you might not have enough paper in the kit to complete the LO. I don't want to be too hasty tossing scraps that I might need later on.)

I store these scrap kit bags on the left side of my work desk (top shelf; stored vertically):

Those two priority mail boxes are *new* stash that I have bought from ShopPumpkinSpice. I hope to make room for them in those shelves! I just placed two more orders this week *sigh*. It could not be helped! Denine has My Mind's Eye "Blackbird" and "Haunted" collections on sale for $5 this weekend only. You know I love that Blackbird collection! She also has all 40 papers of My Mind's Eye "Lost & Found 2" for $25! Shipping was about $4, so for ~$34 I will have more of that yummy Blackbird to play with for next year and L&F2 to play with all year :)

I'm just here to enable…

Shop your stash and link up your fall colors card to Shopping Our Stash, then check out those deals on My Mind's Eye here (scroll down a bit).

Urge to Purge craft room challenge: DAY 6: Hope!

2011-10-28T08:29:00.001-04:00

I was beginning to lose steam yesterday; this is going slower than I hoped. But after today my energy is renewed. Look at the tower of 5 black space saver containers BEFORE:

See the stuff on top? Those are suede papers, designer papers by Magenta, and a sampler card stock spiral. I made room in the corner cabinet (from Day 1) for the suede papers.

I have a half dozen large ziploc bags that hold my scraps of card stock. I have a bag for each: reds, pinks-purples, yellows, blues, greens, black-white-grey. When I craft, I search these bags first. I love it when there is a color I don't have in a larger sheet, but just the right color in my scrap bag. This is why I tend to save everything. (Yes, I have paper issues.) Anyway, I plan to dismantle and sort the sampler card stock spiral by color into my ziploc bags of scrap papers. I will keep the 8 1/2"x11" Magenta papers on top. Look now:

Did you notice the black tower is only 3 high now? I absolutely love these containers. They hold 8 1/2" x 11" paper beautifully as well as wood mounted stamps. I'll save the other two containers for Phase II: Re-organization.

What I learned:
Two of those black containers held colored card stock that I forget that I own…that means it needs to get moved somewhere where they will be used! Not sure where that is yet, but re-organization will come in Phase II. Phase I is all about purging to create space. The other three containers hold papers that I know to look for there: vellum, acetate, mulberry paper, gami paper, etc.

I also started on that white shelf. Sitting on top is my Artful Delight "inspiration station." That organizational pink & khaki tote came in my August Artful Delight kit. I am so excited to be on Leeanne's DT for Artful Delight starting November 1st. My November kit arrived two days ago, and it is in the tote ready for me to play :) (You can see the entire kit contents here. )

Lastly, I went through the top shelf of the white shelf unit. It holds all of my 12x12 Bazzill card stock colors, but I found some 12x12 Doodlebug & Chatterbox collections there. (Forgot I owned those too!) They need to move in with my other 12x12 paper collections, which are stored on the bottom (in picture) and in that accordion suitcase beside the shelf and over at my work desk…

Thank you for joining me! Your comments and emails have been inspiring. I am learning a lot from doing this in small increments, though admittedly I was getting impatient with the slow process yesterday. After today's success (she said modestly) I think I am on the right track.

Happy Friday!

3 parts Blackbird, 1 part Spook-alicious, 1 part Cricut, and 1 ribbon...yum!

2011-10-27T03:00:00.002-04:00

*This post edited to add Urge to Purge challenge: create space & DAY 5*

I spied these in the grocery store and I knew I wanted to make a Halloween gift for "Miss Lynn" (one of our favorite teacher assistants.) I just needed 3 parts Blackbird (Halloween papers), a Spook-alicious sentiment, a Cricut Elegant Edges oval, and some ribbon to make these treats spooktacular:

I love these My Mind's Eye "Blackbird" papers! They are my all-time favorite Halloween papers. I am going to get more at ShopPumpkinSpice. Denine's prices are the best and her shipping is super low; gotta love that :)

Supplies:
papers: My Mind's Eye "Blackbird": Pumpkins paper, Argyle paper, and Neighborhood paper
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Spook-alicious"
Cricut cartridge: Elegant Edges oblong frame p.65 cut @ 2 1/2"

Have a spooktacular day!

Urge to Purge challenge: DAY 5
Please join in any time! Here is a re-cap to get you caught up on the challenge:

I feel the need to purge my craft room whenever I can no longer find room to put supplies away. This occurs 2-3 times each year, and I usually work every waking minute for two or three days purging and re-organizing. This method has worked for me, but is extremely chaotic (gets worse before it gets better and I end up organizing something only to think up a better way to organize it and I spend time re-organizing again.)

This time I am trying a different tactic: Phase I: Purge, Phase II: Re-organize. I am doing this in three parts: a) my craft room, b) my craft room closet, c) the stuff piled just outside of my craft room.
I am in Phase I a. Wherever you are in this process, please share your success via comment or post on your blog.

I am an organized person, and I get stressed when my craft room feels cluttered. This is why I chose to only focus on purging: to create space. Since I go through this a couple of times a year, I hope to get it right this time :)

Getting started:
1. Get three containers: donate box, gifts box, and trash bag. (I have already found things in my craft room that I forgot that I made. These are in my gifts box now. With less than two months until Christmas, I will start my Christmas shopping in that box!)
2. Focus only on purging. (If I come across something and I know where it goes, I go ahead and put it away to avoid a bigger mess during this process.)
3. Work a little each day; carve out 5 minutes, 15, or 30. Just do something. (e.g. if you only have 5 minutes, try putting a few things away if they already have a designated home. Do not re-organize yet!)
4. Do what works for you. I started with what I can see from my work desk. I like instant gratification :) You may want to start with the area that bothers you most. I am saving what I perceive as the most difficult for last (my work desk).

Here is what I did today:

I have this tower of kid stamps, coloring books, etc. for my girls to play with in my craft room on the card table I have set up for them. BEFORE picture:

I had the girls help me purge their stuff. I moved the green/gold tin and large storage container just outside my craft room (to be dealt with later, Phase I part c), then I moved the purged tower out into their part of the basement with their other toys:

Then I moved my card table back:

I would love to find a permanent home for my light box (dh built for me to help me take better pictures) and for my laptop. I can't worry about that yet…that is Phase II!

Happy Thursday!

You will always have a piece of my heart + Urge to Purge challenge: Day 4

2011-10-26T09:57:00.000-04:00

I used the new My Pink Stamper "From the Heart" stamp set. As usual, Robyn has created a stamp set with lovely sentiments and fonts. Wanna see?

I needed to make a slew of thank you cards, so I made 10 of this design (background papers varied). They have all been written and sent now and I am out of thank you cards once again; a good problem to have :) This little elephant is so cute! I love elephants as does my grandma. She always says that they need to have their trunk up for good luck. I am so glad the person who designed this Cricut image drew her with her trunk up!

Supplies:
stamp: My Pink Stamper "From the Heart"
Cricut cartridge: Elegant Edges (cut @ 4"); Paisley (elephant cut @ 2 1/4"; envelope cut @ 3/4"); Plantin Schoolbook (grass cut @ 1/2")
paper: Echo Park "life is good"
ink: Memento (tuxedo black)
white gel pen: Signo Uni-ball

Urge to Purge friends:
I am finding that cleaning a little each day allows my subconscious to ponder the best way to purge for the next day. Yesterday I started on the right-hand side of my dresser (top two drawers now hold all of my Cricut cartridges.) My subconscious gave me a nudge this morning at 4am, "June, empty the bottom right-hand drawer for Cricut cartridges." Makes sense, right? The entire right side of the dresser should be dedicated to Cricut cartridges. Let's face it…the top 2 drawers are pretty full and you know I am going to want to ask Santa for more cartridges!

Great idea, but I groaned when I opened the drawer:

I purged my craft room last January and I have not opened this drawer since! I obviously don't need all of this ribbon if I am not using it. My mom wraps packages beautifully and uses wide ribbon deftly. I did not inherit her gift wrapping abilities so I am going to give her the wide ribbon. There is a lot of narrow ribbon in there that I bought and was able to move onto my ribbon shelf that hangs on the wall above the dresser. And under the ribbon:

more ribbon and beads, beads, beads, and bags of beads. I organized the beads and emptied the drawer.

I came across the following items that I will probably not use. If you want them, I will send them to you:

Please let me know if you would like these ribbons/trim:

and/or this aida paper for beading (not aida cloth):

I even organized the rest of the dresser (left-hand side….I did not take pictures.) I re-organized my counted cross-stitch supplies, floss, latch hook rug supplies, and other odds and ends from my non-paper crafts. Now I just need to find a new spot in my craft room for these:

Happy Wednesday!

My Pink Stamper - October challenge "Christmas"

2011-10-25T09:00:00.003-04:00

This is my card for this month's My Pink Stamper challenge: Christmas card. I used Robyn 's "Winter Treats & Sayings" set. I have become completely addicted to My Pink Stamper sets. They take up very little space, they stamp beautifully, and they are so versatile!

Here is a peek at "Winter Treats & Sayings":

See what I mean? "a gift for you" (bottom right) could be used all year, as well as "hand stamped", "a little something for you", etc. And the fonts are so pretty!

I was completely inspired by this card made by my lovely and dear friend, Court.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridges: Elegant Edges cut @ 5" and 5 1/4"; Sophie cut @ 4 3/4"
sentiment: My Pink Stamper Winter Treats & Sayings
paper: BasicGrey 6x6 Wassail
ribbon and ink: Stampin' Up!
gems: Imaginisce i-Rock

Urge to Purge craft room challenge: DAY 3

2011-10-25T08:48:00.000-04:00

My My Pink Stamper monthly post is going up in a bit, so I am posting a quick Day 3 progress report.

If you are just joining in, here is a re-cap:

Let's purge our craft rooms and make them the happy places we desire for ourselves.

I have purged my craft room many, many times before now, but I always did it in 2 or 3 full days. It was mentally and physically exhausting, and I was happy with the results. I am feeling overwhelmed right now and I can't spare that kind of time. I am trying a new approach; small tasks each day. This may take me a couple of weeks or a month…who knows? I promised myself I would do SOMETHING every day…even if it was only 5 minutes!

I am starting inside the craft room itself. This will give me some instant gratification in my immediate surroundings. Then I will start on the closet (oy!)

Today I will tackle 2 drawers of this 6 drawer dresser. See those Cricut cartridges on top? There is no room in the dresser.

Here is the top right drawer. I went through it, and there is nothing to purge. Just Cricut vinyl, Cricut cartridges, and Cricut Expression info.

Today I emptied one drawer (middle right) and re-organized it's contents to other areas of my craft room. I re-alphabetized my Cricut cartridges, and they are all now in the top two drawers on the right-hand side. Here is the top of my dresser now:

Tomorrow I will tackle one or more of the other drawers.

What I learned?

When purging in the past, my room got worse, A LOT WORSE, before it got better. By tackling this overwhelming task in small daily chores, I am hoping to avoid that…so far, so good :)

I hope these posts are helpful to you!

Urge to Purge craft room challenge: DAY 2

2011-10-24T17:09:00.000-04:00

Welcome to DAY 2! The first thing I did this morning was go back to the cabinet (from Day 1) and move a few more items into my "give away (to other paper crafters)" box. I decided I can live without a few more things :)

Today I decided to tackle my "Jingle Belles" basket. I spy some things on the top that can go in my "gifts" box (see previous post)...

My goal was to get this basket emptied and off of the floor. I call this my "Jingle Belles" basket because I enjoy participating in the weekly challenges at Jingle Belles challenge blog. I have participated in most of their challenges, and I have a shopping bag FULL of Christmas cards ready to go. Making one card (almost) every week of 2011 has really eased my holiday stress. Before I start creating each week, I dig through this basket for felt snowflakes, snow flake gems, and other winter/Christmas stickers, dies and embellies.

After moving the gifts to the "gifts" box, I moved ribbon to my ribbon jars, gems to my gem tin, and the Christmas embellies to my 12x12 folder already labelled Christmas embellies. I'm not sure why I had these items in TWO different locations!

You may recall in Day 1 when I cleaned out the cabinet that I came across some cards I will add sentiments to and send to Operation Write Home. I put those cards in my empty blue basket as well as some partially finished Christmas cards and tags. The basket now sits on the right side of my work table (rather than on the floor):

Now that my craft room already looks a little neater without that basket on the floor, I decided to straighten my paper holder shelves:

I purchased this from a local stamp store that closed a few years ago. The acrylic shelves fall sometimes when you have two rambunctious 9yo girls :) I had several to pop back in; they are a pain in the neck to fix, but thirty minutes later they look like this:

After just TWO days my craft room already seems less junky. I still have a LONG way to go (wait until I get to the closet…yikes!) I love my blue basket…whenever I only have a short time to play, I can dig in that basket and work on those almost finished cards and tags. I am calling it the "Quick Fix" basket; I can have a sense of accomplishment even if I only have a spare ten minutes to work in my craft room.

I am also thrilled that I am finding things I have made for the gifts box. When I start figuring out what to give the girls' teachers, my family and friends for Christmas, I will start with the gifts box!

I am feeling energized to keep going a little each day it doesn't seem as overwhelming to do a little each day.

Thank you all for your lovely comments and emails! This is so much fun purging together. I will try to post every day, but I don't expect YOU to post at all unless you want to. Posting can be a lot of extra work. My lovely friend, Carla, has joined me on this venture. Click here to see her fab embellishment and sticker drawers!

Urge to Purge Craft Room clean up: DAY 1

2011-10-23T08:40:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Day 1 of my Urge to Purge challenge. I am thrilled at the response I received yesterday! I am happy to be on this journey with some of my favorite crafty friends. Join in whenever you wish. Have a busy day? What about choosing just one drawer to go through? Whatever you can handle: a 5 minute drawer, a 15 minute shelf, a 30 minute cabinet, whatever. Let's just do something every day to de-clutter.

Day 1: I have a busy day today, so I wanted to start with a 30 minute clean up. Here is this cabinet BEFORE:

The top shelf (left side) are my base cards and envelopes and a box of hand-made cards from card-making friends (right side). The second shelf are my rub-ons. The third shelf is colored cards and envelopes. The bottom contains most of my Stampin' Up patterned papers and supplies.

I turned on Netflix and started one of my favorite episodes of Glee (you might want to play a favorite CD or DVD or a book on tape...let's make this fun!) I consolidated my cards and envelopes of the same size and color (top shelf) and tossed scraps. I re-organized the rub-ons and the other cards and envelopes. Mixed in the Stampin' Up supplies I had several cards that I had made and saved to reproduce.

Okay, so maybe it doesn't look a lot better (I am a craft supply hoarder), but my trash can is 1/4 full! I also came across some 12x12 papers and some stickers that I no longer want, but I think my mom would like. I am going to see her later this morning, so some clutter will be gone!

Bonus for me: I found several cards that I had made with Stampin' Up products that I thought I would reproduce at some point. Now I don't feel a need to reproduce them. I put them in a pile on my worktable to add sentiments and ship them off to Operation Write Home. Wahoo! Another bonus was THREE projects I found that I had made.

What I learned:
In addition to my trash can and box for give away stash, I added a third container: gifts. I often save a project to re-create at some point. Sometimes when I come across the project, I find that I am able to let go of my sample. The three projects I found will make nice Christmas gifts! How about that? I am cleaning my craft room and preparing for Christmas at the same time :)

Friends, I look forward to hearing what you started today and any suggestions you may have for me :)

Softly Falling Snow + Urge to Purge blog candy challenge for you (and me)!

2011-10-22T08:11:00.000-04:00

My piles in my craft room are beginning to make me crazy again. I need to make time somehow get my craft room cleaned up. I saw this red linen die cut card on the top of my pile and decided that it would be my card base for this week's challenge at Jingle Belles.

The fabulously talented Noelle McAdams is this week's guest star at Jingle Belles. Christmas reminds her of softly falling snow, so she is encouraging the use of "soft" items: felt, flocking, batting, velvet, etc. My thought was to use my Flower Soft for snow. I went in search of a stamp, but nothing jumped out at me. So I went to my beloved Cricut cartridges. I found this angel on a cloud and decided his cloud would be my "soft" item. I applied glitter to his halo and Glossy Accents (can't see in pic) to his horn and wings.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Winter Frolic (angel), Wild Card (card base), Accent Essentials (circle)
paper: BasicGrey "Blitzen", red linen card stock (XPEDX), Stampin' Up! whisper white card stock
other: Flower Soft "Polar White", Glossy Accents, Stickles

Urge to Purge Craft Room challenge:

(I may ramble a bit here, but please read through. I want YOUR input!)
The rest of my house is so neat and organized. A few times a year my craft room is also neat and organized. I regularly (usually every 3 to 6 months) purge every drawer, closet, and cabinet in our home. We don't have a lot of storage space, so we keep our home clutter free. I don't do it all at once. My dh doesn't feel the urge to purge as often as I do, so I have to take advantage of the opportunity when it arises. One Saturday at breakfast 3 or 4 weeks ago my husband said, "I think we have collected too many plastic cups." Our twin girls are 9yo, and fun cups (Halloween, Valentine's Day, or restaurant souvenir) wind up in the cabinet. I knew we had not gone through the kitchen drawers and cabinets in an entire year, so I seized this opportunity! We knew we had a very busy day (swim lessons at 9:40am), so we set the timer for 1 hour and worked speedily in tandem. We started with those cups. Both of our daughters chew the edges of plastic cups, so we kept 2 of each design that was not chewed badly, and the rest went in our recycle bin. We actually went a little over (1 hour, 10 minutes), but we ended up with two boxes to donate to a local charity…glasses, mugs, and knives we never use, etc. and every drawer and cabinet in our kitchen was neat, organized, and clutter free. Purging the pantry also reminded me of items we had not used in a while, and I planned our meals that week around those items. (I also give myself "freezer" challenges from time-to-time…plan my meals around what is in the freezer.)

I especially like to purge BEFORE Christmas (to make room for what Santa brings) and before the girls' birthday in June (before school is out for the summer and the girls are underfoot 24/7.) These are both very busy times of year for everyone, but I have learned three things:

1. I actually get MORE things done when I am busy, especially when I think I don't have time.

2. I find once I make myself get started, I am a ball of energy. All the stress I normally feel with my "to do" list is gone and I have a "Let's do this thing!" attitude.

3. Setting a half hour or 1 hour time limit is critically important. I work faster and more efficiently on a timer. My momentum slows down and my brain actually gets tired if I go longer.

Will you join me? I would love the moral support. I am thinking I have too many commitments right now, but then again that is usually the case, right? I purged a couple of areas in my craft room last May/June. At that time I donated three boxes of craft supplies and sent off three packages of supplies to my blog friends that I thought would like to have those papers/stamps/stamp pads & re-inkers/embellies.

The clutter is making me nuts. I will feel energized if I can even get a small start on it. I am really not sure where to start, but this is what I am thinking:

1. I will take BEFORE pictures and post on my blog.
2. I will find a box for stuff I don't want any more. I am thinking that I would offer these items to YOU as blog candy. I hope you might join me, and we can "trade" unloved crafty items. The more people that join, the better.
3. I will work on one area each day, but stick to a time limit of 30 minutes or 1 hour.

Time line: I will start tomorrow, Sunday, October 23, but you can join in any time. This is a process. Maybe you don't want to tackle all of your crafty stuff, but just one area.

Let's do this thing!

Pinkalicous news & My Pink Stamper October blog hop WINNER

2011-10-21T05:34:00.000-04:00

I have some exciting news! My Pink Stamper has new stamp sets. Check them out today from 9am-12:30pm EST at My Pink Stamper. You are gonna want to add these to your wish list for Santa Claus!

The winner of the My Pink Stamper blog hop for October is….drumroll…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Arin F said...

I love the drippy goo! This a a cool and unique way to make a piece of cake! Love it!

October 19, 2011 12:44 PM

Arin, please email me with your home address so that I can send you your Yummy-licious stamp set :)

You're Wicked Cool!

2011-10-20T03:00:00.001-04:00

I made this using Halloween papers and die cut frame from ShopPumpkinSpice. I think My Mind's Eye "Blackbird" may be my all-time favorite Halloween collection. My sentiment is a My Pink Stamper Spook-alicious stamp. I love how clearly they stamp. I have seen this pretty witch around blogland, but I didn't know where she came from. Then my dh gave me "Wrap It Up" for my birthday and there she was on page 69. I think she could use some red glittery shoes :)

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Wrap It Up
papers: My Mind's Eye "Blackbird"
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Spook-alicious"
border punch: Martha Stewart
ribbon: Michael's

Happy Thursday!

Dia de los Muertos

2011-10-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

This week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash is Dia de los Muertos; I love this inspiration picture! I searched my stash for a skull and some coordinating floral paper. I came up with this:

The skull and "happy halloween" sentiment is a BasicGrey Eerie sticker. The papers are also from my BasicGrey Eerie 6x6 pad. The black gems were on clearance a few years ago at Michael's. I added some faux stitching using my paper piercer and my black journaling marker.

I hope this challenge inspires you to create and link your project at Shopping Our Stash.

Happy Tuesday!

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious blog hop- Holiday Treat/Goody Bag

2011-10-14T21:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the October My Pink Stamper blog hop! You should have arrived here from Julie, if not start at Robyn's blog for a chance to win some yummy blog candy. I created a yummy-licious treat box. I think this will make a great teacher gift; just add chocolate!

I am entering this in the Cricut Circle blog's weekly challenge: Feeling Gifty. My two Cricut image cuts are the box and the pumpkin. The sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's Yummy-licious stamp set. I have wanted to try this treat box for a while, but it daunted me. It's actually pretty easy! Once I chose my papers and started cutting, I was finished in just 45 minutes…and I am a slow crafter :) I love my My Pink Stamper stamp sets; I can usually find exactly what I want to say to perfect my card or project.

Would you like to win this Yummy-licious set?

For a chance to win, please leave a comment below. I will choose a winner on Tuesday, October 18th. I will announce my winner on my blog on Wednesday, October 19th, so please check back to see if you won :)

Here is the complete hop list, just in case you get lost along the way:

Robyn (My Pink Stamper)

Roberta

Sharon

Tracy (CraftJunkieToo)

Andrea

Angela (Simple Creations)

Renee (RockinRenee)

Kassidy

Cristi

Missy

Michelle (Meesh's Pieces)

Carissa (Sprinkled with Glitter)

Julie (readysetstamp)

June

Chelle (Paper Krate)

Shelley

Edna (Create With Expression)

Helen

Agnes (Flowerdisco)

Karlee

Courtney (Court's Crafts)

Maria

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Tags, Bags, Boxes & More (fill page; 9"); Mini Monsters (pumpkin)
papers: My Mind's Eye "Blackbird"
ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
embossing folders: Herringbone (leaves) and Distressed Stripes (pumpkin)
punch and score board: Martha Stewart

Your next stop is Miss Chelle! Happy Hopping!

You are SO Tweet! (and blog hop WINNER!!!)

2011-10-13T03:00:00.001-04:00

I made this with 100% Shop Pumpkin Spice! And I couldn't stop with just one:

I made a set of four. I may save these for a hostess gift or a present. The My Pink Stamper sentiment, the lace, and the paper all came from Shop Pumpkin Spice (direct links provided within the supply list.)

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge:  Create a Critter p.65
stamp:  My Pink Stamper "Yummy-licious"
paper:  Echo Park Victoria Gardens: "Rose", "Cheerful Words", "Garden Gate", and "Sunshine"
crochet trim: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two
corner punch: Creative Memories

Now to announce my Shop Pumpkin Spice blog hop winner (drumroll….)

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Jen_H said...

So cute! Love the skunk and the MPS sentiment goes perfectly!
~~Jen H~~

Congrats, Jen! Please email me with your home address and your My Pink Stamper "Even More Punny-licious" stamp set will be on its way to YOU!

Happy Thursday :)

I'm dreaming of a PINK Christmas

2011-10-12T16:21:00.000-04:00

I have been mass-producing cards for Operation Write Home (OWH) the past two days. My craft room is a disaster! After I finished my OWH cards (I'll post later this month), I realized that I had not made a Jingle Belles card this week. I looked at my scraps from my OWH cards and decided to use what was left of this double-sided My Mind's Eye "Colorful Christmas Winter Wonderland." I love those pink trees! After cutting the green base layer and the tree pattern layer I had a scrap left just big enough to cut this tree from my Cricut "Campin' Critters" cartridge. The tree is actually about 5 1/2" tall, but it was cut on the Cricut @ 10 1/2" forest layer 1-shift (p.62). I added some EAD Stickerz: baubles for the tree, a star, and two presents under the tree. This was a fast scrappy card :)

I am entering this at this week's Jingle Belles *PINK* Christmas card challenge. I enjoy non-traditional colors for Christmas, and I think PINK may be one of my favorite non-traditional Christmas colors. Although pink may become a traditional color because I have seen a lot of pink in Christmas papers the past couple of years!

Happy Wednesday! Come back tomorrow to see if you won my blog candy!!!

Challenge #21: Spooky OR orange/black

2011-10-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

I made this for the current challenge at Shopping Our Stash: Spooky OR orange/black. I knew this challenge would be a breeze…I have A LOT on Halloween stash that I purchased for last year, but never got to use. I went straight for my BasicGrey Eerie 6x6 paper pad and stickers. I placed the owl sticker in the tree and added some Stickles to the trees. I added a little Stampin' Up lace to the bottom and voila!

I have been on a complete bloggy break for nearly a week, but I will be crafting today (hopefully). Don't forget to stop by Thursday to see if you won my blog candy, but first go make something Spooky OR orange/black and enter your project at SOS!

Peace on Earth

2011-10-05T11:09:00.000-04:00

I am entering this card at Jingle Belles this week for the "Peace on Earth" challenge: incorporate the peace symbol, the word peace, or create a card that evokes peace for you. Yesterday I had a brief chance to go in my craft room and open my My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas collection. The dove evokes peace for me, and when I saw this MME tag I knew I would create my card around it. I stamped "believe" in the top left corner of the tag and used this sketch by the lovely Kirsty.

What evokes peace for you?

Supplies:
All papers and the brad are from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas collection. The "believe" is a Memory Box stamp inked with Stampin' Up! chocolate chip. The ribbon is from my stash jar. The scallop is an MFT die and the decorative label (damask pattern) is a Nestibilities die.

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #20 - Thank you card OR Thanksgiving

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Meet Tom Turkey. Isn't he adorable? I created him from my scrap stash of Imaginisce papers left over from my squirrel card from a couple of weeks ago. Autumn is my favorite season, and I love warm colors. I plan to keep these papers on my workspace all season and hopefully use them up into little bits.

Dig through your stash and create a thank you or Thanksgiving card and link it up at Shopping Our Stash.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Create a Critter p.70
paper: Imaginisce; Bazzill red card stock and orange card stock
marker: Stampin' Up! chocolate chip

Happy Tuesday!

Shop Pumpkin Spice October blog hop: Echo Park, You're scent-sational!

2011-10-02T03:15:00.001-04:00

Welcome to ShopPumpkinSpice's October hop. You should have arrived here from Court's Crafts. Each of the 5 designers plus the ShopPumpkinSpice store is giving away a prize, so I hope you will leave a comment for a chance to win! I am giving away a My Pink Stamper set...the same set used on my card: "Even More Punny-licious."

I recall seeing some cards around blogland last Spring using Echo Park "For the Record" collection, and I just had to have it. This is only my third time using that collection of papers, and after this card, I have to say I am totally smitten with them! The My Pink Stamper sentiment is so apropos, don't you agree?

This skunk with his trail of toilet paper stuck to his foot cracks me up. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would want or need the Cricut "Campin' Critters" cartridge. We rarely go camping, so there would not be any LOs to create. But the images are just so cute!

Supplies:
Cricut cartridges: Campin' Critters skunk cut @ 3 3/4"; Straight from the Nest grass cut @ 1 1/4"
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Even More Punny-licious"
paper: Echo Park "For the Record": Picket Fence; Stamp of Approval; Lace Stripes; Advertisement; Noteworthy; Fabric Store
other: googly eyes

In case you get lost, here is the complete line up for the hop:

Pumpkin Spice Store Blog- http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/

Court http://courtscrafts.blogspot.com

*** June http://simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/ <<<<YOU ARE HERE***

Ann http://raindropechodesigns.blogspot.com/

Carissa http://happilyeverpapercrafter.blogspot.com/

Lenae http://sugargemscrafts.blogspot.com/

Pumpkin Spice Store Blog- http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/

I will randomly draw a winner from those who leave a comment on this post on Sunday, October 9th. All I ask is that you check back and email me with your home address by Thursday, October 13th.

Each of the ShopPumpkinSpice designers are featuring Echo Park papers for this hop. Lenae is our featured designer this month. Here is a sneak peak of her kit called "Put a Spell on Me":

Be sure to check it out at ShopPumpkinSpice!

Your next stop on the hop is Ann. Happy hopping!

World Card Making Day: Core'dinations

2011-10-01T17:18:00.001-04:00

What? No patterned paper? When I learned to stamp a dozen years ago, patterned paper was rarely used. We stamped our own backgrounds and embossed. This was before Core'dinations! I love their textured card stock...it was made for dry embossing :)

This card is 100% Core'dinations card stock. The D'Vine Swirls is on black magic color core card stock. The two orange colors, the green, and the off-white are all Core'dinations as well. This Core'dinations color challenge is in honor of World Card Making Day and the prize is two packs of core!

My Big Shot is making a very funny noise all of a sudden...I wasn't even sure that I would be able to finish this card. It won't crank right to left, and makes an AWFUL noise when I crank right to left. Oh, the humanity! At least my Cricut is in fine working order and I am well-stocked in adhesive :)

Supplies:
paper: Core'dinations color core card stock
Cricut cartridges: Sophie pumpkin (p.70 cut @ 4"); Straight from the Nest grass (p.41 cut @ 1 1/2")
stamp: My Pink Stamper Spook-alicious
embossing folders: Cuttlebug "D'Vine Swirl", "Distressed Stripes", and "Herringbone"
flower: Stampin' Up! Boho Blossoms punch

Happy World Card Making Day!

I'll Owl-ways love Echo Park, My Mind's Eye, and My Pink Stamper

2011-09-29T00:00:00.002-04:00

I made this card for my sweet friend, Leeanne, who celebrated her birthday last week. She and I love owls (you know I had to use polka dot paper!) I knew I wanted to cut this particular owl from one of my newest Cricut cartridges, so I went in search of papers. I chose my two most-favorite paper companies: My Mind's Eye and Echo Park. I was actually crafting this with my sweet friend, Court. It was she who suggested I put him in a tree (rather than a branch), to pop-up his tummy and wings, and add i-Rock pearls to the hat. Isn't fun to create with friends? (Product links in my supply list.)

I am entering this at Order of the Opus Gluei: Owl Always Love You challenge.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridges: Straight from the Nest owl (p.30 cut @ 3"); party hat (p. 63 cut @ 2 1/4"); Plantin Schoolbook oval (cut @ 3 3/4")
paper: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist "Charmed" Ric-rac Paper; Echo Park "Victoria Gardens": Garden Pond, Cheerful Words, Wild Rose/ Bluebird, Garden Gate, and Sunshine
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Punny-licious"
other: Imaginisce i-Rock tool and pearls

Happy Thursday!

Here Comes Suzy Snowflake!

2011-09-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

The lovely and talented Marie Bingaman set this week's Jingle Belles' challenge, inspired by Rosemary Clooney's, "Here Comes Suzy Snowflake." Here was my thinking: snowflakes...doilies...

I searched my stash for snowflake patterned paper, and I found this snow and snowflake paper. I was having trouble coming up with an A2 card design, so I decided to create little 4"x4" cards.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Create a Critter tree (p.73 accessory cut @ 1 3/4"); Elegant Edges scallop circle (p.23 cut @ 3")
stamp: My Pink Stamper Biggie Christmas
paper: BasicGrey Fruitcake "Glisten/Avalanche" and "Pine Branch/Avalanche"
ink: Memories Colonial Blue and Stampin' Up! chocolate chip
doilies: EKSuccess
stars: Making Memories Fa La La glitter pebble stickers

Happy Wednesday!

Shopping Our Stash #19- One color plus black and white

2011-09-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

When I saw this challenge at Shopping Our Stash: One color plus black and white, I immediately thought "wedding" and "Teresa Collins." I dug through my ancient card stock sticker stash and found this tux and this metal "groom" tucked in with it. Score! Then I went in search of my Teresa Collins stash and then the card came together rather quickly. I love when that happens :)

Supplies:
sticker: Pebbles Inc.
paper: Teresa Collins "Mr. & Mrs.": Stripe Paper (both sides) and Flowers Paper; black card stock (ACMoore); silver card stock (stash)
metal: Making Memories
mini brads: Making Memories black

Happy Tuesday!

Stuck On U: Hearts

2011-09-26T06:00:00.003-04:00

I added lots of layers and dimension to my heart creation.

On Friday I was visiting some of the 263 blogs I follow, and one of my bloggy inspiration friends, Faith Abigail, made this beautiful Halloween card for Stuck On U Sketches challenge blog. This blog has been around for 2 years and I don't recall ever coming across it before now. What a gem of a challenge blog! Now I follow 264 blogs...

I just found out last week that my aunt's dh has stage four liver cancer. I want to make each of them a card to let them know how much they are loved. This hearts challenge was just the motivation I needed to create a card for my aunt. I started with my Jillibean Soup "Dutch Mustard" 6x6 paper pad and pulled out the hearts paper. I recently got my Sophie cartridge, but I have only used it once. I was crafting with my sweet friend, Court, and she suggested this heart cut (p.59.)

If you are looking for inspiration, check out Stuck On U Sketches challenge blog...you'll be glad you did! Their DT is uber-talented.

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge: Sophie p.59 cut @ 3 1/2"
paper: Jillibean Soup "Dutch Mustard Soup" 6x6 mini pad; Bazzill orange card stock; Stampin' Up! whisper white card stock
stamp: My Pink Stamper "Winter Treats & Sayings"
pearls: Imaginisce i-rock
jumbo brads: Bazzill
ribbon: from Michael's

Happy Monday!

Simply Elegant Paper Crafts

the junked up craft room phenomena

You're My Love Story

My Pink Stamper- January challenge: Be My Valentine!

Winter Blues challenge - Shopping Our Stash

Delightful Birthday & Amore

My Pink Stamper January blog hop WINNER

Little One: Across the Border challenge

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious Blog Hop: A fresh clean start

January Card Kit Inspiration for Shop Pumpkin Spice: "Fun Love"

A Delightful Party

Back to Black challenge: City Crafter Challenge blog

All that glitters, sparkles, or shines...shop YOUR stash!

Artful Delight + Sketch Inspiration = Prizes for you!

Surfing LO - Surfer's Healing for children with Autism

The Kraft Journal & Artful Delight monthly sketch

Challenge Rewind: Pick any SOS challenge from 2011

Six Flags LO

Scrapbook Resolutions (*WARNING* wordy post)

Imagine Tim Holtz

Kraft Delight! (Two kraft happy cards) & Artful Delight kit reveal

Warm hugs to you (Christmas thank you note)

thoughts of you

Shopping Our Stash #32- Tie it up OR Bugaboo image

My Pink Stamper 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway : Day 10

Gift Card Holder....thanks a latte!

have a VERY MERRY Christmas!

Shopping Our Stash #31- Soft as a Snowflake

Christmas Thank You & Urge to Purge challenge update

It's nice to snow ya, Shop Pumpkin Spice!

December Artful Delight Sketch...win a FREE kit!

Shopping Our Stash #30: Tag it Krafty!

I enjoy Artful Delight kits!

Shopping Our Stash #29 - Light and/or White

Shop Pumpkin Spice December blog hop: Featuring Echo Park papers!

Masculine Birthday card

Artful Delight December kits are here!

100% Artful Delight: warm winter wishes

Shopping Our Stash #28: Digi stamps OR sentiments

Shop Pumpkin Spice for My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2

Shopping Our Stash #27- Anything Christmas OR Winter

My Mind'e Eye Lost & Found is bannerific; DT call

Party Time!

My Pink Stamper - November challenge "Unique Fold"

It's your bird-day!

Shop Pumpkin Spice for Echo Park

Shopping Our Stash #26- Never Been Inked Stamp (or neutral colors)

My Pink Stamper November blog hop WINNER & Urge to Purge Update

Random Integer Generator

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious blog hop - LO or Mini book challenge

Shop Pumpkin Spice blog hop WINNER

Random Integer Generator

Love card using Artful Delight's November card kit

Shopping Our Stash #25 - Chipboard OR Stickers OR Rub-ons

Shop Pumpkin Spice blog hop: My first card kit reveal!

Shop Pumpkin Spice for Country Drive

I am always here for you & Warm hugs to you (Two cards/One post)

Jingle Belles: Not a Creature Was Stirring & Urge to Purge Days 10 &11

Delightful card kit! *second post today*

Shopping Our Stash #24 - Sports or Western

*Caution* Warning* Purging is Contagious! Urge to Purge Challenge: Day 10

Halloween Treat Bags & Urge to Purge challenge: Day 8

Shopping Our Stash #23 - Fall colors challenge (& URGE to PURGE: DAY 7!)

Urge to Purge craft room challenge: DAY 6: Hope!

3 parts Blackbird, 1 part Spook-alicious, 1 part Cricut, and 1 ribbon...yum!

You will always have a piece of my heart + Urge to Purge challenge: Day 4

My Pink Stamper - October challenge "Christmas"

Urge to Purge craft room challenge: DAY 3

Urge to Purge craft room challenge: DAY 2

Urge to Purge Craft Room clean up: DAY 1

Softly Falling Snow + Urge to Purge blog candy challenge for you (and me)!

Pinkalicous news & My Pink Stamper October blog hop WINNER

Random Integer Generator

You're Wicked Cool!

Dia de los Muertos

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious blog hop- Holiday Treat/Goody Bag

You are SO Tweet! (and blog hop WINNER!!!)

Random Integer Generator

I'm dreaming of a PINK Christmas

Challenge #21: Spooky OR orange/black

Scrapbook Resolutions (WARNING wordy post)

Delightful card kit! second post today

Caution Warning* Purging is Contagious! Urge to Purge Challenge: Day 10