Mommy Makes Roses

Okay, I've got my new paper rose kit from Cassie, and I can't wait to get started. She's such a sweetheart, so easy to work with, and a major talent. Her paper craft is one of the best I've ever seen. She even made it on the Martha Stewart Show!!! I can't wait to get started on my kit. As soon as I get one done I'll be sure to share it with you all. Check out her site, Mommy Makes Roses, to see her work. I bet you can't tell they're actually made from coffee filters! Who'd have guessed!?

Blogger's Choice Awards

I'd like to give a big thanks to my baby sister for nominating my site for four of the the Blogger's Choice Awards. Be sure to check out the list for your favorite blogger. Send in those nominations and cast your votes. It's your American right! Here's one of the links to vote for my site:

New Catty

Ooo! Ahhh! The new Stampin' Up Fall-Winter Collection 2007 catalog has arrived!!! The pee-pee dance can finally have a rest. I've been working on my wish list, but I can't seem to narrow it down to a reasonable dollar amount. I guess that's impossible in the crafting world though. The only person who will ever think that spending more than a few cents on a piece of paper is the crafter her/himself. So here's to new new stamps, fun ribbon, and the hope that our checks don't bounce!

Five Days

I can't believe I haven't lifted a single stamp, marker, or paper flower in five whole days! I'm going through some serious withdrawal. I blame ol' Uncle Sam. It's always easy to blame him for everything. We all have at one time or another. The past few days here have been filled with threatening clouds of on and off again showers. It's made me feel quite lethargic. Rain is almost trans-like for me. I just can't get anything done. Work hasn't ceased to pull every ounce of energy out of me either. It has a knack for that. Today's project is inspired by the lack of sunshine around here. It's a sunny little flower! I found this giant clothes pin when I got sent down to Fort Benning, GA on one of our rare escapes from captivity on an Army funded all expenses paid camping trip! I know that sounds like fun to you civilians, but trust me it's totally NOT FUN! Here's what I did: I originally wanted ric-rac for my flower stem, but decided this twill was a great color and I like the coordinating petals it made. I used a matching green thread to hand sew the bottom of the stem to give it a clean fold, but looking back I would have rather flipped the unfinished edge to the front for a faux grass feel. The giant blue flower is from Making Memories and came with a few funky brads. I glued it all down with a good liquid glue. Finally I added a picture of my favorite girls, my cousins: Chelsea and Samantha. And...that's it!

Sunday Funnies

Pocket Full

It's HOT! Very hot! Not to mention sticky. The uniform we wear doesn't help any. I have a thick black Tshirt I wear to work plus that goofy wool beret. There's absolutely no sun protection and it's WOOL! Hello!? Whoever thought up that one, (General Shinseki), isn't the smartest guy out there. I can't seem to find a strong enough antiperspirant on the market. They should make one "strong enough for a Soldier." This fruity stuff does no good when we're out in the field getting attacked by bugs and heat at the same time. The same thing goes for shampoo and lotion and shaving gel and... Don't get me wrong though, I love feeling like a woman at the end of the day after I've been mucking around in a pair of pants that would fit better backwards. I have butt! Doesn't the military realize that? The top we wear is way too wide as well. I'm not a quarterback. I never will be. I could go on and on about these things, but I won't. I just need to rant on occasion. Ok, ok, on to something more pleasant... a new card! This card would look cute for a boy too. Instead of flowers I would put a frog coming out of the pocket and maybe a sling shot, and I would definitely use my brown ink to make everything "dirty". What I did: I cut a piece of 12"x12" patterned paper from Chatterbox in half to create my 6"x6" folded card. Since this paper is relatively thin, I added a layer of coordinating card stock to the inside for stability. The blue jean pocket is something I cut off a little girl's overalls. The tab on the pocket is just a piece of ribbon folded and tucked behind with a glue dot. I arranged all of the flowers before I adhered them with glue dots. And...that's it!

Psh!

Okay, I know this doesn't make sense to you, but it does to me and my BF. "Psh" is a word, or more like sound effect, that we say to each other. It's a small part of our funky secret language. Common, I'm sure you ALL have some inside joke or word with someone close to you. I swear if you heard the two of us having a conversation you'd have no idea what we were talking about. Sometimes I even crack up thinking how silly we are. Anyway, I made this card in honor of his coming home from a three week Army funded "camping trip". I'm dreading thinking this new 15 month deployment deal is going to be a million times worse. Three weeks is just piddly compared to that. I don't know what else to say about that... well, except: "PSH!"

Here's what I did:

This one is way easy! I took a A2 card base made of Whisper White from SU and adhered a 4"x5.25" piece of black from Bazzill (texture, baby!). Then I added a 3.25"x5" piece of funky patterned paper from Sandy Lion. The center box is another piece of Whisper White cut to 3.5"x2.25" on top of black cut to 3.75"x2.5". I cut "Psh!" in black using my Cricut (Doodletype set at 2"). Finally, I took my white gel pen followed by my black journal pen and did some fun doodles around some of the edges. And...that's it!

Sunday Funnies

Didn't you love reading the comic strips and funnies on Sundays? I did, and I still do! Since I don't post on the weekends, I'm going to try to do a Sunday Funnies instead. If you've got any good jokes to share feel free to contact me. If your paper crafting joke makes me laugh out loud you just may get a little surprise! Men's Journaling:

Lots of Love

On my most recent order for SU I was at a loss for what hostess benefits to claim. I already had all the sets that I liked, so I took a risk and got the Simply Scrappin' kit. I didn't expect to be amazed since I'm more of a fan of the Basic Grey variety when it comes to patterned paper. I am in love! (sigh) Really, this paper is SO fun. I'm not a sticker girl so I didn't think I'd like the stickers either, but I'm in love with those too. I think I'll be creating an entire card set around this kit now. I can't wait to get the new ones that are coming out in just a couple weeks. (I just hope my pocket book is extra stretchy next month.) Here's what I did: I cut the 12"x12" sheet of Certainly Celery (green) to 8-1/2"x5-1/2" and scored it in half to make a standard A2 size card base. I used my corner rounder for the right side corners and then inked around the entire thing in Chocolate Chip. I then trimmed off a piece 1-3/4"x5" striped patterned paper, tore one long edge, and then inked it too before adhering. The So Saffron (yellow) piece is trimmed to 2-3/4"x4" and is inked too. I added brads in the corners of this piece before attaching it to the card. I stamped "Lots of Love" from the Alphabet Stew set on a 2"x2-1/2" piece of Whisper White card stock first in Tempting Turquoise and then in Chocolate Chip for a shadow effect. Again, I inked the edges before matting this onto a piece of 2-1/4"x2-3/4"piece of Chocolate Chip card stock and pierced a row of holes on the top and bottom edge before adhering both to my card front. The blue and brown ribbon are three separate card stock stickers from the Simply Scrappin' kit cut to 4-1/4" strips. Next I added white brads to the three flowers from Prima. And...that's it! PS I'd like to give a big shout out to my bloggy friend, Kristine. Check her blog out here. (That's an order!!!)

Pocket Calendar Cover

I'm obsessed with altering every little thing in my everyday life that I can. My checkbook and pocket calendar are no exception. I admit sometimes I get carried away. Working in the Army is difficult for me in this area. There are SO many areas that need a bit of color as I'm sure you can imagine, but I just can't alter the world. I'd cover the tanks in paper flowers and patterned paper if they'd let me! I've managed to settle for a calendar or photo frame here and there, but the scrappin' itch just can't always be scratched. Here's what I did: I used the same patterned paper that I used on my lunch box a few posts back. I bought the store out of this paper. I just can't get enough of it. I wish it came in fabric, so I could make throw pillows and curtains for my "Arts & Craps" room. (That's what my BF calls it, but don't worry he's kidding. He knows I carry an M16.) There are a few different size checkbook and pocket calendars out there, so you need to measure the insert for the background paper size. The pink striped strip on my cover is 0.5" wide. I distressed all of the edges of this paper to expose the white core with my old nail file. (Nail files are usually way cheaper and prettier than sanding blocks found in scrapbook stores.) I then stamped my name with the Headline Alphabet set by Stampin' Up! with Versa Mark and embossed it with clear powder. I cut the letters out and distressed the edges. I used Versa Mark and clear embossing powder again on the blue piece with my Hot to Dot Stampin' Around wheel. I didn't specifically measure out the mats on this project. I simply adhered my name to the blue paper and then trimmed it to fit the length of my name. I added a quarter inch to the length and width for the green piece. The paper flowers are by Prima. I love white flowers because I can make them whatever color I want with inks, chalks, or whatever else I can think of. I used two layers of the flower, added an eyelet to the centers, and then adhered them. And...that's it!

Internet Down

Right when I was about to hit "publish post" the internet and cable went out. I hate that! I stayed up until midnight hoping it would get fixed. Anyway, here's the latest: I'm totally doing the pee-pee dance after browsing through the new Stampin' Success magazine. (Sorry, it's only available to demonstrators.) There are so many little hints about what will be in the new catalog. New ribbons! New On Board Clipboards! New stamp sets! NEW NEW NEW! I'm loving the new Boho West matching set of paper, stamps, and star shaped punch. If you're like me, you'll be happy to hear that the Simply Sent cards kits are BACK! Not all of them, but there are new ones to replace that void in my heart. Think: Christmas! Simply Scrappin' kits are back too, but now with double sided paper!!! (How many exclamation marks can I use?) I think the product I'm most excited about is the new Pretties Kit. It's filled with fun new embellishments. Dye-able fabric flowers, hat pins, beads, rhinestone brads, "and more"! I'm definitely going to have good dreams tonight. I got my new products from the SU preview and hostess sets on Monday plus some new Marvy punches, so it's time to re-organize a few things this evening. Here's a peek of a couple things that I can't wait to play with:

Slow & Steady...

I made this card back in the fall, but decided it was worthy enough to bring out of the closet. My usual design process starts with a sketch after being inspired by colors, images, patterns or other things I see around me, but this card came out of nothing. Three of my co-workers decided to do a tag team triathlon, so I wanted to do something special for them. What kind of card do you give for an event like this? "Good luck!" No, that's overused. I have always loved my QK turtle die cut, but until this I had never used it. I really have to try hard to impress the macho men at work with my "nerdy" paper crafts, but this did the trick. (FINALLY!) Here's what I did: I started with a long (legal size) green envelope that I chopped in half to make a library pocket. I then used a 1" circle punch to make a notch in the top. I just so happened to have matching green card stock for my tag, so I cut this to 4"x6" and trimmed notches on the top corners. I usually freehand one side then flip the clipping over to make a matching notch on the opposite side. It makes a perfect tag every time. On the pocket, I used 1.25" strips of scrap patterned paper, and for the tag I used a matching piece trimmed to 1.5"x4" then tacked it down with a couple of black brads. The turtle and bunny are Quickutz die cuts as well as all of the letters. Since periods are too difficult to loose during die cutting, I opt to use a hole punch. The only pieces that I didn't run through my Xyron were the largest 1.75" circle, the red 2.75"x2" mat, and the 2.5"x1.75" piece of creme patterned paper that the word "NOT!" is written on. They were just too big to fit in the hole! Since this piece is very abstract, I just placed the pieces randomly as I went along. I used a blue brad and some funky ribbon for a pull at the top of the tag then finished up the card with my journaling pen by adding lines, dots, and doodles until I was content. And...that's it!

A Special Day

I've been working on a few projects over the weekend that I planned on posting, but at the last minute this little Father's Day card popped out of me. My dad reads this blog so of course I can't post the card I made for him. This one will probably go to Poppie. I don't think he reads this blog. I guess if he does then he'll get a sneak peek. I really need to get to bed since I have to be up before the sun tomorrow. Every time we pick up a new class we have to be at work at 0430. Our school starts earlier in the summer in order to beat the heat. You see, on the first day of class there's an obstacle course and timed two mile run that the Soldiers must pass to stay enrolled in our school, so we don't want anyone passing out from heat exhaustion or stroke!

Here's what I did:

Every time I make a mat, I take the larger layer and subtract a quarter inch. So, in this case the green base is 4.25"x5.5" then the blue would be 4"x5.25" followed by the patterned paper from Basic Grey which is trimmed to 3.75"x5". I used Bazzill 5mm Hershey brads in the corners. (Make sure you put brads and other embellishments that require you to go through a layer of paper on before you adhere your design to your card front. You don't want the person receiving your card to see your brad's behinds on the inside of your card. It's just not pretty!) When I'm done putting brads through my paper I always smash them down on a hard surface to make them super flat. It really keeps the paper from being lumpy. The inner blue mat is 2.75"x4" and the center green piece is 2.5"x3.75". Before I layered the green onto the blue I printed my sentiment on the green card stock using Monotype Corsiva at a 20pt bold font. I tied some beige ribbon to the front and used a ruler as a guide for the paper piercing. After assembling all of the layers I then glued it to the green standard A2 card. I used the same font and style on the inside of the card to finish off the sentiment. It says: "Don't get too excited though we have a special day for groundhogs too!" And...that's it!

Baby Card

Today felt like the longest day at work EVER! There was absolutely nothing to do. I work at one of the Army schools, so normally we have tons of students and cadre to manage, but since we don't have any classes right now... I was SO BORED! By the time I got home, sat on the couch, took off my boots, and turned on Oprah, I had fallen asleep. The toughest days are the days when I don't do a thing. Why is that!? Anyhow, here's a simple card for today. I feel like a baby card is appropriate for my newly born blog. I absolutely love love love Basic Grey paper! If you don't then you're totally weird! This card is only three sheets of paper, a bit of ribbon, and a rub-on. Couldn't be any easier! Here's what I did: Since this is a standard A2 card, I scored a sheet of 8.5" x 5.5" yellow Bazzill card stock in half. I then trimmed a piece of the rocket patterned paper to 4" x 5.25" and rounded the corners with my Stampin' Up! corner rounder. The polka dot patterned paper was then trimmed to 1.5" x 5.25". After trimming these two pieces I used my Color Box chalk ink in Blue Lagoon to distress all of the edges of the patterned paper. After adhering the polka dot paper to the rocket paper, I secured the knotted green and white striped ribbon (found in my ribbon stockpile) and secured the loose ends behind the patterned paper before I glued the entire thing to the card front. Finally I added the "Baby" rub-on from Scenic Route Paper Co. And...that's it!

Friends

OK, still not a card. I'll get to it sooner or later. It's funny how I plan on doing one thing, but a totally different thing ends up coming out. I guess that's how creativity works. I never know what I'm making before it's complete. This is a plane ol' wooden frame that I covered in Funky paper. Since it didn't have glass or even a leg to stand on, I improvised. This little iron easel was discovered at a bed and bath store where it captured my heart instantly. I've had the metal mesh for ages and I finally found a clever way to use it. The photo is of my most favorite girls in the world. They're my scrapbook friends of course! We meet once a month to learn new techniques and to stamp our hearts out, (not to mention gab about EVERYTHING). Here's what I did: I started out with a plain wooden frame and measured from the inside lip all the way around to the backside of the frame. This is how I knew how long to make my strips of patterned paper. I then used Mod Podge to adhere the strips of Foof-a-la patterned paper. Some of the strips I cut clean and others I gave a torn edge. I let my paper dry before I added any embellishments for about 20 or 30 minutes. You may not be able to tell from the photo, but I used my black journaling marker to freehand a few doodles. I wanted to highlight the florals under the glass rocks so I outlined them in the black journaling marker as well. Next I glued glass rocks to my frame with Crystal Effects by Stampin' Up. I drew the heart my self and used the wings from a sheet of tags and other shapes that came with the patterned paper. I made sure to ink the edges in black and add a few more doodles before I used my Stampin' Dimentionals also from Stampin' Up. I then cut the metal mesh from Making Memories down to size and used liquid glue to keep my mesh in place. This part had to dry over night. I used eyelets to help anchor the corners of my photo and used knotted ribbon to attach it to the mesh. Finally, I added a little red book plate with funky Queen & Co. brads. And...that's it!

Made With Love

Since my main paper crafting obsession is making cards, I decided to devote my first project to this lunch box turned card organizer. I originally planned to sand it and paint it white, but the process took FOREVER. Some of the white paint is still around the creases and corners of the lid which I actually like even more than my original intention. It gives it a weathered sort of shabby chic look that I love.

Here's what I did:

First, I measured the box and cut out the pieces in my favorite paper from the Beautiful collection of the Wild Asparagus line. It took two pieces of double sided paisley/blue card stock and one piece of striped/green card stock. The handle on the top of this particular lunch box is easy to take off so I didn't have to hide any unsightly cuts in my striped paper. My corner rounder just happened to be the perfect size for the corners on the lid, so I didn't have to cut them by hand. For the latch I used a circle punch on the front piece of paisley card stock and then used my scissors to manually cut out the rest of the latch form. I then applied a medium layer of Mod Podge with a foam brush to a sanded Basic Grey lunch box. I did use a bit of thick red liner tape to hold the paper down while the Mod Podge dried. After my organizer dried over night, I wrapped some ribbon around the top of the box and applied two heart tags using my Quickutz dies, two jump rings, and an eyelet. I also wrote "made with" in my own handwriting on the top tag. The green and blue rectangles are all sanded. Since this paper has a white core it gave a nice look to coordinate with the weathered look the paint gives. The letter stickers that spell out "LOVE" are all coordinating Wild Asparagus card stock stickers. I used a liquid glue and blue microbeads for the centers of my Prima flowers. And...that's it!

Grand Opening!

Well, this is it! My first entry to my crafty bloggy place. I feel like I'm making a New Year's resolution or something. I guess this is it. So... here goes nothing!