Sunday, April 25, 2010

A few cards

I'm finally back after a week with a few cards to show you. With vacation ending last Monday I think my creative enjoy got sucked away. I attempted the challenge from 365 Cards from Day 50 (Monday) and every time I looked at it, I walked away. Eventually I knew I had to finish it so I could move on. I still hate the card and nothing worked right with it, but it's finished and I can put it at the bottom of my pile...hehe. Anyway, here are Days 50, 51, 53, 54, and 56. I didn't do all 7 days like last week, but 5 out of 7 isn't bad since I re-entered the real world. Hope everyone had a great weekend and you are prepared for Monday.

Day 50: Digging Deep...the card I HATE! Must use:
1) An item that is more than a year old (the white embroidery thread)
2) Something that you were given that you have never used - this could be from a swap or a gift, but it has to have come from someone else. (the patterned paper)
3) Something you forgot you had.(the cardstock...got it from my scraps folder)

Day 51: Use red, stamp, and alpha stickers. Again, not my favorite by any means, but my mojo was lacking at the beginning of the week!

Day 53: Decorate the front, inside, and back of the card. I thought this would best be done by making a gate fold card. I didn't take a picture of the inside, but you can see the paper and there is a stamped sentiment.

Day 54: Joy-fold Card. I LOVE this card. It looks so complicated, but it's so easy and the result is so pretty. I will definitely be making this card more often!


Day 55: Sketch Sunday. I think this card came out pretty cute and it seriously only took me like 10 minutes from start to finish, which is pretty quick for me.

Thanks for looking!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

365Cards-Day49

Just a quick post today...hubby is giving me the side eye from across the room as it's supposed to be movie time and I'm typing away on the computer. It's been a BUSY weekend, but I still had time to make the card based off of Sketch Sunday. I think it's pretty cute, and I love the strip of paper that says "I am blessed..." It makes it a great multi occasion card because I could put almost anything inside such as "...to have a husband/friend/sister/parent like you." Hope everyone had a great weekend!



Saturday, April 17, 2010

365Cards-Day48

Today is the last day of white space challenges. Yay! But at the same time, I usually rely on sketches, so I just have to get my creative energy ready for the challenge of having to come up with the sketch on my own again. I took the liberty of changing the sketch a little bit because I didn't want to put arrows on my card. So I used my scallop square punch from SU! and of course stamps from The {Stamps} of Life. I once again forced myself to go through my old paper instead of using something new. It's fun to look through old paper because you fall in love with stuff all over again. I even pulled out some and set it aside to use soon on a layout or two! At first I was thinking it would be a good card to send to a man because of the masculine colors, but then I just had to use the flower stamps, so I'm not sure who to send it to. I'll just add it to my ever growing pile and pull it out someday.


I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far. Mine has been good, but busy! I washed, dried, folded, and put away 5 loads of laundry, changed the sheets on the bed, went through the hubby's dresser drawers to sort, organize, refold, and toss some stuff, then went through all of my new and old shoes and organized them. I'm hoping the productivity continues and I'll have motivation to keep working in my craft room. Well, I'm off. I'll be back tomorrow with another card!

Friday, April 16, 2010

365Cards-Day47

The card I made for today's white space challenge may be considered cheating because I used a very pretty, but very patterned paper. Because of the colors it is toned down a little bit, but I just couldn't force myself to use a plain piece of paper as the background. Especially since I was challenging myself to use older paper that I have instead of my new stuff. I think it came out very pretty, I'm loving the colors! All of the stamps that I used are from The {Stamps} of Life. If you didn't visit when I put the link in the post the order day, there is also a blinkie in my side bar that will take you to her website. Warning: You will be hooked! Her stamp sets are so pretty, so versatile, affordable, and great quality!



OK, I'm off. Hubby is finishing putting up the new projector screen so that we can actually watch a movie on our projector for the first time since we moved into the new house! I hope everyone had a great Friday. I met a friend for lunch and some shopping at the mall and then went an got a massage. It was a great day out, but unfortunately I got nothing accomplished in my craft room except this card. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy weekend! Have a great weekend everyone!

Edit: I'm also linking this card up to the Sisterhood of Scrap Blog Hop: Marker Challenge. I used my SU! markers on all the stamps. The one in the center of the middle circle was just one stamp so I colored it using Chocolate Chip and Tempting Turquoise.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Stampin' Up Color Renovation


Although some of you may already have seen or heard, beginning this summer Stampin' Up! is introducing a Color Renovation. What's that you ask? Well, I'll tell ya!

For the past one and a half years, the talented people at SU have been busy researching color and developing a new color palette. And while I'm a little bummed since I just became a demonstrator in October and have spent a lot of money on markers, inks, and cardstock in the old color palette, I'm impressed and excited with the new color choices. So without further ado, let me introduce the changes to you.

Currently, SU! has 5 In Color colors a year, as well as their 7 Neutrals, 12 Bold Brights, 12 Earth Elements, 12 Rich Regals, and 12 Soft Subtles. With the changes, there will be 10 colors each in the following collections: Brights, Neutrals, Regals, and Subtles. If you are doing the math in your head, you may be saying, "But Erin, that means that not all the colors are being carried over." Yes, you are correct. Only 25 of the original colors will be carried over, 10 former In Colors will be returning, and there are 5 brand new colors! There will still be In Colors, however. The new In Colors will now have a lifespan of 2 years instead of just one, and they are still introducing 5 new ones a year.

Here are some of the changes I am most excited
- brand new colors: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, and Early Espresso
- return of Pink Pirouette, Pacific Point, and Baja Breeze
- staying of Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Soft Suede
- Kraft is now called Crumb Cake and will be available in ink, as well as paper

For more information, I have included a nice visual which lists all of the colors. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Also, here is a visual of the colors that are being retired. If any of your must have colors are on this list, contact me soon to place an order and stock up before they are no longer available!
*I know that both images are small. With the first image, you can click on it to enlarge the image. Unfortunately, I can seem to make the second image do the same.*

365Cards-Day46

Yep, you guessed it, another white space challenge. When I saw the big arrow on the card, I instantly thought, hmm, I'll just take one of my big chipboard arrows, cover it with paper, and call it a day. And then I got thinking...the point of doing these challenges isn't necessarily to make it quick and easy, but more to do a whole think outside the box approach. I must admit, this totally wasn't my idea. Vicky, one of the FABULOUS DT members for 365 cards came up with the card, and I "borrowed" many of her ideas. Overall I like how the card came out. I used the fun, vibrant Lime Rickey collection by Basic Grey, the SU! pinking hearts border punch, and a stamp set from The Stamps of Life that I just got in the mail today. I am totally in love with the stamp sets from Stephanie, go check them out!

I'll hopefully be back tonight with some fun and exciting news from Stampin' Up! and maybe some before and after pictures of my craft room. Thanks for looking and have a great Thursday!

I am also linking this card to the Sisterhood of Scrap Blog Hop. The challenge from April 14 was to use a punch, any type of punch. On this card I used my border punch, my tiny circle punch to create the buttons, and my 1 3/8 circle punch, all from SU!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

365Cards-Day 45

On today's agenda...more white space challenges. This one was a struggle because apparently I am triangle impaired. I kept telling myself it was really just like half squares to put together, but I am not a spacial person so I guess I couldn't visualize the squares behind the triangles. Anyway, it's done, and I think it is pretty cute. I figured that since I did a Father's Day card the other day I should make a Mother's Day card today. I did play around with my new SU! toy and emboss the cardstock with one of the texture plates. I'm excited to get my polka dot texture folder so then I can play with that, but until it gets shipped from being on backorder I'm content to play around with the other ones I have.


I hope everyone enjoyed their day today. I was supposed to do some hard-core work in my craft room including cataloging all of my SU! stamp sets, organizing paper, finding storage for my new quilting fabrics, etc, etc. but the weather was so nice that I sat out on the deck for a couple hours reading The Pact by Jodi Picoult. After lunch a friend called me and I went to chat with her for about an hour at a local park. After that relaxing afternoon in the sun I met Josh in Potsdam to look for a new chandelier/light for the dining room. The one that is up now is some hideous, old fashioned ceiling fan. This was the first time in a long time that Josh and I didn't fully agree on something related to decor, so we both had to make some compromises, but all in all I like what we got. Since we had a coupon and a gift card, we also decided to buy three new lamps for the living room. We both really liked what we have, but the cats put a dent in one and we wanted a third lamp anyway now that we have 3 end tables. It was also a good trip because I got First Crush for dinner. I do miss that restaurant now that I don't like in Potsdam anymore.

OK, I'm going to attempt to get to bed at a somewhat normal time to slowly transition myself for when vacation is over next week. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

365Cards-Day 44

This whole at 365 Cards they are doing white space challenges. I have really enjoyed participating in the challenges recently because it forces me to go outside of my comfort zone. Today's sketch white space challenge was easier than yesterday's, but I still kept wanting to add more "stuff!"

I can't even tell you how many times I stamped the two images and it just didn't work. Either the swirl was too dark, the sentiment was too light, or it was crooked! I originally tried to swirl in Melon Mambo and the sentiment in Soft Suede, but I decided I needed to switch it. Then I used a stamp off technique. Meaning I stamped the swirl twice on a scrap piece of paper, and then a third time on the actual piece used so it would be a nice toned down color.

OK, it was a long day that started too early after not enough sleep, so it's bedtime for this girl!

Monday, April 12, 2010

365 Cards-Day 43

Today's challenge over at 365 was another sketch challenge. Except this time there was lots of white space. I realized that maybe I'm a little bit white space challenged. And this was after just telling someone on Saturday not to be afraid of white space...haha. I picked out very masculine colors for the card so I thought I would be perfect for a Father's Day card.



I promise the ribbon is not as crooked as it appears in the picture. It may be a little crooked, but not nearly as much as it looks in the picture. I'm also thinking of distressing the tag. Maybe taking it off and sanding the edges and crumpling it up...what do you think?

Attention Scrapbook Fans

I just have a quick announcement that I want to share with all of you. If you are on Facebook, go become a fan of Clip It Up by Simply Renee. They are having a promotion right now that if they hit 1000 fans by this Friday, April 15 they will have a 50% off sale for all of their products! I love the Clip It Up and currently have the main model as well as the smaller extension model for up top. I'm especially excited about the prospect of their 50% off sale because I need more clips. Clips is one of those scrapbooking products like adhesive and albums that you need to buy, but you would so much rather spend money "fun" products. So a half off sale is a great opportunity to buy something that is needed, but save some money.

And because no post is complete without at least one picture, here is a picture of my Clip It Up. I will try to be back tonight with my card for the 365 Card Challenges, but today has been a day of unpacking my stuff from the crop so I haven't done any crafting.




So go, now, become a fan of the Clip It Up on Facebook!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Triple Scraptasking

Some of you are probably looking at my title and thinking, "What in the world is scraptasking?!" Well, I will tell you. :-) It's my new word for multitasking while scrapping. I had three card challenges that I found and I wanted to complete all three, but unfortunately a girl can't spend all her time scrapping, especially with in laws coming to dinner and spending time away from the hubby scrapbooking all day yesterday. So, I made one card that satisfied all the requirements for the three challenges. That's what I call productivity!

All show you the card first and then I'll link it up to all the challenges.


Challenge One: Day 42 at 365 Cards. Today is Sketch Sunday and this was the sketch they gave us to work with.

Challenge Two: This was a Curtain Call Color Challenge. You had to use the colors Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Whisper White, Only Orange, and Yo-Yo Yellow. It primarily has pink, yellow, and green in it, but there is a little bit of white and orange in the butterfly.

Challenge Three: Sisterhood of Scrap is hosting a Blog Hop and Crop. Today Cindy gave us the challenge to use at least three supplies that were older than a year. The Urban Prairie by Basic Grey about a year and a half old, the chipboard butterfly that I covered with paper is something I've definitely had over a year, and the yellow string has been in my collection for who knows how long.

Thanks for looking and have a great Monday tomorrow!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

365 Cards- Day 41

Today I went to an all day crop at my friend Sara's house. I always have SO much fun when I'm there. Some days I may not even get much scrapping done, but it's just a great time to sit and talk with all my scrappy friends. I am so thankful I found this amazing group of women shortly after Josh and I moved to this area. Sara is an amazingly talented scrapper and such a great person that it's always a good time to have the opportunity to hang out with her and and learn from her "awesomeness" as I like to call it. :-)

Although I did do a lot of talking today, I still managed to get two cards and two layouts done. I'll show you one card today, and I'll save the rest for a little later. The card that I'm going to show you fulfills the requirements for Day 41 on 365 Cards:
Add glitter to the tips or to the entire blossom to create your own fancy embellishments.


And here is my card. I had this Prima flower that I bought a while ago, but just never used it. I sprayed some clear Glimmer Mist on it to make it glittery. For those of you who have never tried Glimmer Mist, I strongly recommend it. I felt that the plain pink background was too plain, so I took a stamp from my Itty Bitty Backgrounds from Stampin'! Up! and made the background on the pink paper.

Thanks for looking!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Day 40: Friday 5

Yep, that's right. I'm back again with another blog post. I think this must be a new record for me. Or maybe it's all the free time I have now because today was the first day of Spring Break. And although I should be cleaning upstairs because the in-laws are coming for dinner Sunday and I will be gone scrapping all day tomorrow, I was in the mood to scrap, so scrap I did. :-)

Anyway, here is my card for today. It's for the challenge Friday Five over at 365 Cards. I have been following this blog for the longest time, but I just started participating in the challenges yesterday. And although Pam can come up with some wacky things, you gotta give her credit for being able to come up with all different ideas every single day!

Here was today's challenge:
There must be 5 of 5 things on your card:
5 different colors
5 buttons
5 patterned papers
5 stamps
5 blossoms

And here is my card:


It may not look like it meets the requirements, but trust me, it does:
5 different colors: In the buttons I made out of patterned paper, there are white, pink, teal, yellowish-orange, and tannish-brown.
5 buttons: I made 4 out of patterned paper and have a read one on the flower punch.
5 patterned papers: 4 are used for the paper buttons and the 5th one is from the flower.
5 stamps: I used stamps primarily to make the background paper. I have three different flower stamps that I used as well as a leafy stamp. Then the sentiment is my 5th stamp.
5 blossoms: 1 punch, and then I technically have 9 blossom stamps on the pink paper.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

As promised

Here is the update I promised in my last post. And I know how busy I have been is no excuse for not posting in over a year, but oh well! So here is a month by month recap of what's been going on in my life (or almost month by month)

February-May: So last time I posted I was in my last semester of working on my second Masters degree, this one in special education. I officially finished classes for the degree in early May and graduated with a 4.0. Go me!!! A week after graduation I had to have a second knee surgery on my knee to remove the cartilage that had been sewn back together in my first surgery. You would have thought I would have had plenty of time to rest and blog, but I was either doped up on pain meds or in too much pain to really sit in my scrapbook room to actually scrap.

June: This was a very exciting month for me. I applied at a local school district for a special education position, and within a week or two of sending out the application I was hired! I am working as a 12: 1: 1 teacher with seventh and eighth grade students of varying abilities/disabilities. It's a challenge and there have been days that I thought "What the heck am I doing?", but after almost a year in I can safely say I love it, I love the district, and it's absolutely what I am supposed to be teaching.

July: I had to do student teaching through a summer program for my Master's degree. I can safely say that was the longest, shortest month EVER if that makes sense. I didn't think it would ever end, but I had so much work to keep me busy that it flew by!

August: Busy preparing my classroom and attending lots of days of workshops.

September and October: Those two months are a blur and I don't remember much. Besides getting settled in a new district I wasn't familiar with, and being on my own in a special ed. classroom, Josh and I decided to look for our first house! After both turning 28 in October we closed on a house the last week in October and moved in Halloween weekend. October was also an exciting month because I became a Stampin' Up! independent demonstrator. I have always loved Stampin' Up and decided to make the plunge to become a demonstrator. So be on the lookout for updates from SU and my SU creations!

November-present: As I'm sure all of you homeowners out there can relate with, there is ALWAYS a project to do around the house. We built a scrapbook room for my down in the basement and putting up boards for walls, drywall, sub floor, flooring, painting, decorating, moving in furniture, and unpacking all my scrapbook stuff took quite a while! We are also almost completely redoing the other parts of the basement including the bathroom, building Josh an office, and creating his "man cave." In fact, as I'm typing this in my gorgeous new scrapbook room, Josh is busy putting up walls for the utility closet area.

OK, this post is getting a little long and it's time for me to go relax. I promise I will try to be better at posting on a more regular basis. Bye for now!

Hello again blog land!

OK, so I know it has been over a year since my last post. I've been busy...I promise I'll update a follow up post to let you all know what I have been up to.

But first, something scrappy to show you. :-) I created this card using the Offbeat collection by Basic Grey, including the rub-ons. I made this card for the "Totally Transfered" challenge over at 365 Cards. This was my first time completing a challenge for them, but I was in a scrappy mood, most of my stuff is packed for a crop I'm going to on Saturday, and pulling out all the rub-ons I forgot I had sounded like fun. So, without further ado, here is my card.


I just got the Sizzix Big Shot yesterday, so I had to play with one of the dies I got with it. It's a very simple card, but I'm still pretty pleased with how it came out. Nice, springy, and certain to make someone smile when they receive it. :-) Thanks for reading and have a great night!