Raining Stars

Here is the third card from the August Make and Take. This one shows a creative use for the Stars Decorative Mask.

• Tangelo Twist card stock 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2"
• Whisper White card stock (2) at 4" x 5-1/4"
• Crumb Cake card stock 3-7/8" x 5-1/8"
• Flashback DSP 2-1/4" x 3-3/4"
• Stamps: Endless Wishes Stamp Set, Sketched Birthday
• Ink: Stazon, Versamark, Tangleo Twist, Night of Navy
• Markers: Crushed Curry, Tangleo Twist, Bermuda Bay
• Accessories: Chalk Talk framelits, Banner Framelits, Stars Decorative Mask, White embossing powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Early Espresso Baker's Twine

Start off by folding the Tangleo Twist card stock on the score line. Use glue stick to adhere one of the pieces of Whisper White card stock onto the card front. Now take the piece of Crumb Cake card stock and rub the Embossing Buddy all over the card stock. Place the Stars Decorative Mask over the card stock then press the Versamark ink pad directly onto the mask to ink up the star shapes on the card stock. Remove the mask and cover the ink with White embossing powder. Tap off the excess and heat with the heat tool. This is a really fun way to use the new Decorative Masks on your cards.

Glue this layer onto the card front with Glue Stick. Now use the Chalk Talk framelit in the Big Shot on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Stamp the cake from Endless Wishes onto the label in Stazon ink. Stamp the greeting next to the cake in Tangelo Twist and Night of Navy ink. Color in the cake with the markers. Take a 20" long piece of Early Espresso Baker's Twine and wrap it around the card front and tie it into a bow. Stick the label onto the card front with a few Stampin' Dimensionals.

Now take the remaining piece of Whisper White card stock and stamp the balloons from Sketched Birthday in Stazon ink. Color in the balloons with the markers and adhere the card stock inside the card with glue stick.

That's it! Another fun birthday card complete!

Butterfly Thoughts

Here is the second card from the August Make and Take and it is really a lot easier than it looks. Take a gander...

• Crisp Cantaloupe card stock 4-1/4" x 11", scored at 5-1/2"
• Whisper White card stock 4" x 5-1/4"
• Pool Party card stock 2-3/4" x 3-1/4"
• Whisper White card stock 2-1/4" x 2-1/2"
• Stamps: Too Kind, Chalk Lines
• Ink: Calypso Coral, Pool Party
• Accessories: This N That Retro Fresh Washi Tape, Delicate Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, Deco Labels Framelits, Glue Dots, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Stampin' Dimensionals, 2-Way Glue Pen. 

This card is really super duper easy even though it doesn't look like it is. So start off as usual by folding the Crisp Cantaloupe card base on the score line. Now take the piece of Whisper White card stock and apply one of the patterns of Washi Tape at an angle across the card front. Tear off the Washi Tape and wrap it around to the back of the card. If you intentionally put the tape at an angle then you don't have to worry if it is straight or not.

Now add the other two patterns of Washi Tape right up against the first and wrap the ends around to the backside of the card stock. Take the image from Chalk Lines and stamp it on either side of the Washi Tape in Pool Party ink. Then stamp the greeting from Too Kind in the lower right hand corner in Calypso Coral ink

Now for the butterfly part. Use the smallest Deco Labels framelit on the piece of Whisper White cardstock. Use the 2nd from smallest Deco Labels framelit on the piece of Pool Party card stock. Glue the two layers together with glue stick. Then punch the butterfly from the center with the Delicate Butterfly punch. Use a Stampin' Sponge to sponge some Pool Party ink around the edge of the label. Then stick this layer onto the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals. Use the Bitty Butterfly punch on a scrap of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper. Use a Glue Dot to stick the glimmery butterfly inside the punched out butterfly of the label.

To dress up the inside of the card stamp the image from Chalk Lines on both sides in Pool Party ink. Then use the Delicate Butterfly punch on a scrap of Pool Party card stock and sponge the edges of the butterfly with Pool Party Ink. Use the Bitty Butterfly punch on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Use 2-Way Glue Pen to glue the butterflies together then glue it onto the inside of the card. 

You're done!

Make a Wish

For the next few days I'm gonna go back in time a bit and share the Make and Take projects from last year that I hadn't posted about yet. So here is the first card from the August Make and Take.

• Smoky Slate card stock 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4"
• Island Indigo card stock 3-3/4" x 5"
• Lullaby DSP 3-5/8" x 4-7/8"
• Crushed Curry card stock 3-1/2" x 3-1/2"
• Silver Glimmer Paper 1/4" x 5-1/2"
• Scrap of Island Indigo cardstock
• Stamps: Perfect Pennants
• Ink: Island Indigo
• Accessories: Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Stampin' Diensionals, Star Framelits, 2-Way Glue Pen

This is a really bright and fun card for a birthday. To make this one start off by folding the Smoky Slate card stock on the score line. Use glue stick to adhere the DSP onto the Island Indigo card stock. Stamp the greeting from Perfect Pennants onto the lower left hand corner of the DSP in Island Indigo ink. 

Use Paper Snips to trim the ends of the Silver Glimmer paper strip into points and glue it onto the DSP with 2-Way Glue Pen. Glue the DSP/Island Indigo layer onto the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals. Use the Big Shot with the 3rd and 4th from smallest Star Framelit to cut out the Crushed Curry card stock. Use 2-Way Glue Pen to glue the frame star onto the front of the card. Save the inside Crushed Curry star for later. 

Now take a scrap of Island Indigo card stock and use the smallest star framelit with the Big Shot. Use a Stampin' Dimensional to stick the small star inside the larger Crushed Curry frame star. Then add a small Rhinestone Basic Jewel onto the Island Indigo star just to add a little more sparkle. 

Glue the Crushed Curry star that you saved from earlier inside the card with some glue stick. Use the smallest star framelit in the Big Shot to cut out a Silver Glimmer Paper star. Stick that glimmery star on top of the Crushed Curry star inside the card with a Stampin' Dimensional.

That's it! You're done! Super easy, and using up scraps as you go!

DIY Ruler Growth Chart

I'm back!!!! It's been a while since I've done a post on a project. But now that the holidays are over it's time to share all those Christmas presents that I spent all of December working on. My brother-in-law and his wife had a beautiful baby boy this past July. Since I don't get to spend a bunch of time with the new mom due to work schedules and such I really didn't know what to give her for Christmas. So I went stalking through her Pinterest boards and came across a pin of a giant ruler growth chart. It was so absolutely awesome and adorable! So I knew I had to make one for them.

The funny part was, I showed my husband and he asked "why would you want that?". Then I had to explain to him the purpose of a growth chart. I thought everyone knew what a growth chart was. Although my parents just marked it on a corner of the wall in the house. But this one is better because you can take it off the wall and move it with you without having to re-do the marks!

I started of by searching Pinterest and then Googled DIY Ruler Growth Chart and came across this tutorial at Wilder Do's. After getting lost on their blog oohing and ahhing over various projects I called it a day. It's such a huge relief to know what you're going to make. So I followed the tutorial and laid out the marks and numbers on a 1 x 8 that was 7 feet tall. I started off with the 6" mark and worked my way up.  

For the number templates I simply cut out some Times New Roman numbers that were 3" tall and cut out some stencils from card stock. I used the card stock stencils to trace the numbers onto the board. Then I used my wood burning tool with a chisel tip to outline everything. After much trial and error I found out that my soldering iron gets much hotter than the wood burning tool and that worked better and faster for filling in the lines and numbers. I know... I could have just painted on the lines and the numbers, but I really liked the color and texture that the wood burning added.

After everything was burned in I coated it with three coats of Minwax Polyshades in Pecan with a satin finish. I was running out of time so the fact that it was stain and polyurethane all in one step made it the go to product.  

Then it was just a matter of letting it cure completely and wrap it up. I even wrapped up the hanging hardware with it, so there is no excuse for not getting it hung up. 

Thank you April from Wilker Do's for showing me how to make this awesome project! I will definitely be pinning and building some of the other projects you've shared! 

Linking up to these parties. 

Creative Hop - What Makes My Creativity Tick

Good morning lovely readers! I was tagged by the wonderful Boni Montano to participate in this Creative Hop. The idea is to answer five questions so everyone can learn a little bit more about the person behind the blog pages and pretty pictures.

What am I working on now?

Way too many things! I think I have crafting ADD. There is no point in time where I have just one thing I am working on. I like to hop from one to another to another. Especially when I have to wait for things like paint or glue to dry...

So here is a little bit of what I have going on at the moment. I've been working on a couple of quilts. One is nearly finished. I just have to finish up the quilting stitches and add the binding. The other the top is done and I just have to baste, quilt, and bind it. But here is a pic of the blocks. This is going to be a baby quilt for my new little nephew for his first Christmas!

I recently started a knitting class and a landscape painting class on Craftsy. The Knit Lab class makes it really easy to learn to knit and get the hang of the stitches. The Imagined Landscapes class was so much fun! I never knew I could paint anything even remotely close to this! (These are not sponsored links, I just love to share awesome things). 

The class really was amazing! I have come to the conclusion that you are not an artist because you are naturally born knowing how to paint beautiful things, but rather that you have the courage to keep going and keep adding and changing things until you end up with something beautiful. How else could you turn this , which looks like a child's finger painting, into the beautiful picture above? Yep, that is where it started.  

I am also working on updating my craft room and getting things better organized. So I can try to prevent having piles like this one... However, you can spot the two quilts I'm working on.  I hope to have a whole post series on this in the new year.

How does my work differ than others in my genre?

This is a tough one to answer... My work differs because I like to do such a large variety of crafting things. I have been crafting ever since I was very little and haven't stopped. I truly enjoy trying new things and I like to share how I make things so others can learn too. Maybe one of my tutorials or experiences will help someone else learn the easy way to do something. Or that way the instructions and steps are already there for someone who wants to follow along. Its also totally and completely me and my style. There is no way to replicate that.

Why do I create what I do?

I just love to make things! I love learning new crafts and giving my family handmade gifts. I hope they never get tired of getting them. Otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with all my crafted goodies. It is always fun to try using a different technique or medium and seeing your results. Sometimes the results aren't that great and it was a learning experience. Other times the results are fabulous and you are really proud of the piece.

It's also my escape from a busy hard day at work where I can turn up some tunes and just relax while having fun and making something pretty.

Besides... I have to justify having this huge space that is jam packed with all sorts of supplies and tools. This is a slightly outdated picture. I will have to do an update post when I get things finished a bit more.





How does my creative process work?

I usually see something either on someone else's blog, or on Pinterest, or even just out in nature that inspires me. Like a specific project, or a color combo, or a pattern. Anything can strike up inspiration. So I try to make sure that when I see these things I write them down either in my phone's note pad or in an actual note book that I keep in my purse. Sometimes my sister or mom gives me suggestions and it starts from there. Sometimes someone in my family will make a specific request.

Sometimes I just decide that I want to work on something. If I actually take the time to sit and really think about coming up with new projects that are entirely my own I find I can come up with lots of ideas. Some don't end up coming to fruition, but others are a complete masterpiece that I'm very proud of. Preferably that thinking time involves sitting outside or near a window with a glass of wine. I really do draw a lot of inspiration from nature. I love getting to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, or curling up under a blanket near the window and looking out at the snow if it's too cold to sit outside.

Once I have the inspiration I take the time to think up the details and make notes. You will find all sorts of scraps of paper all over my craft room with notes and project ideas. I like to think about size, what colors will I use, what patterns should I use or look for, what supplies can I use that I already have. Basically I try to come up with a plan before I head down to the craft room so I have a clear idea of the direction I want to take. That makes it easier to have some of the thinking done ahead of time so I can work more on the actual putting together of the project.  

Most projects I also try to take photos and write down measurements along the way so I can share the how to with you! I'm also trying to think up more fun ways to photograph my projects other than just in front of a white board.

Tag… you’re it!

I'm not sure if I can tag multiple people or not, but I'm going to anyway. I would like to tag Jacque Craig at Stamp With Jacque. She is the brains behind Craft Project Central  and I think it would be fun to see what makes her creativity tick.

I would also like to tag my sweet sister Kelly at Kelly's Pages.

Here is the challenge! You have just one week to answer the same questions above so your readers can get to know a little bit more about what goes on behind the scenes.

It's been a while...

You may or may not have noticed that I took a bit of a bloggy break for the last three weeks or so. Other than posting the Link Party each week of course. No biggie if you didn't notice. I'm just one little crafty blog in a world wide web of so many countless crafty blogs.

The thing is I'm struggling with the reason behind this little spot of the interweb. What's the point of it all? Why bother going through all the work taking a good photo and editing it and adding all the supplies and instructions...

I started it to share with others what I'm making in my craft room and maybe to inspire a few people to try some different things. But it has morphed into something that takes a lot of time and work. I mean seriously? Making projects just to have a blog post? Knocking on the screen wondering if anyone really is reading any of this out there...Hello???

Recently a few things have happened. I got a promotion at my day job. Yay! But that also means I'm working a lot harder than I was before which for the last few months has resulted in me being completely exhausted by the time I come home and fix dinner.

I started going to school again and I am taking 7 credit hours of online college courses. You see, I got the job I have by working for the same company for nearly 10 years and learning as I went along gaining experience. So I'm getting a degree in the field I already work in just in case I should need to find another job in the future. Not that I really plan on going anywhere. (You can't beat good pay and a 7 minute commute). But I want to make sure I have the security that I could find similar work with the I experience I already have.

So with everything going on the blog and projects kind of fell to the back burner. Things are starting to go easier now and slow down a bit. Just in time for the holiday craziness.

I do like blogging, if for no other reason than to catalog the things I've made so I can look back on them later.

Basically the short of it is I am going to be posting less frequently. At least for a while until I get back in the groove of things. I want to concentrate on actually getting to make things in the spare snatches of time I can find instead of just writing about them.

Are you still there! High fives to you if you actually made it to the end of my little rant. Okay, I'm done venting. Now I'm off to start a load of laundry and cook dinner.