Shabby Heart

Welcome.  I had a good time yesterday selling my hand-made paper crafts at the Spring Craft Fair, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I met many nice ladies who liked my crafts and bought a few items.  Thank you for your support and words of encouragement {smile}.  I am working on getting things lined up for two more craft fairs in May.  So stay tuned for those announcements!

I hope your weekend is enjoyable and that you get to do the things that make you happy.  For me, that's playing in my craft room {smile}.  

If you are like me, you have your favorite web places to visit.  Stop, look, be inspired, but generally don't 'play along' for whatever reason.  Today, I did stop, look, get inspired, and then did 'play along' {smile}.  I think I should have some bonus points, somewhere.  Right?

One of the blog challenge sites that I like to stalk visit is Sugar Creek Hollow.  They are a vintage and shabby chic challenge blog.  I think I should live there.  Anyways, they have a photo inspiration challenge this time (2 weeks).  Here is their inspiration photo:

use the colors or theme or both

Ok, how gorgeous is this photo?  Pinks, cream, white washed, green, vintage lace, a crystal chandelier, soft fabrics - oh my!

I made a covered notepad!  

The narrow pad of paper is from Paper Trey Ink.  It's a narrow pad of 25 pages of lined-paper.  The perfect little pad for jotting down grocery lists,  to-do lists, shopping lists, chores, any list!

I covered the note pad with blushing bride card stock (retired from Stampin' Up!).  Then I matted the pattern papers onto a piece of very vanilla card stock.  For the pattern papers I used a scrap piece of Lost & Found 2 pink and white criss cross-pattern paper, and a digital pattern paper for the bottom half.  I machine stitched both pattern papers together.  I thought it really added a home-made touch.  I covered the seam with a scallop trimmed piece of silver glitter paper from Stampin' Up! and a scrap piece of this beautifully gathered cream ribbon (retired Stampin' Up!).

For the 'label' I stamped the polka dot frame in Pear Pizzaz classic ink, and the used the Four Frames stamp set, both are from Stampin' Up!.  I have to say that I just love this label-style stamp set.  It is very versatile and the open oval is a nice size for most sentiments to fit.

I stamped the inside of the framed label with another Stampin' Up! stamp set: Water-Color Trio.  But this one is retired.  I just love the font used in this sentiment: FROM THE Heart.  Beautiful.  I 'lifted'  the label off the cover with foam adhesive.

I punched both the heart and the flower pieces from hand punches: Trio of hearts, and Boho Blossom (both retired punches from Stampin' Up!)  The heart shape is from silver glitter paper.  I wanted to repeat the same elements so it looks like these pieces belong.  The flower shape is cut from a text paper.  I added a pink vintage button and tied it with some cream twine.

I wanted to add a little more shabby-ness.  So I added a trio of half pearls to the bottom right corner.  I just love how delicate and sweet these little half pearls look {smile}.

I also wanted the notepad to be versatile.  So, I decorated a simple paper clap with a scrap piece of the pink and white criss cross pattern paper from Lost & Found 2, that I used on the top portion of the pad.  I tied a piece of crochet trim to the clap.

The clap holds the notepad closed if I need to throw the pad in a bag/tote.  And it also allows me to hang the pad from a message board, if I move the clamp to the top of the pad.  Very functional, and very sweet!

Thank you for looking.  I hope you get a chance to play along with the ladies over @ Sugar Creek Hollow .  I'm sure that they would love to see what you create!

Classic

My apologies, for this being tardy.  There has been a bit of a jumble in our household, and it has thrown me off my schedule.

This is week #51 for the talented ladies over @ Nacho Average Challenge.  I know what you are thinking . . . #51, what's the significance.  Well, at this point in time, #52 will be our last challenge.  Sad, huh?  There have been some real gorgeous challenges to play along with, and some real tuffys!  So, all in all, it has been wonderful, challenging, and full of creativity!

this week's challenge:

Oh yes!  a card full of banners!  Yahoo! what a gorgeous sketch, if I say so myself.  And yes, I had to add a little bit of my style to my finished card.  Here it is!

I have a girlfriend who just adores black and white, with a splash of color.  Any color, she doesn't care. And so, with her in mind, I created this card to go with this week's sketch!  And I have to admit, that the splash of color really makes this card look classy and elegant!  Thank you, Nichole {smile}.

The card base is basic black cardstock.  I wanted to add a splash of a soft, pretty color, so I added soft sky cardstock.  But the blue became over powering, so I matted a piece of very vanilla cardstock on top of the soft sky cardstock.  I cut my banners from the Modern Medley DSP.  Love this paper.  The possibilities are endless.  I made the banners in various widths.  The middle music sheet is 2 inches wide.  There are two @ 1 1/2" and two @ 1 1/4" wide.  I stacked, layered and staggered them.  There is a tiny piece (1/2" wide) of soft sky card stock at the top of the banners.  I cut a strip of silver glitter paper with my scallop edge.  That piece is butted right up to the soft sky cardstock.  I didn't have the energy to dye my seam binding with soft sky re inker, so I left it vanilla.  I machine stitched a strip across the card front.  I made a multi-loop bow.  (love those bows!)  I also added a new subtles button to the center.  I used a skinny strip of vanilla card stock as my 'thread', and adhered it to the center of my bow.

The sketch doesn't have a sentiment 'spot', so I improvised.  I created a label with my four frames stamp set.  I stamped the frame in basic black classic ink.  The sentiment comes from a new hostess stamp set, 'Express Yourself'.  I really love the font in this stamp set, and can you really have too many sentiment stamp sets?

Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you find some inspiration to play along with our challenge over @ NAC.  I know we would love to see what you create with our sketch!

Have a wonderful day.  Stay cool, and see you soon {smile}.

this card is for sale in my Etsy shop, here

purples and grey

On this Tuesday, the wonderful gals over @ Nacho Average Challenge have a color challenge.  Typically, I find these hard.  I don't know why.  This weeks colors are super pretty, though.

here is what I did

The card base is basic grey card stock.  I used a panel of whisper white card stock to run through my vintage wall paper embossing folder.  I added a large scallop trimmed piece of basic grey polka dot pattern paper.  I just love polka dots!  I added a strip of silver glimmer paper, die cut rick rack, to the top of the large scallop piece.  I tied a piece of wisteria wonder ruffled ribbon across the seams of these two papers.  

I stamped the dotted line in basic grey classic ink.  I stamped the HB in wisteria wonder classic ink, and the 14 in elegant eggplant classic ink.  

For some reason, I had a difficult time getting my stamping straight.  I sprayed the whole card with my home-made white shimmer paint.  I just love the added sparkle! {smile}

Now, let's see what you make with these colors, and share your creation with us @ NAC.  We'd love to see what you create!

week #9

So, it's week #9 @ Stampin' Queens Sketch Challenge.  I can't tell you enough how wonderful the sketches are.  They are super easy to work with, and it's fun to create something beautiful! 

Here is the sketch for this week:

And so, I made a Halloween card.  For those who know me, know that I'm not big on Halloween.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not against it.  I just don't decorate.  My daughter, she decorates.  Loves the holiday.  So, when ever I paper craft something Halloween-ish, I give it to her.  She is just happy as a clam.  

And here is my card:

 

I used the Pick your Poison DSP and Pick your Poison stamp set.  I added some first edition dsp.  That has got to be my allllll time favorite dsp.  I cut a label from the lots of tags die set, using the silver glitter paper.  Then sprayed the glitter paper with some home-made black classic re-inker mist.  I sponged the edges of the cardstock with crumb cake classic ink.  Tied a pumpkin pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon around the dsp.  I tied the bow onto the strap of ribbon.  I added 3 black brads to the lower right corner of my panel.  I used foam tape to pop-up the whole piece.  

I love this card.  I can't quite decide if I'm going to sell it, or use it to send to my daughter.

Thanks for stopping by, and now go create something using your Stampin' Up! supplies, and join our sketch challenge!  You could be our next big winner! 

merry christmas text

Happy Friday to you!  I hope your week was good, and you have some extra energy to play along with us in one of our challenges.  Well, for this Friday, I am the person who did the sketch for the sketch challenge @ Sketch Frenzy Friday.  I based the sketch on a card I created several months ago, and I just loved it!
Here is the sketch:

I am getting ready for another Christmas card class for this weekend, so I have used my Christmas paper to create a card with this sketch!
Here is my card:

I wanted to create a unique and different.  I used Letters to Santa DSP for the pattern paper.  I masked the green ornament so that when I stamped the red ornament, it would look like the green ornament was closer to you.  I stamped the Merry Christmas on top of the text paper.  I used a scrap piece of the Silver Glitter paper to create the star.  I added an old olive button tied with the early espresso bakers twine.
Thank you for looking, and I hope that we see your work!  Now, don't forget to visit Tammy B. 's blog to see what she created!