Cute Bird Card

This is going to be my last post today! I made a card for Our Creative Corner's newest challenge. This week all we have to do is pick our favorite embellishment and make a card. While I love rhinestones and ribbon, this card is super simple. It features a few colorful brads and hand cut flowers layered under a bird. All of the stamps are Close to My Heart. This was a fun card to make, it could be for a birthday, Mother's Day or 'just because!

Let's Get Negative

Here are few cards from a set of cupcake cards I whipped up this weekend. The little cupcake embellishments are from Martha Stewart Crafts. I got to use my new circle punch, a stamp set for 'Hey There Cupcake' from CTMH, cranberry ribbon and some great craft cards with envelopes. This little card set is going to make a great gift!

These cards are from a challenge over at Stamp Simply with Sharon Johnson. The main idea is to make something that is quick and simple. These cards are certainly quick and simple. I found this challenge over at Lisa's Blog, check out her card here. It is absolutely fabulous!

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge: #18 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Here is my card for this week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. The movie is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Part of the challenge was to use red in our design. The stamps, paper, ribbon and brads are all from Close to My Heart. This is a very simple friendship card with some paper piercing, flower cut-outs and hand stamping. I didn't do anything too crazy as far as techniques go, I just really wanted to use a bit of this paper, it is soooo pretty!

Easy Scrapbooking.

I have done a few challenges this week, I just haven't had time/daylight hours to take pictures of the finished projects. I will try to post some new good stuff tomorrow. Tonight I had a workshop at my house and it was awesome, except for when my cat lit his tail on fire on a candle and the whole house smelled like singed hair...hehe....I made chocolate covered strawberries to match the card and had Hershey's kisses for the kissing technique! I made a yummy dip and we had a fun night making crafty stuff!!

Here are some really cool scrapbook page inserts that Close to My Heart carries to fit inside their standard albums. There are a couple of different varieties including 4 pocket and 6 pocket pages. This is the 6 pocket holders. I put our Christmas candy-making pictures in a single sleeve and made a little journaling card for one of the pockets. The front is the title card and the back 'recipe' is for the journaling. (There are also pictures on the reverse side of this sleeve, I didn't take a picture.) This annual event is scrapbooked! Done and done!

Project 52 Month 1 is Done

Hey!! I made a new title for my Blog title in Photoshop. I have seriously only used Photoshop like 3 times in my life so I have to sort of feel around and figure stuff out each time, but I always learn something new. I took all of the letter photos in my classroom and then cropped them to fit together!! I really like how it turned out. My next goal is to make some really crafty letters with scrapbooking supplies and photograph each letter the same way.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on my Project 52 progress. I am still journaling each week. I sit down and look at my calendar at some point in the week and I jot down information about each day. Everything from funny quotes and happenings to what I ate that day might make it into the journal. I like this page style because I can go back later and add small photos and snipits from scraps that match whatever is going on that week. I can leave room in the margins for additional stuff!
Then, some point that week I make something for my journal. I found a really great list of techniques I want to try throughout the year on top of the things I have already done so far.

This month, I have been used a lot of inspiring products and they have found their way into my journal. Here is a little heart made out of hearts on craft paper. These are little stickers from K&Co.


I also made a weaving with left over scraps (from my Christmas cards!).


I made a little painting inspired by Matisse (My students are learning about Matisse at school!). He uses lots of organic shapes and I love his work.




And I used some handmade paper to do some stamping with this awesome set of eggs, I know it isn't Easter, but the little ovals are so modern that I don't really see them as Eastery anyway.



I love this journal because it is forcing me to make something every week and combine all of the things I love: journaling, photography (I don't have a lot of pics in there yet!), crafting, and art. Enojy!!

You can check out all of the people participating in Project 52 on Flickr.

I have been tagged.

I've been tagged by Winter over at Winter Wonderland and Brandi over at Yankee Bell Stamper!! I have to tag 6 more people and try to get to know them better. You have to go to your "my pictures" on your computer and find the 6th folder and and get the 6th picture, then choose 6 more people to pass it on to.
So this is my picture.

This picture was exactly 6 months ago, before I became a blogger. It is one of my very first cards. I say 'first' because this is one of the first cards I made before I started doing challenges, taking pictures of my work, and taking card making seriously as a hobby and a minor profession on the side. I think I may have made this card as a color challenge card...but I am not sure. I wanted to post a more random, funny card...but the tag said to pick my 6th pic when I opened my photos and this is it. Enjoy!!

Six tagged bloggers:
Cathy @ Petal's of Cathy's Life
Julie @ Julie Cameron's Studio
Leslie @ Running with Scissors
Leslie @ Ink and Inspirations
Rimna's skafferi
Emily Jones @ Controlled Chaos

I love all of these blogs! I read every new post!

Okay, for fun, I am going to post a random picture! This is the 6th picture from the end....Ha ha!!

Upcoming Workshop Projects

This will be my 5th workshop. It features the kissing technique, the January Stamp of the Month and Bird Basics. I found a really great video on the kissing technique....it is a fairly new thing for me so I know I will watch it a couple more times before I do it at the workshop. The little chocolate covered strawberry has liquid glass over liquid applique that has been colored with a re-inker, the ink color--chocolate!

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge- The Wizard of Oz

I am snowed in!! I have been working on many crafting projects and this week I really thought a lot about what I would do for this movie. I love the Wizard of Oz, but I have had a lot of trouble coming up with something great. That has been happened to me a lot recently with these challenges....I made a horrible scrapbook page for the Lord of the Rings Challenge...and I haven't attempted many of the others lately because I haven't seen the movie. So, here goes!





I love Brooke's Tin Man Card, but I decided to go with a scrapbook page. This page showcases my love for taking random pictures of the sky. These photos were taken several years ago, before I had a digital camera. I have had them in a box and I wasn't sure what to do with them, but this challenge helped me to find the story and tell it....I also had to add something metallic as part of the challenge so I put a little gold heart with wings on the layout. The little graphics are from paperstreet's etsy store. I purchased a sheet of collage graphics and printed them from my home printer. The letters were stamped and then cut out of scrap paper....I don't have any sort of laser cutter. There isn't anything too fancy on this layout, a bit of paper piercing here, some punch action there. In case you can't tell, the photos are of a rainbow.....hence the 'somewhere' title above the photos....Anyway, this was a lot of fun to make!! Enjoy!

Mardi Gras Treat Toppers and Matchbook-Notebooks

While I am posting, I may as well show you the Mardi Gras themed gathering projects I have designed for one of my customers in February. My friend Yvonne let me borrow her Legendary Moments stamp set for the Fleur De Lis, it has been gold embossed. The colors are garden grove, honey, and hydrangea. The diamonds are from Argyle Backgrounds and the feathers are from my stash. These little treat holders would be perfect for beads, m&ms, jelly beans or even gold coin candies. A bunch could be made as party favors for any Mardi Gras themed party!! I might make a little 3X3 card to go with it....but I am still thinking about that. Enjoy!




Okay, I have to admit....these aren't the only thing that I have made with this great set! Thanks Yvonne!!!!! It is amazing to see how versatile this stamp set is! I made some really great little notebooks with craft paper for my fellow art teachers. I keep one in my purse for shopping lists. This little notebook has a 'matchbook' closure, created with a simple staple. Very easy and so cute!!

Sketch Challenge Valentine Shaker cards

Here are a couple of cards I made using the newest sketch from Paper Craft Planet.


These are SHAKER cards.

I really love how the Cranberry ribbon looks against the light blue paper. The beads inside the shaker are oldies but goodies...the light blue ones I got at a scrabooking store over 5 years ago....it was going out of business, but the brand is Magic Scraps. The little red buttons are from JoAnns. The buttons are from my stash and the stickers are from Wal-Mart. These were really fun to make since I am snowed in!! I just found out that I am going to be home again tomorrow!


I decided to make one more card using this sketch since I have a bunch of these die cut hearts from Close to My Heart. I used some felt ribbon from American crafts and a large flower from CTMH.