a little thank you a little halloween a little birthday = Big Post :-)

i'm sorta jumpin around these days with the card making. It's not like I don't have a bunch of cards in my stash - but dontcha know it - for the particular people I'm sending these cards to I wanted to make a card just for them.

Okay. who am I kidding. This is my whole problem. I can't just make a bunch of cards and then send them to people on my list randomly. I have to make a card for that particular person for that particular occasion. And seriously... I'm not that particular LOL It's sorta like my shopping habits for birthdays and Christmas - gotta buy just the right gift for that particular person (and if I don't do that then I have to get a gift card for them from the store they would most likely wanna shop at.... are you following my crazy?... sigh)

I needed a birthday card for my sister - she likes purple and green. So I used the Wisteria Basic Grey papers. Stamped my favorite little cupcake stamp on some of that wonderful white cardstock by Papertrey Ink - it takes ink so nicely - and it's wonderful to use with Copics (which is how i colored it in) and it really works well with Nestabilities (i used labels 2). You'll notice i threw some glitter on those cupcake flowers... made them look like those edible candy flowers. I used a rubon from Quickutz for the sentiment ( i wanted something tiny so it didn't detract from the pretty cuppy-cake) and I used a Martha punch for the border at the top. Finally i found a ribbon that would go nicely. All in all I am quite happy with this card and I think she will love it too.

Next up...

I needed a thank you card - it's not a flowery time of year (we're not including mums ok?) but I was feeling flowery - truth be told i spied scraps of this paper and that i had some flowers that would match nicely - done. I think the stamp is Hero Arts and that's a Nestability (labels 8) and a scrap of rick-rack and a white gel pen.

Then I got an itch to make a Halloween card - having seen so many already in my blog travelling. The witch stamp is Purple Onion Designs as are the bats (clear embossed), the buttons and spider web paper are Making Memories and there's some satin black ribbon on there as well as black embroidery floss. I cut the circle with Nestabilities and sponged around the edge with a combo of Tim Holtz tea stain and antique linen as well as an Opalite Golden Mist stamp pad (it looks better IRL). For this particular card - I'll admit I wanted to make a Halloween card more than I had a particular recipient in mind (but I've got a few people who would like it :-))

Ok... that's all for now. I really need to get moving. A day off, my college girl home (she's still sleeping... ah youth) and a ton of errands to run... ttyl

Cake Time

ok.. so not the best picture but what can i say.. i'd rather make stuff than take pictures of the same.

It's a card for my friend Annie who may remember this picture of the girl eating cake :-)

We had a lot of fun making cards using this picture. For example the card below :

She is a cute little girl and who can't relate to that cake?

So for her birthday card I decided to use that image again. I also used a new Quickutz embossing folder, a felt flower with a button and one of my favorite Purple Onion Designs Noteblock stamps (stamped in Versamark and clear embossed).

ok... i gotta get to work. Have a great day!

birthday cupcake

I mentioned previously I'd picked up a few things since my birthday

One was this cupcake stamp from Lockhart Stamps. Another thing was a Scor-Pal (hence the scoring in the background of this card). I'd gotten a Scor-it and initially I liked it alright. But the adjustable feature with the Scor-it - I think it just bugged me having to move it back and forth, and it didn't seem quite accurate. I don't know. (maybe operator error? quite possibly). I just never was quite in love with the thing - and it was heavy.

I kept seeing things made with the Scor-Pal and I resisted for almost 2 years - feeling it was almost like another die cut system. (I've got Quickutz, Zipemate and the Cuttlebug ok?) In otherwords, there is always something better, cooler, whatever on the horizon. Ugh. I thought I don't need another thing to score with do I? Obviously I decided I did. And honestly I really am loving this Scor-Pal. It's accurate, allows me to just score without thinking about the measurement and it's light (weighs very little). So all in all it was a good purchase.

This card - colored with Copics (I'm going slow with my collection of these. I like them but I still think I love my prismacolor pencils more.) I stamped the image i believe it was three times - colored and cut them out and layered them with foam dots. The tag and shape behind the cupcake are both nestabilities. I printed out the sentiment - I'm finding I never have quite the sentiment I want. (the words or how it fits in my scheme.) This has been an ongoing thing for me. I have looked over my collection of stamps and I have a ton of images and alphabets but my sentiments are woefully lacking. I've got some good ones but in general it seems I pick images over sentiments when I buy.

Does anyone have some good recommendations for sentiment sets? or should I continue to print out stuff from my computer?

(I'm posting this on Thursday while I'm at work. Hopefully I'll post something else before the weekend)

cool dog

well he is the coolest dog isn't he?

i was going to put a caption

"future so bright, i gotta wear shades"

but i thought better of it.

these are supposed to be fun for the daughter

not annoying yaknow?

anyway i found cool dog on some piece of junk mail and he practically barked out to me to cut him out.

Daughter loves dogs just like him and then of course there were the orange tinted glasses (orange being dd's favorite color). I took my StampinUp Pumpkin Pie inkpad and colored up the background then slapped down the dog. I finished off the whole thing with some glue (yes, the exploding variety - see previous post "time 4 cake" if you're looking at your computer screen and thinking "Tracy's finally lost her marbles") . I added a little superfine glitter to the glue and voila... Postcard from Home.

and now for a little music.... check it out

oh and one final thing

Happy Birthday June from the Birthday Queen

a quarter of a century

sounds like a long time doesn't it?

regardless, i wanted to make a card but wasn't coming up with anything. I saw a sketch online (for Verve stamps - as it happens I don't own any but no matter). Not sure I'm thrilled with what I came up with that's ok. He won't mind. And it helped me make something completely different - for me.

Have a wonderful day ~

time 4 cake

my dear and most talented friend Barbara celebrated a birthday last week. I wanted to make her something - perhaps a card - or something like a card. I wasn't quite sure. I do what I normally do - start pulling out supplies, stamps, embellishments - looking for a little inspiration. I think you know what I mean - something that sparks the idea. I wasn't finding anything to get me going. I decided to check my email (stall-a-rama). I'd signed up to get the newsletter from the Vintage Workshop a long time ago - I get them all the time but don't really shop there. However, this time I thought perhaps I'd find that inspiration I was looking for - as Barbara likes vintage (dontcha Barbara?) And indeed, I found this clock. And I was off and running.

The creative process is a funny thing. I had the clock and then I played with different items for 2 days off and on - adding things, taking them away, rearranging. Something was still missing and then it occurred to me I needed something to make that clock jump off the page (actually it wasn't a page it was a bingo card that I eventually completely covered over - but it was a real sturdy bingo card -perfect weight for holding all that I kept adding). I pulled out some glitter! I think that did the trick. The top photo allows you to see the dimension of it and the bottom photo here i think shows off the color better. It does look better in person - for sure.

The vintage wallpaper is from my friend Donna. Yes, that's grungeboard inthe background (that stuff is a lot of fun - try some if you haven't already - it takes acrylic paint so nicely and its so flexible - not like you'd expect just looking at it); the chipboard letters are Making Memories and the glitter is Martha Stewart.

Oh I forgot to mention - i had pulled out this white glue - Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive - to put it together. It had been a while since I'd used it and the tip had gotten clogged. I declogged it - i thought. Still wasnt dispensing glue. I declogged again and replaced the top. And I squeezed just a little too hard - SQUUOOOOOOSH.... white glue EVERYWHERE.. I am happy to report it washes out of shirts, pants, carpets etc etc very nicely. Thought you'd like to know ;-)

That's all for today

bird with chemistry

so you've been noticing i've got a dictionary i've been pulling pages out of to create some postcards from home, right? i found this one page i thought the daughter might like - with the chemical elements. it has sortofa graphic appeal to me. And then i got something in the mail - i can't even remember what it was - that had this sweet little bird on it. for some reason i decided they'd look good together. i slapped that dictionary page down, then trimmed that bird from the page he was on and added him on top of that page. I took a little tim holtz distress ink in linen, then tea dye, and finished the whole thing off with some ultra-thick embossing powder - then cracked it. i'm rather pleased with the outcome.

i ended up mounting the whole thing on a card base - that UTE powder - well it kinda warps a bit - at least for me :-)

so i figured it was safer to send to my daughter as a card in an envelope - than to hope it would go thru the postal service as a postcard.

that's all for today. i've got something fun to post - at least i think so - but i've gotta wait til it's reached its destination :-) - don't wanna spoil the suprise.

a few more postcards

been workin, doin stuff around the house, and trying to make stuff in between. I bought some new things (birthday money :-)) which i'll try and show as i go. Also been playing with stamps and such for christmas cards. (i'm thinking i'm makin batches of different cards this year - instead of one christmas card... we'll see what actually happens LOL)

in the meantime, i'll post a couple more postcards from home. Have a good one ~

Doing a happy aunt dance

My nephew called me yesterday (well actually Sunday but we played phone tag for a day) to tell me he and his long time girlfriend are engaged.
This wasn't entirely surprising - he'd told me a few months back they were talking about it and had gone ring shopping. But still - hearing it is finally official - and hearing how he asked her - well it just made me so happy and ... yes I got all teary :-)
This kid has a most special place in my heart. He's my first nephew (i have 16), my sister's child... and he is just the best nephew you could ever hope to have. I love him like he's one of my own.
His fiance - well this girl is a doll. We loved her the minute we met her - she just fit right in - kwim? She's funny and sweet and well we just love her.
Anyway... I wanted to send him and his fiance a card. They love getting my cards - and of course those are the people you enjoy sending them to! I used the Stampinup set "Together Forever" (i may have to use it for a wedding card in a little over a year from now!); nestabilities and some grosgrain ribbon. I must get a decent scissor just for ribbons (I've been saying this for forever - i'm doing it in the next few days! Enough is enough - I've ruined enough ribbon for heavenssake! I really wanted a slanted cut on those ribbon tails... but this will have to do!) Oh... I'd like to say this aqua-ish cardstock is really a much lovelier shade - very pale and looks really great with the black... it just isn't showing up so good here. Also there is a little shmutz on the scan... its not on the card.... i'm just sayin. Oh yeah - and I printed off the "You're Engaged" on my printer then cut it out....
Have a great day kids!

Postcards from Home Returns

I mentioned previously I'd started sending my daughter postcards. I'd sent my son postcards randomly over say the last 2 yrs he was at college. I thought she might enjoy the same thing. I, of course, enjoy doing it. The postcards aren't works of art. They are more "playtime": whatever i feel like doing at the time - stamps i feel like stamping, pencils i want to draw/color with etc... i have a little canvas and i can fill it with whatever suits my fancy at that given moment in time.

Daughter is at art school - she understands the need for stretching one's creative wings. She also appreciates my love of making things. And i think she knows these postcards serve 2 purposes (at least) - I get to make things + i get to send her my love. (i certainly email all the time but there is nothing like getting real mail at college!)

So, without further ta-doo... I am posting a few postcards I've already sent. Believe it or not, I've actually got a small stack I've made and haven't mailed yet. (i'm ahead of the game... who knew!)

Oh -I think i mentioned before - but if i didn't - I mailed the first postcard with a hole punch and one of those metal rings - so she could punch the postcards as they arrive - they'll all be together and she can save them that way.

You've noticed I'm doing a little gluing on these postcards (dictionary pages, things i find in the mail, tags from the dry cleaner.... as well as stamping, embossing; using ink, watercolor crayons, stamps, prismacolor pencils... yeah... everything goes this time). Have a wonderful day!

poppystamps

i mentioned yesterday i got a few new stamps.

i would have gotten a few more of the PoppyStamps if they had them. They're cute and different from what i've seen lately. And I love anything i can color in.

Anyhow, I picked up Peggy Polkadot and made a little card. I used some Basic Grey Wisteria (had that paper for so long!), a quickutz dragonfly die, a nestablilities die; and i used prismas and copics to color in Peggy.

well i'm off to see what else i can make.... have a good one...

more birthday

so i still haven't started my new job - Friday is my first day. So with a few more days to myself I decided to #1 - buy a few new stamps :-) and #2 make a few cards.

Yesterday i visited a local stamp store. Bought a few stamps. I'd seen these PoppyStamps online and they had a few in the store yesterday.

I indulged :-)

Bought the large kitty stamp and decided it would be a good choice to use on a card for my nephew - (he has 2 cats of his own) his birthday is the end of this week . I fooled around with some copics on the cat but decided i liked my prismas this time to color the kitty. But he lacked the proper festive-wear, if you will. So I cut him out a party hat. Yeah... that'll put this kitty in the party mode.

The cardstock is Lasting Impressions; the "celebrate" is Hero Arts I believe. I had the ribbon in my stash.

Let's see - I also made some thank you cards over the weekend:

I'd wanted to make some thank you's and also wanted to try using some stamps I hadn't really used (at least successfully). So I went on Splitcoast Stampers and took a look around. I really wish i could remember the name of the person who made the card that got me started - but suffice it to say she stamped with white craft ink onto a dark blue cardstock - i loved how hers came out. I thought i'd try that and then create cards of my own using that stamped sheet of cardstock.

Okay... that's all for today kids. I'll have to upload some "postcards from home" in the next few days. Til then, be good!

Happy Labor Day weekend kids

yes.. it has been a while

and a lot has happened in the past, what? 7 months since I last posted anything.

Between work, having 2 kids graduate (1 college, 1 high school), leaving aforementioned job, beginning a new one, shipping one child off to college... well I haven't lacked for things to do. I said I started a new job - I did some training for the new one and am waiting to actually start... so I've had a few glorious days to do whatever came to mind.

I've started sending postcards to my new college girl (and she's enjoying them). So I'll be posting those soon I spose. (I even sent her a hole punch and one of those metal rings - so she can save them).

The other day I was in the Walmart and saw these cute K&Company birthday hat embellishments and thought they'd make cute, easy cards. I haven't made cards in - how long... sheesh ... I don't even know. So I cut up some paper and ran it through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder; cut up some cardstock and ran some of it through my Cuttlebug with some Nestabilities - voila... cards! They came out kinda cute and I was feelin more like the old me :-)

Oh i should mention I made one card not pictured here for a friend - Happy Birthday Michele

I'd like to say I'll be posting more often - but I'm just not sure quite yet how much free time I'll be getting. But I will say I'm gonna try :-)

Happy Valentine's Day

yes, it's been ages since i've posted. yes, i've been makin stuff but i've had zero time to blog. actually i don't have much time right now so i'm gonna make this short and sweet.

I made my valentines for some dear friends this past week. I'd been planning on making them for a month. Bought a new stamp. Stamped it probably 30 times, testing out coloring options etc. When all was said and done i just wasn't happy with the ideas I had for that particular card. I was pondering what to do. I started going thru my supplies, looking for something completely different (i believe it was a scalloped edged scissor ) and I found this package of heart shaped doilies I'd bought years ago. I'd set them aside to make Valentines one day. We used to make Valentines with doilies when i was a kid and when i saw them in the store I bought them with that intention.

Well, finding the doilies set me off in an entirely different direction for my Valentines this year. I trashed the idea of using that new stamp - it just wasn't working. And isn't that often the way things work? You have one idea in your head and sometimes... often... you end up in an entirely different place.

So I'll be putting away that new stamp. One year, I'll come across it and it will be used. I have a lot of stuff in my craft room like that. I'd bought the patterned paper you see in this valentine for my Christmas cards. (I made a bunch of Christmas cards... but they are being saved for next year ... yeah that's the way life's been for a few months... just totally crazy and out of control busy).

Details on the card: patterned paper is Basic Grey; I used a Martha punch to make the borders; the bird stamp is from Character Constructions.

It's pretty simple but you know... I like it.

Hope to talk to you all again soon!

Happy Valentine's Day!

more halloween

I know... another Halloween card but hey I'm running out of time - and i've got a lot of cute Halloween stamps.
Seems every year I find some new stamps, buy them - sure that I'll make cards and then...I run out of time. This year I'm determined to use 'em!
And i think i really like these Purple Onion Designs Halloween Border Tapes. There are two different sentiments - the one here "Happy Hallowen" and the "Trick or Treat".
I'm also trying to use what I have - in terms of paper and cardstock. I have tons of cardstock scraps - every color of the rainbow - nicely filed in my cardstock scrap files (organized by color of course). And I have tons of patterned paper (also arranged by color and, in this case, by holiday.) so I just went to the stash and found this Creative Imaginations paper (by Debbie Mumm). Ran the orange cardstock through the Cuttlebug with the swiss dot embossing folder. Throw in some tape to put it all together and I was done. Easy but cute card!
(yes ... i broke down and bought the Cuttlebug. It was 50% off and I said "SOLD". I was using my Cuttlebug embossing folders with my zipemate - it worked ok but it was getting more and more difficult. And these days I'm over anything that gives me a struggle. And I gotta tell you - that Cuttlebug just makes it soooooo easy. Runs that embossing folder right on thru with not a speck of resistance. That's what I'm talkin about.) I will make a few more of this card as I've got a bit more of that paper.
This is a bad precedent to set - 2 posts in one day but I'm doing it. I have to go into work tomorrow (Saturday... blasphemy) and I've got an eye doctor appointment after that - finally doing something I need (I'm bad at that but I'm workin on it). Talk to you soon!

another halloween card -- eek!

okay here's the Purple Onion Noteblock for Halloween with a background using the Purple Onion Damask stamp (in versamark and clear embossed). I was fooling around last nite with stamps - listening to Dirty Sexy Money online (very amusing program - perfect accompaniment whilst stamping- not serious and you don't have to pay too close attention ;-)).

anywho... and although i'm not completely satisfied with this (i couldn't find just the right ribbon and buttons didn't look right at all) i'm happy enough. It was a very relaxing exercise. I'm only sorry I didn't get any more cards made.

gotta run.... have a good day all

here are a few birthday cards i've made recently

Alittle funky for me i guess but i kinda like them. Every once in a while you gotta try something different right?

i really love the new noteblock stamps by Purple Onion Designs - can't wait to try out some others!

playing with some new stamps

i got some new Purple Onion Designs stamps - you can see them here

i made a few birthday cards but i also got a chance to start on some halloween cards. it's my first one so far but i kinda like it.

i've got a few more ideas - hopefully i'll get to make them during the week (i'm gonna try!). i'll post the birthday ones soon too.

hope you all are makin stuff too! talk to you soon!

the birthday queen

says

Happy Birthday June!

Lots of cake, ice cream and presents for you on your day!

Happy Anniversary....

hard to believe - 24 years. But then of course I look at the photo and i think ... uh yeah... that was a few years ago.

I know its been a while. The last few weeks have been extremely hectic. I've felt a little too crazed to be blogging. I did have some time here and there to make a few cards so i'll post them here now while i've got another few moments.

thought i'd start out with the anniversary card for my husband. I had some text paper (probably 7Gypsies but i really can't recall whose it is) that I aged with Distress Antique Linen ink. I cut the oval with my Nestabilities; all the stamps are from Purple Onion Designs (see a link on your right). Oh the white paper I stamped on for the "chapter 24" is from PapertreyInk and its just the most wonderful, thick white cardstock i've ever stamped on... you need it!

Here's the calendar page for August/September i had mentioned previously. I made myself a calendar for work - i needed the current month plus the next month (and i couldn't find anything I liked). I made pages through the end of the year and put them in a 5x7 acrylic frame. The empty portion on the right is taken up by a post-it note pad i affix to the acrylic frame (put on your imagination caps for me kids... imagine it). I used some Basic Grey paper i had hanging around and stamped the calendar months with stamps from Purple Onion Designs (i will make next years calendar when Michele at Purple Onion puts out the 2009 calendar stamps!)

Let's see what else - I made these two thank you's for my dear friends June and Mary who were so sweet to me on my birthday recently. They met me at a nearby place to eat - set up a little birthday celebration for me. June gave me these wonderful stamps - I love them June!

I love the stamps so much I used them again to make this birthday card for Barbara - well i should say the typewriter image is from the set June gave me. I also used a sentiment on the inside of the card. Here you see the image, to which i added the "hb"(for happy birthday) and a sentiment from a stamp set by Club Scrap (i believe). Some KI Memories text paper and i used my little punch from SU! to create the scallop and a corner rounder from Creative Memories as well as some thick black grosgrain ribbon - i think it was from Walmart.

Here's the card I made for my nephew for his most recent birthday. I used a Paisley Cuttleburg embossing folder in the blue background; Paisley stamps from Purple Onion Designs in the kraft colored background (stamped with Versamark); circles cut with Nestabilities and the cake is made from dies from Quickutz; and a few DCWV brads that were just the perfect color to match the blue cardstock (i love when that happens). The adorable sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas and given to me for my birthday from Mary.

I think i could post one more but I gotta run.