Tin scrapbook for Gramma

I finally did it... I've been eyeing these A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E tins at Michael's... and I finally decided to turn one into a brag book of sorts... for Gramma. No, not for my child... otherwise the news of my potentially being pregnant would come in a much different fashion.

This is for her first Grand daughter, Heaven (my lil' brothers' lil' girl)... make sense?! Well, Auntie Lori decided to make this for my Mom (aka Gramma) so that mom could replace the taped together pouch of pictures in her purse with something a little more sturdy. Heaven Gabriella is now just over 2 years old... and LOVES pink.

Details, details...

Tin: $1 at Michael's

Colors: Pixie Pink, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Kiwi Kiss

Other: Pink gingham ribbon

This is for you, Debbie!

So my best girlfriend, Debbie, and I were ooing and awing over her adorable daughter Karina last night (and her cute flowery outfit) and Debbie said "Here's a color challenge for you - old olive, blush blossom and baroque burgundy! I'll watch for your post!"

Well, here's the post... stinkin' cute!!! You like how I used the ribbon to act as the stem / leaves for the flower?!

Debbie - can you guess what you're going to receive in the mail sometime this next week?!

My Nestabilities Storage... inspired by Julie Campbell

Thank you, Julie! This was a PERFECT solution to my Nestabilities storage conundrum! Seriously! I ran straight to the stamp room, got out my old SU magnet sheets (I don't think they even sell them anymore - but you can get them all over the place now)... and put my lil design together.

Then I had to go and order ONE MORE Nesties set... so waited to put it all together and wanted to post a huge THANK YOU here to Julie for the inspiration! I love the idea... and have shared it with friends... and am loving it!

I just used SU card stock to sandwich my magnet sheets (I cut the sheets to match the size of the largest Nesties piece for each set. Then glued the card stock together and got everything situated. It really is that easy! I think this binder has 6 sets in it... and it was a tight squeeze using the SU jumbo eyelets through that much card stock... but it just barely worked. Then I secured them all together with some hemp twine.

I have scored each of the pages about 3/4" ... to give me just enough room for the binding... and voila!

Thanks again for the inspiration! This was a fun project... and everyone else I've shown it to just loves it!

My weekly inspiration

I haven't been able to spend much time stamping lately (because of a sprained neck... yes, you read that correctly...) OH JOY! Life sure has it's surprises, doesn't it?!

Anyhow, so this color inspiration was my challenge to stamp this week! YAY! Finally! I REALLY love to play along with Kristina's weekly color inspiration... and even MORE love to see other's creativity flourish in this type of blogging world! But this one was really tough for me... I just couldn't put it together like my mind was imagining it. But here it is anyway...

Stay tuned for the rest of the neck injury story... I wish I could say I was skiing a black diamond slope and slammed into a tree... or sky diving... or something adventurous like that... but, well, alas I would be stretching the truth... more later...

KWerner's color inspiration #32

I just LOVE to play along w/ Kristina’s weekly color challenge! And this week I started the first card - and it didn't quite turn out like I pictured it. So, I tried... I tried again. And I think I simply LOVE the second card better. In fact, hmm... maybe I'll be making more of these in the next few weeks...

So the inspiration was to use the four colors in her inspiration image... and since I am thankful for my time to "play" this morning I jumped right in. weeeeeeeee.......

A huge shout out to Kristina for organizing these every week! I needed some stamp therapy today! Thanks so much!

I got tagged!

Oh gosh - thanks a lot Kay!!! OK - no, seriously, THANKS - but also THANKS A LOT! ;-) (do you hear the sarcasm?!) I just love Kay's writing style... she inspired me this last and now I have a chance to say THANKS to her in public!

OK - let's play this game...

7 random facts about me:

1. For a short time in my life I participated in rifle competitions and scared some of the guys off, I think!
2. I have never met my mother in law - in fact, never even seen a picture of her. We talk on the phone every now and then - but I've never been back to South Carolina to meet my DH's family.
3. I am unusually brave in moments of chaos. One day driving through town I saw a fight between a woman and her boyfriend - as they sat in their car he had his hands around her neck, choking her. (It was rush hour - how many other cars driven by and no one else had stopped to intervene?!) I whipped a u-turn, parked behind their car, walked right up to his door, yanked it open and lit into him! She ran for her life and he chased after her. I grabbed the 4 year old girl sitting in the back seat and waited for the police to arrive. My mom still shakes her head to this day when she hears of my need to get involved in situations like this.
4. My cousin went to school with and used to play in a garage band with some of the members of the popular band P.O.D.
5. Our family tree has connections going back to Johnny Appleseed!
6. As a kid, I loved the story of Helen Keller so much (mostly because of her adaptability and overcoming spirit) that I used to put myself in her shoes and see if I could find my way around the house with the lights off or my eyes closed. I learned to recognize every day items by their texture, shape, patterns and weight. This comes in handy now that I wake up before my hubby and typically get the clothes out of the closet/dresser in the dark. I know what my brown tweed slacks feel like vs. my black slacks - because I know the patterns of the buttons at the waist.
7. I got to spend a late winter/spring living in Geneva Switzerland - working in our european office! I "hooked up" with a group of chef students and every now and then we would travel together on the weekends - including my first adventure snowboarding, in the worst blizzard in 20 years. Good stuff!

My 7 tags of random individuals:

1. Jeanette
2. Silke
3. Tina
4. Julie
5. Donna
6. Lisa
7. Deena

And on Kay's blog, as she did also, there's the option to play along w/ this tag game too. And I just couldn't resist. So, here goes...

Things I love: My Lord and Savior, his Grace and forgiveness, stamp therapy time, my DH (most days), what I call my “day job”, my friends and family, and planning for the annual ‘Gringo de Mayo’ fiesta at our house!

Things I don't love: excuses, ignorance, thai food, pressure to do something i don’t want to do and being sick.

Artists on my IPod: various Christian artists, Josh Groban, Mary J Blige, War, Steve Miller Band, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Herbie Hancock, Dave Brubeck, Sandy Owens, Switchfoot, Nate Harasim and the alternate love of my life, Mchael Buble.

Favorite Food or Drink: espresso, mexican food, brie cheese, sushi, artichoke hearts (in just about anything), mashed potatoes, chips ‘n salsa and Guwerztraminer.

Elegant sympathy

This card started from a piece of Sahara Sand I wanted to TEST something on. The main design on the Sahara Sand layer is from the Baroque Motifs set - and it's embossed with a few different colors of ink... subtle, soft colors. I stamped w/ Craft White, Baja Breeze and a second generation (stamping ink off once before applying ink to card stock) Kiwi Kiss. Then quickly layered w/ clear embossing powder.

I know you're questioning the Kiwi Kiss - because it doesn't look like it in this picture, huh? Yeah - I was surprised myself! But once I saw it and liked it I just KNEW I had to use the sheet of embossed card stock on something. So I set it aside until the right idea came to me.

Then I had the need to make some sympathy cards (two, in fact), to get out in the mail this week. So I pulled my baroque embossed sahara sand from the corner of the desk and put it to use on these cards.

While I don't enjoy making sympathy cards I do find the "soft and easy" necessity of sympathy cards refreshing. Writing a comforting word inside is the most difficult part.

Details, details...

Stamp set: Baroque Motifs and Close As A Memory

Colors: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, Craft White and Kiwi Kiss

Other: 5/8" Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, Robin's Nest flat-backed pearls and Black Stazon

Watercolor crayons

Another note of encouragement out to a friend, and another quick blog.

I just love the effect of using watercolor crayons direct to stamp - and then spritzing the stamp w/ water and applying to card stock. It creates such a soft watercolor effect... very serene. Maybe too serene for the background of this card? Can you see the trees in the distant background on the white card stock layer? Really subtle... I think in person the image looks a bit more distinct.

Anyhow... I'm just loving these colors together right now. So wanted to play around a bit more with the combo and get some use out of my crayons.

Thanks for stopping by to take a gander... does this card inspire you to either go for a walk in a serene setting or move to the stamp area and take in some "stamp therapy" time? Either way - hope it inspires.

Details, details...
Stamp sets: Lovely As A tree and All Holidays
Colors: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Baja Breeze, Real Rust, Close to Cocoa, Naturals White and Old Olive
Other: Cuttlebug / Textile embossing folder, 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, small Niji waterbrush, black stazon ink, stampin' dimensionals, watercolor crayons and water bottle spritzer

another fun Thanksgiving card

Another fun and easy Thanksgiving card... and a big thanks to Mary Rose for the inspiration for this card. I have a couple different designs for upcoming greetings to friends and family. But had been looking for just one more to share... and then I ran across this fun blog and great card and just had to make my own version.

I used a Nestabilities rectangle as my frame for the stipple brush.... and gently stippled More Mustard right in the middle of the card stock.

Mary Rose - not only am I fellow a coffee freak but I'm quickly becoming a fan of your style! Thanks for the inspiration!

Details, details...

Stamp sets: Holidays & Wishes and Autumn Fest

Colors: Naturals white, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, More Mustard and Bravo Burgundy

Other: 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon and stampin' dimensionals

Weekend sketch challenge #66

I'm full of challenges this weekend, aren't I?! My goodness... where did all of this craftiness come from?! (I have a feeling it might have something to do w/ the fact that it's been crazy at work and I needed some good therapy time! just a hunch...)

Anyway... here's a card I've been needing to make (for my friend Michelle and her family - they just moved into their first HOME, which they are buying... and I'm so proud of and happy for her!)... so what better way to get it done than to participate in another challenge. This is for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. That's the sketch up there... easy one, eh?

Fun stuff... it was easy to keep this one simple. The color on the top layer was supposed to be the focus.... so I kept the rest of it overly simple.

Details, details...
Stamp: Neighborhood jumbo wheel and Quick Thinking
Colors: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray and Naturals White
Other: jewel brads, small Niji waterbrush, Stazon black ink and stampin' dimensionals

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #42

Another favorite weekly challenge... this one hosted by Taylor. Here sketch and my card is included above. I strayed a bit... and put the sentiment in a slightly different place. I just couldn't resist wrapping ribbon around here... so shifted things around a bit.

Why is it called a "cupcake" challenge? I'm not really sure - Taylor loves cupcakes... but she says you don't have to use cupcakes in your artwork for this challenge. So, I make the card to suit what I'm needing a card for instead.

Details, details...

Stamp set: Pocket Silhouettes

Colors: Tangerine Tango, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Very Vanilla

Other: Cuttlebug / Birds & Swirls embossing folder, scallop square punch, versamark / clear embossing powder (for the gloss on the apricot layer), Mega Curved rectangles Nestabilities, old olive 5/8" grosgrain and stampin' dimensionals

KWerner's color inspiration #30 - missed another one...

Just missed it again! Shoot! I'm going to have to change the clocks in my house to Mountain Time so I don't miss next week's deadline. 7 pm MT... 7 pm MT... 7 pm MT... say it to yourself again. 7 pm MT. What time did I try to go on and post it?! 6:30 pm Pacific... darn it! missed it again!

Anyway... here it is. It was fun anyhow. This week's inspiration brought to you by Kristina Werner. She posts a color inspiration image... and we use those colors to make our own card. Here's my take on it...

Details, details...

Stamp set: Pocket Silhouettes and Best Yet

Colors: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Sahara Sand and Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug/Stylized Texture embossing folder, jumbo eyelet and white grosgrain ribbon, versamark and clear embossing powder

Playing with another "new" color combo...

OK - so I saw someone else work with this color combo. And I wanted to use it myself... but I'm not too happy with this take. So I'll be playing with it more this week. Not that the card itself is horrid - it's just not the delicate color combo I had pictured in my head.

But still, had to take a pic of it before I put it in the mail.

Details, details...

Stamp sets: Peaceful Wishes, Best Yet

Colors: Whisper White, More Mustard, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip

Other: Square scallop punch, chocolate chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Thankful for friends and family...

Don't you just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these fun leaves from Sizzix/Stampin' Up ?! It took so much restraint to not get up and put them to work at 5 am on Saturday (my first day in a long time to have some stamp time).... oh wait... I DID get up at 5 am to use the die! How funny am I?!

I truly needed some stamp therapy this weekend... my week was the pits. Seriously - the pits. And it did my heart so much good to turn on the music, open the windows (so I could smell the damp air and feel the cool wind on my neck - I just KNEW it was going to rain) and get my hands on some card stock. Seriously - I cannot tell you how much good it did my heart and soul.

And to sit and reflect on who we will be spending Thanksgiving with (family) and who I will get to see over the next few months. To be reflective, like I usually am, I love this time of year. We somehow make time to see those important to us... we eat and laugh and reminisce and share stories and just have a good ol' time.

So I as I sat there and made this version 2 of my Thanksgiving cards my heart was warmed. And the cares of the week wore off for a bit...

I'm so blessed to have stampin' time and the hobby to share with my friends and family.

So, on to the details for my card...

Details, details...
Stamp sets: Seasonal Whimsy and Holidays & Wishes
Colors: Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Kraft
Other: Crimper tool, Leaves #2 Sizzix die, jumbo eyelets, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, stampin' dimensionals, and So Saffron ink

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #41

Yay - I finally got to participate in another of Taylor’s weekly challenges. It's called a cupcake challenge - but you don't have to use cupcakes from what I understand. (Good - 'cuz I don't have any cupcakes stamps.) However, if I DID have one I could have used it on this card. The first image is her sketch to work off of. The images are my version of this challenge. Whaddayathink?!

My long time friend, Michelle, is celebrating another birthday this week. Wow - she and I have known each other for almost 20 years now! WOWEE!!! So I put the challenge to work with making her birthday card. And I challenged myself with colors I wouldn't normally use together. Would YOU normally use these colors together?! NO! But after seeing this combo will you try it for yourself?

Details, details...

Stamp set: Voila

Colors: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug/Swiss dots embossing folder, square scallop punch, stampin' dimensionals, small Niji watercolor brush, Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, and Stazon black ink

Baby Girl Shower gift - thank you cards

I recently missed a Baby Shower for my friend Tasha - and wanted to give her these cards. But instead had to send her her gift... these are her "thank you's"... following the colors she used on the invites, which she made herself.

I'm sorry I missed the shower... but I was there in spirit. Now that she might have these cards in hand I wanted to post a quick note about fun I had when I needed some stamp therapy time!!!

Details, details...
Stamp sets: Priceless and Much Appreciated
Colors: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Almost Amethyst
Other: Cuttlebug/Nestabilities scallop circles and regular circles, scallop punch, stampin' dimensionals and pink gingham ribbon

Baby Boy Shower gift - thank you cards

Lots of baby showers this week... here is the first in the set of Thank You cards, which I'm giving as the gift for the shower. These are for a co-worker. She does not have a specific color combo already picked out or a theme... so I ran with it.

I wanted to play with an unlikely color combo... and this one was the winner. The special touch on here? The inverted scallop edge on the Baja Breeze layer was made using just the top portion of the square scallop punch. Nice, eh?!

Hubby is watching his football team lose tonight... so it was the perfect time to head to the stamp room for some stampin' therapy.

Details, details...

Stamp set: Much Appreciated and God Is Love

Colors: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron and Baja Breeze

Other: small Niji waterbrush, Stazon black ink, Cuttlebug / Swiss dots embossing folder, square scallop punch and stampin' dimensionals

Gift card holder...

Several months back I participated in a gift card holder swap - and this idea stuck with me. So in an upcoming Christmas Crank event we'll be making some of these! I started with a 11" x 4 1/4" sheet of card stock and scored it at 5 1/2" (middle of sheet). Then on each side of that score I scored it in the middle again.

Then we use Sticky Strip to keep the middle together and punch a space for the card to stick out from... and voila! How stinkin' adorable and quick is this?!

Details, details...
Stamp set: Holiday Basics (retired) and Season of Friendship
Colors: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White
Other: Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, sticky strip and Round tab punch

KWerner's color inspiration #28

Well, I missed another challenge deadline but still wanted to participate - even if it is only in my own little world! HA! Kristina Werner hosts a weekly challenge with a color inspiration. And it's typically "due" on Thursdays. My week was a bit crazed - and not feeling so well, fighting off a bug of some sort - so I finally go to it this morning during my intake of some strong java.

Plus, I got some new toys and wanted to use them (Birds and Swirls embossing folder and flat-backed pearls from Robin's Nest). As well, I hadn't yet used this stamp set! How dare I! So, this morning's stamp session was all about multi-tasking... as is most things I do.

The main purpose here was the color inspiration. When I saw this color combo I knew I wanted to try it out... a color combo I've never played with before - but knew I would love! It's "off" just enough ... and I love it.

Details, details...

Stamp set: Live Like You Mean It

Colors: Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Sage Shadow and Whisper White

Other: Designer Series Print Packs paper, jumbo eyelets, riding hood red striped grosgrain ribbon, cropadile