must get going, got to get going....

Somehow, my 2 days 'off' have evaporated and all I've managed to complete is 1 layout! Here is is:

(layout removed for publication)

On the simple side. (Little Bub is what I call my guy.) I think I should have done a little background misting on this one. I still might. Here's a detail of some of the stitching:

(layout removed for publication)

These papers are Fancy Pants "My Family" - the colors are so pretty. I'm not having a hard time finding photos to work with this line. The wood buttons are just circles punched from some Creative Imaginations wood paper. There are 2 thicknesses of this paper - this is the thicker of the two. Definitely thinking this should not be going through the Silhouette. I have the thinner stuff - that should go through OK. (I'm guessing, they will be blade killers). The tricky part of this month's kit are these things:

???

I guess I can use them like bling but hasn't that been done a million times already? (Of all the trends, bling is definitely my least favorite.) Trying to think of something new & clever for these things. Also, how do I stick them down? Definitely can't sew through them! I picked up some alcohol ink to change their color. But not sure where to go from there. It will come to me and when it does, I will post it here.

sigh...I had big plans to get all my Scrapper's Cove work out of the way today so I could focus on all the fun NSD (National Scrapbooking Day) challenges at Studio Calico. There are some great ones. There's also a deadline looming for some publications I'd like to submit to. I'm stressing out about finding time. I am not a nocturnal scrapper (although I don't really have a choice). I'm also not a fast scrapper/card maker. The magic hours for me are between wake up - 2. After that I start to burn out. So, on that note, I will try to get something - at least one more thing done before the day ends. My expectations are low...Hopefully will have lots to post tomorrow!

5 days already?

has it been that long since I posted? My goodness, this week has been a little crazy! Good, crazy, though. So here are a few random items:
First priority this week was the day job. The firm where I work specializes in library design and this week was the NJ Librarian's Association conference. Since this is our big annual marketing event it's usually a pretty busy time for us. This year was no exception. Good thing about being cooped up in a convention center is that this particular one is oceanside, in the NJ town of Long Branch. There are way worse places to be at a convention!

(This is the Ocean Place Resort. I did not take this lovely photo!)

Moving along, I found out this morning that I won the Moxie Fab Get Sketchy challenge . I could hardly believe it! I printed out and ignored that sketch (see posts below) for several days because of the speech bubble. It just didn't feel like me, but I took a chance with my current Studio Calico kit - miracle of miracles it all came together and it was a winner. That was a day-maker, for sure.
Last night I finally got my hands on some of those new Basic Grey Basics.

I've been waiting for these babies for weeks. Studio Calico has the packs in all 3 colorways - I snapped up the Manilla.  Thrilla in Manilla - can't wait!

Just found out about this stamp shop in NYC - the Ink Pad. I had no idea this place existed but next month I'm going to take a class there. Looks awesome, no? Look at all those stamps! I can't wait. My ink skills are seriously lacking. Hopefully, this class will help me get my act together. I'd like to check out Portrait Bug on the same day, or maybe Tinsel Trading. I'm definitely going to treat myself to a 'craft-centric' day in the city. It's been so long since I've gone exploring there. I'm overdue.

Tonight was the start of Part II of the dslr photo class I started last winter. Looking forward to getting back into the photo taking routine and already learned a new thing tonight - how to set custom white balance.
So tomorrow, it's back to the desk. I've got work due this weekend at the Scrapper's Cove and submissions to work on. Lots of ideas in the head and in the sketch book that hopefully translate onto paper. We'll see - photos tomorrow!

variation on a theme...

Here's another card I made today for the Moxie Fab World sketch challenge. As a refresher, here's the sketch again:

Here's what I made:

This time, I went all out with the October Afternoon Thrift Shop (paper & cardstock stickers) and added a little Pink Paislee paper tape and Basic Grey small letter stickers from Studio Calico kits. Love the colors of this paper line. I think I need to repaint the whole interior of my house.
Now, back to work. Need to get my Scrapper's Cove projects going, plus want to work on some Halloween submissions. I have an enormous stash of American Crafts Halloween product that I won last fall in their weekly layout challenge. I would feel so terrible if I did not make something (a lot of something) out of all that glorious Halloweeny goodness!

a quick card..

for the Moxie Fab World blog, which is one of the Paper Crafts Magazine blogs.
Here's their sketch:

 Here's my take:

With the exception of the camera sticker, which is from the October Afternoon Thrift Shop collection, all the product used for this card is from my Studio Calico Joyland kit. I didn't own any thought bubbles so I had to improvise. I cut the shape from the backing of the K & Co. packaging from the white vintage frame.

Normally, I'm a pretty slow cardmaker. I was shocked when I finished this card - start (the minute I sat down at the clean desk) to finish (taking the photo) - it was only 1 hour later. That's a record for me!

an amusing yard sale find...

It's no secret that I love old stuff, particularly, anything old with printing & period graphics on it. It makes my day when I can score this stuff at a yard sale. And now, since vintage for me is anything from the 80's back, there seems to be an abundance of stuff out there for the taking.
One thing I'm always on the lookout for is vintage cooking & food related stuff. Cookbooks, old packaged kitchen ware...etc. Here are some of the old cookbooks I've scored over the years. This particular collection consists of company-issued marketing incentive type books. These are my faves:

What I love most about these is getting an insight into what & how people ate. (Luckily, most of them are dated.) One book from the 20's talks about coordinating with your staff of servants, another from the 50's focuses on man-pleasing meals. Some are just pretty.

What I also love, is laughing. And when you see some of the recipes and the unappetizing way they were photographed, you can't help but crack up. For instance, I picked up this baby this morning. A Weight Watchers recipe card collection dated 1976.

I am a fan of modern-day Weight Watchers but wow, have they come a long way!
Next time your family & friends complain about what you cooked them for dinner, how about serving this up the next night:

You are not seeing things. That is a crown roast of frankfurters. Could you imagine presenting this at the dinner table? What is that in the middle of the frankfurter spectacular? Or how about these:

Apparently, mackrel was and ecomomical and versatile fish in the 70's. Thank goodness my mom was not wise to this! (Just looking at that photo of the fish and boiled eggs is making my belly hurt.)

So, now to do some much needed house cleaning and hopefully find some desk time. Thanks for indulging me while I went off topic! By the way, trying to do a little blog updating and re-design, so please forgive me if things get a little wonky. A computer code-writing genius I am not!

circles, circles everywhere...

I'm a square girl. Definitely like the square. I like symmetry. I like straight, evenly spaced lines. So, when I saw the Studio Calico Sunday Sketch for this week, which was all about circles, I thought it would be a good challenge to break out of my rectilinear rut.
Here's this weeks sketch, another winner by Susan Weinroth (I love her sketches and work).

I liked the possibility of this sketch so much, I had to do it twice. Here's my first take. The 8 1/2" x 11" version:

I used Easter photos, my Quilting Bee kit and added some new Sassafrass Lass border stickers I just picked up. Also used my new Martha 'classic' butterfly punch. I see this thing used all over the Studio Calico galleries and now I know why. They really are sweet. (I forsee abuse of this tool!)

Here's version 2, the 12 x 12 version:

Finally broke into the Joyland kit with this one. What I love about this layout sketch is how many photos you can include without overloading the page. This would be a great lead in page for a Disney album, or any occassion that has tons of photos that are destined for divided photo pages. I've got a few of these waiting to be made. This layout design will definitely get used again.

Another great giveaway on Rebecca Cooper's blog today. Stuff like this makes me want to try digital scrapbooking. Have a look and leave a comment for a chance to win!

The Lily Bee Cards

Lily Bee is having a card challenge this week. I love making cards and I love Lily Bee, so I was all over this one. Here's the sketch (I love when there is a sketch - don't know about you, but this shaves a huge chunk off time off the process for me!)

I pretty much depleted my stash of Lily Bee product when I took a chance on their design team last month so I was literally working with scrap here. The biggest piece of paper I had, the hexagon, was only about 4" x 9". Here are the 3 cards I made- starting with the first effort:

a detail of the button area:

Used both my new EK punches for that one (real estate sign & photo labels).

Here's #2:

The flowers here were totally inspired by these K & Co. flowers I picked up a few weeks ago at Michael's. They are so simple and nice..love them:

Here's a close up of the flowers - made with a simple scallop circle punch and some wood buttons. They are on top of a K & Co.lace frame. The buttons and frame are from the "HandMade" line - which I think I need to own every single piece of!

And lastly, card # 3 - really down to the bits and pieces here. Used my Cosmo Cricket wood grain alpha from my Studio Calico kit.

(card removed for publication)

By the time I got to the third card I was really trying to pare down and not just because I was running out of everything. That always happens with me. I start with all kinds of stuff going on then just get to down to the basics.
Well, right after posting yesterday that I never win anything (particularly where blog give aways are concerned) I go and win something. That's great news. The not-so-great news is it is something I already own. I won the Studio Calico Patchwork pennant kit that I purchased last month.

I don't mind having 2, because now that means I have 2 of those awesome canvas banner albums. Now, I really need to make them into something. Thank you Ella and Studio Calico for the most excellent prize!!

A few quick items...

One of my all time favorite scrapbookers, Rebecca Cooper, is having an amazing week of giveaways on her blog. Check it out - her work (scrapbooking and photography) is beautiful. I first took note of her work in Simple Scrapbooks in '04, when I was first starting to scrapbook. Her pages & projects really changed the way I approached this hobby and helped me find my direction.
Anywho, today's giveaway is a gorgeous fabric camera strap. I'd so love to win this, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not a winner when it comes to these kinds of things. Some lucky gal will be grabbing that prize, though - maybe you? Leave a comment there and take a chance!

Got a new pile of design team goodies from the Scrapper's Cove yesterday. Will need to start putting together some projects for them, due on May 1. This month is the new Fancy Pants "My Family" line - which is very pretty. This will be easy to work with.

Also in the kit is a Tim Holtz metal clock and some Creative Imaginations wood veneer (which is more frightening to me than a transparency). I will attempt to get my Silhouette to cut it. Hopefully my posts later this week won't be about how mad I am about my broken Silhouette!! Also got some little bead/pebble things that look like water drops. I'm told they can be alcohol inked. (I confess, I'm not much of technique girl and the idea of using alcohol ink scares the bejeezus out of me.)

Last week was kind of a banner week for pub calls for me. I still can hardly believe it. I shipped out my projects to Northridge Media today - for Cards and the Holiday Idea Book. They are probably on the flight right now for their vacation in Utah. Tomorrow I've got to get my Paper Crafts projects ready to roll. I've never sent anything to them yet so I'm hoping I don't mess it up.
Back soon with some projects.

MME challenge...

Today I worked on the challenge on the My Minds Eye blog. A sweet prize is up for grabs and I have always loved MME - so I decided to give it a whirl. There was a sketch and a title/subject matter prompt (lyrics from a song) so I had a lot to work with. Here's the sketch:

Here's my layout:

I love that paper in the background - from the new Quite Contrary line. I raided my Studio Calico kit for this baby. I love that zig zag pattern and those colors. For the 'paper' under the main photos, I used a large 8 x 10 print of a photo I took at the beach that day. I used my real estate sign punch to make a border, both top and bottom. Here are some details:

S.H. N.J. = Sandy Hook, New Jersey

I love how little they look in front of the ocean so that "as big as the ocean blue" line really struck a chord with me. I also used Lush brads and jewels (also swiped from my SC kit). The letter stickers are Basic Grey.  (Love those BG letter stickers!!)

Candle cards.

It's funny how the brain stores inspiration. I spend hours and hours pouring over magazines and blogs, ripping out pages, printing things. Filing them in binders for future reference. Willing them to memory. This morning, while lying in bed, I was contemplating what to do for the Cards blog challenge this week. (Yes, I think about clever ways to make cards and stuff out of paper while lying in bed, as well as when I'm driving my car, while watching tv, etc...). I was thinking about candles, this weeks subject, and then it came back to me...a 1st birthday invitation that I saw years ago when planning Marilyn's first birthday. The card I remembered had a birthday candle in the shape of a "1" stuck down to a piece of cardstock. I think I saw it in a Martha Stewart mag. I didn't rip it out and file it. I didn't have it saved anywhere...except in my head.
It never ceases to amaze me how the stuff we really like, sticks with us. I hadn't thought about the image of that card in years. But I guess subconsiously, I knew I would need to someday....so I saved it. Anyone see the Temple Grandin movie on HBO? She has a very visual way of thinking. I couldn't help but think of that when I recalled this image. I think I need to pick up her bio and read it. Fascinating individual.

So, after all this contemplation, I made these:

Simple first, then a little more complicated:

I prefer the simple one!

The recycled wallpaper card.

While I'd love to spend all my time making cards and paper projects, like most people I have other responsibilitites. Least of which is going out and earning a living - to help support my family and my raging papercrafting obsession. Luckily, my day job is in a place and field that offers tons of visual inspiration. I work as an interior designer by day. I get to look at cutting edge, innovative (and sometimes pretty) design and get paid for it. Not bragging, but it's an awesome job. Paint, fabric, wallpaper....oh yeah. I carry my little sketchbook with me at all times, but especially when I'm working. Inspiration is around every corner.

Such was the case one day last fall when I was working on a residential project for our firm. Nothing is prettier than high-end residential wallcovering and I was having a great time ordering samples for this client's master bedroom. The pile came, the good ones were pulled out for presentation, the rejects thrown in the reject pile. Since our firm is very conscious of sustainability, we make every effort to return samples we don't need. I could not bear to part with that pile, though - it was paper, after all. I reasoned if I made the samples into something else, it's technically recycling. This sample, in particular, was speaking to me:

A lovely modern Chinoiserie with an aqua ground by Schumacher. Ahh. Nice. I wanted it for me but I know the hubby would object to the birds (and the color, and the fact that it's wallpaper, etc....the list goes on but a girl can dream...)

So, here's what I made with the sample - a thank you card for my boss:

I cut out the big bird motif and some of the vines and paired it up with the companion wallcovering (a trellis patern) and some old book pages.I added some French knots, stitching and lace trim and called it a day. I actually thought is was a little too busy and nearly tossed it. After some consideration, I decided to give it to her. She liked it. She was even nice enough to let me have it back when it got picked up by Simply Handmade:

By the way, if you haven't picked up this issue of Simply Handmade, you should. (I have an online subscription and every now and then pick up a paper copy.) It is loaded with amazing  projects and tons of inspiration. I love this magazine. To actually be included among these talented crafters is truly an honor!

Today's reject...

A layout I submitted for the Ella Ezine cover for May. It wasn't me - someone else made the cut. I'll try again next time. Congrats to them, whoever they are. So, here's my project.
Image removed for publication.
The theme was family outings/events.

I knew as soon as I saw the call what photos I was going to use and the elements I wanted to use to tell the story. I love when that happens. I used the March Studio Calico kit  (Quilting Bee) for this project. I also used some of the fabrics from the pennant add-on kit to make the kite tail. Here's a close up of the tail:

Image removed for publication.

I was dying to use that fabric technique - which I originally saw here. I'm seeing lots of future holiday garlands made with this technique, too.

No new crafty work from me today - since I spent a good amount of the day purging baby clothes for a local clothing drive. To say this was a painful exercise would be an understatement. I thought I had a safe distance from the tiny socks and onesies and the little dresses and shoes. Nope - I was not anywhere near "mentally prepared" to do this. I saved boxes for each of the kids with the really special and/or meaningful stuff and dropped off the rest this afternoon. It sounds totally cliche, but I can't stop wondering how it went by so fast. Mind you, my kids are still very young, and I clung to that notion all day - but those little tiny baby days are definitely in our past. Tomorrow, I will reward myself with a day of whatever I feel like..which probably means breaking into the new Studio Calico kit on my desk.

Vintage stuff and a new fave...

Busy making cards last night and today, I stumbled onto a stash of old button cards I picked up at a yard sale last summer. I decided to make a few using the button cards as backgrounds. Here's one from the group I made:

I love that ruler than runs up the one side. I had so much fun making these I am dying to get back out on the yard sale/estate sale circuit to replenish my stash. I remember where I got these - it was an estate sale of someone who once sewed a lot. In addition to a bunch of really old buttons, still on their cards, I got a bunch of spools of thread - the kind on the wood spools. Ah, the good old days. She also had tons of patterns. I wish I had picked some up. I remember at the time thinking I could use them in a crafty way but put them back. (That sound you hear is me kicking myself in the backside!) That will not happen again!

Also whipped up this little number today - a gift card holder:

 

(Don't know about you, but I love a big bold '3', I also like '2s' - I'm a complete type junkie!)

I realized not long before we were scheduled to leave for this party that we didn't have a card. (The card maker with no card!) I had so little time I really thought it wasn't going to happen. I am a notoriously slow card maker. Anyway, by limiting my time (I had about a half hour) I was forced to focus on the bare necessities which included 2 things: 1) hold the gift card & 2) address the 13th birthday. Mission accomplished. I hope she likes it.

Don't know about you, but I am always amazed at how fast 2 Peas ships stuff! I think I just got the shipping notice on Thursday and there it was on my doorstep when I got back from M's dancing school this morning. Happy, happy...this was the October Afternoon 'Thrift Shop' impulse buy from Tuesday morning. Have to say, I have a new favorite paper - well, it's actually neck & neck with that Sasafrass blue paper from the SC kit from last month. Here's part of the 2 Peas stash:

Next to the stickers on the left, the light blue medallion print - that's my new favorite. That paper is so pretty. I just want to hang it on my wall. Here's my other fave, the Sasafrass Lass, just for comparison sake:

This paper is so pretty, I just picked up 2 more sheets, just to be safe. (I never buy patterned paper in multiples unless I'm making a huge project or I love it.) Anywho, they both have that same vintage-y feel. Definitely loving this vintage trend!

Card & a cookie...

Friday again and think I might have got my card to Paige for the Cards Blog in time, but not sure. Besides the day job yesterday, I had to work last night finishing up a cookie job that was due today. This morning I had an idea for a card and quickly put this together:

The call this week was for clouds and raindrops. I raided my pennant kit from Studio Calico for the Making Memories felt. I cut the clouds from the American Crafts cloud paper and sewed them down (with silver thread) to a base of Stampin' Up cloud paper. I made the rain out of french knots in silver metallic embroidery floss.
Here are the cookies I delivered today - for a baby shower:

So now I have a little free time. Plan to work on some items for a submission deadline and hopefully spend some time outside - pulling weeds before they take over our front & back yards. I also learned about this:

An artist's worshop event called Art Opera. I just found out about it today. I think it's mostly altered artists but I definitely would have liked to attend  Maybe learn some new tricks. And it's only a few miles from my house.I definitely recognize some of the sponsors and teachers. Looks like fun. Tomorrow is the vendor faire. I'm all over it!

Been a while...

It's been a few days for me so this post will be a little long.
The 12 Days of Cookies album is almost complete. I was trying to finish it to submit to the Scrapbook Trends Holiday Idea Book call but didn’t make it in time. I still need to type recipes (which I can hopefully download from the internet) but the format & the cover are complete. I used an American Crafts 6 x 6 Modern Album, and a mix of My Mind’s Eye Lush & Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper.
Here are some pics – first, the cover:
(image removed for publication)

Here’s one of the layouts:

I wanted to keep this really clean and simple, and relatively flat. All of the layouts will look like this but the background papers are different. Behind each recipe page is a printout of the blog post that accompanied the cookie. I’m really pleased with the way this one is turning out.

Got a fresh Studio Calico kit today, and it’s a winner. I don’t know what I did before these things started coming in the mail. The stuff in the kits is all so great. Also got some of the embossed Core’dinations/Cosmo Cricket cardstock. Love, love, love the coconut cream wood grain!

and some brandy-new EK punches: photo labels:

I've already used this on 2 layouts and it only arrived yesterday afternoon. And also got the bracket border punch:

Also fell victim this morning to the 2 Peas email blast about the new items. Those emails get me every time. I picked up most of the October Afternoon Thrift Shop papers and some of coordinating stuff. I’m certain that bits and pieces of this are going to turn up in a Studio Calico kit but I could not wait.

This is definitely going to be a favorite!
This week I’m working on a small cookie job which is temporarily on hold due to the hot weather. (Cookies + heat = broken cookies). Also just finished a layout for the Ella Ezine cover call. I really like the way it turned out. I used pictures from our kite flying adventure and a technique I saw on someone's blog. I better figure out where so I can credit them when I post it here. We’ll see how that goes….here is a tiny piece, since I'm not allowed to post it until it's rejected (or maybe not!)

Here's a layout I made with my last SC kit. It was for the Sunday Sketch 2 weeks ago -

 I'm a little behind. There's that photo labels punch:

Well, we are almost at the point here in NJ where everything is covered with the green dust. My eyes are so itchy I can barely stand it. Today it was 94. Tomorrow we are supposed to drop back down. Crazy Spring – wonder how many days until my pool guy comes to open the pool?

A quick post...

with some cards I made this week.
This one is for the Cards Blog - Easter challenge this week.

I've been wondering how I would use those little pennant stickers from Jenni Bowlin. I'm not a huge fan of the pennant/banner trend but I know once I start using them, I'll probably wind up abusing them. (Still need to make my Studio Calico pennant kit - for someone who doesn't like this trend, I'm not wasting any time accumulating product!) On a side note, the word "Easter" is depleting my supply of 'e's'!

Here's another Easter card - wanted to use the chocolate bunny stamp from Stampin Up:

and more of those little fabric flowers from K & Co. How I wish my Silhouette cut fabric and felt and stuff. That is my only complaint about that machine.

Here's a random 'back to school' card that I made with some small bits of leftover Scrapper's Cove stuff:

that Sassafrass Lass felt apple has been on and off the sticker sheet so many times, I'm surprised it had any 'stick' left. So happy it's finally found a home. Still loving that tiny pencil stamp!
(Image of card removed for publication)
And lastly, here's' what's in the works right now:

The 12 Days of Cookies album...still working out the details on this one and dreading the idea of typing all of the recipies. Ugh.
Well it's lovely here in the Northeast so we are planning some outside time today. Hope you all are enjoying some lovely springtime weather.