Paul, Z. and i returned Sunday from a short trip to West Virginia to see my dad. All 4 of us hit the VA Blues and Jazz Festival in Warm Springs on Saturday. What an awesome show that was! On the drive to my dad's house Friday, we were greeted by Mountain Laurel in full bloom (photo above). Unfortunately, we were too early too see the Rhododendrons at their full peak, but oh well...

Wednesday we leave for a 10 day camping trip in Myrtle Beach, so i won't be posting for awhile. This is our first real family vacation together in a very long time, so we're super excited! Until then, hope everyone is well and i look forward to seeing your creations when i return!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Belated Mother's Day offerings...

Hello, all! Happy belated Mother's Day to all the hard-working moms out there! Following are photos of the gift set i made my own awesome mom. i also cooked her a feast of Asian dumplings, fried rice, egg-drop soup and Korean-style ribs, yum!




i'm feeling a bit lazy today so no ingredients. If you'd like to know what supplies i used, just ask.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Lots of cards!

i've got several cards to show today; i've been busy! i've been working on a couple projects for friends, as well as simple cards that i can make duplicates of to put up for sale. These first two fall into the latter category.

Basic, but i love the colors and this paper.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - MME; stamps - Papertrey's "Mixed Messages", Art Warehouse's "Ribbons and Lace"; ink - Ranger Distress, Versafine; pop-dots; eyelet - MM.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - MME; stamps - Inka.'s "Birds Galore", Papertrey's "Mixed Messages"; ink - Versamagic, Versafine, Colorbox Chalk; blue paint (spatter effect); ribbon - Offray?; eyelet - MM.

This was a card made for a friend/customer for an engagement. i struggled over the layout of this for awhile, but then one day it just fell together.

Ingredients: CS - The Paper Company, stash; PP - ?; stamps - Studio G (heart), Inka.'s "Sketchy Flourishes", Hero Arts' "Friendship Messages"; ink - Colorbox, Versamark/Versafine, Colorbox Chalk; ribbon - Ofrray; brads - American Crafts; pop-dots.

This was part of a batch for one of my best friends. i made her some baby announcements as a gift for her shower. All the cards followed the same layout but used different animal stickers for the focal point. Her and her husband have decorated the nursery with a farming theme, and my original idea was to have the focal point be a tractor and i wanted to use a stamp. Let me tell you, i looked all over for a tractor stamp that fit what i saw in my head and i couldn't find it! If i'd had more time to scour the net i may have found what i needed, but oh well. These came out ok and she was thrilled! i put her cards in a photo box with a fat decorated paper clip, a matching mini-comp book, a little photo album and some pens to fill out the announcements. Once the price of postage stamps go up in May, i'm going to send some her way, too.

Ingredients: CS - stash, Bazzill, Colorbok; blue PP - Rob and Bob; stamps - Papertrey's "Mixed Messages", Inka.'s "Tree" set (clouds); ink - Colorbox; stickers - Stickapotomus; ribbon - Offray; pop-dots; "it's a boy" was done on the computer.

This was just for fun!

Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - Swirls V:1, Inka.'s "Birds Galore", Hero Arts "Friendship Messages"; ink - Versafine, Versamagic, Ranger Distress; embossing powder; brads - MM.

This card is so different from what i normally do, but i like it!

Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - EK Success (flowers in background and crown), "Mixed Messages"; ink - Colorbox Chalk and pigment, Versafine; ribbon - Bobbin; brad - MM; Stickles; pop-dots.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Bunches of birds...

i absolutely love birds so it stands to reason i love bird stamps, too. Z. and i feed the birds in the backyard and i can watch them from my craft room window as i create. i finally got my hands on the Inkadinkado set "Birds Galore" and am having a blast with it! Be careful if you buy this set - i got one that came with 5 stamps, then later discovered the same set (for the same price) is also sold with 6, so watch out for that. Anyway, here are some cards i made with this set recently.

This is a b-day card for an old friend. i love how this came out, simple as it is.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - Paper Adventures; stamps - Inkadinkado's "Birds Galore", Heidi Grace's "Dreamer", Papertrey's "Mixed Messages"; ink - Colorbox Chalk, Pallette Hybrid, Versafine; photo corners.

This one was based on Julee's Mojo Monday #30 but i didn't get it done in time to enter the contest.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - Rob and Bob; stamps - "Birds Galore", Hero Arts "Friendship Messages", Studio G (swirls in corners); ink - Pallette Hybrid; ribbon - A.C. Moore, Offray; brads - MM.

i made this card in a few minutes just to break in the new set.

Ingredients: CS - Papertrey, stash; stamps - "Birds Galore", "Dreamer"; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Colorbox Chalk, Versafine; brads - MM.

i just love this one, might keep it for myself!

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - My Mind's Eye; stamps - "Birds Galore", "Dreamer", "Friendship Messages", unknown texture stamp; ink - Colorbox Chalk, Versafine, Pallette Hybrid.

Ingredients: CS - Bazzill, stash; stamps - "Birds Galore", "Dreamer"; ink - Versamagic, Colorbox Chalk, Versafine; brads- MM; pop-dots.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Four new cards...

Hi, everyone! Finally got a chance to post this. i've been making lots of cards lately, for fun and also for several projects including 2 orders and a couple gifts. Here's a few examples of some recent stuff i've done...



This one was a lot of fun to make. i did the background by inking wax paper with Ranger Distress Ink and then misting it with water. i then laid the cardstock into the ink and played iwith it until i liked the look, starting with the lightest color ink and then working my way darker. If you can't tell, there's dimensional glaze on the bees to make them stand out.


Ingredients: CS - stash, Colorbok; stamps - Inkadinkado's "Bee" and HB sentiment; ink - Ranger Distress and Archival; Prismacolor pencils; pop-dots; dimensional glaze.

i made a few like this. i stamped and inked various papers and CS then punched out squares and arranged them. i used so many stamps for this that it would take forever to list them all. If you want to know specifics, just ask.

This was made using some PP i got from Dana over Kismet, Art, Life - i'm not sure who makes it, but it's just gorgeous. i was saving this paper, but lately i've realized the need to use up some of what i have been stashing. i pierced and then hand-stitched this (something i rarely do because of the time involved) - i don't have a sewing machine, so... Yay for Spring cards!

Ingredients: CS - stash, Bazzill; PP - ?; stamps - Garden Words; ink - Ranger Distress; brads - MM; ribbon - A.C. Moore?; pop-dots.

This one's my favorite. i think i saw this layout in an issue of Paper Crafts, but i can't be sure.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - K and Company; stamps - Rhonna Farrer's Swirls V:1, alphabet - ?, "birthday" from Anna Griffin sentiment set; ink - Versamagic, Ranger Archival; brads- MM; metal label-holder - ?; flowers - Wal-mart; photo corners - MM.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Friday!

Today is a good day - i think i'm finally over being sick! The bad cold/flu i had turned into strep throat and today's the first day i really feel back to normal... i finally finished this card i've been working on for a close friend. She commissioned me to make 2 engagement cards and this is the first. i didn't want to do a typical card and i think this fits the bill. i feel like i could have done better, but all things considered - being sick as well as not feeling so creative lately - i think it turned out well. i hope she likes it!



Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - Basic Grey; stamps - Rhonna Farrer's Swirls V:1, Rhonna Farrer's Alpha Swirls (i might be wrong about the exact name here...); ink - Versamagic, Archival Ink; ribbon - A.C. Moore, Bobbin ribbon; rub-ons (can't remember company); pop-dots; brads - MM.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

i'm still here!

i've been too busy lately to post and then recently came down with a bad cold or possibly the flu. i seem to be over the worst now, thank goodness! i hate being so sick that i have to lay down all day. The housework is way behind and a project i started in my craft room 2 weeks ago lays on my desk, unfinished. i have a lot of catching up to do...
i hope you all are well!