Off To The Races!!!

So...creativity and creating can come in many forms.  Just because I wasn't creating with paper these last few days doesn't mean I wasn't creating!!!  I don't think a happy day can go by for me without making SOMETHING!  Last night was the Pinewood Derby for my cute little Bear Cubs, and my friend Pam and I were in charge of making the treats for after the big race.  They turned out so cute, I just had to share them with all of you!

Aren't they darling?!  We bought Zingers, Mini Oreos, and frosting in a tube with some tips attachments.  Super easy, and they were a BIG hit!  LOL  Another friend of mine took a picture last night and pinned it on Pinterest!  Haha! 
Here is a picture of my son's car.  He came in 2nd in his den, and now wants me to make him a shadow box for his car and his ribbon.  :o)  I think I can handle that!

Go create something!  It makes for a good day.  :o)  Happy crafting!

Technique Blog Hop

Hello!  And welcome to our monthly technique blog hop.  I know you will really enjoy all of the samples in this hop!  We are focusing on the technique "Original Argyle" featured on page 91 of the Close To My Heart idea book.  If you want to see a list of everybody participating, or just want to start from the beginning, go to Debi's blog.  If you are coming from Shirley's blog, you are in the right place!

I sort of took a different take on this one.  An argyle pattern is generally a diamond shape, but I thought a heart could be fun.

I used first, second, third, and fourth generation stamping to create a fading background.  I stamped in Cotton Candy.  I stamped the pretty lace on the left hand side in Gray Wool.

With a spray pen, I added a splash of Juniper.  I figured it would look cool.  I really like the way it turned out!

I stamped the frame and cameo in Gray Wool and Cotton Candy.  It's hard to see in the picture, but I coated the frame with Liquid Glass for another dimension.  I cut the larger rose from the Art Philosophy cartridge at 3" from Cotton Candy, and the two smaller roses at 2" from Blush cardstock.  I liked the idea of framing the roses, too, so I used a pewter frame.  I also used the bling pins, and stuck them into the 3-D foam tape behind the cameo.

To finish it off, I added pearl and licorice opaques.  Gotta love the self adhesive, easy elegance of these things!

And, here is the completed card.  I'm thinking it would be a great Mother's Day card.  Leave me a comment, and tell me what you think?  I think, since I have already shown this to my mom, I will be giving it to my mother in law.  I hope she likes it!!!

Now, you can continue your hop on to Melissa's blog.  If you want to know all of the products I used, take a look below.  :o)  Happy Scrappin'!

Supplies:

• Inks: Grey Wool (Z2125), Cotton Candy (Z2193)
• Re-Inker: Juniper (Z2265)
• Cardstocks: Grey Wool (available in shade pack X5911), Colonial White (1388), Juniper (available in shade pack X5907), Cotton Candy (available in shade pack X5910), and Blush (available in shade pack X5909)
• Sweet Moments stamp set (C1467)
• Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (Z1686)
• Pearl Opaques (Z1336)
• Licorice Opaques (Z1335)
• Bookplates (Z1147)
• Bling Assortment (Z1466)
• Spray Pen (Z1380)

Playing With Tim

I wanted to share something with all of you.  I have a crush.  I have had a crush for a couple years now, and it is only getting worse as time goes on.  I have discovered Tim Holtz.  He is so talented and artistic it blows me away!  So...I have an artistic crush.  He has sort of become my muse, I suppose.  I wanted to share a card I made with his products for my nephew.  He turned 18!!!!  That is just so hard to swallow!  How in the world did that happen?!  I'm NOT getting old(er), am I?!  Ugh!  Anyways...this card makes me smile, so I thought I would share it with all of you.  I am still trying to figure out how to take good, representative pictures, so I'm sorry, but I only have one photo to share.  The rest are...well, let's just say I won't be posting them.  :o)

For this card, I embossed the cardstock with a timepiece embossing folder, distressed the edges with a brown ink, then swiped black across the surface.  The white border strip is a kraft border from CTMH that I painted with crackle paint.  The man with the umbrella is a die cut.  I covered a sheet of grunge paper with sticky backed canvas for him, then inked him up and stamped on him.  The 'TIME' piece with wings are two different metal accents that I painted and stuck together with liquid glass.  I also painted a metal photo corner and placed that on the 'Time Flies' piece, which, by the way, WAS a transparency!  I used alcohol inks to give it color.  :o)  I really love this card.  I think it's masculine enough for a boy...gulp...I mean man.  Isn't there a pause button on kids somewhere?!

Anyways...that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed it!

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you enjoyed the holidays, and the celebration of an old year ending and a new year beginning.  I know I was having a lot of fun!  Now I feel relaxed and ready to meet all of the challenges and fabulous things that 2012 will bring.  :o)
Before I begin the post on the fun project I completed, I wanted to give you a heads up about my upcoming events.  I will be teaching a super fun mini album on the 14th.  You can see the details here.  I am also teaching a card class at Scrappin' Bunnies on the 21st.  You can check that one out here.  Both of these classes are filling up, so don't delay in getting in on them!
On the 28th, I will be having a crop from 10:30 - 6:00 and will also be introducing the new catalog.  I will have more details on this event as I figure it out. LOL  I only have 6-8 spots for a crop, so if you want to join me for the crop part of it, let me know pronto!!!
Okay...here we go on the projects.  First, you need to know about the special, so here is some information on that:

JOIN THE CRAZE! WHEN YOU PLACE A MINIMUM ORDER OF $25 FROM THE
Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book, you can get two new products for just $15: the
My Creations® Collage Cubes (a Spring/Summer 2012 sneak-peek product!) and
the exclusive My Acrylix® Rock the Block E-size stamp set. That’s a retail savings
of almost $30! You're going to love the Collage Cubes and the Rock the Block
stamp set, which work together for interactive, 3-D fun.

 

So, what did I do with this darling set?  I decided to post my first Braille project and make Dane a letter matching game!  I will say that after I made this, there are a few things I would have changed, but I still really like how it turned out.  Forgive the pictures...I need to learn how to take better pictures that show the work better!  I suppose that will be another item added to my goal list.  :o)

Before I began, I chose my color pallet.  I decided on Honey, Pear, Desert Sand, and Black.  I cut six 6x6 pieces of Colonial White cardstock, and stamped them up:

Besides the random stamping, I also used the rock 'n roll, masking, and base and shade stamping techniques.  I really had fun, though I do have my favorites of the pages.  :o)

After the stamping was done, I turned them each over and lightly marked the back into 2x2 squares just as a guide for the Braille.

With my slate and stylus, I wrote one letter in each square.  There were enough squares to do two of each letters, and my son's name twice, too!

I then cut each page into 2x2 squares to fit on the blocks, and glued them on using multi-medium.  You could also use Mod Podge for this step.

Once the squares were done, I painted the base a dark brown with a paint dauber.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of that, so you'll just have to imagine until I post another time.  :o)

Here is his name in Braille.  I love it!  I really think it is fascinating!

I'm sorry this is such a long post, but I also wanted to share ANOTHER fun special for Studio J!  Check it out!!!