Murphy's Law

Hello! Just in case you've been wondering, I am still here! I spent some time doing several uninteresting, yet important things around the house, and finally got a chance to get back in my crafty space. I've been working on my #1DD's scrapbooks and refilling my card stash, and it has been so wonderful to be creative again. I have all kinds of photos of my projects and was all ready to start blogging again. I turned on my laptop and everything lit up like it always does with one exception...no monitor.  So now I am without a way to properly post. Hopefully, I will be able to get it fixed! I used my phone for this post and it's not the best!

I did manage to get a photo uploaded (sorry for the shoddy pic) and thought I'd share it while I filled you in on the status of my blog.  This is one of my 'clean up' cards. I used bits and pieces of things I had in bags and boxes.

I don't have any steps to explain since it literally took minutes to put this together. I hope I will be back to proper blogging soon, and thanks for your patience!! Have a wonderful day!

Out of the Box for Mother's Day

I am officially on summer vacation!! I can not tell you how wonderful it is going to be to sleep in the next few days!  But enough of me rubbing my good fortune in your faces!!

Last weekend, I needed to make a couple of Mother's Day cards for Mom and my MIL.   I have seen flower pot cards on different blogs, but never saved a link.  I went to Pinterest to see if I could find one with instructions.  *Here's a little background on me... I'm not sure why, but I tend to make most of my cards the standard size.  I've done a some square cards and even a few shaped cards, but I always end up going back to good ol' 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  And my cards ALWAYS  fit in the envelope (stop laughing, Lisa M, don't you judge me!!).  So I was trying to stay away from any designs that would be too big.  I found the perfect one here and Brenda's step by step instructions were fabulous! Even better, it would fit a standard card envelope!

So I got busy cutting and scoring the pot, making the insert and then the fun part-the flowers!!  I wasn't sure how many I would need and didn't want to stop to make more after I started assembling so I made a nice variety to choose from. Then something incredible happened, well at least for me...  I went crazy! I kept adding more leaves and flowers and absolutely loved how it was turning out.  I finally hit a point where I looked at it and thought 'OK, I'm finished.'  Then it hit me... There was NO WAY this was going to fit in a standard envelope!!!  I had completely stepped out of my comfort zone, had a wonderful time, made a card both Moms would love, and I had no idea how I was going to present it to them!  Luckily after a little digging, I found some larger envelopes, left over from who knows what, and there was enough room to slip the cards in without squishing them.  Problem solved!  I'm just glad I didn't have to mail these!

I decided to use all of the retiring In Colors on this card.  I absolutely love pear pizzazz, but hadn't really used a lot of the other colors.  I'm also hoping I haven't forgotten any of the supplies.  It was a bit of a whirlwind of creativity on this one!

If you would like to recreate this card, I highly suggest clicking on the link above! Her directions and pictures really made this easy to create!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-2010-2012 In Colors, whisper white, Ink-pear pizzazz, concord crush, Stamp set-Fresh Vintage (from SAB), sentiment-unknown, Accessories-bakers twine, Boho Blossoms punch, eyelet border punch, bird builder punch, fun flowers die, floral fusion and little leaves sizzlit dies, square lattice folder, perfect polka dots folder, petals a plenty folder

Holiday Mini Swap

This month I decided to join our team's monthly card swap.  The theme was 'Holiday Mini' and we are to use at least one item from the mini on our swap card.  I knew I wanted to use the beautiful DSP Spice Cake and found an old sketch (not sure where it was from...) that would work perfectly for my card.  To keep from ruining the surprise, I've had to post this for a later date so the participating team members don't have a sneak peek!!

The flowers were made with the floral fusion sizzlet.  I've had this for ages and recently rediscovered it. Sometimes I think I might have too much to play with, but then I chase those crazy thoughts out of my head ;D  

Card Recipe: Cardstock-very vanilla, soft suede, pool party, Spice Cake DSP, Ink-more mustard, Stamp Set-Batty for You, Accessories-floral fusion sizzlet, basic rhinestones, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, pear pizzazz seam binding, dimensionals

The 411 Challenge

I love checking out the sketch challenges from Stamping 411. Even if I don't get to play along, I try to save the sketches for later inspiration!  But this week, I actually had the time to play along! Here is this week's sketch...

I needed to make a sympathy card for a friend of mine and thought this would be a good starting point.  I turned the sketch on it's side and swapped the oval for a rectangle. I also tried my hand at coloring the white bakers twine with a marker.  I wasn't thrilled with the coverage at first, but once I had it on the card with the crinkled seam binding, it looked a lot better.  I made two versions, changing the ribbon just a little each time.  I also added some vanilla shimmer. I love the pearly sheen that it gives my card!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-whisper white, pear pizzazz, blushing bride DSP from In Color pack, Ink-blushing bride, pear pizzazz, basic gray, Stamp Sets-Just Believe, Word Play, Accessories-vanilla shimmer smooch spritz, pear pizzazz seam binding, white bakers twine (dyed), floral fusion sizzlit, silver brad