2020!

Welcome back!
The second half of 2019 flew by in a whirl wind! I am proud to say that I am a Regular Education 6th grade math teacher! I have been so busy switching over, my crafting has taken a back seat. I believe 2020 will bring a nice balance and my posts will be more regular!
Take a look:

 These two panels were done on Photo paper and coated with a clear acrylic sealer spray.

I drew my inspiration from a post by Melissa. I thought I would give her technique a try and I really had fun! Tearing paper is a hit or miss technique, but so I did some cards with, and some without.
Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!
Card Recipe:
Stamps:  Dandelion Wishes (Picket Fence)  Sentiment: Celebrate (HA Happy Birthday)
Ink: TH Distress inks  Paper: Water Color Paper Generic  Colored Paper: SU!

What's Within Reach?

Hello again!
I wanted to share with you some pictures of my craft space, but I don't like the videos crafters/bloggers post showing the inside of each drawer and every cupboard. I do not find those interesting or informative. They come across as bragging about their crafting supplies, and how much they have.

I tried to come up with a way to show the items I find helpful to have within reach of where I sit at my desk. Which tools and items to I go to the MOST! Those are the posts I think are interesting. I thought I would share my ideas.

Mind you, I am a very frugal crafter surviving on a teacher's budget. I buy ONLY what I need and I use everything, or I don't keep it around. I have been card making for 5 years, and I have been blogging on and off for only 3.

Several of these items I have created by hand, and I have posts on my blog showing you in detail how you can create one also. I will link to those if you are interested. Leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts! I believe you can click each picture to zoom in.

Ohh, yes, I do own stamps! you cannot see them in these images, they are to my left, and not in these photos. Here are the links to the hand made items I mention.

• Cassette holder - Click here
• Shelving - Click here
• Ribbon Storage - Click here
• Ink Swatch book - Click here
• Blending pad binders - Click here & here
• die cut folders - Click here

New Year, New ME!

Hey strangers,
I know, I know...it's been a VERY long time. I dusted off my craft room, and got my fingers inky today. I think I found my mojo! I think I can start creating again. I am not sure if I will be consistent, but it is NEW year's eve, and I would like to make a New Year's resolution to try!

I have been so focused on my teaching, that I was simply overwhelmed by the thought of being in my craft room. I decided to force myself out of my shell, and make complicated Christmas cards (and stupidly expensive too) They came out perfectly. I was very pleased. They were inspired by Jennifer McGuire's card: here.

 Here is my take:

THEN I decided to add more names and addresses to my yearly (2016 here I come) birthday spreadsheet. When I really looked at the list, I realized that many of the names are male, and OMG! I have no manly cards at all! So, I have to get busy! When in doubt, duplicate a card you have made previously!

That is exactly what I did! I duplicated two different designs all in one day. Take a look!

I even found a bit of inspiration to create one solo card:

Sorry, the pictures are blah......I couldn't get outside to shoot the images.

Mini thank you cards

Happy Holidays. Welcome back. Thanks for dropping in. I have be working fervently to complete a few sets of cards. I found some pins on pinterest that intrigued me enough to make my own set!  

I found this set on pinterest, and with a few tweaks, I had everything on hand to create four sets of 7 cards. They were a blast to create, and very time consuming. (they don't look it, right)

I always thought I had more embossing folders than I was ever going to use for crafting. Can you believe that I was one design short? I tried using these fiskars texture plates through my cuttlebug, and ended up cracking it in three! The pink pattern is from the pate that cracked. I had to dig into my snowflake pattern for the green cards. (shh...no one will notice if you don't point it out...shh) I think I need to pick up a few more patterns! I think I have a hobby lobby gift card burning a hole in my pocket.  :)

I know you can't tell size from this picture, but these are a mere 3 inches by 3 inches! They are so cute! I made enough for four complete sets. (math....28 cards)  I am wondering if I need to make envies for these. (I could, not difficult), but the buttons would be bumpy, and they are just too cute to shove into envies. Will need to think about that. What do you think?

I have been wanting to invest in baker's twine, but never thought when I would need to use it.  So I bought one... and Viola! now I understand. I don't think I need all the different colors, but the black and white looks great here.

So silly, but I have been holding onto all these random buttons. I LOVE how they look on these cards. Mind you, stringing twine through all the holes was a bit tedious, but I will use them more often on cards. What a learning experience. I have been creating cards for years, and I still have so much more to try!

Thanks for dropping in.....Next post....Birthday card set!

Let the heat come!

Hello all,

     It is a toasty 85 degrees outside, but it feels like 90. I was sweating just grabbing the mail at the end of the driveway!

     I created two totally different cards today. I had intended to participate in a few challenges, but I couldn't get the creative juices flowing with the sketches that were offered this week, so I made my own.

You can't see the embossed lines that jut out from each corner of the the background. They sort of interrupt the butterfly, but I like the overall look.

Supplies: Stamps: (Background stamp) Happiness: Local King Rubber Stamps, (Butterfly) simple friendship SU!, (Dream) Dreams comes true CTMH. Inks: Distress inks, Wild Honey, Crushed Olive, Tuxedo Black Paper:  Neenah Cardstock. Others: Low Tack masking tape.

     This card was fun. I like the black base, and the pop of the purples. I used left over watercolor paper I had from a different project. I colored the background with perfect plum yesterday and gave it a day to dry. The Think paper never warps. (LOVE that!) 

      I learned how to get the reflection on the bottom of the card. I used a pack of paper wrapped in a clear bag. The bag provides the refection. (cool,huh?) So easy, but it looks great in the photo. I still need to learn how to watermark my photos. Enjoy!

Supplies: Stamps:(flowers) Wildflower Garden - Hero Arts, Believe - Inkadinkado, Ink/Paper - Perfect Plum - SU! Tuxedo Black. Paper:  Neenah Cardstock.

Featured Stamp: Glass Vases by Hero Arts

Happy Saturday!
I sure do look forward to the weekends when I have time to create in my craft room and post my creations on my blog to share with you. I sure do enjoy it. Today's duo features a gorgeous stamp that I grabbed from a craiglist ad. What a great stamp! This makes for such a clean and simple card. I did not put a sentiment on them, but I think I might along the bottom when the occasion comes to it.Take a look:

Supplies: Stamps:Glass Vases - Hero Arts  Paper:  Neenah Cardstock  Inks: Yo-Yo Yellow, Bundled Sage, Tuxedo Black Tools/Punches/Dies: SU! markers.

Featured Duo: Wildflower Garden by Hero Arts

I enjoy searching splitcoaststampers.com for ideas and inspiration for my creations. I fell in love with a someone's card, and made these cards very similar to it. I wanted to give the artist a link, but I cannot locate the card now! (very frustrating). I even went back through my browser history to see if I could find it. No luck. Sorry....Enjoy!

Supplies: Stamps: Wildflower Garden - Hero Arts  Paper:  Real Red - SU!, Tempting Teal  - SU!, Neenah Cardstock  Inks: VersaMark - Watermark, Pink Passion, YoYo Yellow, Groovy Guava, Glorious Green, Brilliant Blue inks - SU! Tools/Punches/Dies: Fiskars Embossing plates whimsy and leaves, Exotic Butterfly small #2 - Cherry Lynn Designs Other: Fine White Embossing Powder, glue.

Featured Stamp Set: Pocketful o' Posies by Hero Arts

Hello All!
 I wasted no time experimenting with my new purchases. I have a duo to share with you using the Hero Arts Pocketful o' Posies.

On duo one, the three flowers are evenly spread apart, and colored with copic markers. Both cards are on river rock cardstock by SU.

On duo two, I used colored pencils and gamsol to blend the colors together. I used clear embossing on the edges and on top of each flower. The purple rectangle behind has been dry embossed as well as distressed and clear heat embossed around the edges.  The sentiment is embossed black to tie it all together.

Supplies: Stamps: Pocketful o' Posies - Hero Arts, Feeling Better soon 02 - Stampabilities  Paper: River Rock - SU, Perfect Plum - SU, Neenah Cardstock  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark - watermark, Copic markers, Colored pencils, Gamsol Tools/Punches/Dies: Paper distresser, Embossing folder Other: Black Embossing Powder, Perfect Plum ribbon

Featured Set: Pick-a-petal

Hello Everyone,
It is Spring Break....yeah! That means more time for me to be creative. :) But I have not had time to show-off my creativity yet. (It is Thursday) I did manage to complete a few sets of duos finished.

This first duo is my favorite. I have no idea how I have existed in the stampin' up world without finding this adorable set sooner?! I absolutely love it. It has so many uses. My friend, Marie borrowed it for a bit, and now I have time to play with it.  Aren't they cute?