Simon Says Heart Vent Die and Word Salad

Did you really think I would wait very long before creating something with my new purchases? Nah...

Simon Says Stamp "Heart Vent Die"

I plan to create rainbow colored hearts, but before I could dig out my scraps, I found a very cool patterned paper that I wanted to try out. Here is the result. The stamp is from Paper Smooches, Word Salad. It fits perfectly here. More to come! Enjoy!

Fun Purchases!

Hey Bloggers,
Guess what I got in the mail? I placed an order at Simon Says Stamp, and it arrived today! I am so excited! Take a look:

This is an adorable die called "Heart Vent" from Simon Says Stamp.

These are new "On the edge" dies that read "I love you" and "Thank You" from Simon Says Stamp.

I am not a big believer of buying small brand ink. Frankly, I cannot afford it. But I am finding my go-to black inks are drying up, and one of them are not copic-friendly. So after hearing several other crafter that I watch often speak highly of this black ink, I thought I would give it a try,

As for the Distress ink, I have mentioned this before, Joann's and Michael's are not carrying the newest colors. Tim Holtz and Ranger have released a new color each month of 2015. This color was for December. (see image)

So, I had to decide, should I wait go a few months to see if I could find these hot colors elsewhere cheaper, or bite the bullet pay the extra dollar or so, and pay the shipping and enjoy the newest color while it is new?! (As a side note, I am supporting a smaller company rather than a huge craft store chain.) I take pride in that, however, I have to keep my budget in check too. It is a very hard balance.

Stay tuned, I will be using these new purchases to create Valentine's day cards with my classes. With my students, I would like to mimic these. I talked to my students, and they are excited about these cards too. I will be sure to share their creations. See you soon!

Pink Dandelions, back to basics

Hello,
I have another creation to share with you. It was slightly different than yesterday's, but yet very similar. Simple yet powerful! Clean and Simple, take a look.

Card Details:
Stamps: Dandelions from Hero Arts, Made Sentiment in Word
Inks: SU! markers, various colors
Cardstock: Marcos papers, SU!

Back to School Day1 - I made it!

Can you believe that I taught all day, and still have energy to finish a handful of cards and complete a post? I tell ya, I am determined to make time for my cardmaking!

I am going back to the basics. As I mentioned before, I lost my mojo, and I am trying to spark my creativity again. What a better way to do it then to go back to simple techniques, and old favorites? I keep telling myself "Cindy, clean and simple is OK.....It's ok!"  LOL.... Do you talk to yourself to when you want to OVER-DO a simple design?  It works, I tell ya!

Very simple, but elegant:

Wow, I forgot all my photo tricks and everything! I'll get there, I will. I promise, the next set will be better. Enjoy, and I will see you soon!

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.