Gallery Idol Top 20

Well, I think many you have seen this from nice notes people have sent me but... I'm one of the top 20 Paper Crafts Gallery Idol finalists this year. :)

I actually debated long and hard if I wanted to enter again given my new crazy schedule. However, I figured what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. And if I get into the program I want, then life is only going to get more hectic. If I don't... well some fun paper crafting goodies are surely a nice consolation prize (and will help me get over my rejection).

That and everyone needs a study break...

So here we are. I love banners. They make me happy.

I made this card during graduation weekend...the only card I managed to squeeze in that weekend with all the other festivities. I promised the hubs that I'd keep my craft area clean so I went with a super simple card with minimal scraps.

For the banners, I cut 3 strips of patterned paper and then diagonally cut them to create the banners. If you're careful about it, each piece you cut (sans the ends) go right into the card.

I love using the thin sentiments from round and round set from PTI. It's the perfect length and this time I curved it and stamped it 3 times for 3 banner strips.

To emphasize the thanks (and cos I realize that some people don't have eyes as sharp as mine), I stamped a much larger "Thank You".

Ok, that's all from me today. Gotta go prep for some Memorial Day BBQs, study some more, and well, clean....

Have a great weekend and for my US friends, have a great long weekend.

Accordion Rosette Tutorial

I've had a few questions about the rosette I made here so I just did a simple tutorial to help you make one as well.

1. Cut 2 strips of paper 12 inches long with the same width. The width of the paper strips determines how large your rosette will be. As an option, you can punch the border as well.

**Note: The length of your strip along with the scoring distance will impact the tightness of your rosette. I recommend doing longer strips initially since it's easier to make the rosette (less fiddling).

2. Score the paper evenly. I use every 1/2 inch, for tighter rosettes, score more often and looser ones, less often.

3. Accordion fold both strips.

4. The final folded pieces should look like this.

5. Adhere the ends together well. Adhere glue to a small circle (where the radius is smaller than the height of your strip!!!)

5. Fold the sides inwards onto the scrap circle with glue, let the bottom fan out. Fiddle around until you get your accordion flower.

And here's a fun card that I incorporated the flower into!

I went for a more patterned paper focused card again. Now that I have even less time (with my new study schedule), patterned paper is a great way to find a fun pattern and make a quick card.

Cardstock, Stamps, Ink: PTI
Patterned Paper: (Quite Contrary) My Mind's Eye
Accents: (gems) Zva
Tools: (punch) Fiskars

Congrats

You know those wise people that tell you that you should study when you're still in the studying mood? They're wise wise people. I just spent 2 hrs going through some study material and I'm wiped out. My plan is to take a lovely standardized test this fall and then to retake it again in the spring (because I know my ability to take std. tests. Ask my mom about my SAT scores... she loves to tell everyone how poorly I did on those -- just ask any of my friends).

Unfortunately for you all, I will chug through! So I'm pretty sure I'll be blogging less and even more sporadically than I currently do (I'm pretty sure I'll be commenting less and more sporadically than I already do). Please don't love me less and please don't take anything personally. :-)

This card was going to be on its way to someone until I realized they were moving this week. I also don't have said person's new address. *coughStephcough*

Anyways, that said, perhaps someone will ping me her address. :)

Just a fun congrats card! :) Used some fun Hero Arts stamps, pearls and ribbon. Yum! I think its pretty self explanatory so I'll leave my usual chit chat out.

It's been a long day with a lot more trial and tribulations than I normally like. So I'm gonna go crawl into bed now with my study book.

I hate standardized tests.

Floral Thanks

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! :) Mine was just a nice lazy one -- baked a little and learned that the hubs prefers buttercream icing over whipped cream (but honestly, the amount of butter that goes into buttercream icing freaks me out).

I finally ordered some study material (for those lovely standardized tests) so when that comes, lazy weekends and weeknights are going to be so rare. My mantra is to enjoy them while I can! Now that the hubs has finally graduated, it's my turn to get a few fancy letters to add to my name. And I'm hoping that we'll have a more permanent location by next year (but I also have a few weekend programs in mind in case -- as if I didn't travel enough...).

This card is just a fun one for Steph's generous blog candy for free WMS stamps! Now I'm not going to officially enter but I think it'd be fun if you did! Steph asked for everyone to create a project for Scrap Our Stash May Challenge which was to create something out of the box (ala, things you don't normally do). So what are you waiting for? Steph has even extended the deadline to Friday!

I decided to try something that wasn't my style -- I'm a CAS stamper in case you haven't noticed. This card is totally not my style (definitely more scrappy) but I love trying things that aren't me. It's like how when I was a kid, I'd hop around the basement playing dress-up with my mom's old dresses and hop around in her insanely high heels.

There was some talk awhile back on the WMS forum about using patterned paper on cards. I am one of those totally guilty of buying patterned paper because its pretty (and hoarding it). I tell my husband that at least paper is so much cheaper than a cute skirt... So today I decided to pull them out and create a card with WMS stamps and patterned paper. The colors are so fun though, aren't they?

The other thing that's new is the rosette base. I've seen lots of rosettes created and I finally decided to do one myself. I created a rosette flower by cutting a strip of 12 by 12 paper. I scored it at every 1/2 inch and border punched the edges. In retrospect, the paper strip should have been a little longer, however I didn't think to measure my first strip of paper so eh! The paper is actually leaf paper from My Mind's Eye (Quite Contrary). In the middle are the flowers from Big Blooms Chrysanthemums. The middle flower fits so well in the 1 3/4 inch circle punch and the smallest flower fits in the 1 inch circle punch. :)

A few letter stickers, some stitching and buttons later, I have a hip little thank you card. :)


Stamps: (Big Blooms Chrysanthemums) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: (Quite Contrary) My Mind's Eye, (Bayberry Cottage) Pink Paislee
Accents: (Letter Stickers) Making Memories, (buttons) Making Memories, (ribbon) PTI

Musical Thanks

Hope your week is going well so far! :)

The music is actually my old choir music... will have to dig up some more when I go home. The music is actually from an old Indian chant so the words totally don't make sense but who can even tell? I've saved all my old choir music thinking that one day I'd sing it again... Since I've been yelling at my hubs for being a pack rat, I decided I should make use of the things I've been hoarding as well.

The sentiment comes from no other than WMS's Earth Angel. That's probably my favorite sentiment from the set... but it curves oh so well. Don't you just love that about clear stamps? The flower is made from a scallop circle punch and then the edges are inked with plum pudding and the dye ink duos.

The pearls are actually liquid pearls from Ranger. I figured I use pearls soo much that I should try using some liquid pearls to see how well I liked them. So far, I'm a little undecided... mine are kinda pointy once dried and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Call Me: 867-5309

Thanks to everyone who's asked about my thumb. :) It definitely looks like its a-okay now. In fact, it almost looks like a paper cut -- that's how well it's healed. My only issue now is that there was some nerve damage... I'm really hoping that it'll heal itself but in the worst case, at least its just the top of my thumb from my nail to my knuckle so its not a "major" part as far as thumbs go.

Anyways, enough with icky topics... time to move to happier things! I thought the Paper Crafts phone book challenge sounded like fun. :) I haven't had a chance to play along but I made some time today and made this little diddly.

This card is going to be sent to a friend who I haven't talked to in ages so I thought the "Call Me" sticker along with a stamp "It's been too long" seemed appropriate. TOO bad my name isn't Jenny although I do promise a good time (ala laughs) to anyone who calls. ;-)

I created some scallops by punching some circles from the white pages and then outlined them with a black gel pen. The edge of the card has some more phone numbers as well.

Now I have the song stuck in my head though....

May Friends of WMS Blog Waltz

Today is the day! Our Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz focuses on birthdays this month. To see the full list of hoppers, start over at the Waltzingmouse House forum in The Play Room.

There will also be another thread in The Play Room for chat and to play along in our monthly blog waltz game. This time you will be looking for (and counting up) watermarks that look like teacups in the blog posts by the Design Team and Claire. A winner of a stamp set of choice will be drawn from all the correct answers! You'll have until 11:59 pm Pacific on Tuesday May 18th (7:50 am GMT on Wednesday May 19th) to complete the waltz and enter your guess(es).

So good luck to all and let us begin. :)

I'm going to apologize in advance for my photo... it was graduation weekend here in this household so I didn't get a chance to retake my photos.

To celebrate birthdays, I decided to do a bag and a tag this time around. Everyone needs a fun little bag to wrap wonderful gifts in.

For the I used Pic-Nic Patterns for much of the backgrounds.

The tag is created with the heart from Seasons of Love - Tags and the leaves for the berries are from Big Blooms Chrysanthemums. The sentiment comes from Earth Angel.

Just wanted to show the plaid a little more in detail. I actually layered the fat plaid with the skinnier plaid but it's not showing up as well. I'll try to fix it later.


Stamps: (Earth Angel, Seasons of Love - Tags, Pic-Nic Patterns, Big Blooms Chrysanthemums) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper, Ink: PTI
Ribbon: Martha Stewart
Bag: Michaels

You'll Never Plough A Field...

ETA -- Ahck, forgot in my rush to post that the leaves are from Pic-Nic Patterns. :)

It's almost the weekend! :) I finally cleaned up my craft area (since people are coming over and the hubs gets embarrassed with all my crafty messes) so maybe I'll share some pics this week to show you what a small space I work in. Basically the space no one wants using funiture no one wants. Hah.

So I've had to not really craft this week (yes... it takes me a week to clean my mess... don't judge!)

But this is a card I had created awhile back but forgot to share on the blog-o.

I wanted to create the effect of someone laying under a tree wondering about what to do with their future... sound familiar? Hah. The tree branches and the flowers are from Asian Garden. The leaves are from Pic-Nic Patterns. I love the extra touch of the leaves -- even if its not a true cherry blossom looking tree anymore (but it's my world and I'll do what I want!)

I thought it fit so well with the quote from Words of Wisdom to tell someone to get their little butt up and work work work.

Hope everyone has a great week!


Stamps: (Words of Wisdom, Asian Garden, Pic-Nic Patterns) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper, Patterned Paper, Ribbon, Ink, Button: PTI
Tools: (border punch) Fiskars

Hello Friend

Hope you're all having a good weekend! I'm back to cleaning -- took a little birthday weekend break but we're back at it now. It never seems to end does it? And we live in a little 2 bedroom apt so I can't even begin to imagine having to clean a house....

I wanted to create a simple card to send to a friend. I pulled out Asian Garden from WMS again. Adore it!

I love that you can customize the tree how you see fit and you can even perch items on the tree or hang things from it!

The backing does have a woodgrain pattern on it which you can't see in the photo... but the closeup is showing up ok.

Haha, so in her blog post, Claire mentioned the comb trick I like to do to mimic woodgrain. And I have to admit, I didn't think about it at all for use with Asian Gardens. I tend to be a "what do I see in front of me" crafter. And I had already cleaned my husband's comb and put it back... just kidding!

None of my husband's combs were harmed in the making of this card (and my dear dear hubs, if you read this, you will notice the photos use my little girly comb)

I thought I'd take some photos as I did it just in case you have a comb near by. And at worst case, I believe they're super cheap at your local drugstore.

1. Ink up your stamp. If you do multiple cards, I like to clean the stamp a little by rubbing it on my scrubber for cleaner lines (clean the comb too!!). Trust me on that... sometimes the lines carry over a little from inking to inking.

The ink doesn't matter. That said, I do like pigment ink better for this trick but I actually am using the Palette hybrid ink here.

2. Take a comb and just lightly run it across your stamp.

3. You can see your pattern. If its not perfect, no biggie. It's woodgrain, its not perfect in real life!
Try different sized combs for different effects -- if you're anything like me, you own a gazillion combs. You could also go over certain lines with a toothpick or needle to get some more detail.

If you miss a spot, just go back over it with your comb again.

There ya go! A simple way to get a wood effect and using something you can usually ask a hotel front desk for! (How did you think I got to own so many combs?)

I think a little stamp kissing on this trunk would be pretty neat as well -- like that lattice background from Picnic Patterns... hmm.... perhaps next week! :)

You are Missed

Hope everyone's having a grand Monday!

I stupidly stabbed my dominant thumb with a knife this weekend (while cleaning it... sigh...). At least today it doesn't hurt to type. But wow, what a horrible weekend... I couldn't do anything without help. Basically ended up just watching TV all weekend as I couldn't clean, couldn't cook, couldn't even open a water bottle... heck, even walking fast hurts since I tend to swing my arms (which then moves my hand and my thumb...)

Your dominant thumb is important...so don't try stabbing it with a knife...

Ok, enough with my complaining... and onto my card...

I had put these two stamps side by side to determine which one I wanted to use. And I thought, huh, it looks like that bird is lonely without his other birdy friend.

And so a "Miss You" card evolved.

I pierced a trail almost as if the little birdie just left. Perhaps the little birdie went to college or perhaps the little birdie decided to move or left for a new job. Lots of situations. :)

I wanted to use some twine to make it appear as if the birdcages were hanging from the ceiling. I used my piercer to poke a hole into the top of the birdcage and thread my twine through. And to add that little extra touch, I tied tiny little bows with my tiny little hands. Probably the only time tiny hands are awesome.

I had some scraps of Dear Lizzy paper laying on my desk so it got stitched to the side of this card.

I did run my clear souffle gel pen over the bird to give it a little something. It raises the texture ever so slightly and dries so much faster than glossy accents. :)

Ok, hope everyone has a good weekend and I'm going to go back to feeling sorry for my thumb (and my current inability to do anything including craft. Booo).


Stamps: (Asian Garden, Fancy Phrases) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Patterned Paper: (Dear Lizzy) American Crafts
Twine: May Arts

TSG Blog Hop

Welcome to the There She Goes Mother of All Blog Hops! If you have arrived here from Melissa's blog, then you are in the right spot. If not, I recommend that you start back on the There She Goes blog to get the introduction to our hop as well as the information you will need in order to enter to win some exciting prizes!

I'm using Branching Out, one of my favorite sets. Mainly because I like the mix and match combos. :)

I made this earlier this afternoon because I plan ahead like that. My color combo was decided after finding a piece of paper on my desk that I had pulled out for another project (and then decided not to use). So I figure, why not? :)

The quotes in the set are all super fun so I picked one (stamped it on some scrap paper and then realized that the stamp was defective) and then switched to another quote. So glad I have a tendency to stamp anything on a scrap paper first...

The tree branches are stamped both on the base and then on the leaves again. The berries are simple a small circle stamp I have from another set but you could certainly draw berries as well or punch small circles or use buttons etc.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop!

Next up is the wonderful Jodi Collins -- who I'm sure has something wonderful up her sleeve!



Stamps: (quote, tree leaves, branches from Branching Out) There She Goes Stamps , (dot from Spring Baskets) Waltzingmouse Stamps, (lace bg) October Afternoon
Paper, Ink, Ribbon, Button: PTI
Lace trim: Prima
Pen: Sakura

Thanks

So I think I accidentally published this earlier so you might have seen this already if you follow via a feed reader because despite being a technical person, I can't use blogger well. Hah.

Anyways, here we go again! I thought I'd share a fun little thanks card.

I love the mums in this set (Big Blooms). It's a fun set with different sizes of flowers, solids and lines! Can you ever have enough flower sets? Haha!

I kept it pretty simple. I colored the centers of the flower with a touch of green from some copics. I also ran over the middles with my souffle clear gel pen for some texture but its definitely not showing up in the pic.


Stamps: (Big Blooms, Fancy Phrases) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper, Ink, Ribbon: PTI
Decorative Scissors: Provo Craft
Coloring Medium: Copics