A Tat and Horribilus Colors

Over the weekend I went out with my girlfriends for my birthday.  Somehow, it came up that we should all go get tattoos.  One might think that a tattoo parlor would be open at 10 pm, but alas, we couldn't find one.  I made mention to my friend that maybe we could go the next day.  My friend did indeed call me the next day.  So, we ventured into the crazy world of nose rings, giant ear lobes, scarrification and bodies covered with tattoos.  They probably wondered what the heck a prim and proper girl like me was doing in that place.  I decided on 3 intertwined stems with buds on them (see below).  Each bud represents the birthstone color for each of my kids.  It is tucked nicely onto my inner ankle.  What better for a 33-year old woman with three kids ages 7,6 and 3 to get than a tattoo for her birthday, right?  Needless to say, it was a memorable weekend.

So, enough of my blabbing.  Today's cards are for the challenge over at The Play Date Cafe.  I love that they found colors that they think are horrible together.  Horribilis is right.  I think the colors go together ok, but apparently I was unable to channel my hot pink, mustard and navy side.  I tried two attempts at it and don't really like either one.  But, I like a challenge and I gave it my best.  The reason I told you the whole previous story is because for the first card, I received a cuttlebug die for my birthday.  I tried it out on this first card.

Thought it was too plain, so attempted this:

I wish I could take credit for thinking of these fun masking tape flowers, but I saw it a few months back on Moxie Fab World by go-to gal Kim Kesti and have been wanting to make my own.  Thanks Kim for the inspiration.  If you're wondering about the stickiness of those flowers, I took care of that by swirling them around in a little bit of baby powder.  That's the end of the post for today.  Lata!

The Changing Seasons

Jeans, jackets, campfires, vibrant colors, brisk mornings and football; these are a few of my favorite Fall things.  We had very Fall-like weather a few days last week and it made me yearn for all of these things.  All week long I heard the call of geese as they made their long journey south, a sure sign that Fall is right around the corner.  But, I'm not quite ready to let go of bright sunny days and sundresses just yet.  Mostly because I hate the harsh winters here in Indiana.  Every year I find it more and more difficult to tolerate.  It's no wonder that retired people move to Florida.  I am so there now.  But, one thing makes living here worth it and that is the beauty that each and every season brings (that would be all 4 of them here).  Let's visit them, shall we?  Enjoy a few of the things that have caught my eye and that I have snapped pictures of around my area.

SUMMER

A coneflower at local park

My neighbor's yard was filled with gnats at sunset

(you might have to click to enlarge and see the white specks) 

FALL

Maple tree in my front yard

Maple from neighbor's yard

WINTER

Ice Storm a few years back

Icicles formed from ice storm

SPRING

Flowering Dogwood in my backyard

A cool, foggy Spring morning in my neighbor's yard

Isn't God's creation magnificent?  I love nature and despite the winters, I eagerly await the next season.  I hope you enjoyed your journey with me today.  Before I go, I wanted to share a card I made for the Papercrafts Sketch Challenge.  With Fall being so near, I made my first Fall card of the year.

I used the rolling technique for the pumpkins.  To create the curly-q's, I used my paper piercer and wrapped really thin strips of brown paper around the end of it.  The centers of the buttons are actually copper wire.  So, are you in the mood for Fall now?  Can't you just taste that pumpkin pie?  I hope you enjoyed your visit today.  Come again soon!

Single Layer Cards Rock!

I'm a stamper girl all the way.  I decided that this weekend as I pulled out a classic set from Close To My Heart and got bizay!  It just comes more naturally for me to stamp out a pattern and really put the ink to the paper.  I think I've tried too hard over the past few months to expand my horizons when deep down, I just want to sit down with a few good stamps and some amazing ink colors.  This can be seen by examining today's cards.  A few things about today's cards.  First, I guess everyone was feeling red, gold and aqua this week.  Several people offered up challenges with these colors.  Moxie Fab World gave us this picture to work from for the Tuesday Trigger:

Love it, sooo want this couch (teal is my favorite color)

Then, a while ago, Dawn posted these colors for the Color Cue challenge:

Also, I have seen several people making single layer cards lately, so I wanted to go back to my roots and try that again.  Drum roll please (brrrrrrrrrrrrrr, tada)!

I'm so happy with these cards and mad at myself for not making more cards like these.  I was able to bust each out in about 15 minutes and without any stress of where to put stuff.  I think I might've taught myself a lesson.  That's a good thing, right? {wink}  Thanks for takin' a peek!

Dubble Bubble

What is it with Dubble Bubble?  It's like a slinky mistress calling out your name and saying, "Come and taste how delicious I am!"  So, you jump in, taste it, and then like 1 1/2 minutes later all the flavor is gone.  You know what I'm talkin' about, right?  Can I get an Amen?

On Saturday, I was able to slip away for the day and go to a crop at a friend's house.  How perfectly timed that getaway was.  Although, I think I've discovered that I craft a whole lot less when I am with other women...too much to talk about.  And well, we women just don't know when to shut up sometimes.  It made me uber excited for the CKC convention in two weeks in Cincinnati (I probably spelled that wrong).  I CAN'T WAIT!  I'm sure I'll go into shock from all of the amazing product and superstar overload.  Are any of you going to be there?  I have a huge desire to meet some of my blog friends, so please let me know if you are and perhaps we can meet up.

At that crop, I came out with three finished cards .  I know, only three cards to show for 9 hours of time is a pretty sad track record.  Ironically, I had them finished for challenges and I managed to miss the deadlines for two of them, despite them being done.  One of those cards was for the challenge at The Play Date Cafe.  This week's colors:

I really like the summery feel of this picture and I wanted to try and recreate that feel in my card.  I really struggled to reach that.  I tore my card apart several times until I finally arrived at this:

I really struggled photographing this one.  Limey green colors don't do well with my camera.  The greens are actually much more contrasted IRL.

Anywho, hope you all had a great weekend and are enjoying this beautiful day!

Rotten Apples

Recently, I've had my fill of my kids and their continual bad behavior.  It never fails that around 7 at night, my kids are overcome with the need to get out every ounce of energy they have stored up during the day.  This usually results in a "friendly" game of run around the room and tackle each other.  It all starts with fun screams and giggling.  But, we know better.  Toby and I usually look at each other and say, "how long before one of them cries?"  Then, we proceed to make bets on the amount of time.  Sure enough, it always ends in tears and pain.  Why do kids do that?  Why do they continue to do something that they know will end in agony?  Perhaps the thrill of how the game starts, with all of its fun and laughter, makes them forget how it usually ends.  I'm not sure.  Is this really that different than how we are as adults though? I think about my journey with weight loss.  It has been a constant struggle for me to keep off the 80 lbs. I lost 6 yrs ago.  I often yo-yo between 10-15 lbs.  Why?  Because I want that chocolate chip cookie and those McDonald's fries so bad.  I justify in my mind how delicious it is...over and over again.  But, when I step on the scale a week later, I'm mad at myself.  Regrets.  We all have them.  And when we have regret, we tell ourselves we'll never do that again.  But, a few days later, we find ourselves right back in the very spot we promised we would never go.  For me, those fries end up right back in my mouth.  It's like I forget what an impact it will have on my body. 

I think we are like this with God.  We get on fire for Him.  We read our Bible, go to Church and follow His rules.  But, after a while, the thrill of that starts to fade.  Our Bibles gather dust and we forget what it was like to have God in our life.  We begin to look for our happiness elsewhere.  We do things for instant gratification.  Those very things we promised we would give up because they always took us to a place of agony.  And then, one morning we wake up with only regrets barely seeing a glimpse of Jesus in our lives, asking ourselves, "how did I get here?"

The good news is that God forgives you.  He doesn't care how far the apple has fallen from the tree.  It is still fruit to Him and He doesn't care how rotten the apple has gotten.  He is there waiting to pick you up off the ground.  All it takes is for you to call out to Him.  Remember friends, that every apple still has a seed inside of it.  Once you surrender, your seed will be planted in Him.  Alot of "Son" and the water of life (The Bible) will help your seed grow.  But, a plant needs constant attention to survive.  We must be careful to remove the weeds around us(those things I was talking about earlier).  We also need to remember that every tree needs pruning to become healthy.  There will be instances in our lives where God has cut us back in order to help us mature.  It is how we respond to those times that make us stronger.  Keeping our eyes focused on Him will help mature us into the most beautiful trees.  God is hungry and He is waiting for You.  So, what are you waiting for?  Surrender to Him and start your life anew!

Na Na Na Nah

(To the tune of "you can't touch this")  Na na na nah, nahhh nahhh, Get Sketchy - Na na na nah, nahhh nahh.  That's right, I got a pretty for you today based on that magnifico sketch over at Get Sketchy.  Na na na nah, here's the sketch --- Na na na nah, take a look:

And here is my card, nahhh nahhh:

What do you think, nahhhh nahhh? ;)

Weekend Success

Hey everybody.  If you've been following my blog, you know that this past weekend was a HUGE weekend for my family.  It was the first Sunday of the brand new Church we've been preparing to launch.  The name of the Church is itown (http://www.itownchurch.com/).  We have been building up to this date since back in April.  Life has been busy, but it was all SO worth it on Sunday.  None of us knew how many to anticipate that first day.  Statistically, for Churches starting up in our area through this organization, the average that show up are around 250.  Guess how many we got? 340.  Can you believe that?  340 people came to see what it was all about.  But wait, the best part was yet to come.  At the end of the service, our pastor asked for individuals to mark on their comment cards if they had made a decision for Christ.  When all was said and done, 36 had rededicated their life to Jesus and FOUR people were received into the kingdom of God.  Absolutely amazing...just one would've made it all worth it, but four?  God has really started something big.  I'm so glad that He has called my family to this journey.  If you'd like to know more about how my family got involved in a Church plant, you can read about it on my FB page here.  Needless to say, I'm still buzzing from the excitement.  If you know someone in the Indianapolis area, please let them know about itown.

So, onto the other gift that God gave me, bein' crafty.  It's Tuesday, and you know that means another submission for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge (of course, it has to be last minute).  The color palette:

I've decided that green is the hardest color for me to work with.  It never seems natural.  These colors screamed nature to me, so I reached for this set, Nature Walk, from Close To My Heart:

Using the small leaf and big leaf, I decided to create a flower, inspired by this one that Lisa Somerville showed how to make on her blog.  Thanks Lisa!  When stamping the leaves, I used a technique called "rolling".  You first stamp into a lighter shade, and then without stamping off, you roll the stamp around on a darker shade.  Be sure to choose a clear block that is just the right size for your stamp.  If it is too big, you will have trouble rolling the stamp.  This technique helps add depth.  Here is how it turned out:

The background is embossed with clear powder and sponged around the edges.  The sentiment is from Stampin' Up and the brad is BasicGrey.  When I started this card, it seemed like a cool idea, but once I finished it, I put it into the "different" category.  Sometimes my cards just seem quirky.  This is one of them.  Thanks for sharing your time with me today.  I do love your visits.  Come again soon. :)

Houndstooth Happy

Man, three posts in the last 24 hours.  What is going on?  Be sure to scroll down and visit the other posts so you don't miss all that great info. :)

This post is just a quicky to showcase my take on the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You this week.  My family is going out of town overnight and then we are back here Saturday evening to wake up bright an early for our Church launch on Sunday.  The sketch is as follows:

I found this fun houndstooth felt at Hobby Lobby the other day that I just had to put to good use.  It was used as follows:

Have a great weekend!

Sweet Little Treasures

Have you ever had an idea for a card in your head that you really thought through and then once you got it onto paper, it looked like poo?  Well, of course I have, over, and over, and over again.  But, with today's card, I hit the jackpot.  It could not have turned out any more perfectly from what I had imagined.  The inspiration; this feminine (that word looks so weird when you type it) photo from the Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World.

I am not gonna lie, I stared at this photo for a long time.  I would open it, stare, then close it...nothing.  I would open it again later and look at it...still nothing.  But, I found that every time I opened it, the first thing that always jumped out at me was the pretty perfume bottle with the flower on top in the top left corner.  So, I decided to try and mimic it.  My most beautiful, perfectly executed result:

I was so ecstatic with the results that I have flirted with this card several times.  You know what I mean.  You leave it sitting on your desk and every once in a while you glance over to see it, and smile.  Then, after a couple times of looking, you decide to walk over and pick it up and rub your fingers over it, smiling again.  Total flirtation!

Anyway, the deets for this card.  I started with this pattern that I created on my computer (right-click and save and the pattern is all yours).

I cut the pattern out and taped it together at the lid.  For the front, I traced the circle onto cream cardstock and then trimmed about 1/4" from the edge.  Cut a scoop out of the top to create the "liquid".  I sponged yellow onto it to create a little bit of depth.  For the stem, I just cut a strip of gray, then wrapped a very thin strip of black around the top for the coil.  To create the soft translucent look, I traced the circle onto vellum and glued that over the front.  The flowers are a combination of cricut, plastic and punch.  The gold is a bead from my stash.

This past weekend, I visited Archivers for their free Make 'n Take.  I love doing that because I inevitably always learn something new.  It proved true this time too.  I have been having ALOT of trouble with my powder embossing.  I seem to get powder everywhere but where I want it.  I've tried the brush and all the other tips, but my embossing always looks messy.  While at Archivers, they used Versamark ink for their embossing.  It ROCKED!  You better believe I came home and trashed my current pad and bought the versamark. (after I made this card as you can see by the sloppy embossed sentiment).

That's a wrap.  I think I hit everything.  Be sure to check out all of the other entries over at Moxie Fab too.  You've still got time to play yourself.  Have a fantastic weekend!

Pause...

Do you ever feel like your life is moving so fast and that you fill your days with so many things that you just can't ever catch up on anything?  Me too.  My family has been set to full throttle all summer long.  We have a dry-erase board in our kitchen to write out the week's activities and there have been many weeks where every day had something scheduled.  I love it and I hate it.  Love because I'm very task-oriented and being busy makes me feel important.  Hate it because there has been so little time spent nurturing my relationship with my husband.  Once our new Church launches (this Sunday, my friends, I'm so excited I might have peed a little), I'm hoping we can find a balance and just slooooooowww down. 

That's why I chose the sentiment for today's card.  It seemed so fitting.  And, to go along with it, I spent as little time as possible on this card.  It is simple and clean.  I started with the sketch from Get Sketchy.  Be sure to check out Get Sketchy this week; they are looking for new designers.  How exciting!  I can't wait to see what's in store.  Here's is today's sketch and card.  

I really do love when you visit. I have truly enjoyed getting to know so many of you in this crazy blog world. I hope you have a blessed day.

Peace Out, Dude!

For today's post, we're going to visit a blast from the past...peace signs!  Over at The Moxie Fab World, Cath has brought it to our attention that we are in a time warp and that peace signs have started to show up all around us again.  She's right, ever since she posted this challenge, I have noticed a whole lotta peace-y-ness going on, from girl's clothes to decals on the back of cars.  I've always had a fascination for the 70's, so this challenge was ringing my bell.

The first thing I thought of was tie-dye, so I had this idea to make a mask out of peace signs.  I channeled my graphic design skills and created a mask on my computer.  I then printed it onto cardstock and began the painstaking process of cutting out each of those signs.  (that was seriously intense and time consuming)  I then tacked the mask to my card front with a very small amount of tape and sponged over it using my sponge brayer.  Here is the result:

I adore this card, the way the colors blended so perfectly and that little punched out heart on the side, ahhhh.  It's really a shame because this is much softer and more beautiful in person.  The sentiment was from a PTI Christmas set.  After I finished this card, I decided that I spent all that doggone time on cutting out that mask, so I had better use it again.  I made another card, but this time used my glimmer mist (which I have barely used since buying it).  Here's how this one turned out:

I think it's great that using the same mask, I was able to achieve two completely different card styles...one more clean & graphic and the other more classy & elegant.  Isn't that neat?  Hope you had fun traveling back in time with me today.  Peace out, dude!

Late Night Play Date

Well, here I am again, late on Tuesday night, posting my submission for this week's challenge at The Play Date Cafe.  I just can't seem to get it done before then.  Oh well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!  The colors this week are below:

When I think of Tuscany, I think of aged brass, flourishes, medallions, and golden hues.  So, I went for a more aged look on this card.  I was actually kinda surprised at the result.  It seems nothing like my usual style, but I like it.  Have a looksie:

Gotta go watch that new show, Master Chef, now.  I love cooking shows!  Have a great day.

Leave It To The Birdies

School started today.  I was a bit sad and a bit relieved all at the same time.  You see, I love my kids dearly and I really enjoyed this summer with them much more than last (I guess they must've matured some).  We had some really great times together, sprinkler parks, museums, crafts, lots of walks and bike rides, a few visits to the playground, and the pool.  All super fun things and memory building opportunities....but, come on, you knew there was a but in there, but I am a woman who thrives on schedules and routine.  Summertime = fly by the seat of your pants = a harried woman who is ready for some rest and relaxation, and frankly, a bit of crafty time to herself.  Heck, I even scheduled in craft time for me each day.  So, I'm hoping you will see alot more of me from now on and that I can finally find my creative side again, or at least be happy with most of my creations instead of disliking most of them.  Hey, maybe I'll even get a surprise massage from my husband...a girl can dream, can't she?

For my first scheduled craft time while the kids were away at school, I sat down and whipped up a card for the latest Embellish Magazine challenge.  See exhibit A.

This is actually my first time participating in an Embellish challenge.  I wasn't even going to do this one because I didn't have any birdy stamps, but our Hobby Lobby recently relocated and had a grand re-opening yesterday.  I picked me up one of the Tim Holtz stamp sets (yea, I've been dying to get my hands on some Tim Holtz stuff) and it had this cutie little bird in it.  I couldn't wait to try it out.  See exhibit B.

Alrighty, so I started by stamping the cursive font onto olive cardstock and then die-cutting it into a half ticket shape.  Then, I sponged the edges with olive ink from CTMH.  I then sent my 3-yr old out to hunt for some small twigs.  I tied the two twigs together with twine and tied the twine through the button.  The bird was stamped with wild flower from CTMH and I actually stamped his feet in brown too, but it is hard to see.  The sentiment is a Hero Arts set and was embossed with white.  I personally LOVE how this card turned out.  One of my faves in a while.  I sure do appreciate you visiting today, come back again soon!

Pretty In Pink

Pink.  Not one of my favorite colors. 

In fact, growing up, I always promised my mom that I would never wear it, and that I would never put it on my kids.  She scoffed, "we'll just wait and see", she said.

She was right.

I've found that I really enjoy certain shades of pink now and then.  I particularly like the deeper shades that have a hint of warmth to them.  Now, don't get me wrong, pink and I still have our differences, but we've come to an agreement.  I will use pink if it makes me look good.  So, I ventured out and bought a few pink shirts; they looked good with my skin tone.  Hmmm, interesting.  I went a step further and bought some pink cardstock for valentine's day cards...yeah, I think I like that.  Said sheet of cardstock was calling my name for today's card.  One lonely sheet of pink left...just begging to be used.  Alright, I said, I'll give you a chance.  And wouldn't you know that, this time, pink did me right.  I ventured into pink land using the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You.

It seemed pretty straight forward, but I wanted something with a little bit of kick, so I reached for my transparency sheets.  I embossed the sentiment on the front in white, and added a neat-o butterfly cut from my cuttlebug.  I brushed him with some distress gel and sprinkled on a bit of glitter and voila.

Does it work for you?  I think it turned out pretty and my 6-yr old sure loves it too! {wink, wink}

Polka Dot Bikini

This might possibly be my shortest post ever.  I had forgotten that I made this card for the Get Sketchy challenge this week based off of this amazing sketch:

I love this sketch, I will definitely reach for this one again down the road.  Anyway, here was my interpretation of it.  The stamps are from Lizzie Anne Designs. 

Ta-Ta.

Under Construction

It's true.  I like change.

If you are visiting my blog often and have noticed a few differences showing up in the look of it, it's ok.  You're not crazy or seeing things.  I just like change.

When I first entered this blogging world, I had no clue what I was doing with the design and set-up and was feeling a little bit of discomfort.  I had to make a quick decision about the name and the look (I know, I could've taken my time, but I'm a quick, quick, quick kinda girl).

Now, after 6 months of blog heaven, I've decided to revamp a bit.  I don't like the blog name and I wanted a new look.  Nothing wrong with the old, like I said, I just like change.  So, please forgive the "mess" and be patient with me as I make some changes.  This will still be the same old bloggie with the quirkiness you've come to love, it'll just look different.

Thanks.

p.s. If you have any good name ideas, I'm open for suggestions! ;)