Sunday, January 23, 2011

Organizational Ideas

This past Friday, over on Patter Cross' blog, Triple the Scraps, Patter posted about a couple sets of Snapware (Snap 'n Stack) containers she was using.  I thought they would be perfect to use for transporting my colored pencils and pre-stamped images.  When we travel or are staying over at a church for Sunday afternoon, I frequently take images to color.  Yesterday, I found a set of these wonderful containers on sale at Hobby Lobby.  Here's a picture of my set and how I'm using them.  You can see that they are even big enough for me to slip my Kindle in there too.  :)




Here's the view under my Kindle - the digi stamps you see are available from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.



Since, I'm talking organizational items today, I thought I'd show you a couple more of my favorite pieces in my scrap space.

Here's my stickle storage unit.  It's actually from the kitchen section of Wal-Mart.  I love it.  As you can see I still have plenty of room to acquire more stickles (yay!!) and there's room to slide something under the unit when it's sitting on my shelf.




Here's also a lazy Susan type unit that I got on sale awhile ago at A. C. Moore.  It has 3 levels with four bins on each level. 





I've recently put it up high on my Jetmax cubes to try to help keep our little grandson from trying to play with Mimi's supplies.  :)  That brings me to my new Jetmax cubes.  I love them.  I'm still in the process of reorganizing my space using them.  Here's what my configuration looks like so far.



As you can tell, one of my cubes on the right side is sitting on top of my Iris cart.  Each of those drawers has a latching lid.  I love this thing.

One of the best things about these cubes (besides the fact that they help my supplies to be Jack-proof), is that my ribbon is now finally organized and safe from our cats.  The cats like to play &/or eat my ribbon so it has to somewhere completely enclosed.  In these drawers I can easily access it but they cannot.  :)







This tray from Target sits on top of the spools of colored ribbon.  It holds my smaller bobbins & odd sized packaging.  One of the drawers in the 4-drawer cube holds larger spools and a clear paint bucket holds scraps that are long enough to use on a card but too short to spool.




My space is still a work in progress but it's gradually looking better and working better for me.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Stamp TV Sketch

I've enjoyed watching the videos over at StampTV for awhile now.  Recently they started having sketch & color challenge videos each week in addition to their technique videos.  This week I decided to play along with this week's sketch challenge (STVSKSP9)...have you guessed yet that I love sketch challenges?  :) Here's the card I entered for the challenge.

I used Ollie Owl on the outside of my card.  I received the Forest Branches embossing folder for Christmas and haven't had a chance to use it until now.  I just thought this owl and the branches were a perfect match for each other.  Jute just seems to go with the whole forest theme too. 





Supplies:
Cardstock - Paper Studio, Georgia Pacific, Recollections
Paper - AdornIt (Fern Collection)
Stamps - Sweet 'n Sassy (Owl Occasions & Ollie Owl)
Ink - Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Embellishments - Jute & button from my stash, Prismacolor pencils, Art Studio blender
Tools - Spellbinders Nestabilities (Petite Oval Large, Petite Scalloped Oval Large, Circles Large, Lacey Circles), Cuttlebug embossing folder (Forest Branches)

This card also qualifies for this week's challenge of "something new" at Stampin Sisters in Christ.  My paper and the embossing folder are new.  It's also the first time I've entered a challenge over at Stamp TV.  :)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Romans 8:38-39 (CPS201)

I have been trying all week to get a card made for this week's CPS challenge.  I finally was able to do so last night.  I used an older (retired might be the better word) stamp set Jesus Cares from Sweet 'n Sassy stamps.  This is a Scripture stamp set and perfect for making cards to encourage others.  I used this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems (CPS201).  Sweet 'n Sassy stamps are also the prize sponsor for this week so be sure to get your card linked up by the deadline tomorrow night.  :)



I also used another sentiment from the same set to dress up the inside of the card.




Supplies:
Cardstock - Recollections
Papers - Bo Bunny (Olivia)
Stamps - Sweet 'n Sassy (Jesus Cares)
Ink - Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Embellishments - 1/2 Pears (Queen & Co.), Ribbon (Offray), Sakura Gelly Roll (Clear Star)
Tools - Fiskars border punch, EK Success corner rounder

Thanks for visiting.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

It's a Boy!

The cards that seem to be the most challenging for me to make are masculine cards and baby cards.  I'm not quite sure why baby cards are so hard for me but they just seem to be.  We know several folks who are expecting a new little one in the next few months so I need to get some baby cards made so I can be ready.  I used the sketch from this weeks Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge (SSS91) for this baby card.  I'm also entering it in the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge (SSCC72) for this week to highlight something new.  This card is for a new baby and I used a new embossing folder.

I embossed a piece of patterned paper with my new herringbone Cuttlebug Embossing folder.  The paper was thin so embossing it made it soft...almost like a blanket.  :) 



I also decided to decorate the inside of the card so that I could use one of the other sentiments from the Baby Blessings set.



Supplies:
Card base - Bazzill
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific & Bazzill
Paper - Sandy Lion
Stamps - Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Stamps (Baby Buggy & Baby Blessings)
Embellishments - Misc button, Ribbon - Paper Mania, Prismacolor Pencils, Cuttlebug embossing folder (herringbone)

Thanks for stopping by. 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Sending you a Cuppa Love

I love the colors in this paper.  The stripes on the tall mug were perfect for matching the color scheme.  This week's challenge at Crafting with Deedee's Digis is to use a heart on your card or project.  It could be a heart embellishment, paper, or whatever.  I chose to make a heart in PSE and put my sentiment inside.  Then I also used my nestabilities to add a small heart as an accent.  The sketch comes from Mojo Monday 174.







Supplies:
Card base - Bazzill
Paper - Basic Grey (Kioshi)
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific
Stamp - Deedee's Digis (Cuppa Love)
Ink - SU (Creamy Caramel)
Jute - Misc
Tools - Spellbinders (Petite Ovals Large, Petite Scalloped Ovals Large, Decorative Photo Corners), Cuttlebug Embossing Folders (D'Vine Swirls)
Challenges:  Crafting with Deedee's Digis - 1/17/11, MOJO174

Monday, January 17, 2011

I've Published On ScrapJazz!!

Back when I first started scrapbooking, ScrapJazz was the first scrapbooking site that I found.  It has a gallery, forums, tutorials, articles and a store.  I discovered that there is an online scrapbook community.  It was here that I first learned about scrapbooking challenges, RAKs, and various common (& not so common) techniques. The ladies were great at answering questions and sharing their talents with this newbie. I "met" several ladies here that I still keep in touch with on a fairly regular basis. 

One of these ladies is Georgina Hefferman.  Georgina lives in England so we'll probably never meet in real life.  But I have long admired her scrappy talents.  A couple months ago, Georgina put out a request for help on an upcoming article.  She graciously allowed me to help her by creating a layout using a set color scheme.  Today the article was published on ScrapJazz.  When I first stumbled on the site way back when, I never would have thought one of my layouts would have made one of their articles.  How cool!  OK, maybe it's dorky, but I'm pretty excited.  Here's the article: January 2011 Color Combo Challenge 

This is the color combo we were to use:

Here's my layout for it:


I love this picture I took when Kendra came home for the weekend from college last October.  

I used by Memento ink pad to color the chipboard flouishes black.  I then accented the flourishes with rhinestones. 




My nesties came in handy as a landing spot for my journaling.




Journaling:  I have no great joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.  3 John 4
Ian & Kendra have grown into adults that make us so proud.  They are both striving to follow the Lord and please Him.  We treasure the close relationship we share and are so thankful for them.



Supplies:
Cardstock - Recollections
Papers - Fancy Pants -LFLS Stripes (blue), Bo Bunny - Olivia's Baby Breath (brown), Creative Imaginations - Mistletoe Dot (green diecut)
Inks - SU (Creamy Caramel), Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Letters - American Crafts Thickers (Shoe Box Black)
Embellishments - Chipboard Flourish (Lil Davis Designs), Rhinestones (Studio 18), Ribbon (Offray)
Tools - Cricut (George), Spellbinders Nestabilities (Petite Ovals Large, Labels Four)
Computer Font - Arial Narrow

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Happy Birthday - Cocoa Style

Today's birthday card qualifies for three challenges:

Crazy 4 Cocoa Challenge - C4CC7 - Something from the kitchen
Sweet Stop Sketch - SSS91 - Sketch with a twist (dry embossing)
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - SSCC#72 - Something New (new "Happy Birth Day" stamp)

I embossed my background paper with a D'vine Swirls cuttlebug folder and also embossed Cocoa's panel & the yellow panel with my nestabilities.  You can see the embossing better in the close-ups.





Supplies:
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific (white) & Misc from stash (navy)
Patterned paper - Colorbok
Ink - Memento tuxedo black, Prismacolor Pencils
Stamps - Sweet 'n Sassy & Impression Obsession
Embellishments - Button & ribbon from stash, brad (Queen & Co), DMC floss
Tools - Cuttlebug embossing folder (D'vine Swirls), Spellbinders (Deckled Rectangles & Standard Circles Nestabilities)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

A Valentine Tweet For You

I made my first Valentine for this year tonight.  I received the  Valentine Tweet digi stamp I used on my card for playing along with a challenge over on the Crafting with Deedee's Digis blog.  I decided it would be perfect to use on this week's challenge -- use pink & red.  I am also entering it in the challenge #71 at Stampin' Sisters in Christ (create a card or project that includes wings).

I outlined this chick's hat and the heart in her mouth with a glitter pen.  I thought she just need a little bit of sparkle.



Supplies:
Cardstock - Strathmore Bristol, Colorbok, Georgia Pacific, Recollections
Patterned paper - Colorbok
Stamp - Deedee's Digis (Valentine Tweet)
Embellishments - Ribbon (misc from stash), Prismacolor pencils, Sakura gelly roll pen (silver star)
Sketch - CPCST90

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Cocoa's Thanks!

I needed to make a thank you card today so I took the chance to play along with a couple challenges.  After cropping the picture, I noticed that I really should have blended my coloring more.  Oops!  That's what I get for hurrying.  Oh, well....I'll try to do better next time. :(  I applied some coloring techniques I found on Korin's blog, Rejoicing Every Moment.  She did a couple great video tutorials on coloring with copics. I use prismacolor pencils but some of the shading techniques still work.  Obviously, I'm still working on them. Anyway, you can watch Part One and Part Two on her blog.

I used this week's Sweet Stop Sketch (SSS90) for the design and I'm also entering it in the Crazy 4 Cocoa Challenge (C4CC6).  For C4CC6 we're to make a card that shows a New Year's resolution.  I want to express my gratitude more often this year.  I need to send more thank you cards and just remember to say "thank you" more often.



Supplies:
Card base - Bazzill
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific, Core'dinations
Papers - BG (Sultry)
Stamp - Sweet 'n Sassy (Cocoa;s Latte), Impression Obsession (thanks!)
Ink - Memento (Tuxedo Black) 
Prismacolor pencils
Embellishments - Ribbon (Misc from stash), flower (Bazzill), Brad (MM)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Slit Latch Gift Card Holder

When I saw this tutorial for a Slit Latch Gift Card Holder over at Splitcoaststampers, I knew I wanted to give it a try.  It was as easy as the directions made it sound and I'm sure I'll be making more.  Actually, I have another one half-made already.  :)  It qualifies for the Something New Plus Ribbon challenge on the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog since I used my new nesties, a new technique, and more of my new papers.




Supplies:
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific, Bazzill
Papers - American Crafts
Stamps - Sweet 'n Sassy
Inks - Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments - Offray Ribbon, Prismacolor pencils
Tools - Spellbinders Nestabilities (Lacey Circles, Standard Circles Large)

Sunday, January 2, 2011

SSS89, RRR Challenge #15 & Project Photography

I used this week's sketch at The Sweet Stop for this card.  Using circles on cards is still a bit of a challenge for me.  I'm hoping the two sets of circles nesties my husband got me for Christmas will help make this easier. Using the new nesties ties into Challenge #15 on Really Reasonable Ribbon blog.  That challenge has you using something new plus ribbon on a project. I also used some new (to me) papers.


I punched out & hand-cut a couple of the flowers in the paper to make my own flower embellishments.



I also decorated the inside this time and added a verse stamp.  This card is headed tomorrow to a friend that's facing a tough week.



Supplies:
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific, Bazzill
Papers - American Crafts
Brads - MM
Ribbon - Michael's
Stamp - Stampendous (card front), Sweet 'n Sassy (inside verse)
Tools - Spellbinders Lacey Circles, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder, Fiskars border punch, Paper Studio circle punches
Ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Memento Tuxedo Black, CM journaling pen, Gelly Roll Clear Star pen

The heart isn't really gray.  I used a Gelly Roll pen to add a little sparkle and it photographed gray.  :(  I sure wish sparkle wasn't so hard to photograph.  Speaking of photographing....I tried a new set-up to get better lighting.  I followed some tips Patter Cross had on her blog Triple the Scraps in a post from Feb. 2009, Photographing Projects, to set up my "studio."  In my case, I took a white blanket, spread it over the back of the couch & a photo box (for height).  It's the closest I could get to natural light today since it's raining here.  Our daughter's cat thinks the back of the couch is his domain so he was my supervisor.  I couldn't resist sharing this picture of him observing {& patiently waiting to get his perch back} with you since he's looking so handsome.  :)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Co-Worker Gifts

Here are the last of my Christmas projects that I have to show you....I think.  *smile*  I made these for my co-workers.

The first is a card that has a pocket for a gift card and another pocket for a note.  I found this Double Pocket Card tutorial over on Splitcoaststampers.  It was so easy to make a great way to give a gift card.  I pierced the edges of my papers and also inked them.  Since this one was for a male co-worker, I used twine instead of ribbon.  :)  This card is a great way to use some of your scraps.






Supplies:
Cardstock - Bazzill & Georia Pacific
Papers & Cardstock stickers - Bo Bunny (Noel)
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, ColorBox Fluid Chalk
Stamp - SU
Misc. Twine

The next project is for a fellow card-maker.  I altered a clear paint pail and then filled it with scrappy goodies.



Supplies:
Cardstock - SU
Papers - Bo Bunny (Olivia)
Ink - Studio G
Stamp - Studio G
Embellishments - Ranger Ultra Thick EP, Recollections Pearls, Offray Ribbon
Tools - Cricut (flowers & circle for lid), Nestabilities (Petite Oval & Petite Scalloped Oval), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Fiskars border punch

C4CC5 Challenge & CPS Year In Review

My first post for 2011!  Happy New Year everyone.  May each of us resolve to serve the Lord more faithfully this year.

Here is another card with the Celebration theme for the Crazy 4 Cocoa Challenge.  This week's Card Positioning System challenge was a Year in Review (use any sketch from 2010).  I chose sketch CPS166.

I just realized I forgot to take a picture of the inside.  I'll try to remedy that later today and add the pic to this post.




Supplies:
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific
Papers - Colorbok
Embellishments - Brad (MM), Ribbon (Michael's)
Ink/Pencils - Memento Tuxedo Black (inside sentiment), Prismacolor pencils
Stamp - Cocoa's Gift (Sweet 'n Sassy), Inside Sentiment (Studio G)
Tools - Nestabilities (Standard Circle Large, Lacey Circles)
Computer font - Annie BTN

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