love of my life

This week's One Layer Wednesday challenge is to use only one image stamp, one sentiment stamp, only 2 colors, and no added embellishments. I knew immediately that I wanted to use my favorite damask stamp. I stamped it in blue a bunch of times to create the background, but masked the bottom with a strip of paper so I could add the sentiment.

Relax!

It feels good to be back in the swing of non-Christmas crafting. I went back to work today after having the week off, and it wasn't as hard as I expected. Well, except for the alarm going off...I hate that thing! My husband always says I can't complain since I get so many days off during the year...I guess he's right. I'm lucky to have such a great job!

I made this card for the challenge at CASE Study. I was really inspired by Nina's card, so much that I took many elements from hers and incorporated it into mine. The color scheme, layout, and subject matter are pretty much what she had.

I put the die cut chair on with foam adhesive, and used white embossing powder for the chandeliers. By the way, I made the most amazing discovery last night while assembling this card! I always get reaaaaaly frustrated with the small little flecks of embossing powder that get everywhere when I use the white. I used to never be able to get rid of them! I would try to gently brush them away, but that never worked great. I tried anti-static dryer sheets, but it

didn't work either. And while in the craft store, I could never find the little anti-static products made just for this purpose. So I pretty much avoided the white embossing powder, until I learned that cornstarch works to keep those stray powders away! I just put some on the paper, stamp and emboss as usual, then brush away the cornstarch. Works perfectly every time! Maybe you already knew that, or have a trick of your own, but I figured mine was worth sharing-especially if someone out there reading this suffered from the same problems as me!

So anyway....here's the card:

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! I know I have been missing for awhile, but I have been so wrapped up with Christmas stuff! Making cards, making presents, etc....

I'm finally back, and was excited to squeeze in a card this morning after my husband and I got back from our friend's place. We're also getting ready to go hang out in Boston in a few minutes. It's really nice out, like 50 degrees!

This card is a 2fer. I'm totally loving the inspiration photos, above, from OTWC. In addition, my glittery chip board letters and rhinestones make this card perfect for the Moxie Fab World Challenge, "Glitter is Glam!"

I made the New Year's ball from a cardstock circle covered in aluminum foil, then I added the texture by stabbing it repeatedly with a knitting needle. Hey, whatever works, huh?

One last thing- I took these pics using my new light tent that I got for Christmas. I'm still playing around with it, and I'm not quite sure how to get the pics the way I like them. Please comment if you have any tips! I much prefer to take pics outside, but the cold weather and wind often prevents that in the wintertime...any help with indoor shots will be greatly appreciated! :)

Flashback Friday 6.0

It's time again for Flashback Friday from Tsuruta Designs!

"The first card you blogged about that featured an unexpected find from your home"

This card actually isn't too old- I posted it in June, and you can see the original here. It was fun to use two of the many safety pins I have laying around in a new way.



Thanks for checking it out, and head back to Flashback Friday to see the cards from everyone else!

Paintings

I can't believe it's been so long since I have posted! I feel like I've really been slacking off- but I havn't! This time of year is crazy for everyone, even more so for crafters like me trying to make cards and presents (I made about 100 Christmas cards to send out this year!), and even more so for crafters who are music teachers. Since I teach at 2 schools, I have a grand total of 6 separate holiday concerts. I love them so much, but it is time consuming and physically draining at times!

I don't have any of my usual cards to share today, but I will show you 2 paintings I did recently. They are both available as print-your-own Christmas cards in my Etsy shop, including a free 8.5x11 print-sized jpeg as well. Click on the pics below for a direct link.

Handmade Gift Exchange!

Have you ever been to Craftaholics Anonymous? Linda blogs about all things crafty, and twice a year hosts a handmade gift exchange. I decided to participate for the first time, and was paired up with a fellow crafter in the US.

Through email, I discovered that my partner has 3 kids, a loving husband, collects nativities, and loves neutral colors (with a touch of red!). I tried to incorporate all of these into my gift. I started with this card (blogged here):

And although I wouldn't consider myself a sewer, I was brave enough to actually use my sewing machine for fabric (not just paper!) and made her a small pouch. The tutorial was found here, and I figured out how to alter it so I could avoid putting in a zipper- that would have been too scary! I'm quite proud of how it came out :)

Lastly, I made a necklace. I made the pendant from polymer clay, and it was pretty simple to do- if I get a chance one day, I'll write a tutorial on it. I'll bet you didn't know I make jewelry-I pretty much only post paper crafts on this blog, but my first craft love was jewelry! The 5 Swarovsky crystals represent the 5 people in her family.

I'm looking forward to seeing what I receive in the mail from her!!

Thanks...for always being there

Happy Friday! Today's card (as I frantically try to post this before work) is for this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge. The inspiration shop is Heartsong. Below is a pic of one of her paintings, which I thought would be perfect for a card!

I went with a pretty literal translation on my card. I used acrylic paints to paint the sunburst, then die cut the tree/people from black cardstock. The foam adhesive makes it pop off of the painted background. I also found this sweet sentiment that I have never used before! Here it is all together: