Shimmer Mist

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  "The only death you die is the one you die every day by not living."

This quote comes from the adventurer Norman Vaughan.  He became part of history as the chief dog driver on the first Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1928-30.  To honor Norman for his contributions as chief dog driver, Admiral Byrd named a mountain after him. On December 16, 1994, three days shy of his 89th birthday, Norman fulfilled a lifelong dream. He climbed his namesake, Mount Vaughan, a 10,302' Antarctic peak. Now he plans on going back to celebrate his 100th birthday at the top!  If that's not living, I don't know what is!!!!  You can learn more about Norman Vaughan HERE.  What will you do today to live your life?

Today's challenge card on SCS was to find inspiration in the Echo designs.  This card was inspired by this beautiful bath collection.  I stamped the eastern blooms image in sahara sand on the very vanilla cs.  This card is filled with shimmer!  I sprayed the whisper white stamped panel with a mixture of alcohol and champagne shimmer mist paint and let it dry!  It really is fabulous in person!  Here's a close-up of the shimmered panel:

I added the butterflies and the greeting and popped up the panel on dimensionals.  Hope you like it!

stamp sets:  Eastern Blooms, Whimsical Words
card stock:  very vanilla, sahara sand
ink:  sahara sand, basic black
accessories:  alcohol, spray bottle, champagne shimmer mist paint, gold elastic cord, beautiful wings embosslit, big shot

Don't forget about the BLOG CANDY that Judi is giving away!  You can visit her blog HERE.

Palindrome Paper Piecing

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  It is better to remain silent and have people say, "I wonder what he's thinking," than to speak up and have people say, "I wonder why he spoke."

This was the wisdom that Benjamin Disraeli, the nineteenth-century British prime minister shared with a new member of Parliament who had asked for his advice.  What if we only spoke when we had something to say that other people really needed to hear?  I have a feeling I would be much more quiet and my words much more meaningful.  How 'bout you?

The word "toot" immediately came to mind when I saw this palindrome challenge on SCS!  We had to make a card and include a palindrome - a word that is the same when read forward or backward.  I figured it would be better to make a card with a train with the word "toot" than to make one with a large bean and the same word! :)  lol!  I paper pieced the train using various punches and some simple cutting.  See if you can figure out which punches were used for the different parts of the train!  (hint:  I used the round tab punch for the silver "fender" on the front of the train).  The smoke was created by punching the scallop oval circle in a piece of scrap paper and using the hole it created as a stencil to sponge going gray ink.  The letters are rub-ons that I picked up at an office supply store.  The background paper is one of the pages in the Sweet Pea designer paper collection from SU!  Hope you like it!!!!

Cookies and Blog Candy!

I had hoped to bake these cookies yesterday, but I was off by a day!  I made these this morning!  Yummy!  I first saw mention of the recipe on Stephanie Severin's blog.  She found them on The Delicious Life.  The recipe made 38 cookies.  I experimented a little bit and added chocolate chips to 1/2 of the batter.  They are sweeter with the chips - it's like a completely different cookie.  I think I might stick with the original recipe next time...or try some pecans thrown in :)  I used sweetened coconut although I think you can use sweetened or unsweetened.  Talking about sweet, you need to check out the BLOG CANDY that Judi is giving away on her blog.  Here's the LINK so that you can post a comment and try to win!!!!!  I know I'm trying!  Hope your day is sweet!!!!

Video: Making A Faux Bow

Here is a quick video on how to make a faux bow!  These bows are wonderful to use on cards that you will be mailing since they lie flat!  Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!  FYI, the ribbon I use in the video is Stampin' Up!'s 5/8" satin ribbon in real red.  It's in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  If you'd like to purchase the ribbon, please visit me online HERE.

Two-Step Bird Punch

I couldn't resist the urge to totally copy this wonderful swap that I received from Fran Trischetta at the Leadership Convention!  I didn't have the same designer paper she used, so I pulled out the Razzleberry Lemonade paper I did have and this card came together in a snap!  The wings of the birds are popped up on dimensionals.  Thanks Fran!!!!

stamps:  Well Scripted
card stock:  whisper white, rich razzleberry 
ink:  rich razzleberry
accessories:  two-step bird punch, white organza ribbon

Love Bandit

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Bake Something :)

I have been thinking about baking some coconut cookies for weeks now, but the thought has not turned into action.  Today, that's changing!  I'm headed to the kitchen and I'm going to bake those cookies (and likely eat some too!)!  I can't wait for the smell of those cookies to fill the house!  Instead of opening that package of pre-made baked goods, try your hand at baking something.  You will make the house smell delicious and you will likely make someone's day if you share the fruits of your labor!

I woke up wanting to use the Love Bandit stamp set and this was the perfect challenge for it!  I stamped the adorable raccoon on going gray cs, cut him out, and colored the heart with real red.  Of course I had to add some dazzling diamonds to make the heart sparkle ;)  The tree stump was stamped with chocolate chip onto creamy caramel cs and cut out.  The melon mambo background was run through the big shot with the perfect polka dots embossing folder.  Hope you like it!!!!

stamp set:  Love Bandit
card stock:  whisper white, melon mambo, chocolate chip, creamy caramel
ink:  chocolate chip, basic black, real red (marker)
accessories:  dazzling diamonds, chocolate chip satin ribbon, perfect polka dots embossing folder, big shot

Here is another version of the same card - just a bit simpler!  For this card I didn't do any cutting out.  I just stamped the tree stump and then stamped the owl on top of the stump.  The greeting is from the Tiny Tags stamp set.  I used markers to color the stamp so that I could have a multicolored greeting!  Hope you like it!!!!  I'll let my stamp-a-stack participants choose which version they would like to make.  Some people just cringe when a card involves cutting things out! :)

Occassions Mini Catalog and Sale-A-Bration Card

This card was made for today's sketch challenge on SCS.  I tried to use a bunch of my new supplies/tools from the Occassions mini catalog and my Sale-A-Bration freebies!  The Pretty In Pink card stock was run through the Big Shot with the Finnial Press embossing folder.  The adorable heart paper is from the Sale-A-Bration catalog - Welcome Neighbor.  The greeting is also from Sale-A-Bration - the Whimsical Words stamp set.  I stamped the greeting using basic gray.  I also used the same Welcome Neighbor paper and ran it through the Big Shot with the Beautiful Wings embosslit to create the butterflies - I had to glitz them up a bit with a little dazzling diamonds :)  The felt embellishment is from the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt - so adorable and easy to use!  If you're looking closely, you'll also notice the punched border from the Sale-A-Bration scallop trim border punch...can you tell I like earning free stuff?! :)  Hope you like it!  If you like it a lot and want to shop now for the supplies to make it, feel free to click HERE! :)

Send A Little LOVE Stamp-a-Stack - Sample #2

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Can Go From Blah To Ahhh In No Time!

I went to dinner last night with my neighbors.  We decided to try a new restaurant in the area and, I'm sorry to say, it was quite the disappointment.  To quote my neighbor about one of the dishes we tried, "That is the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted!"  You get the picture :)  We were going to stay for dessert when I remembered a crepe place that was around the corner.  I had never been there, but had heard great things about it.  So, I made the suggestion and off we went to try to turn our luck around!  Wow!  What an amazing place!!!!  If you are ever in Denver, you must go!  It's called Crepes & Crepes and it is in Cherry Creek.  We sat at the bar and watched them make crepe after crepe - delicious!  I had a crepe called the Heather - inspired by a customer who created the combination - a citron crepe with sugared cream cheese, brown sugar, and strawberries...ahhhhhhhh :)  So remember, if you're experiencing the blahs, don't worry!  You can go from Blah to Ahhhhhh in no time!

Today's card was inspired by a swap I received from Jackie Bultje when I was at Leadership Convention (thanks Jackie!).  I made a few changes and this is the result!  I am in love with our new 5/8" satin ribbon!!!!  Yummy!  I made a "faux bow" so that the card could go through the mail without a problem.  I'll try to post a video on how to make these easy, flat bows.  The greeting is from Happy Everything and the birds are from the hostess set The More The Merrier.  Our Sending Love specialty paper has glitter on one side of every sheet!  It adds just the perfect touch to this card!  I added some dazzling diamonds (as Jackie had done on her card) to the birds using my 2-way glue pen.  This is sample #2 for this weeks Stamp-a-Stack.  Hope you like it!

Send A Little LOVE Stamp-a-Stack - Sample #1

This is one of the cards we'll be making for the upcoming Send A Little Love Stamp-a-Stack.  The finished size is 5"x5".  I am loving the I {Love} Love jumbo wheel.  I forget how quick and easy it is to make a card using these wheels!  I love that you can use a cartridge or just roll the wheel on an ink pad to ink up the wheel.  I rolled the wheel down the right-hand side of the card.  The real red card stock was run through the Big Shot with the Finnial Press embossing folder (so elegant).  The heart is from the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set - I stamped it once on the white card stock and then a second time on another piece of white card stock so that I could cut out the 2nd image and pop it up on top of the first.  The greeting is from one of my favorite sets - Short & Sweet.  Hope you like it!

Three Column Blog...for people like me :)

I searched for a long time trying to find decent directions for how to convert my 2-column blog into a 3-column blog.  There are some instructions out there that didn't work well and I kept coming back to my 2 columns.  Today, however, I followed the instructions at Three Column Blogger and I did it!!!!!  The instructions are very easy to follow and I'm looking forward to learning more and making more updates to my blog!  Just thought I'd share in case you want to give 3 columns a try!  How do you like the new look?

Video: Assembling Your Cling Mount Stamps

I had a fun time assembling my new cling mount stamps and I thought I would share with you how to do it!  One more tip...you can easily slide the cover paper out of the dvd case if you open the case fully.  I slide this paper out and make a copy of it so that I can keep a notebook of all of the stamp sets that I have.  This notebook is an easy way to remember what images you have so you keep using them all!  Hope you enjoy the video.  Let me know if you have any questions!

I Like You More Than Chocolate!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  I Still Have A Lot To Learn :)

When I was in my teens and twenties I thought life was pretty rough.  I kept thinking that when I got "older" - whatever "older" meant to me then - that somehow I would have all the answers.  I figured by the time you were "old" that you wouldn't worry anymore about silly things and that you would spend your time thinking very deep and meaningful thoughts.  Well, I don't know about you, but now that I'm "older" I still have a lot to learn!  I don't have all the answers...at all!  I also worry about silly things and I keep wondering if there is ever an age, or a time, when those silly things will stop bothering me.  If you happen to know the answer to that question, please let me know :)  I hope I continue to learn many lessons on this journey called life! :)

Today's card was made for the Pals Paper Arts Challenge.  The inspiration was a yummy looking piece of chocolate on a red background :)  I used the chocolate stamp and the word "chocolate" from the Things I Love stamp set.  I stamped the chocolate in a few different browns and then covered them with Crystal Effects to make them look yummy enough to eat!  The greeting (other than the word "chocolate") came from the Love Bandits stamp set (such a CUTE set!).  Don't you just love our new epoxy brads!  So adorable!!!!  The real red card stock layer was run through our new polka dot embossing folder.  Hope you like it...and hope you like me more than chocolate...but if you don't, believe me, I understand :)

Cheep Talk - Clean and Simple

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Change and Transition Are Two Different Things

In his book, Transitions, William Bridges talks about the difference between Change and Transitions.  Change is the actual event - for example, getting injured or learning you have an illness.  Change happens in an instant.  Transitions, on the other hand, take time.  Transition means letting go of how things were and coming to terms with how things are now.  For each of us and for each event, we go through our transitions in different ways and in different amounts of time.  Sometimes, it seems, we feel we are supposed to be able to just "adjust" immediately.  Today, give yourself permission to go through your transitions in your own way.  It's not a race.  It is your way of coping with the changes that life constantly brings.

Today's card for the Clean and Simple challenge on SCS came together very quickly.  The only "rule" was that we had to use the color teal.  I seem to be in love with this little bird from the Cheep Talk stamp set...partly because he makes me think of Spring! :)  I stamped the bird in teal and then adhered him to a layer of certainly celery and popped him up on a few more layers with dimensionals.  The greeting was stamped and then hand-cut into a little flag.  (Now is a great time to purchase this adorable stamp set because it's Sale-A-Bration!!!!  Purchase $50 in product and receive a free Sale-A-Bration item!  Click HERE to shop now!)  Hope you have a beautiful day!

Loads Of Love

I had to post this card today!  My friend Meg came over yesterday and made this adorable card for her son's birthday!  I love how she paper-pieced the road - too cute!!!!