Blogging,blogging

Greetings from Arizona. My husband is working out here and I am out here in Phoenix for several more weeks. Last weekend, we went down to Tucson.We planned on visiting Tohono Chul Park for a photography tour but at8:0am, it was really dripping . We postponed the visit until later, and instead headed off to Mission San Xavier Del Bac. It was beautiful and nicknamed "White Dove of the Desert".

Busy days

It has been a whirlwind time here in Colorado. Yesterday ,we traveled down to Denver after we shopped for more things to get Bob ready for his apartment. We hunted in thrift stores, antique shops, and flea markets. It reminded me of when we first got married and went garaging for things.Funny, hunting for household things doesn't change much over the years . I'm looking forward to getting back to cardmaking when I get back home in a few days but I'll treasure the time spent here. I'll be back out here in June.

Wow such winds

We had 60 miles a hour winds all night so that made for a lively night sleep here. I spent much of the day computer shopping for furniture for the new apartment,as we couldn't find any that came furnished. We are planning a trip to Denver on Saturday to go to Ikea and hopefully get to see some of the sights too. I'm trying to get things all set for my husband before I fly back next Tuesday to Michigan.

I have sketched out a mini- album of our trip but haven't found any crafting stores here yet,just grocery stores, but plan to find one over the weekend.

Greetings from Ft. Collins,Colorado

We made it from Michigan and made an overnight stop in Des Moines,Iowa on the way here.We were lucky on our journey and dodged the snowstorm that hit the areas of Colorado and Nebraska that we drove through yesterday. 1,200 miles makes for a long weekend. Today we are looking for a furnished apartment close to his new job. Since it is a holiday, Bob doesn't start work until tomorrow. I will be staying in the hotel room during the work hours.I did bring some crafting items so I can keep busy. I plan to try to scrapbook the trip. I will be here for a week to get him settled and then I will return home on Southwest Airlines for my trip home. I work as a nanny and the family I work for had vacation plans for the week which helped out so much too. I will check in soon again.

ON AN ADVENTURE

My husband and I are on an adventure traveling across several states as he negotiates a new job quite far away. I will be posting more information in a couple of days. Be back soon.

Surprises are great!

Our former next door neighbors are "bunking" with us this week unexpectedly. Mike's Dad died and they flew up from Miami for the funeral. I have hustled around to get set up for them and I knew there was a reason my crafting/guestroom finally got cleaned up last week. They will be here until Monday so it will be great to spend time with them and also for them to see other friends since they have not been back to Michigan in 5 years. We are hoping to go to the cider mill on Saturday.Cider yum!
Happy crafting!

My friend

Gini is downsizing her stuff and gave me this great storage unit for my crafting area. I decided to fill it with my "go-to items". This way I won't have to go hunting for them as they get hidden in my crafting frenzy moments.I put my Cuttlebug boards right on top so I can condense the tool. I put all of my folders, and dies for it on the shelving unit together in a box. It started out that way but it didn't last long as I worked on projects.Here is my "new unit "all filled up.My Spellbinders are in a hanging basket next to it, easy to find quickly.
My next project is tackling the paper shelves. I know it will be easier to find the exact paper when it is properly sorted again but it isn't a fun job for me.
Happy crafting and thanks again Gini.

Guess Who!

I had the chance to work with the Cricut Storybook cartridge today. This cute owl was the result. It was cut at 4inches and using each of the layers, and scrap paper plus a sentiment from the Hampton Arts "Who loves You?"stamp set became a card. The base is from a set of pre-cut cards from Michael's in the Dollar section.It was inked around the edges with DI Stormy Sky. The owl was enhanced with Zig Markers,and attached to the card folder with Pop Dots to give him some room for his wings and is sitting on a freehand branch I crushed a little after cutting it out to give it a bark like feeling. This will be a Halloween card for some special little friends.
Happy crafting!

I have been

busy, busy. I had an order for sympathy cards so I have been working on that plus trying to finish up my reorganizing of my work area. I rediscovered the many sheets of designer papers that I have and really want to use up.I plan to bring some of them to our next paper crafting meeting at church to share with others.I have a new card posting to share tomorrow. Now since it is starting to turn to fall like weather, I will be able to spend more time with my card making instead of my gardening and other outside projects. I did get some needed work done this week like reworking the flower beds near the front door, which was on my to do list all summer long.
Hope you get to have some time for crafting this weekend too!

Pumpkins in the cornfield -part 2

The second card from the same set of stamps is this one.The sweet scarecrow and the tumbling leaves went so well together. I water colored the scarecrow after stamping with Memento sepia ink, and then edged the card using DI Pumice Stone .The ribbon is unknown but is so shimmery, and was just enough for this card. This is going off to a friend as a thinking of you card.
Happy Crafting!

While cleaning,

I rediscovered an uncut sheet set of stamps from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I had picked up a few sets before she closed last year and was happy to find some new autumn stamps in my stash which didn't get ruined in our basement flood . They were in a plastic shoebox tucked away safely on my shelf where I kept my acrylic paint. I cut out just 2 of the stamps from the sheet but will certainly be making more cards with the other images soon.
The sentiment was stamped with Mementos Tuxedo Black, and the circle was edged with DI Antique Linen.The pumpkins were stamped on some shimmer scraps and Zig Markers were used for some embellishment. The ribbon is American Crafts Dk. Green. The plaid paper is unknown from the scrap box, and the edges were distressed with a scissor blade.The folder is Bazzill Brown.
Happy Crafting!

Make a Wish

I have been a cleaning whirlwind in my craft area this week in my spare time. It was a disaster and sorely needed attention. Now between this ,that and work, I finally had time to make some cards.
Today's card was made using Quic Kutz Santa's Workshop set of dies. I got it at a swap a while ago and tucked it safely away... and rediscovered it during cleaning. The set includes a variety of circles and other shapes. The card included a flower made using some Sizzix flower dies, and a shape pre-stamped with make a wish from a swap , it will be used as an emergency card for the autumn season. I had premade the flower and sprayed it with Glimmer Mist Sunflower for a hint of a shimmer. The background cardstock has torn edges using Coordinations paper. The folder is a Bazzill brown while the brad is from Making Memories. The twist ribbon is from Berwin Offray(after Christmas sale last year).Pull out those older items and have fun crafting!

Funky Fold Two

I made another card using the same technique and a stamp from the GinaK Design set (Warm & Cozy Christmas)which was colored with Zig Markers. After rereading my previous sketchy directions, I decided to instead send you right to the creator of the process at the end of my post today. Here is my card today. I like the punched snowflakes enhanced with Stickles to added to the card. The punch is a Mc Gill.The paper and ribbon are from the scrap box.My friend Gini asked me at our church coffee hour hour to replicate the card pattern for her,so I tried to demonstrate it with no tools like a a bone folder, cutter, ruler, glue stick, etc. It was a challenge but I think it was sure better than the partial directions I included in my last post. Here is the original site again:http://wickedwonderfulcreations.blogspot.com.
Happy Crafting!

Something unique

I found a new kind of funky folded card on wickedwonderfulcreations.blogspot.com. It used a piece of pattern paper 11"x11" folded in half on the diagonal. Next score on both sides of the triangle on the long sides at 3" and 5.5". Turn it 90 degrees and score it at the peak 3 1/2" on both sides of the triangle peak. Using a bone folder, press all of the score marks sharply. There will be an excess tiny triangle on each side of the peak flap, using scissor cut it off. Reopen the paper and using adhesive glue it together. Stamp a small image, color it and add it to the closure for the card formed by the small triangle on one end of the card. I know her directions are more detailed than mine so for more help check the site out . My image is from Unity(hello my friend).It was stamped in Mementos Tuxedo Black and colored with Zig Markers. A ribbon finishes the card . The sentiment is hidden inside. Hope you check out the site and try something different yourself.

Hi There

Pumpkins are turning up in the grocery stores , a sure sign that fall is on the way. I have been seeing costumes and the shelves and shelves of candies too for the visitors who will soon be touring the neighborhoods. I have some young friends to make cards for in the coming weeks but here is the first one. The card includes a cluster of vintage stamps, including a Stampendous small checked frame(I love the uneven frame -so perfect for Halloween time),a SU pumpkin from an old set, and the Hi There is from a Verve Set-Happy Hello. They were all stamped with Memories sepia and the image was colored with Zig markers. Diamond Stickles was added to give a little glow to the pumpkin , while the scrap of unknown ribbon tied it together.
Have a great weekend. I'm happy to have some time to work on some cards!

Why ?

After all of the repairs needed from our flood in the basement were completed, I looked around the house and decided to remove the vintage kitchen wallpaper and instead to paint it after it was done. I haven't tackled something like that alone in ages and I have gotten bogged down in my process. The rummage sale, plus my nanny job responsibilities have delayed my progress but like a turtle ,a slow and steady pace is my motto.
My card making has really on a slow pace recently but I need to pop a thinking of you card into the morning mail, so I took some time to work on it. Here's a new one with a vintage CTMH from a recent swap sale.It was stamped with Mementos Tuxedo Black and water colored. I have collected so many swatches for kitchen paint choices, so I decided to use the excluded items in card making .Just a touch of ribbon and then it was mounted on a green pre-folded card. I hope she likes it!
If you are in the path of the hurricane on the way, please stay safe. Growing up in NY/NJ area, I experienced several hurricanes and they are not fun.

It's Over

Our church rummage sale is over and we were so blessed to raise almost $2,000 for our mission projects through the year. I'm tired but we all worked so hard to have a good sale. We even found a group willing to pick up the unsold items today so we could tidy up to get ready for church in the morning.
Happy Crafting.

Hello my Friend!

I found this Unity Itty Bitty Stamp recently and I love the combination of fonts on it. I combined it with a Inque vintage swirl (Monarch),a flower I made using a Nellies die fastened with a brad after being Glimmer Misted. I used the ribbon gathering technique from Niki Estes blog to complete my tag card. I used Distress Inks Antique Linen and Tea Dye to age my tag and some Jilly Bean twine through the hole on the tag. All set for a last minute card to pop into the mail.
Happy Crafting !

Busy

that is the word for it. I am the co-chair of the church rummage sale and it is coming up on Thursday-Saturday this week. Our group has opened more boxes and trash bags filled with donations than we expected this week.I can get you a good price on lots of t-shirts, jeans and evening gowns. too Each year there seems to be a sort of "donation theme". What I mean is , more and more of certain things. This year, is Christmas ornaments, lights, and yet more lights. Judy, in charge of the holiday item section, even starts to groan when one of says... look what's in this one Judy.We have received so many sets of lights that it fills a 7 foot table completely. We are a great source for bud vases too. We must have gotten in 75 of them . Too bad we aren't holding any wedding showers soon, we could supply centerpieces easily with the mounds of silk flowers up for the sale too. We are raising money for our church food pantry so here's hoping it will be a big success.
I'll be back with some new cards after the rush is over!

Picture time

Our weekend adventure in camping was fun. We had alternating rain-or drizzle then sun, non -stop heat ,and apparently we were visiting in the cicada world area. They sang us to sleep and that was all one could hear at our campsite in the afternoon and during the night. The mosquitoes were not friendly but our DIL came prepared with Burt's Bees insect repellent which help fend them off. Here is a photo of Erik (one of our sons)in his tent.I like the photo of the lily pads in the lake that I took on Sunday during on our walk around more of the park we visited too.When we went swimming in Eagle Lake , the trout were swimming around the people enjoying the lake. I had never experienced swimming with fish before(they were about 10 inches long).
Happy summertime all!