Egg-citing

Here is a cute, cute Easter or baby card I made from a Michelle Zindorf tutorial. Like I've always said, her tutorials are wonderful and simple to follow.  She is just amazing!  To show her my continued support, I just placed a SU! order from her. Come on, you know you want to get some cute cards to send some FuN MaiL!  Cards are just $2.50 (that includes the shipping to you)  Go ahead, Brighten Someone's Day!

March is quickly coming to an end.... in like a lion out like a lamb?  It's green out there as far as the eye can see, and I'm loving the blue, blue skies of recent.  A little chilly (or normal should I say)... you can't beat having days in March be in the high 70s or 80s.

Part of my little family is on Spring Break, searching out different universities and colleges in the south east.  Wish I could have gotten away too, but it was better for me to stay behind with the dogs (who we would have to put up... somewhere)  They decided to do this on a whim, because an opportunity popped up.

I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions. ~ pinterest

Bloom where you Stand

My little garden is so happy and bright with red, cream  & white and purple.  Everything bloomed a bit early with the warm end to our winter here in the mid-west. There is a sunny spot on the west side of my house that just pops with spring time flowers.  This is truly a happy place!

A Beautiful Gift (tag)

I was just playing around with a Shabby Chic themed tag for a swap that I am in.  Adding elements that are soft pastel colors, with lace and flowers and other doodads.  This tag measures 4" x 6", so it's rather large.  I have to make 8 others for the swap.  The ovals behind the pink frame are on a brad so they can be swung out to journal on.

Spring!
The other day I opened my front door
to let my doggies out to sniff


To my amazement they stopped short on the walk
and the tiny one's head began to shift


I stepped outside to get a closer look
and I saw a back leg begin to lift


There in the crack was a fuzzy caterpillar
crawling along the bricks not too swift.


"Stop" I shouted to cause a commotion
and sort of a rift


Soon he will become a butterfly
one of God's beautiful gifts.


By Poppy  Wilds (aka PRdesigns)

On the Wings of Love

 Today, in the spot light, a fantabulous card and tags set that was mailed to a special ♥ friend.  Making cards with a theme is a small challenge, yet I'm more than eager to have fun with it!!  I search through my colors of paper, I blurf (blog surf), I play around with scraps of this and that... and then I'm on a creative roll.  I used the computer to create the sentiments here, and actually ran my patterned paper through to be printed, not stamped.  They were actually scraps of pink/red and lime green paper.  I had to tape them down (lightly) to be held in place on the white  (8-1/2" x 11")  paper when it ran through the printer.  It's a trick you learn from some creative genius, who also runs tissue paper through the same way.

Here are the cute matching tags. Same scraps and similar shapes with hearts at the main theme and a little stitching to keep things interesting.   I don't know, other than giving away my creative greetings!! in little cellophane gift bags, all wrapped up rafia and a bow or mini scrap books or a combination of both... I don't buy a lot of presents.  Would it be a nice touch to have a matching card with a beautiful sentiment you write yourself, and then a gift tag that matches too?                       

Just smile for me and let the day begin

You are the sunshine that lights my heat within

I'm sure that you're an angel in disguise

Come take my hand and together we will rise ~ Jeffrey Osborn

Tag Extras

 Tons of tags: to continue with the theme of yesterday's COTM (card of the month) for April , I present tags from the extra scraps. Bright orange flowers with red centers and a friendly companion leaf.  Sharp angle contrast of lined patterned paper keeps you in the parameters of the tag. Simple sentiment prompts where to write.

Here's a different tag, since I claim to be an over-achiever.... I had to make more than one style and layout.  Each club member receives their main card with envelope (shown on yesterday's blog post, scroll down to refresh your memory) , and then two tags, that in most cases match with scraps of paper left over from the construction of the card.  Because of the way I punched this scalloped tag, using my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities Dies, there is a fold on top still in tact, so a message can be written inside this tag.

Martha Stewart has a really cute pack of multi colored twine and the colors matched great with these tags.  I love all of these colors together. Great for Spring!

Everything is going to be alright maybe not today but eventually ~ pinterest

Find the Hidden Message Spot

I had lots of fun with this one, all the colors and patterned paper, sculpted flowers and leaves, scallop circles and ribbons... my friends in the COTM (Card of the Month Club) get this for their April card. The paper is from the Hippie Chic collection of DCWV.  When the papers coordinate it sure makes it easy to put the right design together!

I like to dress up the insides of these special cards as well.  Left over extra scraps with the sentiment continue the cards special feel on the inside too!

Here's all four cards.  Although the top card doesn't show it in the patterned paper flowers (on the right)... there is a hint of orange and red in the paper, you can briefly see it on the third card down.... I like how those flower colors now 'pop' and are a great contrast to the blues, teals and greens.... yet they all go together. 

The flowers are punched and I inked the edges to give them even more deapth, they are actually on a tag and can be pulled out from the flower pot... a tiny secret message can be inscribed.  :0)

I love the sentiment on a billboard sign that is on Pinterest or one of those emails that gets around....

Seen at a garden center:  We're so excited Spring is here we wet our plants!!

Buggy Boy

I doodled this image probably more than a year ago from a case study.  It was just sitting in my 'stash' of potential wanna-be cards.  After I used the green and blue background paper I realized I had a perfect match to combine the two and make a bright, fun and colorful baby boy card.  The white buttons as wheels on the buggy are creative fun-ness.  Stickles (a sparkle glue) adorn the flourishes and the flowers.  I already have a place for the card to go.  Our neighbor is expecting his first grandson within the month, so once I get the details I have a great place to send out some FuN MaiL!

Enjoying the totally awesome weather we are having right now.  The temperatures have broken all kinds of records... we've been in the 80s in mid March.  So hard to grasp my mind around it.  I was outside raking mulch and pulling weeds, cleaning out embedded leaves and watching everything bud and bloom. 

Smile and let everyone know that today you're a lot stronger than you were yesterday! pinterest

Here's One Cute Chica

I really like to make dimensional cards, layers with pop dots, not only do I get to practice my coloring and shading skills on a card like this, I get to work on fussy cutting if I don't have a punch.  Hee hee....I found this cute card image while blurfing.... I like how the beak is holding up the banners (which are everywhere in paper crafting).  You could put any message on the banners, you would just have to alter the size to make it all fit! A double portion of smiles :) :)

Punched out a small circle and then dabbed ink in the template to make the background dots!

If you believe you can, you will!

Planning Good Things

 Today's post brought to you by my ART Journal....

 Hopefully life will imitate art in this situation.... seeing rainbows with the sunSH!NE.  With this piece, since I covered most of it up.... but behind the rays I punched colorful circles ROY G BIV to make a wave of the rainbow going from top left to bottom right...

I find different words in magazines and then cut them out, and like a puzzle piece I put them together to create a phrase that I have or a feeling I get when the mix media piece of art is in mid chaos. 

Using acrylic paint, markers, gesso, mod podge and stamps/ink.

Now the hard part, convincing myself and actually staying on track to plan good things. :0)

Adhesive Free

This nifty and cute double envelope is a note card, gift card, bite size candy holder brought to you by Chicnscratch's blog.  Using a heavier designer series paper 8" x 8" this cute little pouch can be made with simple crisp creased folds and absolutely no glue adhesive (well, except for the decorative scalloped circle)  it is just simply tied at the top to hold together.  The card opening measures approximately 2-1/2" H x 3-3/4" W.

Here's the side view to show you how the score lines, then become the folds... making it into a little pouch.  This is a perfect idea if you want something a little different to hold a special gift card on one side, and maybe a little treat on the other.  Or, this could work as party favors, it could even stand as name placements for a dinner party.

Odd weather week for the month of March, it's like a great June... we had temperatures in the high 70's... I even think we broke a record of 81 degrees on Tuesday.  It's wonderful, it's beautiful!  The birds are chirping and happy, all of my tulips are beginning to burst through the mulch, the grass is getting green... it is however, just so odd... the mild winter we have had. I will find joy in the day( but the old part of me can't believe spring has begun and we had no really crazy blizzards... my head can't wrap around that!)

Brighten Someone's Day! 

Butterfly Wishes

Oooh, I really like how this card turned out.  I used the left over scraps from the black and white mini album that I showed you on the post two days ago, and found a great layout that looked interesting.  Every once in awhile, I stumble upon an old old SU! stamp in my stash and I thought this was a beautiful sentiment.

Yesterday I was in Target and as I walked by the card aisle I briefly glanced and saw St. Patrick's Day cards with photos of cute doggies wearing green hats with 4 leaf clovers popping out everywhere.  I am just fascinated by cards. 

If my sales are slow, I might as well send out some FuN MaiL and Brighten Someone's Day!

Too Sweet

Can something be too sweet?  I think so!  Maybe this card is to, too cute! 

 Of course the image is CASed. I believe this cute hedge hog and mouse are Penny Black design.  Off of a cute blog After Hours I learned how to use my a straight punch and make it look like a die cut frame.  By measuring the depth of the punch you can get double duty out of the punch cutting around a 3 -4 " square scrap of paper. This is one really cool technique.  I used Glossy Accents to make the cherries pop out a bit. Colored the image with water color pencils.

As much as I am intrigued by the WWW (world wide web) I'm not surprised that issues have come up again with bloggers.  A few months ago I mentioned that some die hard very (extremely) creative people were being cyber bullied.  The artists had truly given of themselves from the heART. Someone doofus went overboard and felt that they could criticize and demean the artist by writing awful things and she decided she couldn't take it anymore and was totally leaving the cyber world.

Now I see on Pinterest one of my favorite places to get inspiration and ideas is losing fans and gaining advertisers.  I don't know the complete story, so I could be part of the problem and not part of the solution, but because fans loved posting pictures of their favorite things, it seems that some copyright issues are coming into play...so, something that was to be fun and inspirational... now has people second guessing about pasting photos they copied from another site and giving appropriate credit.

Gives a whole new meaning to scrapbook or cardmakers ease of CASe-ing.... Copy and Share Everything.... I whole heartedly agree of giving credit where credit is do.... but you can't completely police the WORLD WIDE web.

Flower Power

It is so fun just to sit back in my creative studio (ha ha) and make 2-4" circles out of a poly mix of material, slit them into quarters and then the fun part is to melt the edges with a candle flame to get the crinkly petal look.  I stitch the layers together up through the centers and then add a fun big button or bead in the middle.

They add such a pretty touch to any of the the thicker paper crafts I make.  Here is a sample of a mini scrap book.  I made this small 6"x 6" book with momochromatic colors using white, grey and black paper and embellishment.  Love how it turned out.

Blue Bells & Argyle

This is like a similar card from the most recent SU! catalog.  I love the color combo of sky blue and mint green.... cooling colors.  Such soft flower petals near the strict lines of the diamond shape make an interesting contrast. This card needs no sentiment, and would work perfect for a basic note card wishing someone a happy day, via FuN MaiL.... of course.

Almost at a loss for words today... nothing exciting, nor anything to really complain (oh I'm sure I could find something) about.  The college boy is home for a week for his spring break.  I'm sad that I can't provide for him an awesome experience traveling to an exoctic location.  Sissy just got a job and is studying for her college ACT test, I can support her and provide her a good clean home and a great home cooked meal, but this is stuff she needs to learn to do on her own.  DH is waiting for new people to start working during the middle of the month, and then we'll see which direction his job will take him.

Pear-y Cute!

  The image is a doodle CASe from a SU! image.  Stamped a script image of Tim Holtz and then I used watercolor pencils and my water pen, and tried my hand at coloring in and shading. I really like the scallop edges of using a circle punch and having half of it peak out.

Brighten Someone's Day!  Send out some FuN MaiL!!

Not a whole lot going on this week, other than we're having half our windows in the house replaced, Sissy starts a new job, we're picking up Bubba in Prophetstown so he can be here a week for spring break and my tulips have started popping their way through the mulch!

True Colors

Before

As part of my 2012 Year of SELF.... I'm always SEARCHING for new things to LEARN.  This morning I'm attempting to add watermarks to my photos of my cards... but I seem to be FAILING at finding that tool on the Windows Live Photo Gallery.  Instead I will FOCUS on cropping the photo and colorizing.  

Fun doodled lady bugs on funky mushrooms.  I see a circle theme going on with the cuttlebug embossing folder in the pink background, the green punched circle boarder and the circles on the mushroom tops and ladybug bodies.

after

  I also attempted a new way to take the pictures.  A blog that I surfed through set up a photo shoot using a huge piece of tag board approx 24" x 36" ( In the past ... I only have used two sheets of 8-1/2 x 11" pieces of card stock) I didn't think it was that important... but it seems that blogs have become much more sophisticated since I started mine over 5-1/2 years ago. I used to just snap and go.... the morning shot you got on the blog was a picture I just took 5 minutes before I posted....however... It's not like I'm going to become a professional photographer, blogger, writer, card maker, designer..... all things I could put on my resume! Hmmmm

Maybe you'll see a difference on the pictures.... maybe you wont....

And I'll see your true colors

Shining through

I see your true colors

And that's why I love you

So don't be afraid to let them show

Your true colors

True colors are beautiful,

Like a rainbow - Cyndi Lauper

Very Suspicious

Today's post is brought to you by: a bright yellow celebration card to represent the sun shining on someone's birthday!

Simple monochromatic card with a black boarder to make the image and sentiment pop!

I can't help myself but talk about the weather. It's very suspicious! As far as my eye can see out the back window... the 4-5" of snow we got on Friday... is gone... bare grass, once again! Really, I don't mind, but it's very suspicious!!!  Temperatures were in the 60's yesterday, and the wind is really blowing fierce again today. I read on Tom Skilling's blog (local Chicago meteorologist) that we are having the 3rd warmest winter on record.

I can't help but think that maybe we'll get snow on May 10th like we did 22 years ago..... I remember it because DH got in a small accident (his passenger side mirror got clipped from a sliding vehichle) while on the way to the Milwaukee courthouse getting our marriage license in 6" of slushy white stuff. In May????

Bunny Dots

Now that I see this card in the photo, it certainly is missing something.... a sentiment perhaps, or some wildly fun swirls coming out from the main image.... there is a 'little' bling in the shape of a brad puffing out as a tail... but it needs something else!  Hmmm.

That's how I feel right now.... the main image is okay, but I need something fun and whimsical popping out... coming from no where, just a happy zing.... a little punch and pizazz!  I'll get right on that!

Have a great day!

Just like a Monday

Although this card is very pretty in person, hmmm, it didn't photo well. 

Isn't that strange how things like that happen? 

 I almost feel like I'm living the movie Ground Hog Day. If you recall, Bill Murray kept on living the same day over and over again... he finally learned he could make changes to himself to alter the outcome of the day.  

 Friday comes to Illinois and it snows 6" of heavy white stuff, the wind is blowing, the roads are a mess and then by the weekend the streets are clear, but there's the slushy exhaust mess on the side of the road... bright and sunny Monday begins anew with beautiful blue skies, the temperatures reach in the 50's all week, the snow melts, the ground it bare, and once again everyone looks forward to the weekend and then it's Friday and the rain begins and pellets of ice hit the window, big flakes begin fall, heavily, and then boom  6" of snow hinders traffic, causes accidents and delays the beginning of TGIF. 

We got a little bit of everything.

That's what's going on with the card above.  I went to our local scrapbook store where they have make and takes. You go in and use their pre-cut supplies to make a nice card, pay your $1 and take it with you!  This card has lots of different elements, ribbons and stamping, diecuts and punched out strips, pop up glue dots and inked edges.  I like going to make quick cards, it often reminds me of techniques I've forgotten to use.

Maybe that's a sign from the weird weather too.  To remind me how great Mother Nature is.  We get it all, sunny days, blizzard like conditions, ice, rain, warmer temps..... sometimes when I'm pre-occupied or feeling the every day stresses of life it's hard to get the full picture!

If the shoe fits....

If the shoe fits, buy the matching purse!



*Caution: Please don't read this if you are eating!


I like shoes. When I was much younger I liked cheap(er) shoes because:
A. My feet didn't have a problem with the poor quality and structure
B. I could get a lot of different shoes for my hard earned money.


Years and years ago, I went shoe shopping with my *boyfriend of one week. It was our date to go up to Milwaukee shopping at the big mall. How fun was it to walk around holding hands, window shopping and browsing at all the cool things and getting to know each other.


I actually found a pair of shoes on that shopping trip. I remember them well, they were blue flats and they had a mesh weave pattern to them.


Although I'm the right height for my size, I like wearing flats and never felt that heels or even platforms were very comfortable shoes. I never felt short at 5"4-1/2", I was one of the tallest kids in my 6th grade class, but I stayed that same height forever. As a side note: one day when my kids were in elementary school I was told for the first time that I was short... maybe it was by some big 5th grader, neanderthal.


After our special walk around the mall it was time to come home. I am so glad I bought those shoes, because on the ride home I got sick. I was feeling a bit queasy and warm all of a sudden. It happened so quickly that I couldn't even tell my boyfriend, of a week, to pull over on the interstate. I reached down to the floorboard, dropped the shoe box out of the bag and stuck my head inside and let it spew.


I was so embarrassed! It was a new car, his first brand new car. But I was a careful girl. Eventually he was able to pull off the interstate and he put his hand on my back. Concerned if I was ok. It wasn't nerves, I felt so comfortable around him. It must have been something I ate (really... don't even go there). I actually felt much better after the incident.


If I hadn't bought that pair of shoes I don't know what I would have done. Now that would be a story if I tossed my cookies all over the interior of his new car! If there is a down side to the story, the only thing would be is that the receipt was in the bottom of the bag... it may have been tough to return the shoes (at that time) without a receipt. But I kept the shoes and I kept the boyfriend. They both fit!


*new boyfriend = now husband

Symbolism is everywhere, if you look for it! Being stopped at a red light that then makes you late for your appointment, happens!  People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  Friends and family in different parts of the city, or different states or across the country can stay in touch (with the technology) easily, if they want to.  It's all there if you take the time! Sometimes you have to stretch out.

SA's blog decided she was going to dedicate posts to finding hearts in every day life, but not the generic red hearts that we draw like this ♥.  The symbolism of finding hearts for her meant a lot.   She found them in the glass of a broken window, found it in a pebble on the street, she saw it from an entwined tree limb.  I found mine in a potato that I was getting ready to peel for yummy copy cat Panera Cheesy Potato Soup!! What a happy thing to go searching for!

And per usual for my creative greeting blog, the symbolism continues with this card I'm showing off!  My favorite Heidi Swapp gave away this card on her blog.... a free template that we could just print off, and then she had a tutorial how to put it together. LOOK how easy some cards go together!

SEE how many unconventional  ♥'s you can find as you go about your business today!!