Feeling the Love

My creative time has gotten shorter and shorter, but I still can't help myself... I NEED to be creative every day.

After a normal shift yesterday on a hot Friday afternoon, I came home, kicked off my shoes ... and saw some cut belts that I'm making into bracelet cuffs and had to start the painting process.  Just dipping my brush into the paint and making swirls and dots ... helped me relax. Well, it really made me giddy .... just thinking what I could turn the cuff's in to!!

Creating something is part of who I am.

Last week I was working on prdesigns creative greetings for my stash (I keep all kinds of greeting cards in labeled bins so that I have them on hand to give as gifts, mail out for special occasions, or if people want to purchase them)  and I decided that it's not hard to make two cards at once.... using the same papers, colors and themes, but then switching up the sentiments and the layout....

 

I actually had my paint brushes sitting in muddy water and my acrylic paints near by.... decided to doodle daisies on the front of craft cardstock.  Once dry, I made these two cards, one is a happy hello, and the other can be a happy, but thoughtful get well card.

 

And then by using thin paper scraps from another project I had laying around (I really must clean the piles in my craft room)  I was able to create these two cards. 

 

Banners and ribbons are being used every where in paper crafting.  The card base is pretty much the only difference between these to cards.

 

 

I was taking to heart the other day, when I read a comment about buy greeting cards from the dollar store.  A penny pincher was doing that.... because the recipient of the cards (gift) just toss them anyway!

 

And then I'm uplifted when many of my friends 'hoard' their cards, send them only on the most special occasions.... because they are too pretty!!! Or they even frame the card!  Such a compliment ... but I don't think I could create a lesser card just because the recipient will 'toss' it out with the wrapping paper.

 

Those who receive whimsy from creative greetings feel the love that is behind the crafting!! What a great feeling to accomplish that!

Techie Bird

The ideas keep coming! 

I'm learning something new every day... and loving every bit of it.  But I must admit that I'm a technoligical overload.

On the above picture I learned how to add the misty edges and the text that lays on top of the photo... (forget about the actual layout I saw on a challenge for Mojo Monday and that I saw something similar while blurfing) that's all stuff I learned from tutorials on Splitcoast Stampers that someone gave me a link... and then I followed how to do this in PSE8 (Photo Shope Elements 8)  That Photo Shop learning has been within the last 4 months.

Then at work, I've set up the phone, fax/printer/copier, am learning a Outlook, which is NEW email to me, plus learning the company computer programs for chart notes and information on patients and doctors offices...scheduling my boss with Google Maps... enough about that.... plus the family got NEW IPHONE 4S and having to learn that... it's more than just learning a phone... it's all the social media that goes with that... pictures with your phone called Instagram... adding APPS (aplications)... links and feeds, downloads... my head is spinning from all the new stuff I'm learning.

But, we got a dose of reality Sunday night.... don't know why yet.... but with a snap, crackle and a big *POP* our power went out for 1-1/2 hours. 

Pitch black

.... with homemade pizza in the oven.  We ate it mostly cooked by candle light!  The street behind us had power... we can't figure out what might have made it snap! Some neighbors saw a flash... we have huge ComEd towers behind us in the field.  We had heavy winds most of the day, (but just windy... not like high gale force)  and it was in the 60's.... very un-usual.  The rain started mid afternoon....

but when you don't have power... you think about those hit and devistated by MAJOR storms... and they are out of power now for days or weeks.... you think oh, I'll just go check my email... oh, I'll just go read a book... oh I'll just watch some tv.... but you can't!  Makes you step back and say... whoa....

This little birdie is telling me I need to slow down a bit!

Layered Fall Colors

Here is another card from stamp camp for your viewing pleasure! 

This is sooo cool.... cool fall colors, cool layers, cool stamping! 

Just like one of the other cards made at stamp camp.... you could use this same technique over and over for any reason or season... just change colors (red/green/white and candy canes.... pink/blue and pacifier....red/pink/white and hearts)

Although I'm feeling immensely creative, I have lost more than 30 hours a week... because I got a real job outside the home.  Part of me is really sad, because my mind and body crave being artistic... my job is not so creative... and now I'm tired at the end of the day so it's hard to just sit and create.

What's a girl to do?

Nine Lives

I'm free!

I just purchased a new book Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon . . . and he says it's okay for me to 'steal' some of my ideas for card making.

Remember? I often say that I CASe projects.... a term used in the what I'm familiar with in the paper crafting world, C-copy A-and S-steal E-everything!!! (or the S could mean SHARE)

Creative work builds off of something, so nothing is EXACTLY original.  Whew.... I said it and now I feel better!

I recently got an order for some birthday cards, so instantly that gives me a spark to create more for my stash.  It gives me a purpose to focus on one genre.... now, to figure out some fun and whimsical birthday greetings.  Above is one!

The smart kitty cat is a doodle from Penny Black designs. I found a 'similar' layout while blogging.  What I eventually ended up with was built with the papers in my stash and then I played with the tilt of the image,  then I punched out swirls and popped up flowers with sparkly centers. I changed the balloon colors a bit to match the paper colors. I added a sentiment after the picture was taken.... Happy Birthday!

I think there is more to my fun new project of  'stealing'.  Well, mainly, not feeling so guilty when I build something creative off of existing wonder!

There is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

From the Sewing Bin

This special creative greeting has only one stamped image on it.... the sentiment. 

Everything else is punched, trimmed, inked or distressed.  For some cardmakers, it would probably be easier to stamp a single image and be DONE with the card. I like a bit of the extra work, it makes this card different.  And I'm all about different.

I think there are about 8 layers give or take to this card.  When I distress the edges, there are two ways to do that.  Either I use a 'distressing tool' which is a disc with a scissor blade embedded in it... I can scrape it along the edge of fresh card stock and make the edge look worn and ripped.  Also, I can take a sponge, swirl it on an ink pad and rub the ink along the edges.... to help the look of being old, worn and tattered.

Banners and flags in celebration still seem to be popular in paper crafting.  Hard to tell from the picture, but I'm using some beautiful old white lace as the layer on the top.  I was lucky enough to get a stash of fibers, threads, buttons and other doodads from my mom who is a sewer.  She gets left overs from quilting sessions and some of that 'old vintage' stuff is just perfect for NEW paper crafts. 

What's old is new again! Love the bakery twine in tan and brown, and that huge brad almost looks like a button! And that is real stitching around the edges of the layers, with a real sewing machine! :0)

Change, is the only constant!

Opportunity Knocks

 Slowly but surely our lives are getting back to some sort of normalcy. 

 I read somewhere recently, "What is normal?" 

But I think we had been living a normal life.  Our 'normal'.  Dad working, kids playing sports and having activities and friends, excelling in school, going on adventures, and mom taking care of the home and family, and 2 dogs.  Things change like people who come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime!  And time marches on.....

It has been a stress filled summer, and the extreme mid-west heat didn't help matters.  We've had rain now, probably more than 3 inches in the past week. I actually got to mow the lawn!! Plants and bushes and grasses are starting to come back to life after being dry and dusty for months.  It's a time for re-birth... even though we are inching toward fall.  Strange, but things happen for a reason!

I'm missing Bubba, he's only gone back to the University of Iowa for his sophomore year for 5 days. 

His room is empty... well, not really... I said to someone... there are still some hockey dust bunnies around the baseboards and there is a funky 'boy' smell in the carpet.  He left stuff on the walls and there is about an inch of dust on the books and hockey pucks still on his shelves that surround some dusty window blinds.  Old t-shirts litter the closet shelves and electrical cords are popping out of the wall.   I  don't so mind the dust... and the room can be cleaned, soon.... I like looking in it to feel his presence!

 Before he left, he handed me back some of the cards I've made for him over the past years.  He liked them, but doesn't want to keep them...he's not sentimental like that,  he's moved on.  Above is his 19th birthday card.... I designed it to represent what his room looked like when I would open the door!  Sadly... he didn't get it!  He's got the future in his hands now!  I think I've raised two pretty wonderful kids!!!!  I think if opportunity knocks on his apartment door, he really has to take hold of it....because this life can take him anywhere.... he just has to take on some passion and take a little risk!!!

Inside the birthday wish pops up..... will he take the opportunities that are present for him in college.  I guess it can be a scary thing... what if you take the wrong ones?  A quote I saw somewhere, and I'm paraphrasing, "I don't regret what I did, I regret what i didn't do when I had the chance ". 

Opportunity knocks, will you answer the door?

Every 365 Days

Sorry I missed posting yesterday.

Did you miss me?

I am so awed and shocked about this social media stuff, (cell phones that get the internet, ipads, ipods, kindles, tweets, facebook... the list is never ending and growing every day) at times I can't grasp my head around it! 

 I've been to blogs where they are having parties and giving away things if you post a comment (nice stuff, you would be randomly picked by a number integer search or something like that, are those sponsored gifts they 'give away'?) . One blog links to another blog and then another blog and so on....I've been to blogs where they have 5,000 followers!!!!....thank you the four that signed up (if you are still with me) and for those of you who pop in every once in a while to see what's happening in our humble abode! Thank you for stopping by!  I hope I make you smile, chuckle and feel welcome!

If I had hundreds of followers I would be pressured into performing every time I posted great cards, exciting recipes, fabulous photos, amazing antidotes...

Although this little creative greeting design blog won't perpetuate me to the top... everything in moderation around here... I get to have a little bit of everything then in my corner of the world. A diary to write down my feelings, a place to show off my family and my designs, an outlet to express my opinions.  No pressure other than my own!

Wishing someone a Happy Birthday with the simple banner layered card above made me start to think of a quote I saw on Pinterest... If you started today, a year from now you'd have been doing it for a year.... or something like that :) 

If you started exercising today, a year from now you'd have... If you started working on a positive attitude, a year from today you'd have.... but I can't help myself and think... a year ago I took my oldest off to college for the first time, and a year from now... I will be taking my baby off to college  .... what a difference a year can make.  But the same can be said, what a difference a day makes!

Brighten someone's day! 

Send them some FuN MaiL....

Have Some Cake

and eat it too! 

 Playing around with left over scraps, (once again)  and found some tutorials for paper piecing the cake layers, the candles, the tags etc....in this 3D evolving cartoon world I guess it's fun to have eye popping birthday cards as well!

The Stars Danced

Every year I have the privilege and the challenge to create a unique and fun card for my daughter in honor of the day of her birth!  She is the child of a cardmaker and wants her very own special card, not something thoughtlessly made for the big stash with someone else... in mind. She has yet to receive a store bought card from me, ever.

Here it is, red white and blue, stars and stripes... celebrate... I found the cutest saying for the inside and I knew I had a winner ... the stars danced the day you born and the next day fire works went off!

Sometimes it's fun to be able to celebrate your birthday around a big holiday or an event... growing up we made her believe the fireworks were in celebration of 'her' birthday!  She has since learned that parents (white) lie about a lot of things... the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus etc....but how awesome is it to have fireworks shooting off in the sky everywhere... sometimes for days!!!!

Movie review: Went and saw Pixar's Brave yesterday.  The movie theatre is a great place to be when it's 100 degrees in the shade.  I give the movie two thumbs up.  The theatre was full of families with small children and teenagers, to middle agers like us, all the way up to grandparents. I laughed, cried and got scared and was pleasantly entertained!  The movie actually was a story with a beginning, middle and end.  If you are looking for an enjoyable movie to go and see, I highly recommend Brave!

Birds of a Feather

 flock together....

those of similar taste congregate in groups.  These cute chicks are flocking their nest to wish someone a fantabulous (fantastic and fabulous all mixed in one) day!!  I believe by Penny Black, she designs birds with great character and funny expressions.... flowers, a note and a balloon ... just for you!

I re-learned the technique (via Pinterest) of using a straight boarder punch to correctly measure and create a frame by appropriately sizing the paper according to the punch depth and quantity of images.  Martha Stewart has entire sets like this, that include the corner punch, but this is the 'poor' crafters way to use a boarder punch in a differently than it's original purpose.

Googly eyes... I just love to say that.  Look at these two love birds.  Shake them up a bit and they'd be looking a different way all together!!!  Working on shading. (As per usual... someday... I'll take a class how to really draw and shade and create proportion, it's been too long and I've forgotten all the rules, if there are any)  Used one of my blender pens and a red marker to outline the original image, trying to add some dimension.

The hearts ♥ have some dimensional glase on them to make them pop up from the page!

Close up: Are you looking at me??

The woods would be very silent

if no birds sang there

except those that sang best ~ Henry Van Dyke

Just two Birthday Cards

 Hey!  Have you sent any FuN MaiL lately???? 

I have plenty of cards in stock! 

Here are two any age appropriate type of birthday cards.

Love the colors and the doodle on the top card!

Trying to do more things with my Nestability die cuts here on the bottom card. A cut out from a cut out!

Cards in stock for all occasions or custom made and personalized!

Brighten Someone's Day!!!

It's a Banner Day

 Flags, Banners and Pennants are popular embellishments on cards, tags and layouts.  So, to be popular too... I made a few cards that incorporate these cute dimensionals.  They are just such a delightful accent, they pop up, are colorful (at times) and actually could sway in the wind! :0)

Any reason to send out some FuN MaiL.... to Brighten Someone's Day!!

Okay, I've been in a blue funk for months, and I feel snarky, and I'm trying to realize nothing last forever, not even my troubles, learning to embrace perfection, looking to find something good in every day.... but...

I got mood poisoning, must have been something I hate! ~ Pinterest

Under Construction

Please excuse my mess!!  Good thing you can't see me in REAL life!  :0)

Here is a Kittie Kraft inspired card.  I see the card as a picture now and see all the possibilities of maybe a different direction I should have taken the colors, or the layering of the frames.  I'm trying to think outside the box a bit more.

That's why you'll see my blog site under construction the next few day.  I need something different in my life, in my day, in my creativity.  By no means have I lost my mojo... just my drive... so hopefully there will be some changes coming my way.

I am over 1500 posts on this blog... that means almost 6 years of blogging, bragging and boring!  I'd miss it if I stopped... but something has to change... doing some 2012 Year of SELF (seeking, exploring, learning and finding)

Forget-Me-Not

I got a new white gel pen recently and I'm so excited to doodle with it.  You sometimes forget when something works well, that it can really do the job it's suppose to. A working pen that is full of ink can create a master piece!

This card is slightly inspired by a book I finished reading on my way to Indiana to visit my husband's family yesterday.  The book is Remembering Isaac and you can find further information on the the author's blog here.

Briefly, the book is a quick and easy read, however 454 pages (a lot of pages have doodles on them).  It is about a young college graduated pottery student Jake,  who finds his way to a small Pennsylvania town called Niederbipp.  He is literally handed over the town potter job that has been empty since the last potter died a few months earlier.  It takes us along his journey into small town USA and the impact creative people make in the lives of others.

About Jake's pottery, early in the book he talks about communing with his art...." We need to connect with people on a daily basis to remind us of our own humanity.  Our world is dying because humans have somehow forgotten how to connect with each other".

The old potter left many clues to the man he was.  One, was the forget-me-not flower.  Which inspired my doodle.  I may need to bring parts of this story back into my life. Maybe you will see more of it here on my blog!

Ladybugs & Rainbows

 A cute doodle and some punches of red, black and white
 make this little ladybug card pop with delight!

A grand niece is turning one and I thought it would be fun... to create a card that related to the lb spots on the original invitation to the party!  I always think that makes the card even more special when it comes to the mail box as some FuN MaiL!

Saw a beautiful rainbow (and a couple of times a double rainbow) yesterday evening after our short spring time rain. This was the view outside our front porch!

Ladybugs and rainbows in many cultures are considered good luck.  They are of course what myths, legends and stories passed down through the generations are made from.  I don't think it will hurt one bit to truly believe that good luck will come our way.

Ladybugs go back into Biblical times and are related to the Virgin Mary.  Farmers want ladybugs to eat harmful insects that infest crops.  If a ladybug has lucky 7 spots or more on her back she will bring good luck.  The direction the ladybug flies away will be the direction your wish comes true!

Rainbows are a symbol of hope, defined by Noah.  The Japanese refer to a rainbows the 'floating bridge of heaven'.  There will always be a rainbow after the rain.

I wont just believe in luck, but I think it's a good thing to carry in my back pocket as we go through our journey in life.

Birthday Celebrations

Almost completely Stamping Up! 

Here is a card I cased from Stampin Annie.  Which I found by following someone else who liked her card and pinned it on Pinterest.   I love the excitement I hear from people when they discover Pinterest. A place where you can pin your interests. 

I think the site changed once again.  There were advertisements or people posting national stores and give-a-ways.... I must admit it was quite annoying.  Girls like to see  pretty stuff!  It's addictive, but just like anything you do... it's okay if you do it in moderation... you should be fine!

I almost feel like I'm cheating when I do a card like this... all the work is done from a punch or stamp, no PRdoodles.  Well, really, if I am casing, (Copy and Share EVERYTHING)  it's just a nice word from copying, and copying is cheating.  Oh, I will never win this fight against myself!

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry,

Show life you have a thousand reasons to smile ~ pinterest

Spin the Wheel

On this card, the recipient can create their own sentiment.  Spin the wheel to see 4 different feelings.  I found some really cute K & Company paper cheap at M's a few weeks ago, and you can't go wrong with their matching patterned paper pads.  A similar type of layout can be found at the Mojo Monday site.

Inside to the left, is the backside of the rotating wheel.  I covered the brad with a piece of matching pp.  With the scraps from the front opening pieces I just made little tags for inside sentiment.

Every new  beginning comes from some other beginnings end! ~ pinterest

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Not one, but two cards featuring cuteness popping out of a terra cotta pot!!

I have paper scraps bulging out of my craft room.  They must go!  I'm cranking out cards and using up the old paper.... backgrounds and frames, punch art and inside pretties.  You know you like my cards.  Support a small business!  :0)

Both of these cards are doodled, but you've got to realize there is a stamp and an artist somewhere behind it all.  I think the hedge hog above is by Penny Black.

Ok, since I'm making so many cards, you MUST have events coming up, you know of birthdays and anniversaries, special places you can give a 4 pack gift of fun and whimsical cards... place your orders now!!!

If you want... just click on my CARD blogpost (you can always find it in the yellow  creative greetings too! on the left column top) Pick out cards from my latest creative surge, or find a classic card that I have waiting in my stash!

Brighten Someone's Day!!!!

Send FuN Mail... with creative greetings!!!

Blood, Sweat & Butterflies

A little behind in posting today.  The high school was having a blood drive and I signed up to be one of Sissy's donors.  It's been since November that I last gave.  Where does the time fly.  It was excellent seeing a ton of high schoolers donate.... some of the girls were light weights.... well, hopefully, some day... they will want to continue trying to donate blood.

Recently went to Stamp Camp and made 6 different projects.  The first above is a cute little bag with some die cut flowers on the front.... adhered with hot glue.  The bag is teeny tiny, but just right to fit the next three cards inside.  A cute little gift... and maybe add a gift card!

 Simple layouts for the next few cards.  The patterned paper makes these cards simply... SU!

 I always like to go to stamp camp because it just reminds me of different ways to use things and supplies that I have.

Sometimes simple cards are cute and classy.

Always nice to have a masculine cards on hand.  I think guys like to get cards.... don't they?... but what if they don't sail, or play golf or work with a hammer?  It's okay to send women flowers and butterflies and cute little animals... hand crafted male cards are a tough subject.

Here's the last project... too, too cute.  Tiny little wine bottle (SU! demo said they come in a four pack) freshly cut twigs from her backyard, add a glue gun and some cute punched flowers and butterflies with bling and an instant table piece with charm!  Also added a bit of raffia around the bottle neck.

Yay, warm weather is back on the trend.... next week might be planting season!!!