Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hot and Cold - A Birthday Card

The challenge on Wednesday at 365 Cards was hot and cold.  As I went out the day today this has been on my mind as I needed to make a card for a friends upcoming birthday.  This friend is a man and this always seems to stump me.  Making a card for a man.  Girls...easy.  Women...easy.  Boys...easy.  Men...not so easy.

I wanted the card to be festive and happy but not foofy.  Here is what I came up with using the hot and cold challenge.

 
I chose a blue that was slightly turquoise and a red that was a bit more orange so it wouldn't take on a 4 of July feel. 

 
The colors carried through on the inside too.
 
 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Busy craft day

I had an appointment with a client today that was postponed and I have taken advantage of the time today.  At present I am addressing cards.  Okay not presently, presently as I am typing this blog entry but you know what I mean. :)

Here are last couple cards and yes you guessed it challenges helped me on the way.  I used the sketch  at 365 Cards as a jumping point for this card that I made using all scraps.  Scrap paper and scrap ribbon!

 
This card used the leftovers from the toile challenge card and some left over card stock in the Vineyard from CTMH.

 
I used Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Mist in Frost and Sparkle on the white part of the snowflake which you can see in the close up.
 
This last card for the year is this one using the opposites challenge at 365 Cards.  I chose red and green as you can probably tell from the card.  The layout allowed me to use more scraps from other cards I have made this year. 
 

The papers used in this are from Pebbles Inc., DCWV and The Girl Paperie. The tag is MME from the 12 Days of Christmas line.
 
 
And I was asked the other day if I was a neat scrapper or a messy one.  I think like most I am messy.  The following photo was taken while in the middle of the last card.  Judge for yourself. :)
 
 


 
 
 
 
 

Matt Wertz - Snow Globe

It is that time of year...Christmas Music Time!

This song by singer Matt Wertz is a favorite contemporary Christmas song of mine.  Hope you enjoy it too.

Toile Card

Christmas cards are really coming along.  Which makes me SO happy.  I hope to mail them all out on Wednesday.  And since the family decided to take a trip together instead of exchange gifts, mailing out those cards will me Christmas prep will be done! 

Last night I jumped into another challenge to get another card done.  This one was to use Toile on the card.  I have been hoarding just the perfect paper for several years and knew it would be perfect for this challenge.  Yay!  Pretty certain last night as I was "yaying" to myself at my scrap-desk my husband was wondering about my sanity. ;)

Here is the card I made with that awesome paper from Bo Bunny and using the inspiration of Challenge 283 over at 365 Cards Blog.


 
The patterned paper is called Homespun Holiday Toile.  Card stock is Vineyard from CTMH.  As is the ink I used on the edges and the ribbon.  I let the toile take center stage and used it twice.  The bottom layer of the is embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder called D'vine Swirl and then sanded.  The pine cone embellishment is from K & Company.


You can see the embossing better in this picture.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Love Challenges

When I get stuck on how to design a layout or a card I look to challenges.  I find at times by limiting what can be used, or having to use a certain item, inspires creativity.  One of my favorite challenge blogs is 365 Cards.  I love it because of the whole concept...new challenges each day. 

Recently the challenge was to combine scallops and stripes.  Here is what I came up with using that challenge.

 
That ornament in the middle was cut on my new cricut.  Which I am completely in love with and has me asking why in the world I waited so dang long to get one.  The paper is from last years Christmas collection from MME called "12 day of Christmas".
 
Another challenge that really had me scratching my head was the Pick-a-Pattern challenge from Thursday.  I thought easy-peasy until I went through my stash to find that I own no paisley paper or  paisley embellishments.  What is a gal to do?   Well she is to dig through her stamp collection and hope she'll find one in there.  Lo and behold I did!!! 
 
Here is what I did with that paisley stamp.
 

The paisley stamp is part of a CTMH set called Adorable.  The "Merry Christmas..." stamp is Studio G.  The red paper is from DCWV and the stamp is on kraft cardstock then embossed with Judi Kins embossing powder in White Diamond.
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Crafty

On the crafty front I haven't been doing too terribly much of late.  I am doing some super simple Thanksgiving Day cards that will go out in the mail next month.  Here is a pic of one.



I have started planning Christmas cards as well.  Hoping to have all the supplies needed before the holidays are upon us and I would rather not battle the crowds shopping for just the right this or that. 

I have been enjoying the autumn however.  Around every bend in the road it seems there is wonderful fall foliage and mountains freshly dusted with snow.  I can't seem to get enough of the crisp autumn air or the sights of the season. 


 
The maples are golden yellow and just seem to glow in the sunshine.

 
And the ornamental maples are turning red.

 
The submarines have been on the move lately as well and I must confess when one is going by I am glued to the window.  It just amazing to watch and realize how large they truly are in comparison to the rest of the marine traffic.

 
I also have managed to check an item off my to do list.  I unpacked my grandmother's china, washed it and now have it on display where it can be enjoyed each day (and make me smile!). 

 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Neglected

The title says it all.  Neglected.  My poor, poor neglected blog.  You see I have been so very busy this summer that it is a good week around here when I get the laundry done! :) Sights have been seen.  Work completed.  Friends and family visited.  Fall is here now, and being enjoyed, but here is the summer in review.



 
 
 
Many beautiful sunests have been enjoyed.
 

 
Saw Ryan Star in concert...again!  I think this was the fourth time.
 


I took the train across the US to Minnesota.
 
 

 
Oh, it was so good to be home again in Minnesota.  This is a picture from a side trip to Gooseberry Falls State Park.
 
 

 
My God-daughter was baptized.
 


 
Enjoyed a beautiful day out at my in-laws lake home


 
Headed to California for the Heirloom Exposition in Santa Rosa.  While there I enjoyed this amazing desert (frozen hazelnut mousse) at Cucina Paradiso in Petaluma with my Aunt and Uncle.
 
 
 
The Expo was full of wonderful displays and lots of information about Heirloom seeds, growing organically,  GMO's.


The tower of pumpkins, squash, and melons from The Great Pumpkin Patch was the centerpiece.  

 
Back home we headed west to a family reunion in Forks.  The weather was incredible as was the time with family.
 
 
 
 Mixed with all the good this summer was some sad.  We lost Rom, our 14 year old Rottie mix.  My husband and I adopted him while we were dating, so Rom had been with us virtually as long as we have known each other.  His passing has left a huge hole in our home and hearts. Though losing him was terribly difficult, we do both feel blessed to have had our big boy so very long.


Saturday, March 24, 2012

Spring Perfection

Today was perfect.  Truly!  The sun was warm,  the air had that lovely fresh spring feel to it and you could see forever. 

Okay, not forever but you could see for at least about twenty miles or so whether it was up into the mountains or across the water to British Columbia.



It was so clear today not only could buildings be seen through binoculars but also windows in those buildings.  I don't know that I've ever seen the visibility so good. 





Watching the M.V. Coho return from Victoria this afternoon it looked more like she was crossing a lake than the Straits.  Such a smooth windless day.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Rachel Platten - 1,000 Ships

I had the pleasure of seeing Rachel Platten live last month and meeting her after her set.  She is a sweetheart!  The song of hers getting airplay has been 1,000 Ships and the CD version is alright however when you hear the acoustic version it is simply wonderful.  You get to enjoy her voice and hear her talent on the piano as well.  When an artist can wow you stripped down that is when you know they really have talent.  She's got it in spades!

Enjoy! 

Oh and if you like this you can get the acoustic version on Noisetrade.  Her CD, Be Here, has some wonderful songs on it as well.


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Spotlight Designer Surprise


Well I got a surprise on this snowy day.  Yes it is snowing...again!  The area of the country famous for rain is white and cold however my heart is feeling very warm.

Over on 365 Blog a card of mine, from challenge day 320-Fringe, has been selected and because of that I get to wear this neat little badge now...

Spotlight Designer Badge



Well I should say, my blog gets to wear it.  As surprised and as big of a smile as I was wearing when I saw my card up there I won't be printing it out and wearing on my shirt after all.  I mean I am a bit of a nerd, but not that much! ;)  I am about this much of a nerd...



I really am thrilled about this little surprise though.  And want to say thanks to the gals over at 365 Blog because the challenges are so much fun to participate in and the design team always seems to have wonderful cards to go with them.  That really helps when I am not feeling very inspired.


And last but not least...I give you the snow on the coast.

I took these photo's when there was a break between snow storms.  This was after the first but before the second.  The second arrived in Washington with so much wind that I now have fall leaves on top of winter snow.  Your guess is as good as mine as to where the leaves came from since the ground is covered in snow and the trees have been bare since a November wind storm. 








Monday, January 16, 2012

Fringe

I have none.  Oh I have ribbon.  Tons of ribbon but I have no fringe.  Nothing that I would even consider as remotely fringe-y.  Is that even a word???  Well, either way I have none and this challenge over at 365 Blog just would not leave my head.  

An idea popped into my head using a tree sticker that I like from My Mind's Eye.  I thought I would create some fringe and turn it upside down so it was grassish and then I would attach it to a yellow circle so it would look like rays of sunshine.  Tada...I give you FRINGE! 


The challenge required the use of fringe in two places and one of them could not be at the bottom of the card.  It was a fun, quick little card to throw together and is sort of a take off on the card I did back in June out of Echo Park paper only this card is all out of scrap paper except for the sticker.  Yep, I am spending a bunch of time trying to use up those scraps.


Here you can see the sun got a lot of dimension.  I think it might be impossible for me to create anything that is flat.  If there is not a button, flower or brad on it I add a pop dot.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Thank you cards

January is the month of my birth and so I have the happy occasion to mail out thank you cards.

The layout for this card came from the "super sketchy sunday" challenge over at 365 blogs.  I really liked it as it let me use some of my favorite paper from K & Company, Wild Saffron, that I had in my scraps bin.  I don't know about you but when I fall in love with a collection like that I tend to want to use every inch of the paper.  The tag that I stamped thank you on is is also from the same collection.  The background paper is also K & Company however it is so old there is no name on it.  I would say it has been in my stash since I began scrapping almost 14 years ago.  The stamp is from one of my favorite Washington shops, Impress Rubber Stamps

 It is difficult to see in the larger photo so I took a close up.  The three crystal's are blue to carry the blue throughout the card.  They are Me and My Big Idea's. 

 The idea for this card is also from 365 Cards.  On Tuesday they offered up a card recipe which you can find here by clicking here...recipe.  I had fun using one piece of pattern paper from sassafras.  They give you a double sided paper with that great edge and I used it all on this card.  The stripe, the floral print and the scallop was the edge.  The thanks stamp is another one from Impress.  So can you spot the sticker???

Here is a photo zoomed in on the stickers.  Yes those three brad looking items are in fact stickers from colorbok.  All the look of a brad with the ease of a sticker.  Got to love that!

Sunshine in January

The northwest has a bad reputation.  You have probably heard it.  Something to do with rain and constantly.  Well lets just say it is not true.  It is sort of like saying it is cold in Minnesota all the time, where I have seen my fair share of triple digit temperatures while growing up in that state.  Or saying that Texas is always hot.  Did you know it is something like 6 degrees in Amarillo, Texas today?  Brrr!  I believe these are stereotypes and we all must concede they are not true.

This is January in western Washington...honestly.

Monday it was so cloudy it felt as if the sun did not rise.

Tuesday...well Tuesday was just about perfection with the sunshine and the high in the low 50s.

 The Olympic Mountains and Bainbridge Island

Mt. Rainier

Today it is partly sunny and the same is expected tomorrow.  It does rain here, hence all the green, just not every day and for that I am very glad. 



Monday, January 2, 2012

Winter Rainbow

Today is was the typical northwest winter day.  Some sun, some wind, some clouds and some rain.  The rain brought out a small but bright rainbow over the water for a bit.