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.

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...



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. 







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.

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. 





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.

Winter Wedding Card

Some friends were just recently married and it is time to send along my congratulations.  They had a winter themed wedding and I wanted my card to follow along those lines while still feeling like a wedding card.  I have to admit I am a sucker for wedding gowns, tuxedos and those beautiful flowers and so I love making cards for weddings, bridal showers and the like.

The 365 Blog was the inspiration again for this card.  Two of the most recent challenges honestly.  The first being make your own flower and the second  to make a card using a base made from anything other than cardstock. 

So here is what I came up with...

The shimmer on all the layers is difficult to capture with the camera but it is there in person and oh so pretty!  I used Sheer Shimmer Mist from Tsukineko in Sparkle and Frost on this card.  The card base is acrylic.  The embossed paper was white cardstock that I ran under the faucet, crumpled and then put in a cuttlebug embossing folder.  When the cardstock was dry I inked a bit of distress ink on it and sprayed with the mist.  The flower is created from 3 scallop circle punches layered on top of one and another.

Here you can see the flower better as well as the shimmer on the paper from the mist.  Love those mists and with these you can get refills that are much less expensive than the original bottles.  The originals where around $8.00 for the two color set and each mister holds just under half an ounce.  The refills run between $9.00 and $11.00 for two ounces.  A much better price and if you order them from Amazon, and are a prime member, you get them shipped for free. :)

The 365 Blog challenges have really kept me creating the last few days.  Here is that link again should you want to check them out... http://365cards.blogspot.com

Mt. Baker and an Aqua Winter Card

The sun has been shining on the northwest the last couple of days and it has been stunning!  Just absolutely beautiful!

 Here is Mt. Baker in all its glory during the sun filled day.  It is about 120 miles away across the straits from here.  Makes for a pretty view.

 And a view that only gets better as the pale pinks of sunset begin.


I had the need to make a card today that really did not call for a sentiment on the front.  There will be a note on the inside.  This time of year is all about Christmas however this card is not about the holiday so I really did not want to use any of those colors yet I wanted the card to be festive.  I got my inspiration from 365 Cards challenge to use blue-green on your card.  There is lots of it on this card.  The cardstock is aqua, the velvet ribbon is aqua and the pattern paper also has aqua in it.  I really like how the colors work together and I do not believe I would have pulled it together this way without the challenge.  So yay for that!

 The snowflakes are a favorite embellishment of mine that I found a couple of years ago at my local discount store in the sewing section even though they are not a button.  I add a flat back crystal to the center for just a little extra sparkle.  As you can see they have great dimension.

In this picture it is easier to see the crystal added to the center. 

The 365 Blog has a different card challenge each day.  Be sure to stop by there to get some inspiration. 

Link:  http://365cards.blogspot.com

Christmas Cards - Take 2

Here are a few more Christmas cards I have completed. This year for some reason it has been more fun and I have had less "scrapper's block" while creating. Maybe because I did not put any pressure on myself. I just began with the purpose of having fun and that...gasp...translated into stress-free fun?!?! It has worked out so well I plan to use this system again next year at the holidays! ;)

Christmas Cards - Take 1

It is that time of the year where we sing carols, bake yummy cookies (while getting to not feel bad at all for eating them) and we mail greetings to friends and family. Christmas cards are just about to go in the mail  here and I thought I would share some of them.