Bit off more than I can chew...

Ever have one of those ideas that sound so great in your head, but end up not being so great? We are in the middle of one of my ideas like that. I don't have any stamping projects to show you tonight. I decided to organize and re-organize the house this weekend, including my stamps. For those of you that do not know Kip and all that well, I will start with this story. We met in January of 2005, started hanging out as friends after a short while (I found out he liked Sushi). Our first "real date" was on July 9th. He asked me to marry him on October 9th and we got married on December 17, 2005. Hey, when you know it is the right thing, you know it. Well, we were both in our 30s and getting married for the first time. That means I had an entire house full of stuff and so did he. After the wedding we went on out honeymoon to Lake Tahoe and returned on Christmas Eve, celebrated the holiday and then started the wonderful process of moving me into his house. I planned the wedding of my dreams in nine weeks so I didn't have time to slowly pack and sort through things! That is my excuse anyway. Really I am a terrible packer and have been every time I have moved not matter how much time I have. Anyway, to make this long story a little shorter, we ended up turning one bedroom into nothing but a storage area. And most of the downstairs. We keep saying we are going to move into a larger house one day, so I was hanging on to a lot of my stuff, even the junk.

I decided this was the weekend to declutter since we had three days. We re-did the guest bedroom, including the closet. It looks a lot better and I think we made better use of the space of that tiny room. We also tackled that back room that became a storage area. So far we are getting there. My goal is to have it as a bedroom by tomorrow. We have already taken two large loads to Goodwill and thrown away a ton of stuff. Junk stuff that wasn't good enough to do anything else with. Of course we are both exhausted at this point! I found some pieces of kitchen things that were missing. We also cleaned out the closets in both of those bedrooms and put shelves in to help with the organization.

After we finish the bedroom tomorrow, we are going to work in our own spaces a little, he will be working in his office and I am working in my craft space. I decided to find a new way to store all my stamps. I have stamps from several different manufacturers. I love the plastic envelopes that my CTMH stamps come in, but I have also put a lot into CD cases. I have decided to go with the CD cases. I bought a tall CD rack at a garage sale for $2.00 and it will hold 200 CD cases. It is tall and skinny and will fit in a corner. So now I am in the process of moving all my clear stamps into CD cases. I used my label maker to make labels with the company name and the stamp set name. I am not going to unmount my wooden ones though. So far most of them are fitting into the CD case, a couple of the D series stamps from CTMH aren't going to work though. My smaller TAC stamps sets also work in the cases. But it is not going very fast! Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this very long post. I am planning to take some time tomorrow to stamp so I will have some pictures to post then.

Spooktacular

I am in the mood for fall! I love the rich colors of that time of year and I also love Halloween. I have been playing with this card for the past couple of nights and still wasn't completely happy with it but here it is. I love this stamp set from TAC, it is called Spooktacular. I had a bunch of these images in front of the full moon. I plan to use this set to make Halloween treat bags with. It is a fun set to color. I used my Prisma markers to color in everything. Then I decided it looked too plain. As I was looking for something else I saw my Sugar Coating glitter from Doodlebug Designs. I decided to cover the entire black sky with the black glitter that I thought I would never use. When they first came out with that glitter I bought the variety pack that has a small bottle of all the colors. I have really enjoyed all the colors. All the papers are DCWV and the ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

I have been trying to challenge myself to use at least one piece of paper on each project from the huge stash of paper that I have used just part of. Some of the 12x12 papers are only missing a small square or a corner. I saw on SCS that one lady (sorry can't remember who) has challenged herself to make thirty cards this month--without buying anything except adhesive!! No stamp sets, no paper, nothing but the adhesive. Sounds like a good project to me. All these companies come out with beautiful new stamp sets each month though and that makes it hard! TFL.

Birthday Card

I made this card for the challenge this week at Stamp Something. The challenge was to make something for a birthday. I really liked this paper, the color is so pretty. It came from Target and was a gift from my friend Angela. The dots that make up the background image are the palest of yellows so I used that color as my accents. I used three different CTMH sets for the stamped images. Happy Birthday is from Seasonal Celebration, the gifts are from the Solo P set and the cake is from Holiday Jubilee. All are stamped with Palette ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils. The yellow eyelets are from Making Memories and the ribbon is from my stash. I have been using more and more supplies from my stash. I am trying to use some of the things I have collects and have been hoarding! I will try and get a picture of my new haircut posted in the next day or two.

Pink and Green Vine

Hello everyone! This is another of the new SU sets that I bought last week, it is called Garden Silhouette. I stamped it with CTMH Topiary ink. After stamping the image I used a small flower punch that matched the flowers on the stamp to punch out little pink flowers. I then used a white gel pen to make the center of the flowers and then attached them with pop dots for dimension. I still cannot get great details on my cards so it is hard to see the details on the flowers. My cardstock is DCWV, ribbon is from American Crafts and the brads are from Jo-Ann's. It was one of those nights that I couldn't quite decide what I wanted to do. I started making a Halloween card and just wasn't feeling it!

I feel so good right now! I just cut about 8 inches off my hair. Feels pretty good, let me tell you. My hair is naturally curly and it tangles so bad. I love having the longer hair but the tangles were getting very old. I have been thinking about getting it cut for the past several week and all day today it was bothering me so when I got home tonight off it came. I let Kip cut off the length in the back and then I took over from there. He was way more nervous than I was I think. Thanks for taking the time to drop by tonight!

I'm Alive!

Wow, it has been a rough week. I think that is the sickest I have been in a while. Not being able to wear my contacts was pretty bad too. Evidently it was just allergies to something, but that has never happened before. Thanks for the well wishes from everyone, I really appreciated them. So I am back today with this card. I haven't stamped a sentiment on it yet. A lot of times I wait until I need a card to add the sentiment that way I have a better choice when I am looking through my stash. My friend Elaine called me yesterday to tell me about a yard sale near my house that had a bunch of Stampin Up sets for sale. I went over there is picked out three sets, including this one. It is called Touch of Nature. I stamped it with black Palette ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils. All cardstock is DCWV, the flower is from Making Memories and the center of the flower is a decorative accent from Micheal's. The twine came from Jo-Ann's but I am not sure of the origin.

On a personal note, if you don't mind, please keep Kip and me in your prayers. Hopefully we are nearing something pretty great, but nothing is certain. I believe God knows our needs and that prayers made with a faithful heart will be answered. Thank you so much. I do have to tell you though, that I have an amazing husband. Sometimes I still can't believe that he is mine. Thanks for stopping by tonight.

Too sick to stamp

How sick am I today? I feel too bad to stamp :(. I have a really bad sinus infection and for some reason my left eye is swollen enough that I am not able to wear my contacts and am stuck with my glasses. Hope everyone else is doing great, I hope to be back tomorrow or Saturday.

Samantha's Thank You Cards

I needed to make some quick thank you cards for Samantha to send from her recent birthday party. She really loves bright orange and yellows. Most little girls love pinks and purples, but not her! Since I had the bright orange paper out making the Cafe Hanna, we decided to use that. She was very happy to have her own cards with that big orange S on it! The paper and ribbon are from the same project as yesterday. The S is from CTMH Solo S set and was stamped using CTMH Orange ink. I want to say thanks to everyone that has been leaving me comments, I love reading them!

Stamp Something Summery Challenge

The challenge this week over at Stamp Something was to stamp something that reminded you of summer. I knew this set would be perfect for me. I love sitting outside in the summer, drinking my morning cup of coffee and looking at my flowers. That is how happy I look with my coffee, however I am never quite that put together in the morning, especially before that vital first cup! Summer to me also means bright, cheery colors and this paper says summer to me! I love pink and orange together. Hanna is colored with Prisma markers. I think the paper is from My Mind's Eye, it was in one of those large packs I got at HL. The ribbon is from Jo-Ann's. The pink and white flower and pink button are from Making Memories. While we were in Indiana, I was in a scrap store shopping with my MIL. She bought a huge pack of flowers and buttons for me. She picked them out and when we got to the register she said they were for me. Papercrafting is not her thing (floral arranging is) but I thought she did a great job picking out the pack she did. I also thought it was so sweet of her. Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween Card

Wow it has been a busy weekend. I actually got up and out early yesterday to go to a couple of yard sales. Saturday mornings are normally my time to relax and just basically recharge my batteries. I don't normally go out until later in the day and on occasion, I don't go out all day! A couple of SU demos were having a retired stamp set sale near me. That is the reason I decided to get out! I got several sets and a new catalog. Then it was off to Samantha's birthday party where I was the entertainment! We decorated t-shirts with stamps and paints. After that was the dreaded trip to the grocery store. We both hate grocery shopping and put it off until there is nothing to eat in the house. Well actually, the joke is that we go when there is nothing left but a can of chick peas! I gave Kip the day off and went to the store alone which I never do.

I finally had some time to sit down and stamp and here is one of the Halloween cards that I got done. The stamp is Witchy from the CTMH Little Spooks set. I colored her with Prisma markers. The DP and cardstocks are from DCWV, the DP has Halloween related words written on it. I think the buttons are from Making Memories and the floss is from DMC. Thanks for stopping by tonight and have a great week.

Mermaid Card

Another Indiana project! When we went to Papertrix in Nashville, Indiana they had some Twinkling H20 paints out on the table. While I was making my butterfly card with the Spica Markers she was also telling me about these paints. She asked if I had ever used them and when I told her no, that wonderfully kind woman told me to pick out a stamp that I wanted to try them out with. I was surprised how easy they were to use, first time out. They are so beautiful and shimmery and the colors are all so rich and yummy. I need these paints! Since I had already purchased many stamps, I couldn't afford the large pack but I did get the smaller pack of iridescent colors. They are so beautiful on dark papers. I really need to get the other colors too. I forgot to look for the manufacturer of this stamp. The black and blue papers are DCWV cardstock and the brown is kraft paper. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to make the textured paper and distressed it with a little sandpaper since it had a white core. The bubbles are decorative accents and the starfish is from Jolee's. I did cut out the mermaid and used Dimensionals to pop her up. Have a great day!

Color Challenge

The challenge this week over at Stamp Something was a color challenge. The challenge this week was to use any shades of pink, blue and green. I have a hard time putting two colors together sometime and three was really stretching my imagination! This is what I came up with for this week. I got this stamp while we were in Indiana, it is made by Stamps Happen. I stamped the image using Palette ink and colored it in with Prismacolor pencils and used OMS to help with shading. The green scalloped piece was punched with Fiskars Threading Water punch. The green ribbon is from my stash and I am not sure of who made it. The starfish in the corner is from Jolees. All cardstock is from DCWV. Thanks for stopping by!

Samantha's Party Invitations

These are the invitations for Samantha's birthday party. While we were looking for images for Jenna's invites, Samantha picked out this one. I used a Riley image from Hanna Stamps and colored it in with Prisma Markers. I used a flower punch for the flower beside the antler. After punching it out, I put a generous drop of Glossy Accents in the center and then covered that with Doodlebug Orange Sugar Coated Glitter. After it dried I bent the edges of the flower toward the center to give it a little of a 3-D look. Samantha's favorite colors are yellow and orange and she just wanted to use the plain colored cardstock. When I was putting everything together I thought it just looked a little blah so I decided to add the stamped flowers onto the yellow paper to create a background. Of course I decided this after I had cut out all twelve pieces of cardstock. My wonderful husband helped stamp all those flowers! The stamp is from Clear Dollar Stamps Aloha set and was stamped using CTMH Honey and Sunflower inks. Over the grass skirt I used these fabulous new markers called Atyou Spica.

We had a wonderful time in Indiana. I have to tell you I have the best husband and in-laws in the world. We found three different scrapbook/stamp stores, and I spent some serious time in each one. If you ever go to Nashville, Indiana, you have to go to Paper Trix. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. They had more stamps than I have ever seen in one location. It was amazing. The selection was great, the owners so friendly and knowledgeable and they had a great assortment of examples. We went there not once but twice and stayed for about 2 hours each trip. The first day they were demonstrating the Spica markers that my husband bought for me and I made a card using them. I also got to try out Twinkling H20 paints, which were much easier to use than I thought they would be. My in-laws were soooooo patient with me. So everyone go to Indiana to Paper Trix (and since you are going can I ride with you?)!

Judy's Notecards

I made these note cards as a gift for my friend Judy. I really like the way they turned out. I also stamped some stationary and the envelopes to match. The paper is from the DCWV Far East paper pack. I used CTMH Autumn Terracotta ink to stamp the J. The other papers are from the open stock paper at Jo-Ann's. I used my Nestabilities to cut out the scalloped circles. I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Surfer Riley

This is a card I made for my nephew's birthday a couple of months ago. Before I realized that pictures look better if I am not looking down at the card! Riley is colored with Prisma Markers. The paper and cardstock is all DCWV. The orange brads are from Paper Studio. "Happy Birthday" was from a CTMH set and the letters spelling out Dude are from a Paper Studio alphabet set. The flowers came from the dollar bin at Jo-Ann's. I have had them for a long time. I actually bought them for the girls art collage box, and they use them as much as I do. I thought for this card they added a nice tropical touch. Cole really like his card, which made me feel good. He turned 13 and I really struggle with making masculine cards anyway, but for a teen-age boy it is even harder. Thanks for stopping by!

Friendship Card

Since we are in Indiana this is short and sweet! I made this card using the CTMH set, Kindred Spirits. It is stamped with Palette Black Noir ink and colored with Koh-I-Nor pencils. That took a while to color! Some of the lines are so fine, I had to keep sharpening my pencils. The cardstocks are both DCWV, as is the ribbon. The buttons are from Making Memories I believe. Have a great weekend.

Happy Birthday Angela!

Happy Birthday to my friend Angela! Her birthday is actually on Saturday but are celebrating a little early at work. I blame Angela for all my craft addictions! She is such a bad influence, if I miss the release of something new, she is very quick to show me what I have been missing or if I haven't discovered a company yet she will make sure I know all about them. Really, all kidding aside, Angela is a terrific person and I am so glad she is my friend. She is the first close friend that I have ever had that enjoys all the same craft things that I do. I am fascinated with how one person ends up in another person's life. It is interesting to me how someone can become an important part of your life and the random things that got them there. The things that led me to my husband, each in and of themselves seemed so disconnected but they got us together! But I digress...Angela and I met at work, I changed jobs to accommodate going back to school and we ended up as office mates.

Deets on the card...This is a stamp set from See D's that I got while I was in Gatlinburg (Angela is getting a different set as a gift, shh). I really like these stamps and now HL is carrying them! I stamped the bird using CTMH Chocolate ink. The papers are from an older DCWV pack that I have been hoarding because I love the colors and the patterns. The ribbon recycled from something else. Happy Birthday Angela!

Thanks for Being You

I see challenges all the time on SCS and on other people's blogs. Sometimes I play along at home, on my own craft desk, but I have never posted anything. I have been looking at the challenges on Stamp Something for the past couple of weeks. The challenge this week is "Thank You Somethings" and it could be anything related to thanks. I decided to make this one using my new See D's thank you stamp set for the sentiment. It was stamped using CTMH Heavenly Blue. The flowers are from the CTMH Solo R and was colored using Prisma markers. The cardstocks are all from DCWV, ribbon is from American crafts. The color of the flower and the robin's egg match dots in the ribbon. To finish off this card I attached some decorative accents that I got at Michael's. We are headed to Indiana tomorrow. I think I have some cards that are scheduled to automatically post but I haven't ever done that before so I am not sure I did it right! I'll be back on Sunday. Thanks for stopping by today!

Welcome to the World

Yea, I can post pictures today! I have made several baby girl cards and gifts lately and no little boy things. I decided to make a couple just to have on hand in case I needed them. This adorable elephant is Ernie Elephant and he is from Clear Dollar Stamps. I stamped him onto CTMH glossy cardstock that I had colored with Prisma markers. I tried stamping and then coloring but that wasn't working for me on the glossy cardstock, too many marker lines and smears. So I colored an area on the cardstock and then stamped the elephant onto the colored area using Palette Noir Black ink. The sentiment is from a Fiskars baby set and was stamped with CTMH Lilac Mist ink. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. I cut out the elephant and used dimensionals to adhere it to the white scalloped circle and then added it to a blue scalloped circle that was cut out using Nestabilities. TFL!

No card tonight

I did spend some time in my craft room tonight making a couple of baby boy cards. But I can't get the photos to upload to my blog. Hopefully I can get them posted tomorrow! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Playing with Glitter

I have had such a busy weekend! On Friday night we had our monthly card workshop at church and then Saturday, Julie and Angela came to my house for a stamping party. We each stamped (and stamped and stamped) images with each other's stamps. I have so many new things to color now. And I have a couple of ideas for things I really need, like PTI's new owl set. Thanks girls for coming over to play. After that I went to Jenna's birthday party to supervise the craft activities for a group of eight little girls. My hearing has almost recovered! I had gotten some canvas bags and attached ribbon to the top, and tied a bow. We provided the girls with stamps, ink and fabric markers to decorate their own bags to take home with them. They had a great time and did a wonderful job decorating their bags.

For this card, I used a Heidi Grace stamp set to stamp the flower with CTMH Sunny Yellow ink. I think covered the image with a Palette glue pad and sprinkled with ultra fine glitter. The faux stitching down the side of the white paper is stamped in the same yellow ink and the stamp is from CTMH Fabric Finishes. Most of the supplies I am not sure of the maker but the papers are from DCWV. The ribbon came in a gift with purchase that I got when I bought my rolling tote bag.

I have decided to index my stamp sets. When I first started stamping I saw on SCS that people said to start that project before you for too many stamp sets. I thought I would never get that many. Yeah, right! So I started that project today. If anyone has any ideas of ways to organize these lists, let me know. Have a great week!

Dog-gone Good Day

I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong with my photographs lately. They all look so dark, no matter what setting I use on the camera or how and where I take the picture. Anywho, this is the card I made for a birthday card for a little girl. She and her sister both have a birthday this month and they are getting a puppy. Normally I don't think I would have used browns for a little girl card but since I was using the wagon and brown for the dogs I thought it look good this way. I used these stamp sets from Clear Dollar Stamps, Wagon Wishes and Fresh from the Farm. The paper is from TAC. Brads are from Paper Studio. I have a busy weekend planned: workshop at church tonight, some friends coming over tomorrow for a stamp party and then Jenna's birthday party tomorrow afternoon. I helped her mom come up with the craft portion of the party and I will be going over there to help with that! I hope everyone has a great weekend!