Archives for January 2016

Did I mention how much fun I’m having crafting again? I’ve got my mojo back. I will admit there are two cards I won’t be posting because they just don’t meet my standards and where the first two I did to get the juices flowing again. They are bad! I mean toss in the garbage, don’t ever look at them again bad!

May Arts NATURAL Twine String Burlap	May Arts Ribbon, Natural Burlap String	Neenah 80lb Solar White	Neenah 80lb Solar White	DCWV Adhesive Cork 6×6 pad	DCWV Adhesive Cork 6×6 pad
Doodlebug Bubblegum Sprinkles	Doodlebug Bubblegum Sprinkles	American Crafts XOXO 6×6 Paper Pad	My Favorite Things TAG BUILDER BLUEPRINTS 3 Die-Namics MFT596	*Tsukineko JET BLACK STAZON Ink Pad Permanent SJ001	Prismacolor Pencils 72
Prismacolor Pencils 24	Inky Antic Gamsol Kit	Gamsol	Blending Stumps	Simon Says Stamp STITCHED RECTANGLES Wafer Dies sssd111455 In Stitches	My Favorite Things YOU HAVE MY HEART Clear Stamps
My Favorite Things YOU HAVE MY HEART Die-Namics	Early Espresso Cardstock

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Disclaimer: I participate in an affilate program with Simon Says Stamps, Scrapbook.com, Cricut.com, Bluemoon Scrapbooking and Amazon. I receive a commission when products are purchased through the links provided at no additional cost to you.

My beautiful great niece celebrated her 1st Birthday this past weekend. I can’t believe she’s a year old already. I made her a card with the Balloon Celebration Bundle set from Stampin’ Up!. What I love about this set is you can layer up the balloon images or just use them individually like I did on this card.

The card is a standard A2 size card (4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″) made with a card base of So Saffron cardstock. I used my favorite Simon Says Stamps stitched rectangle dies to cut some older Lawn Fawn pattern paper, and with a smaller die from the same set I also cut some Neenah Solar White cardstock for the focal point of the card. I combined both the solid balloons and gradient style for the bouquet.

To finish off the card I stamped the sentiment from the Balloon Celebration set and backed it with Aqua Mist cardstock from Paper Trey Ink. The little #1 is die cut with Island Indigo cardstock using the Modern Numbers Die set from PTI. For a small amount of texture I also added a little yellow baker’s twine bow.

I’m jumping on the Misti bandwagon and have pre-ordered the mini Misti stamp tool. I know already this is going to be great for lining up images on die cuts and with stamp sets that layer like this one. I’m terrible at layers and stamping straight. There is a larger version of the Misti that has been out for a while but I was convinced I didn’t need it. I think I might have been wrong hehe. Is it March yet?

Here are the supplies I used to make this card if you are interested in purchasing them for your own collection:

Neenah 80lb Solar White	Neenah 80lb Solar White	Doodlebug Bumblebee Yellow Twine	Doodlebug Bumblebee Yellow Twine	Memento TUXEDO BLACK INK PAD	Memento TUXEDO BLACK INK PAD
Celebration Photopolymer Bundle Set	Balloon Bouquet Punch	Celebration Photopolymer Stamp Set	So Saffron Cardstock	So Saffron Ink	Simon Says Stamp STITCHED RECTANGLES Wafer Dies sssd111455 In Stitches
PTI Modern Numbers Die Set	Aqua Mist Cardstock	Island indigo Cardstock	Island indigo Ink	Pool Party Ink

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Disclaimer: I participate in an affilate program with Simon Says Stamps, Scrapbook.com, Cricut.com, Bluemoon Scrapbooking and Amazon. I receive a commission when products are purchased through the links provided at no additional cost to you.

Hi Everyone,
It’s so nice to be back to crafting. It’s been months other than a few layouts here and there since I really sat down and played.

Today I have a card to share. I pulled out some supplies from my stash while I waited for a small order I placed at Stampin’ Up! and made a cute 5-1/2″ Valentine’s Day card.

I used Neenah Solar White 80lb cardstock as the base for my card, and stenciled it with white embossing paste to create a dot border on the side. It gave it nice texture and made the simple white background of the card base stand out more.

For the main focal point of the card, I used stitched circle dies by MFT and die cut pattern paper by American Crafts and a smaller white circle from the Neenah cardstock. Also from the same pattern paper pack I punched three hearts with coordinating colors and inked the edges with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. To finish it off I added a metal button, a little felt heart I die cut, and some May Arts Twine. The sentiment is stamped with a MFT stamp set and VersaFine Onyx Ink.

Here are the supplies I used to make this card if you are interested in purchasing them for your own collection:

Neenah 80lb Solar White	Neenah 80lb Solar White	May Arts NATURAL Twine String Burlap	May Arts Ribbon, Natural Burlap String	VersaFine Onyx Black	Versafine Black Onyx Ink Pad
Distress Ink Pads – Mini – Pumice Stone	Distress Ink Pads – Mini – Pumice Stone	Ranger MINI ROUND FOAM REFILLS for Mini Round Ink Blending Tools IBT40972	Ranger Mini Round Foam Refills	Ranger Mini Round Blending Tool	Ranger MINI ROUND INK BLENDING TOOLS IBT40965
MFT Stitched Circle Dies	Sweetheart Punch	Silver Basic Metal Buttons	3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE Permanent	Raspberry Fizz Felt	American Crafts XOXO 6×6 Paper Pad
Simon Says Stamp SUPER HEART BORDER s254 Wafer Dies Better Together	Wendy Vecchi WHITE EMBOSSING PASTE	Simon Says Stamp Stencil FALLING SNOW SSST121324	My Favorite Things I LOVE YOU MORE Clear Stamps

InLinkz.com

Disclaimer: I participate in an affilate program with Simon Says Stamps, Scrapbook.com, Cricut.com, Bluemoon Scrapbooking and Amazon. I receive a commission when products are purchased through the links provided at no additional cost to you.

Hello everyone,
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed time with your family and friends.

I wanted to pop in and just update you on what’s been going on and why I went missing. I can’t believe it’s been since September since I’ve posted. Before I jump in and update you, I just wanted to say Thank You to all who emailed and messaged me asking if I was OK. I’m good. Life just got a little crazy for a while and continues to be a bit wild, but we are all doing fine.

Now here’s the update and what’s been happening since the end of August…

Ethan started 8th grade. We are so proud of him. He’s been doing great in all of his Honors classes. He joined the Computer Club and continues to play (sometimes not so willingly) the piano. He amazes us everyday and his sense of humor and tad bit of sarcasm is a rip!

Right after Ethan started school we noticed a decline in my father. Back in 2007 my dad had surgery for a shunt that would help pump spinal fluid in and out of his brain. Unfortunately, this and a follow-up operation put him in a wheelchair permanently and left him unable to keep his balance enough to walk unattended. We found a program that he was able to attend 5 days a week and receive therapy while he was there. Over this past summer we noticed he wasn’t himself. It got to the point where could barely hold his coffee cup anymore. After a trip to the hospital and a few CT scans to make sure the shunt was working properly, the results were inconclusive, and he continued to have good days and bad days. They decided to place him in a nursing home for “Intense Physical Therapy” and re-evaluate him in a few weeks. He loved the facility, the staff and he fit right in. He was the celebrity of the week when he got there. People from other rooms came by and welcomed him and some he knew from the day program he had been attending. Seeing him so happy and improving we talked about keeping him at the nursing home, but only if he agreed and was willing the be there. It wasn’t an easy decision and lots of tears were shed, but everyone, including him, knew it was the best thing. Unfortunately, October brought another trip to the hospital for a 8 day stay. They noticed he was leaning to one side and that they wanted to have him checked. After several tests and lots of scans, we found out his gallbladder was going bad…actually, it wasn’t going. It was totally gone and they say if they had waited another day he probably would have died. SO here we are today and dad is doing great. He’s still at the nursing home and is happy as can be.

So that was the short version of my Sept-Nov…but I’m not done yet…Scott had applied for a job as the Executive Director of PaILS (PA Integrated Library System) back in August. The whole process took several months and on Nov 4th he received word that he would be the new ED of PaILS. This is a big change for us. Scott and I have worked together at the library for the past 20 plus years. It’s weird going to work with him not there, but it makes coming home even more special.
Here is a photo of his farewell party at work.

We’re getting closer to being complete. We are in-between layers of spackling and waiting on windows that we had to custom ordered. After that I think it’s painting, molding and doors? I think??? I’ve lost track. We’re hoping by the end of next week we’ll be able to start getting the space setup.
  
That hole in the all in the last photo isn’t for a fireplace. My brother is custom building Scott bookshelves. Scott does wish it was a fireplace though.

I did some layouts while I was on my blog/video hiatus and I also got Scott to help me with a project I did for staff at work…I think the seem binding and twine won!

I’ll be back to blogging very soon. I’m not sure about YouTube right now as there are still some things we are working on and I don’t want to commit to something that I might not be able to follow through on. We’re going to see how things go.

So that’s what’s been going on with me? How are you all? What kind of crafty gifts did you get this year for the holidays?

Thank you all for coming back and visiting, I’ve missed crafting and sharing with you all.
Hugs,