Apologies....

I'm very sad to say, that the month of April seems to have completely run away from me. Things have been very busy with the family and with work and such. But, happy day, I have summarized all of April into one fun post!


I got to work on a new red rubber stamp by Stamper's Best for Operation Write Home. Some day, I will get cards made out of these cute puppies too! Coloring stamps, at the end of a long day, was complete stress relief and a true life-saver for me this month.


My co-worker took this random photo of me at work... I was actually just trying to pay a bill on my lunch break, but had to call in and acknowledge receipt of my new debit card, and the automated computer system was giving me a migraine. Here, you can see my technique of rolling the "remove this sticker after calling the 1-800 number blah blah blah" sticker into a tiny mass that had my co-worker making jokes about subconscious joint-rolling in the work place. How inappropriate! Do I look that stressed out?


Massive card failure... I went to the cutest wedding for these two great kids who had a racing-themed reception. How smart I thought I was, for making this racing card with their wedding colors... Until the boys of the house pointed out to me that the START of the race is signified by the GREEN flags, and the checkered flags are for the FINISH. Lame.



Alexander and I took a day off and went to see the T-Rex named Sue. Awesome!



Got some new Close To My Heart stamps including this very masculine set that will be perfect for making manly man cards for the troops just in time for Fathers Day.






I embarked on a new project for some good friends who needed wedding announcements made. I was able to design these lovely announcements with their engagement photos using Paint Shop...they are both having them printed this week and I can't wait to see the finished results. Congrats, you crazy kids!!!



My friend Sgt. Moss and his comrades were the recipients of a box of OWH cards in Afghanistan this month... Making sure that guys like this have beautiful cards to send home to their beautiful families is what I live and love to do. That being said, I am off to go back to work. But first...



I have a hot date with my hubby in the morning that includes some gasoline, my ride (The Waaambulance) and a whole lot of mud. Woot!

Please don't give up on me, I will be back to my regularly scheduled projects ASAP.

Thanks for stopping by!

Location:Home

It's April! Time for a new monthly kit from Express the Moment! I'm so excited!

This months' kit includes goodies from Echo Park, Basic Grey, a whole stamp set by Jillibean Soup and tons of fun punches, stickers, ribbons, buttons and mats hand picked by Kim. I love the springy colors and patterns!

Here are a few cards and an 8x8 page too.







These two, were made following Sketch #115 over at the Stars & Stamps forum.




This kit has a fun set of white rub-ons with adhesive gemstones... And dimensional, stitched flowers!
















There is a pretty scalloped mat in this kit... Watch out, they may become habit-forming. :)



Once again, a really well put-together kit with some fantastic goodies inside... These are just the things that I do with the kit... If you are more of a scrapbooker, you should see the things that designer Amanda does with the ETM kits... One of the best ways to keep in touch is through the ETM Facebook page... Or head over to expressthemoment.com to learn more!

Moneysaver Monday - One Stamp Set

The shopping trips that really get me into trouble are the ones that start out with the best intentions. I set out with a coupon and a few dollars in hopes of picking up a really cute stamp set or something that I have had my eye on. Before I know it, I have that cute stamp set in hand, but then I am also eyeballing some paper that matches... And hee-ey... Look at that ribbon! And those brads! Oh, and I also need some matching cardstock... Etc. etc. Inevitably, I end up at the check out counter with more than what I came in for, an empty wallet, and one eye-rolling husband or son in tow. :(

I have worked out an exercise (don't worry, it's not sit-ups! whew!) to keep my spending in cheque and work on creativity and maximizing the use of said, really cute stamp set. Are you ready for an exercise? All you need is one stamp set, and one piece of white cardstock, and a few ink colors of your choice. That's it. We are going to make a card!




Today I am using the cute stamp set that came in my ETM April kit. It's by Jillibean Soup.. Very cute indeed! I picked out some pink, purple and black inks. (Black, Cotton Candy and Gypsy by Close To My Heart.)



Next, cut several mats ... According to whatever kind of card you are going to make, and make a card base. I am going to follow yesterday's sketch from Stars & Stamps.



Since I am not using any colored paper, I distressed the edges of this mat using black ink. I will do this with some of the other mats too. This is an especially useful shortcut for when you need just a scrap of paper in a color that you do not have at hand.


Next, I used that cute stamp set to make some of my own coordinating patterned paper. Here is an old Close To My Heart trick... Stamp your image in a set of three, in a triangular pattern. Next, use a smaller stamp to fill in the white spaces in between. Stamp on top of a piece of scrap paper so that you can stamp off the edges. This makes the mat look more like a piece of designer paper and not just a paper that was randomly stamped on.


Here is my home-made, coordinating patterned paper! All done.


The pink mat was made by daubing the whole piece with pink ink (or, you could use a brayer.) I finished with one of the smaller flower stamps for a focal point and the sentiment. I love how this turned out!


Here is another quick example, using a cute set borrowed from my stamp buddy Kirsten. I did use some scraps of orange paper that I had left over from another card. But the rest of the card is the same idea... Using those little stamps I made my own patterned paper for a background.


How many old stamp sets do you have in your collection that you could try this idea with? I know that I have several. So many, in fact, that I might just skip this weeks' shopping trip all together... Now THAT is a money saver!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch # 115

I have decided to quit making cards and pursue falconing instead for a hobby...




Ok... April Fools... But really, doesn't that look kind of fun? I love birds.

Here is sketch 115 from Stars & Stamps...





And a few cards... I am working with my April kit from Express the Moment this weekend, so stay tuned for more fun things from that! Would you like a sneak peek? Ok...



I need to remind myself to make cards with sentiments that I don't think of often. Since I don't have any sisters, I don't think to make sister cards, but surely there are troops out there with sisters at home, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by! :)