Meg's Place

Meg's Place is Moving!

2009-06-20T10:49:00.002-07:00

It's official, I've finally made a random blog decision! (Took me a few weeks, committment is hard!) Meg's Place is moving from blogger over to wordpress. The new address is:

megbecka.wordpress.com

Hope to see you over there!

Happy Birthday

2009-06-10T15:02:00.002-07:00

To me! This year I decided to make myself a birthday card! I used Taylor’s Sketch #71 and there was no doubt I’d be incorporating a cupcake. A big, happy almost birthday to Taylor too, her's is Friday. A great month to be born! Though perhaps I'm biased.

Taylor's Sketch

Happy Birthday, Meg!

{Supplies: SU! Crazy for Cupcakes, DCVW patterned paper, CB swiss dots and happy birthday folders, Offray and Joann ribbon, Stickles – yellow and waterfall}

I even wrote myself a little note and set it out for me to find this morning. A lovely “surprise!”

Fun with White Balance

2009-06-07T14:47:00.009-07:00

Lisa Spangler is starting a contest of her own! This time around she has combined card making with photography – playing with White Balance.

My camera is a basic point-and-shoot model with no bells nor whistles. I don’t have a custom white balance, but I do have a few pre-set options. I took a picture with all 6 of my options and did not touch them in Photoshop (well except to add my watermark). Here are my examples:

Auto, Daylight, and Cloudy all looked basically the same so for the sake of space I’ll only make you look at one.

Daylight:

Flash:

Fluorescent:

Incandescent (yikes!):

And now my personal favorite! I took the Auto WB picture and fixed it up in Photoshop.

Tah Dah!

{Supplies: HA Clear Design Cupcakes, Bazzill Dotted Swiss cardstock, JoAnn and Offray ribbon, Pebbles Inc. Candy Dots, Yellow Stickles}

I think I’m finally at a place where I’m mostly happy with my photographic system (that was nice and non-committal, eh? I like to keep learning!). As you can probably guess from this post I rely more on Photoshop than on my little camera…

Smooches

2009-06-07T12:37:00.002-07:00

Mawidge is what brought us togevah seven years ago when my brother tied the knot with the best sissy-in-law a girl could ask for! I always struggle with anniversary cards and this one proved to be no different. I even went to the store and purchased a Hallmark as a back up in case I totally failed.

Working with the Mojo Monday sketch and some fun loving monkeys I came up with the below card. Shockingly I had zero appropriate sentiments. Not even a “happy together” or “two of a kind.” I wasn’t feeling ambitious enough to spell them out with my one tiny letters set, so I went with the classic “XOXO” instead.

Mojo Sketch:

XOXO

{Supplies: Autumn Leaves Mindy’s Zoo, HA Number Zero, HA Letter L, HA Sunny Lower Case letters, Bazzill Dotted Swiss cardstock, DCWV patterned paper and cardstock, Martha Stewart winding leaves ribbon}

Ultimate Card Showdown!

2009-06-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

The ladies over at 2 Sketches 4 You are celebrating their one year anniversary with the 1st Annual 2 Sketches 4 You Ultimate Card Showdown! I made this card to join in on the fun. It's going to be Dad's father's day card. (Confidential to Dad: If you're reading this, don't spoil the surprise, look away now!)

The sketch:

I Heart Dad
Supplies:
HA Curly Alpha
HA solid heart
DCWV papers and cardstock
Bazzil dotted swiss cardstock
Martha Stewart winding leaves ribbon
Favorite Findings buttons

Mid Week Post

2009-05-27T06:00:00.002-07:00

I'm not lion!
Supplies:
Hero Arts Lion
Stampendous Bee Day (party hat)
Sandylion birthday
DCWV papers
Lasting Impressions Lemon Tart paper
Stickles - diamond

Color Madness

2009-05-25T18:20:00.014-07:00

I must admit that I originally wasn't going to try Dawn's most recent color challenge. Only three colors, but they were so hard! One pink and two greens? I didn't think I had paper that would work. It wasn't until I was playing with some inks that I saw I could probably throw something together.

Dawn's Colors:

Thank You

Supplies:
Basic Gray all natural clear stamps
All Night Media wood grain stamp
Making Memories ribbon
K & Co. gems

Shiny, New Organization!

2009-05-25T15:45:00.009-07:00

I was getting pretty frustrated with workspace, my actual work area was less than 12" x 12" and shrinking daily. Once again I was running out of space in my little corner. Enter Lysa with some helpful IKEA ideas! Hooray IKEA! And hooray for more space, I can't believe how much room I have now! I've spent more time sitting here staring at how pretty it is than actually working on anything!

I didn't think to take a before shot until it was too late. The previous pictures I have here are even astonishingly out of date, was that really 6 months ago? Man, I accumulate a lot of crepe in a short amount of time. Though you get the gist with the wall, nothing on it previously but a calendar and some misc pictures n' things.

Now for the big debut! Just one picture but you can click on it to enlarge for detail:

It's so shiny and new! Distracting in its beauty! (Just like me!)

Fun Fact: I have approximately one million brown buttons but exactly 5 yellow ones.

Happiness is...

2009-05-25T12:57:00.006-07:00

Shiny, new organization! Though no pictures yet... sorry, still cleaning! But happiness is also another card. Slowly working back into a craft routine. Since Taylor lengthened the time you have to enter her Cupcake Challenges I've managed to miss them all! The standard "I have plenty of time" and then suddenly the deadline is gone. So this weekend I made sure to get to it!

Taylor's Sketch:

Happiness is... (Inside: Being with you!)
Supplies:
Penny Black Basket of Chicks
Prima screen print stamp
SU! Warm Words (I masked the "is" from "Cherish" so the fonts would match)
HA green note card
The Paper Studio yellow paper
J.Crew catalog
J.Crew buttons (spares - I did not disassemble any shirts)
JoAnn Craft Essentials ribbon
Stickles - crystal and yellow

Greenery

2009-05-24T19:08:00.008-07:00

Oopsies, missed a weekend back there... Actually I wasn't sure I'd have anything to post this weekend either. I've been having a bit of craft block which has led to some very sad craft rage. But! Tonight, thanks to some shiny, new organization in my corner, I had a victory! A card for this week's Hero Arts challenge! The theme: going green.

Birthday, Recycled Style
Supplies:
HA Clear Design Birthday Messages
Prima screen print stamp
J.Crew catalog - "striped" paper is a stack of cardigans
DCWV paper from The Green Stack
Trimmings from a photo that had excess grass on the edges
Cardboard that was in my 2009 calendar (yes it's May and I still had it lying around...)
Hemp string

I'll take a picture of my shiny, new organization once I have it more complete. Thinking that should be tomorrow.

Mid Week Post

2009-05-20T06:00:00.003-07:00

A few weeks back I applied to the 2 Sketches 4 You summer design team. I wasn't selected but you can see the wonderful work of the ladies who were selected over at the 2S4Y site, here. I like the challenge level of their sketches, I definitely plan to participate in more!

These are the application sketches:

And these are the cards I made:
Supplies:
All Night Media wood grain
Inkadinkado Doodle Flowers
Bazzil Dotted Swiss cardstock
SU! Friendship Blooms
Prima Flowers
Pearl stickers
K & Co. gems

Supplies:
Hero Arts playful animals
Stampendous Bee Day (party hats)
Sandylion birthday
DCWV papers
Lasting Impressions Lemon Tart paper
Stickles - diamond

Even though I wanted to hoard it, I loved the "Let's Party" card too much to not share it, I gave it to sissy-in-law for her birthday at the beginning of the month. I also made a similar card for my boss's birthday, stay tuned for that one next mid-week.

Mid Week Post

2009-05-13T06:00:00.001-07:00

A little woodland creature for this week's middle.

Lil Fox
Supplies:
Imaginisce Foxy
All Night Media woodgrain stamp
DCWV papers
Ranger Glossy Accents (on eyes)
Prima flowers
pearl stickers
Offray ribbon
hemp string

Loving Love

2009-05-10T20:20:00.004-07:00

I didn't get up to too much crafting this weekend, but I did pull this card together for Dawn's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge! I've been wanting to play with my wood grain stamp using colors other than brown. I'll be playing with more of that for sure! More color with my mesh stamp too, most def.

This week's colors:

Loving Love.
Supplies:
Crafts Etc. cardstock
All Night Media wood grain stamp
SU! Short & Sweet
Offray ribbon
Candy dots - Raspberry

Lovely

2009-05-09T17:25:00.009-07:00

I didn't think I was going to have time to make something for this week's Color Inspiration over at Kristina's. Gladly, I was able to whip this card up and still catch the last bits of daylight to get a picture! I'm also giving this one to mom for Mother's Day.

This week's colors:

Love You
Supplies:
Crafts Etc. brown cardstock
DCWV "mustard" cardstock and patterned paper
Basic Gray all natural stamps
SU! Short & Sweet
Candy Dots - Sun Yellow
Nestabilites label one

Mid Week Post

2009-05-06T06:00:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the middle of the week! This week we have greetings from a little bird.

Hello
Supplies:
HA Ink N' Stamp Birds and Branches
HA Ink N' Stamp Lily Pad (sentiment) DCWV papers JoAnn's sew essential buttons Embroidery floss
DCWV papers
EK Success dotted scallop border punch

Free Hugs!

2009-05-01T21:54:00.007-07:00

For a limited time only you too can have a free hug! Well, maybe not, I'm not really a big hugger unless you're family. Though if you asked really nicely I might make an exception. But I made this card as a "sorry about your recent lay-off." I wasn't 100% certain what would be appropriate in the situation but knew I wanted to let my pal know I was thinking of her. I also knew that a fluffy kitten offering hugs could never be inappropriate!

It has been a few weeks since I first Mojo'd so I decided to use their most recent sketch.

The sketch:

Free Hugs
Supplies:
Lasting Impressions Lemon Tart paper
DCWV patterned papers
Stampendous Fluffle Hugs
HA Clear Design small variety alpha
Prima screen print stamp
Offray ribbon
Candy Dots raspberry
Prima flowers
pearl stickers

Flowery

2009-05-01T11:11:00.006-07:00

First and foremost a giant Happy Birthday to my favorite sissy-in-law! Wahoo!

Secondmost, on to the post! This week is flower week at the Hero Arts blog. April showers (which we didn't have here) bring May flowers and all that! I don't have too many HA flower stamps. Well, I do have the tub of fanciful flowers so I should amend that to: I don't have too many that aren't tiny. Or borders come to think of it. Anyway here come the pictures.

This may or may not be given to mom for mother's day (look away now, mom, if you want to be surprised!). I may also take the elements I like and adjust the colors and other parts I'm unsure of for a new card. The colors also happen to be those of a local sports team, which wasn't intentional (meaning mom isn't an avid Suns fan) and may or may not be a deal breaker. I'm picky!

Mom
Supplies:
HA solid abstract heart
HA curly alphabet
HA floral borders
Offray ribbon
Prima flowers
Joann brads
Diamond Stickles
HA flower gems

Another card, this time using the tub o' flowers. I wish there were tulips in this set.

You're Special
Supplies:
HA fanciful flowers
HA Ink n' Stamp birds and branches (sentiment & butterflies)
Making Memories ribbon
Diamond Stickles (on all of the daisies)
Ranger Glossy Accents (on all butterfly spots)

A Mid Week Post

2009-04-29T06:00:00.004-07:00

I have a few cards sitting around that were made just for fun that I have yet to share. Since the majority of my posts occur around the weekends I though it would be fun to have some mid week posts with these cards.

Wonderful Cupcakes
Supplies:
SU! Crazy for Cupcakes
SU! Warm Words
DCWV papers
Favorite Findings buttons
Ranger Glossy Accents (on cherries)

Some hand stitching along the right... used a Cutter Bee bug to make the holes then hand stitched with regular white thread. Took forever! Not sure I'll be rushing back to that technique right away.

Best Wishes for 50 More

2009-04-26T13:12:00.011-07:00

Kristina Werner is celebrating her 50th Color Inspiration Challenge this week! What fun! I only wish I knew about them back in the beginning. This will be my 6th color challenge, not quite 50 but still quite fun.

Kristina's Colors

Best Wishes
Supplies:
Prima screen pattern stamp
SU! Short & Sweet
Penny Black Love in Bloom
DCWV papers
Prima flowers
Pearl stickers
Favorite Findings buttons
red ribbon - source unknown
Nestabilities Label One

In keeping with this week's stricter rules of color conformity, there used to be barely visible tiny bits of green in the patterned paper - I colored them brown!

Sweet Cuppin' Cakes

2009-04-26T12:45:00.006-07:00

I decided to get back to cupcakes for this week's TECC. The result has me thinking of cutesy bakeries and wishing for a cupcake. Mmm cupcakes.

Taylor's Sketch

You're Sweet
Supplies:
SU! Crazy for Cupcakes
Studio G from series 27
DCWV Papers
Stickles - Yellow and Cotton Candy

So Distressing!

2009-04-25T15:29:00.009-07:00

In a good way! This week's Hero Arts challenge is all about distressing techniques. My previous forays into the world of distress have been pretty limited. I do have one Distress Ink (tea dye) which I like quite a bit, but I wanted to try something different this week. Pink!

This also fits in with the current Caardvarks challenge - trees. A new (to me at least!) contest - how exciting!

Hello Tree
Supplies:
HA Sparkle Clear Hello Tree
Prima screen pattern stamp
DCWV papers
Lah Di Dah Courtyard mini ribbon
Prima Flowers
Pearl stickers
Making Memories tiny alpha stickers
Nestabilities Label One

A quick photography note: Someone in the HA Flickr Group recently posted a link to the Strobist blog on DIY light tents (post here). I already have a light tent but haven't been thrilled with my lighting. I LOVED the poster board backround idea and wanted to try it. After my trusty sissy-in-law tested it out to great results (see them here) I made a quick run up to Walgreens for some of my own! LOVING the results!

Frog Prince

2009-04-19T14:57:00.005-07:00

I took a bit of a break from crafting this week. I did make one card for the Hero Arts weekly challenge (focus on messages) but I don't like it so I'm not going to post it here. I just made this little card for Taylor's challenge. The message was done with HA stamps so I probably will enter this one into the HA challenge as well.

Taylor's Sketch:

Frog Prince
Supplies:
Imaginisce Snag'em Stamps Frog
HA small variety alpha
Prima screen pattern stamp
Bazzil Dotted Swiss cardstock
DCWV patterned paper
La di dah courtyard felted shapes
Yellow stickles (on crown)
Prima flower
Pearl sticker
hemp string
Favorite findings buttons

Mojo-in'

2009-04-12T10:20:00.007-07:00

A new contest for me! The Mojo Monday blog has some great sketch challenges. I decided to play around with the one this week.

The Sketch:

I actually planned the colors around the fabric covered brad. Came out light and springy!

Supplies:
Inkadinkado Doodle Flowers
SU! Crazy for Cupcakes (sentiment - rearranged to fit)
Versamark Dazzle - Frost
DCWV papers
Bazzil Dotted Swiss cardstock
Offray ribbon
Unknown flowers
K & Co. Classic K Margo Fabric stitched brad
Favorite Findings buttons
Stickles - Cotton Candy

Hard to see in the photo but I stamped little flowers on the sentiment square using the frost Versamark Dazzle.

DayGlo Inspiration

2009-04-12T09:58:00.006-07:00

I looooove Kristina's colors this week!

I had the perfect image already stamped and colored! Although my card came out looking a bit 80s. Hm. Hadn't planned that. I am uncertain how it makes me feel.

Supplies:
Magenta hummingbird stamp
Stampin' Up! Crazy for Cupcakes (sentiment)
DCWV papers
Bazzil Dotted Swiss cardstock
La Di Dah Courtyard Felted shapes
Favorite Findings buttons
Ranger Glossy Accents (on the flower)
K & Co. gem

I think it's missing a side pony tail and a snap bracelet.

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T09:51:00.012-07:00

I decided to use this week's TECC for my second and final Easter card. The first happened to also be a TECC. Interesting, eh!

Taylor's Sketch:

Celebrate!
Supplies
DCWV papers
Bazzil Dotted Swiss cardstock
Stampendous Chickie Hop
La Di Dah Courtyard felted shapes
Favorite Findings buttons
Offray ribbon

"I know you can't control yourself any longer. Feel the rhythm of the music getting stronger. Don't you fight it till you tried it - do the conga beat!"

It's Magnetic!

2009-04-10T15:48:00.012-07:00

Another challenging week over at Hero Arts. This week: stamp on something other than paper. I didn't think I had anything that would work for this week when I remembered my memory glass. I've been meaning to make magnets out of these forever. What better time than now?

The images are stamped directly on the glass with paper added behind for color.

Group shot:
Supplies:
Jet Black StazOn ink
Ranger Memory Glass
Ranger Foil Tape
HA Clear Design Cupcakes
DCWV papers
K & Co. gems
Pearl sticker
Offray ribbon
Favorite Findings Buttons
La Di Dah Courtyard felt images
Stickles - Crystal, Yellow
Super strong magnets attached with super strong glue

Close-ups:

Pictures on the fridge inside were not turning out, so I took them outside to our metal workspace slash storage thing we have out there.

Pretty, Pretty Princess

2009-04-05T19:36:00.004-07:00

Paper layers! I missed you! While procrastinating on my last Easter card this evening I decided to try out Dawn's latest color challenge. Five whole colors - oh my! I must say my new OttLite once again came in super handy for paper selection. I've been enjoying my life in HD and it helps me make sure my papers match.

Dawn's Colors:

Princess
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Studio G series 28 stamps
K & Co. gems
Stickles - Stardust, Yellow
Offray ribbon
Cuttlebug Swiss Dotts
SU! scallop border punch
EK Success swiss cheese & dotted scallop border punches; flower punch
La Di Dah Courtyard felted shapes

The New Flatness

2009-04-04T11:06:00.010-07:00

I really wanted to push myself a little further with a one layer card. I was looking at Taylor's new sketch and was possessed to attempt it in one layer. I happened to be talking to Lysa at the time and she dared me to add Kristina's new colors into the mix, too. I couldn't pass up that challenge!

A special card for the special Hero Arts blog birthday!

Taylor's Sketch

Kristina's Colors

Three Challenges: All in One Layer
Supplies:
HA Clear Design Cupcakes
Colorbox Lime Pastel, Ice Blue, and Dark Brown chalk inks (sponged)
Making Memories ribbon
Favorite Findings buttons
pearl stickers

I used a lot of scraps for various mats (lots of thinking on this one! Which part to sponge first?) and some strategic Xactoing for the ribbon.

So flaaat:

One Layer = Hard!

2009-04-04T10:06:00.014-07:00

It's a special week over at the Hero Blog - It's the blog's first birthday! In honor of that, this week's challenge is to use only one paper layer (ribbon, gems, buttons, etc all still allowed). Talk about hard, I learned to make cards by mounting my images and using more than one layer. Plus stamping and coloring directly on the finished piece? Can't cover that up if you mess it up! I did find one elusive, one layer card I had attempted many moons ago. I remember I had abandoned it because I didn't like its lack of layers! Needless to say this week was a true challenge for me. Especially after seeing all the amazing creations on the blog and in the Flickr group, definitely some true works of art and some amazing faux layers - stunning optical illusions!

Here are my creations. Honestly I can't tell if I like them. I don't not like them, but I just have a hard time in a one layer mindset! "Hmm, are they missing something? Well, what would you add? Another layer!"

I started the easy route with a HA Card Art stamp:
Supplies:
HA CardArt Flower Thank You
HA flower gems
Stickles - stardust
pearl stickers
buttons unknown
colored with Copics

A Day to Celebrate
Supplies:
HA large and small solid circles
HA solid narrow rectangle
HA Clear Design Birthday Messages
Colorbox Chalk inks
Cakes colored with copics
Offray ribbon
K & Co. gems
Stickles - Yellow (on cake candles)

A harder one on Kraft paper (white paper is much easier!)
Supplies:
HA I love my Dog
HA small solid circle
Doodlebug Tags
Colorbox Chalk inks
Tea Dye Distress ink
Pup, frame, and ball Copic'd
Offray ribbon
Pearl stickers
Favorite Findings buttons
Ranger Glossy Accents ("drool" on ball, kind of hard to see)

Phew! I do have one more that was a special effort. Stay tuned for that post! (Or click here)

Kitten Gardening

2009-03-29T19:40:00.003-07:00

The BFF (remember her from here?) had a birthday this week, so I did what any good pal would do and grew her a cat.

Meow:
Supplies:
DCWV paper
Bazzil Dotted Swiss paper
Magenta cat image
HA Clear Design Birthday Messages
Favorite findings buttons
Offray ribbon
Ranger Glossy Accents (on nose)
K & Co. gemstone
Pearl stickers

Now with added dimension:

Happy Birthday, Ashley!

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

2009-03-29T11:26:00.005-07:00

I got this kitty stamp at the stamp show - four weeks ago! He's been sitting around, colored, since then just waiting for the perfect card.

Enter TECC #61:

Tulips are my favorite!
Supplies:
SEI Dill Blossom patterned papers
Bazzil Dotted Swiss paper
Magenta stamp
Ranger Glossy Accents (on kitten's nose)
Flowers unknown
Favorite findings button
Hemp cord

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge

2009-03-29T11:07:00.003-07:00

Dawn McVey is now doing a color challenge! Her color combinations are always vibrant and lovely so I definitely wanted to give this week's challenge a try.

The colors:

The Attempt:
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Bazzil Dotted Swiss paper
SU! Warm Words
Heidi Grace patterned and felted flowers
La Di Dah Courtyard felted shapes
Making Memories Ribbon
Pearl stickers

I do wish my green were a little lighter, but this is the closest I had to the sample. I do like how it turned out though.

Here's a closer look at the big flower:

A Fun Hybrid

2009-03-28T13:16:00.007-07:00

Since I hate putting things away I usually have a ton of paper and scraps out from cards I've just made (or attempted and abandoned). I pulled this one together with the leftovers I had laying around after my Color Inspiration and Window cards. Not for any contest, this one's just for fun:

Supplies:
DCWV papers
Clearly Wordsworth Sweet Pea
Offray Ribbons
JoAnn brand buttons
Stickles - Yellow

Everybody now! "You make me happy when skies are gray! You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away!"

Windows (Not from Microsoft)

2009-03-28T12:59:00.006-07:00

This week's Hero Arts challenge is Window Cards. I've been a little slow on the window ideas so this is the only entry I have so far (well, I did re-enter my cheese). Not sure if I'll get to another before the weekend is up, but windows will be on my mind!

A Nice Day...

...To Play
Supplies:
DCWV papers
HA Clear Design Love my Dog
HA Clear Design Love my Cat
HA Clear Design Elephants (the clouds are the tree minus the trunk from that set)
K & Co. gemstones
Favorite Findings buttons
Offray Ribbon

Color Inspiration #47

2009-03-28T12:40:00.004-07:00

I had coincidentally used yellow and brown on a previous card this week (see future window post here) so was excited to see this week's color inspiration - No need to dig out a bunch of new papers!

Thinking of You
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Penny Black Love in Bloom
HA Clear Design Messages
Favorite Findings buttons
Offray Ribbon

The Mighty Jungle

2009-03-21T14:07:00.012-07:00

For this week's installment of Taylor's Cupcake Challenge, I finally went out and got the oval nestabilities. I've been thinking about them for a long time! Eventually I'll get their scalloped partners, but that's another day, another coupon. I also got to put my new jungle critters to good use!

Here's the sketch:

Giraffe Family
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Offray ribbons
Autumn Leaves Mindy's Zoo

A Spring Scene

2009-03-21T10:19:00.006-07:00

Another new thing I thought I'd try is to make a little scene on one of my cards. It started because I thought it would be cute to have an elephant and duck playing in the water, wasn't sure what else to do around that other than try a springy scene.

Fun & Laughter
Supplies:
Bazzil Bling cream cardstock
DCWV patterned paper
HA Clear Design Elephants
HA Clear Design Playful Animals
HA Ink n Stamp Birds and Branches
Fiskars Celebrate (sentiment)
Stickles
Ranger Glossy accents
Pearl Stickers
K & Co. gemstones
Simply grossgrain ribbon

Cherish is the word I use to describe

2009-03-21T10:03:00.005-07:00

I've been really eager to try another color challenge, especially one with more colors than I typically use. I normally choose my colors by picking out coordinating patterned paper. That means I generally only stick to two or three colors with everything I make. I was glad to challenge myself by starting with the colors rather than the paper.

This week's Color Inspiration

Cherish
Supplies:
SU! Warm words
HA Ink N Stamp Birds & Branches
Sandy Lion patterned paper
Offray ribbon
Light blue embroidery floss
JoAnn brand button
Flowers unknown

She's here!

2009-03-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

8 pounds 9 oz, 21 inches long, Lil H arrived today! So excited to meet her!

Happy Day of Birth
HA Number Zero
SU! Short & Sweet
DCWV papers
K & Co. gems
Stickles

Spring has Sprung

2009-03-18T10:48:00.007-07:00

Well "will spring" on Friday but with our unseasonable temps - 90 degrees! - it feels like it is already here. I'm actually having a little difficulty with the springy theme, but I did manage to pull these two cards together:

Tweet
Supplies:
HA Decorative Birds
DCWV Papers
Making Memories letter stickers
Pearl Sticker
Flowers unknown
Stickles
Ranger Glossy Accents

Hooray for Spring
Supplies:
HA Ink n Stamp Lily Pad
SEI Dill Blossom paper pad
Pearl stickers

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T07:00:00.005-07:00

Top of the mornin' to ya!

Found this at the end of a rainbow:

DCWV cardstock, HA Four Leaf Clover, HA Happy St. Pat's Day, K & Co. gemstones, JoAnn's ribbon

I'm crackers about cheese!

2009-03-15T14:55:00.006-07:00

Okay I made another shape card... I just can't stop crafting! I might need an intervention! Fortunately I have a project to do this week for Traci so my mind will be occupied elsewhere and I'll be forced to take a break.

Further evidence of my mental state: I've been thinking about the little mouse in the HA Elephants set and how the elephants get all the glory, what about the lil mouse?! So I made him a giant cheese:

Supplies: DCWV papers, HA Clear Design Elephants, Offray skinny grossgrain, pearl stickers, and circle punches.

Yippee!

A Bug I like

2009-03-15T10:23:00.003-07:00

Phew! It's been a busy crafty few days. I did find time to pull together this little card for Taylor's cupcake challenge. I got some new paper that I really wanted to use since it is much brighter and more vibrant than anything I had before. Finally some good yellows!

Taylor's Sketch

My take: Bug me!
Supplies:
DCWV papers (the citrus and green stacks!)
Stampin Up! Very Punny
Heidi Grace flowers
EK Success dotted scallop border punch

Shapes - Piggly Wiggly

2009-03-14T13:49:00.008-07:00

This is actually the first shape card I played with! It was really fun watching it come together, it all worked so much better (and easier!) than I expected. It is also a tri-fold which I have not done before.

Cutesy Piggy
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Pearl stickers (colored black)
K & Co. gemstones
HA Clear Design Number Zero
HA Clear Design Messages
HA CD Small Variety Alpha
Offray grossgrain ribbon

The nostrils are zeros and the smile is a parenthesis.

Hidden Message!

The inside. You already knew what it was going to say, didn't you? "Hogs & Kisses!"

Corked ribbon tail! Thanks to Traci for teaching me the technique!

Here is detail of the tri-foldedness.

I think this one went to the market.

Shapes - Special Flower

2009-03-14T13:18:00.012-07:00

The inside of this one is slightly confusing. I didn't really think it through as I was putting it together. You'll see when we get to the picture. This is another HA shape entry. I might play around with the sentiment to see if I can get it less "special."

Flower
Supplies:
DCWV patterned paper
JoAnn buttons
Embroidery floss
JoAnn swirl paper clips
Pink organdy ribbon
Pearl stickers
K & Co. gemstones
HA Anytime Messages
HA Letter L

Here you see regarding the sentiment placement, isn't exactly right. It would help if the y in the "you are" were capitalized so you could tell it was the begging of another sentiment. The two left side petals go together and the two top right petals go together. Reads: "There's no one like you" and "You are special to me." (I also could have taken the picture with the heart stamped petal pointing straight down so it would have been both left and both right. Oh well!)

The card spins open. I actually used a spinner apparatus (penny & pop dot sandwich) to allow for easy spinning, but it sits in a single circle instead of sliding through a channel.

Shapes - A Baby Announcement

2009-03-14T12:55:00.005-07:00

No she's not here yet! Trust me, I'll post when she arrives :) But, I was playing in the HA shapes challenge for the week and made a sweet little announcement card for Traci to have. I made a total of 3 shape cards (not sure if I plan on any others) and since they're a bit involved picture-wise I figured it would be best to break up the posts.

First up is the baby announcement.

Diaper!
Supplies:
Saftey pin and buttons unknown - think they came from Recollections
DCWV patterned paper
HA Clear Design Baby boy and girl sets
JoAnn white organdy ribbon
Pearl stickers
Ultrasound picture (aw!)

The top of the inside:

Additional detail - no stats yet!

Inside bottom:

Color Inspiration

2009-03-14T11:56:00.005-07:00

I wanted to play along in this week's color inspiration at Kristina Werner's site. I've played with black and white before but it was amazing how hard it was to not add a pop of color somewhere!

The inspiration

The Card
Supplies:
Crafts Etc! Cardstocks
DCWV patterned papers
HA Clear Design Elephants
Pearl Stickers
Embroidery floss
Organdy ribbon
EK Success swiss cheese border punch

A side look at the "swiss cheese" complete with pearls.

Feeling Lucky?

2009-03-08T13:47:00.005-07:00

Making my Easter Chickies card from the latest TECC got me thinking about St. Patrick's Day and how I should take care of that holiday before it's too late. (Like Valentine's day... Auntie Kill-Joy didn't even make her niece a Valentine! In my defense I was sick, lame excuse I know, but anywho...) I don't have many St. Pat's stamp options, but I remembered this little shamrock and was glad to put it to good use.

So Lucky to Have You
Supplies:
HA Four Leaf Clover
Stampendous Lucky Swirl
DCWV papers
HA gemstones
Making Memories ribbon

Thinking of You

2009-03-07T20:48:00.006-07:00

I've been a busy crafting bee this week! Here's another creation I made for the Hero Arts little things challenge. I had to force myself to use white cardstock!

Thinking of You
Supplies:
HA Fanciful Flowers
HA Clear Design Messages
Doodlebug Tags
K & Co. Rhinestone

Now includes artful tree branch shadows:

I went to a stamping convention today with Lysa and bought some excellent new stamps. Expect to be seeing some more from me soon!

B is for Birthday Bear

2009-03-07T19:32:00.003-07:00

It was Lysa's birthday this week so I created this card to mark the occasion. This is the card that set off my current obsession with Kraft paper coupled with brown, blue, and green. I've been trying really hard to mix up my colors since!

Rose Bear
Supplies:
Penny Black Dreamweaver
DCWV papers
American Crafts ribbon
K & Co. Rhinestone

Happy Birthday, Lys!

Easter Chickies

2009-03-07T12:50:00.012-07:00

Another week, another Cupcake Challenge!

Taylor's sketch

I've never really pushed myself too hard with inchies or dimensional pieces. I normally stick with things that fit perfectly on the inchie or only popping one simple item. After seeing this week's sampler's amazing card, here, I really wanted to try. I think it came out pretty well! Though it's really hard not to love these images, I just bought them last weekend and couldn't wait much longer to ink them up. I keep itching to add more dimensions and embellishments but perhaps less is more?

Happy Easter
Supplies:
Stampendous Chick Ears
DCWV papers
K & Co. rhinestones and pearls
Stickles - Lavender, Yellow, Waterfall
Best Value organdy ribbon

Look at the pop!

I thought using "Hoppy Easter" might be pushing the cutesy boundaries a little, so I refrained.

A Kitty Says, "Thank You"

2009-03-05T18:20:00.002-07:00

My BFF, Ashley, covered a recent shift of mine at the cat shelter we both volunteer at so I just had to thank her. I was sick and she basically saved my life so I included a gift card for milkshakes (or whatever she feels like, really) at Jack in the Box. Yum!

Kitty Thank You
Supplies:
HA I Love My Cat
HA Thank You Messages
Craft Essentials Ribbon
Rain Dots
DCWV patterned paper

Also some Jelly Roll Stardust on the "you"

Meow!

Little Things

2009-03-04T20:29:00.008-07:00

I finally ventured back to the Hero Arts blog to play in the weekly challenge. This week is all about the little things in life (post here) and utilizing all our little stamps (1.5" or less). I have two cards so far but would like to make one or two more before the close on Sunday, but we'll see how it goes!

First up is a shortie I plan on giving to my niece, Lil T, when she becomes a big sister in a few weeks.

Tickled Pink
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Spool O' Ribbon pink ribbon
HA Clear Design Baby Girl
Tea Dye Distress Ink
Don't remember who the buttons are... may have been from Recollections
Not sure if you can see it (maybe if you click the pic to enlarge) but I used VersaMark Dazzle in Champagne on the sentiment

This next one is not a shortie, but is close at my new favorite size of 4" x 4"

Good Things (like cupcakes!)
Supplies:
DCWV papers
Making Memories Ribbon
HA Clear Design Number Zero
HA Clear Design Cupcakes
Joann's Sew Essential Buttons

Welcome - Cupcake Challenge

2009-03-01T10:52:00.007-07:00

I hadn't originally planned to play in this week's TECC#57 but then this card materialized and I love it and its simplicity! The cat is really my favorite part, Penny Black just has the cutest animal images ever.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:
Supplies:
Penny Black Merci
Stampin' Up! Warm Words
Pearl Rhinestone Stickers
DCWV patterned paper

And a second view at an angle (I'm into that right now):

I might use this as my new niece's birth day/welcome to the world card - 3 weeks to go!

Copic Colorings

2009-02-28T11:13:00.014-07:00

Thanks to an awesome House/Pup sitting gig I had some spare cash to splurge on a sweet treat for myself: A set of Copic markers! WOO! I didn't mention last post but the duckie on the behbeh shower card was my first real Copic coloring attempt. I'm still learning and playing and loving them the more I go! I felt like sharing a few things I've colored this week that I find especially cheerful.

The tree is SU It's a Stretch and the animals are HA Playful Animals:

Tree

Animals

I do have a new card to share (that I especially love) but want to get it in the mail before I post it, on the off chance the recipient checks my blog. I also hope to get some more cards made this weekend, I have a few birthdays and one birth day coming!

Baby Shower

2009-02-08T16:39:00.008-07:00

Today was Traci's baby shower for my new little niecphew - although now we know it's a niece! Yay!

Sweet Baby Girl
Supplies:
Stampendous It's a Girl
K&Co gemstones
La Di Dah mini trim shoppe ribbon
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots

Inside

Hurray for babies!

Cupkizzles #49

2009-01-04T12:48:00.003-07:00

Brother's birthday is coming up in less than two weeks. For his card I decided to play along in this week's TECC (#49!) over at Taylored Expressions (see second half of this post).

This is the sketch.

I was expecting this sketch to be a challenge. Normally when I attempt this type of symmetry I end up thinking my design looks too simple. I liked playing with Brother's card so much though that I made a second. (Does that make me a cheater?)

Grillin' and Chillin'
(The inside says "And Chillin' Happy Birthday!")
Supplies:
Studio G grill set from series 14
SEI patterned paper
Bazzil Cardstock
JoAnn's Sew Essential buttons

How Sweet
Supplies:
Stampendous Hey There Cupcake
SEI patterned and solid paper
Heidi Grace printed flowers
White Opal Liquid Pearls

I'm pretty psyched that I was able to line everything up so well! Really, it's layouts like this that make me wish I had a tiny level...

Final Three Christmas Cards

2008-12-26T15:34:00.010-07:00

You'll see some similar themes in these final 3 cards. Like the previous post they all use: Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts patterned paper (again the blue is DCWV), American Crafts ribbon, silver stickers, and the Stampin Up! Merry & Bright set.

Tree "Ornament"

Another Blue Snowman

Rudy

This last one was another that needed a gift card holder. I actually used this sentiment in all my cards this year. It is from the Stampin Up! Wishing You Cheer set.

More Christmas Cards

2008-12-26T14:37:00.023-07:00

When I used the snowman card from a two posts ago (here), I included a gift card. Naturally I wanted something a little fancier and/or more special than the holders that come with the gift cards. Using the same Doodlebug Let it Snow set, red ribbon, pearl stickers, and some DCWV paper I created the below:

Variations on a Theme
After using the Stocking and the Merry Shorty from last time I decided that I wanted new cards for the rest of my list. They're all 4x4 and all use: Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts patterned paper (except the blue which is DCWV), American Crafts ribbon, pearl or silver stickers, white opal liquid pearls and the Stampin' Up! Merry & Bright set (not that I play favorites, but if I did it would be the green one!)

Red

Green

Blue

Christmas Cards!

2008-11-30T10:23:00.005-07:00

Ho ho ho! 25 Days until Christmas! I've been pretty on top of Christmas this year - no last minute shopping or card making for me! It has been a little hard since it has been so unseasonably warm here. It doesn't even feel like fall so how could it possibly feel like Christmas? It didn't feel like Thanksgiving either, but I've been trying to work past that so the season doesn't just fly by me unnoticed.

Three more Christmas cards are now complete! I've really been feeling the 3"x6" for these:

Christmas Trees
Supplies:
Doodlebug Clear Expressions Let it Snow
Crafts Etc! Cardstock
DCWV & Lasting Impressions patterned paper
Nestabilities
Spool O' Ribbon
Lime Green Stickles
White Opal Liquid Pearls
JoAnn Sew Essential Buttons

Christmas Stocking
Supplies:
Stampin' Up! It's a Stretch
Lasting Impressions & Doodlebug patterned paper
Crystal Stickles
White Opal Liquid Pearls
Mark Richards Metal stickers
Offray Ribbon

This last one is a shorty so I haven't decided if I'm going to send it to someone or just keep it for myself since I think it turned out super cute. I got the idea for the lights from Nancy, one of the Hero Arts designers, she mentions it toward the end of this post here. None of my brads have ever come with turns so I went looking for some to play with. I ended up with silver which I colored with Bic Mark It permanent marker (sorry Sharpie!) and then Stickles'd for the lighted effect. I think it looks awesome! But perhaps I'm biased.

Very Merry Shorty
Supplies:
Stampin' Up! Short & Sweet
Lasting Impressions patterned paper
Offray Ribbon
Crystal Stickles
JoAnn Scrap Essentials photo holders (silver, colored with permanent marker)
Black braiding cord

Since I have plenty of time still, I may play with some more holiday designs if the inspiration hits. If not I'll just make some multiples of these and the one from the second half of my previous post and call it Christmas!

December - Two Days Early

2008-11-29T12:10:00.009-07:00

I'm really stunned at how fast time is flying - I swear the years are just getting faster as we go. That being said, now that December is 2 days away I have mom's birthday in less than a week! If you remember awhile ago I wanted to Sprinkle (like the cupcakes) a card (reminder) and came up with something okay but not what I was originally attempting. Well I re-tackled the concept and think it came out really well! I used the colors of mom's favorite flavor - Vanilla. Though I must say that I spaced and forgot that the vanilla aren't served with the dots either... they have vanilla sprinkles... but with the design of the card she'll still get the point!

Birthday Sprinkles
Supplies:
HA Clear Design Cupcakes
DCWV patterned paper
Crafts Etc! cardstock
Offray ribbon
White Opal Liquid Pearls

December also brings us to Christmas. Thanks to Scrapbooks Etc. I finally found some appropriate Christmas stamps and papers! No pink! I've only made one card so far but I'm playing with some other designs today.

Let it Snow
Supplies:
Doodlebug Clear Expressions Let it Snow
DCWV patterned paper
Crafts Etc! cardstock
Offray ribbon
Nestabilities
K&Co. adhesive pearls
Crystal Stickles

Ms. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

2008-11-23T21:08:00.041-07:00

Well, this year's 3-Day is over and I just had my first weekend in over 6-months that was completely free! No walking, no feeling guilty about skipping walking, no thinking about fundraising. It has really been weird. I was extremely productive this weekend though: got my Christmas shopping 98% done, wrapped some of those presents, cleaned my room.

Even though I suddenly have all this time, I have done absolutely no crafting. I did do some craft shopping since I'm trying to figure out what I want to do for my Christmas cards. Can someone please explain to me when pink, gray, and black all became Christmas colors?!?! I wanted some new Christmas paper since my one mat stack from years past is now pretty picked through. I could not find one set of paper that I remotely liked. I couldn't even find single sheets I liked! Needless to say I was mad. I'm going to try and hit up the non-JoAnn's and non-Michael's stores later this week. I'm trying to be hopeful.

As I said, I cleaned my room. Most specifically I got really into cleaning up my craft corner - notice I didn't say craft "room." Living with my parents has put crafting in the corner {insert Dirty Dancing quote here}. One of the Hero Arts designers, Jennifer McGuire, posted a video of her room which is so amazing! I would maim for a room like hers! Add some puppies and cupcakes and it's a pretty close approximation to my image of heaven. I had wanted to post some pictures of my area anyway and now I feel extra possessed to showcase my tiny corner that I continually outgrow. I do feel like I've finally hit capacity, but I have felt that way before and found ways to manage.

From the Doorway:
- That would be my 3-Day camp gear in the immediate foreground. I unpacked and did laundry, just don't know where to store the gear yet!

- Did I mention it's mainly a bedroom?

The Naked Desk - In 3 angles:

Looking down to my left:
-The rolling case has all my non-12x12 stacks, my 3 sectioned containers of eyelets/brads/etc., and various colored pens.

Now lets look behind me - in 2 angles:

Over-packed tchotchke and book and craft storing going on here.

To My Right:
- I just measured, that's about 7.5 inches between my bed and the desk!

- That black thing bottom left would be my tiny chair, you can just about see my knee hitting the part of the desk to the left of my computer can't you?

So that's my space! All of it! When it's messy you can't see much carpet and the bed turns into additional craft area. The bookshelf always looks like a disaster even when organized so I don't try as hard with that anymore. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Final Fundraising

2008-11-11T18:17:00.011-07:00

This weekend is the big 3-Day walk. I decided to do a final fundraiser at work with cookies (in bags - I have tons of leftover bags) and Christmas tags. I had everything ready for yesterday, not thinking that most of the office would probably be out since we had today off. I did manage to rake in $13 though anyway! I'll resume sales tomorrow and see what happens.

Cookies for a Cure
Supplies:
Nestabilities Dies
CB Support Ribbon Die
Me & My Big Ideas Paper
HA Clear Gemstones colored with permanent marker
Making Memories Eyelets
Spool O' Ribbon in light pink

Argyle Sweater Bear
Supplies for all:
Crafts Etc! Textured Cardstock
Remember When Christmas Plaid paper
Paper Pizazz Kelly Green/Yellow Plaid paper
Making Memories Eyelets
Spool O' Ribbon in green and red
Nestabilities Dies
HA Playful Animals
HA Laughter & Merriment (inside)

Giraffe

ReinOwl

Monkey

Insides
All the tags are the same on the inside, but for an example here's the inside of the ReinOwl.

It was a little hard for me to think Christmas with it still being fairly early November. I normally like to hit Thanksgiving first! Though it was actually pretty fun, I really like these animals! I also realized that I don't actually have many Christmas stamps - Interesting!

Mini Mischief

2008-11-02T14:02:00.005-07:00

Not much of a craft-stravaganza going on for me this weekend. I have some things I would like to work on but I just don't feel like dealing with my cramped craft area. So lazy has prevailed! Though I did toss this mini card together real quick for this week's HA Mini Cards Challenge. I had the mini card sitting around since the paper challenge, and actually the cat and sentiment from the same time too. Was trying for awhile to figure out how I wanted it to come together and this is the result:

Mischief Maker
Supplies:
Making Memories patterned paper
DCWV card stock
HA I Love My Cat

I'm also entering Little Birthday into the challenge.

A First Anniversary

2008-11-01T13:40:00.003-07:00

Lysa and her hubby are celebrating their first anniversary! I really cannot believe it has already been a year since the wedding. Their wedding colors were brown and blue, and while I told myself I didn't have to stick to the theme I found some really great brown and blue papers in my stash.

First Anniversary
Supplies:
Penny Black First Kiss
HA Happy Anniversary
DCWV & me and my BIG ideas Papers
Offray Ribbon
Prismacolor pencils
K & Co. Pearls

Precious Cookie Favor Bags - Outcome!

2008-10-30T20:21:00.009-07:00

I may not have been overjoyed with the original bag tags, but I think the final results were fantastic! I revisited the masked animals, specifically the bear I originally put in costume (see here). I decided to definitely go the costume route, so after a little brainstorming and a little help from my friends we have:

Zorro Giraffe
Supplies for all:
HA Playful Animals
trusty black ultra fine point Sharpie
Provo Craft papers
DCWV black cardstock
Dashes, Dots, & Checks orange and purple ribbons
Offray black ribbon
Orange and Magenta Stickles

Super Bear (thanks for the idea Lysa!)

Mummy Monkey

The Original Owl - can't improve upon perfection!

Blah blah blah, inconsistent photography, blah, the ribbon is more accurately purple in the owl shot.

They were such a hit at the sale today that they sold out in the first half hour - of the five hour sale! I was pretty stoked to see they were such a success. Well I'm sure the cookies factored into the deal too. Though my boss told me that she just had to have one of each animal. Fun day!

We have a face painter among our colleagues, she was busy this morning dolling everyone in the department up for the sale. I was a zombie and I must say I looked AWESOME! I came prepared wearing the mummy screen print tee from Target, and she let me borrow from her stash of wigs. Here I am in all my stunning, zombie glory!

Yes that is a fly (fake, natch) on my face - it was my favorite part!

Precious Cookie Favor Bags?!

2008-10-26T18:26:00.009-07:00

Remember last month how I so desperately wanted to make precious cookie favor bags as 3-day reminders for my office but changed my mind last minute due to green concerns? (Memory refresher here) Well this coming Thursday my department is having a rummage and bake type sale with proceeds going to United Way. I volunteered to make cookies for the sale and was thinking (with growing excitement) that they would probably want these cookies individually wrapped somehow. So, I went to check with the woman in charge: "If you could wrap them in sets of two or three somehow that would be really great." Great? You mean AWESOME! My dream is coming true!

Except I'm kind of a downer on the results. I don't know if my craft wave is finally over, but the ideas just aren't flowing as well as they were last week. My visions of grandeur included 4 images and two other "main" colors (green and something else) and just more stuff. Maybe some patterned paper? They were going to be simple so it wouldn't be a pain to make 12 or however many. But below is what I have, and I think they're too simple, plain even. Plus I'm beyond mad that I don't have better nesting circles. I still have a little time, so I suppose I could go back to the craft stores and check for some better paper options. I could do squares instead of circles. I was originally contemplating borrowing the masked animals for this project, and I am now re-contemplating the idea. I won't make the cookies till later this week so the "cookies" in these pictures are spools of American Crafts ribbon. I'll post updates with the finished project.

Pumpkin & Kitty

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-26T17:32:00.009-07:00

Time for another TECC entry! No cupcakes this time, I happened to make the three little figures as I was playing around with an idea for cookie bag tags (more on that next time!) and decided to go for another Halloween card. I must say that I borrowed the super cute mask idea from 1scrappycat on the Hero Arts Flickr group. I wish beyond all wishes that I could take credit for the idea - I LOVE the owl! But alas! She won second place in the paper challenge! As you can see from her winning card, I kept the owl pretty much the same but played around a little with the bear.

Taylor's sketch:

For my take, I flipped the sketch. This was a last minute decision because I wanted the trick or treat stamp to go this way.

Trick or Treat!
Supplies:
DCWV and Provo Craft papers
K & Co. Rhinestones
Magenta Stickles (on kitty's hat)
HA Playful Animals
Stampendous Witch Kitty
Doodlebug Halloween
Offray ribbon

With a Cupcake!

2008-10-18T19:51:00.005-07:00

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge # 38 take two! I already revamped my original idea from earlier today - cupcake now included! I like this one better because of the cupcake, so I'll be entering this one:

Dibs!
Supplies:
Imaginisce Penguin Dude stamp
Stampin' Up! Short & Sweet Cupcake
Colored with Prismacolor pencils
Inkssentials Glossy Accents on cherry
Offray Oatmeal Ribbon
DCWV papers
JoAnn Sew Essentials Buttons

The inside will say "The cupcakes are all yours today!"

I'm wondering if I should speak to someone regarding my apparent view that penguins are greedy...

Picky Penguin

2008-10-18T16:39:00.012-07:00

After getting my feet wet in a few Hero Arts challenges I decided to tackle a challenge I've seen Lysa enter a few times. Taylor over at Taylored Expressions holds a weekly Cupcake Challenge! It's a sketch challenge where you make whatever you want following a given sketch. Whilst it's called the Cupcake Challenge, cupcakes are not mandatory.

This week came with an additional challenge to tell Taylor what our stamps are really saying or thinking. Here is the sketch:

Here is what I came up with:

Popsicle Penguin
Supplies:
Imaginisce Penguin Dude stamp
Colored with Prismacolor pencils
Inkssentials Glossy Accents on popsicle
Offray Oatmeal Ribbon
DCWV papers
JoAnn Scrap Essentials Brads
Hero Arts Gemstones

I haven't created an inside for the card yet but plan on having it say "It's your special day, you deserve to take the last one!"

I did want to use a cupcake (I love cupcakes!) and considered selectively removing the popsicle and adding a cupcake instead. Hmm. I might still do that as something to play around with. I haven't entered the contest yet and have until Monday at 8am, so I now feel possessed to play around with including that darn cupcake!

Thinking of Fall

2008-10-16T06:54:00.011-07:00

Can I just say that Photoshop is amazing? I've been editing the balances on my pictures with free software that came with my camera. I was finally fed up with the results enough to decide to borrow some time with dad's Photoshop program on his computer. What a difference! Deep down in my heart I knew this would be the case, but I wasn't ready to admit just yet that my cheapo program could be inferior. The results still aren't as magnificent as if I had started with the midday sun light source, but they're acceptable enough for me that I entered this card and Live, Laugh, Love from my previous post into the Hero Arts contest last night.

I have two stacks of Making Memories papers, Live, Laugh, Love was complied from one of the stacks, so I wanted to give equal opportunity to the other. This second stack didn't seem to coordinate as well as the first, IMHO, so I only ended up using one sheet out of it. I also wanted to push myself some more with color. It's not a huge leap but I normally avoid orange! I was even surprised when I realized I had orange buttons, I only bought them because they were on clearance for $0.97, and look how well that worked out! Lesson learned, always impulse buy clearance items. The orange and browns feel super autumnal and even a bit Coldwater Creek. I almost did go completely fall inspired when I remembered I had a sentiment stamp "have a bountiful season" and a pumpkin stamp that isn't cartoony and cutesty. That was feeling too far out of my style though and I came up with the below instead.

Thinking of You

Supplies:
Making Memories Funky Vintage - Lizzie Collection
HA Playful Animals

I entered a few others into this weeks challenge too: A Day Sprinkled With Fun, Welcome Little One, and Thank Yous Two and Four. The winners of the masucline flair challenge were announced today - no win or honorable mention for me. With over 200 entries I wasn't really expecting to win, but it's fun to try anyways!

There is Love

2008-10-13T21:19:00.020-07:00

Don't tell, but I forgot a third October holiday. My parent's anniversary - shame on me! It is the 23rd so luckily I remembered with time to spare. I was also very interested in this week's Hero Arts contest: Patterned Paper. I'm no stranger to patterned paper but I wanted to do something more patterny than normal. Push my pattern boundaries, if you will. I must say that I love what came out of that! It is definitely more "loud" than anything I've ever made before, but that is actually what I love about it. This is also the first anniversary card I've made that I don't mostly hate.

Live, Laugh, Love
Supplies:
HA Clear Design L
Making Memories Embellishment Paper - Funky Vintage, Ruby Collection

I have yet to find a light source for my photography that I like as much as the midday sun. Unfortunately, during the week I don't get much midday sun (it would ruin my lovely complexion of 'office pale'), but by this weekend hopefully I'll get a shot of the card in the lighting that I prefer. I'm waiting till then to enter this one in the contest.

I want Sprinkles

2008-10-11T14:21:00.009-07:00

A little back story on this first: Sometime in August a vendor I occasionally work with cleverly figured out that sending me 2 Sprinkles Cupcakes would be an easy way to expedite setting up a meeting with me. Now I had never had these delicate morsels of heaven before this time and boy can I say my life was incomplete before! I have made two trips of my own to our new store in town since then and I keep thinking up reasons why I need to go. What's even better is I've gotten my parents hooked! So now that we all dream in Sprinkles I wanted to Sprinkle a card. As you can see from pictures on their website they have a trademark dot that they use as a cupcake topper (made out of gum paste, not so tasty). They have different color combinations to signify each flavor. I wanted to make a birthday card option for dad using his favorite flavor's colors, brown with blue in the center (coconut!). This is also what started my quest to find every size circle punch ever made.

This card failed the original intent for three reasons. First, the dots just aren't the right size. I did measure a dot from our last set of cupcakes and I thought what I had would be close enough. I just don't like how they look. I only used one on this card, what the sentiment is hanging on, so you can see. Second, the coconut cupcakes aren't served with dots on them. They have coconut on them so something may have been lost in translation. Third, dad doesn't need 4 birthday cards! Mom has a birthday coming up in December so out of all fairness while I'm still riding a crafting wave I should be making her some birthday options too. So I'll retry this again, but using 3/4" and 1/2" circles. Her favorite flavors are actually served with the dots so it won't be as much of a stretch. Although I say this failed the original intent, I don't mean it failed completely. I really like it a lot! So it'll go into my general card pool and the next time someone deserves a day sprinkled with fun I'll already be ready already.

A Day Sprinkled With Fun
Stamp:
HA Clear Design Cupcakes

In looking through some past entries right now I just happened to realize how amazingly similar this looks to Thank You 2 from my 5 Thank Yous post. I CASEd myself! (CASE = Copy And Selectively Edit)

Manly!

2008-10-10T20:54:00.013-07:00

My intentions behind this card were two-fold. Fold 1: I wanted to take another crack at a birthday card for dad. I liked the theory behind the original October circle with the 14 in another color to indicate his special day, though now I have a circle punch. Actually, now I have several circle punches, but that's a story for another day. Anyhow, I wanted to use my 2" circle punch with the October stamp. I must say I think it looks much better this way! Fold 2: I decided to finally make a card specifically to enter a Hero Arts contest! This week's contest is cards with a masculine flair. I went for a slightly distressed and thrown together look because aren't all men slightly distressed and thrown together? Maybe it isn't screaming "MANLY!" but it definitely isn't girly! This also happens to be my first 3" x 6" card, if I keep this up I'm going to have to purchase the appropriate envelopes.

Dad Birthday Option
Supplies:
HA October Month set
Spiral Punch - Yahoo!

I entered a few other previously made cards as well, the original Many Many Thanks, Brother's Father's Day Card, and 3-Day Woof. I'll let you know if I end up winning anything.

A New Niecphew!

2008-09-24T18:55:00.004-07:00

I'm going to be an auntie again! Baby short-stuff niece, Lil T, is going to be a big sister! Eee! Pretty exciting stuff, so I had to be sure to send a congratulations card to my bro and sil. Before Lil T's arrival I made a pretty cute congratulations card, half blue and half pink with some purple in the middle since we did not yet know her gender. This was before I was consistent with taking pictures of my cards so I don't have one to show you. I knew my new card would have to be different so the tykes wouldn't judge me and resent me for being a lazy copier. Again we do not yet know niecphew's gender so I went with non-gender-specific greens and yellows. I made this during my crafting frenzy last week but had to wait for bro and sil to get it in the mail before I could post it. I will admit that I used the same sentiment in each card, but honestly babies really are a nice way to start people.

Welcome Little One
Supplies:
HA Clear Design Baby Boy and Baby Girl sets

Inside:
"Babies are such a nice way to start people" A quote by Don Herald taken from a Penny Black stamp

Little Birthday

2008-09-21T12:30:00.005-07:00

I loved the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder from the very first time I saw someone use it. Then I saw a few cards where the entire front of the card was Swiss Dots with a small stamped image and knew that not only did I need to find that folder stat, but I would have to make a card like that myself. So I did! I call this one Little Birthday because it is slightly smaller than a standard sized card to avoid a border of blank space the embossing folder wouldn't reach. If you're interested I just measured it and it is approx 3.75" x 5" - I didn't pick the measurements but happened to have a scrap piece of card stock that worked.

Little Birthday
Supplies
HA Clear Design Number Zero

Inside
{wishing you a one-of-a-kind BIRTHDAY}
HA Clear Design Birthday Messages

Little Reminders

2008-09-21T11:56:00.014-07:00

Six or so weeks ago, an email was sent on my behalf around the office telling everyone about my participation in the upcoming 3-Day walk. I've had a lot of responses! All very positive and sometimes glowing. I knew this walk would be an amazing life experience but I was a little unprepared for all the warm fuzzies I'd feel before the actual event. I do have a little bit of a hard time when it comes to asking people for donations, but I wanted to remind everyone that they could still donate if they wanted to. I thought to myself, "what could be less pesky than something crafted coupled with cookies? Nothing!" I had all sorts of visions of cute little bags of cookies with little reminder tags on them. But then I got to thinking about how green my office is and I wasn't sure I'd want to walk in with individually wrapped things that could work just as easily in Tupperware. I could have looked for little kraft paper bags, but I worry about the butter in the cookies leaving greeze marks which is never appetizing. Ultimately I decided to go the big Tupperware container route as a free for all. I made a little card to put in front of the container and about 8 little business type cards with my walk web address that people can take.

Here is the little announcement card:

Oh yes that does say "and/or organic apples." We have a few people in our office who are very conscious of what they eat so I wanted to be thoughtful and have snack options for everyone.

These are the business cards. The logo is the official downloadable Walker Logo from the 3-Day website. I only put ribbons on half of them, haven't decided yet if I should ribbon them all. Decisions are hard.

Overall it isn't my grand vision of precious cookie favor bags, but I like what I've made and it is a lot less work for an outcome that is somewhat of an unknown anyway.

5 Thank Yous

2008-09-21T11:39:00.009-07:00

Yesterday was a marvelously successful Thank You day! I quickly and easily pinked up the original TY I showed you yesterday by adding a ribbon. Yes that is a pink staple. You will see from the next post that I learned a little later on that two staples work better at keeping the ribbon in the proper position. It was too late to add a second to this one, but I still like it!

Pinked Many Many Thanks

Next up are 4 unique new TYs! I was a busy crafting bee yesterday. You'll notice I continued with the rounded edge theme. My corner rounder is getting pretty dull. The first two use HA Clear Design Thank You Messages, the second two use HA Clear Design Anytime Messages.

Thank You One

Thank You Two

Thank You Three

Thank You Four

(Aside: You know what would make this last one cuter? More rounded edges!)

Now I just need to write in them and send them off!

Craftacular!

2008-09-20T13:49:00.019-07:00

This week has been super craftacular for me. Not only did I craft on Monday and Tuesday, but Lysa and I went to a Stampin' UP! 101020 class on Thursday! I've really been on a roll these past two weeks. No guarantees on how long I'll keep this up for, but let me just tell you I've been enjoying it thoroughly.

Other things bloggy: You may have noticed that I changed my blog URL. Though now I'm in a quandary of how I should electronically sign my pictures. My blog title is still Designs By Meg after all, but I like Meg Becka too. Since it appears to be an impossible decision for me, today's card pictures are going to be nekkid. {Subsequent Edit: I decided.}

On that note, let's get started! This is the new Thank You card I made on Tuesday. I have about 5 extended family members to thank for 3 Day donations. I was getting pretty bored with making the same one over and over, so I came up with this to mix things up. I'm a little disappointed that there's no pink included at all since that is the color of support. I'm going to see if I can find a way (that I like) to pink it up a little. I also have 4 more Thank Yous to tackle, maybe I'll come up with something new and better.

Many Many Thanks
Supplies
Hero Arts Clear Design Thank You Messages

Now for the Stampin' UP! cards. This was really a fun night, and actually historic in that somehow it was the first time Lysa and I have ever crafted together! I got to use some new fun tools that I've always wanted to try but couldn't bring myself to buy just yet, like the stamp-a-ma-jig and glue dots. Not sure I'm going to rush out for the jig even though I really liked it. I probably will get some glue dots though, they were so much better than using liquid glue for ribbon in particular. There are ten cards total (101020 = 10 cards, 10 mins or less each, all for $20) so I grouped them together for some shots to share. It's hard to pick a favorite but I'm leaning toward the cupcake with the 'make a wish' sentiment in the first group. I absolutely love the note book paper punch! Which is apparently exclusive to SU and actually called the 'spiral punch.' I dig! I also love the mini clip and the glitter. Normally I'm not a fan of pink and orange together, but in both of the P&O cards below I think it works well. The SU cards were all designed by demonstrator and host Rhonda:

Group One

Group Two

Group Three

I have a few things I'm working on today, like the aforementioned Thank Yous, but also some donation reminders. Depending on my success I might even post again this weekend!

October Fun in September

2008-09-13T19:44:00.007-07:00

This post is the culmination of two weekends worth of crafting for the heck of it. Though with so many holidays coming up next month I decided to take a crack at crafting for them! By "so many" I really just mean two, Dad's Birthday and Halloween.

I'll start with Dad's Birthday since it occurs in the first half of the month. This is my preliminary Dad Birthday 08 card. I'd like to play with a few more birthday cards for fun. I like how this one is customized. If you can't tell with the shoddy photography the 14 in the date circle is stamped in red, as you may deduce that is Dad's birthday. From here I see two things happening: 1. I make a few more birthday cards and pick the best out of those, 2. I get lazy again and procrastinate on the crafting and then have to use this one because it's the only one I have.

Dad's Birthday 08
Supplies
Hero Arts Clear Design Month October
Hero Arts Clear Design Birthday Messages
Light and Dark Blue Colored Staples

Now moving along to Halloween I'm really pleased with what I have so far. One standard card and two shorties! I still have a bunch of ideas for more cards too! I figure if I go crazy and make a bunch more I can give them to my 3-Day team along with my family. So even though it pains me to post these and ruin the surprise for who I may send them to, here they are:

Happy Halloween!
Supplies
Doodlebug Halloween
Hero Arts Clear Design Happy Halloween

Trick or Treat Shorty
Supplies
Doodlebug Halloween

Boo! Shorty
Supplies
Doodlebug Halloween

3-Day Thank Yous

2008-08-19T21:05:00.004-07:00

Wow has it been a long time since I've crafted! So much for my card a week just for fun idea. I've been a combination of busy and lazy (mostly lazy, naturally) but finally made a new card yesterday. Though this card has a purpose! I finally was able to buy my own Swiss Dots folder for my Cuttlebug, so I knew I had to use it soon. Plus, I finally sent out a donation request at work for my 3-Day fundraising endeavours and I wanted a new Thank You card for anyone who was able to donate. Swiss Dots + Thank You = My New Card below!

Supplies Used:
CB Swiss Dots!
Hero Arts Clear Design Thank You Messages
Yellow Colored Staples

Here's a shot of the inside:
Supplies Used:
Hero Arts Clear Design Anytime Messages

I also wanted to share a picture of the little gifts I'm giving out too. Nothing too fancy, little pink tulle baggies of chocolate candy, but I beaded the string that ties it up and think it's super cute. The metal ribbon charm says "Hope." I originally wanted to use braiding cord to tie up the baggies, but the holes on the beads were too small so I went with embroidery floss instead. I think it still turned out pretty well though. Braiding cord is another new fun item in my toolkit. Lysa and others in the interwebs have been tying their buttons (as exampled in my new card) which have been looking so cute. Lysa uses braiding cord and I finally just remembered to look for it at the store and stocked up.

Hopefully it won't be too long until my next new card and/or project!

Shorties

2008-07-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

I have some small 3.5" x 3.5" envelopes that I've been wanting to use. Today's crafting-for-crafting's-sake was to make little cards so I could finally put the envelopes to use! If inch squares can be called inchies I've decided that these small cards should be called shorties. To keep with the short theme I made the first one for my favorite SIL and my most favorite baby, short-stuff, niece. The second I made entirely with my grandma's tiny dog in my lap. Quite a shorty day!

I started the cards to be just under 3.5" square and double checked they fit perfectly into the envelopes - perfecto! Then I added everything to the outside and naturally they no longer fit into the envelopes... the next shorties will be 3.25" square or less!

You Make Me So Happy (Inside: I could wag my tail.)
Supplies:
Clear Mini Stamps
Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles
Color staples (been dying to use these too!)

Flowers
Supplies
Snag'em Stamps Flowers

Just for reference here are the shorties on top of a standard sized white card.

Something Tweet!

2008-07-06T16:55:00.001-07:00

I've decided that I need to start making at least one card a week. Not for any occasion, but just because I want to! I have so many stamps and other supplies that I always want to use but they never seem to work for whatever occasion card I'm making. So now I will just make random cards for myself to share on this blog. Should any end up being used for later occasions then it will be a bonus.

Today's installment is "Something Tweet." Oh yes, very tweet. I've been wanting to use this lil Chickie since I got it. So here it is!

Something Tweet
Supplies Used:
Snag'em Stamps Chick
Cuttlebug Perfectly Paisley

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T10:21:00.001-07:00

Don't you just love a good holiday? I know I sure do! Every year I always want to make 4th of July cards. I finally made my first one last year and I more or less wasn't terribly pleased with the outcome. This year's attempt is the other inchie card I mentioned last time, and kicks the pants off of last year's card. I still feel this isn't the best one I could ever make, but I think it's on the right track.

4th of July Inchie:
Supplies used:
Hero Arts ClearDesign Number Four
Hero Arts Sparkle Clear Happy Greetings

Inchie by Inchie

2008-06-30T21:27:00.002-07:00

Well I did not make it in time to enter the Hero Arts contest - but I took the time to make an inchie card tonight! Two actually but I have to wait until the other one is delivered to its new family before I go posting it here and ruining things. Both actually use all Hero Arts stamps so I really could have entered them. Oh well, it was just fun to make them. I have more inchie ideas in mind though now that I have all these new little Studio G sets!

Happy Inchie
Supplies Used:
Hero Arts Cherry Blossom Background
Hero Arts Sparkle Clear Happy Greetings
Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl

Well my poor photography skills are at work again. I like the colors better on this attempt, but you can't see the embossed swirls as well. I shall never be a famous photographer. You'll have to take my word that there are embossed swirls on the black and that it looks really neat!

I'll post the other one later this week!

I call it "Stifled Creativity"

2008-06-23T20:15:00.012-07:00

I live with my parents. Much to my dad's dismay I turned the dining room into my craft room for a few weeks. I was loving it! Plenty of room to stretch out and really get my creative juices flowing. Sadly, that ended tonight. Company will be over Wednesday night and apparently they will need somewhere to eat. Whatever. As I was looking at the now cleared off dining room table, I could see nothing but stifled creativity. Now, unfortunately, all the stuff that was on the table is now mostly on my bed instead. This will be annoying when I want to go to bed in about an hour. So naturally the best thing to do right now is take a break and upload some more photos to my blog.

I'm walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day this November. As one of my fundraisers I've decided to sell a set of cards! Tonight's post will be my fundraising cards. Without further ado:

Supplies Used:
Hero Arts CardArt Happy

Supplies Used:
Heidi Grace something or other for the border under the ribbon
Hero Arts ClearDesign Wishful Messages

Supplies Used:
Hero Arts ClearDesign Cupcakes
Hero Arts ClearDesign Wishful Messages

Supplies Used:
Hero Arts Happy Wavy Borders

Supplies Used:
Hero Arts Clear Design I Love My Dog

Supplies Used:
Hero Arts ClearDesign I Love My Cat

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2008-06-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

With both Lysa and Traci having craft blogs it really wasn't long until I started my own! Spinner cards are all the rage right now, so I thought I would start by sharing my spinner endeavors.

My very first attempt was Dad's Father's Day card. I went for a golf theme since we just finished a daddy-daughter golf outing and have another coming up soon. The golf ball goes from the tee up to the green.

Supplies used:
Two golf themed Jolee's sets
(The green with flag is from one set and all the other items are from another)

My second attempt was for another Father's Day card but this time for my brother. As you can deduce from the theme he likes sushi.

Supplies used:
Jolee's sushi set
Hero Arts ClearDesign Floral Borders

Finally my 3rd and most recent attempt at the spinner is for my niece Tailynn's first birthday card. I'm pretty proud of this one!

Supplies used:
Hero Arts ClearDesign Playful Animals
Heidi Grace Everyday Alpha
Jolee's Butterfly and Flower set

Thanks for looking!