Another Valentine's Card Sketch

Wow! I have been on here 2 days in a row! Amazing. Actually, I think this is the same day - it was so late last night when I was blogging! Anyway, I just had to show you one more card I made for Scrapmania and More's Valentine Card Sketch Challenge. My card is almost exactly like the sketch. I used Me and My Big Ideas Paper. Can't remember where the lace or forever stamp came from. Shame on me. I need to ALWAYS remember to keep the packaging so this doesn't happen. I am getting better about it, but still forget. The flowers are Prima and the fabric brad in the middle is from K & Co. Scrapmania and More is a really cool blog done by Ingrid in the Netherlands. So even though she has a world clock on her blog, I am still not sure if they are behind or ahead of us, so I don't know if I even made it in time! She is drawing for really nice RAK. I love the shabby chic look of the paper I used. I crumpled it and inked the edges to make it even more so. So, if I am too late for the drawing, I still have a shabby chic card to give to someone. Hmmmmm..........

Have you seen Card Patterns blog?

Card Patterns is a blog with a new sketch every week for all of us card makers. Here is the first sketch for February. Great start, I think. Below is my take on the sketch. I had to make a Valentines Card! I couldn't help myself. I think I could make them year round. I am really looking forward to making more cards from the sketches from appears to be an awesome blog!

Btw, pardon my poor photo of my card. I usually scan them, and my computer with my scanner is down, which means Matt will have to get busy today! Obviously, my picture taking skill when it comes to cards and lo's still needs improvement. Practice, practice. I will get better, I will get better......

January Basic Grey Card Kit at the Attic

Let me start by saying that I have not followed up on my promise to keep my blog up to date. I am sure you are in a complete state of shock over this! ha ha Nevertheless, here I am, and it hasn't been THAT long! Just had to let you in on some changes going on at the Attic. Jeri has decided to change her kits to make them different and exciting. Some will have a class or tutorial format. All of them will have challenges, awesome ideas and examples, and the kits themselves will be really cool and affordable! Please go have a peek and pick up a kit while you are there! lol

I really promise to give you more info about the kits by this weekend. It's just that it is 4:00 a.m. or something right now, and I just don't have time to tell you about it all. I will say that I will be doing the tutorials, challenges, RAKs and all of those good things for the Card Kits. The January Card Kit was the Basic Grey Bittersweet Card Kit. It comes with instructions and materials for 8 gorgeous cards that you can make in a jiffy, plus there is extra material if you have the time and inclination to be creative. Here are a few of the cards from the kit made following the instructions:

I thought these turned out so cute, and believe me, all I did was follow the easy instructions. Even the chipboard pieces have adhesive on the back. Here are I couple of cards I made adding some of my own stamping. The SWAK card has "love tickets" made from stamps by Inkadinkado. The "Some Birdy Loves You" card has a stamped image from Magenta. I cut out the middle of it, and also embossed it with clear embossing powder after I stamped it. Btw, the stamp was given to me by my "stamp buddy" Michelle in a Stamp Swap we had at the Attic! She also gave me another birdy stamp I had been drooling over! Thanks, Michelle! Anyway, here are those other cards. Remember, most of the materials are still from the kit. How versatile can you get?

You can see I also added some paint and some feathers to the last card, plus a clear journaling square from Maya Road. Those cute lips are rubons from the Basic Grey Kit. Hope you have enjoyed looking at a few of the cards I made from this fabulous kit. Yes! A few! There are more! You see why you NEED this kit? lol Anyway, I promise to be back soon. Lots to share with you!

Just some new scrappy things.....

Here I am, and it's not months since my last post! Yay for me! I have been busy making cards. I am hoping some will sell locally at the pet store and I'm making a set for the wild bird store here. (Assuming they want to sell them for me!) Here are a couple of examples. One is Santa Paws, and of course Sam drew a Cotton (my bichonpoo baby) Santa. Sam whipped that drawing out in about 5 minutes. I can't imagaine being able to do that! The other I made with a pretty cardinal stamp by Inkadinkado. I drew nothing! Lucky for everyone! Wish me luck, while we are on the subject!

Have to also say that I have also been experimenting with making paper backgrounds using the shaving cream technique. Don't know the shaving cream technique. Well, it's kinda like being in 1st grade. You take shaving cream (cheap kind is good) and squirt it into a baking dish. You need something with sides so the shaving cream will stay put. So no cookie sheets. Then you take bottles of re-inkers (I used Tim Holtz' Adirondack alchohol ink and his distress inks). You pick about 3 0r 4 colors you love and think will look good together, and make random drops onto the shaving cream, which you have smoothed down with a spatula. Then I took a fork and swirled the ink into some random pattern. The you take the paper and push it straight down into the shaving cream. Pull it STRAIGHT up. If your paper is 12 x 12, you will have to do the other side then. Make sure the whole sheet is totally covered. Let it sit for a while - about 20-30 minutes. Then take paper towels and BLOT (don't rub) all the shaving cream off. You will be left with cool patterns. Here are some examples!

Now I can cut out pieces for card backgrounds or to use on layouts. Cool, huh?

You know what I want? I want to have one of those blogs that has challenges and (or) does give-aways. I guess that need to wait until I have a "following"! Maybe that helps you get a following! Whatever the case, here is the link to a cool blog by Chrysti who is giving stuff away for 29 days! Have a look at http://chrysti.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/29-days-of-giveaways-for-you/ which is the link to Art by Chrysti! Comment there and win all kinds of goodies!

Also, be sure and go to the Attic! Jeri is getting some cool new stuff in the store, and the DT is NOW voting on the winner of the Christmas Card Contest! You have to go see all the awesome cards, and by tomorrow (maybe today), we should have our winners. Jeri is giving 1st place a $50 GC to the store, 2nd place gets one for $30, and 3rd place gets one for $20! How awsome is that. Have a look at http://www.memoriesfromtheattic.info/portal.php! Well, speaking of that, I better go vote!

Happy Thanksgiving! Catching Up Again!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and actually took the time to think of all we have to be thankful for! I do tend to get bummed out about my fibrogarbage, but I am blessed to be able to still have insurance that pays for my docs and my meds and and and....That could go on forever! I am also blessed to have such a wonderful family and friends, and for our awesome God who loves us and provides for us! Speaking of providing, I got some teeny extra provision this past week at my ETSY store. well, not just MY ETSY store. it actually belongs to Sam and me. So we sold two sets of flowers that I made using my Sizzix machine and pp with Christmas colors. They turned out so cute, and I decided that they would make cute ornaments, so I added ribbon to some. I posted 2 sets in the

store and both sold! Yay!! The pic to the right had green brads (or green with white dots I added). As you can see from the single one, I made some using red brads.

My other ETSY sale was a little altered clothespin I made. I used it as a holder for a cardstock piece with a 2009 calendar on one side and a "yellow sticky" mini note pad holder on the other.

I am definitely making some more, also taking custom orders. I think they would make teacher gifts etc. I am sure my ETSY url is on here somewhere (I hope!!) but if not www.dreamersboutique.etsy.com is the link. Please have a look!

I am totally busy right now at The Attic (www.memoriesfromtheattic.info) working on our Christmas Card Contest. You have never seen so many gorgeous cards. Right now, we are voting on Week 3 of Phase 1 of the contest. After this, the winners all go into Phase 2, where each participant makes 4 more cards and we (the DT) votes on the Grand Prize Winner. That talented artist will win a wonderful prize from Jeri. I don't even know what it is yet! Ya'll need to check out the Attic to watch the contest, plus Melissa, Jaime and others have all kinds of challenges and games cooked up for December. Our ATC swap is still going strong, also. I love the swaps. I found another one I may participate in. I will have to show you what I make.

Well, I haven't caught up as much as I wanted, but maybe if I can do this again tomorrow, I can actually keep caught up this time. Sounds like a new years resolution to me!

Wow! So Many CARDS in My Scrappy Life

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this blog! I know that last SPRING, as in two seasons ago, I promised to start updating........hmmmmm. Well, obviously that did not pan out. This will. You have to take my word for it! Last time I was in a rush to say HB to my dear friend, Helen. I managed to tell you how excited I was that I had made the DT for Memories From The Attic! Well, since then, Jeri had another DT call and I made Card DT Coordinator! Woooohoooo

Talk about excited. I was doing cardwheels (ok - in my head anyway) cause I was so excited and so honored. We have such a great site there and the whole DT is wonderful. Jaime, who I was on the DT with previously, became the Scrappy DT Coordinator! She is so sweet and so talented, as all our DT girlies are, and Jeri is a dream to design for. She is so patient and encouraging! Can you tell I am happy with my DT position at the Attic?! So I am making it in the scrappy world! Well, at least to some degree, don't ya think? : )

I have so many things I want to share with you, I don't know where to start!

Maybe I'll start with some cards! Do I even have any cards on my slideshow? I don't think so, and I'll have to fix that. So the card up top is just a Halloween card I made, with a SLIGHTLY altered feel to it. Oh yes, oh yes, how can I forget? I have an ETSY site now that has been slow in getting up and going, but it is going. And I am selling some cards on that site. A big part of it will be with my friend -like a brother! - Sam. He is the real ARTIST here, as in he can draw beautifully, and I can't draw a straight line! Our ETSY site is called Dreamers Boutique. Go have a look. Right now I have a few Halloween cards on there that I made from the MFTA October Card Kit, which is full of cute spooky card goodies. You can have a look at the Scrappy Kit for October at the same link, too. Wow! Fabulous as usual! So here are the cards from the kit that are on ETSY.

Don't you just love the black cats with their red eyes? (Don't tell, but one DT member had to change the eyes cause they were so spooky! lol) The fence, btw, was cut from my Sizzix. And what about that cute skull with the bow? I have to admit that I am not too fond of the new skull craze, but what can you say about a skull with a bow? CUTE!

There is so much more to share! I am just beginning. I need to tell you how I met Libby (a really sweet Rusty Pickle chef) in Chattanooga and helped her set up for the convention there. I have pics to prove it! I also want to show you the beautiful ATC swaps we are doing at MFTA. I want you to get really excited about it, because I am thinking of doing a swap here, as well.

I also have a CONTEST on my mind to really get my blog rolling, but more about that later! I have to get to the Attic and do my thing! Stay tuned, though. Hope this can be a scrappy blog you will want to come back to - not just to read, but to PLAY!