posting hiatus...

Hi All,

Just wanted to make a quick post to say two things: 1) due to sicknesses going around my house, and other things going on, I haven't been posting lately - sorry :( I hadn't had a chance to do much crafting, so therefore there's nothing new to post. 2) Now that sicknesses are going away - yay! - I'm getting back into my crafting... BUT, I'm working on testing some things out so there still won't be too many postings coming up. Sorry 'bout that but this is some exclusive work I'm doing.... but be patient and soon (I hope!) you'll be able to see what I've been testing out.

Happy Crafting!

Boating Card

A few weekends back we had an unexpected night of babysitting for our kids...so what did we do? Well, my husband called his best friend, who lives about an hour away. Lucky for us, he was in and had no plans, so out we came for a little overnight visit. When we got there we found out that a friend of his offered to take us all on his boat that night...so off we went! We had a blast! I just had to make him a thank you note to show our appreciation, and this is what I came up with.

For the front of the card, I used D'vine Swirl embossing folder for the 'waves'. I cut along the swirls to give the illusion of rolling waves. I stamped 'many thanks' on light yellow paper and punched it out with my 1 3/8" punch. On darker yellow paper I punched a 1 3/4" circle to create the layers of the sun. Inside I used my Silhouette to create the pop-up, the boating/anchor and waves, and the text above. The boating file came from Darcy's Designs. Her boating file comes with the waves (enough for a border on a scrapbook page) and the 'boating'/anchor combo. I created the mat behind the waves and assembled them together before cutting them in half - that way I was able to layer them on top of one another and adhere behind the anchor. You can't really tell in the picture below, but I adhered the anchor with pop dots just to give a little more dimension.

Tools used: Cuttlebug, Silhouette, punches

Gram's card

My gram turned 86 today! Happy B-day Grams!

For her b-day I made her this card. Her favorite color is red and she's a great indoor gardener, so that was my inspiration for this card. I used a square Nestabilities on my Cuttlebug to cut the square frame out of the front of the card. The flower was cut on my Silhouette and I used Darcy's (Darcy's Designs) freebie flower. The file cuts two swirls, so I used one as is, and the other one I cut. With the cut one I placed part on the outside of the card and the other part on the inside of the card on the top of the flower. I also lined up the leaf on the outside to match the leaf on the inside. A little chalking around the frame, a little bling in the bottom corner, a little stamping sentiment on the inside and I'm done! I hope she likes it! :-)

(Front of card)

(Slightly opened to show how the leaf/stem line up)

(Fully opened)

Tools used: Silhouette; Cuttlebug

My first challenge......Jazzy Die Cuts

This was my first challenge - but boy was it fun! My 5 yr. old daughter is such a girly girl that I thought this would be a great file and challenge to do something for her. So, I created a doorknob hanger. I used my Silhouette to cut the doorknob hanger as well as the girly girl file from Darcy. Pink and purple, silver and gold, are Kyla's favorite colors, so that was the basis for my project. The jazzying (is that a word?) that I did was this: Over the words 'girly girl' I stamped a background image using Versamark - I love that stuff! Over the flowers in the cut out I stuck on some glittery flowers I had left over from my daughter's Fancy Nancy b-day party. For the center of the flowers, to give more dimension, I took out the centers of some other flowers and stuck those on top. Then I took my silver glittery gel pen and outlined the whole girly girl part. I also used the gel pen to write Kyla's Room at the top (may not be able to see that too well in the pics - silver is hard to photograph!). I also took a green glittery gel pen and drew on the stem and leaves of the flowers to make them stand out a bit more. For the flowers on the bottom I took other pointy flowers and cut them up so that I could make the little sprigs coming out the sides. I don't know if my project will win, but my daughter loves it! She's decided that she's going to keep it on her closet door (which is where the picture was taken) so that it doesn't get caught in the bedroom door and rip. Smart kid! LOL

Snip, snip...

Back in Dec. '07 my then 3 yr old daughter and I cut our hair for Locks of Love. Nearly two years later, I've finally got the scrapbook pages done! Better late than never, right? In any event... Most of the digital cutter files I used here came from the haircutting collection at Darcy Designs. The 'For Locks of Love" title I created it in Robomaster (the software that comes with the Silhouette, if you're not familiar) using a font I had downloaded and welded the letters together. Then I matted around them. When I was peeling up the 'snip snip' with scissors portion, I realized that the letters for snip, snip were perfect....so I used them on pg. 3 of my scrapbook. I wanted to tie the middle pages together, but without using the same exact image, so I edited it a little :) I also created some extra tendrils to have as embellishments on the pages.

Glad to be a grad...

My husband's cousin's husband (did you follow that?! LOL) graduated with his doctorate. Although the invitation said no gifts, I still needed to bring something, so I figured something handmade is always a good choice. I got some digital pics of the family and graduation and created a photo collage to celebrate all he's done for his degree. I used the Glad to be a Grad file, but had to finagle it so that I could fit it on the 8.5x11 paper & frame. In the Robomaster program I layered the files together, grouped them, and then resized them. That way all the layers would match up. After resizing, I separated them again so that I could cut out the separate colors/parts. The rest of the page was done digitally - digital pics and background.

(Sorry 'bout the pic - should have taken it without the glass - oops!)

I've got news!

I've been holding out for awhile now, but the announcement has finally been made so I can post it here. I'm so excited! I've been asked to join the Creative Team over at Darcy's Designs! This is my first CT and I'm super excited about it! If you're not familiar with Darcy's Designs, please check out here blog and store. Darcy is the creator of fabulous digital die cut files and I'm honored that she has chosen me to join her CT! While I'll be posting my creations here, there's also a new blog in town that's all about digital cutting and I'll be posting there as well. The new site is a joint venture of two fantastic designers - Darcy and Tina (Card-I-ology) - and it's called Designing With Die Cuts. Come check it out!

12 FREE cutting files!

Hey all!

In celebration of VDBC's 1yr anniversary Darcy (of Darcy Designs) is giving away 12 cutting files during the anniversary celebration! If you've got a digital cutter, you have to go check this stuff out! Click here for information on Darcy's giveaway...and then head over to VDBC to see what's going on. There's lots to do!

Good luck!

New blog to check out!

If you have a die cutter, you've got to check out the new blog in town: Cutting Above Maggie & Michelle have created a new blog dedicated to all things die cutting! How cool is that?! They will have reviews, tutorials, tips & tricks for various die cutters. Go check them out! And while you're there, check out the prizes they have to give away. Add their blinkie to your site and you might win a prize! Have fun and good luck!

Quick & Simple Anniversary card

My parents' anniversary is this month so I created this card for them. I got the heart shaped part from Mamaw's Legacy found here. I added the Happy Anniversary part to it by welding the letters together and rotating to fit in the area. My parents loved it!

(I don't know if the pictures quite show it, but the front flap of the card forms around the heart edge. I tried to take different pictures to show this.)

I'm back! (I think!)

Ok, so I wasn't able to fix the problem with my software, but I think I've found something else that will work. Please keep your fingers crossed that I have no more troubles! I'm posting a couple of pics of recent cards just to see how this works. I might be needing some trial and error time to figure out my new program, but hopefully it'll go well sooner than later! LOL I digress... In any event, I made these two cards with some new corner punches I recently got. I think they make really pretty borders, but getting the inside piece to fit to size can be challenging. Guess I'll just have to practice, practice, practice! LOL

Posting Hiatus - hopefully a short one :(

Hi All,

Unfortunately, something has happened with my photo editing software. It is no longer working. Not sure why, or how to fix it, but I'm kinda stuck until I can get it fixed or get another program. I won't be able to edit pics, etc. until I do. UGH!!!!

My OSW

While at camp (like I said, it was an extended trip) I also made some OSW cards. (If you don't know what OSW stands for, it's for One Sheet Wonder.) We made OSW cards in a workshop I did a couple of years ago and I really liked the concept, even though the class took a loooong time to complete. It's just hard when you've got a lot of people sharing the same things... a bit of waiting ensues...but I digress... in any event, every once in awhile I like to create my own OSW cards. I did more than what is shown in the group shot, but they were duplicates, so I didn't include them. I am putting together a template, so if you're interested in it just let me know and you can create your own OSW!

Here are the ones I came up with:

Hard to see in this picture (above) but the flowered paper is crimped.

You can't really tell in the above picture, but the flower/scallop is raised with a popdot.

Mike's Card

My friend Diane recently got me into coloring (she's such an enabler! LOL) and I'm enjoying it, I must say! Here is the first card I made from an image I've colored. It's for my brother-in-law's birthday. Since he likes celestial things, I thought this worked well for him. The image is from Coloring Page Tuesdays.

Sympathy Card

Just a simple sympathy card from my newer set from SU - "thoughts & prayers". I really like this set - great sentiments and trees.

Tools: JustRite Stampers

Sally's card

This summer my daughter had a b-day party to go to for her friend. It was a luau-type party, so what better card can you get for a five year old than one that looks like a popsicle?! tee hee And lucky me, Sally's favorite color is red! This was fun yet very easy to do. And my daughter got a kick out of it too! Enjoy!

Tools used: Scallop punch (for teeth marks); JustRite Stampers - horizontal stamper for front sentiment

Thank you!

I would just like to take a moment to thank all those who've visited my little blog spot in this big crazy world...today marks the day I reached 1000 hits! Yay for little 'ol me! Thanks everyone! Now if I could just get some more followers.... ;-)

Thank you!
~Heather

I won, I won!! :-D THANK YOU JENNIE!!!

Holy moly! I never expected this! I actually won something! Yay for me! Thank you Jennie (at Jennie Bean Crafts)~I SO appreciate your very generous prize! I can't wait to go shopping!

You can read about it here: JennieBeanCrafts

If you've got a digital cutter, please head on over to Jennie's store and check out her amazing work. She also has a blog here where she sometimes has some freebies...and who doesn't love a good freebie!

Enjoy!

La-La Land Crafts Grand Opening...and BLOG CANDY

There's a new store getting ready for their grand opening! The date is August 12, the place is Sunnyvale, CA. Don't worry - if you don't live in the great state of CA (I, myself, reside way over here in MA) their online store is opening the same night....at 11pm. If you're interested in joining the grand event, click here for more details.

And of course there's blog candy up for grabs! Irina is giving away 3 stamps from her new store! How cool is that?! Along with the stamps (your choice - you'll have to check out her store when it opens) you'll get all this too:

- Stampin' Up Really Rust cardstock
- Hero Arts Flower Outline background stamp
- Nestabilites Labels Two set
- QuicKutz Plants Embossing Folder (works with Cuttlebug)
- Bazzill Bitty Blossoms

and four stamps from the Lazy Days of Summer Magnolia collection

- Tilda (was only available with the Club purchase)
- Strawberry
- two Beach Flowers

And still....

... after I had my ink pads, I still went back and did some more rub-on cards. Old habits are hard to break?? I doubt it...but I think I just got motivated to do some more rub-on cards after the first set I did. Thank you Di for feeding my mojo and giving me another set! :-)

Rub-ons are from SU.

And then the ink came to camp...

So, after telling my hubby what a D.A. I was, he graciously brought back my ink pads when he'd gone home for work during our extended camping trip. I made some cards with a set from Papertrey Ink that my good friend Diane gave me for my birthday. It was, of course, one of the sets I hoped to use during my camping trip...until I realized I forgot my INK! Oops! Anyways... I had made a bunch of these cards with different sentiments in it.

And the D.A. award goes to.....

ME! That's right, I'm embarrassed to admit. Normally, when we go camping, if we're camping with our friends, I'll bring my stamping stuff to work on while the kids nap. If it's just me and the family I'll leave my stuff home since I'd be spending naptime with my hubby. Since my husband has a (relatively) new job, he doesn't get much vacation time yet, so for one weekend we wanted it to be a long one, so he decided to commute to work from camp. Since I would be at camp with the kids by myself until the weekend, I decided to pack my stamping stuff for my alone time. I figured I would challenge myself by bringing only my clear stamps and my rub-ons. I had decided that it would be a good time to focus on all my latest clear stamp sets, most of which I'd been wanting to play with. I got everything ready...or so I thought. Dummy me realized after I was already at camp, that I forgot .... are you ready? .... INK! How I did this, I don't know, but there you have it - the reason why I get the D.A. award. So, armed with just some rub-ons and two punches, I came up with these cards...well, until my hubby brought me my ink pads ;-) I must say, I do like how they came out...and it was a challenge for sure! Talk about limited supplies! LOL

I don't know why, but no matter what I did, I couldn't get the true color of the cards to come through. It is a light, almost baby blue color (officially, it's called "Robin's Egg" according to the package), and the rub-ons are brown. The rub-ons are from Stampin' Up. The cards were given to me, which was also part of my personal challenge. I've been hanging onto these cards for awhile, not knowing what to do with them, so I brought them to camp. They are Martha Stewart cards and come with the flourishes already cut into them (as well as matching envelopes). They are 5x7, which is a little bigger than I'm used to for making cards...yet another challenge for me. :-)

#1 Dad

Yes, I know, Father's Day was last month... so I'm a little late....oh well. In any event, I created this card all by my little lonesome. By that I mean that I created the 'DAD' by welding the letters together and cutting them out with my Silhouette. I also created the card part that basically matted around the 'DAD'. This part was tricking to do since I was creating it for the whole card and not just a mat. It took some work, but I finally did get it so that when I folded it along the top everything lined up and the 'DAD' fit in nicely. Once assembled, I embossed the #1 so that it really popped on the blue paper. My hubby liked the card, but I doubt he understands what it took to make it LOL OH well... it'll be my little secret ;-)

Tools used: Silhouette; embossing heat gun

Lent??

Maybe not....but it would be a funny card for it! LOL Sorry the pictures are a little blurry - don't know why they are either. OH well....you'll get the jist. I also pierced around the center image on the dark brown paper. The inside sentiment is below the card. Enjoy!

Tools used: Paper Piercing