As mentioned previously, my pirate baby shower card got me another card making gig for the same shower…it was a bit tough to do another nautical card for the same recipient with the same theme and make the card different but here’s what I did:

1.  I made the card square instead of rectangular

2. I chose a different colour scheme – the pirate card was black, red and brown and the new card is blue, yellow and red.

3. I used a different stamp (duh!) – luckily I have a Hero Arts baby boy set with a sailboat in it.

4.  Well, there is no 4…

I saw a card on SCS (Speedy the Cat – is that Markie’s Mom?) that had a cool wheel using a fancy spellbinders die for the spokes but I didn’t have that die so I used a snowflake.  This scrap of Cosmo Cricket paper was on my desktop and it inspired me to use a sheet of yellow Bazzil cardstock as the base of the card.  A few eyelets (again, using older supplies – looooove it!) and a bit of sewing finished off the card.

I absolutely HAVE to tidy up my craft room tonight…I’m running out of work space! (working on too many things at one time)  I should try to take a picture when it’s tidy – but then you wouldn’t be able to understand how I can run out of work space.  I honestly think the whole room could be filled with countertops and I would use them all up!

I’m super late blogging this card – I made it for the PWCO Ultimate Summer Challenge last month.

I worked on the inspiration challenge and had to make a card that was inspired by the PWCO stamp that I was using.

I love cute little Carlos the Crab and thought I could do a seashore themed card.  I started working on it and decided to make a sandbucket/pail shaped card and here’s how it turned out:

It’s pretty colourful!

My favourite part is the “water droplets” I made using UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) and my heatgun…here’s a closeup:

I’ll be back tomorrow with my nautical themed baby shower card.

P.S.  Jack is doing well for those that asked – he wouldn’t eat for the first two days but he’s eating now and he’s getting friskier and more comfortable with us and our house.

Before I share today’s card I’ll just mention what my two big “events” were this week:

1.  We purchased a car for me! (before we were a one-car family).  It’s used but it’s a 2009 and it’s awesome!  It’s a base model Honda Fit and it’s FUN to drive!

2. We are doing a trial adoption of a beagle – he’s 5 years old and his name is Jack.  We did a trial adoption a couple of years ago but took two stray 6 month old dogs and they were just too disruptive.  We’ve fostered in the past too but decided it was time to think about giving a dog a forever home.  Jack is doing well so far but I am not a very good sleeper at the best of times and was awake most of the night.  Thankfully it’s a long weekend (we planned ahead) so I should be able to stick it out until Jack settles down a bit.

I’ll share pics of Jack later.  He doesn’t like noises or foreign items so I’m going to let him settle in before sticking a camera in his face.

ETA: My husband couldn’t wait to take pictures any longer…here’s a shot of Jack:

Back to the card…

I had a request for a pirate-themed baby shower card (a first for me – that doesn’t happen too often).  Luckily, I remembered that I had a tiny little Rubber Soul stamp of a pirate ship…here’s what I came up with:

I was a bit worried that the customer wouldn’t like the skull and cross-bones but I felt it really brought home the pirate theme so I stuck it on there anyway.  The card was a hit! (whew!)…so much so that she needs another card for her mom with a “nautical” theme (I didn’t ask why the pirate/nautical theme…I’m just going to assume that the parents own a boat and leave it at that!)

You can’t tell in the picture but the image is framed with a circle that is pop-dotted so there’s more dimension on the card than the picture conveys.

The sentiment was done using a stamp from Hero Arts AND a computer generated word.  I printed Ahoy on red cardstock and then stamped Baby Boy underneath it.

I crumpled up some ancient map themed patterned paper that I had in my stash and ran the sewing machine along the edges.  I also distressed the edges before matting the paper to the black panel.  A couple of brads (I love using old supplies) and I called it a day.

Now, to work on the “nautical” card…see you soon!

Tonight was VERY productive.  I finished off 4 sets of notepads/pens and even managed to make tags and get them all packaged up and ready for “whatever”.  I don’t know if I’ll save them for gifts or sell them.  Tough call.  On the one hand I could use the spare cash as I have to make some budget adjustments (more on that later…still finalizing a few things) and on the other I’m visiting one of our branches at work in a couple of weeks and want to make something for my peeps on the mainland – in fact, that’s what these were orginally designed for.

I made 4 different notepads using the same stamp (well, part of a stamp – I cut it in two separate pieces to get more use out of it) and assorted papers/colours.  They’re fairly easy to mass produce as long as you do one stage at a time – for example, when I did the stitching I just ran a piece of pre-cut cardstock through my sewing machine, pulled a little extra thread and did the next piece without cutting the thread – I just kept going until I had all 4 done and I snipped the threads afterwards…it does save time.

Wanna see?

Once I finished the pads and pens I made some matching tags and packaged ‘em up in cello bags with a little hand-dyed wrinkle ribbon.

I actually made these over 3 days.  On day 1 I cut the pieces of cardstock and paper, scored the cardstock, sewed the CS strips and adhered it all together.  On night 2 I stamped and coloured my images, stamped the flower pot again on patterned paper, cut out the patterned paper and glued it to the image.  I still had an ounce of energy so I beaded the pens that night too.  Tonight (day 3 if you’re still counting) I die cut the images and mats, made the tags and packaged everything up. 

I need to get to the store for more notepads.  I am trying to live without the long skinny notepads I usually make (the Michelle Wooderson style ones) but I can’t decide if these are just as cute.  They use a little more patterned paper but aren’t quite as fiddly to work with.  They’re also wider so I can use a lot more stamps with these than I can with the skinny notepads…decisions, decisions.

Sometimes it’s hard to choose between your hobbies and all of life’s other little offerings.  Hobbies usually win but lately my husband and I have been working on a few other things and both of us are neglecting our studios (mine is a craft studio obviously – his is a music studio). 

I don’t like to share too many “personal” things on my blog firstly because this is a blog about making paper crafts and secondly as a basic security issue.  However, once the things we have been working on are finalized you can bet I will be sharing (two things - one is for both of us and one is just for me) as they are both quite exciting! (but not related to cardmaking)

The point is that most of our energies are focused elsewhere these days but things will settle down.  I’m still creating 2-3 projects a week – I just don’t get a chance to blog about them.

I am sharing a card today though:

Don’t you just love it?  Yummy Cosmo Cricket paper (DeLovely) and a Whipper Snapper stamp (I hope you don’t get sick of seeing this guy…it’s one of my favourites – so fun to colour).

I also threw in some flat backed pearls (Recollections at M’s…watch for them to go on sale and grab a couple of packs so you won’t feel a ridiculous need to hoard) and a little piece of SU ribbon.   A subtle zigzag stitch substitutes for the need to put something over the paper join. 

Of course, whenever I make a card like this I realize how little bright paper I have in my enormous stash of patterned paper.  I do have some new stuff on the way and I hope it gets here soon!

Enjoy the rest of your day…I think I’ll try to make some notepads and pens for gifts.

According to a stamp set I picked up in England last year they can…wanna see?

I’ve been so busy the last few days and NEEDED to get this done for tomorrow but had an appointment last night and got my hair cut and coloured tonight.  I did manage to finish this up in time but wish I had more time to properly blog.

I’ve got a couple of cards waiting their turn to be in the spotlight and I’m hoping to get then on the site this weekend.

I also hope to get my room tidied up (it’s been worse but it’s not picture-worthy) so I can show you the guest chairs DH slapped put together for me last night between working on the fence and our appointment.  I was going to assemble them but when I opened the box and found out that it was more like a 3-D puzzle of a chair (times 2) I bailed.

So if Karen G and Melanie M are reading this, you’ve got your own rolling chairs now (though they are small of scale – which wouldn’t work for me because I am large of butt) which are a step up from those student chairs you see at Staples.  We all just need to figure out when we can get together for a little crafting session.   Soon, I hope!

I will really, really try to post something again tomorrow.  For now, I’m thinking about going to bed early (ish – it’s already 10 pm) and reading for a little while.

No, not MY new address…

My cousin and her partner recently purchased a house and moved in last week.  I made a housewarming gift for them consisting of 4 crocheted dishcloths (well, I love them and I’m hoping that her and J will love them too) and a set of 12 new address cards - 4 for S, 4 for J, and 4 for “them”.

I blurred out the address but I’m sure you can still get the feel of the cards:

The packaging for the clothes matches the cards but I still don’t have the tag finished so there’s no picture of that today.

It took hours and hours to make these – I zigzag stitched all 12 cards and it took a while to do the 12 die-cut houses too (because I was using scraps left from making the cards so I’d make a house, unload the cricut, peel off the paper, make another house, unload the cricut…you get the idea.  Plus the roof/door piece is made separately so that’s 24 load/unloads with the cricut.  Boring!)

Here’s a close up of the die cut:

I used some of the colours from the interior of their home (though the yellow wasn’t one of the colours) – the cloths are the same colour as their kitchen if I remember the paint chips I saw correctly.  I still haven’t seen the house but at least I’ll be prepared when the invitation comes!

I’m finally getting a chance to sit down long enough to blog a project or two…except the washer just stopped so I’ve got to run up and hang the clothes on the line but I’ll be back in about 10…

…here I am!  It’s actually been over 3 hours since I started this post…I got distracted by some housework, a visit from my brother and SIL to say goodbye (their flight left this afternoon) and the need to make DH something to eat as he’s been working hard in the garden digging more holes to complete our fence.

So, back to the card which is not remotely a Halloween card but might inspire you to start those Halloween projects due to the colour choices.  I coloured this little girl a couple of weeks ago and only got to turn her into a card this past week.

She’s so cute.  I {heart} Whipper Snapper stamps.

I used Basic Grey papers that matched the pre-coloured image and finally got to use a piece of cardstock from the package of Gable Green I bought before it retired (I thought I’d give it a try but I don’t really like it now that I see it in person…I generally avoid the “brights” family)

Here’s a close up of some of the details on the image – I used some tiny, tiny flat-backed pearls for a little added interest – check out her dress and her shoes:

Off to work on a DT project – enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Another quick post tonight! 

I whipped this up last night using a new Elzybells stamp I bought from their closing out clearance.   I managed to snag a few stamps but two of the cuter ones were sold out by the time my order was processed…I did manage to add two new stamps to my sad wedding image collection…

I watercoloured my image and I can’t say that I’m 100% happy with it but it’s my first crack at this stamp so I’ll just keep trying.  Colour choices were dictated by the October Afternoon paper.  Lots of distress ink and some sewing too.

Before I go, I just want to share a card that Melanie M sent me using the image from my last round of “Happy Mail”.  She did a great job colouring the image – really great shading:

Pretty cute, hey?

I’ll drop back tomorrow – I still have a couple of projects to share and I have no social obligations so far this weekend (well, except for breakfast with my bro, SIL, DH, and ‘rents but after that I’m free) so I’m hoping to get a few more cards cranked out.

Just a quick post to show you a card I made as a goodbye card for our summer student at work.  Last week was the end of his work term and I had to whip up a quick card the night before so I CASEd a concept I saw on SCS…

I used some K&Co paper I got for a steal at M’s last week ($1.49?) because it had fruit slices in the background and I made the watermelon slice from nestabilities.  The seeds were Recollections half-back pearls that were also really reasonably priced at M’s last week (I think they were $1.79 – that’s the Canadian price).

I did some heavy DTP on the edges of the paper and I love the way it turned out (I was in a rush so there was no “overthinking the ink”)

The cardstock is garden green and groovy guava (I think – it’s an old in colour sheet…I really am trying to use these up but there’s just so much!)

Gotta jet…but I’ll be back tomorrow with a wedding card.