Tim's Tags ... #7

I loved how Tim created the base of these tags!. I wasn't in to all the greenery on the bottom of the first tag so I followed along with his idea on the second tag. I actually liked it so much I made two tags! So fun! This will definitely be a technique I use time and again.

Gift Card Holders

About a month ago, I saw a post on gift card holders on She's a Sassy Lady Blog. I thought they were so adorable. They were designed by Lisa at Lisa's Craft Room Blog. So cute! Although I don't own the die that she used to create her pretty holders, I created one on my Gypsy. Next best thing if you don't have unlimited funds!! Anyway, I tucked gift cards in these holders for my gorgeous little nieces. I hope they like them!

Tag 6 - Enameled Metal Embossing

Enameled Metal Embossing. Okay ... just the name scared me! And, on top of that, I don't possess any metal foil tape. Hmmmm ... what to use? Aluminum foil. I tried it, and it sorta, kinda, almost worked. I found that it's not very durable after the embossing process. I used a sanding tool after I painted the tag. The embossing portion actually worked better than I thought it would. Mr. Frosty the Snowman was a huge help in hiding a few foil rips ... he he he. Once i put the whole tag together, I was mildly pleased with how it turned out.

12 Tags of Christmas ... Tag 5

Tim shared a technique called "distress to distress stamping technique". Since I didn't have the heavy transparency he used for his tag, I used a piece of acetate from packaging. However, it didn't work for me at all! The distress ink didn't adhere well to the acetate. I continued with a stamp and then tried to wipe off as he did. Oh my! What a mess. I decided that I would try it on a stamp instead ... thus the label with the plaid was born. Not thrilled with this tag, but it's completed. Wait til you see my mess with Tag 6! LOL

12 Tags ... Tag 4

I loved the mottled look of the tags Tim created on Day 4. It was great fun mixing up the colors ... turned out better than I had hoped. The crackle paint is also cool to play with. How much fun trying so many new techniques!! Off to create Tag 5 ...

Tim's Christmas Tags ... Tag 3

Tim Holtz always has a couple renditions of the tags he shares with us every day. I attempted two of his techniques for Tag #3. I would not have attempted the custom pad using distress re-inkers method had I not come upon Cyndi's linked up tag on Tim's blog. She has a great alternative that I incorporated in to my plans for the ivy tag. She also had a link to making the brad bows for your tags/cards. Go check her out ... just click on "Cyndi's".

When I went back to take a peak at Tim's explanation on the re-inking custom pad, I found that I actually didn't follow the directions! I used alcohol inks not re-inkers! No wonder I wasn't getting the results I wanted. Duh! I also made another lil' booboo ... I was using Versamark ink rather than embossing ink when I stamped "Peace, Love, Joy" on the one tag. Let me clarify ... a couple of booboo's! I should have used the embossing ink when I ran the other tag through the Big Shot when I was embossing. Live and learn!

12 Tags of Christmas ... Tag 1

I actually had so much fun making this tag. My creative juices weren't flowing right away, but then inspiration hit. I do have to tell ya, Tim provides plenty of inspiration. If I could just have a smidgen of that ... maybe he could bottle it up and sell it in his Etsy shop. What I would give ... sigh! Here is what I came up with. Sure wish I could capture all the sparkle in the picture!

12 Tags of Christmas ... Tag 2

I look forward to Tim Holtz's Tag Creations every December. I'm a day behind ... already! I decided to start with Tag 2 rather than Tag 1 ... just because! So, here it is:

Reindeer Food

I saw THE cutest idea posted on Lilsweetpea's Place. Oh my goodness! I knew I just had to try to recreate something similar for my two darling nieces. They will have so much fun spreading the "Reindeer Food" out on their front lawn so Santa's reindeer won't miss their house on Christmas Eve. Hopefully, they shake it on the front lawn rather than my sister's living room floor! lol

Sassy Challenge

Audrey from Cute and Some shared the cutest Thanksgiving place card box on She's a Sassy Lady Blog over the weekend. Both Audrey and Sheila challenged the bloggers to create something .. anything .. which is cool, that is brown, green, and contains atleast one rhinestone embellie. Since one of my closest friend's birthday is coming up, and even though I haven't found her gift yet, I decided to create a french fry gift box for her present. I'll make sure that whatever I get for her fits in that box! lol

Congrats to the Cricket Couple!

What an awesome milestone! 500+ followers! Everyday I'm inspired by their awesome creations! They always get my creative juices flowing! WTG!

White Space

It's all about the white space with the peeps at 365 Cards. This is always a toughie for me. I have to fight the urge to fill that space! I don't know why, but I'm in to the 3x3 cards lately. I like being able to whip up four cards right away. They are so cute! Anyway, this one goes off to my folks tomorrow as a thank you for their generous anniversary gift. Glad to have it done!

More Cards for 365 Cards

Two more cards to add to my collection. I completed Day 237 and Day 238 for
365 Cards Blogspot.

Here is Day 238:

And, here is Day 237:

Polka Dots!

I love polka dots! So, when I saw the "Seeing Spots" challenge on 365 Cards, I knew I was in! Rather than go with a traditional sized card, I decided to create four lil' 3x3 cards. I'm seeing dots ... he, he, he.

Day 231 - Color Scheme

Boy, was this a challenge for me. My friends over at 365 Cards Blogspot posted a color challenge today. It was a tough combination for me. Check this out:

This is what I came up with. I'm not that thrilled with this card, but it's done. Phew!  Hopefully, my creative juices will flow a bit better tomorrow after a good night's sleep. Yawn ...

A Couple O Cards

I'm on a roll ... sorta. Two days in a row, I was able to complete the 365 Cards challenge. I hope to keep it going since my dear friend volunteered me to help her create several packs of cards to donate for a Halloween Muscular Distrophy fundraiser. We have until October 28th to complete our project. The great challenges continue to inspire me ... yay!

This is for the Staple It challenge. I also used a September Super Sketchy sketch to help me along my way.

365 Cards' Sketch

I took advantage of the great sketch on 365 Cards to create a Thanksgiving card. The sketch is awesome! I'm going to be creating several autumn-type cards using this sketch. Off to start on the next card ...

The Eyes Have It

My church has a coffee hour after the 8:30 am service on Sundays. This past Sunday, I met up with my friend Wendy after we dropped the kids off at their respective Sunday school classrooms. It is such a pleasant atmosphere with the cafe set up in the multi-purpose room. As we were catching up, I felt a spasm in my right eye. It was exactly 9:45 am when this happened. I know this because it was such a strange sensation as I glanced at my watch only to see a "halo" ... really!! ... around my watch face. Hmmm. I tried to focus in on one of the lights in the room. Same thing ... a halo was around the light. Strange, but I wasn't in the least alarmed. I figured it was my eye make up that was irritating my eye. As soon as Sunday school was over, My son, Clay, and I went home. Once home, I proceeded to remove my eye make up, rinse my eye, and put a few drops of an allergy eye drop in my eye. None of my home remedies seemed to alleviate this vision problem. What to do?

Of course, the only real solution was to search the internet for possible causes of the halo effect. Not such a good idea. I found that I could possibly have a detached retina, or scratched my cornea, or was actually on my way to blindness. None of these sounded good ... undoubtedly for a hypochondriac such as myself, these descriptions were down right frightening!

I promptly contacted my brother-in-law, Charles. He's a pediatric ophthalmologist. I had a hunch he might know what might going on with my troubled eye. Charles recommended that I immediately contact a local ophthamologist ... as Charles resides out of state. He gave me very specific words to use in order to be seen right away. Now, I was alarmed. Not too many details were shared other than he said certain ailments (well he said things, but I clearly heard ailments!) had to be ruled out.

I was on the phone first thing Monday morning. Luckily, I was able to get in Tuesday morning at 8:30 am. I endured a 3-hour ordeal. I sat in the waiting room for an hour. After being called back, one of the technicians needed to numb my eyes so she could place a huge instrument, okay a tiny little instrument, but it seemed huge to me in to my eye. Well, I wasn't going to have it! No way! Not me! The office manager came in to tell me I was being a bad girl and needed to cooperate! I politely told her I was scary squeamish about my eyes as I was feeling the numbing effects on my eyes. Why did my eyes weigh 20 lbs. each now? Ugh! They would let me slide on this one ... for now. Fortunately for me, I found out that I was in need of reading glasses during the next test. However, my luck was running out. On to the next room of horrors! The tech explained that she needed to numb me AGAIN!?! Was that really necessary, I asked. And, why would I need numbing. Another enormous machine in need of contact with my eyes. She promised it wouldn't hurt. I didn't care if it hurt, I didn't want it touching my eye. She repeated this numerous times ... no pain involved. I would gladly take the pain if she would agree NOT TO TOUCH MY EYES! No such luck. I was hysterically whining and crying. So much so, my new friend, the office manager, had to come back in to admonish me. I explained that I would not be allowing any eye contact whatsoever, and that I really didn't think I had a problem any more. I'm not sure I convinced them of my miraculous recovery. I swear there were wrestling moves used on me in order to secure an accurate test. Some how or another, I actually survived. They left me shaking and muttering in the second waiting room where I was the youngest patient by 30 years. I was the center of attention in this waiting room, not because I was younger ... and prettier ... and sweeter ... but because I was panic stricken!

The doctor was the next one to see me. He seemed nice at first until he wanted to put dye in my right eye and take a closer look. Ummmm .... he was going to touch my eye. Again, I needed to remain calm. The doctor's assistant had a FIRM hand on the back of my head to keep it in place so the doctor could shine an excrutiatingly bright light in to my eye for an eternity! Ouch! More crying ... wish they had told me that the dye mixed with my tears and left nasty camo-looking stains on the right side of my face. Nice! Doc says I have cornea erosion. When I was speaking with my sister a little later in the day, she asked if that was right. Maybe, an abrasion on my cornea? How would I know? I was not listening clearly because I was still re-living the atrociousness of my morning. My doctor recommended a cornea specialist since my cornea is swollen. Did I have a blow to my eye recently? Or maybe my mascara wand was the culprit? Stuck my finger in my eye? None of the peculiar incidents happened. I'm calmly putting four drops of a steroidal drop in my right eye a day. I'm seriously not ready to relive such misadventure again. This cornea specialist better not have any expectations about touching my eye in any way, shape, or form.

Hiatus

When I logged in to my blogger account the other day, I was flabbergasted that I had not posted since March! Ummm, what have I been doing these last 6 months? I truly couldn't tell you ... specifically where I've been or what I've been doing.

Skiing and snowboarding took over this winter. We were able to enjoy the beautiful mountains at Seven Springs Resort until April. April and May always are a blur because school is winding down while signing up for summer activities gears up. We took advantage of the three or was it four??? beautiful, rain-free days we had this summer to boat on Cheat Lake in West Virginia. The end of July and beginning of August found us in Boise, Idaho to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, a family reunion, and my 30th (GASP!) reunion from Boise High School. After our return from the wild west, Austin's high school soccer team started conditioning practice ... at 6 am and 6 pm every day for the two weeks leading up to school.

Needless to say, I am desperate to get my crafting mojo back. I decided to ease in to it with a delightful sketch from the peeps at 365 Cards. So, I'm off to a slow start, but it's a start.

Hurry, hurry!

I really, really, really want to complete scrapping 2006! It never seems to end! I keep finding pictures I thought I had scrapped, only to learn that the pictures are still hiding in one of my computer files. Whose idea was it to complete a book for each of my boys as well as myself? Huh? I'm going to find her and give her a piece of my mind! Of course, it was me!?! How could I torture myself so? My desire is to stop scrapping every waking moment of my boys lives, but where do you stop? Fortunately the amount of pictures has dwindled over the years, but I need to get moving and shaking. My oldest son is graduating in three ... GASP! ... years!

This layout is for one of my boys ... I'll have to create something similar for the other one's book too. I followed the Creative Scrapper's Sketch #147.I loved this sketch! Maybe I'll do an exact copy ... why not make it easy on myself?

Just a Small Token

I received the Custom Crops News Flash via email the other day. While perusing it, I came across a blurb about a 10 year old Arizona boy that wanted to send thank you notes to ALL the service people over seas. He is looking for donations from any one that makes homemade cards. I thought, "What a beautiful gesture!". There is an added bonus! For every five cards sent to Bazzill, the maker will be entered into a drawing to win two FREE tickets to the last Creative Escape 2011 (travel and accommodations, not included). That's cool, but I feel the need to contribute to the spirit of thanking our hard working and self-sacrificing military men and women. Here is where you can get more information on the project: Creative Escape.

I put together five thank you cards to send off tomorrow. Two of the five are pictured here. I used a template from one of Dawn's videos on her blog. I'm going to have my two boys sign their names so they can express, in some small way, their appreciation as well.

Taxes or Crafting?

It was a hard decision, but the taxes won! I finished up the personal and the business taxes yesterday. Phew! So glad to have that burden off my shoulders. Needless to say, my crafting took a back seat yesterday. Today, however, is a new day! I was able to complete this card for both Day 14 on 365 Cards and the March 14th Reveal on Sassy Lil' Card Sketches.

Day 13 Super Sketchy Sunday

After a day on the slopes, I came home to put together this birthday card following the sketch on 365 Cards Blog. With the time change, my internal clock is really off. I am surprised I was able to get this posted! Oh, my! Off to dream land ... looking forward to another challenge tomorrow.

Keep It Simple ... Silly

Wowza! Two posts in one day. In between all my mommy duties for today, I put this card together for the Keep It Simple Card Challenge on 365 Cards Blog. The assignment was to cover the front of the card with patterned paper, add a sentiment and one embellishment. That was my simple task and here is my simple card.

Trendy Card for 365 Cards

Okay, okay so I'm a little bit behind in getting my card posted. I have no excuse other than pure laziness. I always have the best intentions, but sometimes life just gets in the way.

I really, really want to keep pace with the 365 Card Gals. Even though they are on Day 12 ... or perhaps 13 by now ... I plan to catch up! The challenge for Day 9 was to use one of the current trends in paper crafts to inspire your card. I leafed through my March/April Creating Keepsakes and was influenced by pattern-filled shapes. So as I was pondering what type of shape or shapes I wanted to go with, my eyes fell upon a card I recently received from a friend. And, I was off to create ... this.

Finally!

I just finished this layout! My desire to do scrapbook pages right now is waaaay low! I've been loving the card making so much that I've neglected my regular scrapping. This was the year I was going to get things moving and shaking! Well, they have been shaking, but the shaking has nothing to do with paper crafts!

This layout is based on the March Sketch on Crafty Sketches. I'm glad it's done. 2006 was a year FULL of pictures. It's winding down. Look out 2007, here I come!

Awesome Prize Give Away on Craft-E-Corner Blog

Ummmmm ... wow! This giveaway includes: YourStory Machine Bundle , Handmade Nation Inspirational Book, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists, Paper Soft Color, plus much more! Go check out Craft-E-Corner Blogspot, and get the details. Good luck!

One Hip Chick

Yep, that's my friend Lynn. We were headed to book club last night to discuss The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and she presented me with my birthday gift. She always manages to find the perfect goodies. Perhaps it's because she knows me so well. Amazingly enough, the bracelet she gave me matched my outfit exquisitely. Man ... I was looking like a hip chick.

As I cruised through my dashboard this morning, I saw the Do the Decade on 365 Cards Blog. I knew instantly that "hip chick" would fit in to the 70's era decade for my thank you note ... to my friend, Lynn aka One Hip Chick! How perfect! Don't you love it when things work out so effortlessly? The card is based on a March 2011 card map.

Arch Card for 365 Cards Challenge

I was intrigued by the Arch Card Challenge on 365 Cards Blog. Since I'm a relative newbie (or noob, as my boys would say) to the card making world, I had to google Arch Card. I love exploring the creativity that's floating out there in cyberspace.

My sister, Susan, gave me Amy Sedaris' book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People for my birthday. Obviously not a true crafting idea book, but hysterically describes finding your inner crafting mojo and creating. So, of course, I had to create a thank you card for her for sharing this humor with me! This is what I came up with:

February Sketch Challenge

It started with my Personal Scrapper buddy, Lynnette. She posted a gorgeous layout on her blog and referenced The Scrappiest Sketch Challenge. So, of course, I had to go take a peak. That peak took me to Sweet Peach Crop Shop where I found the February Ketch Challenge going on. Phew! I'm all worn out! Here is my take on the challenge. I really had fun with this one!

I Love Sketches

As I was flitting around the blog world, I came across StuckOnUSketches. The sketch they have highlighted this month was from Scrapbooks, Etc. I promised myself that I would finish off my pictures from 2006 rather than jumping all over the place. This layout is my oldest son at the Championship swim meet. We couldn't remember what place the white ribbon represented. After some heavy-duty searching in my cob webbed noggin', I remembered his relay placed 3rd. An amazing feat ... not only for the boys, but for me actually recalling that detail!

Luck of the Irish, I say ...

Now that I've become obsessed with "following" blogs, I find I am up for the many challenges these creative ladies suggest I try. Today, I decided to put together a gate card for the challenge on The Cuttlebug Spot. Since St. Patty's Day is about a month away, I thought a card for the occasion was apropos. I embossed the clover on the front ... still deciding if I like the way it looks. I may also add some emerald bling to the eyes of "Paddy" inside the card. What do you think? I'm always wanting to change things after a couple of hours of the project sitting there ... saying, "Dontcha wanna do this? Or add this? Or rip it up and start over?"

And, they called it Puppy Love

Do you remember that song? Paul Anka wrote that sweet ballad for Annette Funicello in 1960! However, I remember Donna Osmond singing it in the 70's. I was going to marry him, ya know! He was one of my many childhood crushes. I also adopted his favorite color, purple. Purple is still my favorite color to this day. Additionally, I was infatuated with Dennis Weaver from McCloud, David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, and Barry Manilow. What a crew! Those were more innocent days.

My son, Clay, is currently infatuated with his friend, Michelle. They've known each other since they were 2. Things started to heat up over the summer ... atleast for Clay. Being 11 and all, he considered himself to be in the fast lane. They have gotten together at Michelle's house for rounds of GameCube and movies. But that is the extent of it. Coincidentally, Michelle's mom and I are great friends, and have discussed this topic ad nauseum. Although it's sweet and innocent enough, they are closely monitored. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner and the cat gate card I made for her birthday was a big hit, he asked me to create a special Valentine's Day card for her. This is what I came up with:

Tri-Fold Valentine's Day Card

Okay, so I feel a little clueless when it comes to the craft world. I had no idea what a tri-fold card was ... of course, I had seen them, but didn't know the card had an actual name. After studying what the DT put together on The Cuttle Bug Spot Blog, I decided to create my own. I did what several of the DT bloggers did and googled "tri-fold card". And, of course, there are a million ways to put together a tri-fold card. I also looked at what Audrey Frelix posted. I saw the thumbnail of her adorable card, and just HAD to see how she made hers! Gorgeous! I pulled out my Gypsy and went to work. This is what I came up with:

She's a Sassy Lady Gate Card

I am always excited when Sheila from She's a Sassy Lady posts a tutorial for the Gypsy. Saturday's challenge was creating a gate card. It was a bit of challenge for me because my image on the Gypsy wouldn't stay put at .21. It kept creeping off the page. I ended up cutting the card before I realized this was happening. I made a few adjustments while making creases on the card. I played with it a bit more today, and believe I have it corrected. Nevertheless, I liked the way it turned out. My son is going to a birthday party this Friday for a girl he has a crush on. She has a couple of cats as pets so he requested I put a cat on the card. Also, in lieu of gifts, his friend asked the kids to bring donations for "Little Bit of Snuggles Animal Rescue". I will be replacing the Bath & Body gift card with a PetSmart card. Sweet idea!

Waiting, waiting, waiting

Here I sit in the car dealer's showroom, waiting once again. What pray tell am I waiting for? Well, my car radio is acting up again! I cannot believe it! I had the car in for service not even two weeks ago. Apparently, all went well with the new radio set up. Yeah, sure! One of the features I have on the radio is the XM service. Couldn't live without XM radio ... as I couldn't live without my heated seats, my remote starter, and my sun/moon roof! I'm not spoiled, really! Now that I am accustomed to these little luxuries, I am holding on to them with clenched fists. I went to hit my weather tab last week while driving ... well, slip sliding, in the snow. No weather tab to be found! Where did it go? I promptly contacted XM. While they were very nice about downloading the weather information three times while I sat in various and remote parking lots with the car running so the download would take, my tab was still no where to be found. Ugh! I called the dealership, and of course, didn't get a phone call back. In my desperation, and since I was actually paying for this little added benefit, I contacted XM again. Boy are they a patient bunch! I lost my normally sweet and calm cool! We decided that it was not an XM problem, because the feature was successfully downloaded. I just didn't have access to it! Now, I'm back a the dealer. Please, please let the whole radio work this time. An hour has passed, and I am trying to be patient. I'll keep you posted.

Technologically Challenged

Yep, that's me! How did I go from being pretty good at figuring things out on the computer to spending hours trying to figure out how to add a new template to my blog?!? It MAY have something to do with me being a perfectionist ... continuously tweaking gadgets, widgets, html codes, etc. until they look the way I want them to look. Ugh! I'm getting there slowly but surely. I'll see you all on the flip side of my exasperation!

Creative Scrappers Sketch #137

I have had this sketch sitting on my desk since its reveal on January 2, 2011! I was finally able to settle in to my scrap space and begin creating. And, I must admit, it's easier for me to escape when it's snowing like crazy outside. Snow is a love/hate relationship with me. I love it because I can hunker down in my own spot and scrap or read or sleep. I hate it because I have a tendency to feel confined and dissociated with the world. Such a conundrum! With the snow piling up outside, and my space heater on, I'm hoping to be inspired by sketches #138 and #139.

Let it snow!

I've been wanting to post since New Year's Day, but haven't been in the right frame of mind to do so. I'm not really sure that I am in the "right" frame of mind right now, but the kids are off school today because of snow ... maybe the cold too. Who knows? I do not understand the criteria the administrators use to determine a delay or a closing. Ugh!

I've been up since 5:10 am perusing the "school closing" listings. I didn't see either of my boys' schools. Then, I went back to bed to try to sleep until 6 am when I get up to say good-bye to Austin. As I laid my head on the pillow, my cell phone vibrated with a message there was a 2-hour delay. Oooookay. I got up again to turn off the alarm clocks so the boys could sleep in. Their 2-hour delay means that I get to sleep in a bit longer as well. Who was I kidding? Phone buzzes again. Friends making sure I was aware of the delays. Phone rings! Principal from my son's middle school telling us there is a delay. I decide to get up ... who needs sleep?

I proceeded to hop on the schools' websites again. There is a cancellation for one, but not the other. I need coffee! As I am making my coffee, cell phone buzzes again. School cancelled for my oldest as well. Phew!

Will it be a day of making cookies, playing in the snow, and making scrumptious mugs of hot cocoa filled with fluffy, white marshmallows? Only time will tell. Secretly, I'm hoping to get a bit of crafting done today. Personal Scrapper is having an online crop. I need to let the creative juices flow!!