Card #23 - Graphicat November Sketch

Quick post here today because I'm not sure what time Cheri's shutting down her linky at Graphicat Sketch Challenges. I managed to get some crafty time with a friend this morning (how lovely is that?) and put this cute little card together using this sketch (flipped on its side):

and one of Cheri's new stamp sets. I love all the sentiments that came with this set, can't wait to use more of them!

Supplies: Graphicat stamp set, Memento ink, Copic markers, Creative Memories orange marker, Adirondack marker (for the arms), BoBunny patterned paper, Close to My Heart cardstock, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink, Maya Road doily, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Read More

Layout #69 - From Screen 2 Scrap

Well, I'm pretty bummed out about this! I've had this challenge in mind all month, and finally I sit down to do the page at the last minute, complete it, go to link it up, and...the computer's not cooperating! Grrrrr!!! So I missed the deadline. But, I did manage to use some embellies from the prize pack I won from them last month, (they arrived from Australia yesterday, yay, happy mail!) which was a lot of fun! The challenge at From Screen 2 Scrap this month was to use this poster for inspiration:

You're also supposed to incorporate the word "home" in the title, a family photo, and journaling in white. I used this Page Maps sketch to put my page together quickly:

I looooooved the Notebook paper pack from Close to My Heart, so much that I bought both the Level 1 and Level 2 packs and the stickers, but I haven't used much of it. Feels like I've rediscovered it. The die cut butterflies, doily, button, and flower are from the Storytime embellishment kit from Lovelybug Bits 'n' Bobs, soooooo cute, loved getting that in the mail! Ah well, too bad I missed the deadline, but I'm glad I have this page to show for it. This is the family photo I sent out with Christmas cards three years ago, and it's remained unscrapped all these years. Looking at it now, I realize we need one for this year's mail out! Do you send Christmas cards and photos each year? And if so, are you ready to send them, or far behind like me?

Supplies: Close to My Heart patterned paper and stickers, Spellbinders die, Creative Memories pen, Sakura white pen, accents from Lovelybug Bits 'n' Bobs

Read More

Layout #67 - October Project 12

Didn't I just finish my September P12 layout? Seems like it! Well, this month I'm managing to get it done right at the last minute, but on time, so that's better, right? Here's the sketch we were given this month:

I changed it a bit more than I normally would, by flipping the right and left pages, then swapping out the 5x7 photo for 2 4x6's. I also had larger sizes for my other photos because I am cheap and the photo place charges more for smaller prints than the standard 4x6. Can anyone explain why this is fair? A 4x6 collage is printed on a piece of 4x6 paper with the same amount of ink as a standard print (at least I'm assuming it's the same amount of ink, there's only so much ink you can put on a piece of paper, right?), so why should it be 8 times the cost? Anyway, that's my little rant, I'm done now, haha! I'm not loving this layout, but hey, at least it's finished. I do like the felt accents, and I managed to put a dent in my brad stash by studding them up like that. I also like the stitching and the photos, and I like the fact that I was able to use up almost all of my Boom-Di-Ada paper pack to make room for more pretty patterned paper, my lifelong addiction! Have a good week, everyone!

Supplies: Close to My Heart patterned paper, cardstock, stamp sets (Giggle Caps and Cottage Floral), ink, and felt, Creative Memories pen, 7 Gypsies brads, Versamark ink, Judikins embossing powder

Read More

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For!

Yes, it's here, the first installment of my December Daily album! I've had a heck of a time putting this sucker together because Brenna's getting so tall! What does that have to do with anything, you ask? Well, her grabby little hands are all over my stuff, so every night I have to put everything away again, and it's seriously cutting into my mojo! Why can't she just play with her toys and leave mine alone?

Last year was my first ever December Daily, and I decided to make it 7"x5", and mostly red & green. Partway through the process of making it, I won some sweet blog candy from my good friend Roz, and it was HUGE!!! And all full of Christmas papers, ribbons, embellies, and embossing folders. It was too late to use a lot of them at the time, but I vowed to use them in 2011. So, I stuck with the same size (hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!) but changed the colour scheme to something more modern. Hope you like:

Lots of cool Basic Grey and glitter papers, Grungeboard and chipboard numbers, stamped embellies, misting galore (check out that doily on day 12 misted pink!), ribbon and twine, and some cute little snowflakes I bought from Graphicat Designs for $1 a pack. I won't go into full details right now (after all, it is date night, heehee!) but you'll be seeing more as I fill it in starting in December. And hopefully I'll finish the other foundation pages BEFORE December 1st, but it's looking doubtful - I'll try my best! For more info on this project (it's not too late to join in, I started late last year and hung in until the end!) visit Ali Edwards' blog here.

I'm going to enter these pages over at Scrapbooker's Anonymous for their A to Z challenge for November: "D" is for "December Daily". I'm also going to enter these at Scrap Your CRAP (gotta love that name!) - they want to see misting on your creations, and I've used three different hues of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist throughout this project.

Read More

Book Review Time!

Well, I have been getting some work done in my crafty dungeon, but it's been on my December Daily and not enough to post yet, so I thought I would fill you in on some good books I've read (and a stinker to avoid). I always love to give and get books for Christmas, so if you've got any suggestions for me, please fill me in!

First up is "The Book Thief" by Markus Zuzak.

This was an incredible book, in my opinion. I borrowed it from the library in Burns Lake, read about half of it, and then we moved. I couldn't get it out of my head, so I bought my own copy when I had a chance. It's supposed to be for young adults, but don't let that stop you from picking it up - it's very dark, told from Death's point of view, for one thing. It is filled with wonderful characters, good and bad, and even though I knew what would happen at the end (no, I didn't read ahead, but there's some foreshadowing going on there!) I still bawled my eyes out!

I just finished this one:

This was a book club pick for my Burns Lake book club, and it's one of those books that probably everyone would like. The narrator is a dog (hmmm, sensing a pattern here with the odd narrators) whose owner is a young race car driver. The story takes us through the ups and downs of the master's life through the eyes of Enzo, his dog. I definitely would not have chosen to read this for myself, but I'm glad I did because it was a great story. And, while I was searching for a cover photo to post here, photos of Patrick Dempsey in racing gear kept popping up - yes, a movie will be coming out soon! I just hope they don't mess up the story too much.

I promised you a stinker, and here it is:

This book was excruciating! So hard to read, and boring, and sloooooooow!!! I don't know how it won any award, but somebody must have been paid off! It's too bad, because the cover is kind of catchy - Jason almost bought this one for me for our anniversary, and I'm so glad he didn't. Instead, he got this:

which I'm reading now. I know, 6 months after he bought it (he keeps asking, "Are you EVER going to read the book I got you?") but it's a bit more involved, so I don't mind taking my time with it. It's pretty good, though, so far. I'm also reading this one:

Okay, how can you resist a cover like that? Especially if you've always wanted a horse, like me? The reviews are great, so I have high hopes!

Well, that's it for now. I better get on that December Daily, I'm starting to stress out over it, and nobody likes a stressed out Roxy, haha!

Read More

Card #22 - SSS133

I think I'm done with the cards for a while! I am totally not impressed with how this one turned out, but I had just won four digis from Tickled Pink in their blog hop a couple weeks ago, and I really wanted to colour some of my new images. This is one of the new Party Pinkettes, and I love her, but I made some booboos, like that atrocious shadow, and cutting off the top of her fork with my Spellbinders die. I decided to cover that last mistake by outlining the image in twine, but my Glossy Accents tip is ruined, and the glue just oozes out, made a pretty big mess. Ah, well, live and learn, right? I'm entering this over at The Sweet Stop, who had this cute sketch this week:

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Bazzill and Neenah cardstock, Tickled Pink image, Memento ink, Close to My Heart stamp set (Say it in Style), Twinery twine, Creative Memories and Echo Park patterned paper, Copic markers

Read More

Card #21 - Saturated Canary, CPS, and Paper Sundaes

Holy cow, have you SEEN these images from Krista Smith at Saturated Canary?! Aren't they the cutest??? I'd been drooling over them for a while, so when I opened my Dashboard one night and noticed a post for a sale on this image for a limited time (it's actually a Christmas image, comes with a present/nutcracker that I trimmed out) I snapped it up right away! And good thing I did, too, lots of people missed out! Anyway, I tried colouring with new paper for this one, I think it was the Copic X-press stuff. It's super smooth, but I think there's a learning curve to it because I definitely overdid it in a couple of places. Plus I went out of the lines a whole bunch, so I had to trim her out (seems I do that with all my images anyway!) and I had a heck of a time with her ringlets! Overall, though, I'm pleased with the results. The challenge this week at Saturated Canary is a recipe: use 1 image, 2 papers, and 3 embellishments (I used twine, flowers, and pearls). Don't you love this sketch from CPS?:

I flipped it to fit the image, of course. I'm also entering this card at Paper Sundaes, who are asking for "rectangles" this week.

Supplies: CTMH and Copic X-press cardstock, Cosmo Cricket and unknown patterned paper, Twinery twine, Prima flowers, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Copic markers, and CTMH pearls

Read More

Card #20 - Sweet Sketch Wednesday and Kraftin' Kimmie

My last post showed my fastest card, this post shows my slowest, but you know what? I think this might be my best card EVER!!! Hopefully I don't jinx myself by saying that! It took me about a week to make, so it should be good! I started off by colouring my Kraftin' Kimmie fairy Isabelle with my new Copics (a blog hop prize from Scrap-tures!), then printing out the funny sentiment (from Graphicat Designs) and working with this sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday:

I also had the Kraftin' Kimmie challenge in mind, which was monochromatic, but alas, crafty time was at a minimum and I missed the deadline. Anyway, I continued on, using this week's Kraftin' Kimmie challenge: use a pin on your project. I incorporated a Maya Road pin into my design for the inside of the card, see?

This is the first time I've really decorated the inside of a card - this elaborately, anyway. I was inspired to try this by a blog I discovered in the World Card Making Day blog hop: Tara's blog called Inking on the Edge. She has great cards, and always decorated on the inside, check it out! I had a hard time finding patterned papers to match my Copic colours (BG49 and BG53) so I made my own with white cardstock and Broken China Distress Ink, just sponged it on over some background stamping and another Isabelle image. This is going to my friend Jill, whose birthday is on the 9th. Now I just have to remember to get it in the mail on Monday! And good thing I put that pin on the inside, wouldn't want any postal workers to get stabbed, heehee!

Supplies: Bazzill, Creative Memories, Copic X-press and Close to My Heart cardstock, Kraftin' Kimmie, Tim Holtz, and Close to My Heart stamps, Memento and Tim Holtz ink, Spellbinders dies, Prima flowers, My Mind's Eye brad, Maya Road pin, Twinery twine, Graphicat Designs sentiment, Ranger Glossy Accents, unknown button and trim

Copics: Skin - E00, E11 and R20, Hair - Y23, E33, and E35, Clothing & Wings - BG49 & BG53

Read More