I'm Back (Finally!)

Hellooo!  I did not actually drop off the face of the planet- I just dropped off of the blogosphere temporarily.  The last couple of months have been crazy busy- end of the school year and all of that.  I also went through sort of a creative slump...couldn't find any inspiration, and even when I had projects to do, I struggled with them.  I did a card swap for the PBS Swappers for masculine cards, and it was NOT my best work.  I did take pictures, but I'm not sure I want to post them here!  I might later, but they're on my husband's camera, which is currently in Utah with him and the kids.  So maybe someday!

While I was off being uninspired, I thought maybe I could use some help with ideas, so I browsed through some  books at Michaels, and finally decided to purchase one.  Treasuary of Tips and Tricks by Paper Crafts & Stamp It! has over 650 projects and ideas in it, according to the little snippet on the front cover.  I have barely made a dent in looking at all the stuff in there, but wow, there really are a lot of neat things!  Did you know that you can make scented cards by adding Kool-Aid mix to your embossing powder??  Neither did I!!  But I do now!  Anyway, I think being able to browse through some of these ideas helped kick-start my creative juices again, and now my brain is overflowing with ideas!  Ah, if only I had more time.  Well, at least I have some direction now.  I've branched out into experimenting with stamping and heat embossing, and that has been fun!  I had a little mishap with my first heat embossing tool when I first started out, though.  I bought it a few months ago at Craft Warehouse, but had not had a chance to try it out.  I got a new stamp that I wanted to experiment with, so I stamped my paper, sprinkled on the embossing powder, and turned on my brand new, just out of the box heat tool.  I held it over my stamped image, and just as the embossing powder started to melt.....the tool made a clicking sound and seized up.  I used it for all of 15 seconds, and it burned itself out.  Fortunately, the folks at CW are very nice people, and even though I had NO idea where the receipt would be, they let me exchange it for another one.  I finally got to use it this weekend, and I am happy to report that it worked just fine!

So here is what I did with it.  This is for another card swap for the PBS Swappers group- for basically any type of card.  I always seem to do birthday cards, so I wanted to do something different this time.  I picked up a package of stamps for pretty cheap at Michaels, one of which is a "Best Wishes" stamp, and decided to use that one.  I also found this really neat wildflower stamp, and thought it would be perfect for what I had in mind.  I had seen a sample card at Michaels awhile back that I really liked- it had puffy white dandilions silhouetted in white against a mottled blue background.  So that is what I used for my inspiration.  Here is the result:

I used watermark pigment ink to stamp the image onto white card stock, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I then dabbed on two colors of stamp ink with a sponge dabber to create the mottled blue and green background color, then just wiped the ink off of the embossed image with a paper towel while it was still wet, to keep it white.  Then I added the Best Wishes sentiment with the stamp, using the same blue ink that I used for the background.  I added the dragonfly as an afterthought, but I really like it!  I had been experimenting with dabbing the ink onto vellum, so had this piece of scrap vellum with the blue and green ink on it.  I punched the dragonfly out of that with a MS dragonfly punch, then dabbed on some silver pigment ink over the blue/green that was already there. I made the flower using various flower punches and used a white pearl for the center.  I am really happy with how it came out! Here are some close-ups:

And here are all of the finished cards.

And OH!  I just rememered that I never shared about my new crafting space!  Ever since I started crafting, I've had to use the kitchen table.  My supplies were stored in various places around the house, whereever I could fit them, and it was pretty inconvenient whenever I wanted to craft, since I had to haul my stuff in from other rooms.  I dreamed of a crafting room all to myself, but when you have 2 kids in a 3 bedroom house, it is just not to be.  However, we had a playroom for the kids.  The kids are not little anymore though- my son will be 15 this coming week, and my daughter will be 11 in September, so they really didn't have much need for a room full of toys that they never played with anymore.  My husband was given a mini pool table by a friend, and as he's always wanted a pool table, I agreed to it on one condition: that it does not take up an entire room all by itself, just to play pool.  I wanted to find a way to use it for multiple purposes.  So my clever husband built a tabletop for it.  It is the perfect surface and height for my crafting!  Plus, he found a removable net that can be put on it to play ping-pong- how cool is that?!  The kids are thrilled with their new game room, and I am thrilled with a place to keep all my crafting stuff in one place, as well as be able to spread out and work on my projects.  Here is the finished room:

Some of my storage space:

We're still doing some organizing in there, so hopefully someday I will be able to have entire shelves to myself and not have to share with ping-pong paddles and the like!  I have only done two projects in here since it was done, and it was soooo wonderful to be able to have everything at my fingertips!

Well, that's all for now!  I just joined another card swap for next month, Christmas in July, so get to start thinking about holiday-themed cards next!  I already have a few ideas, so am looking forward to playing with them a bit.  See you next time!

Slide Cards

I got to try a new card technique, and it was fun!  It was also a lot of work- whew!  I did these for a card swap with the PBS Swappers Paper Crafts Yahoo Group, and I think I'm glad there were only 4 of us signed up for this one...these were way more time consuming that I expected they would be.  I'm really glad I tried them out though- I love learning new things!

The swap is for either slide, pop-up, or iris fold cards.  I contemplated doing a simple pop-up, since I kind of put off doing my cards and started to run out of time.  But when I watched this video on the double slide cards, I really wanted to try it.  I think I did ok on these, though there are definitely some things I would do differently next time.  For one, I would leave more time to work on them!  I enjoyed making different designs for these, rather than making the same design for everyone in the swap, like I usually do.  I hope everyone likes what they get from me!

This was the first one I did.  I used some of my favorite colors on this one.

This one, I think, is my favorite.  Love these colors as well, and I really love the butterfly pull for the slides!

I used some nice, high-end paper that I've been itching to use on this one.  Love the aqua and brown combination!  You might recognize this paper from a bookmark I posted before.

That's all I have this week.  What- Mother's Day is coming up this weekend??  Yeah...I figured that out just a bit late!  I guess since Easter was so late this year, I just wasn't thinking about Mother's Day, and it kind of snuck up on me.  I would love nothing more than to make handmade cards for my mom and step-mom, but at this point, I will be lucky if I can buy a card and get it in the mail on time!  Next year, I promise!

Kitchen Creation: Freeform Apple Tart

I mentioned this tart in my last post, in talking about our Easter dinner, and this is what we had for dessert.  It is so easy, it's unbelievable!  I came up with this based on several different recipes I looked at for an easy apple tart.  There are lots out there that are similar, but this is what works best for me. This is actually the second time I made this- previously, I made one half this size using just one pie crust.  We had a few people over for dessert yesterday, so I made the large size.  If you want the smaller size, just halve all the ingredient amounts.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of 2 refrigerated pie crusts (you can make your own too, but it's easier to use the ones in the box)
• 4 large Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp. or so of apple jelly
• 4 tbsp cold butter, cut into small chunks (not pictured)
• 1-2 tbsp water

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Unroll one pie crust and lay on the parchment, then unroll the second one and place it overlapping the first one (see picture below)

2. Roll the overlapping sections of crust so that it is the same thickness as the non-overlapping crust.  Roll the edges up and crimp to form a rectangular crust.  Refrigerate until you are ready to layer the apples on the crust.

3. Quarter the apples and cut out their cores.

4.  Peel apples and place in a bowl with cold water and a couple tbsp. of lemon juice to prevent browning.

4. Blot dry and slice apples thinly crosswise.  Discard the small end pieces.

5. Place apples in an overlapping column the long ways down the center of the crust.

6.  Repeat this process on either side of the center column, for a total of five columns.

7.  Place sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.  Sprinkle over the apples, then dot with butter.

8.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the edges of the crust are golden brown and the apple filling is bubbly.  Turn off oven and remove tart.

9.  In a small bowl, combine apple jelly and water and whisk until smooth.  With a pastry brush, brush jelly mixture over the apple filling and crust.

10.  Place tart back into the hot oven for 10 minutes.  Remove and let cool 5 minutes before cutting.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.  Or eat leftovers cold for breakfast the next morning.  It's great with vanilla ice cream!

This is such an easy dessert to put together!  Yes, it takes a bit of work to peel and slice the apples, but it is SO worth it!  Try it for your next holiday meal or when company is coming.  This is the kind of dessert that EVERYONE loves!

Bookmark Swap

Hello all, and Happy Easter!  We are having a low-key holiday today.  The kids got their goodie baskets this morning, hubby is working, and I'm making a nice dinner, but nothing too extravigant.  I'm roasting a chicken, and we'll have mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and bread.  I'm making a super easy freeform apple tart for dessert- it is so dang easy, you wouldn't believe it!  Maybe I'll snap some photos later while I'm making it, and post it as a Kitchen Creation, which I haven't done in quite awhile now.

Anyway, not too much new craft-wise this week. I didn't have time to do anything new, but I did get a picture of one of the bookmarks I made for the spring theme bookmark swap at the PBS Swappers Yahoo group.  The theme is spring, and what is more springy than flowers?!  I knew I wanted to do something with pressed flowers, that much was for sure.  So on my last trip to Craft Warehouse, I found a really pretty paper that put me in mind of spring.  Its vibrant aqua-blue background reminds me of the clear blue sky, and the bright yellow is so sunny and cheerful, just like a bright spring day!  Here is what I did with it:

I sent off my swap bookmarks the other day, but made one extra, and I'm trying to decide if I want to list it in my Etsy shop or not.  I just might want to keep it for myself!  Like I don't have enough bookmarks as it is, lol!

Speaking of my Etsy shop, things have been pretty slow over there.  I've had items in several treasuries over the last couple of weeks, since I started listing my new designs, and that's nice.  I'm having a sale for Mother's Day- 20% off entire purchase- but so far no takers.  So, I'll tell you what: if you are a follower of my blog and want to place an order by April 30th, I will throw in an extra gift with your Mother's Day order, free!  Just send me a convo or email after you place your order and mention the free gift offer on my blog, and I will include a surprise with your order.  To get your 20% discount, use the coupon code MOTHERSDAY2011 at checkout.

That's all for now- I'll try to come back later and post pictures and a recipe for the incredibly easy apple tart.  Assuming, that is, I can get any pictures of it before my family gobbles it up!

Baby Card and a Few Bookmarks

I'm still not finding a lot of time for crafting, but managed to do a couple of things this week.  First is a baby card.  This is for a friend of my husband whose wife is expecting their first baby- a boy!  She's due in the next month or so, and there's a baby shower coming up.  I bought a gift, and figured I'd make a card.  Now, this card might look a bit familiar.  It's very similar in style to the one I made for my brother a few months ago.  I did not set out to make this one close to the same, but when I shopped for paper for this card, there were surprisingly few options for baby boy paper at Michael's.  They recently reorganized their paper section, and unfortunately seem to be carrying less than they did before. :(  So that cute paper with the little storks that I used for my brother's card?  I ended up getting that same paper in blue instead of pink.  I did not want to do pastels, so I found a nice dark, almost denim blue to use as an accent, and a nice bright green as well.

The "Baby Boy" on the front, as well as the message on the inside, was printed from the computer.  I like how this turned out, especially because I was able to find an adorable gift bag in these same colors for the gift!

Next up is a few bookmarks.  I ended up having to stay home with my daughter one day this week when she was sick, so I took advantage of the block of time and tried out some new designs.  My Etsy store stock is getting a bit depleted, so I need to restock with some fresh styles, especially now that Mother's Day is only a month away!  I'll be listing these, as well as a few others that I'm not posting here, to my shop soon, so stop by and check them out!  Here's a sample though.

I got these rose buds awhile back, but hadn't had a chance to do anything with them.  They're cute, aren't they?  I used a deep red outer border with an antique gold middle layer, which I think compliments the red, as well as brings out the leaf and stem colors.

I love this one!  This is a new-to-me flower, a carnation.  I got a small package of these to try out, and now I know I need to get some more!  Such a nice bright purple color!  This striped paper is neat too, with various shades and hues of greens and purples.

This one is made with a paper that I've had for awhile and have always liked.  I love the combination of the brown and aqua shades.  The outer border on this one is a deep shimmery brown, with a gold middle layer.  Love these colors together!

That's all for now!  Next time, I'll post a picture of the bookmark I made for the spring bookmark swap at the PBS Swappers group.  I've also joined a card swap for this month, but am awaiting swap details from our lovely hostess Christy.  All I know at this point is that it should be a card with either a pop-up, slide, or iris-fold technique.  I've never done any of those, so it's a fun opportunity to try something new!

Two Birthday Cards

Hello!  Whew, it is good to get back to crafting- I have missed it so much!  Yesterday, my husband took the kids over to the coast for the day, leaving me at home all alone for several hours.  I could have used the time to clean, or organize all the medical bills, or balance the checkbook.....but I didn't.  I went to Michael's and Craft Warehouse and browsed to my heart's content, and picked up some new papers in pretty spring colors.  I figured that I could use some inspiration for my first projects after my break from crafting, and new paper always inspires me!  Plus, it's a pretty cheap way to go for inspiration.

I have two family birthdays coming up in the immediate future- well, three, but I only got around to making two cards yesterday.  One is for my dad, who turned 71 yesterday.  We just saw him a couple of weeks ago when he came out to help out during hubby's surgery and recovery, but I still wanted to send him a card to wish him a happy birthday.

This one was fun to do!  The striped paper is one that I've had for awhile but never used, and when I picked it up, I did so with the thought in mind that it had a lot of nice, masculine colors.  I love being able to work with multiple colors- though it usually takes me longer to come up with a design, because there are so many choices!  I went with some simple, clean lines here, with the exception of the torn brown paper.  The blue paper has a sort of crinkly texture that adds some interest.  I printed the Happy Birthday message on the computer and cut it and the black and green frames out with the oval Spellbinders Nestabilities dies.

Next up was a card for my cousin, Trina, whose birthday (the big 4-0) is April 1.  Trina is the cousin who lives in Montana and we see every summer for vacation- last year, we met up in Leavenworth, WA.  This year, we will be going up to see them in Montana in their brand new vacation cabin- woohoo!  Anyway, here is Trina's card:

This was made with one of the new papers I got yesterday, the leafy patterned one in shades of green and turquoise.  Or maybe that's teal, it's kind of a fine line, isn't it?  I thought it was pretty and kind of tropical-looking.  I used one of the Martha Stewart punches for the palm leaves, and another for the flowers- hydrangeas, maybe?  I don't know, but they were more tropical-looking than the daisies, lol.  Here's the inside of the card:

I printed this out on the computer, and we'll all sign our names individually as well.  I'm going to make a bookmark and include it in the card before getting it in the mail.

So much to do!  It's almost April already, and then May, and that's Mother's Day!  I opened my Etsy shop in April of last year, and didn't have the inventory or presence to take advantage of Mother's Day sales, so I'm hoping to stock up my inventory with some new designs early and not miss the boat this time!  I have one more birthday card to make in the short term, for hubby's neice Rachel, who turns 18 on the 31st, and then I will be focusing on bookmarks for awhile.  I mentioned before that I joined a spring bookmark swap with the PBS Swappers group, and I was excited to find out that there will also be another card swap scheduled for April, so I want to do that one too.  I got a neat paper that I want to use for the bookmark swap, and I'll try to give a sneak preview next time.

Happy crafting!

...And, I'm Back (Almost)

Hello!  The past month has been a total blur, and I am completely exhausted, but things are starting to get back to normal.  My husband had surgery to remove a pituitary tumor on March 10th, and I only just returned to work this past Monday, because caring for him, and the kids, and the house, the dog, and everything else, pretty much took everything I had.  Thankfully, hubby is on the mend now and will hopefully get the all-clear next week from his surgeon to return to work.  Meanwhile, I've been trying to catch up on sleep and remember what it's like to relax for a few minutes a day.  I have not had a chance to even THINK about crafting, but am looking forward to getting back into it!  I am itching to revitalize my Etsy shop with some new designs and make some spring-themed cards.  I was sad to have to miss out on a birthday card swap with the PBS Swappers group, but just signed up for the spring bookmark swap.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say I am still here, and will hopefully be back to business as usual soon!

Hiatus

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted to this blog- whoops!  Time sure flies sometimes!  Well, I have had no time for crafting so have had nothing to report there.  Also, my husband has been having some health issues, and will be going in for surgery on March 10th, so I will be continuing my hiatus for a bit longer.  I will also be putting my Etsy shop on vacation during that time, until he is back on his feet and I won't need to be a nursemaid any longer (well, no more than usual anyway, lol).  Please be sure to check back in a couple of weeks, when I hope things will be getting back to normal and I will have had some time to get some of these ideas out of my head and created!  See you then!

Tags, Bookmarks, and Valentine Treats

Hello!  So sorry to have been absent for so long!  I have been busy and not crafting, so have had nothing to share.  My free time, when I have it, tends to get spend reading, and crafting falls behind more often than I would like.  I did get a chance to get to do some catch-up this weekend though, on some miscellaneous things.

First, I signed up for a tag swap through the PBS Swappers group.  Tags?  Never done them!  I was nervous, until I read on the swap board that most of the other participants had not done tags before either- so we are all beginners together!  The theme, inspired by Valentine's Day, is Love, but beyond that there are no requirements.  I had a vision in my mind from the beginning that had a scrap of paper bearing a love poem, so that is what I built on for my tag.  I went through a couple of revisions before settling on my design:

So, I found the "How do I love thee" poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning online, and that is what I used for the poem (or partial thereof), printed out on the computer.  I used a stamp for the gold heart and "Love" impressions, and found some great paper roses at Michael's for 3D embellishments.  I cut out the tags with the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4 dies, and just snipped off the tips on the top and bottom.  Oh, and I found these great little heart-shaped "Love' insribed charms at Michaels.  They were in the wedding section, and I got 20 for $1.99, so they were very economical!  They were silver though, so I distressed them with sandpaper, and that revealed a gold-tone underneath the silver finish, which was perfect for this.  A black ribbon tops the tag.  I"m pretty happy with how it turned out- my only concern now is how I will be able to mail these without ruining the roses!  I did not think about that before it was too late..now I have to worry about how these will make it through the U.S. mail without getting messed up.  A purchase of bubble wrap is in my near future, I think!

I have also begun to think about my Etsy shop, and adding some spring designs.  I've been researching color trends, and have found some really interesting data on what colors will be hot this year!  I'm not sure how much of it to pay attention to...so the result has been to look at what they say, and pick out what I like from the bunch,  LOL.  Here are a couple of new bookmark designs I put together recently:

 This one uses aqua and chocolate brown, using dyed daisies:

This one also uses dyed daisies in lavendar, paired with navy blue in this bookmark.

I haven't done any other bookmarks since the last set I did for the Christmas season, and am anxious to develop some new designs for spring, and clear out some of the winter designs.  I'm thinking of having a sale in my Etsy shop on those older designs, so watch for that!  In the meantime, I'm on the lookout for new, fresh color schemes for my spring collection- so please leave a comment if you have any ideas for colors you'd like to see in bookmarks!

Last but not least, we are nearing Valentine's Day, and I have been helping my daughter Meredith prepare for her school's Valentine's Day party.  I came up with a cool lollipop flower that is really fun- she is making these for all of her friends.

Aren't those cute?!  They are made with 3 layers punched from a 6-petal flower punch.  They are a bit of work to assemble, so we decided that we will just make a few for M's best friends.  They are fun to put together, and look so pretty when assembled!

That's all for now!  I hope to have more to show you soon.  I recently got a heat embossing tool and am looking forward to experimenting with that!  I have a few family birthdays coming up, so will be making some cards soon!

Meredith's Note Cards

Well, I'm a few days late for my weekly update, but better late than never!  It's been busy as ever, and I haven't been crafting, so don't really have anything new to show off this week.  However, I realized that I forgot to post the note cards that I made for my daughter, Meredith, so wanted to do that real quick.  I think I mentioned this awhile back- I found this cool "M" stamp in the dollar bin at Michael's, and thought it would be cute to put on a little note card for Meredith.  The need for something to write thank you cards for Christmas gifts prompted me to go ahead with that project, and I like how it turned out.

I made four cards for her- two of them had a dark pink ribbon instead of the green, but I ran out of that color and did green on the other two.  If I'd had more of the pink ribbon, I would have done bows- I think it needs a little something else.  In any case, Meredith really liked these.  Her favorite color is blue, and I really liked the mix of colors in this paper.  I used one of the Spellbinder Nestabilities label dies for the piece that I stamped with the M, as well as the pink frame.  Love those Nestabilities!  I wish I could find more of them locally, but Craft Warehouse is the only store that carries them here, and they have a limited selection.  The inside is blank, and Meredith did indeed write her thank you cards in these.  I ended up making these in the standard A2 size, rather than note card size, because the M stamp was bigger than I remembered, and would have been too overwhelming on a smaller card.  It worked out well, because I already have some A2 envelopes, and had been having trouble finding notecard sized envelopes without the cards.

I sent in my cards for the Thank You card swap, and am now awaiting my swap package- I'm excited to see what everyone else did!  That is my favorite part about the swaps, even more than creating my own, is seeing the ideas and interpretations that other people come up with.  It really helps me to expand my own ideas and creativity.  I have also joined another swap- this one is for Valentine or love-themed tags.  I have never done tags before, so I'm kind of scared...but thankfully, most of the other gals in the swap are also new to tags, so we're all in the same boat!  I have some ideas for mine and have purchased a couple of supplies, but need a few other things, so a trip to Craft Warehouse is in my near future so that I can get started.  We have a long time to get this one done- end of February, but I don't want to put it off and then lose track of time like I did with the thank you cards!

Til next time- happy crafting, everyone!