Ta Da - Gift Card Holder

I've got one more project to share this week for The Memory Nest using Ta Da Creative Studios, Jolly Holiday paper.   I actually found this on Kristina Werner's blog and thought it would be a great one for Christmas.  It really is an  easy gift card holder to put together.  The ribbon holds it closed, slides off like a belly band.  I used the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to put two mini staples on each side to create the pocket.

Guess what?  The holiday sale at The Memory Nest has been extended!

More Ta Da - Jolly Holiday

Hello.  Today I'm showing another card I made with this cute Jolly Holiday paper line from Ta Da Creative Studios.  When I saw this Cookie Exchange paper I knew I had to use this gingerbread stamp.  I die cut a window with the Wonky Rectangle die, and backed it with white card stock embossed with Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder using dimensional adhesive.  I tied on some Pool Party baker's twine and adhered a sentiment on the panel I created with the "B" side of the Hung with Care sheet.  You can get this paper at The Memory Nest.

Ta Da Creative Studios - Jolly Holiday

This week I'm featuring the Jolly Holiday collection from Ta Da Creative.   The card I'm showing today is a really easy one to put together and would be a great one to make multiples of.  I cut a panel of the Ginger and Lace paper from the collection for my background and rounded the top two corners.  I stamped a Christmas Tree and added some glitter glue for ornaments.  I also stamped a sentiment on white card stock and lined the top and bottom with some baker's twine.  I also tied some around the tree base and added a punched star to the top of the tree.  That's pretty much it - easy peasy.  You can get this collection of paper at The Memory Nest and now through Monday 11/26 you can get 10% off and free shipping with a $25 order with code BlackCyber12

Pebbles - Walnut Grove

Today I'm sharing a card I made with the Pebbles - Walnut Grove collection.  This card went together pretty quickly by using the coordinating dimensional stickers.

This collection is available at The Memory Nest.   Head over and enter into the Thankful giveaway! 

Books and Pebbles - Walnut Grove

Although I didn't actually make an official resolution this year, one thing I've really wanted to start doing is reading.  Typically I maybe read one or two books a year.  I remember last year I was so proud of myself for reading The Help.  I think that's what got me wanting to read more.  Then this past May I bought The Hunger Games Trilogy for my daughter and figured I may as well read it to see what she was reading and if it was appropriate for an 11 year old.    Well, I read all three in less than a week, I loved it.  I was actually sad that I finished it so fast and missed the characters and story.  I had no idea that there was a whole bunch of similar books out there.  I love this Dystopian Fiction genre and since May I've read 21 books!  I've turned into a bookworm.   Not all were in that genre as I also joined a book club and those have been more of NY Times Bestsellers and some Oprah booklist books.   Anyway, being the avid reader and a paper crafter, you know I would have to make bookmarks!   Here's one I made with this great line of paper called Walnut Grove by Pebbles.  I used one of the coordinating dimensional stickers as well.  The sticker I used had the word "hi" on it which didn't suit my bookmark so I added a little flower on top. These dimensional stickers make it so easy and quick to add an embellishment to a project.   You can purchase this collection at The Memory Nest.

So what are you reading?

BTW - I took this photo with the book I just finished called Legend, by Marie Lu.   After the first two chapters I couldn't put it down.  If you want to see what else I've been reading you can see my recent reads on the right hand side of my blog where my Shelfari account is linked up.    I highly recommend the Divergent series by Veronica Roth and The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit

I've got another card made with the November Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp.  I added in a few additional products.  The kit comes with Black and White Baker's Twine, but I used Brown and White for a softer look.  I also used the Apothecary Stamps and coordinating die from Simon Says Stamp for the sentiment and some card stock scraps I had that coordinated perfectly with the patterned papers in the kit.   For the background I stamped the card with a background stamp from Impression Obsession with Versamark ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

Lobby Renovation

Today I have a non-paper craft project to share.  I don't often share my full time job projects on this blog, but here's a glimpse of what I do during the day.   This project is a lobby renovation for a building that used to be a courthouse.  The building was built in the 60's and had a glass front link to another building.  You can see in the before shots that the building on the left had a higher elevation floor level by the ramps within the link.  The biggest issue with this project is that the link is no longer needs to connect up to the building on the left so it was just closed off.  We replaced the glass front and made the lobby a bit deeper.
We turned this space into a two-story seating area for the building on the right which was converted to a multi-tenant office building.  The entrance to the building is set back pretty far from the street and we wanted to design something that would draw people in.  Also, we wanted to reuse the existing solid wood (walnut and mahogany) that would be removed from the old court rooms.  I came up with this wood collage wall which mixes in both the existing walnut and mahogany.  It also incorporates LED lights that can be programmed in many ways such as modifying the colors.   There's a one story area of the lobby to the right of the new two-story space which leads into the tenant spaces and elevator lobby.

Here are some before and after shots...

This is what the link looked like before and after. I didn't get the same exact shot. but you can see how it was one-story ramps to the other building and now a two-story lobby.

The central lobby space before and after...

 The elevators...

and a few more shots outside to show the lights changing color.  You can see the new exterior glass wall which we pulled out a couple of feet to give the lobby a little more space for the new seating area.

and sorry these were just cell phone photos.  I'm going to go back and take better photos with my SLR.
I hope you enjoyed my non paper crafting project.  It's always fun to see the projects come to life after working with them on autocad and paper for months!

Lily Bee - Christmas Cheer

Just a quick post today.  I'm showing another card made with the Lily Bee Christmas Cheer collection.  I used the Figgy Pudding sheet for my Merry Christmas sentiment.

You can get this collection as well as so many others over at The Memory Nest and while you're there enter to win the giveaway a gift card and some washi tape!

Hello.  This week I'm featuring another fantastic paper line from Lily Bee called Christmas Cheer.   For this card I used both sides of "Frosty" sheet.   I cut one rectangle of the paper and then cut it again vertically and flipped it over - an easy way to create a background pattern for a card.   I used a combination of Copic markers and Stampin' Up! markers to quickly color in the polar bear.   I added a line of white gel pen around the outside of the patterned paper to tie in the white embossed sentiment.

Simon Says Stamp - November Card Kit

Here's a quick card I made with the Simon Says Stamp November Card kit.  The only products I used that do not come in the kit is a lighter green card stock because I wanted a smooth card stock for embossing and the white and copper embossing powders.   I love that the kits come with so much.  You get a lot of 6x6 patterned papers, card stock, a stamp set and more.  I love that they pack a lollipop in there, too!   {sorry about the cell phone photo}

You Shine - Pink Pailsee Prairie Hill

My third card with this collection and I'm still loving it.  Here I used my silhouette to cut the banner and backed it with card stock and some patterned paper for the sun.   I added some more patterned paper over the banner points and trimmed out with scissors.  I added some baker's twine across the bottom and top.  To add a little more detail I scored a rectangle around the background patterned paper.  I rounded the bottom corners with the 1/4" corner chomper.

Don't forget to head over the The Memory Nest to enter to win a gift card and washi tape!

A Note of Thanks - Pink Paislee

I've got another card to share today that I made with the Pink Paislee Prairie Hill collection.  I used a large vertical panel of the diamond paper to feature it and added some butterflies and a sentiment.  This would be a really easy card to make in multiples for a note card set.  One tip for when you don't have the right colored card stock - use ink.   I used an ink pad to color the larger butterfly because I didn't have a solid paper to match and ended up really loving the mottled effect that it has.  A few pearls and a corner rounder punch and it's good to go!

Pink Paislee - Prairie Hill

Hi - I'm here again with another card for The Memory Nest.  As soon as I saw this collection I knew it would be one of my favorites.  I love the colors - aqua, orange, dark yellow, brown... and the awesome patterns!  I couldn't decide which patterns to use so I made a card with several of them in vertical strips.  I stamped the sentiment on vellum with Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder.  I love how the transparency of the vellum allows the beautiful patterned papers to show through.

Pink Paislee Prairie Hill...love!

Owl Tote

Today I'm showing my last project with the Jillibean Soup - Country Pumpkin Chowder for The Memory Nest.  I fell in love with the Silhouette file for the Owl Tote.    (The pinkish red one is actually from a collection by Pebbles called Walnut Grove)