10 Minute Craft Dash #9

I'm really having fun with these 10 Minute Craft Dash challenges.  The challenge is to make a card in less than 10 minutes with a holiday theme and since this challenge was a team effort along with CAS-ual fridays the challenge is also to make it a clean and simple card.
   Setting the timer and trying to work fast can be stressful, but it's so much fun at the same time.  One thing it is helping me to do is to make a quick decision and run with it.  There's no time to deliberate, you just have to keep going.   I just squeaked in under 10 minutes this time and I know why.  I didn't think there was enough contrast to see the patterned paper through the snowflakes so I started looking for another patterned paper, but couldn't find anything so just went with my original pick.   I wasted a good 30 seconds to a minute on that one.  Here's my card...

10 minute craft dash - Holiday Style!

I'm playing along in the Holiday 10 minute craft challenge. It's fun, but can get kind of crazy trying to finish in less than 10 minutes, especially if you're like me and take my time making decisions. When you do a challenge like this you have to make a decision and go with it. The challenge also includes the color red - a little or a lot. For my card I took out the papers I wanted to use ahead of time, but nothing else. I went with one of my "go to" card layouts using a vertical panel. This is what I came up with...

Here's my cell phone clock counter...

For The Memory Nest Giveaway see this post

Another Aspen Frost Card

So I gave myself a challenge to only use things I had on my craft table. This is what I came up with, a card shaped as an ornament. A smaller version of this would make a great gift tag, too.

There's still time to enter The Memory Nest giveaway on my post from Sunday.

Basic Grey - Aspen Frost and Giveaway!

One of my favorite paper collections for the holidays this year is Basic Grey's Apsen Frost.  I love everything about it.  Here's a simple card I made with it along with the holiday ornament framelit dies from Stampin' Up!  I added some stickles to some of the dots in the paper for some added detail.
You can find this paper collection at The Memory Nest.   Speaking of The Memory Nest...they're having a giveaway.  Enter using Rafflecopter below



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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)

Grateful Greetings

Hello there.  Today I'm sharing another card I made with the Jillibean Soup, Country Pumpkin Chowder collection for The Memory Nest. The brown scallop border and orange strip are both from the coordinating punch out die cuts.  For the button I used the cute plaid die cut button and covered it with Crystal Effects to give some dimension and shine.

Jillibean Soup - Country Pumpkin Chowder

Hello!  This week, for The Memory Nest,  I'll be showing a few projects I've made with this adorable collection, Country Pumpkin Chowder,  from Jillibean Soup.    I just love all the colors and patterns in this collection.  The Die Cut sheet makes it quick and easy to put together cards as well as layouts.
For my first card I cut two strips from the patterned paper and cut the bottoms into a banner shape.  Then I layered a couple of the die cuts together with dimensional adhesive and a stamped sentiment for the center.  I rounded the bottom corners of the card base then added some faux stitching with a white gel pen for some extra detail.

Enter code Fall30day for 30% off your total order at The Memory Nest!

Exciting News!

I'm thrilled to be designing for a new online scrapbooking store, The Memory Nest.  I'll be showing some cards that I've created starting next week, so stop by next week to check them out.
There's also a fantastic promotion going on right now.  Get 30% off your total order with code Fall30day now through 10/29/2012.   You'll also be entered into a drawing for a prize!
While you're at it check out the store blog

Happy World Card Making Day!

Kick Start Challenge

One of the homework assignments in the Kick Start Class is to give yourself a challenge.   For this challenge I've teamed up with another Kick Starter, Debby, for a product challenge.  We've picked two stamps (Stampin' Up! Woodgrain Background and the Reason to Smile set) that we both have and see what we create with them.   She rocks the clean and simple style so I'm anxious to see what she does with these products.
Although I've used the Reason to Smile set several times before, I've never used this particular flower in the set.  It's always fun to try a new product.  I also went a little out of my comfort zone and did a little distressing with ink and tried to add a little vintage feel with some layering of stamps, but I'm not sure how successful that experiment was.

Moxie Fab World Challenge

I created this card today for the Moxie Fab World Challenge to use Natural Elements, which was also the theme of the card I had published in this months issue of Paper Crafts Magazine.   This challenge is totally up my alley.  

I was at work and remembered that I had some samples of wood veneer wall covering that I thought was really cool.   I work at an Architecture firm so there's a ton of inspiration in our resource library.  I brought home a couple of wood veneer samples.  I was planning on die cutting it, but then decided it might look cool to emboss it with white embossing powder.  I added some wood grain patterned paper, linen thread and a wood button that I cut off a shirt years ago.  This challenge was perfect timing because the topic of Kick Start today was to find a challenge.  Here's my card:

Kick Start

I'm taking an online class called Kick Start over at Online Card Classes .  It's about how to get out of a design rut and get going again - tips on finding inspiration, etc.  I suggested this class topic to one of the teachers and I'm so glad that she decided to do it.  It's a great class for both beginners and experienced crafters.  Everyone loses the mojo from time to time :)

Anyway, the day 4 homework was to use something old in our stash.  I found a pack of preprinted cards my mom bought from the $1 bins at Target a few years ago.  She thought I could incorporate them into my card making.  I've been meaning to do something with them for a while.  I also created the brown tall label on my Silhouette and cut a few in different colors so that was sitting on my craft table.  The cards and that label inspired this card...

10 minute craft dash challenge

This was a fun challenge, but I was nervous that I wouldn't finish because I'm a slow crafter.  I set the timer and finished this up in 9 minutes 52 seconds - just 8 seconds to spare.  I knew this would have to be a simple card.  I chose to use washi tape for the diagonal side pattern because it already has adhesive even though it would probably would have been faster to use a piece of patterned paper.  I had washi tape in my head for this so I went with it and I had never used it before.  The stamp and flower die I had out so went with those even though I wanted to cut a butterfly.  I couldn't find my butterfly die because I was rushing, but it was right where it was supposed to be.  Anyway, this is what I came up with...

{9 minutes, 52 seconds}

Yay!

This year I decided I would give it a go and submit a few cards to Paper Crafts Magazine.   I'm so excited to share that one was picked up for publication in the September/October issue which hit the stores yesterday!   I'm on page 36 :)

If I had a bucket list, getting published in Paper Crafts Magazine would definitely be on it!

More Tie Dye, but by my daughter

I showed Sophie how to do the Copic Tie Dye technique that I found at Nichol Heady's blog and she loved it.  She made bookmarks for all the ladies in my book club - they're going to love them!  Didn't she do a fabulous job?

Tie Dye Cards

I saw this online and had to give it a go.   I used Copic markers and rubbing alcohol.   They were very fun to create.

Today's Card

For this card I used some 6x6 patterned paper from My Mind's Eye and the background paper is a retired Stampin' Up! paper from a couple of years ago.  I used my Silhouette to cut the hot air balloon and a Fiskars punch for the clouds.   The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! called Up Up and Away.

too early for halloween? Googly Ghouls!

On January 1st this year I was half kidding when I said it would be kind of cool to try and make a card a day.  Well, I knew I couldn't literally make a card each day with my schedule, but then thought that maybe if I made my own Christmas cards this year I might be able to make it to 366 (extra one in February).    I'm waaaay behind, but I made my 100th card today!  

The funny thing is that I took out this beautiful floral paper and kept looking over at the cute new the Halloween stamp set off to the side of my desk and quickly switched gears.

I stamped the sentiment several times without reinking to get a more eerie feel.

All supplies Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise:

stamps:  Googly Ghouls, Border Banter, Very Vanilla

card stock: Crumb Cake, Tangerine Tango

paper: Howlstooth & Scaringbone

Ink: Basic Gray, Stazon Black

Accessories:  Googly Eyes

Other - Black and White Baker's Twine

Comfort Cafe and Paper Piercing

Just playing with some new toys - Stampin' Up! Comfort Cafe patterned paper and the fun new paper piercing templates.  I love those because they coordinate with the framelit dies.  It adds just a little something extra to a die cut shape.

Everything Eleanor and Field Flowers

Just playing around with a bunch of stamp sets today on a tag and came up with this card.  I used the flower from Everything Eleanor, the leaves and sentiment from Field Flowers, the woodgrain background stamp and the netting background stamp which I don't use enough.  I really like it and love how it adds a little bit of texture.   I also broke out my new fancy fan embossing folder for the embossing on Primrose Petals card stock.

Clean & Simple Stamping Sketch

I just stumbled upon a site called Clean & Simple Stamping and they post card sketches.  I decided to play along.  I actually made a card about 5 or so years ago that looks almost exactly like this sketch.  I'll have to dig up a photo of it.   Anyway, I got out my supplies while having my coffee and created this card for the sketch.

Again -sorry about the slightly blurry photo.  I'm not in my studio and only have my cell phone camera with me.

Stampin' Up! Perfectly Preserved Sneak Peak

Just a quick card I made for a sketch challenge using a Pagemaps June card sketch.   I used a stamp from the upcoming Perfectly Preserved Stamp set.   I'm really excited about this product suite  - there's some adorable paper and the best best part are the Framelit dies that coordinate with the stamp set.  Love.

Please excuse the bad photo - only have my cell phone right now.

stampin' up! - Reason to Smile - one set two different ways

Here are a couple of cards I made with the new Stampin' Up! set called Reason to smile which is a $5 set for July (with a $50 purchase).  I couldn't pass up a $5 set!
In the second card you can see that it's a two-step stamp set so you first stamp with the background solid stamp and then stamp over it with the detail line stamp.  I only used the detail stamp on the Thank You card and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I love how you can use this stamp set in different ways. My first card was inspired by the very talented Kristina Werner.

Flip card - prototype

Here's a card I made with my silhouette.  I used a silhouette cut file by Lori Whitlock.  I modified it a little.   I also used some REALLY old patterned papers as this is a prototype I was experimenting with.  I think these are about 6 years old.   It's come in handy for my daughter's craft projects, but once in a while I'll use it for a prototype.