Wow, I can't believe the last blog I made was right before Christmas, that was quite a long time ago. So much has happened since then. I went down to NC to see my family the day after Christmas, and ended up staying longer than I wanted due to car issues. The fuel pump died on me while I was down there. My dad replaced the battery in my car, then next thing you know, it wouldn't start. I was upset because I wanted to leave new years eve day early, but car wouldn't run. I guess it was a blessing that it happened while I was there and not in the mountains somewhere driving home! The trip down was exhausting, it is a long drive, but this time especially trecherous for me. I had fog and freezing rain for the majority of the day. I was what you call, "white knuckle driving" for quite some time. I wanted to meet up with my SCS friends that live down there, but I was just beat after that.
We had some nice family photos taken too. I look terrible in the pictures, but it was nice to have the family with the kids getting so big now. The last time we did the photo thing was back in 2004, my son is 10 now so quite the difference in him and my niece (they are 6mos apart). I looked different too, I was much much bigger then, my face was huge. I guess I was too. I guess outside of the recent 30 pound weightloss, I must have lost more along the way but just not at one time.
I'm starting a website for my cards. This is quite the project. I have 5 photoboxes full of my cards, roughly 400 cards. The website is a pain in the butt, cuz I have to take the photos, obviously, but I have to shrink them down in paint before they look right. One photo box alone, took 3 hours to photo and sort, now I have to shrink them too. OMG, this is going to take me forever, and the worst part is, I really have no clue what I am doing there. Hopefully though, it will be worth it. When I do craft fairs, several people have asked if I had a website, so maybe I can sell some more cards.

Here are some of the cards I've made in the past few months:
This card was made for a color challenge on SCS. It called for pretty in pink, rich razzleberry and soft suede. I didn't have suede so I used the close to cocoa.
I made this card for my friend Anne (jdmommy) featured stamper challenge and the color challenge. I really like it with the red, blue and brown, I think it came out pretty, and it was a tribute to my friend, so what is better than that.

This card was made for the sketch challenge found on splitcoaststampers.com I used olive, razzleberry, pale plum and Stampin Up Designer series paper, (dsp). I just got this stamp set so I decided to play with it a bit. It is a fun set to you. A little out of my comfort zone as far as images, I think I'm more of an elegant, vintage type of stamper, this is a little more playful. I like it!

I made this card for a challenge on Splitcoast (SCS), it was to use pink, so I used several pinks for this. I actually was looking thru SU's book, and saw a sample card where they stamped a flower and cut it vertically three ways, then it had crinkled paper in the background (bg), I thought it was cool, but I wanted to change it up, so this is what I came up with. Cutting the main image equally was the challenge. I had to stamp it first, then cut it. The mounts were easy just 1/4 inch larger.


This card was made for the inspiration challenge on SCS. I saw this pendant, it was a circle it had a green square with a dragonfly on it, then it had 3 little baubles hanging off of it. The circle pendant made me think, oh lets make a circle with a dragonfly in it, then this card just evolved. It was tricky with the top panel because I wanted 3 dragonflies, and to get them to fit the right way was an issue. Also had an issue with the placement of the circles. This truly is a hand-crafted card. It took me a long time to get this card "just-right".

This card was part of the challenge, but it was a blue pendant with black flowers and a dragonfly on it. It was hung by a silver chain, hence the silver ribbon. I stamped with black craft ink, then heat embossed the image.

This card was for a color challenge, bashful blue, ruby red, and close to cocoa. Again, I wanted to use my fun stamp set. I gave this card to my friend Tracy for her birthday. She was impressed. To me, it's not my greatest work, because this stampset isn't really my style as I stated before.
This card was for a SCS challenge too, to "cut it out", I wanted to make a masculine card, I seldom make these. I was looking in the SU idea book, and saw a picture from Halloween, and liked the layout, so I adjusted it a bit using this Asian set. I changed the colors to Kraft, Choc Chip and Kiwi Kiss. I really like this card. I think it is elegant and classy, and very masculine.


This was an inspiration challenge card. I got so many compliments on this card, and it was a quick and easy card for me. I think it took me about 15 minutes to make. What the inspiration piece was, was a dark purple scarf with a black lace border. So I used Lavendar lace for my base, then took a piece of black, used a punch to mimic lace, then took another piece of lavendar and stamped my images in lavendar and black. I went around the edge of the base of the card with another stamp from the same set in black. Easy peasy! I added a sparkle ribbon too.

This was a featured stamper challenge card. Karen Barber, who makes awesome, vintage cards, and just elegant cards all around was the featured stamper. This card is very similar to hers. On these challenges, you change two or more things. I kept the integrity of her first card by using pretty much the same colors, and used the same SU dsp. I like it.

2 days until Christmas

I Can't believe there are only two days left until Christmas and I am still working on Christmas cards. well, I guess that is the way when you have over 50 people to give cards to then sell some that you made at craft fairs.
I made this one today. This is the final one, I made it as part of the splitcoast sketch challenge, I had to come up with something, why not do a challenge! I used very vanilla as my base, then added real red as a "mat" layer, along with SU's Christmas dp for several years ago. I used the snowflake from snowswirled, stamped it in real red then went over it with versamark and dazzling diamonds and a heat gun to give it shimmer, then I used my punch and punched it out. I added a gold ribbon for extra shimmer, and my tree is done the same way but with always artichoke ink.

I saw something on SU's demonstrator magazine where the images were stacked, I thought that was a neet concept, so I tried it with the delightful decorations set. I used mellon mambo, pretty in pink and old olive as my colors. I had to mask the images so the ink wouldn't bleed between colors, so I used a post it, and stamped the image twice then cut it out and used them as my mask.


This was a splitcoast challenge to use gold. I think it was a limited supply challenge. I used mellon mambo as my base, then old olive, then used gold as my mat, then white, and stamped the "Sanded" background stamp in gold. I then used my delightful decorations set in mambo and olive, and popped them up with pop dots, added an artichoke ribbon wrapped like a present.


This was for the gold or silver challenge mentioned above. I used artichoke as my base, then stamped bella toile bg stamp in silver. My main image is stamped in gold then heat embossed in gold, then colored in using a blender pen in ruby red, and gold gel pen. The image is matted on ruby red, and gold. I added some candycane eyelets I had.

I think this is one of my fave cards of the season. This was part of a featured stamper challenge, where you take the image and change it up at last two ways. I used always artichoke as my base, then I took white, stamped the sanded bg stamp in artichoke, LOVE IT! I added a real red ribbon. The main image is stamped in artichoke and mounted on artichoke. I used deckling scissors for the edges. The snowflakes are a very tiny punch that I have, I punched them in real red then used glue dots to secure them. I added 3 brads to the bottom of the card.

This was a ways to use it challenge from splitcoaststampers.com, we were to make a card using a recipie or something we made to eat for the holidays. My fave thing to bake is choc chip, m&m cookies. I use the tollhouse recipie and add in m&m's for those of you who were wondering. So I made this card using creamy caramel cardstock. I then added a Choc Chip ribbon, and stamped my delightful decorations in mellon mambo, kiwi kiss and pacific point to represent the m&m's I also used my cuttlebug and used my dots folder to emboss the front panel of the card. I added a cool ribbon that had choc dots of all things as hangers for the ornaments.

Well, it seems like that is all she wrote as far as my recent cards. I think it is a little easier to do it the way I did today. I think I will try it in the future.

If I could figure out how, would you ladies be interested in doing color challenges, or sketch challenges? Let me know

Where does the time go?

Omg, I can't believe it 10 days until Christmas! I am so done by now, and this year, considering I am home, I still have lots to do. I can't believe how disorganized I have been with things this year. Totally unlike me!

Well, this is the first year as a single mom. I worked for a while, but set the recovery of my arms back by doing so. Also when I worked, the differentials with workers comp were coming late, therefore, all my bills got backed up, and dug myself into a hole. Now I am trying to dig myself out. I guess that is where all this unorganized chaos is coming from called my life! HA!

I am waiting for the workers comp people to approve my physical therapy. Ever since the prp injections in my arm, my right lateral (outside) arm has not been right. I have been in pain everyday, some days worse than others. It is terrible to just move your arm and to hurt. I know people think I complain alot, in essence I don't because I am in pain every day. I just complain on the days when I can't stand the pain.

I am worried. I am driving down to NC to see my parents in a few weeks. I still can't use my right arm to drive for more than 5 minutes at a time. Lately, if I go to stretch it, it locks up too, so I am nervous. It will be just me and my son, and he can't drive he's not even 10 yet! I do have a plan though. I am going to make sure I bring lots of ice, and if it hurts too much, I will pull over and put my little elbow patch with the ice on, and I have my ointments, ladocaine patches and of course narcotics. I wont' use those until I am at my parents, and only if needed.

Anyway, this has caused me to be way behind in my stamping. I usually have my Christmas cards out the weekend of Thanksgiving. I have been putting it off. I don't know if it is because of my arm, or I just don't care this year. Who knows. I have about 10 more to still make, but these are my most recent ones.

Thank goodness for the Splitcoaststampers challenges. If it weren't for them and seeing all the ladies marvelous works, I don't think I would have been inspired to make what I have made. I even cut down my Christmas list this year. I'm only mailing to 50 people this year. Years past, it was as high as 100 people.

Thanks for looking, have a great day.

Sad days still admist my life

Well, I haven't stamped in a while, was busy with craft fairs, getting organized etc. Then on Thanksgiving evening, my b/f and I broke up. I know, it is unusual for the person who did the breaking to feel sad, but I do. I really loved him, I still do. There are just somethings that were broken in the relationship that no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't fix it. It is terrible. I miss him! I cried myself to sleep the first night, and have just been a sad person these past few days. I am very thankful for my gal pals, they have been doing their best to get me up and out and living life again. They really helped me. I even went shopping! great therapy btw!

I wanted to get myself out of the dolldroms, so I decided to check out featured stamper of the day at splitcoast, it is Mrs. Boz, I saw this card of hers, so pretty, the colors just captured me. Who doesn't like chocolate with blue! OMG what a color combo!!! LOVE IT!!!

I would love to link her card but this doesn't want to let me. So here is my card made with choc chip paper as my base, followed by bashful blue, I stamped Print Patterns in bashful blue, then went with Sanded in creamy caramel. I added a caramel piece and choc ribbon. My main image is choc chip, and creamy caramel with a bashful blue ribbon.

tfl

Out of work, so time to craft!

Well, I've been out of work for a few weeks now, so I have been catching up on my craft time. I really missed it when I was working, it really is quite therapuetic and relaxing.

Not much has been happening lately, still seeing my guy, 6 months as of yesterday, and trying to find a job. Things are a little more stable now, the workers comp checks finally got caught up, so am getting my bills back in order, which is a very good thing!

My right arm has been bothering me a lot lately. The lateral side (outside) of my right arm has been hurting ever since I had the prp injections done. (PRP Injection=draw blood, spin it into plasma, and inject it into the body part that has issues) I'm not sure if the doctor hit on something that was dormant or what, but it has been bothering me ever since the injections back in late September. I guess all I can do is suck it up and try to stay off the computer and let it heal.

I did a craft fair this past Saturday, I not only made the cost of the table, but I made almost $100 profit from my cards. I really love making them, but selling them and seeing other people happy because of my creations is just awesome.

Here are my latest works.

Now that I'm out of work, I had the opportunity to start making cards again. I went to the Stampin B's page and took their #31 Challenge. Here is my card for that challenge.

I used night of navy as my base, then bravo burgandy as my mat, then I used Stampin Up dsp, and nesties for my shape. I used bravo burgandy ribbon, I stamped in burgandy, and colored using the pastels from SU marker set. I used my glue stick then went over it with dazzling diamonds for sparkle. The stars I went over with a glitter gel pen to give them sparkle.

tfl and have a great day!

Hi there, haven't been on blog in quite some time. Not much going on here, still loosing weight, down 30 pounds now, but I haven't been so strict with my diet like I was in the past, so it is time to get back down to business. I want to drop another 20 before Christmas. The only way I will do it, is if I crack the whip and start dieting correctly!

Here are some cards that I've made recently.