A True Friend

After toiling much of the morning on a school related project for this coming year, I was able to break open one of the new sets and designer papers that came yesterday.

There have been a few cards I've seen with this set using Versamark resist and I decided to hop on the Versamark resist bus and make it one of the projects for next week's Stamp Nite. The larger background layer is glossy white that has been stamped with chocolate and rust classic ink, then the circle image was stamped in Versamark, allowed to dry (I hurried it up with the heat tool) and then I sponged River Rock over the entire piece and buffed it out when I was finished. I dtp'd the edges of the glossy piece and the card base before adhering the finished glossy layer to the card.

The new Cider paper makes for the next pattern, which is mounted on a chocolate layer and adhered to the glossy layer with dimensionals. I distressed both layers with a distressing tool before adhering to the card. Next, the flower was stamped on a vanilla scrap in River Rock with the sentiment stamped in Chocolate Chip, dtp'd, distressed, finger rumpled, and adhered to the Cider layer with dimensionals.

A bit of the new River Rock ribbon and a couple of Linen Thread stitches and I'm off to prepare the packets for next week.

Layout inspiration found on PaperCrafts website last month.

Now, I just need to think of another project or two....

Stay cool!
V.~

Supplies: Stamps: SU! True Friend, Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Versamark, Paper: SU! River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Apple Cider DP, Accessories: SU! River Rock stitched grosgrain, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Distressing tool

Forever & Always

When Mojo goes on a vacation, sometimes one must resort to CASEing or copying to see if it will come to the surface again. That was the case (pun intended!) today. I really wanted to stamp but I had no original idea in my head. I looked around on SCS, checked out a couple of magazines, and finally found inspiration in the SU! Fall/Winter Catalog. I found it on page 73. I've wanted Linen Prints Designer Paper since I saw this card when the catalog first came out. I ordered it, put it away in its designated spot, and it has been sitting since.

I need to send out a wedding card to a young couple who recently got married. I've known the family for over 22 years, we met in Lamaze class before Kyle was born. The boys were friends for years until the family moved to Washington state. Anyway, Brooks was married earlier this month and I am finally getting the card/gift sent their way. Now, I know this isn't a traditional wedding card, but neither was their unique and handmade invitation/announcement.

As some of you know, CASEing is difficult for me, I often make many changes and work very hard to get the card to completion. I would rather just create, for me it's usually so much easier. My head is usually brimming with ideas. Not lately though as you well know.

Back to the card, some changes were made from the inspiration piece, different stamp sets used, a bit of a layout change, but the original card is certainly there. The card base is Very Vanilla, all edges of card stock and patterned paper are edged with Palette Burnt Umber ink. The big flower from Looks Like Spring is inked in Cameo Coral and topped with a clear button tied off with the new Artichoke grosgrain (which looks olive enough to go with the brads and olive matting). The finished image is popped up with dimensionals. The three chipboard strips are cut from lightweight chipboard I have floating around here, covered in the new textured card stock, and edged with ink. Forever & Always, from So Many Sayings, is inked up and punched out with the Word Window punch.

So, tomorrow sometime comes an order from SU! Maybe there'll be some mojo in the box as well!

Until then,
Happy Stamping!
V.~

All Supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted.

APB!

All Points Bulletin, be on the lookout for my Missing Mojo! Please bear with my lack of uploads this week. I have a serious case of the Missing Mojo and the desire to stamp is on what appears to be a hiatus right now. Hopefully it will return soon!

Maybe a shopping spree is in order!

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast....

You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Hello lamppost,What cha knowing?
I've come to watch your flowers growing.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?

Doot-in' doo-doo,Feelin' groovy.
Got no deeds to do,No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy.


Simon and Garfunkel, I used to play their records all the time!

Clean and organized stamp area. No plans for the day. Somehow, the mojo got left behind, either up in Big Bear or at Legoland. Anywho, often times the cure is participating in one of the many challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.

This card combines the Featured Stamper and the Color Challenge. Let's just say I stamped. As my good friend, LZ, would say, git er done. Well I did *git er done* this morning before running a couple errands, although it's not my best, you know? Groovy Guava, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am having a hard time warming up to this color, wishing it was more, well, groovy. More vibrant, not so .....well, not sure what it is, but it doesn't pop the way I want it to.

So simply, this card is based on this card; I changed up the colors, papers, and stamp sets, but kept the integrity of the layout intact. I discovered I had almost a full pack of that Petal Patch paper in my clean up the other day, and this pattern is the perfect color for today's Color Challenge of Bashful Blue and Groovy Guava. I added a tad of Artichoke to provide a bit of contrast. Two flowers from Polka Dots and Petals are the focal image, mounted on an artichoke scallop (YAY! I got the new and improved SU! punch while on vacation!). Asterisks and flowers from All in a Row are stamped on the Guava strip, livening it up a little bit. That's one of the sets I bought last year thinking it would be a wonderful accent set to own, well, I don't know if it's me, or long line stamps, but even with the jig I have trouble getting them to be straight and right where I want them. Finished it off with a bashful ribbon and the Thanks sentiment. Well, at least I stamped, right?!

All SU! Supplies: Stamps: SU! Polka Dots and Petals, All in a Row, Fundamental Phrases, Ink: Bashful Blue, Groovy Guava, Always Artichoke, Paper: Papertrey white, Always Artichoke, Groovy Guava, Petal Patch dp, Accessories: Bashful grosgrain ribbon, Bashful mini brad, Scallop punch, Circle punches, Dimensionals

Altered Tin and Mini Tag Book Tutorial

Recently I finished this Scor-Pal tutorial for Diana Crick, creator of the Scor-Pal - I LOVE her invention, perfect scores, perfect folds! Compact and lightweight, it makes my crafting life easier!

Tag books, whether full size or tiny like this one, have always been a favorite project for me, and this one is no exception. I love how it turned out.

So yesterday I tackled the stamp area, while I thought I might stamp, I ended up do a purge and sort on all my patterned paper. YIKES, what a job to tackle. It's all organized now, complete with tabbed dividers made with the tab punch. I also added an inexpensive paper pocket to each divider to store the smaller scraps. Current SU! , Retired SU! , and nonSU! all in their own drawers. I hope to keep it nice and tidy!

Well, off to LegoLand today with my son and his best friend.

V.

First Day of High School!

Today Morgan officially begins high school. We have a tradition of taking the first day of school picture underneath the tree we have in our front yard. It's a fun way to chart their growth, seeing how tall they are compared to the previous years picture. She would be mortified if she knew I posted her full picture anywhere, so here is a glimpse of her new shoes.

I remember first day of school pics growing up - new shoes were always part of the new outfit. Of course, we always got winter clothes for our first day of school outfit and here in SoCal we would be sweating up a storm in our sweaters and cords! LOL

Brett has another week to go before he begins school, and a trip to Legoland will be happening this week for him. A last hurrah before he begins 4th grade.

Today I plan on seeing if my stamp counter is buried underneath all the supplies I left scattered when we left for vacation last week. Then maybe I'll stamp!

Have a terrific Monday!
V.

A Tin Full of Goodies!

I posted earlier that I would share the tin and a few of the cards that I made for my niece, Brianna. It's a simple, but appreciated, going away gift for her to take when she leaves for college in a less than a week. She will have a need for birthday, thank you, and misc. cards in the year to come. I've filled the box with 10 birthday, 8 thank you, and 4 misc (2 Moose You included) cards, and made simple dividers with tabs on them to keep them organized. Plain envelopes are stored behind the dividers. All that needs to be done is to purchase the postage stamps that will store in a pocket I made from patterned paper and adhered to the inside of the lid. Her going away party is Saturday, the day we return from our mini vacation. I can't wait to give it to her!

After a Cub Scout den meeting tonight, I'll finally pack for our little trip. Well, my packing anyway, the kids are already done.

Have a FANTASTIC rest of the week!
Valerie

My Goalie Girl

We didn't take too many pictures from the tournament this weekend, but of the ones we did take, this is my favorite one. Morgan's one of two goalkeepers on the team and they did an excellent job. It was so hot and terribly windy at the tournament, but it was a fun time!

I'll post later on the project I've been working on - my niece Brianna is going away to college, 2300 miles away, and I'm making her a tin with a slew of cards, envies, and stamps for her.

Then it will be back to no posting for a few days while we take a brief, too brief, but better than nothing, vacation to Big Bear Lake. We've rented a cabin a couple of blocks from the lake and plan to swim, fish, hike, and just relax until Saturday. We normally leave for at least a week, but this year the summer schedule just didn't allow it. So today I'll be doing the last minute things to get ready, one of which is getting that tin and cards ready to go!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Moosing you.....

I've had such a hectic week being the chauffeur this week, shuttling the kids to soccer clinics and swim camp, averaging almost 3 hours per day in the car. Add in our family room being a teen hangout in the afternoons, and mo left jo for the week! My stamp area has been missed terribly, just fleeting glances at it when I swoop through the room to make sure everyone was behaving!

TGIF! And a few minutes to stamp today!

Anyway, I wanted to be sure to post a card before I'm absent again all weekend for a soccer tournament in a community up north about an hours commute from us. It's a 2 day affair so you'll fine me rooting for Team Alliance this weekend, not stamping a lick.

I am so enjoying this layout from a previous sketch challenge, and since time is limited today, I used it again! I know it will be a favorite go to layout in the time to come. Not too soon, though, I'll try and post a fresh layout next time around.

I finally inked up the moose from Moose You, a new catalog edition to the current SU!Fall/Winter catalog. I just fell in love with that silly ole moose and had to have the set because of him. He's inked up in Chocolate Chip Craft ink and stamped on the reverse side of the striped patterned paper. The heart is stamped in Not Quite Navy Craft and clear embossed. The sentiment is from the new hostess set, So Many Sayings. I trimmed each of the sayings and mounted them on individual wood blocks that Jay made for me. While they aren't as pretty as the maple blocks that SU! uses, they work wonderfully. Jay cut down (pine) square dowels that I purchased at Home Depot, did a bit of routering on them, and then I applied the stamps and decals as usual. I knew I would never use them if they were all on one block, but having so many sayings on separate blocks, a definite keeper! A bit of inked edges on the Soft Sky base, a row of piercing, wonderful ribbon, and a bit of shine with the mini brads, and this card should be sent to my stamp area because I've been missing it desperately. However, I'll send it to a good friend who I've also been missing.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies: Stamps: SU! Moose You, So Many Sayings, Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip Craft, Not Quite Navy craft, Paper: SU! Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, My Mind's Eye Bohemia, Accessories: SU! Blue Bayou stitched ribbon, Silver mini brads, Distressing tool (Making Memories), Mat Pak/piercing tool, Dimensionals

Sunday Stamping, Featured Stamper Style

BoBunny Wishes
Images: SU! Garden Silhouettes, Define your Life
Inks: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Papers: Old Olive, Soft Sky, Anna Sophia Faded Floral by BoBunny
Accessories: Word Window punch, Mini brads, Ribbon, Distressing tool, Dimensionals

A Hampton Birthday
Stamps: SU! Sincere Salutations, So Many Sayings (dots), Fundamental Phrases
Inks: SU! Blue Bayou Classic, Close to Cocoa Craft
Paper: SU! Soft Sky, Hampton Collection by Crate Paper
Accessories: Dotted ribbon (May Arts?), Linen thread, Distressing tool, Dimensionals

Sunday, as many of you already know, is the Featured Stamper Challenge over at SCS. Some days the stamping comes easily, other days, not so much. Today was one of those not so much days.

I need a couple of cards this week, one a belated birthday and one for my Father-In-Law. I'm pretty sure you can guess which is which.

For the floral card, I didn't want the stamped images to compete with the bold patterned paper, so I kept the floral stamp in silhouette and added the small wish definition. The images and sentiment are stamped on the reverse side of the patterned paper which gives it not only the coordinated color but also a subtle background on which to stamp the images. The red brads pick up the red accent in the patterned paper. Add a matching ribbon, address the envelope, and this card will hit the east coast in a few days time.

I desperately need more guy stamps; I've used all the ones I have for my FIL over the years, so this card relies on patterned paper to define his card. By using the collection packs by Crate Paper (or other lines) you can be certain that your pattern mixing will go together, they've taken care of that part of the coordination for you. A couple of stamped sentiments, stamped dots to echo the dots in the patterned paper, a couple of chunky brads and this guy card will be perfect for my father in law. Now just to send Jay off to get the gift!

Anyway, these cards are very loosely based on this card by deb (aka 88keys) Basic Grey Dreams . A number of things were changed on both cards, but the over sized card and general layout remained the same.

Well, it's almost lunchtime, probably time to get my morning walk in *grin* and get out of my jammies!

Have a serene day!

Opportunity's knockin'

If you've ever entertained the thought of being on a Design Team, opportunity is knocking on your door right now! Cornish Heritage Farms is looking for 2 fresh new faces for their design team!

Lisa Strahl, Mona Lisa Moments, has all the deets here: http://monalisamoments.typepad.com/mona_lisa_moments/

Hello eP! Style

Eclectic Paperie, run by Daisy and Joy, two of the nicest gals around, own one of the best online paper crafting sites on the planet! I just love that they carry the hottest papers, accessories, and stamps, all the while being such down to earth and fabulous ladies. In addition, they highlight ep! Friends and introduce us paper crafting bloggers to other paper crafting bloggers out there. How fun is that?! What a neat thing for them to do!

When Joy asked if I would be an eP! friend at some point, I was very honored. I've known Joy ever since SCS SoCal Stamp Mania 2003 and met Daisy when they embarked on this journey together. I have created a few samples for them that are sprinkled throughout their website.

So, hello eP! friends! I made this card for all of you to say hello and welcome to my blog.

Card layout is a modification of a sketch challenge from SCS's Dare to be Dirty week posted by Beate. The base is SU! So Saffron, just scored and folded into a tent fold card. The coordinating card stock colors are SU! Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie. The luscious patterned paper is Heidi's Flowers by Heidi Grace and can be found at eP! It's a wonderful, fun double sided paper; I used 3 of the coordinating patterns to make this card. The Cuttlebug Flowers die was used for the accent piece, which was made with a lightweight chipboard coaster, covered with the patterned paper, and topped with a clear button tied off with grosgrain ribbon. And who doesn't get a big smile when they see the Stampendous Bee Happy stamps that eP! carries? They just make me smile. I keep them out on display in my stamp area so I can see them, they are just too cute to put away in a box. Pretty soon Changito will be joining them.

Now, I've not invested in the Copic markers, yet........;-) so I've colored this little bee with my Prismacolor pencils. Many use the gamsol/stump method to blend these wonderfully soft pencils. I've done that many times, however, with this card I chose just to do a quick scribble, allowing the pencil lines to show. It creates a more casual look, something I was trying to achieve for this card.

I finished the card off with a bit of piercing along the bottom. Finished card is 4.25 x 4.25.

Well, it's been a very long day, one that began with a trip up to Newport Beach (180 miles roundtrip) to drop Morgan off at a bay resort to stay with her best friend, and ended with babysitting my niece's until after midnight, so I'd best be hitting the hay!

Thanks Joy and Daisy! May our friendship, and your business, continue to grow!

Inky hugs, girls!

Priceless Projects for Stamp Nite!

Stamp Nite rolls around very quickly when the month prior class is held later than usual due to a holiday weekend. August's Stamp Nite is tomorrow night and these are the two projects on the agenda for the evening. An over sized card (5.25 x 5.25) and a fun photo wallet (or fun fold out card). Both projects use all the same SU! stamps, inks, and papers.

The card, above, utilizes a layout from the Dare to be Dirty week over at SCS. I just love this layout and made a card exactly like this one earlier only. Here the card uses fun and happy colors that coordinate with the new Cutie Pie Designer Paper by Stampin' Up!

The photo wallet was inspired by Beverly Gerard, otherwise known as Texasgrammy on SCS. Clicking her name will take you to her blog, Savor the Journey. Stay tuned for a special tutorial from her soon on this wonderful fun project!

The pics below show the closed version, and what it looks like all opened up. It maybe used for photos, or lots of fun messages for a birthday recipient, great friend, etc.

Supplies: Stamps: SU! Priceless, Think Happy Thoughts, Polka Dot (inside flap on photo wallet), SU! inks: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, SU! papers: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Whisper White, Cutie Pie DP, Accessories: Scallop punch, Circle punch, Corner rounder, Bashful ribbon, Mat Pak/Piercing tool, Dimensionals, Scor-Pal

Teal Zeal and Polka Dots!

Okay Okay, it's not stampin' but this is what I've been doing the last 2 days, so I had to share!

Morgan starts high school in just about 2 weeks and I promised her a *new* room this summer. Her room redo began the same way as Brett's did a few weeks back with a Clean Sweep. All of her earthly possessions, with the exception of her bed, dresser, and desk, are in the garage. Sorting still remains to be done, but 50% of it will go. We found this comforter set at Target and she knew it was what she wanted in her room. From there the paint was selected. We compromised - she wanted the dark teal circles, I wanted the lightest sky color, so we picked out Behr Teal Zeal, the middle hue on the set. The *bellies* still need to be added to her room, shelves, new lighting, the all important full length mirror, etc. But once it is all finished, she'll have a room to take her through the next 4 years.

Funny story about the paint selection. We went to Home Depot with the pillow sham to have the tech do a color match. Well, one tech there with a very time consuming customer makes for a fidgety teen and clock watching mom. So I moosied over to the Behr samples and picked what I thought would be a good match. Then I notice Behr has a customer color matching machine right out where customers can use it - how cool is that! You simply slide your item (fabric, paper, rug, etc.) into the machine, let the electronic eye read it three times, and it tells you what the Behr match is.

My hand selected Behr sample, Teal Zeal, was the same as the one the computer popped up. Morgan looks at me and says "You're good, Mom!"

Love when we can shine, even for a minute, in our teens eye!