JYC-12: The Beginning...Finally

I signed up for this "class" last year, but never got started, and nothing really became of it, other than stocking supplies. Which, being a craft supply hoarder, I'm fairly good at ;)  (That's totally not a boast, but rather a shameful admission *sigh*)

So this year, I thought, "Yeah! I'm ready to go. Got a "real" camera, got me some supplies, and I'm gonna get it done!"  Game on!

Well, here we are, December 19th, and I've finally just begun. At least with actually crafting. I have a small number of pictures, some journaling done, and my supplies loosely organized (I'll share a pic of that latter) in a beloved vintage wood tray. But, having taken this first step, I feel well on my way.

Christmas, here I come!

Simply Stated Gratitude (late post)

Every Veterans Day, I'm reminded just how thankful I am for the brave men and women who have served this wonderful country. And I try to take a moment to say so.

Here's the card I gave my coworker and his wife this year (both Air Force vets), with some homemade chocolate chip cookies and a gift card to a local restaurant. It's shamefully insufficient, but it's how I express my gratitude.

 

To make this, I used scraps of Creative Imaginations paper (one for the strip, and one to punch out with my 1" circle punch), my Cuttlebug A2 Stars embossing folder, and a stamp from Verve's American Hero set.

Have a blessed day!

Friday Foto: Seasonal Sigh

*phew* *sigh* Another busy season is over, and I am able to finally begin enjoying fall.

Hope you are as well.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11-12

 

Finally...A Friday Foto

I recently took the plunge and got a smart phone.  I'm still leery of most apps, but one I'm learning to love is Pixlromatic. Here's one reason why:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

Ecclesiates 3:1

There has definitely been a chill in the air the last week or so here in Ohio, and I am loving it. We've received warnings of a harsh winter, and I am thrilled! I was so disappointed last year that we never really got into wool sweater weather. Not that I would ever want to hurry my favorite season, but I am beginning to dream of snow.

Hope you have a very blessed weekend!

Balloons for the Birthday Girl

As noted in the previous post, my Mom's b-day is also this month. I had another stamp set in mind (TGF's Susie Surprise which also features a gal holding balloons) but with my stash still so dissheveled, I couldn't locate it, so I started flipping through my mountain of printed digis. And there she was: Balloon Girl from the Flapper Doodle coloring book. Yes! This image is just perfect for my Mom!  Even though I used the same collection for last year's birthday card, I couldn't resist my beloved (and sadly almost gone) Crate Paper "Pink Plum" papers. I colored up my Flapper with Copics which was a joy, and then flipped through my dies to find just the right one to save me from having to try to trim around the uber thin lines of this image. Wonky Squares was just meant to be, I think. For the front sentiment, I kept it simple with letter stickers from Glitz. Since Mom is learning to text :)  I stuck to just the two.

This card came together quickly and just in time for our little family celebration.

Since I still have time, I'm entering this one into the Paper Playtime Challenge #84: Punches + a Sentiment as well.

Thanks for taking a gander. This will probably be it for me for the next few weeks, but I look forward to seeing you again in October with fall cards and decor. And maybe even a mini album :o

Blessings & Hugs to You!

Who's Birthday Is It?

Greetings! Long time, no posts.  If you've been a blog friend for any length of time, you are awesome :) and you may have noticed that my posts seem to drop off around this time every year. I've gotta pay for all my paper (and stamps, embellishments, etc.) somehow, and autumn is busy season at the day job (which turns into a day and night job for about 3 weeks).
But fall, September in particular, is also busy because there are 2 very important birthdays in my family: Dad and Mom. 
Up first, I have Dad's card to share with you. He turned the big 65 (with no signs of retiring any time soon).  I can hardly believe it since he looks (and acts) so young still. If you met my Dad IRL you'd never believe he just turned 65. And that's where the inspo for my card came from: "Who's 65?!?"

I'm sorry to say that I haven't a clue where the adorable owl paper came from. I know it was gifted to me a year (or so) ago, and that I just love the colors! They coordinated wonderfully with the die cut shapes and Prima letter stickers from my kit stash. I loved the letters so much, I quickly ordered a few more sets in different colors. The texture on them is amazing and they are the perfect size for cards. The only drawback is that I had to make my own punctuation, but other than that, I love 'em!  I was thrilled to re-discover these woodgrain Thickers (I have an almost ridiculous hoard of Thickers), and thought they tied in nicely to my owl/woodland theme.

Then, because we share a strange sense of humor, on the inside of the card I stacked some pearls to mimic the owls eyes, and used them on the centers of my O's in "hoot".  My Dad got it right away.

I'm entering this into the Paper Playtime Challenge #84: Punches + a Sentiment. I just hope my die cuts and letter stickers are in keeping with the rules.

Thanks for looking. I'll be back soon with my Mom's bday card.  Until then, be blessed and enjoy the amazing autumn weather!

((hugs))

Truckin' to the End of Summer

Hello and Welcome to the August Fresh Brewed Designs Three Day Blog Hop!
If you are getting here from Sarah's blog then you are the right road.

If you are just finding your way to our fun filled, extra caffeinated blog hop, then please start at the beginning here: Freshly Brewed Challenges.

The Fresh Brewed Designs Team and Guests have put together another HOT blog hop for you that starts TODAY and lasts ALL THIS WEEKEND featuring handmade cards inspired by our new released Rubber Stamps. You may remember that these, just as a few others in our rubber collection, once started as digis. We were literally begged to put them into rubber.... so after a year of their hibernating, here they are! Back and better than ever - ready to be created with and to make you smile.

I don't know about you, but regardless of the weather, I need my java juice to keep me fueled and going! So whether its hot or iced, in milkshake or ice cream form, I'll take it...to go! Enter: Coffee Truck, the stamp I worked with to make this little book - a java jotter if you will to record my coffee adventures! Now before you begin to imagine me trotting the globe for an ultimate international taste test, my real idea for this is to try new cofffee flavors and record my observations on the taste, richness, smoothness, aroma, etc. Still fun, without the shots and customs inspections ;)

I made this with some thick kraft cardstock as a cover, some thin cardstock for the inner pages (and later to be photographed), a few PP cardscraps, letter stickers and a doily. I misted the front cover with Mr. Huey in Dark Calico and Pony, and then layered all my elements. 

I used pop dots on the stamped mage and little flower cut-outs, but otherwise kept it flat for easy transport. I can't wait to get started tasting & critiqueing! Yum!
Properly caffeinated, one of my fave things to do is find a good deal, and we have one for you today!
For the duration of the hop, you can get these 2 stamps and a fun set of eight 4x6 American Craft double sided papers (cut by Heather) for just $11! Wow! (A photo can be seen at the first hop stop). Drop on by the shop to snag yours before it is too late!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by! You can continue on your java journey by heading over to Celeste's blog.


And just in case you get lost along the way, here's a complete list of all the participating blogs in today's hop - be sure to hit every pit stop! You really don't want to miss out!!!

Freshly Brewed Challenges: http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.com/
Sarah: http://sarahvaitstamps.blogspot.com/
Catherine: http://paperaddictcatherine.blogspot.com/   <<<<< here you are!
Celeste: http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.com/
Sheryl: http://butterflykisscards.blogspot.com/
Tracy: http://www.eatsleepstamp.typepad.com/
Yolanda: http://www.justyolie.com/
Vanessa: http://vanessaspapercreations.blogspot.com/
Annette: http://myclevercreations.blogspot.com/
Linda: http://stamperstouch.blogspot.com/
Heather: http://joemamainks.blogspot.com/