Life in the Woods

Let's just say it keeps me on my toes! We've been trying to outwit and outmaneuver some critters lately and it takes a lot of work. We've had the unfortunate privilege of having a mouse in the house and it seemed to have figured out the humane trap we had been baiting. Frustrating, to say the least. Keep fingers crossed for me, please. I'm begging you!

We also have had a seemingly pregnant squirrel trying to build a nest/drey on the inside of our screen porch. Last year we had a similar incident, but didn't realize it until after the squirrel had given birth. We didn't want that to happen again because the mama was destroying the screen by chewing large holes in it, as well as tearing up my azalea bushes to use for its nest. Last week we tried boarding it up, but it came right back and chewed a hole in another part of the screen. I have cleaned out three nests over the last ten days made by this squirrel! I think we have finally managed to discourage the squirrel and it looks like it has made housing arrangements in a nearby tree.

Inspired by the small woodland creatures that have consumed my life lately, I made this card. I think that I have a pregnant friend that will appreciate the story behind the card, as well as just a friendly hello.



I hope that you'll check back in with me later in the week. I have a fun mini album to share with you!

card info: french roast and buttercup notecards, orange gingham paper, squirrel, and nest by A Muse, sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, colored pencils, ribbon by May Arts.

Quick Teacher Thank You Box

This past Sunday was the last day for Sunday School for my kids. I made up a little gift box with some mini chocolate bars for my son's teacher. The bible from the Church Mice set by The Saltbox Studio was perfect when paired with the sentiment from the Saltbox Greetings set. I used these directions from SCS.

I am under the gun here, getting ready for my in-laws visit this weekend (for my daughter's First Communion). Translation: I'm re-cleaning the messes that I cleaned up two days ago.

Pottery Barn Inspired

Hi everyone. Sorry the blog posts have been scarce of late. Spring Break will do that! I've had a little bit of stamping time, but not much. I did want to share some quick and easy Easter cards that I made yesterday.

I had been leafing through a Pottery Barn catalog a few weeks ago and found this picture of spring plates:

These looked very striking, I thought, so I ripped out the picture and put in on my desk, hoping for inspiration. Did you notice earlier when I said a "few weeks ago?" It took quite a while for the inspiration to happen!

Yesterday I started to pull out my scraps of cardstock and found some pieces with similar colors to the plates. Then, I pulled out the white embossing powder, to really make the image really bold. Finally, I settled on the egg basket and Easter Greetings stamps from The Saltbox Studio. Then, I got to work.

I made a set of four cards, just like the set of plates, using bits of notecards that all were 3.5" across. I used sage green, robin's egg blue, buttercup yellow and chiffon pink. I matched each color to a piece of ribbon.  Here is a better look at the final product:

I wish all of you a happy weekend.  My parents and siblings are starting off the weekend with tea this afternoon to celebrate what would have been my sister's 39th birthday.  Then, tomorrow I am prepping for our Easter dinner at my parents' house on Sunday.  Seems like very little craft time for me here, but I might try to sneak something in this evening.  I'm short on time now, so I will try to post materials for these cards later.

The Week in Review

Hi everyone! I am enjoying a snow day here in Virginia. We got about five to six inches of snow and the kids got the day off from school, so I have not been able to enjoy any stamping time today. Sometimes I try to sneak in a little bit when my youngest is napping, but no luck today. So, I jut thought I'd share three cards of mine that had been shared over on the A Muse News blog over the last week or so.

This Peeps card was actually the COtW. Usually it is in an email newsletter, but this week they put the newsletter on the blog. I loved making this card. The one thing I had wanted to do was to make all the Peeps glittery, but it was going to be a messy challenge that I was not ready to tackle.

This card, and the one below, were both cards for The Saltbox Studio. I really love the bright cheery spring colors with Farmer Hare. Makes me want to start thinking about my garden!

For this card, I actually used the tree from the Pumpkin Oak set from last fall. But it really makes a great springtime tree with new leaf buds, don't you think?

I promise to have something new to share soon. I plan on making time for myself tonight to work on some "just for fun" cards.

BTW, card info can be found on the A Muse News blog!

I'm Not So Sure ...

I'm not thinking of my home as a sweet place to be these days. I've been absent from blogging these past few days because some stomach virus has been going through the schools here and the sickness hit our house over the last two weeks. Plus, my husband was out of town for a couple of days when the kids were sick. Plus, my kids had Valentines to make. So, I was stuck around the house most of last week. Thank goodness for my mom, who was able to come and help me a bit.

While I'm not so happy to have been in my house all that time, I do think this card is cheery. I used a banner but omitted the original image and placed a birdhouse on it instead. I love that I can make fun banners this way. I also tried something new; I stamped the sentiment and then tied the ribbon so that the words would show through the sheer middle. I think I like it; just not 100% sure yet. Overall, a "tweet" card.

I hope that you have had a great weekend so far. Enjoy the holiday tomorrow. If you are in the DC Metro area, don't forget that there is FREE admission to Mount Vernon tomorrow!

card info: notecard, ribbon, paper by A Muse, banner, birdhouse, pole and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, colored pencils, Spica markers.

Romantic Birdies

I've been working with my bird images lately and have two quick cards to share today. One features birdies from The Saltbox Studio and one features birds from A Muse. Here is the first one:

I paired these two birds, just omitting the plants in one of their mouths, so it looks like one is bringing the other a flower - sweet and romantic. I hadn't even used the sentiment yet and I've had it for over a year! It just fit perfectly.

For this card, I used lots of dots and pink. The love bird couple is so cute. I love the little detail of one bird's lifted leg. If you've ever seen "The Princess Diaries" you'd know that it is the ultimate necessity for a perfect kiss (well, to the character, anyway).

Sorry to be so short, but I promise tomorrow will bring MORE fun and EGG-CITING stuff *wink*. See you then!

card #1: notecard and ribbon by A Muse, images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, quickie glue pen, glitter by The Art Institute, Copic markers - warm grays no. 2 and 4, blush, black and natural cardstock.

card #2: notecard, paper, image, sentiment, hearts, ribbons by A Muse, chipboard tag, pop dots, Copic markers - lipstick red, begonia, glitter by The Art Institute, black cardstock, quickie glue pen.

Blessings Banner

Just a quick card that I made to send to a friend who just had a baby. I love this sheep for baby cards and I love the banners that The Saltbox Studio has, so I merged the two. The banners make great frames for images, which I love because it does some of the "mounting" work for me. I used my Copic markers to make the sky a nice blue, too. SO easy and fast - just my style!

Hope you are not iced/snowed in wherever you are. My kids are on their way to school today after ice and snow kept them home yesterday. The new President thinks we are a bunch of snow and ice wimps in this area, but he'd better get used to it. People wanted change to come to Washington, but I don't think that is EVER going to change!

card info: sheep, banner, sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and ribbon by A Muse, black cardstock, Copic markers - warm gray no. 2, new leaf, robin's egg blue, pop dots.

Saltbox Studio Color Challenge

Hey stampers! It has been busy here the last couple of days. My son hosted a friend for his first sleepover last night, so there has been lots of excitement here. PLUS, they have off today AND tomorrow for the Inauguration, so a four day weekend makes for a crazy household.

Anyway, on to the card for today. Some of us on the Saltbox Design Team decided to do a color challenge and we invited other members of the A Muse Creative Team to play along. The colors were Swiss Red and Cabana Blue.

I really am falling in love with this color combination. I thought it would great for a winter themed Valentine, so out came the adorable snow people and some hearts and some glitter and some ribbon... next thing you know, I've got myself a card! I think I'd let my kids send it off to grandparents in February.

Hope you have a wonderful day today! Be sure to check the blogs of Lexi, Jen, Mary Rose, Lori, Geeta, Novell, Sherry, Rhonda and Emily - they may have some cards to share, too!

card info: snow people and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard, paper 1, paper 2 and ribbon by A Muse, Copic markers - lipstick red, frost blue, warm gray no. 2, glitter by Art Institute, pop dots.

Thanks Snow Much

Last month, my husband asked me for a bunch of thank you notes that he needed for his employees. These needed to be winter-themed and fairly simple to mass produce.

I went with this quick card so that I could use up some older brown paper that I've had for about a year. I love this snowman banner from The Saltbox Studio (I inked up all but the hearts) because it is already framed, which keeps me from needing to mat the stamped image. I love a shortcut!

I also want to thank everyone who took time to leave me a comment regarding the new blog banner. It is so nice to hear from people, especially when it is someone who has never left a comment. I had a good time learning how to work in Photoshop, too, so maybe now I will do more with that.

Have a great day!!!

card info: notecard, blue paper, snowflakes, sentiment by A Muse, snowman by The Saltbox Studio, brown cardstock, colored pencils.

It Was All A Blur

We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday, celebrating with our own little family, then later in the day we celebrated with my larger family. We had an unconventional meal - almost like tapas - because my mom's stove decided it was going to retire about ten days ago. But, there was still lots of good food.

I forgot to post just a few things for you. The first is a card made for our good friend, the priest. He married us, baptized our children and we continue to keep up with him by playing Fantasy Football in the same league with some other college friends. I used some stamps from The Saltbox Studio for this one.

This next photo is a gift card holder I made a long time ago. Back when I was making my girls' Halloween costumes, I thought it would be cute to have a mitten card holder. I cut out a pattern, sewed it together, then inked the edges and added the sentiment. Really easy!

This last photo is just a favorite from the last two weeks. If you have kids, you know that it can be hard to get them to sit still for YOU (they'll do it for others, though). But my husband had the ingenious idea to get a peck on the cheek from them while I snapped a photo.

Have a great day, everyone!

*** ALERT!!! If you got spending money for the holidays, you'll want to set some aside for some new Valentine's Day images coming your way in early January. The sneak peeks start January 2!!! ***

card info: stamps by The Saltbox Studio, notecard, paper (for the mitten), twinkle stickers and sentiment by A Muse, Copic markers - sand and powder blue, pop dots.

Thanksgiving Project

Thanksgiving can be such a long day if you happen to have the big meal towards the end of the day. We try to keep the kids busy, maybe playing outside or watching football, but there is always a need for something quiet to do. This year, I hope that the kids will indulge me by writing a little something on these 4x6 index cards.

I thought that the new fall images from The Saltbox Studio would work great for some kid-themed activities (as well as the placecards), so I made up 10 cards for anyone who cares to write something. If all goes well, I can bind these together and give the little book to my mom as a 2008 keepsake.

info: pumpkin and leaves and pilgrims and mouse by The Saltbox Studio, markers, index cards.

Frosty Fun with Copic Markers

One of the things that I got to do in Seattle was to hear a little bit more about the many uses of Copic markers. These markers are an investment, to say the least, but there is so much you can do, if you know what you are doing. Their are lots of interesting tips and techniques but all of these things involve practice. I just haven't given myself much time to practice lately, so I sat down with some more images from The Saltbox Studio and got to work.

I chose a color palette with two shades of the blue, green, gray and brown so that it would match the paper colors. I didn't do the perfect blending with this one, though, just added a darker line over the lighter color. I think that it makes it stand out just a little more. These images are really great to use when practicing with the Copics, too, because the open spaces are a bit bigger.

I am still going through some pictures from Seattle, too. I didn't really take many but I wanted to share a couple more. One is giving me fits, though, and my computer guy isn't here right now. Hope I can share this weekend.

card info: mouse and snowman by The Saltbox Studio, sentiment by A Muse, notecard and papers by A Muse, vellum, brads by Making Memories, punches by EK Success and Martha Stewart, Copic markers, liquid applique, Sakura glaze pen.

Hey Ewes Guys

I'm not really one for puns but I couldn't resist :)

This card idea has been brewing in my head for a while now and I just got around to creating it. The little sheep came out on one of the new sets from The Saltbox Studio. The holly and sentiment are from past releases. However, these were meant to be together! I used colored pencils for this one. I learned a few tips from Julie this weekend regarding these pencils and I hope to get some more practice soon. I love the way white on kraft paper looks; I don't know why but it just works for me.

I have a couple more ideas for cards that I hope to make soon. If it rains, then, poor me, I can't get out to rake leaves, so I might be able to sneak a little stamping time this afternoon!

card info: sheep, sentiment and holly by The Saltbox Studio, notecard, papers and ribbons by A Muse, colored pencils and kraft cardstock.

Late Night Quickie

This is a quick, quick, quick little winter note that I made, just to get my stamps dirty this evening. I was itching to stamp something simple and this stamp hadn't been used yet! I love when a simple idea works so perfectly. I could have easily added some sparkle to this (I still can, I guess) but I think the ribbon is just enough.

I actually made another card from the same set from The Saltbox Studio. I will share it soon!

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and ribbon by A Muse, Copic markers.

Pumpkin Carving Fun

Late last week Lexi challenged the SBS Design Team to create a card with the new "tall pumpkin" image from this set. The challenge was to make it into a jack-o-lantern. I thought that it would be fun to make it into a flag/banner. I used the post top from a new image from this set and the flag outline from this set. I was glad to put so many sets together!

I like the overall look, but I am not completely satisfied. I have been away from my stamp room for a few days, so I might just be a bit rusty. I need to get back to creating some things just for fun and to play around a bit. I hope that I will be able to do that this week. I have some really *fun* new things to use for some sneak peeks for next week, so I hope to exercise my stamping muscles.

card info: stamps by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and papers by A Muse, scrap piece of ribbon, black pen, glue dots, Copic markers - warm gray no. 2, frost blue, apricot, grass green.

Get That Table Ready! Part 1

Last year, my family was together in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving at my sister's house. There was a kids table, so I made up some fun things for them. You can see the set up here. I thought I'd try out napkin rings for a more formal look this year. I think the tall pumpkin from the new SBS release is really a neat image. I stamped it on shrink plastic, colored it and punched it out in an oval shape. After shrinking, it fit perfectly on the smallest scallop oval punch. I cut a strip of cardstock, secured it with red line tape, and attached the ovals. It was really a quick to-do, so I could easily make more. I am working on a placemat idea right now, and hope to be able to share it soon.

Speaking of the SBS sets, check those out here. Look for TWO posts from Oct. 6 because you can enter to win a ***FREE*** set of stamps! All you have to do is leave a comment, but you need to do so before Wednesday. Good luck!

On a personal note, I know that many of you have been following my sister's health over the last 14 months. Sadly, she passed away on Sunday morning. I was able to be with her and her family this weekend, as well as my parents and siblings. I want to express a very heartfelt thank you to all of you who have inquired about her and have kept her in your thoughts and prayers. I may be absent from this blog some this week, but not for long. My sister said she checked in on me everyday through this blog and encouraged me to keep up the work, so I will.

Ok, here is #3

I love the look of falling leaves in the autumn, just not piling up in my yard! These leaves are so much prettier and involve less clean up and raking. And, repeated stamping gives you a nice piece of patterned paper to use. This is a great way to practice your coloring techniques, too, because each leaf is different and you can get creative with it. What could be better?

Well, I'll tell you what I REALLY like about this card: the font for the sentiment. I used to have a very similar font on my old PC, but I could not get it to transfer to our Mac. I was seriously pouting over that sad news. But now I have stamp sentiments with this font and I am so happy!!!

I'm making this short, just in case you are heading to another *sneak peek*. Have a great day and stop back by tomorrow!

card info: images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, papers by A Muse, Copic markers.

Sneak Peek #2

Inventive title from me today, eh? Well, I guess I am just a little tired. A couple of people wrote that they would like to see some more Christmas images, and one person requested fall images. So today I am sharing this great Christmas image and sentiment all-in-one. I love that this one is so simple that it can stand alone. However, I have had other visions of how to use it, but the ink and paper will have to wait for another day.

I think this card would be so easy to mass produce, aside from the metal eyelet embellishment. You could easily substitute a punched image or leave it out altogether. You could add ribbon or brads, too, to take it a step further. But, I am simple by nature and so are my cards!

Are you getting excited to see more images? Make sure to check out the other SBS designers (see them listed over there on the right?), as well as the A Muse News blog for more sneak peeks!

card info: image by The Saltbox Studio, notecards and papers by A Muse, Copic markers, eyelet tree by Making Memories, sickles.

Holiday Sneak Peek from The Saltbox Studio

Here is a new sneak peek for you stampers! The new release from The Saltbox Studio is coming next week and it is loaded with stamps for fall, Christmas and winter. If you like to color in your images, there are so many fun stamps for you.

I chose this Santa image to challenge myself on working with a larger image. He is far bigger than most stamps that I own, so even placement on a card was going to be tricky. But I really love his primitive/vintage look and I thought he'd go well with the A Muse vintage papers. The stars in the corners and the sentiment are also part of the release (I used too light an ink color for the sentiment; I'll have to fix it).

I will be back tomorrow with another peek for you. What would you like to see: more Christmas? new fall? or something for winter? Leave a comment and let me know!

card info: images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, papers by A Muse, glitter by Making Memories, Copic markers - pinkish white, blush, warm gray 2, lipstick red, light suntan.

Howdy

Hi all! I'm sorry that I've neglected this little blog of mine lately. I've had some stamping assignments that needed attention (you know what that means? *sneak peeks*) and busy with planning a few trips that I will be taking here over the next couple of months. That has left me with little time to stamp for fun.

However, I was in need of some more cards to have on hand to send to my sister. One of the ways I am trying to communicate with her right now is through hand stamped cards. She has always been a fan of crafty things and is one of my biggest cheerleaders in the stamping part of my life. Although she is having trouble reading, I know that someone will read her my notes.

This card was made because I wanted to use the black and white polka dot button. I have no idea how it came to be in my button jar, but I saw it the other day and wanted to use it. I don't know if it really works, mixing patterns and colors like this, but Becky does it so well (and, I bet, so effortlessly) that I decided to give it a go. What do you think? For another look at this piggie, check out this post from Novell. I like her flower sun!

It reminds me a bit of the hog pen my Papaw Lawrence used to keep. Boy, did he have some huge hogs out by his barn! Whenever we went to visit Arkansas I would walk around the farm and out to the shop then over to the barn to look at the pigs. It is such a fond memory for me :)

card info: image by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and yellow cardstock by A Muse, kraft cardstock, patterned paper, button, COPIC markers - lipstick red, warm gray #4, raw silk, blush, cream.