Memorial Day

Pay it Forward 2011

Today is my birthday (yippeeee!!) and to celebrate it I am participating in a wonderful little blog project called... Pay It Forward 2011!

I read about it while visiting Linda's amazing blog The Funkie Junkie and knew instantly it was the perfect way of celebrating - sharing friendship, inspiration and creativity all while "paying it forward."

Here's how it works....the first five people who comment on this blog post will receive a handmade gift from me.  In return, you must FIRST write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011. Then.... send out a handmade gift to the first five visitors who leave a comment. 

You can take your time, they don't all have to be sent today or tomorrow, and it's not the size or value of the gift but the lovely spirit of Pay it Forward.

This is such a great way to connect with friends or make new ones, all while sharing the things we create with our hearts and hands!

{hugs}

Another Fairy Card

Loving these fairies I tell ya!  I made another simple fairy card using one of the die cuts in my G45 Once Upon A Springtime pack.  I popped up the frame to create a shadow box type of frame for the image.  I added some faux stitching around the edge and some stickles on the wings but you can't really see either very well in this pic, sorry.  And yeah, I know my bow is bit wonky too but as I was on my way out the door to deliver this card I realized I had forgotten to take a picture so I quickly pulled it out of the envie, grabbed the camera and snapped a super fast pic, then fixed it before tucking it back in.  Ooopsies. 

Thanks for visiting!

Spring Fairy Teacher Card

Oh I have to send a big shout out to my west coast buddie Deb!!  It took me over a month to get the nerve to finally cut my first sheet of the unbelievably gorgeous G45 Once Upon A Springtime paper that she gave me, but now I can't stop, lol!  OhMyGosh is this set pretty! 

Last month my daughter's kindergarten teacher had to take an unexpected leave for the rest of the school year.  She was very sad to have to make this decision and we miss her very much.  Since it is Teacher appreciation Week we decided to send her a little note to let her know we are thinking of her. 

She used to play guitar and sing daily with the kids so we thought using the image of the fairy playing music for the bunnies would be perfectly appropriate. I cut out a bunch of the individual flowers from the background paper (this is why I say I can't stop cutting!) and popped them for a little dimension and added a tiny bit of Stickles to their centers.  I also added some Stickles to the fairy's wings and dress and edged the papers with a gold gel pen.

This card design is pretty basic but the gorgeous papers make is so pretty that you can get more ooh's and ahh's for your effort.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this pack Deb!  Thank you!!! 


Thanks for visiting!

Pop-Up Twirl Birthday Card

Dustin Pike has a challenge this week to create a birthday themed card or project using two colors from his blog header.  Good grief how hard should that really be?!?? LOL!  Well I've spent the entire week brainstorming and coming up with what I thought would be great birthday themed projects but every time I try to limit my rainbow to two colors I end up banging my head on the wall.  I was really stuck but I was also really determined.  I decided to call in help and I asked my 5 year old daughter (who at the time happened to be dressed all in pink complete with a tutu, pearls, chunky bling rings and a tiara) what one color she liked best from the header and (of course) she picked pink, and then I asked her what kind of card she wanted and (of course) she picked princess.  She could not be more girly girl if she tried, LOL!  So off I went brainstorming again.

I decided to try a new card I just saw last week on Split Coast Stampers called Pop-Up Twirl Card.  Oh-My-Gosh this has got to be the absolute coolest card I've ever made!  I did a test run with scrap paper first to be sure it would work and it did!  I used yellow as my second color, added some dark pink mirror paper for matting, used my Prisma pencils to color (and NO blending solution which was my own personal challenge that I added), printed the sentiments on my computer and popped up the castle on the cover for a little dimension.  When I took pictures to post I really could not convey the amazing twirling movement so I did a quick video and I hope it posts ok for you to see. 

See it in action!!

This was really fun and actually quite easy, well the mechanical part was easy at least - the color limitation is another story, ugh!  I did stick to all pinks and yellows except for the charcoal in the windows of the castle, and even though the rooftops look a bit purple they are a raspberry pink.  I admit I may have stretched the rules a bit with the grass at the bottom of the castle though because I did use a very yellowy'ish light green.  Slap my hands if you must but I'm sorry - pink and yellow just don't look right for grass!

I might still add a bit of stickles and some faux stitching, but my daughter will probably wear the card out before I get a chance, lol!  I guess she approves!


Thanks for visiting!

Happy Easter

Enjoy your day peeps!

Happy Earth Day...

                    ...today and every day.

"There is hope

if people will begin to awaken

that spiritual part of themselves,

that heartfelt knowledge that

we are caretakers of this planet."

 ~Brooke Medicine Eagle

um Mom, there's a little problem with my lunch...

just having a little fun creating transparencies...

LOL!

Thanks for visiting!

Birdie Birthday Card

After fighting off a migraine all week (and not winning a couple of the days) I finally finished my birthday card for Dustin Pike's current It's A Party challenge.  What made the brain pain even worse was that I had my fancy schmancy new Prismas sitting on my table all lined up purty and staring at me the whole time just waiting to be played with.  I used my first two images that I was finally able to color for the card and WOOHOO how I love these pencils!  I used odorless mineral spirits with them and I'm amazed at the blending effect.  I did figure out some tricks to the blending and shading while coloring these images, but for me these are really so much easier than the Copics and Bics that I've been struggling with.  I think I've found my favorite coloring tools!!

For the card I decided to try the swing design that I have seen so many times and it totally amused my 5 year old, lol!  It is really such an easy pattern I'm not sure why I've never tried it before.  Paper is by K&Co (recognize it deb?? heehee! ).

CLOSED CARD VIEW

OPENED CARD VIEW

"SWINGING" CARD VIEWS

Another fun challenge in Pike's Playground!


Thanks for visiting!

Who documents this stuff anyway?? LOL!!

Do you know what today is??  I didn't till I logged on my 'puter this morning, but from now on we have a new holiday to celebrate in my house!

Check it out:

Thanks for visiting!