More Decor Elements

It's Fabulous Friday!!

My very good friend, Lori, and I had a fun girls' day today.

First, we went to Home Depot looking for glass blocks and other "things" to embellish. Unfortunately, all we could spend our money on there were 12x12 ceramic tiles. FORTUNATELY, we were able to turn some pretty BORING tiles into these:



We used the Small Season of Thanks Decor Elements. Don't you just LOVE IT??? I am very happy with how it turned out. Now I just have to find a couple of wrought iron tabletop plate stands to display these puppies.

So, off to Wallyworld we went to get some mini-lites for inside the glass blocks when we DID find them. We managed to find some lovely glass things to embellish. :o)



I used the Small Park Avenue Ornaments and the Small Jingle All the Way D.E. Then I bought some cheap, silver balls to fill the vase, tied some ribbon around the top and. . . VOILA!!! Instant Christmas centrepiece.

We went over to Rona and found these glass blocks made especially for crafters like us. They already have an opening in them so no painful hole-drilling is necessary. I picked up 4 but haven't done any yet. Lori did one and I think she is going to post pics on her blog so head over and check it out.

I had a nail appointment at 11 am so we headed over to the mall and grabbed a pumpkin spice latte and snack at Second Cup. I spent 2 hours in the chair getting my nails done and then got my hair cut. Lori also got her hair cut - it's so much fun because we have the same hairdresser and so we try to make appointments when we can go together.

Both of Lori's kids were going to friends' houses after school so Lori ran home and got her D.E. and came back to my house to play. Thanks for coming to craft, Lor!!!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Two, Two. . . Two Challenges in One!

Happy Thursday All!

I'm going to make this a quick post since it's my favorite night for TV - Survivor & Grey's Anatomy.

I got home from work and cruised some blogs. Laura had done a card and the colors just POPPED for me. I clicked my way over to KWernerDesign Blog and found the color challenge: Pumpkin Pie, Sage Shadow, Ruby Red and Whisper White.

When I decided I was going to play along, I popped on over to Splitcoast to get a Sketch Layout to make life a bit easier. I found this:



. . . and came up with this:



It took me awhile to get going with this one - I'm still not sure I *love* it, but it was fun and now I can say I did something crafty two days in a row! LOL

Enjoy! Happy Crafting!

Upsy Daisy!

Happy Hump Day!

I spent my morning out and about with my partner-in-crime, Lori. We went to visit an old friend for coffee (we took him Tim's, of course!) and then I made my way to work for the afternoon. The kids were very well-behaved considering we had a substitute teacher in all day.

I haven't had much time to sit and craft the last couple of days so I popped in at Splitcoast Stampers to see what today's challenge was. Sketch Design 200 was this:



. . . and I came up with this:



I have been wanting to use up some of my old DP and found this "Dashing" paper just screaming, "Pick me, pick me!!" So, I did. :o)

I stamped Upsy Daisy on Very Vanilla CS in each of the three colors ~ Real Red, Old Olive and River Rock ~ and then randomly used my 1-1/4" square punch to punch part of the image out. Then I layered those on 1-3/8" squares punched from the same colors of cardstock. I found some red, stitched-grosgrain ribbon and used it to separate the two DP patterns. I used pop-up glue dots to pop them up and then used my oval punch, designer label punch and my 1-3/8" circle punch to jazz up the sentiment.

It didn't take very long to do - less than 1/2 hour for sure. I have been feeling "less than crafty" lately so to have a daily inspiration is a real bonus.

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #39

Happy Friday Everyone!!

I was out and about the web today and came across Taylored Expressions. O-M-G! What cute cards she makes and the stamps she designs are pretty awesome too. I totally LOVE the new Christmas cupcake sets found here.

Anyhow, being new to the whole blogging thing, I thought I'd give her challenge a shot. Unfortunately, I could NOT find any stamps I wanted to use that were small enough to fit the sketch layout for a 4-1/4"x 5-1/2" card so I grabbed my Hero Arts cupcakes and made a half-fold card instead:



I started by stamping the cupcakes on Very Vanilla with Timber Brown Staz-On. I used classic ink and a blender pen to color the images and then added a bit of glitter for sparkle. I paper-pieced the cupcake papers on each one to coordinate with the strip of paper beside it. I found an UNOPENED *travesty!!!* roll of SU!'s brown satin ribbon from last winter so I used it for the bows - I made the ribbon go all the way across instead of what was suggested. I added the sentiment inside an Aged Copper HPH.

I think it turned out pretty good - for a VIRGIN Cupcake Challenge Gal! Enjoy!

Supplies: Cardstock - Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow, So Saffron. Designer Paper: My Mind's Eye. Stamps: Hero Arts Cupcakes, sentiment from My Favorite Things' "You Take the Cake" set. Miscellaneous: SU! Brown Satin Ribbon, glitter, Hodgepodge Hardware

Dentist Dilemma

Anyone else have dentist problems? I am absolutely terrified of them and just recently went after not going for a LONG time. . .

But, today I took Josh for the very first time. I realize Josh is already 11 but there is NO WAY I could have taken him any sooner than this - it would have been a terrible experience for ALL of us and would have been a horrible memory. So I took him to the pediatric dentist in R.D. who, I believed, had YEARS of experience dealing with special needs kids and their families. I was worried about Josh and whether or not he would even ALLOW the dentist to look at his teeth. Turns out, I didn't need to worry at all.

Josh did a GREAT job. It was the dentist that was a complete jerk - the first words out of his mouth to me when he looked at Josh's teeth were, "Why did you wait so long?" He proceeded to further emphasize my delinquency by pointing out EVERY SINGLE thing that was wrong with Josh's mouth. UMMMMM. . . I KNOW his mouth is a mess - I'm not blind, for crying out loud. That's why we're here but I don't need YOU to tell me and make me feel like the worst mother on the planet. So, needless to say, we will NOT be returning to this particular dentist and are on the search AGAIN. Oh - and, get this, even if we were going to stay with this dentist, it would be 10-12 MONTHS before they can get him in to do the work! Ummmmm - I don't think so!

*sigh*

Another Christmas Card

I wanted to use colors that you might not normally put together so I picked Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy and Purely Pomegranate. I used Naturals White for the card base. I started by stamping the words with Whisper White craft ink and then embossed it using Sparkle by Tsukineko. I ticket corner punched and inked the edges and layered it onto the artichoke and pomegranate. I put a white brad in each corner. I used one of the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled set to stamp the background on the NQN layer. I inked the edges and attached some sheer, sparkly ribbon to finish it off.

What do you think?

I'm in LOVE. . .

. . . with Decor Elements!!! OH - MY - GOODNESS!!! They are SUPER easy to put on the wall and they look amazing! Click on the pictures to see them a bit better. . .




I used the Manahttan Flower Decor Elements in Kraft and Chocolate as well as the Create Definition. The instructions are easy to follow and clear, clear, CLEAR! I just ordered some more to use to make Christmas gifts so I cannot WAIT 'til they get here to show you what I create with those.

I'm going to try to sit down to do something after dinner tonight so make sure you check back!

Mad For Plaid. . .

It's FRIDAY everyone!

I've got my Christmas tunes cranked, I made cinnamon buns this morning and sat down to do a SCS Challenge. This week's Ways to Use It challenge was to use plaid in a creation - whether it's plaid paper, ribbon, stamps etc. . . anything goes!

Now, usually plaid makes me think of Christmas and red and green ~ but luckily, I bought the Manchester DP a few months back but it's been sitting in my paper shelf unopened. . .until today!



So, I decided to try making one of the Mini Pizza Boxes I've been seeing EVERYWHERE. I started with a piece of Kraft CS and used my new Scor-It to score the lines for the box. Then I used the Manchester DP, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla and more Kraft CS to decorate the top and sides. I had a fair bit of leftover CS so I made a set of 5 3"x3" notecards to go inside the box.




I used the scallop stamp from the "Wanted" set for the punched piece on the box top and used my "Fresh Cuts" set AGAIN (boy, I love these stamps!) for the little note cards. I used my scallop punch, my large oval punch and my Marvy Giga Scallop punch a well as my Coluzzle for the Kraft circle layer. I put a little bit of bling in the center of the scallop 'cause it just needed "something."

What do you have planned for the weekend? We don't have any huge plans so far. I have my Stamping Club monthly get-together on Sunday afternoon so I'm looking forward to that. Saturday will likely be spent doing laundry and getting caught up for next week.

ENJOY! Thanks for looking!

Fresh Cuts Notes. . .

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I love Thursdays for so many reasons - only one more sleep 'til Friday, Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, CSI. . . is there anything else???

I was feeling inspired tonight while watching TV so I sat down in the new area and pulled out my Fresh Cuts Notes and my Fresh Cuts stamp set. My PEEP, Lori, did some of these notes awhile ago and I LOVED them but I didn'thave the 5-petal punch to make them really purty. So, I dug out my Flower Fusion felt flowers and used those instead. I LOVE how these turned out! Sorry the pics aren't very good . . .






I've got one more pic to post but can't get it to upload so I'll try again tomorrow. I am going to try to do a SCS challenge or two tomorrow so be sure to check back!

My Crafting Space is FINALLY DONE!!!

Well, OK, not COMPLETELY done but all of the cupboards are up and now I just have to get my Decor Elements up on the wall! I'm so excited! I can just FEEL the creative juices flowing. . .





Oh - How I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Ikea!!! They seriously have the BEST gadgets for storage etc.

No time to craft today - spent most of it at the school so maybe I'll find a few minutes tonight to be a papercraft genius!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canuck friends!

Today is the final day of my boys' 5-day weekend and it can't come a moment too soon! They are usually pretty good kids but, for some reason, this weekend has been filled with nitpick after nitpick. So, after my parents left this morning, I started bun dough in the machine, sent the kids outside to play and I sat down to create something. I wasn't totally sure where I wanted to start so I went to my scrap box to get inspiration. I found a piece of DP from the Holiday Happenings Bundle in the Hostess Section and thought I could use the striped side. I wanted to try to keep it simple *again, not my usual*, and just couldn't come up with something simple using the striped side. So I flipped it over and this is what I came up with:



I started with the strip at the top using Pink Pirouette cardstock and the DP. I inked the edge of the DP with Baja Breeze and stopped. I wasn't sure what to do next. I dug out my ribbon but didn't want to do my usual bow. I had ordered the Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware when it was on sale a few months ago so I got that out to see if there was anything I could use. I found the buckle and it was the right size for the ribbon to fit through without bunching up. Then I cut a piece of Whisper White and stamped the background images in Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze using the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled set and then I stamped the sentiment in the bottom right corner. You're probably thinking, "What are you talking about, Melissa? I don't see any sentiment!" Well, you're right. After I stamped it I just didn't like it at all so I needed to come up with something to cover it up. I punched ovals, circles, designer labels and nothing was long enough to cover all the words. So, then I punched out 2 large tags and 2 small tags and laid them end to end to make one big label under the circles. Then I needed to cover up the seam where the tags met so used my 1-3/8" circle punch to cut a Baja Breeze circle and my 1-1/4" circle punch to cut a Pink Pirouette circle. I inked the edges of both circles and then stamped the larger snowflake on WW using the BB and punched it out using my 1-inch circle punch. I found a white snowflake brad and stuck it through the center and then attached it to the card using a pop-up glue dot. I thought it needed something else so I got my adhesive bling out and stuck one right on the middle of the snowflake.

I love the PP and BB together - not your typical Christmas Card, but I like it! Enjoy your Monday!!!

I'm Naturally Curious. . .

Good morning, everyone!!!

It is AWFULLY chilly here this morning. I think winter is lurking around the corner. . .YIPPEE!!!! I'm not a *real* fan of winter but I *do* enjoy sitting down with a cup of coffee, lighting some candles, stoking a fire and creating paperstuffs - and all the warm fuzzies that go along with a "snow day."

One thing I do NOT enjoy about colder temperatures and living on a farm is the fact that sometimes our water freezes up, which is what I woke up to this morning. Now, normally, not a huge deal but this morning I need to do laundry, start the dishwasher, clean my bathroom, mop my floors etc., etc. These things are very difficult to do unless you have running water! LOL So, DH is out there right now fixing it and I'm here playing until he's done. Isn't that just too bad??? *giggle*

Now, because I am new to this blog thing and because I am really curious to know who has found my little space on the web, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it if you could just post a little comment to let me know where in the world you are. If you have your own website you think I might want to peruse, post a link in your comment.

Thanks everyone. Enjoy your Saturday!

All Good Things Come in Threes

I know that's not the real saying but it works for me today! We're all about "good things" around here so here's the third card from my SCS WCMD Challenges:

This one was inspired by the cover of the Coldwater Creek Catalog.

I used the Lovely as a Tree stamp set and I think it turned out quite nicely. I'm usually more of an "embellisher" but actually like the simplicity of this card.

Cardstock: Summer Sun, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Warm Words
Misc.: Chocolate Chip ink, sponge daubers, Riding Hood Red Ribbon

I really enjoyed doing these challenges and I think if I can find a few spare minutes once in awhile, I'd like to try them more often.

Well, I guess that's going to be it for me tonight. My mom and dad are coming up tomorrow to share Thanksgiving with us so I have a *bit* of preparation left to do. . . OK, OK - a LOT of preparation left to do! :o)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends! Enjoy your family. . .

Take Two. . .

Here is the second challenge. For this one, we had to be "inspired" by a card in Sherry's gallery and change at least 2 things about it to make it our own.  I decided to keep the basic layout the same but changed pretty much everything else!  Again, all supplies SU! unless otherwise indicated:

Cardstock - Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

Designer Paper - Hawaii Papaya

Punches - Oval punches, Circle punches, corner rounder, Coluzzle, Marvy Scallop Circle Punch

Miscellaneous - White gel pen, Tangerine Tango ribbon, chocolate chip ink

My First Post!!!

Well, hello Blogland!!!!

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get my own blog up and running - I think I've been a *bit* intimidated by all the REALLY good ones out there and I seem to think that mine won't be as good.  BUT, I've sucked it up and decided to put it out there - if people like it, they like it.  If they don't then, "Sucks to be you!"  LOL

So, without further ado, I guess I'll start by posting my VERY FIRST completed Splitcoast Stampers challenge.  I actually managed to complete 4 of their World Card Making Day challenges and were they EVER fun to do!!!

OK, here's the first one.  All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated:

Cardstock - Tangerine Tango,
Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip

Designer Paper - Hawaii Papaya

Stamps - Eastern Blooms, Fresh Cuts

Ink - Chocolate Chip

Ribbon - Kiwi Kiss

Miscellaneous - Unknown adhesive bling, sponge daubers

OK - I'm having trouble figuring out how to make this layout look pretty so I'll do a couple different posts.