Here We Are @ Day 4 - UnAward Winning Artisan Projects

Moving right along, eh? Hope y'all are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend filled with family, food and some free time!

I actually spent today just relaxing after church. I also made a card for my dad - today marks the day where one year ago he left us. Seems hard to believe it has been that long. Fortunately for me he is buried a few short minutes from my house, so I can go and visit any time I feel the need. I took up some flowers and a card. The cemetery looked SOOO beautiful with so many flowers and flags everywhere. Truly lovely with the sun shining and birds singing. It was lovely and peaceful. All in all a really nice day ...

I need to start by saying that I got special permission from the infamous JanTink to make this card as part of my Artisan Award entry. I know she didn't actually "invent" this Marvelous Marquee style of card, but she DID do a FABOO tutorial on how to make one here:

Jan's Marvelous Marquee Video Tutorial

I had a lot of fun making this unconventionally-colored baby card. The hole came out a little higher than I would have liked, but I still like it, nonetheless.

Here is a peek-a-boo at the inside. I love giving interactive cards to people, especially when I get to watch their reactions when they open them up!! They think I am some sort of wizard or genie or something!! Hehehehe! Wouldn't that be TERRIFIC when it came time to clean the house (I'm also thinking "Mary Poppins" here, too! I need me a magic snap, a magic eye-blink or some sorta magic nose twitch ... a wand could be cool, too eh?)

And speaking of Jan and marvelous cards, check it out:

Another Superb JanTink Card

I hope I am not boring y'all to death or making you crazy with the daily updates right now. We are almost halfway there! Thanks, once again, for all the positive feedback. You make my day!!

Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Nursery Letters Wheel
Paper: Old Olive, Pale Plum, Whisper White, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Pale Plum
Accessories: Circle Scissor, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, 1 3/8” Square Punch, Large Oval Punch, Star Punch, Silver Brads, Old Olive ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon

Parade of UnAward Winning Projects - Day 3

When I sat down to try and plan out what kinds of cards I wanted to make as part of my Artisan Award entries, I decided that I needed to step out of my own comfort zone - especially when it came to color combos. And so I stepped waaaayyyy out on this one. Gable Green? I'm not sure anyone ever really used this color (which is probably the reason why it was one of the ones that is "retiring").

The "most funnest" part about this? Trying to find a gift card that matched it!! I went over to my local store (lucky for me it is across the street from my house) and looked at their entire rack of gifts cards. I was mui-happy to find this one that I think was a pretty stinkin' good match. The tricky part was trying to convince the checker that I wanted it but that I didn't want to activate it. She looked at me pretty much like I had THREE heads. She had to call the manager over. "Can we let her have this card without activating it?" He just kinda shook his head and said, "Sure, why not? If she just wants to take a worthless card, let her!" Diff'ernt strokes for diff'ernt folks, eh?

And Jan has yet another BRILLIANT card for ya. I swear I wish some of her genius-ness would rub off on me. She is sooo stinkin' good at makin' up cool techniques, or adapting ones that we have ALL seen a zillion times and making her own. I am a pretty good mimic, but she is just a stampin' MacGyver (I tell her this all the time - I even assigned the MacGyver theme song to her number as a ring tone on my phone). See her wonderful creation here:

Jan's Blog

And a big ol' THANKYOUTHANKYOU to all of you and your encouraging and supportive comments. You have NO idea how much they mean to me!!

Stamps: On a Pedestal
Paper: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Pretty in Pink, Summer Sun
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Paper Piercing Tool/Mat Pack

Parade of UnAward Winning Projects - Day 2

Well, here we are AGAIN ... and here is another one of the cards I made as part of my Artisan Award entry ... I really DID have a good time creating the stuff I made this year. And really, I don't fell THAT badly (okay, well maybe a WEE bit). The challenge to push myself was ALMOST worth it ...

Once, again, the fab JanTink is ALSO sharing more fun stuff that SHE made (and I have been fortunate enough to see it, so I already KNOW you are gonna be ASTOUNDED and AMAZED by her - like, what ELSE Is NEW??) It's been REALLY GREAT to have someone who has gone through this whole process with me ... she's the BESTEST! Here's a link to another one of her UnAward Winning Projects as well:

Jan's Fab Card

Stamps: For All You Do
Paper: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango
Accessories: Large Tag Punch, Small Tag Punch, Photo Corners Punch, Vintage Brads, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Parade of UnAward Winning Projects - Day 1

Okay, well ... the title for the post (and for subsequent ones where I post the things that I created as part of my entry for this year's Stampin' Up Artisan Award contest) is a true expression of how I feel ... like an Un-Artisan - or at least that's how it is in the eyes of the judges at Stampin Up! ... I like to think that perhaps I was #11 or #12 on SU's list of winners (and since they only pick TEN winners, that makes me NEARLY an Artisan, right???) Hehehehe ... I am just gonna live in that happy bubble, okay? (Even if I WAS #217!)

Here is card #1 ... I decided to show this one first 'cause I actually felt guilty about submitting it ... WHY?? you ask ... 'cause it only took me, like, 15 minutes to create it. I somehow thought that taking so short of a time-frame to create something for a contest of this caliber was a big, FAT NO-NO!! But I loved how it came out so much that I KNEW I was gonna submit it!! So, there ya have it!! (I actually had this baby all planned out in my head, and it just sorta fell out the tips of my fingers!!)

Since my BFF, JanTink, ALSO is NEARLY ARTISAN like me (actually, that is UNTRUE - she is a jeenyus! But, unbelievably, she wasn't picked, either!), we decided to play a little round of ping pong with this sharing project ... so why not BOUNCE on over to her blog (click back where I typed her name) and see what SHE created for this contest as well??? (You KNOW you WANNA!)

Come on back tomorrow and see project #2, 'kay?

Stamps: Wedding Sweet
Paper: Whisper White, Going Gray
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions Folder, Modern Label Punch, Large Oval Punch, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Pretties Kit, Whisper White Satin/Organza Ribbon, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Sad Goods & Good News ...

I decided I needed a card to represent my NEED for chocolate (okay, so I guess I am OVER it!) ... I found out yesterday that I got passed over (again!) for Stampin' Up's Artisan Award. Sigh ... ... at least it forced me to ink up this stamp set (which I have had since some time last year and never inked up!) AND I decided to cut into some of the new cardstock samples I got from Stampin' Up (since I sooo plan to do a "pre-order" on June 1 and get me a bunch MORE of it!!)

So that is my sad news ... actually, I am taking it much better than I thought I would. After all, this is just paper and ink, right? (YIKES!! Did I really just TYPE that???) But the GOOD news is that, starting Friday, I am gonna do a 10-day blitz of all the stuff I submitted for the Artisan thing that DIDN'T win ... I am pretty happy with what I did, so that's all anyone can ask for, right?

Tune in on Friday so you can see how I spent a couple of weeks in March!!

Hugs to All!!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso, Whisper White, So Saffron
Ink: Basic Black, Soft Suede
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions folder, ticket corner punch, large oval punch, 1/4" Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon

Buttons & Bows ...

It was my turn to hostess the Free for All Challenge on SCS again last Thursday. I spent the better part of the day working on the bag I shared with you in my last post. Then, I got all wrapped up in the season finale for Grey's Anatomy (seriously, it was so intense it gave me a freakin' HEADACHE!)!. My darling daughter informed me, right before the show came on, that she was supposed to bring some sort of food/treat thing to school the next morning that reflected her heritage (WHAT??!!?? Seriously??!!?? Another 11th-Hour Project!)!

Sooo .... as soon as Grey's was over we zipped over to the store to get some ingredients to make a cake (Bienenstich - "Bee Sting Cake" - since we gotta LOTTA German in our family!). Anywho ... after making the cake and sending her to bed, I decided to settle down and read some emails and such. This was just about 11:00 p.m. ... THEN I remembered that it was MY TURN to hostess the challenge!! YIKES!! I knew what I wanted to do, yet I hadn't even STARTED to make a sample!! YEEE-IKES!! The challenge, by the way, was to use buttons and/or bows (ribbon) in a creative or different way ...

Lucky for me, this card whipped up in about 15 minutes, so I was able to photograph it, write some yadda-yadda, and get it up by 12:00 (or slightly thereafter) ... gotta love those school projects, right???

Have a super-duper day!!

PS - Traci S. if you are reading this, please send me a p/m over on SCS ... your email seems to be BROKEN, girlfriend!! :)

Stamps: For All You Do, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, More Mustard, Pacific Point
Ink: Pacific Point, Old Olive
Accessories: Fluerettes, Playground Buttons, Photo Corners Punch, Scallop Trim Punch, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Paper Piercing Tool

OkayOkay ... ONE More!!

I just couldn't HELP myself!! When I got the urge to make one of these adorable little quilt rag purses I ran over to WalMart and bought me up some fabric ... all this stuff was sooo stinkin' cute that I bought FIVE different fabrics that all looked SOOO cute together. I cut out all the squares from all the fabrics and just sat STARING at them and wondering which ones to use. Ultimately, I ended up splitting them up to make TWO bags ...

So what you see here is the second cutie-patootie little purse. I just decided that if I didn't make it up NOW, that it would find its way into my "unfinished projects drawer" ... you KNOW you all have one (whether it be a drawer, a box, a Rubbermaid-type container or a closet ... admit it!!)

I LOVE the enclosure for this one!! Ya know ... I was pretty skeptical when these little crocheted flowers came out in SU's catalog last year ... didn't really like 'em ... but now I am LOVING them!!!

So ... there ya have it ...

Materials used: Bigz Scallop Square and Flower Folds Dies, Fleurettes, Summer Sun Corduroy Button

Have a super-fab weekend!!

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Freak Bag ...

... and SMILE, SMILE, SMILE!! Welcome to the next stop on the Control Freaks Blog Tour. (You should have just come from the SPECTACULAR blog of my Fellow Freak, Patty Bennett.) This month we are featuring COOL THINGS from the Stampin' Up Summer Mini Catty.


I can't tell you what a crazy whirlwind project this turned out to be!!! I saw one of these ADORABLE scallop square die rag quilt bags as I was surfing around the 'net the other night (Insomniac Moment!). Which, of course, led me from one blog to another ... one youtube link to another ... here is a link to the tutorial I used:

Rag Quilt Purse

Isn't is just CAAAA-YOOOOT???? I can hardly stand myself!! Here is where the saga begins, however ... I spent the better part of the day on Tuesday working on this splendiforous bag ... I was SOOO pleased with myself and with how it came out. Then reality hit me .... AAAAAACK!!! I realized I hadn't used a SINGLE SOLITARY item from the SU Summer Mini, which, of course, is what we Freaks wanted to feature for ya this time around!! PANICPANICPANIC!!

After much contemplation, soul searching and trying to tap my Inner Genius I finally found a way to incorporate the ADORABLY DARLING Bitty Buttons and their coordinating punches onto my little butterflies on the bag ... SEE???!!!?? Stinkin' CAAA-YOOOT!! (And you can ALWAYS put your Summer Mini Catty IN this bag, right???)

Materials Used: Bigz Scallop Square, Beautiful Butterflies, Baskets and Blooms, and Two Tags Dies, Bitty Buttons, Bitty Shapes Punches, Pretties Kit (pearl)

AND, some of my fellow Freaks thought it would be fun if I made a matching gift card for this (like, am I supposed to give this AWAY??? I think NOT!!!) Sooooo here it is!!! I ripped off a little strip of the leftover fabric to tie the little bow around this ... Stinkin' CAAAA_YOOOOT!!! I have to say that I {{{heart}}} all of the lovely floral stamp sets in this mini (I have used Elements of Style and one of the sentiments from Watercolor Trio). Not to mention that this also gave me yet ANOTHER chance to show you some Black Magic.

Stamps: Elements of Style, Watercolor Trio (sentiment)
Paper: So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Watercolor Pencils, White Gel Pen, Large Oval Punch, Bigz Scallop Square Die, Pretties Pearl

AAAANNNDD, what would one of my Freaky posts be without a little MDS inspiration, eh??? (I guess I don't ALWAYS do it, but I do it more often than not!) Since SU keeps making more and more downloads available for us to use, I keep acting like the sheep that I am and BUYING THEM UP ... SIGHT UNSEEN!! I am LOVING the Vintage Overlays especially right now ... simply GAWJUS!!! And I am feeling oh-so-artsy with this picture-in-picture style of scrapbooking ... something I would NEVER have attempted doing a conventional scrapbook page. Too-too FUN!!

Next stop?? The FANTABULOUS home of Gretchen Barron. Go check her out!! She ROCKS!!! (I know I say that about my Freaky friends all the time, but it is TRUE!!)

Thankful for Spring ...

It was 85 degrees last Monday!! GLORIOUS!! (It rained all day yesterday ... but it IS Spring!!)

I was just itchin' to make a springy butterfly card (and you KNOW how I am about BUTTERFLIES!) ... so here ya go. I used the sketch for today's sketch challenge over on SCS, too (SC281). That's pretty much it ...

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Vellum
Ink: Garden Green, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Basic Black
Accessories: Large and Small Oval Punches, Butterfly Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Pop-Up Glue Dots

But I DID wanna remind you that the monthly Control Freaks Blog Tour is TOMORROW (and, if you come back later tonight, you might get lucky and get to see it a little early).

Hugs to all ... have a beautiful day in YOUR neighborhood!!

Bella Bleu

This Bella Bleu dsp has been one of my faves in a long time ... it's been fun having it in the SU catalog for the past two years. Sadly, it's gonna hafta go when the new catalog comes out as I have spied some Barely Banana on a few of the sheets.

I created this card for the technique challenge today on SCS - TLC273 - to create a frame around your image and pop it up a bit. Had to dust off my Nesties a little ... sad to say I haven't used those in a little while (think I'm gonna hafta use 'em some more, as they look cool, they're easy to use, AND I have a TON of 'em!)!!

Stamps: Friends 24-7
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Bella Bleu dsp
Ink: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Nestabilties Labels One, Kraft and Whisper White taffeta ribbon, pearl (from Pretties Kit), Stitch-Doodle-Dot template

Enjoy your day ... hope the sun is shining wherever you are!! (It has been glorious here since Saturday ... got our garden all planted and ready to go ... hooray!!)

Happy Dog ...

I haven't done a challenge card over on SCS in what seems like forEVER!! So I did a two-fer today!! I did this for WT270 (to do some creative paper distressing) and F4A12 (to do the spotlight technique.

I'm not sure I LOVE the sentiment, but it IS a doggie-related one ... so I guess I hafta be happy with that, right??

I need to hustle off to work (late again due to my stamping habit!)!

Have a fabulous, sun-filled weekend, wherever you are!!

Stamps: Neighborhood (jumbo wheel), D is for Dog
Paper: Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Print Patterns III
Ink: Basic Black, Night of Navy, SU Markers
Accessories: 1 1/4" and 1" circle punches, scallop trim border punch, rustic retreat ribbon (retired), sewing machine, (pop-up glue dots)

Wedding Bliss ...

Since I have been having SOOO much fun making layouts of my lovely nieces on their wedding days, I have decided to keep going!! (Considering I now how have EIGHT lovely nieces who are married, that means I still have several more to go!)

I am going to make a layout for each of them and then put them in a frame as a keepsake. Cool idea, eh?

I am reaaaalllllyy {{{heart}}}ing the Vintage Overlays for MDS. They are MUI-gawgeous!!! I keep getting sucked back into the program (kinda scary ... anyone out there remember "Tron?"). I will continue to share them as I get them done ... just hope my nieces don't shoot me for putting their faces out there in CyberLand (which is kinda ironic since they are ALL on Facebook, while I have resisted the current and am NOT!!)!!

Have a beautiful, spring-y day!!

Blog Makeover - MDS Style!!

How do ya like my new digs??? I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon/early evening giving my blog a face lift. I am SOOO happy that I was able to incorporate all of the elements from things I had created using My Digital Studio (the banner, sidebar background, buttons and my signature were ALL created in MDS!!). I am really happy with how it turned out. PLUS my good friend,Michelle Baird (owner of Shabby Creations) helped me learn how to put it together myself!! She ROCKS!! Thanks, Michelle!!

Speaking of makeovers ... this card was a major makeover in and of itself! I actually had it all finished using the Black Magic technique on the kraft colored cardstock ... did NOT like how it turned out, so I tore it apart and redid about half of it!! Actually, this is a quick and simple little card (if ya don't try doing something else entirely when you start!).

Also, I did a makeover on my watermark, too (boy, was I in a MOOD yesterday!). So now I just need to get a makeover for myself (too bad they can't make me TALLER, with fewer WRINKLES!!)!!

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Paper: So Saffron, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Whisper White embossing powder, Large Oval Punch, Elegant Bouquet and Finial Press Textured Impressions embossing folders, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage brads, pop-up glue dots

Have a happy day!

Beautiful Black Magic Technique

Hello, my friends and a very Happy Mother's Day to all!!

As a "gift" to all the moms out there (and perhaps to a few of the dads, daughters, aunts and friends!), I am posting a tutorial on the MUI-FANTASTICA black magic technique. The only WARNING I can give y'all about this is that it is ADDICTIVE!!



I also need to apologize for the "earthquake shake" from time to time in this tutorial. I had filmed it once, and upon review discovered that I had an AWESOME 7 1/2 minute video of the crown of my head (it was a good thing that I had taken a shower and my hair was clean and my part was straight). The camera was on a chair up and behind me ... sigh ...

SO, in all my BRILLIANCE I decided to put the tripod on top of the table and film straight down onto my workspace (it WAS filming what I was doing upsidedown, but I knew I could edit it and flip it around!). It was great until I realized when I watched it that every single time I stamped or colored with ferocity my table was doin' the shimmy and shake!! Ahhhh, the Learning Curve!! The next one with be even much mo' bettah!!

AND, you will also wanna visit the blog of my OTHER BFF, the incomparable JanTink!! She decided to play along with me on this one and made a SUPERFAB example of how cool this technique REALLY is!!

I need to give a some credit for the inspiration for this tutorial to my good friend, Karen Barber. She has been creating some WONDERFUL things with this technique lately. Go take a peek on her blog and see what I mean ...

Stamps: Kind and Caring Thoughts, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Pacific Point (welcome back!), Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Whisper White, Pacific Point
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Large and Small Oval Punches, White Gel Pen, Whisper White Satin/Organza Ribbon, Watercolor Pencils

Now, go and enjoy the rest of your day ... may it be filled with chocolate, stampin' supplies and NO dishes!!