Creative Grace

Chemistry LuV

Hello Internet friends!  I am so grateful that over the past few weeks I've actually had time to craft for fun. I've even gotten a jump start on my Valentines, *gasp*.  I'm sure it also helped that I had a sick day this week which forced me to stay home (and, apparently, I don't know how to stay down and relax... crafting is relaxing, right????)  I was so ambitious, I actally made a card for the Moxie Fab World challenge: Make a card with a window.  

I feel in love with this die and stamp set by Papertrey Ink.  A perfect Valentine for my hubby, who is a chemist.  So cute! I used the round-bottomed flask as my "window" and broke up the sentiment, stamping the left half on the card front, and the right half on the inside.  I think he will LuV it!

You are Cu*te

Happy valentines everyone!  Just a quick post to share with you some of the cute mini valentines I made for my hubby.  I think I squealed out loud when I discovered that Our Craft Lounge had fun chemistry related valentines stamps (Molla Cutie and Love Potion).  These are all little mini cards/tags for a few small gifts.  Perfect for my guy, and hopefully you will enjoy too!

 

 

To the moon and back...

Just a sweet little card to say happy valentines to you all!  

Clouds accented in pink Copic (why haven't I thought of that before???) and adorable heart paper... a card made with love :)  

Made with a•muse|studio products.

Wild About You

Happy Monday everyone!  I have a cute little card to share with you today, perfect for anyone you are wild about.  

I had a lot of fun yesterday having a crafty day with some friends including a couple new ones, and this was one of the cards we made.  I certainly need to put the pause button on life and do that more often! :)

I was, of course, anticipating this card would be a fun non-red/pink valentintes card, but it certainly would work at any time of year.  Isn't that monkey adorable?

We were, of course, practicing our mad-Copic skills!  Along with cutting skills... he was a tricky one but I think he's super cute swinging down on that branch.

a•muse|studio is gearing up for their new 2012 catalogue (debuting soon!) and this adorable set (called, "The Mighty Jungle") didn't make the cut.  So if you are interested in it and others that are officially retiring, shoot me an email and I can give you the 411.  

One design, many valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!  I have several cards to share with you (I *hope* all recipients have gotten them by now).  December and January afforded me a little time to make some cards, and I opted to keep the same layout and just change-up the stamps and papers to suit the person I wanted to give the card to.  

This first card is for my fabulous 8th grade TA's who work SO HARD in my classroom each day.  They are my "behind the scene" angels!  I love this little heart guy and figured it would make them smile.

This next card is for a few of my friends who I knew would appreciate the sentiment from me! :)

This card is for a certain Chiquita who *loves animals* :)

And finally, a card for a totally cute little love monster Chiquita!

I hope you enjoyed these cards.  I'm still loving the layout - I'm finding it very versatile and easy to work with.  Can't wait for everyone to get them!

Happy Valentine's, and don't forget to spread a little love today :)

 

 

Valentine peek

Hi everyone!  I can't believe Valentines is MONDAY!  Yikes - where did the time go?  

I have a lot of friends who dismiss holiday's like Valentines - perhaps its the over-commercialization of it all or because sometimes it makes us feel alone.  But I have to admit, I don't mind it.  Although I did decorate my classroom a teeny bit with hearts, just the table in a student area and bearded dragon's tank (maybe it put a smile on some weary 7th graders face?), I stopped taking part in the "cheese factor" of Valentines a long time ago.  For me, I just use it as a nice opportunity to let some people I care about know I'm thinking of them.  I just have fun with it.

I have to admit it snuck up on me this year, so thank goodness I managed to make some valentines in December and January when I had some extra time.  I'll have to wait until Monday to share most of them with you, but I can at least share this one:

I guess this contradicts my "cheese factor" statement from above, LOL  But this was intended as a joke for my girlfriends who humor me and will go see the Twilight movies with me.  I saw this heart box of Eclipse chocolates in a drug store, and had to get it for them.  Then I found this hilarious paper matstack called, "The Immortal Love" ("1/2 with sparkle", according to the cover, LOL) - and I naturally had to make a card to go with the candy.  It also gave me an excuse to use this fabulous black glass glitter I've had for a while (and heart confetti).  I also got to play some more with the fun shaker pouches I picked up a while back.  It was interesting stamping on such dark paper, but I wanted to try something different.

I recycled this basic design on all my valentines this year - I just switched out paper and stamps.  That saved me some brain energy and let me just have fun making some custom cards for different people - a nice time saver :)

So, what do you think?  Are you a fan of valentines?  Would an Edward card put a smile on your face? 

I'll have more to share later!

 

Bird

It was passed from one bird to another,
the whole gift of the day.

The day went from flute to flute,
went dressed in vegetation,

in flights which opened a tunnel
through the wind would pass

to where birds were breaking open
the dense blue air -

and there, night came in.



 
When I returned from so many journeys,
I stayed suspended and green

between sun and geography -
I saw how wings worked,

how perfumes are transmitted
by feathery telegraph,

and from above I saw the path,
the springs and the roof tiles,

the fishermen at their trades,
the trousers of the foam;

I saw it all from my green sky.
I had no more alphabet

than the swallows in their courses,
the tiny, shining water

of the small bird on fire
which dances out of the pollen.

- Bird, by Pablo Neruda

 

Happy Valentines!  May you also find love in the simplest of things.

Stamps: Heart sings by A Muse

Paper: chiffon pink and french roast by A Muse.

ink: Memento rich cocoa

Copic: E37, Y26

Other: A Muse swiss red, white, and pearl sheer ribbons.  Martha Stewart heart lace punch and heart confetti. Slice Spring cartridge.

(Inspired by a bulletin board I saw at one of my favorite stores, Blue Windows)

Sea of Friends

I had a great time these past two weekends teaching my Sea of Love Valentines class at Paper Tales in San Diego and Stampin EJ's in Costa Mesa.  

 This is a Shadow-box card we made in the class.

When you pull the side tabs, the inside image is revealed:

How fun! 

I always love meeting new people in the classes and spending time with those who share the love.  It was great at Paper Tales seeing some awesome ladies from previous classes return.  I appreciate the chance to bond and hear about their lives. I can see that for many, taking a card class is a nice escape from reality!

This weekend was especially fun for me as I got to teach some of my good friends how to stamp for the very first time!  My friend Susan and her awesome daughter, Jill came to the class.  I'm so lucky to have been a student of Susan's and currently work with her on a fun grant project where we do science education professional development with elementary teachers.  It was amazing to watch her daughter, Jill, she's a natural artist!  Karen and Caitlin also drove quite a distance to make it to the class!  Karen is one of our fabulous office-guru's at the school I teach and is one of a few that basically holds the school together (I would croak without her!  She's amazing!)  Caitlin is her daughter and also my student this year.  I'll be sad when Caitlin moves on to 8th grade next year, but I'm trying to convince her to be my TA so I can keep her around another year ;).  It was very fun to spend time out of our normal settings and play (although, I did laugh a bit inside every time I heard Caitlin say, "Mrs. Grace", in the card class!)  

 

It's always an eye-opener watching a beginning stamper and fun to see how excited they are when they create something.  I always chuckle a little too when at the start of the class the girls were making comments like, "I'm going to make this card for so-and-so", but by the end it's changed to, "I'm keeping these for me!  I worked hard on them!"    Fun times! :)

Stamps: Wild about you ma, clownfish, and coral stamps by A Muse

Paper:  Blueberry petite gingham by A Muse.

ink: A Muse black dye ink and Colorbox chalk orchid pastel

Copic: Y17, YR16

Other: Black Spica, Scor-Pal, 2" circle cutter, and hearts II Twinkle Stickers by A Muse

Pajama Party, part 4 - red, white, and black! AMLPJJAN04

I'm so sad to see the end of the A Muse pajama party tonight, but it was a blast!  It's so fun connecting with all my A Muse girlies out there!  Our last challenge of the evening was posted by the second best thing to come out of Canada, Glenda! (tee hee)  Her favorite color (or "colour") is red, so this challenge was to make a card using only red, white, and black.  I love the effect!

 I figured the slate note card is a "shade" of black, so hope it still counts! :)

Stamps: love birds, and flowers and vines background.  All stamps by A Muse

Paper:  White, slate, and red petite gingham papers by A Muse.

ink: A Muse black dye ink

Copic: R29

Other: Red stickles, black grosgrian stitch ribbon by A Muse, and Heart twinkle stickers by A Muse

Pajama Party, part 3 - one layer card! AMLPJJAN03

Tonight was A Muse's Pajama Party!  THe second challenge of the evening was to make a "one-layer" card.  This was a relief as I was having a hard time keeping up with all of the chatting and only 30-minutes to make a card! One-layer cards are nice and quick, and I"m always happy with how striking they are.  I was inspired by several cards I've seen lately that use a bare tree and decorate it with hearts - so sweet!

 

 

Stamps: Secret admirer and Trees 2 clear set.  All stamps by A Muse

Paper:  Blush notecard by A Muse.

ink: Memento 

Copic: E37

Other: Heart twinkle stickers by A Muse