This card was insprired by my hubby, a major beer snob (or "geek" as he would correct me). I had to cut the handle off the beer "mug" to turn it into a proper pint glass. Although, in real life, I would never overfill the glass ;)
Here's wishing you all have a fabulous 2012 filled with lots of yummy paper, fun stamps, and washi goodness!
It's baby crazy time! My good friend, colleague, and fellow crafty girl is expecting her first baby this fall. I got the chance to help out a bit at her baby shower this weekend. I had fun being the unofficial photographer and snapping surprise shots of her.
She was absolutely glowing - it was great seeing her so happy.
I also had fun making a few things for the party (certainly no where near the effort of the amazing hostesses - but I was happy to do my part)! This was a "country" themed party, so I had to stretch myself creatively :) You can see pics of these on my Facebook page.
What I'm eager to share today, however, were a couple of handmade cards from the shower! First up is the sweet card from one of the mama-to-be's best friends:
She and her husband have decided to wait on finding out the gender of the baby, so I love how her friend represented both on her card - too sweet!
Next is this card hand sketched by another friend (who happens to be an artist):
What a wonderful gift to recieve such a card! I love all of the personal touches from these handmade projects.
Last up is my card, designed to match the crafty things I made for the party. I have to take a moment to explain the photo - I just couldn't resist! I've been noticing all of the sweet card photos taken by Travelingmama where her cards are photographed with someone holding the card (like this picture here). I thought it would be cute to photograph the card alonside her preggo belly :)
This makes me realize I need to upgrade my camera soon, as my photo pales in comparison to those on Traveling Mama's blog, but it was a first effort!
Oh, and here's the surprise insert I put in the card...
Special tickets from Knock Knock, a little gift to her from me :)
Congratulations mom- and dad-to-be, we are all eager to meet your little one!
Supplies for my card from a•muse|studio
Hello friends! Just a quick post today to put a smile on your face. I found this super cute stamp set by Maya Road a few weeks back and just *couldn't wait* to partner it with an old classic A Muse stamp, tini martini.
Perfection, no? :)
The washi tape goodness helps too. Certainly a fun card that a few friends will really enjoy! Cheers!
I'll admit it, I have challenge fever. The only way to get over it is to make more cards I suppose. Aw, twist my arm ;)
When I first saw the Farm Fresh Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab world, I knew this would be a fun card to make. The challenge is to make a card inspired by this photo:
I LOVE all that white space, which made me think of Glenda's Random Amusing Challenge 108: use something you've been hoarding/saving. Ahh.... my white notecards! I only have a few left and they are my *favorite*. I love making cards with all that white space on them.
So, I figured both challenges would be a good excuse to use a precious white note card for this:
As you can see, I love the orange pattern of the original photo and the punch of blue from, well, glassware! Now, I don't know about my kitchen being "farm fresh", but I do know that if you visit I'll have a cocktail waiting for you!
New fabulous A•Muse|Studio products were used on this card (excluding the washi tape). Marvelous, aren't they? Click here for more information on A•Muse|Studio.
Top 'O the mornin' to you all and happy birthday to my Mom! I always have a blast making a special card for my Mom's birthday (although, I think my Dad has more fun - he always sends her a flower arrangement and insists that the florist puts a potato in it - seriously - I can't make that up).
In the past, I've made her classic St. Patty's cards for her birthday, but this year I thought I'd try something different. She loves stamps of flowers and plants, so I thought I'd try my hand at using only that on a special birthday card (that I *hope* she gets in the mail today). This isn't really my usual style, so don't be too critical! LOL
It was fun playing with my new A•Muse|Studio stamps on this card! I added some detail to the leaves using colored pencils, and a white pen on the flowers. The little bird makes me happy. The rest of the card is growing on me :) Although there's no shamrocks or leprechauns in this photo - hopefully this will do the trick!
Wow! I really thought I'd get to this post a lot sooner - last week was a blur!
I was so honored to be asked to teach a card class to a fabulous group of K-12 Alliance teachers (see previous post). A couple weeks before the class, I got a text asking me for suggestions for a title for the class. I admit, I was useless! I had my brain in *thesis land* and came up with a couple boring ideas. So, apparently the team planning the professional development weekend proceeded to throw out random words, with two words being chosen as the title: Scale and Design.
Perfect for a bunch of math and science peeps!
For the class itself, I had to take on the premise that no one would have any stamping or card-making experience, which led me to keep the cards very straightforward as I really wanted everyone to just have fun. The most important thing to me was teaching everyone to properly ink the stamps (we all chanted, "don't squish!", LOL).
Soooo... without further ado, the cards:
I was really challenged to make a card that was "math" oriented, so after a few attempts this was what I ended up with. I figured it would suit our math teachers well, and would be a cute valentine that the teachers could give to a loved one :)
This card might look familiar - it's one of my favorite designs I did a while back (click here). I love it and I think it's so much fun to stamp on the maple cards. The sentiment, "you make a difference", would be the perfect card to give to a friend or teaching colleague. It's amazing how just one person saying something positive can make a difference to a teacher.
I *HAD* to make a card with the sub!!! *HAD TO* :) I love how this "Swiss Cheese" border punch from EK is the perfect bubbly companion. Speaking of sub, did you know that Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute now has an Alvin Cam!!!!! Alvin, the first "manned" Deep Submergence Vehicle - the first to discover living things at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and famed for discovering the Titanic wreck, is undergoing a multimillion dollar "facelift", enhancing the submersible's ability to explore the ocean depths, and you can peek in on the journey (click here). Because I'm so in love with Alvin, and am a huge advocate of innovative scientific exploration and research, I'll also let you know that you can find out more about the project and even make a donation to this non-profit institution to support oceanographic research (click here).
The final card is this cutie - I love this rocket and *really love* the sentiment. Again, I figured this would make a great valentine. The orange Washi Tape is a nice substitute for ribbon.
So, what do you think? I have to admit, I had a ton of fun designing cards for teachers!
Thanks for your patience in waiting for these cards to get uploaded and thanks to those of you who take a little time to leave comments on my posts - I appreciate hearing from you! :) I'll be back in a few days to share a very special card for my *paper ho's* (I didn't get a chance to mail them until yesterday - and I figure they get first dibs on seeing them! LOL)
Have a great week everyone!
I had a great weekend!
I had the immense pleasure of introducing card-making to a fabulous group of educators!
Last fall, I was approached by the K12 Alliance to be their "Saturday night speaker" at their annual staff developer training. (This is the grant-funded program I'm proud to be a part of where we work alongside math and science teachers, bringing best-teaching practices to classroom across California). I immediately jumped at the opportunity! The team of teachers and administrators who participate in the program work so hard all day on leadership practices, pedagogy, and unit design - an action packed day leading to inevitable brain exhaustion. To help everyone recoup, the coordinators schedule something different on Saturday evening - something to hopefully help everyone recharge their battery. Boy - were they in for a surprise! LOL
I was asked to develop a 90-minute card class for about 70 math and science educators!
Yes, I said 70! Eek!
Following the initial excitement of the prospect, I'll admit I did freak out a teeny-tiny bit. Fortunately, I was able to get a jump start on everything during my winter break since I'm so busy once school starts. I started with the premise that no one had any paper crafting experience, so the cards had to really straight forward in their design. I could expect people to make about 4 cards in the 90-minute time frame - but with so many attendees, I'd need two kits for each card to accommodate everyone. (Enter Jenn Shurkus of Colorful Creations in Cape Cod, MA to the rescue!!! Jenn saved the day by loaning me an extra set of stamps! Jenn - you are a goddess!)
The next challenge was all the prep - the hours and hours of prep! LOL I was so lucky to get help from my hubby (the punch master) who makes punching 70 pieces of paper seem effortless, and my friend and fellow K12 Alliance peep, Susan for helping me cut paper.
The next challenge would be the ability to help everyone who needed it. I made photographic directions for how to assemble the cards - you know, "scaffolding" - teacher lingo :) I also expected that many people would need one-on-one assistance. Enter the Paper Ho team!
Both Susan and Laura were generous enough to lend a helping hand. These ladies are not only my professional mentors, but wonderful friends with crafty experience under their belts. Perfect!
The end result was a really fun time! I imagine it helped that everyone *needed* some time to play, be creative, and just laugh. It also probably helped a lot that wine was served with dinner and somehow, most of those wine glasses followed several people back to the room.
I think this was their first time handling such a large stamp! (you did fabulous ladies!)
I love how he raised his glass and card for the camera! LOL
A Paper Ho in action!
Touching a Copic for the first time *ooooohhhh!!!!*
I loved the creative *twist* so many put on their cards :) I have a feeling some spouses will be getting some fun valentines. I can't share all of them with you though, we had some creative guys in the audience, LOL
Everyone was completely fabulous and had a great time!
I want to express my gratitude to this fantastic group of educators who are a true inspiration, working tirelessly to transform math and science education in California. It was a joy being able to give my time to bring them a little, much needed, play time!
I'll share close-up photos of the *teacher* cards made in the class in my next post - stay tuned!
I found myself in a predicament recently - I had three important cards to give, but no cards in my stash! Eek! I literally only had a few minutes to whip something together, I quickly picked some stamps and stuck with one color scheme and layout - no coloring! It only took me about 3-minutes per card.
The first is for the Assistant Principal at the school I teach. We had a surprise baby shower for her and I was scrambling for a card. I generally keep a couple baby cards on hand, but had given them away to other peeps who needed to give baby cards.
Baby cards are really tough for me as I'm just not a "baby" person, LOL, but I do love this image of the baby in a nest. It was this card that I prompted my green color theme. The mama-to-be and her husband want to be surprised by the baby's gender. Her due date is in only 1-week and I hope, for her sake, they know sooner than later :)
Card #2 went to an amazing woman who is nothing short of a hero to me, Kathy DiRanna. I've had the pleasure of working with Kathy through a K12 Alliance grant I've been able to be a part of for a couple years now. She is a true inspiration and one of the kindest people I've met. While at a conference last month, Kathy, in her usual lovely and generous spirit, treated all of us K12 Alliance folks to dinner at a super yummy Chinese restaurant. Of course, we all had fun with our fortune cookies after dinner.
The inside had another special sentiment from A Muse's Fortune Cookie Words clear set. I have a feeling this card cracked her up :)
The third card is for two great friends of mine who always do special things to bring people together - I so value how much they try to make people feel welcomed and a part of their "family".
So there you have it, three super quickie cards for three special occasions. Simple is working for me lately!
I'm so happy for a good friend of mine who is expecting a beautiful baby girl in only a month! She's been a trooper through her pregnancy and I've promised her a big huge cocktail once the baby arrives, LOL. Her sister hosted a shower for her a couple weeks ago, and I have a card to share - I had to whip this one up quick. Looking at it now I would probably play with the design some more, but time for such things is sparse in my life right now. Regardless, I thought it would go well with this cute bag from Target.
Here's hoping she her last month of pregnancy is as comfortable as possible!
Card Recipe:
Stamps: hands & expecting joy ma by A Muse.
Paper: slate solid & chiffon purple by A Muse (pretty little paper retired)
Ink: Memento
Other: A Muse twinkle stickers, A Muse orange polka dot white polka dot sheer ribbon and slate grosgrain stitch ribbon
For A Muse products click here
I'm alive!!! Really, I am! LOL
I hope that all of you out there in blog-land can be patient with me - this will be a challenging year! I am finishing up my course-work for my graduate degree and started my thesis this month - eek! I'm just hoping too keep my head above water and come up for a little crafting every now and again.
Speaking of crafting, I had the perfect opportunity for that a couple weeks ago as I celebrated the birthday of one of my besties.
We had a fabulous dinner
Fabulous dessert
Truly, a fabulous time with the birthday girl and our wonderful friend, both of whom I am so unbelievably grateful are in my life! We are all in the grad program together, so needless to say, a girls night out once in a while is much needed therapy! How much do I appreciate these girls? The sky's the limit! :)
I chose this card layout for the challenge this month over on the A Muse lounge! Check it out :)
Card Recipe:
Stamps: rocket and the sky's the limit by A Muse.
Paper: kitchen blueberry and blueberry solid by A Muse
Ink: Versa Magic chalk ink aegean blue, A Muse black dye ink
Copic: boo, b32, b34, yr14
Other: A Muse twinkle stickers, Spica black, A Muse orange polka dot sheer ribbon
For A Muse products click here
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