think fast

75 creative card challenges

Have you seen the latest and greatest yet? It's a special issue near and dear to my heart since the Paper Crafts Go-to Gals had a hand in concepting it.

Ohhh - isn't it pretty? I tend to love the crisp white backgrounds so much. The title of this one pretty much says it all. We've issued 75 card challenges within these pages to get your mojo going. I don't know about you, but I've run into creative block many a day. My standard fix is reaching for a card sketch, but now I have a new crutch! Lol. Close my eyes, flip some pages and...there you go. Instant challenge.

Paper Crafts Connection has some great background information about the issue, just click HERE. And, what would a debut be without some challenges? 

Moxie Fab World is hosting a new challenge EVERY day this week (all from the magazine, of course). Today's challenge is #60: Make a Card with a Window. Cath has some greats example, click HERE. Just thought I would play along...

Nothing super terribly clever here, just a super cute frame (shhh -- it's coming soon from Paper Smooches), a stamped sentiment inside, and some layered embellishment. Fun, cute, simple. It's the window that takes this card from "okay" to "fun factor". 

Please, play along with us all week. I just might be posting another card, or two. Never could resist a challenge. Hee, hee.

Later.

monday at last

Well, despite getting hit with a killer headache/migraine on Friday, we managed to muddle through the weekend. Switched some kiddos with Flagstaff family and hosted Eloise's 5th birthday party (photos to follow). All in all, good times.

First - the winner of the Season's Givings Blog Hop:

Love your creation! Thanks for the inspiration and a great giveaway!!!

Posted by: Tracy McLoughlin | January 01, 2013 at 10:07 AM

(I sent you an email, Tracy). Thanks to everyone who participated and those sweet friends who hosted giveaways. I hope you all had as much fun as I did! And thanks a ton to Latisha who organized this project from the get go.

Secondly, I wanted to give a little report on this beauty.

It's new ProCision Trimmer from Fiskars, sent to my by the Fiskars' angels. (Um, yeah, they really do exist). Thanks, Fiskars folks!

Reagardless of who sent this, I will give my honest opinion.

 

I LOVE this thing. Seriously. Love.

I guess it pays to show you what I'm stepping away from.

My old Xacto brand guillotine. This work horse did well for me for many a year. But, it's cumbersome to haul around (I can hear my crop buddies laughing right now), and really needed to be sharpened at least once a year. Lately, the handle has been loosey-goosey, so the accurate cuts were getting rare. Overall, ready for the dump.

I posted maybe six months ago, on Facebook, asking about what you all loved in your trimmer, a lot of you recommended Fiskars. But, I really prefer a heavier model (see above photo - ha!). Happy I waited, because the ProCision is a trimmer worth waiting for.

Love how it cuts. Love that it is self sharpening. Love that it folds up. Love the rotary blade. Love the grid marks UNDER the plastic, Love the 1/4" grid. Okay, enough.

If you want to watch this trimmer in action, scrapbook.com has a really quick and accurate video on all the features of this bad boy. If you are in the market, this video is spot on what I have experienced - nothing but good.

Thanks again, Fiskars!
Later. 

 

pebbles talk

First of all - thank you SO much for all the kind words about yesterday's announcement. I feel very positive about starting the new year off right; committing to more blogging and getting my crafty self busy! So many opportunities to share.

Today I want to share a layout I created for the Pebbles Blog.

I received proofs (4 X 6 prints) from our photo session with the amazing Lindsay Teague (click here for information), and I could hardly wait to scrap one or two. This shot of my four girls was first pick. The new Pebbles Family Ties collection was practically tailor made for me. Family really is our most important earthly treasure. (The black border is for web view only).

I have an "exciting" trimmer review for you tomorrow. Ha, we'll see how exciting. Let's say...informative. There we go.

Take care.

Later.

exciting paper smooches news

Well, if yesterday's blog hop wasn't just too much fun - how about this?

(I wish that button was MUCH bigger to reflect the excitement I feel.) I am very honored to announce that I have joined the super talented gals on the Paper Smooches Design Team. Woot! I will be creating and sharing cards (and other projects) made with the delightful Paper Smooches stamps (and NEW dies) on a regular basis starting this month. Yay!

Those of you who read my blog know I am already a big fan, and now Paper Smooches is expanding their line by adding dies and wood mounted stamps. Eek! So excited to share.

The wonderful Karolyn Loncon has also joined the team - congrats to Karolyn!

So, here is my "introduction" card created with a new set coming soon called "Geobasics". 100% up my alley - lots of cool shapes; a set with endless possibilities.

I stamped the arrow images and colored them with Copics (used a blending pen to really work at that color), then I matted the pattern with metallic paper (which sadly does not really show in this photo). I kind of like the masculine flair. Oh, and I machine stitched with no thread in my machine for the cool pierced effect.

Too much fun! Hey - be sure to check out the Paper Smooches blog every day in January. Kim is featuring tons of new cards using product debuting at CHA this month. AND, she is giving away $500 in new product! Can't beat that. Be sure to check in often, I know you will love the new stamps and dies.

2013 certainly is starting off right for this girl!

Later.

seasons givings blog hop

I am participating in this blog hop today with a ton of lovely crafty ladies! What a fun way to start off 2013! Happy New Year!

Welcome to the Seasons Givings Blog Hop! Please enjoy my New Year's project below and take a peek at the cute little "springy" prize package I have up for grabs. EVERY single participant below is giving something away. So, after leaving me a comment, please enjoy hopping and commenting for additional chances to win!

Used lots of those fun Studio Calico stars for my card - just dipped them directly in my A Muse Studio pigment ink pads. A new technique for me!

Please leave a comment by Saturday evening (Jan. 5th at midnight PST) to entered in my drawing.

Have fun hopping to all these spots next:

 

 

Paper Crafts magazine

Kelly Marie Alvarez/Lawn Fawn

Unity Design Team

Avocado Arts

GinaK Designs

Latisha Yoast

Lee Murphy

Laurie Schmidlin

AJ Otto

Michelle Woerner

Jocelyn Olson

Cindy Lawrence

Amy Tsuruta

Jessie Rone

Karen Baker

Lori Tecler

Jodi Collins

Kim Kesti

Tosha Leyendekker

Lisa Henke 

Tonya Dirk

Ann Cox

Jimmi Mayo

Cristal (Pinky) Hobbs

Vera W. Yates

Jennifer Gallacher

Emily Leiphart

Lori Craig

Melody Rupple

Kim Hughes/Paper Smooches

Lynnette Kauffman

Beate Johns

Ashley Marcu

Becky Olsen

Jessica Diedrich

Alice Wertz

Joanne Basile

Carolyn King

Teri Anderson

Isha Gupta

Melissa Mann

Lydia Fiedler

Beth Pingry

 Jaclyn Miller

Glenda Wyatt

Julia Stainton

Angie Blom

Sharon Harnist

Karolyn Loncon

Julie Overby

Tenia Nelson

Keri Sereika

Emily Branch

Windy Robinson

 

Later.

 

trimmers angels

Hey there - long time no blog, right?

I suppose 'tis the season. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

But, seriously, lots of fun (and work) going on around here. I do have some things to share this week, so I thought I'd start off with this.

A lot of you shared recommendations for a new trimmer and someone must have been listening because guess what showed up in the mail today? The trimmer angels sent me a new trimmer. Actually, it was the Fiskars angels. As soon as I post this I am cracking open the box. Ready for a review? Lol.

In other news, we have Elf on the Shelf issues, I'm designing a card class for upcoming CKC events, and we are doing a Christmas book advent calendar. Oh boy, I'd better get editing those photos.

Oh, and to throw a little more into the mix, our Etsy shop will be filled up by the weekend, too. Ha! (Tearing my hair out).

Got a trimmer to play with.
Later. 

happy thanksgiving

As we prepare for a wonderful holiday tomorrow, I just wanted to chime in with a card.

Yep, that pretty much says it all. Have a great day!

Later.

kitchen table

A few gals have asked about our kitchen table, lately Beth wondered how many the table seats.

You can see it here:

And here:

And here is a fun shot of the same table in my SIL's house (check out Jessica's awesome blog at Room for Nine+).

I have six white chairs (from West Elm) while Jess has eight wood grain chairs (her chairs are a little narrower). Love the look both ways. So, to answer the question - it easily seats 6-8 and even better...it has a large leaf, so you can seat even more. Love this table!

The table is from IKEA, it's the Norden series and comes in several sizes.

I hope your plans for gathering around the table for Thanksgiving are going well. Mine are!

Later.

wherefore art thou desk?

I think I've struggled with where to house our computer since, well, since we've had one. Big desks, vintage desks, streamlined IKEA desks - seems like I've tried them all. We like to have the computer fully visible - hello, we have teens, pre-teens and little ones in the house. It sat in the family room for years.

Here's a shot similar to the one I posted yesterday, except this one is "pre-remodel". If you aren't too distracted by my weird kids, you can see the long IKEA desk on the back wall. You might also glimpse the printer, modem and assorted junk that a long desk seems to accumulate.

Not to mention all the cords and paraphernalia hanging around. Yuck.

Another rewind photo of how my sun room/playroom used to look. My kitchen is off to the right and you can see where that half door leads into my laundry room/scrap room. (I'm big on multi-tasking).

Whoa. Hard to imagine this is the same room. Gone are the greens walls, red rug, and toys. The colorful bench is slated for Ello's room as are most of the toys. And check out my mini desk! Isn't it the cutest? I love that there is NO room for junk of any kind.

Another angle - love my comfy cozy chair and check it out: no cords! "How is that possible?" you might ask. Well, thanks to my brilliant husband the CPU, modem, router, printer and everything else is on the other side of the wall - in my scraproom. I had a three foot section of countertop that was available, luckily in the perfect spot.

Here is how he did it: carefully wrapped all the cords and ran them through a small hole in the wall. I also have a wireless mouse and keyboard = no cords! Yay!

So, we still have the computer out in the open, but now we avoid eating at the desk, homework has moved to the kitchen table, and no one is allowed to leave anything hanging around on the desk. Otherwise, I would have no room for my cup of coffee. Ha!

I guess this came down to thinking outside of the box. I still need artwork hung, what do you think of these ideas?

Some kind of subway art? Found at THIS etsy seller.

Or maybe a more practical shelf like THIS?

Leave some ideas for me, will you?
Later.

family room close ups

Sharing some detail shots of my family room remodel. You can click HERE to see the before and after shots.

Here is a photo of the finished family room (well, as much as anything is ever finished). I am standing in the kitchen; you can see that the room is pretty small, hemmed in by walls with one small window. It's the reason I kept everything light and bright.

Side note: here is my latest centerpiece for the kitchen table. I picked up the wood tray at a thrift store and painted it (several coats) white. The two pots I picked up at thrift stores, too. Fun!

A closer look at the fauxdenza. 100% inspired by Morgan and her blog Brick House. Pretty much love everything she does. We used standard IKEA cabinets mounted directly to the wall...

Look Ma! No legs. Makes sweeping and mopping SO easy. Plus, it has a mega cool factore. Am I right?

Probably the biggest challenge was getting the wide board for the top and sides (it wraps around). Found one at our local Woodworker's Source - a really pretty "faux" mahogany. Definitely couldn't afford the real thing, but I love it. A lot.

Another shot of the top; picked up the turquoise tray in Ouray, CO and the pot for the succulents at, yes, another thrift store.

The left side of the room features the Craigslist sofa. Haunted the List for months before I found what I wanted for the right price. Score. (Came with the matching chair, too).

I picked up the pillows over several months, too. One from IKEA, two from Target. But, I wanted some kilim type pillows to add to the stack. What do you know? I was out garage sale-ing with Lauri and found TWO for three bucks each. Major score. I had bookmarked several from Etsy for $30-40 each. Yikes.

(The rust and gray pillow is one of my three dollar finds.)

Ah yes, the matching chair and my mirrored side table. Another fun story - I had been eyeballing this table at West Elm for several months. Yes, I even have it pinned on my For the Home pinterest board. I was cruising Craigslist one day (probably looking for my sofa) when I see a listing "West Elm Mirror Table". I immediately get flushed and excited. But, then I think "it can't possibly be the same table". I click...and it WAS! I mean, this table is in the current catalog for $199. I got it for $75. Seriously. I have no idea why this gal was selling it...her loss, my gain. Giddy!

Okay, Allison was wondering where I put my computer and desk, etc. I will pop in tomorrow and give you the scoop on that, k?

Hope you enjoyed the beauty shots.
Later.