My first time using...

Pale Plum! I have a bunch of Pale Plum cardstock from the 2 assorted Soft Subtle cardstock packs that I has bought over the last couple of years, but tonight was the first time I had ever cut into a sheet. I never even realized it until tonight (random thought, I know...but hey, it was what was on my mind at the time!)

Stamps Set: Stampendous - Open Bloom Wood Set
Ink Used: Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drops Pearlescent Crimson
Paper Used: Pale Plum (base cs), Sage Shadow, 2 different sheets from the Basic Grey Phoebe 6x6 pad
Accessories: Michael's ribbon, Paper Piercer, Paper Snips!

So... I finally got to stamp and finish the card that I started on Sunday. And I used my new Open Bloom Wood set and Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drops for the first time on this card too. Which of course I got from eclectic Paperie. ;) ... You know how I feel about shopping. I hate to have to search and browse - I'd rather just stick to just a couple of places for ease, convenience and customer service! :)

Anyways, back to the card - I really love this set - there are 2 center stamps to choose from and I really like the font of the sentiment. The flower is so versatile and so pretty too. I can totally see myself both just stamping it on colored CS and just leaving it be (like this card) or stamping it on white CS and coloring it in. There seems to be a lot you can do with this image. So on this card, all I did was stamp it on the BG cs, cut it out with my oh-so handy dandy paper snips (I have been cutting out like crazy since I got them - these scissors make it so much easier!) and just popping them up on dimensionals. You know, I never thought that I would be a flower person. I was never a girly-girl, but I find myself really drawn to flowers lately. I guess I am just changing a little bit like that...I still have been buying boy stamps for the kids' books and cards, but I have noticed that I have been buying more and more girly stuff too (then again, I just have been buying more papercrafting stuff in general, LOL!).

Oh yeah back to the card AGAIN...I also colored my own ribbon, because (as usual) I didn't have any to match the card (I REALLY need to work on my ribbon stash, methinks!). So I just ran the ribbon across the dew drop and voila! - matching ribbon. I saw it done this way on another blog. And the only other thing to the card really was the paper piercing and then I used the tip of the dew drop to to some faux stitching. Overall a very easy card, but I am happy with how it turned out nonetheless. :)

A quick thought about the ink...I really hadn't ever tried any other ink before besides SU and I guess, Versamark and Staz-On, all of which I got from SU, but I figured, hey - why not... so I got a couple of the Brilliance Dew Drops with my last eP order. I read that they were pigment inks and I find myself lately using more of the craft inks plus I liked the idea of pearlescent pigment ink (it just sounded neat - LOL!). And let me tell ya, this ink is soooo pretty in real life. It really is so fun to spread your wings and try new things! ;) The pearlescent ink has a subtle shimmer which looked very cool, in my opinion. So I will definitely be getting a few more of these and while I am thinking about it, I will probably get a few of the Tsukineko Versamagic Dew Drops too, just to see firsthand what they are all about, because chalk inks seem to be all the rage. I have never tried chalk ink, but I like the idea that they dry quickly, are good for my scrapbooks and still have great opaque coverage. The pigment Dew Drops did need some drying time to avoid smudging, but I am getting used to it, since I have been reaching for my craft spots a lot lately.

Oh yeah, 2 last thoughts before I go to bed... I actually got more stamping in tonight, but I am going to wait to post the other card, because it is for a IA swap. I really like how that came out too! And secondly - I had decided to get a blog banner made (why not, right?! - it's all just for me anyway.... and if nothing else, at least my blog will look prettier to me! LOL) and went right over to Beth of Freckled Fun Designs. She has done a lot of other stampers' blogs and I really like her style. And I love reading her blog too - she has a great sense of humor. Anyway, it is my turn for my banner (since she custom designs them herself, she does 1 at a time) and we have been e-mailing over the last couple of days and my banner is just about done. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and can't wait to get it up on the blog. She really is absolutely so creative.

And I am sooo excited to share it with anyone who actually takes time out of their busy day to stop by! ;)

Starting a New Week, and I Hope To...

Stamp a card! I can't believe that Sunday night is here already and I am getting ready to go to bed to start a new work week. The week has flown by. It was a great first week at work - I just jumped right in and had a big deal to work on from the word "go" - and that was before I even had my computer and phone set up. So it was a very hectic week, with not too much time to myself (since I never made it home before 8pm), before just going to bed and getting up for another day. And the weekend definitely followed suit. We were out most of both days of the weekend doing family stuff and before I knew it, it was bath time for the kiddos, reading stories, and time for bed.

But at the very least, I did scrap 2 pages with my SIL, soon-to-be SIL and a few friends. We get together 1x a month and do something SU papercrafting related (my SIL is a demo). Today's theme was scrapbooking. We had decided the layout ahead of time so we were all able to get a 2 page layout done in less than 2 hours (which is super speedy for me). Other than that... well I did manage to get a card started, but I didn't finish it yet. I'll have to wrap that one up - hopefully this week.

Maybe things fall into place this week and I find myself a routine.

But again, NO complaints whatsoever about the first week back. I got quite a bit accomplished as far as first weeks back at work go (defintiely a little pat on my pat!) And one of the late nights was to have a few drinks with my new co-workers to celebrate someone getting engaged. :P

But I am going to work to get some stamping back in. So hopefully the next time I post, it will be with a new card! And YES, J - please stay on my case about stamping and creating. And those new images will DEFINITELY be making their way to you sometime soon! Have a great Monday!

YAY for me!

Look at what I came home to today?

So today was my first day back at work. It was a great and very productive day. I got through most the first day stuff, like getting my ID badge, e-mail, computer and phone set up, but also just hit the ground running and got down to some real work. It was great to just get back in stride again.

Event thought the day ran a little bit late, I was soooo happy that the boys were still up when I got home. I know that it will be tough when things are busy at work, but nothing beats seeing their excited faces when I walk through the door. My littlest guy just came tearing at top speed across the kitchen floor to jump in my arms. There is no beating the feeling I get when I see that loving look on their faces. I just absolutely melt. Everything we do is for them. I just want to give them everything they absolutely deserve, both emotionally and materially.

I spent time with the boys for a bit and then tucked them into bed. After having dinner, I dug through my box of goodies from eclecticpaperie.com. Isn't is all absolutely FA-BUUUU-LOUS?!! It was such a great way to wind down my day - just going through my box of new stuff - tons of paper (Fancy Pants, Crate Paper, BG, Chatterbox, Cosmo Cricket), stickles, primas, inks, stamps, more things to alter (I really better get going on my purse now!!). Boy - was that box stuffed!! But Daisy did such a great job so carefully packing it all into the flat rate box, which was wonderful of her. I have to admit that I actually ordered 3 times in a matter of 2 days (have I said how much I love the stuff in their store?!). But she was so mindful of my shipping costs and so considerate that she just put everything in one flat rate box. Yay for me again!

I so definitely recommend shopping at eP - you won't be disappointed. I just LOVE the boutique feel of the store - it has such great products (and really wonderful product depth and selection) that are right up my alley! :) I am definitely the kind of shopper who does not have the patience to go through tons and tons of stuff first before I find what I want. When that happens, I usually don't end up getting anything. I guess I just don't have that patience. LOL I'd much rather a boutique where I love everything. Don't get me wrong, I love unearthing a great deal as much as the next person, but I have to admit, I'm usually not that person who will take the time to pick through and find it. My sister-in-law, on the otherhand, is the queen of finding the deals. By nature, I am the kind of person that if I see it on the clothes displayed on the rack right there in my face, and I like it, then I usually just buy the whole outfit. LOL So shopping at eP is almost TOO easy for me - I'd love to take 1 (or even 2 or 3!) of everything I see!

I can't wait to start creating. But it won't be tonight. Hopefully tomorrow if I have some more time and get home a bit earlier.

Butterflies of Anticipation

No stamping today for me, because I have been getting ready for my first day of work, both mentally and physically.

I unexpectedly took a longer maternity leave than originally after the birth of my 3rd kiddo, but it is time to get back in that saddle. I am really excited, but just have to get by the butterflies of anticipation. I know that once I get my groove going everything will be great. I have a rockin' career and am anxious to get it going again.

I have been busy for the last few weeks since I was able to nail down my start date. It is going to be a big shift in our family routine, but we are ready for it. It means everything that everyone in the family is behind me all the way. My guys have been making me lots of signs and congratulatory notes. SOOOO sweet. I love them so much.

On another note, I have promised myself to be better about a few things this time around. I have always been a career working mother, but after being a SAHM for the past short while, I have gotten a change in perspective, which I want to use to my benefit. I am going to make sure that I maintain better balance in my life. In the past I have only been about career and family and not too much else. All hobbies that I ever tried to pursue kinda fell by the way side, sooner or later. Even my stamping and scrapping came to a screeching halt just 6-9 months after I started back in 5/04. And then I didn't pick it up until a year ago!! I know that I want to keep up my hobby so that I can continue to get better and more importantly, continue to enjoy it! :)

So wish me luck. Here...I...go!

ETA: Here I went! I must have pressed save to draft instead of publish - oops.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Stamps Used: Inky Antics Girly Girl (thanks Laura!), sentiment from SU Birthday Best
CS Used: Lavendar Lace, PP from Basic Grey - Phoebe Collection
Ink Used: Basic Black
Accessories: SU Ribbon (Green Apple, I think), Brads from OTC, Prismas and Gamsol, CB-HB Embossing Folder, Nail File (for sanding)

So this card is not totally St. Paddy's-ish, but I did make it on St. Paddy's Day and it does have some green! ;) I definitely have an appreciation now for St. Paddy's Day (even though I am no longer in college LOL) as my kids are 1/8 Irish! ;)

This is actually my first attempt at doing the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS. I did the FSC from last week, when the challenge featured AtomicButterfly. She has an AMAZING gallery. I found the card right away that I wanted to copy. I changed the stamps, PP and colors of the card. But I kept the same basic layout (minus 1 layer b/c my image was bigger than hers) and I used the same exact CB embossing folder too. I sanded the embossed PP too. She used a sanding block, but since I didn't have one, I used the nail file that I use on my blending stumps. I am really happy about how it turned out.

By the way, I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to post today, as the power went out here in the middle of the night - I guess due to the ice storm! We had to hunt down all of the carbon monoxide detectors in the house (everyone should have them, by the way), b/c they all started beeping once the power went out. Or else we'd never be able to get back to sleep with all the chirping from the detectors. When we woke up, the power was still out and the house was freezing. It finally came back on couple of hours after we woke up. It was a chilly few hours. It makes me remember to be SOOOO thankful for all that we have. We take the heat and PSE&G for granted in the brutally cold winter. I wonder how people who don't have heat, or homes for that matter, make it through the winter!!

My "Take Ten" Card

This is the card that I made this afternoon while everyone was home for the snow day. By the way, it did end up snowing quite a bit today, so everything in that earlier pic was covered in white by the end of the day. But it was not really a blizzard of regular light-weight snow, but more like heavy slushy snow that fell steadily throughout the day. Then it turned to ice by the end of the day. I still don't think that it should have been a true snow day...but definitely an early dismissal day, for sure. ;) I STILL can't believe that it was 70 degrees this past Wednesday... what is up with our environment (I shudder to think!)??

Stamps Used: Inky Antics and the Happy Birthday sentiment from SU Birthday Best
CS: Buckaroo Blue, Old Olive, Brocade Blue, PP from Scenic Route
Ink Used: Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp
Accessories: CM Cutting System (for the circle), SU Ribbon, CB Tiny Tags Die (can't stop using these!), Slot Punch, Dimensionals

So back to the card. Here's a little bit to set it up. I was reading AmyR's blog, which I love and check out pretty much every day (thanks to the always-efficient, Google Reader), and she mentioned a great post Asela's blog today. So I went to go check it out - and what a great blog she has (as I add it to my Google Reader)! :) Anyway, I noticed that she had an entry about all the places to submit your work for publication (which was all connected to the previous post that Amy pointed out in the first place on her blog... but I won't get into that, because it is whole 'nother post, and a world that I really am not a part of at all (people who are all REAL artists and all the feelings and thing, good and bad, that go along with it...as for me, well - I just kinda do my thing on the proverbial sidelines, so to speak ;) ) ANYWAY... I still I have such a problem with tangents when I write. I think it is b/c here, I write like I am speaking to a friend or something (soooo different from work).

ANYWAY, just for fun, I wanted to check out what the requirements, of some of the publications, were for submissions. I had never checked one out before. I've entered a contest here for there for fun (didn't win, obviously), but never submitted. So I saw the Stampington site and checked out Take Ten, b/c I had heard of the publication mentioned on other people's blog. The current challenge was to create a card based on a sketch in 10 minutes (OOOHHH - smacks head as the light bulb goes off... that's why they call it Take Ten! LOL) So I decided to try it.

I know now that I will never be able to submit a card for this mag - LOL . I can't create a card in 30-40 minutes, let along 10 minutes. It takes me waaay too long... and that's with me being given the sketch. So I figured that I would post my attempt here instead. :) I made this card for my BF from HS' son's 1st birthday (did you get all that?! LOL). I hope they like it.

Maybe I'll try again sometime soon and just not think about it too much. Or...maybe I should just see where I am with a card after 10 minutes. How funny would that be??... I probably wouldn't even have the whole sheet of CS cut in 1/2 yet! :D

ETA: I thought about this some more and realized, why am I basing a 10 minute card on ME? Clearly the papercrafting industry does not base things on my speed of making a card - LOL. So I AM going to try this again and will try to make a card that "someone" could likely complete in 10 minutes. How about that?

Hey... you never know, and like Asela said, all it costs is the postage! :) (yep - there's the optimist in me shining through!)

Putting It Out there - FRONT and CENTER

So why have I posted a pic of this un-altered Bare Elements chipboard purse? Well, to get myself to finally alter it!! I have had this purse for about a month now it seems, after buying it from eP. I was so excited to get it (as it is called the MARIA purse!) and finally alter something more than just a coaster or a lunch tin. But now I can't seem to do it. I guess I'm a little nervous about ruining it or just not knowing what to do. But then again, it's so not like it was $1000 or something, for goodness sake!!

I have all these ideas in my head, but just can't take that first step. Very silly, I know!! Kinda embarassing... soooo that's why I posted it... to remind me that I have to get over it and alter it.
Maybe when I get in my next order which has a ton of PP in it. My big package should be here tomorrow (gulp!) What is wrong with me??

Oh and by the way, my guys have the day off from school today. My oldest guy is so excited - he happily went right back to sleep after he found out. But is it snowing outside? - a big fat NOPE! Just sleeting. I guess they decided to call the day in anticipation of the BIG snow that is supposed to be coming at any minute - LOL. It was supposed to start at 6am as per accuweather.com. but now it says that it is supposed to start at 8am (those weatherguys!!). So we'll see...

Sweet Little Buggie

After spending all that time earlier fixing those broken links on the blog, I finally got some time to stamp and create tonight. (YAY!) The boys all went to bed earlier than usual tonight - even the baby, and he even took a nap today like normal. I noticed that the kids were a little more tired today after school. I was mentioning that to a friend this afternoon and we were both thinking that they were probably still a little tired from running outside yesterday all afternoon in the freakish 70 degree weather we had yesterday. :) It was great and so wonderful to be outside until dinner time. But how about this... we are supposed to get clobbered with snow here on the EC Friday morning starting at 6-ish AM. We'll see... I really hope the weather guys are off the mark on this one. I so want the spring to be here already (stomping my foot for emphasis here). Wednesday was such a tease!!

Oh yeah, so back to my card! LOL

I combined 2 of the SCS weekly challenges into 1. This week I combined SC and CC. These challenges, like I mentioned before, have been going on for quite awhile (a few years now, I think), but I have only started doing them in the last few months, and not always very consistently at all. But that is another thing that I hope to work on and I hope this blog will help me (or at the very least, guilt me... just kidding, but not really that much!).

Stamps Used: Inky Antics and "sweet" sentiment from SU So Very
Ink/CS Used: Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, So Saffron (craft), Old Olive
Accessories: CB/Tiny Bubbles Embossing Folder and Tiny Tags Die, So Saffron Eyelets, Crop-A-Dile, Ribbon, Paper Snips, 1/2 in and 1 1/4in Circle Punches, Really Rust Button, Dimensionals, Prismas and Gamsol, Copper Cording

I love this little girl buggie. I didn't think it was my style at first, but the more I saw samples made with this stamp, the more I liked her. She is definitely one of my most used IA stamps behind the boy-themed ones. She has been perfect for the girl classmate birthday cards I need for the boys.

So, there were more colors that usual in the CC challenge this week (at least that what it seemed to me). But I really liked how they came together. But I definitely had a much harder time with the layout. Going into it, I thought that I was going to be able to use this large flower that I had bought a while back from OTC, but when it came time to lay out the card, it was waaayyy too big and really made the card un-balanced. But I had to find some embellishment to take its place b/c that was a major component of the layout challenge. It took me a long time to figure something out. In the end, I basically "made" up a flower using a punch out of the same stamp I used for the BG of the horizontal panel but just on Cool Caribbean paper and then used the button for the center of the flower. I layered the whole "flower" on an Old Olive circle to kinda ground it make it and feel like the bud. I also bent her wings upward a bit to give it a little more dimension. I think it kinda worked out, right?...

Still learning...

Well, I was going to post about something new on the stamping front today, but I have spent the last 1/2 hour or so going through all the links on my blog. hmmm... obviously I didn't get that right on the first try as I had to go back and fix them all, becuase I noticed that none of them were working. Ok maybe 1 link, but you get my drift, dont ya?! Oh well, and now I have to jump off to get some other stuff done, so hopefully I will be back to post for real. Just one of those days, I guess. But on the bright side - I know that all of my links work now! Wahoo! :) It's those little things right...?

Gift Tag Swap

I recently did a Gift Tag Swap with a few of my stamping friends from the Inky Antics boards. I am such a huge fan of IA stamps!! I first discovered them last year on one of my routine "hunting" trips for boy-themed stamps. It seems as if there are a bazillion amazing stamps for girls, between all the floral sets and the actual girl stamps, but I always seem to have a hard time finding amazing stamps for boys. And since I have 3 of my own, you can imagine how many boy themed stamps I make, between all the birthday parties, invitations and thank yous, I must make a couple of boy cards a week! I hit the jackpot when I found the Nathan and other sport stamps from IA! They are great for cards and for scrapbooks, at least in my opinion. :)



So back to the swap... here is my tag:



I used Nathan's Turtle for the main image. I cut him out with my SU Paper Snips. and mounted the image on a piece of Garden Green CS that I paper pierced and then faux stitched with a white gel pen. The GG CS was pretty much the same as the main image. For the tag itself, I used a medium chipboard coaster (bought from eP) and carefully cut it at the 2.5" mark so that the blade did not go all the way through, but scored it enough so that the tag would close flat. I covered the front of the tag with Basic Grey PP (also bought from eP) and sanded the corners, stamped just a part of the IA sentiment, "Happy Birthday to an All-Star Kid", added ribbon and that's it. I really liked the way it turned out and I was so excited about the tags that I got back. I love swapping with this group. The work is always so AMAZING! Check out the rest of the tags in Doodlepie's IA gallery, as well as the rest of her awesome work.

A few thoughts from the weekend...

It was a really busy weekend here at home. I don't know how the days get away from me so quickly! Somehow it was Thursday afternoon and then BAM! - here I am sitting here Monday morning.

Our cousins who recently moved to Massachusetts, visited with us for the weekend - so I guess that has a lot to do with the whirlwind feeling. They have 2 sons that age-wise fit in between my 3, so you can imagine what a blast they all have when we get together. It is so wonderful to see the boys play together. No matter how much time passes between visits, they play as if no time has passed at all. I love it.

We are especially close to these cousins, not just because of the kids, but because we just really love hanging out together (the big kids, I mean!) and have a ton in common. We are all about the same age, so that makes it fun too. Anyway, they stayed until Sunday and then drove home. They have moved around a lot in the last five years due to my cousin's job, but this is the closest (distance-wise) we have been. We kid them that in a few moves, we might finally get them next door to us - LOL! That would be a blast.

Anyway, in addition to having them over for the weekend, we had a couple of parties to go to as well. My oldest guy had a birthday party on Saturday night, and then I had a baby shower on Sunday, right after they left. So I wanted to share the cards that I made for the two occasions.

Here is the first one:




Stamps Used - Sporting Goods (SU) and Inky Antics Sentiment
Inks/CS Used - Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
Accessories - Brads, Ticket Corner Punch

I colored the net in with my Prisma pencils and blended it with a stump and gamsol. The basketball is up on dimensionals and I doodled behind the ball to give it a feel of flying through the air. I embossed the sentiment with Iridescent Ice.

I actually made this card a couple of months ago (I think). I made it for a SCS sketch challenge (it was SC98). Like most other people who stamp, I love this site, and sometimes catch myself spending WAAAAYYYY too much time on the site (which I am NOT saying is necessarily a bad thing at all - LOL!). I only recently started doing the challenges - I think that they have been going on for a few years now. There is a different challenge each day, and they run for a week, although you can do them at any time, really. love going to the challenges for inspiration, b/c I often have such a hard time starting a card. I love having that direction.

The second card was for the Baby Shower that I went to on Sunday. The shower was for a close cousin of mine, so it really was a fun afternoon. I got the chance to hang out with lots of family and close family friends (I come from a family with lots of "aunts, uncles and cousins!"). I was especially happy that I got a chance to catch up with the girls that I don't always see often. I brought my littlest guy and he was great too, b/c as my SIL says, who doesn't want to see babies at a baby shower! He didn't really cry at all or pitch any tantrums all afternoon even when it was WAAAY past his naptime. He really seemed to have fun with all of the "titas", "lolas" and other little kids. He did run all over the place, but it was all in good fun, at at the end of the day and he is only 20 months and VERY active, so I can't really expect him to sit still, right? Plus the room was filled with lots of caring and wonderful people in my life who love me and my family, so it was never like he was not being watched by someone! :)

I always love it all the more when it is shower where I know more people, than not. I have been to a few showers where I only know the celebrant, but not really anyone else in her family (ie. like a co-worker), so I am usually placed at the table where I don't necessarily know everyone. Don't get me wrong, I am always so touched and honored that I would be invited to such a special occasion... I'm just saying ;)

Oh yeah, so here is the card (sorry about the rambling - I told you this was going to be my journal too, right?!)

Stamps Used: Blooming w/Happiness and Happy Everything, Everyday Flexible Phrases

Inks/CS Used: Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean, WW, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey - Blush Collection

Accessories: Corner Tag punch, Paper Snips, Ribbon, Cording, Paper Piercer, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals


I stamped the umbrella twice and put the umbrella part up on dimensionals. The rest of the card was pretty quick and easy.


So that was my weekend - I hope that you had a great weekend too!

More on Patterned Paper

I am still coming up the learning curve of posting on my blog. I wanted to add another card to yesterday's post, but for some reason could not get the second pic where I wanted to go. I think that I have to upload the pics that I want to use in reverse order, because I couldn't get the 2nd pic to move down lower in the post below the first one. Oh well, I'm trying!

So this is the 2nd card that I made from the same 6x6 sheet from Basic Grey. I love using up the scraps - it makes for less cleaning up later. Plus, I find that I usually end up not using those scraps anyway. They usually get lost in the scraps bin that I always say I am going to go through and organize (yeah, right!), or my kids get a hold of it and want to use it for whatever project that want to make or draw that afternoon. And I usually just say yes, because that is easiest!

I embossed the main image with Craft ink (Apricot Appeal and Always Artichoke - love these colors!) and Versamark. The flower image is from an SAB set from Stampin' Up. I didn't think that this set was really me and was one of the last sets that I chose for a freebit. But now that I have used it, I really like this image. I guess it was all the scripted sentiments that I wasn't drawn to at first, but now I find that I am even liking some of them too! Just goes to show that you never really know how something is going to look until you are done with the card. So I pulled more from the subtle blue hues in the PP and used Bordering Blue for my base. I stamped the base card with So Saffron (Craft) to soften up the base so that it matched the muted feel of the PP. Then I just punched 2 of the corners with the Ticket Punch, added some brads and finished it off with mustard ribbon. I really like how this one turned out, and I wasn't even planning to make this card. Like I said, just trying to use up my scraps!! :) You gotta love it when things go your way... its those little things in life that make you happy, right? ;)

Using Patterned Paper

I have been pretty busy (relatively speaking) creating lots in the last couple of weeks. It is definitely because I have been on quite the buying spree and want to try out all of my new goodies.


All of my newest purchases have all come from one place, eclectic Paperie. I "met" Joy (who is one of the owners of this great little boutique) on SCS a few years back and happened to re-connect with her on the Inky Antics board. She is super-sweet - and she has to be...I feel like I have been inundating her with e-mails regarding all the things that I want to pre-order or buy from her store! I either change, but usually just add, to my list (well, I guess she wouldn't mind those e-mails, right?!), as she adds more stuff to the boutique. The store has a great vibe and has a ton of things that are right up my alley and totally match my taste. It is not a "we have everything under the sun" type of store which I don't like and hence do not usually end up buying from, believe it or not. (I'll definitely have to remember to discuss this thought more in a future post).


So back to my cards... (I definitely tend to digress very easily!) I have been using those awesome Basic Grey 6x6 paper pads that I bought from eP on pretty much all of my cards lately in one way or another. For me, you can't go wrong with using BG paper, because basically all of the sheets have awesome designs, so they can only enhance my card! LOL



I was reading recently on Paper Trufflez, about how Julie hates the idea of covering up beautiful patterned paper on a card. I thought back to that posting while I was making a card and realized that I wholeheartedly agree. I have noticed that most of the cards that I have made lately with patterned paper have a lot of the paper visible, which ultimately makes it a major element of the card. And in the card above, I had such a hard time not wanting to cover the patterned paper, that I didn't! ;) The floral blossoms ended up being the main image, which I embossed with Irridescent Ice to make it stand out more, and I only added the sentiment and paper pierced the side to mimic the feel of the dress pattern from the Basic Grey paper.

Hello?? Did I actually do this right on the first try? :)

So here we go... I am finally dipping a little toe in the proverbial pool called blogging. I know that there are an unimaginable number of stamping and paper crafting blogs out there on the net (and believe me, I know, because I visit MANY of them LOL!) but I hope and think that there might be a little bit more room for mine.

Now I'll start off by saying that I know that there will be no earth-shattering stamping discoveries posted here or tutorials for that matter, so for the few of you that might stumble across my blog, I hope that you aren't checking in for that. In fact, I think that ultimately this blog will be for mostly for me... a creative (at least I hope!) diary of my papercrafting adventures and musings in general. My plan is a little selfish actually... I am really hoping that becuase I know that I want to keep this blog will encourage me (or guilt me, maybe! LOL) to always make time for this interest and part of my life. It is so easy to get caught up in the days/weeks/months that before we know it, the time just flies by. In the past I have got caught in a rut where months go by without completing a scrapbook page or making a card. I hope to be better going forward about maintaining a better balance in my life of all the things that are important to me, and not just the necessities to keep moving ahead. Plus there are so many new things that I have discovered in papercrafting and more importantly been BUYING, that I have to make sure that I actually enjoy and USE all of the stuff!!

So if there is anyone out there actually reading this, thanks for joining me! :) I hope that you will find my cards and projects interesting to view and maybe at some point even inspire you, even if it just a little bit. ~M