new cards and stuff in the shop

I've been a busy bee working at my craft table.

As always, they are listed for sale on my etsy shop.

Shop News

I finally decided to buy a banner for my etsy store. It looked so blah and I think this is a nice touch.

One of these days I'll dig deeper and figure out how to put more advanced features in the blog. But for now it works.

Packages!!!

I don't know why I get so excited when I get packages in the mail. I mean, really, I was the one who ordered the stuff.

Anyway, today I finally got a t-square ruler and a powder tool for embossing and de-sticking stickers.

It's the small things that excite me.

Now, if only my other package would come....still waiting after almost 2 weeks.

Perfect Ending

This weekend was overall lazy. The huz and the boy left the house for a few hours yesterday to get hair cuts. I cleaned and got it over with so I could craft the rest of the weekend.

The result? A ton of cards. Some are pictured in the previous post. Then the kid took a nap today and I knocked out a few more.

I'm slowly using up my stuff one brad and chipboard piece at a time. It won't happen overnight since it took me about 10 years to accumulate all of the stuff. One day I'll take pictures of my craft area and my organization and all of the stuff. Oh who am I kidding? I change the way I have everything organized about every other week.

Using up the Stash

I used up more of my stash o'stuff this weekend.

Check it out!

As always, these will be listed on my etsy shop.

Clean & Simple Cardmaking...Day 1...another sketch...

I promise this is the last one since I'm not working on anything tonight and class starts tomorrow night.

The yellow paper is just plain cardstock that I dry embossed with my texture boutique. The yellow fibers are way old. Yay for using up some of my stash!!!!

Clean & Simple Cardmaking Day 1...again

These cards were from a sketch from Day 1. They are basically the same but vary slightly. I didn't like the button so I moved the butterfly. I tend to make 2 of each card since it limits the amount of paper I waste or that ends up in my scrap pile. I already have tons of scrap paper and am really trying to use it up.

Instead of inking the stamp I used white acrylic paint. It gives it a different look. I'm still trying to perfect my bows but I'm sure that will just come with time.

Clean and Simple Cardmaking Day 3

The cards from day 2 just weren't my style so I didn't try to replicate any of those. I did try a card from day 3.

Once again I used the tone-on-tone with the circles by stamping a background stamp with versamark and adhering them to the same color paper. I used up some of the butterflies in my stash that I had bought off etsy last year and also used up some of my thickers I had. I had to fight the urge to add stickles. Stickles are the devil.

Clean and Simple Cards

I'm once again participating in another online card class. This one is focusing on creating clean and simple cards. I'm about a week behind and trying to play catch-up which is fine since it's a self paced course.

Here is a card I tried from day 1:

These cards were VERY easy and quick to make. I love the classic look. They would be perfect for any occasion or color. I got the tone-on-tone color by using versamark ink. I used a post-it note as a mask for the background stamp. I embossed the hears with clear powder and used my white gel pen to put stitching on the outside of the square.

Cards

I made a few cards from my new card sketch book today. They are based from the same layout.

The first pictures actually belongs to the second card. Not sure how that one snuck in first.

The patterned paper was something I've had FOREVER. The rub-ons are from the garage sale at our local scrapbook store. The chips were from a big order I got from scrapbooksteals.com. The buttons are from my massive button stash. But hey, I'm using my stuff one piece at a time!

I'll be listing these in my etsy store later today just in time for Valentine's Day.

Retreat weekend

I was at a scrapbook retreat all weekend. I'm pleased to say that I finished 11 two page layouts. It felt good to get back into scrapping layouts because it's been a long, LONG time since I've done any layouts. I stuck with my resolution to use what supplies I have on hand with the exception of paper. I didn't bring a ton of paper with me and burned through about a third of a paper pack I had.

I even put it all away when I got home :)

Now I'm tired so pictures will just have to wait until tomorrow.

New Year's Resolutions

I realized today that I haven't made any new year's resolutions. Maybe that's because I never can seem to stick to them.

Here are the things I'd like to do each year.

1. lose weight
2. cut back on caffeine
3. save money/pay off debt

This year I chose some more realistic and easier goals.

1. try to drink a smoothie every morning (I said TRY)
2. eat a little healthier and make more home cooked meals
3. make more stuff I find on pinterest
4. grow my etsy shop
5. grow my blog (are you a follwer? If not you can follow be email or simply add me to your google reader or other RSS feed) :)
6. use up some of my scrap stash. what use is it if I think it's pretty and yet it sits in a box never to be seen?
7. stay AWAY from the craft stores unless absolutely necessary (think adhesive needs)
8. blog on a more regular basis
9. drink more water
10. RELAX!!!

We'll see how far I can get. I already did really well this past week. I used up a bunch of paper and made my own embellishments that I actually used (gasp!). I have an embarassingly large amount of paper that just sits there. I either need to go through it and get rid of it or attempt to use it up. Same goes for my paper scraps. But I am getting better. I even sold some of my scrap stuff on ebay this week. :)