With Sympathy

It seems as though you can never have enough sympathy cards and so I've been trying to keep them elegant and simple but at the same time, I want them to be special ... and not something cookie cutter-ish.

More pink!

I had a really successful craft show a couple weeks ago and actually had some orders for cards, which I like because it forces me to be creative and I have a purpose for the cards I am creating. I had a bunch of sympathy cards and then some baby cards, which I think are always fun!!

I'm Missing you already Zoey

So my precious little Zoey passed away on Thursday and even as I write this, I'm tearing up. She was an amazing pup and a great girl. She smiled on command and she was the first pet that I ever bought on my own. She was such a special little lady. I'm going to mis her ... a lot!

Babies ... and babies ... oh my!!

So I have kinda disappeared off the face of the earth. I haven't had much time to really stamp anything productive ... hopeing to change that this week-end. Here is one of the reason's I've been so busy!! My best friend Stacey had her twin girls on the 7th and I've been flitting around helping her as much as I can ... basically volunteering to snuggle and cuddle them whenever she needs a little break!! They are adorable ... Abigail Leigh and Charity Joylene ... absolute precious little princesses!!

Oh Tracy! You and your circles! I had a request for a 'classy' birthday card for a lady. I don't have a lot of images that would work for a 70th birthday card as well, so I thought I would use what seems to be my go-to stamp sets, from AmyR. There are a couple things I might change if I were to make a card using this sketch again but I love the colours!!!

Lilies

I bought this stamp as one of my last purchases from Cornish Heritage Farms before they closed. Prairie Lilies are the provincial flower in Saskatchewan and right when I saw the image, I knew I had to have it. I've used it here for a sympathy card but I have a couple more ideas that I can't wait to try!

A couple cards ...

I have a couple cards to share this morning - both using AmyR stamps. I'm working on building up my card stash, which I seriously depleted this summer. I'm more of a sentiment person, combined with patterned paper. I'm still using my scrap papers (which could keep me easily busy for the next 6 years!) and I'm hoping that my mojo will come back full force ... it's been a long time since I've been overly pleased with my creations!

2 cards ...

So I have a couple cards to share ... both using Tracy's great sketch! Believe it or not, I've never made a Halloween card ... and I was running out of time. The 2nd card is for a lady who's just been amazing to me. I stopped into the bank this afternoon and the branch manager was having an AWFUL day. She found they had to put their dog down. I know all to well about that and so I wanted to let her know I was thinking of her. I'm also including the poem, 'The Rainbow Bridge'. I absolutely love how both turned out!!

Twinkle Twinkle

So yeah - baby cards much anyone? LOL I made this one quite a while ago and had actually completely forgot about it. I love how the sentiment goes so great eith the pattern paper. VERY quick card to pull together!

Sweet Little Baby!

I decided to throw my name into the hat for Amy's Blog giveaway (which has an AMAZING prize) --> check it out here: http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr/2010/10/amyr-atg-contest-giveaway.html (note - I'm horrible at linking!!) Anyways, I love this paper and the idea that you don't need to go all pastel for baby cards, coupled with my LOVE for using photos on cards and my creation was born. I can't remember the name of the paper but I think it's from SEI. I used one of Amy's stamps from her new baby set and went with a gender neutral set. Wowsers though - it's amazing what getting back to using things (such as photos) that fires up your crafting MOJO! Which is a good thing because I have a BUSY week-end!!

Well-behaved??

So, in case you haven't noticed, I'm much more of a sentiment then a image type crafter ... I think because I'm not very confident in my colouring abilities ... and I find that these are so much faster to create then having to actually sit down and colour an image. With my one volunteer position, it's my job to travel around our zone (which seems like a HUGE area) and meet with the various Kin, Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs. I really wanted to let them know that I appreciate all their hard work, so I wanted to send personalized cards this year. So for my first round of visits to the ladies, I'm using this stamp from Stampin Up ... it totally suits them!! It's fairly plain jane but I kinda like it ... and it's colours I would NEVER in a million years probably use. I have had the new purple from Stampin Up on my desk for almost a month now and was afraid to use it ... or something ... not too sure. I like it though ... now to get my mojo completely back!! I have a craft show to prepare for on Saturday!!

Remember When ...

Sadly, I have the need for more sympathy cards. There have been a few people pass away in the last month that really deserved a special card to help remember the loved one that has passed away. Which is great ... because I did get those cards made ... but do you think I can find them now? Not a chance ... I am missing the two sympathy cards, along with one of the baby cards I've made recently) ... which isn't any good because I finally have a few days to sit down and put something heartfelt into the cards, instead of the usual - with deepest sympathy and then signing my name. So that hunt will take place later today! I've got a couple things I have to do at some point today (my car needs looked at) and I need to make a quick pit stop over at the bank.

And because I can't resist, we have a new addition to our family!! A couple week-ends ago I was outside working on some trim painting (which still isn't finished ... grrrr!) and I found this friendly (although she looks a little scary here) kitty in the yard. She came right up to me and is seriously super friendly! I love her to pieces (especially since the other kitties here really don't want anything to do with humans, as long as their food dish is filled up.) She's quite the character and her and Cooper have already gotten to be friends ... not best buddies yet but they are on their way!! We had been talking about getting a kitty since the others are old, we just didn't think one would get dropped off on our door step ... or however she arrived! Her name is Meow Meow ... or as Jeff puts it, 'Whine Whine'.

YAY!

Thanks to another great sketch by Tracy, I'm once again out of my comfort zone! I've been trying to use up some of my random embelishments. I also added a little bling and some ribbon. Let's just say I'm not the best with simple cards ...

I have several different piles of paper that could lead to several different cards, I just am not sure how exactly I'm going to convert all the piles of paper into cards. I did manage to make a couple other cards and I have a couple ideas brewing for some other cards ... so maybe this afternoon.

I have the urge to paint, which is GREAT because I have painting that needs to be done outside but it's not warm enough outside to paint ... and I need to pick up some more painters tape. I bought some paint for a project I had planned on doing in our old house but didn't end up doing because we moved. So I think I'm going to paint our bathroom downstairs. All the colours are decent in the house but they are almost all blue and greens and well ... I'm thinking something a little more interesting!!

baby baby!

This is a very simple baby card that I whipped up in next to no time at all! I love cards like that! I wanted a card that really didn't scream boy or girl and essentially it's all about straight lines. I had the bigger pieces of paper already cut from a different project and thought that I could get away with just using a congratulations stamp instead of something totally related to 'baby'. I think this is some of my favorite baby design paper!

Babies on the brain!

So - I have a pile of baby gifts in my spare room, just waiting to go to their new homes and well, I had no cards to go with them. I have had lots of ideas in the last little while but absolutely no time (or energy for that matter) to actually sit down and craft. That and my craft room is an ABSOLUTE disaster so when I do go in there (usually to drop off something for the room), I get so overwhelmed because there is just SOOOOOO much stuff in the room, that I don't even know where to start! Not only is it my craft room, it's also where I have all my Scentsy and Stampin Up supplies and quite literally, it's just become a dumping ground. So - here's hoping in the next couple weeks, I can get things a little more organized and get things cleaned up and sorted.

I do have a couple cards to share. I felt awful for missing last week's ESS challenge so I made it a point to stamp and create today (which was easier to do since it's a little damp and rainy outside, so I couldn't finish my painting). Both these cards are for the ESS challenge 103. I love the layout and how Tracy is pushing me to use circles in my work ... I'm more of a straight lines kind of girl. Both of these cards were VERY simple to make, once I decided what stamps I wanted to use ... however looking at them now, they are too simple for me. I wish I had run the background paper through either the Big Shot or the Cuttlebug, to give it a little more dimension. Both cards are for little girls but the giraffe one is more for the new father of one of the little girls. He's a very manly man, loves hunting and stuff like that, so I thought while the present is very pink, he might not mind having this card on display.

I still have several cards I need to make, so maybe at some point today I will get down there. I also need to work on my Halloween costume since the one I ordered, hasn't made it here yet and won't today because it's Thanksgiving Monday.

happiness always

This was a quick and simple card I made for Jeff's parents anniversary. I'm super sad to say it's been the last thing I have stamped since the 29th of September ... which is AWFUL! I find stamping to be very theraputic and well, I am definitely needing some of that right now.

I have so many cards I need to make ... I have baby presents lined up in our spare bedroom and have to wait until I have cards before I can send them to their new 'homes'.

It's been a really busy time of year with harvest being as delayed as it is, along with school sports and Kinettes and so I'm actually somewhat excited that I can veg out tonight - well, at least try to. I have a newsletter I have to get sent out for Kinettes tonight, along with a letter to other Kin clubs ... and I should make some sort of dessert, since I'm hosting supper tomorrow night.

Here's hoping I have a few more days of relaxing ... thank goodness Monday is a holiday!

Little Angel

I am so far behind in my card making I just want to cry! I have 3-4 sympathy cards I need to get made here in the next day or so, in order to get them sent to where they need to go, along with some new baby, birthday and anniversary cards ... and about 10 thank you cards!! I need time to stop so I can get caught up on everything else!!

Had a VERY busy week-end and the week isn't slowing down either.. I'm off on Wednesday's so I did manage to sneak into my badly neglected craft room (which also needs a major cleaning) and create a couple cards. I'm sharing the Little Angel card this morning. I kept it fairly simple and used a sketch from the fabulous Tracy! I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out but I did try faux stitching and like the affect. I'm trying to expand my comfort zone! I used a couple of the In Colours from Stampin' Up and some other paper and ribbon from my stash ... kinda like the overall affect but I think the perfectionist in me thinks I could still tinker with it for a while!

Thank You

I've been waiting to make this card for the past couple weeks, but I was waiting for this stamp set to arrive. It got here yesterday and I was finally able to ink it up tonight. This card is for my best friend to give to her doctor. She's expecting twins right now and has had a couple scares. The image didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but I did use the masking technique for the first time ever. I couldn't find an appropriate sentiment, so I printed this one off the computer. I ran the light blue and white papers through my Big Shot with one of the plates and didn't end up using any pattern paper. This card is also bigger then I normally make it - I wanted to have enough room to space things out and then have enough room on the inside for Stacey to write as well.

Thanks Tracy for an awesome sketch for #100!!

In the span of a couple days, we had a couple people close to us lose loved ones and I had a lot of orders for sympathy cards. And it's sad but I was actually out of them ... so those type of cards are on my TO MAKE list ... which is yet again another reminder I need to get back crafting! I really didn't have anything in mind when I pulled out these scrap papers but I think they all worked well together. I like using softer tones that aren't pastel and I think I accomplished what I kind of visioned in my head.

Busy busy busy week ahead ... here's hoping I make it out alive!

So - I've been in such a funk lately and my creativity has taken a total nose dive. I have so many cards I need to create and I haven't got anything accomplished - so I'm kinda feeling like a little bit of a failure. I think it's just the weather - well and some other things but that's a whole other story. I do have a couple cards to share and I'm really hoping to get back into my craft room - maybe tomorrow night ... fingers crossed!

This is a very simple card that I threw together. I recently mounted all my wood mounted SU stamps on cling foam (and I'm loving it!!!!!) I had never inked up this set because I didn't want to chance it lining things up. With it being a cling stamp now, it works like a charm! I can definitely see myself using the set way more often - along with a lot of my other 2 step stamps.

Thinking of You

One of our neighbours was recently diagnosed and went in for emergency colon surgery, as they discovered he has colon cancer. I didn't have any appropriate 'get well' cards because that really didn't seem to be the appropriate thing to say. The pattern paper is flocked, which adds a nice dimension to the card. I think it's just a nice simple card that will let them know we are thinking of them.

Thank You

The secretary at our school has been going through a lot lately. The school division instituted a new program for administrators and teachers and it's not overly user friendly, especially for a smaller school, which we are. She had a really bad day on Tuesday and just seemed down and not her usual self so I wanted to create a little something for her. Paper is SU (I love the new Early Espresso brown!), ribbon from my stash, and the sentiment is from Verve stamps. It was another one of the stamps that I have that had never seen ink. I love how the card turned out and can't wait to give it to her tomorrow. On the inside, I copied the box look but with a couple rectangles and then added a thank you sentiment. It was a really easy card to pull together - which I love!! I'm working on getting my stash built up, as it's getting to be craft fair time soon!!

Rub a dub dub!

Here's a sketch for the Monday Mojo (mojo155). I'm not completely happy with it, as this is a sketch that is completely out of my comfort zone. I played with a lot of papers and ended up not using patterned papers. I ran the blue through my Big Shot, using 2 different folders. The image is from All That Scraps (along with the sentiment), the ribbon is SU and the papers - guess what? They are from my scrap paper basket ... it's so handy keeping it right on my craft desk.

I'm definitely going to keep playing with the sketch - I made another one but I'm not feeling it at all! I tried out the new Smooch Spritz from SU and my technique definitely needs to be worked on! I think the card is too plain jane but I'm going to add it to my stash - who knows when it will come in handy! Stamp and sentiment from All That Scraps.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Tracy had another amazing sketch and she's really pushing me out of my comfort zone (and making me dust off my Cricut!) as I'm not used to working with circles!! I wanted to make a really simple card with earth tones and these papers were all sitting in a basket on my desk. The stamp set is from All That Scraps - Pond Life by CC Designs. I have so many stamp sets from All That Scraps that I haven't even inked up yet! Working on changing that!!

Thank You!

I had hoped to do some crafting yesterday but instead choose to catch up on Season 7 of One Tree Hill, as the new season starts on the 14th! I was down in the craft room playing around with a few things however (I probably should have been cleaning instead!!!). I've had a Big Shot for months now and can honestly say I never used it. When I bought it, I was such a newbie that I ended up not getting the silicone and impression pad needed to use the texturz plates and for a while, I was ready to sell it - it frustrated me to the point of going crazy! I have a Cuttlebug that I love and so I really didn't see the big deal. Yesterday morning I watched some YouTube videos and then proceeded to play! And I think just maybe I am getting the hang of the Big Shot - which is great, since I paid a lot of money for it and the accessories/tool to go with it!!

Today's card is one I did a little while ago - it's a very generic thank you card but nice and bright, which I love!! I've got a couple more thank you cards I would love to get mailed ... now to just create them and I would be set!! Paper is SU and the ribbon is from my stash - I can't even recall where I got it from! Note to self: remember to put a notebook in your craft area so you can write down what you are using!!

Happy birthday Momma!

I needed a birthday card for my mom (who's birthday is on Tuesday) and I needed to get it in the mail ASAP - although with the holiday on Monday, I doubt the card will make it there on time ... it's the thought that counts though, right? I took the layout from the congratulations card I had made earlier and used a stamp from one of my many Stampin Up sets (need to put a catalogue beside me ... or at least have a notebook to write down the supplies I use!!) My mom loves fall colours and I thought this card has the perfect mix of the oranges, browns, and reds that really come alive this time of year. Everything is from my scrap box - gosh I love that box!! I've got a couple of cards that I need to crank out this week-end, so hopefully it doesn't let me down!!

I dropped off the baby present that had the picture card from this post: http://myinkaddiction.blogspot.com/2010/08/something-old-something-new.html and the card was a HUGE hit! The grandma, who I work with, usually doesn't have much to say but she was over the moon about the card and how it's definitely something they will put in a baby book and save! So that made me feel great!!

Definitely hoping to get some crafting time in this long week-end but lots of other stuff on the agenda as well ... gardening and painting and window washing ... oh my! And laundry! And more laundry!! For only having two people in this house, we sure seem to have a lot of dirty laundry!

Little Princess

Jeff's cousin's wife just had a little girl and as his parents are heading out that way for the long week-end, I quickly whipped up this card. At the time, there were no pictures of little Raya online, so I went with my princess papers instead. I'm not 100% happy with the card - as it seems a little boring but after seeing Raya in a couple photographs, she definitely looks like a princess. Scrap papers again ... the congratulations stamp is from Stampin Up and the princess stamp is one from a Disney set I got at Michaels.

Congratulations!!

Stacey's sister-in-law just found out that her husband, Jonny from the Dominican Republic, has been given his visa and approval to move to Canada. He will be here on the 24th and hopefully it's still warm here for him. I still am not sure how he's going to deal with our winters!! This is actually the 2nd card I made - I'm saving the other one for another day. I had made the flower for the 1st card but it didn't go colour wise at all, so I went through my scrap papers and pulled these out of my stash. I should have taken a picture of the inside because it's super cute ... I found a stamp that says 'welcome to the neighbourhood' and I thought it was appropriate. This was probably the first card in a long time (close to a year maybe) that I used flowers on ... might need to break into them more often!

Congrats!

I've got a couple cards to share today. I used the same lay out for both. One is a wedding congrats card adn the other is a congrats card for a baby girl! Both are very simple but I really like how they turned out. I got the stamp at Michaels for $1.50 and I've actually used it several times recently, as it hasn't made it way off my crafting desk. Once again, all the papers I used were from my scrap bin!! I love the challenge of using my scrap paper before cutting in to new stuff!

I have a couple other cards to share that I made this morning - a baby girl card and then two congrats cards. Just need to get photos of those ... hopefully they will go up later tonight or tomorrow!

Something Old, Something New

So I decided to give the Verve 'Something Old, Something New' challenge a try this morning. I had an idea as to what I wanted to do in terms of what type of card but I honestly had NO idea what stamps I was going to use. I ended up selecting, 'Practically Perfect - 2009' and 'Family Phrases - 2007', the latter being a set I had never inked up before. I love doing photo cards, as I find it makes the card a little more personal. Several of the photo cards I have made for people in the past, are now displayed in baby books or on general display. I also tried to think outside the box when it came to colours. And to top it all off, I used scrap pieces of paper - I didn't get into a single sheet of new paper! This has been a goal of mine all summer! Instead of using pattern paper, I used the sentiment, 'Our little miracle' to form the background and then I used the 'daddy's little girl' stamp from the Family Phrases set to bring in a little pink. I like how it turned out, as it's not a girlie, girlie card but the pearls and pink do give it a little touch of 'girlie'. On the inside, I used some more scrap paper and inked in pink the girl bunny image from the Practically Perfect set, stamped it off once and then stamped it on the corner. I used the 'welcome baby' stamp from the Family Phrases set to finish off the inside.

Eat Sleep Stamp challenge #98

I have never partcipated in one of Tracy's challenges before and I really struggled with the oval image. I laid out this card several times, with several different papers and just didn't like how it was turning out. I needed a sympathy card for a funeral that is on Monday and so I dug through my stamps to find something appropriate ... and that would fit in the oval template I had created. I like how the image did turn out - the image on the right is actually the mirror image of the one on the left. Used a handy little trick for that :) All the paper is from my box of scraps - that's been one of my goals lately to not cut into new paper until I've gone through the stash and checked to see if I had something that I could use. About a year ago, I 'won' on Ebay, 2 bags of scrap paper (each weighing a pound), which is absolutely amazing for a card maker!! You can't tell in the picture, but I roughed up the edges of the oval shaped brown paper and the blue paper is actually vellum with the design printed on it.

Because I wasn't happy at all with how it turnd out, I decided to whip up another card, as I have a 40th birthday party to go to tonight.
I used the same sketch but substituted the rectangle 'danger' sign instead of the oval, as I came across it earlier this morning and thought it was perfect!! The checked background is actualy hand-made. I cut out strips of the red and black paper and then wove them together, to create the checkered background and I LOVE how it came out!! So much so, I actually have another checked background ready to go! I used some vellum I had laying on my craft counter and then put some black ribbon on topof it. The 'danger' sign is mounted on red then cardstock and thesentiment is stamped on white cardstock, then mounted on red and then black cardstock. I used a couple brads that I had in my stash to finish off the card.

Babies, babies, babies everywhere!

Yesterday was an absolutely horrible day, for more then one reason. I started off the day finding out that a young girl I knew but wasn't close with, committed suicide. She was 21 and stunningly beautiful. One of those things that you can't explain, no matter how hard you try to wrap your head around it. It then progressed way further downhill from there, but I don't want to re-hash it at this point. Needless to say, I'm sure I will eventually talk about it but yesterday was full of tears and heart ache (Stacey and the little peanuts are okay!).

I made this card on Monday, for a friend who let me know she is expecting - in March!! She's already a super mommy to a brilliant and bright girl named Taylor and I know this new little bundle of joy will be so loved!! They aren't finding out what they are having, so I needed something general neutral, so I went with purple and blue. I can't wait to pop the card in the mail. I also made a little card for the big sister:

On the inside, I'm going to write ... 'is going to be a big sister?' Taylor has a thing for owls at the moment - so I think it's going to be a hit!!

Happy birthday Pardner!

This is a card for my dad - his birthday is on Sunday and I wanted to do something kind of fun! I bought this stamp set a while ago, second hand and this was actually the first time I've inked it up!! The penguin background is actually stamped ... which means there is no pattern paper used!! I can definitely see myself using this set much more often!!

Couple Cards To Share

My best friend is expecting twins - she is technically due December4th but I believe they are looking at mid-November at the latest as she has had some issues. They also kept the pregnancy to themselves as long as possible and once it was out, they kept the twins part a secret for about a month longer. I've known for months and months ... so it's nice to be able to be able to at least acknowledge it!! I was getting really good at denying everything and anything associated with Stacey and pregnancy!! This is just a really simple card - using Picnik to do a little photo editting. They aren't finding out what they are having - although I've got a feeling one is a boy ... so I wanted to keep the card fairly gender neutral.

The second card I want to share tonight is the wedding card I did for Carmen and Carlo, who got married in Kelowna at the end of August. I was a little off on their wedding colour (the blue lighter and not so much teal - more Tiffany's blue with a tinge of sea green ...) but I lke the simpleness of the card. And I love using a picture and making the card that little bit more personal. I wasn't there when they opened their wedding gift from Jeff and myself (I gave them a box of 40-ish hand made cards which made Carmen cry, as cards have always been our connection through the years - we send each other snail mail all the time).

I had a great card day today - got several done that I had been wanting to work on but hadn't had any real solid ideas. I'm hoping to have some more of those cards to post this week.

Happy Birthday!

So I needed a funny card for a 50th birthday party we were invited to but were unable to attend. This is originally not at all what I had planned on doing for the card ... I was in the shower getting ready to face the day and knew I wanted to use some of my Hambo stamps but as I'm in the process of mounting them all on the thin E-Z mount foam, I couldn't find all the stamps that I had wanted to use. And I can't even recall the name of this stamp set - I think I was given it without identifying information, as it's just tucked in an accordian folder with my other 'nameless' stamp sets. Overall, that card came together super quick and it's going to be so easy to use this card layout for a variety of cards ... so maybe I will get crafting again today! Especially since it's my last day before I head back to work tomorrow.

I'm Back!

So I seriously need to give my head a shake! It's been almost a year since my last post- which is insane! It's not like I haven't been crafting in that time frame - I have been super busy. So much has happened - I've moved into an amazing house and I'm loving my job as an educational assistant - I've had the summer off but I feel like I haven't accomplished anything this summer! And I go back to work Wednesday! That's crazy! I also have job interview that day as well -- so fingers crossed for that!

I've decided to devote more time to being crafty so I do have a card to share today if my computer decides to co-operate! I've been trying/fighting with it all day! So - hopefully later I can post my latest creation!!