Zeleny Art Fair

The flyers are ready now for the Zeleny Art Fair, making this fun event even more of a reality. You'll have to hop over to their blog to see some of the other vendors. Eco Chique Boutique should be on their as soon as they get all caught up. If you haven't liked us yet on Facebook, please head over there now so you don't miss out on any updates. We'll have a special surprise for our FB fans who stop by our booth! Please help us get the word out by sharing this post any way you possibly can. We're all just little hometown folk trying to make a difference in our world!

Prickley Pear March Challenge Card

I recently purchased a set of clear stamps and matching die on clearance and had fun playing with them. The die is itsy bitsy and quite honestly I was stumped as to how to use it, so went in search of ideas. Well so far I haven’t found a tutorial or examples for this particular set called Tree Shapes, so the card below is my way of just winging it. I did manage to find the Prickley Pear blog containing some awesome cards using their products. While there I noticed they have a challenge going on and decided to use their sketch to finish my card. This card will be entered in their March challenge. If anyone has this stamp set and matching die or you know where I can find a tutorial for using the tiny die please let me know. The pieces are so small that it was tricky matching up the small stamps to the cutouts.

Ingredients:

Cardstock:  Buff cardstock is from an upcycled file folder (no kidding folks, these were being sent out for shredding until a coworker and I rescued them!). Kraft and red are from my stash.

Diecuts:  Prickley Pear Tree Shapes (aka Four Seasons), EK Success Slim Edger Punch Large Lattice Chain. Spellbinders Lacey Ovals, Leaves from my stash (possibly cut on my Cricut using the Home Accents cart)

Embossing: Designer Frames Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folders from Stampin Up!

Stamp: Prickley Pear Four Seasons

Ink:  Riding Hood Red by Stampin Up!

Lace from my stash

Take 12 March

 

This month's photo challenge for the Ella Publishing Take Twelve project was to take pictures of things that make us feel lucky or fortunate. The special theme was to find magic/art in the mundane, so I am using a combination of both. Below the mosaic you will find a description of each picture. 

Starting at the top left is some of my daily free Weight Watchers Points Plus food... FRUIT! I finally took off the covers that were on the pretty pie keepers (who keeps pies in these things anyway?). Next are the various assorted dog leashes that quite honestly are just hanging around because with four dogs who all go absolutely ballistic when we reach for a leash, it's just easier for Mike and I to walk without them. My cell phone has become a staple in my life and this keyboard makes it so much easier to use. Just thought I'd throw in some green here by showing you some of my markers. Does this picture of my buttons in the thrift store spice rack look awesome? Charlie is our geriatric dog, full of arthritis and bumps, but still full of all the love and caring one could possibly ask for. Libby, Harley and Katie are always there to help clean up every little bit of food that drops on the floor. Don't they sit pretty for the picture? Then there's Mike.... what can I say? My dear husband who keeps everything together when I'm flittering off to my crafting world. If anything makes me feel lucky every day it's HIM! Oh and he just happened to be wearing his green cap with the lucky clover on it early on the 12th and it was sitting next to the fanny pack he wears (you know, the "man bag"). Now just to prove how sweet he is, this Crabtree & Evelyn avocado olive and basil hand cream is what I got from him for Valentine's Day. It is absolutely the yummiest smelling and creamiest thing my hands have ever felt! I call the next one my inspiration mirror. The closet in my craft room has two mirrored sliding doors that I have begun decorating with things that provide inspiration, whether that's a picture out of a magazine, words cut on my Cricut or paper rosettes I've made, they all make me smile. Now last, but certainly not least, is a snapshot of our daughter when she was a toddler. If you could see the whole picture you'd discover that she is sitting inside a plastic clothes hamper with the biggest grin on her face. It's in a "Dad" frame and sits prominently on display alongside Mike's treasured Snoopy collectibles at eye level so we can smile back at her every day. Emily truly makes me feel fortunate and reminds me daily how richly Mike and I have been blessed!

Wedding Shower Card

This card was made for my niece's wedding shower this month. I was so happy when my prize package from Cathy Lynn over at Ink, Thread and Paper arrived just in time to add some embossing and the perfect embellies. I was having fun playing with my new Spellbinders Nestabilities Lattice Rectangles dies from Stamping Scrapping and needed something to cover up a little boo boo at the bottom. Well combine half of a scalloped square die cut from the clear Bigz die I got from my best Stampin Up! gal Shelly May. The sentiment is from a retired Stampin Up! hostess set Occasional Quotes. The big red heart is cut using a Sizzix die called Tipsy Hearts. I made the pin with red and black beads. (Note to self:  make a list of everything while making the cards so you don't have to keep jumping up and running to the next room to find out what it is!) Ok, I promise to get more organized in the future and make those really nice lists at the end of my posts showing all the ingredients, but hey, I'm lucky to get this far after making 150 cards for my whirlwind Operation Write Home project while working full time outside the home, taking care of four dogs and three cats, a husband (well actually HE is the one who does most of the work around here while I play!) Oh and one last thing..... I won another prize from Market Street Stamps! I can't wait to play with the fun products in the kit! Ok, now you can look at the wedding shower card...

Goals for first half of 2012

I decided that my crafting goals needed to be posted at the top of my blog until they have all been completed. Now to figure out how folks make posts stay at the top... I just read that putting a publication date in the future would create a sticky post and keep it on top. Tried that and it didn't work, so will just make a text widget with just the list and locate it above the posts.

Here's the list that was posted in January:

1. Create card kits to sell on Etsy.
2. Create scrapbook page kits to sell on Etsy.
3. Put stuff together for a swap with friends.
4. Donate a bunch of stuff to groups that make cards for charities.
5. Make cards to donate to Operation Write Home. DONE
6. Make cards to donate to a local church that in turn donates to homeless shelters (currently doing this one.)   DONE
7. Make card assortments along with boxes to put them in to have on hand for gifts.
8. Offer some blog candy (coming soon, so stay tuned!)
9. Make upcycled embellishments and other products for Zeleny Art Fair coming up in April. DONE

Below are some things I've made. The sample is flower die cuts made out of upcycled wallpaper samples. Next is a really cute ruffled purse made out of t-shirts, then a fabric rosette using leftover fabric and the last picture is a package of paper rosettes.

OWH March ODBD Challenge

I had so much fun creating this card for the Operation Write Home Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge! This wonderful company makes a shipping donation for every 25 cards entered in the challenge. This is in addition to their generous gift of two $25 gift certificates. You can check out their online shop here. I've got  a huge wish list from their site that I hope to get purchased one of these days.

The card below is being entered in the category of brads, layers and ribbon, although it could also be entered in the stripes, embossing and ribbon category. The challenge was to pick three squares from a 9-square matrix, kind of like bingo, either vertical, horizontal or diagonal. Fun, huh!

Oh I almost forgot to tell you that I made a total of 150 cards that will ship out tomorrow, half of them for Mother's Day. Now on to my next project....