More cards for kids and crochet projects

Hello again! I've been busy making more cards to send out to Send A Smile 4 Kids (SAS4Kids) so they can deliver them to kiddos in the hospital. All but two of the 163 cards in this box were Christmas. I had fun coloring many of them and said a little prayer with each stroke of the pencil. It's tough being sick, but for kiddos to be in the hospital at Christmastime has got to be very difficult. It is my prayer that these cards will bring a little smile to each face that sees them. Pictures were removed from the source (Flickr), so I'll have to find a new host for them. A crocheted hooded cowl for a friend undergoing treatment for cancer. The center where she goes in Chicago has a huge aquarium in the lobby where she and her husband had posed as fish on a previous visit. With colder temps coming I thought this would help keep her head warm and made her promise to pose wearing it by the aquarium. Isn't she beautiful! This next project and I had a love-hate relationship and it's left me with mixed feelings because I'm not sure what to do with it. I crocheted a beautiful afghan called "Lover of my Soul" by a wonderful South African woman, Hilda Stein. I purchased it online through Ravelry. Instead of buying the yarn from her I used some of the gazillion skeins of yarn that I've accumulated throughout the years. The love part of it is the colors, pattern, texture and memories the various yarn stir up (some came from my mom). The hate part is due to the fact that I can't use it as a bedspread because afghans and terrier claws are mortal enemies. I might use it under the comforter when it gets colder, but am afraid the weight of it might be rather cumbersome. On the other hand I've heard good things about using weighted blankets as a calming mechanism, so just might give it a try. Oh the conundrums of having to decide!

So what's next you ask? I'm determined to learn how to knit socks! Yes, you heard that right. Oh and it will be done with these microscopically minuscule knitting needles that I don't even know how to hold. I mean the needle I use to weave in ends on my crochet projects is three times thicker than these little babies. They are a size 1 and 2 if that means anything to you. I've heard there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube, so wish me luck! Any suggestions are more than welcome!

What have you all been working on lately?

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Glitter for Sympathy

Tonight as I created a special card for a friend who lost her father yesterday I found a new meaning in glitter. What? You say, does glitter have to do with a sympathy card??? Well, silly, just think about it for a minute. Glitter shines just like the memory of your loved one will shine on you. Glitter scatters everywhere just like the little things you'll find from day to day that remind you of that loved one. Lastly, glitter turns something very plain in to something spectacular just like the love you have and will always have for that loved one! Yes I'll be cleaning up that glitter for days, weeks or even months; but as I do I'll remember my own father, mother and step-father-in-law who are all looking down on me with love from their special place in Heaven.

OWH Cards for kids

I've been busy filling another large flat rate box with greeting cards for Operation Write Home (OWH). This week's challenge is to make cards for kids. I had a few stamped images (borrowed from a friend ages ago, but thing the little girl is a Penny Black stamp) and some digis that seemed to fit the bill. Here are two of the cards that I made. Oh the paper behind the little girl is printed to look like denim jeans. The sunshine stamp is from Stampin Up!

November Cards for a Cause

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes I know it's a day late, but I've been on the road and also very busy trying to finish up cards to send out for the Splitcoaststampers November Cards for a Cause. Here is a sampling of the 120 cards that are boxed up and ready to go. This month I finally used up most of the saved card fronts that I've kept around for a few years. I also finally stamped a bunch of card fronts using a custom made ink pad. That was fun and easy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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OWH VCMP Card #5

Card #5 for the OWH VCMP is a masking tape background card. You can find many other cards for this challenge here.

I made a couple different cards, one with regular white card stock and the other with watercolor paper. Can you tell which is which? I used the Stampin Up Sprinkled Expressions stamps.

Good morning! This is one of the 100 cards that I am headed out to mail today for the August Splitcoaststampers Cards for a Cause.

The cardstock is actually a very pretty dark purple from my stash. The sentiment is from Woodware. I used the Stampin Up Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch on the front of the card, then glued the punched flower on top of white paper adhered to the inside of the card. The little pink flower and bling are from my stash. I love how the Lace Ribbon Border punch really pops on the front of this card and hope it brings a smile to the recipients's face!

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

Oriental Trading Post Haul

Ok Ya'll, please don't laugh, but I finally made a video to share a haul with you. I discovered that my daughter has the best place ever for making videos, so might just have to spend more time granddogsitting in the future. Or I guess I could just go when she's there to keep the dogs out of the room. Anyway, here's a video showing all the cool stuff I got from Oriental Trading Post.

Blog Candy for Gratitude! -- CLOSED

If you've been reading my blog you know that in one week's time I was the recipient of four blog prizes. This past week has been an all time high for me, making me feel almost guilty, but mostly grateful and appreciative of the generosity of others. The best way for me to show my gratitude is by paying it forward, so ..... drum roll please.... I've got blog candy!!! Yup, I put together a package of ephemera, vintage ribbon, buttons, vintage wallpaper, handmade embellishments, twine, silk flowers and other fun things that would be great for making mini albums, embellishing scrapbook pages and cards or anything else your imagination desires. This blog candy will run until October 29 with the winner announced on October 30. To be eligible all you need to do is the following:

1. Become a follower if you aren't already
2. Leave a comment
3. Tell someone else about the candy. If you want to post this on your sidebar that would be awesome, but is not a requirement. You can just mention how you are spreading the word (twitter, facebook, blog post, etc.) in your comments.

Oh and please leave me a way to get in touch with you. Here's a picture of what I've gathered so far. I will be adding more as the month progresses and if I get over 50 comments I'll start another box. Woohoo, let the fun begin!!!

You're not going to believe this!

Ok, truly now, if any of you want to hop right over and rub my hand for good luck I'm home the rest of the weekend! Oh yeah, I WON AGAIN!!!! I got the message that I'd won an awesome Stampin Up stamp set from Holly and The Dog over at  Ink Paper Stamps while checking my mail on my cell phone in the car and let me tell ya, it's a good thing Mr. H was driving or I'd have gone off the road!!! We were on the way home and I promptly instructed him to stop at the next location that sells lottery tickets! Silly me made him come in with me because, well, I honestly don't know the first thing about buying lottery tickets. No really! Here is the lovely set that will be in my grateful hands soon. You've GOT to go give Holly and The Dog a shout out and enjoy her crafts. She's got some great tutorials if you're looking for inspiration!

Upcycled Envelope Mini Albums

Here's a sneak peak of what I've been working on the past couple of weeks. They are all made out of junk mail envelopes and decorative paper from my stash. No two are alike and they were a blast to make. There are more than what you see in the picture, but I'm having brain freeze about getting the flash to stay on while taking closeups. The one closeup is of a double-embossed cover that's made to look like leather. First it's embossed on the Cuttlebug, then with extra thick embossing enamel powder. What do you think? I saw a tutorial somewhere using this technique to make wallets and thought it would work equally well as an album cover.

Before the transformation

As you will see when you look at these pictures, my craft room is in dire need of a major overhaul. It used to be my den until my computer died and I took over, er, shared my husband's den so I could use his computer. It was around that same time that I got invited by a co-worker to go to a StampinUp open stamp night and well... the rest is history, or memories in the making as I like to say... That piled-under table under the window was out in my MIL's garage for years until we rescued it, still in the box unassembled. It measures about 26 x 30 with a sort of slate top, so is perfect for paper crafts. Of course that requires that all my junk isn't piled on top, but I had to relocate a few things in order to shoot some pics of my stamp storage to show someone.
The bookcases are packed full of assorted craft, cooking, health and other books, many of which have never been opened beyond the day I bought them. My plans are to donate or repurpose a bunch of them to free up space for craft supplies that aren't as heavy as the books which have caused slight bowing of the thin shelves. Oh, did you notice the Cricut Expressions to the right of my paper bin on the desk? My dh bought that for me after listening to me carry on about all I could do with it. Isn't he a dear!
Closer shot of the side desk. The wooden thing holding my stamp pads came from a church garage sale, only cost something like 25 cents and works great. There are shelves underneath that hold my small stamp container, punch container, various paper files, notebooks and two plastic stacking drawers holding more... you guessed it... PAPER!
Every crafter has to have her tv for background noise, right? The repurposed notebooks on the right hold most of my printed instructions for just about any craft you could think of. Yeah, I'm a pattern collector!
This is just way too embarassing, but hey, if you make a public commitment to change, it has to happen, right? That timer (yellow thing) is there so when I've got something going in another room (laundry or cooking) I can make it ding to remind me. On the right are a couple of my photo storage boxes that, unlike many craft rooms I've admired, are NOT matching. My style is more what some would call bohemian, ecclectic, shabby chic (?) or some other word. For now it's just pure trashy and needs to be fixed. I'd love to hear comments and suggestions and promise to keep you posted as I dive in to the transformation!