Gardening Bunnies

This is a scheduled post.  I don't know if you need to know that or not, but there you go.  But now I edited it before it went live so what does that make it--a semi-scheduled post?

Here is the very last photo I squeezed out of my camera before the Electronic Death Fairies carted it off to the netherworld.  This was a very difficult card to make as it just would not come together.  I tried this and I tried that and I swore at this and I carped at that.  Finally this was the end result.  I can't say that I was overly pleased by the result.

I worked on another bunny card after that and I didn't think I would get a chance to share it yet but it turns out there is a scanner in this house.  I don't quite know how to manipulate it but it gets the point across.  The paper I brought with me is by Die Cuts with a View (DCWV) and is called Lemon Flower. I love all the colors in this pack but some of the individual sheets of paper are stopping to make me think, like the one in the card below.

The Fine Print: Stamps by A Muse Studio Bunny Business, border punch by Fiskars, flower punches by EK Success, corner rounder by Marvy, flowers by Prima.

A Tale of Two Flowers

A Muse Studio has a new catalog that is going to be unveiled to the public on February 1st.  As a consultant we got to see a sneak peak of a select few new sets. One of them is called Charming Gardeners.  I wasn't really sure what I thought of it at first.

I liked the flowers in it and it has some nice sayings but they were not very A Muse-like and I think that is what threw me.  But now that I'm playing with them I'm really starting to like this set.  These are the cards I made with it.  The pink flowered one is still a work in progress.  I left the bottom of the card untacked so I can add in a bright pink ribbon (similar to the other card) once I get home.  I brought a limited selection with me and pink ribbon wasn't in the mix.

The Fine Print: ribbon and stamps by A Muse Studio Charming Gardeners and Friends Fur-Ever (greeting), patterned papers by DCWV, border punch by Fiskars.

Look Ma, No Stamping!

Do you sometimes feel that everyone is out to get you?  Yeah, me either.  But I do know that the Electronic Death Fairies snuck in and killed my camera this morning.  So instead of photos of my cards I will describe to you what they looked like.

They were made from cardstock and patterned paper in different colors and there was no stamping because this one paper had big flowers on it so I just cut out the flowers for the focal point and yeah, I punched some stuff too, and brads, with baker's twine, and there was adhesive involved and yeah...

This isn't working is it?

The Fine Print: papers by DCWV Lemon Flower stack, border punch by Martha Stewart, butterfly punch by EK Success, brads by A Muse Studio, bakers twine by We R Memory Keepers.  And no dissing my photos, they were made with a dying camera and this isn't my computer so who knows what photo editing software there might be if at all.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore...

...not that we were to start with.  I am now officially in the Land of Enchantment, or the Land of Entrapment depending on your point of view.  That's the Altered State of New Mexico for those of you who aren't sure what I'm talking about.

Since I'm not one to do nothing well, I did bring along a few play toys and my trusty camera.  I made this card for a swap.  The theme was to make a non-traditional Valentine's card featuring the color green.

The Fine Print: Frog stamp by Biblical Impressions, background paper by DCWV, ribbon by A Muse Studio, card base by Bazzill.

Put A Cork In It

This week's A Muse Studio challenge involved stamping on something that wasn't paper.  That puzzled me.  I'm not a stamping on metal, clay, or glass kind of person.  I vaguely considered stamping all over my arm and submitting that.  Then it came to me--cork!  I can not only stamp on it, I can heat emboss on it. 

I have to admit that my heart and soul aren't really into crafting this week.  I have so many other things going on.
The Fine Print: Stamp by Copperleaf Creations, heat embossed and colored in with chalks using a blender pen, cork by Magenta, background papers by unknow, fake brads by Candi.

A Bit of Floral

I'm continuing my Wonky Week.  I'll spare you the ugly details and instead share with you some cards I made awhile back.  I was in a bit of a floral spring mood at the time.

The Fine Print: Bouquet stamp and greeting by Hero Arts, window word punch by Stampin' Up, lace border by Martha Stewart.  Sunflowers stamp by Copper Leaf Creations, flower punch by EK Success.

Wonky Workdesk Wednesday

Here we are at Wednesday again.  It was a rough journey between last Wednesday and this.  I work at a school and that started last week.  Don't go thinking that because it is an institution of higher learning that I don't have wipe noses and hold hands.  Plus I had a toothache that I suffered through the week with.  Then the dentist (Monday) suggested a root canal with the specialist dentist (Tuesday).  The specialist dentist numbed up my face and mouth enough that one could have set off firecrackers in my mouth and I wouldn't have felt it.  The good news is the specialist dentist found out that I didn't need root canal afterall.  It was a cavity under a filling that had gotten larger, just so you don't go thinking I got drilled for no good reason.   I think that fixed the problem.  I can't say for sure just yet because I feel a bit battered about the mouth (Wednesday).  Also my father has been feeling very poorly lately so trip out of town is considered.   Yesterday he was been rallying, so we will see. 

Ultimately, what it comes down is a wonky feeling and this:

Yes! It's a desk with a glass on it!!  How awful is that?  I never drink from cups but it turns out when half your face is numb all you can do with a water bottle is dribble water all down your front.  And check it out, nothing new on the desk.  It has last week's doings on it--the caning punch and the card I made.

Here's a view of the left side of my desk so you can see something I dislike almost as much as drinking from cups--talking on the phone.  There have been lots of long distance (and local) calls lately too.  Hey, but I did actually create something!  A whole lot of somethings actually.  I made multiples of this ATC.  Don't show it to my stamp club members yet though; I hate to ruin their surprise.  They can see it this Saturday.

If I can stay put long enough I'd like to work on these next.  These are my latest issues of Quick Cards and the freebies that came with them.  I really would like to play with them and sit down and absorb the magazines.  So far all I have managed is a glance.

The Fine Print: Old fashioned telephone stamp by Club Scrap, cardstock by Bazzill, brads and background paper by Recollections, scallop punch by Fiskars.  The white scrap is ripped from a book I got for cheap from a library discard sale.  Really dumb book especially in the age of Google:  V.I.P. Address Book, More than 30,000 Addresses of the Powerful, Influential, and Famous.

Cards!

I made 'em!   Really, I don't have much else to say.  My face was numbed and drilled today.  I don't HAVE to say much else.

Hey, school started last week.

Cats in 'jamas, how cute!

Caution: could lick you to death

The Fine Print: Does not inlcude tax, title and registration fee.  This offer not valid on days ending in "Y."  Tree with tire swing and school stamps by A Muse Artstamps, Cat's pajamas by Hampton Art Stamps, Dog stamp by Stamps By Judith I think.  Other stuff involved by various manufacturors.

Have You Tried Sensodyne for That?

I woke up this morning being quite pleased that my tooth still hurts. I know that sounds odd, but how many times have you had an issue and when you went to deal with it you no longer had it?  You know, you have this twitch in your eye for 3 months and you finally make an appointment with the doctor.  Then on the day of the appointment you wake up and your eye is fine, "Look at me!  I'm the best eye on the planet!"  You go in to see the doctor anyway and he just looks at you like you are some sort of hypochondriac weirdo who is wasting his time.

I'm sure today will start with the dentist suggesting that I use Sensodyne toothpaste.  It is like a broken record with them.   Sensodyne must be paying them a fortune.  They recommend Sensodyne toothpaste for everything. In fact, you could get run over in their parking lot and the dentist would trot out, take one look at your internal organs strewn across the pavement and ask, "Have you tried Sensodyne for that?"

Snippet: RIP

Anyway, all the Sensodyne in the world will not bring back  my dead snippet.  My favorite snippet ever has been on my desk for several weeks.  It was an ornate scrollwork die cut.  I tried to incorporate it into several projects but it never worked out.  I hadn't yet gotten around to developing a project around it but I was starting to think in that direction what with the snippet challenge and all.  Unfortuantely, the fates intervened and Poppy pounced, trounced and played with my snippet until it had no more life.  And that my friend is my advice and inspiration to you today: use your snippets up in a timely manner before their time expires.



Back view of a snippet murderer and possible lookout accomplice

 The Fine Print: Ooh, yeah, I suppose I should apologize for the lack of anything worthwhile in this post, but as Santa once said, "They can't all be winners, kid."

Crafty Bargains

Ever heard that saying, "If you can't do something right; might as well do something wrong."  I swear my dad used to say that, which when you think about it sounds like terrible advice for a parent to give.  But really, it is excellent advice.  How many people do you know who sit frozen in time in a bad situation because they cannot come to a decision?  Doing something even if it turns out to be the wrong thing is better than doing nothing at all.

So I decided that even though crafting made me irritable yesterday I would get back in the saddle and do it again today.  I even told myself that I would post whatever I made, even it looked like a squirrel hooked on crack made it (but if it looked like a poodle on barbituites made it; that was another story....).

No squirrels or poodles were harmed in the making of this card.

Actually card making was easy today because I opted to play in this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  This week's challenge is called Crafty Bargains and you are to make a PB card showcasing any bargains you may have picked up in the shops during the after the holiday sales.  For me, that meant dusting off the stamp I used for the first PB challenge I ever joined. I bought this stamp, the patterned paper, and the cardstock at a local scrapbook store all at 50% off.  The sad thing of tale is that it was not an after the holidays, clear the inventory sale.   It was a going out of business sale.  Yesterday was the store's last day.  I am rather distraught over it.  I wonder if I can get bereavment leave from work?

The Fine Print: stamp by Penny Black, patterned papers by Jillibean, cardstock by Bazzill, heart brads by Recollections, scallop border punch by Fiskars.

I Dunno Really

Last night I sat down at my desk, flush with excitement, to play.  Then suddenly it dawned on me that I didn't know what to play with!  I still have Valentine's stuff lying around.  I have a new not-yet-released-to-the-public A Muse Studio stamp set to play with.  The December Club Scrap stuff is back in the box I put it in even thought it isn't finshed off yet.  I got the latest Quick Cards magazine in the mail and that inspired me.  The new Quick Cards came with a fun package of patterned paper and I wanted to use.  I have a couple of swap cards I could work on.  I remembered where the motherlode of snippets were at and think of the fun I could have with those!  And oh yeah, I need to work on ATCs for next weekend....

So instead of doing any of those things, I dithered about moving this and that around.  The end result was a big fat bunch of clutter on my desk.   I finally made a few more Aurora Borealis cards (that's the name of the Club Scrap kit in question).  I think I've had my fill of that kit and my trying to squeeze more out of it is killing my creativity again today.

So enjoy what I have here but stay tuned for whatever may come on the next episode of Blog This!

The Fine Print: Pine Tree die by Sizzix, wolf stamp by A Muse Artstamps, tiny silver brads by Recollections, gold ribbon by unknown, all other things Club Scrap.

Snippety Do Dah

Step right up, folks!  We've got your snippets right here! I don't have a lot of words for you today, but I do have a couple of cards to share.  I decided to play with the small stash of left over odds and ends (snippets, y'all) on my desk.  I recently purged my stash so that is why I didn't have a large variety.  However, later I realized that I have snips and bits, odds and ends, doos and dads all over the place; I just have to poke around to find them.  I think I did well with the bits I had handy though.

The Fine Print: Lumpy circle and open flower punches by EK Success, unknown small flower punch, leaf punch by Punch Bunch. Milkshake stamp by A Muse Studio, greeting by Hero Arts, scallop lace heart punch by Martha, red and white papers by DCWV, checkerboard paper by K and Co.

A Snippet-less Existence

Sorry, no snippets today!  I truly had planned to play with them this past evening but opted to not play with crafty stuff at all.  No, I'm not hospitalized today; just some days are like that.

Remember earlier this week when I mentioned that I got out the October Club Scrap kit but opted not to play with it?  Yeah, me either.  Anyway, I also got out the December kit and did play with that.  After I made a few cards, I tucked the remains back into a box and that might prove to be the kiss of death as it might fall off my radar and then I'll never get back to it (or I'll get back to it this time next year...).  I am trying to be better about that stuff, but you know, I have snippets to play with!  And new stuff from A Muse Studio!

 

The Fine Print: Card bases, mats, paper elements, and scenic stamp from Club Scrap "Aurora Borealis," circles and dots stamp by Stampin' Up, flowers and weeds stamp by Club Scrap (some previous kit), border punch by Martha Stewart, and ribbon from my stash.

Wild and Wacky Workdesk Wednesday

I'm going to go backwards this time (so I can be wild and wacky) and starting with the project I worked on.  Many asked to see my new caning pattern anywhere punch in action and so I finally put together a card to show it off:

And here's the desk where it was created at.  I shot the photo at a different angel this time (wild and wacky, ya know).  I realize my desk looks rather staged, but it isn't.  I tidied it up this past weekend and so far have kept it that way.  The caning punch has been on my desk as a reminder to use it.  It is true that I propped up the card for this shot but the rest is as it was.  You can see a roll of my new Tim Holtz tissue tape.  I got a packet of two rolls, one has music bars and the other is newsprint.  I think it will be fun to play with.  You can also see my new Martha border punch called four petal eyelet.  Stuff is still stacked up for Valentine card making.

Here's a wide view.  See, still stuff piled underneath the desk. Don't expect that to change.  Probably, ever.

I'm rather proud of this nest photo as I cleaned off the table top and the little cabinet next to it.  I even poked around in that big white basket that I never touch to see what was in it.  I have no clue what to do with the stuff in it.  There are two Papertrey Ink sets, a box of DCWV pre-printed card bases (autumn themed), a ribbon iron (that I use often), several of the freebies from the UK crafting magazines, and many, many plastic baggies of left over project bits from when I taught classes at my stamp club.  Most of it has places it could go, but ick, it sounds like work to get it there.

I was invited to check out this Snippet Challenge and I just might participate in it.  I often have left over tids and bits from crafting. I tend to stack them up on the top part of my desk.  I don't go back through them very often and that challenge will help with that.  Lately I've been throwing my snippets in a box and sending them to a friend.  Here are my snippets.

Edited to add: Oh hey, I'm terrible at remembering to tell you if you want to snoop around some other people's desk or see what What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is all about go HERE to Julia's blog, Stamping Ground.

The Fine Print: Caning Pattern punch by Martha, cherry ribbon by A Muse Studio, heart die cuts by Spellbinders, With Love by Penny Black.

Old School Valentine's

Okay, probably I shouldn't name my blog post that because everyone will think I'm making and sharing vintage Valentine's cards.  I wish I had that kind of talent (and supplies), but what I really meant is I was breaking out my oldie but goodie wood mounted A Muse Artstamp stamps for their latest challenge.  This week's challenge is to create a love or Valentine's themed card.  I got carried away and made TWO of them.  Here ya go:

The Fine Print: heart bling, bubblegum polka dot ribbon, and all stamps by A Muse.  Ruffle-edged scissors and wave punch by Fiskars.  Background papers probably by DCWV.  Probably.

I Have a Dream! and some inspiration...

Dr. King had a dream and he did pretty good seeing it come to life.  Y'all better hope my dreams don't come true because I have some of weirdest, messed up dreams you can imagine.  Although some of them aren't too bad, like dreaming about DeNami stamps (see my January 7th post) but in last night's dream there were tons of people waiting in lines to get into the school for testing (see, just reading that made you anxious).

This week's Penny Black Challenge is anything goes as long as it has a Penny Black product on it.   That is pretty wide open so I decided on this cute little guy who looks like he is about to have sweet dreams.

And for Inspire Me Monday I'm still just puttering along using card kits these days, as part of the Use It Up campaign.  I am finding they are good to break out with when I'm not really sure what I want to work on.  This morning I opened up an the Club Scrap stamp kit from October, cut up the unmounted stamps, painted the back of them with Mount It glue (tacks over and over), and pawed through the kit.  Since it is fall colors I won't play with it right now because I'm not in the mood for fall colors.  I think one thing about the UIU campaign is that it is okay to switch direction.

Say your UIU goal is to use up your ribbon.  You don't have to put ribbon on every card and project that you make from here on out.  For one thing, not every project or card lends itself to ribbon.  For another, you'll drive yourself batty trying to plan ribbon into everything.  You'll probably feel resentful that you have to use ribbon on everything.  You'll be sad that you limited yourself.  You'll find yourself eyeballing ribbon sales because "I use ribbon on everything now" and you might even run out and buy just the exact ribbon you need for a project because you lost sight of the goal to Use It Up.  So switch it up!  Keep your ribbon on your radar so you can use it when your project would benefit from ribbon, but don't be afraid to use up your paper scraps, your brads, your eyelets, your stickers, your whatever too.  I think you'll be happier.  I know I was relieved when I told myself that October's kit could go back on the shelf until another time.  And now I'll be able to break it out and play with it straight away since the stamps are already cut and sticky.  That said, my pondering what to write for insiration inspried this last card.  Plenty of ribbon in this house...!

The Fine Print: Penny Black "Nap Time" stamp, background paper by unknown, Navy ribbon by Offray, colored in Copics.  Cloud paper, kite and greeing by A Muse Studio "Vintage A Muse," card base by Bazzill, scrap ribbon and Marvy punches.