Welcome to the 143rd WOYWW

WOYWW = What's on Your Workdesk Wednesay--a crazily addictive blog wherein a bunch of zany crafters share their work spaces, warts and all.  You can visit Stamping Ground to meet our wonderful hostess, Julia Dunnit, and see what all the fuss is about.  Here's a fine example below, my desk!

 I went for a wider view this time so you can see more.  Starting on the left is a tall stack of Iris carts that holds frequently used items, or rather what used to be frequently used items.  I suppose one of these days I should reorganize that to make it be more useful.  I use the top two drawers a lot-decorative scissors and my Marvy ink pads & Sticklers.

On top of that is a hodge podge of card bases.  In front of that is a plastic bin of random kits.  They used to be in various baggies but I have a plastic bag eating cat now.  The flowered plastic shoebox is my travel box of supplies.  The box of plastic bins has solid colored cardstock pieces sorted by color.  I access those a lot.

You can see all the different organizational bins on top of my desk.  All sorts of things are in them--cat eye inkpads, Marvy markers, bulky paper flowers, decorative tape, staples, ribbon charms, scrapper's floss, shaped paperclips, my stash of snippets, sponges, water brushes and blender pens, my mini anvil for eyelet setting, my giant double-stick tape tape dispenser.  The purple squirt bottle is to clean stamps and keep cats in control.  There is a desk organizer with scissors, rulers, paper piercers, and the like as well as a built-in tape dispenser.

The black cart to the right of my desk has a basket of ribbons and random projects on top of it.  In it is ribbons, stickers, dimensional stickers, more ribbons, bling and pearls, embossing powder, a tag maker and other more light weight things.  The pile in front of that is my latest Club Scrap boxes with some magazines, catalogs and papers mixed in with my new Stampin' Up purchases and a border punch I used.  Things I'm working on or with often end up right there in a pile.

There is the usual assortment of stuff UNDER my desk.  There is the usual random stuff ON my desk.  One of the side shelves (I call them cutting boards but would slaughter anyone who cut into them) is opened up and has a box of pink and red embellishments on it with a House Mouse Card on top.  I love, love, LOVE those cutting boards that I can pull out for added space and push in when not needed.

On my desk is a project I abandoned for the evening.  I wanted to make a cute card with a fairy stamp from this set of stamps I got free in a magazine a long time ago. You see as far as I got.  There are left over pink papers from my House Mouse card, some circular die cuts, new pom pom ribbon from Stampin' Up, tapestry needles that I just found to repair the burgandy colored strap that's barely peeking into the photo.  In the upper right corner you can see my stack of new stamps that are waiting for me to use them.

That's it for Wednesday's post.  Stay tuned tomorrow when I'll give you an up close and personal look at that HM card and maybe I'll have a fair card for you... and who knows what else!

Coffee, Tea, or Valium-laced Diet Pepsi?

How come stewards and stewardesses don't offer useful refreshments like that?  Or maybe they do, not being one to travel places I can't say I've been on a plane in this decade.

Here's my latest creation made for a coffee or tea swap.  Since I'm not a coffee or tea person (so boring, I know!) I had to poke around to see some other versions of this stamp in use to determine if there should be some sort of frothy topping on this cup or not.  My plan had been just to have the cup and saying on a layered rectangular piece but then I let the latest A Muse Studio catalog and inspiration guide inspired me to put it on a tag instead. Since the ribbon was so wide I opted to not put a knot it in, but to tack it down with a glue.  I really like how this card came out.

The Fine Print: Stamps by A Muse Studio "The Perfect Blend" set, scallop border and round tag die, green cs layer and ribbon "Rialto" by A Muse Studio, and patterned paper by DCWV "Tradewinds."

It's in the Bag

Whaddya know?!  Here's another day and I failed to plan ahead to have stuff to show you.  Luckily I have my stash of things from the past.  I recently shared this paper bag book with an on-line stamp club since we're planning a paper bag book swap.  This PB book has such an inspiring history that I thought I'd share the book and the story with you.

Front Cover

I'd often heard of this stamp club that met in my town but never could pin down where or when it met.  I started suspecting that there was a secret handshake or a code word and without those, you were not worthy to enter.  Then one day while at a card class at a local store (long since closed) a lovely lady invited me to this stamp club.  I was excited.  I was finally in!

First two pages

At my first meeting, I was pleasantly surprised at how many of the ladies I already knew from the stamp stores, classes, and local crafting gigs.  One lady stood up and announced she would be teaching a free paper bag book class at the next meeting.  That really cemented it for me, I would be coming back!  She showed a sample and told us to bring a stapler, adhesive and scissors.  I was so tickled.  I'd had such a great time at this group and now I had this great project to look forward to next month!

Inserts between the pages (put in the sack opening)

Even though we were told we didn't need anything beyond scissors, glue and the stapler, I learned from that first meeting that it wasn't a bad idea to bring some other stuff along for the project.  I gathered up some ribbon, stickers, brads, and flower punches.  I was so excited! A paper bag book class!

Next two pages

The meeting came and true to her word, the lady did a PB book class.  We all got two white lunch sacks (white! we ranked WHITE bags!) and a selection of papers, ribbons, die cuts, and doo dads to put our book together with. 

Next inserts

The ladies in the group and I had so much fun!  I was asked repeatedly how I knew "what else" to bring and I said I just guessed based on the sample we had been showed. I shared my goodies with my new friends and again, great times were had by all.

Third page spread

One thing I've learned about myself is that if I don't finish a project in class I need to finish it up as soon as I get home otherwise it will never get done.  But this project got completed in class! Folks hung out and played even after the official meeting ended.  It was such an enjoyable time. I joined the club and became a faithful member, minus the time there was a confusion about what date we met.

The back cover

One thing lead to another and eventually the group leader decided to step down.  She asked someone she felt had the energy, the competence and the insanity to keep it running.  That person was me.  I was truly honored but did insist on an equally competent, energetic and insane co-captain.  The group is both a joy and a pain to me (probably like children).  I always try to remember the thrill and excitement of my first few meetings and the projects we made and hope I can give that to the members. 

Whew, all that from a couple of lunch sacks!  Who have thunk!?!

The Fine Print: Extreme kudos to Dianne D'Arriel for showing me the secret handshake and giving me the code word.  Special thanks go out to Peggy Nelson for her generosity and talent and teaching me the thrill the paper bags.  A shout out to Malana Corn and I hope you still think I'm worthy to fill your shoes. Huge, huge thanks to Cathy Gray for agreeing to be my partner in crime in this venture.  And to all the ladies and gentlemen who make up SALSA it couldn't happen without all of you!

Pretty as a Peacock

I enjoyed playing with my new Peacock set yesterday so much so that I had a go with it again today.  I wanted another bright and cheery card.  I enjoy putting all the pieces of bling all over his tailfeathers.  I wanted a nice peacock colored ribbon for this card but didn't have what I was looking for.  Since I was headed out to the craft store anyway I looked there and found this stuff.  The scan completely dulled it out but trust me, it is a brilliant and sparkly blue and looks great with all the bling.

I know these fancy peacocks are dude peacocks because lady peacocks aren't that flashy, but to me this peacock looks a little girly.  It could just be that this dude peacock is comfortable with his feminine side and can wear pink.

I used my Spica glitter pen and crystal dimensional stuff instead of bling for this card.  I used used a piece of black patterned paper from the supercool black and white paper pad I picked up at the craft store.  I also got a pad of paper called Pretty as a Peacock.  You can bet I'll be digging into that soon.  Oh yeah, if you're part of that "Use It Up" crowd, just shush!  I promised to use up adhesives and stickers.  I just can't sign on for a paper moratorium. 

The Fine Print: Peacock stamps by Hero Arts "Beautiful Peacocks" set, green DP by unknown (it's shiny with the leaves embossed!), black DP by Recollections, circle, scallop circle, and scallop square by Spellbinders, pink and blue ribbon by Michaels, Glossy Accents by Ranger.

A Bright and Cheerful Day

I had a great day today.  I had my stamp club meeting and it was great to see all my creative pals and find out what everyone has been up to.  Lots of ideas and art were shared and that put me in a bright and cheerful mood.  To celebrate that, here is a bright and cheerful card with lots of bling.  I thought it was about time I break out one of my Valentine's presents and try it out.  I can see that this peacock set is going to be lots of fun.  I've kind of worn myself out now.  I'm still cranking the antibiotics and I think that means I'm allowed extra rest times.  I think I'll channel my inner cat and take another nap or two.

The fine print: Stamps by Hero Arts "Beautiful Peacocks" set, bling by Recollections and Hero Arts, scallop border punch by Fiskars.

Exchange Art

I've bee really busy all day today doing this and that and while it is crafting related, it didn't produce much to share.  Here are the ATCs I made for an exchange at my stamp club tomorrow.  The theme was Flying.  I opted to be inspired by a plaque on my Dad's wall that I looked at quite a bit in his last few days.  My Dad always wanted to fly and got to do so as a navigator in the US Air Force.

I also managed to pop out this card for our card exchange.  The theme is fruits and vegetables, or anyway, it was on my list from a few months ago. I know there have been some changes, but no one corrected me when I tossed fruits and veggies out as this month's theme, so I'm guessing that isn't one of the changes.



The Fine Print: Cloud paper by Doodlebug Design Inc., saying computer generated, punches by Stampin Up, airplain embellishments by Jolees.  Berry Special stamp by Studio G, punches by Marvy, scallop border by A Muse Studio, papers by DCWV.

Pearls & Lace? In Yer Face!

Looking for my A Muse card?  Keep reading!

 
This week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge (#189) was to use pearls and lace on your card.  After I read that, my brain kept going to the quote about how we should not cast pearls before swine.  That got me thinking how my swine were more refined than the average swine and would very much appreciate pearls.  And indeed they do:

Keeping with the pearls and lace theme (maybe tulle isn't really considered lace, but work with me here),  I made a card for the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog challenge called Look What's New, featuring something new.  This is from a new stamp set from the new catalog and until today, the packet of pearls was unopened and that is just like new!  Her tutu is squashed flat for the scan, but it actually quite puffy.

I had fun making both these cards and I hope you enjoyed them.  It is amazing how a packet of antibiotics can bring the lost crafting mojo out of hiding.  If you've lost your mojo, I highly recommend looking up your nostrils for an infection sucking the life out of you!

The Fine Print: Spring pigs stamp by Penny Black "Pinky and Porky," script stamp by Tin Can Mail, background paper by Recollections, Linked Trim punch by Martha Stewart, lace ribbon by Stampin Up, large scallop rectangle die by Spellbinders, Pearls by A Muse Studio.  

Ballerina by A Muse Studio "Under the Big Top," greeting stamp also by A|S "Friends Fur-Ever," purple and background paper by unknown, 1/2 " circle punch by Stampin Up, big scallop die, eucalyptus paper, Spica glitter pen, and pearls by A Muse Studio.

Workdesk Wedneday #142--My Big Dirty "Secret"

Last night I kept pestering the cat to go make a card for me and take some pictures of my desk.  The cat, in true cat form, didn't even twitch an ear.  My husband though, must have gotten tired of hearing me as he went and photographed the desk:

He did not, however, make me a card.  What he did do though, is after I told him that I had done something to the camera to make the photos really HUGE file size-wise, is sit around and fiddle with the camera to figure out how to make the pictures normal sized again.  In the process he snapped this photo, which really shows my true crafting colors:

That, my friends, is my living room.  The lower right hand corner shows a cart with a basket of ribbon on it.  My desk is right next to that.  If I were sitting at my desk I would be facing you, the picture taker.  If you, the picture taker kept stepping to your right alongside the back of my desk you would reach our front door.  Yep, when you come into my house, this is what you see.  I always tell people, "If the mess bothers you, feel free to pick it up."  I've had no takers.  It is extra disastrous with stuff heaped on that gold chair, the table, my stool, and the little cart next to it.  Those don't usually exist, or if they show up I pick them up fairly soon after.  But not only have I had no crafting mojo, I have no cleaning mojo.  I just found out I have a sinus infection, so that might explain my lack of will to live. 

Anyway....the heaps on the fireplace hearth.... they've been there for a long time (great insulation, btw).  To the left of fireplace you see a stack of plastic containers filled with paper.  That is my mythical 8-foot stack of paper.  Truly, it is only 4-feet there, but I can pile up a second one with ease.  To the left of the 8-foot stack is the hamster cage on a table with magazines and Club Scrap boxes underneath.  You can see my rolly traveling craft cart, next to that a cat tent that they often fight over.  The gold chair has 2 Club Scrap boxes (one empty), a bag of goodies from Joann's, and a box with my Valentine's presents.  The table has my Cuttlebug, newer Big Shot, the paper cutter, and an assortment of papers, stamps, and assorting crafting crud.  The bookshelf behind it is filled with books with crafting stuff in front of it.  You can see stacks of punches, big lever punches, jars of paper flowers, a basket of more paper flowers and random stuff, and a box of envelopes.  The next bookshelf over is filled with Iris 3-drawer bins.  All the upper bins have stamps, one of the lower bins also has 12x12 paper.  At one point in my life, I would rotate my frequently used stamps into these bins.  I have a closet with the tall Iris carts in them full of stamps too, and the not so frequently used stamps were in there.  I don't bother with that anymore.  Between that black bookshelf and the smaller cart (with the red piece of paper on top) is a pile of Club Scrap boxes filled with craft stuff and several plastic snap together bins of embellishments.  Never fear, there is enough room to walk there and to scoop the 2 covered cat litter boxes in the corner (you can see one in the photo, the other one is right next to it).  That wall you see is 23-feet long, so you can get a feel for the size of the room (23x20).  The ceiling is 10-feet high, hence the heater as one of the walls is almost all windows.  Our house stays chilled which is awesome in the summer when it is 100+ degrees, not so happy in the winter.



So that is my dirty little secret, which never really was a secret, but I just never thought to show it off in all its glory before.  My mom says it is a sign of an illness. 

Here is the card I made because the cat refused to.  It could almost qualify for a snippets card because it was made mostly from things I had lying around. 

The Fine Print: Stamp by DeNami Design, papers by unknown (by not DCWV), border punch by Stampin' Up, florish die cut by Quick Cuts.

Happy Party Gras!

Dude!

Try not to over indulge on crunchies today!

Then again, we all deserve a day sprinkled with fun.  So get your best buddy...

...or two

And have a grand day!

The Fine Print: Can you tell I opted to eat Cheetos and watch "Hoarders" instead of craft?  Cupcake stamps by Hero Arts, circle and scallop punches by Marvy, papers by unknown.

Penguin Power!

I haven't come up with any good ideas, or even any bad ideas for this crazy bright piece of designer paper yet.

I also have all those lovely new stamps that I haven't played with yet.  Never fear, I did take them out and caress and croon to them several times during the day, so they wouldn't get lonely.

I did pull out a very old stamp set to play with!  The actual purpose of this card was to check out the new A Muse Studio chevron print ribbon in action. I had the unopened spool on my desk and inquiring minds were inquiring about it.  I noted it was wider than I was expecting.  It is about 3/4" wide.  It lives up to the great a|s quality in that it is soft and supple and easy to use.  This one is Bermuda.  It is also available in lime and orange. It's going to be a fun one.

The Fine Print: bright DP paper still by DCWV, hula penguin by Stampin Up, bermuda chevron ribbon by A Muse Studio, oval and scallop oval punches by Marvy, papers by DCWV, flowers by Prima, teeny brad by unknown (but I wish I knew as they are so much fun!)

Marti Gras

It is almost time for a little Marti Gras madness and to celebrate here is my card for the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog.  Yeeaaah... I realize that there isn't any a|s stuff in this card, but that's okay.  Sometimes that just happens.  No trust me, they are all right with it.  They would prefer I used it but they won't take me out in the desert and shoot me like a rabid dog because I didn't.  They are really quite an agreeable bunch at the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog, click HERE to check them out, and what the heck, maybe even play along sometime!

Wait!  I lied!  There is something by A Muse Studio in this card--the large scallop die!  Woot!  I ROCK!  That large scallop die is da bomb!  It comes in a package with two other size scallop borders and it is 6 inches long so you can make a border for the long side of an A2 card with ease.

Also, I want to show you that my new mice from yesterday look so much better with bright happy colors!  See!

Now that I've been pried away from the brown dreary cardstock, perhaps you can tell me what to do with this crazy piece of bright fun cardstock.  It was in a package of spring brights and I'm dying to use it, but I'm not sure how yet.  I'm open to suggestions.  You can't tell it in the scan but the pink parts are glittered.  This is a 4.5" x 6" piece so probably I'll trim it down to an A2 size.

The Fine Print: Harlequin stamp by Judikins, glitter brads by unknown, polka dot paper by Bazzill, Valerian Flourish die by Memory Box, large scallop die by A Muse Studio.  Mouse stamp by Stampabilities, thanks greeting by Hero Arts, large scallop die and brown ribbon by A Muse Studio, fancy square punch by McGill, papers by DCWV.  Bright paper piece by DCWV.

A Mouse! In my House!

HMFMC #113
Yesterday I pulled out my toys and made this card for the House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge.  The theme is Make Wishes Come True and you were to make a project that fits that theme and of course, uses a House Mouse or one their friends (those rabbits or bears).  I had a lot of fun making this card.  If it were me, my wish would be for some guacamole to go with those jalepinos!

HMFM #113 Make Wishes Come True

With that, I thought my mojo was back.  I was a little bummed that I couldn't use one of my brand spanking new House Mouse stamps for this challenge.  That was okay because Saturday was a new day and we can play with the new stamps then!  After all, my mojo was back!

What a lying, sneaking, no-goodnik that mojo is.  It snuck off again in the night leaving me making these sad and dreary cards with my new stamps.  Okay, maybe they aren't horrible, but they are just aren't doing it for me.

Soemone needs to hide the dark papers from me and see what kinds of bright and cheerful things I can make. Surely that mojo of mine couldn't have snuck off too far!

The Fine Print: Jalepino stamp by Stampa Rosa, Birthday wishes circle by DeNami Designs, candle by Stampin' Up, 1" circle punch by EK Success, larger circle by Marvy, mid-size scallop circle by Stampin' Up, larger scallop circle by Marvy, card base by We R Memory Keepers "Urban Window."  Mending stamp by Stampabilities, papers by DCWV "Tradewinds", 1" circle punch by EK Sucess, ribbon by A Muse Studio.  Read stamp by Stampabilities, papers by Paper Stuido, stickers by Stick-O.

Skating on Thin Ice

It is much to much too cold in these parts for this lizard girl.  I know my friends who live in colder climates always like to ask, "Well, how cold is that?"  The answer is 52 F.  Anything under 80 makes me whine.  I traded in my blood for salsa a long time ago.  Anyway, the colder temps put me in the right frame of mind for the latest swap card I made.  The theme is winter sports. Since my mojo is still on the fritz I had a bit of struggle with this card as well, but not as much as yesterday's card.  My biggest issue with this card was adhering the ribbon much lower on the card than I intended, leaving off a scalloped piece all together and deciding what color of snowflakes I wanted.  It all worked out in the end and that is what counts.  I'm starting to get a little spark of interest in my new stamps so maybe the mojo is working his way back home.  That would be awesome!

The Fine Print: skate stamp by A Muse Artstamps, circle and scallop circle punches by Marvy, snowflake punches by Martha Stewart, ribbon by DeNami, all papers except the card base by Basic Grey.

A Card and A Major Award (Nothing Fra-gee-ley here!)

 Lookie, lookie!  I actually made a card.  It was rather out of desperation that  it came to be.  I needed a card for a swap so mojo or no, I made this card.  Like all cards that are made when the mood isn't right, this one was a real bear.  This isn't the image I wanted to use (remember, the Penny Black hedgehogs with balloons on my desk from yesterday? yeah, that's the image).  Originally I wanted to make the balloons glittered and started having delusions about heat and stick embossing powder and glitter, but then my senses came to.  I figure if I can barely emboss at the best of times I probably shouldn't attempt it at the worst of times.  Then it took forever to decide on the right background paper.  I keep telling myself to incorporate more layers and punches and pizzazz to my cards and that's how the punched border piece with ribbon came to be.  After I stuck that on there wasn't room for the hedgehogs anymore so it was off to find a new image.  I hemmed and hawed over several different ones before settling on this one. I  cut out the mice which eliminated the little hearts around them and left the background to wide open.  So it was fiddle with this and fuddle with that and the punched heart came into being. I was still stuck on wanting a glittered accent on this card somehow and tried various renditions of glittered hearts around the mice.  None of them looked right. Pink puffy heart stickers didn't look right, very detailed embellished heart stickers didn't look right, big pink heart brads didn't look right, little pink heart brads, white heart brads, whimsical heart punches.... nope, nope, nope.  Finally I found these enameled looking red heart brads and finally, the card was finished.  Whew.

Since I have your attention (well, for those of you still reading, I know some of you have wandered off by now).  I was very touched to receive two nominations for the Liebster Blog recently from Lunch Lady Jan and Cindy. Oh my gosh! Thanks so much! It was so cool to get nominated and recognized.  I'm very tickled.

So, for my part of the bargain, I have to nominate five of my favorite up and coming blogs that have fewer than 200 followers. That was truly a hard choice and I feel bad about some of the ones I didn't mention.  Here are 5 in no particular order:

1. 505 Whimsy Girl What can I say?  She takes great pictures, makes lots of cards, and often has a bigger mess on my desk than I do--all things to love.  Plus the "505" always makes me think of yummy salsa, and that makes me happy.

2. Linda AKA Blue Summer House Design Okay, I confess that I only just discovered her blog and spent quite a bit of time reading post after post.  She makes and shares lots of great cards that I find to be very inspiring.  I plan to be a regular visitor.

3. Ally Cat Cards  Again, she makes and shares awesome cards, lots of bright cheery designs that make me want to get out my stamp stuff and play.

4. I SPI (stamps paper ink) She makes the best cards with the most scrumptious paper.  This blog encourages me to cut up and use the "good" paper and just enjoy.

5. The Bloggess She's not crafty (well, not the way we are) and she's got way more than 200 followers, in fact she has a whole fan club, but dang it all, when I need laugh, a giggle, or divine inspiration, I go here.  Bring tissues, you'll laugh until tears come out of your eyes.... um, as long as you have a warped sense of humor that is.  And you must, cuz you're here!

And a bonus referral:

6. Simplicity I couldn't nominate Susan because of her having more than 200 followers, but I would be remiss in leaving her out of any blog listing.  Hers was the first blog I checked all the time, waiting anxiously for the next post.  Her style is CAS and often one-layed.  Neither are me, but I find her blog so motivational.

The Fine Print: Mice stamp by Penny Black, background paper and brads by unknown, large heart punch by Marvy, heart border punch by Martha Stewart, ribbon from Michaels.

WOYWW--Workdesk Wednesday The February 15th Edition

I know I have been a lady of few words lately and since Workdesk Wednesday has so many people partaking these days I'll try to keep it that way today.  What is Workdesk Wednesday, you ask?  What, have you been living in a hole in the ground (sans internet)? I ask back.  WW is a chance to visit a whole slew of different workdesks and see what they look like and what folks are up to.  Here's my desk:

It has a big pile of stuff on the left that is mostly sympathy cards, mixed in with some Valentine's Day cards and probably a few bills (how tedious).  There are also some of the cards I've shown on this blog in the pile too.  What there isn't is anything new.  I just don't have it in me to create anything.  There is a Penny Black hedgehog stamp is front center that I got out to make a swap card but I just can't do anything with it.  My creativity has just curled up into a little ball and won't come out to play.  Quite a bummer too because I have these to play with:

These stamps are Valentine's presents from my loved one.  No, my husband, not the cat.  I love Penny Black and that is a fun stamp, I wanted those Hero Art peacocks for awhile now and the cat set is just funky!  I'm quite excited to have them but still the creativity stays curled up.  I'm good at making messes though.  Here's my table:

Lots of stuff there, some more Penny Black stamps, A Muse Studio stamps, and my new long plates for my Big Shot still in the package!  Wake up, creativity!  Wake up!  Nope, only thing that woke up was the cat:

Do these pictures seem slightly kind of out of focus to you or are my eyes tired?  This is a new camera, not quite as point-and-shoot-y as the old one.  Might have to make techy man fiddle with it more.

Happy VD and HB AZ!

Happy 100th Birthday to You, State of Arizona!

And Happy Valentine's Day to the rest of you.

 

The Fine Print: There is no truth to the rumor that the new Arizona State Motto is "Thank God for Arkansas!"  Birthday card stamps, papers and punches by Stampin' Up.  Pucker Up card stamps by A Muse Artstamps, Spellbinders die, and Cuttlebug embossing folder.  When Pigs Fly card stamp by Penny Black.  Stuck on Your Card stamps, paper and ribbon by A Muse Artstamps/Studio.

Adventurers

Dah-link!  Let's not be adventurers and say we did.  Let's say at home and watch the telly.  Deal?  I've had enough traveling for now, but I did feel adventurous enough to use my new a|s stamp set.  I think to get the most out of this set, one needs to be open to craziness, like coloring the Eiffel Tower pink or the Taj Mahal purple.  Although I have to say using subdued colors worked for this card to showcase the fabulous new designer paper I have.  It is quite bright and the Venetian pattern can be over-whelming in large doses.  It will be fun to play with though.  I have just the sampler set with a few sheets of each color but I can see that I'll be needing more of it!

The Fine Print: Stamps, papers and scallop die cut by A Muse Studio "Let's be Adventurers" stamp set, venetian pattern paper "Bellini," and ribbon from Michael's.  That's all she wrote, today.

A Challenging Day

No, no, today wasn't challenging as in a glue-yourself-to-your-desk kind of day.  It was all about stamping challenges!  Since my creative mojo is kind of whack-o, I decided I would let some challenges tell me what to work on.  And no, I didn't make one card and try to see how many challenges I could stuff it into.  I made a card each for some of my favorite challenges.

Penny Black Satruday Challenge-See Here
The latest challenge was called Love and Kisses.  You really should check out the link and oogle all the wonderful entries.  Here is my card, sweet and simple.  I really wanted to use these tiny puzzle pieces I have on this card, but erm... I don't really know where they are right now.  You can't tell by this scan that I colored in the puzzle and piece with my red Spica glitter pen. I think that really pulls the card together.  I also had a chance to use my Dymo label maker.  Wow, I never remember I have that thing.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge-See here
I just barely squeaked in (get it? squeaked? mice?!) on this week's challenge.  The theme was Love and your project was to use more than one heart.  For some reason I had it in my head that we had to use 3 hearts, so you'll see my two heart brads and my one heart sticker on my card below.  This is an old favorite stamp of mine.  I had to have it as soon as I saw it.  It was the wreath that did it for me.  The base card is A Muse Studio shimmer paper.  I'm really grooving on that stuff and now they sell it in a sampler pack so you can get a couple of sheets of all the colors.

HM Challenge Card

Saint Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge-See here
Come by the snippet playground and join in the fun.  Pixie's challenge is to use up the odds and ends, bits and bobs, this and thats that end up on your crafting desk.  At first I thought I had no snippets but then I remember that I was merely the victim of a picked up desk.  I had snippets stashed out of sight, plus more snippets from a friend.  However, I opted for the left over snippets from when I cut up a 12x12 paper in the one sheet wonder style.  I was rather disappointed in the 12x12 version, preferring the 8.5x11 version, and perhaps that is why I never finished off the little pieces.

Snippet Challenge

Sorry, I skipped out on the A Muse Studio challenge this week guys, but it involved heat embossing and even though that is my most favoriest technique in all the planet I had to pass.  It just wasn't fair to the other contestants.   *giggle*snort*

The Fine Print: Hedgehogs by Penny Black "Without You," heart border punch by Martha Stewart, glitter pen by At You Spica, label by Dymo, background paper by All My Memories, card base by A Muse Studio (cuz it's white on one side!).  House Mouse by Stampa Rosa "Wreath Love," greeting by Hero Arts, scallop punch and deckle edge scissors by Fiskars, heart brads by Recollections, patterned paper by DCWV, card base by A Muse Studio Shimmer Couture.  Snippet card greeting by Hero Arts, scallop border by EK Success, glitter paper by DCWV, heart die by Spellbinders, patterned paper by unknown.

Some Days You're the Statue, Some Days You're the Bird

I'm definitely not flying high today.  I started out my crafting day breaking out my January Club Scrap kit.  Like the name implies, it arrived back in January.  I don't like to open up my latest kit until I have time to cut up the stamps and put tack-it-over-and-over adhesive on the backs of them so they are ready to go.  That was the best advice I ever got when it comes to these kits.  Otherwise, I would put off using them.   Now I have been shown the light!  Can I get an "amen"?!

Anyway.... I pulled out the stamps.  This month I got an additional half sheet of stamps (I don't really remember ordering that but this probably isn't the time to test my memory).  So I cut them all out and broke out the bottle of adhesive and...... promptly poured the tack-it-over-and-over adhesive all over my desk.  "How?" you ask...  I was holding the bottle at an angle to get it to run down, but I was fiddling with papers on my desk, and I was holding the glue brush and... yeah, whatever.  Just accept that fact that I had a huge pile of ULTRA TACKY glue on my desk, on my papers, on my cut up stamps, on my hands and oh yes, my nose was running so soon I had a Kleenix glued to my hands and face.  I did eventually get all the unmounteds cleaned up and tacky on the correct side and all the glue off my desk, hands and face, but that really killed my creative mojo for the day.

So instead of cards from the Navajo set, check out these cards I made last year some time with the Just Dandy set. And if they don't butter your biscuit for ya, well, too bad.

The Fine Print: Stamps, most papers and stuff by Club Scrap "Just Dandy"set, paper flowrs by Prima, square copper brads by unknow, doily die "Italian Flourish" by Cheery Lynn.