March HCCC: Part One

This month's Hazzard County Card Challenge was

just too good! Such a beautiful inspiration picture.
Thanks, Marnie!
I had so many ideas floating around in my
head for this one, but unfortunately my scrapyard is
slowly being packed up in boxes as we prepare for
moving in a couple weeks :( I got a good start on the
challenge, but I don't have a finished project to
share with you...yet!
So, here's a little peek at what I have so far:

After seeing the stained-glass window,
I knew right away that I wanted to try the
'cracked glass' technique for my project.
I have seen it many times and always thought
it was something I'd like to try. Well, let me tell
you something, unless I get myself some of the
Ultra-Thick embossing powder, I won't be doing
this again in a hurry!! Oh my word! It took forever,
I burnt my fingers off with my heat gun and got
hot, melty, sticky embossing powder seared into my
flesh numerous times. Also, apparently I didn't
put enough coats on (Really?Because I did, like,
six!) as there are no cracks on the left side of
the piece. I'm not a huge fan of how the distress ink
soaked into the cracks and the anal-retentive part
of me doesn't like that I can't control where and how
the cracks end up forming.
ANYWAYS...
I'm still kinda in love with it ;)
Now the problem is, I can't decide what to
do with it!? This baby took so much time
and effort that if I were to put it on a card it
would have to be for someone incredibly special
and amazing before you could pry it out of my
blistered, glazed fingers! LOL! Maybe I'll use
it to make a journal for myself...I am pretty special
and amazing, y'know? Bwaahahahahaha!!!

Anyways, stay tuned for part two of March's
HCCC...it will probably be a few weeks before
we get moved and settled in. But don't worry,
I've got a couple things in the archives that I will
post, for your viewing pleasure, in the meantime.

Can't wait to see how this month's challenge
picture inspires all of you!
Happy stamping :)

A Tag!

This tag was totally inspired by one from
the latest PaperCraft's magazine. I don't
usually make tags, preferring to make a
full-out card, but in this case I didn't have
a tonne of time and really did just want a
little note to tie onto a gift. This turned out
even better than I had hoped!

Using my Nestabilities (I just can't stop using
these babies - I love them!) I cut out the green
layer using some old Basic Grey paper and then a
smaller layer in Ballet Blue. I used the Distressed Dots
background stamp from Unity and stamped the dots
with Versamark. Then I stamped the star (also from
Unity) in Ballet Blue and embossed it with clear embossing
powder and popped it up with a dimensional. I've had
the letter stickers for-ever, I think I got them when
I was in college!, but they were perfect for this tag!
Lastly, I put the eyelet in the top and added some
baker's twine.

Pete's friend is in a band, so I thought this fabric would
be perfect for for his new little rocker. Plus, doesn't
every baby need a skull and crossbones blankie? Ha!
I wrapped up some onesies, a book, and some
Johnson's baby products in the blanket and tied it all
up with some twine. Added the tag to finish it up and
I think it was a pretty sweet gift, from one guy to another!

My sewing machine is getting a work-out lately.
Can't wait to show you what I've been up to! ;)
Hope you're all finding some crafty time during
these grey, drizzly days to keep you cheery!

February's HCCC

That's right, people!

Only half-way through February and my
Hazzard County Card Challenge is complete!
(insert self-pat on the back here - hee!)
I had a friend that needed a bit of lovin'
and since she's a five hour car ride away,
we decided to pack up the love and send
it through the mail :)

Some sunshine-y happiness:
This card honestly would never had happened
without this month's challenge. I pulled out
the sparkles like they were going out of
style and dug through my cuttlebug
accessories hoping for some inspiration.
But, really, it all began with the cloud stamp...

The clouds were stamped with Versamark Dazzle
and embossed with a sparkly embossing powder.
You should see them shimmer in real life!
I also went around the embossed edge of the
yellow label die with a 2-way glue pen and then
shook on some Dazzling Diamonds. So pretty!
Lastly, I covered the small punched heart with
Glossy Accents. It looks like a shiny epoxy sticker
now. Love it!! After embossing the blue panel with
a hearts embossing folder, I wanted a little bit
more definition, so I took my white ink pad and
gently wiped it across the top - perfect!!
I just wanted to keep this sweet, cheery card
sitting on my mantle but, alas, it will be
sent in the mail, along with lots of love
and prayers.

Can I just say I love these challenges?
Always push me to take things one
step further - so good for the creative mojo :)
Happy stamping, friends!

Happy, happy, happy!!

My youngest sister-in-law just turned 18!!

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
The first birthday I celebrated with her,
she was only 8. 8, people! And now she can
legally gamble. I'm not sure how that happened.
Anyways, gone are the days of cutesy, little
girl cards and, yet, she's totally not into floral,
lacey 'mature lady' cards :)
What to do??
Well, it was tough figuring but, once
I started, it all just seemed to come together :)

Introducing...the 18 year old's birthday card:
It all started with that little snippet of ribbon.
I knew Michelle would love the colours, so I
went from there. I stamped the ledger in Old
Paper (when I purchased this stamp online I
thought, being a background stamp, that it
would cover the entire background of a cardfront.
Unfortunately, as you can see, it doesn't. I was
kind of bummed. I still like it, but I really
wish it covered the WHOLE background.
Do any of you know of a ledger stamp that
is truly a background stamp? I'd
appreciate any links - thanks!)

Pulling the colours from the Cosmo Cricket
ribbon, which I just stapled in place, I stamped
the word 'happy' ('So Very', a retired SU! set)
in Pumpkin Pie, Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip,
Baja Blue and Kiwi Kiss. I punched the edge
with my spiral notebook punch from SU! and
layered some cameo coral cardstock beneath it.
The swirly flowers are a Basic Grey rub-on.
Generally I'm not a fan of run-ons, it just seems
silly to buy something that you can only use
once, when you could buy a stamp and use it
over and over and over again? But I picked
these up at a clearance sale for a dollar and
I do like how it turned out.

To finish things off, I added a Basic Grey
brad - which I've been hoarding for a year! -
but figured my sister's birthday was a
worthy enough occasion to break it out ;)
and a little snippit of matching patterned
paper to finish off the inside. The sentiment
inside says 'birthday wishes'.

While this card is totally outside of my usual
'creative box', I love how it turned out. I
especially love how it uses material from
four different companies (SU!, Unity, Cosmo
Cricket & Basic Grey) and yet looks so
'together'. It was super fun to make, and
I think I'm gonna stretch myself to do
stuff like this more often!

Thanks for popping by!

You're on my mind

Just a little note to let a friend know

I've been thinking of them:

Started with a kraft base with white sponged
around the edges. Stamped Old Letter Writing (HA)
in Baja Blue on the white layer and then distressed
the edges with Old Paper and sewed around the
outside. Used the spiral note punch (SU!) on some
patterned paper and stamped the sentiment from
Upsy Daisy (SU!) with the Baja Blue again and
wrapped some thread around that panel.

Finished by stamping the violet on 2 different
patterned papers and embossing them with
white embossing powder. I cut out the different
layers and used Vintage Photo distress ink on
the edges. I popped up the layers with foam
dots and finished by adding some sweet little
yellow rhinestones to the center. A sweet,
happy little card - just what I was hoping for!

Our valentines are coming along slowly but
surely. Crafting with kiddies always takes
a bit of time and patience but, in the end, I'm
always glad we spend the time doing it (even
though I *may or may not* get a tad
exasperated in the process sometimes!)
Stay tuned next week for lots of Valentines
goodness coming your way! :)
xoxo

May your cup overflow!

It was my sweet sister-in-law's birthday
so a cheery little card made it's way out West:

The image and sentiment from Unity (which reads
'May your cup overflow with Joy, Love & Laughter)
were perfect for my dear sister who loves a good
cup of tea and deserves a year just overflowing
with goodness! I totally copied the layout of one
of the cover cards from the latest Stamp It!
magazine (What an awesome issue, by the way!
And congratulations to this amazing gal whose
beautiful creation was published on page 61.
Wowee!!) I do wish I had die-cut the purple
layer to match the white, instead of leaving
it square with the wonky white stitching...
but once I had it all sewn down I wasn't
about to rip it all apart. Sometimes it's best
to just leave well enough alone!

I embossed that ca-ute tower of teacups with
clear embossing powder and then coloured
them in using dye ink and a blender pen.
Love how it turned out! I think I'll be
trying this technique out a bit more, I had a
lot of fun with it! I'd also like to mention how
much fun I had using my first set of
Nestabilities (a most awesome gift from an
incredibly thoughtful friend - THANK YOU!).
I think a serious addiction may have just begun...
;)

Thanks for stopping by to visit! The kids and I
are starting to get in the Valentines' Day groove,
so hopefully I'll have some delightfully LOVE-ly
things to share with you in the next little bit!

January's HCCC

This month's challenge was a GREAT one! Thanks Marnie!

I opened up my scrap drawer and pulled out the leftover
pieces I had from this card that I had planned to make
two of...but never got around to it. I forgot to take pictures
at the very beginning, but I had four 1-inch squares of
card stock that I then punched into little hearts. Here's
what my desk looked like halfway into the card:
I had a couple thin strips of kraft card stock and after
trying to make them into stripes in the background, I
thought of the little ruler stamp from Cosmo Cricket's
'Material Girl' stamp set (another goodie from the Unity
prize pack I won - SO amazing!!) and knew exactly
what I wanted to do:

The inside of the card says:
We love you T-H-I-S much!!

It's just a little card, about 3x4, but I think
it still packs a pretty big punch!

The second card didn't turn out quite as well
but I thought I should share it anyways.
It's always good to learn from someone else's
mistakes, right? ;)
Here's what I started with:

I thought I would glue all the scraps together on a
piece of paper and then trace my Top Note die cut
on to it and cut it out...however the the papers were
too small for the die, and so I ended up using a smaller
one from Tim Holtz. It was a little fancier and I think
the combination of the busy, mix-matched papers
and the die were a bit much. I wasn't sure what to do
with it, and only being able to use scraps upped the ante,
but here's what I ended up with:

(My husband also pointed out the irony of
the sentiment and the very busy card...
Oh well! Better luck next time!)

Here's a close-up of the wonky, scrap-paper die cut:

Anyways, I've learned that sometimes I'm better off
keeping things sweet and simple. The whole 'shabby-chic'
look is obviously not my forte...
But, do not fear!! My scrap drawer is not empty yet
and the month is only halfway through so perhaps
I will attempt another creation or two :)
Stay tuned for more adventures from the Scrapyard!