Knit Happens

Hi, guys!  I am happy to say that I won a fun giveaway the other day.  Debbi over at http://knitrunrepeat.blogspot.com/ held the giveaway and I was one of the winners of 8 skeins of yarn.  As a crafter, you know this was very cool for me.  So, in order to thank her,  I made her a card and used a bit of the yarn on it.

Supplies
Stamps: A Muse, Stampendous
Ink: Memento Black, Distress Ink (Weathered Wood)
Misc.: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Stampin' Up Button, Yarn, Copics

Blogging has opened a new world to me.  I have read blogs from all over the world and have shared, chatted and been enjoying this great community.  I have learned a great deal from fellow bloggers like Debbi, who for instance has been answering a lot of my gardening questions, and I hope that I have taught a few things to some of you.  If nothing else, I hope you embrace your creative side!

Wishing you a great holiday weekend!

It's Tag Time (Jane Austen Inspired)

Hi, guys! It is time to share my monthly (August) submission for the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012!  This is one of my favorites that I have done.  I had to incorporate a cameo type image as the focal point, and decided to use my Jane Austen set by Papertrey Ink.  You may recall that I have a great bunch of friends that formed a group because of our love of Jane Austen.  So this tag will be going to one of the ladies in our group with her Christmas gift.  We do a secret santa each year, and what better way to celebrate Jane than a tag using one of her quotes about friendship.

I had a blast making this tag.  The distressing and paint resist were fun to do.  What I love about doing these tags is the freedom to use what you have on hand, and use the basic idea, but make it your own. Tim never ceases to amaze me with his ideas and creativity.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with for the September tag!

Hope you have a great day!  Hope you find some time to do something you love (maybe read a bit of Jane?).

Thank You, Gracias, Danke

Hi, guys!  How do you say thank you?  Well, I think this card covers many of your answers!  I needed to make a card for a co-worker. I got to use some of my favorite paper for this card. The Core-dinations paper is just great to use when embossing.  I love taking out my sanding block and emphasizing the embossing.

Supplies:
Paper: Stampin Up, Core-dinations
Misc.: K & Co. Butterflies

I just thought I would say Thank You to each of you for taking time to visit and for all the kind comments and the encouragement you have shown.   You help make blogging fun and special!

Happy Birthday / Happy Cooking!

Hi, guys!  Hope all is well!  For today, I thought I would share a card I made for a friend's son.  He is a cook and is celebrating his 33rd birthday.  I happen to love this chef from Stampin' Up. It is an oldie, but a goodie!   He looks as if he likes his own cooking a bit (don't you think?).  To add the recipient's age to the card I used a bingo marker from Tim Holtz Alterations.

Supplies:
Stamps. Stampin' Up
Paper: Gina K(White & Black), Stampin' Up, Canvas Home Basics
Ink: Memento Black, Distress Ink (Black Soot)
Misc.: Bingo Marker, Circle Punches, Copic Markers, Corner Rounder

One of my favorite aspects of this stamp set is the ability to put different things on the tray.  I have a second set that has more food and fun stuff to put on the tray.  I find that I use the food (like the turkey for instance) for other occasions.

I wish Joey a very happy birthday, and as my favorite chef, Jacques Pepin, always says, "Happy Cooking!"

Hope you have a great day today!

A Day At The Zoo

Hi, guys! Thought I would share some pictures from my day trip to the Bronx Zoo with my hubby.  His firm had a company outing and so we got to spend the day together with co-workers and family and see some amazing animals.  This first picture is funny, as my hubby had me pose as a bear.  With the name Winnie, it was very fitting.

There is something awe-inspiring when you see the elephants! They are just so adorable.

This peacock decided it wanted to walk among us.  What a glorious bird!  When I was a little girl they used to terrify me.

No day at the zoo would be complete without a visit to see the penguins!  There is something so adorable and fun about these birds.  I spent an awfully long time watching them frolic in the water.  I had to drag myself away from them as there is so much to see.

I can't believe it has been so long since I went to the Bronx Zoo.  After such a fun day, I am going to try and get there again in the fall (cooler weather will agree with me!).  If you are in the area, I would highly recommend you spend a day there.

Hope you have a great weekend filled with fun!

Going To The Chapel

Hi, guys! For today, I made another wedding card.  This one I actually did with nobody specific in mind.  It is a rare day lately that I can make a card just for the fun of making it.  It will be nice to have one on hand for a future use.  I decided to use a Thomas Kinkade stamp for this card.  I love this lovely chapel image and thought it would be perfect for a wedding card.

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms (Thomas Kinkade Series)
Ink: Adirondack Pesto, Distress Ink
Paper:  Gina K (Ivory), Gold Indian Paper, The Ink Pad NYC notecard
Misc.: Word Punch, Twine, Straw Colored Pencil, Computer Generated Sentiment

Thomas Kinkade's art is among some of my favorites.  His use of color and how he used light in each of his pieces was amazing.  I am so sorry the world lost him too early.  His memory will live forever in his paintings.

Hope you have a great day!

A Note of Cheer

Hi, guys!  For today, I thought I would share a card I made for my brother.  He needed a card for a friend who is undergoing treatments for an illness.  I wanted to keep it light in feel, and for it to have a masculine look.  After going through my sentiments, I found one that I thought would work.  It reads inside "Feel Better Soon".  I sure hope getting a surprise card in the mail will bring a smile to his friend.   As I was digging through my piles of stamps, I found this old typewriter image from Hero Arts.  I remember being a young girl learning how to type on one of these, and thought maybe this fellow would appreciate this image from the past.  I can't believe I used to type papers on one of these machines!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts, Papertrey Ink
Paper: Kaiser, Gina K Designs (Black)
Ink: Versafine Black, Distress Ink
Misc: Clear Embossing Powder

Hope your day is filled with fond memories of the past, and dreams of great things for the future!

More Wedding Wishes

Hi, guys! Wedding wishes abound lately!  My brother asked me to make a wedding card for his niece who is getting married in two weeks.  I decided to make this one using the bride and groom from Inkadinkado.  The background paper I used for this card is very special.  It is paper from India that my friend Chaitali sent to me.  She was kind enough to send such great papers to me as I have admired them on her blog and never used them before.  I am saving them for special cards and since this card is for my brother, I figured I would use some of it.  Since the paper is so beautiful, I didn't want to waste a bit of it, so I punched out a few hearts from the scraps and made a matching seal for the envelope.

Supplies:
Stamps: Inkadinkado
Paper: Gina K (White), Indian Specialty Paper
Ink: Versamark, Distress Ink
Misc.: Black Detail Embossing Powder, Computer Generated Names, Ribbon, Gold Cord

Hope the happy couple has many happy years together.

Have a great day!  Hope you find some time to do something you love!

Some Fun News and a New York Discovery

Hi, guys! I received some great news the other day.  I won a Rice Cooker/Steamer from a giveaway of a fellow blogger!  I have never won anything before, so this was big news to me, especially since I love to cook!  If you want to read a fun blog, I highly recommend you visit Molly Jo at: http://franklymydearmojo.com/    I am not sure if you know the great blogging community of BlogHer, if not, give it a visit.  I found Franklymydearmojo by visiting there and reading the great posts of various women bloggers.  I have been enjoying Molly Jo's posts ever since.

I thought I would share something I just discovered.  I am a native New Yorker and while attending the BlogHer conference at the Hilton, I came across this street sign.

What? There is a 6 1/2 Avenue in Manhattan?  I have only worked in the city since 1988 and NEVER noticed this tiny sign before.  I was struck dumb, and have been asking New Yorker after New Yorker if they knew this even existed.  Not one did so far.   Oh, how the city never ceases to amaze me!

Have a great day!  Hope you make some fun new discoveries today!

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

Hi, guys! I am sharing wedding cards with you today. I was asked to make two wedding cards for a friend to give to two couples.  Wedding and baby cards are some of my favorite to make. Joyous occasions bring out my creative side, I think.

For this first card, I concentrated on using embossing for the main focal image. Once I picked the pink card stock to emboss, I decided to use browns to compliment it with the notecard and embellishments. I am pleased with how it turned out. I wanted to go the non-traditional route with both of the cards.

Supplies:

Paper: Core-dinations, Stampin' Up, Gingham

Misc.: Sizzix Embossing Folder, Heart Punch, Hero Arts Heart Gems, Tim Holtz Sanding Block

For this next card,  I decided to give it a more bold and modern look as I understand the couple is young and it looks fun and funky at the same time.  By heat embossing the wedding bands I was able to bring some texture as well as shine to it. For both cards computer-generated names were used to personalize them.

Supplies:
Stamps: Canadian Maple Collections STP
Ink: Versmark
Paper: Kaiser Craft, Gina K Designs, Stampin' Up (Pink)
Misc.: Silver Embossing Powder, Heart Gems, Dazzling Diamonds, Ribbon, Circle and Oval Punches


Best wishes to the happy couples for many happy years together!

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a creative day!

Goddaughters Are Blessings

Hi, guys! I am blessed with two Goddaughters and one Godson. Today, I am going to share two birthday cards I made for my sweet Goddaughters this weekend.

This first card I made for Rory, who is 4.   She is very girlie and princess-like, so I used Cinderella as the focal image.  I used letter beads for her name, as they remind me of the baby bracelets from the past.

Supplies:
Stamps: Disney Stamps
Paper: Stampin' Up, Gingham
Misc.: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Circle Punches, Corner Rounder, Beads, Hero Arts Pearls, Martha Stewart Lace

The next card is for Grace who is turning 5. I came across this adorable image from Inky Impressions that reminded me of her. Pigtails and jeans are her style.  I love that she is holding a blackboard since Grace will be starting kindergarten next month and is very excited.

Supplies:
Stamps: Inky Impressions
Paper: Stampin' Up, Echo Park
Misc.: Copic Markers, White Prisma Pencil


I wish them both the best as they celebrate their special day.  It is truly a blessing to be their Godmother.

Have a great day!  I hope you find a few moments in your day to do something you love!

Happy Birthday, Amanda

Hi, guys! You know the saying, "Sugar & Spice and everything nice..." - well, that describes my niece Amanda to a T!  She is turning 8 and I thought I would share the birthday card I made for her.  If you can picture the ultimate girlie-girl, you will have Amanda in mind.  She loves dressing up and having tea parties with me either at my house or at our favorite tea shop in Manhattan.  Nothing cuter than a little girl dressed up in a dress, hat and gloves.  It will melt your heart.

I decided to use a stamp by Suzi Blu by Stampavie.  She looks so pretty, feminine with a touch of sporty. I love the way she is on skates in a dress with flowers. So fun, and so Amanda.

Supplies:
Stamps: Suzi Blu/Stampavie
Paper: Stampin' Up
Ink: Memento Black
Misc.: Copic Markers, Tim Holtz Alpha/Numeric 8, Washi Tape from Japan, Flower Gem 


I want to give a special thanks to my sister-in-law Rika for bringing me back a great supply of washi tape from Japan when she visited her family last summer.  I got to use it on this card and I love the colors and patterns on them.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

Thanks for visiting with me today, and I hope to see you back soon!

Nature-Inspired Sympathy Card

Hi, guys! I thought I would share a sympathy card I made for a co-worker. It is for a man who lost his mother.  I was asked not to make it religious in any way.  Feeling that nature themes work well for masculine cards as well as sympathy cards, I took out my trusty Lovely As A Tree stamp set by Stampin' Up to use. I heat embossed the image with copper embossing powder, and matted the image with some gingham paper to give it a touch of color.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Rubber Stampede (Sentiment)
Ink: Versamark, Stampin' Up
Paper: Stampin' Up, Papertrey Ink (Ivory), Imaginations Gingham
Misc.: Copper Embossing Powder Stampin' Up


I sure hope the card brings some comfort to the recipient.  I know I have said this before, but while this type of card is the hardest for me to create, they are the ones that need to be made.

Have a great day, and I hope you find a few moments in your day to do something you love.

Creating with Duck Brand Tape

Hi guys! I received a sheet of Duck brand tape while at the BlogHer'12 conference over the weekend. It had a tie-dyed look to it.  I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I decided to use it to make a birthday card for a special friend.  I took a piece of the tape and applied it to a piece of white card stock and ran it through my Vagabond machine to cut out flower shapes, using a steel rule die to cut through it, then stamped a stem sentiment and made leaves out of circle punches. The center of the flower was attached with pop dots to add a bit of dimension to it.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Paper: Stampin' Up
Ink: Stampin' Up
Misc.: Duck Brand Tape, Circle Punch, Alterations Tattered Floral Die, Ribbon

I can't wait for our friend to receive it.  I know it will be the first birthday card made with Duck Tape that she will have received!  I know it was the first one I have ever made. 

Hope you have a great day, and spend some time doing something you love!

One Tomato, Two Tomato, Three Tomato More

Hi! I am in from the garden with another batch of tomatoes and peppers. They took a while to get going this year (weather I am thinking), but now they are really producing.  Since my hubby can't eat tomatoes (yes, sad, I know), I am freezing a lot of them as I can't eat them all myself.  They will be great when the winter chill hits and I want a touch of summertime!

My nieces and nephews also gave me a Chia Pet herb garden.  I was skeptical, to put it mildly, but the basil, parsley and dill are growing well.  I am off to transplant them now in larger pots, just like I grow my herb garden in the yard.  I am hoping they continue growing.  It is really a fun experiment.  I will share a picture and let you know how they turn out.

Hope you have a great day.  Since I have been away at the blogging conference, I haven't gotten my fingers inky in a while.  I hope to remedy that tonight and have more stuff to share with you.

BlogHer'12 - My Thoughts and Experiences

Hi! I had lots of blogging fun and instruction at BlogHer'12.  I just arrived home today after being there from Thursday-Saturday.  I thought I would share some of my thoughts, impressions and fun pictures from the conference with you today.

I attended Pathfinder Day on Thursday.  I enjoyed it immensely.  Great instructors, and smaller class size and really focused.  I am glad I was there early to get the lay of the land before the crowds showed up on Friday.

There was plenty of excitement and celebrity to spare. President Obama spoke via live feed, Martha Stewart and Katie Couric were speakers at luncheons, and Soledad O'Brien, Christy Turlington Burns, and Malaak Compton-Rock spoke on a panel.  I was impressed, inspired and touched.  I realized after hearing the ladies speak that I need to use my skills and talents in some way to help others more than I do.  I do "some" things, but nowhere near enough.

The parties were nice, but I am not one for crowds, and 5000+ people together was overwhelming at times. This was my first BlogHer, so I am thinking that the next time I go I will be better prepared for the masses of women.    The Voices of the Year and Open Mic Night were great.  The readings of blog posts were amazing.  I laughed and cried and realized that bloggers' voices can rise above it all and deserve to be heard.

As for me, I had a few fun moments in the Expo Hall. One of  my favorite bloggers, Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman was there and I was able to watch her presentation and get my picture taken with her.  She is just so warm and personable.  I think meeting her again was definitely a highlight for me.

Another fun moment for me was meeting the "Sun" from the Jimmy Dean sausage commercials.  He was so nice to take a picture with me.

The sessions of the conference were chock full of information and I am so glad that I got this great opportunity.  It is my hope that I will be able to use the information to help my blogging, help me grow my blog and to make friends and contacts with the fine women I was honored to meet.

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Girlfriend

Hi, guys! Hope you are having a great day.  I have been celebrating a lot of birthdays lately with my girlfriends.  I thought today I would share a card I made for my friend Monika.

Supplies:
Stamps: Unity
Ink: Versamark, Distress Inks
Paper: Papertrey Ink
Misc: White Embossing Powder. Perfect Pearl Mist (Pearl)

I am very lucky to have a great group of friends.  I met Monika through my co-worker and now good friend Mariola.  When my husband died, Mariola befriended me and introduced me to her niece Monika and and two of her best friends.  They took me into their group and helped me laugh again.  I never would have thought at that point in my life that I would, but the gathering of friends has a way of helping mend one's soul. Laughter truly is the best medicine!   The group is fondly named for Jane Austen, a society that celebrates all things "Jane" and tea.  So this card with the lovely teacup seemed appropriate to me.   We love tea shops, tea parties, dressing up for royal weddings and making homemade pierogi (even if mine look odd!), and Colin Firth is our favorite Mr. Darcy.

Wishing you a great day, and some very special friends!

Drac is Back!

Hi, guys!  Yes, you read right!  Drac is back!  I decided to do a Halloween tag last night.  I am participating in the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012.  In July, Tim demonstrated the alcohol ink splatter technique using a can of air.  I made a tag in the beginning of the month for the Fourth of July.  It dawned on me that this splatter technique would be fun to use for blood splatter.  Yes, I know, I am a bit gross.  I guess it is from years of mystery reading. 

Supplies:
Stamp: Craft Smart, Stampers Anonymous
Ink: Archival Black, Adirondack Alcohol Ink, Distress Stain, Distress Inks
Misc.: Tissue Tape (Tim Holtz), Tim Holtz Ribbon 


I had a blast doing this card.  My workspace ended up looking a bit like a crime scene when I was done, and my hands resembled those of Lady Macbeth.

Hope you have a great day, and hope you find a few moments in the day to do something you love.  Maybe get inky?