random.on purpose.

CASEing and Copyrights

Lately there's been a discussion on Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) regarding copyright and whether CASEing infringes on that or not.  Common concensus seems to indicate that generally whatever is made as a result of a CASE (Copy And Selectively Edit is my favorite definition) differs enough from the inspiration piece to qualify it as an original piece of work.  The additional thought was that AN EXACT COPY crosses the line, but that if it's just to give to your grandma, for example, and not used for submission for publication or to win a contest, that it's probably no big deal.  As usual, since I was paying attention to this issue the Universe sent me some supplemental information, this time in the form of Seth's blog post for today: Simple thoughts about fair use.

Among the comments was also a common thought that EVERYbody CASEs at some point or another (that's how we try out new things, more often than not) and that it is common courtesy to credit your source of inspiration with a mention in your post and/or a link back to the original.  Nobody replying on the thread could understand why anyone would have a problem with CASEing, especially since SCS hosts a challenge every Sunday specifically to CASE a Featured Stamper.  It's considered a high compliment to be the chosen subject!  Today we're CASEing Pam Giudici (Pam's Hobby), and I chose THIS CARD to inspire my design.  I also included yesterday's Inspiration Challenge to be inspired by the artwork on the Close To My Art website.  I chose this Li'l Hootsie Art Blox:

And here's what I ended up with when I combined the two challenges:

Stamps: Recollections (owl), Stampin'Up! Little Letters (alphabet); Ink: Close to My Heart Autumn Terracotta, Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Old Paper distress ink; Paper: Unknown parchment, DCWV Green Mat Stack, Paper Company Black; Accessories/tools: Fiskars Funky Heart squeeze punch, SU! Ticket corner punch, Corner Chomper, American Crafts heart mini-brads, CTMH journaling marker, Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, CTMH stubble tool, Tim Holtz ink distressing tool

Wondering why I listed a snowflake punch above, when there's no evidence of a snowflake on my card?  I couldn't figure out how to give my little owl some feet (the stamp didn't have any) without super-finicky cutting, so I got this punch:

and punched this much of it from a scrap of black paper:

and did some selective cutting to get these:

which I then attached to the backside of the owl.  Problem solved!

I used the journaling marker to outline the owl, since it was originally all terracotta, and made the whites of his eyes white and added a little sparkle to them with a white gel pen.  I trimmed down some of the punched hearts so I could layer them.  And that's the rest of the story!

I have a halfway-done card for the first Jingle Belles prompt for this year, but I need to break out the sewing machine to finish it, so that's happening later tonight or early tomorrow...

Have a great night, and thanks for stopping by!

Tutorial: Message Center Door (and a bonus trick)

Wondering where I've been?  Busy, busy over here!  My sister (Alice, two years younger than moi) sent me an email a week or two ago asking if it would be okay with me if she and her husband David came to visit.  What?!  OKAY?!  I was COMPLETELY stoked about the idea, and told her so!

Well, we all know that there's nothing like company coming to motivate us to finish up some projects that we've kinda sorta stalled on, and that was so the case here!  My studio/workroom was nothing short of nightmarish, and I was planning to put a bed in there for them, so something had to be done, for sure.  And then there was the half-baked project that I'm sharing a tutorial for today, that I decided to finish up...

When we moved into this house a year and a half ago, we were somewhat mystified by the positioning of the coat closet.  It is built into the area dividing the living room and the kitchen, with the door opening into the dining area (not really a separate room - sort of eat-in kitchenish, sort of open to the living room, too).  Awkward and ugly, in our opinion.

First we tried treating it like all the other doors and just painted the trim.  Not happy...  We tried camouflaging it by painting it - trim and all - the same color as the wall so it would (hopefully) disappear.  No go...  This is my final solution:

While it is the final solution for now, it is not the final solution forever - this closet is going to disappear (as in three of the walls removed) when we remodel the kitchen.  Meanwhile, I've converted it to a message center.  Here are a couple of the items included:

A magnetic chalkboard (more on this later),

A calendar, a few decorative pieces, and three "buckets" to hold mail, coupons, etc. (more on those later, too).

Want to convert your door, too?  Here's what you'll need:

• A roll of poultry netting (also known as chicken wire) - you can usually find it in the garden section of the home improvement store
• Enough "screen molding" (thin, flat strips - look over with the other moldings) to frame out all four sides of your door
• Enough decorative molding to frame out all four sides of your door
• A miter box and saw
• Wire cutters
• A heavy-duty staple gun and staples
• Small finish nails
• Hammer
• Nail set
• Spackle or other hole-filling medium
• Paint of your choice (I used Krylon Fusion, since I bought plastic molding to save $$)

And here's what you do:

Remove the door from its hinges (leave the hinge parts on the door, though), remove the doorknob and lay the whole thing flat on the floor.  Cut strips of the screen molding to fit around the edges (I didn't miter these - just butt-joined them) and staple them in strategic places all around to keep them in place.  You may want to "bend" the strips out a bit from the hinges so they don't interfere with the swing of the door once you re-hang it:

Very carefully, and preferably wearing thick work gloves, unroll and staple the poultry netting to the molding, trimming excess off of one side and the bottom.  I pre-painted mine with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint (that was tricky - you have to weight it down on each end because it wants to roll back up), but you can leave it silver and it will still look fine.  Also, you will need to bend the twisty-sticky-outy-things (technical term) on the edges down as you go:

After you get that all finished, take a break and enjoy a beverage and/or tasty snack to refuel your depleted energy reserves and so that you can admire what you've accomplished so far...  Wondering why I didn't mention anything about that hole where the doorknob belongs?  That's because I wanted you to ignore it in the previous step, just like I did!  Break time over?  Okay, moving on...

Get your wire cutters and take just a couple of very strategic snips of the mesh covering the hole:

When you replace the doorknob it will hold these wires in place, I promise, and will not interfere with the functioning of the door, I promise!  Now cut the framing pieces of the decorative molding to cover all of the glorious mess you made with wire and staples, mitering the corners.  Nail them to the screen molding in enough places to close up gaps and make everything look finished and tidy.Keep in mind that you may need to trim out some of the edges where the hinges are to accomodate the swing of the door.  Set the nails using the nail set.  Dab a bit of spackle to cover the holes and touch up with paint after the spackle dries.  Re-hang the door and replace the doorknob.

The door itself is finished, and you can use it just like that by clipping things all over it with clothespins (that's how I displayed my Christmas cards last season).  You can also get creative and add things by hanging them with S-hooks.  I re-vamped a magnetic dry-erase board into a magnetic chalkboard:

Here's how you do that:

"Scuff sand" your dry-erase board by sanding it fairly well with fine-grit (150 or 220) sandpaper to provide "tooth" so the paint will stick, then tape off the frame.  I didn't have enough blue painter's tape to finish the job, so I had to use regular masking tape, too:

Following manufacturer's directions, spray the entire surface with chalkboard paint.  I had to do four or five coats to get good, even coverage.  Remove the tape and hang your chalkboard up.  Be sure to cover the entire surface with the side of a piece of chalk to "season" it before you use it (after waiting at least 24 hours for the paint to dry, of course!)

I hung the calendar up simply by folding it backwards over a length of wire and hooking the wire around the poultry netting.  When I need to change months, I simply slide the previous page back behind the whole thing.  I'll have to take it down and re-do it along about June-July, though...

The "buckets" I'm using to corral mail and such started life as Christmas items:

Only $1 apiece on clearance and they're metal (magnets stick to them!) and that scallopy edge is perfect for hanging onto an s-hook:

I'm ignoring the polka dots and glitter for now, but next time I get ambitious, they're getting sanded and painted with my beloved oil-rubbed bronze spray paint.  Since they will hold magnets, I plan to make seasonal decorative pieces to decorate them with, and switch them around periodically.  I'll be sure to show you what I'm talking about once I get a couple of examples made...

The bird plaque things were from the garden section of Hobby Lobby.  I just added some ribbon through the holes in the top and stuck the s-hook into the loop of ribbon at the back to add them to the door.

I'm contemplating putting a larger something-or-other across the bottom of the door to hold newspapers or something, but haven't quite made up my mind on that.  I don't want to make the door too heavy, but it still looks a bit empty along the right side and the bottom...  Any ideas?

And that's all I have for you today!  I'll be back another day - hopefully soon - to show you the studio revamp.  Meanwhile, enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

 

Serendipity Goes Jingle

(This is my second post today (I know!) - scroll down for the first one.  It's a tutorial for pom pom bunnies.  There's a baby sock bunny tutorial on yesterday's post, too - I'm on a roll, I s'pose...)

I haven't made any more "catch-up" cards for the Jingle Belles challenges I've missed, but I did manage to make one for this week's challenge to incorporate "The Holly and the Ivy":

Curious where the "serendipity" comes in?  Well, Greg and I moved back to Syracuse four years ago, and have had several boxes and bins stored in a warehouse that his boss owned for most of that time.  The building was recently sold, and everything had to be moved.  Last weekend, Greg brought our last few bins home and I went through a couple of them.  Know what I found?  Several different patterns of Christmas-printed tissue paper, and the one I was the most stoked about was a beautiful, vibrant holly print - perfect! 

Obviously, that description doesn't match the card above.  Two of the other tissue patterns were used for this one.  The one I originally thought I was going to do is still a work in progress - I'll post it when it's done.  The card above uses a twist on the "faux silk" technique, and I'm going to share that twist with you, because it's SO much easier and cleaner than the original technique!

First, find the tissue paper you want to use.  It may look like this:

Heat up your iron to a "warm" setting, such as acrylic or rayon, and press it smooth(er).  Make sure you do NOT use steam, and it's best to iron on the back of the paper, instead of the right side.  You still want it to have some wrinkly-looking lines to help sell the "silk" look, but relatively smooth:

Cut a piece of freezer paper and place it, shiny side down, on top of the tissue.  Press with your iron again. 

Basically you are fusing the tissue to the freezer paper.  In the original method, you would use glue stick to adhere them together.  No glue - no mess!  Trim your fused paper and use it however you'd like!

One other tricky bit:  I didn't have any green cardstock that matched the holly in my panel, so I cut a piece that was close to the right shade to size, then altered it with a Bic marker.  I tested a couple of the markers in the center, then just used the best one around the edges, about 1/2" in only, since the center won't show when the card is put together:

The other cardstock is  from a stationery store in Utah.  The ribbon is from my stash.  I used gold metallic thread in my sewing machine to sew the faux silk panels to their cardstock mats.  My machine apparently is not fond of metallic threads, as it skipped a stitch or two here and there, and broke a couple of times, but I'm choosing to think of these mishaps as "charming", and lending to the overall vintage, handmade look of the card (play along - I don't have the time or patience to re-make this...thanks...)

I'll post the other card if/when it gets finished, but I have to go back to work now.  That's what happens when you play hooky to get crafty instead...  Have a great night, and thanks for stopping by!

Following Up and Playin'

Hello again!  I owe several of you an apology, because you've asked questions that I've failed to answer about the foil-on-the-wall project.  Yes, it's plain old, ordinary, everyday Reynolds aluminum foil (not even the heavy-duty stuff!)  and I used it with the dull side out.  I thought that the heavy-duty might not push into the Shapeabilities as well...

The paint is Glidden Interior Satin from Home Depot. I've also used Behr and Benjamin Moore with good results.   The most important thing I can tell you about getting a decent outcome when painting cabinets (or anything else, for that matter) is to do adequate preparation.  Wash everything down well to make sure there isn't any grease (especially important in the kitchen, where grease is likely) or waxy buildup or anything that will cause a problem when you paint.  I strongly suggest primer, as well.  This will ensure that the paint is even and that any remaining stains or whatever won't bleed up through the paint and ruin your work.  I believe I used Bin, but it could have been Kilz - either would work.  I know that it was water cleanup as opposed to ammonia, if that helps.

I haven't taken any more pictures of the kitchen/dining room yet because I've sort of stalled on one of the projects and it looks not-so-great right now.  I should have it all wrapped up soon, and then I'll take some final pics and post them.  Thanks for your interest!

This morning I scoped the Clean and Simple card challenge on Splitcoast.  It was to do sponging on your card, so I made a couple of small ones:

Stamps: RandomBliss Digital Merry Little Trio, CTMH Let it Snow, Studio G; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, CTMH Heavenly Blue and Spring Iris; Paper: Stampin'Up! Kraft, Real Red and Riding Hood Red, CTMH Spring Iris; Accessories/tools: Bic and Prismacolor markers, sponge

I used a couple of my digital stamps to make these, and added sentiments from some other stamp sets I own.  The Santa card is 3" square, and the snowman is 2 1/2" x 2 3/4" ('cuz I like small, don'tcha know?)  FYI: I've reconfigured a bit, and the Stargazing Santa, Stargazing Snowman and Li'l Tree are now a set called Merry Little Trio instead of individual stamps.

I made a card last week, too (another small one - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"), but never posted it (Doh! - I should've reviewed my posts before I said this!  Ah well, I'll just repeat myself...):

Stamps: Stampin'Up! Season of Joy and Tags on Board; Ink: SU! Old Olive, Close to My Heart White Daisy pigment ink; Paper: SU! Kraft and Pink Pirouette

It was for a color challenge - kraft, pink, olive - and this is not what I thought I'd end up with, but this is where the card took me.  Haven't made up my mind about it yet, but I pretty much share everything here, so there you go!  I didn't have an oval punch the right size, so I hand-cut the sucker (not very well, I might add)  Ditto on the tree...

Okay, loverlies - the dryer's buzzing, so I've gotta go switch the laundry around - such a glamorous life!  I'll be back with more tomorrow or the next day or perhaps the day after that!  Thanks for stopping by, and (if I don't make it back to post before then) have a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving!

Tinfoil Tile and Other Kitchen Re-works

Hello again!  True to my word, I'm back with the first of the "big projects".  We've been doing more work on our house, concentrating on the kitchen this go 'round.  A remodel isn't in the budget right now, so we're just trying to make the existing crap-ola more palatable until we can do what we really want to do.

Here's the "after" picture of a corner of the kitchen that I'll be going into more detail about in a minute:

Just for contrast, here's the "before" (taken on our walk-through prior to closing when we bought the house last year):

I painted the countertops gray right after we moved in with Rustoleum Countertop Coating, and we tore out the peninsula/bar (on the right) and moved it to the sunroom so the kitchen was more open to the dining room and everything was less claustrophobic.  I also stripped wallpaper and painted.  I didn't decide what - if anything - I should do with the cabinets until a couple of weeks ago, though.

They are now painted black and have new hardware.  I also painted the walls in the kitchen and dining room a better color and we installed new vinyl tiles on the floor.  I still had this tile behind the stove, though:

Yes, I know the stove is yucky.  I have a brand-spankin'-new one in the basement waiting for our friend to install a gas line for us before we can bring it up, so I'm dealing with this monstrosity for now... 

Back to the tile project:  I saw this post on Vintage Revivals  (one of the blogs I've started following recently) and the ideas started stirring in Odd Brain.  This is what I did:

I got my Cuttlebug and my Shapeabilities dies and some excess cardstock and cut out a bizillion little shapes and decoupaged them to the tile (slight exaggeration - I think there are 150 or so of the fleur de lis, and 32 medallions).  They are arranged sort of checkerboard-style, with alternating rows of medallions and fleur de lis.  This is what that stage looked like:

Closeups of the individual tiles:

Next, I started decoupaging foil onto the tiles, pressing it into the spaces of the diecut shapes and around the edges for some definition.  I started around the edges because I wanted to get all of the straight stuff first, before I started tearing the foil into non-straight pieces:

Here's the whole deal covered in foil:

And a closeup:

After all of that was done, I tinted some glazing medium black and applied it to get this:

It's really hard to get a decent picture of a shiny wall, but the closeup shot gives you a better idea of what it really looks like:

It goes MUCH better with my black cabinets and gray counters!  All for a total cost of...$0.00!  I already had everything on hand to pull this project off - hooray!  I - on purpose - wasn't fussy about light-and-dark variations in the glazing.  I was going for an Old World, handmade type of look, so variation was in keeping with that...

Elsewhere in the re-do - this is the new floor tile:

and before (ugh!):

I still need to make a valance to go above the window and possibly come up with a new solution for the paper towels (since I'm noticing how un-lovely they are in the first pic), but I'm oh-so-happy with things so far!  MUCH better than the countrified, timeworn, not-me look the kitchen had before!

And that's the end of the story?  Thoughts?  Poems?  Anecdotes?

Thanks for stopping by, and check out the other fabulous things Mandi does over at Vintage Revivals - well worth the visit!  I'll be back with more a different day, too!

Eat, Drink and Be Scary

I've had another wonky week - not good, not bad, just odd.   Seems to be the norm of late...  I did manage to finally put something in a frame that I've had sitting out waiting for quite some time (like, since early summer...):

Stamp: Studio G; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Paper: Stampin'Up! Really Rust and Very Vanilla, unknown black and scrap orange; Accessories/tools: Nestabilities Labels Four (?), Stampin'Up! Curly Label punch, EK Success jack o' lantern border punch, Martha Stewart bat punch, Cuttlebug textile embossing folder

I picked up the frame at a TJ Maxx/Marshalls type of store on clearance for 2 or 3 dollars.  It's really nice - all glass, and the back is hinged and velvet and I was stoked!  I have a lot of black in my home, so this fits pretty much anywhere I want to put it.  Did you know that an all-glass item is difficult to photograph without reflections and/or shadows in  there with it?  Yeah - that's my shadow creepily reflected in the glass...sorry...

When I decorated for Halloween, I decided it was perfect to fill a spot on my...sofa table? credenza? sideboard?  I don't know what to call it.  It used to be a long, low dresser in our old bedroom set, but has been slightly restyled and now sits behind the sofa facing the entry.

Regardless, it looked fine there except for the fact that there was nothing in it.  The above pic is what came out of Odd Brain in the middle of the night last night when I wasn't sleeping!  (You do it, too - you toss and turn and your brain won't shut up, so you get up and do something!)

A couple of little tricky bits here:  I wanted to add texture to the rust panel, but the Cuttlebug embossing folder is only 5 1/2" long, and the panel is 6" long, which resulted in a strip that was not embossed at the bottom of the panel.  The solution I came up with?  A border, of course!  Perfect excuse to use my new jack o' lantern border punch!  I knew the orange pumpkins wouldn't show up very well against a rust bckground, so I put the black in between.  That edge is punched repeatedly with just one side of the curly label punch to make a cool border.  I also wanted something below the sentiment to balance the scroll and to fill the space on the label, so a punched bat was the fix there.  Pretty much all there is to tell...

It's been a long day today - painting kitchen cabinets - and I'm feelin' the lack of sleep from last night, too, so I'm gonna hit the hay now.  G'night!

 

Later That Day...

I'm back, as promised!  Sorry if I offended your sense of humor with my earlier post...no, actually, I'm not sorry at all...  I subscribe to the line delivered by Natalie Portman in the movie Garden State:  "If you can't laugh at yourself, life is gonna seem a whole lot longer than you'd like."  Words to live by...

On to other things!  Today, being Sunday and all, there is a new post up on my other blog.  This week we're getting comfortable with being Perfectly Imperfect.  Click on over to check it out if you're so motivated...  Meanwhile, here's what I made for the challenge:

Stamps: The Cat's Pajamas Puppy Love and Love Mew; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie dp, DCWV pink and white textured cardstock; Accessories/tools: Fiskars threading water border punch, Marvy dimple corner punch, Corner Chomper, Stampin'Up! decorative label punch, Prismacolor colored pencils and colorless blender pen, Michael's ribbon, unknown gems, Bon Bon turquoise glitter nail polish

It's next to impossible to see in the above pic, but there are tiny sparkly "gems" in the crown and the lady's hat (no idea what that type of headgear might be called).  I made them by dipping the end of a toothpick into nail polish and touching it to the image where I wanted it.  Ta da!

Wondering what that card has to do with Imperfection?  Inside it says "We're the perfect couple - warts and all..."  Relationships can be perfectly imperfect, too, and usually are!  A work in progress, along with the folk involved in them...

I'm going to share with you an amazingly wonderful discovery:  Prismacolor or Copic colorless blender pens work as well (or, in my opinion, better than) mineral spirits and blending stumps for the Gamsol Magic technique!  I read it on a thread in one of the forums on Splitcoast Stampers and tried it out for myself, and HOORAY!!!  I also tried the regular blender pens (like you use with markers and/or ink pads) to see if they'd work, but not so much...

I've had questions about how I color my images, so there's one answer for you.  The other answer is "poor man's Copics", meaning Bic MarkIt markers.  They work in a similar way to Copics, I'm told, but I'm sure that Copics blend a bit better, and I KNOW that they come in waaaay more colors!  Some day, some day...  Right now my preferred method is the colored pencil/blender pen method that I just told you about.  Pencils are cheaper and easier (at least for me) to layer to get the look I want.  Sometimes I use both (markers and colored pencils) on the same image!  That's what I did on my beast card - stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa, then colored the beast with brown marker, the "collar" outlines and eyes with black marker, and the background with colored pencil.

One last thing, and then I'm out:  you still have a few more hours to grab a free ghostie digital stamp if you want one.  Thanks for stopping by, and I'll be back soon!

A New Week Begins...

It started off a bit shaky - I was ill yesterday, and still not quite up to snuff today, but I did manage a couple of projects.  I got my post up on my challenge blog yesterday, but no pics of my card, because it wasn't done (to be completely honest, it wasn't more than thought about) and I wasn't up to doing it.  Being the big fat hypocrite that I can be on occasion, though, I did play in the Featured Stamper challenge on Splitcoast.  Know why?  'Cuz the card in my head practically made itself:

Stamps: Studio G; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Paper: random scraps; Accessories/tools: Martha Stewart bat punch, Cuttlebug textile embossing folder, Corner Chomper

Yeah - one little stamp and six punched bats...pretty much a no-brainer.  I did emboss the bats and ink their edges, but not too taxing...  I used two different thicknesses of dimensionals on the bats to add more interest and dimension, too.  The card I cased is this one, and the changes I made were color and theme, using punches instead of stamps, and size (mine is 3" x 4").

Today, feeling somewhat better, I finished my card for the challenge on my other blog:

Stamps: Fiskars Vintage Farmhouse, Stampabilities Ornate Icons; Ink: Ranger Old Paper distress ink, Close to My Heart Cranberry, Stampon'Up! Brocade Blue; Paper: SU! Brocade Blue, Basic Grey Boxer dp; Accessories/tools: Tattered Angels chipboard frame and Pearl Glimmer Mist, Offray ribbon, unknown gems, Computer (Times and Times Again font)

We used to make chokers in high school using this ribbon-braiding technique, but I'd forgotten all about it until Steph reminded me with a link in her Thursday Link Love a couple of weeks ago...

After I'd printed the sentiment on ivory cardstock, it looked a bit stark on the card, so I stamped (second-generation) some subtle designs on it.  I also sprayed the inked-up frame with Glimmer Mist, and in real life it shimmers, although it did fade the color out a bit...

And I've fallen asleep several times while writing this, so I'm going to bed NOW!  Thanks for stopping by, and see you again soon (I hope)!

Not So Grim, After All...

I decided that it would be a good idea to show the digital stamps on a card or something when I post them on Etsy, in addition to just a pic of the stamp itself, so I set about playing with a couple of them today.  Here's the first one:

Stamp: RandomBliss digital Not-So-Grim Reaper; Paper: Core'ordinations Black Magic, DCWV green and black textured cardstock; Accessories/tools: DIY texture plate, Martha Stewart graveyard border punch, Recollections ribbon, colored pencils, Gamsol

I used the Gamsol Magic technique to color my reaper.  It just seemed like he should have an acid green aura, so I went with it...  Curious about the embossed/sanded bats in the background?  Read on:

Remember this post, where I shared how I made my own texture plate?  Yeah, I forgot about it, too, until I read a thread about making them on Splitcoast a couple of weeks ago...  I decided that I needed to make one with bats for Halloween (after all, I have new digi stamps that need company), so I got a Ritz cracker box and my Martha Stewart bat punch and made this:

Here's a closeup of the texture:

After I ran the cardstock through the Cuttlebug with my new texture plate, I sanded the surface to expose the color core (in real life it's yellow, not white).  I got to use some fun Halloween ribbon I bought on clearance last year, and an as-yet-unused Martha Stewart border punch, too!  I didn't really think the card needed much else, so I left it alone.

And that's that!  I have a witch all colored and ready to go, too, but I'm not sure when I'll actually get the card made.  I didn't want to hold up this post waiting on that card ('cuz I'm just so excited to share what fun I'm having, don'tcha know?), so...

I should have at least a few things up on Etsy by tomorrow night, so I'll post the link in my sidebar once I'm up and runnin'!  Thanks for stopping by, and please post a link if you decide to make your own texture plate - I'd LOVE to see what you come up with!  G'night!

A Full Week Later (+ a day, even!)

I can't believe it's been that long since I last posted here, but there it is!  Sorry about that, but sometimes life gets in the way of other things...

Last Monday there was a challenge on Splitcoast to make rebus cards that I really wanted to participate in, but I never had even a second to myself until Saturday night!  I made two cards for the challenge then, though!

Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Funny Farm, Stampin'Up! Looks Like Spring and Buttons, Bows and Twinkletoes; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Paper: DCWV,  Accessories/tools: EK Success large scallop border punch, Marvy scalloped square punch, Bic and Prismacolor markers

Can you tell what it says?  The pictures are mare - sea - bow - coop...  Get it?  "Merci beau coup"!  HA!  I crack myself up...!  Just kidding - I only just slightly amuse myself, but I can do that for hours...  The other one is more mainstream and easier to "read":

Stamps: Close to My Heart Bunny Love; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Papers: Stampin'Up! LavenderLace, Close to My Heart Orchid Bouquet, K & Company Sweet Talk mat pad; Accessories/tools: Martha Stewart heart doily border punch, Nestabilities Labels Four, Fiskars Funky Heart squeeze punch, Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder, Tattered Angels chipboard "u", Treasured Memories button, Bic and Prismacolor markers

This one says "Some (sum) bunny loves you".  I know - not so original, but kinda cute/fun, anyway...  I also used last Wednesday's sketch for this one, but rotated it a quarter-turn.

The other card I made this week was for my other blog.  The inspiration this week is an article on human metamorphosis, and butterflies are more or less iconic for that process, so I made this:

Stamp: Inkadinkado Patterned Bugs; Ink: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black; Paper: DCWV Mariposa mat stack and photoreal carnations, black, vellum, coral; Accessories/tools: Martha Stewart and Fiskars butterfly punches, Prima flowers, detail clear embossing powder, Offray ribbon

And that pretty much wraps up my sparse creative output for the week!  This has been a crazy one  (most of them have been, lately, it seems).  Greg's dad came home Thursday from rehab, so there was some scrambling before, during and after to make sure numerous things were attended to.  There's been a lot of going back and forth from our house to theirs this week for various reasons.  I didn't even work much - I think if you added it all together, it may have totaled 7 or 8 hours - pathetic!  Good thing I'm on good terms with my boss and she is open to flexible schedules!  (Um...for those who are unaware already:  I work for myself.  If I don't like my boss, I have worse problems than career, ya know?)

Thanks to whoever may still be perusing this pathetic little blog - I hope to be more consistent in the near future!  Meanwhile, it's close enough to bedtime that I need to sign off and get ready for that - I'm reeeeaaaalllly tired!  G'night!