I am trying to catch up on thank you cards, so when I have time to make a card and "thank you" fits with it that is the kind of card it ends up being. Todays card looked really cute in my head, but took me about 5 tries to make. My poor Cool Caribbean paper was begging me not to ruin any more sheets! I have to say this card would have been a LOT easier if I had used a coluzzle to make the circle. (If you don't have a coluzzle RUN to buy one! SU! sells the Circles and ovals I believe).

It is hard to tell what the card really looks like from the scan. There are 2 layers of acetate and then patterned paper behind that. The top layer of acetate lays flat against the card and has the saying in black staz-on and swirls in white staz-on. The layer behind that is attached with a double layer of pop dots and then curled a little also so it doesn't lay flat. The flowers are stamped on that layer in staz-on and kind of float in the background. The strips on the bottom of the front are stickers from a Simply Scrappin' kit from the catalog.

I am going to try to take a real picture with my camera to capture the card better, but you will just have to try to tell from the scan for now. Have a great day!

Baby Congrats

Just wanted to quickly share a card I made with the same layout as yesterday's card. This card doesn't pop as much as yesterday's card, but I am dealing with it ;). I am traveling tomorrow to visit family in northern CA and one of my cousin's just had a baby. This card is going to accompany a couple of really cute baby boy outfits! Baby gifts are so fun to shop

for! Have a great weekend and I will see you early next week.

I feel loved

I forgot to tell you all about my birthday last time I posted. It was GREAT! It is sometimes hard to live so far away from my family because birthdays with my family are a fun event including this delicious cake that is a secret family recipe ;) I have to say though that I felt so loved this birthday! My birthday celebration actually started a month ago when I went home for a short visit. It was exactly a month before my birthday and my family threw me a surprise party. All of my immediate family was there and they invited aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a big and fun bash! On my actual birthday I got a lot of phone calls from family and friends. I even got birthday cupcakes and a birthday cake from friends! Added with all the cards I got--wow I feel so loved and special!

The card I made is a birthday card, but it isn't one I got, it is one I am sending out. It seems I just can't make birthday or thank you cards fast enough!

The flowered paper that I used is Crate paper (I can't remember the name now). The striped paper is from a Simply Scrappin' kit from SU. They just happened to both be sitting out and I noticed they looked really cute together! I punched a 1 1/4" circle in the striped paper and a 1 3/8" inch circle in the Certainly Celery base. On the inside I glued a 1 3/8" circle from the flowered Crate paper. The butterfly on the edge of the circle came from the flowered paper. The "Happy Birthday" is one stamp from the It's Your Birthday SU set.

Things that make me smile

This first card was made and sent to me by my little friends Nickie and Lorie. Isn't it the cutest card ever?!?! These girls are like nieces to me and I love them so much. I don't live near them anymore and I was pleasantly surprised to receive a birthday card from them! The card had the cutest hand written message in it and also came with a message that they wrote and decorated on the computer.

Thanks girls for making me feel so loved!

This next card is from my friend Debbie (aka Bunny) It is so bright and cheery! I don't know if you can see it, but it has glitter on the candles and the star. She used Apricot Appeal and Certainly Celery together...so pretty! I also need Debbie to give me a lesson in tying knots because mine never look that neat!

Birthday celebration starts early...

It isn't quite time to sing Happy Birthday yet (my birthday is Sunday) but I started getting cards in the mail the end of this week. Yippee I LOVE mail!!! I thought I would share one of the cards I got in the mail. I will try to share a few more in the next few days.

This card is from my friend Debra. Isn't it fun?!?!?!? She used the set Doodle This from the Spring Mini. I love the doodled flowers and swirls in this set! The big flower on the vellum is embossed and colored. The vellum is adhered with really cute blue brads. I have to get my hands on those SU colored brads, they are so cool.

Thanks so much for making me feel special Debra!

A first...Pink Passion.

I have been wanting to try a card with an acetate overlay and white staz-On for a long time. I saw a card by Beate Johns this past week using acetate and white staz-On . I was inspired by it and how the acetate was attached. I used her card for inspiration for this card.

You can't really see the acetate on my card, but it is there, I promise! It makes the card look very glossy and fun. The flowers and sentiment are both on the acetate. The acetate was then adhered using only the brads.

Interesting fact--This is the first card I think that I have used Pink Passion paper on. I got PP ink in my starter kit years ago and found it was too dark and red looking for me so I never bought the paper. My friend Jami loves the color and uses it all the time. I ashamedly admitted to her that I never used the paper (thinking she might stop being my friend, she likes the color that much!) and she made me buy Pink Passion paper. She did split the pack with me because I didn't think I would ever go through a full pack...we will see. ;)

stamps: Sassy Stems, Warmest Regards

paper: Pink Passion, So Saffron, Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

ink: White Staz-On

accessories: silver diamond brads, acetate

Not a goodbye, a see you later...

There is a group of us stampers in SoCal that gets together to hang out, stamp, eat together, go to stamping/crafting conventions together, etc. We met because of Splitcoast and a lot of us chat there often to keep in touch. This group has been of great inspiration to me and I love trying out new techniques with them or just hanging out to chat. Whenever we get together there is much laughter! One of my friends from that group, Sam (Samwich), is leaving California to move across the country to the east coast. As much as I know this is what she needs to do I will miss her a ton!
We got together yesterday to say goodbye and have one last fun time before Sam moves. Joy organized a gift for Sam. She gave us each a little book from the Danelle book set from Bare Essentials (check out the picture at Eclectic Paperie here). We got to decorate our book how we wanted and add pictures, memories, notes to Sam, etc.





Here is a picture of a finished set that Jami took at CHA so you can see what it looks like.





Jami also so kindly took pictures of my book so that I could show you. (Isn't that sweet of her?!?!) Check out her book on her blog and just check out her blog. She is a very talented stamper!

Here is the front cover of my book. I used the Friends & Flowers simply scrappin' kit (Stampin' Up!) for this book. You can only get this kit by hosting a workshop. It is one of the free hostess gifts you can pick. (Talk to me about hosting a workshop and getting one of these kits or other stamp sets for free!) On the cover I used Amazing to Zany for the "friend."



The first page I made very simple. The paper and the letter stickers spelling "friend" are both from the kit. I cut the paper 3" x 6" folded it in half and glued it in the book with UHU twist and glue. I cut the corners after the paper was glued down to fit the rounded corners of the book. I also sanded the edges of the paper to blend them into the book.


It is hard to see it in the pictures, but I used So Saffron craft ink to ink up the top, side and bottom edges of the pages. The pages are pretty thick and cardboard colored so they needed something.






The pages of these books are 3"x3" so it takes a little planning to pick pictures and shrink them to the right size. I really liked the picture on the last page, but it was too big and trimming it to 3" would cut off too much of the side people. So I just cut the picture in between people and glued each side into the middle to meet. The circle picture I punched with a 1 1/4" circle punch. The mat is 1 3/8". I took a bigger picture and punched out the part that I wanted. All of the embelishments on this page, like the other pages are from the kit. The orange piece on the bottom left was actually a ribbon slide sticker that I cut the slider part off of. It says "memories" on it. I have such good memories of hanging out with Sam and the others!

Blessed

I start every week with the best of intentions about updating my blog every day...or at least every other day. Where did the week go? All of a sudden the week is gone and I haven't posted since Sunday. I do have some 3-d things that I would love to share, but I only have a film camera right now, not a digital one and it is really hard to take pictures with a film camera and get the film developed in a timely matter. In fact I just took a roll in today that I started last summer at camp in June...*roll eyes* A digital camera is just another thing to add to my "when I get a good job and have money" list. Other things on that list include Photoshop Elements 5.0, a hair straightener (I have a cheapo one and I dropped it in the first month I owned it and it broke. It also pulls my hair on the edges while straightening--Ouch!), a good haircut (my SIL did a fabulous job cutting mine when I was there on vacation, but before that it had been a year), a pair of jeans that fit me, and a printer that works....I can dream right?!?!?!!?

Really I can't complain. I am so very blessed. I have a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes that I can wear, a car that runs, family, friends, plenty of stamping stuff....my blessings list is much longer than my "want" list. On bad days when I feel like I am super poor and everything is going wrong I just have to start thinking about all I DO have, all that God has given me. Suddenly I feel very rich indeed!

Come back tomorrow to see a mini book that I made. I was going to show it tonight, but then I got distracted and chatty about stuff nobody really cares about...except maybe my mom (Hi mom!). I have the pictures all ready so I will be sure to share 2 days in a row ;)

UHU product review

A while ago I received 3 UHU products to review. I got the UHU twist & glue, UHU scrapbooking pen, and the UHU glue roller.

UHU Twist and Glue--A+

I love the fact that this glue has a dispenser that twists and can release different widths of the glue. Twist it one way and the glue comes out in a tiny line, twist it the other way and the glue goes on in a thick line almost an inch thick. I used this glue to glue designer paper to 50 chipboard coasters. It went on smoothly, dried quickly, and didn't wrinkle the paper. I was almost sad using it for that many coasters because I didn't want to use it all up. Love this stuff! Definitely go get some and try it out!

UHU Scrapbooking pen--B

This glue comes out in a gel like form. I thought I was really going to like it, but found it was just okay. It says that it doesn't wrinkle paper, but the first time I used it, I tried to glue down cardstock and I thought the glue wrinkled up the paper where I put it. Maybe I just put too much on, I don't know. In all fairness I tried using the glue again and it did a much better job. I think I would use it on other projects, but not as a "scrapbooking" glue pen.

UHU glue roller--A-

This glue roller is non-permanent, says it right on the case, so that was good to know before starting to use it. I like that the adhesive comes out in tiny dots so it doesn't get stuck coming out and jam the cartridge. I found this product good for adhering masks that needed to stay down for just a bit when stamping or when working on positioning something that I wasn't ready to glue down yet. Being not permanent I don't know how much I will use it, but it is great to have around!

Be sure to check out the UHU blog at http://www.mariafilosa.com/

special thanks to Mary Anderson for letting me use her picture of the UHU products. (check out her blog)

Qualities of you

I have decided (again) that I am more of a simple card maker. I often feel like I am not as good as a stamper as my "more is more" friends because I don't put as much on my cards. And while it is true that I am probably not as experienced or advanced as they are I have come to the conclusion that my style of card making is just different than theirs...and that is okay. I really like today's card. I made it for my best friend who lives far away. I got to see her for a few hours while I was "home," and it made me realize just how much I miss living near her and hanging out with her. She has so many good qualities that I admire and being with her makes me a better person. So Sarah, this card is for you. You will get it in the mail soon!

To make this card I punched out 9-1 1/4" circles and 9-1 3/8" circles. I used the flower from Polka Dots and Paisley and words from Amazing to Zany. I just mounted Amazing to Zany and I can already see I will use it a lot!

Colors are Rose Red, Black and Whisper White.