My Scrap Space...

Look quick, because it won't be this clean ever again! I used to work in the extra bedroom on the second floor, and then had the genius idea to move to the basement. Of course, moving all my stuff down two sets of stairs didn't feel very genius... Especially my work table.

Let me tell you about this work table. It is the most amazing, fabulous creation ever! One of a kind, it was built by my dad. This man can make just about anything out of wood. If-you-sketch-it, he-will-build-kind-of-guy. The catch is, and the family joke, is that when dad makes something, it weighs a TON. A lover of fine wood, he doesn't go for flimsy balsam. We are talking sturdy pine, people! It would take two people to move a nightstand my dad created. (Sorry, dad, but you know it's true). Don't get me wrong - I would waaaay have a sturdy piece of his furniture than the soon-to-be-broken pieces I can find in a store!So when I sketched out a table that was over six feet long, waist high, with cubbies to fit 12x12 paper, he made this amazing work desk for me. That had to be assembled in the room because it wouldn't fit through the door, let alone be lifted. That was six years ago. And now I decided I wanted to move this mammoth of goodness down stairs. Two sets of stairs.

Now a reasonable woman would plan this out, make sure she had several strong people on hand, and plan a weekend to complete this feat. I must not be a reasonable woman.

By some miracle, both my boys fell asleep at the same time, so I seized the moment! I grabbed my power drill, ran upstairs, and started disassembling. I must have been on a complete adrenaline rush, because I somehow managed to get the wooden Titanic safely to its new home.

I was sore for a week.

Getting my School Times Mojo on...

What a week! A flurry of cardmaking, back to school preparation, and trying to steal a few moments of summer before they are gone. I never thought I would say this, but I can't wait for school to start. I love my boys. I super do. But...

Oh. My. Goodness.

Having two four year olds is, um, tiring. Especially when their favorite activities include running, jumping, running, jumping, and running.

The school themed card (can you tell I have school on the brain?) used the sketch by Mary, and it turned out even cuter than I planned. I just love sketches... and I love that this card is perfect for the SimonSaysStamp challenge!

Ingredients

Paper: Basic Grey, MyMindsEye, Foof-a-La, DCwV, Graphic45, Little Yellow Bicycle

Embellishments: Gold brad, teastained ruler ribbon

Ink: colorbox and Ranger

Sketch: MojoMary

Ho Ho Ho...and lots of O's...

Newly addicted to blog challenges, I tried my hand at combining several challenges into one card. This Christmas card is inspired by the sketch at WhimsieDoodles, Simon Says Stamp's Christmas Challenge, and the challenge to use spots, dots, and circles over at Creative Inspirations. I have a ton of Christmas paper, and used one of my most favorite Santa stamps. I have had this guy forever.

Ingredients
Paper: MyMindsEye, Chatterbox, Imaginsce, Basic Grey
Image: so old the label is worn off and inked to oblivion
Embellishment: ribbon
Inks and colored pencils

Creepy... mojo 101

So Halloween is approaching, and I found some cutiepatootie green pompom trim just begging to be used. I added a paper pieced witch hat, and here is my card for Mojo101!

Ingredients

Paper: Basic Grey, BoBunny, Making Memories Paper Loft

Embellishments: Felt letters, trim, metal brad

Inks: Colorbox

No Place Like Home...

Today, one of the sweetiest gals in BlogLand is having her Wizard of Oz gala. Stop by Two Crazy Crafters to see what magic Twyla and Lindsey have cooked up in honor of this fabulous theme... My creation, inspired by Dorothy, is a sweet little card. I love the saying, "There's no place like home," and was initially going to paper piece a little house and such. But then I spied amongst my stash a little bundle of blue gingham fabric.

Dorothy dress fabric!

And so this card was born. Using the Mojo Monday sketch for today's challenge, which was created by Janette, here is my homage to the songbird from Kansas. I almost used an image of Judy Garland for Dorothy, but this picture speaks to me. For one, it sooo looks like a farmhouse in Kansas. Secondly, she looks to me like a young Dorothy, dreaming beyond her farmland and over the rainbow... yet still loving the home she has in her sepia colored world.

Ingredients

Paper: MyMindsEye, Jenni Bowlin

Fabric: soft blue gingham flannel

Image: vintage pic from personal collection

Embellishments: ribbon, Fiskars punch for eyelet trim, chipboard

Ink and paint, and sentiment printed from computer

Little Miss Pumpkin... Mojo100 Day 5

Yay Mojo! Having a blast with all of these sketches, I tell ya....

In my quest for stamps, I found some digi-stamps!Pretty cool, especially if you are impatient like me and want a new stamp image NOW and can't wait for the mail :) This cutie little image is one I purchased from PinkPetticoat. Isn't she super sweet? Perfect for Halloween, and I used the sketch at MojoMonday for the 5th challenge this week. I turned the sketch to make it vertical, and lost of fun mixing papers!

Ingredients

Paper: MME, BoBunny, Making Memories, CosmoCricket, Basic Grey, and Bazzill carstock

Image: Pink Petticoat Frillie Millie

Embellishments: ribbon

Ink and colored pencils

Lace...

I got a nice comment from Kathy, and she told me about the challenge at Daring Cardmakers. The challenge was this: Lace. Since I love vintage and old goodness, I had a stash of lace to choose from. I found this crocheted lace that I just had a smidge of, and it was an odd, green color... perfect for the papers I have been wanting to use!

Ingredients

Paper: Websters Pages, DCwV, Graphic 45

Image: Luna Girl

Embellishment: lace :)

Ink: Ranger distress ink

hello friend... Mojo 100 day 4!

I have been doing many vintage-y cards, and decided to challenge myself to do something different! Yes, I played with bold colors! Pinks and green, and no distress ink. Gasp! And it was fun! I was a little nervous, but I am happy with the results. I am also happy I am actually keeping up with the challenges! I am the Queen of Sidetracked as well "Nostalgia", but I am so pumped with doing cards, I find myself itching to do more and more and more!

This card uses the sketch by Sara from MojoMonday, and it was super fun :)

Ingredients

Paper: MyMindsEye, Creative Imagination, Prima

Image: Judith (it is dated 1995... I told you my stamps were old! But isn't that guy cute?)

Embellishments: Chipboard, ribbon

Techniques: Sanding (paper edges) and Paint (chipboard)

Halloween... the Hauntingly Magical Celebration!

Boo! I have some super exciting news! Vanessa, over at A Fanciful Twist, is hosting her fabulous Halloween party again this year! If you have never been to her blog, you must go. It is seriously, absolutely, magical! Vanessa has been in Artful Blogging, and she was hostess to the Mad Tea Party this past spring. It was amazing. To get all the details, and to see how can join in on this fabulous blog hop party, go to A Fanciful Twist to get more information. So get on your pointy hat, gather some pickled toads, and get ready for the most magical Halloween event in BlogLand!

Hey Diddle Diddle... Mojo Monday (day3)

It's mad times, I tell you, mad! Ok, so I am channeling Professor Slughorn from the Harry Potter books, but there is madness - MojoMadness! It is day 3, and I have made it my goal to do a card for each challenge this week. So far, so good :) AND this card actually has a stamped image. I have been using my vintage pics, but then I dug through my very small collection of stamps, and forgot I had this one! I love vintage children's books, and this cute stamp was perfect!

This is my first stamped card for a challenge, and therefore my first coloring... What do you think? I used colored pencils, and hope to get my hands on some Copic Markers one day :) They seem to be all the rage, and have fantastic results.

Ingredients

Paper: MyMindsEye, Cosmo Cricket, Paper Loft, K &Co

Image: "Hey Diddle Diddle" by Stampabilities

Distressing ink (Ranger) and colored pencils

Sketch: MojoTeresa
This card measures just under 6x6

Trick or Treat... Sketch Saturday Challenge

I made this sweetie little card for last week's challenge at Sketch Saturday. I need to start buying some new stamps, but until then, I have been delighted at how fun it is to use some of my vintage images! This little girl with the pumpkin basket - one of my absolute favorites! Isn't she fabulous?

Here is the sketch:

I flipped it on its side for my card, and used a spider's web in place of flowers :) I kept the color scheme pretty monochromatic, as I wanted to retain that vintage, olde world feel...

Ingredients

Paper: MyMindsEye, DCwView, Creative Imaginations, Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill cardstock

Image: Vintage photo from collection

Embellishments: cut spiderweb, ribbon, metal charm (Making Memories?)

Roar! Mojo 100 Day 2

Just a quick post! I wanted to get my Mojo100 Day 2 card. I am apt to get sidetracked (fine, I always get sidetracked) and don't want to lose my momentum.

My twin boys love dinosaurs, and I had a stash of this great paper from Basic Grey...

Ingredients

Paper:Basic Grey, Core'dinations cardstock

Embellishments: my hand pieced dinosaur, fabric tie

Ink:Ranger Distress Ink

"Back to School"... Mojo100

This week at Mojo Monday there is a celebration for hitting 100! If you haven't been to this blog and you like to craft, you need to hop over there. The sketches are amazing, and the cards created by their design team are fabulous inspiration. I know that sometimes I feel like I have lost, well, my crafty mojo, and a sketch perks me right up! I haven't made this many cards in my life, and I am loving it!

The card for the Day 1 of Mojo100 challenge is a back to school card. I was planning on making a back to school scrapbook layout for eBay, and thought it would be fun to make a coordinating 5x7 card. I am luuurving how this turned out :) (that was for you, Saucy :) )

Ingredients

Paper: Basic Grey, Graphic 45, MyMindsEye, Crate Paper

Embellishments: Chipboard, ruler ribbon that I teastained

Ink and Paint

Here is the Back To School Layout I plan on listing on eBay. Both pages are 12x12, and I paper pieced the schoolhouse, tree, landscaping... I don't think there are any "store-bought" embellishments here. Well, I guess the vintage scrabble tiles? I didn't carve those out of wood - I used pieces from an old scrabble game :) Anyhooo, this layout has lots of room for photos, and those scrabble letters are attached to a pull-out tag. I plan to list it tonight, so keep a look out.

Spooky! Friday Sketchers Challenge...

Yay Halloween! Oooh, how I can't wait to start decorating and looking for costumes for the kiddies :) I am thinking a donkey and a dragon? The boys are in love with the movie Shrek, and we could have some fun with that. Maybe I can convince Steve to let me paint him green and he can be the ogre. I would need a red wig...

Anyway, back to BOOusiness...
In the spirit of Halloween, I have created a card using the sketch from Friday Sketchers. Loving the challenges, I have to tell you. Having a sketch is awesome! I love the challenge, and it is amazing how one sketch can inspire such different cards! I love looking at the other card makers' works...

Ingredients
Papers: Daisy D (and for the life of me, I can't find the maker of the polkadots and text... anyone know?) and vellum *** Twyla knew! The text is by Making Memories :) Thanks Twyla! Now if anyone can tell me about the polkadots... I love that polkadot paper, and I need more :)
Embellishments: Making Memories brads, Prima flowers, ribbon

Cards, cards, cards! ...and the Basic Grey Challenge

So I have seriously caught a bug. No, not a got-a-fever-and-am-sick kind (that was last week - horrible sinus infection and cough like no other). No, I have caught the card bug! I love making cards! After finding some fabulous blogs out there, and looking at candy, and discovering great sketch sites - I am enthralled by all the lovely cards that can be made! I plan to add some great challenge sites to my blog so that you too can be addicted to card making :)

This card was created in response to the BasicGrey challenge. Using the sketch shown, I made my 6x6 card.

Ingredients:

Papers: Basic Grey, MyMindsEye, Jenni Bowlin, and Bazzill cardstock.

Image: Luna Girl (printed on vellum and layered over text paper)

Embellishments: Prima flowers, Queen and Co. brad, hand crocheted flower by PaperVintageRoses, vintage lace and trim

Ink: Ranger distressing ink

The sketch is also shown.

I think that one of the reasons I love card making so much is that I can use my stash of pretty vintage images! I love scrapbooking too, but I find it difficult to use vintage photos as embellishments... it feels odd to me to have pictures of "strangers" mixed with pictures of people I know :) But with cards, I am able to incorporate these lovely old photos. I want to do more stamping. I used to stamp waaaay back, so all of my stamps are from the 90s. Some are still to my fancy, but now that I have seen some of the lovely stamps out there, I want to try my hand at stamping some stamps from this century :)

Well, happy day to you, and hope you have a great one!