Home Recuperating

Hello everyone!  I just wanted to pop in and let you know that my surgery went well on Monday.  I am currently a 'prisoner' of my second floor, since the only bathroom is on that floor.  I'm not allowed to do steps yet, and not for another week.  No driving either, for two weeks.  I am seriously blessed with a wonderful husband.  He's got the housework under control, and is juggling his job, our kids and their schedules, and my care, too.  What a great guy! 

This was my first time for general anesthesia.  I had thought I'd be sore, of course, but that my mind would be sharp and I'd be doing all this reading in bed.  Nope!  I've been doing a lot of sleeping and 'zoning out.' Someone usually brings me the laptop once or twice a day, so I have limited computer access. 

Remember that 'Artful Frame' I had entered in a challenge, and asked for your votes?  Unfortunately, I did not place at all.  :(  HUGE disappointment.  Thanks to those of you who did vote for me.  I really appreciated it.

One happy piece of crafting news for me though -- 'Happy Birthday, Punkin' made it as a Spotlight Artist at City Crafter.  It was nice to find that waiting for me after coming home from the hospital.

It's going to be a little while longer until I can have crafting time again, and visit all of you at your blogs.  I miss you! 

Hugs to you,
Colleen   

Play Date Cafe 105 - A Little Bandage

It's Thursday, so it must be time for another Play Date Cafe challenge! (I'm so glad for the 'Scheduled Post' option of Blogger.)  ;-)

Love the colors for our challenge:  cadet blue...taupe...kraft/flesh. 

Some of those colors reminded me of Band-Aids, so I used Wellness Wishes from Stampin' Up!.  I've never inked up this little bandage guy -- he's THE CUTEST!

Other first-aid touches:  twill, which reminds me of gauze tape....

...and Creamy Caramel cardstock, embossed with Perfect Polka Dots and reversed.  (basically, it's de-bossed)  This is a dead-ringer for a Band-Aid color.

Our sponsor this week is

Go have some fun with our colors, and you just might win the Cup of the Week prize!

Thanks for joining me today.  :)

Colleen

Stamps:  Wellness Wishes - Stampin' Up!
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Antique Linen Distress - Ranger
Paper:  Creamy Caramel, Bordering Blue - SU; white - PTI
Other:  twill tape, antique brass buckle slide, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder - SU; Copic markers; ovals and scalloped ovals - Spellbinders

Elegant Get Well

I've got a get well card to show you today.  It is for my husband's college friend.  We recently found out that he was injured very badly in a farming accident.  It involved a large machine that helps roll up those huge, round hay bales you sometimes see dotted on farmland.  It has a very pointy arm on it, which helps lift those round bales.

The point impaled this man through his shoulders, completely missing his heart and lungs, but damaging a lot in the process.  He's been in the hospital for weeks now. 

I thought this card might cheer him up a little. 

I stamped a flourished square three times across the bottom of the card.  It's from a new-to-me set by American Crafts called Majestic.  I got it from TJ Maxx for $1.99.  To be honest, it's a little hard to stamp with.  The images don't come out real crisp and clean, as they should.  Well, at least it was only $2 that I shelled out!

The bow was made with two loops of ribbon, each secured on the ends with Scor-Tape.  Then I attached Scor-Tape to the bottom of each loop, and mounted them together.   Sorry I didn't take any pics to show you.

For those of you who voted for me at Market Street Stamps *Special Edition* Block Party challenge, THANK YOU!  You can vote again today (Saturday October 22) and then tomorrow (Sunday, October 23rd) before voting closes. (click on logo for link)

My "Artful Frame" wooden frame/home decor piece is in the Top Ten Finalists.  I'd sooooo love to win the top prize - $600 in free stamps spaced over a year!!  That sounds so good to me.  :-)

This will be my last post before I have my surgery.  I have to see how I'm feeling post-op.  Maybe I can come back to play sooner than I expect.  Wish me luck - on the surgery and on the Market Street Stamps contest!!  (Monday is when MSS announces its top three winners; I hope they post early, because I'll be in the hospital before noon)

Thanks for joining me!

Colleen

Stamps:  Majestic - American Crafts; Wellness Wishes - SU 
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Paper:  white - PTI
Other:  blue bling - Michael's; ribbon - sample from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Please Vote For Me!!

Hooray! I am one of the 10 *SPECIAL EDITION* Market Street Stamps Block Party Finalists!!  Please click here to vote!

I hope you find my entry worthy of a vote.  :)  Here is what I created:

If you click on the picture, it'll take you to the post where I show close-up details of the frame.

You may vote for up to 3 finalists each day, one vote per finalist thru Sunday, October 23rd - 11:59 CDT.

Thank you so much for your support!  I am very excited! 

Colleen

Play Date Cafe 104 - Beautiful You

Welcome to the 2nd Anniversary of the  Play Date Cafe!  We've got some very special prizes for our challenge this week.  The goodies are going to make several winners really happy!  Our sponsors this week:  Layers of Color, Sweet Stamp Shop and The Twinery. 

As soon as Jaclyn put up this color story, I knew right away what I could do with it.

The focal point is a sticker from K & Co. that I've had since the summer.  I think it's so beautiful!  I set it upon a piece of white cardstock, stamped with script and then punched.   

The sentiment is from Verve's Celebrating You.  The background paper is Anna Griffin.  The green strip is a Stampin' Up! sticker - and of course, it's retired (so many of my SU things are).

I hope you get a chance to play with us for this extra-wonderful week at The Cafe!

Colleen

Stamps:  Celebrating You - Verve; Old French Script - Hero Arts
Paper:  Barely Banana, Whisper White - SU; pale yellow pattern - Anna Griffin
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko; Frayed Burlap Distress - Ranger
Punch:  Deco Fan - Martha Stewart
Other:  K & Co sticker; pearls; gold twine; green border sticker - SU

Happy Birthday, Punkin!

Hello everyone!  Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on my Artful Frame yesterday.  I am happy you liked the project as much as I did.  :-) 

Today is my Punkin's 10th birthday.  I love that she has an October birthday.  Fall is my favorite time of year, and our wedding anniversary passed just days ago.  We have a whole slew of birthdays this month too, in our extended families. 

This card is entered at City Crafter, where the challenge is Harvest Festival -  fruits or vegetables.

Kerry opened her gifts before going off to school today, and she loved her card.  We have a magnet of this pumpkin image on the fridge, so she thought I might've photocopied it from there.  I actually downloaded the image  from The Ephemera Society, through Pinterest. 

The patterned paper is from DCWV Four Seasons stack, which I picked up for $5.99 at TJ Maxx recently.  The black cardstock is mounted on a white card base. 

I seem to use white card bases ALL the time, and I do love Papertrey Ink's version - bright white, thick and sturdy.  When I was new to paper crafting, all I had was Stampin' Up!'s white cardstock.  Now I think it's rather flimsy, compared to other brands.  However, it comes in handy for a couple of things:  border punching (it's tough using PTI cardstock for that; I've broken punches) and sending it through my home printer.   I used the SU stuff to print this pumpkin.

Tomorrow is The Play Date Cafe's 2nd Anniversary!  Whoo hoo!  We've got awesome prizes from The Twinery, Layers of Color and Sweet Stamp Shop.  Be sure to stop by and see what we've cooked up for you.  :-)

Well, thanks so much for joining me today! 

Colleen

Stamps:  none
Paper:  white - PTI; Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake - SU; DCWV Four Seasons
Ink:  Antique Linen, Walnut Stain Distress - Ranger
Punch:  Dotted Scallop - EK Success; Lattice Edge - Martha Stewart
Other:  safety pin, brad - SU; twine; black ribbon - Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Artful Frame

ETA:  This home decor wooden frame, 7 1/2" square, was chosen as a Top Ten Finalist at Market Street Stamps!  Please vote for me HERE.  :)  My creation is #4.  Thank you so much!!

I have a good friend named Linda.  My 9 YO is best friends with one of her daughters.  Linda often has my daughter for playdates, takes her on excursions, and is a leader in our Girl Scout troop. She picked up my child's Girl Scout uniform and other supplies for me, sewed the patches on the vest, and brought it to the meeting.  Linda took great care of my kid while she attended her first camping trip ever last weekend, with the troop.  Linda is funny, compassionate, thoughtful and always willing to help.  She was the first person to commission a card from me, too - the "Inspired by an Anthropologie Mug" card. 

I owe her so much, and wanted to make something extra special for her upcoming birthday.
Now, at the same time, I heard about a challenge at Market Street Stamps.  They're having the most wonderful Anniversary fiesta.  If you use their stamps and enter your creation, they will narrow down the entries to a few finalists.  Then on Thursday October 20th, everyone will be able to vote for their favorite creation.  The prize?  $600 in free stamps!!  How awesome!  I want to be the winner.  ;-)

I used Market Street's Vintage Wallpaper background.  LOVE it!  I stamped it four times in Sahara Sand ink on white cardstock to create my own designer paper.  I left some areas uninked on purpose for a distressed look.

I used a wood frame ($2.99) from a local craft store as my base.

I had only a vague idea in mind when I began.  It took me hours and hours, and much of that time was spent 'auditioning' different die cuts, punches and stickers on the frame.  I asked my kids over and over, "How does this look?  Or how 'bout this?"  They were very helpful.  :)

One of the first additions to the frame:  Infinite Loops double edge trim punch in white, and Dotted Scallop in black.  The venise lace is from eBay.  These things I was sure about adding.  After that, much pondering took place!

The next additions were die cuts - a Parisian motifs large circle, cut down, and a flourish from Fleur De Lis Motifs.

Then I thought of making a frame with Iron Gate corner and edge punches.  I used a square die to cut out the center.
Next came a portion of a K & Company die cut border.

And more K & Company die cut borders make an appearance.  I trimmed only what I needed - one butterfly and a bit of fern.

I am also entering this at Moxie Fab's Textured To Perfection challenge.  This frame is full of texture, with the lace, the pearls, the die cuts, with so much dimension.  

I am SO proud of this creation.  I think it is my best work yet, in the papercrafting phase of my life.
My 9 YO thinks I should make more of these to sell at an upcoming craft fair (my first!).  While this is a wonderful idea, it is very time-consuming.  I may have time to make one or two before the early November date.

Early next week I go in for surgery, and there's soooo much I want/need to do before then.  Making more of these frames are not on the list!  LOL 

On Thursday, there'll be a new challenge for The Play Date Cafe.  You don't want to miss this one!  It's our Two Year Anniversary, and there are some AWESOME prizes to be had for SEVERAL lucky crafters!
Thanks for visiting me today.  I know it was a very long post.

Colleen

Stamps:  Vintage Wallpaper - Market Street Stamps
Paper:  Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Whisper White - SU; white - PTI; patterned paper - SU (a French set, can't remember the name)
Ink:  Antique Linen, Walnut Stain Distress - Ranger; Sahara Sand - SU
Punches:  Infinite Loops double edge, Iron Gate corner & edge - Martha Stewart; Dotted Scallop - EK Success
Other:  Die cut decorative borders - K & Co; venise lace; pearls; Big Shot; Parisian motifs, Fleur De Lis motifs die cuts - Spellbinders

Love You Anniversary

Tomorrow marks my 17th wedding anniversary.  My husband and I met in high school.  We dated a little during school, then went off our separate ways for colleges.  When we were 22 years old, we got together again, and have been together since (that's 23 years!). 

Last night, I made an anniversary card for my Bri.  Sure, it's got some feminine elements on there, but overall I think it can be considered masculine.  Guy cards are soooooo not my thing....(and he knows this)

The fleur-de-lis paper is from the DCWV Mariposa stack.  The Eiffel Tower is by Our Craft Lounge (Vintage Traveler), the frame Notably Ornate by SU, and the sentiment a combo of stamps ("Love") from Squarely Sentimental by Fiskars and Carpe Diem ("You") by Hampton Arts.

Those butterflies are from an old SU set, Botanicals, which I got cheaply on eBay not that long ago.  Love the set!!

This card is entered at the City Crafter challenge, using primarily black and cream.  My friend Stella Schenkel is the guest artist this week over there, and I'm so glad for her!  She is one of the most delightful people I have met, and has some utterly gorgeous creations on her blog.

I also entered at Ribbon Carousel, with my 'sparkle and bling' (gold papers, pearls).

October is a busy month for us, with many birthdays and of course our anniversary.  We have another anniversary to add to it now:  it's been one year since our beloved Smoat kitty died.  Although I am so fond of Cristabel, the black cat we adopted in January 2011, nothing can replace that good ol' orange boy of mine.  He was simply the best.

Miss you, Smoat!

Changing the tempo now.....
I wanted to acknowledge Linda B of Hands to Work...Heart to Love.  She bestowed upon me the Butterfly Award for my blog:

I'm supposed to answer some questions about myself and pass this award on to 10 other crafters.  Linda, I hope you won't be mad at me for holding off on that end of the bargain.  I have so much on my plate right now and just can't get to it yet!  Thank you for thinking of me and putting me in a crowd of super-talented crafters - that alone is an honor to me.  :)

At the Paper Players, my French Flair card won Headliner for last week's challenge.  :-)

Okay, that's quite a long enough post!  Thanks for reading if you've made it this far.  ;)

Colleen

Stamps:  Carpe Diem - Hampton Arts; Botanicals, Notably Ornate - SU; Squarely Sentimental - Fiskars; Vintage Traveler - Our Craft Lounge
Paper:  white, cream - PTI; Basic Black, Sahara Sand, gold - SU; pattern - DCWV Mariposa stack
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Walnut Stain, Antique Linen Distress - Ranger
Other:  Big Shot; Fleur De Lis Motifs die cuts - Spellbinders; Copic markers; pearls; black ribbon - Offray

Spellbinders Die Cut Storage

Good morning!  Many of you know I do not have a craft room.  I use my dining room table, which is the only table in the house.  My supplies have to be tucked away, as out of sight as possible so no one trips over the stuff during our daily lives.

I recently read about someone using magnetic vent covers for Spellbinders Die Cut storage, and thought that would work for me too.

My craft cabinet is our former TV/entertainment armoire, now located in the dining room.  The inside of the doors were transformed last night into die cut heaven!

My husband bought me a 3 pack of magnetic vent covers like these, available at hardware stores or even Amazon.com:

I added this double-sided adhesive to stick them to the doors:

Unfortunately, that 3-pack of vent covers didn't create enough storage for me, so I thought of something else.
You know those advertising magnets you get in the mail, from realtors and restaurants, or even can find on your Yellow Pages book?  These.....

I just put that adhesive on 'em and hung those up too - virtually free storage! (except for the tape)

It might not be fancy, but it beats keeping these in a box.  I like looking at everything!  And because I LOOOVE organization, I keep all of the original Spellbinders package fronts in my Big Binder like this:

That same binder holds pictures of all my stamps and punched-out pieces from all of my punches, too.
I couldn't get along without that Big Binder!

I've got another post to share later, so I'll see you soon!  Thanks for joining me.  :)

Colleen

Play Date Cafe 103 - Another Butterfly

Rust, storm and deep sea - these are the colors of our challenge this week at The Play Date Cafe.  I was stumped, as I often am with a bright palette (yes, these colors look bright to me).  So, I responded in my usual way and went 'clean and simple.' 

 

The layout came from Mary Jo Albright. 


Card by Mary Jo Albright

Maybe a year or more ago, I found an awesome card by her on Splitcoast, and I copied the photo of the card to my hard drive.  I often do that, when I see a creation I want to be inspired by later on.

I changed up plenty of things on my own version of this card, including the addition of bling under my Scallop Dot punched border.  'Something different', as my grandmother used to say.  I hope this pic gives you a better view of it.  I used crafting tweezers to help me carefully arrange them. 

Our sponsor this week is

Hope you get a chance to play with us at The Play Date Cafe this week.  See you there!

Colleen

Stamps:  none
Paper:  Really Rust, Basic Gray, Pacific Point - SU
Ink:  none
Punch:  Scallop Dot border, Monarch Butterfly - Martha Stewart
Other:  Big Shot; rust twill (recycled); Antique Brass slide, Stripes embossing folder, Embosslit 'Beautiful Wings' - SU; blue bling - Queen & Co.; dimensionals

Play Date Cafe 102 - Wishing You Bouquets of Joy

It's time for another Play Date Cafe challenge!  This week our sponsor is

and our design team got to pick out some goodies.  Thank you, Stampotique!  I chose these images:

and

I can see so many possibilities for these neat stamps.  Here's how I used them with our color story --

This is such an eclectic assortment, and I kind of like it!
The bees were stamped all over the orchid cardstock, but you really can't see it unless you're close up:

I punched some old Stampin' Up! Vintage Violet cardstock, and mounted it behind a book page and a piece of lace.  The lilac clip art is from Crafty Secrets.

This button (and many others) was passed on to me by my aunt, who holds the button collection that her mother had.  Thanks, Aunt Kay!  See the green stuff on the button?  I cannot scratch it off, but it worked out really well for our color challenge.

I used Crystal Effects on both bees, just 'cause.

You'll want to head over to The Play Date Cafe and see what the rest of our crafty team has made for you.  We hope you get a chance to play with us, too! 
Thanks a bunch for joining me today.  :)

Colleen

Stamps:  Medium Bee with Tiny Bee, Hutching's - Stampotique
Paper:  white - PTI; Basic Black, Vintage Violet, Whisper White, green patterned paper - SU; orchid - California Paper Goods; page from Miss Manner's book
Ink:  Antique Linen, Walnut Stain Distress inks - Ranger; Pale Plum - SU; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Punch:  Lattice Edge border - Martha Stewart
Other:  lilac clip art - Crafty Secrets; button; lace; dimensionals; Crystal Effects