Upgrading Older Cards and a Baby Quilt....and I'm Published!

Hi!  If you follow my blog, you know that I've had TOO little time to create cards lately.  This still stands true, but I have been crafting a little bit lately.  :)  I also wanted to share my exciting news -- I've got two cards published in Paper Crafts Card Ideas for Paper Crafters, which just came out August 1st!

I'm on pages 33 and 91.  :)  So happy!  This is my first time being published.

When I was rifling through my box of give-away cards recently, it dawned on me that I had a lot of cards that are much too simple for my current taste.  Take these, for example, from a Simply Sent Kit by Stampin' Up!: 

Way back when I bought that kit, I did exactly as the instructions said.  I was a novice card maker, and needed all the help I could get.  Well, that was fine for then, but I wanted to dress these up a bit.

Now they are a bit more dressed up, thanks to two new punches I picked up not long ago:  Dotted Scallop by EK Success, and Doily Lace Trim double edge by Martha Stewart.  I could have added pearls, too, but I wanted to keep these relatively flat for easy (read:  cheaper) mailing. 

Another craft project that has kept me busy for the last week is to restore my 9 YO's baby quilt, which she sleeps with every night.

Meet "Baby Quilt", also known as "Quiltie":

I made this for Kerry before she was born, before I knew I'd be having a girl.  I was SURE she was going to be a boy, because I really wanted another girl and doubted I'd get my #1 choice two babies in a row.  :)

(there's nothing wrong with boys, but I've always been a real girly girl and felt I'd be a better mom to girls)

Kerry has slept with this quilt for nearly 10 years, and it was showing signs of falling apart:

Knowing Kerry would be bereft without it for a few days while I fixed it, I tried to prepare everything I could ahead of time:  I measured, I cut the new fluffy batting, I cut flannel strips and sewed together to make a binding.

The first night she had to sleep without it, she was very upset.  She had trouble falling asleep, bless her little heart.  The subsequent nights were easier, and in the meantime I had removed over a thousand stitches, one by one, to get the top and bottom apart.

After fitting it with a new piece of fluffy batting, and attaching a binding (which it did not have in the first place), now it looks like this:

It's by no means perfect, and I have a bit of tufting yet to finish, but it should last years longer and that makes Kerry happy.  :) 

Thanks for joining me today!

Colleen

Stamps:  Simple Delights from Simply Sent kit - Stampin' Up!

Paper:  River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky - SU

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, River Rock - SU

Punches:  Dotted Scallop by EK Success, and Doily Lace Trim double edge by Martha Stewart

Mark's Finest Papers 66 - Seashell Thanks

Thinking "natural" this week, over at Mark's Finest Papers, where our challenge is to use TWINE OR JUTE BUT NO RIBBON.

I picked out some raffia that I've nabbed off a package somewhere along the way. 

If you know my style, you have noticed that I RARELY do skewed panels.  This time 'round, it just felt 'natural' to skew that K & Co. patterned paper.  It came from the K & Co. 'Flora and Fauna Ledger' tablet.  I stamped a greeting from Mark's Finest Papers' Sand-Surf-Relax, and distressed the edges with ink and a fingernail. 

Sorry for the changes in photograph colors.  The main photo at the top of this post most accurately reflects the real-life colors. 

Sure hope you get a chance to join us this week!  Link up HERE by Friday, August 5, 2011 by 3 PM EST. 

Thanks for joining me today! 

Colleen

Stamps:  Sand-Surf-Relax - MFP
Paper:  kraft, ivory, Old Olive patterned paper - SU; ledger paper with fern - K & Co.
Ink:  Stazon Timber Brown; Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, Old Paper, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen - Ranger Distress Inks
Other:  Big Shot; Victoria embossing folder - Cuttlebug; sponge; pearls - Queen & Co.; raffia; dimensionals

Play Date Cafe 92 - Mother's Day Silhouettes

The color story from The Play Date Cafe this week is a feminine one, so I brought out the girly stuff for my card.  

Yes, Mother's Day passed a few months ago, but I couldn't resist using such a pretty sentiment stamp:

I CASE'd the idea from Colleen Schaan (love your name, Col! ;), whose card is featured on page 34 of CardMaker Magazine's September 2011 issue.  My color scheme is different, the stamps aren't quite the same, and I added several accents.  

I used the largest die in Spellbinders Labels Four to make a mask.  I carefully sponged Pink Pirhouette, Pretty in Pink and Cameo Coral inside the label mask, onto the card.  Keeping the mask in place, I stamped flowers from Garden Silhouettes and Watercolor Trio (both by Stampin' Up!) with the same ink colors.  The coral ink was a bit strong, so I stamped-off once before stamping on the card. 

Still keeping the mask in place, I stamped the berry twig with Versamark ink on top of the other flowers.  Gold embossing powder and a heat tool helped bring some shine. 

When the mask was removed, I stamped the greeting with black ink.

I tied in some gold again with a button sticker from Recollections, found in the clearance section of Michael's for 49 cents.  There were 4 assorted buttons in each package, and two remained.  They both came home with me.  :)

We've got a  fun sponsor with us this week at The Cafe.

To see what the prize is, head over to The Play Date Cafe.  :) 

Last week, during Color Splash Week, we had a marvelous player turnout - 166 people!  Wow!  Thanks so much for playing and helping us say goodbye to Fiona, our teamie.

And thanks for joining me here today.  I love when you visit!

Colleen

PS - to those of you who have visited my 13 YO DD's new blog, Glossip Girl - thank you!  She is tickled pink that she's had some visitors and a few new Followers.  You are all the best!! {{hugs}}

Stamps:  Garden Silhouettes, Something To Celebrate, Watercolor Trio - all SU

Paper:  Vintage Cream - PTI

Ink:  Pink Pirhouette, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral - SU; Versafine black - Tsukineko

Other:  pearls; crocheted lace from Ann Schach; Labels Four die- Spellbinders; Big Shot; gold button sticker - Recollections

Birthday Wishes x 11

Hi everyone!  I had a chance to play with some new-to-me stamps recently and went wild by making 11 of this card:

I have mentioned the $1.00 Scrap Bags I get from my Stampin' Up! demo before, and in my latest bag I found some of the goodies to make these cards.  The Pear Pizzazz and Concord Crush ribbons were pre-cut (11 in total), and so were the ivory and Concord Crush panels (11). 

The heart is from Punch Potpourri, a hostess set that I have coveted for some time.  At Gail's sale (my demo), I bought one of these sets for me and one for my friend, Andrea Ewen.  I own punches to go with all but the butterfly stamp, but that looks easy to fussy-cut. 

The sentiment is from another hostess set, Occasional Quotes.  To make it more visible against the deep purple, I used white embossing powder (not bad for one card, but for 11 it was getting 'old' pretty fast) and a heat tool. 

I added bling to a couple of these cards, but most went without.  The reason?  Most of these will likely go to Operation Write Home, and I know that glitter is a no-no.  This is not glitter, but I'm afraid to put ANY shiny stuff on my card, because these little gems can come off and stick on you.  That is very dangerous for our servicemen and women (it can be seen from far away, reflecting the sun and putting them at risk - it can even be seen with night vision).

My 13 YO recently started her own blog.  She has a passion for Philosophy lip glosses (see this post HERE) and bath gels, and that's what her blog is about.  It makes her happy, and I'm glad she has an interest that can help her pass the time this summer.  It's called Glossip Girl, if you'd like to visit her and make her day.  :)

Thanks for joining me today!

Colleen

All supplies by Stampin' Up! unless otherwise indicated:

Stamps:  Occasional Quotes, Punch Potpourri

Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Versamark - Tsukineko; Soft Suede

Punch:  Full Heart

Other:  Big Shot, Little Leaves Sizzlit, white embossing powder, ribbon - Pear and Concord, markers; green bling - Mike's $1 bin

Mark's Finest Papers 65 - Three Hearts

I chose the challenge for today's Mark's Finest Papers challenge:  we want to see three hearts on your project.

I surprised myself by going in a fancy, and blue, direction. 

Am I allowed to say how much I love my own card??  Eek!  I am thrilled with how it turned out.

It's 102 degrees here today in New Jersey, and I am nicely ensconced in the air conditioning while my kids and hubby play in the pool.  I am SUCH an indoor type of girl!

Please come play with us this week -- using three hearts on your project -- and link up your creations HERE.  The deadline is Friday, July 29, 2011 at 3 PM EST. 

Thanks for joining me today!

Colleen

Stamps:  Flourishes and Frame, Just Dandy - Mark's Finest Papers

Paper:  Vintage Cream - PTI; Baja Breeze - SU; Botanical papers - Prima

Ink:  Early Espresso - SU; Antique Linen, Old Paper - Ranger Distress Inks; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko

Punches:  Double Arches - Martha Stewart; Swirl - EK Success

Other:  Big Shot; Baja Breeze Glass Glitter, Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon - SU; pearls; Parisian Motifs, Fleur De Lis Motifs - Spellbinders; sponge

Play Date Cafe 91 - Color Splash of Your Choice

Hello everyone!  I had this post typed up before I left on vacation, just in case I didn't make it home in time to do so.  We went to Nags Head, North Carolina - The Outer Banks - to see my in-laws and had a lovely time.  This post goes live in a couple of hours, and I'm glad we made it home in time so I could throw in some vaca pics for you to see:

My girls, first day at the beach.

Sunset over the sound, seen from the top floor deck.

The sight that greeted us on our daily trip to the beach.

My hubby took the girls jet-skiing for their very first time.  They loved it!

I was checking my emails tonight, and wow!  Thank you all for the recent comments on my posts while I was away.  I loved reading each and every one, and can't wait to have some time to visit you all in return.  :)  Right now, a large sandy pile of laundry awaits me, so I'd better go. 

Back to our regularly scheduled post!

This week we have a Color Splash of your choice at The Play Date Cafe.  We are using The Twinery's awesome twine,

and I chose Pink Sorbet for my card.

I went really clean and simple on this one, because of a lack of time.  I used a stamp set called Wedding by Hampton Art that was so cheap at Michael's, I'd have been a fool to pass it up.  It included a flourished corner, and I stamped it four times to create this 'medallion'.  The heart and butterfly are from the set, too.

I wish I'd had more time to photograph it against a different backdrop, so you could see the card better.  Ah, well.

This is also the week we say goodbye to our Play Date teamie, Fiona.   What stands out about Fee's creations, in my book, are her wonderful knitted and crocheted items.  One time it was a pair of darling booties, another time a neat book mark with three dangling circles.  She has a very unique and artsy style.   Fee, I will miss you!!  Why don't you leave some love at Fee's blog and let her know she will be missed at the Play Date?  

And don't forget to pop over to the Play Date Cafe to see what colors the other girls have chosen for their Color Splash, and to see what fabby prize awaits one lucky winner!

Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you soon.

Colleen

Stamps:  Wedding - Hampton Art
Paper:  white by PTI
Ink:  Versafine black - Tsukineko
Other:  rhinestones; Pink Sorbet twine - The Twinery

Mark's Finest Papers 64 - Wheelbarrow of Flowers

Hello!  The challenge at Mark's Finest Papers this week is to use a bright combo of PINK, YELLOW & GREEN.  And I went clean and simple on this, because bright colors kinda scare me!

I used a new-to-me Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch to create my trail of blossoms.  Love that punch!  The shape of these flowers echoes the ones inside the wheelbarrow, from the Mark's Finest Papers set, In My Mother's Garden.  The image was colored with both Copic and Stampin' Up! markers, so I used Memento ink to stamp.  StazOn is no good for Copics, and VersaFine is the same.  I use Memento often, because it really suits my needs.

If you'd like a chance to win a FREE stamp set from MFP, make a card with our color combo and link it up HERE by Friday, July 22, 2011 by 3 PM EST. 

Thanks for joining me!

Colleen

Stamps:  In My Mother's Garden, Planted With Love - MFP
Paper:  white cardstock - MFP; pink - unknown; YoYo Yellow - Stampin' Up!
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Punch:  Double Embossed Dotted Lace - EK Success; Hydrangea - Martha Stewart
Other:  Copics, SU markers

Play Date Cafe 90 - Paris

Hello everyone!  Aren't these sunset colors just amazing?  Jax has eggplant, fuschia and orangesicle as our color story this week, and I just love it.

Our sponsor is Our Craft Lounge, and they graciously sent each design team member a different stamp set.  I received Vintage Traveler.  I tried to show a pic of it here, but I couldn't get it to work.  Well, anyway, it's a set that I fell in love with the moment I set eyes upon it. 

I worked on this project at my friend Andrea Ewen's house.  She has the most awesome craft room! 

The challenge colors made a perfect evening sky behind the Eiffel Tower.

Though it's hard to tell in the shots above, there is a bit of black behind the border punching.  You can see it better here:

Look who poked her nose in my picture!  It's Cristabel, our kitty that we adopted in January of this year.

She's hard to photograph, being all black with just bits of white around the nose. 
I had meant to introduce you all to her before, but the family crisis events this year took priority.  We adopted Cristabel from Pet Smart.  She had sat in their cages for at least a year, and no one wanted her because she is "old" (she just turned 2 years old) and black - apparently there are lots of folks who are superstitious about black cats.  Poor little girl!

She took to us right away, and is a darling.  I think she loves me best, but also adores Haley.  And even though my husband feeds her every morning, she'll only give him the time of day when it's breakfast time!
She loves to play with the throw rug by our front door, dashing under it and messing it all up.  She loves the wrinkled look.  ;)

Okay, back to The Play Date Cafe challenge.  :)  We'd absolutely love to see your creations, so head over HERE and read the details for playing.  Our guest designer this week is Kendra Wietstock.  Her cards are adorable, and she is so sweet!

Colleen

Stamps:  Vintage Traveler - Our Craft Lounge
Paper:  cream, black - PTI
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Orchid Opulence, Apricot Appeal - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko
Punch:  Martha Stewart
Other:  distressing tool - Making Memories; crochet trim; pearls - Recollections; sponge; dimensionals

Mark's Finest Papers 63 - Just a Note

Today's challenge at Mark's Finest Papers is to use a DIE CUT somewhere in your background.  As I contemplated this challenge, I had many vague ideas about how to incorporate a die cut.  I am proud of the selection of Spellbinders dies that I own, and was trying to envision using one of them. 

The day I made my sample card, my creative mojo must've went on vacation without me.  I just couldn't think of something fantastic, and made instead a perfectly fine - but perfectly ordinary - card. 

I almost never use orange, but I looked in my designer paper box and this called to me.  It's retired Stampin' Up! paper.  The sentiment is from Mark's Finest Papers' Sand - Surf - Relax, and the flourishes are from their Flourishes and Frame set, which I ADORE.

There's my die cut - a frame surrounding the sentiment.  It's an oldie but goodie from Stampin' Up!, when they made sheets of die cuts in different colors.  And see the gold rose charm?  It's available from Mark's Finest Papers.  You get 3 for only $1.25!  I think that's a steal; they're really nice.

Sure hope you can play along with us this week!  Just link up your creation HERE by Friday, July 15, 2011 at 3 pm EST. 

Thanks for joining me!

Colleen

Stamps:  Flourishes and Frame, Sand-Surf-Relax by MFP
Paper:  Crushed Curry, patterned paper - Stampin' Up!
Ink:  Chocolate Chip - SU
Punch:  Double Scallop - Martha Stewart
Other:  die cut - SU; gold rose charm - MFP; vintage ribbon; gold brads - JoAnn's; dimensionals

Play Date Cafe 89

With the kids home for summer break, my available craft time has been quite reduced.  I'm grateful for our relaxed days, with a (mostly) unstructured schedule.  I'm grateful that I get to have the kids around me more, to see their beautiful faces and hear some laughter. 

But, being a true crafting addict, I am going into withdrawal since my stamping time is limited.  I know some of you out there can relate.  I know I am not alone!  It doesn't help matters that my children tell me I'm on the computer too much, that they want to see more of me.  Oh, the guilt!

Well, I'd better get this post going before the kids wake up, or I'll be feeling the guilt all over again. 

This week the Play Date Cafe has some soft colors for you:  mint, buttercream and taupe.

Our sponsor, The Craft's Meow, kindly sent each of us on the Design Team a stamp set.  I received Timeless Tags:

Love this set!  It's got oodles of possibilities.
Here are the two cards I made for our challenge:

I stamped a flourish from the set around the edges of my card front, then embossed with Framed Tulips.  I broke into my Prima Botanical paper pad for a soft bit of taupe paper, and layered many things on top of it:  a paint chip -- which looks like the mint color of our color story -- that was punched, some braided trim, pearls, a dragonfly sticker and of course the Timeless Tag stamp.  Oh, and for the first time ever, I SEWED ON MY CARD!  Alas, you can barely see it, but it's there. 

Version Two, using a flower instead of a dragonfly:

Our guest this week is Nicky Hsu, and she's got a soft, lovely card you don't want to miss.  Head over to The Play Date Cafe to see the whole team's cards and link up your crafty creation, too. 

Thanks for joining me!

Colleen

Stamps:  Timeless Tags - Craft's Meow
Paper:  Very Vanilla cardstock - SU; Botanical patterned paper - Prima; paint chip
Ink:  Sahara Sand - SU; Versafine black - Tsukineko
Punch:  Acanthus Leaf - EK Success
Other:  Big Shot, Framed Tulip embossing folder - SU; dragonfly sticker - K & Co.; braided trim; pearls; dimensionals

My CBS Interview

My CBS Interview for Operation Write Home aired yesterday, and you can read all about it HERE. 

Short post...off to an appointment!

Colleen

Mark's Finest Papers 62 - Blue Sunflowers

Happy Independence Day weekend to all my US friends!  (and a belated Happy Canada Day to my Canadian pals)

We've got a Red, White and Blue Patriotic Theme for Mark's Finest Papers Speedy's Challenge this week, and here is my rather unusual card:

Blue sunflowers never happen in nature, but then neither do faces on the flowers, so I thought, "Why not?"
I had fun pulling out my Copic markers for this card.  The stamp set, Planted with Love, has some other cute images on it, too, like a watermelon seed packet.  But a watermelon would've looked REALLY weird in blue.  ;)

Come play with us!  Link up your card HERE by Friday, July 8, 2011 by 3 PM EST. 
Have a wonderful weekend!

Colleen

Stamps:  Planted with Love - MFP
Paper:  white cardstock - PTI; patterned papers The Christmas Combo - DCWV
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Old Paper, Antique Linen Distress Inks
Other:  blue metallic cording; kraft die cut tag - SU; bakery twine - the real kind!; Copic markers; dimensionals; Aleene's Tacky Glue