A sheetload blast from this past August

Here are some of the cards I made using Call Me Crafty Al's August 2020 Sheetload.  I had thought I doubled the sheetload, but actually I quadrupled it.  Alicia's sketches make it very easy to do that!!!

I used papers from a 6x8 Simple Stories paper pad I got last summer at Butterfly Reflections Ink.  It's actually not terribly far from me and I enjoyed being able to go inside a scrapbook & card making store.  That's becoming such a rarity!!! Sometimes you just want to be able to see the product IRL before you buy it right?

The pretty squares of images came from my friend Mary-Ann. She was doing a stash sale a couple summers back and threw these into my box. I tweaked Alicia's design cause I wanted to be able to use these squares.  They were supposed to be images with sentiments below, but since most had sentiments I kept the rest of the cards unstamped.  Some sequins and twine were added for some extra eye candy.  I have a very hard time with "less is more" when it comes to cards!

Some squares didn't have a sentiment, but that's okay.  My hubs and I write longish messages inside the cards we send, so the recipients will have plenty to read. LOL!

These cards made using the August 2020 Sheetload got me to about half-way done with my cards.  I thought I had enough made from doubling the October 2020 Sheetload, but I think I may have to triple/quadruple that set. Won't be hard since Alicia gives you all the measurements and cut guides.  Gonna go play some Christmas tunes and make my last few cards.  So excited to be ahead for a change. Yay!!!

What are you doing for Christmas cars this year?  What are your favorite Christmas color combos?

October Sheetload 2020- Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Saturday! Thought I would pop by and share some Christmas cards I made using Call Me Crafty Al's sketch for her October Sheetload.  If you haven't used one, you must hop over to her YouTube Channel to get the deets on these!!!

They are typically designed to make 6-10 cards, depending on the sketch of the month, using typically only 2 sheets of cards stock and 2 sheets of patter paper.  It's an excellent way to build a stash of cards to have on hand for any occasion.

This months Sheetload and the August 2020 Sheetload have helped me get all my Christmas cards made for this year (I think, need to recount LOL). I doubled both sketch recipes to have all my cards and it is so exciting to actually be ready ahead of time!!!

I tweaked the design a bit so I could use these die cuts that already had sentiments.  I couldn't resist adding some extra embellishments from my stash.  Trying to chip away at some goodies I have been holding on to for too long! They aren't doing anyone any good sitting in the stash.  Am I right? 

The hot cocoa one is my current favorite of this set, but don't tell the other cards! Still need to finish up the other set I made using this sheetload sketch.  I've always dreamed of being able to write out Christmas cards on Thanksgiving weekend.  This might actually be the year we make it happen!!!  Do you celebrate Christmas? If so, do you send cards? How many do you send?

June 2020 SheetLoad

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope your week is going well.  We've been going to extremes with weather around here!!! Last week was stinkin' hot and humid 80's and higher.  This week someone turned off the heat and turned up the freezer!  I actually had a fire going yesterday.  What?!?  

Today I popped in to quickly share the SheetLoad of Cards I made using Call Me Crafty Al's June 2020 SheetLoad recipe. Alicia puts one out each month and all of us on the Design Team offer up our take of the current month's SheetLoad on the 2nd of each month.  Alicia also puts out a call to see what you can do with her SheetLoads and even shares some on her YouTube channel.  Typically I am just an Instagram gal, but since I have dusted off my blog I thought i would share here as well!  All the deets and ways to see all the Design Team Collaborators are here:

Find out how to download the free June 2020 SheetLoad of Cards, here: https://youtu.be/658iGuGY814

If you create cards using this month’s SheetLoad, make sure to use the following hashtags:

 #suysjun2020 #showusyoursheetload

Get more details on how to “Show Us Your SheetLoad”, here: https://youtu.be/8r6JbbGfWmo

Make sure to check out all of the SheetLoad collaborators!

YouTube Team:

   Call Me Crafty Al / Alicia: https://www.youtube.com/callmecraftyal/videos

   Bourbon Creek Crafts / Beth: https://www.youtube.com/bourboncreekcrafts/videos

   Creative Chelsey / Chelsey: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCszCS397ptot3vJdvLCirTg/videos

   Stmpgrl / Paige: https://www.youtube.com/user/stmpgrl/videos

   Lil Crafty Nook / Nikki: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicaligirl58/videos

   Deb Houck’s Crafty Cottage / Deb: https://www.youtube.com/c/DebHoucksCraftyCottage-DahliaDesigns/videos

   Cool Cakes and Crafts with Amalia / Amalia: https://www.youtube.com/user/petunia10466/videos

Blog Team:

   Danni’s Dreams / Danni: http://dannisdreamscrafts.blogspot.com/

   Airbornewife Stamping / Pam: http://airbornewifestamping.blogspot.com

   Stamp with Sandie / Sandie: http://stampwithsandie.blogspot.com/

   Fresh and Renewed / Teresa: https://freshandrenewed.blogspot.com

Instagram Team:

   @deneen03 / Deneen: https://www.instagram.com/deneen03/

   @lizzies_happy_mail / Elizabeth: https://www.instagram.com/lizzies_happy_mail

   @scrpbkgrl / Lisa: https://www.instagram.com/scrpbkgrl/

   @craftaholicmomma / Stacy: https://www.instagram.com/craftaholicmomma/

   @fuzzyslippersdesigns / Moriah: https://www.instagram.com/fuzzyslippersdesigns/ That's me!

Hello Again!

Hi Everyone!!! It's been quite some time since I posted!  I have been busy creating, but have mostly been posting on Instagram.  Thought I would dust off the blog and see if I remember how this works. ;-)


I shared this over on Lori Whitlock's Blog last week.  Hope over to check out my brief tutorial and let them know I sent you.  I had a ton of fun creating this Kaleidoscope...that's what a collection of butterflies is called apparently.  Learn something new every day!

Cheers!

Cool Thanks on a Hot Day

How 'bout some cold weather cards to help you cool off today? ;-)  This is a set I sold in my Etsy shop this past winter/spring.  Never too early to stock up on gifts...

I'm working on more sets like these.  They were blank inside so they could be used for whatever you'd like.  The cards all used Papertrey Ink stamps and dies and the box used a stamp from Unity.

 I'm pretty sure the papers are all from a Kti Club I used to belong to years ago.  Periodically I like to challenge myself to see how many cards/creations I can make using mostly just goods from a kit club kit.  Some kits lend themselves more than others for sure!

Well, thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are staying cool today, or at least at the beach!  I, myself, am off to tutor some former first graders before they head to camp for the day.  Keep your fingers crossed that we can all wake up enough to get anything done at this early hour!!!

Spring has to be coming! Right??

It has been a weather rollercoaster here in New England these last couple of weeks and there is no chance of it slowing down any time soon!  We get a couple of days of mid 60's to 70's, then the bottom drops out and we get rain and freezing temps.  After horrible March winds (can you say out like a RAM instead of LAMB?!?!) and flip-flop weather, we are getting a few inches of snow tonight!!! What???????

In an effort to bring sunshine and warmth, I'm sharing this little set I made.  I dug into the washi tape and ribbon roses I was hoarding had in my stash and a set of stamps that needed a little love.

The leaf is an MFT die.  I lurve using it with these roses, especially when I can use a wacky color!  The yellow pops even more thanks to the navy polkas dot leaf. ;-)

The sentiments are stamped on bits of oaktag leftover from another project.  I made another set using this basic sketch, but with different colors.  I can't decide if I want to keep the set together or make two more with other color combos and break the cards into 4 variety sets.  We'll see how motivated I get this weekend I guess!

Not Quite Right Until Now

Morning Peeps!  Thought I'd share a Throwback Thursday/Revitalized Goody Box.  Sometimes you make something and you just know it isn't done, but you can't figure out how to finish it.  My mom used to create things and when they weren't "quite right" she'd stick them in a closet for a bit until they looked better to her. 

I made a bunch of these cards a couple years ago.  One of the sets got boxed up and was scooped up by a customer at a fair.  I didn't want to make the next box exactly the same, but I just couldn't decide what to do.

The rest of the cards were stashed away for another day and I waited (somewhat impatiently) for inspiration to strike.  In the meantime, two set of cards got rapid cello bag packaging.  I needed to thank the lunch ladies for saving me when I forgot my lunch, but the cafeteria was just about to shut down.  Going from 6:30 in the morning to 6 at night with only a yogurt really won't work.  Not if you are trying to corral 6 year olds and make it through an hour and a half staff meeting!

 

What to do with the remaining cards?????  They kinda sat in the "sorta finished bin" mocking me.  In a cute way of course. ;-) Finally a couple weeks ago I sat down and made myself look through all my papers to find something that would work!  I refused to allow myself to do anything with my fun newest goodies until I made a cute box for this set.  Happily I actually was able to spark some creativity with the fun banner paper and cool yellow pom-pom accessories.

 What project/s have you taken a long time to finish because they just weren't quite right the first time?

Pie Day! (almost)

Morning Peeps! I was going to wait to post this until Pi Day (March 14 as in "3.14"), but this set has me so excited I can't wait that long!

This set was a request from my "work roommate".  She wanted a "pie themed" set to send notes to her daughter.  They have a long running joke about pie as a result of her being in the play The Waitress a while back. 

The stamp is from a set by Unity Stamp Co.  I don't think I ever would have used this stamp if it hadn't been a request.  Now I can't stop making stuff with it!!!  I have so many plans for this image. Some of my favorite projects have been requests from friends and Etsy customers.  They really force you to think outside your regular box and it is usually pretty awesome!

The papers were almost all from a recent order from Paper Issues (LOVE their super fast shipping!)Each pie plate was paper pieced and given extra zing with some Copic markers.  The pies themselves were colored with Copics and then "sugared" with Tim Holtz distress stickles. It totally reminds me of how pie can get a sugary top when the fruit bubbles over. ;-)  The "I" in the pie is also the "o" in about, so I added either a pearl, circle rhinestone, or star rhinestone for extra fun.

I channeled the vintage feel (thanks in part to Paper Issues for supplying most of the luscious papers I used!) by listening to my The Wailin' Jennys channel on Pandora.  My DH was teasing me for listening to "old timey music" but really it was instrumental in helping me feel the vibe.  Nothing like old spirituals, bluegrass fiddles, and Irish ballads to get you into the vintage mood!

What's been in your music rotation lately?

Nuts & Bolts Love

Thought I would share another version of my Valentine Card Kits.  This time I have a robot version!  My hubby likes this one because it combines a corny saying with an engineering-ish image. ;-)

This creation was something I had thought about putting together, but hadn't gotten around to it until I had an Etsy customer request something more boy-ish.  Have I mentioned how much I really do adore my Etsy customers?!?!  They really are an inspiring group! The deadlines they create don't hurt my productivity either. LOL!  Am I the only one who actually likes deadlines?

These are flat front valentines which is great for production, but stressful when you have to stamp the sentiments in two separate steps.  Lots of room for an "oops"!

Hope this has inspired you to play Cupid with some cards this Valentine's Day!  What are you going to create?  Please share it with me.  I'd love to see what you make!!!

Happy Valentine's Cupcake

I was scrolling through my blog and don't think I ever shared these!  This is one of the kits that kept me busy last winter.  Which wasn't a bad thing considering how much snow we got and how many snow days I had last year!

These went all over.  California for a tea party, Pennsylvania for a 2nd graders valentines, Texas, and a bunch of other places I am forgetting right now.  One gal used the watercolor version to make cards for her coworkers.  Love my Etsy customers!  I wouldn't have thought anyone but kids would like these and I'm so happy to find out how wrong I was!!

Two options for the DIY Cupcake Valentine Kits are just cupcakes to make, but two versions also include 2 teacher cards that I make with big layered cupcakes.  Anywho, thanks for taking a peek at another valentine throwback!

Two Holidays Together

Each February we have Curious Cupid at work (think Secret Santa but in February). There are a lot of us who look forward to this as a fun way to make it through the typically snowy month, but this year we had so many snow days we had to cancel it! To make up for it we had a one day "Lucky Leprechaun" gift exchange. This was my haul for the day. Lots of goodies to make Irish coffee, sweet treats, a pretty basket, and fun bling to wear for the day. 😏

I just sent out a big Etsy order for Easter. The gal ordering wanted boxes of cards for the teachers at her child's preschool. The two classroom teachers each get the big boxes with either the apple or books, the chapel teacher is getting the box with the church tag, and the music teacher is getting the one with the music note. I hope everyone enjoys their cards!

It has been bitter cold here, so these cards are helping me try to get into s springtime mindset!

 

Baskets

I've been busy crafting creations for a couple fairs I have coming up. This is a simple picnic basket quad I played around with and thought I'd share. :) I'm trying to be very good and use as much of my stash as possible rather than buy lots of new stuff. We'll see how long I last!

All the stamps are PTI and are colored with various copic markers.

2013- A Look Back

Hiya Folks!  Wowzers, this past holiday season was BUSY.  Now that things have calmed down I'm taking a look back at my favorite creations.  Join me for a stroll down Memory Lane. :)

 January

February

 March

 April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I made a bunch of stuff in December, but looks like I never got around to posting any of it.  Oh well, maybe one of these snowy days I go through all the pics and get some of them up here for y'all to see. :)

Hope you had a wonderful 2013 and here's to an amazing 2014!!!

I'm strolling here to share the reflections: