Fun For Father's Day

I needed to make a Dad's day card for the Dad of the house, and I wanted it to be something a little bit fun. I stumbled upon a cool card in the new SU catalog (p.126), and decided to use it as my inspiration sketch.

The card uses stamps to create the look of washi tape. I confess, I own about three rolls of washi tape. Not a lot, just enough to be "trendy". I decided to use Distress Stains to give me the look and color
wash of washi.

I used painters tape to tape of the ends of my faux washi. Then I applied a streak of stain and let it dry a bit before removing the tape. I applied a few spritzes of Glimmer Mist in Graphite, and then removed the spray nozzle and used the end to dot the card in a few spots. When that was dry, I filled in the stripes with some real washi to give it some pattern and contrast.

I wanted to add a little extra shimmer and bling, so I used a  Sharpie to color a few rhinestones black.

I stamped the sentiment from Paper Smooches (Simply Said) and stamped the word "Dad" using Paper Smooches Alphadots stamp set.

I wouldn't call it Clean and Simple because it's not all that clean. It's a little messy, a little colorful, and a little fun. But it is a one layer card, and that makes it easy peasy lemon squeezy.

The Dad of the house is a real blessing to all of us, and we hope he feels blessed by this card today!

PS Sparks Challenge

I recently visited the Paper Smooches website, and Holy Smokes! I have a new wishlist that's a mile long! They have an adorable new stamp set that features a canning jar with the Ball logo! MUST HAVE SET! My Ball State college student will certainly approve of this set!

I decided to participate in the Sparks challenge this week. It looked like a fun sketch, so I gave it a go and I really like the result!

{Today's Brew: Falling For You stamp set (Paper Smooches), Simple Stories Summer Fresh papers, PTI card stock, burlap from Michaels, Prisma markers}
 

Don't you just love red gingham? It screams "summer picnic"! It shouts "good food"! It sings a happy country tune! Is there such a thing as a happy country tune? If so, then this card is singing it!

Blessings on your Friday, friends!

Inspired by SU!

Have you heard? The new 2013-2014 Stampin' Up catalog was released this month! woo hoo!

Yesterday, I decided to check out the SU website and find a local demonstrator to purchase a new catty. I found a few demos nearby, but Cindy had the sweetest profile...a retired homeschool mom who loves the Lord and loves to share her passion for stamping at her monthly stamp camps. Sign me up! I contacted Cindy via email, and would you believe that sweet woman was at my doorstep last night with a free catalog?! Now that's service with a smile!

I think this will be a great way to meet some crafty people in the area.

I had viewed the new SU catty online, but it's nice to have it in my hands. I really like the fresh approach that Stampin' Up has adopted recently. It's fun and youthful, current and on trend.

As I paged through the catty last night, I kept thinking "Oh, I have that. Oh, I forgot that I have that! Why haven't I used that lately?"

Please tell me I'm not the only person that does that!

I was inspired to pull out some neglected SU products and have a little fun with them today!

{Today's Brew: Clearly For You (SU), Designer frames embossing folders (SU), Framed Tulips embossing folder (SU), pool party ink and card stock, calypso coral and lucky limeade ink, baja breeze seam binding}

Have you seen the new SU catty? What are your favorite new products?

Christened

Happy Monday, cafe friends!

I officially christened the craft studio this morning by making a card! woot! woot!

The room is coming together...not one hundred percent perfect, and far from photo worthy, but it's getting there. I'm finding what I need, there are flat surfaces for crafting, and that's pretty much all a gal needs, right?

I'm in desperate need of some thank you cards, so this may be a week of "thanks" crafting. I have so many wonderful new neighbors who have gifted us with cakes, brownies, cookies. We're blessed. Fat, but blessed. :)

Here's a little CAS (that's Clean and Simple) stamping for a Monday morning.

{Today's Brew: Wildflower Garden (PTI), sentiment from Iconic Images (PTI), PTI Kraft and Naturals White card stock, melon mambo/pear pizzaz inks (SU), versafine onyx ink, Distress Stain in Picket Fence, Mister Huey calico white spray}

Thanks for sticking with me on this journey! You all deserve a latte, on the house!

Making Progress

I finally managed to make it in to the den, a.k.a. craft studio yesterday to do some unpacking. What a joy it is to have a room with so much storage! Shelves and cupboards, closets and drawers. It's really amazing!

It's been so much fun to pull out the new with the old, and to have a place for everything. The items that I purchased last month at Target's Dollar Spot are really helping to make this color scheme come together.

I have a LOT more work to do in there, but I'm happy with the results thus far.

Can't wait to get crafty again!

The Current State of My Craft Room

We're here! Our move to Pittsburgh is finally complete...hurray!

We're still sorting through boxes and figuring out where everything should go. Each day, I take one or two rooms and tackle a little more unpacking, sorting, and arranging.

Today, I'm going to work on finishing in the dining room and the den. The den is the home of my future craft room.  As you can see, it's a work in progress. ;)

Have you ever had to move a craft room? What a chore! I tried my best to sort and organize before the packers came. I stored all of my reinkers and liquids in Ziploc baggies. I put all accessories in their drawers and worked on neatly stacking papers.

Of course, it's anybody's guess how it will look after it comes out of the boxes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Thus far, we are loving our Pittsburgh home! So many blessings this week...I can't wait to tell you about all of them! (You can also read about it at my other blog, This End Up -------> )

Blessings, friends!

Gooseberry Patch Goodness

Hey, did I tell you this news?

If you love Gooseberry Patch as much as I do, then you are going to want to hurry to their website for a special deal! Today is the last day that you can get "fresh From The Farmstand" for only $1.99 on your e-reader! Here's the link:

http://gooseberrypatch.typepad.com/blog/

Enjoy!