Back in business!

After begrudgingly dropping some cash on a replacement camera charger, I am back in business. At the end of the day I decided the pictures I missed out on taking (including CHRISTMAS! Grr..) were worth more than the charger costs.

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Since my family members aren't craft-obsessed like I am, some of them decided to give me gift cards and so on to purchase my own craft gifts this Christmas. They know how happy it makes me - so sweet. I used them to get supplies for my next project: December Daily. Woo hoo!

I'm currently working on Christmas thank-you notes. So fun! I began by making a batch of identicals for the students in my class - they presented me with such sweet things the day before break. The excitement in children that young, about giving a gift to someone else, really shows the spirit of Christmas. What a gift in itself. I wanted to make them some really cute thank-you's that would be appropriate for both the little ones as well as their parents! I've had a lot of fun! In doing these, I was able to utilize the cartridges I got for Christmas. :-D

* kraft, pink, black cardstocks by the paper studio

* stickles
* border punch (Sorry, I do not know the name!)

* Mary Engelbreit snowflake stamps, white embossed.
* Simple Sentiments by Hero Arts, Archival Ink

This one is for someone else:

* kraft, brown, red, and cream cardstocks by the paper studio

* ric rac stamp by stampendous, white embossed

* glossy accents

* seeing spots embossing folder

* Simple Sentiments by Hero Arts
* scrap from my stash

* Inkssentials white opaque pen (this did not show up well on the cream CS - not sure what I was thinking)

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And also..

These don't have an exact location yet, but my boyfriend got me a scoring tool for Christmas - sooo excited - and I have been popping these out like crazy. Love their pretty, sophisticated finished look!

I'd love to go on, now that I'm back with all my photos - but it's REALLY late! Thanks for sticking with me through the absence of my camera! :) Hope you're all having a lovely Thursday!

xoxo

No photos!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday! My family had a beautiful, quite Christmas. We're very lucky. <3

Bad news - my camera charger is, and has been, MIA for some time now. This means no pictures of my projects until I can find a replacement. >=O

Thanks for sticking with me while I hunt. :)

xoxo

Christmastime

Well, here it is creeping up on 3 a.m., and I'm wide awake working on some hand-made gifts. In addition to my regular Christmas shopping for my family members, I decided to make a gift for each person this year (there will be loads of photos!). Life has gotten busy, as it seems to for everyone this time of year, and I am up all night trying to get them done. Ah, the life of a crafter... But I wanted to say...

I have some new subscribers that recently joined me on my journey - this means a lot to me. Thanks to all of you - I can't wait to know you better. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS to each of you, and all of yours.

May the true meaning of this season be with you on the Christmas Eve and Day - along with lots of love, smiles, and warmth.

With love,

Emily

Personal Stamp & Business Card!

I can't believe how quickly these got here, and how nice they are for such an affordable cost. I designed them pretty qucikly (pre-set template), and I'm really happy with the results. I don't have a "business", at least not yet, so right now these are just for my family & friends, and when I do future craft shows.

The stamp, is to put on the back of my work. I love them both!

Sorry for the sideways upload. That is a kink I can't seem to fix. If you would like information on how and where I purchased these, please leave a comment and I will be happy to share that with you!

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Finished some Christmas shopping up last night at Target (yes, FINISHED my Christmas shopping! Just waiting for a few items in the mail. YAY!) and also made a pit stop at Michael's. LOADS of good steals going on there. The most exciting? I got an ATG!! I am getting used to it, but am very pleased with the results so far. Runner-up for exciting purchases? Over-sized Stickles 3 pack, (1 oz vs. .5 oz).

Thank you for reading!!

xoxo

Emily

Bon Voyage cards

As this school semester comes to an end, our school will say "see you soon" to 2 sweetheart students and their mom - they will be living in another country next term. They are special to me, and I'm making them cards before they go.

* This is a white 4x4 (fits A2 envelope!), with a grey 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" mat.

* The grey mat is stamped with Hero Arts Friend Definition in Milled Lavender, and the edges are ink blended with the same.

* The pearls in the upper corners are self-adhesive & lavender, from Recollections.

* The ribbon was sheer white, but I inked it with Dusty Concord. I hadn't yet done this with ribbon - love it!

* And last but not least, this chandelier, which I am in love with, is cut at 3" from the Summer in Paris cartridge. Cut out of DCWV paper from Pocket full of Posies stack.

^ Close-up of ribbon detail. I love this - I bet I will rarely use ribbon now, without inking it!

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2 of these -- one for each girl:

* This is a white 4x4. The bottom is punched with a fiskars border punch (sorry, I don't know the name).

* The rainbow heart and all its layers are cut from the Create a Critter cartridge, at 2.5" (+ shadow). Glitter paper is DCWV.

* Coordinating eyelets are The Paper Studio and I love them.

* Purple scrap inside card to emphasize border punch, and edges are blended with Tumbled Glass.

- - -

I'd like to take a sec to talk about the cartridges I used for these cards, because they're 2 of my favorites.

First, Summer in Paris is one I bought back before I really got into using my Cricut. I think it was my third cart. ever - found it on sale at Archiver's. This cartridge is SO GORGEOUS, and semi- hard to find. All of the images are VERY intricate (so I wouldn't advise very small cuts). There are options for several 3d projects as well - this chandelier is one of them. The images are actually pretty versatile - there is a phone, hot air balloon, male & female silhouettes, bike, car, perfume, phrases, several Parisian landmarks, and more. It's not everyone's style, but if it's yours, I'd get it while you can. I love mine! You can read more and see the images here.

Second, how about that Create a Critter? This is BY FAR my favorite cart of my collection. It is filled with adorable animals, phrases, accesories and more. The card I've made here shows that there is a lot more than just critter layers on it. In fact, I love this cartridge so much, I'm tempted to write Provo Craft and suggest/ask if they have thought of coming out with a second one. I'm just sayin', if they can make a second Paper Dolls, there are tons more critters they could give us to create...You know it would sell like hot cakes.

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I want to give a big friendly THANK YOU to Sammye Jo at 62 Cards. She put a link of my blog on hers to get some followers for me. :) She does the most beautiful work - and right now she's doing 12 Days of Giveaways! You've gotta see her. :)

Gotta get to work now. Many thanks for reading!!

xoxo

:-)

I just ordered business cards and a personal stamp! I'm so excited! :)

mini!

Hello!

I made this mini card last night for Josh. :) His semester is winding up - finals next week - and who can't use a little encouragement during finals week?! Sheesh.

My favorite thing about this, strangely enough, is the envelope. I was SO excited to find these mini envelopes! Not sure why. Probably because they're small, which gives me a whole new excuse to make small cards...I love all things mini. :)

Create a Critter Cricut Cartridge - my fave (provo craft)

Kraft & assorted colors cardstock (paper studio)

Stickles (ranger)

Sharpies

Seeing Spots Embossing Folder (provo craft)

. . .

Time for me to get back to reading Breaking Dawn. Yes, that's right. I, too, have been sucked into the Twilight world for awhile now (no pun intended). G'night. :)

Fun Tuesday Things.

Check out this fun birdcage I made! I love the shabby look it turned out with (shocking, I know).

- Basic cream, lt. blue, teal, and kraft cardstocks.
- Aqua and Silver paint (I used a very light hand!)
- Rock Candy <3>
I made this with my new Cricut cartridge, Straight from the Nest – this was one of my Black Friday gifts to myself. :) It was one I hadn’t heard of before; I think once upon a time it was an HSN exclusive. It’s one of those that at first glance, looks pretty basic, but if you take a closer look it’s got lots of fun functions on the dedicated buttons. Ribbon Sliders, Corners, and more. I’ve been having fun experimenting with it. I also used it to make these Christmas accents for my December Daily album I’m working on:

Speaking of December Daily – what a fun idea! I first read about this in BHG Scrapbooks Etc. The whole idea of it is a low-stress way to create a keepsake album that displays all your holiday traditions for the year. The key to the low stress, as I understand it, is the fact that you are supposed to create the album pre-December 1st, so that you’re not all caught up in the pressure of coordinating everything. Haha, well…I didn’t discover the wonderful idea of December Daily until after Thanksgiving, so, I am just recording my thoughts each day, and I’ll make them into a project later. It’s not really my style to dive into something without a plan, so this is working out. I am making some embellishments as I go. Fun. :)

Amazing sale right now at CRICUT MACHINE. Free shipping on all orders, and amazing prices. I got Everyday Paperdolls (for a Christmas gift) for $21.95 total. Gadzooks!

Things I’m Loving:
* Tim Holtz’ 12 Tags of Christmas. I’ve never seen so much inspiration packed into such a short amount of time! Tons of fun ideas there to try. :)
* The DCWV package I got from HSN today. Umm - $45 worth of gorgeous paper for 10 bucks. Yes.
* My cricut Tool Kit. At first glance I thought it was another ploy for money – but as it turns out, those gadgets all really do serve a purpose!
* My recent Hero Arts clings!!...

GLEE Thoughts:
Well, I love Christmas, and I love Glee. It’s no surprise that the combination of the 2 left me giddy. I have no complaints – although I’m still not happy with the Finchel storyline. A smirk in her direction at the very end, while they’re huddled around the Christmas tree? That doesn’t cut it! However, love the Brittany/Santa plot, and in keeping with tradition, Artie’s Christmas gift and Becky’s “Christmas came anyway” made me burst into tears.

And just so everyone knows...it's seven degrees outside right now. Seven.

xoxoxxoo

Cinderella, you're as lovely as your name...

So, among the many things that absolutely define me, are my 2 favorite movies of all time. One is Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the other...the other is Cinderella. <3

Several years ago, knowing how much I love the fairy tale, my mom got me a keepsake ornament for Christmas - of Cinderella's glass slipper on a pillow. I worked at Hallmark for a number of years (2004-2009), and my Keepsake ornament collection has grown into something quite special to me. At any rate, I now have my very own purple (favorite color) Cinderella Christmas tree. I'm quite the fan of traditional red-and-green Christmas themes, so this purple business sounds silly until you see it. My room, a light lavender and lace, is the perfect home for my treasured tree for now.

Anyone reading this for crafting purposes might wonder what the heck I'm rambling on about. Well last month in all my Cricut frenzy (still ongoing, might I add...) it dawned upon me that there were a couple of priceless ornament opportunities waiting for my in my Nursery Rhymes cartridge.

These are:

- basic cream and blue cardstocks

- pearl mist

- tim holtz jump rings

- rock candy

- translucent ribbon

- silver embossing

- blended ink

And the tree...

xoxo

Amazing giveaway!

So listen up!

Roberts Crafts is hosting this AMAZING DCWV giveaway - if you read it, you won't believe your eyes!

Click here to visit the ROBERTS CRAFTS blog, and enter for a chance to win this Beautiful DCWV paper stash!

I am currently in the midst of working on a DCWV editorial, talking about all their wonderfulness. This giveaway was such perfect timing. :)

xoxo

End of November

I am busy, busy crafting for the holidays. I am doing several handmade gifts this year and I can hardly believe tomorrow is December 1st!

I wonder if anyone else went a-craft-shopping during all the Black Friday sales? I know it's a time to be shopping for others - but- I tried to get a lot of that done early this year. The sales on the day after Thanksgiving are irresistible for crafters, no? I scored some cricut goodies. :) And TONIGHT! I ordered the cutest mat stacks EVER, at seriously a steal of a price ($44 worth for 10 bucks). omgeez!

Happy December tomorrow. Snow is in the forecast (gross), and I hope to get our tree up (yay).

On a side [GLEE-SPOILER] note: Finnchel, you broke my heart tonight. Ryan Murphy promised that they would get together, and STAY together this season. Boo.

Love.

Here is a card I made last night. A close family friend is struggling with a terminal illness and some very hard times. At times like this it seems that there are no words or actions that you can say or do that will make a difference, but I try to believe that’s not true. I try to believe that just letting someone know that you care, makes at least one happy moment.

I cut this card base with Archiver’s CS in their crop room. I then used the cuttlebug, tea dye ink, tacky glue and flower soft to embellish the front. My favorite mini alphas on the inside for a simple but powerful message. Pretty simple, really, but I wanted to focus more on what I was writing than a crafter’s bells and whistles.

<3

Thank You & My Favorite Cartidge!

I have been so busy, and therefore neglectful of this blog. =p
Wanted to quickly post this card. I made this for a friend who was considerate enough to come and support me at my first craft show! I made this using my latest, and possibly favorite-ever cartridge, Create a Critter. All die cuts shown are from this cartridge. I love it!

Below is a close-up, where you can really see my OOPS - I put a piece of paper that was ever so slightly too small in the cricut for the die cut. I had to then piece together some paper to re-create the ear. I say there's no such thing as a mistake.. Or at least, I try to tell my inner neurotic self that... :)

I have had the opportunity over the past week or so to play around and create a few critters. I love this cartridge SO much! I am quite the animal lover so this comes as no surprise. :)

Well, ta-ta for now.. :)

Craft Fair

I am happy to write that my first ever craft fair was a huge success! I feel so blessed. I sold quite a bit -- much more than I had dreamed I would. In fact, after Night 1, I stayed up half the night creating more stuff to replenish what I had nearly sold out of. Unbelievable!

For the fair, I created Fabric hair/blouse pins, Christmas gift tags, All-occasion gift tags, mini 3d cards, and regular cards varying from Christmas, Birthday, and notecards. Rather than charging a booth fee, a portion of each person's profit was donated to UNICEF.

A huge thank you to my friends and family that made a point to come see my stuff. <3

I have to say, although it was nice to make some money, I really enjoyed hearing everyone's kind words about the projects I worked so hard on. My favorite part, though, was having little girls (many of them my students!) look bashfully at the floral hair pins I made. Many of their parents or grandparents bought them for the girls, so now I get to see them in use during school. Love <3

xoxo

Today my family lost a wonderful lady. My cousin Rieta passed away this afternoon. I wanted to put something here to say --

She was never without a smile

She was champion bowler in the special olympics

she loved to sing in the choir

she loved to work puzzles and eat sweets

But most of all, where her heart REALLY lied, was with cats.

Rieta loved cats, even more than I do, which is saying something. I had the chance to make her this card and give it to her on Saturday, the last time we saw her alert.

I miss her, and I hate that she couldn't spend more time here spreading her cheer. I hope she knew how much we appreciate and love her. For anyone reading...pet your cat a little longer every now and then, for her. It would make her happy.

The night HE came home...

I love scary movies during October, but I always reserve my favorite, HALLOWEEN, for the evening of October 31st. Somehow these La Roux lyrics merged in my head with Michael Myers at one point and I felt the need to edit a photo in Halloween's honor, ha. :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, one and all!

halloweenies

i am busy, busy, busy with work for the craft fair. why is it that you can be bursting with creativity 364 days of the year, until you need to actually get something completed? ha.

at any rate, i'll post a lot at some point; i didn't want to look like i disappeared. evidently i'm too busy to even have proper punctuation, which is something i firmly believe in!

ta ta for now

Christmas Tag How-To

Before I go to work today, here is a HOW I DID IT for these Christmas tags :) The only thing missing from them is a hole-punch and some ribbon at the top.

So the ornament shapes themselves I cut at Archiver's crop room, using assorted cardstocks I bought there.

I started out by making die cuts of this Pine Tree from the My Community, at 1 1/2 in. and the blackout feature.

Next, I arranged them on the Swiss Dots Embossing folder and ran them through the Cuttlebug.

Once all dotted up, I did a light brushing over Peeled Paint Distress ink over the dots. It's just barely enough color --

So I spritzed them with a mini mister (just water) to let the ink wick out and give a bit more color.

I actually used a glue stick to adhere the die cuts, and then added a puffy gift stickers (archiver's hot spot) under each tree.

Since I've managed to lose my TO/FROM stamp (grr..), I just used my type letters to spell the words out.

close-up of embossed tree.

hurray!

I officially signed up for the craft fair yesterday. I'M SO EXCITED!

xoxo

I am in the midst of some possibly exciting news...

I may be participating in my first craft fair next month! It's coming up soon, so we'll have to see if I can get enough goodies completed in time... I have wanted to participate in this sort of thing for years, and have been encouraged - by at least one person...;) - to do so. My gosh, even if I only sold one thing, knowing that someone liked what I did well enough to want to pay money for it? That's pretty exciting stuff!

Tonight I created several things, my favorite of which is this happy, happy, happy birthday card.

- die cuts from cricut cartridge Home Accents (2 1/4 & 1 1/4 in.), white CS

- paint dabbers (lettuce & purple twilight)

- ink blended background (tumbled glass & wild honey)

- stamped images (int. and ext.) done in tumbled glass

- stickles on tips of die cuts (patina & fruit punch)

I've got loads more completed but they'll have to wait. :)

xoxo

A cricut, a cuttlebug, and tim holtz walk into a bar...

So, couple of things...

Made this card for Grandma, for her birthday which was yesterday. I was really excited to use lots of new things. I challenged myself to explore with my Cricut, because I haven't used it much since I purchased it (over 1 1/2 yrs. ago)...to be honest, the machine sort of intimidates me. At least it has up until now. I'm getting more comfortable. :) I cut out some balloons from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge, before inking and stickling them. (Yes, I just made stickling a verb...)

I also was stoked to use the cuttlebug for some texture and my very first cuttlebug die cut. The die cut I did, is one by Tim Holtz. They're called Alterations, and I absolutely love them - however, they are intended for Sizzix machines. Through my repetitive watching of THIS Youtube video, I was convinced to spring for one, as she very efficiently proves that they are in fact compatible with the cuttlebug. So the other night I got the Baroque die cut. I cut one to add to this card, after inking it and embossing it with Swiss Dots.

Distress Inked + stickles

Swiss Dots

So when I first cut a balloon, I had it on the wrong size dial, which resulted in this teeny tiny balloon. Always trying to use it all up, I was excited when I realized I had the perfect use for the little mistake. A touch of red sharpie and voila! :)

So I'm finally getting to explore a little bit with the T.H. Compendium of Curiosities. First up, the Shabby Chic technique:

I was thrilled with how this technique turned out. This is just a plain grunge heart (mixed minis set). The paint dabbers I used were sunset orange and espresso. *TIP: rather than using the actual dabber foam top, i dabbed it on and then used my finger to spread it all around. a much smoother look.*

Next up, 2 techniques layered in one. The background coloring is the Wrinkle Free Distress, and I am actually blanking on the name of the other technique. I do know that it didn't work the best for me. It had to do with Perfect Pearls over a distress stamped image, and then misting water so that the ink would wick out from beneath the powder. Well, my ink ran. But I'm ok with the finished product:

^ prisma glitter over stamped image

Finally, I did some experimenting with my mini misters. I have only made one concoction so far, but as I was warned, I am addicted. I just mixed some bronze p.p. with a full tube of water. I spritzed it over this ornament tag, and also over this imitation grunge flower I made.

^ close-up showing mini mister detail! :)

As a P.S., that imitation flower was made using the cricut (george & basic shapes) on 'shadow blackout' at 2 1/2 inches. I used Scattered Straw distress ink, Golden Rod stickles, and a spritz of my DIY mixture. Gave it to my mom as a Get Well flower - she and I are both peuny!

xoxo