All My Crazy Love

One of several Valentines made this year.... For the greeting, I cut cardstock wide enough to fit across the card and about 1.5 inches wide, then stamped greeting in center and then cut away top and bottom free-hand.

Stamps: KI Memories (hearts), Hero Arts (Greeting)
CS: Real Red, White, Pink Passion
Ink: Pink Passion, Real Red
Accessories: Ribbon, brads, corner punch

Deadly dosing arsonist bitch

I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
~Meredith Brooks

Apparently I'm an unthinking and unfeeeling bitch, or so I was more or less informed this week after speaking my mind about something. Go with the flow, never disagreeing or suggesting a change and you're a stick in the mud. Tell people when they piss you off, or when you think something is unfair or not right -- and instantly you're a bitch. And, apparently, some of us aren't allowed to have feelings, while constantly expected to think of everyone else. Know what? It's tiring always being Miss Nice and suppressing your thoughts, opinions and emotions. It's tiring always being the one to give give give while all others do is take take take. So if standing up and saying that something is wrong is disagreeable to some people, maybe those people ought to take a step back and ask themselves WHY someone feels the way they do, why they said or did what they did, why the truth bothers them so much, and how they could change or make things better. All I'm saying.

On another note, we're talking about poisoning people again over on the Crimescenewriters loop, a topic I never grow weary of. Yup, DEADLY DOSES is my Bible. Okay, so the people in question are actually your characters, but still... There are times such knowledge could really come in handy. If that's not enough to scare you, I've also been reading up on arson this week, in the form of Nora Robert's BLUE SMOKE. Oh my gosh is that a page turner! It's also responsible for my not getting much sleep this week -- one of those where you swear you're only going to finish one chapter...and the next thing you know you've read several and it's going on 3am. Ugh!

I confess the motivating factor in reading this one now is the Lifetime Television movie version airing next Monday night. Will ne interesting to see the treatment it is given and yes, I have ideas as to how I would go about it. Being as it's a two-hour made-for-television version, there are obvious time factors to consider -- not to mention commercials, which would leave about an hour-forty for the actual movie. And way too much action to cram into that short amount of time. So, I'm thinking they'll probably open the way the book does, then skip ahead to the current action, the stuff that takes place in the last third of the book, with events leading up to it being mentioned in backstory. Guess I'll have to wait and see. And, of course, because it conflicts with "Studio 60" I'll have to tape it to watch later in the week. Still haven't watched Montana Sky from earlier this week. Been so long since I read that one, I probably won't even remember parts they left out.

Set Sail

For SC108... I love this layout and am pleased with how this one turned out. Guess this cold hasn't sucked all the creativity out of me -- yet.

Stamps: Set Sail, Calm Seas, Along the Shore
CS: Summer Sun, Non-SU brown, white
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Scrap of Aida cloth, brads (JoAnn's)

Touch of Nature

Yikes! Can't believe I haven't posted anything new since last Monday. I meant to, I really did. In my own defense...I've been sick with a horrible head-throbbing cold. Not exactly conducive to creativity, KWIM? Anyway, realized I still had a couple of the "Touch of Nature" cards from a couple weeks ago that I had not posted, so here they are.

Both use SU paper scraps for the matted images and were colored with Le Plume markers. The top one uses a piece from the DCWV "Old World" paper stack; I have no idea who the pretty teal paper in the bottom one is by -- it was another scrap I had lying around. Bottom one also uses the smallest McGills oval punch and the greeting is from SU's Noteworthy set.

Top card is your standard 5.5 x 4.25. The bottom one is a long card that measures 3.5 x 6.25 and fits a regular envelope.

SC106: Alphabet Soup

The stamp used here is part of a set from last year's Sell-a-bration, and one I really need to use more often, Alphabet Soup (SU). It's a set of four jumbled greetings in the style of this one, and I absolutely love it, but keep forgetting I have it. The greeting is stamped in Old Olive, the card base is Certainly Celery, and I have NO idea who the patterned paper is from. It was a scrap that had been lying on my craft table a while now, just begging to be used up. I was happy to oblige. *grin*

Jake's Bar Mitzvah

Made this card for one of my nephews, whose Bar Mitzvah was this weekend (his father's side is Jewish). Card stock is Bliss Blue (SU) and various scraps. The stamp is from a set of four purchased at Archiver's -- however, I threw the box away and can't remember what company they are by. I *think* they are from Hero Arts, but don't quote me on that. I also used the deckle stamp from the SU set Itty Bitty Backgrounds across the top and bottom. Ink is Night of Navy and Bliss Blue. The only accessory used was my crimper, which I have a habit of neglecting and added a nice bit of texture here.

Sketch Challenge 105

Some of the many cards created last weekend, these three for one of the weekly challenges at SCS, SC105. I had to dig out my Fiskars circle cutter to make these and was promptly reminded why I had not used it in so long. In short, it's kind of a pain. Still...you can do amazing things with a tool that makes different sized circles. Of course, it might be easier to use were my cutting mat not warped. *Sigh* Something else to replace....

I pulled out a little used set for the first two cards featured here, Touch of Nature, and the last one features a stamp from the Love Ya Bunches set, both by SU. Images were colored using Le Plume markers and papers are from the DCWV "Old World" paper stack. Other accessories include brads, grosgrain ribbon, and the 1-1/4 circle punch.

Good Tidings of Great Joy

One of my friends married a preacher seven years ago, on New Year's Day. They had been married mayeb two years when I saw this kit for a snowman nativity banner and thought it perfect for her as she loves snowmen and is a minister's wife. Well, I ordered the kit, stitched maybe three rows . . . and promptly forgot about it. Oops.

The past two years I have been determined to use up materials and finish any half-started or neglected projects lying around. At the beginning of 2005 I went through some of these materials and made a list of which ones I wanted to finish that year -- and it actually worked! I think I marked off everything on the list save one. Not bad. Last year, this banner went at the top of the project list, followed by the "Frosty Greetings" snowmen picture for Sherrie and "Each New Wave" (posted earlier this week) for Manda. Not only did I scratch all three off my list, but several other projects as well.

As you may imagine, I've already drawn up a list for 2007 and am taking advantage of the cold weather to get a head start on ticking items off of that list. So far so good!

To keep up my motivation to finish the banner before New Year's Eve, when my friends and I all get together to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, I took pics of each week's progress. And yes, I did have a picture from week two, but unfortunately the battery in mt camera was low apparently weak and that and a few other pics were lost. I also had to have a remedial sewing lesson in order to complete this project.

My sister gave me her old sewing machine a couple years ago when she got a new one, and though I had been meaning to get it out and mess around with it long before now...that never happen. So, though I finished the cross-stitching more than a week before Christmas, it wasn't "officially" finished until noon on New Year's Eve. My sister was supposed to come up a few days before but was sick. Which did cause me to panic a bit. Thankfully, she managed to come up for a few hours NYE and walked me through how to wind the bobbin and thread the needle. And...as long as I had the machine out I also completed a couple ornaments from years ago.

And now...here is the finished project, and the weeks leading up to it.

week one

week three

week four

Ta-da! All done!

The banner is backed with white felt, and green felt was used for the hangers. The tassel was made of leftover strands of red embroidery floss, and was a pain in the butt to attach. Not bad, considering I hadn't used a sewing machine in almost 20 years, eh?

He Said, She Said Online Writing Workshop

Brought to my attention from a fellow Romance Diva....

2007 Online Writing Workshop
A year-long workshop, updated twice weekly, on the craft of writing a novel presented by NY Times best-selling authors Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer who have over 45 books published between them.

http://www.crusiemayer.com/workshop/syllabus

This month they are concentrating on "The Heart of the Story," which includes the following topics:

1. The One Sentence Idea
2. Situational vs. Character Ideas
3. Protagonist & Antagonist
4. The Central Question & Conflict Box
5. Outlining

So far they have posted on the first three. Looks to be a valuable FREE resource for any writer, especially perhaps for novices, but the "veterans" as well. There's always something knew to learn, or something in your writing that can be improved upon.

Baroque Waves

As promised, now that Christmas is past here are some of the gifts stitched for friends this past year.

Adding to Kim's collection of black cat designs, this one is called "Baroque" -- NOT that her two precious angels would ever do something like this (note the sarcasm). The best thing about the designs in this series is how fast they stitch up. This one took about four days to do, and was framed in black.

"Each New Wave" went to my friend Manda and let me tell you -- that boat may look really cool with all the subtle shadings, but it was a bear to stitch, what with so many similar colors. The sentiment says: "Each new wave rearranges the patterns in the sand, so we may pretend our footsteps are the first." Beautiful, no?

This adorable duo was also made for Manda. She loves and collects Noah's Ark memorabelia. I did a series of ornaments for her a few years ago, then found this totally different set in one of my many books and just had to do them for her. There are ten total, so will do two a year for her going forward. In fact, I already have one of this year's done. *grin*

Happy Bird-day

One of many cards made over the weekend. I had this piece of cardstock stamped with SU's flamingo wheel wasting away in my cast-off tray for what seems like ages, and decided it was time to use it up. Cardstock: Pink Passion and red (SU), white (Xerox), patterned paper (unknown). Ink: Pink Passion. Acccessories: Daisy punch, brads. Inside says "Happy Bird-day to you."

Purple Card Set

These were part of a set of four cards I made as a Christmas gift for a friend who loves purple. I actually *did* scan all four cards, but must have inadvertantly deleted one of them after sending them. Oops! There were two birthday, one thinking of you and one sympathy card in the set. All stamps, ink and cardstock are by Stampin' Up!



Stamps: Looks like Spring, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Birthday Greetings (retired)
Cardstock: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla
Ink: Perfect Plum
Accessories: Pastel Purple brads

Stamps: Shades of Nature, Art of Love (both retired)

Cardstock: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Ink: Perfect Plum

Accessories: Le Plume markers

Stamps: Loving Memories, Art of Love (both retired)

Cardstock: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Ink: Garden Green, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum

Acccessories: Light green grosgrain ribbon

Boys Down Under

A shameless plug for my friend Maggie (and couldn't you just stare at that cover forever?). *grin*



A collaboration featuring Karen Mandeville, Maggie Nash, Sarah Dickson, Angela Verdenius and Jessica Dee!

Five sizzling stories....Five sexy men!

Shapeshifters, Seduction, Corporate intrigue and the military all have one thing in common: Heat and lot’s of it. When you throw these fab Aussie authors together you’re going to have a sinfully good time when you meet some of the Boys Down Under.

Available now from Triskelion Publishing
Click HERE to buy !

Latesha's Christmas Cards

These are the Christmas cards my friend Latesha commissioned me to make for her. It uses the SCS sketch for SC89 and would look beautiful in almost any color combination. All materials are from Stampin' Up, except the raffia.

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Small Script, Houndstooth, Linen
Ink: Basic Black, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
Paper: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, White
Accessories: Hole piercer, raffia

Christmas Greetings from Friends

These are a couple Christmas cards received from friends of mine. Both used non-SU stamps. I don't know the vendor for the cat-in-window stamp, just that it was one Kim picked up last spring when we were at Just For Keeps in Stoughton, Wis. The curtain is rolled up toilet paper and cat is embossed in black (which she did because she has two black cats).




Sherrie bought the materials for her card at Archiver's, and completely cased the design from one on display there. The dove is by Hero Arts and is covered in white glitter. She borrowed an alphabet set (CTMH) from Kim for the words, which are separated by stickles.

Stamping tips

Last week Gina K held a contest on her blog, the prize being a much-coveted and low-in-supply scalloped oval punch. In order to be in the running, one was required to post either a favorite color combination or a stamping tip before New Year's Eve. These punches from Marvy Uchida are all the rage right now and seem to sell out as fast as the stores can stock them.

I admit that it took me a while to think of something that hadn't already been mentioned, though there were variations on what I finally posted. A few people mentioned bookmarking favorite blogs or websites of card designs for future reference. I took that a step further:

I have three binders I keep close to my stamping space for inspiration. One is filled with SCS challenges -- color combo list, sketches, techniques, etc. The sketch challenge sketches are especially good starting points when you're struggling to create.

The other two binders are full of card ideas. Since you can't always have internet/computer access (my stmaping space and computer are in different rooms), I save 4 vertical or 6 horizontal cards I like to a sheet and print them off. I note stamp sets and colors used where possible, then when I'm looking for ideas I can pull out the book and look for a design or different way to use a stamp set I have, changing colors or embellishments to fit my own style and supplies. I also scan and then print out the cards I've created, too. That way I actually give them away instead of hoarding, but can look back and see what I've done before.

I should add that, I do NOT copy images from other peoples' galleries to post on my blog or to my personal gallery, they are solely for my own reference. Very rarely do I copy someone else's work outright (and if I did, I wouldn't try to pass it off as my own). Instead, I will take what I like about a card -- the colors, one or two of the images, the layout -- and add my own twist to it. I might not have the exact same set used in the original, but may have something similar, or of a comparable size, that would work with the overall design. Or I might like how something was embellished and incorporate my own trimmings. You get the picture.

Well, I didn't win the scalloped oval punch (sniffle), but I was one of three runners up who won a pack of envelopes (thanks Gina! *vbg*) -- and you can never have too many envelopes! Especially considering all the cards I make for friends and family, not to mention cards for troops. So yay me, and don't think I won't be trying should a third scallop punch be up for grabs. ;)

But back to the subject of stamping tips.... For a wide range of suggestions, I encourage you to hop on over to Gina's blog and read what people had to say. Lots of handy tips to pick up there! I know there were a few excellent suggestions I had not thought of.

And keeping on topic, this evening while browsing the SCS site I happened upon a discussion about how people keep track of their stamps. A few people mentioned copying the pics before mounting their stamps, or from the SU catalogs, to keep in binders for easy reference -- which reminded me of another tip I could have submitted to Gina's contest...something I do myself.

Though I don't copy every set I have for a binder index, I do copy pics from the catalog of stamp sets I have, then tape them inside the lids of the appropriate stamp set. When I get to working on cards, I tend to randomly grab stamps from this set or that and don't always remember where they belong when done. Having a pic of all the stamps that belong in a particular set helps me keep track of them, and is also a quick and easy way to see what's in a set at a glance. About the only sets I have not done this for are Small Script, Petite Patterns and Itty Bitty Backgrounds, each a set of only four stamps and easy to remember.

So...that's my tip of the day! Now aren't you glad you waded through all of that? ;)

Happy Anniversary -- Kathy and Tim

For friends whose anniversary is New Year's Day

Stamps: Easy Elegance, Love Swirls (wheel)
CS: Certainly Celery, Garden Green, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla
Ink: Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum,
Accesories: Daisy punch, green pearlescent brads

The first Moo-el

These are some of the ornaments made this year, and were sent to friends in Australia, Sweden, Norway and at least one chick down in Mississippi (yeah, you know who you are). The cow design was from one of my many pattern books, the writing I did myself. I thought them rather appropriate, considering all of the cow pictures this past summer.

And two more -- the partridge was sent to my friend Michelle L, and the other was for my sister. I'll post a few other projects after New Year's. Friends and I always get together NYE for dinner, Christmas exchange and New Year's celebration, which extends into New Year's Day and whichever bowl game the Badgers are playing in (Capitol One Bowl this year). Wouldn't want people to see their pressies before they received them. ; )

A Bug's Second Birthday

The Bug at Halloween

Today is my youngest niece's second birthday. It's so hard to believe The Bug is two already, learning new words every day and stringing complete sentences together. These are the cards I made for her, the top one from me and the bottom from Grandma. Materials are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.





Stamps: Winged Things
Paper: Pink Passion, Real Red, White; Designer paper by Current, Inc.
Ink: Pink Passion, Craft White
Accessories: Flower brad (Joann)

This is a long card measuring 3.5 x 6.25 and fits a standard envelope.

* * * * *

Stamps: Cool Cat, Crosshatch
Paper: Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink, White
Ink: Pixie Pink, Silver metallic (non-SU)
Accessories: Star brads (non-SU), Word Window Punch, Markers (Le Plume), Raffia (non-SU)

"Princess" tag was done by hand using a pink marker.

Happy Anniversary Kari and Pete

Yes, another anniversary! This is for a college friend/sorority sister and her husband who celebrate their ninth anniversary today.



Stamps: Hearts and Posies, Noteworthy (Stampin' UP! )
CS: Real Red, Garden Green, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Torn Textured Green (DCMV Mat Stack)
Ink: Garden Green, Real Red
Accessories: Ivory grosgrain ribbon