Everything Creative is live!

Julia, Lisa and I are so excited to begin our new adventure together! It is called Everything Creative, and we have just started to get things loaded up and ready to go. You can find inspiration on how to use our products at our new blog called Every Thing Creative, and we will have tutorials as well!

I used a beautiful winter scene that Julia created to design this card. It is printed on Claudine Hellmuth's sticky back canvas that you can find at Ellen Hutson's shop. And if you go and get it Thursday or Friday, you will find it along with everything else on sale! Ellen is having a great sale to celebrate World Card Making Day, and she also has some fantastic things planned for Saturday that are sure to get you started on a card making frenzy! So back to creating this card, after you print on the canvas, fringe up the edges a little, and stitch onto a card base made from Pink Paislee paper. I just loved how the colors from the paper complimented the image, so festive! Some sparkly letter stickers from Making Memories and a little Basic Grey bling make for great finishing touches!

I designed this fun invite (that is empty so you can put in your personal party information) and backed it with a little black cardstock quick and simple!

Have you been following the Moxie Fab wold tour? Go check it out if you haven't! There are some fantastic card makers and it is so fun to see how this hobby is truly global!

B-

EEK!

This card is a little more silly than frightening, but fun all the same! I love googly eyes, and any reason to get them out gives me the giggles! I just stamped the "Kissable Tree" from the Kim Hughes collection with Tsukineko's glue pad and then covered it in black flocking, so fuzzy! The bat was cut free hand from some Making Memories scrap paper. And the other patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye. Letter stickers are by Pink Paislee.

So today was really blustery here, bringing that big storm in! And the colors on the trees are turning all of those amazing fall colors. I love fall, all of my favorite colors come out to play this time of year. It is also the signal that the holidays are on their way, and that means time with family and friends eating, catching up and making new memories to treasure, good stuff! It also means lots of pictures to scrapbook and cards to make for all kinds of reasons, love to stay busy with those kinds of projects!

What is your favorite time of year?

B-

A Warm Monday Hello!

It is really warm here today, typical Utah weather pattern. We are in line to get a whopper of a cold front on Wednesday and this is what is nick-named around these parts as the warm before the storm. So while it still feels a little like Summer I thought I should share a summery feeling card!
Doesn't Cosmo Cricket make such happy stuff?!! This cute little card was just a little fussy cutting, some stitching and a bow, super quick!
You will start to see some new things happening on my sidebar, feel free to check them out and then ask a few questions...

I will be able to answer them very soon!!!

;o)

B-

Special Delivery!

So for the card I am sharing today, it is the one that I made for the fun card group I belong to. We had the theme of baby cards this time, and I hadn't made one in quite a while so I was a little nervous. To find a little inspiration I got out my Kim Hughes "Baby Love" set. It was like magic, that little giraffe called my name and then I remembered I had some Making Memories "Animal Crackers" papers that I just adored that were the perfect compliment. I did a little stitching and coloring and before I knew it, I had eleven of them done in no time! (okay it was a little longer than that, but I am made of time right now so it is all good!)

Hope you have had a wonderful and relaxing weekend, I know I have and it was much needed!
Please come back tomorrow if you have time, I love to have visitors!

B-

Material Girl

I am a material girl.

Show me a piece of fabric that has a beautiful print, a great texture or a unique grain and I am over the moon.

Sew (hehehe, couldn't help myself!) when Julia created a fabulous set for the Rummage Bin called "Sew Special"
I thought I had gone to heaven! It is full of big and little vintage images that are perfect for material girls!

For this project, I cut a regular 8 1/2" x 11" in half like I would for an A4 base. But instead of folding in half, I used my Scor-Pal to score fold lines at 2 1/2" on both sides which leaves a 3" space in the center. For the center insert I trimmed a piece of paper that is 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" and then made some "ribbon" from favorite pieces of fabric. The top one is a piece of my favorite ribbon from Creative Impressions, a yummy silk that looks great on everything! Some pins from Fancy Pants to hold them in place, and done! Just need to add a personal thought and then share!

I think this one is going to my mom for helping the girls and I make some aprons the other day! We had a great time, and she is an awesome seamstress!

Happy Saturday friends!
B-

Holy Moxie Fab Batman!

Have you been to the Moxie Fab World?

If not, it is one of those places that you need to visit everyday if you can. If you have been you know why already, but if you haven't then you need to see for yourself one of the happiest places in cyberland. Moxie Fab is exactly what it sounds like. Cath Edvalson searches the globe (literally!) to find the latest and greatest ways to inspire those who visit, and what she has posted about today is so exciting!
A world tour of card making! Seriously, that is so brilliant! In honor of the Moxie Fab-ness of that, I am going to share a card a day until World Card Making Day (maybe I will share more than one then...)
So for today's card, a little Basic Grey June Bug was the inspiration for this fun and silly little card. I think that this would be perfect for a friend when they are having one of "those" kind of days. The stamps are from the Kim Hughes Collection "Summer Trees" so crazy cut out of that fun June Bug paper, and I even swapped pieces from the different trees to jumble it even more! (It made sense at the time, LOL!)add dimension with some foam squares. Cut out a few cute pups, Add a computer printed sentiment and you are done!

Hope you are getting as excited about World Card Making Day as I am!

B-

Meow!

Just sharing a quick hi with you and a card that I just adore! A little Cosmo Cricket and a cute chipboard embellishment from We R Memory Keepers. Easy peasy!

It is a little hectic here, getting some really fun things ready to share next week!!!

And don't forget about World Card Making Day!! I have plans to work on my holiday cards, and I have friends that are working on Cards For Heroes...

What will you be doing?

;o)

B-

Still basking in the glow!

It was so great, Kim was here for a day on her way to Paper Crafts Editorial board meeting!!
It made me so happy to have her beautiful face and awesome personality around for a bit. Had to let her get on her way this afternoon, and she is now having a wonderful time with the other Paper Crafts Go-to-Gals and Editors. I have no doubt that all of that creative power will provide fabulous ideas that we will be seeing in future issues.
She will be back on her way to Arizona Wednesday, but I will still be basking in the glow of happiness that she shared with me!

B-

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!

Just a wee post and card to parlay the joyousness that "talk like a pirate day" brings! As a fan of the pirate genre, I am of speaking in sincerety when I say that I do believe that they are superior to ninjas. This be a lively discourse that Carter and I engage in now and then. With us both arriving at the conclusion that pirates are just flat out better than ninjas in pretty much every regard. (have you ever heard of talk like a ninja day? didn't think so...)
So with those thoughts rollin round your noggin, put in one (or all) of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and brush up on your arghh. You might come to the arranging of your life to be better prepared for this celebration when it rolls back around!
Aye, where'd all the rum go?

B-

It is a Bracket Block day!

I lOVE this Scrapblock.
I have used it so many times on layouts that I am thinking that I am addicted. Many thanks to Julia for designing it!

Today is my last day with Cornish Heritage Farms for creating new art and for maintaining their blog. I have art in the pipeline that will be released over the next couple of months, but nothing new has gone in. So it is officially an end of an era for me. It is a big change, but I have been working on some other fun projects, and will share more details very soon!

Hope that everyone has a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend!

B-

You are Sew Special!

This is a post to share my amazing friend Julia with those of you who haven't discovered her yet...

She creates amazing projects and is about the nicest person ever and with her leftover time after being a fantastic mom to her five children, she designs the most amazing stamps!

She is truly cute as a button!

Happy Release Day my dear Julia!

B-

Cystic Fybrosis Fundraiser Crop...

Saturday was loads of fun, so this is a very photo heavy post ...

*you have been warned*



What a wonderful crop Brenda organized! She worked so hard, and it was wonderful to see it all come together. There were so many door prizes, raffle prizes and the goodie bags were fantastic! She also had donations of beautiful baskets that were fun to bid on in the silent auction. you want to know who really made out like a bandit for the whole event? Roxanne! She purchased a bunch of raffle tickets and was drawn four times! She actually felt so bad on the last one that she gave it back and had Brenda pull out another name! Megan donated some fabulous idea books from Creating Keepsakes, and Wendy Sue Anderson designed a really fun make and take layout that was given to every participant as well! If you are interested in purchasing either one of the goody bags or the layout, go to Brenda's blog for information on how to make one of those your own!

It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day for me, getting to catch up with Roxanne, P.Kelly, Megan and Brenda was the perfect get away day for me! And I actually got a few projects done, yay me!

Thanks for a wonderful time ladies!!

B-

A Note of Thanks

A day to remember and appreciate.
Eight years ago I was with my oldest son at his sixth grade camp on a long hike. A huge swarm of ladybugs surrounded us on one of the mountaintops, it was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. When we got back to the campground, we were informed of the occurrences going on around the country, there was no televisions there, just someone that had called to let the teachers know what had been going on. None of us had any idea how truly heartbreaking it was until we arrived home to witness it for ourselves on our own televisions. Truly tragic.
Remember what it is we have to be grateful for; freedom, opportunity and service.

B-

Today was a Monday only it was really a Tuesday...

Wow, what a day! Didn't feel like a Monday with all the wacky stuff that was going on? I have finally gotten a project done with the September Stamp of the Month. I just love this little owl! So having a chance not only to design the stamp, but then finally use it with Basic Grey's Eerie collection was a dream come true! The collection was designed by the super talented Celeste, and every piece in that collection is spooky good fun! I had the chance to go and get my hair freshened up for the fall, and when I get a decent picture I will be sure to share that as well, it has some very fun little bits of peek-a-boo color as Casey (my hair stylist) describes it. Sassy and out of my box for sure!
Still watching a ton of tennis while the US Open is on, and it is all good stuff right now, some huge upsets and wonderful newcomers to cheer on!
Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
B-

Big Release Day and I missed it!

It has been pretty darn hectic around here, and I didn't have time to make another project with my latest releases, but that doesn't mean that I can't share what they look like with you! The September Stamp Of The Month is called "Owl Silhouette" and I think he is super cute! I also did the sample project for this stamp, and it was super stampy!
As for the other two sets, there are some wonderful samples in the galleries! The first set is called "Fall Harvest" and has so many wonderful seasonal elements that are perfect for single or layering designs. And the other is a personal near and dear because of the topic. It is called "Can It", and it was inspired by my childhood years where I would help my mom and grandparents put up my family's favorite fruits and veggies. A tradition that I continue with putting up our family's favorite flavors of jams to enjoy during the chilly winter months. I am hoping to get to play with them more this holiday weekend when I should be in my studio more and not driving carpool! Will be sure to share if that happens. Looking forward to the long weekend with the kids, it is kinda hard having the house quieter in the day, but they are loving being back in school. Nothing excited planned, just some time watching the US Open tennis tournament, a little crafting and sitting around enjoying their banter and giggles. Pretty much my favorite stuff!

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Card Group Fun!

Here are a few of the cards that were swapped at my first card group meeting! It was seriously so much fun, and the girls made fabulous projects, I am so excited about our next get together!
After we swapped cards, we dove into Jennifer's gift bag stash (which was quite impressive!) and decorated gift bags while we chatted and ate loads of yummy snacks!
I was motivated enough to get three bags done. The new Eerie collection that Celeste designed for Basic Grey is seriously amazing, and I just love Halloween, so having a couple little bags on hand for quick gifts is a good idea. And the Cherry Hill collection from October Afternoon makes for a great all purpose bag for one of those surprise, "need it to look good but didn't know in advance about it" kind of moments. I am in the finishing stages of my latest stamp set, and trying to get a few commitments done, so life is hectic in a good way. So happy when I am creating fun things!
Trying hard to find time to get another sneak peek for the sets that release on Tuesday for the All Things Considered line, I am biased, but think that they are very fun and perfect for Fall!
Hope you are having a wonderful and creative weekend!
B-

CHF Shimmerz Blog Hop

I am so excited the CHF Creative Chicks are doing a blog hop with the projects we have made using Shimmerz and Cornish Heritage Farms stamps!

This card was so fun to make! I started out by spritzing the Simply Smooth Cardstock with the Baby's Breath Spritz and then helping it dry a little faster with my heat gun. When it was dry, I stamped the Art Nouveau backgrounder with Distress Embossing ink by Ranger. Then heat embossed with Clear Detail Embossing powder by Ranger. I spritzed it lightly again and then applied the Pink Shimmerz paint with a paint brush.
It settled in between the detail embossing beautifully. It has such a fantastic soft shimmer that the picture doesn't do justice to. I am excited because this technique is so quick and easy that a card for a bridal or baby shower would come together in no time.

So after you are done visiting me, be sure to stop by and visit the CHF Be Creative blog!

B-

Cornish Heritage Farms + Shimmerz = Pretty!

Cornish Heritage Farms and Shimmerz did a product swap, and it has been fun to watch the creativity develop!

I started with a sheet of CHF's Simply Smooth cardstock that I spritzed with "Baby's Breath" I hurried the drying process along a little with my heat tool. When it was dry, I stamped Ornamental Vines with Distress Embossing ink by Ranger. Sprinkled Red Pepper Adirondack embossing powder and then heat set. Next came the really fun part, I sprayed some of the Baby's Breath Spritz onto my mixing tray and then used my paint brush to get Fire Engine Red and Pink paints out of their pots and onto the tray. I then painted in a watercolor style, using the pink to loosen the red and the spritz to loosen the pink, very fun! I then heat that as well. I put a little more paint onto the end of my brush and gently tapped to get little splatter for an aged look.
After it is all dry, I trimmed it into three panels and stitched onto a Basic Grey background for a bright pop of color that makes me so happy! My kids call that color "Becky Green" because it is my favorite!
Tomorrow a few of the CHF designers are doing a blog hop, so there will be loads of inspiration to be found! I love the project that I will be sharing tomorrow, so if you have a minute come visit and then check out the other girls, it will be loads of fun!

B-

Sunday?

Seriously? Already?
Where did this last week go? Where did the entire Summer go?
The kids all go back to school tomorrow, and we did try to squeeze as much fun out of the season as we could, somehow I feel like I have missed the mark. They are mostly prepared to head back, we need some new clothes and such, but there is plenty of time for all that.
Laurel starts at the U tomorrow, and will be driving herself in the little red car that has the manual transmission, I am more nervous for her with the driving and parking thing than I am for the class part, what is wrong with that picture? She has eleven textbooks and they are heavy!
Chloe had a rough day yesterday, we were worried that it was her appendix, but it wasn't. She has an ovarian cyst and we will have to keep an eye on her to make sure that it resolves in the next few days. It sure causes her a lot of pain, and it makes me feel so bad for her. She is a tough girl, we are sure that she will be fine.
Went to a card swap group for the first time on Friday evening, and it was so fun! The girls are very creative and after we swapped cards, we decorated bags. I loved that, we sat and visited, ate junk food and played with paper some more. There are two Kelly's with the same birthday as well, that was fun to watch them figure that out together!
Hope everyone has a good day, I am going to church for a few and then finishing some projects that have a tight deadline.
Best!
B-

A Little Sneak Peek...

I thought it would be fun to share a little sneak peek of one of the next All Things Considered release, there are actually going to be two this month! Since we have been canning so much, a few of the jars have made their way to friends and neighbors, one went to a friend who fractured her collar bone in a biking accident. She had to have surgery after waiting a week and had been feeling pretty down at that point, so Chloe made her some fresh rolls, to go with a card and fresh jam. She came over a few days later when she was feeling better and got Chloe's roll recipe (out of the Paper Crafts Gourmet cookbook, so good!!) and let us know how much that had meant to her and her family. Made us feel good because sharing is FUN!!!
I will have some sneaks of the other set soon, so keep your eyes open!

Best!
B-

Winner of stamp set!

Congrats to Lynn! She left comment #7.
Please email me!

B-

It is finally finished!!!

I have been working on this little banner for a few months. It is for Penelope "Penny" Malan, the absolutely adorable daughter of Natalie and Dave Malan. I had fabric from Natalie that matches all of Penny's room decor, she also had gorgeous antique chandelier crystals and crepe paper that she wanted integrated into the design somehow. That is where it all began, but there were quite a few design solutions that I needed to figure out so that it would be perfect!
After thinking, cutting, glueing, sewing, gathering and crop-o-diling, I finally got all of the pieces in place, it made me so happy! The final construction day was yesterday, and I just love how it turned out, hopefully it is perfect for Penny and something Natalie will be happy to hang in her adorable room!

















































I have made a little jam on the side with my FAB crew, Chloe the "Crusher" and Dave the "Cleaner". I am of course the "Pot Stirrer". (What do you think of our new street names? Super Salt Lake don't ya think, LOL!) Well after a days hard work, we had some delish Rainer Cherry jam and Red Raspberry jam to show for our mess, it is supposed to be for the winter, but we are eating it and giving it away so fast, I think we will doing it again soon!
Anyway, I had to make some cute wraps for the ones that I was giving to Celeste. She is the mastermind behind a bunch of my favorite Basic Grey papers, and remember "Lemonade"? Well it was the perfect paper to jazz up the little jars that were going to her house. The good thing is that the jam tastes as good as the wraps look, so there is no deception in advertising there!
I hope everyone takes a second to leave a comment on the previous post, it doesn't need to be long, just say "hi" so that you can be included in the drawing. And thanks so much for all of the support and kind words, you have all touched my heart so much! I am a very lucky girl!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday!
B-

Oh Nuts...

It has been a rough month. Wish I could sugar coat it, but for the last few weeks I have been preparing my goodbyes with Cornish Heritage Farms. We are parting on good terms, the best possible, and I will continue to design art for them for right now. Both Julia and I were laid off, they operate with a zero debt policy (which I admire) and they would have had to go into dept to keep us on. I loved the duties and challenges that came with my job and I will miss it very much. And I am glad the I have the opportunity to create art. There are many changes throughout our lives and while this one is hard, I am sure that I will learn and grow from the experience.
So while I am not sure what is next professionally for me, this is what I do know:
I love crafting of all kinds and will keep creating all of the wacky ideas that come into my head. So there will be stamping, scrapping, fabric, buttons and gems everywhere. I want to get better behind my camera, learn more about photoshop and illustrator and maybe even try a little quilting! And I am going to make more time to try new things! There are so many fun techniques, and crafts to explore. One of the upsides of not having a job is that I will also have more time for my kids, and that has always been a priority for me, but now I won't feel like I am juggling so much maybe. And I want to walk a little slower, smell the flowers a little more often and look at the clouds that are passing by.
Trying to decide where I fit into the industry, do I pursue another job? I feel like I have tons to offer, but not sure where it is I fit now. Kind of a strange inbetween place. I had one of my proudest publishing moments this month when one of my projects made the front cover of Paper Crafts! The little Spooky Bag was so fun to do, and took only a few minutes! The "Oh nuts" card is in there too, and it sums up today perfectly. For sure I will continue to submit projects for publication. I do enjoy the magazines so much and hope that they are around forever. Just not quite the same on the computer screen. Oh I do love to catch up with what is new and Moxie Fab online, but sitting with a glass of lemonade and flipping leisurely through the lates mag is a pastime I hope I get to enjoy for many years!
So today I need a hug. Just one more week, and then I am getting released into the pond.
Anyway, to make myself feel better I want to do something for someone else, leave a comment by Sunday at midnight, and I will pick someone on Monday to receive my August release of All Things Considered "School Primer".
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend
B-

Make Yourself Comfortable

It has been a while since a post, and hectic is a great way to describe life right now! Trying to keep up with deadlines, finishing up the Summer Stamp Star contest (going to announce the overall winner very soon!!) husband traveling alot and getting the boy ready and out for a week long hike with his scout trip in the high mountains has kept me hopping!
So I wish I had a new project to share, but they are all for other stuff. So instead, a few pictures of the bad babies and how they spend most of their day. That is my bed, and I do actually make it everyday, but you would never know this by how it looks after they get comfortable on it. And they are both often on it together, all snuggly and cute!! How Novak squeezes himself under the bed like that is an act of contortion that you have to see to believe, and watching him get out is even more awkward, but he sleeps like that at least a couple of times a day, it is his little doggie cave. BTW, the height of his lung carriage is about 8 inches taller than the height of the bed, it is some weird math. We wash the linens and bed spread all the time, but when they come in with dog paws that usually have been digging or running through the grass and dirt, we just can't keep up with the maintenance at times. Climbing into bed to find doggy dust is really icky. And heaven forbid if Nikolay decides that he wants to snuggle with us at night, he is a bag of bones (they both are) and just lays on top of whomever, if that is where he wants to be.
Hope you are having a comfortable Monday, I know my dogs are ;o)

B-

ATC School Primer

Another one of my stamp set designs went up today!
It is called School Primer, and I just love it!
I have left a couple of sneak peeks, but I am excited to share the whole set with you!
The spinner is the perfect way for me to keep track of names, numbers and notes for my everyday life. I love the base for this set stamped on the manila card that comes with the spinner and then whether it is a note for something that is recurring or an address of a friend, I am good to go! I am terrible at having a hard copy of addresses, so I hope that this will help me keep track of them and keep them handy for when I am sending out notes or packages. I might not have to search my gmail as often, LOL!

It has been a really busy week with CHF, I just got my two new sets for September in the mail, and they are cut out and ready for ink! And also got art for October turned in that will be with the Rummage Bin line and it is super fun as well! So inspired right now, I wish I had more time to get my thoughts captured. But it is all good, I gotta make sure that I leave myself some time to play with all of the goodies!

Hope everyone is enjoying their last little remnants of summer before it slips coolly into fall!
B-