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-