lw (liquidation world) fabulous find

i ventured into a store called lw and realized right away it was liquidation world, so hoping to find a treasure, i went up and down each aisle looking carefully for something but not knowing what i was in search of...until i saw the familiar pale colours of martha stewart packaging! there, in the party supplies, admist the balloons and children's party invitations, i discovered a glitter birds card kit which included five bottles of glitter, eight note cards and eight birds with adhesive sectioning that you peel off to expose the adhesive then shake glitter onto the surface of the bird.  after glittering my hands, face, hair, my clothes, the floor of my studio and my faithful scamp! i have created these cards with the exception of a few papers everything was from scraps and old stash...oops i guess i failed when i bought the card kit!  my greater discovery!!! it is very challenging to photograph glittered objects, any hints?

cute and some has given me an award!

audrey frelx at cute and some has given me an award! 

she is a very energetic and giving person, you must check her blog,  several of her creations have been featured on Craft Crave at http://www.craftcrave.com/

The rules are to give thanks to and link to the person who sent you this award; list 7 things about yourself; and pass it on to 15 bloggers/followers.

7 things about myself

1  love to laugh and have a good cry
2  love old black and white movies including the "b" movies
3  can not cook 

4  want to get better at using my digital camera

5  like quiet, alone time

6  treasure the times with my son

7 eager to learn something new each day  

passing it on to 15 beautiful blogger/followers who inspire me, who challenge me, who provide technical knowledge, who surprise me with their comments and awards, who...well the list goes on and on!!! 

in no particular order...

christine of four bears who has no blog but is a wonderful friend and follower!
marilyn who has no blog but is a wonderful friend and lurker!
drew who has no idea what a blog does but is a wonderful lawful spouse and encourages my creativity!
scamp who hears the word blog! blog! blog! and still sits amid the glitter!
jessica who doesn't want to know what a blog is but is a artful soul!
http://flowerdiscosscraphut.blogspot.com/
http://jozartdesigns.blogspot.com/
  http://wwwpaperhugs.blogspot.com/

http://agoscraftomonium.blogspot.com/
http://createitgreen.blogspot.com/

http://wildlywhimsicalcraftingloft.blogspot.com/

http://auntierere.blogspot.com/

http://capadiadesigns.blogspot.com/

http://courtbaker.blogspot.com/
http://aruplife.blogspot.com/

there are so many i would like to include for all the above reasons so... as audrey suggested if you'd like to have it, you can grab it and pass the love around!

my nominees for the Sunshine Award

JulieH http://huxtershouse.blogspot.com/

Amber http://punkinbinadoodlecreations.blogspot.com/

Raven http://love4stamps.blogspot.com/

One Cheap Bitch http://onecheapbitch.blogspot.com/

Beth http://inkyfingersrule.blogspot.com/

Tiffany http://www.scraptiffany.typepad.com/

on my dashboard

while checking my dashboard for recent posts of the blogs i follow, i saw that Flowerdisco's Scraphut had created a gorgeous purple flower from tissue paper and i wanted to learn about  the details.  after reading the deceptively simple instructions, i continued to view older posts as i had not looked for a few days. i then discovered that Flowerdisco had received a Sunshine Award and i was about to post a comment to her blog congratulating her for the deserved award when i saw that...she had awarded me a Sunshine Award for following her blog!!!

i am honoured and thankful, Flowerdisco is a genuine person and i am inspired by her work and encouraged by her comments to my blog!  i love the series of cards she is creating from each of the cards from the wild card cartridge.  while at the same time, posting projects created from other cartridges or utilizing various other papercrafting techniques...oh and don't let me forget to mention about the posts regarding  the continuing saga of Lulu, her fur baby!!!  that is how we made our first connection, Flowerdisco wanted to adopt my fur baby, Scamp!!!

thanks to Flowerdisco who true to her generous nature, thoughtfully awarded me this Sunshine Award.

now, the rules for the award are as follows:

-- i must pass this on to 6 of my followers asking them to put the logo on their blog or within a post.

--link the nominees within my post.

--let my followers know that i am giving them this award by commenting on their blog

--share the love and link to the person from whom i received this award.

i will be back with my six after i have commented to their blogs.

valentine cards for the sweetest of people!

for my son i used the wild card cartridge and the triangle card cut,  made the popular "sour cream" container with some hershey's kisses inside.  i also made these for my friends at school where the presentation was a huge hit "too nice to even open".

for my son's girlfriend i used the heart card cut from wild cards. i filled an acetate pillow box with cinnamon hearts.

and for my lawful spouse, i used the monster card cut and filled the "wagon" with hugs and kisses!

secret friend gift

i got this hot idea from greenbean on the cricut message board. this cupcake received huge interest, for many reasons. i think as an inexpensive gift idea it is quick and simple to construct, the presentation offers a huge impact and the number of occasions that this project could be used makes it a keeper in my files, just have to stock up on socks!  i gave one to my secret friend at work and to each of the students in my class.

fuzzy spa sock cupcake

the quick reception to this idea of greenbean's maybe the reason she is creating a blog, her blog name will be greenbean's crafterole - "a bunch of crafty stuff baked up into one tasty blog".  i'll be following that blog so as not to miss her creative crafting recipes, these cupcakes are the only baking i am interested in doing!

HOW WE CAN SUBSCRIBE TO AID HAITI

Scrapbook & Cards Today is deeply saddened by the losses suffered by the people in Haiti and we would like to help. From today, January 15th until February 12th the proceeds from EVERY new subscription sold will be sent directly to the Canadian Red Cross to support their aid efforts in Haiti. We have also learned that the Canadian Government will match our donation - dollar for dollar. If you have ever thought about subscribing, then this would be a really great time as every dollar will be sent where it is needed most. To subscribe just click here.

sir stampalot challenge

sir stampalot challenge

The challenge theme is:

"MOVING"

the project can be a card, box, scrapbook l/o, whatever you choose and the theme is open to interpretation, moving home, kinetic card, vehicle or as simple as a dangling charm as long as it represents movement.

my entry is a wagon that is moving my stamps and stamp pad but istill have another idea that i may create given time...

oh christmas tree

susie and vikki's Christmas club challenge 3 oh christmas tree

this card was pulled together from scraps (yeah!), a recycled card image (yeah!) and light bulb stickers from old stash (yeah!) so it met all the goals i had for completing this challenge !  i only wish i had more time but this is a busy week...but creating a card a week throughout the year will help during those insanely busy weeks at Christmas!

a new blog "Scrap The Art" has a design team call

Scrap The Art

"Scrap the art is a bi-monthly challenge dedicated to pulling your artistic ability to new heights. Just to clarify you don't need to paint anything. Unless of course you feel moved to paint. You can take inspiration from the painting in any way you feel. Shapes, colors, layout, theme etc. We welcome you to join along and we look forward to seeing your wonderful creations."

i answered the call for designers and raven at Scrap The Art commented on my blog

"Hey Helen its Raven with Scrap The Art. Your work is amazing. We would love it if you were interested in taking a guest designer spot",

so i replied "guest designer spot??? if you think my creations would qualify me for the title then i say yes!!! thanks for the invite, provide details when they are available! can i mention this on my blog in advance?"

and raven said "Oh absolutely. Brag all you want. You're work is awesome. If you could just don't tell anyone other than family of course what the first challenge is going to be."  so... i'm bragging!!!

challenges

susie and vikki's Christmas club challenge 3 non traditional

 and

pdss sketch challenge 7

i have once again combined the pdss sketch challenge and the Christmas club challenge. the theme for this weeks challenge is    NON TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS

you can interpret this challenge however you wish, it could be non traditional colours or images, etc.

so i selected the bowling pin paper as it reminded me of snowflakes! i embellished it with shiny black buttons to mimic the idea of bowling balls. i cut out one of the "snowflakes" and popped it with glue dots and used a "holiday season" sticker in the centre.

i tried a second card, this time in non traditional colours-pink and green, non traditional images-waves as the blowing winter wind; flowers as the clouds and snowflakes as well as a non traditional sentiment-"scatter joy". it is hard to tell but i have popped the centre of the scalloped oval and the frame with glue dots, added green pearls, "joy" stickers and a pink and white striped border strip. 

cuttlebug baby carriage

a co worker and his wife have had a baby and i wanted to do something extra special, as i had made their invitations to their wedding a few years ago. so i was looking around at the cricut message board and found this  cute and some's needful things baby stroller. i did not have any instructions so i searched further and found scor-pal the baby carriage, it is not the same dimensions as the stroller but with a few adjustments a gift card will fit in it. so this photo is just a prototype, and as i have to do laundry now, the adjusted size carriage is on hold.  again, i was able to use special scraps and an alphabet sticker!

challenges

                                     

susie and vikki's christmas challenge 2 gingerbread

 and pdss sketch challenge 6

for the Christmas challenge, there are 3 gingerbread men cork "cookies" and for the pdss sketch challenge, there is a sentiment " a very merry Christmas to you" on the card but it is not showing up in the photo very well. once again, i have used scraps from my stash! 

i just checked for the winner at  susie and vikki's Christmas club challenge and discovered i was in the top 3!  that's encouraging!

usings scraps, stickers and ribbon bits

i have a goal to use more of my scraps, stickers and ribbon bits before i purchase any more. over at the circut message board, greenbuggy has issued a rak/challenge to make something for yourself. so i have created note cards from scraps from my stash and stickers i remember purchasing from michaels $1.50 bin and bits of ribbon from my ribbon jar. all of the items have been in my studio for a loooong time!!! glad to have this challenge to motivate me!

Susie & Vikki's Christmas Club

Susie & Vikki's Christmas Club

"We found it hard to make all our Christmas cards/projects on time last year so we both vowed to make a card or project a week through out 2010 and thought you might like to join us in the way of a weekly challenge. This way when it gets round to Christmas we will be prepared and have more time to enjoy the pre Christmas fun instead of rushing to make all the cards we need

We have done this to give you an incentive to get ahead with your Christmas cards/projects and join in the weekly fun."

christmasclub challenge-1-snow

here's my entry using scraps of christmas papers as that is a goal for myself...i have also added a cuttlebug embossed snowflake that reads "cool". i think this card could also be used for a winter time birthday of which i have many to create.

i hope to keep up to this challenge of creating at least one Christmas item each week!  i imagine when the temperatures are blazing in the summer, this may be a refreshing break.

think snow!

my first entry to a sketch challenge...my only entry to a challenge

http://poshscrapbookstore.blogspot.com/2009/12/pdss-sketch-challenge-5.html

my first entry ever! and my batteries needed charging, still dead, andrew gives me two batteries, not correct type of battery, open my flashlight, take the batteries, viola!  the creation of the card itself, did not require that much work!

look at that face!

it was Christmas morning and all through the house, all the creatures were stirring...but not scamp!

christmas cards yet to write and post!

i often feel my handmade cards express how i feel about someone and the occasion but people still expect something to be written inside their card, go figure!  so i still have to write a sentiment inside and post...but my obsessive nature stops me as a have to match the perfect card and sentiment to each person on my list, not an easy task. perhaps next year i will buy boxed cards with a generic sentiment and just sign, my name!  these are only 2 pictures, i will have more but now i have to write and post to mailbox

tiffany is going green

created for a dear friend who shares a passion for wandering through tiffany's and marveling at the fire and ice display of diamonds and then picking what we can afford...the free catalogue. i chose a page from the catalogue to cut snowflakes using the expression. i then chose the page of my friend's favourite charms and freehand cut a border. i still have lots of pages left to create monogrammed cards, birthday cards even a few ornaments!  better get back to the studio!

by special request...a card with a monkey, girlie stuff and for what occasion? Christmas!!!

a co worker approached me and requested a card with a monkey, baking things and girlie girl objects.  i asked for what occasion expecting birthday, just because, or anniversary however he responded Christmas!!! and then said he would get back to me with more details.  amazingly as soon as the words were out of his mouth, i had  a design in my head and went home and played with design studio and did a mock up of a monkey hanging from a Christmas tree trying to grab a cake from its stand! wow! i impressed myself!

next day my co worker came back and said forget about the baking aspect, that is what HE liked about his fiance, she really just liked girlie things shoes, purses, his words...again i knew how i would change my original design, i would have the monkey climbing down from the tree carrying away girlie stuff.  i checked my stash for the few girlie items i had and pulled this together!