my absense, my thanks to audrey frelx of cute and some

my last post was  the Queen of Patience award presented to Audrey Frelx of Cute and Some, she deserves this award again for remaining a loyal and patient follower of my blog.  Audrey continues to visit and leave beautiful words of friendship despite my long absense from the blogging world.  many times in my absense, i have thought of deleting my blog because of my lack of posts.  however Audrey always seemed to visit when i was at that point and i would remember how encouraging my blog followers (or as i like to refer to them as, my artful spirits) had always been.

i also remember why i started this blog...i wanted to have a place where i can upload photos of the cards and crafts that i create, so i have a record of what i have tried, what worked and what did not. papercrafting is a passion and my studio is my zen space for me to go to and let my "artful spirit" express itself.  my blog was never meant to be a daily blog or a blog of my personal life.  right now my real world is taking up a lot of time and energy and my zen space is getting more difficult to get to and i have no time to even visit the beautiful blogs i enjoy following.  

the photos i have posted, are the pumpkin table favors i made in the summer that were used at a fall wedding.  the newlyweds' photographer sent me the photos so i could see the final tablescape and enjoy how the pumpkins looked with the other table decor.  with my american friends celebrating thanksgiving soon, i thought i would share this photo, even though most of us papercrafters are thinking christmas.  i want to leave this post with my sincerest wishes for a season of thanksgiving and a heart of peace and generosity to all.  give a gift of yourself even if it is just a kind word or a smile, you never know how far that simple act will take another person. 

a deserving tribute

Queen of Patience Award
Awarded to Cute and Some

for her calm and collected manner of dealing with the DS font and firmware update on her new expression, the process of reinstalling and updating her gypsy and now waiting on a new cord to solve all life's the technical problems. 



autumn is in the air

i've already had the first sinus infection/cold of the season and the leaves are already falling.  it is my favourite time of the year with the colour of the leaves and vines changing, the sound of the leaves rustling under your feet, the smell of the crisp air, the taste of a crunchy apple and memories of school starting and seeing friends again. while this still happens as i am a part of a teaching team at a school for students with developemental disabilities, i don't get the new backpack or runners to start the school year anymore!  lol!!!  so many things flood my senses at this time of year!  i love it! so while the trees and plants slow down, i get energized with the cooler air and more time indoors seeing the things i neglected all summer!

oh! and the card is my avatar on the new cricut message board...

flowers and bugs

button flowers and cuttle bug embossing...  when i saw the button embossing border i was excited to incorporate it into many creations.   i started with a copper tag but gave that away before photographing, perhaps i will make another.  however, getting back to this card, i used the button folder for the edge and cut stems from the walk in my garden cart and added layers of buttons for the heads of the flowers.

i am finally posting again as i have new batteries and can download the photos of previous creations, i have time as i have  a severe sinus infestion that had me in bed yesterday and looks like today as well,  so just using the laptop to get up to date. 

and the bees

i laughed on sunday when i read flowerdisco's post to my blog saying i have been "busy as a bee", i turned to my dh and said "how does she know i am making this card".

the colour combo i love, i had it as my bedroom decor as a young adult.  the paper with the bees and the hives reminded me of this beautiful bee from home decor and this stamp i was eager to try.  the paper is glossy so when i did the heat embossing at the last moment, the heat gun nozzle hit the paper and smeared the embossing so... i made the bee bigger than originally planned as i did not want to waste the paper.  i cuttlebugged the bee both layers with the swiss dots folder as this card was made for the store manager at michaels.

long story short, i was embossing the snowflake for the "packing tape" technique and something did not feel right...you know, you can feel it. yupe, cuttlebug broken, me sad, call to store, bring it in if no exact replacement, would give me 20% off the model they do have.  i needed this replaced, it is my favourite tool for card making.  saw the manager, saw they had the exact model, sad to see broken one hit the bin but was almost speechless and excited like a child on christmas morning when i walked out with the replacement.  priceless!

let me tell you about the birds and...

i have made a slight adjustment to the design layout...meaning i screwed up something and tried to hide it .  this bird just needs a sentiment added hmmm!  have to wait for the occasion.  the cutfile is here http://www.customcrops.com/article_info.php?articles_id=61 

a cherry on top!!!

daily grace creations have graciously passed on this award to my blog!!! i feel so honoured and a little embarassed as so many people post daily and i tend to blog in "fits and starts"*(another curious saying... where am i coming up with these words and phrases i am not even certain about?).

well, i will accept the award with the grace it was given...now the rules are

1.thank the person who sent it to you

my sincerest thanks to peggy and donna, for visiting my blog

and caring enough to look around and comment.

2. copy award to your blog.

in this post and my sidebar

3. List 3 things you love about yourself.

• 
  
   I love the memories of the laughter of my family
• 
  
  I love to make papercrafts as an expression of my artistic self
• 
  
   I love that I have support and encouragement from andrew, even if it means checking kijiji for supplies!
• 
  

4. Post a picture you love.

for many reasons and many memories

5. send the award to 5 blogs you love.

it's a real challenge

flowerdisco

cute and some

okieladybug

bits of paper
capadia designs

please visit these blogs and marvel at the talent and kind hearts that these women incorporate into their creations. the blog world is full of caring and sharing individuals and my list does not reflect all those that give me encouragment, inspiration or technical tutoring but it is a small way to give recognition to others.  please visit, it's worth the effort.

*Noun 1. fits and starts - repeated bursts of activity; "they worked in fits and starts"

burst, fit - a sudden flurry of activity (often for no obvious reason); "a burst of applause"; "a fit of housecleaning"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

i love men...snowmen!!!

and this is one of my favourite cricut snowmen as he is so ...round? clean? simple expression?  i don't know exactly but i have about ten of these guys in my stash now, using various scraps for the background, trim and ribbon bits.

i was sly like a fox...

when i used design studio to create these shaped cards.  i followed the instructions of susan bluerobot at http://susanbluerobot.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-make-stand-up-shaped-card.html up until step 19 as i just really wanted to try out this technique.  as i was successful in creating a shaped base card, i went back and cut out the the body detail.  added a polka dot bow to one and a polka dot collar with metal charm on the other.  used wild card to create the complimentary envelopes. 

i often find if i have a created a card and no standardized envelope will work, wild card will have some shape that will fit most anything.

a little bling...

was added to the bug on the belly band of this "gift card" card just to get it a little "pop" on the pink skull and paisley card stock.  the cutfile was from http://meflickcricutandmore.blogspot.com/2009/03/tri-fold-gift-card-holder.html.  so many gifts are now gift cards and it is nice to have a variety of ways to present the gift card as we know "presentation is everything"!

seeing the positive in the negative...

i am a frugal crafter, so before i through out a scrap of paper, i examine it to determine if there is anything that is salvageable of the design or of the paper.  in this instance, there was a complete card front just waiting for glitter, my favourite embellishing technique (of last week...  i have already moved on and done some heat embossing to a few cards).  to complete this card, i added after photographing, holly leaves to the base of the antlers and a tree in the background, perhaps i'll heat emboss a sentiment!

painstaking·ly adv.

i made this elegant card from  http://www.customcrops.com/article_info.php?articles_id=116 that i glittered using the xyron method of putting the image face side into the xyron so the adhesive is on the front, then peeled off backing and applied glitter.  important lesson learned, really burnish around the letters before removing the backing because the glitter covers every bit of adhesive so...i spent some time with a safety pin painstakingly (what does that word really mean???) cleaning around each part of each letter and each element of the snowflakes (one is inside)!!!  someone special is getting this card for christmas.... my mom, i know she won't see this posting.

pains·tak·ing (pnztkng)  adj.  Marked by or requiring great pains; very careful and diligent. See Synonyms at meticulous.
n.  Extremely careful and diligent work or effort.
painstaking·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

yes! i used it in the right context, just sounded odd... pain and stake, there was no pain involved and stake???  uhhh, the english language and the ramblings of someone who has had no sleep...