Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Quillow!

I made a quilt out of my favorite scraps from other projects and finally tried stippling...free-motion quilting... for the first time. It is not perfect, but it is a cheery throw-sized quilt that folds up into a pillow. I cut the scallop squares with my Big Shot machine, 5 or 6 at a time, which made the cutting process really fun and fast! Want to make another one...if I can just find the time!
See the meandering stitching? It is a surprisingly hard workout on your arms and shoulders!


Canvas and Cocktails

So there is a place here in the Denver area called Canvas and Cocktails. Some friends and I went last night. They serve wine and you & 60+ other people get a step by step painting lesson...problem is...I wanted to paint a different picture. So, they brought the sample of the one I wanted to paint a little closer and occasionally came by to tell me some techniques and which paints to mix together. It was fun! My friends are fun, the music was fun, and creating something is always fun for me...we want to go again!!!! So, I am sharing my first painting ever with you today!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Creative Therapy!!!

I finally had some time since school started to sit down at Archiver's with my friend Michele and get some creative therapy in! I made four cards and have the creative juices flowing...want more time this coming 3-day weekend to unwind and be crafty!

The first card is one I made with my Paper Smooches Hang Ups stamp set. I added flock again for the feet of the squirrels and paper pieced everything on the card!
The next card is also from the same set. I paper pieced the hearts and added bling to the hangers...who wouldn't want these in real life to add bling to their closet?

My next card is from a Verve set with the cutest Chick phrases...Since I am a Spanish teacher, I had to get it because of the Hola Chica (Hi girl!) stamp.  I added bling to this one as well since it is a chick card!

Last but not least is my Inky Antics card. I saw these sets and the honeycomb at my local Archiver's store and they made me think of my childhood....the cards and party decorations with the honeycomb. I have my eye on another halloween set...as soon as my next coupon comes in the mail...look out!

The outside and (drumroll please...)...

...the inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to make more of these fun and surprising little gems!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

My New Location

Okay...third time is supposed to be a charm...my previous two attempts at blogging were not so successful. With the encouragement of my blogging expert friend Michele, I am going to try to make this the best and final attempt. I hope you will enjoy my creations as much as I enjoy escaping into my little crafting room to create them. It is truly therapy and an escape for me. Here are a couple of paper pieced cards I made last night when Michele and I met at Archiver's to get our craft fix... enjoy!


I used my new Hang Ups set from Paper Smooches. I stamped on patterned paper and cut each figure out individually. I actually CASEd a card by Kryssi Ng and added flock for the tail. Love to pet the tail now that it is fuzzy!


I popped up some of the lanterns for fun. I love how the weight of the squirrel pulls down on the line!

And now....Sugar Rush!!!!!!!!!!!!!



This is another Paper Smooches set called Sugar Rush. This is a fun set!! First I stamped on patterned paper and cut out each element. The sundae on the left has three different patterned papers for the glass, foam and straw! I added Diamond Glaze to the candy apple for shine and took a bite out of the popsicle with a scallop oval punch. The silver, metal sundae glass is a silver cloth paper. It makes my sweet tooth hungry just looking at this card! Hope you enjoy them!