I'm a Guest Stamper for Stampin' Pretty!

As I write this post we are in the middle of a blizzard in Colorado and I know it is pretty, but...

I am a warm weather beach girl and I was inspired by this bloom from our yard last summer to make today's card.

I am also pleased to be this week's guest stamper on Stampin' Pretty, the amazing blog of my incredible upline, Mary Fish! So here is how I made my card. I first did the Bokeh technique by watercoloring Stampin' Up! inks onto watercolor paper. (I wet the watercolor paper with a paintbrush, then using my aqua painters, I grabbed ink from my ink pads and just "blotched" the different colors around until the paper was covered. After the paper dried, I sponged white ink through a mask I made by punching different sized circle punches on a sheet of acetate. Next, I stamped and embossed my Blended Bloom stamp with white ink (and clear embossing powder) on whisper white cardstock, Then I sponged Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Melon Mambo inks onto the flower with sponges, and afterwards rubbed the excess off with a tissue. This technique is called emboss resist. I made two of the same flower so I could cut and layer and curl and fuss until I had a more dimensional flower. I used Basic Gray ink to stamp the sentiment from the current Sale a Bration Best Day Ever stamp set (I love this set!). Then I sponged Basic Gray ink on my white SU organza ribbon to get a perfect match to the cardstock and ink in the center of the flower. I roughed up the edges of the watercolor paper to keep the "natural" feel of the card. Then, I added some tiny rhinestones for sparkle! Inside I stamped my daughter's birthdate (with my Alphabet Rotary Stamp) and the Best Day Ever stamp. I will give the card to her for her upcoming birthday. Everything I used here is Stampin' Up! This card makes me feel like it is at least April or May already! Thanks for taking a look! Thank you Mary, for allowing me to be your guest stamper today!

Best. Daughter. Ever.

Project Finally Finished

I finally finished my placemats and we are using them daily now. They are so much cheerier and brighter than the ones I made years and years ago...now to finish the matching napkins...maybe on spring break in 3 weeks!!!

In retrospect: Star Box

Forgive me for the tardiness of this post. The holidays were a whirlwind of activity. I had my annual cookie party in December and I needed a container for my shares. I found this little box on Pinterest in December and made a dozen of them. I scored my Stampin' Up! Real Red cardstock with my scoring board.  I used my favorite tool at the moment, the envelope punch board, to punch the top section of the box where the ribbon laces through. I embossed little stamped stars in silver, tied it closed with silver SU ribbon, and ended up making little tags to tie onto each box as well. I was able to fit a half dozen cookies in the boxes, inside clear bags. They were a hit! Thanks for looking!

Say Cheese!

That title was cheesy, I know.(wink wink) But I made my daughter a little camera album for Christmas to recap the year...and she loved it! I used my envelope punch board to cut the camera shape out of cardstock as well the pictures. I used my circle framelits to cut the silver glimmer paper lens rings and the acetate lens itself. Everything is Stampin' Up! Pretty easy, really! Thanks for taking a look!

The New Beachy Room!

My last post  on December 31st was showing you the new quilt I made for my daughter's newly decorated beachy room. I wanted to share the pictures of the finished space that she loves!

Her dad ordered her the Fathead brand "window" poster

 for Christmas. I painted the sign above her bed on burlap. I ordered her pillows from Society6.

We took lots of pictures while on vacation in San Diego in October so that I could paint some things for her walls. The little beach pails have been in our crafty possessions for a while already. She is going to put seashells in the top of the desk...it is made to put little trinkets beneath the plexiglass...Pottery Barn!

We found the lamp at Hobby Lobby and put sand and seashells inside. She LOVES it! It has a burlap shade, so I put burlap on the sides of the hanging boxes above her desk. The "S" is papier mache from JoAnn's Fabrics. I painted it white and glued on burlap and seashells.

Another sign I painted. This one was from a few ideas I saw on Pinterest.

And now some things we have picked up from living in Florida. (sorry you can see my iPad in the picture!) We still have a household beach theme because we prefer the beach to the mountains...I know...there are people who would kill to live in beautiful Colorado!

The surfboard we picked up in San Diego and a pretty frame from Hobby Lobby!

Hope she likes it for a while. We have changed themes at least once a year since middle school it seems!

Quilting 2013

 



Beachy Batik Quilt

 

On this, the last day of 2013, I realized that I have worked a lot on quilting this year! I just finished the second of three quilts I started... This one is for my daughter's new beach-themed room. This quilt is made with all batik fabrics and is bright and cheery! And drumroll please...she likes it!!!!! (it was a surprise for Christmas that was completed finally on 12/30/13! I'll post pics of the complete room as soon as it is all decorated.

Mexican food: homemade!

I have wanted to make homemade tortillas forEVER and finally did this past week. The stars must have been aligned because they turned out great the first time! All I did was look up Rick Bayless' flour tortillas on Google, and there was the recipe! Here is a picture of the first ones off the assembly line. Remember, I am not a food stylist, so this is not a fabulous photo of them.

To go along with them, I made homemade refried beans. The recipe is in my head, not from any websites or cookbook, so here it is!

1  15 oz. can pinto beans, half to two thirds of liquid drained
1 jalapeno pepper, washed and dried
1/2 T. vegetable oil
salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder to taste ( the latter two are optional)

In a saucepan with lid on, heat oil for a minute or two over medium heat. Add jalapeno and brown by shaking the covered pan  side to side every few minutes until the pepper is dark on all sides. Add beans and simmer for about 7-8 minutes or until they have softened. Add water if it looks a little dry. Using a potato masher, smash the beans but avoid breaking the pepper. Add spices, mix, and they are ready to put on your fresh tortillas!

Charm Pack Tote

I recently stumbled upon a website called Craftsy and I am going crazy getting ideas, taking classes, finding freebies for sewing and quilting. I just finished a purse/tote pattern that I bought there. I have been collecting these fabrics for at least a year and finally got to use them on something where they would show up well. It wasn't hard, just a lot of steps and taking time to make it right! I am pleased with the results! The pattern calls for store-bought handles and I found these microfiber ones at JoAnn Fabrics. I also made two inside pockets instead of one so my keys and phone are easy to find! I want to make an even bigger tote next time. This one measures just 12" X 12". Hope you enjoy it! I need to go make curtains for my laundry room next...not as fun!

Quilting in the summertime

This spring I finally took a Quilting 101 class to learn the real way to quilt.  Before this, I was self-taught and now I know the important basics. I made a quilt using batik fabrics because my whole house is a tropical theme. (I live in Colorado, but was born and raised in Southern California and lived a total of 6 years two different times, in Florida) I will return to live by the sea one day...I will figure out how to do it. Here is my quilt and a matching pillow I made with the scraps. The machine quilting is definitely not perfect, but it is good enough for my first attempt. I did outlining around the rectangles and stippling in the sashing. The pillow was fun, a lot of work, but I like the result.

 

 

In their new home...

Happy New Year Tag

Here's a little tag we are taking to the neighbors' house on a bottle of vino...You can't see the glitter on the "fur" part of the boot...but it's there! I used a Stampin' Up! Bootiful Occasions stamp and the Two Tags die, plus a snowflake embossing folder on the tag.

Hope they like it! Happy New Year everyone! Here's to a great 2013 for one and all!!!!

High Five for Friday

I am participating in the High Five for Friday on the From My Grey Desk website today. http://www.frommygreydeskblog.com/ Check it out. It's so much fun to read what other people are happy about!

Here is my list:

1. I am SOOOOOOooooooooooooo happy that as a teacher I get these two weeks off to relax and rejuventate. Today is Friday, but I have a whole week more off!
2. Since I am off for these two weeks, I have time to get back into exercising and I have since taken Pilates and Aqua fitness classes that have energized me!
3. I am getting to know my new iPad that I earned at school for home and school use right before the break started! Having a blast!Today I have spent a lot of time playing with it! (I've been pinning lots of travel photos on Pinterest in lieu of going anywhere during this vacation...having a staycation doesn't have to be boring...a girl can dream!!!) *see photo below*
4. I donated a lot of clothes today that I haven't worn in at least a year...isn't that what they say to go by? Feels good to purge.
5. Tonight we are getting together with close friends for dinner at a new pizza place to exchange gifts...we always laugh a lot with these friends and the food at this restaurant is G-R-E-A-T!!! Can't wait!

A Different Kind of Thank You Card

I have a new mason jar stamp and think about ways to use it all the time when I am not at home, driving in the car...so this morning I had some extra time before work and ran downstairs to try out an idea. Here it is...I am going to give it to my hair girl with a Starbuck's card. She bends over backwards to please and I wanted to thank her...Hope she likes it!

I stamped the Stampin' Up! jar on vellum with StazOn black ink. I cut out the jar again with a yellow printed paper to look like lemonade inside it. I also cut some striped paper on the diagonal for a straw. I purposely made the horizontal banners curl up at the ends for more dimension. I tied some baker's twine around the jar and stamped a Paper Smooches greeting to finish it off!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Here is my first halloween card of the 2012 season...I was away on vacation when my Perfectly Preserved stamp set arrived...I am so happy with it! I also used the Spooky Bingo Bits set for the contents of the jars along with the spider web embossing folder. Everything I used is Stampin' Up. Can't wait to make more halloween goodies. Check back soon for more halloween fun!

High Five For Friday

I visit a blog called From My Grey Desk to read High Five For Friday because it is a fun place to see what others are celebrating at the end of each week...she is also the sister of an adorable girl whose blog I love: The Small Things...hair tips that are fabulous along with makeup and fashion ideas. Anyway, here is my High Five list for this week:

1. No obligatory place we had to be after school on Friday!!! (I'm a high school teacher)
2. Went shopping right after school to find more redecoration-of-my-daughter's-room goodies. (zebra theme)
3. We had a fun, quick bite at Steak 'n Shake and talked and laughed in the car.
4. We celebrated her 1/2 birthday, just because.
5. Relaxed all evening at home!!!! (We've had busy weekends and haven't been home much for weeks now)

After a stressful week at work (I teach high school) and after school activities, Friday was THE best day of the week!

So Tweet of You

Here is a little card I made for the Sparks Challenge this week at Paper Smooches. Their stamps always make you smile! I used the My Peeps set birdie and sentiment, and added a hash tag for the double entendre (Get it, How "tweet" of you? A tweet on Twitter? Birds tweet all day long...LOL!) I used a fun geometric embossing folder for the background pattern and Voila!
Hope you enjoy it and thanks for stopping by! Go to http://papersmoochessparks.blogspot.com/ to check out all the fun!

Happy Easter!

Here are the cards I made this year. I love my new Everybunny set from SU! Lots of watercoloring, but I used StazOn ink for the black outline so the watercoloring didn't run. Happy Easter to everbunny!

On the move....

A friend is moving and I made her this card...I just got the Snoopy and Woodstock stamp and have a lot of ideas for it using different items in the back seat...she loved the card! I used the twine to signify packed boxes and paper pieced every little item in the back seat that Snoopy is driving to his new home. Hope you like it too!

Spring Break!

Today my spring break starts so let the crafting begin! But the photo today is of a frame my friend Janet Scarboro made for my daughter when we lived in Florida. She painted the whole thing freehand! Isn't it gorgeous?!! I noticed the frame today since it is the first day of vacation and it is almost 80 here in Denver!!!!!! Woo hoo! Summer break is about 8-9 weeks away...favorite time of year! Enjoy!

Valentine's Day continued....

Here is a little box that I found on Kathy Hopperstad's blog via probably several other blogs...I made quite a few for family and friends. It holds a lot of kisses or other candies...and is quick and easy to make with just one piece of 12 X 12 cardstock!

And here are some closeups and an opened shot...I plan to use this tutorial again. You can find it at: http://myhappyplace.typepad.com/my_happy_place/2010/02/origami-tutorial-at-last.html (very similar name to my blog I noticed!)