A Little Birdie Told Me....

He like to become to something very sweet today!

So, I pulled out my Cricut to cut him out and play!

Here's a little lighter close-up of the text...

Tri-Panel Display

Over the course of the past several days, I've been back to working on this Tri-Panel display. I'd previously created this tri-panel structure {measures 5"x7"} using chipboard and twill prior to decoupaging over it using Daisy D's Attic Heirlooms printed papers and adding in a whole lot of distressing! I chose Michele's scallop stamps {Purple Onion Designs} to stamp on printed paper, that was later chalked or ink prior to trimming and being used to create a border, shown in the photograph below:

The swirls {Home Decor cartridge} were cut using cardstock in the Cricut and chalked/inked.

I created another paper rose to adorn the top panel's oval opening. I added one large Burgundy button, tangled around a few loose color-co-ordinating threads, and viola! Before I knew it, I was measuring another panel, choosing more stamps to use and thinking of even more design ideas!!!

On the first panel, there's two layers of Daisy D's Heirloom printed papers. The first layer is stamped using black india ink and my favorite Quietfire Design rubber stamp... "And the day came when the pain of remaining tight in the bud was greater than the the risk it took to open." by Anais Nin and here's a bit of trivia for ya! Guess who submitted that quote to Suzanne Cannon for it to become written beautifully in calligraphy style and made into a rubber stamp? Yep! You guess it! Yours truly! Anyways, while creating this piece, I knew I wanted a lot of layers, textures, and depth, so I cut out yet another piece of that fabulous paper, tore a section out so that the stamped image below would still be able to shine through. I set some small red eyelets, then went digging in my silk ribbon stash to find this wonderful green dyed ribbon that I laced through prior to adhering everything together. Along the bottom is a few more stamped images vintage family, a paperbacked clear button, and a handwritten foreign text.
It's sort of hard to see all that clearly in this photograph, I'll capture another close up later on as I continue to work.

Inside the oval, I used several layers. One layer is a light tan card stock, that I distressed, of course! The second layer is actually a textured paper from a stationery set that I stamped the Vintage Girl with Book image {Rubber Cottage}, then used Tim Holtz's Tea Dye directly to the paper. After adhering the image layer to the tan layer, more distressing ensued before adhering the image in the opening of the oval. Pop dots were used to raised the top panel over the solid surface below.

I'll post more photographs as I continue to work on this project... until then!

I've been Tagged!

Janie , of Life's A Dance, located @ http://boondockcrafter.blogspot.com/ tagged me with a new "Photo Fun" tag! The RULES are to go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures. Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder. Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture.Tag 6 other people that you know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them!

Well, I'm pretty certain that many of my blog reader's will recognize this sweet, smiling face. It's my dear grand-daughter, Alexxis, taken eight days before her 2nd birthday. And Yes, there's two year molars tucked away in there !!! Even through the pain of cutting in and growing new teeth, our precious one cannot help but to smile, laugh, and play.

I'm tagging: Linda, Lisa Renea, Dymphie, Lianne, Sue, and Nancy. Thank you for playing along!

Valentine's Day Treat Box

I used the Cricut's Plantin Schoolbook and Home Decor cartridges

to create this Valentine's Day Treat Box for Little Miss.

{She's already so sweet; we don't wanna fill her up with too much candy!}

filled with tulle,

accented with a tags,

an adorable paper rose,

a tattered piece of lace.

...rhinestones reflecting back light and twinkling in the camera's light...

The box measures 6 1/2" x 4 1/4"x1 1/2"

is loaded with dimension,

little touches, scattered here and there...




like the curled wings of a bee captured in mid-flight,

the raised by pop dotted "X's & "O's"...


All created to ask one very important question...

"Will You Be Mine?"

A Glimpse of Home...

To save myself some time, and frustration, I decided to download my camera's software and upload some recently taken photographs. I've been wanting to to share these one with you. Doesn't this look like something you'd discover in an out-of-the-way boutique or gift shop? I absolutely love it! I've finally managed to display my "collectible clutter" in a very pretty way!

When I decided to establish a home office/small work area in our kitchen, I needed to re-locate a portion my Pfatzgraff Tea Rose collection so that I would be able to utilize the upper storage cabinet for crafting supplies. My solution was simple, move it to the china cabinet located in the living room, but I wanted to do something to the china cabinet first.

Now, I know I'm not the first person in the world to use scrapbooking paper to cover the back of a china cabinet, but isn't the end result of this absolutely beautiful?

I used leftover scraps, some vintage sheet music, a vintage postcard, and a few labels. Knowing Valentine's Day would be the next biggest holiday, I tried to save myself some re-decorating by creating a soft, romantic feel, that was cohesive to the beauty of the dishes themselves.

After playing around with the stemware and dishes, determing their placement, I went straight to adding some additional texture: tossing in some silk flowers, a few candles, a piece sheer ribbon tied in a bow, some scented potpourri...

and my wedding day pearls!

I'm so ready for Valentine's Day!

Hello everyone! Sorry, I've been missing for a few days... I'm still searching for my camera's software disk to re-install. {I'm thinking perhaps it in with the computer's OS system disks boxes so I need to check there yet.} Anyways, I've been busy playing with the Cricut and DS!

Using Plantin Schoolbook, I noticed that the basic shapes where in there, so I created me several .cut files that resemble the nestibilities!!! I simply started with a desired size and added 1/4 increments to the width and the height and overlayed them. So, I now have access to some squares, rectangles, circles, and ovals.

I also began another little project that I've been desiring to create. It's a tri-fold gatefold card, with a layered center panel with an oval cutout. I used the Cricut to create the panels the exact sizes I desired and cut out both a lighter weight chipboard {I don't have the deep blade and housing - but was able to cut it x3 to get through it!} and the printed paper. *Note to self: To save paper, remember to change the pressure setting to a lighter setting when cutting pp. Anyways, I have the card assembled and the basics adhered so I'll be working on decorating it up and posting it soon. Perhaps, once I learn how to post a screen shot, I'll share some of my .cut files here.

In other news, I am so stoked! Many of my family and friends are aware of the computer problems I've faced over the course of owning a computer. We've had to reformat so many, many times, removed viruses, adware and spyware - even with an anti-virus program and firewall! Anyways, while checking out some of the disks I've burnt over the years, I came across a disk simply labelled, "pictures" with no other notations. Can you imagine my surprise when I pulled up that disk to discover over three years with of pictures that I believed were Long, Long Gone? I found pics of Amber's baby shower, Alexxis' birth, A @ 2 days old, and A reaching so many milestones in her young life! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy this is made me! So, remember, Back up those photos regularly. You just never know when but you may lose them. Better to be safe, then sorry. That's my philosophy! I cannot wait to begin scrapbooking some of these.

More to come....
soon...

What's your Word?

A lot of scrapbookers/artists and others are choosing a word for the year this year. Since I'd haven't choosen one for 2009 yet, I just had to when I saw this "What's Your Word" on Blogthings.com http://www.blogthings.com

Here's my results: {and isn't that word just perfect for me?}

Your Word is "Hope"

You see life as an opportunity for learning, growth, and bringing out the best in others. No matter how bad things get, you always have at least a glimmer of optimism. You are accepting and forgiving. You encourage those who have wronged you to turn over a new leaf. And while there is a lot of ugliness in the world, you believe that almost no one is beyond redemption.

What's" Your Word?

Playing with my Cricut; making some designs & cards...

After contacting Provo Craft, I was able to re-install my Cricut's Design Studio software. Still a bit uncertain regarding all the capabilities that the Cricut has, I've been doing some research, reading, and learning along the way, and I must say, "Thank You" to those of you who have taken the time to document your settings, your cartridges, whether or not you use DS or SCAL and/or Inkscape and are sharing your knowledge with others. Thanks to you, I'm learning!!! and today, I created my first design using the weld function. The cartridge I choose to use is the Home Decor cartridge and I used the fleur de lis and the scalloped circle from that cartridge. To ensure that my fleur de lis' were the same size, I took advantage of the copy/paste function after sizing them to the desired size. Here's my first finished design using the negative image:

Next, I created this card using one of the rose cutouts.

And last, but not least, my card for Sue!!!

The colors are way off on this card for some strange reason. I assure you it isn't this bright and vibrant in person. I knew I wanted to use the bird, but opted to put him on a scroll vs. one of the branches. The sentiment came easy to me as I caught myself muttering "Oh Shit!" under my breathe each and every time I walked passed the Vintage Collage Mingle that I'm extremely late in getting sent. Somehow, it seemed to be the perfect sentiment for the card! TFL!

It's been a fairly busy week on the homefront, in a puttering-around sort of way. I've been able to re-established my computer area and have been busy re-installing, downloading drivers, ect. I have the all-in-one printer/copier/scanner to install yet and need to contact Gary as I don't have any sound. He upgraded a sound card in my computer and we've had to play with it a little in the past, and hopefully, he can do that without re-installing Windows. I certainly don't want to do all of this again, LOL!

Yesterday, I was finally able to get ahold of Provo Craft customer service to re-install my Cricut Design Studio. What a pain in a butt to have to do each and every time my computer hiccups, but perhaps, they'll eventually get tired of me and do something to rectify this situation. In the meantime, like most things, I'll just have to take it all in stride.

I made a couple full sheet designs using the Plantin Schoolbook, Stone Script, and the Home Decor cartridge and cut those out yesterday. To date, I've created one card using the Cricut. The card is for an internet friend who I have yet to send out a Vintage Collage Mingle to {that we completed back in October!} I've had my collages created but somehow they just haven't made it into the mail. Let's just say that I created a card sentiment to reflect that and I'll upload it once the digital cam is re-installed.

In other news, I'm in the process of setting up and organizing a home office in the rear portion of our kitchen. I originally believed that I just wanted the Cricut and accessories, some tools, stamps and inks, but as I continue to work I'm finding I want this, and that, and the other. But with the space limitations, I really had to consider what it is I want to do here and settle on of the basics. I keep reminding myself that the goal here is to get back into the swing of creating on a regular basis, and I can always take the project into the studio or bring "just enough" in to finish it. I think it's all gonna work itself in the end.

Well, another busy day lies ahead, so I'm off to get started. See ya all soon and take care, my friends. I'll be back, hopefully, with some pics to share!

Two steps forward; one step back...

It's amazing what can happen and change within a week!

Just when I was working to get my Cricut all set up, connected to the computer, the software installed, the firmware updated, and was all set and ready to learn, Don contacted a virus on our computer. Thankfully, we've been down this road before, so no important information or photographs were lost and our computer is still functional, so there are some blessings in disguise!!!!

Another "blessing" is our home has never been so clean! Well, so much of it, all at once. I've been a cleaning fool, bitten by the organizing bug, once the Christmas decorations had been taken down and lovingly packed away once again. Our furniture has since been returned to it's original or a new location and a new home office has been established!

While our computer guru had our computer's modem, I took advantage of having all the electrical components out of the way and was able to clean out, purge, store all the contents of the two upper cabinets and the drawers in the back section of our kitchen! Yesterday morning, I finished staining the insides of the cabinet and while the stain was drying, I began setting up a new work area. For a few years now, I've been having trouble making it into the studio, so I've decided to establish a small card-making/scrapbooking area here... in hopes of increasing my productivity, we shall see how that goes... in the meantime, know that we're still here, just busy. Today's agenda is to re-install our printer, the Cricut Design Studio, and gather a litle bit of supplies and tools from the studio. I hope to have some photographs of the space and some artwork to share with you soon.