Sharing My Daze

Card Camp week 1

There is finally light at the end of the tunnel. My mother in law who has been living with us for six months while preparing and going through a bone marrow transplant is feeling better for the first time in all these months. The oncologist here has released her to go back home. All she has to do is get the final blessing from her BMT doctor at Foxchase and she will be able to resume her own life at home. 

For me, this means having some time to get creative again. I signed up for Summer Card Camp with Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner. This is the first card I've made for this week...well I have another cool one started, but it won't be done until tomorrow.

There was a color combination for the week. It included purple, pink, orange, blue and white. This is what I came up with. I used a Hero Arts orange card and a Hero Arts stamp. I embossed the blue background with Tim Holtz - Tumbled Glass then used Copics to color in what I wanted of the flowers. I took some House of Three twine, made bows then painted them with glam glaze by Tattered Angels. The Delight stamp is by Hampton Art. The words are embossed in white then I used a Dee Gruenig marker over it. The card is far from perfect, but oh how good it feels to get to play and create a little once again!

 

The little gift box

Browsing blogs as I do, I came upon the cutest little project. It was a small 4 drawer gift box. I decided to make one for my daughter's birthday. It was perfect to tuck some make up and jewelry into the little boxes. She loved it!  Here's some pics to show how it came out.

I used a nice spring looking patterned paper, then embossed some grungepaper, die cut it with a Tim Holtz tattered florals die, painted the pieces and added a button. The ornate frame is also Tim Holtz. The envelope and wooden number are Maya Road.

The side view

With the drawers open - aren't they so cute?

If you want to make an adorable little box like this one for a gift or even for yourself, here is the link to Kirsten's blog for the instructions. Happy creating!

OWOH winners!

It's official. OWOH is now closed and only a very fond, fun memory of visiting others across the world. I used the random generator and it has chosen the two winners.

First up is the glimmer screens. They go to comment # 103.

Leslie at http://leslie-mylifeandtimes.blogspot.com/

Next up is the tree stamp. It goes to comment # 5.

Mallory at http://mallorygoldie.blogspot.com/

Congrats to you both and happy OWOH! 

One World One Heart 2011

 

One World One Heart is a huge worldwide event which gives bloggers a chance to check out all kinds of wonderful blogs and creations made by others.  It is a great way to meet some wonderful people all while sitting in your most comfortable spot right in your own home or Starbucks or wherever you enjoy the blog reading you do! The participants offer a prize, sometimes more than one for stopping by, checking out their world and leaving a comment to say hello. It's great fun! This is the 5th and final year for OWOH.  This is my 2nd time participating.

For those of you visiting here for the first time, Welcome!  My name is Sandi and I enjoy paper crafting. It can be merely paper or include paints, inks, stamps, fabrics, mixed media, anything goes really.  I also scrapbook, sometimes digi, sometimes not. It's all good! I live with my husband, daughter, a big dog, a little dog and a cat whom my daughter has dubbed "the evil genius."  We like to travel, don't get to do as much as we'd like, and do hope to add more traveling both near and far to our future. If I'm home and not caregiving, I'm in my craft room, in the garden, reading a book, watching political news or HGTV (hmm, wondering what that says about me ;) or hanging with the pets - Charlie, Annie and Socks.

This year we've been dealing with a serious illness within our extended family so there has not been as much time to create. We have become caregivers, drivers and spirit lifters.  My appreciation for nurses has increased dramatically and I know with certainty why I always told my Granny "NO" so emphatically whenever she suggested I put that on my idea list of what to become when I grew up. I was not cut out to be one.  Nurses have a special something extra that I do not.  It's called the ability to give shots and well...take care of so much that I haven't a clue how to do. 

I'm hoping to maybe create a little something as an added prize here, but only time will tell. If I am able to make a prize, I'll update this post. Meanwhile, I do have a couple of new items that might appeal to those who create. 

If you have a blog (remember, this is a blogging event) and leave a comment to say hello, I'll happily enter you in the drawing.  Please include your blog so I can drop by and visit you also. The random number generator will choose the winners.  The drawing will take place and be announced on February 17th. If a crisis should arise on the date (we've had a few here) the winners will be announced as close to the 17th as possible. Happy blog traveling!

Prize number 1 - Tattered Angels glimmer screens.  This is the TREES set.  They're wonderful for adding backgrounds to projects.

 

Prize number 2 - A rubber stamp of.... a TREE and some beautiful woodland creatures.   

At least I seem to have a theme this year.   Good luck!  Have fun in your blog travels with OWOH.

 

December Daily 2010 Day 10

Totally caught up! Two posts in one day even!  Here is our December Daily from day 10. This is the 2nd year that Devon and I have taken the camera to Pier 1 Imports. That store is so decked out for Christmas that it is the perfect place to take some fun photos. Plus, we always seem to find a gift there for someone on our shopping list.

Day 10

Look at all this shopping fun!

Day 10, side two

We had a great time looking at all the cool ideas for decorating, table setting, and gift giving. This place rocks at Christmas with all its eye candy!

December Daily 2010 catch up day

This is the third year running that I have done a December Daily along with the creator of the idea, Ali Edwards. This year, however, I was away during the beginning of December and have had to play catch up. Now that I'm at day 9 I can breathe a little, post where I am now and definitely feel a little less stress about my daily. Any photo can be clicked on for a closer, larger look. Take a peek at what I've got going so far...

The outside cover is a Hambly template over a gessoed piece of chipboard, then adorned

On the inside cover I used some Tattered Angels glimmer chips, rub ons, Copic markers, Adirondack paint dabbers, silver alcohol ink, Sparkly Fluff and Flower Soft

Now begins the days of the month. I'll just say which day each page goes to and leave it at that. This is day 1

Day 1

Day 1

Day 1    Some days have more going on than other, don't you find the same?

A quick note, many of the templates, and numbers are from Ali Edwards and available at Designer Digitals or were free on Ali's website.

Day 2

Day 2, side 2 plus screen print separator - most screen prints are from Hambly. Like Ali's book, I've used separators with each day. Some are blank acetate sheets right now. Those, I'll go back and tweak once the book is finished and I see what looks best there.

Day 3

Day 3, side two

Day 4

Day 4, side two

Day 5 - How cool is this? The little postcard comes out of the envelope and has hidden journaling. These are from K & Company. The screen print is clear here, but I've placed the gift of love sticker on it.

Day 5, side two

Day 6

Day 6, side two

Day 7 - hmmm, what can be under here?

Aaah, a little kitty and some hidden journaling.

This shows the screen print

Then day 7, side two. I glittered the number to compliment Joy

Day 8

Day 8, side two

Day 9

Day 9 with the screen print

Day 9, side two

You may have noticed that my December Daily is not very Christmasy. That will soon be changing now that I'm home and caught up!

A little December Daily is Double Distressed

This week I think Studio L3 and Simon Says Stamp and Show collaborated on the challenge.  Both involved distress inks. The Compendium challenge is double distress ink on page 40. At Simon it is any project using distress ink. Distress inks are used in so many of my projects that this was perfect for a busy Thanksgiving week.

I also put together a December Daily each year thanks to the inspiration of Ali Edwards. My family enjoys looking back at these and Devon is making one also this year. This weeks piece will be incorporated into one of my pages. 

Here is my entry. The white deer has not been altered in any way because it reminded me of the white deer I would often see in this particular spot of land across from Seneca Lake outside of Geneva NY. Until I saw one with my own eyes I didn't believe they existed. They do and they are gorgeous to behold. They make me think of winter and snow.

It is now time for the mad dash over the hills and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go. If you celebrate Thanksgiving have a wonderful day!

A digi book

Click here to view this photo book larger

 

Today, I thought I'd finally get some digi pages out of the computer and into a book. I have tons of Devon and will one day make her a book also, but for now I tried it out with my stuff.

If It Makes You Happy...it's a CCC #22 and an SSSS!

This week the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge is like Sheryl Crow's song, "If It Makes You Happy."  Well, if it makes me happy, it's both that challenge and the one Linda at Studio L3 has for the Compendium Challenge this week. When I read Linda's blog on Monday I knew it would be a fun challenge. Then I read the SSSS challenge and I was doubly excited since it was anything that makes you happy.

The Compendium Challenge is on page 52. It involves alcohol inks. I love alcohol...inks ;) They're so yummy (and vibrant) they make me happy. I made this

It is full of happy, all the thing that make me happy when I get to create. My happy list:

• alcohol inks - the beautiful fall colors
• grungeboard - the crow
• stamping - the muted autumn leaves
• paints - the crow
• fibers - the crown
• stickles - on the leaf of the crown
• metals - the eye and as part of the branch
• adornments - the little caged bird
• distress inks - used on some edges

Sure there are other things that make me a happy creator, but this is a rather good list to begin with. As for the CCC challenge I tried Linda's tip in lieu of a supply I didn't have. It works ok, but that missing supply is on my wish list now. That and a tasty alcohol drink as vibrant in color as my alcohol inks and I will be happy all week :)

 

 

 

 

CCC #21

Call me a slacker! That's me, missing CCC #20. I thought I was going to be going out of town and wanted to make certain that my calendar pages were finished for a swap I did. Once they were done I got plain old lazy and didn't feel like doing anything else.  Why do we get like that sometimes?  

But this week I bellied up to my work table and said get er done!  And...I did.  This week Linda has us doing Perfect Distress. You can check it out in Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities book on page 38 if you wish to give it a try. 

Ok, so I just popped over there to get the link and now it looks like I copied Linda's tag for the challenge! Consciously, I swear I didn't. I checked out the challenge on Monday and then moved on to other things until last night. Then, I took out my book and grabbed my box of Christmas stamps to decide what to do along with my new embossing folder of the trees.  It's either a case of like minds this week or I subconsciously memorized her tag in the back of my mind.  Whichever it was.  Here's my entry.

I'll say that I like how my reindeer came out with the technique, but for BELIEVE I need a bit more practice in controlling the pp when I apply it ;)