Organization

Several years ago I hired a professional organizer to help me organize my office so my lia sophia business would run smoother. She was expensive but worth EVERY PENNY! When I hired her, I thought that being organized meant that things had a "BeautifuL" place and it looked like those magazine photos (or some craft rooms I drool over) and was perfectly neat. What I learned is that being organized has nothing to do with how it "looks"; it's all about being able to FIND STUFF! I also learned a lot about myself and how I work - I won't bore you with those details but one of the best tips I can share is that the things you use the most should be within easy reach - like you don't have to move very far to get it. This works GREAT in my office. Not so much at my stamp table as there is SO MUCH that I use often there's no way to have it all close! One of my to do's this week is to re-work my desk. I currently have lots of stamps right in front of me and want to switch those out for some other things. This is my desk; where the magic happens (I've always wanted to say that. Wouldn't that be a great show: Cribs: Stamper Stars). It may be messy, but since I know where things are, it's organized!!

I have great collections of lots of things (can you pick them out in the photo?). One of them happens to be stuff for my Cuttlebug. They are currently in a drawer but it's now full so I need a new solution. If you are looking for ideas on organizing all your accessories for your die cut machine, be sure to stop by the Cuttlebug Challenge today. There's an article up with lots of photo and ideas for inspiration (I'm also making a reference tag this week as I bought a duplicate folder last week - TWICE!! The one I exchanged for the duplicate also turned out to be a duplicate!)

Don't forget to leave a comment on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog sharing your system for a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to Crop Stop.

Besides my cuttlebug folders, tell me what one of my "collections" is; I'll draw one randomly and send you that duplicate embossing folder. Let's see, I'll draw on Thursday night!

Guess What!?!

I got a great bit of news earlier this week and have been dying to share it with all of you! GO HERE and see what I'll be up to for the next 6 months! We've already been chatting up a storm and making plans for some very exciting things to inspire you! Some of the sweetest, nicest, most talented girls on this team! I'm honored to be able to work with them!

Be sure to stop back by on Sunday as there will be lots of ideas on organizing all those dies and folders that you can use with the cbug as I call it!!

I probably won't be posting over the weekend. It's my little man's 2nd birthday on Sunday and we are having a family party tomorrow. My in-laws are in from out of town so we'll be hanging out with them too! I hope ya'll have a beautiful weekend!

Thankful for YOU!

This card is for each of you that stops by my blog and visits me each week. I am so truly appreciative of your friendship and support!!

I love the Live Your Dream set and had a hankering to use it this week. The layout was totally inspired by Jessica's layout that she used on last week's PPS challenge card. I'm sure I'll use it again and again! One of the NYE challenges was to create an easily mailable card - less than 3 layers and no lumpy embellishments.

1. Create standard size top-fold card base from Old Olive.

2. Cut patterned paper to size. Run narrow strip through scallop punch.

3. Color stamp with Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose markers. Overstamp lines in Going Gray. Stamp sentiment in Chocolate Chip. Mount on Chocolate Chip panel.

4. Add stickles to highlight flower centers and to mimic brads. My "brads" aren't very big...it seemed like my stickles were clogged and nothing I did enabled them to really "flow". I gave up and just used a small little bit.

Have a beautiful day girls!!

Make Music

Good morning girls!! It's time for another Pink Papery Studios challenge! This week marks our FIRST challenge of 2009 and Lindsay suggested that we use metallics as a great way to ring in the new year!

My metallic paper is the red paper. It's not a glossy finish, more matte and has a slight sparkle to it. I actually picked it up at Target in the Christmas stationary section. My chocolate chip base and the next layer as well are embossed with the music notes cuttlebug folder. Then I smeared some red glitter gloss over it. The image on the left is a new image we got from Amy. I'm not sure if it's a dress, or a slip or a cover-up. On this card, it's a little nightie. With Valentine's Day coming up I thought it would make a fun card for my hubby. {wink} The panel on the right is stamped with a music stamp in Memento Rich Cocoa? Some flowers and a handwritten tag finish it off.

Be sure to stop by all the rest of the design team's blogs too to see what they created! Several of us used the same image and OH MY!! Let me tell you, they are CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!!

Jami

Jessica

Ami

Valerie

Shelly

Jennifer

Taylor

Kimmie

Janna

Amy

If you decide to play along this week, we'd love to see your creation! Link it up here so I can come check it out!

Happy Butterflies

It's Tuesday and time for another Twinkle Tuesday featuring a fabulous sketch by Madelynn!!
This week's sketch is wonderful - I think it can be interpreted in two different ways! I also looked up the Cuttlebug Challenge this week (did you know they have a whole blog devoted to using and loving your 'bug?) which was to sand your embossing. I used SU cardstock so it's really, I mean really hard to see the sanding. The color goes all the way through so it is slightly lighter IRL but I bet you can't see it here. The sentiment portion of the sketch gave me some problems. I tried several different things and it just looked 'funny'. I finally settled on just attaching them to the panel instead of "on" something like a tag, punch out, etc.... I've never been able to find those individual Making Memories letter stickers so I make my own. I guess it's more economical that way anyway! I also sponged the main image panel - I think this gives the look of another mat without the bulk. Wow - 2 ways to save money - I'll have to let hubby know that I'm working economically next time he seems surprised by the amount I spent at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc...

Be sure to check out the rest of the Twinkle Team (links over there --->) and see their take on this sketch. We all love the visits and the comments so be sure to let them know what you think!

We'd also love for you to join us this week! Link up your project over on Jessica's blog so we can all see it. You can also join us over on Paper Craft Planet; lots of chatter so come on over and join us!

Have a beautiful day girls!! Come back tomorrow for the Pink Papery Studios challenge; I've already seen several of the other gals work and they are super!!

I hope this card makes you smile. I think butterflies are such cool creatures! I can never look at one with out smiling.

Colors used: SU: Regal Rose, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery

Bluebird of Happiness

One of the NYE challenges on splitcoast was to create an Asian themed card. I combined it with challenge to create something using 'new' product (my first time using Pacific Point - not sure if I like it or not). I just got this stamp set in and as I was pondering what exactly to do with it, I remember a book I read long ago that talked about the bluebirds of happiness. I had also just finished reading "The Magic of Ordinary Days" (which is a great book and an even more wonderful Hallmark movie). In the book. there is descriptions of the Japanese American interns and the simple, but lovely life they lead. Asian is not really a stamping theme that I have a lot of supplies for (I have 1 stamp and wasn't interested in digging for it) so I decided to create a card that embodied the principles of Asian design: clean, graphic, nature elements and asymmetrical.

Even though this card is nothing like the cards with all the fluff, I am so proud of how it turned out!! First, for the tree, I knew I wanted some shading in it so I inked it with Close to Cocoa and then just randomly tapped my Chocolate Chip marker on it. I also used the marker and went along some of the edges of the image for shadowing. My bird (from Live Your Dream) is inked in Baja Breeze and then Pacific Point. I used the happy sentiment from Define Your life.

I hope that the Bluebirds of Happiness visit you often in this new year!! Thanks for stopping by - I love all the sweet things ya'll have had to say!! Have a beautiful week!

Some ATC's

Back before Christmas I joined a Vintage Christmas swap over on splitcoast. I do not mind mass-producing cards but a few years ago, my MIL put a pad of ATC images in my stocking that were all vintage images. I knew they would be perfect for this swap so I pulled them out. I added stickles to every image and then trimmed them and distressed them. Most of them had their base run through a cuttlebug folder for texture and I tried to use bits of lace and buttons or pearls on each one too. Once I was finished with them, they sat on my shelf for a day so I could admire them. I really loved each one and it was hard to pack them up and send them off. I hope that those who received them have enjoyed them as much as I did!

You're Apple Worthy

Another card for the NYE challenges on splitcoast. This one was to create a friend themed card that had food on it. I remember loving this set when it came out - what, umpteen years ago? I only recently actually mounted it and stamped it.
1. 4 1/4" square base from Riding Hood Red.
2. Kraft cut to 4" square and run through the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder
3. Stamp image in Riding Hood Red and trim. Highlight parts of the image with red, green and
brown colored pencils. I used stamped on Very Vanilla.
5. Wrap length of RHR ribbon around kraft layer and secure with some embroidery floss. Also
tie floss through 2 red vintage buttons.
6. Mount stamped image on dimensionals over ribbon and then mount entire kraft layer on base
using dimensionals.
7. Adhere buttons in corner using glue dots.

Does the sketch look familiar? It's this week's Twinkling Tuesday sketch that Madelynn drew up. I thought it was a great sketch and wanted to use it in a much more simple way this time.

Scraplings

Have you heard about scraplings? I saw them many weeks ago over on the Hero Arts blog and then they were one of the Holiday Challenges on SCS - one of the few that I got done. I actually created this just before Christmas at my MIL's house (isn't her tablescape nice?) The stamps are from a free set I got for subscribing to Country Living. I really like this little medallion and think it's great on it's own or perfect for collage. The sentiement is from one of my Pink Papery Studios sets that I took with me.

I also rephotographed my criss-cross card originally posted HERE. I think you can see it so much better now and I really love the subtle text in the background and the heart. The coloring on it turned out so cool I wanted you to *really* see it.

Something New....Times Two! Challenge

First, I have to start by letting all of you know that I've enjoyed your comments on my cupcake card! I hope you've all recovered from the shock!! Perhaps I'll have to start saving them and periodically sending them out. I do keep the half sheets from card bases but all those other little pieces just pile up - for me anyway. I wish I could be more like YA'LL and save and use the scraps!!


I was able to participate in a few of the challenges for New Year's Eve over at SCS. I didn't do all of them but one I definitely wanted to do was the one hosted by Jessica Diedrich. I've really been enjoying getting to know her the last few months through the Pink Papery Studios design team and now through the Twinkling Team too.
Her "Something New...Times TWO!" challenge really made me think. I enjoyed it and love how my card turned out!
Here's the challenge details from Miss Jess herself:
Ok, we're ringing in the NEW year here, right, everyone? So this fun LSC will require that you use something NEW and, well, TWO...of pretty much everything! Here's the scoop:
1.) Use TWO stamps, from TWO different sets. They can be the same company, but two separate SETS.
2.) Use TWO different colors of CS, no more, no less
3.) Use TWO different styles of DP
4.) Use TWO embellies, and for those two different ones you choose, use them...TWICE! (i.e. two brads, two ribbons, two flowers, etc.)
5.) It's NEW Year's, so use at least TWO NEW items from all the above categories. Something you just got from Santa, maybe?


I used the Home for Christmas set and then a "thank you" sentiment from an old SU set, I think Word by Word (it's hard to see on here, but actually shows up IRL). I received a big box of goodies from SU on New Years Eve and the Home for Christmas set was in it. Even though it's past the holiday, I think this is just a beautiful stamp set and HAD to have it! I just colored the wreath so it would really stand out! I wish SU would make more images in this style. My 2 colors of cardstock were Kraft and Riding Hood Red and the DP papers were also from SU - 2 separate packs but I'm not exactly sure which ones. My 2 embellishments were the twill ribbon and the dark brown eyelets. The twill ribbon is the bit that gave me the most difficulty with this card - I couldn't figure out how to use 2 bits of it in a way that really pleased me. I'm super happy though with the way they ended up.

Thanks Jessica for the wondeful challenge!! I hope each of you has a beautiful day!! Be sure to keep coming back as I have other cards to share as well!