Paper Pieced Witch

Good Saturday morning to all!! I am in such a good mood today! It could have something to do with being able to sleep past 5 AM and having a day with nothing scheduled that I haven't chosen to do on my own accord! I started out by making breakfast for my hubby (I suspect he was beginning to think I had forgotten how to cook) and then actually sat down to do some creating. And here is another wonder of wonders: I actually used a stamp that I purchased yesterday!
 The papers and dies were purchased just last week!! I'm so proud of my self. I got this cute little MFT witch set and combined it with a 6x6 pack of Enchanted papers by Authentique. A couple of embossing folders and dies later, I had this card.
One of my favorite ways to create is to just start with a stamp and possible papers and let the rest of it happen as it I go. I got to do this today, though I really think I should have learned by now that some things need to be tested before putting them into action onto a nearly complete project. Those black diamond Stickles around the frame may not have been a great idea, but there they are. The rest of it I am pretty happy with. The finished card is actually mailable, too!! That almost never happens!!
Well, I'm off to get my sweet little Kyli, who isn't necessarily being so sweet today. She is having some serious mood swings from the steroids they have her on right now, but Gramma can deal for a while and let Mommy and Daddy have a break. A little retail therapy may help, so I think we will hit a couple of stores before grocery shopping and heading to my house for a little creating. I'll be back a little later to do some blog surfing....haven't had time since last weekend. Thanks for stopping in!!

Witch's Dance

I've been wanting to make this card for a while now. When I got the ballet dancer die, my friend Bonnie and I got the idea to make a dancing witch out of her for Halloween. We just weren't getting it done, though. Yesterday, I was at the Dollar Tree and I found some glittery witch hat stickers and they looked like the right size for my dancer. The dancer is cut from black suede paper and her dress from super fine purple glitter paper. The papers are from Echo Park's Chillingsworth 6x6 stack. I knew the little piece of sheet music in the stack would be perfect! All the borders are done with the same glittery purple papers with a card base of basic black.

Puddle Jumper

        I've been pretty busy with the new school year. I have to admit though, that I've had more time in the evenings than I've had in past years because we have switched to an earlier start time. That translates into an earlier release time. So, I am off the clock at 3 pm!! I still don't get out of there at that time most days, but even though I am getting home earlier, I am exhausted and am usually in bed at 8!!
       I had some extra time this weekend and chose to spend it with a sweet little girl that looks a lot like the one in the image on my card! Okay, so my girl doesn't have that much hair anymore, but that's fine with me. Here she is showing off a tattoo she got at an end of chemo party for a two year old boy she met at clinic.

I think I made the best use of my time by spending it with Kyli!
     Anyway, the card is made with a Kraftin' Kimmie image that I actually bought with the hubby's blessing. He thought it was too cute to pass up, too! I colored it with Copic markers and used some Vanilla Sunshine papers I won in a drawing at the LSS! I think they are a perfect match!!
     Well, that's all for today. Hope everyone has a super Labor Day weekend!!

Apple's Tip Jar

I've been busy with trainings and getting my room and lessons ready for the new school year which begins next Monday. There never seems to be enough time to get it all done, yet every year it all gets taken care of and the new year goes more smoothly than I could have hoped. In all this chaos, I realized I had never posted the photos of the tip jar I made for the restaurant run by my DIL's mother. The restaurant is called Apple's Bar and Grill and has a New York theme. I tried to keep it simple so that parts of it would be replaced fairly easily if necessary. After all, accidents do occasionally happen no matter how hard we try.
I started with a basic apothecary styled jar. I used a couple of precut wooden apple shapes and painted them up with acrylic paints. I added the skyline and simple lettering and attached one to each side. I had to try several different ways of attaching the apples to the glass surface. In the end, the best adhesive turned out to be self-adhesive Velcro squares.
Here are a couple more angles:

TP and Ice Cream and a New Member of the Family

Here is another quick card made with an image I had colored previously using colored pencils and Gamsol. The background is another piece of the faux hand-made paper. Very quick and simple to put together.

I also made this card from another image in my pre-colored stash. I love this one from Mo Manning! Really miss our sweet Ice, who was a Siberian Husky. Colored with Copic markers and the border punch is from Martha Stewart.
It's been a crazy summer, so we have put off getting a new fur baby until things settled down. With the new school year breathing down my neck, I found it was getting harder and harder to look at, read, or hear about other people's adorable dogs without having one of our own. A dear friend of mine heard about a dog that completely fit the bill. So here we are; introducing Roxie the Rockstar!!

He is a Rotty/Boxer mix. Loves kids, cats, dogs...well, everyone! He is a neutered male, about 1 1/2 year old. He is so gentle! When we introduced him to my son's dog, a Minpin, she wasn't exactly hospitable. He just ignored her bad behavior and walked away. It was a perfect opportunity for him to display aggression but we saw NONE!! He loves Kyli already and we are so excited about him coming to make our house his forever home!

TP Giraffe

It was my goal this summer to work my way through some of the "stuff" that I had already cut, colored, or prepared in some way prepared and reduce the pile of incomplete projects. Well, my summer did not turn out as planned and while I did get a lot of these things sorted out, I didn't get a lot of completed cards or projects from the deal. This is one I did get done. I had already colored this adorable giraffe image. Several years ago, there was a technique challenge on SCS to make "faux hand-made paper." It was a fun and completely messy process that I got a little carried away with. I made about 50 pieces of background papers in quarter sheet size, ready to put on a card. The colors in this one were perfect for the giraffe image! I layered it up with some gold mirror paper and black card stock. To make the giraffe stiffer because of the fussy cutting and to help it stand out from the rough background paper, I added a couple of layers of clear embossing powder before cutting...this baby shines!!
To make the background paper, I started with a quarter sheet of white card stock, a roll of cheap toilet paper, and an assortment of acrylic paints. I squirted a small amount of several colors of paint on a palette (recycled foam tray). I dipped a wad of TP into the lightest color of paint and dabbed it all over the card stock. By using the cheap TP, small pieces of the paper sticks to the card stock with the paint creating a fabulous texture that looks like hand-made paper. Repeat with a new wad of TP and each color of paint until you are happy with the results. Every piece of paper led to another color combination possibility and I just couldn't stop making the stuff. In fact, I'm thinking I may have to get out the supplies and make some more!
On a personal note, Kyli is spending the weekend (at least) at the hospital. She finished a round of chemo the other day and hasn't been feeling well. Yesterday she started have some gastro issues and vomiting, so they took her in. They are treating her with IV meds for speed and effectiveness which is why she was admitted. We will be heading up to see her later today, but hoping she will be home tomorrow or Monday.
Thanks for stopping in today. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!!

Summer's Over!

Well, it's official! Summer is over here in my neck of the woods. I returned to work this week for planning sessions by department as we get ready to implement new standards and new curriculum. I'm really excited by how much I accomplished and my expectations for the new school year. I work with an awesome group of people who make coming to work after a long break much more bearable! I made these little books for some of those peeps.....I wish I had the time and resources to make them for everyone! The image is from Art Impressions and it speaks volumes about how we are all going to feel by the end of next week as we get our rooms, plans, and other assorted requirements ready for the kids who will arrive on the following Monday! Did I mention the endless hours of trainings we have to work around to get our stuff done?
I made the notebooks refillable and even supplied each recipient with a small supply of refill pads!

The pads are the biggest hangup to making more of the books. I have bought all I have found, which are very few. Must be a hot item for the new school year as I usually see them everywhere. Have some of stampin' peeps on the look out, too.
Time to get some more planning done before the whole house wakes up and then some fun time later today as it's the last Friday of the summer!! Hope it's a good one for all of you and thanks for stopping in!!