A great case of improvisation

I've always been a firm believer in making do with what's on hand. I create meals with what I have, rather than making specific lists of what a recipe calls for. If the girls want to set up some fantasy playground for their Barbies, we scrounge around the house for items and fashion something remarkable (and given all the Stampin' UP boxes I have lying around, those Barbies have a dream playplace, let me tell you!).

Same goes with my crafting. Rather than getting all the latest and greatest, I challenge myself to use what I have. Don't get me wrong - I love to buy new stamping and scrapping supplies as much as the next person and I DO get new things from time to time. But I make sure those new things are v-e-r-y stretchable, that I can use them a million different ways. Being creative isn't about having everything and making something from that - it's about making something from nothing (or next to it)!

One of my downlines, Kim Moslen, took this creed to heart when making this card. She showed it to me at the July Technique Tuesdays class and I loved it. Kim told me she'd found the card design on Splitcoaststampers and CASEd it (CASE stands for "copy and share everything"), but she changed the colors and did two other substitutions.

First, see that Always Artichoke cardstock strip with the Regal Rose dots? Kim said that was polka-dotted ribbon on the original card, but she didn't have any like it, so she created it from what she did have (a circle punch and cardstock). Brilliant!

Second, instead of using the ticket corner punch on the focal piece of the card, she used her circle punch. Kim flipped the punch upside down so she could see where she was placing it on her cardstock, slid it in so that only half the circle was on the cardstock, then punched. Again, brilliant!

I challenge you to find a card or scrapbook page you like (check out my blog, of course *wink, wink*, the Stampin' UP catalog, or Splitcoaststampers). Study it for a bit, then poke around your stash to see how you can recreate it with what you have.

Now go create!

- Nicole

You can't judge a book by its cover

Especially when the book comes from the Dollar Tree! Back in May, I started thinking about end-of-the-school-year teacher gifts for Emma's kindergarten teacher and aide. I decided to make them prayer journals, knowing they both liked to record their spiritual progress.

Although Stampin' UP does make art journals to alter, I wanted a notebook with lined paper in it, to facilitate the journaling process. I headed to the Dollar Tree, knowing they had a gazillion spiral-bound notebooks. I was guaranteed to find the right size.

And that I did.

The journals below began life as a Beatrix Potter notebook, complete with a peachy colored cover and cute little bunnies on the front.

With each journal, I cut Au Chocolat paper to size (from SU!, now retired) leaving about an inch extra on 3 sides. I then used my spiral punch along the left edges. I inked my brayer up with Ruby Red ink (on the first journal) and Tempting Turquoise (on the second) and rolled it right over the paper. I then used Mod Podge to adhere it to the notebook cover. Scoring the paper and mitreing the corners before gluing makes for a much easier and neater job.

The sun is made from some handmade paper I cut into a circle (traced using the lid of a salsa jar) and the rays are vintage book paper. I used Tempting Turquoise and Ruby Red ink to stamp inspirational words using Everyday Flexible Phrases and Expressive Flexible Phrases (this latter set is retired).

I had just gotten Well-Worn Words as one of my Sell-A-Bration redemption sets (gotta love being an SU! demo!) and thought the style fit these journals perfectly. I stamped "Pray" in Chocolate Chip ink, then inked the torn cardstock edges with Ruby Red and Tempting Turquoise ink.

The finishing touch was to tie all kinds of fun ribbon down the spine of the journals. Not only does it make the journals funky-looking, but it's a great way to use up ribbon scraps. Ribbon is too awesome to waste a single inch, you know!

I so thoroughly enjoyed creating these! When I got Emma's school supply list for a few weeks ago, I saw she needed a sprial-bound notebook. Well, guess who's kid will have the coolest looking Meade in first grade ROFL! I'm thinking this paper will work perfectly. Those bright colors - WoW!

As always, thanks for looking.......

Now go create!

- Nicole

Where did my crafting time go?!?!

I was supposed to have stamping time the other day, when my new box of Stampin' UP goodies came. That never materialized :( Little bits of life intervened and, although I did get to START a project, I never got to FINISH it. And I have to finish it before I can post it for you to see LOL!

The good news is I got to use Wild Wasabi ink and cardstock and I at least handled the Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon (which will be a part of my project). Oh, and I used my new scallop circle punch. So it hasn't been a total bust.

I still have other projects to show you, though! I know SOOOO many ladies having babies, or who just had babies and it's been great because I get to pull out my baby stamps, which sat unused for too long. Here's a card I did for a couple who just had their sweet little ones.


















I got this set, Wild About You, in the mail recently as part of a Stampin' UP demonstrator promotion (can I just say how much I LOVE this company?) and I've been having a blast with it. Because of the solid images in this set, you can do a variety of techniques (like kissing and a faux shaving cream background, both of which I've done at my monthly technique classes). Plus, the animals can be used for little boy or girl projects.

I used the card sketch from this SCS challenge.

Supplies all SU!, unless noted : (stamps) Wild About You, Big Deal Alphabet, Expressive Flexible Phrases (paper) Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Whisper White (ink) Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, More Mustard (other) Round Tab Punch, Cuttlebug Tiny Dots Embossing Folder, sewing machine and thread

Now go create!
---Nicole

I've got that "stamping high"!

Tonight was my monthly Technique Tuesday class and, once again, it was such a fun evening! What an adventurous bunch of ladies that come to these. And this month there were several new faces, which always adds to the excitement. Brian groans when I get home from these because he knows I'll be talking his ear off about my evening and how cool this or that was and look at this color combination and guess what so-and-so did with her card, yada yada yada (stolen from "Seinfeld" but it used to be my favorite show :)

Here's one of the cards we did tonight. This one features Watercolor Monet.

Click here to see what next month's class is all about---->>> Technique Tuesdays Class

Supplies, all Stampin' UP: (stamps) Natural Beauty, French Script, Linen, Everyday Flexible Phrases (Paper) creamy caramel, barely banana, real red, watercolor (Ink) creamy caramel, real red, Jet Black Staz-Ongold cord, gold brads, crimper, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, sponge daubers

Now I'm really looking forward to tomorrow - I should have some decent crafting time as we're home all day and all night, PLUS there's very little housework to be done! Yay! I have a box of new toys arriving from Mr. Brown tomorrow so it's perfect timing. Tune back to see what comes out of it!

Can ya feel the heat?

Oooohhh, I can! We have no air conditioning in our home - which is brick, by the way - and it is now much toastier on the inside than the outside. Brian and I contemplated pitching a tent in the yard and sleeping under the stars LOL!

Oh well. I grew up with no a/c, my school had no a/c, I don't have an office job in a/c, so it's not like I've grown accustomed to it. Besides, what would summer be without a little HEAT? Gives us all a reason to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and go to the pool. Gives ME a reason to escape to my BASEMENT STUDIO to PLAY hehheh.

In honor of summer and it's long hot days, tropical-like weather, and fun-in-the-sun here's a fun pop-up card I created. I demonstrated this pop-up feature at a workshop last summer and got a great reaction. It is rather a nice surprise to open it up and have this cute frame jump out at ya!

To make this, cut a strip of paper slightly longer than the width of your card (i.e. if your card is 8-1/2" wide, cut the strip 8-3/4"). Score 3" in on both sides, then score at 4-3/8" (the halfway point). Fold your cardstock at that halfway point, then fold going the opposite direction each end at the 3" score marks. Use a punch to create the frame in the strip.

The fun of this card is that you can use just about any shape punch - circles, squares, ovals, tags! Just cut the heigth of your cardstock strip to accomodate the size of your punch. You can also use patterned paper for the inside strip.

Have fun with this!

- Nicole

God's Little Blessings

Once you read far enough into this post, you may be scratching your head at what, exactly, is God's blessing in all this. But you'll see at the end!

We had MAJOR rain all morning - several inches in just a couple hours. In the past, our basement would have flooded but since waterproofing it 15 months ago, we'd had no problems. Well, we'd spent the time and money turning it into a family room and now we were waiting for the carpet to be installed.

I suddenly remembered I'd left the phone downstairs and as I dashed down to get it, that's when I saw a trickle of water coming in under the baseboards. While I'm panicking, two more trickles stream out and it soon becomes a puddle. I look up and see our window wells filled with about 8 inches of water. Now the water is seeping in through the sill and streaming down the brand new walls!

To further complicate matters, I had to pick up Caitlin and Alaina from Mother's Morning Out.

Here's where God's blessings come in - Melissa, the woman in charge of MMO, was so very sweet and kind enough to offer to drive the girls home. I felt very thankful for the relationships I'd formed at St. Stephen's Church over the past three years. Here's another of God's blessings - I didn't really need to go downstairs to get the phone, yet God sent me there so that I would catch the water coming in just as it started, preventing costly damage and more hours of remodeling. And here's yet another blessing - yes, I spent an hour in the midst of the heaviest downpours, using a bucket to bail out our window wells, butEmma, my oldest, was a HUGE help and when the heavy rains ended, so did our water leakage. Praise the Lord!

Did you all have a great Fourth of July? We had a cookout at our home with friends and it was so fun, I wished it wouldn't end! Here's a layout I did about a Fourth of July from 3 years ago.

If you have Stampn' Pastels, they are a great coloring medium for highlighting text, journaling, and titles.

And don't discount the beauty of your own handwriting! I see so much computer-generated journaling and it's far less interesting than handwritten words. If a total stranger is enthralled with your handwriting, imagine how treasured your own words would be to your family!

Now go get creative!

The Second Day

Woo-hoo, second day on the blog!

This is a card I made awhile back for a workshop on watercoloring. The hostess had requested this technique and I was oh-so-happy to oblige! (I love hostesses with a sense of adventure ;) ). I needed a very simple project and this 3x3 gift card is what I came up with. The size is adorable, the colors are so fun and so is the stamp set - Polka Dots & Paisley.

I cut a 3x6 piece of Lovely Lilac cardstock (tip: using a 12x12 sheet allows you to get 8 of these without any leftover scraps), scored at the 3" mark on the long side, then folded. Using Elegant Eggplant ink, I stamped the polka dots in the center. Then I used Staz-On Jet Black to stamp the paisley on Naturals Ivory cardstock and colored it in with Bold Brights Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter. I cut this out and glued it to the center of the gift card.

Using the uber-cool Round Tab Punch, I punched a tab from Yoyo Yellow cardstock, folded it, and used SNAIL to adhere it to the top left of my card. I stamped "laugh" and "*" from Everyday Flexible Phrases on the tab. The great thing about that set is it has 56 words and symbols in it, so you can make your cards say whatever you want them to!

You know you want to be a "charter reader" of this blog, so sign up over to the left and consider it done...and thanks for reading!