Sunday, July 18, 2010

Busy in the Garden

I haven't had much crafting time! Instead I've been weeding and harvesting my veggie garden--the cucumbers and cherry tomatos are coming in. Here are some pictures from the past few days:

July 14:


July 17:


July 18:


Sunday, May 30, 2010

Birthday Cards...

Seems lately the only crafts I have time for is to make my friends birthday cards...They love them and I love making them!

Here is another tri shutter cards I made for my friend:







I've also started planning a couple of different wedding invitations for customers--will post pictures when they are completed and sent out.

Happy Scrapping :)

Monday, April 19, 2010

To infinity and beyond...

So April has been super busy for me and I haven't had much crafting time to myself. I've been working on wedding programs, a new set of wedding invitations for a november wedding as well as lollipop birthday invitations--all to be featured in my blog soon!!

I was able to create a trishutter birthday card for my friends 5 yr old son. The tri shutter cards are my style theme this year for birthday cards(If I get time to make them.

Front of card, closed:


Card Opened:


Another view:


I love making these cards--they are a huge it and fun to make!

Happy Scrapping :)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Clutter Clutter everywhere!

So I haven't been crafting in the last couple weeks--as always life gets in the way of my creativity...Busy at work, went to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, Easter...

Since my last post I got a new storage unit (free from a print shop that was looking to get rid of it!) for my scrapbook room. Originally it was intended for my paper that way it wouldn't get dusty since this new unit had glass doors. Unfortunately The paper is too big and won't fit...well at least behind the glass. The unit also has storage behind doors on the bottom and my papers can fit there with plenty of room to spare.

My room looks like a tornado hit it--things moved everywhere. Hope to get it more organized and cleaned up in the next few days that way I can get my creative juices flowing and make some cards and start on my cousins baby book.

Happy Scrapping :)

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

March projects...

Its been a few days since my last post--can't believe March is almost over! Here are some projects I haven't posted up here yet and I'm too lazy to make them individual posts:

A birthday card for my friend Michelle:





A neutral shadowbox scrapbook page for my friend Staci's baby shower:





A sympothy card:



A birthday card for GG's 99th birthday:







Happy Scrapping :)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Jewelry making...my new crafty addiction

I used to make seed beed jewelry back in the days--nothing fancy just a single strand of beads and simple flowers throughout. I have these beads somewhere around here-most likely at my parents house in one of my many boxes still there!

Yesturday a couple of friends and I met up and made some jewelry. Shopping for beads is so exciting but took me forever--I wanted to buy all the beads I saw--they are all so beautiful and probably fun to play with. After a couple of hours at a few stores I had my starter stash to work with...Thanks to lenni I used some of her stash for fillers too! Now I have to remember which filler beads I loved and go out and get them myself along with a couple of beading tools.

Yummy snacks, some wine and tons of beads here are my creations, 2 necklaces with matching earings :)



A closer look:




Still learning how to make proper loops, not messing up patterns,and attaching clasps but all in all I had a blast. Looks like I found a new crafty addiction!!

Happy Scrapping :)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Spring floral centerpieces

I have been busy at work, but not with my normal tasks this past week. Working at a pharmaceutical company I don't really have a creative outlet. Until this week that is...

Our company hosts patient tours throughout the year and I was asked to create some new centerpieces (total of 10) for the tables--something that is more colorful and spring.

After taking apart the old flower baskets (I got to keep all the flowers since the company no longer wanted them!!)reusing the baskets and a trip to Hobby Lobby this is what I came up with:




another view:



Not scrapping related (unless you count my reuse of the old flowers in my future projects) but still crafty and I had a blast making them!

Happy Scrapping :)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Adventures with adhesive and my new love ... the ATG gun

I have heard of the ATG (****) Gun over the years and have not gotten one until now. The top reason (and only reason) why it took so long was due to its price. They are not cheap to start with but in the end save money when compared to other adhesives.

As an avid scrapbooker adhesive is very important to me. I started off with photo tabs. The little papers (backing) got all over the place and was messy... I was ok with this until it started not to hold as well. I use them on occasion, but have shifted to other adhesibves.

I then tried and LOVED my Tombow roll adhesive. It was small and fit well in my hands. I found it easy to use and it held --I never had issues with stuff falling apart. After some time I noticed the package changed but the product stayed the same (at least thats what I thought). Slowly I realized that my stuff was starting to come apart! This made me angry and I was off to look for a new adhesive.

I came accross Kokuyo dot adhesive and loved it. The little dot dispenser held well and projects stayed in tact. So why switch from this great product you may ask? well the company went out of business or something and the product was no longer being made!! **I have been informed that this product is no longer made under the name Kokuyo, 3M in the united states bought rights to this exact product and it is sold now as the Scotch adhesive dot roller--may have to pick one up to test it out for smaller projects.

So back to square one I went. I settled on Herma Dotto dot adhesive and was impressed with its strength. The more I used it the more I started to hate it for other reasons--since it really is sticky! It would gook up on the sides and get real messy--My table still has residue left over from it! Also to refill the tape was a pain and took a while with looking at directions. Eventually it got so gooked up I couldn't get it to roll without hurting my fingers/wrist.

I went online and people were raving about the Adtec adhesive...they are super cheap--you can get a pack of 2 refills for $2.50! I used it with caution thinking to my self why is this one so much cheaper? well stuff started to come apart again--not at first and I saw it more with my shimmery cardstock.

I also have a xyron sticker maker which I love and never had issues with so my next adhesive trial was with the xyron roll dot adhesive. Like the others this is not on the cheap side... about $10 for the dispenser and one roll and refills are $4.99 for 28 ft. I bought mine on sale. I started using it and LOVE it --it doesn't gook up like the other adhesives and rolls out easily and smoothly. I may stay with it for quick little jobs, but refill will cost me.

After careful consideration and reviews I FINALLY purchased my ATG gun 700 style number with the Gold adhesive--the only one that is archival safe. I got it from: www.framingstore.com the cheapest place that has it. I got it for around $40 and refills are $3.45 each. Each adhesive roll is 108ft long--A lot more than the other hand helds I have been buying.

***They are backordered for the size I wanted, the 1/4" one so hopefully by the end of this month they will be able to send me my new scrapping toy!

Happy Scrapping :)

Friday, February 26, 2010

Handsome Little Prince...Shadowbox gift

This past weekend I attended my cousins baby shower--she is expecting a baby boy! In addition to buying her gifts off of her registry I alway make a scrapbook item for the mom to be. Lately I have gotten into making shadowbox pages since they take less time than an album would (I didn't have much time to make her an album but told her that I will in the next couple of months)

Here is the shadowbox page I made in a baby boy theme:



Some close up shots of the page and its details:







Happy Scrapping :)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Stamp Shelf in the making...

This past weekend as I was busy with invitations, my dad came out and put together my new stamp shelf. Its huge--floor to ceiling and has a total of 18 shelves. It took all day to put together and attach to my wall-but definitly worth it!!

I always thought I had a lot of stamps--didn't get into stamping until the last couple of years...but by the looks of my "empty" shelving I have plenty of room to expand :) (I'm sure my husband is thrilled with that LOL!)

The boards that will become my shelves:


My dad working on the long boards to make the shelving unit:


The base of the shelving put together :)


Empty but attached to the wall: (please ignore the mess!)


My attempt to fill the shelves!


Happy Scrapping :)

Baby Shower Invitations

So this past week I have been working on putting together 23 baby shower invitations for a friend. The expecting mommy wants the sex of the baby to be a surprise. So the invitations needed to be a nuetral color scheme/theme.

I love baby showers so I was excited to get started on these. After a few hours here is what I came up with:



A closer look:


Scalloped tags for the registry information:


The batch of invitations (23 total-there were also cream envelopes)


I think they came out adorable and classy for a simple gender nuetral baby shower.

Happy Scrapping :)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Get Well Card...

I was asked to make a Get well card for my husbands coworkers wife. This is the card I came up with:

Front of Card:



Side View:



Inside of card:



Happy Scrapping :)

Monday, February 1, 2010

Paper Storage :)

I'm always on the lookout for new storage to use in the scrapbook room. My friend Michelle sent me a link to some storage she had found on craigslist. I took one look at it and it was perfect to store my 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Made out of metal it is real sturdy and has space to fit 30 different colors--all for $20!! Time to organize my paper in it :)



The drive to pick it up was about 1 hour 40 minutes but definitely worth it for the great storage!

Happy Scrapping :)

Rest In Peace...

I learned this weekend that my aunt (from my dad's side of the family) passed away on Friday. Her death was unexpected and we were all shocked to hear it was from a heart problem--it was sudden. My heart goes out to the family during this difficult time.

I was not close with this family member-thanks to my own father. For whatever reason he has not kept close contacts with his family that lives here in the states. I met her a few times and she attended my wedding in 2008. That is the last time I believe I saw her. She was always kind and very easy to talk too.

She will be missed by many...and we will all keep her in our hearts.

GRACE FISZER

Grace Fiszer, nee Zdanowicz, loving mother of Elizabeth (Bradley) Dean and Andrew (fiance Annette); dear grand mother of Nathan Bradley, Sophia Grace and Jacob Andrew; fond sister of Krystyna (Irek) Widziewicz; aunt and dear friend to many. Visitation Wednesday, 3 to 9 p.m. Funeral Thursday, 9:15 a.m. from Malec & Sons Funeral Home, 6000 N. Milwaukee Ave. to St. Juliana Church, 7201 N. Oketo Ave., Chicago, IL. Mass 10 a.m. Interment private. Info 773-774-4100.

***Update 2-11-10***
Here are a few pictures of the sympathy card I made my cousins:

Front of card:


Side View of card:


Inside of card (blank):

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Birthday Card

This weekend I've been busy working on wedding invites for an April 2010 wedding (pictures will be posted in a future blog post. I've also been reorganizing my scrapbook room and adding more storage to it.

This saturday Pat and I went out to mongolian BBQ in Naperville for one of my friends birthday dinners. This is one of my favorite restaurants to go to since you make your own food, it can be different every time you go up to the food stations :)

Here is a picture of the birthday card I made my friend Maria
Front View:


Side View:


Inside view:


For the card I used the following materials:
Green textured paper (the paper studio)
Happy Birthday patterned paper (DCWV) I inked the edges with the ink listed below.
Ribbon I got from Michaels a while ago
Fake flowers (pulled apart from a flower stem)
Prima flower
Small brad,button and thread for the flower center
Glue dots and lines to attach flower and ribbon
Green and purple stickles for the dots on the front of the card
The inside I used a birthday rubber stamp and pine needle distress ink from Tim Holtz
Off white plain cardstock
I rounded the corners with a rounding corner punch

Happy Scrapping :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I'm Dreaming....of Copic Markers!

I normally don't remember my dreams and often think I simply don't have them when I sleep. On occasion I will remember parts of a dream-but this is rare.

Last night I actually had a dream about Copic Markers! I don't remember how it started, but I was in a store--and not a craft/art store. It was more like a Marshalls or it may have been a thrift store and you have to rumage through everything to find the item you want.

I was walking through the isles and a large box of Copic Markers--I'm sure it was their entire collection sitting in a clear storage box waiting to find a new home-at least thats what the picture on the cardboard box displayed. For some reason I can't just skip over to that isle and I am getting frustrated. All of a sudden the floors change and everyone is "gliding" through the isles no more walking--kind of like a conveyor belt on the floor that takes you through the store and you grab what you want when you pass it and there is no going back once you have passed the item/isle.

I see several people touch the marker box and I get annoyed that I am going to miss my chance on snagging them...but to my surprise no one picks it up. As I get closer to the copic markers I get excited until I reach the box...

The box is empty--no markers --just their clear storage case...the markers are supposed to be there but they are missing/stolen...and I see someone ahead of me in a different isle with markers stuffed in their pockets--like they are stealing them...but I can't move forward to get to them...and then I wake up!

WEIRD!!!! I've been wanting a copic marker set but I have to save up to get them...and also they are not available in sets in my local stores, just the individual markers...I just think its weird that I had a dream about markers!!

Happy Scrapping :)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Cricut Design Studio

I purchased my cricut design studio last year at a scrapbook convention. Its supposed to allow you to mix your cartridges and weld letters/images together and instruct the cricut to cut it all out as one piece.

I have heard that others use it to cut out all the elements of one die cut at once by arranging the different papers on the mat. This last I think would be a time saver since you wouldn't have to reload the machine each time and you would get all the pieces in the colors you want in one shot.

One can also make those intricate cardstock pages that look like lace-flowers, borders with text welded together etc...I don't have the expression so my size would be limited but I think would still work as borders and backgrounds.

Sadly I have not had a chance to try these fun techniques out yet! Part of the reason why I think is because its done with the aid of your computer. Some days when I get home from work I want nothing to do with the computer and stay far away from it. Others my husband takes over the laptop and I never get a chance to use it.

I've been feeling a creative bug nipping away at me recently and I think I will take a stab at playing with the design studio. I am limited in the type of cartridges I have but it should be fine.

There are other cutting programs that are compatable with the cricut that allow you to cut images/text without the need of a cartridge--I may try my hands on that in the future. For now I am sticking with my design studio.

Happy Scrapping :)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Birthday Card Pictures...

As promised here are the pictures of the Birthday Card...

I decided to create a trifold shutter card in a birthday theme. I'd love to take credit for the original card design but no its not mine...I followed a great tutorial that can be found here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/trishuttercard/

Here is my final creation:

This is the view of the card when its all closed up:



This is what the card looks like when its all opened up:



And this is a view of the back of the card:



I used Textured Bling Bazzill cardstock and patterend paper. I used my cricut to make the cupcake and used brads for the sprinkles.

Happy Scrapping :)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

1st Birthday Card for 2010

I started making cards a few years ago and now very rarely will I purchase a store bought card. I think a handmade card-no matter how simple or complex in design-has something special to it. I know that taking time out on any card even a store bought card is appreciated, I just love the handmade kind :)

I love making birthday cards and trying out new techniques and styles. I have one due for this weekend and I am excited to get started on it. I have several style ideas runing through my mind--should it be a tri-shutter folded card, elongated folded card, should it be a circle? What colors will I use, and embelishments...this will depend on what I have left in my birthday paper stash--I really need to stock up on some more cute papers for this theme!

Not sure where I am going to go with it yet--have to get in my scrapbook room and get inspired. May just do that tonight after work...

I will post pictures of the card sunday--don't want to ruin any surprises before then :)

Happy Scrapping :)

Friday, January 8, 2010

Weddings, and puppies keeping me busy...

So the new year so far has kept me busy around the house. Ava went in for her Spay surgery yesturday and is recovering well--I hope I don't have to get her a cone but I have a feeling I should pick one up in case!! Lady will probably be going in for her eye and spay surgery in a few weeks--I don't want to have to take care of 2 dogs with surgeries at the same time--spacing them out will be easier.

Everyone who wished for snow--we finally have it!! The roads are a bit slippery but not too bad around us...some other areas are very scary to drive through-slipping and sliding is not always fun!




I am about to start another wedding invitation order-this time they are pocketfold style for an April 2010 wedding. I am excited to make these and add them to my wedding invitation portfolio! I need to take some more time out and just make up different samples of invitations...the computer design part takes me a lot longer than it should, but I am learning and will become faster over time. Once I get permission I will post pictures of the pocketfolds on here.

In the mean time here are pictures of a wedding invitation, program and escort card I made for a November 2009 wedding last year...they were a great hit!
The Invititations:


Wedding Programs: Front and Back



Placecards:


Here is the wedding card I made for the happy couple as well:


Happy Scrapping :)