I love

that my kids are finally coming to me and asking me to make them cards, bags and other sort of crafty items  to give as gifts.  It probably has something to do with the fact that they are broke and fairly penniless but never mind that!  I am just happy that they feel that they can come to dear old mom and that they actually like what I make.  Well, generally like what I make!  Sometimes, they are really specific about what they want and other times they tell me to do what ever I think is best.....So, my middle daughter, Clarice, called the other day and asked me to make a birthday card for one of her very best friends at college.  I was so pleased to do this and she also gave me plenty of lead time......calling me a good week before she needed to have it in her hands...all I can say is SOMEONE raised that kid right! Just sayin' you know.  Anyways, her friend is such a nice kid and so much fun so I wanted to make a card that reflected her personality.  Fun, colorful and bright!  I used a favie Whippersnaper stamp....one that I tend to turn to over and over again as it works so well....I like to cut out the main image and then pop some of the images' components up on dots....add GA and stickles to really bring out the "party" aspect of this stamp image. I then added multiple layers using my "perfect ruler" set although I will point out that the first turquoise "layer" off of the image is actually copic colored.  Sometimes I leave the paper in the spellbinder die, outline around the inner edge with fine black marker and then pop the paper out and color the edge to give the illusion of a layer.  I also used the "postage stamp" die from Spellbinders and that cute little bling detail going around the edge came to me from this site.....one I visit so often as this lady's cards ROCK!  Take a peek for yourself! http://onekraftykat.blogspot.com/2012/09/tall-pumpkins-from-serendipity.html

Thank you so much for stopping by today.....I have to get outside as the weather  is spectacular!  Enjoy your neck of the woods!

Be well,
Sheila

Sympathy cards....

have always been a little rough for me to make.  Actually I am sure that they are difficult for any of us to make.  For me, besides the obvious reasons, sympathy cards are hard because I am very bad at going with less color.    I try to to "subdue" the overall palette but then I usually end up with a card that I would never, ever send out to anyone!  So, I revert to a less vibrant combination of colors.  And, while it is not perfect it seems to be what I can do at the moment.  These three cards area all using HA stamps and sentiments and I like to use silhouette stamps for this purpose....they deny me from "coloring" my image.  If anyone has a very good, overall sympathy design please point me in that direction....I would appreciate any help or recommendations!  Here are mine....all getting sent out tomorrow ;-(

They all seem to be listing a bit to the left!  Oh well.....thank you so much for stopping by!

Be well,
Sheila

What a bag!

Gift bag that is! The other day my son asked me to make him a gift bag to house the gift he got for the girl he sees.  And I was thrilled....thrilled because he asked...thrilled because he doesn't think my stuff is too "weird" and thrilled because it has been a while since I have made a bag and forgot how fun they can be.  His only request was that it be in purples etc....favorite color I guess.  So, lucky for me the ColorQ Challenge #155  featured purple-y colors!  I have always wanted to try that challenge and am tickled this worked out....except I have no idea if they accept entrants that are not cards....just thought of that now.  Oh well, I will still go ahead and enter - can't hurt right?  Here is their inspiration photo:

I just loved this combo of colors and the tea cup reminds me of my grandmother's china set.  I really think it is the same one.  So for my bag I used these colors....the olive green, if you can't see it too well comes from the leaves on all the flowers.  And the yellow comes from these really cool yellow-y gold membrane leaves I got in the clearance bin and also the ribbon.  So the yellow might not be a true saffron.  I decided to go with the darker of the yellow in the flower on the teacup. I really wanted to highlight flowers like  they are highlighted on the china.  So, I decided to make a white doily and then group the flowers on top of it much like the casual but elegant floral grouping on the teacup.  After adhering the flowers I stickled them....it doesn't show up very well here but in real life they have a wonderful sparkle to them.  Here is my bag....

I don't know that I am too happy with how it photographed but oh well. Obvs I tried it two ways before I threw my hands up! Take care and thank you for stopping by!  It feels so good to be crafting again!

Be well,
Sheila

Silhouette Grass....

and a bit of distressing.  I haven't used distressing or my HA Silhouette Grass stamp in forever.  I have been soooo into coloring that I have kinda forgotten about all the other techniques and styles out there.  I attended a Tim Holtz class at Scrapfest and besides the fact that the guy is amazingly nice he also re-ignited my love for distressing!  Don't you just love the intensity of color that distress inks give you?  And lucky for me I came home to the NEED to make several cards that have to be in the mail this week.  Unfortunately 3 are sympathy cards (man those are hard to make) 2 are birthday and 2 are what I call "just 'cuz" cards.  The "just 'cuz" cards are always my favorite.  And, a bag.  My son dates a girl whose birthday is today (of course) and last night he asked me if I could make a nice bag for him to put his present for her in......I have GOT to teach him the concept of "advance notice".  Although, he probs would respond that he did give me advance notice by telling me the night before....you know though - I am just so glad that he asked me to do it!  His girlfriend loves ice cream and so Corm  went to a place called GLAZE where you can pick out the pottery of your choice, paint it anyway you want and then they will glaze it in the oven for you and you pick it up a week later.  So Corm picked out and painted a freestanding ice cream cone....kind of like you would see in a retro shop and then filled it with all sorts of ice cream toppings....chips, sprinkles etc....such a cute idea I thought.  But you came to see a card right?  Not be subjected to my distracted, meandering  thought process!
I have several stamps that have become my go to stamps for sympathy cards.  I love the HA Silhouette Grass for that reason.....many of the sympathy images that I use are silhouette stamps and then I often use a distress background.  I know that this particular card is very vibrant but here in my town the leaves are starting to change.  The wake up temp was in the upper 40's this morn and the geese are flying over head daily on their way south.  The man who passed was a farmer and so I thought stark outdoor images against a vibrant sky would work best.  I need to make three separate cards for three of his daughters....all of whom I am friends with so the cards need to be similar yet differ slightly.  After stamping the image in black I often go over it with a black Prismacolor pencil....touching up the spots that need it - keeping others light where I want them to look like they are more in the background.  Finally, I add white Prismacolor pencil to each aspect of the image on one side.....that represents the "light source" hitting, in this case, the reeds.  And, also, the white just seems to make the image "pop" a bit more to my eyes.  So, there you go....I hope you like it!  I am actually entering this into the Hero Arts Monthly Challenge...this card is in the "Fall Feast" category as well as following the color scheme category.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I plan to be back "online" today and hope to stop and visit you too!

Be well,
Sheila

Scrapfest!

This past weekend I traveled to Scrapfest and I want to say that it was one of the best experiences ever. Why?  Because it was soooo "out of the box" for me.  Seriously, this is so far out of my comfort zone that my family is still in shock.  The unusual part of this weekend was not that I went to Scrapfest per se....it was more because I drove 6 hours to spend the weekend with app 15 people who I have only "met" online.  In fact my fam dam laughs that I have broken the rule that I have drummed into their heads for a decade+ and that is "Do not EVER travel to meet an internet "stranger" in person at a hotel"....and here I was....meeting a whole slew of them!  And it was wonderful.  Each and every person was a delight.  And it is amazing how "honest" each of us are in our blogs...on our flickr groups etc because, in my opinion, everyone was so true, so like their online personalities.  Anyways, just about everyone in the group had never met each other in person before and I am so happy that each of us put forth this effort to connect.  I only had a 6 hour drive but there were quite a few who traveled much further.  In fact, we had people from Minn, Wis, Texas, Indiana, Canada, Ohio, New York, Mass, Alabama and California.   Scrapfest itself was also really fun.....how many times do you (except perhaps attending a sporting event or concert) spend so much time under the same roof with hundreds of people who all share the same interests?  Standing in line for the make n' takes was a pleasure as it gave me the opportunity to meet and chat with so many other people. We exchanged tips, ideas and just generally made a "connection" if even for a short time.  As for our own group, we split up through the day, reconnected, paired off in smaller groups, took classes together, ate lunch, oohed and aahed at Archivers (and all probably spent waaaaaay too much $  there!!!) shopped at non scrapbooking stores and then finally, each night we all met up for a nice dinner together.  Both nights we had the pleasure of having Virginia and Lin's husbands join us. And, both nights we also had the pleasure of Judy's daughter Kathy dining with us and it was wonderful to see such a warm and loving mother/daughter friendship at the table.  One night one of my own daughters was able to make it to dinner and I cannot tell you how proud I was to introduce Bessie around to everyone!  We also made cards for a Saturday night card exchange and Judy got my card.  I loved making it and I know that the image I used is one that she really likes so I am tickled that she was the recipient!  Here is my card.....

And here is the inside.....I think that the sentiment is a bit "off" in placement but right on in message ;-D

 
This second card is one that I made for Barb.  Barb lives very close to where Scrapfest is held and so was kind enough to coordinate the weekend for all of us.  It was so nice, at the end of each day, to have dinner plans set at a place that could accommodate such a large group!  I just love these colors together....and the sentiment is a sticker that I stuck onto some coordinating paper.  I had only known Barb from her online presence and one characteristic that struck me from her avatar was her wonderful smile....hence the sentiment.

I do hope to post some pictures from this weekend.....I just need to get some laundry done, a nice meal made, some major housecleaning accomplished...etc.....then some wonderful sit down time to craft with my new goodies ;-D  Thank you for stopping by and I hope your weekend was as nice as mine!

Be well,

Sheila

Ending....

of summer always leaves me somewhat philosophical.  It is a bittersweet time.....a time when us moms feel the sadness of the kids going back to school but also the comfort of knowing the house will stay clean for at least 8 hours in a row and we will also have blocks of time again to ourselves.  I adore my kids.  I also adore "my" time.  How to find balance and elude guilt is an ongoing process.  As many of you know, last summer my husband took terribly, deathly ill.  It was an illness that sideswiped us and literally took his, our, breath away.  It changed our summer plans....it changed our life outlook.  While we were dealing with the long recovery of my husband his father then took ill and subsequently died.  It was not a good summer.  And, in the year that has passed since last summer my husband has continued to improve and we have continued to "hone" our life perspective and what we really want out of our time here on earth.  For this past summer our goal was to relax and enjoy the summer months.  To really be present in the moments that the season had to give and not sweat the small stuff, the "maintenance" parts of the summer.  So, this summer we let our yard go.  Really, truly, it looks like cr#*!  We spent the time that we would have spent weeding, mowing, fertilizing, watering, planting etc....walking together.  Hanging with the kids.  Fishing without bait.  Just generally "being" and not "keeping up".  My blog has suffered, my crafting has been put on the back burner....even my reading and I am a voracious reader...even my reading has been little to nil.  But my walking has been daily, my snuggling more often, my laughing with family more frequent.  My conversations have been longer.    My eyes have seen more sights and my soul has been replenished more completely than any summer before this.  I have just turned 50.  When I turned 30 I literally freaked out.  I felt soooo old -  it was such a hard birthday.  I can honestly say that turning 50 was the best birthday ever.  Really and truly.  I feel like have finally come into my own.  I have cut the people that I feel are "toxic" from my life and instead surround myself with those that I enjoy.  I look out over my weedy lawn and think...this is the way a successful, happy summer looks.  Before I would cringe at the site of my landscaping but today, taking my son's last "first" day of school picture I thought "what a beautifully awful looking lawn"!  Each weed is a fishing trip, a glass of wine, a movie, a swim, a dinner out, a conversation.  Many people have alluded to quilts as being representative of their lives....for me, today, this past summer, the ongoing mess that is my lawn is a beautiful picture of my last few months.   It completely represents the fact that I actively made choices to spend a Saturday elsewhere....and that has made all the difference as I head into a year of "lasts".  My last child is entering his last year of high school meaning he will be leaving us for college this time next year.  My middle child spent her last summer with us this past year as she will probably not come home during college break next summer.  And our oldest graduated from college and took a job in another state....further cementing her absence.  And finally my husband, well he took the last of his medications a week or so ago and is once and for all back on his travel schedule which takes him away around the world 50% of the time.  And, that is when I will read, craft, blog, clean my house and mow my lawn.  Heck, I might even fertilize now!

This is a card that I made some time ago and must have forgotten to upload.  It uses a Tim Holtz metal sentiment that I feel really conveys my summer state of mind.

I like this card....it is kinda wild with the various die cuts and unusual colors but I also think it works in a Sheila sort of way.  So, my girls are gone....one to work and one to college. My son left a few hours ago for school and my husband took off for China.....if any of you want to come over for coffee I have some time to sit and chat....just don't cut across my lawn in bare feet...the dry, spikey grass is a killer!

Be well,
Sheila