It has to get worse...

...before it gets better!

I am posting this for my own motivation to finish the job! If I say it should be done within a week, then I will work hard to make sure it happens! We have finished all of the sheetrocking, and it's all taped, with the first horrible coat of mud on. I have all my scrapping stuff either wrapped in plastic or moved to the garage, so there is no creativity whatsoever until this is DONE! I really miss my workspace, and can't wait to have this completed. I need the *me* time to recover a little sanity each night with the kids home for the summer. :) Well, back to work...

Western Memories

So my room isn't done, but I do have a countertop to work on! Here is my first creation since the move! I made this as a sympathy card for someone who LOVES horses and recently lost her father. I used the Wanted set from SU, and Define Your Life...tried to keep it somewhat simple with the muted colors of Close to Cocoa and Baja Breeze. After a lot of ink distressing and some embellishments, I really like it...hope she does too!

My Space is Under Construction!

Finally! I have a space to call 'my own'!

It's not finished, but the plan is coming together and the supplies are all purchased, now we just need to find time to actually complete the work. This is one end of the family room in the basement, the wall where the bookcases are is 11' and the space I am taking up on the window wall is 12'...so it's bigger than the dining area I was using before! And did I mention, it's MINE? :) I found this dining set on Craigslist for $150...with 8 chairs! I was going to paint it black, but if I leave it as-is, I don't care what happens to it. DH is adding a chandelier over the table, and it's going to double as a fun class or workspace for friends, as well as a game/entertaining table for company. The maple cabinets were another CL find...$100 for both! The will provide some much-needed storage as well as supporting my 12' countertop, with a space at one end for a built-in garbage, and then a space for a stool or two underneath. This is going to be a great place to set out my die-cutting tools and other items I had to stow away before!

And the best thing is, this is still part of the family room, so I can work on projects and still be 'with' the group! There is a lot of finishing work to be done in the whole room...it measures 33' by 14.5' overall, so I am dreading the taping and mudding job ahead of me, but I am anxious to get it done and feel like I can relax with my scrapping stuff again! So, with a deck, landscaping and this project going on, it may be a while before I am actually back on SCS! Hopefully within a month or so! The joke at our house when we start a project is that 'It will be done at six-thirty.' 6/30/09...haha! Some days it's looking more like seven-fifteen though! Happy scrapping everyone! Thanks for letting me share...sharing an unfinished project gives me the motivation needed to get it done! And thank you all so much for your inspiration...without you posting pics of your amazing spaces, I would not have had half of the wonderful ideas to make this space work for me!

We're Moving!!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while...and thanks to those of you who have emailed your concern, but all is OK! :) We are just in the process of moving to a new house....where I will HAVE MY OWN SCRAP ROOM! Yay!! Along with all the projects, packing, cleaning, painting, unpacking, decorating, landscaping, fixing, and trying to keep up on life, I will be out of the scrapping world for a couple months! But when I am back, I will be back with a pile of projects and room to have all my tools out at once!! Woohoo! (To quote Spongebob!) Have a fun summer everyone, hopefully I will be back in the loop before fall!

I did get time to take a few pictures yesterday! These are some Trumpeter Swans that are visiting a small lake nearby. They are a rare sight around here!

Snail Mail

These stamps are from A-Muse...I love their stamps, they are so fun and whimsical! This card made me smile...so I thought I would share it. It's a very basic layout that works with so many images and sentiments! The stitching around the background paper adds a lot of texture, and the twine, ribbon and button pull the whole thing together.

Tire Swing

This is one of those new Stampin' Up sets I just had to have, but it's hard to use such a large image. This set with the tree is called Branch Out, the sentiment is from Trendy Trees. I used a lot of distressing, some felt ribbon and twine for texture. The red bird was an afterthought, but it just finished the whole thing off, without the bird it seemed too boring. Overall it's simple, but I like it!

Have An Ice Day!

I did this card for the Limites Supplies Challenge today on SCS. The limited supply was TIME. We were challenged to do a card in under 30 minutes, and this is what I came up with. I used scraps in my bin, and picked one of the new stamps laying on my table that was easy to color, not much to it! The image is from a new Stampin' Up set called Animal Crackers. The whole thing could be done in less time if I wasn't trying to think about it so much! I really love this background paper from Crate Paper...time to see if I can find more of that!

Together in all Weather

It was snowing like crazy yesterday, so I had fun escaping into this springtime card. I just colored the images and then built up from there with papers that worked. The colors are Marigold Morning and Riding Hood Red (both SU). The stamps are all from a Stampendous Changito Set that was exclusive to Archivers. I love how cheery and happy it turned out!

Hang In There

I did this one for a Split Coast Inspiration Challenge...where we were challenged to find inspiration in an exhibit to support breast cancer. I had to use pink of course, and this image was perfect for it! The colors are Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose...with a little gray. The flowers are all punches, some embossed with the Quickuts Curlz die, and then I added pearls to the centers. This was a fun one!! Just need to find someone to send it to!

Copic Comparison Chart

This is my personal hand-color chart that I have filled in with my markers. It was done on Papertrey Stamper's Select Cardstock, each box was colored with one layer of Copic ink. Tt is purely for reference between one color and another. Since all monitors are different, please do not use this as a true color sample for ordering Copics. It is intended for use to compare similarities in colors and shades of one vs another. B60 is there...just that pale that it hardly shows up...some other light ones are less obvious, like RV000, RV00, R00, BG000, B00, G40, V91...all colored in, but they are very light colors. I will update this as I add to my collection, but hopefully this will be of some help! (Click on the photo for the LARGE version.)

The blank chart can be found here if you would like to make your own!

Monogrammed & Embossed

Our family was recently shown a huge amount of kindness and generosity by someone, and I really wanted to do some kind of very special THANK YOU! So this is what I came up with...a set of three of these cards, blank inside with the Monogrammed front. All I know about their style is what my husband told me....they had silvery blue walls, and their furniture was elegant/traditional. Hopefully they will like them...nothing worse than trying to thank someone with something they don't like. :) So...this card is actually quite simple...two different embossed panels with ribbons around the seam. And then just dressed up the die-cut 'S' with some punches and silver ink. I love how it turned out!

Ahoy Sailor

I just love how this little card turned out, so I thought I would post it today. I recently started a little Etsy shop, and my aunt was kind enough to give me a little boost and ordered 3 of my cards! She and my uncle spend their free time on their sailboat, so I did this card as a thank you for supporting my little venture. It's a smaller size 3.5" x 5"...and the images are from Papertrey Ink. I had the rope lying on my table from my last project and thought it was a perfect addition to the nautical feel. I just might have to make more of this one!

Cured Yet?

I did this card by following a sketch (layout) to apply to be on a design team for an adorable stamp company. Being on a design team means you get to create samples using the stamps from a particular company in order to promote their product. I haven't done that before, but it really sounds like fun, especially since the style of their stamps is right up my alley! I used a Stampin' Up image for this one, and some Basic Grey Papers. I colored the image with Copics and tried to keep the rustic theme of the pig by adding some rope and pewter hardware. I really love how this turned out...but it's pretty hard to beat a farm animal and red on one project...some of my favorites to work with!

Spring Time for You

Another spring
card! This one is clean and fresh...back to some basics! The stamps are from the Stampin' Up set called Time for You. I colored the image with copics and then embossed the edge and popped it up without a frame. The tag was done the same way with some ribbon accents added. A few punched flowers with brad centers finish it off! The simplicity of the background really shows off the main image.

Right Shoes?

I'm feeling spring-y with the snow starting to melt and March just around the corner! This is a simple card, inspired by the Crate Paper background. I used Versamagic ink for the boot and sentiment, it's so soft looking! The white velvet ribbon has a faux bow held on with a red and silver brad, and the red flower is just a punch of Ruby Red CS and then embossed with a mini Quickutz Goosebumpz die. Looks like spring!

Caffienated Bunnies

I had to try out this new MFT set (Tea for Two) and Spellbinders Tag Dies that came today! It's a simple basic layout, but it turned out cute! I got the idea for the tag ribbons from Cindy Haffner on SCS...she does some amazing cards! Anyway, I colored the little bunnies with Copics and added some liquid applique to the tail. A Prima flower and swiss dotted embossed background stitched to the base completes the cute & simple look!

Gray Skies

I created this card for the My Favorite Things Guest Designer Challenge. The requirements were to use any combination of Pink, White, Gray, Black and Brown. I actually was able to get them all in there with the little bits of brown on the dog! Another request was something to make the girls at MFT say *Wow!*. I tried with this one...and whether or not it makes it, this was so fun to do! I love it! The colors are so soft...I used Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray, and some SU DP on the background with the tiniest pink flowers. Adding some dotted ribbon over the swiss dotted embossed strip and scallops everywhere made this card so feminine. The dots were drawn in by hand on the coat, and pearly trim, dew drops and Primas dressed it all up!

Lovebirds for Friend

I had to dive into that new *Love You Much* bundle that came from Stampin' Up! I normally don't like hearts, but I LOVED the colors in this! Red, chocolate and pink on vanilla...so soft and happy! Anyway, I stamped the birds with chocolate and colored them with copics, then framed them in scallops. The hearts have white gel pen accents and are popped up for extra dimension. This is a really easy card, but it makes me smile!!

Wake Up!!

I had fun coloring this new Fluffles the Cat image but couldn't quite figure out what to do with it after that. My new papers came from SU the other day, and this dotted one seemed to work with the kitty! So finally, here is what I came up with. I added the Prima hydrangeas with Dew Drop centers, and the sheer ribbon, and it made me smile...so I decided on the Laughter sentiment from SU. What a fun card to send to that friend who is *NOT* a morning person!

Pewter Cocktails

I really love how these colors work together, yet are really non-traditional chicken colors! The background is Crate Paper, and then I added some Basic Gray and Soft Sky cardstock. The roosters were colored with copics, with a little glitter added to their cocktail glasses. I stitched the image to its fram as well as framed the background. The jumbo brads appear to go through the whole card, but they are only through the top layer leaving a space to hide the ribbon ends. A little pewter hodgepodge and these funky chickens are *almost* classy!