Crafting time

It's that time of year again! I am busy creating for my next 3 craft shows which are coming up! I have shows the first 3 weekends in November. I will have some new items this year and some oldies but goodies in more styles and colors.  Some of the items I have been working on are:

 Post it note keychains featuring some retired Stampin' Up Designer Series Papers.

Key Fob wristletss which seem to be all the craze!

 and mini clipboards made from coasters!

I have so much more already created, but for the sake of being able to get around my craft room, I packed them up so they are ready to go.  I had my first show in September, but with a bunch of activities going on in town, including a Fireman's Parade, and hospital patients being transported from a local hospital that is closed now, to the new hospital they just built, the traffic was horrible!!! So there really weren't a lot of shoppers.

Well back to crafting! Hope to have more to show you soon!

Another Friendship card

Okay here is one more of the cards I got from the card club. I liked this one, but it is a little...flat. Here's their version: And here is one of my versions. I added a dark brown mat behind the flowered paper. And I added some distressing to the tag with my Early Espresso Classic Ink pad:

And my second version. This time I embossed the flowered paper with the Square Lattice embossing folder then I distressed the edges with my Early Espresso Classic Ink pad and a sponge. I also swiped the sponge across the front of the paper. Then I added a dotted circle to the tag, and distressed it all with my Early Espresso Classic in:

Friendship Swap -

Here is another one of the card sets that I got from the club I used to belong to. Here's their version: And here's one of my versions. Here I just added some rhinestones at the end of the flourish:

And another version. Here I distressed the print piece. I added a bunch of smaller rhinestones all along the flourish.

These cards were not my style, so I found it a little harder to "get into" altering them.

Friendship

Here is another one of the card sets from the card club I used to belong to. Here is their version, it is a library card pocket: And one way I changed it. The ribbons they sent were so small so it was hard to change them up much. You can't see it in the picture but I added silver stitch lines along the frame. I added a hole to the purple tab. I slipped the big ribbon through the hole and then tied it with the smaller piece.

And another version: I added silver stitching to the "rick Rack" piece as well as the frame. I also used a bit of Marina Mist Classic Ink on the transparency piece, I also distressed the frame. I tied a little piece of thread around the big ribbon and then held it in place in the back while I stapled the smaller ribbon in the front. I also ran the library card pocket through my Perfect Polka Dots folder by Stampin Up:

This card was....not my style. I stared at it for quite some time before I figured out something to do.

Summer Fun Card Fronts

A few years ago, before I became more of a card maker, I used to belong to this card club. This business closed years ago, probably at least 4 or 5 years now. Each month they sent me a kit with all of the parts that I could make 2 cards. I loved these kits, but sometimes they lacked a little something. Another gripe I had was often times, like when it included ribbon, it was such a small amount. So if you weren't good at tying bows, there was no room for error. I still have many many of the kits they sent sitting in a drawer un-assembled. So I dug one out and took it apart. Here was their sample: I cut the cards apart which gave me 4 card fronts. I trimmed them down, and added a mat layer of black. I made the black mat at 3 3/4" x 5. The receiver can mat it down to a white card, or choose another color card.

Then I decided to make a few more of my own. The top 2 cards used the green layer that I had from cutting the cards I made above. The bottom 2 are some green I had on hand, which I ran through my Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder by Stampin' Up. The flip flop embellishments I bought many years ago from a big box store. I typed up my own sentiments in, I believe it is, Word Perfect. The ribbons are all stuff I had on hand.

And another version with green ribbon and a lighter shade of green.

I just wanted to show how you can add a little and make a so so card look even better. And when you find a layout that you like, change some accessories to give it a different look.

These will be for my Summer Fun Card Front theme on my favorite MB.

Craft Sale Items - Key Fob Wristlets

So I have been working hard at trying to get ahead for my 3 craft shows this coming November. And I have a new obsession!! Key Fob Wristlets! I have already sold a number of these, and I am waiting for the hardware to arrive in an order so that I can make more to sell.
They are available on Cotton Webbing like below: Or Polypropylene:

There are more shown here:

http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/2012/06/items-for-craft-sale-key-fob-wristlets_16.html

and here:

http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/2012/06/items-for-craft-sale-key-fob-wristlets.html

I have seen many of these on Etsy in prices ranging form $5 up to $9.50! At the moment I am selling them for $4 a piece, but that may increase depending on price of the webbing. (The current ones the webbing was on sale) So don't wait! Get yours today! I will ship also, please ask for shipping prices!

Tired of losing your keys in the bottom of your purse?? These stylish Key Fob Wristlets are just the right size to slip over your wrist, and no more searching for your keys! Hands full with a purse, baby seat, and groceries? Slip them on your wrist and leave your hands free! Heading to the gym, or going for a walk and you don't want to carry your wallet? These are the perfect thing!

Great for friends. co-workers, neighbors and teacher's gifts!

Additional colors and styles will be offered soon!!!

A day at the specialist

We went to the specialist on Monday March 19th. I was able to get a close up of the break in the xrays.
Waiting for the doctor. She was nervous he'd have more bad news. They changed her figure-of-8 sling. No dance, viola, recess or gym for at least the next 5 weeks.

When we got home from the specialist this was waiting for her:

Inside was a surprise and a card from a Cricut friend Bridgette!

This is the new sling whe will be wearing for at least 5 weeks. Then she'll go back into the figure-of-8 sling.

A broken collarbone

So...Last Tuesday afternoon Cheyenne went to play with a friend up the street. At about 4:30 she calls crying and very upset (she isn't allowed to cross the street, so she calls to let me know to come cross her. We can see the house from our front lawn). She comes home covered in mud and crying. Her side and shoulder are scraped and red, her finger is sore. The finger looks like a rope burn. So we put ice on the finger which helped with that pain. We put ice on her shoulder, but she said it made it feel worse. So we let her soak in some muscle soak in the tub. I gave her some Tylenol and a few hours later she went to bed. She said she barely slept. Wednesday morning she went to school. but we called the Dr to see if he could check her out. He ordered x-rays. Here she is after the x-ray. (Her sticker says "I had an x-ray") She got lots of stickers and a lollipop not to mention a bag of Teddy Grahams. She was VERY brave.

When we walked out of the x-ray room, I saw her films on the screen and saw the break right away. I didn't tell her. The Dr came in and she asked him if it was broken. He said "ah, yeah". I didn't get a picture at the time, but took one later. Of course I have the film backwards. I guess it is a good thing I am not a doctor!

For the next 2 days she barely slept, and was in quite a bit of pain. I have never **KNOCK ON WOOD** broken a bone, and neither has my husband. So we weren't sure how much pain she was in. Finally on Friday the prescribed her something stronger, and Friday night she slept 7+ hours. Saturday night she slept almost 12 and took a 2 hour nap!! And Saturday she was finally feeling better. Between Tuesday and Friday morning, she had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep. Amazingly she was not that miserable, but she sure was hurting. The poor thing!

A Baby Squirrel visits

Look what came to visit us the other day! A baby squirrel was sitting on our sidewalk, but scurried into our flowerbed when Cheyenne startled it. We went back inside so maybe it's momma would come back, and it came over and sat at our front door crying.

When we didnt come back it climbed up the wall and tried looking in the window. Later it climbed a little higher and fell into our mailbox.

It sure was cute, but as my hubby says "this zoo is closed!" The next morning it was no longer there, so we are hoping that it found it's way back to it's momma.

For a swap - Sympathy card fronts

Another example of bad pictures....

I saw this card on Mary Fish's blog, and I loved it. So simple and still means so much! The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's "Word Play". I stamped it in Basic Black craft ink and then embossed it in black embossing powder. I matted that on another piece of white cardstock, then added 3 brads, 1 black, 2 silver, which I lined up using my mat pack from Stampin' Up. I embossed the back piece with Stampin' Up's "Vintage Wallpaper" embossing folder. Then I added the ribbon. I couldn't decide if I liked it with the bow, so I made some with and some without. The bow can easily be removed if the swapper who receives it doesn't like it added on.

I'm Dreaming of Spring

Yet another example of bad pictures. This card I made for the "I'm Dreaming of Spring" theme for my Favorite MB. I embossed the background with a folder, and then stamped the flower scene on watercolor paper. I used my alchohol markers to color the images in. (I am still not sure how to use them!) The sentiment is from the set the flower came with. I punched it out with my Stampin UP Curly Label punch. Then for the mat for it, I punched two pieces of brown cardstock, cut them both in half and then matted it.
I think this may be the last of this cardstock color. :( I like this color (can you tell?) I have a file folder of miscellaneous colors of Cardstock that I have been trying to use up, and this is one of them. The green and other purple "Beyond Borders" cards seen below were also in the file folder.

Isn't he cute??

Okay another example of bad pictures with my cell phone. I'll have to see if I can get a better picture of this little guy in the light. I originally made these for my Masculine theme for my Addicted to Cardmaking swap on my Favorite MB. But I think instead I am going to use these for the kids cards theme I have in April. The papers are all ones I had on hand. And the cards were ones I got forever ago in a pack with matching envelopes. The swirly pieces are actually the debossed side of an embossed piece of cardstock which I inked up my brayer and ran it across the back (debossed) side. The one card I used Pool Party ink from Stampin Up the other I used Pacific Point. The other piece of paper on the cards are from mat stacks which have been collecting dust in my craft room. I used to buy the stacks when they went on clearance, but I never used them, so I have piles of them. I have to stop doing that!!!

Oh and the sentiment I typed out on my computer, then punched it out with the word window punch, and added that to a modern label punch.

Based on a sketch swap

I made these 2 cards for my Based on a Sketch swap in January. The embossed pieces are actually from a RAK I received some time ago. Someone (I think it may have been LKRhodes) embossed some cardstock pieces for me in white. I added a little color with the purple and used them on my cards. There were a few different styles in the stack, this is just two that I used. The flower I made using Stampin Up's 5 petal flower (punched 2 times) and a 5 petal smaller punch (also punched 2 times) which is now retired, and I am unsure what it is called. The center is just a large white brad. The sentiments are from Stampin Up's set "Curly Cute".

Cards for a swap - Beyond Borders

I have to say I have been being very lazy about taking pictures of my creations recently. Most pictures I have been taking are with my cell phone and not very good. Or they are ones that I take when I actually swap out my swaps, which generally tend to be rushed and also not very good. These are 2 examples!

These are cards I made for February's "Beyond Borders" Card front swap that I host on my favorite MB. The first one you can see the colors a little better, but I included the second picture because I used three different color card bases. Just trying to use up some of my stash of cardstocks. :)

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Learning something new - hair bows

So my daughter LOVES giraffes! Anything Giraffes. So one day on our trip to the local craft store she spots this ribbon. At another craft store she spots the felt. And she HAD to have it. She asked me to make her something with it, which I of course said I would. I didn't have a clue as to what I was making with the felt. So I began searching for a ribbon tutorial, and I came across this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYQwh5_VR1g&feature=relmfu

And her blog:

http://www.mynameismomma.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&max-results=7

Thank you "Mommycraftsalot" for helping me out with this great tutorial!

Kusudama origami flowers

I am still looking for new crafting items to try, and in my search I came across these flowers.
Kusudama origami flowers. Aren't they pretty? This was my first attempt. I have to try harder to get the center a little tighter. But I like how it turned out! I actually made this flower with post it note squares. :)

Learning something new

So I have been trying to branch out in my creativity. Which isn't always easy to deviate from what you know best. Anyway...I learned ho to make ribbon roses! This is the first one I made. I have a theme for one of my upcoming swaps where we have to add a handmade flower, and who knows, maybe these will be the ones I use! I still have to finish this one off, but I like how it turned out!

Addicted to Cardmaking swap - December 2011

These cards were made for December's theme, "Specialty papers." The papers I used are hand made papers that have metallic details added. I have always loved red, black and white together, so of course I had to make them that color! I used sentiments from Stampin' Up's "Pursuit of Happiness" (121970 clear, or 121907 wood) on the one on the left, and "On your Birthday" (only available in wood - 111664). I have had these papers for a while, someone had given them to me as a gift (Terri was it you?), but I wasn't quite sure how to use them. I think they turned out pretty nice!

Card Front swap

I am trying to get back into the swing of taking pictures of my swaps. It isn't always easy to remember! These were the swaps I made for my "based on a sketch" theme for my card front swap on my favorite MB. I had received a bunch of pieces of cardstock that someone had embossed for me a few years ago, and they have been sitting here, while I didn't know what to do with them. Well, I pulled them out, used some inks to rub over the image to give it some detail and added them to the card. I added the hand made flower and voila! You can't tell from the picture, but the ends of the banner are raised slightly to give the illusion that the banner is floating. I wanted to add a picture of the sketch, but it appears that was saved on the old computer! Doh.

Craft Fair items

Cheyenne likes to be a part of creating for the craft shows. This year she made up the Showman soup bags which I then decorated. She also made some of these cute candy trains. She was so proud when someone bought one! Then in December she made them with her girl scout troop as a craft project. She said she loved being a craft teacher! :)
Here's a picture of some of the candy boxes I made for the sales. I made a bunch of them and lost track after I sold 27 of them. I also had a special order for more of them. So easy to make, although they do take a little while to get everything cut and assembled. One woman bought some and said they were perfect for her place settings for Christmas eve. :)

Visitation Craft sale items

I believe this is the last of the photos I have. I have to look in my cell phone to see if there are more. In the top picture I have hand sanitizer holders. Great gifts for teachers, day care workers, bus/van drivers, or anyone you'd like to keep germ free! (and a not so good picture of altered starbucks jars) And in the bottom picture I have another close up of post it note frames with matching pens.

I had a great time at the craft shows this year, and I am looking forward to next years sales! And I will definitely be adding in some new items as well as requested items.