Welcome to T's Scrappin' Blog

Miscellaneous Cards

2010-07-26T15:15:00.000-05:00

My birthday was in July so I made some Thank You cards with the chef Quickutz paper doll since I had received a Crock Pot from my sister. I had a couple of birthdays in early August so I switched the "Thanks" to "Happy Birthday" and voila!

Also, my husband needed sympathy cards, so I used the Songbirds cartridge and a Sizzix cross. I made another one with a different bird cage from Songbirds but same color scheme, muted cream and brown.

Father's Day and Birthday Cards

2010-07-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

I used a simple template for Father's Day and a couple of June/July birthdays. Stamps from Stampin' Up and paper from my stash. The tag was die cut from an original Sizzix.

Birthday Card

2010-03-26T11:08:00.000-05:00

Here is a birthday card that I made for my friend Kathy. My camera card is still full from Disney (since I can't back it up due to my computer with the DVD R/W still at the shop to evaluate the motherboard...after one month!), so I took the photo with my phone. It is so unbelievable that phones come with 3.2 Megapixel cameras and now some with 5.6! Wow!

I was inspired by the butterfly and rick-rack that Tami used in her Spring Door Hangers. You can see her really cool work here.

Thanks for taking a look.

15th Anniversary "Card"

2010-03-12T09:47:00.000-06:00

This is the "card" I made for my husband for our 15th anniversary. My printer was going wacky with photo paper so I used a highly textured cardstock to print the photos and it turned out okay, I guess.

Folded up....

Front Side.....

Back Side... Boy did we look young, even printed on cardstock - LOL!

For his gift, I got him a t-shirt from University of Idaho Humanitarian Bowl win (Go Vandals!) and tickets to the Astros later this year. The tickets are Will Call, so I didn't have anything to give him but a receipt -- not very romanitc!
And, I couldn't justify buying the Sports Mania Cricut Cartridge for one card, so I made a "ticket" using the Disney cart and used some Jolee's stickers. The star almost looks like the A so it seemed a good fit. Should be fun!

Thanks for looking!

March Birthday Cards

2010-03-06T17:19:00.000-06:00

I have a (scrapbooking) friend who has her "bullet proof" birthday next week. So, I had spent the week working on the Gypsy to design a nice card for her.

Then, my husband remembered his brother-in-law's birthday is soon, also. He confiscated my card for my friend Donna and I made her a new one.

I was inspired by my sister Tami's Valentine's cards. Her blog is here.

Kissin' the Blarney Stone and Murphy's Law

2010-01-31T16:19:00.000-06:00

Supposedly, if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you are given the gift of eloquence. I might have eloquence, but I certainly don't have any sense of organization!!!

I started working on the Ireland scrapbook immediately after returning from our 2-week trip in May of 2007. I had a lofty goal -- to finish this scrapbook in one year. To make it easier, I limited myself to only one page for each place that we had visited regardless of the number of photos or miscellaneous cool stuff (like tickets, receipts or other souvenirs).

Blarney Castle was high on my list to visit. I read lots about the history of kissing the Blarney Stone, and the gift of gab. You've got to do this! And, though it wasn't the nicest castle in Ireland and though there were huge, long lines stringing through the rooms to get to the top level to kiss the stone, we diligently waited and finally....kissing the Blarney Stone!

For anyone who has not been there, you actually have to lay on your back and lean down over an opening to kiss the stone. Of course, they take your picture and for 15 euro, it's yours to keep. Awesome souvenir for a scrapbooker.

Time passes, we pack up all of our belongings, put them in storage, and move to another house. Suddenly, it's 2009 and I CANNOT find the Blarney Stone photos. Oh, well, surely they will show up before I get to that page. Nope, they are nowhere to be seen.

Finally, last night, I scrapped the Blarney Castle (which had a really terrific garden, by the way) without my precious photos of Kissing the Blarney Stone. I joked with my husband that as soon as I finished the page, Murphy's Law would kick in and I'd find the photos in a week or so.

To my surprise, I finished gluing the page and started sorting through my stuff for the next page in Ireland and voila! the blarney stone photos! Not even 5 minutes had passed!! I don't think I like Murphy!

Here's the scrapbook page of Blarney Castle sans kissing the stone......

A little book & one page from Ireland...

2010-01-22T22:42:00.006-06:00

Also, here is a prototype of the word book I was going to make for the scrapbook class next Saturday. I've changed my mind to use a different word for the class because I guess I don't know what to do with 2 books of the same word. I'm not 100% happy with how the book turned out. I used the Gypsy font heart instead of the letter "o". I can't think of anything remarkable to say about this book, except that I learned the "chipboard" (e.g. cereal boxes) doesn't slip around as much on old mats in the Cricut if the printed side is down (facing the mat). I might have a dull blade or something, but I find that sometimes the knife edge will grab on the lower left corner regardless of the direction of the mat. I've put in a new blade recently too.

So, the word for the class is _______________________. Fill in the blank for your suggestions or I will choose one of two candidate words that start with the letter M. (You have to guess this, too.)

And a page from Ireland. Will I ever finish this book that I planned to finish in just one year (now going on three years)??? Andy lost one of his favorite rugby shirts in this town and I opened the back of the camera, damaging my film because I thought it said "E" for empty but it said "3" for third picture. This was the last stop for the Titanic before it sank and the museum was really interesting. We met some nice Irish folks in the pub over dinner. As I recall it rained while we were there. The city has had three names: Cove, Queenstown, and now is Cobh (pronounced Cove) under the various English & Irish ruling periods. I really loved Ireland and would go back in a heartbeat!

New Year's Cards

2010-01-04T16:04:00.002-06:00

Since I'm really loving my new Old West Cricut cart, I made these New Year's card for family members. The inside used Quickutz dies. All the paper was from my stash, the shiny papers inside were from DCWV Metallic Stack. I pulled the embellishments from an assortment of places and it's impossible to give the references since they have been sitting around for years & years. Fun, though!

Happy New Year everyone!

Yee-Haw Thank You Cards

2010-01-02T20:17:00.006-06:00

Yee-Haw!!!! For Christmas, my parents (with a LOT of help from my scrappin' sister) got me the Old West cartridge. Wow! What a fun cart!

I made our thank you cards for our Christmas loot using this AWESOME cart! The "Yee-Haw" is from the Cricut cart, the cactus is from an old Sizzix die cut, the cowboy hat is also from Sizzix and cut from foam. The cactus stamps are from a wonderful store in old town Santa Fe, NM (sorry, but I can't remember the name of the store but it is right on the main plaza and is always a lot of fun to visit). The ribbon was from my stash and the brads are Making Memories which have been in my stash forever, I think!

This was a lot of fun to make and I am totally LOVING Old West!!!

I've also included a photo of Big Bend National Park (bleow) which was my inspiration -- such a wonderful, beautiful, peaceful park. One of my favorites. The photo is taken from the Chisos Mountain Lodge area toward "the windows" -- this was the first time we did the hike but the sunset view is quite famous and during busy seasons, you have to stake out your viewing spot up to an hour before sunset. Luckily, the park was not so busy when we visited this trip so we had some awesome views to ourselves!!!

P.S. I found a free program called Picasa that will allow you to downgrade your high res photos so they can be posted on the internet. How cool!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-21T17:57:00.004-06:00

Here are TERRIBLE photos of our Christmas cards. I took the photo with my cell phone while we were writing the cards. There are several "types" using the Joann's paper pack Peppermint Forest. I had cut the "Peace" using Cricut Winnie-the-Pooh font and just 4 fit on a 6x12 sheet. So, there ended up being 7 sets of 4 -- each a different color combo or "type". The tree is from Cricut Christmas Cheer cart, the star bling is Martha Stewart from Michael's, the bling on the "peace" is from Heidi Swapp, ink from Quick Quotes Powder Puff, and ribbon is from my extensive ribbon stash. The brad, metal loop, and flower & pearl are from Stampin' Up.

I enjoyed the fun pink & blue of this festive paper pack.

I cut all the pieces in the evening during the week of December 7, then assembled in the evenings of the week of 14 December while we were on vacation. This was no easy task since we were staying in the Big Bend National Park lodge and spent the days mountain biking. I had body parts aching that I didn't even know I had body parts -- obviously, I am not getting younger!! One night, my husband and I fell asleep playing Yahtzee and didn't wake up for 2.5 hours. The Yahtzee and Battleship games were also interfering with the card making, but what else can you do in the middle of West Texas with no television (not a big deal for me but it is for most people), no wifi access, and no cell phone signal? Besides, games are a great Christmas or camping tradition!!

Crappy pictures but I hope whoever gets a Christmas card from us this year will think they look better in real life....otherwise it's time to hang up my scrapbooking hat -- ha ha!! P.S. The card front in the upper right was the prototype -- it had velvet ribbon on it and I used Sizzix letters. I think the improvements were good ones from the prototype!

And, just for fun, I've included a photo of hubby with the well-dressed Fort Stockton, TX, roadrunner!!!

Merry Christmas and a blessed 2010!

Little Gift Scrapbook

2009-12-05T19:04:00.003-06:00

For my husband's parents, I also made a little book with the Cricut & Gypsy. This was almost entirely supplied from one of the awesome Club Scrap kits!

We didn't go trekking around looking for barns & wooden railroad trestles on the Olympic peninsula, so I only had a few photos to work with. Sequim had too many letters, and Washington most definitely has too many letters!!! So, Andy suggested I try "2009" -- I really like how the book turned out. Pity that they aren't UCLA fans since we've got the blue & yellow going!

Thanks for looking!

P.S. Andy really does own more than one shirt -- but we only packed one "cold weather" shirt with us!

Rest of Idaho Book

2009-12-05T17:47:00.004-06:00

The rest of the Idaho book. I put in a back cover since it made the book look more finished and then decorated the back cover too.

Thanks for taking a look!

Idaho Book

2009-12-05T12:28:00.008-06:00

I made this little book using my Cricut & Gypsy for my parents as a Christmas present. We went out to see them in Idaho in October and I took a bunch of pictures. I made them go searching for barns and old wooden railroad trestles to photograph. My mom sent me a card after we got home that said she forgot how much fun we were -- I guess she enjoyed searching for great old red barns to photograph!

My dad really likes the local history so I found info and put a paragraph onto the left-hand pages to go with the pictures on the right hand pages. My husband spent more time looking at this little scrapbook than most of my others because he was reading the stories, too. I hope they like it.

I only had 1/2" zutter bind-it-all spirals and the book was a bit thick for that -- I'm calling it a "coffee table" book since it won't shut flat and stands up really nicely!! LOL!!

Here's a few of the first pages.

Debbie's Birthday Card

2009-12-04T21:42:00.003-06:00

My very kind friend Debbie's birthday is in December -- I have always felt sorry for people with birthdays in December and January since I think they get missed in all of the Christmas celebrations. So I've made sure not to use any red or green in the card based on the 2S4Y challenge this week!

Supplies used include: DCWV patterned paper (Nana's Kitchen since my friend Debbie loves to cook), solid paper from Club Scrap, Quickutz heart die cut with circle, Michael's ribbon (shopping girl, gotta love the name), Making Memories tag, flower, and marble, Heidi Swapp ghost flower & bling, Queen & Co felt flower ribbon, Tim Holtz alcohol ink (on the metal tag), and Quick Quotes Power Puff chalk ink (Blue Hawaiian, awesome!). I put the marble over the tag that says "Happy Birthday" to magnify it a little but I'm not sure it shows up too well in the photo. (I'm mostly an outdoor landscape photographer so I'm still learning how to take photos of these "still lifes" -- it doesn't seem to be my thing even with my really cool D700.)

I was supposed to go to lunch with Debbie today but we had SNOW in Houston so it was best not to travel. Pretty amazing but this is the second year in a row that we had SNOW in Houston. It is supposed to get really cold (25 F) tonight so I've got Christmas lights wrapped on my sugar date palms -- hopefully I don't lose anything more than above ground foliage. Tropical plants just don't go so well with snow & cold!!

Thanks for taking a look at my card and I hope everyone has a truly blessed holiday season!

Last Page of Quick Quotes Cruise Book

2009-12-02T20:34:00.004-06:00

Oops! It looks like I posted the "last page" when it was really the next to last page of the Quick Quotes cruise book. Here's the "for real" last page -- it is of El Morro, the National Park site in San Juan, Puerto Rico which is older than most of the continental US. We went to this fort on Christmas Day and saw some really huge iguanas, on the order of 3 ft long. Since it was Christmas Day, we were able to capture photos without lots of people in them. The photos of the iguanas didn't turn out so great, thus I was FORCED to buy the exclusive Quickutz iguana die!! But he's awfully cute!

And isn't it cool that the guard towers are exactly the same as on the commemorative quarter issued this year? I also found a die cut of the tower in one of my National Park scrap packs!

Thanks for looking at my book.

Last Page of Quick Quotes Cruise Book

2009-11-30T19:44:00.005-06:00

Here's the next to last page of the Quick Quotes cruise book. We stayed at this totally awesome resort high in the mountains of Puerto Rico. It was very, very remote. At night you could hear the little frogs (they say "cook-y, cook-y") but they are so small they are difficult to see (like the cross-section of a pencil eraser). We had gourmet meals, a guided hike into the rainforest, and relaxation. A cat adopted us and sat on our laps while we lounged in the hammock outside our lodge room. I don't think anyone could ask for a more relaxing place on earth!

We also drove to an ancient "ball park" which was framed, if you will, by stones with carvings. It was really muddy and when we left we had "high heels" as we used to say as kids! Puerto Rico is green and exotic -- we are lucky to have this territory so close to visit.

This is the first scrapbook page that Iused my Gypsy -- the M in Mountain Retreat is from Gypsy font and I sketched everything out to minimize paper consumption. What a fun tool!

(P.S. I'm a landscape photographer so I should learn how to photograph scrapbook pages soon.)

Quick Quotes Cruise Book - next installment

2009-11-23T20:32:00.004-06:00

Okey-Doke! Here's the next installment of the QQ book from our Caribbean cruise last Christmas. This is St. Thomas, which is one of the beautiful US Virgin Islands. It had been a pirate hang-out and we saw a steel drum demonstration.

A very pretty island because you climbed straight up from the ocean and had spectacular panoramic views of the harbor with it's fantastically blue, blue water. We walked from one end of the island to the other where there was a private harbor. We took a gondola to the top of one of the "mountains" and took an organized tour of plantation-style homes, too.

Quick Quotes Cruise Book

2009-11-20T17:27:00.001-06:00

Here's the next stop -- Saint Martin or Sint Maarten, depending on whether you were on the French or Dutch half of the island. We went on a zip line adventure tour here -- we had to walk on ropes and little bridges suspended from trees. It was really fun!

There was a family ahead of us on the zip line tour that had a college age kid who was a gymnast. The mom was afraid of heights and the dad was a little overweight and out of shape. We saw them later that night in the dining room of the cruise ship and shared a laugh with them because the dad was really worn out but the kids were totally fine!!

When I showed this book at Show and Tell, my scrapbook friends said they used to love magic mesh and forget to use it. I love it, too -- it adds dimension and is just fun!

All the paper is from Quick Quotes -- I bought an extra kit just to have enough paper for the whole book. Awesome beach colors with the blues & oranges, I think.

Another page from QQ Cruise Book

2009-11-18T20:13:00.004-06:00

Okay, tonight I'm trying to remember to crop the photo. I really need to get Photoshop but it is so darn expensive!!

Here's the next page in the Quick Quotes book I made of our Caribbean cruise at Christmas last year. Last page was Aruba, this is of Curacao -- I even bought a special alphabet from Quickutz just so I'd have a squiggly "c" for this page!!

Quick Quotes Cruise Book

2009-11-17T20:09:00.004-06:00

Here is the first set of pages from the Quick Quotes book -- gosh it was a fun book to make! I made most of the book while we were in Dallas earlier this year to see the King Tut exhibit.

Front of Quick Quotes Cruise Book

2009-11-16T20:00:00.004-06:00

This is one of the really cool Quick Quotes kits from earlier this year. I made an easy book of our Christmas cruise to Puerto Rico & Caribbean islands last year. It was a perfect design for a trip like a cruise where you only spend a little time at each place.

Making the book was really fun, too. The front and back are canvas -- I used Stampin' Up ink instead of the QQ chalk ink so the inking turned out a little bolder than the examples from QQ.

Thanks for taking a look -- I'll post the rest of the pages later.

Whoo's Birthday? Card

2009-11-15T21:25:00.002-06:00

Here's a birthday card that I put together for Andy's mom. I was inspired to use the forest animals because I had seen a really cute book with Owls that my sister had made for her daughter's outdoor camp. She did a great job with Owls and I thought I'd give the little guys a try.

The forest animals and printed paper are from Friendly Forest by Colorbok, cardstock from Club Scrap (of course), and the frame & letters were all Sizzix dies. Fun!

Since they live near Forks,WA, we got her a copy of Twilight and some Moonlight Path lotions & shower gels from Bath & Body Works. I usually go for the fruity scents, but I spritzed some on my wrist and have been loving it all day -- probably not the scent that Edward found so attractive of Bella-- ha ha!!

Not sure if the Owl card goes with the Twilight theme or not, but it was fun to make! (I took the photo at pretty low resolution so it would post up to Blogger -- I'm not especially happy with the photo, though.)

Thanks for taking a look at my card!

Teresa

Birthday Card

2009-07-08T21:31:00.004-05:00

Here's a birthday card I made for my friend Kathy -- who shares the same birthday as me, but she is 9 years older!!!

I think the fun foam is, well, really fun! I used the fun foam for the brown background for the stamped image and for the stars (Sizzix die cut). The stamp & ink are from Stampin' Up. Striped paper from my scrap stash and the blue-ish paper is Club Scrap (also a big stash of that but such wonderful textures).

The picture is with my new D700 -- I have some more to learn and need to get Photoshop for editing. I had/have a bit of learning to make my SB28 flash work with the new camera since it won't work in TTL (through the lens)..... The built-in flash is too close to the body of the camera and casts a shadow if I don't remove the lens hood.

Keep watching for photo improvements!!

Thanks for looking.

Rodney's Retirement Card

2009-06-03T19:54:00.003-05:00

Usually, Andy doesn't say much about the cards I make ... just the obligatory "that's nice." Boy was I surprised when I got in the car the other night to go home from work and he asked me if I'd make him a card for Rodney.

Rodney is retiring at the end of June from a major petrochemical company and was a star on one of the championship LSU football teams (a virtual religion in Louisiana!). Remember that Mardi Gras colors are green, purple, and gold, too.

So, I've combined these elements for a retirement card. The oil gusher is from Cricut My World, the state of Louisiana from Cricut 50 States (and the purple paper from Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes collection). The football paper and football stickers were recent purchases from Michaels (but unfortunately, I've already thrown away the source info). Congratulations from Alphalicious cartridge. I put some Stickles on the oil gusher and "skittles" from Sierra Pacific Crafts (in Wilsonville, OR) to look like players on the football field and to mark Baton Rouge on Louisiana. Ink was the cool chalk ink from Quick Quotes. Andy wanted me to add the Friends metal sign. I also thought the Phillips head "screw" brads were a cool touch for an engineer (yeah, yeah, we're true nerds...)

This was a fun little card to make. I hope Rodney and Miss Mary enjoy his retirement!

Bonus Sketch - 2S4Y - week of 30 March 2009

2009-04-02T20:04:00.004-05:00

I needed another card for my friend, Maria, who has a new job. I'm seeing her for lunch tomorrow so I checked the 2S4Y site and was inspired by Berdien's bonus sketch. I really like how the card turned out. Maria does wonderful needlepoint and loves to receive homemade cards.

I swapped the bling from the left side to the right side since it fit better with the size of the quote.

Supplies:
= Cardstock from Club Scrap (always fabulous texture & color)
= Patterned paper from Scenic Route (actually Christmas paper but it looks okay)
= Chipboard from Pebbles Chips -- these are so cute!!! Gotta love the packaging
= Puffy center from Heidi Swapp
= Ribbon from Cloud 9 travel collection
= Polka dot felt from Creative Imagination (my sister sent this to me, isn't it cool? you can check out Tami's awesome cards & creations at Tamaroo's Funky Scrapbooking blog)
= Transparency from Quick Quotes, love their canvas kits!
= ink from Palette (hybrid)
= Bling from Prima
= black cord from ??

So, thanks for taking a look at my blog!

Teresa

Kazan's Sketch 23 - week of 30 March 2009

2009-04-02T14:07:00.004-05:00

Loved Kazan's sketch this week.

I turned the card 90 degrees to make a quick thank you for someone in the training group who went above & beyond.

The bandana paper is from K&Company, the bling is from Michaels, ink from Tim Holtz (distressed walnut), ink from Quick Quotes powder puff, and I used Going Places & George cricut cartridges. The "no" symbol is raised on pop dots -- not sure if you can see that or not. The rest of the paper is from my scrap pile!

This is also the first time that I've used my Cricut deep cut blade (on the chipboard of the "no" symbol). I think I still have a bit of learning to do since it bogged down a bit at the start of the cut.

Thanks for taking a look and have a wonderful Palm Sunday!

24 Mar 2009 - 2S4Y Challenge

2009-03-24T21:47:00.004-05:00

Here's my take on the 2S4Y Challenge -- a birthday card for my very dear friend Kathy!

I used a QK Revolutions die cut in my Sizzix Big Shot--I got the QK die during the Houston Shop Hop!! What a fun time that was! I also used a Cuttlebug embossing die on the core-d'nations paper (vases). I tend to get mixed up between embossing and debossing when I'm making the "sandwich" -- these turned out debossed but I think they look kind of like the Navajo pots I got in Arizona a few years ago, so it was a pleasing mistake! My sister sent me the core-d'nations paper and I think it's totally awesome!!!! I don't think there's any other way I'd have gotten the Navajo pot look!!

The card itself is from The Card Connection, yellow, orange, blue cardstock from Club Scrap, white cardstock from DCWV Luxury Collection, raffia unknown, blue brads from Recollections (Michaels), black brad unknown, and black paper with tan core is core-d'nations! I also used Staz-On ink with a Stampin' Up stamp (celebrate from 2006 special set).

My friend Sherry distresses a lot, so she inspired me to use the Tim Holtz distresser around the edge of the yellow cardstock.

I have to admit that I really, really miss Recollections. We were up in Dallas for the King Tut exhibit and in the old days, a trip to Dallas always meant a special treat to go to the scrapbook store! Oh, well.

Finally, as a gardener, I know that God doesn't make blue flowers in nature -- but isn't it cool that I can make blue flowers in scrapbooking??? I was very blessed tonight to see a bluebird -- and even though Houston is on a migratory route, it is very unusual to see a mountain bird in our area! Magnificent!

Thanks for taking a look at my blog.

9 March 2009 -- Laura's Sketch 21 (2 Sketches 4 You)

2009-03-09T20:53:00.002-05:00

We are having superb spring weather in Houston! I can hardly sit still indoors long enough to make a card since our "spring" lasts only a couple of weeks! The azaleas are in full & colorful bloom across the city and early bulbs, like freesia, are spreading a glorious, sweet scent across the gardens. Aah! What could be more wonderful than spring??

Feeling the wonders of spring, I've made a birthday card for my friend Donna using flowers & spring colors! The purple & gold cardstock are from Club Scrap, the butterfly template from The Crafter's Workshop, gold ink from Tsukineko, vellum/patterned paper/white ribbon are unknown, the flower was cut from a Sizzix die, the bird from a Quickutz die, black ink from Palette (hybrid) and Staz-On, stamp and pearly things (a technical term!) from Stampin' Up, and last, but not least, the twine is from some Chinese Vermicelli that I got at the supermarket last week to make a Rachel Ray soup recipe! Gotta love recycling!

Thanks for taking a look at my little blog.

Teresa

2 Sketches 4 You (Kazan Sketch #21)

2009-03-04T21:24:00.004-06:00

Finally, a bit of free time! I need to make about 30 cards for all the great folks who are supporting me in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Where else to get an idea for a card but the great sketches over at 2 Sketches 4 You?

Here's a look at the sketch and a couple of cards I've made as thank yous. Envelopes with a pink ribbon are layered under the cards in the scanned images.

Paper from my stash, ribbon from Shopping Girl (cool brand name, huh?), die cuts & embossing from Sizzix's Pink Ribbon kit, and tag from Making Memories.

I think I prefer the card below, since it has more contrast with the brown Thank You and snaps.

Thanks for taking a look! And you can visit my Avon Walk blog at http://avonwalk.org/goto/teresa if you like.

Teresa

Tag Book, The End!

2009-03-03T20:45:00.005-06:00

The end of the Tag Book! Thanks for taking a look at my blog!

Tag Book, Part 3

2009-02-20T20:19:00.005-06:00

Here's Part 3 of my tag book. This sure is taking a long time to get posted!

Thanks for taking a look at my blog. Maybe next week I'll have time for a card challenge!

Teresa

2 Sketches 4 You (Laura's Sketch 19)

2009-02-11T21:30:00.005-06:00

A busy week -- our group had Show and Tell today! My friend Kathy had made a wonderful word book of her grandson's name using baby blue papers -- it was awesome!

My favorite color is purple (you know, the color of "royalty"....) and I received my latest shipment of Sizzix dies so I absolutely HAD to use this cute dress form. So, my take on Laura's Sketch 19 (see below) from over at 2 Sketches 4 You, used my cool new (discontinued) Sizzix die for the dress form & purse, bling from Michaels, flower from Prima, purple paper from Club Scrap (also cut with Sizzix Bigz die), lavendar dress paper from Paperworks, rest of paper from my stash, ribbon from Colorbok, and rub-on ("hi") from Making Memories. The idea was generated from Hallmark Scrapbooks who made a beautiful wedding card using this die cut. They have also had a GREAT sale on Cricut carts!

It seems to me that the colors are a little warmer than they show up in the scanned image. But, hubby is talking about a vacation in July/August, so I should be on tap to get a digital camera for my birthday. Yeah! I cannot imagine what natural light (or at least incandescent light) would do to enhance these images!

Please visit my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer web page at http://avonwalk.org/goto/teresa. I am a little over 60% of the way with fundraising but I skipped my workout tonight to shop for Valentine's Day and to make this card. But, I'll be back at the gym tomorrow!!!

Have a Blessed Week and remember all of your loved ones on Saturday! Here's my eye candy -- my cute hubby with his best buddy, Ranger. Always looking natural when I take a photo (NOT!!! ha ha ha!)

TFL!

Teresa

Tag Book, Part 2

2009-02-09T10:07:00.009-06:00

Here's Part 2 of the luggage tag book. This sure was fun to make!

I've recently donated my hair again to help victims of cancer. Please see my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Houston web page, to see how we can support the fight against this awful disease.

http://avonwalk.org/goto/teresa

Thanks for looking at my mini-album. Using Club Scrap papers, I think it turned out really cute for such a goofy topic as a haircut!

Teresa

Simple, Simple Cards for 2 Sketches 4 You (Kazan Sketch 19, week of 2 Feb 2009)

2009-02-05T08:57:00.009-06:00

I needed 4 thank you cards -- quickly -- for the nice ladies that took me for my Farewell lunch last Friday. I just have so much other stuff going on that FAST was my only option. Normally, I have a supply of thank you cards at the ready, but not this time!

So, using Kazan's great sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You, I managed to whip out these cards in about one hour. Simple & easy! The sketch was very adaptable for easy & quick!

Here's the sketch.

The purple card uses Heidi Swapp ghost flower that I spritzed with Glimmer mist. Everything else, I pulled from my stash. The red paper is from a Disney pack that I got at Disney World last fall, "Thank You" is a Sizzlit.

The orange card used Scenic Route paper and everything else from my stash. The label was cut using Spellbinders labels nestabilities.

The pink card used an Embosslit for the hibiscus (Sizzix) using Core'dinations paper -- isn't it cool once it was sanded? And the red & blue card is totally from my stash with the same label nestabilities die cut.

Thanks for looking at my cards. Anyone who wants to check out my progress for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer can look at my web site at http://avonwalk.org/goto/teresa! Just 2 months to go!

A Tag Book (Part 1)

2009-02-04T09:32:00.019-06:00

I got this cool Basic Grey Luggage Tag book as a gift from my sister. I wanted to do a quick little project with it and as I was looking through some photos, I found a dozen from when I had last got my hair cut for Locks of Love in 2005. My husband thinks this is a totally goofy idea for a mini-album, but that's okay because the folks at Simple Scrapbooks are always telling us not to forget ourselves when scrapping! Plus, it was a lot scarier to get all that hair cut off the first time -- it was lots easier the second time!

Most of the papers are Club Scrap -- such lovely colors & textures -- I just love their paper! Ribbon is from my stash and the die cuts are a combo of Sizzix & Quickutz.

Because there's something like 10 pages, I'll just post a few images at a time. Gee, that will keep everyone in suspense, huh? LOL!!

Tag Book Cover

I used the Wordle.net site to make the cover, thanks to Capadia Designs blog tip. This is a really cool web site for printing words. I printed the words on a regular sheet of paper (because I couldn't figure out how to shrink the image, duh) and then copied it onto photo paper. Cool!

Can't wait until I get a digital camera! The background paper is almost navy and the swirly-things are peach! Oh, well.

Page 1 & 2

Thanks for taking a look at my little blog. My next support for cancer is to participate in the Avon Walk in Houston on April 4 & 5. Check out my walk page at http://avonwalk.org/goto/Teresa

Teresa

A thank you card for beautiful paper

2009-01-25T17:22:00.004-06:00

My friend, Maria, got me a surprise gift of a beautiful piece of paper from Papyrus. The texture/stitching is absolutely fabulous and I am planning to use it for the cover of a journal. (I've been making books off and on, certainly this stunning paper is perfect for a book!)

Here's a simple thank you for my friend using Club Scrap paper and felt for Sizzix die cuts. I wanted to mimic the beautiful colors and patterns of the gift paper -- this is the closest I can get because the paper is so wonderful that it can't be copied!! I used Stickles on the flowers & leaves, the "thanks" uses Heidi Swapp rub-ons (so nice -- they don't stick to the wrong places).

Maria does a terrific job with needlepoint but I can't convince her to scrapbook yet. She has two new babies (puppies) and I'm trying to demonstrate that they are perfect subjects to scrapbook! (Of course, her poor cat is getting neglected during puppy potty training -- we still love you, BoBo.)

This is about all I've done this weekend as we are still working in the attic on the radiant barrier. We discovered some leaks in the upstairs A/C unit so spent a good bit of time with mastic (sticky, gooey, yucky, messy, smelly stuff!) patching holes and leaks. It took me 10 minutes just to wash my hands!

After all this work, I've banned the cats from the magic water fountain (aka the bathtub faucet LOL!) so that I can have a bubble bath tonight (bubbles only, no fur, please)! I am ready to try spelunking after squirming around in the attic all weekend! But I have to brag that my wonderful husband, Andy, has done a superb job on the floor in the attic and putting up the radiant barrier. Goodbye to $600 electric bills in the summer!!!! (I hope...)

Thanks for taking a look at my little blog!

A Couple of Cards

2009-01-22T21:48:00.007-06:00

Here are a couple of cards I made this week, in addition to the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge. I am much more pleased with these two cards than I was with my submission for the Kazan's Sketch 18! Funny how some days ideas just pop out of my head faster than I can keep up with them!

The first card is for my sister who has a new job. I had the Sizzix clipboard die cut for a long time and had never used it. I used DCWV glitter mat stack for the clip and the metal thingie (that's a technical term LOL) on the pencil to make it look more realistic. Also used Club Scrap paper and George Cricut cartridge. The "words" on the spiral page are a Club Scrap stamp and the spiral punch is from Stampin' Up.

I mailed this card Monday, so I hope I'm not spoiling the surprise by posting it here.....?

The second card is for my friends Liz and Kevin (who is also a UW ChE grad). I got the little bird Quick Kutz (a Hobby Lobby exclusive) this week and was really wanting to use it! Did you notice the little bling for the bird's eye? My little furry buddies make it almost impossible to keep dots to "i" or the bird's eye when they waltz across my scrapbook desk.......

The background paper is more green than it looks in this scanned image and the middle circle is a little more beige than it looks here, too. I was really happy with how this card turned out and I really LOVE the QK bird -- it's fun to have another tool! The font is Sizzix Playground and all except the pink paper is from Club Scrap -- love the texture of their papers -- so posh!

TFL! Teresa

My First Layout using CDS

2009-01-21T22:01:00.004-06:00

I got myself a New Year's present to go with the Jukebox my wonderful hubby got me for Christmas -- yeah! Cricut Design Software.

Here's my first layout using CDS. I used Base Camp, Going Places, Fabulous Finds, and Cuttin' Up. Many, many thanks to the Cricut Lovers Guide to Design Studio -- I don't think I would have figured out welding without the terrific directions on this blog.

Still the old scanner thing. I don't have a digital camera and my scanner bed is not 12x12 -- but I think the idea is there. I had some wonderful Scrapworks paper in red, green, and burnt yellow tones -- so earthy and I love those colors.

And just for the history buffs -- Cornwallis was trying to find a way into Ireland and declared "by Hook or by Crook" -- I'm in the picture with Hook Head lighthouse ("hook") and the view behind Andy is the island & waterway ("crook").

We really loved our Ireland vacation and I'm having so much fun with my memories as I scrap the trip! My original goal was to finish the scrapbook within a year after the trip, but packing up my scrap stuff to put in storage so we could move has interrupted that plan...by about one year! ha! ha!

First Shaker Box & Kazan's Sketch 18 (week of 19 Jan 2009)

2009-01-20T22:49:00.007-06:00

Well, it's only Tuesday, but it feels like a longer time has passed this week! We are installing radiant barrier in our attic and that's a lot of work! So my evenings are spent in the attic instead of the scrap room :(

I've felt like I've been on a creative roll, many thanks to my sister who introduced me to 2 Sketches 4 You! She's inspired me to try a shaker box, which my very first shaker box is on this card for my friend Kathy based on Kazan's Sketch 18. Kathy reserved & paid for my spot for the Houston Scrapbook Round-Up Shop Hop, along with reservations for other ladies in our scrap group. I thought she deserved a little card that says "hi" and thanks for thinking of us!

Above is Kazan's sketch -- I really like the simplicity of the sketch.

I used Club Scrap cardstock (base of card, shaker box) and the black ribbons & silver ribbon (around the outside of the shaker box), Heidi Swapp flowers, Queen & Co. sequins and brad, Provo Craft (chalkboard paper), white cardstock (unknown), Sizzix Shaker Box die cut (I've had this die cut for how many years and never used it before?), Staz-on ink (for the "hi"), Quick Kutz butterfly (can you see him inside the shaker box?), glitter and mini flower glitter from Hobby Lobby (who had a great sale this week!!!).

I know that this scanned image isn't so great...I've put the word in for a digital camera for my birthday and I've even found a web site that sells the D700 for under $1500!

For my next shaker card attempt, I'll try the mounting tape as this shaker box is really thick -- probably too thick to send through snail mail.

I've been busy on my Ireland scrapbook and I've started a luggage tag book (thanks again to my sister!). I hope I can keep up with the creative roll as I'm being transferred to the Core Engineering group after I've spent nearly 12 years in R&D. I'm excited about the opportunity to train & mentor young engineers but besides my goal to teach, the other reason they wanted me in the group is that I'm in a desirable demographic -- "middle aged" -- and they said this to my face!!! But, it's true Generation X is very small, especially in Engineering.

Well, wish me luck to keep rollin' with the scrappin' and many thanks for taking a look at my card!

Teresa

Howdy Y'All and Laura's Sketch 17 (2S4Y, week of 12 Jan 2009)

2009-01-13T19:56:00.006-06:00

Okay, so I'm back to working on the scrapbook of our Ireland vacation in 2007. Celtic crosses, ruins (courtesy of Henry VIII), monasteries, sheep, and green, green, green. So, where the heck did this card of the great republic of Texas come from?

Here's the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You's challenge this week.

I want to thank Tami for the inspiration -- she showed cutting felt with her Sizzix, so I tried fun foam. Loving that extra thick look! (And I've even used it on the "Glendalough" page in my Ireland scrapbook! LOL!)

Supplies used: Cowboy paper, K & Company; Texas die cut, Cricut 50 States cartridge, black ribbon, Club Scrap; tan paper & black cardstock, unknown; fun foam, Darice; and cowboy hat & boots die cuts, Sizzix.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my card!

2 Sketches 4 You (Kazan Sketch #17 & Peet's Bonus Sketch)

2009-01-07T20:48:00.005-06:00

First, I had two little blessings today. I found a parking spot at the gym very easily tonight, AND it was right across from the front door! Lately, parking has been a real bugger. I know, the part about going to the gym and having a parking spot near the front door is a bit like ordering a DIET soda with the baker's dozen donuts! LOL!

Then, just as I was finishing up at the gym, I looked out the window and there was an amazing sunset! Beautiful pink stripes floating across the deep blue sky. Very, very pretty!

So, these things make me feel a little better about the sketches this week at 2 Sketches 4 You. I'm not so good with the wavy line concept and my hubby doesn't think my card looks at all like Kazan's sketch. Oh well!

For this card, I used paper scraps from my stash, white rick rack from Hobby Lobby, black rick rack & butterfly stamp from Club Scrap, tag stamp & tag punches from Stampin' Up. The tag says "Happy Valentine's Day" but it's kind of hard to see in the scanned image.

I really liked the simplicity of Peet's Bonus sketch! I think I'll use this design again. I made a birthday card for my dad's upcoming birthday. The printed paper is from KI Memories, the circle frame from KMA, the navy glitter paper from Club Scrap. I used some pretty sturdy adhesive on the "77" and wish it had been glued on straight instead of at an angle. But, there is kind of a flow up and to the right -- maybe I can think of an artistic reason explanation for that! LOL!

Okay, my cat just brought me one of his toys -- I'd better sign off and go play! Luckily, I'm wearing jeans & tennis shoes, so he can kill his mouse to his heart's content & I get no scratches!

Thanks for taking a look at my cards and have a wonderful day!

Teresa

January Thoughts and a Birthday Card

2009-01-06T19:40:00.003-06:00

This week it feels a lot more like January (46 deg F this morning) -- last week, it was 80 deg F in Houston and I had to run the A/C.

I'm not big into New Year's Resolutions. As one of the hosts on KSBJ said, "If you know you need to make a change in your life, why wait until January First?" However, this year I want to stay quiet and follow God's will in my life. I've been reading the Mitford series by Jan Karon and I think there's a lot to be said for the simple life in a small town....as long as there's a scrapbook store in that small town! LOL!

My friend, Kathy, already has our Show 'N Tell lunches organized for this year. I'll have to send them my blog link so they can see the birthday card I made for my sister. I'm ever so grateful to share a passion for scrapbooking with her -- she does a terrific job on her cards and I am constantly inspired by her creativity. (I confess that sometimes all I have for Show 'N Tell are Tami's cards, especially if I've been travelling a lot for work.)

Here's the birthday card I sent Tami. I don't usually use pink, but I found a virgin Heidi Swapp kit hidden away in my room -- and of course, thinking of Heidi makes me think PINK! I also was inspired by one of Dawne Ivey's happy new year cards (pg. 96) in the Dec '08 issue of Cards (my great hubby got me the magazine for Christmas).

Thanks for taking a look at my blog!

2 Sketches 4 You (Laura's Sketch 16)

2008-12-31T16:11:00.004-06:00

After a sunny 2 week Caribbean vacation, I feel relaxed AND creative. I sketched a scrapbook page layout almost every day in my journal so that the Puerto Rico scrapbook should go quicker than normal!

Today feels like Friday, since I got 2 extra comp days for 2008 and will not have to go back to work until Tuesday, 6 January 2009! Instead of working on house projects, I'm giving myself a "crop-in-house". Now, we'll see how much my little furry friends help me......

With such a great Christmas, we needed lots of thank yous! And, I recently subscribed to Quick Quotes canvas club of the month (yeah, like I need more scrapbook club of the month stuff...LOL!). I've used their yummy "Brown Sugar Collection" papers on these cards. (Other supplies are flowers: unknown, brads: unknown, bling: Michaels, stamps & ink: Stampin' Up, chipboard: from Tami's ideas cut with Sizzix, paint: Making Memories.)

Andy said he liked the second card better since it has two flowers -- he hadn't seen the sketch but I thought the first one was closer to the sketch. I kinda view the sketches as guidelines and idea starters! I'm not very good at being exacting (probably why I'm a terrible cook -- I tend to forget ingredients).

Especially a big thank you to Tami for the Quick Kutz. Hobby Lobby has these dies and the coupon does not generally exclude Quick Kutz. Yeah! I'm going to have some fun!

Happy & Safe New Year to all! (And I say good riddance to 2008!)

Thanks for looking at my blog.
Teresa

2 Sketches 4 You (Kazan Sketch 15)

2008-12-09T13:44:00.011-06:00

OOOOh! A Scor-It tool! I saw this on Craft TV Weekly (www.tvweekly.com) about a year ago -- so totally cool!!!!

I was inspired by the colors in a Pottery Barn catalog for the birthday card. I turned Kazan's sketch 90 degrees (from portrait style to landscape style). When I saw the sketch, it looked like a door to me. I put a slit into a sheet of cardstock and slipped the "card" inside (see the second scanned image where the "card" is opened

Supplies include: cardstock & printed background paper (Club Scrap), tab punch (Stampin' Up), flowers (American Craft), bling (Precious Finds), and glimmer mist (Tattered Angels, though I'm not sure how well the glimmer shows up in the scanned images). I also used Cricut Teardrop font ("Happy"), Sizzix Junk Drawer font ("birthday"), Spellbinders (shapes).

For Heidi's bonus sketch, I used K&Company Christmas paper, Sizzix ornament diecut, Sizzix Curlie Girlie font, Mizuhiki paper cord, ribbon & brads (unknown). I wanted to use the word "jubilant" but it's just too long for a card because I was feeling very JUBILANT yesterday when the contractor finally came to cut the granite for my cooktop. In the past 6 months, I've learned that even minor remodelling is not for the faint of heart!

I hope everyone has a terrific holiday! Thanks for taking a look at my cards.

Gift Card Holders

2008-12-06T18:31:00.005-06:00

Today, my husband finished his Christmas shopping (I'm already done and delivered family gifts over Thanksgiving!). He ended up with a few gift cards. I made a couple of gift card holders based on the stampmycard.com design from the 12 Days of Christmas 2007.

This is best suited for 2-sided paper. I used an assortment of supplies and scraps that were on hand. There is room for a personal message (see the top left image).

2 Sketches 4 You (1 Dec 2008 Sketch)

2008-12-05T08:09:00.000-06:00

This is the first time I've blogged! Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my sister showed me the 2 Sketches 4 You site. I thought, "This is cool!"

I needed to make a birthday card for my friend, who is turning the BIG 4-0, and I decided to use the sketch. For my birthday, one of my friends gave me a birthday paper & embellishment kit by Colorbok (Dena's Closet) so I've used that paper for Maria's card.

Other supplies: Cardstock & Ribbon (Club Scrap); Photo Corner (Heidi Swap); Chipboard (Plain Jane); Ink (Ranger Distress); and Patterned Paper, Embellishment ("4" & "0"), & Transparency Quote (Colorbok kit).

Since we moved to a different house in May, I haven't had much time to scrapbook. I'm hoping the card challenges will get my creativity flowing again. I have two more cards for next week (Christmas gift exchange and another birthday) -- I can't wait to see the sketches.