World Card Making Day - Recap

I so need to get back on schedule...  For some reason this fall it is much harder to fit it all in during a 24 hour period.

I had great plans for WCMD but alas they didn't happen quite the way I envisioned and instead of a quiet afternoon of listening to Elmo with the child sitting enthralled with the furry red guy and me making cards I squeezed in 1 single card just before midnight.  It was based on a card I found here which was based on a sketch from the Sketch Frenzy Friday Team Blog.  I am not sure why this keeps loading on it's 'side' but I admit defeat...  Anyway turn your head on the side over your left shoulder and you'll see my WCMD contribution.

Sunday morning I had everything out and ready to go so when I gave up sleeping I got 16 more Christmas cards together for Operation Write Home.  It was a good day.  Below are a sampling:  the first card is a second go at the sketch but I made the green snowflake paper slightly smaller dimensions and I like it better, then is just 4 squares of co-ordinating paper with a cute wreath from my stash that is wrapped in metal, I took strips that were leftovers from cutting the paper to size and layered them for this card (the Merry Christmas is across the top and hard to see but once it's down it down so this may be swapped out and stay in my card stash), and the last in this grouping used holly that was in the same package as the wreath.

 This grouping is using  a vellum quote adhered with 10 brads (my spacing was slightly off so it too may be swapped out), under it is just a simple layered card using patterned paper and sticker sentiment and last is another simple layered card.

 All paper is from a 8x8 Making Memories paper/sticker pack I have had for some time.  The Vellum quote is from DCWV and the rest is from my stash. 

I still have some promised photos to get up on here but we ran into a slight problem in that the hard drive is fired on our other computer that was used for all our photos.  And before you ask no a recent backup hadn't been done....  I'll be a nag about that in future you can count on it.

Bad Blogger VERY bad blogger...

My apologies for not posting sooner.  I have no excuse except life happened...  I have several great shots of Reece and Miss Amanda on their last day together however we had techincal difficulties (read fried hard drive) they will show up soon I promise along with a bunch of cards I have recently done.  Well once we figure out what is wrong with the photoshop on this computer.

Without further ado here is what I worked on yesterday and finished today.  With only a few (3 off the top of my head) exceptions everything is from one of my favorite manufacturers ~ Fancy Pants.  I got the All Fall album, 8x8 paper pack, printed chipboard alphabet and printed chipboard shapes at the MemoryWorks Retreat (2009 I think) for a killer deal.  I used a kraft cardstock base (half Prism and half Archiver's) on all pages, ribbon & brads from my stash are used sparingly.  The 'crayons' on his First Grade page are ancient - purchased shortly after he was born if memory serves... The album covers 3 years of Preschool - Grade 12 and has 4 pages for activities etc at the back.  Since my son is only in Second grade I am way ahead of the game for once and will place one school picture from each year with limited journaling in this one and do more in depth stuff in his 12x12 album.  The design for these pages was found in the MiniMaps November 2006 it is the 4 across the bottom of the page there.

It takes a village...

and a member of my son's village is moving on to new adventures. 

Today's post is hard for me to write but maybe if I get some of the tears out today doing this I'll make it out of the building tomorrow without completely losing my composure.  As some of you know my son has Down syndrome and as yet is non-verbal.  We have had many wonderful Speech Language Therapists over these past 7 years but no one has *got* Reece like Miss Amanda - NO ONE!  She can read his mood almost as well as I can, she calls him on slacking off when instead of work he wants to play and she has helped to give him a voice through PECS.  And now when he is on the verge of saying his first words she is leaving Elks Pediatrics.  Don't get me wrong we are thrilled she is embarking on a new chapter of her life and wish her only the best and I'm sure his school therapists will be glad to no longer hear - that's not what Miss Amanda does.   But...I can't help but, totally and completely selfishly, wish she wasn't exiting our lives not when we are so close to her seeing the culmination of her hard work.

And so the gift for Miss Amanda had to be as special as she is - no pressure there right?   I am not sure I pulled it off but I am pleased with the end result even though I see some things I would tweak here and there.  That said I don't think there has been a project I haven't felt that way about {wink wink}.  And now without further ado I give you Miss Amanda's Farewell gift...  

I found this tray at Fred Meyer and saw so much potential even before I knew my friend Alex had these awesome stamps.  Once I got it home I used black StazOn ink to give is some character then due to the tray being 14" long and not wanting to piece together a solid base I used 2 smaller pieces of My Mind's Eye Star Bright Paisley Pop from the Just Dreamy line.  Once they were glued down I applied several coats of Mod Podge. 

I then stamped the Sign Alphabet rubber stamp set from http://www.deafresources.com/ (thanks Alex).  I colored each finger a different color using Prisma pens (thanks April as I forgot mine at home).  They were punched out using a 1" circle punch which was then mounted on a 1 1/2" circle cut out of Bazzill using my Cricut (thanks Jay).  I then covered them in clear contact paper and hand cut those out (yeah I suck at cutting but it's clear so you don't really notice they aren't perfect - SHHH! don't burst my bubble).  They then had a piece of magnet place on the back so they would stick to the tray (thanks Nej for recommending the magnetic vent covers at Home Depot).  Here's a close up...

The thought is that Miss Amanda can use this from time to time with the kids she works with which is why I colored each finger a different color to help show what each finger does in each letter/number.  I made it to hang as, honestly it was the only tray they had and it was a tad warped so will not sit flat. 

This awesome image is courtesy of my friend Alex, who also colored it.  And it has very special meaning to all who know the story behind it...see that isn't just any little fairy - that my friends is the BRANDT Fairy.   Named after Alex's youngest who just happens to sign due to a hearing impairment.  And you too can get a Brandt Fairy at Paper Makeup .  And so it truly does take a village to raise a child and make a farewell gift for a special lady who means so much in his life and thereby ours.  

So thank you to Alex, April, Nej (who is also color consultant - even tho I didn't have time to recolor the images for this one I'm making a second set for Miss Amanda) and Jay for helping make this gift happen.

And THANK YOU to Miss Amanda for your years of work with Reece - for getting to know him, for giving him a voice, for helping him get to where he is and for just being one of the best SLPs we have had the honor of knowing.  May your new journey be rewarding, fulfilling and full of people as special as you are...

Christmas in July and other holidays...

Wow where did the time go last month?  It seems like just yesterday July was starting...  I have been a bad blogger but am hoping things have calmed down somewhat now and I can get back to a regular schedule. 

For now I am sharing a card I did for Operation Write Home's Christmas in July challenge.  This was posted last Wednesday on the Stars and Stamps blog.

This is a Dustin Pike image colored with Prisma PM-4, PM-31, PM-61, PM-172.  The patterned paper is from my scrap bin so no idea who made it (sorry) and the Happy Holidays stamps are really cool ones I won.  They are from a set of self inking stamps that sit in a tray - all Christmas themed.  *Note to self get a photo of them!  I think I need a touch of bling on here so am looking for something to go before, between and after the Happy Holidays.

Next up is one of 2 Halloween cards I did.  Image is also by Dustin Pike and also colored with Prisma PM-16, PM-25, PM-111, PM-147.  I love the little feet so can see myself using this image again and again.  Ribbon is from my stash and patterned paper is from my scraps.

This card is made using all the same materials as above but I did not use Prisma PM-147 on it.  I did take my black Colorbox Chalk Ink and a paper towel to 'scuff up' the image as I felt it fit the theme better.

Next up is a card I was inspired to make after looking through the July/August 2010 issue of Paper Crafts magazine.  The 'Thank You Very Much' card on page 39 was designed by Heidi Van Laar and I LOVE it!

In her design Heidi used 16 squares that were small enough to fit 4 across a 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 card.  We use 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 for OWH as envelopes are readily available for a decent price and you can fit way more of them into the shipping boxes {wink wink}.  I again raided my scraps bin, you'll be seeing that a lot if you come back, and used the only square punch I have at the moment and punched as many 1 inch squares as I could from each pattern - bonus they are double sided so twice the bang for my buck.  I then rounded the 2 opposite corners and placed then with the pointed corners to the middle.  Used a 1 inch circle punch for the center also using the same paper to get what I am calling my pinwheel card.  I see so many possibilities with this and am looking forward to playing with the rest of the squares to see what I come up with.  I inked the edges of all the patterned paper with Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut brown.  Sentiment is a Stampabilities stamp using black Memento ink.

Now just for fun I did a card using one of the stamps (a Kolette Hall for Studio G) my cousin Shauna sent me.  We are both Canadian born but now living in the US.  We recently discovered our love of anything with 'home' on it when we are together in Edmonton.  This will get a sentiment when I figure out who is getting it and why  but I still wanted to share.

And to close today a photo I took last night.  I love 90% of the ones we got but this one just screamed share me today.  I did the shoot hoping to find one to enter in this years photo contest at the Fair but am having a hard time deciding.  I think I have it narrowed down to 2 which are being printed as I type so we'll see if they look the same in person as they did on the computer last night.

It's a Bling Thing

I know it's been a while but I have been on the road to dog shows and then tossed a quick trip home to Canada for a funeral...  Not the reason I wanted to see everyone but catching up with them all was wonderful!  Add to this that my son needs to have all his lessons completed by the 15th for promotion with ID Virtual Academy - I hope you'll understand my absence.

While at the dog shows in Montana I had a chance to be reintroduced to a lovely young woman who has two of the best parents.  And when I stumbled across a sheet of paper by Marah Johnson for Creative Imaginations I just knew I *HAD* to do something with it for her.  I hope she enjoys it when it eventually gets into her hands as much as I did making it.

So I found out that Qiana likes purple, pink and sparkles from her Mom.  Plum by Making Memories went well with the paper I was using but once done it seemed, well a tad bland so I dug out some glitter I have had for ages and then sealed it with Diamond Glaze (note to self:  it needs time to dry - DUH! But no one will know I had to make a new I right?!?)  Don't you agree that the bracket on the left is much better than the one on the right?

 Here is the front of the completed composition book I altered as a note/coloring book.  Between the glitter and the foil on the paper we needed to take the photo while I tilted the book as the bling was too for the camera to deal with.

Unfortunately to use the "I'm kind of a BIG DEAL" and keep the scroll intact I needed to turn the book on it's side it also made it impossible to use one sheet of paper for both sides of the book without piecing together the back.  I 'hid' the seems with some huge flowers from My Mind's Eye that were hanging around just waiting to belong to some special little girl.  The butterfly begged to go with them [wink]. 

Sorry for the crooked photo it's been a long day here.  I normally put at least 2 layers of decoupage over the covers but worry about drying time as we are using the swamp cooler all day every day and the extra humidity is playing havoc with things (did you read about the I?)  It's only the back that really needs to be sealed due to the layers but my mind is not allowing me to make any more decisions tonight.

Next post will be a belated look at what I made for my hubby for Father's Day - I was off at dog shows for it so hid it and had him and our son find it that morning.

A Couple For the Road

I am heading off on my Grand Adventure...  I'm making my first solo trip in our new trailer - well actually it is also the first trip for the trailer period!  Yeah a but nervous but I'm heading to dog shows and I know if I run into trouble there is not a better group of people to be seeking assistance from.

I made this first card at a Retreat back in 2009 but found it just recently in my stash and thought I'd share it.  I love the simplicity and the ease which with it goes together.  A shout out to Jamie for her design.  Jamie worked for Prism cardstock - a moment of silence please if you would as my beloved Prism is no more...

Cardstock - Prism, Giraffe Paper - ?? it was in the class material and I can find no information

These next cards were made on the 6th while I throughly enjoyed 7 glorious hours of playing with paper in the company of some inspiring friends.   I LOVE Dustin Pike's work and the Snake is his design.  And what is more perfect for a snake to say than Missss you?  That's what I thought too and so I typed up the sentiment to add.  I do wish I had matted the image and sentiment to make it pop more but these won't be my last using this image so I will learn from it and move on.

Base and green paper from my stash, Striped paper from my friend Nej's stash, Edge punch - EK Success, Image - Dustin Pike, Colored with Prisma markers (some of mine some of Nej's), Sentiment - done in Word, Heart - CTMH

And finally is the cute turtle...  I am ashamed to admit that I don't remember where I got her from (hanging my head in shame) but isn't she adorable?  Perfect for the little lady in someone's life. 

Cardstock Base and Mat - Bazzill, Patterned Paper - my stash, Image - I'll add it as soon as I find it, Colored with Prisma Markers (my collection and Nej's)

I'll be back in roughly 10 days and hope to have a lot to share with you then as I am taking my card making supplies and hope to be bringing it home in an assembled state - wink wink

OWH Stars & Stamps Sketch

This is a quick card made using scraps and following the sketch found here...