I Hate Being Sick!!

Snow day on Friday, but I was too sick to enjoy it! Then I spent all day Saturday (8am - 10pm) at a college campus for a competition - kids did really well, though. Leaving me really sick all day Sunday. Today, I was back at school & still sick. Did I mention that I'm sick of being sick!! I've been on the phone helping parents of gifted kiddos in western PA for 3 hours tonight. I guess I'll try stamping again tomorrow. I need to make a b-day card for dad & get some ink on my new stamps!!

My Bees-ness

What a grueling day! My elementary students are preparing posters for a statistics contest, and my middle schoolers are preparing for a science competition being held on Saturday. I'm so drained!! From engaging the little ones' creative sides to managing adolescents' nervousness, I feel like I teach a bunch of vampires. Thank goodness, I adore them. (In case this sounds confusing, I teach/advise gifted & talented students in grades 2nd - 12th. I've had the same students for five years now, so it's like our own crazy family.)

So the card. I love it. How did I ever come up with this after such a crazy day! I looked at the Wednesday sketch challenge on SCS and didn't want to work on it right away. I picked up this stamp and DP recently and worked for awhile to come up with my final project. I used my Cricut to cut out the scalloped circles and circle. I hand cut the flowers from the DP (Paper Studio Emily's Flowers) and glued them to the front. The bee is done with Prismacolor watercolor pencils. The whole card just makes me smile - I hope it does the same for you!

Ingredients:

Stamps - Autumn Leaves bumble bee, Inque Boutique Thank You Mini

Paper - SU Real Red, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Very Vanilla; DP Emily's Flowers & Emily's Ric Rac Stripe

Ink - SU Basic Black, Real Red, Certainly Celery

Accessories - Cricut Mini Monogram cartridge, Prismacolor watercolor pencils

Bella Birthday

Tomorrow is one of my co-worker's birthdays. We'll have muffins and juice to celbrate tomorrow morning, so I thought I'd bring a Bella to the party. What a great Bella sketch challenge this week (#16). I love this DP I picked up at Hobby Lobby over the weekend (-sorry for the endless rant of all of my Hobby Lobby buys. Ribbon is from there, too! :). Pink Random Dots and Pink and Brown Random Stripes is from the Paper Studio. It makes me think of ice cream.

WSC35 - Reality Check

Who doesn't dream of a tropical getaway when they're up to their eyeballs in work and it's snowing outside? This card was the perfect escape. I found the stamps (Clearly Wordsworth Vacation set) on clearance sale at Hobby Lobby on Saturday. They were a steal at $5!! I can't wait to use the other images.

Ingredients:

Stamps - Clearly Wordsworth Vacation

Paper - SU Certainly Celery, DCWV Blue, Brown, DP

Ink - SU Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Basic Black

Accessories - Prima flowers, antique copper brads, Prismacolor watercolor pencils

Now back to reality...

Hong Kong Phooey

Da da da da...



Here's the treat I'm making for my students competing at the regional PJAS (Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science) competition this Saturday. I think they'll get a 'kick' out of the sentiment and the Kisses cookies inside will be graciously welcomed! The cookies are housed in the one sheet box as seen here.

I absolutely love this stamp. I picked it up at Hobby Lobby on Saturday for 50% off- woohoo! Karate Girl is from Stampabilities. Now that I home (and almost 2 hours away from Hobby Lobby), I wish I bought the Karate Boy stamp as well. Will I ever learn? I guess I just give myself reasons to return!

Don't You Love Shopping?!

Archivers and Hobby Lobby - I went, I bought, I came home happy!!

Oh the goodies...
Easter stamps from Stampendous
A fun karate stamp - watch for a project soon
Flower stamps and other miscellaneous stamps
Prima flowers
Loads of DP
Gemstone embellishments
Some extra acrylic blocks (50% off at Hobby Lobby :)
Ribbon
And more.

I can't wait to use it all!

To top it all off, I found some cute St. Patrick's Day kitchen towels at TJ Maxx Home Goods and ate some delish pancakes at IHOP. Life is good!

Thanks for being so sweet

Here are two thank you's I made for students who brought me in Valentine treats. I got this cute cupcake stamp at Pat Catan's for $1!! Besides the cupcake and cherry, it also comes with a candle and sentiment (Another Yummy Birthday) stamp. I knew it would work so nicely for Valentine thank you's.

Ingredients:

Stamps - Inque Boutique Yummy Birthday

Paper - Brown, White, SU Groovy Guava, Ruby Red

Ink - SU Groovy Guava, Ruby Red

Accessories - Ribbon (Michaels), Word Window punch, Slit punch, Gelly Roll glitter pen

Off to Archivers!!

Just a quick post before I leave. My mom and I are taking a short road trip to Akron, OH to the Archiver's. Yippee!! It's a Make It & Take It Weekend, so we'll have some fun playing as well as spending money. I'm hoping to stop at Hobby Lobby in Youngstown on the way back home because I've heard a bunch of others mention it in their blogs. I love days off of work!

Ciao for now!

Bugs & Kisses

Couldn't resist making another Valentine when I came across another SCS member's Bugs & Kisses card. What great inspiration for this week's sketch challenge. I included the sentiment on the inside of this card for my aunt. She sent me a great card today about shoes. I'll have to post a photo - it's hilarious!

I love the black, white, and red. I think I could use black in almost every card. I love how it adds crispness and makes everything pop. Ribbon is from Michaels.

Lip Therapy

Here are the chapstick holders that I made for my middle school students for Valentines' Day. My elementary kiddos are getting gum holders. I wanted to use the pig from MFT Punny Farm, so I could add the sentiment Hogs & Kisses. However, I didn't have much time. I used Me & My Big Ideas DP - isn't it cute. The ribbon went perfectly - I'm sure I'll hear complaints tomorrow about the knots :)

Here are the dimensions for the chapstick holder:
Outside:
5.75" by 3.5" (Score at 2.5" and 3.25" on longer side)
Inside:
5.5" by 3.25" (Score at 2.375" and 3.125" on longer side)
Cut horizontal slits in center scored section at 5/8", 1 1/8", 2 1/8", 2 5/8" - Slits need to extend slightly beyond score lines

Valentine Tweets

It's 5:30am, and I just got a call saying my school has a 2hr delay. There's so much snow outside. At least, I get to go in 2 hours later on this delay. I'm wondering if they'll end up cancelling. The forecast doesn't look too promising. I'd rather go; otherwise, my Easter break loses another day :(

Anyways, I joined the Target mailbox revolution. I love Target. You can find anything there. It's always clean and organized (unlike some other supercenters - you know who I'm referring to). Finding these cute mailboxes is just another good buy!

I love the DP on the mailbox. I used my Snag 'Em Chick stamp that I recently got from Martha's Choice for a buck! I also bought the Shore Thing penguins and popscicles. I have an idea swimming in my head for those guys.

Well, I think I go back to sleep for a little while before I need to get ready to leave. Ciao!

Happy Birthday, my stylish friend!

Tomorrow is my best friend's birthday. This card took me forever, and I'm still not satisfied. I like the colors, the flowers & buttons, and the sentiment (the inside reads, "Happy Birthday, my stylish friend!"). The Shopabellas were really tricky! I recolored them three times - they are smaller than my other Bellas and I cut one off. I wanted to stick to just a few colors, but I couldn't make just a few work.

I know she'll love it, so I figured time to move on to wrapping her gift. I bought this gorgeous Martha Stewart gift wrap at Michaels on clearance then spent a ton on coordinating ribbon. I'll upload a picture when I have it wrapped.

Stix It To 'Em

Some of my students competed in a math competition yesterday. It's a draining morning - 2 hours of solving complicated math word problems. I wanted to take them a good luck treat that they'd be able to snack on during their break. After scouting Target & Walmart for healthy, individually wrapped snacks, I came across the Pringles Stix. Yummy. I bought the pizza flavored and came up with this little holder.

Here's a template with dimensions. Please let me know if it doesn't work - this is my first attempt with templates (hopefully, it gets easier!!)

For my holders, I used some cardstock from JoAnn's, MFT Punny Farm cow stamp, DCWV DP, and b&w polka dot ribbon. I added a sentiment that I printed off the computer. The kids got a kick out of them.

Gum, Anyone?

What an exciting challenge! MFT opened up a challenge for the opportunity to be a guest designer for March. The challenge's theme is "I Want Candy" suggesting a creation of a 3D project involving candy.

I was bummed out a few days ago when I forgot to use the sentiment "I Chews Ewe" on my students' Valentines gum holders, so here was my chance! I love how it turned out!!

I created the 'wrapper' out of Cameo Coral. Then I placed a Chocolate Chip layer on the top (I stamped 'Baa' all over it, but it's difficult to see) and tied a ribbon (Michaels) to one end. To the ribbon, I attached the sentiment that I printed off the computer (font - Joyful Juliana) and cut out using my word window punch. I cut the circle and scalloped circle using my Cricut and embellished the sheep with Liquid Applique. I hole punched the gum and added ribbon as a pull.

Happy Valenswine Day!

I had so much fine with this week's sketch challenge. I finished the card in no time, and I think it's adorable. I love MFT Punny Farm! I originally purchased the set for the sheep, but I've already had so many ideas for the other images. Be on the lookout! I can't wait to see their new releases.

Here's my card:


I love the combination of pinks, black, and white even if it does remind me of the late 80s/early 90s.

The pigs' heads are raised as well as their noses (dimensions and glue dots). I used Prismacolor watercolor pencils and printed the sentiment from my computer. Ribbon is from Michael's.

Ingredients:
Stamps: MFT Punny Farm
Paper: DCWV, DP
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: White eyelets, Ribbon, Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, Horizontal Slot punch, Slit punch

I Chews Ewe!

Here's a photo of the Trident Gum Holders I'm going to give to my students for Valentines' treats. I wanted to use the sentiment "I Chews Ewe," but I didn't remember until I had half of them done. No biggie - Wool You Be Mine? is equally adorable!

I used liquid applique on the sheep to make them puffy. I kept playing around with adding ribbon. I wasn't happy with anything I tried, and I figured the kids wouldn't care anyway. With new health standards, figuring out treat options has been tricky. The sugar-free gum will have them tickled pink!

Ingredients:
Stamps - MFT Punny Farm
Paper - SU Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla
Ink - Basic Black, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red
Accessories - Word Window Punch, Cricut (Georges & Basic Shapes), Liquid Applique, Prismacolor Black Watercolor Pencil

There's a great tutorial on creating Trident gum holders on Angie's blog -
http://chicnscratch.typepad.com/chic_n_scratch/2007/11/trident-gum-hol.html

Case-ing Renee

Well I participated in my first FS Challenge. Renee has such a wonderful collection, so I had no problem coming up with ideas. It was tricky picking just one, but I did.


Here's the card I case'd:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/680853?cat=500&ppuser=63705)

I changed the color combo, stamps, shape of tags, and used wire instead of linen cotton thread. I love the images from MFT Punny Farm. I need to get started on my students' Valentines - I'm going to use the sheep image and the 'Wool You Be Mine?' sentiment.

Where has the time gone?

So. Here I am. Finally finding some time to care for my blog. I was so excited when I started this journey. Then life has pulled me in other directions. Luckily, all has calmed down for now (except for my battle with a pesky cold) and I've been papercrafting once again.


Now for sharing. I have a few things, and I anticipate some more in the next few days.


First is my card for SCS Card Sketch Challenge from two weeks ago. I used SU Stew Pot Pals - I love this set, but I find it difficult to use. I started the card two weeks ago, but just finished it yesterday. I think I lost some of my inspiration along the way, but I'm still pleased with it.




Now on to another card that I actually finished two weeks ago, but finally got around to photographing and uploading it yesterday. It uses Changito from Stampendous. I purchased the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Changito set this summer to make welcome back cards for my students, and I fell in love with him in the process. Expect more cards featuring him in upcoming posts.




Ingredients:
Stamps: Stampendous Perfectly Clear Changito the Monkey
Paper: SU Really Rust, Old Olive, More Mustard
Ink: SU Basic Black & Old Olive
Accessories: Buttons, Green Raffia, Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, Cricut Mini Monograms cartridge