Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Riffin' on Yesterday's Jane

Today's cards use the same elements as yesterday's card but gave me a chance to use the tiny little stamps that come with the Simply Jane set from Papertrey. They also gave me a chance to pull out a couple more border punches and play around with them. Oh how I love my punches!




Does anyone else think the word "missed" in the above sentiment is hard to read? The handwritten font is pretty, but man, that word doesn't look right. It's the "m" that's to blame, I think.


I'm eyeball deep in chaos still, and fighting a cold. Whine, whine.

On a happier note, please remember that the last OLW is extended until NEXT Wednesday, so keep playing!!!!




Monday, April 9, 2012

Blue Card Base and Simply Jane

Here's a rather straightforward card using PTI's Simply Jane, a Fiskar's border punch, and dimensionals.



I just love that quotation from Northanger Abbey. I need to reread that one...been a while, and I do love Jane.

What's your favorite Austen novel?

I'm torn between Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.





Sunday, April 8, 2012

What Unusual Color Combos Do You Love?

I've used this layout before...several times...with different snowflakes and similarly shaped sentiments. Nothing original here, but I sure love these colors, that snowflake, and the perfectly perfect sentiment. A lot.




Marina Mist and Sahara Sand, both by StampinUp, look awesome together, and while they generally seem a bit more beachy than Christmasy, I still love them for snowflake-themed cards. So soft and pretty!

What's your favorite odd color combo you have used on any themed card (not just Christmas)?


Supplies
stamps: PTI Winterberry
ink: SU
paper: PTI white
accessories: tag punch (marvy), floss, corner rounder, envelope

Friday, April 6, 2012

The OLW85 InLinkz Button and Other Stuff

The OLW85 InLinkz button is up and running on the sidebar. Sorry that took so long.

Today's Simply Jane card reflects the way I want my life to look...serene, peaceful, pretty.




This, however, is what my life really looks like:




See, my life looks upside down, just like my dining room table. The bolts on one leg are stripped after eight moves, and the picture alerts me to just how wretched and worn the upholstery is on the chairs. My bolts are stripped and my upholstery is worn after ten moves...and I'll be perfectly happy when I've screwed myself together and recovered myself. Military life wears a person down!

My house looks like...well, I don't know what it looks like, exactly, but it's a mess. We slept on real beds last night, which was delightful. My husband burst out in song when he came home from work yesterday..."Reunited, and it feels so gooood!"

I alternate between giggles of glee and wanting to burst into tears at the sheer quantity of work to be finished before we can find the stinking extension cord so I can hang curtains with my corded drill. If we'd bought a cordless drill years ago, we'd now be unable to find the charger, so whatever the case, I'd be, well let's just go ahead and commit a pun, screwed.

Today's card is a serene reflection of the order and dignity I crave at the moment. It also reflects the limitations of Memento's original line of inks. The baby blue is too light, and I hope, hope, hope the new colors fill in that gap in the blues. We shall see.

No amount of personal chaos, however, could make me forget that this is Good Friday or that Sunday I will sing, with countless other voices, the old Charles Wesley hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today.

Happy Easter!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Ink (Simply Jane)
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white
accessories: small pearls, corner rounder



Tuesday, April 3, 2012

One-Layer Wednesday 85: No Sentiment

Jennifer's computer melted down last week, and we are both having a crazy time of it...she with work and illness, and I with moving. Finally. But both of us are feeling overwhelmed and a little guilty about not commenting on entries. So this will be the last OLW for at least a few weeks while we both try to catch up and catch our breath and regroup. Please know that we really, truly appreciate each and every entry!

This week's OLW is to use no words, no sentiment whatsoever, on the outside of the card. Because that is the opposite of me...I use lots of words all the time until people wish I'd just shut up. This card's image says it all.



OLW85 Rules

1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of card stock folded in half. No other layers allowed.

2. Use only images...no words. For an extra challenge, make it a Christmas card. Nothing like getting a head-start! Keep embellishments to a minimum.

3. Upload your card somewhere on the interwebs and link back to it using the InLinkz button on the sidebar of Simplicity. (I'll get the button up on Wednesday as soon as I can!)

4. As always, HAVE FUN!!!

Supplies
stamps: PTI Winterberry
ink: Memento
paper: PTI
accessories: white pearls, corner rounder, ribbon, glue dot

Monday, April 2, 2012

Gettin' Textural

I've had this scrap of cotton on my desk for months...even through moving that desk from the bedroom to the sliding door nook. The texture of this selvage edge is fabulous, but not exactly my style. The scrap of green ribbon also has a lovely texture and had joined the fabric weeks ago.

This weekend I decided to do something with them, and this is what happened.



All this natural organic texture is a little different for me, but I love how all the pieces work together. Natural cotton, cheerful green ribbon, even more cheerful orange and white baker's twine. The right-justified sentiment from PTI just works perfectly.

(Note: the ribbon is mounted on a strip of card stock to give it body since I popped it up.)

I'm still not organized enough to show pictures of my crafting nook yet, but we're getting there. All our furniture will be moved into the new house on Thursday. Yeah!!! No more sleeping on an air mattress!!! If you want to see a picture of our new house without the orange stucco, check out my other blog post here.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Tutorial For Extending Punch Width

Wow. That has to be the single most boring tutorial title ever. It's illuminating without being at all interesting.

How about Another Super-Cool Punch Toot?

Not illuminating, but at least intriguing. And if you're in the right mood, perhaps a little crude.

By the way, I don't like the crafting world's shortening of tutorial into tut. A tutorial isn't an Egyptian pharaoh. Spell it out, please, because I'm right. You know I am.

But perhaps I should stop dictating usage standards and get to the real reason you are here....

Some punches, like SU's word window punch and Fiskar's folder tab punch, can be used to create elongated punched shapes. It's really quite easy, one of those tricks that makes you slap your forehead and say, "Duh!" when you first hear of it. If I hadn't seen this done by someone else (wish I could remember who!) years ago with the word window punch, I would never in a million years have thought to do it with the folder tab punch. I'm not that creative, but I am willing to share someone else's cool idea with you.

1. Punch the shape you want to extend out of a piece of scrap. Measure its height. Don't try to measure the actual punch because you might make a mistake and waste time and paper and make yourself lose control and scream expletives at the too-wide strip that won't fit into the punch. Not that I've ever done that. I'm very level headed in my craft room. As you can see, this shape is 5/8" tall.


2. Cut a strip of card stock the exact height of the punched shape and much longer than you will need for your elongated punched shape. It's easier to manage if the strip is at least two inches longer on the right side. You'll see why in the next photos.

3. Hold the punch so the metal part is up. Slip the left side of the strip into the punch until it is lined up where you want it to punch. See, that extra length on the right is useful to hold onto, isn't it? Well, trust me, it is. Then, punch.



4. Slip the right side of the strip into the right side of the punch and use that extra length to position it just where you want it. Then punch the heck out of it.


5. And this is what you get. Aren't you brilliant!?!?! Yes, yes you are!! This will work with any punch that you can stick a strip of card stock into, such as a label punch.






Of course, then you should do something with the punched shape, and this is what I chose to do. My folder-y Christmas card (suitable for a tax accountant or lawyer, don't you think?) uses a card base sent to me, with an assortment of other A Muse card stock, by the inestimable Joan B of Paperlicious fame. Thank you so much, Joan, for letting me try out a few pieces of A Muse card stock. It's as yummy as you say it is!



Hmmm. Joan's a lawyer in real life, so perhaps she'll get this card for Christmas....;)


Supplies
stamps: Winterberry (PTI)
ink: SU real red
paper: PTI vintage cream, A Muse wheat, SU garden green and real red
accessories: Fiskar's folder tab punch, SU flower punch, ScorPal, ribbon, anywhere hole punch (to make an unmovable knot), gold half beads