Sew Sunday ~ ALYOF ~ August

My sewing goal for this month was to applique my first block for the Holiday Chic quilt.  It went faster than I expected, and I was able to finish almost 2 weeks ago, but I haven't posted a picture yet.  Today is the last day to link up with A Lovely Year of Finishes party.

There is some embroidery work and buttons to add, but I am going to wait to do that until I have all the blocks done.  I really enjoyed my first applique, and learned a lot in the process.  I still have loads to learn, through trial and error, I am sure.

ALYOF August

This summer has prepared me to make better goals for next summer.  I don't sew much when the weather is warm, so I need to have smaller goals.   This month's goal was perfect.  I also need to sew on light or bright colors in patterns that I love so that I will be drawn to the sewing room.  Does the weather outside affect your sewing too?   What tips do you have for summer sewing goals?

Holiday Catalog

The 2014 Stampin' UP! Holiday Catalog is live!  What new goodies will you be bringing home?  Below are my some of my favorites.

Wondrous Wreath

My mom & I share a wreath tradition every year, so I love making her a Christmas card with a wreath on it.  I'm super excited SU came out with matching framelits and photopolymer stamps for this set.  

Seasonally Scattered

The Seasonally Scattered set was on my pre-order and I've already a video using it.  Stay tuned for that one soon.

Bright and Beautiful Stamp Set

Right now I am working on a Christmas class, so I am in a Christmas stamping mood.  The stamp set below is so trendy right now with the geometric trees.  I just had to get it with the matching punch, as you saw on my Monday post.

Festival of Trees Photopolymer Bundle

Are any of these items on your wish list?  What are your top 3 favorite items from the new holiday catalog?  Clicky Here if you want to see them all online.

Butterfly Hello

Since  I've been posting different seasons this week, I decided I must make a "Spring" card.  When I think of Spring I think of soft pastels, flowers and Easter.  Sitting on my desk was this beautiful embossing paste background that I made a couple of weeks.  (clicky to see that post) I've been meaning to make it into a card, but life got in the way.

I was inspired by the Inspiration Nation photo challenge at StampNation from a couple of weeks ago.  If you are counting, that is 4 cards inspired by one awesome photo.  It doesn't hurt that I love butterflies.  

This card was so easy to put together, because the background was done.  I cut out a couple of butterflies from some scraps of purple vellum, and the hello script from black cardstock.  A few sequins finishes it off beautifully.

Stamping Supplies:
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Vellum
Dies: Hello Script (Mama Elephant), Interlocking (Penny Black), Leanna Butterfly (SSS)
Accessories: Dreamweavers White Embossing Paste, Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Summer Sunflowers

Have you noticed a theme on my blog this week?  By pure accident I have been going through the seasons.  Today is definitely a late summer card.  Perhaps I should make a "spring" card for tomorrow.  hmmm....

I made this card for the last Inspiration Nation photo inspiration over at StampNation.  The stamp set I used from "The Craft's Meow" gave me a great opportunity to practice my Copic coloring skills.   Here is a sneak peek at the way the rest of the team was inspired.

I can't wait to see what our members come up with for this challenge.

Hello Fall

Honestly, it is still summer here.  This is the hottest, driest summer we have had since we moved up to  Washington 7 years ago.  I'm soooooooooo ready for my favorite season to start.  I love everything about Fall from the crisp mornings, to the afternoon sun, from the awesome display of leaves to falling rain.

Last weekend while I was stuck inside stamping with Max in our air conditioned dining room, I created this card using new products from the upcoming Stampin' UP! Holiday catalog.

I played around with one of the settings in Photoshop while editing my photo and found a way for the crisp WHITE to show up.  Unfortunately it made my sand sequins turn out looking liking pumpkin orange.  Fortunately, that color works for this fall card.  :)   Honestly, I wanted to use Espresso sequins, but apparently I don't have those ones...yet.

CTS#89

I was inspired by 2 challenges for this card. CAS(E) this Sketch and Pretty Pink Posh's Cutting Edge Challenge.

PPP Blog Hop2

I felt a bit guilty that Friday's post did not feature any PPP.   (shocking, I know, because I rarely make a card without sequins lately)  Although, I could have used her stitched rectangle die for both of these cards, it was out of stock when I went to order it.  I placed an order today for more of her stitched dies from Ellen Hutson and I can hardly wait for them to get here.  :)

Stamping Supplies:
Stamps: For All Things (SU)
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink: Hello Honey (SU), Soft Suede (SU)
Accessories: 4mm Sand Sequins (PPP) (EH), Stitched Rectangles (LID), but you could use Stitched Duos 2 (PPP) (EH)

Merry Monday ~ Warm Wishes

My demonstrator pre-order for the new Stampin' UP! holiday catalog is in the house, and I had some fun playing with my new goodies.

I'm linking up this sweet Christmas card with Freshly Made Sketches.  I saw the sketch and new it would be perfect to test out my new tree punch and matching stamp set.

FMS150

The clear stamps were so much fun to play with that I decided to decorate the inside too.

My plan was to stamp the little bird on my card, but I forgot to do that before adding dimensionals and had to come up with a plan B.  I stamped him in Real Red on White cardstock then fussy cut him out and popped him on a dimensional.  It was fairly easy, considering I'm not great at fussy cutting.

The Lost Lagoon Stitched Satin ribbon and Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh add the perfect finishing touches.

Sunday Share

Last week I moved my stamping out of the craft room in the garage and to the dining room table.   All so I could have a special stamping buddy at my side.  Our dog, Maximus, has been fighting cancer in his leg all summer.   Above is a picture of him on the 4th of July.

Maximus Aurelius North
July 4, 2014

On Tuesday the x-rays showed his leg had broken.  :(  He was still walking around on it and happy to go bye-bye.  We knew he wasn't ready to be put down, so we made the difficult decision to amputate.   Wednesday I debated on if we were making the right decision.  He was obviously in pain, but he wouldn't stay off his broken leg for long.

Thursday, 8-21-14 waiting to go to the hospital

Thursday morning he went in and we brought him home on Friday.  The vet hospital called us Friday morning to tell us Max was already up and walking on his own, trying to jump off the curb on the sidewalk.  He still wants to follow me wherever I go, so I'm trying to stay in one spot as much as possible, and not go up & down the stairs.

Maximus 8-22-14

While he was resting I was able to play with my box of new goodies from the Stampin' UP! holiday catalog and film 3 videos.  Woo-Hoo!  I would much rather our puppers felt better, but if we have to go through it at least I finally got some "stamp therapy".

Maximus North 7-4-14

For those of you who saw my Friday post, yes, we found out on the same day that Max's leg was broken and our friend's dog, Trixie, was going to be put to sleep the next day.  We had a tough decision to make, and it was tougher still because our friends were out of options for their beloved pet.   It's been an emotional week.  My head hurts, my back aches, my heart hurts and my soul is thankful, all at the same time.

For my Sew Saturday peeps- my plan was to show you an awesome finished top or two from the Jelly Roll Race our Quilt Guild was doing at Ruby Street Quiltworks on Friday.  Instead I picked up my dog from the vet and brought him home to take care of him.  My block is done for my ALYOF goal for August, but I will show that to you next week.  I'm sure you understand.

Last week did not go as planned, but it could have been so much worse.  Here's to a new week, filled with healing, stamping, sewing and perhaps some back-to-school shopping.  (along with Band Camp & Cross Country training for the high school boy)

Bunny visiting our backyard last week

Blessings to all of you.  Thank you for the prayers and kind words for our dog as well as our friends who lost their dog this week.  My blog readers and friends are the BEST!

Paw Prints On Our Heart ~ A Trixie Tribute

Trixie Waunch

Earlier this week our friends had to say goodbye to their beloved dog, Trixie.  I wanted to send them a special card to let them know we care and that their fur baby will be missed.  Here is the card I came up with.

The video below shows you how this card was made.  *Note* If you are reading this on an email or reader you may need to go to my blog to view the video.

The inside of the card coordinates with the outside of the card.

I made the first card off camera and the second one while videoing.   The boys have another friend with a dog that has cancer.  It's only a matter of time before we will need to send another pet sympathy card.  Poor kids.  Poor doggies.

Goodbye sweet Trixie.  The boys will miss you playing airsoft with them, jumping on the trampoline and being a part of all their home movies.  You have been a great friend to your human family.

Stamping Supplies
Stamps: Pawprints On Our Hearts (SSS)
Paper: Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla/Whisper White, Misc. DSP (CM)
Ink: Soft Suede, Versamark
Accessories: Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Sweetheart Punch (SU), Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (SU), Linen Thread (SU), Stitched Rectangles (LID)


I'm linking up to the Pretty Pink Posh Cutting Edge Blog Hop.  Pretty Pink Posh has some FABULOUS stitched dies!  In fact, her new ones just got back in stock, so I need to place an order before they go out of stock again.  :)

Raining Hearts

As promised, here is the card I did not use for my design team submission this week.  At first glance, it might appear "design team worthy" and honestly it might be.

My only problem with this card is I went a little too heart crazy.  :)  What was I thinking?!  Sometimes it's hard to know when enough is enough.  Afterwards it is easy to see I have gone too far.  That's not why I didn't enter it though.  It didn't fit the inspiration photo as well as the card I posted yesterday.

Stamping Supplies:
Stamps: Lots to Say (Reverse Confetti)
Ink: Tumbled Glass - Milled Lavender - Festive Berries - Shabby Shutters (Distress Inks), Versamark
Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron (SU)
Accessories: Heart Rainfall Die (SSS), Fancy Clouds Die (PoppyStamps), Wild Wasabi Embossing Powder (SU), Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine (SU)

Inspiration Nation Week 3

All week long I have been showing you cards that didn't make the cut for my design team submissions.  These are cards that "I" deemed not worthy.   Today's card was a toss up.  I made 2 cards for this challenge.  You will see the one that didn't make the cut tomorrow.  Today I have a sneak peek of the card that I did submit for week 3 of StampNation's Inspiration Nation Photo Challenge month.

Can you believe I used a blender pen and colored on DSP?  You have to be careful if you are going to give this technique a try.  Patterned paper is very thin and it wants to pill up when you use a blender pen.

Check out what some of the rest of the team has come up with.  Want to join in the challenge?  It's up on StampNation.

Click here to learn more about membership benefits and to sign up today.

Forever With You

Today I am taking our dog, Maximus, back to the oncologist for some tests to see if his treatments are working.  Praying his cancer has not spread to his lungs.  In the meantime, I thought I would share another card that didn't make the design team cut, since I won't have time to make a new card today to share.  

This is the card I originally designed in my head for the StampNation, Inspiration Nation Photo Challenge for week 2.  Unfortunately it didn't turn out exactly like I had envisioned it.  Does that ever happen to you?  I still like it, but I don't love it.

 
I colored the die cut the same way I did for yesterday's card.  The sentiment was a combination of stamps and embossing powders.  I really like how the mixed sentiment turned out, but I think I bent the end of the "u" a little too much.

Stampin' Supplies
Stamps: The Big, The Bold and You (Winnie & Walter), ??? (I really should have written this down somewhere safe)
Ink: Pearlescent Watercolor Paint, Versamark
Paper(SU): Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Kensington Border Die (Memory Box), Sequins, Silver Embossing Powder (SU)

Love You Forever

Have you ever wondered if all cards that Design Team members make it the final cut?  Wonder no more.  Many do not ever see the light of day, much less end up on the web for all to see.  Others end up on a random blog post, like the ones I will be showing you this week.  I liked these cards, but I LOVED the card I ended up using as my design team submission.

Sometimes you just have to roll where your creative juices take you, even when you don't end up with the card you envisioned.  For this card I die cut the gorgeous butterflies with black cardstock.  Then I painted them with some pearlescent paint I found at Fred Meyer (a grocery market/super store).

The sentiment came from Winnie & Walter's, The Big, The Bold and You set.  Winnie & Walter are our sponsors this week at StampNation.  They are giving away a $30 gift certificate to one of our members who participates in the current challenge.  Woot-woot!

Stampin' Supplies
Stamps: The Big, The Bold and You (Winnie & Walter)
Ink: Pearlescent Watercolor Paint, Versamark
Paper(SU): Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Kensington Border Die (Memory Box), Sequins, Silver Embossing Powder (SU)

Sew Saturday ~ Quilt, Knit, Stitch Portland

This weekend is the Quilt, Knit, Stitch Show in Portland, OR.  We will be passing through Portland on our way to a family wedding, and I was hoping to stop in.  Not sure if that is going to happen, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Any ideas on what the guys could do while I wander the convention center?  If you are local, or within driving distance, it would be worth checking out this huge event.

 

While you are in Portland, I hear that the Fabric Depot is an awesome place to shop.  ;)   They have a huge outdoor clearance sale in the summer.  Depending on traffic we may end up driving right by it.  :)   Although I can't imagine my teenage boys wanting to stop and look at bolts of fabric.  It sounds like heaven to me.   If I don't make it there this trip, I think I will plan a trip by myself just to go shopping there and visit Multnomah Falls.   It's only an hour and a half away.  Sounds like a "back to school" plan for me.  

Stampin' Celebration Sketch Challenge #85

It's my favorite time of the month.  :)  Each month on the 15th there is a new sketch challenge at Stampin' Celebration.  This month our sketch will help you use up your scraps.

Isn't that the best?!  It would make a fabulous scrapbook layout, which you will see when you check out what some of the other designers have made.   Below is my take on the sketch.

Do you have any scraps of paper that you like too much to throw away?  Why don't you give this sketch a try.  Clicky to go there now and be inspired by the rest of the design team.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Hello There (SU-Hostess)
Ink: Surf Blue (SSS)
Paper: Hello, Sunshine (Lawn Fawn), Cotton Candy (SSS), Melon Mambo (SU)
Accessories: Stitched Rectangles (LID), Sewing Machine

StampNation + Winnie & Walter = AWESOME

Inspiration Nation continues with a new photo that will be sure to get your creative juices flowing.  This week StampNation has a new sponsor, Winnie & Walter.   It was so much fun creating with their stamps.  You can see a peek at my card in the upper left corner.  I tried some new techniques with this card and had a lot of fun.

If you are a StampNation member, you have a chance to win a prize simply by creating a card and posting it in the current challenge.  :)   Just wait until you see the inspiration photo!

Not yet a member?  New members are welcome to participate.  Plus, you will get to see my exclusive video coming to classroom on Friday.  ;)

Sign up today by clicking here now.

See you in the forums!

Heart Colored Embossing Paste ~ PTI#176

Yesterday I was checking out a video on the Papertrey Ink blog and it so inspired me that I had to go down to the craft room and play with some embossing paste, ink and homemade cardstock stencils.

To create my own stencil I used my new Heart Border punch from Stampin' UP! and punched a row of hearts.   I adhered them the way Laura shows in her video.  Unfortunately the washi tape I used to adhere my "stencil" down ended up tearing my paper.  My plan was to make it more of a one layer card.  Happy accident though because I cut it down and added a strip of Lavender cardstock.  I might like this a little better than my original idea.  ;)

As I was playing with mixing colors I found that I had used WAY TOO MUCH embossing paste for the teeny tiny hearts.  I just couldn't throw all that scrumptiously colored paste away so I quickly grabbed another die cut that was laying on my messy desk and put it on a separate piece of white cardstock.  Now I have the beginnings of a brand new card.  Come back later in the week to see what I do with it.  Any suggestions?

Be sure to check out the link below for the video and challenge.

Make It Monday #176: Backgrounds with Embossing Paste

Stamping Supplies:
Stamps: Dress Form (PaperTreyInk)
Ink: Hawaiian Shores (PTI), Plum Pudding (PTI), Cadillac Pink Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels), Sea Glass (SSS),
Soft Lilac Shadow Ink for the sentiment (Hero Arts)
Paper: Lavender (SSS), Whisper White (SU)
Accessories: Hearts Border Punch (SU), Dreamweavers White Embossing Paste

Hearts Border Punch

Sew Saturday

My first applique project is going very well.  The block is over half done.  Unfortunately I'm not at the point where there are several small points to turn and stitch.  This could take awhile, but I have the rest of the month to meet my August goal for ALYOF.

Last week was the Thurston County Fair.  Our quilt guild had a booth and after my shift volunteering I was able to take some pictures to share with you.  Each member that entered a quilt earned a ribbon. I'm so proud of our ladies.

 Pictured below on the top left is our quilt guild quilt.  It won a blue ribbon.  :)

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get pictures of all the quilts because there was a demonstration at one end of the hall.  At the other end of the hall were presentations from "Quilts of Valor".  I was honored to see 4 quilts given away during my time working the booth and soon after.

Last, but certainly not least, one of our South Sound Modern Quilt Guild members, Kathleen Buchli, won people's choice on Thursday for her quilt pictured on the far left.  It inspired me to make the card you saw on my blog yesterday.  ;)

I never found the cards or scrapbooks.  By the time my shift was over it was too hot to go looking.  Next year, if I work up the courage, and keep one of my own quilts, I just might enter something.  Have you ever entered something in a local fair?  What was your experience like?