Archive for September, 2008
Excited for Etsy!
So, I did it… I signed up for an Etsy account this weekend. 
You guys have all been so supportive of my paper crafting, that I finally started considering opening my own Etsy shop. Unfortunately, I won’t be selling anything for a while. For now, I’ll just be updating my account with favorite items that I find around Etsy.
Before I can start selling, I need to figure out a way to make my cards mass produce-able, and then build up an inventory. Once I straighten out those things, I’ll post some items up. Often, a card can take 30-60 minutes to make and involve various pricey materials… This would not be sustainable or profitable for a side business. I really enjoy paper crafting, but there are only so many cards I can hand out to people. Perhaps Etsy will allow me to offload my extras. I’ll have to hash things out, but I thought I’d share this first step with you.
I also made another Christmas card this weekend. I’m slowly building my stash for the holiday season.
Card Recipe: SU Season of Joy stamp set, SU cardstock in kiwi kiss and baja blue, SU ink in kiwi kiss, real red, and baja blue, white embossing powder, SU red ribbon, Nestabilities long rectangle regular & scalloped dies, PTI Everyday Blessings patterned paper
That’s all for tonight, folks. Here’s to hoping Tuesday is filled with less drama than Monday’s stock market!
I’ll Never Tire of Weddings
Hubs and I went to our friends’ wedding on Saturday and we had such a blast. Although I’ve been married for almost a year already, I never get tired of weddings. They are such a testament of a couple’s personality. Whether the event is simple and sweet, or luxurious and grand, I always have fun at weddings.
Of course, I made a card for the newlyweds with some new stamps and supplies from my recent SU order.
Card Recipe: SU Upsy Daisy & Best Yet stamp sets, SU pink pirouette, chocolate chip, and kiwi kiss paper, PTI ribbon, Heidi Swapp flower, SU corner rounder punch (to make the border), K & Co pearl brads.
And below, just a few pictures of the happy couple:
Scott prepares to feed his bride.
Cheers!
Congratulations, Scott & Sareen! Welcome to the married club!
It’s My Birthday Again!
Ok, so it’s not. But, that’s what it feels like when I get to play with new stamps.
Tonight, I made a birthday card using an easy trick: I inked my stamp, then lightly sprayed the colored rubber with a water bottle before I applied the image to paper. This gave the floral silhouette a pretty, speckled effect.
Supplies: Stamp sets (SU): Upsy Daisy & Frames with a Flourish. Cardstock, patterned paper, & ink: SU kiwi kiss, chocolate chip, and red riding hood. Scalloped border: SU corner punch. Twine & buttons: Michael’s
I also worked on some Europe pictures last night, so I’ll post them up over the weekend. After returning from my trip with Hubs, I realize that I definitely lean more towards socialistic values than capitalistic ones. I’d happily pay my hard earned money to the government, if it meant that SF would have a metro system like Paris or health care like Switzerland.
Typically, I like to keep things light on my blog, and save the political talk for dinner conversations with the Hubs. But, with the recent economic headlines, I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that I’m worried. Although we haven’t personally been hard hit (at least, yet), it’s scary to live through the greatest economic crisis since the depression. It’s also quite humbling, fascinating, and infuriating. NPR has been on my radio dial nonstop. As an economics geek who majored in the subject in college, I quite enjoy listening to numerous experts analyzing the current crisis.
Anyway, that’s enough for the serious stuff. This weekend is going to be a busy one. Hubs and I have a lunch reception, a wedding banquet, and a home show, all in 24 hours. Where does my craft time fit in? Hopefully, I’ll have at least one card for you on Monday.
Have a great weekend, folks!
I Thought I’d Have My Husband Back
The sky must’ve fallen to the earth, because a miracle has happened: Hubs is not playing fantasy football this year. This is a big deal. Hubs is one of those guys who frantically checks the internet every hour to update his fantasy sports teams. He’s literally obsessed with sports. You should see the virtual trophies he has lined up in his Yahoo account. Why someone would spend so endless hours on something that will only earn bragging rights is beyond me. But, if it makes him happy (and provides me with a quiet respite for craft time) I’m not complaining.
Well, Hubs quit fantasy sports this year, but replaced the time with a mountain of MBA applications. Today, he locked himself downstairs in a room that we nicknamed the dungeon, with only his MBA books and a few sample essays as company. Consequently, I made a card tonight. I think I’ll give this one to my brother this weekend, along with his belated birthday gift (a DSLR camera backpack).
Supplies: Bird stamp by Hero Arts, sentiment stamp by Inkadinkado, cardstock, ribbon, ink, and patterned paper all from SU, scalloped circle punch from SU, metal tag maker from Making Memories, Cuttlebug embossing folder, scalloped border punch from Fiskars.
Also, I’ve been so busy, I didn’t get a chance to blog last night, much less answer questions from the last card post. @ Pinky: the Martha Stewart bakers string is from Michaels.
I have a Stampin’ Up order arriving soon, so I’ll have tons of new goodies and cards to share!
It’s Never Too Early for Holidays
For my nine-to-five job, I work at the home office of a retail company. This means that the holiday season prep begins in August. Yup. Before Halloween hits, it’s already Christmas at our office, which is perfect for me because I love the festive season.
Tonight, I made an early holiday card with a couple of circle punches and some embossing powder. Quick and easy. I figured I’ll start making my holiday cards little by little. When December finally arrives, I’ll have beat the holiday rush.
Supplies: SU circle punches (1.25″ and 1″), SU stamps (Priceless and Sincere Salutations), Martha Stewart bakers string, SU chocolate chip brown paper, PTI sweet blush pink cardstock, pink embossing powder.
Take Three: Thinking of You
Hi all! I hope you had a great weekend. It has been a little hectic around these parts. I still don’t feel settled in yet from vacation, so I took the weekend to rest up a bit. Also, it was my little bro’s birthday and we had a celebration at a gourmet pizzeria and I have massive garlic breath as a result. Yum-O.
I did work through editing some Euro-trip photos, so I’ll post those soon. Until then, enjoy this simple card I made with a Stampin’ Up set called Take Three:
Supplies: SU Take Three stamps, SU close to cocoa and so saffron markers, Nestabilities petite oval dies, PTI cardstock and ribbon, Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder
To use a single stamp with two colors, I colored the rubber with my SU markers. This is an easy technique to apply color to your stamps.
Before pressing the image on the paper, I huffed the colored areas by bringing the stamp up close to my mouth and exhaling quickly to remoisten the ink.
I used the smaller oval die to cut out the sentiment with my Cuttlebug.
Sandwich recipe from bottom to top: C plate, Nestabilities die with the blade up, stamped image facing down, and lastly, B plate.
Here’s the final cut image.
Next, I used the larger scalloped oval die to cut out a nested background.
After adhering, here’s what it looked like.
Then, I used a an embossing folder to create a raised, dotted texture.
And I rounded the corners with an EK Success corner rounder punch.
A little bit of yellow PTI ribbon contrasted the light blue.
Easy as pie, ten minute card.
Missing My Craft Time
If there’s one thing great about being back, it’s being with my craft supplies again. That’s a shot of my SU pastels above. I definitely missed my craft time while in Europe! I hope I get to make some cards this weekend. In the meanwhile, here’s an oldie but goodie from many months ago:
Supplies: SU Lots of Thoughts stamps, PTI patterned paper, sweet blush and berry sorbet ink, and ribbon, Martha Stewart butterfly punch.
Happy Friday, everyone! Have a stamp-filled weekend.
