Working on Wedding Projects....

  I have not been online much this week and probably won't be for the next few weeks, between classes and working on fun projects for Brian and Meghan's Wedding.

  My week started with a fun little Memory Box class I took at my LSS on Tuesday.    Not only did I meet my friend Kerry there, but I also met another friend, for the very first time and we both had no idea that we knew one another until we started talking about craft groups and blogs and such.  That's when Cindy recognized my blog name and introduced herself to me again.  We had met online through the  Operation Write Home Group, where she is one of the card makers.  We had chatted at one time about the fact the we both loved "Absolutely Everything" and also about how unusual it was to meet other Massachusetts crafters online.  Not that there are not several crafters form the area, but I find I also rarely run into any of them online?   So, that ended up being a nice little meeting and hopefully we will get together at another time for a class.   We all also did some shopping and all three of us are taking Tim's Holtz's online class which starts on Monday.  One of the best buys that Kerry and I found were the brand new Dylusions Ink Sprays that had just arrived in the store.   We both have been dying to try them and have been buying the Stamps and Stencils that go alone with the line.  We are also looking forward to taking a workshop with Dyan Reaveley when she comes to AE in July!   All in all, it was a really fun day, and as you often find, it really is a small world -- especially in the craft world!!

  Yesterday, my day started out my having my nails done, always a nice treat and then I came home to catch up on some paperwork and phone calls.   I am also now starting on the process of looking into venues for the Rehearsal Dinner for the Wedding.   I'm so happy and excited and think this is going to be so much fun.  For those who don't know me well, I have two sons and Brian is my oldest and this will be my first wedding.  I also adore Meghan and am thrilled to have her in my life, so this is all very much a happy time for me.

    They are planning to have their Wedding at a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast in Vermont, so it will be a nice little destination wedding for all.   Yesterday, we started on their 'Save the Date' tags.  We used my Silhouette to cut out all the tags on Kraft Paper and then had two stamps they designed with the Save the Date details.  Meghan stamped the front and back of each of the tags and we added a grommet and little blue twine tie.  We then were talking about envelopes and ideas and decided to check out what we might find in the Silhouette Store, which was where we found the perfect solution and the design we will be using, with a few adjustments.    The envelopes will be a deep blue shade (Enchanted Evening) and we cut as many as we could last night, from what I had on hand.  The cardstock we used is from PaperTrey Ink and I ordered another 150 sheets last night.  Now, I simply have to wait for them to arrive, cut the rest and we'll put everything together!    We made them the perfect size to hold the tags and the came out really cute.  Once I have more time, I'll share some pictures.

    Also on a very happy note, I received my new set of Ranger Distress Markers yesterday and this set is PERFECT.  Love them !!  I wanted to give special thanks to Heidi from Simon Says Stamp for putting me in touch with Ranger for the replacement set.  I faxed the details to Ranger on Monday and had a brand new set delivered yesterday by UPS.  I immediately tested each marker and they all work fine!   WOOHOO!  And just in time for the Creative Chemistry Class 101 which starts on Monday!

    So....as you can tell, I've been very busy, but it's ALL been good!!  I'm working on a few more envelopes today and then will be back to making calls to find the perfect place for the Rehearsal Dinner.  I probably won't be taking part in many challenges while taking the class, but will post updates on some of the new techniques and fun things we work on.  I know it's going to be a jam packed class and it should be a ton of fun!!

Spring, Spring....Spring!!!

   That's all that is on my mind today!  The sun is shining so brightly and it's now going on 5 PM, such a chance in a matter of weeks and the perfect way to move into my favorites seasons.    We still have a little bit of snow left on the ground, but with today's sun and warmer temps - it'll all be melted very soon!!

    Today, I have four new cards to share and they were ALL initially inspired by the new CAS Challenge being hosted today at The Outlawz.   Our challenge this week is to thing of Spring (easy for me) and to create a new CAS card that has some type of floral theme!   I actually had so much fun with this challenge and each and every card I made today would work perfectly for the challenge.   I'm not even sure which card I will submit, but it's likely one of these first three.

    As soon as I saw the theme, I knew that I would be using some of the new digi images I had just bought on Friday from A Day for Daisies.  I have always loved Tammy's wonderful artistic skills and her floral images have always been some of my favorites.    When I saw the new release on Friday, I knew right away that I had to add some to my collection and this first card features one of my favorites which is called - Baby Cherry Blossom.

    I really loved this image from the moment I saw it and I knew it would lovely colored with Copics which is what I did today.  I also added a tiny bit of ultra fine glitter for that little hint of extra sparkle!!

    My second card also features a new image from her store and this one is called "Chubby Flower Garden"  and I think it screams FUN and HAPPY!    It's such a cool image and will be one I know I'll use many times.   I really loved it from the moment I saw it and thought it would look best in vibrant colors, which is exactly what is used to color it today.  

   As you can see, I was very much back to using my favorite Copic colors -  lots of violets, blue violets and even red violets.  I also feel like my Mojo is back today and found it so easy to put these cards together.  Typically, I don't create four cards, so quickly, but the creative side of me was working wonderfully today and these are the kind of days where I totally LOVE to color and create!  It's such a JOY when everything goes together so well and you have all kinds of ideas!   Totally unlike the last couple of days!!

    For my next card, which is very likey the one that I consider most as a Clean and Simple card, I want to another of my favorite colors which is a light minty blue green shade and I used some Hero Arts Designer Pool cardstock for the background of this card.  This image is again from A Day for Daisies and another that I really like.  It's super easy to color and to add a look of glass to my bottle I simply added a layer of 3D Crystal Accents to the finish card!   I think this is the card that I'll plan to submit to the challenge!  

   And last but now least is the card I created for today's new Sketch Challenge over at the Stars and Stamps Blog.  This week we are working with Sketch  112 and this is a copy of that sketch that I brought over to share.   Our theme at OWH this week is Spring, which worked our perfect for me today!!

  My card is a bit different from the sketch, as my Sentiment would not work out well in an oval shape, but did seem to go well with my card.   It's from a Hero Arts set as is the cardstock I used for this card.  This image is also a digi, but this one is more of a butterfly and flourish theme and is from Bugaboo Stamps.   It's one I have had for quite some time and used often.  I really love coloring it with Copics too.

   I hope you are enjoying your day as much as I am.  I really look forward to Spring and now that we have changed the clocks, I know I'm really going to love all the extra daylight time.   I had a great first day and have a fun week coming up, including a new Memory Box class that I'm taking at my LSS on Tuesday!!  Then, it's only one more week and we'll be starting the Creative Chemistry 101 Online Class with Tim Holtz.   I can't wait, especially since this will be a techniques class!!!   Hope to see you in class, I know there at a lot of crafters signed up for this one and I think that will make it fun!   I have totally loved EVERY class that Jennifer and Kristina have offered in their online classroom and I'm sure this will be a bit hit too!     Yippee!!

   

Where did this SNOW come from??

.....and what a shock it was to mean when I woke up to the sound of a plow about 6am this morning.   We had gorgeous Spring weather for two days this week and then we end up with snow overnight and I had no clue it was even in the forecast.   Not to mention that we had already broken a record for having one of the mildest and least snowy winters in year and years.    Luckily, the snow ended early and the sun was out by about 9am.  We ended up with about 4", I would.  guess and most of that has already melted, thanks to the warm March sunshine.  Oh and speaking of sunshine, we will be springing the clocks forward tonight, making tomorrow the first longer day in months and months.  I can't wait and love having lots of daylight time.   It also means Spring is even closer and every day will start to get warmer and warmer.

     I'm still slowly cleaning my craft room and going through each and every drawer, storage bin and all my bookcases too, as I continue to re-organized and purge a lot of old "junk".   I can't believe some of the 'stuff' I had bought when I first started crafting, and now much of it is outdated and simply not worth keeping.  I did sent two large bags of paper and such to our recycle center today.   I have way too much stuff and I also need to stop buying more.     I really do have a bad habit of hearing about a sale or a new products and seem to want it right away.  But, believe me I need NOTHING at this point and I'm trying very hard to pass the urge to add any more.   I could craft for the next few years and other than adhesive, probably would not run out of anything!   Plus, with my Girl's Getaway Weekend, coming in May and Brian and Meghan's Wedding in October, I have lots of better uses for my money!   I am very much looking forward to the trip and wedding!   I know they both are going to be fun-filled happy events and it's so fun to have both of them too look forward too!  

    I don't have anything new to share about my 'defective' set of  Distress Markers, but I do plan to call on Monday and see if I can simply send them back for a refund.  The more I think about this, I really do not think I want to take the chance on a second set, nor do I feel like waiting for them to be back in stock.  I  have been browsing the web to see if I can find anyone else is not loving their set, and I'm finding that most people can't even get them yet, which is a bummer?    I'm taking a class as my LSS on Tuesday and I'm gong to check with the girls there and see if they have had any returns?   I'm still SO disappointed and really thought I would LOVE them!  It's a bummer when you wait and wait for something new only to receive it and find out, it's defective or missing pieces etc.    I sure wish I felt more confident, about an exchange, but I'm afraid I will end up being even more disappointed, plus I really do not want to wait a couple more weeks to be able to do that.  I guess if I decided to give them a try again, I will buy a few individual markers first and then decide?    On the upside, I am very happy with my Copics and I totally LOVE to color with them.  Maybe in some ways, I am spoiled, as I definitely feel the brush tip on a Coptic marker is far superior to those on the Distress Markers.   I guess time will tell, but this has not turned out to be a great new product for me and right now I definitely can not recommend them, which is a shame.

    Moving on..... I have a few new projects to share and everything I have today was created in the past couple of days for new challenges and the first is also something pretty new to me and that is making tags, something I really would LOVE to enhance my skills on and hope that trying them more often will help me to do that.   I do admit, I'm not a huge fan of Tim's Holtz style or his color choices, but I do LOVE the techniques and think I'll learn more in the online class that starts on the 19th.  I also have seen some gorgeous (more feminine tags) over on Pinterest and started a new board all for tag insulation.

  This is the one I created for the challenge at Crafting by Designs, and it's not so great, but is a beginning.  I first cut this tag with my Cameo and then simply decorated it a bit with some flowers and embellishments, along with a little tag.

  My next card was also created for another challenge at CBD and this challenge was called , the last of Winter and the idea was to create one last winter or Christmas Card for the year, or one to add to our own stash if we are working on them year round.   This is the card that I created, which was very easy and is pretty much a CAS Style.  The card base was created with some new Stampin' Up cardstock, that I embossed with a Snowflake themed folder.  I then cut a the cute the bottom section from a Basic Grey paper and added a cream colored laced border!  I finished it off with a sentiment which was stamped and punched and then layered onto another punched scalloped circle.

    Today, I've been working on two cards for challenges over at The Outlawz.  The first card, was completed in two parts, as I was not happy with my first attempted, and took it apart and started over.  I started by coloring up this cute little Bug digi by Bugaboo all in shades of Green for this weeks' Copic Challenge.  I then ended up coming up with this first card idea....which just did not work out, as the colors were not right....the greens are all wrong...ugh!!

  So....I took of my little bug and put the other pieces in my scrap bin and moved on to pick out some papers that were more in the Yellow-Green hue that I had used to color her.  I went this this cute dotted paper by Hero Arts and also changed the Sentiment.   In the end, I had this little card, which is the one I submitted to the challenge.

    My mojo seems to be missing, as I have NOT been loving any of my most recent projects.   If I had to pick one that I like most, it will be this next card, which is the last card I made today for the new Paper a la Mode Challenge, also hosted at The Outlawz.   Our theme this week is "Mini" - Mini Cards, Mini Boxes, Mini Books or a card with Mini elements.  Pretty much any paper project with a mini theme.   At first, I had no clue what to create and decided to see if I could make some type of mini-bag with my Silhouette Cameo.  Once I went to the store, I saw some envelopes I liked and decided instead to create a mini envelope/note to add to the front of a small note card.  I picked out a few styles and simply changed the size down to just about 2".  Once I had a few cut and found which size I like most, I cut the one I wanted in white.

     I picked out some gorgeous purple papers from my all time favorite paper collection (Viola - by Memory Box), which I just LOVE.   My mini 'letter' for my mini-envelope was computer generated and cut down to fit inside the envelope.  I just love mini things like this and once I had it done, I thought it was cute!  It's by far, my favorite today for sure!!   I sure HOPE tomorrow will be a much more creative day.  

     That's all for today -- hope everyone is having a good day and for those of you who do change your clocks - Don't forget to Spring Forward when you go to bed tonight!   Sweet Dreams!!!!

Friday.....! Yippee!!!

    As much as I am happy that it's Friday, I also am already missing the wonderful Spring-like weather we had the past two days, and would gladly go back a one day to enjoy it again.   Today it's cloudy and cooler, but still not freezing, which is a good thing.

     I'm not feeling so great today, so my post will be short.   I have a headache and my eyes seem to be bothering me, so being online is worse than ever.  I was hoping to create, and I hope this headache will pass soon and allow me some craft time this afternoon?   If not, I'm taking it as my sign tor rest for a day.

    I did have a very busy day yesterday and was happy to send off another package of cards to Operation Write Home.   Yesterday's package included (43) cards--bringing to my total to 98, so far this year.  If I had realized my total was so close to (100), I probably would have made two more cards, but I did not add them up until now!!  Oh well!!    I am very happy as my goal for this year was to send at least 150 cards and I am well on my way and know I can easily pass that, if I continue to keep up at this pace.   If you are interested in creating for OWH or would like to donate any of the cards you may create for challenges, please let me know and I'll be happy to get you started!!   It's such a wonderful group and it'll make you feel so good when you know you are doing something so special for all our Troops severing overseas!

    Once I finished all the stamping and tucking, I did find time to create two new cards, both for challenges being hosted this week at Crafting By Designs.   The first cards is for a new theme the group started this year called "Getting Ready for Christmas".   A fun challenge that inspired us to start working on Christmas cards, a little at a time.  Our challenge this week was based on a this awesome sketch, which is from "CPS Card Sketches".  I am sharing a copy here so that you can also play along!!

Courtesy of CPS - #153

My Card

    And my next card was for this week's 'A Year in Cards Challenge', which is our own little take-off of that wonderful monthly class that Kristina Werner once taught at Two Peas.  The group tries to come up with something new each month, as inspiration for a variety of cards, throughout the year.  This week we were inspired by another wonderful sketch and this sketch was from Mojo Monday.

Courtesy of Mojo Monday - Julee Tilman #225

  

My Card

      Note:  I mis-read the challenge and after I had created my card, I realized that we were supposed to use some "Green", which as you can clearly see, I missed - so, I am playing only for FUN!!

       I'm off now to rest a bit and maybe do a little more organizing in my room, hoping my headache will pass.  I just changed my contacts and hope that was what the issues was??  Sometimes I think they do not last as long as they should and this may be one of those time.   The style I wear are meant to be for monthly use, but I find it's rare they make it much more the about 3 weeks, before they start to annoy me.   

   

       Oh and for anyone wondering about my Distress Marker update, I do NOT have any NEWS to share and I just HOPE that I can decide what I really want to do, once I do hear back from the store and Ranger!  Wish me luck!!

Oh!! What a gorgeous day!! ...and some BAD News too!!

...it absolutely gorgeous today, with bright blue skies lots of wonderful sunshine and temps up to 60!!  Oh how I LOVE this wonderful weather and the feeling of Spring in the air.   It's one of the nicest days we've had so far this year and I LOVE it!!

   I have to admit, that once the weather starts to feel warm, my thoughts also go to being outside enjoying the day and I can't wait for the days when I can sit out on my desk and type up my blog post.  Today, I'm enjoying  having my windows open, even if only for a short time and letting in some of the nice fresh air.   It's feels so nice and I'm loving this change toward Spring and also looking forward to changing our clocks this weekend, so that we'll have the daylight last longer each day!!  WOOHOO!!

   I'm a bit behind in creating, but I do have two new cards to share!  Yesterday, I spent much of my day doing more organizing in my craft room and also went for a nice Chiro adjustment, which was much needed.  I took a little break from the computer and that too was something really seems to help.  As much as I miss being online, I really like feeling better!

  My first card today is very much in a Spring inspired theme and it was created for this week's Color Combo Challenge over at The Outlawz.   I am including a picture of the wonderful image the girls found as our inspiration and so you can the see the wonderful bright happy colors.  As you can see in the image below, the "Twist" this week is to also include a Rosette as part of your project:

  The first thing that I did was use my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a selection of rosette and flower die cuts and I put them all together to make one large flower, which is the main focal point in my card.  I then simply added on a center border and a matching Sentiment and my card was done!

     The flower incorporate all the colors for the challenge, as well as the Rosette, which is part of this multi-layered flower.  As you can see in this view, it's really quite a large flower and is very dimensional.  It's the type of card I might include with a gift, as it would take extra care and packaging to be mailed, but that also can be done.

     My next card was created today and is also for a challenge at The Outlawz.  This one is for today's new Sketch Challenge and I am also including a copy of the sketch that the DT created for us.

   And this is the card that I created for the challenge.  It was actually very easy to put together and the sentiment is the main focal point on this card.  It's actually a digi sentiment that I printed out on cardstock and then used a Circle-Shaped Nestie die to cut it out.  I then edged it in Wild Honey Distress ink to match my papers.  The papers are all from Basic Greys' - Sweet Threads, which is a wonderful set, full of of Spring Colors.

     ....And now for the NOT so good stuff and for me this is a bummer!   And the bad news is that my brand new set of  Distress Markers from Ranger are a HUGE Disappointment!!!    Yes, you read that right...I am totally NOT loving my markers and can't believe that something I was so happy about, has turned out to be a bust!!    Like many of you, I was super excited when I heard about these markers and I had pre-ordered the full set, as soon as I saw them listed for Pre-Order at Simon Says Stamp.   I was one of the first people to order and luckily received my set, as soon as they received their first shipment.   I want to point out, the I am very very pleased with Simon Says and that my disappointment is NOT in any way related to the store or their customer service.   They have been excellent and I have absolutely nothing but good praise for them.  The problem is the markers and they are not at ALL what I expected and I suspect I have a defective set?

     My markers arrived on February 23rd and other than coloring one small stamp to test out the stamping ability, yesterday was my first chance to really take time to get them all out and start experimenting.  Unfortunately, I did NOT have good results and I'm totally disappointed.   I will NOT be keeping this set and I'm working together with Simon Says Stamp on a resolution.    My plan yesterday, was to color in the Swatch Sheet, (downloaded and printed from the Ranger Site).   I wanted to use it as my color guide and once I started to fill it in was when I quickly realized that the markers were not coloring well--as a matter of fact, some of them were already dry, which was the first sign  of bad news.   I did end up filling in the entire sheet (see below) and have noted which markers gave me problems.  Overall, I have to assume that I have a bad set, as I can NOT imagine they would color this poorly from day one?   While some colors do seem pretty good, they really are not nearly what I had hoped or expected?   As soon as I noticed the problem, I took the time to finish the swatch sheet, takes photos and then immediately emailed all this to Simon Says Stamp.   I have NO clue as to what is wrong or why some of my markers are already dry, but I do HOPE to find out soon??

 
   The colors that I had the most problem with are Black Soot, Picket Fence, Worn Lipstick, Stormy Sky, Scattered Straw and Chipped Sapphire.  The worst is the Picket Fence, which is totally dry on the brush trip and also already stained, with only one use.   The Black Soot is also significantly dry on the fine tip side and that is where I seemed to see most of the dryness.

 

   Needless to say, I'm really shocked at how these are working and I'm not sure what happened to my set? I really had wanted these so much and had been looking forward to using them often.  One of the things I LOVE most about Distress products, is how they work with water and I had all kinds of fun things I had wanted to try with these.  But, for now I'm waiting and do NOT want to use them any longer until we know what Ranger instructs us to do.  I do again, want to thank Simon Says for contacting me right away and working to make the work out for all.  I have NO problem with returning them, I just want to be sure that is what is best and I wanted it to be known that I'm not happy with the results.  I am also wondering IF anyone else has had any issues with their new Distress Markers?   If so, please let me know?

    Right now, I'm also torn about what I want to do?  Ideally, I want another set, but ONLY if they are a whole LOT better than these.   I am also taking an online class with Tim, that starts on March 19th, and that was another reason that I ordered my set so early.  I wanted to be sure to have them before the class started and thought for sure this would work out great.    Now, I won't have them for the class, making it another part of my disappointment.   I guess I'll just have to wait and see how this all turns out, but it's still a let down, especially when it's a rather pricey product?    I'm definitely bummed out, and don't think there is going to be a quick and easy answer, which makes it even worse??   Ugh!!!    What do you think?   What would you do?