Simply Thank You Card 2018

Penny Black Stamp & Copic Markers

Getting ready to mail out my thank you cards and many of  these friends aren't card makers, so I kept the card simple. I know they will be tossed in the trash as soon as they read them. 
This is also one of the cards for the FabMo Paper Crafters Workshop this month. It's a good beginner copic coloring class for those who no nothing about the product. 

FabMo Paper Crafters January Workshop 2018

Star Dream Card Stock

Inspired by a blog post by Jennifer Mcguire, I pulled out a very old Stampin Up stamp set (2004) to do a simply water color on an heat embossed card. 
Doing classes at FabMo, the cards have to be simply since I don't know the crafting level of the people attending but still look nice. I also like to use what I have in my stash since the workshop $$$ is donated to FabMo. 

Zig Clean Color Water Color Brushes. 

Honey and Lemon Get Well Card 2017

I'm a fan of honey and lemon as a cure all.

This card was inspired from a Pinterest post a while back. 

I didn't have all the parts, so I waited several months for the black Friday. I still had to break out my Cricut machine to cut the Ampersand to get the correct size. 

This is the first draft, it still needs a little sprucing up but I got the proportions right. Will be part of my January card class in 2018. 

Little Gift Box Card

Not the best photo, sorry about that. I wanted to a gift box card I had seen on Pinterest  and I remembered the design but not the dimensions. So I picked up this box die cut (which in my world was $$$) thinking it would speed things up in making the boxes. When I got home had couldn't figure out why it wasn't turning out right. Finally the light bulb went on and it was becasue the box was so much small than the sample I had seen. Had to go back to the old school method and make the box from scratch. Still the box die does make cute little boxes and tiny bow.   

2017 Caring Hearts Card Drive.

Sample of the cards we will be making for the card drive

I will be hosting a Paper Crafters workshop on 

Sunday, November 12, at Fabmo. 

10:00 am  - 2:0o pm

The workshop will be to make cards for the "Caring Heart" card drive. The cards are given to the elderly in senior centers who have no family or visitors during the holidays. 

I will provide all the materials to make the cards, which will be on the simple side. We also need people to write a short message inside to add the personal touch, so even non card makers are welcome. 
Hope you can join us!

Thanks!

Halloween Eyes 2017

Designed by Geri @ Cranberry Hill

Isn't it great when you envision something and it turns out!
Geri the owner of Cranberry Hill designed this candy holder for her "Hag Day" celebration. I knew when I saw it, I would fill it up with eyeballs. I work at an optometrist, so had to go with the chocolate eyes. I think it's just too cute! 

In the kitchen and garden 2017

When things get stressful, I head to my garden or kitchen. Watering the garden or cooking up something is my happy place.
Every couple of months the doctor I work for brings in a crate of ripe bananas. It's a small office so I bring most of the bananas home to make banana bread. Someone asked me why I make bread when I'm gluten sensitive and can't eat it.  I hate to see the bananas go to waste and I don't bake all that well but I can make banana bread. People seem happy to receive a loaf, so that's a plus. I also love the smell of baking, even if I can't eat any of it.  So I see it as a win - win!
In my garden the second round of basil is in so I'm in the process of making pesto. Nothing better than fresh pesto! Again another friend said it was faster and cheaper to just buy pesto. For me it's the process, spending time out in the garden, picking off the leaves and getting everything ready. Today is a beautiful day to be outside so why not?
Now to find more people to give the banana bread to. :) 

Lawn Fawn - Elphie Selfie 2017

I've been on a creative roll this week. There are a whole lot of babies being born this year. I decided to make tags instead of card. I don't have very man baby theme stamps so I had to go through my stash for stuff to see what I could come up with. I've had this Lawn Fawn "Elphie Selfie" stamp set for awhile now (impulse buy) and the little baby elephant just popped out. 

Paper Crafters at FabMo - October 2017

Finally got my act together to get my Paper Crafters workshop together for FabMo. I love making Halloween cards, even with it not being a super big card sending holiday. 
I also designed a Halloween gift card holder for those few kids I will see on the big day. 

Gift Card Holders 2017

I volunteer at FabMo and we do a workshop at Google once a month. Coming up with projects that can be done in an hour and use supplies from the FabMo stash can be challenging. Almost all the young employees don't know how to sew, let alone use a needle and thread but I will say they have no fear when it comes to learning something new. They just go for it!
I saw some gift card holders on Pinterest made from felt, which FabMo gets a lot of. Using my die cuts, I whipped these up. I've never been good at making french knots, but for some reason it worked on the snowman. The Joy holder is a spin on my German Shepherd who loves to chase sticks. Even the tiniest little chip of wood, she will fetch it. It brings her great joy, so I had to make this one with a little branch. 
They turned out so well that I will do a workshop at Fabmo for my Paper Crafters group. 

Gifts from Iceland 2017

When I travel, I try and support local artists. While in Iceland I picked up a few things. The heart necklace is made for ram horn and horse hair. The glass beads are made in the original community center for the island. Walls are about 2 feet thick and very low ceilings. Those earrings are going to a good friend for Christmas. 
I really wanted some lava beads and finally found a simple necklace. Good thing I didn't buy one of the more fancy and expensive pieces. After I got home I researched Iceland lava beads and found out that the lava on the island can't be made into bead - too brittle. All are imported in from somewhere. 

Iceland - Food 2017

Langostino, shark in a bottle, whale tail, lamb bacon, sea bird

Iceland, I think is known more for the food people won't eat. :)  There isn't a whole lot of fresh veggies or fruit so if your a picky eater, you'll starve. We ate most of the famous dishes and it was no surprise they lived up to their reputation. Fermented shark wasn't that bad but the whale tail was nasty! With food price being so $$$$ is had to be really bad for me not to finish it. We did find a bakery that made the best croissant (even better than Paris) and a swiss mocha is made with real chocolate. Of course a small mocha (think large expresso cup size) and croissant was $12.00.
I did have the best lobster (langostino) I've every had. It was the only thing on the menu and that restaurant (out in the middle of no where) does it really well. It came recommend by our Airbnb host. 

Best chocolate croissant ever!

Iceland Snowmobiling 2017

One of the things on my list of must do while in Iceland was to go snowmobiling over a glacier. Everything in Iceland is very expensive and snowmobiling was right up there! It was a fun adventure and my daughter did a great job piloting. once in a life time experience, at least for me. 
It was very icy ( summer time) so just a little more dangerous. Without fluffy snow, there are a lot of giant ice pits all over the glacier and things were slippy so staying on the trail was super important. 

Iceland Trip 2017

Back from my trip to Iceland, so there will be several posts about my travels there. 

One of the things I wanted to do was ride an Icelandic horse. Susan Eckert, the owner of Adventure Women Travels was a big fan. I always wanted to take one of her trips to Iceland but I wasn't experienced enough to go with all the horse women. Her trips there were centered around horseback riding as as she was an avid rider and owned two Icelandic horses here in the states. Susan passes away this year, so in her memory I gave it try. 
My horse Oden was a slow and steady guy but my daughter's horse Tree Bark (Icelandic name too hard to pronounce) was a feisty one. He always wanted to be next to the guide horse so my daughter was always at the head of the line. Beautiful waterfalls everywhere and the water being glacier fed, was safe to drink straight from the source. Saw a few big geysers (only Icelandic word to make it into main stream English) which was impressive.  

Dealing with Stress

When things get stressful for me, I turn to my garden. Last week my credit card number was stolen, so I had to call to cancel my card and get a new one reissued. That process wasn't all that bad but getting my new card in time for my upcoming trip to Iceland this week, is causing a few gray hairs. Now I understand why my Dad always went out to his garden after work to water. Something very meditative about doing that. 
I also have two homes in the outlining area of Houston Texas. At this point I have no idea if any damage was done or more importantly if my tenants are OK. There hasn't been any response from my property managers, but I'm sure there are more pressing issues they have to deal with.  
So I walk out to my garden and water the plants that I started from seed or little seedlings. Water the Japanese maple trees that came from my father garden to help remind me to be thankful for what I do have. 

Squishy Backgrounds 2017

When I'm having a creative block, I make backgrounds for my cards. For the longest time I could never get the squishy acrylic block technique to work. I've watched many YouTube video, but until I watched one done by Jennifer McGuire did the light bulb go on. It's not rocket science but Jennifer explained the why and how without a lot of excess blabbling, which is the down fall so many other crafting blogs. The photo doesn't show the really cool ones on made since I've already turned them into cards. Big thank you to Jennifer!  I will link her blog posting on how to do this technique once I figure out how to do it. :) 

Halloween Cards 2017

Every time my computer is updated it takes me awhile to figure out how to upload my photos. Sorry for the delay in getting things posted!
I finally got around to picking up a ream of Desert Storm card stock. Love the color and more down to earth look. I've also practiced more with my Misti and well,  have to admit it does make a big difference.  If you want to mass produce cards or avoid those under-stamping mistakes, using this stamping tool is a must have, even at the high price point. 
For this year I went with making the candy corn card to mail out. Even with Halloween not being a really big card sending holiday, I love making them! All the stamps and die cuts are really old and the packaging is long gone so I can't list everything. 

Sand Dollar Card 2017

Hand delivery only 

I'm a bubble thinker, meaning I solve problems by putting together different ideas. Most people in the creative process are like this. I had a box full of sand dollars I collected years ago on a crafting retreat at the beach. I walked along the beach for hours picking up sand dollars. I thought I would make a wreath at some point. Well fast forward to today and I turned them into a card for my card making group the "Cornflakes" after seeing this definition of thalassophile on Pinterest. All the bubbles came together and made a card that is truly in my style - clean and simple. 

Monoprinting Sample Card 2017

Getting ready for my Faux mono-printing workshop at FabMo on July 16, 2017.
YouTube is a wonderful thing! I've been working with twinkling H2O water colors for years and never knew there were other ways to work with them. I mainly make backgrounds, but I gave this mono-printing technique a try and surprisingly it turned out pretty well. The demo person said she could get 30 prints out of one round of painting on the stamp but I was only able to get 10, which still isn't bad.  

Faux Mono Printing Workshop July 26, 2017

FabMo Faux Mono Printing Card Workshop

Finally getting around to posting my next workshop at FabMo. Made the samples and poster but forgot to take a picture. Took a few weeks to get back down to FabMo to take a photo of the poster. 
Everyone is welcome to attend the workshop, just let me know your coming. We will be using Twinkling H2O watercolors the way they were intended to be use.  You just paint your stamp once and you can get several image by just misting with a little more water. If there's time we'll also make some backgrounds, my personal favorite with these watercolors. All supplies are provide and a $10.00 donation to FabMo is requested. 

Compass Card

To help with the creative process when I'm in a slump, I make backgrounds. I'm not sure what it is about just slapping color down on paper but it works for me. The back ground will sit around for months until my creative light bulb goes on. I had made some of the cards last month when I came across these mini compasses in a junk pile. The compass is really too thick to mail but it's just fit the theme of the card so I just went with it. 

HB card 2017

What happens when you take photo after midnight, just a little off.

It's great when you have other crafty friends who have all the lastest good stuff! I borrowed the HB die (Poppy Stamps) to make this card for a buddy's birthday. I'm on a inlay kick right now and using my water colors. This die really has too many tiny pieces for the inlay technique but it was made for a special friend. I won't be making to many of these in future but I think it turned out well!

My Happy Place

Carmel City Beach

Sometimes just knowing where your happy place is makes all the difference. As all crafters do, I took down a ton of projects to work on. Really didn't get to any of them but it doesn't stop me from packing as if I will. :) 

Share Handmade Kindness

I've joined the movement Jennifer Mcguire's "share handmade kindness" project. Making cards to pass out randomly to people to spread more happiness and positive thoughts. For the last few weeks I've made master watercolor sheets to use on my cards, making each card unique. 
This one (can't tell from the photo) uses the inlay technique and mini brads that I've had for years. Finally breaking into my old scrapbooking stash of embellishments. Amazing how much stuff I still have from years ago!

Those who inspire others - Susan Eckert - Adventure Women Travels

Susan Eckert - Adventure Women

There are a few people who have had a great impact on my life. Susan Eckert was one of those people. She helped me (and thousands of other women) to go outside my comfort zone and travel to see the world. She was one of the first adventure travel companies just for women. At the time of my first trip with Adventure Women, I was married to someone who didn't like international travel. I either had to live with the regret of never getting to see the world or do it on my own. Since that very first trip many years ago, I've now flown half way around the world by myself, been in a tropical storm that stranded us on a remote island, capsized in a boat in Nepal, come face to face with a wild orangutan, been only a few feet way from a wild lioness eating a fresh kill, had a baby seal born on my foot while hiking the Galapagos Island and taken a picture with a llama while hiking Machu Picchu. There are many more special memories that Susan made possible for me and many other women. It was sad to get the news Susan past away this week. Her legacy to encourage women to travel alone will continue but she will still be sorely missed. 

In Honor of Susan Eckert

Inlay Card Technique

A little closer look at one of the cards I made with all the watercolor backgrounds I made this past weekend. You can't really tell that the many thanks is inlayed into the card but it is a cool effect and make the card very flat - great for mailing. 
Thinking I may turn this into a class. It's so fun just to spend time splashing color onto paper with no really goal in mind. 

Water Color Backgrounds 2017

I had this weekend off so after getting all the weeding done in my garden and around the property, I spent time making watercolor backgrounds. I tried Color Burst Crystals (like Brusho) but I still like Twinkling H2O as my go to watercolors. It took me awhile to figure out how to get a consistent but random background look without everything turning into a muddy mess.  

I finally figure out if I painted the watercolor onto my block, mist lightly (key here) and let the block sit on the watercolor paper for awhile (another key step), I avoided the running muddy mess.  Now with a stack of backgrounds made I decided to try the inlay technique for the cards I'm making for the "share handmade kindness" project. 

Water Color Backgrounds

When ever I lose my creative mojo, I turn to my twinkling H2O watercolors. Splashing color on to paper with no goal in mind is helpful. On some of my favorite card making blogs, they all talk about how "easy" it is to  make interesting backgrounds - NOT true at all. My best guess they had to make a ton before getting the one that's shown on camera. Of course they may be more loose about what's good and what's not. :)  Still I love the blogs and videos which inspire me to keep trying. I plan to turn these backgrounds into "share the kindness" cards to hand out.  I also hope to do a workshop, so others like me spend the day splatter paint and see what we get. 

Time in the garden 2017

Since I have the whole weekend off from work (happy dance) Annie and I spent all morning working out in the garden and outlining property. Having to deal with deer and gophers, I'm very limited into what type of landscaping plants I can use. I find it relaxing to pull weeds even if I'm having to climb up and down the hill. Annie of course only cares about chasing her ball. :) 

Washi Paper Weaving with Crane

I've been trying to clean up my crafting area, a battle every crafter goes through. I'm finally getting around to using up my washi paper scraps. I made the base card weave part months ago and just unearth them this morning. I picked up a huge bag of Mizuhiki cord at Cranberry Hill's used rubber stamp sale last week for $1 so decided to finish up my cards. I think this will be my May card I send out to friends for a "just becasue" moment. :)
I may end up teaching a class, since I have more scraps that I can possible use up in my life time. 

Trying something new with food.

Finding out later in life that I have gluten issues, it's been a challenge to bake. Now that's it more main stream and cost effective to use almond or coconut flour, I'm able to experiment more. I also have a good friend who is a baker and has a spouse and child who is also gluten free. So when I need a good recipe, she my go to person. This past week I perfected my gf pizza, which make for a quick dinner. Adding homemade pesto and spinach from my garden to the pizza is a plus too!
I also BBQ pork chops for the first time on the grill and they turned out perfect. I never knew you could!
Now the challenge for this week is to make a gf carrot cake for an up coming birthday at work. I'm not a fan of carrot cake (not sweet enough) but it's the birthday boy's favorite. 
My daughter gave me some coffee beans from Hawaii in December and I decided it was time to start using them. I've been making ice coffee for Annie's morning work outs. . With the weather finally warming up, I can enjoy time out in the garden while Annie chases her ball. 

Eye Chart Card

This was a card I designed years ago when embossing folders first came out. Amazingly the parts survived my big craft room purge. Now that I work for an optometrist and his birthday is coming up this week I made another one. Pretty  simple but he's a guy so over embellishing it would be a waste. :)  

Morning in the garden 2017

I'm not a morning person by nature. I'm most creative late at night when everything is quiet. Things changed after I got Annie, who requires daily exercise (especially when she was a puppy) so my day starts at sunrise.  Annie gets her breakfast at dawn and then after a few hours goes out for a run. During that time, I get things done around the house before I have to leave for work. With the hot weather now here, I really have to make sure Annie's workout gets done before it heats up. 
California strawberries are now in season (happy dance) so I enjoyed some time out in my garden snacking on them while throwing the ball for Annie. My daughter brought back some Hawaiian coffee beans for me so I made some ice coffee, which is something new for me. 
Have to love living in CA!

Midori Travel Journals in Leather

Basic Book Binding

It's always fun to learn a new skill or try a technique using different materials. I've been paper crafting for years and ended up having all the tools to work with leather. The paper crafting industry back in the day took tools from other areas to use until they developed their own. The Any Where hole punch is a leather tool but I used it to set eyelets.  The Midori style travel journal was a ton of fun to make. I don't think I will ever write in it (not my thing) but I love making them. FabMo had received a huge donation of leather samples so it made the workshop affordable while we practiced making the holes. This was Scottie's first workshop as a teacher and she did a super job. We hope to repeat this workshop later on in the year. 

Easter 2017

I spent the Easter weekend with my daughter and all the grand puppies. Have 4 dogs in my very tiny place was challenge. My daughter started Easter off with the breaking of the chocolate bunny ears. I don't think I know anyone who starts with the feet? Then we went out to dinner at Hot Pot, which was interesting. Can't say it was great but it was a new experience. Bailey is spending the week with us while her family is on vacation. It's been a little stressful for Annie (who likes things in order) since Bailey can be a little naughty. :)

Perfect Ligthing - Yellow Roses 2017

For the past week, I've been picking up the mail for a friend who's on vacation. Her whole driveway is lined with roses, something I can't grow with all the deer around my place. It was an overcast day and it had just stopped raining. Yellow roses are a favorite of mine, so I noticed that the yellow rose bush was in full bloom. Then I saw that the lighting was perfect for a good shot with my cell photo. No editing required! :)

Bunny Ears Gone Wild

I finally had a chance to play with my new stamp sets from Hero Arts (March kit) and Lawn Fawn (scallop pop up box). I had to practice making several boxes to get the pop up box pop. Once I got that down, I started the fun part of embellishing my diorama. Everything was going good until  I closed up the box and saw the ears popping up. It was a "Houston We Have A Problem" moment. The pop up box fits exactly into an A-2 size envelope without bunny ears. Of course I used super strong tape to hold everything together so I can't rip it apart. It does look cute with the ears sticking out thou. :) 

Scottie's Leather Memory Journal Workshop

FabMo's  Paper Crafters will be hosting another super class - Memory Journals by Scottie on Sunday April 23, 2017. 
Scottie will teach a basic book binding technique using leather, faux leather and wallpaper.  
I did a test class with Scottie this past weekend and my journal turned out awesome! 
I had to dig through my stash of tools to find my "anywhere" hole punches I used back in my scrapbooking days. Amazing that I still had them with all with all the hole punch machines that have hit the crafting market. 

Anywhere Hole Punches

Birthday 2017

It's a big birthday year for me and my daughter made it super special. First was a surprise dinner at Le Papillion with my sisters and nieces this past weekend. I was totally surprised when I walked in and saw everyone. Dinner was great!
Then on my birthday we went to dinner at Gochi, which is a fusion Japanese place that makes Japanese pizzas. As always dinner what super. My daughter's boyfriend gave me a Fire HD8, which was something I've wanted to try. I haven't jumped on the a whole laptop bandwagon so they thought this was a good intro. 

My daughter didn't want my supply to run too low.