Falling Leaves

Wow, I have been so busy I didn't realize how long it had been since I blogged!  Gosh has it really been over a week??  Time flies when you having fun right!!  Well I have still been crafting a little this week but I have mostly been working on getting myself and my life organized - HAH!!!  More on that later... For today, here is a card I did for this weeks Free 4 All challenge over at SCS - Fall Leaves

Falling Leaves

I bought several packages of these silk leaves last year at Hobby Lobby.  I have been itching to use them and kinda already had a card sketch in my mind but other things kept coming first.  When I saw today's challenge was all about fall leaves I jumped for joy and grabbed my leaves and went to work!!  I created the window using coredinations nostalgia cardstock in green and burgundy. The leaves are, as I said abive, from Hobby Lobby and the ribbon is from my stash (I save every piece of ribbon I come across!!)

As for my mention of the big nasty "O" word... organize... I am trying (once again mind you) to get a better handle on my household management and reorganize my studio to create a better work flow and hopefully cut down on the cluttery mess that always follows any project I work on!!  For my household arena I am employing lists galore!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LISTS!!!  When I have the right lists and use them I fell so much more at peace with the world!!  I am also employing a few tips and tricks from the good ole Flylady.  She has a ton of great ideas but there is also a ton of stuff that just doesn't work me so I am picking and choosing from all different resources and rebooting my Home Management Binder!!!  I might even post some results when I am finished - we'll see!!!  Well, none of this reorganizing is going to get done by itself so I am signing off for today and hope to be back sooner than a week this time!!!

 Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Anniversary Easel Card

Today's post is an Anniversary Easel card I did for my in-laws that I also submitted for today's Ways To Use Challenge WT393 -Fancy Folds over at Splitcoaststampers.  This was my first time to attempt one of these little cuties and I must say it wasn't the easiest card to make by far but oh did it turn out cute!!!  Just think what I could do if I actually practiced at these and knew what I was doing!!!

So it is 47th wedding anniversary for my Mother and Father in-law and I looked up what the traditional and modern gifts were and they both said BOOKS!!!  I am not the kind of person to buy someone else a book unless I happen to know about one they want - which hardly ever happens.  Plus both my MIL and FIL have electronic readers.  So anyway, while doing my daily check-in over at SCS I wnet to see what today's challenge was and oh my gosh... problem solved.  Check out the challenge to get all the deets but just know that this little Easel Card baby was one of the options!!!  How perfect is that - I get my card and a book all in one, yaaahhhh!!!  Now I don't have a particular site that I got my idea from.  I checked out the tutorial from SCS here.  Then I looked at probably a hundred different sites to get the hang of how they worked and the different styles out there and came up with this....

Anniversary Easel Card

Part of what made this card difficult for me (beside having never done one before!!) was that I do not have a die cut that makes this book shape so I had to design one in inkscape first then make an svg file for good ole Edward (my eCraft) to work with!!  The yellow DP under the sentiment card is SU! Bright Collection Patterns Pack is TPS Deja Blue.  The card and book base are actually from scraps box.  Is is somewhere between  SU! Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point but I don't know exactly the brand or name -sorry.  I inked the edges of the book easel with a blended combination of Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive.  For the book base I did a lot of soft sponging all over with SU! Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and CTMH Oak Brown.  I then went back over the edges with Tempting Turquoise and just a tiny bit of Old Olive.  For the inner white "page"  I created the wrap around text (also in inkscape) and printed it then using the hinge method I gave to Edward to cut out!!  The text is 1Cor 13:14 repeated all the way around.  Lastly, I created the sentiment in PSE10 and printed it out on Whisper White and inked the edges with Tempting Turqouise.  The ribbon for the 'book mark' is from my scraps. 

Well I hope you like it and I also hope to practice and get better to bring you more of these in the future!!

If you would like the svg files send me an email and I will send you the files!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

When you begin with Paris...

Hello everyone and No I am NOT in Paris!!!  I wish!!!  Today I bring you a wedding card I did for a dear friend.  She knows this wonderfully adorable couple who were getting married and I was honored when asked if I would make a card for her to give them!!

So yes, I have to give a little background first... First of all did I mention how fabulous this couple is??  Can I tell you I haven't had the pleasure of meeting them??  Yes, you read that right.... I am bragging about two people I have never met before.  I know how fabulous they are through the eyes of my dear friend who speaks fondly of them often.  So, I kinda feel as though I know them too!!  Okay, back to the wedding card (I digress, get use to it!!).  The couple took a trip to Paris where he proposed to her under the Eiffel Tower!!  I will give you a moment to soak that in.... OMG! How Romantic is that - A Fairy Tale Romantic - That's How Romantic!!!  With that the design theme was chosen.... Paris of course!!

Here is the card!

Paris Dream Wedding Tri-Shutter Card

My friend brought the couples' "Save the Date" card and wedding invitation to use for color inspiration.  The dp is Destinations Afar by Katie Pertiet.  The center panel was created by embossing a piece of SU! Tempting Turquoise with the Paper Studio's Intricate Swirls folder and inking the edges with SU! Pacific Point and Tempting Turquoise.  The dp panels were matted with coredination cardstock and edges inked with CTMH Wild Flower.  The four corner panels were matted with SU! Daffodil Delight , edges inked with Wild Flower and then coredination cardstock also with the edges inked with Wild Flower.  All of the embellishments; the center photo of Paris, the tassel tied to the corner of the photo, and the four corner photos of the couple were all cut from their Save the Date package.  Those cute photo booth pictures of them.... the couple had them taken in a photo booth in Paris after the proposal - and acceptance of said proposal of course!!!  As for the sentiment, I personally get to take credit for that one!!!  I was struggling at first what to say on this one.  They are both very beautiful, educated and sophisticated people.  The typical cutesy stuff was not going to cut it on this one.  But then all of a sudden it hit me, I ran it by my friend and she loved it!!  After all, how else could a story continue on from Paris but as a dream!!  I wish them all the happiness in the world and that their marriage is one dream come true after another!!


Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Count Your Blessings

Well, I am officially calling it the Fall Season at my house!!  Though I am in Texas and we really don't have such a season, still I am ready to bring our the beautiful fall colors!  Today's card starts off the season quite well I think!  I entered this card into this weeks Sketch Challenge: SC402 over at SCS.

Count Your Blessings - Thanksgiving Card

The dp all came from the Paper Studio's Natural Botanical pack.  The solid cardstock was from my stash.  The big beautiful sunflower came from Hobby Lobby ~ everything FALL if 40% off right now!!!  The leaves and raffia are from a large box of random "greenery" that I have.  I inked the edges of the background piece with SU! Pumpkin Pie and the horizontal piece with Old Olive.  For the sentiment piece, I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities - Big Scalloped Squares Large to cut and emboss the shape, inked the edges with Pumpkin Pie and stamped the sentiment (unknown designer) with Old Olive.

Don't you just love the color combination?  I certainly do!!  Now if only we could get a little more of what northern states know to be Fall down here!!!

That's it for today hope you enjoyed my little appetizer of Fall because there is more to come and wait till you see the main course!!



Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Well Traveled Birthday

Today I am posting a card I actually did last month.  I made a Tri-Shutter Card for my brother for his birthday!  I didn't want to post it until I knew he had received it first!!  And then well I had moved on to my next projects and kept forgetting to go back and post it!!  So here you go folks...

My brother has loved motorcycles for as long as I can remember and has owned a few here and there!  Though I am terrified for the people who ride motorcycles... I acknowledge and understand my brother's passion for The Ride!!  He currently has made the switch from the 'crotch rockets' I remember from the past to the more sophisticated ride of a Harley touring bike.  He and his wife enjoy long cross country rides together on his new bright red beauty!!  When I started working on his card they had just returned from a trip that took them from southern Oklahoma to northern Wisconsin!  They had a wonderful time seeing all that beautiful country.  Okay so all of that to give you the reason for the elements I chose for his card.

Well Traveled Birthday - Tri Shutter Card

For the front and back panels, I searched and searched until I found a digital image of a map of the state of Wisconsin (most of their trip was centered around being in Wisconsin).  I made sure that specific cities of significance were visible.  I distressed the edges of the map pieces with red SU! Real Red and the center sentiment piece with SU! Old Olive.  As for the motorcycle - just when I was about to give up on finding a sticker of a motorcycle that was red, I was walking down the sticker isle for the last time in the last available store in my area when my 2 1/2 year old son said, "look mommy, motorcycle!!"  I looked where is little finger was pointing and there it was!!!  Not just a motorcycle - but a RED one, yeaaahh!!  My little man saved the day!!  I would tell you the sticker deets but I have forgotten and already threw away the outer packaging, I'm sorry.  I can tell you I got it at HL and it also had a leather jacket, gloves and a helmet.  The other dp is from the Paper Studio's glory 2 God paper pack.  The ribbon accents are 1" grosgrain.

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's post.  If you are new to my blog and want to see the details of how make a Tri Shutter Card, check out this post.


Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Butterfly Birthday

This is my second post for today so please be sure to scroll down to check out my really cool Snake Party Invitations!!

This card is for a sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers - the Sketch Challenge 401.
This is the sketch...

This was my first sketch challenge and I was excited to participate!  I actually found it kinda relieving... Half the work is done for me - the design of the card.  All I had to do was fill in the blocks - how fun is that!!

Well, a few weeks ago I was given the Inkadinkado Gem Stone Insects stamp set.  I thought it would be really great to make a card using those stamps and send it to the thoughtful giver!!!  So here is my card...

Butterfly Thank You Slider Card -Closed

Butterfly Thank You Slider Card -Open

First of all as you can see, I modified the large horizontal front piece (piece #4). I turned it into a message slider!!  It took my a little while to figure how the mechanics but I finally figured it out.  I plan on doing a tutorial and posting it this weekend.  The glitter white background piece was dry embossed with cuttlebug's Tiny bubbles folder then embossed with versamark and kaleidoscope translucent powder.  I promise the picture does not do it justice - I have got to learn how to capture the glitter in my photographs!!!  Anyway, the butterfly paper for piece #2 I created with the small butterfly from the set using CTMH Wild Flower.  The other stamped images were also done with CTMH Wild Flowers then embellished with glitter pens and small gems from Hobby Lobby.  I Love how this turned out - beautiful and elegant!

Okay, well that is all the time I have for today but hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to post about an awesome wedding card I did last night!!
 
Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Snake Party Invitations

 Ssssoo, a friend of mine has called the famous Mr. Clint - The Snake Man and he is bringing all his ssslithering friends to meet her youngest son and his friends at his 4th birthday party!!  This little boy is so excited - what little boy wouldn't be?!!  Live Snakes at your birthday party - how cool can you be!!  Or shall we say, how cool can your momma be!!!  Well this brave lady asked for help for the invitations and of course we came up with something great!!

Now before I show the cards I must show you something else first!  I was almost finished with the invitations, I was just putting my little Create by...Stamp on the back when I realized that for someone who isn't one of mr. snake's best friends... I sure had a lot of snakes in my studio!!!!

I had stopped and had a little chuckle to myself and just had to take a picture!!

So, for the front my friend had the idea that she wanted a big snake coiled up on a bed sand.  So with some glue, sand, and nice glass of my favorite wine spritzer we made a small mess but had big time fun doing it!!  I created an SVG image of a coiled up snake and sent it to Edward (my trusty eCraft machine!!) to cut them all outof this awesome snake print paper from the Paper Studio that my friend found!  I dry embossed each one with the Tiny Bubbles folder from cuttlebug, then I wiped my versamark pad across the top to apply it to just the raised bubbles then used clear embossing powder and heat set.  I took each snake and ran it along my pinky finger curling the edges to try and give them some dimension - it worked great!!   I used red satin ribbon for the tongue and Walaa we have snakes!!  It was almost creepy how realistic they turned out!!  The clear embossing gave it texture to add to the realism!!  I must admit - they were pretty awesome even though they were snakes!!

Snake Party Invitation Front

Once I got to the inside I just could not leave it plain.  I mean the front was so awesome that when I opened it I really felt let down by all that white!!  So I put Edward to work again and cut out some wavy strips from the same snake paper.  I ran them through my Xyron and then applied the same techniques as I did the snakes!  They turned out great.  I grabbed my little sponge and SU daffodil delight and went to town.  Aaahhhh, now that's much better!!

Snake Party Invitation Inside

 Well, if the birthday boy is happy with them then we are happy with them!  I can't wait for this exciting party and to see how our son reacts to the big snakes!!

Hope you enjoyed today's Sssshow, have a great day and come back ssssoon!  Okay so I'm being a little corny... Sssoo Sssue me!!! he he he!

Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Double Gate Card

Phew is it a whirl wind in my house lately!  This year when everyone started talking about starting again I was actually listening!!  My son started school this year - well sorta!  We decided to enroll him in MDO two days a week.  That is school enough me.  On our first day (oh I meant his first day!!), he did great - Mommy was the one who needed major amounts of Kleenex!  I was doing GREAT until it was actually time to leave him there :(  Then the emotions boiled up so bad I could hardly contain them.  Well my little man could tell his mommy was upset so that's when he got upset - I just had to walk away.  Don't you know I was told that after being upset for maybe two minutes he was terrific the rest of the day!!  When I picked him up he certainly very happy to see and ready to go home but he was also very excited to tell me all about his day and his new adventures!  Though I miss him terribly when we are apart - I know this will be good for him, for us for him to spend more time with other children his age and learn knew things from someone other than his SuperMommy!!

So how did I keep myself from getting in car and going up there and getting my son back, you ask??  Well I took the opportunity to spend some time in favorite Cyber house - Splitcoaststampers!!  I Love Love Love this place!!  If are into ANY kind of craft and want to meet some really awesome people, you have got to check this wonderful place!  It is full of Fun, Ideas, Tutorials, and beautiful Galleries Galore!!!  I have been participating in a few of their challenge and have really enjoyed it!  I decided I was going to started sharing my challenge experiences on my blog!

This week's Try a New Technique Challenge was to make a Double Gate card.  You can check out the challenge here.  This was so cute that I just couldn't resist!!  Here is mine...

Double Gate Thank You Card - Opened

 This is a close up of just the front when the card folded up!

Double Gate Card -Closed

I actually made this whole card from my scraps box, so no deets on the paper.  The Castle Stamp is from D.O.T.S - S162 Miss August Chelsea.  The inside sentiment is unkown - if you know, please let me know in the comments below!  I used the nestabilities big scalloped squares for the inside sentiment and outside tag.  I distressed the edges with CTMH Oak Brown and SU Melon Mambo.  A little hemp cord to tie it all up and walaa!  I absolutely love these cards!!  A thought occurred to me though...  Wouldn't these make adorable little birthday invitations??!!!  Now I just need to plan a party!! Thanks Judy for such a fun challenge!



Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo