Bill Engvall - Here's Your Sign!

I bought surprise tickets for my husband and me to go to see Bill Engvall while he was in town.

If you ever get the chance to see him live, GO! 

My throat hurt from laughing, my chest hurt from laughing, I had to take off my glasses I don't know how many times to wipe my eyes..... AND my left ear hurt - my husband was laughing so hard!

We've loved his shows for a very long time, and I was thrilled to have the chance to see him in person.

Teacher and Support Employees of the Year 2013-2014

Little did I know this past October I would start working with wood!  Again, a big THANKS to my upline Kathy who always gives us new projects and challenges at Stamp Camp!  Since working on the monogrammed letters and wooden crosses, I'm no longer afraid of crafting with it... well, not afraid exactly - it's just a new medium.

Our team leader approached me once the school voted on our TOY and Support Employee of the year and asked if I would make a plaque or something we could present to them.

This is what I came up with.

I used the Team Spirit cartridge to cut out the Huskies, and Plantin Schoolbook to cut the letters.

In hindsight, I should have Mod Podged AFTER I took the pictures, but that will have to be for next time. :)

One thing I will say is that after they had more time to dry, some of those still wet looking areas cleared up nicely, and weren't fuzzy looking at all.

Nephew's Birthday Card

I'm still in love with this Thinlits card base!  REALLY LOVE IT!

January is lots of birthdays in our house - my sister's, my nephew's, some friends.... lots of birthdays!

The yellow card I made for my sister, and this Island Indigo card I made for her son are exactly the same card base, but so very different!

I even used the same DSP stack - Gingham Garden for both cards.  It wasn't a matter of being lazy, or not imaginative, just that the colors worked so well.

Here's the inside view of his card.  I really enjoy having that inside panel for messages.

 

 

Sister's Birthday Card

I spent a lot of time thinking about my sister's birthday card... so much time, that I actually finished it on her birthday, and got it out in the mail to her 2 days later (because of the weekend).

This is one of those cards that I added a detail, then another, and another.  Then more details on top of those.  I'm thrilled with how this card turned out.  I believe it's one of my best.

The card base is a Circle Framelits card cut with an additional flap.  I used Gingham Garden DSP and Washi tape.  I cut a scalloped circle to cover the yellow front flip area, a strip of punched ribbon made into a 3D medallion and used the Artisan punch to cut out the Happy Birthday on top of the medallion.

The flowers come from the Secret Garden stamp set, stamped, die cut, and folded to give dimension.  I added a bit of Washi tape down the right side of the first inner panel.

The Happy Birthday is framed at the top and bottom with more of the Gingham Garden DSP.  The main colors on this card:  Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, and Tempting Turquoise.

Click HERE to see a video I took of this card opening with the 3D medallion.

Commissioned Crosses

The cross project for Christmas gifts went over quite well!  One of my high school classmates asked if I'd make one for her, and then I had a request for a 2nd.

These are the crosses I came up with.  They are almost identical.  I haven't found a reason to work with any other paper stacks yet.  The Modern Medley DSP (black and vanilla)  and Mocha Morning DSP (ret.) make them look so elegant in my opinion.

It's rather a long process, but so much faster when I had only 2 to make!
Paint the canvas backing, tea stain the hymnal page (after the decision on which hymn), paint the edges of both crosses and cover with DSP.  Sand the edges and then ink to finish the look.  Adhere the hymnal page to the canvas, and adhere both crosses.  Finish with a center medallion.


They turn out so beautifully - it's definitely worth the amount of work.

2014 Christmas Cards - January

Christmas cards for 2014?  Yes!

This past Christmas was wonderful!  I heard so many people say they didn't send cards because they ran out of time - haven't gotten around to it yet, won't send cards this year because they don't have time, etc.  I sat down one evening, signed our cards, added the address labels, and had them out in the post the very next morning.

Even though I stopped running the contest for prizes and participation of others mid year last year, I am going to still keep on making the cards - simply for my own peace of mind.


This card is inspired by the card I received from my friend Melissa.  She used the same stamp set, and I then took the idea and moved it around a bit.

Here's the inside view and envelope.

One change I'm making to work the cards even faster this coming November is to have them already signed and sealed.  I'll just have to add the address labels and stamps!  I thought of adding the stamps already but most of the cards are actually hand delivered, so I'll wait on that til the last minute.