I need motivation.....

.....to get this MESS organized!
I stumbled upon someone's blog (can't remember who) who posted about what was on her desk at that moment.  So nice and neat and organized...ready for that next burst of creativity.   Well, as embarrassing as this is, I decided to give it a try to embarrass myself into motivation.

John and I did a cross country (yes, another!) move late March/early April. We focused on getting the rest of the house orderly.  There is still lots of work to be done, but at least we no longer have little paths among stacks of boxes.  I left my stamp room til last.   And, here it is.

This is my desk.

And, this is behind my desk.

I have about a dozen cards that need to be made really, really soon.   But, before I can do that, I need to get organized!
I'm going in.
Wish me luck!

Less is More Week 11: Acetate

I love acetate cards!
I just think there is something really slick (not really any pun intended) about them.  They're cool.  Different.  Unique.   I've made a few in the past, but only a few.  Because I drive myself crazy with all the fingerprints I get all over the acetate.  I know.  OCD.   But, I digress.  I made this card a while ago, and just recently pulled it out because the daughter of a close friend is graduating from college in a few weeks and I thought she would like this card.  And then!  Wouldn't you know it!   The Less is More week 11 challenge is all about using acetate in a card.  Well, this card is all about the acetate.  Perfectly trimmed cardstock is used both on the inside front and the back of the card in order to hide all the adhesive used on the outside front panel and inside back panel.  That was tougher than it sounds.  But it all worked out well and I am pleased.

And a peek on the inside:

The sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo and was black embossed onto gold glossy cardstock.  The gold, cream and black glossy cardstock and gold floss are all from my stash and the graduation cap is from Jolee's.
Thanks for peeking!

OLW 49: Green, Pink & Never Seen Ink

Down to the wire....OLW 50 will be posted in a very few short hours.  But, OLW 49 has been on my mind all week....had to do it.

Jennifer over at Styles Ink was the challenge host for OLW 49.  The rules wanted us to use a stamp from our stash that has yet to see ink,  make that ink pink and green, and put it on a single layer card, no less!  She's a taskmaster, I tell ya!

Here's the first:

The lily is from Stampendous, the sentiment is from A Muse (before they became A Muse Studio).  Colored with copics.

Here's the second:

Image is from Savvy Stamps and the sentiment is from Make An Impression.

Thanks for peeking!

Make it Monday 10: Masking with Dies

Edited to add:   I just found out I won the free stamp set from PTI for this Make It Monday challenge!  Yeah, me!

A quick post to show what I did for this week's Make it Monday 10: Masking with Dies challenge over at Nichole Heady's PTI Blog.   I used PTI's XL Rickrack border die as a mask to sponge color along the bottom of my card.  I also used PTI's Star Prints stamp set, punching out the star shapes with the SU! large star punch.  The sentiment is from Hampton Arts.

I thought this made a nice young, masculine birthday card which will go to my teenage great nephew next month.

Thanks for peeking!

Less is More Week 10 One Layer Challenge - Sentiment Focus

Ok.
The guilts got to me.  One of my cards in the post for the OLW challenge last week just so happened to work for the Less is More Challenge from last Saturday.  So, I edited that post to add the LIM challenge.   But, is that really fair?  Me thinks not.   But, HUGE thanks to all the kind folks from Less is More who visited my blog and commented.  I am greatly appreciative.

So, to get the guilts to go away, I made another card.  Just for the Less is More challenge.  And, then what happens?   What I ended up doing also worked for this week's Make it Monday challenge.  Nope, not gonna do it.  Ended up making 2 cards that I needed to make anyway...one for Less is More, one for Make it Mondays.  Will post that one later.

The Less is More Challenge asked us to make a one layer card using a sentiment as the focus.   I made a mask from a Nesties heart, sponged Memento Rose Bud ink, and stamped the sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly! on shimmery (sorry you can't see that) Curious Cryogen White cardstock.

Thanks for peeking!

OLW 48: A Sympathetic Challenge

Edited to add:   The second card in this post is very appropriate for the Week 10 Less is More Challenge:  Sentiment Focus.   A BIG THANKS to Bonnie for sending me over there!

Welcome!
It's been a loooooong time since my last post.  I've been busy.  Really busy.  Like a cross country move busy.   This morning I decided to take a break from unpacking the boxes that seem to multiply like rabbits every night.  I've gone to bed each night this week thinking, "job well done today, kiddo!", only to wake the next morning wondering if the never ending boxes will ever go away.  Well, they will.  One box, one day at a time.

So, what did I do on my break this morning??  The OLW challenge this week over at Simplicity's blog, of course!  The rules this week are:

This week's One-Layer Wednesday Challenge is to make a sympathy card that does NOT include flowers or trees.
1. A one-layer card is defined as a single layer of cardstock folded in half. No other layers allowed.

2. Make a sympathy card that uses an image other than trees or flowers. Remember to keep embellishments to a minimum.

I've made many olw sympathy cards in the past, but they all used flowers or trees.  The pet sympathy cards I've made in the past always seem  to have lots of layers, so I decided to see if I could come up with a pet sympathy card that was one layer.  Came up with 2.

The first card uses stamps from Viva Las Vegas, Printworks and Fiskars.

The stamps on the second card are by Cornish Heritage Farms and Wordsworth.

Which one is your favorite?   I started out excitedly with the paw prints/fluffy beds one, but ended up liking the deepest sympathy one best.

Thanks for peeking!

FTL 132 Birthday Wishes

I really liked this sketch from last Friday's Fall-to-Layout sketch over at the  Clean and Simple Stamping Blog.  And, my original idea fell by the wayside when I stumbled upon this stamp from SU's Inspired by Nature.  The lightbulb went off and the rest is history!

I used my Marvy markers to color the image and then spritzed the colored rubber with a fine mist of water before stamping.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts Clear Acrylic set called Birthday Messages.  The paper is Bo Bunny Dots and the ribbon is from my stash.

Thanks for peeking!