Sunday, February 27, 2011

Where Have I Gone?

Or maybe I should say, 'What have we done?'

Sorry to leaving without a trace, but personal life has placed itself directly in the path of 'crafting' life.  As in, I haven't made a card since December or even cleared off my crafting table from the holiday frenzy. 

The cause?  The stamping dry spell just happens to perfectly coincide with our family's purchase of a new house.  'New' as in new to our family, but actually older than our current home.  The draw is 5 acres complete with pine trees, a stream, and plenty of wildlife.  We've heard coyotes howl, watched a possum amble across the backyard,  and the majority of the acreage is now aerated in the shape of deer hoofprints.

The downside?  The previous owners liked to decorate and they decorated to the hilt in 'classic' 90s style.  Who would have thought that pickled kitchen cabinets turn pink with age or that I could actually come to detest the color green?  And don't even get me started on wallpaper.

Here's an example of our current project:
See?  Pink cabinets, green striped wallpaper, green flowered vinyl flooring, and yes, even green countertops!

After a month of hard labor and several hard lessons on just how not-simple DIY projects can be, the wallpaper is gone, the countertops are gone, and the cabinets are mostly primed to be (evetually)  painted white, all in the hopes of achieving something close to a farmhouse/cottage/anything less 90s kitchen look.  New countertops are ordered and the flooring is still up for debate.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention the six swatches of yellows and tans painted on every wall which means the wall color is still up for debate, too.

I did manage to finish painting the girls' bedrooms, but even that required four coats of paint.  You might understand why when I show you the previous lovely color schemes:


Note the wonderful painting technique bordering the ceiling and baseboards.  Obviously, the previous owners were not perfectionists, unlike the soon-to-be inhabitants.
Here's the point where I should insert the 'after' photos, or at least a picture of the house nestled into the beautiful acreage.  Uh, except I haven't taken those photos yet.  Seems that I've been rather caught up in diving from one project to the next without documenting the progress. Add that to my To Do list, please.

Long story not -so short, that's where I've been the past few months and probably will remain for the next few months.  Once we finally make the move, then we have to prep  the current house for sale.  Ulcers, here I come! 

Special thanks to my Design Teams for allowing me leaves of absence.  I promise to be back in action as soon as I can find my stamping supplies!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #134: Ring In the New Year!

 Stamps:  Paper Pretties 'Elegant Sentiments'.  Cardstock:  Textured black, red, silver, glitter white.  Ink:  Versamark.  Accessories:  circle and square Nestabilities, Martha Stewart scallop border punch, silver EP.



This week's challenge is to  ring in the new year...use "ring" as your inspiration...could be circles, could be silver or gold, could be gems...anything that you can do with "ring" as your inspiration.   I used wedding rings as my inspiration and created a 'congratulations (on your wedding) card with this elegant sentiment set that also features rings in the border design:

The sketch inspiration for this card is Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #106.  In case you didn't know, this is Mercy's final sketch challenge.  That makes me a bit sad since I always find Mercy's sketches very inspiring, but it also seems fitting since this is my last DT card for a while.  I'll be taking a break from 'serious' stamping  while our family prepares to move to a new home and prepares the current home for sale.  Wish us luck and as few frustrations as possible with the home-buying/family moving process!
Be sure to enjoy the other Pretties' Gals 'ringing' cards:

Then link your creation HERE so we can admire your take on the challenge and enter your name for a chance to win a free Paper Pretties stamp! You do not need to use Paper Pretties stamps in order to play along, but if you do, you will get a bonus entry into the drawing! Please be sure to mention our challenge and link back to the Paper Pretties blog in your project posting. If you upload to a public gallery please use the keyword PWC134

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Tuesday Morning Sketch #74: We Salute You!

Stamps:  Soft Pencil digi 'Sweet Sailors', Papertrey 'Vintage Picnic Sentiments'.  Cardstock:  GP110 white, Real Red, SU 'Ski Slope' DP.  Ink:  Copics, Real Red.  Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities, WW punch.


Here's our sketch for this week:


Our sponsor this week is Soft Pencil, and owner/artist Elizabeth provided us digi of these 'Sweet Sailors':


Be sure to admire the TMS Design Team's spin on this week's challenge:

Hollyanne, Jr. DT

 Then link up your creations HERE to join in the fun and so we can admire your take on this sketch!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #133: Birthdays!

Stamps:  Paper Pretties 'ElegantSentiments'.  Cardstock:  Bayou Blue, DCWV 'Linen Closet'.  Ink:  Versamark.  Accessories:  white detail EP.

Our challenge this week is to create a birthday card. I went the Clean and Simple route, pulling inspiration from the archives with Fall-To sketch #110 and this newly released  'Elegant Sentiments' set:


Who needs a lot of layers or embellishments when you have this beautiful sentiment and sparkly DP?

Be sure to enjoy the other Pretties' Gals birthday cards:

Then link your creation HERE so we can admire your take on the challenge and enter your name for a chance to win a free Paper Pretties stamp! You do not need to use Paper Pretties stamps in order to play along, but if you do, you will get a bonus entry into the drawing! Please be sure to mention our challenge and link back to the Paper Pretties blog in your project posting. If you upload to a public gallery please use the keyword PWC133.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tuesday Morning Sketch #73: Embellish It!

 Stamps:  Papertrey 'Daily Designs' sentiment.  Cardstock:  GP110 white, Taken with Teal, silver.  Ink:  Versamark.   Accessories:  silver EP.

This week our sponsor is Paper Maniac and our challenge is to embellish your project in a non-traditional way.  I opted to create my own non-traditional embellish that also functions as a people embellishment -- have you seen these altered washers yet?


This technique involves a washer, alcohol inks, and Crystal effects and is so simple a kid can do it.  That's the truth -- my daughters created their own pendants as gifts for friends!  Here's a TUTORIAL if you want to try the technique with DPs.

To keep the emphasis on the pendant, I went with a CAS Fall-To sketch #121.

Be sure to admire the TMS Design Team's spin on this week's challenge:

Hollyanne, Jr. DT

 Then link up your creations HERE to join in the fun and so we can admire your take on this sketch!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #132: For the Boys!

Stamps:  Paper Pretties 'Cowboy Cooper'.  Cardstock:  kraft,  Chocolate Chip Paper Studio 'Hay', other DPs unknown source.  Ink:  Memento black, Buckaroo Blue, Copics.  Accessories:  Long rectangle Nestabilities, Paper Studio denim ribbon, Marth Stewart border punch, raffia.


Our challenge this week is to create a 'guy' card and who better to feature than this little cowpoke, 'Cowboy Cooper'?

The sketch inspiration is courtesy of Sweet Sunday Sketch #96, rotated 90 degrees to fit our tall, skinny cowhand.

Be sure to enjoy the other Pretties' Gals ''For the Boys' cards:

Then link your creation HERE so we can admire your take on the challenge and enter your name for a chance to win a free Paper Pretties stamp! You do not need to use Paper Pretties stamps in order to play along, but if you do, you will get a bonus entry into the drawing! Please be sure to mention our challenge and link back to the Paper Pretties blog in your project posting. If you upload to a public gallery please use the keyword PWC132.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Tuesday Morning Sketch #72: Christmas Scripture

Stamps:  Deedee's Digis 'Christmas Scriptures'.  Cardstock:  Wild Wasabi, Brocade Blue, K&Co. 'Let It Snow', GP110 white.  Accessories:  SU border scallop punch, Wild Wasabi ribbon.

Welcome to Tuesday Morning Sketch #72!  Here's our sketch for this week:


I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to fit this beautiful scripture that is my favorite holiday scripture.

This week's sponsor is Deedee's Digis who generously provided this 'Christmas Scriptures' sentiment set.  The set includes six scriptures in this beautiful font, perfect for remembering 'the reason for the season'.

Be sure to admire the TMS Design Team's spin on this week's sketch:

Hollyanne, Jr. DT
 Then link up your creations HERE to join in the fun and so we can admire your take on this sketch!