Friday, September 14, 2012

Cards to share...

Wow, I have been on a card making ROLL as of late!  I hate to sound incredibly corny, but Paper Smooches stamps really inspire me to make cards.  (And no, I am not being paid to say that.)  Their sentiments just work for everything under the moon and their other stamps can be used for every occasion as well. Here are a couple cards I made today:

I used Circle of Honor to create this card:



This card was made with Smarty Pants:


And this card was made with a Pebbles flower stamp and a sentiment from Lawn Fawn Sophie's Sentiments.


Sorry this post is so short and sweet, but I hear my girls tearing up the house and I should probably reclaim my post as Queen.  :)  Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...



Thursday, September 13, 2012

It's Reveal Time!

 Before I show you my new and MUCH improved scrap room, let me just remind you of the third-world conditions in which I used to create:


That's right.  It was a closet.  An un-ventilated, completely cramped space.  Comparing it to what I have now, I have NO IDEA how I was able to feel creative in that tiny workspace. 

So, what does my new workspace look like?  Let me show you!!


This is my crafty corner and I am in LOVE with it!!  I have lots more to show you, so grab a drink and get comfy.  :)


I made these shelves to 1) do the obvious and hold stuff on top of, but also 2) to hold things UNDERNEATH!  As you can see, I have what you might call a slight washi tap addiction.  This shelf originally had one bar attached, but that would have been full before I even painted the thing, so I added the second bar behind it.  That one is almost full, too, and now I am on a STRICT no-washi-buying diet!  The small shelf at the top left holds all of my glitter glues and the longer shelf next to it holds all of my smaller, lighter twine and ribbon spools.  I have to tell you, adding those rods is the best thing I could have ever come up with!  Saves me extra trips to search in a bin for my washi/twine and I can see each and every color right from my comfy chair.  I'm a genious!  (If I do say so myself.)  :)


These cabinets are just closet organizers from Target.  They were both supposed to have a shoe shelf on top of them, but if I had done that I wouldn't have been able to flip the light switch, so I compromised.  My spice rack holds all of my Twinery twine sampler packs (which I wrapped around cut cardboard from a dry clean pants hanger).  The two binders to the left hold all of the stamps that I use frequently.  Mostly Paper Smooches, Lawn Fawn, Market Street Stamps, among others.  The baskets on the shelves hold various ribbon, twine, seam binding, WRMK tools (corner chompers, etc) and flowers.  This is also where I keep my loose cardstock and my 12 x 12 paper pads.  Here is a close-up of where I keep some of my 6 x 6 paper pads:


I found this wooden box at Michaels.  I had found a pin on Pinterest which showed how to crackle finish wood using regular Elmer's glue and decided to give it a try.  The results were hit and miss (mostly because where I "missed," I didn't use thick enough glue), but I am in love with the results!  It looks weathered and distressed all in one.  And it's a super convenient place to keep some of my 6 x 6 pads (yes, some...I guess you could say I have 6 x 6 issues as well).  :)


This is what it looks like inside of the cabinets.  The binders on the top left shelf hold more (yes, MORE) stamps.  The bin next to them hold all of my punches.  Below are all of my Scrapbooks Etc, Creating Keepsakes and Scrapbook Trends/Cards magazines.  Along with some sketch/inspiration books.  In the other cabinet, I have my ink bin, my wooden stamp bin, bigger tools (embossing machine and sticker maker) and storage for cards I've made and die cuts.

Back over by my desk, this is how I am using the table that I showed you all yesterday.  It works perfectly for holding my spinning storage thingie (I need to trademark that) and I don't have to worry about any drawers getting stuck from the weight.  Now all I need to worry about is keeping small hands away from all of the things that will stain the heck out of the carpet in there. 


Here is a close-up picture of some of the decor in my room.  I thought it would be fun to display some of my favorite cards that I've made, as well as some cute Michaels finds.  All of the turquoise colored items that I've used in this room seem to go better in person than they do in pictures, but I wasn't trying to go all matchy-matchy, either. 


One of the BEST things about getting my own craft space is that I was able to pull my neglected sewing machine out of the box and set it up so I could actually use it.  Getting it out of the box and dragging that heavy thing around the house is what kept me from using it very much.  Now that I have it set up, I've hemmed curtains, created an easier way to make my girls' beds (sewing one side of the flat sheet to the fitted sheet, so I don't have to worry about the wall side of the sheets coming untucked all the time - again, GENIUS!!), and sewn on a couple layouts.  I'm so excited to have this out of storage!


Below is another decor picture, but this is on the opposite side of the window from where the other decor picture was taken.  Yes, I have empty frames, but I just got them a couple days ago, so no pointing fingers.  :)  The chevron frame used to be painted pink to match the nursery, but I painted it turquoise and used my chevron Mr. Huey's mask again to make it go with my room better.  (Side note:  I got the frame on the wall to hang over my light switch cover, but it was just slightly too small.  Wouldn't that have looked cute, though?)


Below is the wall opposite from my workspace.  This is why my husband won't call this the "craft room" but rather the "hobby room."  (He enjoys playing computer games.)  In the blank space on the wall above the desk, I am either going to create some vinyl artwork to hang up or create some canvases to decorate the space with.  Either way, it will have turquoise accents.  :)


Well, that is my new scrap room!  I hope you enjoyed seeing it as much as I enjoyed putting it together!  Here's to hoping this new space renews my crafty soul and I start cranking out new projects soon!  :)

Until next time...


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A few upgrades...

Before I do the big scrapbook room re-do reveal, I wanted to show you a couple upcycling projects I did.

If you've been a follower of my blog for a while, you'll recall this post in which I turned an old in-the-garage-sale-pile spice rack and turned it into a twine holder.


In the back of my head, I kind of knew I would paint it someday and getting my own, color-coordinated scrap room inspired me to do so.

This is what it looks like now:


I used leftover paint from my shelf project (you'll see those tomorrow) to paint the wood part of the rack, then used a Mr. Huey's mask to sponge some turquoise chevrons onto the top of it.  It looks MUCH better and doesn't stand out quite as much anymore.

My second project was kind of a last minute deal.  (I came up with it literally last night.)  I recently purchased a spinning storage thingie (for lack of a better term) from Harbor Freight {yes, THAT one.  :)} and had it stationed on top of one of my drawer storage thingies (blame it on the early mornings that are causing me to be constantly brain dead).  The weight of the spinning thingie was making it hard for me to open and close my drawers, so I had to come up with a more sturdy solution.  I went down to the basement to bring another TV tray up (you'll see one in my post tomorrow) when I found an old outdoor table just collecting cobwebs (in the above-mentioned garage sale pile).  I just so happened to have a can of turquoise spray paint that I had purchased to use on another project and never ended up using, so I figured transforming this ugly table was *REALLY* the reason I bought the spray paint.  :)

Here's the ugly before:


And here is the much better after:






The table was so weathered from being outdoors forever that the spray paint didn't completely cover the cracked wood grain, but I like the way it turned out.  It makes the table look like it was retro or something. 

I'm excited to show you my new scraproom tomorrow so you can see these items in action!  Stay tuned!

Until then...



Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge...

I was inspired by this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge.  This week is was a sketch (my favorite!):


And here is the card that I made:


When I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to do a cute banner with twine tied around it.  Little did I know that a brand new paper pad I just purchased was going to allow me to make such a shabby chic card to boot! 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stay tuned for my long awaited (maybe only by me) post showing my scrap room transformation!

Until then...


Monday, September 10, 2012

My newest addiction...

If you have to be addicted to something, being addicted to stamps and pretty paper is one of the better ways to go.  :) Although I also seem to be addicted to washi tape (buying it, not using it).  It could be worse, right?

Anyway, I have always been a fan of Paper Smooches stamps since the first time I laid eyes on them.  I think I own all of the sentiments and I also have a few other sets.  I thought I'd make a post to show off some of the cards I've made using various PS sets.  (Side note:  I am also attempting to be a PS Guest Designer, but I'd be doing this post even if I didn't have ulterior motives.)  :)

Here are a few of my latest creations:

:)




 I have to admit, this Great Chemistry card is only my second paper-piecing project.  I love how it turned out, though!


 Maybe I am biased, but this Make a Wish card is one of the prettiest I've ever made.






I think this card is so simple, yet so fun.  It was the first time I ever used washi tape as a decorative background on a card.  I know the Welcome Home stamp is meant for redeployment (in non-military terms:  coming home from deployment) purposes, but I thought it was also fitting for a card that I gave my friend and her husband after they bought their first house.

My absolute favorite thing about PS sentiment stamps is that they can be used for EVERYTHING and they work with all kinds of stamps as well.  They are the first sentiments I reach for when I am making a card because I love all of the fun fonts.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed looking at some of my recent card creations.

Until next time...