Random Ramblings of a Scramping Addict

Girlie Birthday

Yesterday I posted a couple of 'man' cards -- so today I thought I would share something girlie. As luck would have it, I recently had ocassion to create a birthday card for my cousin's 10 year old daughter....and it wound up being totally fun. Because I hadn't had a chance yet to play with them, I chose to use the Be Yourself stamp set by CTMH which unfortunately is no longer available (it was a May 2009 Stamp of the Month). Here's the finished product:

Inside the cards reads.....'everyone else is taken'. I stamped the silhouette twice, once in black and once in pink and then trimmed out the pink dress and glued it on top. I just love the way it turned out!

Maculine Birthdays

I think I've said this before, but for me one of the most challenging creative situations is creating masculine cards. There are so many beautiful papers and embellies that are ultra feminine - but for men I find the pickings rather slim. This weekend I had 2 boy cards to make (lucky me!) - one for my nephew who just turned 15, and the other for my step-dad. You would think that just having created a few man cards for Father's Day that I would have had my mojo on, but nope. Creating the man cards was as challenging for me this weekend as it ever has been. Here's the first one I managed to come up with: This was one of those cards that turned out nothing like I had intended it to. When I started out, I was looking to base my design on a card I saw recently in Stamper's Sampler (pg 110, Cherish the Moment by Ronnita Carridine, Apr/May/June 2009 issue - Ronnita doesn't seem to have a blog I can link out to, but she deserves a big shout out anyway!). I absolutley loved the muted background stamping that Ronnita had done and her card was finished simply with two pieces of coordinating ribbon placed near the bottom of the card and a stamped sentiment. Well, aside from the muted background stamping and the fact that I left significant 'white space' at the top of the card, this card evolved into something completely different. I stuck to using mostly cardstock with the exception of the one blue patterned strip. The Outdoor Denim twill tape and the buttons were my answer to adding some texture and dimension and the sentiment is from the soon to be released "It's Your Day" stamp set by Close To My Heart. (The set will be available in August 2009 as the Stamp of the Month). The background stamp I chose was from the set Legendary Moments (also CTMH) and while it's tricky to see in the picture, the background image was stamped a few times with Bamboo ink on Bamboo paper, but some of the images are stamped in 'second generation' so they are much lighter. I thought that this also added a little bit of depth to an otherwise very basic background. The second card that I managed to crank out was for my nephew and I again used the "It's Your Day" stamp set which I'm actually starting to really really like. When I first saw it I wasn't totally convinced that I would use it, but I can see the sentiments especially becoming a quick favourite. It's funny how that happens. Again I stuck with mostly cardstock, adding only that one small piece of patterned paper beneath the sentiment. The background is embossed with the 'Swirls' Cuttlebug folder and the little list up near the top right is adhered with pop dots. The cake itself turned out pretty cute I think. Each layer is a seperate stamp so CTMH has made it easy to make the cake multi-colored. I also really like the fact that the cake is kind of funky too and definately not formal. Very fitting for a 15 year old boy. The color combo (Outdoor Denim, Olive, Heavenly Blue, Bamboo and Sorbet) was another one of those accidental discoveries. It just so happened that the Sorbet ink was sitting on my desk and so I used it. I think that it gave the card just the right pump of bright colour that it needed. I think that without it, the whole thing might have looked rather drab. Tomorrow I'll post the girlie card I got to make this weekend as well. It was reallly fun to pull together. It took me a while and again, it was one of the creations that evolved away from what I had originally envisioned, but all in all it turned out pretty cute. So until tomorrow.

Cupcake Art?

With no paper art to share today, I thought I would post this pic. This, is what happens when you give a 9-year old boy a cupcake and a few bags of icing to play with.

We celebrated my son's birthday on Wednesday with his friends from school. He actually doesn't turn 9 until next month, but last year we tried to do the summer birthday and well, let's just say we failed. It was next to impossible to get a hold of most of the people from his class that he wanted to invite -- so this year, we decided to be proactive.

It was awesome! I booked a Junior Chef Party at 'Upstairs' at Fortinos - a local grocery store. The boys got to make pizzas and decorate cupcakes, eat nachos and salsa, and play games. Our party planner, Shelley, entertained the kids between courses, and everyone had a fantastic time. The boys had an absolute blast 'in the kitchen'. Here's a few more pic so you can truly appreciate how much fun we had.

For those of you who are local, I highly recommend this venue and party plan. It was probably the easiest birthday party I've ever thrown for my kids in terms of how much work was required from me and was probably one of the least expensive too! Aside from creating the invitations, all I really needed to do was show up! Fortinos looked after the rest!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thanks a Million!

Here's a cheery thank-you that I whipped up on Sunday....I don't know why, but it makes me smile!

There is very little stamping here - just the sentiment and the little flower on the blue square. It was so quick and easy to put together that I actually made 2 of them -- and I will definately be making more of this design. It's a great way to use up all those little bits of scrap!

Enjoy!

Just a Quick Update

Happy Monday Everyone! I just wanted to pop in this morning and share one of the other Father's Day cards that I did indeed manage to create in time for the occasion. I took the no frills approach on this one and based my design on this card on Kathi's Corner, which in turn was inspired by this card on the Cards Blog. Now because I was going for something masculine - as you can see my card looks significantly different than either of those two, but I sure you'll agree that the basic structure is the same.

Sorry that the pic isn't the best --- I am in search of some instructions for improving my art photography.

Father's Day

So I'm a little late (as usual) getting crafty for Sunday's celebrations, but I thought I'd share what is the first of four cards that need to be made.

I have to admit that this did NOT start out any way that it ended up and I think that's part of the reason it took so long. When I initially sat down to create, I intended to use a more traditional masculine stamp set -- but this set (Alfresco by CTMH) was nearby and was calling my name. I have probably owned this set for more than 6 months, and it had never seen ink believe it or not, until now!

I was a little hesitant to use it at first since the centre of the medallion was a small flower and not very masucline, but I decided quickly that covering it was my answer - so I used a small blue nail head. When I inserted it it slipped a bit and so the edges of the flower are still visible on the one side, but it wasn't a big enough boo-boo to warrant doing it again so I left it.

I hope that I you'll agree that it looks masucline enough for Father's Day. I'm still not 100% convinced, but it will have to do. I find it really tricky some times to make cards for men.

Here's the full view.

Now I just need to get busy making the rest of them. Wish me luck.

One Lovely Blog or Ten

Here's a big shout out to the incredibly crafty Melanie Boyer of Texas who ever-so-kindly granted me this....

Thanks Melanie!

The deal is that now I've accepted I need to spread the love and pass it along to 10 other bloggers. I bent the rules a bit and am passing the award to some bloggers that I visit fairly regularly - some are new to me as the guidelines recommend, but others have been on my reading list for quite some time. The latter group deserve it though since they continue to keep me coming back for more. Here is my list - you all deserve a big thumbs up!

http://www.creationsbytheheart.blogspot.com/ Amy Bailey

http://melstampz.blogspot.com/ Mel

http://amusing-to-create.blogspot.com/ Leah

http://jencaputo.typepad.com/jen_caputo/ Jen Caputo

http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ Lauren Meader

http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ Sharon Johnson

http://thebuckstampshere.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Buck

http://micheleforce.blogspot.com/ Michelle Force

http://www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com/ Melissa Laverty

http://apathofpaper.blogspot.com/ Deneen

Now ladies, if you're on my list, it's your turn to pass the award along. The rules are simple.

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Spread some love!

Sharpie - Vendor Spotlight at Craft Critique with Giveaway

Pop on over to Craft Critique to read my review of the way cool Sharpie Paint Markers, and the NEW Stainless Steel Sharpie!

There's even a Sharpie giveaway associated with the Vendor Spotlight! All you need to do is leave a comment on one of the Sharpie reviews that will be posted over the next few days for a chance to win one of 5 prizes.

My Vegetable Garden: Update #2

Since the garden is coming along nicely, I thought I would post a pic of the progress. I took these yesterday - just less than 2 weeks after I took the originals. Big difference eh? I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. The biggest change you'll notice structurally is that I've added a trellis for the cucumbers, cantaloupe and peas to climb. It was really inexpensive to make since I used electrical conduit that I got for free), and just had to buy a couple of L-Shaped fitting for the corners and the netting. I would guess that all in it was under $10. Now I know it's not the most attractive trellis ever, but it's functional. The peas are starting to grab hold and climb nicely, although the other plants are still too short to reach. Now, as I said before, I am truly a novice gardener, and I'm starting to wonder about the green onions. Should I be harvesting them? They are quite tall and full, and are actually starting to brown on the ends and fall over. I pulled one yesterday, and it was rather tasty, but the bulb on the end was still really small. I really not sure whether I should leave them and let the bulbs get a bit bigger, or if by doing so, I might lose them all together sincce they're starting to brown at the tips. Any suggestions?

I finally did it!

played with paper and glue that is. This weekend, I was lucky enough to have a few hours to myself so I took advantage of it. I started working on a set of 20 cards based on patterns from the book Wishes by Jeanette Lynton. There will be 2 each of 10 designs, although I'm pretty sure that these will wind up as gifts and the set split in 2. I'm not ready to share a bunch yet, but here's a sneak peak of what I've been up to. Once I the rest done, I'll load them up as a set.