Fall Cards - Revised

It is done.

I am finished with the fall cards and I used almost all my fall Leaving Prints cutouts and made a pretty good dent into my leaf stickers. :) I feel it calls for a celebration! I am not sure what kind of celebration... but a celebration. :) I find the need to share these with you so I can have closure... ;) lol But it is the last I will share with you... until Christmas that is. :) Unless I make a new card for a pen pal or a birthday card I feel I must share!

So ... now ... the show begins ...

As you can see ... the cutouts are matted. I originally planned to place the silver sticker alone on the bottom of the card. Once I glued the card mat to the card base, I realized I probably should have added a ribbon first. The only way I knew how to undo this was to glue scraps of card stock. To my horror this added to my dilemma about when to toss a scrap! So I am almost back at square one. :-\ However, I only kept pieces that could substitute for ribbons. I DID toss the smaller pieces... for now. :-0 I used shaped brads to hold the silver "Harvest" sticker down. I discovered... adhesives can dry up over time. I had NO idea! I originally did not place brads over the silver sticker; however, as I was placing these in envelopes, I noticed the right side of the sticker would not stay down. I decided to use the brads to secure it in place. Unfortunately, I had already placed the entire mat onto the card base. One of the things I pride myself about my hand-made cards is the attention to detail. I do not like the backs of brads to be visible on a card. So I was left with the dilemma of covering these on the inside. I used some playful leaf stickers to scatter across the area with a pumpkin at the bottom. Like this ...

I played with the idea of the first card and came up with this. I did the exact same thing! I forgot to place a ribbon down first, including the one on top and actually the one on top, was placed after I glued the mat on the base and realize some white card base was peeking through. I was NOT having it! The ribbon is from my long hoarded stash but I know I originally purchased it at Michael's. When I mounted the Harvest sticker on the gold colored mat, I knew it was not sticking right and I used an adhesive in order to stick it down.

I liked the idea of using a black card mat so I went with it. I used Art Glitter on the cutouts to make them stand out. I also used adhesives on the silver happy fall sticker because it was being placed on ribbon and I wanted to be sure it was secured. I found this huge rhinestone and used it as a center on the knot. The ribbon is from Michael's current Halloween line... got that? CURRENT Halloween line. :)

I continued with the idea of the black mat because I really like it! I used this metal leaf charm from Making Memories I found in my stash. The shiny beads are from Joann's dollar bin.

This was the final cutout. No, that is not right. There are two left... leaves. But it is the final cutout I am using this year... unless I discover I was wrong in my count and need more fall cards. I found the plastic branch in my long hoarded stash and the card stock leaf stickers are from Miss Elizabeth's Dollar Tree collection.

I liked the scattered leaves across the front of the card idea so much I went with it again. :) I also added some brads, metal autumn tag and plastic leaves from my long hoarded stash for dimension. All the stickers are from Miss Elizabeth and the twine is from Raisin Boat. The image appears crooked because of the photographer. Apparently... she had been drinking! ;) lol

I continued with the same idea because I really liked the scattered leaves look! :) The leaves are vellum stickers from Jolee's and diecuts from a recently purchased packet that I removed from the packaging and for the life of me cannot remember who made it. :( Ugh! Short term memory loss! :-\ I used glue to attach the larger leaves to the background. The three smallest leaves in the center are mounted with foam tape.

The mat is a very deep purple. I think it kind of looks blueish here. The pumpkin on the center of the flower and gold leaves are brads and I added these before I glued the mat to the card base. I remembered! :) Flower petals and Harvest sticker are from my stash.

As I neared the end, I took another count and realized I was short a card. I came up with this one quick! I'd seen something along this online on FB and Pinterest and this is my version. :) The twine is from Raisin Boat and the Boo sticker and floating eyes are from my stash.

I have learned a very valuable lesson and I hope I can share it with fellow crafters suffering from the same affliction as I have. No more hoarding! First... adhesives dry out! :( I did not know this could happen! Second, I have not used a single stamped image! This is what I am about! I love to stamp! I did receive comfort that I was able to make something out of almost anything. :) So I guess I am a true scrapper after all! :-D I have not used stickers in forever and a day because I found these somewhat juvenile. But... I think I made it work! :) ... I like to think I did anyway. :)

REVISED--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh! I counted again! I needed 45 cards! So I whipped these three up super fast and I think they still came out pretty good! :)

I will admit ... I was kind of being lazy and was a little ticked off at having to make three more. The stickers are obviously very dated. This was a popular look a few years back. The hay and pumpkin are a die cut from the package I bought a few weeks back that I cannot remember who it was from! :-\ All three of these are made in the same manner. :) I liked how this one came out so I kept going. The other two though are scattered leaves with a rake. I really liked how they came out! :)

Promo!!

Go check this out!

Happy Fall Y'all!

I plan to send out Halloween cards on Friday. I have a handful of family members who don't do Halloween so I made fall greeting cards for them.

I decided back in January of this year ... this was the year I would rid myself of scraps... and in essence dwindle my hoarded stash ... boy howdy! Did that EVER limit my creativity. :-\ But I shared with you how last week, I cannot even remember the name of the woman who made me feel I could not rid myself of scraps the easy way ... via trash can ... and how I decided I was not allowing other crafters dictate what went on in my craft room... or my head. So I did toss out some scraps... I even meant to take a pic to show you... but I was afraid they might look appealing and I would reach in and pull them out... so just believe me. :) It was a handful of scraps... but it was trashed! :-\ I am still feeling somewhat guilty about it. All I keep thinking is RECYCLING! :-\

Anyway with original objective in mind... to use my hoarded stash... I was thinking about all the wonderful ideas over on Pinterest and my obsessive pinning. :-\ All mostly for ideas... but you know how I shared I planned to use all of my hoarded supplies. Well, it's kind of hard to use the new ideas with old supplies... especially since I cannot go out and buy new stuff right now ... and I would like to think for the next three years I can refrain from buying too much more. I know I cannot refrain from buying completely... just hope I don't go overboard. :)

So as I was thinking about the fall greeting cards, I went through my hoarded stash and jiminy cricket and boy howdy! I sure do have a hoarded stash! :-| I pulled some stuff together and made four cards and here you find me. I want to share what I came up with...

When I finished this one... I kinda thought "Christmas"... but I still think it conveys a warm, autumn greeting as well. The little plastic leaves and metal sentiment are all from my long hoarded stash. I actually tore the yellow card stock in half to add the printed paper between the two pieces because I wanted to use the paper. I think it is pretty and I really wanted to share it! :) The two bottom framed printed images are from a long defunct company called Leaving Prints. This was the first monthly scrapping club I subscribed to. Sadly they went out of business about a year after I started using them. I still have their newsletters but these are mostly for scrapping or altering. The cutouts did not from framed. I matted them onto matching card stock.

I decided to use the Leaving Prints autumn cutouts on all of these cards. On the three on this card, I outlined a little with my Zig glue and sprinkled with Art Glitter fall collection in matching colors. The metal tag is from my long hoarded stash... I think I remember it came from Making Memories... the ribbon is from Michael's long time ago because it also was hoarded. :( Why did I ever want to buy things just to keep them? :-\ I don't understand this concept now.

The sentiment on the middle of the page was a bit of an accident... I wanted to use eyelets on the next card but I didn't want to ruin the paper because it was the last thing I added and I needed to know what size of setting to use. I used my Crop-a-dile but I no longer have the instructions and I always have such a dilemma trying to figure out which of the four settings to use on the eyelets. So I had this scrap piece of brown card stock. I tried it on one end and it came out a little smooched. So I tried it on the other end with a different size and it worked. Then... I found myself unable to rid myself of this scrap. Because although the eyelet is a little smooched... it still looked pretty! :) So I hand wrote "happy fall" on the front and used it on this card. The pumpkin on top is a paper piecing I made long ago when I discovered paper piecing came in patterns... and went to town with it. ;) lol

This one is my favorite. The pumpkins on the bottom are card stock stickers from Miss Elizabeth at Dollar Tree! Yup! Twine is from Raisin Boat. I used a rhinestone to keep the bow from coming unraveled because it seemed to want to! I wasn't having it! The rhinestone was from a stash I bought off of a gal on Facebook. As you can see... up on the left hand side are the three eyelets from Oriental Trading Company I wanted to use. The Leaving Prints cutout is on foam tape so it kind of pops out at you.

I have a niece who asked me where did I buy cheap embellishments. I answered Oriental Trading Company (OTC). She made a disgusted face and replied I don't like their cheap stuff. :-\ What was the point of the question? But I do like OTC because I find that they have good prices on embellishments and adhesives. Now this is not the case if you shop at Walmart. I don't do Wally World. :-\ I like to buy the sets at OTC because these all come with such a variety... brads, shaped eyelets and buttons plus more. The brads are such a good price for the buck and they last forever and a day. :) These were not hoarded! So when I make this point, keep this in mind. I used these with abandon because there were so many of them. My stash is now starting to dwindle and I plan to buy more again. The last time I purchased sets from OTC was in the fall of 2006. But I did buy several and am just now starting to run out. Some colors more than others... like the primary colors... secondary colors were harder for me to use and so I still have plenty of those. I plan to ask another niece to go in on the purchase with me. If we lump our money together we could buy more and get free shipping. I hate paying for shipping. We can split the sets in half and still have plenty and more of everything for each of us. I cannot find the link for free shipping but I've bought before and I am pretty sure if you spend over $70 you get free shipping. I hope you get the point... OTC... good prices on embellishments. :)

Teehee...

I am almost embarrassed to post this...

But not really... ;)

I used ... ready for this ... printable images! Yup! I did! I cannot help myself... I like them! :)

I made this one for my sister who was recently widowed. I imagine it must be hard to overcome the loss of a mate... even more so if he treated you like a queen. My BIL did treat my sister like a queen. They were married maybe ... 40 years?  I know they celebrated a silver wedding anniversary and Nina was about maybe 9, 10 and she's 24 now, 25 soon. So there abouts, I think. This is a printable image. I added Liquid Applique that I bought at Raisin Boat on the soap bubbles and Glossy Accents on the bottles and the edge of the tub. I also added color with Copic Sketch Markers in Skin Tones I. I added three clear acrylic round shapes to mimic soap bubbles. The sentiment is typed from Microsoft Word using Quigley Wiggly font.

This one is for my other sister. I can not send one sister a card and not the other one... I just can't! So this is another printable image. I did write over the sentiment because it was not as clear as I would have liked. It was kinda hard to stay with the lines so once I was done I went back over it with Pebbles chalks to smudge it a little. I used Glitter Art on the polka-dotted background and rim of the printed art. The ribbon is from Michael's dollar bin and, of course, Robin's Nest dew drops finished this off quite nicely. Paper flower is from my long hoarded stash. :)

I made this card for a pen pal. We exchange one card per month with a theme in mind. This month the theme is ornaments. I was really torn about this one. I wanted to make an ornament. But I also saw this printed image and I LOVE IT! Again, I used my Copic Sketch Markers in Skin Tones I to add color. I used Art Glitter on the ornament shaped dresses. Ribbon and poinsettia are from Michael's dollar bin. Love those bins! :) Printed background paper is from Bazzill Believe collection. The banner is one I made using Microsoft Word with Edwardian Script font.

Finally I made this card for another pen pal who admitted in her last letter she loved shoes. When I saw this printed image it made me think of her. I used Copic Sketch Markers in Skin Tone I to add color to the hair. I used Art Glitter to bring some bling to her dress. I used a ribbon for the bow tie that is printed on the image. I used Glossy Accents to make the shoes shine and give them some pop. I also used the Glossy Accents on her large eyes. I used Robin's Nest Dew Drops. I added some Xmas Red Stickles for the nail polish. I added definition to her eyes with the multiliner in the Copic Sketch Markers in Sketching Grays. I had second thoughts with that when I was finished but by then the damage was done. It takes some getting used to. At first I thought it made her look scary like this but as I have grown to love the card... she's not so scary after all. :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I enjoyed making them. :)

Hesitant...

I really am... not sure if I should share these with you but here I find myself unable to STOP!

I worked on some more Halloween cards using ... dare I say it? STICKERS! Yup! It almost horrifies me... until I look at the final product... I am rather pleased with these. :)

I remember when I first started showing up on crafting chat rooms... I will never forget what a fellow scrapper told me once... I mentioned in a post I threw things away because sometimes I couldn't figure out what to do with these things. She responded a true scrapper always came up with an idea. Curses! :-\ Until recently... I could not make myself throw out one single scrap of anything! Ribbons, negative chipboard, scraps galore! Not a single piece could leave my craft space because of this statement. As I reviewed my stash last week... it came to me all of a sudden... I can not remember this woman's name... for the life of me... and yet... I had given her so much power over my craft room. So... as I worked on some cards... I threw pieces of scraps away... GASP! ... 8-0 ... Yup! I have done this in the past but always made myself take them out of the trashcan after a few minutes... but not this time... and as I look at these cards I made with stickers ... I don't think I have to listen to anyone outside of my head about what I can and cannot do. I like these cards. I am not embarrassed to gift these... well ... maybe not to a fellow card maker... but I can certainly send these to family and friends who do not craft and can appreciate a home made card. :) Yes! I can ... and I will!

So here are the cards ...

Sticker used on the bottom left-hand side... but I am sure you can clearly make this out ... :) ... and it is one of those real photo, card stock stickers too!

Fat old, orange tabby and sentiment are Miss Elizabeth's clear stickers! Yup! :) Miss Elizabeth ... from Dollar Tree! 

Pumpkins on the bottom right-hand corner are more of Miss Elizabeth's clear stickers!

"Halloween" is a card stock sticker ... but a sticker none the less ... :) I love the look of these two papers together. I cannot help but think to myself ... it looks so preppy! :) lol This one is my favorite!

"happy halloween" is a sticker ... not only is it a sticker ... it is a home-made sticker! :)

"Trick or Treat" is a card stock sticker as well. All the paper used is from the Bazzill Halloween card swap I missed out on. I do like the paper! :) Especially this last one with the birds... it is so ... Alfred Hitchcock / Edgar Allen Poe - ish... :-D ... all the ribbon I used is from Michael's Halloween stash they have in the stores for the season this year. Of course, I also used some Robin's Nest dew drops. :) I used regular staples and colored these black. :) Chipboard letters are from my long hoarded stash. I like how these came out. I really do! :)

I have been liberated! I am going through my stash over the next few days and tossing those small pieces I have been unable to rid myself of. :) I am pretty sure I won't pull these out of the trash can. :) lol I will be sure to let you know if I am successful! Keep your fingers crossed for me! ;)

Completely Random

So there are days when I think to myself ... "Girl, you be drop dead gorgeous!" every time I look in the mirror. ;) lol Today is not one of them... :-\

So what IT IS outside is gorgeous! Today's high temp was 74 degrees. How wicked awesome is that? I thought to myself... meant for a day out in the back yard gardening... I have big plans for a garden... I've got the materials and plans to start a great compost pile... I have the materials and plans for a raised garden bed... I've even saved the site on my favorites for a portable greenhouse ... why portable? Cause it is cheap! ;) lol All I need are the seeds and energy to put all this together! I know it's too late for the seeds... but I plan to work on setting all of this up! I just have lots of questions and cannot find a site that will answer my specific questions... but I am no quitter! I'm gonna keep researching the whole thing. :) But not today...

Instead of spending time in the great outdoors... I spent the day in the kitchen. First, I made some Spanish rice and then some home fries. These are cooled down and put away in single-serve plastic containers in the fridge. I started a pot of pinto beans but this time, I am using the slow cooker. Last time I made them I used the stove  top method and let me tell you something... when it was time to clean up I thought I was gonna have to get myself a power washer! :-\ Lesson learned. :) Once done with all that... I got the urge to bake.

First ... let me explain something... I am a single gal. Yes, Jay lives with me but he is a picky eater and prepares his own meals so the cooking I do... it is cooking for one. Isn't that the saddest thing you've ever read!?! I think it is but it is also the plan God has before me and I am working on getting to where I can live with that plan. I don't think it is fair... but it is what it is. :-\ With that thought in mind, I tend to keep very little food in the house. One of the reasons I made Spanish rice and home fries and have beans cooking today is because when I do plan to eat... since it is only for one... I need to have it set up in serving containers for one. :-\ Since Jay will be supporting mom while she goes to nursing school... :) ... I decided I should cook in more often so that would keep the household budget on the lean side. When I shop now... I shop on the outside of the store rather than in the aisles. Except for staples... you can only find these in the center of the store but thankfully these are all lumped together in a couple of aisles and keeps me away from expensive, processed foods that aren't good for me anyway. :)

So back to my baking story... I wanted to make some cookies or cake from scratch. This took a bit of investigating... and creativity. When all was said and done... I planned to make pineapple-strawberry cake. :)  When I was opening cans and setting up the ingredients to dump into the mixing bowl I had a tid bit of a mishap. I am a little bit anal. Bet you didn't know that about me huh? Yes, I am a little bit anal ... is there such a thing as too much anal? ;) lol Sorry! I read the recipe and I measure the ingredients and pour these in bowls and set aside. I have several small bowls that I think this is what the purpose was for and I bought them... years ago... this way when I get ready to start mixing it all up together it is ready to go. :) As I was opening up the cans, I had a can of pineapple... that I guess I bought several months ago for whatever reason and forgot about it. I checked out the expiration date and it is still good... barely... and a can of Big Red ... recipe called for red food dye ... but I was just declared in remission ... I am using a tid bit of Big Red for the food coloring. :) I thought I was pretty gosh darn clever. ;) As I was absent-mindedly reviewing the recipe I picked up the can of pineapple tidbits and shook it in preparation for opening it ... I'm not sure why ... I've always done that ... it's a habit I developed early in life and I can't make myself stop... until today. I put the can down and ... thankfully... decided to put on my apron because it is NOT meant to be a decorative item on the kitchen hook but instead meant to be lovingly worn. I went back to the counter and picked up the can of pineapple and gave it a couple of more shakes. Have you noticed how cans now have pop tops? I wish the food distributors hadn't done that... I popped the top and Big Red spewed everywhere! :'( Yes... I picked up the wrong can and now I have a huge mess in the kitchen. :-( I may be off of FB and Blogger for the remainder of 2012. Other than this precious moment I took out to tell you all about it.

So the cake is baking... I am still wearing my apron... now to go back and clean up the mess. :-\

Raisin Boat Challenge #5

There's fun to be had at Raisin Boat Blog! They are having a challenge again and you do not have to use their stamps! Come check it out here! If you do go over there to play, please be sure to tell them I sent you! :)

It's Beginning to Look

like Christmas? What? Have you been to the stores lately? I haven't but from what friends have told me ... the Christmas season is in full swing. I know it is at my home! I may have spent this week putting out Halloween and fall decorations but I am working on Christmas cards. Why? Because I plan to send out 60 of these! Yes! SIXTY! I also want to see if I can get one last card in for Raisin Boat's 3D Challenge. I hope I make the deadline this time!

Here is one I made tonight. I am starting the graveyard shift tomorrow night so I am desperately trying to stay awake tonight so I can sleep tomorrow afternoon. Not sure I will be able to do it because let me tell you something ... I AM SLEEPY! Yes I am! :-\ I thought I might could stay up making Christmas cards but after making four ... identical ... I am wiped out! Glitter everywhere... sticky fingers... black ink on nails... yup! I am ready to call it a night! Maybe I will just take a power nap... :-\ Who are we kidding?!?

Anyway ... here is my Christmas card from tonight. I used a printable image of an angel and my Christmas tri-color twine. :) I used Black Diamonds and Xmas Red Stickles on the bottom of the angel's gown, her eyes and the berries on her crown, respectively. I also used Ranger Glossy Accents on the candy cane to make it glimmer. Finally I used Art Glitter on the angel's wings. I added some poinsettias from Michael's dollar bin. The angel is attached with foam dots. She pops up off the card. I like how it came out. :) What do you think?

Here is a close up of the angel's bling! ;) lol I really wanted to add more bling but I didn't know how.

I planned to fit these into appropriately sized envelopes for a 4.25X5.5 card; however, the poinsettias hang out a bit and I am not sure they will keep from bending if I force it into the envelope. Instead ... I am sending these out in clear envelopes. One of these is going to Finland so it will have an audience! ;) lol

Bazzill Card Swap

I signed up for the Bazzill card swap again ... won't miss the deadline this time! Cards are due sometime in November and mine are finished and going in the mail on Monday! :)

I had to show it to you because it is my first attempt at sewing on paper. This is the one with the straightest lines. :) lol I've been up all night so keep that in mind. ALL the papers used are Bazzill. Ribbon is from a long-time stash. The "enJOY" is from a Raisin Boat stamp set, Holiday Hangups. I punched the scalloped circle and stuck foam tape on the back to make it pop up off the page. I happen to think it came out pretty gosh darn cute! I haven't slept all night. Did I say that already?

I made ten of these for the Bazzill card swap. I think I did OK... but I've been up all night... did I say that already? lol ;)

Scrapping Cards

When I originally started buying scrapping supplies, I was a scrapbooker. I knew nothing about rubber stamping and making cards. I had a pen pal invite me to an online chat room for scrapbookers and my whole world changed then. That was in the summer of 2004. Before then ... all I knew was stickers. :) lol My first scrapbook I completed was in 1976 ... I used construction paper and I remember cutting out mats and flowers to "decorate" the pages with. I used Elmer's glue and glued the pictures right into the scrapbooks. :-\ I was the youngest of 10 and my mother left me to my own devices ... so long as I did not touch any of her sewing supplies and stayed in my room I could do whatever I wanted with our family pictures. Can you imagine? Needless to say ... when I inherited my mother's things in November 2009 and found our family scrapbooks ... I was quite horrified at what I had done! Since 1976 I had become quite sophisticated with my scrapbooking... I still used construction paper and made all my embellishments for my pages but now I used photo corners. :) It was not until summer of 2003 when while shopping at a Dollar Tree that Nina opened up my eyes to what was out there. She asked for a couple of packs of 12X12 printed paper with the matching ribbons and stickers. $5 total... how could I say no to my baby? As I watched her put it together I marveled at the ease! :D I laugh about that eye opening experience now. Even then, I only went to Dollar Tree... it wasn't until September 2003 when a supervisor gifted me a scrapbooking kit for my birthday did I realize what a gold mine I had stumbled upon. She had actually bought it at an LSS. I had no idea what that was and was too embarrassed to ask so I stumbled along... in December 2003 we were collecting toys for the United Way. I had seen an advertisement in the Michael's flyer for some children's activity sets for cheap. I swung by there to buy these. It was during my lunch hour and I thought I would browse. I had shopped Michael's before ... but for fabric. I use to sew my children's clothing when they were in grade school. As I browsed about I found the scrapbooking supplies ... and my life was completely transformed. Thousands of dollars later, I find myself here.

This morning as I was browsing Pinterest ... ;) ... I stumbled upon this ... and let's NOT go to Stumble Upon! I marveled at her organization and drooled at all the ribbon. This put me in an organizing mood. I spent almost 9 hours organizing my embellishments today. From when I dropped Jay off at work which is about 12ish till I went to pick him up about 9ish. Organizing... yep... that is ALL I did... well, except for a little break to feed myself and potty breaks. :) As I organized ... I discovered to my horror ... what a waste of resources I was involved with. I'm a recycler. I don't idle my vehicle at drive thrus... (sp?) ... I do green whenever I can... and yet here I was hoarding mountains and mountains of scrapping embellishments I may not ever use because I find I don't scrapbook since my kids became adults. I don't know why! Life continued. But as I organized... I vowed to use more of my things... as a matter of fact... I plan to not buy a single thing until I use all the supplies I currently have ... wait ... at least 75% ... no, maybe half ... ok ... at the very least about 25% ... well ... SOME of it. ;) lol

With that in mind, I bring you FOUR Halloween cards I worked on tonight. I am practicing staying up late for the graveyard shift next week. My start date was moved from Friday night this week to the 14th. So I have plenty of time to practice. :)

I did use the Bazzill card stock I recently purchased for that card swap I missed. But the cut outs are all from scrapbooking kits I had left over and really think I may not use if I don't use them now. I would be horrified to gift these to fellow crafters but my family does not know if I bought these eight years ago or yesterday. All they would appreciate is that it is a handmade card. :)

On the one above, I outlined the foam trick or treat with Black Diamond Stickles to add some sparkle to the card. I DID remember to use multi-colored twine. :) I also used some of the Robin's Nest Dew Drops I like so much.

I don't know if you can see, but the ghost is outlined with the Zig 2 way glue and sprinkled with some  Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter AND I remembered the twine again! ;) The ghost is paper piecing I made years ago when I discovered paper piecing. :)

On this final card, I smeared Diamond Stickles on the happy Halloween foam sticker. I chose Diamond because I thought it picked up more of the orange in the bling of it all. ;) lol I also smeared this on the spiders and I think you can see the orange in the bottom spider. The spiders are from a punch I received in a swap. I think the spiders are a pretty good size! I used foam dots to pop the spiders up off the card and I think they really look like they are poised to jump. Here's a close up of the spider. I can't seem to be able to capture it as well as I had hoped but I think you get the picture.

I was thinking today ... I probably use a lot of 3D imagery on my cards because of the history I just gave you. I spent years making my own embellishments... first... as a teenager because I lived in my own world as any teen would and then as I got older ... I had no idea I could go to a store and buy this stuff! So I just kept making my embellishments. It's hard to break old habits! Next time ... I will give you a history lesson about how I discovered rubber stamping! ;) lol

The Lights Are On ...

... but no one is home! Ha! :)

I've had this idea floating around in my head for almost three weeks. There was a contest going on at Raisin Boat to use three sets of stamps to make one card and I was pretty sure I had it nailed but ... I've already posted about how I've been super busy!

I was putting stuff away from making the Graphic 45 Halloween box and had this paper burning a hole in my brain ... so I whipped this up as fast as I could ... didn't come out like I saw it in my "Ema-gination" but it came close enough ... and if that doesn't teach me to stop being quick about making a card I don't know what will! :-\ I was in such a hurry ... forgot the awesome twine I love! I did use Graphic 45 Happy Haunting paper ... I love this paper ... Raisin Boat ... duh! ... stamp sets, Dig Halloween, Do Not Enter and Fright Night. I stamped the grass from Dig Halloween and tree, spider web and spider from Fright Night on the Jolly Jack-O-Lantern double-sided paper. I wanted the haunted house image from Do Not Enter to be important to the card and pop out so I stamped it onto card stock with Top Boss tinted ink and heat-embossed it with Ranger super fine black embossing powder. I filled in the windows with Zig 2 way glue stick and sprinkled with Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter Fall Opaque Pee Wee Kit. I filled in the shutters and what I took to be fence posts and the front door railing with silver glitter pen. I then cut the image out along the lines of the house and cut out what I took as part of the wrap around porch and mounted it onto foam tape. I stamped the same image onto navy card stock with Tsukineko Memento Ink pad in Tuxedo Black and placed the cutout right on top to give it some depth and shadow. AFTER I was all done ... I remembered I also had black foam tape but since I didn't while I was making the card I went over the outside of the foam tape with Tsukineko Memento Marker in Tuxedo Black as well.

As you can see ... it really needed some of the wicked awesome tri-color Halloween twine I told you about before. It's screaming for twine! ;) Here is a close up of the pop up haunted house image.

I'm gonna try this again with the black foam tape and tri-color twine ... I have about 20 Halloween cards and I am needing 30. I don't think I will come back and show you that one unless it looks just way more wicked awesome. :) lol

Graphic 45 Halloween Box

I am still working on getting settled into our new home. In the midst of unpacking and setting up the craft room... I took a break to make this mess... six hours well spent... :)

 Wanna see what it was I made? Here's the top...

Here's one of the sides... I used purple printed paper and solid card stock on the inside. I stamped images of  a spider from one of my many Raisin Boat stamp sets. I love their stamps! Have I told you that before? ;) lol I used the spider from Eerie Nights.

The bottom of the box and the inside of the lid were of the same designed paper. I sealed it with Mod Podge and I like the nice smooth finish it was left with. :) This is the other side. I pulled back so you could see the paper on the sides of the box. It didn't photograph well but I kinda meant for purple to be a predominant color. I think the orange stole the show! ;) lol

This is the final product. I think it came out cute! :) I could criticize it left and right and down the middle but my friend Jo Miller Gress told me to stop being so hard on myself and ... I thought about it ... she's so right! :) So I am not gonna! :) lol Instead I will point out that I love the Graphic 45 Happy Haunting paper. I love the orange ribbon! I thought I was pretty darn clever to remember I had black flocking! ;) lol I dressed the spider punch outs in the same and added beads for eyes! :)

Here's a close up of the spider. Can you see the flocking? It's a hairy little beast! lol ;)

For those of you who read my posts and don't just look at the pictures ... I have a FRIEND confess that is what she does ... JUST LOOKS AT THE PICTURES! ... :-\ she says I can get long-winded ... at times ;) ... I have an update ... I am working a seasonal job doing something completely different from what I normally do ... I am a scaler! haha ... now don't be impressed with the job title ... it isn't as glamorous as it sounds! ;) lol I am working at the cotton weigh station during cotton season on the grave yard shift. NO PHONES! :) I will work with a 28 yo kid, Cory ... isn't it funny that I consider 28 a kid! ... on Monday and Tuesday nights. On the other three nights I will work with Mike, a male somewhere between 45 and 55 I am guessing. I am not very good at that but the only reason I know that Cory is 28 is because it came up in conversation. During training, two things were harped on ... no cell phones ... if you're caught, you will get three warnings and fired on the fourth. The other thing ... don't fall asleep! Cause for IMMEDIATE dismissal! :-\ I thought to myself, well, then, why not cell phones? ;) lol Anyway, pays $5 less than I use to earn, but it's stress free and I cannot put a price on that! Can you? Oh, funny story, when we received our schedules, Mike sauntered over to me and tells me "I hope they don't catch us sleeping together." HA! Riot!! The only down side ... it's mostly standing kind of work. I've never done that ... this is COMPLETELY different and foreign to me ... it's OK though ... cause that is what I wanted ... also ... maybe this will stop my butt from spreading ... ;) lol

Other thing ... last year, I planned to return to school and was very ambitious. I planned to enter nursing school. Well, those of you who have been with me all this time, know that I was diagnosed with CML ... school wasn't looking as a possibility even before then. Horrid supervisor I had back then was not willing to work with my class schedule. So I withdrew and as it turned out ... the day I was released from the hospital was the first day of classes.

Over the past year I realized ... I didn't want to do what I was doing anymore but really didn't feel like I had an option. I needed the health insurance. :-\ My hand was forced and I have discovered ... I qualify for some aid that will help with the overwhelming medical expenses I was drowning in and can receive health care at a more affordable cost at the university hospital. Sure ... I will see a different student doctor each time but all these students are backed by top notch REAL doctors. :) I didn't want to stop seeing Dr. Cruz ... he's transferring to a practice in San Antonio in January ... I will have to switch doctors anyway! My $200 meds ... that was my co pay ... can you imagine what the full price is? ... I can and have applied for three, maybe four, different programs for assistance. I can pay some ... I cannot pay all. I received my COBRA info. To keep the medical insurance is $388, dental is $38 and life insurance ... I haven't been informed what the premium is yet but apparently former employer provided a very good life insurance policy. I was insured at $30K and it has cash value. I can use that cash value to pay the premiums until used and then I can take over the premiums. Needless to say ... I am keeping the life insurance. :-\ Dental too! Financial aid does not cover dental! :-\

I realized yesterday ... I can go back to school now! No work schedule to interfere with classes! Woohoo! It is too late for this semester but I can do the scaler job being that it is a seasonal job and will end in January or February at the latest. Obviously, for me it will end when classes start! :) In the mean time, it is a very good company to work for as well. After 60 days, we get paid holidays! So we will be paid for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Easy work ... all I have to do is stay awake! lol I received a Monday through Friday schedule. Weekends the weigh station is covered by one person. Company does not allow females to work weekends alone. :)

Then ... I cannot explain why ... a couple of weeks ago ... I applied to a job that is at the university hospital ... grave yard shift ... weekends only ... I have an interview on the 16th. :) I don't know WHAT made me apply for it ... but they called me ... I feel I have to follow through with it ... Jay can cover our living expenses with the exception of the truck insurance and gasoline. Expenses that maybe ... a part time job could cover ... what do you think? :)

So I am going back to school. The plan is to go into nursing school. I am a caretaker at heart. :) I hope to get to work with babies. I love babies ... :) As a student ... I get free / lower cost access to a lot of medical resources at our university hospital. Nursing school takes two years. It will take one year to finish up my basics. I have all the English, history, psychology and government courses needed ... but I lack three science courses, a family and behavioral course as well as nutrition. There's another one ... cause I thought I remember there were six courses ... but I cannot think of it right now ... SHOCKER! I know! Then I can apply and hope I get accepted into the nursing school. After the two years, I have to go to school for some classes in order to get the BSN but that can be done while I work and I have a year. Also, I am looking at a hospital nursing school and they have a program that helps with tuition in exchange for staying to work with them for a couple of years ... hello?!? Job security!!! :) I'm good with that! Don't forget ... we just bought a home!!

I cannot help but feel that the Lord has His hand in my life right now ... I am in remission ... I am at peace at a time that most people would probably be freaking out ... it's all good ... the glass IS half full ... :)

Thanks for reading! :)