Goodbye Parquet Tile!

Every DIY home project takes longer than I want but after its over I think that wasn't so bad. Its my short term memory problem that allows me to start looking for the next project. For the moment however, I'm just relaxing and enjoying having a functional kitchen with an intact floor again. Here are the Before and After shots. And I promise some paper craft posts coming soon.

Washi what?

I will be the first to admit I'm not always on the cutting edge of what's hot in the craft world .OK not in  technology or fashion or music either but I will come around eventually. So if you are like me you may not have seen or even heard of Washi Tape. It originated in Japan and has the feel of thin masking tape. It comes in lovely colors and designs and you can really dress up a card or scrapbook page quickly with it. Here are a couple of cards with washi tape

 washi tape set: Gingham Garden
Stamp sets:
Flower Shop
Simply Sketched
Best of Greetings

BBC fans?

Two important discoveries today. First, July is paper sale month at Stampin' Up! You can get a free pack of paper for every three sets you buy. NO Limit. so if you go crazy and buy 9 you get 3 free.  Here is the flyer or CLICK HERE to go directly to my store. The sale includes all packs priced $10.95

Second, but perhaps more importantly the sale includes this paper set. Take careful note of the design on top row center. It isn't a perfect match but close enough that I made a little squee noise that drew the eye roll of my husband. 

If you are not a BBC fan let me clue you in. Here is a shot of Sherlock and Watson in their living room at 221b Baker street in the series Sherlock. You can expect to see some Sherlock themed cards from me soon. 

creative wrapping

Paper craft tools are just perfect for creative present wrapping. I used to spend a lot on gift bags and wrapping paper but now I just pull out my stamps, grab some tissue paper and get creative. This is a gift for a co-worker of my husband. She is having a baby. I didn't know the gender so yellow will do just fine. The stamp set and punch I used are available individually  or get them as a set at 15% discount.

Stamp set: Flower Shop

Punch: Pansy Punch

Stamp/Punch bundle

Gingham Garden Washi tape

Summer vacation

Why does summer seem to be so much busier than the rest of the year? I have not been to yoga class for five weeks but I made up for it this week doing construction work or rather demolition work.  The old 80's parquet tile in the kitchen and hall is gone. It took the better part of three days and some very sore muscles on my part but it is finally gone. Now I just have to level the floor and install my new laminate. That will be a snap right?.....we'll see.

Demolition doesn't leave much time for crafting. Fortunately for my creative needs I was lucky enough to be invited to a get together with my upline this weekend. That motivated me to design one card for a swap. The swap was to feature new products or colors and this is the result.

Colors are from 2012-2014 In Color collection

Primrose Petals and Midnight Muse

Stamp sets are

Best of Butterflies

Best of Birthdays

Featured new product is the Modern Mosaic embossing folder

Wave the flag

Over the past week I spent so much time getting ready for a local con there was not much paper craft going on at my house. You can roll over to Fanboy Expo if you want to know what had me so distracted. You can also check out Geek Con Coverage on Facebook for event photos.  With that in mind I did manage to come up with one card design I felt was worth photographing. Ta-Da!

It has a vintage feel that reminds me of the Bicentennial celebration back in 1976. 

Supplies

Whisper White card stock

Baked brown sugar card stock

Midnight Muse card stock

Raspberry Ripple stampin' pad

Stampin' Spritzer

Chevron embossing folder

To make this card emboss your bakes brown sugar card stock with the chevron pattern then drag the Raspberry ripple stampin' pad across the face of the embossed paper to create this great slightly uneven look. If you wanted a more uniform coverage using a brayer would be the way to go but I think the color variation adds to the vintage feel here. Next to create the stars fill a stampin' spritzer with 1/2 water and 1/2 bleach.( I used Clorox brand because that's what I use around the house.) spray onto the Midnight Muse card stock over a bleach safe surface. the more you spray the more stars you will have. I had to play around with that a bit as I over sprayed a few times and ended up with too much white.  

That is all there is to it. Now you just glue and mail it out to wish someone a happy Independence day. 

Spring Topiary

Last week working with vellum on one of my cards gave me an idea for a decor project. Here it is. A Rainbow colored butterfly topiary. Many times my brilliant ideas turn out to be lots of work and a great big mess all over the dining room table for a week that gets transferred directly to the trash. Once in a while they work. That is what keeps me crafting.

These are really easy and can be completed in just a couple of hours. First step is stamping the butterflies in black ink on vellum. give them couple of minutes to dry. Next color half  your stamped images using Stampin' Up! ink and blender pens in you choice of colors. Then cut out all your images and glue colored butterflies on top of the uncolored ones. Finally affix butterflies to a pre-made topiary, wreath or other decor item of your choice. I picked up the top ball and pot at a floral supply store and the stick came from my back yard.

supplies I used are:

Vellum

Best of Butterflies

Blender Pens

Stampin' Up! ink

1/2 inch Seam binding ribbon