Outgoing and Incoming [Snail] Mail

This is a thank you card for my friend that took care of all of the 'living' stuff while we were in Seattle and Salt Lake City.  Friends are the best.  The pendant is from Ritzy Misfit.

 

 My grandma's sister fell out of bed and bumped her head, a lil monkey card made it to her [snail] mail box to cheer her up  At 89 she really shouldn't be jumping on the bed.

Toni made this card for me and hand delivered it (with some books to read too!), too cool.  Friends that make cards are even better!  Thanks girl!

For the LOVE of Paper

Cards for my old past boss who loves green AND turned the big FIVE OH!  I hope nobody believes I am even close to my age when I get to be old[er].  Josh told me today I looked 15, so I think I will be safe.  Or perhaps he was talking about my maturity!?

A little [snail] mail to cheer up my Aunt who is about to have brain surgery.  You can't see the glimmer misting goodness on this beauty, but believe me it's there!  While stamping, Eli is my assistant and this song by Gretchen Wilson goes through my head...'with a baby on my hip'.

Halloween/Birthday cards for my Aunt, gotta love the holiday where any color combo goes!

Needless to say, women and men, young and old all LOVE paper!

Dust

 While on my drives to Stanford I have a lot of time to think, and by a lot, I mean an hour.  The other day, I passed a cloud of dust.  After further investigation, I realized there was a dirt road someone had just travelled.  It made me think that the dirt road and the creative life I want to live are very similiar.  

Dust collects on things that have not been used in a while.  A load of dust does not pile up over night, it forms in layers upon layers due to neglect.  The creative life I want to live is victim to dust.  For far too long I have been watching ladies through magazines and blogs make their creative dreams come true.  Whether it's designing, creating daily or running a creative business - ladies all over the place are making it happen.  Why can't it be me, oh because I'm not an artist, a certain religion, in a big city, fill in any excuse you can think of, I've had it.  As I have been admiring these creative gals my own creative path was becoming covered in dust.  Rarely did I dust off my skills to become one of those creative gals myself.  NO MORE!  There will be quite a bit of dusting before I am able to polish what I am meant to do in my creative life.  Two weddings helped me remove some dust and continue down my own road to creativity.  It felt good to dust off my skills and put ink to paper. 

Kickin' up dirt and leavin' dust clouds!  I am on a creative journey, my own road.  Kickin' up dirt that people may or may not see and that is not the point.  Getting on the road is the point, making dust clouds is just a perk.  Time to dust off my skills and create.

   

Clubs

After reading Marta's beautiful post I could not stop thinking about what "clubs" I am a part of...

• served in the Air Force
• love people who are real and true to themselves
• serve in the guard   
• gave birth to a preemie
• live in Montana
• date a rancher
• own my house
• scrapbook, stamp and paper craft
• love to take photos
• grew up in Arizona
• student at UGF
• been divorced
• had knee surgery
• lived in Japan
• enjoy thrift shops
• try to be green
• love to laugh
• will watch any movie once
• wish I knew more about computers
• want to start an etsy store
• visited Mexico, Singapore, Spain, and Morroco
• love to share my story and hear others
• like to write, journal, document
• facinated by organization techniques
• hate math
• obsessed with lists
• enjoy a good quote
• love to be up late

These are just some of the "clubs" I am a part of, they define me for right now and others forever.  These clubs also connect me to other people who share the same experiences, desires, likes, dislikes, and gifts.  Recently I made a new friend, Leah who is a mother to a preemie, an aspiring photographer and is a scrapbooker.  Oh, and I think she lived in Arizona.  We are connected by these "clubs".  I'm not sure how many matches must be met in order to be considered a friend, good friend, or really good friend.

This card is for Leah, she is taking her son home from the NICU and we wish them the best.  We will forever be connected by our experience.  Good luck!

What clubs are you a part of?  Any matches?    

Goodbye now, goodbye.

I do everything in the last minute, why would these good luck cards be any different!? That is my reasoning for the poor photography, it was done right before they went into the envelopes. I really need to break that habit for sure. These are goodbye/good luck cards for our Romanian receptionist that went into the army and Guitar playing title searcher going off to college. Maybe I should have made a good luck card for my 'kick procrastination in the butt' movement. I guess I put that off too. Well GOOD LUCK Andrea and Mike!

Ooh la la New la la

These are the new colors from SU! this year. Yum, they are so fresh! I created these little gift cards for my cousin Cimberlee.

Hey BeBe

This card is an unusual size for me, oh wait it's my favorite size right now! What can I say I love baby cards. I really need to start making envelopes for all of my tiny pieces of art. This is the bebe stamp I got from a clearance bin at Hobby Lobby in Billings. Probably the fastest I have used a stamp EVER! I'm setting new records all over the place.

Mini book craze

So this gal at work is expecting a baby girl the day after my sister. I made this book for her soon to be baby girl, Keyera. I talked with her mom on the phone to get some of the baby stories from her past.

And I am pretty psyched to go to Melissa's tomorrow and scrap/watch grey's/chat/you know the usual.

***Updated*** I am so flattered, Peata found my mini book and featured it on her Scrapbook Crazy About Mini Albums blog!!

Birthday thank you's

Better late than never! Had to play with the new colors and new sets!! Getting ready for a craft faire in November (my aunts with the yarn store invited me to join their table), I have about a month to prepare things. Not really sure what I will be making but I know it will involve my scor-pal and stamps. So there should be much more creating in the future. I also ordered stamps with my work logo from this site I found from Elise Blaha's Blog. Very fast delivery and you can make anything a stamp! So creating some custom congrats, thanks for your business, and such will be in the making as well. As for my little leg, I am going strong with physical therapy three times a week as well as on my own. I am ahead of the curve, getting more range of motion and strength everyday. Can't wait to be active again!

Olympics are easy as 1, 2, 3

There is a paper lover and blogger out there that totally inspires me (ELISE BLAHA), and I can totally relate to her lifelong dream to be in the olympics video. She has offered up a chance for me to compete in the events I was born to do. Check out the Crafty Olympics. The first being pattern. Thanks for the use of your sentiment stamp Jenn!

Second is text. Notice the "o" background and ribbon slide. Yum!

The third and final event, PAINT. Kinda got on an ole Valentine's theme here for whatever reason. I guess because I talked to Toni 'my heart days obsessed friend' yesterday {miss ya girly}.

There will be more to share, I had a video updating you all what my past month has been filled with...but of course blogger would not allow me to upload it. So I think I am back to the crafting/blogging world now. My head is swirling with ideas I want to share. More to come!

An accomplishment

I am going to a wedding anniversary today. 25 years, that is an accomplishment! Here is the card to celebrate it. It says 25 years and counting. They are ranchers and will be branding this weekend. So hopefully I will come back with some cool photos! Have a great weekend!

Find Joy in a new technique!

While looking for inspiration stumbled upon this blog with a cool faux batik tutorial. It got me movin' and usin' my Tim Holtz scratcher I won at the MOMS retreat.

Let's heat it up!

Stamping, seems to be a whole lot of scrappin' these days and this was my welcome back into the stamping world. I need some warming up for sure! I have been on a mini book craze. I want to make a mini book for everything now.

Here is my current creative agenda...

Disney Cruise Album (EK success changed page protectors need to solve that and make title page)

The Mustache Book (working on the quotes throughout)

Miss Arizona Album (This will be a long one, pecking away)

Mom's Horse Album (Have picked out all cardstock and patterned paper to go with it)

Sister's Wedding Album (Need to get one more batch of photos printed, started choosing sketches for each layout)

Untitled book (not sure what it will be called, it is about everything I love...hmmm that could be the title)

Japan Album x 3 for my friends now in North Dakota, South Carolina and Arizona (size and color combo chosen)

and the future creative agenda...

use up 20 lbs of scrap paper

organize photos, keepsakes and layout ideas by event or book in files (this way I can jump around on different projects so I don't force creating anything)

Gold Award Girl Scout Album

Air Force Album

gear up for craft faire in November

Long shot...

While crusing around blog land I ran across a design team call for a new sketch site PAGE PLANS. These are my entries.

What the sketch... there are a lot of color combos!

SCS color challenge 88 and sketch challenge 168. I have waited a long time for this set, it was the right place and the right time.


I like the simplicity of this bad boy. SCS color challenge 52 and SCS sketch challenge 143.


SCS color challenge 79 and sketch challenge 164. The sentiment was wrote with a pen and covered with red stickles.


SCS color challenge 59 and sketch challenge 152.