Submissions

This is my last post, for now......

When I began getting interested in card making, I turned to the blogosphere for inspiration. As you can see, there are several blogs that I "follow". And along with inspiration, I've discovered several blogs that offer challenges. Some just for the pure challenge, and some that offer great prizes (like stamps !!!).

Well, I mustered up my courage and submitted my first card:

A local craft store (Craft Warehouse) has a Scrapbooking / Card making club that meets monthly. The first one I attended....quite by accident....was in January. It's only an hour, but we cover quite a bit of stuff. Not only do we get a run down of new products the store is or will be carrying, but we also cover a topic -- organizing, tools, techniques, etc. And, if we choose, we can participate in a challenge. We're given usually 3 items (doily / heart sticker / treat box) that we have to use in a project. This month's challenge included the white scalloped border that I used at the bottom, the 2 acrylic tiles, and a new type of brad (that I included in another card).

In addition to the card club challenge, I submitted this for the Get Your Diva On challenge at the Verve Stamps Blog.

And then, sporting all my newly acquired courage, I decided to try the February VLV Sketchbook challenge that Verve had going.

 Here's the brad that came in the Craft Warehouse challenge:

I'm sooo happy that I accepted the challenge. Through this process I discovered that I really like working from sketches. For me, the most difficult part of designing a card is often just coming up with the design.

Though I don't really feel I can truly "compete" with most of those that enter the contests, it doesn't mean I enjoy the challenge any less. And the way I look at it, I end up with a pretty nice card when I'm done!!!

Card swap

Once I pulled out all my materials, and attended a few workshops, I decided I want to start a card swap group. My first step --- create cards / invitations.....

Hopefully, if I can get a group started, I'll be able to continue posting my contributions. We'll see how it goes.

Punch bunch

So, did I mention that I'm hooked? Another month, another workshop.

This one used the "punch bunch" stamps and the owl punch.

Though I can't ever seem to part with my "workshop" cards, I get great inspiration for cards that I make at home.

Valentine's Day

So, you guessed it....I had to attend another workshop. This time, Valentine's Day cards.

Don't ya just LOVE 'em !! =)

Cards, cards, cards

My most recent obsession is with card making !! I love to scrapbook, but I personally feel it requires more space than I have at the moment. So, for me, card making is kinda like scrapbooking on a smaller level ! 

I recently was introduced to a talented Stampin UP! demonstrator, and so I'm currently collecting stamps. I've discovered that I really prefer acrylic stamps over traditional rubber ones. 

So, the first SU! workshop I attended, we made these Christmas cards:

They're beautiful, aren't they? Would it surprise you to know that I still have them?? I couldn't give them away !

Jewelry Hanger

So this is my first project - a jewelry hanger / organizer. I needed a way to hold my longer necklaces out in the open, and I got the inspiration from a blog with a similar project. I wanted something really quick to assemble -- and this is it!!! From start to finish in less than 15 minutes.

I started with a 12x12 white frame, a 12x12 piece of tin, and a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper.

This is a better pic of the paper I used.

You simply layer the paper on top of the piece of tin, and "frame it".

And wa-la ! I used magnets from the office supply store that look like large push pins. And I even found a magnetic round box that holds my rings ! Super easy, and super functional.