Thanks for visiting!


Welcome! This is the place where I share my artsy and crafty projects. I am an evolving artist these days ... finding myself enjoying less of the cards and mini albums that I have made for years, and turning to art journaling and more artistic endeavors. I have always enjoyed some craft or other, and some of my earliest memories of my mother helping me make paper dolls and other crafts. I am now in my 60's and finding myself more passionately enjoying creating beautiful things and learning new skills and techniques and products.

While you are here I hope you will find inspiration and ideas for making your own projects, however any images or projects you find here are my personal property and should not be used for your own monetary gain, or for contests or challenges. Thank You!

3/30/2010

Sweet Friend

Hi Friends!  I just wanted to take a quick minute to share a card with you!  I made it a week or two ago for a challenge, but didn't get it in on time, so I'll just share it with you anyway!






The sweet image is from PC Crafter and everything else is from my stash.  The bling on the right side is Prima 'e-line' rhinestones, and the flower bling is an old stone I got from somewhere!  The stamp is Inkadinkadoo.  The card base was cut on Cricut Walk in My Garden cartridge using card 2 set at 5".  All stitching done on my sewing machine.

Thanks for looking!  I hope to be back soon with another project.  Blessings, Becky

3/28/2010

Moxie Fab World - Tuesday Trigger - Butterfly Dreams!

Hi Folks!  I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted here!  There's lots going on around here these days.  I have joined a new ladies group and volunteered to be their blogger, so that is taking some time, and I've got a craft show coming up in May - my first ever as a vendor - so I've been working like a beaver on other types of crafts for that show.  And we're going on our first camping trip of the season soon, so I'm kind of in the 'getting things organized mode' with regards to the camper AND the house.

That said, I still had time to take part in last week's 'Tuesday Trigger' over at the Moxie Fab World blog.  Each Tuesday Cath posts an inspiration and matching card from readers and asks us to do our take on the inspiration.  Here's the precious inspiraton pic that Jaclyn used this week . . .


The elements I wanted to pick up on from this inspiration were . . .
  • the colors
  • the plaid
  • the polka dots
  • the daisies scattered around the dress, and
  • the overall cheeriness, little girl sweetness of the dress
And here is my take on the inspiration . . .




And here's all the info . . .

Product Info:
  • Cardstock and plaid paper are from a Die Cuts With a View stack
  • Buttons, ribbon and lace from my stash
  • Green rhinestone by K and Company
Cricut Info - all cuts made using Walk in My Garden cartridge::
  • Base of card cut on card2 set at 5"
  • Green 'smile' cut set at 1" and white shadow cut at 1" shadow feature
  • Flowers (plaid) cut on 'blossm' set at 1 1/2" (2) and 1 3/4" and pink using shadow feature

Thanks for visiting!  I hope to have something else to share with you soon.  Blessings, Becky

3/16/2010

Tuesday Morning Sketches and Die Cuts R Us Challenges

Once again I am 'piggy backing' challenges here, but they just fit so well I couldn't resist it!  Die Cuts R Us' challenge this week is a color challenge based on My Minds Eye 'Lush' line, and we were asked to create a project using any one color from that line (black, blue, brown, pink and red) plus white.  The Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge is to make any project other than the usual card.  It could be an altered project, 3-D project - basically anything BUT a card.  Here is my take on both challenges . . .


 





And here is all the info . . .

Product List:
  • Patterned paper for purse is My Minds Eye Ooh La La "All Dressed Up"
  • Patterned paper for flower tag is My Minds Eye Ooh La La "Lah Dee Dah"
  • Crocheted flower is from My Minds Eye "Laundry Line"
  • White ribbon and pom-pom trim is from Dollar Tree
  • Half pearls are from Basic Grey 'opaline'
  • Rhinestone and jump rings are from my stash
  • Flap of purse is held with a velcro dot
Cricut Info:
  • All cuts were made using Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge
  • Purse is purse2
  • Flower tag is flower

Wouldn't this be a lovely gift for Mother's Day???  Thanks for visiting, Becky

Daring Carmakers "A Host of Golden Daffodils"

This week's 'dare' over at Daring Cardmakers (DCM) is to make a card or other project with daffodils.  I love daffodils, and this reminded me of a time when I was small and each spring my mother, brother and I would walk about 1/2 mile one way to an old abandoned house.  The house was off, away from any other houses, at the end of a dead end road, so no one ever went back there.  There were hundreds of daffodils, mostly what my mother called 'butter and eggs' daffodils that, without anyone to tame them, had just run rampant and were all over the place!  We would pick daffodils until we couldn't hold any more, take them home and put them in jars and vases.  Eventually someone bought the old place, and I haven't been up there since, but I sure hope the new owners kept the daffodils! 

So, when I thought daffodils, I wanted to make my take on the butter and eggs dafodils with white center and yellow outer leaves.  Here is my card . . .







And here's all the info . . .

Product list:
  • Blue cardstock used for base of card is Die Cuts With a View 'Be Mine' stack, cut on Cricut using Walk in My Garden Cartridge, card2 set at 5"
  • Yellow cardstock is Die Cuts With a View 'brights' stack
  • Green cardstock is Bazzill 'primary' multi-pack
  • White cardstock is Bazzill Basics, inked with yelow ink
  • Sentiment (rub-on) is from Melissa Frances
  • Vintage button, twine, bumble bee and lady bug are from my stash
Flower infl:
  • Leaves, stem and yellow petals are cut freehnd
  • White petals were cut on Cricut using Walk in My Garden cartridge, coreopsis set at 1 1/4" and 1 3/4"
  • Grass was cut on Cricut using Plantin SchoolBook set at 1"

I hope you've enjoyed your visit!  I will be back before long (hopefully) with another card or two for challenges that are going on right now.  Have a blessed day!  Becky

3/11/2010

Fluttering By - Tuesday Morning Sketch # 36

Don't you just L*O*V*E it when something you make comes out better than you thought, or when you are really pleased with the end product?  That's how I feel with this card.  This week's sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches was a little bit challenging, but once I chose the paper I wanted to use it was a piece of cake!  Here is the sketch . . .



And here is my card . . .








And here is all the info . . .

Product List:
  • Cardstock - Die Cuts With a View 'pastels' stack
  • Patterned paper - Making Memories 'Flower Patch' Butterfly Flower Patch (both sides).  The butterflies are cut from the paper, and the strip along the bottom is the reverse side.
  • Stickles 'Diamond'
  • Pearls - Basic Grey 'opaline' designer half pearls
Cricut Info:
  • Card base is cut on Walk in My Garden, card 2 set at 5"
  • Scalloped border cut on Plantin SchoolBook, scallop set at 3/4"
I'm just in love with this card, and I have an aunt with a birthday in a few weeks - guess what she's getting?  Thanks for visiting, and come back soon.  Have a great weekend!  Becky

3/06/2010

Scrapbook Trends Cards Blog Challenge

This week's challenge on the Scrapbook Trends Magazine 'cards blog' was so. much. fun!!!  Paige asked us to make 'mini' cards that were no larger than 3", and you know that small cards are great to have on hand to put into a gift or even put in someone's lunch for a bright spot in their day.  As I thought about what I wanted to do those My Minds Eye papers I won a while back came to mind, so I pulled them out and made a set of 4 coordinated mini cards.  Here's the group:




And here's all the info, divided up by card.  Bear in mind:
  • Cardstock is Die Cuts With a View 'pastel' stack
  • all patterned papers and the accessories are My Minds Eye - Ooh La La 'For Him' . . .
  • Cards cut on Cricut Walk in My Garden cartridge card 2 set @ 3"

Card One:



Paper is 'Soiree'
Gold gems are from K & Company
Green pearl is from Prima 'e' line
Stickles Diamond
Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Label One'
Flower in center is from MME Accessory Sheet


Card Two:



Paper is 'Frivolous'
Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Label One'
Flower paper is 'Happy Days' and is cut on Cricut Walk in My Garden cartridge
'coreopsis' set at 1 1/4", 1 1/2" and 1 3/4'
Gem is from Prima 'e' line
Rub-on is from Melissa Frances
Stickles 'star dust'
Tag from stash


Card Three:



Dotted paper is a frame from the MME accessory sheet
Patterned paper is 'Simply Sweet'
Spellbinders Nestabilities classic scallops small
Flower is Prima
Stickles Diamond
Button and twine from my stash


Card Four:



Grid (background) paper is 'Gt In Line'
Polka dot paper is 'Simply Sweet' reverse
Journaling tag and orange paper flower are from MME accessory sheet
Spellbinders Nestabilities classic scallops small
Stickles 'platinum'
 'hello' stamped using Inkadinkadoo stamp with versamark ink
Heat embossed using Ranger 'verdigris' embossing powder
Flower from stash


I know that seems like a lot of steps, but all 4 cards came together really quickly because I used coordinating papers and accessories.  Thanks for visiting today, I hope your weekend is going well!  Blessings, Becky


3/05/2010

Card Patterns Sketch 53

I love a good sketch, and the one from Card Patterns this week was really cool!  I have some pretty 'baby' green grosgrain ribbon I hadn't used yet, and it was haunting me, so I looked for some way to incorporate it into a card.  Here is the sketch . . .



And here is my card . . .









And here's all the info . . .

Product info:
  • All cardstock from Die Cuts With a View pastels stack
  • Image from clipart software
  • Polka dotted ribbon - stash (ordered on ebay)
  • Pearls are Prima 'e' line
  • Pink flowers Petaloo 'It's Magic Princess" large
  • White seam binding and button from my stash
Cricut info:
  • Walk in My Garden cartridge.
  • Card base is card 2 set @ 5"
  • Blue square is card 1 set @ 3 1/4"
And that's my card.  I'm so glad you visited today, and hope you come back again soon!  Blessings, Becky

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Challenge 10 - Fabric

I guess it's true - time flies when you are having fun. But then again, I haven't really been having a lot of fun, just keeping busy!  I've done some 'pre-spring cleaning' and working on re-organizing my studio.  I'm also in the middle of the 'great stock-up'; each year about this time I stock up on things we use a lot of throughout the year.  It works for us!

Anyway, I haven't been making many cards, but when I saw the latest challenge for Everything But The Kitchen Sink (EBTKS) I knew I had to participate, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do!  The challenge was to use fabric in your project, and I had been wanting to do this for a while - make a card with an apron on front!

I have to tell you a small story before I share the card with you, though.  When I was a small child we had a chicken house where my parents raised chickens from babies until they were old enough to slaughter.  Back them (early to mid 1950's) chicken feed came in cotton feed sacks.  Some of them were plain white, but many others came in pretty prints.  My mother took every single feed sack, removed all the stitches, washed, dried, folded and put the fabric away to use later. Most of the curtains in our house back then were made from white feed sacks that my mom added ric-rack to, depending on the color theme in that room.  But the prettier prints were used to make my clothes.  I had a dress when I was about three or so made from the fabric I used below.  The dress is long gone, but I still have a few small bits and pieces.

The chicken house burned down in March of 1958 and wasn't rebuilt, so I know this fabric is at least 52 years old.  A few years ago my mom handed down all of the fabric to me, and I cherish each piece!

So that was my story, and here is my card for the EBTKS challenge this week . . .




I sewed the apron on my machine, using cross stitch options on the waist band and hem.  The ties are longer, but I had to tuck them in so they fit on the card.  I also used a small red ribbon rose and bow for the waist band.  Here are the rest of the pics . . .








And here is all the info . . .

Product List:
  • Cardstock - Die Cuts With A View Pastels Stack and Ultimate Stack
  • Patterned paper from a very old Wild Asparagus stack
  • Fabric and ribbon rose from my stash
  • Stickles - icicle
Cricut Info:
  • Card base cut using Walk in My Garden cartridge, card 2 @ 5"
  • Letters cut using Plantin Schoolbook, capital letters @ 1 1/4" and  1 1/4" shadow

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you enjoyed my little apron made from vintage 1950's fabric.  I hope to be back soon with more projects!  Blessings, Becky