New Craft Room Shelves & Clear Stamp Storage!

I scored some new shelving for my craft room at a yard sale.  Ten bucks and ten minutes of installation later and voila!

The shelves originally were from IKEA, the Benno line, I believe.  (Loving my new Evolution Advanced, btw!)

I've also been revamping my clear & cling stamp storage ala Jennifer McGuire.

 
 

I picked up the bins at Michaels at 40% off and another 25% off my entire purchase, so they ended up being about $4 each.  I also bought four of them, which is more than I need right now, but it will give my collection room to grow.  Instead of buying the Avery Elle storage pockets, I purchased my heavy duty storage bags on Etsy for about a fourth of the price of the AE ones.

This system is just fantastic!  Not having to store plastic cases and boxes has cleared up so much space in the rest of my room.  I love being able to flip through my stamps, and I have them sorted in the same category order as my Scrap Rack set up, so it's easy peasy to find the ones I need.

Thanks for stopping by & sharing my organizational joy!

Hugs,
Marcy

Butterfly Graduation Cards

Representing change and a new phase of life, butterflies seem to me to be a perfect symbol for graduation.  I made these three graduation cards for three special ladies using Stampin' Up's Swallowtail stamp, Copic markers, and various inks, papers, & embellishments.

Orange butterfly:

Blue butterfly:

Coral butterfly:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

New Seats for My Craft Room Chairs

Yesterday I spent part of the afternoon recovering the seats on two of my four craft room chairs.  My craft room table & chairs are an old vintage metal patio dining set that I dearly love. Now I love them even more! I used laminated cotton that I purchased from oilcraftaddict on Etsy, so they will be easy to clean. 

The hardest part of the project was removing the old vinyl and staples.  Once I got the seats stripped down to the wooden bases, I found that they were still in good shape. (Whew!) I replaced the foam pads, wrapped cotton batting around the pad and the base, and staple the batting to the base.  Then I cut the fabric to size, laid the base on the back side of the fabric, and pulled it tight while I stapled the sides.  The corners were tricky, but I think I'll have it down by the time I get to the fourth chair. 

I really like the happy, striped fabric, and it pulls everything together: the yellow desk, tables, and chairs, the blue paint on the walls, the white shelving, and red accents that I have throughout the room.  Two down, two to go!

Before & After

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Burlap Canvas & Cricut Wall Art

Since the spring weather has finally arrived, I've been feeling the need for some new pretties for my walls.  I made these sweet little burlap canvases using the Live Simply Cricut Lite cartridge and patterned paper from Basic Grey's 6 x 6 Hey Girl paper pad.

I think they have a fun, retro 70's look to them that makes me a little giddy.

Thanks for stopping by my poor, neglected blog today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Why I Make Cards

It may seem silly, in the age of e-mails, Facebook, and Twitter, to spend a couple of hours making a card that may end up in the trash in the near future.  So why do I do it?  Because when I make a card, I almost always make it with a specific person and a specific purpose in mind.  Card making is meditative for me.  I think about and pray for the person receiving the card.  I think about the design and colors that will speak to them most.  I hope that when they open that envelope, they are reminded that someone loves them and appreciates them.  That's why I make cards.

Here are two cards I made this week.

A birthday card for a card shower a church member organized to uplift a neighbor who has been struggling with health issues:

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up!
Patterned paper: Basic Grey - Mint Julep
Cardstock: Bazzill (yellow); Core'dinations (blue); Gina K Designs (ivory)
Markers: Copic Sketch
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Stampin' Up! - Night of Navy; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye

A thank you card for the guy who lets my hubby hunt on his property:

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up!
Patterned paper: Teresa Collins
Cardstock: Core'dinations (brown); Gina K Designs (ivory)
Markers: Copic Sketch
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen

Hope is all is well with you in your little part of the world!

Hugs,
Marcy

Drive-by Crafting

Because of my crazy work & volunteer schedules, I've been doing a lot of drive-by crafting lately.  A little bit of stamping & coloring here and some assembling & embellishing there.  Not exactly the ideal crafting situation for me, but I am grateful that I've still been able to squeeze in a little creative time.

After church on Sunday we had a Craft Day, and it was such a luxury to be able to sit down and craft and fellowship with some good friends.  I was able to "stick down" about seven 12 x 12 scrapbook layouts, and now I just need to add journaling, titles, and embellishments, and they'll be ready to share.

In the meantime, here are the Valentine's Day cards I made for my kids' teachers. 

Details:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Favorite Bear; Anna Griffin - sentiment
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Markers: Copic Sketch
Cardstock: Core'dinations, Gina K Designs, & Bazzill
Patterned paper: Basic Grey - Hey Girl
Ribbon: Stampin' Up!
Distressing tool: Tim Holtz - Tonic

 Details:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Furry Folk (hedgehog); Crafty Secrets (sentiment)
Cricut cartridge: Straight from the Nest (tree)
Cardstock: Core'dinations
Patterned paper: Basic Grey - Hey Girl
Heart gems: Imaginisce
Markers: Copic Sketch
Twill ribbon: Stampin' Up
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Bamboo Leaves
Fringe scissors: Martha Stewart

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Folk Art Festival Birthday Card

In the quiet that follows Christmas break, I love the more leisurely pace of post-holiday crafting.  My family gave me so many lovely crafting goodies this year.  My mum gave me the Folk Art Festival Cricut cartridge, so it was only fitting that I used it to create her birthday card, along with some new Crate Paper and my new Imaginisce I-Rock gem setting tool.

Folk Art Festival Birthday Card:
 

Details:

Die Cut Fox - Folk Art Festival Cricut Cartridge
Die Cut Labels - Lacy Labels Cricut Cartridge
Sentiment Stamp - Crafty Secrets - Birds of Happiness set
Ink - Memento - Potter's Clay; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Patterned paper - Crate Paper
Cardstock - Core'dinations
Gems - Imaginisce
Ribbon - Offray

Hope you are staying warm & enjoying your post-holiday quiet too.

Hugs,
Marcy

2013 Christmas Ornaments

Yesterday we had class Christmas parties at the kids' school.  In my daughter's fifth-grade class, along with enjoying yummy treats, playing some silly games, and watching a short video on the giant squid (per the kids' request!), we made Christmas ornaments.  The kids were enthusiastic about making their ornaments, and they were especially fascinated by the heat embossing process. 

Shannon's Wonderful Blessing Ornament:

Details:
Stamp - Stampin' Up! - Wonderful Blessing
Cardstock - American Crafts
Embossing ink - Ranger - Emboss It
Embossing powder - Ranger - Seafoam White
Ribbon - Offray
Self-adhesive half pearls - Jolee's Boutique

Wishing you peace this Christmas!

Hugs,
Marcy

Sweater Weather Tea Bag Dispenser Box

Yesterday I decided to try something new and remembered seeing the new tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers by Heidi Baks for a Tea Bag Dispenser Box.  I just received the Sweater Weather designer series paper and thought it would be perfect for this project. 

The measurements were a little fussy, but now that I know what I'm doing, I think the next one will go a bit easier.  I really like how it turned out:

Details:
Patterned paper: Stampin' Up! - Sweater Weather
Cardstock: Core'dinations (rust); Stampin' Up (ivory)
Scalloped die: Nestabilities
Stamps: See D's
Ink: Ranger's Adirondack Ink -Espresso
Markers: Copic Sketch
Ribbon: Stampin' Up!

Stay warm my friends, & thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

With Appreciation

With the exception of Christmas cards, I think I make Thank You cards more than any other kind.  That fact is a testimony to how many wonderful people there are at work, at school, at church, who use their time & talents to help out.  I love that about our community!

Here are two thank you cards that I made for teachers, who helped make a recent event at the school even more special:

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Happy Blessings
Ink: Memento - Espresso
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (ivory); Core'dinations
Patterned paper: DCWV - My Sunshine Stack
Markers - Copic Sketch

Details:
Stamps: Crafty Secrets - Mouse Party; Altered Art; Snowbunnies
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (ivory); Core'dinations
Patterned paper: K&Company

Thank YOU for stopping by today!  Hope you have a wonderful fall weekend in store!

Hugs,
Marcy

Our New Craft Room - A Photo Tour

We still have some work to do on our new family craft room, but it's now presentable enough to share it with you.  This new room is on our third floor.  Our house is more than 100 years old, and the plaster was very rough.  We didn't have the time or money to gut it, so my hubby did patch plastering, sanded, skim coated, and sanded it again.  We used heavy-duty primer and gave the whole room a couple coats of semi-gloss paint.  (The paint is "Wind Blown" from Ace Hardware's Premier Paint collection.)

The Main Scrapping Area:

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the yellow desk & the old dinette set over the years. 

 Another View of the Scrapping Table with My Counter in the Background:

Since most of the walls are sloped in this room, I don't have the wall space I had in my old room.  I had to re-think some of my storage.

New Expedit Shelf & (not so new) Sewing Cabinet:

The Expedit shelf is one of the few new things we purchased for the room.  My mum got me the two-drawer card catalog and the Standard stamp holder at a local antique shop.  I'm keeping finished cards in one drawer and mat stacks in the other.  It's perfect!

My Counter:

My husband built the wall behind the counter.  This area was all open before.  He made an 8' x 10' foot storage room with built-in shelves and walled it in.  The door to the right of the counter leads to the storage room, where we keep all of our seasonal items.  We still need to paint the door, and when it's done, I'll hang my Cricut cartridge storage on it. 

Paper Tower:

The only annoying feature in this room is the huge chimney in the middle of it.  I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, though. Eventually we are going to carpet the room.  I'm considering carpet tiles, so an area easily can be replaced if it gets damaged.

Additional Shelving:

I keep photo storage boxes and my crafting "go bag" here.  The door to the right of the shelving leads to our walk-in cedar closet.

Kids' Drawing Table:

It didn't take long for the kids to get settled in to their own spaces.


Kids' Nook:

Shannon quickly claimed this dormer area as her own.  These windows are original to the house and are very drafty.  We're hoping to replace them before winter arrives.

Thanks for stopping by my new craft room today!

Hugs,
Marcy

The Craft Room Shuffle & Flowers in Fall

For the past few weeks, we've been working on a huge project at our house.  I'm calling it the Craft Room Shuffle. We did some major room changes, moving my craft room to the third floor and moving my hubby's home office from the third floor to my old craft room on the second floor.  It involved a lot of plaster, sanding, plaster dust, painting, splinters, more plaster dust, more painting, a few blisters, and a lot of sore muscles.

There is a lack of vertical space in my new room, so I had to rethink some of my storage, but I'm finally in the last stages of organizing and should be able to share some pictures later in the week.

In the meantime, here are a couple of cards that I managed to create amidst the chaos.

Roses for Hazel:

Details:

Stamps: Rose - Crafty Secrets; Trust God - Stampin' Up! (sentiment)
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa & Bamboo Leaves
Markers: Copic Sketch
Patterned Paper: Mariposa Mat Stack - DCWV
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (white); Core'dinations (green)
Framelit Die - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs


Well-Scripted Sunflower:

 Details:

Stamps: Sunflower - Crafty Secrets; Well-Scripted - Stampin' Up! (sentiment)
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Markers: Copic Sketch
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (ivory); Core'dinations (yellow & brown) 
Ribbon - Offray

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

1st Day of School Cards

I like to make first day of school cards for my kids' teachers.  It helps break the ice and lets them know we're there to support them. 

This card is for my son's teacher.  My daughter had her too, so I know she has a Bernese Mountain Dog.  I tried to color the pup stamp to look like a Bernie.

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Storybook Friends
Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny - Camp-A-Lot
Cardstock: Core'dinations (yellow); Gina K Designs (natural)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Die Cuts & Stickers: October Afternoon
Hemp Twine: Pat Catan's
Markers: Copic Sketch


This card is for my daughter's teacher.  She is a brand-new teacher, just out of college. My daughter's small, sweet class is the perfect start to a new teaching career.  They are smitten with her already!

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Storybook Friends
Patterned Paper: DCWV - My Sunshine Stack
Cardstock: Core'dinations (yellow); Gina K Designs (natural)
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Die Cuts & Stickers: October Afternoon
Ribbon: Stampin' Up!
Markers: Copic Sketch
Button: Wal-Mart

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Back to School

Everyone but the pets and me went back to school today.  (Rich didn't want me to take his picture.)

Shannon off to 5th grade, and Ronan starting 3rd.

 Shannon even made a backpack for Ronan's bear, Rufus.  She made one for Plinker too.

Plinker doesn't want to talk about school.  Sometimes it's hard getting left behind, and sometimes your mum feels sorry for you and gets you a new toy, and sometimes that helps...for a little while.

Hope you're having a great Monday!

Hugs,
Marcy

Labradorable

Here's another page I made for Plinker's scrapbook.  It's fun to see how much he's grown and changed.  These pictures were taken at my mum's property as part of our annual fall photo shoot, when Plinker was 15 weeks old.

The paper I used for this layout is from Paper Studio's I'd Rather Be Hunting paper pack from Hobby Lobby.  I love these papers.  They have a great weight & texture, and they are perfect for fall layouts, not just hunting themed projects.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hugs,
Marcy

Plinker's Very Own Album

 After I started this layout, I was trying to decide where it should "live" and landed on the thought that Plinker should have his very own album.  Of course, he should!  Silly me!  This is the title page:

Details:

Title: Cricut font - Birthday Bash cartridge
Patterned paper: Bo Bunny (background); Cosmo Cricket - Jack's World (green dp & cut apart card)
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Memento - Bamboo Leaves
Accessories: rub-on alphas - Making Memories; printed twill - Martha Stewart; foam dimensionals - Darice; staples - Swingline; Happy Trails template - Kiwi Lane Designs

Have a happy Wednesday!

Hugs,
Marcy

My First Dazzles Card - A Review of Sorts

So, I've had these Dazzles stickers in my stash since Christmas.  My daughter saw them on HSN and fell in love.  She's used some since we got them, but I hadn't until now.  I've seen people rave about these online, and I didn't see what the big deal is.  They're just stickers, right?  We've been using stickers in our papercrafts since the dawn of time. 

Yesterday, I needed a fairly quick birthday card, so I decided to give these a try.  Okay, now I get it.  Now I understand why people rave about Dazzles.  What I personally like about them is the versatility.  They can be layered over printed paper or cardstock to get lots of different looks, and the sets include main images, accessory stickers, borders, corners, sentiments, so you can get a finished look easy peasy.  One rookie mistake I made: after I took the photo (and put the card in the envelope) I realized that I had left off the lady's earring. 

Bottom line: They are so much fun to play around with, and that's the whole point of papercrafting, isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Christmas in July

I've been playing mind games over the weekend, trying to beat the heat & humidity by making Christmas cards.  It may not be working, but at least I'm getting a head start on my Christmas crafting!

Warmest Wishes:

Christmas Chorus:

Holiday Style:

Details:

Main Images: October Afternoon - Holiday Style - Miscellany
Patterned paper, paper tape, & die cuts: Anna Griffin - Twinkle Bright Collection
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Bundled Sage, Fired Brick, & Antique Linen
Snowman embellishment: Chipboard from October Afternoon - Holiday Style - Miscellany; decorated with acrylic paint, Sharpie fine point marker, & washi tape from Recollections

Thanks for stopping by & stay cool!

Hugs,
Marcy

You Stole My Heart

Today my hubby and I are celebrating are 19th wedding anniversary.  I feel so blessed to have spent nearly half my life married to such a funny, loving, supportive, handsome, Christian guy, who also is an amazing & dedicated dad.  We've been through a lot of ups and downs through the years, but Rich has remained rock steady.  I am really thankful to have him by my side.

Here's the card I made him for today:

Details:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Love Bandit set
Cardstock: Coredinations (green & browns); Gina K Designs - Pure Luxury Cardstock (white); Bazzill (red)
Embossing folder: Darice
Markers: Copic Sketch
Ribbon: Offray
Foam dimensionals: Darice


Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Oh, Meow Meow!

If you've known my family for any length of time, you recognize this furry fellow.  This is my daughter's lovey, Meow Meow.  He's been her constant companion for nearly a decade, tucked under her arm for art & tennis lessons, summer camp, doctor & dentist appointments, first & last days of school, and even hay rides.

Although nowadays he isn't so much a part of the immediate action, he's usually never too far behind.  Instead of being tucked under her arm, he's tucked into a backpack, a suitcase, or a tote bag.  Ever at the ready, just in case he's needed.

You are My Sunshine Layout featuring Meow Meow:

Details:

Patterned paper: DCWV - My Sunshine Stack; Making Memories (small yellow floral paper)
Cut aparts: DCWV - My Sunshine Stack
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye & Vintage Photo
Accessories: markers - Sharpie fine point; foam dimensions - Darice

Hope your day is filled with sunshine!

Hugs,
Marcy