Retiring...

Just thought I'd do a quick post to let you know that Stampin' Up! recently posted the stamp sets that will be retiring.   If you see something on there you've been wanting, grab it quick!  Once they're gone, they're gone!

Just go to my shop, click SHOP NOW.  Off to the left (right under the word HOME) you'll see RETIRING PRODUCTS.

Happy Shopping!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today! :)

70s Reject or Current Hit? (Warning: Long post)

Good morning! (Make sure you go all the way to the bottom of this post to see the link I promised yesterday)

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law's craft room was finished.  She's so lucky and it's so beautiful.  I'm so happy for her!  When my niece forwarded pictures of her mom's room to me, I knew I wanted to make her something fun to hang in her new space.

I love all the projects I'm seeing on the web that start with thrift store finds.  So my project follows suit.

I also LOVE befores and afters.  Fat to thin, ratty yard to beautiful paradise, old house to wow house.

But if I were reading this post, I might feel a little jipped.  Because in my excitement and haste to create this project, I forgot to take a true before picture.  So sorry!

So here's the best "before" I have:

Okay.  If you look really close, you can see an unpainted raccoon peeking out of an old tree.  See it?  Imagine that brown you see pretty much made up the entire project.  A 70s paint by number that never got finished.  I'm not slamming paint by number.  I mean, I did my fair share of paint by number projects when I was a girl in the 70s, but seeing that body-less raccoon head kinda gave me the creeps.  But I did like the shape and structure of the frame so I snagged it.

First, I painted it using Krylon Green Apple spray paint. Such a pretty green!

After the frame was completely covered and dry, I went over it with Valspar Antiquing Glaze.  LOVE that stuff.

The frame had some awesome gouges and nicks that the glaze emphasized, giving it great character and interest.

After the frame was all ready to go, it was time to paper craft.  My favorite part!

Now.  At this point, I was pretty sure of the design of the project, but I wasn't sure what papers to use.  I had a scrapbook store trip planned, then as serendipity would have it, I got a call from cute Jenny at We R Memory Keepers!

She asked if I would be willing to do a non-baby project using their Baby Mine lines.  Of course, I said yes!  I just wasn't sure how I was going to take blue and pink baby products to create a craft room inspiration piece.

I think flowers belong in every craft room so I decided to go with that and make a little "scene".  I used different Big Shot dies and EK Success and Stampin' Up! punches and even was able to incorporate some of the Baby Mine chipboard elements to make these flowers super 3D.  Finally, I added a phrase with the Baby Mine chipboard letter stickers.  I really like that font.

So with all that said, here's the "after"! All the paper and chipboard you see is from the We R Baby Mine line.

See that blue chipboard piece?  In the center is a blue baby elephant.  I just covered it up and you'd never know it was meant for baby!

When I make a project for someone, I put my heart and soul into it and am crushed if they don't like it.  Fortunately, my SIL seemed to really like it and now it's hanging proudly in her new space!!!

We R seemed to really like it too, because it's on their FB page today!  I'd love for you to go check it out and if you like it, you could "LIKE" it! :)

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

OOPS! and a No-Sentiment Card

First the OOPS!  I was relying on my brain instead of my calendar for the date my project would post.  That's usually never a good idea.  Sorry.  My project will actually go live tomorrow.  I'll try to post the link in the morning.  Come back then. :)

Second, I was asked to make several cards that had no sentiments so that they could be used for any type of occasion.  Sadly, I relied on my brain again instead of writing myself a reminder to photograph them before delivering them to my customer.  But, I did make an extra of one of the designs.

Making cards without a sentiment was definitely a challenge for me.  But it was a fun challenge.  I actually got the layout idea for this card from one of my recent Paper Crafts magazines.  The artist had used a paper doily like you can get at the dollar store but I didn't have any of those.

What I did have was my Hello, Doily stamp from Stampin' Up!  I heat embossed it on vellum using white embossing powder and then cut it out.  Tedious, yes, but I think worth it.  It's so pretty!  The felt flower is from the Sweet Pea offering from Sale-a-Bration a year or two ago.  I only bought one package so I've been clinging to these {my precious ;)} and using them sparingly. I knew they would make a perfect centerpiece to this doily.

What I love about this card is it's versatility.  It can be used for weddings, bridal showers, birthday, sympathy, mother's day (which I will be doing this year), thinking of you, and the list goes on.

Try making a non-sentiment card, if you haven't already.  It's a fun challenge!

See you tomorrow!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

Cards Not Chosen and Another Announcement!

These two cards weren't chosen for the Stamping Royalty contest, but that's okay, because they will be forwarded to folks in the military (or their families) to use.  That makes me happy.

Also, I'm hoping you'll come back tomorrow!  I was invited to do a project for a fabulous scrapbook/crafting company and it will go live on their FB page sometime during the day.

I don't have a FB page anymore, but as soon as I get the link, I'll post it here and tell you all about it!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today!

Somebody Pinch me!

Good morning!

It's finally time for me to share my super exciting news!...............................................

I am officially going to be published!

Every year, Paper Crafts magazine hosts the Stamping Royalty Card Contest and I am honored to say I won my tiara (seriously! A tiara! plus a huge prize package of goodies!)  My Valentines card will be published in their November/December issue!

Being published in their magazine has been on my bucket list for quite a few years and I'm over the top happy to be able to put a check mark next to that item!

You can visit Paper Crafts Connection to see the official announcement!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today! :)

2,000 and a Teaser

Hello!

I was checking on my little neglected blog here and noticed I've had 2,000 hits!  Yay!!  Thank you!

Also, see this smile on my face?  I have a super exciting secret to share with you.....well, okay.  I can't.  It's a secret.  But I can tell you on Tuesday so make sure you come back and visit with me at the Table then, okay?  I can't wait to share!

Thanks for joining me at the Table today! :)