{ the AC/DC shadowbox }

I thought this one was so cool! A co-worker asked me if I could shadowbox some items for her husband's Valentine's present. I love getting to do crafty things for people, so I accepted the challenge. The background is a shirt she bought the night before thinking it would look nice in the box. Now, I have to admit something. When she asked me to do the shadowbox, she didn't mention adding a shirt! And those are not easy to sew down to the mat (you know, making sure it is folded evenly....yipes!!!). So, the afternoon she brought me the items, I visited "The Hob" for the second time that week. I was looking for an easy way to incorporate the shirt. Well, after Rolodexing through my mind all of the possibilities, I decided to take a shadowbox apart. I put the mat inside the shirt....and the rest is history. I think this frame looked so neat with the shirt as the background.

At the bottom are the concert tickets and the band's latest CD. Now, I know it doesn't look centered...but a picture that she doesn't have yet is going on the other side of the CD.

I was really proud of this one! Let me know what you think!

{ the pin shadowbox }

This is a shadowbox I did for a co-worker. Her daughter had these pins from a softball season a few years ago. The angle of the picture is awful....I mean AWFUL! But I was trying to keep the flash from reflecting on the glass. Mission: FAILED! Oh well!

I had a lot of fun making it. I used to do tons of these when I worked at "The Hob." I haven't done one since I quit that job four years ago. My, my...how I have missed it!

{ the valentines }

I love this card! The brown background is the envelope. The red scalloped cardstock is the card. On the back it says, "Happy Valentine's Day!" So cute, so simple.

This layout was borrowed from one of my Stamp-a-Stack Christmas cards. I find it to be a universal layout.

{ the candy boxes }

These were party gifts for the Super Bowl/Karaoke Party my friends and I had. The design was to hold four Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares. I, however, chose to put Reese Cups in them. I thought they were cute. My stamping group in Columbus will be doing these at our workshop this month. More photos to come...

{ the swaps }

Not everyone knows what a swap card is. Let me explain.

Swaps - cards that you make x-amount of the same one. You keep one for yourself, and swap them with other people that have made x-amount of theirs. It is a way to get ideas.

And I am all about getting more ideas. I am consistently interested in doing swaps. Not only do I love getting ideas, but I also love sharing my ideas.

I always make 5-10 more than are needed for the swap, so I can send them to friends. These are just a few of the swap cards I have done with my stamping group in Columbus.

Pick-a-Petal stamp set, Kraft and Cameo Coral card stock, Chocolate Chip ink, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

Garden Whimsy stamp set; Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Soft Sky, and River Rock card stock; Chocolate Chip ink; Corner punch; Bronze eyelets with Crop-a-dile; Cocoa linen thread

Enjoy Every Moment, Hi and Hello, and Daisy Field stamp set; Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, YoYo Yellow card stock; Green Galore, Pink Passion, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue ink;
Paper crimper; White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon; file fastener.

{ the toast }

We are still in the month of January...so I think 2009 is still in the "new" stage. I hope the remaining 11 months are filled with wonderfully blessed events for you and your family. Cheers to you!

This was one of my New Year's cards. I have always thought martinis were fun to look at. Looking at this card, I think I am right.

I used the stamp set "Cheers to You." It is awesome. It has the words on this card, a martini, a beer, a hurricane drink, champagne glasses, and a margarita. So, so, so cute. This can be used to make cards for any social gathering, a congratulations, girls' night, etc.

Let me know your occasion...I would love to make something with this set for you.

{ the checkerboard }

The board side

The checkers

The side view

The flat view...more details to come.

{ the tickets }

My sister is gonna kill me when she finds this on here.....but a few posts ago I told you about Jessica's Christmas present....the Celine Dion tickets. Well, every year at Christmas Jessica mentions how much fun it would be to do a scavenger hunt for our presents. Good thought, Jess! Thanks! This year, or last year rather, I wrapped 5 packages for these tickets. The first four contained scavenger hunt clues; the fifth one had the tickets. These are the pics (not in any particular order) of Jessica's search for her present!

{ the bleach }

I learned the bleaching technique from MY Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Dane (she is my Upline)! This was fun to do...I think I made 12 of these in several different colors. Stampin' Up!'s cardstock bleaches very nicely.

For this card, I stamped my image in Versa-Mark, which is a watermark pad. Then, I embossed the flower using clear embossing powder and a heat gun. The embossing gives a good outline for bleaching. I used a watercolor brush (the cheap one for children's watercoloring) with plain bleach. I think I repeated the bleaching one time to make it really white.

I used the Pick-A-Petal stamp set for this one. It is by far my most-used set! The cardstock color is Ruby Red. Another commonly used item. It is one of my favorite colors.

{ the window }

I love putting stamps and Designer Series Paper on black cardstock. The black just makes everything else "POP!" This was a card I demo-ed at one of my September workshop. I used the stamp set Window Dressing and Bella Rose Designer Series Paper. With this stamp set, you can put anything in the window. There is a little girl, a snowman, a cat....why don't I just post a picture of the set! There is so many different types of cards you can make with this one.

Do you see all of the cute things you can put in that window? Oh, I just love this set. Let me know if you have an idea for a card. I will make it just for you!!!