Hello Stranger!

First of all, I'd just like to apologize for being out of commission so long-I'm sorry! But I think I have a decent excuse. Are ya ready to hear it? I, being a glutton for punishment, have decided to go back to school. (I know it's crazy, and there are 25 other people in my course who are just as "crazy" as I am-LOL No, seriously, they're all very nice peeps!) I am taking paralegal studies, because I find law interesting. Going into it, I find that although I knew I didn't have the best knowledge of law, in all reality, I had no clue compared to what I'll know by the time I'm finished with the course (knock wood). Wow, there's a lot of stuff! LOL And today I have a presentation and my first quiz, so they will be a good indication as to how my ol' brain is doing, jamming all that information into it! Let's hope I don't crack! LOL

In keeping with my news, I thought it only appropriate to post this card, given the sentiment on it seems to apply to me today. My dream for today is to not only survive another day at school, but to do well in both my presentation as well as my quiz. Wish me luck!

The flowers on this card are pretty simple to make. For the larger flower, I used the new large (or is it extra large?) punch flower. I believe I punched out five of them. Then you (or more specifically, I) have to clear a space on your stamping table, lay them out and spray them with water. You'll want to use a fine mist sprayer (did you know they sell those specifically for stamping?). Once they're damp enough to become pliable, then you crumple them up, smooth them out, punch a hole in the center, put a brad in the hole, and then work them by crumpling and/or un-crumpling (is that a word?) until you get the look you want.

These are a slight variation on the flowers I made for my Matchbox Drawers (see here) but there are more flower layers here, and the center is paper, not corduroy brad. The smaller flowers can be made with a smaller punch (ie scallop circle) or one of the dies that SU offers (I think mine is called flower fusion?). One word of note: if you use designer paper to make your flowers (so pretty!) you don't need to spray with water. See how easy that is?

Well, I'm off to study. (gulp!) I will be back again with another card soon. And hopefully the news that I did ok on my quiz and presentation! Bye for now!

Donna

Crayon Card Tutorial

Good morning! As promised, I was hard at work yesterday, coming up with the tutorial to this simple, fun project. Here is what you will need to begin:

-Green Galore- 4 1/4" x 11" and another piece that measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 3/4", 2 6/8", 3" (place the long side along bottom of your cutter)

-Window sheet- 5" x 4 1/4" and scored at 3 1/4"

-White cardstock- 4 1/4" x 3 1/2"

-Ballet Blue- 4 1/4" strip with one long edge scalloped

-Striped dsp(I used a piece from Pawsitively Prints)-6/8" x 4 1/4"

-orange grosgrain ribbon-14"

-Black Staz-On, Green Galore ink, crayons, sticky strip, 1/2 a velcro dot

1. Start off by stamping your image on the white cardstock. Adhere the scalloped Ballet Blue strip to the top and back of this piece. Adhere to the front of the card, leaving enough room for the striped dsp piece which should then also be adhered to the card. Tie the orange ribbon around the card and let it sit between the striped piece and the image piece. Set aside. (note-I've used a piece of green galore only for the purpose of the picture so you can see the white cardstock, I haven't adhered it yet to the card.)

2. This is what your scored piece of green galore should look like. Sorry it's so dark, but I couldn't light this picture and have the score lines show up. Fold the first score (3/4")out (mountain fold), and the other two in (valley fold). Decorate the 3/4" flap with a small stamp and Green Galore ink. It should look like this:

3. Once the scored piece is folded, fold the score in the window sheet using a bone folder to secure your fold. Use sticky strip on the edge of the short side of window sheet(the long part hangs over the crayons) and adhere to the back of the green galore scored piece, as shown above.

4. Using sticky strip, line the outer edges of the green galore and adhere together as shown. Put crayons in your box. Fold the window sheet over the crayons, and use a half of a velcro dot to secure closed. Your green galore/window sheet piece should now resemble a kind of crayon box that is self-contained.

5. Adhere your "crayon box" to the inside of your card, and voila! You are done!

See? Easy peasy! This could be a great idea not only for a birthday card, but a great replacement for sweet treats for a child's class both at Hallowe'en and Christmas, or a great idea for a child in a hospital or home sick, or.... the possibilities are endless!

Wow! I don't know if you are watching the Biggest Loser, but I am, and I am having a hard time with this week's show. Abby on the show just told her story about how she lost her husband, 5 year old daughter, and newborn son in a car accident. Oh my gosh. I could barely contain myself, that poor woman! Her whole life wiped out in a moment. Then, if that wasn't enough, Shay talked about life with her heroin-addicted mother-oh my gosh! So sad, that even as an adult, even though her mother died, she still yearns for her mother's love...poor thing, I can't imagine how hard a childhood that is.

Then there's that Tracey. There is something about her that sets off the bells and whistles. I noticed too, that even though she was jubilant that she'd lost 5 lbs and was out of the 200s, and her team was clapping for her, not one of them was smiling as they clapped-not even Bob, her trainer!! (I just hit rewind three times to make sure that observation was right.) So apparently, I'm not the only one who's unhappy she is still on the show. I haven't watched the whold thing yet so I don't know if she gets the boot this week or not. Darn, the other team has to face an elimination, not Tracey's team. Shoot. Maybe next week...

Anyway, if you happen to make one of these, please send me a link to your project in the comments section, I'd love to see what you did!

I have one more Hallowe'en project that I will post either tomorrow or Friday, so come on back!

Have a great day!

Donna