Sunday, April 21, 2013

Paper Tower Topple Fixed...

For the rest of the story...
see the previous post.
Here's what several hours of hard work
accomplished

The tower on the left
was done last week.
I just worked on the one
on the right.
I pulled out some stash I won't use
and there's a box of paper
yet to be sorted
but the bulk (pun intended)
of it is sorted!
I sent an sos out
hoping still to get some
wooden frames made
that will house the wire racks
and make it more stable.
My husband suggested
zip ties
but I can see having the same issues
even with those.
Thinking what I want made
will still cost less
than shipping on real paper tower(s).
I've also tried the plastic stacking bins
they do warp after time with the weight.
Awesome for light stuff tho.
 
Fibro flaring
so today is going to be a take care of me day.
Still cold and windy-sun is out tho
and with the heat on and the heating pad
I can at least pretend it's warm!
Off to blog hop.
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping.
Blessings,



Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Toppling of the Paper Tower...


Not only
is it cold, damp and rainy
(why is the weather always great
during the WORK week---and crappy on week-ends?)
but I was working on cleaning up my work table
when this happened...
the paper tower toppled..
THANK GOD the trash can was where it was
and at least stopped all the paper from
flying off the shelves had it tipped completely.
 
Last week I had organized the first one.
Was putting off the second one--
but I guess it had to be done sometime...
 
Two things I can share here---
 
1-I swear by the 13"x13" ziplock bags Close to My Heart sells...
That second paper tower is all other company papers
and they are now all organized
and in ziplocks.
This also tends to help keep the corners and edges from
getting worn and torn.
I pretty much know what's where
and I just write on the bag with a Sharpie.
I do have little tags binder clipped to each shelf
so I know what's where.
2--I need sturdier shelves!
This is the third time this has happened.
I know-use more paper!
lol.
These where the only thing available back when I got them
and the cost of regular paper shelves
or I should say the SHIPPING COST for regular paper shelves
is astronomical.
So
I am hoping that a helpful friend
can build me a wood frame
with little ledges
that I can slide the wire shelves into
still making use of what I have
but making it much more sturdy.
 
Been a bit out of sorts
so God gave me something to occupy my mind
and sort---literally!
Almost done.
Just had to give the back and butt a break
from sitting on the cold floor.
 
Backroundtoit.
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping.
Blessings,




Friday, April 19, 2013

T.G.I.F. Day! Mish-Mosh of Goodies...

I know it's only Thursday
but
Thursday is my Friday
(I work 4 days a week)
so here I sit enjoying my coffee
the sounds of the surf and birds
playing with posts and goodies to share.
 
I was "commissioned" to create
a birthday card last week
that I promised to have done today
and then
my Cricut died on Sunday.
Not good. Not good at all.
My baby Cricut needs a new blade
(I soon discovered) as it wasn't cutting clean cuts.
So my brilliant idea for the card...
went right out the window  door
with the new Cricut to be replaced.
THANK GOD it was under warranty!
Of course I had help in packing it up to send it off...
 

I gotta say that, to date,
I have never yet actually accidently
sealed a cat in  a box to ship.
Key word-to date.
Lol!
 
So since I couldn't cut out the adorable scuba diver
and the treasure chest from the Life's a Beach Cricut cartridge
I had to go to plan B.
I struggled, it fought
but I think I am happy with the finished product...
 


I gotta find me some more Footloose paper!
It's probably my favorite go-to for boys/mens cards
as we live at the beach---and it's not "too girly"!
That's Close to My Heart's burlap ribbon frayed for some texture
and of course the whale and the crab are pop-dotted.
I added Stampin' Up's Crystal Effects to the water and sun
to give it some shine.
I think this suits for an 11-year old who I am told
likes to scuba dive, fish, etc.
 
Just a quick how-to for the shutter card...
the height of my paper is 8 1/4"
the width of the paper is 12".
On the 12" side--
score at 2", 4",8" and 10".
Now
come down 2" from the top of the paper
and CUT from the 2" score mark to the 10" score mark
and do the same at the bottom, again coming up 2" from the bottom.
This fits a larger (not invitation) size enve.
I can never remember all the weird cutting measurements
so the 12" wide divided in
Something else I did yesterday
was go and get myself a belated birthday present.
I live just one town over
from where Safe Haven was filmed.
My late husband used to say that people came here
to get away from something bad
and start new.
Yep.
Gotta tell you--it was rather odd to see our city
up on the big screen!
I only saw the movie once
and I know I didn't catch all the nuances I could have.
I'll wait for the dvd.
Anyway
a local jeweler designed this pendant

of Katie's bike
and I wanted it!
It didn't show up for my special day
but a friend gave me a monetary gift
so I went and purchased it myself!

I love love love it!
I agreed with the little girl in the movie-
Katie should have had streamers on the handlebar grips!
I also have a custom piece I want to have made
and the jeweler,
was sooo sooo nice
she came up with an even better idea
than what I had envisioned!
Gotta confess--
I have been putting off going in
and I can't even begin to guess why
I was nervous and worried and...
it was a completely painless event
I purchased the necklace
and she's going to call me on my design.
She took her time, explained things well,
listened to what I wanted...
such a sweet, sweet person!
 



Friday, April 12, 2013

Zip Lining Dakota Style (with a little Chantilly ZIPper trim!)


Cool and rainy here today
so my shopping trip was cancelled
and I decided to stay home and do a little cleaning
and organizing
and then rewarded my hard efforts at that
with taking time
to create another Maren layout.
 
Along with the Tweetsie Railroad trip
she and her friend went Zip Lining...
(enough to give this godmother gray hairs!)
I wanted to stick with the "wild west" papers
of Dakota
but girly it up just like I did Later Sk8tr
so at 2 AM it hit me...
use the ZIPPER TRIM for the ZIP LINE layout
Once again-yucky lighting so bear with me-




 
I had some help in the cleaning and organizing dept.
Bad Cat is making sure the boxes stay put!



Lol! Those eyes look evil!
He's really NOT a Bad Cat--
particularly not at the vets!
 
Until next time
I'm zipping off here--
hubby just set us up to be WIRELESS!!!
A VERY NICE SURPRISE!
 
Until next time,
Blessings




Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Hello Tweety + Thanks=Cute Card?!

I thought I had my thank you notes covered
but needed one that could actually go
through the mail
(my 3-d flowers make that a little difficult!).
This is what I whipped up and I have to confess...
I "cased" it from the Close to My Heart catalog.
 
My colors are wonky-the good light is gone...

and after it was all together...
I think I should have made the stitches along the inside
and distressed the edges as I did on the front...
oh well...

NNM
(No Naked Mail!)
so here's the enve, too...
 
 
While all of this is pop dotted of course,
it will still fit in a regular envelope
with a little extra postage.
They're worth it!
 
Until next time,
Happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,




Friday, April 5, 2013

Thanks be...

I have a lot to be thankful for this week...
answered prayer for one,
good friends for another,
and a birthday to top it all off!
 

 
It was late yesterday
and I needed some thank you notes
for said birthday gifts from said good friends
by this morning.
So I did one of those
"what's on my work desk" things...
and since I had a tray full of flowers
I grabbed those,
the doilies from the Easter eggs,
and since said flowers were mostly yellow
I got my Stampin' Up yellow ribbon,
a Card Chatter Close to My Heart thank you stamp set
and my CTMH itty-bitty sparkles
and went to work.
This is what I came up with...
(again, apologies for lousy pics-
it's cold, rainy and dreary here...
and the pics just don't do these justice!
The kraft card with the white and yellow...
a nice mix---so vintage looking!)

The front...
these are of course going to be hand-delivered
so I knew going with all that dimension was ok
(or using a padded enve if they weren't...)


 Below is the inside bottom panel...
 and then the enve...
no naked mail!
 I think the doilies make them look so dainty...!
And I do love the flowers!
Again, Close to My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.
I wasn't sure at first
how much I would really use the "big" Cricut...
there have not been many days
when I have not used it!
Love what I can create with it!
 
Ok.
Today I have a meeting
then off to run errands.
I'm thinking a nap is in order, too.
It might just help the migraine that seems to be raging!
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,
p.s.
Linking up with




Thursday, April 4, 2013

Let's do the TWIST...



I needed a birthday card
and
came to my rescue!
 
She posted a great tutorial
on how to do this super cute but super easy
twisted gift card holder...
or, in my case...cash!

I grabbed my Close to My Heart Footloose papers
(sadly retired now...)
and here's my take on Dawn's twist...



This card is a piece of cake to make!
Tucking some candles in either the pocket on the front
or the inside pocket would be cute, too!
Me-I just put cash on the inside!

I gotta say
I LOVE LOVE LOVE
CTMH's BURLAP RIBBON!
It gave this card the perfect beachy touch
and it's not too girly!
Considering it's for a Citadel Cadet-it better not be!
 
It's cold, wet and dreary here this afternoon-
time for a warm blanket and a good book!
 
Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,






Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Rough and Tough Wild West Dakota Style

Another day
another layout!
This time it's from my goddaughter's trip
to Tweetsie in 2012
(her baby pics aren't all scrapped yet...
so don't think I am "caught up!)
 
I've always wanted to have one of these
photos made myself...
never done it.
It was fun scrapping hers, though
and again,
Close to My Heart's Dakota paper
boy girl howdy was just the right touch.
My apologies-the page protector(s) so not photograph well--
or I should say the LAYOUTS in page protectors
don't photograph well...
for the background paper I chose the barn wood.
For my "wanted" poster
I printed my journaling out on plain typing paper first.
I only had white so that's what I went with.
Next I got out by brown ink pads and,
using the direct to paper technique covered it with ink.
Then I crumpled it all up.
I thought about giving it to the 3 cats to play with
but somehow I think that cat spit might not be
archival quality? Then again...
No. I gave it all the wear and tear myself.

I also did not have (why is it-there is ALWAYS something I need...)
2 of the same size Flip Flaps.
So I made my own.
I measured the first one-the one that was the size I wanted.
I then took a larger one,
using my L-square (woodworking tool)
I cut the sealed end of the flip flap off.
Next I took the border strip from the Dakota stickers
and used it to seal the edge--tried to lay it down even
and then fold it over.
Presto-right size flip flap!



I used yet again the infamous moustache stamp/cut...
added some humor...

and yeah-I took my metal hammer to the brad
to distress it as well-as close to a real nail as I could get.
Some bullet holes would be a nice touch...
but since we live in town and hubby is employed by the same
I didn't think it was a good idea to ask him to take it out
and put some pot shots in it!
And adding shell casings were a little too bulky
(I saved mine from my first (and only) time at a shooting range).
 
That's it for today.
Not sure what-if anything-I will work on tomorrow...
just have to stay tuned!
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,
!