random.on purpose.

L is for Love

...and Luanne, as in Luanne Ford, who is this week's Queen for the Day over on Splitcoast.  I'm actually hosting that challenge, so I got a jumpstart on making a card.  Luanne has a lovely gallery, and I selected this Valentine to CASE:

I loved the gingham and the hearts and the layout and all, so I kept my version pretty close to hers:

Lots of dies on my version, surprisingly, as simple as it is!  I pulled out my Whippersnapper Tuxedo Kitten, who has not seen light of day more than once or twice before, and colored him up with some Prismacolor pencils.  Dusted off my pinking shears, too, to trim around my gingham panel.  (I haven't used them on fabric for quite some time, so why not?)

My mojo has been largely absent for a couple of weeks now, so still nothing on any other challenges - or anything else, for that matter.  More commentary on that a different day - or never - depending on whether or not I can find a way to spin it that makes me happy...

Alrighty, then!  Get an early start on your weekend, if you can, Happy Super Bowl to you, and thanks for stopping by!

( Stamps: Whippersnapper Tuxedo Kitten, Stampin'Up! Grateful Greetings, Stamp Camp Gingham Background; Ink: Stampin'Up! Real Red, Ranger Archival Black; Paper: Stampin'Up! Real Red, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Sending Love and Bella Birds; Accessories/tools: Marvy Uchida dimple corner punch, Paper Studio Doodle Hearts embossing folder, Tim Holtz Tiny Tabs and Tags die, The Cat's Pajamas Heart Trio die, Spellbinders Labels One die, baker's twine, button, pearls, Prismacolor pencils)

From My Heart to Yours

This past Friday was a "visual inspiration" for the Free For All challenge on Splitcoast.  Here's the inspiration photo:

(photo source)

And here's my interpretation of it:

 

(Stamp: unknown; Ink: Stampin'Up! Raspberry Ripple; Paper: Stampin'Up! Raspberry Ripple, Pretty in Pink, Peach Parfait, Lavendar Lace, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Close to My Heart Sunkiss Yellow, Recollections White; Accessories/tools: Stampin'Up! Pinking Hearts border and corner punches, Curly Label punch, Cherry Cobbler polka dot ribbon, The Cat's Pajamas Heart Trio die, Martha Stewart confetti hearts punch)

I liked the plate that the cake is on, so I scored a similar pattern around the edge of the main panel.  I also liked the idea of the conversation hearts spilling out of the larger heart, so I did that with punches and dies.  I have no idea who made the sentiment stamp, because I left my stamp index in New York to be sent out at a later time, and haven't had it mailed to me yet (sorry).

I still want to make some more things for the current Jingle Belles challenge and a couple of the Splitcoast challenges, but I'm really tired, so it may be another day...  Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Be Brave

Two challenges this week that I incorporated into one card - a challenge to make something representative of a resolution we've made for this new year, and a color challenge using Pacific Point, Marina Mist, and Crisp Cantaloupe:

I've made a resolution to "be brave" and do things outside my comfort zone and/or that I've been putting off for far too long.  This Tim Holtz quote is the perfect reminder, so I made this to hang in my studio where I can see it daily and remember...

To make the background panel, I blew the dust off of my Stampin'Up! set Elements of Style, and used the three challenge colors to stamp a panel like this:

Both the background panel and the sentiment panel have three layers of matting, just to give some separation and interest.  See that ribbon at the top?  It used to be white, and how I dyed it Marina Mist is the subject of the promised quickie tutorial:

Tutorial: Dyeing ribbon

Collect your supplies:  

• Craft sheet or other protective material for your desktop
• Ribbon of choice
• Re-inker of choice
• Rubbing alcohol
• Small container of some sort
• Cotton ball or cosmetic pad
• Plastic gloves

Spread out the protective sheet on your desktop, put a couple of tablespoons of rubbing alcohol into the container and add a few drops of ink (I used four drops in mine).  Stir/swirl ink and alcohol to mix them fairly well.  Dip the cosmetic pad into the mixture (not the whole thing, just enough to get some color on there), then lay the ribbon on the sheet and begin wiping the color on:

As you continue down the length of the ribbon, you will probably have to fold it back on itself (loosely) to keep all of it contained on the sheet, like so:

After you get the entire length colored, flip it over and do the other side, just to be safe.  Since you're using alcohol instead of water, it dries VERY quickly.  Also, since you are wiping the color on instead of wadding it up and shoving it into the dye, it doesn't get all wrinkly - it stays nice and smooth.

And that's all there is to it!  Easier than easy!  Alrighty, then!  Promise fulfilled (ta da!) and another creation "out in the world" instead of locked up in Odd Brain - go, me!  I hope you're accomplishing some of your promises and goals, too, and thanks for stopping by!

"Hedgie"ng your bets

...on love, that is!  Sunday was the Featured Stamper challenge on Splitcoast and we were honoring Claudia, aka cjzim.  Lovely gallery, and I was taken with the mat/border punch/image trio on these cards.  Here's my version:

(Stamps: Penny Black Garden Friends and Hugs, Stampin'Up! Sweet Thing; Ink: Ranger Archival Black, Stampin'Up! Primrose Petals; Paper: Stampin'Up! Primrose Petals and Bashful Blue, Recollections white; Accessories/tools: Martha Stewart lacy heart border punch and confetti heart punch, The Cat's Pajamas Talk to Me heart die, Fiskars ladybug "Kidzors", ribbon, Prismacolor pencils, baby oil) 

I adore so many of the sweet Penny Black images, and these little hedgehogs are definitely on the list!  True to my resolve to USE things this year, I've inked up three stamps from two previously un-used sets.  The ribbon has been in the stash forever, as have the punches.  The heart die is from a set of "word bubbles" that I haven't used until now, and the sentiment is old, old, old!

I suppose I should go clean up the dinner mess now (so very inspiring)...  Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Have your cake

...and be inspired by it, too!  The Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast this past Saturday was to be inspired by the MOD Weddings Board on Pinterest.  Here's my card:

(Stamp: Stampendous Elegant Borders; Ink: Versamark; Papers: Recollections white, Stampin'Up! Sage Shadow, Close to My Heart Cocoa Cafe (pink), DCWV dark green; Accessories/tools: Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Garland die, Sizzix Branch With Leaves Sizzlit, Stampendous Detail White embossing powder, mini brad, pearl)

And here's the cake that inspired it:

(photo source)

I loved the pink/green/white combo and the lace.  I gave away all of my flowers some time ago, so I had to make one.  I'm trying to be brave and do things that I'm not comfortable with - flowers that you have to assemble yourself DEFINITELY fall into that category, as does using 3-D flowers on a card.  I'm almost never happy with the result...  Regardless, I gave it a go, and added some leafy flourishes, to boot!

Everything I used on this card has been hanging around my studio for anywhere from two years to a decade, and the lace stamp has never seen ink until now, so I'm pretty proud of myself for staying the course on USING things this year instead of just letting them collect dust...

I hope that your week is off to a great start, and thanks for stopping by!

Learning to Fly

I know that I've promised you a tutorial, but life this past week hasn't gone as planned (does it ever?), so unfulfilled promise so far...  I haven't even had time to do anything creative this week, so I'm recycling a card I made waaaay back in 2009:

(Stamps: Inkadinkado Birds Galore and Paper Studio Birds and Botanicals; Ink: Close to My Heart Grey Wool and Versafine Onyx Black; Paper: DCWV "photoreal", Paperbilities black)

and here's why:

I'm always fascinated by the multitude of ways that the Universe sends us information, or just tries to get our attention to remind us of what we already know...

I got a text yesterday from Daughter #1.  She and her sister (Daughter #5) had just been inked with matching tattoos - a scripty text that said, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly" (Blackbird by Paul McCartney).  Often we have life experiences that beat us down a bit, or make us feel "broken".  The phrase the girls chose reminds us to pick up the pieces again and "learn to fly".  

Another version of the same message:  This morning I saw another cloud of gnats outside my window and they reminded me of an observation that I had made during my previous gnat sighting.  It seemed, at first glance, that there were tiny, baby gnats among the other, larger ones.  Watching more closely, I realized that the "tiny" ones were actually the same size - they were just in the shade and you couldn't see their wings.  When they flew into the sun, you could see all of their being - wings, too - and they were larger.

Made me wonder how many of us stay small and in the shadows, refusing to spread our wings to the light and soar...

Sooner than you think...

It will be February and Valentine's Day (alternately known as Singles Awareness Day), so I've started with the lovey-dovey stuff:

Today is the Featured Stamper challenge over on Splitcoast, and we're honoring Dockside this week by CASEing a card from her gallery.  I chose THIS one.

Earlier this week I was reading a thread about using up paper scraps, and banners was one of the suggestions there.  I don't have a lot of scraps currently, as I purged them all when we moved in October, but I still do have a lot of papers that need to get used up!  I dug out Stampin'Up's Raspberry Tart collection (still one of my all-time faves) and an old Close to My Heart stamp (from the Because I Love You set) to stamp in SU! Rose Red ink.  The only other details are some scored lines on each side of the banners and a ribbon across the top (Hobby Lobby).

I started to clean up the scraps from this card when I decided to challenge myself to use the "scraps of the scraps" on another card (in the interest of using things up this year instead of hoarding them).  Here's what came out:

The petals on my flower are the triangles left behind when I cut the tails of the banners, the stem is a teensy strip resulting from trimming the width of one of the banners, and the leaves are another small scrap cut in half diagonally.  The sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp's "Prim Blessings" set, and the card base is Stampin'Up! Kiwi Kiss.    AND - sometimes hoarding things for five years or more is actually a GOOD thing!  Case in point:  the brad in the center of the flower is from Target's $1 Spot, and never went with ANYTHING I tried to use it on before, but it works just fine here!  Card size is 3 5/8" x 7 1/2".

I was going to do the promised tutorial today, but it's raining (shockingly), and pictures will not turn out well, so that's on hold for another day...  Hope your weekend is going well, your playoff team is winning (if you follow football), and all the rest of it - thanks for stopping by!

It's a Wrap

The Jingle Belles challenges run for two weeks each, and I've decided that this year - when I can - I will make a card each week, even though it's a duplicate challenge.  With that thought in mind, then, here is my second card for the current challenge to use wrapping paper to make a card:

This time I did add a smidge of stamping - a sentiment from Close to My Heart's "Season's Tweetings" set, stamped in Stampin'Up! Tempting Turquoise, which is also the color of cardstock behind the owls.  The two background papers are nearly ancient and are from Provo Craft (seriously, like 2003 or so...).  I used a couple of oval punches and a word window punch (all Stampin'Up!) for the sentiment, and a Pilot Precise pen for the doodled lines around everything.  Yeah...that's it...  Finished card size is 3 3/4" x 8 3/4" and will fit perfectly into the red business-size envelope that I have a stash of (don't you love excellent grammar?)

That's it for me today - a quick and easy tutorial is on tap for tomorrow or the day after or next week or whenever, so stay tuned!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Bugs and Birds

So...this morning I'm standing in my living room, coffee cup in hand, staring out over the balcony.  I notice a cloud of gnats, flying in and out of the sun and shade, and just sort of milling about.  As I continue to watch, I get more and more puzzled - what are they doing?  Apparently not much...  They don't go anywhere, they don't appear to be eating or hunting or organizing or anything.  As I continue watching, it dawns on me that this is a metaphor for quite a few of my days:  a whole lot of "busy-ness", and not much accomplishment!  Thanks, Universe, for the reminder...

I'm still mulling this over when another courtyard resident - a hummingbird - zips into, around, and out of view.  Another facet to factor:  THAT little fellow is in constant - nearly frantic - motion, but has a definite end goal:  where IS that nectar?  I'm hungry and driven and I need it NOW!  Okay, got it...

Here's to a year of less bug and more bird... ;-)

 (Card Ingredients:  Stamps:  Inkadinkado; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Stampin'Up! Mossy Meadow and Rich Razzleberry; Paper: Recollections white cardstock, Stampin'Up! Blushing Bride cardstock, Close to My Heart Laughing Lola dp; Accessories/tools: Prismacolor pencils, ribbon, bling brad, Stampin'Up! decorative label punch and deco label die)

Baby-stepping into 2015

I mulled over the coming year and debated whether or not to get back to blogging and, in the end, decided I'd begin and see where it went...

Last year was one of flux and relocation and general chaos, so I didn't have a lot of time for crafty pursuits, maintaining online relationships, or any of the other things that I had previously enjoyed.  THIS year I hope to have a better handle on where my life is going and to prioritize what is meaningful to me so that I make time for what matters, instead of letting time go by without my awareness.

On the list of things that I missed was participation in the Jingle Belles challenges, so I made sure to start fresh - and early - in joining in this year.  Here's my first card:

The challenge is "No Time Like the Presents", and involves using leftover gift wrap, or tags, or whatever, to create a card.  I matted a piece of the paper, cut one of the words from another section and matted it as well, assembled and walked away happy!  No stamping or anything on this one...

I have LOTS of things percolating in Odd Brain, but I have no idea how often I'll be blogging and how many of the "brain soup" projects will come to fruition.  I guess we'll find out together if you choose to join me this year!  Hope yours is off to a great start, and thanks for stopping by!