iScrapNxs

Valentine's creations

2012-02-08T14:51:00.000-06:00

True to form, it's been over 6 months since I've blogged. Oh, well. I've been making my Valentine's cards for family and friends, and I have a minute to post the pictures. If I can remember to post pictures of my creations here vs. burying them in my computer files, it's easier to come back and grab a little inspiration. I like to see what I've made in the past and how I can tweak it for the next time.

Thanks for looking! Find a little time to scrap something! ~iScrapNxs

Gettin' Dirty 2011 on SCS

2011-08-05T19:11:00.000-05:00

Been making a couple cards and things for the challenges over on Splitcoaststampers.com. It's fun. No way I'll get them all accomplished, but I keep playing at it. In 4 cards, I've completed 7 of the challenges. I'll get a few more done by Monday night's deadline, but prizes are for those who are able to complete one project per challenge! More power to you ladies who are able!! You ROCK! It's very enjoyable to search DTGD11 and see all of the various creations. Think there are some 200 uploaded now. Very curious how many stampers are playing along.

Off to make something else!
Sara

New creations

2011-07-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

I have a few new cards to share. I did get my challenge card done the day I said I would, lo and behold! I will share that shortly. At the end of June, I made a set of keys with the Gypsy and the Cricut for a new 16 year old. I loved how it turned out. The key chain wallet held a gift card for gas, of course!

Next, I have the birthday card I made for my sister this year. Not a fantastic layout, but I was mostly practicing coloring with my Copics.

This is the challenge card I did that I mentioned above...

...and this is the challenge card I did last week for Crafty Secrets on SplitcoastStampers

The jar was actually a cookie jar, but I altered it to be strawberry preserves by using SU! Crystal Effects, micro beads and red glitter.

My nephew turned 10, and this was his card last month. I cased a card on SCS with the same SU! rocker stamp

I've discovered to new-to-me lines of stamps that I am smitten with. First is by artist Mo Manning...it's his "elderly" peeps. They are just fabulous. I've purchased 4 and found 2-3 more to purchase surfing the web. StampingBella.com has the best selections that I could find of Mo Manning's stamps. BTW, oooohhh, how I love the Bellas! The second line I found while surfing the new Greeting Farm DT members' sites. LadyGuinevere's blog led me to the Simply Sassy line by Sugar Nellie. She is spotlighting this new artist she found and now selling her creations in stamp form. YAY! SaturatedCanary is the artist's blog. She's super cute, and super talented! Oh, the decisions I have to whittle down to! So, I grabbed their Button...see it over there... >>>

Getting late. I know I've created others, but I don't want to go too far back. Hope to squeeze in a bit of Copic coloring time before I hit the sack. Ohhhh,..don't tell my husband...I have 23 more coming in the mail this week. THEN, I'll be all set. (Yeah, right, that's what I told myself after I bought the last dozen!) Night!

HA! What a blogger I am!!

2011-07-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

I had to laugh when I came to my blog today. Oct 2010?! Really! I'm just too busy with daily life to be a regular blogger. Oh well. So, this will just be a home for my challenge posts and short life tidbits. I joined the Dirty Dozen Fan Club at SplitcoastStampers today. They are have their annual challenge week the end of Jul - first of Aug with Dare to Get Dirty. So, we'll see if I can get challenge cards made and uploaded by Aug 10th. Today, I am going to try to complete a challenge card for The Greeting Farm's Mystery Monday challenge. Wish me luck!.

Holiday Headstart

2010-10-18T13:01:00.000-05:00

I have a list as long as my arm of projects I want to complete before Christmas morning. I am hoping to blog to keep myself on track. Reading Scrapbooks Etc Dec 2010 magazine last night, I saw Ali Edwards' article about "a month of memories." Annually, she creates an album ready to go for daily posts the 25 days of Christmas. The month flies by so quickly and is over before we know it, that I think this is a great idea to help document the craziness before it's forgotten and swallowed by the New Year. The whole Scrapbooks Etc team is going to participate as well. Everyone will be uploading to Flicker, so intend to get started and play along.

Also coming up needing projects completed are: my daughter's 13th birthday, Halloween and a Halloween gift album for friends who are hosting a haunted house this year, end then of T-Ball season (I'd like to give Bind-It-All gift albums to all 11 team members), Thanksgiving with a trip up north, Christmas cards (Halloween's are already done, yay!), handmade ornaments for the cousins, teacher's gifts (which will be handmade packaging tags), handmade sweets packaging and gift tags as a gift for a neighbor, and my continued attempt to tackle a milestones album of my kids. I always said when I started scrapbooking that I would NEVER go back and try to "start at the beginning." But, now that we have our final baby, I'm sort of rethinking that statement. Already, my memories of who did what when is starting to blur together. I'd like to make a various milestone pages with all four kids at that particular point in their lives. Meaning, one page with all four of them when they first stood, or when they cut their first tooth, etc.

The guilt I feel after a near month-long shopping spree for scrapbooking items is goading me into USING up my stash. It's ridiculous really. Nobody needs this much stuff. I have to giggle at the "haul" posts on YouTube. I'm going to offset the spending spree by MAKING gifts, more than I normally do each year, plus I have a storage unit 1/2 full of furniture and accessory items to take to the consignment store, so maybe I can sell some of that stuff, too.

I made my first YouTube video for this shaker box card.

I am hoping to make others are I complete these projects. It's fun to do. I don't have a great setup yet - need to work on the lighting situation, 'cuz I hate dark videos. I have a second one to record now of a gift album for a wedding we are going to just before Thanksgiving. It turned out pretty cute, and was from a kit. I'm guessing several viewers have unused kits in their stash they could quickly create an album with. Viewing YouTube is all about the inspiration, for me anyway.

Okay, have a baby I need to get down for an afternoon nap. She's standing and cruising now. No walking yet, but crawls faster than anybody - chasing her older sibs around. Four teeth. I'm loving it...sad to see it all come to an end with no more to follow her. (Sniff.)

Happy scrapping! Take the time - it makes you feel so much better!
Sara

Happy Saturday

2010-05-15T13:18:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post with my most recent gift creation. This is for my Mother-in-law. All of the grandkids on her front stoop on Mother's Day this year. Her craft room is newly redecorated in b/w and lime. She should be getting it out of her post box today. With the left over scraps I made a few Thank You notes in the frog theme for our newest little friend addition this week. Have a great day!

A month has passed...

2010-05-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Always say I don't know where the time goes! April was busy. Saw 5 of the 6 sets of Grandparents these past few weeks...nearly one a weekend. Been making a few more simple cards lately, not getting any scrapbooking done really, but did make one page of the baby. Jumped on the Copics band wagon with 75 new Sketch markers. They're fun, but there is a learning curve to get that perfect watercolor look. Been watching Youtube.com tutorials for pointers. Just a few more weeks of school ahead for Big Sis...the younger ones can't wait. Expecting a friend's c-section delivery tomorrow morning. Just bits of this and that... Until my next post, happy scrapping! ~Sara

365 Cards Challenge

2010-04-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, I just posted last night that I wouldn't be doing any challenges this week due to family coming in this weekend...BUT, here I am surfing with my coffee mug, and the card I made for my sister's anniversary fits this challenge at 365 Cards Day 37 Terriffic Taggies.

All of the supplies are Stampin' Up!. I'm a ribbon horder, so this one hurt a bit, but I needed to start using my stash. now, really, I'm off to clean and prepare! No More Hopping!! ~Sara

My dad visits this coming weekend

2010-04-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

No challenge cards for me this week. My Dad is flying in from out of state on Friday to meet his newest granddaughter. My sister and her family are driving over as well. So, I have to spend my week preparing for a house full of guests. I did get to make and mail my mother's Birthday card this AM, and I got the double page scrapbook LO of Easter mostly done yesterday, but that's all I can afford to sit this week. With the spring pollen floating everywhere, there is DUST on everything outside as well as in. Need to change out the air filters and wipe down everything...baseboards, chairrails, blinds, frames...yuck,yuck,yuck!!

This is the card. My Mind's Eye paper, SU! kraft cardstock and background stamp, Crafty Secrets image, stitching stamp and safety pin stamp, frame from, large pearl from Wilton, paper flowers are from the Ancestry.com collection, and seam binding from MemerieMare's Etsy store.

Off to start preparing. Have a great week, and happy crafting! ~Sara

Punch pieced frogs gift

2010-04-01T16:53:00.002-05:00

I have a Baby Shower to attend later this month. "Frogs" is the theme for his room...just my luck as I had been wanting to create some fun punch characters. I'm not a paper-piecer. I think the distressed flowers on my daughter's frame were the first. But, I have been creating them, these frogs that is, in my head for quite some time, and now I had a reason to bring them to fruition. I sat down that evening with all of my Stampin' Up! circle and oval punches and began to punch green paper, laying them into various frog characters. One idea would lead to another, and before long, I had 7 or 8 frogs. (The 8th one is a girl, but she's not in this picture.)

So, after I had them made, I had to decide what to do with them. I wanted a personalized gift, so I decided that each from could hold up a letter of the baby's name on his head. So, I pulled out the Cricut and let it cut Jackson's name.

Then, what? This probaby would have been fine, but I did want to put his full name on the piece. The frame I picked is one of those clear glass ones, so you can see the wall behind it. The frogs seemed to be floating. So, then I came up with the log idea (the lily pads was too difficult.) Thanks again to my Cricut.

This worked to give me a place to stamp his full name, but I felt now like both the frogs AND the log were floating, so the piece got one more alteration. Water...so they could float.

Then, I took it apart and a dded smiles and white gel pen to the hearts. Looks finished to me now.

A productive day

2010-03-30T16:36:00.001-05:00

Oddly, I've had a pretty productive day around here. Guess the baby's shots yesterday still have her warn out, so she's sleeping a lot today. Done my chores, so now I can play for a bit before the evening shift starts. The twins are busy outside in our gorgeous southeast Texas spring weather.

I finished up and mailed my Easter cards. Here is the last one I made to round out my mailing list - I made two of these.

Then while all of my stash was laid out, I did a bit of blog hopping looking for a challenge. I found one and decided to use the scraps to finish up a quick card for the CPS (Card Positioning Systems) Challenge #160.

The paper is My Mind's Eye and the stamps, ink and button are Stampin' Up! I inked all the edges in Pretty In Pink, and crumpled the leaves, distressing them with Tim Holtz Old Paper. Quick and easy.

But, before I started that card, I finished up a frame for the baby's room that I've been working on the last couple of days with the odds and ends/leftovers/scraps and stash dragged out for the Easter cards. I missed Week #2, but this is The Shabby Tea Room's Week #3 "Let's Get Scrappy" Challenge, so I have entered it over there. I haven't added the journaling tag yet, but it'll go in the pink glittered mini frame. Again, the paper is My Mind's Eye. I hand cut the circles and leaves from the scraps Ink, scalloped edge punch, and bling brads are again SU!. Tim Holtz distressed the crumpled flowers, leaves and scallop borders. The letters and the mini frame are from the Paper Wishes catalog, I believe..maybe Oriental Trading. I coated them in Martha Stewart's coarse glitter. The bling flourish...just can't remember.

Still new to these challenges, and they all say to set up direct links to your cards. I believe I understand this post is a direct link, but can I put more than one challenge card in one direct link? If I'm doing this wrong, please let me know and I'll break up my posts...one for each challenge. Thanks for coming by! Best of luck with your challenges this week....whatever they may be. My next challenge is dinner. Uhg!

~Sara

A free minute

2010-03-28T00:23:00.000-05:00

It may be midnight, but it's a free minute. Just wanted to upload a few cards I finished, before I mail them out on Monday for Easter next weekend. Once I added the sentiment and a few more paper flowers, I liked the Chocolate Bunny card better.

Still haven't touched up the butterfly card, but I did get several quicker cards done to put in the mail.

Also, in the mail today I received my Etsy.com packet of delicious seam binding that is all the rage on my scrapping heroes' blogs. It's so yummy I don't want to use it. Probably will part with it on the Mother's Day cards. Oh, and my mom's birthday on the 7th! Well, I'm not much of a night owl anymore with an infant in the house. Going to take myself off to bed now, so I can be ready for her next time she calls. Here's to getting some more scrapping done tomorrow. 'Nite.

Been playing...

2010-03-25T15:42:00.001-05:00

Doing my best to avoid housework today (actually for most of the week). Just no gumption to pick it all up,...again...knowing it'll all be back out when I turn around. Oh well, so goes life with little ones. Anyhoo, been making cards. I thought they'd be for challenges, but I'm just not "feelin'" these. I know the sentiments aren't stamped on them yet, but still feels like I missed something. Been blog hopping this week, too. Never been one to look at sketches, but thinking I may need to change my ways. Feeling stuck. So, here are two cards, and will post the Easter cards I started in a day or two. Really just been playing...

2010-03-22T09:13:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, a post-Spring Break Monday morning. The eldest is back at school, the middle two are still sleeping, and the baby is back to sleep here next to me in the bouncer. Don't anticipate the nap lasting much longer, so will hurry with this post. I would love to get to squeeze in a card, too, before she wakes up!

The first Shabby Tea Room challenge is over. The gorgeous winners were selected, so congrats to those very, very talented card designers. Their second challenge is up, so go take a peek. I hope to be able to enter a card. Yesterday, I did a bit of hopping around, and entered the PaperCrafts Magazine March/April I Spy contest on their blog (LOVE that magazine). Anyhow, checked back this AM, and I was randomly selected as a WINNER, so it looks like I will be receiving a portion of their "tree-licious" prize package of product! Am still waiting to hear from them for my address! Woo-Hoo, though!! Tonight is the deadline for their March Gallery Challenge - I put a baby card in for that challenge, plus they started a new sketch challenge that will be the third Monday each month and run for two weeks.

AND, I put my entries in the mail this morning for PaperCrafts Magazine's Stamping Royalty 2010 contest! Wednesday is the postmark deadline, and I think April 19th winners will be notified. So, a bit excited about that. I believe I entered two cards back in 2006 or so, but never heard anything. I know these cards were about as well as I could have done, so whether they winners for PaperCrafts, they are winners for me. I just loved them (hard to ship them off, lol!)

Busy, busy...will have to see what I can get done in my free time. My dad comes for a visit in just under three weeks, so have to spend a little time getting the house ready for that. We just moved in back in August (while I was pregnant), so some things are still undone. The twins are up now, so go to get their breakfast...no card-making for me :-(

Have a great week! ~Sara

New Shabby Blogs look

2010-03-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

Since my new baby blog is receiving it's first bit of traffic due to my card challenge post, I decided it was time to give it a facelift. Never really expecting to have any traffic (it has just been my place to play with blogging), I never took the time to look into "prett-i-fying" it. But, this morning I took a peek at ShabbyBlogs.com and to my surprise for very little effort and FOR FREE, I, too, could have a pretty blog. Wow! Thanks ShabbyBlogs! So, here's my new look...makes even me want to come visit more! Happy Day! ~Sara

Elegant Shabby challenge card

2010-03-17T22:13:00.003-05:00

Tonight I'm posting a card I created for the first challenge at a new website I surfed to earlier this week (thanks to Betsy V). The Shabby Tea Room will be hosting weekly photo inspiration challenges. This week is an "Elegant Shabby" challenge based on a photo from the Better Homes & Gardens Creative Collection - Flea Market Style, using pink, creme, red, green and brown.

The competition is S T E E P ! ! I have visited all the cards prior to my submission. W O W !! The ladies aren't being shy about their talent and are bringing their "A" game for this challenge. Here's my interpretation for this week's inspiration:

Here's a closer look:

Surf over and submit a card. Here's to making it a weekly endeavor! Thanks for looking. Goodnight!

I've been out for a while...

2010-03-04T10:04:00.000-06:00

I'm attempting to get back into blogging after a busy holiday season, and the birth of our daughter. I've been mostly one-handed the last 6 weeks, as I don't believe you can spoil a baby by holding her. She's our last one, and I want to absorb every sweet ounce of her. Surprisingly, I've gotten pretty good at scrapping/card-making with a sleeping baby on my shoulder. I'm currently finishing up my entries for the Stamping Royalty contest by PaperCrafts Magazine. I really want that prize package, lol!!

Feeling a little "holiday-ish" today...

2009-11-19T07:58:00.000-06:00

This morning I'm going to pull something I hardly ever do...not make the kids (the little ones, anyway) to go pre-K. I'm feeling like a holiday. I guess with Thanksgiving next week and Christmas in a month and the baby coming in two months, I'm feeling all pre-holiday, and not wanting to get out of the house today. Sort of like those few days at the beginning of Christmas break prior to the big day when everything's all a bustle inside preparing. Also, we never go to the mall, but I'm going to take the eldest on Saturday for some new clothes as the birthday money is burning a whole in her pocket, Dad's going to stay home and sort out Christmas lights for our new house, and I told the kids we'd make cut-out cookies this weekend and frost with the all the colored frosting to take to Mammaw's for Thanksgiving. So all of this combined is really feeding my "holiday-ish" feeling. Going to plug the steam cleaner in now and clean the wood floors. After the bonfire birthday a couple weekends ago, I still feel like they're dirty with all of the traffic we had through here. AND, I'd of course like to get a few holiday cards started! Need to be MAILING the Thanksgiving ones, but have only completed one! Guess I should sign off and get started with my chores. Have a great "holiday-ish" day as we all get ready to enter the craziness of the Season!

Happy Birthday Moonie!

2009-10-26T19:32:00.000-05:00

We spent this past weekend with family, as my grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday. This is the card I made for her. It is a photo of her taken in late 1945 when she was 26 and pregnant with my Mom. She was very surprised to see a copy of it. She had a nice day and received 62 cards in the mail over the last few weeks leading up to her day. She is very blessed. Happy Birthday, Moonie!

Happy Hump Day!

2009-10-21T18:50:00.000-05:00

Half the week is gone. Spent my free time today crafting this birthday card for my nephew's 2nd birthday on Monday. I really struggle with kid cards. I tend to make them too adult. This one is cute, but the poor guy is only turning TWO, so not very toddler-ish for his age. I loved the idea of the giant package in the back of the truck (truck is Sizzlits and the present is Cuttlebug), and it opened my mind to a whole host of other hauling ideas with my dies.

Anyhow, little bits of this and that. Have to spend the morning finishing up some wallpaper in our lease house, so no blog hopping or cardmaking tomorrow. My grandmother turns 90 on Friday, and I still need to make a card for her and finish up her gift. I think her gift was too over-zealous on my part to complete this quickly, but I'll give it a whirl tomorrow evening and Friday evening before we leave for my Mom's on Saturday morning. Also, going to see my another nephew play his last football game of the season this weekend. He's 8, and my 4 year old son will probably be asking for pads and a uniform by the time the game's over. It'll be his new obsession. Good - maybe it'll get him off the go cart he clamors for daily!

Well, going to end this here and swallow a piece of pizza before I check some 6th grade math. Test today and still had 25 problems of homework. Their teacher told us "homework every night," and she wasn't kidding. Maybe if I can hurry through it, I can start scrapping another card. Truly...there are just not enough hours in the day!!

Ooooooo, Picasa Blogger tool

2009-10-18T20:47:00.002-05:00

Oooooo, this worked, too! Like I mentioned earlier today, I'm playing with Picasa's Blogger This tool. You can do two pictures at a time. How convenient!

Here are the Halloween cards I've been working on this week. I began crafting them after some inspirational tags and card I made for the October Challenge on Paper Crafts Magazine's blog got my juices flowing.

I've still got a few more to make for family and friends, but I have them mostly thought out. When I started papercrafting 5 or 6 years ago, I told myself for the expense it cost, I had to promise myself I've "never" buy another store card again. For as large as my family has extended, I've been very proud of my promise and keeping up with the load. I'm sure there has been a purchased card or two, but I'm also pretty sure not more than a half dozen in all, and that INCLUDES, thank you very much, making all birthday invitations, thank you cards, and mass holiday-card holidays! If I could reach, I'd pat myself on my back, lol! At 26 weeks with Baby #4, I'm a bit bigger right now than I'd like.

Okay, I hear two squabbling voices upstairs. Story and bed time is calling! Happy evening to you all!

Another Good Sunday...

2009-10-18T19:11:00.000-05:00

Spent the weekend cleaning and organizing my scrap room. I decided that's why I never get time to scrap. I always come in here and find something to put away. I've been blog hopping, too, quite a bit this weekend. How do these scrapping Moms find all the time for their regular lives, participating on multiple design teams, CREATING stuff for each team, and then BLOGGING about it all!?!?! They are my Heroes for certain, and I wish I could be just one of them. Very inspirational, to say the least. And that desire leads me back to my quest this weekend... cleaning and organizing. They MUST know where each and every item is in their space. They must be able to just sit down and GO STRAIGHT to making something. I admit, I'm jealous. Glamorous ladies creating glamorous projects for glamorous magazines.

I'm practicing for the "big time" with this little project. I have been visiting the blogs of the Papertrey Ink design team, and I'm ga-ga for Betsy Veldman's work! My tags and mini envelopes were made this weekend after Betsy posted her tut. I don't have any of her material, and I don't normally work with "mini" things, but I was inspired to create. Mine are down with my Cricut (Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cart) and my Anna Griffin stamps. I think her line has some of the best acrylic stamp ink! These aren't "done" yet, as I have ribbon ties to add, and I don't show you any of the inside tags. But for now, I really just wanted to play with my camera, setting up the shot, Picasa-ing the picture with some sort of watermark and using the Blogger tool within Picasa to publish this post. Like I said, I'm practicing up for the Big Time!!

Hope you and yours had a great fall weekend! Gorgeous here in southeast Texas today!
Happy Scrapping!
Sara

Good Sunday...

2009-10-11T19:35:00.000-05:00

It's been a pretty good day, and a pretty productive weekend around here. We bought and installed a new dishwasher (WOOT!), converted three recessed can lights to pendant lights (EASY!), replaced burned out flood lamps outdoors, and marked the driveways and mailbox with reflectors, as it's soooo stinkin' dark out here at night! Rain, rain, rain all weekend, but didn't really mind. I've been up since 3:30-ish this AM after Wonderboy had to pee. At least he wakes up most nights now! Get oh so tired of washing sheets (speaking of that, I still have a load to put in the dryer from earlier). Created and uploaded a challenge card for the second weekend in a row. With tomorrow being a holiday, it sucks that my two creations for PaperCraft Magazine's World Card Making Day Contest can't be postmarked and sent in to compete for the prize package. I am going to keep checking tomorrow to see if they give submitters another day to postmark since per the rules, the last day fell on a national holiday. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Rambled aimlessly enough for now. Want to quickly add a pic or two of the rest of la familia. Have a great Sunday evening, and enjoy the kiddos being home tomorrow. ;-)

The first day of the rest of my life...

2009-10-09T16:38:00.000-05:00

....and TGIF!! Isn't it interesting how everyday is the first day of the rest of your life? Each day gives us the opportunity to "begin" again, and I feel like beginning again many days. I keep thinking I'm going to "get it right," and I'm going to be a wise person with all of the answers for my life, be organized and "on", and an uber super-mom. Buuuuuuut,... hasn't happened yet...so, I blog.

I have a very white envelope, plain jane kind of life. Pretty much the same stuff day in and day out. Nothing's wrong with that, believe me. It's 4pm right now...I always watch the local news at 4pm during the week. My oldest gets off the bus in 25 minutes everyday during the week. She always wants a snack and always doesn't want to start her homework. The twins are always watching something on TV at this time, with a spread of toys no doubt, layed out in front of them. I'm always wondering what I have on hand for dinner at this time, and we are always waiting for Dad's arrival from work after 6pm-ish. (Phone rang...just a sec!)

Well, that was not something that "always" happens. On the phone was Dad (which is not my Dad...I mean the kids' dad - my husband and I call each other Mom and Dad) asking if we wanted to meet at Outback for dinner. Just as I'm typing about wondering WHAT we are going to eat tonight, he calls and saves the evening. Yeah, Dad!

Well, that changes my "always" afternoon-early evening plans. I have much more I'd like to begin blogging about, but now I have to get myself and the kids ready to leave in a bit. We ran errands earlier, but it rained today, and I let them play on the patio in the rain after we got back...so now I have to clean them up again. Have a great evening yourself, if I don't get back here later tonight!