Stop and Smell the Roses

Well, It seems like everyone is on a flower making kick the last two weeks and I am no exception!  Here is a picture of the flowers I have completed thus far.  I am getting closer to whipping that little rose!  I have no doubt I will get it fully figured out very shortly :)  I am planning on using 2 of the roses for my never ending card so I need to get them made before I go any further on that project.  I have not mastered that pesky little glue gun either- it still leaves Jolly Green Giant sized stringy things all over the place.  I have been involved in so many different projects the last two days and I have supplies spread from my craft room through the kitchen, into the dining room, living room and back to the craft room!!  There is not a counter, cabinet, table or anything else without something sitting on it.  The kitchen island is so covered you can't see the top of it at the moment.  But, I know if I put it away then my oomph to create will go away for not wanting to make another mess!  I guess if I look at it in another view- if I keep pulling stuff out I just might be able to organize it a bit so that I have a slight idea as to what I DO have!!  Going through drawers looking for things is almost like Christmas, as I find so many things I either didn't know I had or had totally forgotten about!  I did make two other cards today but I didn't take pictures before I sealed them (sorry).  I put them in the mailbox, but they are being sent out to Noah and Amber (Alexa's Brother and Sister).  I felt what with Alexa in the hospital and so much going on, they may feel a bit left out and even more so when all the get well cards begin arriving for Alexa.  So hopefully I will be able to bring a small smile to their face and a nice surprise as well!  Ok, Here is the picture of my flowers from the last two days.  The picture colors are not fully accurate but I am having a time with that camera all of a sudden! The two large flowers are the ones I made from Jak's File, the roses are from Penny Duncan and the other layered ones are my own.  *Hugs*

Fall Decor

Wow, I just realized I didn't show you my CD Cabinet on the wall!  I used some of Yolie's Files, along with a few others (SO sorry but I forget where they came from, if they are yours, please let me know so I can share the information) that I found while blog hopping one night.  It all started with the pumpkin in the center.  I just fell in love with the scroll work leaves and had to cut it!  Then I had no idea what I was going to do with it, as it is too large for a card.  Then, Yolie saved the day by sharing her Autumn Wishes File- I knew then what I wanted to do with the pumpkin!!!  So, Here is my picture!  *Hugs*

From Mishap to Mediocre

What a day this has been!  I started off bound and determined to make some paper roses, as I hadn't tried them as of yet. I grab my watercolor paper, put it in the Cricut, set up SCAL to cut out 6 in one shot and set about coloring them.  Ok,I do not have any of the reinkers or glimmer mists or such fancy spray colors, so I make do with what I have and what I have was not made to color flowers!!! I would have been better off just inking them with an ink pad (of course realized too late).  I used my aqua pen (love this bad boy) and my sparkle paint.  The colors are not as vibrant as I had hoped for but they sure do sparkle when moved :)  My first one, I watched Penny's Video (she made it look SO easy) but yeah, it didn't turn out so! She said roll it really tight Mistake #1 (mine was WAY too loose and pretty large).  Penny used her glue gun to hold them together- looked quite simple- NOT- I ended up with spider web looking strings from the side part of my desk clear to the other side.  If I moved I had to stop and pull webs off my arms, legs, chair etc!  Then,  On one part of the video she said "turn your petal over" so I did but I didn't realize mine was already turned over :(  Mistake #3, so one of my petals is upside down :(  So, picture 1 is of my Mishap.  I could not let it go without trying again, so I turned the video back on, hit pause LOTS of times and finally got one that does resemble a rose!!!!  Seeing that I cut out 6 flowers, I have plenty to practice on, but of course you know I could not even color them right, as I have one flower with 6 petals of the same color and another with 4 (should be 5 for each one).  But that is just fine- I will turn that bad boy over and color it all over again, LOL I am persistant if nothing else :)  So, here are the pictures and please, don't fall out of your chairs laughing at my white flower :)  I did squish the blue one up a bit in trying to get the picture to take, as my camera is set to some sort of auto focus and it will focus perfectly until I go to push the button and then it is focusing again and giving me blurry shots.  There is NO telling what button I have hit on it to change that setting and I may never find out.  I had to take about 78 pictures just to get two decent ones, LOL  Of course, the color never shows up the same as they are for real- the blue doesn't have all the different shades it shows in the image, I think it may be the sparkle in the paint causing it. *Hugs*

Flower Tutorial

Since several have asked me how I made the flower- Here is the link to Jak's Tutorial Site: http://www.jakheath-tutorials.blogspot.com/  She has some AMAZING Card and Scrapbook creations on her web site : http://craftyjak.webs.com/ .  I am just in awe of her talent!  *Hugs*

Flower of the Week- Clematis

Oh Boy, I have spent a good portion of the day working on this flower.  I found a tutorial online to cut it with scissors <gasp> but I am just not a scissors type of person!  So I created a Cricut File to cut two flowers at once.  This flower is SO easy to do and I just love the look!  I colored it with my Water Sparklers and then added the veins on the leaves with Pearl Ex.  I wanted the shine, LOL  It turned out a lot larger than I had intended but that is fine as she did say it was a great gift box topper!  I hope everyone is doing super today!  *Hugs*

Today's Project

Ok, It is NOT the Never Ending Card- That one was set aside for a short bit.  On a bright note, I DID finally catch on to the folding process but I still need to do the decor of it, so that will be for another day.  I had a very special friend ask me to help out with raising the spirits of a young girl in ICU with Pneumonia, by sending a Get Well Card.  As a member of the crafting community on Yahoo, you soon learn it is not a community at all, but a rather large extended family and we help our family members in times of need!  This card is a bit busy in my opinion and I am not really sure that I even like it to be honest. It took me literally all day to complete what with the drying time, cutting and embossing time, mishaps (LOTS of mishaps), redos and so forth. The colors are off a bit in the photo, but I am not a very good photographer and I admit it, LOL  I am happy to have it done and no major catastrophies along the way either!  I do hope the day has gone great for each of you!  *Hugs*

My Latest and Greatest...

Yeah, it isn't happening, LOL  I have spent the last hour or so carefully measuring, cutting, scoring and gluing (Ok, I used my ATG but I didn't stick it to the counter) my papers to make my first never ending card.  I am not going to discuss how many papers I wasted in the process due to non even cuts (I honestly think it is that cheapy cutter that I really love, but it seems to always cut crooked).  I did manage to get it put together and just slapped some stamps on it to keep my brain on track (yeah I know, that was a useless thing to even try) but it just isn't happening!!!!  I have the general part made up (SUPER Easy) I just can't fold the blasted thing, LOL  I have been to tons of sites reading, looking at videos, studying pictures yet it is still whipping me :(  But, as is typical, I can't let it win- so I will be back at it first thing tomorrow to attempt it again and hopefully get to show off a picture of it as well!  So until then, I hope each of you have super pleasant dreams and sleep well.  Know I am continuing to pray for those in need.  *Hugs*

Mishaps DO Happen

Ok, I know you have all been listening to my talk of having Smurfitis, so I thought I would show you the healing version of it.  Believe it or not, this looks good compared to what they did look like, LOL *Hugs*

My Grandmother's Card

My Grandmother LOVES Gerbera Daisies, but sadly she can't keep them in her yard due to the squirrels eating the flowers!  So, I made her this card and when I gave it to her I said "Here is one the squirrels can't eat"  She loves it and displays it proudly in her living room :)  The file for the flower came from http://www.paperscissorsinc.com/  *Hugs*

Newest Card for My Brother

Well, as most of you know, my younger brother is in prison in Texas for a very long time.  He made a wrong decision on one of life's paths and has to now pay for that choice.  Sadly, the decision came back to haunt him two years after he had cleaned up his life, but he accepts his punishment as he knows he made the mistake.  Anyhow, I try to keep him uplifted by sending him cards every week or two (sometimes I just can't seem to get it together and send one out) and he is just thrilled each time mail call comes and they yell out his name.  The cards are not always easy to make, as you can't "stack" paper (glue one to another), can't use embossing powders (they think I am trying to smuggle in a stash of drugs), no metal, string or other additives, so you can imagine how you have to get the creative juices flowing to make each one different, yet purposeful.  This week's card was from an image I found in my digi folder.  I have no idea where it came from but I thought it was quite neat so I made an svg of the image and drew it on the Cricut with my Cri-Kit Pen.  I wish I had moved the words over a hair more to the right, but that is a typical mishap for me :)  *Hugs*

My Explosion Box

Since I know my mom does not know anything about my blog, it is safe to share the picture of the explosion box I made for her.  She should be home sometime this week and I can give it to her then :)

I got the directions to make this awesome box via a video at Whiff of Joy made by Jeannette at Happy Thoughts Ink Spot.  This was my first time to attempt one of these boxes and I am just thrilled with how it turned out.  *Hugs*

WooHoo I did it- I am an official Blogger!!!!!

Wow, Who would have thought this day would come to pass?  Certainly not me, LOL  I guess now I need to figure out what to do with this, but at least I have an official place to post all my finished projects :)  *Hugs*