I've made a lot of vintage/shabby chic cards lately.  It's time to try something a bit different.  So, my alternative?  Whimsy!  The turtle and presents in the Turtle & Co. stamp set (#122870 w, 122872 c) gave me the opportunity to do some coloring, which I find incredibly relaxing.  I broke out the markers, a blender pen and some ink pads and went to it.

How can you resist a turtle with googlie eyes?

I wanted this card to be happy, bright and gender neutral so I used primary colors from the Brights Collection and the Big Top Birthday DSP.  I haven't used Tempting Turquoise in awhile so I had forgotten how much I like that color.  Look how it "pops" when paired with the yellow!

To add a little more interest to the card, I made a fun fold so it doesn't open like a traditional card.  I've seen this fold called a few different things, none of which I remember but I will give you the dimensions and how I assembled it.

For the main part of the card (or the base), cut the c/s (card stock) 9" x 4 -1/4", score at 3-1/2" and fold it up.  The smaller, "inside" piece is 8-1/2" x 3", scored at 3-3/4" and fold it down.  Layer and embellish as desired.  This fold also fun to use with the card turned horizontally too.  Try it, you'll like it!

 There's still time to take advantage of SALE-A-BRATION!  Don't miss out on this opportunity to earn FREE products.  Shop my on-line store today to get 'em while you can! 

Despite my best efforts, my craft room has a tendency to look like a bomb went off in it.  In fact, in some cases, it's only a matter of 15-20 minutes before it goes from neat to messy.  I don't consider myself lazy or a slob but I suspect the biggest offending attribute is...brace yourself...I own too much stuff!  Is that possible?  Can a papercrafter really own too much stuff?  Yes.  You know it too - maybe you're just in denial - like I was (and occasionally still am).

When my daughter was in high school she was often "testing gravity" .  This is the term my husband coined when we would see her bedroom floor covered in clothes.  While he liked to consider it a science experiment, it drove me crazy!  I know from my own experience that "a cluttered room leads to a cluttered mind".  I hate the feeling of disorganization and not knowing where anything is.  How many times have I bought two of something not realizing I already owned the first one?  Enough times to finally get organized.

I found this article on wikiHow.  Most of the content is not new to any of us, but it did serve as a good reminder.  Off to clean the stamp room!

Wishing you an organized day!

How to Organize Your Home

Is clutter driving you crazy? An organized lifestyle can mean efficiency in your day and a more relaxing time while at home. Use the following tips to get some organization in your home.

Steps

1. Begin by making a list of items needed in each area, keeping in mind that you want to have less to maintain in the future. Keep items closest to where they will be used. Store like items together.
2. Work on one area of your living space at a time. Go area by area until your whole home is organized.
3. Have three boxes or large bags labeled "KEEP", "DONATE", and "TRASH". As you pull each item off the shelves, from dusty corners, from under beds and couches, or wherever, put it in one of these boxes/bags.
4. In general, if you haven't used an item in a year or more, it is probably safe to throw/give it away.
5. Dispose of the "TRASH" box/bag immediately (recycle as possible) and give away your "DONATE" box/bag as soon as possible to a local charity like a church, Goodwill, or the Salvation Army. But allow enough time to prevent regrets, which may cause the need to repurchase an item.
6. Assess your KEEP box/bag. You should ask yourself if these items belong in this section and how often you use each of them.
7. If an item belongs elsewhere in your home, put it there. If you don't use an item frequently, consider how you can store it so it is out of the way of the items you use more often.
8. Work throughout your living space weeding out all of the extra "stuff" and placing everything else where it belongs.
9. Now that your possessions are organized, maintain this state by ensuring that items belonging in a particular area stay there.
10. If you use something, put it back where you found it when you're finished.
11. If you need to relocate an item to a cluttered area, re-assess why each item is there so you can make room for everything you need.
12. Buy or re-use organizers to store items that would otherwise look cluttered if left out in the open.
13. Decorative containers can be stored beneath a bed, couch, chair, bench or table. Stack different containers to create a table.
14. For important files (i.e. insurance documents, automobile information, receipts, instruction manuals), purchase a filing cabinet or look for one in a local garage sale.
15. Designate a counter top as a "landing pad" for your keys, purse, cell phone, and other items to be put away at the end of the day.
16. Keep one drawer in your desk for supplies such as pens, paper clips, and sticky notes so they are not roaming around the house. Always looking for a pen? Now you will always know where you can find one.
17. Buy a planner. Write in designated times to maintain your newly organized space. Color-code your planner so you can easily pick out meeting times, due dates, and appointments.
18. Use a planner to record your annual cleaning. Indoor cleaning in the winter. Outdoor cleaning in the summer. Allow for only one or two major projects for each month of the year. This gives an entire month to accomplish a project. As each year goes by, each area will become more efficient. Just by taking time away from an area, new thoughts will arise to utilize a space in a better way. By taking the time to plan, half the work is already done.
19. If you continuously maintain your space, you will have less clutter building up.

Tips

• When choosing which area of your living space to begin organizing, try starting with the area that you use the most, such as your study area, if you are a student, or the kitchen.
• A good way to store infrequently-used items is to invest in good quality organizers, such as CD holders, bookcases, and under-the-bed containers. If you have a birthday coming up or Christmas is around the corner, try asking relatives for gift certificates to the Container Store, Bed, Bath & Beyond, IKEA, Target, or Wal-Mart.
• Think about whether you really need to keep things.. Most people nowadays have an Ipod, MP3 or a computer which you can download cds onto. Allocate a day to transfer your CD's to the computer where you can put them on and take them off your Ipod or MP3 whenever you wish. Once thats done why not either store them in the loft or better still sell them and earn some extra cash!
• American culture is avid about organizing. Therefore, you can usually find organizers that are trendy and fashionable, so you won't have to worry about hiding items away that you store.
• Find ways to reuse your existing organizers. For example, if you have a candle holder but no candles, you can use it to hold pencils instead.

Warnings

• Keep in mind fire hazards while you are organizing. Some safety hazards include overloading a wall outlet with extension cords, storing huge stacks of newspapers, or not putting away shoes and other articles that block your exit path in an emergency.
• Be careful when moving furniture. Lift with your legs, not your back, and ask a friend to help you.

Sources and Citations

• http://www.tips-to-organize-life.com/organizeyourhouse.html
• load your CD's and DVD's onto the computer and make some extra cash

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual.

There's a popular trend in papercrafting these days - fabric and paper flowers.  Three popular card making magazines have all featured fabric or paper flowers in their most recent editions.  At a friend's urging (Hi Kelley!),  I finally took the plunge and tried it myself.  Kelley was kind enough to send me a "finished product" and some extra material so I could get started.  Once I realized how easy it was, I purchased some material in various colors for myself.

These were created with 8 layers of chiffon and cut with the Big Shot using the Scallop Circle #2 die.  Using the paper piercer, I made a hole in the center and inserted a brad.  With my heat gun and long tongs to hold the flower (very important!) the chiffon shrank and crinkled under the heat of the heat gun. A little "fluffing" along the way helped create these beautiful fabric flowers that can be put on a variety of projects.  It reminded me of Shrinky Dinks when I was a kid.  It only takes about a minute for the fabric to shrivel but the key is not get too close otherwise it will scorch!  Trust me, I'm speaking from experience :)

This is the birthday card I made to use one of the flowers on.  The flower matched the paper from the Beau Chateau DSP perfectly!  I added some crochet ribbon behind the flower and attached both to the card with dimensionals.  The sentiment and the butterfly are from the Elementary Elegance stamp set, which can be yours for FREE with any $50 purchase during Sale-a-bration.

Thanks for stopping by!

In this post earlier in the week I re-created what I called the Candy Wallet.  As promised, below is a step-by-step pictorial.  Click to enlarge photos, if needed.

If you have any questions please contact me at [email protected]

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Welcome to the weekend!  Today I'm featuring my Super Simple Saturday card - a card that was quick and easy to create.  There are times when we just don't have the time to invest in creating a "masterpiece" or in a project that requires more time than we have to give.  This card took 10 minutes and that included cutting the card stock!

The Easy Events stamp set  has a total of 8 whimsical images and is perfect for making all-occasion cards.  This set is a great investment for stampers wanting to stretch their budget!

Enjoy your weekend!  If you have a few minutes to spare and still want to create, try a Super Simple card...you may surprised how fun it is to make an easy card!

I like to have a variety of "general purpose" cards on hand that I can customize for various occasions.  My stock pile is running low so today I began replenishing.  Masculine cards are the most difficult for me to make, for what reason I'm not sure, but I started with the "flowery" and feminine cards first.

The image in the Love and Sympathy stamp set is so pretty.  It has a watercolor look to it that really appeals to me. For my card today I did a first and second generation stamp with the flower to create the impression of a layer of flowers.  If you are not familiar with first and second generation stamping, it simply means that the first impression is made with the image fully inked and the second image is created without re-inking.  That's why the first image always appears so much darker and at the forefront.

I also used the Hello Doily background stamp and embossed it on Newsprint Designer Series paper.  Using a sponge and Crumb Cake ink, I burnished the edges to help the image "pop".  Can you get any more feminine than these two images?  So pretty...

With just a couple of inches of Rich Razzleberry Satin ribbon and a trio of rhinestones, this card was completed in less than 15 minutes.  With a sentiment intentionally left off, this card is ready to be mailed for nearly any occasion.

Interested in creating a card like this at your workshop?  Contact me today to add your party to my calendar.  I would love to be YOUR demonstrator!

Come back tomorrow for my Super Simple Saturday card!

I was flipping through some old craft magazines that I have and came across a card that uses one of my favorite color combinations - pink and brown. Truth is, anything with pink in it I tend to like.  My card today was inspired that color combination and my affinity for "shabby chic". 

I have an eclectic mix of stamps, ink and paper on this card.  This was so much fun to make! The butterfly is stamped with the image from the Fresh Vintage stamp set (which can be yours for FREE during Sale-a-bration) and embossed using Rose Red craft ink and Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  Oh, you should see how that butterfly *sparkles* in person!  So, pretty! 

With all of the new product out in the Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-bration catalog, some of my "older" product wasn't feelin' the love.  The colors in the Mocha Morning Designer Series paper pack were a perfect match for the look I was trying to achieve. 

And, what's a card without accessories?  I added a touch of my favorite ribbon, Blushing Bride 3/8" pleated ribbon and bit of  Very Vanilla satin ribbon.  And, then of course, no shabby chic look is complete without the pearls.  A little distressing of the edges pulled it all together.

There's still time to place your Sale-a-bration order!  Remember, you earn FREE product for every $50 you spend.  Shop now to earn your free goodies!

Going through some of my pictures from Leadership Conference and thought I would show a few of my favorites using the Framelits Labels Collection:

Have a great day!

Mary Ann

Congratulations to my friend and team member, Heather, who recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Olivia.  I am SO happy for her!  Both mom and baby were doing so well they were released from the hospital a day early.  Olivia is a gorgeous baby!

To welcome Olivia (future Stampin' Up! demonstrator and Ink Happens member), I pulled out the cute rocking horse in the Ain't Love Grand stamp set, some Melon Mambo card stock and designer paper and Crumb Cake card stock.  The baby's room is pink and brown, so I knew I had the right color combination. 

The Ain't Love Grand set is a hostess set which can be earned by any hostess who has at least $150 in sales.  With Sale-a-bration in full swing, NOW is the best time to be a hostess.  Why?  In addition to the "normal" hostess benefits of free hostess dollars, you also earn at least three (3) Sale-a-bration products (one product for every $50 in sales), but you also receive a gorgeous tote bag. Seriously, it's a really pretty bag! 

Who wouldn't love to shop with this? 

Are you ready to host your own workshop?  Want to know more about hosting?  Click here to view a short video then contact me to book your workshop.  But, hurry, Sale-a-bration is only through March 31st!

When I was at the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference last month in San Antonio, I had the chance to meet up with my third level upline, Pennie McCallum.  I've talked about Pennie several times in the past because she sends me the cutest things in the mail!  I've posted many of them over the past few months.

Pennie didn't disappoint with her cute things at the conference either.  She passed out what I am calling a "candy wallet" to the ladies on her team.  It was adorable...and came filled with chocolate too!  Pennie used Everyday Enchantment designer paper (which is FREE during Sale-a-bration!) and the coordinating brads and ribbon (also FREE during Sale-a-bration).

I made my own version last week as I needed a little token of appreciation for a neighbor:

 These are great to have on hand as a "thank you" for someone special!

I will get a tutorial posted for these by next weekend.  You'll love the simplicity of these!

So as to prove Pennie is "real", here's a quick pic of Pennie and I while at the Leadership Conference:

Thanks for stopping by today!