Sabino Canyon

So, I'm training for my Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 3 day 60 mile walk thats coming up in November.  I called my teammate to say lets go out this morning because I needed to do some hills.  We're doing the walk in San Diego and I've been told there are quite a few hills during the 3 days.

Sabino Canyon is 3.7 miles to the top.  Hills are not my friend and never have been.  I have asthma and its always slowed me down.  We were going to play it by ear this morning to see how far I could get up that mountain, and I'm not one much for defeat.  So I pushed forward.  On the way up... I forget where we were in the journey... maybe around mile 2, we heard a hiss and a rattle... so I jumped away from that edge.  Yep, it was a rattlesnake.  We stayed our distance, but went back to look at it.

Then we proceeded on up to the top.  If you get to 3 miles, you might as well continue the last .7 miles to the top.  Yes, I did it.  Here's the proof.

 

This is me with my teammate Wanda.

Then on the way down, we ran across this in the middle of the road.

Yep... its a snake.  It wasn't a rattler, but I just waited for it to slither on away.  Don't you want to come join me for some adventure?



Cricut Cartridge Storage

So, I'm trying to get my scraproom organized... like really organized.... so I can actually scrapbook in here vs all over the house.  I've been slowly trying to do things and do them right.  What I actually need is a professional organizer to just come, do it and get it over with.  Wishful thinking!

I have amassed quite a bit of Cricut cartridges.  I love using my Pink Expression , and no, I can't leave out my Create.  I usually take my Create when I go to my crops.  In talking with one of my good scrapbooking buddies Karen (check her out on Still Young and Croppin ), we were discussing space issues.  She challenged me to get rid of the cricut cart boxes because they were just taking up space.  So, I posted on my local scrapbook group website that I had boxes to give away and people emailed me to say how many they wanted.  At the next crop, I loaded them up in the car and off they went.  Now, I had valuable space for something else.

I had bought a Gypsy which I'm trying to use more often and have no need to carry all of those carts with me everytime I go to a crop.  I have them in 2 separate storage containers... one being the Cgull cartridge bag.  This was not working for me, so I set out to find a better system.

My dear friend Shirley ... who's head is big enough, so lets not even brag too much on her... with all of her awesomeness... has created some wonderful .cut files for Design Studio over the years... created a cut file for cartridge boxes.   Check her out on Okieladybug .  You'll be amazed.  I had the good fortune to meet here a little bit back and boy did we have fun.  I have the pictures to prove it (blackmail... lol) .  She found some storage at Staples for these boxes called "Really Useful Box" in the 9L size.  They will hold 84 of these cartridge boxes.  If you go here , you'll even see the video that she put together.  Didn't I tell you she was awesome! 

I thought to myself... self, I think this is going to work.  I pulled out that old crappy paper that I've had for years from when I first started scrapbooking and didn't know any better... lol ... and decided to create my boxes out of that paper.  It's called "using your stash" .... and yes, I have lots of it.  But that was a lot of cutting to the point where I actually wore out a blade on my Cricut.

So, without further ado... here are my cricut cartridges in their new home.

Yes, there are some empty spaces.  I seem to have hidden some cartrridges in my room from myself.   And I created space holders for some new cartridges that I have on order.

I also found these labels that fit perfectly on the boxes.   They are the Avery 5422 Multi-Use Labels.  There are 42 sheets for a total of 840 labels.

One last thing, I store my overlays and books in those photo boxes that you can get at Joann or Michaels.  They work out perfect for me.

Cigar Box Swap #2 - Sewing Theme

We've been having oodles of fun over at Stampin Dymonz Scrap Shack .   A second cigar box swap was announced and I snuck in barely.  Who could miss out of the fun!  Surely not I.  This one really took off.  One of the requirements was to make a pin cushion to go with the goodies to your swap mate.  Again, you don't know who has your name, but you can add a comment of your wants and needs, etc.

Along comes Ms Dee from Dee's Special Things with so much enthusiasm and creativity.  I don't know where she gets the energy nor the time.  She had shared some creations she'd done in the past on making hat pin cushions, and that just got everyone to creating.  So I went searching for a video on how to do them, posted it and Ms Dee put one together for us to view.   She put dimensions in her video which made it quite easy to follow.  And, of course, we all had to try our hands out at this.  So I put together these:

 So of course, I had to see if I could make it smaller and off I went and produced the little purple one.  They are too cute.

Then, back to the task at hand.  I needed to decide on how I was going to create this cigar box and make it worthy of giving to someone.  I think it turned out quite well.

Then Lia, had to show us what she was creating for a pin cushion in the form of a dress form.  So amazed at the talent that these ladies have.  You can find Lia here .  I'm planning to bottle up these ladies energy.  Seriously.  So off again I went to create my dress form pin cushion.  I haven't finished the final details on this, but want you to see it.

I burned the crap of my finger with the hot glue gun.  Word of advice... watch what you're doing when there are holes in what you're gluing, for hot glue will come out of the other side.  LOL!

Well, I found all sorts of goodies to buy for my swap partner.  I can't say who is getting this box because she hasn't gotten it yet and I want it to be a surprise.  I'll update this post later with the actual pics of the box, but for now, here is what she is getting.

LOL!  I know thats mean , but I just love my packaging.
I posted this little video as a teaser.

A Vintage Cigar Box Swap

I've been crafting, but no time to post what I've been up to.  So, I'll try to play catch up this week.
Recently, I've been doing some swaps over on Stampin Dymonz Scrap Shack and having lots of fun.  Although work has been keeping me busy, I've been trying to make time for myself as time permits.


I signed up for an altered cigar box and had a wonderful time doing it.  It was an anonymous swap, so the person whom you were creating for did not know who had their name.  You were asked to send in your favorite colors , along with a wish list of things you'd like to have.


Wouldn't you know it.  I was given the blog owners name and really wanted to do something special for her.  I had originally met her on the Cricut messageboard and have corresponded with her since she first started scrapbooking.  She really took off flying on her creativity.  I'm not sure where she gets the time to do it all, but I'd sure like to have some of her energy.


Her favorite color is green and I found this awesome K& Company paper that just had her name written all over it.  Then I sat out to find an authentic cigar box.  I found one at one of the local smoke shops here and have been going back from time to time to get more to add to my stash for future alterings.


I should have taken a before picture of the box, but I forgot to do so.
Well, here are the pictures of what it all looked like at the end. 

This is the box prior to finishing it up.

Showing the side of the box

I used the Tim Holtz feet to lift it up

Final outcome of the box.  I think it was tastefully elegant.

Inside of the box.

Recipe: 

Original Cigar box

Tim Holtz Feet

Fringe ribbon from local fabric store

Flowers from local fabric store

Lacy Trim

String Pearls

K& Company patterned paper

Recollections Rhinestones

Paint

Mirror

It's Been a Long Time

Work is interfering with my leisure life.  I have been crafting, but not having time to update my blog.  I will try to do better.

Distressed Tag Swap

I hosted a Distressed Tag Swap on the Scraps Of Color website and gave some links for people to look at for inspiration.
The tags are amazing and now I have to figure out how I'm going to display them since they are too pretty to put in a book.

The tag that I created is posted here:

An Altered Letter Swap

I really have been crafting, but trying to find the time to actually post my creativity on my blog has been the challenge.

So without further ado, here is another swap that I just completed.
The themes for the swap were:
Classic - Elegant look that is crisp and clean. This design is simple yet timeless.
Contemporary - The look is clean and may include a few strong accents or embellishments.
Romantic – Anything from floral patterns, velvets, lace, script or lots of embellishments.
Playful Charm - Complementary colors in muted or bright tones, 3D dimensional and whimsical accents.
Naturalist - Incorporate texture by using handmade papers, fibers such as jute, ripped torn or sanded edges.
Spontaneous – (WIld, FUNKy, FUN----Anything goes)
The letters would have to be made of wood in a large size about 8 or 9 inches tall. 

After the sign-up, the name assignment was made really easy.  The person that signed up after you was the person's initials that you were tasked to create.  My letters were VB.  She stated that "I like natural colors, but my style is a combination of the six identified by the hostess."
I found some swirly letters at Joanns and proceeded to look through my stash for patterned paper.... afterall, I am trying to use my stash.

So here is what I came up with.  I don't remember who's patterned paper I used, but I thought it was very elegant looking to go with the swirly letters.  I painted the wood with gold, applied the paper with scotch quik dry glue and cut off the excess.   I Mod podged both the front and the back to preserve the papers.  The Rhinestones were gold and clear Recollections rhinestones.  The flowers were an assortment of flower parts.  The leaves were cut off of some flower picks and have a wire cneter.  The flowers were made up from Prima flowers with the centers being the smaller Recollection flowers.  After putting these elements on it, I decided the other elements were going to take away from the patterned paper and stopped there.  On the back of the letters, I used some Bazzill cardstock in a golden brown to finish it off.  I added a small butterfly to the bottom of the "V" along with the recipients name.  On the "B", I added a metal plate that reads "Beauty Comes From Within".

My letters were created by a wonderful scrapbook artist FranCine Green.  I asked for Vintage look ... and she was amazingly creative.

Birthday Card Swap

I'm a  little behind again in my postings, so I'll try to catch up.
I joined a birthday card swap on the Scraps of Color website.  My stash of cards for birthdays was dwindling and I needed to get some more in there so that I would have some for when I need a card at the last minute to send out.  And its always good to see what others are doing, for you never know what inspiration you'll get.

So my birthday cards were done with an image from Robert Jackson ... he is a local artist here in Tucson that has been doing digital images of African Americans.  Finding digital art to use of African Americans is not as abundant as other digital art, so when he was approached about doing these images, he stepped up to the plate and is also taking requests for images that one would like to see.    The image that I used is called "She's Fierce".

Since I'm trying to use up my stash, my goal is to use what I have and not go out and buy anything.  It's become a challenge because someone is always creating some new and wonderful papers that I just have to have.

I used Coredinations Cardstock, patterned paper from my stash, pearl accents, lacy ribbon, stickles, copic inks and inked the edges.  So as not to buy anything new, I ended up using 3 different patterned papers.

All 3 different colored cards.

Peach Card

Brown Card

Lime Green Card

Recipe:

Coredinations Cardstock

Patterned Paper - DCWV Rustic Stack

Robert Jackson Digital Image "She's Fierce"

Stickles

Studio 112 Pearls

Lacy Ribbon

Copic inks

Memento Chalk inks

Sentiment - Fiskars Make a Wish Quotes (Acrylic)

Tim Times Ten Challenge Grand Prize Winner

No... it wasn't me.  LOL!
Everyone did such a great job.

CONGRATULATIONS MS DEE!  She is the challenge winner.
If you don't know who she is or have seen her blog... run quickly to http://dees-specialthings.blogspot.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-stampin-dymonz-grand_08.html

Tim Times Ten Challenge - Day 10

And I've made it to Day 10 of the Tim Times Ten Grand Give-A-Way Challenge.  And this has definitely been a journey for me.  Given that I'm back to work now... yes, I'm counting my blessings... I came straight home and had basically 1.5 hrs most nights to create a tag, take pictures, blog about what I did to create the tag and post to the challenge post on time. 

Our last challenge is to make a Brag Book of the nine tags that we created over the last nine days. It can be bound by rings, as displayed by Dymonz, or by using a Cinch or BIA or other wire binding device. The tags must be in the Brag Book in the order in which they were created over the nine days. There must be a way in which you display/provide the recipe for each tag. You must have at least one cut from a die-cutting device -- Cricut, Cuttlebug, MS Punch, etc. -- whichever one you use doesn't matter. You must create a cover which utilizes a sentiment and an image stamp and the acrylic paint resist technique.

Check out http://www.stampindymonz.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-grand-give-way-challenge_07.html for the final display of the brag book that Dymonz created and also to see the pictures and links of the other participants.

For my brag book, I cut chipboard and covered it with Prima Marketing Paper CoIllection.  I used an Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Snow Cap for the edges.   I inked the sentiment with Frayed Burlap, the flourish in Faded Jeans, then inked both the front and back covers with Wild Honey.  On the words "Enjoy the Journey, I used Glossy Accents over them.  I double stamped the sentiment phrase on the patterned paper and adhered it to some chipboard and pop-dotted it off the cover.  I added some rhinestones and mulberry flowers layered with a brad.  To bind my book, I used  Tim Holtz Grungeboard hinges fastened with brads.

For the inside of the brag book, I made pocket inserts that I cut patterned  paper , used a MS border punch for the edge.

I made one pocket for each of the 9 tags and taped them together with red liner tape.  I also made recipe tags for the pockets so the that I can write down how I created each tag.  If someone wants to look through the book, the can find out how each tag was created.

I attached a Metal Key that says "Journey" with Hemp Cord.

You can see it in the left of the picture of the book below.

Showing all of the tags in book.  There are in the order that they were created and labeled on the back of each tag.

Back of the Brag book showing the rest of the hinge.

Tags 1,2,3

Tags 4,5 6

Tags 6,7,8,9

Recipe:

Chipboard

Prima Marketing Collection Patterned paper

Hemp Cord

Pop Dots

Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

Glossy Accents

Rhinestones

Red-liner Tape

Clear Embossing powder

Andirondak Acrylic Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Tim Holtz Distress inks:

Faded Jeans

Black Soot

Wild Honey

Victorian Velvet

Frayed Burlap

Tattered Angels Flimmer Mist - Spanish Moss

Tim Holtz Visual Artistry Acrylic Stamps:

The Journey

Flights of Journey

Tim Holtz Grungeboard - Elements

Tim Holtz Elements  - Word Keys

Brads

Rhinestones

Prima Marketing Mulberry Flowers

Tim Times Ten Challenge - Day 9

Just 2 more challenges and this fun is over.  The tags that everyone has created have been so unique.  I hate to see this fun come to an end.... but you know the saying.  LOL!

For day 9's challenge.... How high can you go? Today's challenge is to create a dimensional tag. At least two elements must lift up off the page. The edges of the tag should be inked. At least one dimensional flower and 3 buttons should be incorporated in the design.



Check out the challenge website at:
http://www.stampindymonz.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-grand-give-way-challenge_06.html

So for my tag, I decided on a distress technique using the distress powders. (Take a look at http://www.timholtz.com/vid_distresspowders.htm for the technique)  I used the embossing ink with Black Soot Distress powder on the tag.  I wanted a worn and aged look of the images.  I think inked the entire tag with the Aged Mahogany and Scattered Straw distress inks.
I used a combination of Tim Holtz Visual Artistry stamps - Life's Possibilites and Flights of Fancy.  I inked the umbrella man with Frayed Burlap and then used clear embossing powder to make it stand out, then pop-dotted the cut out image off the tag along with the layered flower. 

To show the Umbrella man lifted offf the page in detail.

Recipe:
Tim Holtz Visual Artistry Stamp Collection:
Flights of Fancy
Life's Possibilites
Tim Holtz Distress Inks:
Frayed Burlap
Chipped Sapphire
Scattered Straw
Embossing Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Powder - Black Soot
Buttons & Ribbon from my stash
Prima Flowers - layered
Pop dots

Tim Times Ten Challenge - Day 8

Its day 8 and our journey is almost over.  This has been quite fun seeing that I'm having to rush home, think of something that is acceptable to post and get it all done in @1.5 hrs.

So here goes......
The challenge for today is to create a distressed tag. You must use a minimum of 3 colors of ink. You must use at least 1 image stamp and 1 sentiment stamp. You must color your sentiment stamp using two different ink colors and stamp -- this should be one press on the tag and not "stamp one color, clean stamp, stamp second color." A unique piece of ribbon or other embellishment should be used for the hole in the tag.

Take a look at the challenge website for more creations:
http://www.stampindymonz.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-grand-give-way-challenge_05.html

For my tag, I used a combination of Spiced Marmalade and Shabby Shutters.  I didn't want a dark background so that my image and sentiment stamps would show up nicely.  I went with one of the Tim man's stamp sets - FairyTale Frenzy.  I inked the flora with Bamboo Leaves Memento Ink and the sentiment with Aged Mahogany and Forest Moss.  I used some embossing powder on the sentiment to give it some depth.  I inked the edges of the tag in the Aged Mahogany, which gave this just the right touch that I was after.  I added a layered Prima flower and a rhinestone to finish it and some coordinating ribbon from my stash.

Closeup to show the embossing.

Recipe:

Tim Holtz FairyTale Frenzy Collection - Sentiment and the Floral

Tin Holtz Distress Inks:

Spiced Marmalade

Shabby Shutters

Forest Moss

Aged Mahogany

Craft Sheet

Mini Mister

Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink

Prima Flowers

Rhinestone

Ribbon from my stash

Tim Times Ten Challenge - Day 7

And the countdown continues.............

Today's challenge is to create an acetate tag. The acetate must be dry embossed. It must be inked. Your tag must be two-layered, include an image, and you must use some type of "dimensional" product to embellish your image -- fun flock, flower soft, heat embossing, etc. The weather, unfortunately, is supposed to be cold here today; therefore, your tag should depict a cold scene -- could be winter or fall and does not have to include snowmen/snow, just ensure you make a good representation of colder weather. The acetate should be from some packaging that you may have at your craft spot in order that you recycle the plastic and help prevent us from killing our own planet with non-biodegradable materials such as plastic...


This past year, I took part in Tim Holtz tag challenge in which he used the snowman on a tag with acetate.  It was so fun to do.  I didn't have his snowman, but I created my own from using the cricut.  My challenge is to not use the snowman again... but to find something else that will work. 

So, I decided to use a Reindeer.  LOL!  Santa wasn't cutting it for me seeing that it was 95 degrees here in Tucson.  I used the Tim Holtz Mini Holiday Collection.   He had done a technique this past year in which he painted the border of the tag... so I went with that and used Silver Andirondak paint dabber.  I stamped the reindeer with Rusty hinge Distress ink and embossed it.  Believe was stamped with Walnut Stain Distress ink.  I inked the rest of the stamp with Pine Needles and Frayed Burlap Distress inks.

For the acetate, I embossed it with a snowflake sizzix folder.  On the debossed side, I swiped it with the silver paint dabber and rubbed off the top part to leave only the snowflakes covered.  I applied a little bit of Andironak Alcohol ink in "Stream".   I wanted the tag to be moveable, so I added a brad to it so that it could be pushed to the side.  I also added some snow.... but its not dry yet to give that snowy look... but I wanted to get it posted before time ran out.

Check out the challenge at:
http://www.stampindymonz.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-grand-give-way-challenge_04.html

Tag Closed

Tag open

Tag open to show the difference between this one and the previous picture.

Recipe:

Sizzix Snowflake Embossing folder

Tim Holtz Mini Holidays Rubber Stamps

Distress Inks:

Rusty Hinge

Pine Needles

Walnut Stain

Frayed Burlap

Andirondak Alcohol Ink - Stream

Andironak Paint Dabber - Silver

Glistening snow

Tim Times Ten Challenge - Day 6

And on to day 6 we go.

Today's challenge is for you to make a gift card holder tag. The gift card pocket must have at least 2 of it's corners punched with a corner punch. You must show in your picture the "card" in the pocket. The tag must contain at least 3 handmade flowers (meaning no Primas or other pre-made flowers -- you must make the flowers yourself with paper/scissors/glue), a sentiment, and the background of the tag must be inked -- not covered with paper. You may use Color Wash or other spray type ink, or pull out your stamp pads and sponges. The inking technique for the tag background is your choice; however, the background must be created using only ink.

Check out the website for more details and to see the other creations:
http://www.stampindymonz.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-grand-give-way-challenge_03.html
 
For my tag, I used Coredinations Brown and Blue Cardstock. I use a MS punch ..Laurel Leaf PATP . My background stamp is one of the new TPS rubber stamps - Secret Garden Collage which I stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I inked all of the edges with the same ink. The flowers are ones that I made with a flower punch and layered them about 6-7 flowers, rolled the edges under for the look that I want. They were sprayed with glimmer mist. I'm not sure if the shimmer shows up in the photo. I had to add a little bling. I created it so that it has 2 pockets versus one. The blue cardstock was left with the top open so that you could put the giftcard there, or it can go under the patterned background paper.

This shows the full tag with the gift card tucked under the background paper.

Now who wouldn't want to get a Michael's gift card.

Here is a close-up of the flowers with the glimmer mist.

 
 

Recipe:

Coredinations Cardstock - Blue and Brown

TPC Rubber Stamp - Secret Garden Collage

Rich Cocoa Memento Ink

MS Laurel Leaf PATP punches

Flowers created by me

Glimmer Mist

Rhinestones

Ribbon from my stash

Tim Times Ten Challenge - Day 5

Yay!  We've made it to the halfway point.  Good job everyone for keeping up.  I know how hard it is to do a daily challenge.  So kudos to all of us who have been diligent in getting it done.


Today's challenge is to create a Card Tag. It must be created with one sheet of cardstock, scored and folded. No cutting two individual tags and adhering them... On your card, you must have an image that you colored by hand. You don't have to use Copics if you do not own them; however, some type of craft markers are a requirement for this challenge. Your coloring should be use at least 2 different colors and you should shade your image to the best of your ability. You must mat your image with a mat that has been distressed by sanding.

Seeing that I had to do this tag before work at 6 am, its not my best work... but it will have to do.  LOL!
Check out the website for the challenge:
http://www.stampindymonz.com/2011/05/tim-times-ten-grand-give-way-challenge_02.html