Slugs....

Yep...this post is about slugs -- not the really slimy icky ones that you find in your garden but this cute slug right here:

The other day, my 6 year old daughter came home from school with this beauty.  It was something that she made.  It surprised the heck out of me since I hadn't realized that her sculpting abilities had progressed to this level.  I am sure that she must have had some help but still, I am quite impressed.  Looks like another trip to the art store is called for.....

Another week gone in a flash....

Where the heck did it go?  Seriously, this getting older thing really sucks -- especially when you blink and another week is gone.  I had so many plans for this week.  A to do list that was a mile long.  Did I make dent in it?  A barely noticeable one....it was more like a small scratch.

I am working on weeding out all the things in my house that no one uses any more.  Things that various little ones have out grown or have forgotten about.  It is a very slow process and my house looks worse now than it did before with various garbage bags full of toys and clothes being piled up to go to friends and the Salvation Army.  Hopefully, soon I will be able to see my living room floor once again.

One item on my to do list this week was the completion of a card for Card Sketch #27 over at LCOM Sketch Blog.  The sketch was a fairly simple one that allows for quite a few different interpretations.  I decided that I wanted to play with layering and embossing for this card.  I was also looking for an elegant classic look.  There is nothing better than white and gold to give that classic feel to a card.

Materials used:  Bazzill cardstock, Krylon Gold Leafing pen, Spellbinders dies, Martha Stewart punches, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Starform sticker, pop dots and KaiserCraft bling.

The edges of the die cuts and the embossed background are edged with a Krylon Gold Leafing pen.  Each of the hydrangea flowers is dry embossed to give it dimension.  This card was made out of one piece of 12x12 cardstock.

If you would like to check out the sketch and see how the rest of the Card Team interpreted the sketch, please head on over to the Sketch Blog.  I do believe that the layout sketch for this week has also been posted so you might want to check that out as well.

I am off to the upstairs closets to see what else I can find to add to my growing pile of "Stuff that is scheduled to leave my house on Monday".

Have a good Saturday.

A Gorgeous Friday

It is absolutely gorgeous outside this morning.  The sun is out and even though the temperature is only -2C at the moment, it will get up to at least 13C today.  I so wanted to play hookie from work but I am afraid that it wasn't meant to be.  Bossman is out of the office so I am covering his job as well as mine.  I will just sit here staring longingly out the window instead.

One thing that I am looking forward to this weekend is cleaning up my scrap mess.  The Big Brother Contest at LCOM is over.  I have submitted my last project and we will find out the winner soon.  It has been a lot of fun but my dining room looks like a bomb hit it.  I really do need to get organized again.  I can't seem to find what I am looking for any more.

This week's card sketch (# 26) is up over at the LCOM Sketch Blog.  It is another one of mine. :-) The design team came up with some fabulous interpretations of the sketch.  I love seeing how everyone's is so different from each other.  My interpretation is a fairly literal.

Materials used:  Prism cardstock, My Mind's Eye pattern paper, Prima flowers and cabs, PaperTrey Ink die and miscellaneous ribbon.

I used the PaperTrey doily die on this card.  I really like these dies.  They cut nicely and the designs are very pretty.

Have a good Friday.

Just Another Quiet Saturday

Quiet Saturdays are a good thing especially after a particularly busy week at work.  I have no real plans today except to act as Pumpkin's chauffeur to her ballet class this afternoon.  I am enjoying the down time and I am also looking forward to sitting outside her classroom with a nice latte and a good book.  My one guaranteed hour to sit and just quietly read.

Right now, I am patiently waiting to find out the voting results for the LCOM Big Brother Contest.  This is the penultimate week and this round of voting decides who the final 3 will be.  For last weeks competition, we had to complete 3 different projects and participate in the LCOM Sketch Team's blog hop.  The challenges were our choice from any of the posted challenges from the On-Line crop that has been going on this past week.

I chose to complete an Easter card.  I am not sure why since I don't send out Easter cards but I do like making them.  I also wanted to use the new PaperTrey Ink dies that I acquired recently.

Materials used: October Afternoon pattern paper & tin pin, Bazzill cardstock, Prism cardstock, Memento ink, Copic markers, Papertrey ink dies.

I had some October Afternoon paper left over from last weeks Debby Schuh class and this yellow polka dot was just screaming to be used.  The chick & egg stamp is a Great Impressions stamp.

We could only complete one card.  The other two challenges had to be layouts.  First the first one, I chose to do the banner challenge.  I have never used a banner on a layout before.  I know that they are all the craze right now but I am not particularly fond of them.  I like what other people do with them but they don't really appeal to me.  So why did I chose this one?  I was looking for something to push me out of my comfort zone.  Would I use banners again?  Maybe.

Materials used: Bazzill cardstock, The Girl's Paperie pattern paper, Pink Paislee ephemera, American Craft thickers, Martha Stewart bakery twine, 7Gypsies gaffer tape, Versamark ink, Maya Road star pins and kraft calendars.

For the last challenge, I went with the punch challenge.  We had to use at least 3 different punches on our layout.  I like punches so this one was easy....or so I thought.  I probably spent the most time on this layout and after it was finished and submitted.  I realized that I had forgotten to add in a title and journalling.  I was so caught up in making it balanced that I completely forgot.

Materials used: My Little Yellow Bicycle pattern paper, Bazzill cardstock, Dollarstore pussy willows, miscellaneous feathers, Pink Paislee butterfly stickers and ephemera, Versamark ink, Webster's Pages cameo and Prima flowers & vintage trinkets.

I think I might just have to do a bit of scrapping today.  I am feeling a little creative so maybe I do have more plans than just playing chauffeur.

Have a good Saturday.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Yes....I realize it is still March and this is probably wishful thinking since it happens to be -10 C at the moment but this was the the topic of Week 7 LCOM Big Brother Competition.  We had to produce a layout the used the phrase "April showers brings May flowers", pastel colours, painted and glittered chipboard and our own stamped pattern paper.  Cool challenge.

Materials used:  Bazzill cardstock, Prima pattern paper and flowers, Distress ink, Pink Paislee ephemera, Maya Road trinket gem, 7 Gypsies stamps, Layers of Colour stamps, Fancy Pants stamps and Martha Stewart bling.

Two more ladies were eliminated and there are now only 6 left.  I can't believe that I am still in the running.  Usually but this point in competitions, I have either been eliminated or I have had to drop out due to other commitments.  There are only two more weeks left of the competition.  This week everyone is competing to be part of the final 3.

In other scrappy related news, this weekend is the Debby Schuh event with The Scrapbox.  Last night's class was to make a mini book titled "The Recipe of Me" using a Melissa France tag book.  You can see the book over at Debby's blog under the Upcoming Class tap.

I really enjoy taking Debby's classes since she has a very interesting way of putting together books.  I love all the fold out pages, pockets and interesting details she puts in.  I have another class this afternoon to make a "Junket Journal".  I can't wait. :-)  It is going to be a creative day.