It's been fun, but it's time to move on, so visit my NEW BLOG!

Please visit my new blog, That's SO Martha! There you will see my explanation for moving on! Thanks for stopping by, I will leave this blog open to share my old creations!

http://thatssomartha.blogspot.com/

It doesn't get much easier than this!

I made a couple of Mother's Day cards today (and a miss you card) that were quick and easy. I used Stampin' Up's new printed window sheets. The first one ended up a toned down purple & gold (Arrr!) and I sent it to my grandmother. I adhered the window sheet to a piece of textured cardstock, under the sentiment tag, with a couple of small pieces of sticky strip. Nothing special about the sentiment tag, just used a scallop punch, couple of brads, sponged the edges of the white for depth.

On the Thank You For Being You card, inside it reads Happy Mother's Day, I adhered this one to a sage colored textured cardstock, behind the sentiment. I used my scallop circle punch and some Crystal Effects for a little fun along the scalloped edges.
The Missing You card is for a mom who I mailed it to, I miss seeing her, she has been a special part of my life. I also mailed a couple of other surprises with it. On that one I used my scallop oval punch with vellum, a regular oval punch, and a couple of brads. I included a sweet sentiment about friendship inside.

Lastly, a quick project that I've been procrastinating on, some hair bow hanger things for my girls. I bought the letters from somewhere a while back, and the ribbon yards, and on the bottom I sewed on these tiny little frames from Maya Road. They have been in my craft stash for quite some time and I think they look kinda cool on these. On the 'V' I did a DTP (direct to paper) technique using craft ink (a pigment type ink, more like paint). Note: The "P" in DTP is not paper in this case, it's the letter.
These all (cards and hangers) took me maybe a total of an hour or so to work on. It doesn't get much easier than this! Hope everyone has a great weekend, gets lots of rest and sunshine, and time with family and friends!

yummy popsicles for a birthday invite...

I can't believe that our younger daughter will be having a birthday, it just seems like she was born not that long ago. I'm so glad one of the girls has a birthday during the warm weather, and as you can see, I'm taking full advantage. I saw this idea on Splitcoaststampers and thought it was the perfect birthday invite. I did several versions.

Details of what I used/did: I thought the Tart & Tangy stamp set from Stampin' Up was so cute, so I used 2 of the 4 stamps from it. I used my JustRite stamper to stamp the word ONE on the front, and one of my oval punches and my new scalloped oval punch (also SU) that I now LOVE!
I used vellum for the scalloped oval and for the inside of the card, which I ran through the printer with the details of the party (some details covered up for obvious reasons). I used a single eyelet to hold the vellum on, because I have tried many types of adhesive for vellum on cardstock, and I've found none that don't show through, not even the vellum adhesive.
I used Crystal Effects (SU) to make the popsicle drip by the bite (punched with SU scallop circle punch). To stick on the popsicle stick, I used sticky strip adhesive.

Can't wait to deliver these invites, and for the party! Thanks for stopping by!

Surprise birthday card for a friend!

I surprised my friend Sarah with a card and a hanging Fuchsia plant and this card, which I made for her last night. The image comes from Long Time Friend (SU!) and normally I would watercolor it, but my Stazon Ink Pads had to all get thrown out from age/dryness. So last night I broke out my husband's Prismacolor pencils! They're awesome colored pencils, and worked really well on the smooth surface of the Very Vanilla cardstock. I paired up the image with So Saffron and Old Olive cardstock. The sentiment comes from Happy Harmony (SU!) and I thought this butterfly was a cute addition.

Sorry I've been so slack in creating. I'm actually working on a sewing project, a jacket for me to wear to work. In the process, I'm planning to make a cute accessory to go with it, and I'll share when it's done!

Have a wonderful week!

Last month we had our 10 year anniversary...

So on March 20th, Nate and I had our 10 year wedding anniversary, and yes I made him a card, though simple. I used some blue, brown and olive papers to match the patterned paper from a paper pack that I liked, and a spiral clip. I printed the sentiment on the computer. It's hard to see the card, this pic was taken with my phone. It came from a Watermark song called Made For You (I *heart* Watermark music). Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Remember I promised forever
Life brings change
But my promise is the same
And through these years we've been together
Life has made us grow
But through it all I know
No matter what may come
My heart was made for you forever

That night we went out to the emerge art gallery downtown and painted pottery. Nate's pottery has always come out amazingly beautiful (his is above). No matter how he mixes colors or how crazy it may look before it's fired and glazed, it's a piece of art when it's done. Mine is just scraping by average, look below... but it does look nice above the kitchen cabinets blending in with the other pottery in our collection. I'll stick to other types of creativity most of the time.
So although he will never admit his amazing creativity, my husband is a true artist. I'm just good at paper and glue, or sewing a pattern. Happy springtime, until we meet again.

Thought of God

I just love babies, and I realized Sunday, as I was surrounded by 4 pregnant friends, that I needed to add to my baby card supply QUICKLY! So here is a sweet baby girl card. I just love my girls, they inspire me. I hope to inspire them, too! Babies are such a blessing!

I used a new knit flower from Stampin' Up, with an aged gold brad in the center, colors of paper were blush blossom, close to cocoa, and whisper white. Inks used were pretty in pink (Houndstooth background) and close to cocoa (Wordsworth sentiment stamp). I distressed all of the paper edges. Added a little brown ribbon to pull it all together!
For my facebook friends, I'm hoping to add a baby pic today. Thanks for stopping by!

Baby Blessings everywhere!

It seems like lately someone around me is having a baby, or is sharing the news of a baby to come! What a blessing! I love being a mommy, there's really nothing like it.

This card was mostly inspired by the felt flowers that I recently purchased from Stampin' Up. The colors are definitely in right now, I combined the large brown flower with the small blue one and tacked them together with an antique copper brad. Striped paper and a scalloped edge on the right side, backed with some chocolate chip paper. I love this bunny from A New Little Someone by Stampin Up, which I watercolored using Blue Bayou, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, and Barely Banana. The "baby blessings" stamp from Wordsworth is one that I tend to go back to again and again, because that's exactly what I think babies are!

Thanks for coming to look! I need to make an anniversary card for my husband before Friday!

Smile!

In celebration of spring which is almost here... we think... I created a spring-inspired card. I used a sketch from Taylor's blog, and did it the weekend of her challenge, but just finally took a picture of it and blogged it. I love my smile stamp from Wordsworth.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll try not to wait another 3 weeks before I post again!

Mini Domino Jewelry

I did these before Christmas but just never posted the pic. I just think this set is adorable with paisley print in pink green and white, and so girly! Hope you like...

Masculine Birthday Card

I got a new mini paper pack from BASICGREY at Michaels the other day, they had it in the clearance area. I just loved the papers in it, so I had to splurge! I made this masculine birthday card, and wanted the paper to be the main focal point because it's so great! I did add a Tim Holtz distressable frame in Olive and a birthday sentiment from Verses stamps. I also had the green snaps from a LONG time ago. I really love the dimension of this card, although not practicle for postal mail. This card just has a tropical jungle feel to it, don't you think?

I've been listing some items on ebay today, so please check my listings out. Today I did mostly craft items, I'll be adding more soon, too, so check back frequently! I'll also be adding maternity clothes and Usborne books. Please send friends my way if you think they could use 'em! Have a great holiday weekend!

Eat Your Peas!

My aunt sent me an Eat Your Peas book for my birthday last fall and I LOVED it! I just kept going back to look at it occasionally. One day, I thought it would be great to use each of the pages on a card front to make a birthday card. I'm showing these pictures with permission from Gently Spoken. I asked permission because their images are copyrighted, but I wanted to share these inspiring images with you. Pages and pages of unique expressions. I'm certain that I'll be doing other Eat Your Peas cards, and I think I'll be using this idea for creating and donating cards to our Home Health & Hospice- their wish list includes cards. Please follow any of the links to check out how Eat Your Peas can inspire and encourage you!
I used Stickles on many of the cards, just to add a bit of sparkle to enhance the images. On the card up top, I also added some adhesive-backed jewels to the centers of the flowers. Thanks to those of you who've asked about me. Christmas and New Year's were nice, we went back to my mom's after New Year's to celebrate her 60th, and then the baby got sick with a bad cold, and then my 4 year old and I did- I'm trying to recover now. I'm hoping to be back in full swing soon, and I have new stuff to share already!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It was so cool to hear our 'almost' 4 year old talk about why we celebrate Christmas, both last night and this morning. Last night as we unloaded the car from our travels and got ready for her to go to bed, Nate quizzed her on why we celebrate Christmas and why we have presents. Also, before opening any Christmas gifts this morning, we sat on the couch with the Christmas lights on, Nate opened up the book of Luke and read the story as it was told. We had a simple but wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus- a glorious present from God, and (of course) had a great time opening gifts, too! Tonight after dinner, we got in the car and drove around looking at Christmas lights. This is how Christmas should be.

Have a blessed Christmas night!

Monogrammed Card

I got the JustRite Curlz Monogram Stamper and have been pondering on what to do first with it. The other day I was browsing the $1 bins at Michaels and found these pretty white embossed square cards (it came with 8 in the pack!). Can you see the beautiful embossing down the center? All I did was add my monogram backed with a scalloped circle. I thought these would make nice thank you notes and won't take too much of my time. Something like this would also make a great wedding shower gift.

Today I put in the crockpot:
3 Cut sweet potatoes in large pieces (halved or quartered depending on size of sweet potato)
1/2 onion, quartered
1 Pork tenderloin (lay on top of veggies)
1 packed Sodium free beef bouillon powder, sprinkled across pork
3-4 spoonfuls of jarred pesto on top of pork (the traditional kind with basil, garlic, pine nuts)
olive oil drizzled in
1/2 cup water or so

Put it on high for 5-6 hours. I served it with a spinach salad and raspberry vinagrette dressing. It was a fantastic meal, so I thought I'd share. The baby got steamed spinach and sweet potatoes so it was kinda like she was eating the same meal as us. ;)

Have a great week!

Jewelry! And More Jewelry!

I was excited to have some TIME today! Yes, it's true. Just me and my craft room. For a couple of hours. Oh, I finished and mailed my Christmas cards today, too!

I got out the glass tags and wooden dominoes that I've been hoarding. I figured people may want stocking stuffers or small gifts for people on their list. Or someone may want to splurge and get something for herself! So here are my creations that were completed today. I have many more to come, so keep looking soon! If these don't sell locally soon, I'll be posting them to my Etsy store. I hope you enjoy looking at my creations. Please let me know if you'd like to make a purchase!

Just learned to digiscrap...

I just wanted to share that I finally learned to digiscrap. It is FUN but the demo version of Adobe Illustrator is almost over. I made a 12x12 digiscrap page of the girls, and my new blog banner. I'm pooped, my pager for work has gone off at 3am daily since Friday, so I'm just saying a quick hi!

Hope your Thanksgiving was great!

Well, the hustle and bustle of Christmas has arrived. Are you prepared? My calendar is filling up with parties, lunches, and more. I'm not sure if I'm really ready, but I'd like to think I'm getting there. I made this ornament after being inspired by Taylor's tutorial. WOW, it was so easy and I simply used scrap papers that were sitting there longing to be used. I'm sure I'll be making more of these simple ornaments.

I also thought I'd share with you one last VERY simple Christmas card that I made. I kept thinking it needed more. I'm sure it does need more, I'm just not sure what. So I think I'll just send it to someone who may not care it's homemade. LOL. Basically, I used my silver Encore ink pad to stamp the poinsettias, then used my square punch to create a rectangle window. I then stamped my sentiment inside the window. I placed an acetate sheet behind the window using mini glue dots. The only other thing I did was spray the silver ink with cheap non-aerosol hair spray, b/c it will never dry- it will smear if you don't spray it.

Lastly, I want to share with you that I have decided to open an Etsy store. Please browse my stuff and share the link with others. It's www.kellyalbright.etsy.com. I'll try to add more as I can. Thanks for taking the time to look!

Do you remember shrinky dinks?

Today I want to share a site that has an easy way to make beautiful homemade jewelry. It uses shrink plastic, the same stuff that we called shrinky dinks as kids. I've got some from prior projects, so maybe I'll give a project like this a try soon. Have a great night.

Shrink Plastic Jewelry Instructions.

P.S. 2 big things happened with the baby today, her first tooth has come through AND she is now suddenly rolling everywhere! Happy and sad, I am so excited but I want her to stay little!

Make a custom gift box!

Ok, it's really simple, anyone can do it! I have some personalized notecards for a gift for someone I know ;) for Christmas. I know this person loves and appreciates handcrafted things that I make. So I decided to make a simple, but very special, gift box!

Basically the note cards and envies were 5x6x1" so I made two pieces of cardstock 7x8x1" (the length and width add 1" to each side for creating the 1" depth). Clear as mud? Score at the 1" markings and trim 1 side of each of the small corner squares. Add some adhesive (I like Sticky Strip for boxes). Fold at the score lines and adhese the corner squares to the sides, and you have a box. Voila!
I used my poinsettia flower stamp from Stamps by Impression and made several images of it on watercolor paper using several shades of watercolor crayons and spritzes of water. I cut out 2 and a half of them and layered them. It is easy to curl the petals of flowers when your paper is moist. When it dries it hardens. I used a doodad from Collected Objects for Creative Minds for the center of the flower. I adhered it together with Pop-Up Glue Dots.
The velvet paper I did the iron stamping (iron the velvet to the rubber for about 10 seconds). It makes such an elegant image! I just love how this box turned out, and I'm certain that the recipient will, too!

This particular size box would work for handcrafted cards! Below are a couple of mini pics on how the box is made if you are a visual person. Have a great week! :)

Mini lunch bags for sketch challenges...

I need to work on wrapping some small gifts, I have a personalized notepad in one, and personalized post-its and pen in the other. I have these cute mini lunch bags by Martha Stewart that are perfect for quick wrapping a small gift.

The first one (top) is Beate's sketch (WSC66) and I didn't stay true to the sketch but tried my best. First, I was going off memory from early this morning, plus my bag was so small after deciding what I'd use for the main "rectangle" focal point. So I moved my little jewels, which are from Collected Objects for Creative Minds, which I purchased from Stampington & Co a few years ago. The rectangles are frames by Tim Holtz in the Salsa color package, the green fit right into the red. I just added ribbon, ric rac, and a scalloped tag.
This other bag I did for Taylor's sketch (TECC42) and pulled out of the unused archives some Stampin' Up Metal Edge Tags. I punched some scrap cardstocks, again used a Tim Holtz red frame, but this time I put a simple stamped candy cane from Stampin' Up's Merry Minis.

Yay! I'm so excited about Christmas this year. I'm excited that I can actually make stuff for people this year. Last year I was pregnant (very sick and always sleepy) and not functional. So this year I'm pumped up! Happy weekend!

Fabulous Flapjack Mix for gifts...

<---First, have you seen my poll? Take a moment to respond!

Ok, now that that part is over, let me tell you about the fabulous flapjacks, they have oatmeal, cinnamon, wheat, brown sugar... they're so hearty and yummy! I found the gift mix idea from a Gooseberry Patch Merry Mixes booklet many years ago, and I tried it (they call it Fantabulous Flapjack Mix). It was love at first bite. We added blueberries before cooking them up. I gave the mix as gifts that year, and had requests for it the next year! We even keep a big French canning jar full of this prepared mix in the pantry, for when the urge to make pancakes comes. I have already started preparing this mix for gifts this year, and wanted to share some ideas for presentation.

The picture up top is my favorite. I found the bucket/tote in the Target dollar spot. The snowflakes are already stitched on and are so cute! I put the bag of mix in it, a perfect fit, added some shiny red confetti-like filler, a wooden spoon with a bow, and created this tag (close up on the left). I used a snowflake eyelet that my aunt gave me a while back. I used the Snowflakes stamp set from Stampin' Up stamped in turquoise, and some Stickles to make it sparkle a bit. I stamped Merry Christmas and the bottom of my big Sizzix die cut tag I scalloped using the scallop punch. I hung it with a little silver cording. Voila! I *LOVE* red and turquoise for Christmas colors!

This little bag tote was also at Target and came with the mittens and snowflakes! For this one I added some tissue (and of course a wooden spoon) and a tag.









Lastly, (below) I sewed up a little bag with some plaid fabric I had in my stash. It's a Flapjack in a Sack! It only took about 1 minute to whip this thing together with my serger, and I trimmed the top with my pinking shears.

Twill tape and ric rac to tie the sack shut, and a tag I made hanging on the spoon with linen thread and a clip. This was such an easy project and look how cute it came out! One recipe makes enough for 4 gifts!