Happily Ever Challenged #5 - A Mother of a challenge!!

Hello everybody and happy April! :) Wow... I can't believe today is already April 1 and I'm not fooling! ;)

And what goes better with April than another challenge?! (Okay, that makes no sense, but work with me, here!)

Okay... it won't be long before we celebrate the women in our lives and thank them for whatever contributions they've made.

So here's the challenge:

1. You're going to make a Mother's Day card (but it can be for ANY woman in your life (sister, aunt, grandmother, neighbor, friend, etc.)

2. What's challenging about that, you ask? Nothing really. But you may NOT use the following on your card:

• flowers or floral buttons, floral images, floral embossing, etc.
• the colors: pink, mauve, lavender, or purple

3. Other than that? Go for it! Have fun with this! :)

Here are the other details:
1. You will post it on your blog or gallery.
2. You will then need to copy the URL of the BLOG POST (not your blog, but the actual post where you're featuring the project).
3. Add the URL and your NAME to the INLINKS below. :)
4. In your blog post, please direct others to this post so that they may participate!
5. The deadline is Friday, April 23 at around 3:00 PM PST.
6. I will choose a random number/winner then and post it.
7. The winner will have until Wednesday, April 28 to email me at happilyevercrafter at gmail dot com. If I don't receive an email by then, I'll re-draw a number and so on.
8. Only one entry per person, please. :) (Thanks, Mandy!)

What can you win? I'm glad you asked!

A TEN DOLLAR GIFT CERTIFICATE TO PAPERTREY INK!  WOOT! WOOT! WOOT!

Have an awesome time making something special for some special woman! :)

Happily Ever Challenged #4 - Winner announced!

Hello all!

I know it's not the afternoon, but I figure what the heck? Let's live dangerously, shall we?

I want to say how pleased I am with the participation this month! We had a dozen people participating and I REALLY appreciate the support! :)

Also, I am SO VERY impressed with each and every submission. Wow is all I can say. No, I can say more... I'm Italian, after all. ;)  I just really like the creativity I saw and that doesn't surprise me at all... just awesome!

Okay, without further ado... I went to my trusty random.org and chose a number from one to twelve. And here's what it gave me....

So congratulations to Emily (SkyNacho)!!! I reckon when she saw my greeting for "Hey Peeps"...she took it seriously! ;) I love her cute card and her yellow marshmallow type bunnies! :)

Emily, if you email me at happilyevercrafter at gmail dot com by Wednesday, March 31, and include the email address to where you want your PTI gift certificate sent, I'll get on that ASAP!! :)

And again... thanks to everybody who participated. It really means a lot to me!

Stay tuned in the next few days for Happily Ever Challenged #5. :) It's going to be the MOTHER of all challenges (that's a hint, by the way)!  ;)

Cocoa Sliders - for my secretaries

Well, as a thank-you to my school secretaries for allowing my grade level team use a neighboring conference room tomorrow, while we work on report cards, I wanted to make them some cocoa sliders I once saw. I had to do some research (including asking some of the incredible PTI forumers...thanks, ladies!) and found this video on YouTube:



These were SUPER easy to make and a lot of fun! :) Watch the video to see how they work.

Oh! Before I forget, here are my creations:

A photo of just one slider:

And a close-up of the tag:

I think if I did these again... I'd attach a little bag of marshmallows near the tag. :) I would just want to figure out the best bag to use!

Any ideas are welcome!

Thanks for looking and/or commenting!

Recipe:

Stamps: Dot Spot, Daily Designs, Mega Mixed Messages (all Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel (all Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip (all Stampin' Up!)
Other: Hole punch, 1 3/4" punch (Stampin' Up!), Terrifically Tacky Tape, Ribbon (from my stash), ATG

Just Because

Well, it had been a while since I used my Giga Guidelines, etc. :) So, I took out some of Papertrey Ink's Gridline paper and went to town. :)

I placed it on the card, pleased with the blue and green (I wanted to make a masculine card) and thought, "Wow... it looks quite 'overwhelming'..." so I got inspired to try to place some of PTI's Vellum Cardstock over it and the rest is history.

I really like how the cardstock subdued the paper and softened it... even if it IS for a guy.  ;)

I stamped the "Just Because" in Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!) on the vellum and couldn't be happier.

Thanks for looking and/or commenting! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: Giga Guidelines, Guidelines, Guidelines 2 (all Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pacific Point, Sage Shadow, Brocade Blue, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy (all Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Guidelines 1, Vellum Cardstock, Vintage Cream (all Papertrey Ink)
Other: ATG

Notecards for Greg

Well, my co-worker's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and I wanted to create something for his birthday and as a thank-you for his help in learning a new curriculum. :)

It's not easy to create something for a guy, but I thought I'd take the chance and create some blank note cards for him. He's the type who may NEVER use note cards, but oh well... they're made. :)

In the end, I figured that leaves weren't too feminine and I thought a nice monogram of his name, Greg, would be appropriate. The letter turned out mottled (no, it's not Papertrey Ink! LOL)... but in a way, I like the mottled look... somewhat "distressed"...and rugged, in my opinion. :)

Here they are...

Here's a close-up of one of the cards.

Thanks for looking and/or commenting! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf and Borders & Corners: Circles (both Papertrey Ink); Chelsea Alphabet (my stash)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Night of Navy (both Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Close to Cocoa, Night of Navy (both Stampin' Up!); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Other: Ticket Corner punch (Stampin' Up!), 1 1/4" circle punch (Stampin' Up!); Rustic Twine (Papertrey Ink); ATG, Dimensionals

St. Patrick's Day - Susie

Thought I'd better get on the ball and make another St. Paddy's day card, this time for my best friend's girlfriend... Susie. :)

I browsed through my craft area, and came across some nice green butterfly paper "Luck in Flight" by Reminisce. Since I recently acquired a butterfly die from Papertrey Ink, I figured this would be the theme. I know they're not clovers, but what lady doesn't like butterflies, eh?! :)

Here's my result:

I'm VERY disappointed with the stitching in the upper left corner. :( I thought I was being as straight as possible! Ah well, hope she won't let it take away from the card. It's the thought that counts, right?! :)

Here's the inside sentiment... from Papertrey Ink's "Luck of the Irish" set:

Thanks for looking and/or commenting! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: Luck of the Irish (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Garden Green (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Garden Green Designer Paper, Garden Green cardstock (both Stampin' Up!); Luck in Flight (Reminisce)
Other: Sew Mini; Dimensionals; Black Felt (Papertrey Ink); 1 3/4" circle punch (EK Success); New Leaf button (Papertrey Ink); Rustic Twine (Papertrey Ink); Butterfly Die (Papertrey Ink); ATG

Happily Ever Challenged #4 - A CRAFTy Easter!

Hello my peeps! (that will make a whole lot of sense when you continue reading)

Well, it's that time of month for our Happily Ever Challenged uh.... challenge. o.O

This month, I'm combining TWO...count them.....TWO challenges into one.

Many people know that March is National Craft Month and it won't be long before Easter comes around with all the joy that that holiday promises. And what a huge promise it is, eh? :)

So... in honor of both of those events, I'm challenging you to do the following:

1. You'll create a project. It can be a card, box, wreath, blanket, wall art, or even a nuclear reactor (please just don't do this last one in California).
2. Your project needs to be considered an "Easter" project. It can be the true meaning of our Savior's rising... or you can choose to use eggs, bunnies, and all type of flowery goodness. The choice is yours.
3. It also needs to consist of the letters that make up CRAFT. Let me explain:
     3a. It has to have something for EACH letter of CRAFT. So, for example, you can have a card that is made of (C)ardstock and possibly a soft blue (R)ibbon. Maybe you added some (A)ntiquing around the edges and a beautiful (F)lower image (or maybe some (F)elt?). And maybe the (F)lower or (F)elt is (T)urquoise or (T)eal? Get it? :)  You can be creative on how the letters are used. I'm not too picky on that! :)
4. You will post it on your blog or gallery.
5. You will then need to copy the URL of the BLOG POST (not your blog, but the actual post where you're featuring the project).
6. Add the URL and your NAME to the INLINKS below. :)
7. In your blog post, please direct others to this post so that they may participate!
8. The deadline is Friday, March 26 at around 3:00 PM PST.
9. I will choose a random number/winner then and post it.
10. The winner will have until Wednesday, March 31 to email me at happilyevercrafter at gmail dot com. If I don't receive an email by then, I'll re-draw a number and so on.

I very much look forward to seeing what you all create! :)

Oh! I almost forgot! The winner will receive the usual grand prize of:
*drumroll*

A TEN DOLLAR GIFT CERTIFICATE TO PAPERTREY INK!  WOOT! WOOT! WOOT!

Thanks for participating and go get CRAFTy!  :)

Enjoy the Moment - Felt Me Up!

Okay... I'll be the first to admit that when I heard about Papertrey Ink coming out with felt I was very "meh" about it. I thought, "I'll never use felt... let alone BLACK felt. But what the heck, I'll get some... just for kicks."

Oh. My. Gosh. I LOVE this stuff. It cuts SO nicely with Nestabilities! I put it to the test.  :)

At first, I wanted to have those two smaller flowers AWAY from the larger one, but just ran out of room. I don't think this turned out half-bad. :)

A close-up:

And another shot of the front of the card:

Trust me when I say the felt looks SO MUCH richer in real life. :)

Thanks for looking and/or commenting! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper:  Regal Rose Designer Paper, Regal Rose cardstock (both Stampin' Up!); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Other: Basic Black ribbon (Stampin' Up!); New Leaf Topnotch twill, 100% wool black felt (both Papertrey Ink); Scallop Edge Punch (Stampin' Up!); Nestabilities, Zots, ATG

Happy St. Patrick's Day for Kathleen

Well, I know my time is limited until Day Green arrives! So I thought I'd get started on another St. Paddy's Day card... this time for my colleague/friend, Kathleen. :)

I know that she loves when I sew on cards I make for her (at least I THINK she does! LOL) so I decided to get down and get stitchy and here's what I came up with:

A close-up of the card...

And a close-up of the bottom corner, complete with button and stitching. :)

Thanks for looking and/or commenting! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: St. Patrick's Day (from my stash)
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Garden Green, Glorious Green (all Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Gable Green, Handsome Hunter (all Stampin' Up!)
Other: New Leaf buttons, New Leaf Topnotch Twill, Rustic Twine (all Papertrey Ink); Zots, dimensionals, ATG, Sew Mini, Scallop circle punch

Upgraded Photobucket Pro

To all my new followers and blog viewers:

I'm so sorry that you all came to see ugly boxes saying that the bandwidth was exceeded.

Rest assured it had NOTHING to do with your computer. It was all on my end. :)

With Papertrey Ink sending out their monthly newsletter and featuring me in it (for which I'm VERY proud and flattered!), it meant more viewers were looking at my blog and therefore, looking at picture.

Each time a picture is viewed and that picture is on another server (in this case, the server of Photobucket), bandwidth is used.

So basically their FREE server wouldn't allow it... so now I've upgraded to Photobucket Pro for $25/year and now have unlimited bandwidth. :)

I'm just hoping I didn't lose any followers or viewers because of this! Thank you for your patience and for becoming new followers.

And of course, thanks to my current followers! :) You're the best!