Creative Friends Blog Tour.

Last week, Candra Holmes, of  Paper Dragon Fleur, asked if I would like to participate in a  "blog tour" and I said "I'm in!".  This is an ever growing and expanding creative blog tour that I think started in the UK, and thank you Candra for letting me play along! 

Candra Holmes, Paper DragonFleur.

Check out Candra's blog post here. She is full of wonderful ideas! She designs for Atlantic Hearts Challenge and has some fun Instagram photos on her sidebar!

In this creative blogging world that I've become a part of during the last two years, I've developed friendships with people I absolutely love and admire, and who are creative way beyond my wildest dreams! 

I will feature three of my most fave crafter friends below, after I answer four questions.

The idea of the tour is to answer four questions, then introduce three fellow creative bloggers who will continue the tour the following week. And so on and so on.  Fun!

There are alot of photos here, so take a few minutes to sit back with your cup of tea or coffee and enjoy.

And now for my 4 questions - you'll find out a little bit about me! 

You can also read my bio on Candra's blog HERE.

1.  WHAT AM I WORKING ON?

 
Anything and everything!…… no really…. I love all sorts of crafts, and since I was a little girl, a pair of scissors and paper dolls, or needle, thread and some bits of fabric would keep me busy for hours. Those early passions for making things with paper and fabric have endured throughout my entire life.

I’ve evolved from about 30 years of sewing and quilting, to paper crafting, paper folding, paper building, paper anything. I love it! ….love all the gorgeous papers and colors and designs.

Right now, I’m working on some darling six sided “hexagon boxes” which I fell in love with after seeing a tutorial on YouTube. For some reason, those cute little unusual “boxes” pulled at my heart.. and I knew I had to make some for my Etsy shop.
  
I’m also working on figuring out a way to assemble the little "boxes" and put them “almost” together, but leave the last little bit of taping on the bottom to the person who buys them, so I can ship them flat in sets of three. I'm so excited to see how this process works! I did some "background stamping" on the background of this purple box to the right. I love that effect.

I love making little paper boxes for some reason… love planning them, designing them, and making something different and unusual. Maybe it's because I know they'll hold a little treasure for someone special!

I’m also working on getting myself inspired to sew and quilt more. I used to love quilting, and made tons of pillows, wall hangings, hoop quilt art and table runners.  After all the years of “quilting” (which actually meant loving to look at them, plan them, and buy the fabrics, but not actually MAKE them), I recently (almost) completed a quilt using some of my ancient fabrics from the 70’s and 80’s.

There are the pinks and greens I love! Still have to put the binding on this UFO.

So I'm working on trying to get this quilt finished! I seem to have a hard time finishing up my sewing projects and have alot of UFO's (unfinished objects) laying around.

2.   How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Oh that’s a tough question. I think I tend to get “inspired” by other fabulous crafters!  I may start out copying someone’s project, but invariably, I add something different, tweak it, or it ends up entirely different from what it started out to be!  My emotions play a lot into what I make, and my emotions tend to rule what colors I use, what design and what theme. I’m a very emotional crafter and that may be different than some, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of crafters work the same way.

Part of the fun for me in blogging is the taking of the pictures! I'm always excited to make something, knowing that I get to stage it afterwards with my camera.

Did I say I LOVE photography? I sprinkle my blog with my photos and quotes that are special to me.

3.   Why do I write/create what I do?

I LOVE to write (can you tell?) and I LOVE to create. I started “creating” way before I ever started writing! I think many bloggers begin their blogs because they do love to write. I think a blog evolves from our making something and wanting to share it with others.  “See?” we say. “Look what I made!” …….and we like to write all about it, at least I do. I’m proud of what I make, and I want to share it, talk about it, and write about it. 

Through the years, and way before the advent of the computer, I always loved to hand write letters to friends and family, no matter where I was. Once, back in the late 70's, when I lived in Wyoming, building a small cabin out in the boonies, and my family was all back in Oregon, I started writing a little monthly “Newsletter”. I would make it newspaper style and draw pictures of our building process. 

So I write because I love to write and share, and I create because I love working with my hands and making something beautiful out of little pieces of paper or fabric.

  
4.  How does your writing/creating process work?

As I stated above, most of my creating is very emotional. An idea pops into my head, and I go make it.  I love to “stalk” the YouTube videos for ideas. I read creative and artsy books and magazines for inspiration.  I carry a little notebook with me all the time, and when I see something that strikes my fancy, I write it down and draw a little picture of it. It may sit in that notebook for years! Now and then, I’ll pull it out and look through it to see what new and unusual project I can create.  

My work and writing is a barometer of my emotions and what I’m feeling on that particular day. And every now and then, an idea may drift into my mind that is mine alone!  I immediately write it down and work on creating it before it floats away into the cracks and crevices of my brain, never to be remembered! (Right) one of my original creations, a "tufted" fabric on canvas board wall hanging.

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Now on with the tour!  I’d love to introduce my sweet crafty friends from around the country. Each is a busy mom and wife. Each is crafty beyond belief. And each of them has her own unique way of creating, and has inspired me in one way or another! Be sure to visit each of their blogs that I link to and explore their artistic-ness! Each blogger will answer the above 4 questions next week!

Lalia Harris of Crafty Lalia

Hi I’m Lalia Harris and I live in Everett, Washington.  I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life where the moss grows on all sides of the trees and on the bumper of my van.

I’m a wife, homeschooling mom, caregiver, MS advocate, workshop instructor, card maker, scrapper, jewelry maker and paper engineer.  Let’s not leave out laundry basket stacker.  I say that because they’re always full and I’m looking over my laptop screen at a couple right now.  While I grew up being able to craft just about anything and still dabble in most of it, papercrafting has been one of my number one hobby throughout my life.  I’ve been cardmaking since I was 7 or 8 and stamping just a few years after that, thanks to my sister Jackie. 

I started teaching stamping and embossing while I was in college and teaching is still my focus today.  I love to share what I know about a product or tool so that you can use it well and enjoy the process of creating.  A lot of the projects you’ll see on my blog are creations for my workshops.  They’re a bit “simpler” and more reproducible than shall I say a few of my blog heroines.  They won’t take all night to make one card.  However, I also LOVE 3D cards that are engineered and have a little complexity.  I guess that’s the engineer in me showing through.  I actually DO have a degree in paper  engineering.  However, these days I prefer to use my problem solving skills at the paper trimmer.  

Scrapbook page layout using the CTMH Circut Artbooking cartridge. Gorgeous!

(NOTE: Lalia's been blogging since 2008! She's a real Cricut "specialist" and includes many tips and tricks on her blog about using the Cricut and Close to My Heart Cricut cartridges.)  Check out her blog wonderful-ness at Crafty Lalia.

Ellen Jarvis of CardMonkey's Paper Jungle

 
Meet Ellen Jarvis or "cardmonkey" as she likes to be called! She's been blogging since 2010 and she participates in MANY fun blog hops. Though we've only "met" online, I so admire her spunkiness and sense of humor.  She's VERY creative and comes up with such cute new ideas. And what a helpful friend she's been, not only to me, but to everyone she comes in contact with!

Ellen says: While I am a lifelong crafter, I was only bitten by the paper bug 4 years ago or so, when my adult daughter Emily (now 28) introduced me to The Bug (Cricut), and I’ve been scratching that itch ever since. I specialize in cardmaking, though I also enjoy making 3D projects, party decorations and scrapbooking.  I received my Intermediate Certification in Copic markers 2 years ago, so you’ll likely see digi-stamp coloring on my projects. 
 
  

 

Before retiring to my Paper Jungle in December 2012, I worked full-time for more than 40 years, mostly for hospitals and health care concerns, handling public relations, marketing, special events and writing.  Now, I spend my happiest time with my 3-year old granddaughter Charlotte and soon-to-be born grandson Evan Joshua, and earning my crafting cash by selling (and buying!) Close To My Heart paper supplies, as an Independent Consultant.  

I say:   Check out Ellen's unique-ness and ingenuity at Cardmonkey's Paper Jungle.

Marilyn Gossett of Marilyn Gossett Designs

 
Marilyn Gossett has worked in the Arts & Crafts industry as a designer, author, teacher and consultant for more than 20 years. An avid crafter since childhood, Marilyn has authored or co-authored over 40 craft books and contributed to numerous magazine articles. 

Favoring craft painting and sewing, she loves to experiment with new products and discover fresh and exciting uses for the “old standbys”.

Bulletin board using Crazy Tackz. Precious!

Marilyn has collaborated with various companies in developing product and programs. She’s currently working with CraZy TACKz, a brand new, patented product that combines the functionalities of a tack and a hook, with it’s clear stopper design being ideal for decorating (visit her blog for cool and creative use).

 

 



Marilyn understands the importance of cross merchandising for the retailer and how to make the customer feel creative and successful.

Marilyn G. said:“As a crafter myself, I realize that when people fall in love with their projects and have some initial success, they’re far more likely to come back and purchase even more supplies.” 

Marilyn is a MASTER of her paper angels!

Visit Marilyn at the following sites and discover her awesome flare for art and uniqueness.  Her May 29, 2014 post is all about steampunk!

Website:  www.marilyngossett.com

Blog:  www.marilyngossett.blogspot.com

CraZyTACKz Blog:  www.crazytackz4crafts.blogspot.com

CraZyTACKz Website:  www.crazytackz.com

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Well friends, that's my CREATIVE FRIENDS BLOG TOUR. I hope you enjoy it. Please be sure to stop by these three ladies' blogs, as these ladies' talents are just the cream of the crop.

And remember, each of my three creative friends will be continuing this blog tour next week, with answers to the 4 questions and an introduction to THEIR favorite blogger friends!

As always, thanks for stopping by. If you still haven’t signed up to follow my blog posts and receive them in your email inbox, please do so by going HERE, right-hand column at top and filling in your email address.

Have a joyful, creative, blessing filled day!

 

NEW PERSPECTIVE.

I'm such a photo junkie! Every spring, I find myself looking  at my photos of all the beautiful flowers that I've grown in the past years (and even the "weeds"). I suppose it's because I live in a somewhat "flowerless" area of central Oregon. Here's a sampling of what I looked at today.

Although these Queen Anne's Lace (above) are really just "weeds" (I guess?), and they grew profusely up in SW Washington, we don't see nary a one here. And I didn't grow it anyway, but it sure is pretty! I love how lacey it looks.

Lovely Iris kissed by the morning dew.

The faintness of the stars,

the freshness of the morning,

the dewdrop on the flower,

..... speaks to me.

~Chief Dan George (1899-1981)

Native American logger, actor, poet~

I guess I get a little nostalgic this time of year.  Though I love this sunny climate, and the lack of those everlasting gray gray days of SW Wasington, I do so miss the riots of flowers (and weeds) everywhere that were refreshed almost daily by the rain there!

Since we've been renting here for the last year and a half, I don't get too excited about planning a permanent garden like I had at my other house. Plus.... sadly... the deer eat most everything I plant, but they are nice enough to wait until they bloom (for at least a day or two!) before they eat them!

I

I did manage to grow these (above) last summer here in central Oregon, on my back deck. I got to enjoy them for awhile before the deer jumped over our chain link fence, and walked up on the deck and ate them, along with the strawberries I had so carefully nurtured.

At least I have my photos to look at, and my new perspective is that now, when I see a flower growing here, it is so much more precious to me! I think I appreciate it even more, knowing that it has struggled to survive our below freezing nights, deer (and other critters), and hot dry days. What champions these hardy flowers are!

 
The above vivid orange flowers are Crocosmia. I brought some of the bulbs with me from my SW Washington home, and planted them VERY deep in the ground here, but they didn't survive our last winter nights of -32 below! I'm glad I have tons of photos of them to remind me of their beauty.

I guess there isn't a "perfect" climate anywhere. I did love the fields of tall green grass that just exploded in the springtime, due to the wet wet wet, with the brush and blackberries, and old orchards where I used to live.  And yet I got sick and tired of the rain! My new perspective is that there is really no "happy medium", so we learn to appreciate what we do have where we live.

Blackberries overtake an old farm gate in SW Washington. Rains feed everything to overwhelming growth.

I must admit, I DO love this dry climate in central Oregon. I love the big pine forests, and the lack of underbrush that would deter a person from walking through the forest beauty.

 And I love the big skies......

....and the big rivers....

And I'm glad I take so many photos of all the beauty of nature! I guess I kind of got off the subject... I just wanted to say that no matter where we live, there is so much beauty around us... and my new perspective is to appreciate it all.

Into the scented woods we'll go,

And see the blackthorn swim in snow.

High above, in the budding leaves,

A brooding dove awakes and grieves;

The glades with mingled music stir,

And wildly laughs the woodpecker.

~Mary Gladys Webb (1881-1927)

English novelist~

Have you left a place you loved that is totally different from where you live now? What did you love about the place you left? and what do you love about the place where you live now?


 

FATHER'S DAY EASY CARDS USING SCRAPS.

Wow can you believe it's almost Father's Day already? I actually made a few cards for fathers I know and they are done and ready to mail! I'm usually way behind. My own father passed away in 2001, and I'll think of him with fondness this Sunday.  Oh such good memories I have of my dad (read to the end for a snippet of my recollections).

Here are my cards (below). They were quick and easy and I used scraps from various Close to My Heart papers that are now retired.

I was inspired by a card made by Aaron Brown at Aaron's Booth #32.  I loved her use of the current CTMH Jubilee papers, but I chose to use scraps from my past projects. No waste, right? I save almost all of my scraps, right down to 1" by 2"!!!

Here is Aaron's card:

I found the little "June 2014" calendar from organizedhome.com and printed it out on cream cardstock and distressed the edges with brown ink.

The "Happy Father's Day" is computer generated. I printed it onto our CTMH Colonial White cardstock, cut it out and then distressed the edges with brown ink. I popped it up with 3D foam dots.

I made this base card with black cardstock, and used some scraps from an old CTMH B&T sample pack. Those little 6 inch squares come in so handy. I used a scalloped punch to punch out the flower and added a few gems here and there.  The 3 little hearts I punched with a tiny little heart punch and popped them up.

I had a few Kraft cards hanging around, so used those for the first 2 cards. I made the black card using a leftover piece of black cardstock. I tried to keep these cards more masculine, but a little "girlyness" crept in!  I just can't help it!

The black card looked a little empty in the upper left corner, so I used a little plastic stencil I have and a peach colored gel pen, to stencil the little row of squiggles along the top and left side. I like how it turned out!

My dad, my sister and I.  I'm the cutie in the front!

I have such great memories of going fishing with my dad when I was about 8 to 13 years old. He loved to fish along creeks and rivers in the mountains by Mt. Hood, Oregon. I also remember a fishing trip I took with him and my older sister, to the Steens Mountains in Eastern Oregon. What a time we had but NO PICTURES to chronicle it! Those memories are forever preserved only in my mind.


Are your cards for Father's Day done yet??? What special memories do you have of your father?


 

SAFARI ANIMALS CARD IN A BOX.

Oh my... this seems to be all the rage right now! Lookey here at the "card in a box" that I made using one sheet of the cutest safari animal scrapbook paper I've ever seen, plus one sheet of gold cardstock.  I had never even seen one of these until one of my fellow Close to My Heart consultants, Ellen Jarvis, at Card Monkeys paper Jungle, posted one on our Facebook page group. Here is hers:

She has another pretty pop up box card that she recently made for her mother on Mother's Day.  Go take a look, it's gorgeous.   And she also has a template she's included in her blog post, so YOU can make some of these darling cards in a box (for your personal use only).

Here's mine (below).  I'm not doing a tutorial as it is quite time consuming to make this "card".  I'll post a video link below that I used to make my box card. I'll post some front, side, top pictures of my card in a box,, and a close-up view of the cute, glittery animals, here:

The inside of the box has two strips that you glue on, and that is where you mount your figures, or animals or flowers, or whatever is "popping" out of the box!

I "fussy cut" all of the animals out of the scrapbook paper, which was a very stiff paper.

The "box" lays flat too, so you can put it in an envelope! Very ingenious. The video link I'm posting HERE from Stamping T! is for a smaller pop up card box, that would fit into an A2 sized envelope (like the first card box above from Ellen Jarvis).  Note that the little box area is shorter and not as tall as mine. My card in a box is made to a bigger size, so I had to custom make a 6x8 envelope to put it in.

Card is laid flat here to easily put into an envelope.

This is the other side of the "card" which is laid flat. There is a place to write your sentiment and add little doo dads.

Here's a link to Monica Gale's BLOG AND VIDEO who has instructions for making a larger box like mine.

I hope you receive a little inspiration from this post.  Be sure to  Follow Me on Bloglovin' so you can receive all of my blog posts in your own blog feed. 

Bye for now!                       .


 

MAY DAY BASKETS AND VIDEO TUTORIAL.

I've been on a roll lately paper crafting with pinks and greens. I can't seem to get enough of pink and green. The pink just pops, and speaks to me in ways I can't even explain. 

My recent project, that I found on You Tube, is a sweet little May Day basket. I guess I'm a little late for May Day, but at least I got it done in May!  Read to the end for some of my "reminiscing from the 50's".

I used a piece of paper from the cute 6x6 paper pad that I got on sale at our local Wal-Mart, the same papers I used for my 3x3 quick cards in my May 22nd, 2014 post. Just love this paper! Aren't the stripes festive and springy? It's from Hampton Art called Ki Memories.

 
The top trim is a piece of pink scrap paper that I had, and I also used it a 1" strip of the same pink for the handle, that I cut on the edges with scalloped scissors.  I didn't take pictures as I made this, but it's very easy. There's a step-by-step video below.

Start with a 6x6 piece of paper (for this box size that measures 2x2 inches). Score it on all sides at 2 inches and fold the score lines, and crease with your bone folder. Next, cut out each little corner so that you end up with a "cross" with a 2 inch box cut out of each corner.  Easy so far, right?

 

Now fold the 4 sides up and you can see the box forming.

Cut your trim strip at 1 inch, about 9 inches long and score down the middle of the long edge, then fold in half and crease well. Then put some Score tape on each side of the inside folds of the strip. 

Lay the strip flat with the sticky tape up. Tear off the cover of the sticky tape on the bottom half of the strip. You will place each flap of the box along the lower half of the strip, so that the flap of the basket butts to the fold on that long strip.

This is where it gets hard to explain, so look at this little video by ChicnScratch (love her videos!) to see how to attach the strip. Once you view it, you'll see how easy it is.

I must admit.... I LOVE those red polka dot boxes!  Once the flaps are attached, you then remove the cover off the sticky tape on the top piece of the long strip, and fold it down and attach it to the front of the box. You crease it as you go around each edge. Just watch the video, please? It's hard to explain without any pictures (duh... dumb me.. didn't take pictures as I made it).

I put a little tissue paper in my basket and added some paper flowers that I had already made, poked onto toothpicks, just to see how it would look. The handle is just a 1" piece of paper, cut with scalloped scissors on the edges, to whatever length you want. Glue on the inside of the box.

You don't have to put handles on, and you can fill these little boxes with treats or trinkets.  These are such fun to make and very easy.

What would you put inside and how would you arrange it? The gal on ChicnScratch called these little "strawberry boxes", like the kind we used to put our hand-picked strawberries into when we were kids. Remember when we would get up in the morning at 5:00 to catch a bus to take us to the strawberry fields? We would take a little sack lunch, always with a Shasta pop in it (NEVER any water), and pick until our backs ached, to earn "maybe" $1.20 for 8 hours of picking! Oh such memories.

Be sure to Follow me on Bloglovin' where each of my posts will appear on your very own blog feed. I'm going to post my Hexagon "box" tutorial very soon.

 

PINK AND GREEN AND FORK BOWS.

I've been playing alot lately with pink and green - my two favorite colors!  I decided to make some really cute little (quick) 3x3 cards. I recently bought a little paper pad of 6x6 papers that I just ADORE (pinks, greens, blues), and wanted to use some of the paper for "something", so I decided to make some little thank you notes to put in my Etsy shop shipments.  

When you get some pretty new paper, don't you just want to MAKE SOMETHING with it???? I do! It's like getting a new top or pants.. I just want to take it out and look at it, (wear it), play with it.

I cut some white cardstock pieces at 3x6 inches and folded them in half to make the little cards. Then I cut my cute 6x6 paper squares at 2-3/4" x 2-3/4" to put on top of the cards.I got 4 squares from each 6x6 piece.

I punched a 1-1/2" circle out of some glitter cardstock (from a 6x6 pad also) and a 1" circle out of white, and stamped a cute little sentiment on it. I mounted it on the 1-1/2" circle with a pop dot and glued a little gem on it. I made some little "fork bows" (many videos on YouTube for fork bows - I love making these!), and stuck them on with glue dots.

I just can't seem to tie a little bow by hand and make it look even and cute, especially the small ones. Here's a good You Tube video by Deb Valder for making fork bows:

 

And there you go! Just love these colors.  Be sure to Follow me on Bloglovin' to get my next blog post (and all new ones) for a darling little May basket that I made, with, of course, pink and green!

Don't you just love those polka dots? What are YOUR favorite colors?

 

MY BEAUTIFUL HEXAGONS.

I just couldn't wait to show you my beautiful hexagon boxes that I just finished! I am going to post a tutorial on how to make them, but wanted to give you a sneak peek! They are made using Close to My Hearts most LOVELY ARIANA papers. 

I am just SWOONING over these papers. They remind me so much of Anna Griffin's gorgeous vintage French papers and fabrics. Of course I'm going to have to get more before they retire at the end of July, 2014!

 

I adore the blue pin stripe paper, and the vintage looking flowers. (sigh......)

I could not quit taking pictures of my little boxes. There is no detachable lid! It is built into the box and looks like a star when you close it. Oh so ingenious.

I will tell you where I found this darling idea and try to give a "simple" (what me?) tutorial. Here's what the top "lid" looks like:

Another photo (below) of the top part, which looks complicated but is NOT:

Here's a closeup look (below) at one of  the GORGEOUS Ariana papers. They are all double-sided so there are six different pretty designs, plus you get six sheets of coordinating cardstock in your Ariana paper pack. Here is the flowered design that I am just giddy over:

Stay tuned for my tutorial. And so you don't miss it, be sure to sign up at BLOGLOVIN' to follow me!  See you soon!