Card Caravan Challenge #8

Once again, dusting out the cobwebs that have overtaken my blog.  It hasn't been for lack of creating, just lack of time to create unless it's for an assignment - which today's card is. 

The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan has issued their 8th challenge - Melissa chose the theme "two".  You could interpret this to be a card for a second birthday, two buttons, two ribbons, two layers, or even two cards. 

I actually had a burst of mojo this round of challenges.  I took the "two" theme "to" an extreme - I used:

• 2 papers from Sarah Jone's A Bushel and A Peck paper pack
• 2 layers to my card
• 2 rows of double twine and 2 double bows (from the Twinery)
• 2 different sentiments from Paper Smooches: Fruitastic set and Chic Chat set and I used "pears"        (ba-dum bump) <---that was my rim shot on the pun LOL

The inside of the card reads "Thanks so much".  Here is the paper pack I used to create my card:

So, we'd LOVE to have you play along with us this week!   Make sure you add your project/card to inlinkz at the end of the post so we can leave you some love!!

I am also entering my card into the following challenges:

• Allsorts  - #133 It takes two
• Marks Finest Papers - #85 Thank you card
•  Phindy’s Place  – Clean & Simple 
• The Crafty Pad - Send Some One a Smile (No Christmas or Birthday cards) 

Hybrid Pot O' Gold

Happy Friday to you! Nice to see you again!

Today I am going to show you how to make your own Hybrid pot of gold. Wouldn't this be cute waiting on the table when your kids get up St. Patrick's Day morning?


You could fill it with gold coins, Hershey nuggets, Rolo's candy or anything else that your heart desires!

I was inspired to make this pot o' gold after seeing Amy Stoffel's new kit at ScrapMatters called Lucky Charm:


Aren't the colors so vibrant?

Next I went on a hunt through the SM store for a template. I knew it needed to be something that I could put gold coins in but it also needed to be a template that I could turn into my pot so I looked for a template with a rounded bottom panel.

And here's what I used - Krisi's Kreations' Egg Baskets template:


What? You don't see how I turned the egg shape into a pot for my gold?

After printing the basket template out onto paper using my printer's draft option (so as not to hog up my ink), I traced the egg basket template onto black cardstock.

After cutting out all the black cardstock, I cut the egg shape side panels down into a pot shape.


Then I measured across the top of my pot and went back to my Photoshop and resized the rainbow elements to "fit" as handles - when I cut the rainbows out, I left a tab of plain paper under each end of the rainbow so that I could attach it to the inside of the pot using double sided tape.

To form my shamrock, I printed out a 4 x 4 inch square of the green paper from the kit and punched out 3 small hearts. Join all the hearts together using a glue dot, cut a small strip of green paper for the stem and add a button to the center.

I used my scallop circle Nestibilities to cut out the felt - the flair is printed from the kit and attached using 3D foam squares. I used a teeny punch to add the holes to the felt piece. This is attached to the pot using 3D foam squares also.



Last thing I did was use some silver ink around the edges and on the top rim of the pot - this gave it a little more definition.

And that's how the egg basket template ended up as a pot o' gold!


That's it for me today! See you again soon with some cards and other projects!

Taylored Expressions sketch challenge

Happy Saturday everyone! It's a beautiful July summer day here in PA! Good thing because I have a family reunion to go today!

So, Thursday I hinted that there was something new coming to The Hybrid Chick - today (hopefully!) all will be revealed. So keep checking over there for the announcement....

I played along with Taylored Expressions sketch challenge #121. Here is their sketch:


The Sketch Crew over there came up with some really beautiful and unique cards based on the sketch. I went a more whimsical route.

Supplies: Happyland digital kit by Madame Wing, Staples double sided matte presentation paper, pop dots, Stampendous! glitter on the wings, Stampin' Up! Embosslits Beautiful wings die, hello stamp from SU! Hello again set, SU! Pixie Pink and Silver metallic inks

My supply of stamps are very limited as I am just starting out. I joined a monthly Stampin' Up! card club which met from last September until June of this year. It was a lot of fun and a great way to be introduced into stamping. I mostly stocked up on tools - punches, inks, sizzlits, etc. Now I wish I had purchased more stamps!!

This card is actually only the very second time I used one of my stamps and ink here at home. I was hesitant to break out the stamps and get them dirty. LOL

I can already see why stamping is addictive - you want more and more choices to use to create! And I'm with Sharyn - I need some Copic markers now!

Everything but the Kitchen Sink sketch challenge #19

Well, as far as creating cards, I've had a dry spell with the ole mojo.

But as soon as I saw the card sketch challenge posted on Everything but the Kitchen Sink, the creativity sparked a little!

Here's their sketch:


and here is what I created based on their sketch:

Not bad for my first time paper piecing!!! I used papers from ScrapMuss Designs' Music of my Memories kit from over at ScrapMatters to paper piece the to go cup.



Additional hybrid supplies used: Staples Double sided Matte Presentation paper, Scallop oval Nestibilities,
Sizzix Big Shot, Latte Love stamps from Fiskars, twine, dot rub-ons, black ink and brown ribbon from Stampin' Up!, Tim Holtz' distress ink - vintage photo, pop dots.

and that's it from me for today - but stay tuned (all 1 of my readers LOL) for a new adventure for me and few of my fellow Hybrid Chicks from The Digichick! It'll all be unveiled on Saturday, July 17th on the Hybrid Chick blog!

Curious??? check out The Hybrid Chick on Saturday!!!

Happy Saturday to you!

Hey there - welcome back! I have a few new cards and a project to share with you today.

First up is this card I created using Wimpychompers Creations' You Make Me Bananas kit and a border from Britt-ish Designs' Doodlie-Do Page Borders (which I use ALL the time on my projects!!!!)



Next up is another card I created using a new technique that I found in the resource section at Splitcoast Stampers - creating a brick wall. I used ViVa Artistry's Altered: Stoked kit.



This card made it to the Gallery Standouts site - which is indeed an honor!!!

My box of cards that I am making (and collecting at card swaps at my monthly Stampin' Up! card club) is filling up FAST this year!!!

One last project that I have to share with you today is this one - which at first I didn't like how it turned out. But the more I see the photo, the more I like it!



Don't you just love how girly it looks with the maribou?

Tip: use a low temp hot glue gun to attach the maribou to your projects.

Credits for this project are Simply J Studio Fry Box Template and Sya Blueprints and Juno Designs collab A Different Kind of Love

Well, that's it for me on the sunny warm Saturday in PA - it's almost time for the Hockey game! Go Pens!!!

3/29 It's a Blog Hop featuring Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs!

Oh my....has it really been 4 1/2 months since my last blog post? Yepp...it sure has. What better way to get back into blogging than to join in on a blog hop!!!

Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Creative Team at The Digichick is having a hop (appropriate for this time of the year huh? LOL). There are 22 extremely creative artists joining in on the fun!

One lucky hopper (that's you!) will win a $10 gift certificate to Kelleigh's store just for commenting on her blog post with your vote for your favorite Creative Team project from the hop. One lucky Creative Team member will win $10 in PayPal cash for earning the most votes!! The Blog Hop contest winners will be announced on Thursday, April 8th on Kelleigh's blog.

So, what did I make? Well, one of my favorite things to do is to take a template and "do it" differently than it was intended. Earlier this month on The Hybrid Chick, I turned Kelleigh’s Heart Purse template into a Bridal shower/wedding favor. Make sure you check it out! Almost makes me wish I was getting married again.....almost!!!!

So for Kelleigh's blog hop, I decided to use her Take-Out box template.



I also used Lil Dude by Jennifer Fox, Nikki Epperson, and Melissa Bennett to create my project. I just love the papers in this collab!!!



and here is what I created:





and yes, that really is Kelleigh's Take-Out Box template!!! Wanna know how I made this using that template?

First I opened Kelleigh's large sized Take-Out Box template. I worked with the "lines only" layer - hide or delete all other layers. Next I erased the lines that would create the top flaps of the box. Then I rotated the lines layer on the canvas and enlarged it until it was as wide as my canvas. I copy and pasted the lines only layer onto my patterned paper. I changed to color of my score lines to white by adding a new layer over top of the lines, flood filling the new layer with white and then hitting "control + G" to clip the white to my score lines.

Next, I printed a full 8.5 x 11 sheet (borderless) of the green paper from the kit on Epson Matte Double Sided Presentation Paper. Then I turned the presentation paper over and printed a full sheet (borderless) of the patterned paper along with the lines of Kelleigh's template that I changed as above.

After cutting around the edges of my template, I scored all of my dashed lines and creased my scores. The triangular shaped pieces of the template were scored and folded inward instead of outward. On a regular take-out box, the pieces fold outward and then are folded against the outside of the box. This is what it will look like scored and ready to assemble:



Next, I made a faint pencil mark along the fold of each of the triangular shaped pieces and then used my crop-o-dile to punch the holes.



See above photo to see where I positioned the holes on the template.

Next I took one end of some embroidery thread and threaded it through the holes the whole way around twice ending in the same space I began.



After pulling the strings to form my basket, I tied a knot and snipped the loose ends of the thread close to the knot.



To create the handle, I cut a narrow strip of coordinating paper the length I wanted my handle to be. On both ends of my handle, I folded approx. 1/2 inch to the underside. I then punched holes at each end of the handle for the brads.



Positioning the handle on the tightened embroidery floss in the center of the basket, I added the brads to secure the handle in place. Repeat on opposite side.



To finish my project, I decorated the sides of my box/basket and the handle.





And that's my project for the blog hop! Make sure you check out all the stops on the Blog Hop (just keep in mind that those participating are all over the world and in different time zones so be patient and check back later in the day if a post on the list isn't up!)

Here are your Blog Hop Stops:
Kelleigh
Tracy
Sally
Laura
Juli
Julie
Christy
Dana
LuAnn <---You are here!
Jacinda
ViVa
Dalis
Holly
Sharyn
Karen Lewis
Linda
Alice
Mel
Sunghee
Carolina
Debbie
Kim

Don't forget to go back to Kelleigh's blog and leave a comment at the end of her Blog Hop post with your favorite Creative Team project for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Kelleigh's store.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy the hop!!

Drive-by Posting today......

Just wanted to do a quick post this morning with my most recent hybrid project that I created for The Hybrid Chick blog.



Head on over and take a peek at how I created one of my most favorite projects so far! I had been thinking about how I wanted to make this for a few weeks now and am stoked with how it turned out! I think the only thing I'd do differently next time is make the inner box bigger.

I'd love to know what you think of my newest project!

that's it for today! Have a good one!

*clearing out the cobwebs that are growing on my blog*

I think I've been avoiding my blog because I want to update it but I'm not sure how. I just need to sit and play around with the HTML and make it mine! *sigh* maybe someday.....

For the 6/4 Sweet Shoppe FOBTY we are to blog about our favorite animal at the zoo. Mine has to be the Giraffe! There's just something about them. I love the coloring and the pattern on them. and look out if I see a giraffe in a digital kit!!! I was at Joann Fabrics last week and saw THE cutest baby quilt fabric. it was already done up like a patchwork quilt with textured giraffes and frogs on it. Tomorrow's payday and I just have to go get that fabric to make a blanket. You never know when you need a baby gift! or maybe I'll just tuck it away for the future.....

For the 6/11 FOBTY, we were to take a What Taste are You? quiz. Here are my results:

You Are Bitter

You aren't bitter at the world, even though you have a strong personality. Instead, you are sophisticated and cultured. You appreciate acquired tastes. You are very powerful. You have the ability to change a room's energy. While some may find you disagreeable, your points of view are intelligent and interesting.

What Taste Are You?

Hahahaha.....bitter? LOL ok....I do have a strong personality. not online though. I tend to be kinda shy esp. around other strong personalities.

I have some recent projects to share and a few layouts but I need some sort of posting schedule because I am waaaaaaaaaaay behind and don't want to post them all.

I will post one of my most favorite projects ever.....a Carriage wedding favor box:



and a close up:



The digital Carriage element used for this project was designed by Kate Hadfield specifically for this project. Thank you Kate!!!
Instructions can be found in TDS archives

And my next to favorite recent project - a matchbox treasure chest created for The Hybrid Chick:



Instructions to make your own are posted on The Hybrid Chick

that's it for today - hopefully I'll be back in a few days with some more recent Layouts and projects!

Hey there - long time no see!!

Dang! I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted! I haven't had a whole lot of time for the computer - my Dad is still staying with us. He's here alone most of the day so I feel really guilty being on the computer in the evening. He's just about ready to move back home!! I'm so happy for him! It's been fun hanging out together in the evenings even if it's just watching TV or going to the park and walking the dog around the lake.

I have managed to get a few new projects done for some new positions. I've joined the Hybrid team at The Daily Scrapper and also joined the Hybrid Chick team. I can't post the projects that I've done for The Daily Scrapper until 30 days after the release of issue. I do have a few other things that I can share! Sadly, layout-wise - my mojo has gone bye-bye!

First off, a few weeks ago, Kate Hadfield gifted me with a certificate to her store at the Lilypad. Kate has THE best hand drawn doodled elements out there! Her unexpected gift came a few days after my Dad's surgery and on a day that he wasn't doing well! It was also a few days after.... shhhhh.... *whispering* my 40th birthday. So all in all, it was a rough week (not because of the birthday though - that wasn't bothering me at all).

So, I wanted to do something in return for her. So, what better way than to create something using her designs and give it back as a gift??? Now, unfortunately, I can't post the photo of what I created until she receives it because I don't want to spoil her surprise. But I do have a few sneak peeks that I've been teasing her with...



Aren't I being a stinker tormenting sweet Kate like this??? LOL...

I can tell you I am STOKED how it turned out and can't wait to get it in her hands! I am hoping to get it in the mail at the end of the week! And I hope she loves it as much as I do! I usually am VERY critical of anything I make and just LOVE how it all came together and turned out!

And on to some other things that I created in the past few weeks:

For the 3/18 Hybrid challenge at the Digichick - using Dawn Inskip and JanaM's new kit called Jungle Fever:



Doesn't it look like that lion is really RAWR'ing??? LOL

And for my blog post on the Hybrid Chick on 3-16-09 - using Starry Night by Megan Fisher:



I think that's it for today - I have a few other things in the works. Until then, thanks for stopping by!!!

*insert sigh here*

So, a few days ago, I quietly celebrated my birthday. and it was what some consider a milestone birthday. The big one. The big 4-0! Knowing I was turning 40 really wasn't bothering me. It's just a number. But then something happened that jolted me into the realization that I am getting older and that so is my Dad. And it was that chain of events that has led to one of the worst few weeks in my life.

To sum it up, my Dad was admitted to the hospital a few days before my birthday for chest pain. Multiple tests over the course of a few days and labs showed that he had one heart valve that needed replaced and one that needed repaired. Surgery was scheduled for Feb. 4th - the day after my birthday. He was in a hospital that was about 45 minutes away. But that didn't matter - all that mattered was that my Dad was sick and I had to be there with him.

Surgery was done as scheduled and he did well. Luckily he had no blockages which could have complicated the surgery. There are 2 snapshots in time that will never ever be erased from my head. The first is being with my Mom and watching her slip away almost 15 years ago and the second is seeing how frail my Dad looked after surgery hooked up to all those machines. Now you have to understand that I am a nurse and have been there with patients as they slipped away and I've seen patients on breathing machines before but NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, is worse than seeing someone you love in those situations.

Dad has had a few rough spots over the past week since his surgery and required a pacemaker insertion due to his heart not adjusting to being cut into for the valve repair but he's finally out of the Surgical Intensive Care unit and in a regular room.

To those of you who offered positive thoughts and prayers for him, I thank you with all my heart!! It truly has helped - both him and me!!!

Kate - if you're reading this, you just can't know how your simple gift touched my heart at a time when I needed it most! thanks so much Sweetie!!!

And I leave you with a layout about that milestone birthday titled "No candles for me"



You can read the journaling HERE - I'd love to hear what you have to say about it!

thanks for stopping by!!

Hybrid Cocoa Pockets

Hi there! It's been a long time since my last post. I've been busy getting ready for the holidays (both Thanksgiving and Christmas). I can't believe christmas is in 12 days!!! I haven't even begun shopping for the kids. Hubby and I are going later this evening and will pretty much finish them in one night. But enough about that, I'm sure you're here to see what I've cooked up...





I came across these little cocoa holders while blog hopping. The idea and inspiration came from Barbara Schram's stamping blog here. Her cocoa packets are AMAZING!!! She was so very kind to post links to the instructions for the paper cup(which I will refer to as the pocket LOL). I think she must have used 12 x 12 sized papers - some were done with double sided papers too because her pockets were bigger than mine turned out.

So, I set about making a digital version and here's how I did mine.

In Photoshop, I opened 2 papers from Penny's Cocoa Mallow Stick kit - the brilliant blue called out to me so I chose it and then did color replacement to change the snowflake paper from neon green to a light blue color. I resized my papers to 8 x 8 and layered them on top of each other on a blank 8.5 x 11" 300dpi canvas.

Now here's where it was a bit tricky. I needed to print one of my 8x8 papers on each side of my white printer paper so that I ended up with a double sided square. I made one of my papers invisible for the first printing. Print on your printers best setting. Allow the ink to dry for a few minutes before you turn that page over and put it back in your paper tray to print on the other blank side. Make sure you feed the same end of the paper into the printer.

**As always, I recommend doing a test print using grayscale (to save ink) to make sure your squares line up back to back when printing. For some reason I had to move one paper just a smidge to one side in order for them to line up perfectly**

In your program, hide the paper layer you just printed and make the other paper layer visible. Print. If you hold your paper up to light, you will be able to see if your squares lined up. Allow ink to dry before handling and folding, otherwise you'll get fingerprints elsewhere on your pocket. *trust me on this!!! LOL)

Cut your square double sided paper. Follow the instrucions for making a paper pocket. (When I folded my points to the opposite side, I touched the point to the edge of the opposite side and then eyeballed the other side to make sure it was going to look right). Once I was happy with how it looked, I made my folds and creased them with my fingers tips.

I (like Barbara) folded my flaps to the outside of my pocket instead of tucking them
in. I used a glue dot under the edge of the diagonal fold and also under the point of the folded down pieces to hold my pocket together. Boo hoo - I was out of my Xyron tape runner!

Embellish as you desire. I used glue dots to adhere my embellishments. Add a packet of cocoa (or baggie of homemade cocoa), some mini marshmallows, and of course a spoon! If my pockets were bigger, I would have tossed some mini chocolate chips and/or some colorful sprinkles in baggies in there too! Jewelry bags would have made for a better presentation.

And here's one I did for a baby shower favor - add some shower mints and you're all set!



Wouldn't these be super cute to pass out for Valentine's day??? My daughter asked me if these were Chinese cups - as she knows how to fold paper to make these. So I'm thinking these would be a fun project to get the kids involved in!

I'd love to see your version of these - so drop me a line if you make some!!!

Hybrid Baby Shower Favor and Candy Bouquet

Just to back up a bit and give you a little story as to how this came to be...At the beginning of October someone posted on our local Freecycle site looking for any leftover baby shower favors, decorations, etc. Well, I couldn't let someone "collect" various favors for a special time in a new Mom's life, so I emailed the lady and offered to do all of the baby shower favors for her. Had no idea who the ladies were and have never met them. After a few emails about the size of the shower and themes, I went to work. I also offered to create 2 candy bouquets for her to use at the shower in any way she wanted.

Here is the Baby shower favor I created for her - I also wrapped about 25 shower mints in white netting and tucked them in the shoe.



I found the idea online, followed their instructions and then went about "fixing" the first one to look more like a shoe, including the area for the "laces"

The little hanging tag was created using Melissa Bennett's Bundle of Boy kit from the Sweet Shoppe, font is Darcy Baldwin's HeatherG, and saying on the tag says: Little hands, little feet, pure and precious, and oh so sweet!

Here is one of the candy bouquets I made - both were the same.


Credits can be found HERE

I'll be posting my instructions on the Candy bouquet on my blog this week for anyone that is interested!

That's it for today! See you again soon!

Playing catch-up!

So, last posting I promised some new Hybrid projects I've done. It's been awhile since I've posted anything over here, so I have a few to show off.

First is my most favorite project so far! When I was digging through my stash box for the tattoo paper, I came across a few of my chick feeder bases that I had crafted with a few years ago. I added a new coat of paint and digitally created a label for the jar and PRESTO! I did this project for Hybrid Hump day over at Penny Springmann's blog. Isn't it purty??? LOL



I made the label using Penny Springmann's Boo to You 2008 kit

And I am absolutely stoked that my people feeder will be featured at The Daily Scrapper on 10-17-08!!!

Another project created for Penny's Team Hybrid project which we do monthly was this clock. The team used Shrinky Dinks for our projects - and wow...there were some great ideas! Check them out at this post over at Penny's blog.



I used Penny's Garage Grunge kit for this project - the wrench and screwdriver clock hands are my Shrinky Dinks!!! What guy wouldn't love this hanging in his garage or work area???

And lastly tonight, for the FOBTY challenge at SSD- Which Halloween candy are you:

Halloween Candy Quiz





You are a Pumpkin Jelly


Like the pumpkin jelly candy you are soft and gentle


Find out which Halloween Candy you are at Quizopolis.com

That's it for me for tonight! I have a few new projects in the works so stay tuned!! It's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts!