Finally Finished Ladies Diary Project

As you've learned if you've been stopping by occasionally, I really don't do well with deadlines!  Most people would say the last statement is grossly understated!  

Anyway, my sister in law, Margaret, had a birthday a while back (in June) and I've been working on something special for her.  First of all, some of the delay had to do with waiting on just the right paper from Graphic 45.  I knew "The Ladies Diary" line was what I wanted to use.  Then, I needed just the right project.  Teri, the owner of Scrapbook Unique, helped me out with her stupendous talent and offered a fabulous class.  Then, it was up to me to finish the rest: I needed to design a card and a money enclosure card and embellish the project.

I'm pleased to report the gift was sent to Margaret at the end of October!  AND, I attempted my first video.  Please be kind when you view the following.  I am not a professional and do not know what I am doing!!!!

Here is a picture of the finished Ladies Diary Altered Book I sent to Margaret.

A close up of the embellishments for the title.

A closer look inside.

The "Common Book" included in the Altered Box.

Front and back of the "Common Book."

First page of "Common Book." Note the left side is the inside of the front cover. Teri used the frame technique here to give a nice place for a photo or a certificate, diploma, etc.  The whole project is full of nice touches like this.

Here is the birthday card I designed to match the Altered Box. 

I lifted the idea from the very talented Jim, the Gentleman Crafter.

You can see his original design on his blog post from October HERE

Here is the inside of the card.

Pop 'N Cut Halloween Card for a Friend

Halloween is gone, but not forgotten.  If you've read some other posts here, you know I'm a BIG fan of Karen Burniston--the queen of pop up cards.  She has a new line of Sizzix dies out called Pop 'n Cuts and my friend Joanne and I were "hot to trot" to get our hands on the base die so we could try it out.  Then, Karen and Shelly Hickox (Stamptramp) started playing around with the concept and came up with a modification called the "floating floor."  The following is a pictorial of the card I made for my friend, Joanne, in this new style.  My undying thanks to Karen and Shelly for the great ideas and inspiration!

Front of the card.

Inside of the card.

I cut the Tim Holtz die, put the figures in two rows with the tree in back.

Then, I glued the bats to the background of the top piece.

The graveyard die cut piece was glued to the Pop 'n Cut circle.

Back of the card.

The link to Karen's very creative Pop 'n Cut with Floating Floor card is HERE

The link to Karen's template for the floating floor is HERE

The link to Shelly's fantastic Pop 'n Cut Happy Holidays card is HERE

Details for my card:
I used Echo Park Chillingsworth Manor CS.  
The skeleton on the front of the card is a sticker from the set as is the saying on the back of the card.  
The two skeleton heads are stamps from Dyan Reaveley's line--Dylusions Stamp Set "Dependable Dotty."  I just masked the teeth so they would stay white, then sprayed with some of her sprays. I have my good friend, Terri Satomi, to thank for loaning me the stamps.  She has ALL Dyan's stamps and I'm still building my collection!
The hats on top of the skeleton heads are from and Inkadinkado mini set: Classic Hats 60-30453.
On the inside of the card, I used Tim Holtz's Decorative Strip die cut Halloween Shadows and his On the Edge die Graveyards.

Follow Up From July Stamp Event

Hello.  I have a lot to catch up on and thought I should at least post a follow up from the Stamp Show the Tres Loonies attended in July.  Yes, I know it is October and before you feel the need to ask me about my lack of calendaring abilities, let me inform you that I reside in a peculiar space time continuum.

Anyway, in the post from July, I promised to share Joanne's card that placed second in the Mirror, Mirror category.  Here is her rework so you can see the punch line that is quite hilarious.  I love her card!  And, the coloring is great!

 Here is Joanne previewing the entries in the contest at the show.

Here I am on Saturday, with the winning prize: $100 in show dollars!

Spending some of the the show dollars at the Lost Coast Designs booth. 

I think Terri has the picture on her phone of all three of us when we first got to the show.  I can't seem to find it in my group of pics!  

Tim Holtz Submission for September - Not A Tag

Hello All.
Long time between posts, or so I've been told by several people including my brother.  I just keep referring them to the side bar where I put the disclaimer about not updating this blog regularly.  And now that stupid song "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden" is stuck in my head.  Don't ask.  My mind works in strange ways and if I explained it, I'd have to pay your therapy bills!

Anyway, I'm sharing my submission for this month's Tim Holtz tag.  In the interest of efficiency, I did a birthday card for a friend of mine in the style of the tag instead of doing a tag this month.  Since Clint's birthday was the first of the month, I'm a little late--thus the belated message coming out of the typewriter.

I have lots more to share, but since it is late and I have an early class tomorrow, I'll be back another day.

Winners At KC Rubber Stamp Show

The KC Stamp Show was July 20-21, 2012.  The Tres Loonies planned a club outing to the Expo Center near the airport.  It has been years since I've been to a stamp show and this is my first one in this area.  Joanne and I also submitted cards to the Card Contests.  Joanne won SECOND PLACE in the "Mirror, Mirror On The Wall" contest on Friday. No money, but an honor still the same.


We learned a lot from submitting our cards.  First, they are displayed behind plastic coverings, so judges and the public do not see the insides of the cards. Experts who submit to these contest probably know this.  We did not. Joanne's submission was under appreciated because the punch line (which was hilarious) was inside.  My card for the "Mirror, Mirror" category did not make sense unless you saw the inside. Second piece of knowledge gained: it is best to check when you first get to the show to make sure your card is placed in the right category.  Mistakes sometimes occur and my Mirror, Mirror card was assigned to Saturday's category.  I discovered it too late--I went right to  shopping for stamps, etc. when I first arrived.  That will teach me!


Barbara, the nice organizer, explained that the cards were covered because at past shows they'd had problems with people stealing cards.  Oh well... we left Friday very much wiser and with stamps and lots of ideas because there were examples everywhere.


On Saturday, we arrived to the news that I had won FIRST PLACE in the "Road Trip" contest!  This was fantastic news as it meant I had $100 to spend at the show at any vendor(s) I chose.  Joanne took pictures at each vendor as I quickly spent my bounty!  Here is a picture of my card that won.

The die cut is Old Jalopy from Tim Holtz Sizzx BigZ Dies.  I just cut the back part off.  The stamps are from his Road Trip set. The background for the front and the back is from Tim Holtz paper stash - destinations.

Here is a picture of the card I submitted for "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall."

The images are from a line of stamps at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design. 

You can see the selections  HERE

I embossed the top image using white embossing powder on black glossy card stock. The bottom image is embossed with black embossing powder on white glossy card stock.  I love these stamps because they have both the outline version and the solid version. The words are also embossed in the same manner.

I'll load more pictures from Joanne and Terri later. One of them has a picture of all three of us at the show.  And, I"ll be loading Joanne's card because it is hilarious!

Tim Holtz Tag for July - 9 Days EARLY!

Hello My Loyal Part-Time Readers (all two or three of you),
I am loading the monthly Tim Holtz tag today--and it is NOT the end of the month at the last hour. I guess the world will end tomorrow...

Close up of trimmings at top of tag. 

Word band at the bottom of the tag. (Ignore the camera lens cap that poked its way into the shot!)

Ta Da - March birthday cards are officially done!

I posted my friend Mary's card here a few months ago but had not mailed it because I wanted to do a retirement card for her husband, Bob. I finally finished his card and got everything in the mail yesterday. Now I can work on the few April birthdays and I might stand a chance at getting caught up soon! The retirement card turned out pretty good. I'm really liking this Graphic 45 Old Curiosity Shoppe paper. Can you tell? 

I learned to make the frame on the card's front from Teri, the owner of Scrapbook Unique. She has a cool technique she teaches in her mini album classes and on other projects. See link to her calendar on the right sidebar panel. Supplies for the card are listed below. 

Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe - 4500431 - Race for Time (both sides) 

Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe - 4500426 - Counting Down (numbers side) for frame 

Clocks Black & White card stock from 8x8 7 Gypsies paddington variety pack #19364 

Happy Retirement stamp - Stampabilities NR10009 

Take Time to Enjoy the Simple Things in Life stamp - Hero Arts - F1843 

Clock Wings stamp - Inkadinkado - 60-00455 

Tim Holtz clock face embellishment 

The stamp at the bottom of the inside of the card is a portion of a background stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. The stamp is called "A Time To Stamp" and you can see other selections HERE


Tanya, the owner of Stamper's Ink, has revived this line and if we live near her store we are lucky and can purchase the stamps there. You can also order online or by calling the store. The store's link is on the right sidebar panel.

Birthday Card - Graphic 45 Le Cirque

Hi. One more upload before calling it a night. A friend of mine needed a birthday card for a mutual friend turning 80. I used the Graphic 45 Le Cirque papers and a stamp from the Riley line. The usual words associated with this image are "OH NO." I used an alternate version that is more amusing to people in my age group! I heard that Bill loved his card!


Riley stamps are owned by Stamper's Ink and you can see many creative ideas on the Riley blog. See the link to Stamper's Ink in the right panel.

That's it for tonight. 

Joanne's Olde Curiosity Shoppe Desk Set

Hi. Just a quick note before turning in for the night.  Last week, my friend Joanne shared an altered art project she made out of recycled stuff and Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe paper.  I liked is SO much I thought I'd share it with you. The Desk Set tubes are made out of the insides of roles of tapes.  Clever girl, that Joanne. And a pretty awesome project.  Enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July

Hello Everyone. I hope you enjoyed the Fourth of July.  I certainly did. I ate Bratwurst and all the fixins at an indoor picnic sponsored by my Homeowners Association.  It was great neighbors getting together for good food and visiting to mark the day.  Afterwards, my friend Judy and I took a drive to the Flags4Freedom display in Merriam.  It chokes me up every year to see so many flags in one place. I tried to find the flag I dedicated to my youngest brother (we lost him to respiratory illness in 2007) but haven't located it yet. I thought you'd enjoy the pics I took.

Tim Holtz Tag for June

Hi Everyone.  If you are checking in to see if I managed to get the Tim Holtz tag for June done in time to post--I did with 30 (count them 30) seconds to spare.  Whew! my heart is still racing.  Next month, I swear I'm not doing this AGAIN....


I'm dedicating this tag to my friends Joanne and Terri, the other two-thirds of the Tres Loonies. As you can see, the tag reads "3 Friends Embrace Imperfections." We do; and we have a blast in the process!

The image of the photograph was downloaded from a nifty new site I discovered: The Graphic Fairy. You can get to the link by clicking HERE

I printed the graphic on my HP LaserJet printer in greyscale. I followed most of the directions on Tim's site, but for the life of me I could not find my Tattered Rose Distress Stain. Also, it appears I own all of the Tim Holtz embellishments known to crafters, except for the Muse Tokens. I decided the tag was too busy to put a pin nib, so I left it off. 

Night, night.

A Tres Loonies Has A Birthday

On of the Tres Loonies, Terri, had a birthday in June.  Joanne and I agreed we'd each make her an item before out next "club" meeting.  Joanne got hers done; I did not!  So, after Joanne and I treated Terri to a birthday lunch we came back to my house for some crafting fun and Joanne presented Terri with the following FANTASTIC altered art piece.  Don't you thing she is clever and talented?

Joanne and Terri

Terri might get her piece from me at our next club meeting. After I get the Tim Holtz tag done for this month, a few May birthday cards and three June cards done.  Oh well, retired life is really hard...  Someone is going to have to give me a job so I can get some rest! 

I knew it would happen sooner or later--I just missed getting the Tim Holtz tag loaded for May.  I was working right up to the wire and couldn't get the pictures loaded in the right place and on the blog in time to send them to Tim's site.  Oh well, it is not like I didn't know they were due tonight a midnight for most of the month of May, but how did it get here so very, very fast. Anyway, here are a few pictures of my rendition of the tag.

I finally got to use my melting pot. I think the tiny flowers came out great! They really do look like ceramic flowers (the picture does not show the colors or detail very well.

I hit three sales at Joann's last week buying Tim Holtz embellishments. Do you think I could find the right one for this tag? I had to improvise with the words and then, couldn't find "sew" in the chat booklet, so I made my own! I guess that's why I didn't make the deadline. ha. ha. 

I'm back to working on birthday cards. More later.

Olde Curiosity Shoppe Pop Up Bird Cage Card

Guess what; I did another pop up card.  You might remember I made one for a challenge in March.  This one is the Bird Cage pop up that Karen Burniston featured in her videos.  I got my inspiration and some very good instructions on how to construct the bird cage from Karen.  To view the videos, follow the link HERE


The following pictures are of the birthday card I gave to my friend Tanya, who owns Stamper's Ink.  See the side bar for a link to her store.  In addition to Karen (mentioned above), Tanya is responsible for some of the skills I've learned in order to do a card like this.  I'm very fortunate to have some excellent and patient teachers in our local craft stores!

 View of front cover.

 The pop up view.

 When pigs fly!

 Birds eye view.

 View of back cover.

Close up of flowers on front cover.


I still have several April and May birthdays to do; then I need to start on the June birthdays.  I can't believe it is almost time to start the mad dash to finish the Tim Holtz tag.  Midnight May 31 is a week away.  Yiikes!  I'd better post this and get to work. See ya.