Pretty Pretties

 

 

Welllllll, I can't take credit for this cool craftiness......it comes from Creepella - at my request!  Needed some cool earrings for Princess Pamela and Debbie - Pam received the pink presents and Debbie received the cute Snowmen and Christmas trees (I, of course, have received all three pairs for my own collection......). 

 

They were the finishing touches for the Christmas gifties this year.............perfect!

Whew, it's been a while!

Zowwwweeeeeeee it's been quite a long time since I've posted - time flies when, well when you're living life, eh?  Thankfully school is wrapping up for the Holiday Break and I can take a bit of a breathier.  For the last week, I've been super busy with holiday cards and people are retiring left and right (frightfully we're down to one single Retirement card.....).  Heidi and I will be jumping on that next September so that we'll be prepared for the end of year retirements next year.  This year we're just hoping to keep our heads above water. 

 

LOTS of changes happening around here - all for the good but even good changes can cause some stress.........wish us luck!!

 

Now onto the CARD (finally!!)...............this was Creepella's main b-day card.  Another great book-loving gal from Kimmie's (just love these stamps!!).  This one was pretty darn perfect -  a ton o' books & skulls - what more could a girl want?

 

 

Aside from some fun coloring, I kept the card pretty simple - the BEST way to appreciate the skull-i-ness of the embossing folder, right?  Got a great set of sentiments specifically to use for Creepella and Gail - AND I just ordered a book mark set from Taylored Expressions......a book mark and a gift card to B&N, the perfect gifty for lots of people on my shopping list!

 

 

 

As I've said, it 's been ages since I've blogged.  And yikes, there have been a BUNCH of changes to Blogger (I've got to sit down and "re-learn" some of this stuff!!)  Aside from school & work keeping me in a frenzy, I've devoted most of my crafting time to cross-stitching and crochet.  They're both so much more portable than stamping and since I really haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time actually IN my stamp room I've found myself looking elsewhere for a crafting "fix'. 

 

Heidi and I have both been in a weird stamping funk for last few month - I guess we've both been on different paths and had lots of other things that needed our attention but now that winter is finally setting in, I think we're headed back to our cozy crafting hibernation of stamping!

 

Hope all of you have been happy and healthy and have found some crafty fun of your own.  I'll be done with Finals this week and I've got a few items that I think are blog-worthy.....

 

Toodles for now...

Kathy 

Oceans of Fun

Man, I just LOVE these cute little stamps and it seems like I'm ALWAYS forgetting about them!!  Another itty-bitty card for Creepella's b-day week. 

I guess you could call this a "cutesy card".......Doodlebug papers and that darling octopus.....oh well, it's not a crime to be cute (once in a while).

Stamps - Octopus (Snag'em Stamps by Imaginisce); sentiment (CTMH)
B&T paperes - Doodlebug
Ink - Memento
Copics
Stickles
Wave borders - Fiskars
Gemstone - A Muse
Paper flowers - Recollections/Michaels

Sparkle Tree

Yes, another cute & small card.......well, Creepella's b-day week was a WEEK long.

The most amazing thing about this card is the amount of gem-flowers I used....you know how difficult it is for me to share.......and for this card, I used TEN gem-flowers......whew, it just about did me in!!

Since I wasn't hampered with having to make the card fit into an envelope, I got kind of wild & crazy with the clouds............they're over-lapping all over the place and I LIKE it!!

CB and flower gemstones - Hero Arts
CS for grass & butterfly - sparkly scraps
Stamps - Paper Smooches (tree trunk); Cat's Pajamas (sentiment)
Inks - Memento
Martha Stewart Grass border & small butterfly
Cloud Die-cuts - A Muse

Happy 4th of July!



Happy Independence Day to all.  Here's to happy, safe and sane celebrations for everyone! 

Probably should have had a background other than blue but I didn't think of it while taking photos of my 4th of July paper crafting.  I think you can see it well enough though - it's a 3-D foldy sort of decoration...I punched out 10 of the blue stars, and SHOULD have edged them in blue chalk ink BEFORE putting them together but I always seem to forget that step and have to ink the edges AFTER putting it together!!  The red baker's twine is well-suited to the "feel" of the B&T design and finished product.

Here are some of those cool rosettes that you see all over the place now.  I made several small ones (2 strips of 12 inch paper that were 1.5 inches wide (the red one).  I pre-scored the strips using the half-inch guide on the original Scor-pal.  By keeping the width at 1.5 I was able to make 4 rosettes from one sheet of 12 x 12 B&T paper which was way cool as I handed out rosettes instead of a traditional card.  Again I used the red baker's twine for a loop to hang and some stardream CS and star brads for a little center decoration and ta-dah, I was done!

I had so much fun making them (and they were pretty darned quick too), I think I'll make some for Halloween this year.  Since I have a boatload of Halloween B&T, I won't be spending cash-o-la in the way of Halloween decorations this year - wahooooo!!!!

And finally, here's the card that was created from all those bits & bobs from an earlier post.  Very simple design (based on a card that was on the PTI blog) but I tweaked it to fit the supplies I had on hand and the amount of cards I needed to make (I ended up needing 27 to mail and 1 to keep).  Little to no stamping and NO coloring made this a pretty easy card to make.  There were several steps but luckily they were broken down into the easy and manageable steps.  The best thing?  I was able to finish the cards and get them in the mail several days before today (that's a MAJOR accomplishment for me, let me tell you...).

Here's a close up of the star & banner portion for more details and in better lighting:

Sparkly Celebrations to you all!!

Supplies for all items:
B&T paper - CTMH, various others
Cardbase - unknown, it's something I've had for years...it's a rustic white with "specks"
Stamps - CTMH
Inks - Memento, Colorbox chalks
Punches - Marvy (large & mini star); A Muse (smaller pointy stars)
Misc - buttons (sources unknown); Making Memories (star brads)
Embossing Folder - Cuddlebug
Red Baker's Twine - A Muse
Scor-Pal

2 Bad Girls - Cartoon Version

Yes, they're back - the 2 Bad Girls......Lily and Iris........helping to celebrate Creepella's b-day week.  Such a sweet card..........and aren't the stamps so darling?  How ironic that I used them to represent the 2 Bad Girls???

Iris is darker in color, shorter, waaaaaay meaner (can we say abscess-maker???) - she's also pretty stinkin' cute and has lovely amber eyes.

Lily is a love......she's lighter in color, taller, a bit more rotund, has the perfect head for kissing and the prettiest green eyes.

TOGETHER - they usually spell trouble.............just look at them, you know they're up to NO good!!
(Iris-left; Lily-right)

Oh well, they love their girl and they always come through with wonderfully thoughtful gifties (although I've yet to be reimbursed.....).  No matter how "bad" - they're keepers for sure!!

Stamps - Paper Smooches
CS - PTI
Inks - Memento & Colorbox Chalks
Copics
Gemstones & ribbon - A Muse
Heart Punches - Marvy
Embossing Folder - Sizzix

Disheartened

Sorry, no card today.  I couldn't work up enough energy last night to do anything crafty.  Every once in a while do you have a no-good-horrible-really-rotten kind of day?  That was my day yesterday.  I can even list the 3 reasons that made it so terrible:

1) MAJORLY unfair hiring practices at work
Nope, this is not just sour grapes - I hadn't applied or interviewed....heck I wasn't even interested in the position.  But wow - I was walloped good when I found out the new employee is the wife of a director who directly supervises the husband of the hiring supervisor of the new employee.  Talk about "cozy".  Saying I'm disgusted doesn't begin to describe how I feel.  The thought of having to work with some of these people makes me absolutely nauseous.  Oh wait, it gets better....when the new employee originally applied for the postion, she was screened out (meaning her application/resume/supplemental questions did not meet minimum skills/experience required for the posted position).  However when the hiring supervisor found out the new employee was screened out a squawk was made (well probably several squawks) and low and behold, the new employee is once again in the running.  And looky here, looky here - she was selected as The Most Qualified Candidate.  HA - most qualified my ass..............I have a very good idea the new employee was "coached" with not only the interview questions but also the answers (especially all the current buzz words and phrases).  I am completely REVOLTED with the current situation.  Honestly I don't know how I will be able to look them in the eye - I don't think I'll do well with masking my contempt and loathing.

2)  Piss Poor Customer Service at the Credit Union (won't say which one, don't need to be sued for slander)
Won't go into details on this one but suffice it to say we will be looking for a new banking institute shortly.  This is not a spur-of-the-moment sort of decision - we've been doing business with them for over 25 years and the level of service has declined steadily.  Again, more disgust and loathing.

3)  While waiting for the green light at a corner of a fairly busy intersection, The Big B saw a man punch another man......the puncher hit the punchee so hard, the punchee fell to the ground.  The puncher jumped into a waiting car and they took off through the intersection.  The punchee looked to be a homeless man....fairly slight in build and rather frail.  As we were getting our phone to call 911 a van (from a car dealershi) pulled along side the curb and a man jumped out with his cell phone in hand and was heading over to the downed victim.  Thank goodness for him but as to the puncher - WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???  I'm absolutely convinced we are WAAAAAY over-due for a FLOOD.

Really don't mean to be such a downer but I am having a hard time dealing with these things and I'm trying the  ol' "write it down......let it slip from your mind down your arm through your hand and pen onto paper" routine - something a counselor told me years ago.  Most of the time it works - I'm hoping it helps with some of this too. 

We're off to the movies.............we're seeing The Avengers - coincidence??  I think NOT!!!

Babies...

You know how I ramble on about how I love it when my stitchy and hooky interests can meld into my card-making?  Well here's a perfect example how a stitchy IDEA translates so verra, verra well to card-making.  I'm a big fan of Julie Jackson (Subversive Cross Stitcher & Designer) and while she does sport quite the potty-mouth in her designs................I can appreciate it - in fact, it gives me pure glee while I'm stitching away........

But these cards are sweet - really they are!!!

Well, they are if you and the expecting mom are pretty good friends AND she understands your slightly warped sense of humor........

As for THESE cards.....they weren't actually for an expectant mom at all and well, TOO much to 'splain (on soooo many levels)......suffice it to say they were a hit and each of them held a handy little pocket that was perfect for a gift card or straight cash. 

Call me demented, but I giggled so much making them I plan on making MORE of them......they received lots of "thumbs ups" from my card-buying customers...........hee, hee, hee.......

Stamps - CTMH
B&T - PTI
CS - CTMH
Inks - Memento & Colorbox Chalks
Oval Scallop Punch - Marvy
Paper flowers - Michaels
Gemstones - A Muse
Scalloped scissors - Fiskars


Oh So Busy!

YIKES............on top of starting a summer school class, I'm busy with this!!  Parts and pieces all over the place.  The Big B came in when I was cranking the cardbases through the Cuddlebug.  He watched me do a couple (because come, let's face it - it really IS rather fascinating)......he asked me how many I had done at that point (about 9) AND how many more did I have left (about 18) - he walked away shaking his head and muttering something (I didn't listen closely as I believe it was a reference to my sanity). 

When I have this many cards to do - it's ALWAYS assembly-line style.  So after I've got the card design, I pull together all of the components (and ahem, sometimes THAT'S a bit of a challenge....I'm good at knowing WHAT I have - I just have a bit of a problem knowing exactly WHERE everything is....).  Next, I cut the cardbases, score them (and yes, I ALWAYS make a couple of "spares") and if dry embossing is involved, I haul out the Cuddlebug and start cranking away.  Next, I cut some of precioussssssssss B&T and CS (trying NOT to shed any tears as they will warp the paper....).  If any punched or die-cut items are needed that's next and then I start in with the stamping (including envelopes) which is followed by coloring (if any - for these cards, NO coloring is needed).  At that point, I'm putting pieces and parts together (tonight I'm focusing on star assembly [there are 2 of them] and applying foam-mountaining tape)....and THEN I'm actually ready to start putting the card together.  Once the stars assembly/foam-mounting tape application is finished, I'm hoping the layering of the banners (two of them as well) and the already-assembled stars will only take another evening......that will leave me a couple of evenings to sign the cards, put them into their envelopes (yes, those are already stamped, addressed and have had postage applied) and get them into the mail so that they can be received in time for the 4th......whew, I'm kind of pooped!!! 

If my master plan goes well, I'll post the completed cards next week - until then wish me LUCK!!

Birthdays

One of the many b-day week cards I made for Creepella (more to follow).....however THIS one captures the fun that my mom always seemed to enjoy and since this would have been her 83rd birthday, hats off to you Mom - I miss you...........

Stamps - sentiment (Impress); 3 party hats (Michael's Dollar bin)
B&T - miscellaneous "scraps"
Inks - Memento
Ribbon and gemstones - A Muse
Martha Stewart's Loopy border punch

Yes, MORE Flowers!



Ok, this will be the last of the crochet flowers for now.  Too much of anything is just too much!!

Paper flowers, crochet flowers and a wee bit of stamping........always fun, right?  The original design concept included a ribbon going along the fold-side but when I started to experiment with the ribbons I decided the card was becoming too busy AND I really wanted attention focused on those crochet flower so the stamped vine-y border was perfect (I also stamped that on the envelopes - so it was great tie-in for the card).

Stamps - PTI & CTMH

Inks - Memento

CS - CTMH

Martha Stewart Grass border punch

Cloud Die - A Muse



How About This?

Remember all of those mini-crochet flowers I made in a fit of furious crochet-frenzy?  Wellllll, here's a little something you can do with them.  Just perfect!!  Once the flowers are finished, they can be used as all sorts of embellishments.

I grabbed a couple of Marvy scalloped-circle punches and a plain circle punch, a bit of B&T paper and some coordinating CS, a circle stamp and some ink.  Oh and the cute mini heart brad too!! 

I made quite a few of these for Mother's day (little gift enclosures for little treat bags of chocolates because EVERY Mom needs a bit o' chocolate, right??).

I love it when something stitchy or hooky can be incorporated into my cards.......it's really like the planets aligning and all is right in the Universe........aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

Stamp - PTI
Inks - Memento & Colorbox chalks
B&T - PTI
CS - CTMH
Mini heart brad - Making Memories
Punches - Marvy

Funny Farm Greetings

We'll be celebrating Debbie's birthday soon - Happy Hour here we come!

We're so tired and worn out and beat up with the implementation of a new computer system.  We've been TRYING to deal with it for a month now............and it's just not getting better (more and more "glitches" are being found).  One thing that I'm grateful for - the very tight, very small circle of co-workers that I work with everyday are greatly wonderful.  We're really there for each other.  With the term "team" bandied about to no end, I think when you actually work in a genuine Team - it's nearly unbelievable.  We might be a strange group but somehow it all clicks. 

When I took the card in for signing, everyone wanted to know the significance (because at this point they know the "special" cards ALWAYS have a story....).  So I explained the Inspiration Point was the inside greeting (sorry, no photo but it says "Birthday Greetings from all of us at The Funny Farm").......had that for about a week and just had to let things perk in the ol' creative zone.  And then like lightening, it hit me.  My ONLY gripe - I wish there was a pig in this set (can hardly believe there isn't) - I was going to be the pig.  As it turns out Pam is the cow (because Butter is her favorite food group); Karla is the leaping lamp (because she's the youngest in our group and she's certainly the most athletic); April is the horse (because she's ALWAYS jiggling her legs and the "in progress" mouse thingy is a galloping horse); I'm the rooster (because there was no cat and wellllllll, I AM kind of bossy and as Creepella pointed out - I'm talk a lot).  When Pam saw the card and got the back story she just laughed and said, "Yes, it is just like real life  -  you're always on my back!!"  The hats also have special significance (Princess Pamela; Karla really IS a goof/jester; April is just a fun-loving gal; and I really am a tad bit Witch-like, ahem).

While this card took me hours to make, I ENJOYED every minute of it because everything fell into place, Debbie is very special annnnnnd I think she'll enjoy the humor of it all.

Stamps:  CTMH (animals); Savvy, Cats Pajamas, Michael's $-Bin (hats) & ??? (sentiment)
Cloud CS and Cloud die cut: A Muse
Green B&T paper: CTMH
Grass border punch: Martha Stewart
Ink: Memento & Colorbox Chalks
Copics & Spicas
Metallic Gift sticker: Recollections

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere.....

Greetings to the 6 followers of Kabobbing Cards.  Been away for a good long while - but I've been stamping.....a stamping fool.  Haven't taken many photos because it feels like I have to jump through about 17 hoops to set up my "studio" (aka my desk...) and I'm a lazy gal and when I'm not busy being lazy I'm t i r e d as in I don't get enough sleep because I'm busy stamping or stitching so I don't get the proper amount of sleep and then I start off in a pretty groggy state and then I spend 9 hours in front of dual monitors doing absolutely mind-numbing work and then I stumble off to class a couple of times a week to get a Major Math (a 4-letter word) headache and then finally get home to start the whole process again!

But the cool thing is whilst doing all of these little crafty things.......I do make stuff like the mini-flowers above.....AND I actually DO something with said flowers (aside from just plain admiring them in the cool little tin I received during this year's b-day week).  Alas I have no photos of the card that I made......but I will - and very soon too!!

Thanks for stopping by............catch you in a couple of days!!

For Me???

Soooooo very delighted to receive more of these cute and deceptively simple earrings. Creepella (that girl can twist wire like nobody's business) made these (and several others) to celebrate my b-day week (yes, I said WEEK - just wait until I turn 50, then we'll be talking b-day MONTH....).

And boy did I have a lovely birthday week; birthday itself AND had several opportunities to celebrate with good friends that I'm lucky to have. After receiving some very generous gift-cards, I did quite a bit of shopping and came out of my LSS with a large bag of loot AND a big grin plastered on my face.

You'd think I'd be on the path of maturity by now - but I cannot lie........I oh-so love PRESENTS!!!

More Hearts......

I can be a bit obsessive...........but only a bit. Got a little side-ways making those cute little crochet hearts - but Valentine's Day only happens once a year, what to do with even more crochet hearts??



Why make shamrocks of course, of course!!




Keep them all secured with a green rhinestone brad...

Just a little tweaking needed to make it look nice & tidy....and isn't that shamrock embossed cardstock panel just perfect to show-case the cute little green hearts??

Add a green rbbon "stem" and bit o' grass and......................

Ta-Dahhhhhhhh...........you've got yourself a rather spiffy St. Patty's Day card!!

Stamp - Stampendous

Cardstock and B&T - A Muse, CTMH, Cosmo Cricket

Ink - Momento

Shamrock embossing folder - Cuttlebug

Gemstone Brad - Making Memories

Grass Border Punch - Martha Stewart

Misc: cotton crochet thread; scrap of green ribbon

Heart on a String

YOU MADE THIS FOR KARLA??????

That's what I heard from Creepella when she saw the one that I DID make for Karla. Dejection and just a tinge of green had me punching MORE and LARGER hearts to make this one.

It's not that it's difficult to make, it's just time-consuming. I tell you I nearly poked my eye out while making the crochet mini-heart (found it and the pattern on the Attic24 blog - lovely stuff!!). Granted I was using cotton thread (the stuff you make doilies and table cloths with....) and a #10 hook (really can't see the hook part) - so basically I was crocheting by FEEL. Even under two Ott lites I really couldn't SEE what the heck I was doing.

Bottom line, Creepella was happy, Karla was happy and I was able to continue on with my V-day cards.

NO stamps!!

B&T Paper - CTMH

Marvy Heart Punch

Ink - Colorbox Chalk Ink