Silly Pocket Tag Cards h

My life has been pretty hectic the last couple months, leaving very little "me," i.e. craft time. Crafting isn't just a hobby for me, it is also a source of income and more importantly, a therapeutic activity which my mind finds solace in the act of doing. So, going without has a profound and multifaceted effect; my supplies go unused, my talents are not utilized for the good of my wallet, and my creative urges go unsatisfied, leaving me restless and distracted by my desire to MAKE.
I have two upcoming excuses, er, opportunities to Have to do just that; an upcoming Yoda themed birthday painting party for a boy turning 8-and 15 of his friends!- & the Key Peninsula Cooperative Preschool ' s  now annual CraftWithAnna cardmaking fundraiser at Blend, February 10th at 6pm.
I thought it would be fun to share the 6 cards I designed for the event and tell you how I made them, in case you are looking for some inspiration or just want to know, "how'd she do that?"

My first card to share starts with a white card base. To this I've added a pink doily, offset and adhered to the top of the card in the left corner. The placement does not matter, but the bottom will get covered up so leave a fair amount sticking up.
On a red tag I layered a pink square stamped with red hearts. Through the punched hole at the tag top I tied a bit of red Silly String.
Next I ran my tape runner all along the edge and down the middle of a strip of dark red cardstock. I cut about a forearms length of that same red Silly String from Queen & Co.  I got it at convention a few years back. It's stretchy and shiny and oh so fun to use! When I wrapped the string around, I made sure to keep both ends tight against a gluey area, then I ran some more adhesive over those ends, for good measure. Before I placed this wrapped piece on my card base, I slipped that tag in behind.  Another way to say this would be that I made a paper doily, tag, twine sandwich. .. anyway there is a lot of texture going on here.
You could easily replace the Silly String with any kind of fiber; bakers twine comes immediately to my mind. How about you, what's your go-to string of choice? Do you make your tags or buy them pre cut, tie in a knot or tie in a bow- you know I wanna know, comment below :-)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Inspired By...Fall Card Share!

Recently I was listening to a piece on NPR about how depression and art "go" together... hmmm, being an artist who doesn't think of herself as being clinically depressed, I was intrigued enough not to change the channel. In summary, there was a correlation between the surges of creativity or highs, that a depressed person might cycle through, and how being medicated can actually impair a creative (but depressed) person's ability to, well, create! Of course there was a lot more information and examples given, but this is the basic idea that continued swirling in my head.

The idea of the highs and lows of being a creative person got me thinking, reflecting really, and questioning my own spurts of activity. Sure there are times when I don't feel creatively productive, but I was asking myself, do those lows have anything to do with my being stressed, anxious, or even mildly depressed? No. As in, I have no idea!

It is a concept that I've considered before, and even witnessed. I have a dear friend who lost her son in a car accident, and there was a distinct period of mourning (of course), but I remember thinking to myself, "she's going to be as OK as she can be" when I noticed art coming from her craft room once again. It's scary, thinking that a life altering event or even just a bad case of the baby blues could interrupt what has become my therapy, my go to feel good activity! I have also considered, what would I do to lift the funk if I didn't have that outlet? Again, I have no idea yet.

Here is a handful of cards I made a couple of weeks ago.

On the other, more positive side of the craft room, I got a little personal insight it is that I can spend all night up with the kids and tossing and turning myself, get up at 4:AM to participate in a triathlon that is an hour an half's drive away, complete before mentioned tri, lead a five hour crop at Michael's (completing a two page layout) and then come home only to stay up late creating a total of seven cards before finally retiring to bed again. WHEW! It was exhausting just writing that paragraph long sentence!

Part of my seemingly endless motivation comes from the friendships I'm blessed to enjoy. My coworkers daughter will be competing in her own Tri- Iron Man style in AZ soon. Since she is a high school mate of mine I felt it was appropriate to support her efforts with a collage card (#1 Encouragement) reading "Give 100 & 1 % .

My mom is part of Women's Drinking Team -did you know those actually existed? Complete with custom jackets and Octoberfest attending, how fun! "Dancin Donna" can give the Danke! (#2 Octoberfest) card for her next Designated Driver! Using a few cuts from the cricut to dress up the front, Queen & Co. pearls and a bead strung on bakers twine, there was still something else needed to complete my card front. I found the answer in a bottle of Liquid Glass! I also added one small orange gem to the sentiment and included a die cut on the inside of the card which peeks out at the bottom. That die cut was printed with a pumpkin, so I didn't have to do another thing in there :-)

When I first started dating Ray, there were many examples of his past wander lusting interspersed with our futures plannings, and although we have not traveled as extensively as I had imagined, I would still go anywhere in the world with him if asked. I think. See the gold chevron on that card (#3)? and again on the inside of that top encouragement card? It is a new product from the K & Co, Smash line, and it is actually a rub-on. Very easy to use and it adds instant drama- something we are never in short supply of at our house!

Finally, to honor my triathlete Hall-of-Famer friend , I made a card with a .50 stamp picked out of the bargain bin which reads, "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Dedicating part of your life to fitness takes commitment, one that some people have a hard time relating too. I admire his enthusiasm for racing, and this card will be a nice thank you for all the "You can do it!"s he's given me over the years.

Thanks for stopping by and reading through my musings today! I based many of my card designs above on a flyer for Embellish It!s monthly card kit club. If you're looking to spend a little time crafting with me, check out my process videos link above. I've got a Halloween Card Magic three part series coming out over the next couple of weeks starting TODAY. Happy fall!   

Mason Jar Madam

Inspired by Friendships

The world has gone mad for Mason Jars the last couple of years and its easy to understand why. In this fast paced and ever advancing technological age, we appreciate the simple symbols of captured space that we've grown up with.

Click on my Pinterest link to the right and then click on the search field. You'll see countless and duplicable ways to use those versatile wonders.

• Home Décor - seashells and sand, die cut paper flowers or butterflies, wine corks
• Dry Storage - detergent, beans, pasta, soup mixes, cereal
• Wet Storage - tea brewer, portable drinking glass, food preservation

With so many ideas, how can you incorporate the Mason Jar image itself into your next project? Think of the practical and whimsical applications and search your supplies for matches. With a little masking, my jars below were easily filled with stamped hearts! Leave a comment below with some of your ideas.

Filled with Fun - and LOVE!

This weekend I was fortunate enough to get four opportunities to create. Saturday after work I headed to Michael's to shop for and prep July's class samples. Oh darn, a reason to shop! Did you see last week's video from a shopping trip I took this April? So many sale items are available, but I had a good list to work off and got right to work with a custom home décor piece and TIm Holz mixed media clock.
Later in the day I enjoyed a beautiful view of Lake Nahwatzel, in Shelton. A good friend hosted me overnight in her grandparent's cabin. She always lets me bring plenty to craft with and oohs and ahs when prompted :-)  Early Sunday morning I was up working on these cards and sent a quick pic home to check in with Ray. It's awesome to have a respite from mom-ming.
Included in my overnight kit was a package of watercolor and my acrylic block. I also brought and stamped with Momento black ink for the first time. It may have been my photo-type paper, but I didn't find the ink to be as steadfast as I expected it. I love how the watercolor added such vibrant pops of color, but also subtly highlighted the jar lids on the first card.
 While stamping with the paint was possible, its not advisable if you want a crisp image. A while back I watch Kristina Warner and Jennifer McGuire stamp a text image and then paint over the top of it, and that's what I did on the "Save the Date" lable. This is a technique I'll be repeating!
After a quick dip in the lake and an even shorter search for my glasses that flew off my face when I jumped in without thinking last year, I was in the car jamming back to Gig Harbor for an afternoon class with an eager student named Laura. Together we explored the intuitive Cricut Expression. I was so proud of the card she created, I'm thinking of adding a "student gallery" tab up above! This would be a place I could show off what my fabulous students are producing under my guidance.
So where are your mason jars hiding? Think how cute a handful of fresh cut flowers out on the patio would be, inside the sturdy glass container. Thanks for checking in and don't forget to comment on how you're gettin' crafty!