mentioned in the weekly dig

I just got a totally cool email from Val Fox, the woman who came up with the Design Hive Market concept. I'm mentioned in a Weekly Dig article about the market (which begins tomorrow by the way!) after Val found me through Etsy.com. Check it out!

(You can read the article by either clicking here or on the photo below.)

Thanks, Val!

once in a while

Once in a while, I'll get a card design in my head in the middle of the day when I'm busy doing something else. In this case, an idea came to mind about an hour before I left work today. I frantically drew out a rough sketch so I wouldn't forget it, dashed home (practically speed ran - ha ha), and made a beeline for my crafting table to execute the design. And voila!

I have to say that I'm really happy with the way it came out. :) I started out by stamping and embossing the snowflakes (Elzybells "snowflake 1" stamp) with a Versamark ink pad onto some new cardstock I bought from Papertrey Ink in "ocean tides". Then I poured some Rangers embossing powder in "seafoam white" on top, shook off the excess, and heat embossed them. Next, I punched them out with a 1-1/4" square punch and made sure not to make them all centered on purpose. Then I mounted each square onto a 1-1/2" square of silver metallic cardstock. I applied some Aleene's paper glaze around each of the 1-1/4" square's edges, then covered the glazed area with some microfine glitter, and set them aside to dry. I like how it gave the edges a chunky, snowed on look.

To assemble the card, I used a piece of white cardstock that was cut down to 5.5" x 8.5" folded in half as a card base, then I glued a 4.25" x 5.5" piece of "ocean tide" cardstock on top of the card cover. I bought some of Papertrey Ink's "stamper's select vellum cardstock" and just love how thick and durable it is. I cut a sheet of it into 4.25" x 5.5" rectangles, and then used a Martha Stewart "simple scallop edge" punch on the right edge. I adhered the vellum to the top of the card using two small mini glue dots which were then covered up by tying a piece of "ocean tides" ribbon on top. Once the glittered squares were dry, I set them in place with some adhesive, stamped the message, and ta-da! A lovely holiday card.

keeping busy

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm going to be selling my cards and stuff at the Design Hive Market in Cambridge.

(Psssst ... click on the photo and it'll open in another window so you can view it full size. Print it out and forward to your friends!)

I'll be there on the following Saturdays from 10 am to 5pm: November 15th, November 29th, and December 20th. So far, I know my friend Rebecca of Jewels Fabulous will also be there on December 20th. And my friend Andrea of Alessandra Designs will be there with me on November 29th. Come check it out!

In preparation, this weekend has been filled with card making. Can I get an amen?! Most of you know that I have been in a creative rut lately. Well, I'm happy to say that I think I've seen the return of some of my creative mojo - thank God! And just in time since I only have a month to prep for what will be my first craft show this year.

So far it has been mostly holiday/winter and baby cards, as you can see. Check out my Etsy shop between now and then to get a sneak peek at what I'll be selling.

Now let's just hope the Red Sox win this thing tonight.

holy cow batman

Wow, the price of gas has dropped quite a bit. Couldn't help but gasp when we saw this this morning.

Tony says that he thinks it was $3.15 last week when he filled the tank. I wonder if it will go any lower with the way our economy has been lately. Crazy.

And I will post more later but yikes! How about them Red Sox, eh??! Game 7 tomorrow night baby! Go Boston!

change in dates

Ooops! I made an error in a previous post about the Design Hive Market coming up in November. I'll be there on the 15th and 29th -- not on the 8th! Hope to see you there!

Oh and check it out! They've posted a list of participating designers!

jill & drew tie the knot

Congratulations to our friends, Jill and Drew, who tied the knot yesterday!

Don't have time to post all the photos yet, but couldn't resist sharing a couple of photos of their cake. They went with a seaside beachy theme and the cake turned out awesome!