Sew Stylish!

I am not one for an intentional pun in papercraft for the most part, but this one is kind of sweet.  I have a soft spot for sewing themed stamping goodness though, that's for sure.  (Which is kind of funny considering that I have never sewn on a single card in all of my crafty life.)  So the sentiment used was the obvious choice for when one is letting their punny guard down on this heralded haberdashery inspired occasion.  This card was crafted with tons of sewing themed goodies from across Tim Holtz, Hero Arts, Waltzingmouse Stamps and Papertrey Ink product lines.  The color choices were born from the most current The Play Date Cafe challenge.  Lucky for you, I am going to keep this post brief as I have only a few precious hours to craft today, so I better get a wriggle on.  I am making my own chalkboards...well that's the plan anyways.

Keep well.  I shall look forward to seeing you anon. Hugs.

Grunge Lite?

While I am still sorting out my photo-editing software conundrum, I thought I'd share with you another oldie but goodie.  Thanks by the way for your ever so helpful suggestions left in your sweet comments in my last post.  I am hopeful I'll be back, cooking with gas, soon.

This was a fun little felt rolled rose number that I made when I first got my wee Rolled Rose die from My Favorite Things early last year.  These cuties are so easy to make and a real textural treat if you ask me.  You've got to get stuck in, if you haven't already.  The stamps used were largely Tim Holtz's for Stampers Anonymous save the tiny tag (from a stamp set of the same name) by Papertrey Ink.  The tags are so lovely looking, but a tad tricky for my old eyes to get lined up perfectly and threaded, that's for sure, hence the "interesting" alignment choices.

I must say I love Tim Holtz's stamps but even though I do like a bit of the grunge aesthetic, I find that most of his more orthodox inspirations are a bit dark and wait for it...grungy for my taste.  I do though feel the vintage golden lace ribbon threaded with the chirpy red and white gingham used and the bright red blooms lighten the mood, which is good and more my cup of tea.  I also love the challenge of bucking the trend (somewhat) with his stamps.  It gives me a bit of a crafting workout which is very cool.

Well, that's me done for today. I'm off to make a few more goodies that I shall look forward to posting very soon.  Thanks for taking a peek.   I hope your day is a beautiful one.  

One Step Forward And Two Steps Back...

Sigh.  I treated myself to an iPad this week after being finally convinced by my kids that "I" (read: they) needed one.  I have to admit that it is "way cool" and a delight to read on, as I generally do much of my surfing on my iPhone because the family computer is pretty much occupied by everyone else in the house (sometimes it seems like the whole neighborhood and their dogs as well) during waking hours.  That suits me, save times when I want to update by blog or my website (and as we all know that isn't often done with any neck breaking urgency now is it?  Oh the shame!).  Well, everything was going along swimmingly in Adcock computer land until I decided to pimp my iPad out a bit and upgrade my iMac in order to get it fully functional...and there lies the rub.  I upgraded my iMac to Lion and poof went my ability to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop.  Ugh!  Admittedly my purchased software was as old as dirt, but it did the job nicely.  With my upgrade to Lion, I got an error message stating that my versions of Dreamweaver and Photoshop were no longer supporting my PowerPC!  What nerve.  *sob* And of course my iPad purchase had already thrown out the budget...so to make a long story even longer, I am without use of those requisite items to post my latest creations to my blog. *snort*

So, until I can figure out an Adcock budget-friendly way to edit my photos, the bench warmers from my draft folder will finally get a spin (fingers crossed they haven't be posted before. *prays*).  What can you do?  Please let me know if you have any bright ideas or suggestions for a half decent photo-editing software for me: one that won't break the bank (any further than I have already broken it that is).  I sure would appreciate that so.

Thanks so much for swinging by.  {{{SqUisHy HuGs}}}

When Mojoless Monday Morphs Into Tuesdays And Wednesdays...

I have been so off my game of late that it ain't even funny.  I tidied up my craft space (that alone should have been the first sign that something was rotten in Denmark), virtually trawled some of the most crafty places in the known world, and willfully indulged in a little craft retail therapy.  I even, out of utter desperation, went on to Pinterest and I still had nothing...zip, zilch, nada, not even a rat's.  Crazy, huh?  I can painfully conclude that my mojo has officially left the building, hence the reason I have been AWOL from my blog for so long.  Yesterday (that would be my "Monday" Down Under) I decided to put my back into it and see if I could get out of this fugue of non-creativity.  After many hours of faffing about, this is the card that I came up with.  Not much to show really, but I finally feel inspired to get crafty moving forward.  Phew!

The colors used are inspired from this fortnight's CR84FN Color Challenge showcasing Pink, Aqua, and Neutral.  To me, the colors are wonderfully soft and ethereal and totally well suited to some of the Melissa Francis DP I have been hoarding and tjuzed up with the Provocraft Flourish embossing folder. I also went to my "Go To" shaped card for further assistance in escaping this period of seemingly prolonged unproductivity.  Spellbinders Grand Labels 4 is a goodie for occasions such as this.  It has such a regal shape if you ask me and perfectly suited for a quick card base with a difference, especially when stamped first with a Cover-A-Card from Impression Obsession.  I also fished around in my die-cuts-in-waiting accordion folder to find this bookplate previously cut from the large Tim Holtz Alterations Shipping Tag die.  With a few licks of iridescent acrylic paint, a strip of embroidered roses and a tussle or two with the bow and that was this card done.   I am not quite back fighting fit just yet, but at least I am feeling more like having a go...and that's a good thing.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Have a brilliant day!