Fall cards

A few months ago, the Poetic Artistry Blog posted a one sheet wonder, with some cards that I thought were classically simple. I stored them in the back of my mind for a while, and when I had a chance to play today, I went and looked the post up. These are cards that I made using the same one sheet wonder (although I ended up removing the .75" x .75" square on Card #2 when I changed the orientation due to the verse I picked). It's amazing how different the exact same template can look with different color choices.

Cheers Card

Heather Scott posted her Monday challenge today, and I had a little chance to play. The nicest thing about it was that I got a chance to use up some scraps in the process. Here's my card using The Angel Company's Amelia patterned paper and Cheery Christmas Stamp set. The teal block behind the sentiment is a Ralph Lauren Metallics paint chip.

It's Time to Party Like a Rock Star!

Aerosmith was the first band I ever went and saw live in concert. I've been following them ever since I was 16 and until a few years ago, I never missed a single show when they came to my area. So when Aerosmith came out with its own special edition of Guitar Hero, I knew I had to get it.

Tom went out on my birthday and picked up the game, and we've been planning a Guitar Hero party to have some of our friends come over and play (or watch as the case may be). This plan has been in the back of our minds since June. Now it's October, and we're finally getting around to doing something. Crazy huh?

Anyway, last weekend we picked a date. Since then, we've come up with all kinds of ideas for the invitations, food and decorations. I thought it would be fun to make little "tour cases" with laminated back stage passes in them, since we'll be handing our invitees their invitations. Then we took it a step further and made tour books with the story and party details inside. It's been a lot of fun, and we just finished getting all of this stuff together.

Here's a picture of all the stuff together:



And here's a close-up of the "tour case":



Here are the passes and tour booklets a little closer up:



We're even planning musically inspired food, but since some of the attendees read my blog, I don't want to spoil the fun.

So far this has been a lot of fun to plan. If you've had any parties that you've done with a theme, I'd love to hear about them.

CROP FOR A CAUSE - November 1, 2008

If you are in the Chicago area and are looking for a fun time to get away and craft, some angels and I will be hosting a crop for a cause on November 1st. Our cause is Southwest Community Services, a not for profit agency servicing adults and children with disabilities since 1971. They provide services that empower individuals with diverse disabilities to maximize their development and independence, and we think they are worthy of support.

Our crop will be held in SCS's facility at 6775 Prosperi Drive in Tinley Park, Illinois, right off of I-80 at the Harlem exit at 191st and Oak Park Avenue. It will be open from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. Spaces are $35 and lunch, dinner snacks and refreshments will be provided.

We will have a silent auction with some awesome items donated by local businesses and from some well known names in the stamp and scrapbook industry. We will also have goodie bags for every attendee, hourly door prizes, products available for sale, product demonstrations and contests throughout the day.

So come on out and join the fun, get some crafting done, maybe learn a new technique or use a tool you've never tried before, and support a worthy cause. Contact me by e-mail or leave a comment with your information if you want further details. Money along with our final count will need to be turned in by October 20th. So save your space now! It's going to be lots of fun!

New Store at ShopHandmade.com and new banner

I've decided to take the plunge and try selling some of my items online. I just finished opening a new store at shophandmade.com and listed three cards that have appeared on this blog. So check it out. I'm really excited about it!

Meri's Inkspirations at shophandmade.com

I also created my own banner for the shophandmade.com store, and thought I'd remake the one here. Let me know what you think.

Challenge for today

Heather Scott posted a Monday challenge this morning and when I saw her sketch, I immediately knew what I would create. Then I found that I had borrowed the stamp set I had in mind from a friend and had already returned it, so I had to find another image. No problem! Here's the card I made using Heather's sketch.



Heahter did say that the star in her sketch was not meant to be taken literally, but rather, used to represent a cut out/punched image, but I kind of liked the star in the design so I kept it and put my punched image on top.

This card is made using The Angel Company's Reece paper collection and the Give Thanks stamp set. I colored it with watercolor pencils and added Cinnamon Stickles as accents around the main background square and the scalloped circle. Plus some Crystal Stickles on the "star" behind the image.

Gone and back again

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to travel to Akron, Ohio to attend Rita Kegg's annual Ohio Gathering, and spend time with some awesome stampers.

We made 27 projects ranging from simple shape-cards, to books made using the Bind-It-All, and lots of things in between. I learned some great folding techniques, and got refreshed on some I already knew, but applied as something different. We also played some games and participated in some contests and had a lot of good time laughing and gabbing with others.

I even saw a demonstration on stamping on photos that may have changed my purist attitudes about how the picture should be the sacred focal point of a page and shouldn't be altered with ink applied to it. We'll have to see how that goes. I'll have to start with baby steps, but I did take some pictures that I've earmarked just for stamping on. So check back to see if I've actually taken the plunge!

Tom's Birthday cards

As you probably know by prior posts, last week was my husband's 40th birthday. Here are two of the cards he received from my awesome stamping friends.

This one is from my friend Pat and incorporates Tom's love of music.



And this one is from Dawnmarie who used the Freaky Tiki guy she got from Rubbernecker Stamps when I was with her at the Expo.



Both of them are awesome cards, and based on Tom's comments you'd think he was a stamper himself. Well... maybe not, but you can definitely tell his appreciation for the stamping arts is becoming more developed. Good to see I've made some sort of impression on him ;)