Halleluja, Amen!

This post has nothing to do with crafting, but here goes. The title to this post is appropriate because "Halleluja, Amen!" the ceilings are done (except for painting), and this is what our choir sang this morning at church from Handel's Judas Maccabeus (sp?). On the note of singing, check out my friend Matthew in this YouTube video. He sings in our choir and is awesome. He's the one on your right, and he sings first.

He's a Supah Stah!
Have a great week! If you've got a ceiling painting connection in Little Rock, "call me and let me know".
Lisa

Clock

Here's my finished clock:

Recipe: clock Creative Imaginations, DP Wild Saffron Collection K and Company, carstock SU So Saffron and PTI dark chocolate, stickers Making Memories shimmer stickers, sentiment Time To Stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms Rummage Bin.

I thought this sentiment was perfect for the clock. It reads "Every day is a blessing. Every hour is a dream, Every minute is a possibility."
Enjoy,

Lisa

Another card and a ceiling update

This morning we had a "virtual birthday party" for my friend Pig (The Crafty Pig from SCS). We tried to do a video conference with Yahoo messenger and our webcams. We did get to see and hear each other on and off so that was fun. I've still got to put some numbers on my clock and get the clock mechanism working. I used my fave Wild Saffron DP from K and Company. I'll post a pic when I get that finished.
Speaking of Wild Saffron paper, here's a card I made with some of the paper. I used Taylor's sketch here:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg413dOD0mp0zR678NM5Qq3CKW2BXHhxAmSlKqd7cCmleYGTWo4PVHWHOBTqpQlSBfd9OqaQs_5BB-mlejUvnFpt2_Zw7TY3ZCiDlY3CYRdO491oMKg8NA747aAORyaqiJk20_XIkajNjMf/s1600-h/TECC26-(sketch).jpg

Recipe: Cardstock So saffron SU, Dark chocolate PTI, Blue bayou SU, Stamper's select vanilla PTI, DP and stickers Wild Saffron collection K and Company, ink dark chocolate PTI, sentiment SU Warm Words.
Here's the update on the ceilings. Todd is here as we speak working on them. So far he's done the master bedroom and bath and kitchen. I think he's going to do one more room and then come back tomorrow. Here's what it looks like so far (it's not painted yet, it will be GORGEOUS when it is:

The pattern is called "California knock-down" or "Bungalow knock-down" which should be period correct for my 1920's craftsman home.
I can't wait for it all to be done!!!
Lisa

Organization!

Several years ago I saw an episode of The Christopher Lowell Show (remember him?). He showed how you could use a door across two saw horses as a desk. I made my version of the desk, complete with a faux painting technique. He even showed a picture of my desk during his letters from the viewers segment...y'all didn't know I was that famous did you? This has worked well for my computer desk for quite some time. I had been using this small 4ft X 2.5 ft table as my craft table along with an iris cart and some bins for storage. In the midst of all my household projects I got the idea to use my big computer desk for the craft desk...lots of room to spread out, but still no storage. I found the greatest file cabinets/drawers at Target. http://www.target.com/Coastline-3-Drawer-File-White/dp/B000MRD5A8/ref=sc_ri_1/602-3922306-9809428 They had free shipping so I had them sent right to my house (which was really smart because they weigh 60 lbs each). The first one took me almost 2 hours to put together, but the 2nd only took an hour. I think they turned out pretty good. I may have to get a couple more of these for my computer desk. I put them in place of the saw horses and VOILA:

As you can see, there's still lots of stuff that needs to find a better home underneath, but this is great for starters. My first task once I got my new desk set up was to put my paper in the file drawers. I love these little labels for my SU paper that I got on Ebay a few years ago. I will need to get some more folders for all my PTI paper.


Here are a couple more cards I made yesterday:

Recipe: Cardstock SU wild wasabi, Stamps SU Happy Everything, DP and buterfly sticker K and Company Wild Saffron collection, ribbon PTI dark chocolate.

This next one was my try at Taylor VanBrugen's sketch challenge a few weeks back. I must be hungry for neopolitan icecream with this color combo.

Recipe: Cardstock PTI dark chocolate, DP Making Memories Comopolitan Collection, Stickers Sandylion Essentials, sentiment SU Sincere Salutations.

Have a great weekend, and go make something!
Lisa

Playing hookey

Woo hoo! Work has been very slow for the past few weeks (with the exception of a few days here and there that were the normal frenetic pace). Because we've been so unusually slow, I got "overstaffed" from work. That means a day off! What better way to spend a day off than being lazy, and making some cards. Here's what I came up with today.


Recipe: Retro Boutique stamps by Rupa Shevde for Gina K. Designs, DP Wing ding by ki memories, Baroque background stamp SU, basic black cardstock SU, Stampers select white PTI, Palette noir ink, sweet blush twill ribbon PTI.

Recipe: Kraft cardstock SU, DP Basic Grey Lily Kate, chip board SU, shimmer stickers letters by Making Memories, Lemon tart grosgrain ribbon PTI.

Recipe: Kraft cardstock SU, DP PTI Chocolate remix, stamps PTI Text Boxed, sentiment SU Friendly Flowers, ribbon PTI chocolate twill, and white craft ink.

Hmmmm, looking back at all these cards, I think I may be in a bit of a rut with my layouts... I'll have to try something new for next time.
Lisa

Oh my lord and taylor!

So I thought I'd actually write in a few of these cards that I've made, and actually send them, but I couldn't find a pen anywhere in my office. I look in the kitchen junk drawer, and there are a few, but I'm thinking "where are all my pens?". I look in this little ceramic jar thingy that I keep on my dresser with all my stuff that I dump in it every day after work, and here's what I found:

In case you're wondering:
57 writing utencils (pens, pencils, Sharpies, and high liters)
4 pony tail holders
1 pkg batteries for
1 pager
1 ID badge
lots of little connectors for various types of tubing
20ish alcohol pads (for cleaning stethescope between patients)
several bandaids--sometimes I get owies too
3 pairs of scissors
several stickers for the kiddos at work
etc, there was even more crap in there, the lid couldn't even sit down all the way on the jar thingy.

Rest assured, I have cleaned it out, discarded all non-working writing utensils,
and separated them into ones I like for work and ones I like for home.

Just thought you'd want to know. Back to our regularly scheduled program...

Today I did something other than work on my house!!!

So, as you know if you've read my previous posts, I've been doing lots of work on my house. To get most of this stuff done I've needed lots of help. Today I made some thank yous for Luke, Marshall, and Edwina who were my super awesome ceiling scraping crew.
Below is my attempt at a "masculine" card. I know, it's got ribbon on it, but it's brown, gimme a break. I also tried to distress it and used grunge board to keep it from looking to "girly".

Recipe: SU Real Red and Blue Bayou cardstock, DP K and Company "Wild Saffron", ribbon Michael's, Tim Holtz grunge board, Sentiment SU Sage Advice, Ink SU chocolate chip.

Next is my "girly" card for Edwina. It's design is a CASE I'm sure, but I don't know who to give credit to. I {heart} this set by Rupa Shevde for Gina K. Designs http://www.ginakdesigns.com I used the last few scraps of this DP that I LOVE. This makes it a good fit for Emily's challenge here: http://emilygiovanni.com/?p=2148 Unfortunately, I have no clue about what company it's from.


Here's close up of the paper piecing:

I've been hoarding the last teeny little scraps of this DP because I liked it so much, and it's the last.
Recipe: Fabriano Medioevalis card, stamps Retro Boutique by Rupa Shevde for Gina K. Designs, ink Pallete Noir Black, DP ??? ETA- one of the DPs is Basic Grey Two Scoops---thanks, Emily!

Thanks for coming to visit, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Lisa

It's DONE!!!!

A super gi-normous thank you to Edwina, Luke, and Marshall. The scraping is done. All of it. The whole house. Here are some pics of Luke and Marshall at work.


Here's what my bedroom ceiling looked like after they attacked it.

I'm not sure if any of you are aware of this, but scraping popcorn ceilings is just a teensy bit messy...

Actually Edwina was awesome. Not only was she the foreman/ contractor overseeing the job, but she also helped with the massive task of cleaning up. I really just have the living/ dinning rooms to clean up and then drag everything back to where it belongs. Sounds like I'll be having BIG fun tomorrow!
THANKS EDWINA, LUKE, AND MARSHALL!!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!!!

A productive day

So it's been awhile since I last posted. Since then, I've painted my master bathroom. I'm really pleased with how the color came out. Sorry, my pics aren't the best, but it's apple green with white trim.
This morning, I put up my cute little mirror with a shelf that I bought at Tar-Zhay (that's Target for those of you not in the know).



Then Debbie and Kimberly came over for some crafting. The first card is my homage to Kristina Werner at http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/ . I love her cards! Check her out. This paper is too cool, it's kind of a flocked, velvety paper. It kinda reminds me of old wall paper.

This next card is for the July YaYa challenge. Kimberly made all the YaYas a bucket with a year's worth of challenges, one card each month. We all start with the same idea, similar supplies and then come up with totally different creations. It's a lot of fun. This month Kimberly gave us a bunch of random papers and embellishments to use on a card. I used the pretty decorative paper and the flower ribbon to create this. The cardstock and stamps are from Paper Trey Ink.
This final card is made with the Summer Picnic decorative papers from Stampin' Up. The ribbon is from Michael's and the sentiment is from PTI.

After crafting, Kimberly helped me put up the medicine cabinet. Whew! Talk about a job. That thing is HEAVY! I used a drill and everything...you would have been SO impressed. Thank you Kimberly!!!

Luke and one of his school friends are supposed to come over next Friday to scrape ceilings. I can't wait to get this done, just a couple more things and I'll be done with the latest round of remodeling.

After the day-o-crafting I went over to my sister and brother-in-law's house for boiled spicy shrimp, potatoes, and corn on the cob. Yum! My nephew and his cousin were running around 90 to nothing, shrieking for most of the evening. I think they will sleep very well tonight.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lisa

4th of July week challenge and house update

Hi all,
Hope you're enjoying your long weekend. I've been trying to make a card or two between home projects. Today there's been a change in plan. Luke and his friend will be coming next week to scrape ceilings. Today I'm going to goto Home Depot and pick some paint for my master bathroom. Right now it's this HORRID mint toothpaste color (scroll down to see the offensive color). I'm thinking I might do an apple green or a cocoa brown. We'll see what I come back with.
As for 4th of July challenge cards I did a card using glossy paper with the Joseph's coat technique.

It's a CASE from the SCS tutorial. I used my old stand-by favorite stamp set- Wonderful Wings (Stampin' Up), sentiment from Paper Trey Ink's Mixed Messages. The paper is SU cool caribbean, brilliant blue, white and glossy white card stock. The ribbon is from Michael's. I also made a 3X3 set CASE'ing someone else on a blog (can't remember which one so I'm not going to post that since I can't give credit where credit is due).
Please know that if I ever CASE you it really is an instance of "imitation is the highest form of flattery". Thanks to all the bloggers who provide inspiration!
Lisa

Update and a challenge card

Yea! I now have 2 new lights in my master bathroom, 4 can lights and a pendulum in the kitchen,


2 new fans in my living/ dining room and a programmable thermostat.

Thanks to Josh and Monica. We were unable to do a can light in the pantry and a ceiling fan in one of the other bedrooms because there is CONCRETE up in the rafters. This must be some kind of weird, old house thing. Josh said he would be afraid to cut through that (and he didn't have the right tools) because it could crack the whole ceiling. He recommended having a contractor do that part. The pantry light I can do without (lots of light coming in from outside), but I would like to get the light/ ceiling fan centered in the guest bedroom.
Sorry, the pictures are kind of dark because it's getting dark and rainy outside. I'll have to take pics when the whole process is done. Hopefully, we'll do some ceiling scrapping tomorrow and then get the retexturing sometime in the near future. I can't wait til my house looks like a house again!
Here is a challenge card. This is done with acetate, and I guess it could count for the 2 kinds of dp challenge also. The image is from the Bundle of Joy set from http://whippersnapperdesigns.com/. The paper is from http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/default.asp sky blue designer series paper.
Happy crafting!

Lights!

A quick update, my friend Monica's husband is here to install my new light fixtures and ceiling fans! Woo hoo! Will try to post pics of the results later today.
Wow, I sure do use a lot of excaimation points!
Happy 4th of July! Enjoy your long weekend!
Lisa

4th of July YaYa Challenges

The YaYas love to get together for crafting and card making, but lately it just seems harder and harder to get us all together in one place. (Our membership keeps growing too, so it's hard to find a place for us all to fit). Recently, we've been having virtual crafting days (weeks) that have really helped get me back into the card making groove. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to find one (or more) of these challenges that inspires you, and make something. There is no prize, just the good feeling that comes with crafting and the knowledge that you actually picked up your supplies and used them. Feel free to post a link in a comment on this post if you want to share your work with us. So, without further ado, here are the challenges:

From me:
1. card with acetate
2. card with glossy cardstock
3. two kinds of patterned paper on one card (ooo wild and CRAZY)
4. an "action" card, ie spinner, pop-up, etc
5. anything but a card

From Debbie:
6. Red, white and blue card
7. 3 different patterened papers on one card (WILDER AND CRAZIER THAN LISA'S) LOL
8. Snow man card
9. Embossed card in your favorite color
10. Bug or critter card

From Pig:
11. inchie - visit Ellen Hutson's blog for info and links for inspiration http://ellenhutson. typepad.com/ inchie_inklings/
12. 3x3 boxed set of cards. Box is included in challenge
13. something with grungeboard
14. simple card - no layers or background papers allowed. AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEE :)
15. over-the-top card - extreme opposite of #4. Lots of layers, embellishments, etc.

From Kimberly
16. 100 Step Challenge.
Take a notebook and pencil/pen and walk out your front door (or vacation cabin door) and count off 100 steps. You can go in any direciton you like .... wherever you stop .. take note of the colors you see and/or objects around you. Use these colors/images and create something fabulous!
17. Do you hear color?
Turn on the radio or put in your favorite CD .. listen to the music ... when a song comes on that really makes you happy ... toe tappin', song bubbling out of you kind of happy .... close your eyes ... and imagine what color(s) you see in your mind as you listen to your "happy song". Write down the first 5 colors that come to mind ... now go create something magnficent! Be sure to share your song with everyone when you post your creation!
18. What do you feel?
No matter what the weather is doing or what time of day it is when you start this challenge ... go outside .. your porch .. your stoop ... your driveway ... your lawn ... sit ... close your eyes ... and clear your mind of the all of the chatter from the day ... what do you feel? This is a sensory question ... not how are you feeling ... but "what" do you feel? This is not visual .. purely base this challenge on what you "feel" being outside after you have cleared yoru mind of all the junk. Create whatever this feeling inspires in you! When you post your creation ... be sure to describe what you "felt".
19. Off to the kitchen ....
The "input" into this challenge may be an all day experience. Your challenge is to "taste" primary colors: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, White and Black. Jot down the foods that you choose for each color and why you chose it. (Might be as simple as "I had mustard on my sandwhich. Or I have an egg this morning and it had a yellow yolk.") Also make note of what it tasted like and if you really liked it or if it was just so-so. Any emotion that food brings to your mind? Perhaps a memory? A guilty pleasure? When you have tasted or eaten something of every color (including white and black) ... review your notes and create something fantastic from that inspiration!
20. All the better to smell you with my dear ....
I think I will leave this one wide open ... especially for Pig who has a very quirky sense of humor! :)

So those are the challenges. I'd love to see your work!
Have a happy and safe holiday weekend, and remember our troops.
Lisa