Shakin' it up : Sisterhood Challenge

A Shaker Card? Those look impossible! Yep - that was my first reaction to this challenge...but I was definitely up to give it a try =) The tutorial can be found here and trust me - it's not nearly as tough as it looks...although I managed to screw it up, but that's just a special talent of mine!

Anyways, this sketch is from Viva La Verve April Week 1 and the color combination is Just Us Girls Challenge #133. I plan to give the card to my niece after her ballet recital that I'll be attending next week since I had made the card with her in mind...butterflies & beautiful, bright colors!

I celebrated the second anniversary of my 29th birthday yesterday (one of my friends said it that way once and it's always been a sentiment I loved) and was completely spoiled with lunch and Starbucks delivered to my office, a night out, and some fabulous gifts from friends and family. MrP had given me full privileges while we were in Vegas to do some shopping. I'm not a shopper, but I definitely made it worthwhile ;)
Now it's the final countdown to my second half marathon on Sunday. I'm looking forward to being finished....the only other race booked this summer is a 5K in Calgary - and I can't wait! My bike is screaming for me to get out & ride it =)

The new job is still going well and despite some sad news (for me) about my boss's promotion yesterday, I'm enjoying it!

Be well, my friends....enjoy your week - and head over to The Sisterhood of Crafters to get your Shake on!

Sisterhood Challenge : RECYCLE-REUSE-RENEW!

The challenge at The Sisterhood of Crafters this week was a tough one for me. I'm NO GOOD at recycling or repurposing when it comes to crafty stuff. I mean, yes, I recycle my newspapers, etc, but I just don't do recycling projects quite like Dar or Lisa, who both blew this challenge away! Alas, here's what I've come up with....a gift for my Grandma. She's been going through a tough time and I wanted to give her a little something that would remind her how much I love her.

She'll be visiting this weekend, so my plan is to fill the tin with butterflies that have little notes to her on them (telling her why I'm grateful to have her in my life) before Saturday afternoon! We fly out for Vegas on Sunday, so if I don't get it done before then, I know I'll never get around to finishing it.

I better get it done before Saturday morning, actually...I have my last long run before my half marathon on Saturday am and then I'll be napping/resting before I spend the afternoon visiting.

Have a wonderful day and don't forget to check out The Sisters fabulous creations!

Sisterhood Challenge : EASTER!

It's that time again - another challenge is going on at The Sisterhood of Crafters and this time around, we're celebrating Easter - be it with a card or project. I don't usually do much for Easter, but with two nieces and two nephews and a severe urge to do something with the awesome Friendship Jar stamp that my sweet blogging buddy Andrea had given me many moons ago, I just had to do this easy little treat pack I had in my head.

The jars were cut out with my razor (also inspired by Andrea's Post - which now that I look back, I wish I'd topped like hers, too!) A medium card bag acted as a perfect jelly bean receptacle and without too much work, I had sweet treats for my favorite little ones, which I'm sure they'll gobble down.

There's more great Easter inspiration over at The Sisterhood of Crafters and you have until April 8th to play along with us!

On a personal note, I'm getting anxious for tomorrow, which is the lady I'm replacing's last day. She's leaving some big boots to fill. I know I'm up to it...I just hope I can survive my first big challenge on Monday & ensure everyone's got their proper hours and pay (it's the one thing that makes me nervous - messing up someone's $$!) Anyways, I have a little gift for her that I'm taking in today so she doesn't end up with too much being hauled home tomorrow for her trip South to Calgary.

I'm hoping someday soon I'll have some actual spare time to do a little blog surfing, but suffice it to say, it hasn't happened lately (as is the case with house cleaning and maintenance!) Thank goodness for MrP and his infinite patience and support. I don't know what I'd do without him!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

A Sisterhood Birthday Celebration

Using a couple of Viva La Verve Sketches, I managed to make not one, but TWO cards for this week's challenge at The Sisterhood of Crafters...a Birthday challenge!

The first one was Chelsey's birthday card (Happy 32nd buddy!) that used the Viva La Verve March Week 1 Sketch and some old DSP that I have always loved, which features Old Olive, Whisper White and Not Quite Navy. A few half pearls, a button and some twine, along with the paper piercing after I couldn't get the bobbin working on the sewing machine and this card was good.

The second card was actually the first that was created (don't even get me started on the angle and how it makes the card look.) It uses the Viva La Verve February Week 2 Sketch and features my previously unloved Rich Razzleberry, Grey, Whisper White and Pink Pirouette papers. This time, it was ol' faithful...swiss dots embossing folder, as well as some half pearls to add a little something extra.

Head over to The Sisterhood of Crafters to join in our Birthday challenge - we've got a great prize from Shabby Chic Stamp Company - a Build A Cake stamp set =)

As a personal note, I just started my first couple days at my new job and so far, so good. I was fully expecting to hate it for the first month while I struggled to learn a whole lot in a little time, but I've really enjoyed learning from the current woman in the role and I have some big shoes to fill, but I'm looking forward to giving it my best!

Have a wonderful week!

Sugar & Spice Congrats : VLV FEB2012 Wk 4, PDCC121

Well it's been a while now (over three weeks) since one of my good friends had her little girl, but I'll finally get to meet her on Saturday so I am glad to have prepared this card using the VLV Feb 2012 Week 4 sketch and the Play Date Cafe Challenge 121 with the perfect inspiration colors.

Enjoyed my first day in Jasper and felt like a real pro at times (usually followed directly with one of my two epic falls). Thankfully, only one of the falls was followed up with a 10' face first slide down the hill. I'm sore today, but we'll head out for a few more runs before we make the (likely) hairy drive back to Edmonton. There's been so much snow - it's been perfect for skiing but crap for driving in. Maybe I'll see if MrP can even get a couple of action shots! Have a wonderful day!

Thank You : VLV FEB2012 Wk 1

Well I'm in my last few days of my current job....wait....I haven't actually told you about that?! Let's get back to that in a minute then, shall we?! ANYWAYS, I whipped up this card and dedicate it my office...for the last (almost) five years of keeping me laughing, crying and on my toes.

I used the Viva La Verve February 2012 Week 1 sketch as my starting point. Pretty clean & simple, but quick to do when you're in a mad rush to finish the sketches because of some poorly managed time and a prior mental note that I wanted to participate in every sketch this year. LOL! I did, however, finally whip out my MFT Dizzy Doily Die-namics and some half pearls to shake things up. The patterned paper is some old Bella Bleu DSP from SU! (long since retired) that I have in my stash of (mainly) retired paper. Seems like I should really get on using it up since I'm quite far behind with the new colors and usually just find a similar color in my existing stock that works with the combo.

On to my other news. I start a new job on March 12th! I'm anxious about it, but I know it was the right move. To celebrate, I had two fabulous ladies take me out for supper last night. Makes me think I should get onto my mom's trend of changing jobs more frequently - just so we have an excuse to get out & do a little celebrating =)

Have a great weekend!

Sisterhood Challenge : DIGIS!

Well this Sisterhood challenge was a whopper! Use a digi =) I haven't used a digi in quite a while and this week, we have a sponsor - Bugaboo Digi Stamps - to help inspire. I used this gorgeous Silhouette - Butterfly Flowers digi, printed on Going Grey Cardstock.

But while one challenge was great - I figured three was spectacular...so I used the Viva La Verve Week 3 Sketch for February to create my Mom's birthday card. I also used the CR84FN Color Challenge #48, as the colors really spoke to me for my mom's perfect color combo.

The paper was a rarely used one - Lavendar Lace, plus some Certainly Celery and, of course, Going Grey. I outlined the butterflies and edge of the inner circle with a shimer pen, crimped the banner panel (see A - I wasn't lying - I pulled out my crimper thanks to your inspiration!), and added some bling for extra shine. These are always my go-to colors for any creation for my mom, so it was perfect timing with her birthday coming up next month.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week! Don't forget to check out The Sisterhood of Crafters' latest Digi challenge & link up your awesome digi works of art for a chance to win the Sponsor's prize  - 7 images (or $21 worth if you choose some smaller digis!) Thanks Bugaboo for such fabulous digis to work with =)