Rocking the Wedding Card

My nephew's getting married this Sunday.  Wait, I didn't say that with enough panic: MY NEPHEW'S GETTING MARRIED THIS SUNDAY.  I recall spending all of the month of June in, hmmm, I think 1983 with my sister-in-law waiting and waiting and waiting for Clint to make his entrance into the world.  When I finally went home (they lived a bit away from my hometown at the time), he decided it was time to arrive.  Some quick medical issues and surgery later, a scary time for all, we had the newest Paul grandchild, named after his father's favorite actor.

Clint is now, obviously, grown, and is a member of the band Men and Whales (Clint's on the far right...dude with the cat on his shirt).  So, when their Save the Date card came and it had an LP on it, I knew this wedding card needed to share that rock and roll theme.  

I found this file through Silhouette's site.  With some strategizing, what I call the "Mix Tape Card" was born.

The alphabet I used was Mini Monograms from Paper Smooches.  The letters lined up beautifully on an acrylic block (I used Martha's "Small Footed" blocks).  

I decided to be a bit grungy with the inside, which is good because the black ink and I kind of hated each other tonight.  I kept thinking I had a stamp with "You Rock!", but could only find the "Dude, You Rock!" and "Girly, You Rock!" from this favorite set.  Then, out of nowhere, a set I won years ago sat there with a "You Rock!" sentiment just staring at me saying, "You really have too many stamps."

I just love this card.  I love that he will remember and appreciate cassette tapes.  I hope he understands the love that went in to the card.  He's a great young man, and I am so happy to see him happy.

Stick a fork in it!

The New York album, sans journaling, is FINISHED!  Pardon my unsteady video hand, but here is a video showing the pages and giving bits of insight.  Easier than trying to write it all out.  ENJOY!

{inter} National Scrapbooking Weekend

What a great {inter}National Scrapbooking Weekend it has been.  I participated in the fun at Big Picture Scrapbooking, where many a wonderful scrapbooker presented inspiring videos throughout the day.  BPS is trying to get 10,000 layouts uploaded to Instagram.  With my crafty busy-ness, I was able to get this one done and up.  You might recall this layout, which remains one of my all-time favorites.  Like, ever.  And not just because I have an inappropriate crush on Jon Bon Jovi.

I completed this for the Ali Edwards Hello Story class I was taking (well, I still AM taking it, technically) at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  For my recent layout, I (unintentionally) gave more space to the written area than to the photo area.  I used the same basic idea, though. Here are some closer shots at some areas that excite me:

Love these sparkly Dear Lizzy Thickers!

My own swirly cursive, inspired by Kristina Werner's work.

I also used a new Sharpie white pen today.  It worked fairly well.  I guess no matter what white I try to use on patterned paper, it will soak in and I will need to go over it more than once.

Because BPS wanted us to upload these publicly, I started a different Instagram account, as my personal one needs to remain private.  I am now jpkrafty if anyone wants to follow my crafty creations on Instagram.

Thicker Collection

Those who know me well know I am a collector of alphabet stickers.  Mostly I have American Craft Thickers, but I do have a few others in my collection.

I currently have them organized in drawers, as seen below.  That calls for a lot of digging.  They also get a little squished, and that does not do well over a long period of storing.

After watching some organization videos by Jennifer McGuire, and after adding pins after a Pinterest search, I decided that I definitely needed a sleeve or bag that made my stickers more uniform in size if I had any hopes of feeling "organized."  This idea was very appealing:

I started searching for 6 x 12" ziploc bags, and what kept coming up was 6 x 12" page protectors.  

"Hmmm," said I, "why not just go with what I know?"  

It also helped that I had an Amazon gift card.  So, for about $40 and free shipping, I will have 10 packs of these:

I was not feeling the plastic magazine holder vibe.  Then I remembered I had two magazine baskets that I bought long ago.  They are not the perfect width, so, I placed my stickers in sideways.  I used what 6 x 12 page protectors I had to see how it would work.  I think I will like it very much.

I will post more of my re-organization journey as I go.

Administrative Professionals Day

I have been working on cards tonight for our two secretaries.  As many a teacher knows, the school would shut down without them (and our custodians).

This one cracks me up.  The sentiment is from the Kelly Purkey "I Like You" set.  The patterned paper is from Stampin' Up, the baker's twine from Lawn Fawn.  I colored the "Thanks" with a Copic, and popped up the inner flag (cut with Stampin' Up! dies) with Dimensionals.  I hand-drew the brown outline, as it looked very stark without it.  The sentiment was perfect, as I am constantly asking the secretaries to sign some delivery for me at work.

This card has a little bit of Papertrey Ink and a little bit of Stampin' Up!  The Center Stage die is from PTI, as is the sentiment, "Think Big Favorites #6."  I LOVE how this stamped...like buttah.  The patterned paper is actually the flipside of the paper used in the card above.  The glittery black tape really makes this card directed toward the particular secretary for whom I made it.  I think she will love it.

I used Versafine ink for both cards.

Wading in Watercolors

As of late, I have seen some crafting with watercolors.  I have to say, there are some things I love about watercolors, and other things I am not so in love with.  Here are some cards that lately I have really liked using this technique:

I love the die cut over the watercolor background on this one.

This might be my favorite KKel card of all time.  It mixes two things I love: summer and Ali Edwards!  Isn't that background perfect for the sentiment?

This one's a Kristina Werner video that actually made me want to give it a whirl.

And here is my attempt.  So clean.  So simple.  Made, of course, under the watchful eye of Karen (see the photo background?).  I used her Sakura KOI Watercolors and a Stampin' Up! Aquapainter.  Then we sprayed some watercolor paper with water, and I experimented.  I loved how the paint blended, and knew I did not want to cover it much, so I looked for a sentiment that would fit.  I found one in PTI's Wise Owl set.  The cool thing is, I know exactly to whom I want to give this card.

Mighty Oak Sympathy

I have been eyeing some cards on Pinterest that use this stamp and die cut.  I decided to break it in for a sympathy card for a friend.

Paper: Neenah Solar White and Studio Calico Dot One
Stamps: SU! Close as a Memory and Hope for Comfort; PTI Mighty Oak
Die: PTI Mighty Oak
Embossing folder: SU! Woodgrain
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip
Adhesive: SU! Dimensionals; Tombo Monoadhesive