Sassy & Sweet Notes

Springtime Red and Green

Blackberry bushes can grow to be building sized thickets here in Oregon. In the spring, the plants are fresh and as delicate as can be. As summer comes on, the stems harden and the thorns turn into wicked-sharp pokies that make picking the delicous berries quite painful. But when you find a prime patch, they're soooo worth the pain!

I took this photo along the banks of a man-made reservour just outside of town where I take my dogs for morning or afternoon walks.

Now we just have to wait for the berries to come on! Mmmmm...

More time for Photography.

I thought I would poke through more of my photography files while I continue to W A I T for my new catalogs to arrive, and see if I could find something else to share with ya'll.  (I'm working on my Texas drawl. Haa!)

I took this amber mane photograph during an on-location farm call session near Portland, Oregon. The owner and I had a great time that day!

Overcast Oregon skies made for perfect lighting.

Giddy-up!

. p o u t .

I can't believe I still don't have my new catalogs. UPS said they were going to be delivered today. At 10:46am the UPS man came and went, but still no catalogs for me. Now UPS says the delivery has been rescheduled for tomorrow. I feel so left out.  . p o u t .

idle time.

As I sit here waiting and wishing and  w.a.i.t.i.n.g  some more for my Stampin' Up! catalogs I thought I would take a peek through some of my photographs that I haven't taken time to publish yet. I also came across some that I've been meaning to have printed as greeting cards. This is one of those images.

Every year an Oregon farm that's located just off the eastern side of Mt Hood holds a Sunflower Festival. Last summer my friend Sharon and I drove the three hours it takes to get to the farm to see the blooms and experience the farm.

While the farm and field display was not exactly what I was expecting, what was there was nothing short of beautiful!

I took this photograph that day on the farm while Sharon helped keep the tall plants from swaying in the wind.

A beautiful day. Now I just need to get busy and publish some cards!

o' fresh cherries!

One of the best things of summer is farm fresh cherries!

These are perfect, plump, JUICY Bing cherries... ohhhh my my, yumm-mmmmy!

If I could get this kind of color in a paper or ink, I'd be a happy, happy stamper!

still waiting...

...i'm beginning to wonder if my 2006-2007 stampin' up catalogs are ever going to arrive... still nothing. not even a tracking number. pout.

guess i'll wait some more. sniffle.

Ribbon, ribbon, and MORE ribbon...

I was so excited when I came home from a week up in Washington state to find my most recent ribbon order waiting for me! You should see these colors! Delicious!! They scream summer, and with temperatures between 90-100, summer is clearly here to stay for a while. I can't wait to get these ribbons on some of my projects!
Check em out!  I love ribbon.....  

Twisted Storage

I'm up in Washington State visiting family for the week with scattered access to the web, so I haven't had many updates to the blog this week. Don't give up on me! =)

I thought I would continue on with the storage theme for another post or two. But this time for brads, eyelets, buttons and all things itty bitty and essential! I *love* my stacks of twist-together containers. I've seen these at various craft and hobby supply stores, as well as in some sporting-good stores in the fishing section.

They're available in at least two sizes, possibly more.

I find them just perfect for storing all those itty bittys that get lost once the retail packaging is opened. I store these containers in my clear-drawered storage units (see previous post for more info). They lay perfectly in the drawers allowing me to see each container section.

Delightful!

Look at all these great colors!

*sigh...*

MultiTasking.

I'm getting ready to spend a week in Washington State with family, and while I wait for a load of laundry to dry so I can finish packing, I thought I should stamp! I wanted to keep things fairly simple since a lot of my everyday supplies are packed and ready to take up north. There are little brown birds standing on my fench chirping and catching bugs. They are my inspiration for this card.

Some chalk inks, cute stamps, May Arts ribbon, and 7 layers of cardstock later, TADA! One cute card and not a lot of mess.

1001 Ways to Store Them...

...But, which method of storage works for me? In addition to open faced shelves, I find myself drawn to 9x11, 12x12, and even larger sized clear-faced drawer units. I find that they hold just the right amount of stuff to keep me from having to dig too deep for things. Having clear fronts I quickly know which drawer to go to for whatever it is I'm looking for. While these drawers are nice, they don't make for a very "pretty" room. Even though I really WANT to have a beautiful space that's fit for publication, I'm not sure it's all that realistic. But even so, my search for the ideal "pretty" space and storage solution continues.

Stampin' Up! stamp sets come in clear storage containers which I find perfect for not only Stampin' Up! sets, but other individually purchased stamps as well. I keep most of my smaller individual stamps in these clear containers. I find that using the clear containers lets me store similar stamps together in one place, and I find that I use them a lot more when I can just pull out a container of sentiments, for example, and browse for the one I want to use. I also store these containers in my drawers, or on shelves with other stamp sets if they're specific to a holiday or occasion. Christmas, Easter, etc are all stored together.

I keep individual larger stamps that aren't all that practical stored in the clear storage boxes in a larger drawer unit, stored on edge so I can read the stamp label. It works perfectly for keeping the stamps clean, protected, and right where I know where they are!

I also try to keep similar stamps together. Whether it's a drawer for a specific company, or a drawer for a particular style of stamp. For me, organization is key. I have to be able to find something, or the idea will quickly evaporate out of my head!!

Poof! Gone. Just like that!

Some of my stamps are kept out on display on shelves in my room. Usually stamps I get from friends or new stamps get put up on the shelf until I reorganize the space. If I find myself stumped on how to use a stamp, I'll set it up on the shelf to keep it in mind, and act as a reminder to USE it!

While all of these storage ideas work, most of them aren't "pretty". So, I've ordered two books. One is "Where Women Create" and the other is "Organizing Your Craft Space". I hope they give me some ideas on how to beautify my space. Thanks to my friend at Hop Art Studio for the recommendation!

I'm gonna BURST!

I have been anxiously waiting for the latest Whipper Snapper Designs announcement to be made so that I could share the news! Earlier this year Whipper Snapper asked me to be one of their 5 contributing artists. I was so FLIPPIN' excited! They have decided to produce 9 of the 15 or so images I submitted into rubber stamps that will be available for sale world wide.

This is only the beginning of my work with Whipper Snapper. I look forward to working with them for at least two years, building up my portfolio of Whipper Snapper images. Today they released a sneak peak of the upcoming new images. The 9 sneak peak images represent a little something from each Whipper Snapper artist. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be given the honor of joining their small but wickedly talented team of artists.

Can you say EXCITING?!?! I can't WAIT to see my name on RUBBER!!

Oodles of Doodles

I love to doodle. If I made it or if it sits near me long enough, it's probably going to be doodled on. I typically add doodled lines around the primary image of cards that I make. I like how the free-form casual lines frame the image, and set it apart from the rest of the supporting design... and honestly, I just love to draw them.

This dog (who I fondly refer to as "Bruce") by Whipper Snapper Designs needed some grass around his toes. So, I doodled it!

Sometimes I take my doodling even farther than just the simple squiggly line around the border of an image. This frog from the recent Stampin' Up! set "Unfrogettable" is so perfect on his own, but I wanted to set him in an environment and create a story through the images. So, I doodled!

The ponds edge and reeds are my own doodles. The perfect little blue bird is an A Muse image, and one of my all-time favorite stamps. How simple, yet so sweet, can one stamp get?

Sometimes I don't include any stamped images at all in my designs -- only doodles. My Watercolor Window card was created using the Tag Punch by Stampin' Up! Once I had the window created, I drew the single flower and vase as though they are sitting on the windowsill.

My friend Ellen and I were exchanging emails earlier today and she brought up my doodling and the recent "doodle phase" that has exploded in papercrafts. I think it's popular because it's a simple way to really personalize your designs. Later I thought to myself, "ooooh! that will be my blog topic for the day! I've got oodles of doodles!"

Whipper Snapper Designs

There is a wonderful scrap & stamp shop in Wisconsin called Creative Pals. They're where the Whipper Snapper line of stamps are born. I've been working on some store display cards for them, and have finished up just a handful or so to send out to the shop owners. Here's just one of the cards on the way later this week.

If you're not familar with Whipper Snapper Designs stamps, check them out! They have several artists designing images so there is a nice variety of images offered. Whimsical and beautiful, I love them all!

This image was stamped on Shimmery White paper by Stampin' Up! and watercolored with various colored Craft inks, also by Stampin' UP! I added Stickles for a blit of sparkle, which really finishes off this simple design.

Now, go check out Whipper Snapper stamps! You'll LOVE them!!

What? No ribbon!?

Father's Day is just around the corner, so I thought I'd get a card put together and get it in the mail before the weekend. See, I'm not always a Last Minute Nellie!

The Natural Beauty set by Stampin' Up is one of my favorites. It is a set that can be very shabby and feminine in blossom and pinks, or perfectly suited for the fellas in browns, blues and greens.

Notice there's no ribbon on this card. Hmmph. Someone (and you know who you are, Mister) tells me that ribbon is NOT ALLOWED on cards for men. Hmmph! We'll just see about THAT!

Who doesn't like ribbon!?

Well, there may not be traditional ribbon on this card, but the men will never know that I've used faux ribbon, secured by a spiral and brad! Haa!

One of those days.

Ever have one of those days where you know right from the very beginning that it's just gonna suck? Today was one of those days. I should have tallied every time I cried. I should have tallied every time I wanted to scream! I should have just crawled back in bed and considered today voided.

I needed to leave the office for a change of scenery, so I stopped in at a local pharmacy/gift/mail/crap shop on my lunch break to send off some RAKs and bills. It's easier to go there than to the post office to mail packages - there are always fewer people, and today that was a GOOD thing!

The shop has a small section of Hero Arts stamps, so I always have to take a look.

OMGoodness!! Look what I found!
This little gem is the highlight of my day and it's only an inch tall!

Happily ever after...

As I was working on this card I became curious about the history behind the wedding cake, so I did a bit of googling while the ink on my card dried. I came across website for London cake designer, Maisie Fantaisie. There are interesting theories of why we celebrate with cakes, why most wedding cakes are white, and the symbolism of "the cake". Learn more! Oh, and while you're there, check out the beautiful cake designs as well! I think I see some design inspiration in the cakes!

This card uses the big and beautiful "Let Them Eat Cake" stamp by PrintWorks. I like the free-flowing lines and still delicate design. The image is stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock with black Stazon ink, then over-stamped with VersaMark and embossed with Irridescent Ice embossing powder by Stampin' Up! It's so sparkly! Bling Bling!!

I watercolored the image using Stampin' Up! Craft inks in Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, and Certainly Celery for the leaves on the roses.

The sentiment stamped at the bottom is by Wordsworth.

My brother is getting married in two weeks, and I created this card especially for him and Heather, his fiance. Best wishes to you; may you live happily ever after...  Cheers!!

Holy Featured Stamper, Batman!

I was truly honored (and surprised!) to be a featured blog-topic by Michelle Laycock yesterday! Michelle wrote an entry in her Ink Artist blog called "Create Light and Layers" where she considers the use of an imaginary light source while creating stamped art. Read her post here. 

This Always in Style card was created using the "Pattern of Friendship" set by Stampin' Up! and is one of my cards Michelle uses to illustrate the use of light and layers when stamping.

Thanks Michelle, for such a fantastic review!

It's a beginning...

Day One: It's a beautiful sunny Oregon day and what better time to put fingers to keyboard and launch my blog! Bloggin' seems like the best way to share information with friends and family.

I hope you enjoy this experience with me!

I received a wonderful care package this week from a dear friend, VivLyn. Included was this stamp by American Art Stamps of a woman watering a young daisy. I thought these retro paisley papers by Making Memories would be the perfect compliment to her "fun-kay" plum outfit! Thanks Viv!