some odd favourite things popping the cork and hello again

okay, hello there chickens.  haven't been around in a bit as i've been extremely busy with the new job and then with losing my father on Christmas Day and scrambling around ever since.  i'm trying to settle back in but there is SO MUCH TO DO and i feel very overwhelmed. 

that's why it was important for me to decompress a bit last night and spend some time in my craft studio.  LONG overdue. 

i coloured.

i combined elements.

i combined challenges.

i played with some new goodies.

i felt a little better by the time i went to bed, so i'm glad i took some time for ME.  haven't had much of it lately.  and thank you to everyone who's been so supportive while i'm dealing with things.  i appreciate it more than i can possibly express on a computer screen.

here's one of two cards i made last night...  it features the critter from Some Odd Girl's Acorn Fairy clear stamp set, the heart and sentiment from the Nutsy Kaylee set (she's on clearance!) with Some Odd Girl's Sunshine Sorbet paper, some lovely adhesive cork, background papers from Pretty Little Studio.  and the wood sequins are from Chic Tags, coloured up with Wink of Stella from the Paper Issues shop. 

 

close up of critter love, coloured up with my Prismacolor pencils
(and maybe you can see a bit of the shimmer on the sequins):

 

annnnnnd i am throwing down for the new sketch challenge (211) at My Favorite Things - i followed it pretty closely:

and i'm also linking up at the current Linky Party at Paper Issues - the theme is "Popping the Cork" (sponsored by the awesome Elle's Studio) and it inspired me to FINALLY cut into one of my adhesive cork sheets.  i think i bought the cork pad about a year and a half ago, and that's just silly. 

and that will do it.  it felt GOOD to get my craft on.  what have you folks been up to?

Paper Issues and a Pocket Full of Sunshine!

hey there, chickens! 

new issue today at Paper Issues, and i am DELIGHTED to share something slightly out of character!  i don't get tired of making cards, i assure you, but i got this set of photos from my Instagram feed, and i couldn't resist some of the new pretties i got with my last Paper Issues order.  i made a SCRAPBOOK PAGE!  yep.  craziness!

our theme for the next two weeks is A Pocket Full of Sunshine, and there are SO many fun things you can do with this!  sun.  son!  pockets.  pictures of pockets.  something that's FULL.  anything bright and happy.  whatever!

our sponsor?  the very fun Panda Eight Designs - specializing in some of the most AWESOME flair ever!  (go LIKE their Facebook page!)

here's my page...

LOVE the gradient chevron paper from Chic Tags, and you might not be able to tell, but that pink and white polka dotted panel is actually the new Doodlebug Sprinkles Vellum in white over a piece of plain blush cardstock.  i'm in LOVE with the vellum.  i bought it in EVERY. SINGLE. COLOR.  and some multiples.  those cute little chevron stickers are also new from Doodlebug (get 'em here!). 

zoom!

used some goodies from the inimitable Swag Bag (random pieces appear on random projects), and the alphas are from Jillibean Soup (the title is in Grapefruit Pink, and so is the date, layered over Blueberry Teal), little Amy Tangerine stickers, giant Selfie title from some super old Cosmo Cricket stash, and that gold foil paper behind the sun rays cuts is new from Fancy Pants (and it's fabulous)...

zoom again!

loving the Panda Eight Flair!  (and my Dymo label buddy is always within reach)

AND not only is the lovely Panda Eight Designs offering up FIVE flair packs of the winner's choice (she even made one specifically for this issue!), but we have a DISCOUNT CODE for you, too!  use SUNSHINE20 at checkout for 20% off your order!

CLICK HERE to check out the rest of the Paper Issues Creative Team's creations for this issue and to get in on the action!  i'm still kind of in shock over the fact that i SCRAPPED.  :)

OH, and here's a little something for you!

...lastly, i combined the sketch AND the color inspiration challenge at Unity's {be inspired} challenge, because, seriously, how awesome is the sketch?! (i was pretty true to it, which is a first for me!)  and how perfect are the colors?!  the stamps i used are We Click (camera) and Could I Be Any Cuter? (rainbow) - and this is the first time i've used stamps on a scrappy page, too! 

a scrappy page, inspired by a Chic Tags sketch

been a LONG time since i did a scrapbook page, chickens.  feeling rather melancholy but inspired, and when i saw the sketch challenge at Chic Tags, the page started to form in my mind.

the photo is from a professional shoot we had before one of our shows back in 2008.  it looks grainy - it's supposed to.  it was for a press release/poster and the retro/vintagey thing worked well for us.  so.  2008 was the end of the beginning; i was performing less and less and he was doing his own thing, and then it went a little wonky and i dropped out entirely.  i've tried since then to get back into it, but i just don't have the same passion as i did.  it was fun while it lasted though, and we had some AWESOME gigs around the tri-state area.  i'll always have fond memories!

so.  the paper is from Heidi Swapp and i threw a stencil down and sprayed some Pinstripe Mister Huey's on there and smudged it around a bit.  punched my circles from the Chic Tags Bookworm paper (from their Happy Place line), worked in some CT Happy Place phrase labels and an Everyday Life II Icon circle, plus a foldy tab that came in one of my CT grab bags.  added that to a hot little woodgrain journal card that came in my Paper Issues Swag Bag (currently sold out, but WATCH FOR ITS TRIUMPHANT RETURN!), added my title and a corner accent, and dropped some sequins from THIS MIX and voila. 

behold, some deets - stencilling, smudging, snips and sequins:

and more - us:

the woodgrainy journal card, decked out with tags, tab, alphas and such:

and those bits, all put together:

i usually do bold, graphic and bright, and this is definitely a step away from that, n'est-ce pas?  but it tells its story, and that's what i was after.  here's the awesome sketch off which my page is based:

and now i'm off to make a card and work on some DT assignments.  how's your weekend, chickens? wanna grab some of the goodies i used on my page?  CLICK HERE to visit the Paper Issues shop and use this for a sweet, sweet deal: