TIPsy Tuesday - Rouched ribbon

 Here's an easy way to gather up ribbon on a card using the mat pack.

Punch two holes at each spot for gathering the ribbon.

Then sew over the ribbon twice with matching embroidery floss or twine. It is fine to pierce the edge of the ribbon just to anchor it in place.  Put extra ribbon in between each hole for the 'rouching' as you go along.

The Stampin' Up! catalog inspired me to use this stamp from the Baroque Motifs set.  The Stamp-a-mah-jig aided in lining things up.   Each image is embossed using Bordering Blue Craft Ink and clear embossing powder.  The top image is embossed in copper on transparency film.  I cut it out and attached with a brad and a little chipboard as a spacer.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Baroque Motifs, Hugs and Wishes by Stampi' Up!
Cardstock:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
Ribbon:  Hobby Lobby
Brads:  Paper Shapers

true R&R

I love this photo our friend Howard snapped of us on the first day of our California trip last September.  This is the title page to many pages from the trip which was true rest and relaxation.

The page is my entry in August's Scrapbook Stamping class at Two Peas.  The lesson is on emboss resist so I did the title stamped in white and inked over it with various dye inks.  I've finally found out why my previous efforts at emboss resist were less than perfect.  I was apparently using the wrong paper.  At least I think that was the problem.  This time I used some glossy photo paper and it worked great.  Always before my embossed image would pick up color that just would not wipe off. That didn't happen this time. It went so well, I did several cards this weekend that I'll post later on.

For the embellishments, I used several stickers from the Marrakesh collection  - an old collection from Basic Grey.  I had used some of these papers in the first few pages of this vacation.  The flower is part of one I'd made and never used so it was just lying around my worktable.  I knew there was a good reason not to clean up.  :-)

Thanks for visiting today!  If you haven't checked out Nichol's class at Two Peas, she will have a new installment on September 1st. Scrapbook-stamping-with-nichol-magouirk. She has the most clever ways to incorporate stamping into your pages.


Ingredients:  Cardstock:  Certainly Celery by SU!
DSP:  Greenhouse Gala by SU!; ledger is from Fancy Pants; other papers are from Marrakesh by Basic Grey
Stickers:  Basic Grey
Canvas Tag and lace:  Making Memories
Brads:  Antique by Stampin' Up!
Stamps:  Autumn Leaves

Ribbon Retail Therapy

On our way home from a doctor's appointment on Thursday, we stopped at Stamper's Alley in Mooresville, NC.  They are one of my favorite places to shop for ribbon.  Here are some of the pretties I picked up.  With all the lovely choices, I was happiest to find that tiny black and white gingham.  I had a roll of it from Stampin' Up! that I'd just used up. It really is just the right touch for so many cards.

There are a lot of nice textures here, too so I look forward to putting them to use.

Do you have any crafty plans this weekend?  I hope you are not in the path of Hurricane Irene.  She has made her first landfall a little weaker than expected but this is still a huge storm.  We are getting a little breeze today and we are an 8 hour drive from the Outer Banks.

I've got so many projects started; I'm not sure what to work on.  One night this week, I put all my travel pages from a couple of trips into one album and really figured out what I need to finish - two, I think, for California and one for this year's Hilton Head so those will probably be next.  I have the photos printed.

For the Explore class, I worked on prepping some photos for a project for my Mother.  I'd like to add a few more photos to my upload before having them printed so that is another weekend possibility.

And yesterday, I knocked some interlocking wire shelves that hold all my cardstock off their base so I'd better do something about those too.

For now, I'd better go feed my husband.  He's an amazingly patient man but he does get hungry.

Hope you are dry and safe.

Stitched Background Bookmark

This summer, I've taken light summer reading very seriously.  Heavy stuff has not been on my reading list at all.  I couldn't even take John Grisham's The Confession and I normally love his books.

No this summer, I've needed pleasant distractions with just enough conflict not to make them syrupy.  Here are a few of the books I've enjoyed:

Nancy Thayer's Heat Wave - Just finished this new book.  I just discovered Thayer earlier this year and while I don't think this is her best effort, it is very enjoyable.  Summer House and Beachcombers were better. Many of her books are set on Nantucket and are just the ticket for summer reading.

The Vineyard by Barbara Delinsky - I loved this book.  It is about 10 years old and of course my copy came from the library.  At first the story seems centered around the female Vineyard owner and what she had to do to keep her family together during the Depression, the War years and beyond.  But it is really more about the young assistant she hires and her dyslexic daughter.  I learned a lot about dyslexia while enjoying the pleasant story.

The Guy Not Taken is  short story collection by Jennifer Weiner.  Normally I'm not a fan of short stories as I really like to get to know my characters more.  These are quite good and one is a prequel to a novel she wrote.

Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle by Ann Ross.  If you've never tried the Miss Julia books you must start at the beginning.  This one is the most recent and as the name implies, babies arrive along with a mystery for Miss Julia to solve and of course, the necessity of preserving her precious reputation and even more precious family.  Miss Julia is wonderful Southern character.  This is also set in the winter time if you prefer to read your books in the right seasonal setting.

Fannie Flagg's I Still Dream About You.  Another wonderful Southern writer, Fannie Flagg sets her latest novel in Birmingham.  It is timely, funny and inspiring despite its - ah - subject - and I'll just leave it at that.

What have you read this summer?

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  DSP:  365 Degrees from Pink Paislee, Stamp:  Stitched background stamp by Stampin' Up!
Markers:  Stampin' Up!
Ribbon:  Making Memories

On my soapbox...

Here I am on my soap box today or should I say my "daytime drama" box.

I posted a few months ago that I am a fan of General Hospital.  If you've ever watched General Hospital and stopped, now is definitely the time to return!!! GH has a new writer and he is bringing the program back to its roots.  The Quatermaine family is being rebuilt and given key storylines.  One huge issue for fans has been Jason's leaving his family behind after an accident and joining the mob.  Jason is having brain surgery and it is expected he will awaken with memories of both of his past lives.  This Friday and Monday are to be great episodes in this story.

If you don't watch the show, I know that last part sounds ridiculous.  But really, are daytime drama plots any more far fetched than primetime shows?  And what daytime dramas bring are continuous stories with characters we can get to know.  They educate as well as entertain.  Also their actors for the large part don't make the headlines with outlandish and often illegal behavior of some of the primetime and movie stars.  They work hard and provide good entertainment.

I make the plea for viewing General Hospital for two reasons.  1) If you like a good story, this is a great show.  The acting is exceptional.  There are no reruns.  You can watch via TV or on the Internet at ABC.com which keeps episodes available for one week at a time and YouTube has them on and on.

2) General Hospital and all soaps need viewers.  ABC has cancelled One Life to Live and All My Children and are replacing them with cheaper lifestyle shows.  The first will be a food show called "The Chew."  Honestly, is there anything appetizing about that name???  By next Fall when Katie Couric joins ABC for another daytime talk show (eye rolling), one show will have to go.  Will it be General Hospital or one of the two new lifestyle shows?  I think GH will be far superior to the others but we need a lot more viewers to keep a nearly 40 year old program on the air.

ABC has sold the rights to their two cancelled daytime dramas to broadcast them on-line.  I hope this is successful; however, the best chance for GH is to get viewers and prove to the network that viewers enjoy a good story far more than an out of touch lifestyle show and yet another gab fest.

Ok, off my soapbox.  I promise to be back with a crafty project soon.  Thanks for listening!

Warm Wishes

I'm tipless today but I do have a card to share.  I accompanied my husband on a pinball repair up in the mountains which didn't take very long.  We did some shopping, took a hike, and enjoyed a gorgeous day.  Apparently I missed the earthquake!  I don't know if it was felt this far away or not.  Anyway, hope you are having a lovely day!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Playful Petals and Stitched by Stampin' Up!
Vanilla Hodgepodge hardware by SU!
various markers and ranger inks for the background on watercolor paper.

Dahlias

Wow! Look at those dahlias

When I showed my husband this layout, he said, "We've got to start growing dahlias again."  We used to but got tired of digging them up every year.  We had so many other things to tend to.  Seeing these last year at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden in Fort Bragg, California made us want to plant some again.  But of course, we got busy this summer and didn't.  So a good thing about scrapbooking is it reminds you of all those good intentions!  :-)

Journaling:

Walking along the path beside greenery and mostly spent flowers from summer blooms, we were stunned and amazed to emerge in the dahlia garden with its blast of vivid colors.  We used to plant dahlias and vowed to again after seeing all the varieties from tiny, compact blooms, to spidery shapes and mop heads that needed support to keep upright.  The colors seemed even brighter on the foggy, chilly Sunday.  

The layout is based on this month's Stretch Your Sketch at Two Peas in a Bucket.  I had already printed a lot of photos from the trip so I just punched out circles of the flowers and added them to a grid I cut with the Cricut and SCAL software.

I also used the Cricut to cut a border using the Storybook Cartridge.  I added some punched flowers as accents with just a touch of Stickles.  The background is green paint as I didn't have any other green paper quite the color of the paper on top.

I had so many photos I did this other simple page to complete a double page spread:

I'm almost done with scrapbooking this vacation.  I've said that before but really - about 2 more pages...

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  DSP:  Green by  Echo Park ; yellow from October Afternoon Thrift Shop; Soft Suede and Greenhouse Gala by Stampin' Up!
Cardstock:  So Saffron by SU!
Brads:  Basic Grey
Twine:  Martha Stewart
Cricut Cartridge:  Storybook
Stickers:  Wow by Crate Paper Mia collection; kraft from Jillibean Soup

Red, White and Aqua

You must think I turned a few too many calendar pages at once.  Last month I was doing Christmas cards and this looks a lot like a Valentine.  It is a Valentine set but I think it could be a thank you or love card.  Don't worry, one step outside and I know it is still a very humid summer.

I chose this stamp to go with my polka dot background and the color scheme of Red, White and Aqua for another of Shimelle's challenges.  For the background, I stamped the polka dots with regular classic Real Red ink and then went over a few of them with Versamark and some Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  I used Ranger's Glossy Accents on a few more dots to give the background a little punch.

I told my friends at card class this week that I've got to go to the fabric store and stock up on some ric rack. I'm out of just about every color. This was the last of the red.

Tomorrow is the last day for most of these challenges and a chance at the prizes so check them out.  Shimelle Scrapbook Challenges
Hope you are having a great weekend!

Ingredients: Stamps: Polka Dot basics by PTI; Happy Heart Day by SU!
Cardstock:  Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Blush by Stampin' Up!