Tiny Glitter Schmutzes

I am SO ready for the weekend! So ready! Farmer's Market in the morning followed by time in my Bubble! YES!

To start my weekend? I found out as part of the Top Five over at Ladybug Crafts Ink. As a top 'fiver' I get to pick two from their lovely Eunice collection! Let me tell "EWE" she is so cute! Thank you Ladybug Crafts!

Sweet Pea
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink Melon Berry card stock
~Layer of DCWV The Mango Frost Stack card stock (love the tiniest of tiny dots)
~Spellbinder flourish using Cuttlebug, highlighted with Stickles Fruit Punch
~Sami Stamp image printed on Cryogen White colored with Copics and dotted with Stickles Fruit Punch dots (to cover up several 'schmutzes' from my inky fingers), die cut with Spellbinders oval and edges smudged with Distress Ink Fire Brick
~Button
~Sheer ribbon
Challenges | Inspirations
LadyBug Crafts Ink - monochrome
Sami Stamps - mother's love
Try Stampin' On Tuesday - sketch
Little Red Wagon - buttons and bows (baby has a hair bow)
Creative Romance - girly
Craft for the Criac - baby
Left of Center - girly
The Stamping Boutique - dots

Here's to weekends, snugly babies, and using GLITTER to cover schmutzes!

Thanks for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

Muggles and 2nd Cake!

So I was in a very literary frame of mind! When I bought them my thought process was - Oh! Love! Must. Have. Then they sat in their little Lavinia http://laviniastamps.com Stamps Folder on my laptop. And sat there. And sat there...

Last time I popped in to take a gander I finally came up with an idea on how to use them. The first one will end up going to daughter Amy's friend Jennie to give to her mama for her birthday. Her mother is an uber-fan of all things Harry Potter! I didn't know that until today. I thought she was just an uber-fan of all things quilts.

When I belatedly realized the store front on Fairy Houses sold WANDS - I immediately thought of HP! I printed more than the one set so I could have a marketplace, downloaded a HP looking font, and got busy!

Inside of card: From One Muggle to Another

HB not HP
~Base card PaperTrey Ink Sweet Blush card stock
~Basic Grey design paper Blush (used outside and inside)
~Crest hand created with Harry Potter like font on white card stock
~Happy Birthday printed on white card stock punched using Stampin' Up Word Window
~Lavinia digital image printed on white card stock, colored with Copics, edges smudged and distressed with Tim Holtz Edge Distresser
~Inside sentiment printed with laser printer
~Lined post it note for additional message (I always use lined papers inside for note writing...don't know about you but I like lines when I am writing!)
Inspirations | Challenges
Allsorts - happy birthday
A Random Fan - anything goes
Fantastic Tuesday - anything goes
Party Time Tuesdays - anything goes

NEXT UP:
This cute Lavinia Hobbit House was obviously, as the name implies, destined for a Hobbit theme card - but what to do with it.... I decided that a Hobbit birthday card would call for an inside sentiment of something about "second cake".

Such fun designs. I will be NEEDING a few more digi purchases from Lavinia Stamps!

Hobbity Birthday!

~Base card - PaperTrey Ink Summer Sunrise card stock

~Layer of DCWV Once Upon A Time mat stock

~Spellbinders Scallop Circle die

~Lavinia digital image colored with Copics

~Sentiment laser printed using Hobbit-like font punched using SU Word Window dotted with Smooch Gold

~Layer of gold glitter tape across the top (had to represent "my precious")

~Inside sentiment Is It Time for Second Cake?

Inside sentiment on both Hobbit cards: Is it time for second cake?

A Very Hobbit Birthday!

~Base card PaperTrey Ink - New Leaf card stock

~Layer of design paper: The Paper Studio Little Safari

~ Two layers of scallop circle die cuts

~Image printed on Cryogen White colored with Copics

~Sentiment laser printed and smudged with Hero Arts Soft Leaf

~Inside sentiment: Is it time for second cake?

Challenges | Inspirations

Make Mine Monday - laugh

Eureka Stamps - masculine

Here's to Hobbits, Muggles, and a second helping of the second cake!

Nancy in Iowa

Hey Ewe Tweety Bird!

This is what happens when you do a mash-up of some of your favorite blog challenges! This is also what happens when you regret not buying the black and white chevron card stock you saw at Hobby Lobby. That's a shout-out to blog friend Julie...sometimes "ewe" really DO need to buy that thing you believe you "just can not live without"! I didn't have any black and white stripe anything on hand so I made my own. And yes I am not too proud to admit that there are four un-salvageable attempts in the trash heap.

So about the mash up. I needed to use the black/white strip photo inspiration at JUGS; use a digi from Just Some Lines and incorporate May flowers; the shiny cherry and heart shape over at {PIN}spirational; use the sketch at Retro Sketches; add feathers for Little Red Wagon; add some metal for Pile It On; and of course post over at LadyBug Crafts with anything goes!

Mash-Up Tweet
~Base card - PaperTray Ink white card stock
~Black/White card stock stripes
~Digi from Just Some Lines colored with Copics, red breast highlighted with Wink of Stella
~Washi tape
~Prima flower with metal rhinestone brad
~Scalloped circle dies
~Feathers
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - photo inspiration
Just Some Lines - flower plus Just Some Lines digi
Retro Sketches - sketch
Little Red Wagon - use a feather
{Pin}spirational - shiny and heart shape
Pile It On - metal
Lady Bug Crafts - anything goes (EWE really need to go check out Eunice!)
Blue Moon Creations Crafting Station - washi

Here's to mash-ups, adding to the trash heap, and feeling justified in buying the very next thing I truly believe I "can not live without"!

Nancy in Iowa

Cold Virus 2 Me 0

Not to complain...but I wasn't planning on spending my holiday weekend in bed for 2 days like a freekin' mucous factory! Actually I am blessed because there are so many worse things in this world than a cold. But I will admit to having my moments of 'whiny'. But now from 'whiny' I can go to winey in my Bubble! We all know that wine has medicinal qualities - right? Actually today was my first day with coffee! Three days without caffeine. Hmmmmm...maybe it wasn't a cold at all...maybe it was caffeine withdrawals.

So to ease my way back into finding my Bubble mojo... I worked on finishing the insides of about 10 cards and envelopes for about a dozen....I always leave those minor details so I can moooove on the next card. It's like quilting...make the 'top' and move on to the next quilt...but like quilting "its not a quilt until its a quilted" and a card isn't a card until it has an inside and an envelope....

And then to further 'ease' I opted to let the design paper do most of the work...yummy paper!!!

Greetings From Over the Fence Post
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink Raspberry Fizz
~Prima design paper Madeline Collection
~Fence die cut (Taylored Expressions)
~Label die cut (Stampin' Up)
~Sentiment die cut (Elizabeth Craft) (and yes I am still a Cricut idiot - can't for the life of me get the hang of it - so it sits here on my craft table - leering at me - sneering at me - taunting me to try it {and fail} time and time again)
~Paper flower from the dollar bin at Michael's with two Prima leaves
Challenges | Inspirations
Stampin' with the Dragon - flowers
Challenges 4 Everybody - anything

Here's to Puffs Tissues, oyster crackers, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, and high dose Vitamin C!

Nancy in Iowa

Hooky Fusion

Playin' a little 'hooky' this afternoon. I got out of an off campus meeting early...so I am rewarding myself with some ME time! What better to do with ME time than finish up a card for the challenge over at Fusion. Unfortunately I am too late to submit it - but here it is anyway!

Golden Fusion
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink black cardstock
~Layers of assorted fold design papers
~Hero Arts Flowers/Butterlies stamp and die set - stamped with Versamark and black glossy embossing powder
~Ribbons
~Stampin' Up Framelits Labels Collection
~Layers of black and gold card stock
Challenges | Inspiration
Fusion - sketch and color
Artistic Inspirations - anything plus die
Created with Love - lots of layers
Use Your Stuff - rule of threes (old stash of ribbon - almost all used up!)
Hiding in My Craft Room - embossing

Here's to playing hooky and long lost time in the Bubble,
Nancy in Iowa

Yen Bubble

University graduation 2014 has come and gone! Instead of Bubble time - I was working on the senior slide show (click here if you want to see it). It is a labor of love. Even though it sucks up all my free time I love to hear the student reactions when they see it for the first time. Each year at the senior luncheon we have a 'slide show' as a final farewell.

Anyway...I can come up for air now! Will I miss my peeps? Well sure. And some more than others and some ... not so much! I am so happy to see them begin their newest journeys. Graduate school for some, jobs for most, job hunting for a few...

So what that means is time in my Bubble!

My blog friend Julie is on a design team for Lavinia Stamps. Julie's cards are over-the-moon fabulous! Check out her cards...you won't be able to stop clicking to the next...and then next...and then....next card....... She is an inspiration to me all the time! I decided I HAD to buy a Lavinia stamp (or two) so I could play along!

Yen Happy
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink Kraft card stock
~Layer of mottled purples design paper
~White card stock stamped with script background stamp then run through the printer for the digital Lavinia "stamp"
~Image colored using Copics
~Three buttons with twine
~Happy Birthday sentiment cut using Cuttlebug (outside 'happy' inside 'birthday)
Inspiration | Challenges
Just Us Girls - color inspiration (white, kraft, orchid)
Lavinia Stamps - birthday girl
Crazy for Challenges - sketch
Challenges for Everybody - anything goes
Allsorts - purple passion

Here's to tassels, spare time, and coming up for air!
Thanks for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

Marshmallows and Wine on the Dock

Just opened the newest mailing from Hy-Vee the local/regional grocery store. There is a recipe for making marshmallows.

Long pause......

WHY?

AND - Who makes their own marshmallows? I want to meet a person who chimes in a conversation with, "I made homemade marshmallows yesterday! They were__________(delicious...heavy enough to use as a door stop..." (Fill in your own story - mine has to do with me sitting across from this crazy Iron Chef wanna-be, holding back snarky remarks, and barely able to contain exaggerated eye-rolling.)

I actually read the recipe - because I was so dumbfounded that there is actually a RECIPE for marshmallows. Words (work), ingredients and tools like these strike fear into my card-making heart:

• Agave Nectar (didn't know agave's have nectar - which makes sense since I have no idea what an agave is...)
• Candy thermometer
• Unflavored Gelatin (mmmm..THAT sounds TASTY!)
• Opaque, thick, yet spreadable (this sounds like that fine line between turning whipping cream from tasty topping to clumpy near-butter)
• Prepared pan (prepared to me means I washed if after I last used it)
• Oiled spatula (40 weight? OILED?) With a note to ADD MORE OIL if needed... (my stomach is starting to hurt)
• Sift....SERIOUSLY!?
• Collapsible pan? What in the world is that and why would I have one? (Oh!!! In case I should ever want to MAKE marshmallows!)
• Oiled knife....(now my stomach hurts AND is churning)
• Perforated cutting wheel (well of COURSE it would be perforated - is there any other kind!?) 

Did I mention it ONLY takes one hour (THAT YOU WILL NEVER GET BACK OR RECOVER FROM) and there are ONLY 9 (yes NINE) steps to creating your very own Homemade Marshmallows.

You may be relieved to know that you can store these gelatinous-agave-corn syruped, (and slightly OILED)  "edible" spongiform clumps for one week in an AIRTIGHT container in the refrigerator. (Imagine the bad dreams you could conjure up if the mallows were allowed to BREATH in the fridge....) Cue the horror music on the Mighty Wurlitzer....

Some items are just SUPPOSED to be bought ready-made! And in the interest of full disclosure. I hate all things marshmallow - even the store bought version.

This same issue talks about spring cleaning...like I would have time for THAT if I were tied up making stupid marshmallows! Maybe my next card post will tell you what I learned in the spring cleaning article...vacuum my walls... Who are these lunatics that write this stuff???? And here I am wasting your time with my marshmallow rant!

After my exhaustive review of how to make marshmallows I managed to squirrel away a bit of time in my Bubble!

These cards are kind of out of the ordinary for me. A sweet lady that my sisters and I are long distance friends with recently lost her husband. She and husband live in the quaint fishing village of Shellman Bluff, GA. It is a picturesque fabulous place on the coast. Miss Evelyn has been posting photos on her Facebook page of morning and evening photos from the dock of their Fish Camp. I've sat on their dock and experienced these serenely beautiful and awe inspiring views. I wanted to do something special for Miss Evelyn so I printed some of her photos to create some cards to mail to her.

I used my color printer and cut watercolor paper to fit into the printer. I must admit my printer was NOT happy about the weight of paper. I then used Stampin' Up Watercolor Wonder. I colored over the existing photo and then used water pens to spread the color for a watercolor look. After they dried I coated three of them with Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy. One I coated with Stampin' Up Crystal Effects. So here they are...

Thinking on the Dock

~Base card Cryogen White from Papertemptress

~Die cut "Thinking" (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

~Inside sentiment "Thinking of you"

~Photo watercolor highlighted and topped with a think coat of Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy

Challenges and Inspiration

Keep it Simple - watercolor

Country View - nature's glory

Flat Friends - dies/punches

Promise of the Day

~Base card - vanilla card stock

~Layer of BasicGrey Fusion  Pink Flamingo

~Strip of blue from Paper Company Farm House

~Photo printed on watercolor paper - spritzed with water and colored with SU Watercolor Wonders and topped with moderately thick layer of Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy

Inspiration | Challenge

Just Us Girls - sketch

View Through the Moss

~Vanilla card stock

~Layer of Daisyd's

~Strip of Daisyd's

~Photo print on watercolor paper - colored with SU Watercolor Wonder - highlighted with Distress Crackle - Clear Rock Candy

Inspiration | Challenge

Just Us Girls - sketch

Southern Girls - dots and spots

Ocean Friends

~Base card periwinkle card stock

~Layer of Paper Company Farm House

~Blue rectangle card stock from Paper Company Farm House  with the word OCEAN - HOW COOL IS THAT???!!! "Ocean" higlighted with Wink of Stella

~Photo of the coast printed on watercolor paper - watercolor highlighted and water penned and topped with thin layer of Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy - dotted with fine glitter

Thoughts of dock sitting, peace, wine, gnats, friendship, and sympathy,

Nancy in Iowa