A shot of my booth last weekend on Beech Mtn., NC, at Crafts on the Green. It was my first attempt at selling my "wares" and what fun it was! The weather was gorgeous and COOL - 72!!! That alone was worth the entry fee! It was a fun day, and I can't wait to try it again. I met lots of interesting and nice people and received a good reception of my creations.

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. However, it's has not been because I've been idle! It's been a busy busy summer. Fun, but busy. We've sold LOTS of ice cream and lemonade this summer! We were in NC for a week at the Scottish Highland Games. What fun! And what a "hungry for ice cream" crowd we had! We enjoyed seeing old friends, making new ones, and selling lots of ice cream! This weekend we're off to Beech Mtn., NC for Arts on the Green at Fred's General Mercantile high atop the mountain. I'm so excited, because I've actually taken the leap and rented a craft space! I'll be posting pics next week. Please check back!

Time to Bloom

It's been a few days since I've had time to "blog". I made this card a few days ago and have just found the time to share it. With all the hype re the paper flowers, I came upon the idea to try my hand at the technique using crepe paper, because I LOVE crepe paper! I'm very pleased with the way the flower turned out.
I began with an ivory base and topped it with pink CS, then a great new Cosmo Cricket DP. I just love this paper (I believe it's called Girl Friday?)and just can't seem to stop working with it! On top of that, I placed a medallion made from a Spellbinders Circle Scalloped and plain dies, all topped with my crepe flower (sprinkled with just a little diamond dust). The leaves are also made from crepe paper. The sentiment is inked and embossed in pink on pink paper, mounted on a Spellbinders Fancy Tag and finished off with a little silk ribbon.

Iris

When we moved here a couple of years ago, a friend of ours gave us some excess iris he needed to get rid of. Last year we had 4 or 5 blooms. This year, they have multiplied and bloomed like crazy! We've really enjoyed looking out our kitchen window and seeing these beauties.

Bithday Flowers

I've been wanting to try my hand at using buttons. It seems to be all the rage right now, and I've seen some beauties using that technique. So I made a couple of cards yesterday using buttons. This is one of them. I stamped the flowers on ivoy CS in Tuxedo Black using a "Fab Flowers" by Hampton Arts stamp. I colored the leaves and the petals using my Copics. I cut it out using a Spellbinders oval. (The flowers were a welcome change to the dreary weather we had yesterday.) Then added rhinestones and buttons, inked around the edges a little, and mounted it on a Spellbinders Oval Scallop. The DP is from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird Collection. I love this paper! I scalloped the borders with a new EK punch I found at Michael's that punches and embosses. I stamped and embossed the "Happy Birthday" on a smoky blue color of Bazzil and tied it on with a little silk ribbon of the same color. This one will be placed in my stash until just the right birthday comes along. Now it's off to church and a day of family fun in celebration of my brother's birthday.

SCS Challenge

After just watching for years, I finally tried my hand at a challenge. This one was over at SCS and was entitled "Flock Around the Clock". It was a challenge encouraging everyone to use things they already had. Well, I was up for it since I've had "Crushed Velvet" by Doodlebug in my stash for probably 3 years - unused! I came up with a birthday card using an ivory base with another one of those MME die cut pages, topped with a flocked flower with a huge rhinestone center. The stem is also flocked. I stamped and embossed the sentiment and mounted on a Spellbinders Petite Oval. It was fun. And challenging! I didn't end up with quite what I'd hoped for, but still it was fun.

Thinking of You

I discovered, in my stash, two small journaling books by Making Memories that I bought quite some time ago. I was kind of in a hurry for a sympathy card, and these little die cuts sure fit the bill for speed and beauty. I started with an ivory base, popped a dark red CS on top, followed by a popped black CS. Layered on that is a DP made by K&Co entitled "Black & Ivory". I placed the pre-made die cut that I had stamped (popped, too, of course) on the DP. The stamp was also one I had in my stash, and I could not find the name or maker. I inked the floral stamp with Fired Brick distress ink, stamped it once on a scrap, then stamped it onto the die cut. This created a sort of "watermark" or shadow effect. Over that, I stamped the sentiment using Black Tuxedo, then embossed. The little bird was stamped with the same, embossed, then cut out. I finished it off with a black velvet ribbon across the bottom of the die cut topped with prima flowers and a black rhinestone brad. I'll certainly be using those little die cuts again!