O M G!  Have I mentioned how lazy I am.  Actually, I’m not sure it’s laziness.  Wait… Yes, yes it is!

So, I have this craft fair coming up in a few weeks.  Actually, it’s in two weeks – Saturday, March 4th.  And, what do I have done for it…  NADA!  NOTHING!  ZILCH!!!

Actually, that is not true, I have plans.  I have big plans.  I am doing something like 180 cards and some 3D projects, including some succulents.  But, what have I started actually making… NADA!  NOTHING!  ZILCH!!!

Why on earth do I procrastinate so?

Do you do this?

I had big plans of going home from work yesterday and spending some quality time in the craft room.  Did I do this?  Nope!

What did I do?

I waited for the hubby to come home to take me to the store because I didn’t feel like driving myself the three miles.  Then, when we got home, I waited for the daughter to get home and do her dishes.  Then I made some homemade bread while I watched a couple movies.  Then, I ate some leftovers for dinner and went to bed.

Yes, I am that pathetic.  But, there is a plan… remember!

Yesterday, I cut three packs of card stock to be card bases and layers for the cards I am going to make.  Doesn’t that sound like a great accomplishment? It was a total of 102 bases and 96 layers.  Impressive, right!?!  Then, I will not mention that it took a total of three cuts with my heave-duty paper cutter to achieve it!  I’ll let you think that I did it one piece of paper at a time… 🙂

But, here is a picture of my first successful try at making homemade bread!!!

Did I mention that I left work at noon yesterday.  I know – that doesn’t make it any better does it?  Miss Hattie said I could, so I did!  But look at that bread.  It actually rose!

I am teaching kids at church how to make bread at Old Fashioned Day next Saturday.  I figured I needed to learn!  I can make yummy cinnamon rolls using yeast.  I taught them how to do this last year… so, when asked about this year, I told them I would teach a bread making lesson knowing full well that I have never actually been successful at it!  So, why not wait until a week before the event to try a new recipe from Pinterest?

But alas, this did not get any cards made for the upcoming craft fair.  I did make progress…  Not only did I cut cut down a bunch of cardstock with three cuts… hard work, I know… but I carried in the box of Stampin’ stuff i need into the house from the car.

I got other things done too, so it wasn’t a complete waste of a day…  I also brought in a candle bag from the car and tried to do some candlescaping…  after I shoved Dell’s stuff out of the way.  He tends to take over the dining room table when he comes home for a visit!

So, I promise you… I will make cards tomorrow and the next day…  I will be ready and I will post pictures 🙂

Until next time… keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂  Joanne

How do you do it?  Do you just copy something that you found on Pinterest?  Do you drag out all your stuff and stare at it until your are inspired?  Do you just sit down and make a card?

Well, the method of my madness usually goes something like this…

• Trolling Pintrest…  “Oh, I like that”
• “Hey I could make that… but I don’t have that…”
• go to craft room and pull out sets
• get overwhelemed
• go to computer and create a sketch
• work a little magic with Photoshop and Publisher to create a digital card
• take new sketch and create cards.

This is the method that I use when I have time and/or I have a lot of cards to make.  This is basically what I did for that card swap I did in December.  This is what I do for most cards I make.  But, what does that look like?

Pretty much.. it looks like this.  Here is the card that I saw on Pinterest.  I copied it into Publisher.  I used some shapes and created a sketch of it.  Printed it off.  Made some notes… created the card.

What does it look like when I use Photoshop to help me create?

The first two are the card sketches that I created using Photoshop and Publisher.  The last two are the actual card I created.  You can see that I didn’t have the right dimensions on the wording, so I had to adjust.  This is because I usually don’t have my stamp sets and dies with me while I am creating the sketches.

So, with all that being said… I was designing a card this morning and did a card sketch when it hit me… I can do sketches and put those out for y’all.  What do you think about that.  It would be great to see what you gals/guys could do with these sketches…

Here is the first one…

So, let me know what you create with this sketch by leaving it int he comments or on our Facebook page 🙂

Here is the direction I am headed based on a card by Kylie Bertucci.

This is going to be the make-n-take my Open House Event this weekend!

Until next time… Keep it simple, Stampers!

🙂  Joanne

Well, look at that!  Life handed you some lemons.

What are you going to do with them?

Of course, you are going to make lemonade!

Sometimes, bad things happen and there is no reason for it.  I believe that God puts things in our way because we need to trust Him to find our way out.

So, when bad things happen to people you know, what is your go to move?  Do you call? Do you text?  Do you post on their Facebook timeline?

All of those are perfectly acceptable forms of communication.  And, I have been known to do them all.  But, like yesterday’s post eluded to, I am terrible at sending cards.  But, it’s times like these that call out for a card… In fact, these times are just standing there screaming at you to send a card!  And, what stops you?

I know what stops me…  what do I write inside?

Well, Stampin’ Up has a solution…

This stamp set is called “Here for You” and is available in the 2016-2017 Annual Catalog in both wood-mount (141541) and clear-mount (142164).  It’s perfect when you want to say something, but just don’t have the right words…

Of course, this set plus the Foxy Builder punch equals so much fun!  Here’s what I did with it.

When they introduced the foxy punch and stamp set at OnStage in April 2016, they showed us an array of animals they had created with it.  Once I looked through the catalog and saw “that stinks…”, I fell in love and needed both the foxy bundle and the stamp set above.  The two just marry together so perfectly!

And, just because I am in a very giving mood… I decided to throw in a tutorial for this card.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

proj-sheet-this-stinks

Until next time… keep it simple, stampers!

🙂 Joanne

Seriously, I am!

I am a card maker who rarely sends cards!

How terrible is that?  I really need to change that!

I love to make cards.  I love to teach people to make cards.  I encourage people to send cards.  I used to work a card store…  Yet, I am a failure at sending cards.  There really needs to be a support group for people like me!

Tomorrow is my best friend’s birthday.  Is it weird for a grown woman to still refer to someone as the BFF?  Well, I really don’t care.  I have many friends.  I’m not bragging… “Many friends” nowadays is very different than “many friends” when I was much younger!  But, there is that one person who will travel across oceans to see me and I would travel to the ends of the earth to see her.  We get together a couple times a year.  I have had her almost as long as my oldest son.  Of course, I live a small town where everyone is related to everyone else, so knowing someone for 20 years doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment.  But, I was a military brat who became a Marine wife.  We moved every 3 years.  In fact, I moved 38 times in 32 years.  So, keeping a friend for 20 years is a great achievement.  We have been friends since the day we meet.  And, you know what… I never send her a card!

This year, I thought, was going to be different.  I would send her a card.  Well, guess what.  Tomorrow is her birthday and I have no card to send her.  I can’t just send her any card. It needs to be special.  So, since I haven’t had the time… no card.

Am I a terrible friend?  Would you un-friend me?

What’s worse is that Stampin’ Up makes it so easy to whip out great birthday cards in no time.  Here is one that used the Birthday Banners stamp set (141506) and the coordinating Bunch of Banners Framelits (141488).

Whoops.. look at that… there is ink smeared on it.  Just the perfect touch for a homemade card, don’t you agree!

Here is the inside!

So tell me, should I just break down and send her this card?  Maybe go through my stash of old cards that I have made and send her something not designed just for her…  Or send a belated card?  Or maybe, just chalk it up to a loss this year and try for next year!?!

Do you send cards?

Am I just the worst?

Is there a card-sending help group?

Until next time… keep it simple, stampers!

🙂  Joanne