"Marci Day" cards

Summer - it's not over!  Just when we thought that it was, August is here with warmer weather. I don't even mind the windy or cooler days.  My husband and I call these "Marci Days" because I can stay inside and craft - not feeling guilty because we should be doing something outside.  Hope you are enjoying your cooler summer days too -  I think September is going to stretch it out for us.  Here's hoping for a long Fall - cheers!

Created these embossed cards for my girlfriends.  They are so worth it!

I heart the Spellbinder and Memory Box templates. Lots of work, but lots of fun always :)

 

 

 

Cute Wedding Card....

 

 

Owl Thank you....
 

 

 

Sympathy card....

 

 

 

Birthday Card for Mother-in-law...we enjoy tea time together.

 

 

It's not easy figuring out what birthday cards to design for men.  No sparkles permitted I'm told...so I think these work...I think!  Work in progress...

 

 

 

 

Thanking my husband for a great trip to the Rocky Mountains....
 

 

 

Father's Day card for father-in-law...

 

 

 

Well, that's all the cards for now!  I've been working on a "sketch a day" so maybe I'll post them some day.  Sketching is so relaxing - I understand why people enjoy it.  Even if it's a small sketch that only takes 20 minutes.  It's almost like meditation - concentrating on something for a little while to take you away from the daily stresses of life.  Plus, you actually finish something you can look at for years down the line - something you created.  

 

Busy Day in the Craft Room ....

Mother's Day and Birthday Cards

Baby shower card and gift

Birthday card

Cards with double patterns and a lotta color...

Wow, where did the year go? I'm back! I have updated my blog design and going to be posting more frequently. Really! Promise!

Here is a few pictures of a few cards I worked on in the past year. I know - lots of color, patterns, I just keep playing with all of it! I normally wouldn't mix patterns but I did anyway this time.

Book of the month:

I've done some heavy reading the last two months.  No, not lots of it - just serious reading.  Decided to get into the classics.  Read "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens - took me a long time as I only have 20 minutes in the morning to read.  Was a great read but I'm taking a break for a bit from reading after that.  I loved going back and placing myself in that time frame.  But I think I need a "chic read" now.

Other Stuff: 

Anyone else hooked on "Sons of Anarchy" ?...wow, just watched most of the seasons.  I'm officially addicted.  Katey Sagal and crew are so talented!

Sewing projects:

I'm working on finishing up six mug rugs also finished my first quilted scenic wall hanging.  Mountains, trees and bear cubs, will post soon...(must have turned out okay, I have the approval to hang it up at the lake from my husband - yay!  Might not be in the same room as the Master Angler though! :) )

Thanks for reading - and have a wonderful day!  "Keep Crafting and Carry on"...

Happy Easter!

Hope the Easter Bunny visits you and delivers lotsa chocolate!

Love making Easter cards! I only had time to make a few quick ones, so they were relatively simple, but I love how the bight colors popped out.

Oh, and I love the mannequin stamp I received with a cardmaking magazine. So many cards I could make with her!
One of my bestest buddies got this card...

Valentine's Day Card - Cardmakers, you know it's just like being a carpenter or an electrician. If you complete your job outside the home for others, but not for your own house, they might get a little upset at home. So having failed Christmas cardmaking 101 at home and not making a Christmas card for my husband, I made up for it by making a great card for him for Valentine's Day...phew! Saved myself for another year!

Book of the Month:

STILL not done reading the second "Halo - The Flood" book. But I'm working on it!

If you've been following my blog, then you know I'm inclined to pick up books by Irish authors.
This time Cathy Kelly caught my eye and I'm reading "Best of Friends." Great book for reading at the lake or wherever you like to relax!

Happy Easter everyone!

Marci

This 'n that...

This'n That ... fabric, paper, mag articles, etc.

I recently read two letters in a magazine that were written by two ladies who have been crafting for decades. Both started during the 1940s - The years of war and depression when everything was rationed and you just "made do." Two things I found interesting - my first thought was it is interesting that we have been crafting for that many years - generations. Crafts like knitting, sewing and crocheting have made a comeback and are still popular today by the younger generation. The world of crafting has changed in many ways, but the stitches are still the same and have been for at least a century. My second thought was that years ago, everything was rationed and women made clothes for their families because they had to. Now, there are so many amazing products for crafting and we have so much available to us. Wow, what our ancestors would think if they were still here and could see the amount of fabric, paper, etc. available to us now compared to what they had to use and ration! They were lucky to get a printed pattern, we get dizzy looking for something to use from the abundance of patterns available! It's crazy.

Anyway, we are lucky to be living in this decade and on that note...here is a card I made for my girlfriend who recently turned 50! The patterned paper is all from a magazine and I got some great stamps from the UK magazine as well.

While we are on the topic of fabrics, I have been looking for a "coffee" print to use to make curtains for my kitchen windows for about two years. I finally found a good enough print and made these cafe curtains. My first time making curtains. I measured and re-measured for accuracy. They turned out fine - seem to be even - top and bottom! yay!

oh - and I sewed a couple of quilted tote bags for carrying books or whatever...I love cats, so used fabric called the "London Cats"...available at FabricLand.

Wherever I travel, I'm always looking for craft shops. Kenora, Ontario has a great little quilt shop called "Cottage Country Quilts." The lady that owns it is super friendly. I'm a frequent customer and she has offered to help me with any sewing project I need help on. She doesn't carry a lot of fabrics, but quality is always better than quantity - and I can always find great printed fabric in her store. Here is a sample. I don't know what I'm going to make yet, but I'll use them for some future projects - at some point...

Books I'm currently reading....

My favorite authors are usually Irish authors. I recently picked up a book called "Stand By Me" by Sheila O'Flanagan. Really good book. I find her writing comparable to Maeve Binchy.

If you like science fiction, I'm currently reading the "Halo" series. Didn't think I'd like it, but the first book "Fall of Reach" was great and left a cliffhanger at the end, so I'm on to the second book, "The Flood." By the way, my husband was so happy I was reading these books that he decided to play "Halo"...again...! Great, I'm trying to read and it's so loud here - the stove elements are vibrating from the noise in the basement! But you know what they say, "happy wife husband, happy life"... ;)

'til next time...keep crafting!

Marci

Cards with Buttons!

Cards with Buttons!

I didn't understand before why card crafters/scrappers like buttons so much. Now I get it! So much more color to play with and match to colored papers. The different sizes of buttons, and textures also add to the play! I had so much fun making these cards for Fall time. I still used my copic markers and papers that came with the October issue of the Cardmaking magazine. I'll be collecting buttons now, wherever I find them!

I used the scraps to make a couple of bookmarks. I was going to keep them for myself - but maybe I should send them with the cards? hmmm...

The Winnipeg Doll Club had a Doll show last weekend. I wasn't going to buy one, but this doll belongs to the brand/family that I already collect and she was $10.00!!!! Passed by the table and came back, I couldn't just not buy her - that would be wrong! So now she has a place in our home - yay!

September Cards!

September Cards Colored with Copic Markers

Wow - where has September gone? 
I finally can post this card.  My brother and sis-in-law's first anniversary card.  Here's the recipe:  stamp, copic markers, post-it notes (I know - what????).  I needed bright colors for this card to make the stamp "pop."  So the brightest colors I had available happened to be post-it notes.  They worked!

My father-in-law's birthday was this month as well. I had found some really cool "seaside" themed stamps in Fort Frances that I can use over and over again!

Anyone that has been asking what I've been up to lately knows I've been "Fall cleaning"...Sometimes it's such a hard decision, what to keep and what not to keep. When I feel guilty about throwing something out (like a gift from a good friend) or worried that I'm going to miss it later - I think about something I read online which makes a lot of sense - "It's greedy to keep so much, let it go to someone who really needs it or will make a lot more use out of it!"

I have recently "let go" of a lot of items and it does feel good knowing maybe someone else can make more use out of it. Besides that, when you let go of old stuff, you can make room for more new stuff!

Another good tip I read was "for every new item you bring home, throw two out." Good tip - don't know if I can follow it - but I'm going to try!

Hope you are having a nice Fall season and do it - give something away you don't need!