Rooks Paper Scissors

New Easter dress

2011-04-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Grandma Kathy, for the beautiful and lovingly made dress for Natalie! She loves it, it fits her perfectly, and I can't wait to debut this handmade treasure at church (and probably everywhere we go for the next several weeks -- Natalie tends to practically live in her most loved dresses).

And here's a recent photo of Natalie and Naomi hanging out. I have been playing with my brother's hand-me-down digital Canon Rebel camera. I love its heft and the richness it brings to each shot.

Welcome my mom to the blog realm!

2011-04-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

My mom's life is in process of taking a turn for the creative, and she's invited me to join her artful journey. She's decided to learn the ropes of the online community, including blogging and running an Etsy shop. I've gladly offered to help in any way possible ... and yesterday we launched her blog!

Give my mom a warm welcome at Color, Cut, and Paste! I'm very proud of her and excited to help share and sell her amazing craft creations.

She hopes to launch her Etsy shop in the next couple months, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I've dusted off my brother's hand-me-down digital Canon Rebel camera and have been practicing with backdrops, props, and lighting. I have hopes of sprucing up my own product photography and taking photos of items for my mom's shop.

Here's a peek behind the scenes:

My mom's cigar box purse was one of the first things I photographed with the new (to me) digital camera. I placed the box upon a vintage suitcase in front of a goldenrod-colored blanket suspended from hooks in the ceiling. Everything is situated in front of the window in my craft room for delicious afternoon light.

I played around with using the branches to support the jewelry my mom makes and plans to sell on Etsy. We were both happy with the initial results...

Clothespin fairies

2011-04-14T09:05:00.001-07:00

In February, Natalie, Naomi, and I painted some clothespin fairies for an afternoon craft time together. I die-cut the butterfly wings out of embossed Grungeboard and attached them with hot-melt glue. I also used the hot glue to attach the pipe-cleaner arms. We then painted and glittered the fairies to our hearts' content.

These two fairies were Valentine's gifts for our friends.

Natalie, age 4, painted this one for herself. She is named Leaf-Leaf and has fun flying around the house and making guest appearances in Natalie's dollhouse.

Naomi, age 18 months, painted this one all by herself. Natalie named this fairy Paint-Paint.

Christmas cards custom order

2010-11-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

Finally we're streamlining a few things around the house in hopes of making computer access easier for me during the day. We bought a new laptop several months ago, but I kept using the old one (which worked out well when the new one had to be sent away for repairs). Anyway, it quickly became ridiculous for me to wait for an opportunity to upload photos to one computer but edit them on another all while Naomi ransacked the house ... you get the picture.

Speaking of pictures, here are some photos of my newest Christmas cards. My lovely sister-in-law ordered some cards of varying fanciness. Here are some for her to choose from. I'm also feeling impulsive, so they just might show up in my shop (if Naomi keeps napping at the moment!).

Fancy Wreath

Merry Little Girl

Christmas Cardinal and Wreath

Simple Wreath
(I've got a thing for wreaths this year)

(I can stamp "Holiday Wishes" on this card instead of "Make Merry")

Dasher

New variations on the simple wreath

Back on the blog

2010-10-10T09:47:00.001-07:00

There is a tremendous backlog of photos that just yesterday made it from my camera onto the computer. Who knows when I'll be able to sort through photos from the past two-plus months, but I just might have some spare time in the next few weeks.

By way of a short update, all my creative energy for the past three months has been poured into coordinating a wedding for a very dear friend. Oct. 9 was the big day, and I'm happy to say it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience -- from the behind-the-scenes coordination and crafts to the moment when the bride walked down the aisle to her groom, and even the tear-down and cleanup went smoothly (in an exhausting way).

Many, many loving helping hands from my church helped bring the plans to fruition, and we all came away from the experience feeling that this is the way it should be. It was truly a community effort, and I was blessed by so many friends' talents and their willingness to make the wedding celebration happen...

I hope to share more along the way through photos of the decorations and craft projects I snuck in during the coordination process. Sometimes I felt like I had to literally sneak into my craft room because it was about three months ago that Naomi started walking. And climbing. Everything. And if she wasn't climbing onto one of the craft tables, she was emptying drawers I wasn't prepared for her to reach. Or knocking something onto herself.

So we've spent a lot of time outside and at parks. This little climber is amazing to watch, especially because she has such sweet expressions on her face as she's determinedly taking every Post-it off the tablet or upending a jar of pencils...

Etsy front page for the first time

2010-08-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

One of my mobiles was featured on the front page of Etsy earlier today!

I wasn't able to get to the computer in time to see it on the front page for myself but I found out about it because my Facebook page is linked to my Etsy shop, and there was an automatic post on my FB page. I don't think I would have found out otherwise, so I'm glad for Facebook...

This is the last mobile currently in my shop, and I think I'll have to continue listing the silver and ivory combination. The funny thing is that this color combination came out of a failed custom order. Someone contacted me through Etsy about a silver and ivory mobile. I made five different combinations, but she never bought one! I listed them anyway, and those are the mobiles that caught the eye of the gallery owner in Massachusetts. There are three of my mobiles still hanging/for sale in her custom-framing shop/art gallery...

Whitewashed paper

2010-07-29T14:07:00.001-07:00

A recent discovery at the craft store led to a whole new level of fun for me in creating mobiles and other paper crafts. This paper from Core'dinations is coated with a white, chalky layer that can be sanded off to reveal the core color beneath. I've embossed it using my Cuttlebug, and then I gently sanded off the top layer.

The darker the core color, the more striking the results, naturally. But all the colors I've tried so far are lovely. I'm thinking this could lend a shabby chic and/or beachy element to the mobiles. In fact, I stumbled upon this paper when looking for something to coordinate with a sea-foam color. I hope this does the trick!

Happy birthday to my littlest crafter

2010-07-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Happy first birthday, Naomi!

(I was inspired to make her crown after seeing several fun felt crowns on Etsy. She did not wear it for very long after I took this photo :) )

Fun with photos

2010-07-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Thank you, goshery, for reminding me that taking photos for my Etsy shop can be fun! I revisited one of my favorite spots for good light in the house at this time of the year (the shelf in my dining room) and had some fun with props...

Custom mobile in blues

2010-07-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some color choices for one of my latest custom mobile orders (click on the image for a larger view):

Custom mobile combinations

2010-07-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

These are some possible color combinations for my latest custom mobile order (you can zoom in quite a bit after clicking on the image below).

Combo i has a different moon, just to show another yellow patterned paper, which can be substituted for the other yellow paper.

Here are more photos for a closer look at some of the patterns. It was surprisingly difficult to find bright blue gingham paper, but I got pretty close with a scrap I've had for a while, and some other sources...

Making the most of a gloomy summer

2010-07-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

I know better than to complain about a foggy and mild summer, so I decided to take advantage of the overcast morning for its good outdoor lighting ... and viola! some decent photos for my shop:

I've made two of these, and I plan to put these in my shop soon...

Finally ... new items in my shop

2010-07-06T22:44:00.001-07:00

With Naomi sleeping in my arms, I single-handedly (literally) uploaded some new cards to my Etsy shop. They've been ready since early May ... and here they are.

Delicious typewriters

2010-07-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make a treasury on Etsy ever since I found out it was possible to showcase other sellers' lovely items. Apparently the Etsy crew recently revamped the treasury-making process, and it's now easy for everyone to make a list whenever they want... I took the opportunity to combine and share two of my favorite things -- typewriters and rainbow colors...

From sixthandmain.etsy.com.

From couragemylove.etsy.com.

From goshery.etsy.com. I love having a chance to show off the work of my friend, goshery. She's a fellow Etsy papercrafter who's got an eye for fun and fanciful scrapbooking embellishments, cards, and mini albums.

You can view the whole treasury here, for a limited time only:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c2ea7bcf7978eefa9cf03a8/typing-in-technicolor

Itty bitty banners

2010-06-25T12:25:00.001-07:00

We've had lots of reasons to celebrate lately -- friends' birthdays, graduations, tea parties. Few things are more festive than banners, and I've been inspired by some fellow Etsy folks to try my hand at some banners.

I started small, with a felt banner for Natalie's dollhouse, and a denim and rick-rack banner for her best friend's dollhouse. I also made a few banner cards for birthdays and graduations.

I don't have photos yet, but I'm in the process of making a banner for my craft room. I'll keep you posted...

Fruit and veggies

2010-06-13T18:35:00.001-07:00

In honor of my sister-in-law's graduation -- she earned a master's degree in nutrition -- my brother commissioned a fruits-and-vegetables mobile as a special gift for his dietitian wife. I love a good challenge and was eager to incorporate some of her favorites as well as represent all the colors of the rainbow.

Three-year-old Natalie recognized all the individual fruits and veggies and even wanted to eat the grapes...

I hung the individual grapes on thin filament in a cluster under a grape leaf. The result is a shimmery bunch of abstract-yet-recognizable purple orbs...

The backs of the apple and orange are solid so that when the fruit turn, it gives the illusion of a half of each fruit. I delighted in making this one-of-a-kind mobile, and I hope it inspires my sister-in-law to have delicious daydreams.

Recent projects

2010-05-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, I've not had a lot of time to divide among creating things, photographing them, editing the photos, and blogging about them... Naomi turns 10 months old tomorrow and is quite good at first making big messes in the craft room and then crawling at top speed into another room, necessitating my hastening to police her activities elsewhere. Plus, half the time I want and/or need to create something in the craft room, Natalie, who is nearly 3 1/2 years old, is adamant about doing her own thing in some other part of the house. It's a fun phase of life...

In the meantime, I am able to sneak in a few craft projects. Most recently, I made a fabric flower brooch for my mom. I used pieces of old clothes and some black felt all sewn together with a lovely button my mom found at a local fabric store.

I also made a baby-gift basket--featuring a mobile, a photo album, a set of thank-you cards, and a greeting card--and donated it to the local Birth and Baby Fair silent auction.

And in other creative news, I recently purchased a writing desk. The lovely green vintage desk makes me happy...

On my other blog, I wrote more about how I found this desk...

Color options for custom pink mobile

2010-05-23T16:54:00.001-07:00

Color options for custom moon and stars

2010-05-01T16:03:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to be working on another custom mobile, this one for a little boy's room.

Here are some of the possible combinations based on the customer's request. I love all these colors and am excited to hear which ones will be chosen...

Most of the prints in these combinations are subtle. The darker blue has soft polka dots, and there are also light yellow and light blue cloud prints with polka dots.

Spring fling

2010-04-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've got flowers on the brain ... and in my hair ... and on my craft table ... and on my dining room table ....

In mid February, I spied a felt flower in a friend's hair, and the wheels in my brain began turning. "I can make that!" I said aloud. My friend, Sarah, was with me, and also admired our friend's felt adornment -- thus I had even more motivation to figure out how to make these hair pretties...

For Sarah, I hand-cut a few layers of daisies using a pattern I made from a Sizzix die. Silly me did not realize that my Cuttlebug die cutter combined with those particular dies could cut the felt much more quickly and cleanly. Once that realization sunk in, I began churning out petal after petal.

Over the last two months, I've been using felt and any scrap of fabric I can get my hands on to make flowers of various shapes and sizes. I'm totally hooked. And now Sarah's hooked, too. We had a craft day to make flowers together, and thanks to a well timed birthday, Sarah now has her own Cuttlebug and a couple of dies.

(These flowers are attached to hair clips and can be removed from the cards.)

I've been experimenting with hand sewing and have attached some flowers to my new purse...

With the feedback and encouragement I've received, I'm motivated to sell flowers on cards like these in my shop (someday -- don't hold your breath!).

In the meantime, I'm having lots of fun bringing Spring into my house and my hair...

Guitar-pick mobile

2010-04-10T08:45:00.001-07:00

In honor of my husband's recent birthday, I made a special mobile -- my first to use something other than paper. He is a guitarist and music enthusiast, so his first RooksPaperScissors mobile features actual guitar picks. Natalie picked out the red one...

It was surprisingly easy to punch holes in the plastic picks, and the whole mobile came together relatively quickly.

Bright dots outer space mobile

2010-04-09T23:19:00.001-07:00

The pieces for this mobile have been sitting in a pile on my craft table for a month or so, and last weekend I finally cut and bent the wire and assembled the mobile. The bright colors make me smile whenever I look at it (usually after I bump my head on it)...

In the two years I've been making mobiles, I've also been coming up with ways to photograph them in motion. Finding big enough solid backgrounds that didn't strain my or my husband's arms (I once had him hold up a big dark blue quilt) was the biggest challenge.

I finally rigged a semi-permanent background in front of the craft room window -- two dowel rods, five mug hooks, several clothes pins, and some twine to suspend a roll of white paper and a sheet of dark blue cardstock.

It all works, and now I won't procrastinate taking photos for my Etsy shop (in theory!).

Spring flowers mobile

2010-04-02T08:54:00.001-07:00

These beautiful blooms have been on my mind and my drawing board for several months. I finally sat down and created this mobile for a friend in honor of her new baby girl.

I'm excited to make more flower mobiles, largely because it was fun and relatively easy to assemble the flowers. Unlike the other mobiles I've made, every shape is die cut with Sizzix dies and my Cuttlebug (I've also been using those dies to make felt and fabric flower hair clips -- I'll share photos of those soon).

Plus, I'm absolutely crazy about this paper and its subtle metallic sheen (Bazzil Basics Bling papers). In fact, I bought every color that the local craft shop had in stock! More and more exciting color combinations keep popping in my head.

My next new mobile design will feature these flowers and some butterflies -- so perfect for spring!

Color combinations for custom stripes/plaid mobile

2010-03-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to have the opportunity to create a custom moon-and-stars mobile for an Etsy customer. Here are some of the color combinations I've come up with, as per her request. I'm thinking of some day including something like this in my listings for custom mobiles...

Here's the latest color combination, complete with much better colors in the photo (though they're still not totally right -- I went too far in the muted direction). I've never made a mobile with so many different colored stars, and I love the idea!

I've also enjoyed improving my handy-dandy preview technique, using templates to show different color combinations (instead of punching out all these stars) before creating the actual mobile.

Unfortunately, some of the colors aren't looking right in the photos. I think I got a little too excited and didn't wait for the best lighting. I might redo some of the later combinations... But this gets the idea across.

Mobiles mobiles mobiles!

2010-03-07T20:47:00.001-08:00

There must be something in the air, because the mobiles are flying out of my shop! I've got two custom mobiles to finish, and I'm eager to make a few new designs to sell, including a flower mobile I designed this weekend (photos coming soon). I've also got more moon-and-stars mobiles coming, plus some rocket-moon-and-stars mobiles to finish.

I also just bought more than 40 sheets of the lovely slightly metallic paper (Bazzil) that I'm crazy about for these mobiles.

Here's some food for thought: If you could have a mobile of anything, what would you want? I just might create it!

Dragon mobile

2010-03-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

Last year, my dear friend Ryan requested a dragon mobile. I was flattered by the challenge and opted to make this custom creation a 30th birthday gift. The mobile ended up being a much belated gift, since it took 13 months to put together. It's a true one-of-a-kind creation, and no, I will not be selling anything like this in my shop!

Last March, I sat down to draw the three dragons, after Ryan said that he would prefer classic/medieval dragons to the Asian variety. I researched dragons online, sifting through page after page of dragon drawings, anatomy texts, toys, and literary illustrations. I chose three that I could draw myself and simplify into templates for the mobile.

I then sketched the dragons, enlarged them on a photocopier, traced them on vellum multiple times, and cut the individual parts (wings, limbs) to create the templates. Next, I traced around the templates on carefully selected scrapbook paper, which I'd chosen to appeal to and represent Ryan's taste and interests. After I traced the various dragon parts once, I flipped the templates over and traced them again so I could glue them together, thus creating dragons with two similar sides.

This dragon is based on an image of a toy. I was drawn to his upright posture and ferocious combination of teeth and tongue. I made him out of scrapbook paper that had subtle paragraphs about music. His wings are cut from paper decorated with reproductions of vintage advertisements. I selected an ad for a sewing machine as a nod to Ryan's wife (and my best friend), Sarah.

This was the first dragon I completed. He's based on a line drawing I found on a random website. His posture appealed to me -- he seems to be a particularly agile dragon. He's made out of pirate-themed paper. When I traced this one, I intended to use the subtle, parchment-colored side of the paper, but the brown side with the pirate design was much more exciting as exotic dragon skin.

Natalie named this one "Dragon and Dragon and Dragon." (My 3-year-old is into repeating things.)

This is Smaug, famed foe from 'The Hobbit.' I don't remember from which edition of the literary masterpiece this illustration came, but he is the quintessential dragon. He was also a creative challenge every step of the way, and I wanted to crumple him up and throw him out the window more than once. And even after I finished his body and wings, he wouldn't balance properly. I had to create a special wire harness to keep him still.

The paper had dragon scales/chain-link fence patterns behind a collage of text about music. I intended to have this dragon breathing fire, but I glued his mouth shut before I could engineer something to look like fire. Instead, his whole body is reminiscent of fire. I colored the wings myself using inks and texture brushes. The wings' paper is a reproduction of a vintage map of North America. I selected California and included Ryan's hometown and our current city of residence.

I added the ram horns to Smaug's original horns.

My husband Bret was a great help, encouragement, and engineer as I made this mobile. He also served as my background holder when I was ready to photograph the finished project.

Small update ... photos coming soon

2010-02-26T11:18:00.001-08:00

For the past two weeks, I've been concentrating all my energy on finishing a custom dragon mobile for one of my dearest friends. He commissioned it last year for a 30th birthday gift, and it's taken me 13 months to get it going. I'm now in the final stages of battling physics as the third and largest dragon won't balance properly. I'm eager to share photos and notes on the project, but it will probably take me at least another week or so before I have anything to post.

In the meantime, Natalie's been creating more scrapbook pages all by herself, and I recently purchased an easel for her (my best thrift-store find to date!)...

I'm also gearing up for Easter and experimenting with creating felt-flower hair clips for all the girlies in my life (and maybe even some for me, too)...

Orange and gray papers for custom mobile

2010-02-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more oranges, grays, and silvers and what they'd look like as moons and stars. (click on the images for a larger view)

Here are some suggested combinations of papers for the moon and stars mobile:

Here are some of the printed orange and gray papers that I have, which could work for the custom moon-and-stars mobile. (click on the image for a larger view)

Consignment

2010-02-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

I just shipped three mobiles to the Massachusetts gallery! We'll see what happens...

In other news, my Etsy shop is now accessible from my Facebook profile page. I thought it could be a nifty connection...

My little helping hands

2010-02-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

I've been keeping myself busy with the girls and occasional crafts... I recently reconfigured the packaging for my mobiles with the goal of making it easy for someone to re-package them after having them on display. Specifically, the owner of a gallery in Bridgewater, Mass., contacted me about consigning some of my mobiles. I was flattered and agreed to send her some silver and ivory stars and moon mobiles, after I did some research on the Etsy forums about consignment sales. I also contacted fellow Etsy artisans who have items on consignment with this gallery. I received a good report and am excited to send three mobiles to the gallery.

I formerly sewed the mobiles to cardstock when packaging them for my Etsy sales. The gallery owner wants to hang the mobiles, so I needed reusable packaging. I punched half-circle tabs for holding the bars in place. I then threaded silver elastic thread across the moon and some of the stars so they remain in place but can be slipped out and back in.

I let Natalie help with some of the hole punching.

The truth is that it's nearly impossible to keep her from 'helping' in some capacity these days. She prefers to usurp my craft table. To keep the peace, I content myself with a small corner of my table. At this rate, I bet Natalie will have her own Etsy shop in a couple of years!

Natalie even made four pages in her very own Hello Kitty scrapbook (with a little help from me) -- she's now done more scrapbooking than I have recently! The Hello Kitty scrapbook kit was a birthday gift from our friend Sarah T. Thank you!

Naomi helps me by sleeping in the carrier...

Natalie also set up her own home office in the living room and kept herself busy typing, answering the phone, and jotting notes in her 'calendar.'

Even Natalie's dollhouse has a home office, and her dolly mommy was working at the computer the other day. (Notice the little girl on the potty in the background -- just like in real life!)

In between projects ... another EtsyMom giveaway

2010-02-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

I've shipped two custom mobiles and have the other three ready to hang, photograph, and list in my Etsy shop. In the meantime, I've hosted a Stampin Up workshop and am eager for more new stamps and papers than I know what to do with.

And in some precious few spare moments, I've been enjoying the EtsyMom blog giveaways. I'm excited to learn about some fellow crafting moms and their lovely shops. The most recent giveaway is from Hot Lava Clothing, maker of adorable children's clothes. I'll drool a little longer over the cute tops and skirts before heading to bed...

Birthday Box

2010-01-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

Coming soon to my Etsy shop, it's a Birthday Box. My dad gave me the idea to create a file box of cards complete with a perpetual calendar upon which he could write down everyone's birthdays. In one place, he can have cards all ready to send after he sees whose birthdays are in a given month. I made him and my grandpa boxes like this one for last (2008) Christmas.

Shortly afterward, my grandpa ordered one for another family member. I made two at the same time and have been meaning to photograph and upload the duplicate box ever since.

I'll be selling 12 birthday cards. Some are blank inside, some don't say "birthday" per se, and I used an array of colors and styles in hopes of appealing to guys and gals of all ages.

I am finally really happy with the photo quality, thanks to some basic fixes in Photoshop...

Ready for liftoff -- custom rocket mobile

2010-01-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

I have the pleasure of working on a custom rocket, moon, and stars mobile for an Etsy customer. I designed a smaller version of my first outer-space mobile with a smaller rocket and moon, and no Saturn. The custom request was for bright colors and/or fun prints, so naturally I had a blast picking color and pattern combinations -- I had so much fun that I made five instead of just one! My customer gets first dibs, and then I'll either list the others in my shop or give them as gifts...

1. Bright Dots

2. Lullabye

3. Nerdy

4. Bright Rainbow

5. Earthy

EtsyMom giveaway

2010-01-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

There's just something about seeing a little girl in an adorable tutu! This shop, Strawberrie Rose, has some lovely ones, and there's an EtsyMom giveaway going on right now...

EtsyMom

2010-01-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

It's taken me three years to fully adjust to being a mom, and I'm absolutely loving (nearly) every moment. It's also taken about three years to adjust to creating paper crafts more often than I write. Someday I plan to return to full-time writing, but in the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying crafting and running an Etsy shop. I'm still rather surprised by the relative success of my little shop, and I have lots of inspiration for projects to someday sell.

I feel that my identity has shifted from focusing on myself, my husband, and my career, to focusing on my children, my husband, and my household (not necessarily in that order). And crafts occasionally. What I'm trying to say is that I finally felt ready to join an online group for moms, and I found one that I'm excited and proud to be a part of: EtsyMom. Through the group, I hope to learn more about balancing life at home with little ones, a growing creative drive, and an Etsy shop that needs more stock...

Daisy cupcake toppers

2010-01-17T11:39:00.001-08:00

These are the cupcake toppers I made for Natalie's birthday party, which I had to cancel (that's why the toppers aren't in cupcakes).

I used my Cuttlebug die cutter for all the daisies -- Natalie even helped turn the handle.

I then punched two holes in a small circle of matching paper (to make it look and function like a button) and put a twist tie through the circle and through the holes in the three layers each daisy's petals. Thus I could attach the daisies to the straws without using glue, just to make them cleaner and easier to assemble.

My mom made the letters with her dies and die cutter (she has a lot more craft equipment than I do). She also had the brilliant idea of selling custom toppers like these in my Etsy shop...

I'm still here!

2010-01-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are officially over -- mine stretch through mid-January because Natalie's birthday is the 14th -- I'm starting to inch toward my craft table and camera.

I just finished documenting today's tale of woe, and I'll post photos soon. In short, I made cupcake toppers for Natalie's 3rd birthday party only to have to cancel the party because the birthday girl is sick. The toppers came out exactly as I'd hoped... sigh... My mom suggested I sell them in my Etsy shop, and I think that's just what I'll do. Eventually.

In the meantime, I hope your 2010 is off to a great start, and I plan on visiting everyone's blogs soon!

Christmas: texture

2009-11-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple more holiday designs. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the paper for the frames for subtle texture...

Christmas: made while mothering

2009-11-13T12:20:00.001-08:00

Another card today! Special thanks to my friend, Ellie, for watching Natalie so I could roll up my sleeves and get some work done. The going is still slow, however, because I'm currently wearing Naomi. Though I have two hands free most of the time, my range of movement is limited.

It's because of this extra challenge to my productivity that I decided to have a special stamp made for the backs of my cards: made while mothering. Now I can share that I'm doing my best to balance kids, creativity, and care for the cards' recipients.

I had this stamp made by Terbear on Etsy. She also did my rookspaperscissors.etsy.com stamp.

Christmas: two more cards!

2009-11-13T11:06:00.001-08:00

I finished two more Christmas cards using the Top Note die cuts... Perhaps this feeling I'm experiencing is, dare I say, that of being on a roll? I won't get my hopes up!

I should note that most of these cards are one- or two-of-a-kind as far as the papers go...

Christmas: one card down

2009-11-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

I finished one Christmas card! Hurray!

I was able to use my Cuttlebug and Top Note die to create the basis for about 70 cards. Plus, my mom let me borrow a new Stampin' Up stamp set and matching punch to make dozens of ornament-shaped cutouts. I have no idea how many cards I'll actually finish, and I still plan to enlist the help of Costco's photo center for the bulk of my cards. These handmade ones will largely be for my sister-in-law, who made a custom order...

Hero Dad

2009-10-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

I made this card for Bret after he and I had to divide and conquer for a couple of days last week. Naomi had a urinary tract infection and had to be hospitalized to get IV antibiotics. I stayed with her the whole time, and Bret took care of Natalie. She couldn't visit me and Naomi because of hospital-wide flu precautions, so she spent time with our best friends when Bret visited.

For more on our hospital adventure, check out my other blog.

Bret was amazingly flexible and supportive and bought all of us gals presents for being brave. He deserved some honor, too, so I made this card as soon as I could. I also got him a gift card to his favorite music store...

Buttons and bows

2009-10-07T08:50:00.001-07:00

My best friend watched Natalie so I could finish up these hair bows for another friend -- they definitely require two hands. I'm pleased with the bows overall, and hope they hold up. Hot-melt glue has yet to let me down! Plus, I put tacky glue on the edges to prevent fraying.

I used my Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in each of these barrettes so I could sew the buttons on, in addition to gluing them.

Fall flower bouquet

2009-10-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

With no small amount of grinding, gears have really changed in the Rooks household. I've been challenged on every level as I balance my role as at-home mom, my desire for a clean (at least non-disastrous) house, and my drive to create. I can't say I've enjoyed every moment, but I've enjoyed the outcome of every moment. I'm deeply in love with my girls and am deeper in love with my husband as he grows as a father...

Mushy stuff aside, I have had precious few moments at my craft table, often while wearing and/or nursing Naomi and coaching Natalie in a craft at her own craft table. These fall flowers were commissioned by my mom, and I was able to make them while she played with the kiddos during a recent visit.

I used K & Company papers that coordinated nicely with the printed flowers I used for the centers.

I love putting the colored dew drops in the centers. The half-circle accents make the flowers pop.

In other news, I'm planning to upload three new mobiles to my Etsy shop very soon. One of the mobiles constitutes my 100th item uploaded to RooksPaperScissors! I think I'll add a free gift for whomever buys that particular mobile :)

And a confession: I'm all but 100-percent sure that Costco's photo department will be making my Christmas cards this year. I just don't have the chunks of time necessary to create upwards of 50 cards for my friends and family (let alone any custom orders). I feel free just to have come to that decision.

Silver and ivory mobiles

2009-09-19T14:20:00.001-07:00

I recently finished five mobiles, all of varying combinations of subtly shimmery silver and ivory paper. One of the mobiles -- to be determined -- is for a custom order through my Etsy shop. After the customer chooses the desired mobile, I'll sell three others and give one as a Christmas gift to my nephew.

It was challenging to photograph the mobiles in motion while holding the blue backdrop and wearing my baby. I suppose I could have waited for my husband to get home and help me, but I enjoy a good challenge and am happy with the results. Plus, there was the lighting to consider!

It is a little difficult, however, to see the difference between the silver and the ivory -- they're both quite subtle.

Details:
• The main wire bars are roughly 6 1/2 inches long.
• The mobiles are roughly 14 inches from the top wire bar to the bottom star.
• The moons are roughly 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

No. 1
ivory moon; silver stars

No. 2
ivory moon; ivory small stars; silver large stars

No. 3
silver moon; ivory stars

No. 4
ivory moon; ivory large stars; silver little stars

No. 5
silver moon; silver large stars; ivory small stars

I've also made a mobile of little girls clothes; a more complete outer-space theme; and various patterns of moons and stars. I hope to create some new themes before Christmas, but my production pace has slowed drastically. Instead of stealing away to the craft room every chance I get, I've been honoring my 2-year-old's recent requests to sit down and play with her.

Birth announcements

2009-08-31T16:58:00.001-07:00

Before Naomi was born, I started making birth announcements that I'd send to people who wouldn't get to meet her for a while, family who don't have e-mail, and other special folks. I picked happy, gender-neutral paper and bought both blue and pink ribbon for the top, since we didn't know who Naomi was until she was born...

After Naomi arrived, I filled in the details and assembled the announcements. I finally finished them (more than 40), and am in the process of putting them in envelopes, which always takes me much longer than actually creating the cards!

(By the way, we just found out today that Naomi has gained 2 pounds and now weighs 11 lbs 3 oz!)

Here's how I do it

2009-08-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of the keys to my sanity and ability to craft while mothering: a wrap.

Naomi tends to go right to sleep when I put her in it; I can nurse her hands-free; and it's beautiful and comfortable (and organic cotton). I wear her at home if she's fussy or having trouble falling asleep, and I wear her when we run errands... This particular wrap is from Lovey Duds on Etsy -- she has dozens of gorgeous handmade wraps.

I also wore my first daughter, in a sling and carrier, until I became too pregnant to fit the carrier over my belly. One piece of advice if you're hoping to wear a baby for the first time: don't give up! It takes practice, and the baby may need time to get used to it. Borrow some slings, wraps, and/or carriers, if you can, before buying one...

Sweetness

2009-08-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

It's warms my heart to catch glimpses of the bond forming between my two daughters...

In other news, I have somehow managed to squeeze in some craft time here and there. I've made two birthday cards and nine thank-you cards, plus I've put the finishing touches on roughly 25 baby announcements. I'm amazed by what I can accomplish while nursing Naomi. I'm seriously considering having a stamp made that says "made while mothering" for the back of my cards!

More Etsy recognition!

2009-08-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

Fellow Etsian A Forest Frolic told me that an item of mine was featured in an Etsy blog article today!

You have to scroll down a little bit to see my wine tags. I'd been wondering why they sold today, out of the blue, after being in my shop for a year!

This and the inclusion in the children's gift guide have done wonders for my motivation to continue developing items for my shop and investing more time in the Etsy community ... as soon as Naomi is old enough to hold a rubber stamp!

I've been noticed!

2009-08-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

While adding Naomi's birth announcement to my Etsy front page, I noticed that one of my mobiles had more than 1,000 views--nearly 10 times the number of views for any other item in my shop. I was excited but wrote it off as just one of those strange and wonderful things that happen when I'm not paying attention.

Well, I've been spending a lot of time poking around on Etsy while sitting on the couch nursing Naomi. I've been buying gifts and beefing up my Amazon universal wish list (my birthday's coming up)... In the course of shopping for a friend's soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter, I started checking out the Etsy children's gift guide. That's where I discovered my mobile among the six pages of wonderful kids' clothing and gifts!

In the words of the gift guides main page: "The Gift Guides are hand picked by Etsy staff from hundreds of thousands of items available." I'm shocked, flattered, and excited. I don't know how long the mobile's been in the gift guide, or how long it will remain ... and now I'm itching to make more mobiles.

My girls

2009-07-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

I've been posting a lot of photos on my other blog, and I thought I'd share a few here, too. I've been treasuring this time to get to know Naomi and to watch Natalie fall in love with her sister while also exhibiting a new level of independence. Soon we'll all be gathered around the craft table together, making cards and scrapbook pages together...

My newest project!

2009-07-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

After waiting an extra 11 days beyond her due date, Naomi Elizabeth Rooks arrived healthy and whole at 12:53 a.m. today (July 24) weighing in at 9 lbs. 5 oz and measuring 23 inches long. She was born at home after 2 1/2 hours of labor. She has dark hair and lovely chubby cheeks.

I have lots of photos on myother blog: http://www.rookses.com/2009/07/24/naomi-elizabeth-rooks.

No news, but a cool card by my mom

2009-07-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

My mom makes awesome cards! She recently sent me a photo of this masterpiece. I had a tough time envisioning it when she described what she was doing while we were talking on the phone yesterday. Wow!

New card, old card

2009-07-22T12:59:00.001-07:00

This is my most recent card, which I made using some of my newest stamps and some old colors. I can't believe I haven't invested in fun animal stamps earlier!

I discovered this card in my stash today, after a friend asked if I have any thank-you cards she could order. I had planned to upload this to my Etsy shop -- we'll see if that ever happens...

41 weeks, 2 days

2009-07-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

I'm still making the most of this pre-baby vacation. All is well with me and the baby, so my husband, daughter, and I are just waiting and actively enjoying time at home together. I made a couple of fun cards the other day, which I've yet to photograph, and I bought some newborn shirts to stamp on.

In the meantime, I posted a lengthy update on my other blog. Now I'm off to make some blueberry-strawberry coffee cake...

A whale of a birthday card

2009-07-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

I was working on these Friday when I thought labor was starting. Turns out it was just early signs that stopped when I went to bed. At least now the cards are finished!

Yesterday I finished a page in Natalie's scrapbook. I was surprised by how long it took me to come up with a layout. My mom reminded me that scrapbook pages are just like big cards with photos. That seemed to help.

Now we're off to a spicy lunch -- maybe that will get labor started!

No baby, but some new cards...

2009-07-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Baby's not ready yet, apparently. I did make some fun kid birthday cards yesterday. When the fog burns off and the lighting is better, I'll photograph and post them. In the meantime, I'm writing a longer update for my other blog....

Still waiting

2009-07-16T09:02:00.001-07:00

I'm still waiting patiently for Baby's arrival... Maybe today will be the day I start my daughter's scrapbook!

No baby yet

2009-07-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

No birthday party yet, but I'm feeling great and making the most of the time left. I thought I was all finished nesting, but I managed to find a few more great baby buys at a second-hand shop yesterday. I've also been working on a few more cards using my new stamps...

In due time...

2009-07-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Today's my baby's due date. We're not sure if it will be his/her birthday (there are still several hours left today), and I'm doing my best to treat each moment as a gift before that momentous occasion... There's more baby readiness info on my other blog, rookses.com.

To that end, I've been crafting up a small storm, mostly cards to have on hand for future thank-yous and new babies. I've been using the new stamps I got through my recent Stampin' Up workshop. It's obvious I ordered the right stamps because just looking at them inspires me to create!

We made this card in the workshop using one of Stampin' Up's newest colors and stamp sets.

I'm wild about this fat, happy little bird! And the swirly vines make for lovely borders and backgrounds. I'll get a lot of use out of this set...

For something different and fun, I ordered a set of animal stamps, which features the giraffe and elephant pictured as well as an owl and a whale. It's a different style for me, but I figured Natalie and I will have stamping the animals together...

Baby shower gift: keepsake box

2009-07-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

For the baby shower for my best friend, Sarah, I was privileged to be able to decorate a keepsake box for her new baby. Our friend, Laura, organized the shower and came up with the idea for the box, which is filled with several smaller boxes...

When Laura gave me the big, undecorated box, I initially intended to cover it with paper -- what could be more natural for me? However, I realized that the sides of the box were larger than 12x12, so using paper would present a challenge. Then I got the inspiration I needed: Sarah loves fabric! I popped into the local fabric store and perused the vintage-style selection. The Dick and Jane squares were a no-brainer -- I knew for a fact that Sarah loves those. I then quickly found some lovely warm-colored floral fabric that coordinated well.

The employees at the fabric store were patient with me and my utter lack of knowledge about fabric. I basically showed them the box and said I wanted to cover it with fabric. They agreed that about a yard should do it, and suggested Aleene's tacky glue instead of hot-melt glue. I'm indebted to them for that helpful suggestion! I'm now crazy about fabric and glue -- I'm just sad that fabric is so much more expensive than paper...

I finished the inside edges with twill tape to give it a clean look. I would have done it on the inside of the lid, too, but I feared that making the lid any thicker would prevent it from sliding onto the box.

Each of the smaller boxes will contain something special commemorating Baby Tilly's birth -- her hospital bracelets, information about the weather on the day she was born, data about the popularity of her name, etc. I stamped the tops of each box to label them and trimmed each lid with different cream ribbons/lace/rick-rack (except for the white hexagonal box, which has tan ribbon).

I couldn't stop with decorating the boxes. I just had to incorporate some paper projects, so I made a little brag book, complete with several photos of Baby Tilly (the shower was held after Sarah's baby was born).

I also made a little book with pocket pages to contain notes of love and encouragement for Baby Tilly. All the shower guests filled out a page, and the book can go in the box for her to read when she gets older.

This book project also afforded me a chance to visit my favorite scrapbook store, which I was saddened to find out will be closing in September. When it closes, we on the Central Coast will be left at the mercy of online outlets and chain stores such as Michaels and Beverly's for our scrapbook needs.

It was a perfect project for me to work on now -- it helped me get excited to have my own baby soon, and it gave me a wonderful idea for a gift to give my children someday. I can't wait to meet our new little one to see which fabric will be perfect for him/her!

Work in progress

2009-07-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Behold the belly: 38 weeks, 6 days (9 days until my due date)...

I'm feeling well, and there haven't been any signs of imminent labor. My midwife and I both think it will be several days yet -- I have a hunch this one will stay put until a little after the due date. We just have to wait and see! Either way, I'm comfortable with the baby's timing...

In other news, I've been keeping busy with craft projects, one of which I can't post about until after Sunday. It's a gift for my best friend's baby shower, and I happen to know she peeks at this blog regularly :)

Recent projects part 3: crocheted baby booties

2009-06-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, my nesting urge collided with my craft urge -- I woke up one morning obsessed with the idea of crocheting my own baby booties. I've never done anything like this before. I've crocheted hats, blankets, scarves, decorative edges, granny squares ... but never a bootie. What's more, I had to do this without using a pattern. For some reason, I felt that a pattern would hamper my impulsive urge to make these little shoes.

I made two prototypes with increasing success. I ran out of the brown yarn, so the next ones I'll make will be in a yummy orange-and-cream yarn of the same weight. I was fortunate enough to be able to use my best friend's newborn as a foot model...

Recent projects part 2: birthday bouquet

2009-06-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

For my friend, Beth, I made a vibrant bouquet of paper flowers to adorn her birthday package. I discovered these lovely summer papers in my stash the other day and couldn't resist their happy charm... I've also been collecting orange ribbon lately, and just had to use some (most of which came from the dollar bin at Michaels).

Recent projects part 1: true love wedding card

2009-06-27T12:54:00.001-07:00

With 99% of my nesting projects finished, I've returned to crafting.

My friend who commissioned the wedding scrapbook also asked for a wedding card for her daughter. I was all too happy to create something different, as Diane asked for a whimsical card. I used "The Princess Bride" as inspiration, since I learned that the engaged couple are also fans of the movie.

Cutting the window with the vines and leaves took some trial and error -- fortunately I had a 12x12 sheet of the printed paper to work with.

The inside of the card -- this is the first time I've used the computer to print on cardstock for the inside of a card. I am happy with the results, though I used two sheets of paper through trial and error before getting it right.

Sushi party fun

2009-06-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

My best friend is throwing a sushi party to celebrate her daughter's second birthday. In fitting with the theme, she had the idea of stamping Asian-inspired art on a couple of tiny T-shirts for the birthday girl's new baby sister. She didn't have time to stamp the shirts herself, so I eagerly volunteered.

As you'll no doubt notice, I had a difficult time stopping myself from covering every inch of the shirts! I used a stiff-bristle brush to paint in some of the stamped images, the first time I've used this technique on cloth...

Like most crafters, I can't pass up an opportunity to create anything and everything fitting with a fun theme. True to form, I created a sushi card for the birthday girl. It took me quite a while to figure out just how to make sushi out of paper. Then I came across some chipboard concentric circles in my stash, and everything fell into place from there. (Again, the colors aren't the greatest -- I finished late last night and simply couldn't wait for daylight to photograph the card!)

I used orange dew drops for the roe...

...and sewed pleats in some orange satin ribbon for the ginger. The green flowers are supposed to represent wasabi.

I made the yellow paper platter by cutting apart two die-cut Stampin' Up 'top note' shaped pieces. The card ended up being too big (roughly 7x7 inches) to be folded into a proper card, so I simply wrote the birthday message on the back. I'm considering offering to attach some of the orange satin ribbon to the top to make it into a wall hanging.

Scrapbook wedding gift

2009-06-10T18:41:00.001-07:00

My friend, Diane, approached me a couple of months ago and asked if I'd be willing to put together a scrapbook/storybook chronicling her daughter's life, to be given as a wedding present at the end of June.

It was a first for me, and I jumped at the opportunity. She was eager to pay me for my time and to pay for the supplies. She also chose all the photos and wrote the story--I had the pleasure of choosing the papers and putting it all together. I also got to select fonts for Diane to choose from and come up with some fun ideas to fit her vision of a children's storybook/scrapbook. Here are some highlights from the project.

Most of the pages were straightforward, but some required some Internet searching for maps and other images, and some required some photography of my own. Thanks to Google Maps, I was able to find a photograph of the building Diane lived in when her daughter was little, something that was missing from her own photo archives.

I borrowed some books from friends to complete the list of books Diane suggested for this page. I lined them up and took a photo and cut them out to customize this page. It's my favorite page from this project.

Monopoly, soccer, cards, and Scrabble were some of Diane's suggestions for this page, for which there were no photos. I had an impossible time finding the Jolee's Monopoly embellishments that I could have sworn existed in every scrapbook store. Apparently I was remembering something I'd seen a few years ago, as they no longer exist. I tried bidding on a set on eBay, but got outbid. So, instead, I created a segment of my own Monopoly board out of good old-fashioned paper and pens. I also ordered some real Monoply money and game cards from an Etsy seller, but they didn't show up in time for this page.

The 42-page book took me 27 hours of work, just a little more than my 20-hour estimate. It was an honor to help Diane create a one-of-a-kind treasure to give her daughter. I also created an 8x8 version, as a surprise for Diane, by color-copying all the pages. She deserves to keep a copy for herself!

Now I'm primed to start creating my own scrapbooks!

Nearly finished

2009-06-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

I've only got a few finishing touches remaining on the big scrapbook project I've been working on for my friend. I plan on documenting it and blogging a few photos here...

In the meantime, our Rooksling has only a few finishing touches remaining before he or she is ready to be born (I'm due on July 13). Here's a photo of the progress.

It's been a smooth pregnancy thus far, and I'm only suffering from the normal aches, pains, and heartburn that come with being this pregnant. I'm counting down the days until I can focus on my own scrapbook project and other nesting endeavors...

Paper bouquet -- final touches

2009-05-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

My mom snatched up one of the paper bouquets I made recently and also requested that I add a couple of flowers to it. I was happy to comply, though I had a tough time finding just the right papers to add to this bouquet. She suggested something with green and/or a darker pink. After searching through my stash of 12x12 papers, I found just the right K & Company designs...

Before

After
(the colors aren't quite true...)

Something different ... and delicious

2009-05-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, I decided to make the dessert I've been craving: chocolate mousse. Yum yummy yum yum yum. It was the perfect dessert after the perfect meal of ribs, cole slaw, and baked potato that my husband made for me. I say again: yum yummy yum yum yum!

When my family spent the weekend with us later in May, I decided to re-create the chocolate mousse magic. The dessert was met with rave reviews....

Sympathy card

2009-05-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

The colors in the photos aren't quite true, but here's the latest card I finished.... I've been working on a big scrapbooking project for a friend, so it was nice to take a break and make a card...

Encouragement

2009-05-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Our pastor and his family are going through a rough transition in their lives right now, so I thought I'd share a little encouragement with them.

I had two photocopies of my favorite hymn, "Jesus, Lover of my Soul," one of which I sponged with brown inks and layered with various stamps. I cut out a few lines from the other copy and used lighter browns and edged them with blue ink so they would stand out.

I stamped various images -- swirls, the dragonfly, a bee, and the swallow -- on blue and craft cardstock and cut them out for added dimension...

I also had some fun with the envelope, using texture brushes to give light coloring in browns and blue, and layering it with script, swirls, a face, and a bee stamp -- and one of my favorite stamps: an ink spaltter...

Delicious oranges

2009-05-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

After dutifully cataloging my newest stamp sets, I sat down to play. I've wanted this set (Tart and Tangy, from Stampin' Up!) for nearly a year, and now it's mine (insert maniacal laugh)! The set also features apple, cherries, and strawberry stamps that I can't wait to use.

I bought this orange ribbon on a whim at Michael's in the 50-percent off bin, which made the spool a whopping 50 cents. I think I should get some more soon...

My mom introduced me to the lovely little dew drops that seem to go well in the center of just about everything I've been making these days. They're like little flat-backed beads that make stamped images and paper flowers just pop...

I made three of this card -- I set aside two for my Etsy shop, in the hopes that I'll have time to take good photos and upload the stack of cards and things I've been stockpiling...

Best friend's birthday

2009-05-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Sarah, turned 30 last month, and for the grand celebration I hosted a surprise party complete with festive spring decorations.

I used my new butterfly die set with my Cuttlebug to create garlands of daisies and butterflies in various spring colors. I also cut strips of silky fabric, threaded them into garlands, and gathered them at somewhat regular intervals with ribbon.

The centerpieces are big tissue-paper poofs that were inspired by a Martha Stewart kit I saw at Michaels. I was tempted to buy the kit, but there were instructions with photos on the back of the box, which helped me realize I could make the centerpieces myself.

I also hung the decorations in the kitchen/dining room....

The butterfly/daisy garlands are now hanging in the craft room as a kind of curtain between my craft area and my husband's music area.

I made sure we had fine china, candles, flowers, and table linens -- all things that Sarah and I miss when entertaining these days because we've got toddlers...

Sarah's husband and I planned the menu of appetizers--various goat cheeses, other cheeses, olives, tapanade, crackers, and almonds (a rare treat for her since her daughter is allergic to nuts)--grilled lamb with olive reduction sauce, pancetta-wrapped asparagus, potatoes au gratin, and green salad with citrus-vanilla dressing. My husband also contributed by doing much of the shopping, grilling the lamb, and making the salad dressing.

Since four of the five women guests were pregnant (including the guest of honor and myself), and one of the guys doesn't drink, we forwent the wine with dinner and instead offered a mocktail bar. Everyone had fun making exotic concoctions, adding finishing garnishes, and naming them.

Sarah herself helped set the bar for elegant 30th birthday celebrations with the element of surprise when she hosted a lavish backyard party for me in August:

Sneak peek: everlasting bouquet

2009-05-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

At my aunt's request, I've been making more bouquets of paper flowers. Here's a preview of my latest crop. My aunt gets first dibs, then I'll put the rest in my shop. I still need to put some finishing touches on the flowers (namely to trim the stems so they're arranged properly), and I'll put ribbon and tags on the vases.

Update: Several of these particular bouquets won't be making it into my shop after all! Between my mom and my aunt, at least three are spoken for. I hope to make more in the next, well, two years! It's nice to have a two-year plan as a catchall for the inspiration that no doubt will continue to flow between now and when I have extra time again...

Buttercup

Blush Bouquet

Pink Posies

Amy Butler Blues

Black and White Text

One of many recent projects

2009-05-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I made to accompany a birthday gift that my grandpa commissioned me to make for his cousin. He wanted me to make a birthday box -- a handy file box containing 12 unique birthday cards. Atop the box, I affixed a handmade birthday calendar so the recipient can easily keep track of friends' and family members' birthdays and other special dates. I made two such boxes as Christmas gifts, and I made a duplicate of the recent box (photos coming soon) to sell in my Etsy shop...

Purple is a lovely color, and I tend to forget about it in my natural leaning toward earth tones. I think I'll make a point to purchase more purples in the future.

Photos coming soon!

2009-04-23T09:24:00.001-07:00

I've been working, working, working on numerous custom orders and special projects. I'm excited about a new birthday box that I'll be selling in my Etsy shop, and I've got several other projects I hope to create and offer on Etsy. There are lots of photos still on my camera, and I'm itching to go through them and post them here.

I feel like the countdown to Baby No. 2 is going faster and faster, and I think my craft plate is just full enough to keep me busy between now and July.

I've been working on a two-year plan for my Etsy shop and brainstorming other craft outlets (namely craft and children's fairs). Such a plan will help me to let go of crafting for as long as I need to while my family adjusts to the presence of another little one.

In the meantime, I'm having a mini sale in my shop -- through April 27, all items are 10-percent off (including mobiles and custom orders!). I won't be able to ship anything until after April 28, so the sale is to reward your patience... Just enter "RPSblog" in the message to seller when you check out, and I'll refund you the discount when I process your order.

I hope you're having a delightful spring!

Blasts from the past

2009-03-30T09:31:00.001-07:00

I've been keeping busy these days with a couple of big custom orders and gifts, not to mention my daughter's new bedtime schedule, which involves an hour of reading to get her to sleep. I'm usually too sleepy to do any crafts after such sessions. Since there's not much to show for my custom projects' progress quite yet, I thought I'd mine my craft files and revisit some old designs.

My very dear friends -- Ryan and Sarah, and Jen -- and my husband made this possible. A few years ago they secretly collected all the cards I'd given them over the years. They then scanned each card and put the files onto a USB drive and gave it to me for Christmas. I am still so touched to this day...

Here are some fall cards from several years ago (I don't have exact dates)...

This card was actually stamped by my mom and me -- we made paper place mats for Thanksgiving, which I kept (well, the ones that didn't get stuffing and gravy on them). I then cut some up for the background of a few cards, this one included.

If I remember correctly, I taught a class on how to make this card and the one below it. I used to lead workshops on stamping techniques (not through any particular company, just for kicks at the request of some friends from church)...

I used chalks to color the leaves and the background squares on this card. I also sent a sample to Take 10, but they never published it.

This is one of my oldest cards. I think I made it for my husband when we were dating or just married, which makes this design about eight or nine years old. I only had a few craft supplies back then, including the leaf punch and the sun punch...

Garden inspiration

2009-03-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've been thoroughly enjoying some of my newest craft supplies, including several flower and nature stamp sets, new colors and prints of papers, and a butterfly die for my Cuttlebug (a die-cutter machine thingy). Plus, our lovely weather (sunny, high 60s) has inspired me to create spring-colored cards.

The owl card and the garden squares with butterfly card will be in my Etsy shop soon, while the poppies card is a one-of-a-kind.

I made this card as a thank you for my dad after he weed-whacked our backyard this weekend. Our yard had weeds about as tall as I've depicted in the card. Among the waist-high greenness stood several bunches of vibrant poppies...

I had fun stamping and coloring on the vellum -- I stamped on both sides so I could get the poppies to face both directions.

The inside of the card shows an "after" depiction of our backyard. My dad was skilled enough and patient enough to leave most of the poppies standing.

This little owl just makes me smile!

I got the idea for this card from a recent "Paper Crafts" magazine. I love the crispness of the black borders (though they're kind of a pain to make and assemble).

Confessions of a craft nerd

2009-03-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

It could be pregnancy brain, or nesting, or a business strategy, or just the next step in an already quite organized life--or some combination of all of the above. Whatever the motivation, I was driven to create a stamp catalog complete with an index and a cross-reference section for all words and sayings.

I made this catalog for all my Stampin' Up! stamps, which I keep organized in their original sets (they come in handy clear plastic boxes, which are convenient for storage). I've accumulated so many sets at this point (nearly 50) that I have begun forgetting where certain stamps and greetings can be found. This stamp catalog and index has already come in handy...

A sketch of my craft area shows what's in each of my craft room drawers.

The index is organized by set name, description, category, and drawer. Each set is also numbered (the numbers are on the far left).

Tabs on the show the categories of the stamp sets and the words and greetings.

Each stamp set is labeled with a sticker that shows the set name, what Stampin' Up! catalog it's from, and what drawer it's in.

The word/greeting section is divided into several categories, including thank you, congratulations, baby, friend, and holiday. Each word and greeting stamp has a number underneath. Those numbers correspond to the sets in the index, so I always know what set each greeting is found in.

My stamp catalog also features a Color Coach, which my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Karen, made for me. It shows all the current colors available from Stampin' Up! and how they coordinate.

I have drawers full of other stamps, but I chose to put only the Stampin' Up! sets in this catalog because they're what I use for my Etsy store. This company has an angel policy that's easy to comply with, so I focus on their products.

Grossgrain giveaway: Paper Crane Frock

2009-03-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

So lovely and fresh...

Paper Crane Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

For a friend

2009-03-07T16:17:00.001-08:00

Before moving to Africa for a year and a half, a friend of mine ordered a bunch of cards from me. It was a great pleasure to design cards just for her and to use some of my newest stamps, papers, and inks. Some similar designs have already made their way into my store...

Goody-goody gumdrops

2009-03-07T14:44:00.001-08:00

I made this card for my friend, Sarah, when she got to go home from the hospital after being there for a week with a gnarly stomach illness...

I'm sorry about the ickiness of the lighting in the photos -- I took them at night after I finished the card (I couldn't wait until morning!).

Another Grosgrain giveaway: Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress

2009-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

This dress is just delicious!

Check out the details here: Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress giveaway

Bouquet of sunflowers

2009-02-28T16:53:00.001-08:00

My dear friend, Sarah, is in the hospital with a nasty stomach flu, and I thought I'd try to brighten her stay with a bouquet of paper sunflowers (if you think of it, please pray for her -- she's 26 weeks pregnant and has been in the hospital for three days. So far she and the baby are fine apart from the stomach bug) ...

The paper flowers have a hidden twist-tie holding them together and holding them to the stems, which are bamboo skewers that I dyed with a green ink pad...

Popsicle get-well card

2009-02-22T21:16:00.001-08:00

This card was inspired by the birthday card my mom made for Natalie, based on a design on Splitcoaststampers, so I can't take any of the credit, really...

The inside of the card is layered with the blue and orange papers... I made this card for our friends' daughter who recently had her tonsils removed (and was looking forward to the promised popsicles and ice cream).

Custom anniversary card, Take 2

2009-02-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here's the second card I created for my friend's request for an anniversary card for her husband:

I cut out the tulips from a piece of scrapbook paper and placed them on thin strips of paper for the stems. The leaves are cut out using a die; and the "love" is a rub-on...

The Conservatory Overcoat GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-02-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

It;s an adorable overcoat and an adorable post... Check out The Conservatory Overcoat GIVEAWAY!!!!

Custom anniversary card, Take 1

2009-02-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently asked me to create an anniversary card for her to give to her husband. Some of the criteria she gave me included no yellow, and that she loves tulips. I latched onto the tulip idea -- what a creative challenge, especially since I don't own any tulip stamps.

For Valentine's Day, my mom gave me a bouquet of tulips, so I drew from nature to create this card by cutting out tulip petals, a stem, and leaves from some paper that I thought would appeal to a guy while still being something a gal would give for a romantic reason. Whew...

Like I titled the post, this is just Take 1. I have other ideas, and the paper possibilities are endless for this particular card...

The card is tall and narrow, measuring roughly 4 inches wide and 8 inches tall.

Valentine collaboration

2009-02-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

My 2-year-old daughter and I combined efforts to create Valentine cards this year...

I encouraged her to stamp hearts to her heart's content on a 12x12 piece of white card stock.

I then cut the masterboard into smaller squares and layered a cupcake (which I stamped, colored, and cut out) onto a scalloped square and onto the square that Natalie had stamped.

Those layers then got attached to card stock that I'd punched with the Martha Stewart scallop with tiny hearts border. It was fun to create a card that came from my and Natalie's hearts...

I also recently hosted a Stanpin' Up! workshop in which our demonstrator, Karen, helped us create this Valentine for ourselves.

I love that it includes an earthy green to balance the pink and red...

Listen up!

2009-02-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

I just had to share the handiwork of my husband, Bret, and our friend, Ryan. They're both talented musicians with busy lives, pregnant wives, and a toddler each. For the past three years, they've come together in February to participate in FAWM (February Album Writing Month, fawm.org). Ryan's wife (and one of my best friends) Sarah and I are immensely proud of them and try to be as supportive as possible by giving them creative space and time to write and record 14 songs in 28 days... This is their fourth year as (drum roll, please)

Halfpenny Orchestra (pronounced "Hay-penny")

If you follow that link, you can read more about them and listen to the three songs they've written and recorded so far this month.

In 2006, when they first launched their endeavor (and when Sarah and I had more time on our hands because we had no children yet), we FAWM widows made our husbands some artsy cards to show our support. Here's the one I made for Bret, which he has on display above his music stuff.

Sarah found the images of the halfpennies, which we cut out and liberally applied to the cards....

Small mobiles

2009-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of one of my latest mobiles. I made five of this design, all in different patterned paper. I'm selling them for $20 each (plus $6 shipping) in my Etsy shop.

Awesome Etsy video

2009-02-03T09:20:00.001-08:00

This video made me even prouder to have an Etsy shop!

Miscellaneous recent cards (updated)

2009-02-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

These first three cards were inspired by projects in the new Stampin' Up! catalog...

This is the Christmas card I made for Bret (my guitar-playing husband). I finally took photos of it at his prompting -- he wants to take the picks off and use them (I purposely used glue dots so he could remove the picks, but it still makes me a little sad that the card will taken apart...).

After reading the comments on this post, I decided to offer to buy Bret a set of new picks instead of letting him take the card apart. He agreed, and now the card is on display above his music area...

Something for the new baby

2009-01-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

Every fall and winter, I change craft gears and crochet a few projects. This year, however, I opted to focus on paper crafts, largely because I wanted to keep my Etsy store well stocked (and keep up with demand!).

Crocheting inspiration struck with the new year after my friend, Sarah, mentioned that a flour sack kitchen towel would make a great receiving/swaddling blanket in an especially good weight for summer newborns. Since I'll be having a summer newborn of my own, I decided to try my hand and gussying up an organic flour sack towel with a crocheted edge. I'll next stamp the towel itself using fabric ink...

I'm happy with the blanket thus far, so I thought I'd share my progress...

Valentine preview

2009-01-24T20:42:00.001-08:00

I've never been so inspired to make Valentine's Day cards -- I guess the papers available this year are that much cuter than in previous years. Whatever the reason, I whipped up a bunch of cards today and photographed them for my Etsy shop.

I tried a new approach to photography, namely I used a seamless background and two light sources (window and full-spectrum light). For not knowing what I'm doing, I'm pretty happy with the photos!

Creative space

2009-01-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

My husband and I, with the help of some friends, recently transformed our guest bedroom into a creative hub. My craft headquarters now shares a room with his music-recording equipment and instruments, plus our computer and several bookcases.

Since our daughter recently turned 2, we thought it'd be good for her to have her own room, so we gave away our guest bed, making room for my drafting table, folding table, and assorted wheeled carts, which were previously housed in Natalie's play room. The new area also has room for my wall-mounted embellishment organizer, a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law Ryan.

The new configuration will take some getting used to, but I'm happy to have a completely empty work table for friends to use and/or for me to lay out my scrapbook (if and when I ever get around to scrapbooking again). And I'm happy to have a craft table for Natalie, though she still prefers being on my lap doing whatever I'm doing.

After

Before

My first blog award

2009-01-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Daja, for honoring my blog with the "My Blog is Pop-tastic" award!

As part of the fun, I get to pass the award along to six creative bloggers (in no particular order):

*Goshery: a fellow Etsy friend and paper crafter

*rgr designs: the talented artist and crafter who first told me about Etsy -- her blog is inspirational on the artistic snd spiritual levels

*Halfpenny Orchestra: a relatively new creative outlet for some creative minds near and dear to me (including my husband)

*Stampin Mom: a fun, inspiring, and heartfelt blog about bein' a mom and following your creative drive

*Lisa Maksoudian Photography: absolutely gorgeous photos and a beautiful blog

*Bunny Creates: adorable, whimsical creations

Visit the home of the award to pick yours up and learn how to particiate.

Big projects, part 2

2008-12-12T12:31:00.001-08:00

My friend and fellow crafter, Sarah, recently requested an order of 40 holiday cards for her coworkers at Allan Hancock College. After tossing around several ideas that would fit her budget, we landed on the design of ornaments hanging from ribbon, all in Hancock blue and yellow.

I was fortunate enough to have two circle punches of just the right sizes, so I didn't have to cut out all the circles with scissors...

Big projects, part 1

2008-12-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

I've had my hands full with custom orders lately, which is why I haven't had time to blog about my latest projects... Now that I've finished one of the two biggest orders, I can share it with you.

A friend from church asked me to make ornaments for all the children in our congregation. It turned out that when she called, I happened to be making paper ornaments with my mom, so I had several ideas to draw from. I chose this old-fashioned fan ornament with scalloped edges. I made 42 of these, complete with the kids' names, our church's name, and the year.