What is Love?

"Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor
after her husband has walked across it in his boots [year after year]." ~ Hoosier Farmer

There are times that I would like to shut the front door on my husband and not let him in because he is covered in caked, dried mud from his head to his toes. But alas, he does come in and I realize how hard he worked for our family that day and it makes the trail he's left to the laundry room a little more manageable. (This also applies to the little ones too, but they don't work, they play!)


We've got another The Craft's Meow beauty that we are showcasing today, Lovely Labels designed by Elizabeta.  This set too, is simply amazing. One of the labels have been embossed and fussy cut, I stamped a sentiment onto a banner and assembled the card with a bit of fine green silk ribbon from May Arts and a button.

As a reminder, after a short, unexpected break, The Craft's Meow is coming back with a bang to showcase sets from the September Release, we'll have showcases each day this week! Be sure to stop by the blog to comment for your chance to win Lovely Labels.

Tick Tock Vintage Clocks

So I read up a little on Tick Tock, the crocodile from the famous story Peter Pan. (I can't help but think of him whenever someone says tick tock.) "Long ago, Peter Pan cut off Captain Hook's left hand and fed it to the Crocodile. The Crocodile thought it was so delicious that he wanted to eat the rest of Captain Hook. This led Tick Tock to follow the wicked pirate wherever he went. Luckily for Hook, however, the crocodile swallowed an alarm clock, allowing Hook to hear him coming. Tick Tock plays an important role in defeating Captain Hook." Wouldn't it be nice to have a crocodile on your side, especially one that you could hear coming?




I am not really sure how Nina does it, but each of her sets, month after month, for The Craft's Meow, are simply amazing. I started with the grandest image in Vintage Clocks, the grandfather clock, turned the stamp backwards and stamped the clock in a trio of fall-ish colors. Then I came back to stamp the right side of the clock on top of the ink I just put down, and finished the series with a separate punched stamped clock face.

After a short, unexpected break, The Craft's Meow is coming back with a bang to showcase sets from the September Release, we'll have showcases each day this week! Be sure to stop by the blog to comment for your chance to win Vintage Clocks.

The Street

I've never tasted the delicacies offered on Bourbon Street, walked the width of Abbey Road. Nor have I visited the stores on Fifth Avenue, or gambled on Park Place. I've never driven on Route 66 or traded on Wall Street. But I have been to Market Street...Market Street Stamps, as their September Guest Designer!

I made two one layer cards featuring the latest releases from Market Street Stamps: Hit the Mark and Great Big Greetings! I was really smitten with how well these two sets work perfectly together and are valuable arsenal for my favorite style of car making- clean and simple! 

Both cards are created using a simple white card base, inks and markers. The bold sentiments can stand alone, but when paired with the super cute and whimsical their meanings really shine. Thanks to Market Street Stamps for letting me showcase a few of their sets this month!

 

I think that the design elements laid out in Paper Craft's Card Design Handbook and on Moxie Fab World really helped me with these one layer cards. On the first card, I went for the impact of color: One gallon of black, one quart of yellow and the pint, or pop of red. I focused on the Asymmetry aspect for the second card. I wanted your eye to be drawn to the bold greeting, which is off centered. Of note: the arrows and sentiment are purposely double stamped, once in grey and then in black...a cool shadow effect.

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Sprat

Jack Sprat could eat not fat.

His wife could eat no lean.

And so between them both, you see,

They licked the platter clean.

September's Artful Delight's Card Kit is full of possibilities, and perfect for anything birthday! I wanted to showcase the versatility with the items by designing relatively the same card: but one geared toward the Mrs. and one for the Mr. These two cards use all items from the kit, but the really cool thing is that even though they feature two different patterned paper collections, I think they still jive together, just like Jack Sprat and his wife!

There are a few kits left, you can check them out here!  Thank goodness it is Friday!! The countdown is over until the "sleep in" days start, as my oldest son likes to call the weekend.

The Row

I asked my youngest what he enjoyed on his first day of kindergarten last week. I expected an answer like recess, or seeing his buddies again, but instead I got: I was the leader today and everyone lined up in a row behind me and we marched to lunch. Gosh, I can't remember when the last time was that I enjoyed being a leader so much...

I stamped a row of vases from Paper Smooches Vogue Abode set, colored them with distress ink and glossy accents and then fussy cut them and adhered them to a card base that had been stamped repetitively with a rectangle (to form a shelf) and a sentiment. I think the repetitive row of them looks powerful, and they probably wouldn't last long in my house.

I was inspired by Paper Smooches Sparks Designer Drafts Challenge and Moxie Fab World's Card Design Handbook Week: The Repetition Challenge.

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Tombow has teamed up with May Arts this week, and if you stop by to check out my project and any other of the fabulous projects this week, you are entered for a chance to win products from both amazing companies! I made an acorn, and I think it has been my most favorite May Arts project yet!

Meteorology

"According to the International Cloud Atlas that was published in 1896, there was a cloud classification system which gave numbers to clouds according to their altitude. The highest clouds given the number "0" while fog was considered a "10." The "9" category included any cloud below 50,000 feet that was still high enough not to be considered fog. Today we call these thunderstorm-causing formations cumulonimbus clouds."

(I found that on the internet, but darned if I could locate the site to source....) I haven't been on Cloud 9 for a while, but it sure was fun to participate in the Cloud 9 Blog Hop for September! Here's the inspiration picture:

I was inspired by the general hues of the picture as well as the flow of the bird cages. I went with the blooms from Wplus9's Ever After set instead of the cages. The treatment is one I'm quite fond of- painting with spray mists.

{On a side note for myself: The little one learned of 9.11.11 today in school where some bad people attacked a whole bunch of good people and how a whole bunch of good soldiers have helped us stay safe. He finished with a definitive God Bless America.}

Stampin' Sisters

Stopping by really quick today (so busy, does your life ever get like that?) to let you know that The Craft's Meow is sponsoring the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge: Use Bright Colors (with no neutrals). I stamped the blooms from Hope Blooms onto blue paper with blue ink, colored the blooms with a dry brush and ink and then splattered a mix of the same color ink with water over the card. I finished with a sentiment from God's Blessings and a bow tied with May Arts Crinkle Ribbon. I hope you get a chance to play along, because the prize is a stamp set of your choice from The Craft's Meow!

Trend.ie Little Bird.ie

***I've got two cards below, made especially for Artful Delight, please check them out here or scroll down!***

 

Chevrons are still a hot trend...in the fashion, interior design and card making industry they are still popping up. Skipping Stones Design is featuring the "Grunge" stamps this month, two sets full of cool textures, a stamper's dream. I created a chevron look with the zig zag stamp included in Grunge Two simply by drawing straight line at the down intersections of one color.  I chose to use a another trend hot pink and orange color combination, and topped it off with a cool and sleek die cut bird. I was inspired by the current Young Crafter's Unite Challenge: Hot Trends.

{Did you see that Skipping Stones Design won the Moxie Fab Stamp of Approval? Head on over here to comment for your chance to win!}

 One final item of interest today: 

May Arts has teamed up with Helmar to showcase some pretty dang neat ways to color ribbon! Please stop by the May Arts Blog, there are some great tips!

Rock, Paper, Scissors...and Water Balloons

Rachel, Ross, Phoebe and Joey are outside Monica and Chandler's door.
Ross: Okay, we will do rock, paper scissors to decide who goes in first.
Rachel: Right.
Ross: One, Two, Three.
Ross does paper, Rachel does scissors and Phoebe does rock.
Joey (as he wiggles his fingers in the air): Heh, heh!
Ross: What is that?
Joey: It's fire! It beats everything.
Phoebe (as she holds her hand over Joey's): Not water balloon! Tsh...
Joey: Oh yeah.

I'm up over on Artful Delight's Blog today with a few cards featuring the new September Card Kit. Goodness, it brings a smile to my face just like anything Friends does! These aren't water balloons (note to self: try the fire thing...) but they are pretty cute die-cuts from the kit. The paper, stamps and string are too! I think I was awestruck when I first opened up the package (another note to self: learn how to do videos so you can experience this with me...)

And I made a card using everything exclusive to the kit that follows the Artful Delight Card Sketch for September.

 

(Details are here, join along for a chance to win a free kit!) 

 

Artful Delight is also having a design team call, you can check out the details here! Believe me, you won't want to miss out on this!

Words of Advice

I think it was my dad that first warned me to not eat colored snow, it was shortly after my twin sister and I brought home our new puppy after Christmas...

Skipping Stones Design is debuting a new sketch this month, featuring a design by Kim Kesti. Come join us for the challenge, check out rules and projects from the new design team and guest designers too!

I decided to use the beautiful colors from The Play Date Cafe and used snowflakes from Rustic Tiles and Brrrthday. After stamping, I misted with some shine spray and then some water. The row of ribbon tabs on the bottom is beautiful May Arts Ribbon. And I payed special attention to where the brightest colors were stamped, the tealish color, because it moves your eye across the falling snowflakes and down to the sentiment, I learned this from Moxie Fab World's Card Design Handbook Week: The Movement Challenge.

It's been rather quiet here on the old blog-o, we are getting ready to send two boys to school today! It is the ending of an era, so to speak, for me, as my baby boy attends full days for five days, he's a kindergartner!