Santa Claws!

I spent a fun fun day with Stacie working on our art journals. We each have one and we do one page. Then we pass it to each other where we make another page. Back and forth until our traveling journals are complete. Too bad that Stacie got caught up with some backed jewelry work... but she did finally get a couple hours in there at the end...
As for my card today: Ho Ho Ho - Here comes Santa Claws!
This is a stamp set by SU, some ultrafine glitter, Designer paper, scallop punch, cardstock and chipboard letters. All SU. Alcohol Markers to color in crab.

I did get all the FOOD ATCs swapped today and they will go out in tomorrow morning's mail. I was really happy with the cards. They were so creative and such a wide variety of techniques, images and media!

after a couple of years of hosting... I have decided not to continue my monthly atc swap as I have started to feel the crunch of time lately. But I will on occasion continue to swap thru SCS and ATCsforall. Thanks to all who have played along with me!

Well that's all for tonight. Have a great one!

Ahhh... home sweet home!~

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving... We did something a little different this year and we went to the Outer Banks - just the four of us + dog +2 hamsters!
It was a great week. Weather was really mild... allowing many to swim in the ocean on Thanksgiving day! Not us. We stuck to the sand... but enjoyed watching the pelicans dive for food and climbing the dunes!
You can't believe what the recent storm left behind. The dunes were eroded away to shear drop offs... but as you can imagine, that just prompted the kids to scale the enormous walls of sand!
We didn't see any horses, but did find, what we believe to be, a horse toilet bowl. A very nice a smooth bowled out area... perfect for a horse pitstop!

Now we are back and in the thick of the holiday season. I am dying to get started... calendars and cards in full gear. I think I will scale back on the ornaments for sale this year. But I may have a few at the Muse and Art Partners in about a week. Otherwise, I will be making our xmas cards and getting prepped for the festivities!

Hope you have a fun week planned! I plan to post several times this week... so check back soon!
-Allison

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am full of thanks for all of my family and friends.
Thinking of all of you with love.

Chirstmas ins the air...

Here's a quick post of a card.
This set is from Papertrey Ink and the striped paper is DCWV SWEET. Polka dot paper and ribbon are both Stampin up.It's raining pretty hard today... I hope for a nice, warm and sunny week for all of you next week... Thanksgiving.

See you soon!

Long time no see!!!

I realized just now that I haven't posted in a long time.
I've been in busy mode... and most of it hasn't had to do with cards or crafting! (go figure!)
It's nearing holiday time and things are beginning to crunch up on me... how about you?

A couple weekends ago my friends and I took a beach night away. We went to Ocean City for an R&R session...
it was so needed...!
Anyway, the beach was beautiful (1 week before the strong storms last week) and the friendship was even better!What a great weekend! I can't wait to do it again!

Now I am back in full swing... stocking the stores with Holiday treats and getting ready for our own family traditions.
Here's a card I made tonight...I just love these penguins...they are so perfectly ready for winter!

I will be here the rest of the week making new holiday cards, staying warm and cozy.
Hope you have a great week! See you soon!

Dr. Seuss atcs

Another swap i signed up for... a Dr. Seuss swap! anything Seuss-ish!

Hope your week is off to a great start! I can't wait for this weekend!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope you have a safe and fun weekend!!!

Bookmarks

I was working on my art journal this morning and thought I'd play aorund with some Tim Holtz techniques. I love all the grundge stuff!!!
Here are a set of bookmarks that came out of the process! (If you ever considered Distress inks - I am all for them! They are the most vibrant and deep colors I've seen!)Hope you all are having a great weekend. I think we will try for the farm to get our pumpkins today! I just love the farm market in the fall. It's so busy and full of great smells...
See you soon!

Looking ahead... Thanksgiving

Here's one Thanksgiving card... that's really looking ahead!
Lots of sewing and the set is SU - Happy Blessings, DSP. Copic markers.

Some birthday cards

Still making cards. I am working extra hard trying to get my quota filled for the day... so i can spend a little time playing tomorrow!!!

Here's two bday cards. I used the Eat Cake set from SU and the cake pieces are dsp and raised on dimensionals.
Background paper is Basic Grey and the owrds are rub ons by SU.

More cards and atcs!

I just remembered I had this set - All in the Family - where you can mix patch the people...


These next set of ATCS were my first experience in Combining paper and fabric. I got this new book called "stitch Alchemy" and there is some very interesting techniques in it! Check it out if you get a chance!

Dum Dum Da Dum...

A card that I made today using acetate sheets found at the office supply store... not transparencies but clear gloss binding covers - these are far more thick than the transparency sheet...

The bride is heat embossed with glitter.

Special Love...

My oldest friend from Philly just had her first baby! YEAH!
Congratulations Sue and Nick! I can't wait to visit and meet the new baby...
~My heart and thoughts are with you and your little preemie... hang in there~

Hello~

It's already been over a week since my last posting. Sorry about the delay. I've been here... just not online...

A few things: first - my friend Stacie has started a new blog for her jewelry and thoughts. Please visit her at www.staciejewelry.blogspot.com. she uses precious metal clay to make the most interesting pieces!

Second - I have some pics of a cat calendar I made for a custom order. That calendar is on it's way to it's recipient as we speak! (I just love how they turned out! YEA!)


& A special thank you toLISA of PARKLANE DESIGNS for the shout out on her blog:
www.parklanedesigns.blogspot.com !

Today I went on a field trip with my daughter's 1st grade class. As you can imagine, I need a nap! I will be back here tomorrow for a bit before going to school to work in the library. That's usually a quiet activity! (relief here...)

Hope you had a nice day. See you soon!

New Cards

Fall is really in the air! It's cool, brisk and the leaves are changing already! I predict a very snowy and cold winter...
I've been making cards for the Muse... it's hard to get down to work when you have so many other projects that you wanna get done! (or start for that matter! :) )
For the rest of today? Painting pages for calendars! YEA!

dark and twisty atcs...

Ok. It's been a while since my last post. It's been crazy around here... and I haven't had much time to craft. But I did manage some "me" time over the weekend. By "me" time I mean 15 min here and there... but it was great! It gave me just enough time to add a layer of gesso, then a layer of modpodge, then some black lava... each layer needs adequate drying time anyway!

For the month of October, the atc swap theme is DARK AND TWISTY. There are still some spots left! You only need to make 3 (all different) and you get 3 back! Contact me if you are interested.
Anyway, here are my entries.

There's still time to join!!! I am also on SCS... so if you see me on there, please sign up!
(You know - Grey's Anatomy's Meridith? She was called dark and twisty! And there are plenty of music lyrics that are definitely DARK!) It could go any way the artist wants!

Anyway, this week I'm not sure what I'll get done. I have a sick child... but hopefully she will be better to go to school tomorrow. And if she is better, I volunteer at the school... so I will start my work week on Wednesday this week! :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!
See you soon!

crabby

OW! How fast a week can go! In a blink of an eye it's Friday again.
I mentioned calendars last week... I have some pics for you. They are not the greatest... but it's a gloomy day (I need perfect lighting =) )and my camera is too complicated to figure out.
This crab card is one of many different I made for the stores and online. Being from MD, I thought I needed to add crabs to my fall line!

Well, Hope you all have a great weekend. Next week will be a bit busy for me. We have some family birthdays to celebrate and a few days off from school (Thank you FAIR DAY!).
See you soon!

atcs on the weekends!

I have found the perfect balance between work creating and personal creating for me! For sale cards and items during the week and atcs on the weekends. I love waking up at 6am on sat and sun and having the quiet house all to myself! I get at least 2 hours each day!
So this morning I got to make some more ATCS for swaps I am hosting as well as one I joined online on SCS.

A note about Stampin Up.

A couple days ago I emailed all my customers and friends about a change that is about to take place for me... as a Stampin Up demo.

Recently (as many of you may have heard), Stampin Up placed new restrictions on their demos regarding personal blog content. And although I understand why they felt like they needed to do this, I don't think it's the right choice for me. SU is limiting what I can and can not put on this blog and my other personal website. This is not the website I have thru SU... (that one is directly supported by SU). Under this new rule, I can not link or give credit to other people, blog or companies that I use and are inspired by if those sites either sell or promote competing products. This is not right for me as I love to use all products available to me - Stampin Up included.

So as I informed my current customers, I will be leaving SU after 6+ years of being a demo.
I am sad to leave SU, but have been contemplating it for some time now, and this was perhaps the little push I needed to jump! I did sign the new IDA to give my customers til the end of December to place any orders for items on their wish list. After that point I will let my demonstrator status run out.

THANK YOU to all those who have supported me thru the last 6 years. I appreciate all the business you have given me and the friendships we have built throughout!

So my friends and customers know where I stand. I hope you will continue to visit me here... as this is in no way a farewell to creating! In fact I am excited to be starting the fall off with a bang!

Isn't this what growing up and evolving is all about?!?! =)

Next week i will be posting a few pics of the calendars I made for the stores this week!
See you then!
Have a wonderful weekend!

more peeks

I am working on some more cards this week for sale.
Both images are from an older Stampin Up set.

The cakes have lots of Fine glitter and the bunnies are soft and fuzzy (flocking).

More looks...

Today's offering...A twist on a past favorite!
etsy store is open... but not fully stocked yet! More everyday!
Have a great weekend!

Fall Preview... here we go!

So with the kids back at school and the house safely tucked in... I am resuming greeting cards for etsy (www.allisonpapercrafts.etsy.com), the Muse (downtown Frederick, MD) and Art Partners (Clarksville, MD).

Here's a sneak peek at a card I am working on... some younger themed cards for kids to give to kids! This is a Stampin Up stamp set and designer paper. Shimmery silver cardstock with vellum and dimensionals. The penguin layer has a frosty white glitter all around the edge.
My etsy store will reopen on or about Sept 1 and the stores will start to stock the first week of Sept.

Hope you are all enjoying your day! Check back often this week for more sneak peeks!

First day of school for us...

I have about 30 min before I have to get the family hustling and bustling this morning. Today is the first day of school for our girls. like I have heard from so many others... I can't believe how old they are getting. Time flies faster and faster each year. There doesn't seem to be as many "breathing" stops along the way. We got our outfits ready last night (another sign of growing up...) and got all our back to school paperwork filled out (my homework).

My heart is beating a bit harder right now and I am running all scenarios in my mind on how the day could go for them. I know they will be just fine... they are such able children and have shown me, time and time again, that they can handle these milestones.

August ATCs are swapped!

I am mailing out the swaps for the sept atcs tomorrow.We had several new players from SCS and it was so much fun!
The theme was pets/animals.

Here are 2 pics of the cards

birthdays!!! Love'em!

Recently I was asked to make some cards for the younger peeps to buy for their friends. Altho this one can go either way... I thought I'd share it. It's a cute glittered butterfly (cut with SU exclusive BIGZ die) card with linen thread, glass beads and a perfect scalloped edge! the inside is lined with paisley designer paper.

I added the second (more blurry) picture to show some of the inner lining. I must've taken 50 pics this am of this one card and I was just having a crazy moment. So I apologize for the poor quality of foto...

I plan on making lots more tween-age and teenage card themes in the weeks to come!

Today is open house at the school... get to meet the teachers and drop of our supplies.

signing up for HOUSES atcs swap for Sept

We are currently signing up for the September 2009 atc swap . Theme: DOORS/HOUSES.

You make 3, one of a kind artist trading cards (2.5"x3.5" baseball card size) and send them in to me. then I will swap them back to you! You will not get any of you own in return, so if you love one or all of your cards, make an extra for yourself!

DEADLINE to sign up is AUG 31, 2009
DUE DATE: SEPT 20th
Swap out on Sept 25th.

3 for 3 swap.

here's a sample of a card I made.
you can make it any way you wish. Collage, stamps, free hand... just please remember to do your best work... something you are proud of. Also, avoid too much bulk. They tend not to do well during transit.
If you are mailing them to me, you will need to include a self addressed, stamped envie with the same amt of postage it took to send yours to me. include 1 loose stamp which will be returned to you if not used.
sign the back of your card and make sure you put your name on any ziplock baggies or packaging.

If you want to sign up, you can comment here and I will email you info on how to swap and where to send them.
Unlimited players. Swapping effort for effort the best i can.

I really hope you will join us in this fun swap. It really does force you to take time to relax and enjoy yourself in this busy go-go-go world!

See you soon!
~Allison