cards and crafting

now that I know the recipients received their mail, I can show the other cards and craft projects I've made recently!

This card started out because I didn't like that greenish-blue 3x4 inch die-cut piece of paper.  It has die-cut letters on it saying 'the daily grind' which I knew I would NEVER be able to use... I sat there staring at it for a while, when I had the (simple but brilliant, lol) idea to cover it up with patterned paper!  From there, I added more layers of stuff that matched the colors, typed and added the 'hello' and butterfly, stamped the 'xoxo' and tiny hearts onto the Polaroid shaped piece, and glued the entire thing to a card blank. Voila! 

This greeting card also started as a 3x4 scrapbooking card (the orange card with the 'good day sunshine' text on and an open area for journaling). I found the pea and peach die cuts, stamped 'hello' onto a banner, and attached it all to the 3x4 card, popping a couple things up with foam tape. Again, I just attached it to a card blank, and voila! Another completed greeting card! 

Last time I attended the all-day crop at the SB Barn, I made the following project for sending to my parents. (I couldn't post the pictures until I knew they got it, and there was a bit of a post-office snafu, but it finally got there, so I'm safe in posting it now!)  I think I found the idea for this project on Pinterest, made by a blogger who does Tim Holtz grungy-style stamping, but mine didn't end up quite as complicated as the original. (or as grungy, lol!)

I used the SB store's die-cut machine to cut 5 medium-sized
shipping tags from cardstock, and taped the edges together on both
sides with paper tape to make one long accordion folded piece.

Next I decorated the background of each tag with Distress inks and a bit of stamping.
(in the pic above, the purple circles and the orange 'splat' shapes are stamped.)

Then, I found photographs of us, the dogs, cats, and
some of the yard, and added them to the tags along with
a bit of patterned scrapbook paper and typed captions.

the top photo is all the cats enjoying their Christmas present-
kitty treats- out on the patio on Christmas day!

a couple more photos- one of Zola acting wacky,
and one of us taken at our last anniversary brunch.

Here's the entire album, standing up.

another shot of the entire album-- I really like the fact that
you can display the photos by standing the album up, which
you can't necessarily do with a 'regular' photo album. 

This was my first foray into the world of scrapbook 'mini-albums' but it definitely won't be my last.  There are so many interesting (and intricate) ways to make albums with flipping pages, pockets, hidden flaps, pockets, etc. This one was pretty simple, compared to some that I've seen, but I think if I'm careful with my cutting and my math (no easy feat, for me- lol!) that I should have a lot of fun! (and a lot of the album designs out there have 'how-to' Youtube videos, which is very helpful, since you can rewind and replay things, lol!)

it's random photo time, courtesy of my iPhone camera

I have found out that having an iPhone camera means 'random' really is random in terms of the content, when I get them onto my computer and look through them-- lol! Here's a sampling (and of course, click for a larger photo):

taken at work, 8/7/15. 
Cute little lizard that found its way into the building hallway.
(I let him go outside in the flower bed)

taken on my way home from work, 8/14/15.

The photo above shows something we've often wondered, but now I have photographic evidence-- we have always wondered whether the storms go around the town, because it very rarely rains at our house. The clouds show storms to the east and west of town, but right in front of me, right over the town?? No clouds!!! HA! We were right! (okay, it does rain sometimes, but not nearly as often as its seems to other places.)

Yum!! grocery store display, 8/18/15

The appearance of the Hatch chiles mean that fall is coming soon... (eventually).

Hatch chiles are grown in Hatch, New Mexico, and are wonderful when roasted, peeled, and added to all sorts of dishes... the aroma coming from this display was heavenly! I did buy some, and grilled them yesterday. After grilling them, you 'sweat' them for a few minutes in a covered dish... then you peel off the charred skin and scrape out the seeds, and they're ready to use in cooking. We grilled out burgers, and the roasted chiles were a tasty burger topping. (unfortunately, I did the peeling / handling without gloves, and my hands were burning even after washing them a number of times, lol!) 

But, to have chiles on hand for topping a cheese crisp, a burger, or to add extra flavor to a grilled chicken breast? I'll do it! (but not until after buying some gloves, lol!)

apple chicken salad, 8/26/15

This pic is of a new recipe that I will definitely be making again-- made with my newest kitchen toy, a spiralizer. The recipe was originally for tuna, but since I don't like tuna, I changed it around to use grilled chicken with romaine lettuce, a spiral-cut Granny Smith apple, chopped pecans, and dried cranberries, held together with a dressing that included mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice. It tasted as good as it looked!

geez-- looking at the next photo, you'd think that the only thing I take pictures of is food, lol! But the camera on my phone is useful for when I'm out shopping...

German whole-grain mustard, 8/29/15

I actually saw this mustard when I was out shopping for scrapbook supplies, if you believe that! Well, sort of-- one of the places I hit up for SB deals is Tuesday Morning, which is a close-out sort of store; you can sometimes find good deals. They also have kitchenware, home decor items, linens, and some gourmet foods. I sent a picture of it to Tom to ask if he thought he might like to try it.  (I did buy the mustard, and it is very tasty!)

But wait! I have been doing some scrapbooking and crafting too, though--

SB layout in process, 8/24/15

I have found that my phone camera is useful for scrapbooking, too-- I take pictures of photo placement and paper choices. I've found that looking at them on the phone gives a bit of a different perspective, and it helps me to make decisions. This photo placement picture is also helpful for me to remember for later, since I haven't finished this layout yet. (but I will, soon!)

distant storm, 8/31/15

Another phone weather pic from my commute home. Even after ten years, I am still fascinated by how far you can see out here in the desert, and especially when you can see a rainstorm off in the distance; it's just cool!

Next post: scrapping and card crafting!!  
(probably with a dose of randomness in there, too... lol!)