August 27, 2010 by saramspencer
…go ahead and CASE. Drawing inspiration from other peoples work or even copying layouts is such a great way to get your creativity flowing. Especially since I think this hobby of mine should be fun! The minute I feel like I have to be unique all the time I remind myself of this. I like to be original, but that simply does not happen all the time.
Some of you may recognize this card from PTI’s countdown post for “Year of Flowers: Gladious”. I liked Nichole’s card so much that I just went ahead and copied it. The only difference is the background. =)
Such a fun card to make. The Mat Stack 4 is just an awesome die! The flowers were colored with my prisma pencils. I hope my friend will like it as much as I do. =)
I just have to add that I managed to upload my first photo/post from my phone! How fun.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara
Supplies: All from PTI except the Pearls (Kaiser Craft) and color pencils.
Posted in Cards, PTI, Prisma Coloring | 2 Comments »
July 30, 2010 by saramspencer
I’m not a big fan of saying goodbye. Not the ones where you know its going to be a while, a great while, before you see each other again. Living in another country, I’ve had to say it so many times over the years to people that really matters. My family. And it’s hard every time. The past couple of weeks I (along with many others of my friends) have had to say goodbye to three friends who are all moving to various places in the country. And that’s been tough too. I know I will miss them.
Yet, at the same time I am happy and excited for them. Happy because I know how exciting change can be. Change is invigorating and often inspires us to try new things. But in order to get there we often have to say goodbye to something else, our old way of doing things or, as in this case, to our friends.
So, I guess its hard but good all at the same time. And isn’t that true for a lot of things in life?
I made this card for my friend Jay, who’s served on the worship team with me for the past 7 years. Though he’ll be missed I know others will soon have the chance to enjoy his musical skills.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara
Card Supplies: Cardstock, Retired SU! in colors, Stamps from PTI, Inks are versamagic.
Posted in Cards, PTI | Leave a Comment »
July 25, 2010 by saramspencer
Sometimes I think I find it hard to compose a post because there are so many different things I could write about. How do I choose? How do I decide what’s “blog worthy” content and what isn’t? Do I write about
- my sister’s 3 1/2 week long June visit?
- my 11 year wedding anniversary?
- my becoming an American Citizen after living here in the US for over a decade?
- one of the many things I did together with my little boys over the past couple of months?
There are lots of choices, all of them wonderful experiences and memories to me. But how do I tie them to the card I just made?
Perhaps I don’t. Perhaps I should just stop thinking and start writing. Because my hope is that you’ll get to know me and hopefully I’ll get to know you by hearing back from you.
So today I’ll simply share this; I wish it was June still! That is how great of a time I had with my sweet sister, my best friend. If you had the chance to meet her you would wish she was your sister too. =) Really. She is that great. And perhaps I will simply dedicate this card that I’m sharing with you to her. She really is very sweet.
Yes, I think I’ll leave it at that for today. Just a few of my thoughts and a card that I really like. =)
What are you thinking about lately? What stops you from posting? I would love to hear what you have to say.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara
Card Supplies: Stamps, Cardstock and Ink all PTI. Prismacolor pencils and OMS was used to color the image.
Posted in Cards, Personal, Prisma Coloring | 3 Comments »
May 28, 2010 by saramspencer
If you're looking for interesting little candies and food bits to share with friends or give away, Trader Joe's never disappoints. They have so many inexpensive treats! I have to say its one of my fave places to shop.
Right before Easter I found these little colorful Chocolate covered Sunflower seeds. I thought they were just the perfect Easter Candy to give away. Not too unhealthy (or so I tell myself)! This post by Nichole Heady inspired me to use the glassine bags I had been saving for something special.
I took a square envelope and created little flower windows using my Martha Stewart Punch. Then I simply inserted the bag inside. I love how the candies peek through the glassine windows. This was so simple to make and a little more fun than a card.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara
Supplies, {Stamps}: PTI Beautiful Blooms, Mixed Messages, SU! For all you do {Paper}: Square vanilla envelopes, Glassine bags, SU! Barely Banana bardstock {Other}: Circle punch, ribbon, Martha Stewart flower punches.
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May 25, 2010 by saramspencer
Welcome! Today is the day I'm participating in the PTI blog hop! I always say to myself; "you can do it this month" and then it just never happens. Not so this time. =)
The challenge for this month is all about PTI felt. This is a new product of which I own one color – Dark Chocolate. But that is enough to make a card and participate!
Add to that a bit of time pressure and you got yourself one focused and efficient stamper. During the boys nap time I pulled out my big shot, paper, glue, felt and stamps and went to town. Here's what I came up with:
I've seen a lot of "white on white" cards on Nichole's blog and I just love the look of it so I decided to try it for myself. I used the wood grain impression plate + a little bit of vintage touch ink on the edges to add some interest to the background layer.
The felt was easily made into a focal point using the butterfly die and a bit of twine. Super easy and cute.
I can't begin to tell you how happy I am I got this done today. I even had time for a piece of cake and some coffee! Sometimes stamping is just what the Doctor ordered on those crazy days we all experience from time to time. =)
Thanks for stopping by. Make sure and pop over to Nichole's blog so you can see the other participants work too!
Sara
Supplies are all from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted: {Stamps}: Everyday Button Bits (sentiment) {Paper}: Stampers Select White, New Leaf {Ink}: Dark Chocolate {Other}: Dark Chocolate Felt, Wood Grain Impression plate, Circle Punch (SU!), Twine (not sure where I got this)
Posted in Cards, Challenge, PTI Blog Hop | 29 Comments »
May 15, 2010 by saramspencer
My little boy is 2 years old!! How on earth did we end up here so quickly? Sometimes I think I better stop blinking or I'll miss all the funny little things he does. Taking a few photos is of course one way to save those sweet memories and tuck them away somewhere safe.
We celebrated Caleb's special day with a party. One of his very first words was "bil" which means car in Swedish. He points to "bilar" all the time and he makes sure we know when the dump truck, fire truck or train is going by. Such a boy! I thought it only appropriate to decorate with this in mind.
The stamps are from Technique Tuesday. This set has the most adorable cars, trucks, boats and trains you can imagine. A perfect set for a stamping mother of two boys. Putting together these cup cake topper was a cinch. I think they look really cute perched on top of the frosting.
And the birthday boy? He liked the toppers just fine, but the cup cakes…not so much. He requested a store bought cookie instead. =) Fine with me, it was after all his birthday.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara
Supplies: Vroom stamp set, SU! Basic Black Ink, SU! Earth Element
markers, Glue dots
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
April 21, 2010 by saramspencer
I did it!! I finished my very first Digital Scrapbook page!! That would be my first one ever!! Just wanted to make sure you heard me correctly. =)
I've been wanting to do something with my digital photos for a looooong
time. After my two boys were born the photos began to accumulate in my
computer, unshared and untouched. That didn't seem right so I began to
think, read and research ways I could get these photos into albums in a
way that would be fun and creative
As a crafter I'm a card maker first, but after following Ali and Cathy's blogs for some time, looking at their digital/hybrid pages, I've been inspired to get creative with my photos too. I saw that the important thing is not the photo but the story. I like that and I like the way these amazing artists achieve the goal of telling it.
So I took the plunge tonight. Look!
I completed the first lesson in Jessica Sprague's class "Up and
Running with Photshop". This class made the intimidation I felt for PSE8
dissipate immediately, and that says something since I haven't even opened the program until tonight! I had so much fun I can't even believe it! The
stuff I learned was very basic; how to open files, add layers, crop,
type, opacity, save for print and save for Web. The kit that came with
the class made it a piece of cake.
I must add though that if my sweet husband hadn't bought me that program those few months ago there wouldn't be anything to share here today. So I am so thankful that he is so supportive in my endeavor to learn something new. So much so that he gave me a much needed kick in the rear end. =)
I know there's A LOT more to learn and that I have barely scratched the surface, but at least I have started. I'll be sharing my progress with you here on my blog and hopefully you'll see some of my own pages in the near future.
So glad you stopped by,
Sara
Posted in Digital Scrapbooking, Personal | 5 Comments »
March 30, 2010 by saramspencer
You know you're the mother of a toddler when walking up the stairs takes 10 minutes because he just has to lay down on his tummy on every single step. Exploration is great fun. It is how we learn to do new things.
And speaking of new things, I decided to explore the stamping technique on vellum that Nichole used in this post. I love the soft look you achieve this way. As you can see I didn't deviate much from Nichole's layout and colors.
It has been years since I used vellum when making cards so I had a hard time finding a piece among my supplies. But with the result I got I know I will try it again soon.
I ended up using this one as a birthday card. Kind of fun to use a more nontraditional sentiment don't you think? Here it is, all wrapped up together with the gift which happened to be a gift card.
I'll be back soon with something that has been cooking in my kitchen. I can't wait to share it.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sara
Card Details (all PTI unless noted): {Stamps}: Friends til' the End {Paper}: Lemon Tart, Vellum {Ink}: SU! Basic Grey {Other}: Ribbon from my stash
Posted in Cards, PTI | 1 Comment »
March 8, 2010 by saramspencer
*This is my third (!!) post today, so feel free to scroll down to see more*
Yes, this is indeed last minute. I made one more card this weekend that I wanted to post today before the deadline of the Olympics of Stamping. I am entering this in the "Birthday" category, of course.
When I started, the color scheme I had chosen was White, Aqua Mist and Pure Poppy, but as the evening progressed, I changed it to Very Vanilla, Spring Moss and Pure Poppy. I learned a few things from this:
- Enjoy the process of creating
- It's OK to practice – the end result will be better if you take your time
- Try, try and try again
I really didn't think I was going to like this card, but it turned into one of my favorites. The result of playing can be surprising at times.
Thank you for stopping by,
Sara
Card Details: {Stamps}: PTI Through the Trees {Ink}: Versamagic Jumbo Java, versamark, Pure Poppy {Paper}: PTI Select White, Spring Moss, Pure Poppy {Other}: Curly Label Punch, Glossy, Chocolate Chip Marker (SU!)
Posted in Cards, Challenge, PTI | 4 Comments »
March 8, 2010 by saramspencer
* This is my second post today, so please scroll down and have a look if you please.
As a continuation on my previous post, I also gained a renewed gratefulness for friends and family this past week. Friends that visited when I needed company and a break from the routine of things, family that called me daily and visited and even stayed the night! This is not something I take for granted.
The card came together easily as I thought about all the people I am grateful for. Bright, cheery colors seemed only appropriate.
I am entering this card in the Moxie Fab Olympics of Stamping, under the "Thank You" category.
Your visit is always appreciated,
Sara
Card Details: {Stamps}: PTI Year of Flowers: Violets, Background Basics: Retro, Inkadinkado: Birthday Wishes {Ink}: Versamagic Jumbo Java, SU! Summer Sun, Versamark {Paper}:PTI Select White, Lemon Tart, Dark Chocolate {Other}: Prisma Color Pencils, OMS, Stickles, Dimensionals, Chocolate Chip Marker
Posted in Cards, Challenge, PTI, Prisma Coloring | 1 Comment »
