Lucky 7 Peace Lilies

My peace lily plant produced the most white lilies that I have ever seen.  It is fully Blooming now. I somehow feel it is a lucky sign with 7 blossoms.  Maybe it is a portend of good things to come? Including a new job? Maybe?

Anyway, it's a far cry from before, when it looked like it was dying.  When I first brought it home from my Mom's place in 2011, I took it outside on the balcony, and it withered in direct sun.  All leaves were limp like wet kleenex.  I cut off all the leaves to their stalk, and then all these new leaves grew from regenerated stalks!  The 2nd photo is a close up of the smallest 7th blossom. I will later add a link to their previous unhealthy state photo.

Christmas tissue pouch.

I made these tissue pouches as gifts to family and friends last Christmas.  I am just posting photos now. I used 2 fat quarters (18"x22") of cream and turquoise Christmas holly fabric.  I had enough for 6 pouches and left over scraps for 1 small pot-holder.  Cost $2.00/6 = about 33 cents each.

I purchased the fabric a long time ago, so I no longer know the manufacturer.  Maybe it was Hoffman Fabrics?  I will add dimensions and instructions once I get around to it.  Finished size is 3.25" x 5".

Enjoy!

My cardstock inventory

Hello Friends,

Here is a photo of my cardstock inventory.  I use MoMa designed letter-sized paper sorter from The Container Store (Organizers Sale, 25% off).  Being able to see all the colors I have at once is very nice.  It saves time pulling out the right colors, and also helps me use what I already have instead of buying more.  I organize by rainbow theme - red/pink, orange, yellow, green, teal/turquoise, blue, purple, and neutrals. My 12"x12" cardstock and designer decorative papers are to the right.  My current stash is a little over 2000 sheets.  My goal is to reduce this to 1000 sheets in 5 years, excluding white/cream cardstock.  When I see hot new colors from Stampin' Up, it's hard to resist buying them.  I wish Stampin' Up sold individual colors in 12 sheets per pack instead of 24.  With 12 sheets, I can make 24 to 48 cards, and is a good amount to use up in one year.

The letter sorter uses 2 packs of extra dividers.  Cost $52.5 on sale, $70 full price.
1 inch thickness is equivalent to 85 sheets of cardstock.

Budget Crafting Resources

I discovered a rock bottom priced white card stock that is heavy weight and takes inks well.  It is equivalent to Stampin Up white card stock for much less price.  Buy from Amazon.com for $8.50 - $11.50.  Qualifies for free shipping with $25 purchase.  3.4 - 4.6 cents per sheet.  Make sure to get 110 lbs and not 92 lbs.  If not shipped by Amazon when you look, check back later.

Wausau 49411, 92 brightness, 110 lb, 250 sheets, 8 1/2" x 11", white, cardstock

Symphony jumbo wheel stamp cards, Thank You, Best Wishes

After some experimentation, these music theme cards came out very stylish without coloring the instruments.  I tried coloring them before, but they came out garish.  Cards are 5"x7" and use 1 1/2 letter-sized sheets.  It's good for using up card stock, of which I have about 2000+ sheets!

Thank You card

Supplies Thank You card:
SU jumbo wheel Symphony retired.
SU jumbo wheel Leaves and Swirls retired.
SU rose red ink pad, card stock, and ribbon.
SU pink pirouette and regal rose card stock for matting.  White card stock, generic.
SU cherry cobbler twine.
SU "Thank You" single stamp.
Versa Fine black ink pad

Inside of wedding card

SU 1 1/4" square scallop punch.

Best Wishes - wedding card

Supplies Best Wishes:
Word stamps, SU retired Elegant Greetings.
SU white organza ribbon.
Smooch pearlescent white on torn edge.
SU pink pirouette, rose red, and white card stock.
SU rose red and regal rose ink pad retired.
Versa Fine black ink pad.
Labels 16 Sizzix die for cutting word frame.
Big Kick machine.

SU = Stampin' Up!

Father's Day sailboat card remake.

This redesign uses a textured embossing folder and earthy side card "hinges".  I saw this design on www.splitcoaststampers.com and I cased it.

Supplies:
Inkadinkado sailboat stamp
Stampin' Up! word stamp, Uncharted Territory set.
Stampin' Up! Word Window punch
Stampin' Up! Key Tag punch retired
cardstock: Stampin' Up! tempting turquoise, white, wild wasabi, carribean retired, cocoa retired; DCWV olive-green.
Stampin' Up! Square Lattice embossing folder
2 small black brads
VersaFine black ink pad, white-out pen for wave foam
SU color markers in blues/greens.
Big-Kick die cutting machine.

My Python game class

Hello friends!
I am so happy to have finished the Introduction to Python class.  I feel like I learned quite a bit.  I got a certificate with distinction with a grade of 95%.  I highly recommend this class if you know anyone who wants to learn Python programming, especially for making games.  See www.Coursera.org for more info.  https://class.coursera.org/interactivepython-002/class/index

I edited and cleaned up the code for the final project, an asteroid game.  I post a link here for you to play.  It plays inside the Chrome browser.  Try open-with and Chrome.
Only works on a full-computer, no iPad or iPhones. :-(

[Sorry, had to take the link down.  I am retaking this class to get the Foundations of Computer Science Signature Track from Coursera.org.  The final project is due this week 5/24/2014.]  If you still want to play this game, email me and I will send you a new link after the class deadline.

Mother's Day card using Music Expressions Stampin' Up! set

Here are a few cards I made using retired Stampin' Up! stamp set Music Expressions. My friend Cami came over and we tried making different designs.  I finished several where I used watercolor brush to color in the violin and flowers.  I accented swirl iron works in green.  Bird has glitter applied.  Card is 5"x7".
(Add blue card image, colored in.)

Quick Valentine's Day Cards

After making some Owl Flip Cards, which took very long time, my friend Sharul wanted to make a few quick cards.  She made 6 gift-tag size cards to include with her treat bags, and I made 4 quick Fancy Heart valentine's cards.

These were super fast to make, about 10 minutes per card.  The tag is just embossed in red and tied with a ridinghood ribbon. Card base is 3.5"x2.75" in textured pink.
For the valentine's card, I measured the Fancy Heart stamp (All Night Media) and cut white card stock (2.25"x3") and rose red matting card stock (2.5"x3.25") to size.  The base is pink pirouette card stock, with a layer of Anna Griffin pink designer paper cut slightly smaller, and accented with ridinghood ribbon.  Sentiment uses Stampin' Up! P.S. I Love You stampset and Modern Label punch.  After everything is cut, the main image is just stamped using craft red ink (not embossed).  Then everything is assembled with double sided tape and some pop-up dots.

Owl Flip Card

Hello Everyone!  Happy Year of the Snake.  February 10, 2013 is Lunar New Year.
I saw this cute owl flip card on YouTube and tried my hand at copying them. Original instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rMNLUxS3c  http://darlenedesign.com/wordpress/?p=3016 .


Basically, cut a letter sized cardstock in half vertically (11" x 4.25").  Then score and fold horizontally in half (5.5"), then fold front again in half (2.75"), then fold front quarter 1" further in (3.75").

Use 3 sizes of Spellbinders Labels 16 dies to cut frame opening and mat.  The largest frame is only partially cut by laying the clear acrylic board to cover only part of the die. I cut the front half first, then back 1/8th in two separate passes through the Big Shot.  Darlene's YouTube video shows how.

You need 3 owls per card.  The front owl's clothes should match back left owl.  And the eyes of the back two owls should look towards each other (i.e., the left owl looks right, and right owl looks left).  The eyes are really difficult to glue on, so I sometimes just drew them on with a marker.  My friend Alisa and Cami came over to help me figure out the cards.  I haven't seen Alisa for almost 2 years, so I was very happy she was able to make it.

The greetings on the left says "Happy New Year" in Chineses characters.  It's a really useful Chinese greetings stampset from StampMagic.com.  I bought the Spellbinders die for $18.50 from ArtFire.com, my first purchase from that site.  A friend who sells crafts online told me about it, and that she likes it better than eBay (less commission cost).  The final two pictures are of my first card, which I made before the Spellbinders Labels dies arrived.  It is possible to make this card using Stampin' Up! Decorative Label punch and a rectangular cutting template and knife.  But it was much more of a hassle, and the cuts were not as smooth.  I think the Labels 16 dies are worth it for this project.  Some more friends came over later to make these cards in red card base for Valentines Day.  They take a long time to make, so I don't think I will be making a lot of them.  But they are very cute!  The coral frame is cut from Paper Company brights card stock set.  It's a lot brighter than Stampin Up's cameo coral paper.

Supplies:

• Stampin' Up! owl builder punch $17; bird builder punch $17 (for leaves)
• Spellbinders Labels 16 nestabilities dies, $18.50 ($25 retail); Big Kick machine
• Score board, optional ($11.50 on sale from AC More)
• Cardstock: green, transparent green (leaves), white, chocolate, cocoa, coral, yellow.  
• Designer Paper: leftover scraps in red and blue.
• Markers: chocolate, caramel (color owl eyes), red (color owl heart), pink (draw owl feathers).