Here is a pretty card I created. I like to offer multiple sentiments when I sell cards. The user can simply select the sentiment they like and adhere it to the card.

Not a calendar!

Funny, I have been reviewing my old posts and find I mostly post calendar pages in the last couple of years LOL Most of them! have never been completed (Oh my) at least I never posted the pictures of them.

Well this year's calendar is different!! I actually HAVE finished it and I am going to post all the pictures from August to December soon.  The reason I stopped is that I actually decided to create a similar calendar for 2013 for two of my sisters for their with BIG birthdays this year and I have not wanted them to see the end results until they get their gifts. I will be delivering one to Beverly in Indiana in July and the other to Susan who will be meeting us in South Dakota in August!! yahooee!! so after that I will post them I promise!!

While you wait with patient excitement heeheehee here is a sweet "ONE-OF-A-KIND" card I created a while ago.  I love how it turned out! I love the recipient!!

Hope you are having a wonderful summer.

(((Hugs)))
Patti

January - July Calendar Pages

I was clearing out my file cabinet and found this Stampin Up calendar that I ordered some years ago and never used.  I really like the 6x6 size of the pages. I decided this would be a "quick" project to begin and complete in the month of January.    There is enough space to have fun creating while not so big a "pallet" as the 12 x 12" calendars I've done in the past.

I had just completed a Christmas card for my neighbor, Mrs. Dodge, and decided that I would pattern each month's layout after a card I had previously made or enjoyed. I felt this would also help with keeping this project "quick" meaning I would not have to invent a new design for each layout. So my January layout  was born in a matter of minutes! using products almost exclusively from Close To My Heart.

The following six posts are what I've completed so far through July.  Some layouts are new and some are indeed patterned after a favorite card I've made before but so far each one has been FUN!

I will post the rest of my calendar pages when they are completed!

Happy New Year!!

me.

February Calendar

January is the most popular month for starting a diet! 

I guess some of us need to shed those extra pounds from all those pounds of fudge and Christmas cookies we were tempted by! : )  

I found this darling little image and sentiment from the people at "indadinkado" who bring us $1.00 Clear Stamps.  I really love the $1.00 stamps.  They are normally pretty good quality and there is something so "right" about a deal like that.  This one in particular really makes me giggle! I have used it many times and enjoy a "ah~ha! I can relate" each time I see it.

In case you can't see the sentiment in my photograph it says:

I've been dieting for the past month.

All I've lost is 31 days!

I cut the word February from my  Cricut "Designer's Calendar" cartridge.  

I'm happy you can't see the numbers that I stamped on the calendar portion of my layout because I really flubbed up! : ( I have tried to conceal my booboos but the numbers I stamped did not turn out very well.  Happily this calendar is for me and I plan to enjoy it no matter what! I hope you'll enjoy it too!!

Patti

March Calendar page

I patterned this layout after a card I once made.  I recently gave the card I created away and decided I would make my March layout using a similar design so I would not forget it!  

My papers are "old" Stampin Up papers. 

I used the "Ginger" font from Quickutz to cut the word April.  

And I used a truly SWEET! image and sentiment from my friends at Peachy Keen Stamps.

Thanks a bunch for looking!
me.

April Showers

Actually in Wisconsin I've noticed it is more like May Showers bring June flowers but in 2012 I'm hoping for early showers and early flowers : )

This layout was created using sweet papers from "Autumn Leaves" .  I accented the boots by cutting a second matching boot and attaching it over the first boot using a pop dot in all four locations.  

I wanted it to appear that the rain comes and brings the little flowers on the bottom left.  Clever for an old gal! LOL

I have a plaque in my flower garden outside.  It says:

"Who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see believes in God."  

I do, believe in God, and know that no matter how cloudy it is the sun will shine again! 

Patti

 

 

 

Some of my favorite peeps were born in May! 

 

For this layout I decided to make a quilt!  I learned this technique from Jennifer in a card swap this fall.  It is a very simple technique  - MUCH simpler!! than constructing a fabric quilt : ) I made this quilt in honor of my sister, Beverly : )

 

One thing I did not plan well with my quilt was the size of my quilt squares in regard to the size of the "Huggy Bella" image I wanted to use! Under the cute hugging friends is a lime green pinwheel! The pinwheel is a wonderful addition to the quilt but all that can be seen is the top right corner of the pinwheel.  Next time I would leave the pinwheel design off or else use a smaller image.  I considered peeling the green point of the pinwheel off but realized it would spoil the card so I decided to leave it alone.

 

I embossed the entire quilt with a Cuddlebug Folder, " Houndstooth". I also embossed the paper strip under the word May with the same folder.  I loved how Jennifer selected this folder because it makes the quilt look...  well,  "quilted"!! Brilliant idea : )

 

I computer generated the sentiment from one I read on-line. 

 

"Friends are like quilts - stitched together one piece at a time"

 

I hope you are enjoying my calendar as much as I am!

 

me.

C is for Celebrate

June is one of my favorite months! : ) It's the month of my birthday!! I selected some old Doodlebug papers from my stash.  I really love black and white and hot pink together!  I created the silhouette girl that resembles what I looked like about  FORTY!  years ago (oh my) from the Forever Young Cricut Cartridge.  I intended to highlight only the left side of my calendar with rhinestones but under that big pink rhinestone where the number 28 is supposed to be is a number 29! oops so what "they" say is true:

"There are no mistakes in papercrafting... only opportunities."

I decided to scatter some bling bling around the calendar portion of the layout as well. 

I cut the word "June" using my old pal! Quickutz! it is the Marisa font.

"C is for Celebrate" is an old TAC image.  It is old yet I believe this is the  very first time I have used it! ....so many stamps .... so little time! : )

Patti

Mojo Monday Design

After one crazy! year I have taken January "off" from sewing scarves for my neckStyles™ business! That means plenty of papercrafting time!! I am working on a nifty calendar for 2012.

While hard at work I popped over to the amazing greats at Mojo Monday for some inspiration and found this design for my September page.

Stay tuned for more pictures of my calendar this week!!

mmmmmm! it's good to be papercrafting! : )

Patti

Smile

I was not in the mood for playing with paper today! I guess I have just been too tired from a full week. That doesn't, however, mean that I was not in the mood to l@@k at paper! : ) so I sat down at my computer and planned to look at some of my favorite sites. First stop, Mojo Monday!

I saw their challenge this week and without even knowing it would happen that Mojo just started flowing! LOL That is what this terrific site is about! Spreading the inspiration!! (They are very good at what they do!)

Instead of surfing the web I turned my chair around and created this card instead!! I barely wanted to stop to take a picture. My Mojo is moving and I am now IN THE MOOD! Many thanks to the gals at Mojo Monday for a tremendous site! I'm a HUGE fan!!

Patti


Thank You card inspired by Love!!

Inspired Thanks!

Inspiration for my cards comes in a variety of ways! It could be something I see in a book or on a table cloth! : ) My card today was inspired by a gift my friend, Barb, gave to me.

I was completely surprised a couple of weeks ago when I got home from my Mother-in-Law's birthday party!! Barb and a "partner in crime", Diane, had come in to the house and set up a huge! surprise in my kitchen : ) Part of the surprise was that it wasn't my birthday! LOL

Barb said I'd looked sad the last time she saw me and wanted to do something special! the gifts were 8 amazing ribbon caddies and some ribbon... ?spools? I'm not sure what you call them but you wrap your loose ribbon on them. I'll include some pictures! : ) (that will be easier than trying to explain! heeheehee) I had all this ribbon stuffed in a drawer! What a blessing my new organizers are! : ) She also brought some deep fried green beans! You have to trust me on this- they are awesome!! a coupon for fresh picked Strawberries (which she delivered two days later! yummmmm). Balloons, flowers and a fan! : ). Isn't Barb amazing!?

ANYWAY! the picture below doesn't show the bouquet of balloons including a sweet Mylar balloon - the inspiration for a thank you card I made for Barb.

How could anyone be sad with friends like these!! I am a very rich girl!! my heart overflows with love for Barb and her "partner in crime" : )

Thank you for visiting my ant hill : )

Patti

Surprise! It's not my Birthday!!

Gift from Barb

Birthday thanks!

Here is another thank you card. The inside sentiment reads:

Thank You for making my Birthday so Special!

I used a birthday gift I received from my good friend, Diane, which shows Mudpie "Full of Hot Air". I used retired SU papers and some no name bling bling. My card design came from an old Mojo Monday sketch. I was hoping it would help me get some Mojo going! I like it ok - I hope you like it too : )

Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Patti

Dad and Grandma

Here is a card I made for my Dad and my Grandma. The one pictured is for Grandma. She gave me toilet tissue for my birthday! isn't that sweet? : ) I thought this was the perfect image to express my thanks! She will love it as she loves me : )

I stamped a Thank You! sentiment on the inside. The sentiments stamps are from a Close to my Heart set called "Card Chatter - Thank You". The papers are retired SU papers.

I love this image. It it is called "Fishing Hole" by Impression Obsession. It is funny like my Dad, so I created a similar version of this card for him for Father's Day! The picture doesn't show it well but the image is of an outhouse. There is a fishing pole coming out the open door. A sign on the side of the outhouse says: "No Fishing - No Dumping" heeheehee

Thank you for looking and have a wonderful!! Father's Day weekend.

Patti

Remember me?? that's ant me. : )

I cannot believe it has been over a year since I updated my blog. The worst part is that is has pretty much been that long since I played with paper too! Today is a new day! I have been working on some paper crafts that I will both tell you about and post in the next few days but for now I thought I would tell you a little bit about what I’ve been up to for the past year!

Bob and I moved into this amazing home.

We did a ton! Of landscaping at the new place and gardening which meant I did a ton of canning!! yummm

We got a new baby grandson in July 2010!

Joshua is our 7^th grandchild : ) is he adorable or what!?

We took a vacation with a couple of our grandchildren to the black Hills of South Dakota. Incredibly memorable time!!

My good friend, Diane and I have started a new business creating infinity scarves!! (Playing with beautiful fabric is almost as much fun as playing with paper.) We call them “neckStyles™”

We opened up a couple of Etsy shops: neckStyles™ and Northern Light Photographic. And hopefully before the end of the month I will have an Etsy shop for my cards. : ) check my side bar if you want to visit these shops.

Something we have not done:

We didn’t go to Africa as we had hoped. The “window” closed. At this time there are no current plans to pursue that ministry opportunity. While we are extremely saddened by the missed opportunity we are looking with expectation and hope for all the Lord will do in our lives in the months and years to come. It has been a year of both ups and downs – losses and gains.

I’m excited to be back. I plan to get around to my old friends Blogs to see all your wonderful creations very soon and hopefully catch up with what has been happening in YOUR lives this past year.

Your friend,

Patti

ant me.

Surfs Up!

Here is another digi image! (these things are contagious!!)
I'm sitting here at my computer tonight "wasting time" while I wait for my darling hubs to go to bed. I thought I would post a card I created a few weeks ago but have not yet had a chance to post. Because I'm not prepared please forgive my lack of acknowledgment for the digi and papers I used. But please let me know if you have any questions about the supplies and I'll gladly share as soon as I can!! : )

BIG (((Hugs))) Patti

p.s. poor little gal didn't have a smile so I added one! heeheehee now we're both! happy

Almost April!

I decided to create a CD calendar for my daughter, Sarah. I just decided - LOL so this will be the first page she gets but I will continue it each month until ... whenever! I really love doing calendar pages. You may have noticed that I never posted my March 12x12 calendar page. It is because I never made it! I have been so busy lately I've fallen behind. I will be sure to post it soon.

This little cutie was created using a Stampin' Up image that I borrowed from a friend. I also used a pretty daisy sticker border by Martha Stewart. I wish the pictured showed it better but the yellow patterned paper by Heidi Grace highlights the centers of many of the flowers with a little dot of what looks like epoxy to make the flower centers "pop"!

And!! welcome my sweet little ant. Isn't this ant just huggable!? I found her in a wonderful little store not far from my ant hill : ) I just had to have her!!

Thanks for looking!! Patti

Shaped Cards

Thanks to my friend Lisa (click here to see Lisa's Car card) I have been a shaped card making fool! I created these cards for a class I'll be teaching at Organized Chaos, my LSS. I cut the Tea Pot and Party Hat cards from "A Child's Year" Cricut cartridge and the Oven card from "My Kitchen" Cricut cartridge. I love the shaped cards!! it really gets me thinking outside the box when I look at the die cuts available.

I hope you enjoy them too! thank you for looking : )

Patti