Paper Hearts

Life

2011-04-20T09:34:00.000-05:00

Well today I sit here with a cup of coffee at my hubbies laptop in the kitchen reflecting on my life and the people I love. Mike, my husband, is home for two weeks from Iraq, and goes back this Friday. It's amazing how 2 weeks can fly by so fast.
For the past 7 years I have taken care of my Grandmother (aka Gram). She has been slowing declining with Alzheimer's and celebrated her 94th birthday this past March. Yesterday Mike and I took her to this wonderful assisted living place that is only 10 minutes from our home. It was such a bittersweet day. Having realized that I could no longer server her needs now that she is so progressed in memory loss (I think its been a few years since she recognized me as her granddaughter), I set out to find a place where she can live out the last years of her life in an encouraging and loving environment that was near enough for me to visit regularly. Diane, from her Daybreak program, helped me find this place and it was so perfect! My heart sang for her when we visited there... it was perfect!
So yesterday, with her not really knowing what was going on, we moved her in. She has a roommate, Violet, who is just a doll. Immediately Violet took her under her wing. Within an hour the two of them went down to the activity area to do "exercises". While putting away her things it was so bittersweet. I will miss seeing her smiling face everyday, but I know she is in a place that will be able to motivate her and where she will make many friends (she was always so sociable).
Gram has taught me many things in my lifetime. Always have a smile for everyone, you can do anything you set your mind to (she is the one person that always believed in me), give people the benefit of the doubt, and a sense of humor about yourself and life is essential. Gram has definitely had a huge impact on my life. I cherish her and all she stood for. I love you Gram!
Happy stamping everyone,
Hugs from Lisa :)

Hannah's in Antioch... so much to love!

2011-04-15T15:44:00.000-05:00

I am so excited and honored that Hannah's in Antioch chose me to be part of their Design Team as well as a stamping instructor! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Our first meeting was so much fun. I had a great time meeting the incredibly talented ladies that make up the team and can't wait to get to know them better. I am just so honored :)

Over the years Hannah's has become my favorite local store for indulging my passion for paper, stamps and ink. Check them out at: Hannah's Design Team Blog

Speaking of the DT, one of my new friends from Hannah's team, Laura, awarded me the...

How exciting is that!! Thank you Laura! To accept the award, I need to pass it on...

Rule #1: I link back to the person who gave me this awesome award
(as I did above!)

Rule #2: I share 7 random things about myself:
1. I can never have too much ink, too many stamps... or too much designer paper ;)
2. I love to read mystery or science fiction novels
3. I love ice cream (yum!)
4. I am a people person and cherish my friends
5. I am a hair stylist
6. I drove a Ford conversion van for the majority of my son's childhood (forget parallel parking! yikes!!)
7. I take care of my 94 year old grandmother with Alzheimer's (she has lived with us the past 7 years).

Rule #3: I award 7 newly discovered bloggers with this award
so go check out.....

Starting in May, I will be offering stamping classes at Hannah's, so check the site regularly for class calendar updates.

In March I dropped off my first submission to be displayed at Hannah's. I will be posting the cards along with their recipes withinin the next few days, so check back soon!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

Spot, our Toy Fox Terrier

2011-01-18T13:23:00.003-06:00

One of the last photos I took of Spot

In May 2010, Spot started collapsing for no apparent reason. I took her to her vet and found it was congestive heart failure. We tried medication, but within a few days I had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep. She turned 14 that previous January, and had followed me all over the house since she was a pup. Because I worked from home, she was my little shadow always at my side. Spot weighed in at a hefty 4 pounds and was my sweet baby. The week following her passing I barely slept, as I kept having nightmares that I made a mistake. Who would have thought this tiny dog could have made such an impact in my life. She was an angel! We miss and love you Spot!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-17T10:01:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! 2010 proved to be, most likely, the roughest I have experienced during my adult life. However, I have it back together and am finally feeling the creative juices flowing! Can't wait to start posting creations (I have already been checking out all the fab stuff my fellow paper artists are creating... so inspiring!) Here's to 2011 and inky fingers!

All my best! Lisa :)

DDSC6 - Plus Inktegrity Drawing!

2009-10-15T08:39:00.002-05:00

I have been MIA the past few weeks, but finally getting my groove back on. About time.. sheesh!

Joni's company, Inktegrity, is releasing this adorable penguin image today, so I held off posting for the release. She is giving the image away to a lucky winner that comments on my post here! So make sure to comment and you will be put into a drawing to receive this adorable little guy and his fishy friend.

Isn't this just the greatest sketch! I decided instead of going with a round card, to give that illusion by hand-cutting rounded corners and inking them to give them dimension. I used a mat board heart, covered it with paper and sanded the edges to give it a worn with love look. The fish pail was cut out and filled in with a thick glossy medium to give the illusion of water. I colored the fish then went over it with a metalic pen, and finally replaced the handle with twine. I decided to give the cute little penguin a heart to hold, so I punched out the heart put a dimensional behind it, cut out the hands then inserted it.

Don't forget to stop by the rest of the Daredevil's blogs (see links on right side bar) to check out there incredible takes on this sketch! They are amazingly talented ladies.

Hugs,

Lisa :)

Big Shot Texturz Plates

2009-09-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Working on some cards for my Big Shot class that is coming up in October. Each project we do for this class will feature a different accessory of the Big Shot machine. This card uses the Texturz Plates. The cardstock in the featured card is retired, so we will be using something a bit different. We will, however, still use the sketch I created for the above card.

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Lisa :)

DDSC3 Color Challenge

2009-09-23T10:19:00.010-05:00

I apologize for my lack of posts. Just a lot of "life" going on right now and things are a bit rough (taking a toll on my creative spirit lately). Our son started college 3 weeks ago, and he absolutely loves it! It is just so exciting, but has me reflecting on days gone by and wondering where the time went. I was always told your kids grow up too fast, and now I am a believer ;)

This week we have this wonderful color challenge. I decided to apply it to another Halloween card. Last night and today I was camera challenged in photographing this card. I took over 30 pictures in several different lighting situations and just could not capture the colors. It looks washed out compared to the real thing, especially the blue, but I had to finally just say oh well and accept this image for posting.

I want to extend a warm welcome to our newest Daredevil, Lisa Hjulberg (just lover her name ;)... so exciting to have you on our team. Check out her blog. Her work is AMAZING!!

You won't want to miss the other Daredevil's fabulous challenge creations:

Have a great week!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

DDSC1Whimsical Wednesdays has Begun!

2009-09-09T07:56:00.003-05:00

I am so excited! Twinkling Tuesday's Team has begun! But, the team has a new name and post date: Whimsical Wednesday's: "The Diedrich Dare" with a new blog & blinkie! I am so excited to be participating in this team of talented women once again.

Below is the sketch given to us for our first challenge:

I decided to go with a Black & White Halloween theme (see card above).

SU! Medallion stamp: Black Embossing Powder
SU! Twick or Tweet stamp: White Embossing Powder
SU! Sweet Centers Stampset (spider/EEK)
SU! Classic Black Ink
SU! Night & Day DSP; Whisper White; Basic Black
SU! Black Brads
SU! White Satin Ribbon
SU! Black Marker
Sakura Jelly Roll Pen
Black Ribbon (source unknown)

After embossing the Medallion stamp, I cut it out and sponged black ink on the edges. I tore the black square (skeleton image) and adhered to white square, edges sponged in black ink then attached to Medallion with Stampin' Dimensionals. After cutting the DSP to size, I sponged the edges in black ink and drew a spider web and spider in the upper right hand corner then traced the web in a Gelly Roll Pen. I just love creating in black and white. Not sure why I don't do that more often.

Marie from The Greeting Farm and Jess are offering a prize this week to celebrate! One participant of the first challenge will win Jess' Butterfly Wishes set. Click here for deets.

Make sure to check out the rest of the DT posts!
Jessica Diedrich
Jacquie Peifer
Cassie Larson
Darla Wilson
Debbie Lee
Heather Schlatter
Kim Ross
Rebecca Ednie
Sandra Maclean

Thank you for stopping by!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

Flying High with Inktegrity!

2009-09-08T20:19:00.002-05:00

Isn't this just the cutest image? This is the airplane image from the Flying High series from Inktegrity. All papers, ink, and embellishments are from SU! Wonder what Joni is coming up with next? ;)

Inktegrity Tennis Love

2009-09-08T19:56:00.001-05:00

Somehow this post was saved and not published... one of my famous blonde moments I suppose! Anyway here it is, better late than never right? Joni creates the cutest images. They are just so much fun to create with.

Corner Book Marker

2009-09-08T12:07:00.006-05:00

Here is another project from my Bleaching Technique Class. When you bleach out this color cardstock it pulls So Saffron, so that became my accent color. The Circle Circus stampset is perfect for this technique as a few of the stamps have simple, relatively solid images. This is a fun, quick project to teach.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend. Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

Butterfly Booklet

2009-09-07T22:22:00.002-05:00

This is a booklet I created for my Technique Class featuring bleach. All materials from SU!

Inktegrity Tennis Girl

2009-08-18T10:28:00.002-05:00

Another adorable image from the newly released "Have a Ball" series by Inktegrity! All other elements are SU! The little girl's skirt and sweater are paper pieced with SU! DSP.

Sneak Peek #2 Have a Ball!

2009-08-15T14:09:00.005-05:00

So exciting!!! Tomorrow is the release for the Have a Ball series from Inktegrity! The images are simply adorable! Don't miss out on the drawing... these little cuties could be yours free! Click here for info.

For this particular card I used my favorite SU! Big Shot Lattice die to create the turquoise background. I adhered that piece to SU! DSP, then placed that over SU! Pumpkin Pie cardstock (dang now I am hungry!) Crushed Curry, a new In Color, is the matting behind that piece... so there are several layers involved. The fun Crystal Stickers in Tangerine are from Mark Richards. Those are adhered to the two "flowers" to give a little zing and depth to my layout.

I ran a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock through my Cuttlebug with Swiss Dots, then adhered it to the side. Finally after a few layers of cardstock and adding the tagged sentiment, I adhered my main image on an angle. To colorize this little darling, I used a mixture of SU! markers and water coloring with SU! classic ink.

Stop by tomorrow for the final image from the Have a Ball series! Until then...
Hugs!
Lisa =D

Inktegrity Have a Ball Sneaky Peek!

2009-08-14T12:13:00.006-05:00

Here is a special sneak peak of the adorable Have a Ball series by Inktegrity, due to release this Sunday. There are two other images, so tomorrow I will be sharing another with you ;) Check out the Inktegrity blog to see what the other DT members have been coming up with.

For the football girl image: She is colored in pencils. I created the flower edge with Cuttlebug die cut edgers using SU! cardstock.

The football boy: All paper by Stampin' Up! The star is 4 pieces of DSP paper. I started with one star, layered it then cut the next out and so on and so on. Then I edged the yellow star with Stickles. I added 3 pastel metal/glass brads (SU!) to the star edge for a little fun and interest. I decided to cut out the boy and adhere him with Stampin' Dimensionals to help him stand out a bit ;) Then pulled out the olive stripe from the DSP by adding the Old Olive ribbon (SU!). By placing the stripe paper horizontally, it gives the star an illusion of motion.

Check back tomorrow for the next sneak peak!
Have a fab weekend!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

Cutest Lovebug Ever!

2009-08-07T14:40:00.003-05:00

Had a few minutes today so I decided to take another SCS sketch challenge, SC240. The Lovebug from Inktegrity's new line is just perfect for this layout... so I couldn't resist and got to work ;)

The car is paper pieced with this cute gingham and flower paper. The tires are watercolored with SU! Watercolor Pencils in black. Then I cut out two little flowers from the gingham paper and adhered them to the tires with yellow brads. For a bit of bling, I added tiny rhinestones to the ladybug's antennae. She is colored with SU! markers.

For some fun I added a yellow flower that I inked up (SU! Classic Ink) with the color from the ladybug's spots. Ran the rosy pink cardstock through the Cuttlebug with their Swiss Dots embossing folder then punched it out with a Stampin' Up flower punch. The ribbon behind the flowers is SU! Old Olive.

The slide is from SU! Hodgepodge Hardware kit. SU! Apricot Appeal cardstock was punched out with their scallop edger and, then I added a ribbon overlay.

Thank you for stopping by!
Hugs,
Lisa =D

Splitcoast's 239 Sketch Challenge

2009-08-07T11:04:00.004-05:00

I really loved the sketch challenge SCS gave out on Wednesday SC239, so I decided to play along. The stamp is from Rubber Romance and paper, ink markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, and linen thread are from SU! The tiny pearls are from the Paper Studio.

I water colored the hat (Sahara Sand) and shirt (Baja Breeze) using blender pens and ink pads, then used SU! markers for the rest of the image. I sponged Saraha Sand ink around the edges and stippled Baja Breeze around the figure to create the illusion of the sky. The paper is retired DSP featuring Baja Breeze and Sahara Sand.

Thank you for stopping by! I love comments so don't hesitate...
hugs, Lisa =D

Inktegrity Sneak Peak... YAY!

2009-08-05T09:49:00.019-05:00

I am so honored and excited to have been chosen to be a part of Joni's first Design Team for Inktegrity. It is awesome working with such a talented group of artists! Thank you, Joni, for trusting me with your adorable images!

Tomorrow is the big release day for the "Dream Big" series. So for a taste of what the excitement is all about, I am featuring 3 of my cards from this line. Check back tomorrow for two more! You are going to want these images, so see the end of this post for info on winning all 5!

Feel Better Bug

I was going for a soft, comfy, muted look so I "water-colored" the image using SU! ink and blender pens. Doesn't show up great in the photos, but I added Stickles tothe ladybug to give her some sparkle. I made a bow with linen thread and added it to the stem of the apple, then tied some to each of the buttons for a bit of texture. The sentiment (ok have to find it credit the source lol) is stamped on Vellum. The background is Cuttlebug-ed with the Swiss Dots embossing envelope.

Loving Bug

Another water-colored image using SU! ink and blender pens. For a bit of fun and dimension, I added an acrylic button and tied ribbon to the front with linen thread. The sentiment "Say I Love You OFTEN" is from PrintWorks.

ABC Inspiration Bug

For this card I wanted something a bit different. I created a tri-fold so the image would stick out a bit. The borders are created with Cuttlebug Floral Borders dies, and attached using the Xyron 150 (what would I do without that cute little thing!). I decided on mainly primary colors for this card to evoke the feeling of primary school, as well as used Prismacolor pencils to further the school theme. The sentiment is by Inkadinkado. I thought it was perfect for this image and the feeling was trying to evoke with this card. Grade school is all about dreams... we are anything and everything we imagine at that age. The sky is the limit ;)

Drum roll here...

"Dream Big" Giveaway! Win All 5 NEW Images!!!
To celebrate the release, Inktegrity is hosting a giveaway! One lucky crafter will win all 5 images! I know... isn't that just so cool, because you are going to love this line! To enter make sure to leave a comment on the "Sorry to bug you" (Wed 5th) post at Inktegrity by 10am Eastern time, Thursday, August 6th!! Good luck!

For more labybug inspiration, check out the Inktegrity DT blogs:

Jennifer of Jennifer Olauson Designs
Sheri of Paper Craftys Creations
Dana Joy of Got Joy Creations
Tammy of Fun Paper Candy
Heather of Heather's Heavinly Stampations
Anita of The Hovey Hut
and August's Guest Designer Ginny of My 5 bratz creations

AWWW! Rebecca... ty =D

2009-08-03T17:12:00.008-05:00

A dear friend that I made from being involved in MTT gave me this award. Really warmed my heart! She is so genuine, warm, and supportive. I feel blessed to have you as a blog friend, Rebecca!If I read this correctly, I am to pass this on to 5 people that inspire me. I am new to blog stuff, but I think that's how this works ;)
Rebecca(lol back at ya!' - always supportive... just love her!)
Darla (such a great SU! demonstrator, leader & friend!)
Jessica (ty for your excitement on my first DT and for MTT!!)
Joni (ty for bringing me onboard your first DT!)
Erik (my son & my heart!)

So hard to limit to 5! All of you are my inspiration... ty, ty TY!!!
Hugs,
Lisa =D

Sleeping Pals?

2009-08-03T10:59:00.003-05:00

As far as pets go, we have a 13 year old Toy Fox Terrier, Spot, that weighs 4 pounds, and a cockatiel, PrettyBird, that I found in the North Woods while camping 2 years ago (that's a story unto itself). Well, PrettyBird love Spot, but unfortunately the feeling isn't mutual. PrettyBird never gives up though. The other day I was working on some Java code, and I look down to see the bird sleeping on the floor next to the dog. Luckily the dog had no clue she was there, and my camera is always nearby ;)

MTTSC31

2009-07-14T14:28:00.002-05:00

At first this sketch had me a bit worried. However, as I looked at it more closely the possibilities really started springing to mind. It truly challenged my creative thinking to go outside of the box a bit. And that is one of the things I love most about this group. The challenge sketches force me to stretch my imagination.

For the background, I decided to go with a new technique I just learned on SCS called faux grid. On shiny cardstock I stamped various leaves in the colors I chose and created the tile around them. For the yellow rectangles I used a technique called faux linen created by sanding shiny white cardstock then sponging ink over it. Unfortunately the faux linen doesn't show up in the picture.

Thank you Ms. M for a truly challenging, exciting sketch!

Hugs,
Lisa ;)

MTTSC30

2009-07-11T19:32:00.007-05:00

Wow, this week has been so nutty. But, I finally created a card for this weeks sketch challenge. I apologize for my extreme tardiness.

As I look at my blog, I see that I used the same stamp set as I did for the last challenge. I guess this means I like this one ;)

This sketch really stumped me (not an excuse but another reason I am late getting this done). But I finally came up with something that I like. I went with the color blue because of my sentiment "i miss you" as in I am blue 'cause I miss you.

Yeah my brain is really doing it's own thing this week. Anyway, thank you for stopping by to see my VERY late card! Thank you Jack for this great sketch!
Hugs,
Lisa :)

Erik's High School Graduation

2009-07-02T14:35:00.004-05:00

It was such an exciting day watching Erik graduate from high school. 18 years... where did the time go? Seems like yesterday that I was lying in that hospital bed, holding our son who was born 5 1/2 weeks prematurely. He sure isn't tiny anymore though (and our grocery bill represents that lol).

So much has happened in that amount of time. And Erik's graduation had me reflecting on how lucky we are to be here, right now in this moment... together.

My mother struggled with kidney failure and spent years on dialysis. I lost track of how many times I got calls in the middle of the night from IC Unit that she had taken a turn for the worse and that they couldn't stabilize her and telling me I should get there quick. Erik was pretty young then, and I would dress him (it was always around Christmas) and drive through the chilly night to the hospital to wait and pray for her to pull through... again. A few years ago she received a kidney transplant, but it still has been a bumpy road for her... one wrought with challenges and at times discouragement.

I remember when Erik was a baby, and I would wonder if my gram would see him grow into a boy. She has been living with us now for over 5 years as she slowly slips further into Alzheimers. It has been so difficult watching her as the dementia takes more and more of her mind. But at Erik's graduation, you could see the joy light up her face as she spotted him walking past her. She grabbed his arm and smiled so big! It made me cry.

It was such an amazing thing that my mother, grandmother, and Nana (my mom's mom) were there to see Erik graduate. I feel so blessed.

MTTSC29

2009-06-30T22:22:00.004-05:00

Yay!! I finally got my card done! I played around with several designs... scrapped them all... and then this one just happened lol! My design takes its inspiration from the colors of the fruit as well as the wedge shapes (really stretching that shape since its a diamond!). I decided to add dimension using dimensional adhesive as well as a twig from my backyard ;) Then a bit of stickles for shine. I really do love how it turned out, especially since it wasn't going all that well for me in the beginning! Thank you for this wonderful challenge! It really pushed my creativity.

Hugs...

Lisa :)

MTTSC28

2009-06-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love about challenges is that it gets me to use things I rarely do. I had these gemstones forever... they just sat in my drawer. I bought them on a whim one day thinking how pretty they were. But I don't naturally reach for things like that to put on my cards. But, I think I need to start. They really add a lot to a layout, and I love the sparkly enhancement. Adds that little x-tra something ;)

I combined todays challenge with a SCS challenge which was a new technique for me, faux denim. So I really went out on a limb with this card! Such fun!!!

Thank you for visiting! Happy summer =D

MTTSC27

2009-06-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

Well this week has been really crazy! I have been working on my Java Programming skills all week, trying to brush up because I applied for a development position. Well here is my card! I just created it today and was able to use the new stamps, papers and colors from Stampin' Up!, because they arrived yesterday! Not real sure if I am liking my card, I think all the Java has dampened my creativity... my head is in an endless loop!

So here is my card... late. Sorry!

To create the little flower at the top on the ribbon, I double stamped the small flower using Crushed Curry first, then an overlay on the edges with Melon Mambo. After I punched it out, I sponged the edges with close to cocoa then double embossed with UTEE. Finally I adhered this little embellishment using Stampin' Dimensionals.

The main image was created by sponging various inks on the stamp then breathing on it a bit to slighty moisten it. After that I sponged the edges with Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo and sprayed the image in Close to Cocoa.

I had a lot of fun playing with Madelynne's sketch. Thank you again for such a delightful challenge! I look forward to then next one ;)

Hugs,
Lisa

MTTS26

2009-06-07T12:23:00.000-05:00

Isn't this just a fabulous sketch! Decided to go soft and sweet using Pink Pirouette and Very Vanilla. Doesn't show up well in the photo, but the sentiment and stamps on the left side are embossed. Thank you Madelynn for this wonderful sketch! Yay! =D

Blogging... WOW lovin' it!!

2009-06-04T19:29:00.001-05:00

Well I got about 1/2 of the Twinkling Tuedays members listed and now off to make dinner. I will be adding more members to my list this evening.
Blogging is really fun! I took some time to get to know the interface better and am really enjoying it. I am a Webmaster and Graphic Artist, so eventually I will design my own html ;) But for now this was quick and easy.

MTTSC25

2009-06-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at a Twinkling Tuesdays challenge, and thank you Jameson for the lovely storybook.

Okay, I am hoping I did not totally miss the boat on this one. But, I decided to use a paper folding technique, that reminds me of origami, combined with a heart shape, soft colors, and oriental looking flowered papers. This is how the book inspired me :)

Happy Tuesday!

Hugs,

Lisa :)