A Card, a Prize and a Winner!

Alright, well I had a picture to upload but I'm getting some weird error when I try to move it from my camera to my computer. I'll have to post the card update later.

However, I DO have a winner from my Draw for the Cure! Not very many people entered, I was surprised! But the amazing kit, complete with everything you need (except scissors) to make three mini albums, goes to....


STARLA! 5th out of 6 comments.

Congratulations Starla! You have one week to claim your prize before I offer it to another entrant!

Here is some cuteness to appease you while I figure out my camera error!
(It was taken on my iphone, don't mind the weird shape).

Hallowe'en Friends, and a blog award!

Today is another Hallowe'en card! This little guy (don't mind the dark photo, I took it last night under artificial light) was made with strips of paper, a corner rounder, and a lot of distressing and sponging! The sentiment is from Close to My Heart's stamp of the month, last month, called "Thriller". I added a couple pieces of hemp and pop dotted the sentiment.

The card opens bottom to top instead of left to right, it just made sense to me at the time, not sure why.

Super easy, super fast... and I think this card can be done with kids too. I made sure the strips of paper were longer than the 4.25 width of the card so that I could angle them. Then I just cut down the excess. I was not afraid to use ink on a sponge, just about anywhere. Those are googly eyes, though you could just as easily use two different size circles to make eyes.



In other news, I'm the recipient of an award! my first ever, actually! Thank you, Kari, for thinking of me. Please check out Kari's blog sometime: Pigtail's Paper Patch.

There are steps to take once you get this award. Thanking the person who gave it to you (with a link back to their blog), post it on your blog, share three things about yourself (or things you like to do) and then pass the award on to five more people.

I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who reads my blog that I love to craft and that I play World of Warcraft, so I'll go for some lesser known facts about me.

Those closer to me already know that I was in the Canadian Infantry "back in the day". I joined at the ripe old age of 17 (I had to get my guardian to sign for me!) and took my basic training right here in Alberta with the Princess Patricia.

I also love to work with youth and very much miss my volunteer job as a "Civilian Instructor" with the Canadian Cadet program. I worked with three different units (two Air Cadets and one Army Cadets). Those kids were 12-18, but the Girl Guides I've worked with were only 9-11. I miss having the time to share.

A long time dream that I've had, that very few people know about, is my dream to run a foster home. I still hope to open my home when my own children are a little older (when the youngest is 5-6) and when I actually own my home. It's important to me to feel like I'm helping children in some capacity and I have plenty of love to share!

I simply cannot pick and choose five people to forward this award to, there are just too many fabulous blogs that I follow, however I know it would be disappointing if I didn't pick five people. So I let my daughter point out five blogs from the, very large, list of those I follow and love!

Creative Butterfly

Lucky Stamper

Pinch of Paisley

Understand Blue

Kinderstampo

Hallowe'en Friends!

This past Sunday I was at a Close to My Heart party hosted by Leisa (who just happens to be my new upline!). We did a great Hallowe'en themed page with the Hooligan paper pack. While enjoying conversation and food with friends I was playing around with one of the punches on the table and suddenly I thought... hey, this would make neat spikey hair.

The rest, as they say, is history. Things just fell into place for making this neat card. The bolts on his neck are actually the tops of the letter T from Rustic Alphabet (also from CTMH). The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's "Smarty Pants". The paper is from CTMH's "Hooligan" paper pack. The eyes and ribbon came from a friend's craft stash.

When I used the edge punch on the hair I made sure to do so before folding the card. That way when it's folded there's a bit of overlap... giving the hair body and bounce. Well maybe not bounce, but still.

If I had one of those "faces" stamp sets that the punch art people use, I might have been able to do nose and mouth, but this worked! I can see using this style for other cards too.

PINK! Strength

I have a really hard time working with pink. Those of you who knew me when my first daughter was born know that I really don't like pink. I've grown use to my older daughter wearing and loving pink, I've even made concessions for pink room decorations and toys. But working with pink in a craft is really... really... against the grain for me

But, it's Breast Cancer Awareness month (by the way, you should check out my draw this month, it's in support of BCAM) and so I'm determined to do several projects in pink.

This card uses Close to My Heart's "A Sip" and Stampin' Up's "Favorite Thoughts" and "Pretty Petals". The paper and ink are both Stampin' Up and the sparkles are Close to My Heart.

I adore the sentiment, absolutely adore it. The inside of the card is blank. This can be used as a "we're here to support you, stay strong" card, or simply, "I'm thinking of you as you go through this rough time". I could also be used as a, "thank you for your kind support" card.

Thank you for checking in, I'll see you often this month for more PINK!

Colour Experiment - Final

I give up! I was loan four Copic markers by my Close to My Heart consultant, Leisa, 2 shades of pink and 2 shades of gray (plus a blender pen). I've been trying to do something presentable but I'm afraid it's just not enough to show the blending capabilities... not even anything worth taking a photo of. So, this is the end of my colour experiment for now.

Some of you expressed concern that I wasn't making a final project with the finished dragons... well, the water colour dragon was given to my son, the marker dragon to my older daughter... but I rescued the coloured pencil dragon and crayon dragon to make into projects.

All the paper is from Stampin' Up, as are the two sentiments. The sparklies are from Close to My Heart and the dollar store (see the itty bitty sparkly on the pencil dragon's finger?). The ribbon and the corner punch are from Michaels, I'm not sure of the vendor names. The dragon is from Paper Pretties.

I'd like to thank all of you for following along on this colour experiment, your words of encouragement kept my momentum up and made it tons of fun. I must admit, whenever I make a post I check my email often to see if anyone has replied... it's like getting mini Birthday presents to get a comment!

On a closing note, please take a moment to enter my Draw for the Cure. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, hence why my blog and icon have gone PINK!

oops!

I'm suppose to have a Copic Marker update today, but I had friends over yesterday and then my husband let me sleep late today (what a dear!) so I'm popping in for a quick update and apology.

Just so I have something to talk about, I'm asking how many of you have read Linda Bacon's (Ph.D) book Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight? Amazing read. I recommend it to absolutely everything regardless of body image. Someone who totally loves their body can still learn something from this book, and if it means spreading the word to those who need to hear the message... great! Most especially though... anyone who has EVER dieted needs to read this book. Anyone with children (especially girls) needs to read this book.

I'm very tired of hearing that overweight=unhealthy, because it's simply not true. There are many reasons someone might be "over" what society expects them to weigh and usually it's NOT due to a sedentry and unhealthy lifestyle.

Changing the focus from "I'm fat, how do I lose weight" to "I want to be healthier and eat healthier and I want to move more, I feel good when I eat well and move more" does not mean "the fatties are giving up". How many other situations in our life do we use negative reinforcement to learn? Do our children respond better to, "hey, let's try this awesome activity here" or "get off your fat ass and exercise!"? If we know children and peers respond better to positive reinforcement, why would we treat ourselves any differently?

All my life I remember being called fat and hating my body and how I looked. When I look at pictures of myself as a tween and teenager, I'm floored at how great I look. My mental image of myself was entirely distorted and flat out wrong! It makes me really, really, worried for my girls.

We're a "fat positive" household that is working toward better food and activity choices. How about you?

Koen's Story for Cpl. Hathaway, USMC

I'm a member of Splitcoast Stampers and often browse the "card request" forum for a Random Act of Kindness. In the past Koen and Kerowyn have contributed to these cards by colouring (usually with crayon) inside the card.

On Monday we heard about Cpl. Hathaway, USMC who had surgery on August 30 and could use some cheering up. I started making a card and my son (who will be four on Jan 6th, 2011) asked me, "mommy, what you doing?" I told him there was a man who had an owie and was feeling sad, so mommy and some of mommy's friends were making him cards to cheer him up. Koen thought about that and said, "me too mommy! we make him happy, mommy, send him hugs like grandma!" (Maternal Grandma sends stickers and other fun things with little notes all the time, Koen knows all about how the mail system works now).

After I recovered from a pang of maternal pride that brought tears to my eyes I figured, heck, let's make something that's all his. So I took some white card stock and cut it down to 6x11.5 and scored it at 5.5 to fold in half. Another piece of coloured cardstock was cut to 6.25x11.5 and also folded in half. The whole kit and kaboodle was tied together with some hemp and I used one of my journaling markers to draw lines at the bottom of each page.

Koen then drew images (if I were to do it again I'd do the writing in pencil so I can fix mistakes like how I spelled Pteranadon. And I'd use sheets of tracing paper between the pages to keep them from glomming up the opposing page.) and told me what they were about. The words are entirely his, I cleaned up pronunciation ("cane-o" is really "volcano") and a tiny bit of the grammar, "he is Russian" for someone who is long dead is now, "he was Russian" for example.)

Page 1: This is a tree with the warm sun overhead. Birds and fairies (like Tinkerbell) live in trees. Koala bears live in trees too.

Page 2: My grandma has a beach on a lake. I like to go swimming and make sandcastles with a bucket. It is really hot at the beach.

Page 3: Spaceships have rockets and go to planets not back down [to earth]. Gagarine was the first man in space, he was Russian. Rocket fire is blue because it's hot.

Page 4: Dragons are real and breathe fire! Some dragons fly, like the Teranadon*

* mommy isn't sure that is spelled right, but is sure we mean "dinosaur" not "dragon".

Page 5: Teranadons are dragons, no, dinosaurs that fly. They fly away from volcanos. Teranadons are green and eat fish.

Page 6: Volcanos blow up with fire. They are made from mountains. Volcanos are not the beach.

Page 7: This is mommy with baby Elora. Baby Elora cries, mommy makes her feel better. I like to snuggle Elora, I love her lots and lots and lots and tooooooo much.

Page 8: My daddy is fun. He takes me to the park.

Thank you Koen, we now know not to take a towel and swim trunks when we next go visit a volcano.

The last page is done by Kerowyn who was quite jealous of Koen being allowed to colour in his own little book (she was tired of plain paper that mommy had given her) and she explained her picture was "flophers" and "binkerbell".

It warms my heart that my kids (the older one at least) want to make others happy, even those they have never met. Now if only they'd be nice to each other!!

PINK!

October is coming up, and that means Breast Cancer Awareness! My blog has gone pink, as has my icon (even on LJ and Facebook!).

Since 1986 the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has been working toward a future free of Breast Cancer. Most notable of their events is the CIBC Run for the Cure, but they also raise money with Shop for the Cure with select partners and Cook for the Cure with Kitchenaid. Even when you're not going out of your way to donate time or money, you could still be making a difference with your everyday purchases!

In an effort to spread the word I'm hosting a very special draw. Instead of linking to my blog and posting to let me know you have, I'd like you to post on your blog or social networking site with a link to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (http://www.cbcf.org/)* making sure to comment here to let me know you've done so.

When you do that you'll be entered (once for each blog or networking site you link from) to win the Close to My Heart "Triple Play" Mini Album Kit. The kit includes everything you need (aside from cutting tools) to create the three mini albums shown in this picture.

The draw will remain open until midnight (my time) on October 20th and be drawn on October 21st. The winner will have one week to contact me before I redraw.

Kit includes: My Acrykix(R) "Love This Stamp" set; 4 Exclusive Inks(R) cubes (Desert Sand, Hollyhock, Indian Corn Blue and Sunset); 9 - 4" x12" panels (3 each of 3 colour schemes); 3 - 6" x 12" die-cut sheets; 72" Colonial White Grosgrain Ribbon; 3 - hook-and-loop fasteners. I've added a tape runner and an acrylic block. You literally just need scissors, and maybe stamp cleaner, though water works too.

* I am not a registered volunteer of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and am not asking for any donations. I also realize that those outside of Canada might find it odd linking to the CBCF, however it still spreads awareness (and I am not familiar with cancer foundations in other countries).

Colour Experiment - Day Six

New day... same media? Today's experiment comes from two sources. The crayon technique was shared with me by Kathy over at Lucky Stamper, the "white wash" look was linked by HappyCrafter in reply to Day Two. I almost split this into two days, but since Laurie Wilson already did a wonderful tutorial for the white wash with markers, I figured I'd stick to the crayon technique.

The first part of the experiment was figuring out what crayons to use. Do you have any idea how may different types of crayons, not just brands, there are out there? Well, I own three kinds (or my kids do at least). All three are from Crayola... there's the traditional crayon, "twistables" and "washable" (which aren't really washable, by the way). I did a test with two of each colour (tried to make sure they were all the same two colours but crayons get lost, broken, eaten, et cetera).

I ended up picking the "normal" crayons, I liked how they blended the best. The twistables were a harder wax and so came up paler and harder to blend. The washables were a much softer wax and glommed all over my page (remember Day Three?) and didn't seem to blend as smoothly.

After picking my colours and stamping my image I made sure to sharpen the heck out of my crayons (the apricot is actually a washable... honestly I could only find three "normal" crayons. I used two of them and threw in the one washable. Washables do NOT sharpen well!). Then I drew a thin line around the edge of the dragon, tossing in a few dabs of blue and apricot for accents. Heres the fun part... I used a smudge stick (typically used by artists using charcoal or softer graphite pencils) and a teensy bit of baby oil and blended the colour inward. To do a true white wash I've used way too much colour, but hopefully it still looks okay.




Thanks for checking in! My next colour experiment post should be this Thursday as I've found someone to loan me some Copic markers!



PS. Today my youngest, Elora Dawn, is four months old. Have a cup'o'cute!

Don't ask where the camera is.

Stamp image from Paper Pretties.

Experiments with Colour - Day Five

I've learned several valuable lessons this evening (last night by the time you read this).


1. I've managed to post five days of this experiment series and have a different title for each day.
2. Chalks are not my favorite way to colour... at all.
3. The dragon image is not a good chalk subject.


So first up, thank you to my Stampin' Up supplier, Colleen Hilchie, for lending me the "Stampin' Pastels. This experiment isn't a wash because I still learned something... I mean other than I suck at colouring with chalk.


A few tips before I continue. I didn't have an "embossing buddy" (basically a tiny bean bag with chalk instead of beans) to go over the paper with before stamping. That means if I go outside the lines, the chalk sticks.

Also, it's much easier to work with a solid image than a line image like this dragon. The technique is suppose to be... use embossing buddy on paper, stamp image in versa mark, "paint" chalk onto versa mark where it then sticks. I'm going about it all wrong and that put me behind a bit.


I did give a go of using a versa marker and then colouring. It didn't look so great to me. There was simply too much contrast between where the versa marker was and was not... so I might as well be colouring with markers.


Still I stuck with it, trying again to get my earth tone dragon (maybe that's my problem? I just can't work with brown??). I used Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, More Mustard and So Saffron before I gave up!

But I did want to make sure to show an example of the "right" way (or at least the way I was told) to use chalks, so I dug out some generic random stamps I had and used those.


Remember that an embossing buddy would keep the area surrounding my image "clean", giving a nice soft look but not as messy as shown in my images. I used Garden Green, Bravo Burgundy and So Saffron.


Bottom line? I don't like chalks, at least not for colouring line images. I'll just chalk it up to preference. *snerk* See what I did there??



Stamp image from Paper Pretties.