4.29.2010

A penny for your thoughts...

So, in case you didn't see my post last weekend...my local scrapbook store, the one I design for, is closing. It was quite unexpected and I am at a loss for where I will get all my great crafting goodies now. :( Last Saturday they let the Design Team come to the store, while it was closed to the public, to pre-shop the closing sale. It was soooo sad...everyone was just walking around not knowing what to buy or how much and not having any fun at all because the reason we were shopping and getting a good deal was because our favorite store was closing. I did of course buy a ton a stuff but when new products start coming out, especially after summer CHA I know I will be wanting some. So if you have an online scrapbook store that you shop at I would love to hear about it! Ideally it would carry My Mind's Eye products and have reasonable shipping.

Okay, now I do actually have a card to share with you all today too. I used the 'With a Cherry on Top' kit from Caffinated Cropper.

I thought this card turned out nicely with a kind of picnic/fair feel to it. Isn't the paper and banner cute?! The cork that is included in this kit can be punched easily. I used my scalloped circle punch on it without any problems. The little red rhinestones are not part of the kit...those are Taylored Expressions tiny twinkles which I love! :)

Check out Amy's blog if you are interested in purchasing this kit and to see lots of inspiration by her customers and design team too!

4.26.2010

Water, Earth, and Sky

Hi there!

I wanted to share my latest Etsy Treasury with you all. It is a combination of many shops, colors, and things I love...hope you like it too!

You can click HERE to check out the treasury close up along with links to the shops.

Have a great day!

4.23.2010

Eat your Veggies!

Who knew vegetables could be so cute?! Cosmo Cricket and Bee Things definitely did because they both created some amazing products centered around happy veggies! And I was totally inspired by them both this week! Cosmo Cricket is the sponsor this week for the Etsy Inspired Challenge and they generously gave me the Garden Variety crafting kit to play with. I have been having fun with the kit all week but this is the first card I created using the Tossed Salad paper and I think it turned out pretty cute! :)



Wouldn't this be a fun card to give to a gardener?! I was inspired to create my card after I saw this adorable grocery bag by Bee Things. Now who wouldn't want a fun bag like this to take to the grocery store?! And remember...it was Earth Day earlier this week and reusable grocery bags are a wonderful way to make a little change that will greatly help our environment! :)

Cosmo Cricket and Bee Things have both generously donated a fabulous prize this week!

All you need to do for your chance to win is:
- Check out Bee Things and find an item that inspires you.
- Create a project of your own based off the inspiration and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Challenge Blog by Friday, April 30th at noon PST.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team too!

Hello!

It has been a busy week around here...soccer practices and games, running errands, and getting ready for a garage sale. I did find some time earlier this week to create a card for the Moxie Fab World sketch challenge. Here is what I came up with using the adorable Little Boy Blue collection from My Mind's Eye.


Isn't that owl cute?! I like how my little frame turned out...that great felt ric rac is American Crafts.

So, I have to tell you all that I am super bummed because this morning I found out that my local scrapbook store, the one that I design for, is closing. It has been around for 14 years, they always have the latest goodies and fabulous staff, and I was so looking forward to being a part of their team for many years to come. Designing for them this past year has been wonderful and I have completed so many more layouts than I ever would have on my own. It was a bit of a shock to hear this news because there really wasn't any indication that this might happen...they just ordered TONS of products from CHA that are still rolling in, they just sent out new design team packets two weeks ago and everything. I guess the owners are retiring which I am sure is a great thing for them but I will be so sad to see this store and these people go. I don't even know if there are any other decent scrapbook stores in the area.

If you have an online scrapbook store that you love...one that carries all the newest products at reasonable prices/shipping, I would love to hear your suggestions!

I'll be back tomorrow to share my Etsy Inspired Challenge project and you are going to want to play along if you're a Material Girl (*wink*)!

4.20.2010

Spreading the Love!

One of the things I love so much about card making is the joy it brings to others. I know my family and friends always enjoy receiving a special handmade card in the mail...it's such a nice surprise to find in a pile of bills and junk mail! :) Although I also know that sometimes us card makers have a stack of cards just sitting around. When was the last time you sent one of your lovely cards to someone? The owner of my local scrapbook store that I design for is on a mission this month to send at least one card each day to a friend or family member...isn't that great?! I think I might have to take on this challenge myself!

Last night I took some time to work on the new sketch for 2 Sketches 4 You. I really enjoyed working with this sketch and used some of Crate Paper's great Season Collection to come up with this card:

I love the colors and worn look of this collection. My center mat was created using some of the cloud paper and several chipboard pieces as well as a little turquoise ric rac. The half circle is actually a rainbow...doesn't it add so much more to the card than just a regular plain colored circle would have?! I love when something as simple as turning an embellishment on its' side can make such a difference in how a project looks.

I think I will be sending this card to my grandma in California along with a few great pictures of the kiddos!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day! I actually went to the gym this morning (yeah me!) and am looking forward to a quiet afternoon with the boys.

If you want to play along in the 2S4Y challenge you have until Saturday...click HERE for all the details.

4.18.2010

It's gonna be a Bright, Sunshiny Day!!!

This morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine streaming through the windows...I love a nice spring day!

So I thought I would share a little sunshine with you all too! Here's a treasury that I created last night:

I just love the warmth and happy feel of this treasury! Click HERE to see the treasury up close and discover the great shops that sell these items.

Now, for those of you who don't know...Etsy has just released a new treasury called treasury east. If you have never been able to get a main treasury, then treasury east is for you. Treasury east allows anyone to create a treasury at any time and the treasury never expires. Now it is currently in the beginning stages and many people think that there should be limits, expiration dates, etc., which I completely agree with because otherwise there eventually will be thousands of treasury easts and really who is going to bother to even look through them? But for now you can enjoy creating your own treasury anytime you like...check it out here. If you still want to try to snag a main treasury because you think that's part of the fun, now is also a good time to do that because fewer people are waiting around for it. Click here to see my tips for getting a main treasury. (Just a note: I think the main treasury is still currently getting more views/exposure since the treasury link from the front page goes to it)

The other day I did try out Treasury East and created a fun rainy day collection...I guess I am inspired by weather lately! :)

Click HERE to see this treasury up close along with links to the shops.

Okay...I hope you all have a wonderful day! I am going to enjoy some outside time with my boys, run a few errands, and finish up my design team projects!

4.17.2010

Saturday Night Special!!!

Every Saturday on Etsy there are tons of shops that participate in Saturday Night Specials. And tonight I am joining the party!

For tonight only...technically through tomorrow morning (6 am PST), I am offering 10% off your entire purchase from my Etsy shop, Capturing Creativity.

I have lots of new cards, embellishments and creativity kits in stock, so pop on by and find some goodies for yourself or for a friend! :)

To see a list of the other shops participating in Saturday Night Specials, click HERE.

(If you are looking for my Etsy Inspired Challenge post, please see the post below)

4.16.2010

The Joy of Felt - Etsy Inspired Challenge #84

It's time for a new Etsy Inspired challenge! This week we have a lovely, warm, and unique shop for you to be inspired by. Cose Dolci specializes in beautiful handmade living accessories. When I first saw this shop I fell in love with her wool felt bowls. I can picture a few of them in my dream craft room...each filled with a different embellishment. :)

This is one of my favorite pieces from the shop but I was really mostly inspired by all the felt and texture in the shop.

Using goodies from The Caffinated Cropper's 'With a Cherry on Top' kit along with some felt embellishments from my own shop, here is what I came up with:

I really like the softness the felt adds to the card and didn't that pretty blue lace make for a nice little flower?!

So in case you haven't heard yet, our sponsor this week is The Caffinated Cropper. Amy will be giving this week's winner a mini version of the April kit, 'With a Cherry on Top'. One of the many things I love about this kit is that although it is a cherry theme (and there are tons of great cherry goodies in the kit), Amy took the theme a little further...including cherry blossoms and coordinating items that allow you to create a wider variety of projects. And she also does a great job of finding unique items to include. I don't think I ever would have bought one of those pearl 'thingamabobs' on my own, but having it in the kit I was inspired to use it and came up with that fun lace flower, which I love! :)

Amy, the owner, is super sweet herself and has some great companies and designers contributing to her kits. This month's kit includes some great digital stamps from Lindsay Spencer which I love because you can use them even after all your paper crafting goodies are long gone...plus they are super cute! Also included are some fabulous Stickerz from EAD Designs. Click HERE to check out the list of ALL the items that are included in 'With a Cherry on Top'.

So now that I know you are ready to play...
- Check out Cose Dolci and find an item that inspires you...feel free to look through her sold section too.
- Create a project of your own based off the inspiration and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by Friday, April 23rd at noon PST.

If you are new to the challenge click HERE to see all the rules.

Be sure to check out the Design Team projects this week...a lot of them used the fabulous 'With a Cherry on Top' kit!

Happy, happy, happy birthday! - 2S4Y challenge card

Yeah it's Friday! And it is a beautiful day here in Washington! I already spent some time outside with my youngest son this morning, got some things ready for a garage sale, and even had a chance to do some crafting during his unexpected nap this afternoon...all that fresh air must have worn him out! :)

When I saw that 2 Sketches 4 You was having a Design Team call, I knew I had to make time to play along in the challenge this week. So I got out more of my new Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety goodies and came up with this fun card:


Isn't that tomato just too cute?! I stuck it on top of a great red felt flower from Creative Cafe to give it that extra punch.

You still have until tomorrow to play along in this challenge...check out the details HERE.

I'll be back tomorrow for the Etsy Inspired Challenge!


4.15.2010

Happy Thursday!

Hello all! I have been a busy bee this week...just have a need to let out some creative energy I guess! :) I have two more cards to share with you all today. First up is a card I created for a new challenge hosted by Jenny over at her blog, wee memories. I was totally inspired by the inspiration board she put together and the theme 'April showers'. Click HERE to see the challenge details...there is still one more day to play!


I am totally in love with how this card turned out...thanks for the inspiration Jenny! :) I thought this would be a great card to help cheer someone up and let them know you are there for them during a difficult time.

Next up is a card I created for the Get Sketchy challenge. I had fun playing with some new Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety goodies...although I do still need to work on my sewing skills a bit. :)


Hope you are having a wonderful day!

4.14.2010

Happy Birthday!

This week I'm working on some Design Team projects for my LSS, Lasting Memories. I am using the colorful and glittery Studio Basics Birthday line from Creative Imaginations to create a double page layout but I took a moment today to use some of the papers to create a fun (and simple) birthday card.

Using the sketch from Card Patterns, here is what I came up with:


Aren't these papers fun?! I love all the glitter on these papers and those great cupcakes!

Okay, off to work on my layout...have a nice evening!

Melon Berry...a sweet color combination AND how to snag a treasury!

One of the many things I love about Etsy is that it is a great source for inspiration. Today I had a chance to create another treasury and was really inspired by this gorgeous necklace that I came across so I decided to find more lovely items that had a similar color scheme and feel.

This treasury made me realize that I REALLY need to get some of the new American Crafts Dear Lizzy line! :) Doesn't it have that kind of feel to it?

Click HERE to see the treasury up close along with the links to the shops that sell these beautiful items.

A few people have asked about how I seem to get treasuries so much, so I thought I would pass along the information that helped me figure out the 'secret' to getting a treasury.

First, it is helpful to read this post by Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-to-make-a-treasury-the-nuts-and-bolts-688/

And Craftopolis is another helpful tool (although it is not always completely accurate so be sure just to use it as a guide). Click on the Treasury Clock tab to see an approximate time of when the treasury will open...which is when you will have a small opportunity to create one. Also, please note that there is also a Treasury West...it is not as well known about (so it does not tend to get as much exposure) but it is another place that you can create a treasury.

The treasury will open when the number drops to 332 (treasury west will open when the number drops to 221). In order to have a chance at getting a treasury, I recommend watching the treasury fairly closely once it gets down to 350 as people often delete their treasuries which will bring the number down to 332 faster than what the treasury or Craftopolis may indicate.

Now for the biggest secret to success! Once the treasury is at 333 no one is able to delete a treasury so whatever it says the time remaining is on that top treasury on the first page, that is when it will expire and the treasury will drop momentarily down to 332 and you can snag a treasury. It is very important that you do not refresh the treasury page as you are likely to refresh and have missed the opening. However, the big trick is to scroll down to the bottom of the treasury screen (you must be signed in to Etsy too) when there is only 1 or 2 minutes left and slowly click back and forth between the treasury pages, keeping an eye out for the blank box that will pop up for you to type your treasury title into. If you just sit on page one of the treasury until it expires you will likely be able to get a treasury but by clicking between page 5 and 1 or 3 and 1, etc. there supposedly is a slight lag from the last treasury expiring to the new treasury box popping up and switching between the pages seems to avoid the lag and catch the exact moment that the treasury opens up.

Now you can make your treasury! I usually bookmark some items ahead of time that I think will make for a nice treasury. You can also use Etsy's Poster Sketch Tool to organize your items ahead of time. All you need to enter items into the treasury are the listing numbers for each item...just copy and paste them into your treasury.

I hope this is helpful! If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments section. And if you finally score your first treasury because of this information, I'd love to see it so please come back and share the link with me! Treasury West is opening up soon...good luck! :)


4.13.2010

Have a sweet day!

I just wanted to pop in and share another fun card that I created with the new Caffinated Cropper's kit, 'With a Cherry on Top'. It is filled with all sorts of great goodies and they are having a blog hop today that you should check out (especially since Amy is giving away a prize!) :)

I am in love with that gorgeous red ribbon, the cork board and the little white pearl ties that come in this kit. I created my own cherries using some red cardstock, small circle punch, and Papertrey Ink buttons. The sentiment is from Unity Stamp Company and I added a few little rhinestones (Taylored Expressions tiny twinkles) to finish off the card.

If you want to check out more cherry goodness, you can take a peek at my Etsy Inspired card HERE...there's still plenty of time to play in the challenge this week!

Hope you're having a sweet day! :)


4.11.2010

Let's have a picnic!

Yesterday I was so inspired by the Etsy Inspired shop, The Mouse Market, and the little cherry card that I created, that when I got a chance to make a treasury on Etsy I filled it with some fun picnic items. Care to join me for this lovely picnic?! :)

This treasury just makes me smile...bright colors, fresh fruit, and gingham too...now I just need a beautiful summer day! :) Click HERE to see this treasury in full view along with the links to the fabulous shops that sell these items. I am absolutely in love with that sweet yellow berry bowl and I thought those cherry earrings were so unique and pretty. Which item screams picnic most to you?

Hope you have a wonderful and relaxing Sunday! I am hoping to do some major purging of the house today in order to get things ready to sell in our upcoming neighborhood garage sale...wish me luck! :)

4.09.2010

Life is a bowl of Cherries - Etsy Inspired Challenge #83

Did you ever have a dollhouse when you were little? Our featured Etsy shop this week makes me wish I had a little dollhouse now! :) The Mouse Market is filled with some of the cutest, most colorful and realistic dollhouse miniatures I think I have ever seen! The Mouse Market specializes in adorable food items, flowers, and cute jewelry. I was inspired by the overall feel of the whole shop (it makes me want to have a picnic) and these pieces too.



See, I told you they were super cute! I stuck with the food theme and pretty pink color from the inspiration pieces. I was lucky enough to get to play with the new kit from Caffinated Cropper - 'With a Cherry On Top'. Everything on my card (except for the white cardstock) is from the kit. I will have more fun projects to share with you all next week using this fabulous kit!

Our sponsor this week, Paper Maniac, is offering up a fantastic prize for one lucky winner who plays along in the challenge. Imagine 3 great paper pads, some stamps, rub ons, and more! Check out the Etsy Inspired Challenge Blog for all the details and a picture of the goodies too!

And if you would like to purchase some things from The Mouse Market, they are offering 15% off your purchase (not including shipping) now through April 30, 2010, when you enter the code HUGAMOUSE in the message to seller box on the Etsy order screen. The discount amount will be refunded via Paypal.

Okay...are you ready to play now?! Visit The Mouse Market and find an item that inspires you. Create your own project based off that inspiration and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by Friday, April 16th at noon PST.

And pay a visit to these lovely ladies today to see what inspired them!
Have a great weekend everyone!

4.08.2010

New, new, new!

I have been busy filling up my Etsy shop with lots of new goodies this week! New cards, fun notepads, and a great family mini album...take a peek!





Click HERE to check it all out! The family album would make a great gift for Mother's Day or Father's Day!

Oh and did you see what my sweet blogging buddy did with part of my felt scalloped borders? Check out THIS cute card by De!

I also managed to get another treasury on Etsy. I went with the theme of honey. Click HERE to see the items close up with links to the great shops that sell them.


I hope you all are having a wonderful day! The sun is shining here but unfortunately we are too exhausted to go out and play. My little one got croup last night and we ended up in the ER for a few hours. He is much better today (thank goodness!) and we are hoping to all get a good nap in this afternoon! :)


4.05.2010

Life is Sweet

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend! I enjoyed lots of great time with my boys and a nice dinner with my family last night. I also found some time and energy to get some crafting in so I decided to participate in the Get Sketchy challenge this week.


Here is the sketch I was working with. I thought this card turned out pretty cute...makes me want to have a picnic! I am loving the new gingham ribbon from May Arts. And I thought the sentiment (from My Favorite Things) worked perfectly with the sweet strawberries. I hand cut that strawberry in the center.

The patterned papers are from BoBunny (dots) and Basic Grey (Nook & Pantry).


And here's the latest treasury I created over on Etsy.
I just love this color and especially the ocean photo...so soothing. I could so use a peaceful beach vacation! :) Click HERE to get a closer look at these items and the fabulous shops that sell them.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll have more to share later this week!

4.02.2010

Etsy Inspired Challenge #82

Happy Saturday! It's time for another Etsy Inspired Challenge!

Well this week's featured shop really got me inspired because I actually have two cards to share with you all today! :) Until It Ends Studios offers a variety of handmade creations, from Pacman magnets and Kawaii mushroom bracelets to beautiful glass pendants. I am very proud of my first card which was inspired by the cute rainbow Kawaii mushroom charm bracelet.



I just love rainbows...so colorful and happy! I was in the Spring mood because of BoBunny's spring card challenge (which I am entering this card into) so I thought BoBunny's fun and colorful double dot papers would be perfect for my card. Doesn't it make you smile?! :)

Since I created a little scene and pieced together that rainbow, I'm also entering this card into the Moxie Fab World challenge.

I also used some great products that were given to me from our fabulous sponsor this week, My Favorite Things. Some of the buttons, the little Glittered Garnish in the middle of the flower, the yellow ribbon, and the sentiment are all from MFT. I have to say that I am pretty proud of my sunshine! I will definitely be creating more ribbon suns or flowers in the future!

Okay, next up is a fun little owl card I created using MFT's Thinking Of Hoo stamp set which I think goes perfectly with My Mind's Eye new Quite Contrary Little Boy Blue collection!
I was inspired by this more earthy, neutral colored Kawaii mushroom bracelet. Here's what I came up with:



I thought this would be a cute card to give to someone who is adding another little one to their family.

Okay...now I know you all want to play along for your chance at some fabulous MFT goodies! So head on over to Until It Ends Studios and find an item that inspires you. Create an amazing project of your own and link it up to the Etsy Inspired Blog by Friday, April 9th at noon.

Please take a moment to visit the rest of the team too!
Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Easter!