Thursday, October 29, 2015

CASology - Craft Space Tours


For the last couple of weeks the CASology design team gals have been sharing their craft spaces and today I present to you my Craft Cave!  

When I first took over this room the walls were a rich clay colour so it was distinctly more cave-like back then.  As you can see it's much brighter now. The photo above is the view when you look in the door.  I confess that I have a ton of stuff in this room.  When I started out crafting I bought anything and everything that was mentioned in the crafting magazines I read.  I've since gotten more of a handle on my style and could do with a major culling of unused supplies at some point.  While we were  away Luis asked why I wanted to go to a craft store when I already had enough stuff to open one of my own.  Touche...


I'm going to start to the right of the door for my tour.
This area is pretty neglected.  It holds all my ribbon and twine for the most part.  The bottom shelf has extra adhesive supplies and lightbulbs.


The plastic drawers on the bottom hold felt, punches, flowers, Stickles, mists and Cuttlebug supplies.


I finally broke down earlier this year and bought some of these awesome ink storage shelves from Stamp-n-Storage.  A friend of mine was moving back to the island from the US and since he owed me a favor he said I could put a few things into his shipping container.  I never would have gotten these if I'd had to pay for shipping on top of the price of them so I jumped at the opportunity.


Luis built this little unit for my washi tapes.  The shelves are tilted slightly so the tapes won't roll off of them.  I love it and the rainbow of washi tape makes me so happy!


Here you can see my paper trimmer, Cuttlebug, and stamps on the desk.  The wooden drawer holds gems, sequins, glitters, etc.  There are Copics and more stamps plus my heat tool on the lower shelf.


I love my desk!  It's a wooden table came from my old job - it was going to be chucked when they renovated.  My most used stamps are lined up (alphabetically) in bins.  The drawers hold acrylic blocks, adhesive, embossing supplies, markers and other odds and ends.  


I hang all the cards I've received from amazing blogging buddies above my desk to provide inspiration.  The plastic jars are full of flowers and feathers.


The little shelf above my desk has fun little bits and bobs on it.  I want Luis to attach another small shelf below it so I can set my iPad in there.  I generally listen to BBC Radio 1 or podcasts while I'm working on cards and I often end up putting the iPad on top of the stamps.  Not the best spot...


The CD rack holds my older Papertrey Ink stamps.  The little cart holds some cardstock and patterned paper, more sequins and glitter, Christmas stamps and Stampin' Up stamps.  Two of the binders hold Stampin' Up paper scraps and the other holds dies.


From top to bottom we have Stampin' Up cardstock, 6x6 paper pads, 12x12 paper pads, other cardstock and magazines.


The tiny storage drawers at the top hold buttons, seed beads, confetti, eyelets and brads.  The white paper trays on the left hold miscellaneous 12x12 patterned papers   The white drawers hold wooden stamps, spare cardstock, specialty cardstock (cork, vellum, etc), paint chip samples, tissue paper, etc.  On the wooden shelf:  extra Stampin' Up cardstock, misc cardstock and card blanks, coloring supplies (coloured pencils, watercolors, markers, etc), extra blades and cutting tools, Christmas odds and ends and lots of binders of Unity stamps.

That's it from me!  Hope you had fun checking out the Craft Cave.  Be sure to stop by the CASology blog tomorrow to check out Hannelie's work space!

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

CASology #170


Welcome to Week 170 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:


Last week's card was definitely a very specific and rather tricky one and we didn't have too many entries.  However, I was seriously impressed with the creativity shown by those did play along.  There was a lot of clever stamp usage and plenty of fun sentiments.  So inspiring!

I think we'll see a lot more entries this week as pretty much everyone has a heart of some kind in their stash.  I used some NBUS Lawn Fawn stamps that I bought when they had a sale a few months ago.  I popped up the heart and stuck with a classic central layout.  Sweet, simple and to the point!  Be sure to check out the rest of the gorgeous designs from the design team and then please play along!



And this week's guest designer:


Link your creations to the CASology blog and remember that the deadline for entries is Monday at noon (CST).

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink
Stamps:  (All from Snow Day) Lawn Fawn
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Real Red) Stampin' Up
Markers:  (RV10, B00) Copic

Monday, October 26, 2015

Raining Cats & Dogs


I know some of you have already heard this news but I wanted to share it here on the blog as well.  Our house has been so empty since Atticus passed away in August and although we weren't planning on getting more pets this soon in the last two weeks we have ended up with a cat and a dog!  


Luis was keen to get a cat and since we figured it would be a while before the right dog came along I finally agreed and we brought home Ella.  For a supposedly feral cat Ella is a real affectionate cuddle bug.  She's now settled in quite happily at home and has Luis wrapped around her little paw.  :)


The day we brought Ella home we got a call about a dog and I immediately said no because trying to settle in one new animal is hard enough but two?  I couldn't get him off my mind though.  Tex is an 11 year old mixed breed who's owner had died and none of her family members were willing to take him on so he'd been sent to the SPCA (where they called him Brownie).  I finally decided to go see him and by that point he was at a local animal hospital being treated for an eye infection.  It only took 5 minutes to realize that he needed to come home with us.  He's a skinny old man with the sweetest face who just wants some love.  He's spent his whole life in an outdoor kennel and clearly hasn't had much interaction with people and doesn't really even know how to play.  He's coming around though and as you can see from the picture below he's very quickly gotten used to having a cozy bed!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

CASology #169


Welcome to Week 169 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:



Before I start I have to share the sad news that Gillian is stepping down from the team.  Her adorable little man is keeping her very busy and although I'm sad to see her go I can totally understand why.  I'll miss you, Gillian!

Now, we've got a Halloween inspired challenge for you this week and I knew exactly what set I was going to use for it.  Unfortunately the Zombies stamp set from Sweet Stamp Shop is retired but I love it.  Funnily enough I don't think I've made a Halloween card with it before but I used it for a Valentine's card which you can see here and a Christmas card which you can see here.  As you can see from those cards the stamp set does contain actual zombie images but I wanted to simplify my card and just evoke the suggestion of zombies.  This was super quick to put together - just some stamping, fussy cutting and foam tape!  I can't wait to see your zombie cards and if you need some inspiration be sure and check out the brilliant designs from the rest of the team!


Hannelie Bester - Taking a break

And this week's guest designer:


Link your creations to the CASology blog and remember that the deadline for entries is Monday at noon (CST).

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Kraft, White) Papertrey Ink, (Old Olive) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (All from Zombies) Sweet Stamp Shop
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Red Royal) Hero Arts
Marker:  (R29) Copic

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Birthdays & Bees


Hi there!  Just popping in before I head off to work to share a couple of cards.  First up is an entry for the Just Add Ink sketch challenge.  I used Crate Paper patterned paper and a Lil' Inker die.  Once I finally decided which papers to use the card came together pretty quickly.  Another card checked off for the 50 card order!


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (The Pier 6x6) Crate Paper
Die:  (Birthday block) Lil' Inker Designs
Gems:  Recollections
Glitter:  (Black Wink of Stella) Zig




My second card is for the Paper Players colour challenge.  This one came together pretty quickly as well - one of those ones that actually ends up looking the way I imagined it.  Love when that happens!  The Paper Smooches bumble bee is an NBUS (from their first release I think) but the PS Santa hat and the Papertrey merry have seen a lot of use over the years.  Okay must dash off to work now.  Have a lovely day!


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green) Stampin' Up, (Vellum) Strathmore
Stamps:  (Bee from Giddy Bugs, Santa hat from Santa Paws) Paper Smooches
Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Die:  (Merry) Papertrey Ink

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

CASology #168


Welcome to Week 168 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:



I had so much fun looking at all the Silly cards last week - there are a lot of funny ladies out there in Blogland!  This week is about as straightforward as it gets - there are a ton of ways to incorporate this into a card.  Just remember to keep it CAS!  To get you warmed up take a look at the rest of the gorgeous creations from the DT and then play along!  



And this week's guest designer:


Link your creations to the CASology blog and remember that the deadline for entries is Monday at noon (CST).

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Figure Effects) Altenew
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Die:  (Sun) Lil' Inker Designs, (Y & U) Lawn Fawn
Gem:  Recollections

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Rainbow of Cameras

I got an order for 25 assorted and 25 Christmas cards from a regular client.  I am going to be a very busy girl for the next few weeks!  She asked for a few specific designs including a birthday card incorporating a camera so I took inspiration from CAS(E) This Sketch and Sparkle & Shine to put this little number together.  Each Paper Smooches camera has a matching sequin and the sentiment is a combo of Mama Elephant sentiments.  I'm also going to enter this in the Anything Goes part of the Seize the Birthday challenge.













Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Camera from Perpetual Bliss) Paper Smooches, (Smile from Smitten, It's Your Birthday from Say What) Mama Elephant
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Sequins:  Doodlebug

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

CASology #167


Welcome to Week 167 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:


I had so much fun looking at your Science cards last week - there were so many clever takes on it!This week we're going from Sensible Science to plain old Silly.  This week's sponsor is Serendipity Stamps and while they have a great selection of designs, none of the one I have are particularly silly.  So I turned to Sweet Stamp Shop for my card because they have silly stamps galore!  This little skunk is perfect for some birthday silliness I think and he's an NBUS so I can pat myself on the back for finally inking him up.  Now go check out all the silliness from the design team and then play along!



And this week's guest designer:


Link your creations to the CASology blog and remember that the deadline for entries is Monday at noon (CST).

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Lucky Limeade, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Its Your Birthday from Say What) Mama Elephant, (All others from Stinky Skunk) Sweet Stamp Shop
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Rockin' & Foxin'


Hi there!  I had a bit of time in the Craft Cave this morning and made two cards.  This first card uses the palette from ColourQ and the sketch from Paper Smooches Sparks.  This jukebox is from an older PS set and I still love it.  I paper pieced it, gave it an orange glow and popped it up on foam tape.  I originally had the sentiment stamped on the green panel but it looked a little flat so I stamped it on yellow and popped that up too.




Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Jukebox & small notes from Perpetual Bliss, Sentiment & large notes from BeBoppin) Paper Smooches
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Gems:  Recollections



Next up is a card for The Card Concept and I'd put it into the Clean and Layered category.  I used some new (to me) goodies from Lil' Inker Designs for this one.  How adorable is that fox?  It came together really quickly and I even used a scrap of patterned paper.  Whoop whoop!  I'm also going to enter this in the Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes challenge.

Hope you all have a good weekend.  We're keeping an eye on Hurricane Joaquin.  It should be passing by us on Sunday evening but not sure how close or how strong it will be at this point.  I'll let you know next week!  




Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Tangelo Twist, Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper:  (Hey Girl 6x6) Basic Grey
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Hey Foxy) Lil' Inker Designs
Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow
Die:  (Hey Foxy) Lil' Inker Designs
Gems:  Recollections