So much of what I have posted on my blog has been the simple stuff. Today I'm posting this journal I made for a swap along with instructions for it ... if I can remember them. I made it a long time ago but kept the scan of it, thinking I might want to make another one when I get a Round Tuit. That day hasn't come yet.

The front and back of the journal was covered with a speckled mauve paper, and I stamped flourished down the side using a mauve ink. I stamped the main image on a plain scrap of mauve CS using black ink and then cut it out with deckle-edged scissors. I mounted it on a wine CS scrap and rounded the corners. The words "beauty" and "time" are stamped above and below the mounted image. Charms, a flat-backed key, and frilly fibers finish it off.

I'm in a Christmas-card-making mode today, and I have completed at least five of the nearly 300 cards I have to finish by Thanksgiving. At least 135 of the cards are cut, printed, scored and folded. Most of the layers are already cut, Cuttlebugged and stamped, too. Right now, though, I need to go check my whole wheat bread which is in the final stage of rising, and then it's back to cardmaking.

Today is a beautiful day in Texas. I hope it stays that way after the Rangers try to beat the SF Giants tonight in Game 3 of the World Series.

This is another one of the 3"x3" gift cards I made using mainly scraps of paper. The 6"x3" strip of aqua card stock used for the card base was a scrap. So was the strip of darker aqua that I ran through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder. I cut it in two pieces and attached a strip to the top and one to the bottom of the card. The flower was cut from scrapbook paper using the Cricut. I attached a white Prima flower to it using an aqua brad. The leaves were stamped with Marvy Matchables' Jungle on white CS and cut out by hand. The flower and leaves were then mounted to the card using foam tape.
We had a very welcome thunderstorm yesterday which left our yards full of much needed rain. This afternoon and evening there has been a lot of damage to the east and south of us as tornadoes touched down and baseball-sized hail hit. The small town of Rice had damage to the high school, reports of multiples injuries, and people trapped in cars. Hopefully the storms have calmed down by now. Whether it's rushing wind or rushing water, Mother Nature can play havoc with our lives almost too quickly for words.

This is an ATC I made today for a swap challenge. The magenta background is a candy wrapper from Hershey's Raspberry Bliss candy. I pressed it open and smoothed it before trimming it to fit the ATC. The images were stamped with Adirondack's Watermelon ink and outlined with a Spica glitter pen.
Since I have been a huge Texas Rangers fan for years, last night was such a sweet victory! The Rangers will face the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Since both teams are underdogs, it will be interesting to see which team comes out snarling and attacking like a pit bull. Go Rangers!

What a fun evening last night! I met with a local ATC group for our monthly exchange, and then three of us went shopping at the magazine racks at Barnes & Noble. After that, we went across the street to eat at LaMadeline while we talked, exchanged ideas, and browsed each other's magazines.
If you haven't seen the latest issue of Stampers' Sampler's Take Ten, you should. There are some great cards in theere. I bought the current issue of CardMaker magazine and am delighted with the Christmas and Hanukah cards featured.

The October swap challenge for one of my groups was to make three small gift cards. I used a 6"x3" strip for paper folded in half for each gift card. The words "To" and "From" were stamped on the inside of the cards. The first one was a dark green base with a smaller Cuttlebugged square of mint green mounted on it. The ornaments were stamped on an even smaller piece of mint green CS using Adirondack's Bottle ink. It was then mounted on dark green CS and attached to the card using foam tape.

If you have never made gift cards, they are a great way to use up scraps of CS with beautiful results. Try it ... you'll like it!

This quick, simple card was made using paint chips, colored paper, and a skeleton leaf stamped with Adirondack's Terra Cotta dye ink. The embellishments are Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest.
The colors of fall, at one time my least favorite, are now ones I love to work with. There are never ending combinations using these colors. Try them and enjoy the results!

It has been so long since I have posted anything that I have almost forgotten how to do it. After several months of Rubber Rot, which is a serious disease for any rubber stamper, I have been creating cards and using the Cricut and Cuttlebug more and more. Do you have any idea how quickly you can cut out a sheet of snowflakes with a Cricut? Zip, zip, zoom ... and they're done.

One of the groups I belong to did an image swap, and the challenge was for us to make a card with one of the images. Here is the card I made using a handmade card stock for the base and paper scraps I found in my stash.