I Couldn't Decide...

Looking for my City Crafter guest designer post?  Click here.

I couldn't decide whether to embroider something or make a card.  So I did both. 

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; patterned paper from Doodlebug; playing card & tab from October Afternoon; corner rounder from Creative Memories; embroidery floss from DMC; ink from Clearsnap.

Happy Halloween!  Hope you get lots of treats and no tricks.  :)

Guest Designing for City Crafter Challenge Blog

Hi, everyone!  If you're new to my blog, then welcome.  This week I am honored to be the guest designer at City Crafter Challenge blog.  The theme this week is a fun one: "Creatures of the Night."  There are so many directions that you could go with this challenge.  You could make something creepy, with a vampire image, or you could make something cute, with a nocturnal animal image.  I chose to go for the cute option and made a card with a goggle-eyed stamped bat.
 

Supplies: orange paper & orange/cream striped paper from Authentique; gingham paper from Bella Blvd; purple dotted paper from Pebbles; dark blue dotted paper from American Crafts; light blue dotted paper, green swirl paper, & star stamp from My Mind's Eye; bokeh vellum from Webster's Pages; chipboard frame & enamel dots from October Afternoon; black gesso from Ranger; metallic green paint from DecoArt; ink from Hero Arts; bat stamp from Unity; laser-cut sentiment from ScrapMatt's; upcycled bubble wrap.

On my blog I have a tradition of sharing a stash-busting idea each month.  This month, I'll be talking about the technique of layering.  It's fun to do, it's a popular trend at the moment, and it helps you use up your stash of scrap papers.  I used layering on this card in order to draw attention to my bat image, which is rather small.  The layers behind it help it stand out and look important and interesting.  I built up this layered mat using just scraps.  This was a great way to use up lots of leftover bits of paper.

I added a heavy coat of black ink to the edges of each of my paper layers.  Not only does this play up the nighttime/darkness aspect of the challenge, but it also make the rich colors of the papers really pop.

To add darkness to my card base, I randomly swiped on black gesso to make an interesting background.  I also painted a scalloped chipboard frame with the same black gesso.

My paper layers had a lot of green in them, so I felt like the chipboard frame and the background needed a touch of green, for the sake of unity.  I added this green by stamping with bubble wrap and green metallic paint.  After the paint was dry, I put my card together, first placing the layered papers on the card base, then adhering the chipboard frame, which I had dressed up with bokeh vellum and enamel dots.  I topped it all off with the cute stamped bat, and I added a sentiment and a couple of stamped stars as well.

I'll leave you with one last look at the card.  If you feel inspired, then go ahead and play along with the "Creatures of the Night" challenge at City Crafter Challenge Blog.  The challenge runs for a week.  Happy crafting!

Project: Library--COMPLETE!

Hello, T-Day friends and others!  You have been waiting a long time to hear the end of my son's summer library saga.  Although he finished visiting all the libraries in August, I've only now had a chance to document the adventure in my scrapbook.  Below you'll see the scrapbook page that I made.  A map of the libraries takes up a large part of the page.  The libraries highlighted in blue on the map are those that my son visited in the summer of 2015, and those highlighted in yellow are the ones that he visited in the summer of 2014.  Twenty libraries visited in 2014 plus twenty-one more visited in 2015 makes a total of forty-one libraries.  "41 and done!"

Supplies: yellow cardstock from Echo Park; red & gold cardstock from Neenah Paper; navy dotted paper from American Crafts; orange dotted paper from Pebbles; green swirl paper from My Mind's Eye; die cuts, alphabet stickers, & all other paper from October Afternoon; decorative tape from Scotch/3M; ink from Autumn Leaves/Stampology; pens from Zig; household stapler.

I've only included one photo on this page, but it's a favorite of mine.  There will certainly be more library-related scrapbook pages forthcoming, because I have more library photos to put into my album.

If you would like to see photos of the libraries that my son and I visited earlier in the summer, please refer to my posts for June and July.  Below, you will find photos of all but one of the libraries that my son and I visited in August.  The only library I don't have a photo of is Webber Park library, since it is in a temporary location in a strip mall at the moment.  Construction of the new (permanent) Webber Park library will begin soon.
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Augsburg_Park_Library.jpg

Augsburg Park library, shown above, takes its name from the park in which it is located.  It is very pleasant to sit down near a window in this library and be able to look out at a lovely green space.
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Lake_Community_Library.jpg

East Lake library is located on Lake Street, a busy thoroughfare in south Minneapolis.  One thing I liked about this library was its display of cat and dog books.  I checked out James Herriot's Cat Stories.  I have read it before, but it was a delight to read it again.
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:36th_St_Library_2.jpg

Hosmer library will celebrate its one hundredth birthday later this year.  It's a grand library, inside and out.  Please ignore the snow in the photo; obviously there was no snow when we visited Hosmer in August.  :)
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northeast_Library_2011.jpg

Northeast library is located in the "hipster" neighborhood of "Nordeast" Minneapolis, but this library is not only for hipsters.  It's a very family-friendly place, with lots of play areas for kids.  My son had fun spelling out messages with magnetic alphabet letters there.
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Bottineau_Library_January_2015_02.JPG

Again, please ignore the snow in this photo.  Don't ignore the interesting architecture, though.  Pierre Bottineau library is housed in a historic building that is over one hundred years old.
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southeast_Community_Library,_2013.jpg

Southeast library is located near the University of Minnesota campus.  My son got a taste of college life when we visited here.
 

image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walker_Library,_Summer_2014.jpg

Finally, Walker library is a beautiful, long, low building in Uptown, another "hipster" neighborhood of Minneapolis.  Like Northeast library, Walker caters both to hipsters and to families.  We planned our visit for "Lego Mania" day, and my son had fun playing with Legos there.

At the end of August, after my son and I visited the last library on our list, I celebrated with a cup of coffee...a pumpkin spice latte from Dunn Brothers Coffee, to be precise.  Now I'm ready for autumn.  :)

Geek Chic Robot Tag

Supplies: B/W striped paper & robot stamp from My Mind's Eye; all other paper from October Afternoon; swirl/flourish stamp from Unity; grey ink from Autumn Leaves/Stampology; black ink from Hero Arts; chipboard from ScrapMatts; Liquid Pearls & Stickles glitter glue from Ranger; thread from DMC; pink tulle from Wyla; black tulle, straight pins, clock face, roses, & sequins from my stash; pen from Foray; household office hole punch.

When I saw that the prompt for the current challenge on the City Crafter blog is "Geek Chic," I knew right away that I wanted to make something with my robot stamp.  It's one of my favorite, most-used stamps.  Since I use it so often, I decided to come up with a fresh approach this time.  I took my inspiration from the "chic" part of the challenge title.  For me, the word "chic" conjures up images of femininity and haute couture.  So, I decided to give my robot stamp a ladylike look.

I started by stamping the robot lightly in grey ink.  Next I sewed along the main outlines with dark grey thread and went over the smaller details with a fine-tipped black pen.  Then I sewed a little hair bow and a tutu for the robot.  I also added pretty pink Liquid Pearls accents for that extra feminine touch.  Does Ms. Robot look chic?  :)

The decorative swirls around the edges of the robot image are from a Unity stamp.  I stamped them with black ink, and after it dried I added dabs of pink glitter.

To play up the haute couture theme, I added sewing notions like straight pins, sequins, and a chipboard spool and buttons.  I also tied some lush pink tulle through the hole of the tag.

I finished the project by adding lots of layers to the tag.  This project was a little different from what I usually do, but it was so fun.  Moreover, it fits my personality really well, since I like both sci-fi and fashion.  I definitely enjoyed the technique of embroidering over a stamped image, and it's something I'd like to do again in the future.

ETA: Well, what do you know, I won the City Crafter "Geek Chic" challenge with this tag!  I am very excited and honored.

Thanks for stopping by my blog to see my tag.  Take care & have a good week!