Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today I want to share with you the card I made for my mom's birthday.   I did it following the guidelines of the Unity Inspiration Challenge, Color Inspiration.  Here is the color inspiration picture:

Here is the card I came up with:

For this one, I embossed and punched the small piece of grey on the far left.  I used the Gurnsey Gingham stamp for the blue cardstock strip.  The butterfly and the flower are from the January 2012 Kit of the Month kit called Heart and Soul.  I embossed both the butterfly and the flower bloom with Martha Stewart embossing powder.  The happy birthday stamp is from the How You Doin' set.

I hope you like it!  My mom did! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

Nick got crafty!!

This will be a short post because I am supposed to be somewhere else this very second, but I wanted to show you all my 5-year old Nicholas' creation for the Simon Says "Its time for a kids summer vacation challenge".  He worked really had at this and included stamping, embossing, and a little coloring into his project.  It is for his nanny's (my mom) birthday on Monday. :)

Here it is, as well as some photo's of him getting crafty!

I think his card turned out wonderfully and I think nanny is going to love it! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

My Baby is Growing Up

It is a fact of life.  We all were once babies, and we all grow up.  My children are of no exception.  Even when countless people told me to "enjoy those babies! They grow up so fast!", I didn't realize how quick that would happen.  My first baby is now 11 and starting to look like a man already.  :(  My youngest, who will soon be six, just graduated from Kindergarten this last June.  It's just all happening so quick. Sometimes I would like to just stop time and keep my kids they way they are...but I can't.  So I have learned to enjoy the stages they are at and be proud of the young men they are molding into.  :)  

I have had a picture of Nicholas, my youngest, in my craft room for a while, just waiting to be scrapbooked.  It's of him and his principal at his Kindergarten graduation, the moment that he received his diploma.  I remember this day quite clearly.  So many emotions.  It was the first year anniversary of my grandmother's death.  A woman that I loved so dearly.  But, it was also a great day for my baby...one of life's milestones.  He had been so sick during June and missed so much school.  He had ear infections and the flu and had lost so much weight.  You can see how pale he is in the picture.  This is when he started to feel a little better and had only returned to school for a few days before graduation after being at home sick for a week and a half. But, like the journaling states, he truly did ROCK his graduation!  He got all of his lines right, he danced like a rock-star on stage, and he ran circles around the best of them after the graduation was over.  We were so proud of him! 

So, now that I told the story of the picture, I will share the page with you. I guess I should start by saying that I did this using the Unity [be inspired] Challenge scrapbook sketch as my inspiration.  Here is the sketch:

Here is what I came up with:

I used a bunch of Unity Stamp Co. stamps on this one!  The big award ribbon is from the "Summers Best" set, and I embossed it using a Martha Stewarts embossing pad and Martha Stewarts Copper Penny embossing powder.  I love how it turned out! I added a Thickers K to it, for Kindergarten.  I also stamped a Unity sentiment on the journaling card from "Flowers + Friends = Priceless".  

I have just recently been introduced to washi tape and this was one of my first times using it!  That multi-colored striped washi is from the Collectible My Mind's Eye line and is called "Unforgettable".  I love the way the patterned paper shows through it.  The loose leaf edges are another stamp from Unity and comes from the  "Year O Graphy Calendar" set and was stamped with Tim Holtz "Broken China" Distress Ink.  The last Unity stamp used here was the LIFE DOCUMENTED stamp from the "Year O Graphy Banners" set, which was also stamped with Distress Ink, this time using "Festive Berries".  

Thank you for stopping by! 

Love, Patricia 

Supplies Used
Designer Paper:"Life's a Picnic" from Storytellers Club

Journaling Card: So Sophie "Graceful Little Lady, Today's Events" by My Minds Eye

K:Thickers Chipboard Letters

Washi Tape:Collectible "Unforgettable" by My Minds Eye

Arrow: "Flip 'n' Flirt" Summertime by My Minds Eye

Stamps:
Year o Graphy Calendar by Unity
Year o Graphy Banners by Unity
Flowers + Friends = Priceless
Summers Best by Unity

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Broken China"
Color Box Petal Point Classic Pigment Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Festive Berries"

Embossing:
Martha Stewart Embossing Pad
Martha Stewart Embossing Powder "Copper Penny"

The place I love...

I am SO proud to be a Newfoundlander...really.  Extremely.  I love my accent (I really don't think I have one, but everyone else do!), I love the people in my province, I love the island living, and I love the scenery here.  I love everything about it.

A few weeks ago, my friend and I decided that we were going to drive down the coast and get some nice pictures.  The is an hour drive from my house right to the end of the road.  And seriously....it's the end of the road.  Once you reach Rose Blanche you have to turn around and come back...there is no other way to go!

And the road is very curvy...my mom is from Rose Blanche and I would get car sick every time we went to visit my grandparents.  This time, thankfully, my tummy was fine! And so was my friend's!

Here are some of the pictures I got from Margaree to Rose Blanche....

Thanks for looking!

Love, Patricia

$2 Chair Redo

I have a secret...well, it's not really secret...especially to people who know me really well. I like yard sales. Actually, I LOVE yard sales.  Well, OK!  I am OBSESSED with yard sales! :) I need serious help.  When I bring things home, my man just shakes his head.

With this latest project, I even impressed the man!

At a recent church rummage sale, I got a rocking chair for $2.

Excuse the messy basement!

I started with a coat of Krylon primer first. Next, I knew I wanted to paint the chair a bright color and decided to go with Krylon glossy spray paint in Cherry red. I also sprayed a a few coats of Krylon clear coat on after the red was dry. The material for the seat came from Walmart and, using the existing seat on the chair originally, the man and I added a nice piece of foam and covered it.

I think it turned out pretty well!

Materials:

Chair: $2 at a rummage sale
Krylon Grey Primer:  Borrowed from the man...FREE!
Krylon Cherry Red spray paint:  $5
Krylon Clear Coat: Borrowed from the man...FREE!
Fabric from Walmart: $7

Grand Total:  $14

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

Unity Sketch Challenge Take Two

So, I made another card for the Unity Sketch Challenge.  It's another teacher card...this one was made AFTER the last day of school because I wanted to add a picture of my Kindergarten graduate with his teacher.

Just to remind you of what the sketch looked like, here it is again.

Here is the card I came up with:

I used my Cameo to cut the scallop frames and the banner.  The "thanks" stamp is from the "Lollipop Tree You and Me" set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

Flowerpots and Silhouette Cameos

Today I want to share with you a gift that I made for my 5 year old's Kindergarten teacher as an "end of the school year" gift.

I started out with a terracotta clay flowerpot from the dollar store.  It actually cost $2...I think the dollar store should soon change its name!

Here are a bunch that I bought:

I then spray painted them a bunch of times with black spray paint, and sealed them with a spray, clear sealer a bunch of times.  It is important to spray them with the paint and sealer both on the inside and out.  This is to make sure they don't soak in water and cause the paint to bubble later

This is where the Silhouette Cameo came into play!  I cut out my son's teachers name (The Young's) in white vinyl and put it on the pot with transfer tape.  I love the outcome and I think I will make one for me too!

Here it is with the rose that my son picked out to go in it! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

Unity Sketch Challenge

WOW!  Its been so long since I posted!  I have been so busy with going to college and taking care of the kids that I had no time to do anything else.  Summer break is here now, though, so that means I have time for some projects.

I had to make a card for my 11-year-old's teacher, so I went searching for a sketch challenge to use as inspiration.  I ended up going to my old tried and true...the Unity Stamp Co. Challenge.  Here is the sketch for this month:

Then I found this beautiful card on Pinterest and LOVED the apple!

So, I got out my Silhouette Cameo, found an apple image that I liked on the Silhouette online store, and this is what I came up with.

I hope Mr. Seaward likes it!  I think he will especially like the nice message Jarod put on the inside.  :)

I use the "Thanks" sentiment stamp from the Unity set, "Lollipop Tree You and Me".

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

WINNER!!!

It was so much fun doing the Growing In Unity posts last week!! I can't wait to do it again! Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments...you really know how to make a girl feel special! :)

So, on to the reason why you are here...the winner of the two itty bitty's....

drum roll please............... 

SHARON G.!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Congratulations!!! 

Just send your address and your choice of any two itty bitty's from the Unity Stamp Co. site to me at  mycraftycreations@hotmail.com. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

Growing in Unity: DAY 5

Today is the last day of my Growing in Unity time. :( The good news is there will be a winner posted in the next few days! Don't forget to leave a comment on here to be entered into the draw! You may just be the lucky winner!

Today I have a birthday card to show you. I made it for my dad since his birthday is at the end of the month.

I really like how this one turned out! I used the ippity set "Alphabetically Adorable" for the letters and the ippity set "How you doin" for the happy birthday sentiment. The patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket: circa 1934. The button came from a big bag of Walmart buttons and the twine came from Noelle! <-----You can order some by clicking her name. My inspiration for this card came from here. 

Well, it's been a fun week for me! I can't wait to do this again! And if you are interested in becoming a Growing in Unity gal check it out here for the information. 

Thanks for dropping in today and all week! 

Love, Patricia  

Growing in Unity: DAY 4

WOW! Day 4 already! Well, I'm happy to tell you all that the hurricane passed on by this area and, aside from some rain, we didn't get anything! YAY! Other parts of Newfoundland had some damage to property because of the VERY strong winds, but there were no deaths so all is good! :0)

On to my project! Today I have a card that I made for my aunt's birthday. Wanna see?

I used a piece of clear plastic for the mason jar, which is from the "December 2011 Kit of the Month" and it looks really nice...although this picture is doing awful things with it! I promise! It looks good in the flesh! I stamped it on the plastic (It was some sort of packaging material for something!) with Stazon and heated it a little with my heat gun...but it started to curl...which is probably what the camera is picking up. Then a drew some stems with my Crayola's, glued some ribbon from my stash around the neck of the mason jar and stuck it on the card. Then I embossed some flowers from the "Eco Chic" set on yellow paper with black embossing powder, cut them out, and added them to the end of the stems. I stamped the happy birthday sentiment from the "How you doin" ippity set on white card stock and matted it with black cardstock. A small piece of the same pink ribbon was folded and stuck to the back of the sentiment. Voilà! An aunt's CAS birthday card! :0) Inspiration for this card came from here. 

Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win the Itty Bittys (which I have found out is TWO Itty Bittys not ONE! Even better!) !

Thank's for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

Growing in Unity: DAY 3

Its my Growing in Unity day 3 which means this gig is half over. :( I'm sad to see it go...I've been enjoying doing these posts and getting lots of love for you guys! 

Speaking of love...today I have a scrapbook page to show you featuring one of the loves of my life (yes, I have more than one!!) and he is SO handsome! Here he is:

This was his very first day of Kindergarten and, of course, he had to be silly for our photo shoot! He did think this was the best day ever, so I thought the HUGE ribbon stamp from the "Summers Best" set would be a fine fit! And I included the "seriously best day ever" stamp from the same set for the center. The cute little crossword banner is from the Ippity set "The Best". I stamped two of them and clipped them on with an American Crafts brad. I also used my label maker to put his name on them. All of these colorful papers were, again, from the dollar store! Sometimes  you can find some awesome stuff there! 

By the way, this was a totally scraplift from someone else! You can see my inspiration here. 

You know the drill! Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into the draw for the itty bitty at the end of the week! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Love, Patricia 

Growing in Unity: DAY 2

Welcome back for day two of my Growing in Unity turn! Today I have an anniversary card to share with you. My parent's will be married for 32 years on the 19th of September! So I made them this card:

Like most of my ideas...I totally stole this one from Pinterest! Go here if you want to see the original link. 

For this card I started with a piece of stationary that I have had for more than 10 years!! I bought it to use on my very first scrapbook page...which was the baby shower for my first born...and he will be 11 in January! YIKES! Anyway, I though the clouds went well with the theme. Then I drew the tree branch free hand using my good 'ole Crayola coloring pencils. For the owls I used the Ippity set "Wise Guy" and then gave them some cute googly eyes...and gave the girl owl some cute eyelashes and a cute hair sequin. I also added a little glossy accents to their wings and beaks. The banner came form the "You did it" set and I wrote happy anniversary in myself. I also used some twine that I got from the last  Growing In Unity girl, Noelle!

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into a draw for an itty bitty of your choosing and come back tomorrow to see a scrapbook page of a VERY handsome man! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Love, Patricia

Linky Party and Leslie!

Its official...hurricane Leslie is due to hit Newfoundland sometime tonight or in the early morning hours. I just hope it waits until my partner, Brent, gets home from work. Its a half hour highway drive and he has to do this at midnight so I hope he gets home safe and sound before the bad weather.

On a good note, its the Unity/Ippity Linky Party and I have something to share! Now, I have to warn you, I tried to emboss the sentiment and I really thought I might have to invest in a new glue pad...the embossing powder just would not stick once the heat tool got near! I have figured out how to do it now, though...emboss from the bottom, not the top! The powder stays put but melts just the same! SCORE!

Here it is:

I made this card for my grandfathers 94th birthday, which was just last week. I used some paper that I got in a grab bag of paper from Walmart a LONG time ago. I sanded the edges to give it some wear. Then I matted some white paper on brown and embellished with brads, twine, and a dog sticker. The sentiment that is horribly embossed is from the Ippity set : Party Hat Wishes. It is a wonderful stamp that I have used MANY times...my embossing did not do it justice at all!

Anyway, thank you for stopping in! And check back for the rest of the week because I'm the Growing in Unity gal this week! YAY!

Love, Patricia

Growing in Unity: DAY 1

I am the Growing in Unity girl this week and I'm so excited!!! I love Unity more than my 10 year old loves his Xbox360! And that's a love you can't mess with! Hee hee! Don't forget to leave comments on my blog posts this week. One lucky commenter will win a Unity Itty Bitty of their choice! How awesome is that! 

My nephew's 8th birthday party was yesterday...and it was a no-brainer on which stamp set I wanted to use for his card. "Hoppy Birthday" came to mind right away!

Isn't this an awesome set for a boy?! 

And here's the card:

For this card I used some bright, happy colors of paper that I got at the dollar store, a button I got in a big bag of various buttons from Walmart, and the twine is a Halloween themed twine from Doodlebug Designs. The image was stamped with StazOn black ink and colored in with Crayola Coloring Pencils. 

I hope you liked the card! Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in the draw and don't forget to come back tomorrow to see more Unity goodness!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Love, Patricia 

31 Days to a Better Photo: Day 8-11

Its me again! More of the "31 Days to a Better Photo" series from "Life with my 3 Boybarians" coming your way! This time I looked at days 8-11, which included lots of useful information on exposure, scales, and metering. Did you know there is a meter on your camera in Manual mode that lets you know if you are using the right combination of ISO, shutter speed, and Aperture to get a good exposure?? You did? Oh...well, I didn't!!! This is all news to me! No more trial and error to get the right exposure! YAY! 

On day 11 we were asked to go play with the camera in manual to see what we can do with it...emphasis placed on looking at the meter. So, I found the most handsome model in the world and we had a photo shoot!

1/30 f/16 ISO 100

 1/250 f/5.6 ISO 100

1/200 f/14 ISO 400

Am I right?? Isn't he the cutest???

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia

31 Days to a Better Photo: Day 4-7

Hello! If you have been reading this blog over the last...oh...16 hours or so, you will see that I have been following the "31 Days to a Better Photo" series on "Life with my 3 boybarians" blog. Ok...perhaps its more like "been OBSESSED" with the series!!! But, its a good obsession since the program is great for beginner photographers, or people like me who have had a DSLR for a couple of years and STILL don't understand everything about it! 

I went through days 4-7 last night and was waiting until this morning to do the assignments. Yes! There are assignments!!! But, don't worry...these are FUN assignments! In these couple of days the topics that were discussed was ISO, Aperture, and Depth of Field. While I had a little understanding of these (and that is extremely little!!!) everything I THOUGHT I knew went out the window as Darcy (the fabulous lady who has these tutorials for FREE!) explained these very important topics VERY clearly. Its like I had one of Oprah's A-HA moments! It was finally clicking in! Why oh why did it take me so long to find this blog!! I would like to thank PINTEREST for helping me get there!!

Anyway, on to the assignment that would help us get comfortable with the depth of field. For this I had to set up my tripod and focus on my subject while changing the Aperture for each shot. This showed how the Aperture changed how blurry the background (the depth of field) was. I'll show you a few shots that I took.

1/2500 f/6.3 ISO 100

I know what your thinking...beer bottles?!?! But, they were close and they make GREAT subjects!! They don't move!!! 

1/1000 f/9 ISO 100 

1/800 f/14 ISO 100 

 1/250 f/22 ISO 100

 1/160 f/29 ISO 100

1/100 F/36 ISO 100

As you can see, as the aperture number increases, the clearer the background becomes and the bigger depth of field you have. I have learned something new! Awesome!

I may have another post ready to go up before the day is over! Make sure you stop back to see!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia 

31 Days to a Better Photo: Day 3

Wow! I con't believe this is my second post in less than an hour! I just really got into the "31 Days to a Better Photo" series over at the "Life with my 3 Boybarians" blog. 

Day 3 talked about shutter speed and how shoot fast compares with shooting slow. The task was to set my camera at the same ISO and Aperture and shoot using different shutter speeds. Just to get an idea of how it differs. I picked Nick's flower that he has been taking care of all summer as my subject. It is just starting to flower! Please ignore the background (my house!) because this was just an experiment shoot! Not taken for beauty! 

And here they are, using an ISO of 400 and a Aperture of 5.6 on my Canon T1i:

Shutter Speed: 1/10

Shutter Speed: 1/15

Shutter Speed: 1/25

Shutter Speed: 1/40

Conclusion: The faster the shutter speed the less light that gets in and the darker the photo will be. I am assuming that every shutter speed has a benefit based on the conditions...ie, the lighting, the time of day, ect. (I bet you can't guess that I have a science educational background and are used to doing labs, can  you? Hee hee!) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Love, Patricia