Whatever...my one little word

I didn't do so well with my "loving" word last year.  The perfectionist in me wants me to keep the word until I get it right, but instead I've let a new word find me.  I'm going with "whatever".  And while at first glance, it may seem like sort of a "blah", negative word (like, "what do you want for dinner--whatever").   It came to me in a Christmas card I received with this bible quote:

Whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable;
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things.
(Philippians 4:8) 

So, my word is "whatever".
I will take "whatever" wherever it will lead me.

Today, it has lead me to show you "whatever is sparkly".  These are my ATCs (artist trading cards) for the Disney swap over at Fiskateers.  And, if any of my swap partners are seeing this, they are getting a sneak peak before I pop these into the mail this week. 

I LOVE the movie "Finding Nemo" and I loved making these sparkly, dimensional cards.  I used glittery paper, my Copic markers (to color some free Nemo clip art I found on the internet), ribbon scraps, a Fiskars leafy border punch, and do you see those bubbles?  They are hot glue (actually, cooled hot glue). 

Creating in this small size may feel limiting to some, but to me, I'm thinking how much stuff can I get on a card that is 2 1/2" by 3 1/2"?  Answer...a lot!  And, it still fits in its card sleeve!

Best wishes for you, your one little word, your resolutions, and a wonderful 2012!

~Kelly

my AnTC (Artist non-Trading Card)

I had lost that crafty feeling...
I hadn't been scrapping... 
My desk was covered with "scrap"...
But, my friends at Fiskateers are pulling me out of my slump.  Rebecca (and Don) got me motivated to create an ATC with their challenge...use something other than paper as the base.

-I loosely strung assorted seed beads onto two 1 yard lengths of wire. (There are only beads on about 1/2 the length of the wire). This goes by really fast if you are watching "So You Think You Can Dance." (I'm so excited for the new season!)
-I wrapped one wire around a piece of ATC size (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") heavy cardstock.  I spread the beads apart as I wrapped, so in some places the wire is bare.
-I wrapped the other wire around in the opposite direction
-I wove purple ribbon through the wires to give it some stability and tied it at the corners
-Using a small piece of linen textile specialty paper (from The Paper Company), I rubbed purple and pink ink pads on my splat mat, and misted the ink with water, and ran the paper over the liquid
-I dried that with my heat gun, and then used Versamark ink to stamp the heart. 
-I used Winter Wonderland (from Stampenous) embossing powder on the heart and got out the heat gun again.
-I printed out "2 create" on some paper, glued it to some polka dot ribbon, attached it to the linen paper, and thinly hot glued the whole thing onto the wire base.

I'm calling this an Artist non-Trading Card because I'm keeping this one for ME!
Maybe I haven't lost that crafty feeling! 

A scary sneak peak!

Boo! Are you scared? You will be when you see this very (not so scary) ATC I created for the Spooky Halloween swap over at Fiskateers. This little monster is cut from some fabulous Reminisce Monsters Collection patterned paper (I think I have to go get some more).

a survey, an ATC, and pillow fights

Over at fellow Fiskateer Judy's blog http://www.piecesofmepapercrafts.blogspot.com/ she had a "Scrappy Get to Know You Survey". Copy, paste, fill it out, and send me a link to view your answers. You never know...a little RAK might fall into your mailbox.

Here's 25 scrapbook-related get to know you questions. Copy & paste the questions to your blog and change the answers to your own! Have fun!
1. Scrapper/cardmaker/both? both
2. How long have you been scrapping/cardmaking ? How did you get into it? I had gone to a party for one of those stamping companies (I don't even remember which one) before I had kids and really didn't feel compelled to start scrapping. When I had my first child, I got the itch...the last 3 years it has just kind of snowballed, actually AVALANCHED, from there.
3. Do you prefer to work alone, or get together with friends/go to crops/classes etc.? I mostly work alone, but do go to crops a few times a year and am part of a scrap club that meets one night every other month (Hi Gina)
4. Favorite embellishments? stickers, I like to pop them up, ink them, doodle on them, use them as a border, or as a frame, or, or, or...
5. Favorite paper brands? Basic Grey, Bella Blvd, Reminisce, Bo Bunny, not picky--I like them all
6. Favorite tool? my special Fiskateer Fiskars scissors (#6446)
7. Favorite kind of ink? Versamark and plain old black
8. Whose your scrap idol? I love the scrappers of Scrapbook Challenges and If Its Groovy , there are some very talented scrap artists that hang around there
9. Something you bought that you wish you hadn't or have never used? I rarely use my Xyron machine
10. Do you have your own scraproom or do you work in a shared area? I am a basement scrap-rat
11. Are you a chronological, reverse chronological, or random scrapper? obsessive, crazed, chronological scrapper, but I'm trying to break free and random scrap or make mini-books once in a while
12. What is your scrapping style if you have one? focus on the photos
13. Whats on your work area right now? a mess
14. Favorite adhesive? I do like an adhesive runner, but I still use a glue stick for lots of things.
15. Technique you have never tried that you would like to? I've been meaning to "mask", but haven't done it yet.
16. Are you on or have you ever been on a design team or been a guest designer? I'm on the www.ifitsgroovy.ning.com card design team. (Hi Groovy Deb).
17. Have you ever had your work published? Not yet, I have submitted a few times.
18. Are you a consultant for a company such as Close to my heart, stampin up, creative memories, etc? no
19. Do you subscribe to any kit clubs, if so which ones? no
20. Do you have a minimal stash of supplies or are you a shopper/collecter? I'm a shopper
21. Are you a sketch user, scraplifter, or do you come up with it all on your own? a little bit of everything
22. Do you participate in any online challenges, if so which ones? Fiskateers (Lift a Fiskateer) and Scrapbook Challenges. I've just found scrapping the music and inspired blueprints and would like to try those.
23. Do you own any diecutting machines (manual or electric) and if so which ones? I have a Sizzix Big Shot (non-electric).
24. If you have a manual diecutting machine what kind of dies do you use? I use Sizzix, Spellbinders, Cuttlebug. I have found many cheap, on-line (e-bay) from scrappers who are switching to something different.
25. Are you a Stickleser (is that even a word?Do you use Stickles?) once in a while, I only have 2 (I don't have the patience for letting them dry).

I'm starting to work on my Fiskateer ATC butterfly swap, so I've inlcuded a photo of my very first ATC (it was a Fiskateer heart-themed swap). I was not familiar with ATC (artist trading cards) until I was a introduced in Fiskateer-land. It pushes your creativity to compose something on a such a little space. And when swapping--it is amazing to see what comes back to you. I encourage you to try it.

I glued pink, light pink, and red tissue onto white cardstock and let it dry. I cut those into rectangles slightly smaller than my 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch black cardstock base. I rounded the corners and then stamped and embossed with purple powder the heart tree, a squiggle heart, and a checkerboard. I added a dimensional heart sticker (small square), puffy painted a few hearts on the tree in silver glitter, and then glued it onto slightly larger purple mulberry paper. Then glued that all onto my black base.

I'm going away Friday night with "girlfriends". Here's to daquiri slushes, chick flicks, and... pillow fights (?).