Inkling of Love

Here we go again....

2008-11-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

So here I am again, setting another project up on the Internet to keep up on my life. I'm not sure why I decided to make ANOTHER blog since I'm already trying to keep up with this blog, myspace, facebook and real life. I think my intentions, are to have a blog I can actually use for more journaling purposes and not to share my latest craft project. Also, my husband decided to start one of his own blogs, so don't forget to check that one out too - Just click HERE!

I also wanted to post a card that I actually made quite a while ago, but forgot to post. I absolutely loved the colors used with it. The picture is kind of deceiving. It's actually barely big enough to fit a Wal-Mart gift card in. That's my new rage! It makes giving a gift card so much more personal and also smaller cards equal less time, which is right up my alley! I also am working on my Christmas cards, which I will be posting soon! My husband has been getting after me because I've been buying stamps left and right and haven't used them yet, so you will also be seeing a lot more posts in the very near future. I hope you have a wonderful week!

I love Halloween!

2008-10-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

Wow.... time flys when you're having fun... or in my case- when you're too busy to have fun! :) Work has been work and they always make sure to keep me busy. I love my job and I've had jobs where I had to FIND things to keep me busy (which I hated) so I guess it's a good thing I have a job where there's literally not enough time to do everything I need to do. I'm a supervisor in a call center who takes calls for AT&T Wireless, so if you have AT&T cell phones, and you live in any Western state, there's a good chance you're calling my center :) Anyhoo, I've been making a lot of cards, but I haven't found the time to do the posting part of it.

I saw this great idea in one of my Creating Keepsakes magazines ( by the way found out I used to date the magazines founder's nephew... kinda weird) :) Anyway, I saw this idea to cover wood blocks with paper and thought I would try it out. I started to cover the blocks because I was going to spell out "Halloween", but then got lazy and ended up just spelling "boo!" ha ha, it wasn't hard, I just didn't really have the time and patience:) It turned out really cute and a fun decoration that is pretty inexpensive. Once I was done with the blocks they looked kind of blah, so I ended up drawing black stitching around it which was a nice finishing touch.

The other thing that I've been doing lately is getting into football! It's kind of weird for me because I really have never been "that" into football. Half because I never had friends that were that into it and half because I never really understood it. I've always liked watching BYU football, but college football was never really my thing. I have a friend that is a die-hard Greenbay Packers fan who loves Brett Favre (who had played for Greenbay since 1992), but now he's playing for the New York Jets, who is my team! It's fun getting into it and talking girl talk about football! Amanda is really funny because she's such a girly-girl, but could tell you anything you wanted to know about the Packers.

Anyway, I'm going to try to post a little more often than once every two months! :) Have a wonderful night and GO JETS!

What's Black and White and Red All Over? .... A Thank You Card!

2008-07-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

It was my husband's idea for the post title, but I think it's perfect :)

So this is a new card design than I've ever used before. I wanted to try something other than just a normal creased in the middle card. I'm trying to step outside of my comfort zone and grow a little. I've been trying to get an idea for this card for a few weeks now. All I knew was that I wanted to use my black doted paper with some sort of red. Finally I just sat down and tried to figure it out as I went. This is what I came up with. I also have this other picture to show you how it opens. I really love how it turned out!

Sorry this is such a short post, but it's way past my bedtime and I need my sleep :) Have a wonderful rest of the week! Take care!

Under Construction

2008-07-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well I changed the look of my blog and in doing so I forgot to save my links....oops:) So I'm in the process of getting all my links back on. Don't feel bad if your link is no longer there...I'll get it :) I was going to do a little card making tonight, but it seems that I have to spend my time getting my blog back up to date, but that's ok. Have a wonderful night!

Keep on Truckin'....

2008-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

So I did this card about two weeks ago, and I was not happy on how it turned out. It had a cute concept, but it just didn't look right to me. I pulled it out again today and I still don't know how I feel about it, but I decided to post it anyway. The truck stamp is part of the Stampin' Up Loads of Love Stamp set. I had been wanting this stamp set for such a long time and I finally got them. However, they are harder to use than I thought. What I mean, is that a flower stamp can go with anything as long as the colors are right, but a truck..... it's just different from any stamping I've done. It's nice to get out of my comfort zone, but I'm hoping I won't keep coming up with ugly cards :) Well, I hope your week is going well!

It's been awhile....

2008-07-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

So I can't tell you how relieved I am to finally have a little time to relax and do a little card making. I can't believe my last post was more than two months ago!!! Work has been very hectic especially this past week with the new iphone coming out (I work for AT&T). It's also been hard to find time to post because now that my husband is out of school for the summer, we've been doing things away from home now that we have free time to spend with each other.

Yesterday was mine and my husband's first anniversary and neither one of us can believe it! We have had so much fun growing and opening a new chapter in our lives together. I love my husband so much! For our anniversary we went to Brian head, which is normally a ski resort in the winter about 20 miles from us in Cedar City, Utah. It was nice to get out of the city(even if it was 20 miles) and just relax, watch our wedding dvd, and eat our year old cake ... yummm....actually it was pretty good to be honest :) We stayed in one of the lodges and it was SO nice. Then this morning, we got up.....well....I got up first because I wanted to enjoy the jacuzzi tub before we had to leave:) We then drove into Cedar Breaks National Monument. The scenery was just spectacular and the wildflowers were in bloom - what a sight!! I can't believe that something like that is literally right in our backyard from Cedar City. We enjoyed our day together!

When we got home, I realized I actually had free time to do a little card making, so this is what I came up with. My sister in law - Jill from Inkgenious, gave me this card for my birthday with a Gift Card in it, and I was just amazed how cute it was. Here's a picture of the front and the inside. ( I had to take a different gift card to demonstrate what it looks like with a gift card in it )

Later that night, I had to look at it a little closer to figure out how to make one. Surprisingly, it's very easy to make! So today I tried it for the first time and turned out pretty good! I had this really cute paper that I specifically bought to use with my owl stamps that I have. After I folded it I realized that it worked out perfectly and just looked like a little tree on the front. I took the ribbon and tied it first, then I glued my stamped and colored owl just straight on the ribbon. It gives it a little bit more dimension having the owl kinda just floating on the ribbon. Also here is the inside and pictures to show you with a Gift Card.

I hope that you all are well and enjoying the summer! I hope to get around here more than I have. I have some new stamps from SU I just got last week, so I'm sure it won't be too long :)

Take care!!

What a crazy way to start May!!!

2008-05-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'm BACK!! Sorry I haven't posted anything for awhile, these past couple weeks have been so incredibly busy. It was the end of the month (April) and I was so behind at work that I was working 14 + hours a day and I think that it took me this long to finally recover and not just hop into bed as soon as I got home. The other thing is that on my free weekend, my husband graduated with his Associate and we were mostly travelling. It was great to see him graduate! Is it me, or does it seem that somehow they always manage to find the most incredibly boring person to speak? :)

SO...... I have to tell you all about my little "adventure" I had last week. Where I live, there was a warehouse that sold scrapbooking things online. The owner decided that she wanted to change her business to selling shoes, so she decided to get rid of her scrapbooking stuff. Only a handful of people were actually told about this sale, and luckily my boss was one of those people. Now this wasn't any ol' sale..... this was the deal..... $25 for anything you can fit in your car. Just in case you didn't get that....$25 FOR ANYTHING YOU CAN FIT IN YOUR CAR!!!! :) It was like a dream, too good to be true..... but it was true and I have a room full of paper and a hurt back to prove it ! :) IT WAS GREAT!!

I also was reading June's Creating Keepsakes and I was inspired to make this card. One of my favorite parts of Summer is picnic's and you can't have picnic's without watermelon. This was a simple card, but it turned out really cute. It was a good card to get back into the stamping groove.

Thank you for the comments of concern when I went MIA! I'm here and ready to do some major card making.

Happy Stamping!

A Note of Thanks

2008-04-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

I've had this Note of Thanks SU Stamp for quite awhile and have wanted to use it. I loved it just for the fact that music is a huge part of my life. In my last post I was explaining one of my hobbies-rappelling and it got me thinking about piano. I've been playing the piano since I was four, so in May it will be 20 years! I decided to try something out, so here it is- piano keys. To be honest, the card looked a lot better in my head, but that's ok. I'm going to keep this post short since I've already posted today! I guess I better go to sleep so I can at least function tomorrow. Have a Great Night!

My Calendar

2008-04-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

At work today I finally got my own desk! Finally after almost two weeks I don't have to computer/desk hop trying to use other peoples computers while they're gone anymore. And I realized I was in need of a calendar. I remembered these blank calendars I saw in a craft store, so I went and lucky for me they were on sale! Nothing beats $1.50! Now, I'm still busy so I wasn't able to get all months done, but I did get April done (even though we only have almost 1 week left). I think this calendar is way cuter than any store bought one I've seen, don't you? :) Plus it's a fun project to get away from cards for a minute.

On a different note, I had Deb ask me what rappelling was (it was in my comments on the side "about me") and if you don't have mountains around you probably have never heard of it. Lucky for me I live in Utah which means I'm surrounded by mountains. What rappelling is, is you have a harness that's attached to a rope and the rope is attached to something like a rock or tree at the top of the cliff and you basically go down the cliff with a contolled fall. Don't worry by controlled fall, I mean with the equipment you can actually make yourself stop on a dime, but its SO much fun! I absolutely LOVE it! Here's a picture of me rappelling last summer!

Also, it's my sister's birthday today, so if you have time, stop by Inkgenious and wish Jill a Happy Birthday!

Happy Stamping!

Friends

2008-04-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

So this isn't my favorite card I've ever made, but's it's still somewhat cute I guess. This was a 15 minute put-togther-card. I've been so busy at work and everything else this weekend, but I wanted to make sure I posted at least 1 card today. So this is pretty much what I came up with. Sorry this is going to be a short but sweet posting, but hopefully I'll be less busy in the days to come so I can actually sit down and do some major card-making :)

Take Care!

WINNERS!!

2008-04-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took me so long to post the winners to the blog candy.

The winners are....(drum roll please)....

Razzfamily - Blue Candy
Liz from Getting Crafty - Pink Candy

YAY Congrats you guys!! Email me your addresses at wendy.cassidy@hotmail.com

Thanks everyone for your participation! Don't worry there will be another soon! Keep an eye-out for it:)

Dead or Alive

2008-04-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

If I could go back to a period of time, it would be the Old West. It could be having the last name Cassidy (Butch Cassidy) or it may be the excitement that was throughout the Old West towns with the robberies, the saloons and interesting facts of that time. I live in Cedar City, Utah which is close to where Butch Cassidy grew up and also where some say Butch Cassidy came back from Bolivia after the last shoot-out and "disappeared".

With that said, this paper I used for this card has been sitting in my drawer waiting to be used. I could not find quite the right layout and idea of a card. When I saw the paper in the store, I was so excited. It had some of the "people of the time" like Billy the Kid, and Buffalo Bill.

Now granted, this card is very different from any other card I have done thus far, but I'm very thrilled on how it turned out.

It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but I found a quote that an observer recorded speaking about the Pony Express that I thought was both interesting and perfect to put on a card. It says: "Away across the endless dead level of the prairie a black speck appears against the sky ... In a second or two it becomes a horse and rider ... and the flutter of the hooves comes faintly to the ear -- another instant ... a man and horse burst past our excited faces, and go winging away like a belated fragment of a storm." I love that quote!

Also some exciting news, I have been given the Arte Y Pico award by Jill Dunn of Inkgenious.
"Here are the rules for the award: You pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language. List the names of the people you chose to receive the award on your blog and link to their blogs. Then go comment on one of their posts to notify them that you have given them this award and link to the post on your blog. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of the person who gave them the award and link to their blog. The Award-winner and the one who has given the award have to show the link to the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. "
There are so many great blogs out there and I'm still pretty new with this so I'm not great knowing who has and hasn't been given this award. Some of them I'm sure have got this before, but I just love their work. With that said here are the ones I'm nominating:

1. Jennifer from Glitter in my Hair

2. Nancy from Inkcicles

3. Beth from A Stampin' Good Time

4. Jessica from Quick 2 Blush

5.Leanne from Leanne all Natural

Congrats to you five and thanks for all the ink'spiration from all of you!

Anyway, tomorrow I will be having my husband help randomly draw winners for the blog candy and I will post the winners Sunday. So if you haven't posted a comment yet, you have until 7pm Mountain Time Saturday night to get that comment in. Have a wonderful weekend and good luck!!

VVRRROOOMMMMM!!

2008-04-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's amazing... I know...I didn't use some sort of animal with my card:) The card took a very long time to do because of all the sewing I did with it, but all in all, it was a pretty easy card to do, and it turned out really cute. I was in Robert's tonight with my husband and I really like when he comes with me, because he knows what I'm looking for - even if I don't...:) It's also pretty handy to have him there, because he can see stamps on higher shelves better than me because I'm short. He showed me this stamp and I absolutely fell in love with it! It's so cute and I've been looking for a stamp that I can use for little boy cards- which I have a hard time doing.

I also took a close-up shot to show how I used eyelets for the tires and sewed the yellow lines in the road. I'm happy how it turned out!!

Also- Thanks to everyone who is reaching out and posting a link to mine. I really appreciate it and I'm excited to get a chance to get to know a little about you guys!! - If you haven't left a comment for the blog candy, remember you have until Saturday!

Have a wonderful day!

Smile Crocodile :)

2008-04-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm having a little too much fun with my Jungle set :) This was a really simple card to do, but it was really fun. I tried a couple new things with this card. Coloring the crocodile was my favorite part. I was playing around with my chalk set and my new water brush trying to see how to use it and it turned out pretty good- if you ask me! I also used white ink for the first time and I also just got a Silent Setter (for eyelets) today, so I HAD to use it. Half because I was excited to use it and the other half because I needed to figure out HOW to use it:) Anyway, it ended up being pretty darn cute.

One more thing, I got my FIRST award today from Jennifer from Glitter in my Hair. I was very excited to receive this and I will also be passing it along later this week. Thanks again Jennifer!

Thank goodness Monday is over, have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

Welcome to the Jungle

2008-04-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well here's another card using one of the oh-so-cute jungle animals. I have two favorite animals - 1. Owls and 2. Giraffes. I actually bought this stamp set just for the owl and giraffe that came with it, but I've learned to love the rest of them! I found this paper at Roberts and I was SO excited. It is perfect "jungle" paper.

Don't forget to read past posts to get the details on how to enter the drawing for the candy!!

Have a great Sunday! Take care.

MMMM....Look at the CANDY!

2008-04-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Like I promised, here are the pictures of what you could win. They both include 5 pages, rub-on lettering, American Craft ribbon, and 40- piece eyelets.

The pink is for the drawing of those who place my blog link in your post. And the blue is for the drawing for the people who visit my site and place a comment on my blog. Please read my last blog to get the exact details of what you need to do :) Again, thanks and good luck!!

COMMENT HERE FOR BLOG CANDY!!

2008-04-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

I want to be able to meet new people and have more people come to my blog, so with that said I'm going to be giving out some BLOG CANDY!! I am going to be posting the candy on my blog tomorrow and I will choose a random winner on Saturday, April 19, 2008 for anyone who leaves a comment here telling me a little about themselves. So...I need your help to do this! Put a link in your next post to direct anyone who comes along to your site, to come to mine. Make sure they know some delicious candy is being given away :) AND if you leave me a comment here letting me know you have done this and I see it in your blog - out of those people there will be an extra BLOG CANDY given away. Thanks for your help and good luck!

Hanging in There...

2008-04-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

Well the weekend is finally here - which I'm thankful for! This week at work has been very exciting yet stressful with my new position as a supervisor. Being thrown into a position without any specific training, with certain expectations and goals to meet even in the first week, is NO easy task with any job. But I made it, and I'm ready to move on to week two.

So with that said, I felt that this card was perfect for the way that I'm feeling right now. I'm doing exactly what it says - I'm hanging in there.

I've actually had these stamps for quite a while, but never got the chance to use them. The set came along with several different jungle animals and now all sorts of ideas are running through my head for how to use them... so don't be surprised if you see more cards with my jungle animals in the near future:)

My New Computer and SPACE!!!!

2008-04-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm very pleased to announce that I finally have a "Craft Area"!! My husband bought me a new computer and desk for my birthday. Its a little early before my birthday (May 28) but I'm not complaining...I don't mind early gifts :) I'm very excited because before I didn't have a place to make my cards, I would just spread everything around me on the floor. This picture didn't turn out that great, and no that is not a jail cell - remember we are poor college students, but you get the idea :) It's not anything big and fancy but its pretty great compared to what I did have before.

"Owl" Be Back....

2008-04-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

First of all, I need to make sure that everyone knows that it was my husband's idea for the title :)

Well I was able to get a lot cards done during conference today. It was nice to be able to sit down and finish a couple of my ideas that have been floating around in my head for quite a while.

This first one I have been wanting to do for about a month, but I couldn't seem to find the paper that I wanted to use for it. When I saw this paper, I knew it was it! This was a really fun card to do. It took more time and a little more patience but I will have to say this is my favorite card I have done this far. I actually made this specifically with Jill in mind for her birthday later this month, and I didn't want to post it because I knew she would see it - but I was so proud of it, that I couldn't wait! So Jill- act surprised when you get it in the mail..ok? :)
This next one, I really loved the paper and had started from there. Usually I start with an idea of a layout that I want to use and find the right paper for it. It was a nice change to have just the paper to inspire me. I think it turned out pretty cute.
This group of cards, I actually had to sit down at my computer and look through different blogs to find a layout I actually liked. I had part of an idea to start with, but once I got everything cut out and ready to go, I was so indecisive about the layout and nothing seemed to look right with them (which what I like to call-Crafters Block). The cards were originally going to be "Thank You" Cards, but I decided that I didn't want to add a sentiment because they looked good without one, and now they could be used for any occasion.

And last, but not least, after I had all my card "mess" cleaned up, I was just looking through some blogs and I came across this really cute card at My Crafty Days Off and HAD to try it out myself. So I pulled EVERYTHING out again and started the mess again. In the blog, she had actually used ribbon to make the tie, but I didn't have any ribbon that would make a nice tie, so I had to make one myself out of paper. I think with my little buttons, it made a nice touch to it. Isn't this such a cute ......I mean MANLY .....idea for a Father's Day card or even a birthday card for your dad!? I think so. This was my husband's favorite out of the bunch!

This next week is going to be very busy for me, which is why I took this opportunity to make these cards today. Starting tomorrow, I got promoted to a supervisor at work, which is great! I'm very excited to start this adventure! Wish me luck!

Hidden Treasure

2008-04-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

I made my first attempt of making a little boy's card. It was difficult at first but when I found this paper, my ideas started flowing. This card is for a little boy who is turning four and absolutely loves pirates! This was perfect for him. I drew the map by hand and used brown chalk on the paper to give it an aged look. With crumbling the paper and burning the edges it looks pretty good, (better than what I had excepted).

I'm working on several different projects right now, I'm starting up a website, trying to keep up with my blog, working on card packages and tile coasters to put on ebay, and not to mention I've been working over 45 hours a week at work. It's been hectic but I'm enjoying having a hobby to keep me busy.

My Inspiration.....

2008-03-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

It's nice to finally have a hobby that I truely enjoy. My sister-in-law Jill from inkgenious has been a true inspiration for different ideas and creations of mine. The cards are just beautiful and somehow with her four boys and husband, she somehow finds time to kick out a card almost everyday! I don't know how she does it :)

This card was made for my neice, who had a birthday earlier this month. I saw a card that Jill had done awhile back and it was so simple with a little cupcake on it. The card stuck in my mind and finally I found a cupcake stamp I liked, which I found for $1 at Michael's (being cheap makes it SO much sweeter). I used my new little sewing machine my husband bought me. I also tried some glitter paint on the cupcake, which I wasn't sure I was going to like, but it turned out it made the card a little cuter. I guess the next step would to be to actually send it to her......oops!

I also tried out another craft I stole from something Jill had made. I first saw Jill's coasters when she had made them for our Grandma for Christmas. They were SO cute, but I wasn't sure exactly how she made them. My husband and I were wandering through Home Depot to day- dream of things we wish we could afford and I saw the tiles! To be honest I still am not sure how she makes them, but I figured I'd try them out. I stamped them and then used my chalk set. I also sprayed it with flat clear spray paint which gave the chalk a nice touch without making it shiney.

Stampin' Fun!

2008-02-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

For the past little while I've been quickly sucked into the magic of stamping. I've always had the interest to do it for some time, but I either didn't have the time or the money to get started. I've slowing been gathering the items I need to start this adventure and I also found, that it really doesn't take much time at all. After many cards of practice, I think I'm actually ready to show some of my creations.
I made this card for Easter to give to my mother, I used two stamps from the dollar bin at Michael's and used watercolors to color the little bunnies. I'm not big on buying seasonal stamps but I couldn't argue buying them when they're only a dollar. It was fun to go down to St. George, Utah and wander around Michael's with my hubby. Carter was the one who found the dollar bin first and was digging around looking for good stamps for me. When I saw him doing that, it just made me laugh to myself and also realize how lucky I am to have him - honestly, how many husbands would have done that!?
When I found this giraffe paper, I was excited to see what exactly I could make with this. When I got home, I realized that they are frowning, which meant......yes, another get well card. This card turned out a lot cuter than expected. Again, I used the new stamps from Roberts and painted inside the hearts. The ribbon I actually found at Wal-Mart and it matched perfectly with the color scheme.