Pugs & Papercrafts

Just Moved Postcards

2011-07-02T18:35:00.001-04:00

I had what I thought was a good idea, but a quick Google search showed I wasn't the first to think of it. I decided to go ahead and make these "just moved" postcards anyway, since I'm not selling them, I'm not hurting anyone. Also, I get extra points for actually using one of the boxes I packed my stuff in! ;)

There's my weak attempt at photo styling again..I love love LOVE this airmail pouch! The postcards were super simple to make. I ripped a cardboard box into several pieces, roughly 4x6 inches each. The front has my new address, "Fragile" written with a sharpie and a "Handle with care" stamp.

The back has part of the room name (to make the cardboard look more like a moving box) and a label stamp with the recipients' address. Then, of course, the top right hand corner is for the stamp.

It was so nice to finally sit down and make something! I also got a chance to finally use the die I bought from Lifestyle Crafts & it's the perfect size to package up my mini cards and tags! Best purchase ever!

The chipboard is recycled (everytime we get a shipment of wrapping paper at Papyrus, it comes with this piece of chipboard, which cut up gives me 6 boxes). Twine is also from Papyrus and I used yet another stamp from this awesome Cavallini set. I only had a chance to snap a couple of pictures before my camera died (no idea where the charger is) so I'll have to wait to share my small camera collection.

Have a great 4th of July weekend everyone! I'm planning on going to the harbor to watch fireworks with a couple of friends. This will be my first "outing" since I moved- can't wait!

Goal Recap

2011-07-02T01:40:00.001-04:00

It's been more than 2 months since I made my goal list and I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't gotten very far with it! I moved, but I've had some unexpected car expenses so my apartment won't be completely furnished & decorated for a while.

#2. Get a new hairstyle- done! I always get a new hairstyle/ color after a breakup. It's a cheaper form of therapy! ;) I got a keratin treatment so my hair isn't crazy frizzy anymore! Also got lighter blonde highlights and some red lowlights.

#9. Pay off credit card; work on school loan- credit card is paid off! The car stuff kind of derailed my efforts in paying my school loan but I'm happy that that's the last of my debt.

#11. Draw more- so far I've only drawn this, but have plans for some Dragon Age themed art.. :)

#16. Get 50 followers on my blog- done! Thank you all for helping me with this one!

#21. Get rid of all craft supplies I no longer use- making progress with this one by sending some out to Sandi, who won my giveaway. (Should be sent out by Tuesday!) I'm planning on taking pictures of everything I want to get rid of and posting it to see if anyone wants to buy anything- all proceeds will be going towards furnishing my apartment!

#23. Get rid of all junk/ clutter in my apartment- this one is harder than I thought. I tried to sell some stuff at the flea market but only made $45 and only got rid of a couple small things so it's still as cluttered as ever here- actually more so since I don't have all my furniture & can't unpack everything until then.

#25. Start camera collection- made the most progress with this, after all, spending money is pretty easy! Will be adding pictures soon!

I definitely have a long way to go and I actually have lots more goals since I just moved, but I think I'll have to make a seperate list: "Things To Do in Baltimore". I've only been here a month but I absolutely love it! Everyday I find a new reason that I made the right choice in moving here. I hope to have some pictures to show you early next week!

Giveaway Winner

2011-06-18T13:46:00.000-04:00

I'm back! It took forever to get settled & unpacked & get my Internet set up & deal with some work issues & I'm still not completely done (don't expect an apartment tour until maybe November) but ready to get back to blogging & crafting! & I can't wait to catch up on the blogs I've missed reading!

This is long overdue, but the winner to my giveaway is: Sandi! Please email me your address so I can send you your goodies! & the rest of you that entered, you can also email me your addresses & I'll send you a lil' something too! :)

Got some errands to run now (oil change, ugh) but I will be back later with a recap on my 26 Before 27!

Update

2011-06-02T22:47:00.002-04:00

Hey guys,

Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm still in the process of moving (new apartment had some repairs that needed to be done before I move in so I had to move all my stuff to my parents' for storage & stay there until the big move...then the morning I was supposed to move everything I woke up with a fever so it ended up taking way longer to transport everything...) and have extremely limited internet access. So, I will be picking a winner for my giveaway & will be back to regular programming shortly! I'm hoping a week from now, the latest. I'm also planning on doing a monthly recap on my 26 before 27 as soon as I get settled. See you all soon!

Pugs & kisses,
Milena (& Cinnamon)

Weekly Dose of Cute

2011-05-23T21:47:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to get back to somewhat normal blogging, here's a picture of Cinnamon:

That's his new Puppia harness. The website says to get a XL for pugs, but this was a little too big on him. He easily slips out his front paws, so I ended up getting a L in the pretty plaid blue design & that fits a lot better.

P.S. Welcome new followers! Thanks for helping me reach Goal #16!

P.P.S. There's still some time to enter the giveaway!

Art

2011-05-18T22:11:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a while again..I've been packing & posting stuff on Amazon & eBay & looking at apartments & trying to figure this whole moving thing out. It's so stressful & it's definitely a change to have to go through it alone but I feel stronger already. :)

I really promise things will get back to normal with posting once I settle in next month, but in the meantime here's my most recent art.

That is a drawing of my brother. He asked me to draw him & I said yes because it's one of my goals for this year. I obviously have not mastered drawing hair yet. ;) & his lips came out kinda too big..it was a close up picture though. He liked it & I think it's pretty good for not having drawn a portrait in, let's see, 10 years??

If you haven't already done so, please enter my neglected giveaway! :)

My very first card!

2011-04-28T21:17:00.001-04:00

So, do you think I ended up cleaning off my desk? Crafting?

Nope..

But, I did manage to take 116 photos of things I need to sell / get rid of! (& I now have 2 boxes & one bag of stuff to donate.) While doing that I found my very first digital camera (Kodak EasyShare) & on it a picture of a card I made for my dad when he was in the hospital for heart problems. (He's ok now!) Actually now that I think about it, this may even be the very first card I ever made..The pictures weren't the greatest so I used the Lomo-ish effect from Picnik on them to try to get it to look better. So it seems I do have a card to share with you today.. ;)

This was so long ago but I'm pretty sure all the supplies I used were from Dollar Tree - even the Band-aid!

**I've decided to extend my giveaway due to my upcoming move & not really promoting it this month!**

Check out what I added!

Weekly Dose of Cute + Explanation

2011-04-27T19:45:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed I haven't blogged in almost 2 weeks..I guess as much as I say I'm okay with the breakup, it did have some kind of affect on me: namely, I haven't been feeling very creative. I did manage to pack a lot since it looked like I was going to be moving at the end of this month, but I've decided to stay till the end of May so I have some more time to hopefully sell / donate a bunch of stuff so I have less to take with me to Maryland. (Yep, that's where I'm moving! I'm driving there next week for interviews & to look at apartments- I'm so excited!!) I'm going to try to come up with some kinda craft kits or something so I can get rid of my [very extensive] scrapbook paper supply!

Also, I can't believe I forgot all about Cinnamon's "Gotcha Day"! I had plans to have a little pug party & order a cake & everything! Well Cinnamon's on a diet anyway so he can't have cake...he's been getting lots of carrots & kisses & hugs today, as I try to make it up to him. Here's some pictures from when my precious little monster came into my life.

I can't believe it's been two years already- the time just flew by! So, now I'm going to force myself to clean off my desk (it got piled up with stuff as I was packing). Maybe my creativity will come back to me once I see a clean desk! I hope to be back tomorrow with some cards to share- wish me luck!

Weekly Dose of Cute

2011-04-13T23:08:00.000-04:00

I took Cinnamon to the vet today for his vaccination & was shocked to learn that he weighs 26 pounds! I knew he put on some weight during the long winter, since we hadn't been going on walks (he refuses to step foot -paw- outside if there's snow on the ground or it's raining), but I didn't realize just how much! I was doing so good keeping him at a healthy weight before. Well today we took two extra long walks (when it wasn't raining, of course) & he's now sound asleep on the bed. Tomorrow is the start of his diet. Poor puggy!

I've been selling a lot of clutter/junk on Amazon & eBay lately & found some pictures of Cinnamon on an old phone. Here's some shots from his skinny days. ;)

26 before 27

2011-04-10T23:00:00.001-04:00

Inspired by Elsie, I decided to make a '26 before 27' goal list to help me actually accomplish some of the things I've been putting off forever. I have this terrible problem with procrastination...when I was in school I would always put off doing projects until the very last day- one day even the morning it was due. But if my goals are on paper & you all can read them & hold me accountable, I'll do them! (Hopefully not all in March of next year..)

[1. Move into & decorate my first apartment (alone).

2. Get a new hairstyle.

3. Fashion style makeover.

4. Learn Photoshop.

5. Holga photoshoot.

6. Start doing yoga.

7. Cook more often.

8. Learn to sew.

9. Pay off credit card; work on school loan.

10. Take a road trip.

11. Draw more.

12. Repurpose / restyle something thrifted.

13. Craft at least once a week.

14. Have a birthday or 'gotcha day' party for Cinnamon.

15. Sell something from my shop!

16. Get 50 followers on my blog.

17. Participate in a craft fair.

18. Bake more often!

19. Work on my art journal.

20. Organize craft space.

21. Get rid of all craft supplies I no longer use.

22. Learn CSS / HTML- fix up my shop.

23. Get rid of all junk / clutter in my apartment.

24. Self publish a book of poetry.

25. Start camera collection.

26. Learn how to style photographs.]

The jelly beans are my first attempt at #26...I have a long way to go with that one! Sorry for the lack of posts- I've been going through some personal stuff {read: breakup} & have been trying to keep busy & haven't been home much. I've been pretty stressed with figuring stuff out. It seems my "can't live in any one place for longer than a year" curse struck again...though this will be my record (1 year & 2 months- the landlord never contacted us to renew the lease). I'm definitely excited at all the possibilities the future holds for me but kinda scared to live on my own. We'll see how it goes..

Business Advice

2011-04-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

Elsie has a great post on her blog today about how to get a lot of work done & still have time for a personal life. Check it out!

Piggy Birthdy Card

2011-04-02T12:18:00.000-04:00

I made this card and tag for Jose's niece (who's mom loves pigs!) for her first birthday. I loved making it & as soon as we come home from the party I plan on making lots more cards! :)

Supplies used:
* DCWV cardstock
* October Afternoon patterned paper (Ducks in a Row: Sleep Tight & This Little Piggy)
* Imaginisce B-Day Bash rub-ons
* Pink Paislee chipboard alpha in Limeade

P.S. Welcome to my new followers!
P.P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Fave Five: Umbrellas

2011-04-01T19:31:00.000-04:00

It's been yucky & rainy all day (but I'll take that over snow any day!) so I thought I'd share the five most awesome umbrellas I've seen lately. I think if I actually had one of these, I'd be excited if it rained so I could go show it off! I also added a couple different ones to my pinterest, so check that out too!

[Sources: Heart, Batman, Brass Knuckles, Sword, Dog]

Start to Draw Your Life

2011-03-30T22:59:00.000-04:00

This morning I came across a free ebook, Start to Draw Your Life & even though I haven't picked up a pencil & sketchbook in about 7 years, I was inspired to start drawing! I decided to use a pocket size sketchbook because I'm more likely to keep doing this if the drawings are small. I could easily spend hours trying to get something to look perfect but decided these were good enough for me. I'm going to share some drawings from time to time & the rest will be in my Flickr.

What are you waiting for? Check out the ebook & start drawing! If you'd like, please post a link to your drawings, so I can see!

Weekly Dose of Cute

2011-03-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

Before I finally was able to have a pug of my own, everyone would buy me pug plushies so I decided it would be cute to take a picture of Cinnamon with all of them.

He managed to knock some over before I took the picture but it still came out pretty cute. Then, when he thought I wasn't looking:

He stole one! I love how his eyes are shifted to the right as if he's trying to be sneaky! I hope everyone had a good weekend! I spent mine with friends, family & a delicious chocolate cake!

Enter my giveaway, please! :) (See post below!)

Giveaway!!

2011-03-27T19:48:00.001-04:00

I meant to post this on Friday, but had some PC issues (I miss my laptop!!). Forgive me?

To celebrate my 1 year blogoversary (which was back in January..), my birthday (tomorrow!) & the official beginning of my "business", I'm having a giveaway! It's super simple to enter- just leave a comment! One comment per person please. You don't have to follow my blog, but I'd love if you did! What's up for grabs? To start off..

A set of six 'Love Birds' tags!

An assortment of random stamps, found while purging! (Some of them may be lightly used.)

But that's not all!! For every 5 entries I'll add another prize. So if there's 10 comments at the end of May, the lucky person whose name I draw (with the help of a random number generator) will win 3 prizes (the first + another 1 for each 5 comments); if there's 20 comments, she'll win 5 prizes, etc. I will update this post with a picture of the next prize once we hit 10 comments. You have until May 31, 11:59pm (EST) to enter!

So tell your friends & start commenting! Good luck!

*ETA* Since I haven't been posting a lot this month & haven't really been "advertising" this giveaway & have a big move coming up, I've decided to extend this another month! I added another prize & will add more for every 5 comments.

Tutorial: Unique Business Cards

2011-03-23T21:42:00.002-04:00

For me, one of the most exciting parts of starting a business is deciding what kind of business cards to get. I knew from the beginning that I was going to get them printed on kraft paper, with pink ink. This was part of the reason it took me so long to get them done- no one seemed to be able to print business cards on kraft! I finally found an album from Checkerboard, at work, that was able to do this!

I had all these plans to do my own logo but eventually decided just to use text & got them thermography printed. They turned out just like I imagined & didn't cost a fortune. This brings me to the tutorial:

If you plan on making tags, like I did, ask the company to leave a little space on the side blank (I did 3/4"). Make sure to get a proof because nothing is worse than opening a box of business cards to find out they misspelled your name or copied down your phone number wrong!

I decided to make my business cards into tags, because my business is papercrafts so I thought the card would kind of speak for itself. I'm sure there are places where you can order cards already shaped like this & assembled, but this was definitely cheaper! I used Pink Sorbet bakers twine from The Twinery (by the way, if you place an order through March 27, they will donate 25% of all their sales to help Japan!) for my cards, but you can also use ribbon, yarn, scraps of cloth or whatever else you can think of!

A business card should not only tell people what you do, but show them, if possible, especially for those people who own creative businesses. If you sew, why not run the card through a sewing machine or add a couple of stitches by hand? If you design clothes, add a bit of your material to the card. Knit? Tie some yarn to the cards! Make jewelry? Print a picture of a face on your cards & add some "bling stickers" (I'm blanking on the actual name of these...will change this once I remember!) to the ears or necklace. If you're a writer, get cards that open up like a book, etc. So many possibilities!

For more inspiration, check out Lovely Stationery. They have tons of beautiful & creative business cards shown, though many look as though they cost a fortune! (I'd love to get letterpress business cards, but they're a little too out of my price range at the moment!) Please link up your cards here; I'd love to see!

{*All resources used are from the lovely Katrina!}

(ETA: I hope you all can see the text in the pictures...I'm super new to using Photoshop, templates & all that so I'm not sure how to make the pictures bigger. I added the pictures through Blogger's picture uploader.)

Weekly Dose of Cute

2011-03-22T20:50:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of Cinnamon meeting Gray Bear. We fostered two kittens for about a month after Christmas, who we found left behind when the first snowstorm hit. Their mom couldn't get back to them through all the snow & I found the poor things sitting in a bush, crying. We named them Gray Bear & Black Bear because they were so chubby & fluffy! With the help of our local animal shelter we were able to find homes for both of the kittens but I still miss having them around! (Though 4 cats & 1 dog in a tiny apartment is a little too much..)

I'll be back tomorrow with a tutorial!

A Major Makeover

2011-03-21T20:18:00.000-04:00

For my blog, that is. (I suppose I could use one too but this is cheaper!) I used a template & clip art from Pugly Pixel, textures & polaroid frames from fuzzimo, and Stamp Act & Impact Label for the fonts. (Thank you all so much for allowing free use of your resources!) I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Along with the visual makeover, there will also be a content makeover. I recently took Elsie's 'Blog Love' e-course & I've been thinking about what makes me love the blogs I read & here's what I've come up with:

* regular posting
* cute pug photos
* tutorials
* links to resources
* 'top ten' posts
* crafts!
* vintage stuff
* giveaways!

Based on this list, I'm implementing these changes:

~ I will post 4 times a week- I promise! Not planning on specific days at the moment, but at least 4 times, every single week!
~ At least once a week you will see a new picture of Cinnamon (maybe sometimes a peek of the cats too).
~ I will craft more often & share at least one new project a week (this doesn't seem like a lot compared to some of my favorite blogs but I don't want to set myself up for failure from the beginning so I'm starting slow!)
~ I'll do a weekly 'fave five' trends, products, books, accessories, etc. post.
~ I will have more giveaways! (Check back Friday for the first one!)
~ & since I've labeled myself an aspiring entrepreneur, once a week I will be sharing my experience in trying to start a business, from blog posts I've read to good websites or books. This will also be a good diary of sorts, for me to (hopefully) see how far I've come, in the future.

So, there you go. New blog, new plan; I'm so excited!

PinkPug,INK. Shop!

2011-02-08T02:23:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post today to let you all know that I've finally opened up an online shop. I was planning to open it back in November, but life got crazy.. then I aimed for the end of January & that didn't quite work out either. Oh well, better late than never right? I still have a lot of learning html/ css to go before I can customize it exactly how I want it to look (gotta fix up my blog too while I'm at it!), but that's part of the reason I've been putting it off, so finally I just figured it doesn't have to be perfect right away. I'm new to this; we all have to start somewhere.

You can check out my new shop here. If anyone has any comments or advice for me, I'd love to hear them/it!

An explanation...

2011-01-29T23:23:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed I kind of disappeared for a while...my laptop broke in December, work was crazy & I've had very limited access to the Internet (I'm probably the only one who doesn't have a 'smart phone'!) So the purpose of today's entry is to tell you what there is to look forward to.

First, remember when I did a CSN giveaway? That awesome online store where you can buy anything you can think of, from swingsets to pet products to bakeware? So this time around I'm going to do a review of one of their items- something that will relate to this blog, of course.

But that doesn't mean I've forgotten about you guys! To make up for not blogging so long & to celebrate my one year blogoversary (is that a word?) I'll also be doing a giveaway, very soon! So please check back here within the week!

Catching Fall

2010-11-30T21:07:00.000-05:00

Where has this month gone? I last posted in the first week of November, with the intention of blogging a lot more this month...but somehow that didn't happen. There was a lot going on for me; mainly, I started working again & it's a retail job so around the holidays the store is very busy & I've been working overtime. One of the other reasons I haven't been blogging as much, you'll find out soon! But for now, the last day of November, I wanted to share a recent project. I had to use old pictures because I haven't gotten my Thanksgiving pictures printed yet & wanted to give you an idea of what it would look like finished but didn't want to wait til December to post it!

The printers tray is by 7 Gypsies, papers, banner & word stickers by Lily Bee Design & the other stickers are K&Company. Here's some in progress shots & close ups:

First I cut my papers (& cardboard) to size & adhered to the tray.

Then added what is probably my favorite part of the whole thing: a leaf doily (from Dollar Tree). I positioned it over the tray where I wanted it to go & drew a light line with a pencil so I knew where to cut & adhered the pieces one section at a time.

The 'i am thankful' envelope was made from a piece of kraft cardstock; I simply traced a coin envelope & added a notch to the top. In this picture you can also see a better view of one of the banners. I stuck the Lily Bee stickers to cardstock to make them more sturdy & cut them out. Then I punched holes in the two top corners of each & joined them together with these K&Company brads in the shape of acorns & leaves. Aren't they adorable?

This is what's inside the envelope. I thought these stickers were perfect to write what we're thankful for. Jose has yet to fill his out, but he told me he's thankful for his family & pets too. :)

The paper with the 'piles of smiles' sticker on it, in the top left of the tray, is actually an accordion fold booklet that will hold some more mini pictures from this month. The pictures, envelope & booklet are adhered using pop dots so they pop out a little.

I'm still pretty shocked November is over already, though the light snow we had on Thanksgiving definitely got me excited for winter & Christmas. Next project: December Daily. :)

December Daily Foundation

2010-11-07T00:58:00.001-04:00

I decided to do a December Daily album this year. I tried to last year, but didn't have the foundation done before hand so it didn't quite work out. This year I took Ali's advice & made it early. I'm using an American Crafts 8x8 D-Ring cloth album. The cover isn't embellished yet, just in case the pages end up being too thick to fit ("That's what she said," yeah I've been watching "The Office" reruns..), but I plan on keeping it simple. I'm using red, green, pink & teal as my color scheme- might add in some brown too. The pages are 9x8 & mostly October Afternoon & Cosmo Cricket. I decided to do the dates back to back because I don't take that many pictures & one side should be enough. I might add in December 26-31 but haven't decided yet. The album came with 10 page protectors, which I think I'll sew across to make two pockets for extras or journaling cards for some of the days. For each day I also plan on having a piece of textured cardstock printed with a numbered overlay, but my printer is out of ink at the moment, so I'll have to wait to do that & will add pictures once it's done. Here's the book so far:

These last two pictures were of some fun Knock Knock Christmas cards I bought last year. Not sure where in the book they're going to be yet but I definitely want to include them.

Most of the papers I used were double sided & some weren't Christmas related so I made sure to use overlays after the backsides of pages that fit with my album. (Does that make sense?) I will probably stitch this together later.

For details on which paper is from which company, check out my Flickr. I used plain "reinforcement dots" (not sure what they're really called!) that I colored with colored pencils so the paper don't rip too easily, since I'm not using page protectors on the pages.

To make the tabs, I used two different images from Inkadinkado's Paperwork Greetings set & Martha Stewart ink. I love how they came out! The numbers are from Martha Stewart's Toy Transportation set, which I got on clearance at Marshall's for $1!! It took a while to cut out all those numbers!

I left the pages pretty plain for now so I can decide what embellishments work best with which photos & events of a certain day. I went through my supplies & pulled out a bunch of items I might want to use & put them in a basket so once December comes, it'll be really easy to complete a page each night. I'm glad I got this out of the way because I definitely need a break from this project.

Thank You Valerie!

2010-11-02T23:04:00.000-04:00

I was lucky enough to win Valerie's 200th post giveaway last week & received my prize today! Look at the super awesome handmade card she sent along with my package:

I love it! It's now on a shelf above my desk so I can be motivated to be a better papercrafter, like her! Valerie, what is that alphabet flower made from?

Behind the card is a Material Girl paper crafting kit- I already took out a couple sheets to use in my December Daily. Here's the rest of my loot:

Tim Holtz Configurations box, mini safety pins, mini paperclips, 10 blank tags & a cute matchbox of vintage words from Scrap Rat. Very excited to start using this stuff! I'm going to leave you off with a sneak peek of what I've been working on. Have a good night!

And the winner is..

2010-11-02T02:21:00.001-04:00

ETA: Lori, you still haven't contacted me with your email address, so I had to pick another winner! :( You can still email me when you see this & I'll send you something else, but the new winner is:

Debbie! Congrats! (Sent you an email & passed along your contact information already!)

First let me say hi & welcome to my new followers- it's great to have you ladies here! :) I have a lot of exciting things planned for the rest of the year & can't wait to share them with you all, but for now let's get to the winner of the giveaway!

I was looking through the comments & noticed there were a couple of double posts, so I deleted those & then noticed that one of the commentators who had a double post was also following my blog, so I thought that maybe one of those double comments was for that...& to be fair to everyone I had to do the drawing the old fashioned way...I'll try to be more clear with the directions for the next giveaway! Anyway, counting the one double post (that I deleted but thought it might be for following me) there were 12 entries:

I wish I could have gotten Cinnamon to help me pick the winner (since this is Pugs & Papercrafts after all) but he loves to eat paper & if I let him pick, he would have just gobbled up all the slips of paper & we still wouldn't know the winner. Instead I had to use Mittens, who was more than happy to help (& also tried to eat the paper after I took the picture..).

Congratulations Lori, you're the lucky winner of the $35 gift certificate! I sent you a message through Google, but in case you read this first, please send me your email address so you can receive your gift certificate code!

For everyone else, there will be lots more giveaways so don't give up hope! ;)

Last Halloween Post

2010-10-31T20:42:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share the rest of my Halloween projects for this year, before November starts! These were all made for challenges at 2Peas. I love, love, love this card that I made:

I used Pink Paislee patterned paper & alpha, Hambly overlay, Cosmo Cricket alpha & the super cute spider stickers are really old Marcella by K&Company. They're on springs!!

Next up is a card I made using my favorite Halloween collection- Spook Alley from Making Memories.

This tag uses some really old Martha Stewart papers & Studio G & Inkadinkadoo stamps.

The pumpkin is paper pieced. Love using this technique!

The last tag is double sided & also uses Spook Alley & some Hambly.

& that's it for Halloween stuff..hope everyone has a happy & safe Halloween!

If you haven't done so, enter the giveway!!

ETA: This is my 10th post this month; not too bad...my goal for November is going to be 20!

Weekend Giveaway!

2010-10-29T16:41:00.003-04:00

A rep from CSN Stores asked if I wanted to do a giveaway on my blog & after entering many of these giveaways at others' blogs', of course I said yes! :) They have over 200 stores, with tons of stuff for your home. You can get pet products, home decor, cookware or even furniture, like a bar stool. I especially love the art selection they have; it's so inspiring just to browse through all the different paintings & artwork! How cool is this?

This giveaway is for a $35 gift certificate (which does not cover international fees)! You have until 11:59PM on October 31 to enter. I will do a random drawing on Monday. Please make sure you leave your email so CSN can email you your gift certificate code!

Here's how to enter:
1. Leave me a comment, telling me what you would get if you win.
2. Make a card inspired by this image and leave me a link here.
3. Leave a comment on another post on my blog & come back & leave a link to your comment here.
4. Follow me! :)

So you have up to four chances to win! Please leave a separate comment for each entry. You don't have to follow me to win (it just gives you another chance!) but I'd love it if you do because I have lots of projects & tutorials & maybe even printables in store for the holidays! Please tell your friends to enter too! The more people that enter, the more often I'll be able to do giveaways! Good luck!!

Halloween Minicards- Set #2

2010-10-28T20:58:00.000-04:00

Today's set of minicards uses the same supplies (DCWV paper & Studio G stamps & inks) but the images are more "spooky". :)

I have one last set to share tomorrow, then a couple more last minute Halloween projects during this last week of October!

P.S. I finally got my copy of Creative, Inc. in the mail today! So excited to start reading it! :)

Halloween Minicards

2010-10-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

Another quick post today to show you a set of 4 Halloween minicards I made. I used DCWV paper & Studio G stamps & inks for these. They are so easy to make! Cutting out the images probably takes the longest, but you could always use a circle punch instead of detail cutting. These would make really cute tags or you could include them in goodie bags if you're having a party or handing out candy to trick-or-treaters!

I'll be back tomorrow with another set!

Halloween Shrine

2010-10-20T13:18:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post today to show you a quick & easy Halloween project. I bought the wooden box at AC Moore & painted it black. To decorate the outside I used some Martha Stewart tape, stars punched from Making Memories paper..

Target $1 paper & I think the RIP sticker is from K & Company.

The only photo I have of the front is blurry for some reason- sorry! (I sent this to a swap partner.)

For the inside I used a tombstone from Michael's (same as the ones I used for the haunted house; this one was left over & needed a home!), some moss, a skeleton hand from some skeleton garland from Dollar Tree & the moon and bat are attached with foam squares.

Quick & easy right?

Cinnamon Sparrow

2010-10-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

I realized I haven't posted a lot of pictures of Cinnamon recently, so since Halloween is coming up, here's some pictures from last year. He was Jack Sparrow.

I love the look on his face! I can't believe how much he's grown in a year!

I also loved how he closed his eyes, as if being a pirate was such hard work..

Yeah, the hat didn't stay on very long...he hates having anything on his head. We didn't do anything crazy for Halloween last year. Took Cinnamon & Natalia (Jose's younger sister) trick-or-treating & then came home & watched some scary movies. This year we got invited to a couple of Halloween parties but Jose doesn't want to go so we'll probably do the same thing as last year, except Cinnamon will be a lobster! I got the costume on clearance last year & tried to put it on him to see if it fit, but he thought it was a new toy (one of his favorite toys is his lobster!) so that didn't work out very well. We'll try this year & if that doesn't work, then I'll just take one of the {black}cats with me & be a witch. :)

Anyone have any good plans or costume ideas for Halloween?

By the way, Check out this amazing giveaway of Life. Camera. Actions. on Simple As That! http://rebeccacooper.blogspot.com

Haunted House

2010-10-12T01:20:00.000-04:00

Remember when I wrote I was really stressed out about work & how awesome Jose was about it? Well the other day I came home after an especially stressful day & Jose told me I shouldn't be working there anymore if I'm so unhappy. I don't normally quit a job unless I have another one ready, but it's been really bad. I don't want to bore you with the details, but I felt like I was being treated unfairly by the new manager & that he was being lazy & passing off his work to everyone else & taking the credit. Talking to the district manager didn't help because they've been friends for a while. Jose & I decided that with him working full time, we'll be ok even if I don't find a new job in the next couple of months, but I'm sure I will since everyone will be hiring for Christmas. Actually my plan is to apply to Joann's (since I shop there all the time- might as well be working at a place I love! Too bad there's no Michael's nearby!) & if I don't get hired, I'll apply for unemployment & then I'll have some more time to look for a job. It's amazing how happy I feel now that I'm not working at that horrible job anymore! Stress definitely isn't healthy!!
Ok, back to the crafts...I'm going to share with you my favorite Halloween project ever- complete with step-by-step photos!

I made this Haunted House last year for a swap partner on Craftster. I had so much fun making this; it was really hard to send it away! The first thing I did was make up a template- I borrowed the basic shape from a sticker sheet I got at the Dollar Tree & just drew out a template on a piece of cardboard, changing a couple of things until I was happy with the look.

Then I traced my template twice onto a piece of foam (I guess that's what it's called?) & for the sides, top & bottom of the house I just cut out different sizes of rectangles (can't remember the measurements!). I used super glue to glue it all together & let it dry. Here's a really blurry picture of one of the bottom corners of the house.

Oh, I forgot the mention, I decided that I would put string lights inside the house, so I had to cut a little "mousehole" in the back so the light could be plugged into an outlet.

Next came the fun part- glitter! I used Martha Stewart's Onyx glitter. I smeared glue in small sections at a time to make sure there was enough glitter (& not too much mess!) and so that the glue didn't dry.

I left the top off of the house while doing this part so it was easier to hold it steady. Here's the house all glittered up!

Love how sparkly it looks! Once it was dry, I put in the (purple!) string lights

and glued on the roof, which was cut from a suede type paper- not sure of the technical name for this; I bought it at Joann's along with the foam board!

The final step was to glue the whole thing down to a piece of black poster board and add the cemetery in front & some moss in between the tombstones.

And here's a final look at my finished haunted house:

Unfortunately I couldn't get any good shots with the string lights on. Hope you enjoyed my first "tutorial"! If anyone has any questions please ask & I'll do my best to answer. Also, if any of you makes a haunted house this year, I'd love to see it so link it up here!

Small break from Halloween crafting..

2010-10-03T00:19:00.000-04:00

So I didn't quite finish the card set for my boyfriend's sister, but I did get something done for WCMD! I made this card for a challenge at Betsy Veldman's blog. The challenge was to take a non-holiday card from Card Creations Vol. 8 & make a holiday card based on that design. I decided to use this card by Renee Morris:

and here is what I came up with:

I kept the card pretty similar. I was inspired by the text background & the three elements (trees). To make mine, I used some inked paper from October Afternoon's "Very Merry" collection as a background. Then I added some lace, chipboard & cutout Gingerbread men & Mini Market stickers for the sentiment. The finishing touch was the obligatory bling for the cookie's buttons. :)

P.S. Don't worry, I still have lots more Halloween stuff to share this month before really getting into the holiday projects!

Happy World Card Making Day!

2010-10-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

To celebrate, I'm going to share with you the two latest cards I made. The first one I made for my boyfriend because he's been really supportive while I've been complaining about work & getting depressed.

It's a small 3x3 card. I used patterned papers from Pink Paislee's Queen Bee collection & the stamps are from Inkadinkadoo.

The next card was made for my boyfriend's sister, to cheer her up as she's recovering from surgery.

Again, I used Pink Paislee's Queen Bee collection papers & stamps from Inkadinkado. I really need to learn to take straighter pictures!!

That's it for today...when I get back from work, I'll be spending the day making a set of cards for my boyfriend's other sister, whose birthday is tomorrow!

I hope everyone has a lovely day & has time to make lots of cards!

Halloweens' Past Minibook

2010-10-01T12:17:00.001-04:00

Can you believe it's October already? I have no idea where this year went...I feel like it was just June last week..well maybe it's a good thing- the faster October goes, the faster I'll be done with my class (I'm taking a Pharmacy Certified Tech class at the county college) & the faster I'll be able to get a new job! Work has been really stressful lately & I've been getting a lot less hours, which adds to the stress since I've been trying to pay off my school loan & start saving for a house.
With all the extra time off, I've been scrapbooking a lot; trying to get better.( I usually put the pictures on my Flickr, so if I don't post here, that doesn't mean I haven't been busy crafting!) I've got lots of Halloween projects to share with you this month & probably some non-Halloween ones, as there's a couple birthdays this month that require some handmade cards!
To start off October, here's some pictures of my favorite recent project, Halloweens' Past minibook. You can see all 30 at my Flickr.

For the pages I used mostly Pink Paislee, with some Hambly thrown in. Supplies used on each page are listed in my Flickr. I'd love to know what you all think so please let me know! :)

Shopping Spree

2010-09-13T23:39:00.001-04:00

I had a great weekend! I went on a mini shopping spree, by accident. It started when Jose & I went to Target to get cat litter (we have two kittens now, but that's going to be a different post!). I haven't been there since April, when I decided not to spend any more money on craft supplies since I had so much I wasn't even using at home. Recently I paid off one credit card & one of my school loans so I thought it would be ok to reward myself. :) First, here's what I found in the Dollar Section:

Look at all this! I love the cute dry erase board. Then I went to the craft section & found some Making Memories stuff on clearance!

Aren't those clocks awesome?? & I always love alphas. Then we went to Marshall's because Jose needed to buy a dress shirt for an interview. There was Martha Stewart stuff on sale there!

The punch was only $2.99, the stamp set $1.99 & the buttons $1.50! So then I decided that I needed to visit some other Targets & Marshall's for more great sales. I found more Making Memories stuff in the other two Targets I went to. This is from the Passport collection (wish I had this stuff when I made those cards from the Passport Page Kit!). Can you believe those prices?? The suitcase was $5.98, the clips & the flowers were $1.04 & the stickers were only 98c!! Do I sound excited? I bought everything I saw on the shelf. :)

This was from the Flea Market collection (& some random alphabet stickers). Also some great deals...$1.57 for that awesome embellishment pack? & only 54c for those stickers? Yeah that's definitely a bargain.

Here's what else I got from Marshall's:

The punches were $3.99 & the scissors $1.99! I had actually gone to A.C. Moore & bought that same doily lace punch (except it was white) for $7.50 (using a 50% off coupon) but this was such a better deal! I also bought an album & a rotary cutter which I didn't take pictures of. I was excited to find the cutter because a while ago I purchased two blade replacements that the package said could be used without the handle but didn't quite work too well; now I can finally use them!
I love all my new stuff! I've even started using most of it..I made a couple of cards & altered a container that I'll be showing you soon. For now, have a good night!

"Making Memories Passport Page Kit" Cards

2010-09-02T21:06:00.000-04:00

We're supposed to be hit by Earl tomorrow.

"A TROPICAL STORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD... ESSEX... HUDSON... UNION... SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER... NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)... BRONX... RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)... KINGS (BROOKLYN)... QUEENS AND NASSAU." ~weather.com

I think we live far enough from the water to have any real damage & live in an apartment so don't really have to worry. I wouldn't mind my store being closed though...but that's wishful thinking because it never closes! I'm looking forward to it cooling down a little- we also had an Air Quality Alert for today, which means that the ground level ozone was exceeding unhealthy standards; we spent the whole day inside, Cinnamon didn't even get to go on his walks.

He actually spent most of the day sleeping & so did Jose. I was working on a Halloween mini book that I want to enter in a challenge at The Studio. I got most of it done, just need to add some finishing touches & I'll be able to link it up tomorrow, just in time for the deadline! But more on that another day...tonight I wanted to share a set of cards I made from the Making Memories Passport Page Kit. I picked this up on sale at Target a while back & I've been hoarding it ever since! I've never used just items form the same collection but I thought it would be a fun challenge for myself to see if I could make 4 different cards (& not only travel based ones). This kit turned out to be pretty versatile. Here's what I came up with:

I decided I did need to do some kind of travel card & I thought a 'happy honeymoon' card would be cute. Wedding cards are so overrated. ;) The tag was actually a sticker which I stuck down on some cardstock & then cut out so that I would use foam dots to attach it. I also tried to do a little cluster with some other stickers & the flower.

This one is my favorite of the four. I'm starting to really like using flowers on cards & layouts!

I liked that the colors in this collection were soft enough to use on a baby card, though I'm not totally happy with how it turned out.

Lastly I made this simple thank you card. I tried to do some layering here, though it's hard to tell because I layered with stickers & paper. Here's a picture of what was included in the kit:

The only supplies I added was the ribbon (which is also Making Memories), the "diecut tape" from the Dollar Tree (love that stuff!) & the brad (K & Company i think) & button (also MM). Thanks for stopping by!

Cinnamon's Story & Some Layouts

2010-09-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

I've been doing lots of crafty stuff this past month so I have tons to share with you! I also decided that I should try to blog more often now that I'm getting more followers. :) Today I'm going to share some layouts that I did recently.

This layout was made for a challenge at A Cherry On Top. It's a scraplift off of one of the DT members layouts. I was really happy with how it came out & loved all the colors together. & I really love this picture of Cinnamon. :) I decided that this didn't need any journaling because it was pretty self-explanatory.

I'm going to have to update this post with all the supplies I used because I misplaced my note that had everything written on it!

This next layout didn't come out that great, but I'm pretty new to this so it's ok.

This is about the first day we got Cinnamon- the happiest day of my life! I don't know if you can tell from the look on my face but I was beyond happy!! We had to go pick him up from the airport & the plane was delayed so we had to wait about an hour. When I walked up to the counter & saw little baby Cinnamon in his travel crate, I pointed at him in case my boyfriend hadn't noticed him yet & started crying. Happy tears, of course! I had been waiting for an extremely long time to get a pug & it was finally going to happen! I took a vacation from work that week so I could be home with him. He was a handful! He'd sleep for four hours, & then run around & cause mischief for the next four. I was so amazed at how much energy this little thing had (I still am)! Every time I look at my little monster, I'm filled with love & happiness, no matter what else is going on in my life. Sometimes he's a little devil but he knows I can't stay mad at him for too long, especially when he comes over & covers me with kisses! :) I'm going to leave you with my favorite picture from Cinnamon's first week with us.

SillyBandz cards!

2010-08-02T21:14:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged all month but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting! I have lots of new stuff to share! Today I'm going to show you 4 cards I made for the "Card Style Fun & Cute Challenge at Moxie Fab World". I was going to try the other three categories too but couldn't come up with any good ideas for them. Anyway, I've had these SillyBandz since before they became so popular & I've been meaning to use them for some kind of craft & I thought they'd be perfect for a fun & cute card! Here they are:

Here's a view from the side. The speech bubbles are attached with pop dots.

I don't know if this last one really fits with the soft color scheme of the other three, but I really wanted to make a set of four.

The background papers are "Lovely" by Lily Bee Design & the graph paper is Scenic Route.

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T00:27:00.000-04:00

Wanted to wish everyone a happy & safe 4th of July & share some Etsy finds I've been wisting after this weekend. Enjoy!

Love this print by Roadside Photographs! I'm very into bright colors lately!

The skulls totally make this bunting by carouselbelle stand out.

I've been into burlap & Americana lately, so this pillow by My Adobe Cottage is right up my alley.

These soaps by A Breath of French Air almost look like they could be real watermelon.

I really want this ring by Liz Hutnick...unfortunately I'm on a budget. Anyone want to buy it for me? :)

Two More Bicycle Cards!

2010-06-28T23:34:00.000-04:00

Here's the other two cards I made to go with the one from my previous post, for the "I Want to Ride my Bicycle" Challenge at Moxie Fab World.

Again, I used Lily Bee Design "Hello Sunshine" papers, Colorbok "Friendly Forest" paper, Magnetic Poetry stamps, Inkadinkado "Bicycle" stamp, & I'll have to look up where the Congratulations came from. I know it was on a set of stamps for new mothers...I'll find out tomorrow!

Here's the second card:

I used the same supplies & the "Journey" stamp is from Studio G (love those $1 stamps!!). I hope I'm not too late to link these up!

Make A Wish

2010-06-23T23:29:00.001-04:00

I'm blogging again, the third day in a row! Today I wanted to share the card I made for the "I Want To Ride My Bicycle" Challenge over at Moxie Fab World. I used the "Hello Sunshine" collection from Lily Bee Design (which I won from 2Peas...did I mention how much I love them?). The first picture is the outside of my card & the second is the inside.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. Jose even told me that it looked "really professional"! That's a great compliment since I haven't made too many cards yet; it's nice to know I'm making progress! I never really liked bright colors but I do now!
In addition to the Lily Bee papers, I also used some older Colorbok, "Friendly Forest" paper, lace from Dollar Tree (best store ever!!), my awesome Magnetic Poetry stamps & the bicycle is a stamp from Inkadinkado, which I found buried with other sale stamps at AC Moore a long time ago & never used. Thanks Cath for inspiring me to finally use it! I actually loved how this came out so much, I ended up making 2 more cards, but I'll share those a different day.

P.S. There's still time to enter the challenge! You have until June 28 to link up your bicycle projects to the Moxie Fab site!

My 'Lil Love Pug

2010-06-22T12:33:00.002-04:00

I'm back, as promised, to share my mixed media book. I made this for the {free} May "A Mini Album a Month" class from 2Peas. It was my first time making something like this...actually the first time I've ever "scrapbooked" anything even. I tried to make a mini book for Christmas but gave up on it halfway through because it wasn't coming out too good. I'm so glad I finished this one! Oh & I just found out I won a 2Peas gift certificate (only 3 other people entered this month but I'm still excited to win)! :) I love 2Peas...there's so much inspiration in the gallery & they always have awesome sales. I already picked out some stuff I wanna buy with my GC! Anyway, on to the book...brace yourself, there's a lot of pictures!

The journaling reads, "Cinnamon is my lil' love pug because he was born, just for me, on February 14, 2009. He's the best gift I've ever received!"

Journaling reads, "Anytime I feel sad, I just look at my lil' monster & I feel better. I wake up with a smile, cause he's licking my face. He makes me laugh when he eats things like grass or dust. I love falling asleep with him snoring beside me. <3"

If you look closely, you can see some dust sticking out of his mouth...this picture was taken shortly after we got him. He would run around the house & hide under tables & try to eat dust! I guess he was telling me I should clean more often? ;)

Journaling reads, "I love how I can always tell what he's thinking, because of the look on his wrinkly face."

This was the first page I made. It's blue to match his beautiful blue eyes. :)

Lil' Stinker is one of our favorite nicknames for Cinnamon, though now that he's a little older we just call him Stinky. I'm sure you can guess why this name is fitting... ;)

To make the album, I just cut some cardboard & overlays to the size I wanted. Here's what I used: Colorbok, "Forest Friends" photo mats, paper & label; Collage Press, "Seeds" cardstock; Making Memories ribbon & button; Hambly, "Clearly Heavy", "3/4' graph" & "Chic Circles overlays; My Mind's Eye, "Paris & Co." paper; Martha Stewart "Classic Butterfly" & "1 Inch Circle" craft punches; Fiskars "1.5 Inch" Squeeze Punch; Sakura Gelly Roll pen; Sharpies; and the rest of the products were from Dollar Tree or the dollar section in Target. There's definitely some things I would change, but since it was my first time making a mixed media book, overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I definitely want to make more! Just gotta get more pictures printed!

Why I've been M.I.A.

2010-06-21T21:03:00.000-04:00

It's been an extremely long time since I last blogged..there was a lot going on. I didn't blog in March because it was just the worst month I've had in my whole life. It was my last month being 24 & everything that could go wrong, did. I comforted myself by thinking that it's all happening now, so that 25 will be the best year ever! What went wrong you ask? Lots, but the one thing I'll share is that we had not one, not two, but three floods in the basement apartment we were renting & the landlord refused to do anything about it so we had to find a new place to live. (They did end up paying for our damaged furniture though.) We moved in April to an awesome one bedroom apartment, extremely close to the park & my job! Oh, & the best part about it?? There's two pugs that live across the street!!!! :) They're two girls named Mamba & Seven & Cinnamon is terrified of them at the moment, but I'm hoping he'll get used to them & they'll become friends!

I despise packing & unpacking (since I've had to do so 6 times in the past 5 years & that's not even counting this one..) but it eventually got done, with Cinnamon's help.

Haha..the little Stinker loves to hide in enclosed spaces. He also took a long nap in the closet while I was hanging up clothes. The place is pretty small but it's enough for us since we're trying to save money & know we'll only be here 2 years max (maybe this place will break my curse of having to move every year?) because...WE'RE MOVING TO FLORIDA! :)

I went to visit my friend at the end of March & looked at houses while I was there. I showed Jose pictures & told him all about how cheap it is & he got really excited! We decided that there's no way we can start a family in Jersey since we would never be able to afford a house & we definitely want a backyard for the Monster & future kid(s) to play in. Also while I was in Fl, my friend let me borrow this awesome book, called "Total Money Makeover". It made me realize that I really need to get rid of my debt to lead a less stressful life. So we've been doing really good at budgeting our money & I haven't been spending money on things that aren't necessary. My school loans should be paid off within a year, then the year after that we'll be saving for a down payment on a house! We're both really happy where our lives our heading & I definitely think that I've matured so much & I'm loving being 25!

April was pretty much spent unpacking. It took so long because I didn't have any vacation time until June so I was working a lot & again, I hate unpacking! Before we started budgeting ourselves, we made several (successful) trips to Ikea & Walmart & Dollar Tree to get stuff for the new place. I also spent a lot of time trying to organize a corner of our bedroom into my craft space. I love that all my stuff has a specific place & I can easily find it. I'll share pictures soon!

In May I did do some crafting, but overall didn't feel very creative & just worked long hours in order to pay off my bills faster, so was too tired to do anything but spend time with my family when I got home. (We watched all of Prison Break, Arrested Development & now started watching 24 on Netflix.)

In June, there was a lot of changes at work (the manager got fired, among other things) so the DM did the schedule & messed everything up. For the past two years I've working morning shifts & this month I've had to close so much & as a result didn't feel like blogging since I haven't been in the best mood.

Since my new-found thriftiness I've also had to give up a couple goals I planned for this year. I can't buy Photoshop or take any classes (to learn crochet, etc.), but I did find an awesome site, Picnik, which is so easy to use (& FREE) so I think I'll last without Photoshop for two more years. & instead of learning new things, I'll just work on getting better at making cards & entering lots of challenges. In fact I need to do that now, but I'll be back later to show you all the awesome mixed media book I made with pictures of my baby!

Baby's Birthday

2010-02-25T01:43:00.001-05:00

Finished up another card today! This one is for my boyfriend's sister, for when she has her baby girl.

I used a sketch from Pamela Maas of 365 Cards. The card is made with some cute paper from the DCWV Nursery stack, ribbon, "bling" & I can't remember where the calendar stamp is from.

I distressed the edges of the papers a little, with my fingernail, to give it a bit of a worn look. The green ribbon is from the packaging of some Lindt chocolate- (used the back so you can't see the logo) I save everything!

Here you can see better detail of the stamp. I'm going to circle the baby's birth date when she is born & give it to the new mommy. :) The due date is March 27th (a day before my birthday!) but we'll see what happens.

I should have another new card to show tomorrow!

Sew Happy Together

2010-02-23T19:10:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while because work got in the way...I guess part of the reason is also that I've been playing 'Dragon Age' nonstop...but I did manage to make this card for a Moxie Fab challenge.

The challenge was to use embroidery floss. I'm pretty new to making cards so I've never used it before. I decided to challenge myself & use it as many ways possible. First I wrapped the floss on the front of the card to make a plaid background. Then I looped the floss to make a flower on the button stack in the corner. & since it matched with the "stamp" accent, I decided to glue some floss, which is trailing from the needle, to the card. I think it came out good for being about the 5th card I've ever made. :)

I'd love to know what you all think!

P.S. To the winners of my OWOH giveaway: I'm sorry I haven't mailed your prizes yet! Everything's packed up but the post office is always closed when I get out of work...I will be sending tomorrow!

Cinnamon's birthday & OWOH Winners!

2010-02-15T20:49:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! Jose & me went to Medieval Times with my parents on Saturday & had a lot of fun! The knight our section was supposed to be cheering for won! :) We took pictures but they didn't come out so good so I'll have to attempt to fix them up before sharing with you.

Sunday was Cinnamon's birthday but unfortunately I felt a cold coming on when I woke up so I took some medicine, which knocked me out for pretty much the whole day. Cinnamon must have been feeling it too because he snuggled up by me & slept the whole day too!

When we woke up this morning I baked Cinnamon some muffins

(instead of a cake since that would have been way too much for him to eat alone!) made with oats, carrots & applesauce. I put some more applesauce on top instead of making frosting since we don't know if he's lactose intolerant. The muffins didn't come out as pretty as I would have liked but Cinnamon like them so that's all that matters. Here's my little Stinker patiently waiting for his Momma to finish baking his special treats:

& him scarfing down the muffins! I had to cut them up for him because Cinnamon is not really a fan of chewing his food before swallowing..

I also wanted to announce the winners from my giveaway! Congratulations to Jasmine, Kaci Marie & Jacquelyn! I decided to give away two sets of tags & some random scrapbooking stuff from my stash. I had so much fun visiting everyone's blogs (I made it to about 1000 of them before the deadline!) & will definitely be doing this again. Now that this is over I plan on visiting the blogs again & taking the time to look around more. Thanks again, Lisa, for this wonderful idea! :)

Inchie Love

2010-02-10T14:49:00.002-05:00

You finally get to see my inchies today! I decided to change one of the sets I made for the swap, because it didn't come out too well, otherwise I would have shared them a couple of days ago. We had to make 49 inchies in total & send 7 to each one of 7 partners. Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I decided to go with an overall theme of 'LOVE' for all the sets & then for each set I tried to convey the different aspects of love. Each set uses different embellishments, but I had trouble making the individual inchies in each set different from each other, so some sets have 7 of pretty much the same inchie. Anyway, here's what they look like:

These are the two sets in which all 7 inchies are different:

And here's some close up's with a description of how I made them!

This set has polka dot paper & heart tissue paper as a background. I punched a hole in the corner, added an eyelet & tied on some 'ribbon/tinsel', then stamped the Chinese character for love in the middle. The edges were then inked.

* The one on the left is just some book text with a picture cut out from some awesome wrapping paper I've been hoarding. Then I wrote the word that was written beneath each image on the wrapping paper, on the inchie & outlined the picture with pink pen (Now that I think about it, I probably should have outlined it with glitter. :/ Oh well.) & inked the edges. This set is named 'Passion'.

* The one on the right is some cardstock with some trim on top & stamped with some very cool stamps from Magnetic Poetry. I, then wrote a word underneath the stamp to finish the thought & rounded the corners on the bottom. This set was called 'Words'. It would've been 'More Than Words', but that (along with PinkPug,INK. & the date) was way too much to write on the back of a 1x1 space!

* The one on the left is vintage Japanese text with a felt, sequined heart embellishment, that I ripped off a bracelet. The 'stitches' & squiggles are done with a Sharpie & the edges were inked. This set is named 'Love'. It was the first set I made, so I think it came out the best too!

* The one on the right is three different ribbons glued on the cardboard base & then inked edges. I saw the ribbon idea in a 2 Peas card making class & loved it! I named this set 'Romance'.

* The one on the left is My Mind's Eye patterned paper, with the edges cut with scalloped scissors & a heart brad in the middle. Super simple, but cute. :) The set is named 'Crush'.

* The one on the right is a cross stitched heart in a cardstock frame. These took forever to make! I thought it would be quick since the heart is so little but there was so many stitches...I'm definitely not cross stitching anything for a while. The set was appropriately named 'Heart'. (Would've been 'Have a Heart', but again, too much to write in such a small space!)

I'd love to hear what you all have to say about my inchies! By the way, I've gone through about half the listings in the One World One Heart event...so many awesome giveaways! I only have 4 more days to get through the other half!

Fairy Wing & Cupcake Onesies

2010-02-05T23:03:00.001-05:00

I finished all 49 inchies for my first ever Inchie Swap- but couldn't take any pictures today. I'll probably post them either tomorrow or Sunday. Today you get to see some onesies that I stenciled for a co-worker's baby shower. I used the freezer paper stencil method to make these.

I really love the fairy wings one. :) I did a Google search for fairy wings & looked at all of them for ideas, then just kind of combined them to draw my own version. I stenciled the wings on the back of the onesie, so when the baby is laying on her stomach, you can see the wings!

I based the cupcake one off of a Studio G stamp. I wasn't really too happy with it because I found it difficult to cut out letters with an Exacto knife. Also, the white glitter paint didn't show up too well, but I didn't have any other colors of paint that went well with pink & purple.

I had so much fun making these! I even made myself a stenciled shirt after I made these (with a picture of Adam Lambert since that season of American Idol was showing at the time I made the onesies) which didn't come out too good because the only light purple T-shirt I found was kinda ribbed. I suppose I could've used a different color, but I felt that Adam deserved to be on a purple one..anyway let me know what you think of these; I might make some for my boyfriend's sister's new baby!

P.S. Welcome to my new followers! It's so nice to see the number grow each day & even better to read all your sweet comments! Thank you! I hope everyone is having fun with the One World One Heart blog event- I've only gone through about 400 blogs so far & more are being added to the list constantly!

ONE WORLD ONE HEART- Ride the Magic Carpet!

2010-02-02T15:09:00.001-05:00

* UPDATE *

Since I've gotten over 100 comments I decided to add another prize! The second name chosen by the random number generator will win a surprise assortment of random scrapbooking stuff from my stash!

I recently found out about this awesome blog event created by Lisa Swifka. She's been hosting this international event since 2007 & helping bloggers meet new friends & visit new blogs they might not have seen otherwise. There's over 900 people already participating this year! I've only gone through about 1/4 of the links & I've found some wonderful new blogs to follow & some extremely talented people!

WELCOME!

On this stop of your magic carpet ride, you're visiting Pugs & Papercrafts. As the name implies, my blog is all about those two things. I adore pugs & share pictures of my baby, Cinnamon from time to time & I love paper crafts and post pictures of my latest creations. This year I want to learn a lot of other things like crochet & Photoshop, so I might venture away from paper crafts, but that's always going to be a big part of what I do. :) Now on to the giveaway!

I made this set of 6 tags just for one lucky winner!

You will get two Valentine's Day tags..

..two St. Patrick's Day tags:

..and two Easter/Spring tags.

These are all made with cardstock, My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Studio G stamps & inks & twine.

Here's what you need to do to enter:

RULES:

* All you need to do is leave me a comment below this post. Since I'm new to this whole blog thing, please let me know what I can do to make this blog more interesting to you or if you have any ideas of what you'd like to see crafted! :)

* You don't have to be participating in OWOH yourself to enter my giveaway, but you do need to have a blog, since this is a blog event!

* Make sure you leave your email address or link to your blog so I can contact you if you are the winner!

That's it! You have until February 14, midnight (my time) to comment. I will pick the winner using a random number generator & will contact him/her by the evening of the 15th. & of course I'll ship this internationally if necessary. I look forward to reading your comments!

GOOD LUCK! Now on to the next stop on your magic carpet ride..

Chunky Pages!

2010-01-31T20:16:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on a couple of projects I can't post pictures of yet, but in the meantime I wanted to share some things I've made last year...we'll start with- Chunky Pages! I had so much fun making these! They were for a swap & each of my partners picked a theme that I had to use when making my pages.

This is the first chunky page I ever made, entitled "In the Stars". The theme was astrology.

Background is painted, the picture is cut out from Cardano's Cosmos & colored, can't remember where I got the hand from..then I added some stickers & punched a hole in the corner, through which I tied some ribbon & a moon charm. & here's the back:

Next up is one of my favorites. The theme was Edward Gorey & I named this one "Death at Sea".

I used the letter "M" from Gorey's book, "The Gashlycrumb Tinies", & replaced the character's name with my partner's username. You can't really tell from this picture but the girl is stuck onto the page with foam dots so she stands out.

Hope you liked them; I'll share more another day!

Cinnamon won a toy!

2010-01-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't yet know, I have the cutest, smartest little pug named Cinnamon. I wanted to share this picture, which my brother took of Cinnamon on Christmas Eve.

The giant rawhide bone was actually a gift for my brother's dog, Lex, but Cinnamon saw it first & decided he wanted to play with it. I love this picture, so when PugSpot (an awesome site which is like a Facebook for pugs) recently had a giveaway to win a Kong toy, I entered this picture as Cinnamon's favorite toy....& won! Yay! Cinnamon is very excited & can't wait to get his prize in the mail! Thanks PugSpot! :)

Vintage Valentine Surprise

2010-01-29T16:43:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted anything since my first post because I've been working on several swaps, challenges & learning how to use Photoshop Elements 8. I downloaded the trial version & I'm loving it so I'll be ordering it soon! After I learn the basics, I want to make my own background for my blog & begin to learn to design some digital scrapbooking stuff- so be on the lookout for some freebies while I learn! :)

Anyway, today I want to share my entry to the Craftster.org Valentine's Altered Matchbox Challenge. The requirements were that the matchbox had to be 2x3, mostly papercraft & the inside had to include a surprise. I decided to go with a vintage theme since I've been obsessed with that lately. I didn't have a matchbox that size so I used a template which I modified to make the correct size. I tried to make everything I could out of paper. Here's how it turned out:

Here's what you see when you slide open the matchbox...

What could possibly be behind that curtain? There's a little clue, but if you haven't figured it out yet...

The surprise is that the outside is nice & the inside is naughty! ;) Definitely not something you would expect from such a mellow looking (outside) package..

Her tassels are made from thread & I got the tiny play money at my favorite website to buy tiny things. :)

Here's a closeup of the inside:

This was my first altered matchbox, so I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Introduction!

2010-01-07T19:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome! My name is Milena & for my first post I'm going to tell you a little about what I hope to accomplish with this blog.

I've always been a creative person (thanks to my Mom) & took art classes all through school. I love it all- painting, drawing, altered art, stamping, you name it, I've probably done it. Recently I've gotten really into scrapbooking & card making. There are always challenges going on on different blogs so I need a place to store all my entries & hopefully push me to enter more often. I plan on learning to do digital scrapbooking & maybe even learn to make my own papers & elements for that as well. I love doing swaps on Craftster.org so you'll probably see a lot of the things (mostly papercraft related) I make for my partners on here too. This year I also plan on taking some classes at Joann's or ACMoore to learn new crafts & techniques, such as crochet. I've read books & looked at tutorials but cannot figure it out on my own so I'm hoping a class will help. There might be some pictures of the love of my life, my pug, Cinnamon thrown in too, for good measure.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoy going on this journey with me & I hope I can inspire someone else out there! :)