Cards, Cards, and more Cards!

Sorry about the long absence lately!  It has been a crazy couple of weeks of me scrambling to find every single nano-second of free time to make cards!  My friend's boutique opens on the 16th to the public, so I have to get all of the cards (160 of them to be exact) to her ASAP!    I had a blast creating these, especially the bright, cheerful baby/kid ones!  all-in-all there are several different themes and 2-5 cards for each design. There will be 40 different designs total! That's a lot of designs!  How about a little sneak peek at some of them!?

  I LOVE this one, it was my first design for the whole set.  I used polka-dotted window sheets punched with the same punch as the patterned butterflies to add a layer of interest.  don't you LOVE the pleated ribbon!  Too cute!

I Used a Stampin' Up! Cupcake punch for this one!  and of course I had to add some sparkly glitter! =)

Both of these are Lovey-dovey mushy cards, great for any special occasion! I love using glitter paper to accent and make a bold statement on a dramatic card.

This is a cheerful wedding card.  I made these 5-1/4 x 5-1/4 square.  The letters are all die cut on the Big Shot.

A lovely little friendly card with a little bling.

A sweet-as-sugar baby card for a little girl! I am planning to make a boy version of this as well!

This one was made using a gift tag as the centerpiece.  more cute ribbon here too.

This one is very simple, with lots of bright colors.  Would be great for a little girl's birthday!

These last two are my most recent.  The pennant banner punch really gives this card a whimsical feel!  One for a girl, and one for a boy!

Another project I worked on recently was making some metal art with the Big Shot!  My friend, Jeannette taught a class on making all kinds of art out of thin metal roof flashing, using the Big Shot dies and embossing folders!  She even spray painted some of the metal.  The class was so much fun, and I can't wait to try doing it again.  Here is a photo of my project:

Cute huh?  The Big Shot really is a versatile tool! 

Hope you all have a great day!!!

I got an award!

Today I received a Liebster Blog Award from Tori @ Oh Craft!!  This award is given to bloggers who have under 200 followers, and passed around to others who also have less than 200 followers! What a great way to spread the word about great blogs! 
Alright so as with everything there are a few rules to follow when you receive a Liebster Award. Here they are:

1. Post about your win on your blog

2. Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award: Oh Craft! (be sure to follow me! Check out my Facebook and Twitter too!)

3. Copy and past the award button to your blog.

4. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have fewer than 200 followers that you think deserve to be recognized.

5. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.  

 

Here are 5 that I think you might enjoy!

 

1. A Creative Cookie

2. All I Create

3. Worley House

4. Turning This Into That

5. The Potter's Place

Gratitude

 Source: Here

Source: Here

I am overwhelmed with gratitude today! Gratitude for this blogger. You see I have had this blog for 3 years, and for most of that time it was neglected. mostly because I was pregnant, and then after the baby came I wasn't sure exactly what the blog was going to be for. I would post a photo or two of craft projects I had worked on, and months would go between each post. Well a couple months ago I decided that it was time for me to share my love of handmade cards and crafting. A huge motivating factor came from my friend who offered me a place to sell my cards in her new boutique. She thought my cards were beautiful, and she wanted to buy them! I have been making cards for over 10 years, but never really took the idea of trying to sell them seriously... Until now! I began looking at my blog in a whole new light. I had been reading lots of creative DIY blogs, and saving photos of card ideas that inspired me. I made a Facebook page to promote my handmade cards, and I even signed up to attend a Conference in Utah all about blogging so that I could learn more and meet some of my favorites! I met some amazing women at the conference. The very first class I attended was on blogging basics. I was soaking it all in and decided to ask the panel of top bloggers a question. What could it hurt right? After all this is why I was here. "What advice would you have for someone like me who is brand new to all of this? I only have 3 followers, and I want to learn more". I wrote down notes and enjoyed all of the great advice. The next evening, after dinner was the Queen Bee Market event and Wei did some serious shopping through the handmade vendor booths! I was by myself just browsing when Kari came up to me and asked me for my blog info. She was one of the blogger panelists who answered my question! She said she wanted to follow me because she just loves new bloggers! WOW! I was floored! As soon as I was back in Oregon I sent her a quick thank you on Facebook for making my day! I had no idea what that would lead to. Yesterday afternoon I was finishing up my new blog design with Kim, and noticed that my page views had suddenly doubled from what they were less than an hour ago. I ran into our living room to where my husband was and I was jumping up and down with excitement! People were looking at MY BLOG! I had no idea why they suddenly were looking, but I was ecstatic! I went to my facebook to see where I stood on there and that is when I realized what all the fuss was about. An hour before Kari had posted a message on her Facebook page telling her fans about me... ME! "So there was this brand new blogger named Mindy (who was super kind) that I met at SNAP. Creativity at Your Fingertips. and in our class she mentioned how she only had 3 followers. I LOVE brand spankin' new bloggers (and how humble and excited they are) and how cool would it be if we went over to her blog and surprised her by following her?! Here's the link if you want to!" My heart was so full, I just sat there and cried! This lady who has 16,471 Facebook fans was sharing my little blog! I am so grateful for her kindness, her ability to see potential in someone who is just starting out, and her generosity! I am seriously going to HUG her the next time we get a chance to meet! Within a couple hours of her post my blog had quadrupled in page views, and I even had several people follow me! As of right now I have 40 followers and 1156 page views!! I have new likes on my business Facebook page, followers on Twitter, and Pinterest as well!! I am absolutely amazed! But more importantly I am amazed at the kindness of one woman, and how she took a moment to help out another. Priceless.

Source: Here

Utah trip and SNAP! Creativity At Your Fingertips Re-cap!

Last week I had the opportunity to attend SNAP! The Conference! This was my very first blogging conference, and let me tell you... It was AMAZING! 3 full days of brilliant classes, shopping the Queen Bee Market for handmade items all made by bloggers, meeting and connecting with over 300 other blogging women (and a few men too!) and enjoying the beautiful Thanksgiving Point gardens and surrounding attractions! I learned so much, and was able to take away a better understanding of how much work goes into a creative blog. As a new creative blogger myself, I still have so many things to learn and this whole experienced really helped to open that door to me.

 Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah was the absolute perfect location for this event.  We were so spoiled by the beautiful weather and the gorgeous scenery surrounding us in this magical community! Acres and acres of immaculately kept gardens were in full bloom.  You couldn't help but feel inspired walking around and seeing all of the beauty.

When I started learning about creative and DIY blogging 2 short years ago one of the very first women I felt a strong connection to was Shelley from House Of Smiths.  This lady is FUNNY! She is true to herself, and she loves to have fun!  Shelley and her husband Cason have a DIY blog tracking their day-to-day adventures as they turn their house into a one of a kind home that fits THEM!  The best part is that they do all of the DIY work from taking out walls, to building board and batten moldings, to painting every square inch THEMSELVES!! They have 3 beautiful daughters who love to steal the limelight on occasion as well.  I was captivated by day one. 

Here's a photo of me and Shelley at SNAP! I was so glad to meet her, afterall she is THE REASON I came out of my shell and started blogging!  She was so sweet and was really interested to know what type of crafting I do, and even gave great advice telling me to just go for it! 

I met so many talented bloggers!

Source:  Girl Loves Glam

The classes and sessions were amazing! I learned so much in just 3 short days. The motto was "Just Be YOU!" and you could feel that burning drive in every single person you met.  I really feel like I have a new-found confidence that I didn't have before attending.  Each one of these women has something to share, each with a story and a passion for creativity.  We all have something in common, and that is our need to share WHO WE ARE with the world.  I am SO ready to share!

Part of a card...

Yesterday I had the best time crafting with some lovely ladies at the local scrapbook store, Running With Scissors, a few miles from me in Independence. I am so blessed to have met these wonderful women and I am finding the regular crops and themed crafty weekend retreats addictive!! The shop owner also holds several specialized classes and clubs on everything from flower-making, to double layouts, and even a photography class! Even though I have a desk area in my craft studio at home, sometimes it's nice to pack up what I need and spend a few hours in the company of friends. The store itself is a charming place, so full of energy! I spent most of my time cutting and punching out the little detailed pieces for some of my cards. I will show you a sneak peek at PART of a card I was working on. I say PART because I accidentally smudged the pigment ink and had to cut this part off of the base of the card. (grrr pigment ink!) I think for the final results I will just use embossing powder on the ink, it will give it a better crisper look (and not so messy!) Here is the little sample piece... you can even see the blue smudge if you look close enough.

I covered up most of the smudge with the pleated ribbon... doesn't that ribbon look so pretty! It's from Stampin' Up! and I love it! That's all for today, next time I will show you the completed card in all it's glory!