Anybody Want an Apple?

This weekend, we took a mini-adventure and drove up to Sebastopol, CA to get some apples. Walker Apple Farm had been recommended to me by a friend, and when we arrived, we weren't disappointed. The place had more than 50 acres of apple trees!

Here's a tractor, surrounded by trees:

Apples for all!

What a good deal!

Some of the last ones on the tree:

I was disappointed that we didn't get to pick our own, but we did get to taste them all and they were all delicious! I came home with 3.5 pounds of apples, and turned most of them into an apple pie (not pictured, because we've already eaten it!)

However, I do have a card to share. I dug through my clear stamp sets and came across a whole set that I hadn't used yet! I always need birthday cards, so I made up a quickie with it.

Supplies: Card base by Bazzill, "Baby Boy Small Green Dot" paper by DCWV, Blue #2 paper by DCWV, stamp from "Bird Day Designs" by Hero Arts, sentiment part of "Celebration Sayings" by Saltbox Studio, and colored with Copics.

Getting Ahead

For once, I'm trying to get ahead. I thought some cute tag-like cards might be useful around the holidays, so I'm making a few of simple designs just to get some done and in my stash.

I recently got to borrow the new Hero Arts Jolly Christmas set. Man, for a set I didn't think I needed, it sure is cute! Those little scarves just crack me up! I'm already scheming up ways to give them more realistic fuzz, but more on that later.

Here's my first one:

This frog just cracks me up. He's just hangin' out, happy as, well, a frog! I added a little color to his cheeks using my Copic Blush marker. Since he's wearing a scarf, I'm sure his face is cold! I know this card is simple, but when it comes to mass production, simple is key.

This next one is a tiny bit more elaborate, but in a monochromatic color scheme, which I love. I stamped Mr. Penguin first, then his sentiment and thought bubble. I masked the thought bubble and penguin, then I drew in the snowy ground and added the snowflakes. Easy! Have you started your Christmas cards yet? It's never too early!

Just A Note

Well, fall is definitely in the air around here. The last two mornings I've been waking up to dense tule fog that doesn't burn off until mid-morning. Even though summer is hands-down my favorite season, I have to concede that the cooler weather is nice. Bring on the sweaters and jackets, I say!

I think my color tastes have changed with the seasons as well. Shoot, I've been making Halloween cards since August! Lately, I've been all about the kraft cardstock, and the reds, oranges and browns of fall, and the nature side of things too.

My card for today uses a little guy I just love: Tiny Owl by Hero Arts.













I stamped my Tiny Owl, then masked and stamped the branch from Home II. It's mounted on a Bazzill Leapfrog card base and adorned with May Arts ribbon. The sentiment by Elzybells is stamped on patterned paper by DCWV.

Friendship is a Sheltering Tree. . .

As I mentioned previously, we got some great goodies with our kits for World Card Making Day. In the card kit from Cornish Heritage Farms, we even got some free stamps, namely "Friendship Centers" and "Modern Star."

They're not my usual style, but I figured I should expand my horizons and play with them a bit. Here's my first attempt.















The tree is by Inkadinkado and stamped with Memento brown ink. The patterned papers are by DCWV, and they're all mounted on kraft cardstock. The sentiment is of course by CHF and one of my favorites from the set.

World Card Making Day Recap!

Hey there, and happy Tuesday! How did we get here so fast? My week started out with so much craziness that I haven't had a chance to blog about World Card Making Day until now. Well, let's fix that, shall we?

On Saturday, my mom and I got up early and drove down to Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley. Wendy Johnson (of PaperCrafts fame) was there to teach a free make-and-take in honor of the day.

We got to make three cards, and all of the kits had extra supplies to make more on our own. Here's the first one:











This one was courtesy of Cornish Heritage Farms. The best part was that the three VersaColor inks and all of the stamps we used (the star and the sentiment set) were given to every student as freebies! This was a really beautiful and classy card. Not my usual style, but I loved it!

This next one was courtesy of PaperCrafts and shows off their cute and simple look:













And this last one was courtesy of Pink Paislee:
















There were drawings for prizes, and I won one of Wendy's original creations, which is just beautiful. Of course, we had to take a group picture:









Wendy is close to the middle in the white shirt, and I'm to the right in a black t-shirt. My mom is to the right of me.

And of course, since I'm an uber-nerd, I brought the October issue of PaperCrafts and had her sign it:












I was really inspired by Wendy. She was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and friendly, and she has taken her papercrafting to the next level. It was amazing to be in the presence of a real PC Pro, and it gave me hope. I asked her if she had any tips to someone that has yet to be published, and she said to just keep submitting and don't give up.

Hope you had a great World Card Making Day too!

Yay For Fridays!

Hey there, and happy Friday! I'm thrilled today is Friday because it also happens to be an off-Friday for me. This has been the first chance I've had in AGES to stamp, so of course I took full advantage.

Even when I'm not stamping, I'm checking out other people's blogs and challenges. Today, I did another two-fer in the way of challenges. On the A Muse Addicts forum, this week's Stamp Challenge is to use anything with pumpkins in the name. Well, one of my most recent A Muse purchases fits the bill: Pumpkin Cart! I also noticed Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge is due a bit later today, and I thought I'd try participating for the first time. Here were her colors:













And here is my card incorporating Pumpkin Cart and her colors:


















Just for kicks, I also used her most recent Finally Friday card as a bit of a sketch. Have a great Friday!

Supplies: Pumpkin Cart stamp and sentiment by A Muse and stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa, Delicate Vine by Hero Arts and stamped with Bisque Color Box Chalk, brads by Making Memories, Chantilly, Leapfrog, and Clementine papers by Bazzill.