Don't Waste Your Thursdays!

Okay, I know... It's Wednesday. But tomorrow is Thursday, and that means there will be a new sketch on the Don't Waste Your Thursdays! blog. It's fun to get a new sketch every week, and though I don't always play along, when my muse decides to leave for a while it's good to have some of these sketches handy to get started again... :-))
Here are my two cards I made with sketch 31!

See? It can be anything really and as simple or as complicated as you want. Even a herringbone background. Not complicated, just a little different. And I'm very pleased with the stamped text I added in the herringbone strips too. I changed the circle for some flowers. How do you like it?? On to the next one tomorrow! Yay!!

Hugs,
Wezz

Where is spring???

I thought it was coming, especially with last week's good weather, but it has turned back to gloomy dark and most of all, very rainy weather now. I want spring to come!! Like yesterday. Pretty please?? I miss being able to sit outside and have my coffee after lunch there. We are lucky enough to have a south west facing garden, but right now, there's not too much to enjoy there.... Hello spring??? Can you come please?
This card I made following a sketch on one of the yahoogroups I belong to. I was soooo in the mood for bold colors! The text at the bottom means "congratulations" so it's a card for many occasions. Also, a challenge on another group was to use the new things you bought at the ArtSpecially show, and that's where I scored the flower brush stamp from Hero Arts.

The printed papers on the card both come from one of those little 6x6 pattern paper pads that I just had to have, just coz it was so cheap. You know? I know you know!! LOL
But now I find myself struggling finding a good use for most of the papers. They look...umm, how should I put this? Some are just ugly, some are strange colors and difficult to match with other things. So I decided to dive in anyway and use some of it. The text paper is from the same pad, and by cutting the vertical strips in 2x6 and cutting text strips, I had enough to make 3 of these cards. :-))
And actually, I quite like the result. The colors are bright and remind me of how my garden should look soon if the weather clears up. I've used a new acquisition. I've used some older papers that I found hard to work with. All in all, I'm pretty pleased.
What do you think of it? And how's the weather where you are??

Hugs,
Wezz

Be The Best!

That's it. Just be the best. Okay, maybe not THE best, but just be the very best YOU can be. That's all anyone can ask, right? If you strive to be the best you can be, it will make you feel good and fulfilled. You should be proud. You have the potential. Live up to it. Reach for the stars!! The sky is the limit. Okay, I'm sure you get it by now.
Here's a card to celebrate that!
Stamps are from StampFrancisco and Stampin' Up.

And speaking of StampFrancisco, we are lining out our new travel plans!! Yay!! :-)))
We'll land in San Francisco on February 17th!! Jan is working on a road book already. heheh. I'll start collecting addresses of the "must-shop" places.... oh err, I mean, the "must-see" places... ahum... and I sure hope there will be some "must-meet" people along the way!! :-))
Now I wanna know who will be the first to react to this and how many of you will leave me a comment.... LOL!!

Hugs,
Wezz

To all my friends

Online or offline, to all my friends all over the world, I wish you the very best for 2010!! I haven't been able to make many Christmas or even winter cards since my fall, and the few I did manage to make I've already shown here. But I do have another one, to go with my wish for you all.

May 2010 turn out to be a great, happy and healthy year with lots of love and laughter for you all! For those who craft, like me, may your Muse never leave your side this year! :-))

I got a really nice New Year's wish from someone, but it was in dutch, so I'll try to translate it here for you all...

May Peace break into your home and may thieves steal all your debts,

May your pockets become a magnet for $100 bills,

May love stick to your face like a cream and may your lips be attacked by laughter,

May luck slap you in the face and may all tears shed be only from happiness

In other words, have the best and most creative New Year!!

Happy New Year to you all, my dear friends!! :-))

Hugs,

Wezz

Arrived!

Yay!! My snow white seed bead item made it to its destination and now I can reveal that it will definitely be in the Big Prize Gift Basket of the Treasure Hunt! That's right, folks, you can win my mystery item!! Here's a few more teaser pics! I sure hope you'll like it, and that you'll come along and play in the Hunt! Go read here for the rules! It's easy to participate but you gotta play to win! Remember there's a special clue here to make it even easier to play the Hunt Game.... ;-))



Here's a picture to give you an idea on the other items that are already in this Gift Basket, and it could be more! Everything has been lovingly handmade be our eSmarts Team members, who are artisans from all over the globe. Imagine finding this under the Christmas tree!


Now, isn't that worth a little Hunt??? Find the Hidden Santa images and you can win this!! :-))

For a dear friend of mine who can use a pick-me-up right about now, I made this very simple and easy card. This really is what you'd call a "Take Ten" card. I hope she likes it.

Text is from Inkerbell. The rest is just a wide ribbon, cardstock and two domed stickers. Easy peasy. :-))

Hugs,
Wezz

Happy Halloween!

We don't celebrate Halloween as much, but I know this is a big thing for my US friends, so Happy Halloween to you! Celebrate and enjoy! (oh and share the candy, will you?? LOL)

Here's a funny Halloween card I made a while ago with a Frankenstein stamp that I got at the StempelMekka this last September. It's a stamp from StampFrancisco. The text is from Stampin' Up! I thought those two stamps were like made for each other. ;-))


This was the first card ever I made using my Derwent pencils. I love coloring with these and then the blending part. It's far from perfect, but I like the way I did this image. If you have any tips on improving my skills, please do let me know! I'm always all ears to learn new things! :-))

On the DWYTter blog they're already on sketch number 5, but here's my card for sketch number 4. Only one this time, as I was in too much pain this last week to do more.


The bird stamp is from StampAttack, also an acquisition from the StempelMekka this year. It's a stamp with loads of possibilities, and I have more ideas with this so I haven't put it away just yet.

Let me know what you think of my newest creations, okay? The comment section is now open. :-))

Hugs,
Wezz

Something I can do

Well with all my back problems I'm still on a recipe of rest, rest and more rest. I hate it. I can make a card now and then, a simple one, but it has to be done in stages. It's hilarious to see me do this.
Now don't get me wrong, I do not mind being on a rest schedule, but I really resent the fact that it takes more than let's say, 3 days or so. I love making things and being creative, but I can't stand not having much of a choice at the moment. Not that I'd wanna clean the house, but I would like to have that option. You know, just in case.... LOL
I have way too much time on my hands to think about other things I some day would like to make too. Like I don't have enough projects going already. I call them my UFOs. My UnFinished Objects. (grinning)
But if you think making some greeting cards now and then is all I do these days, I'm sooo not! Really. Here's the proof:


I'm in the process of making a large crochet shawl. Now, that should keep me warm this coming winter! :-))

Hugs,
Wezz

More challenges

Besides trying to use up some scraps, I have an extra challenge. Due to a bad fall from the stairs on holiday (on day 2 believe it or not) we had to cut our trip short. Radiology shows shifted disks and a fractured vertabrae. I can't lift anything, I can't bend to pick something up, there's a whole range of movements I just can't do right now. Rest is all that can help me to recover from this. Sooo, that means I can't go through the house looking for special items to put on my cards, or that special ribbon that I know is in the box on the top shelf of the closet. No, I'm limiting myself to what's on the kitchen table. Okay, I do have a choice there as one of the things I have there is my travel stamp box which includes small ink pads of different types in different colors, scissors, brads, ribbons, double sided tape, glue, atc card blanks, waterbrush, gold foil pen, several stamps, acrylic block and lots more. Thank goodness I mostly work with unmounted stamps! I can fit lots of them in there. LOL
Of course all the ordered stuff that comes through the mail now stays on the kitchen table too at this time so I can play with that too if or when I'm feeling up to it. Heheh. I can't work on cards for long though coz I also hurt my tail bone. Bad. Working with sketches and knowing I'm using up some scraps does help to make nice cards when I need to take my mind of all the pain.

This week I worked with sketch number 3 from the DWYTter blog. Here are some of my cards. As usual, some are adapted to suit other sized cards.


For the first cards I stuck pretty much to the original design, except that I didn't make square cards. It was just a minor change really. And hey, look at that! My first Christmas cards for this year!! Woohoo!!

Now I know the intent was to use up scraps, so why on earth did I even feel compelled to use the inside of an envelope that came with yesterday's mail?? Yep, the purple layers under the flower squares are from that envelope. Like I don't have enough paper to use!! Geesh!

This card is a bigger change as I wanted an upright card. So I played around with the different elements until I got a design I liked. I think this is my favorite of this set. :-))


Smaller cards, so less squares. Still pretty though. And if you hadn't noticed yet, I love inking the edges of my papers, especially if they are structured papers. :-))
Stamps used are all from Stampin' Up! (and yes I know, not unmounteds! LOL)
Let me know what you think of my new set of cards!

Hugs,
Wezz

Just One Sheet

How many cards can you make with just one sheet of patterned paper?
Well, here's my try on my personal challenge to use some of my stash! (again, for the umpteenth time, but that's besides the point... LOL)
For the layouts of the cards I used the first sketch of the new dutch blog "Don't Waste Your Thursdays" or, as we like to call it, the DWYTter blog. It's about using up your scraps while making stamped cards and participating in the sketch challenge at the same time. For now, I still like it and think it's fun. Don't know how long I will keep this up though! They're already on sketch 3 and I'm still stuck on the first! LOL
We'll see.
But, here are my cards with the pattern paper. Using just one sheet. Enjoy. :-))


The sketch was for a square card, but those cost double in postage to mail here in Belgium, so I adapted the sketch to regular sized cards.


Hey, my sheet of patterned paper took me through 4 cards!! Four! Wow, I love this! I may do this more often.
***edit 21 Oct.: actually this one sheet took me through 6 cards and an ATC, but the "others" didn't make the grade to be put on the blog.... Still happy with the results though!***

I did make another square card following sketch number 1, but using another patterned paper.


Stamps used are all from Stampin' Up!
Let me know what you think, okay? I'm always interested to hear your opinions! :-))

Hugs,
Wezz

Hello 2009!

The new year is well on its merry way, it's already 1 week old! Time just flies by, doesn't it?
Did you make any New Year's resulotions? I gotta admit, I used to do that every year, and every year come February, there was nothing left of my resolutions. I had given up. So, the last few years, I haven't made New Year's resolutions. Instead, I try to do as my grandmother used to tell me. "What you do at the beginning of the New Year, you will be doing for the rest of the year."
Well I certainly hope that's true! At the stroke of midnight, I wished my significant other a Happy New Year and cuddled and kissed him. Yeah yeah, I know, mushy and romantic, but hey, that's me! We spent New Year's Eve with friends so I wished them a Happy New Year too, and I sent some text messages with my cell phone to those who were celebrating somewhere else. We talked til late that evening. New Year's Day we went to see the family on both sides, had a good meal, drank champagne and cheered the New Year on. I beaded. Yup yup, I did! I touched my stamps, some cardstock and some ink pads. I didn't actually stamp, but thumbed through a stamping magazine with the intention to do some stamping/cardmaking soon. I flicked through a beading magazine so I will have plenty of inspiration throughout the year. I also spent some time online to send my well wishes to my cyberfriends on the various groups I belong to. I added a new Ruffles necklace to my etsy store. I've also added some earrings to the ESmarts Team Shop. My new tumbler is still tumbling, with stones in one barrel, and jewelry to clean in the other barrel. I've already taken a beading class last Saturday too! It's snowy and cold, for the first time in years we finally have a real winter here again. Let's hope the freezing temperature will keep the sick bugs away this year. They predicted another week of this cold weather. As long as it doesn't rain, I'm happy. Oh and it didn't rain on New Year's Day! I tweeted on Twitter to wish them all a Happy New Year as well! I blogged about our little kitten who just loves playing in the snow and I'm blogging here now.
I'd say the New Year is off to a good start! :-))
How 'bout you? Did you make any resolutions? Tell me, I wanna know!

Hugs,
Wezz

New things in the World of Wezz

It's about time I tried something new.... well, besides my crafty endeavors that is. I mean something online, something with the computer, and let me tell you up front I'm no computer wizz-kid, so this is all a test, a dip-your-toe-in-the-water-to-see-how-cold-it-really-is kinda thing...
I've already managed to upgrade my blog and didn't wreck it completely in the process, so that's a success! Yay! Ready to move on to something newer than that.... I have more handmade items than I will ever use or wear in my lifetime, especially greeting cards, mini albums, and jewelry, and I always find something new I want to try, something else I love to make, it just never stops when you have a creative mind (that does come across a "block" occasionally, you are not alone in that!).
So maybe I should try selling online? Yeah, that's it! That's a good idea! With the money I make from that, I can buy new crafty stuff, right?? heheh...
Okay, so I wanna sell online. But how? What's a good site? Ebay? Nah. Not for handmade or artisan items I think, to me it seems that's more a place people will check out to get a great bargain. Setting up my own website with a store? hmm, nice idea, but I don't have a clue how to go about that. I would have to ask DH and he's busy remodeling the attic. No, it has to be something easy that I can do all by myself, and maintain it too! Setting it up is not enough, you have to maintain it and add new items on a regular basis. Now what? Then, oooh, I came across this eSMarts yahoogroup, it's all about helping each other setting up an Etsy store and getting traffic to your blog, website and store. hmm, maybe I should sign up, huh? I signed up. I got confused with all the etsy lingo, and even more confused when they started talking about squidoo and lenses and more of that! Maybe I'm in the wrong place after all. oh, but wait a minute! There are other etsy newbies on this group! Maybe we can help each other out and get the expertise knowledge from those that have been on etsy for a while? Hmm. Let's hang around for a while longer and see how it goes. After all, I got my blog going again after a loooooooong hiatus. The next step is to set up an etsy store. Let's see.... Hey, that's not difficult at all! I just need to think and re-think the intro and the policies and such. And presto, I now have my very own etsy store!! Granted, I know nothing about all the other options that etsy offers, but I'll learn it as we grow with the eSmarts group I guess. And of course, just like any website or blog, it's a work in progress. A status quo is the worst thing you can do on the internet I think, so we gotta work on our sites. All of us, and on all of them. Including the group blog. Yep, we have an eSmarts group blog too, with various members contributing to it! It's quite interesting so go check it out, and it has of course all the links to the members' websites and stores. This is gonna be a fun ride!! Can't wait to see what's next!! :-))

Hugs,
Wezz