All The Little Things

I completed a challenge!!! WOO HOO!!
Do you know how long it's been since I've participated in a stamping challenge??
Me either. ;-)

It's great for gettin' those juices flowing again. :)

The challenge at SCS is called Free For All, and the title was "Acknowledgement." Think on the last 5 days...is there someone you could thank? Make a card for them and give it to them within 48 hours of making the card!

This is such a great challenge for me! I often think of making people a card, to say thank you, or hello, or whatever...but then I get busy, time goes by, and the moment has passed. :(

I knew I wanted to use a certain stamp and a certain designer paper, and I really really like how it turned out! Thinking about making more to sell on Etsy! :)

I used the new designer paper Spice Cake from the Holiday mini!! LOVE that stuff - perfect for Autumn, or really...any time of the year! :)

I inked the stamp from Full of Life with my More Mustard and Soft Suede markers.




Also used are Soft Suede, More Mustard, Pool Party, and Very Vanilla cardstock!  The Soft Suede taffeta ribbon was the perfect final touch, don't you think? ;-)

The sentiment panel is up on dimensionals, of course. ;-)

Well, what do you think? Would *love* to hear from you! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Resolutions...

With the year coming to a close, I've been in a reflective mood.  Looking ahead to 2011, I contemplated what changes I'd like to make in my life.

The list got pretty long.
Either I'm pretty hard on myself, or I have A LOT to work on, lol! :)

Though all of this has been going on in my head, today's "Free For All Friday" challenge at SCS was to make a card based on one of your resolutions - it gave me the push I needed to post something. :)

Here are some bits and pieces...in no particular order.

Be a better mom. That's a loaded generic statement. ;-)  There are many ways I'd like to improve, but a big one is this: I get so focused on what it is that I'm trying to accomplish at the moment, that sometimes I tend to do the "uh huh" nod my head thing and not truly pay attention. I know I'm not the only one out there, right?

Be a better wife.  I resolve to be more selfless. My hubby is SO good at this.

Be a better homemaker. Yup, that means doing better at planning meals (that is the root of making good meals. I can cook, no problem. I need to PLAN.)  Better housecleaning - once upon a time, I followed a system that worked really well, but I got lax. Time to pick that up again.

Be a better friend.  Take more time and foster relationships. I get so busy (and stressed) over all that's going on, that I don't shove that aside and just invite anyways - the house doesn't need to be perfect to have someone over for coffee, right? ;-)

Be a better blogger/stamper. This means being more consistent! (thought you might like that one - wink)  It also means that I'd like to use up my stashes, and stamp more often - including taking part in challenges frequently again! This also means following God's prompting when I feel the push to send someone a card. :)

Be a better PERSON. This means better time management & less being late, better diet/exercise, and most importantly, this means making more time for devotions and plugging into God's Word.

Sometimes I look at this list and think "How on earth will I have time for ALL of this??"  Well, it all needs to start with the last one.  Taking more time studying God's Word - it is the best instruction book there is, right?  :)

That's it in a {small} nutshell. ;-)

So, you're wondering how in the WORLD will she make all this into a card?  I thought the same thing, lol!  But then I realized something...
Most all of my resolutions are based on bettering relationships with all whom I love.

LOVE....HEARTS...hmmm...oh!  I just thought of another challenge I could use!  Thursday's "Ways To Use It" challenge was to use silver!

After gazing at a few of my 'heart' stamp sets and drinking some creamerized coffee, the idea came to me.  A clean and simple (my fave kind!) card using hearts and silver.

Do you have ANY idea how difficult it is to capture embossed silver on cards??  Ugh.  I won't tell you how many different angles I took the pic from. ;-)

Here's a closeup of the embossing:

I may just keep this card setting up to remind me of my resolutions:

Keep your life clean & simple, and remember to foster the relationships, Crystal. :)

Wellllll.....what do you think?  Do you have any resolutions you'd like to share?

The Small Print (All Stampin Up)

Stamps: Love You Much

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Encore Silver

Accessories: Silver EP, Heat tool, Paper snips, Dimensionals

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Crystal