2013 CD Calendars & an Update

Hello friends! I wish I could say I was here to clear the dust from the 'ol blog but not at the moment. My family has been in the midst of many changes and there really has been no time for creating. In fact, my studio is all in boxes at the moment...every Copic marker, every piece of card stock, every stamp and every ink pad. The Harp family is on an adventure. Hubby resigned his position at church to focus the next year on finishing up his doctorate degree. The house is up for sale and we are all relocating back to the Rochester area. The boys have already begun school in a new place. Although much of the last few months has been filled with uncertainty as we took a giant leap of faith, God is good! We are being cared for in amazing ways and are daily reminded that we do not escape God's eyes. Our focus has been on family and getting re-established. I am not sure how long it will be before the contents of those boxes see the light of day again. It will happen when it happens!

Many of you have used my CD calendar files in the past few years and I have had several requests for the 2013 files.  I am attaching them here for you to download. Enjoy!

2013 CD calendar cover

2013 CD calendar January-April

2013 CD calendar May-August

2013 CD calendar September-December

The previews of the files appear to be missing some of the text but when you download the PDF's it is all intact! You can email me if you have trouble.

If you want to read about my previous calendar posts and get ideas, check out this link.

Happy creating!

Sunny Thoughts

Another weekend is drawing to a close. How two days can go by so fast, I just don't know! Two days of work never go by that fast, lol. Here in Upstate NY we are enjoying some fabulous weather! Warmth that is not normal this early in the year. I have driven several days with the sunroof on my Vibe open. The smell of spring and the chirping of birds & critters are so welcome. Today we stopped into a Tractor Supply store and we talked about whether this is the year we finally plant a garden. The thought is nice but the reality of time to tend one is sketchy.

So, for now I will stick to a paper garden. Here is a card I made using a new Stampavie image called "Gardening Fun" by Penny Johnson.

I made a tag that tucks in behind the image. The image is colored with the usual...Copics followed by shading with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. I used a fence die and a grass border punch. 

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend!

See you soon...

Spring Fest 5

Nothing creative to post today but I did want to share about the 

5th Annual Spring Fest 

April 28th, 2012

Buffalo, NY

A day of stamping, laughing, eating, prizes, chatting and being inspired

Holly McMillan (Toy) and I started this event 5 years ago, We thought we might get 15 people to come to this day of stamping and ended up with 50! Holly moved away after the first year so I roped several of my friends and family into helping. Here is a picture of our group in 2011...

The registration for 2012 is now open and spots are going fast. If you would like to read more about our "little" event, here is the thread on Splitcoast.

Dreaming of....

Paris! Or anywhere that involves getting away! I posted this project on the Stampavie blog last week and totally got distracted and missed sharing it here. 

This is another CHA project I created for Stampavie. It was out of the box for me and totally fun. I am kinda, well actually there is no "kinda" about it, exact about things. I like my corners square, lines straight, things in order. Collage is not my strong suit but every now and then you have to go a bit crazy, right? 

I had a large wooden star in my stash, ideas for what to do with it have eluded me for years. I couldn't get past the idea of it being for a baby themed project somehow. Once I covered it with cardboard it became a fresh canvas. The image is a new one from the Sarah Kay collection called "Susie Ponders". 

Things I {{heart}} about this...

The window die by Memory Box, I added acetate that reflects like glass

the wooden laser cut Eiffel Tower that I sponged in ink to match

the map design paper I used for the rosette

Thanks for visiting!!

Happy Day

Hello! January is usually a looooong, cold, snowy month and despite it being my birthday month, I am usually happy to wave it good-bye and jump one month closer to spring. This year though, winter has been incredibly mild, yesterday it got up to 53 degrees! Crazy I tell you! My boys are moaning and groaning about the lack of snow and ice for hockey. My heart bleeds, it really does. NOT!

I have a bit of spring fever and instead of stamping, I have been cleaning and organizing the house. When the bug hits you gotta run with it, it may not hit again for a long while. CHA is under way so I do have another sample of a new Stampavie image to share. Let me introduce you to..."Happy Day" by Penny Johnson.

I know. Totally adorable image, right? Birthday cards are always in demand and this image is a super fun one to color. I used primarily Copic markers followed by a bit of Prismacolor pencil work. There is also a hint of glitter pen on the flames of the candles. I made the cupcake card all my myself ;). The base was cut from corrugated card board, I bought a sheet of it at my LSS. It started  out as a square and I trimmed it so the bottom edge is 1/2" in from both sides. The top was hand cut, no pattern needed. A "cherry" button tops the cake. The sentiment is also from a new Stampavie set called, "Sweet Wishes". 

Thanks for stopping by, have a {{sweet}} day!

Winter Warmth

The Stampavie DT is showing sneak peeks of new images being released at CHA at the end of the month. I have never been to CHA but it is fun to think that small pieces of me are on display with the samples I prepared. 

It is hard to pick a favorite collection but I know Sarah Kay ranks at the top of many people's list. The first sample I made was using this new image called "Winter Warmth". 

The patterned paper reminded me a bit of a calico fabric pattern which seemed to fit this image. I paper pieced the hat using both sides of the paper and adhered it to the image with dimensionals. Coloring was done with Copics and pencils. She is so adorable and I love the colors palette of brown and light aqua. My LSS had these wooden cut outs and I adhered one of the leaf designs just as I found it, in its natural state. Stampavie will  releasing more sentiment sets at CHA and the "believe" is from  the set called "Dream". 

This is day 3 of sneaks and for the next several weeks the Stampavie Blog will be full of all the newest images. 

Ohhhh how I love this time of year with so many new goodies to get excited over!

Thanks for visiting.

Know a Sports Fan???

Better yet, know a sports fan who rants and raves at bad calls or poor play? If so, I have a fun gag type gift you can make for them. I saw this cute idea before Christmas and made a couple as gifts. The idea is that the sponge "brick" can be thrown out of anger/frustration without doing much harm but perhaps provide a bit of satisfaction. I was a bit short on time so I did not stamp on the label as I had originally intended but I still thought the idea was worth sharing.

I purchased 2 large, brick sized, sponges at Home Depot. They were originally bright orange so I mixed some brown and red acrylic paint into a container with water and soaked the sponges to "dye" them. Next I squeezed out the paint colored water and allowed the sponges to dry. Once they were mostly dry, a day later, I put them into the dryer to completely dry and harden. The tossing in the dryer also rounded the edges a bit. I made a wrap out of black card stock and printed up labels on the computer. 

When I gave them as gifts I packed them up as a "game time survival kit" with some game time snacks...nuts, chips, beef jerky, and more. With the Super Bowl around the corner, perhaps you know of a fan who might appreciate such a gift!

Another thing that is around the corner is CHA! Beginning on Monday, the DT for Stampavie will be sharing new samples of upcoming stamps that are being released at CHA. Be sure to check out the Stampavie Blog everyday starting on Monday. I haven't seen what the girls have whipped up so I too will be checking in every day. I can't wait!