Christina Hill

Reversible Handmade Signs

2009-04-16T21:46:00.000-03:00

I've been making these signs inspired by "Ghost Whisperer" for a few years now and just love them. I posted a few on my Etsy shop tonight. Take a look-see.

Here / Not Here
Open / Shut
Open / Closed

An investment for the future

2009-03-03T21:58:00.001-04:00

An investment for the future, originally uploaded by SudsMuffinCanada.

Maybe I'm crazy but I came upon a great deal for 2 retail display cabinets that I just had to buy them. The crazy part? They are much too big for my current shop and I have no plans to move any time soon. Ah, but when the time comes, I won't need to shell out big money on display cabinets because I will have these babies in storage. What do you think? Good move?

Another Ice Storm and Power Outage

2009-03-02T21:53:00.002-04:00

It was a miserable weather day today, with freezing rain off and on all day long. This meant an armour layer of ice on the car, that required chipping off a few times throughout the day.

On the way home, we noticed truck from the local power utility working on power lines by the breakwater. So for the rest of the drive home I looked in all the houses for some sign of light within. Nothing. Once we pulled into the driveway, it was obvious that the entire neighbourhood was without power. Hubby got out and quickly shoveled the wet crusty snow from the walkway, getting drenched by the pouring rain in the process. It was then that I suggested that we just go out for a quick supper. So we went back out and hit the drive through at the local Arby's and headed back home to eat by candlelight.

Hubby left for work and my little apprentice and I retired to my bedroom with the laptop and watched The Incredibles from my bed. It was so much fun with the oil lamp lighting the room, the cat snuggled at our feet and the two of us snuggling under the blankets. We watched the movie until the battery died. Then we switched to the iPod and watched Discovery Channel podcasts that I had downloaded, until that battery died.

We continued to snuggle and I quizzed her in verb conjugation until we decided to roll over and snooze for a bit. We just started to drift off when all the lights came back on. What crazy timing, just in time for me to record hubby's favourite shows tonight. With all that, I hope he makes it home ok on the slushy roads.

My back yard and my old car

2009-02-28T07:31:00.001-04:00

My back yard and my old car, originally uploaded by SudsMuffinCanada.

This is what my back yard looked like just a few days ago. Today it's raining steadily and while a fair bit of snow has melted from it, there's still no getting the car out of there at the moment.

Front window of my shop

2009-02-26T20:15:00.001-04:00

Front window in my shop, originally uploaded by SudsMuffinCanada.

I took this picture of my shop window a few days ago. This is our Candy Cane soap cake, looking all delicious on the café table.

Union Street on Sunday morning

2009-02-23T09:41:00.001-04:00

Union Street on Sunday morning, originally uploaded by SudsMuffinCanada.

We went out for breakfast yesterday morning and stopped by our shop for a few things. I took the opportunity to try out my new camera on a few street shots. I really like how this one came out, so bare and desolate, even for a Sunday morning. I am standing in front of my store, just out of view on the right, and we had breakfast at Cora's just around the corner, down the street between the white house and the brick building on the left.

Breakfast was delicious and we made a great contact. Our waitress is opening an organic spa and was meaning to come and talk to us about creating an organic skin care line for her business. How much kismet is that?

Butterfly Maze Book

2009-02-19T07:03:00.002-04:00

I thought I would change things up a bit by showing some of the other items I also make (or in this case, have made in the past).

This is a little 3x3 maze book. The inside pages are made by cutting a single 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper which then gets folded into a booklet. It's very simple to make. The cover is simply scrapbook paper over a piece of cardboard cut from a cereal box (I save all my cereal and cracker boxes for various projects).

The paper is from K&Co and I just love the sparkly butterflies as well as the little pockets that this technique creates inside the booklet. It's a perfect little mini album and the pocket can hold small pictures, journalling tags or memorabilia.

6 O'Clock Card - Thank You

2009-02-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

Stamped on the untextured side of Bazzill card stock because I got an incomplete stamp on the other side. So flipped it over and voilà! I thought the dragonfly bling would be a cute touch. I did a different technique for the sentiment. First I heavily inked the stamp with brown ink then applied a bit of black over the brown, then I stamped the card. I like how it made a brown outline around the black and almost looks like it was stamped twice.

6 O'Clock Card - Together

2009-02-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - Follow your own path

2009-02-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

New card made yesterday. Cuckoo clock image from Amy Butler. Sentiment cut from back of Amy Butler packaging.

6 O'Clock Card - Our souls are the same

2009-02-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

My beautiful MiniMuffin

2009-02-14T21:28:00.003-04:00

My beautiful MiniMuffin, originally uploaded by SudsMuffinCanada.

I was playing around a bit with my new Rebel 400D and the telephoto lens. I'm still learning; have lots to learn actually. MiniMuffin was playing Wii and she looked over at me and I snapped this. You can see her earring still swinging. Anyhow, I thought it was a lovely shot, even if it was in very low light. This picture of her just makes my heart swell.

6 O'Clock Card - True Happiness

2009-02-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

I just bought a DSLR Camera

2009-02-13T20:00:00.004-04:00

It's a Canon EOS Rebel 400D xti and I am LOVING it, but oh I have so much to learn. It's clear already that this camera takes straight up noticeably better pictures than my point and shoot (also a Canon). It's simply an amazing Camera. I want to go everywhere and take pics with it. It's fantastic.

These are my very first pics out of the camera. Not the best but I thought they were sorta cute.

My little apprentice playing on the Wii

She looks like she's saying a bad word. haha

Miss Chai enjoying the heater on my computer desk. Love the paw...

Stay tuned for more as I learn my camera.

6 O'Clock Card - As boundless as the sea

2009-02-13T06:00:00.001-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - How do I love thee?

2009-02-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - We have been friends

2009-02-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

I made all the cards in these most recent posts quite some time ago. I had a pack of rub-on sentiments that I just loved and couldn't stop using them. I haven't made any cards this week as my schedule has been a bit wild and I've been working on my SudsMuffin website. We're going to be revamping the look over there a bit and will soon be offering soap crafting supplies and kits. Stay tuned!

More Winter Pictures

2009-02-10T23:11:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, my little apprentice spent the weekend at her grandfather's house. He is so good to her (and to us) and they both enjoy each other's company so much. These pictures are great because they bring back so many memories of the tunnels he used to help us dig when we were her age. She had a blast!

Here she is in the snow at the back of Papie's house. It sure looks different in the Winter with all the gardens covered in white.

I wonder what's in here...

Did anybody see a rabbit go this way?

Hello there!

6 O'Clock Card - A friend in need

2009-02-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - The road to a friend's house

2009-02-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - Forever

2009-02-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - If we are friends much longer

2009-02-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - Heartfelt Love

2009-02-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Just a very simple card this morning. K&Co paper adhered to white card stock and the sentiment is a rub-on.

6 O'Clock Card - For My Love

2009-02-05T06:00:00.003-04:00

This card was made based on Kazan's Sketch 19. The paper and flower are all Basic Grey.

Update 3 & a half hours later, a coworker selected this card to give to his wife for Valentine's Day. Thanks for everything you do for me C! I hope your wife loves it!

Also, for a chance to win some great Blog Candy, check out Crafty Coo's blog. Her giveaway is perfect for Spring and Easter.

Buddy the abusive hamster

2009-02-04T20:22:00.004-04:00

Buddy is a little dwarf hamster we added to our family last summer. He lives on a television stand in my craft room, which is right beside the family room. I can hear him running in his wheel right now. He's a cute little guy but definitely has an attitude. We joke that Buddy is an abusive hamster because he hits us. It's funny but also kind of intimidating. If you get too close, he will strike you with both of his front paws. He may even give you a quick nip.

But as grumpy as he is, we love having him around. He can be quite entertaining, and as you can see, he's pretty photogenic too. He loves peanuts and pumpkin seeds best, will often turn his nose up at almonds but doesn't mind dried fruit like raisins and cranberries. He's a persistent little guy, always looking to escape from his mod pod. Last night he jumped out from a tube as I was digging through a container looking for more pumpkin seeds for him. He landed on the television stand with the cat (you'll meet her another day) mere inches away. The cat was interested in Buddy but sat calmly, just looking at him as he scurried about. I quickly grabbed the lid of the container with all the seeds and nuts in it, and scooped him right in. I think he thought he was in heaven. He hopped right back into his pod without a fuss.

Anyhow, that's Buddy. I hope you enjoy his furry little cheekies.

Wild and crazy winter

2009-02-04T08:21:00.004-04:00

We got hit with yet another storm last night. We were still chopping up the ice from the storm last Wednesday. We are all just a little bit tired of digging out.

Here is hubby starting to scoop at 6:30 this morning. The red arrow shows the top of my concrete pedestal bird bath.

At 8am, the path to the sidewalk is finally passable and the car in the driveway to the right can be backed out.

Here is the view out our back door. That's our old car in the back. It's not going anywhere. The snow drift to the left of the door is up to my chest. I remember a few years back though opening this door and the doorknob had left a hole in the wall of snow. So all things considered...

Have a great and safe Wednesday!

6 O'Clock Card - Hugs & Kisses

2009-02-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

This morning's card was inspired by Ashley Newell's beautiful baby card and Becky Carafa's gorgeous hearts card.

Paying the bloggie love forward

2009-02-03T20:57:00.000-04:00

Today I received a brief but lovely mention from Keri over at Pink Lemonade and wanted to do the same for a few fellow bloggers who have visited and left me comments. Thank so much ladies. It's so greatly appreciated.

Mary at Everyday Elliott
Enfys at Going Buggy
Lisa Renéa at The Tattered Tiara
Chelemom at Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker
Becky Carafa at T he Lakeshore Stamper

Thanks for reading ladies!

My other life as Mrs SudsMuffin

2009-02-03T20:30:00.000-04:00

I like to keep busy. So you know that I enjoy paper crafts, especially making cards. Another one of my loves is soapmaking. Indeed, my husband loves it too. He loves it so much that he learned how to make soap from watching me. Pretty soon he was taking over the soapmaking in the house, not that I minded. He makes a pretty awesome soap. We've actually been selling our soap and bath/body goodies since 2000. Two years ago this month, we opened a store in our city, selling all our products, including my cards, though the main focus is our soap biz, called SudsMuffin. You probably got it already that SudsMuffin is a play on "stud muffin", and we don't sell muffins either.
Our signature colour is bright pink, which we call "SudsMuffin Pink". This picture is one of my favourites as it best represents our business, with the colour and the luscious soap.

I just thought it would be nice to let my bloggy friends know a little bit more about me on here. And if you're at all tempted by handmade soaps (mine included), welcome to the club.

6 O'Clock Card - Adorable

2009-02-03T06:00:00.001-04:00

Don't you just love this paper and the cute owl? I think she's gorgeous! Simple baby card with a holographic "Adorable" sticker.

6 O'Clock Card - Hello

2009-02-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - 29 Again

2009-02-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is the last of my ProvoCraft paper birthday cards (for the moment). I love the sentiment on this one.

6 O'Clock Card - Birthday Wishes

2009-01-31T06:00:00.002-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - Happy Birthday

2009-01-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

The circle of life

2009-01-29T19:52:00.003-04:00

I took this picture out in my back yard last summer. It was just one of those playing around shots, learning about my new camera. It wasn't until I downloaded it later that I realized that the picture told such a story about life and death. It has since become one of my favourites.

6 O'Clock Card - Thinking of you

2009-01-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the poor lighting. There's not a lot of natural daylight when I get home. The next few days I'll show some cards I made with this ProvoCraft series of papers. I've always liked this collection. The sentiment stickers are from a package I picked up at the Dollar Store. They are pretty cute.

Want a simple science project for the kids?

2009-01-28T23:32:00.004-04:00

Last year my daughter (ahem, little apprentice) did her grade 4 science project of observing what happens to a bar of Irish Spring soap over 5 days in water. One bar was kept in cold water, the other had the water reheated for 2 minutes in the microwave at the same time every day for the 5 days. She charted the weight of the soaps every day, and measured their width, length and thickness. She should have weighed the water at the end of the experiment too but we didn't think of that.

Here was her final outcome, with the pink tag showing the soap that was left in hot water and the blue tag shows the soap left in cold water, the control soap is in the middle. The leftover water from the cold side remained fluid with some chunks of soap inside. The water from the hot side became a semi-solid gelatinous mass. She thought this was VERY cool and we both ended up being surprised at the final outcome as it was different from what we projected.

If you have any questions about the process, let me know.

6 O'Clock Card - I Heart You

2009-01-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

Playing with my new Basic Grey adhesive chipboard letters.

6 O'Clock Card - One Happiness in Life

2009-01-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

This romantic card is made from Amy Butler die-cuts from K&Co. The card stock is Bazzill and the ribbon is from Martha Stewart.

6 O'Clock Card - Friends

2009-01-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

The kraft frame is recycled from Amy Butler packaging, as discussed here.

This Year's School Valentine Cards

2009-01-25T15:40:00.004-04:00

Like last year, my little apprentice and I made a bevy of little Valentines for her class. They are a bit different this time around as we mostly used the little pictures from the back of a couple of expired calendars. We used a Tinkerbell calendar as well as one with dog pictures (for the less sensitive boys...). We hope you enjoy our efforts.

First a view of all the cards:

Then a few of our favourites:

6 O'Clock Card - My Style

2009-01-25T06:00:00.001-04:00

This card has three recycled elements on it. The "My Style" tag, the ornate border and the scalloped oval are all cut from Amy Butler packaging from K&Co. I talk more about that here.

I send this card to the DBU. You can get the details here.

I won an award today!

2009-01-24T19:36:00.002-04:00

I attended the yearly Kick Off event for my day job today and won a Silver Service Excellence Award. Yay! I'm so happy! Now I'm going to be able to get the ipod touch I've been wanting for a year.

6 O'Clock Card - Family Vacation

2009-01-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

The cold blast has got me thinking about warmer weather and Summer vacation. Wouldn't this be a great card to spring on somebody announcing vacation plans?

Glue, gloo and glew

2009-01-23T13:04:00.002-04:00

How many different kinds of glue can one crafter have? I never seem to have enough and am always trying different kinds for different purposes.

I use glue sticks for quick jobs on projects that will be kept only for a short time. Glue sticks are nice and sticky, forgiving if you want to reposition them a bit after sticking it down, and they are very inexpensive. But after a while, the glue on a project seems to crack and elements, even papers stuck together, pop apart. Not good so I don't use it on my heirloom type projects.

I love my rolling glue dispenser cartridge from Tombow Mono. They are very easy to use, stick quite well, but I find them expensive. I've even had a few that popped apart after a while too but only on coated or textured paper. I did pick up a new, stickier version at the craft store this week so I'll see if it holds better.

Then there is double sided tape on a roll. I've used the white roll and am now about to try the red one. Apparently that one is quite good so we'll see. These can range from inexpensive to expensive and can be a pain to apply as you have to cut each piece and then peel off the top layer, which can be aggravating too as the edges are often difficult to find.

Similar to double-sided tape is my Xyron machine. I have one that is 8.5" wide and another that is 2" wide. I've been known to punch out paper printouts and run them through the Xyron to add a sticky layer of glue to the back for instant stickers or peel and stick labels. The smaller tool is perfect for tiny cutouts from my daughter's Cuttlekids die cutter. The Xyron can also laminate and apply either permanent or re positionable adhesive or even special magnet paper.

I've recently discovered glue dots. Oh my! I LOVE glue dots. They are a bit more expensive but they stick and stick and stick. They work especially well for bulkier elements like buttons and flowers and such. I even find myself cutting them down to work on smaller elements. These are super sticky wonders.

I use Perfect Paper Glue for bookmaking projects and to hold my little envelopes and 3d snowflakes together. It works well for those applications but is a bit too wet for cardmaking and when you spread it thinly, it dries almost too quickly.

Aleene's Tacky Glue works well for projects like button wreaths and even on cards in a pinch. It's not too wet and sticks well, and dries clear.

Mod Podge is great for my decoupaged clothespins. I use it to glue the paper to the wood and then to seal the top of the paper with a nice glossy finish.

Diamond Glaze from Judikins works wonderfully for the pendants I make with either Scrabble or glass tiles. I use it to adhere the paper to the tile and in the case of the Scrabble tile, Diamond Glaze is applied to the top to seal the paper in.

E6000 glue is perfect for gluing the bails to the backs of the Scrabble and glass pendants mentioned above. It gives off pretty strong fumes though so I recommend good ventilation.

Finally my other favourite type of adhesive comes in the form of double stick dimensional foam, sometimes referred to as dimensional adhesives or Pop Dots. They come in varying thicknesses and are great for layering paper and embellishments on a card or scrapbook layout for added textural interest and depth.

I hope that gives you a good glimpse at all the different kinds of *gloo* I use. I can't believe I have 15 different adhesives!

6 O'Clock Card - Crafty (card made by my little apprentice)

2009-01-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

Another card made by my little apprentice. This time she used the tan Bazzill card stock, my pretty new butterfly satin ribbon, a butterfly stamp and some Amy Butler die cuts from K and Company. The "Crafty" tag is a cut out I saved from the back of some Amy Butler packaging. (See my post about that here) Enjoy!

Great Canadian Salsa

2009-01-22T19:51:00.003-04:00

I have been anxiously awaiting for an order of salsa from the Great Canadian Salsa company. I had heard that they had fantastic salsa, sweetened with maple syrup and a touch of beer added for an even more authentic Canadian taste. They even donate a part of every sale made to Canadian minor league hockey. What a great company!

So today my salsa finally arrived. I couldn't wait. I had to crack open a jar right away and steal a taste. It was as great as I had hoped it would be. So for supper we cooked up some elephant rice and stirred in some salsa, and we also made soft shelled tacos, topped with more Great Canadian Salsa. What a treat! Check them out.

6 O'Clock Card - I Heart You (card made by my little apprentice)

2009-01-22T06:00:00.003-04:00

This cute card was made by my little (10 year old) apprentice a few nights ago. (Excuse the photo lighting as it was after dark already). I helped with a few placement suggestions but by and large, she made this card. I think she did a great job and love how she turned the scallop border around. She wanted a bit of bling on it too and the crystal she picked goes nicely with the card. Her only dilemma now is which boyfriend to give it to...
Stay tuned for another card from her tomorrow morning.

6 O'Clock Card - Believe in Love

2009-01-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

Ah another romantic card. Every cloud has a silver lining. Believe in Love. Sweet huh?
Card stock is Bazzill, die cuts and glittery paper strip are Amy Butler from K&Company. Ribbon again is from Martha Stewart.

Great Handmade Soaps

2009-01-20T07:17:00.003-04:00

Check out the roster of handmade soaps blogged over at Autonomous Artisans. Our SudsMuffin shaving soap was featured so my Hubby couldn't be more pleased.

We are also here and here, and probably a few other places too.

Happy Tuesday all and best wishes to Barack Obama on his historic inauguration!

6 O'Clock Card - 10 Reasons to Smile

2009-01-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

I love these Amy Butler die cuts. They lend such a sweet antiqued caracter to the card. The "buttons" are die cut gems covered in clear adhesive raindrops. The ribbon is from Martha Stewart. Card stock is Bazzill.

My Little Secret - I am NOT Christina Hill

2009-01-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

Well I am sortof... It's really a pseudonym that I came up with because it sounded snappier than my real name. I came to it using the classic method of combining your middle name with a street you grew up on. I like how it sounds and I like being able to shorten it to "chill". Cool huh?

Well just like when you think that you picked a unique name for your child, and they start school alongside a few other kids with the same name, so did it dawn on me that there are an *awful* lot of Christina's, and Christine's, and Kristina's in the scrapping/card-making world. Are they all snappy sounding pseudonyms too? Probably not. But I just wanted to clear that up for the people I know who visit my blog and are confused that they don't recognize the name. Snappy is in folks. Unfortunately, it's everywhere I want to be too.

Monday Finds- Purchases at Michael's

2009-01-19T11:49:00.001-04:00

I didn't really have any plans for these cool Amy Butler dimensional purse stickers but the sale price was too good to resist.

These holiday themed glittery frames and photo corners from K&Company are absolutely gorgeous. They were another "can't resist" sale.

Digging out from another storm

2009-01-19T06:45:00.002-04:00

It snowed all day yesterday and then it warmed up enough for the snow to turn to rain. It rained all night, on top of all the snow. So now there's a nice coat of ice everywhere and it's raining on top of ice. Doesn't that sound like a recipe for disaster? Anyhow, schools are closed today, for which I'm glad since my little apprentice will be able to stay home with hubby, who doesn't work until tonight. I just wish I could work from home so I wouldn't have to risk the roads today.

I hate the winter. grrr

6 O'Clock Card - Thank You

2009-01-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

Another simple card with that favourite ribbon of mine.

Recycling retail packaging

2009-01-18T10:47:00.004-04:00

A lot of the crafting products we buy have a fair bit of packaging, which ends up in the garbage and landfills. I challenge you to take a second look at the packaging before throwing it away. These can often be cut apart and used in other projects. Clear plastic can be used to make window cards, the openings in boxes can be used as frames, and some companies even include elements on their packages which can be cut out and re-used.

These photos show how I cut up just two Amy Butler packages from K&Company, similar to the new package also shown. I saved the plastic from the front of the box, the frames from the window opening, the printed strips on the sides and bottom of the box, and the flowers and sentiments from the back. These are fantastic to re-use in your craft projects, if not your own, you can give them to your kids, or a local school or a Boys and Girls club. They would be very happy to have these kinds of art supplies.

So before you throw it out next time, think first if you can re-use any of it.

6 O'Clock Card - Thanks

2009-01-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

A very simple card using one of my favourite ribbons (which is almost all gone now). Bazzill card stock is used for the base card. I love Bazzill!

Home Alone

2009-01-17T15:06:00.007-04:00

Hubby is working at our store today and our little apprentice had art classes in town, as well as a swimming date this afternoon with her grandmother and her partner and his kids. So I decided to stay home and try to get some things done around here. Honestly I haven't done much other than blog, take pics and surf around the net a bit. But I still feel as though it was productive. I did write my DVD case tutorial, so that's something.

Here are a few random pics I took throughout the house today.

Here is my craft room, in desperate need of some reorganization now that the Christmas rush is over. My little apprentice and I made quite a few things in here over the holidays and now it's time for some order. A job for tomorrow I think.

Here are the girls in their favourite lounging spots. Miss Willow on the back of the couch and Miss Chai Chai on my little apprentice's bed.

I realized that I hadn't shared a pic of the lampshade which my little apprentice and I re-covered with pages from a Tinkerbell calendar.

This picture is very typical of my daughter/little apprentice. Ever since she was a baby she has loved very girly things. She has always owned wings and loves velvet, and anything that sparkles.

And this one is just because I had to share. I walked by her playroom and had to giggle when I read her white board. I should take pictures of it more often because there are little gems like this on there quite often.

Dear Kingdom, I won't return because I'm in Camelot. I'm terribly SORRY.
Your Queen Zelda

She's still learning to write in English. She goes to a French school and they only started English either last year or this year. See the huge multicoloured chalk stick in the picture above? She made that with plaster of Paris and tempra paints. That was a fun, simple project.

Hope everybody is staying warm!

A gift for my hubby this Christmas

2009-01-17T11:28:00.012-04:00

I surprised my hubby with 5 DVDs of Dr Who this Christmas and wanted to give them to him as a collection. I didn't want to use regular plastic CD cases. Besides being easily broken, I also didn't want him guessing what I had given him. So I searched online for something I could make from heavy paper or card stock. I never did find anything I liked. The thought of how I would do this was on my mind for a few days. Finally one day at work an idea came to me and I sketched it out quickly on scratch paper. I even made a quick sample of my idea, showing my coworker, who thought I was quite insane. haha

Anyhow, here is the final result. I didn't really embellish it though it could be done quite easily. The individual sheets could even be run through a printer if you wanted to add text to them. In the end, he heard me hammering away to punch the holes and had NO idea what in the world I could be making him for Christmas, which required a hammer and assembly. He was thrilled beyond belief with his gift.

Instructions are as follows. All measurements are in inches.

To make each pocket, start with a 12x6 piece of card stock.
Score 1/4" line all the way down each long side. Fold the scored edges inward.
With the edges still folded in:
Score a line 3 1/4" down from the top of the page, all the way across.
Score a line 1/2" up from the bottom of the page and another 3 3/4" up from the bottom of the page, all the way across.
Fold down the top scored line first, then fold up the bottom 1/2" line, then the last line above that.
You should now have the start of a pocket shape without the sides tacked down.

Use a 1/8" hole punch (one that you hammer is recommended) and punch 4 holes down each open side of the pocket where the 1/4" fold is, all the way down through all the layers of card stock. Try to make sure that the edge of the punched hole is no more than 1/8" from the edge of the pocket or it will be a tight fit for the DVD (trust me on this). The hole spacing should be an inch apart from the center of each hole. If they are not exact then the jump rings will be very difficult to line up.
Once the holes are punched, set a 1/8" eyelet through all the layers of card stock to secure the sides of the pocket together. When you are done setting your eyelets (you will need 8 per pocket), attach your completed pockets to each other using 1/2" jump rings (I got mine at Michael's) or you can use ribbon, twine, leather/suede cording, whatever you wish. I went with the jump rings because it had a more masculine "hardware" feel to it, considering who the recipient was.

Let me know if you have any questions about this project!

6 O'Clock Card - With Gratitude

2009-01-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

The gratitude sticker is from another Dollar Store purchase, as are the green ribbon and gold spiral clip. The card paper is KandCo and the envelope paper is ProvoCraft.

So glad it's Friday

2009-01-16T12:31:00.002-04:00

It's been bitterly cold here these last few days. I hear the same story across Canada and the US. Even my friends in San Diego are complaining though I challenge them to think about their complaints if they experienced our coldness for even a few minutes.

I got a chance to use some of my new paper punches last night as I made about 100 gifts tags with them from used Christmas cards. Some of the cards were perfect for punching multiple tags with and others called out for being snipped by hand with my new Cutter Bee scissors. I never knew what a difference good scissors could make. These ones are super precise, they corner well and cut right to the fine tip of the blades without making a tear in the paper. I still have dozens more cards to play with, not to mention a foot high stack of expired calendars. I honestly don't know what I will do with them all. I am open for any suggestions, truly...

This weekend I want to make some new cards. I hope to make use of the of the great tips and ideas from Kristina Werner. She has fabulous little videos of the cards she makes. I love LOVE her style; simple and elegant. If it stays sunny, I may be able to take a few good pics of my newest cards made this week too. Stay tuned and have a great week end.

6 O'Clock Card - Happy Birthday Holographic

2009-01-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

These holographic stickers are a bit hard to capture because the image on them changes depending on the angle they are viewed on. My sweet hubby picked up these stickers for me at a local dollar store. I can find some great little treasures there every now and again.

Crafty goodies in my mailbox today

2009-01-15T18:59:00.002-04:00

I arrived home today to find a nice heavy box waiting for me. Inside was a 7 fantastic paper punches. These are not available at my local supply store and were a great price from an online vendor. I have 5 Marvy Ushida Clever Lever scalloped punches- 2 rectangles, 2 ovals, 1 circle, and 2 McGill paper punches- both ovals. Also in the box is a new pair of Cutter Bee scissors for detail cutting, and a pack of Heidi Swapp flowers. I think I need to take a vacation just so I can do some more crafting. haha

I'm SO happy to have my car back

2009-01-15T13:33:00.001-04:00

We were involved in a vehicle mishap two weeks before Christmas that required having a few dents and scratches fixed on the hood of our car, which is a Ford Focus Wagon. There were finally able to take it in this week for the repair (it's been a busy season for accidents with all the snow apparently). We only bought the Focus in October and so far it's been my favourite car of all the previous ones we've owned. My second favourite was a Ford Taurus. I never considered myself to be a Ford girl. I've had a Dodge, a Buick and a Pontiac too, but my best cars have been my Fords. Anyhow, we had a rental car for a few days. It was a 2009 Dodge Caliber. Oddly enough my mother's rental car this week from a different rental spot is also a 2009 Caliber. She was in a different accident the same week we were. So the Caliber was just not the right fit for me. I have long legs and larger proportions and I had to contort myself just to get into the driver's seat. My head had to practically touch the steering wheel while getting in so I wouldn't crack my head on the door frame. Then there were little things that just irked me like the position of the heat vents. The hot air wouldn't land directly on the steering wheel, which is pretty important in our Canadian winters. Also the vent on the left was at 7 o'clock on the one on the right was at 2 o'clock so I had to grip the wheel unevenly and stick my fingers out to warm them. Yes, I actually wear furry polar mittens but my fingers still get cold so I warm them with the car heat vents. Speaking of which, in the Caliber, they never really got quite hot enough. It took at least 20 minutes last night for the air to finally feel hot rather than lukewarm. Suffice it to say, I love my Focus and never thought I would be so happy to have my car back. One thing is for sure, I would never buy a Caliber. It's just the wrong car for me. My Focus is Fab and the repairs were done perfectly. Happy Thursday all!

6 O'Clock Card - Love

2009-01-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

Another love card.

Tonight's buys at Michael's

2009-01-14T20:08:00.001-04:00

I joke that I shop at Michael's more often than I shop for groceries, but it's not really a joke. I go to Michael's every Wednesday while my daughter (my little apprentice) is at dance class. Now that she's going to art classes on Saturdays too, I may have another opportunity to case Michael's some more.

Anyhow, tonight I went to Michael's, natch, and picked up the last pad of Basic Grey's limited edition paper pack that was produced apparently specially for Michael's. The collection is called Mistletoe and Pear and comes with 36 sheets of heavy single sided papers, two pages each of 18 designs. This is a gorgeous set!
I also picked up these 5 pretty spools of ribbon, some gros grain and some printed satins, in pinks, browns, dots, stripes, and butterflies. I can't wait to use them!

6 O'Clock Card - Walk beside me and be my friend

2009-01-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's time for another 6 o'clock card. This one has been very popular on Flickr and I'm not quite sure why. It's a very simple card and maybe that's what the attraction is. I've certainly preferred other cards I've made. Ah well, enjoy.

Two things I loved about Tuesday

2009-01-13T23:29:00.002-04:00

Hubby and I made a great supper tonight. A quick and easy chicken alfredo spaghetti with mushrooms and green peppers. It was delicious in a hurry! And the best thing is that I will be having leftovers in my lunch Thermos tomorrow. Yummy.

The other thing I loved about today is that I finally got to watch last season's last Dr Who episode. I can't believe I have to wait a whole year to see the next season. Bummer. But that's ok. Dr Who is well worth the wait. I love it!

6 O'Clock Card - Life

2009-01-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Monday Finds

2009-01-12T20:37:00.002-04:00

Three more new undiscovered Etsy shops for today.

sweetisobella Pink House Painting

treeformjewelry silver paerla ring

jwtdesigns Carnelian and Peridot Cluster Earrings

6 O'Clock Card - Fun

2009-01-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Not as productive today as I had hoped

2009-01-11T22:10:00.004-04:00

I had wanted to get into making something with my new Zutter supplies but I never really got the chance. Well let's say I didn't really make the time for it. We ended up watching some Dr Who episodes. I gave hubby a few seasons of it for Christmas. I didn't think I would ever be interested in Dr Who but I am finding myself becoming quite enthralled. I love him! He's so cute and quirky and funny and the writing is phenomenal. Ah to be young and British. :) On the other hand, I did get a few 3x3 mini Valentines done today on behalf of my little apprentice. She didn't participate this time. She was busy entertaining her boyfri.... err I mean best friend. They played Wii all afternoon and then had a supper of homemade burger and fries, and then they watched an episode of Dr Who with us. Poor boy had never seen Dr Who before so we sent him home with one of our DVDs. Apparently his father is very excited as he hasn't seen Dr Who since he was a child. Hopefully I will get more crafting done this week instead.

6 O'Clock Card - Love

2009-01-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

I love these pretty colourful papers. They are part of a photo matting stack and so are just the perfect size for making cards from.

6 O'Clock Card - Holographic Sailboats

2009-01-10T06:00:00.003-04:00

I love these little holographic stickers. The sailboat seems to move along the waves as you tilt and move the card. The design on the paper mimics the waves of a perfect storm as well.

A trip to the hospital today

2009-01-09T22:45:00.000-04:00

I received a call from the school of my young apprentice today. It seems she had hurt her arm and the school thought it might be broken. She was playing on the ice in the school yard and had a collision of sorts with a classmate. Playing on the ice was an activity that I had previously forbidden earlier this week due to her already having two very bruised elbows, a very bruised knee and a bump on the back of the head, all from playing on the ice. Apparently 10 year old apprentices don't believe their mothers when we say that it's for their own good. But what can you do?

So up to the hospital we went for x-rays and fortunately for her it turned out to be only a very good bang-up on the elbow. She's in a sling for a few days, on Tylenol and an ice pack. Swimming at the Aquatic Center is out for this weekend but she can still attend Art Class in the morning. I am just SO glad for her that she is not in a cast. Hopefully for her sake and my sanity, she has learned a lesson. We'll see.

An Eclectic Confession

2009-01-09T10:56:00.001-04:00

What is your favourite meal? Colour? Type of music? Gold or silver? I have a very difficult time expressing favourites. There are just too many things that I love. How does one decide that Italian is their favourite kind of food? What about quesadillas? Chicken stir fry? A great curry? A juicy burger? A flaky spanakopita or a sweet Cuban flan (mmm... with fresh grated coconut)? I love them all! Don't make me pick a favourite.

When I was in high school, I wanted to be an interior designer/decorator. I read design and decor magazines voraciously. I even read books with house plan blue prints and would imagine how to decorate each one. Even in earlier years, I built little houses from Lego, complete with walls and furniture inside. The outside didn't matter as much as what I could do to decorate the inside of my Lego houses. I yearned for my very own doll house, which I never did get, but only so I could re-arrange the furniture to my heart's content. Even in more recent years I played Sims just so I could decorate my Sim house.

In my own house, the walls are rather bare. The style is hard to pin down. I have a bit of this, a bit of that. I attribute it to a combination of inadequate funding (I need a Sugar Daddy) and being paralized by indecision. I remember when I first heard the word "eclectic" and learned that it meant a mixture of styles, a little bit of everything. I immediately identified with eclectic as a way to describe my likes and interests. I am all over the map. I don't just like one particular style of house or decor. I like Victorian, modern, Scandinavian, southwest, country, mission/prairie/arts and crafts... I can't possibly choose just one style for my little split bungalow. If I have to choose one, then I lose out on all the others that I love too.

And so my house and my crafting have become an eclectic mix of my preferred styles, with no real defining point to tie it all together. My interests come and go, with some being more enduring than others. Paper crafting and card-making have been a passion for at least 8 years. My word for 2009 is "focus", which lends itself well to my eclectic nature. I will attempt to choose a path, to define a style, to "focus" on what I want to realize with my paper crafting. I hope you enjoy the trip. :)

6 O'Clock Card - Thank You

2009-01-09T06:00:00.003-04:00

Made with another pretty stamp that my friend Candace picked up for me while she was on vacation.

Zutter Love

2009-01-08T12:22:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I received an order of Zutter album covers and filler pages from craftyjam on Etsy. In addition to the Zutter loveliness was an album kit with Infuse papers from Basic Grey, as well as a 12x12 Infuse paper pack. I don't know what it is about the weathered look of Basic Grey papers but they took hold of my heart the very first moment I saw them.

Now back to the Zutter, also known as the Bind-it-All. This is an ingenious little device that allows you to make and bind handmade albums and notebooks very professionally with an o-ring coil. The Zutter machine will both punch the required holes into your paper and your covers and will allow you to clamp on the o-ring binding, for a beautifully finished album which you can decorate to your heart's content.

I am looking forward to spending a free Sunday afternoon at my crafting table to really play with my Zutter. If you want to share some of your own Zutter projects, please leave a link in the comments section.

6 O'Clock Card - Remember and Cherish

2009-01-08T06:00:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine lost her life-long friend to breast cancer just around Christmas. She is devastated and I am so very sad for her. She will be receiving this card from me.

On calendars, lampshades and lessons learned

2009-01-07T08:15:00.005-04:00

Within the pile of old calendars I had amassed, there was one which particularly appealed to my 10 year old apprentice. It was full of flowers, butterflies, twinkles and a little fairy with attitude, called Tinkerbell. What to do with these nice big images full of Tink-a-tude? My apprentice and I decided to cover her old lampshade with Tink. So we set about tearing off the old fabric from the shade and stripped it down to a tacky, sticky, plastic shell. We chose 4 pages from the calendar that we thought wouldn't be too dark to have on a lampshade. Then we measured the shade and cut the paper into lampshade shaped panels. We got two foam brushes and proceeded to paint some ModPodge onto a section of the shade. Having quickly covered an area with glue, we pressed on one of the cut pages. We smoothed it and and admired the first stage of our project taking shape. As soon as our smiles had formed, they quickly faded as Tink became covered in puckers and wrinkles that no amount of smoothing would remove. So we made the decision to peel the page off the lamp. This wasn't working...

So we thought and thought and finally we agreed to try a different glue, our Perfect Paper Adhesive, which my apprentice fetched, along with two new foam brushes. We squeezed the glue onto the lampshade and proceeded to spread a nice thin coat then we slapped on a pic of Tink again. This time Tink was lifting off, curling up around the edges. She wasn't sticking at all! It seems that this time the glue was drying quicker than we could apply the image. Back to the drawing board again as we peeled Tink off for the second time. Tink was getting ticked.

I didn't want to use a glue stick because it tends to become loose after a while. Finally my apprentice suggested the Xyron. That just might work. It took a bit of trimming on the paper panels but we got them down to just the right size to fit through the adhesive rollers. She cranked Tink through, we peeled, applied and voila! A Tinkerbell lamp! We cut out a few extra flowers and butterflies from the calendar and stuck them here and there on the newly covered shade. We also punched holes in some of the twinkles in the images to let extra light through. The apprentice was very happy with our project.

Lessons learned? Well besides the glue issues, when the lamp is on, you can't see Tink at all. What you see instead is the calendar dates and writing on the back side of the paper. But that doesn't really matter in the end. Our purpose was to re-use something that was bound for the garbage, and we made a lamp prettier than it was before, and I know a 10 year old apprentice who is very pleased with that.

6 O'Clock Card - Mr and Mrs

2009-01-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

More Calendars and 14 Years

2009-01-06T12:19:00.003-04:00

I think I officially now have more calendars than I know what to do with. The great folks that my husband works with have managed to dig up approximately 30 more expired calendars for me to craft with. They also gave me another bundle of used Christmas cards. I'm open to all ideas of what I can make with these. Feel free to offer your suggestions. I just know I'm going to have great fun at it.

Today I received a webgram from a work friend, congratulating me on 14 with the company. He's so thoughtful. He never forgets an occasion and I think that's a remarkable trait. You're a rare breed my friend! Thanks for the webgram.

6 O'Clock Card - So Very Beautiful

2009-01-06T06:00:00.003-04:00

Just a little bit of sewing on this one.

Monday Finds

2009-01-05T17:58:00.005-04:00

Here are a few undiscovered Etsy shops, waiting for their first sale.

Terry Signs Raku Pot

tsukatta Devil's Reject tartan outfit

three cows lily photograph

Check them out and see if you can give them some love.

6 O'Clock Card - Happy Birthday You Old Bird

2009-01-05T06:00:00.003-04:00

6 O'Clock Card - 100% Girl

2009-01-04T06:00:00.002-04:00

This simple little card is inspired by my daughter. She's 10 and is all about pink, glitter, crowns and fairy wings. This is for you my little apprentice!

Recycling and Re-using

2009-01-03T09:10:00.000-04:00

I am the very happy recipient of a stack of expired calendars and Christmas cards this morning. I put the call out to a group of people who clean a local office building and they really delivered! I have 63 beautiful cards and 21 calendars. Oh the fun I can have with all of these. Off to the crafting table now. Stay tuned for what will become of these little paper treasures.

The Man-Made Card

2009-01-02T20:41:00.000-04:00

I thought you might all enjoy this. It's pretty funny.

6 O'Clock Card - Set of thank you cards

2008-11-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

Let it Snow Christmas Card

2008-11-13T10:45:00.000-04:00

I looooooove the Basic Grey ribbon. It adds a gorgeous upholstery detail to the card. I don't have it going all the way under the raised middle panel because I only have two feet of this trim and so I feel the need to ration it.

Two Scroll Christmas Cards

2008-11-10T19:45:00.002-04:00

My little 10 year old card-making apprentice designed this one. She picked the papers, greeting, tree, corner punch, and really wanted the glitter on the scroll work. I think she did a great job!

Here is the one I made at the same time with the ice Stickles on the snowflakes. I had fun with this. I like how the movement of the snow and wind is captured by the swirl.

Christmas Card

2008-11-08T21:24:00.000-04:00

Embossed with Winter Wonderland embossing powder, which is essentially white with silver glitter in it. The tree really isn't large enough for what I wanted to achieve here. I will do it differently next time.

Holiday Cheer Snowman Cards

2008-11-06T20:04:00.001-04:00

I was having a bit of fun stamping and using my markers.

Precious New Baby Card

2008-11-04T20:19:00.000-04:00

I love how this one turned out. I didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl (it was a boy) so I wanted to send a card that would work either way. The baby carriage is heat embossed with clear sparkling embossing powder over blue ink. The picture isn't the best since I had the camera on the wrong setting (oops) and the card is now long-gone. Ah well.

This way or that way?

2008-11-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

Here are a pair of note cards suitable for pretty much any occasion. I tend to design my cards as tent cards or horizontally. I was pleased to see that these could be turned on their side and used in either orientation.

More Simple Christmas Cards

2008-10-27T19:08:00.004-03:00

These ones have just a tiny bit of heat embossing added to them. Try some of your own ink & powder combos to see what results you'll get. You may be surprised.

This one has clear sparkling embossing powder over dark red ink.

This one also has clear sparkling embossing powder over dark red ink.

This one has clear sparkling embossing powder over light red ink.

This one has opaque purple embossing powder over dark red ink.

This one has opaque white embossing powder on Versamark.

This one has clear sparkling embossing powder over blue chalk ink.

This one has opaque white embossing powder on Versamark.

Some simple Christmas Cards

2008-10-25T20:18:00.005-03:00

Just cut, stick & stamp.

More Photo Cards

2008-10-24T21:53:00.000-03:00

These ones are non-seasonal so they can be sent at any time of the year. I love vintage looking papers, as well as Amy Butler designs. I am so eclectic that I find it hard to stay with one specific style. Variety is the spice of my life!

Christmas Photo Cards

2008-10-23T12:42:00.001-03:00

I picked up these neat punches that make a decorative corner where you can slip in a photo. I thought that combining these into a card would make a cute way to send a photo at the same time. We used them to send our daughter's school pics out.

Retro Style Happy Holidays Card in reds and greens

2008-10-22T22:27:00.001-03:00