Inspirational

Adventure Awaits the Best Day Ever!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This day was so much fun.  I know the Best Day Ever set is a retired sale-a-bration item, but it was the theme for the day.  First of all, it was the first day of a long awaited spring break.  Awesome!!

Adventure Awaits in more way than one

I have been working ahead to get ready for a trip to Utah with my family.  We are going to get some awesome things done, getting my second child all ready for university, and spending more time with other family.  Specifically, my oldest already at university and my parents.  Talk about yummy!

Adventure Awaits in more way than one

Could this bag be any more awesome?  I loved how the ribbon is tied and dangles all cool.  I got the idea from the card below, when my knot was just too big for the spot I had.  I was determined, and then cut off too much, and then loved the discovered result.  So I put it to work properly on the bag.  Love it!

Adventure Awaits in more way than one

These cards remind me of graduation.  There are so many kids I know graduating this year, and these feel like a great send-off.  Of course they are going to need a gift card inside, what graduate doesn’t need those?

Adventure Awaits in more way than one

To top it off, my daughter just made me smile.  We had gotten our nails done and she just stated that we needed to make a card with our nail colors.  Mission accomplished, and then some!

Adventure Awaits in more way than one

So, she called this #bestcardsetever!  How cute is that?

Have a creative day!

Moana

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

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I have Easter on the brain and these are the colors that keep coming to mind.  So saffron and pear pizzazz.  They are so lovely together.  This might suggest I am ready for Easter.  Ooops, I am not.  I still have a bit of time though.

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

So, are you a card person, a bag or box person, or do you need a matching set?  I keep going back and forth.  But I do like a bag that is beautiful enough to be a card as well.  This bag is big enough to hold a nice gift for sure.  Almost too big for candies.  Wait, is there a bag too big for candies?

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

I used the same stamp to decorate each piece to tie the set together.  But, since they have the same sentiment, I wouldn’t use them together.  They just coordinate nicely.

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

Either way, I enjoyed making them.  I also hadn’t had the work of art set out for a while.  That one just begs for a quiet afternoon to play with it.  When does that happen anymore?

Mixed Bunch Work of Art

Well, I am off with my girls to enjoy our first day of spring break.  Shopping and nails then lunch.  Wonderful for sure!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Gold Soiree with Banner Blessings Part 2

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And these are the other sides of that pretty paper from yesterdays post.  Can you see why I had such a hard time choosing?  Both sides are just so wonderful.

Gold Soiree and Banner Blessing

I hadn’t had the Banner Blessings set out for a while.  I still love it as much as I did the first time.  So fun and filled with beautiful wording.

Gold Soiree and Banner Blessing

I did have this ready this morning, really I did.  But the day has been more than full.  And most of it has been wonderful.  The other part?  Let’s just say that taxes aren’t nearly as fulfilling as creating cards and the like.  Oh well, sometimes we have to be human and get things done.

Gold Soiree and Banner Blessing

I can’t wait to send these out to special friends.  They really were fun to make.

Have a creative night, what’s left of it.

Moana

Lovely Amazing You and Wisteria Wonder

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Well, I finally did it.  I jumped on the ‘feather’ bandwagon.  I really didn’t see the big interest, just thought it wasn’t my thing.

Lovely Amazing You and Wisteria Wonder

That is until a friend talked about them at our last workshop and how she thought they were different and looked nice.  You know what?  She was totally right.  Something else to be grateful for that was carried over into the spring catalog from last fall, the feather set.  More to buy, oooops!

Lovely Amazing You and Wisteria Wonder

I did enjoy taking the paper and softening it up with ink.  With the card above I just gave it a gentle sponging all over with the coordinating wisteria wonder ink.  Below I gave it the ombre look.  The photo gives you an idea, but it looks better in person, of course.

Lovely Amazing You and Wisteria Wonder

And of course I loved that I got to use a favorite ribbon that hadn’t been out in a while.  I do so love the chevron ribbon.  Good stuff there.

As we head into the weekend I think you should take a little time for yourself, and have a creative day!

Moana

Kinda Eclectic Ray of Sunshine

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Eclectic is the true nature of this card.  A little bit of everything coming together to create something beautiful.  With these colors, stamped images, punches, and a perfect Walt Whitman quote, how could you go wrong?

Kinda Eclectic Ray of Sunshine

Of course I had to layer in the 1/8th” fashion as is my thing these days.  But it makes me happy, even if it seems a bit wasteful.  I often punch or cut out underneath anyway, so it isn’t too bad.  I didn’t think I would notice if I inked the edges or not in such a narrow border, but you totally do.  It looked almost plain otherwise with this combo.  Interesting.

Kinda Eclectic Ray of Sunshine

When I stamped inside I used just the corner of the sunburst, it was just right.  It made me think of a quilt block I have never been brave enough to try.  I think I have seen it called New York beauty and it involves paper piecing to keep those points just so.  Beautiful, but daunting.  Maybe someday.

Well, today is workshop day, so I had to keep it brief.  No time for a second variation of the card and a matching bag.  I still have to get to the store before I go!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Adventure Awaits with Lullaby?

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Sometimes traditional, sometimes floral, and sometimes, just right.  That is how I feel about the projects for today.  They came together so effortlessly.  I guess when you are in the zone good things happen.

Adventure Awaits

Can you believe these designer papers came out of the lullaby set?  They could speak baby, I guess, but really have a lot more uses than that.  Super fun with even a twist of masculine.

Adventure Awaits

I snatched the anchor from the Guy Greetings set to add to the nautical theme.  My husband told me that the color combination felt like the beach.  Guess it worked.

Adventure Awaits

I brought in the spots stamp from the Perpetual Birthday set and it gave just the right touch.  The largest spot is the exact size as the small epoxy sticker from the sticker set.  Things just lined right up!  I do love decorating the inside of the card to match.

With the square and circle framelits to do my cutting, it kept the sentiments large but still a nice layering effect.  I have gotten into 1/8″ boarders on my layering.  Those are hard to line up without using tombo adhesive to wiggle it into place.  Love that stuff.  And I even got to use more of my Sale-a-bration ribbon stash!  Winning all around!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Kinda Eclectic with Flashback DSP

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Yet another dip into the awesome annual catalog brought out this beauty!  The Kinda Eclectic stamp set looked almost too trendy for my style.  I think we found a middle ground, don’t you?

Kinda Eclectic

We’ve got just about everybody involved today.  There is stamping of course, punches, framelits, stapling, and creative adhesive use.  Phew, what a workout!

Kinda Eclectic

Actually, it wasn’t that hard.  It really is great to have tools that are designed to create an awesome look so easily.  It makes a master crafter out of just about anyone.  You should really give it a try.

Kinda Eclectic

I used pool party, crushed curry and smokey slate.  I think the inside stamping really gives it a nice look.  And who doesn’t love a coordinating stamp and punch!

Kinda Eclectic

Well, I had better sign off and head to my next adventure.  It would be making twenty sour cream box guys for a camp meeting this evening.  How fun!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sheltering Tree

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Spring is in the air and blossoms are all over my fruit trees.  I thought I would try to re-create that with my maiden voyage of this beautiful stamp set.  It worked.

Sheltering Tree

I tried  to add more interest with white stazon flowers in the trees, but my color pallet was too light and they were kind of lost.  Seeing them in person makes it easier that through a photo.  I thought I could color with some blendabilities over the stazon parts, but decided against it.

Sheltering Tree

The card base is wild wasabi with whisper white and blushing bride layers.  To keep the boarders nice and tidy I adhered them with tombo multipurpose glue so I could wiggle them in just the right place.  I love the skinny boarders, but they can be a bit tricky.

Sheltering Tree

It needed some kind of embellishment, but it had to be subtle.  The linen thread became the perfect choice and finished it off perfectly.

Sheltering Tree

Now, with these cards looking so happy and ready to go, I wish I had a bunch more to send to all my dear friends.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Cheer Up Buttercup!

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Does this little guy just cheer you up or what?  I absolutely love the fry box die cut!  I have made so many for quick little gifts here and there.  They go together so quickly and look adorable every time!

Cheer Up Buttercup

The geometric stamp set has this awesome sentiment and is actually the reason I had to have it.  It has also had tons of use for obvious reasons.

Cheer Up Buttercup

I was actually headed out to work and decided I needed a little get well goody for a student of mine.  I already had the flower ready from the other days project.  With that said, it only took about ten minutes to put this all together, including a quick few photos to share.

Cheer Up Buttercup

I am telling you, this die is the best!  Get into those quick project ideas and share some happiness!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Lovely As a Tree

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These lovely cards were actually my handout for a church lesson I taught yesterday morning.  I have the privilege of teaching a young women’s class for girls from the ages of 16-18.  They are such an amazing group.

Lovely As a Tree

Our topic was “Why Do We Need Adversity”.  Good question right?  An object lesson that was in the talk I used spoke of a young sapling tree standing alone in the wind and how trees in that situation grow deep roots, thicker bark, and ways to be more flexible in order to survive.  It was so perfect for today’s times.

Lovely As a Tree

So, when I planned this handout, I knew the beautiful oak tree was the perfect subject.  How symbolic of standing the test of time, a strong beautiful tree.

Lovely As a Tree

I put this together using almost artichoke, saraha sand, and very vanilla paper.  I stamped in momento ink and used a sentiment from a Tim Holtz collection.  I loved the touch of the embossing folder bringing out the tree theme even more and finished it off with a wooden oak leaf element.  Great right?  The layout could hold many options. There seems to be a need for masculine styled cards in my collection more often than not.  You should try this out!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Trust God

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Whenever I teach a church lesson I make special handouts that go along with the topic being taught.  When I am creating something I have the best thoughts come along.  Kind of like thinking in the shower for some people.  For me, it is working in my studio.

Trust God

So, yesterday I had the opportunity to speak along side my husband during what we call Sacrament Meeting, or the main congregational service.  I spoke on charity.  Even though I had no intention of making a handout for hundreds of people, I still needed that thinking time.  This is what I came up with.

Trust God

I went to two of my favorite stamp sets of all time.  Lovely as a Tree, who doesn’t own that one by now, and of course Trust God.  They really speak for themselves.  I made this using early espresso for my base and layered with almost artichoke.  I wasn’t sure what technique I would be using, I didn’t plan on water coloring, which is why I have very vanilla involved here.

Trust God

It didn’t curl too much when I took the aqua painter to it.  I would have done better with water color paper, but I still like the results.  I painted the trees with almost artichoke to match the card, did the water in a very diluted marina mist, and finished the sky with soft sky.

I did joke a bit in my talk about having to make a handout, and yes, I did have it with me and showed it over the pulpit.  Those that know me well surely understood.  I do really take my creativity with me everywhere.

Have a creative day!

Moana