Butterfly kisses

TGIF!! 

Busy busy busy!! 

It has been one week since my fall session of school started.  

Last night I went to my first PTO meeting as part of the board (I am PTO treasurer).  

I have been working 6 day work weeks for the last 3 weeks. 

I have also been volunteering an hour a day at my kids school for the last 3 weeks.  

I am totally ready for a break but won't have one until next weekend.  

Next Friday will be my last day in my current position at work and then the day after Labor Day I will start a new position with the same company. 
The hours I will be working will be ideal for my busy schedule and I am excited to get that started. 

So we have a few more days of inspiration using our August kits.  

September 1st we will have our new kit reveal and we will also be having another DT call coming soon for our November thru April term.  Be sure to keep an eye out for that announcement.  

Today is the last day to enter our current sketch challenge.  Upload your project in our sidebar for your chance to win your choice of September kit and an opportunity to be our guest designer in September.  :-)

Today's inspiration was created by our Delightful Designer, Miriam. 

MIRIAM

Beautiful card, love it!!

Alright, that's it for today!  

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday!!

Thank you for stopping by!!

Happy Birthday

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!! Are you all glad the week is over? I know I am. :-) Today I have a super cute card to share with you that our Delightful Designer, Karen, created using our June card kit. :-)

KAREN

Isn't this card adorable?  Love the colors!!  For more details and inspiration, please visit Karen's blog.  :-) 

Today's post is short and sweet!  :-)  I have a ton of homework to get done before I go to work at 1pm, so I need to get moving.  Have a wonderful day!!  

Oh happy day

Happy Wednesday!!! YAY for the week being half over.  :-) 

Today I have some CAS cards to share with you that our Delightful Designer, Erin, created using our June card kit.  :-) 

ERIN

Aren't these cards just delightful!!  For more details and inspiration, please visit Erin's blog.

Don't forget to play along with our sketch challenge.  You have two chances to enter.  Upload your project in the sidebar by June 23rd for your chance to win our July kit.  :-)  

Glass Taster

Good Morning!! It is gloomy, rainy, and humid here in Winchester. So, I woke up at 4:30 this morning so I could record my first speech for my class. I thought oh yeah this speech (which is a max of 4 minutes) should take me no time at all to record and then I can go back to sleep for a bit. If I didn't have to work today I probably would have stayed awake even though I didn't go to bed until midnight. So anywho, a 4 min speech turned in to a ONE HOUR event. Ugh!!!! It literally took me about 20+ tries to get it right. LOL!! BUT I finally finished. And the funny thing is I think the class is all nervous too. There are 23 people in our class and the assignment is due in 2 days - only me and one other person has submitted it. With online classes people usually work ahead because all the assignments are already posted (at least that is the case with most classes).  But not this class, seriously people are waiting until the last minute to turn in their work.  Once I overcome my fear I am going to try and totally work ahead and maybe even finish the class early.  That would be AWESOME!!!!  It was weird with the speech I recorded this morning, my first try I was a little nervous, by try number 3 and 4 I felt really relaxed and at ease (but in the back of my mind nervous that my kids were going to wake so I was rushing and that is why I messed up) but by try number 10 and beyond I was like shaking and rushing and stumbling over my words.  It was really frustrating.  I must say if I learned anything it is practice, practice, practice.  I sort of practiced the first half of my speech yesterday so I was a champ at that part of the speech, where I kept messing up was the second half, the part I didn't practice.  LOL!!  Oh well, I learned from my mistake.  :-)

Ok, well today I have another fabulous LO to share with you.  The projects this month (well actually every month they are) are amazing and totally inspiring.  I sure hope you have been inspired.  I am not sure if you visited yesterday but I mentioned there are a few scrapbook kits left.  :-) 

MISSY

Adorable photos. And the LO is simply delightful!!  :-)  Be sure to stop by Missy's blog for more details and inspiration.  :-) 

You Make Me Happy

Good Morning my friends. Hope your weekend was awesome. I worked all weekend and today is my day off. I am super excited. Even though I only work 4-6 hours a day I worked the last 5 days in a row. Plus everything else going on, I just feel exhausted. So now I have procrastinated enough on my speech class, I have several speeches and voice recording assignments due this week. I can no longer wait. I just need to suck it up and do it. LOL!!


Today, though, I have an amazing LO to share with you.  Our Delightful Designer, Marcia, created this beauty using our June scrapbook kit.  Oh, and I was able to come up with a few more scrapbook kits, how cool is that?

 MARCIA

Love all the detail in this LO!!  For more details please visit Marcia's blog.  

Well that's all for today.  Don't forget to play along with this month's sketches.  Link your project up in the sidebar using one or both of the sketches by June 23rd for your chance to win our July kit.  :-) 

Thank you cards

Good Morning my friends. I can't believe it's Sunday already.  I am glad it is though because I have  off tomorrow.  I have been working a lot more hours which is a good thing I guess but I am just tired.  More hours at work would have been good before I had to start planning a big move.  LOL!! 

Anywho, today I have two Thank you cards to share with you that our Delightful Designer, June, created using our June kit.  :-) 

 JUNE

 

June used some of the super cute buttons that are included in the kit for the center of those flowers.  :-)  For more details and inspiration please visit June's blog.  :-) 

I am off to do some homework before I have to go to work.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

Misting Tutorial

Good Morning and Happy Friday.  It is supposed to be a hot a humid weekend here so I guess it's a good thing I have to work all weekend..  :-)  Did you see that we carry the Silhouette Cameo and some accessories in the store now?  Super excited and I think we have offered the lowest price out there for the Cameo machine.

We have an awesome tutorial to share with you today.  Karen shares with us some tips and tricks on misting.  Artful Delight carries a variety of Mister Huey's mists and we we will soon carry a small variety of October Afternoon, Sprinklers.  


Here is Karen's tutorial:

Artful Delight carries Mr. Huey's Mists by Studio Calico in the store in a variety of colors and I'll showcase a few of the many different styles you can achieve with them! Misting is a fun technique for both card makers and scrapbookers, it gives texture and dimension without the added layers and also adds a bit of whimsey and fun! I'm using the summery, Sunshine color today.

The first type of misting is what I call "normal." This is simply spraying one full squirt of mist about five inches away from your card stock. There is a concentration of the ink in one area, and the farther away you get from the central point, the finer the misting is.

The next type of misting is "residual." This look is achieved by spraying one full squirt of mist about seven inches away from your card stock, making sure to move your hand in a slow sweeping motion. Since I use a few plastic bags under my card stock to catch the over-spray, I start spraying slightly off the piece of card stock. This technique gives you less saturated color.

The "splatter" technique is achieved by opening up the cap of the mist bottle and flicking the tube full of ink onto your card stock. The end result leaves large, heavily concentrated splotches of color.

The final technique I'm showcasing today is the "combo" technique, with is simply a mix of any of the technique listed above but using two different colors of spray mists. You can achieve different results by the amount of time you allow for drying of your first layer.

 I thought I'd include a few samples made from the technique squares. This card uses the "residual" technique. I trimmed down the panel and adhered it to a card base that has been stamped with the circles from Geo-Graphic by Paper Smooches, the stamp set included in June's kit. I also added a sentiment and some patterned paper from the Simple Stories Summer Fresh patterned paper pad, the 6x6 pack included in June's kit as well.

This card showcases the "splatter" technique, which I always equate with a fresh and modern style. I stamped the hexagons from Geo-Graphic and added another Paper Smooches sentiment. A piece of patterned paper included in the kit was added and then all adhered to the card base.


And there you have it.  I hope you give misting a try and I would love to see what you create.  If you create a card using a misting technique, feel free to comment on this post and leave me a link or you can also share  with us on Facebook.

A few new Paper Smooches stamp sets have been added to our store as well.

Life Is Good

Happy Wednesday my friends!!! So excited the week is half over. My public speaking class officially started yesterday and I have never felt more out of place as I do in this class. I am probably the oldest person in the class. It is an online class and we are all asked to "chat" in an online forum to get to know each other. All the young 20-somethings don't want to chat with an old lady with 4 kids. LOL!!  Oh well, maybe that will make it easier to do the class.  All I know is I just want the next 7 weeks to fly by, I wish I could just blink and it all be over. 

 I am super excited today to share with you our Delightful Designer, Erin's first projects with our team.  Erin used our June card kit (which is now sold out) and she also used this month's card sketch to create the card.  :-)  

ERIN

Erin has created some awesome projects for her debut.  :-)  She is also having a giveaway on her blog.  YIPPEE!!!  You know how much I love giveaways.  So head on over and leave her a comment. 

Alright well that's it for today.  I hope you enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!!  :-)

Bus Ride

Good Morning my friends.  My move is now becoming more real.  My landlord decided they would do a surprise visit last night at 9:30pm to look at stuff that needs to be done.  Since we are moving they are planning on selling the house.  They want to have it on the market before we even move.  So they are having someone come over during the next 2 weeks to fix things and paint and all that jazz.  I am excited but nervous at the same time.  Life is going to be really busy over the next 2 months as it is, I don't need a repair man at the house at the same time.  BUT this is all real, it's happening.  LOL!!

Today we have a fabulous LO to share with you that our Delightful Designer, Missy, created using our June scrapbook kit. 

MISSY

This LO is based  on the June sketch...flipped on its side.  Love, love, love all the detail.  :-)  For more details and inspiration please visit Missy's blog.  

I also wanted to mention that we have some new products in the store.  We have the Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Inks - Spring Limited Edition 3 pack -  Lilac, Peacock Feathers, and Squeezed Lemonade....we also have the reinkers - they have not been added to the store yet so if you are interested and you don't see them, send me an email.  leeanne@artfuldelight.com

The 3 pack has a retail price of $17.99 - we are selling them for $14.99
The reinkers retail at $4.99 - we are selling them for $3.59

Don't forget about our sketch challenge, you have two fabulous sketches to chose from AND two chances to win.  Enter your project by June 23rd for your chance to win.  :-)

Let The Fun Begin

Good Morning my friends!! Did you have a wonderful weekend? I had to work all weekend so I am a bit happy Monday is here. My daughter's last day of school is tomorrow. Then it is summer break plus I think I will be working a lot more until I move. My speech class starts tomorrow and I don't think I have been more nervous in my life. Seriously get stomach pains every time I think about it. It is an online class and I have "met" some of my classmates already and I feel a bit like I am in high school. A bunch of young kids, boyfriend/girlfriend, sisters, and friends all in the class. We are supposed to submit pictures of ourselves and let's just say I feel old. LOL!! It was nice for the last 2 years in my Accounting classes we were all "older." We had families and it seemed like most of my classmates already had Accounting careers and they were doing some refresher courses or whatever. So we will see how well this class goes. :-)


So anywho, I have a LO to share with you today that our Delightful Designer, Marcia, created using our June scrapbook kit.

MARCIA  

This LO is based on the sketch, tipped on its side. What a fun and cute LO!!  :-)  Our June card kit sold out over the weekend which means all of our kits are sold out.  I hope you had a chance to get your hands on a kit.  I mentioned this in the past but I wanted to bring it up again.

 If you have been following me for a while you will know that I am moving August 1st.  I can only bring 30 boxes and we all know that isn't very many.  Just my personal stash of craft goodies has taken up half the boxes and I haven't even packed everything yet.  This means that I can't transport "inventory". I cannot order and keep on hand extra kits.  So I am not buying very many kits over the subscriptions.  Unfortunately this means we usually sell out before the 1st of the month or like this month it went a couple days later.  If you have been trying to get a kit before they sell out, I can pre-order kits.  They ship each month on or around the 1st of the month.  On the 25th of the previous month I have the kit reveal and you can see the kit and a list of the contents.  If it is something you would be interested in, you can email me and pre-order a kit. 

My plan after I move and when I have more space is to not only put together more kits but also have add on kits AND carry more products.  Within the next day or so I will be adding the Silhouette Cameo and some accessories to our store.  AND the best news is I will be selling them for cheaper than I have found it anywhere else.

The best way to make sure you get a kit each month is to subscribe.  :-)  There is no obligation, you can cancel at any time without any penalties.  You can skip a month if needed.  And we offer 3 and 6 month subscription options at a discounted price.  For a 3 month subscription (for either kit) it would be $30.50 plus shipping.  For a 6 month subscription it would be $27.50 plus shipping. 

Well that's all I have for today.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see more inspiration.  :-) 

 

Hats off to you!

Hello my friends. Can you believe it is already June 3? I know I can't. Today I have to work later but I am going to enjoy the day as best I can.  The temps cooled off here a bit, perfect weather for playing outside, maybe a little cleaning, maybe a little packing.  :-)  It will be a good day!!


Are there any crafty plans in your near future?  If so we have two very inspirational sketches to play along with.  Check them out in the sidebar.  You have until June 23rd to upload your project(s).  Since we have two sketches that means you have two chances to win.  :-)

Well today I have some more inspiration from our Design Team using our June kit.  DT member, June, created these two lovely almost identical cards. 

 JUNE

Super fun cards. For more details about these cards be sure to stop by June's blog.

Happy June 1st

*be sure to scroll down, there is lots to see in today's post*

Good Morning, TGIF, and Happy June 1st!!! I never thought I would be so excited to see June 1st arrive. But as of today we are T-minus 60 days. I couldn't be happier!!! I am also happy that today is the 1st. That means our June kit officially goes on sale. AND although the scrapbook kit has sold out, we still have a few card kits. :-) It is also when we start our next sketch challenge. Again we have 2 sketches to share with you. So let's get to it!!
  

SCRAPBOOK KIT

 this kit will include

Simple Stories - Summer Fresh collection

1 - 12x12 collection kit which includes (6) 12x12 pattern papers, (1) 12x12 sheet of fundamental cardstock stickers, (1) 12x12 sheet of expressions cardstock stickers, (30) double sided cut-apart element pieces; BONUS (6) 4x6 transparency overlays

1 sheet - 12x12 Bingo Cards/Stripe

Basic Grey - PB&J collection 12x12 sheet (1 each)

Picnic Basket

Bag of Chips

Raspberry Jam

Fluffer Nutter

White Bread

Little Yellow Bicycle - Saturdays collection 12x12 sheet (1 each)

Lose Yourself/Lovely Labels

Coordinating cardstock - Bazzill Basics 12x12 sheet (1 each)

White Prismatic

Celery

Candle Glow Medium

Bazzill-Red

Admiral

Embellishments - size and color may vary per kit

1 - Discover chipboard shape - FabScraps

1 package - Basic Grey PB&J collection - Die-Cut Flowers

2 - LYB Saturdays collection - Felt and Burlap flowers

5 - LYB Saturdays collection - stick pins

5 - FabScraps - Fabric Covered brads

12 - FabScraps - Hand painted Wooden Buttons

Approx 16 feet - Red Twine

Approx 8 feet - Hemp Twine

CARD KIT

Simple Stories - Summer Fresh collection

1 - 6x6 paper pad which includes 36 sheets of paper

Basic Grey - PB&J collection 6x6 sheets (2 each)

Picnic Basket

Bag of Chips

Raspberry Jam

Fluffer Nutter

White Bread

Little Yellow Bicycle - Saturdays collection 6x6 sheets (2 each)

Lose Yourself/Lovely Labels

Coordinating cardstock - Bazzill Basics 8 1/2x11 sheets (2 each)

White Prismatic

Celery

Candle Glow Medium

Bazzill-Red

Admiral

Embellishments - size and color may vary per kit

16 pieces - Basic Grey PB&J collection - Die-Cut Flowers

2 - LYB Saturdays collection - Felt and Burlap flowers

5 - LYB Saturdays collection - stick pins

5 - FabScraps - Fabric Covered brads

12 - FabScraps - Hand painted Wooden Buttons

Approx 16 feet - Red Twine

Approx 8 feet - Hemp Twine

Approx 3 yards - Sheer Ombre Yellow/Green ribbon

1 - Paper Smooches stamp set - Geo-Graphic

Next I have the sketches to share with you.  

Card sketch

 Layout sketch

Our card sketch was created by our Delightful Designer, Karen, and the layout sketch was created by Abby from Midwest Memories.  She was on our design team last term.  Although she is not designing each month with the kits I am super excited to still have her on the team creating the awesome layout sketches each month. 

Next up I have some projects  to share with you.  Three projects to be exact.  :-)  All thee cards cards were created using our June card kit AND the June card sketch.  

JUNE

KAREN

Now that is some inspiration!!  These kits are packed with goodies.   Now the sketch challenge will run until June 23rd.  Please link your projects up in the sidebar for you chance to win your choice of either our July card kit or scrapbook kit.  :-) 

That's it for today.  I hope you enjoy your Friday and weekend.  Although I have to work all three days, I was invited to a friends house tomorrow for a jewelry party and a friends house on Sunday to celebrate her sisters birthday.  AND Tony has off Sunday and Monday.  :-) 

You're Cute As A Button

Good morning my friends!! I can't believe this week is already half over. Pretty excited though. I have been working through my Excel homework and it really has been kicking my butt. Maybe it's my kids running around yelling and playing but I can't concentrate. For those that know Excel I am working on "SumIf" and I just can't get it. I just had to put it down. I guess I will work on it again when my kids are sleeping tonight, and when Tony is home and can help me. He knows Excel pretty well.

Take a look at today's LO.  It was created by our Delightful Designer, Debbie.

DEBBIE

Love all the layers and detail. For more  details about this LO, please visit Debbie's blog.

Boy oh boy, I just have so much going on in my mind that I just can't  focus.  I  wonder if something relaxing like scrapping or something might clear my mind.  Doesn't hurt to try, right?

Love My Girls

Happy Tuesday my friends!! Week one has been completed of my summer semester, only 9 weeks to go. How many of you are afraid of speaking in public? Well I am terrified. I have to take a public speaking class starting next week and I am terrified. So terrified I took the class online so I wouldn't have to give the speeches in person. I have to record my speeches and upload them to Youtube. BUT I am still terrified. I read my class syllabus yesterday and I actually considered dropping the class. Yeah but that wouldn't work because I NEED public speaking for my degree. I just have to remind myself in 8 weeks it will all be over. AND being online I don't ever have to see these people again. LOL!!


Can you believe that May is almost over?  I can't.  Well since we still have a couple days left in May I will share with you another project that our Delightful Designer, Debbie, created using our May scrapbook kit. 

DEBBIE

Beautiful LO!! For more details about this LO please visit Debbie's blog.  :-) 

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4 day week - This is my daughter's last official week of school and all she has is testing, so she gets out at 12:30pm everyday.  She does have classes next week but may not go because they aren't actually doing anything. 



 

Party Girl

Good Morning my friends. To those who celebrate: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!  I am happy to be able to spend the day with my family minus the 3 hours I have to work this afternoon.  Tony has the day off and we will just get to hang out, I sure do love my family.  :-) 

Today I have a super cute LO to share with you that our Delightful Designer, Marcia, created using our May scrapbook kit. 

 

 MARCIA

Eeeek, love those banners!!  Love the fun colors she used on the LO too.  For more details and a ton of inspiration please visit Marcia's blog. 

That's all for today, I am off to make some pancakes for my family!!  :-)

Spotlight Saturday!

Happy Saturday my friends!! I cannot believe the end of another month is right around the corner.  I am in serious countdown mode - T-minus 66 days until we leave.  I couldn't be any more excited.  We are getting close to the time that we can find a home and confirm jobs.....Oh I am so excited about that too.  The job that I thought I was going to get but couldn't back in April because the training  classes started before I would get to Arizona have job postings that just got posted which means I think they will start in August.  I have been in touch with the HR rep and she said that we can move forward when the classes are available after I arrive in Arizona.  Ahhhhhh, I am so excited.  Now just to get Tony a job. 

Well today you are in for a treat.  I asked our sketch challenge winner for April, Yvonne from Do More With Less,  to be our Guest Designer this month....I know, I know the  month is almost over and I haven't  posted anything yet.  Well that's because she lives out of the country and for some reason it took FOREVER for her to get the package.  Well she got her package a week or so ago and she got to work.  So I don't just have one project to share with you - nope not two or three projects......I have NINE PROJECTS to share. Yvonne used our May scrapbook kit!  I told you, you were in for a treat!!!! 

 YVONNE

I am pretty much speechless!!!!!  NINE layouts with one kit - that is amazing.  Many of my designers, even though they are only asked to make 4 projects a month, say that after those 4 projects they still have a TON of product left from the kit.  Our kits really are an amazing deal for your money. 

All of these LO's are absolutely amazing, I LOVE the ones where she used misting and masking.

So what do you think, is that a lot of projects for one kit or what??  There are still some June kits left, I think we only have one scrapbook kit and 3 card kits.  They will officially go on sale in our store  June 1st.  BUT if you would like to pre-order please send me an email.  leeanne@artfuldelight.com

Well that's all for today.  For my those who celebrate Memorial Day- I hope you have a safe and wonderful weekend.