2012 recap and 2 Trigger cards!

Can you believe it's been 6 MONTHS since I last posted?  Well, I can!  It has been a CRAZY end to 2012 and I'm hopeful that 2013 will be less stressful and healthier.  The good part?  My niece and nephews arrived July 19th - a full 10 weeks before their due date.  They are all miracles and are so darn cute!  They are now 5 months old, happy and healthy!  Aren't they cute?  I've been on babysitting duty when ever they need an extra set of hands, it's so fun!

Besides babies and all the party and wedding events I've developed, I have been a medical lab rat since December 2011.  Over the last 12 months I have had a kidney stone....Nov 28, 2011....and surgery for said stone which resulted in a damaged ureter and a stint put in place until early January.  I tripped on a stool left out by my kids and shattered my middle toe and foot joint....late Jan....which kept me in a boot until March.  I had 2 months of 'good health' then I contracted WHOPPING COUGH in late May....PLEASE immunize your children....which had me hacking and unable to breathe until September....I wouldn't wish that on anyone....  In October I found a lump on the side of my neck.   Meanwhile, since mid summer, I thought I was going thru menopause....I'm only 40....  I had all kinds of weird things going on. Loosing hair; weight gain no matter how hard I worked out or how little I ate; skin issues; hot flashes and cold spells; MASSIVE migraines; extreme fatigue; joint pain and many more lovely icky things.  The Dr. finally scheduled tests and an MRI of my head...for the migraines....and my neck in December.  The lump is just filled with fluid....yea!.... but they also found a nodule on my thyroid.  Humm....an ultrasound later, there is no cancer....thank you Jesus....but that I have Hoshimoto's Thyroiditus.  Oh joy.  So 40 of the 60 lbs I lost in 2010-2011 has RAPIDLY....since September....re-established itself on my belly and thighs....*sigh*....  My health MUST get better in 2014, right?  Enough medical talk...

NOW to the good stuff!!  Since June 30th, I haven't been crafting....what?....  At all....sacrilegious!....  No challenges, no magazine calls - nothin'.  It's been quite sad really, my craftin' spot just kept getting stuffed with whatever we wanted to keep but didn't have the time to find a place for it.  It's amazing how much stuff you can stuff into 100 sq ft!  I took the time in December to finally organize our lives and I was able to get back to my desk and my beloved paper and stamps!  Yea!

I thought I would get my stamps wet by participating in this week's Trigger Tuesday at Moxie Fab!  It's been so long since I've even visited any of my beloved inspiration sites and Cath at MFW is always at the top of my list.  I love the photo she provided, it's my FAVORITE color combo.  Golden yellow, robin's egg blue, a touch of dark pink....add a bit of lime green and it's my house.... - yum!

I had so much fun yesterday playing with my papers, inks and stamps!  It was so therapeutic.  My girls even joined me down there for a couple hours.  Between re-acclimating myself with my supplies and helping the girls with their creations, I was able to make 2 cards for this challenge....YEA!....  One was planned and the other was made from the scraps!  First up:

 I was lucky to find in my stash a perfect paper to match the bedspread!  It has a touch of blue in it - excellent!  The houndstooth and qualfoil from PTI were stamped in white craft and embossed with white EP.  I love the strong white on the colors.

 I think this is the perfect salutation for someone you care about.  It was also heat embossed with white EP.

Like my faux washi tape?  I just cut 1" strips from the stamped and patterned papers then tore them.  I really think I may need to get some...

 This is the one I made from the scraps from the first one.  I stamped the houndstooth pattern with Crumb Cake but for some reason in the photo, it looks green....weird....  I promise its not.

I put a simple little collection of buttons under the sentiment to keep it nice and simple!

I'm really glad I'm making this a priority again in my life.  It's great therapy and Lord knows I need it! 

Bakin' beauties

 

Here it is!  My last Our Creative Corner challenge as hostess.  I hope you enjoy it.  I do tend to make you work outside the box, but this one is pretty easy.  Are you ready?  

I'm obsessed with beautiful cookies and 'fancy' cakes!  I always try to make them myself, but generally fall a bit short...  Your challenge this week is to make a creation based on these delish looking treats - the catch?  You MUST use something you would use in baking in your creations.  Get creative - use food coloring, paper liners, or sprinkles.  Know any cool techniques with egg whites, flour or sugar?  You need to explain your 'ingredient' in your description of your creation.

Are you drooling?  Well, let the let's see if I can get your mouth watering!

This tag didn't exactly come out as I had planned, but it works.   I used a mix of inspiration from the 1st, 3rd and 4th inspiration photos.  I went with the black background....the 1st photo....the sprinkles....the 3rd photo....and the tag shape....last but not least 4th photo.  It only came out o.k., but I must point out my insanity.  You see those little white dots along the border?  Those are white nonpareils.  Yes, I placed each and every one of them with tweezers.  

See?  *crazy*

This next one I wanted to try out using powdered sugar.  I had hoped that it would give a burnt, vintage-y feel, but it ended up just looking like a water mark. Bummer.  It smelled kind of good though...

I wonder how egg whites or lemon juice would have worked?  Hummm.....  Any hoo, I covered my 'you' die cut with pink sanding sugar like glitter and added little white nonpareils again for a touch of dimension.

 Go ahead...raid your baking supplies, then link up your creation at the OCC!

Now, I don't want you to think I won't be around since I'm leaving theOCC DT.  On the contrary, after the 7th, I don't have anymore parties scheduled for the summer, so I can get my crafty on!  I really quite excited about it!

Final 2 OCC Challenges...

I really have been around, checking out all the fabulous creations at the OCC over the last few weeks.  I do however have some sad news, after hosting these next 2 challenges I will be leaving the OCC as a Design Team member.  It has been a great 2 years of challenges and inspirations, working with a group of  very talented women!  These challenges have helped me hone my skills for my magazine and professional works.  Who'da thunk having so much fun would be so beneficial?  Thank you all!

Ok, now on to the challenge!  10 years ago yesterday, I married my amazing hubby.  In honor of a decade of married bliss, my challenge is for you make a creation with either the number 10 in it or it must contain 10 of the same items (ex: buttons, flowers, repeat images). 

 So my10 items are buttons.  Not terribly creative but they are sure adorable!

 

I added some Stickles to the pear and added my own little heart instead of the seeds from the stamp.  You know, 'cause I love him!

 Don't get overwhelmed - check out all the amazing creations the Design Team came up with!

Hot Air and Quads

Greetings from the land of the Krzy!....my nickname is krzy kramer from my maiden name, and pretty much describes me to a T!....

I missed this weeks Our Creative Corner challenge, but be sure to head over there to get inspired!  The challenge is a color one and I love it!  I do have a good reason to have flaked out.  I've been busy collaborating the decor Harry Connick event, 2 events in our family and illness....again....

First, my amazing BIL Nick and his adorable wife Gina have been trying to get pregnant for the last 3.5 years.  After much heartache and trials, they decided to use an egg producing drug.  After a year of use, they were on their last dose and found out they were pregnant....with QUADS!!!  It was a shock, but they are taking the change in stride and with joy!  Gina is now 21 weeks along and with Gods blessing, each of the babies are healthy and growing.  3 boys and 1 girl.  Amazing!  It has been a joy to celebrate this journey with them.

This past weekend my 8yr old daughter, my mother-in-law and I hosted a baby shower for the happy parents to be!  I took care of the decor and the planning....since that is my forte'.....  I went a bit overboard, but it was an amazing event and I can't wait to show you!  Are you ready?

Well, it all started with the invitation.  I had wracked my brain for a while coming up with a 'theme'....'cause I'm a theme party girl....Gina's sister used the bird's nest idea, so I needed to get creative.  I didn't want to get to 'quad-y' with the theme, so after much searching on Pintrest, I came up with hot air balloons....it didn't hurt that I have the PTI Up, Up & Away set either....

That inspired the hot air balloons my mom and I made....well mom gave it the ole' college try.... We painted paper lanterns to match the invitation balloons.  I was going to add the white buntings to them, but opted not to.  I made 10 of them, 2 went to the nursery, 2 to my daughters room and the rest for sale on my Etsy site.

I added little 4 little elephants to the baskets, each with a ribbon with the babies names on them.  Their room has an elephant theme, just for their little peanuts!

 Super cute eh?  I then had my helpers....aka mom & dad....fold 40+ tissue clouds to hang with the balloons from the ceiling.  My in-laws officially think I'm insane and obsessive.  They were shocked to see me hanging these from the ceiling at the club at 8 a.m.  I think its fun! 

 This is just one collection of clouds with the balloon. *LOVE IT*   I then moved the theme onto the tables.  The favor bags had the same PTI image....I think I colored over 60 for this event.....  Now here's the abstract part, the tables were the 'ground', I used sod and added daisies to it....my mom thought I lost it....I usually use wheat grass, but it's no longer sold in flats around here.  The ceiling was the sky, get it?  Here's a little peek of the finished tables.

And a close-up of the favor

Finally I carried the them over to the sweets table. A cake, cookies and chocolate pops.  *ADORABLE*

 A close-up of the sod....

I went a bit overboard with the sweets considering it was a brunch.  Made to order omelets and waffle bar, bellinis and mimosas - it was delish!

The photos are a little off, but here is the over all look of the event

Now, here's a comparrison photo of Gina now, she is 21 weeks along and is bigger than her sister that is currently 36 weeks pregnant!  She's still moving around great, but will be put on bed rest very soon.  She needs to keep those kids a cookin' for another 11 weeks!  Isn't she cute?....sorry the quality isn't there....

The next day was my baby girls' first communion!  I can't believe it, she has grown up so fast.  She has been so excited to do this, she talked about it every day for a month!  She didn't want to do the group ceremony on May 5th and we were able to schedule a family mass celebration so her grandparents would be in town for it.   I got weepy when she went up and did all the right things....she took it so very seriously....   Time goes by too fast....

Lastly, I spent last week fighting off what I thought was allergy problems. Mind over matter is how I got thru the week, hacking, sneezing, the typical allergy things.  But, it's not allergies, its whooping cough....sigh...*.hack*....  I'm off to get the antibiotics for me and the family tomorrow, but until then, I'm in bed while my little one naps.

Hope you enjoyed my really looong post today.  I'll try to post more this week!

Sketch it!

 

Hi Ladies!

It's a sketch challenge this week at Our Creative Corner, one of my favorite challenge themes.  Meihsia Liu from Simply Paper Craft is hosting this week and she came up with a great sketch! 

I got a little creative with my interpretation and decided to make a mother's day card for my dear mom that is currently flying above our little heads on her way here!  YIPPIE! 

 Alright ladies, you enjoy your mothers this weekend, I know I will!  Also, be sure to visit all the other ladies on the DT team at the OCC too.

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Wendy Janson-  It's All About Stamping
Marcy Kaminski - En Papillote Arts
Holly Kean- Kean On Paper 
Irena Kowalczyk (aka Rudlis) - Love, Life and Crafts
Meihsia Liu- Simply Paper Crafts
Tui Nathan- Stampin Time
Lori Rider- The Diva Stamper
Kristin Tierney- Lilly Beth Boutique

Sharon Wheet- Designs by Sharon

Bridal Bouquets

Another non-paper post here.  I was called in last week for an emergency bridal bouquet order for Capital Style, a local magazine here in Columbus.  They needed a bouquet for a bridal issue they are putting together.  They requested a ranunculus bouquet, so I whipped up 2 and added another fun one for some variety, you know, just in case...

This first one is a simple one with greens.  Not my favorite, but it's nice.

This one is my favorite!  I love the yellow ranunculus and I added some very open orange parrot tulips around the bottom blooms.  I love the contrast of the textures together.

The last one I made is from some gloriosa lilies the shop had left over from an event a week ago.  The flower is so weird, I thought I'd make an extra unexpected one.

I promise to have a paper related craft int he next couple days for you.  Thanks for visiting!

Delish Fish

Just a little culinary creation to share with you bleeps today.  Click here for this week's OCC post.

As a fine artist, I enjoy stretching my creative prowess to other things other than paper. Since  I'm a big fan of Ace of Cakes and all those fun cake shows, I tend to try create fun cakes too.  Here are a few I've posted here before.

This week I had a mom from Lily's school contact me to make a cake for her sons 6th birthday.  The theme - tropical fish.  *YIKES*    He didn't want a cake in the shape of a fish, but rather he wanted it to look like an aquarium.  That request had my brain frozen on what to make.  So I did what any other brain-blocked artist would do, find inspiration on line.  After much hunting, I came up with a few techniques and inspiration photos to show the family.  My favorite was one with a real fish bowl on the cake with a new pet included - veto on the pet, but the kid liked the cake.  Here's my rendition of it:

Admittedly the fish are plastic,and the rocks are jelly beans, but the rest is all me!  I got the idea for the coral from a Cake Boss episode.  They poured Isomelt on ice to make huge coral formations.  I've never used Isomelt, but have melted hard candies when baking window pane cookies and decided to go that route.  I crushed the candies, then melted them in the microwave - it worked!  I then poured the melted candy over crushed ice and this is what it made

Cool eh?  I tried it with melted chocolate too, not as cool looking but it does look like the coral you would buy at a tourist shop in Florida.

 Then I added the scuba guy 'cause it reminded me of an aquarium. 

I wasn't at the party, but my girlfriend was and she said the kids thought it was *awesome*!  Got to love when what you make is a hit with people other than yourself.  I was really pleased with how it came out.

Mom's Cameo

Hello again ladies!....or gents if you're out there....
Here I am again with another challenge post for Our Creative Corner!  This week our challenge is hosted by the super talented Anne Marie.  She has a great one for us this time, it's a "A Recipe for Mom" Mother's Day Challenge....say that 4x fast....  Here's the deets:

Create a project for Mother's Day using the following "recipe": 

*Embossing (wet or dry)

*Ribbon

*Buttons or Brads

*Watercoloring

 

Now - don't be like me and forget an important part of the recipe.  I was so focused on the watercoloring and the brads....both of which are rare in my creations....that I forgot to add the ribbon!  ....I do that with baking too, be careful eating my cupcakes....  I had to go back and add the ribbon and now I can't decide which I like better - with or without - What do you think?

 

Here are my recipe items: White embossing powder; rainbow ribbons; brads for the ponytails; water coloring for behind the cameos.  I was inspired to do the cameos from the Paper Crafts Magazine April Gallery Challenge that ended - well, yesterday.  Check out this creation without the ribbon in the challenge gallery here.

Alright, now it's your turn to whip up something yummy following Anne Marie's recipe.  Get to it!

 

P.S.  Be sure to check out all the other DT creations this week, their delish!

 

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Wendy Janson-  It's All About Stamping
Marcy Kaminski - En Papillote Arts
Holly Kean- Kean On Paper 
Irena Kowalczyk (aka Rudlis) - Love, Life and Crafts
Meihsia Liu- Simply Paper Crafts
Tui Nathan- Stampin Time
Lori Rider- The Diva Stamper
Kristin Tierney- Lilly Beth Boutique

Sharon Wheet- Designs by Sharon