No April Fool's Trick - The Blog Is Back

So I've been away - for months - after planning and being sure that I could maintain my blog.  But this winter did me in (not quite literally).  We had the Christmas chaos and then just before the holiday I started getting sick.  And I stayed that way til early March.  I fell on the ice and snow walking the dog (more than once).  And through it all I wasn't feeling very creative or productive.  So I didn't really have much to blog about.  But in the last couple of weeks my scrappy mojo seems to be back.  So I am ready to get back to my blog. 

First thing's first - I have an open giveaway from way back in November/early December and I need to pick a winner.  (I know its Christmas supplies, but if you are like me, Christmas themed pages and projects cross your desk throughout the year.)

On November 17, penny said:

Wow! Great giveaway. I can't wait to see how your album progresses. I have never done a holiday book. 

Penny, email me at juliee181 at gmail dot com to claim your prize.  And guys, I really apologize for the time it took me to name a winner.  I promise to do better.

Now - what have I been working on?  Lots of good stuff. Last week I was playing in the Paper Issues crop.  My projects included three quick cards I though I would share.

The first challenge I am sharing required the color orange and stamping.  Here's what I came up with.

 

The design is super simple - the patterned base paper does most of the work.  I just added a label, a frame, and a tag.  Epoxy stickers from the new Amy Tangerine collection were the perfect finishing touch.

The second was for an alphabet challenge.  I used the awesome ampersand vellum from Webster's Pages and the bold tile thicker for my basic design.  The fun part was punching stars from tile style mini alphas to finish it off.

The third card was to make something connected to music.  I had a bag printed with the music for happy birthday that had been hanging out in my stash for a really long time.  So I cut it apart to serve as the base of my card.  Then it was all about the layers.  I love that I used lots of bits from my stash for this card and ended up with something fresh and pretty.

 Thanks for visiting.  I'll talk to you soon.