The Musings of a Crafty College Student

a fond fairwell

2010-05-26T18:04:00.000-04:00

I have decided it's too difficult to keep up with this blog. So, what did I do? Made a new one of course! I combined all of my hobbies into one blog, which will be much easier for me to update. I'll leave this blog as is in case anyone likes the content. =)

Visit me at my new home:
http://sevenpinkdiamonds.blogspot.com

Spring cards =)

2010-03-17T17:03:00.000-04:00

Here are some of my latest creations for Spring. In the coming weeks, I'll be preparing for an upcoming craft show, so look for lots of new goodies some time in April (and hopefully a few before then as well)!

Here I am!

2010-03-13T15:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I've returned! =) It took a little longer than I anticipated, but here I am! I have tons of goodies to share, so let's get started!

Today's post will feature my newww notepads!! These little guys are just adorable. I used PaperTrey Ink's "Take Note" stamp set to make these. They measure roughly 7-8'' by 2'' (I haven't measured them for exacts just yet, but I will soon!)

These will all be available for sale on my Etsy in the coming week, so be on the look out for that. As for cards, I have tons of new ones to share, also in the coming week, so check out those as well. =)

Now: The Notepads!

I'm still here =)

2010-02-18T20:07:00.000-05:00

You have to love school. I have had absolutely nooooooo time for any crafting lately. =( I am currently preparing for a trip to London, so I won't be posting anything new soon, BUT when I do return (on March 8th, however it could take a few days before I'm back online), I'll have tons of new goodies to share and fabulous new items in my Esty store. =)

See you soon!!

Fail!

2010-01-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

Well, my date cancelled, so card-making day did not happen last weekend. =( However, I have rescheduled with myself (lol) for this weekend, so we'll try again! I am going to prepare for a craft show in May that I just signed up for (yes - a ways away, but I'll need all that time!) It's a Mother's Day craft show, so the items will be those that would interest mothers and grandmothers and the like. =)

So far, my list includes:
notepades (with PaperTrey Ink's "Take Note" stamp set)
Card sets (in coordinating purse holders)
obviously, individual cards
Flower pot cards - loveeeeeeeee these!!
bookmarks - maybe?
gift tags

I'm working on more ideas, but this is what I've got so far... we'll see!

Birthday Card and More =)

2010-01-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

Hi again. =) Sorry the posts are slowing down - winter semester has begun! I do, however, have a crafting day "scheduled" for Saturday, since that seems to be the only way to find some time to do it. I'll post lots of goodies following that... Today I have a new birthday card to share. I never have "boyish" cards for the males in my life, so I made this guy, which I think is pretty cute.

Annddd, a sneak peek for all those following my blog: I am working new releases for my Etsy store! I plan to launch a line of digital scrapbooking paper, digital cards, and maybe a few other items. =) I'm very excited about this, as I am a huge fan of digital products. I love the ease of simply printing designer paper when you need it as opposed to treaking out to the store. So look for that in the future!!

More Valentine's Day

2010-01-08T11:49:00.000-05:00

I'm on a roll this year! =) So far, I've been able to add one item to my Etsy shop every day (except the one day, I forgot). Yay. Here's some of my latest work, just in time for Valentine's Day. Check out my shop if you'd like to purchase them. =)

And here's two mini-sets that I loveeeeeeeeee:

More books anyone?

2010-01-02T00:27:00.001-05:00

Break has given me tons of reading time and I am loving it!! Here's my latest installment of Good Reads: The Sookie Stackhouse Series. This series is a vampire series, but it's not Vampire Diaries, nor anything like Twilight. While I loved both of those series emmensly, this series is for adults. =) The action is much darker, the vampires actually kill people, and, of course, there's some romance. The series is currently, I believe, 9 books long. I'm on book 5 - hoping to finish off the other four by the end of the month. =) Here's the amazon link, if you'd like to check it out! It's definitely worth your while. =)

Sookie Stackhouse Series - Book One

It's also a TV series, TrueBlood, which airs on HBO, however, I am not a fan of the show. In my opinion, the books are much, much better. =)

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2010!!! I hope everyone has a fabulous year! I've got a teeming list of resolutions and I'm hoping I can stick to at least one. =) Haha. To start this new year right, I've got cards!!!!! Yay! For now, here's just one more Valentine's Day card, but don't worry, I've plenty more to post in the coming days. =)

All supplies are PaperTrey Ink. =)

Valentine's Day =)

2009-12-27T21:33:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! =) I'm back with our next exciting holiday: Valentine's Day. =) I did get some New Year's stamps this week, but it's a little late for those, so I'm just moving on! Here's three of my latest creations with my new christmas goodies from Paper Trey Ink. I have a new favorite stamp company and have already loaded up my shopping cart on their website for when PayDay rolls around. =)

All of the supplies for these cards are from Paper Trey Ink, as stated above. I used the Wise Owl and Signature Greetings stamp set as well as their cardstock, which is wonderful, I might add! =)

Etsy!

2009-12-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

I won't be updating my blog after today for at least a couple days, but I wanted to share with you my new Etsy shop! Right now, there's not much to be found in the shop, but I plan on adding a couple new items every day until I run out of items to put on there. =) Most of the items will already have been featured on my blog for now, but as I make more goodies, I'll add them in both places. I also plan on expanding into a couple of paid tutorials, many more free, and some calendars as well, as soon as I figure my graphic design program out. =) I may also do some digital cards, but again, I need some play time first with the software. The Link is at the top of the blog if you'd like to check it out.

I hope everyone enjoys their Christmas!

Any Occasion Card

2009-12-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to fixing up a nice place to take pictures, so I'll be replacing a few within the blog and the new ones will have this same "layout." =) Much better than the carpeting background and weird light tricks. =) I'm glad I finally have some time to make this blog the way I want it to be.

Anyway, today I have a cute Any Occasion card, as I have deemed it.

Enjoy!

Layout's Up! Yay!

2009-12-21T17:41:00.001-05:00

What do you think about the new layout?! I'll be adding a few tweeks here and there, but for the most part - it's all set! =)

Notepads and Holders

2009-12-20T21:05:00.001-05:00

So, I lied about the new layout. =( My apologies! I wanted to have it up this weekend, but just haven't had the time. Good news is my last final is tomorrow morning, so hopefully, I'll have time this week. But to be on the safe side, I make no promises. =)

I do have a fun project to share with you though!! I made these cute notepads and holders for my mother a while back and I love love love them! The notepads were made on Design Her Gals. I kept these nice and simple, without much decoration, but you can obviously do much more with them. =) Hopefully over Christmas break I have time to make a tutorial of these guys 'cuz they're just so much fun.

Notepads closed:

Notepad 1 inside:

(a little blurry, I apologize! I need to start checking these over apparently.)

Notepad 2 inside:

New Layout!

2009-12-15T22:08:00.002-05:00

I'm currently working on a new layout for my blog. In my head, it's pretty awesome, but I just got my new Mac, so I don't have any graphic design software yet... we'll see how this goes. =)

Hopefully I'll have it up by the end of the weekend, but that might be a little optimistic of me.

Yay for more posts. =)

2009-12-14T12:14:00.008-05:00

Now I might just be over doing, but I figure, since I've got the time and the desire, I might as well update while can. =) I just thought I would share with anyone following this one of my new favorite books. It was required reading for my Honors course, and generally speaking, I detest Honors, but this book was truly amazing.

Anyway, the book is called "In the Time of the Butterflies." It was written by Julia Alvarez. It tells the incredible tale of the Mirabal sisters and their fight against the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. But don't be fooled: it's not just a history book. It's the story of four sister's love for one another and for their individual families as well. It takes you through their lives, from childhood to death. It's definitely worth reading if you've got the time. There's a movie too, which was good, but as most films made from books are, the novel was much better.

Find the Amazon.com link here.

Edit// I'm starting up a new thing here on my blog; I just decided. =) Every so often, and I don't give a definite time, because we all know how great I am at updating, I'll post my "review" of a book I've read for you all to try and then you can comment if you liked it, etc. if you want. =) I'll put all my suggestions in the right hand sidebar so you can check them out whenever the urge strikes you. =) I'm an avid reader, so I'm excited about this, hopefully you are too!

'Tis the Season! =)

2009-12-14T11:49:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple Christmas cards I made. I actually made 5 or 6 different designs, but forgot to take pictures of some of them, so this is all I have to share as of right now. No specific inspiration for these, just sort of went with "the flow." =)

I apologize for the poor image quality, I hadn't inspected the image until just now. lol.

More =)

2009-12-13T19:58:00.003-05:00

2 in 2 days, I'm on a roll. =) Here are a couple giftcard holders that I made for Christmas. I used the same method as I did for a birthday card I made a while back, so check out that post here for sources.

I'm still here!

2009-12-12T15:28:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while, almost 2 months, but I'm still here!! I'm currently suffering through finals, but hopefully I have lots more updates over the winter break. I just got a new computer as well, so I've been reorganizing and decluttering all my files and now I'm ready to update again. =) This project is BRAND NEW. =) I made it just last night for my co-worker for christmas. The Card Purse is made using a tutorial from SplitCoastStampers, which you can find here. Everything else is a product of the imagination of yours truly.

First, the card purse, which I loveeeeeeeee. I will definitely be making more of these.

Here's the purse with the cards inside:

And the cards with matching envelopes. =)

I have more goodies to post, so look for those *hopefully* very soon.

Fun Fold Card

2009-10-21T09:57:00.002-04:00

I can't remember the name for this fancy card, but I made this a while back for a friend's 21st Birthday and figured I should finally get around to posting it. :)

Front:

Inside:

Birthday Card

2009-10-20T22:51:00.005-04:00

I desperately needed a break from studying for midterms, so I figured I'd use this time to update. :) Just a small one, but an update none the less. Here's a birthday card I made for the craft show and loveeee. I'm a fan of anything pink really, but I thought these guys were too cute! This paper set and rub-ons are Imaginesce.

Hot Chocolate Card Tutorial

2009-10-12T19:04:00.003-04:00

For my first tutorial ever (and I'm very excited about it!), I'm going to show you how to make this hot chocolate card:

Anndd here's the inside:

You could actually use whatever kind of beverage mix you'd like, but I used hot chocolate since it's a Christmas gift!

The *super short* supply list:
- paper (I recommend a fairly thick card stock for this)
- adhesive (again, a fairly strong adhesive is recommended since the hot chocolate packets are rather heavy)
- ribbon (cut to 20 inches)

STEP 1:

Cut your paper down to 8.5" by 11"

STEP 2:

Score your paper using the following measurements:
Landscape: Score at: 3/4", 1 1/4", 5", 6", 9 3/4", 10 1/4"
Portrait: Score at: 1/2", 5 3/4", 6 1/4"

STEP 3:

Cut out the areas we won't be needing for this card. Here's a template for reference. "X's" are sections that need to be completely removed. The squiggly lines indicate where you should cut for folding purposes.

STEP 4:
Fold all your score lines.

STEP 5:

Adhere your box together. Use this template as reference for where to put the adhesive. Pink denotes where the adhesive will go, you'll be able to tell which side of the paper when you fold it together.

STEP 6:

Add the ribbon to the box, followed by your other decorations.

And it's that easy!! The folding takes a bit, but it's super simple and a very cute gift idea!

Craft Show Recap

2009-10-11T22:40:00.005-04:00

Wellllllll this first craft show was not a success! The good news is, I don't think it was my items! :) Apparently, no one there actually sold much of anything. I talked with a couple other venders and they had the same kind of day I did: awful! I sold, let me count here, 9 items. Yep, only 9. I'm contemplating doing another one November with alllllll my leftover stuff, but that is still undecided at this point. But, for reference, here's what I took (and what very little I sold):

8 Altered Notebooks ($5 each) : Sold 0
55 Gift Tags ($0.25 each) : Sold 5
35 Trick-Or-Treat Bags ($1.00 each) : Sold 0
9 Binder Clip Photo Holders ($1.00 each) : Sold 3
3 Trick-Or-Treat Card Boxes ($3.00 each) : Sold 0
11 Make Your Own Card Kits ($4.00 each) : Sold 0
162 Cards ($2 each) : Sold 1

Some items I've posted pictures of already and some I have yet to post, so look for those in the future. I also took 3 of my Dad's barn toy boxes, which are very cute toy boxes that look like a real barn and can hold tractors and toys, obviously, but we didn't sell any of those either. Perhaps we can find a good craft show to do in the future?!? That'd be nice. :)

Craft Show Tomorrow :)

2009-10-09T23:28:00.007-04:00

I'm super excited!! I took a final inventory of everything I'm taking tomorrow tonight and it's actually not as much as I thought I had... imagine that. Hopefully it will be enough though!! I guess we'll see tomorrow. Also, as promised, I'll post a craft show recap, hopefully, this week with pictures and what not. :) For now, here's a cute Halloween treat that I'll be selling tomorrow. I've seen a lot of people do something along this line, so I thought I'd see how they sell.

While I'm in the updating mood...

2009-10-07T20:09:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd share this video. I saw it work one day and I think it has a great message for my generation. :)

Stamps for Sale

2009-10-07T19:53:00.003-04:00

I have some retired Stampin' Up stamp sets for sale over here at Split Coast Stampers. They're all super cute, but I just don't use them anymore!! All the details are at that link as well. Let me know if you're interested! :)

Where does the time go?!

2009-10-07T19:42:00.003-04:00

Yikes, I haven't written a while!! My apologies. I always think how I would like to update this, but then realize I haven't had the time to make anything to update with! Well, good news!! I spent this entire past weekend crafting away preparing for the craft show THIS COMING WEEKEND!! I'm very excited! Hopefully, it will be a success. I'll post how I did and some photos after the show. For now, here's a couple Christmas Cards I made this weekend. I'll update later with more crafties once I get the rest of the pictures off my camera. :)

And since I couldn't decide which orientation I liked better, I did it both ways:

More Christmas!

2009-09-13T11:41:00.002-04:00

These Christmas cards I absolutely love!! I use this layout a lot when making cards, as it is one of my favorites! I'm contemplating making more because I'm so fond of these little guys!

Close-ups:

Christmas Cards

2009-09-13T11:36:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that it's almost that time again, but it is!! Here's my first round of Christmas cards. This idea came from melbourne robyn over at Split Coast Stampers.

& Here's a couple close-ups:

Birthday Card!

2009-09-13T11:31:00.002-04:00

As foreshadowed, school has started and now my crafting time is very limited. :( However, I do have some new things to share today! I have some crafting WEEKENDS planned in the coming weeks to prepare for my craft show in October, so I'll update after those as well!

Here's a new birthday card, which I made for my aunt and LOVE!! I got this idea from Inking Idaho (link on right). She made a pocket card to hold nail files and I thought it would be cute if it held a pull-out card, so that's what I did!

Altered Composition Notebooks

2009-09-01T20:01:00.002-04:00

It's been a slow week, so I thought I'd get started on making items, that are not cards, for my craft show in October! I made a few altered notebooks tonight, which I think are too cute!! I plan to make more, but I just don't have the energy at the moment. Here's the ones I've done thus far:

Twilight Anyone?

2009-08-25T22:18:00.003-04:00

My Aunt asked for a Twilight themed set for an Edward fanatic friend of hers and this is what I came up with:

Card:

Box Set:

Box Close Up:

Card Close Up:

Another Birthday Card!

2009-08-25T22:16:00.002-04:00

I got new paper at a New To You Sale this weekend. I loooovvvveee this paper set!! I don't know what it's called off hand, but it's by Imaginisce.

Michigan Birthday Card

2009-08-25T22:13:00.001-04:00

Love this card too!! I'm a huge Michigan fan, so clearly I love it! I made this for my boyfriend's birthday (and I feel safe posting it now, two days prior to him receiving it as he never looks at this)!

Inside:

Gift Card Holder

2009-08-25T22:10:00.002-04:00

I love this little guy. :) My mom needed a gift card holder for a birthday gift, so I made this up!

Inside:

Cute Kid Cards

2009-08-23T22:03:00.009-04:00

Here's more cards from that adorable paper set I got on clearance at Michaels!

Awesome Blog!

2009-08-21T17:49:00.002-04:00

I discovered this amazing blog the other day and felt the need to share. She has amazing, amazing ideas and some very cool templates for sale.

Check it out!

http://inkingidaho.blogspot.com/

So, it's not a card...

2009-08-18T16:28:00.004-04:00

but it made me very happy! Check out this new trailer for New Moon:

Last one for today...

2009-08-16T17:11:00.005-04:00

So, upon our decision to attend a craft show in October, I began stamping-away. These cute little Halloween boxes were made using a tutorial for the box by Dawn (link on the right) and the cards were an idea of yours truly. I think these are super cute!!

Close-Up of box:

Close-Up of cards:

Purse Card!!!!!

2009-08-16T17:08:00.005-04:00

Dawn from Dawn's Stamping Thoughts has once again made something amazing! These purse cards were made using her tutorial and are awesome. :) I love them! & they hold gift cards inside. (Link to Dawn on right)

Inside:

Wedding Cards

2009-08-16T17:01:00.005-04:00

I was in the du-du-du-dum mood the other day, so I made some wedding cards! Now, I just need someone to get married so I can hand them out!

Close-up:

I got this idea from melsmith at Split Coast Stampers (link in sidebar on right).

This idea came from Freshn_Sassy at Split Coast Stampers. This card opens in the middle as opposed to the right, like usual.

Baby Cards

2009-08-16T16:57:00.005-04:00

I love these little onesies! I got this idea from babybluegirl at Split Coast Stampers (link to SCS on right sidebar).

First Card Post

2009-08-16T16:43:00.013-04:00

Here are some of my favorite cards from the past...

Love this one. I used a sketch from Mojo Monday (week 95) as a point of departure for this card. (Links to inspirations in sidebar on right)

This cute flower pot idea came from Dawn's Stamping Thoughts. She has sooo many cute ideas!!

I got a stack of this little kid paper at Michael's on clearance and I love, love, love it!! It's so cute!!! This idea was mine. :)

Yay, new blog!

2009-08-16T15:28:00.001-04:00

I've been debating for a while about creating a blog and as I was bored this afternoon, I decided to go for it. I don't know how much I'll update this during the school year, but I'm excited to have a place to show off my cards. :)

Mom and I decided yesterday that we're going to go to our first craft show in October, so I've been busy already with projects for that. I'll post lots of pictures later along with pictures of past cards that I'm quite proud of. :)