Ribbon Carousel | Catered Crop

Did you take your meds today? You seem a few fries short of a happy meal.
~ My Sister (just yesterday)

Yep, that's me . . . definitely a few flies short of a happy meal. Oh, you guys are in such trouble because after yesterday's post, I'm still playing with frogs. Stay tuned, because tomorrow – it's raining frogs!

I know the suspense is killing you, So, here's just a sneak peak of tomorrow's post.

As you can tell from the colors, it's another Halloween post. I happened upon this great Kraft-paper pillow box at one of the paper crafting stores (okay, Archivers). Sizzix also makes a die cut to make a pillow box you can find just about anywhere. I ran it through a Tim Holtz embossing folder for a wood grain look. Cool, huh?

I really made this to show off the ribbon from The Ribbon Carousel September Club Kit. So yummy, and such a good deal.

Catered Crop Recipe

Paper – Kraft pillow box from Archivers (because I was too lazy to get out my Sizzix pillow box die), My Mind's Eye Mischievous
Fibers – May Arts Ribbon from the Ribbon Carousel, Benzie Bazaar felt for the mum
Tools – Tim Holtz embossing folder; My Favorite Things Rolled Die-namics
Misc. – Goodies to go inside the box.

Want another sneak peak?

And, just because it's fun to keep my sister guessing . . .

Biologists have recently produced immortal frogs by removing their vocal cords.

They can't croak.

Hee Hee! I got a million of 'em. See you tomorrow.

September 20, 2011 | Filed Under: Halloween, Ribbon Carousel Tagged With: Halloween, Ribbon Carousel | 5 Comments

Time's fun when you're having flies.
~ Kermit the Frog

Apparently my card is a lot more versatile than I planned it to be. My son pointed out that this slightly obscured sentiment "Feelin' Froggy" has different meanings; some not so nice. I checked it out in Urban Dictionary and, oh dear, apparently it means ready to fight it out. Who knew? I gotta get out more. I still like it. I may give it to someone who's giving me a hard time (my version of Clint Eastwood's "go ahead, make my day") or to someone who helps me channel Kermit the Frog: un-frog-ettable fun times. See: versatile.

This week I'm hosting the fun at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog. I named our challenge "Fabric of Your Lives" because, yep, we want to see fabric in your projects.

Don't have a craft-ready stash of fabric? No worries. Just do what I did: rip up some old jeans and cut up a burlap sack. I stamped the little girl's bluejeans onto a pair of my jeans the family made me throw out (the holes were starting to get obscene). I was lucky to have some gorgeous Benzie heirloom felt on hand for the scallop, flower and petals. That felt is so luxurious! And, I grabbed some scrap muslin for the (versatile) "Feelin' Froggy" sentiment.

Catered Crop Recipe

Here's my tip for stamping or piecing with fabric – worth the price of admission today. Run your fabric through a Xyron sticker maker before you stamp on it, cut it out, or run it through a die cut machine. It will behave, lay flat, and not ravel. When you're ready to adhere it to your project, just remove the backing and it will stick so much more nicely than gooey fabric glue. Works like a charm.

Paper – Pebbles Fresh Goods, Bazzill, Neenah, and a paper bag
Stamps – My Favorite Things Pure Innocence Feelin' Froggy
Color Mediums – Memento ink, Copics, Stampin' Up! Pastels
Fibers – Taffeta Ribbon; burlap; Benzie Bazaar felt for the scallop, mum and leaves; muslin for the sentiment, my old bluejeans for the girl's jeans
Tools – Nestabilities and My Favorite Things Die-namics: Rolled Mum, Simple Scallops Medium, Fishtail Banner, Prima Donna (petals), and Woodgrain Fence
Misc. – Crystal Effects of the frog

I recycled the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club (MFTSWC37) sketch for this week and just changed out the two rectangles for a burlap panel.

That's it from the crazy farm today, but come back tomorrow when I get to help reveal the next My Favorite Things sketch. Ah, we're having fun at the farm.

September 19, 2011 | Filed Under: All Occasions, Heather Ellis, My Favorite Things, Pure Innocence, Ribbon Carousel Tagged With: Copic Markers, Heather Ellis, My Favorite Things, Pure Innocence, Ribbon Carousel | 6 Comments

Say it's only a paper moon sailing over a cardboard sea.
But it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me.
~ It's Only a Paper Moon, lyrics by by E. Y. Harburg and Billy Rose (1933)

Tomorrow's a big, big day for some little people. I remember when we dropped our boy and girl off for their first day of Kindergarten. We took them to their desks and then their teachers told us we had to leave. Oh my! Yeah, and dropping them off at college wasn't any easier. The world just got bigger and they seemed smaller. What?! Leave my babies to tackle this big world without me?! But they did, and they do, and they make me proud every day.

To infinity and beyond . . .

Catered Crop Recipe

I made this for the latest Ribbon Carousel Challenge #17, which is all about the ribbon (always) and going Back to School. I hope you crazy-busy Moms and Dads have time to play with us this week between all those back-to-school conferences and piles and piles of paper you have to sign for the new year.

While you're checking out the challenge, you can get the answer to this riddle: "How did the little ribbons get to school?" Well, don't twine about it, get all hot and thready about, or says it's gross(grain) . . . just roll over to the Ribbon Carousel Challenge – I hear a $10 gift certificate is up for grabs (and certainly something more appealing than my bad puns).

In the spirit of the collage/mix-media project that is our inspiration for the Catered Crop Follow-the-Recipe #19, I used lots of different mediums. I layered the round orbit on top of a round chip board piece and edged it with some Distress Stickles to make the stars glittlery and sparkly. Some clear glaze (Crystal Effects) over the little rocket and radar gun toys was to mimic the plastic and metal look of the toys.

Here's the rest of my recipe:

Stamps – October Afternoon Rocket Age, My Favorite Things You Move Me
Paper – Kraft, Neenah, Stampin' Up! card stock, October Afternoon Rocket Age
Color Mediums – Memento Ink, Copics, Stampin' Up! Stamping Pastels
Embellishments – Stampin' Up! Mini Library Clip, Baker's Twine
Misc. – Bazzill Chip Board, Crystal Effects, Ranger Stickles, Modge Podge
Tools – Nestabilities, My Favorite Things You Move Me die
Challenges – October Afternoon (one clip, one little boy, and one tag); Card Patterns Sketch 129

Good luck tomorrow, every one, big and small.

[Edited to Add - Boy am I a goof. Apparently I need to go back to school myself. Not only did I forget to give you the Copics in my original post, but I also forgot to add the most critical ingredient of my card - a ribbon. And! I posted a day early. So, I added some twine and did another photoshoot. Oh dear. It's not even a full moon. Maybe there's a lunar eclipse out there somewhere in the universe I can blame this on.]

August 21, 2011 | Filed Under: All Occasions, My Favorite Things, October Afternoon, Ribbon Carousel Tagged With: Copic Markers, My Favorite Things, October Afternoon, Ribbon Carousel | 9 Comments