New Catalog and New Classes

Since I am finally able to see light at the end of the tunnel I am trying to plan some classes for the upcoming months!!!

In February I want to have a Sale A Bration event. Details to come.

In March I want to do something with new sets from the new catalog. Details to come.

I am also willing to start having in home workshops again. If you want to hold a party let me know and I will get you booked!!

Thanks for your support over the past couple of months.

My Other "Personal" Blog

Thanks for reminding me that I did not update my other blog address (you guys know who you are)....here it is.....

www.ashleyvaerst.blogspot.com

Read it at your own risk!!!

The "C" Word

This blog may remain quiet for a while. Yesterday I was diagnosed with cancer. Cervical Cancer to be specific. I am back in the waiting mode. I am waiting for an MRI on Tuesday to see what we are dealing with (to see if it has spread at all). Then from there I am waiting on a referral to the University of Minnesota. I will be treated at the U of M.

Please keep my family in your prayers if you are the praying type. I am going to fight this and fight it hard. I am only hoping that I have the endurance to stay strong.

I am sure I will start updating a blog that I started for family and friends a couple of months ago. I will post that address here later. This is where I will fill you in about my journey with the "C" word. I really want to keep this blog about fun craft projects and not about the "c" word. By the way I took a few pictures over the past couple of days of other craft things I have done lately. I will post those here soon.

Sorry I Have Been Quiet

Sorry I have quiet the last couple of weeks. At first I became really busy with a school project on Climate Control (yuck). I really do not mind the subject it is the project that I did not like.

So I finished what I needed to for my project and thought I would spend last weekend playing since I had four days off. My plans were put to rest after a visit to my doctor. Last Friday I went in for my yearly physical and a "growth" was discovered "down there". My life was frozen last week. Since the appointment was on a Friday I knew I had to wait at least until Monday to hear anything.

It has been a week of an emotional roller coaster ride. I played almost every scenario in my head this week. Today I was back at the doctors. It is a growth that will need to be removed. I am waiting on the biopsy to come back to see if it is the big "C" word. My "new doctor" told me that she does not think it is, it does not look like what she has seen of cancer, but a biopsy was preformed just to be sure.

I am told that the growth is probably a fibroid tumor. Wednesday I will have an ultrasound to see how large my tumor is. Friday I go back to my "new doctor" to see what needs to be done. She has prepped me though for a hysterectomy. Yes, 33 and a hysterectomy.

Anyhow, I am sure I will be quiet in the coming weeks. Maybe new posts, but I am not sure if I will have many new cards to show off.

Dreaming of Friday

I know you are shocked, three days in a row! I will let you in on a little secret - I took a math test on Tuesday and I have not slept well since then. I am worried that I did not do well on it. I am NOT a math person.

Here is another card that I made with the Dream du Jour set. I like this set a lot. Maybe because I have been in the coloring mood this set has stayed on my table.

Of course I pulled out the Chocolate Chip Card Stock. I used Chocolate for the base. I topped this with Whisper White and then Bordering Blue. I pulled out the Designer Series Paper - for the pop of Saffron on the side there. I backed the Designer Series Paper with Chocolate Chip to make it pop.

I pulled out my Nestabilites again and used the long rectangle die for the frame of the words. Yes you are seeing it right the scalloped fame is in Chocolate Chip. The words are in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White.

The butterfly is stamped in Basic Brown and water colored in with my Aqua Painter (which there is a special on this month). I used So Saffron and Bordering Blue to color my butterfly. Not that you can see in the picture, but there is some glitter on the wings. The butterfly is cut out and glued on the corner of the word panel.

I also added three brads from the retired Hodgepodge Hardware set. Plus, there is some Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon and some Natural Hemp in there too.

Oh and in the bottom right corner of the Bordering Blue is a butterfly stamped in Bordering Blue, it is barely there, but adds a little something to the card.

I better get off the couch and see what is for breakfast for the kids today. Enjoy your Thursday everyone.

Happy Wednesday - Happy October

Not that I have much time to read lately, but I was in the mood to make a book mark with my long rectangle Nestabilities. I love to read so this will come in handy as soon as I have a break in my school work.


I of course pulled out my Chocolate Chip Ink and loaded up the flowers from Upsy Daisy. I stamped the daisies on Very Vanilla and set aside. I used the Nestabilite die with the Chocolate Chip Designer Series Paper.


I knew I wanted a second color included, it was just deciding which one. I love fall so I went for the Earth Elements. I decided on Pumpkin Pie since I have ribbon to match. I then trimmed the Daisy image down to size and backed it in Pumpkin Pie.


The words were added as an after thought. I really needed something to cover up a smudge so I decided words were the way to go. "Life" is from the Upsy Daisy Set. I inked up the word with a craft spot in Pumpkin Pie. Then I clear embossed this. The words were not big enough to cover the smudge so I improvised from there. The brown circle is the 1/2 circle punch and the Pumpkin circle is actually from the Crop a Dile punch scrap from adding the Jumbo eyelet.


The bookmark came together quick and easy. For me the hardest part was not adding anything that was three dimensional on the part that would stick in the book. I am now ready to make a few more of these since I usually have more than one book going at a time.


Enjoy your day!

Some Tuesday Pun Fun

Ok so I am sorry that the picture is crooked. It looked MUCH better on my camera.

This set is made with the Pun Fun stamp set. I was in a streak where I seemed to be using more earthy colors with Chocolate Chip being a main color, well not this card. I drew my colors from the Designers Series Paper.

Here is the list of supplies for the card:

Stamp Set: Pun Fun

Ink: Basic Black, Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise and Only Orange.

Paper: Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White.

Accessories: Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon, Three Flower Punch, Rhinestone Brad from the Pretties Kit and non SU! Nestabilities.