Card challenges certainly help the inspirationally challenged person!

Hello again friends!

This is my last post of the evening, but I just thought I'd pop in and show you all the card that I made today for two more challenges!  Christmas Stampin' All Year Long is a challenge blog dedicated to the Christmas Holiday!  As many will say, it is never too early to start getting ready for the following Christmas, as I think we can all agree, it always seems to just appear out of nowhere!  Anyways, CSAYL posts a new challenge each Friday.  This weeks challenge was to make a project using your favorite color combo!  Well, if you know me, you know that if I had my way, everything I do would be in purple and blue, but, I'm sure even I would eventually get bored of that!  So my first step was to make a card using the colors purple and blue (I added silver to my card because I think it's a beautiful addition to anything purple and blue!).  I combined this particular challenge with another challenge by Simon Says Stamp.  Simon Says Stamp posts a new challenge every Wednesday.  This week, the challenge was to use your favorite tool, which was easy for me to incorporate into this project.  I have 3 favorite tools.  My all time favorite is my Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool.  I use that on just about every single project that I ever do.  My second favorite tool is my Cuttlebug which was bought for me for Valentines Day by my real life Cuddle Bug :) (hehe).  My third and final favorite tool is my heat setting tool for heat embossing and for speed drying ink on my projects!  I used all three of those on this particular project.

Well, now that I have gone through the long explanation of this card, here it is!!!

I hope you all enjoy this card and that it may inspire you to make something with either your favorite tool or with your favorite color combinations!  And of course, if you do, post your project to CSAYL or Simon Says Stamp :)

Love, Charlene

Happy Friday! TPE142 Challenge :)

Happy Friday, friends!  And a happy Easter to those celebrating this weekend :)

Today I am posting my second card and second challenge of the week!  I found this challenge at The Pink Elephant, a beautifully designed blogger that has challenges each and every Monday!  This week's particular challenge was the theme, "Clean and Simple."  I was torn initially upon beginning this card whether or not I would enjoy the theme.  A part of me wanted to do more than what I'd done to the card, but then again the other part of me thoroughly enjoyed the ease that came with making it...and the BEAUTY!  Who knew that simple could be so elegant!  So here is the card that I made for this "Clean and Simple" challenge:

It was quite easy to make.  Possibly the easiest card I've ever made!  How did I do it?  I took a plain white card that I had purchased in a package of 50 at Michaels (the bigger size, I think it's somewhere around 6"x4.5 or so, I don't remember).  I then took post it notes that I had sitting on my desk and used them to mask the bottom.  I then of course took my handy dandy and FAVORITE ink ever, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, and created this beautiful rainbow color :) I used the following colors:  Faded Jeans, Peeled Pain, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge (or Spice Marmalade, silly me, I can't remember), and Barn Door.  I used the Inkssentials foam blending tool to apply the ink.  I then took a stamp that I had purchased in one of the dollar bins at Michaels to stamp the, "Thanks for Everything," using the Faded Jeans ink, and then colored the flowers in with some markers I have.  And then added the bling, TADA!  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

I hope you all enjoyed this fabulous creation as much as I do :)

Enjoy, and I will be back later with possibly another challenge creation!

Love,
Char

Mojo235

So we all have to start somewhere with making our passions come more to life.  So today, I am entering in my first ever card making contest :) For those who may be interested, http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/, does a sketch contest each Monday!  They give a sketch and you can use it as inspiration to create something beautiful!  Today I chose to use it as the inspiration for a blank card my mom requested me to make for some lucky person!

For those who may be wondering, this card was fairly simple to make!  I started with a blank white card (purchased in a package of 50 at Michael's).  I then took a piece of creamsicle colored paper and cut it down a little smaller than the card itself (I am just beginning with all of my crafting, and do not have much knowledge of paper types, so this is just a generic cardstock from a textured brights book from Michael's, all of the papers used are from books from Michael's).  I then cut the lace (which is actually a sticker I bought from a store called, Dollar Forever), and put it on the card.  Next step was the purple paper, which is a piece of white card that I used Distress Ink on to color purple (Milled Lavender), then stamped the image on the background, again with Distress Ink (Dusty Concord), and then heat emossed the image.  I used my cricut machine to cute the banner shape, as well as the circle, and my cuttlebug to emboss the circle (sadly, I do not know the name of the folder I used, but will try and find that answer for those that may be wondering).  My owl was a stamped image that I then used Distress Ink to ink the edges (the black ink, I don't know what it's called off the top of my head).

So that is my card.  It sounds difficult, but it wasn't that bad!

Hope you enjoy this card, and keep your eyes peeled for more cards :)

Love,
Char

Starting new

Hello friends, family, and fellow scrappers!

As some of you may already be aware, this is not my first crafting blog.  I attempted to maintain one some time ago, however I haven't updated it in quite a while.  Well, today I decided, after a conversation with a good friend, that it was time for me to get back to the blogging.  This time, I plan to blog with a purpose.

This blog, called, "Crafting for Coping," is going to be my attempt for giving people ideas of fun ways to help cope with the daily stressors of life.  When I originally started crafting, I did it for fun, just for something to do.  However, I found out quickly that crafting in that manner often lead to be becoming bored, and wanting to do something different.  However, I have more recently begun crafting with a purpose: as a coping skill.  As an in-home therapist, many of the clients that I work with lack these coping skills, and end up getting themselves into trouble due to reacting in ways that may not be appropriate for the situation.  I have learned, however, that doing arts and crafts activity, is a simple way to calm the mind, occupy it with something else, something more interesting, and far less harmful, than the things that often poison the minds of those struggling with stress.

With that said, I am going to try and give at least a project a week, that anyone may be able to try, even if you don't think you are, "artsy," or, "craftsy."  As I have recently learned, art, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and that anyone can be an artist in some way, shape, or form.  The projects I intend to show will include cards and scrapbooking pages that I create for myself, family, and friends, including those that I sell.  I will leave instructions on how to make them so that you, yourself, may try to mimic what I've done should you choose.  I'll also leave arts and crafts projects that I do with the kids and families that I work with, projects that anyone may be able to use with their child, should they choose.  I'll also throw in some things here and there that I've made that you might find interesting, and if you ever want to know how I made something, where I got the materials, or what I used, feel free to leave me a message and I'll tell you all of that!

So keep your eyes peeled for the first project, enjoy, and of course, leave your feedback should you choose, as I am doing this blog for YOU!

Love,
Char