wee inklings

JAI106 & CCCB97

2012-02-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

My card today is a bit out of the norm for me. I don't usually put gigantic, multi-layered flowers on my cards since they are incredibly bulky, but I had made this flower a while back and was getting tired of moving it around on my desk, so decided to put it on a card! The Just Add Ink sketch 106 was perfect for a big flower:

and and the City Crafter Challenge 97 had a beautiful inspiration, It's All Natural:

And so here is my card:

I used several "natural" images stamped collage-style on canvas fabric, Crumb Cake and Naturals Ivory cardstock in the colors of Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Sahara Sand. Above my flower is a fun little embellishment, and my sentiment is stamped on a little vellum banner:

Thanks for visiting today!

Cassidy is helping to feed the kitty; can you guess what happens next?

Mmmmmm.....yep, she ate a piece of cat food! As she would say, "OH MY!" Fastest little hand in Pennsylvania!

RR#22, TSS54 & LRW121

2012-02-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

Well, sadly, my main computer bit the dust last night, so I am relying on my laptop. I am praying my computer guru will be able to do his magic quickly so we can get back to normal!! So if my pictures aren't as "stellar" as usual, bear with me! But whining won't fix it, so on to my card.....I did three challenges here, which is a little unusual for me. I did the sketch from Try Stampin' On Tuesday, a new challenge for me:

It's also for the Ribbon Reel Challenge #22, which is to make a "weathered" project using Kraft, white, aqua and red, and use twine or twill. Here's the photo inspiration:

And finally, the Little Red Wagon challenge #121 is to use chipboard! So here we go:

My sewing machine stitched a little wonky here; I think it was the silk thread I used. Anyway, I used some canvas and burlap given to me by my wonderful friend Linda, to make a fun flower. The tag is chipboard, covered with some gingham-stamped cardstock and another little Crumb Cake tag tied on with some linen thread.

My paper is Real Red and October Afternoon Thrift Shop. There's not a lot of white in the card; I hope it's still okay for the challenge! I really had fun making this card!

SSC243 & HSS106 & A Little Tutorial

2012-02-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

I made a pretty little monochromatic birthday card with the Stamping 411 sketch:

and using the color block technique from the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge this week:

Here’s a closeup of the color blocking:

In the P.S. I Love You set from the mini, there’s a circular heart image, and SU has very kindly popped out the center rubber, which I saved and used as a stamp! I inked it up with Wisteria Wonder ink, stamped once on scrap paper, then stamped on Whisper White. I did this three times, then stamped the outline floral image from Fabulous Florets. The rest is pretty straightforward—--an embossed background embellished with some pearls, a little lace from my stash and a shabby bow! A lot of people have asked how I make my shabby bows, so here is my really, really easy technique:

I use seam binding for my ribbon, either white that I dye with reinkers, or one of the coordinating colors from SU. I’ll start with the pre-dyed ones.
Cut off a liberal amount of binding; if you’re going to make some, you might as well make a stash of it! Wet the binding; squeeze out all the water. Crumple it up in a ball; you can twist a rubber band around it a couple times if you like (think tie-dye), pop it in the microwave for 45-second intervals until it is completely dry. Uncrumple it after the second drying to see how it’s progressing. It usually takes three dryings for my microwave.
Unravel it and you should have a nice crumply shabby-chic wad of seam binding! I then just make a loopy bow and tie it with another piece of binding or some floss.
If you want to hand-dye your ribbon, get a little bowl or container and place a few drops of reinker ink and a couple drops of water in it. (Wearing gloves is helpful unless you don’t mind getting your fingers stained.) Crumple up the seam binding, swish it around in the dye until it is the color and intensity that you want. You may need to add more ink if necessary. I like to start light; you can always add more, but it is difficult to take the color away!
Continue as in step 2; I sometimes wrap the binding in a paper towel if I’ve dyed it; this just helps you get the moisture out without making any more of a mess in the microwave!
To adhere my shabby bow to a card, I usually resort to my handy-dandy hot glue gun. Sometimes it’s just quicker and I know it will stay put!

Hope that’s helpful to you! Remember, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me, but be sure to give me an email address to which I can respond.

Little Miss Congeniality!

Merry Monday #8

2012-02-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! I managed to make my Christmas card a little earlier this week, using Lesley’s Merry Monday sketch #8:

And here is my creation:

My image and background are from Crafty Secrets; the sentiment is from Flourishes:

I stamped my vintage Santa on Naturals Ivory cardstock with Not Quite Navy ink, then overstamped the music with Baja Breeze. Some Baja Breeze seam binding provided a little additional embellishment.

I really wanted to add some bling or glitter or a button or something, but I forced myself to leave it CAS—less postage this way! Thanks for visiting today!

Cassidy LOVES grapes. We are teaching her that she cannot eat in our living room, so this chair has become her go-to chair for any quick little snack! It is close to the living room doorway, so once she’s finished, she can make a quick getaway to her toys!

All done!

ColourQ125 & CPS153

2012-02-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s ColourQ time again! Check out this comfy comforter color inspiration from Arielle:

When I saw this card that Christina had made, using the Card Patterns Sketch 153, the wheels started to turn! Here’s the sketch:

and here’s my card:

I guess I did a sort of literal interpretation here! I chose some floral stamps and did some stamping, embossing and emboss resist techniques, then punched them into 1” squares and mounted them on an embossed and scalloped panel. I just happened to have some coordinating fabric brads, and since the colors were a bit earthy, I thought it would make an appropriate sympathy card.

If you have any questions about products or techniques, be sure to shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to give you details. Just make sure you give me an email address contact information. I can’t wait to see how you interpret these colors! Be sure to stop on over at the CQC blog and check out what the other designers created, and share your masterpiece as well!

They learn quickly what to do with those cell phones, don’t they?

Happy Butterfly Card

2012-02-20T07:31:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share a card with you a made last week; I cased the idea from a swap card that I have had for years! Here we go! The front panel of the card folds up from the bottom:

The second panel folds from the inside; it is a bit shorter than a standard card front:

And then the inside panel holds the sentiment!

I think if I do this again, I’ll have the front panel fold down from the top! Anyway, I had fun with the colors and images! And my friend liked it (wink wink)! If you have any questions about any of the products, be sure to zip me an email with your email address; I can’t respond to anonymous comments!

A big dipper for a wee little girl! Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new ColourQ challenge!!

Paper Players 83

2012-02-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday and welcome back to another Paper Players challenge! Today Anne Marie has chosen a CAS theme for us---masculine!

I have two little great-nephews, so I chose to make a “youthful” masculine birthday card:

I chose to use two bright primary colors, Real Red and Pacific Point, along with some retired DP and a current set, Delightful Dozen, which is a really great sentiment set!

I was also able to use a couple of fun punched borders that my sweet friend Linda made for me----she just happened to do one of each in the colors I chose, so I pieced them together to make one multi-colored one! I also used the Freshly Made Sketch 22 from this week, too:

I hope you’ll use this Clean and Simple challenge to soup up your stash of masculine cards!!! Come play with us and share your creation over at the Paper Players blog! And while you’re there, be sure to check out all the other goodies the designers have made!

Reading time with Grampy!

Thanks for visiting today!

My Favorite Layout

2012-02-18T10:04:00.001-05:00

No, that’s not the name of a new challenge, it’s just me showing you my favorite layout, the one I go to when I need a quick card! On this birthday card, I used a sweet vintage image from Crafty Secrets, stamped it in Regal Rose and mounted it on a card with two coordinating Basic Grey papers:

The DP panels are roughly one third and two thirds; sometimes I add a layer behind them; sometimes I separate the pieces to show the layer behind; today I added some pretty gingham ribbon that I’ve had in my stash for ages! Sometimes I just put a sentiment as my focal image, sometimes I don’t use a sentiment on the front and just put it on the inside…there are so many possibilities with this layout, that’s why I love it so much! Plus I get to play with beautiful papers that I sometimes tend to hoard!

And although we all love to color, if you have a beautiful line image like this, you don’t need to color it every time! Isn’t she sweet? This card took about 15 minutes to make once I decided on my colors and patterns!

Thanks for visiting today and be sure to come back tomorrow for a new Paper Players challenge!

Does it make me a bad grammy if I let her lick the frosting spoon???

Merry Monday #7

2012-02-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

Another Christmas card for my stash using Lesley’s Merry Monday Challenge #7 sketch:

And here we go:

Some Eskimo Kisses DP by BG, a little Penny Black image stamped on SU Shimmery White cardstock, colored with Copics, and some sparkly glitter:

What a happy little face! Thanks for visiting today!
Cassidy “dances” when she hears music:

DD’s Birthday

2012-02-16T06:35:00.001-05:00

29 years ago today, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Dana!

Last week I found a really sweet digi image on TLC, began coloring, and then realized it would make a cute birthday card for her:

I colored the image with Copics, added some Cosmo Cricket Odds & Ends Papers, some oval & scalloped mats and a pretty little rolled rose:

A PTI sentiment and some pink baker’s twine finished it off! Thanks for visiting today!

Yesterday we learned about JELLO!

SC372

2012-02-15T13:37:00.001-05:00

I am sneaking another post in for today—I don’t usually get to play with the SCS sketches, but I had a little extra time, and my friend Martha gifted me with some fun images, so I just colored one in with an assortment of bright Copics, added a few DP layers and it was good to go:

You can see the sketch 372 here; this also qualifies for the Create challenge (scroll down all the way to the end of the “create” post!), which is to use ribbon tabs on your card! I used some denim and twill ribbons for mine. I added a little MFT sentiment and a denim & brad bow to finish it off:

Thanks for visiting (again) today! Off to make some cupcakes!

Herringbone Valentine

2012-02-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

I made this card using the Herringbone technique (you can find it on the Splitcoaststampers site under resources) for a CAS challenge a couple weeks ago; it really isn’t done correctly, so I want to try it again, but I gave it to my daughter yesterday anyway:

I used various DPs in Cherry Cobbler, Poppy Parade, Real Red and Rose Red to do the heart. The scallops are from the new Adorning Accents Edgelits die, and the heart was cut with the Hearts Collection Framelits die. The remaining piece was perfect to make into a little picture frame:

I cut a Basic Black background using the Scallop Square die, mounting it on some heavy chipboard and making a little easel prop to hold it up. A couple of hearts (Large Heart Punch and Timeless Type Die) and the P.S. I Love You and Teeny Tiny Wishes made a sweet little embellishment:

I hope you had a sweet Valentine’s!!! I didn’t have the baby, but here’s a cute little picture from last Valentine’s; wow, she has changed, hasn’t she?:

Thanks for popping by today!

ColourQ 124

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine’s Day! Arielle has a sweet color combo for the ColourQ inspiration today:

What a pretty “bouquet” of hearts and flowers! This is my translation:

A little white doily was brayered with Pretty in Pink ink; the Tiny Teacup was stamped in Cool Caribbean and mounted on Cool Caribbean and Real Red Nesties. Some red & white baker’s twine forms the “steam” for the sweet little hearts. And hearts don’t necessarily have to be a Valentine’s card, so I used a “thinking of you” sentiment instead.

I hope you’ll play along with these lovely colors; run on over to the ColourQ to see what the other stampers have designed, and share your creation as well! Can’t wait to see them!

Doesn’t this cute little shirt make you want to stamp some purple pears?!

Be Still

2012-02-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today’s card may look like a valentine, but it is not; it is a very sad one….it is a sympathy card for a local family who lost their 30-year-old daughter to a rare form of cancer. She left a husband and an adorable 2-year-old daughter; I went to school with her mom, and the pain they all must be feeling is unimaginable.

This uses the sketch #152 from Card Patterns (I swapped the oval from west to east as I felt it fit my image better):

and also fulfills the That’s Krafty Thursday #58 challenge from The Spotted Chick, which is to use kraft, as well as The Catered Crop recipe swap, which is to use a heart. If you have any questions about the card or products, please send me an email (be sure to include YOUR email address so I can respond!). Don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for a new color challenge from the ColourQ!

A Stampin’Up! box makes a good toy to play with!

Paper Players 82

2012-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! Today is another Paper Players challenge with Ann as our hostess! She has an elegant color challenge for us and wait until you see what all the designers have come up with! Here’s the combo:

I need a wedding card for next month, and I thought this was a very elegant color selection, so I inked up the floral postage stamp image from Fresh Vintage in all the challenge colors, and added some Elegant Lines embossing:

The panel is mounted on a textured Very Vanilla card, and I added a Poppy Parade-dyed seam binding bow and a little tag, and it was done….really very simple! I did add little pearls to the flowers, just for a tiny elegant touch:

I really hope you can play along with us! This color combination has lots of possibilities and we are looking forward to seeing your creations!

Cassidy had so much fun in the snow last week, she decided to try her saucer on the macadam!!!

Well, how about the grass?

Thanks for visiting today!

FMS21 &HSS104 Birthday

2012-02-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

My birthday card today features a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

and colors from the challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I had to add a couple more colors for hair and skin, and I hope that’s okay!

I also added a couple more musical notes:

And the inside……..

So tweet!!!
We had a tiny bit of snow earlier in the week that melted fairly quickly, but we had a chance to romp in the spots that didn’t get the sun:

The mittens (which are way too big) are ones that I have been saving for many, many years….my mom knit them for Dana, so even though she never got to meet her great-granddaughter, Cassidy can still share in something her great-grandmother made!

Merry Monday Challenge #6

2012-02-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Just a quick little post with my Christmas card this week, using Lesley’s sketch:

and some vintagey Christmas stamps & BG Wassail paper:

This didn’t turn out quite as well as I had hoped; I stamped the image on some watercolor paper, which caused the ink to be absorbed and a little faded. I overstamped it with a Linen BG stamp to help it out a little!

I also stamped my sentiment circle with Linen as well, and added some red glitter around the edge of my Santa. Oh well, you win some, you lose some!

Here’s a winner for sure! This is the first time she’s ridden this little rocking horse she got for Christmas, and it’s almost too small for her:

If you press its ear, it makes a whinnying sound, then some music. She loves the whinny, but NOT the music!

Aw….

Mojo Monday 227

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

I haven’t played with a Mojo Monday sketch for a long time, and I thought it was a good one for the thank you card that I needed:

I’ve been focusing on mini catalog sets, so I pulled out a set from the big catalog: Easy Events, a wonderful set for all occasions! I also used an interesting color combo, but I think it works! What do you think of Certainly Celery, Island Indigo and Melon Mambo?:

I did manage to use some mini catalog products though! The Labels Framelits, the Adorning Accents Embossing Folders, and some Island Indigo DP from the Sweet Shop line! I also used the Houndstooth embossing folder, some retired Melon Mambo ribbon and the sweet little hearts are from the Owl Builder punch---gotta love that punch! My image was stamped in Stazon and colored with ink and a blender pen!

Since I didn’t have the baby yesterday, I pulled this picture out of the “archives”:

Thanks for visiting today!

ColourQ 123

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday! Arielle has some happy, happy colors for us today over at the ColourQ:

Aren’t these adorable? Yum yum yummy! I just had to use a little Valentine set from PTI for my card today:

I did a CAS design, just matting my little owl image with some Nesties and adding a couple simple hearts! I used a sketch from my friend Lesley for the Scrapbook Essentials BC challenge:

A nice fun sketch that allowed me to use some In Color DPs that had been sitting around!!! And the inside:

I hope you have time before Valentine’s Day to use these sugar sweet colors for your creation! And fly on over to the CQC blog to see the other designers’ take on this inspiration as well!

Totin’ around a box o’books is hard work!

Have a great day!

Paper Players 81 & US144

2012-02-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! It’s time for another Paper Players challenge! This time Nance is our wonderful hostess and she has a theme challenge:

Flowers!!! That should be an easy challenge---but I have so many floral images, which one to choose?! I ended up just making some diecut flowers, very simple, and pairing them with some bright fun papers. First, I used the Unscripted Sketches sketch 144:

And here we go:

Although it is difficult to see, I stamped each flower with a polka dot image, and the Very Vanilla one has been embossed with white embossing powder to make it stand out:

I wanted to put buttons in the centers of my flowers, but I am striving to make my cards less bulky to mail, so I opted for some little hearts punched with the Owl Builder punch. Stitching and a shabby bow finish it off. I hope you can find some flowers---any kind---to embellish your stamped creation this week! And be sure to visit the Paper Players blog to see all the other fabulous floral finds! Again, if you have any questions about my card, shoot me an email---but please be sure to give me your email address so I can reply!

John gave Cassidy a piece of celery to try; she took a lick and gave it right back to him!

I guess celery is an acquired taste!!! Enjoy your day!

TSSC206 Baby Congrats

2012-02-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday! Just a quick little card for a family at church who just had their fifth baby!! Three boys and a girl, and now three boys and two girls!! I am welcoming little Gabriella Paige with this:

I combined Nursery Nest paper and Baby Bundle stamp set, Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz cardstock and Mary Jo’s Techno Stamper sketch:

A fun, easy sketch! Thanks for dropping by today!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for the Paper Players challenge!!!

Monkey Challenge 94

2012-02-03T23:00:00.001-05:00

Hey there! The fun, happy girls over at a la Card Monkey asked me to be their guest designer this week! Here is their sketch & challenge:

My nephew’s birthday is coming up next week, so this was a perfect opportunity to use the sketch! He is a senior in high school and is a super neat kid…he’s into physics, math, and mechanical stuff, so I thought these images would be great for him:

I am going to bet that he has NO IDEA what that little embellishment is at the bottom right of the image panel…..but he’s smart enough, he can probably figure it out!

The colored images are stamped in Memento black and colored with Copics….the numbers are stamped in Pacific Point. I just love this vintage look and I know he’ll probably just want to see what’s inside!

If you have any questions about the card or supplies, give me a shout! (Make sure you include your email address so I can return your answer!) I hope you’ll have some time to play with the Monkey sketch this week---we all need birthday cards, and this is a fun, simple sketch! Be sure to join us and share your creation!

This was taken last week, after recuperating from teething and a bad cold…..red cheeks and runny nose, but check out the curls! Amazing! And raisins always help! Thankfully, the teeth have broken through:

Merry Monday #5

2012-02-03T08:29:00.001-05:00

It’s Merry Monday Friday! It has taken me all week to get to my Christmas card using Lesley’s lovely sketch from Merry Monday:

And here it is, in all its 5x7” glory!

I tried making this a standard A2 size, but my Frosty was just a tad bit too big, so I kicked it up a notch! DP is from Sweet Shop; Mr Frosty is stamped in Stazon and very simply colored with a Pool Party marker as well as shaded with a blender pen and Pool Party ink:

He’s also got a bit o’glitter too! Have a lovely day!

Learning to eat at the big table is a tad bit messy:

Mojo 226 & Sugar Creek Hollow

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve got a sweet little vintage card for you today; it uses the square Mojo Monday sketch for this week:

as well as the challenge colors of Cream, Blue and Brown from the Sugar Creek Hollow blog:

Sugar Creek Hollow features shabby chic creations, so I used some Beau Chateau papers with several sewing-themed images:

Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip and Marina Mist were used for the theme colors. Thank for visiting today!

“Reading” in bed---doesn’t everyone?

SSC240 Valentine-Style

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here’s a little Valentine card using the Stamping 411 sketch from this week:

And here we go:

(In real life, the doily paper does NOT look so orange—it all coordinates nicely!) I created the tag with some Crumb Cake cardstock and the Two Tags die, then ran it through again part-way to make it shorter:

I added some embellishments and a big crinkly bow, glimmer brad and velveteen ribbon tag:

Thanks for visiting today!!

ColourQ 122

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday! Check out these fun heart-shaped goodies featured on Arielle’s ColourQ challenge today:

If I had had some red felt, I might have been tempted to do some needlecraft project, but I had to resort to papercrafting! I just purchased some fun black & white ribbons, and I had seen little frames made from lace at my local craft store, so I thought using the ribbon to make a frame would be fun, too:

stampin

I used Nesties for my hearts and some SU stamps for my sentiments and images….if you have any questions, just shoot me an email! And be sure to stop over to the ColourQ blog to see the other designers’ creations! We are thrilled to have added two fabulous new designers to our court! It is so exciting to welcome Silke Ledlow and Jen Mitchell to the ColourQ! Woohoo!

Looking at pictures of herself!!!

Monkey Challenge 93

2012-01-30T13:38:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! Are there any Downton Abbey fans out there? I am hooked on this series, and can barely stand the suspense until Sunday evenings to see the next installment. I was so sad to see William pass away but glad he & Daisy got married!!! Only three more episodes to go, to see if there is a “happily ever after” for any of the other characters!

Oh well, you didn’t come to hear about a PBS show, but to see my a la Card Monkey card, which, sadly, really lacks mojo. Here’s the sketch:

This is one of those cards---you know, you have something in your mind and it doesn’t translate to the card. The theme is “love” and I can only make so many cards for the man that I love, so I tend to think of the love between friends when stamping at this time of the year!! This is a decidedly non-Valentine type love card:

I am trying to use some stamps that haven’t been “loved” lately, and this Have a Seat set is one of them. I tried to give it a vintage feel with a First Edition background, which was also stamped with some images from Established Elegance, as well as sponged with Soft Suede ink. I mounted the little banners and tags on some Victoria crochet trim with mini brads:

Hope you have a wonderful day! Be sure to stop back tomorrow for the ColourQ challenge, too!

Busted again---this time, the dresser:

What an innocent face!!!

Paper Players 80

2012-01-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! It’s Paper Players day and our lovely hostess Nance has a super-duper fun sketch for us today:

Oh, the possibilities that await with this sketch! I chose to break out some beautiful designer paper in the Color Throwdown challenge colors:

And here we go:

These colors just make me smile!

Aren’t these sweet little sparkly brads cute?

And when you stamp your sentiment inside crooked and off-center, just add a little flower!

I hope you will visit the Paper Players blog to see the other designers’ creations and play along with us too! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

CASE Study 75

2012-01-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to play Chupa’s CASE Study challenge for a long time and I finally was able to fit it in! You can see the inspiration card for the CASE here; I love all the samples, but I think mine fell a bit short on the “wow” factor! Perhaps I should have used a larger sentiment…..but it’s done now. This would have been really quick to make had I not wrestled with my white twine; just couldn’t make it behave (it was me, not the twine!!!):

Just a tad bit too CAS, I think. I needed to make a SU-only baby card and wanted to use some baker’s twine, but the only “little girl” color I had was Calypso Coral, so I made the card base Crumb Cake so that I could use the brown as well. Baby Bundle seems to be my go-to baby set!

I did some watercoloring & fussy-cutting to “hang” the onesie on the twine! You can’t tell, but there’s sparkle on the heart, too! Thanks for visiting today!

Did you know that a Cheerio fits right into that little groove in a bottle?

Well, whaddya know?

New Stamps for Sale

2012-01-27T10:43:00.002-05:00

I just posted some new stamp sets for sale....click on the "Stamps For Sale" tab at the top!!! Email me if you have any questions!!!

FMS19

2012-01-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I needed a few thank-you cards, and Lesley’s sketch gave me just the starting point I needed:

I used some mini catalog products: Sweet Shop DP, Jelly Bean Brads, Heart Framelits and Adorning Accents embossing folder, as well as some other dies and punches:

I just love these colors! I used the negative portion of the DP to make another card:

This uses the mini set P.S. I Love You! And I love it!

Yep, she’s eating the snow!

Merry Monday #4

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

A quick card today for Lesley’s Merry Monday Sketch#4:

Another Christmas card for my stash:

These colors are neutral, but I love the effect. Thanks for visiting today!

Cassidy’s “tissue party”!

Lip Balm Holder Tutorial

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

I had some requests for directions on how to make this little lip balm holder we did at my hostess appreciation party:

I put together some photos and directions; obviously you can use any cardstock, designer paper and stamps you like! For my sample, I used Peach Parfait and Naturals White cardstock, Everyday Enchantment DP, Fresh Vintage stamp set (both SAB), Labels Collection Framelit Dies with my Big Shot, Chantilly Crochet Trim and Pumpkin Pie Ink.

Hope that’s helpful! Feel free to email me if you have any questions (be sure to provide your email address in return!).

ColourQ121

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

It’s Tuesday, and that means ColourQ challenge day! The soft hues that Arielle chose prompted me to go vintage today:

I stamped this Crafty Secrets image with Memento brown ink on watercolor paper, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to actually watercolor it without the ink bleeding….but it did pretty well:

I loosely colored the image with the challenge colors, then cut it out with the Labels Framelit, matting it with another label diecut in RHR in the same size, just cutting it apart and adhering it to the top & bottom of the image. I added some stamped elements along the edges as well as a real 1917 postmark from an envelope in my stash:

I dyed some seam binding with Riding Hood Red ink and dried it in the microwave for my luxurious bow and added a little piece of lace from my stash. The sentiment on the inside imitates that sweet vintage feel from the challenge photo:

And the sketch is from a la Card Monkey this week:

which I just LOVE! I will definitely be using this one again! I hope you’ll play along with the ColourQ challenge colors---they are just beautiful and I can’t wait to see what you create! You can see all the details as well as the other designers’ creations on the ColourQ blog! And by the way, I have had a few requests for a tutorial on my little lip balm holder shown here, so I will be working on that in the next couple days!

My little reader!

JUGS120 & CCMC-OCC1

2012-01-23T12:33:00.001-05:00

Squeaking in another quick post today---I have been working on this card for a couple days and finally finished it! It’s for the JUGS challenge:

and the Create with Connie & Mary sketch:

Another sweet Valentine:

Since I already had my Two Tags die on my desk, I cut out another one from textured Whisper White, added two leftover pieces of red Glimmer paper that had been punched with the Triple Layer Blossom punch and stamped a few heart embellishments to pop up over top of them:

This just makes me smile….and so does she, “playing” with our dominoes!

Have a great day!

Hostess Appreciation Party

2012-01-23T09:23:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! I had a wonderful day yesterday with my club hostesses, showing them my appreciation! I have my party in January, after the holidays, and it works out great that way! We eat, chat, have some games & prizes and stamp, of course! Here are the projects we made:

First, a quick little bag using the Hearts Framelits die (use it with the cutting side up and in front of the side folds of your bag!) and a little vellum window colored with pastels:

Second, a little lip balm holder using the Labels Framelits dies and some products from SAB:

And third, a card using some Sweet Shop products:

I got pictures of almost all my stampers….some I missed, I’m so sorry!

Me and Ellen;

Lorraine & Beth;

Donna;

Ellen & Billie;

Wendie;

Linda;

and Joan!

We had a great time---if you have any questions about any of the projects, shoot me an email! And be sure to come back tomorrow for the ColourQ challenge!

Paper Players 79

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

This will be a quick post today, as I am hosting my Hostess Appreciation party for my club girls! I am so looking forward to spending time with my friends! Today, Jaydee is our hostess for the Paper Players, and she has a clean and simple challenge:

I went really CAS on this one:

We were using the Creative Elements set last week at club and one of the stampers remarked at how nicely the flower fit the top of the scalloped tag from Two Tags…..it was a real “wow” to me! So I took that idea and made my birthday tag using other elements from that set, as well as Elementary Elegance, stamped on the Pink Pirouette tag in Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose. Here’s a closeup:

I added a little watercolored shading around the edges of the image, and then embellished my tag with a 3D flower:

The sentiment is also from Elementary Elegance. The background is Patterns DP in Regal Rose & Pink Pirouette.

I actually had made another tag card the day before, using a premade tag that had been sitting on my desk for ages (one of my New Year’s resolution---finish the projects on my desk!) and embossed hearts:

I just didn’t like it as much as my PP one! Thanks for visiting today and I hope you can share your CAS tag creation with us over at the Paper Players blog!

CFC36—Almost

2012-01-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

This week’s CAS-Friday’s challenge was to make a CAS card only using black and white. I tossed some ideas around in my head, started to work, and then realized that I FORGOT the “clean & simple” part! Ooops! But I still love the look of my card, so I am showing you anyway!! Here ya go:

I think I would have been okay for the CAS part if I had left off the embossed layers….but they were so pretty with this Fresh Vintage SAB set, I just couldn’t help myself! Edited to add: I have had a couple requests about my "double embossing".....it's just two layers. The black cardstock makes it difficult to see the layers, I think. I did a 4 x 5 1/4" layer with the tulip embossing, and then a little strip of the polka dot embossing, and just adhered it on. Nothing special!! I added the “Amour” from Artistic Etchings and did a little stamping on the inside, but left it blank so I can stamp a sentiment when the occasion arises:

Thanks for visiting today!!! We got a little snow and it’s great to be inside!

How’s this for bed head?!

FMS18

2012-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

A lovely sketch from Freshly Made Sketches this week:

gave me a chance to use the new Valentine’s set from the mini, P.S. I Love You, as well as the beautiful Designer Cuts:

I cut the front panel from one of the Designer Cuts cards, mounted a piece of Riding Hood Red DP behind it and put it on a RHR card.

A Blushing Bride mat and matching pleated ribbon complement the rich deep red, and I took a cue from my friend Donna at Butternut Sage and “unpleated” some ribbon to make a luscious rhinestone-clad bow! I heat-embossed a little row of hearts at the bottom right and added a sentiment above:

On the inside, I stamped a sentiment from God’s Blessings in RHR and added the large heart in Blushing Bride:

I just love this sweet set!

Feeling a little bit better!

Merry Monday Challenge 3

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick little post this morning…a Christmas card from Lesley’s Merry Monday Challenge sketch:

It’s actually a “Let It Snow” challenge, too, so I pulled out some pretty chipboard snowflakes from a Brenda Walton collection:

I mounted them on a Very Vanilla oval & scallop, which was then mounted on a Brushed Gold embossed panel. A little banner with a sentiment stamped in Gold Encore finished it off!

Thanks for visiting today!

Caught in the act AGAIN!

ColourQ120 and then some…

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday, peeps! Check out this dazzling color inspiration for today’s ColourQ Challenge:

I almost went with a literal interpretation and got out my Paisley background stamp, but my wee little granddaughter was sick and she was demanding my attention, so I went with a different, CAS design:

These colors were a little more challenging to work with than I imagined! I stamped the frame (Fresh Vintage) in Bravo Burgundy, the crown (Established Elegance) in Rich Razzleberry, the words (You’re A Gem) in Island Indigo and added a little panel of Wisteria Wonder Patterns DP beneath my diecut and embossed top edge. How cool is it that the Curly Label punch fits the inside of this frame:

It’s popped up with a dimensional, and the “58” is popped up with two dimensionals! I did another card with these colors, a single-layer card using yesterday’s SCS CAS challenge, which was a sketch:

It also qualifies for the Just Us Girls challenge (collage stamping) and the Less is More challenge (use a bird on your one-layer card). I used a variety of vintage images for this one; the backgrounds were stamped using my acrylic blocks as stamps. Thanks for looking; I hope you have a chance to play with these regal colors. Show us your take on the challenge over at the CQC blog!

On a happier day!!!

Paper Players 78

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday! Today I am the hostess at the Paper Players, and I have a color challenge for you:

Initially, I had chosen the upcoming Sale-a-bration designer paper, Everyday Enchantment, as my inspiration for this challenge, but since I had just used it several times last week, I decided to change it up a bit. That created a problem, as I just could not create a card that suited me!!! I ended up making THREE! Here is the one I shared on the Paper Players blog:

This is actually a left-over from yesterday’s card; the frame is the leftover watercolor paper from my focal image; the Blushing Bride paper is leftover from the DP I used! I stamped and pieced the flower & leaves from the Fabulous Florets and cut out some words with the Timeless Type alphabet dies. It’s a little thing, only about 3 1/2” but I think it’s sweet!

Okay, so here is my second attempt, a baby congrats note card for one of my stamp camp girls:

I did some paper piecing and watercoloring with the Baby Bundle and Friendly Phrases set.

And third, I CASE’d this card from my teamie Nance, loosely using the Create with Connie & Mary sketch for this week as well as the CASE Study challenge 73:

I used some of the new SAB skinny organdy ribbon and “frizzled” it with my heat tool (wrap it around a skewer and clip it first) to give it a more “festive” look:

Phew, you’re probably worn out from looking at cards, so scoot on over to the Paper Players and show us what you can create with these pretty spring colors! Can’t wait to see them!

Card Monkey #91

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh, those sweeties over at a la Card Monkey asked me to be one of their guest designers again! Check out this fun sketch:

I had mentioned that I wanted to use the sweet little girl from Greeting Card Kids for a Valentine’s card, so this was a perfect opportunity. The sketch was simple, so it wouldn’t detract from the detailed image, and I’d have a chance to do some watercoloring:

I stamped my little girl in Stazon on watercolor paper and used reinkers to color her in:

I used a combination of Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride DPs for my background, and I used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch to make a cute little cross-stitch embellishment (I am pretty sure my PP friend Ann showed me this!)

I used the same watercolor paper to diecut a couple hearts from the Fashionable Hearts die along with a sentiment from Tiny Tags, stamped in Real Red. This is really a simple card, but I just love how it turned out! I hope you’ll play along with the Monkey girls…..check out their blog here and see what the other designers came up with!

I think I might have to make a card with these colors and patterns!

CTD174 & FMS17

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have neglected my dear friends at the Color Throwdown for way too long, and when I saw their color challenge this week, I knew I had to play:

I just love that they have inspiration images! I also used the Freshly Made Sketches sketch #17:

to make my thank you card:

I flipped the sketch so my Young Vermillion wasn’t looking off into space! He was stamped on watercolor paper in Stazon, then colored (I am on a watercoloring kick lately) with an aquapainter in Soft Suede and Daffodil Delight, then mounted with dimensionals on a piece of Soft Sky that I stamped with some images from French Foliage:

I actually stamped the bird on the Soft Sky panel as well so I didn’t have to cut out his little feet!! Isn’t he sweet? The River Rock card base is also stamped with the Weathered BG stamp. Thanks for visiting today!

This is what happens when you’re stamping and not watching your DGD in the next room:

Diapers everywhere! Check out the guilty look!

Merry Monday Challenge #2

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lesley has another great sketch for her Christmas card Merry Monday challenge #2:

I had gotten some beautiful Christmas papers last month but hadn’t had a chance to use them, so I pulled them out and went to work:

I used a combination of Marina Mist and Sahara Sand to ink my image; I tapped the stamp first in my MM pad, then lightly tapped the SS pad over top, to give it a toned-down look:

I also used Naturals Ivory cardstock to complement the vintage look of the designer papers. Copic-colored pearls finished off my fairly CAS design!

Some days we have a “static” problem:

Thanks for visiting today! If you have any questions about any of the products, just shoot me an email!

SSC237 Valentine Style

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of little Valentine note cards are on stage today, using the Saturday Sketch Challenge 237 from Stamping 411:

I made these to showcase the new Fashionable Hearts embosslits shown in the new Occasions Mini Catalog! Here you go:

They both feature a Regal Rose frame cut from a Labels Framelit, then embossed with the oval Designer Frame. This one has been glittered with Dazzling Diamonds glitter:

And this one has a sweet banner of Pretty in Pink satin ribbons:

Here’s a closeup of each:

With one pass of the Big Shot, you’ve got a whole slew of pretty embossed hearts—lots of fun to play with! I used Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo and Whisper White for the ones shown here! Sentiments are from Teeny Tiny Wishes and Delightful Dozen.

Here’s a photo of my niece Jessie and Cassidy over the holidays. Jessie lives in SC and this was the first time she’d met her little cousin!

CQC119 & Monkey Challenge 90

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello peeps! Another Tuesday, another ColourQ day! Check out these colors that Arielle has gathered together for us:

My mind was going in all kinds of directions thinking about this challenge, but when I saw the a la Card Monkey challenge and sketch, I went a different way. Here is the sketch:

First of all, that little critter just cracks me up! But second, I liked the sketch and third, the challenge was to use some “new” stuff. I have been playing with the new SU dies, as you can tell, so I decided to continue to play with them and add a set that I’ve had for a while but hadn’t played with yet, Hand Knit:

I used both Edgelits dies here, stamping the Going Gray panel with the Woodgrain background stamp. My little lamb is stamped in Stazon and colored with markers. I added some felt flowers die-cut from the Fun Flowers die and embellished each with a little French knot. I belong to a knitting group (even though I don’t knit—I cross stitch!) and I am sure this will come in handy as someone is always needing a get-well or encouragement card! Here’s a closer view:

The little tag is from Tiny tags—a perfect compliment to this knitting-themed card, don’t you think? I hope you’ll play along with us this week with these mod colors---you can find all the details along with the other DT samples on the ColourQ blog!!! Happy stamping!

Here’s my little cookie monster; we have learned “up” and “down”!! (BTW, if it looks like she only wears one outfit….it’s just because it’s cold at Grammie’s house and we always have to wear our sweater!!!):

Framelit Birthday CAS152

2012-01-09T08:55:00.001-05:00

For today’s SCS CAS challenge, we were to use diecuts. I had this card made as a sample for my club girls to showcase the new Framelits:

I am not really sure how CAS it is, but it certainly shows off the dies! I made a frame using two consecutive dies and framed some Big Top DP to make this birthday card for a two-year-old. I loved making this card because I got to use several different sets and products!!!

To make the party had with its cute little pompoms, I got to use Pennant Parade and its punch, and the Timeless Type die for the number, the floral punch from Itty Bitty Punch Pack, the Scallop Circle Punch and the 1 3/8” Punch and the Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder!

For the tag, I got to use Happiest Birthday Wishes, Itty Bitty Bits, and the Large Tag Punch!

On the inside, I used the negative portions of the diecuts for my sentiment. I love this effect! Thanks for visiting today!

Paper Players 77

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to the Paper Players challenge! We hope you are well-rested and ready to play! This week, our hostess Lesley has a theme challenge—All You Need is Love!

You can make any type of creation that represents “love” to you! I chose to make a get-well card for a dear sister in Christ who has been a little under the weather. She has shown me so much friendship and encouragement since we met online!

The word “amour” is in the background, but it is probably difficult to see here! But it was stamped with love, in colors that I love, and in a style that I love, and it will be sent with love!!! And speaking of colors, I used the Pals Paper Arts colors this week of Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy and Very Vanilla, as well as the Fall to Layout from Clean & Simple:

The background was created with several vintage images from Artistic Etchings, Fresh Vintage and Creative Elements, all stamped in Baja Breeze and NQN on watercolor paper. Some crochet trim and Nesties added visual details as well as my little rhinestone!

The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, and I repositioned the words using my Stamp-a-ma-Jig so that it would fit in the small oval punch.

This card is already winging its way across the miles and I hope my friend enjoys it! And I hope you will play along with our love-themed challenge this week! Wing on over to the Paper Players blog to find out all the details. We have changed things a tiny bit---the deadline for submissions is now Friday at noon! Be sure to play!

These pictures of Cassidy with my little garden angel remind me of the passage in Genesis where Jacob wrestles with an angel!!!!

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

Merry Monday #1

2012-01-06T06:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday---and I am working on a Monday challenge! My friend Lesley has a new challenge called Merry Monday—a Christmas card a week! Ahh, a girl after my own heart! So this week she has a nice sketch:

And of course, once again, I had the sketch in my head and didn’t remember that the sentiment was to be at the bottom! Good thing she is my friend, huh?! So here we go:

You are going to be sick of this Everyday Enchantment paper, but it is SO pretty---look at this lovely pattern, so different from the others. I thought it made a wonderful background for a Christmas card. It’s really quite simple…an oval stamped with a retired image from To You & Yours and the beautiful Christmas sentiment from Delightful Dozen. It was inked first in Versamark, then Poppy Parade, stamped, then sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heated for a real punch! The little bird is from Fresh Vintage (again!).

And I used a piece of the DP along with a new Adorning Accent edgelit die to make a little froufrou for the inside:

Awesome way to start the new year---making Christmas cards!!! Hmmmm, I think maybe I should add some glitter to my house…that would make it even better!

I haven’t had time to take any pix of Cassidy, but Pumpkin visited my craft room the other day:

Thanks for popping in! If you have any questions, just shoot me an email!

FMS16

2012-01-05T09:29:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday! Well, my computer is running, but it is definitely not up to top speed. I can see a call to my favorite repairman in the immediate future. I had a little stamping time last night so I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

as well as some inspiration from Carrie Rhodes’s card here, to make my creation:

I just love these colors and patterns together! Everything except the polka dot paper is from the SAB’s Everyday Enchantment….I can’t put it down! I used the EE brads as centers for my little diecut butterflies, and they are mounted on an embossed oval Designer Frame. You might be able to see that I stamped the medallion from Fresh Vintage on the circles behind the butterflies:

I also added a little ribbon treatment and a sentiment from Tiny Tags:

The inside sentiment is a combination of elements from the SAB Fresh Vintage set as well! Such a lovely image!

Thanks for visiting today….I want to share with you a little picture from before Christmas:

Trust me, this is a lot less innocent than it looks! I had several “reassembles” to do over the holiday season!!!

ColourQ118

2012-01-03T09:11:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday! I know my post is late....I believe my computer has finally bitten the dust! OH NO! I am doing this on hubby's computer....so bear with me! All my photos are on my other computer, and my card is in the mail, so I have only one to share!
First, let's see what Arielle has come up with for our ColourQ Challenge today:

Isn't this super? I took a little liberty with the colors, using some that are similar to the challenge colors, as they are very close to the Everyday Enchantment paper from the new Sale-a-Bration catalog! And here's my creation:

I used a new die that is in the new mini (starts tomorrow) called Fashionable Hearts, as well as the Fresh Vintage SAB set, Tiny Tags and Petite Pairs. I CASE'd this from my friend Rita when she made this card using the mini envelope die that hasn't seen the light of day in my craft room for quite some time! And since this is a wedding card for my college roommate, who just got married this past week, it makes it a perfect choice for the A La Card Monkey challenge 89, which is this sketch and theme:

I think getting married is definitely a fresh start! If you have any questions about any of the products, shoot me an email (include yours as well) and I'll try to answer them! I hope you can play along with our lovely colors this week...be sure to check out the ColourQ blog to see what all the other designers have come up with! Start the year with our super colors!

Mojo 222 Birthday

2012-01-02T15:20:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! No babysitting today, so I was able to make a birthday card for a friend who loves purple! A monochromatic card using Wisteria Wonder and some new sets, coming right up:

I used the Mojo 222 sketch from Mojo Monday:

and here’s the inside:

Sets used were Elementary Elegance, Fresh Vintage and Petite Pairs---new sets (except Petite Pairs) from the new mini or Sale-a-bration catalogs. I am having so much fun with them!

I have been on vacation from babysitting this past week, so I don’t have any fresh pictures….this is from Christmas day…that glazed look when kids are enthralled by the TV or computer screen! She got a little baby Leap pad:

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the ColourQ!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Enjoy your day with your family---we’ll be “de-Christmasing”, as my girlfriend calls it, the house today. I thought I would share a little gift that my sweet blog friend Shirley created and gave to me for Christmas!

Isn’t he cute? Or maybe it’s a she? The party hat is something I added…..a little fun accessory that I will try to change each month!!! So stay tuned! I haven’t decided on a name for my little owl yet…..any suggestions? Enjoy your day!! And be sure to come back next Sunday when the Paper Players challenges resume!!!

New Stuff!

2011-12-31T13:22:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year’s Eve! I had a tiny bit of time to play with my new SU goodies….not enough time, but it will have to do for now! This card uses an Occasions mini set called Apothecary Art, a SAB set called Fresh Vintage, SAB designer paper (which is gorgeous) called Everyday Enchantment, some Everyday Enchantment organdy ribbon (also SAB), and the new Framelits Labels dies---about which I am SO thrilled!

Not a complicated design, but just playing with my new toys!

Hope you all have a wonderful NYE; stay safe! I am praying for a healthy, happy, wonderful new year for everyone in 2012! I can’t wait to get back to my normal routine….how about you? Leaving you with one of my favorite funny fotos from this Christmas!!!

Felt Snowman

2011-12-29T08:45:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday! I don’t have anything stamped to share today, but I thought I would show you the felt ornament I made for my granddaughter this year:

This was adapted from a pattern from Hudson’s Holidays. I printed the label on some fabric on which I had adhered some fusible webbing, then ironed it on the back. Every once in a while, I just need to do some needlework!! TFL!

Cassidy is still practicing with getting the yogurt IN her mouth and not just on it!

OCC, CCCB89 & Mojo221

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Still working on thank you cards, and trying to clean up my desk at the same time! I found a little Christmas kitten image I had colored and cut out, but never used, so I decided to use the Mojo Monday sketch 221:

making a small note card instead of a square card:

I also used the inspiration theme from Our Creative Corner, which is Home for the Holidays; to use something from your home to inspire your creation. How about my little Pumpkin on Christmas morning:

Well, she’s not sitting in a stocking, but she is playing with some wrapping paper!!! Anyway, she is my inspiration, along with all the country decorations I have around my house! And since I “fussy cut” my little kitty out, this qualifies for the City Crafter Challenge for this week of “Making the Cut”! Thanks for visiting today!

ColourQ117

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday….we sure did! Today, Arielle has given us a little free rein (or is it reign?) for this week’s challenge….here ya go:

I was short on time, so I did a very simple card using a sweet new stamp I got for Christmas from my friend Martha!

And to be truthful, this is not the first card I did. I did not read the challenge completely and my first card had more than one “other” color:

Ooops! Oh well, I need several thank you cards, so I am well on my way! Hope you can squeeze in a little stamping time this week and play with us! Scoot on over to the CQC blog and show us your creation!

Thanks for visiting today!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas!

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:8-14

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

2 Corinthians 9:15

Winter Vignette

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Christmas Eve! I wanted to share one last little Christmas project with you….this is my gift for my sister. We aren’t supposed to exchange gifts, but she is a great yard-saler and thrift-shop-junkie, and always manages to find me a treat here or there, so I just used some goodies I had laying around to make her a little vintage scene. It was inspired by this post at Glue Arts and instead of stamping and making clay figures, I used some vintage images that I had (since I seem to collect them by the thousands and just look at them instead of using them!) along with some other little goodies sprinkled with a good dose of glitter:

This little girl just reminds me of Cassidy with that little look on her face! The sentiment at the bottom of the card says “Did you hear anything in the chimney?” So cute! I used lots of hot glue on this creation, and getting the mica flakes to stick on the styrofoam was a challenge….I used spray glue, patted the flakes on, then sprayed the entire thing again with a matte finish. It seems to not be “shedding” too much! It also was a little top-heavy, so I used a SU chipboard scallop adhered to my vintage spool on the bottom, and that gave it a good base. I hope she likes it!

Thank you to everyone who has sent me beautiful hand-made cards this year! Cassidy thanks you too—the envelopes are her favorite part!

PPA125 Gift Tag

2011-12-23T08:36:00.001-05:00

I hadn’t really planned on doing posts this week, but when I saw the Pals Paper Arts challenge, which was to make a tag, I decided to participate, since I had just made a tag for a plate of cookies I took to my DD’s work:

Honestly, everything on this tag was a scrap or something left from another project…all just sitting on my desk! The tag is a piece of leftover Crumb Cake and I cut it to fit into a blossom-shaped Nestie to shape the top. I did stamp it with SU’s Christmas Collage background stamp and gave it a little punched edge before adding my Crafty Secret note and a little vintage cutout from Gecko Galz. The holly was a leftover….and the ribbon is some old stuff from my stash!

This is what happens when a one-year-old “helps” Grammy wrap Christmas presents:

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Star Ornament HSS98

2011-12-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry, these photos are not too good---it’s been rainy & dreary here for several days, not good for photography! The challenge this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments is to create a card with a unique fold.

Although this isn’t a card, it does have some folds! And I know that I saved the directions from someone’s blog for this ornament, but for the life of me I cannot locate it now…I had to do it from memory! But I’ll keep looking! Edited to add: Here is a link to Dawn's blog -not my original source, but this is the same style: Folded Star Ornament. So here we go:

The basic star requires five squares of card stock; you can make them any size, these are 2” square. Again, I’ll try to find the directions or maybe write up a tutorial if anyone is interested. It’s pretty easy! The neat thing is that when you pull the button up and fold the star together, it looks like this:

Neat, huh? I will tell you that there needs to be some tension between the ribbon & the button; if it slides too easily, it will not hold together. I used Crumb Cake cardstock with Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede ink; the snowflakes were from Winter Post, Short & Sweet, and Every Little Bit; the sentiment is from Pennant Parade.

Cassidy had a really cute outfit on yesterday, but it was really hard to get one good picture of it! Here’s a couple….you can see that one of her favorite activities is strewing old VCR tapes and DVD cases all over the floor!!

Thanks for visiting!

ColourQ 116

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday! Another ColourQ day, and the days to Christmas are looming near! My nieces and nephews get the gift of CASH from their Pugliese aunt & uncle, so I used this week’s challenge to make a little gift holder. First, the challenge:

and here’s my holder:

This was a fun one to make! You may recognize my little snowman…I used him a couple weeks ago, but this time added some watercolored trees and gifts to a couple of snow-covered hills.

The base of my card is two Top Notes cut from Crumb Cake cardstock; the cover one is scored at the top and adhered to the bottom one with some Sticky Strip. (My large tree, although it looks a bit turquoise, IS Glorious Green, believe it or not!) On the inside, a little 3x3 envelope fits perfectly, and of course, it had to be decorated as well:

Isn’t that spiffy? Then I can just slip in the gift and the whole thing fits in a standard envelope! I did add some glitter and a little twist of wired tinsel for some extra fun! I hope you’ll find some time in your busy schedule for yourself---to stamp, of course---and share it with us. Skate on over to the CQC blog to see what the other creative souls have made this week! And speaking of snowmen, my dear friend Sara gave Cassidy this little snowman for Christmas. and they’re sharing an apple bar together!

Thank You Snow Much!

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I needed a couple of thank you cards…these were simple and cute, and I got a chance to ink up some stamps I hadn’t used for a while:

I tried to use the word “snow” from the Snow Much Fun set to put over top the “so, so” in this phrase from Delightful Dozen, but it just wasn’t working, so I just crossed it out and wrote it with a Calypso Coral marker….a little play on words! I colored Mr Snowman with a white watercolor crayon and some markers for his scarf & hat:

Oh, and a cute little glittery heart, too! The second one was more clean and simple, using a little image from Every Little Bit and some red glimmer paper:

The little ornament was colored with markers and iced with glitter, too:

Thanks for visiting—be sure to come back tomorrow for the ColourQ challenge!

Vintage Birthday

2011-12-18T11:59:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday! The Paper Players are taking a little Christmas break, but there is still time to play—we’re leaving our current challenge open until December 30. You can see all the details here!

My sister’s birthday is coming up and she has recently found some blogs and websites featuring vintage designs and she loves them as much as I do, so I thought I would make a birthday card for her using some vintage ephemera:

The next time I try this technique I’ll do my velvet ribbon/lace treatment a little differently…still on a learning curve with that! But I love the effect of the snowy glitter on the metal frame as well as the Dazzling Diamonds on the die cut leaves:

The little postage mark is cut from an envelope I had gotten at my church’s yard sale many years ago…I bought a whole box of them mostly for the postage stamps, but I love the look it gives here…although it would have been cool if I had chosen one from the year she was born! Hmmmm…maybe I’ll have to swap that out before it goes in the mail! I cut the swirl from the same envelope as well. I also sprayed the entire card with a mixture of More Mustard ink, alcohol and white Shimmer paint. You can’t see it here, but it added a nice antique color to it! Hope she likes it!

Pumpkin seems intent on commandeering my computers….yesterday it was my laptop!

Have a blessed day!

SSC234 & OCCC

2011-12-17T13:16:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday! I had a chance to do a little stamping today and I found this beautiful color challenge at Our Creative Corner from my DT girlfriend, Anne Marie, and I just had to put it to good use:

My niece just graduated from nursing school, so I wanted to make her a congrats card. I thought these colors would be fun—hope it’s okay that I didn’t make a holiday card! Here we go:

I chose to use Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette and Cherry Cobbler as my colors. I also used the sketch from Stamping 411 for this week:

Pumpkin was taking a little break on my computer desk this morning….overpowering a different kind of mouse!

At 18 years old, she still mouses like a champion! And she has to put up with all kinds of distractions…Cassidy is getting ready to give her a kiss, although it looks like she is going to bite her, LOL!

Thanks for visiting today! If you have any questions about stamps or accessories, let me know!

PPA124 & PDCC111

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I finally had a chance to get out of Christmas mode and work on a couple birthday cards I need for December! One was a masculine one, so I used the Pals Paper Arts sketch from this week:

along with the color challenge of black, white and aqua from The Play Date Cafe:

And here we go:

For some reason, my camera just isn’t capturing this in its true color….but stamped on the textured cardstock, it looks really cool! This image is fairly large, so my card is a little larger than normal. I also did some embossing on the black panel:

and repeated the image on the inside with the sentiment:

If you have any questions, just shoot me an email!

Cassidy had her first chocolate chip cookie yesterday:

Gotta start her on the Christmas cookie traditions early!!

FMS15 & HSS97

2011-12-14T14:30:00.001-05:00

I am pretty much done mailing my Christmas cards, but thought I’d make a couple more to have on hand. I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

and the “Old-Fashioned Christmas” theme from Hand Stamped Sentiments:

My first card came together fairly quickly; I used some Graphics 45 Santa Post paper and a Crafty Secrets Christmas cut:

The second one featured a vintage image I had stamped, colored with Copics and mounted on a chipboard frame:

I know that one of Lesley’s requirements for the FMS challenge is clean, so I resisted the temptation to shabby up my frame! I did add some digital vintage music as my background, and I hand-drew some woodgrain on my little sign:

A couple quick easy cards! Now I need to concentrate on some December birthdays I have coming up! If you have any questions about any of the cards or products, give me a shout! And thanks for stopping by!

Grampy was teaching Cassidy how to eat yogurt by herself this morning!

She did pretty well!

ColourQ115

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! Put on your sunglasses for this week’s ColourQ challenge! I love it!

I took a large sentiment stamp, inked it up in three colors and then covered the whole thing in Versamark ink and Iridescent Ice embossing powder:

I added a snowflakey panel and some hand-dyed crinkly seam binding fashioned into a little bow and tied with a Real Red button and a mini jingle bell!

It is really glittery IRL! I hope you’ll find some fun inspiration from this photo and create something cheerful! Share it with us over at the ColourQ, where you’ll see the other designers’ fabulous creations as well!

I know this photo is dark, but I just love the little grin on her face!

If you have any questions about my card or the products I used, shoot me an email!

FTL170 & TSTR92 & Live Nativity

2011-12-12T11:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! I made a quick little card this morning with lots of sparkle! It’s for the Shabby Tea Room Challenge #92:

and used the Fall To Layout#170 from Clean & Simple:

And here it is:

I am not sure that an image this detailed works so well with Heat & Stick powder and glitter…but I added it to my stash, so in the mail it will go! Here’s the inside:

We had our Live Nativity this weekend at my church; it’s in a rural setting and we still have carriage sheds that were originally used when congregants drove their horse & buggies to church! It makes for a perfect Live Nativity background:

Some scenes from the village:

A very affectionate goat:

Too bad my camera doesn’t have a “blue-eye reduction” for goats!

Shepherds with their flocks and cold little angels:

Joseph, Mary & baby Jesus:

Paco the burro (who has been participating in the Nativity for about 20 years!):

Two of the Wise Men:

A Roman centurian (inside giving the hot chocolate ladies a hard time!):

And it ends at the cross and the empty tomb:

I only got out for a few minutes on Friday night; the other times I was inside serving up lots & lots & lots of hot chocolate and cookies to the over 1000 visitors! It was cold, clear & beautiful---a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of the season, away from the commercialism with which we are inundated daily.

Thanks for visiting—if you have any questions, please email me!

Paper Players 76

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday to everyone! Ann is our hostess for this week’s Paper Players challenge, and she has a regal combination for us:

Once again, it’s a clean and simple challenge, which I didn’t notice, but thankfully, I did a fairly clean and simple card:

I used the Lovely Letters set with the flourish from Essential Elements, stamped in gold Encore ink. I embossed my Brushed Gold scalloped mat with a CB folder and burnished the embossing with some Soft Suede ink, then adhered it to another Brushed Gold mat. I added a glimmer brad, some quilted ribbon in Cherry Cobbler and a few well-placed gold dots with a gold Painty pen:

On the inside, I added a sentiment from Come to Bethlehem:

I hope you’ll be able to play with us using these lovely colors! You can stop by the Paper Player’s blog to see what the other designers created as well, and share YOUR creation with all of us! This is the Paper Players’ last challenge of the year and we hope you have a blessed Christmas holiday, and be sure to come back in 2012 for some brand-new challenges!

Nostalgic Ephemera Birthday

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today’s my FIL’s 85th birthday, so I made him a vintage-themed card! He is probably the only person that I know that STILL uses a typewriter! Although it doesn’t look like this one, LOL!

I just used lots of vintage images, stamped on some interesting Basic Grey DP filled with lines & numbers:

Any questions, shoot me an email! Toodles!

Simple Poinsettia & I Don’t Do Hair

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

As I realize that I need more Christmas cards than I have, I am going back to my “simple is best” theme! I had this digital poinsettia image colored a while back and added some simple DP to make a little 4.25” card:

Nothing snazzy, no bells, whistles, buttons or bling….flat but pretty. I colored it with Copics:

and it’s ready to go!

My DD brings Cassidy to my house with her hair always done up in barrettes or a pony tail; by the end of her first nap, that look is history:

and I realize that Grammy just doesn’t do hair!!! I could not get this back into a pony tail for the life of me….I just had to let it go! I think it is because I grew up with short hair and my daughter’s hair was so thick, I just had it cut in a bowl style until she was old enough to do it herself. And just in case you’re wondering, she is trying to give Pumpkin her milk saucer:

Enjoy your day!

FMS14

2011-12-08T09:31:00.001-05:00

I had a special order from a customer for a Christmas card for her granddaughter; she specifically asked for a Santa! When I saw this week’s Freshly Made Sketches sketch, I was thrilled; it was a perfect sketch for what I had in mind. Here’s the sketch:

And here’s my BIG card:

This measures a huge 6” square of Santa Claus goodness! I used a retired SU Santa image, some cute coordinating red & sage papers and a card base of textured Very Vanilla. She had requested her name on the card, so I computer-generated the sentiment and added it to a little die-cut mitten:

And of course, Santa’s hat is all glittered up, too:

This also qualifies for the Christmas Card All Year Round challenge, which is Anything Goes! I just love this card, and I hope she does too! Thanks for looking today! If you have any questions, just pop me a line!

Motorcycle Birthday

2011-12-07T10:52:00.001-05:00

Oh my, time is flying by and there’s not enough of it in the day! I feel like I have been neglecting all my blog friends, but the season is pulling at me! My little brother’s birthday is coming up, and I liked the sketch at SCS today, so I sat down while the baby was napping to make him a card:

While I am sure this does not match his Harley (!!!), I am hoping he will still like it!

I only wish I hadn’t “shabbied” the image up quite so much….it’s looking a little smoky! Oh well! Enjoy your day and if you have any questions, email me! Off to make some more cookies!

ColourQ 114 Anything But A Card

2011-12-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday, peeps! Today, Arielle has a special ColourQ challenge for us! Use this photo as your inspiration:

to make anything BUT a card! Well, that shouldn’t be too hard in light of how stinkin’ cute this little guy is! I chose to make a quick gift card holder:

These have been around forever, but in case you’ve never seen one before, they’re really easy!

Take an envelope and seal it; it’s a good idea to add a little additional adhesive on the part of the flap that doesn’t have any, so everything sticks real well.
Along the longer edge, cut the envelope at approximately 2”; if you’re using a standard-sized envelope, this means that you’ll have 3.75” portion remaining.
Take that 3.75” portion and run it through a crimper; now it is a little smaller, since it’s been crimped, and you can slide the other portion of the envelope on top to make a little sleeve for it. Your money or gift card or even a pack of hot chocolate will fit into the crimped part, and you can decorate the top part whatever way you like!

My snowman was colored with markers, sparkled with a Jelly Roll pen and embellished with some diecut holly, berries & stars, and the Crumb Cake envelope was stamped with snowflakes, “fa la” and then sponged with white ink. This was definitely a FUN project to make! To make it easy to open, I tied my ribbon at the top and adhered my snowman with dimensionals on either side of the ribbon, making sure the dimensionals were only on the top portion of the envelope; when the recipient opens it, the ribbon just unties and slides under the snowman and the top can be removed to find the gift inside!

I hope this will inspire you to make something other than a card with this little cutie as your inspiration! Skate on over to the CQC blog to see what the other designers came up with! I’ll bet you have some FABULOUS ideas as well!

If you have any questions about anything used here, shoot me an email (be sure to include YOUR email if you want me to answer!) and I’ll be happy to help!

I find it very funny that my little mouse doorstop is only inches away from my sleeping Pumpkin!

Paper Players 75

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday! Today Nance is our Paper Players hostess and she has a cool theme for you! Put on your thinking caps and come up with a unique way to use those non-Christmas stamps or colors!

As a child, my grandmother had the most wonderful German glass ornaments on her Christmas tree…the ones that fascinated me the most were the birds! Maybe you’ve seen them—they had a little clip to fasten it on to the branch, and wonderful long tails made of some sort of thin soft stuff---which had usually fallen out by the time I arrived on the scene! They were beautifully colored and they were my favorites! I still have a couple but I just save them, don’t even put them on my tree! Anyway, I’ve had this idea to use the SU bird punch to make my own bird ornaments…what do you think:

Let me tell you, they are dazzling in real life! I used the non-traditional colors of Melon Mambo and Pacific Point with some bright yellow and chartreuse accents---definitely not your typical Christmas colors! These were a breeze to make….I simply used a Sissix Adhesive sheet adhered to some cardstock, punched out the birds, peeled off the protective sheet and sprinkled on my glitter! It worked like a charm! That stuff is awesome! Because I didn’t want to distract from the glitz, I chose a plain background for my card with just a little silver Glimmer paper peeking out from under the flap, which is also what I used for their tails:

This card is wider than a regular A5 card, but will easily fit inside a business-size envelope! I hope you’ll be inspired to make an out-of-the-box Christmas card or project! Fly on over to the Paper Players blog to see what the other clever designers came up with and be sure to link your creation as well! If you have any questions about anything I used on this card, please feel free to email me!

Speaking of birds, I was cleaning & filling the bird feeder earlier in the week and Cassidy was intent on playing with the seed….there was only about an inch or so left, and it was just a tiny little bit out of her reach! She is a determined little one…she actually picked up the bucket at one point. I think she thought if she could just move it, she’d be able to reach it!

Have a great day!

More Christmas

2011-12-03T10:35:00.001-05:00

I have been a Christmas card stamping fool lately! I have been playing with lots of my neglected stamps, digital images and hoarded paper! Here’s a quick card I made with a digital sentiment:

Just havin’ some fun with copics, ribbon, punches & glitter! Email me if you have questions! BTW, is anyone else having Blogger issues? Grrrr…….

PPA122 & SSSC145

2011-12-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

The challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts is a color challenge of Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla, which gave me the opportunity to use a little digi vintage postcard image I had just printed out:

There’s really not much stamping here, although I did stamp the snowflakes on the DP and the sentiment on the little banner. The sketch is this week’s Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 145:

I used some beautiful lace that my friend Linda gave me, along with some quilted ribbon from SU and a glittered-up button:

Hope you have a great day---email me if you have questions about anything!

Check out my little cowgirl!