S S Crafter

Want2Scrap Giveaway!

2012-02-20T22:26:00.002-06:00

I have entered the Want2Scrap Giveaway with a Valentine's card I made. Please go to
Want2Scrap to vote on my card!! My entry is on the 2nd page and has 2 heart border circle die cuts
from Spellbinders with a heart punch from Martha Stewart in the center. The heart is outlined with
pearl bling and there are bling crystals and pearls between each heart on the circle die cuts. All of the bling
used on this card is from Want2Scrap and I really LOVE all of the bling they have and their affordable
prices!! Thank you for your support!! : )

New Christmas Cards

2011-11-27T21:40:00.001-06:00

The image for this card is not from The Graphics Fairy, but most of the images on the following cards are. I have to say I was very surprised to find this image on the first pages of a paper pack from The Paper Studio called Holiday Wonder. The trim on the tree is some of the AWESOME bling I won from Want 2 Scrap. The base cardstock is from The Paper Studio Christmas Traditions.

This time the image is from The Graphics Fairy , you can find almost anything you would want on Karen's website. The lace is some I found at a garage sale and the ribbon was some I bought somewhere on sale. The half pearls are also from Want 2 Scrap. The base paper is from The Paper Studio Greetings of the Season. An EK Success border punch was used on some vineyard cardstock from CTMH and layered on CTMH Topiary cardstock.

An image from The Graphics Fairy is the centerpiece of this card. It is layered on cardstock from The Paper Studio Christmas Traditions. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby during a 50% sale, the lace is more found at a garage sale. The pearls are from Want 2 Scrap.

The sleigh was cut on my cricut with the Christmas Cheer cart. The CTMH Poinsettia stamp is stamped with VersaMark stamp pad and heat embossed using gold embossing powder on CTMH Vineyard cardstock. The doily was purchased at Wal-Mart. The pearls in the center of each poinsettia are from Want 2 Scrap. The green ribbon was purchased on sale somewhere.

Foil paper is from The Paper Studio Christmas Traditions and the images are from The Graphics Fairy layered on CTMH cardstock. A Merry stamp from Studio g using CTMH Topiary stamp pad.

The pearl swirl is from Want 2 Scrap.

The Santa Claus is from The Graphics Fairy fussy cut and layered on white cardstock for contrast. The Merry Christmas stamp is from Studio g stamped in CTMH Cranberry. The base cardstock is CTMH cranberry. The gems in the corner are from Want 2 Scrap.

The cardstock is from The Paper Studio Christmas Traditions and Greetings of the Season. The sentiment is stamped on vellum and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. The gems are from Want 2 Scrap.

Paper is from The Paper Studio Christmas Traditions and the image is from The Graphics Fairy .

Pretty and simple.

Another image from The Graphics Fairy and paper from The Paper Studio Greetings of the Season. The beautiful pearl swirl and green half pearls are from Want 2 Scrap.

An image from The Graphics Fairy, paper from The Paper Studio Christmas Traditions, half pearls from Want 2 Scrap to make this card with ribbon from Hobby Lobby and a Martha Stewart corner punch.

A little change. :) The paper is from The Paper Studio Holiday Wonder and Greetings of the Season. I used a paper punch from Stampin' Up to punch out 3 ornaments and adhered them together to make a 3D ornament. The pearls and gems on the ornaments are from Want 2 Scrap. The line of pearls above the 3D ornament is from Recollections. The sentiment is from TPC and stamped in CTMH cranberry.

The pretty star in the center of this card was found at a garage sale and I thought it would make the perfect centerpiece for a card. The background paper is from The Paper Studio Jolly Holiday Scrapbook Kit. The ribbon is some I had on hand.

You can tell that I love the images from The Graphics Fairy and if you have not checked out this website yet, please do, you will find something you like. I purchase a lot of my paper from Hobby Lobby when it is 50% off and The Paper Studio has some beautiful paper that is just right for my projects. I will be making a lot more Christmas cards and will try to post them before Christmas is here, but no promises. Merry Christmas to all and hope you will have many Blessings during this season.

Paper Crafts Inspiration

2011-11-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

After receiving my November/December 2011 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine, I was immediately inspired by all of the beautiful cards there. This first card is on page 20 and designed by Kim Kesti:

To make the white fur on the red suit I took white tissue paper and tore the edges, then folding the tissue twice to have a solid white color. Do this once for each side. The buckle was a piece of rectangle mirror gold metallic cs that I hand cut. Of course, afterwards I look at my Fabulous Finds Cricut cart. to find a perfectly good buckle cut I could have used. Oh well. :) I cut a strip of black cs to fit through the buckle. The red cs is CTMH Cranberry cs that was cut in two pieces and I used a circle punch to notch the corners. The sentiment is from a Studio 18 stamp set.

On page 37 is a card designed by Marisa Gunn. I used b&t paper from The Paper Studio, Greetings of the Season. I used the ornament punch from Stampin' Up on a piece of b&t from the paper pack to punch out Joy. I used Glass Elements to give it some shine and nestled it in some fuzzy varigated yarn and tied a red ribbon around it. The pearl embellishment flourish is from Want2Scrap and the double pearl line to the ornament was purchased at Michaels and is from Recollection. It was on sale so I decided to try it. I think it turned out ok.

On page 36 is a card designed by Darla Weber. I used CTMH Vineyard Berry cs embossed with a Regal Flourish Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. The ivory b&t paper is also from The Paper Studio, Greetings of the Season. The red wired ribbon was something I purchased after the Christmas Season last year or the year before. The buttons are some I found at a garage sale. The sentiment is from a 4 Clear Stamping stamp set.

On page 27 is a card designed by Windy Robinson from Card & Page designs by Windy Robinson .
The paper is from The Paper Studio, Greetings of the Season. I used a border punch on one edge of the center medallion after cutting a 2 x 12 inch strip of paper. I used my scorepal to score the strip every 1/4" and after pleating it, connected the ends using red tape. Now the problem is that it wants to bow out. I cut 2 small circles, one for each side, laying strips of red tape across the pleats in the center and then putting one of the circles over it. Flip the medallion over and repeat. I have used glue before, but it takes a while to dry and I am impatient. Now for the white layer, I used two doilies, using my scorepal to score across the doily, cut up one score and used a hole punch on the center of the medallion. I then folded on the score lines and taped the two doilies together. It looks ruffly because the scallops are different sizes and they did not fold evenly.

The center is made from ivory lace that I gathered together with thread and taped over the small circle over the red medallion. The metal center is a bead cap that has been opened up with a Want2Scrap pearl in the center. The crystal flourish used on this is from Want2Scrap.

I am definitely in the mood for Christmas and Christmas cards...I have even purchased a few Christmas presents this week (yeah, me!).

A Thank you and Fall cards

2011-11-06T16:03:00.002-06:00

This card is made from a Music sheet from the The Graphics Fairy , I did not link directly to this image because it would take a long time to get back to it. This website is AWESOME to find an image for a particular theme or holiday. The "Thank You" sentiment is from Stampabilities and the "This Music Belongs to" is from CTMH. The paper is from The Paper Studio Flourish Fusion.

All of the stamps used for this card are from CTMH. I love this alphabet set and the solid leaves stamps. The stamp pads are CTMH Autumn Terracotta, Orange, Sunflower Yellow and Vineyard Berry. The Vineyard Berry looks purple, but is really has a red color to it. I had seen a technique in one of the paper magazines in which the artist stamped leaves on rice paper and spritzed it with water. I really liked the look of the resulting paper but did not have rice paper. What I did was stamp the leaves on watercolor paper using several generations of stamping using different stamps and colors and then spritzed it with water. In the areas I got too much water in, I just patted it with paper towels to absorb some of the excess water. After letting it dry, I cut it to the size I needed for the card. The pearls in the corner are from Want2Scrap. I really love all of their embellishments, they are pretty and very affordable.

The images on this card are die cuts from a CTMH Fall Scrapbook Kit. The sentiment is also from CTMH, stamped in CTMH Autumn Terracotta. The paper is from 7gypsies. With all of the cards I have seen using doilies lately, I went in search of some. I had trouble finding doilies at first, but went back to the cake decorating section at Wal-Mart and found several different sizes at a very affordable price.

This image is also from The Graphics Fairy , I printed it out on an ivory cardstock, then tinted the images with my Tombow Blending pen. More paper from The Paper Studio Flourish Fusion. Another doily in the background with Want2Scrap pearls for accents.

The same details on the image and paper as the previous card. I added sheer ribbon and misc. buttons I have picked up in different places.

Another The Graphics Fairy image, textured orange cardstock from Core' dinations Flower Power, b&t paper from My Mind's Eye, Best of Damask. The flourish is cut using the Cindy Loo Cricut cart and Want2Scrap pearls are used for accents. Misc. lace and a paper strip cut with a Martha Stewart Border Punch is under the image.

The base under the sentiment is cut from the Forever Young Cricut cart and the flourish from the Cindy Loo Cricut cart. The sentiment is printed on Microsoft Word and cut out. The acorns and leaves are from CTMH stamps stamped in CTMH Oak Brown, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, and Cocoa.

Sentiment is again printed from Microsoft Word. The b&t paper is from The Paper Studio Flourish Fusion, the black and white is generic cardstock. The beautiful leaves are other die cuts from a CTMH Fall Scrapbook Kit.

The paper is from My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found, sentiment printed out from Microsoft Word. Misc. buttons with CTMH waxy flax threaded through and tied off.

Hope you enjoyed these cards. All of these cards are inspired from various artists whose blogs I follow, like Andrea from Ewen Style , Linda from Linda's Works of Heart , Christine from Hope and Chances , Jill from Inspired by... , Eli from Cards by Eli , and Polly fromPolly's Paper Studio as well as so many talented people who share their gifts for all of us to be inspired by. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Butterflies

2011-11-06T15:01:00.000-06:00

I used a new embossing folder from The Paper Studio called Journal Flourish, I trimmed it down and I think it came out pretty good. The sentiment stamp is from TPC Studio and the butterflies are some green foam cling stamps that I purchased from Hobby Lobby. The packaging tore when I opened so I do not know who mad them.

The paper for this card is from K&Company. The butterflies are cut from a Stampin' Up punch. The swirl is cut from the Cindy Loo Cricut cart. The sentiment is from Close To My Heart. The medallion stamp is from Clear Stamps. The stamp pad is CTMH Cocoa.

I'm a WINNER!

2011-10-31T22:50:00.001-05:00

I just found out the I am the winner of Bling Bundle #3 from Want2Scrap! WOW!! This is my second win with this company this year! I really LOVE all of their bling...just received my order of a bling bundle special they were having last week...you would be very envious of my bling drawer!! lol :) I have truly been blessed with wins this year!

Update...included pictures of the AWESOME bling that I won from Want 2 Scrap!!! Isn't it GREAT?

Two more cards

2011-10-03T21:39:00.001-05:00

The cs that formed the base of this card and one blossum cut out is from the Vintage Collection - Core' dinations. I used a Spellbinders Nestabilities - Blossum that I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby. A Martha Stewart punch made the bottom border. The sentiment is from a TPC Studio sentiment set. The b&t paper is from Life's Journey - K & Company. The swirls are cut from the Cricut cart. Cindy Loo. The pearls are from Forever in Time and Recollections.

This card is inspired by a PB&J Canvas card from the Inspired by blog. Another card with the hydrangea from The Graphics Fairy. The sheet music is some I was able to buy from an estate sale. The card base is from Core'dinations Vintage Collection, the butterflies are from Prima Marketing Clear Stamps and the stamp set cost $1.99 at Hobby Lobby.

Catching Up

2011-10-03T21:06:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was able to work on several cards. This first one, I used a new embossing folder by The Paper Studio and I played with my I-roc to add swirls to my card. The sentiment is from TPC Studio, a whole set of sentiments for only $4.99, purchased from Hobby Lobby. The flowers are Prima Flowers, 4 stacked together.

Another embossing folder was used on this card. Brown cs was layered with b&t paper from My Mind's Eye - Lost and Found paper pack. Sentiment was stamped on vellum and wrapped around the layered paper. The pearls are from Forever in Time.

Dietrich Designs inspired this card. I used the Ornamental Iron embossing folder on 3 different colors of cardstock that have a white core so it could be sanded and distressed. The frame around the sentiment and the butterfly are both from The Graphics Fairy. The greenery is cut from cs.

The image on this card is also from The Graphics Fairy. The b&t paper is from 7 gypsies avignon 8"x8" paper pack.

Another image from The Graphics Fairy, the b&t paper is from The Paper Studio - Flourish Fusion paper pack. The ribbon is CTMH blue grosgrain ribbon and the lace is from Wal-Mart.

The hydrangea is from The Graphics Fairy , you can tell I like this site, can't you? The b&t is from The Paper Studio - Flourish Fusion paper pack. I used a Martha Stewart border punch and corner punch. The pearls are from Recollections.

I had a lot of fun making these cards. These cards are done in a more vintage style and I am loving it right now...so expect more cards! :)

Inspired by...

2011-09-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

I have been busy since school has started back up. I am actually making a lot of cards, but no time to post.

:( Between getting the kids to school early in time for band practice, grading papers, making supper and spending time with my sweetie, I just have a small amount of time to create. This card was made in multiples at the beginning of September. I just found the exact post that inspired me this evening, so I was able to post it.

This card was inspired by a card made by Andrea Ewen whose blog Ewen Style is full of some beautiful cards. I am constantly visiting her blog to see her creations, she truly inspires me. I used a curlicue stamp from Clear Stamps-Freshly Picked stamped with a versamark stamp pad and gold embossing powder. The image was randomly stamped across 2 different white pieces of cardstock. The large white embossed cs was layered on blue cs and the small white embossed cs was layered on gold cs. The sentiment is stamped on a octagon nestability die cut cs and layered on cs cut with the next size die.

Every Flower

2011-08-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

Another pretty image from Designed 2 Delight that reminds me of Spring. With all of the hot weather we have had, some pretty flowers would be nice to see in yards right now! The flower image is colored with CTMH markers and then layered onto paper from Colorbok Paper Pack. The butterflies are punched using a Stampin' Up punch and glitterazzi lines are adhered to their middles. Some pearl curlicues from Say It in Crystals from Prima Marketing are adhered below the butterflies. The sentiment and border are from Studio g. Thanks for stopping by!!

Stitched Pumpkin

2011-08-17T21:07:00.001-05:00

Designed 2 Delight's Free digi image this week is a Stitched Pumpkin, Mouse, and Fall Border. There is a lot in this week's images and so much you can do with it. I chose to use the Stitched Pumpkin to make a Fall card. The technique I used was paper piecing with a little twist. The paper for the pumpkin and the fall border are from a CTMH paper pack that I have had for a while. The leaves with the pumpkin on white paper are colored in with a sponge dauber using CTMH Sunflower ink all over, then CTMH Golden Ember and Autumn Terracotta blended in with a Q-tip near the outside of the leaves. Finally, CTMH Chocolate ink was blended in at the very edge of the leaves with a Q-tip. I tried something different with the Fall Border. It is printed on the same b&t paper used to paper piece the pumpkin, then using the same ink pads above, I used my Tombow Blending Pen to color them in. To complete the images, I used different shapes and colors buttons from a CTMH button pack. The pumpkin image is layered on paper from a Best Occasions Scrap Pack, the die cuts and sentiment are from the same pack. CTMH waxy flax was used to finish it all off with some beads I had.

Christmas Card

2011-08-14T14:28:00.001-05:00

I love to make Christmas cards...mainly because I love everything about Christmas. To make the poinsettia for my card I stamped and embossed with CTMH white embossing powder two different leaves several times. Next, I cut each leaf and using a sponge dauber lightly went over each leaf with CTMH Clover Meadow. One of the leaves is from the CTMH Rose Garden stamp set and the other from the CTMH Fall Leaves. The card base is from The Paper Studio, Greetings from the Season. The leaves are arranged with adhesive on the first layer and foam tape on the second layer. To finish, white adhesive backed pearls are placed in the center of the flower. The sentiment and butterfly are from CTMH stamp sets and were embossed with CTMH red embossing powder. The sentiment is cut out with a Spellbinder's nestabilities die set.

This card will be entered in:

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Handmade Flowers
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Photo Inspiration
A I Factory Challenges - August Anything Goes
Aud Sentiment Challenge Blog - Merry Christmas on Front
Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Christmas
Flutterby Wednesdays - Open
Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Xyron Winner!!!

2011-08-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

Sonia at Archiving Angel had an AWESOME giveaway!! Her giveaway from XYRON had 5 WINNERS, yes 5! How great is that? The winners received the NEW Xyron Mega Runner AND a Xyron Tape Runner!! Guess what?? I WON!! I have been so blessed the past few weeks with wins of different giveaways. If you have not visited Archiving Angel yet, you are missing a GREAT website. Sonia researches new products available and reminds us of old products that still have a lot to offer. She also shares great techniques she uses or finds for all of her followers. I always make time to stop by and see what she has found during the week, because Sonia has great advice and finds for everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

Blast from the Past

2011-08-12T19:38:00.012-05:00

I actually got around to cleaning out some of the dusty corners of my house for a garage sale and found my display boards from my days as a Close To My Heart consultant. Here are most of the cards I rescued from the boards:

Whew! That took awhile. Most of these cards were made between 8 - 10 years ago. Sonia, I am sending these cards to you. Hope you can use most of them!

Mouse Cupcake - D2D

2011-08-11T17:58:00.000-05:00

Another card for the Designed 2 Delight FREE digi stamp. This week the image is a cute Mouse with a cupcake. I chose to use the lady mouse and colored everything with watercolor pencils. To give texture to the cupcake frosting, I used flocking. I used Tombow Mono Aqua glue over the frosting area and pressed in flocking I bought from CTMH. I ended up doing 2 layers of flocking because I wanted it to look fluffy. Next I used the Mono Aqua glue to attach some Glitterazzi gems. The adhesive on the gems would not stay attached to the flocking. To complete my card, I used Spellbinders nestabilities in graduated sizes in pink and light blue cs. Next I used a hole punch around the larger die cut and layered everything together. The card base is from My Mind's Eye - Laundry Line. The banner is another Spellbinder's die that comes with bells. The sentiment is from Studio g.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Front Fold Card

2011-08-03T12:32:00.002-05:00

I promised another front fold card and I also said I would not color in the different levels of the folds, but I was not able to stand by that statement. I just have trouble with white space when there are so many patterns in stamps and paper to use, but I did keep one level white and you do not know how hard that was (lol). The links are here and here to tutorials on making this front fold card. The top level of the card is stamped with the CTMH Garden Tapestry background stamp in CTMH orange. I do not know why, but I am just loving orange right now. Orange cs cut using a Martha Stewart border punch decorates the top of the card. The bottom fold is sponged with orange and each fold is also sponged in orange to define the fold. I love this stamp set CTMH Punkin' Patch with its sentiment and cute teddy bear. Teddy is colored with watercolor pencils and outlined in gel pens. The inside of the card is lined with orange cs and the sentiment is stamped in orange and corners punched with the coordinating Martha Stewart corner punch.

This card is enterend in the following challenges:

                     Hooked on Craft - Cute and Cuddly
                     Incy Wincy Designs - Monochromatic
                     Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Anything Goes

Designed 2 Delight Digi Stamp

2011-08-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

This week, the participants in the Designed2Delight Challenges were able to decide which digi image they used. Faith was generous in giving us a voucher to purchase the image directly from her store. WOW, that was a very difficult decision!! There are so many images I wanted to try and though her images are very affordable, we are having carpet installed in our bedrooms in a few weeks and I am trying to be good. : ) I think I will start my Wish List and treat myself to an early Christmas present!

Back to my card that I had planned on doing earlier, but we had to paint one of the bedrooms to get it ready for the new carpet...DIY never ends!! I found this great paper fold technique from Shelly's Images Blog and Shelly was inspired by Valita's Fresh Folds . They both have very good videos on how to make these folds and beautiful examples. They also just colored the edges of the top folds and added background paper to the base. I changed that and added background paper on each level of the folds. This may make it look like I just layered paper and not made the folds, but I am planning another card with ink on the edges of the fold to highlight the folds. I do have 2 layers of paper under the digi image, if you look closely, there is some green paper outlining the colored image. The golden orange paper is from the Background Fairy . The other papers were from Colorbok Punch Outs-Bright. The really cool image is Dragonfly Collage from the Designed 2 Delight store .

I am also entering this card in:

365 Cards - Backgrounds

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Passionately Artistic

2011-08-01T08:42:00.000-05:00

Passionately Artistic is hosting a linking party! This is your chance to show others what you are doing. They have a great following and besides getting to show off your projects, you get to see great things others are doing. Passionately Artistic also has some great tutorials, their new post shows how to make your own faux enamel bracelet with craft supplies. That tutorial is here. Learn something new and see some great projects!

Winner with Want2Scrap

2011-07-31T21:16:00.003-05:00

I just found out that I received the GRAND PRIZE from the Want2Scrap CHA Sneak Peek giveaway.
I have never won anything this big before and am so excited to get all of their AWESOME product!!
Thank you again to Want2Scrap for all of their products at such great prices!

Get Well Soon

2011-07-30T14:04:00.001-05:00

A family friend went to the hospital this week and although my intentions are to always make cards for my friends when they are not feeling well, I can't seem to get them made, until now. Before going on, I have to say how generous all of the talented crafters are. I have been able to find so many images and papers online for free that are just so beautiful!! In fact, the only images in this card that were not free were the "Get Well Soon" sentiment from Hero Arts and the frame around it from Studio g. How AWESOME is that!!?

These are some of the leftovers from my cutting. These images came from The Graphics Fairy

When I saw the beautiful door image, I just visualized it being the opening of a card. I did color it in with CTMH Oak Brown and a golden watercolor paint with the Tombow Blending Pen.

The floral spray I printed out, colored in with watercolor paints and again with the Tombow Blending Pen, cut out with a spellbinder nestability, and finally the edge sponged with CTMH Goldrush and Oak Brown. The butterflies were cut out of the sheet of butterflies and added to the floral spray.

The beautiful paper lining the card is from Crafty Secrets and on the right side of their blog near the bottom are links to Free Crafty Secrets Vintage Printables and this paper is there. If you have not visited their site and love vintage images and papers, this is the place to go! The Design Team for Crafty Secrets are so AWESOME in everything they make and they have a new CD with images and papers so you have all of this goodness any time you want it. I have not bought it yet, but it is on my Wish List!

The final component used for this card is the sentiment on the inside of the card. I went looking for Christian sentiments and it is very hard to find! Finally, I found Heavens Inspirations with this beautiful sentiment. M.S.Lowndes has some beautiful poems free to use, but if you are interested in using them to make items to sell, you need to contact her to make whatever financial or other arrangements she requires.

Final notes are the blue butterfly is colored with CTMH Star Spangled Blue with my trusty Tombow Blending Pen. If you have not done this, I have started subscribing to a lot of the blogs I like to follow, that way I do not miss anything going on! Thanks for stopping by!

Easel Card

2011-07-29T09:12:00.001-05:00

My very first easel card!! For some reason this card style intimidated me just a little bit. But this week, the challenge at Whimisical Wednesday is fun with folds. You can not do a A2 or shape card and one of the cards submitted by Debbie was an easel card and today it was enough for me to try it. First I went and googled "How to make an easel card" and found a great picture tutorial by Whiff of Joy Inspirations that was very helpful of walking me through making this card. For once, I did not stamp anything for this card. My recipe is: Paper from Elements(Seasonal) by Creativity Inc. and Greetings of the Season by The Paper Studio, CTMH Traditional Holiday My Stickease, CTMH Vineyard Berry cs and sheer ribbon, and a 3D Christmas tree sticker.

I have had so many nice compliments about the Christmas tree on this card that I wanted to add a close-up of it. It is a 3-D sticker, though I did add the star on the top. I think you can make this tree by starting with a triangle base and cutting strips in graduated lengths, then you would just have to cut the bottom of each strip with some decorative scissors, angle the sides and layer with come decorations. I think I will try this myself and when I get one done that looks ok, I will post it here. It will probably be a few weeks before this happens unless it keeps me awake thinking about it and I have to make it to stop the wheels turning while I am trying to sleep. lol.
I am entering this card in:

Whimsical Wednesday - Fun with Folds

Simply Betty Challenges - Challenge to "die" for

Belli Challenge - Christmas in July

The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion - Christmas in July

Crafty Creations - Christmas in July

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #9

2011-07-28T19:54:00.000-05:00

Made it to Challenge #9 on the Stamp-a-faire with Nichole at Capture the Moment. The Stamp-a-Faire is no longer taking submissions, but I wanted to complete the challenges for myself.

Challenge #9 is: Look at your stamps in a new way, turn them, rotate them at new angles and see if YOU can come up with anything unique!

I looked through my stamps and went to my old standby of heart stamps. Hearts can make almost anything. The heart stamp is from CTMH Heart Impressions 1. It is stamped in CTMH Grape Sherbet in a circle overlapping to make a large flower. Two hearts stamped in CTMH Topiary are the leaves. Want 2 Scrap self adhesive pearls in purple are adhered to the flower after it was cut out. The card base is paper from K & Company - Life's Journey and CTMH Grape Sherbet cs. An additional flourish is from Prima - Say It In Pearls.

This is my second submission to Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Case Study #50

2011-07-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

Woke up this morning and checked out the Case Study Challenge. It is a clean and simple layout inspiration card is by Dawn Woleslagle at Wplus9 Design Studio. I used this flower and color on another card, but really liked the color combo so much I revisited it. I have to confess that I made a mess of the sentiment on the card, so I had to tweek it a little to cover my boo boo. It really looked good in my head, wished it had worked out on the card.

The colors used were CTMH Orange and Clover Meadow. The stamp set is Bulbs in Bloom-Line Art and the sentiment is CTMH Hope Everything... The flowers and stem were stamped on Watercolor paper and colored in with watercolor pencils and blended with Tombow Blending Pen. The sentiment is stamped with a Versamark stamp pad and black embossing powder. The border is cut with a Martha Stewart border punch on orange cs. Thanks for stopping by!

Notecard Sets

2011-07-27T21:12:00.002-05:00

I have finally completed the notecard sets for my girls who have had a birthday this year. Unfortunately, Shirley's was in January, Misa's was in May, and Aino's was in June. I never said I was ever on time :), but I eventually get it done. The girls favorite color is pink which made it a little easier for me, since I could cut all of the paper down from one pack. I did change up the embossed background on each one and how their initial is displayed.

First is Shirley's since her birthday was first:

The first picture is of the box made to hold the notecards. A dozen notecards are made for each set. All the initials are done on Microsoft Word in different fonts and punched with a 1.25 inch circle punch. The flower cut out is made with the Stampin' Up Large flower punch. The embossed background is done on the Cuttlebug with the Stylized Flower embossing folder.

Next, is Misa's notecard set. The embossing folder used on her cards is the Leafy Branch. The medallion that is behind her initial is cut on the cricut at 2 inches from the Storybook cart.

Finally, Aino's embossing folder is Victoria and the tag behind her initial is cut at 2 inches from the Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cart. The ribbon is CTMH Bubblegum sheer ribbon.

The flower, medallion flower and tag are cut from the Colorbok Punch-out Paper Bright.
Now the hardest thing is to actually get them in the mail...hopefully, before their next birthday!!

I decided to enter the notecards in the:
               Stamp Something Challenge - Embellish Something
               Make It Monday - Anything Goes
               The Crafty Pad - Embossing
               Paper Cutz - Anything Goes

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #10

2011-07-27T20:46:00.001-05:00

Finally got a chance to go back to the Stamp-a-Faire at Capture the Moment with Nichole. I am starting at the end at #10 and will work my way back to #3. This challenge is: So, your last challenge is to add a stamped focal point over a stamped background, all in the same layer! There is really a lot of opportunity here for some fun mixing and matching!

My recipe is simple since all but the sentiment and the bottom strip are one layer:

                   Sparkling Background by Hero Arts stamped
                                 in CTMH Autumn Terracotta
                   Freshest of the Bunch by CTMH in CTMH
                                 Star Spangled Blue, Cranberry,
                                 Topiary, and Goldrush
                   Finley's Estate by Cloud 9 Design sentiment
                                 stamped in Star Spangled Blue
                   Colorbok Punch-Out Paper Bright
                   1.25 inch circle punch

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #3

2011-07-23T23:34:00.001-05:00

~~Ok, made it for~~ Correction, did NOT make it for Challenge #3: Punch a window from you card cover and tie ribbon or twine from the window to the side of your card. There is SO much opportunity to have fun with your creativity on this one!

You have until 11:59pm EST tonight (July 23rd) to add your link to our list. Only one link per person please. One randomly selected winner will be announced Monday afternoon. The winner will receive a FREE Iconic Images stamp set, the exclusive set for Stamp-a-faire!

I forgot the time was Eastern Standard Time, not Central. Oh well, at least I got another Christmas card out of it. : )

Fairly simple card, CTMH Topiary cs, Ornament punch from Stampin' Up, CTMH Daisy White ribbon, Martha Stewart border punch, The Paper Studio "Greetings for the Season" b&t paper, and sentiment from Studio G.
By the way, Harry Potter part 1 was very good, just a little too dark to see some of the scenes good.

Stamp-a-faire Challenge #2

2011-07-23T20:29:00.001-05:00

Now onto Challenge #2: We would love to see YOUR take on pairing up a hot pink, like Raspberry Fizz, with a charcoal grey (like Smokey Shadow). The interpretation of these colors is completely open, so feel free to interject any type of style you like.

The cardstock is CTMH Raspberry. The charcoal gray strip is from Best Occasions Scrap Pack. The background is the CTMH Garden Tapestry stamped in CTMH Grey Wool. The butterfly and sentiment are from Studio G and stamped in Raspberry and Grey Wool, respectively. The heart buttons are from a CTMH button pack. I am spending the evening watching Harry Potter with my DH, so this may be my last card for these challenges....we will see.

Stamp-a-faire: Challenge #1

2011-07-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

There are challenges happening at Capture the Moment ! There are continual challenges occurring every hour until midnight. The first challenge is: Create a project featuring patterned strips that are created with some of your favorite decorative elements. You have until 11:59pm EST to leave your link and be eligible to win your very own copy of Iconic images! Only one link per person please.

My patterned strips are made from a Tone-on-Tone technique using the CTMH Ritzy Ribbon acrylic stamp set, stamped with CTMH Tropical Blue stamp pad on Tropical Blue cs. The flowers,stitches and sentiment is from the CTMH Simple Stitches. Lime green brads are put in the center of the flowers. The needle is embossed with CTMH silver embossing powder and the sentiment with CTMH white embossing powder. The chipboard is from the Basic Grey Undressed Periphery set and was sponged with Tropical Blue. Another strip of Tropical Blue cs has a Martha Stewart border punch used on it and the strip is wrapped around the right side of the card. Green Glitterazzi Mini Gem Lines are used down both sides of the paper strip and Studio 18 green rhinestones are placed down the middle of the strip. This completes Challenge #1.

Christmas Snowman Joy

2011-07-22T20:35:00.002-05:00

Another great digi image from Designed2Delight !! Faith is very good about making me think outside my comfort zone. Christmas in July was not the problem, I already have my Christmas cards designed and cut out. If I didn't they would not get out before Christmas Eve (lol). But I am from South Texas and try to steer away from snowmen and snow flakes. I do like them and have a lot of them, but for some reason feel funny saying "Have a White Christmas" or something similar while I am wearing shorts for Christmas. This weeks image is "Christmas Snowman Joy". What is funny is that after I have received the new image, I find something that helps me design a card. Today I backlinked to a Scrapbook Trends blog online magazine. To access the free online magazine, click on Freebies and scroll down to the December 24th entry. If you read at the bottom of this entry, Gift #4 is a Cards January 2010 Online Issue. Click on it and you find a whole lot of beautiful cards. I actually used components of several of the cards in this issue to make my card.

My recipe:           Christmas Snowman Joy on Watercolor paper
                           6 x 6 Snowflake - Paper Studio All Seasons Paper Pack
                           4.25 x 4.25 - Dark Blue cs
                           5.5 x 2 - Remnant B&T Paper
                           Studio G stamp set
                           Martha Stewart border punch & corner punch set
                           Holographic embossing powder
                           Argyle cuttlebug embossing powder
                           Spellbinder Nestabilities
                           CTMH Markers - Orange, Clover Meadow,
                                                       Cranberry, Holiday Red,
                                                       Star Spangled Blue,
                                                      & Yellow
                           Tombow Blending Pen

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Inspiration Challenge #7

2011-07-22T11:45:00.000-05:00

I entered my first challenge through Paper Crafts Connection. The colors are Mango, Caribbean Breeze, Petty Cash Shimmer, Candlelight. I used CTMH Orange, Citrus Leaf and Buttercup stamps pads to stamp my flowers from the CTMH Bulbs in Bloom-art outline stamp set. The base of the card is from a CTMH b&t paper pack, the next layer is from a Colorbok Specialty Paper Pack-Bright and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the side edges. The flowers were stamped in orange on watercolor paper and I used an orange watercolor pencil to color in the top flower and blended it with a Tombow blending pen. The second flower was colored using the blending pen and the CTMH Buttercup stamp pad. I stamped the stem and leaves in CTMH Citrus Leaf and sponged in the color. The sentiment outline was stamped with the Citrus Leaf and the edge was colored with the blending pen. The sentiment was stamped in orange and colored in with Buttercup. The sentiment and outline are from Studio G. I did layer the flowers to give a little more dimension to them.

Thanks for stopping by.

Flutterby Wednesday

2011-07-19T21:56:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some of the blogs I am following and saw that Flutter by Wednesday had a challenge finishing up tonight with the an inspiration picture with sunflowers. I have not done a sunflower card in a while, so I quickly looked through my stamps and found my 2 step CTMH sunflower stamps with the leaf stamps. I then found a Hero Arts stamp called Butterfly Bookmark. Pretty appropriate since I need a butterfly, fairy or angel on my card also. I stamped the butterfly stamp in CTMH Topiary and colored it in with watercolor pencils. I stamped the butterfly again in CTMH Moonstruck, colored it in and cut it out and layered it over the first image. I cut the bookmark out and layered it on green cardstock. Next the sunflower and leaf was stamped with CTMH Sunflower and Chocolate stamp pads and cut it out. I found some CTMH Sunflower cs and stamped it with a CTMH Scratches stamp in CTMH Chocolate. I also had a small CTMH stamp that I thought would look good along the bottom and also in CTMH sunflower for a tone on tone look across the cardstock. The bookmark was then centered on the sunflower cs and the cut out sunflower and leaves were added to complete the card. It is a simple card, but I like it.

Peacock Beauty -Take Two

2011-07-18T10:15:00.001-05:00

This weekend, I was thinking of peacocks because of the beautiful image by Designed2Delight in the Friday Freebie Challenge. I have posted on this AWESOME concept each week, so check out my previous cards for this Challenge and definitely check out Designed2Delight! Anyhoo, thinking about peacocks brought back memories as a child going to a relatives house who had peacocks. They were so pretty, they just amazed me. Then I remembered going to Busch Gardens in Florida with my daughter on her band trip. There is a white peacock there that was so different than the color infused peacocks that you normally see that it just stood out. This is the memory that got me thinking of ways to reproduce a white peacock. I thought it would be easy, just use clear embossing powder over the image and darken the cardstock around it. This is the result of that idea:

The blue color is not from the ink I was darkening the cardstock with, it is the color of the embossing pen. Well. Next I tried just outlining the image with clear embossing powder and coloring in the image with white pen and clear embossing that. This is the result of that process:

This kind of worked, especially the second one. The problem is that the white color would actually overlap the clear embossing powder ( I used a white gel pen and then a white opaque pen) and block out the black lines. Since the second try was a little successful, I decided to try it on a bigger image, these images are wallet size. That one turned out to be such a flop I won't even show you the results. I kept trying to think of a way to make this work...I will probably need to find a clear embossing pen, but I do not know if they make one and right now, I do not have one...so on to the next idea. I have used a technique with stamps that I really like, but usually on a more solid image, but I thought, what the heck, I have tried everything else. I started this trial on the big image because it is easier to define the lines without making everything a blob. Since I was wanting a white peacock and the clear powder wasn't working, why not just use white embossing powder. This has the opposite problem than I had with the clear embossing powder, I do not want any black line showing. So once again I completely outline the peacock with my embossing pen and cover it with white powder. I had to do this several times to get good coverage on all the lines, but it is pretty well covered. Next I took my dauber and with a circular motion, started to color in the image with different colors. The colors used were CTMH Tropical Blue, Clover Meadow Green and Goldrush. The more you color it, the darker the contrast and it can really make your image clearer. The whole effect of this process is a softer image than coloring it in. Kind of dreamy, like some water color pictures. I really liked how this process turned out, so this one was made into a card....

Another person who submitted a card on the Designed2Delight Challenge named Lucy used feathers on her image and I thought that was so pretty, I used some fringy yarn I had in a dark blue to outline the image. The next layer is white cs embossed with the Ornamental Iron embossing folder on my cuttlebug. I made two embossed papers, sponged it with CTMH Tropical Blue stamp pad, cut them down to fit on a 4.25 x 8 card base side by side. The sentiment is stamped on a Studio G frame with CTMH Moonlight Blue, unfortunately it did not come out solid enough, so I outlined everything with a pearlized blue gel pen. I had outlined everything else, so why stop now. lol Now you know how my morning went, if you have any ideas on how I could get a white peacock, please let me know! I hope you like how my card turned out. Have a GREAT week!

Peacock Beauty

2011-07-16T23:22:00.002-05:00

Once again, Designed2Delight has given an AWESOME digi stamp to complete the Friday's Freebie Challenge. When I first saw it in my email, I was stumped on how I should color it. It has such flowing lines and curlicues in the feathers, I was afraid I would really blow it. To work it out I printed out some small versions of the digi to experiment on. Low and behold, the first combination of colors I used turned out really good if I do say so myself. Now I had my colors and I had to decide how to execute them on the image. Peacocks have a shimmer to their feathers that I also wanted to make sure to have on the image. To encompass all of these different aspects, I first clear embossed the outline of a larger image of the peacock. Next I turned to my standby of CTMH stamp pads and Tombow Blending Pen. The colors used were Clover Meadow Green, Tropical Blue and Goldrush. After coloring everything, I cut out the image, went over it with an embossing pen and put Ranger Holographic embossing powder on it. This gave it a very sparkly shimmer to the peacock. This card I layered onto Best Occasions Pearlized paper, the ivory and pink cut with a spellbinders nestabilities die set. On the blue pearlized paper, I used a Martha Stewart corner punch. These were all layered on K & Company - Life's Journey.

I wanted to try an alternate coloring method on this image because it has so many possibilities. I have a gel pen set that includes some with a pearlized effect. I pulled a blue, green, and gold pen with this ink type and just colored my peacock. I really love the way it turned out. I cut it out and layered it on ivory pearlized paper cut down with a spellbinders nestability die and then embossed it in a cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder. I did sponge the edges with some tropical blue to give it definition. I had a Basic Grey undressed chipboard Periphery set and I punched out 2 pieces and colored them with a Color Box gold stamp pad to dress up the edges of the diecut paper. All of these pieces were layered on another piece of K & Company - Life's Journey.

After coloring these two images, I can not wait to try some other ideas out. I am not sure that I really showcased the images to their best advantage because something seems missing on my cards, but I will work on it. Hope you can use these coloring ideas and enjoy my cards.

Strawberries

2011-07-10T23:33:00.005-05:00

The totally cute image for my card is from Designed2Delight and the Strawberries are luscious enough to eat! I wish I had these growing in my garden (yum). This digi image is part of Designed2Delight's FREE image (Yes, I did say FREE!) they send out each week to ANYONE who participates in their challenge the week before. Besides this, they give anyone coming to their blog a FREE image the first Friday of each month. If you miss that and you happen upon their challenges in the middle of the month, you can always purchase the image for a very reasonable price at Designed2Delight and then receive the next image FREE. Their concept is that EVERYONE is on their Design Team. I just think that is so cool and generous of them!!

Besides Designed2Delight , I am entering this card in the following challenges:

                        One Stitch At A Time - Anything Goes
                        Make It Monday         - Anything Goes
                        Stampavie and More - More than 3 layers

My recipe for this card is:
                         Designed2Delight digi image - Strawberries
                         CTMH Holiday Red and Kelly Green cs
                         K & Company - Life's Journey
                         Sentiment from Studio G
                         CTMH Cranberry, Clover Meadow & Bubblegum
                                     markers and stamp pads
                         Tombow Blending Pen
                         Watercolor paper

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my card.

Gift Bag

2011-07-07T16:16:00.000-05:00

My Sister-in-law, Valerie, had a birthday last week and she loves the giraffe pattern. I used the Forever Young cart. and cut out the last purse 3D image at 5". I did not have any giragge pattern, so I looked online for an idea of what it looks like and drew the spots on tan cs with CTMH Markers Orange and Desert Sand (I went over every spot twice to get the right color). The purse did not have a handle so I used a holepunch on each side of the purse and threaded Martha Stewart "Happy Birthday" ribbon on each side and knotted it. The "clasp" was a little too small for a velcro fastener, so I colored a flower to match the button I found and used a glue dot to hold it in place and then placed the velcro fastener that had self-adhesive under the flower to keep the purse closed. The tag was made from a Studio G stamp set. I really liked the way it came out.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

New Digi Image Card

2011-07-07T15:52:00.002-05:00

I was finally able to do my card for the Designed2Delight Friday Challenge. Designed2Delight has a very innovative Design Team. Everyone is on the Design Team!! How AWESOME is that?!! All you have to do is make a card with their weekly digi image and post it on their blog....THEN the next week you get a FREE digi image for the next Friday Challenge. At the first of each month, they let everyone have equal access to the free image. That is to help anyone who is just coming into the challenge. If you miss the free image, all you have to do is go to the Designed2Delight website and purchase it. Their images are extremely well priced for those of us who feel the need to have everything :) Make your card and join right in to get the next free image. This week's image is Flip Flops. I took a peek at the other Design Team (just love to say that!) members and there is some GREAT talent out there. I hope some of it rubs off on me :) . When I see this image, I just want to go down to the beach and pick up shells (lol). Hope my card gives a little hint of that wish.

My recipe for this card is:
             6 x 6 design paper from DCWV Photo Real Stack 3
             Orange cs cut on Forever Young Flower 7 at 4.5"
              CTMH Markers - Orange, Desert Sand, Holiday Red,
                                         Star Spangled Blue, Heavenly Blue
             Tombow Blending Pen
              White cs cut on EK Success Border Punch
              Misc. button and thread

I have entered the card with:
              Designed2Delight   Flip Flop Friday Challenge
               JUGS                    #91 Sketch Challenge

Thanks for stopping by!

Jessica Sprague Birthday Blog Hop Freebies!!

2011-06-25T21:31:00.000-05:00

It is the 4th Birthday of JessicaSprague.com. To celebrate she has 47 stops with free downloadable digital freebies. It is only available until Sunday night at 10:00. The first stop starts here. Jessica has some amazing designers and great classes available online. I have taken a few of her classes and she has great instructions and videos, as well as great support when your computer or software does not do what it is supposed to. There is also a forum for each class, so it is a great place to get ideas and share your work with other classmates. I hope you can take advantage of this AWESOME opportunity!!

Tropical Summer

2011-06-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

Designed 2 Delight is having a Friday FREE Stamp of the Month Challenge Image. Each week Designed 2 Delight sends a free image each Friday, IF you entered the previous week's challenge. The concept is everyone is part of their design team and everyone gets free images. This is the first week for me to enter their challenge so I did purchase this week's image Tropical Summer to participate, but their images are GREAT and AFFORDABLE ! So this is my design using Designed 2 Delight Tropical Summer digital image.

Now, before I go any further, I have to thank There She Goes Clear Stamps Hibiscus Blog Hop for ideas on designing my card. So, I printed the Tropical Summer image onto watercolor paper in wallet size images. I used CTMH markers and stamp pads in Cranberry, Pansy Purple, Ocean, Orange, and Lilac.
To get the shaded effect, I used the marker around the outside edges of each petal and used a Tombow Blending Pen to blend the color to the middle of each petal. Each flower was cut out and I did color 8 of the 9 images I printed out (I messed up one flower) :( but I do have extra flowers for another card :).
The card base was cut from Memories Forever cardstock at 5.5" x 4.25". I then used a Cuttlebug embossing folder "Victorian Flourishes" on the base cs. The green cardstock is cut at 4.5" x 2.75". The next layer is designer paper from My Mind's Eye, the Laundry Line. The largest spellbinder nestabilities Label 4 die is used to cut out the shape. The top layer is green cardstock cut using the second smallest die from the spellbinder set. The sentiment is heat embossed using white embossing powder. Thanks again to Designed 2 Delight for this AWESOME design team concept!!

Challenges

2011-06-21T14:48:00.004-05:00

I finally made a card to enter into challenges. I really missed participating in blog craft challenges!
My card is 6" x 6" with a base of blue. I used the Ornamental Iron cricut cart. to cut out a gate die 3 times. Then I layered the gate over paper from My Mind's Eye "Laundry Line", in fact, all of the designer paper used in this project is from that paper pack. Next, I lined up the gates down the left side of the card. I took a strip of aqua cardstock and used my cuttlebug to emboss the strip with a border embossing folder called "Just My Type" which is like the Swiss Dots folder. I used another strip of aqua cs and used a Martha Stewart border punch and placed it alongside the embossed strip. White ribbon is tied over the embossed strip. A CTMH stamp "Butterfly Wings" was stamped on designer paper with CTMH stamp pad Moonlight and cut out to place over the gate die. The first flower from a CTMH background stamp set was stamped using a CTMH Topiary stamp pad over designer paper four times on two different papers, cut out and a pink brad holding them together. The second flower was punched out of designer paper 6 times with a Stamping Up 2 3/8" flower punch, sprayed with water, crumpled up, lined up on a pink brad and arranged to make a 3D flower.

I have to confess, the challenge blogs I am submitting this card to were found on Both Sides of the Paper . I admit to scrap lifting, so I guess this is challenge lifting? Katie did a wonderful job of gathering the list, I hope she does not mind that I used her hard work. So, with no further ado:

Everybody Art - Anything Goes

Hooked on Crafts - Anything Goes

Sweet Stampin' - Things with Wings

The Crafty Calendar - Things with Wings

One Stitch At A Time - Things with Wings

Lily Pad Cards - Ribbons

Charisma Cardz - Pink and Green

Hanna and Friends - In The Garden

Whoopsi Daisy - Pile on Those Flowers

Karen's Doodles - Flower Power

Make It Monday - Flowers and/or Leaves

The Emerald Faerie Garden - Petals

Stamp Something - Pretty Papers

Stamp, Scrap, and Doodle - Photo Inspiration

My Mum's Craft Shop - Seeing Spots

Just Some Lines - Spotty Dotty

Friday Mashup - Summer Loving or Polka Dots

Stampavie and More - Butterflies

Delicious Doodles - Things That Flutter

Crop Stop - Embossed Embellishments

Craft Your Passion - Paper Piecing

Totally Papercrafts - Die Cuts and Punches

The Paper Shelter - Punches and Dies

Stampin' B's - Use a Border Punch

Hopefully, someone else will find this list helpful and use it to enter their own creations! Happy Crafting! :)

Online Card Class

2011-06-20T19:31:00.001-05:00

Summer Card Class 2011 is being offered by Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner & Friends . On top of that, Jill Foster from Inspired By... is GIVING AWAY 3 spots to this class. Jill has the giveaway opportunity going on all week, so make sure to head over and check it out. Even if you do not win a spot in the class, at $39.00 it is very affordable. You get 48 card ideas, 8 videos, plus much more! I did not wait, I registered for the class. If I am fortunate enough to win a class from Jill, she will refund my money. That is what I call a win-win situation! Have a GREAT week!

Cartridge Giveaway!

2011-06-20T16:48:00.001-05:00

The ladies at Mixology are giving away a Cricut cartridge H2O Seasonal Cartridge. You can enter all week until midnight 6-27-11. Several ways to enter...Go take a look!

Die-Cut Swap

2011-06-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

It is time for another swap with Christel at Scrappin' Sista . The June Swap is a "Girlie" cut. My first thought was a purse or shoe, but then I figured the other participants would think the same thing. I started looking through my cricut cartridges and found the fan cut on the Pagoda cart. I really think the fan is a "Girlie" cut. The fan is cut at 3" and the paper I chose, from My Mind's Eye "Laundry Line", has a small pattern that did not overwhelm the cut. I went through my huge container of rhinestones from Bead Design and found enough rhinestones the same size and color to decorate each fan. When that was finished, I still thought something was missing, so I decided to add lace across the top. The final touch was twine wrapped around the bottom of the fan with a light pink bead tied on each end. I hope the ladies in the swap like the finished "Girlie" cut!

Bead & Ribbon Bookmarks

2011-06-20T12:52:00.000-05:00

I have also started making bead bookmarks. I have given the women in my Church a bead ribbon bookmark. I still have a few women I missed at Church on Sunday, but I will catch them next week. I am short a few bookmarks, so I will get some more made.

I choose a thin ribbon and coordinate the bead dangle with the ribbon. I place a crimp bead, with a opening on the end for a jump ring, at each end of the ribbon and use a jump ring to attach the dangles.

My Mom's Birthday gift

2011-06-20T12:35:00.002-05:00

My Mom's birthday is in June and she lives in North Texas with my Sister, Rose. I did manage to get it to my Mom only one day late, which is really good for me! :) As you can tell from my last few posts, I am really into beading right now. My husband and I go garage saleing almost every weekend and I look for beaded jewelry and glass containers. I take the jewelry apart and put the beads in the glass containers so that I can see what I have and it is pretty to see also.

The wire shelves the bottles are on were purchased at Wal-Mart in the bathroom accessory dept. I like it because it is tiered and you can see the bottles through it.

Sorry, I got sidetracked...My Mom's favorite color is purple, so as usual, her bracelet and earrings was made with purple pearl beads. My favorite part of making jewelry is the individual bead dangles. I just love the many combinations that can be made with beads of different sizes and texture and bead caps.

I was very fortunate to find a toggle set, at a bead shop in Houston, that has an "S" on both pieces, so my signature to show that I made the jewelry is to have my inititals "S.S." on the ends. Although the beads have a blue tint, the beads are purple.

Lena's bracelet

2011-06-20T12:02:00.000-05:00

Lena has returned to Japan. Like with Toffy, I made her a bracelet and earring set. Lena's favorite
color is pink, so, of course, that is the color I used for her jewelry.

Stickpin Swap

2011-05-27T18:29:00.000-05:00

Christel over at Scrappin' Sista hosts a monthly swap. I took a couple of months off, but I am finally back on the swaps again. This month the swap is to make two stickpins. I really enjoyed this because
you can only put a few beads on the stickpin and still have room on the end to stick it on something. I went with a vintage look for my stickpins. The clear crackle beads reminded me of the glass doorknobs that are seen in heritage homes. I did make a matchbook cover to hold the stickpins. One of the youtube videos I watched showed the crafter making matchbook covers for her stickpins and they looked so nice, I wanted to make them. The matchbook covers are 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. I scored the paper at 1/2", 3", and 3.5". Next, I cut ivory cardstock at 2" by 2.5" to stick the pins into. I folded the 1/2" over, placed the ivory cardstock into the valley and stapled it down. I stuck the stickpins on the ivory cardstock and closed the cover. I hope you enjoy them and I can not wait to get my swaps in exchange.

Toffy's Bracelet

2011-05-27T18:08:00.000-05:00

Toffy, my exchange student from Thailand, went home early to start College preparation classes. I made
a bracelet and a pair of earrings for her as a going away gift.

Toadally Frog Blog Hop Winner

2011-04-25T17:09:00.000-05:00

I used random.org to find the winner of the blog hop is #6 which is Anita. Anita left her email address, so I will contact for mailing directions. Thank you to everyone who visited my blog and for all of the lovely comments!

Welcome to the Toadally Frogs Blog Hop!!!

2011-04-22T23:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the Toadally Frogs Blog Hop! We have Toadally amazing crafters hopping along...and we hope to give the Easter Bunny a leap for his money! You should have come from Gina's blog---and wasn't that a fun place to visit? If you just happened to find us. and want to join in the fun, hop on back to Karelj's Blog at http://www.kareljcreations.com/ to begin at the beginning. The inspiration for these Froggy Tags came from another blog that did tags in the shape of butterflies and decorated so beautifully. I tried to find the blog to give credit here, but I could not find it. So if it was your blog, please leave a comment with your address. Thanks for your inspiration!

To celebrate the Toadally Awesome Frog Blog Hop, I made 6 Frog Tags. I used the Create A Critter cart set at 4" and used the Life's Journey paper from K & Company. I really love this paper pak because it is double sided and is beautiful. To decorate the Frog Tags, I used some ribbon, silk flowers, buttons, lace and adhesive backed pearls. Dark blue and white yarn was used to hang the tags.

The next project is a 4 sided card that was inspired by an Easter card from Anna, my exchange student from Denmark. It was such a beautiful card that was 3 dimensional. I have made a card with this technique, so it was just deciding what to use to make it. The Frog was cut out 4 times at 3 inches from the Create a Critter cart. and a Frame was cut 4 times at 5 inches from the Cindy Loo cart. The paper for this project was also Life's Journey from K & Company. Each Frog and Frame was scored in the middle and adhered to each other to form a 3 dimensional frog and frame. String was adhered in the center of the Frog and attached to the Frame so that the Frog was suspended in the open space of the Frame.

I do have some blog candy to Thank you for stopping by. To qualify, please leave a comment and a way to contact you. The blog candy includes a stamp set, a paper pack and the Froggy Tags and Frog Card made for this blog hop.

Now that you have seen my blog, you should jump on over to Rebecca's blog, http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/ Her project is so toadally fun---I know you are going to

love it! Happy Hopping!

In case you get lost along the way, here is our lineup for this Toadally Awesome Blog Hop!

1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com/
2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
3. Michelle Petrovich at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
4. Belinda Kersey at Queen Bee’s Musings at http://www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com/
5. Cali Romero at Calie’s Creative Corner at http://www.caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com/
6. Nicolette Simpson at Beyond Scrapping http://www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com/
7. Bonnie Cantu at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/
8. Lisa Gorlewski at Lisa’s Paper Butterflies at http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com/
9. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
10. Diane Davison at Crafting This Moment at http://craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/
11. Krista at http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/
12. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/
13. Stephenie at SS Crafter at http://www.sscrafter.blogspot.com/ **You are Here**
14. Rebecca Maddux at Creations With Becka at
http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/ *Go here Next*
15. Kathryn at Creations By Kathryn at http://wamfamily.blogspot.com/
16. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at http://www.cricutdiaries.blogspot.com/
17. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com/
18. Melissa Allore at Disney Dreamer Designs at http://www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/
19. Patti Hurlburt at Short ‘N Scrappy at http://www.shortnscrappy.com/
20. Colleen McCauley at Col’s Creative Corner at http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/
21. Janice Anello at Cricut Confessions at http://www.cricutconfessions.com/
22. Leah Pagliaroli at Leah’s Card Designs at http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com/
23. Audrey Roseman at Life Is Beautiful at http://audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com/
24. Ellen Jarvis at Card Monkey at http://www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/
25. Mallika Kejriwal at Miss Not So Good With Words at http://www.missnotsogoodwithwords.blogspot.com/
26. Inga Klaus at Momma Hobbit Creations at http://mommahobbit.blogspot.com/
27. Brynn Thornburgh at Flair and Frills Creativity http://www.flairandfrillscreativity.blogspot.com/
28. Kristal Andrews at Getting at http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Toadally Frog Blog Hop

2011-04-16T23:40:00.000-05:00

Another exciting Blog Hop on the way!! As usual, Karel at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity has another Fabulous Blog Hop on April 23-24 with a wonderful group of crafters with AWESOME projects for you to see. Don't Miss It!!

Beaded Jewelry

2011-04-16T23:25:00.000-05:00

As I said in an earlier post, I have renewed my love of beading. Here are two projects that I have made in the last couple of weeks:

Both bracelet and earring sets were gifts for friends. I have also made more charms for family members using their favorite color for the beads. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of them before giving them away.

"Make Your Own Holiday" Scrapbook Layout

2011-04-16T23:13:00.001-05:00

Karel over at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity hosted a blog hop in March with the theme of "Make Your Own Holiday". Due to a family emergency and personal illness I was unable to
participate in this blog hop, but I had already made the project, so here it is:

The idea behind "Schlitterbahn Day" is that for the last 5 years, we have asked all of the foreign exchange students in the area to spend a day at Schlitterbahn. It has been the "World's Best Waterpark" for many years and there is no way to describe how awesome it is without experiencing it. This day is an opportunity for all students and their families to have an enjoyable outing. The pearlized paper used for this layout is from SEI - White Elegance, I really liked it because the pattern reminds me of shells. The letters and waves are from the Life is a Beach cricut cart. and the swirls are from the Cindy Loo cart. I did try to adhere beads to one of the swirls and I was not happy with the way it turned out, but I left it on the page anyway.

Bookmark with Charm swap

2011-04-16T22:40:00.001-05:00

I know it has been months since I have posted. Although I have not posted, I did participate in a swap with Christel at Scrappin' Sista in February that renewed the love I have for beads and beaded projects. More on that later.

The February swap was to make a Bookmark with a charm. Christel was kind enough to find several Youtube tutorials that gave newbies to charms like me an idea of what they should look like. I really loved making these charms and the ladies in the swap made some awesome charms also. Making these bookmarks and charms was so much fun that I make some more for my Ladies Sunday School class.

The paper for these bookmarks is Life's Journey by K & Company. The designer paper is so beautiful and double-sided, too. The embellies I used are leftover ribbon, pearls with adhesive and beaded ribbon.

Make Up Your Own Holiday Blog Hop

2011-03-18T22:55:00.001-05:00

Sorry for not posting for so long! I have been crafting, but just not getting them posted. Hopefully, I will get back on track!! To get me started, I am one of the hosts for the "Make Up Your Own Holiday Blog Hop" starting March 26-27. Karel at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity is setting up this blog hop. I plan on being involved in her monthly blog hops and I can tell you, she has some really FUN ones planned!! Hope you stay tune!

Share the Blessings of your Home

2011-02-01T21:50:00.002-06:00

If you have checked out my blog for long, you should be aware that I have hosted foreign exchange students for several years now. Not only am I a host parent, I am also a coordinator for the EF Foundation. A coordinator finds host families for exchange students and does all of the things that the State Dept. deems necessary to make sure the family is a safe environment for the students. We are already looking for families to host students for the 2011-2012 school year. A new program just started is the Recruiter Program. After filling out an application and having a background check done, a Recruiter will be able to find possible family leads, turn them over to a coordinator to follow up on, and receive $100 for every family that signs up. If you think you would be interested in becoming a Host Family, a Recruiter, or a Coordinator, you can email me at stephs361@yahoo.com or find more information at http://www.effoundation.org/ . This work is very rewarding, it is a way to learn about other cultures and a way to make a positive impact on a young person. Thanks in advance for thinking about and maybe acting on hosting an exchange student!

Calling All Card Makers!

2011-01-21T21:52:00.000-06:00

An AWESOME Blogger, Archiving Angel , is asking anyone interested, to send her cards for her DH and his squadron that have been deployed. These cards will be sent directly to his squadron, not the same as Operation Write Home. Anyone interested in sending cards to her, need to email her at archivingangel@yahoo.com. Thanks for sharing your talent with those who give so much for us to have the freedoms we often take for granted. Wishing you all a Safe New Year!

"I Have A Dream" Blog Hop Blog Candy Winners!!

2011-01-18T21:38:00.000-06:00

WOW! Such an AWESOME weekend!!! Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog on the Blog Hop and the wonderful comments about my card! :) We have a winner of the "Dreams Come True" Cricut cart from Karelj from One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity ....and the Winner is Bunny Freak. Karelj has already sent her an email, so she should be getting it in the mail soon. Now, for my blog candy Winner, the number generated by random.org is #35..Lynlee who said "Great card-love the window!" I have already contacted Lynda and will have the candy in the mail to her by Friday. Thank you also to all of my new followers! I am now just 23 people short of 100, so I am planning a blog candy give away when I reach 100 followers. All of my followers will be entered in the give away, so if you can help spread the word, that would be GREAT!! I hope to participate in a blog hop again soon.

"I Have a Dream" Blog Hop

2011-01-14T23:59:00.117-06:00

Welcome to the "I Have a Dream" Blog Hop. If you did not arrive from Rachel's blog, you need to
start HERE . The Grand Prize Blog Candy is the Dreams Come True Cartridge, donated by an anonymous donor!! In order to be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on each and every stop on the hop, along with a way to contact you. Karelj will choose a winner by random.org on the 18th and announce it on her blog, as well as contacting the winner personally.

As a Host, I needed to make a project that represented the "I Have a Dream" theme. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Great Man who made a Tremendous impact on our society, but I did not know how to translate that into a project that would do it justice, so I chose to focus on the words of our theme. Dreaming to me equals night with plenty of stars in the sky with a moon nestled amongst them getting ready for a dream-filled sleep.

The stamps I used were CTMH Nightime Bear, CTMH Nighttime (the Moon), a CTMH star and Starry Night from Stampede. The background paper reminded me of wallpaper and it is from K & Company Life's Journey paper pack. Dark blue cs was cut a 4.5" x 4.5" and repeatedly stamped with the Starry Night stamp using a Versamark stamp pad. CTMH Silver embossing powder was the first layer used on the stars, then while still hot from the heat gun, Holographic embossing powder from Ranger was sprinkled over it to give the stars sparkle. When this was completed, the embossed cardstock was cut into 9 - 1.5" x 1.5" squares. Make sure you keep these squares in order so they are adhered to the 5"x5" white cs in the correct order. As the squares are adhered a small space needs to be kept between each piece to simulate a window. The moon is stamped with a Versamark stamp pad and CTMH Gold embossing powder is used. A CTMH Pepperwood stamp pad is used to stamp the teddy bear. The moon and teddy bear are colored with watercolor pencils and blended with baby oil and then fussy cut. I layed the moon on the starry background until I found where I wanted it to go and then I cut it up to fit the window. A strip of red flannel is cut for the bear to sit on. The inside sentiment is typed in 2Peas Mademoiselle font in Microsoft Word, cut down and layered on dark blue cs. A star embossed with CTMH Gold embossing powder and fussy cut was adhered to the end of a piece of ribbon.

Now the fun stuff! Please leave a comment to be entered in the Grand Prize drawing of a "Dream Come True" Cricut cart by Karel at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity on January 18th. Make sure to leave a way to contact you on your comment. Also, I will have some blog candy:

Although, I would love for you to follow my blog if you like what you see, the only requirement to be in the drawing for my blog candy is to leave a comment and a way to contact you. I should be drawing for the blog candy on the 18th. Enjoy the "I Have a Dream" Blog Hop. The next stop is at Col's blog. Thanks for stopping by!

In case you get lost along the way, here is the list of blogs in this blog hop:

1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com/
2. Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping http://www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com/
3. Christel at Scrappin' Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/
4. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
5. Rachel Henahan at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/
6. Stephenie at SS Crafter http://www.sscrafter.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE!
7. Col at Col's Creative Corner at http://www.scrappycol.blogspot.com/
8. Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper http://www.overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com/
9. Krista and Kori at 2 Crafty Chicks http://2craftychics.blogspot.com/
10. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/
11. Monique at Unique Monique at http://uniquemonique01.blogspot.com/
12. Kathryn at Creations with Kathryn at http://wamfamily.blogspot.com/

January SWAP

2011-01-12T20:48:00.000-06:00

I am so excited this month to be involved in things I have wanted to do, but did not take the time to find someone hosting them. Confused yet? lol What I am trying to say is that besides being a host on a blog hop with One By OneThe Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity this weekend, I entered a Cricut swap with Christel at Scrappin' Sista . Christel is planning on hosting a swap every month, but is restricting it to 20 people a month, for now. Funnily enough, the reason I have a blog is because Momo at Made by Momo was hosting a swap that I wanted to do, so even though Momo said I did not need a blog to participate, I bit the bullet and started a blog. Poor Patti at My Creative Mind was my partner. We were to find out which cricut carts our partners had and decide what cuts we wanted. Patti was awesome and did the cuts and put all of the layers together. Unfortunately, I did not know I was supposed to do this, so I made several different options of layers for each cut and sent the whole thing unassembled to Patti. Anyhoo, to get back to my excitement about this swap, Christel has given very clear instructions on size and theme for this swap, so no unassembled cuts on this one (lol). Christel is a very talented artist, who is also a host on the blog hop this weekend, so please visit her blog if you are interested in doing a swap.

My swap item is from the Cindy Loo cart (I got it during the holiday sales), and I call it the heart fleur de lis. The cuts needed to be approximately 3 inches and with a Valentine's Day theme. My paper is My Mind's Eye, Laundry Line by Jen Wilson, purchased at Hobby Lobby and the pale pink glitter paper is a glitter paper pack from Wal-Mart. The extra bling is from gold glitter glue and gemstone stickers.
I had to make 20 of these, though I did make an extra one for a friend of mine. (Hi, Dalinda!)

Another Birthday Monogram Set!

2011-01-12T20:12:00.000-06:00

This Monogram set was for Nadia. Her birthday was actually in August, but I did not decide to make these notecards until several months after her birthday. Luckily, Nadia visited from Norway during the holidays and I was able to hand deliver her late birthday gift. Nadia's favorite color is blue and her tastes are very clean and modern, so I tried to use this information to make this note card set for her. This set was made with a blue cs, cut at 5.5"x4.25", then layered with white cs, cut at 3.75"x5". White cs was embossed with the cuttlebug embossing folder Window Panes. The frame, from the CTMH Air Mail acrylic stamp set, was stamped in CTMH Dutch Blue and fussy cut. 2Peas Class Act font at 72 pt in Microsoft Word was used for the monogram "N", fussy cut and adhered on point in the frame. This frame was layered on blue cs, cut at 3"x3" and layered on the embossed cs.

Host of a Blog Hop

2011-01-02T11:18:00.000-06:00

I am so excited! I am going to be a host for the "I Have a Dream" January Blog Hop for One by One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity . This will be the first blog hop I have ever hosted for, so I hope I keep up my end for the total hop. There will be a total of 12 stops on this hop...more details on when this will happen...I need to gather some blog candy...yum yum.

Snowman Chocolate Bars

2010-12-27T10:57:00.000-06:00

A last minute project I did on Christmas Eve as stocking stuffers were these cool Snowman Chocolate Bars. I saw the project on Debbie's blog: The Paper Garden and she had a link to Laurie Furnell's blog where Laurie has posted a free snowman download to print the body of the snowman. Laurie is very generous in posting this freebie, so please remember to leave her some lovely comments if you use this download! :) I was able to print 2 snowmen per page from my printer. I cut the paper in half and wrapped around a Hershey's chocolate bar and taped it closed. I purchased some red fleece on sale and cut out a piece approx. 7 in. x 4 in. Wrap the fleece or tissue paper (before I bought the fleece, I tried tissue paper and it worked fine) or material around the snowman and I was able to use double sided tape and it held it together ok or you can sew it closed. Then tie ribbon, yarn, twine, or embroidery floss about 2-3 inches from the top (this depends on how big your material is and how low you cut the top of the snowman), tighten and tie in knot or bow. Then cut fringe from the top of material being careful not to cut your thread. Finally cut a strip of material to tie around the snowman's neck, I did not measure this, but probably around 10-12 inches, tie in knot and presto, cool snowman!! Everyone thought they were cute.

Christmas Gifts

2010-12-22T22:41:00.000-06:00

Initials was my theme this year for my gifts for my exchange kids. The last project I am posting tonight is a very quick project. I purchased white wooden letters from Hobby Lobby. I used the Cricut Printing 101 card set at 1.25" to cut the names of my kids and I glued everything down and also got them in the mail Tuesday. Unfortunately, I actually got Aino's and Shirley's in the mail last week (Amazing!!), but forgot to take pictures.
Anna's is the only one painted because she had bought some paint while here so I know she liked the color and there was some leftover.

Tag Holders

2010-12-22T22:20:00.000-06:00

A second gift for each of my kids is a gift tag box. Nolapan's are based on something she collects, monkeys.
I used the Cri-cut Creat a Critter cart to make over 20 moneys that were placed on liners cut as tags from the Wild Card cart. The box was decorated with CTMH paper from Christmas when it was DOTS. I liked it because it had a background of white and had hearts on it, really a beautiful background.

For Nik, I used the Cricut 50 States cart. to make the Texas flag, the outline of the state of Texas, the Bluebonnet and Mockingbird for the tag box. I used the Cricut Plantin Schoolbook for the tag with some more white stars from the Cuttlebug embossing folder Stars.

More Monogram Sets

2010-12-22T22:00:00.001-06:00

Sorry it has been a while since I posted anything. School has been very hectic the last few weeks and unfortunately, I developed a hernia and that has caused me a lot of pain the last 3 weeks until I had my surgery this past Friday. I am slowly feeling better, so glad of that!! :)

Although, I have not posted anything, I have been crafting. That is the only thing that has made the last few weeks bearable. (you know what I am talking about) The other reason I have not posted what I have worked
on is because they were gifts for my exchange kids for their birthdays and I did not want to take a chance they would see them early. First up is a card set for Nolapan, from Thailand. Her favorite color is white or multi-colors, so that was the basis for her set of cards and card box.

The measurements are basically the same as my other sets, but the details of how I decorated them is the cards are white cs embossed with the Cuttlebug embossing folder Allegro. Some lace I received from my Mom was used around the edges of the cs. The center was stamped with Kaleidacolor Pastel using the CTMH Alfresco medallion acrylic stamp. Finally I used a circle punch on her initial that was Edwardian Script at 72 pt from Microsoft Word.

The next set I made is for Nik, from Germany. Nik really is fascinated by the Civil War era of American History, so I used this information to design his card. I hope no one takes exception to his cards, in no way do I support the Southern side of the Civil War or what it represented, but it is the asthetic of this time that Nik likes.

The base of his cards are red cs embossed with the Cuttlebug embossing folder Stars. White cs is also embossed with this folder and individual stars were cut out to place on the white and blue stripes. The center shield was actually a road sign acrylic stamp from Scrappy Cat Clear Stamps Travel Phrases with the edges rotated in CTMH Grey wool sp and stamped on white cs. These were cut out and the initial again was from Edwardian Script at 72 pt from Microsoft Word and fussy cut so that it would fit in the middle of the shield.

Finally, I just finished the cards for Anna, from Denmark, this week. They were put in the mail on Tuesday, so I know she will not receive them before her birthday, so if she sees this post: I hope you like them, Anna!! Anna's favorite color is Baby Pink and she loves zebra print, so I combined those two things to make her card.

The base for the cards is CTMH Baby Pink cs, then CTMH black cs embossed with Cuttlebug embossing folder Animal Prints - Zebra, sanded down. CTMH cs stock is necessary for this layer because it has a white core that shows through with sanding, giving depth to the card. The zebra print design paper was purchased from Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago and was cut into a square with rounded corners and then a circle punch to back the initial again from Edwardian Script 72 pt punched with a 1.25" circle punch. The edge of the zebra paper was sponged with CTMH Grey Wool sp. Another circle was punched from the Baby Pink and all layered for the look above.

Journal Gift

2010-11-12T21:46:00.004-06:00

Another gift idea from Taylored Expressions is a personalized Password Journal. I liked this idea for my own use because I can never keep up with the username and password for all of the different websites that I am enrolled in. Taylor has a very nice download for the layout of this journal, but I decided to make my own on Microsoft Word. The font is Calibri with font size 18 with a landscape orientation.

The pages are cut down to 3.5" widths and stacked. I printed out 4

pages on cardstock, so it is a total of 12 pages when stacked. Next

chipboard is cut to 8.5" x 3.5" and put to the back of the cut

cardstock for support and stapled at the top.

Next, the best part, customizing it! Since my favorite colors are
green and red, I chose green cs as the base of mine and purple
cs for a friends, one piece cut at 8.5" x 3.5", scored at 8" and
the second piece at 11" x 3.5", scored at 8.5" and 8.75". Red
tape is placed across the top of the stack and across the staples,
but not more than .5" from the top. The 11" x 8.5" is then
placed on top of the pages with the .25" wrapping around the
top and back. The 8.5" x 3.5" piece is taped in place on the
back. The front is then decorated as desired.

Another Monogram Card Set

2010-11-04T19:44:00.002-05:00

After making my previous monogram card set, I got to thinking of
who else I could make a set for...no, not you yet! :) My boss's
daughter is getting married in January and I was invited to her
bridal shower this weekend. I went in with everyone in the
office for a nice gift, but I thought that she might need some
Thank you cards for all of the gifts she received. I did find out she
had already purchased some Thank you cards, so I decided to
make my cards generic enough that they could be used at a later
date for just note cards.

Her wedding colors are Marine Blue, so of course that was my
base color or as close as I could get with the CTMH Outdoor
Denim cs. The next layer is 3.75" x 5" white cs that is embossed
with a cuttlebug embossing folder called Ornamental Iron. The
medallion, an acrylic stamp from Clear Stamps called Crillon
Filigree from Scrapbucks, is stamped in CTMH Outdoor Denim on
white cs and hand cut. The Monogram is from an Edwardian
Script printed from Microsoft Word at size 72, cut with a
1 11/16" circle punch and sponged with Outdoor Denim.

The box bottom was made by cutting white cardstock to 8 3/8" x
9 5/8" and scored at 2" all around, cut and taped to form a box.
The box top was made with the measurements of 8.5" x 9 6/8" and
scored at 2" all around. The top of the box was decorated with a
card front and the sides had blue cs cut to size.

Monogram Card Set

2010-10-30T23:02:00.000-05:00

It has been an AWESOME day for me...I did craft projects all day long...SWEET!!! To make it even more enjoyable, my exchange student, Lena, was making cards with me! I think you have figured out by now that I love to see all of the creations other people make, they are soooo talented and come up with great projects and are generous to share with the rest of us. My next project today came from Taylored Expressions who has been doing the 12 days of Handcrafted Christmas projects on her blog and website. She has some fabulous stamps, card kits, supplies on her website http://www.tayloredexpressions.com/ , so please stop by and check it out. Anyway, one of the projects she has is a Monogrammed card kit. I really liked it and since I have a lot of medallion stamps, I decided to use the idea to make a set of cards. The hardest part was the monogram, of course. If you order the kit from Taylor you get a free monogram download, so that in itself is worth it. I checked through all of my fonts and even found some I had on CD's to download to my computer and finally chose 3 different fonts printed at size 72. Next, I punched them out with a 1.25" round McGill punch. I completed 12 cards using a 5.5" x 4.25" base in CTMH Pansy Purple, and a white cs cut at 5" x 3.75". I stamped a medallion stamp from Clear Stamps that I purchased from Scrapbucks in CTMH Hydrangea on the white cs off centered because of the B&T to added, then I sponged hydrangea around the punched monogram and taped it to the center of the medallion. Next I used black cs and two different Martha Stewart border punches to make borders for a piece of 1.5" x 3.75" B&T paper in different patterns which was then taped to the opposite edge from the monogram. After I finished the cards I showed them to some friends. Their first question was,"What are you going to put them in?" Taylor has these gift boxes that are magnetic and are perfect for card sets and are currently on sale, but I couldn't wait to get them, so I went ahead and made a box for this set that I decorated with the same layout as the cards. The box bottom is 8.75" x 6.5", scored at 1" from the edge all the way around, folded and one cut made along one score line at each corner so it can be folded in and taped to form a box. I increased the measurements for the top box by 1/8" and did the scoring again at 1" from the edge on four sides. I cut the B&T for the outside of the lid to fit. I really like the way it turned out and am thinking of who I can make these for....hummmm....yeah, I think they will like them...you never know, it may be for you!! :)

Christmas tag

2010-10-30T14:40:00.001-05:00

Another blog I follow by receiving emails when there is a new post is Dawn McVey on Raspberry Suite. Dawn has made the cutest tags using a technique she found: "Nichole's lazy stamper accordian medallion idea". The link to Dawn's blog is here for her post and pictures of her tags. I have only made one, but Dawn has a bunch. I received my extra large scallop punch that I purchased from Stamping Up today and knew I had to make one of these tags. The products I used were B&T paper from CTMH in Cranberry and a CTMH tag, To/From, Merry Christmas stamp as well as a small holly stamp from an unremembered set, a 2" punch from Marvy and a 1 1/4" punch from McGill. I punched 2 scallops and on each scallop I scored across the valley from side to side with my Martha Stewart Scor-pal rotating the scallop 7 times until all had been scored. Then punch a small hole in the center of both scallop circles. My eyesight is poor when using a small hole punch so I marked the center with a dark dot to make sure I punched in the right spot. Then you cut from one scored mark to the center so you can fold all the score marks starting with a mountain fold and ending in a mountain fold, again doing this on both scallop circles. Next, to connect the two circles together, place the first mountain fold from one scallop over the first mountain fold of the second scallop using tape to hold in place. Do this on both sides, joining the two scallop circles so that each scallop is half of the whole circle. Now you have an accordian medallion. Next I stamped and cut out a tag, cut some patterned paper 2" x 2.5" and taped onto the tag. Stamp the To/From on the back with a small holly stamp in the corner. Then punch out a 2" circle of cs and using some foam tape center it over the accordian medallion, this was the hardest part for me. I could not keep my accordian pleats very even, so if you find an easy way to do this, please share with me!! :) Next stamp Merry Christmas on white cs and use the 1.25" punch to cut out and tape to 2" circle. I then used a white gel pen to doodle around it because it seemed too plain to me, added the twine to the tag and was finished! The wonderful thing about this is you can bling it up as much as you want.

Halloween Coffin

2010-10-30T12:05:00.004-05:00

This coffin idea came from Debbie at The Paper Garden. I subscribe to her blog so that I know when she makes a new posting. Debbie has a lot of GREAT ideas for gift giving, so make sure you stop by and visit her blog! Debbie also makes sure to give links to tutorials or templates for her projects. The template for the coffin is from Martha Stewart's website and there is a template as well as a video on making it.

After getting the Martha Stewart template and printing it out, I used CTMH B&T paper from an old Halloween scrapbooking kit I had with punch-out art. After getting the template cut out, I stamped
"Happy Birthday" on it because the recipient of this coffin has a birthday on Halloween, and placed the mummy and cat from the punch-out art on top after fussy cutting them. After that I taped the flaps in place to make the coffin 3D and filled it with candy to give.

Yooclik Projects

2010-10-16T23:45:00.002-05:00

I am a beta tester for Yooclik. The website for it is http://www.yooclik.com/ , and right now they are offering a 3 day free trial of the software. This is part of the website of http://www.makingcardprojects.com/ . I have completed my first projects using yooclik and I have to say it is as easy as the founder, Margaret Wraith, is saying: You just click! The 2 projects I have done were put together very quickly and after printing them, quick to complete. My perspective on this software is as a hybrid cardmaker, scrapbooker, so I will be working on different projects from that view.

My first project was a Halloween card. I really wanted to use a spider web on it, so I used a template that had the shape I wanted, resized 3 images, layering on top of each other and changing their color to black. I then layered on a black background that I lightened using the transparency feature. The sentiment was already in the graphics, so I just clicked on it, resized it and placed it at the top of my
project. I printed out the sheet of my finished pieces, cut them down to the size I wanted and mounted
it on black cardstock. Since I did not have a spider I liked, I drew the spider, so please be kind when
looking at it. I cut the spider out and used 2 layers of foam tape to put it on the spider web.

My second project was a quick treat bag. I used a template, added the pumpkin recolored orange, turned and resized it to fit the template and placed it on the front of the bag. I then used the feature to add text to print out "Trick or Treat", again turning and resizing it and placed it above the pumpkin. After printing the bag out, I cut it and taped it together, just using a small hole punch before adding the orange ribbon to close the bag.

I have also already printed out a background with a haunted house right from the software. I think it will be awesome as a scrapbook page!

Tag Box

2010-10-09T23:06:00.002-05:00

Well, this project came about as a process of everything falling in place. First, there was a sale on Scraponizers at CricutMachine.com and since I was looking for a more compact way of storing my cricut cartridges, books and overlays, I ordered 4. Each one holds 4 sets of cricut diecut sets and I filled all of the ones I ordered and I completely LOVE them!!! They store like books on a shelf. So I was left with all of the empty boxes the cartridge sets came in, but they are so well made, I did not want to throw them away. Now, the second thing fell in place when I received my email from Taylored Expressions sneak peeks day 3 showing her new dies and Christmas stamps she just released. I looked at the blogs of her Baker's dozen design team and one of the projects they were doing was to make a tag gift set. They have some awesome projects and different ways of making their projects to store gift tags to give away. So I combined these two things to make my gift tag container.

I cut some CTMH cranberry sheer ribbon to make the handle, looping the ribbon and attached it to the center front of the box. Then, I cut CTMH B&T paper from a Christmas pack to 7.5" x 10.5" and used red tacky tape to attach around the box. The decorative strip was cut at 7.5" x 1" and used a Martha Stewart border punch on it and attached with adhesive.

The top of the box is decorated with "Say it with Pearls" from Want 2 Scrap and 2 red and 2 white paper poinsettias, "Christmas Blossoms" from Making Memories and glitter glue was added to each center brad.

To cover writing on the inside of the box, a piece of B&T is cut at approx. 6" x 7" and taped from the top of the lid to the botton of the box. The divider for the inside of the box is made from a piece of red cardstock cut at 3.5" x 12" and scored at 2.25", 3.5", 4.75", 7.25", 8.5", and 9.75". Fold at the scored lines and place tape on the bottom to hold in place. I finally finished this project up by cutting 24 gift tags at 2 1/8" x 3.5", decorating them, and putting a silver cord through a center hole punch. The cord made the tags a little bulky and I think the twine used on the inspiration blogs would work better. I gave the completed project to a friend as a early gift to help with Christmas gift giving. All of my measurements were approximated on the box I used and may need to be adjusted to the box you use.

Decorated Frame

2010-10-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

My girls have a friend, an exchange student from Korea, whose birthday is next week. They had a Birthday meal for a few friends tonight. I had seen a decorated frame in a Paper Crafts October 2004 issue called Friends Frame and thought it would be perfect as a gift because whatever she receives
she will have to pack to take home. I purchased a frame from Wal-Mart for $3 and took out the glass and mat. I used the mat as the template and cut out a piece of manila colored cardstock to cover the whole back. I then used the CTMH acrylic stamp set Love Tags and Cocoa stamp pad to make different tags using the Friends definition tag. I also cut out tags from Simple Elegance paper from the Paper Studio and used a piece to fill in the center of the frame. I used a McGill 1 11/16 circle punch for 2 circles. I finished by using flowers from Prima Flowers and gems from Bead Design, Inc.

Homecoming Mums

2010-09-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

Last week was spent making Homecoming Mums and Boutonnieres for our Football Homecoming. I know Texas is the only state that makes Mums but it is a tradition that stays strong. I have posted pictures of my exchange students with their mums and some of the other mums I made. Hope you enjoy them and if you have any questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Exchange Student

2010-09-04T23:19:00.000-05:00

My exchange student from last year, Nik, just left to go back to Germany after a 2 week visit. We tried to visit places he had not seen while here the last time. He is really interested in History, so we were able to go to La Bahia in Goliad and the Fannin Memorial. We also went to Schlitterbahn. My girls this year, Lena from Japan and Toffy from Thailand went with us. I was also able to make all of his favorite foods while he was here: enchiladas, goulash ,and taco ring. Since school started right after he arrived, we did not get to do any major traveling, though we stayed busy. We are really going to miss him!! :(

Gift Idea

2010-08-16T21:49:00.000-05:00

I told Madison at Funky Cards that I had an idea to share with her as a gift or a fundraiser. I just checked Madison's blog and she has a post about recycling, so this idea fits right in. I took a drink holder from Sonic and spray painted it black, one of our school colors, black & gold. I then used mesh to wrap around it and after stamping and cutting 6 volleyballs out, placed them around the black drink holder and used a gold marker to write on it. Anything can be used to fill the drink holder. What I used were bags of candy, tissue paper stamped with volleyballs, cereal bars and crackers, a hand towel with my name embroidered on it and a water bottle decorated with paper, mesh and a decorated hanger with Crystal Light in it. The decorated water hanger instructions can be found on Youtube, one of the videos is from dawn5377, who has a lot of AWESOME videos.

Cuttlebug Challenge

2010-08-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

The Cuttlebug Challenge #96 is to use acrylic or acetate and a Cuttlebug on your card or layout. My base is a CTMH Sunflower cs and a Cuttlebug Divine Swirls embossing folder was used on the front of the card. A two inch square was measured on the front of the card and a straight edge cutter was used to make an "X" from one corner to the opposite corner and the points were folded back and two CTMH square shaped pewter brads were used opposite each other and two Target Retail brads, from the discount bin, were used on the other corners. A 3 inch square piece of acetate was cut to line the inside of the cut square. A CTMH Grape Sherbet cs cut at 4 x 5.25 with a square cut out to match the outside square and taped to the inside of the front side of the card. The image on the back side of the card is a 2.75" square of white cs. The CTMH wood mounted dragonfly was stamped with a CTMH Grey Wool sp and was colored by CTMH Hydrangea sp using a Q-tip. The wings had Crystal Lacquer applied with glitter added to it. The border is from the CTMH Simple Stitches acrylic stamp set also in Hydrangea. The white cs was framed by a piece of CTMH Grape Sherbet cs measuring 1/8" larger than the white cs.

Four Challenges

2010-08-12T20:48:00.000-05:00

The base of the card, the green squares and the paper framing the butterfly paper is from the Colorbok Punch out Pack. The butterfly paper is from the DCWV Matchmakers Teen Pack and the glitter paper is from the Best Occaisions Glitter Paper Pack. The butterfly was stamped on Foray Translucent Inkjet Vellum with Kaleidacolor-Pastel. The sentiment was printed on the same vellum. The embellishments are Prima flowers, with black adhesive pearls from Want2Scrap and the bling on the butterfly is a mini gem line-stars from Glitterazzi.
I entered it in the following challenges:

Cooking It Up With Katie - Use flowers, a few squares, and some pink
Cowgirl's Sunday Stampen Challenge - Sketch
Flutterby Wednesday - Open Challenge
Andrea's Stampin Moment - Simply Rounded

School Days

2010-08-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

Paper Playtime is doing a challenge for "School Days" and I have always liked blackboard images so I included that in my interpretation of "School Days". The background is CTMH cranberry cs and the next layer is CTMH Kentucky Green cs. The desk is made with CTMH desert sand cs embossed with Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder sponged with
CTMH Cocoa sp. The blackboard is black cs purchased at Hobby Lobby and the sentiment is from a CTMH school set and embossed with Seafoam White embossing powder from Ranger Industries. The book, apple and worm digi stamp is from Inktegrity Digital Images .

Miss You!

2010-08-03T12:26:00.001-05:00

The sentiment for this card is constructed with the puzzle setting at 1" from the Printing 101 cart. using CTMH new england ivy, outdoor denim and Hobby Lobby black cs. The puzzle pieces were arranged on white cs and sponged with CTMH olive and ponderosa pine stamp pads. It was then layered on CTMH ponderosa pine cs. The 5.5x4.25" white base was sponged with CTMH clover meadow, topiary, olive and ponderosa pine stamp pads starting with the lightest color in the center and outward to the edge with the darkest color. A Martha Stewart punch was used on a 1x5.5" CTMH outdoor denim cs. The large butterfly was cut from the Indie Art cart at 1.5" from black cs and the smaller butterfly was cut from the Stamping cart at .75" from CTMH dutch blue cs. The bodies of both butterflies are from blue gem lines from Glitterazzi. The 3 pearls are from Want 2 scrap. I entered this card in the following challenges:

             Annabelle Stamps - sketch
             Andrea's Stamping Moment - simply sprayed/sponged
             Flutterby Wednesdays - open challenge
             Paper Playtime - miss you

Hello Friend!

2010-07-26T20:45:00.002-05:00

The challenge for Stamping Vacation gives a choice of sentiment to base your card on. I chose the sentiment "Maybe I can't stop the rain, but I'll always share my umbrella." When I saw this digi stamp on Sliekje digi Stamps blog, I knew it was the perfect image for this challenge. I used the sketch from Anyone for Anya, but it is not eligible for the challenge. I also entered this card in the Anything Goes challenge for Cowgirl's Sunday Stampen Challenge .

The card has a 6x6 base from CTMH New England Ivy cs and the patterned paper is from the CTMH Lovely Leaves paper packet. The image is from Sliekje digi Stamps ,who is generous to share her lovely art for free, and I colored it with Sargent Art Water Pencils and blended it with baby oil. I mounted the image on CTMH Outdoor Denim. The sentiment is using the Inked God font and I used CTMH waxy flax for decoration.

Christmas in July!

2010-07-24T15:28:00.003-05:00

The base of the card is CTMH Outdoor Denim B&T paper. Using a plaid enterprises embossing stencil of a Christmas Ornament on glossy cardstock was the first embossing element for this card. Coloring the ornament with CTMH cranberry, olive, and
outdoor denim stamp pads and the top of the ornament with silver embossing powder and a Personal Stamp Exchange embossing stamp pad. The ribbon is CTMH sheer dutch blue with a CTMH button in the center. The ornament was mounted on glossy cardstock embossed with the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls folder. This was then mounted on Outdoor Denim cs. Outlining the glossy swirls is mini gem lines from Glitterazzi embellishments. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado mounted on the glossy cardstock mounted on the outdoor denim cs. This card is being entered in the following challenges:

           The Cuttlebug Spot - Christmas in July with embossing
          Annabelle Stamps - Say it with embossing
           Anyone for Anya      - Be dazzled
           Cooking it up with Katie - Buttons, Bows, and Blue

Annabelle Stamps & Bitten by the Bug 2 Challenges

2010-07-23T18:50:00.001-05:00

This card uses the sketch from Annabelle Stamps challenge #026 and the pumpkins are for the Fall card using the cricut and stamps with Bitten by the Bug 2. The base is 6x6 in CTMH Autumn Terracotta B&T paper, the CTMH New England Ivy cs was cut at 5.5x3. I colored the CTMH white grosgrain ribbon with the CTMH Olive sp and used pewter brads for accents. The ribbon was cut at 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5 inches. The pumpkins are from the CTMH Heart of the Harvest acrylic stamp set. The pumpkins were colored with Sargent Art Water Color Pencils and then I applied baby oil on a Q-tip to the color to blend it. The word "Autumn" was cut at 6" from CTMH Autumn Terracotta cs using the Wild Card Cricut cart. The green pearls in the corner are from Want 2 Scrap.

Girls Road Trip 2007

2010-07-22T19:07:00.001-05:00

My Mother, Sister, Daughter and I had a summer trip in 2007. I
have finally started scrapbooking our pictures. I do not know
the reason, but I always thought of this trip as "Girls Road Trip"
and so that is the name of our scrapbooking pages. The hard
part is that I am doing each page 4 times so we each have a
layout. The colors change for each person depending on their
favorite colors. The layouts I am showing are mine (The
prototype for the other's pages, so all of the mistakes are done
on mine. lol). I have only done the first two days of our trip that
lasted 1 1/2 weeks, so by next year I may have them finished! lol

Cards from Technique Tuesday classes

2010-07-22T14:03:00.003-05:00

I have finally finished the cards from the Technique Tuesday classes I took at the CK Convention in Houston. The first 5 cards are from the Expanding your Creative Border class:

The last card with the flowers and butterfly I am entering in the Paper Playtime Challenge .

The challenge is Flower Power. I completed the card on Monday

although the borders were done at the workshop as well as

coloring the rick rack. Hope this is still eligible. :)

The next 5 cards were from the Top Techniques for Tantalizing Cards:

There is a story behind the first card. My Siamese Kitten, Bear,

decided he was going to help me Tuesday as I was making

this set of cards. Most of these cards use Classic Technique

Tiles from Technique Tuesday. As I was detaching the tiles

from their cardboard home, I would leave the excess edges

on my work table. Bear was hovering around the table top

(My table is up against my computer desk), he would

sneak in and take off with the edge pieces of the cardboard.

On this card I had detached the ornate tile and had colored it

with CTMH Cranberry sp and let it dry. I then usedthe

houndstooth acrylic stamp from the Dream Big stamp set

we received in the class. I had attached the colored tile to the

stamped background and went left for a few minutes. When I got

back, the card was on the floor with a piece of the tile torn off and

Bear playing with it. While he was stealing the card top from my

work table he had also stepped in my CTMH Cocoa stamp pad.

Needless to say Bear was in trouble ( I just scolded him), but I

think I managed to repair the damage except for some tell tale

brown spots left by Bear.

I really enjoyed making these cards. The kit had everything but

the basic supplies and two of my own stamp pads. I did get 2

new acrylic stamp sets, one for each of the classes, a blue ink

cube in the techniques class and a chalk blue and chalk gold ink

cube with the borders class plus directions and supplies to

complete all of the cards. The classes werevery fast paced and

we were really only able to cover techniques and pieces that

were needed to complete the cards at home. I still have the

cards to make from the Cards for a year class, so more cards

to make. YEA!! :)

CK Convention - Houston

2010-07-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

My friend Laura and I went to the CK Convention in Houston on Friday. Awesome time!! :) We took three classes. Two of those with Technique Tuesday. In those classes we received a stamp set, a ink cube and all of the supplies to make 5 cards. We made some really great cards, but we did not have enough time to finish the cards in class, so I have a few cards to finish. The other class we took was Cards for a Year. We managed to finish two cards and scored the paper for a box to hold cards. Again a lot of cards to finish at home! The pictures I am posting are of me and Laura and all of the product I bought at the Vendor Faire for about $55. I thought I got some GREAT deals!!

Paper Playtime Challenge

2010-07-09T16:31:00.002-05:00

The theme for the Paper Playtime Challenge #6 is based on the phrase "It's a Guy Thing".
When thinking about making a "Guy" card, I usually think of a simple card, not too many frills
on it, so that is what I did. The base is 4.25x5.5 made with paper from the Best Occasions Scrap Pack. The boot was a free download from Creating Keepsakes that you can find
here , and the font on it is Bleeding Cowboy from Dafont.com . The concho and string are
remnants of an old shirt. Just saying "Howdy" to everyone who stops by for a spell. :)

Another Challenge Card

2010-07-08T20:50:00.001-05:00

The base is a 6x6 CTMH Lovely Leaves paper pack, a second piece from the pack is cut at 2.5x6. Used CTMH clear embossing powder on mulberry paper using CTMH Dragonfly wood mounted stamp, then used dauber to apply CTMH Tropical Blue stamp pad. I cut a 6x1.5 piece of dark blue cardstock and used a Martha Stewart Doily Punch to make the scallop edge. I cut a piece of ivory cs into a 1.5" circle, crumpled it up and applied CTMH cocoa sp ink with a sponge around the edges and the creases. Then cut a 2.5" circle and used the MS Doily punch around the edges, crumpled it up, applied white embossing powder to the creases and edges, then applied the cocoa ink over the embossed lines. I cut 2 7" pieces of old lace bought from Wal-Mart years ago, taped them back to back, applied cocoa ink to the edges to darken them
a little more. Next I cut a piece of CTMH Star Spangled Blue Grosgrain ribbon that I taped to cover where the lace was joined.  I placed two misc. buttons in the corner and the sentiment is in the Porcelain font from Dafont.com , sponging it again with cocoa ink.
I am entering this into the challenges:

            ~~Just Us Girls Challenge~~ ~~- sketch~~   Was an hour too late to enter this :(
            365 Cards - Day 129-aged look

Let the Challenges Begin!!

2010-07-08T16:34:00.001-05:00

I am finally working on challenges again! I was out of town for 3 days, brought my granddaughter back with me and she stayed a week at the same time I was taking a
class from Jessica Sprague. Left me no time or energy to work on cards!! So my card today
starts with a base of CTMH Sunflower cs, used a Cuttlebug Divine Swirls embossing folder on it. Used a 1.25" McGill circle punch on CTMH Birthday Bash dp and used a circle cutter from Creative Memories to cut the other circles at around 2" also on the Birthday Bash paper. Cut a 1.5" strip from Colorbok Paper Pack in green. Used the Martha Stewart Doily Punch on both sides of the strip to make my ribbon. I used CTMH Simple Stitches acrylic stamp set with CTMH Evergreen embossing powder and Super Emboss Stamp Pad from Personal Stamp Exchange to make my faux stitching on my ribbon. Next I stamped a butterfly from CTMH Bold Butterflies wood mounted stamp set with Kaleidacolor Pastel stamp pad, and finally used embellies from Bead Design gemstones. I made my button out of the 1.25 circle, punched two holes in it and threaded CTMH Sunflower and Holiday Red Ribbon through it.
I am entering this card in the following challenges:

        Annabelle Stamps Blog - sketch
        Cooking it up with Katie - sketch from another blog, add yellow and real or faux stitching
        Cowgirl's Sunday Stamp'en Challenge - scallops and embellies
        Crafty Creations Challenges - make your own button
        Craft Your Passion - real or faux stitching
        Flutterby Wednesdays - have a butterfly, fairy or angel on card
        Incy Wincy Designs - use punches

FREE CLASS

2010-07-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

I have been taking a free class with Jessica Sprague called Computer Tricks for Cards, the link to her website is here . The class has been going for 1 1/2 weeks now with just a few days left.
If you want to register for the class, they were still letting people register yesterday. It is really a self-paced class, but Jessica releases another segment each day. The class is using the Photoshop Elements 8 for the software. I did not have this software, so I signed up for the trial version. I am definitely going to buy this software, it is AWESOME!! Of course, I wouldn't have said that if I had to learn all of the cool tools on it by myself. Jessica has been AWESOME 10 times over with all of the videos and free papers and brushes, on and on, that she has given us!! The forum is also great for sharing links to free downloads. Today's card is a wedding card and although I have printed out all of the cards to date, I have only completely done this one. I changed the colors to go with the colors of a friend's wedding and the initials too! The green glitter bg paper is from Best Occaisions (Amy likes shiny things :) ). I used watercolor paper and watercolors to do the background per Jessica's instructions (The photo washes out the colors, they are really darker). The flower is a photoshop brush designed by Jason Gaylor call Design Fruit and you can view the full set here.
The ribbon is from the Target dollar bin and the medallion was designed by Jessica (I did change the colors) and uses the Chopin Script font from Dafont.com that you can download here. There were details that I did not do on my card, but that is the beauty of this class, you can make it your own.

Another Bella Blog Hop

2010-07-03T22:53:00.000-05:00

Another card for Bella Tucker. Her friends at Scrap, Stamp and be Merry are hosting 4 blog hops to bring attention to Bella's situation and to encourage card makers everywhere to send cards to Bella and give her a smile. My card will be sent out this Monday unless mail does not
run because of July 4th holiday. This digi stamp is from Creations by Penny and I cut the background papers from the Forever Young cricut cart. and the words are from the Stamping cricut cart. Hope it brings a smile to Bella!

Bella Blog Hop

2010-06-27T20:29:00.000-05:00

This card was made for Bella Tucker. She is a brave 8 year old little girl who has lost all of
her limbs to an extreme infection. Bella is very lucky to be alive. Friends of Bella and her family are hosting a blog hop to bring awareness of Bella's situation and try to raise her spirits with a large amount of cards to make Bella smile. Her friends at Scrap, Stamp and be Merry will be hosting 4 blog hops to encourage bloggers to make cards to send to Bella. Mine will be in the mail tomorrow, sending my thoughts and prayers with it.

Paper Playtime Challenge #4

2010-06-26T13:46:00.000-05:00

Bugs, Bees, Ants and Ladybugs...the Challenge for Paper Playtime. To meet the requirements of this challenge I used a CTMH Container Jar and CTMH bees and a ladybug from one of their mega sets of 36, wood mounted. CTMH foil paper was used for the jar lid and CTMH vellum for the jar. CTMH markers were used to color the insects. A Martha Stewart doily punch was used to make the tablecloth.

Cricut Cardz Challenge & Cowgirl's Sunday Blog Hop

2010-06-20T16:28:00.000-05:00

The theme for this card came from Cricut Cardz Challenge, Vacation. Cowgirl's Sunday Challenge had a blog hop today and their theme was "Anything Goes" so I am entering
this card in both Challenges! If you haven't joined the Cowgirl's Sunday Blog Hop, please do
so now, they have some very beautiful cards!

For this card, I cut the camper and the fire from the Going Places cart. The tree and clouds were from the Serenade cart. The cardstocks were from Colorbok and CTMH. I blended CTMH Crystal Blue into the clouds and tinted the camper with CTMH Golden Amber and Cocoa. The
stripes for the camper came from the CTMH Recipe Flipside wooden mounted stamp. The words were from an old sentiment sticker sheet.

Paper Cutz, Secret Crafter Saturday, & Crafty Creations Challenge

2010-06-19T21:59:00.001-05:00

Its a wedding! The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge was to make a wedding project. This entry is also for the Paper Cutz Challenge that required a wedding card using white, brown, pink and green only!! The background is CTMH Garden Tapestry stamped with CTMH topiary green stamp pad. The next layer is CTMH Watermelon cs embossed with the dots folder with the Cuttlebug. The heart is a CTMH Blossom Blast stamped with CTMH watermelon stamp pad. The sentiment is cut at 2" with the Cricut Stamping cart. in dark brown. The ribbons are from Martha Stewart.The faux stitching is done with a green pen. I am also able to enter this in the Crafty Creations Challenge #72 that requires real or faux stitching and is called "It's a Stitch Up"

PDCC #34 and Everything but the Kitchen Sink #17

2010-06-19T11:28:00.001-05:00

I did my 2nd digi stamp with this card. I again found this card through Crafters Digital Art Center from the artist Ethereal Forest Designs. The card starts with a white base, a black

piece with a circle cut into it is next. I used a blue watercolor pencil to color in the flowers and then used water to soften and color the flowers. Cut the flowers out and inserted into the circle

on the card. The sentiment is from CTMH stamped in Star-Spangled Blue. This card is for the
challenges:

Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Sketch
Play Date Cafe: Colors: Black, White, and Blue

Simon Says and Stampinsanity

2010-06-19T10:57:00.000-05:00

For this card, the background is black, with CTMH red grosgrain ribbon set across it. I found the paper for the oval from Best Occasions Scrap Pack cut at 3" from the Destinations Cricut cart., the skull and crossbones was cut from the Indi cart. at 3" also. The beautiful sentiments were from a free giveaway by Martine at The Craft Table . This card was entered in the
following blog challenges:

Simon Says: Pirate card
Stampinsanity Asylum : Sketch

First Digi Stamp Card!!

2010-06-18T20:18:00.000-05:00

I have seen all of the beautiful work of digi stamps on a lot of the blogs I am following and was frankly intimidated!! But I found this AWESOME group called Crafters Digital Art Center that had some videos and helpful information. Then I started looking for digi stamps to practice on, so of course I was looking for FREE ones! (lol) The CDAC had a video that directed me to the Operation Write Home which has a Stars and Stripes Blog that has free digi stamps from Angel artists. So I found an artist on this site that had a link to her own blog called Sliekje digi Stamps . She has beautiful drawings and I found the cutest little girl playing in the sand and it fit perfectly with several challenges I was looking to do so I printed it, colored it and you see the result above. In addition to Sliekje's digi stamp, I used CTMH chalks, tombow blender pen,
CTMH Summer fun time wood mounted stamps, CTMH markers, The Paper Studio kraft paper, CTMH Best Friends scrapbook pack paper, and Colorblok paper. The following challenges were entered with this card:

                    Cowgirl's Sunday Challenge : Sketch
                    Sentimental Sundays : Summertime
                    The Spotted Chick : Kraft paper
                    Stamp Something : Summer

Annabelle's New Stamps and Giveaways!!

2010-06-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

Annabelle is releasing new stamps and products! She is giving away 4 new stamp sets on June 22nd. You don't want to miss it! Go over and check it out and sign up!!