Happy Holidays with Pine Cones

Hurray! My last Christmas card to be posted. I am looking forward to making cards that are not on the Christmas/holiday theme.

Right now my hair is up in velcro rollers, the table is set and we are all ready for Christmas (I just need to figure out what I'm going to wear to church tonight LOL)! My DH is officially on holidays and everyone is looking forward to the holidays. Merry Christmas to all of you!!

Supplies:

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes, Canvas, Riveting (retired hostess set)

Paper: Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla

Ink: Always ARtichoke, Bravo Burgundy

Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Crop-o-dile, Pewter Jumbo Eyelet, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Dimensional

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Lovely as a Tree Masked

The boys are finally on their school break. It is so nice to sleep in, take some time to get going in the morning and not have to rush around. One boy is playing and the other is watching a bit of TV right now, so I thought I'd quickly write another post. I might only have a few minutes before this peace and quite ends. :)



This is another Christmas card I sent out this year. To make the mask, I cut out an oval from cardboard with the Coluzzle template. The cardboard oval cutout/template was placed over the white card stock and held firmly in place. I inked up the Lovely as a Tree stamp and stamped off once on scrap. Then I stamped over the cardboard template. Keeping the template in place, I sponged Bordering Blue ink inside the entire oval. After removing the template, I stamped the evergreen tree off to the one side of the oval and "Merry Christmas" on the other side. I then placed the template over the oval image again and pierced holes around the oval, omiting the areas with the evergreen tree and the sentiment. (I had previously pierced holes evenly in the cardboard template. That way I just needed to place the template over the finished image and pierce through the holes of the template to the cardstock. Much quicker and perfect every time!!)


Note: On the cards I sent out, I added another layer. I added Bravo Burgundy card stock beneath the Whisper White card stock. Of course I forgot to take a picture.


Supplies:


Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Holidays and Wishes
Paper: Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Bordering Blue
Accessories: 5/8" Burgundy Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Sponge


4.25 x 5.5 card


Thanks for stopping by.

Season of Joy

Yesterday my mom sent out her Christmas card/email and I noticed that she added my blog address in the letter. So that means that I had better update and add another post. The pressure is on!


I have been busy making Christmas cards for our family. Then on Monday, Byron's boss asked me to make 25 cards for him by the end of the week. I ended up making 12 new ones for him and just taking the rest from the stack of cards I was going to send out. Luckily I made too many because I had enough cards for us and him!


This is the card I made. The picture shown is the my first take on the card. I ended up using a variety of patterned paper in the same colour scheme and all with various patterns of polka dots. Unfortunately I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of the other cards I made using patterned paper by Basic Grey and My Mind's Eye. I actually like some of the other paper I used better. Oh well.

I made some of the cards using 5/8" Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon and others using the 7/8" Chocolate Satin Ribbon (from last years Stampin' Up! mini catalogue). I inked up the edges of the card stock with the edge of the stamp pad and I cut out the tree and popped it up with dimensionals.



Supplies:


Stamps: Season of Joy, Warm Words
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Designer Paper (??)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow
Accessories: Dimensionals, Ribbon, Brads (Dollarama), Crop-o-dile


4.25 x 5.5 card


Thanks for stopping by.

A List and a Card

Have you seen this list? It's making the blog rounds. I thought I'd play along. You 'bold' whatever you have done so far on the list. If you play along too I'd love to see your answers so let me know!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars on a trampoline
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty....My husband and I visited her in June but they don't allow any one to go up since 9/11
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance with my son at 5.5 months old
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud ...I was 18 at the time!
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt a jean quilt that I figured out on my own
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone I think my little toe.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper ...Does the Canadian Mennonite count??
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous ...I said Hello to Peter Mansbridge while walking past
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Well, I got 39 out of 100. Almost 40%. Not sure what that says about me (LOL).

Here is a card that was made at a couple of my Christmas card making events. Very quick and easy to make. It doesn't show up on the photo all that well, but I added stickles to the three poinsettias and the popped up snowflake. I think it was inspired by a card on this blog: kwernerdesign.

Supplies:

Stamps: Season of Joy

Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink: Basic Grey, Real Red, Old Olive

Accessories: Dimensional, 1/2" Circle Punch, Candy Cane Stickles, Lime Green Stickles, 5/8" Red Grosgrain Ribbon

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Red Christmas Bird

I have been busy preparing for a number of Christmas card stamping events. My first one is tonight. I have three in the next two weeks so things seem quite busy. This is one of the cards that we are making, although it's not for tonight.

A couple of details about the card.... I inked up the Canvas background stamp in Real Red, stamped off once on scrap paper and then stamped on the Real Red card stock. To make to main image, I inked up the bird and leaf image in Mellow Moss and stamped on the Vanilla card stock. I cleaned the stamp and inked it up again in Real Red. I stamped it on a scrap piece of Vanilla card stock and then cut out the bird image. I popped it up with dimensionals and stuck it over the Mellow Moss image.

Well, that's all for now. I need to pack a few more things for my Stack class event. We are making 12 cards - two Christmas card designs and one male birthday card design. Should be fun!

Supplies:

Stamps: Birds Galore (Inkadinkado), Canvas

Paper: Naturals Ivory, Real Red, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla, Wild Asparagus Designer Paper (My Mind's Eye)

Ink: Real Red, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Red Eyelets, Crop-o-dile, Red Satin Ribbon (Gale's), Dimensionals

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Weekend Sketch Challenge #64: Take Two

Amazingly enough I was able to have another go at Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. This card came together quite quickly. Maybe partly because I was inspired by and cased THIS card by "mudflapmamma" on Splitcoaststampers.

Supplies:

Stamps: Best Wishes and more (leaf), Best Yet
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Brocade Blue, Designer Paper (Scrapbook Walls)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 1/4 Circle Punch, 1 3/8 Circle Punch, Dimensional, Small Corner Rounder, Brocade Blue 5/8 Grosgrain Ribbon

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Weekend Sketch Challenge #64

It has been a looong time since I have stamped. I have been busy getting ready for three stack parties that happening in the mid to end of November. I have a busy November so I've had to prepare early. So yesterday I had a bit of time and was not motivated to cut card stock, clean the house for when my mom comes to visit or prepare for Caleb's fourth birthday (the party is tomorrow and there will be ten kids here - crazy), so I decided to stamp. Hurray! I was feeling a bit of withdrawal. I find it so relaxing and therapeutic and miss it when I don't stamp.

I decided to check out Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I wanted to use all Stampin' Up! products so that it could be used for a stamp or stack class. But it just wasn't coming together. I was also thinking that I could make it a Halloween card but by the time I posted Halloween would be over. I guess there is always next year. Anyway.... this is what I came up with.

Supplies:

Stamps: Best Wishes & More (snowflake and sentiment)

Paper: Very Vanilla, Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Designer Paper (?? from scrap pile)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Blue Satin Ribbon (Michael's), Hemp Twine, Antique Copper Brads, Paper Piercer (to make holes for brads), Scalloped Scissors, Dimensionals, Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Glue Pad (Tsukineko), Glitter

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Happy Fall

I have realized that I really don't mind fall as long as it stays above 0 degrees celsius. But here in Manitoba that is asking a lot!! I do have to say that we have had an awesome fall so far with not many cold and windy days. I wish all of winter would be like this.

I used the Birds Galore stamp set from Inkadinkado for this card. I discovered that Michael's has a whole bunch of Inkadinkado sets to choose from. I usually don't buy stamps at Michael's but I find I kind of like these clear stamps.

To get the bird muliticoloured, I used sponge daubers right on the stamp before stamping on the card stock. For the "flower trail" I stamped off once before stamping on the paper with Close to Cocoa. I used another stamp from the set and only inked up the "flower trail".

Supplies:

Stamps: Birds Galore, Everyday Flexible Phrases

Paper: Naturals Ivory, Close to Cocoa, Patterned Paper (unknown)

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Cranberry Crisp

Accessories: Dimensionals, Paper Piercer, Small Corner Rounder Punch

4.75 x 4.25 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Circled Inspiration Challenge

Last Thursday I checked out the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Inspiration came from a Japanese artist called Mizue Hirano. I loved her art work and knew immediately that I wanted to use the Circles and Dots acrylic set by Inkadinkado. Which, by the way, I had not used yet. (I loved the set but didn't know what to do with it). Well, this was perfect for it, I thought. This is her sample I was inspired by. In one of my tries I added the Rose Red colour, but it just didn't look right. So in my last try I made it without and it looked much better.

All I did to make this card was stamp various circle arrangements (there are fifteen of them in this set!) on a piece of watercolour paper in Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy and So Saffron. Then I used my water spray bottle to spritz a bit of water onto it from about foot away from the paper. Yes, I know I make it sound easy, and it is, but it took me three tries to get the look I wanted. The key, for me, is to spray lightly!! Don't spray too much water on the image!! Even with the three tries, this card came together very quickly.

Supplies:

Stamps: It's Your Birthday (retired), Circle and Dots (Inkadinkado)

Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy, Watercolour Paper

Ink: Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron, Stazon Black

Accessories: Water Spritzer/Bottle, Stampamajig (for the Happy Birthday sentiment)

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Lovely as a Tree in Acetate

Once in a while I try to get out the acetate or transparencies. I find them at an office supply store since SU does not supply them anymore. Which means they come at a fairly reasonable price but now I have tons of it! So I do need to use it more often. Besides it gives a nice effect to a card.

On this first card, I stamped on the acetate with the Trees stamp in Black Stazon. Next I placed the acetate on the Naturals Ivory piece of card stock to get a general idea of where I wanted to stamp again. Then stamped to the left a bit in Always Artichoke so I would be able to see the Artichoke off set from the Black trees. I attached the acetate with brads and sponged the edges in Always Artichoke. I popped up the oval sentiment with dimensionals.

Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, So Many Sayings (retired)

Paper: Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Naturals Ivory, Acetate

Ink: Black Stazon, Always Artichoke

Accessories: Silver Brads, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals

4.25 x 5.5 card

I used acetate again on this next card. I wanted to see if I could emboss and not melt the acetate. Well, it took two tries. DO NOT HOLD THE HEAT GUN TOOO CLOSE TO THE ACETATE!! I didn't melt the plastic into a puddle, mind you, but it did have a nice ripple effect. lol. On the acetate, I stamped the Trees in Whisper White Craft ink and then embossed it using Iridescent Ice embossing powder. On the background behind the acetate piece, I sponged, with sponges not sponge daubers, a piece of Whisper White card stock with Night of Navy and Bordering Blue ink. Again, I attached the acetate with brads and sponge daubed the Bordering Blue card stock. (The picture is showing a bit of glare on the acetate, but it shows off the sparkle in the embossing powder better than in the picture without the glare.)

Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Many Merry Messages

Paper: Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Whisper White, Acetate

Ink: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Bordering Blue

Accessories: Silver Brads, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Birthday Buzz

This is the card I made for my husband's birthday which was in the middle of the month. I wanted to add a sentiment like "What's all the buzz about?" on the front somewhere but I was running out of time and wasn't sure where to put it....

Details about the card: I punched the 1 3/8" Circle punch in Old Olive card stock and then used the Super Jumbo punch around the 1 3/8" hole. The bee is stamped in black ink on So Saffron card stock. I used my black marker to make the dotted lines.

Supplies:

Stamps: Patterned Bugs (bee)
Paper: Basic Black, Old Olive, Whisper White, So Saffron, Patterned Paper (??)
Ink: Basic Black, Black Marker
Accessories: White Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Super Jumbo Circle Punch (Marvy), 1 3/8" Circle Punch

3.5 x 6.25 card

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Oh, So Lovely in Coral

I have the Black Orchid paper pack by s.e.i. that doesn't get used too often because the colours are so bright. I find that I am more of a soft subtles and earthy elements kind of girl. So I decided to be brave and go bold. I like how the black makes the colours pop even more. I kept the card simple with not a lot of accessories or added elements (just ribbon) and even left off the sentiment.

Details regarding the card: I stamped-off once on a piece of scrap with the Canvas BG stamp so it would be more subtle.

Supplies:

Stamps: Oh, So Lovely (retired hostess), Canvas Background
Paper: Basic Black, Black Orchid Paper Pack (s.e.i.), Whisper White
Ink: Cameo Coral, Black Stazon, Old Olive
Accessories: Aquapainter, Black Ribbon (Gale's)

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Counting the Years

As my birthday is coming up and will be a few years off from forty, I have to remind myself of this sentiment: "Life is not a matter of counting years, it's a matter of making years count."

On both cards I used the same sentiment and layout. Just different colours, which give them completely different looks: one is bold and bright and the other is more shabby chic.

























Supplies:

Stamps: It's Your Birthday (retired), Fabulous Flowers
Paper: Whisper White, Black Orchid Paper Stack (s.e.i.)
Ink: Black Stazon, Versamark
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder, Black Ribbon (Michaels), Small Corner Rounder, Green Brads (makingmemories)

4.25 x 5.5 card


























Supplies:

Stamps: It's Your Birthday(retired)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Cranberry Crisp, Hannah Paper Pad (K&Company)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Brown Stazon
Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Corner Rounder, Blue Ribbon (Michaels)

4.25 x 5.5 card


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In Olive

I thought I would show you two cards using the same patterned paper. Unfortunately I cannot remember who the paper is made by. Sorry. It is from my scrap pile. I did make the cards at different times, but since they matched so nicely I thought I'd post them at the same time.

This first card is inspired by a card made by Alli Miles at Card Metaphors. All I did was stamp the flower/branch from Garden Silhouettes in Brown Stazon on to the patterned paper. I stamped "cherish" on Naturals White card stock, then placed an oval label holder over it and tied a ribbon at one end. That's it. The white image is part of the patterned paper, by the way.

Supplies:

Stamps: Warm Words, Garden Silouettes (retired hostess set)
Paper: Designer Paper (unknown), Chocolate Chip, Naturals White
Ink: Brown Stazon
Accessories: Oval Label Holder (Dollarama), Narrow Organdy Ribbon (Michaels)

4.25 x 5.5 card

This second card is inspired by a card I saw in the new Stampin' Up! catalogue (see page 88). It doesn't show up very well in my photo, but the partial Fabulous Flower is cut out and popped up with dimensionals.

Supplies:

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, So Many Sayings
Paper: Designer Paper (unknown), Bohemian line Designer Paper (my mind's eye), Old Olive, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Antique Copper Hodgepodge Hardware, Narrow Organdy Ribbon, Dimensionals

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Another Stitched Exotic

Another card made with Stitched Exotics. I cased this one from Jenn D. With this card I chose the ribbon first and then picked the colours to match. What you cannot see in the picture is that I stamped the Stitched Background stamp with Whisper White Craft ink on the large piece of Whisper White card stock and then imbossed with White Embossing Powder. It gives it a bit of texture.

Supplies:

Stamps: Stitched Exotics, Stitched BG, Studio G Clear Stamp (thankyou)

Paper: Basic Grey, Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Whisper White, Basic Grey

Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Small and Large Oval Punches, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Square Punches, Striped Ribbon (Michaels), Dimensionals

4.25 x 5.5

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Stitched Exotics

I hadn't used the stamp set, Stitched Exotics for a while and decided to pull it out from the bottom of the pile. I wanted to use the stamps directly onto a piece of cardstock that is the main focal point and not cut an image out and then pop it up with a dimensional (which I do a lot of the time). Well I managed to do that on one card (congratulations card), but not on the other (may all your wished come true card).




Supplies:


Stamps: Stitched Exotics, Stitched Background, Hugs and Wishes
Paper: Bashful Blue, Basic Grey, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey
Accessories: 5/8" Grey Grosgrain, Sponge Dauber, Certainly Celery Marker


4.25 x 5.5 card





Supplies:

Stamps: Stitched Exotics, Stitched Background, Heard from the Heart
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Ruby Red
Accessories: Paper Snips, Dimensionals,


4.25 x 5.5 card


Both of these two cards are cased off of Splitcoaststampers. The info of whom I cased is in my gallery on SCS.


Thanks for stopping by.

Celebrate Simply

One of the blogs I check out regularly is This n' That. (Okay, okay, there are quite a few blogs I look at every day or two.) A lot of Gretchen's cards are clean and simple but have that added touch of ribbon. And I can't do without ribbon on a card!! I cased THIS card of hers.

I made two. The first card shown is actually the second card I made. I really like how it turned out with using shades of brown and I LOVE the polka dotted ribbon. I can't stand wearing polka dots, but I love looking at them. Go figure.

I added small making memories flowers to this card. I felt I needed to add them to the "blank" spaces on the card.

Supplies on both cards:

Stamps: Celebrate Everything
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Kraft

Ink: Brown Stazon, Black Stazon

Accessories: 7/8" Brown Polka Dot Ribbon (Michaels), 1" Blue Satin Ribbon, Paper Flowers (makingmemories), Silver Brads (makingmemories), 1/16" Hand Held Punch, Stampamajig

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Rosy Wishes

This was such a simple and quick card. I love it when that happens. I do have to admit that I didn't come up with this card on my own. I cased THIS card from Splitcoaststampers. By the way, this card will fit in one of those small letter envelopes (not sure what to call them??).

Supplies:


Stamps: Heard from the Heart, Petal Prints (retired)
Paper: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red
Accessories: Pink Striped Ribbon (Michaels), Stamp-a-ma-jig

6 x 3.25 card

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Dragonfly Birthday Wishes

I found these cute acrylic stamps at Superstore. I made this card earlier in the summer and by seeing it again I can hear the bugs calling for me to use them again. :) They will have to be inked up soon!

What you can't see in the picture is that I stamped the dragonfly in Not Quite Navy on the large piece of Naturals White cardstock. Then I stamped again, reinking my stamp, on a "scrap" piece of Naturals White and cut it out. I popped it up with a dimensional over the first stamped dragonfly. Everything else on the card is fairly straightforward and self explanatory by looking at the supply list.

Supplies:

Stamps: Patterned Bugs (Inkadinkado), Circle and Dots (Inkadinkado)

Paper: Naturals White, Not Quite Navy, Patterned Paper (unknown - from my scrap pile)

Ink: Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Black Stazon

Accessories: Olive Satin Ribbon (Gale's), Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips, Small Corner Rounder Punch, Dimensional

4.25 x 5.5 card

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Dream du Jour

I can't believe summer is over. My oldest began grade one this morning and he will be staying for lunch. It feels kind of wierd that I won't see him until it is time to pick him up at the end of the day. (I am also feeling a little guilty that I won't be picking him up for lunch like some of the other stay at home moms are doing. But my "excuses" are that lunch recess is a time when he can play with his friends [socialization] and it also conflicts with when I need to pick up my other son from preschool.) I hope that he loves school - that is my "dream du jour". Of course I want him to do well, but if he doesn't like school it is twelve years of misery minimum!!

On to the cards....

There are a number of blogs I check every day. One of these is Pickled Paper Designs. I pretty much love all the cards Amy makes. These two cards are cased from her card HERE.

Supplies: (listed for both cards)

Stamps: Dream du Jour

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Double Side Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye??), Green Textured Patterned Paper (unknown from Michaels - from scrap pile)Ink: Black Stazon, Pretty in Pink, Old OliveAccessories: Mega Marvy Punch, Jumbo Circle Punch, Paper Snips (ie. SU scissors - love them), Blender Pen, Dimensionals, White Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Black Brads (makingmemories), Black Ribbon (Gale's)

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

What the Heart Needs...

Summer, sun, friends, swimming lessons and lots of activites.... At least that is what is making us happy lately. I can't believe summer is almost over. For some reason July was pretty low key and now we are trying to pack in all the fun stuff in before school begins....in two and a half weeks. Aaaaah!! But they will be good ones!

But back to stamping.... I am so glad I got this stamp set, Serene Spring. I really love it and am having so much fun watercolouring with my Aquapainter. For this card, I was inspired by scrapnextras card on splitcoaststampers.


Just a few details about how I went about making this card: First, I stamped two of the same images on a piece of Whisper White card stock and used the Aquapainter to colour in the image. I used the 1 1/4" Square Punch to punch out three different parts of the image. Then I punched out pieces of Pumpkin Pie card stock with the 1 3/8" Square Punch and cut out pieces in Whisper White at 1 5/8". I taped those all together and added dimensionals to the back and popped them up over the orange ribbon.

I used the Stampamajig to line up the sentiment into three lines (the stamp comes as one long line) and cut it out to fit under the hodgepodge hardware. Unfortunately I do not remember what kind of Designer Paper I used. I found the piece in my scrap drawer.

Supplies:

Stamps: Serene Spring
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Designer Paper (unknown - from my scrap drawer)
Ink: Brown Stazon, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Accessories: Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware (retired), Orange Ribbon (Gale's), Dimensionals, 1 1/4" Square Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Stampamajig (I am tired of putting in the hyphens! LOL)

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Simply Serene Spring

It has been so long since I have made a post that I wonder if I remember how to do this! It has been a good summer despite the boys having chicken pox at different times in July and attending an aunt's funeral (although I did get to visit with family in BC). I finally got my New York scrapbook completed but I haven't even started on the jean rag quilt I want to make. But, hey, there are still three weeks before school begins. LOL. We hope to do some camping, go to a friend's cabin and paint our house before summer is over. Think all of that will happen??

On this card I really wanted to focus on the stamp and watercolouring. So I kept it fairly simple. I used the Polka Dot background stamp with VersaMark on the Kraft card base. For the main image, I stamped on 140 lb weight watercolour paper (2.25" x 3") with Brown Stazon. I used various colours from the Earth Elements and Soft Subtle families in the Classic Ink to colour in the image with an Aquapen. I adhered it to a piece of Chocolate Chip and then popped it up with Dimensionals.

On the one card I just tied the ribbon around the corner in a knot. I taped it in the back so that it would stay. On the other card I used an Aged Copper Spiral Clip with the Moss Gingham ribbon tied to it and placed it in the same corner.

It really didn't take me that long to make this card. The hardest part was colouring in the image but I did them both at the same time which definitely saves on time. This would be a card that I think I could mass produce. It is simple, but not tooooo simple where it is boring.

Supplies:

Stamps: Serene Spring, Polka Dot
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour Paper
Ink: Earth Elements and Soft Subtles Classic Ink, Brown Stazon, VersaMark
Accessories: Moss Gingham Ribbon, Dimensionals, Aquapen, Aged Copper Spiral Clip (retired)

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to have another post soon. :)

Take Two: Sketch Challenge #182

There is a blog I often visit called Stampin' with Markie's Mom. She has a very distinct style that you recognize wherever you see it. She adds little dots, usually black or white, outlining the layers of her card. I thought I'd give it a try but keep it a bit more subtle...work up to it slowly. So I just used the white ziggy pen to make the dots. If you look closely you can see them.....yes, very subtle. LOL.

I paper pieced the the image using My Mind's Eye designer paper. It is double sided which is an added bonus. The flower is stamped on one side of the dp and the bird on the other. Then I cut them out and just used the Tombo Liquid Glue to paste them down. Much easier than using a tape runner or glue stick.

Supplies:

Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Much Appreciated
Paper: Wild Asparagus line (my mind's eye), Blush Blossom, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Grey, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: White Ziggy pen, Blender Pen, Paper Snips, 3/16"Pewter Eyelet (ProvoCraft), Ribbon (Michael's), Tombo Liquid Glue, 1 3/8" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch

4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

PS This might be my last post for a while. I can't guarantee regular posts. I need to scrapbook our New York trip before I forget all the little details.....or get unmotivated. I also need to make a jean picnic blanket. We forgot ours at a campsite last summer and we NEED another one.

Sketch Challenge #182

Summer is finally here. The weather is warm, even hot some days, and school is almost out. Today was my last "free" morning without the boys so I don't know how much stamping and/or blogging time I will be able to get in. It might be rather spuratic until school starts again at the beginning of September. I did get to do the Sketch Challenge this morning. Knowing that this was my last morning off, I decided to only stamp. No errands, no cleaning and no laundry. I made two cards. Hurray.


Supplies:


Stamps: Artfully Asian
Paper: Unknown Designer Paper (from my scrap pile), Whisper White, Basic Black, Certainly Celery
Ink: Black Stazon, Certainly Celery
Accessories: 1 3/8" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Pewter Eyelets, Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Eyelet Setter, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects, Blender Pen


4.75 x 4.75 card



Here is a closeup of the Crystal Effects. Gives it a nice shine.


By the way, Byron and I got back from New York last week where we had a wonderful six days. We saw so much and were exhausted by the end of the day. I love that city!! Now it is time to do stuff around home and with the boys.


I will post my second card tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by.

Leafy Cracked Glass Branch

I have been very neglectful in my blogging lately. And I have only been able to stamp one card in the last week. Argh!! But it is all for a good reason. Byron and I are going to New York in three more days. So I have been preparing for our trip and getting things ready here at home for the boys. The countdown is on.....three more sleeps.


This is one of the cards that we made at the Stamp Class a couple of weeks ago.

I used the the Cracked Glass technique. Rather than me explain it all over it again, there is a great tutorial on Splitcoaststampers HERE. A couple of things to make sure it turned out how I wanted: I pressed the image in VersaMark, poured Glassy Glazeover it and heated it three times & I put the glazed image in the freezer two to three times in 3 minute segments (to get the cracked look in all the places I wanted.

Supplies:

Stamps: Artfully Asian
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Grey, Old Olive
Ink: Black Stazon, Old Olive, VersaMark
Accessories: Gingham Ribbon, Blender Pen, Glassy Glaze Enamel, 1 3/8" Square Punch (punched out the main image)

4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Tagged for Questioning

I was viewing my daily dose of blogs when I came across this "tag" on Ingenious Inkling. I usually don't do these things, but the first question caught my eye. So I decided to do the entire thing being that it was nice and short.

What were you doing 10 years ago?I was on my honeymoon on Vancouver Island. For part of the week we were at a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast in Parksville on the east side of the island. The other part we were camping near Tofino on the west side.

Five things on today's to do list: 1. Make two batches of meatballs for the freezer 2. Return a couple of phone calls 3. Prepare the craft activity for our church retreat on Saturday 4. Transfer money from one account to another for our trip to New York (to celebrate 10 years of marriage) 5. Book pedicures for my mom and me (have to get my toes ready for New York *wink*)

Snacks I enjoy: Any kind of "good" chocolate, especially dark

Things I would do if I was a millionaire: Travel; Redo my kitchen.....okay, the whole house

Places I have lived: Winnipeg, MB; Altona, MB; Kitchener, ON; Calgary, AB; Chilliwack, BC; Abbotsford, BC

I will try to post a card in the next little while. As I mentioned, we are going to New York next week. I have been busy trying to do the every day activities that need to be done, get ready for my parents, who will be looking after the boys, and organize things for the trip.

Thanks for stopping by.

Inchie Card and Colour Challenge #168

Yesterday on Splitcoaststampers, the Colour Challenge issued was to use Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow and Very Vanilla. Sage Shadow is not my favourite colour, as I've said before, but I knew exactly which designer paper I wanted to use (Iron Gate by Sandylion. I think I found it at Michaels). I combined it with the Ways to Use It Challenge #166. (I posted a card yesterday that also used the WT166.)























Supplies:

Stamps: Live Your Dream, Warm Words
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla, Iron Gate Designer Paper (Sandylion)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow
Accessories: Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Antique Copper Brads, Ribbon (Michaels)

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Ways To Use It Challenge #166

A couple of weeks ago, the Ways to Use It Challenge was to use Inchies. Inchies are images on one inch pieces. I had never done this before and it definitely looked interesting.
























This card is just one of the ways you can go about using Inchies. I stamped my image on a 3 x 4 piece of card stock and then cut it into one inch pieces. I sponged around ALL the teeny, tiny squares. That took some time!! Then I adhered them to a 3 3/8 x 4 3/8 piece of Chocolate Chip card stock. I then layered the main image piece onto Creamy Caramel (also sponged) and a Chocolate Chip card stock.


With the bird and the branch image, I first stamped in VersaMark and then in Chocolate Chip ink. I stamped on Naturals Ivory and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. After I cut them out, I popped them up with dimensionals.


Supplies:


Stamps: Tres Chic, Holidays & Wishes, Nature Stamps by Rhonda Farrer (Autumn Leaves)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, VersaMark
Accessories: Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder, Antique Copper Brads, Sponge Dauber


4.25 x 5.5 card


Another time I would like to try putting a single image, a very small one of course, on an inchie.....Hmmm, maybe I can make some time now.


Thanks for stopping by.

Round About Flower Fusion

I have been very lax about posting cards. I can't seem to get the things done that are on my "to do" list. I won't bore you with my list. :) This seems to be a theme in the last couple of weeks. Sorry.

This is one of the cards that I we will be making at the Stamp Class on Monday. It was inspired by Beate Johns of Fresh & Fun. It is always fun to make a card that is a little bit different.

Supplies:

Stamps: Tres Chic Background, "Stems" from Springtime Stems (retired)

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper, Certainly Celery Designer Series Paper

Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Flower Fusion, Silver Brads, Mini Glue Dots, Paper Snips (to make grass)

4 x 4 Circle Card

Thanks for stopping by.

Sketch For You To Try

This weekend I've been working on Jen's Sketch For You To Try on and off. I actually made two cards because I wasn't happy with the balance of the first card.

Here is Card #1 made on Saturday.


Here is Card #2 made today. I did actually have a sentiment stamped on two circles that I was going to add. I somehow forgot to tape it down before I took the picture and only just realized it now. Oh well. It is a very simple. I also paper pieced the patterned paper on to the Bella's dress.

Supplies:

Stamps: Lotus Greeting Stamps (K & Company) on Card #1, Flowabella (Stamping Bellas ) on Card #2

Paper: Oasis Paper Stack (SEI), Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Brown Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Bordering Blue

Accessories: Card #1 - White Eyelets, Ticket Corner Punch, Chocolate Chip 15/16" Satin Ribbon

Card#2 - Small Corner Rounder Punch, Antique Copper Brads, Blender Pen

4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Cherish Spring

Here in Manitoba is seems like Winter just hangs on forever and Spring takes a long time in coming. Well, I think it is finally here. The leaves on the trees are starting to come out (it is very late this year), the perennials are popping up and I've bought two hanging planters with geraniums. Yesterday I hauled out the flower pots and now I'm anxious to buy some annuals and get those planted.

I haven't stamped that much this past week because the weather has been so nice. This card is one that I made in the last week and a half or so. A couple things to note: I used VersaMark and small flower stamp from Live Your Dream on the background square of Certainly Celery card stock only on the top third. Also, it took two tries to cut out the main flower image. Very tricky where the flower meets the stem. It is hard not to bend and ruin it. :)

Supplies:

Stamps: Live Your Dream, Warm Words

Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst Designer Series Paper

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, VersaMark

Accessories: Distresser, Dimensionals, Giga Scalloped Circle Punch (Marvy), Mega Circle Punch (Marvy), Lavender Ribbon (Michaels)

4.75 x 4.75 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Stamp Class Sneak Peaks

Hello all of you from Winnipeg! I thought I'd post sneak peaks of the some of the cards we will be making at the stamp class. Easier than doing it through email.

All five cards will use a Stampin' Up! stamp set and feature a technique and various Stampin' Up! accessories that add that extra pizazz to a card. You can "Wow" your friend or family member that receives a card that you have made.

And now...... (drum roll)... featuring.....


Card #1 with the Styled Silver Ribbon Slide








Card #2 with Flower Fusion Very Round About






Card #3 with Live Your Dream with Fine Cosmo Glitter

























Card #4 with Very Square Cracked Glass Technique

























Card #5 TBA


I hope this tweaks your curiosity and I'd love to hear from you soon. By the way, I will post the full card after the stamp class has occurred.

Thanks for stopping by.

New Amy Butler Clear Stamps

The new paper and stamps are my sale purchases from Michael's last week. I think the paper and the stamps coordinate very nicely even though they are from two different companies. It's nice when that works out. Makes it more versatile.

























This first card is super easy. I stamped the "medallion" in black stazon and cut it out. The "thank you" is a separate stamp that actually can be taken out of the medallion if you want to use it some other place. I was very excited when I found that out. Versatile, again. Next I took a little flourish stamp, inked it in Old Olive, stamped off on a piece of scrap and then four times in the center of the medallion. I added ribbon and brads and Voila....done.

The second card is pretty simple too, but it took me a bit longer to figure out what I wanted to do with it. The main "urn-like" image had the "happy birthday" inside it, but I was able to take it out and stamp it at the bottom of the card. In retrospect, I think next time I will stamp the sentiment in Cameo Coral to match the scalloped square. The "leaves" in the centre of the urn is stamped off first before stamped on the card stock. The butterfly is inked in Cameo Coral and then "rock and rolled" in Ruby Red.
























Supplies for both cards:

Stamps: Lotus Greeting Stamps by Amy Butler (K & Company)
Paper: Oasis Paper Pack (SEI), Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black
Ink: Black Stazon, Old Olive, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red
Accessories: Dimensionals, Gingham Ribbon, Olive Satin Ribbon (Gales), Black Brads, Square Scalloped Punch (Marvy)

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Sketch Challenge #47

Aaahh.....I am trying to find the time. Sorry for the infrequent posts. I will try to do better..... I was able to participate in Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge on Friday and I haven't had time to post it until now. Aaahh..... Even so, this will be a short post. I seem to have a long list of things to do and no time to complete them. I have accomplished making one large and two small lasagnes this morning. The large one is going to a friend who just had a baby, one small one is going in the freezer and the other we will eat for dinner.

When I saw this paper, I knew that I wanted to use my Nature Stamps by Rhonda Farrer. The flowers in the oval is "watercoloured" with an aquapainter.

I found this K & Company paper at Michael's this last week for 40% off. I love sales!! This is the Hannah paper pad. I also found some Amy Butler Clear stamps, also by K & Company, on sale. Did I just say that I love sales?!? The background is stamped off with an image from this new set. The tiny butterfly and the "thank you" is from this set as well.

Supplies:

Stamps: Nature Stamps by Rhonda Farrer (Autumn Leaves), Amy Butler Clear Stamps (K & Company)

Paper: Hannah Paper Pad (K & Company), Naturals Ivory, Ruby Red

Ink: Ruby Red, Old Olive, Cameo Coral

Accessories: Olive Satin Ribbon (Gale's), Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Oval Coluzzle, Giga Oval Scalloped Punch (Marvy), Dimensional, Sponge Dauber

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Green Polka Dots and a Little Bling

Just a quick post while the pizza is baking in the oven. It is a fairly straight forward card, I think, and looking at the supply list pretty much tells you how the card was made. Sorry, I definitely don't have much to say today. I guess my brain is fried and my stomach is hungry. LOL

Supplies:

Stamps: Live Your Dream, So Many Sayings (retired)

Paper: Naturals White, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Pure Designer Paper (Fancy Pants)

Ink: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink

Accessories: Dimensionals, White Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Corner Rounder, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Pink Rhinestones (Michael's - Darico??)

4 x 5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

Card Therapy

I love the simple, clean style of I {heart} 2 Stamp. A while back I saw THIS card of hers and decided to CASE it. (By the way, CASE means "Copy And Share Everything".) Sometimes it seems like I can't do the the very simple cards without any or at least very minimal layers making it a very clean look. I think I need layers to cover up the imperfections. Sponging and distressing are great things when you need to cover up mistakes. Even on this card, I had to add another piece of patterned paper besides the polka dotted paper and ribbon as well. I guess that means that I can use other peoples' ideas and make them my own. And that's OK because I'm moving in the right creative direction . (This is starting to sound like card therapy. LOL)

Supplies:

Stamps: Live Your Dream, Warmest Regards (retired)
Paper: Anna Griffin Designer Paper, Naturals White, Barely Banana
Ink: Rose Red, Mellow Moss
Accessories: Taffeta Blue Ribbon, Scalloped Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Dimensional, Rose Cosmo Glitter, Two-way Glue Pen

4.25 x 5.5 card

Thanks for stopping by.

P.S. I'm still trying to get the lighting right when I'm taking a picture of a card. Please be patient.