Thank You, House Mouse!

Today I'm posting a HM card I made as a thank-you card to send to relatives out-of-state we visited last month. They had us over for a delicious supper and an evening of visiting with cousins we don't get to see often enough!



The HM stamp is called "Maxwell's Note".



Yes, the red & purple color combination did make me think of the Red Hat ladies too! But I do love those colors together! Such fun!
I don't remember much of the other details, sorry! Any questions, just ask and I'll figure it out!

I'm entering this card in the HM challenge called "Anything Goes" @ http://housemouseandfriends.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by today!

Have a blessed and safe New Year's Eve!

One last Christmas Card

Here is a card I made for a very dear friend who has really helped me along the way in my card-making "career"! Hoping she had a wonderful Christmas!

Now here's the list of ingredients:

Magnolia stamped image: Tilda Wants a Hug

Martha Stewart scallopped flower border punch

DCWV "Holiday Collection" cardstock

"Tag Accents" border stamp and sentiment (StampingScrapping.com)

Other misc. and embellishments from my (growing!) stash

PLUS: Inspriation! from viewing so many lovely, creative designs from all of you wonderful people willing to share your creations with me! Thanks again!

Looking forward to the New Year now! Hoping and praying each of you has a very good year in store, filled with blessings from above, love, health and contentment.

Challenges I want to enter this card in:

"Anything Goes" @ http://StampingScrappingChallengeCentral.blogspot.com

Bildy Christmas Chickens!?

What could be more Christmas-y than a nice green wreath with a big red bow?

So that's what I put on my new Christmas card! And since I want to enter it in the Bildmalarna challenge at http://bildmalarnablog.blogspot.com/ I had to use a Bildy stamp...and the only one I have yet is the chickens (called "3 hen") ...I had to get really creative this time! I got the stamp from StampingScrapping.com as well as that wonderful Cryogen cardstock its printed on. I love that iridescent creamy paper! Images print so nice and clear on it. The rest of the cardstock is from my stash and the sentiment is computer generated.

As always, but especilly THIS time, I'd sure appreciate your comments!

Hope you all have a very productive Saturday! (I know I need to!)

A Tilda Christmas Card

Tonight I finally found a little time to spend in my craft room! I have new stamps and some "bling" from StampingScrapping that I've been dieing to try out. So here is my very first "Maggie" card! The Magnolia stamp is New Year Tilda but I colored her with Christmas colors.

I used a Martha Stewart scalloped flower border punch on the metallic green Latte Cardstock from DCWV;

the holly print paper is from the Paper Studio;

the scalloped circle is from a Sizzix die and

the circular stamp on it is one of Cindy's (aka http://www.stampingscrapping.com/) new ones from the Lacey Circles set (I love that set!);

the little tag is a shortened version of Cindy's Tag Accents rectangular tag;

the ribbon and cardstock and gems are things from my "stash".

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment if you have time...I love to hear from you all!

The challenges I am entering this card in are:

http://artfulinkables.blogspot.com/ (punches/die cuts)

http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/ (sketch)

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ (punches)

Vivi's Birthday Blog Candy!

Vivi is celebrating her birthday this month and everyone can celebrate with her! Just go to her blog and leave a comment by Nov. 30 (TODAY!) for a chance to win. Here is the address:
http://handmadebyvivi.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Vivi! Happy Birthday!

Wedding Card...All "Dressed Up"!

This evening we are attending a wedding of a young lady whose parents we are good friends with, so I wanted to make a card for the happy couple as special as they are!

About a year or more ago I found the cute little "wedding clothes" and had hoped to use it in one of my daughters' wedding albums but later decided they were too thick. So now I finally got to use these special embellishments! I added the bowtie and tophat because the dress came with the veil and it had to be balanced!

I would like to enter it in the Crafty Cardmakers challenge which requires dry embossing this week. The pink background is embossed with the Cuttlebug hearts folder...sorry you can't see it better.

Feline Playful...a new Blog I found!

While looking for some challenges to enter my cards in I came across this blog which looks really nice...and helpful!! They try to keep track of lots of challenges that are available every day! And right now they have some awesome blog candy because they are celebrating getting over 500 followers. Check it out: http://felineplayful.blogspot.com/2010/10/500-followers-blog-candy.html

Emily Rose...Happy B-day!!

Next week is my youngest daughter's birthday and a few days later, her anniversary! So far I have the b-day card done. I plan to enter it in the House Mouse and Friends Color Challenge which requires something lavender and/or purple.

You can see the challenge at http://HouseMouseandFriends.blogspot.com

Here are the details:

The House Mouse stamp is called "Party Ribbons"

The paper is from several companies: Colorbok, Fundamentals, Best Occasion Textured CS

The border punch I borrowed from a friend.....I think it was a Fiskar.

The "border" stamp around my "Happy Birthday" is one of Cindy's tag stamps.

The ribbon is from my stash (its actually some that was left over from Emily's wedding!)

And the glitter flowers are ... oops! Forgot to write down the brand.

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think of this one!

Happy Birthday Karl!

Yes, another b-day card, this one for my "little" brother (he's turning 54!). I wanted to submit it in the http://StampingScrappingChallengeCentral.blogspot.com which is a ribbon project right now but didn't want the card to be too frilly so...I made a ribbon card with NO bows, just flat ribbon. The gold is a wide metalic ribbon and the yellow rick-rack I think is sort of a ribbon too, isn't it? I used a lot of the same supplies I've used on several other cards so I won't go into detail about that. If any one has questions or comments, I'd be so glad to hear from you!

...A Few More Cards!

Finally! I have a few minutes to get back on my blog and post a few things!

Its been an extremely busy fall so far, but a NICE one! Much warmer and drier weather than usual for Michigan! Hooray for sunny days with all that fall beauty...bright colored leaves, golden corn stalks in the fields, blue, blue skies, and those weird bright purple wild flowers along the roads! Love it all!

Above: "Thinking of You" in purple, orange and brown.

Perfect for a Fall sending-cheer card, don't you think!

Below: My grandson's b-day card for his very 1st b-day!

The train is just a set of stickers, mounted and cut around

then mounted on "sky" paper. Just a fun card.

Below is the card I made for my oldest granddaughter, Pearl, for her 12th b-day on

Oct. 30! You can hardly see that the printed paper I used has large pink daisies on it, but it does! So I made a similar flower with my QuicKutz Daisy die and put a rhinestone at the center plus lots of Stickles everywhere...Pearl likes lots of bling!

Hey, question for you crafty people out there:

are the QuicKutz dies suppose to work in the Cuttlebug?

(Hope so 'cause I did it anyway!)

This next card I made for my dear little mother for her 85th birthday

which will be Oct. 31. She still lives at home by herself, goes out for her tiny

breakfast every morning (more to visit with friends than eat!) and is a consciencious enough driver that she won't drive at night any more..."My reflexes aren't quite as fast as they used to be, you know."

This card too has plenty of sparkle!

We (hubby & I) got to take 2 overnight trips this past week: 1st to Napanee, IN, saw a wonderful (& funny!) play at the Red Barn Theater; 2nd we went "up north" (almost to the bridge) with friends and stayed in a hunting cabin out in the "wilderness". We ate, drove, letterboxed, ate, drove, played cards...and ate! AND thoroughly enjoyed the scenery all the way up and back!

Also, a couple weeks ago my sister Judy came for a visit from Wisconsin...we had fun!! We went shopping, letterboxing, made cards, had a cook-out and went visiting!

So... now I showed you some of the cards I've been making for birthdays and other ocasions. I'm training myself to quick take a picture before I slip each in the envelope and drop it in the mail!

Let me know what you think! And thanks! Hope you have all been having a wonderful autumn!

Billie's Scrappetique Blog Candy!

There is some really neat blog candy available at Billie's Scrappetique! She has some stamped images that are adorable and some paints, copics, "skittles" and Scent-My-Cards! Go to http://www.billiesscrappetique.blogspot.com/ and check it out!

Happy Birthday Chickens!

This evening I had to quickly (hahaha) make a birthday card to get in the mail tomorrow morning...or else it would be late. I do have a reputation for sending cards late, but I am trying to change that! So this card is not very complicated...except for the fold. I had to experiment with that for a while to get it to come out right and still fit in the envelope!

The chicken stamps are Bildmalarna called "3 hen", the HAPPY BIRTHDAY is Storybook Alphabet from Stampendous Inc., the sentiment inside is a stamp from Stampabilities. The paper I used is, once again, from DCWV "Indian Summer/Fall Stack and some textured card stock I have oodles of...I love it! And of course the little Twinkle Jewels are from StampingScrapping.

I wanted to do more but ran out of time! Sometimes simple is better anyway, right?

1 Birthday Card...changed! Improved?

Yes, after looking at this card on my blog I decided the stamped image was too pale...so I colored it! Now, tell me what you think.

And thanks!

2 Birthday Cards Done!!

Today is the birthdate of 2 of my children...and they are NOT twins! They were born 2 years apart. Linzy (28) still teases her "little brother" John (26) that he so rudely interupted her birthday party.

Linz is quite the "outdoorsie" girl, loves leaves, flowers, trees, etc. so I had to include her favorite: oak leaves. John is an excellent fisherman so the lighthouse seemed appropriate.
For Linzy's card I used DCWV "Indian Summer" paper, Twinkle Jewels (from StampingScrapping), the leaf stamps are Hero Arts & Stampin' Up! and the design I "borrowed" from Jan Hunnicutt on someone elses site (hers?)...so THANKS! The Happy Birthday sentiment is Stampabilities.

Note: on the inside of this card I purposely did not center the sentiment because my husband
and I like to write personal notes to our adult children
and let them know how proud we are of them, or offer
encouragement...whatever. So I like to leave a little extra room if possible.















For John's card I used card stock from my stash, a stamp that I bought recently at the Big Sable Pt. lighthouse (while we were camping at Ludington St. Park),
a shortened version of a tag stamp from Cindy E. and her Twinkle Jewels.
Oh, and the folded-frame idea I also got from seeing it on someone elses blog....so THANKS again! I really appreciate all you artistic people sharing your ideas AND techniques!







You would not believe how long these 2 cards took me!
I had several other versions that never reached completion but these I'm happy with and just hope my kids like them too!

Please let me know what you think of them and any suggestions you have for improvement I would truly appreciate!

WAIT! Before commenting, see above! (my next post) I changed something.

Birthdays! Birthdays! So many birthdays!!!

Yikes! I need to get busy! In the next 11 days there are 5 birthdays that I need special cards for. Its a good thing I'm doing that Blog Hop that StampingScrapping is sponsoring...I am stocking up on creative ideas...so many things I want to try! So...real soon I will have several cards posted on my blog. At least that is the plan. We shall see!

House Mouse Get Well Soon

Here is my very first post of a card I made AND it is the very first time I am submitting a card to a "challege"...I'm entering it in the House Mouse sketch challenge! It is a Get Well card for my sister who had knee surgery. I did put the ribbon (pink w/diamond design) on vertically instead of horizontally...hope that still meets the requirements! The stamp is "Contented Mudpie" which I got from StampingScrapping (Cindy), on it I used colored pencils (Copics are still on the "wish list"!) ; the 2-layered cut-outs are Nestabilities, Labels four; the main paper is from DCWV, the rest is from my stash of scraps; the sentiment stamp is from Stampabilities and I double stamped it to get the color I wanted; the punched edge was done with a Martha Stewart punch. The felt flower I got at StampingScrapping.com but don't know what brand.
Please leave comments! Even suggestions!
Thanks!

Well, Stephanie suggested I enter my card at Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central too, for the "Anything Goes" Challenge...so I guess I will! Thanks, Stephanie.

a small beginning

This is my very first post on my brand new blog! I started this blog mainly to share the results of my new hobby: card-making! It is such a fun, creative and useful thing to do...I love it! I hope to participate in a few of the "challenges" offered by other card-makers or groups. I must give credit where credit is due: the two people who introduced me to card-making are my good friend Sherry, who has been making beautiful cards for years and years (and I greatly envy her wonderful collection of stamps!!) and Cindy from StampingScrapping.com. I had the priviledge of helping out for a short time in Cindy's shop so I was able to see a fantastic array of paper crafting supplies and and even got free "instructions" on how to use most of the stuff! That was the funnest job ever! But now I am thoroughly hooked; making cards for people to enjoy is so rewarding....I pull out a pretty piece of card stock, notice a ribbon that coordinates nicely and...oh, I just have to try that new acrylic stamp I just got! The creative juices start flowing! Right now I should be making 3 "get well" cards for people at church, a sympathy card, a birthday card for my son, and an encouragement card for a cancer patient. But I'm going camping in 6 days...I think my Cuttlebug is coming along to the campground!