Sandie's Card Garden

Make A Wish!

2012-02-21T21:45:00.002-05:00

This card will be entered in the following five challenges:
http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/ - Sketch #228
http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "Fairytale"
http://thedutchmagnoliachickies.blogspot.com/ - #17 "Embossing"
http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - #113 "Make Wishes Come True"
http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - "Say It with Flowers"

This is my first attempt at using my new Spectrum Noir marker pens*.

I only have 3 sets of 6 so far so I was very limited on color and

shade choices but I guess it turned out okay.

The Magnolia image is called "Star Tilda"* and the HouseMouse image is "Contented Mudpie"*

The flowers and buds are from StampingScrapping; the pinks, silver, and netting are from

the "Wedding Flower Pack"*- hot pink, and the green "leaves" are

from the "Flowers, etc."*- beige and olive.

Other items used:

DP from Paper Studio

"make a wish" stamp from Sandy Lion "Birthday" set

Flourish stamp is "Vintage Flourish" from Stampabilities

Dye Ink from Memento -"Bamboo Leaves"

Sizzix embossing folder - "Snow Flowers"

Ranger Stickles* - "Star Dust" (my favorite!)

Glue Dots

*'d items can be found at www.stampingscrapping.com

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T20:06:00.000-05:00

Another pink and gray card...this one is for my husband. He said he really liked it.

All the papers I've used are from the same pretty set I used before,
"Be Mine" by Echo Park that Cindy sells @
http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ .

The "LOVE" stamp is from a Sandy Lion set called (of all things!) "Love".

It matched the paper designs perfectly!

Around the edge of the tag I used my Tim Holtz blender with
Memento "London Fog" ink.

I added stitching, Stickles, ribbon and a few gems...all done!

Challenges I'm entering this card in:

http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ - "Best Friend" (my hubby!)

and the February Sketch challenge @ StampingScrapping Techniques & Tutorials

A Sympathy Card

2012-02-12T22:52:00.001-05:00

A quick sympathy card which I will enter in the MOJO Monday Challenge #227 @

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:

Cardstock- K&Company, "Black & Ivory Fusion"

and Cryogen

Spellbinder Dies- Labels 15 & 4

Stamps by StampingScrapping.com - "Tab Basics 1" & "Swirled Hearts"

Ranger Stickles- "Star Dust"

Rhinestones & ribbon- from my stash

Oops! My time conversion was off...I'm an hour too late! Oh well, this card went together quickly and I do need a sympathy card this week. And I actually like it myself. I love using K&Co. DP...always gorgeous designs.

Maggie Card: "It's Still Winter"

2012-02-04T19:43:00.000-05:00

One card for two challenges:

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "Twine"

http://thedutchmagnoliachickies.blogspot.com/ - "Still Winter"

Supplies used:

Cardstock (3 kinds) - Cryogen*, Doodlebug Design, Paper Studio

Edge punch - "Doily Lace" by Martha Stewart*

Die cut - "Pendants- Fleur de Lis" by Spellbinders*

Magnolia Stamped image - "Tilda with Bell"*

Sentiment - "Sentamints" by StampingScrapping Design*

Twine - "Vintage Green" by StampingScrapping Design*

Lavendar flower - "Color Me White" by StampingScrapping Design* -

(tweeked a bit & colored with colored pencils!)
Glitter glue - Ranger Stickles "Star Dust"

Pearls - "Snowflake" by Queen & Co.*

Leaf Stick Pin - Pearl Green by Pizzazz Aplenty

Small flowers are from my stash

All *'d items can be found at www.StampingScrapping.com

Another New Grandbaby!!

2012-02-04T18:08:00.000-05:00

Calvin Wilbur has arrived! He was born Thursday evening, weighed 7 lbs and 6oz., was 20 inches long and looks like his dad, David. His mom, Emily (my daughter) is doing well after a fast, intense labor and delivery. They came home from the hospital today and are being well cared for by Mom-in-law Michelle. I think it will be my turn Monday. The middle name "Wilbur" is after great grandpa who is thrilled that there is finally a boy to carry on the family name.

So this is Calvin...and he really is a lot cuter than this picture shows. And, NO, I am not just a prejudice grandma! I tried to get a picture of his "big" 2-year-old sister, Lilly, giving him a kiss but every picture is just a blur...she is constantly moving...and fast!!

New Month, New Blog!

2012-02-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've started another blog...like I'm not busy enough already! But I visited someone else's blog a while back and liked it so well I decided to try it myself! The blog I saw was a photo-a-day blog by Larry from Iowa. He is an artist (his wife is too!) and he has a great eye for photographing ordinary things that in their own way are beautiful. If you want to visit his blog click this: http://larry-burgus.blogspot.com/ or click on his blog listing in my Blog List on my sidebar, Larry's Photo A Day. Besides, he just seems like a really nice guy.
Today I posted my first photo, just one I had in my file from last year. But I will be purposely taking photos for this new blog from now on. Not sure how often I'll post...probably not every day.
The new blog is titled "Picture this: Everyday Beauty". Here is the address: http://picturethis-everydaybeauty.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Sherry!

2012-01-28T11:20:00.001-05:00

Today I finished a birthday card for my good friend Sherry who was instrumental in getting me into card-making! Little did she know what an addiction she was fostering! But a good one!! This card features some new papers/cardstock that StampingScrapping.com just got in. The colors are pinks and grays...everything from hot pink to powder pink to soft gray to charcoal gray...all in classy prints, both detailed and subtle. So I'm "spotlighting" this new paper pack: its called "Be Mine" by Echo Park. What fun!

For anyone who sees my blog often you might notice that I now have a watermark on my main card photo...finally! That is something Cindy helped me with yesterday when I was at her place. Yes, I got to go and "work" over there again for most of the day yesterday! We actually got a lot done and I love to be able to pick her brain about products and techniques. She is very inspiring...in many ways! She has such a loving, friendly, helpful attitude...energetic and a real "go-getter"....and all that in the face of a huge tragedy in her life that God is leading her through, step by step. Her faith and patience are amazing! Yes, she speaks of very dark days but she stays determined to live a triumpant life in honor of her lovely daughter, taken too soon from this life.
One of the things that always impresses me when I go to Cindy's is how organized she keeps all her own crafting supplies as well as the store stock. (Of course, Kevin is a bit "crazy" about stock organization, which helps!! LOL) I love the new folders she has to keep all of her dies and matching stamps in (called "Pack & Store"). I thought mine were pretty organized 'til I saw that! But I don't have near as many so I'm OK with a couple clip boards with magnetic strips attached that I keep my dies on. They ARE all labeled nicely! And they hang right next to my raised table with paper cutter and Cuttlebug. Anyway...Wow! did I get off the main subject or what?! I'm posting this bithday card and showing off some new things from Cindy's!
Here's the list of ingredients:

Cardstock - "Be Mine" by Echo Park* NEW
Flower - "Gardenia" by StampingScrapping*
Leaves - handmade by me!
Stamp - (sq. medallion) "Fancy Hearts" by StampingScrapping* NEW
Stamps - (sentiments) "Mary & Friends" by Woodware.USA*
Ink - "London Fog" by Memento
Stickpin - heart stickpin & butterfly bead by Pizzazz Aplenty
white cardstock & ribbon - from my stash
note: the coral/pink print in the upper right corner is not Echo Park -(just from stash)

*'d items, as always, are from www.stampingscrapping.com

The sketch I followed is the one on the MOJO Monday Challenge right now so I'm entering that one.
http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/ - Sketch Challenge #225

Maggie Card with Sports Theme

2012-01-23T19:08:00.000-05:00

The only Magnolia image I have that has anything to do with sports is this ice skating one! The next closest would be "snow ball throwing"! But ice skating really is a sport so that's what I went with.

This is just a "thinking of you"-type of card so I left it blank inside to write a personal note to someone. I will probably add a stamped Bible verse on the left inside too. This card was kind of fun to make! I used a piece of metalic-coated paper that I took home from work one day. It came in the mail as a brochure for a tool company and it looks like stainless steel. But that did make it a little hard to photograph...it kept picking up the colors in my house! Now that I'm this far with posting this I'm thinking I should have colored Edwin's skates black or gray. Hmmmm. Oh, well.

Items used:

Cardstock and special paper - from my stash

Magnolia stamped image* - "Tilda & Edwin on Ice"-

(colored with colored pencils)

StampingScrappingDesign stamps*: "Anglaise Lace"

& "Tag Accents

& the brand NEW "Tab Basics 1" (die matching stamps)

Memento ink*

Spellbinders Dies*:

"Scallopped Edge Frame"

"Standard Circles. Large"

"Big Scallopped Circles, Large"

"Labels 15"

The flower is one that Karen Stark made for me,

the little roses are from my stash

as are the shiney pearls and buttons.

All *'d items can be purchased at www.stampingscrapping.com

I am able to enter this card in 2 different challenges:

http://thedutchmagnoliachickies.blogspot.com/ - "Flowers & Buttons"

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "Sports"

Blue & White Birthday Card

2012-01-19T21:21:00.002-05:00

This card is for a very special lady for her 80th birthday. I used to work with Pat for many years at Heartwell Mortgage which closed its doors in July of 2007 because of the down-turn of the economy. She was the receptionist there for over 30 years and I was her "fill-in"...she taught me the fine art of being a friendly, in-control receptionist! The days I wasn't needed at the front desk I got to be a "Girl Friday" and help out in whatever department had work for me. It was a great job! And Pat is still a great lady!
Here is the card I will give her tomorrow when I see her:

The sentiments are computer generated.

The flower is made from the all-white "Color Me" Flowers by StampingScrapping.com.

I used watercolor paints to color each layer and glitter glue for some sparkle.

The blue and white theme was chosen, not by me but by the "DutchCardLovers"!

Their theme was a sketch (which I turned on its side) and the colors blue & white.

The 2-sided navy blue border down the middle...and on the inside... is for the "ShoppingOur Stash" Challenge.

Below is the inside of the card; the wording (on the left) is again computer generated.

A list of ingredients:

Some cardstock (off-white, navy) are from my stash

Blue & White print paper is from PaperPizazz

Blue & White check is Paper Studio

Cryogen* cardstock for white die cuts

"Color Me" Flower* from StampingScrapping.com

Ranger Stickles* - "Star Dust"

Memento Dye Ink - "Paris Dusk"

Verve Stamp - Bible verse

Heart stamp is Inkadinkadoo - "Love & Friendship" set

"Vintage Flourish" Stamp - Stampabilities

Border Punch - Martha Stewart "Doily Lace"

Spellbinder Dies* - "Labels 15"

Queen & Co. Pearls* - "Denim"

Adhesives: ScorTape* & Glue Dots*

Ribbon, from my stash

*As usual, the *'d items came be discovered at www.stampingscrapping.com

I am entering this card in 2 challenges:

http://dutchcardlovers.blogspot.com/ - #122 "Sketch + Blue & White"

http://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/ - #35 "Across the Border"

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment! I love to hear from fellow bloggers/crafters!

HM Black & White, No Flowers Card

2012-01-16T17:30:00.001-05:00

The House Mouse Challenge right now is "Black & White" and the challenge at Craftycardmakers is "No Floral Embellishments" so...I came up with this sort-of simple card. I was SO tempted to put a little pink on Mudpie's ears and nose like I usually do but restrained myself and actually followed the "black & white ONLY" rule!

Items used:

House Mouse Stamp* - "Contented Mudpie" -

(colored with colored pencils)

Stampcraft Stamp - "Thank You"

StampingScrapping Design Border Stamp* - "Tab Basics 1", die matching stamps

Stampabilities Ink - Dye Ink, black

Cardstock, all from my stash

Queen & Co. Pearls* - "Snowflake"

Black ribbon - from my stash

*these items came be found/purchased at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

I am entering this in the 2 challenges mentioned above:

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - #111 "All Black & White ONLY"

http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/ - #59 "No Floral Embellishments"

Thanks for stopping by today! If you have a moment, please leave a comment so I know you were here!

My Treasure Box, Using "Kraft"

2012-01-14T14:15:00.000-05:00

We finally have snow in west Michigan! It is SOOOOO beautiful! Just got back inside from a walk through the winter wonderland of our neighbohood. Took several pictures!
Right now I want to show you the little box I made for one of my grandaughters...not sure which one! The box is made out of "kraft" cardstock. The sides really should be decorated too, but I ran out of time.
I am entering this 4"x4"x2" box in 3 challenges:
http://thedutchmagnoliachickies.blogspot.com/ - "A Creation -Not a Card"
http://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/ - Challenge #34 "All That Glitters..."
http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "Kraft Paper"

What I used to create my little "treasure" box:

1) Magnolia stamps*- "Tilda as Mermaid" & (accessory) "Fish"

...colored with colored pencils

2) SSD stamps*- "Anglaise Lace" Circles

3) Glue Dots Minis*

4) Cuttlebug & Cuttlebug embossing folder* -"Hearts"

5) Spellbinder dies* - Large Scalloped Circles & Standard Circles, Lg.

6) Ranger Stickles* - "Icicles"

7) Rhinestones & Ribbon, from my stash

8) Cardstock, from my stash

9) Martha Stewart scoring board

*As always, the *'d items can be found at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

2 New Birthday Cards

2012-01-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

In late December we have 2 birthdays in our family...one is my grandaughter Lilly (2) on Christmas Day and the other is son-in-law Russ on December 30. But with the busyness of the holidays we did not celebrate them until now. Tonight we are getting together for a b-day party! My husband turns 60 on January 9 so we will "celebrate" that one too!
First up is Lilly's card:

The items used for this card are as follows:

Cardstock is all from my stash
the sentiment was computer generated
the stamp is a Wild Rose Studio - "Dog and Chick"* colored w/colored pencils
the die cut frame is a Spellbinder - "Scalloped Edge Frame"*
adhesive - Scor Tape
half-pearls* & ribbon from my stash

The second card is Russ's:

The items used on this one are:

tree stamp (old one, unbranded??)
ink: Memento*
"Happy Birthday" stamp from Imaginations
Stickles - "Icicle"*
SSCC - "Terrific Tab Dies" with matching*
SSCC - "Tab Basics 2" stamps*
square brass brads, from my stash
cardstock, also from my stash

I used Cindy's new tab die with the matching stamp for this card. I printed the stamped border a little too light but I knew I was going to print the sentiment over it and didn't want them "fighting"! At first I wasn't sure how to use the tabs but after experimenting with placement I really like them! Like tucking a note or extra greeting into your card! Pretty shapes too!

The inside sentiment is computer generated. The font is called "Peggy Font" (I think). If anyone is interested I can look up the details on that font. Just let me know.

As usual, all of the *'d items are available at Cindy's amazing online store: http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

I am entering this second card in the challenge at SSCC; the challenge is "Dies".

To go there click here: http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/

Christmas is Over, the New Year Has Begun

2012-01-03T22:53:00.000-05:00

I don't really like the sound of that..."Christmas is Over"...we are suppose to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long! Remembering the precious gift of a Savior and sharing that joy every single day should be my goal. But the reality is that I get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of every-day life that I forget. THIS year I will try harder to remember...Jesus is the "reason for the season"...and He's the reason for everything else too!
But the New Year certainly has begun! The fudge is finally gone! I had to go back to work today. The Christmas tree is down and most of the decorations are put away...my living room looks huge again! But I kind of miss the glow and twinkle of hundreds of tiny lights in the corner where the tree was. I write notes to myself every year now and tuck them away with my Christmas "stuff" telling me what to use next year and new ideas on how to streamline or improve or change the "theme". Do any of you do that too? I used to think I'd remember the next year...I'm more realistic now. I know how forgetful I am! And sometimes my ideas are just so amazingly good (LOL) I don't want to risk forgetting.
The SMASH books were a big success...well, at least the girls all seemed to like them alot! Two of the girls, the two w/o tiny children, took time to look at each page, ooohhhing and aaahhhing at their favorites. I think Linzy will probably use her's the most...it just fits her personality. She started right in on using it...had everyone in the family write something that very night at the Christmas gathering.

This is Kate signing Linzy's SMASH book. Kate is the oldest daughter; Chris is #2...she is in the background holding her new son Jonathan (2 1/2 mos.); Linz is #3 and Emily is #4.

Our 2 sons John and Jeff (aka Biff) are mixed in there too.

This is Emily, and YES, she really is THAT pregnant! She is tall and thin and her little belly does actually look just like a bowling ball! We went bowling before our Christmas party at home this year...everyone wants to do family activities instead of lots of gifts. We had a great time! Even the little 2 year olds pushed bowling balls down the lanes!

Emz, Me, Linz...with proper Christmas headgear!

December 25 is Lilly's birthday too! She turned 2 this year. She had a little trouble blowing out both candles...Dad (Dave) had to help!

Well, if you've read this far, Thank you! for letting me ramble and introduce some of my family to you.

As we head into this new year together as friends, crafters and fellow bloggers may we all enjoy

God's daily Blessing!

The SMASH Books Are Done!

2011-12-19T13:08:00.000-05:00

FINALLY! I got all four of the Smash books that I am giving my four daughters for Christmas done! I took lots of pictures of what I used and the finished pages. Hope you enjoy seeing my huge accomplishment!

First up is a picture of all the "stuff" I collected to add to the books:

Here is a list of some of the items:

* printed sticky notes

* various stickers

* Smash mini note tabs

* Smash pads

* elastic headbands

* die cut chipboard tags

* colored paperclips

* vellum tiny envelopes

* mini zip-lock plastic bags

* little calendars

* colored note cards

* print cardstock & acct ledger pages

* die-cut shapes

Also pictured below: stamps and ink, adhesives

I have a large island in my kitchen so I was able to spread all my stuff out and work on all the books at the same time. I would concentrate on one but when I used a stamp I would try to stamp the same one in all or most of the books.

Before getting started I die cut some of the lined colored notecards to add to some of the pages that were not lined at all...I know my girls love to write alot! Empty lines on a notecard are encouraging...just waiting to be filled!

I used printed cardstock to make pockets which I added to a few pages and in the front cover of each book. I also made a few clear plastic pockets but they didn't turn out as well. I had the wrong kind of plastic...too slippery I think.

In each book I tucked in a pocket a small zip-lock bag of extra note cards, die cuts, tags, embellishments and the Smash Pad pages.

I will encourage my girls to watch a few You Tube tutorials on the Smash books. I watched some and was totally inspired!

Here are just a few pages that show some stickers and stamps I added as well as the bright flower die cuts.

The Smash books come with a wonderful variety of 2-sided heavy cardstock pages, beautiful and unusual designs as well as thought provokoing words. I will tell my girls that if there is something they don't care for they can simply cover it with a pictures or note, etc.

A few more example pages; 2 of the girls have/will have new babies so I was sure to include some baby boy pages! The colored notecards were so easy to use and became nice design elements.

I didn't do anything to the covers of the books. They are already embossed with a really neat design and I wanted to keep them neat and clean, easy to carry and tuck in a book bag or diaper bag or purse, without stuff falling off! And to keep them closed I bought the elastic headbands which fit perfectly...I know Smash has some available in cool colors but these were cheaper...and I AM Dutch!

If anyone has questions about how I did anything in these books just leave a comment and I will get back with you soon!

I'd LOVE to hear what you think of this project anyway!!

I got my Smash books at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

as well as a bunch of the other stuff used in these books!

Christmas Card with a Bit of Recycling

2011-12-05T16:15:00.001-05:00

Well, today I am finally posting a card that I have been working on...off & on...for a few weeks now! I cut the main die cut and "admired" it for at least a week...'cause I couldn't figure out what to do with it at first. The last time I used this die I added flowers that matched the "flower silhouettes" on the 2 ends, so I decided to try the same thing only with poinsettias. So here is what I came up with!

I am entering this card in one challenge at http://shoppingourstash.blogspot.com/

The challenge is #28 - either a "digi image" or "recycled" card. I used a recycled sentiment from a Christmas card I got last year...its on the inside of the card.

I like to hold the 2 front pieces together with something when the card is closed so this time I used a paper "strap" decorated with leaves and a small "hook & loop" self-adhesive set that can be used over and over.

It is hard to see in my photos but I did use a lot of Stickles! The poinsettias have some and the dark green stripes on the inside. Some of the green card stock is glitter paper.

Here is my list of ingredients:

Card stock: DCWV - "Latte Matstack" & "Holiday Collection"

Die cut: from the Sizzix "Card, A2 Gate Fold w/Flower Silhouette"*

Flowers & Leaves: EK Success "Flowers & Leaves" punch

Stamp: "Merry Christmas" and black Die Ink by Stampabilities

Glue Dots*

Stickles - "Icicle"*

Kool tak - Hook & Loop*

Small flower sequins are from my stash

A recycled Christmas card!

* Starred items are all available at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

Chef Gilli with Flourishes

2011-12-04T21:36:00.001-05:00

Good evening! Just enough time to do a quick post so I can enter this Gilli card in the "Flourishes" challenge #21 at http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/
Here is my card:

Ingredients:

The stamped image is "Gilli Chef" colored with colored pencils

the kraft & green cardstocks are from my stash

the red with the FLOURISHES is Best Creation, from the Merry Christmas glitter pad

the gingerbread men are Mrs. Grossman's stickers

the sentiment is computer generated

its all held together with Glue Glider "High Tac"

Sizzix Die Cut B-day Card

2011-11-25T17:22:00.001-05:00

Today is Black Friday, and No, I did not go out shopping today at all! Did a little online Christmas shopping last night though...at Black Friday prices!

Anyway, this card, with so much black on it, I thought would be appropriate today! This was my daughter Emily's birthday card. The whole card is a die cut from the Sizzix die* called "Card, A2 Gate Fold w/Flower Silhoutte". The flowers are 3 layers: the first layer is a matching Sizzix "Scalloped Flower"; 2nd layer is a silk polkadot flower I had; top layer is a punch out from the "Flowers & Leaves" EK Success punch, plus a rhinestone. The little flowers and ribbon are from my stash. The 2-sided cardstock is called "Out of Print" by Basic Grey*.

On the inside are 3 different stamps: the Bible verse is from My Heart Stamps For You, the "Happy Birthday" is All Night Media, and the birthday sentiment is ???

* the starred items are available @ http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ ...I think they are part of the Black Friday Sale even! Check it out!

Thankful!

2011-11-23T12:40:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to YOU!

Yes, I'm thankful for so many things in this "Thankful" season! I'm thanking God today, first, that I may know Him...because Jesus His Son made that possible by paying for my sins on the cross; and also for the many, many blessings I experience every single day: the love of family and friends, the abundance of good "things" like my lovely home, my faithful church, plenty of food and clothing, the beauty of nature, good health...but especially the priveledge of living in a country that still treasures freedom and the people willing to serve in the armed forces to defend that freedom.

I realize that many people are not as "fortunate" as me and may find it painful to read about my blessings. I do understand that and my heart goes out to you. We all go through different seasons of our lives...this is a very pleasant one for me. But there will undoubtedly be other seasons more difficult to bear. I am thankful today that...come what may...I know I will be carried through by Someone far stronger and capable than me, my Redeemer, who reminds me each day:
"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

And I am thankful for all my blogging/crafting friends that I have met through my cardmaking and blogging! I'm hoping & praying that each of you has a very blessed Thanksgiving holiday!
This simple card is for all of you reading this!
It's simple because it has only 2 main elements: the printed cardstock and the die cut. The cardstock is called "Hello Fall" by Best Creation; the die cut is a GEO Die, this is #10; and the sentiments are from the SSD Stamps set "Happy Fall". I also used Glue Dots and Stix 2 Anything pop squares. All of these items are available at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ . The baler twine and the tan cardstock are from my stash.

Monochromatic Thank You Card

2011-11-18T15:59:00.001-05:00

This pink & white Thank You card is being entered in:
http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ Challenge #108, "Thankful Cards" and
http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/ "Monochromatic"

Ingredients:
HM stamp is "Contented Mudpie"*
(colored w/colored pencils)
Flower is from SSD Gardenia Pack, pink & purple*
Die cuts are Spellbinders Labels 4*
Cuttlebug embossing folder
"Thank You" stamp - ??
Ribbon & Card stock are from my stash
*starred items are from StampingScrapping.com

Hope you are all having a nice, productive Friday!
Happy weekend to you all!

A "Red & White" Maggie Card

2011-11-17T19:00:00.001-05:00

Good evening! I haven't entered any cards in challenges for a couple weeks now so that is what I'm doing tonight. I used a Magnolia image, actually 2 of them, for this "Thinking of You" card for the RED & WHITE challenge.

I don't remember the names of the 2 Maggie images, the sitting Tilda or the stack of books, but if someone does know the name(s) please let me know. I got the stamped images from a friend quite a while ago.

The stack of books I did alter slightly...I removed the bottom book! So the stack is a little shorter but it works perfectly with Tilda because it looks like her feet are each resting on a different book. I used colored pencils again and this time I'm not so happy with the results. Oh well. Its already in the mail!

Ingredients used:

1) Card stock is all from my stash

as are the heart stickers and the red rhinestones

2) Sentiment is computer-generated

3) Bible verse is a Verve stamp

4) Spellbinders dies*: Classic Circles Lg & Labels 4

5) Glueglider PermaTac*

6) and of course, the Magnolia* images

*from StampingScrapping.com

I am entering this in the Magnolia Stamplovers "Red & White" challenge at

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/

Oops! I jumped the gun on this one! I will have to wait until Nov. 20 to enter that challenge...this week's was supposed to be "Christmas". And I thought I was getting organized!!

New Baby: Jonathan!

2011-11-14T20:48:00.001-05:00

Wow! Its been a couple very busy weeks around here! I now have SIX grandchildren! The new one is a tiny adorable boy-bundle named Jonathan Russell (Dad's name is Russell). He was born November 2 at about 4:30 AM, weighed 6# 4 oz. and was 19 inches. Mom (Chris) and baby did fine and they are home adjusting to a new life, actually the whole family is readjusting. His 2 older brothers play just as noisily as before and Jonathan sleeps right through it! Here he is:

I offered to make some "new baby" announcements for them. I made about 15, all just a little bit different but with the same basic BLUE card stock and the same nursery animal stamped images (from Stampin' Up). On the inside is a little form for Chris to fill out with all the pertinent data, and a Bible verse: either

Ps. 139:13-14 "For you formed my inward parts: You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." OR
Ps.127:3-5a "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them..."

I had quite a stash of colored buttons so I attached some on most of the cards. I tried to use very flat embellishments on some of the cards so it would be easier for her to mail them. I only took a picture of the last 2 cards. In the blank area inside the card Chris will attach a wallet-size picture of Jonathan.

Autumn Anniversary

2011-11-06T23:12:00.001-05:00

65th Anniversary card for a sweet couple at my church, Don & Alice.

Saturday was a beautiful fall day for their "open house"!

This card features 2 special items that Cindy carries at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ :

The lacey folded die cut is from a GEO Die (this is #8)

The designer paper is from Best Creation 6x6 pad called "Hello Fall"

(the scalloped circle is one of the glitter die cuts in the set of 20 sheets)

Both of these items are easy to use so you can make a quick yet beautifully detailed card!

I also used some SSD flowers- "Flowers & Brads, Purples", but the green one

is from another pkg.- "Flowers Plus, Beige & Olive".

I have several pkgs and often mix and match colors and sizes to get the perfect layering look I want.

I love using these pretty flowers! Cindy carries such a huge variety of them...and they are only $2.84/pkg!

The little tag is half of a K & Co. die cut from the "Blue Awning" set. On that I stamped the

"Happy Anniversary" from the "Congratulations" set of Cindy's (SSD) stamps.

The ribbon, rhinestones and tan card stock are from my stash.

Halloween Card & Treat Bag

2011-10-27T22:40:00.000-04:00

You know those GEO Dies I was ooohing and aaahing about? Well I did use some on one more Halloween card and then made a treat bag to sort of match. The large die cut is GEO Die #8 and small is GEO Mini #3. I attached the big one to the card with PopDots , then the mini to that one with PopDots and the added the little cute ghost with PopDots. I like to be able to see through the lacey designs.

Below is a side-ish view to show the "popped" effect. I used a double layer of PopDots between the 2 GEO Dies diecuts. Some how I think they seem to have an illusion of spinning, maybe because these remind me of a pinwheel.

Here is my list of ingredients: (everything with a * can be found at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ )

PopDots*

ScorTape*

Glue Dots*

Geo Dies*- Lg. #8 & Mini #3

Cardstock is Best Creation 6x6 Glitter pad called "Happy Haunting"* (all of those patterns!)

Circle stamp is JustRite*, colored with colored pencils

"Happy Halloween" stamp is from StampingScrapping Designs, the "Holiday" set*

Ribbon & Buttons are from my stash

Now a few pix of the treat bag I made. I have 5 grandkids so I think I'm going to need to kick it in gear and quick make 4 more! The bag topper is a Sizzix die cut. The die plate is called "Treat Bag Toppers"*. So easy! It has the cute scalloped edge and 2 little holes near the top for ribbon or string. I stapled it on the bag and then added the decorations. The die plate has 3 sizes of toppers, small, medium amd large (I used large) as well as hearts, ovals and a fancy label. The toppers punch out as a square and have a line to show where to fold them in half. The other toppers are different shapes...even cuter!

My other ingredients (besides the candy!):

Vintage Black Twine*

Witches hat, face & feet, from the "Best Witches" set from StampingScrapping*

(and the "treat" sentiment)

"Spooky" sentiment is from the "Holidays" set, also from SS

Just Hello!

2011-10-27T16:18:00.001-04:00

No project today...just saying hello. And I have to brag a bit! I got to go to Cindy's store (http://www.stampingscrapping.com/) and see alot of the new products they are now carrying! Wow! What cool stuff! Have you looked at the GEO-Dies? They make the most amazing intricate designs! They are designed to work in almost any cutting/embossing machine. Here's one:

I've used a few of them already. One I put a small image in the center and on another I used PopDots and put a mini right on top of a regular size one. Looked great! I'll post my creations soon, I hope! Just need a bit more time in my day!

Hope you are having an excellent week!

Have a safe Halloween!

My Mom's Birthday Card

2011-10-23T16:38:00.002-04:00

My dear little mother is having her 86th birthday next week. We are going to Wisconsin to see her then and celebrate the special day with her. I'll also get to spend a little time with my sister and 2 brothers. My sister, Judy, likes to stamp and make cards too so I will undoubtedly haul along some of my crafty stuff and we will have fun together. Mom just watches and smiles.
Anyway....I followed a sketch from Mojo Monday for this card and will enter it in their challenge at:
http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/ - #211.

Here is my list of items I used in making this one:

(the *'d items came be found at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/)

Stamped flower image is from Stampin' Up

Papers and cardstock are Paper Studio and DCWV*

Edge punch is "Doily Lace" from Martha Stewart*

Rhinestones are from Michaels

Birthday sntiment is from JustRite*

Glue Dots* & ScorTape*

Ribbon and button are from my stash

Inside:

Computer generated greeting

Bible verse is from Verve Stamps

Another HM Halloween Card

2011-10-15T16:36:00.001-04:00

Not sure if we are allowed to enter more than one card in the HM Challenge or not but I thouhgt I would at least post this one here 'cause I actually like how it turned out! I always loved carving pumpkins as a kid and with my kids while they grew up but now no one does it any more. Sooooo....I got this idea to "carve " a pumpkin face on a card! What do you think?
(I sent an email to America at HM and she says its OK to enter another card! So I will!)

The main cardstock is kraft and the orange on the inside has been inked with white, yellow and orangge ink using the Tim Holtz blending tool. The HM stamp is "Feelin' Rosey" (Maxwell minus the teacup!).

I really do love the teacup but I keep finding things that would be so cute to see him peeking over the edge of...I just can't resist! Had to try it!

The "Trick or Treat" stamp and the sparkley flower and the "Twinkle Jewels" are all from StampingScrapping.com. And so is the "Happy Halloween" and the little ghost on the inside.

Leaves and green wire are from my stash.

Entering this one in:

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - "Halloween Color" #106,

(use black, orange, yellow and green)

I took these pictures on my deck which is totally covered with leaves right now. We live in a woods and because its so windy today it is just raining leaves!

Here's a picture of my "back yard":

I hope you are all having a lovely day, wherever you are and whatever season it is for you! God bless!

A Mousey Halloween Card

2011-10-12T08:45:00.002-04:00

Yesterday evening I finished my first little Halloween card. I don't usually make them because we don't really celebrate Halloween much. But I like the colors associated with it and especially the colors called for in the flollowing challenges that I am entering this in:

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - "Halloween Color" #106,

(use black, orange, yellow and green)

http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/ #18 "Purple, Orange, Green, Black & White (pick 3)"

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - "Halloween"

Items used:

House Mouse stamp "Contented Mudpie"* &

hand-drawn pumpkin, both colored with colored pencils

"Happy Halloween" sentiment is computer generated

Silk leaf, wire curly-Q's, black ribbon and netting - all from my stash

The green Halloween cardstock is Imaginisce

(the rest of the cardstock are brands I forgot to make note of)

The "BOO" sentiment is from the "Holidays" set* from StampingScrapping

Inks: orange is Stampabilities die ink, black is StazOn solvent ink

Adhesives: Glue Dots*, ScorTape*, ProGlider- high tac*

Rhinestones are from Target, I think!

AND... I used LOTS of "Icicle" Stickles*!

Items with a * are available @ http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you have a minute, please leave a comment...just "Hello" is fine! I'm trying to find out if I have my settings for my blog set wrong. Is it difficult to leave comments here? I do have that trouble with a few other peoples' blogs and hope I am not causing frustration for others! Let me know if there is a problem! THANK YOU!

(my email: fivensandie@aol.com)

A Wedding Card

2011-10-09T19:17:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Bryan & Rachel who became husband and wife this past Friday evening! This card is for them.

List of items used to make this card:

Stamped image is "Medallion de Fleur" from Clear Dollar Stamps

Lavender ink is from Studio G

Rhinestones are by Kaiser Craft

Purple cardstock is from the "Latte" collection by DCWV

White cardstock is Cryogen

Flower is from StampingScrapping

The "Congratulations" sentiment is also from StampingScrapping

from the "Wedding/Celebration" set

Punched border is "Doily Lace" by Martha Stewart

Ribbon and netting is from my stash

I am entering this in one challenge:

http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/ - #46 "Anything Goes"

Card for an 80th Birthday

2011-10-08T21:03:00.000-04:00

This afternoon we attended an open house for a gentleman from our church who's 80th birthday is tomorrow. He's amazing...he certainly does not look or act his age. Great attitude and a steady, happy disposition. I hope someone can say that of me when I get to be that age! But I fear I'm getting a bit more "crotchity" every year! I should have asked him his secret!
Anyway, the card I made for him turned out okay, except for the "80th" little tag...not happy with that for some reason. I think it stands out too much, probably because the "Happy Birthday" sentiment didn't stamp very black. It looks worse in the picture than it did in "real life"! Oh well, its done and gone. Hope he likes it!

The flower image I used is a Magnolia* but I can't find the name of it. Anyone know?

I colored it with colored pencils and drew the "stitches" with red marker.

The birthday sentiment is an Allnight Media stamp.

The red cardstock is DCWV from the "Holiday Collection".

The embossing folder I used was from Cuttlebug/Provo Craft.*

which I sanded to give it the distressed look.

The rest of the cardstock and paper is from my stash.

So are the rhinestones, and red sparkle cord.

As always, I used lots of Glue Dots* and ScorTape*.

(the *'d items I got from StampingScrapping.com)

Here are the challenges I am entering this one in:

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "Distressed"

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - "Red"

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/ - Sketch #209

http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/ -"Anything Goes"

Autumn Colors! Fall Card...

2011-10-06T23:07:00.000-04:00

Wow! Fall is here! All of a sudden! The leaves are changing color right before my eyes...so pretty, especially on a sunny day like today! God is THE most amazing artist!

This evening I finally finished this card that I have been working on (off & on) for a couple weeks now. I colored the Gilli image quite some time ago so I just needed to re-colored the background around her a bit.

The Gilli image is called "Gilli Chef" (from http://www.anary.com/) and she is colored with colored pencils, as are the little leaves, apples, and pumpkins...those are from clear stamps designed and sold by http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ (from the Happy Fall set and the Best Witches set).

The dies I used are Spellbinders, the Standard Circles Lg. and Big Scalloped Circles Lg.

The cardstock, paper, and bailer twine (bow) are from my shamefully large stash!

Oh, and the sentiments are computer generated.

I am entering this one in one challenge, #17 - "Fall Card" at http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/.

I hope you are all enjoying this lovely Indian Summer weather we're having! Those of you in other parts of the country...and the world (!)...may you also be blessed with some beautiful days this month!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment if you like....I love to read them!

Happy Fall Y'all!

2011-10-02T17:03:00.000-04:00

That is the theme for the challenge at Woodware USA Clear Stamps. I love making Fall cards...the colors are so rich and warm. And I love using leaves in my designs. This is an "after-surgery" Get Well card.

Here is the list of ingredients for this one:

The stamped images on the yellow paper are a combination of "Leafy Swirls" from Woodware USA Clear Stamps and "Tiny Leaves" from Clear Dollar Stamps

The stamped Get Well sentiment is from Stampabilities

The inside sentiment (next photo) is computer generated

The flower is from StampingScrapping.com

The DP is from the "Indian Summer Fall Stack" by DCWV

On the inside I used several sizes of Labels 4 die cuts from Spellbinders

The gold stretchy string is from my stash

The brown ink I used is Vivid

The challenge I'm entering this card in is #45 "Happy Fall Y'all" at

http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/

Mojo Monday #208

2011-09-30T08:45:00.001-04:00

I needed to make a b-day card for my sister and I really liked this sketch design so....here's what I did! Now all I have to do is get it in the mail on time (an then not be late for work today!)

And because I was in such a hurry to get it in the mail, I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the card so I will list only the items used on the outside:
Paper/cardstock is from K&Company "Que Sera Sera" and Paper Studio
Flower is from StampingScrapping
Ribbon and shredded hem tape and rhinestone are from my stash
Stamped sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo
(Inside is a Verve stamped Bilble verse)

I am entering this card in the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #208 at http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

SSCC Sketch Challenge

2011-09-25T23:07:00.000-04:00

One more card today! I followed the sketch challenge at the StampingScrapping Challenge Blog and this is what I came up with. The image is a Maggie but I do not know the name of it. Its so cute...just a row of blooming flower pots! Which you can color any color you like...how convenient!
So I'm entering this in the "Sketch Challenge" at http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/

Here's my list of ingredients:
Cardstock is DCWV from the "Indian Summer" collection
Image is a Magnolia* colored with colored pencils
Sentiment is for Woodware USA from the "Mary & Friends" set*
Die cut is Spellbinders Labels 16 *
Ribbon is from my stash, as well as the tiny brad
The 2 flowers are some that Karen S made and sent me (as a prize!). I added a little watercolor paint and some "Stickles" by Ranger.*
Glue Dots*
ScorTape*

*all of these items can be found at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/, at least that's where I got them!

Wow! They gave me one of the "Top 3 Awards" for this one! Thank you, SSCC!!

Round Embossed Card

2011-09-25T16:34:00.000-04:00

Today I am posting a small round card that I made specifically to enter in 2 challenges:
http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/ - #16 "Embossing"
http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/ - #44 "A Fun Sketch"
Please let me know what you think of this one!

Ingredients:
Spellbinders die Big Scalloped Circles Large
Sizzix embossing plate Snow Flowers
Martha Stewart edge punch Doily Lace
Woodware USA sentiment stamp from "Mary & Friends"
Textured Cardstock "Best Occasions"
Cryogen white cardstock
EK Success Large Punch "Flowers & Leaves" (for the leaves)
Watercolor paints to add depth to the flower and leaves
Stampology ink, onyx
Glue Dots
American Crafts ribbon
AND, the flower is one more of the ones that Karen S sent me a couple months ago!
Still enjoying those little beauties, Karen! Thanks!

House Mouse Blog Hop!

2011-09-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

The House Mouse Challenge Blog is celebrating its 3rd birthday with a Blog Hop! I have already visited most of the blogs (Wow! So many adorable cards and projects!) but I plan to go back now and enter my card in some special drawings for more prizes besides the main Blog Hop challenge. If you haven't looked, I reccommend taking a peek at the Hop...very inspiring!
Here is the card I'm entering...a birthday card that will be given to my daughter Linzy (the chef) next week.

The challenge I am entering this in is:
http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - "Birthday with optional bunch of flowers"

Ingredients:
Papers/card stock mostly from The Paper Studio
House Mouse stamp* is "Maxwell's Note", colored with colored pencils
Flowers & leaves are from the EK Success Lg Punch called "Flowers & Leaves" (go figure!)
The little branch punch might be Fiskar ??
The "Happy Birthday" sentiment stamp is Stampin' Up
Spellbinders Standard Circles Lg.* with Cuttlebug*
Pop Dots*
Glue Dots*
Adhesive is Scor Tape*
McGill Tool Set* & Cushioned Surface* used to make flowers
Ink is StazOn Jet Black
Ribbon and pink pearls are from my stash
*all this stuff is available at StampingScrapping.com
Comments are always welcome! Just click on the Comment "counter"! Thanks!

Late addition: 9-21-11
I'm now adding a picture of the inside of the card.

First Christams Card of 2011

2011-09-14T20:07:00.001-04:00

No, I'm really not so organized and "with-it" that I am starting my Christmas cards early! I am entering this card in a challenge that called for a Christmas/Holiday/Winter theme. And I had this "freebie" image from Waltzing Mouse Stamps that I've wanted to use, so...voila! A Christmas card!

Ingredients:

-Red & green papers are from my stash

-Lt. green paper is printed with the "Leafy Swirls" stamps from Woodware Clear Stamps

-Girl image is called "Harriet Digital Stamp" from Waltzing Mouse Stamps, colored w/colored pencils

-Sentiment is from the Seasons Greetings stamp set from StampingScrapping.com

-Rhinestones are from Kaiser Craft
-The white on the girl's coat is covered with Icicle Stickles by Ranger

I am entering this card in 2 challenges:
"Sketch Challenge w/ tag" #64 @ http://waltzingmousesketchchallenge.blogspot.com/
"Happy Holidays Challenge" #43 @ http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/

End-of-Summer Review

2011-09-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is, the middle of September already! Where did the summer go so quickly?! Not ready for Fall yet! But as I was out driving today I noticed many trees with leaves turning red already! Last week we were sitting on the beach on Lake Michigan @ Ludington St. Park. It was a beautiful sunny day with a totally clear blue sky...today is completely overcast, very cool and fall-like! If you like sudden changes in weather you should live in Michigan. But there IS alot of natural beauty in this state. If I get time I will post a few of our camping/hiking/outdoors pictures.

I couldn't leave home without my card-making supplies...at least some of them! So I took all my favorite stuff to the campground and made cards 3 different times. Here are a few of the cards I made, not for any challenges, just for giving to people!

The HM stamp and the butterfly stamp I had not used before so it was fun coloring them for the first time! The sympathy card with the fall colors was inspired by a cool rainy day while camping. The picture looks a bit faded...it is actually a brighter orange and a rich brown AND there are lots of Stickles for sparkle all over the orange leaves and stems. The brown over-stamp is a set called Leafy Swirls from Woodware Clear Stamps.
I won't put much info about "ingredients" this time, but if someone has questions, just leave a comment and I will try to answer.
Thanks for all the sweet comments so many of you leave! So appreciate that!

Summer Polka Dot Card

2011-08-13T17:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday, Friends! Its been a rainy day here today...with lots of thunder and even a little sunshine mixed in! Perfect day to spend a little time in my craftroom. This "Thank You" card is for a very helpful friend, cousin-in-law actually (she & I both married into the family so perhaps that makes us out-laws instead of in-laws!).

I am entering this one in 3 challenges:

The #13-Polka Dots Challenge at http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/

The Sketch Challenge at http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/

The Summer Challenge at http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/

Here is a list of most of the ingredients used for this card:

Magnolia stamped image is Tilda in Swimsuit*,

colored with colored pencils

The bench stamped image is from C.C. Designs*

The blue flower is from SSD, the pastel Gardenia Pack*

(The pink flowers are part of a silk flower I took apart)

Cardstock & paper - Imaginisce, Doodlebug Designs, & my stash

The punched leaf branches...can't remember brand of punch

Green glitter glue from Studio G

Lots of Glue Dots* and Glue Glider Pro adhesive*

Both ribbons and the "Thank You" stamp are also from my stash

NOTE: Everything marked with a * I got at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of this one (or of any of my stuff!) I always love to hear from you!

MOJO Monday Sketch Challenge #202

2011-08-07T21:55:00.001-04:00

Tonight we had a birthday celebration for 3 of the "kids"...ranging in age from 31 to 52! The card I'm posting is the one I gave my son-in-law, Steve. I recently picked up a set of Stampin Up safari animals stamps that I needed an excuse to use. So I did! And I'm entering it in the MOJO Monday 202 Challenge at
http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/

All of the cardstock is from my stash...some has been in my craftroom for years!

The diecuts are: Spellbinders Standard Circles Lg. & Big Scallopped Circles Lg.

The glass "beads" are Twinkle Jewels from Stampingscrapping.com.

The Happy Birthday stamp is from Imaginations. On the inside is a Verve stamp, the Bible verse: Psalm 37:4, and more Stampin Up animals!

Chef Linzy = Gilli Chef

2011-07-20T10:46:00.002-04:00

Good Morning! Today I am posting a special card, one that has been "imagined" for several months now. Ever since this adorable Gilli stamp came out I knew I would have to buy it! She looks just like my daughter, Linzy, who just happens to be a chef!

This week she went to Detroit for a few days of extensive training for new menu items her restaurant will be serving. She works for a well-known chain of exclusive restaurants and makes the most amazing Italian food you've ever tasted! They pair it with a wonderful Chianti and the whole dining experience is always total enjoyment. We go there only as a special treat...it IS a little beyond our price-range, but always worth the "splurge"!

So I finally made this little "Congratulations" card for Linz to let her know how proud we are of her and to acknowledge all her hard work.

Linz may not like it but I can't resist putting a picture of her on here so you can see what I mean about the Gilli image being so perfect for her. You can't see it in the picture but she does have long blonde hair!

So a quick list of "ingredients" for my card:

Stamped image- Gilli Chef (from anary.com)

Stamped sentiment- Congratulations (from StampingScrapping.com)

Cardstock- from my stash

Flowers & stamped image on the inside- I need to do a little research to remember" where I got them!

The chef's whole white outfit is covered with Stickles!

And I AM entering this card in Anary's challenge at http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/. The challenge is #12- "Anything Goes".

A Clean & Simple Summer Flowers Card

2011-07-17T23:26:00.000-04:00

This evening I made a card for 2 challenges: the "Clean & Simple" Challenge at http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ and the "Summer Flowers" challenge at http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com/. This card went together almost by itself! It was THAT easy! Of course, having those pretty flowers from StampingScrapping ready to just glue on DOES help to simplify the process! The flowers are from the "Flowers, etc.-Red & Yellow" set. The buttons are from my stash. The green cardstock is from Die Cuts With a View and the "grass" paper is from ProvoCraft. I used Memento Ink (Bamboo Leaves) and 3 Stampin' Up stamps (leaves, stem, & sentiment). The ribbon is from a remnant bin at my local fabric store. I used lots of Glue Dots to adhere the flowers and the bow. I LOVE Glue Dots!

New Camera Finally!!

2011-07-10T21:39:00.001-04:00

Yes, after complaining endlessly about my "old" sad camera I finally purchased a new one last week. I got a Nikon Coolpix S6100 with touch screen, 7x zoom, and 16.0 Megapixels. I have been practicing taking pictures quite a bit but haven't worked my way through the "User's Guide" yet. So far I am very happy with it! The pictures of the "Joshy" b-day card were taken with that camera. The Macro Mode works great!
Here is a picture of a pretty "dish garden" my sister made for me for my birthday. I love how accurate the colors are, even using flash. And nice clear detail.

Wow! Blogger is CRAZY today!

2011-07-10T15:25:00.002-04:00

It took forever to get on here and Blogger keeps giving me "Service Unavailable ERROR 503" messages. Sure hope they can fix it soon!

I'm trying to post the main picture of the card I made for the "Make a Splash" challenge. The items I used are: HouseMouse stamp "Feeling Rosey" (altered, added hand drawn inner tube in place of the tea cup!) colored w/ colored pencils, the solid textured cardstock is from Best Occasions, the puffy alphabet stickers are from EK Success, the water-splash stickers are from Mrs. Grossman's, there are lots of Icicle Stickles by Ranger on almost everything, and the "water" print paper and rhinestones are from my stash. Now I will try to upload the picture. ....well, it worked! I was even able to add it to the original post.

Mouse Makes a Splash!

2011-07-09T23:22:00.002-04:00

After almost a whole month I am finally posting a new card...this one is for the House-Mouse challenge #99 at http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ called "Make a Splash". The card was for my grandson's birthday on June 28....he turned 4 years old! We didn't get a chance to celebrate it until July 7 so I made the card the day before (of course!)

Well, Blogger is not letting me upload my photos any more....Grrrrr...it looks like they have a new system for uploading now...I don't think I like it!! So all I have so far is a close-up of some of the details. I will try to add another picture tomorrow, along with the info on what I used on this card.

Ok, I was finally able to upload this picture. The info/list of ingredients is in the next post because I was not able to edit this post until now. Sorry for the inconvenience!

My grandson, Josh really liked the card. They have a pool and he is learning to like swimming more each time he goes in the water! Tomorrow is the first day of swimming lessons!

New Card for SSCC with LOTS of Bling!

2011-06-13T20:35:00.008-04:00

Here is my latest creation, a birthday card for my 2nd daughter. Her B-day is not until the end of July so I just might use this for someone else and make her another. We'll see!

Like many of my cards I spent way too much time on this but did enjoy using a few techniques I learned recently. The pictures don't show how much Stickles I used but I put them on almost everything!
Janine, you'd be proud of me...I used my McGill tools to make the flower more of a "cup" so the petals would stand up a bit more. And then I creased the leaves with another of the tools! The purple lines on the flower (which is from a lavender set I got at StampingScrapping.com)I painted on with watercolors, just like you taught us! I like the effect. At the May Retreat Classes I got the Tim Holtz blending tool and I used that on the edges of the die cut and the leaves.
The embossed background is Cryogen White. I used the Sizzix folder called Snow Flowers. I was inspired by one of Anary's recent cards that had the 4 embossed panels behind the "image". Thanks, Anary!! Loved that card! The butterfly is a stamp from Inkadinkadoo. The little tag I made from a Verve square stamp, a generic sentiment stamp and Cindy's lacey circles set is where the tiny 1/2 flower is from. The ink is Studio G; the ribbon and rhinestones and DP are from my stash. I think that's everything!
I am entering this in the SSCC "Embossing Challenge" at:
http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/
Thanks again to all of you who leave sweet comments every so often! Sure enjoy hearing your thoughts!
Happy Monday!

On July 2 I was looking back at some old "posts" and realized I never checked to see who "won" this challenge. So I went to the SSCC site and was pleasantly surprised to see I was listed in the "Top Three"! Thank you, SSCC!!

House Mouse/Flower B-day Card

2011-06-02T19:40:00.006-04:00

I am posting this birthday card again with some changes. I knew it needed something...so I simply added a flower. Now I am much more satisfied with it. And now I can finally enter it in the HM Challenge #96 For the Love of the Game (Green & Yellow/Football) at http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ . Ingredients: HM stamp- Feeling Rosey, Verve stamps- Leafy Swirls & Bible verse (inside), HB stamp is from All Night Media, birthday sentiment (inside) is from Hero Arts, DP- DCWV & others, the flower is from StampingScrapping.com as is the fabric covered brad; the charm & ribbon are from my stash. I used the Standard Circles dies and the Scalloped Circles Lg. dies. Colored pencils were used to color the stamped images. Because this has the pretty flower on it, and a few more stamped inside, I think I will also enter it in the "Flowers" challenge at http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/
Thanks for stopping by! As always, I sure appreciate your kind comments!

Sorry for the confusion!

2011-06-01T17:16:00.006-04:00

My last post was WAY too long and too complicated AND broke the rules for some of the challenges I entered the cards in...the rules about having a DIRECT link to your piece of work. My link was really to all five cards. Am I bad! SO sorry! From now on I will try to have just one card/project per post...and keep it simple! Ah, that wonderful phrase again: "Keep it simple"!!

One of my favorite cards yet...simple! Hmmmmmm...

Verve Challenge for the month of May - 5 Cards

2011-05-29T19:37:00.029-04:00

All five of the cards in this post are for the Verve Stamps Sketch Challenge for the month of May, called Viva la Verve; each week a new sketch was listed to design around. The first card of the five is a birthday card for my son-in-law that I am also entering in the "Anything Goes" Woodware Challenge at http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/ and the "Masculine" StampingScrapping Challenge at http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ .
Once again, I'm not too happy with the blurry quality of the first picture...still saving for a new camera! The layout was a sketch I had to follow for a challenge at Verve Stamps which was not an easy one to deal with for me. I have had for some time now some beautiful printed die cuts that came as a set, called "Que Sera Sera" from K&Co. I took them out and compared them to lots of printed cardstock I have and realized I have a whole tablet of cardstock that matches them so I wanted to incorporate some of them into this card. THAT took even more time! So for ingredients:

all the die cuts are K&Co.

the stamp on the front is Inkadinkadoo

the Bible verse on the inside is Verve

the birthday sentiment is Stampabilities

the DP is from my stash

the navy pearls are Queen & Co., the rhinestones (??)

***The 2nd card's picture is the wrong format (taken with my cell phone) and Blogger won't load it so I have to get another picture of it somehow ....should be interesting since I already gave it to someone!***
OK, I got a not-very-good copy to download and I guess that will have to do! This B-day card has another of the printed die cuts on it and more inside. Actually the little flower on the tag is one too. I had to scan a picture of this card and it made it look like the paper is "warbly" at the top but it wasn't. The ribbon was rose and lime green...not sure why it looks yellow on the side. The die cuts have copper stamped on them in places, that is why I went with the peach colored rhinestones. It really did turn out quite nice. Sorry about the awful picture! Ingredients:

Printed die cuts- K&Co.DP- Imaginesce, K&Co.

Scalloped circle die cut- Spellbinders

Stamp, ribbon, gems, brad- all from my stash

This is the 3rd card, from the Week 3 Sketch at Viva la Verve May 2011 Challenge. (It IS possible I have the weeks mixed up! I'll check their site again and fix it if I have it wrong.) This is also a Birthday card, and with several summer birthdays coming up it will go out to some one soon. Here's the list of ingredients:

Stamps: Verve, Stampabilities (2), and (??-"Best Wishes")

DP: Imaginesce, and from my stash

Flower: StampingScrapping.com

Border punch: Martha Stewart

Ink: Memento, Stampabilities
Ribbon: my stash

Now for the last 2 cards. The Week 4 card is a Sympathy card and will also be entered in the Magnolia challenge: "Dry Emboss Background" at http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ The ingredients: the Rose is a Maggie stamped image, colored with colored pencils; the swirls are Leafy Swirls from Woodware USA, the green cardstock is embossed with a Sizzix folder, the DP is from K&Co., the rhinestones are Queen & Co., ribbon is from my stash.

This last card is, obviously, another birthday card, probably for my oldest daughter Kate. Her birthday is not until June 10 but she is so busy with "life" that she never gets on here so I'm safe showing it! I hope. This sketch was a little hard to work with too, for me anyway. The 3 different color panels at the bottom seemed too busy for me but I did want to try making a background DP using the Woodware USA Leafy Swirls stamps...so that was a good place to use that. Ingredients: Spellbinder die cuts- Standard Circles Lg, Scalloped Circles; HB stamp is Stampabilities (I think); House Mouse stamp is Feeling Rosey, Leafy Swirls is by Woodware USA; DP is DCWV and from my stash, as are the ribbon and charm.
Thanks for looking at this looooong post! Take care!

Now for the BAD news...because I'm new to the Verve site(s) I did not enter my cards correctly into the May2011 Challenge! I did not know we had to link them (again) in a post to the group so NONE of mine are actually entered...they are just sitting in their gallery. Lesson learned. The instructions for "newbies" did not include that last part about linking them in a post...I found that later on my own. Oh well. I still have some nice cards to give away. Have a great day!

Class Pictures and Another New Card

2011-05-16T08:09:00.019-04:00

Okay, I got the "Go Ahead" from Cindy to post pictures of the projects we made in Friday's two classes. Here they are! In this first picture the card in back has a scalloped circle on it that we used a "shaving cream" technique to get that neat marble look!

I love that sanded, embossed paper!

Just a note: everything we used is available at Cindy's online store

http://www.stampingscrapping.com/

The 2nd picture shows a bird cage card on which we had made the bird cage look like old metal by using an acrylic paint dabber made by Adirondack, called Metalics - Silver. The tag in the background has the same stuff but in Pearl on the butterfly. Gives off a nice soft shimmer (which you can't see in my photos!)...very pretty!

The 3rd picture shows the mini page layout we did using several different die cuts and punches and a Tim Holtz blending tool (with felt) to softly ink the Color Me Flower and the scalloped circle AND the background border paper. I'd never used one of those and liked it so much I HAD to buy one on the spot!

These next 2 pictures show the last 2 projects we made: another card and a "gift bag". The card shows another fun technique we used to get a softer marble look on the scalloped circle using a bowl of water and a few drops of Smooch! I love that heart stamp! Its from Cindy's Spellbinders-matching What a Swirl set.

The gift bag was pre-cut and pre-scored for us from a large die (I think Sizzix, correct me if I'm wrong, somebody!) All we had to do (hahaha) was fold it correctly then "fill" it with the Tootsie Rolls and embellish it with the cute die cuts and a sentiment. Oh, and get that string through all those holes. But it turned out SO cute everyone was saying "Aaawwww"!

So, both classes were fun and we learned "stuff"!! THANKS, CINDY!!

WARNING! This is going to be the longest post I've ever done, I'm afraid!

On Saturday I took one of Janine Blackwelder's classes: the McGill flower punch class!!

We each received a tool set and mat (to keep!) as part of the class and then were taught how to use the paper shaping tools and make beautiful flowers! Janine is a good teacher and showed us techniques and amazing little "tweeks" to make the flowers look natural. She also showed us how to emboss a large (8"x8") piece of paper to make that adorable box lid. The flowers are begonias and we used petals from the "Floral Petals" punch. The centers are several layers of the tiny "Daisy" punch. Janine had everything punched and neatly divided into little baggies for us so we could spend our time forming lovely flowers.

The 2nd project we made in Janine's class was the Lily flower name tag. Janine showed us how to color the inside of the petals and add the dots to make it look real. I think it does! So I learned alot and am SO glad I took the class! THANK YOU, JANINE!

Now, the last part of this post is a new card I made last night. I gave out 5 sympathy cards yesterday at church which completely depleted my supply!

So I made 2 very similar and am posting one of them and entering it in Anary's Gilli Challenge,

at http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/ , the challenge is "Black plus one other color". I'm not sure I followed that properly because I did use white also. Hope that's OK, Anary!

Oops...it is now late afternoon and I looked back at this post and just realized I didn't list any "ingredients"! So...

The DP is by K&Co called Black & Ivory Fusion, the Spellbinder dies are Labels 15 and Fleur de Lis, the sentiment is a Bible verse by Verve Stamps, the little branches are a Martha Stewart punch (?) and the handmade flower is another of the ones Karen Stark sent me! (Can't remember the border punch name/brand)

So that's it! I have been sitting at my computer for over an hour and do need to get on with my day! But I really wanted to share with those of you who couldn't come to the classes some of what we did so you could enjoy it a bit too! We missed you!

Have a great day! Please leave comments on anything in this post. I LOVE to hear from you all!

2 New Cards...Both Say "Congratulations"!

2011-05-14T18:11:00.004-04:00

This Congratulations card is going to be for a young lady graduating from high school very soon. I will be entering it in the Case Study Challenge at
http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com/ - Challenge # 39
Here's a quick list of ingredients:
DP is K&Company - Que Sera Sera
Stamps are Woodware- Leafy Swirls and
the "Congratulations" is from the Wedding set (StampingScrapping.com) as well as
the circle stamp from the Lacey Circles set
Spellbinders die - scalloped circles
Flower is one of the new ones that Cindy is now stocking at
http://www.stampingscrapping.com/
The doily has Stickles on it
the ribbon abd bling are from my stash.

The 2nd card I'm posting has an older Maggie stamp on it; I think it is called "Tilda with Watering can" (but not sure!). This one I am entering in the MOJO Monday Challenge:
http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/ - "Sketch" MOJO #190
Ingredients:
Magnolia stamp
Congratulations stamp is the same as above
Spellbinder die Labels 4
Another kind of the new "wavy" flowers from StampingScrapping
Papers and buttons from my stash

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T14:58:00.006-04:00

To each one of you moms out there, no matter how old your children are, I say "Happy Mother's Day"! We had four generations here today: my mother-in-law Tracy, my daughters, Kate, Chris, Linz and Emz, and their little ones...plus me...makes four generations celebrating Mother's Day! (Plus all the guys were here too, of course.)

My daughter Chris decided this was the perfect day to tell us all that "number 3" is on the way!!

Now that's an amazing gift for a grandma! So exciting!!

Now about this new card...

The only MD card I made was for my mother-in-law. I got the lovely flowers in the mail from Karen Stark (the ones I won during the Blog Hop) and I just had to put one on a card immediately! They are so pretty and easy to work with...Thanks again, Karen! Such a nice variety of colors! I will be enjoying working with these for weeks to come.

Here is the list of ingredients I used:

cardstock - DCWV

Magnolia image - Tilda with Lilacs (colored with color pencils)

"Thanks Mom" stamp - JustRite

Die cuts - Spellbinder, Scalloped Edge Frame & Big Scalloped Circles; (little leaves & branches I think are Martha Stuart punches??)

the HMD sentiment is computer generated

Stickles used on ALL flowers, both 3D & 2D

small pink roses are from my still growing stash!

I'm entering this card in 2 challenges:

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - "Anything Goes"

http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com/ - "Anyhting Goes"

Exciting Email Today! I Won!! DOUBLE!

2011-05-03T19:42:00.012-04:00

Today I got an exciting email from Janine Blackwelder who is on the StampingScrapping Design Team! She informed me that I am the winner of the "Woodware USA Meets StampingScrapping.com" Blog Hop that was held last week...April 27 through May 1. They looked at all the comments that everyone left and somehow picked me! So I won a prize...can't wait to see the goodies! Is that exciting or what! (There's more!)

But that's not all! I got another message from Karen Stark (also on the StampingScrapping Design Team) that I won her handmade flowers!! I went to her blog again to look at some of her flowers...they are just lovely!! (I "borrowed" the little picture above to show you!)
I feel a little guilty winning both prizes...but I promise I will put everything to good use! So I want to say Thank You again to all three prize-givers!! I feel so blessed!

Woodware Stamps Challenge

2011-04-29T16:05:00.007-04:00

These Woodware stamps are a new favorite for me! This particular set I like because I can color them to match any color scheme. And they look so "artsy"! They are called Leafy Swirls and I got them at StampingScrapping.com.

The paper I used is from my stash.

I used Stickles to add a little sparkle.

The coloring is all done with colored pencils.

I am entering this in the challenge at

http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/

Happy Friday!

Have a great weekend, friends!

Tilda in Spring Rain

2011-04-21T22:44:00.002-04:00

"Tilda in Spring Rain" is the name of the stamped image on this card. (She is available at www.StampingScrapping.com). I was going to color her in warmer colors but found the striped paper and decided to go with that color scheme. Its been cool (cold!) and rainy here quite a bit this week so blue and green are very appropriate!

The striped paper is DCWV (the rest is from my stash), the scalloped lacey border is Fiskar (I believe?), Tilda is colored with colored pencils, the sentiment is hand written and the rhinestones are Darice.

The challenges I'm entering this one in are:

http://StampingScrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com - "Rain/Water"

http://HouseofGilli.blogspot.com - "Stripes and Bling"

http://Magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com - "Easter"

Thanks for stopping by! And thanks again to all of you who leave kind comments! They are very much appreciated!

Easter Card

2011-04-19T22:56:00.004-04:00

This evening I spent a few hours in my craft room "playing" with some of my new supplies. This card is the result! I included certain things to be able to enter it in more than one challenge, like most of you do! I paper-pieced the Easter egg, replacing the note card Maxwell is supposed to be holding.

Here is the list of ingredients with the ones from http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ marked with a *:

House Mouse Stamp* - Maxwell's Note (in this case its Maxwell's Egg)
JustRite circle stamps* - Favorite Occasions Set
WoodwareUSA stamps* - Leafy Swirls
(all of the stamped images are colored in with colored pencils)
Spellbinders dies* - Labels 4, Scalloped Edge Frame, Standard Circles Lg.
Cardstock - K&Co.* "Citronella", Cosmo Cricket* "Jolly by Golly", My Minds Eye (lg. print)
Ribbon, rhinestones & some paper from my stash

The challenges I'm posting this card in:

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - #93 "Easter"
http://woodwareusa-clearstamps.blogspot.com/ - Challenge #23 "Die Cuts/Punches"
http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com/ - "Easter"

Yikes! I just realized I haven't done the Rain/Water challenge @ StampingScrapping yet! Maybe tomorrow night!

Yellow Easter Card

2011-04-14T21:34:00.009-04:00

This evening I am posting an Easter card that I will probably give to my mother-in-law. She is not the typical meddling mother-in-law that all the jokes are about. She is a sweet, smart, very wise lady! And I don't deserve her! I should probably tell HER that, right?

Anyway, this card "fits" at least 3 challenges...maybe more!

Most of what I used to make this one is just from my "stash".

The Maggie stamp is actually a Christmas stamp I think.

The print cardstock is K&Co.

Any questions? Just ask in a comment and I'll get back to you!

The challenges I'm participating in:

http://thebearyscrapdesignteam.blogspot.com/ - BSC #23 -Sketch

http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/ - A Recipe: yellow, ribbon, stitching, "gems"

http://magnolia-licioushighlites.blogspot.com/ - "Easter/Spring Extravaganza Contest", #1- a full-size Maggie

A Quick Post...Happy Spring!

2011-04-13T23:26:00.005-04:00

One more "spring" card for a new challenge that I have never entered before: http://dutchdare-cardchallenges.blogspot.com/ - "Spring has Sprung" My camera missed alot with this one, like the sparkle on the leaves and flower, and the embossing on the cream-colored paper at the top...that paper actually has a pale green print of ferns on it too! Oh well.

Here is a close-up of the flower It is made with 3 layers all cut with a small Spellbinders die, Scalloped circles.

Comments? I'd love them!

A Simple, Clean, Monochromatic Card

2011-04-10T21:51:00.003-04:00

An ALL WHITE card...hmmmm. I think that is about as monochromatic as I can get. Does make it really easy to decide which papers "go" together!

To make the card I used a textured cardstock that already has a stripe embossed on it. I used a smaller piece of that same paper in my Cuttlebug, embossed it with the swirl folder. I used some plain white paper to make the flower then put lots of Stickles on the petals, but they don't show up in the pictures :( . I used 2 scalloped circle dies (Spellbinders) and my little Quickutz "Daisy" die 3x to make the flower. All the layers are held together with Glue Dots. The little tag is also from a Spellbinders die (Labels #15) but I put it in the die again to make it shorter. The tiny hole in the tag is from my new hand-held hole punch that I picked up last week at the thrift store for about $ .59 ...I love a bargain!! The button on the flower is from my stash. And the sentiment is just from a generic stamp set I have. I wish I had written down the brand names before getting rid of the packaging!

I am entering this one in just 2 challenges:

http://WoodwareUSA-clearstamps.blogspot.com - "Monochromatic"

http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com - "Simple and Clean"

Please let me know what you think of this one...is it TOO simple?

Spring "Tilda" B-day Card

2011-04-09T17:10:00.005-04:00

It is a beautiful Saturday today...sunshine, warm temps, birds twittering cheerfully...and I got go outside and play in the dirt! My flower gardens are all cleaned out already and I have dirt under my fingernails! AND my hubby is taking me out to eat to night...can it get any better than that?!

Oh, yeah, the laundry isn't quite done...oh well. Mondays are for laundry, right?

So early this afternoon I worked on a card and finished it in record time. For once I knew what I wanted to do! However my nasty camera is acting up again so the picture is a little fuzzy. Sorry.

I did make one little change to Tilda...she WAS holding an ornament which I have obviously replaced with a piece of chocolate B-day cake!

This card is going to be entered in several challenges.

Here is the list of ingredients, with a * by the ones that can be purchased at Cindy's stampingscrapping.com:

White, green and lavender print paper are from my stash, the stripe is Imaginesce*

The stamps are "Vintage Tilda" by Magnolia* & "Bench" by Sugarplums*

I used a Cuttlebug folder* to emboss the green paper

The pearls are from Queen & Co.

The lace & ribbon are from my stash, as well as the flowers

I used Stickles* on all the leaves and pink roses and around Tilda

The die-cut leaf branches and the scalloped oval I got from someone, not sure of brand And the "Make a Wish" sentiment was from a generic acrylic set I have

And here is th elist of challenges:

http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com - "Ribbons & Pearls"

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com - "Sparkle"

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com - "Ribbon"

http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com - "Spring Color Challenge" week #56

http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com - "Flowers & Lace"

http://ynschallenges.blogspot.com - YNSC39 "Stitching"

Thanks so much for visiting my blog! And thanks too for so often inspiring me when I visit YOUR blogs!!

Another Spring Green Card

2011-04-05T20:01:00.007-04:00

GREEN is one of my favorite colors so I tend to use lime green or olive green alot. This card was designed to follow 2 sketches that are quite close...thankfully! And another challenge that required a handmade paper flower...THAT was fun to do! They are getting easier! And they even turn out nicer...at least I think so.

Here are the challenges I'm entering this card in:

http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ - Recipe: Handmade Paper Flower, Ribbon, Bling

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/ - MojoMonday 185-Contest

http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com/ - Challenge #33 (Sketch/Sample)

Here are the ingredients (at least some of them!):

The paper flower was cut from the Spellbinders Scalloped Circles LG set and the QuicKutz daisy; the center is a roll of fringe-cut paper

Stamps- The border circle stamp on the Get Well circle is from the Anglaise Lace set from StampingScrapping.com; the Get Well is Stampabilities

Border punch (I think) is Fiskar

Paper, gems, and ribbon are from my stash!

Please let me know what you think!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Spring Card

2011-04-03T16:56:00.004-04:00

A really quick post this afternoon! Here is a "spring" card I am entering in 2 challenges:

1) http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/ - Week # 55- Flower Palette"

2) http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - "Sketch" - #92

I will put a few more details about the card-making in later!

Thanks for looking!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Okay, now that I have a little time I will add some info about my "Spring" card.

The paper is mostly from my stash; the light green and light blue are ProvoCraft; the white is Cryogen.

The HouseMouse stamp is called "Party Ribbons" (but I cut off all the ribbons!); the swirl stamp is (I think?) Inkadinkadoo, from Joann Fabrics; the flower stamps are from a random acrylic set I have; the alphabet letters for Spring are "Storybook Alphabet" by Stampendous.

The buttons, flowers and rhinestones are from my stash.

I did try something on this card that I've seen alot of lately but had not done myself: sponging the edges of the paper with ink for a soft border effect. It was incredibly easy! And I really like the look. So, as always, comments are read, enjoyed, and greatly appreciated!

Blog Candy & a New Great Blog I Found!

2011-04-02T10:52:00.003-04:00

Here's a new blog I "stumbled" across this AM, http://tracysstampingcorner.blogspot.com/ and I became a follower right away. This girl is very talented and when reading her posts I can really identify with her. She is SO honest and funny and inspiring! And she is great with Copics! She is having a 1 year anniversary so is offering blog candy to celebrate. Check it out!

Blog Hop!

2011-03-31T09:48:00.002-04:00

Today is the start of Cindy Echtinaw's blog hop! It is a "Thank You" blog hop in honor of the sponsors of her StampingScrapping Design Team. If you want to follow the "hop" (and enter to win the pize!) start at Cindy's blog: http://stampingscrappingstore.blogspot.com/

Blog Candy @ Scrap Garden

2011-03-31T09:05:00.003-04:00

The "Scrap Garden" blog is having a birthday...the very 1st! So "Happy Birthday" to you! Jamie is offering blog candy to celebrate so I became a follower...only partly because of the candy! There is a lot of neat stuff on her blog as well as on her "Beary Scrap Design Team Challenge Blog"! If you want to go look here are the links: http://Jamiesdesigngarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/happy-birthday-to-my-blog.html (for the candy!) and...

http://www.thebearyscrapdesignteam.blogspot.com (for the challenge blog)

A Special B-day Card

2011-03-30T08:02:00.013-04:00

This birthday card is special simply because it is for a special lady: my sister-in-law Julie. She is such a sweet and talented "girl" (she still has a couple years before she hits the big 5-0)! By profession she is a floral designer but she does so many artsy craftsy things...she is amazing! SO creative AND such a big heart! Did I say, she's amazing? She is! For this card, I followed a color "sketch" or theme required for a certain challenge: using kraft, cream, dark brown, + "choice"... and I chose aqua.

My ingredients:

Paper- most is from my stash, the brown w/aqua swirls is K&C.

Stamps- Lg. swirl is "Vintage Flourish" from Stampabilities, Sis is Storybk alphabet from Stampendous, connected hearts are from "Anglaise Lace" from StampingScrapping.com, plus a few others; on the inside is a Bible verse from Verve Stamps.

Die-cuts- Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4

Rhinestone gems- Basics by Kaisercraft

Ribbon- from my "growing!" stash.

Entering this card in 2 challenges: http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ - "Colors: Kraft, etc." http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/ - Challenge #42, "Special Birthday"

A Wedding Card for Ben

2011-03-26T09:30:00.005-04:00

Today is "Wedding Day" for my daughter Chris's brother-in-law Ben. I don't usually spend so much time on cards for people that I don't know very well but I was looking for an excuse to make another one of these! It is somewhat different than the other one (posted Feb. 18) and I was not able to enter that one in any challenges, so now I will! The ingredients: *both lavender papers and the pearls are from my stash *the off-white irridescent paper is the Cryogen *all the stamps are from the "Lacey Circles" set from StampingScrapping.com (except for the flower in the very center of the circle and the "Best Wishes" sentiment) *the ribbon and tiny flowers are from HobbyLobby *I used the Martha Stewart punch "Scalloped Flower Border" and the Cuttlebug embossing folder "Swirls" I am entering it in 2 challenges: "Pastel Colors with Bling" - http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/ "Pastel Challenge" - http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ Well, off to a quick clean-up job on my house to get ready for babysitting my 2 little grandsons during the wedding & reception! Happy Saturday to you all!

"Fabric" Card with Handmade Flowers

2011-03-16T19:24:00.010-04:00

Here is another attempt at using fabric on a card. I did the same thing as on the last card only I used a larger piece of fabric for the whole background this time: I stamped the fabric with blue and 2 greens to go with the flowers.

I sewed it on the paper with a straight stitch (but the paper is a little too smooth so the machine slipped on it & my stitches aren't even :-( Oh well.
The black die cuts are Spellbinder Shapeabilities "Fleur de Lis"; the little "Thinking of You" & circle border are from the Lacey Circles set from Cindy's stamps at StampingScrapping.com. The flowers & leaves I made out of polar fleece! That was something I'd wanted to try for quite a while and was very inspired by seeing a lot of handmade fabric flowers on other peoples' blogs and challenges.

I've added Stickles to the flowers and around the words & swirl stamp (got to have a little sparkle!) and the cardstock and ribbon are from my stash.

I'm entering this card in 4 challenges:

1)Challenge #41 "Fabric" - http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/

2)Challenge #30 - OOPS! CLOSED http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com/

3)Challenge #38 "Make It Sparkle" - http://ynschallenges.blogspot.com

4)"Green" Challenge - http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.com

March Road Trip & "Green" Card

2011-03-12T19:56:00.005-05:00

No, not the Green Card that keeps you from being an illegal alien...it's the "Green" card that I made for Anary's challenge blog! A St. Patty's Day card. It says "Aye, and may the luck o' the Irish be with you!" I used a Tilda that is really a Christmas Tilda but I colored her apron green and put shamrocks in her pigtails and have her holding a string of shamrocks. Or are they 4-leaf clovers? Does someone out there know the difference?
I sewed a piece of fabric across the card which I had first stamped with green ink so it would match the other colors better. The light green behind Tilda is embossed with the flower folder from Cuttlebug. Tilda is colored with colored pencils...do you like her red hair? She's got a bit o' the Irish in her, don't ya know.
And a Happy St. Patty's Day to you all!

Hey, I just got back here to snow-country from "down south" where it is, yes, WARM! Hubby and I took a spur-of-the-moment road trip.
The destination was Gulf Shores but we meandered through Indiana, Kentucky (went to the Creation Museum...so cool!), Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and then to Gulf Shores, AL for a few days.
We got to see our very first Mardi Gras parade! Came home with a ton of bead necklaces and Moon Pies! (NO flashing involved! Eeewwww!)
I ate several kinds of "Southern" foods on this trip: deep fried okra, greens with pork, sweet potatoe fluff, fried green tomatoes, black-eyed peas. I think I ate several kinds of EVERYTHING! I know I gained weight on this trip. Good thing spring is just around the corner so I can get outside and get busy with my flower gardens soon.
That was just a little depressing coming back up north watching the trees have less and less buds and greenery on them...and more and more snow on the ground! Oh well, we had a great trip and feels so good to be home again...and back in my craft room!!

This St. Patrick's Day card is being entered in 4 challenges:
1)"Buttons & Bling" @ http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/
2)"Fabulous Fabric" @ http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/
3)"Luck of the Irish" -Week 52 @ http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/
4)"Sketch" @ http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/

As always, I love to read your comments, so comment away, my friends!

My "fixer-upper" card....I fixed it!

2011-02-26T13:02:00.005-05:00

Well, that last card really bugged me. I couldn't leave it alone...had to "fix" it somehow! So I followed some of the suggestions I got from helpful people and...voila! TWO new cards! I realized it was the background color I didn't like so I simply removed it and replaced it with a subtle pastel stripe...not so intense! And I changed the ribbon (as suggested) and like it much better. So what do you think?

However, that slightly used coral colored paper with the polka dot stripe and the peach ribbons all attached I couldn't just throw away....I'm much too Dutch for that! ...so I worked alot longer trying to salvage that. Now its a little more "okay" and I will actually give it to someone! I love the Bible verse I've printed on it...that stamp is a new one I just got from Verve. The green swirls stamp: I didn't write down the brand name but that set can be found at Joanne Fabric.
I don't think I will be using that coral for a card ever again!...well, maybe as an accent color.
So, I hope your Saturday is fun, productive and full of "sunshine"! Its a great day to prepare to go to God's house tomorrow for worship.
Hugs!
P.S. Thanks again for help with my troublesome card, to all of you who commented and made suggestions!

"I'm Thinking of You!"

2011-02-22T19:03:00.007-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days
when you fuss over a card you're
making, tweeking it, adding details, adding just the right embellishments that you think "go" perfectly...only to be dissatisfied with it when you're done? THIS is one of those cards for me...its kind of OK...that's all. But the House Mouse image IS one of my favorites...in fact I like all of the elments alot...just not put together quite like that I guess! Oh well, I'm still entering it in a few challenges!

Here's some of the stuff I used :
1)The stamped image of Maxwell the House Mouse- "Feeling Rosey" colored with colored pencils
2)Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies

3)on that scalloped die cut is a stamp from Cindy's Lacey Circles set
4)Martha Stewart scalloped flower border punch

5)the white paper is Cryogen, the rest is from my stash

6)as well as the ribbon and buttons

7)the "Thinking of You" & heart stamp are acrylic ones from ??? (sorry)

I stamped those 2 stamps in a pattern for the background paper in green, but then I think I covered it up too much....it really did turn out nice!

The challenges I'm entering this card in:

http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com/ - "Love"

http://housemouseandfriends.blogspot.com/ - "Love"

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - "Favorite House Mouse Stamp" #89

http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/ -Week #50 - "Buttons & Bows"

http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ - "Get Wordy"

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com - #179 (Sketch)

This time, any advice on what I could have done differently to improve this card....please! Feel free to comment! Thanks!!

"Best Wishes" to the Happy Couple!

2011-02-18T22:43:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I found a beautiful card on someone else's blog...can't quite remember how I got there but her name is Jean Martin, the gal who designed the card. She said it got published in a magazine and I could see why it was chosen...its gorgeous! Soooo...I thought I'd try something similar. And here is what I came up with. I doubt if you can see it but I used that nice iridescent Cryogen paper and all the stamps I used are from Cindy Echtinaw's "Lacey Circles" set. Oh except there is a flower one in the very center of the circle design which I colored and covered partially with the paper flower and button. I'm curious to see what Cindy thinks of this one!

The lavender paper and the ribbon are from my stash; everything else can be purchased at Cindy's http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ ! I looked at my list of challenges that I sometimes enter cards in and believe it ot not this card doesn't work for anything! Oh well, this one was just fun to make. And I'm pleased with how it turned out. It is going to be a wedding card (I have to finish the wording and design on the inside yet). So, "Thank You", Jean Martin!

And thanks in advance to anyone leaving some kind comments!

*******************************

Well, its now a few days later and, yes, I HAD to "fix" the uneven edge on the card! The photo made it look worse than it was but I still didn't like it. So I took it all aprt on that side and trimmed and trimmed and reglued and rephotographed. So here's the corrected version:

And since I finished the inside of the card as well I'll include a picture of that too!

Vivi's Blog Candy! Gilli Stamps!!

2011-02-17T11:44:00.004-05:00

Go to Vivi's blog to enter for a chance to win!

Click here to get there:

http://handmadebyvivi.blogspot.com/

But I hope I'm the one who wins! I love the Gilli stamps!

Thanks, Vivi!

Pink, Pink, and More Pink! Plus...

2011-02-16T18:39:00.004-05:00

First up, I want to answer 2 of the lovely ladies who left comments for me on my Sympathy card. They asked what print paper I used; so here's the brand etc.:
K&Company, "Tim Coffey- Blossomwood" mat pad
It is 2-sided cardstock; the ones I used are back & front of one sheet.

And I do want to thank those of you who take the time to leave a comment.
I sure enjoy reading them! ;-)

Next, just to let you know, I added another "card" to my Valentine's post!
Its one that my hubby made for me! Scroll down and take a peek. Its cute.

OK. My new card post!
Now I am posting my very pink "Pink" card
for 4 different challenges!

I've been using quite a bit of pink lately with Valentine's Day just behind us. I think I'm just about "pinked-out"! But it IS an easy color to work with especially with the Tilda images from Magnolia.....Tilda is such a pretty "girly" girl!

For this card I used 3 different patterned papers, 4 Spellbinder dies, gross-grain ribbon, paper roses, Stickles for sparkle, a Tilda image and the little sentiment is from Cindy E's stamp set called "Lacey Circles". Any questions about specifics, just ask!

Here are the 4 challenges I'm entering this card in:

http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/ - "Pink" Challenge #45

http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/ - "Pastel" Challenge

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - "Pink"

http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/ - Very First Challenge!

A Sympathy Card

2011-02-15T16:08:00.006-05:00

This card was made following a sketch for the #26

challenge at Case Study Challenges. I think that

having a nice sketch to start with makes it soooo

much easier! I love sketches! This one with the double punched borders seemed so elegant, I decided to make it a Sympathy card.

I also wanted to use more of the items I have been gathering for the past year or more instead of constantly buying new stuff. I'm not going to list things but if you have a question about something I've used, just ask!

If you'd like to go to the blog and see the challenge

here's the address: http://casestudychallenge.blogspot.com/

"Thank you" to Case Study for the sketch and the chance to participate in their challenge! And....

"Thank you" to anyone & everyone who stops by to see my creations! And feel free to leave a comment below...I love to hear from other crafty people!

Coming soon: cards for the StampingScrapping Challenge titled "Pink" and for the challenge at Craft Your Passions which is also "Pink" AND for the "Keeping Warm" challenge at The Shabby Tea Room!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T08:58:00.010-05:00

Happy Valentines Day to Everyone! Hope its a warm fuzzy lovey day for you all!

Note: My husband made a card too!
(see bottom of post)

Just a quick post today! First up is a Valentine card I made for my husband...well, I wasn't sure who it was for originally but since I've run out of time, he gets this one! Its a little unusual, with the chickens on there, but I made it to enter the Bildmalarna challenge "Love" at http://bildmalarnablog.blogspot.com/ and if you remember, that's the only set of Bildy stamps I have so far! (Thanks, Kevin!!)

This weekend we went to a birthday party for a sweet lady who is now 90 years old (young!) so I whipped up a special card for her. I promised myself to keep it simple and I actually did it for once! And used up a few of the pretty things I've had in my "stash" for too long. What do you think?

It's now Wednesday, and I decided to add one more picture of a Valentine card, this one that my husband "made"! He usually buys me a beautiful romantic one but this year he just went in my craft room and "made" his own! I had been working on a few and trying some new stamps on scrap paper so he carefully wrote "Bee my Valentine" on the paper. (BC1 is just a code name for him) What you can't see is that on the other side of the paper are more stamped words so he was carefully avoiding them so I can still use them. So thoughtful! He did also get me a beautiful cyclamen plant...a very nice Valentine's Day all together!

Love & Snow Flurries Are In the Air!

2011-02-09T15:41:00.009-05:00

Just got back from a nice drive out in the country...what a beautiful day! Its cold and windy with sudden sporatic snow flurries but there is also lots of blue sky and sunshine!
Well, today I'm posting a Valentine card...not sure who its for yet...but I will enter it in 4 challenges. (see list at bottom)

I am still dealing with an older camera that sometimes takes blurry pictures...couldn't be the operator, could it? Oh well, its clear enough to see most of the details.

I've used several things that can be found in Cindy's store at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ .
They are marked with an *

Here is the list of ingredients:

Cardstock is from my stash (most is DCWV)
House Mouse stamp "Contented Mudpie"*
Heart stamps (brand??)
Spellbinders Shapeabilities-Pendant "Fleur de Lis"*
Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels 4*
Twinkle Jewels*
Fiskar border punch
Ribbon from my stash
And...I used my new Glue Glider Pro*
(I'm still getting used to my Glue Glider...there's kind of a trick to it. I'm finding I need to tip it up a bit when I want to stop laying the tape down so it doesn't continue after I pick it up off the paper. Anyone else find that? Or have some tips for me?)

Okay, here are the 4 challenges this card is being entered in:
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/ - "Anything Goes" Challenge #44
http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ - "All About Hearts" Challenge #88
http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/ - "Hearts" Challenge #39
http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/ - "Sweethearts" Challenge, Week #48
Please let me know what you think of my latest creation! I sure hope you are all having a warm and safe February...and at least "sometimes" sunny!

Take care!

Sandie

Big Snow Storm of 2011 = Cupcake Valentines Card

2011-02-02T23:18:00.015-05:00

What fun! Lots and lots of snow! And being snowed in for the day! Well, sort of fun...my husband & I spent several hours today doing some heavy-duty early spring cleaning, and only got 3 small rooms done. But that sense of accomplishment is sooooo nice! And then I rewarded myself by spending the evening in my craft room making a card!

The picture on the right is me standing in the road not far from our house. I'm standing in one of the ruts that is about 14" deep! No plows came through until late in the day. But we didn't lose power during this storm so we have lots to be thankful for!

Now here is the card I made, a tent card, the first I've ever made. I would do it a little different next time so you can see the inside attachment better. But it was fun to try! There is a lot of sparkle on this one...sorry you can't see it in the picture.

This card is is going to be entered in a couple different challenges:

The "Cupcake" challenge at

http://scrappyfrogschallenge.blogspot.com/

and the "Valentine" SSCC at

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/

(I think I will wait 'til morning and take a better picture in daylight, then I'll enter it in the 2 challenges.)

OK, its Thursday AM...not sure these are much better! But the color is more accurate.

For a Winter Birthday

2011-01-28T20:52:00.006-05:00

Good Evening, Friends!

Tonight I'm posting yet another birthday card...this one for my grandson, Clayton, who is turning 9 on Feb. 4. He is already a serious (and GOOD) fisherman, so I really should have done a card with ice fishing or something similar...but thought of it too late! Maybe next year!

The "winter" theme is a fun one! I love to use lots of sparkles to try to catch the beautiful look of fresh fallen snow on a clear starry evening. Yes, its COLD, but you'll have to admit, it is also awesome!

For this card I used a sticker (!) which I don't usually do but it fit the scene so well (the snowman)...I couldn't resist! Believe it or not I don't have a snowman stamp! I will definitely have to remedy that before next winter!

The paper is from my stash, as well as the snowflake brads, and the glitter dust.

I also added Stickles (Icicle), & Martha Stewart snowflake punches (coated with glitter).

The stamps I used are the swirls (can't remember the name) and the sentiment is by "Imaginations"

The background is embossed using the Sizzix embossing folder called "Stars". Not sure you can see it in the picture but the embossed part is zigzag stitched to the cardstock.

There really are some nice things about winter you know!

(The picture at the right was taken with just regular indoor lighting...I don't like the color as well as the ones above taken with natural daylight. But I do like how the sparkles show up better!)

Challenges I'm entering this card in:

http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/ challenge, "Winter Wonderland" http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ , "Winter"

As always, if you have a moment I'd love to hear from you!
Have a great weekend, my friends!

My New Look!

2011-01-27T11:35:00.002-05:00

Well, actually it's my blog that has a new look! Did you notice?
I wish I could have taken a "before" picture!
I'm just working with what is available from Blogger Templates.
What do you think?

Celebrate! A New B-Day Card!

2011-01-22T16:40:00.005-05:00

Just quickly adding one more birthday card! I used a "celebrate" stamp on the top part of the card...stamped it many times to make a sort of patterned paper. The House Mouse stamp is "Contented Mudpie". I will add more details later. Gotta run!

Ok, that was Saturday afternoon...now it is Monday morning. I still can't remember what the 2nd challenge I was going to enter was! I think it was a "sketch" type challenge??
Anyway, a few details:
the scalloped circle is from Sizzix
the circle stamp and the little flower are from http://www.stampingscrapping.com (one of Cindy's newer sets, Lacey Circles, I think).
The pinwheel flower I made using the Quick Kutz Daisy die (in my Cuttlebug!)
Gems and paper from my stash

I'm entering this card in a couple challenges again:

The "Celebrate" Challenge at http://housemouseandfriends.blogspot.com/

and.... ??

Now it is late Monday...I finally figured out which challenge it was...one that closed last Friday!!
Oh well, maybe I'll get organized some day. LOL

Tilda Sending Birthday Greetings

2011-01-15T09:33:00.005-05:00

Good morning, all!

Late last night I got inspired to make another BD card... I was looking at all the lovely cards on the Stamping Scrapping Challenge Blog and the Magnolia Stamp Lovers Challenge Blog... Wow! So much talent and creativity shows up on those 2 blogs! Love to get ideas and inspiration from them (from YOU!). So THANKS again for sharing!

This BD card is for a friend and I wanted it to be a little special 'cause she is a cardmaker too.

I looked for blue colored items and paper to use and found that I don't have many. The blue is kind of an aqua-blue... hope that is OK for the "Blue" challege! The flowers are some paper roses that I salvaged from an odd clump of roses embellishment that I found at a garage sale! Took it all apart and have about 20 paper roses. I colored the tips of the rose petals with my darker pink ink pad... I'm happy with how they turned out.

Here is the list of ingredients for my card:

(everything with a * is available @http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ )

Paper: K&Company - Tim Coffey

Die cuts: *Spellbinders - Pendants, Fleur de Lis

Stamps: *Sugarplums "Bench" by C.C. Designs

*"New Years Tilda" by Magnolia

*"Tag Accents" by Cindy Echtinaw

Tape Runner: *Glue Glider Pro by Glue Arts

(NEW! I just got my Glue Glider from Cindy's...Love it!)

Ribbon, Lace, Roses, Inks: from my stash!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!

The 2 challenges I am entering this card in are:

"Flower Power" @ http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/

"Blues" @ http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/

Thank You, House Mouse!

2010-12-31T16:58:00.003-05:00

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

2010-12-29T11:15:00.004-05:00

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!?

2010-12-04T10:51:00.006-05:00

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

2010-12-01T23:03:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-11-30T22:06:00.005-05:00

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"!

2010-11-06T13:42:00.005-04:00

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!

2010-11-04T09:59:00.002-04:00

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!!

2010-11-02T22:28:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-10-30T22:38:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-10-28T20:10:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-10-03T13:01:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-09-29T23:10:00.003-04:00

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?

2010-09-28T18:10:00.002-04:00

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!!

2010-09-28T14:48:00.007-04:00

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!!!

2010-09-21T12:23:00.002-04:00

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

2010-09-16T17:14:00.008-04:00

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

2010-08-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

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!