wee inklings

Paper Players 80

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

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

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

And here we go:

These colors just make me smile!

Aren’t these sweet little sparkly brads cute?

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

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

CASE Study 75

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

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

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

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

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

Well, whaddya know?

New Stamps for Sale

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

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

FMS19

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

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

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

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

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

Yep, she’s eating the snow!

Merry Monday #4

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

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

Another Christmas card for my stash:

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

Cassidy’s “tissue party”!

Lip Balm Holder Tutorial

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

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

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

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

ColourQ121

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My little reader!

JUGS120 & CCMC-OCC1

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

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

and the Create with Connie & Mary sketch:

Another sweet Valentine:

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

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

Have a great day!

Hostess Appreciation Party

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

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

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

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

And third, a card using some Sweet Shop products:

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

Me and Ellen;

Lorraine & Beth;

Donna;

Ellen & Billie;

Wendie;

Linda;

and Joan!

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

Paper Players 79

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

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

I went really CAS on this one:

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

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

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

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

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

CFC36—Almost

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

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

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

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

How’s this for bed head?!

FMS18

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

A lovely sketch from Freshly Made Sketches this week:

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

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

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

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

I just love this sweet set!

Feeling a little bit better!

Merry Monday Challenge 3

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

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

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

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

Thanks for visiting today!

Caught in the act AGAIN!

ColourQ120 and then some…

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

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

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

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

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

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

On a happier day!!!

Paper Players 78

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Card Monkey #91

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CTD174 & FMS17

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

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

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

to make my thank you card:

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

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

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

Diapers everywhere! Check out the guilty look!

Merry Monday Challenge #2

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

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

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

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

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

Some days we have a “static” problem:

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

SSC237 Valentine Style

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s a closeup of each:

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

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

CQC119 & Monkey Challenge 90

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Framelit Birthday CAS152

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paper Players 77

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

Merry Monday #1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FMS16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ColourQ118

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

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

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

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

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

Mojo 222 Birthday

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

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

I used the Mojo 222 sketch from Mojo Monday:

and here’s the inside:

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

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

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the ColourQ!

Happy New Year!

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

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

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

New Stuff!

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

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

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

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

Felt Snowman

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

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

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

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

OCC, CCCB89 & Mojo221

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

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

making a small note card instead of a square card:

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

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

ColourQ117

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for visiting today!

Merry Christmas!

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

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas!

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

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

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

Luke 2:8-14

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

2 Corinthians 9:15

Winter Vignette

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

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

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

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

PPA125 Gift Tag

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

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

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

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

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Star Ornament HSS98

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for visiting!

ColourQ 116

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

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

and here’s my holder:

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

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

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

Thank You Snow Much!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vintage Birthday

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a blessed day!

SSC234 & OCCC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PPA124 & PDCC111

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

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

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

And here we go:

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

and repeated the image on the inside with the sentiment:

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

Cassidy had her first chocolate chip cookie yesterday:

Gotta start her on the Christmas cookie traditions early!!

FMS15 & HSS97

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She did pretty well!

ColourQ115

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FTL170 & TSTR92 & Live Nativity

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

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

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

And here it is:

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

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

Some scenes from the village:

A very affectionate goat:

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

Shepherds with their flocks and cold little angels:

Joseph, Mary & baby Jesus:

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

Two of the Wise Men:

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

And it ends at the cross and the empty tomb:

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

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

Paper Players 76

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nostalgic Ephemera Birthday

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

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

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

Any questions, shoot me an email! Toodles!

Simple Poinsettia & I Don’t Do Hair

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

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

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

and it’s ready to go!

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

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

Enjoy your day!

FMS14

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

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

And here’s my BIG card:

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

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

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

Motorcycle Birthday

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

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

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

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

ColourQ 114 Anything But A Card

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paper Players 75

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day!

More Christmas

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

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

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

PPA122 & SSSC145

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

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

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

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

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

Check out my little cowgirl!

FMS13

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

I made this card for one of my customers a couple of days ago:

It was really quick & easy---I just love this particular pattern in this DP pack! Then I saw the sketch challenge 13 at Freshly Made Sketches:

and I was struck by the similarity! So I made another one:

The first one had pearls in the center of the flowers:

The second one has a strip of embossed polka dots:

Fun & easy! Thanks for looking today! If you need any details on products or techniques, just shoot me an email!

Playing with grammy’s phone is FUN!

Mojo 217 Sepia

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Why is it that I love color, yet this little neutral-colored card makes me smile so? Maybe it’s the sweet little image:

I was stamping some paper bags for my stamp camp last night—white, Crumb Cake & Chocolate Chip snowflakes on brown paper bags…a rustic, vintage look that I really liked. So I thought I’d translate that to a card! I used this week’s Mojo Sketch 217:

and an image from the Gift Givers set, stamped in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla. I colored her with a blender pen and neutral colors, then added snowflakes from Every Little Bit in Craft White, Crumb Cake & Early Espresso.

An assortment of neutral DPs and a pretty little glimmer brad-clad seam binding ribbon, and my card was done! Oops, don’t forget the Antique Silver glitter! NOW it’s done! Thanks for visiting today! If you have any questions, just shoot me an email---I’d love to hear from you!

ColourQ 113

2011-11-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Tuesday! That means it’s time for ColourQ! Check out the stunning Christmas angel that inspired Arielle this week:

I had lots of ideas in mind for this….but not much time (or mojo, for some reason!) so I just pulled out a very, very old (1995) SU stamp called Country Angel:

She is stamped with Stazon on watercolor paper and colored with inks and Twinkling H2O sparkly paint! You can’t really tell here, but her wings are shimmery blue (as well as glittered):

And she’s carrying a little glittery star ornament that’s been sitting on my desk forever! I also put some glitter on her little banner:

I love watercoloring but don’t do it enough, so this was a fun challenge for me….and I love blue, too, so that made it even MORE fun! I hope you’ll play along with this angelic challenge….wing on over to the CQC blog to see the other designer’s creations and share yours with us too! This card is also for Shirley’s Christmas card blog hop!!!

Here is my little Christmas angel; our first shot this season at a photo with Santa. That didn’t work so well; she was much happier just running around with the children!

Could that be Santa coming down the stairs???

Uh-oh---let me outta here!

Better luck next time! Thanks for visiting today!
Wee Details:

Stamps: Country Angel (ret SU);
Paper: Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue, Watercolor
Ink: Stazon, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand
Acc: Glitter, Nesties, Aquapainter, Star ornament, Dimensionals, Nesties, Twinkling H2Os

CAS146 Olivia’s Birthday

2011-11-28T09:27:00.001-05:00

I have just a quick CAS card that I made today using the CAS146 challenge at SCS, which is a sketch! I needed a birthday card for my niece, who is a skater, so this was a perfect starting point!

I am trying to play with some of my non-SU stuff! This is a recent acquisition and I love these silhouette images!

I got that little piece of ruffled ribbon in my M&T kit at convention but never used it….it looks so nice here! And my slot punch punched out that tiny sentiment just perfectly! TFL! If you have any questions, just shoot me an email!

Did you know that banging on a Corelle plate with a spoon makes a delightful “ding-dong” sound? It does!

Paper Players 74 & PPA121

2011-11-27T07:33:00.001-05:00

It’s Sunday, and that means Paper Players time! This week Lesley has a sketch for us:

I had a totally different card made for this challenge, then changed my mind at the last minute. I also realized that the last four challenges I’ve done here have all been Christmas cards! I guess “tis the season”, right? I still had some of that lovely glimmer paper on my desk from last week’s card, so I used a few scraps for my pretty card today:

I even had a different DP in mind when I began this card, then found this little scrap from a couple years’ ago holiday mini….and it was so pretty with my swirly dove I just had to use it! There is some embossing going on, a couple diecut & punched snowflakes, and some pearls!!! Lots of pearls…..

Which qualifies it for this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge 121 as well, which is to use pearls! I just thought they looked so elegant with the shimmer and swirls! What do you think? I was tempted to add glitter, but I thought it would be a bit much, LOL!

Hope you’ll play along with us this week as well! We’ve got two more weeks and then we’ll be taking a little break for the holidays…hope to see you at the Paper Players!

Wee Details:

Stamps: To You & Yours (ret)
Paper: WW, Baja Breeze, Silver Shimmer Paper, DP (ret)
Ink: Baja Breeze
Acc: Northern Flurry EF; Northern Frost Die, Two Tags Die, Oval Nesties, Pearls, Dimensionals

Monkey Challege 84

2011-11-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi peeps! I have a quick card for you this morning, courtesy of those sweet girls at a la Card monkey – Shirley & Terri! They asked me to be a guest designer again, and this week it’s an “Anything Goes” challenge, using this sketch:

It seems like I am making lots of Christmas cards, so I switched gears and used this to make a thank-you card for a recent hostess:

I switched it up just a little, putting my ribbon down the front of the panel instead of behind. I added a sentiment from Perfect Punches, which happens to be 40% off when you order online! Woohoo….and it is an extremely versatile set, too! (You can always order online from me---just click on the catalog icon on the right!) I used some yummy Spice Cake paper as well, and made a little flower with coordinating colors with my Boho Blossom punch and an In Color brad—sweet!

I hope you’ll play along with all the other monkeys! Check out their blog here!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Perfect Punches
Paper: Pool Party, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DP
Ink: Early Espresso
Acc: Pool Party Marker, Scallop Edge Polka Dot & Ruffled Edge Ribbon, Curly Label Punch, Boho Blossom Punch, In Color Brad, Buttons Die, Floss

FMS12 Sympathy

2011-11-25T07:18:00.001-05:00

Happy Black Friday! Are you going out shopping? Me neither! Eeek! I always had to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and now that I don’t, I have no desire to go out! I’ll stay home and snuggle with my wee one! I hope you have fun today, whatever you’re doing!

I needed another sympathy card this week and the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches was perfect to get me started with a quick one:

And here’s my card:

I stamped a Bible verse from ODBD over a tree image from Waltzingmouse in the colors of this retired SU paper, Elegant Soiree. Hmmmm…..in real life, these colors all match a lot better! Must have been that I photographed it late at night?

Anyway, I masked part of a sentiment from Petite Pairs for the words at the bottom left front, and then continued them on the inside:

My only other embellishment was a small piece of linen thread tied on the front.

I didn’t have Cassidy yesterday but I did snag a photo of some other sleepy family members:

Pumpkin & my two nephews….a lazy Thanksgiving afternoon! Thanks for visiting today! Email me if you have any questions!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

^{Psalm 100:}

¹Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his,we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Wishing you all a blessed, happy, healthy Thanksgiving day!

Vintage Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

I recently got some vintage postcard images through LunaGirl on Etsy. Linda at the Funkie Junkie has beautiful creations and she recommended her and I was not disappointed. I downloaded some seasonal images and made a Thanksgiving card for my brother and SIL:

This is a really simple card as my SIL loves country stuff but HATES buttons….which makes it hard to embellish a card for her as I love buttons! I opted to add some stamped leaves to a Top Note panel, and cut two out for my embellishment. She is an excellent cook & baker, so I hope she likes this cute little girl eying those pies!! (I hope the ones I am making today turn out as well as those on the postcard!) And I hope that everyone who is celebrating this holiday remembers that all our blessings come from above, including this little sleepyhead!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Blessed by You, Waltzingmouse
Paper: More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, WW, Nook & Pantry, Basic Grey
Ink: More Mustard, Riding Hood Red
Acc: Digi Image, Polka Dotted Scalloped Ribbon, Brad, Top Note Die

CQC112 & FTL167

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday before Thanksgiving! Arielle’s inspiration for today’s ColourQ challenge is certainly a unique one:

I am pretty sure these are jelly beans making up these faux Indian corns…..yummo! And I am pretty sure the early pioneers never had Indian corn that tasted like these do! Anyway, Arielle has a digi image of Indian corn, so I used that plus this week’s Fall To Layout #167 from Clean & Simple:

to make my Thanksgiving card:

The sentiment is computer-generated with a font called “Written on His Hands'” and was a gift to me by my friend Tammy! Isn’t it lovely? And here’s the inside, using a sentiment & image from Waltzingmouse:

I know that this is a busy week for all the stampers in the states, but I do hope you’ll have time to play along. Stop over to the ColourQ blog to see what the others have created this week as well!

Learning to eat with a spoon---very messy but fun!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Digital from Wax Fruit Company, Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: WW, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, DCWV Mat Stack
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso
Acc: Copics, Nesties, Tim Holtz EF, Buttons & thread, Dimensionals

Less is More #42

2011-11-21T16:04:00.001-05:00

Just a quick little post with a quick little card---the Less is More challenge this week is for silhouettes…one of my favorites! I chose to make a really simple Christmas card with a CHF image of three wee ones creeping down the stairs with their candles and stockings—so cute!

The LIMettes are pretty adamant about keeping to the “less is more” theme, so I kept it simple—a single mat and a couple of grosgrain ribbons to echo the banister lines of the image! Thanks for peeking in today!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Stocking Elves, Night Before Christmas, CHF
Paper: WW, Bravo Burgundy
Ink: Bravo Burgundy
Acc: Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

Online Extravaganza!!

2011-11-20T12:13:00.001-05:00

Hey, peeps! Tomorrow begins Stampin’Up!’s Online Extravaganza! It will continue until November 30, so be sure to check it out! Here are a few details:

FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express
60 percent off select Designer Fabrics
30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!

And WOW - look at this!

There will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT]) That's 2:01 AM Monday - 1:59 AM Tuesday EST if you’re on the East coast like me---so make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza!

You can place an order by clicking on the catalog icon or the Online Ordering button on the right sidebar of my blog—that will take you to my webpage where you can “Shop Now”---or just email me for more details! I’d love to help you with your Christmas shopping this year! And you won’t hear about this in the newspaper!! LOL!

Paper Players 73

2011-11-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! It’s another Paper Players challenge with Jaydee as our hostess. This week she has chosen a clean and simple color challenge:

Sometimes I miss that “clean and simple” part, but this week, I got it! I pulled out a Christmas set I hadn’t used in a while, Come to Bethlehem:

I stamped the image with Night of Navy, added satin ribbon and some rhinestones, then mounted it on a piece of silver Shimmer Paper—ooh, that stuff is wonderful! I made a little star with some scraps of it as well:

It is pricey, though, so here’s a little tip (probably most of you know how do to this already), but you can cut out a frame if you have an Exacto knife or a cutter that has an channel blade. Position your paper so that the right side is on the 1/2” mark on the right side of the channel (or further, if your mat needs to be larger):

Bring your cutting blade down from the top 1/2” and begin cutting, stopping 1/2” from the bottom of your mat.

Turn your mat and do the same thing on the other three sides, starting and stopping 1/2” from the edge. You’ll have a nice little frame that your stamped image will sit on, and another little piece of cardstock to use for another project:

Here’s the inside of the card, using the sentiment from the same set:

I hope you find some time to play along with this clean and simple color challenge; you can see what the other designers came up with on the Paper Players blog and directions for playing along!

How do kids know instinctively that a pile of leaves is something to play in???

She was pretty pleased with herself for “helping” Grammy put the leaves in the wheelbarrow! Thanks for visiting today!

PPA120

2011-11-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick little post today as I am not feeling too spiffy! I made a couple Thanksgiving cards from the Pals Paper Arts sketch for this week:

Here we go:

All images are from Falling Leaves; I wheeled the First Edition DP with a wheel whose name I can’t remember and my catalog is in my car!! I also used A to Z for my little sentiment background. I did a little distressing and paper-curling….and here is the inside:

I used More Mustard, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie for my ink colors! Thanks for visiting! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the Paper Players challenge!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

You know I lament about my lack of scrapping skills, but I have a workshop tonight and there are scrappers there, so I wanted to try to make a current page to show them! I have also been playing around with my Timeless Type alphabet dies and the Sissix Adhesive Sheets----a marvelous invention that allows you to adhere those little tiny diecut pieces without getting glue all over everything! So here we go, and please don’t laugh too much about how bad my stamped alphabet is (because I am too lazy to use my stamp-a-ma-jig!):

I made some cute pumpkins with circle & oval punches and the Swirls & Scribbles die, which I also backed with an adhesive sheet for easy glue-down. To use the adhesive sheet, cut a piece of it to fit your DP or cardstock; peel off the backing and stick the adhesive side to the back of your paper. Run it through your diecutting machine with the good side down. Voila, you have your own stickers!! Just peel off the backing and adhere to your project!

All the stamped images are from SU’s set Best Friends Forever, which added a perfect blend of elements and nature! I am also submitting this to the Our Creative Corner challenge which is pumpkins!! Thanks for visiting today!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Best Friends Forever, Just Perfect Alphabet
Paper: Wild Wasabi Textured 12x12, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi & Pumpkin Pie Patterns DP
Ink: Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango
Acc: Lots of Tags, Timeless Type Alphabet, and Swirls & Scribbles Dies; Large Oval, Small Oval and 1 3/8” Circle Punches, Adhesive Sheets, Marker

Vintage Bell Christmas

2011-11-17T10:07:00.003-05:00

I squeaked out some stamping time yesterday---I just had to play with some new toys. Isn’t this little bell cute?

I had the little sign (retired CHF) already stamped, embossed and colored in my “unloved” stash—you know, the little overflowing basket where you put things that didn’t quite make it to a card?! I pulled it out, made the bell with the die and Cherry Cobbler cardstock, sponged it, stamped the tree from Lovely as a Tree on some Melissa Frances paper and tied it on….done!

Here’s the inside:

Sentiments are from Sweet & Sassy, also stamped in Cherry Cobbler! Thanks for visiting---any questions, shoot me an email!

We have had such rainy, cloudy weather lately I haven’t gotten outside to take any pictures! Here’s a quick one I snapped while Cassidy was trying to open the refrigerator door….which she will probably be able to do soon!

Midnight Stamping

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Late at night seems to be the only time I get to stamp anymore!! And the next day I pay the price! LOL! But today is DH’s birthday, and I needed to make him a card, so late at night it was. Mary Jo the Techno Stamper has a wonderful sketch challenge every Monday, and I don’t get to participate enough, but if she gets 25 participants this week, she’ll have a giveaway! So check it out here! Her sketch was perfect for the image I wanted to use:

My hubby loves sailing, so this image from Winds of Grace is one I know he’ll like:

I used one of the tags from the Two Tags die for my bottom element and finally got to use some Denim ribbon!!! I added some knotted twine as some extra interest as well as over-stamping the sailboat with the Woodgrain BG stamp. I hope he likes it!

And since today is John’s day, I thought I’d share a picture of him instead of Cassidy, along with the other love of his life:

Thanks for visiting today!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Winds of Grace (ret), Petite Pairs, Woodgrain
Paper: Naturals White, Crumb Cake, Stella Rose, MME
Ink: Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist
Acc: Two Tags Die, Metallic Brads, Hemp Twine, 1 1/4” Circle & 1/16” Punches, Dimensionals, Daubers

ColourQ111, Monkey82 & OCCC

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday! Happy ColourQ Day! Check out this gorgeous wreath that inspired Arielle today:

I resisted the urge to make a card with a wreath on it—that would have been fun, though! I chose instead a basket—a picnic basket---full of pumpkins! Here we go:

I used the sketch from A la Card Monkey this week:

as well as the theme from Our Creative Corner, which is pumpkins—either the color or the fruit! I stamped my pumpkins on Shimmery White cardstock and my basket on some retired Crumb Cake Prints paper:

I colored them with reinkers, then added four French knots with SU Linen thread. Embossing, a button and a little sentiment from the retired Give Thanks set finished it off:

And the inside:

I hope you’ll find some inspiration in these colors and play along with us at the ColourQ this week! And here’s my little milky-mouthed blessing:

Wee Details:

Stamps: Give Thanks, Graceful Words (both ret.), Vintage Picnic, PTI; Falling for You, MFT
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Shimmery White, Pumpkin Pie Patterns DP
Ink: Palette Noir, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie
Acc: Nesties Label One, Button, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Curly Label Punch, Square Lattice & Border Embossing Folders, Aquapainter

Three Easy Pieces

2011-11-14T11:32:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post today---I thought I’d share a couple- well, three small projects I made.
Recently on SCS, there was a challenge to make these quick little treat holders using a 6x6 piece of DP. The link to Wendy’s instructions are here. Here’s one I whipped up using Spice Cake DP and Gift Givers---and I mean I whipped it up FAST!:

I used the Two Tags diecut to lap over the opening and a little half-circle of velcro to keep it closed! It holds a Reece’s peanut butter cup just perfectly! Yum! Gift Givers is the set I used.

I recently did a stamp camp for two sweet friends and we had a blast! There were nine stampers all together and they loved the cards we made. As a hostess gift, I made one of these Post-it Note holders for each of my friends:

One used ruffled ribbon, the other velveteen; such pretty colors together! Day of Gratitude, Bring on the Cake & Teeny Tiny Wishes are the sets.
Last, I had some leftover 8 1/2” x 2 1/2” Real Red scraps from square cards I had made, so I made a real quick little 3-D mini Christmas card with the Pennant Parade set and the coordinating punch:

Three trees were stamped, punched, folded in half and adhered together, then mounted on an oval of Frostwood Lodge plaid paper—from my MDS download! Woohoo! Such a sweet little country-style card! Thanks for visiting today!

Oh, playing in the sink with bubbles is SO much fun! Especially when you try to eat them!

Paper Players 72 & FMS10

2011-11-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Sunday to everyone! It’s my turn to host over at the Paper Players and I’ve got a color challenge for you:

Aren’t these pretty together? Of course I had to make a Christmas card with them, but I think it would be fun to see if you could make something other than a holiday-themed card! But they sang “Christmas” to me, so that’s what I went with! So here we go:

I used images from Winter Post and stamped them simply in Always Artichoke and River Rock. The Riding Hood Red panel was embossed with Petals A-Plenty, and all my cardstock pieces were sponged with their corresponding ink colors. I did some real tricky masking for my sentiment in order to make it fit the front panel! I added the dots so I could continue the sentiment on the inside:

I even added some glimmery snowfall to my skaters:

And lest I forget, my card uses the Freshly Made Sketches sketch #10 for this week from the talented Rita Wright!

I hope you’ll participate with my color challenge this week at the Paper Players! We LOVE seeing what you come up with---skate on over there to see what the other designers did with these colors, too! You just might have your card chosen as a Cut Above or even the Headliner!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Winter Post, Season’s Greetings (ret)
Paper: River Rock, Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke, Always Artichoke Patterns DP
Ink: River Rock, Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke
Acc: Petals A-Plenty EF, Designer Frames EF, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Glimmer Brad, Jelly Roll Pen, Sponges & Daubers, Large Oval Punch, Stamp-a-ma-Jig

My First MDS

2011-11-11T13:32:00.001-05:00

Ever since my Paper Players bloggin’ buddy Cindy posted on her blog that you don’t need the entire My Digital Studio program to use the downloads, I have been toying with the idea of buying a couple, just to try them out. My fear was that I am not too computer-savvy when it comes to coloring images and I knew I didn’t want to just print things out in black all the time! She gave me some hints about using the Paint program, and although some of the brush sets do not work in Paint, I have been able to play around a little and actually printed out one of the images from the Old Saint Nick set to make this card:

Pretty simple, but I wasn’t going for complex at this stage of the game! I did have some issues with getting the RGB value to match the Cherry Cobbler cardstock; it is probably my printer, which is soon-to-be discarded. I had some leftover skinny pieces of the Glimmer Silver cardstock that I placed behind my panel and I used a little punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack to add a bit of zing to the center of the embossed snowflake. I have more to learn about My Digital Studio, but I was at least happy to have one project under my belt!

Wee Details:

Stamps: MDS Jolly Old St Nick
Paper: WW, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Glimmer
Acc: Northern Flurry EF; Itty Bitty Punch Pack Flower Punch

Forgotten Fall Cards

2011-11-09T06:42:00.001-05:00

I apologize to all my blog friends whose blogs I have been neglecting….for some reason, it just seems as though I am really busy with other things the past week or so!!! I also have company coming next week and some holiday things to prepare, so I may be MIA occasionally in the coming weeks. Not to worry, I will be around but may not post every day!

I realized I hadn’t shared a couple fall-themed cards that I had stamped earlier. This was a birthday card for a friend:

It uses a PTI image and sentiment and was colored with Copics. The next one used an image from Arielle and was also colored with Copics:

If you have any questions about elements used on these, please shoot me an email! And thanks for visiting today!

CQC110 & Mojo 214

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday, peeps! It’s another ColourQ day and look at this yummi-licious inspiration photo Arielle has shared with us today:

Boy, that just makes me want a cookie! Mine would never look that good, though! LOL! So I settled for making a card for my friend Carol who had surgery yesterday! I used the Mojo Monday sketch 214:

And here’s my card:

I found some cute papers from Cosmo Cricket’s Joy Ride that matched perfectly for my CAS creation. I used one of those humongous buttons from the Spice Cake line for my little sentiment:

I cut the words of my sentiment stamp apart to fit it to the circle punch! Mounting the sentiment on the button really adds a fun dimension to this simple card! If you’d like to send a card to Carol too, just shoot me an email at leanne dot pugliese at gmail dot com, and I’ll give you her info!

I hope you will play along with the ColourQ team this week with this yummy color combo! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

My wee little one is teething, so she was a bit under the weather on Friday, but she so loves to go outside, I bundled her up in one of my scarves, as it was really cold here last week:

My little babushka! Thanks for visiting today!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Celebitties Sentiments, Purple Onion Designs
Paper: Confetti White, Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede, Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride
Ink: Soft Suede, Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Dusty Durango (for sponging)
Acc: Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Peach Parfait Poly Ribbon, Circle Dies, Jumbo Button, MS Apple Punch, Dimensionals, Daubers

Paper Players 71

2011-11-06T06:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday! Anne Marie is our Paper Players hostess today, and she is cookin’!!! That is, she has a “recipe” for us:

I chose to do a little country Christmas card….I know the “country” style is a bit outdated, but a lot of people still like it and I just love these old SU images from Little Somethings:

They are perfect for just a little bit of coloring and a “sprinkle” of glitter!:

Each button is threaded with Real Red narrow grosgrain ribbon, and the little tags at the top hang on some Whisper White taffeta ribbon. And here’s the inside:

I did not intend for this little stocking to be off-kilter; I actually bought this set at a yardsale and it was mounted crooked! Does that ever happen to you? A few seconds in the microwave and I was able to reposition it the same way as the decal…but the damage was already done!

I hope you’ll cook something up with the Paper Players this week, too! Whisk on over there and show us your creation and you might be chosen as a Cut Above or Headliner this week! And while you’re there, check out all the other designers’ creations! We are welcoming Susan Joyce this month as our guest designer, too….so be sure to stop by and visit!

Wee Details:

Stamps: Little Somethings (ret), Tiny Tags, Many Merry Messages
Paper: WW, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Real Red Patterns DP
Ink: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Stazon
Acc: Circle Punches, Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Taffeta Ribbon, Markers, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Jewelry Tag Punch

Blog Candy Winner!!

2011-11-04T06:15:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! We have a winner for my blog candy from my Paper Players post!!! Random.org picked #114, which is Chris, aka Mudmaven! Congrats, my friend! Your goodies will be on your way soon! Thanks so much to everyone who visited and posted a comment---you are all winners to me!