Ferns

Hello everyone! This card was completed for the Mojo Monday weekly sketch.

Ferns and the sentiment are from Verve. I stamped the fern in Versamark and embossed them using clear embossing powder. Peeled Paint distress ink from Ranger was sponged over the top.

The back ground paper has ferns throughout it (though you can't really tell) and is from Paper Pizazz. The green square designer paper is from my stash and I think it came from Crafters Workshop. Black cardstock used to layer all the squares and the circle. I started off with the sentiment stamped on white cardstock but it was really bright and I changed it to Ivory.

The small gold pearls are from Micheal's reflection line.

Thanks for stopping by! Can you believe that 2010 is almost gone? Where did this year go? Have a Happy and safe New Year!

Bright Side

Hello all! This card was made for the one of the Viva La Verve sketch challenges and contest for December. You can find all the details in the Verve forum over on SCS.

Stamps are from Verve; sentiment is from Flutter By and the flower is from Kind Words. I inked up the flowers with versamagic ink in Pink Grapefruit and Tea leaves. The sentiment was stamped first in Palette Noir and then I positioned the flowers around it. The new Labels 17 was used to cut out the shape. Love this new (or newer) set of labels!

Designer paper is DCWV Luxury stack and layered with green cardstock from Bazzill. Self adhesive pearls from Kaisercraft were used under the green grosgrain bow and as centers for the flowers.

Now that Christmas is over, I can get back into the swing of my normal routines! I didn't get any crafting or stamping goodies this year from Santa - nothing but clothes, but it was my choice. I have so many stamps and supplies now that I don't use. I've even been able to ignore (mostly) some of the awesome online after Christmas sales that are happening right now. I broke down and bought a few stamps at 50% off, but have not caved in to any new Christmas designer papers. Even though some of it is now almost 75% off - can't do it...I have a whole box full of stuff that I need to use up first! KWIM?

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Tree in a sack

This card was made for the ways to use it challenge over on SCS. The challenge was all about dimension or basically to pop it up! Here's what I created....

This cute stamp is from Plum Purdy, stamped in Memento ink and colored with Copic's. I used a yellow stardust pen to color the star.

A long rectangle nestie was used to cut out the image and then I used two strips of foam tape on top of each other to pop it up. Kraft and black card stock used along with the designer paper from Making Memories.

I decided to tie a piece of string to the top to go along with the tie on the sack. I used a single strand of DMC floss and I have to tell you it was harder than heck to get that bow tied! I ended up using some glue stick to get it placed where I wanted it.

It turned out to be a CAS card that has some character to it! I hope that you have a Happy Holiday Season with family and friends!

With deepest sympathy

Continuing on in my pink and brown mood. Here's a card that I completed for the SCS Wednesday sketch challenge.

Branch stamp is from Inkadinkado and colored with Marvy markers and the huff method. Sentiment is from PTI's Asian Fusion .

The designer paper on this: Background is pure luxury from DCWV and the front panel is Memory Box Gossamer. Brown card stock is from American Crafts.

Added some pink self adhesive pearls from Kaiser Craft to finish off the card. I really like how soft and pretty this one turned out.

Have a great stress free day!

Happy Everything

Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well this last week before Christmas. Here's my take on the Mojo Monday sketch this week.

Designer paper is from Tim Holtz Shabby Vintage collection, and layered with brown cardstock. I stamped some PTI fancy flourishes in spun sugar on the lined dp. I really like how subtle it came out. Sentiment and small tulips are from Victorine Originals. Copic markers used to color the tulips.

Self adhesive pearls from Micheal's reflection line are used on the scallops in the circle and in the bottom two corners on the lined dp. Ribbon is satin and the bow is tied with the Bow Easy.

I did things a bit different when creating this card. Usually I pick my stamps first, then go on a search and destroy mission to find just the right designer paper to go with whatever stamps I chose. This time I picked the designer paper first. So much less stressful and came together quickly too! So, how do you go about things? What do you choose first?

The true voyage of self-discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust

PW/TAC Blog Hop

Hello everyone! Some Angels over at Paperwings are doing a blog hop to showcase what can be done with our GWP (gift with purchase) stamps. Here are two cards that I completed showcasing two different stamps.

This first one is done using the Mini Damask. I stamped it in Color Box Baby Blue pigment ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. It almost took on the color of a light gray or silver.

The sentiment is from the Think of You set from TAC. The textile embossing folder went really well with the mini damask and I used the new nestabilities label 17 to cut out everything. Bow is tied using the Bow Easy.


This one uses Bitty Dots GWP stamp and the kissing technique. The flower is from Awesome Blossoms and inked up with red ink - then the bitty dots were used to kiss the flower stamp to make the polka dots on it.

Sentiment is from English Everyday Cuties. I just had to used the dot embossing folder from Provo Craft to match the dots in the flowers. Self adhesive pearls used for the center of the flowers.

Here are the Angels who are participating in the blog hop to give you even more ideas on using TAC GWP/PWP stamps.


Shirley:
Chelsea:
Tina:
Betty:
Angela:
Carol:
Seleise:

Vintage Santa

There's something about this stamp set that brings back the memories of Christmas and the great times I spent with my Grandparents! Grandpa really reminded me of Santa, you see. White hair, beard and the big belly were all natural!


Stamps are from The Angel Company. Santa is stamped in Memories black ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder, and the same for the sentiment.

Paper is from TAC as well. This year I've seen this Santa pop up everywhere, specifically in designer paper form.

Every time I see this I'm reminded of the time my Grandpa got a bit tipsy on Egg Nog and became very jolly! He decided it be fun to embrace his likeness of Santa....I can still remember the big red bow that he stuck to the top of his head instead of a Santa hat. Ah, good times and ever better memories!

Thanks!

Hello! Here's a non-Christmas card for you today! I used the mojo Monday 169 sketch as inspiration for this card.


The stamp is from The Angel Company called Ever so thankful. I used Copic markers to color the leaves and chalk to color the back ground.

The leaf is die cut from acetate and then colored with Alcohol inks. Both the leaf and the mat stack label die are from Papertrey Ink.

The back ground designer paper is from DCWV's linen closet line and the white hand made paper is something that I picked up from my LSS a while ago. Ivory grosgrain ribbon and gold pearls finish off the card.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Congratulations

Going out to Susan for being picked randomly and winning my blog candy for her CAS no layer card! You can see them here!

Susan, your goodies are in the mail!

Be Merry

Hello! This CAS little card has some cool texture to it! I picked up the new Sizzix embossing folder pack that has the snowflakes and the plaid together. I wanted the snowflake one specifically, but test out the plaid one and fell in love!

I really love how deep the impression is! The yellow scallops are cut using the large Quikutz cookie cutter die. I also used the new square die from PTI, again love that it cuts three squares all together which saves so much time!

All stamps are from The Angel Company. Sentiment is from Tag Tid Bits and the ornament is from Jingle Jolly and colored with a combination of Copic's and stardust pens. I chose some non-traditional colors for this Christmas card and I love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll announce the winner of my CAS no layer challenge tomorrow!

Poinsettia #3 - Cut out's

Here's another take on the poinsettia stamp from Just for Fun stamps. I did two, the first one I was just messing around to see if it could be done and the second is just another color variation.

Don't look too close at the coloring on this one - LOL! It was my "test" to see if I could cut parts of the poinsettia out and have it stand up and still be an A2 card. The ivory base is just sitting on the green card base and not attached at this point.

Here's the second one that I completed that I paid much more attention to the coloring and staying within the lines! ;-)

It's also my final version with everything attached and centered. Sentiment is from Papertrey ink - Signature Christmas.

I wish that Copic made a few more Red's (true Red's, not pinks) to color with. I'm partial to the red traditional poinsettia's and prefer the first card, but I'm not happy with the shading on it. What do you think?

Have a great day!


Tomorrow 12/15 is the last day to enter my CAS no layer challenge to win some blog candy! See post below to link up your card!

Treat box

Here's a quick treat box that I put together for a friend.


The design is the basic 2, 5, 7, 10 box that you can make with only one sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 cardstock. I stamped the green with versamark using the background holly from the Jingle Jolly set from The Angel Company. Used the lattice punch from Martha Stewart for the top of the box and added dark green grosgrain ribbon to tie it closed.

The designer paper is from Kaisercraft. I cut a label 17 from kraft cardstock and stamped the sentiment (TAC) and found a small holly stamp (Stampendous) in my Christmas stamps to use in the corners. Colored with Copic markers and then added a bit of sparkle using a stardust red gel pen. Finally, I popped it up using foam dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Poinsettia #2

Hey there! Here's another Poinsettia that I wanted to show off.


I got this stamp at an Heirloom rubber stamp show about 4 years ago and have gotten a lot of use from it. It's from Just for Fun rubber stamps and is a pretty big stamp.

Colored using Copic markers in the following colors:
R81, R93, R85
G21, G24
Y15

Designer paper in the back ground is from Memory Box. I added a strip of some dark green cardstock from DCWV for the corner accent, then added three gold pearls.

Sentiment is from Papertrey Ink - Signature Christmas.

What do you think? I have two more cards (that are done the same way, but different colors) to show you later. Until then, thanks for stopping by!



Don't forget to participate in my CAS no layer card challenge! You have till 12/15 to link up your card on the post below.

Tags, tags are everywhere!

Seems that everyone is buzzing with the techniques and tags that you know who does every year for Christmas! I have to admit to following along and trying out some of them. Here are two that I've recently done that were inspired from watching (er, reading) along.

This one uses Tim Holtz stamps from Stampers Anonymous. I heat embossed the trees and snowflakes. The snowflake die is from Provo Craft and is cut out using grunge paper. I painted it with white craft paint and added some pearl luster medium too. It almost came out looking silver - hence the silver button in the center. I added a bit of stickles to the snowflakes here and there, but you can't really see them in the picture. The blue is faded jeans distress ink that is sponged on.



On this tag I used distress inks in pumice stone and vintage photo. The wood grain is an old back ground stamp from SU and stamped in Vintage photo - then I sponged around the edges with it too.

The sentiment and decorative element are from Papertrey ink (Big and Bold Holiday Wishes) and is stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink. The red is pure poppy Palette ink. It's hard to see "the" in Tis the Season due to the wood back ground stamp. If I did it again, I would probably use black ink.

The poinsettia is cut from grunge paper using nestabilities and I painted them with red craft paint. Added a bit of red stickles to the edges to make them stand out. The swirl die is from TH and it's also cut from grunge paper. I air brushed it using Copic's and then smeared some Star dust Stickles all over it.

Lastly, I used barn door distress ink to color the seam binding that I tied to the tag. I think this one is my favorite so far, which do you like best?



Don't forget about my blog candy challenge! Link your CAS one layer card to be included into the drawing! Entries will be allowed until midnight PST on 12/15.

CAS no layer card (Challenge)

Hello! Have you ever tried to do a clean and simple no layer card? Maybe when you first started stamping right? Here's one I put together recently that I actually like.

All stamps are from The Angel Company. The trees are stamped in Memento onto kraft cardstock and colored with Copic's, then highlighted with a stardust pen. The line at the bottom is stamped in Versamark.

I have some blog candy that I'd like to give away to one lucky winner! All you have to do is make a CAS no layer card and link it below. I will randomly draw one winner on December 15th. All stamps are welcome, but I do have some TAC stuff to give away as well as some miscellaneous embellishments and supplies!

Won't you join in?

Cheery Santa

Hello everyone! Here's a new stamp that I just "had" to have from Make It Crafty in Australia. I also used this in the Inspiration Challenge over at SCS today. Here's what inspired me: Santa ornament.


Santa was colored with Copic markers. I used the labels 17 die to cut him out and layered it with Black cardstock. I traced around the die and hand cut the black cardstock to get a smaller mat. The designer paper is actually digital that I printed out from a free online source.

The sentiment tag is done with the Martha Stewart cornice border punch.

Don'tcha just love the expression on this Santa"s face? He just made me smile when I came across it while surfing around the web.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!


Copic's used:
E50, E51
YR00, YR21, YR24
C1, C00
B0000
N2, N4, N7
R22, R32, R43
R17, R27, R29, R39

Mr. Willie

Greetings! Here's my card for the sketch challenge over at SCS this week!

Mr. Willie the snowman is from Plum Purdy. I stamped him in Memento and colored with Copics. Added some sparkly glitter for the snowballs and snow on his hat! Sentiment is from Papertrey Ink - Signature Christmas.

Designer paper is from K&Company. I was really disappointed in how dark this picture turned out! I bought a new OTT light bulb about a month ago and it burned out last night. I surely did not get my return on investment for that darn bulb! If I had the receipt, I would be heading back to Joann's to return it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Coolest ever!

Hello! I read in a forum recently that K&Company had some nice Christmas designer paper out this year. Well, I went out on Sunday and found a pack that was 40% off at Micheal's - can't beat that! Here's what I did with some of the paper.

The sentiment is from The coolest Snowman that's a retired set from The Angel Company. The snowflake is also retired and is from the set called Christmas postage. The tiny flake is from Stamps by Judith. All of these are stamped in pigment inks from Colorbox Q set of blues.

The smaller snowflakes on the top right are done with a MS punch and a diamond rhinestone from Kaisercraft was used in the center of each. The other is cut from a Sizzix die and then smothered with white glitter. Nestabilitie circle dies used to cut out the circles and a white gel pen was used on the scallops. Blue cardstock is from PTI.

The Mojo Monday sketch was used for this card. What do you think?

Crow Country

Hi everyone!

I played along in the inspiration challenge over at SCS yesterday. The site that you were to visit to be inspired by is The Country Porch. There are some very nice things at this site and a lot to inspire you!

Here's what I chose to make a card around. It's these Curtains in the top left hand corner and you'll see the crow that's right under it that also caught my eye.


The designer paper is from Paper Pizazz called Stripes, Checks and Dots. I took a chipboard button and covered it with the same dp. The star is cut from a Sizzix die and colored with a Copic marker and then dots were added using a white gel pen. Added some black pine branch punches to go with the vine and popped it up on the card. I used hemp twine to make the bow on the button.

The crow stamp is from Plum Purdy and the vine is from SU. I have no idea what set it came from as I purchased the individual stamp off of Ebay years ago.

Nestabilities used to cut out the label and the long rectangle.

I had a lot of fun going country when making this card. It's almost CAS but with the dimensionals on the lower left side I think it makes it stand out a bit. What do you think?

Butterfly thank you!

Here's my creation for the Wednesday Flutter by challenge, which you can find here!


This retired stamp is from The Angel Company's 2003/2004 catty and is called Buggy Postage. I did alter the stamp a bit and took out the "joy" that was just above the wings. Sentiment is from PTI.

Designer paper is from the scrap booking section (long gone, I think) from Current Magazine. I distressed the edge of the blue dp with a pair of scissors. Black cardstock used as the card base and layers.

Colored with Copic markers in the following: YR02,YR04,YR07, G21,G24,B0000,B00, B02,C00, and C1. I decided to use the SCS sketch from this past week as a starting point. I did twist it up a bit and made it a A2 card instead of a square card.

Have a great weekend!

Christmas Penguin

Hello! I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving! I completed this card for the Wednesday sketch challenge over on SCS.



This darling penguin is a GWP (gift with purchase - spend $30 and get this for free) stamp from The Angel Company.

I colored him with a black and orange glaze gel pen and the red is just a normal gel pen. The designer paper is from Kaisercraft and it's layered with black cardstock. The card measures 4.25 square.

I don't venture out on Black Friday unless it's for groceries. I'd rather do most of my shopping over the internet in my PJ's!

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck in your shopping adventures if you're going out today!

Poinsettia #1

Greetings! Did you see that the Northwest made the national news with the Blizzard that blew threw? Wowza - that was something! It made me feel like I was in Alaska again! However, nothing like a few snow days to get the creative juices flowing and get some cards made.

Poinsettia's have to be my favorite Christmas staple! I have a lot of stamps of poinsettias too! Here is my newest stamp by Memory Box. It's stamped onto the designer paper (also by Memory Box) and colored with Copic Markers. I added some yellow pearls from Kaisercraft to the center.

I sponged on some Antique linen distress ink around the designer paper. I love that its really subtle and makes the dp blend in a bit with the kraft cardstock. Ivory cardstock was used for the base of this card.

The ribbon is colored with the same shades of red that I used in the poinsettia. The bow easy was used to tie that fab bow. I prefer to color satin ribbon with Copic's, as it stiffens the ribbon up a bit and makes tying a bow a lot easier!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Victorine Originals Christmas Challenge

If your looking for the Paperwings TAC Tag blog hop, it's one post down.

Hey there! Time to show you a few cards what the design team created with stamps from Victorine Originals using Christmas as our theme!


This is probably my favorite stamp that Vicki carries for Christmas! I just love the expression on Santa's face. It's almost looks like he knows that you haven't been 100% good this year, but he'll leave you a gift anyway! LOL!

I stamped him in black on creme cardstock. I used the deckled nestabilities to cut him out and then used distress inks to vintage it up around the edges. The designer paper is from Memory box and the black rhinestones from Kaisercraft. I used white satin ribbon and colored it with a copic marker that matched the colors in the dp and tied it on the top using a bow easy.


This next one uses the poinsettia stamp and it's colored with Copic Markers. I did cut this out and pop it up using foam tape. The sentiment and cardstock are all from PTI.

I really struggled finding a bow to put in the middle of this card. I tried so many different solid colors but nothing seem to be what I was looking for. I ended up buying some of this green and red plaid at Joann's. It's still not 100%, but it'll do. What do you think?

Please stop by the VO Blog and participate in our Christmas theme challenge. You could be the lucky winner of a 30% off coupon at Victorine Originals.