An Angel's Work

I scored another great find on Ebay! Found this D. Morgan stamp by Stamps Happen, I'd never seen it before, so I was desperate to get it. I think it's so beautiful. If you've never seen D. Morgan's paintings before, you should check them out. My coloring can't hold a candle to them, but I love coloring them.

The little sentiment running around the image says 'From morning light... to setting sun~ an angel's work is never done.'

Of course I added lots of glitz and sparkle using Stickles, and Liquid Pearls. I spattered some white acrylic paint over it too, for gently falling snow. I colored everything with colored pencils.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Stamps Happen, Justrite

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink, Bristol vellum, Little Yellow Bicycle

Accessories: Gingham ribbon, Nestabilities, McGill circle punch, corner rounder, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Copic Spica pen, colored pencils, OMS, Sakura Glaze pen

I'm Cheating! No Stamping...

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Hope your Thanksgiving is full of blessings!

That's right, not a single stamp on this one! Well, it's still a paper crafting card. I had to try these paper tole card kits from Docrafts in the UK. They're so stinkin' adorable, I couldn't resist. Now, I thought these would be like some of the other paper tole papers I've seen before, with a bunch of the same images that you have to cut out yourself, and then layer them. I was expecting these to be a lot of work! But no--they're precut! All you have to do is punch them out carefully, stack them with sticky foam tape and make a card with the finished image.

Easier than pie. The kit even came with coordinating papers. Really, really cute! If you're looking for easy cards, this is a kit to consider.

Anyway, it was something different to try. I had fun with it.

Now go eat, drink and spend time with family, as I'm about to do! We'll be having a small non-traditional dinner with my parents in New Jersey, totally unplanned, last minute thing. My kids were supposed to be spending Thanksgiving in North Carolina with my brothers, but my Mom had a bit of bad news from her doctor regarding a clogged artery. She has to go for surgery on Friday, so she had to cancel their plans to take my kids to NC. So, it's a nervous time for me till she gets through this.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Forever Friends Paper Tole card kit from Docrafts, White grosgrain ribbon, sheer silver ribbon, silver cord, snowflake charm, Nestabilities

Waiting for Santa..

A gorgeous stamp like this has to have gorgeous papers and embellishments. Belles 'n Whistles keeps putting out more and more beautiful Elisabeth Bell images, and I can't resist them!

I really wanted to layer a Spellbinders pendant die cut behind it but it was too small as is, so I cut them up into four equal sections. This way I was able to spread them out a bit, so the corners could peek out from the sides of the image. Makes it look like a large pendant!

This card is in my Etsy store if anyone is interested!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Belles 'n Whistles, sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps

Ink: Vivid, SU

Paper: Bristol vellum, Cosmo Cricket, Heavenly White, The Paper Co.

Accessories: Spellbinders pendant die, satin ribbon, Marvy Uchida snowflake punch, McGill label punch, Stickles, PTI button

Forever Friends Bears Baking

I actually own this Forever Friends stamp! Until now I was only able to use pre stamped images I got in a swap. Which is great if you just plan to use the image once or twice, but I love these stamps way too much. I plan on using them a lot more, so I lucked out on some Ebay.UK auctions!

I colored the baking bears with colored pencils, blended with odorless mineral spirits. The DP is Cosmo Cricket.

Stamps: Forever Friends, Buzzcraft

Ink: Vivid, SU, Perfect Match

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Papertrey Ink, Heavenly White

Accessories: May Arts reversable ribbon, jingle bell brad, Martha Stewart edger punch, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles

Sugar Bowl Challenge Card

I felt like playing along with a sketch challenge, to get some new card layout ideas, and to try and win that awesome prize for new Sugar Nellie stamps! lol. Check out the sketch & details here. And I really like this weeks sketch! I decided to use Snowflake.

Since I decided to use SU papers, one of my favorites patterns 'Ski Slope', I had a hard time finding a color match for Baja Breeze. Nothing close enough in my huge colored pencil collection, or my limited collection of Copics. So, I decided to water color the image, like I always used to before I discovered colored pencils. I used SU inks and markers, then went back with colored pencils to deepen the shading. I water colored the background around Snowflake with Sage Twinkling H2O. Lots of shimmer and sparkle on this card! The snowflake on the bottom left is coated in glass glitter, and I used a bit of shimmery cardstock for border accents.

Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, Waltzingmouse Stamps, PTI snowflake

Ink: Memento, SU, Perfect Match

Paper: Fabriano water color paper, SU, The Paper Co., Heavenly White

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 8, Martha Stewart edger punch, Fiskars edger punch, SU ribbon/markers, Twinkling H2O's, Copic Spica pen, colored pencils, Marvy Ucida snowflake punches, glass glitter, pearls, red satin ribbon

Christmas Eve

Another Joy Fold card, this time, much bigger, about 6" square. Had to figure out the measurements all by myself, which I normally stink at! I love to work with larger cards, though, especialy for large stamps such as this one from Stamps Happen.

This is one of my favorite Christmas stamps, I've had it for a while, I use it for at least one card every Christmas.

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stamps Happen, Justrite

Ink: Memento, SU

Paper: Heavenly White, Fancy Pants, The Paper Co., Bazzill

Accessories: Nestabilities, Fiskars edger punch, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, McGill circle punch, satin ribbon, Stickles

IO Shaker Card Challenge

It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge, this time shaker cards! You too can join in on the challenge, check out all the details HERE. (You can win a $25 gift certificate for IO.)
I have never done one of these before, but I have seen the tutorials on SCS. It involved acetate, foam tape, measuring, cutting, layering, glitter or flocking scattering everywhere.... NOT for me, lol! I loved the idea of shaker cards, just not the work involved. SO, when I saw these new shake it 'pouches' Impression Obsession came out with, I danced with joy! What an awesome idea to make these cards soooo much easier!

These little plastic 'pouches' make it so easy. They come in circles, squares, ovals, several different sizes. If you have Nestabilities, it's even easier to use these. I simply stamped my image, colored it in, traced the shake it pouch around the image and used the right size die to cut it out. I sprinkled some flower soft, glitter and some tiny snowflake punches into the pouch, peeled the plastic backing off the tape (yes, the pouches have adhesive already on them), put the image face down over it and that's it. I cut a scalloped circle 'frame' and adhered that over the pouch, then layered it as usual. So simple, and a fabulous effect! This was my first one, so I tried to keep it simple, but I have SO many ideas for future cards. Imagine beads, tiny leaves, flowers, anything that will fit!

Well if you have never tried them, you really should, they are a lot of fun. Need more ideas? Check out the other IO design team blogs for more inspiration:

Shirley

Julie

Dina
Kelli
Laura
Jenny
Deborah

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession 'Snow Baby 2'

Ink: Vivid, CTMH

Paper: PTI, Bristol vellum, Oriental Trading Co.

Accessories: Nestabilities, PTI ribbon/button, Sm. Circle shake-it pouch, Flower Soft, Martha tewart snowflake edger punch, Copic Spica pen, colored pencils, OMS, gitter, silver cord

Snowy Winter's Eve

For the longest time I could not figure out where the heck this stamp came from! I've had it for a while and because it's UM rubber, and I put it in an unmarked CD case, I didn't know where I got it. So I searched, and searched, trying to remember which stamp companies I was buying from several years ago. Eventually, I found it, it's from Cherry Pie Art Stamps. I immediately marked it so I wouldn't forget again!

I decided to try a different card again, this time it's a Joy Fold card. The little 'Peace' medallion on the bottom left holds the folded image closed. It's very pretty, but I don't think I will be making many of them. I really can't see the recipient (that is not a cardmaker) being able to figure it out without tearing it somehow, LOL.

The image was the simplest thing I've ever colored. I just used a SU Soft Sky reinker and my waterbrush. Very soft and pretty though.

Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Cherry Pie Art Stamps, PTI

Ink: SU, Perfect Match

Paper: Arches water color paper, SU, PTI, The Paper Company

Accessories: Nestabilities, Martha Stewart edger punch, silk ribbon, Stickles

Snow Flurries

Another adorable Elisabeth Bell image from Belles 'n Whistles! I can't resist these innocent faced kiddos. I used the last of my 'Laundry Line' paper from My Mind's Eye on this one. I really hope I can find more of this sparkly green fern-y pattern, it's one of my faves.

I also used the new deep floral edger punch from Martha Stewart, so many gorgeous designs in her new collection. I don't know how I made cards without them before!

It's back to work for me, hope you all have a great day! Thanks for stopping by...

Stamps: Belles n Whistles, SU

Ink: Memento, SU

Paper: Heavenly White, My Mind's Eye, Bazzill, The Paper Co.

Accessories: Satin ribbon, PTI button/twine, Martha Stewart edger punch, Liquid Pearls, Copic sketch & Spica markers, colored pencils, OMS, SU designer label punch, rhinestone

Silent Night

Another card that goes onto the Family/friends pile. This image is from a retired Stampin Up set, 'Country Pleasures'. I colored it with Copics and colored pencils. The sentiment tag is Waltzingmouse Stamps, I love using them to enhance the Spellbinders die cuts. The sentiment is from PTI's Silent Night.

It's hard to see in the picture, but there are white speckles of 'snow' all over the image. I used to use this technique all the time when I was doing decorative painting, you take an old toothbrush, dip it in some watered down acrylic paint and flick your finger over the bristles to spatter all over your surface. I love the effect. However it's best to use a nice opaque acrylic paint, which I could NOT find anywhere in my craft area, every other color under the sun, but not white! So I ended up using Gouache, which wasn't as opaque, which is why the white 'snow' doesn't show as much as I'd anticipated. But IRL, you can see them fairly well, and I was happy with the end result.

Anyway, hope it inspires, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampin Up, Waltzingmouse Stamps, PTI

Ink: Memento, Memories, SU, Versamark

Paper: Close to My Heart, PTI, SU

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels die, Martha Stewart deep edger punch, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, gouache, PTI ribbon/button/twine, brown metallic ribbon, copper embossing powder, antique silver brads

Forever Friends Card box set

Better a late post than none at all, right?!

I just can't get enough of these pudgy little bears. I love their sweet little faces and rounded tummies! I HATE that I can't get the stamps easily here in the US! lol. Although I have found a couple of auctions that were willing to ship to me, yay! I don't know why I always fall for the hard-to-get stamps. I remember it started with Magnolia before anyone even knew what they were, I had to wait weeks to get my first ones! Then there were the Rachelle Ann Miller stamps first put out by Ladybug and Friends (I think) that were only available in Europe. Thank goodness her adorable illustrations quickly grew popular and a couple of other stamp companies started manufacturing them.

Then there's the retired Penny Black's, PSX and SU sets...sigh. Most of the time, I just can't be happy with readily available stamps, it has to be a treasure hunt! Maybe that's part of the thrill.

Anyway, I love these images so much I had to create a whole coordinating set of them. I even made a little card box for all of them to fit neatly into. (Thanks to Creative Inklings for the 'Wonderful You' card box, which I had to modify slightly to make my fatter cards fit!)

I used the lovely, lovely retired (surprise, I go for all the retired DSP's too!) Wintergreen papers from Stampin Up. Love the colors!

Thanks for stopping by for a peek at my latest project, have a good night all!

Stamps: Forever Friends, Papertrey Ink, SU, Justrite

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match, SU, Adirondack

Paper: SU, The Paper Company

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels dies & Nestabilities, SU punches, Martha Stewart punch, SU ribbon, satin ribbon, Copic sketch & Spica markers, colored pencils, OMS, Marvy snowflake punch, Stickles, Flower Soft, rhinestone, pearls, PTI button, silver cord

Christmas Toys

I don't think I've ever made a gate fold card, this is my first time! I find myself so comfortable making a card ONE WAY, and never straying, it tends to get boring! I might be making more cards this way.....maybe, LOL! I try to force myself to create outside my sphere of comfort, just to change things up a bit, every once in a while.

The stamp is from Stampavie, colored with colored pencils and blended with OMS. The paper is Imaginisce.

Short and sweet, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Stampavie, Papertrey Ink
Ink: Vivid, Perfect Match
Paper: PTI, Imaginisce, Stardream, The Paper Co.
Accessories: Red grosgrain ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Liquid Glass, Stickles, Uchida clever lever snowflake punch, brad

Snow Angel

Oh gosh, doesn't your heart just melt looking at this adorable snow angel from Whipper Snapper? Mine does! She is BIG! There was entirely too much white paper behind her when I cropped it into a typical rectangle, covering up all that delish Basic Grey patterned paper, so I just gave in and cut her out.

One thing I learned when coloring this pudgy little snow lady was shading 'snow' looks a lot nicer when two different colors are used. One for the main shadows, then a totally different color for 'accent' shadows. In this case, I used a typical blue with a greenish tint, then went back and added a bit more in a light spring green. For some reason, it just added so much depth the shading. It's hard to see in the pictures, but trust me, it works!

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Whipper Snapper, PTI

Ink: Vivid, Adirondack

Paper: Heavenly White, Bristol vellum, Basic Grey, Stardream

Accessories: Nestabilities, EK Success edger punch, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, satin ribbon, PTI button/twine

Mouse on a Daisy

Almost forgot all about this little guy from Stampavie! Isn't he sweet? When I saw those little puffball flowers, I immediately thought of using Flower Soft for them. But I only have white, so I HAD to try to color it. How? With reinkers! I simply took a piece of cling wrap, scooped a bit onto it, added a couple of drops of reinkers, smooshed it around and let it dry a bit before gluing it on. Dried pretty quickly though. And it colored beautifully. So now I know I don't hav eto buy every color of Flower Soft! I don't have the room for it anyway.

The papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Nutmeg collection. I love the colors! And actually, believe it or not I colored almost the whole image with Copics. I've been collecting some colors that seem to be 'missing' from my vast collection of colored pencils. I'm not fond of the flesh tones in colored pencil, so I started getting some in Copic markers. Then certain blue greens and pale aqua's weren't very good, so I added more Copics, LOL. Before I knew it I had enough to actually color an entire image. I'm still undecided about them, though, I don't think I'll be replacing my colored pencils any time soon.

Oh, and I made this card for the Stampavie design team call. Try, try again! Wish me luck!

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampavie, PTI sentiment
Ink: Memento, SU
Paper: Heavenly White, Cosmo Cricket, PTI, SU
Accessories: McGill Label punch, SU scallop punch, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, Flower soft, Liquid Glass, Prima Flowers, pearl, brown satin ribbon

Peaceful Trees

This is a pretty simple card made with almost all SU products! That hardly ever happens, LOL! I've seen quite a few cards done like this, with the 'stamped off' trees, and I love the effect. This one is going into the Christmas card-for-family/friends stash.

I tried sticking some Polar White Flower Soft to the Stickled trees in the front, for some added dimension, but it didn't want to stick very much. {Note to self--Stickles looks pretty, but it ain't much of a glue!} Click on the picture to make it larger, the little bit that did stick looks really pretty. I may go back with some Tacky glue and stick some more on.

Not much to say today, being Monday, ugghhh... Hope your's isn't too bad.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Stampin Up, PTI sentiment
Ink: SU, Adirondack, Perfect Match
Paper: SU, PTI
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels & Nestabilities, sheer white ribbon, Martha Stewart tag punch, silver cord, Flower Soft, Stickles

Finally! My Own Shopping List!

If you've read a couple of my posts when I make these notebooks, you'll know that I haven't made one for myself yet, even though I desperately need one! Well, I finally made one that suits me to a tee! And I'm going to make myself use it even though it's too pretty, LOL. I use a lot of lists for grocery shopping, so I made a double notebook. The template from Nichole Heady's blog makes it sooooo easy, no measuring, you just print it out on your cardstock, make a few cuts, score, and that's it! Actually, I don't print it directly on my cardstock anymore, wastes too much paper, and you have twice as many cuts. So I printed one onto heavy cardstock, cut it out and use that to trace onto my cardstock. This way, I can line it up to two sides of the paper, eliminating two cuts, and save some paper, as well.

Here's a closer look at some of the modifications I made to mine:

I wanted my list to hang on my refridgerator, so I needed to attach a magnet to the back cover. I bought a bunch of magnetic sheets for cheap at the hardware store. They're 'Vent Covers' and only cost like $3 or $4 for a package of three. A lot less costly than the sheets you buy at the craft store! I just cut it down to size on my guillotine trimmer, and used Scor tape to adhere it. Then, I ran across another problem. The cover kept opening when hanging on the fridge. So I dug through my tool stash for the wafer thin magnets by Basic Grey. I found that if I adhered them to the inside back covers of the notebooks, they were still strong enough to keep the whole notebook closed, even through all the sheets of paper.

I love it, and you should really try one! Pretty and practical!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Perfect Match, Versamark
Paper: SU, PTI

Accessories: Marvy Uchida clever lever snowflake punches, PTI button, SU ribbon, Nestabilities, flocked mitten brad from Oriental Trading, Martha Stewart scallop punch, SU Heat n Stick powder, Art Institute glitter, PTI notebooks, magnetic sheet, Basic Grey magnets

How Many Sleeps till Christmas?

Before I share my card with you all, I figured I'd let you know that I've stepped down from the Magnolia design team. It was fun working with their stamps, and I love their designs, but it's on to new things for the future!

Now onto the card...
This card was one of those 'happy accidents' I have every once in a while. I started playing with Papertrey Ink's new Giga Guide Lines set, making a background paper on kraft cardstock, then another coordinating pattern paper with Beyond Basic Borders. I fully intended to make this a PTI card, but somehow I ended up coloring these adorable children gazing out the window from Eat Cake Graphics and just had to use it immediately!

Doesn't it look like they are just counting the days till Santa comes, maybe dreaming of the presents they will get? I LOVE them! This sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps is perfect too.

Of course I had to put Liquid Glass over the window panes, cut them out and popped them up with foam tape. Some Polar White Flower Soft and the effect is amazing. I am loving this card! All in all there was a LOT of stamping on this card, more than usual, but worth it, no?

Anyway, thanks all for the wonderful comments, it's what really keeps me going! I would be stamping anyway, but without my loyal readers, I wouldn't bother blogging!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Eat Cake Graphics, Waltzingmouse Stamps

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match, Distress

Paper: Papertrey Ink, Heavenly White, SU, Bristol vellum, The Paper Company

Accessories: Colored pencils, OMS, Martha Stewart edger punch, silk ribbon, EK Success holly punch, Liquid Glass, Flower Soft, PTI button, silver twine, Sharpie poster paint pen, Scribbles 3D paint

IODT Challenge 'Wreath'

It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge today! Today's challenge is to use a wreath.
Check out all the other DT ladies blogs for more wreath inspiration:

Daniela Dobson
Laura Fulcher
Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber
Dina Kowal
Deborah March
Shirley Ross
Jeanne Streiff

If you would like to participate in today's challenge for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate, head over to the Impression Obsession blog for all the details.


I chose to use 'Leaf Wreath' for today's challenge. I needed a break from all things Christmas just for a very short while. The sentiment is also IO, 'Give Thanks'.
I colored this one up very quickly using a Tombow blender pen dipped in Adirondack ink. I added some dimension to the large berries with Liquid Glass, and some sparkly Stickles to the the smaller clusters of berries.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day everyone!

Stamps: Impression Obsession
Ink: Distress, Adirondack
Paper: Bo Bunny, PTI, The Paper Company. Stardream
Accessories: Fiskars border punch, striped ribbon from Strano Designs, Liquid Glass, Stickles, PTI button, Tombow blender pen

Teddy Dresses Snowman

This Creative Imaginations paper is gorgeous, I love the colors! I hate covering up the design when I love the paper so much, but then what would be the point? No one wants a card with just some DP on it, would they? Hmmm...if it's pretty enough, maybe they would! LOL!

Anyway, I've been making these little shopping list notebooks to match the card, just because it's fun, and I love 'em! I have yet to make myself one. Just the other day while baking cookies I remembered I needed a couple of things from the store so I ran around the house trying to find a scrap of paper to jot it down before I forgot. Well, I couldn't find one in time, got distracted, and never did make that list. I must make one for me!

Thanks for looking, try to have a happy Monday!

Stamps: Forever Friends, JustRite
Ink: Memento, Distress, Perfect Match
Paper: Creative Imaginations, PTI, Stardream
Accessories: Martha Stewart scallop punch, Nestabilities, McGill circle punch, ribbon, button, Flower Soft, colored pencils, OMS, Copics