LOTV Thursday Challenge 'Creature Comforts'

Hello friends, are you gearing up to place your orders for the new stamps from LOTV? Which ones will you be ordering? It's a difficult decision I know!

For our Creature Comforts challenge this week, I went with this adorable critter 'April Showers'. Sometimes these easy-to-color images are great, they are super fast to do. And the matching sentiment is great, no more wasting time digging through my stash trying to find just the right one!

The little kitty is colored with Copics, and I went over the raindrops and the puddle with Crystal Lacquer to make it 'wet' looking. 

What to do you all think of the puffy little rain clouds? I wasn't too sure about these, but I spent so much time sewing them up I couldn't leave them off, lol! They're simply wool felt die cut clouds (die from Papertrey Ink) that I stitched together and stuffed. Then I added little rain drops with clear seed beads dangling from embroidery thread. Guess where that inspiration came from?! Mel Stampz of course....that woman is a genius!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to join in the challenge for a chance to win a prize.


Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Ink: Distress
Paper: Hammermill, Bazzill, Cosmo Cricket, Memory Box
Tools & Accessories: EK Success edge punch, wool felt, embroidery floss, PTI ribbon/button, Copics, Crystal Lacquer, seed beads, PTI banner/cloud dies

Special Delivery!

Good morning everyone! Here's a cute little new baby card I whipped up the other day, she's called 'Special Delivery'. She'll be available for purchase real soon. 

I used the gorgeous new Cheery Lynn lace edge die again, this time cut to fit around a circle. Actually, I cut all the individual lace sections apart and glued them in place around the edge. It's very delicate so I didn't want to bend it trying to force it around. You could never tell it wasn't meant to be a circle, can you?!

Super easy image to color with Copics, fast and simple. The sentiment actually comes with the image stamp, which is really nice. I love matching sentiments. 


Only two more days till you can order!


Thanks for visiting!


Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Paper: Hammermill, K & Co., Memory Box, Bazzill
Tools & Accessories: PTI ribbon, Cheery Lynn lace die, Copics, Crystal Lacquer, Nestabilities

Tree tops glisten...

Hello folks, I've been without internet all day and was seriously going through withdrawal! It really stinks to have a day off and not be able to go online, lol! 

But, it's finally back and now I can post this card that has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while now. As some of you may know, I've been a huge Papertrey Ink fan almost for as long as they've been in business. My stamping style has evolved and changed a bit, and I don't use their stamps as much as I'd like to. I just love coloring too much, but every once in a while they put out a set that I absolutely adore. This 'In the Meadow' stamp set is one of them. There is nothing about this set that I don't love, it is just beautiful. The best part? It comes with a matching set of dies. 

So here's the first card I made using the set. I love silhouette stamps used with beautiful brayered backgrounds, so that's what I went with. I used some Post It note masks for some snowy drifts along the bottom, sponged along the edges with ink. It's amazing how simple it is to create snow with this technique. A lot easier than Copics or colored pencils, IMO!

To create the shadows underneath the deer and critters, I took a Tombow blender pen scribbled in some of the same ink I used to sponge the snow and just created some shadows underneath them. 
I added some die cut trees to the background using coordinating patterned papers, a vellum fancy tag with Nestabling rhinestones and I have another beautiful card added to my stash. I have to make sure and get these out on time this year!


Thanks for stopping by!


Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Versafine, SU, Distress, Perfect Match white ink
Paper: My Mind's Eye, silver shimmer cardstock, SU, vellum
Tools & Accessories: silver satin ribbon, Spellbinders Fancy Labels 2, Nestabling, brayer, Tombow blender pen, PTI tree die

So Sweet

I've posted another card using one of the new stamps coming up on the 10th on the LOTV Inspire blog. Take a peek if you have a minute:

Warm 'n Cozy

Here's something totally different for me. I've seen a few cards with actual knitted items on them and LOVED them, I knew I'd have to try it sometime. I don't knit, but my mother does so I asked her to whip up a bunch of mini scarves for me. She was happy to oblige!

Since Papertrey Ink was featuring a challenge which was right up my alley, multi stamp background building, I figured I'd join in! I love using PTI background stamps, they make it easy to build gorgeous patterned papers. 

I used the Twinkle set as well as a snowflake from Peace Be Still in Scarlet Jewel, Ocean Tides and Antique Linen. I love rustic holiday colors.

I used my favorite Vineyard impression plate to create the Ocean Tides layer and made my own 'label-look' with a Martha Stewart edge punch and a corner rounder. The sentiment is from Snowfall.


Thanks for stopping by!

Mice are Nice Flower Shop

Hello loyal blog readers, thanks for stopping by today! Lili of the Valley has some adorable new stamps coming out if you haven't heard already. They're scheduled to be released Nov. 10 in their web store, earlier if you're lucky enough to be attending the Hobbycrafts show in Birmingham, UK! 

If you're a fan of their adorable Mice are Nice line of images, then you're in for a treat! Lots of new ones coming out soon. This one is called Flower Shop.

These cute little stamps make me feel so nostalgic. I've always been an avid reader since I was a small child and one of my favorite books was The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. I LOVED her books, and the mouse ones were read and re-read. I was fascinated by fantastical miniature worlds in which little creatures or fairies lived. Now that I think about it, I've always been entranced by miniatures. Maybe that's why I love making cards, you can use all sorts of miniature things to embellish them!

Anyway, this was colored with Copics, & added a bit of hand stitching around the edges. The card layout is based on the current Mojo Monday sketch. 


How about that gorgeous lace die cut??!! New one from Cheery Lynn, gosh it's gorgeous! I told myself I wouldn't need to buy as many dies once I became comfortable with my Gazelle, there are so many cut files out there, a lot of them free! BUT, I don't know if it's just me, or maybe my second hand machine has something wrong with it, but I just can't get intricate designs cut out nicely. I've almost given up on the thing, so the new dies keep on comin'!


Have a great day!


Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Paper: My Mind's Eye, PTI
Tools & Accessoris: Spellbinders Labels, Circle Scissor, embroidery floss, Copics, silk ribbon,  Daisy punches from The Punch Bunch, Cheery Lynn lace die, Viva Decor Pearl Pen

Halloween snowstorm

Good morning everyone! What an awful weekend off it turned out for me. Imagine my surprise when Saturday it starts snowing, and snowing....and snowing....

We ended up with this:

Trees came down on power lines, power went out mid afternoon, and that was the end of a productive crafting weekend. Yesterday we took a drive down to my parent's house in Jersey, my brothers were up from NC for the weekend, so we went for a visit. The power was out everywhere, from PA to NJ, we were lucky to find a gas station open to refuel!
Power was finally restored to us late last night, but there is no power in NJ where I was due for work this morning, so I stayed home.


That's the story morning glory, here's a card I finished up early this AM. 

This stamp is from Sugar Nellie 'Knitted with Love'.

Fully decorated inside and out easel card. Fancy schmancy!

I made the little wool stocking with a Lifestyle Crafts (Quickutz) nesting stocking die. Sewed it together by hand with some aqua beads and embroidery floss. Added some greenery and a tiny wool felt rolled rose to the top.
The snowflakes are also cut from felt with a Stampin Up die (Northern Frost). I sewed some tiny seed beads to those too. Sometimes I just get in the mood for some decorative hand stitching/beadwork. It's very time consuming, so I don't do it often, but I LOVE the homespun charm it adds to cards. 


The papers are a digital collection from Raspberry Road Designs, 'Christmas Thyme'.


Thanks for peeking in, have a SPOOKY FUN HALLOWEEN!