Sage Christmas Rose

I've been very lazy about posting lately. Still stamping, just not blogging... I'm sure it was just a slump when I realized it's already December and Christmas is three weeks away! Actually, more like a panic! LOL! I froze and couldn't think straight, never mind blog! But, I told myself not to think about it, and just keep plugging along.

I liked making these coffee filter roses so much (see this post here), I decided to do another one for my aunt. It's easy to do with the Begonia Petals punch from The Punch Bunch. I cut out the petals from coffee filters, which is easier to do with the filter folded in half and a piece of copy paper sandwiched between the layers. Then simply colored them with a bit of Twinkling H2O's. After that it's a cinch to layer them evenly around a snowflake punch, working largest to smallest petals.
As I'm sure you all noticed, Stampin Up's retired Wintergreen DSP is my fave this season, I use it A LOT! Just love the non traditional holiday colors.

I couldn't figure out where to put a simple Christmas greeting on this card, so I left it off. I may have to go back and add it before I send it. Decisions....decisions....

Thanks for visiting, come back soon!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Adirondack, SU

Paper: Heavenly White, SU, The Paper Co.

Accessories: silk ribbon, Martha Stewart flourish edger punch, self stick pearls, snowflake stickers (unknown maker), Begonia Petals punch from The Punch Bunch, Twinkling H2O's, Spellbinders Labels die

Christmas Rose

Happy Halloween everyone! This post is not Halloween related, though. :-)

I think this card will definitely be for my mother this Christmas. She looooooves flowers, so this will be perfect for her! A little while ago, I saw a gorgeous rose made from coffee filters on the Stamp TV web site (yes, there's a tutorial!), and I was entranced. I had to have that punch so I could make my own! Scrappily Ever After was out of stock on them for a long time, but they finally got it last week, AND they were on sale! I got the punch yesterday, and this is my first attempt at the rose. I colored it will Hot Cinnamon and Honey Amber Twinkling H2O's.

Notice the lovely punched bottom border? One of Martha Stewart's new deep edger punches. There are a ton of new ones out, so be sure to check out your local Michael's. Hold on to your wallet! You've been warned!

Anyway, thanks for stopping and I hope everyone has a safe and boo-tiful Halloween!

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps

Ink: Colorbox, Brilliance, Distress

Paper: Coffee filter, Papertrey Ink, My Mind's Eye, Stardream, Heavenly White

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels die, Martha Stewart border punch, McGill Label punch, PTI ribbon/button, metallic brown ribbon, self stick half pearls, Twinkling H2O's

Gorjuss For Everafter...

Sorry for the corny title, but I couldn't resist! There are so many adorable character stamps out there lately, it all started with Magnolias for me. Then the Rachelle Anne Miller stamps, then Sara Kay and Elisabeth Bell, now Gorjuss girls...with more on the way. Sigh...I am always broke. Just yesterday I received my adorable stamps from The Greeting Farm. I'll be posting one of those cuties soon.

I used the new Cosmo Cricket paper collection Everafter for this card. I had a heck of a time trying to line up those scallops though! Went through a couple pieces of the DP till I got it right. I hate when that happens!

Hope it inspires!
Samps: Sugar Nellie
Ink: Palette, Distress
Paper: PTI, Cosmo Cricket, SU
Accessories: PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, McGill flowers punch, glass glitter, self stick pearls

Swing in the Sunshine

While I wait patiently for my Gorjuss girls stamps from Sugar Nellie, I find myself going back to some of my other favorites. Sugar Nellie is going to put me in the poor house with all the wonderful stamps they've been banging out lately!
On another note, I found a wonderful source for inexpensive ribbons on Etsy. They come in a TON of colors, and are the easiest to tie in a bow. (For the seriously bow challenged like myself!)Just do a search for vintage seam binding-tag: supplies, and hold on to your wallet, LOL! Actually, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the prices. I got 60 yards for about $14! Seam binding is super soft, slightly sheer and ultra lightweight and I love it!

Anyway, hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie

Ink: Palette, SU

Paper: W/C paper, Papertrey Ink, My Mind's Eye

Accessories: MS scallop edge & Hydrangea punches, seam binding, liquid pearls, markers, sewing machine, thread

Spring Scrapbook

Sorry about the serious lack of posts lately, I've been wanting to make some changes to my blog layout for a long time, but thought it would be a horrendously time consuming task so I kept putting it off. Well, after I researched it a bit, I found out it wasn't quite so bad as I anticipated. So now I've settled on a three column layout with a simple & pretty blog banner. Nothing too complicated for me, I've discovered, I just don't have the time and patience for it!
Someone on Etsy.com contacted me a little while ago asking if I made journals, or scrapbooks with the little girl images from Elisabeth Bell I'm so fond of. Got me to thinking, why not? Why limit myself to cards? These images are perfectly suited to small scrapbooks, or journals, and make a beautiful cover for a book! So here is my first one, made on my dusty old Bind-it-All. The inner pages are plain, heavy cardstock, so someone can insert their own papers and pictures.

It's going up on Etsy soon, so if you're interested keep an eye out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: W/C paper, My Mind's Eye, Papertrey Ink, Bristol, Chipboard

Accessories: Spellbinders Megabilities, Seam binding, The Punch Bunch flower punches, Liquid Pearls, Stickles, markers, Martha Stewart scallop punch, Bind-it-All

Another Hydrangea Card

I made a smaller version of this card a while back when I discovered how beautiful punched flowers look when 'embossed' and shaped. Unfortunately, it disappeared on me. It was my most favorite card ever, and it's gone! So I had to make another, but the original was still better!

I used Caran D'ache watercolor crayons to randomly color a piece of watercolor paper with three or four colors. I then punched out a bunch of flowers using the two sizes of the Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch. Embossed them on the reverse side of each flower, and arranged them onto an oval. And of course, everything using my favorite colors!

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Paper Salon

Paper: Memory Box, PTI

Accessories: Martha Stewart's Hydrangea & scallop punches, Spellbinders labels trio, PTI ribbon, sheer ribbon, Nestabilities, Liquid Pearls

Sweet Bunnies

Is this not the most adorable image?!! I love the sweet little bunnies hugging each other while admiring the pretty flower.

I know it's more like an Easter card, but I don't really send Easter cards out to anyone, so I made it a spring Birthday card. Used a couple of my punched paper flowers to embellish each corner, with a dot of Liquid Pearls for the center.

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Penny Black, Papertrey Ink

Paper: Heidi Grace, Making Memories, PTI, Hot press w/c paper, Bazzill

Ink: Paper Salon, Palette, Distress

Accessories: Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch, Liquid Pearls, Vellum, paper piercing tool, Stickles, white grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder punch

Christmas Card for my Folks...

This is a card I made for my parents. I know my mother will love it, she loves all things flowers! Once again, I painted a sheet of water color paper with various colors of Twinkling H2O's, then punched the flowers out with my Cuttlebug flower die. I shaped them with a stylus and paper shaping tool from the bottom, then layered four flowers one on top of another. It's held together with a brad. I added some glittered branches around it, and layered it on some label shapes.

Now I just have to mail it, and hope it's there by Christmas! Yes, I'm terrible. Love making cards, hate mailing them!

Hope it inspires!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Paper: Watercolor paper, Cosmo Cricket, PTI, Bazzill

Ink: Palette, Distress

Accessories: Martha Stewart branch punch, Snowflake from The Punch Bunch, Spellbinders Labels Die, Glass Glitter, Brad, Gold ribbon, Nestabilities

Last Two Magnolia Design Team Projects

Here are the last two cards I made for Magnolia DT. Same image, different looks. The second card has a pretty sweet little embellishment I'm pretty proud of. I made the little tree from a twig cut from a floral stem, then tied strips of green jute, or some kind of thin colored string that came in my DT package, all along the trunk. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's a bit stiff, which worked perfectly for the tree 'branches'. Again, I'm not sure who the maker of the DP is, I didn't get a whole sheet and there was no logo on it.

I decorated the inside of the card, too, so it shows through the 'window'. That's a gorgeous snowflake stamp embossed in silver, also from Magnolia. I love snowflakes, I have all kinds, fancy and rustic. You can never have too many snowflake stamps!

I tried something else pretty neat with the first card. I could not for the life of me find matching ribbon, but I had the perfect color of Twinkling H2O's. So I decide what the hey, I'm going to try and dye some white twill tape with it! Well, it worked beautifully! I simply brushed it on with a paintbrush (dampen the twill with a little bit of water first so it colors evenly), dried it with the heat gun, and bingo! It looks gorgeous!

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Magnolia, Pink Cat Studio, Papertrey Ink, JustRite

Ink: Palette, Versamark, Distress, Adirondack

Paper: Hot press w/c paper, Bazzill, Stardream

Accessories: Nestabilities, Clear EP, Sheer red ribbon, Flower punches from The Punch Bunch, Tombow/SU markers, Liquid Pearls, mini sewing machine, Twinkling H2O's

JustRite Projects Not Entered into Contest.

This was a potential entry for the JustRite Stampin' Champion Contest. I made several for the final round, and decided this one wasn't the one for the contest. You'll have to wait till tomorrow to see which one I entered! There are so many beautiful projects, the competition is really fierce! To me it's all about fun, though. I mean sure, it would be great to win, but I've already been pleasantly surprised that a couple of my projects were chosen as 'hopefuls' for the finals! I won quite a few gift certificates, so I am anxiously waiting for JustRite's new releases in a couple of weeks so I can spend it all! I make cards and paper crafts because I love it. If it starts to become a 'job' I'm afraid I won't love it as much any more! KWIM?


Anyway, a little about this gift bag. The ornament/tag attached is actually called a 'penny' made of wool felt. Well, the red and blue layers are anyway. The snowman was stamped onto regular paper, then glued onto the wool. The edges were emroidered using a blanket stitch, which is typical of this type of craft. Usually there are many, many of these stacked 'pennies' made of all types of heavy weight fabric scraps, then sewn together to form decorative placemats, wall hangings, doilies, etc. I love the folk-art look to them.


Then of course, the tissue paper filler just wasn't the right color, so I sprayed it with some Moon Shadow Mists and Adirondack reinkers! Gotta get everything to coordinate!


Stamps: Inky Antics, JustRite
Ink: Palette, Distress
Paper: Watercolor paper, PTI, Cosmo Cricket, Prism
Accessories: Cream Twill tape, PTI twill ribbon, Nestabilities, Kraft Gift Bag, Moon Shadow Mist, Adirondack reinker, Wool Felt, embroidery thread, Sakura Glaze pen, Tombow/SU! markers

Here's a card I also considered entering into the contest, but decided against it in favor for another. I saw someone use Distress inkpads to watercolor with and loved, loved loved the look! It's got a vintage, aged look to it that just suits this image perfectly!

The card background was simply stamped with Versamark, so the flourishes are just a shade darker than the cardstock. Some layered ribbons, a scalloped circle sentiment that reads, 'Take the time to smell the flowers', and that's all there is to it!

Thanks for looking, and don't forget to vote for your favorite on the JustRite blog starting tomorrow!

Stamps: JustRite, Stamp Avie, Inkadinkado

Ink: Versamark, Palette, Distress, Paper Salon

Paper: Watercolor Paper, Papertrey Ink

Accessories: Nestabilities, Dew Drops, Tombow/SU! Markers, Lacy edge ribbon, PTI twill ribbon, Scribbles 3D paint, paper piercing tool

Finally! Sara Kay Stamps!

They finally arrived Monday from Sweet & Sassy stamps! I have been wanting these beauties for a long, long time! The detail the artist puts into the drawings is amazing, and Stampavie puts out very good quality clear stamps that retains all of it.

The flowers I added to the top corner were made using Martha Stewart's Hydrangea punch out of a piece of watercolor paper I randomly colored with soft Pan Pastels.

Stamps: Sara Kay by Stampavie, PTI

Ink: Palette, Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink, HP watercolor paper

Accessories: Nestabilities, PTI satin ribbon, Tombow/SU! markers, Pan Pastels, Scribbles 3D paint

Another Challenge...OCC Inspiration

While browsing my favorite blogs, I came across this gorgeous inspiration picture at Our Creative Corner. The challenge was, of course, to create something inspired by the picture. The color of the walls immediately brought to mind Papertrey Ink's Lemon Tart and Vintage Cream, and the rest is history. The card practically made itself, LOL. Sometimes, it's as easy as that, other times, I agonize trying to put something together!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Distress, Paper Salon, Perfect Match

Paper: PTI

Accessories: Flower theme punch from The Punch Bunch, Tulip Dimensional Paint, EK Success Corner Rounder

Harvest Colors card.

I had to post one more card I made. I have quite a few to show, but I'm too tired to do them all tonight!
This one took quite a bit of time, but I love the way it came out. My inspiration for a card/project usually comes from DP or a certain image. In this case, it was the image. I saw new Halloween/Fall stamps from Inkadinkado on their web site, and fell in love with them. I tried to find them online, but no one had them yet. I knew AC Moore carried a lot of Inkadinkado stamps, so I decided to check it out. Well, I was wandering the stamp section there, I didn't see them on the shelves and started getting pretty down. Until I spied a box on the floor with the Inkadinkado logo on the side. Well, I had to open it and look, and lucky for me, they had a whole bunch of new holiday stamp sets in there. I quickly rummaged through them and found the Bats & Cats set I wanted, plus another set of Halloween flourishes. This crow scene was in that set, and I love it!
So the crow stamp brought to mind deep, earthy colors reminiscent of Harvest time, so I stamped it in Burnt Umber Palette ink on SU! mustard paper. I tried to find some DP that would do the image justice, couldn't find anything in my stash, so I made my own. I took some Adirondack reinkers, did some washes on watercolor paper, then glazed over the whole thing with Pearl Ex for a gorgeous shimmer. When it dried, I ran it through my Big Kick with a Cuttlebug floral embossing folder. Love it!

Stamps: Inkadinkado, Papertrey Ink
Paper: Arches w/c paper, SU!, Bazzill
Ink: Distress, Palette
Accessories: Leaf and Flower punches from The Punch Bunch, Martha Stewart leaf punch, Olive felt ribbon, Spellbinders bookplate die, copper brads, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Pearl Ex, Adirondack reinkers, Clear round epoxy sticker, Tulip Dimensional Paint

CPS #72 Challenge

I made two cards for the CPS sketch challenge. The one on the right is pretty much exactly like the sketch, but the one on the left is a little different. It just shows how slightly changing an element or two can totally give a different look.
I wish I could figure out a way to be able to take a picture that shows the subtle shimmer of Pearl Ex! It's so frustrating. The ginkgo leaves on the left are actually very shimmery. They're gorgeous! After I water colored the paper with various Adirondack reinkers, I took a bit of Pearl Ex Iridescent gold powder pigment, mixed it with a bit of water and gum arabic and washed it over the whole paper. It gave the earthy colors such a beautiful sheen I almost hated to start cutting into the paper!
Anyway, I liked this sketch a lot. I might have to add it to my stash for when I have a creative block.
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Adirondack, Perfect Match, Palette, Distress
Paper: PTI, Memory Box, Bazzill
Accessories: Gingko leaf from The Punch Bunch, Dew Drops, Pearl Ex

Tilda & CO Sketch Challenge

Here's my first Tilda & Co. sketch challenge card. I don't know why I haven't joined in the fun earlier, since I love Magnolia stamps. I think it's almost time for me to get more! I need a fresh Magnolia fix! I just hate the waiting because the stamps are coming all the way to Pennsylvania from Sweden. They're pretty quick, though, considering. And soooooo worth the wait!

I have no idea whose DP I used in this card, the pretty colors caught my eye when I was browsing AC Moore, and never bothered to look before I used it. Shame shame... I made the polka dots on Tilda's dress using one of the tiny dot stamps from Papertrey Ink's flower sets. The pretty layered flowers are made from a Bosskutz die, using the shaping technique I demo-d in a previous tutorial post.

Stamps: Magnolia, PTI

Ink: Palette, Adirondack reinkers

Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Bazzill, SU!, unknown DP

Accessories: PTI satin ribbon, Bosskutz Blossoms die, Stickles, Liquid Pearls

Friday Sketchers Challenge #8

There are some awesome sketches on the Friday Sketchers blog! I had to try sketch #8.

There are a LOT of layers on this one, which I don't normally do. But that is why I'm liking the challenges. Thinking outside my box!

I used Memory Box paper from the Provence collection. The blues and lavenders are very muted with lots of distressing, so I couldn't get a great pic of it. Very soft, and elegant looking though. This is a pretty large card.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Inkadinkado sketchy flourishes

Ink: Adirondack, Perfect Match, CTMH, Palette, Distress

Paper: Memory Box, Bazzill, watercolor paper for flowers

Accessories: Liquid Pearls, Martha Stewart hydrangea punch, Pan Pastels, Dew Drops, Tombow markers

Ways to Use It SCS Challenge WT172

Today's challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers was Ways to Use....Birds! Well, what a coincidence, I happen to have quite a few brand new bird stamps! Just got them as a matter of fact, from Papertrey Ink. Where else??!!

I love using multiple colors to ink up solid image stamps, that's what I did with the birds on both cards. This was my first time using scented embossing powder, but I was a little disappointed that the scent didn't last after heat embossing. Smelled really good while I was using it, but then it just disappeared. Hopefully, if I keep it in an envelope, and when it gets pulled out there will still be enough scent to surprise the person who gets these!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Inkadinkado

Paper: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Perfect Match, Palette, Versamark, Distress

Accessories: Nestabilites, Cream grosgrain ribbon, Martha Stewart Hydrangea puches, Liquid Pearls, CHF Vanilla EP

Picture Frame Wall Hanging

I wanted to make something nice for my mother, but more than a card, so I put together this wall hanging out of three chipboard coasters. I covered the coasters with Memory Box paper from the 'Grove' collection, then cut out a scalloped rectangle with my Nestabilities. When I glued the rectangle on to the coaster, I only applied glue around the edges, so I could slide a photo into it. I punches some holes to set some eyelets in, and threaded some violet grosgrain ribbon through both pieces to connect them. Of course, I had to decorate it with a bunch of flowers! I hope she likes it!
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Perfect Match, CTMH
Paper: Memory Box, Arches watercolor paper
Accessories: Nestabilites, Liquid Pearls, Tombow markers, Grosgrain ribbon, eyelets, Assorted flower punches from The Punch Bunch

Serene Blue Crysanthemums

I usually get my inspiration to do a card from patterned paper. Not always, but a lot of the time. I love Memory Box patterned paper packs and they just released some new lines, 'Provence' and 'Grove'. This is from Provence, gorgeous lavenders and blues. So I watercolored a piece of paper using colors drawn from the DP. I then used a Boss Kutz Blossoms die to cut a bunch of the nesting flowers shapes and shaped each one with a stylus. I layered them and used a bit of yellow Liquid Pearls for the centers. The little tag is attached to the bow with a simple jumpring.
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Ink: CTMH
Paper: Memory Box, Bazzill, w/c paper
Accessories: Violet grosgrain ribbon, Nestabilities, Boss Kutz die, Liquid Pearls, Tombow markers, silver jump ring