Autumn Bounty

Well now that the cooler weather is upon us, I am thinking all things Autumn. The trees are already showing the slightest signs of turning colors, which makes me feel excited and a bit sad at the same time. In a couple of weeks I plan on just taking a scenic drive with maybe a picnic lunch and drive the country roads until I find a beautiful spot to enjoy the colors. 

In the meantime, I've created a card to reflect my mood...

I love the way the embossed background came out, it almost looks like tooled leather. This was done using an impression plate rather than an embossing folder. Lighter impression but much finer lines and detail.

Thanks for peeking in on my blog, have a great weekend!

Trim-trim-trimeree and a bit of insanity...

Good morning blog friends! I just want to say how thankful I am for all the lovely comments in response to my post the other day. I have to admit I was a bit worried that everyone would just disappear and blogging would become a thing of the past for me. But apparently, there are a lot of wonderful, understanding readers out there that inspire me to keep going! So I'm not going to stress over not posting every few days, and I will just enjoy my hobby and share my love of stamping when I can. I love interacting with my fellow stampers, so if you have questions, or just want to chit chat, feel free to email me using the link in my right sidebar. I answer every email!

On to my card today. This kind of card normally would take me 2 or 3 hours to create, from coloring to assembling the final layout. This time, I worked on it sporadically for three days, probably more like 5 or 6 hours. I don't know why. I can't seem to get into my usual 'groove'. I hem, and haw and try one thing, try something else because I don't like it, etc.

See the background paper? That was a bit of insanity, lol. I got it into my head I HAD to have a diamond background cut file for my Cameo, couldn't find one I liked for sale, so I embarked on making my own. Mind you, I'm not an expert at designing cut files, actually this is the first time I've done one I liked completely from scratch. It.took.me.forever... and a day. 

The second bit of insanity is the fact that I cut the diamonds from four different kinds of paper, so I had a PILE of tiny little diamond cut-outs to poke out. Actually, most of them came out easily, although there were a couple of sticky ones that fought me. THEN I assembled all the different patterned diamonds in the red paper background, kind of like a puzzle. Kind of therapeutic actually.

A lot of work I didn't really intend to do. I envisioned the diamonds would be bigger, resulting in less 'puzzling' LOL! Needless to say I'm working on a redesign of this cut file. If you want this version, email me and I'd be happy to send it to you. I only have a Silhouette Studio version, like I said, I'm a beginner at this sort of thing and have no idea to convert to different file types. 

Anyway, I colored 'Trimming the Tree' with my Copics and some colored pencils. I made the medallion flower using several strips of edge punched patterned paper that I scored every 1/4" and folded up, then flattened. I used a dab of hot glue to hold it all together. There are tons of tutorials on the web how to make them.
I added a tiny tag to the gold bow using one of the stamps from the 'Christmas Sentiment Tags' set. I like that the tags are a really easy shape to cut out with my trusty old scissors. No die needed. A punch might be nice though...
Or a cut file...I wonder if I could manage it? I'll let you know in 6 months, lol, that's how long it might take me to figure it out! 
Any Cameo experts out there care to give it a go? ;-)

Thanks for visiting!

Autumn Roses

Hello friends! I think I'm going to be slowing down on the blogging for a while, I'm feeling a bit burnt out. It's been almost 4.5 years of faithful blogging and it's getting harder and harder to do it regularly. I'm going to take it easy for a while, see what happens.

I haven't felt like coloring much either lately, so it's back to simple color stamping for me. I like these multi step roses from Papertrey Ink.

Rust colored roses and Autumn colors. I love Autumn colors!

I know most of you are here to see my colored cards, and I will keep posting my Lili of the Valley projects, but I'm also doing other things that I love. Which could be a CAS card, or a 'no coloring' card. This hobby is something I do to make me happy, help me relax, and release some of my creative energy, and I share what I love to do. I hope you'll stick with me, but if not, I understand.

Take care!

String Tie Envelope Box

Good morning blog friends, it's been a long, long week. I struggled with lack of motivation for blogging, I have several bare bones posts sitting in my 'Drafts' folder, taunting me, but I had no desire to write them up and publish them. Actually, I had a couple of projects done, but didn't feel like setting up my light tent, taking pictures, editing, etc. etc. I've been working longer hours so I can carpool with Jimmy and save a big chunk of cash on gas, but it's really cramping my crafting time. And when I can't do my thing, I get grumpy, and tired, and overwhelmed. sigh...

Thanks for letting me vent, I'm done now. Here's a cute project I made using a Silhouette Store digital template for my Cameo. 

How adorable is this string tie box with little string tie envelopes? Something a little different from a traditional Christmas card. This would be perfect for sending Grandma the kid's school photos, you could attach them to the little inserts.

I just made little ATC sized cards with some Lili of the Valley stamps this time. I used 'Christmas Star', 'Set 33- Christmas Grungy Messages' and the tag is from 'Set 32'.

The papers are from the 'Classic Christmas' paper pad new to the LOTV store. 

I embellished the box with some paper 'greenery'. The pine boughs are a Cheery Lynn die, if I remember correctly. The pine cone is also made from paper, cut on my Cameo using an awesome set from SVG Cuts. I dabbed on some white Acrylic paint to the tips of the pine cone and greenery for a snowy effect. 

I love making 3D projects, and they're so much easier to make using my Cameo!

Thanks for visiting!

Bellarific Friday is Back to School!

Well my kids are back in school, they started this past Monday. I can't believe I have a Senior and a Sophomore in High School! I am feeling my age coming on. 

I am starting to worry about empty nest syndrome already, several years away! But times flies so fast, and before I know it, both my kids will have graduated and moved out, and I feel like crying. I'm not ready, stop time! I need more time! 

And I'm getting way ahead of myself, I know, lol. All because of Bellarific Friday and our Back to School challenge. hmmph!

Here's a cute little project a teenage girl might like for Back to School. I got one of these little spiral notebooks from Michael's dollar bins and simply embellished them with some pretty papers and this adorable Perry has a Laptop image. 

I paper pieced the the big comfy chair with a nice plaid paper from a new Bo Bunny pad. Beautiful rich autumn colors perfect for school time. The rest of the image was colored with my Copics and some colored pencils.

I added a couple of funky file tabs I got from the Silhouette store to the notebook pages for dividers. The notebook paper border is a cut file from the Silhouette store too. 

I hope you'll join us in our challenge, head on over to the Stamping Bella blog for all the details on how you can enter your card for a chance to win some Bella Bucks!
Thanks for visiting, have a great weekend!

Mommy and Mimi Lulu in the Snow

Good morning friends! I've got another Christmas card to share with you all today. I've never used this character before, Lulu from Stamping Bella. Very different from what I usually use, but there is something about her unique-ness that I just love. This one is called Mommy and Mimi Lulu in the Snow. 

I stamped her in a grey ink, to make the lines lighter than usual. It almost looks like no lines, just coloring. Almost all monochromatic, mostly blue with touches of red accents. 

The card background was cut on my Cameo, using patterned paper from one of Lili of the Valley's new paper pads. I dug into some of my stash, for the sentiment and metal label holder from SU. GOT to use these things UP! lol
By the way, this card is listed in my Etsy shop if you're interested, along with a few others.

Well, I'm off to bed, the kids are back to school and I have to get up earlier so we can all get a shower in time! 

Thanks for visiting!

Winter Hexagons

Here's another card using one of the newest releases from Lili of the Valley, Furry Festive Friends. This is a tiny card compared to the ones I usually make! Only 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". But these images are tiny and so cute, and so fast to color up.

I really love the hexagon trend zooming around everywhere you look, I love that I can use a bunch of different patterned papers and combine them in one card. This card was made using a cut file from Paper Threads that makes it so easy! I used several different patterns from the new patterned paper pads 'Frosty Christmas'. Love the pretty, soft blues that can be used all winter, not just Christmas.

The sentiment is from the 'Christmas Handwritten Phrases' stamp set. 

Hope you like it, thanks for stopping by!