Friend

I have made SO many new friends online this year in the stamping world and I know that I am truly blessed that each and everyone of them have come into my life. I know I can't send a card to ALL of them, so I made this one to display on my blog so that everyone that stops by will see it and know that I count them among my friends:
I used the stamps from the new I {heart} hearts set that will be available on January 4th, 2010 when the new Occasions Mini launches. The paper is from the "Welcome Neighbour" 6 X 6 stack that you will be able to earn with your qualifying purchase during Sale-a-Bration which also starts on January 4th and runs until March 31st, 2010.

This was the first time I tried the faux stitching and it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to, but since it was my first time, I'm giving myself a pass - LOL! The lines are a bit crooked, but that just means it's hand made, right?

I used Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo to stamp the images and then hand cut them out.

What do you think?

STAMPS: I {heart} hearts
INK: Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White and Kraft Cardstock; Welcome Neighbour DSP
ACCESSORIES: Marker

Happy Stampin'!

Guest Blogger!

Just wanted to let you know that My Caroline is out of town and that while she is gone I'll be blogging for her. I'm going to try to post here too, but maintaining two blogs may be a bit much - LOL!

You can check out My Caroline's blog HERE.

Have a Stampin' Good Day!

Good Neighbours - Again

Here is another Good Neighbours card that I made. This one was definitely quick and easy!
I just cut out the Top Note from the Welcome Neighbour paper pack which you can earn with your Sale-a-Bration purchase.

The images were all stamped using In Colours.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Good Neighbour
INK: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry Cardstock; Welcome Neighbour DSP
ACCESSORIES: Top Note Die and Big Shot

Happy Stampin'!

Good Neighbours

OMGosh! I am SO excited!!! Stampin' UP! has started offering clear blocks for mounting our stamps and now the stamps are available with a cling film! This does NOT mean that our stamps are going to be clear - oh no!!! You're still going to get the same wonderful red rubber that produces EXCELLENT images - you're just going to be able to see through the block and know EXACTLY where you're stamping!

Here's the first card I made using our new clear mount stamps:
The set is called Good Neighbours. I stamped the images in Old Olive, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry. I used my markers to colour the tree before stamping in Old Olive and Chocolate Chip.

The little strip of paper is from the Welcome Neighbour 6 X 6 paper pack, which will be available to earn with your qualifying Sale-a-Bration purchase beginning January 5th, 2010.

I added a piece of striped Old Olive grosgrain ribbon for the finishing touch.

This is a mountable card front (4 X 5 1/4 inches) that went postal for a swap in which I'm participating. Can't WAIT to see the goodies I get back from this one!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Good Neighbour
INK: Old Olive, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry
PAPERS: Whisper White, Old Olive and Crushed Curry Cardstock; Welcome Neighbour DSP
ACCESSORIES: Markers, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Christmas Card - Second One

Yesterday I showed you my first Christmas card and here is my second one:
My Caroline made the same card for her December Club meeting and I just had to CASE it because it was SO stunning! Of course, I had to borrow her Lovely as a Tree set in order to make the card...I think she's over it...maybe - LOL!

I stamped the trees in Old Olive on Very Vanilla with repeat stamping (I only inked up the tree image every three times). The sentiment was stamped in Old Olive as well. For the finishing touch, I added a piece of 1 1/4" Old Olive striped grosgrain ribbon tied with a piece of Hemp Twine.

On the inside, I stamped the sentiment from Christmas Greeting on Very Vanilla.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Lovely as a Tree and Christmas Greetings
INKS: Old Olive
PAPERS: Very Vanilla and Old Olive
ACCESSORIES: 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and Hemp Twine

Happy Stampin'!

Christmas Card - First One

I made a few different Christmas cards this year. I wanted something with WOW for hubby to take to work. He handed these out on Monday and they were VERY well received!

Then, I started making these:
but ran out of both ribbon and Sahara Sand cardstock, so I had to come up with another design (which I'll show you tomorrow).

For this card, I stamped the tree in Soft Suede after stamping off first and I did the same with the snowflakes, stamping them in Bermuda Bay. The bird was cut from Melon Mambo using the sizzlit die from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I matted the image on Soft Suede and then on the Sahara Sand card base. For the card base, I trimmed off a little bit of the front of the card and added a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock which I first punched using my Scallop Edge Punch.

I added the ribbon over the seam and stamped the sentiment in Melon Mambo on Whisper White and then punched it out with my Wide Oval Punch and adhered it to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Season of Friendship
INKS: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand and Bermuda Bay Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Big Shot and Sizzlit

Happy Stampin'!

Challenge Tuesday

Good morning everyone! Were you up bright and early this morning? I was and by the time you read this I will be at the hospital with my DD as she undergoes open heart surgery.

My challenge for you today is two-fold. The first part of the challenge is to make a card in any OTHER size but A2 and the second part of the challenge is to give the card to someone - TODAY!

Here's my card:
My card base is Whisper White and folded to a finished size of 3 7/8 X 9 inches. The next layer up is Garden Green, followed by More Mustard.

I stamped my image on Whisper White using Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green. I then coloured it in using my Stampin' UP! markers and matted it on a piece of Really Rust Cardstock. The finishing touch was a paper pierced corner and Whisper White ribbon tied in a bow.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Autumn Harvest
INKS: Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green
PAPERS: Whisper White, Really Rust, More Mustard and Garden Green cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon and Mat Pack (to pierce corners)

Happy Stampin' and let me know if you play along!

MDS Monday

Good morning everyone! Here is a quickie MDS page as there is much to do before DD goes in for surgery tomorrow.
I just used a pre-designed template for this one and added a background paper from the Christmas Cocoa Kit and then just dragged and dropped pictures. Easy peasy! I added buttons from the Button Latte collection to the four corners.

Have an MDSin' good day!!!

Frugal Friday - Happy Holidays

Here's another "from the scrap bag" card for you today...

This one is REALLY little and is an "easel card". Claudia, on SUDSOL, challenged us all to make one last week and this the one I did. I don't think it qualifies for the challenge, because it uses a retired stamp set, but I thought I'd try my hand at it anyway...

I did plan to make another one, but we all know how that works out - LOL!

Anyway, here's the card:
The base is a leftover piece of Sahara Sand which I further trimmed down to 3 X 6 inches. It was scored at three inches and again at 1 1/2 inches to create the base for the easel. The front panel is 3 X 3 inches, also Sahara Sand.

Both pieces of DSP are from the Thoroughly Modern DSP pack which I thoroughly love (heehee!). The ribbon is taffeta and the pearls I've had for a little white. The stamped image is from a set I borrowed while I was at Diana's a couple of weeks ago. It's SU!, but I can't remember what the set is called.

What do you think:

STAMPS: Oops!
INKS: Bermuda Bay
PAPERS: Whisper White and Sahara Sand Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon and Pearls

Happy Stampin'!

My Saturday Sketch Card

Here is the card I made for my very own Saturday Sketch:
It was actually done on Saturday, but I was running out to get together with some girlfriends (who each received the card), and while I had a few minutes to post it, I didn't have time to upload and blog about it.

I stamped the image from Gifts of Christmas in Old Olive on Very Vanilla and matted the image on Real Red. The DSP is from the Christmas Jingle kit and is matted on Old Olive. The brads I've had FOREVER and have NO idea where I got them - LOL! That's the problem when you have way too much stuff!

I just love how it turned out and the friends that received it loved it too!!!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Gifts of Christmas
INKS: Old Olive
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Real Red Cardstock; Christmas Jingle DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Brads

Happy Stampin'!

Challenge Tuesday

I'm at the hospital today with my DD. She has her pre-op appointment today and next week she'll be going in for open heart surgery.

So...I have no card for you today, but I still have a challenge. Go through all the stuff you own and sort it out. I know there's some wonderful paper and other goodies in there that you bought and you can't remember why...now it just sits there...and you know you're never going to use it.

Package it all up and take to your local children's hospital. That's what I do with mine and they very much appreciate it. I'm sure your local children's hospital would appreciate it just as much.

Have a stampin' good day!

MDS Monday

Over the weekend, in between the baking and the sleepover card making craziness, I got to play with Robin in the Sudsol Chat and Challenge.

Her sketch was awesome and here is the card I made with it:
I started with a 6 X 6 card base and used Baja Breeze script paper to fill the background. The other colours I used were Pretty in Pink and Whisper White. The stamp set I chose is Friends 24-7.

What do you think?

Happy Stampin' and MDSin'!

Sketch it Saturday!

Here is today's Sketch it Saturday:
Let's see what you can come up with!

Frugal Friday - For the Bride

Eventually I'd like to post to my blog everyday...I'm getting there - really I am!

And I'd like Fridays to be my Frugal Friday - the day where I will dip into my bag of scraps and create a card using just what I find in there (embellishments don't count). Now, keep in mind that this also where I put my 1/2 sheets after I've cut a full sheet to make a card, so those count!

This is the card I made from my stash this week:
I stamped the bride from the "For the Bride" set (which unfortunately will be retiring come January 4th - SO sad!) in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White. She was then adhered to a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock and set aside. The long panel is a piece of Cottage Wall DSP adhered to another piece of Rich Razzleberry Cardstock. The card base is Old Olive and the next layer up is also from the Cottage Wall collection of DSP.

What do you think?

STAMPS: For the Bride
INK: Rich Razzleberry
PAPERS: Whisper White, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Cottage Wall DSP
ACCESSORIES: Taffeta Ribbon, Half Back Pearls and Punches

Happy Stampin'!

Season's Greetings with Scenic Season

During the Fall Hobby Show, I sold some stamps and punches at my upline's booth (I worked with her too...if you can call it that as it wasn't that busy!). Anyway...from my punch/stamp sales, I ordered the four oval punches (I know...shameful that I didn't have them before!) and the Scenic Season stamp set (at Caroline's suggestion - which I think she made mostly because she wanted to use it - LOL!)

When I was at the studio working with Caroline this past Tuesday, I took a break from my stamping work to do some stamping playing and get a start on my hubby's Christmas cards.

This card:
is a 100% shameless CASE from the lovely and talented LeAnn Greff, whose blog you should really check out because it has some AMAZING inspiration! I CASE'd her punch art turkey while I was there too, but that's a post for another day...

I pretty much did the exact same thing LeAnn did on her card: stamped in Elegant Eggplant, sponged in So Saffron, Cameo Coral and Brocade Blue (LeAnn used Bashful Blue, but I didn't have any of that). I added a little bit of glitter to the snow line for a touch of added detail.

On LeAnn's blog, she mentioned that some of her stampers left off the greeting and turned the card into a card of Sympathy. What a great idea!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Scenic Season
INKS: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Brocade Blue
PAPERS: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant and Bashful Blue cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Happy Stampin'!

I received this wonderful award from my friend Kristina:

According to the "rules of play", I get to tell you a few fun facts about me, so here you go:

1. The only thing I've EVER wanted in life, was to be a wife and mom - I got my wish!

2. My favourite food in the whole world is lobster...I could eat it for three meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and NOT get tired of it!

3. I like snow, but not winter. I love to see the snow falling outside and know that I don't have to go out...that's when my baking goes into FULL FORCE!!! Watch out then!

4. Some of my absolutely favourite people were met online...and then in real life. I count Caroline, Janet, Janice, Karin, Stacy, Diana, Karen, Teresa and SO many others among my closest friends.

5. I get to "work" once a week with my upline...she pays me to stamp! I have the BEST job!

6. I have not one, but two, children with cardiac conditions.

7. I have been paper crafting in one form or another for at least 25 years...yeah, I'm THAT old!

Now...I get to nominate some other lucky people to receive this FAB award! Check out these blogs:

Julie, Amy, Michelle, Kristin, Paige, Jennie, Paige, Cathleen, Shell (who has apparently left me an award of her own - I'll do that one in a couple of days!) and Kirstin.

Have a GREAT stampin' day everyone!

Challenge Tuesday

This week's challenge is a colour challenge!!!

Each time I drive to my Caroline's studio to work, I go along the highway and then the Lakeshore and finally north on Woodbine. Near the corner of Lakeshore and Woodbine, there are several townhouses. The outsides are painted in various colours, but my favourite combination is the Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy and Barely Banana.

Last week, I told Caroline it would be a great colour combo and that we should incorporate into a card. She said I should try it first...smarty pants - LOL!

So...here is my card:
I used my markers to colour directly onto the rubber in order to get both Chocolate Chip and Handsome Hunter on the tree branch stamp. The bird was stamped using Not Quite Navy ink and the sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip. I added some Bravo Burgundy flowers to the tree branch and some Barely Banana ones too...but you can't really see those.

I used the Sprinkles stamp set and Not Quite Navy ink to stamp on the Not Quite Navy cardstock.

The card is 3 3/4 X 5 1/2" - a bit of an odd size, but a whole lot of fun!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Cheep Talk and Sprinkles
INK: Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Barely Banana
PAPERS: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Bravo Burgundy, Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES: Scallop Border Punch, Markers, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!