Saturday, December 31, 2011

I think my favorite card of all time!

Good morning! I made this card for the January My Favorite Things Guest Designer Contest over at Splitcoast Stampers to use paper-piecing - and can I just say, that I think this is my favorite card I have EVER made?!?!? I LOVE the Pure Innocence line of stamps - ADORE the Picadilly collection of paper from Basic Grey - and SOOO enjoy paper piecing with stamps! Here it is:
The background frame is cut on my Cricut using Elegant Edges, then Plantin Schoolbook for the center oval. I used LOTS of different papers to do the piecing with, then my Copics for the face, arms, legs, hair, and tiny heart flip in the hair. Used a white gel pen to color in the sprinkles on the cupcake.
When I did my piecing, I did a couple extra layers for the sleeve - so it looks like it is popped out from the rest of her dress. Not sure if you can see it in the pictures or not.  
All the edges are inked with Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Linen, and Vintage Photo for the base piece of cardstock. Finished off with a bit of Papertrey Ink Twine and one of their buttons, and pop-dotted the framed image off the background for a little extra dimension.  
Thanks for stopping by! And once again - in case this really IS the last thing I post today - wishing you a very happy and blessed New Year!!!

And...if you care to check it out, I have a new blog started, to chronicle my efforts at a "Project 365" - basically a picture for every day of the year focused on one of the ways I am blessed or what I am thankful for. (My hubby got me an awesome camera for Christmas, so I want to challenge myself to learn how to use it better throughout the year as well!) It is called Seeing the Blessings Around Me if you want to check it out and let me know what you think! Blessings to you!


Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger - Stripe-tastic!

Good morning! Hard to believe that it is the last day of the year already!!! I will have to get used to writing 2012 already...just in time for NEXT year to be over probably! Oh well...

So, today I wanted to share the card I made for the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger - Strip-tastic! Here is what I came up with:
And here is the inspiriation photo:


I loved the way the stripes on the wall and shirt matched, and also the way the girl was kind of "camouflaged" into the wall, therefore the sentiment "I miss SEEING you" - kinda cheesy I know, but it worked!
I used the chevron background stamp from the Unity December KOTM and colored in the stripes with Copics. Matted it on stripes of paper from an Authentique 6x6 paper pad. Finished off by stamping the sentiment from the same Unity Kit on a little strip of paper, with a hand-cut banner edges, and pop-dotting it from the background.
Thanks for stopping by - and I wish you all a VERY happy and BLESSED new year!


Friday, December 30, 2011

Basic Grey Sketch Challenge -

Hello! Popping in real quick with a layout for the Basic Grey Sketch challenge! Here is my layout of my youngest daughter when she got her ears pierced for her 6th birthday:
And here is the sketch - which I of course altered to fit an 8.5 x 11 layout:


Here is a close up of some of the details. I used Basic Grey Out of Print collection, and a bit of Indie Bloom (the green paper), as well as some white, black, and pink cardstock.  
The notebook stamp on the white cardstock is from Market Street Stamps - LOVE this background, and the sentiment on the green cardstock is from My Creative Time Stamps. The pink border along the side is cut with my Cricut from Paper Trimmings cartridge. Alpha letters are from October Afternoon, and the buttons and twine are from Papertrey Ink. 
Thanks for looking - sorry about the pictures! I still have not figured out how to take a great picture of a layout...I will keep working on it!

Unity Friends with Flair

Good morning! It's Friday, and that means it's time for this weeks Friends with Flair over at the Unity Stamp Company Blog!!! Make sure and check out the details on how you can win some free stamps as well!!!

For my card today, I used my brand new Blossom Stackers Kit that I was lucky enough to win!!! I inked several of them with different colored ink, and stamped randomly on white cardstock.
 Added a sentiment from the same kit, and some bling with my Jolee's heat set tool. Finished off by using pop-dots to attach it to the card base! 
Easy as can be, right? I think this is the closest I have come to clean and simple - and actually liking it! LOVE these bright fun colors!

Hope you have a wonderful day, a fantastic weekend, and a very happy New Year!!!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Market Street Stamps Block Party!!!

Good morning! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!! I am off to celebrate with the other half of the family today, but I had a few minutes this morning to sneak a quick card in for the Market Street Stamps Block Party!!! I used the free digital image they made available, as well as one of their background stamps:
Isn't that digi adorable? I printed it on Kraft paper, then colored with Copics and my white gel pen. 
The paper is from one of Authentique's Free Bird 6x6 paper pads. I used the reverse side of the green polka dot paper to stamp the Punched Tin background on. The edges of all the papers are inked with Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Photo. 
Did some hole punching with my new Tim Holtz ruler - has these perfect holes for perfectly spaced hole punching! So cool! Finished off with a Baker's Twine bow, and a hand cut tag with a sentiment from Unity Stamps (since I didn't have an appropriate one from Market Street stamps!) 
Thanks for stopping by - make sure and head over to Market Street Stamps Blog to find out how to join in on the fun - and get the free digi to play with!!!




Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas - from our family to yours!!! Hope you have a blessed day, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!!!


Friday, December 23, 2011

Quick and Easy Christmas tags - and my first tutorial!

Well, if there is anyone else that has procrastinated until the last minute (like me!) - I have a really easy idea to share with you to whip out some quick and adorable gift tags! I made 27 of them, in probably under an hour! Pretty easy! Here they are:
Cute, right?
I have been loving kraft paper - and blue and white together for Christmas colors!
So, here is what I started with - this tag off of Winter Woodland, cut at 2.96 inches on my Gypsy (so approximately 3 inches if you are just using your Cricut). 
Then I pulled out my Unity Stamps Kit of the Month from November, and used the snowflake background and some white ink to stamp a background. 
Here is what it looks like now: 
Then I used my Very Merry Tags Cartridge to cut out a bunch of little snowflakes - used my Gypsy to hide the hole that makes it a tag, and cut them at 1.42 inches (so approximately 1.5 inches). 
Each snowflake then got a little visit with my hole punch in the center of them: 
Grabbed some Twinery Twine in Marchino Cherry: 
Wrapped it around a couple of times, crossing in the center: 
Then threaded it through the hole in the snowflake: 
And tied a cute little bow, trimming the ends if necessary. 
Finally, pulled out my Unity Stamps Blossom Stacker set, and the "to" and "from" stamps.  
And stamped them on each tag! 
And that's all there is too it! Here is the pile of a bunch of the finished ones: 
Entering this in several Challenges:

Cricut Circle December Monthly Challenge: Gift Wrapping Challenge

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think...I have been pondering doing a few more tutorials, but not sure if anyone would be interested in them? Videos would be difficult, because we have slower than average internet, so I fear I would take a whole day to upload anything! Anyway - your thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!


Thursday, December 22, 2011

You're the Cat's Meow!

Good morning! I took some time last night to make something - just for me and for fun! Not for Christmas, a challenge, or a contest. Sometime I get bogged down by all of those, and last night I just felt like playing for the fun of it! So I made something happy and fun - with lots of spring colors!
All the pattern papers are from Echo Park's Country Drive 6x6 paper pad. The center frame part is a piece of white cardstock cut out from Elegant Edges cartridge (the book feature), that I stamped Market Street Stamps Pretty Perfect Grid Background on in pale green, then inked the edges with Tim Holtz Distress ink in Antique Linen. The Kitty is cut out on my Circut using Cindy Loo, with a Peachy Keen Face from the Tear Kitty Face parts added. I colored the eyes with a green Copic Marker.   
The sentiment is from Unity Stamp Co - stamped on a tag cut from Sentimentals, and tied on with a bit of Baker's Twine from the Twinery. 
I also inked the edge of the pattern paper a bit - and added some rosy cheeks with some soft pink ink and a make-up applicator.
Thanks for stopping by today! Can you believe that it is only 3 days until Christmas?!?!? I am about to brave town for a few last minute things - I'm afraid it will be crazy - so wish me luck!!!


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Stitched with Love

For some reason this morning, as I was laying in bed trying to convince myself to crawl out into the cold morning air - this card popped into my head! I am SOOOO excited that I had time to put it together right away - and I love that it came out like I was picturing! So nice when that happens!!!


I used October Afternoon's Farmhouse 8x8 paper pad, and my new December Unity KOTM. I stamped the image on kraft paper, then tied some October Afternoon Rocket Age buttons with PTI button twine, then ran them through the button holes on the stamped image that I punched out. I then tied the twine to the back of the card - so whoever receives this card, could actually remove and use the buttons - how great is that?


It also helped the buttons lay flat on the paper - then I pop-dotted the button card off of the doily. You can see the dimension a bit here:


The tag on the bottom is cut from Sentimentals cartridge, inked with Tim Holtz distress ink in Vintage Photo, then tied on with Crinkle Ribbon. I'm not sure what set the sentiment is from - it was one of the 100 free random stamps I won and recieved a couple days ago!


I also inked the edge of the doily and pattern paper, and added some October Afternoon trim from the Holiday Style trim pack.


Anyway - thanks for visiting again! Hope you are having a Merry Christmas Season!!!


Quick Retro Card...

Just wanted to quickly share a fun Retro card I made a bit ago while playing with some Crafty Secret stamps. I combined images from two sets, stamped the sentiment and beans, inked the edges with Tim Holtz Distress ink, and rounded a couple of corners off. Design paper is from October Afternoon, and I also added a bit of twine from the Twinery. Not my favorite ever - but I just had to play with these cute images right away! Definately be using them more in the future I'm sure!



Monday, December 19, 2011

A simple Christmas Card

Good morning! Whew...I feel like I have been neglecting this blog through this busy season!!! I usually post nearly every day...and not so much lately! Anyway, here is another quick Christmas Card I made recently:


I used my Cricut and Elegant Edges to cut out the two colored frames, my Lil' Inker dies to cut out the cute banner, Papertrey Ink Impression plates to add texture, Tim Holtz distress ink on the edges of everything, a sentiment from Pumpkin Patch stamps, and a bit of Baker's Twine.




Friday, December 16, 2011

Peachy Keen Stamps Design Team Submission!!!

I was so excited to see earlier this month that Peachy Keen Stamps is having an Open Design Team call!!! EEEK!!! They have the cutest face stamps in the WORLD!!! So it took me this long to think of something special to make for it - 'cause I wanted to do something I had never seen before. Here is what I came up with:


Isn't that sentiment the cutest? It is a rub-on from one of the October Afternoon Santa's sacks that I have been getting - and as soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I also used the brand new set of face stamps that I was itching to ink up - The Cornies Face Assortment. Cute faces, no?


I used Formal Occassion to cut out the two chairs, and did some inking with Tim Holtz distress inks in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo - my two favorite colors. Added some stitching and doodling with a brown pen and my white gel pen.


The frame shape for the sentiment is from the same cartridge - inked and doodled on of course! I stamped the faces, filled in the eyes with a white gel pen, then added some pink cheeks with a soft pink stamp pad and an eye makeup applicator. The chairs are pop-dotted from the background, as is the sentiment, then the pattern paper is pop-dotted from the kraft paper card base. This picture shows the dimension a little bit:


Finished the card off with another of my favorites - Baker's Twine from the Twinery! Threaded 3 colors through the hole, tied a knot, then ran it around the back.


Thanks for stopping by to visit!!! It would be so much fun to be on the Peachy Keen Design Team - I had a blast when I did my Guest Designer week! Although the first Design Team is going to be a tough act to follow I'm afraid! Either way - I can't wait to see who the lucky ones are - and wish them all a big Congratulations in advance!!!

I am also entering this is the Peachy Keen Weekly Challenge - to make any project you want, and use Peachy Keen Stamps somewhere on them.

Hope you have a fabulous day today!!!