Chocolate Bunny

Greetings friends,  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.  I only made a few cards for Easter this year, and I used a few new supplies I have never used before.  One being the Clear Card Stock from Heartfelt Creations.  I received a package of it as a gift, and had to go online to see how to use it.  It is similar to clear acetate, yet folds nicely and holds the fold like card stock. I made my base card from the clear stock.

I then cut three printed stock pieces to decorate.  The front piece was decorated with the Thicket 

Wreath die by Poppystamps, and the Chocolate Bunny die.  A small flower peg stamp was stamped around the wreath to add a little contrasting color.  I also stamped a few of the tiny flowers on a separate scrap of card stock for later use.  After adding a few dots of Pearl Stickles for flower centers, I set the panel aside to dry.

The second sheet of printed stock papers was used to back the first, and the last piece was used to write my message on.  I adhered the message sheet to the back of the card base, then centered the image panel on top of the message one, and glue doted it to the under side of the clear card base.

To cover the Zot dots that showed through the clear card, I adhered the separate tiny flowers with a few leaves on the outside of the card.  It also helped to give dimension to the card design.

This card was really a fun design to do, and I can't wait to try a few more designs using the clear card stock.

I also wanted to showcase a Spring/Easter card I received in the mail from one of my talented card making friends, Joan C.

 

Her stamped image was nicely colored on a beautiful oval die cut, then mounted on several layers of beautiful spring colored patterned papers. She added some ribbon and lace along with pearls, rhinestones, and a cute butterfly die cut to complete the card. The beautiful solid green layer was even embossed with a favorite greenery embossing folder she has used before.  

I was so delighted in receiving this card, I almost cried.  It really means a lot to me when I receive handmade cards from my friends and family.  I hope you will all try to make handmade cards when you can, I know they make me feel so much better!  Have a wonderful day!

Sending You Love

Hello Friends!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I wanted to share a card that I made recently using one of the easy-to-use Heart Swing Card templates from Paper Wishes/Hot Off the Press.

All you need with this template is some printed card stock paper and a few embellishments to make this beautiful swing card.  I used a sheet of white 12 X 12 card stock, and following the instructions on the template, cut all the basic card elements. Then using a Valentine printed paper pad from Martha Stewart Crafts and cut the decorative pieces and adhered them to the background card. I then began the decorating.

I stamped and cut several balloon shapes using the Heart Balloons stamp set from My Favorite Things and a few words from the Lots of Love Words die also from My Favorite Things Die-namics.
After adhering them to the card, I also stamped a few sayings and postmark from the You've Got Love Mail stamp set from Winnie & Walter LLC.  To add a little bling, I adhered heart shaped pearls from Hero Arts to several of the balloons and glitter to others.

These "Swing" type cards are very popular right now, yet if you use one of the templates from Hot Off the Press they make it so easy to create a beautiful card in no time. Have a wonderful Stampin' Day, with Lots of Love sent your way!

Mindy

Happy Thursday Friends!

What a Great Day, friends!  It is cloudy and dreary here in So. Texas, which to some may sound terribly boring.  But we have been in a drought lately, and really do need some rain. There is 50% in the forecast today and tomorrow, so I am riding high in the hopes we get some rain.

My card today is a happy card, celebrating a Friend.  The stamped image is one of Janie's Girls stamps from Hot Off the Press, and is stamped in Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers. When dry, I fussy cut around the image, leaving a thin white border around the entire image. 

The background is a piece of glossy white card stock with Alcohol Inks from Ranger marbled on.  I played with a full 8 1/2" X 11" piece of glossy paper, and then trimmed it down to four A2 size backgrounds when done. The doily die is from Cheery Lynn Designs and makes a wonderful background for the image. The word Friend is also a Cheery Lynn Design, and was cut from black card stock, then glued to the bottom of the card. 

This card was just pieces put together to form a pleasing image.  When I have spare time, I like to color stamped images, and play with making background papers. I then cut them into usable sizes and file them for when I don't have so much time, and need to make a quick card.  I hope you will try this when you have a few spare minutes.  Play with your dies, stamps, and backgrounds, trying new products and papers.  Then when you need a quick card, you will have many pieces to choose from.  Happy Stamping!

Mindy

Tiny Gift Tags

I came across a collection of stamps that I used to collect years ago when I worked at the local rubber stamp store.  They are from a company, Amuse Artstamps.  They had the cutest little images and sayings to match that I have found anywhere. They are still in business, but I believe they do the "party scene" now with teachers and advisors running the shows.  I got out my Amuse stamps and stamped out a set of tiny gift cards for a "Thinking of You"  gift for a friend. I hope you will enjoy seeing them!

The actual size of these gift cards is 2" X 2 1/2" and have a folded card base, so you can write a message inside if you like. I also added a twine hanger from Maya Road twine to match each one. This tag set could be as many as you like, but 8 or so make for a nice assortment. I want to make a little gift box to put them in, and will work on that this weekend. It is supposed to be rainy and dreary here over the holiday weekend, so I will have plenty of time to craft.

I hope you have enjoyed my little tag collection, and will leave me a little comment on my blog, if you would like to see more of my paper arts projects. (besides greeting cards) Hope you are having a great weekend, we will share again soon.
Mindy

Easter Greetings

Hello Friends!  I just purchased some of those "action wobble springs" that you can use on cards and paper crafts, and decided to make an Easter card with a "wobbly" bunny!

Just give him a nudge, and away he wobbles!  So cute, and it folds flat for mailing, too! I got the card made, and then couldn't find an appropriate sentiment that had to do with Easter. So, I had to get out the alphabet stamps and stamp out the word Easter.

This card was made from a sheet of the Botanical Tea Collection from Graphic 45. I cut the card to an A2 size card, and then using a Martha Stewart punch, "Iron Fence" I punched down the front flap of the card with the punch.  Now you can see the back of the double sided paper in between the fenced design. I then used an extra strip of the paper and a length of green printed grosgrain ribbon lengthwise on the card front before attaching the wobble spring with the bunny design attached.   The bunny is a stamp I have had for many years, and I don't remember where it came from. (no label) I stamped it with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored in the design with Copics. To finish off the card, I attached a sheer and satin bow to the top left corner.

I have been so busy with my Online Art Journal class, that Easter has crept up on me and left me scrambling for ideas for cards. Also, our big city-wide celebration, Fiesta 2014, begins tomorrow April 10, 2014.  Weeks full of celebrating with parades, pageants, foods from all over the world, and any excuse to eat and partaay!!!!!!! We really know how to party here in San Antonio!

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week, and an enjoyable and safe Fiesta! I will be back soon with more cards and projects to show you. Stay tuned. . . . . .
Mindy

Stopping By to Say Hello . . . .and Thank You!

Today's post is a combo of cards that I have been working on. They have been decorated with papers/tags that I colored with the Tattered Angels Paint Systems that I purchased recently.  The first card, Stopping by to say Hello, uses a strip of watercolor paper colored with the Naturally Aged Paint System, Precious Stone; Turquoise, and then embossed with the Sea Beauty Embossing Folder from Spellbinders.


I adhered a strip of the watercolor paper down the left side of the A2 card, and trimmed with a row of cream iridescent double loop braid from Michaels' Dollar bin. I then added a cream colored fabric flower from Prima along with some pearl bling also from Prima. The Angel stamp is from American Art Stamp, and is stamped on Ranger glossy paper with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and colored with copic markers.  I attached the angel with foam tape to pop it up, along with the sentiment stamped on a manila tag.

Card #2 has a manila tag colored with the same Turquoise Paint System, attached on top of a card base with a scrap of patterned paper as the background.

The angel is from the same American Art Stamp set, stamped and colored with the same ink and markers.  Using several leaf metal dies, I punched out some leaves from various green papers and attached a cluster to the card front and tied with a bow of Limeade lawn trimmings from Lawn Fawn.  I adhered a strip of wide Huckleberry rick-rack trim from Li'l Davis Designs and then stamped  Thank You on a die cut banner. The angel was again attached with foam tape to give it dimension on the card.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards as much as I enjoyed making them.  I love layering papers and tags, ribbons and embellishments.  I find it hard at times to stop, before making the card too thick, as to require more postage at the post office to mail them.  I know the poor Postal Service is going broke due to the drop in postal business, but I just can't see spending that much to mail an envelope. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Until next week, Joy to all and enjoy yourself!
Mindy

"Don't Be Afraid to Sparkle" Art Journal Pages

Don't be afraid to Sparkle!

I love that phrase! I think everyone should be allowed to sparkle if they want. This is the left side page of a double page spread in my art journal. If you have visited my blog before, you have  probably noticed that I just love the Doll Stamps from Prima and designer, Julie Nuttingl. When I get an idea for a project using my stamps, I usually like to try them out, before stamping on my project.  That is one reason I purchased my art journal.

This page was started shortly after I purchased my PanPastel artist chalks and Faber-Castell Gelatos. I started making circles with the Gelatos and then blending them with a little water and my finger. I filled both sides of the double-page with circles of various sizes and colors. Then using the PanPastel chalks I shaded around the edges of the pages and in between the circles.  Several weeks later, I purchased a couple of clear stamp sets from Paper Wings Productions; Sparkle Sayings and the Stars and Sparkles.  Using Majestic Blue Versafine Ink I stamped the stars and sparkles around the pages, and the word phrases in the empty areas. When the ink was dry, I used the multi-sparkle Gel Pen to highlight the stars and sparkles. The larger sparkles were highlighted with Starry Night Stickles and Mermaid Glitz Stickles. I stamped a tiara and colored with Silver stickles on one of the large circles.

 Several days later I found a sheet of scrapbook paper in my stash, that had the giant Gerbera Daisies printed on it, and the centers were glittered. I cut out a few of them and used Gel Medium to adhere them to the page. I let that dry for several days, with weight on the book to keep the pages from warping. When I was chosen to participate in the Prima Doll Blog Hop, I stamped one of the Doll Stamps on the left page, with the Gelato circle masked, so it would look like the doll was standing behind it.

Stay tuned for page two (2) blog post to follow. Thank you for stopping by today!

Snowflakes and Reindeer in July

Merry Christmas in July!  Snowflakes and Reindeer are closer than you think! All over "bloggy-land" in the paper arts region there are Christmas goodies galore all over the web. It is so hot here, it's hard to imagine snowflakes and Christmas when the temps are over 100 degrees.  But what the hay, let's imagine the snow drifts and snowmen, icicles and peppermint, and start dreaming of the fat little man with his jelly-belly and reindeer.

I received the Reindeer and Snowflakes die from the Paper Wishes/Hot off the Press monthly Die Club, so I had to give it a try. I had the brown and teal card stock out at the time, and thought I would try my die's out in a different color scheme than typical Christmas colors. Luckily the printed stock I wanted to use was a double sided paper, so I had coordinating prints that worked well together. I die cut the deer and three of the swirls, and three of each of the sizes of snowflakes.  I then layered the snowflakes, and attached them together with a turquoise brad. I also reversed every other layer so the printed side showed in between the solids. 

The backgrounds are layered 1/2" to 1/4" apart, and then adhered to the stock card base. The snowflakes and swirls are glued directly to the background with Tombow liquid glue, and adhered the deer with foam tape to pop it off the surface to give dimension.  I stamped the Merry Christmas from the Bows and Holly clear set from Lawn Fawn and  Rich Cocoa Memento Ink from Tsukineko. I highlighted the words and embellishments with my gold glitter Gelly Roll pen from Sakura. 

I am entering this card in the DLArt, Thankful Thursday Challenge-#114 Christmas in July ,

 and the Little Scrap Pieces, Fun Friday Challenge- Christmas in July.

Thank you for stopping by today, I really enjoyed sharing this card with you. I hope you will start thinking about making handmade cards for your holiday cards this year. Although, it is still months away, start enjoying all the card ideas presented in our favorite blogs. You may find something you want to try for the season. Happy Card Making!

I've been Caught by the Fashion Police!

Have you ever prepared to leave the house, going somewhere, and your spouse or family member says, "Are you wearing that???"  I caught myself saying that to myself as I passed the mirror this past weekend.
When I was a teen, my Mother used to always tell me the "Fashion Police" were going to take me in for what I was wearing. That is what inspired this page in my Art Journal.

These pages should be for inspiration only, because I have trouble remembering what I did and when. I work on them in stages, a little bit at a time, for days and days. I think I started this page by spritzing on pink Smooch sprays and then added layers with Lime green and Ivory acrylic paints. I then used a large stipple brush to dot on layers of black and brown Memento Ink.  I then adhered apiece of book page and the cute little dog from my June Nesting Components kit from Paper Wings Productions.  I also adhered the large Prima Tag with a handmade doll from Julie Nutting's book Collage Couture. Her dress was pieced with scrapbook paper, and the rose stamp from Paper Wishes was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored with Copic Markers. I shaded around the doll image with PanPastel chalks and then added colors from the background page to help it blend in with the background.  I added a few Die-cuts from the PWP June Kit and journaled on them after adhering to the page. I added letters for the words "Fashion Police" from the sticker sheet in the June kit, and highlighted around each element with a gray Posca marker from Uni.

To finish it up, I added strips of light mint green ribbon with brown dots to the edges, some swirls and squiggles with the pale peach Posca marker, and a giant floral brad that matched the colors in the top right hand corner. I forgot to mention that the roses and the doll are popped  up from the surface with foam tape to give the page dimension. I also accented the folds in her skirt with some holly green Stickles glitter glue, and added two tiny flowers at her waist. 

These art journal pages are so rewarding to me, because when I finish, I feel as though I have added a piece of myself to the page.  Plus, I have tried a new product or technique that I have never used before to express my artful feelings. I hope you all try something new to stimulate your creativity, and have a wonderful Wednesday!  Please visit again.
Mindy

Picture Perfect Garden Angel- Mixed Media Canvas

Hello fellow artists!  Today's post is a first for me. My first Canvas Mixed-Media Collage piece. I have been studying pieces by other artists, and finally decided to give it a try myself.

Most of the supplies for this canvas was from the June Nesting Components Mixed Media Kit from Paper Wings Productions. I also used one of my New stamps from the Julie Nutting Doll Stamp Collection from Prima, "Riley" is her name.  The angel wings stamp is also new from Prima, and works along with the Doll stamps.

The canvas is an 8" X 8" stretched canvas I purchased throught Oriental Trading Co. I didn't photograph the step-by-step tutorial, because it was my first canvas, and I wasn't sure how it was going to come out.  But now that I know what to expect, and the steps involved in creating a canvas like this, I will try to do a tutorial on the next one I do.

If you have any specific questions about this piece, you can leave  a comment here on the blog, or email me to ask your question. I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Thank you for joining me here today. See you again soon.

Charming Daisy Filigree

Happy Monday to one and all!

Today's card is a charming Daisy Filigree stamped card, that is also a die cut wonder. Here is how it was done.

1.  Stamped large daisy stamp from Fresh Cut stamp set from Hot Off the Press on Neenah white card stock.

2.  Colored in the daisy with my Copic Markers, shading lightly, then fussy cut around outside petals and set aside to dry.

3. Using my Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine, I cut a circle of printed paper with the Paper Artist Circle die from Hot Off the Press from their Rosemary and Thyme 6X6 paper pad.

4.  I then cut a little larger scalloped edge circle with the same die set from Hot Off the Press, using Limeade card stock from My Favorite Things.

5.  Then using a sheet of light green stock from Martha Stewart Crafts, I cut the large Filigree Delight background from Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator.

6.  The sentiment block was cut from the Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator set: Distressed Edges. I cut a thin strip from the light green stock and a word block from a sheet of Club Scrap's designer stock in royal blue.

7. From this same blue stock, I cut a square card base 51/2"X 11" and scored it in half, for a top fold card.

8.  To assemble the card I took the card base and adhered the filigree background directly to the base using Tombo Mono Adhesive.

9.  While the base was drying, I assembled the daisy unit. I adhered the daisy to the printed paper with foam adhesive dots, and then used double sided adhesive to adhere the printed paper to the scalloped circle. The entire unit was then anchored to the background with foam tape squares to give it depth and dimension. The sentiment block was attached below the daisy with double sided tape directly to the card stock base.

10.  To add the final touches, a little bling, to the card I added several clear acrylic stones to the center of the daisy, and the four corners of the background. Another gem stone was placed on the sentiment block and three thin lines of Dazzles were added to the sentiment block and card base. The two lower corners of both the background and the card were rounded with the 1/4" Corner Chomper tool.

This card was entered in the Little Scrap Pieces, Fun Friday Challenge- Shape Up.

I hope you enjoyed today's post, and that you will create something that makes you Happy today. Until next time, Have a Great Day!

Mindy

Blog-aversary Give Away Winner

A giant Thank You! goes out to all my bloggie friends out there who stopped by and posted a comment on my blog during my One Year Blog-aversary Celebration this past week. The winning entry was randomly selected by the generator at Random.org and that winning entry is: 
#16 Joanie, with your comment on "Good Things come in Small Packages".

Please email me at mindykSA@aol.com with your mailing address, so I can get your package out to you.

I also hope everyone out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I spent the afternoon watching "My San Antonio Spurs" play basketball on T.V. while working in my art journal.  Unfortunatly the team came up a little short today, but there is always the next game. They will be back in San Antonio for that one! Go Spurs Go!

OK, now on to the card of the day! 

I started with a kraft colored card base and added a Crackle Core-card stock background from Tim Holtz and Co-ordinations papers.  I then cut a printed card base from Prima  printed stock and used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator, A2 size with Distressed Edges. On top of the printed stock I attached two die cuts from the Die-namics Well Worn Greetings die from My Favorite Things. The woman's picture was then cut from printed card stock and adhered to the oval die cut.

Below the dies, I tied a single loop bow from gingham brown ribbon and attached a small tag with the phrase "Surprise!" stamped on it and attached it to the bow with a piece of hemp twine and a knot.  This card had so many layers, I decided it didn't need more dimension, other than the bow and tag.  A very simple card, that turned out to have a very vintage feel.

Thanks again for stopping by, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! 

Sending Hugs on Mother's Day

I am sending you all hugs for this upcoming Mother's Day!  Today's post is another one of the julie Nutting big Tags from Prima, that can be made into a card that fits a #10 size long envelope.

This card was very easy and quick to complete. I just covered the tag with paper from the Lady Bird A4 paper pad from Prima. It already had the rust, grey, and lt. blue roses printed on the peach and orange background of the paper. I added a journaling block from the pad, and stamped "sending hugs" a stamp from Memory Box Stamps.  On white card stock, I stamped my julie Nutting Doll with pocket dress stamp with tuxedo black Memento ink and colored the image in with my Copic Markers. After adhering her to the journaling block, I smugged Dark Grey Pan Pastels around her image for shadowing and glued a small gold grosgrain ribbon bow in her hair and tucked the ends of the ribbon under the journaling block.  To complete the tag, I stamped several Hero Arts flower stamps in Sepia brown Archival ink on cream colored watercolor paper, cut them out and used foam tape to adhere them to the tag to fill in the empty spaces.

I had to hurry to get the rest of my cards done for Mother's Day, because I need to get them in the mail this weekend. Most of my cards go out to my "other Mother's" who have families of their own, but have supported and friended me throughout the years as only a Mother would do.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and that the weather wherever you are is back to normal after the "Big Freeze" of this week.

I also want to thank you all for stopping by my blog for a visit. I hope you will comment on my posts, to be eligible to win a chance at my 1 year Blog-aversary Give-Away that will be drawn on May 12, 2013. Details are available on a previous post or in the right hand margin, click on the picture of the prize package for more details. Thanks again for visiting, see you again soon.

Mindy

When Irish Eyes are Smiling. . . . .

Happy Wednesday fellow papercrafters and cardmakers!

Today's post is a St. Patrick's Day card that I made, and I really like the way it turned out. I started out with a 4" wide strip of dark green card stock and cut it at 6" long.
I then scored it at 1" from the end and attached a rectangle of light green stock 4" x 41/2" overlapping just as wide as my red-line tape. This completed the card base.

For the embelishments on this card, I cut two more scraps of card stock; one from a peach and green muted background 3" square, and one dark green stock 2"x4".  The dark green piece was the leftover from the 4" strip cut from the 8"x8" paper pad. I adhered one strip of a yellow and green print washi tape and a strip of beige tape measure style washi tape leaving a space in the middle for my handwritten sentiment banner, "When Irish Eyes are Smiling".  I then handstamped the double dot strip clear stamp from Paper Wings Productions on the left side of the card, and stamped some clover plants from the Louise clear stamp set also from Paper Wings Productions. The stem with leaves stamp and teeny heart stamps made the clover plants, then I colored them in with my Copic markers. I printed the leprechan from an online copyright-free image and colored it with copics also.  To add just the right amount of bling I dabbed a bit of Stickles in Firefly to his shirt, tie, and socks. Foam dots poped him up from the surface of the card, and a bit of peach twine was tied in a knot above his head.

I have a bit of Irish in me, but it must be just a wee bit, because the Guinness makes me woozy! (even a wee bit!) I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead, and try to make some cheery St. Patty's Day cards. (even if you aren't Irish!)

You Are ONE of a Kind !

Greetings fellow Paper Artists!

Today's post is a beautiful heart card done in the folded paper technique of Iris Folding.

I have always loved the look of this ancient art of paper folding, but have never had time to try it. I saw a video of it done on the Paper Wishes webisode several weeks ago, and decided to send off for the template they sell. It is called Teresa's Iris Folding template #1 by Hot Off the Press and Paper Wishes. (photo of template shown below)  As far as I know, there are many folding patterns and designs you can use. HOTP and Teresa Welch have simplified the process and brought together a template that shows a basic folding pattern, and several designs that you can fill to make a beautiful card or scrapbook embellishment.

First, you trace and cut out the shape you want to fill on the front of your card base. You then turn the card over and temporarily tape it to the layout pattern, centering the pattern on your cut out.(as seen below)  You then pick two or four coordinating pattern papers to make your design.

You then cut out strips of paper, the size is in the directions, and fold them where indicated. Then you start placing them around the guide in numerical order as shown on the template. This is much easier to follow from the instructions, rather than me telling or showing you. Each strip of paper is taped down with cellophane tape to the base of the card. When all of the strips have been placed and taped as per the diagram, you trim the excess paper strip ends and cover the back of the design with a piece of cover stock sealing in all of the pieces of paper. To finish my card, I taped around the edges with a printed washi tape to seal in my strips of paper. I then  outlined the heart with a fine line of Dazzles, also made by Hot Off the Press for Paper Wishes. My banner sentiment is from the HOTP clear stamp set titled Heart to Heart, and I just cut a simple banner shape and inked the edges with a lime green chalk ink pad to correspond to the patterned papers I used in the heart.

This card was a lot of fun to make, and the Iris Folding was not as hard as I expected it to be. The template came with a butterfly and a flower shape to fill, so I may try these at a future time. I hope you will try something new in your paper arts and stamping, and until next time, have a "Love"-ly Day!





Got Bee's in Your Bonnet?

Hi stampers and paper artists!
I hope you are having a good day today. The card I want to share with you today, is using a beautiful stamp and die set from Hero Arts, and it is the head of a Victorian Woman with a beautiful feathered bonnet. The stamp came in a set with the cling mounted stamp and a die to match. I stamped the image on heavy white watercolor paper, and used my Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils to color it in. When the watercolor pencil and paper were dry, I placed the matching die over the image and ran it through my die cutting machine to cut it out. You can see the small white border around the stamped image if you look closely.
I then stamped two small bee's from the Lawn Fawn "Be Mine" clear stamp set and colored them with the Inktense pencils, too.  The sentiment, "Got Bees in your bonnet?" is from a set of sentiments from Cardz TV's clear set, "Going Buggy?" I also stamped "hello honey" inside the card. It was from the same "buggy"set.  I then put the card together by adhering a sheet of paper from the Almanac Collection by Prima Papers on the card front, and then glue dots on the woman's image and banner. The cute little bee's I attached with tiny dots of foam tape to really make them pop off the page.

This is an old saying that I haven't heard in years, but means, is something bothering you? I think it made a really pretty card, and when I find the right person to send it to, I sure hope they like it. Even if it is just for the little bee's!  Thanks for stopping by.

Winter Wishes Collage Card

Brrrrrrrrr! Is Jack Frost nipping at your nose? Hello fellow stampers and collage artists. Today's card that I want to share with you is a Winter Wishes Collage card made from the 8" X 8 " "A Place in Time" paper pad from Graphic 45.

The January collage item page has snowflakes and snowmen in shades of teal. So I pulled out a teal card base to construct my card. I first got all my collage pieces together that I wanted to use, and arranged then on the front of my card to check the size. I then stamped the Snowflake #2 stamp from Penny Black in Versamark Clear Embossing Ink in several places on the front of the card, sprinkled them with white opaque embossing powder, and then heat set them. I then attached the collage elements to the card front with double stick adhesive and foam dots for the postage stamps.
I then stamped the phrases, "Brrrrrr!" and "Jack Frost" on the front of the card, and "Baby, it's COLD outside!" on the inside of the card. All of the phrases came from the "Snow Day" clear stamp set from Cardz TV with Mary. They have some of the cutest phrase stamp sets ever, I just went crazy when I saw them.  Of course, I wanted all the phrase stamps when I saw them, but had to limit my purchase to just a few.  Why not check them out HERE when you get a chance.

Have a great day, pour yourself some tea, and make some greeting cards. You will be glad you did! See you soon.

Thank YOU!

A BIG thank you goes out to all the well wishers on this beautiful Christmas morning!

The weather is predicted to be a nasty and cold afternoon, after the cold front blows through, but right now it is simply beautiful! It is a little windy, but the sun is shining, so enjoy it while you can!

Today's card is my fashionista stamp, colored with copic markers, with the background stamped in the Hero Arts background stamp "Chevrons." I covered half of the card base in retro dot scrapbook paper, before attaching the fashionista and her dog with foam tape to pop out the figure. I then attached the "thanks" banner with a button, tied with Caribbean blue twine which matches the background.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful happy day, spending quality time with your family. Enjoy this time, and do a little crafting if you can. It's one of those moments you will treasure for a lifetime!  See you again soon.

Finally Finished: My Cards that is. . . . . .

Seasons Greetings fellow stampers! I finally finished my Christmas cards, now into the mail, and off they go. Hopefully they will get to their appointed locations before Christmas.

Luckily, I didn't have too many to make, and all the paper  piecing didn't take too long to assemble and to dry. The card was made from a template I got from the Stampington.com website. They have many templates there that have been used in previous issues of their magazines.  I got out my assortment of 8" X 8" Christmas paper pads and tore out several sheets that seemed to go together.  Then I started cutting out pieces of paper that would fit the various parts of the birdhouse template. I used a kraft colored base card trimmed to fit the template, and then glued the decorative papers to the base card. Then using an 11/2" hole punch, punched the hole in the house for the opening. I then punched a replacement hole using a dark colored stock to glue into the opening. Using Lawn Fawn's Christmas wreath stamp, I stamped out the wreath and colored it with my Copic markers, and then cut it out and glued it over the punched out replacement piece. That then held the punched out piece in.  I then die cut the small Memory Box bird out of brown felt and glued it to the front of the house and accented it with a half pearl eye. Inside I stamped "Merry Christmas" using the Christmas Greeting clear stamp set from Hot Off the Press.

I made each birdhouse different, using all the scraps from the few pages of paper I originally tore out.  Of course, they look really cute together in a group, but no one but you will see them this way once they get mailed out.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year!  Seasons Greetings and  Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2013. Thank you for visiting, see you again soon.

Thank You's are Important, Too

Thank you's are important, too!

During the holidays, there are two little words that mean so much, and are sometimes forgotten. "Thank You!" Thank you for the lovely dinner, thank you for inviting me, thank you for the wonderful gift, thank you for thinking of me. Sometimes we get so tied up in the moment, we forget to say these words out loud. That is when a beautiful card can really come in handy.  So while you are creating beautiful handmade cards to send to family and friends, be sure to also make several thank you cards, to keep on hand for the thank you's that are frequently forgotten.

The card I made today is an A2 size card that is very simple, yet beautiful. I started with the background pool colored layering paper from Hero Arts and added a printed scrap across the bottom, about halfway across. I then adheared a ribbon across and glued it to the back. I then shadow stamped a leaf design on the solid top with a gray Marvy marker inked directly onto the stamp. This technique is so vibrant on glossy surfaces, yet a soft matte finish on non-glossy papers. I also used this technique to stamp a thank you stamp on a precut chipboard label. It's finish was fairly glossy, so it turned out vibrant and strong. I just take the Marvy marker (light blue for example) and mark directly on the word thank on my rubber stamp.(Always use the lighter color first) Then with my grape colored purple marker, I rubbed it on the word "you" and across the bottom of the word "thank". It automatically blended the two colors where they overlapped. You can then "huff" or breathe heavily on your stamp and stamp it onto the smooth surface.  Your breath will re-moisten the inks just enough so they will stamp easily. Use foam dots to pop the label on the front of your card, and then adhear the front panel to the card front, and you are done!

Here are the last four tags from the Holiday Tag project I completed. This project was one of the most rewarding projects I have seen to fruition, so I guess that is why it means so much to me.  I hope you all enjoyed seeing the tags as much as I enjoyed making them. Several of you left me comments on the post, and I really appreciate your responses.

I hope you consider making a few tags this year for attaching to special gifts, or even attaching to the front of a greeting card.  They are fun and can be quick to make and they will be treasured by those receiving them. Have a grand week, and I will see you again soon.