Thinking of You

I have a really quick post today.  The first card is the card I made for our card club next week.  I took the second card, which I got from my upline, Chris, and changed it just a little.  I used different stamp sets and I used a button head instead of circle window charms.  

I reallly liked this card, Chris made and hope my club members like mine too.

Card made by Chris Shouse

I used Silhouette paper pack and the two stamp sets Best Wishes and Simple Blossoms.

I won't be posting on Friday; however, I will be back on Saturday with blog candy to celebrate my birthday.  Don't forget to check back then.  

Happy Stamping!

Make a Wish

Tanner is going to a birthday party on Saturday. so I needed to make a card for his friend, AJ.  I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it, because I know it will make its way to the trash.  A five year old doesn't care about the cards.  However, his mom knows I make cards, so I wanted it to be nice.  I made this card in 15 minutes.  Yes, I think that is a record for me.

I used Good Times Level 2 paper pack and Good Times My Stickease from CTMH.  When you need to make layouts or cards in a hurry this is the way to go.  I forgot how much I love this paper pack and color combo.  You will be seeing more birthday cards with this paper pack and My Stickease in May.  I need to replenish my birthday card supply.  The only accessories I used were a buttercup bigger brad and sassy strands.  I popped up the sentiment and the tag and I was done.  Viola!

Happy Stamping!

Sweet Christmas

Another great sketch by Maria for our Christmas Stampin' All Year Round.  I am having fun using all of my Christmas sets.  I am sorry this one is retired too.  I have so many that I can't resist using all of them.  Especially since this little gingerbread man calls for liquid applique.  

You can't see my scalloped circle very well, but it is there.  It is the biggest size I had.  I think it would have worked better if I would have made a 6 x 6 card; however, I don't like to mail them.  

Here is the sentiment inside.  I used the candy from this set too.  I put liquid glass on them, so they would shine.  Fun toys!

Materials used:  All products are CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Evensong Level 2 paper pack with matching cs (tulip, vanilla cream, sorbet); Stamp sets - Sweet Christmas, Romantic Backgrounds; Ink - brown bag, sorbet, tulip; Accessories - liquid applique, liquid glass, white daisy ric rac, sorbet designer ribbon, pop dots (unknown), red bling (Paper Studio), gingerbread punch (Martha Stewart), large scallop classic circles (Nestabilities)

Hope you week is going well.  I am off to make dinner!

Happy Stamping!

Faith

My mom sent me an email last weekend telling me that my niece, Sara, is getting confirmed this Thursday. I wanted to make sure I sent her a card with a little something, so this is the card I made with my CTMH set, Faith. This set is retired, but I really like it. I won't let this set go.

I wish you could see the clear Spica marker I used on the dove and sentiment Faith. It sparkles just a little. I stamped the dove on Solar Crest White paper by Neenah in Memento black ink. I used my C1 and C3 markers to color the dove. Since teenage girls love bling, I made sure I used alot on this one for her.

In addition, I used my crocheted scallop borders by Diane at Deedle-dee Doodles. These are so pretty. The quality of her crocheted items are fabulous!

Here is the inside of my card. The sentiment reads, "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart." I added my clear Spica marker to the cross inside of my card too.

Materials used: All products CTMH unless noted. Paper - Enchanted Level 2, Solor Crest White (Neenah), barn red cs, sunflower cs, white daisy cs; Stamp set - Faith; Ink - smokey plum, copics; Accessories - bling (Paper Studio), sunflower bigger brads, crocheted scallop border (Deedle-dee Doodles), small and large oval punch (SU), small classic cirles (Nestabilities), large classic scallop circles (Nestabilities), pop dots (unknown)

Happy Stamping!

jump jump

Click on layout to enlarge

I have been working on this layout for about a week.  When I got a little down time, I would finish another part of it.  I was inspired by Jen Tapler's sketch challenge here.  She used a lot of pics and I knew I had a lot of pictures of the boys and their cousins jumping on a trampoline.  When we went to my parents, I gave my camera to my niece and told her to t

ake pictures of what they did while I was shopping.  I knew they would be on the trampoline, because my boys love to jump and we dont' have one.  I think Emily took some awesome pictures, especially the action shots.  

I almost bought an entire digital kit to create a layout, which I haven't done yet.  I couldn't find one with everything I wanted, so I hunted through my freebies again and found the elements and papers I liked.  I have the recipe below.  

I worked on the layout a lot last night, because Tate had a fever around supper time and had to stay inside with me.  It was a gorgeous day, but he didn't feel like eating or playing.  Luckily, this morning his fever was back to normal and he is eating (a lot) and playing with his brother.

For the layout, I started with a two-page template from Kimi's Kreations.  I love her templates!  I love her name too, but that is not the only reason I visit her site.  LOL!  In addition, I used the papers and many elements from It's A Boy Thing kit.  This kit is free to download on a blog train starting with Kat's Creations.  Really cool!

Recipe for layout: Template - Kim's Kreations; Paper - Orange (AWP_CitrusBrights_Paper4), Blue and Frog (It's A Boy Thing); Accessories - buttons, alpha tags, green ribbon, rough & tumble metal tag, button background for arrow (all of these are from the It's A Boy Thing kit), white overlay (KPertiet Sanded Overlay), blast off (unknown)

I am honored to be nominated for the Briliante Weblog by a fellow CTMH consultant, Tresa Black.  Those of you who are CTMH consultants know how talented Tresa is and I can't believe she checks out my blog.  Tresa taught an acrylic album class at last year's convention that I attended.  There you go....corporate asked her to teach a class.  Check out her blog Fabulously Artsy!  She has great projects to show you.  

The rules for this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. On your blog, link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated

You know some of my favorite blogs already.  I direct you to my friends, Jeanne and Barb, often.  This time I want to share with you some blogs I have ran across lately that are impressive.

Nona's Pearls of Wisdom - Nona is a very talented crafter.  She is a CTMH consultant and digital scrapper also.

SCRAPINGLORI BLOGSPOT - Lori is a CTMH Consultant and her coloring is awesome!

Kathleen's Crafty Creations - Kathleen is a certified Fiskars training.  She site is really cool!

Scrappy Stamper - Wow!  Pat's blog is awesome and she is a CTMH Consultant.

Paper Possibilities - Georgia has a lot of great projects to show you.

Happy Stamping and Scrapping!

happy birthday

I didn't plan on making a birthday card today, but my DH asked me to make a birthday card for one of his employees.  Yippee!  What could be better than your DH telling you to play with your stamps?  

I am totally out of birthday cards in my stash, so I am going to need to create some to get a supply.  Maybe I will try a 10 from one again.  Hey, Terese want to help?  LOL!  My friend, Terese, hates 10 from ones.

If you don't have a cupcake stamp, it is a must buy.  This one is Cupcake Sprinkles by CTMH.  One of my favorite sets from the spring catalog.  I put glitter on the cupcake and you can't see it that well in the pic.  It looks a lot better in person.  You can click to enlarge it.  The sentiment inside reads "CELEBRATE".

Materials used: All products CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Emporium Level 2 set; Stamp sets - Happy Birthday, Cupcake Sprinkles, It's A Party; Ink - crystal blue, sweet leaf, buttercup; Accessories - sparkles, prisma glitter, round tab punch (SU), pop dots (unknown), concave punch (EK Success), heavenly blue brads

Happy Stamping!

let it snow

I can't believe I finished this week's Christmas Stampin' All Year Long already.  I am usually trying to fit it in on the last day of the week.  This afternoon, I am scrapping with my friend and fellow consultant, Brenda.  "Hi, Brenda!"  

Here is Maria's sketch for this week's challenge.  I knew when I saw it that I wanted to use my snowflakes and Aspen paper.

I used the Stars punch from Martha Stewart, which I think look like snowflakes too.  I added white paper to the inside of my card, so the snowflakes would show.  The sentiment inside reads "May the spirit of Christmas warm your heart all year long."

Materials used: All products CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Aspen Level 2; Stamp sets - Festive Thoughts, Christmas Scripts, Feathery Flakes; Ink - outdoor denim; Accessories - white daisy organdy and grosgrain ribbon, outdoor denim brads, white gel pen (SU), 1 3/8" punch (SU), scallop punch (SU), large oval punch (SU), Stars punch (Martha Stewart), Quickie glue pen (Sakura), prisma glitter

Happy Stamping!

Hi

Here is another Shelby image from Deedle-dee Doodles I colored while on vacation.  I new I had juniper and chocolate colored paper from CTMH, so I tried to match it the best I could without having it with me.  There are times when I just need a card that isn't occasion specific, so I used "Hi!" for my sentiment.  Shelby is the cutest!

I added pattern paper to the inside of my card to match the front, so I could write a note to the recipient.  If you haven't purchased Perfect Day Level 2 paper pack yet, you should!  It is one of my favs! 

Materials used: All materials are CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Perfect Day Level 2; Stamp sets - Shelby (Deedle-dee Doodles), For Every Occasion; Ink - black (Memento), chocolate, copics; Accessories - chocolate brads, sparkles, Perfect Day My Stickease, chocolate ric rac ribbon, pop dots (unknown), concave punch (EK Success)

Happy Stamping!

Madonna

I am so glad I decided to play along with Maria at her Christmas Stampin' All Year Long blog.  I am having fun making one of a kind Christmas cards for my friends and family.  In addition, it is nice to work with my Christmas stamps more than two months out of the year.  If you want to start making your Christmas cards, join us by checking out Maria's blog link above.  

When I saw this week's sketch, I picked out a dimensional element and took it to my stamp collection.  I placed it over the Christmas stamps I have to see what would fit inside the square.  I love how Mary and Jesus are framed.  In addition, I want to use other papers beside red and green.  This makes me think outside the box and I know the recipients of my Christmas cards will be a little surprised by the non-traditional colors.  

Instead of using my copics, I decided to play with another medium I have in my stash.  I used my CTMH watercolor pencils and my waterbrush to color and finish my Madonna image.  I picked the colors closest to my pattern paper.  Here are the pencils I used: star spangled blue, cranberry, grey flannel, fawn and oak brown.  I used various pressure with my pencils to get the desired color I wanted.  In addition, I used my medium orange memory pencil for the skin color by EK Success.

Materials used: All products CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Emporium pattern paper, cocoa cs, vineyard berry cs, white daisy cs; Stamp set - Madonna Nativity(retired); Ink - black, crystal blue, star spangled blue; Accessories - Dimensional Elements Basic Shapes (retired), white daisy organdy ribbon, crystal blue organdy ribbon, light blue crystal pearl stickers (Mark Richards), D'Vine Swirls embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Happy Stamping!

Spring Has Sprung

Yes, I still traditional scrapbook.  I know I haven't showed you a competed traditional scrapbook page in a while.  Hopefully, with my new scrapbook club I will have one a month.  

Here is the layout I put together for my scrapbook club members for May.  The club members will have the choice to add this title or not.  The flower pattern paper reminded me of spring, which is finally here in Nebraska.  After I got this layout finished, I remembered I had these pictures of Tanner from 2005.  See...I am not caught up either.  I don't scrap chronologically, so I go through my pictures to match my layouts.  Then if the colors don't match, I change my pics to black and white or sepia.

page 2

Click on images to enlarge

Materials used: All products are CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Let's Get Together Level 2 (retired); Stamp sets - Friendship Alphabet, Playful Petals; Ink - cranberry; Accessories - Dimensional Elements Monogram "S", white daisy brads, cranberry grosgrain ribbon, cranberry waxy flax; clear buttons (unknown), white daisy photo hanger, Love Letter rub-ons, white daisy edge anchor, white gel pen (SU), Just Blooms, cranberry bigger brad

Happy Stamping!

Relax Riley

Here is another image I got from my friend, Barb.  This is the first Riley I have ever colored and I love this moose!

This is the inside of the card.  I got some ink by the sentiment, so I improvised and added the little red flowers to cover my mistake.  Oh I forgot...there are no mistakes, just a chance to add an embellishment.  That is what Chris, my upline, has always says.

Mom cam

Materials used: All products CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Perfect Day Level 2, tulip cs, cocoa cs; Stamp sets - Riley (Hanna Stamps), Happy Day, Happy Birthday, Solo R; Ink - black (Memento), copics, cocoa, tulip; Accessories - Labels Two (Nestabilities), arch lattice (Martha Stewart punch), chocolate bigger brads, chocolate designer ribbon, framed fun dimensional elements, red flowers (unknown)

I used the frame from the tulip colored label on the front to frame my sentiment inside the card.  I try to use the negative and positive of my nesabilities.  

I did keep track of the colors I used for the chair on this card.  I wanted to be able to use these color combo again.  I used BG72, BG13, BG45, and B00.  I am going to have to experiment with my copics to find the color combo I used for the foot stool.  Now, I am going to carry my copics notebook with me to mark my favorite color combos.  I good lesson learned.

Happy Stamping!

Cheerleader

Isn't she the cutest?  This is a set that Diane from Deedle-dee Doodles is designing.  Her name is Shelby and this is just one of the ways Diane has drawn her.  I love the way Diane draws her kid images and she is working on getting Shelby to production.  

I colored her cheerleading outfit in blue and red, because when I was in high school (long time ago) our school colors were red, white and blue.  I searched through my CTMH pattern paper and found a perfect match from two different paper packs.  See the recipe below.

Here is the inside of the card.  

I printed this sentiment from my computer in cranbery colored ink.

Materials used: All material CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Perfect Day, Stardust, white daisy cs, tulip cs black cs, white solar crest (Neenah); Stamp sets - Shelby (Deedle-dee Doodles), Today's Date; Ink - black (Memento), copics, tulip; Accessories - red bling (unknown), pop dots (unknown), white daisy ric rac, classic oval (Nestabilities)

Happy Stamping!

Bunny in Basket

We had a lot of fun at my parents last week, but it is always good to be back.  I got some coloring done while I was there.  My mom would crochet while I colored and we watched the kids run around.  That is why I have to go to the gym.  I color (sitting on my bum) while they run around and burn calories.  I guess it is worth it, when I get to play with my copics.  

Here is one of the images from Hero Arts that my friend, Barb, sent me to color.  I know it is after Easter, but this card is wishing you had a Happy Easter.  Tate was so excited for the Easter Bunny to visit.  He gave up candy for lent.  He did a great job, because he had so many temptations.  I can't believe how much candy he gets at school.  Tate would bring candy home from school and give it to his brother.  Next year, Tanner is going to give up candy too, so we will have to store the goodies until Easter morning.  Yesterday, Tate asked if he could have as much candy as possible.  I had to laugh and say that he could have some, but don't eat all of it in one day.   

I used so many copics on this image I didn't keep track of the colors I used.  I don't do a very good job at that, so for all of the images I colored while on vacation I don't have a color combo for you.  Sorry!  I will try to keep track of that in the future.

Materials used: Paper - Sweet Pea Level 2 (CTMH), white (Georgia Pacific Paper); Stamp - name unknown (Hero Arts); Ink - black (Memento), copics, blush (CTMH), sunny yellow (CTMH), sunkiss yellow (CTMH), buttercup (CTMH); Accessories - Swiss dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Small Scalloped Classic Ovals (Nestabilities), pearl brads (Paper Studio), white daisy sassy strands (CTMH), round tab punch (SU), So Swirly jumbo wheel (SU)

Happy Stamping!

Surprise!

I didn't think I would have time to post again this week, but I do!  

My parents stopped by our house yesterday on the way back from their trip to Washington. Since we are going to their house tonight (Tuesday), they took the boys with them on Monday.  I have this whole day by myself.  I slept in, went to the gym, packed, did  some Easter Bunny shopping and made a Christmas card.  Wow, from Easter to Christmas in one day!

When I get back from our trip, I won't be catching up on my Christmas stamping all year 'round.  YAY!

I think I am getting my creativity back, because I feel like playing with my copics.  They are packed for the five hour car ride.  

Here is my card for this week's Christmas challenge. I used crimson red embossing powder I got from my friend, Terese.  Thanks for the trade, Terese!

I used both the Evensong Level 2 and Basic Collections pattern paper.  The images are from the Vintage Christmas stamp set.

Materials used: All products are CTMh unless noted.  Paper - Evensong Level 2 and Basics Collection, white daisy cs; Stamp set - Vintage Christmas; ink - olive, versamark; Accessories - white gel pen (SU), white sparkles, 1 3/8" punch (SU), scallop punch (SU), pop dots (unknown), Christmas Designer ribbon, crimson red embossing powder (Whispers), concave corner punch (EK Success)

Until next week......

Happy Stamping!

A tisket a tasket....

an Easter basket!

There are only two people who can make it to card club tonight.  Our project is to make this cute Easter basket.  Since there are only two club members attending and I happen to have two Easter cards left in "my stash", they will each get one.  This way they will have a little basket and card for someone special this Easter.  

The cards were made with retired paper; however, we are using Sweet Pea pattern paper for the basket.  It is great for Easter, because of the pastel colors.

One of my friends is selling crocheted items on Ebay and I told her I would mention it on my blog.  The items are reasonably priced and made very well.  Check it out!

This will be my last post this week.  My family is going on vacation for the rest of the week.  We are heading back to my home town to visit.  We have someone cat sitting.  Yes, cat sitting!  Our cat is so finicky and old that we have someone watch him.   

Have a great week and HAPPY EASTER and Stamping!

This is ME

Here I am!

There are two of you who guessed correctly.  I wouldn't doubt that Terese and Patti would pick the correct one.  Both of them know me and my family.

I hope you played along at Paper Craft.  Susanna is going to announce the winner soon!

Happy Stamping!

Catching Up

I wanted to take the time to catch up on a couple blogging awards I received from my fellow blogging friends.  Thanks, ladies!  I apologize I do not do post these timely.  

First, Steph gave me this award.  You need to check out her blog Where'd All My Money Go?!

She does a great job and don't ya love her blog title? 

Second, my friend, Barb, from The Buzz and Kathleen at Kathleen's Crafty Creations gave me this cute award.  Barb is very creative and has a link to her 365 project that I would like to do next year.  Check her blog out!  Kathleen is very creative and has many cute projects for you to see.  Go to her blog for inspiration too!

I visit many blogs throughout the week and many of them our the DT members from Paper Craft Planet, which you can visit from my sidebar.  There is one blog, Creative Bliss, that I want you to visit.  My friend, Jeanne, is so creative from making cute little critters for her daughters, digi scrapping, cards and gifts.  Wow!  She has a lot of creative energy!

On this day...

I had scrapbook club/crop at my house last night (Saturday) and we had fun creating.  Finally, I am caught up with this week's sketch challenge for Stampin' Christmas All Year Long.

Connie, you can quit asking me if I am caught up now!  Thank you!

This sketch is from challenge #9 (03-23-09) and my card is below.  I am not thrilled with how that one turned out, but sometimes I need to just go to the next one.  

I felt like embossing on both of the cards I made last night.  For the first one, I used clear embossing powder and then sponged ink (tulip, olive and vineyard berry) over the image to match the pattern paper.

Here is the sketch for challenge #10 (03-30-09).  I wanted to use non-traditional colors on this card.  I traded my friend Terese some cards for embossing powders.  I used the light blue powder and love the way this looks.  I have so much paper and one of my resolution's this year to use what I have.  So I grabbed paper from Level 2 packs I purchased already.  The pattern green paper is from Emporium and the pattern blue paper is from Stardust.

Happy Stamping!