Elzybells and a Snowy card

Hi! Finally a snowy card to show you since we STILL have snow on the roofs, not much, but it's still there. We should have put our outside Christmas decorations up last weekend, but we didn't, so it will probably be REALLY cold and snowing this weekend. Oh well..... This card I did for a challenge on Card Studio Designs, http://cardstudiodesigns.com/. If you haven't visited this site and you like to make cards, you should go check them out. Anyway about the card, I have been seeing the Elzybells stamps on other stampers' blogs and everytime I would go to the Elzybells site to look at them, I would just ooooo and aaahhhh over them. So I finally broke down and ordered some. They are soooooooo cute and great quality. You can see them at http://www.elzybellsna.typepad.com/. They have such sweet sentiments. Okay, so the challenge was to use paint, so I swiped two lines of paint on my patterned paper and stamped the sentiment on the white paint. The background paper doesn't really have snowflakes on it, I stamped those with Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue ink (which by the way is my favorite color for stamping snowflakes). The angel I stamped with Versafine black ink and colored her with prismacolor pencils then blended with mineral spirits. I used stickles on the snowflakes by the angel, ultrafine glitter on her wings and hero arts gems on her dress. I punched her out with my Marvy scallop punch and mounted that on Bazzill Basics paper and then pop-dotted the whole thing onto the card. Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

Just One More Fall Project

I know I said I was going to do Christmas cards and I have been working on them, but I haven't taken pictures of them. I have however been using some of the sketch and technique challenges from SplitCoastStampers and Card Studio Designs. I am really having fun using these challenges, so as soon as I get some pictures taken I will start showing you those.

I decided to share the fall frame that I made. I actually made a frame for each season and sent them to my sister so she can have a picture of her grandson in them on her desk at work. I really enjoy making these, my daughter has even made one for her friend. Thanks Emily at http://emilygiovanni.com/ for teaching us how to do this. I used Bo-Bunny paper, Karen Foster paper, ribbon from Hobby Lobby, chestnut roan ink, some skeleton leaves that I have had for about 5 years and I use them slowly because they are so neat, but I don't remember who makes them. I stamped Thankful Hearts with the Kim Hughes Collection from Cornish Heritage Farms. The set is Fall Silhouettes. Then I used my Marvy Scallop punch to punch the back. The letters for fall I cut with my Cuttlebug font Red Tag Sale. Have a great day and thanks for coming by!

Painted Cards

Good morning! I was going over some challenges yesterday and one of them was to use paint on your card. Now, I didn't make this card yesterday, but it does have paint on it so I decided to share this one today and then also today I want to make some others with paint for the challenge. I like paint :o) My other choice to post today was another frame that I did for fall. Maybe that one will be shared tomorrow since our snow should be completely melted by then. I have never done any of the challenges that are pretty common once you start looking, but yesterday I printed a couple out and I'm really looking forward to doing them. I started one last night that was from Card Studio Designs and it's a fun one, so hopefully I'll be posting that one soon.

For this card, I used SEI Aunt Gertie's Garden papers and just punched some of the smaller flowers out with circle punches and pop dotted them onto the card. I used foam stamps and acrylic paint to stamp the Hi. The I put stickles in the centers of the flowers for a little bling! Quick and easy. Well, I have lots of things I WANT to get done today so wish me luck that I'll get at least some of it done! Have a great day!!

We have SNOW!

Good Morning! I apologize for it being so long since I posted. With Thanksgiving being here, I wasn't on the computer much at all. On Wednesday before Thanksgiving I woke up and didn't have to go to work, so I was leisurely drinking my coffee after getting hubby off to work. Well, it wasn't long after that, that these little snowflakes starting falling, not many of them just enough to make me smile. As the day went on, the snowflakes starting bringing friends with them until we ended up with about 2 - 3" of snow on the ground. Someone needs to tell the snow that it's still fall!!! Don't get me wrong, I really like to watch the snow from inside the house, but I'm still a southern girl at heart and I don't really like to get out and drive in the stuff. So because we still have traces of snow on the roofs and on the ground, I decided to post a winter frame I made. I saw these first on Emily Giovanni's blog and loved what she did with them, so this is my take on these fun frames. You can see more of hers on her blog at http://emilygiovanni.com/. I used a bunch of things I already had for this one. I painted the frame, then mod podged the Karen Foster papers on it. After that was all dry I embellished with snowflake buttons that I cut the shank off of, Jolee's 3D snowflakes, a sticker (gasp) snowman and some old Making Memories sticker letters that I distressed. The ribbon covers the seam between the two papers. Oh, and I inked all the edges with chestnut roan ink. It was very easy and very fun!! A little time consuming only because of drying time. My sister and I are very close and I always tell her she is the guinea pig for all my ideas because when I make the first of anything I almost always send it to her to see what she thinks and to get ideas from her to make it better. Well, I'd better get to work on some Christmas cards, it will be here before we know it. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!!

More Fall Colors

Good morning! Although this card isn't a Thanksgiving card, it does have all the fall colors and I figured I'd better share it now, because I will be moving on to Christmas cards very soon. Oh, I did get my Thanksgiving cards mailed Monday morning, so hopefully they will make it to their recipients before Thanksgiving!!!

I don't usually make square cards, but it sure was fun. I used Prism cardstock for the base, Basic Grey Mellow collection for the patterned papers, a Maya Road chipboard flourish painted and then inked, a Making Memories flower, ribbon from Hobby Lobby (it's really pretty and shiny IRL), and one of my favorite Hero Arts stamps. I don't remember who made the bookplate, but it's cool because the holes are in the top of the plate instead of centered on the sides and that worked well for me here. The only thing I don't think you can see is that I stitched around the whole card with a straight stitch. I might have to try this square card thing more often. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and remembers all the blessings in their lives. I know I have more than I ever dream about when I stop and think about it! Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving card this morning. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! I don't know about you but I'm not quite ready. My Thanksgiving cards haven't been mailed yet, that's on my agenda for Monday morning. I have however been thinking about all the blessings in my life and all the things that I have to be thankful for, and I guess that's what it's really all about.
Today's card is made using only cardstock, I've been trying to challenge myself lately to make cards using only certain things or to use something in particular. It's going pretty well and I will be sharing some of those in the near future. Anyway, I started with a craft cardstock base and added burgundy cardstock, then bazzill green cardstock. The stamp is from HeroArts and is stamped on craft cardstock which I doodled around. I inked around everything with Chestnut Roan ink and added stapled ribbon to the green and then Making Memories buttons to the bottom of the card. Another easy card! Have a great week and be sure to think about all the thing you have to be thankful for in you life!! Thanks for reading!

Sara's Card

This card is one of the ones that Sara, my daughter, made. I love that she just picks stuff that she loves and puts it together. She started with red Bazzill cardstock and added the Basic Grey paper. Then she colored a chipboard Maya Road flower with ink and then attached a smaller to the inside and set it with a snap. She chose the "live in the moment" vellum phrase and attached it with white square brads. I love how it turned out and it doesn't take her near about as long as it takes me to make decisions about her cards. I'm amazed at how often I learn things from my children instead of them learning from me. I am getting more used to watching them drive out of the driveway in the mornings, but it still feels VERY different! They are growing up too fast! Thanks for stopping by today!

Bright and Happy

Today's card is definitely bright and cheerful. I know it's not fall colors, but it is happy......

This is a really simple card that I made with teenage girls in mind. The bright colors and the font with the dots on the ends of the letters just remind me of teenage girls and that makes me happy! Plus I used my old sizzix dies on it and that makes me happy too. I love when I take things I've had in my 'stash' for a while and make something fun with them. I have a bad habit of saving things for 'just the right card' or 'just the right scrapbook page'. My daughter is helping me with this because she now makes cards and scrapbooks too and she uses the papers and embellishments that she likes, she has no clue that I was 'saving' that paper for the 'perfect' card or page (not that I really was, I just tell myself that). Doesn't matter that I've had it for 6 or 8 months and still haven't used it...... The first time she used something that I had been 'saving' she had been making cards while I wasn't home. She told me what she used and I must have made a funny face because she said, "Did you have plans for that paper?" and she felt really badly about it. But in reality I didn't have any plans at all for it, I just liked it and I was really glad that she did use it because now I wasn't the only one getting to enjoy it. Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter than it could be, she helped me that day to use the things that I like and not save them for the 'perfect' opportunity, that may never come along. Besides that we all know that the manufacturers are going to release more things that I love and if I don't use what I have, where am I supposed to put the new stuff? :o)

Okay, back to the card. I used old Keeping Memories Alive gingham paper, plain cardstock, the sizzix frames, rectangle and scallop (I inked the scalloped one with red ink) and Jolee's ladybug & flower photo corners. the stamp is by Darcie's Country Folk. Easy as can be! Thanks for stopping by today!

Another Bella

Okay, I'm hooked! I love Bella Stamps, that's all there is to it! The customer service that Em provides is outstanding too! I am in no way affiliated with StampingBella, but I do like to pass on awesome customer service and they definitely provide that along with the great products. So, once again if you want to see all the fun stamps available through StampingBella, visit their site at www.stampingbella.com/.

Now, on to today's card. I used some old ProvoCraft patterned papers from their Rob & Bob collection for the background and for paperpiecing CakeaBella's pants and apron. I stamped CakeaBella on white with versafine black ink, colored her with prismacolor pencils and blended with mineral spirits. Then I sewed that onto yellow and attached with popdots. The ribbon is from May Arts, the "Make a Wish" stamp is from Studio G (Hampton Arts), inked that with chalk ink and put some Bella Baubles on the dots of the top patterened paper. Oh, there is also some bling on Bella and her cake in the form of Stardust pen around her lips making her teeth sparkle and on the cake with TingaLing Sparkles from Carolee's Creations. These Bellas are so much fun to play with, I know I'm kind of late in getting them, but I finally made it and I'm so glad I did! Thanks for looking!

A Simple Autumn Card

Good morning! It's pretty cold here today, so I'm thinking about staying in my pajamas all day. Yes, I know that's not REALLY going to happen, but it sure is nice to think about :o)

A very simple card for today. I actually stamped this a long time ago, but I'm trying to get all the pieces together. I used a cream colored card base. I think the patterened paper may be by PSX, but I'm not sure. I made the triangles on the corners just by making squares and then cutting them on the diagonal. The Hero Arts sentiment is stamped onto a pale gold (not metallic) cardstock in Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink - Burnt Sienna. Everything is inked around the edges with Colorbox Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan. The flowers are by Prima - one of the Fancy Pants collections - Dapper and the brad is from SEI. This is a really easy card to make multiples of and easy to change the colors and the sentiment. Sometimes I just like making something with fewer steps and this was definitely one of them. I hope you enjoyed it too!! Have a great day and thanks for coming by!

Happy Thanksgiving

Good morning! This morning was a little anxious for me because for the last 3 mornings in a row, my children have hopped in the jeep and headed off to school. It is such a weird feeling watching them drive off by themselves. I know they are very responsible kids, but that is my heart driving off..... For those of you who have experienced this, you know exactly what I'm talking about, for those of you who have yet to experience it, it's one of those, "my babies are growing up and I'm not sure I'm ready for that" moments! Very proud of them and yet not quite sure I'm willing to let go that much. I don't know if I'll remember the quote exactly, but I love the one about a parent's job is to give their children roots and wings!

Now onto the card, I just realized that if I'm going to mail out any of the Thanksgiving cards that I have made, I'd better be getting to the post office. This is one that is a little new to me as I usually make the standard size 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 card. But this one isn't and it was tons of fun to do! The finished size for this one is 3 7/8 X 9 3/8. Cream colored c/s for the base, PPs from Anna Griffin (green polka dot) and DCWV (Thanksgiving words), ribbon from American Crafts, flower from Hobby Lobby, shimmer paper from the Paper Co., stamp from Cornish Heritage farms - Kim Hughes collection "Let's get Stuffed", Marvy Uchida scallop punches (blue and pink sizes) and the pumpkin was on a roll like ribbon and I just cut one off to use it, but I don't know who makes it, sorry about that! Thanks for looking and have a great day!

My First Bella

This card was made for my sister. I sent it to her in a package so if she reads this before the package gets there.....sorry Sissy! This was my first time using a Stamping Bella stamp, but it definitely won't be my last!!! She was so much fun to embellish (I didn't want to say use!) The card base is a soft green cardstock that I embossed with my cuttlebug embossing folder. Emmybella was stamped onto white cardstock with versafine black ink. I used Making Memories Boho Chic papers to piece her clothes and large bag, I used a leftover piece of cardstock to piece the small bag. Then I colored her face, boots and hair with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, inked the edges of the white with Misty Mauve Versacolor ink, mounted that on MM Boho chic paper that I also cut a tab out of. Inked all that with clearsnap chestnut roan ink, stamped A Muse Artstamps "just because" in black and attached all of that with pop dots. The ribbon is also from MM Boho Chic collection. I really enjoyed using my Emmybella and am looking forward to stamping more with them, because I bought a few :o) Thanks for looking today and I hope you have a great day! If you want to see all of the StampingBellas available, here's a link http://www.stampingbella.com/.

Another Thanksgiving card for today. I'm thankful today because we got our son a car to drive yesterday - actually a jeep and he is very excited about it! It's so hard to believe that he's old enough to drive, but he is!! It's hard to believe that I'm old enough for that, but I guess I am!!! Back to the card, I started with a card base of shimmer paper from the Paper Company, embossed that with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Then I added Reminisce Autumn Afternoon Shimmer patterned paper, stamped 'happy thanksgiving' from the Hero Arts clear November set onto Bazzill Bling (bling colored) and punched that out with the Mcgill punch. The two ribbons are sheer ribbons from Offray and the beadables flower is from Sticko. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're enjoying the cards!

Good Morning! Today's card is one I made for Thanksgiving, but I realized how thankful I am for things in my daily life. My daughter and I went shopping yesterday afternoon (they had an early out at school). I really enjoy spending time with her, and at times that can be saying alot, she's 13! We have fun together and I'm very thankful that I have a great relationship with all 4 of my children.

This card was made with a cream cardstock base, patterned papers are Making Memories VH Paisley Green Solid, and Basic Grey Mellow line, Deciduous. The Thankful stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms, the scallop punch is the Marvy oval scallop (pink size), the gem in the 'h' is from Hero Arts, the ribbon from Offray, the felt fusion leaves from Queen & Co (this was the first time I've used this and it was pretty cool!), and the amber cardstock from Bazzill Basics. Oh, and everything is inked with clearsnap, chestnut roan. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!