THE "REAL" SANTA

It has been way too long since I posted anything but don't have anything made that I can show at the moment.  Time since Thanksgiving has been a rat-race around here.  I noticed that my last post was December 11 and I'm disappointed I haven't been able to keep up with everything.

That last post was a Santa face on a card............well here's a picture of Santa showing up at our Christmas gathering this past Sunday.  He was absolutely PERFECT!  We have six grandchildren and have tried getting this done during 2008 and 2009.  The weather messed us up both of those times, but third time was a charm.  Two of the six grandchildren no longer "believe" but the other four do and we knew time was getting short for pulling this off for those who are still "believers".  :)

Since it was the day after Christmas, we fed him a few lines to say while he was with us.  He delivered every one of the ideas we had mentioned and did it without sounding scripted.  The kids were in awe!  Each of the kids even got presents that he had "forgotten" to leave on Christmas Eve.  This was truly a Christmas that we will never forget!  PRICELESS!!!!

Two of the children came home with us on Sunday evening and then two more arrived yesterday.  They will be here until Thursday afternoon.  We are having a great time with them but there is no card making happening here.  After the holiday things are put away and my craft table is cleared off, I promise to get back to posting some more cards. 

Hope your holidays were blessed with many happy memories!  Thank you for stopping by!

SANTA

Last year I found this wonderful Santa stamp on eBay but had my cards all finished.  Isn't he just the happiest Santa?  I stamped the design on my white card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with Copic CIAO markers.  A fine line of C1 Cool Gray was made around the inside of the beard and then also around the entire image.  With a Quickie Glue Pen I scribbled on the fur trim of the hat and the pom pom so I could sprinkle Hero Arts Prisma Glitter for sparkle. 

The design was cut out and attached to the front of the card which had been embossed with a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder. 

If you are interested, I can order the Memento ink, markers, glue pen and glitter for you.

Thank you for coming by............hope you come back again soon!

NOEL

Quite a few years ago our small town went to recycling paper, plastics, glass, metal, cardboard etc.  At first it was a real pain and inconvenient because we had to take the items to a drop off point.  Then we went to six bins on a rolling cart at our house for pick-up.  Now we have just two and it has become more and more easy to do.  It has become second nature.  I even recycle items from my mother's home now too.  I guess that "waste not, want not" saying has come home to roost on me.

This is the first year that I decided to go even more "green" and I took parts from cards that I had received and recycled items from them onto my own homemade cards.  These beautiful, sparkly letters were on a card so I trimmed them off and popped them onto a card I wanted to send.  Then I added some tiny red gems to brighten up the green card stock.  Easy peasey!

It's amazing what you can do with parts off of the store-bought cards you receive.  Give it a try sometime and help save a tree.  :)  And if you have any other great ideas for recycling, leave a comment. 

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!  Hope your holiday preparations are going well!

VELLUM POINSETTIA

Over the next few days I'm going to try to show you some more cards I have made for the holidays.  I didn't want to post everything I had until I knew the cards had been received......although some of my Yahoo friends did receive cards that I had posted here.  This card is similar to one I posted earlier but if some of you are new you may not have seen that one. 

The poinsettia is made by using the Spellbinders Poinsettia die set with red vellum.  Gold gems were placed in the middle of the flower.  The striped paper is a scrap from a paper pad that I had. 

If you have time, leave me a comment about what you think of the cards I post.  I always appreciate the input from those who come to look.

Thanks for stopping by...............please come back again soon!

DECEMBER CALENDER

First let me say, I'm sorry for the shadow on the lower corner of the calender.  I realized I hadn't posted it yet and wanted to get it up quickly.  Lighting in this room isn't the best for pictures.

The stamp is a DeNami Design.  I love the simplicity of the design.  It made it very easy to color with my Copic CIAO markers.  Since the one red berry is next to the red candle, I decided to color them with Christmas Red Stickles.

There.........I made it through the whole year and managed to get a calender done for each month.  I wasn't sure I'd remember to do it but with others making theirs it was always a reminder.

I do see that I have visitors from all over the United States and many other countries from time to time.  

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY..............your comments are always welcome! 

CHRISTMAS STOCKING

I am finally finishing up the Christmas cards I have been making.  Time seems to get away and I haven't been posting as often as I'd like, but I did manage to get this card made last night.

The papers I used on the white card base are from a Basic Grey "Wassail" 6" x 6" paper pad.  I cut the stocking using a Quickutz "Stocking" die. 

I angled the red scalloped rectangle which had been cut using one of the Long Narrow set of Spellbinders dies.  The snowflakes were made with a Marvy Uchida punch and attached to the card using tiny glue dots.  Then I added rhinestone gems to the centers of each.  The final touch was adding the "2010" to the cuff of the stocking using a Copic CIAO R59 marker.

Supplies: 

Quickutz die can be purchased from eBay seller C*E*M in her store:  Creating Everlasting Memories

She has a lot of really good deals on dies and other items right now.  Sale ends at Midnight December 5.

The Spellbinders die, Marvy punch, Gems and Copic markers are available by contacting me.

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!  Please come back again soon.

CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS

I purchased this stamp in a wonderful stamp store in Branson, MO. I knew I wanted to use it for part of my cards this year. I stamped the design on white card stock and colored with Copic markers (R59, Y17, G21 and G28). The design included extra little circles in three places where I placed Gold Stickles to add a little bling.   Then I made a vertical version also shown on this blog page.

MERRY CHRISTMAS - More Poinsettias

This is the second version of the Christmas Poinsettias card that I made.  I think I like this one better because I really like the "Merry Christmas" stamp from Penny Black.

THANKS FOR COMING BY....................comments are always welcome!

ANNIVERSARY FOR RAY AND ANNIE

Recently I posted a birthday card which I mailed on November 10 -- it still hasn't arrived.  Here is another card that was sent the same day and it apparently hasn't arrived either.  I'll admit this one was sent to Canada, but normally cards do get there sooner than this.

My friend, Annie, and her husband celebrated their anniversary earlier this month and I had hoped that this would reach them close to their celebration. 

The first thing I did was to emboss a frame on the front of the card base.  I then placed two embossed borders along the sides of the top fold vertical card and then scored a line on each side of each of the embossed borders.  Sorry the scored lines don't show very well. 

The cute Precious Moments design was stamped and colored with Copic CIAO markers on the same white card stock and then cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Classic Oval. 

Annie, if you see this post, I'm sorry you didn't receive the card.  Hopefully it will eventually show up.

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY...........hope you come back again soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRIET!

This card was made especially for my friend, Harriet, who is celebrating her birthday today.  It was mailed on November 10 to her in California and our beloved postal service has failed to deliver it.  I decided to go ahead and post it now so she could at least see what I sent.

The papers are from a KaiserCraft "Utopia Collection" 6 x 6 paper pad.  I punched the bird using a punch from Stampin Up and the branch was made with a McGill punch.

Harriet, I'm so sorry you haven't received the card.........hope it arrives eventually!!!  Wishing you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

FALL CARD KITS NOW AVAILABLE

These two cards are something you can make with a kit available now.  They are available to be purchased in a two-card kit, individual card kits or available to purchase ready made.  If you are interested, go to My Card Kits.  Christmas card kits are also available.

FALL CARD KITS NOW AVAILABLE

CHRISTMAS CARD KITS NOW AVAILABLE

If you are interested in purchasing a kit to make these four cards, you can go to My Card Kits and take a look.  Kits are available for individual cards as well as the four pictured above.  Individual cards are also for sale all made up.

Thanks for stopping by..........hope you come back again soon!

CARD KITS AVAILABLE

ANOTHER RECYCLED CARD

I have a couple of other cards I want to post but I need to know they have been received by the people that I sent them to.  So for today, I'll show you another of the cards I made using a piece from a Christmas card we had received in the past.  I cut the piece out with a Nestabilities Classic Circle and simply mounted it onto a white card base that had been embossed with my favorite Swiss Dots folder.  Some of these designs on cards you receive are just too pretty to throw away so think about recycling pieces from them.

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!

NEW JUSTRITE STAMPERS ITEMS

As I mentioned on my previous post, I have information about new items from JustRite Stampers.  I am really excited to tell you that they are now making CLING stamp sets and have clear plastic cases to store these stamps in.  Even more exciting, they now have Spellbinders dies to match some of their borders and sentiment stamps. 

I will be posting pictures on my JUSTRITE STAMPERS blog page so you can see all these new items.  If you have any questions about them or wish to place an order, just email me at vboddicker@aol.com. 

Remember to ask for my discount.  :)

CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKES

I've been trying to get my Christmas cards done for this year.  If I were smart, I'd make all of them the same so that they would go much more quickly.  But then I never said I was "smart".  :)  I have so many supplies and ideas.  And it is also more fun to make a variety even if it takes longer.

Today's card:  I embossed the front of the card with the Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The "Merry Christmas" from Penny Black was stamped with VersaMark and then heat embossed with Egyptian Gold embossing powder. 

The card just needed something more so I made the snowflakes with two sizes of Marvy Uchida snowflake punches.  I pressed the snowflakes into the VersaMark pad and then into the gold embossing powder.  Heating them was a challenge because I couldn't hold on to them.  I finally discovered if I pressed a ballpoint pen in the center of them to hold them down I could heat them without them flying off the table.  A clear gem was added to the center of each to cover any mark the pen had made. 

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!   I will be adding an announcement about new JustRite items shortly so stop back again.

(NOTE:  Egyptian Gold embossing powder is my very favorite and I can order it for anyone who is interested.  I can also order the Marvy snowflake punches in various sizes.)

ANNIVERSARY CARD FOR A FRIEND

My friend, Lynette and her husband celebrated their Anniversary this past Tuesday and this is the card I sent them.  I'm sorry to say I didn't get it made until the day of their Anniversary and mailed the following day.

The card base was run through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.  I then took the scrap of black and white paper and attached it to the left side of the card.  I liked the dotted paper with the embossing folder design.  I also had a scrap piece of black paper so I cut the one edge of it with a Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Oval.   

I stamped the design with Black Memento ink and then colored small portions with a red Copic CIAO marker.  The Hero Arts stamp "Heart Owls" is available and I can get it for you.  The design layer and the red layer were both cut with one of the Spellbinders Ovals which were smaller than the one I had used on the black layer.

I still had some of the punched pine pieces.  I ran them through the Xyron and stuck them under the owls so they didn't appear to be "floating".

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!  Hope you will come back again soon.

FLOWERS IN A TEAPOT

Today's card was made using papers from a Basic Grey 6 x 6 paper pad.  I love the way they make all the papers coordinate so well.   Recently we were on vacation and spent a few days in Branson, MO.  There is a great stamp store there - Stampbooks Forever - so if you are ever in Branson, be sure to check it out.

I purchased the teapot stamp there and it has a design showing where to place stamped flowers.  They also carry the punches to go along with the stamp.  I purchased the punches as well but feel these are just a little too big or maybe if the flowers were in a lighter color they wouldn't be so overpowering.

I stamped the design with VersaMark and then heat embossed them using Egyptian Gold EP.  After coloring the leaves with a Copic Marker, I actually cut the design out after I had added all the flowers and extra punched leaves.  (When I started the design I didn't know if I was going to leave it on a white cardstock background or cut it out.)  I used the SU punch for the photo corners.

Later this month, I'll be sending this card to my sister-in-law.  I am very sure she doesn't see this page so it should be OK that I'm posting it now. 

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!  Please come back again soon.

N*O*E*L

Last year after I had all of my holiday cards finished, I made up about a dozen cards using the Cuttlebug wreath embossing folder and stamped the "Merry Christmas" at the bottom.  The cards would have been fine the way they were, but I saw cards being made by others where they were adding something into the center of the design.

While I had my Pine Branch punch out, I came up with this idea.  I attached the punches to the white die cut circle and added the three red flat back pearls.  It seemed like there was too much empty space above it so I got out my JustRite Stamper and added the N*O*E*L.  This was then added to the red die cut circle. 

This is an easy card to make and depending on what you put in the center it can be done very quickly. 

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY...........hope you come back again soon.

CHRISTMAS CARD - Ornament

I can't take credit entirely for the idea on this card.  My friend, Connie, called me today and asked about a pine branch punch which she thought was larger than this.  I bought the McGill Pine Branch which I used here several years ago and haven't used it as much as I should.  We talked about how more than one of these could be put together to form a branch. 

I had received the Quickutz ornament die a few days ago and was really wanting to do something with it.  I loved the shape of this one so the idea began to form.

The front of the card was embossed with a 5 x 7 Cuttlebug embossing folder - although my card is actually only 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches.  The ornament was cut out from red card stock using the Quickutz die, and I heat embossed a flourish from a set of Hero Arts clear stamps.  Next I added a little gold "top" to the ornament.  A red cord was tied through the top of the ornament.  

I then punched five of the pine branches from a light weight "Willow" card stock from Lasting Impressions and ran them through my Xyron.  Before attaching the middle pine piece, I wrapped the red cord around one of the little branches and then using double sided tape affixed the ornament to the card.

The Quickutz die and embossing powder can be purchased through Creating Everlasting Memories.
The McGill Pine Punch is something I can get for you if you would like to purchase one.

Thanks for stopping by!  (And Connie, thank you for giving me the inspiration for this card.)

CHRISTMAS CARD (needs help)

These last few weeks have really taken a toll on my time for making cards and getting anything posted to my blog.  I miss being able to offer some new ideas but I hope to be able to get back to being a little more regular with cards.

I'll be perfectly honest, this isn't one of my favorite cards that I've made, but I wanted to show that you can make a card using a variety to patterns and not do any stamping.  The Kaisercraft 6" Paper Pad "Belle Collection" has really wonderful patterns and some die cut pieces in the back of the pad. 

I'm not sure what it is that I would change about this but I think it is either the flower I cut out from one of the papers with the oval Nestabilities die.........it just seems a little blah.  It might have been better to stamp a simple design there instead and color it with Copic markers that would be the same color as the papers.  Or maybe I should have left off the border along the left edge.  I do like the striped paper and the patterned paper that covers the front of the card.

I'll welcome any suggestions............THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!

NEVER TOO SOON FOR CHRISTMAS IDEAS

I know today is Halloween, but if you make your own Christmas/Holiday cards, it isn't too soon to start.  Today's card started by embossing the front of the off white card with a Cuttlebug folder. 

A 2" x 4 1/4" red strip of card stock was added over the middle designs.

A piece of off white card stock was stamped with the holly design from Hero Arts and colored with Copic markers.  Placing a ruler along the lower edge of the design so that some of the leaves would extend beyond, I used a craft knife to cut up close to the design edges and finished with my craft scissors.  The same procedure was used for the top edge of the design.

After attaching the stamped design layer to the red card stock, I placed Queen & Co."Cherry Red" pearls for the berries.  The pearls can be purchased from Creating Everlasting Memories.

If you are interested in the other materials for this card, let me know.  THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!

COLOR SWAP CARD #2

Yesterday I was definitely "under the weather" so my day was spent on the couch but today I'm back at it and wanted to share the second Color Swap Card I made and this time sent it to my friend, Joyce, who was my swap partner for this exchange.

I made a different card for her.  I embossed the front of the card with a Sizzix folder and then added a strip of SU Wild Wasabi card stock that had been embossed with one of the Cuttlebug border folders.  The flower was stamped with one of the stamps from the SU Terrific Tulips set using Tempting Turquoise and Wild Wasabi markers for the colors.  It was mounted on a scrap piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock.  I also happened to have some gems that were just the right color to add a little pizzaz.

Thanks for stopping by!  Let me know what you think.

COLOR SWAP CARD

Today I was excited to get back to working on orders, doing bookwork and make a couple of cards.  Saturday I took a refresher training for working at the election a week from today.  While I was at my training, my husband kindly picked up our two youngest grandchildren (ages 4 1/2 and 3) and brought them to stay with us.  They were with us until we took them home last evening.  What fun!!!!  So many antics to laugh about and those wonderful hugs, kisses and cuddling.  Other than necessities they have our full attention while they are here.

The color swap card for our Yahoo Group this month was Turquoise and Green.  This is the card I made for that swap, but mistakenly sent it to the wrong person.  :(  (Afraid too much going on in this household lately.) 

Both of the embossing folders are Cuttlebug.  Punched edge was made with a Martha Stewart Punch.  Design is from a SU stamp which was inked with Tempting Turquoise and Mellow Moss markers.  And I just realized that after I took this picture, I added turquoise gems to the corners of the white layer.

I couldn't let the partner who was supposed to receive my card go without one, so today I did make a NEW color swap card and sent it to her.  That one will be posted once I know she has received it.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

SNOWMAN ORNAMENT

The third Christmas card made for a design team has been submitted and kits will be available soon so you can make your own.  There will be a ribbon which I did not have here will be added through the top of the ornament.  If you are interested in purchasing one of the kits for this card or any of the previous cards I have posted for the design team, e-mail me and I will give you an address for you to contact.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I completed the second Christmas card for the design team.  Kits with all the materials needed to make this card will be available by contacting Creating Everlasting Memories.  Please contact me at my email address which is on the upper right corner of my blog if you have any questions.

Also check out Creating Memories in Time.  Thanks for stopping by!

SANTA'S WORKSHOP

Santa's Workshop is the first of the Christmas cards that I finished for the design team.  When I took the picture, Santa was not quite complete..........he still needed his eyes.  Materials for making this card will be available in a kit.  Please contact Creating Everlasting Memories if you are interested in purchasing one of the kits.  Tell them "Vicki" sent you.

Thanks for stopping by!

MORE FALL LEAVES

We got home on Sunday from a wonderful week with friends.  We had a great time laughing and shopping.  One night we enjoyed a great Italian Restaurant and had the best Pizza I think I've ever had!  But now it's time to get back to work.

The card I have posted today is the second one which I made for Creating Everlasting Memories.  Kits will be sold with directions to make my card.  Please contact Creating Everlasting Memories for availability and price.

Tomorrow I will be posting a Christmas card which will have a kit available to purchase as well. 

Thanks for stopping by!

FALL LEAVES

As I posted last week, I said I would be adding pictures of cards that I am making for a design team.  I am away from home this week, and the week is getting by me very quickly.  This is one of the first cards that I made for Creating Everlasting Memories.  Materials for making this card will be assembled into a kit and sold through Creating Everlasting Memories on-line store.  For information including availability and pricing please go to the CEM web site by clicking on the above link for your inquiry.  If you have any questions, please contact me at the email address on the upper right portion of this blog page.

FUN ANNOUNCEMENT

About two weeks ago, I received a very surprising invitation to join a design team.  I was experiencing all kinds of feelings of shock, curiosity, fear, but most of all so honored.  The invitation came from one of the ladies at Creating Everlasting Memories.  To make a long story short, I bought Sizzix embossing folders from her that I used on my blog and because of the interest in the product from visitors to my blog, I put a link to her store on one of my posts and told her.  She visited my blog and from that I got the invitation.

Starting next week, I will be away for a week, but I will be posting cards that I have made with products form her store and I will be selling kits through her store to make your own cards like the ones I post.  You can contact Creating Everlasting Memories for availability and prices.

And one more thing...........If you go to the store's blog page, Creating Memories in Time, they are having a Blog Hop with a chance to win blog candy.  Just follow the directions and get a chance to win.

CANDY CORN HALLOWEEN

I saw some cards recently made with a stamped candy corn design.  (Repeat Impressions is the company who was selling the stamp on the card I am casing.)  The stamp had several pieces of candy corn on it but in my stash I had a stamp with just one single "kernel" on it.  (My stamp is from Darcie's) I randomly stamped the piece several times across the bottom of a card. 

One of the cards I saw used a strip of orange ric rac.  Not too long ago I purchased a Papertrey Ink die that looks like ric rac so I cut an orange strip from card stock and attached it.  Then all I had to do was stamp the scary "Happy Halloween" sentiment.

(NOTE:  I may be without a camera for a few days since the little door on the bottom of my camera that holds the memory card and battery in has broken off.  A rubber band holding it in place just doesn't quite do it.  So if I miss some days without posting cards, you'll know what happened.  I'm hoping it can be fixed.)

Thanks for stopping by!

A SPOOKY HALLOWEEN

Today's card was made using the same techniques I used on the card for October 1 only with a different arrangemet and I added a bat to this one.  With six grandchildren I need several different versions since my mother and mother-in-law also give them cards as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

PENNY BLACK "STUDENT WITCH"

This is another of the Halloween stamps from Penny Black that I purchased.  It made me think of our youngest granddaugher who dressed up as a witch last year and was just too cute.  She's very petite and to see her dressed as a witch was so funny!  The "Spooky" is a sticker from a Reminisce sheet of stickers as are the designer papers used on the card.  The Cuttlebug Spiderweb  embossing folder was used on the bottom portion of this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

PENNY BLACK "THE HORROR TEAM"

When I saw this stamp, I knew it would be a fun one to color.  What I love about these types of stamps from Penny Black is that many of the wood mounted stamps have the design colored on the top which is a big help.  I used Copic markers to color them. The background papers were all double sided and gave a nice combination to use together.  The candy corn border is actually the edge of the striped paper so I didn't have to add that and it was perfect for the little trick or treaters.  One of our grandchildren will get this card.

The stamp I used has been cleaned and I'm not sure you could tell that it was even used.  Since I try to do something new every year, if you are interested in purchasing it, just let me know.

Thank you for stopping by!

HALLOWEEN IS COMING

This was really a fun card to make.  My friend, Andrea, from our Yahoo group gave me the Sizzix die to make the bare tree cut out.  It's perfect for Halloween! 

First of all I masked off the card except for the circle and sponged in the yellow for the moon.  I removed the mask and the sponged light blue ink over the rest of the front except where the grass would go.  It doesn't show real well in the picture, but I punched two borders of grass with a MS punch and attached them.  I cut the tree using Weathered Black paper from Lasting Impressions and added it next.  The last thing was to use some dimensional ghost and pumpkin stickers from Reminisce to finish the scene.

I know one of my grandchildren will like this one.  Thanks for stopping by!

IT'S ALMOST OCTOBER

Since I didn't have a card I wanted to post for today, I decided I'd go ahead and show you my little calendar for October.  The pumpkins are from a sheet of unmounted red rubber stamps which I must have purchased last year and didn't use.  The stamps are from Sweet Pea Stamps. 
Starting tomorrow, I'll be giving you some ideas for Halloween cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

AS EASY AS IT GETS

I wasn't going to post this card because it is truly a case of a card my friend, Lynette, made a while back.  I am trying to get Halloween cards made early for our grandchildren because I have a project coming up that is going to take my time and concentration.  (More information on that later.)  At the time I saw Lynette's card, I didn't have this Beautiful Border stamp set from SU but one day I stumbled across it on eBay.  It makes such a wonderful quickie card and the nice thing about it is that you can add a sentiment for all kinds of occasions.  The sentiment is from a set of clear stamps in my stash.    Images were stamped using SU Perfect Plum or Eggplant Ink - it was made a couple of months ago and I don't remember which I used.  After stamping the border design I added the scored line on each side of it before I stamped the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!

POPCORN THE BEAR

One of our nephews has a little girl that is going to be 3 years old in a few days so I made this little card for her.  The teddy design is one of a series of "Popcorn the Bear" from Crafter's Companion and I purchased it from Joann.com. 

Thankfully I stamped the image on two cards.  I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  On the first card I tried coloring the image with SU markers.  The coloring went fine on the flowers and little duck but the brown I used on the teddy was a little dark and it also streaked for me when coloring such a large area.

On the second card I chalked the teddy bear up with a light brown chalk and didn't even take care to avoid the stems and flowers.  To set the chalk I  put a piece of paper over the chalked image and used a brayer to roll over it firmly several times.  This helps to set the paper into the card stock.  Then I still colored the flowers with markers and the markers covered up the areas where chalk was on the flowers.

After finishing the above card, I took some dark chalk and went back over the first teddy and was surprised that it evened out the color on that one nicely so I was able to salvage it.

Thanks for stopping by!

ROSE NOTE CARD

My friend, Connie, loaned me the SU stamp that I used on the background of this card.  It makes such a beautiful suttle design that almost looks like designer paper.  I stamped it with the Hero Arts Soft Lilac Shadow Ink.  With such a large stamp, I inked it up and then put the card front on top of the stamp. The front of the card was slightly smaller than the stamp. I put a piece of typing paper on top so I wouldn't get my fingers all inky. I firmly rubbed around on the paper to get the ink transferred evenly.  As the ink dried it lightened up a bit which made it even more pretty.

The white strip was edged on both sides with a Martha Stewart punch.  I inked a small part of the large stamp again and after stamping it I used my Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle set to cut out a piece.  The small Rose which is stamped on the white card stock is from a retired SU set which has a flower for each month of the year.  I added this to the card using pop dots.

This was an easy card to make and I think it will make a nice feminine note card or birthday card for someone.  What do you think?

Thank you for stopping by!

IN FLIGHT

This card was using a technique I haven't used for a while.  The butterfly stencil is from Dreamweavers.  I carefully masked it onto a piece of white card stock and stippled Stampin Up Lavender Lace and Pretty in Pink inks into the open areas.  (See how to make this below)  After letting the embossing paste dry over night I cut the rectangles using my Spellbinders Classic Scalloped rectangles.  The white around the butterfly needed to be softened a bit so I used the Tim Holtz tool to add the lavendar ink around the butterfly. 

Before adhering the matted design to the card, I ran the front of the card through my Cuttlebug using a Quickutz embossing folder.  The designer paper was a perfect color for the Pretty in Pink shade and is reversible so I was able to use the plain side as the rectangle mat and the striped side for the contrast. 

(TUTORIAL:  My friend, Lynette, posted a great tutorial on YouTube showing the entire procedure for doing this.  Click here to see: Using Embossing Paste   Two things I would mention: 
1.  Be sure to use removable tape when attaching the stencil as she mentions in the tutorial.  This will prevent tearing the cardstock when it is time to remove the tape.  
2.  In addition to the removable tape, I add masking around the entire piece with post -its since it gives even more protection to keep embossing paste off the main part of the card.)

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HAPPY TOGETHER

I recently got the Stampin Up "Happy Together" set and love these little birds.  I had also recently purchased this Sizzix embossing folder as a part of two-piece set from eBay Seller c**e**m.  The other folder is the one I used on the card I posted on September 20.

I love the embossing folder and how deeply it makes the pattern.  The stamp has the three little birds on it and I stamped it twice - lining them up using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.  The edge design was done with a Martha Stewart punch.  The birds were stamped with Close to Cocoa Ink and mounted on Close to Cocoa paper.

While I had the stamp set out, I decided to make a little different version of it. 

What do you think?  Thanks for coming by!

USING TWO STAMPIN UP SETS

Today my goal was to use a stamp I've never used before.  I had never used my Stampin Up Forest Friends set and combined it with the Lovely as a Tree set.    The papers are from a 7 Gypsies Savanah paper pad.....something I haven't used for a long time.  The edge of the polka dot paper was punched with a Martha Stewart punch. 

This card made up very quickly and I like the result of the brown and black combination.

Tell me what you think............thanks for stopping by!

A LAUGH IS A SMILE

Monday I had a lady come to my home and I helped her with some new things for her to do with cards she makes. Spellbinders were new to her so I demonstrated a few things and she asked about making a "window" on the front of a card. I folded a piece of off white card stock and showed her just how simple it is. I put the piece aside.

Today I decided I wanted to use it before it lay on my table for too long. I ran the front through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder. I then took the circle that had been cut out and stamped the image on it but ruined it. So I decided to just stamp it on the inside of the card and colored it with SU markers.

Using a Spellbinders Fancy Tag, I cut the off white piece for the sentiment at the bottom of the card and I traced the die onto the green paper for a piece slightly larger to frame it. The card still needed something so I cut a scalloped circle frame to go around the window.

(Correction: The shape at the bottom of the card is not one of the Fancy Tags. I used Labels 10.)

Do you think the two sentiments go together? I think I'd have been better off just stamping a floral design in the circled area.

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ANNIVERSARY CARD

My mother-in-law requested that I make her two anniversary cards so I made two like this for her.

The white card stock was run through the Cuttlebug using two different folders. I added two score lines between the designs but they don't show up very well in this picture.

The flower design from Inkadinkadoo was colored with an SU Real Red marker and a Memento Bamboo Leaves marker and stamped on a scrap piece of white card stock. I trimmed it and then mounted it on a piece of SU Wild Wasabi card stock.

I love it when you leave comments. Thank you for stopping by!

SIZZIX FOLDER

It appears I have sparked a lot of interest in the Sizzix embossing folder that I used on yesterday's card. I appreciate all the comments I received in emails and here on the blog. If you are interested in purchasing one, I bought this from a seller on eBay. It is actually a set of two great folders. The seller's screen name on eBay is "c**e**m". She has more than 10 available for sale. You can see the listing here: Sizzix Folders

A CARD IN A MINUTE

I purchased this Sizzix folder from a seller on eBay. It gives such a nice deep impression and I just love the design. I don't think I'll try to do anything further to it. If I try to color it I'll probably ruin it. (There is a little shadow on the card from one of the leaves on the plant behind it.)Thank you for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed this card which actually took less than a minute.

DRY EMBOSSED CARD

Recently I was on the phone with a friend and she told me how she had made 100 cards over Labor Day Weekend. I delivered an order to her the next day and I got to see all of the wonderful cards she did using Lasting Impressions papers and stencils.

Cinda, if you see these pictures you will know I cased one of your cards. Thank you for the idea! These are colors I wouldn't have used if I hadn't seen yours but they are great for this time of year.

These two pictures are actually the very same card but I thought I would show how it would really work in either direction.

I haven't done any dry embossing for such a long time and Cinda really made me want to get out my stencils again. This card went together very quickly. The paper is from an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch variety pack of paper from Lasting Impressions called "Indian Summer". (Today doesn't feel like Indian Summer though.)

I have lots of stencils and papers here to sell if anyone is interested in giving it a try. I always love hearing your comments. THANK YOU for stopping by!

MORE OWLS

Another idea from SCS.......the brown "tree trunk and branch" is a piece of Chocolate Chip apper that was run through the Cuttlebug with the folder which has a wood grain to it. I cut out sections of it for the branch. The leaves are from two different Sizzix dies. Owls were done again with the SU Owl punch. I love these guys!

I didn't add a sentiment but could easily add a little oval with a something on it in the lower right corner.

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TULIP TIME

I know it is Fall and I should be doing FALL colors, but when I saw this idea on a card, I just had to make one.

The card base is white card stock from Papertrey Ink. The other papers are from my Lasting Impressions papers. Do you recognize the shape of the petals and the leaves? The punches are the "wing" part of the Stampin' Up Bird punch. How cool is that? It's so great when you can find multiple uses for the same punch or any tool! I just cut very narrow strips of the green paper for the stems but could have used the stem of the "branch" on that same punch.....just didn't notice that in time.

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IN MY THOUGHTS

I got the idea for this on SCS. My recent SU order included the owl punch. I loved the way she had made the two owls looking at each other. I had seen several cards made using it and thought it was kind of a fun way to make these little cuties.

The card base is a Bazzill variety pack of green papers. I cut the 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper into two 4 1/4 x 11 inch pieces and then folded it in half. The right edge of the front was cut down and then punched with the corner punch to make the scallops. I wanted the scallop to show so I inked the edge of the scallops with VersaColor Evergreen ink.

The owl bodies were punched using SU Chocolate Chip paper. Basic Grey papers from the "Origins" 6 x 6 paper pad were used for the dark green scalloped piece and for the rest of the pieces. Instead of trying to work with very tiny black punches for the eyes, I just used my Sharpie pen.

Other than the placement of the owls, I did make changes to the design that I had seen on SCS. There will definitely be more cards made with these.........I not only love the owls but have to make the punch pay for itself. :)

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((Note: I had actually intended this post to be for September 16 but accidentally hit the publish button before remembering to "schedule" it...........so just pretend. :) ))

NO STAMPING

I recently ordered the Stampin' Up punch to make the bird and it arrived yesterday and I was eager to use it. The entire card is made using Basic Grey "Utopia" papers. The border across the top is one of the punch out borders in the back of the 6 x 6 paper pad. The card base is white.

The card should have been done in a matter of minutes but I think I spent most of the morning trying to figure out what papers to use and get it done.

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PENNY BLACK - SEASON'S CHEER

Today I received an order from Penny Black. Among the items were 12 of these sticker sheets. If you are interested in purchasing, they will be $2.00 a sheet plus shipping. They will make some beautiful holiday cards and would be great to have on hand for some of those last minute cards you decide to send. My email address is on the top right hand side of my blog page.