Cardinals Greeting....

Stampendous

"Cardinal"

 

 

A little appropriate Copic coloring on the male and female birds,
(thanks to Google search!),
Color and fussy cut the leaves and branches,
some punched snowflakes,
and a sprinkling of fabric paint "snow" ...

and what a gorgeous pair of winter Cardinals!

 

 

 

The sketch at Skipping Stones really helped get my mojo going on this one!

 

 



DYSU Challenge #91

Crafty Sentiments

* Winner's Choice of 4 Images

Little Claire Designs

*$15 Gift Certificate for Digis

Rhoda Design Studio

* $15 Gift Certificate on Cutting Files or Digis

I used a Crafty Sentiments image,
"Lilly with Flowers"

I chose to utilize the scallops required on the frame.
The die is the Spellbinders, Scalloped Frame.
The papers are DCWV, "Sweet Blossom",
and the sentiment is one from My Favorite Things.

Enjoy the day
and check out the rest of the Design Team's projects!

 

DCWV Forever and Always!

This paper stack is SO SWEET!

First off, it's black and white with silvers and greys, with some pages embossed in such a way that it is the most elegant paper with a modern twist!

So you know I love it!

Then there's that romantic element....   aaaahhhh...

so very lovely.

Watch the release video here!

This is destined to be one of my favorites for a very long time!

Can you see the printed detail in the background paper?

I can't imagine a prettier paper for anniversaries, weddings, and
any romantic occasion!

With the Spellbinder dies, this was an easy 30 minute card!

 

Supplies:

Papers; DCWV, "Always and Forever"

Dies: Spellbinders, "Labels Seventeen", and "Fleur de Lis Squares"

Bling: Imaginisce



Hey, Friend!

Welcome to the next stop of your hop at

Waltzing Mouse!

The challenge this month is to use felt or cozy fabrics!

If you've gotten here by other means due to the challenge at
Stampendous,
Thank You and please enjoy my project!

Sentiments are by Stampendous

Dotted frame is Waltzing Mouse, Vintage Labels

I decided to recycle something from my stash of boxes, containers,

and objects that I have hoarded for the last 2 years. 

After pulling out the only felt shapes I own (Heartfelt, CTMH) , I recalled having an empty Close To My Heart kit box from back in the early days of my scrapping!

It was perfect for decorating and using as a future gift box!

I'm always looking for a clever way to give something special that's a bit different from the everyday.

I stamped and heat embossed the label from the "Vintage Labels" set, and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the coordinating Labels 18...easy!

The Close To My Heart punch-out felt pieces made it pretty easy, too!

This was as simple as just a card to make, and it will be such a fun gift to give!

What shall I fill it with?  The options are many!

 I made the little matching gift card, adding the felt and embossing.

Thanks for taking the time to hop today!

And before you hop on, please remember Claire in your prayers, and send her strength to continue all the wonderful accomplishments she's had thus far.   
Please show your appreciation to ALL the women in your lives, today and everyday;
mothers, daughters, family, friends, neighbors,...
We tend to take them for granted,
assuming that they are doing what they do because it is expected of them.  
We are strong when we need to be strong,
and tender when the situation requires it.
Love each other.

Cardstock:  Bazzill
Stamps:  Waltzing Mouse (Vintage Labels),
Stampendous (Happy Messages, Sunny Flowers)
Die:  Spellbinders Nesties, Labels 18
Embossing powders: Stampendous

Also entered into the challenge at
Stampendous Impressions (Gift Box and card)

Pastels for Spring!

The challenge at JustRite Inspirations this week is

"Perfect Pastels!"

How absolutely gorgeous to see all of the beautiful

design team posts!

On my card, I took inspiration from the colors and the black of the vintage typewriter in the inspiration photo!

I tried something new this time around and am not sure how I feel about it.

I heated the ribbon on the edges to allow it to curl slightly, hoping to give it more texture and not look so flat. 

In the photo, it appears to be just crooked ribbon or paper...

Perhaps not a technique I will use layered under another element again.

IRL, it really looks pretty.

I added a sparse amount of crushed glass to the butterfly wings, also.

Jury's still out on that one, too...

To break down my supplies, I used:

JustRite stamps; Fleur dis Lis Labels Twenty,
Greetings from Paris,
and

Victorian Nested Frames and Sentiments (No longer available)

Dies; Spellbinders, Nestibilities Labels Twenty and Fancy Tags Three

Papers;  DCWV, Prima, and Echo Park

Embossing Powders, Crushed Glass Glitters, and inks;  Stampendous

Hope you enjoyed, and remember to always TRY new things.

I may very well use that technique on another project and LOVE it!

This card has also been entered at
Victorine Stamps (Anything Goes)

Spread your wings....

This card was made especially for the

Birthday Bash Color Challenge at Craft's Meow!

Do you love their stamps as much as I do?

They are celebrating their very first blog birthday

and there are numerous challenges and even FREE digis!

My card:

I heat embosssed the birdcage from the gorgeous Craft's Meow  "Fly Free" stamp,
along with a few little personal extras... cream Hug Snug, resin bird...

The feathers are from our very own parrots.  I have peacock and artificially colored craft feathers in my stash, but it just seemed right to use our very own.

(Don't worry, they fell out during a normal molting.

No birds were injured in the gathering of these feathers!  LOL!)

They were the perfect blue and green colors.
(Note: Bird feathers glow with an odd irridescent color when photographed!
There is NO  yellow in that feather!)

The inside simply has the sentiment that is included in the set:

Spread your wings and fly!

Hope you enjoy!

More Pretty Butterfly Greetings!

Spring is here!

 I love the idea that Spring is here and along with it comes all
the gorgeous colors, textures, and terrific challenges!

I used some K & Company paper that I'd had for ages along with their chipboard butterfly.  The birds on the print just cried out for the jute and raffia border! I mounted it all on a kraft background and added the pretty, little Prima flowers to top it off! 

The sentiment is from JustRite's, "All Occasion Sentiments" set. I love that font!

For some reason, when I cropped and tried to soften the edges of my card, it picked up the pattern of the paper on the card! I still haven't figured out Adobe Photoshop CS5....ugh...

I liked my Elements much better!

 Challenges entered:

Shabby Tea Room (Lilac, Blue, Yellow, Kraft and a butterfly!)

     And the prize is a great collection of JustRite background stamps! 

     ohhh....be still my heart!

JustRite Stampers (Spring colors and a butterfly!)

Paper Sundaes (Spring blossoms!)

Sentemental Sundays (Spring/Easter)

The Ribbon Carousel (Raffia and jute)

Just Rite Challenge #069

Wow, I agree with Kellie over at JustRite Inspiration!

It simply doesn't seem possible that they are holding

their 69th challenge!  And it's a really good one!

SPRING FLING!

Bring out your Spring colors and include a butterfly!

If you're not familiar with JustRite's stamps, go check out their website!

I have a huge wishlist, but I particuliary LOVE the new Sea Shell Bay, At the Beach, and Oceanside stamp sets!  Of course, then I would need the dies to go with!

Now, do you see my problem?  Too many to choose from!

On this challenge card, I used an image stamped and colored with Copics from

"Shabby Chic Labels Four" as a mat for my butterfly chipboard piece.

I love the delicate details that show out from beneath the wings.

I also used the same stamp inside along with the sentiment from the

"Tiny Words", an Original JustRite set. 

In Phoenix, we have seen these gorgeous orange, black, and blue/green butterflies in our yards for the past few weeks!  We finally recieved our first much-needed rainfall of the Spring, and the few flowers that grow here in the desert have popped out in great numbers! Of course, my allergies have reflected that, too! At least these beautiful creatures make it all worth the sneezing and headaches!


Finished inside:

As I mentioned above, JustRite Inspiration is having a terrific Challenge Friday and I am definately entering this beauty!  I give all of the credit to the inspiration from my backyard visitors, and hope they're around for a while longer.
Spring is simply way too short in Phoenix!

Supplies: 

Designer Papers:  DCWV, "Serenity", Prima, "Botanical", and SEI, "Moonrise"

Stamps:  "JustRite Shabby Chic" and "Tiny Words"

Chipboard:  K & Company, "Natural Butterflies"

Dies:  Spellbinder, Nesties; Labels Four, Floral Flourishes, and Fleur de Lis Squares

Lace:  JoAnn's

Pearls: Zva Creations

Tea Time!

Being the tea lover that I am, nothing makes me happier than making a card with a "tea" theme! Everything we see out there has coffee, java, latte, etc., but it's rare that you find a  great tea stamp or die!  I finally purchased the Spellbinder "Nested Tea Cups" die, and couldn't wait to use it!

The challenge inspiration photo at The Shabby Tea Room this week made me squeal!

"High Tea"

I only recently discovered this blog, and I have to tell ya,

it's perfect for those of us who prefer our tea!

So, after getting my inspiration from this and sitting down with a nice hot cuppa chai tea,

I made this little card.

The second requirement was to use a doily....
well, don't we always? 
LOL!

The little swirl of steam holding the sentiment is a coated wire paper clip.

Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment!

Off for my evening cup of hot tea and a long warm bubble bath...

Skipping Stones Design Sketch Challenge!

Skipping Stones Design has a great sketch this week!

Here's my take on it:

All the stamping was done with elements from 

Skipping Stones'  "Everyday Blessings" stamp set.

The die cut circle behind the bird (not the white paper doily) was done by repeatedly stamping and heat embossing the wreath pattern in the stamp set,

and then cutting it out with the

Spellbinders "Blossom" Nestie.

Then I cut another just one size smaller inside the first.

That provided me with the scallop circle that I threaded the ribbon through. Does that make sense?  LOL!

If that wasn't confusing enough, I also cut a section of the heat embossed wreath to make a little popped out "nest" for the bird.

This is also the first time I have stamped a

sentiment on ribbon!

Wow, that Staz-On truly works wonderfully for that!

The background paper is Prima. 

They make some of the most gorgeous, romantic stacks!

The embossing powder is Stampendous Extra Fine Bark and is my new favorite embossing powder! 

Thanks, Jennifer, for enabling my addiction once again! LOL!

Hope you enjoyed this lengthy, however somewhat entertaining, post!

Please leave a comment so I know I'm not out here alone!

I want Paris in the Spring!

I have always had a dream of visiting Paris and Rome, and Sydney, and well, you get the idea.  I would love to travel constantly! 

The "Greetings from Paris" stamps from Just Rite transport you there without ever leaving your scrapbook room!

 I love this set! And the color challenge at

Just Rite Inspiration 

allowed me to expres myself and maybe win some more great stamps!  Yum!

Colors are:  Light Blue, Dark Blue, Brown, and Pale Pink.

The image of the Eiffel Tower was a Clipart one I found online, ran it through Photoshop and changed it to blue with reduced opacity.  Makes for a nice postcard background.  Inked everything up for that sweet vintage look.

Supplies:
Paper:  DCWV, Tattered Time; Bazzill
Stamps: Just Rite, "Greetings from Paris"
Embossing die: Cuttlebug, "Fleur de Lis"
Die cut: Spellbinders, Nestie Labels Four
Ribbons:  Michael's
Resin flower: online purchase
Ink: T Holtz, Tea Dye Distress Ink;  Colorbox, Cyan

This card also qualifies for the challenge at:
PaperPlay Challenges

Have a great weekend! Stay warm!

Waltzing into the holidays!

I am not a big Sunday night football fan, so I decided to start on my Christmas decorations...  I know, some of you have already finished or gotten a really good start on yours! Well, I'm a bit of a procrastinator, so I wait until one holiday gets put away before thinking about the next! With Thanksgiving and Christmas, that can be a bit dangerous.
    Waltzing Mouse has a challenge for the holidays to make place cards for our Christmas dinner table.  Whether I host at my house again this year, or we have it at someone else's, I'll be one step ahead with my cards all made for Christmas Day!

I used my Spellbinders Nestibilities Labels 18, which made it so easy to cut out the white standing cards.  Next, the coordinating Waltzing Mouse Stamp Set, "Vintage Labels 18", made the perfect highlight of gold embossing on red to turn a simple place card into a thing of beauty!  I placed a Bazzill paper Poinsettia and a few tiny sprinkles of holly and Stickles to add some sparkle to each.

I have quite a few more to go before I finish this project!

Holiday Hugs!

Waltzing Mouse Stamps has a wonderful CAS sketch this week, and I had to take a break from laundry and house cleaning to make this Christmas card for the challenge.  We can never start too soon, and I love that the cards I send out each year are each totally different. Challenges are great for that!

It's not obvious in the photo, but the frame around the sentiment is heat embossed in gold to match the gold Stickle centers of the poinsettias.

Supplies:
Bazzill cardstock
Stamps; Waltzing Mouse Stamps, "Bountiful Basket Additions" and "Vintage Labels 4"
Die;  Spellbinders, Nestibilities, Labels Four
Background; Red Bazzill cardstock, Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge
Wilton Doily
Copics Markers
Stickles

Papertrey Frames Challenge!

I made this card especially for the Make It Monday Challenge over at {Capture the Moment}.  Dawn McVey has posted a terrific video to demonstrate how to use layers and frames on your projects!  I inked up my button card from Papertrey's Button Boutique collection and put together this little "All Occasion" card to keep on hand. The sentiment is heat embossed so it pops IRL and I popped up the button card to give it some dimension.  I photographed it several times and tried to get the lighting right. The colors are dark pink and blue with the light pink buttons, even though it shows up rather "orangey".  It truly DOES co-ordinate well!

  I added just a few die cut paper buttons to the inside to tie it all together.

Supplies:
Paper: DCWV, "All About Girls"
Stamps: Papertrey Ink, "Button Boutique"; Sentiment, Hampton Arts,
               (the Michael's dollar bin)
Dies:  Papertrey Ink, "Button Card" and "Buttons";  Nestibilities, Labels Eleven;          Spellbinders,  Frameablities, "Scalloped Edge Frame
Brad: Melody Ross
Twine, Buttons, and Ribbon are from my scrap stash.

This card also qualifies for and will be entered into the challenges at:
Polka Doodles (Ribbons and Bows)
Stamptacular Sundays (You Choose!)

Waltzing Mouse to the "Rescue"!

When I saw the sketch at Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge, an idea came to me that I've been considering for a while. Not a big, fancy idea, but rather a little detail that I thought would make life a little prettier for those I care about.

We have occasional friends and family members come to town and stay with us. I like to make their stay here as much like home as possible.  Jokes have even been made by certain family members because I'm the one who likes to have place cards and printed menus at Thanksgiving, or change the wreath on the front door with every changing season or holiday. I send out cards for little or no reason....Yep, my family just doesn't get it. 
     But you, my scrappy blogger friends, do!

So, when I saw this very simple sketch, I knew it would be perfect for my soap and lotion bottles that I have been hoarding and waiting to decorate for my visitors and friends!  I may need to mention that I'm also a big couponer!  CHEAP/FREE stuff!

With a few silk flowers and some ribbon, I simply stamped the gorgeous label from Rescue Remedies and die cut it with my Nesties Labels Four. I disassembled the flowers, removed the plastic "innerds" and re-glued them back together so they lay flatter and softer on the bottles.  A tiny cream pearl accents the center.

This is so simple yet it lends a pretty, homey feel to my guest bath that I hope my company enjoys. I made 6 so far, and plan to make more. I also want to make "hand lotion" versions to give to my friends that I lunch with or run into this winter when the weather here in Phoenix is cold and dry.  Who wouldn't like a little surprise treat like this?

If we all made small gestures towards those we care about more often, this lousy economy and our personal problems would all seem a little less stressful.

And because Claire over at Waltzing Mouse Stamps is releasing some terrific new stamp sets this next month, I knew I had to throw my hat in the ring. 

I've let health and my other commitments keep me away from my favorite scrap blogs for way too long!

Enjoy your weekend!

Hug more and complain less!

Jan

Falling Leaves....

This card is simple, yes. But I wish you could see the glittery shine on those leaves!

I just couldn't get the light right so that you could see the glimmer!

The leaves were stamped and hand cut, then spritzed with Glimmer Mist. 

They are so sparkly IRL!   I curled the edges to look more real.

The red trim is machine stitched onto the card,

along with the stitching to add a bit of drama.

Supplies Used:
Stamps (Leaves and sentiment), Skipping Stones, "Everyday Blessings"
Nestabilities: Labels Nine
Tattered Angels, "Jingle Bells Glimmer Mist"

Entered in the sketch challenge at Skipping Stones Designs

And at the DYSU- DoYouStackUp Challenge Blog!

(Texture)