House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge is here!

"Congratulations"

is our theme for this week's challenge!

 

With all of the high school, college, and those very

important grade school graduates, this is easy!

Plus, you can include ANY event a friend needs to be congratulated for;

Weddings, Promotions, New House,

any occasion that would be cause for a

celebration! 

Use your imagination and join the challenge!

 

I chose to create a gift for my grandson who has been promoted from

4th Grade Gifted Program to the 5th Grade Gifted class!

He is such a bright and imaginative kid!

 

 

The House Mouse image I used is actually called

"Congratulations"

I filled the decorative milk bottle from Michael's

with my one of my grandson's favorite treats,

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chex Mix!

 

 

 

I'm so very proud!

 

Join the fun at

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge

to try and win some prizes!

 

~Jan~

 

 



Anything but a card!

Stampin' for the Weekend

has chosen

ANYTHING BUT A CARD

for this upcoming challenge!

 

Mine happens to include a small, tiny card to accompany it, but the box was a quick answer to a gift-giving problem.  Easy to pack and mail, too!

 

 

Supplies used:

Purchased ready-made box

Felt swirls and flowers (Close to my Heart)

Spellbinders (Labels Eighteen)

Stamped and embossed border (Waltzing Mouse)

Sentiment (Unknown)

 

Doesn't get easier or faster than this!

 

 



"Something Spooky"

Yep, there's some real spookiness going on over at

Stampin for the Weekend!

 

The challenge is to create something spooky for the holiday!

 

Easy enough with all those terrific images out there!

 

I chose to use one of my favorite sponsors,

Saturated Canary!

She's gorgeous and rather scary at the same time!

 

 

 

Image used:

"Withering Fairy"

 

Colored with Copics, and paper used is Graphic 45.

 

Have fun, and create something really scary! LOL!

 

~Jan~

Craft's Meow September Challenge!

Sending Butterfly Kisses!
What a terrific way to celebrate saying goodbye to summer!

Cooler weather is on its' way!

 

Techniques abound over at Craft's Meow this week!

Check out all of the DT's great tips on how to ink up your projects!

 

I used the blending ink colors to mimic water colors and also used the metallic look for my background.

 

Using my favorite little stamp,

"Butterfly Kisses"

I heat embossed her over a misted green/blue background, and then highlighted her delightful little wings with some vibrant color!

The background is embossed with

Spellbinders'

M-Bossabilities, "Flora".

I inked it in Momento, Gold and Copper, and then rubbed on some
Copper metal Rub-n-Buff.

It really shines!

 

My little butterflies were stamped and fussy cut to pop off the card!

 

 

This card says so long Summer and welcome Fall !

Entered into the challenge at Craft's Meow (techniques)
and
Moxie Fab World, (All that Glitters)
Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog (Embossing)
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog (Embossing)

Standing 3D Frame



I occasionally see an idea on a blog that I am totally impressed with and

know I just have to give it a try.

Well, this folded frame was one I had to attempt.

 

Mine is nowhere near as gorgeous or elegant as the one Becca Feeken posted here,

and my limited use of my stiff finger joints made it a bit
more challenging than it would be for you younger,

more limber gals!

I would also suggest using a much more detailed and sturdy Spellbinders frame die.



 

I did like the stunning color of the blue foil cardstock from

DCWV's
new CHA release.

 

And it could really use some nice, pretty soft ribbon, too.

This is a technique I will try again soon!



On the Seventh day of Christmas with DCWV....

... I made this little shadow book that can hold so many memories!

So glad you could join

DCWV

for our

12 Days of Christmas!
 

 I am day Seven!

I wanted to make something a bit different than a card, or a layout (and since I have no swans a swimmin' to speak of, or seven of any bird for that matter)

I decided to make a nice keepsake book/box as a decorator piece for the holidays!

 

 

I decorated the front of an old book with the gorgeous vintage paper from the

Chrismas Combo Stack, 2012. 

With 180 pages of beautiful holiday papers to choose from, you can't go wrong!

I cut the adorable little stockings out of the "Winter Holiday" stack, and finished it off with a pretty white bow and gold trim paint.

(You can't tell, but my fireplace is the brown pattern paper run

through a "brick" embossing die!)

 

 

When you open the book, it has become a 3 dimensional frame

with a small scene inside.

 Here's where the swans come into play!

 

The secret to this project is PATIENCE.

I drew my area to be cut out on the top page, and then cut through as many layers with an Exacto knife as possible. Little by little, you make your way through the pages of the book. I stopped about 1/2 inch from the bottom so that my background had some padding behind it.

Decorate the back of what will be your shadow-box, making sure you have absolutely EVERYTHING you want included before this next step.

 

 

For my "shadow box book", I included a stamped, heat embossed and decorated Christmas tree, some white paint and snow, and popped up a lady swan.

 

Only then do you glue an acetate sheet over the top and start decorating the front cover of your frame.

I also glued all of the bottom-section pages together (yes, more patience) and painted the sides lightly with gold paint to give a more antique appearance.

The large swan on the outside is also cut twice and popped up.

 

These old books can be recycled to hold keepsakes and memories of many types.

See where your imagination can take you!

 

The pictures of this were the most difficult I have ever tried to take. Between the acetate reflecting my lights, and the day being so very gloomy and dark, this is the best I could do.

 

But the feeling of the holiday and the old-timey wholesomeness of the poem still comes through....

"seven swans a'swimming...., "

 

Please check back tomorrow at DCWV to see what the Eighth Day of Christmas brings!

 

To join in on the fun over at Top Tip Tuesdays, I entered this project on their weekly challenge!

Happy Holidays!

~Jan~



Fa-la-la-la-la....

Christmas is drawing near, and many of you may have heard that I recently lost my father. This holiday will definately be a difficult one,

but with grown children of my own and a grandson who still believes in Santa,

I am trying to enjoy the season and all that goes with it!

 

 

I put up my tree this weekend, including my Dad's Lionel train set, and felt my family room fireplace needed a bit of the traditional mood,
so I made this chipboard stocking banner.

 

Starting with a KaiserKraft mini board kit, I covered the stocking shapes with
DCWV

"Heirloom Christmas" papers.
I then cut out dozens of poinsettia blooms with my Spellbinders die.  It made the process so fast and easy!

The chipboard letters were old Colorbok ones I'd hung onto for years, simply painting and glittering them with Stampendous, "Red Tinsel" embossing powder.
 

 

 

                                                                

 



It's not much,but I intend to add more before the 23rd.
 

Perhaps some pots of poinsetties along the bottom the fireplace!

 



Scor-Pal is my pal!

Welcome to the

DCWV and Scor-Pal Hop!

 

Today I am demonstrating how my Scor-Pal score board makes my card making so easy!

 

Rather than just a simple gate-fold card, I like to occasionally throw in a

double gate-fold box card.

 

This can be as thin as 1/4 inch, which allows for you to add small dimensional elements to the inside sentiment/decoration of your project!

 

"Autumn Splendor"

 

First, accurately scoring and cutting your 12 x 12 pattern paper is key.

For this simple card layout,

I use one sheet of two-sided paper as both my base AND pretty background for my card.

This is also where using a very heavy, high-grade paper is important.

DCWV stacks are such quality products that they serve perfectly for these projects.

 

Wrong side up, score 3" from all four sides.

Then cut out the corners and

follow up by scoring 1/4 inch from the first scores...

towards the outer edge of your paper.

That's the easiest, fastest way for me to do it.

 

This will make a 1/4" THICK card when folded.

 

I hope you can see it in this photo.

 

This will leave the front flaps about 1/2" apart when closing the card. I either leave this as is and add some eyelets to the flaps and tie with ribbon,

OR

do as I did with this card, and add several layers of matching paper including punched scalloped layers, and ribbon to lengthen the front top flap.

 

 

The little Blue Moon metal pendant was hung from the bow, with a resin flower glued to its' center.

 

 

 

For the inside, I used Scor-Tape to adhere pattern paper.

This holds so well, and instantly! No waiting for glue to dry!

 

 

The leaves were cut from the Autumn Melody paper with my Cricut and the sentiment is one I found on the web.

Spellbinder Labels Nine was perfect to showcase my sentiment!

And notice that the 1/4" depth gives me the option of adding a bit of dimension to my card! You could add as much or as little as you like!

 

 

These cards could be saved and displayed as "shadow boxes" by your recipients.

 

 

 

Candle is for display only!

Never light a candle near paper!

 

Hope you enjoyed my simple tutorial and will start going "out of the box"

with your card projects!

 

 Enjoy the rest of the hop,
and please leave commetns as you go!



Mulberry Woods Everyday New Release!

At Crafter's Companion, we are celebrating another fantastic stamp set from

Mulberry Woods!

 

This little cutie-pie is from the "Everyday" collection.

There you'll find six new sets, each one so adorable that you'll want them all!

 

"Relax"

 

I will be the first to admit that when I see animal fur on an image, I choke!

And because I haven't mastered the art of coloring it with my markers (not yet, anyway) I am quick at grabbing a piece of fabric and dabbing the bear with some colorless alcohol. This gives the look of fur without any of that unpleasant stress and nausea that accompanies my regular "fur" sessions! LOL!

I used the same method to make "grass". I simply dabbed a stripe of solid green ink across my horizon, and using a cordoroy fabric, lifted the color in a vertical pattern!

 

 

The next obvious question is, "How did you make the tree?"

This was an idea I BORROWED from my friend, Jennifer Dove.

I ran the Co-ordinations cardstock through my embosser using a woodgrain folder and sanded. Then, I cut out the knot hole and attached the tree to the card front with

black paper rolled inside. (Your tree will stick out about an inch)

I attached some moss to the bottom, along with some flowers and punched butterflies, and my tree was done. Well, almost.  You certainly can't sit under a tree with no leaves and branches, so I dug through my scraps of silk flower pieces, and found the ivy.

 

 

From a slight side view, you can see how this is a 6 x 6 step card with the tree attached to the highest side.  I will probably not be mailing this, but I thought it would look sweet along with a nice gift of a gardening/flower magazine for a friend who needs a break.

 

Hope you enjoyed my sharing these ideas with you!

 

See you next week!

~Jan~

 



Cameo Greeting!

The challenge this week at
DYSU
is...

VINTAGE!
AGED!
DISTRESSED!

No matter how you say it,

Really throw on the ink, lace, ribbon, distressed edges,

whatever it is that speaks "old" to you!

And our sponsors:

Stampendous! 

* Silver & Gold Embossing Powders

Digi Darla

*Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

My Heart Pieces

* Winner's Choice of 3 Digis

 



Vintage is one of my favorite styles!

 

 

I used a Stampendous Jumbo Cling stamp,

and heat embossed the cameo image and then portions of the vintage floral frame
onto the basic chipboard dress form.

 

 

 

 

I embellished the cameo with a piece of a rhinestone bracelet I had, and

added the pearl, bling, ruffle and trim to the dress form.

The pin is handmade with assorted beads.

 

I will leave the inside blank and black, and when the occasion arises,

I will print out a message for the recipient.

 

Supplies:

Paper:  Cosmo Cricket

Chipboard: Pink Paisley

Stamp: Stampendous

Die: Spellbinders

 

 

 Please visit all of the Design Team's blogs
(their links are on my sidebar)
and leave them some love!
They have all been working so very hard and have some amazing projects to share!

 

 

 

 

DCWV October Card Challenge!

I LOVE it when a new card sketch is posted on DCWV!

Not only are they my favorite papers,

but their challenges are so much fun!

 

I like that not one, not two,

but 10 Top projects in each category (layouts and cards)

are chosen to showcase on the blog!

Yes, only one winner from each category,

but the biggest thrill is being hand-picked as a Top 10!

 

 

What is most intriquing about this card isn't just those yummy papers,

but the way it SMELLS when the recipient opens the envelope!

 

 

Papers: DCWV, "Wild Splendor"

Die: Spellbinder, "Floral Flourishes" (say that 3 times fast!)

Rhinestones: Zva Creations

Sentiment:  Fiskars, "Thank You" Clear Stamps

 

This card is also entered into the challenge at Simon Says Stamps, where they ask for "Glimmer and Sparkle" this week!

See that sparkly, shimmery pumpkin?

Well, it actually SMELLS like pumpkin pie spice!

How did I do that without burning the spices into the embossing powder and ruining the delicious smell wafting from the card?

 

Easy!

First, determine what image you want to use.

Next, gather together the spices that will best bring out the "personality" of that image.

 

You will need a chunkier embossing powder, something that will melt and HOLD the spices to the card.  I also included some crushed glass glitter in my mix!

 

 

Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a scrap piece of heavy cardstock.

I generally use white so that my shapes can be traced or stamped onto the back side and cut out after melting.

 

Now, very important...  Holding the paper far enough ABOVE your heat gun so as not to burn the paper or your fingers, heat from the underside slowly until all of the embossing powders have "melded" the mixture together. 

Let cool completely, then cut as desired.

 

The smell of the spices will remain in the "melted goo",

and allow you to attach them to your project. 

I have found that by heating it this way, the aroma stays with the image much longer than any other way I've tried.

 

I DO hope you try this!

My friends and family love it when they recieve

"Scent-iment" cards!

 

Follow Me or Subscribe to my email alerts,

because I will be posting another great scented idea later this month!

 

PS:  My scrap room STILL has the wonderful aroma of a baking pumpkin pie!

 

 

 

 

 

 



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!