Special Delivery!

Hello, it's Jan again!

(Please scroll down to see my latest DCWV layout!)

Today, I made a tag-turned-card!

Sometimes, you start with a concept, and it just grows from there!

I used the recently released Stampendous,

"Special Delivery"

on kraft cardstock.

First, I stamped and heat-embossed the image onto the kraft tag.

The image was then colored using watercolor pencils.

The sentiment is from the set,  "Christmas Wishes",

and was stamped and also heat-embossed.

The edges of the tag were inked with Tim Holtz Christmas inks,

and the kraft card mat and the pattern paper edges inked in Momento, Cocoa Brown.

I love the vintage look of these colors!

What set the whole thing off was covering the entire tag with Versamark,

Champagne Dazzle Ink.

I then sprinkled the entire surface with Stampendous,
Detail Clear Embossing Powder.

The result was this shimmery, gorgeous tag giving those vintage colors

an extra pop!

I send more cards than I attach tags to gifts, so this was assembled and will be one more Christmas card off my list! 

The August Stampendous Challenge,

 "Focus on Sentiments",

is very close to coming to an end!

 

Just look at all of the wonderful projects by the

Design Team!

 

Asia King	Kristine Reynolds	Taylor Usry	Kristine Reynolds
Stephanie Lee	Janelle Stollfus	Jan Garber	Wendy Jordan
Wendy Price	Stephanie Lee	Pam Hornschu	Pam Hornschu
Melinda Gleissner	Kristine Reynolds	Janelle Stollfus

InLinkz.com

Stampendous is giving away three stamp sets in August!

Go here to see all of the details and rules, and make your own project and link it up here or on the Stampendous blog!

 

Check out my second post for today!
These new DCWV papers will knock your socks off!



DCWV Autumn Melody

"Family Traditions"

 

I wanted to capture the magic that was so evident in the photo where my grandson is reading to my mother,

his great-grandmother.

There will only be so many moments like this in

this lifetime.

 

 

Hayden had been reading at a very high level for some time, but my mother had never had the opportunity until last November to sit down and share a book with him. I know she loved it, having read to me and my sister, and then to my children from the time we were all very young.

At only 6, he was reading at a third grade level!  He has since started second grade this year, and is in a Gifted Program, so I'm sure he will be passing us all up and reading everything he gets his hands on now!

 

These DCWV papers are so gorgeous to work with!

Fall colors with a touch of elegance...

 

 

The gold foil on the leaf pattern paper is my all-time favorite for this time of year!

Even in small amounts die cut, border punched, or as trim, this paper steals the show!

 

 

The coordinating stickers make putting together a finished layout a breeze!

My banners have a beautiful sheet music print and comes in the stack, too!

I only wish my photos would do it justice.

 

My mother hates photos of herself, but I have a  feeling she'll

make exceptions for this one!

 

Please leave a comment so I know you've been here!

I love reading them and returning the favor by going to your blogs and seeing

your own creations!

 

Thank you, too, Fiskars, Spellbinders, and Prima

for their amazingly wonderful products!

 



Crafter's Companion shows "Friendship"!

My challenge entry this week at

Crafter's Companion

is this adorable little S.w.a.l.k gal

and a sweet sentiment from Henry Thoreau.

 

 

 

This particular stamp set is called "With Sympathy", but I look at her and she just appears to be deeply sincere whatever her message and can be used for

 many occasions.

And I love to color these with my markers!

 

Inside of card reads...

 

 

and is a combination of sentiment from MFT,

and silhouette image by Unity Stamps.

 

I hope to win a gift certificate from Crafter's Companion so I can get more of these adorable stamps!



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



Sparkly Poinsettia by Stampendous!

I love the colors of Christmas!

And the fact that the beautiful Poinsettias will soon be in the stores in so many gorgeous colors!

Stampendous has a wonderful holiday stamp,

"Poinsettia Background"!

I just had to heat emboss it, ink it with my daubers, and then VERY CAREFULLY color inside the flowers with my Copics...yes, I know, living dangerously!

I took it slow and tried hard not to get too close to any of the embossed lines.

And afterward, I cleaned those nibs!

I used more Copics colors to blend than I normally do (stepping out of my box).

R22, R32, R35, and RV21

and couldn't resist covering the whole image with embossing ink and clear embossing powder to give it a shine and make those colors POP!

The sparkle is done with the Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter and an edge of

Jeweled Gold Embossing Powder.

A sprinkling of gold micro beads, a pretty little pearl button that I altered with my Copics, and a soft five-loop bow finishes off this one!

Here is a front-on view better showing the crushed glass!

It just adds an elegance to everything!

It's a Doodle Dragon Christmas!

         With the challenge this week at

Pike's Playground

being

"Black and White, with a splash of color", 

I took a different approach

with my splash of color being the red in the papers,

 

and the image having to follow the black and white rule!

This fellow is

the snowman from the

2012 "Christmas in June" release! 

Create your own Doodle Dragon Christmas cards or other occasion cards, and enter them at
Dustin Pike's Blog! 
Everyone who enters and follows the challenge requirements gets a FREE image!
 

DYSU CHallenge #86!

We have three amazing sponsors this week:

One Year PDF subscription

Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

$16 Gift Certificate

Fantasy, combined with Halloween, mix in a bit of romance...

I had some Graphic 45, "Hallowe'en in Wonderland" paper left over from Fall last year and decided to use it to clear the way for yet more NEW papers!  Whee!

Other than the spider who was stamped and heat embossed, no images were used on this card.  And the sentiment was one generated on my computer in Word...

easiest card I've made in a while!

Since "Alice" is a fictional character, I figured this would count as a fantasy project!  I dearly love little Alice. And it would be so like me, too, to pick up and eat a biscuit just because it said "Eat me"... yea, I'm gullible that way! 

Go check out the rest of the Design Team's projects!

I'm sure their fantasy cards are fun, too!

Yee-Haw, Cowgirl!

Love this image from MFT!

I also loved the sparkle of this DCWV paper, and thought it would be adorable on a western cowgirl card!

Just look at those cute little boots!

The paper stack is "Bouquet de Fleur"

You can see more of the sparkle on these papers at your Michael's!

This is a great example of how you can use papers that otherwise you would not immediately consider perfect for that project!

I started to grab my "western" pattern papers, but decided to think outside the box!

So happy that I did!

This card will be entered in the sketch challenge at

My Favorite Things.



Sweet Blossom Layout!

As soon as I opened this DCWV stack,

 I fell in LOVE with these poppies!

I wanted something SPECIAL for my home this next Spring, and I knew these flowers would be gorgeous on a wall hanging!

We actually grow the California poppies here in Phoenix, so how perfect!

Of course, my house isn't painted in this delicious red/orange herringbone, but only because the HOA would have a hissy fit! LOL!

And the little shutters?  I cut matchsticks and dyed them with a Copics marker!

I die cut the house using my Cricut, "Heritage" cartridge,

attaching it to the background poppies paper.

I then cut the flower images from a second sheet of the stack paper,

curled, and layered them.
  A bit of brown micro beads, and they come to life!

It's hard to see clearly, but the doorknob is a resin flower.

Also, difficult to see, is the background printed texture! Looks like linen!

The felt row of flowers and green lace are from Prima!

The sentiment is the heat embossed,

 "Flower Path" from

Stampendous!

Thanks for looking at my project today,

and get started on those home decor items of your own! 

Friends and family LOVE handmade Christmas gifts!



New Card Trio!

I love to make a set of cards that I can either send out

one-at-a-time to a particular person who's personality just seems to match the style of the cards,

OR, even better,  to give as a gift set.

These "Wild Splendor" papers are from DCWV

and are so gorgeous!

The soft golds, blues, and browns make them perfect for Fall projects, as well as into the coming Winter months!

See all of the new release stacks available at Michael's here!

The sentiments are from

Stampendous,

and are available in their store here.

These stamps always stamp and emboss so beautifully.

Sharp and clear every time!

 

First Guitar Recital

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!

Well, actually, the winner of my Stampendous/Action Wobbles Hop

and 6 Action Wobbles Springs

is....

jabs     who said...

"Wow...such a cute layout! Never thought to use them on a layout!!"

 

Please send me your address so I can get those mailed out to you!

I would love to see what you create!

(Sorry this portion of my post is late! 

I fell asleep in the middle of updating all of my email and blog reading!)

I thank every single one of you for leaving such sweet comments

and becoming followers!  I promise not to disappoint!

Now, on to business...

Today I am also posting a layout that I made for my mother's scrapbook album of my (and her) only grandchild.

Keep in mind, this would be her great-grandson
and she is 79 years old.

The

DCWV,
 "Neon Chic"
paper stack was perfect for this project.

My mother can no longer see very well due to cataracts, and the brighter, the better!
And, unfortunately, the smaller 8 1/2 X 11 format is what she has used for her albums over the years.

Simple layout, but so very colorful and full of life!



DCWV "Bewitched" Lighted Wreath!

For my Stampendous, "Pumpkin Fence" card post, please go to:
HERE!


Then please return and see more SCARY, SPOOKY, and FUN projects!

My resolution for Fall

(Yes, I am declaring September 1st to be be my "Fall Resolution Day"!)

is to embrace Halloween and enjoy it rather than cringe every time that dad-gum doorbell rings for the upteenth time!

So, I made this to cheer me up!

I used the "Bewitched" Stack from DCWV, and my "Heritage" Cricut cartridge to die cut the house and the gate.  A sheet of vellum was attached to the back of the windows, and three battery-operated tea-lights were glued to the wreath branches where they would shine best through the windows!

The "fringe" around the banners were made with the grass border punch from Fiskars.

I will hereby promise to hang it on my front door on/or before 

October 31st for all to see.

The bestest part? It lights up to appear to have flickering tiny lamps on in the little house...

It looks soooo cool from the sidewalk out front!  It won't have near the fear factor that the hog's head with a butcher knife stuck in it did the year I really went all out, but it embraces the holiday.

I'm just hoping we have cooler weather soon.

These 114-115 degree days are killing me!

Halloween will be welcome relief!

Supplies:

Wreath; Michael's

Paper;  DCWV, "Bewitched" Stack

Vellum; Chart-pak (Michael's)

Trim for banner; Jo-Ann's

Gauze; Lowe's

Tea Lights; Dollar Store (3/$1.00)