Empty Nest Crafter

WMSC#83-Sewing Box Velvet Valentine

2012-02-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Just stopping in today with a card I made for Waltzingmouse Stamp Sketch Challenge #83. This weeks sketch is by one of Waltzingmouse's Mischief Makers, Jen Cuthbertson.

Isn't this a cute sketch for Valentines Day? I don't have very many Valentine Waltzingmouse images, but there is a really cute heart in Waltzingmouse Sewing Box Hugs. I used some black/white patterned paper layered over some red velvet cardstock. The velvet cardstock is cut using a scalloped nestie and I also used the velvet to cut a heart border with PTI's Heart Border die. Even though Waltzingmouse Nordic Winter is primarily a holiday set, it does have a great heart border stamp which I used to make a little patterned paper the image is stamped on. I also stamped a heart image onto some smokey shadow cardstock to add a little more contrast. here are three tiny heart shaped brads up in the corner and a spellbinder tag in smokey shadow holds the twine bow and sentiment tag from Afternoon Tea Sentiments. I am very careful how I use my precious velvet cardstock and just have enough for one more card, so I am going to have to ration it unless I can find some more!

PTI Inspired By Challenge (Ashley Cannon Newell)

2012-02-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

I cheated a little bit today. I just gave my husband a card three days ago for our 32nd wedding anniversary that was inspired by Ashley Cannon Newell's card which was front and center today on Nichole Heady's blog. There is a super prize package up for grabs and sharing a card inspired by one of the Design Team is how you can enter. Since I just made this card and it is actually sitting on my husbands night stand this very minute, I decided to share it again and use it as my entry for this contest. Oh, how I would love to win this prize packiage. Make sure you check out this link to the contest.

Although Ashley Cannon Newell has only been on PTI's Design Team a short while, you will see quite a few of her gorgeous projects pinned on my Pinterest board. I love her style, her mini scrapbooks and I have never ever seen better card photography than hers. Here is the card that she made back in November that inspired my entry:

Ashley Cannon Newell

Here is the card I made:

Although I used a Waltzingmouse sketch for the design of this card, it has PTI all over it! I used Background Basics Newsprint for the background, Tiny Tag diecuts for the sweet little tags, Background Basic Hearts stamped on each tag, dark chocolate twine and check out those mini clothespins the tags are hanging from. I loved them so much on Ashley's original card, I ordered some from the Etsy shop where she buys hers, Way...to Bead. I have a whole bunch of them now, so I predict lots of cards with little tags on them in my future! I would like to thank Ashley for the inspiration she brings to every person who has the pleasure of reading her blog and admiring her gorgeous projects.
Happy 5th Anniversary PTI.

Engaged Scrapbook Page

2012-02-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

Today I am sharing Page 2 in Andy & Ashley's Wedding scrapbook focusing on their engagement. I saw a really pretty scrapbook page and cased the design seen here. Ashley finally chose her wedding colors and my page now incorporates those three colors, black, cream and shades of lavender.
Here's the page I created:

This time, I printed out the photo, digital papers and used my cricut to cut the title letters. I stamped the journal with PTI Happily Ever After stamp set and layered it all onto a 12 x 12 sheet of cream cardstock. There is a zig-zag stitching on one of the layers and a couple little embellishment that were diecut from silver cardstock using spellbinder dies.

I want to tell you a little about this digital paper. I found a digital paper pack I liked from Peppermint Creative that included all the black and cream papers, but the accent color was gold. Here's the link. Since Ashley chose lavender, I had to start looking for some papers that would compliment what I already had. I found the neatest person, Marissa Hansen on Etsy who custom made 28 sheets of patterned papers, in the exact shades of light and dark lavender that Ashley wanted. Thee are damask patterns, stripes, polka dots and even some custom wedding text paper. She also made me some great distressed solid sheets that she custom matched to the tones of the original papers I was using. All that for only $16 and she did it in less than 24 hours. I can now print out as many pieces as I need to for the next year while I am working on this scrapbook. I was pretty excited at that one.

WMSC#82 Hot Pink Plaid

2012-02-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

There are some colors that are so cheerful, just seeing them makes you smile. The colors I used today for WMSC#82 are a combination that always makes me smile, orange zest, raspberry fizz and hibiscus burst. So bright and cheery, perfect for a Happy Birthday themed card. The sketch today is by Anya Schrier and is just perfect for stamping your own patterned paper. Here's the sketch:

Anytime I want to stamp a large area of cardstock, I bring out my WM plaid stamps. This time I used both Pic-nic Patterns and Off Beat Background plaid stamps. It is so much fun creating a custom plaid pattern in the exact color combination you want. They roll out so smoothly and I love the result. After I stamped the plaid, I diecut a top border using raspberry fizz cardstock and Spellbinder edgeability dies to give it the nice edge and decorative insert. I stamped a screen print over the layer with a cover a card stamp by Impression Obsession. I added some ribbon and tied a double bow topped off with a decorative Webster's Pages button. The sentiment and birthday cake are from WM Eat Cake. Doesn't that creamy AMuse Latte ink look like the perfect frosting? The leaves on the cake are from WM Teeny Trees dotted with colored rhinestones. I can always use birthday cards, so this one is all set to go for the next time I need a pretty pink card. Thanks for taking a look.

WMSC#82:Teeny Valentine Trees

2012-02-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

Today I have a sweet little valentine card for my daughter. Every year, my husband always buys Carly flowers on her birthday and on Valentines Day. Someday, I am sure she will look back and remember this as something special he did for her, just because she's Daddy's Girl, no matter how old she gets. This year, I made a card to go along with it, very simple, but cute, just like her. The inspiration for the card is Waltzingmouse Stamps sketch challenge #82 and a very nice sketch by Anya Schrier.

I flipped the sketch around and here is what I came up with.

I used Waltzingmouse Stamps Teeny Trees stamped on sweet blush cardstock in Valentines Day traditional colors of red, pink and white. The sentiment is from WM Fancy Phrases and the hearts are diecuts from Papertrey Ink. This will look cute tucked inside the bouquet he brings home for her on Valentines Day.

12 Kits of Christmas January Challenge & Some Blog Candy!

2012-01-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

Ho! Ho! Ho! Well, not just yet, but after my last minute scramble to finish Christmas cards a few short weeks ago, I have resolved to have a nice, big fat stack of cards finished both inside and out all ready for the next holiday season long before I need to address and mail them. To help me with this resolution, I am a member of a newly formed group who call ourselves the "12 Kits of Christmas Club". I was so lucky to join this group of extremely talented ladies who all love to make cards as much as I do. Each month one of us will play hostess and send a "kit" of identical supplies all ready to assemble some great holiday cards. We will all be revealing our cards on the last day of the month with our own "Blog Hop". At the end of the year, we all will have a great start to our holiday card creation. Today is the first of our blog hops and I hope you get ready for the first of 12 kit card reveals!

Renee Lynch of It's a Patchwork Life is the hostess for January and is also offering up some really great blog candy too! All you have to do is visit each blog and leave a little comment. Renee has a pic of the prizes on her blog, so make sure to check it out here. I have to say, Renee set the bar so high, I can not imagine being able to come up with as many gorgeous kit ingredients as she sent us. Here is a picture of everything she sent to us:

You should notice all the beautiful patterned paper, stamped images, diecuts, ribbon, sentiments, buttons and bling she included. I will have a detailed list at the end of my post as I am certain you are going to want to own some of these for your very own.

Here is the first card I made:

Almost every single element on this card came from Renee's kit. My absolute favorite is the beautiful diecut window. The diecut is large and makes a beautiful focal point on a card. Just about anything can be seen "through the window", but for this card I chose a night time scene with sparkly snowbanks and a cute doily Christmas tree with little red birds perched on it. The bright shiny star was also included in the kit. The only things not included in the kit were the pure poppy card base, the great bow which is from Waltzingmouse stamps Candy Jar Fillers and the stitching.

My second card features another of the window diecuts, but this time I focused on the outside of a window looking in.

Who wouldn't like to shop at this Sweet Shoppe? I used the beautiful snowflake patterned paper and this time a white window pane stamped with a Waltzingmouse Stamps Candy Jar Christmas sentiment. I cut out a rectangle from the card front and also added a window pane on the inside to give a nice finished look to the card. The inside of the card is actually as finished as the front.

The sparkly peppermint candy jar is also a WM Candy Jar Christmas stamp colored with copics and all glittered up. The doily it rests on is actually a bottom layer of one of the Christmas Tree doilies Renee included in our kit. This one is even already signed and just needs an envelope and a stamp.

Thanks Renee for such a great kit to start out our year!

Here's the cards together:

Now that you've seen mine, be prepared to be amazed at the other 11 crafty people in our club. Please make sure you stop by and check out what they have made from our January kit and you might be the lucky one to win the blog candy prize.

Suzanne: thecardyard

Joyce: Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim: CupcakesCardsandKim

Amy: Stamp-n-Paradise

Kara: KandRDesigns

Sharron: OnPapillionWings

Marybeth: Marybeth's Time for Paper

Jeanne: AKeptLife

Jessica: The Paper Parade

Christina: SeaGlass&Sentiments

Renee: ItsAPatchworkLife

Details:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Compliments of the Season, Candy Jar Christmas, Candy Jar Fillers

Dies: Memory Box: Star of Wonder, Poppystamps Die:Grand Madison Window, Cheery Lynn:

O Tannenbaum Christmas Tree, Papertreyink: In the Meadow

Patterned Papers: October Afternoon, Holiday Style

Their Story Begins Scrapbook Page

2012-01-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

Making a scrapbook for my future daughter in law three years ago is what got me started with stamping and cardmaking. When I look back at that book, I realize how far I have come and also, how much more I have to learn.

My second son, Andy got engaged on Christmas Day to Ashley, his girlfriend of four years. About time, don't you think? We are all very excited. The wedding isn't for quite some time, April, 2013. It sure takes a long time to plan a wedding these days, much longer than when my husband and I planned out 32 year ago. I am going to make a wedding scrapbook for Andy and Ashley that highlights both the planning of the wedding and the actual wedding day. I have been googling and pinning inspiration layouts for weeks now. Here is one that caught my eye:

Credit

It is sweet, simple and I love the forever words overlapped over the black and white picture. If you notice the picture is in black and white and it looks like their jeans are colorized to bring out the navy color of the background paper. I have no clue how to do that! So, here is my somewhat cased scrapbook page.

This is going to be the first page of the album and I wanted it to be flat. It is made using digital paper, which is a smokey shadow gray color. The stripes are ivory and the dots are bright white. I took this picture of the happy couple in black and white because once I started snapping pictures I realized that since it is Winter, there are no leaves on the trees and those poor leafless trees looked pathetic in color. The sweet pose was actually Ashley's idea and we both thought it would look cute. Andy went along with it because he wasn't about to argue with both his fiance and his mom. Very wise son I raised. I used a digital brush for the Forever words and added the Title and their names using a beautiful scripty font.
The wedding colors are black, ivory and lavender, so there just wasn't any way to work lavender into this page without it looking too bright and I also couldn't find any digital rhinestones to use, so this page is very muted. I am looking forward to learning more about digital scrapbooking as this scrapbook progresses, some pages with be totally digital and some will be hybrid, which is part digital and part real paper and traditional embellishments. Wish me luck with this project and if you know any good blogs or find any great wedding layouts, I would welcome the advice.
Details:
Digital Papers: MissMintClassicWedding by Peppermint Creative.com

WMSC#81:Anniversary #32!

2012-01-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

Next week on the most romantic holiday of the year, Feb. 2nd, Groundhog's Day, my husband and I will be celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary. So romantic, isn't it? A couple days later we could have married on Valentines Day, but no, we just had to go for the groundhog.

My husband and I are not a gushy romantic couple. Our cards to each other tend to be more funny than romantic, so this years card is going to really shock him. He will never expect a card with cameos and little heart tags all over it. Here is the sketch by Anya Schrier on which I based my card:

Here's my way out of my comfort zone anniversary card:

I used an ocean tides cardstock base, My first layer is vintage cream stamped with PTI Background Basic Newsprint. I stamped WM stamps Off Beat Backgrounds polka dot stamp all over the newsprint. I think that makes some really pretty patterned paper. I used a dark chocolate cardstock embossed banner for the mat. The embossing folder is by Provo Craft and is called Cassie's Brocade. It is such a pretty damask pattern. The two cameos (which look nothing like my husband and I by the way) are from WM Cameo Creations. I stamped them on some patterned papers by My Minds Eye, Lost and Found Portobello road collection. I stamped it on a fleur de lis Spellbinder diecut and added a few little swirly images from WM Holiday Labels #14. I added a couple hearts from WM Fancy Phrases. I notched the sides to hang a little loop of twine and added 5 mini tags stamped with hearts and tiny sentiments from WM Say It Loud. The little pins the tags are dangling from are some hooks I originally say on Ashley Cannon Newell's blog. I think my husband is going to wonder what got into me when he sees this card, but I love it. Guess there is a romantic side to me still, even after 32 years!

PTI January Blog Hop and CR84FN46 Color Challenge

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's not often that I am able to make one card and be able to submit it for two challenges, but the stars must have been aligned just right for me today, because I have a card to share for two challenges.

First, this is January's PTI monthly blog hop. Our challenge this month was to share one of our favorite cards of 2011 and to re-create it in a new or different form.

The challenge for the CR84FN46 Color Challenge is to use the colors of light pink, yellow and a neutral.

One of my favorite cards of 2011 was this card made in July.

I made this specifically as a masculine card, using kraft as my base and a very simple brown, navy, kraft color combination. I used a simple polka dot embossing folder and a diecut star as an embellishement.

For my re-make card, I decided to use the CR84FN#46 colors of light pink and yellow to make this card into a "girly-girl" card.

I used the same background Impression Obsession Cover a Card stamp called Birthday Words stamped in sweet blush ink on lemon tart cardstock. I used a pink scalloped diecut in place of the circle diecut from the inspiration card and embossed it with a cute cupcake embossing folder. Us girls love our cupcakes, don't we? I changed the color of twine to pink and white and stamped a little heart background on the diecut label, used a different embossing folder on the top layer and instead of a star, stamped a cute cupcake from Waltzingmouse Stamps Frame-It. Of course that cupcake had to have some chunky glitter to add sparkle to my feminine card. I had a great time switching up one of my favorite cards and now have both a masculine and feminine version to use when I need a send a quick birthday card.

Enjoy the rest of the blog hop and also, check out all the great pink, yellow and neutral creations at CR84FN.

WMSC#80-Dainty Doilies

2012-01-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

I was so inspired yesterday by all the "sweet" goodness created for the Waltzingmouse Blog Party. It's not too late to check out some really cute cards and sweet treats. Here's a link. I especially loved the beautiful colors used by many of the entries. Today I made a card using one of my most recent favorite color combinations, gray and berry sorbet. Here is this weeks sketch on which I based by card:

Where as many people who used this sketch saw long paper strips, I saw smaller squares in this sketch.

I used patterned paper by Authentique, the Uncommon collection and used pinking shears to cut out the postage stamp patterned paper. I layered it onto some smokey shadow cardstock and another long strip of Authentique paper in a really pretty damask pattern for the center band. I used some dark peach velvet ribbon and some cream colored pom-pom ball trim. The doily is stamped with Waltzingmouse Stamps Dainty Doilies Large onto Authentique paper with gray ink. The sentiment is from Teeny Trees. I added a rose, a twine bow and some tiny pearls for a little bling. I love the vintage postal feel to this card. Thanks for taking a look!

Waltzing Mouse Blog Party "Sweet Things"

2012-01-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

It's the 17th of the month and time for Waltzingmouse stamps new "Blog Party!" No longer called a waltz, it's still based on a specific theme and will now be posted on the Waltzingmouse Blog using InLinkz.

This month's theme is "Sweet Things". My project is very sweet, although not an edible kind of sweet. My son Andy got engaged on Christmas Day and I made a card to congratulate Andy and Ashley on this big occasion . Here's the card I gave them on Christmas Day.

I loved the folded and layered doily and the tulip border edge on this card. Since I am making a wedding scrapbook for the happy couple, I made a scrapbook page for their book to coordinate with the card I made them.

Here's my "Sweet Thing" of a romantic nature!

I tried to make it look as much like the original card as possible. I didn't have any pink and white striped paper, so I made my own by cutting pink strips and gluing them on the cream cardstock. I used a border punch to imitate the tulip border on the card. I didn't have any music background paper large enough for a 12 x 12 layout, so I stamped some! It is difficult to see in the picture, but Waltzingmouse Stamps Text It is stamped in pink over the dark chocolate music background. I made another layered and folded doily, just like the one on the card. It uses WM Nordic Winter images and adds some nice texture to this card.

I stamped a mat with sentiments from WM Big Day Additions and added some champagne glasses from WM Join Us set. This mat was run through a Linen and Canvas impression plate and popped up on dimensionals.

I used some of the same brown and cream lace as well as some pearls for embellishments just like on the original card. The letters were cut with PTI's Alpha dies. The picture was taken on Christmas Day and you'll notice Ashley made sure her pretty ring was front and center. I think this is pretty "sweet", don't you?

Now get on over the the Waltzingmouse Blog and check out a whole lot of "Sweet Things".

4 of a Kind-January

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Time flies. It's my turn again to play hostess for our 4 of a Kind club which consists of four friends who love to stamp and make cards. We take turns hosting the club and sending the other members a kit of identical ingredients that are used to make a card which is revealed on our blogs a few weeks later. Every single month the kits have been so creative and I had a really hard time trying to come up with a kit that was anything close to as good as my three friends, Renee, Joyce and Kim have sent me. I wanted to do something a little different this month, so this is the kit I sent to everyone.

I included some beautiful patterned papers by Authentique from the "Uncommon" collection. I also made a couple of notepad templates and included notepads and stamped images from Papertrey Inks Take Note stamp set. There was some ribbon, buttons, felt flower diecuts, paper clips and a Tim Holtz rosette.

Here is what I made with my kit:

First up, a mini notepad, just the right size to pop in my purse. It has a little mini pen attached and a 3 x 3 Sticky Notepad on the inside.

Next up, a matching card.

I cheated a bit and made myself another Tim Holtz Rosette to use as the focal point. This time I used a sentiment from Papertrey Ink Flutterby Friend and a melon berry felt rolled flower as a pop of color. The card edges are cut with a Spellbinder Edgeability die with an interesting tulip shaped edge.

Here are the two projects together:

Now that you have seen my projects, please go take a look at what my three friends have done with their kits.

Renee

Joyce

Kim

WMSC#79: Birthday Wishes

2012-01-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

Today I have a card I made for WMSC#79, the first sketchof 2012. Here is what the sketch looked like:

Being a little short on time this week, my card needed to be CAS. Here it is:

I used a smokey shadow cardbase stamped with a sentiment from Say It Loud and embossed it with a leafy pattern embossing folder. I stamped the smaller rose from Roses in Bloom onto some polka dot Stampin Up paper, and popped up all three layers. The striped strip is also Stampin Up Paper which was layered over two rows of the very large border stamp from Victorian Frippery. I did a little zig zag and straight stitching and added a few of the pretty leaves from Roses In Bloom for a little additional color. The final touch was a little glitter to the flower center. Thanks for taking a look at my first card of 2012!

2011 Top Ten Favorites

2011-12-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Last year I really enjoyed looking through all the cards I made and creating a Top Ten list. I made 76 posts in 2010 and hoped to double that for 2011. I came close with 131 posts and it was tough to narrow them down to my favorite ten. So, here are my Top Ten Favorite cards for 2011.

A Little Birdie Told Me

Birthday Witch's Closet

First WMSC Winner

Paper Ruffles

Velvet Santa

Nordic Winter Sock Monkey

My very favorite is the last one, Nordic Winter Sock Monkey. It reminds me of my sweet little niece and was so much fun to give to her on Christmas Eve.

Which one do you like the best? Thanks for looking at my favorites and for all the sweet messages and encouragement throughout the year. Happy New Year!

WMSC#78: Best Wishes on Your Engagement

2011-12-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

No Christmas card today, I am officially done making Christmas cards until next month when my resolution is to make both outside and inside of my cards monthly, rather than up until the last minute like this year. Todays card is for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #78.

Here is this weeks cute sketch:

I just got my copy of scrapbook magazine yesterday, and as I flipped through the pages I saw a gorgeous layered doily embellishment tutorial. If you are looking, Page 94 of the February 2012 issue of Scrapbooks etc.
It takes 5 doilies and some scoring and folding, but you end up with a really elegant layered focal point for your card.

This card is going to a couple who are getting engaged on Christmas Day. For this card I used Waltzingmouse stamps Big Day Additions and their beautiful scrolly sentiments. These are the most elegant sentiments, just perfect for congratulating someone for an engagement, wedding or anniversary. I also used Nordic Winter images on top of the layered doily. The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Madison Avenue papers. They are almost too pretty to tear out of the package. I used a Spellbinder Edgeability die to shape the bottom of the card, added several layers of lace and pearls to add to the elegant feel to this card.

Here is a look at the really pretty sentiment on the inside of the card:

After they open this card, I am going to snap it right back from them because it will on one of pages in their wedding scrapbook I plan to make for them. I predict a lot of scrapbook pages on my blog in the near future. I am really looking forward to it!

WMSC#77-Nordic Winter Sock Monkey

2011-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

I bet that title surprised you, didn't it? Today I made a tag for Waltzingmouse sketch challenge #77 based on this cute sketch:

First, a picture.

This my one year old niece and her mom. Isn't that the sweetest little sock monkey you have ever seen? Natalie loves sock monkeys. Her whole room is decorated with a sock monkey theme and she was a sock monkey for her first Halloween. When I saw my new Waltzingmouse stamps Nordic Winter stamp set, one of the stamps totally reminded me of the pattern in the body of a stuffed sock monkey and decided to try making one. Here is what I came up with:

I was able to find a sock monkey svg file somewhere on the internet (sorry, don't remember where) and cut it out twice on my cricut. I used Papertreyink Linen and Canvas impression plate on the rustic cream hands, feet and tail and stamped the body with the Nordic Winter set. Since I was going to use this as a tag to tie on her Christmas gift, I added a little Santa's hat with some white flock on the brim along with a pom pom ball on the end. That cute little monkey looked kind of bare, so I gave him a little banner using Waltzingmouse stamps Bitty Banners and the words Ho, Ho, Ho are from Waltzingmouse Sewing Box Christmas. The patterned papers in the tag are from Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas and the diecut behind the monkey is a Spellbinder Ironworks diecut. I added some punched snowflakes and red sparklies along the bottom and tied it all up with a gingham ribbon. I love how this turned out and hope her mom saves it to put in her baby book scrapbook, a little reminder of Christmas, 2011.

Coffee with Friends

2011-12-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you some pictures of a very fun morning I had yesterday. I have spoken many times about how grateful I am for the wonderful friends I have met through my cardmaking hobby and today I got to have coffee with two of them, Joyce Mehrberg of Cards by the Sea and MaryBeth Lopez of MaryBeth's Time for Paper. I have met Joyce in person before, but this was the first time I have been able to meet MaryBeth other than in blog land and we had such a great morning together talking about cards, kids and family. We all exchanged little cards and gifts and I wanted to share those with you.

First, Marybeth made us some delicious honeycomb candy and presented it in a bag tied with this gorgeous tag:

They are nearly gone now and were so delicious.

Joyce gave us some homecooked caramels in a super cute little tin decorated with snowflakes and a sweet little penguin.

She also gave me a beautiful card with lots of snowflakes and a sparkly ribbon. Those caramels are actually gone and storebought caramels could never taste as good.

Here is a picture of the three of us:

This was a great start to my holiday vacation and I am so looking forward to getting together again sometime next summer.

Seasonal Remedies

2011-12-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

Today I made a card with a new set of stamps, Waltzingmouse Stamps Seasonal Remedies.

Seasonal Remedies

I have made a ton of holiday cards, but as I organized them today, I realized I hadn't made one for my own mom and dad. Not a very good daughter, but as long as I hurry and get it in the mail, they should be none the wiser. You won't tell, will you? Here it is:

The best thing about Waltzingmouse stamps is that their images are so detailed, they can stand alone, not needing a lot of coloring and are perfect for making an elegant card. I used a little swirly image from Vintage Labels 4 to fill in the nestie circle and layered it on top of a couple of Spellbinder Ironworks diecuts and the "Peace" word is a Papertrey Ink Wonderful Words Holiday diecut. I distressed the edges and did a little stitching, added a bit of ribbon and this card was done. So, I am off to the post office and I just hope my parents don't compare notes with any of my other relatives about when they all received their cards!

Holiday Button Boutique

2011-12-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today I am sharing a card I made using PTI's Button Boutique, my all-time favorite PTI stamp set. I especially love to make a card using this set and send it to one of my crafty friends along with a spare set of buttons. Here is the card I made:

The patterned papers were given to me by my friend Renee of It's a Patchwork Life along with about 10 pounds of other papers, all cut into the perfect size just ready for me to use on a card. I diecut a PTI Parisian Doily diecut and also a tiny envelope which I used to tuck the little button card into. The buttons were adhered to a PTI pinked square. The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse stamps A Christmas Cottage and was embossed onto a Spellbinder ribbon banner. Here's a little close-up of the button cards:

Isn't that gingerbread man adorable? Thanks for taking a look!

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #76 and Holiday Tag Contest: Velvet Santa

2011-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Ho! Ho! Ho! Today I have a tag card for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #76 and the Waltzingmouse Holiday Tag Contest. Check out this cute inspiration sketch:

I'm not sure what made me think of Santa for this one, but here is my card:

I used the neatest velvet paper for his "coat". Here's a picture which better shows the velvet:

I cut two Spellbinder Fleur de Lis diecuts for the belt buckle, one in coasterboard and one in gold vellum and layered them together for a nice dimensional belt buckle. The belt is black glitter paper and there are two little square brads for buttons. The pom poms represent the fur on his coat. I added my sentiment tag from Candy Jar Christmas embossed in gold and a little scroll to hold the tag from a Spellbinder Ironworks die. The whole thing is tied up with a gold ribbon of course Santa has to have some bells, doesn't he? This rather large tag is going on my husbands gift this year. He's a pretty good guy and deserves to be on my "nice" list!

If you want a chance to win 4 sets (yes, I said 4 sets) of Waltzingmouse Stamps, all you have to do is make a tag using at least one Waltzingmouse stamp set by December 20th. For more information, here's the link.

WMSC#75-Dessert Buffet Labels and a First

2011-11-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

This is a first for me today. For the very first time, I have planned my Christmas Eve menu, not around what my families favorite foods are, or even my favorite things to cook. Today I planned my menu around my stamps! Let me explain. On Christmas Eve, I always host my whole family for a Dessert Buffet. I usually make six or seven mini versions of their favorite sweets and choose them based on what they like to eat the most. This year, though, the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #75 has asked up to create a trio of placecards for our holiday dinner. I decided to make my placecards be all about the desserts I plan to serve at my buffet. Waltzingmouse has lots of yummy and elegant holiday stamps, so I chose my menu based on the stamps I wanted to use for this challenge, and luckily, they are all delicious desserts too. My family will not be disappointed.
Here is a picture of the placecard trio:

To make my placecards I used a round tag diecut from a very bright and shiny silver cardstock. I also cut a Spellbinder Fancy Tag Trio and embossed it with red glitter embossing powder and an image from Waltzingmouse Fancy Phrases. It fits perfectly with the Fancy Tag die. I used some glittery stockers to spell out the dessert name. The tag was adhered to a red Spellbinder Ironworks diecut. I stamped and cut out a cute trio of holly leaves from Festive Foliage and tucked it inside the Fancy Tag. Each card has a special little embellishment added to the holly leaves.

A silver pinecone and holly berries from Festive Foliage on the Creme Brulee placecard,

glittery candy canes from Candy Jar Fillers on the Peppermint Fudge placecard,

and lastly, a sweet little gingerbread man with red sparkly buttons also from Candy Jar Fillers on the Gingerbread Trifle placecard.

I added a saddle-stitch bow and glittery silver snowflake as a final embellishment. I am not exactly sure what else I am going to serve, but I have enough cute Waltzingmouse images to suit just about anything I can dream up. Won't they look pretty Christmas Eve on my buffet table with a beautiful red tablecloth and lots of pretty candles? I am really looking forward to it!

Holiday Lights

2011-11-27T18:45:00.000-08:00

I made a very CAS card with PTI's Holiday Lights stamp set and their Wonderful Words Holiday dies. Wow, do these stamps make it so easy to make a very cute card in just a matter of minutes, and they are very flat and easy to mail.

I guess my cards have been a little more "busy" lately, since my daughter told me this card was too "plain". She was probably comparing it to the birthday card I made her that had so much on it that it wouldn't fit into an envelope. I guess I will have to remember to always pile up her cards with lots of "stuff" because apparently that is how she judges her cards, the more embellishments the better as far as she is concerned.

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop

2011-11-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

It seems like forever since I was able to participate in Papertrey Ink's blog hops, but this month's inspiration photo was gorgeous. How I wish I had a staircase like the one in the picture to decorate during the holidays.

Isn't this a gorgeous display?

Here is my card based on the beautiful photo:

I loved the traditional red/green and cream in this picture as well as the pine boughs and the patterned pillows. I used my Background Basics Houndstooth to stamp a pattern which was layered and stitched onto a strip of pinefeather cardstock with a cute pine branch border cut with a Martha Stewart punch. I diecut some Stocking Print stockings and stamped them with Waltzingmouse Nordic Winter stamps and embossed them with white and red embossing powder. All the stockings are a bit different with flocked cuffs or red sparklies, but they sure pop against the houndstood background. The cardbase is stamped with a sentiment from Tree Trimming Trio and the kraft cardbase is embossed with the woodgrain impression plate. Lots of PTI goodness on this card and it just makes me smile looking at it. Enjoy the blog hop, it is sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

WMSC#74 Candy Canes

2011-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Since the rest of the week is going to be pretty hectic getting ready for Thanksgiving, I knew I better get my Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #74 card done early, so here is my take on the sketch by Claire Brennan.

My card today uses my new Waltzingmouse Candy Jar Filler set. My friend Renee of It's a Patchwork Life, sent me a gigantic package of patterned paper, all cut up into nice, usable sizes. I have been wanting to use this very sparkly candy cane print paper for a while and this sketch was the perfect opportunity. I used a Martha Stewart edge punch for the pinebough border, copics to color the candy canes, lots and lots of chunky glitter to sparkle them up and an embossing folder to add that snowflake pattern to the green circle image. I stamped the bow four time, embossed it with silver embossing powder and popped it up. The sentiment from Waltzingmouse A Cottage Christmas was stamped and embossed in silver on a Spellbinder banner. I hope everyone is almost ready for their Thanksgiving celebration and of course, make sure you take some time to check out this weeks Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, you will see lots of great cards and gain tons of inspiration.

Waltzingmouse November Blog Waltz

2011-11-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today is the Friends of Waltzingmouse November Blog Waltz. You should make sure to check out all of the holiday cards and projects guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit. Here's a link.
I have been wanting to make a shadowbox ever since I saw one made by Mona Pendleton back in September and again in November. Here is a link to the projects that inspired me, here and here.

I used a 7 Gypsies shadowbox as my base and a variety of papers I have had for some time. The most fun and also time-consuming part of this was selecting the perfect pictures of my kids and husband from Christmas' past. I chose pictures that weren't necessarily the best, but they all mean a little something special to me.

First up, Matt who is now 29.

I have a ton of pictures of my kids all holding up some kind of Christmas gift they just had to have. The box next to Matt has a cute candy jar image from Waltzingmouse Stamps Candy Jar Christmas Fillers set. It is very sparkly and glittery with a three layer popped up bow.

Next up is Andy, now 27.

I love the toothless grin on Andy's face as he posed with his new bike helmet, pretending that he will love to wear a helmet even though that was back in the day when the only kids who wore helmets were the ones with crazy moms like me. In the box next to him I used an embossed ornament from WM stamps 2010 Vintage Ornaments and a couple of pinecones, one I collected from outside our little cabin in Montana.

Third, my baby, Carly who is now 20.

Carly hates this picture, but I LOVE it. She is wearing snuggly pink pajamas, her hair is all over the place and she has that fake, "Say Cheese" smile on her face while she sits on her new Christmas bike. She told me she can't believe I used to let her out of her bedroom looking like this. Next to Carly is a Tim Holtz medallion and the scallop on the top of it is from WM stamps Candy Jar Christmas.

Last up, a picture of the entire group.

I have about 15 of these pictures, starting back when my husband and I first married and the picture was of him chopping down the Christmas tree. Over the years, the kids were added to the picture, but someone always had to hold up that saw that was used so often. Next to that picture are some cute mittens stamped with WM Nordic Winter and embossed in white with flocked cuffs. My favorite set from Waltzingmouse...so far!

Here are a few pictures of the other boxes:

I used WM Around Christmastime for the vintage Santa, Seasonal Remedies for the "Joy" tag and A Cottage Christmas for the cute little snowman popped up on the snowy hills with a PTI diecut deer feeding at it's feet.

This shadowbox is already hanging in our family room, I couldn't wait until closer to Christmas, but I have to say it was so much fun to put together, trying to come up with the perfect embellishment for each box to go along with the memory-filled photos. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me. Now, here's that link to the Blog Waltz again. I know you won't be disappointed.

WMSC#73 Join Us for Thanksgiving

2011-11-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

In this day and age, I don't imagine too many people send invitiations to their family members for Thanksgiving. I know I don't, it is just assumed that Thanksgiving will be at either my house or my son's house and word is spread via phone or email. My parents, however are a different story. They are getting older, very forgetful, yet still get insulted if we assume they might forget something as important as birthdays or holidays. They are still old school, the types who send handwritten letters and thank-you cards, so lately, I have been giving them their "reminders" in the form of a written invitation. They don't realize they are the only ones who get this particular type of "invitation".
Here's a little card I made to invite them to Thanksgiving at my son's house this year. I know they will save it because they think it is coming from their grandson and hopefully it will remind them where and when to show up for Thanksgiving dinner.

This weeks sketch is by Claire Brennan and since I am mailing it, decided to make it fairly CAS. I used Waltzingmouse Stamps Join Us for the embossed sentiment and Bountiful Basket Additions for the main image and tag sentiment. I have really enjoyed coloring these little basket and pumpkin images this season. I have used them several times and they are so nice for a novice Copic colorer like me. This time I added a little snippet of lace along the basket edges. I used a woodgrain stamp in versamark for the cardbase and Papertrey Ink Mat Stack #3 diecuts with some Bo Bunny Forever Fall patterned paper. I wrapped a little twine and a button onto the tag and with all the Thanksgiving details on the inside of the card, my Mom and Dad should have no trouble remembering Thanksgiving this year.

November 4 of a Kind Waltzingmouse Style (A little blog candy, too!)

2011-11-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a long one, but bear with me, there will be some blog candy offered at the end of my post. It's 4 of a Kind time again and this time our hostess is Renee Lynch one of the Waltzingmouse Stamps Mischief Makers, so I am sure you can guess what brand of stamps Renee sent us in our kit...Waltzingmouse of course! That was fine by me as I have been using them almost exclusively for the last six months. For those of you who don't know what our 4 of a Kind posts are all about, here's a little background. Every month 4 friends, Renee Lynch, Joyce Mehrberg, Kim Heggins and I have a little fun making cards using the exact same "ingredient kits" sent to us by that month's hostess. Our challenge is to make a project using at least 4 of the ingredients. We can use more and use anything else we have on hand, but there has to be at least 4 things from the kit included on our project. I was the first hostess and I have to say my three friends totally blew my little kit out of the water. Every month the kits have been better and better, packaged cuter and I am going to have to really step up my game when I host again in January.
Here are a few pictures of the "kit ingredients" we all received this month from Renee:

Didn't she send us a lot of gorgeous ingredients using Waltzingmouse Sewing Box Christmas? Did you notice all those cute little tags, ricrack and I hope you can see those super-cute snowflake buttons all packaged up and tied with the most beautiful gingham bow.

I guess I've talked enough about what was in my kit, how about I show you what I made with it?

First, a red/white card. For this card I used the embossed white snowflake panel, and red stamped Sewing Box Christmas mittens. I stamped a WM Nordic Winter pattern on the mittens and embossed it in white and added a ton of white flock. Don't those look warm and cozy? I even used one of the little kraft bags that our buttons were packaged in and slipped in a few of the tags that Renee stamped for us.

I added some more stamped images to them, more Nordic Winter images a few more snowflakes, even one of the cute snowflake buttons. I slipped the tags into the kraft bag and tied the whole thing up with some of the red seam binding ribbon that Renee sent us. I cut a cute little banner using one of the sentiments she included and layered it over a strip of polka dot paper, also included. I can't even count how many pieces I used for this one, but it was way more than 4, that's for sure.

For my second card, I used the Sewing Box Christmas mittens that were stamped on the cutest patterned paper. The patterned plaid paper are from Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather. The blue and red look so pretty together. I layered the mittens over a die cut doily and then attached it to a PTI Tag Sale ornament. I added a little bow of wrinkled ribbon and another of the snowflake buttons. The last touch was the sentiment, and this is where the blog candy comes in. Renee is going to give away a free set of the gorgeous sentiments from Waltzingmouse stamps called Say It Loud Winter Holiday kindly donated by Clare Brennan, the owner of Waltzingmouse Stamps and also the designer of all these gorgeous stamps. Wasn't she generous? Here is a picture of Say it Loud Winter Holiday.

Say It Loud Winter Holiday

There are so many sentiments for just about any Winter occasion, including Halloween and Thanksgiving! Doesn't that sentiment look pretty embossed in black? So shiny and festive. All you have to do is leave a comment on all four blog posts and one person will be randomly drawn to win that great stamp set.

Here's a link to the other three blogs. I am sure you are going to see some fabulous cards made with our 4 of a Kind kit ingredients. Don't forget to leave a comment. You have until 11:59 CT on November 18th to enter this drawing.

Renee Lynch, It's a Patchwork Life

Joyce Mehrberg, Cards-by-the-Sea

Kim Heggins, Cupcakes, Cards and Kim

A Cottage Christmas Wine Tag-CFC#28

2011-11-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

CFC#28

I have had the best time...and the worst time making this winetag for CAS-ual Fridays CFC#28 Tag, You're It Challenge. First, an explanation of the worst. I had such a hard time coloring this image how I envisioned it in my mind. It is so detailed and I had a terrible time shading it so it didn't look blotchy. I need a lot more practice for this one. I didn't give up because I thought this image is so gorgeous and just the perfect size to use on a winetag for a Christmas gift. The second time I just stamped it twice on blue cardstock and embossed it with white. I added just a little bit of shading with some blue copics and them added lots of prisma glitter. Everything is better with glitter, don't you think?

I cut a white doily and embossed the sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps A Cottage Christmas in white. I added a bow and a snowflake button and it was done. Then I started up our fireplace for the first time this year and suddenly, our house felt like Christmas! I am going to make a lot of these tags to have on hand when I need just a little something to make a bottle of wine, champagne or even sparkling cider look like a special gift.

WMSC#72-Big Blooms Poinsettia

2011-11-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today I have made a card for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #72.

This week's card is a tri-fold and I got my inspiration from one of the Waltzingmouse Mischief Makers, Iwona Palamountain's beautiful card. To see her card, click here. Iwona's card had gorgeous diecut edges on the outside panels. I knew I wanted to do something similar with my card and decided to use my Papertrey Ink edger dies. Here is the card I created:

I used patterned papers by Simple Stories 25 Days of Christmas and I stitched around the curved edges for added texture. My favorite part of the card is the belly band.

Here is a pic of the inside of the card and the belly band:

I stamped a medium sized poinsettia from Waltzingmouse Stamps Big Blooms Poinsettia onto scarlet jewel cardstock and embossed it in black. I didn't have to color it at all, the embossing brings out every detail. The belly band is made from some corrugated cardstock and reminds me of the band that comes around my favorite Starbuck coffee. I stamped the poinsettia 3 times and cut it out and popped up the layers using gold glass beads for the flower center. The inside sentiment is from Waltzingmouse stamps Compliments of the Season. I am definitely going to try this type of card again using different dies to cut the curves.

Waltzingmouse November CASE Competition

2011-11-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today I have two little projects, both cased from Clare Buswell. Here are links to Clare's projects. The first was a candle and the second was a gorgeous card. Clare's candle used Seasonal Remedies, a stamp set that I don't own, but I do have the new Nordic Winter set and made my candle using that set. The card also uses Nordic Winter and Say It Loud Winter Holiday along with a diecut reindeer.

I think Nordic Winter is my very favorite Waltingmouse stamp set so far. It looks so striking stamped in red on cream. Thanks Clare for the holiday inspiration!

WMSC#71-Poinsettia Buttons

2011-11-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

I love poinsettias. I love their deep red color, their delicate shape, pretty much everything about them. Today's WMSC#71 card features poinsettia buttons. Here's the sketch by Kelly Schirmer on which my card is based:

Here is my card:

This is a 5 1/2" square card and the base is a beautiful deep green pinefeather cardstock from PTI. I made my own patterned paper by stamping a sentiment and icicle image from Waltzingmouse stamps Compliments of the Season alternately in green and red ink. It makes a really pretty combination and I dotted some stickles in the center of each little snowflake. The main image is a button card from Papertrey Ink's Button Boutique. I made my own buttons using Waltzingmouse stamps Big Blooms Poinsettia stamps. Two of the buttons are covered with diamond glaze and really do resemble buttons you might purchase. The button card is layered over a Spellbinder fleur de lis square frame and snowflake-impressed Spellbinder square diecut. I zigzag stitched around the perimeter and tied a pretty gingham bow and cinched it in at the center with a "real" poinsettia button. I think I will send this to one of my crafty friends this Christmas, who better to appreciate buttons than another crafter? Thanks for taking a look.

WMSC#71 "Paper Ruffles"

2011-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing a card I made for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #71 which features a sketch by Kelly Schirmer. I have been wanting to try out a technique for making paper ruffles that I first saw on a sketch challenge inspiration card made by Clare Buswell. She kindly posted a tutorial on how to make the ruffles. If you would like to check it out, here's the link. I have to admit my ruffles did not turn out as soft and poofy as Clare's, but after quite a few tries, these were finally good enough to actually use on a card. So, I waited for quite a few weeks until a sketch came along that I could envision using these ruffles. Today's sketch has that cute little element that could be ribbon, but, I saw ruffles. Two of them. Here is my card:

These ruffles were made from some double-sided paper given to me by my friend Renee Lynch. She kindly sent me two giant boxes of patterned paper and this is the first opportunity I have had to use some of it. The cardbase is PTI Autumn Rose and the frame stamp set is from Waltzingmouse Stamps Vintage labels #18 and the sentiment is from Say it Loud. I stitched around the edges and used lots of tea dye to distress all the edges along with a little strip of lace along the top edge of the ruffle. I added some pearl flourishes and a glittery flower as accents. This is definitely a "hand-it" to you kind of card as it would be pretty bulky for mailing.

CR84FN41-Sailboat

2011-10-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

My sweet little nephew turns one next weekend and I have been wanting to make a shaped card for him, but couldn't make up my mind what "shape" it should be. I discovered the Cutting Cafe the other day, a great place to buy svg files to cut on my cricut and there I found this sailboat. I decided to use the colors from this weeks CR84FN41 which were perfect for a little boys card, steel blue, gray and yellow. I only recently discovered CR84FN and their color challenges and I am really enjoying the beautiful color combinations they use in their challenges. Here's my little sailboat:

After I diecut the sailboat shapes on my cricut, I stamped patterns from Waltzingmouse stamps Off Beat Backgrounds and Pic-nic Patterns. Both of these stamp sets are so great to create your own patterned papers. I had a blast stamping that plaid background in all three of the colors. There are so many different combinations you can create. I added a little Spellbinder ribbon banner with Grant's name on it, thank goodness he has a short name! I would like to give a special thanks to my sweet friend Jeanne Jachna of A Kept Life who was so sweet to send me these dies, for no other reason than she is a super generous person! I have wanted them for some time and they aren't available at my LSS. Thanks so much, Jeanne. The last touch on this little card was a tiny ribbon flag and button. Super quick and easy card for a very sweet little boy on his first birthday.

WMSC#70: Irish Santa?

2011-10-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #70 which uses a sketch by Kelly Schirmer.

Here's my card:

This card was so much fun to make and I used several Waltzingmouse stamp sets I just received, Around Christmastime and Off Beat Backgrounds. One of the things I love about Waltzingmouse stamps is they are so great for making patterned paper. The stamps are huge, so easy to line up and it took me no time at all to stamp the black and white checkerboard pattern on this card. I used A Muse pigment ink in onyx and I was so happy with the result. The other thing I love about Waltzingmouse stamps is their images are so intricate, they don't need a lot of detailed shading when you color them. For my "Irish" Santa, I stamped the image with the onyx ink and clear embossed it. I colored Santa's hat green, I know, not the traditional color of Santa's hat, but I was trying to tie in the green cardbase. Who says Santa can't wear a green hat? Not me! I added some tinsel glitter to his hat and colored the bell with a gold glitter pen. Between the embossing and the glitter, he is pretty darn sparkly. The Santa image was diecut with a Spellbinder pinked circle popped up on a slightly larger circle diecut. I distressed the edges of the patterned paper and added some saddle stitch ribbon and bow. There are two pine sprigs which are images from Around Christmastime. They are embossed, hand-cut and all glittered up too. The final touch was the two little jingle bells tied on with twine. So far, this is my very favorite holiday card. I think I will be making several of these to send this year. Thanks for taking a look.

Cicely at Halloween

2011-10-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

I think this is the last of the Halloween cards, although I have had a really good time making them this year! Today's card uses Waltzingmouse stamps Cicely at Halloween, and yes, I colored! She is actually pretty easy to color and doesn't require a lot of blending. Here she is:

I honestly don't remember what patterned paper I used, but I used several layers and some zig-zag stitching. I added a little lace and pearl trim and a little bit of bakers twine. There is lots of tea dye on this card and, of course, some of the bats and sentiment from Halloween Party. The last touch was some sparkly stickles to make the stars and pumpkin shine. Thanks for taking a look as my Halloween comes to a close.

Halloween Party

2011-10-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Since I am on vacation and knew I wasn't going to be able to participate in this week's sketch challenge, I made a card to share using the very first Waltzingmouse challenge sketch: Remember this one? WMSC#1
There are 70 sketches just waiting to provide inspiration and an easy way to jump-start your creativity. To check out all those great sketches, click here.

I loved that embellishment layered over the cut-out circle in the sketch.

Since my kids are grown, I don't have any kids to craft with or make Halloween cards with. I do, however, have a girlfriend with a 10 year old daughter who loves to craft. So, this will be the third holiday I have invited her over to my house so she can make little gifts for the kids in her class. We are going to make Halloween bookmarks this year. Her teacher is very health conscious and is not going to allow any of the kids to bring candy to school. Eek! Halloween with no candy! Hard to imagine, but she was excited to know we were going to still be able to make something for her to give to her friends.

Here is the card I made for Allyson to invite her over to make bookmarks:

I used an orange card base and Halloween patterned paper left over from last year with a large circle window diecut with a Spellbinder die. Since the orange ink didn't show up well on the black patterned paper, I cut an acrylic circle and stamped directly onto it. I had to heat set it a little to get it to dry, but it is very bright and shiny in person. Since Allyson can't wear any Halloween costumes to school, I made her a little badge to wear the day of her party. She loves pins and badges, so I know she will be excited to wear it. Here is a close-up of the badge:

I used Waltzingmouse stamps Halloween Party for this card and lots of black glitter to make the badge sparkle. The card has a spiderweb diecut border and lots of distress ink to give it a spooky feel. I also added some sparkly bats from Halloween Party to fly across the sentiment focal point. I know Allyson will have fun making bookmarks with me and I only wish I had discovered this hobby while my own kids were young enough to enjoy it!

"October" 4 of a Kind

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's time to share another 4 of a Kind project with you all. A few months ago, Renee, Joyce and Kim who are forum friends of mine started a little monthly project that has turned out to be really fun and creative. Each month one of us mails the others a little kit of stamping ingredients. Our challenge is to make a project using at least "4" of the kit ingredients and then reveal them on the same day to each other. It has been such fun awaiting the arrival of our kits, digging into them to see what stamps and papers we have to work with and then checking out each other's cards to see how similar or different they are from each other. This month the kit came from Joyce and here is a peek at all of the ingredients she sent to us:

I was so excited to see this kit because, 1) I don't have this stamp set and
2) My son and daughter-in-law just took a hot air balloon ride less than a month ago for their two year anniversary. There was no doubt in my mind that my project using Up, Up and Away would be some type of scrapbook page or framed collage from their day own Up, Up and Away Anniversary. Here is my project:

I used so many pieces of this kit to make my scrapbook page. I colored the balloons in similar colors to the ones that Matt and Katie saw and rode in on their anniversary. I used so many pieces of the kit to make this page and still have enough left over to make one or two cards. My favorite part of the page is the map circle with the number two on it. That circle was cut from one of the little packages that held our ingredients. I think Matt and Katie will really love having this displayed in their bookshelf and wouldn't be surprised if they are going to expect another one next year for their 3rd anniversary.
Here is a look at the page all assembled and framed:

Now that you have looked at my 4 of a Kind project, make sure you pop over and look at projects from my three friends, Renee, Joyce and Kim. I also think there is a prize available if you leave a comment on all four blogs and become a follower of each! Here is a link to their blogs:

Joyce
Kim
Renee

Waltzing on Vacation

2011-10-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

It is the 17th of the month and I am waltzing today...from vacation. I am in Montana with my husband enjoying some nice cool, rainy weather, so different from my home in California. Since I am without my craft supplies (something I am going to remedy before before next summer's vacation), I made a few projects to share while I am away.

Today's Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz theme is Thanksgiving/Thankful and I have a lot to be thankful for. My family is all doing well, my husband and I have good jobs, we have a nice home and life is good and for all these reasons I am thankful.

I have made another candle. Yes, I was in candle-making mode last week. To see my Halloween candle from last week, click here.

I used Waltzingmouse Bountiful Basket Additions and Flourishes-Scallops and Dots to make this candle. The image was stamped in Memento ink onto cream colored tissue paper. I colored it with copics, very carefully because you barely have to touch the tissue paper with the pen, it spreads really quickly. After the image was colored you just cut it out as close to the image border as possible. You just lay it over the candle colored side up (I used a dab of glue stick to hold mine in place) and then lay a piece of wax paper over it and hold it smoothly and securely. Run your heat tool over it back and forth being careful to not heat too long as the candle itself will melt. You can tell when the image has been transferred because the tissue paper will become translucent. I did the same thing with the flourishes and the sentiment. You don't have to do them all at the same time, but try not to re-heat the images that are already adhered. The last step was just a little lace trim around the top of the candle.

Thanks for taking a look at my Blog Waltz Project. To see all the other great Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz projects, click here.

WMSC#68

2011-10-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

I have had this post written and almost posted 3 times this week. I kept changing my mind about whether to enter it in the WMSC#68 based on this sketch by Claire Brennan:

Here is what I made:

Now here is why I have debated about posting it in the sketch challenge. In the sketch, I see a rectangle with two embellishments, one in each corner. When I made my candles, the house is the rectangle, the bats and the pumpkins were the two corner embellishments. They stood out a lot until I added that spooky, gothic fence. For whatever reason, the fence that I absolutely love, kept the other elements from standing out. Now, if this had been a card, I would have popped up the bats and pumpkins and they would have stood out, but on a candle, I guess less is more and I should have left off the fence. If anyone has ever colored a detailed image on tissue paper, you will know why I didn't want to start over and color another house! So, here's my haunted house candle loosely based on the sketch. I used Waltzingmouse A Cottage Home for the house and the bats and pumpkins are from Halloween Party. That infamous fence is from Hocus Pocus. You might also notice the little stand the candle is sitting in. I found this at Target and it is actually a cupcake holder shaped like a spider. Cute, don't you think?

WMSC68 & CR84FN40 - A Little Birdie Told Me

2011-10-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today I have a card for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #68 as well as CR84FN40. The sketch is by Claire Brennen:

Isn't it a good sketch with lots of ways to interpret it? For more details about this sketch challenge, click here:

This weeks CR84FN40 colors are red, brown and kraft. For more details of this challenge, click here. Who doesn't love those three colors? I have used them many times and this time went CAS with my card design.

Here's my card:

I used dark chocolate cardstock stamped with a woodgrain pattern for the card base and Waltzingmouse stamps Sewing Box Hugs for the cute little bird. I stamped it onto red cardstock and added a gingham texture to it with all three layers popped up on dimensionals. The kraft notebook page has the sentiment stamped over and over in dark chocolate ink. At the top, I made a little "It's Your Birthday" badge using the same red and brown gingham and some dark chocolate cardstock stamped with a woodgrain pattern to mimic the badge's ribbon. It is attached to the notepad with a little mini clothespin. I attached the note book page to the cardbase with dark chocolate twine. This little card just makes me smile. That little bird gets me every time!

WMSC#67-Fall Flower Basket Tag

2011-10-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing a tag I made for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #67. The sketch this week is by Claire Brennan:

This cute sketch inspired me to make a tag using a new set I just received called Bountiful Basket Additions. I stamped two large label images from Vintage Labels #18 in versamark and embossed them with clear embossing powder. I cut out the center layer and popped it up with dimensional tape. The Vintage label doesn't need a whole lot to make it beautiful, these images hold their own and the clear embossing with the extra large image is so striking. It has been cool and raining here, so I made my basket full of fall color flowers. The basket is stamped onto kraft cardstock and colored with copics. I then embossed it with a SU square lattice embossing folder. It looks and feels like a real basket. The sentiment is from Sewing Box Hugs. A really pretty bow with orange and green wrinkled ribbon tied on with twine and a button add a little bit of frill to the tag. I die cut a couple of leaves and embossed them with the square lattice embossing folder too, just to bring in a little bit more Fall color. Here's a little closeup of the popped up layer and the embossed basket.

Thanks for taking a look at my Fall tag. I hope you all will consider playing along with the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenges. There are some great sketches in the archives too that are perfect for jump-starting your creativity.

Counting Christmas Tag Book

2011-09-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty exciting day for me. Last April I submitted a project to PaperCrafts magazine for their Holiday Cards & More Vol. 6 edition. It is a gift I made for my 2 year old niece and today, the magazine came out. My project is on Page 125.

For this project I used Papertrey Ink Tiny Treats Christmas along with lots of their dies to make a little flip book with numbers from 1-12. I colored all the images with either copics or spica glitter pens and used foam numbers for the corresponding tags. I bound it all together with a binder ring and wrapped a little PTI ribbon on it.

Here is the finished project:

Papercrafts asked us to provide a link in case youwant to purchase a copy: .http://www.papercraftsmag.com/sip/special_issues

WMSC#66 & September Christmas Card Challenge

2011-09-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today I have a card for WMSC#66 and also the Waltzingmouse September Christmas Card Challenge.
The September Christmas Card challenge details can be found here and this weeks sketch challenge details are here. Since the Christmas card challenge was to use acetate somewhere on your project and this weeks sketch by Claire Brennan was a round card, decided to make my own snowglobe.

When I saw the recently released A Cottage Christmas set, I thought it would be perfect to use in a snow globe, but since my set hasn't arrived yet, I decided to create my own little scene. I cut a circular card base from pinefeather cardstock using the largest Spellbinder circle die. I also cut one other circle by itself. I layered on some Bo Bunny Father Christmas papers. I used polka dots for the rolling hills and the musical background for the globe because, this is a musical snow globe. Can't you hear the Christmas carols in the background? Anyway, I zig-zag stitched the hills and cut a little tree from Teeny Trees and stamped and embossed the star garland in silver and added a tiny star rhinestone to the top. The sweet snowman is from Sewing Box Christmas, stamped twice and embossed with a SU Square Lattice embossing folder. I added tinsel glitter around the edges and colored his hat with a copic marker. I added a few stickles buttons for some added sparkle.
I cut an acetate circle with my Spellbinder die and also embossed it to give it a nice edge to mimic the glass globe. Here is a trick I learned to adhere the acetate without the adhesive showing through. After you apply the dimensionals to the diecuts, peel off the backing and set them into a cardboard box. I then lightly sprayed the top of the images with Adhesive spray. If you carefully lift them up and place them onto your card, you can set the acetate layer right straight on top and the adhesive is invisible! You have to make sure the popped up layers are equal height and you must get it right the first time. If you have to lift it or adjust it, the adhesive will show. I love that the acetate doesn't fit flat against the cardbase, so it really gives the illusion that it is a glass globe.

The base of the globe is a Spellbinder Fleur de Lis Pendant diecut. I cut it from some corrugated cardstock. Just to add a little more interest, I added some holly leaves from Festive Foliage and some red jingle bells with twine. The sentiment tied on with twine is from Sewing Box Christmas too.
I had a lot of fun making this card and can not wait to make something similar with the new A Cottage Christmas stamp set.

Roses in Plaid

2011-09-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for the Kraft Journal Make It Monday Welcome Fall challenge. Say that three times fast. For details on this week's challenge and to see some great Fall cards, click here.

I almost always use a sketch for my inspiration when I make cards, but this time I used a real life object that I set out in my home every Fall. An inexpensive table runner I got at Target that has a really vibrant orange and red plaid pattern.

Every time I pass by that table, I am drawn to those colors and patterns. I decided to practice making something similar using my Waltzingmouse Stamps Pic-nic Patterns stamp set.

Pic-nic Patterns

It has two different sizes of plaid strips in it, and they are LONG. So easy to stamp up a whole piece of cardstock. I used Orange Zest cardstock and Cranberry AMuse pigment ink with the smallest width plaid strip. let it dry and then stamped the largest rose three times from Waltzingmouse stamps Roses in Bloom in French Roast AMuse pigment ink and clear embossed them.

Roses In Bloom

That brown really pops against the plaid background. A little different rose than usual, don't you think?

Teeny Trees

For the leaves, I stamped the smallest leaf from Roses in Bloom in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink onto cork and them cut them out. Surprisingly, you get a really sharp and crisp image stamping on the cork.

The images are layered over a dark chocolate strip embossed with a Sizzix emboxxing folder. The kraft layer is stamped with a Market Street background stamp (Bit of Burlap) in versamark. The panels are zig-zag stitched and I added a little brown stickles on the flower center for sparkle. The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Teeny Trees stamp set.

Thanks for taking a look at my Welcome Fall themed card.

WMSC#65-Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

2011-09-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

For the last four days I have been enjoying visions of Christmas Cottages, snowmen and dreams of the cooler holiday weather, so of course when I sat down to make my project for WMSC#65, all I could think of was Christmas.

This week's sketch is another good one by Anya Schrier.

The first thing that drew me to this sketch was the curved bottom portion. I decided to make a gift bag and tag for my project and knew tha tI wanted to include a curved edge in my project. So, how do you get a curved edge on a premade kraft bag with the handles already in place?

There's probably some better way that I haven't thought of, but what I did was carefully pry the handles off by sliding my cricut spatula tool underneath the glued on portion of the handle. They actually came off pretty easily. Then I cut the curved edge and taped the handles back on using scor-tape.

Here is my gift bag:

In reality, the tag started the project off. The sentiment from Compliments of the Season about sleigh bells ringing is probably my favorite from the set.

Compliments of the Season

I found a free sleigh svg that I cut with my cricut and stamped it with a background from Pic-nic Patterns.

Pic-nic Patterns

I added distress ink and dotted each little flower with red stickles. I cut a mat outline in dark chocolate and impressed it with a linen impression plate. The sleigh needed some bling so I added a poinsettia wreath for the front and some sleigh bells draped from twine in the back. The papers are by Bo Bunny Father Christmas. I straight stitched around the top layer and stamped a faux zig zag stitch along the bottom. I wrapped twine and more sleigh bells on the center layer. The tag was diecut from Spellbinders Labels#14 and stamped with a frame from WaltzingMouse Holiday Labels #14 stamp set using Adirondack "Bottle" pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

Holiday Labels #14

The sentiment was stamped with A Muse pigment ink in French Roast and also embossed. I added some more sleigh bells and some wrinkled ribbon to tie it all onto the handles.

Here's a little closeup of the tag and curved edge of the gift bag.

/If you haven't played along with the Mischief Makers at the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog, you really should! Here is a link so you can check out all the great projects with a new sketch posted every Saturday.
http://waltzingmousesketchchallenge.blogspot.com/

Waltzingmouse September Blog Waltz- Witch's Closet

2011-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to this day for quite awhile now. It's the September Blog Waltz for Waltzingmouse stamps and the theme is Halloween!

I have a special love of Halloween because on a Halloween night, almost 20 years ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to become parents to our sweet daughter, Carly.

She was supposed to be born on Thanksgiving day, but with a vision of things to come, Carly was born a month early and quite dramatically. It is a long story, but I will tell you the funniest part of it. My husband and I had two sons and my brother had 4 sons. So needless to say, we were both pretty sure we were having another boy. It was 5 pm on Halloween evening and I was having an emergency C-section and had been given spinal anesthesia that for whatever reason did not work. I ended up having a second dose and that caused me to see double. So, there I was, lying on the table seeing double and being quite scared and I could hear the two doctors working on me chatting with each other. About Halloween. A dramatic and exciting moment for my husband and I and the doctor is talking about Halloween. One doctor said, "...and I haven't even bought the d___ pumpkin yet, and oh, it's a girl!" Just like that. No pumpkin and it's a girl. All in the same sentence. We almost didn't even hear what he said. Since that day, we have always celebrated Carly's birthday with a little hint of a Halloween touch to it.

For that reason, Carly's birthday card always has something to do with Halloween. So, what does the stylish Halloween Birthday Witch keep in her closet?

Pretty stylish witch, don't you think? I hand-drew a witch's armoire. I used dark chocolate cardstock stamped with a woodgrain stamp and then embossed with a woodgrain impression plate. I sponged it with black ink to make it good and distressed.

Here's a closeup of the door panels on the armoire.

The panels are popped up with dimensionals. I used aluminum foil to make a mirror for the back of the armoire. Do you notice the little cracks I added to the mirror for some pretend "back luck"! How about that hat hanging from the top of the door?

The top of the armoire is stamped with a swirly image from Waltzingmouse Join Us stamp set embossed in silver.

Now what is inside this spooky witch's closet? I used Waltzingmouse You're Lovely stamp set to cut a dress form and cover it with a glittery top and sparkly tulle skirt. I used a running stitch and pulled the ends to gather the skirt. Hanging from the left side armoire door is a pretty long dress for the best dressed witch around.

Here's a closeup of the long dress with embossed top and rhinestone trim.

Did you notice the witch's shoes in the closet? How about the witch's broom propped up just waiting for the next spooky ride.

I added some really cute "skull" brads to the armoire drawer for handles and the sentiment on the bottom of the card says, "My Halloween Girl".

I wrapped some spider webs all over the front of the card and added a spider stamped with Waltzingmouse's Halloween Party stamp set. I hope you also will notice the bottles of witch's brew using Wanda's Pantry labels along with more spider webs and candles to add to the spooky feel of the picture.

You can probably tell I am really proud of this one and can't wait to give it to Carly. She knows I was working on something special for her and I think this card will be one I put away and keep it somewhere safe for her to show her kids one day.

Thanks for bearing with me with the super long post. Enjoy the Blog Waltz.
Here's a pic of the Halloween Birthday girl today:

Join Us

Halloween Party

You're Lovely

WMSC#64-Eat Cake Tag

2011-09-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today I made a tag for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #64 based on this sketch by Anya Shrier: The element of this sketch that stands out to me the most is the "stamp here" directions. In my mind, that calls for hand stamped background paper.

Here is the tag I made:

The tag is actually summer sunrise, a beautiful hot orange color, but no amount of tweaking could bring out that orange in the picture. I cut an extra large tag base and stamped the swag from the
Waltzingmouse Eat Cake stamp set in raspberry fizz ink. I added some of the cute little flowers from Eat Cake to the swag and dotted them with a black ink pen to make them pop. That color combinations is so cheerful and bright.

Eat Cake

I used some A Muse pigment ink in Latte to stamp the cake image. The little leaves are from Waltzingmouse Teeny Trees set.

Teeny Trees

One of the things I love about the Eat Cake set is there are so many different little images you can use for cake decorations, the options for just about any occasion are endless. Of course I had to add a little bling to the birthday cake along with a sparkly little candle. This is for my daughter, so she doesn't care how many candles are on her cake! Yet. The topper and scalloped edge of the tag is stamped with a pattern from

Pic-nic Patterns

Pic-Nic Patterns in versamark.

It adds just a little more texture to the tag along with the black rick rac that is added to both the top and bottom. The sentiment is an image from Teeny Trees and is clipped onto the tab with a rhinestone covered paper clip. Did you notice that gorgeous wrinkled ribbon bow at the top? Those rainbow striped colors could not match any better if I dyed it myself, but the ribbon was actually a gift from my sweet friend Joyce. She got it in a fabulous store in New York City that has just about every kind of ribbon imaginable. So, what do you think of my pink and orange little birthday tag? Bright enough you? You really should give Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenges a try, it's lots of fun and you can win a free stamp set just by participating!

Four of a Kind (September)

2011-09-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have been so anxious to share with you the card I made using my Four of a Kind September card kit. Last month a few PTI forum friends (4 of us to be exact) got together and challenged ourselves to make a card using the exact same ingredients. Each month one of us would supply the others in the group with a little kit of ingredients. I started it off last month and this month, Kim Heggins has supplied the kit. I was so glad I went first, because I don't envy the others who go after Kim. She went so far beyond what I did, I was actually embarrassed. Here is a little picture of the wonderful kit she put together.

Did you notice that really creative stitched brown paper sack she made to hold the little glassine bags full of supplies? How smart was that? Sure beats the ziplock bag I stuck all of my ingredients in!

Here's the card I made:

Kim included so many different supplies, it was so easy to complete a card. In fact, the only thing I added that wasn't in the kit was the cardstock base and the kraft Parisian doily. Every other piece, including the twine was included in out kit. I even cut apart the bow that came with the paper bag package and used it, it was just that perfect! I can't wait to see what the others have come up with using their September kits.

Make sure to visit all of these blogs to see what everyone else came up with. I think there might even be a little blog candy involved on Kim's blog!

Kim Heggins Cupcakes, Cards & Kim

Renee Lynch It's A Patchwork Life

Joyce Mehrberg Cards by the Sea

WMSC#64-Banner ChristmasTree

2011-09-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

I'm back today with a card I made for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #64 created by Anya Shrier.

That wide open space in the sketch just begs for some pretty stamped background paper, don't you think? I would like to say I had this whole card all sketched out in my mind before I got started, but...nope, I just started playing around with different patterns using a variety of my Waltzingmouse stamp sets. I finally settled on the medallion in Join Us.

Join Us

It is so simple to line up and looks so pretty stamped in Versamark onto Ripe Avocado cardstock.

Here is the card I made with my stamped background paper:

I couldn't decide what image I wanted to use for my focal point, so I put this card to the side and began laying out a banner cut with Spellbinder dies that I have been working on. The pieces were all turned around on my desk when I realized that the banner diecut turned upside down looks a lot like a Christmas Tree. It just clicked for me and I cut several sizes, some with loopy borders and some without. The top layer is kraft and although the picture doesn't show it well, it is stamped with

Text-It in Versamark

Text-It

and then I stamped the swag from Eat Cake in Scarlet Jewel ink.

Eat Cake

The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye, Lost & Found Christmas. The tree trunk is stamped with a border from Pic-nic Patterns.

Pic-nic Patterns

I stamped the sentiment from Compliments of the Season onto a little label

Compliments of the Season

and wrapped a snippet of saddle-stitch ribbon around it that extends just a bit off the side of the card. I threaded a button and tied it with a little piece of rustic jute twine. I can see lots of little "banner" Christmas trees in my future now that I discovered that little upside down trick!

WMSC#63-For My Sweet (and Strong) Daughter

2011-09-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

WMSC#63

Today I am sharing another card using Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #63, a great sketch by Anya Schrier.

Some days, just a simple little gesture can make all the difference in a good day or a not so good day. My daughter has just recently transferred from a community college to a 4 year college. She told me the other day that she is shocked at how "smart" all the other people in her classes are. She told me she was used to being one of the smartest in the class (she is not so humble) and now she feels really "dumb". I know she isn't, she is just taking really difficult classes and a lot of them. I think she just needs to settle into this new school and new challenge. I am sure she will, but I wanted to let her know I was thinking of her and also to let her know she is much stronger (and smarter) than she realizes. What better way to say that to her than a little surprise card stuck into her notebook for her to find on her longest day of classes.

Here is the card I plan to leave for her tomorrow morning.

I love this quote. It is so appropriate for us women who are facing difficult times, whatever they may be. I know that in my heart Carly will always be my little girl, but in reality she is a strong young woman and I hope this beautiful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt from Afternoon Tea Sentiments will stick with her as she works her way through this difficult school semester. Here's a look at what else you can find in Afternoon Tea Sentiments.

Afternoon Tea Sentiments

It's not just a tea set, is it?

Sometimes, just a simple sentiment can be the best focal point. For my card I rotated the sketch a bit and used some beautiful patterned paper by Creative Imaginations and ribbon I found at my LSS that was a perfect match.

Since I know that Carly will probably not want to carry that card around with her, I made her a little bookmark that I am pretty sure she will keep with her to remind her of how strong she really is!

Thanks for taking a look and why not give the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenges a try? They really are fun and a great way to get your creativity going. Here's a link to the WM Sketch Challenge Blog.

WMSC#63: I can almost smell the Pine trees!

2011-09-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't so hot and dry here in California, I would swear I smell the cool, sweet smell of pine trees in the air. I guess if I close my eyes and concentrate really hard, I actually can smell them today as I spent the past two days working on a rustic, pine branch themed card for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch challenge #63. This weeks sketch is another great one by Anya Schrier. If you haven't played along with these weekly sketch challenges, you SHOULD! They are such fun and you have the chance to win a free stamp set. Here's this weeks sketch with three very distinct layers, at least that's what first caught my eye.

There were lots of ideas spinning through my head, but as I am really looking forward to some cooler weather and the Christmas Holidays, I decided to go rustic. I used Waltzingmouse Festive Foliage stamp set to create some really pretty background paper.

Festive Foliage

This stamp set has the most gorgeous pine branches with several different pinecones and berries that can be stamped as a focal point or as background paper. Here is what my patterned paper looked like before I assembled my card:

Those cute pinecones and branches look so nice stamped on the brown gingham paper.

Since I was going for a rustic feel to my card, I cut some strips of cream colored burlap and made sure the ends were good and frayed. I wrapped some brown/white bakers twine and tied little knots around each strip, then stitched them to my card using a straight stitch. Zig zag stitching does NOT work on burlap (ask me how I know this!) and burlap was not the easiest material to sew on. Wow, does it stretch and slip around, even tacked down ahead of time with some tape. It sure does add a very rustic feel to a card though. For my sentiment I chose Waltzingmouse Compliments of the Season stamps. Such cute fonts and sentiments, just perfect for holiday cards and tags.

Compliments of the Season

The sentiment is stamped on a rustic cream punched circle and has some texture added with a Linen impression plate. It is layered on a dark chocolate limitless layer diecut and a few little pearls added to resemble the berries I stamped on the patterned paper. So what do you think, are you able to smell the scent of pine trees in the air yet?

WMSC#62-Sewing Box Christmas

2011-08-31T06:33:00.000-07:00

I guess I have officially started the holiday season as I brought out my holiday stamp equipment along with my great big box of paper, stamps and punches. Today I made a tag for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #62 which is a tag. Yesterday, I made a card with a tag on it. Today, I made a tag all by itself. First, here is the sketch by Anya Schreier:

Here is my tag:

For this card I decided to use Sewing Box Christmas.

Sewing Box Christmas

So many images to choose from, but for this one, the holly image won out. I stamped it on some patterned paper by DCWV called the Christmas Combo, all left over from last Christmas. I stamped the holly twice and cut the layers out and popped them up with dimensionals. The holly berries are also a little circular image from Sewing Box Christmas stamped on more of the Christmas Combo Paper. The striped holly layer, big surprise, Christmas Combo Paper too. I zig zag stitched around the edges and layered another identical white tag to the back to hide the stitching. I cut a few little banners to stamp my sentiment on and attached them with little mini clothespins dyed with food coloring. The final touch was a little bow tied with my bow easy. I love this tag and will have to think long and hard whose present to attach it to. Thanks for taking a look at my first little bit of Holiday spirit for the 2011 season.

WMSC#62:Sewing Box Hugs

2011-08-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share this card today. I received a little advice from my very sweet and talented friend, Renee who makes beautiful cards with Waltzingmouse stamps. She has been Top Mouse 3 times so far and the Big Cheese once or maybe even twice (I've lost count, it's so often!). I had asked Renee to honestly tell me how to make my cards better. I wanted her to be brutal, and not to worry about hurting my feelings. Her advice was to SLOW DOWN, take my time as I design and create a card. She advised me to think, think and think some more. She ran me through her design process and I was determined to give her suggestions a try. The result is this card. I thought about it all day Sat. and I chose the stamp set I wanted to use. That was as far as I got on the first day. The second day, I chose the patterned papers and roughly laid out the card the way I pictured it in my mind. Today, I finished assembling the card. Three days is a long time for me to work on a card. I have to admit I really enjoyed the "process" so much more. I ended up changing the card around several times, altered the card shape, changed the color of the doily and even had some help from my son and his wife choosing the ribbon and button color. I had fun making this card. This is one I am really proud of and can not wait to send it to the recipient. So, now that I have told you this very long story, here is the card I made using the Waltzingmouse Sketch #62 designed by Anya Schrier.

I made a card with a tag using Waltzingmouse Stamps Sewing Box Hugs.

Sewing Box Hugs

This is a large card, 5 1/2" square. Much bigger than my usual cards, but with an extra large tag, it just had to be big. I chose some patterned papers by My Minds Eye (Home, Glitter). and smokey shadow and rustic cream cardstock for the tag. I impressed the cream tag with a woodgrain impression plate for texture. I die cut a doily and sponged it with tea dye for a little aging. The main images from Sewing Box Hugs were stamped onto some gingham paper I made using aqua mist ink. This stamp set looks SO GREAT stamped on gingham. I cut three double ended banners for the little sentiments and added a few flowers, also from Sewing Box Hugs. For a little frill, I added some lace and pearls to the tag as well as to the centers of the main images. The absolute last thing I did was tie a little bow using some wrinkled ribbon. This is the part where my son and daughter-in-law helped me choose between aqua mist ribbon or vintage cream ribbon. Vintage Cream won out in the end. I'm not sure if this is the best card ever made, but it sure was the best card I have made in a while. Thanks for sticking with me on this very long post!

Houndstooth Baby Girl Card

2011-08-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today I made a baby card at my husband's request. Yes, I said it. At my husbands request. He has only asked me one other time to make a card, so I was pretty excited this time, and this one was a baby card! I sent him back and forth a few times to find out the sex of the baby and when he needed the card for the office shower, but once I got the info I needed, I knew exactly which set I wanted to use. I just got the Houndstooth background stamp from Papertrey Ink and thought it would make an adorable baby card stamped in pink. I have the elephant Click Simple template converted to a file I can resize on my cricut, so I resized it to fit on a Mat Stack #1 diecut. I also got to use a Layerz Mat Stack diecut to make a beautiful pink and houndstooth focal point layer. Also used on this card was a cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder, a double ended banner a sentiment from Baby Button Bits and some pearls for the elephants eyes and cascading out of her trunk. I love the little elephant ear stamped with the houndstooth pattern. I only hope my husband doesn't lose this before the shower next week. I wouldn't put it past him to run out to Hallmark and replace it with something store bought!

Papertrey Ink August Blog Hop

2011-08-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a gorgeous inspiration photo?

Today I have made a card for the August Papertrey Ink Blog Hop and this pretty photo is to be our inspiration. With so much to see in this photo if you really look closely, choosing what parts of it to use for my card was tough. I finally settled on my love of the colors and patterns of the dress in the photo along with the bookprint and color red. Here is my card:

If you look very closely at the inspiration photo, you will see that the girl in the picture is wearing a gingham dress which has what look to be embroidered white flowers along the bottom of the dress. To get this effect, I used blueberry sky cardstock stamped with an IO CAC Roses background stamp to create the subtle white flower background using fresh snow ink. I stamped a gingham background using some A Muse ink (blueberry) and cut both it and a layer of bookprint using Papertrey Ink's Edger Die #3, overlapping them slightly. I cut a frame from the gingham layer using a Fillable Frame and one of my most favorite sentiments from Think Big Favorites # 3 in pure poppy ink. I wrapped some red/white twine around the layers before I adhered them to the cardstock base. Now, for no other reason than I wanted to try making one, I added a red flower made with the new Papertrey ink Bloom Builder #3 die. I love how that red flower really pops against the blue gingham background. This was a quick and easy card to make, hope you enjoy the blog hop!

One Last Card for WMSC#61

2011-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

I hadn't planned to make three cards for this weeks Waltzingmouse sketch challenge, but today I had an idea. How many times have you said that? Here is the sketch that I ended up loving so much I couldn't stop using it:

And here is my card:

Halloween Party

I used Waltzingmouse Halloween Party again for this one. Such a great set with so many uses other than just a party invitation set. To make this card I first stamped some Waltzingmouse Text-It gothic style text using smokey shadow ink onto some spider web patterned paper I have had since last Halloween. The gray ink gave a very subtle texture to the patterned paper. I used orange ink with one of the sentiment stamps to create a background for the circle focal point. I then stamped the witch silhouette in black right on top. I love how it turned out. I layered that over a lavender circle and a black pinked circle. The polka dot paper and orange rick rack diecut is from last years stash. I added a few bats and also a double ended banner stamped with a sentiment and some images from Halloween Party. This is one of my favorite Waltzingmouse cards so far. I plan to give it to my little niece who is going to be a witch for this Halloween. Thanks for taking a look!

WMSC #61- This one is for me

2011-08-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Today I did something I never do. I made something for me. No one else, just for me. I have had a pretty bad couple of weeks.

Here's the sketch by Sara Martina Parker.

Here is what I made:

My mom is in the early phases of dementia. It hasn't been that bad so far, my dad has been the one who has dealt with it on a daily basis. Two weeks ago, my dad had a mini stroke. Again, wasn't too serious, he was home quickly but had to have some surgery a few days later. After the surgery, he has totally changed. He can't do everything he used to, but it is not 100% permanent. He could recover completely. Thing is, his spirit is broken. He has given up. No amount of rational explanation has sunk in and he is so sad and depressed. He's treating each day as if he is going to drop dead the next. Giving away all of his things, paying future bills way too early, just not acting like my dad used to.

I have had this heavy blanket of sadness hanging over me lately and I decided that I needed a little pep talk myself. This little framed card is going to sit on my desk at work. I love this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. It is from Waltzingmouse Afternoon Tea Sentiments which I just got a few days ago.

I can't believe how appropriate this sentiment is for the way I have been feeling. I have to be strong, especially at a time when my parents can't be. To make the card I stamped a subtle background on dark chocolate cardstock. The patterned papers are from Webster's pages, Country Estate. The colors are so delicate and pretty, especially paper pieced for the cute tea cup. I did a little stitching on this one, added some pearls to the teacup and adhered a bit of cream colored lace at the bottom. The flowers are just something I have had in my stash forever. I hope my dad gets better. I really do think he will, but no matter what, I will have to be the one who is strong now, something I learned from my dad.

Next post, going to be something a lot more cheerful, promise.

Sweet As Can Be

2011-08-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that all of us cardmakers have way too many stamps and have a hard time using everything that we have. Today I am sharing a card I made with some dies and stamps I am just getting around to using. A few months ago I bought the dies for PTI's Sweet As Can Be set and both stamps and dies for Half and Half. I have had them quite a while now and had only opened and put them away in their CD case. Finally, I have broken them out and I am so glad that I did. I made this card in minutes, that was how quick it came together.

Isn't this pretty and almost good enough to eat?

I chose felt colors that looked to me like rainbow sherbet. The cardstock is melon berry stamped in versamark with IO CAC "Distressed Dots". I love that I only have to stamp one time and cover the whole card. I did the same thing with the Half and Half diecut using versamark to stamp IO CAC "Gingham". The ice cream cone is cut from kraft cardstock and embossed with the SU Square Lattice embossing folder. I stamped the sentiment in from Half and Half in dark chocolate ink and wrapped some brown/white twine around the diecut. Originally, I only had the rhinestone sprinkles on the top scoop of ice cream, but my daugher Carly said, "There can never be enough sprinkles!", so rhinestones are EVERYWHERE. Thanks for taking a look at my Sweet as Can Be card.

WMSC61-Halloween Party

2011-08-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

First, check out this sketch by Sarah Martina Parker!

I didn't have to even think this one out, I KNEW that it reminded me of a Halloween Moon with something spooky in silhouette.

I used Waltzingmouse's Halloween Party stamp set for this card.

It has so many great images that would look really scary in front of a bright orange moon and I finally settled on this owl. I masked off the tree branch the owl is sitting on and embossed it in black to really pop against the orange. All of the patterned paper is from a really inexpensive paper pack I got at Target last year for $1. I sure got my money's worth on that purchase. I stamped a partial sentiment from Halloween Party and centered it right above the owl. I added a little pinked half circle behind the moon to make it stand out a bit. I die cut the picket fence and coated it in black Martha Stewart glitter. I love the way the glitter adds texture to the fence. I added some ribbon looped over scortape at the bottom and zig zag stitched all around the perimeter. The final touch was to add a bit more purple, so I stamped the pumpkin and bat and popped them up with dimensionals. So, what do you think of my take on this sketch?

You're Lovely at 50

2011-08-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

One of my co-workers is celebrating one of those dreaded milestone birthdays next week and she is very stylish, very trendy and I knew that the Waltzingmouse Stamps You're Lovely set would make the perfect birthday card for her.

The beautiful dress form stamp can be used to make almost any style of outfit dependent on the patterned paper you use to piece it with. I went black and white with some raspberry fizz highlights on this one and I love how it turned out. I used some black and white papers I have had forever and added a few little sparklies around the waist just to bling it up a bit. I used IO Cover a Card Screen for the background and also a cuttlebug embossing folder. So, do you think this would depress someone on their 50th birthday? Not me if I had that pretty figure!

Four of a Kind

2011-08-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Edited: Leigh is the randomly drawn winner of the PTI certificate. I have sent you a pm requesting your email address for the gift certificate. Thanks to everyone who looked at our projects.

Four of a Kind is a really good thing when you are playing poker. Four of a Kind is also a really good thing in cardmaking because today, I am sharing a card and links to three other cards made by my three dear Papertrey Ink forum friends, Renee Lynch, Joyce Mehrberg and Kim Heggins. For the story behind our Four of a Kind challenge, Joyce has the full story on her blog, but in a nutshell, we all have challenged ourselves to create cards using the same little bag of materials. We plan to do this for at least four months, each person hosting a challenge and providing the little bag of materials. The only rule to this challenge is to use at least FOUR items from the kit. Get it? FOUR of a kind? Clever, right? This month, it was my turn to hostess and here is the little kit we all are using:

Hope you can see all of the little pieces to the kit using Cupcake Collection. Also in the kit is some patterned paper by My Minds Eye, Lime Twist and lots of little embellishments, twine, diecut cupcakes, embossed cupcake pattern papers, some sentiments and even some little cupcakes and candles.

Here is the card I made using my kit:

It is amazing how fast a card can come together when you have all of the "ingredients" right at hand. I used a dark chocolate cardbase stamped with a gingham background and added a layer of the sweet cupcake patterned paper rounded at the top. I cut a mat stack #3 diecut from the Berry Sorbet cupcake-embossed cardstock and layered a circle of the reverse side of the cupcake patterned paper. Hard to see in the pic, but the paper is Houndstooth. Must be very trendy now as Papertrey Ink just released a Houndstooth background set. I used the little strip of popped up cupcakes for an accent and added my diecut cupcake and pearls as the focal point. In our kit, there was a double-ended banner stamped with my sentiment and lastly, I added a candle with some gold stickles for the flame. What do you think? I used TEN of my ingredients to make this card.

Now it's time for the fun part. Here is a link to the three other cards my crafty forum friends have created using this very same kit.

I am offering some blog candy in honor of this challenge and all you have to do to win a $10 PTI gift certificate is:

1) Become a Follower of all four blogs if you aren't already.

2) Leave a comment on all four blogs telling us how you like our Four of a Kind challenge cards.

I will draw a random winner on Sun, August 21st. Make sure you check in to see if you were the lucky winner. Thanks for taking a look today!

Renee Lynch

Joyce Mehrberg

Kim Heggins

Waltzingmouse Stamps August Blog Waltz-Tea/Coffee

2011-08-17T00:00:00.001-07:00

I'm waltzing today. Waltzingmouse Stamp Blog Waltzing to be exact. Today is the August Blog Waltz and the theme is Tea or Coffee. I had a little bit of a snafu with my Afternoon Tea stamp set. I was lucky enough to borrow one from a sweet friend who generously sent her set for me to use for this blog waltz. In the meantime, I found one to buy from another crafty friend. I sent the first set back, unused as I anticipated the purchased set to arrive any day. Well, through no fault of the sender, my stamps apparently are circulating all around the United States and have never made it to my home yet. So, what to do now?

I downloaded the free ( yes, free!) Tea Bag Baggie template from Waltzingmouse stamps. Did you know they have lots of things available digitally? Well, thank goodness for that because I was able to make a really cute little bag that is absolutely perfect to hold some of my Huckleberry Tea Bags I was planning to give to my Mom for her birthday next weekend. If you have never had Huckleberry Tea, it is delicious and I brought home several packages of this tea last week from my vacation in Montana. I had all things Huckleberry while I was there. Tea, ice cream, honey, and jam just to name a few.

I realized that the Festive Foliage stamp set from Waltzingmouse has some berry images in it that are absolutely identical to Huckleberries (they look a lot like blueberries). The leaves aren't exactly right, but close enough. After I printed and cut out the tea bag baggie template, I stamped a cute background of berries and leaves. It was a cinch to fold it up and scortape the edges. I used a Spellbinder label in Royal Velvet impressed with a vine embossing plate to seal the package closed. I punched a few holes in the top and threaded some green striped ribbon to secure it. I added a little embellishment of some leaves and berries that were cut out and a little sentiment, just so my Mom knows what is in the package. I think it turned out really cute for a spur of the moment project. Make sure you check out all the digital products that Waltzingmouse Stamps has to offer. They really were a lifesaver for me. Hope you enjoy the waltz.

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #60

2011-08-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #60. They sure have some great sketches to get your creativity going. Here is the sketch:

Another good one by Kelly Schirmer. She sure has the knack for creating interesting sketches.

I used Waltzingmouse Sewing Box Hugs for this one. The sweet flowers are stamped in versamark on dark chocolate cardstock. The picture doesn't show it clear enough, but the flowers are stamped in versamark with a gingham background, cut in layers and poped up with dimensionals. The brown patterned paper is from an old Martha Stewart pack I had lying around and is cut with PTI Edgers #1 with a little bit of twine wrapped around it. This was a super simple and fast card to complete. The little sentiment tag is cut with a Martha Stewart punch and stamped with a sentiment from Sewing Box Hugs. So simple and easy.

Rescue Remedies Thank You

2011-08-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

Just got my Waltzingmouse Rescue Remedy Additions set in the mail and had to break it out right away to make a thank you card for a friend. I actually used three different Waltzingmouse sets on this card. I used Text-It for the background, the Very Vintage Labels No.4 dotted outline on the peach colored mat and of course, the sentiment is from the Rescue Remedies Additions. Is that patterned paper not the most beautiful paper you have ever seen? I can't believe I am describing paper as beautiful, but the Websters Pages, Country Estate paper is absolutely gorgeous. I got three sheets of 12 x 12 paper and have made two cards so far. I have enough to make several more, and since it is double-sided, there are so many pattern options. I used a zigzag stitch in brown thread on the Half and Half diecut, made a doily and added a sparkly and glittered up Prima rose for another peach colored accent. I am trying very hard to break out of my "only CAS" cardstyle. Waltzingmouse Stamps are just the perfect stamps to use as I try out a new style of stamping, a little more vintage than what I usually make. What do you think?

My PTI Coffee "Date"

2011-08-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I got to do something I had really been looking forward to. A few months ago I answered a post in the Buy/Sell forum to split the Honey Bees stamp set. It was a set I had always wanted, didn't need every bit of it, so I was happy to split the set. That little transaction started such a wonderful friendship, albeit, online. I finally got to meet the real, live body behind the very sweet and funny online avatar, Rachnsarahsmom, aka, Joyce Mehrberg.
Joyce lives in San Diego and I live in Riverside, close, but not close enough to just pop over and visit each other. We met somewhat in the middle and spent nearly three hours talking about our families and a very long time about our favorite hobby and obsession, cardmaking and PTI. Here is a little pic of Joyce and I during our little get-together.

Joyce was such fun to talk to and the time flew by. She brought me some stamping supplies we had ordered together and also a very delicious little hand-made treat that I admit I broke into before my car left the parking lot. Here is a pic of what was left of the treat by the time I reached home:

They are the most delicious meringue cookies, and I remember Joyce saying something about them being a Weight Watcher recipe, but I doubt that made any difference as I ate at least 8 of them, hence the small bag in the picture! She also sent me a beautiful card that she made. It is so cute I had to share it too:

Isn't this a pretty card? I hope everyone will take the chance to go check out Joyce's new blog and get the chance to meet a genuinely nice person who shares this cardmaking hobby we all love so much. Here is a link to Joyce's blog:

Cards by the Sea

WaltzingMouse August CASE Comp

2011-08-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

There were so many cards during the WaltzingMouse August CASE Comp that I could choose from, but the card I chose to make was by Design Team Member Kate Whelan. Here is Kate's inspirational card:

I loved how she made that gorgeous background using the Cameo Creations set. As pretty as individual cameos are, I really love those images to make patterned paper. There are endless color and image combinations that can be created. I didn't just CASE Kate's card, I practically copied it because I really didn't change much of her original design.

I repeatedly stamped the small male and female cameos in versamark with the little decorative cross shaped image inbetween the cameo sets. So simple, but also elegant, at least I think so. For the brown layer, I stamped the little cross shaped image on an angle to form a cute tin-type pattern and then stamped over that with a Text-It stamp. Wow, I love those text stamps. They are HUGE! I only had to stamp one time and didn't have to worry about lining anything up. So easy. I tied a cute orange bow and added an oval tag for the sentiment from Cameo to Go. This was such an easy card to make and I know that I will be doing a lot more experimenting with different cameo patterns for future background paper. Thanks Kate for the inspiration and to WaltzingMouse for creating such a gorgeous and versatile stamp sets.

WMSC59

2011-08-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

I am finally home from vacation. Sixteen days without making a card. I can't believe I made it and have to admit I did a ton of daydreaming while I was gone. The first thing I wanted to do when I stormed my craftroom today was make a card for WaltzingMouse Sketch Challenge #59. Here is the really great sketch by Mischief Maker Kelly Schirmer:

Isn't it a great sketch?

Right away I got out my WaltzingMouse Eat Cake stamp set. This set has two sizes of cakes and accessories that are perfect for either weddings or birthdays. Today's card is for a birthday. I used some My Minds Eye (Lime Twist) patterned paper and some dark chocolate cardstock. I stamped the really pretty swag border from Eat Cake and trimmed it out. The cake is stamped with Versamark onto Simply Chartreuse cardstock and some pure poppy flowers and glitter bling it up a bit. The Birthday Wishes sentiment is embossed with Fresh Snow ink and of course there had to be at least one birthday candle on my cake. I used a star rhinestone for the flame and a few little rhinestones on the swag for some sparkle. Sketch challenges are my favorite type of challenge, and this one was so much fun as I get back into the swing of cardmaking. Thanks for taking a look. Make sure to check out the Eat Cake stamp set by WaltzingMouse. It is really a good one!

Happy Anniversary Matt & Katie

2011-07-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today I made a very quick card for my son Matt and his wife Katie's 2nd wedding anniversary. I had it in my head that I wanted to use BB: Newsprint and Love Birds for this card. I went through two prototypes and finally settled on this as my final card:

I ended up using the title from BB:Newsprint and the rest of the newsprint is a CAC Impression Obsession stamp called Newsprint. It covered the entire rest of the cardbase all at once. Works perfectly with the PTI set too. I stamped the birdcage in dark chocolate ink and the birds in Hawaiian Shores, cut it out and suspended it from a little swag of pure poppy bakers twine. The happily ever after sentiment is from Botanical Silhouettes and I added just a few of the sweet red hearts from Love Birds for an extra pop of red. Two years ago we were running around like crazy getting ready for their wedding and it is so nice to see how far both Matt and Katie have come individually and as a couple. They are really very happy and as a mother, that is the most wonderful thing to see!

Mojo Monday #200

2011-07-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hip Hip Hooray! Hoorah! Yipee! Yes, that is about as cheery as I can get for today's card is for Mojo Monday Sketch #200! For all the details about this great big occasion and the challenge with lots of PRIZES, here is the link and a peek at the great sketch for this week:

Isn't this a great sketch?

Here is my card based on this sketch.

I have to say this is one of my all time favorite cards. I think it is just so elegant for a wedding card. I got to use my new Waltzingmouse stamps again on this one. I used You're Lovely which has a gorgeous long dress perfect as a wedding or prom dress. The sentiment is from Big Day Additions, also a new Waltzingmouse stamp set with beautiful, swirly and elegant sentiments for a wedding day. It is embossed with Vintage Cream ink and clear embossing powder. The card is made on a Vintage Cream cardbase embossed with a cuttlebug embossing folder. The dark chocolate oval is also impressed with the PTI Linen and Canvas impression plate. If you look closely, you will see that the dress has a damask print stamped on it and a layer of vellum adhered over it to really soften the look. A border of from Damask Designs is layered along the edge with a row of pearls to sparkle it up. Makes me wish I had more weddings to go to now that I have these new wedding day stamp sets! Thanks for taking a look.

Stamp a Faire Challenge #2

2011-07-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a card for Challenge #2 using bright colors and a neutral, Smokey Shadow. On vacation, but had to enter just one or two chances to win the cute stamp a faire set.

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #56

2011-07-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

I loved the sketch this week for Waltzingmouse stamps, WMSC#56 so much that I made a second card. It also helps that I just got my order of new stamps and lots of ideas are bouncing around in my head. For details about this sketch challenge, here is a link and this is the sketch:

This sketch is so versatile, fits any stamp set you have.

I used one of Waltzingmouse's new sets, Eat Cake. It's just perfect for birthday or wedding cakes.

Actually, I can also see adorable cupcakes sitting on top of that cute little cake stand too, but for today, I needed a birthday card for my baby. My 29 year old baby, Matt. That teeny, tiny 5 lb baby born 6 weeks early and in only 30 minutes from start to finish. That was a shocker for a first time mom who expected labor to last FOR..EV..ER. I barely made it to the hospital. My husband threw some clothes in a paper sack for me to take. I never got over that one. A paper sack? No toothbrush, hairbrush, nothing. Just the most ratty, ripped up nightgown I owned. That was all.

Anyway, we survived. He survived and has grown into a wonderful, successful young man who is happy all the time. Seriously, all the time. Never gets mad, always smiling, never holds a grudge (unlike his mother) and is so smart! Computer Science. Math. Where did he get that? Not from his mom or dad, that's for sure. We haven't been able to help him with homework since 5th grade.

I guess I lost my train of thought. The card. Here it is:

I stamped IO Screen Cover a Card onto a Hawaiian Shores cardbase. I seem to use that stamp on everything these days. I rarely have a cardbase without some kind of texture in versamark lately. The polka dots are from PTI BB Polka Dot #2 and the cakestand is embossed with dark chocolate ink. I stamped my beautiful cake onto kraft with Memento Sand ink. The flowers are stamped in pure poppy with a little bit of stickles in the center. At the top, a sentiment from Eat Cake and a few little rhinestone sparklies. After all, this is a card for a grown man.

Still my baby at 29. Happy Birthday, Matt!
Here's a pic of my 29 year old baby. Ignore the fish. I just loved the expression on Matt's face.

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #56

2011-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card using my brand new Waltzingmouse stamp set "You're Lovely". I am playing along with the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #56. Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

Isn't that dress form "lovely"? To make this card I used PTI plum pudding cardstock stamped with the Roses Impression Obsession Cover a Card stamp. Roses are always vintagy, don't you think? The polka dot layer is impressed with a polka dot impression plate and the beautiful dress form is stamped onto rustic cream cardstockwith a little tea dye duo on the edges to add to the vintage feel of the card. The dress form itself is paper piece with bitty dot paper and the sentiment is stamped with Memento Grape Jelly ink, cut out and popped up with dimensionals. It's hard to see, but there are two little lavender rhinestones on the ends of the sentiment strip. I added a few flowers up in the corner of the card and I was done. Make sure you check out all the great cards made with this Waltzingmouse sketch and I hope some of you even have time to play along.

July Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz- Birthday Party!

2011-07-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for my very first Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz. I just recently ordered some stamps from Waltzingmouse and although they haven't reached me yet, I still wanted to play along with their waltz challenge. The theme this month is Birthday Party. I need a card for an outdoor birthday party for my sister-in-law whose party is going to be held in the most beautiful backyard I have ever seen. Tons of flowers and greenery, so unlike my own backyard. I downloaded a free template from the Waltzingmouse store, Watering Can Card. Make sure you click on the link to check it out. It's free!
Here is my card:

Isn't this a pretty little card for a birthday? I love this watering can, and it was so easy to cut out! I thought I would mess up cutting out the handles, but they are large enough that even my fat fingers could do it.

I printed my watering can template on digital paper from WaltzingMouse called Victoriana Papers. This paper pack is so reasonably priced and so far I have used two of them for projects. I love that I can print them on whatever weight cardstock I want. This time I used heavy cardstock so my card would be very sturdy, but they can be printed on layering weight cardstock and would be just as pretty and reduce the weight on your card too.

I cut a mat using my Spellbinders Labels Four and stamped it with an image from WaltzingMouse Very Vintage Labels No. 4. Inside that label, I used a few images from PTI's Garden Variety set. Doesn't it go nicely with that watering can? To pretty up the can, I added some hot pink pom-poms. I had to have something to fill up my watering can, so I cut some Larger than Life flowers from PTI and had them peek out of the can. I added a little stickles and a cute little yellow tag tied with bakers twine just to add a bit more color to this card. So, what do you think? Make sure you check out all of Waltzingmouse digital products. You can create a very cute card in no time at all!

Impression Obsession "Hello" Challenge and CPS #122

2011-07-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Today I made a project for the Impression Obsession "Hello" challenge. To learn more about this challenge, you can read about it here. I used a sketch from Card Pattern Sketch #122 as the basis for my design, allowing me to enter two contests at once. Lucky me! I find I often turn to CPS for inspiration and a starting point when I have a hard time getting started. This weeks Impression Obsession challenge is titled "Hello". I have been needing to make a notepad for my Mom and thought the CPS sketch looked so much like a cute little notepad.

What do you think?

Here is my notepad:

The cardbase is PTI Spring Moss and I made some gingham paper using a "Gingham" Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card stamp. It is stamped onto Sweet Blush cardstock. I cut the edges with pinking shears and the Pure Poppy layer is stamped with the "Screen" Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card stamp in Versamark. I then used a Cuttlebug embossing folder with fruit on it to give it a really nice crisp impression. The focal point panel is Rustic White cardstock and I stamped a 2" circle in Pure Poppy. Now, my dilema was how to make this have a "Hello" theme. I decided to use the word "HELLO" from Fillable Frames #1 and then some little parentheses I had and have no clue where they came from. Inside the parentheses I added the words Note to Self from PTI's Take Note set. I am always telling myself "Hello", remember this or remember that! I added just a few rhinestones inside the parentheses and some Simply Chartruese saddle-stitch ribbon and a red button to bring out more of the green color. I added a few Fruit Fusian Strawberries in the corner and attached a cute little mini pen to the notepad. I think my Mom will love it.

CAS-ual Friday CFC9 "Krafts-Men"

2011-07-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Todays card is for CAS-ual Fridays CFC9 titled "Krafts-Men". I love kraft cardstock. Love it. This challenge was something I knew I would enjoy and it was just great timing that I need a birthday card for my 25 year old nephew this weekend. I used Birthday Words Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card stamp in Versamark for the background. It is subtle, but adds a nice touch for a masculine card. I cut a Nestie circle and embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder and adhered it to my cardbase. For the focal point, I used a trio of labels from My Favorite Things stamped with the Woodgrain Impression Obsession Cover-A-Card and Screen Cover-a-Card stamps. The sentiment and star are from PTI Star Prints and the star rhinestones were colored with copics to match the navy ink. Lately, no card of mine goes without some twine, especially masculine cards, so there is a bit of Enchanted Evening twine wrapped around the entire cardbase. Thanks for taking a look at my "Krafts-men" birthday card.

WMSC54

2011-07-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #54. Here is the sketch:

Interesting sketch, isn't it? Now, what Waltzingmouse products do I have that will fit this sketch?

Here is my card:

Since I only have one set of Waltzingmouse stamps right now, (I have a bunch ordered, but none have arrived yet), I downloaded some of Waltzingmouse Digital Papers. I used Victoriana Papers, which has a beautiful design with deep cranberry and kraft designs running through it. Beautiful.

I printed some of the Victoriana paper and used it for my card base. I was able to make a very sturdy card since the paper was printed on heavy cardstock. I added a layer of kraft, stamped it with a Think Big Favorite sentiment and impressed this layer with the Polka Dot impression plate from PTI. I punched a few stars, ran them through the xyron and placed them right on top of some brown and white bakers twine. A few rhinestones colored with copics finished the card.

I am looking forward to receiving my new stamps as Waltzingmouse has some great challenges and Blog Waltzes that I am dying to play along with. Thanks for taking a look!

Tea for Two Additions and Garden Variety Birthday

2011-07-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! I am back from vacation and could not wait to get into my craft room to make a birthday card with those super cute teacups my PTI forum friend Joyce (rachnsarahsmom) sent me while I was away. She was so nice to stamp a great big variety of colors of teacups and teapots for me. As I was trying to decide which image to use on my card, I realized that the stems and flower images from Garden Variety fit absolutely perfectly within the teacup. It is such a perfect fit, they look like they were made for each other. I used a kraft card base which I stamped with the Impression Obsession Cover a Card Greenery stamp. This stamp looks so much like the patterned paper from PTI "Green Tea Leaves", it was just the perfect subtle backdrop for my focal image. For the focal image, I used the PTI spiral notebook die to cut some Vintage White cardstock, stamped the sentiment from Wildflower Garden and the branches and flowers from Garden Variety. I popped up the teacup Joyce sent me and added a few little butterflies, one popped up and a slightly larger one on the kraft cardbase. Joyce was also nice enough to send me some of the Green Tea Leaves paper (I liked it so much, the paper pack is now sitting in my PTI cart just waiting for me to press "Order"). I used a scallop border punch to cut a little of the Green Tea Leaves paper and wrapped some twine and a button around it. My card still needed a little something along the bottom, so the sentiment was stamped using another Garden Variety stamp. This card turned out exactly how I pictured it and I love it! Thanks, Joyce for the cute tea cup and paper you sent me. I bet I use every single one of them.

Button Boutique - Baby Boy Style

2011-06-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing a card I made for a PTI forum member who is having a baby boy in September. You all know her, Monica of Simply Sunshine. I started this card before the PTI June release got going with all the wonderful new baby stamps or else I would have had a perfect excuse to buy them! I stumbled across some really cute brads that I thought would look good on a Button Boutique card. There are trains, little cars and puppy dogs in the set, so I chose the trains and cars and I had a cute little rocking horse button that blended nicely with the brads. It is nice to know that you can use brads as well as buttons on these cards. I punched a scalloped button from a PTI coaster and stamped it with the small gingham stamp in Background Basics: gingham in Spring Moss ink. I added the brad directly to the button and I think it turned out adorable! The cardbase is dark chocolate stamped with the Impression Obsession Cover a Card stamp called Screen. It is becoming my most used background. It is so great stamped in versamark. I stamped some polka dots onto Spring Moss cardstock and colored them in with copics and added a little bit of prisma glitter to a few of the dots. The button card itself is made from Blueberry Sky and the pinked square is Fine Linen stamped again with the Screen background. I thought it made it look a little like linen material. I used a punch to make some scallops for both sides of the mat and wrapped a little twine around it. I made a second little button card for Monica so she can use a few of the little brads on a project of her own in the future. I wrapped up a little baby boy refrigerator magnet and some sweet baby boy ribbon to include in the package. When she received the card, Monica thanked me and made my day when she asked me if I had any advice for her as a new mother. I am sure she has had a ton of people offering her unsolicited advice throughout her pregnancy, so for her to ask me was very touching. I can't wait for Monica and her husband to have their sweet baby and share some photos with us all.

Raspberry Fizz Garden Variety Birthday Card

2011-06-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing a birthday card I made for my sister. I absolutely love Garden Variety and the cute picket fence die. I have always loved the color combination of raspberry fizz and lemon tart and used it to make a bright and cheery birthday card. The raspberry fizz cardstock is stamped with the Impression Obsession Cover a Card stamp called screen. It gives a wonderful texture to this card. I stamped the watering can in spring rain ink, added the cute word "Fleurs" and flowers which were dotted with a white ink pen. In real life, the flowers are very sparkly and both the seed frame and the watering can are popped up with dimensionals. The picket fence is cut twice and stamped with the IO CAC Woodgrain stamp and the little nail heads colored with a brown fine tip pen. The sentiment from Tiny Tags in spring rain as is the "bee" from Honey Bees which is fast becoming a signature piece on many of my cards lately. I think that little bee is perfect for cards using Garden Variety. For this card I stamped Sister from Women of Life directly onto the vintage cream doily and folded it over the top of the card. It looks so pretty in person. I already gave it to my sister and for someone who is not into making cards, she really loved this one. Thanks for taking a look!

Papertrey Ink June Blog Hop

2011-06-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am on vacation, but still wanted to participate in the June Blog Hop which is a photo inspiration challenge. Here is the photo:

I admit the photo stumped me for a bit. I much prefer sketch challenges and this photo in particular was very difficult for me to come up with something. There were, however two things that jumped out at me. First, the rainbow of colors painted on the wall and the second was the little white baskets at the bottom of the little storage unit. I immediately thought of the new vintage picnic set that I have been itching to use. Here is my card:

I used a vintage cream cardbase stamped with a rainbow of Chevron Stripes. I tried to get them as close to the colors in the inspiration photo as possible. I embossed the cardbase with the Linen impression plate. I cut a couple of circles with nestabilities and stamped my sentiment with Hibiscus Burst ink, bending the sentiment stamp just a little to curve around the circle. I had to work a bit to get the basket to look similar to the picture and still show up on the card. I tried white embossing powder on white first. Didn't show up enough. Next I tried white embossing powder on vintage white paper. Still no good. Lastly, I tried white embossing powder on kraft and it looked pretty good. I smeared a little fresh snow ink with a Q-tip to make it look a bit whiter and I think that is as close as I can get. I added a few little roses for no other reason other than I thought they were pretty. The card still seemed a bit bare, so I added the two layers of ribbon and the Simply Chartruese button and twine at the top. I think the card turned out pretty, and very loosely reminiscent of the inspiration photo. Thanks for taking a look!

Happy Father's Day Card

2011-06-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have been casing quite a few cards lately, and today is one of them. One of my PTI forum friends, Joyce Mehrberg (rachnsarahsmom is her PTI forum name) made a really great card that she posted in her Splitcoaststampers Gallery using Fruit Fusian, Apple a week or so ago. I could not get that card out of my mind! I love the colors she chose for the apples and the patterned paper she stamped with the cute apples. I know I should have changed it around more, but I really loved her card as is, so I only made just a few tiny adjustments to her original design. Here is Joyce's card:

Here is the card I made using her design:

The only thing I changed was the pattern on the chocolate cardbase. I used an Impression Obsession Cover a Card Woodgrain stamp and the fillable frame with the Father's Day sentiment is stamped on Ripe Avocado. Other than that, the card is pretty much identical. Thanks, Joyce for the inspiration. My Dad loved the card when I gave it to him on Father's Day. I hope you all will go over and check out Joyce's gallery. She has made some really great cards using PTI products. Here is a link to her gallery:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1990237?&cat=500&ppuser=267367

It's the Hot Fun in the Sun Challenge

2011-06-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for the Impression Obsession "It's the Hot Fun in The Sun Challenge". For more details about this challenge, look here. I don't have any Summer specific stamps, so I made do with what I do have that reminds me of summer. Watermelons. Sweet, juicy and so much fun to eat during the very hot days of Summer here in California. I based my card design on a beautiful card I received from my PTI friend, Renee Lynch of It's a Patchwork Life. She sent me a beautiful card earlier this year using Papertrey Ink's All Booked Up stamp set. Here is her card:

I always loved how she used Mat Stack #3 upside down. I thought that was such a creative way to use that die. I love the colors she chose and if you look closely, you can see she removed the brown ink from the tree leaves and replaced it with green. How long that must have taken, I can only imagine.

Here is my card based on Renee's card.

I used a Berry Sorbet cardbase and a New Leaf Mat which was stamped in Versamark with Impression Obsessions Cover a Card stamp, Screen. I have used this subtle patterned stamp on nearly every single card I make lately. It adds such great dimension to an otherwise blank piece of cardstock. Next I embossed the layer with a cuttlebug folder. Now, I think these are technically oranges or lemons, but I think they look enough like watermelons to go with the Berry Sorbet Mat Stack #3 and inked it up in Versamark with another wonderful Impression Obsession cover a card stamp, Greenery.I think it gives a really nice, interesting texture to a plain mat stack diecut. I layered a New Leaf scallop and a white circle stamped with Background Basics, text style on top of the Mat Stack. Those cute watermelons are popped up with dimensionals, and did you notice the "bite" taken from the top watermelon? A cute sentiment on a double-ended banner diecut is just what this little card needed. Some twine and a Berry Sorbet button are the finishing touches. I hope you will check out both Renee's blog and the Impression Obsession website for their Cover a Card stamps. I love them and look forward to owning more of them in the future. Thanks for taking a look at my Hot Fun in the Sun card.

Before and After- Papertrey Posse June Challenge

2011-06-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made a card and after it was done, blogged and sent on to the recipient you wished you had done it differently? I do that many times, sort of like when I think of something I should have said if only I had thought of it quick enough. Today, for the Papertrey June challenge I am going to do a little
Before and After challenge. For the May Papertrey Ink Blog Hop I made this card:

I liked it. Was satisfied with it, except...I didn't like the chopped off look to the doily. I wished I could have a do-over, so that is what I did. Here is the "After" card.

Can you notice the changes?

I used the whole doily this time, just let it extend a bit over the edge of the card. I cut the gingham layer a little bit narrower, so more of the brown card base shows and rounded the cardbase corner. It seems more balanced this way. I changed the flower image and added some glitter to it. I tied some bakers twine around the images and added the cute little gardening tools for a little bit more interest.

I am much more pleased with this card, what do you think?

Button Boutique - Butterfly Style

2011-06-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

It all started with a "cased" card.

This card was the reason I bought Garden Variety and Wildflower Garden. Michelle Wooderson made the original seen here. I loved it. I love the text style stamped over the Fruitti Tutti patterned paper and the beautiful red strawberries. Now, I don't have any vintage bookprint. Wish I did, but I don't so I used what I had and stamped some Impression Obsession Cover a Card Newsprint and distressed the edges. I think it looks almost as good as vintage bookprint, don't you? I changed the sentiment to fit a birthday, added a little honey bee (thanks, Joyce) and I love how this card turned out. Except it was almost identical to Michelle's original card. For that reason, I had to make another card, same basic sketch, just mixed up a little.

Here is my take on the same sketch, what I call Button Boutique - Butterfly Style

I used royal velvet cardstock stamped with Impression Obsession Cover a Card Woodgrain in versamark for the card base. The newsprint is stamped on ocean tides with Memento Grape Jelly ink. I would never have thought ocean tides and royal velvet went together so well, but they are GORGEOUS together. The button card is rustic white and the little pinked square is stamped with Background Basics Text style in versamark. Those adorable buttons are from Making Memories and I sewed them on with some purple floss. I stamped the sentiment and the wildflowers in rustic cream ink. I added a few diecut butterflies cut from Bitty Box papers, popped up with a few pearls colored with copics. This time, I wised-up and made an extra button card in a PTI seed packet to give to my PTI friends that I am sending these cards to. I want them to "use" the buttons and I realized that I would never cut up a card someone sent me, so to use the cute buttons, there better be an extra set included with the card. I have had such fun making button cards this past week. I am going to have to force myself to use another set. Thanks for taking a look.

Button Boutique-Cupcake & Cherry Style

2011-06-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

Another card today using Button Boutique and some unique buttons. Unique, because they didn't come from Papertrey Ink, that is. I have enjoyed making a few button cards for friends lately, so I wanted to try to make another one using a couple of cupcake and cherry buttons I found at JoAnns. I also have a new Cuttlebug 5 x 7 folder I wanted to try with...you guessed it, cupcakes on it! I used Plum Pudding cardstock embossed with the cupcake folder and a small layer of Hibiscus Burst embossed with a polka dot folder. A sentiment from Cupcake Collection is embossed in white on the pink mat. The button card itself is made from white cardstock with Hawaiian Shores ink. I just love that I can customize every button card I make depending on the size of the buttons. These buttons are fairly large, so I didn't use a pinked cardstock square on this card. I sewed the buttons directly onto the card and since it needed a bit more color, I added a little strip of Aqua Mist cardstock embossed with the linen impression plate. I cut it to a point and added a few rhinestones for some bling. I hope my friend actually uses these buttons someday on a card. I would get such a kick out it.