Counting Christmas Tag Book

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

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

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?

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

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

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)

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

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

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!

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?