dreams come true

The design for this card has been in my head for quite some time. I am in love with the hot air balloons image from Everyday Button Bits by Papertrey Ink. What isn’t there to like about hot air balloons? :) Aside from the balloons, I also love the little clouds. I made those using the new Labels 6 from Spellbinders. Great label shape, darling clouds. I am just glad the picture in my head translated to the card! Yay!

You know, dreams really do come true. And I know this personally. So this card makes me smile to the bottom of my toes, knowing its truth. Here’s to hoping that your dreams come true too! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:-Papertrey Ink-Stamps(Everyday Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics), Cardstock (Kraft, Stamper’s Select White, Pure Poppy), Patterned paper (Bitty Box Basics), Ink (Dark Chocolate), Buttons (Pure Poppy), Twine (Rustic White), Fiskars Punch-Apron, Spellbinders die template-Labels 6, Double Ended Tags

Happy Halloween

Good morning! Yes, I am in Halloween mode. This card was super easy, but its cute, so you gotta love that. :) I used some Cosmo Cricket rub-ons I had laying around and thought they would look neat on black cardstock. I started with the cobwebs and stars on the base. I applied the skeleton to a rectangle I cut out. I mounted the rectangle on a Long Scalloped Rectangle die shape in Summer Sunrise. Then I applied the sentiment banner to another piece of black cardstock, cut it out, and foam mounted it to the front.

Make sure and stop by Flourishes for Timeless Tuesday, fun challenge and fun news! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-Rub-ons-Cosmo Cricket (Haunted), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (True Black, Summer Sunrise), Spellbinders die template-Long Scalloped Rectangles Large

ETA: We got home late, late, late Monday night. The trip was long, but good. We are looking for a new place to live. DH's company is really stuggling and we are making contingent plans, because honestly, we don't know how long we can stay here. Its scary. I have lived here my entire life and DH for over 15 years. Both of our families are here and the thought of leaving is overwhelming. I know that God has a plan for us and He knows our hearts, but not worrying is tough. I am working on it. The trip was not without a bright spot. We met up with a dear and sweet stamping friend and her hubby. In all the stress, they showed us a wonderful time in a new city and we laughed the evening away. If that wasn't God working... :) thanks for letting me ramble a bit and for all the prayers for the weekend!! (((HUGS)))

Damask Halloween

This card has been sitting on my desk for a while, wow, since not too long after CHA. It was unfinished. I got home and HAD to try out the new Sticker Background Technique with Fun Flock from Stampendous. Its fun. Really fun. There is a wonderful video that you can watch HERE about how to do this.

To start with, I cut a piece of ThermOWeb doubled sided adhesive sheet to the size I wanted. I peeled off the backing and applied it to the black card base.

Then I peeled two damask stickers off and applied Plain Ol’ Black Fun Flock to the sticky side. Peeling the top double sided adhesive sheet backing off of the card base, I gently placed the damask stickers where I wanted. You can finagle the stickers a bit on the adhesive sheet, but not much, so commit carefully. :)

Here is the fun part, dump a ton of white Fun Flock all over the adhesive sheet and damask stickers. Rub it in a circular motion until the background becomes mostly white. Tap off the excess and with a paint brush, sweep away the white Fun Flock from the damask stickers. Isn’t that cool? :)

So, back to my card sitting there, staring at me, begging me to be completed. I got into Halloween mode and thought, hey, damask is pretty cool for Halloween, why not add an orange ribbon and go for it? To add to the spooky look, I distressed the edges with a tool and added white ink.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We will be home very, very late tonight, so I have the whole week of posts scheduled. thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Fun Flock-Stampendous (Plain Ol’ Black, Cotton Ball White), Damask Stickers-Stampendous, Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (True Black), Stamps-Papertrey Ink (Spooky Sweets), Hero Arts (Happy Owl-oween), Ink-Palette (Fresh Snow), Ribbon-Papertrey Ink (Orange Zest Grosgrain), Twine-Papertrey Ink (Rustic White), Gems-Hero Arts, Spellbinders die templates-Tags Five

hello friend

The most prevalent color combination I noticed at CHA was red, yellow, green, and brown. I LOVE those colors together and this Front Porch line from Jenni Bowlin is the perfect example! This card uses the mini papers that measure 4x4. Perfect for cards! ( can I say perfect a few more times? :))

The Ribbon Tag Trio 2 from Spellbinders is a wonderful new release to have in your collection! What I really like about them is that the slider part is larger, so you can use a wider ribbon, like the one I used. I also like that I can use my Ovals and make a center piece that can be foam mounted. Wonderful for sentiments and maybe a JustRite stamp…ooohh there is an idea to try… :)

Well, as this post goes live, DH and I will be on the road until late Monday nightvery early Tuesday. Pray that we will have a safe journey and that questions will be answered. We need God to close one door completely so we can find the window. Thanks. (this statement is sort of laughable, I always want things in my time and not His) enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Patterned paper-Jenni Bowlin (Front Porch Mini), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Rustic White), Stamps-Papertrey Ink (Friends Til the End), Ink-Palette (Dark Chocolate), Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown), Ribbon-Offray, Spellbinders die templates-Ribbon Tag Trio 2, Scalloped Squares Large, Ovals Large

Don't forget about the coupon code good for 25% off at the CK/Paper Crafts online store. The code can be found HERE. And all the fun starting at the World Card Making Day website! :) And to make life a little easier, I moved the code and the link to the right side bar, under the World Card Making Day logo. HTH! :)

pendant pumpkins

I am starting to get into the fall spirit of things! I want to decorate and bake and wear sweatshirts… I thought these simple pumpkins would be a great table decoration, one that even the kids can help with! (another Spellbinders project, this one is from June...at least getting to share it now was good blog timing! LOL! :))

• Start by cutting out several large and small Spellbinders Pedant shapes. For these pumpkins, I used Eyelet.
• You will need 6 large circles for the large pumpkin and 4 small circles for the small ones.
• Fold each circle in half, so that the orange is on the inside.
• Glue each non-orange side of the circle to the next, being sure to line up the center fold lines. (keep a small space open at the top for the stem to be glued in)
• The stem is made from cutting out the smallest Label Trio shape with brown cardstock. Glue it in between the circles.
• Cut the bottom of the circles off, to allow them to stand.

See? Fun and easy! (which is good, the little man has a cold, we are packing for a not-really-for-fun weekend trip, and I am trying to meet a ton of deadlines...anyone have a few more hours they can share? LOL) thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies: Spellbinders die templates-Eyelet Pendant, Label Trio (for stem), Patterned paper-My Mind's Eye (Free Bird Love Desire), Leaf Ribbon-Creative Impression

my sunshine: button tutorial

Well another good morning to you! This card started with me playing around with new Pink Persimmon stamps. I was stamping the small Banner set and thought that they looked like rays of sunshine. I then stamped the letters to spell out “my sunshine” using the small Soda Pop Alpha. I cut out a couple of circles and adhered the letters to the backside. The button in the center is kind of fun and I wanted to show you really quickly how you can make your own custom buttons and twine.

You will need a clear button, a small piece of patterned paper, and glue. Elmer’s sent me a ton of glue to play with because they have a handful of new paper crafting glues. I have always used this glue stick for this application. This is the best glue stick. I love it. It works perfectly with paper to paper, or in this case, paper to button.

The glue is blue. Very, very blue. But never fear, your projects will not have any smurf-like qualities.

Apply the glue to the button surface. If you get excess glue in the button holes, I strongly recommend you remove it with a paper piercer or something else that can reach.

On the left is the wet button. On the right is the dry one. It takes 2-3 minutes to dry. Pretty cool, huh? :)

I wanted to tie yellow twine through my button, but I didn’t have any. So I took some Papertrey Ink Rustic White twine and colored it with my Copic marker. Place a piece of scratch paper underneath your twine. Use the chisel end of your marker and color the twine. Perfectly coordinating twine every time!

To make bow-tying easier, I run my twine through my button first. Then I adhere it to its proper location.

By having the twine attached to a larger surface, it becomes much easier to tie and play around with tying your bow.

I hope this brought a little smile and a little brightness to your day! Have fun making buttons too! thanks ever so much for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Pink Persimmon (Small Banner, Small Soda Pop Alpha), Ink-Palette (Paris Lights, Noir), Patterned paper-October Afternoon (Ducks In A Row), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink, Twine-Papertrey Ink (Rustic White), Button-Hero Arts, Copic-Y15

Have you made plans for World Card Making Day yet? Make sure and check out the website and join in! AND because its nice to have some inspiration, don’t forget the coupon for the CK/Paper Crafts online store that I have for you! COUPON You know, this coupon is pretty nice. Now that certain crafting stores don’t take coupons for magazines or books. You can get a good price on your favorite special issues! Yay!! :)

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

“It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC34)! This week Silke Ledlow is our challenge host. Silke is challenging us to a technique. We are to try Stamp Misting. You ink the stamp, mist with water, then stamp. You can decide if you want your stamp mist image to be the background, focal image, accent element, or all three. We would love to see what you create!!!” Check out the rest of the team: Betty Wright , Cindy Haffner, Dee Jackson,
Silke Ledlow

I slightly altered the misting technique for this card and used it to create the leaves. I started by misting European watercolor paper with water and pushed my Distressing inks into it. Then I misted more water over the inks until I achieved the look I desired. I put the paper aside to dry for a while. Once dry, I stamped the largest flourish image from, Autumn Flourishes, in brown ink. Then I cut two Nesting Maple Leaves out of the paper I had created. I have to say, it was pretty fun playing around! :) The card design came from this week’s sketch from 2Sketches4You.

I am off to Community Bible Study this morning while the little man goes to pre-school. We are studying Luke this year. Oh, its been wonderful so far! I hope that your week is starting out wonderfully! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Flourishes (Autumn Flourishes), Watercolor paper-Flourishes (European Watercolor ), Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Ledger-Boyfriend, Clouds-Earth Love), Ink-Palette (Dark Chocolate), Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown), Twine and Lace-May Arts, Spellbinders die templates-Nesting Maple Leaves, Squares Large, Tags Five

Check HERE for the coupon code in honor of World Card Making Day. Its for 25% off the CK/Paper Crafts online store. Isn’t this going to be fun? :)

autumn blessings

I have fall on the brain! There is something about these colors that just speak to me. The papers are a new line from Making Memories called, Autumn Splendor, that I found at Michael’s the other day. Sigh. Love. But for me, its always paper love. :) The leaves are from Tattered Angels. They are called Glimmer Glass and these are from the Crème de Cocoa collection. Gorgeous pieces that can be colored with the mist.

AND…today is coupon day!! Check out the World Card Making Day website. Today all the 25 bloggers are listed and we all can share our coupon code! This coupon is good for 25% off your purchase at the CK/Paper Crafts online store. It is valid until midnight (MDT) on October 12.

CODE: GACZ-LCUJ-UDV2

Have fun shopping! :) thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:Patterned paper-Making Memories, Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Kraft, Pure Poppy), Stamps-Papertrey Ink (First Fruits), Ink-Palette (Dark Chocolate), Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown), Twine-May Arts, Twill-Michael’s, Button-Papertrey Ink (Dark Chocolate), Punch-Fiskars (Upper Crest) Glimmer Glass-Nature (Tattered Angels)

WINNER!

Congrats to the winner of the Pink Persimmon stamp set! And it is...
Jenny said...
Congrats! I'm loving the Little Red Wagon set :)
September 16, 2009 10:36 PM
I have already emailed you with further instructions!! CONGRATS and enjoy!!


Have I said thank you enough lately? Oh my, I certainly need to! Every single person that visits and leaves a comment is SO sweet and thoughtful!! I might love paper, but the women that I meet, work with, and get to interact with, make paper crafting a blessing! My sincerest thanks for all the congrats and all the comments!!! Enjoy your weekends!! (((HUGS))) and thanks for stopping by!

JustRite Font Mega Blog Hop

“Welcome to Day Two of the JustRite Mega Font Hop! Today is the second day of a two day hop featuring 54 amazing designers – 28 locations on each day! If you missed yesterday's blog hop you can find it by clicking here. You won't believe what awesome projects these girls have designed for you! To give you a little incentive to leave these talented ladies a little love for all their hard work, We have Mystery Blog Candy being given away! Do you want to win some candy?? Of course you do – everyone loves candy!!! The Mystery is, no one knows which blog is the one that will be giving it away. Nope, not even the designers! There are 3 Blog Candy prizes each day which will go to 3 random commenter's from three random designers blogs. So, to win some (JR Candy) go check out all the blogs, comment on as many as you can from the two day hop. You have until Sunday at noon EST to leave your comments. Good luck, the lucky winner may be YOU!!! You have 6 chances to win Check back at the JR blog on Sunday Evening to find out who the six lucky winners are!! Enjoy the Hop!!!”

Welcome! And here is my contribution to this amazing blog hop! Can you believe all the talent? All the projects are fabulous and will make you want to run and stamp! :)

I saw some cute letters like these in a local boutique. I thought, hmmm, I could make my own…I went and bought medium (2”) wood blocks at Michael’s. I covered them in paper. Sanded the edges and inked all the edges with black ink. The bat is a wood shape that I covered with patterned paper. I made a hole in the block (tapped my paper piercer into the top with a small eyelet hammer) and glued the small piece of wire, I curled, into the top.

To make the letter circles, I first cut and embossed circles from patterned paper, using my Spellbinders Classic Circles Large. Then I stamped the saying from Witch Way to the Treats in black ink. The letters in the center are Brayton font 95 pt. letters, also stamped in black ink. The letter circles were layered onto Spellbinders Inverted Circles Large.

To finish the blocks off, I stamped spiders and spider webs on all the sides, in the same black ink. Hope you enjoyed this little home decor project! thanks for stopping by and be sure and visit all the ladies on the list below! :)

COOL NEWS: JustRite is celebrating this Mega Font Hop in style with a Super7 Day Font Sale. Take 30% off all JustRite font sets and the Horizontal and Vertical Font Stampers. Sale begins Sept 17th and ends Sept 24th.

JustRite Stampers Blog
Debbie Olson
Jerri Kay Jimenez
Taylor Van Bruggen
Holly Simoni
Barb Schram
Terre Frye
Michelle Kovack
Kim Moreno
Catherine Doucette
Kellie Fortin
Kimberly Crawford
Kathy Jones
Michelle Giraud
Angela Barkhouse
Heather Pulvirenti
Tami Mayberry
Jennifer Buck
Keri Lee Sereika
Jami Bova
Laura Davis
Stacey Kingman
Bonnie Sharp
Stephanie Severin
Janine Orchard
Debbie Seyer
Margie Higuchi
Lauren Bergold
Anja Curvers 

AJ Otto

Supplies: Stamps-JustRite (Witch Way to the Treats, Brayton Uppercase Font, 1 3/16" handle), Patterned paper-My Mind’s Eye (The Spider’s Web), Ink-Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Wood blocks and bat-Michael’s, Other stamps-Hero Arts (Happy Owl-oween), Spellbinders die templates-Classic Circles, Inverted Circles Large

World Card Making Day

Got any good plans for World Card Making Day yet? No? Good! Then you can spend it with me and all the fun that Paper Crafts magazine has planned for Saturday, October 3!!

First thing is the Blog Hop! You can find out all the details HERE. 25 bloggers have been asked to participate in a card making hop on Saturday, and YOU can join along in all the fun! If you are doing something special, link your blog up at the link above, and inspire others and be inspired.

As part of the Blog Hop, I get to offer you a 25% off coupon!!! This coupon code will be posted here on my blog on September 21. Take advantage of this 25% discount to treat yourself to anything in the Paper Crafts/CK online store. You can even take care of your holiday shopping now -- but you'll have to act fast, because the coupon expires at midnight (MDT) on October 12.

Then, explore the World Card Making Day website. There is a gallery already full of great projects and inspiration from the sponsors. AND you have a chance to enter a card and win some fabulous prizes. Check out all the contest info HERE.

There is so much more happening, that I am sure I am forgetting something. Just stay tuned here, and at Moxie Fab World, and Paper Crafts Connections for all the latest.

And finally, what you were really looking for, a card. :) I was playing around with some new Jenni Bowlin goodness. And oh, goodness it is!! Everything in the booth at CHA blew me away and it was even better playing with it!! I also have to mention the new Spellbinders dies, Fancy Tags. You haven’t seen me use them much (‘cause I can’t share yet) but hang on to your hats (DS’s new favorite expression) because I will be using them a ton!

Stop by tomorrow and see my project for the 2 day JustRite Stampers Font Blog Hop (which is starting today!). thanks for stopping by!!! (((HUGS)))

Supplies: Stamps-Hero Arts (Everyday Messages), Patterned paper, Chipboard button, Crepe Paper-Jenni Bowlin (Front Porch), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Rustic White) Button-Blumenthal Lansing, Gems-Hero Arts, Twine-Martha Stewart, Spellbinders die templates-Fancy Tags

Pink Persimmon Stamps!!

YAY! Some fun news!! I have been following this stamp company called, Pink Persimmon for almost a year now. They just had their first creative team call and I have been asked to join the team! I am over the moon with excitement and I cannot wait for you to see all their fantastic stamps!!!

As part of the fun, you have a chance to win a set of Pink Persimmon stamps! Leave me a comment here telling us your favorite Pink Persimmon stamp set, and you will be entered in a random drawing, from my blog only. Now, if you are in love with these stamps as much as I am, then check out the rest of the team’s blogs. They will all be giving away a random set of stamps too! :) You have until Saturday the 19th at 6 AM (CST) to leave an entry. PLEASE leave me an email address too, or YOU CANNOT win! :)

• Linda Beeson
• Julie Detlef
• Samantha Sibbet
• Kelly Schirmer
• Kristie Larsen

thanks for letting me share and for stopping by! good luck! :)

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

“It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC33)! This week Betty Wright is our challenge host. Betty is challenging us to Mix It Up!!! We are using stamps, dp, textures, or a combination of all three to mix different patterns. You can blend subtle patterns for a conservative look or go all out with bold and daring patterns for an extreme look. The choice is yours!!! We would love to see what you create!!!”

Check out the rest of the team:

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson

Silke Ledlow

Hello!!! Oh my goodness! It is SO good to be back in computer land again!! Thanks for all your sweet emails and comments while I was computerless and for being so patient!! I have so much to share with you-news, blog hops, secrets, so much fun, so expect me back in posting form! :)

Today’s challenge was to mix up patterns. I knew I had to use the flamingo from the newest Flourishes set, Think Pink-Fight Like A Girl. Its a breast cancer awareness set and part of the proceeds of each set sold will be donated to breast cancer research. I added some great new Cosmo Cricket paper, Jolly by Golly, but it was missing something. Then I thought of the palm trees in the Beach Life set and they worked wonderfully. Flourishes is sponsoring the sketch at 2Sketches4You this week. I used the sketch on this card. Check out their sketches-fabulous inspiration!! thanks a million for stopping by again! :)

Supplies: Stamps-Flourishes (Think Pink-Fight Like A Girl, Beach Life), Cardstock-Flourishes (Classic White), Ink-Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Palette (New Leaf, Raspberry Fizz), Twine-May Arts, Copics-R29, BV20, Trim-Cosmo Cricket, Spellbinders Die Templates-Classic Rectangles Large

No computer

Long time no post! Sorry about that!! My computer died on Monday. Eeekk! The parts are supposed to be here in 3-5 days...keep your fingers crossed!! I have limited email checking ability and very very very limited internet ability. Thank goodness for my PDA!! Hopefully next week I will be posting again and back in internet land!! Have a good weekend! thanks for stopping by!

Impressabilities Tutorial: Glass Etching

Good morning! Its another exciting post for me, as I can share with you this fun technique with Spellbinders Impressabilities! I used glass etching cream and a small mirror to create a beautiful candle plate.

For this tutorial, I am going to show you on a glass ornament, which also takes the glass etching cream beautifully! (hey, there is another great Christmas present idea! :))

You will need:

• Spellbinders Impressabilities
• Gloves to protect your hands
• Glass Etching cream
• Foam brush
• Repositionable adhesive (recommend 3L)
• Glass object
• Paper to protect your work surface

Start by placing repositionable adhesive on the back of your Impressabilities. I am recommending the green dot runner from 3L because it comes off easily when you wash the glass etching cream off at the end of this process. Make sure that you have the Impressabilities COMPLETELY adhered and flat against your glass surface.

Put gloves on to protect your hands and work in a well ventilated area. Apply the cream thickly to the entire glass surface. This will not harm your Impressabilities.

Look at the pile of cream in the top left—see how thick it is? Your ENTIRE glass surface should be covered like this. Leave the cream sit for several minutes. The directions say less, but the longer it sits, the better the pattern from the Impressabilities appeared. Once time has passed, wash the cream off the glass and the Impressabilities. The glass will be permanently etched.

Here is another view of the glass etched mirror. Hope you had a good long weekend! Tomorrow the little man starts pre-school, so its a busy day making sure we have everything ready to go for the morning. I am excited for him and his new adventure, but we shall see how I really feel tomorrow after I drop him off! :) thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Spellbinders Impressabilities (Flower), Glass Etching Cream (Michael’s), 3L Adhesive (Repositionable Dots)

Video Tutorial: creating a card

This card will appear in the Paper Crafts Special Issue, Stamp It! in January 2010.

Happy Friday everyone! Today’s video tutorial is about the fun and easy rubber stamp kissing technique. The video starts with a quick how-to and then I go through how I made this card. I am still learning a lot about videos, so be patient with me. The camera angle is a bit funky, so forgive me! And my glamour and style shine through once again! LOL! :) I ended up cutting out quite a bit of the video, because, I apparently am chatty. This is not shocking news. :) It gets worse when I get excited about things too…Like I said, I am learning. And if there is something you would like to see a video about, please drop me an email.

Here is a link to the video: creating a card

A quick peek at the kissing technique on the card flower. This was fun. I love it when an idea works out! :)

The WINNER!! The winner is Rox-Ann who left this comment:

Rox-Ann said...
Super Congrats and beautiful card! My favorite Halloween costume was a Ninja Turtle costume I made for one of my son's Halloween costume it turned out so cute and he loved it. Have a great day!September 2, 2009 7:50 AM

Email me at the address listed under my photo and congrats!!

Thanks for all the wonderful Halloween stories! They made me smile all day long! And brought back so many wonderful memories of all the amazing costumes that my mom made through the years. I think next year we will have to skip the store bought costume and get a little more creative!! Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Hero Arts (Modern Lines), Papertrey Ink (Beautiful Blooms, Vintage Picnic Sentiments), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Kraft), Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Earth Love), Ink-Palette (Raw Sienna, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Fresh Snow), Buttons-Papertrey Ink, Twine-Papertrey Ink (Rustic White), Twill-May Arts