Class Holiday Card...

Since I'm not going to be able to be at my son's class holiday party tomorrow, I was volunteered to make the card for his teacher from the kids. To keep it pretty holiday neutral, I chose a snowman and winter theme. My "go-to" snowman are drawn by Zlatoena- you can tell I love them because I have so many of them:))

I used paper from My Mind's Eye "The Merry Days of Christmas" set for the background layers and to paper piece his scarf- I've been hoarding the last few sheets forever, but decided it was time to break them out for this card! The last bits were colored with Copics and some snow and a sparkly snowflake give him a little sparkle. A added a greeting from Verve's "Glad Tidings" set- need to break that one out more often!

I was under the gun to get this card delivered to the class mom who is taking care of the gift and party, so no pictures of the inside. I adhered white card stock on both the upper and lower panels of the inside so there would be plenty of room for 22-3rd grade (i.e. not so small) signatures:)) and added the greeting "Happy Holidays from all of us" which says it all!

Hope you're having a good day- as the days are marching down, I'm just trying to remember to breathe!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Fluffy Snowman (Zlatina), Glad Tidings- Verve
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: "The Merry Days of Christmas"-MME, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestability dies, MS snowflake punch, Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Rhinestone Brads, dimesionals, MS tinsel glitter

Beautiful Season...

The days are dwindling fast toward Christmas and I am definitely WAY behind! I extracted my Christmas decorations and outdoor lights from our storage unit (may need a chiropractor after this episode!) and decorated all the bushes in front of the rental house we are in. I would be SO much more enthusiastic if I were decorating my own house, but my kids expect Mrs. Santa to make wherever we are "festive"!



I tend to be more of the Santa Claus, snowman and jingle bells kind of Christmas card maker, but this set, Beautiful Season, from Stampin' Up really appealed to me when I saw it. The main image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, heat set then colored with Copic markers. An embossed rectangle border was created with a Nestability rectangle die using a Sizzix Big Shot. I left the die in place and sponged the background with Sahara Sand ink. A little leftover paper from Basic Grey Figgy Pudding, a double bow using Artichoke Seam Binding ribbon and some antique brads finish off this CAS card.

The inside was finished with a repeat of the patterned paper, seam binding ribbon and a die cut greeting from the set. This was so fast and pretty- I will definitely make several of these to mail out to friends and family!

Today is the day to tackle the tree- we'll see who wins:))

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Beautiful Season
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Sahara Sand
Paper: Figgy Pudding, Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestabilty dies, antique brass brads, Artichoke Seam binding ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Frosty Day

 Good morning! I don't know about you, but today is definitely a TGIF kinda day for me- what a crazy week! I'm capping it off as the "math volunteer" in my son's 3rd grade class this morning, which I was really looking forward to, until my son told me there would be a substitute teacher today- bring on the Advil-lol!

Now back to posting the card I started with yesterday. I just received a huge box of Stampin' Up goodies last weekend and haven't even sorted them out before I began to dig around for this adorable set called "Polar Party"from the Idea Book & Catalog. I love the fact that you can create a whole scene with the clear mount stamps on the block before stamping it- then it's guaranteed to line up on the paper!

The scene was colored with Stampin' Up markers, most from the new 2011-2013 In-Colors set (LOVE those shades!). I added a little snow on the ground and around the edges and some glitter overlay to the tree ornament.  I opened up digital paper from the "Frosty Day II" set, resized it for 6x6 to make the pattern appropriately sized for a card, then printed the pages on my Canon printer. The layers were stitched together on my sewing machine. A little ribbon bow made with the Melon Mambo Scallop dots ribbon and some rhinestones complete the card.

The inside was finished with the leftover paper I printed out, a strip of Melon Mambo punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch (it makes it look just like ribbon!), some stitching and a layered die-cut greeting. I like the alternate Christmas colors, especially the turquoise and pinks!

This weekend will be a blur of decorating, shopping and planning for Christmas, but I'm planning to sneak some good stamping time in, so stop back by!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Polar Party
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Frosty Day II (Digital), Early Espresso, Pool Party, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, nestability dies, Melon Mambo Scallop dots ribbon, basic rhinestones, snow glitter, dimensionals, Tombow liquid glue

Frosty {Sneak Peek}

It was certainly a frosty morning here in Atlanta- 29 degrees-brr! I had to scrape ice off the windshield of my car for the first time in 12 years- luckily a little elf bought me a scraper and left it in my car (thanks honey:))

Speaking of frosty, here's a sneak peek at a card I finished last night...

Forgot to upload pictures of the inside, so stop around tomorrow to see the rest! Check out all the wonderful Christmas sets in the Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalog and the Holiday Mini (links to the left). Stampin' Up has some great deals in their online store, including the digital set "Frosty Day" which I used to make this card- check it out by hitting the "Shop Now" link!

You Warm My Heart

I thought I was on cruise control this morning when I had completed three round trips to the swim club to shuttle kids to and from practice and picked up our Christmas tree, when I got the call that the tree removal guys had hit the water main in front of new house-dooh! Instant derailment. Our neighbors must hate us now because they had to shut off water to the entire street while they get it fixed-yikes! I will have to make some special Christmas cookies to make up for this!

OK, finally onto my card for the day~ This card may look like a repost of the one from yesterday, but it is actually a MIM (More is More) version of that cure little bear. After I made the first one, I realized what things I would change/add, so I decided to make a more embellished version and put it out to you all to vote which one you like better.

Changes: the plaid pattern was sized well for his shirt, but it was too small for the base of the card, so I sized the digital paper to 6x6; layers were stitched together; bear was cut out and layered onto light plaid oval for additional layer; added multilayer snowflake with chunky glitter, rhinestones and sparkly ribbon; changed greeting.

Some more stitching and Glimmer Brads were added to the inside as well as a different greeting. These cards just show how a little "more" makes a big difference!

Have a great day!

Countdown to Christmas!

Good morning! It's a chilly 28 degrees here in Atlanta this morning and there is a thick layer of glistening frost on the lawn, bushes and rooftops. My poor little southern children thought it has snowed-lol! This cool weather has finally gotten me back in the mood for stamping and creating- it's been a long time since my craft room has seen any action!

I am challenging myself this holiday season to make (and post!) at least one project every day from now until Christmas- that's going to be a bit of a hat trick for me since I will be working in the NICU the last two weeks of December, but I'm going to give it a shot!

The first card of the season is a true hybrid of digital and real elements. It starts with this adorable digital image from Birdie Brown (Torico). The bear was printed twice- once on Whisper White and once on paper from SU's Frostwood Lodge digital collection. I opened the plaid "paper" in Photoshop, re-sized the paper from 12x12 to 4x6 (which made the print smaller and more appropriately sized for the bear's shirt). The shirt and hat were paper pieced onto the white image after he was colored with Copics. Rule of thumb: color before gluing! I used some white flocking powder to give the edges of his hat some fluff:)

The rest of the card went together pretty simply- the Garden Green background was embossed using the Houndstooth textured impressions folder, the snowflake edge done by a MS punch and the layers cut with Nestability dies. Spoiler alert: Stampin' Up has finally joined the nested die world and will be coming out with some great dies in January in the Occasions Mini- stay tuned! A few Glimmer Brads in the corners and a some fluffy tinsel over the Real Red satin ribbon and it's done!

 

 The inside was finished with a computer generated greeting and another strip of the Frostwood Lodge paper sized for 6x6. I was going to keep this card on my desk as a start to the holiday mood, but a colleague at work really needed that bear hug yesterday, so it's on her desk instead:))

Come back around tomorrow- I'll have this card as a "More Is More" version- super sparkly and cozy!

Have a great day!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Bear with Cocoa- Birdie Brown (Torico)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge DP (digital)
Ink: Canon MX850 printer
Accessories: Houndstooth embossing folder, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine,Nestability dies, Real Red satin ribbon, white flocking powder, dimensionals, liquid glue, snowflake edge punch

Trick or Treat- if you dare....

Good morning! It's a nippy 38 degrees in Atlanta- a true taste of fall and I'm finally starting to get into the Halloween mood! The Stampin' Up Holiday Mini catalog is out and there are some fabulous papers and sets for all the upcoming holidays. This year there is a larger variety of digital kits/stamps/paper, which are really great if you're budget and space are tight. I have no room to store anything while we're in temporary housing, so digi works great for me:))

I challenged myself to make an "all SU" card this time and resisted the urge to use my Nestie dies, etc. I started with the digital kits "Pick Your Poison" and "Piece of Poison" to make the main image. These digi kits are great because they can be used in My Digital Studio or in other programs like Photoshop. I layered the elements together to make the gravestone, printed it out on Very Vanilla card stock and layered it onto some Basic Black.

I printed paper from the "Frightful Sight" collection, resized to 6x6 inches so the pattern would be a good size for a card, and added a punched border of Cajun Craze. I used the awesome "Simply Scored" to make the fan from paper in the "Wicked Fun" set, scoring every 1/4" of a 1-1/4"x12" strip. A thick glue dot holds the fan together at the back and another attaches the designer button to front. A little bakers twine and a few of the black rhinestones left from last year finish it off.

I repeated the theme on the inside, changing the size of the skeleton and adding a spooky greeting. Super fun to do and the images are "stamped" perfectly every time! Hybrid card making is definitely something to try!

I'm off to watch Emily swim a mile race- I can barely run a mile- can't imagine how this kid can swim one-lol!

Have a great day~

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Piece of Poison, Pick Your Poison
Paper: Frightful Sight, Wicked Fun, Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla
Ink: None!
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Simply Scored, Baker's Twine, black rhinestones, Trim lace, dimensionals, 3D glue dots, sewing machine

Something Blue...

 My sister emailed me last week and asked for help with a wedding card for some friends of hers that were getting married. She had searched the stores and couldn't seem to come up with the right card for a couple with an alternative lifestyle, so little sister to the rescue!

I searched some quote sites for a bit before I came up with a quote that I thought really summed up their relationship- not too mushy, not too religious, but meaningful. I used two fonts in Photoshop to accent the important words and fit the words to fit the die I planned to use. I stamped an image from the The rest was fairly simple- some pretty flocked background paper, cream silk ribbon, and some pearls.

The inside was finished with a simple "congratulations" on a die-cut mat and some more of the pretty flocked paper. A clean and simple card in 10 minutes! The card is much prettier IRL, but I was rushed to get pictures of it before I sent it off to my big sis in the mail- she'll vouch for me:)

Hope your day is off to a good start!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up: Note to Self, Warmest Regards
Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, "Garden Party"-DCWV
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestability dies, silk ribbon, Basic Pearls, dimensionals,

Hey Toad Sister...

This is what happens when I use the tween's music list for running- I get her tunes stuck in my head, lol! I was inspired by Linda McCain's awesome Halloween card found {here} and decided I had to make a card of my own with this stamp!

I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics. The background was paper from the retired Stampin' Up "Night & Day" paper pack, stitched to some Gable Green and Basic Black cut with Nestability dies. Sewing in a circle was stressful for me, but looks cool! The ravens were cut from a page in the My Mind's Eye "Spider's Web" pack- I think they add to the anxious look on his face. I wasn't keen on the greeting that went with the stamp, so I printed one out my daughter came up with using Photoshop.

The inside is finished with coordinating papers, stitching and a computer-generated greeting. My son loves this card (or at least the idea of turning his sister into a toad!) so this may be his for Halloween.

Hope your Monday is painless!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Toad Sister (Eat Cake Graphics)
Paper: Basic Black, Gable Green, Whisper White, DP- K&Co
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestability dies, sewing machine, Baker's twine, button, silver brads

Sizzle My Circuits!

Rain, sweet rain! We have lived in Atlanta for almost 2 months now and, with the exception of a few short rain showers, this is the first rainy day we've had. I wish it were tomorrow instead of my holiday, but hey, I'll take the water!

We have a bunch of birthday parties coming up, so I figured I would get a jump on making some cards so I'm not caught short the day of the party (also makes a gift card much more attractive!). I started with this adorable robot image from Torico's "Birdie Brown" shop and dug out my "Cogsmo" paper from Cosmo Cricket- what a great match!

I didn't want to cover the robot in the background of the paper, so I cut out my little guy and attached him with dimensionals. Because this is going to a boy, I had to keep the embellishments simple- a bit of cool stitching, silver brads and a die cut greeting - definitely NO ribbon!

The inside is finished with a coordinating strip from the paper pack, another die cut and a computer generated greeting.

Since I get questions about this, here are the Copic colors I used on this card...

I'm off to enjoy this rainy day in my craft room:))))))

Supplies:
Stamps: "Robot with Balloon"-Torico
Paper: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Buckaroo Blue, Peach Parfait, "Cogsmo"-Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Copic markers, Sizzix Big Shot, Nestabilities, Sewing machine, dimensionals

Bring on the Cake!

 Last week I bought whole bunch of digital stamps from Torico's Birdie Brown Etsy shop- it was hard to stop at just a few;)) Her images are whimsical and just downright cute! I decided to give this birthday pup a try since I have several boy birthdays coming up.

I like the color combination in the "True Blue" patterned paper pad from My Mind's Eye and colored the pup and his presents with Copics to match. I ended up with more layers than I planned, but it's only postage, right?! The greeting was generated in Photoshop and accented with an orange button from the Brights Collection-Stampin' Up. When it was all laid out, it looked like it needed something more- a strip of Espresso cut with the ZigZag border die from MFT fit the bill perfectly!

The inside was finished with a strip of the number paper, a coordinating zigzag and a punched greeting. It's my nephew's birthday today, so this one will be a bit late- hopefully the present will make up for it!

Hope you having a great day wherever you are!

Supplies:
Stamps: Party Dog- Birdie Brown by Torico
Paper: Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, MME- "Fine & Dandy-True Blue"
Accessories: Copic markers, Open Zigzag dienamics die (MFT), Stampin Up: Sizzix Big Shot, Modern Label punch, Designer Label punch, Designer Buttons-Brights, dimensionals, hemp twine

Stars in Heaven...

Good morning! Hard to believe it's Monday already- weekends go by so fast! I'm sure my friends and family on the East coast wish this weekend had gone a bit faster- a lot of flooded basements and some trees down (thankfully none on houses) for people I know, but after cleaning up from Ike a few years ago, I can certainly sympathize!

The topic of sympathy, unfortunately, brings me to my card for today.  Over the past few weeks, I have had two friends give up their fight with cancer. Both have been fighting unbelievable battles for several years and both will leave incredible holes in their families and communities. I wanted a simple, elegant look, but was at a loss for a stamp with the perfect sentiment. Google to the rescue!

I started by searching for "sympathy quotes" and found this one which I think is perfect for my friend who left a 7th grader daughter behind. I know they watched her suffer for several years, but the end is still so hard to deal with, especially as a pre-teen. I formatted the quote in Photoshop using several different fonts and sizes and printed it in Early Espresso ink onto Vanilla card stock. A little tip for Stampin' Up fans- you can import the color codes for all teh Stampin' Up colors into Photoshop and make yourself a custom "Swatch book" so when you print, the colors match their card stock exactly!

The card was finished simply with layers of some pretty patterned paper I had in my stash, some crinkled seam binding ribbon and an antique brad from Stampin' Up. Now the hard part comes- finding the words to write...

Hope your week is off to a good start and that those in the Northeast get power soon!

Have a cool day...

Good morning! I hesitate to say this knowing that half my friends and family are sweltering in the Texas heat and the other half is dealing with Hurricane Irene, but boy, is is a beautiful morning in Atlanta! It is a cool 64 degrees, clear blue skies, light breeze- absolutely gorgeous! We took a family bike ride before it started it heat up and discovered just how steep the hills in our neighborhood are (and just how out of shape I am-lol!).

Now that several people have voted on the penguin dude, I decided it was time to finish my brother's card. It's very frustrating having half my life in storage- I couldn't find the paper I wanted or a stamp for another card I am working on, so time to improvise!

I started with this week's MFT Wedensday Stamp club sketch pulled out some Hawaii themed papers from an old stash.  I love the way sketches get you jump-started on a card! I expanded mine to a square to give me a bit more room to play.

I used the blue chilly dude since he was  a better match for these papers and added some layers of DP and coordinating card stock, stitched together on my sewing machine and sponged to give them a weathered, beachy feel. I couldn't find my crimper (storage, I suppose) so I scored a piece of Kraft card stock and sponged it with brown ink to make it look like beach wood.

The inside was finished with the coordinating striped paper, a surfboard and a "cool" birthday greeting. Now the big challenge- getting it into the mail!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend~

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Penguin in Summer (Birdie Brown by Torico)-digital
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Soft Sky, Cajun Craze, Hawaiian DP (can't remember name)
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Curly Label Punch, Marina Mist Seam Binding ribbon, button, hemp twine, Nestabilities, Dienamics, dimensionals, sewing machine

Chilly dude...

Good morning! I know my friends and former neighbors in Houston are dancing the rain dance after getting a big storm blow through last night, dumping 1-2 inches of sorely needed water. Since we still own our home there, we share their enthusiasm-keep it coming!

Today is my brother, Pete's, birthday (52, if we're counting:) and I am behind on making his card. I planned to get it done last night, but minor surgery on my face (youch!) derailed me- I decided that a glass of wine and an Alleve was more in order. Hence, no card finished for Pete today.

I did start planning his card over the weekend when I found this adorable digi stamp by Birdie Brown- I love her images and bought a whole bunch (hee, hee). I had a clear idea of how I wanted his shorts to look, so I began coloring the image with my Copic markers without picking the paper first-danger Will Rogers! After I got his shorts colored and shaded just the way I wanted, I was a bit stuck over what color to do his body.

I ended up coloring one with a traditional grey-toned body and one a little funkier in a cool blue. Now I can't decide which of these guys I prefer, so I thought I would bring it to you all to decide. Leave me a comment and vote for which cool penguin you like better and what you think his name should be! I know you guys are creative, so I can't wait to see what you come up with:))

Have a {cool} day and here's praying for more rain!

Floating some love your way...

 Hi everyone! It's certainly hard to get back in the groove after a good weekend and this one could definitely be categorized as good. We were invited up to a friend's lake house, just north of Atlanta on Lake Sidney Lanier (crazy coincidence that this is the name of the middle school my daughter just left in TX!). We had a wonderful day of swimming, eating and boating-both my kids tried water skiing (moderately successful) and tubing (huge fun!). For those of you not familiar with Atlanta, Lake Lanier is a 20 mile long lake formed by damming a portion of the Chattahoochee river- clean, clear water and sandy bottom- definitely awesome! Forgot the camera, so no pics unfortunately:(

I digress- back to the card at hand. I started this card two days before our move began in Houston and stuck all the pieces in my craft room desk drawer for the move. The image is a digi stamp from Zlatoena's Etsy store- I totally {heart} her bunnies! I had been in a super rush when I started it and my coloring was pretty sloppy, so I printed a new image and took a bit more care coloring this one.



I had picked my papers ahead of time from a My Mind's Eye paper pack in my stash and coordinated my coloring to match- much easier than coloring first, especially when one finds out the paper you have in mind is in storage-lol! I die cut some of the elements and used pre-cut pieces that came with the paper pack as accents. I felt like it needed a greeting tag hanging off the button/bow but I wasn't ready to commit to the sentiment until I had an intended recipient- I like to keep my options open for cards until I am ready to send them!

The inside was finished with coordinating papers and a simple greeting that can be used for birthday, hello, pick-me-up card- lots of choices!

That's it for today- hope your Monday is going well!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: "Rabbit Traveler-Hot Air Balloon"-Zlatoena, "Well Scripted"-Stampin' Up
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, MME "Just Dreamy 2"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Stampin' Up: Sizzix Big Shot, White organza ribbon, heart brad, Designer Buttons-Brights, dimensionals, Nestabilities, Dienamics, hemp twine, sewing machine, heavy duty thread.

Thank ewe, mates!

Hi everyone! I know my friends in Texas are going to throw tomatoes or rotten eggs at me, but the last 3 days in Atlanta have been sooo gorgeous! Mornings in the low 60s, days in the high 80s, sunny and so pleasant! I found a great little garden at work, outside the cafeteria at the Emory Children's hospital, where I have been taking my lunch each day to catch a few minutes of this beautiful weather and pretty scenery:) Another day I will share a picture of this little oasis...

Last week was the birthday week in our house, husband and son, one day apart; many dinners and a big BBQ with friends and new neighbors. Now it is time to write all those thank you notes! It's hard to find cute notes for boys to write- so many girly things out there, but not so much for the masculine half. I also wanted to make something quick and fairly simple since "we" have a bunch to write (i.e. mommy makes us write)!

I started with a sheep image from Zlatina which I absolutely adore! Since I have to produce a bunch of these, I kept it pretty simple. The image was printed on Whisper White card stock and colored with Copics- no time for paper piecing and faux sheep wool on these thank yous- they need to hit the mail ASAP! The Crumb Cake background was embossed with the "Seeing Spots" embossing folder to give it some texture and the little sheep was layered onto red and black mats to make him stand out. I added a computer generated greeting, a punched heart and some black baker's twine for a little accent- so cute, right? My son said he would mail these to grandparents and relatives, but he would never give these to his friends. Next card, please...

OK, now for the more manly version... I used another pirate image from Claire Keay to go along with Matthew's pirate themed birthday for thank you notes to his friends- I love her illustrations! The image was sized in Photoshop Elements to fit my card, printed on Whisper White card stock and colored with Copics. I used simple layers of black and red again which stand out on the neutral background. The greeting was computer generated with a punched star and button tied with baker's twine to spruce it up a bit (definitely no flowers or hearts here!)

These were made as flat cards- his friends will promptly throw them away (much as I want to believe they will treasure them:) so no point in wasting extra card stock-lol! I used the same backing for both cards, making mass production easier.


That's it for today- have a great one!