Monday, November 30, 2009

Red, Green & Gold!

This was created for the color challenge that was posted by our new Challenge Hostess, Shannon, over at Stamp TV today.

The image and saying are from the new set, First Christmas, by Asela Hopkins. I really like the gold edge that I put all around the card front with a metallic Sharpie! In person, it really sets the card off. See those little candy canes? They came is little combo packs at Michaels. They are foam with a sticky backing. I added some Stickles to the white stripes to jazz them up.

The #9 Nestie that I used, was a birthday gift from my DD! She treats her Momma so well! The little bow at the top was made when she realize I had bought a Bow EZ and it had not made it out of the package yet. She pulled out my ribbon scraps and made me up an assortment! Thanks, Dee!

Other than the little holly leaves and berries I tried to hand draw, the rest of the card speaks for itself. I hope you have a nice relaxing evening!

JUGs9 3D & Magical Monday Challenges


For this little goodie box, I used a new image I found over at There's Magic In The Air challenge blog. I am new to this site but I just thought this was so adorable! It just so happens that they wanted a 3D and so did the ladies over at Just Us Girls. Hey now, I am all for a 2fer!
This little box came from a template offered by Nina Brackett over at Stamp TV. My base and first band were stamped with snowflakes from the Holiday Hospitality stamp set by Gina K. Designs. I then added a band of printed vellum from Over The Moon Press. All of my sponging was done in shades of purple chalk ink. My image was colored with Copics. I added felt snowflakes with silver brad flakes as my accents. I added a twist of matching silk wired ribbon to the handle as a closure. To my tag I added silver cording. This was such fun! I will use it for a long gift card.
Hope to see you again soon!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Home From Shopping!

I hope that after this busiest shopping weekend, that you are home safe, with all of the bargains of the weekend ready to be wrapped. I did a bit myself and I would say I am perhaps, half finished.

That is what inspired this card! I used the Loads of Love set from SU. My dp is from Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses. I used mt Copics and a few colored pencils to color. A wee bit of ribbon and gems are my accent. My windshield and bumpers are clear embossed. I added Liquid Applique for snow.

See you real soon!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Mojo Monday Week 114

Here is my creation for Mojo Monday 114. I just love this country, patchwork Santa! He was so fun to color! He is an older image from Delafield Stamp Company. I colored him with my Copics. My double layer scallop/cutout border at the top is made with a punch from Fiskars. A tone on tone white satin ribbon with bow finishes it off. Ho Ho Ho! Thanks for looking!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

CPS42 and a Happy Thanksgiving!


Happy Thanksgiving to all of my stamping friends! By now, you are probably finished eating and are wishing you had worn pants with an elastic waist! Perhaps you have had a nap and are ready for food round 2? I had an extra whammy as it is my Birthday today and everyone forced dessert sooner than I would have liked. Ugh! I opted for a pumpkin roll instead of a traditional BD cake. I turned double nickles today. How did that happen? AARP here I am!
I created this card today for the Card Patterns Sketch for this week. Yes, I used my Copics for the very first time. What do you think? Did I do okay? My image is from Hero Arts and I have had it for years. I was trying to pick an image that would not drive me loony my first time coloring. I am sure I will learn more tricks as I go forward.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

FTTC43 Chickadee

Since the challenge over at Flourishes was an either or, I decided to do both! Here is a Christmas card that I created to show my spirit for the season.

My background paper was embossed and sponged to show texture. My main image is from Impression Obsession and my sentiment is from Inkadinkado. I used crystal lacquer on the cane and birds eyes and beak. I used white ribbon and a leaf with red gems as my accent. The scallop is the threading water border punch from Fiskars. Thanks for stopping by!

Pattern Embossed Thank You

I have created this card following the technique challenge over at Stamp TV this week and I am also submitting it for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday 43 challenge.

This week the technique is to do pattern embossing. As I have never done this before, I found it to be quite fun! I found a word background stamp from Lost Coast Designs and stamped it onto Gina K's Pure Luxury Ivory card stock in Old Olive. Next I used a solid leaf spray stamp for SU Best Blossoms and clear embossed it over the words. I cut out my image with a Nestie and leaving it in the die, sponged all over the images with Soft Suede ink. I took a clean paper towel and buffed the image to remove excess ink. My sentiment is from the same stamp set as the leaves, and was lightly sponged around. For accents I used a bit of ribbon and some cocoa pearls. I am pleased with the results.

Monday, November 23, 2009

I Just Had To Share!

My DH is on a few days of vacation and he begged me to go with him to pick out what I wanted for Christmas. Now I am sure you have figured that this involved a stamp store, lol! A month or so ago, a friend from Stamp TV, told me about a little store in Ephrata, PA, which is about 50 minutes from my house. It is called L&L Rubber Stamps. It is in the heart of Amish country. I was told that the prices could not be beat.

Well we hopped into my DH's truck and called the address into OnStar, and off we went! Now as some you you who know me are aware, I do not own Copic Markers. That was the #1 purpose for this trip. Santa needed to bring Copics! We arrive at our destination which is back winding, country farm roads and there is a little sign at the end of a driveway. I can feel my blood starting to pump from the anticipation. As we entered this basement store in a beautiful house I realize how small the store really is. I see a couple other people shopping and I decide I need to get the lay of the land. As I scan a wall full of Cuttlebug folders, another customer is standing next to me. Gee, she sure looks familiar? I realize it is the sweet friend from Stamp TV who had originally told me about the store. I ask and yep, it's her! Nice to meet you Janice Melton! Well, she could not have been more helpful. What I wanted was a couple shades in each color family. Janice whipped out her color guide and told me the 2-3 shades of each color that she just loved to use.

Now my DH is smiling, because he realized this is not going to be the painful hours of deciding that he thought. Everything I saw that was needed for these reasonable prices, he told me to get. Wowzer, that was so fun. As it was time to checkout, Janice and I said our goodbyes and said we would see each other on Stamp TV. What were the odds that we would both show up there on the same day? Her trip is 1 hour and 20 minutes in the opposite direction!

When we had finally paid and were heading home, I told my DH I would get gift bags and get the goodies ready for Santa. To my surprise, he said Happy Birthday, go home and play! You see my Birthday is on Turkey Day this year! I thought my last online stamp order was for my Birthday! Am I going to argue????? Not me! Thanks again, Janice, for making this such a special Birthday!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

JUGs 8 Color Challenge

I just love the colors for the challenge this week over at Just Us Girls, but I was having a bit of trouble on the execution. Did you ever run into that trouble? You know what you want to do, and every time you think you have completed your card, you step back and decide it needs something. I had to improvise on my colors of ink but I think I got close. We were to use Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, and Bashful Blue. I had the Really Rust and used Tangerine Tango and a blue of unknown origin. I created my background and sentiment using stamps from Gina K.'s Holiday Hospitality on a weathered wood dp. My main image is from Canadian Maple Collections. The deer is colored with a waterbrush and ink.

By adding Liquid Applique, I made 3D snow puffs for texture. My sentiment is on a Fancy Tags from Nestabilities. I added some punched snowflakes and glittery brads as accents. I did highlights with diamond Stickles. My card will be a "Thanks for all you do" card.

Have a wonderful week my friends!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Stamp TV Members Blog Hop

Today I have created 2 cards for the hop! A great big thank you to Jessica & Gina for creating this special time for showing off our work. I hope you will hop along the Mr Linky path to see what everyone has to offer! You can start at Gina K.'s Blog.

For my first card I used Nina Brackett's new "Vintage Borders stamp set. This is one of the most versatile sets that I think I have ever bought! The detail and beauty that she put into these images make for perfect stamping. The dps I used are a mixture of scraps that I thought coordinated well. My inks are night of navy and old olive. All stamps used are from the set, including the sentiment! I accented with sponging, gems, and Stickles.



I created this whimsical card using Rupa Shevde's new set called "Winter Friends". I added red gems, striped ribbon and diamond Stickles as my accents. My images were colored with pencils and OMS. This is such a fun set!
Enjoy the rest of the hop and thanks for stopping by! You can return to Mr Linky on Gina's blog here.

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday 42

Good morning! It's me again! I told you I would be back and this time I have an entry for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Sketch Challenge. I did do a flip on the sketch to work with my images. I tried to keep this card simple. My stamps are from My Favorite Things. After attaching a piece of kraft to a basic white card, I used mostly scraps of dp from the bin. My little poinsettia is from Making Memories. I added touches of Stickles for sparkle.

Have a creative morning, and I will see you back here in no time!


Card Patterns Sketch 41

This is my very first time doing a challenge for Card Patterns. I was drawn in because of all the publicity over on Stamp TV. Gina K. Designs is the sponsor this week! We sure do love our Gina K. stamps!

My card was created, with papers from the Basic Grey line called Marrakech. For the top and bottom strip, I used two different stick stamps from Stamps by Judith. My sentiment is from the SU set called Best Yet. I used a simple button with hemp twine for my embellishment.

I will see you a bit later, as I have many cards to load today! Ta Ta for now!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A Cute Couple!

The technique challenge over at Stamp TV, this week, is to create a faux window. I used a set by Gina K. Designs called "Owl Always Love You". My dp is from K&Co as well as the sentiment that I found in the Proverbs To Go takeout box by them. I use a jute lace as a window valance. My accents are ribbon, twine, and a button. My image was colored with marker and colored pencil with oms. This was a fun card! Thanks for stopping by!

I had my DD and her recent engagement in mind when I made this card!

JUGs7



Everything old is new again! I was so glad that when the Just Us Girls team posted this challenge, they said about going old school and using our much unloved brass stencils! Our challenge this week is to dry emboss on a Birthday card. I pulled out these neglected beauties and there was a Birthday cake staring at me. I accented it with chalks and sponging around the edges. Pearls, Prima's, and MS branches are my accents. The sentiment is from Melanie Muenchinger's Inspiration Mosaic set by Gina K. Designs. Happy Birthday, Dana!

Monday, November 16, 2009

For the Love of Green!

I created this for Mojo Monday 113 and also for the color challenge for this week over at Stamp TV. I used a sentiment from Melanie Muenchinger's new Festive Frame. My papers are from DCWV. The snowflake stamp is an unknown. I used green stain ribbon and a button to embellish. There are touches of Sakura stardust pen on my snowflakes.

Thanks for coming to look! I am still a wee bit under the weather but I am coming along. Thanks for all of the get well wishes you have posted.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Sweet Award

Well now, lookie what Olga gifted me with! This is so cute!
Copy paste all these fun questions and take the quiz!


1. Where is your cell phone? pocket book
2. Your hair? short
3. Your mother? in Heaven
4. Your father? with Mom in Heaven
5. Your fave food? seafood
6. Your dream last night? didn't have one
7. Your fave drink? diet Pepsi
8. Your dream/goal? I would like to see blue water just once
9. What room are you in? stamp room
10. Your hobby? Making cards
11. Your fear? big highways/traffic
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? a happy grandmother!
13. Where you were last night? couch
14. Something that you aren’t? skinny
15. Muffins? apple
16. Wish List Item? Copic markers
17. Where did you grow up? right here in little old Pennsylvania
18. Last thing you did? dishes
19. What are you wearing? night gown
20. Your TV? Grey's, Mercy, All My Children, and the Food Network
21. Your Pets? Black Lab "Jessie"
22. Friends? Same girlfriends I grew up with plus new online friends
23. Your Life? not very exciting
24. Your Mood? mellow
25. Missing Someone? my family is all deceased and my kids live 2 hours away
26. Vehicle? Ford Windstar I think..... van
27. Something your not wearing? socks
28. Your fave store? craft stores of all kinds!
29. Your fave color? red
30. Last time you laughed? last week...... sorry I have been sick
31. Last time you cried? heck, I cry at commercials!
32. Your best friend? Lee Ann
33. One place that I go to over and over? work
34. One person who emails regularly? Johnny (Lee Ann's hubby)
35. Fave place to eat? Seven Stars Inn
36. Facebook? Nope!

I choose five people to pass this Award on to:

Tina
Pam
Linda
Theresa P.
Brenda

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Flourishes Favorite Things Challenge

I really wanted to do this fun, fun challenge, flu or not. This Flourishes "Favorite Things" Challenge, ends tomorrow and I didn't want to be left out! You were to pick a line from the song, and illustrate it. My line is "Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings". I hope you like what I came up with.

I have just recently started adding Flourishes stamps to my collection and I had nothing that was appropriate for this challenge. Sorry!

I used Melanie Muenchinger's Festive Frame and A Year of Flowers stamp sets. The pine tree stamp is from Stampscapes. The flying geese are from PSX. I used colored pencil and OMS to color, plus much sponging with VersaMagic inks. I accented with a white opaque pen and used Dewdrops for my poinsettia centers. I hope you like my creation.

Just Us Girls 6

Sorry it has been a few days since my last post, but my DS deposited flu germs in my house last weekend and trust me it has not been a joy. Today is the first I can keep my head up, even though the nose faucet is still working overtime.


Here is my entry for the new sketch challenge over at Just Us Girls and I really didn't want to miss a week, so here is what I was able to come up with. I used a digi stamp that I re-worked with lots of distressing and Stickles. I stamped and popped a sentiment stamp from Mel's Festive Frame set at Gina K. Designs. I used gold crystal stars for the twinkle in the 5 spot border. I added snow tipped MS branch punches with coordinating pearls as holly berries.


Thanks for looking and I also want to thank all of my stamping/blog friends on your thoughtful best wishes for my DD's engagement.




Sunday, November 8, 2009

Blingity Bling!

I had a few requests to see Dee's engagement ring, so I figured I would oblige. It's a girl thing!

You can never capture the sparkle you get in real life, but it is just so pretty! She is one lucky girl. Beyonce said it best in her song! Enjoy all the excitement, Dee! Shaun, ya did good!

Combo Challenge Card

I created this card for the Stamp TV technique challenge to use glaze for shine. I also thought it would work well for the MOJO Monday 111 sketch. The papers are from DCWV. The wreath stamp is from Rubber Stampede and I had never used it before. I added Crystal Lacquer to the bow and berries. The Noel stamp is from a new Gina K. release set by Asela, called First Christmas. I did some piercing, some distressing, and colored with both marker and colored pencil & oms. I used a water brush and sahara sand from SU to add shadows. A few buttons threaded with paper slivers were used to embellish. Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Wonderful News and A Card!

First I will post the card. I made this for the Potluck Challenge over on Stamp TV. We had to create a background using word stamps. I can not be DP with writing. I think I pulled it off. What do you think?

I really love the combo of red, white, and kraft. It always looks so clean to me. My inks are ridinghood red and sahara sand from SU. I used 2 Gina K Designs stamp sets. One is the Vintage borders set that is new from Nina Brackett. The other is an older set from Melanie Muenchinger called A Year Of Flowers. The sentiment stamp is from Wood Cellar Graphics, dated 2000. Dewdrops and Stickles are true staples in my stamp room. I really like the pencil and oms look.

As for the good news, my beautiful daughter got engaged last night to a wonderful man. This has been a long time coming so we are extremely happy. They were best friends since their freshman year of college and now they will be together for the rest of their lives. Her father and I could not have asked for a better partner for her. I think we will have great fun preparing for this wedding. Her partners name is Shaun and he was just so cute and proper yesterday. He drove 2 hours to ask my husband for her hand. He brought me beautiful flowers to seal the deal. Then he drove 2 hours back to North Jersey and awaited her arrival home from work so he could ask her. He dressed and left the house like he was going to work so she would not get suspicious. The poor thing was still waiting for her at midnight with flowers and wine. Isn't that sweet? Her ring is exquisite. Thanks for listening to me ramble on!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

JUGS5 Wild Card

I created this card for the JUGs5 challenge which is a wild card this week. We were to create a holiday card that can incorporate a photo.

This is a very favorite photo of my son when he was about 4 yrs. old and I was actually able to dress him up ! He is 25 now and a 6'3", really big guy. I will use this for his Christmas card this year for giggles.

I used Melanie Muenchinger's new Festive Frame stamp set that was created for Gina K. Designs. I used detail gold EP from Ranger and colored with markers and pencils and OMS. I added some gold cording and red gems as accents.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you soon!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I Love The Smell Of Apples!

It does not matter if it is candles or scented oils or fresh baked apple cake, I can't get enough of that wonderful smell when Autumn arrives.I was burning a spiced apple Yankee candle this morning and I thought about making this card!

I made it for the sketch challenge this week at Stamp TV. All of the papers are from a tablet I recently purchased at JoAnn's Fabric. It is Debbie Mumm and is for making calendars, but I love the season paper. My stamps and ribbon are from the Signs of Autumn, Stamp TV kit. I used green gems and some coordinating Martha Stewart, branch punches to embellish. Thanks for taking a peek and I will see you very soon!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

It's Fun To Share!

I think it is fun to share sometimes, but sometimes things get a wee bit lop-sided. My DD came home for a visit this weekend and brought all her new stamping play toys. I created this card using her new Martha Stewart punch set, to create this loopy background to show case my new star stamp.

The stamp is from Impression Obsession, and I used Marvy markers and colored pencils and OMS to color it. I applied accents of Stickles for sparkle. My embellishments are olive pearl studs and a stripy woven bow to pick up the colors in the star. My loopy background is Rich Razzleberry card stock from SU!

Now, what makes this lop-sided, is that she needed to use my Nesties, my Stickles, Basic Grey papers, textured card stock, pop dots, gold cording, red ribbon, and borrow part of a Stamp TV kit ( cause I would not let her take the whole thing for weeks). I also gave up 8 sheets of Avery labels to wrap around Hershey Nuggets. Now ya all know I am just messing around....... what would we do with all of our extras, if not for our kids? Have a great evening. Go Phillies!

All Business

I have been absent for a few days but hope life gets back to normal soon. I was so excited that my sweet DD and her honey, Shaun, came for the weekend. They have not visited for a long while because they are searching for the perfect house. Let's just say it has not been very productive.
Shaun's birthday is in the next 2 weeks and as they don't think they will get back before then we decided to celebrate his special day now. This is the card I came up with for him since he is a financial analyst. It just reminded me of him heading off to work each day! Thanks for looking!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween. It poured rain here so I am up to my neck in candy bars. Goodness know, I don't need them in this house as temptation. Candy anyone?