Miscellaneous

Good afternoon and thanks for stopping for a visit. We're still in So. Fla., and today is a typically lovely Fla. day...sun is shining, balmy - not windy - air, lots of boat traffic going by. We just watched 6 dolphins - in 2 groups - playing around out in the water. There was a boat passing, and the boaters stopped to watch these critters frisking around. Sort of obscured our view and I wanted to shout "Move on", (but I didn't!). We have the sliding door open to the deck which is right by where I'm sitting and typing away on the laptop. Worked on cleaning up some of my Pinterest Boards this morning. When I first started on Pinterest, I set up a Board entitled Inspirational cards. Well, I put everything I liked on that board. Did the same with Recipes (not that I cook much, mind you. I collect cookbooks too. Funny story: Used to always buy a cookbook from each place that we would visit...so as to have some regional dishes to read through. The sales person commented to DH "Boy, your wife must be a really good cook". DH replied "Nope, hardly ever cooks...she just collects books". LOL. Pretty well the truth too. Anyway, I have all sorts of recipes pinned and need to separate them as to crockpot, breads, etc. Something to keep me busy while we're sitting & waiting for DD to return from some errands. Then we think we may  go to lunch - if we can last that long until she returns - maybe do a little shopping. I can almost always shop! So I would like to take the opportunity to wish each of you a very Happy New Year, in which I hope you will receive whatever blessings that you are needing, that you will have good health & happiness. I pray that our Lord will hear our prayers that so much of this awful stuff we see taking place everywhere in the world will pass away. That those who are committing these violent acts will see that all it does is cause pain where none should be. And hopefully that all of us crafters will be able to enjoy more time to do what all of us love & love to share. God Bless & have a wonderful, safe holiday. Hugs and come again.
Edit: Just noticed that I have another new follower, so Welcome Theresa. Folks, we're getting closer to that blog candy! When I get back to SC, I will be collecting some items, and when I can post pictures again, I think I'll add a little tidbit along to show what things will be given as blog candy. Spread the word....And Thanks!

Miscellaneous

Good Morning from rainy Southern Florida. It is a gloomy gray day and it's fortunate that we lived in So. Fla for over 40 years so not terribly disappointed with no sunshine. (It's raining in our hometown as well, plus it's colder in SC). Anyway, thought I'd pop in to say Hi, and paste a link to this fabulous Pinterest board I just browsed upon (http://pinterest.com/dmts/card-techniques-memory-box/  .) I know there are quite a few of you folks that love these Memory Box dies just as much as I do. Let me tell you: I was so humbled looking at these cards...makes me wonder how I ever dare post anything I make! If you have time to spend a few minutes drooling over cards, I recommend you check this Pinterest Board. Here's the story on how I found this board: I follow Heather Telford (another lovely blog) - she of the sponging background skills. I get notification when Heather posts something new, and today her inspiration was a card she saw on a Pinterest board. Well, I had to go look to see what inspires Heather as she is so awesomely talented herself, and then I followed THAT board to another board, and etc. Good way to entertain myself on a rainy morning while thinking of what we can do to pass the day. (Sure beats vaccuuming the floors - which is what we had told DD we'd take care of for her today). Yesterday we went out and hunted through the local Costco Warehouse to see what this store has that might be different from our store at home. (Do you do that too? DH said "They'll have the same thing WE do, why do you want to go there?). Well, they DID have some different stuff! Actually I was scanning the streets as we drove to see if there were any stamping stores...saw one but we got by it too fast, plus were in the wrong lane to make a turn, and I think it was a scrapbook store anyhoo. Checked out a Michael's & JoAnn's around this area....not much left after Christmas. Or maybe it is just that I have too much "STUFF" awready?  I'm thinking of what I will gather as blog candy if I ever get to 100 followers. Or the blogaversary which is coming up too. Got some lovely Cheery Lynn & Memory Box dies that I've managed to collect duplicates, so I think it will be something good. So have a grand Saturday, and hope the weather is pleasant where you may be. Or if it is not, that you have some fun inside things to keep you happy. Hugs and come again.

Miscellaneous

Good evening, and we are winding down to the finale of 2012. I just read an email, that I thought expressed quite well, some things I'd like to share with my blog followers:

Where did the year go? Suddenly it is December .......again - and we realize that with giant strides we started in January and within a blink of an eye, 2012 is on its back!
A big "Thank You" to each and everyone of you, for the impact you had on my life this year. Especially for all the e-mails & lovely comments I received.......without you, I'm sure that 2012 would have been extremely boring.
 
May 2013 mark the beginning of a Tidal Wave of Love, Happiness and Bright Futures. 
And to those who need someone special, may you find that true love.
To those who need money, may your finances overflow. 
To those who need caring, may you find a good heart. 
   Thanks for being my friend!

All the best in 2013

 

Folks, I can't say it any better than this! Have a wonderful Friday, thanks for stopping for a visit. Hugs.

Miscellaneous

Hello and I hope all of you in Blogland had a wonderfully Merry & Happy Christmas. Ours was quiet, but we were with our daughter & son-in-law, so we had the most important ingredients to make our day a lovely one. We were so blessed to have been able to be with them, have a nice meal, a nice home to share it in, loved ones around the table. We stopped to count our blessings, realizing there are so many in the world who do not share in these things which we frequently take for granted. All the presents and hoopla that have become such a part of the holiday seem to have obscured what it really IS all about: Giving to others and appreciating the simple things of life...maybe not so simple after all. I try to truly be thankful for each day, and all the wonderful things I've had and still have in my life. I guess now is a good time to think of all that, and remind myself not to forget it in the hubub of everyday living.

We are in So. Florida, and our Christmas morning started out beautifully sunny, about 76 degrees.(and it was raining, gloomy & cold in our SC hometown).  Then Mr. Sun decided to hide and the remainder of the afternoon was a bit overcast. Today was much the same, then we had a little thunderstorm, with some rain. More overcast and some strong winds. I have been sitting this evening & trying to get to visit all my blog followers' blogs as I had gotten so behind. I brought some images to color while I sit around, but didn't bring along supplies to actuallly make a card. Brought my camera with intentions of sharing some pictures. My desktop has a cardslot where I can just slide in the memory chip. Laptop doesn't have such, and I didn't bring the camera usb cord, so no pictures can I share. Ah well, we know what kind of a photographer I am anyway. So no big loss to Blogland. LOL.

Just wanted to pop in, and say Hi, to anyone who buzzes in to see what's going on. So I'm just ramblin' on, and I'll say goodnight, and hope you have a wonderful day planned for tomorrow. Blessings and Hugs, and as always, thanks for visiting.

Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Good morning and welcome. This is a scheduled post, so I hope Mr. Blogger cooperates with me in handling this post the way I intended. I want to say a Big Thank You and extend my very best wishes to you & your loved ones to enjoy a wonderful day, hopefully spending it with those you love best, in good health, happy. I also want to say Thank you to those of you who signed on as blog followers, because you have gladdened my heart each time I see your faces on the sidebar. I'm so grateful to each of you for taking the time to join, leave comments. I'm also thankful for ALL who have visited the blog, and left encouraging comments this past year. You'll never know how much you have meant with your support, and how much I've enjoyed 'chatting' with you. I consider each of you a blessing, and have made some new 'blog friends'. Ok, for today to share with you: These are some clear ornaments I got (on sale!) at Michaels. The surface is rather flattish, so it's easy to do the Sookwang sticky tape gig. I used a SU scallop punch to cut out the tape (which was a sheet - rather than the roll...easier to manipulate); then removed the backing, adhered the punched circle to the ornament. Burnish it down very well, removing as many creases as possible. I used a bone folder and my fingers, lifting the tape up to check that I had gotten the tape down well. It leaves a sticky (and visible) surface when you peel away the Sookwang label side of this tape. Then I removed  the outline from an Elizabeth Craft poinsettia sticker, applied to the sticky surface on the ornament - using tweezers. You want to keep your fingers off this tape as much as possible. I replaced the waxy Sookwang side of the backing tape over the sticker, burnished the outline sticker down very well. Did all 4 ornaments this way, leaving the backing tape in place, until I was ready for the Ritz Glitter part. Dusted each ornment generously with Ritz Glitter Cool White Highlight, using a soft brush to clean off excess. Once I felt I had a good coating, I burnished, burnished, burnished. After doing all 4 ornaments, I used copics to color the inside of the outline sticker. (Ah, colors used were R81,85, R56, YG05, YG63, Blender pen). I varied the R85 & 56, trying to get different shadings on each flower. Barely touch the nib at the end towards center of the petal with the darkest color, then a bit more of the lighter color. Use blender pen to draw the colors down towards the point. Did same with the leaves. Once all the flowers were done, I used a light & dark yellow for the centers. Sorry, don't remember which these were. These ornaments are for DD, and I was working about 3am this morning to finish this last minute decision to make these. I am prone to last minute stuff!!! Once again, a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all, and thanks for visiting. Hugs.

Christmas

Recycle envelope

Hi, and thanks for popping in. Here's a recycle envelope I thought I'd share. Some time back I posted a card made from a Penny Black stamp I won from just leaving a comment, which you can see here. This was to be DD's Christmas card. Since the image was large, and I didn't want to crop any of it, the resultant card was much larger than any of my envelopes. I happened to spot one I had saved from a 'purchased card', thinking...maybe I can use this as a template when I get my cards too large. Aha...tried DD's card in the envelope, it fit perfectly. Well, it had my own name written on the front, so how to hide that? And it was sort of a 'non-Christmas color' as well. I had retrieved some of our past received cards thinking to perhaps use some images from them, so they were handy. Decided to diecut the Santa & sentiment from an old card, and pop on the front to hide the 'old recipient name'. Still not sure about the envelope color...then I looked at the card, and it has pink-y colors in it....SO problem solved. I LOVE it when that happens to me, don't you? Hugs.

Christmas

Good afternoon, and Welcome. Here's the card I made for my Sweetie (Mr. DH). The image is a PSX stamp I bought on eBay. I used a music background in Memento Desert Sand, wiped off the center portion with a baby wipe, then stamped the Poinsettia Basket with Versamark, heat embossed with Ranger's Queen's Gold. Colored the flowers with Copics R05,R14,R24 & R29, varying the darker colors on each flower. I was trying to get different shadings on the flowers, and I was pleased with the effect. Used YG03 & YG63 on the greens. (Now normally I won't remember the marker colors as I experiment, but this time I do!) Touched the pinecones with some E colors - which I do not remember! Diecut with Spellbinders Label 8, to get the card shape, as well as the card front. Sponged while still in the die with Distress Ink Worn Lipstick, then Tea Dye. Liked it this way, but after looking at it for a couple of days, I thought "Hmm, what if I cut out some of the flowers & popped up.." so restamped as above to get the 3 flowers. I staggered the placement of the pop-ups to make the flowers look fuller. I started out using Decor Viva gold pearls for the stamens. Well, this just mussed into a glob (Operator error) instead of being individual stamens. I think I was hurrying too much last night to get the card finished. This morning I remembered I had some gold-y color rhinestones. There were some very tiny ones, so used Glossy Accents on the 'pearl blobs', and with a Tim Holtz pick tool, adhered the rhinestones to the centers. (Hardest part of the entire card!). I love Glossy Accents, but I always have to unclog the bottle. I've tried standing it on the tip, laying it down, and I STILL have clogging problems. Anyway, this is one of the cards I have done this season that I felt pleased with the finished result. I'm scheduling 2 more posts, but we'll be traveling, & away from home. I won't be making any cards... BUT I hope I have time to stamp up some images prior to departure - to take along to color. If I see some pretty scenery out DD's back door - she lives on the water - I'll try to snap some pictures and share. . I bet your day is just as hurry-filled as mine is. I'm trying to get all the last minute tasks finished, get us packed, check my list to be sure I haven't forgotten to do something. So have a wonderful afternoon, and see you later. Hugs and thanks for stopping to chat.

Christmas

Brenda's card

Hello and welcome on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Our winds have died down, although it is a bit crisp & clear around my house today. Lovely day for a walk - although I won't be taking one! I'm scurrying around trying to get things done up, so we can leave on our trip south. I'm odd, I guess...but I always like to leave things tidied up when we go away. As my Mama used to say, "You don't want somebody coming in should something go wrong, and saying 'What a dirty housekeeper SHE was'!" Funny how some things stick with you over the years. The truth is if something happened, who CARES what they find in your house???? LOL! Now here's another lovely handmade card we received. The simplicity of this design just blew me away, yet the textures and message of this card are awesome. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have.
Here's another picture of the way these cards are displayed. Years ago we found this 'angel tree stand' at some store, and even if we don't put up many decorations - as some years has been the case - this is one that we always get out of storage. It's probably not a very good way to display the cards, because some get hidden and you have to 'look through them' to really appreciate the cards. Yet I love it. Another of my 'passions' along with cardinals, is that I love anything Angel. Happy Saturday before Christmas and many hugs. Come again.

 

Christmas

Good morning, and here it is ...4 days until Christmas. I have been so happy to have heard the sales folks using Merry Christmas more this year. I got so aggravated the one year everyone was saying "Happy Holidays". As a Christian American, I KNOW what the holiday is all about, and I want to hear the greeting said in full. Now I respect everyone else's faith, but I want the same consideration in return. I don't think anyone should be offended at a salutation that represents any one faith...we ought to be respectful of them all. Off my soapbox now! On to the card. This one photographed better than I expected (which is not to say I think it is a good photo! I did like the card though). I chose not to put a greeting on the front of the card. I wanted to let the image speak for itself. The stamp is by Inkadinkadoo; I used Versamark, Ranger Queen's gold to heat emboss, Spellbinder die, gold mirror paper, Natural color textured Bazzill (the good quality kind), and piece of pretty gold glittery ribbon. I like this one, and it's going in the mail today. Hope it arrives before the day. Have a great day wherever you may be, and as always, thanks for the visit. Hugs.

Christmas

 Good evening & welcome. We are having a chilly rainy night in my area. The rain is needed so not complaining at all. Our day started early with a post-op check at my eye doctor's. On our way saw the most astoundingly wonderful sunrise. Good news is doctor is pleased with the results, and said I should improve daily. I'm not seeing any change as yet - I'm 20-40, which I was pre-surgery, but hopefully that will continue to get better. Had breakfast out again, while waiting to get the yearly mammogram and then a bone density, which I get every 2 yrs. Tomorrow is Orthopedic checkup for my Achilles, and YAY! Finally (God Willing!) done with all doctors for the year! Boy, I never thought I'd spend so much of my retirement time visiting doctors! The positive aspect of this is at least I made it long enough to do that!!!! LOL. I wanted to share 2 more beautifully done & lovely cards we received today from my stamp buddies. The photography just does not do justice, and for this I apologize. I hope you can enlarge the pictures and see just how gorgeous these cards are. The Nativity scene, especially - was hard to get the glare removed. That silvery-blue moire ribbon is just so elegant, and the nativity scene is embossed with a glittering silver against the dark blue--absolutely stunning. Elaine has used one of my favorite MBox dies, and some embossing on the side part of the white c/stock...and this is just so elegant. I'm blessed to have such talented stamping friends; equally so that they took the time to think of us, make us a wonderful card to say Merry Christmas. Enjoy....come back again soon. 

Elaine's Blue & White Tree

Stepahnie's Blue & Silver Nativity

 





Christmas

Charlene's Madonna Card

Hi, thanks for stopping today. I promised to post some of the most lovely handmade cards I've received this year. I have captioned them, so won't go into details. Just enjoy these. I have a few more, but didn't want to try to cram them all into one single post!!! I'll be recuperating from cataract surgery, so I scheduled these for while I'm not on the pc. Have a lovely day, and many hugs.  

Donna's Flourish Card



Faye's Trees & redbird card

Julie's Christmas Surprise card

Christmas

Hello and welcome. Here's another post with some lovely handmade cards that we've received this year. Aren't these lovely cards? And the photos do NOT do the cards justice, because each is truly beautiful. I can tell you that the Cardinal on Holly is a PSX stamp, because it is one of the first stamps I ever bought...and didn't know PSX from ABC or any other company. You can probably guess why it was a purchase! It languished for years with my 'stuff' and then one day I 'got into' stamping. Started hearing about PSX, learned the company had gone out of business and I couldn't buy any of the neat stamps my buddies had. So I was looking through my 'stuff' for a bird stamp, found this beautiful fella, and happened to look at the side of the wood block. (See me doing the Happy Dance while saying "Oh, Oh, THIS is a PSX stamp." Poor DH must have thought I'd lost my mind. - well, truthfully, he thinks that a lot anyway. LOL). This image is colored so beautifully, and the sender will know that I truly enjoyed receiving this card. Such a surprise too. Now the Swing card is a Stampin' up bird stamp I'm pretty sure. It actually was not technically a "Christmas card", but more on the lines of good wishes for my eye procedure. I wanted to show it on the post, because it is so pretty and well done (those nifty folds!) and it cheered me up so much. Firstly - just to look at it's beauty, but also to think someone took the time to think of me with a handmade card. Folks, to me, that just can't be emphasized as much as to how a handmade item can mean so much more. Someone thought enough of me to give me their talent, but ALSO their TIME! We all only have a finite amount of that. When you share your TIME and TALENT with me, well, that just cannot be done with mere money!! Hope you will enjoy these cards as much as we did. Thanks for stopping in.

Diane's Cardinal

Candee's Swinging Redbird


EDIT: Wanted to say the doctor said the eye procedure went well. I am home, doing the eye drop post procedure routine. I have a follow-up check early in the am. We stopped at Cracker Barrel (a local restaurant chain for those of you who are not familiar with this place) and had a wonderful breakfast...which I was SO ready for. Came home, did the drops, got my clothes changed and into the recliner did I go. ZZZZZZZ.

On another note: There's a lovely blogger named Bernie of http://berniescraftcloset.blogspot.com/ who could sure use your prayers. I'm sure that many of you 'know' Bernie from following her blog. Bernie is going through a very rough patch right now, and would appreciate any prayers you may care to offer in her behalf. I will share a little more news at a later date - or Bernie will be posting after receiving some news from some tests she has been undergoing. She has not been posting of late, and I think the Power of Prayer might place a ring around Bernie and be a good thing. Not sure how much she's on the pc, but if you want to leave some good wishes at her blog, maybe she will see. I asked for her permission to share this with you.

Christmas

Hello & welcome, thanks for stopping to visit. I know how busy everyone is, so if you choose to spend a little time here at my blog, I am so happy to chat for a bit. You've seen this card before...it's one I made in class using Elizabeth Craft stickers & the lovely Ritz Glitter. The gold at the bottom is a Shimmer Sheetz, and while it looks like there is some red on it in the photo, it must be a reflection of the red mat with the camera. No red on this gold! Which was embossed using the Holly EF. I made 3 of these cards to send out this year, for my 3 brothers & family. (did these Monday night, not in a classroom!) Process review: Apply Sookwang to plain c/stock - precut to desired size. Remove backing to expose the 'sticky' part of the tape. (always save this waxy backing piece). Remove outline part of the sticker and using good tweezers, carefully position against the sticky c/s. Using the waxy backing, cover  piece of c/s with the outline part only of sticker, and burnish it down very well. (You don't want the glitter getting under the outline edges. This waxy piece helps keep fingers off the sticky part). Lift waxy backing from the c/s, dip the entire c/s with outline in Cool White Highlight (Ritz) and generously cover the entire c/stock.I keep my Highlight Ritz in a plastic container, & use a plastic spoon to just dip the glitter over the piece. You might find it easier to just pour from the container over a surface that you could dump the excess glitter back into the original container.  Use soft brush to brush off c/stock surface of any excess glitter. THEN, rub, rub, rub-a-dub to burnish the glitter. You'll see it beginning to shine. Once you have the glitter glowing, take copic markers (or other alcohol markers would work I'm sure), color darkest shade at base of leaf, barely touching marker tip to the glitter. (not great for the nibs). Use a lighter color, apply gently & sparingly. Take Copic Blender pen, and pull color towards the tip of the holly leaf. You can go back to darken any place you think needs a bit more color. Doesn't take a lot though. The secret is touch the nib to the glittered surface gently - the color will bleed onto the glitter and you can blend it easily. Do the same with the stem part of the holly branch. I used some red Elizabeth craft dots...use tweezers or pick to lift off the sheet, touch to the outline sticker on the cardstock. Done! I used a sticker for the sentiment. On 2 of the cards, I colored this sticker with red copics prior to adhering to the glittered surface. I liked it. The rest is just a brown-black moire paper mat, then a scant red mat, onto nice quality green textured Bazzil that I had adhered the embossed shimmer sheetz. This has got to be my favorite of all the cards I've done. Have a great day, and lots of hugs! See you later.

Christmas

Good evening after a dreary, rainy, misty day. We ran some errands, then had a nice late lunch, with some hot tea that really hit the spot with me. Our little town has a new Longhorn restaurant that has opened, but has been just too crowded to try for dinner yet. We passed by and saw few cars in the parking area, so zipped in for a nice lunch. Then came home, got a zzzzz - delightful! One of our errands was to the slowest Postal Office in the USA (HAS to be). I had a pile of cards, some different sizes, so I wanted to check the postage. Needless to say, next year, I shall certainly be more conscious of size, embellishments & layering. (even with my cutting out unseen portions...I still had some cards that required extra postage beyond what I had already applied.).  I can't remember the supplies on tonight's cardshare - except for the dies. (But I can look up the info if you would like to have it! LOL). The corner die is a Memory Box Snowflake, and the bottom die is a MB jingle bell die. First use of both dies for me, and I used silver glitter paper. Hard to cut through for the snowflake - Operator, not a die problem per se.  Jingle bell released fairly quickly. The Santa is from a few years back, colored with copics, diecut with S/B oval. At the last moment I decided to rub some Diamond stickles over Santa's red coat...it looks more gold to me than the silver I wanted it to be. The emboss folder is a new Mbossibility that I just received from Blitzy when they were having their sale last week. Arrived very quickly. Now before I say goodnight, I want to welcome another new follower. So happy to have you join me on this adventure - which so far has been lots of fun. I hope you'll enjoy what I post. Tomorrow I hope to show a few lovely handmade cards we've received this holiday...don't think the senders will mind. I am still 'on-go' for my eye surgery this Wed- after 2 postponements, so not sure how much I'll be posting afterward. Then we leave on Sunday for Fla. to join our DD & Dsil for the holidays. I'd also like to join with all the other folks in sending prayers to those tragic families in Connecticut. I can barely imagine the horror in their lives. And I hope not to ever experience anything remotely similar in my lifetime. On that note, I'll say Good night  & thanks once again for visiting, and have a Happy Tuesday! God Bless and keep you in His care. Hugs.

Christmas

Oh ho...Mr. Penny Black Caroling Duck is back yet again...this time with flower soft on his hat...hope you can see it in the enlarged photo. He's standing next to a Memory Box Snowflake diecut tree, cut from a snippet of gold mirror cardstock. I had been trying to decide how to use Mr. C. Duck and this seemed a good pairing. I had made the background blue piece using an Impression Obsession Cover a Card Snowflake stamp (think it was CC132). I used Versa mark to stamp on blue cardstock (yes, a snippet!), heat embossed with a Pearl embossing powder. It produced a pretty effect, but it was a bit mottled in places. Not sure if I didn't have good versamark coverage on the stamp, if it was the paper reacting to the versamark & embossing powder. I decided to use it anyway as a background. Glued the gold tree next to Mr. Duck. Since I was using snippets to create here, it didn't cover the white cardbase as I wanted. Hunted through my ribbon stash, found the sparkly gold, and some more of the American Crafts adhesive ribbon, in a pretty blue. Put both these ribbons on the bottom, added only the gold ribbon at the top. Fixed that part of my white problem. Then had to hunt for something to cover the white sides; found a 'burgundy-ish' snippet that looked ok with all the other snippets. Used an MS punch to do the scalloped trim. BTW, C. Duck was a leftover colored image also! Glued the MS trim down to the back of this first layer, trying to place so it would cover the unwanted white c/base as much as I could, without hanging over & causing an envelope problem. Once I finished, I didn't think it looked all that great. Had my daughter critique it (and believe me, folks, she will be totally honest if she doesn't like something Mama did!).She said "Oh, I think it looks ok...who are you sending it to?", so I decided to keep it in the stash. Does this kind of 'creative process' happen to you? I guess it is teaching me to not just toss something because it didn't look as good as I really wanted. In case you can't tell, I'm really liking this little duck. He just looks so goofy beside the pretty tree. Have a great afternoon. Come again soon.
Edit: This was a scheduled post, and now that it's 'live', and I had 'snippets' (LOL), I will mosey on over to Pixie's Playground 'cause she had some lovely looking yummies for dinner, and who knows, might be a bit left in the pot for stragglers. Let's check & see, shall we? If not, there's bound to be something gorgeous to look at with everyone's cards that the girls bring along! See you there. Ho, Ho, Ho.

Christmas

Good morning. I know, I know...pretty soon, enough already with the Christmas cards. Then I have to start on some Valentine cards. Won't be as many of those however! I don't make (or send) as many Valentine or other cards as I do Christmas cards. Ok, here's the scoop on this card: Diecut Memory Box Winterland Tree using a snippet of gold mirror cardstock. (This was a leftover piece from removing the interior of an earlier diecut) So pretty, and this die cut like butter. I ran it through the (manual) Big Shot -forward & back- & it cut very well. Had to pick the tiny bits out of the paper, but wasn't bad at all. [BTW, the story on the B.Shot: I returned my Electric Big Shot to Sizzix. One night it just stopped with a platform, plates, a Memory Box die & cardstock right in the middle of the rollers. Nothing I did would move it back or forward. It's late at night, and I'm upset - mainly thinking of my nice MB die being ruined. So I hunted on the internet trying to find information on where a reset button could be on the BSE. Couldn't find any documentation, so I fired off an email to Sizzix, explaining what had occurred. Next day I got an email reply advising me to box up the machine only, return to Sizzix. What had been happening to me, when I would have to back the sandwich out very laboriously because the machine would just stop, is a known problem with the motor (I'm guessing it overheats). Before I was able to barely inch the sandwich out, inch by tedious inch. This time it wouldn't even try to move. So BSE has hopefully arrived at its birthplace, will be fixed or replaced with something else (I'm guessing a Vagabond), since Sizzix no longer produces the electric B.Shot. I wrote about this, as I understand some of you have had similar problems. Hope this will help you.If you've had a similar problem, I suggest contacting Sizzix] Back to the card: using blue c/s that would match the cardbase, I used CBug EmbFolder on the mat behind the tree (think it's called Holly Ribbons....unfortunately I cut the name off the cardboard when I stored the folder). Used Alene Easy Flow glue on the tiny bits to adhere the gold tree to the embossed blue c/s. Then added some red rhinestones. This layer was affixed to some snowflake design paper (a snippet from another project - another removed interior piece). As I've said before, when I make a mat under a layer, I diecut to remove the part that is hidden to save bulk, and those pieces come in handy for another project. These were just the right size for what I needed to do. All layers were adhered to a Bazzill blue cardbase, the Merry Christmas outline sticker added, and Bob's your uncle, another card. Longest part of this one, was poking out the little bits in the swirls. Many fell right out, but there are some tiny places that took a quick poke. Have a great day, and come again soon. Blessings & Hugs.
 Edit 1: I had this post scheduled as the daughter was here, and I wanted to save my time for her. I had some cards ready, so got them scheduled to post. Now that this post is live, and has some snippets, I'm headed over to Pixie's Playground to sample some 'good' eggnog, enjoy the festivities. Those girls know how to throw a party! Hope you'll pop by to see what's going on. Lots of lovely cards to browse through while you're having a cup of something.
Edit 2: Got an email from Sizzix today, asking if it was acceptable to me for them to replace my defective BSE with a Vagabond. Now folks, THAT is what I call real good customer service!! So if you are having similar problems to what I described above, you may wish to contact Sizzix while they are still willing to stand behind the Electric Big Shot (which is called the Big Shot Express, I think.). Hope I have helped someone else by posting this info.

Christmas

Hi and thanks for stopping in for a visit today. This card was made with the cutest Art Impression Polar Bear stamp sets that were new last year. I just got around to inking the cling stamp. The coloring was very easy, but I had a boo-boo with the red stripes bleeding, and each time I tried to clean up with the blender pen, it seemed to get worse. I tried for several days, dabbing & blending out, letting it dry well, trying again. Finally I decided to cut the image out, as the rest of it was ok. So, used my Snowflake embossing folder to create a background for the carolers, then tore a piece of green Bazzill to add to the bottom. After adding some Rock Candy Stickles along the torn edge of the Bazzill for a little glitter, I popped up the caroling bears. Found some rub ons that were lines & various size snowflakes. Used an exacto knife to cut off just the snowflakes, placed them around the embossing background. Then I decided to add a smidgen of stickles to the lamp glow, and a gold pearl to the top of the shade. I may add a Merry Christmas sticker on the front, or I may just stamp the sentiment inside. Haven't decided yet. Happy Day to you, and hugs a plenty.

Get Well

Good Afternoon, and welcome. It's a dreary, rainy day in my neighborhood. Our daughter is here for a couple days visiting from Florida, so my post is going to be fast. Had to get a Get Well card ready in a hurry, so decided to use an image I had colored previously. The chickadee is a SU stamp, colored with copics, and I went over the holly berries with Stickles, Christmas Red. Used Spellbinders Circles to cut the red mat, then cut another circle in the cardstock, placed the bird & red mat inside. The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny SU set, stamped with Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Deep green, smudged the outer edge with Memento Cottage Ivy. Used the SU Modern punch for the pattern paper behind the oval. Background paper is from a Small Mat stack*, Paper Studio, Hobby Lobby. I think this cheery little chickadee might brighten my friend's day. Hope you're having a lovely Monday where you are, and thanks, as always, for stopping by to look. Hugs
*Edit: The pattern paper is from Paper Studio, Old World Winter 4.6x6.5*


Miscellaneous

Hi ...I'm back once more this evening. Background story for this post: I had a follower post a nice comment on one of my cards recently, and since I'm so behind on visiting my lovely followers, I wanted to go say hi at this particular blog. Well she's showcasing some other blogs today, and I followed one of her links to THIS blog. Now people, all of us are so blessed, and I am especially so, in so many ways I can't begin to count, and when I read about this special little boy, I got some tears. I hope you'll follow the link, and maybe you can find time to make and send a card to this brave & courageous (and totally adorable in his pictures too!) little fella. His teacher is the blogger, and she has shared a truly heartwarming tale of how this wonderful child has enriched her life. I'm going to do the best I can to get some kid cards made & sent. (Now I don't have a lot of 'kid type stamps!', but I'll be looking for some.) So please, if you have a moment to spare, check this post, and I think it will make you feel the same way it did for me! Thanks to Lisa, at http://decossesdynamitedoodles.blogspot.com/ for sharing the link to Ginger's House. I've got both sites bookmarked, and I will be going back to visit & enjoy some beautiful projects! (when I get caught up myself!!!). Thanks for visiting. Hugs.

Miscellaneous

Hi, and I'm back again this evening with a little 'info' post. I've gotten a few questions about the Sookwang I use, so I thought I'd take a picture of it to hopefully show you what the product is. It is also known as Score Tape. You can see that I have a large roll, in the biggest width that I had the opportunity to buy. I think it was about $60+ in my local stamp store, and I've seen it for similar prices at some online places. It also comes in smaller, less expensive sizes, different widths - for different applications - and in flat sheets. The brand name on the tape is Sookwang, so that is what I was taught to call it in the Ritz Glitter classes. Cut off the amount that you need for your project, cut to shape, & remove the outer backing that has the name on it. (*you can save this piece for another use*).Once you remove this outer backing that you see in the picture, the product is extremely sticky, and you want to keep your fingers off it as much as possible. This then adheres to the surface of what you want to glitter. I use the Tim Holtz scissors to cut it to the desired shape as it sticks to the scissors. I think the TH scissor is made from a non-stick material, so works a bit better than just regular scissors. Once the Sookwang is down on your project, you peel off the remaining backing, sprinkle your Ritz glitter very generously over the surface, brushing off excess back into your glitter container. As I said previously, I dumped the tiny jar into a plastic container, use a spoon to brush the glitter over the project, then seal the container with its lid once I use a soft brush to wipe off the excess glitter. This glitter is a mite pricey I think, as it is a very tiny jar, but it really goes a long way. I bought it locally, but there are online places to purchase it also. I took a picture of the Stampendous Santa stamp used for my latest project. I love cling stamps for their ease of storage, but sometimes I don't always get a good sharp image with these stamps. My Bonnie's Best Stamp Press is the greatest whenever I have this problem. Some of my clear stamps don't give a crisp image (I'm sure it's Operator Error), so I really like this tool. There's a marvelous Youtube here that you really should check out, if this glitter technique is of interest to you. It's really an easy technique, and gives a fantastic look to your cards! Hugs and have a wonderful evening. Thanks for visiting.

Christmas

Hello, and I hope it was a brighter day around your area than it was here in Upstate SC. It has been just a gloomy, gray day, misting rain late this afternoon. I had some errands to run, so have accomplished zip today. I did get a card finished last night, so here it is.  On to the card: Stamped the Stampendous cling Santa with Memento Espresso ink (a brown) on 2 pieces of white card stock. Cut the sharpest image of the 2 out as an oval. (oh yes, I used the Bonnies Best Stamp Press to get a sharp image, by the way, And I fussy cut the tree that hangs over the frame). I used daubers - like Qtips - to color the areas using appropriate Memento inks. Cut a piece of Sookwang sized to the oval, removed the backing so it would stick to my image. Rubbed the surface to get good adherence. Removed the top backing; holding it by the edges to keep fingers off the sticky part, dumped Ritz Cool White Highlight glitter over the entire surface. Brushed off the excess glitter back into the container. *I dumped the tiny jar of glitter into a square plastic container and it sort of spreads out a bit*. Much easier to apply to your project from a larger container than the tiny jar. Ok...then burnish very well with finger, to bring up a lovely shine. You can see this as it develops. Next trimmed my second image to desired size, and using Distress Inks Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, sponged around to create the vintage look I wanted. Used a gold gel pen to go over the swirls. I had previously used copics to color in just the frame. Before I adhered my glittered Santa to the 'postcard', I decided to use a gold pen to outline the oval edge. I used the Gold Gel pen to extend the swirls from the postcard over to the glittered Santa so that the look would 'flow'. Used an Elizabeth craft sticker for the sentinment, gold tree, and star. There is a mirror gold scant mat behind the postcard, and the layers were taped to a red textured Bazzil, top fold, embossed with Darice Damask EF. I tried to dry brush some Viva Decor gold paste over the raised surfaces, but the little pot is all dried up. (Got to check to see if I can add water or something to get it back to paste consistency!). So then I used the Tsukineko Delicata Gold with a little finger dauber to add a little gold on the embossing. This stamp was a sweet gift from my good buddy,  Bernie's Craft Closet and you might remember an earlier card I posted, just using copics to color. I like this one much better. Hope you will like it as well, and thanks so much for visiting.

Christmas

Hey, and welcome. This is yet another Christmas card for my stash, and this is the first year I've ever had more than 4 cards ready before the last minute. "Blogging made me do it". LOL. The stamp is an oldie by the Artful Stamper, and this is the first time it's been inked. Got it a few years ago. I saw these birds done with red flock, but every time I try to do that, it turns out a real mess. I first colored the birds with red Chromatix alcohol markers. Looked ok, but didn't seem to have the bright sparkle I'm used to with copics. So I decided to stamp again, color the images with my copics & cut out, pop up over the previously colored image. I liked it much better. That middle guy has got some moves, doesn't he? Airbrushed the background on the first image, before I added the pop-up guys, so I didn't have to worry about the blue airbrushing darkening the image. Used the Snow Writer to add a bit of stuff under their feet, sprinkled some coarse MS glitter while the Snow was wet. This time I remembered to diecut first, so as not to flatten the snow. The die was S/B Label 14, the largest in the set. I traced the outside of the die to get my mat, which was handcut. There's some gold edging done with Tsukineko's Delicata gold, but don't think it shows too much in the picture. The card background was plain white GP paper, embossed with the new C/B Snowflake EF (pictured here) - which I found thanks to Bonnie, Susan and a very helpful Haylie at Crop Stop. This is the first time use, and I thought it looked great with this image. The sentiment was stamped on a tiny leftover diecut tag, to which I added 3 pearls made with Red Viva Decor Pearls. A happy discovery was the green sparkly ribbon, which I had bought a while back. First time I used it, I added some tape to adhere it. For some reason I gave the backing a closer look this time, and thought "hmm, wonder if that is adhesive backing on this stuff", sinceI had read about a brand of American Crafts ribbon that has it. Well, after poking around on different corners of the cut edge with my fingernails, it did separate, and it WAS adhesive. I have it in red too. Now is that happy or what??? So thanks as always for paying me a visit, and have a wonderful & blessed day. Hugs.

Birthday

Good Morning. I was looking through some cards stored on my pc last night, and found this card I made for a cousin who is a Red Hat lady. The stamp was borrowed, so don't know the manufacturer. I think the hardest part of coloring this image, was trying to get a translucent effect on the shawl where it drapes over her arm. The diecut was done with Spellbinders, and the lacy trim was an MS punch that had been embossed with a C/B dots folder. I used Red Bazzill for the cardbase, and used a big Flourish stamp, versamark, clear embossing powder. I was rather pleased with the reds on the hat & glove and if you look closely, there's some purple in the flowers too! I don't think I've posted this previously. Enjoy. Have a wonderful day.

Winter

 Hello, and thanks for stopping to visit. I've decided to label this cardshare Winter, as it's not strictly a Christmas card. The stamp is by Impression Obsession, cling rubber C2891. When I saw him in a sample, he just made me smile. So cute. He's colored with copics, diecut with Spellbinder Ovals, sponged with Memento Sky blue, which gave a sort of 'icy' feel to the look. The scalloped S/B oval mat is from a 6x6 of Cosmo Cricket, Mitten Weather - oldy from a couple years ago. I used the same paper snippet to mat the oval sentiment. The sentiment was stamped with a tiny little stamp (on another snippet)using the Memento Sky Blue - handy - and I used Judikins Aegean Silver to heat emboss. IRL it looks brrrr... swiped the edges with the Sky blue. The cardbase is a burgundy lightweight textured Bazzill, diecut with the smallest of the Grand Big Scalloped Ovals. *To diecut for a card, place top die edge just outside the fold for a hinged card.* There is a snippet of a regular scalloped oval inside for the sentiment. Was trying to clean up some of my snippet mess on the desk, and Voila, there's a piece I can use for this card! Used some silver mirror paper and S/B Build-a-Snowflake 3 to cut the flakes, and a small handpunch for the one on Snowy's left. The silver was also a snippet left from cutting the Memory Box ornament a few posts back. I had some sparkly glass beads that I adhered with Glossy Acents, for a bit of Bling. (been waiting to say that! LOL).  Now I'm going to grab up some 'nog & scurry over to Pixie's Playground, where there's rumors of lots of fun going on, (and I won't say nuffin bout what's goin' in the 'nog, but the chickens are standing by. Remember I'm from the South, and you know what gets brewed back in the Mountain Hills). I've heard talk about tree lights, mulled wine, concerts, so if you come - AND I HOPE YOU WILL! - bring yer own cup! Have a wonderful afternoon. Hugs.

Miscellaneous

Back again for a quick chat & to show the buds on our Christmas Cactus. We've had this plant about 5 years now, and it spent the summer on our front porch, along with a few other plants of different colors. During my stay in the basement this past summer, the plants either got neglected or overwatered, so many of them didn't survive DH's care. In his behalf, he had his hands full tending me.  This one must have been more hardy. We had one bloom just before Thanksgiving, that was a beautiful magenta color (started out as a Christmas red when we bought it). So out of about 6 plants, we have 2 left. I brought this one inside when our weather started to cool down, as it didn't look too dried out on the greenery. Just noticed it was getting buds, and this morning I saw the white pods had formed. Can't wait until the flowers are out. Incidently, the magenta one, is just about bloomed out. I'm not a plant person. Any plants around our house, have to be able to withstand ignorance and neglect! Hugs.

 

Christmas

Hi and I hope wherever you may be in the world, that it's as lovely a day as it is here in Upstate SC. Yesterday I put away a few Fall decorations, put out a very few Christmas ones. Got the wreath on the front door, and put out these handmade placemats (see the motif?!) that were a gift a few years ago. Everybody knows I love Cardinals. The background is a bit busy against the card, but aren't these birds lovely? The reverse side of the placemat is a beautiful print as well, but it's floral - in the same colors. (Can you guess I don't let anybody actually use these placemats to eat off? LOL). To the card: The image is by Prickly Pear, very easy to color, and I used Chromatix alcohol markers. These markers have a brush nib on one end, but a small nib on the opposite end. I am not finding them as easy to blend with as the Copicse, but then ...I need to practice a bit more. I did like the results. Image was diecut with S/B Dahlia, sponged with Memento Love Letters (it was handy so I used it, rather than hunt up a Distress Ink pad). I handcut the mat, after tracing the outer edge of the same die that I used to cut the image. This paper is from a 6x6 pk, but I have many of them stacked around on the floor, and sorry...I didn't note the paper manufacturer. However, the background paper is from Authentique Festive Collection, also 6x6. This has been one of my favorite packs this season. (see the Cardinal in the lower corner? Hmmm...probably is why I like this paper!). The trim at the top was a snippet that I had diecut for another project, looked nice against the music score. HOWEVER, I adhered it, then noticed it was on a bit crooked, so I snipped off a bit of the music score paper, covered it, trying to cover up the boo-boo. The sentiment was cut from a snippet of white using a McGill label punch (the old style type of punch), sponged Memento Cottage Ivy around the edges, adhered rhinestones. Ah, one more Christmas card in my stash. One of these days I've got to get inserts made, address labels set up, envelopes done. Thanks for the visit, and have a wonderful afternoon.

Miscellaneous

I just wanted to add a big Congratulatons to Maureen , Sally H, and Valery Anne for winning the blog candy at Shaz in Oz. Ladies that was some super nice blog candy, most generous of Sharon to offer. I wanted to say WELL DONE to ALL of you!

Christmas

Happy Sunday afternoon, and welcome to a new follower. I noticed the number change upward, but I'm not finding out who the follower is when I scroll through that section. If it should be you, please leave me a comment so I can add your name to my database, cauze one of these days, I'm going to be having some more blog candy. You want to be sure to get counted! Here's a really simple card, and I must confess it's very plain looking to me. It was fairly quick to put together. I've been seeing blogs where crafters are using paint chips & punches, so thought I'd try, plus I also wanted to use some more Ritz Glitter. The reindeer is a flat EK Success punch, on Gingerbread color paint chip,  added the rhinestone on his nose, drew in his eye, some white gel pen on his antlers. Pop dots on Rudy to elevate off the kraft cardbase.  Used a C/B border EF (Nathaniel's Penwork). This folder has a regular size EF, with a coordinating border. I estimated where Rudy would be positioned, then applied borders with some 1/4" score tape, (also called Sookwang). Peeled off the protective backing to expose more sticky, sifted on some Apple Red Ritz glitter, and burnished. (rub, rub, rub!). I daubed some Memento Love Letter ink over the raised embossing, then wished I'd left it off. Too late. The sentiment is a 3D tag from a bundle of 10 purchased at Hobby Lobby's 50% off sale. I cut it apart, used Ailene's Easy Flow glue on the back to stick it down. There are sort of 'knobs' on the back of this critter, so it's raised. These probably should be filed off before this kind of use (like a button shank). I think this one will be hand delivered, IF I decide to use it. This is not one of my cards that I felt satisfied with upon finishing it. It was an experiment. Some of my experiments turn out ok, some don't. I keep trying!! Blessings to all of you, have a wonderful afternoon, come back to visit real soon.

Christmas

Hi Folks, Welcome! We're off to a great weekend everywhere, I hope. Here's a card to share that is a blatant copy of one I saw here on a fabulous Youtube. This lady does some good videos, speaks clearly & keeps her hands & head out of the camera's way. If you like this card, I hope you'll check out the video. I happened upon it after taking one of the Ritz glitter classes, and said "I can DO that!". I visited the online store, had this stamp in a cart to order. The same day I was at Michael's, in the checkout lane, glanced at a Christmas stamp display...WHOA, there is the stamp. The one I bought was a woodblock, whereas Stacy is using cling. Also I did have to use a Bonnie's Best Stamp Press to get a good clear image - (it's still a bit faint, but I think that is the way it is designed to be...sort of 'vintage-y'). If you have stamps that just don't seem to give you a good image, I highly recommend this tool: and no, they don't pay me to say this! I will always tell you if something works for me, as well as if I don't have good luck with a product! Keep in mind it could always be Operator Error, when it's a bust. <g>. OK...on to the card specs: Stamp is by Stampendous, stamped with Versamark Sepia ink for 2 images. Handtrimmed the center portion of one image. Used a little dabber such as one used to be able to buy to apply your eye makeup (sort of like Q-tips), & applied Memento Sky Blue;  Pear Tart shaded with Bamboo Leaves in the appropriate places, plus a bit of Canteloupe for candlelight at the windows. Looked pretty good just like that. Next measured off some Sookwang tape (very sticky tape, has cover on both sides that you peel off as Stacy's video will show). *You want to keep your fingers off this as much as possible - once you remove the backing.*  Handtrimmed Sookwang, placed it over the oval image. Dusted it generously with Ritz White Highlight glitter. Brush excess, then burnish (in other words, rub, rub, rub with finger...but burnish sounds better!). This brings up the shine of the glitter, plus then it doesn't flake off. Previously I had  positioned the oval cutout over the postcard to see where some additional coloring would be needed once the oval was in place. Did the holly parts with copics, sponged & distressed with DI Antique Linen & Vintage Photo until I got the desired results. Adhered the glittered oval into proper position. Image was adhered to a Forest Green Bazzill mat, then added a sliver of gold mirror paper as another mat before adhering to the Forest Green cardbase. Used an Elizabeth Craft sticker for the sentiment, as I wanted the image to be what you see primarily. This was an easy card to do once I got working, although the explanation took longer than the card did to make!  As I said - this is a totally copied card, but I did give credit where due in the link above. I hope Stacy won't mind this share. I'm dashing over to Rudolph Day to add my last entry for the final Rudy challenge of 2012. Happy Day and Blessings to all who visit.