Holy Family Card

I got this stamp last year to match the church program cover for our Christmas Cantata.  this year I pulled it out again to make a few special cards.  The image is stamped in versamark (can't live without it) and heat embossed with silver powder.  I sponged on some chocolate chip, old olive, pacific point and more mustard.
It's mounted on last year (ret) DSP and on taken with teal ( miss that color).

Thanks for looking.

Top Note Quilt

I've made a top note quilt card before and they are very easy to do.  This one uses scraps ( I love using every last scrap of DSP) from the DSP sampler I ordered when the catalog was new.  The squares are cut 1 1/4 inch square and run through the xyron.  I've found that apply adhesive individually is time consuming and you don't always get glue where you need it.  The squares are adhered to a  x 5 " piece of scrap CS (because no one will see it).  Run it thru the big shot and there it is.  I did not faux stitch on this one though I have in the past.  the bid is stamped with the flourish from vintage vogue set.  The button is from a My Favorite Things die and the sentiment is from curly cute.
My friend who is a seamstress will get this card so I hope she likes it.

Thanks for looking and come back tomorrow.

Season of Friendship

Here's a look at one of the special cards I made for Christmas.  This is my first chance to play with this set.  I've loved it for a long time and was lucky to receive it from my friend Alicia.  So of course I'll send her the first card I've made with it.  I stamped the tree in chocolate chip on whisper white and cut it out.  It's mounted on some retired DSP and then on Baja Breeze (one of my favorite colors).  The bird and greeting are stamped in riding hood red.  I used dazzling diamonds to create the look of frost and snow.  I'll be back tomorrow to share some more of my Christmas cards.  It's not too late to make a handmade card and show your friends and family how much you care.  For a closer look just click on the picture,

MDS page

I have really fallen in love with stampin' up's my digital studio (MDS).  It is very easy to use and has so many options.  This page is of my son and the photos we took of him to get one for our Christmas card.  They were taken at the Bass Pro Shops in Macon.  So take a hint from me and get someone else to do the holiday background decorations for you :)
This page only took a few minutes.  I still love to scrapbook in person but instead of dragging everything out and getting the photos printed I can get a page done FAST.

Thanks for looking.  Keep checking back.  I hope to have another holiday project to share tomorrow.

get your tag on Day #6

Mr. Cardinal is so regal isn't he.  I am a sucker for punch art.  He is punched in RHR.  The base is baja breeze and is cut with spellbinders tag die and embossed with sizzix embossing folder.  I spritzed the tag with pearl glimmer mist.  Attached is a picture of the tag and then of my recipe card for the cardinal.. (I'm so sorry to say I don't remember who I cased the cardinal from but if you know leave a comment and I'll give credit where credit is due).  That's one of the wonderful things about the web..so many ideas.  I'm currently working on my Christmas cards but I may throw a bonus tag in tomorrow or a MDS page.  Thanks for looking.

get your tag on day #5

Of all the tags this was probably the easiest to make.  I think I will be making quite a few more of these. The color combo is baja breeze and riding hood red.  The stamp set is snow swirled.  I heat embossed the image using embossing powder I got at Archivers.  Then punched with scallop circle and mounted on the two tags die cut.  The smaller circle is from the set also and then I couldn't resist adding a little pearl bling.  Thanks for looking. 

get your tag on day # 4...on Dasher!

Of all the Christmas stamps I have...Dasher is my favorite.  Part of that is because he was a bargain... a single stamp under 10 dollars.  The base of this tag was cut using the 2 tags die.  The material is canvas that was again found at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbook paper section.  It is sold as a 12 x 12 sheet.   I stamped Dasher in classic chocolate chip ink although for this use craft ink is better.  I will probably fray the edges a bit more.  I also added small pearl bling in his antlers.

Thanks for looking.  Remember to come back tomorrow for another tag and leave a comment on which one you'd like to see next.  They are all posted as a group on SCS in the anything but a card gallery in the tag section.

Get your tag on day # 3

It is so interesting to see that so many other folks are doing tags this week also.  I see that Tim Holtz is doing 12.  Most of his work is not really my style but I am amazed by his talent and techniques.  As of the time I am posting this I didn't see any comments to request a tag however on SCS one person wrote they loved the penguin so here goes. 
The penguin is from a quickcutz die I bought at Archivers 2 years ago.  I fell in love with him and that got me started on the die cutting path.  I've gone from the revolution to the big shot and I LOVE my big shot.  After die cutting the penguin I put him on a SU baja breeze scallop circle and then the base is the best part.  It is cut using the two tags die out of....chalkboard paper.  I know, I can't believe such a thing exists but it is available at Hobby Lobby.  The best part of this tag is that it is so re-useable.  His little Santa hat is from Michael's (Jolee's sticker).

Thanks so much for continuing to check these tags out.  Leave a comment to vote for which tag will appear tomorrow.  Have a great Saturday!

Get your tag on Day #2

Wow. The other night before I posted I had 300 hits now I'm at 599. Thank you thank you thank you for visiting my little blog. Now on to tag #2. At the request of my mom I'll be detailing the one with the ribbon flower. A few weeks ago Stampin Up had a fabulous sale and I bought 2 rolls of riding hood red 1 1/4 stripped grosgrain ribbon. What a bargain at 1.99 for 10 yards. To make the flower you need 10" of ribbon. Do a running stitch on one of the long ends. For those of you new to sewing pull out your needle and thread and poke the needle up and then down in little stitches all the way to the end without stopping. When you reach the end slide the ribbon down to the bottom to "scrunch" it up. I sew the two ends together and turn them under. The button is made using all those teeny scraps you get when you give your ribbon nice tails. I've included step by step pictures to help. You get the button kits in the sewing section of the fabric stores. I think those are size 5/8". On the back of the package it shows how big your fabric needs to be and keep in mind the ribbon is 1 1/4". The button does have a shank on it (which I guess you could cut off) bit I sew the button in the middle and attach the whole thing with red line sticky tape (the tape that doesn't give you a second chance!) The base tag is again from the paper I got at Michaels and is the other tag on the tow tag die. If anything isn't clear please leave a comment and I'll be happy to answer any questions. For those of you who don't have the ribbon or don't feel like sewing I added an alternate embellishment of the scallop circle flower with a corduroy brad.




Speaking of comments...leave me one on the tag you'd like to see tomorrow. Sorry if this post is a little late for some of you. I have to blog when my toddler is napping. :)



Thanks again for stopping by and remember to come back tomorrow!

Holiday Inspiration

Welcome back or welcome for the first time.  I've made a holiday change to my blog header...to be honest it's the only holiday decorating I've done so far.  In an attempt to stay on top of what I'll need as Christmas gift giving gets closer I've gone ahead and made some gift tags.  I'll be posting one per day so be sure to keep checking back.  This first one is a CASE from Dawn Griffith http://www.dawnsstampingthoughts.net/.

The base is from the Stampin' Up sizzix die called two tags.  The paper is from Michael's (looks like candy cane).  Then an old olive scallop circle and the reindeer (made from the owl punch and snowflake punch).  These are so cute and so easy to make.  I'm considering making a lot more but I'll have to borrow my mom's snowflake punch.  Thanks for looking and remember to come back tomorrow!

Bless you Li'l Pumpkin

Here is the latest card from my disaster area stamping studio.  This is from my latest purchase from My favorite things http://www.mftstamps.com/.  It's called Li'l pumpkin.  Isn't she just adorable!  Even though I have a little boy I could not resist this stamp.  She is stamped in memento black so that I could use copic markers.  I have paper pieced her dress and the pumpkin from SU designer series paper.  I did a paper share from a demonstrator right after the new catalog came out.  I love this because I can have a little piece of everything and decide which papers I have to get big sheets of.  I colored her skin with E 51 (milky White) and a little R 20 blush.  Her shoes are "patent leather" thanks to the sakura black glaze pen.  I double matted on Su paper (pumpkin pie and garden green) and then used sewing to give a little texture.  The pumpkin pie stripped ribbon is from SU clearance rack and the button is just from my button drawer.  I was super pleased how this turned out.  Thanks for looking.

The "chipper" chicken

I have this flaw in my brain that makes movie quotes come to mind when I am expressing a thought.  The "chipper" chicken is from the movie Father of the Bride when the dad decides to go low budget and have the cheaper chicken excpt the pseudo foreign wedding planner pronounces it "chipper".  Is this getting less funny the more I explain it?  Anyway, I saw this idea on the blog http://butternutsagedesigns.blogspot.com/ and one other place as it was from a SU convention.  I loved it but didn't have the funding to do it their way.  So I used the MDS software to print out the words, waited for funkins to go on sale (and used a smaller size) used tracing paper and a sharpie pen and voila!  I am super pleased with the results.  My husband helped drill holes in them and I stacked them like the crazy cakes I see on TV.  I used bling I got at Hobby Lobby and the tulle is from there too.  The bow could use a little help but the whole thing cost less than twenty dollars  and therefore it is the chipper (cheaper) chicken version.   Thanks for looking.

Halloween projects

This is the time of year that my crafting really kicks into high gear.  This last week my mom and dad came for a visit and we made 8 of these darling hand sanitizer holders.  I got the idea and the template from http://pinkbuckaroodesigns.blogspot.com/2010/08/clean-halloween.html.  They were so easy and fun to make.  I made 4 more to send to my friends' children in Omaha.  I hope that they will love them and Iplan on making more in the future for cute b-day gifts.  Really makes a dollar gift extra special. 

Zero calorie cake...but so yummy!

I have a confession to make...I love all things baby!  Of course my own baby is my favorite but I have always loved baby showers.  I used to go way overboard and buy lots of cute little outfits.  Then when I had my own baby I realized what people actually need...diapers!  I've been making diaper cakes for several years now.  I used to tape the diapers but then I realized that can mess them up.  My cakes are made with 2 sizes and 2 brands (give the mom some variety).  I make them jelly roll style and hold it all together with rubber bands.  I usually wrap the bottom layer with a receiving blanket.  I buy the "travel size" J&J kit at Wal-Mart for around 3 dollars.  I got the tulle at HL where it was on sale this week.  For the top I have used rubber ducks in the past but this time I found a cute baby hat crochet pattern and then I put a bottle with candy in it (for mom).  The girl cake had good and plenty's (pink and white).  The boy was york pieces (blue and white).  I wonder how long it will take for my husband to find the remaining york pieces?  The card was a CASE (copy and share everything) from Andrea Walfords site http://andreawalford.com/.  I used some new DSP from SU that looked like vines and part of a rub on that said "sweet slumber".  For the boy's card I used the fox and friends set and did the turtle baby card but in boy colors as in my previous post.  Hope you will use this as inspiration for your next baby shower gift (it's less expensive than clothes)/  Thanks for looking.

spooky glam

This is the latest set to see ink.  I've made a couple of cards that made it out of the house before I took pictures (bad blogger....bad).  This is going to go to one of my other favorite bloggers Angie Juda of chic n scratch along with a bag of Halloween marshmellows.  The spider web embossing folder is so cool and the images of the set are really enhanced by heat embossing with black embossing powder.  I also am in love the glimmer brads.  Who doesn't love a litttle bling.  The inside has the technique of faux torn edge.

life goes on

It has been a while since my last post. On September 1st my mother in law, Carol, passed away suddenly. In the midst of taking care of final affairs I have not had much time to craft. Today I will post a picture of Carol doing the craft we shared...crochet. Between my Grandma, Carol and my friend Gwen I somehow learned to crochet and love it. To me and I think to Carol, crochet is relaxing. Nothing else can be in my mind when I am concentrating on a pattern. We joked that we should sprinkle some of her ashes in the Hobby Lobby yarn section...fear not fellow crafters we didn't carry through with that thought. For us now we go on without her until we see her again at our own homecoming.

amigarumi apple

This is my latest crochet project. I've made three so far. It was a free pattern from Lion Brand yarn website. It's called a "tawashi" a scrubber for dishes or bathtime. These go together very quickly. I packaged it with a tag made from the SU stamp set tart and tangy which has a a cute apple in it.

who's that harvesting kindness

This is the second set I've purchase from my favorite things. They are wonderful and I can see they are really more for "works of art/heart" than a quick card. The person who gets them will hopefully feel really loved. This is a card for my friend/neighbor Jen. If I could pick the perfect neighbors in some future utopia (no HOA) neighborhood...Jen (and her fantastic craft room) would be one of my neighbors. I know she will not take money from me for mailing me goodies but honestly...who could turn down a card with an Archiver's gift card inside? I hope she will enjoy it and maybe even re-use it. I used paper piecing, copic markers and SU marker. I LOVE how it turned out. Posted on SCS also.

there's something in the water

Several people at my husband's workplace are pregnant so I thought I would work on a few baby cards to have ready. This is a CASE (copy and share everything) from a card I saw on SCS. I changed up the stamp set and colors a bit to be generic for boy or girl. When I make this again I think I will clear emboss the turtle (SU fox and friends) or will emboss and cut out his shell and put that on a pop dot for more dimension.

stick to what you are good at

Craft disaster today. Epic failure...the only thing keeping it from the worst ever is no one was injured...unless you count my pride. I so want to be good at sewing but so far I have had few successes. I do keep in mind that I used to be terrible at crochet and now I'm mot afraid to try most any pattern. I guess I will keep working on it. In the meantime I have been making several really cute cards. This one is for our last pastor and his wife. Boy do I miss our old church. But we are making acquaintances in the new church and will probably feel the dame about leaving it when time comes. I've been wanting this one pear stamp for a while and while reorganizing the other day discovered...I already have a pear stamp. (I'm not sure I've ever even used this set before). I posted it and a couple other recent cards on SCS today. Now back to what I am good at...while the baby is still asleep.

back in the stamping mood

Since I last posted... we've moved. The transition has had it's ups and downs. I now have a smaller are to craft in but I have really trimmed down my supplies and reorganized to be more efficient and I am loving the new space. The first thing to come out of my room was a sweet treat card for my good friend and neighbor Jen's daughter Camille. The inspiration came from her party invite and then on a trip to the store I saw coldstone creamery flavored jelly bellies. Inside I put a gift card for DQ.

My first blog entry

Well....here I go. I have only become a fan of blogs in the last year but with the encouragement of friends I have decided to start my own. I'll be sharing all sorts of things with you. My main hobbies are stamping and paper crafting but I do dabble in yarncraft and a few other creative outlets. My latest project was amigurumi reindeer. The pattern is available on lion brand yarn's website.