Christmas tag with Hostesses!

Good Friday Morning! Have you had a WONDERFUL week? I surely hope so! There's been lots flying around here, I assure you! :D

This is a fun tag we made last Friday night. It's a brand-new stamp set, called STYLIN' SNOWFOLK. It's SO much fun to use! :) (The "Merry Christmas" is from TEENY TINY WISHES. I'm telling you, if you haven't gotten that stamp set you, you really should!!!! SO versatile!!)

Colors are Cherry Cobbler, Basic Gray, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Early Espresso, and Gumball Green. It's one of the tags from the Two Tags Die. And the snow? Allllllll covered in Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I LOVE THAT STUFF! And this uses the Big Shot, too, and we all know....
I ♥ My Big Shot!
:D
Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Be sure and take the time to STAMP something!

Fall Card with Hostesses!

Good morning! How's the week going? Are you enjoying it? :)

Today's share is one we did at our Hostess Party on Friday night. It was our last night with our friend, Mary; I've mentioned that she's retired and moving to be near her son and his family. I'm thrilled for her, but I'm SO going to miss her!

Anyway. :) It's that lovely woodgrain embossing folder again, done on Soft Suede with Soft Suede ink "highlighting" the texture.

We stamped the leaf from LOVELY AS A TREE in Chocolate Chip craft ink, then embossed with clear powder. I like doing that, because it give me a little ridge when I'm using my Aqua Painters, so the color doesn't go all over the card stock. :)

We used a little bit of Smootch ink on the acorn after we colored it in with Soft Suede; I didn't like that SUPER dark look. The pearlized surface is really reflecting the light back, so you can't even tell it's been colored! :D

Add a little sponging around the outside of the focal piece of card stock, and there you have it! :) I really, really like the woodgrain!!!! (Not that you could tell or anything.... :D)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, and be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!

Christmas is Coming!

 Happy Monday! :) Did you have a good weekend? Did you STAMP anything? :D

Hey! Did you know I have two other blogs? You can find them in the blog list on the right side of this page. :)

Well, it's getting to that time: decide on your card design, and start in on them! :D Some of you make lots of different ones, I know; some of us make one - and make a silly amount of them. :D No matter how many times I count, I always, ALWAYS have to pull out my supplies at least twice more. And then I usually still need more, but refuse to pull it all out again. :D

I really like this one. I was trying to do something else, which turned out to be a complete DISASTER, and then decided to play with this one. :D Not too bad, right??? (Please agree...! :D )

Here's the "recipe"!

Card stock: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Brushed Gold

Stamp set: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: VersaMark

Accessories: designer label punch, Antique Wallpaper embossing folder, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Big Shot, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Cherry Cobbler embossing powder, modern label punch, heat tool, MY DIGITAL STUDIO 2 (WISHES & GREETINGS, CHRISTMAS LODGE)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me! :) Have a WONDERFUL day! Be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMEthing!

Fall Florets Card

Good Friday Morning!
It's the last day before your weekend - has your week SEEMED shorter?? :)

Today is my 16th anniversary. Through lots of ups and lots of downs, Kenn and I have been through it TOGETHER. I'm SO blessed to have him!

Today, I'm showing you how to mat that curly label punch. Click on the photo to get it to enlarge! It's super easy, and you can change up its looks so easily!

So, I used the FABULOUS FLORETS set, along with the TRUST GOD set, to make this card. The colors are More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Always Artichoke - with a little Very Vanilla card stock in there, too. :)

I really like the way this turned out. It's beautifully rich in real life. I'm SO ready for fall weather!! :)

So. Have a WONDERFUL weekend, and be sure to make the time to STAMP something! :D

Blessing Others

Happy Wednesday! It's a short work week; are you happy about that? :D

I want to encourage you today to do acts of kindness for others. It doesn't take much, but it sure makes you feel GOOD. :D

I have a friend who's an author, mother, wife, reviewer, makeup artist, and just plain BUSY. She posted on Facebook that her September was jam-packed, and she needed chocolate to get through it.

So guess what I did? :D Yup. I took her chocolate. It was only three Turtles, but she knew I listened. And sometimes, isn't that all we really want??

I took a Top Note diecut (Crumb Cake) and ran it through the woodgrain embossing folder. (Yes, Becky, you DO need that folder!!!!) I layered an Early Espresso modern label punch onto the designer label punch in Cherry Cobbler, and then embossed the "God Bless You" from TRUST GOD with white embossing powder. It was fast and easy - that's a 5x7 cello bag from Stampin' Up!, too. It took very little time or money to bless my friend. I love doing little things like that - even if I'm having a rotten day, it changes my attitude to do something for someone else!

OK, I'm outta here. :) Have a WONDERFUL day, and be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMEthing - and give it away!

Shark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY LABOR DAY! I'm sorry this wasn't up first thing this morning; I honestly thought I'd preset a post, but I guess I just THOUGHT about it. Sheesh. :D

So, this is another birthday card, this time for my nephew, D. His birthday isn't until the 14th, so I feel pretty good about getting it all ready. :D The last I heard, he wanted to be a marine biologist, and loved sharks. (What 10-year-old-boy doesn't?!?! :D) So, this is specifically for him.

I have to admit, I had no clue where to start. So I searched for "punch art shark", and this is one I came up with - you can see her original here.

Of course I tweaked it a bit. ;D And I LOVE LOVE LOVE my background on this card. The color is Pool Party - what else?!? :D I took some plastic wrap and bunched it up - I've been teaching this easy technique for YEARS! - and used it to dab VersaMark onto my card stock. Then, I took Iridescent Ice embossing powder and poured it all over. After heating it, I used Shimmery White card stock to make "bubbles".

Tell me what you think! :D Punch art is so much fun - it's so fun to take something like oval and heart punches and make them into an animal! :D

OK, I'm outta here. Got to get busy so I have more stuff to show you! :D Have a WONDERFUL day! I hope you make the time to STAMP something today!!!!

A HAPPY card! :D

Phew. Just in time! HAPPY FRIDAY!!! :)

D: if you're reading this, don't show it to the kinder, unless the card's already been received. Which would shock me. :D

This weekend is my 5-year-old niece's birthday. A. told me during their visit that she wants to become a paleontologist. And she wanted me to tell her everything I knew about dinosaurs.

Heavens. LOL!

So, I found this video on making the little hatchling; I did tweak it a tiny bit, and got one of the paws in the wrong place, but I think it's just too cute for words! :D

The colors are Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, and Melon Mambo. I used the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and the Hearts framelits for the base card; the "happy birthday" (which I squished a little! ) is from TEENY TINY WISHES. If you DO try this one, know that I made her spike longer, to make her a little more feminine, and that I used the largest circle punch for the egg, and just cut it. :D It worked, I think! (I'm an AWFUL scissors-user!!!!)

OK, I'm outta here. Tomorrow is September 1! EEK! The year is FLYING by - I hope the weekend doesn't. :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure to STAMP something!

Isn't it time for there to be HAPPY happenings?

I know you're getting tired of seeing them, but my need for sympathy cards continues. I liked that color combo so much last week, I decided to go there again. And I already had the woodgrain embossed piece. I used More Mustard on the leaves on the tree; some of it's more intense than the rest, which gives it that great varied look. I'm so glad Stampin' Up!®'s not gotten rid of LOVELY AS A TREE; it's a perfect set for sympathy cards.

If you have any questions about this card, please ask me! :)

Have a wonderful day! Be sure to stamp SOMETHING! (And send it to me! I need happy mail! LOL!)

Monday with Gratitude

 How was your weekend? Did you accomplish lots - or did you take the opportunity to enjoy your family, maybe get some rest? :)

Today's share is a card I made just to share with you. If you've heard my story about joining Stampin' Up!®, you probably know that, when I first started stamping, I thought I'd love to color. AUGH! :D It's soooo time-consuming; anymore, if I'm making a card for my own use, it has to be fast and easy. That's one of the reasons I love SU!; no matter what your style, it works with SU! :)

So, without further ado, here's the recipe. :)

Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery

Ink: VersaMark, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb cake, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Stamp sets: Always Thankful, Trust God

Accessories: Early Espresso Embossing Powder, heat tool, Aqua Painters, piercing tool, piercing mat, piercing template, Snail adhesive.

If you have ANY questions about how I did something, please ask! And remember: you can see any photo in the size I uploaded it by clicking on it. :)

OK, I'm outta here. It's one of THOSE days, where nothing I touch seems to be turning out right. But I have too much to do to not DO. LOL!

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure to take the time to stamp SOMEthing. (Or someONE, if your day's like mine.... :D )

More sympathy!

Good Friday Morning!

Well, I seem to be getting to that point in life where friends and family are either losing loved ones or being lost more often. :( So these types of cards are more necessary for my personal use than ever.

I really, REALLY like this one. It's the woodgrain on a scallop circle diecut card, with the ridges hit with Crumb Cake ink. The tree from LOVELY AS A TREE is embossed with Chocolate Chip craft ink and clear embossing powder, as is the "With Sympathy" from TEENY TINY WISHES. The banner is made with More Mustard; I used my Aqua Painters and Garden Green, Bashful Blue, More Mustard, and Crumb Cake inks to color in the medallion. I think this card is serene without being gloomy.

OK, I'm outta here. Rough week. Thank you for continuing to come to my blog! :) Doing things to share with you helps me stay connected.

So, now YOU take the time to STAMP SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scraps!

Good morning! I hope you're having a great week.

It's definitely been an interesting, exhausting, emotional one here. I'd like you to meet our family's newest addition, my niece, Naomi. :) Isn't she beautiful?!?!

OK, now back to work. :D

I made this card with things I'd already punched or cut; the only thing that wasn't done was the "Merry Christmas" modern label. But that was simple enough to put together! :D


The gingerbread are stamped and embossed, and cut with the Big Shot! (Hey, I haven't done this one in a LONG time! Ready?!? :D I ♥ My Big Shot! SOMEONE, make me a bumper sticker! :D)

Colors are Early Espresso, Winter White, Cherry Cobbler, and Gumball Green. :D

If you have any specific questions, LMK. :D

I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day, and be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!

Monday with Woodgrain

Good Monday Morning! How are you today? Did you get a chance to stamp anything this weekend? I didn't.

We didn't have a very good weekend. Please pray for my family as we walk through a devastating loss together. Thank you!

This is a card I put together in about five minutes this morning. I can't decide if it's going to be a sympathy card, or just a "Thinking of You" card. I've got SO many cards! If you want to purchase any, just let me know!!! :)

So, this one uses the woodgrain embossing folder in a quite different way than I showed you last week; I thought it complimented the tree quite well. :D I colored the stamp with Stampin' Write markers - those colors are Island Indigo, Pool Party, Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Crumb Cake, and Whisper White. The stamp set is EASY EVENTS. It's the same fold as the sympathy card I showed you - I think Monday last week? Maybe the week before. :)

ANYWAY. I'm outta here. I hope you have a WONDERFUL day, and be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!!!!

Fun with embossing folders, Day 2!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Have you had a good week? Big plans for the weekend? Gonna STAMP something? :D

This is the second new embossing folder to finish out the week, Holiday Frame. It's Night of Navy again, but I inked the top of the embossing with Whisper White ink, and then embossed it with the Iridescent Ice EP. The star inside, as well as the saying on the modern label punch, are from COME TO BETHLEHEM; they're both embossed with Silver EP.

I really like this card and its simplicity. What do you think? I wish we still sold the silver cording; that would add a nice touch. And it's much more sparkly IRL. :D

OK, I'm outta here. Busy weekend; I'm performing some historical monologs at the Wilson County Fair on Friday and Saturday! Come see me! :)

Enjoy your weekend. Be sure and take the time to stamp something!

Fun with embossing folders, day 1!

Good Wednesday morning! How is your week going? Are you having a good one? Done any STAMPING this week?? :D

So, I spent Tuesday afternoon designing *just* for you, my dear blog readers. I'm still recuperating from being gone last week, so it was a little touch-and-go when I started. But I came up with two cute little projects for you, one today and one Friday. I hope you'll let me know what you think! :)

Today's does use a non-Stampin' Up! die, the bare tree. I received it from a dear friend several years ago (Thanks, Becky!), and don't get a chance to use it too often. Since it's for my personal gallery, you get to see it! :D

The tree is embossed with the new Woodgrain embossing folder; it's Soft Suede card stock, and I inked the embossed ridges with Soft Suede ink. The swirls on the Night of Navy are from SCENTSATIONAL SEASON; they're stamped with Whisper White ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice EP. The owl is punched with Very Vanilla, and sponged just a bit around the edges with Soft Suede. The heart/beak is punched from Pumpkin Pie. The Googlie Eyes are so fun; I love to just shake the whole package and watch them dance! :D The moon is a 1-1/4" circle punched from Very Vanilla; I pushed it into Very Vanilla ink, and then embossed it with clear; it looks pretty realistic IRL! :D

So, what do you think? :D

I'm outta here! Lots to do today! :) Have a wonderful day, and be SURE to make time to STAMP something! :)

It must be genetic... :D

Today I want to share with you my treasures from the past week. Yes, my two youngest nieces love to PAPERCRAFT. Actually, all the kids do - but these treasures are from them. :D

 

The trove of treasures!

 

 

This one is from my dear, sweet niece, A. She handed it to me the FIRST day I got to visit with them! the front is beautifully decorated, too, but this is the part that's super special. :)

 

This is from niece M. It's a camera! See? She made this for me the last day we spent with them, after I and Uncle Kenn spent time outside taking pictures of them. And I know you can't see from this photo, but it says:

say ch

ee

se

Too adorable for words, right?!?!?!

 

Again, from niece A. The flowers under the birds are their nests. Isn't that CLEVER? Thinking outside of the box!

 

This final one is also from niece A. It's my portrait! Be sure to enlarge the photo to see it. I had to "sit completely still" while she drew it. ;)

The reason I'm showing you more from A. than from M. is that M. tends to draw with pretty light pink crayons, and it just doesn't show up too well. :/ But they both blessed me with lots of artwork. Even my 3-year-old nephew, N., got into the act the last day; if you look at the first photo, there's a dark blue folded piece in the down left corner. He drew on it for me, then folded it up until it was throw-able and came in and hit me in the chest with it, and laughed uproariously. :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a wonderful day! Be sure and take the time to stamp SOMETHING, will ya?!?! :D

Sad need

 Good Friday morning! I hope you've had a wonderful week!

Today, I'm sharing a sympathy card. One of my best friends from Ohio lost his father last week, much more suddenly than his family thought. We can't go up to pay our respects, so I needed to make a card for him.

I feel like this color combination isn't too somber, but is enough so for the need. It's Whisper White, Gumball Green, and Early Espresso. The stamps are from BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN. I really like that stamp set; it's very versatile. I embossed the front verse with the new Early Espresso embossing powder from the Holiday Mini.

The designer series paper is from the BE OF GOOD CHEER pack. This side isn't necessarily Christmas, but I like it anyway. :D

There's plenty of room to write on the inside, too, so I will take my white gel pen and try to come up with something to say that doesn't sound like empty words. It's so difficult to know what to say - I'm glad he knows I'm praying for him, and that we love him. There's not much else I can do.

OK, I'm out of here. Enjoy your weekend! Be sure and take the time to STAMP something!!!

Santa Basket!

Happy Wednesday! Have you enjoyed the CHRISTMAS IN JULY shares so far? This is the last one; that's right, there were FIVE projects for the night!

This basket is actually from Lisa Young, a fellow demonstrator. She's got lots of awesome projects! I modified some of the decor, but kept most of it the same. :)

The colors are easy: Real Red, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, and Basic Black card stocks. Super easy!

I used the new Snow Flurry Bigz die; I don't care much for the snowflakes on their own, but they're stunning when you stack them!

We did his eyes the old way; Lisa's used glitter brads for them, too. I love using the red one for his cherry nose, but I like his eyes my way. :) I do have to tell you: I cannot, for the life of me, cut his mustache the way she did. I like hers MUCH better! :)

OK, I'm outta here. :) Have a wonderful day, and be sure to make the time to stamp something!!!!

Holiday Collection Framelits Card

Welcome to another Monday. :D Did you have a good weekend? Did you STAMP anything???

This card is the fourth project from our CHRISTMAS IN JULY stamp camp. It uses SCENTSATIONAL SEASON and CHOCK-FULL-OF-CHEER, vanilla and peppermint scratch-n-sniff powders, and the Holiday Collection Framelits. Don't forget your white gel pen! (Reminds me, I need to get a new one...) :D This is such a fun technique! You can use it with any of our framelits. :)

Are you beginning to wish you'd come??? Yeah, I thought so. :D

OK, I'm outta here. A house full of kids to enjoy today! :D Have a wonderful day, and be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!

Another ornament to share!

It's FRIDAY! Do you have big plans for the weekend? Are your kids back in school? Most of the kids around here headed back this week; a few go back next week. So I'm sure families all around me are trying to get back into their routines.

Me? I'm going to be finalizing cleaning and packing, waiting for my sister and my eight nieces and nephews to arrive Sunday. :)

Today's share is an ornament we did at the CHRISTMAS IN JULY stamp camp. That's the new cotton ribbon in the Holiday Mini; you can easily stamp on it, so we did. :D The inside is a piece of Crumb Cake card stock, rolled with Music Notes and cut into strips - which are then curled and inserted inside. There's a little champagne glass glitter in there, too.

Super easy, and you could brighten it up if you wanted with different colors. I kind of like this muted ornament; it would look classy on a tree with white lights! :)

OK, I'm outta here! Enjoy your weekend, and be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!

Don't you have to smile back?

Welcome to Wednesday! :D And AUGUST! Happy Retirement to my dear friend, Mary, who has been my faithful stamping companion for the last three? four? years. She is going to be moving away from me soon, and I will miss her enormously - but I'm grateful for her friendship, and that she has a wonderful family to enjoy now. God bless you, Mary and Ev, as you start a NEW chapter in your lives. I love you!

Now, then, before I start bawling :D, meet today's project. He's a snowman made from Crystal Effects. Isn't he beautiful?! Doesn't he just make you smile? So super easy! You could make a BUNCH of these; they're even kid-friendly projects! If you make them, be sure to store them between layers of waxed paper so they don't stick to each other. :) And keep them as dry as possible while storing.

OK, I'm outta here! Enjoy your day - and be SURE to make the time to STAMP something!