desktop calendar

Every year I make my hubby a desktop calendar to put on his desk at work, and every year I wish I had one. So this year I decided to make a smaller one for me. I chose not to make is a scrapbook style one, and instead did a easel card style. I saw one very similar to this one on Sandi MacIvers blog a million years ago and figured it would work perfectly for me.

Those of you that know me know I don't like pink, but The new In Color Blushing Bride is growing on me, and I figured if I had pink on the calendar it definitely would not blend into the background mess on my desk.






Stamps: Vintage Vogue
Inks: Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive
Papers: Whisper White, Old Olive, Blushing Bride DSP
Misc: Old Olive Brads, Rhinestone Brads, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Mini Library Clip, 1/4" Old Olive Ribbon, 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Modern Label Movers & Shapers Die, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Snips

Birds of a feather

Peacock feathers are so beautiful, and I love that this paper pattern kind of looks like a peacock feather. That is why I chose it to go with this card I made for my Dad's birthday. It was last month, but my son didn't want to send the card to Papa, he wanted to give it to him in person, and he came out to visit us a little while ago. You should have seen the look on his face when he gave it to Papa, it was like he was giving him a million dollars. He really does love to help me out, and loves making his own cards. The only downside is he hates giving them away, so we are slowly working on that.


Stamps: Nature's Nest
Inks: Basic Gray
Papers: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Sage Shadow (retired), Nouveax Chic DSP (retired)
Misc: Basic Gray 5/8" Satin Ribbon (retired), Scallop Trim Punch

I should have a lot more to show you in the coming days, I finally got part of my computer working right again, so I finally got a ton of photos uploaded and watermarked. Now if only I could get the video software to work right.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

a dashing good time....

We have already done the first round of Christmas Stamp-A-Stacks, and this was one of the cards we made that night. We make 4 cards, 3 of each of them for a total of 12 cards. I love the Dasher stamp, and wanted to try something a little different, so we used the Champagne Shimmer Paint to ink it up. It is hard to see in the photo, but it is soooo shimmery and pretty.



I am hoping you can see the shimmer better in this picture.
Stamps: Dasher, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Champagne Shimmer Paint
Papers: Jolly Holiday DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Misc: Champagne Shimmer Paint, Scallop Trim Border Punch, 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Dimensionals

I hope you all are having a great weekend, I am keeping this short so I can go outside and enjoy the wonderfully warm weather before it is gone.

Holiday Mini Swap

I signed up to be a part of a holiday mini card swap, and this was what I sent in. I used the Jolly Jingles Jumbo Wheel, and this is what I came up with. I used the Poppin' Pastels Technique for the background, as well as the Color Spritzer tool. The new pearls are also showcased on here, I love them!! They are so pretty and add the perfect touch to any card or project. I distressed the edges of the Wild Wasabi with the distressing tool from the cutter kit and sponged the edges of the card with Early Espresso Ink.




Stamps: Jolly Jingles Wheel, Tags Til Christmas, Delightful Decorations,
Inks: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Versa Mark, Stampin' Pastels
Paper: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla
Misc: Ornament Punch, Scallop Trim Punch, Cutter Kit (Distressing Tool), Color Spritzer Tool, Sponges, Basic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals

happy happy happy

My cousin got married a year ago, almost to the day and I made her a cute little card and a little photo gift (which I will show you later). I love using people's wedding colors to go their anniversary cards. Hers were red and black. I also cased this card from Kathleen H on SCS, and changed all the colors and a little of the layout. I used the direct to paper technique to make the background black and silver. I took brushed silver cardstock and embossed it then flipped it over and took the Basic Black ink pad and wiped it across the surface of the card. I also used Stampin' Ups! new Rhinestones for the middle of a few of the dots as well as the butterfly.




Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks: Basic Black, Versa Mark
Papers: Real Red, Basic Black, Brushed Silver, Whisper White
Misc: Black Embossing Powder, Filigree Embossing Folder, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Scallop Trim Border Punch

I will show you the mini photo album tomorrow.

Poppin' Pastels

I love the aged antique look you can give to cards by using the poppin' pastels technique. Very Vanilla is a great color, but you can add a lot of depth to it, simply by dirtying it up a bit with ink or chalks. I chose to use chalks for this look, and I love that the image from the jumbo wheel very vintage is just barely visible on the background vanilla cardstock. Looking at this card now, I should have put a light dusting of the chalk onto the blue flower, it looks a little too bright. I made the blue flower from the 5 petal flower punch by layering 5 of them on top of each other after I had scrunched them up.



Stamps: Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel, Perfect Punches
Inks: Early Espresso, Marina Mist
Paper: Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, DSP,
Misc: Jumbo Brads, Scallop Trim Punch, distressing tool (from the cutter kit), Curly Label Punch, 5 Petal Flower Punch, Stampin' Pastels, Sponges, Cotton Balls

I will *hopefully* have a great organizing tip video for you later tonight, if it edits nicely for me.

I love weddings

My hubby's cousin got married last week and this is the card I made for them.


Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, En Francais
Inks: Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, Frost White Shimmer Paint
Paper: Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Perfect Plum DSP, Marina Mist
Misc: Rhinestone Brads, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Scallop Trim Punch, 5/8" Organza Ribbon

That's all for me today.... I am feeling very under the weather and to top it off I have a migraine, so I am off to bed.

Vintage Flowers

Vintage Vogue is probably my favorite new stamp set. I love the many different looks you can achieve with this one stamp set. Plus I am a sucker for a good flower set. This one is a case of a shoe box swap I did at Regionals. I am always amazed at the different styles and color combos other people come up with. This is probably one of my favorite swaps ever!




Stamps: Vintage Vogue
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry
Misc: Rhinestone Brads, 1/4" Chocolate Chip, Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals

To get the softer Bermuda Bay On the Very Vanilla piece with the ribbon, I first stamped the image on the paper in the middle, and then without re-inking it I stamped it again off to the side, to fill in the paper, but with a softer look. This technique is called stamping off, and you can achieve some gorgeous results.

Until next time, Happy Scrappin'

Birthday cards for kids, by kids

My nieces were over the other day and they both love to play with my stamping stuff and they asked if they could make cards for another niece's birthday. I never pass up a chance to play with them and teach them new things, I mean why not get the next generation hooked early right? The first card was done by Alex and the second card was done by Sam. I did help them a bit but not much. They looked through my samples and found cards they wanted to re-create. Alex used different paper, but kept the design quite similar and Sam kept the card design, but used different stamps and colors too.

Stamps: Bugs & Kisses, Pun Fun
Ink: Real Red, Only Orange, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Brilliant Blue
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Green Galore, Brilliant Blue, Gable Green and some patterned paper from my stash not sure what or who
Misc: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Star Punch, Stampin Dimensionals

It's it fun to let kids create and see what they come up with?

Until next time, Happy Scrappin'

Happy day....

I finally have internet again!!!! It went out on the 31st late at night and then was a little intermittent yesterday, not long enough to do anything, even check mail! Hubby has been working on it all day and night, even getting a new router and modem and FINALLY it works!!! I am sooo happy, I am doing the happy dance. I HATE being cut off from the world around me, and feeling like I don't have a clue what is happening. Sooooo many things happened too, the Flames completed a trade I had heard rumors about, played a game and lost, and traded some more guys. I also got tons of mail, and apparently lots of stuff happened to my extended family on monday too, so had to get back in the loop.

I did have a bit of fun earlier today when the Yay Man came and dropped off my goodies! I opened up the boxes and sorted everything, but unfortunately I didn't even get to play with my goodies. I am in the middle of re-organizing my WHOLE space, so everything is in boxes right now. I am hoping to get it all sorted and done before friday night, it has to be done by sunday for the party.

This is a card we made at last months stamp club. I love wheels in general, but I am really loving this jumbo wheel. I also love the cottage wall DSP, I normally do not like one of the colors in in, but in this combination I really do like it.


Stamps: I {love} love jumbo wheel
Inks: Orchid Opulence
Paper: Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Old Olive
Misc: Very Vanilla Jumbo Brads, Scallop Trim Border Punch

I am off to bed now, morning will come far too early. I am crossing my fingers that my internet will still be working when I wake up. I love hearing what you think of my creations, so leave me some love.

Until next time, Happy Scrappin'

Butterflies and love....

First off, please let me apologize for the bad pictures... my camera got dropped the other day by my son and it is acting up. I am hoping to get it fixed soon, but until then, I think the colors are a little messed up when I zoom in.

I am loving the new jumbo wheel from Stampin' Up! I really am a fan of the wheel to start with, but this new one is great. Because of how the words line up, you can use just part of it if you want, like tomorrow's card, or the whole thing like today's card. You can even take the rubber off the wheel and cut the stamp up into about 10-13 different stamps. I have made 4 or 5 cards that have very different looks with this set so far, and I think I will end up making a few more too. Not bad for a $9.95 stamp right?



Stamps: I {love} Love jumbo wheel
Ink: Taken with Teal, Melon Mambo
Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Taken with Teal, Melon Mambo Textured
Misc: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Stampin' Dimensionals

I was planning on sitting down and actually getting some scrapbooking done today, but with the weather being so beautiful outside that plan is out the window literally. I am only inside while my son is having an afternoon snack, and then it is back outside to play in the melting snow and mud puddles. Remember when you were little and loved to go and get just disgustingly filthy in the mud? Now I know how my mom felt about cleaning us up when we were done....my tub will need a good cleaning tonight, that's for sure. The up side is I will have some great pictures to scrapbook if I ever get around to it.

Hope you all are having great days too. Until next time, Happy Scrappin'

Stamp Club

We had our Stamp Club last night and had quite a bit of fun making 3 sort of Valentines type cards. This is one of them, from the new Sweetheart Stamp set.




I love the treat cups, they are fun to give since almost everyone loves candy, and they can change the look of a card by the color of candy you put in them. What is also nice about the cups is that you don't have to put candy in them. I made a few Christmas cards that has confetti inside the cup instead.


Stamps: Sweetheart
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Soft Suede Markers
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White Cardstock, Crushed Curry Textured Cardstock
Misc: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Heart Treat Cups, Full Heart Punch, Round Tab Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Smarties (the Canadian kind)

The candy I used is called Smarties and the pink, purple and yellow are almost an exact match for the Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Crushed Curry In Colors. Smarties (made by Nestle) are very similar to M&M's, they are not available in the US, here is a Wikipedia article about them if you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarties

Until next time, Happy Scrappin'

Sweet Pea

I finally had a bit of time to myself today and I got immediately started on a card. I had new goodies dropped off yesterday by the wonderful "Yay Man" (what my son calls the UPS man) and I wanted to play with them.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do, but I had a bit of a starting point in mind after seeing a card some what similar to this somewhere in the last two weeks. If the idea came from any of you I sincerely apologize, I did not even save the picture or name of the blog, so I can not give proper credit. I do remember that they used the stitched felt and did some faux stitching but that is really all I remember of it. Please leave me a comment here if this idea was yours so I can give you credit for the idea.


Stamps: none
Ink: none
Paper: Sahara Sand, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Welcome Neighbor DSP (a SAB item)
Misc: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, Sweet Pea Stitched Felt

I also wanted to re-post the photos of the My Matryoshka card I did in Arizona. It looks so much nicer in proper lighting. I really love the new Scallop Trim border punch. It is so nice to be able to get a punch from the SAB offerings too. I mean really, who doesn't love FREE stuff, esp when it is this nice!!!





That's it for me today.... I am now working on supper for my boys and then I think we will be putting on a puppet show for Daddy.... we spent a good while today working on it while he was at work.

Until next time, Happy Scrappin'