It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Wow...I cannot believe it's been so long since I've posted.  Well, I guess I can- It seems like life has been on fast forward since the summer ended and school started.  I really haven't had much time to dedicate to my cards or stamping so it's been really fun getting ready for Christmas cards this year.  I am making a list ( and checking it twice :) ) for those special friends and family who will receive a handmade card this year.  My friends think I'm nuts because I want to make each one different but I get bored with mass-production of the same card.  Here's a sampling of what I've done so far:

Washi tape has to be the easiest and cutest way to add some real flair to a plain white card

I've used Pure Innocence Presents for You from My Favorite Things on the first card and Naughty, Nice, Not Sure from Unity Stamp Co. on the second. Really simple to do but what a cute and fresh look!

 

Another favorite stamp company of mine is Papertrey Ink. I've used their Friendship jar set with the holiday fillers coordinating set for this holiday creation

 

 

A few down and lots more to go! Wishing you lots of creativity this season...

 

 

 

MFT Pure Innocence - Thinking of You

Picking back up with my go-to girls of the Pure Innocence line from MFT. I love coloring my PI's with Copics and paper-piecing their dresses.  I used my Echo Park- Hello Summer paper to bring just the right, bright colors to the card. I am also in love with the new Plentiful Petals flower die from My Favorite Things.  It is so full and playful and adds a wonderful embellishment to every project.  I usually have a hard time making these flower dies look just right but this one came out just perfectly without much help from me.  I will be using this a lot!!

Flipping Out for Papertrey Ink!

Wow...I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted.  It's been a super busy time at work and as much as I'd like to be crafty instead of work....there are bills to be paid.

I was able to catch up a little today with some cards. The picture is not the greatest but I love the summertime feel of this card.

I had seen this gingham technique several months ago and finally got around to playing with it.  I think it adds a perfect summer touch to this card.  You simply use your stripe embossing folder, ink up the raised side with a brayer, run your paper through and repeat with the paper the opposite direction.  Simple!

I also fell in love with a new stamp supplier this month - www.papertreyink.com. Can I just say "Wow!" They have a wonderful selection of clear stamps, coordinating dies, paper and inks.  I'm a sucker for flip flops so when I saw this set it was a must-have.

                      

I was so impressed with the quality of the stamps, the packaging etc.  They have a linked gallery for their stamp sets to provide inspiration and a wonderful blog.  I highly recommend you check them out!

Adventures in Digital Scrapbooking

My first love is scrapbooking but let's be honest, I always feel like I'm so far behind!  I can't seem to make myself break from chronologically scrapbooking so I'm always stuck in the past.  At least with card-making I can usually start one, design it, finish it and move on in one sitting. 

In an effort to try to make some real progress with my scrapping this year I decided that I would try to do the next year of my boys' books digitally.  I found some great classes from Jessica Sprague that really helped me understand Photoshop and kick me into gear.  Here are a few of the layouts that we worked through in her class:

Isn't that awesome??  I was so impressed with the class and how easy it was to pick up.  I highly recommend checking out her website for any crafting things that you've wanted to learn how to do. I would almost guarantee she has a class on it!

Here's one that I did on my own for my facebook timeline banner.  Super cute!

My Favorite Things Guest Designer Contest-July

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of My Favorite Things.  Their stamps and Die-namics feed my addiction and get my creative juices flowing.  The July Guest Designer contest is on and once again this month they have provided a wonderful sketch to work from.



I am really digging this trend of the banner/pennants in paper crafting right now.  I've been so drawn to all of the papers, stamps and scrapbook layouts using this element.  It was fun to use it with a card for this sketch.  I chose MFT Pure Innocence Make Mine a Double for this card.  The stamp set was largely inspired by my recent purchase of the 6x6 paper pad of My Mind's Eye- On the Sunny Side.  Love ice cream cones and popsicles when it's hot out-  And trust me-  it's HOT out here in KY.  Temps this week expected to reach 104!!

I put a lot of time into the details on this card-  the addition of the twine on the dress waistline to match the banner twine, stitching and the tiny custom flowers on the dress and banners.

  The flowers are actually three individual bitty blossoms punch pieces folded and pinched together on a glue dot.

Finally a look at the inside of the card

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge- Design Team Call 2nd Entry

The second card for the sketch was quite different from what I'm used to doing but I found this stamp set a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with it. I have a hard time doing this style of card but was happy with the result.

The papers used on this card are from My Mind's Eye- Stella and Rose. MFT Die-namics for the flower embellishment and some crochet lace to finish it off.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge- Design Team Call

I'm getting braver- another entry into a design team contest!  I ran across this sketch challenge during my blog hopping. I love Karen's work - her cards are always gorgeous and I always find inspiration in them.  








What a great sketch!  I decided to make two different cards with this sketch. 

The first is definitely more my style- a bit whimsical.

I actually took the time to hand-stitch the larger blooms on this one to add a bit more detail to the flower. I wasn't nearly as ambitious with the rest of the stitching and used my Janome Sew-Mini to machine stitch the borders and background for the flower.  My papers are from the Simple Stories Summer Fresh line. I LOVE this paper, now that I've used a bit of my stash I feel like I need to go hoard more so I never run out.  I've had this stamp set for years and not even sure what it is called or who manufactured it.

Only a stamper would understand!

While I was home visiting family last month we had a big discussion about the cards I send to them.  My fears were confirmed-  my sisters DO throw my cards away after they get them!  Oh, the horror!  While I get it- I mean what are they supposed to do with them but really?  My mother is the only one that keeps them.  Today I ran across this stamp at a scrapbook store and I just had to have it!  This is officially going on the back of all of my handmade cards before I send them.  Thought you might get a kick out of it too :)

I'm currently working on a new card for the July MFT Guest Designer Contest.  If nothing else, I'm persistent.  More to post soon!

Upcoming Stamp Club Cards

I am lucky enough to share an evening once a month with some great ladies just being creative and having some fun.  It's such a big stress reliever to get together with people with similar interests and getting my craft fix.  I wanted to share today the cards we will making at this month's club night.  If you are in Western Ky you should look us up-  there's always room for a few more :)

Our theme this month is "Sweet Treats"-  Who doesn't love those??

This one might look a little familiar to some of you as this is a case from a Stampin' Up! mini-catalog featuring the stamp set "Bring on the Cake".

This one features "Sweets for the Sweet" by SU!

I just love this simple but colorful card. Makes me want a popsicle! Stamp sets used : SU! "Mouthwatering" & SU! "Sunny Fun"

Last but not least,  a fun accordian card.  This one combines 3 of my favorite things- Glitter, Twine and Cupcakes, of course!



MFT Guest Designer Entry- June 2012

I thought I would be brave and try my hand at the guest designer contest at My Favorite Things again this month.   The challenge for this month was limited to creating a card based on a sketch provided by the MFT Design Team.  I have to say that it relieved the pressure a bit to have a sketch to work with and I really enjoyed it.  Here is the sketch that we had to work with:

This was my interpretation of the sketch:

As soon as I saw the sketch I immediately thought ribbon for the pink strips behind the main panel instead of paper. I found four rolls of the same ribbon in different colors and my color inspiration was born.  I added the twine in coordinating colors to add a bit more texture. The patterned papers are from Stampin' Up! and My Minds Eye -On the Bright Side.  I used MFT Die-Namics for the clouds and for the file tab with the card sentiment on the front.  Can I say how much I LOVE Die-namics?  So versatile and easy to use!!  To add the last bit of detail to the background I used my Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder to bring dimension to the "sky" and clouds.

 I also knew exactly which Pure Innocence stamp set I wanted to use- Make A Splash. Isn't she adorable? I colored her with Copics and fussy cut her.  I added some torn strips of Kraft cardstock (from MFT), sponged on the edges to give the look of sand. 

For the last detail I didn't think that a flower embellishment made any sense with my theme so I decided I needed to create my own.  What goes better with the beach and swimsuits than flip flops??  

I was very happy with how it all came together.  You can check out all of the entries here on the Splitcoast Stampers gallery.

Quick Graduation Card

So I'm feeling pretty old this week...my nephew is graduating from high school!  I was just beginning college when he was born so this milestone in his life is really dating me.  :)  We are so proud of him!

On to the crafty details....I have A LOT of stamps in my stash but if there's one event that I'm not stocked for it would be graduation.   I didn't really want to invest a lot in stamps for graduation so I took to the web.  I was thrilled to find this digital stamp offering from Stampin' Up!  I had purchased, downloaded, printed and colored this image within minutes!   I just happen to be a SU! demo so feel free to shop in my online store - you can search for Go Graduate Plus for this particular digital image set. How great is that?  Isn't technology grand!

              Stamps :  Digital- SU! Go Graduate Plus,  Wood mount- SU! Celebrate Everything

Printer's Tray Project

I thought I would mix it up a little today and show you something different.  I've literally had this printer's tray laying around awaiting life for months.  If I'm being totally honest the thought of working on this really overwhelmed me.  I get this way before I start some of my scrapbook pages too if I really love the photos I'm working with.  I just don't want to mess them up so I just put off working with them.  My stress was totally relieved when I found this kit from Kerri Bradford.  She has so many great things in her online store for the Silhouette-  you should really check it out.  The kit included not only the project cut files for the titles etc. but also a printable file for the backgrounds and other embellishments. 

I used her This + That Family kit for my printer's tray.  The colors coordinated perfectly with my living room decor so it was a perfect fit.  While my tray was not the same tray that the kit was designed for I still found it easy to adapt to the six compartment tray I used. 

I only added a few of my own touches to the kit.  I stamped the damask pattern over the brown dsp to add a bit of dimension.  I also stamped and cut out a butterfly to add another small feminine touch.

Here are some additional close ups of some of the panels.

Thanks to Kerri Bradford Studio this ended up being one of the easiest projects I have ever done! 

Hi Everyone!  Sorry it's been a few days since my last post...we've been really busy-  isn't everyone these days?  Finally got to spend some time stamping last night and wanted to share my latest card.  This one is headed to my Mom for her Birthday later this month...

I used the Pure Innocence Hello Cupcake stamp set from My Favorite Things.  Who doesn't love cupcakes?

My Favorite Things Guest Designer Entry

I wanted to share with you today my entry for the My Favorite Things Guest Designer contest for May.  I cannot believe we are already down to the last three weeks of school here in Kentucky but the timing couldn't be better for the theme on this challenge-  Be a Teacher's Pet!  It's actually Teacher Appreciation Week at my son's school this week so you know, two birds - one stone and all...  Although it could be tough to let go of this one!  Many hours of work and lots of anxiety-  I am harder on myself than anyone else could possibly be.

As soon as I read the theme I knew that I wanted to use the new A La Modes set - An Apple for Teacher.  Then I saw the A La Modes- You Rule set and loved it as well.  THEN I looked in my stash and saw BIG Greetings set and I knew what to do- Use them all ! :)



I immediately thought that I needed to focus on doing some type of gift set for a Teacher gift. There were already some terrific entries posted when I began my project so I wanted to make sure to try to be unique.  I had made a stationery box a few months back for a card class that I hosted and I hadn't seen many of them on blogs so this is where I started... I used a tutorial by Jackie Topa for the box and it can be found here . The box is very simple to make from one sheet of 12x12 cardstock, one sheet of 8 1/2 x11 cardstock and a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper.  It is designed to hold regular size cards, gift tags and 3x3 cards so I designed samples of each to go with the box. 

For the main cards I started by stamping ALM- An Apple for Teacher on X-press It blending cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I stamped her 4 times for coloring!! Whew!  These are all of the Copic colors that I used on her. Yes, all of those on that tiny little girl!! 

I decided that her shirt and the apple needed a bit more style and texture so I stamped those on patterned paper (SU! DSP in Wild Wasabi and Real Red) and then paper-pieced them onto the stamped image.  While I hate to cut little things out I truly think paper-piecing adds so much dimension and flair to a stamped image- painful but worth the look! Much like high-heels, right ladies? :)

I also decided to add a little stitching to my card using my Janome Sew Mini machine...I love that little thing!  Here is the final sample, inside and out-

Here's a closer look at the stationery box

I used the MFT Tag, You're It and Jumbo Scallop Die-namics on the outside along with Twine from The Twinery. 

The lid lifts off the box separately

and the box opens up to show three separate bins for the different components of the stationery set

Here's a photo of the empty box

Because I never know when enough is enough I added two more items to the gift set-  a jumbo clothespin photo holder and an altered composition book.

On this piece I used ribbon tabbed over and stapled to the cover to create a pencil holder.  Using the Vertical Greetings and Button Quartet Die-namics I created a custom book label for the notebook.

I added a sentiment with the Mix and Match Banners Die-namics.  I bought the buttons at Archivers but fail to remember what company manufactures them.

I really enjoyed this challenge and I hope you have enjoyed it too! I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with using the wonderful stamps, supplies and Die-namics from My Favorite Things!  Wish me luck!!

Now I have to clean up this stamp room or else TLC may come calling for an episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive! 

Birthday Creations

Just sharing a few of my more recent birthday cards

Stamps : Taylored Expressions- Build a Treat, Stampin' Up! -Happiest Birthday Wishes

Die-namics:My Favorite Things- Oval Open Scallop Doily

Cuttlebug embossing folder- Seeing Spots



Stamps: My Favorite Things- Pure Innocence Make Mine a Double

Stamps: My Favorite Things- Pure Innocence - PI and the Pinwheel