Sunday, November 30, 2014

Butterfly Birthday Wishes

Today is our oldest daughter's birthday.

Here's the card I made especially for her.


She is such a beautiful person
and brings beauty into our lives.

I stamped the butterfly with Brushed Corduroy distress ink
on watercolor paper and painted with my 
Koi paints.

I added some splatter for a little extra interest.

This card is an A7 size (5" x 7")




ANYTHING GOES
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog


It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the 1st day of December.
This year has flown by.

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Wonderful Wings, Meadow Greens (PTI)
Ink:  Brushed Corduroy Distress (Tim Holtz), Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Watercolor (140 lb. Strathmore), Tangelo Twist
Other:  Watercolors (Koi), Linen Thread

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted







Friday, November 28, 2014

Pink Poinsettia

I have enough Christmas cards.

I think I do anyway.

But I love creating Christmas cards so I'm keeping on.


When I saw this Festive Friday prompt, 
I thought of the poinsettia pieces I had seen in my UFO box.


I love the pink ornaments on the green tree.

Then I got really inky and did some backgrounds
using Loll's saturated watercolor technique.
  • (Drops of reinker on craft mat,
  • Spritz with water,
  • Drag paper through the ink,
  • Dry,
  • Drag through again,
  • Repeat until have the saturation you want.)


I had green fingers for days after doing this.
I need to remember to use gloves next time.

Or not......

I borrowed Loll's favorite layout too.

And I think maybe it's close enough to the sketch at

ANYTHING GOES
Always a favorite.

I hope all my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

All our daughters, their husbands and children were able to come this year.
It's the first time we'd all been together at one time in several years.

We even got a photo.


What a happy day!

Glad you could stop by for a visit.

Enjoy!
    **********

Card Recipe
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Whisper White, Watercolor (Strathmore), Blushing Bride
Other:  Re-inkers (Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry), Petals a Plenty EF (retired), Gold Beads (stash)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted


Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving Blessings

 Wishing you a day of Thanksgiving.

May you treasure each and every one of your blessings.


Enjoy!


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Ornamental Pine with Baubles

We're doing red, green and white for 
this week.

I just happen to have a couple more with this color scheme.


Two different ornaments hanging from Ornamental Pin



And it's Sarn's last Rudolph Days Challenge

I wanted to be sure to play along.

Addicted to Stamps Challenge
HOLIDAY
Addicted to Stamps and More!

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge
ANYTHING GOES
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog

How do you like my new watermark?

I was very lucky to win this from Kylie.



Thank you so much Kylie.

I LOVE it!

I'm so glad you stopped by.

Enjoy!
    **********

Card Recipe (card 1)
Stamps: Ornamental Pine, Christmas Bauble
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Memento Tuxedo Black, 
Paper:  Mossy Meadow, Whisper White
Other:  Filigree Frame EF, Blendabilities (Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive sets), Basic Pearls, Gold Thread

Card Recipe (card 2)
Stamps:  Ornamental Pine
Ink:  Handsome Hunter (retired), Cherry Cobbler, VersaMark
Paper:  Handsome Hunter (retired), Very Vanilla Textured
Other:  Stitched Circles Die (Lil' Inker), Holiday Ornament Die (retired), Corner Rounder Punch, Linen Thread

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted



Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Winter Birthday Wishes

I'm taking a little break from holiday cards today.


I love this sketch for Addicted to CAS
and I needed a birthday card for my BIL.
I think the two worked perfectly together.



Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Ornamental Pine, Four You
Ink:  Soft Suede
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Garden Green
Other:  Woodgrain EF, Pine Sprigs Die (Poppystamps), Simply Scored, Linen Thread
All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted




Monday, November 24, 2014

Origami Tree for Merry Monday

It's Merry Monday time again.

This week I'm the hostess and this is what I chose.


This is what I did after being inspired by these cards by
Princess Judy Palmer of Blog This


I don't do paper folding well, but I did manage to get these squares folded.

I used these directions done by Leann Greff.

I cut a 3" strip from DSP, then cut  3" x 3", 2 1/2" x 2 1/2", 2" x 2", 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" squares.
I had a 3" x 3" square left which I folded and just added to the bottom.

I loved the way it fit on the Filigree Frame embossing folder!

It even looks like a tree stand beneath the tree.
(Well to me it does anyway.)

It's a bit thick with the double sided paper.

I don't think it will make it through the mail.

I'm sure I'll find a home for it though.

I'm taking it over to
Pixies Crafty Workshop
My embossed piece and star were from snippets.

I hope you'll join us this week at 

I'm betting you can find some red, green and white 
to put on a Christmas card.

So glad you could stop by.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Paper:  Solar White (Neena), Whisper White, Be of Good Cheer DSP (retired), Red Glimmer
Other:  Filigree Frame EF, Star Punch (retired)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted


Sunday, November 23, 2014

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.

I think it's second only to Christmas.


I had this snippet of a wreath in my UFO box and decided
it would be perfect colored up for Thanksgiving.


MAKE YOUR MARK
(I used markers to color the wreath)
Addicted to Stamps and More!

(The wreath and woodgrain panel were both snippets.)
Pixies Crafty Workshop


Poppystamps Challenge #2 is
THANKFUL
Challenge 2 Thankful copy
I'm thankful for family and friends
and this wonderful community of papercrafters.

Thanks/Thanksgiving
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog


Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of Thanksgiving cards mailed out this year.

I intend to do much better with my Christmas cards!
Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps: Hand Penned Holidays 
Ink:  Cajun Craze, SU Markers
Paper:  Naturals White, Cajun Craze
Other:  Breezy Wreath (Poppystamps), Woodgrain EF

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted



Friday, November 21, 2014

Joyful Jingle Bells

Let's shimmer and shine!


I think I got a bit carried away with the Glimmer Paper.

But sometimes a little sparkle is the order of the day.

is looking for GLITTER.
***


The inspiration photo at
looks like a good fit don't ya think?


And don't forget that
is looking for bells this week.


I found that my 3/4" circle punch was a perfect fit behind the jingle bells and punch silver and gold foil paper to put behind the Lil' Inker Jingle Bells.  It seemed to ground the bells a bit.

The bow is made with some fine, covered wire that I found at Michaels.  
I love how I can curl the tails.

This card is very heavy and will have to be handed to someone.

LOL! It's so front heavy that it doesn't want to stand up.

I think I need to put some bells on the inside too!

I was so excited to see that I won an Honourable Mention


She has put all the tags on a Pinterest board for easy viewing.


Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Paper:  Solar White, (Neena), Champagne and Silver Glimmer, Silver and Gold Foil, Whisper White
Other:  Christmas Bits Dies (Lil' Inkers), Joy Die (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Adorning Accents Edgelit (retired), Silver Wire (Michaels)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Simple Wreath

My friend Ruthann and I made an excursion to a local craft store last weekend.

We found some clearance bins and dove right in.

I found a Cloud9 set for under $3.00.

It has a lot of images that I probably won't use.

But I'm sure I can find someone that can use them.

This little wreath is a keeper.


I'm going to enter it at Festive Friday


Love that wreath.


is celebrating a birthday.


It's been a long time since I played a sketch challenge
and I really enjoyed this one.

This won't be the only card using this sketch.

Happy 2nd birthday my friends!



Addicted to Stamps and More!
MAKE YOUR MARK

I used Stampin' Up! Markers to thump on the wreath stamp
and ink the sentiment.


So glad you could stop by today.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps: Xmas (Cloud9), Teeny, Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Garden Green, (SU Markers Mossy Meadow, Real Red, Garden Green)
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla Textured
Other:  Stitched Mats Circle Die (Lil' Inker), Circle Framelits, Red Cord (stash)

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Seeing Stars

It seems like stars are a popular image for Christmas this year.

That's OK with me.  I like stars!


This card was super quick and easy.

I picked out some snippets and embossed one and scored the narrower one.
Edited to add:  I totally forgot to link to 
Thanks, Sue, for scouting me out!

Punched out some stars from white snippets.

Attached thread to the back of the stars and hung them.

Added a bit of sparkle.

Stamped a sentiment. (Always the tricky part.)

And it was done.

is SEEING STARS this week.
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog


is TO THE MOON
that shares the sky with the stars.
Simon Monday Challenge Blog


Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Many Merry Messages
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz
Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White
Other:  Small Star Punch (retired), Merry Minis Punch Pack (retired), Gold flat back beads (stash)
Stripes EF (retired), Simply Scored

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted



Monday, November 17, 2014

Christmas Bells for Merry Monday

The lovely and talented Sue is our hostess at
Merry Monday this week.



Here's what I did.




I love Christmas carols.

It's hard to pick a favorite.

This is one of my favorites though.


"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[1] The song tells of the narrator's despair, upon hearing Christmas bells, that "hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men". The carol concludes with the bells carrying renewed hope for peace among men.


"And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

The Mixed Media challenge
is almost over but I think this will squeak in.


On both cards, I have stamped, colored with alcohol markers and dry embossed.

I hope you'll get some bells on a card and join us at
Merry Monday.

I'm real happy you stopped by.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps:  Bells and Boughs (retired), Scripted Greetings (AmyR)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Garden Green
Other:  Blendabilities, Copic Markers, Moroccan Frame EF (Sizzix), Stitched Mats Rectangles (Lil' Inker), Simply Scored

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted


Sunday, November 16, 2014

Thanks is for Giving

These days, as I'm rereading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

I'm feeling very thankful.


I don't know about you, but sometimes I get so wrapped up in all I have want 
to do that I forget to look around me and take in all my blessings.

Today I want to say thank you to all my crafty friends.
I'm so blessed to have a lot of crafty friends that I get to create with in person.
And I'm extra blessed to have so many Cyber friends who read my blog, 
and encourage me with their comments 
and constantly inspire me with their creativity!


I'm thankful to be able to join in some challenges too.

A Game of Thanks.


ANYTHING GOES
Addicted to Stamps and More!



Wants some ribbon or twine.
CAS on Sunday


"Clean and Simple Thank You" 


Pixies Crafty Workshop
The sentiment piece was in a snippet in my "UFO" box and so was the embossed piece.


That's enough for now.

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!
    **********
Card Recipe
Stamps: Seasonal Sayings (retired)
Ink:  SU Markers (Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard)
Paper:  Very Vanilla
Other: Vine Street EF (retired), Old Olive grosgrain ribbon

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted