Apples for a special couple

If you view this post, it should count as two servings of fruit for you today. ;-)

I made this almost a year ago, as a thank you for a special couple who were our hosts at Christmastime. This card is chock-FULL of personal, custom details.

1.)  Our hosts' last name begins with the letter C. I used chipboard tiles from Girls' Paperie, and I ran an 18kt Gold Pen from Krylon around the edges of these tiles.

2.) Our hosts live on a street that is named for an apple. I used the stamp set, Apple of My Eye by Flourishes for the focal point, and colored with Copic markers. Just barely visible, I stamped the word 'apples' in the background very faintly.

3.) Our hosts' house # is 3.  Again, another chipboard piece from Girls' Paperie came to the rescue.

4.) Their home is cozy and full of style. I chose a gingham pattern to go along with the apples...I think they make a good match. :-)

Thank you so much for coming by today!

Deck The Halls

I've long been a fan of the stickers and embellishments by K & Co. My local JoAnn store carried a gorgeous assortment, and I stocked up. When I recently went to buy some more, to my chagrin...they are GONE. They still carry a few by K & Co., but nothing that suits me. They don't even carry 'em on their website anymore. My heart broke a little. ;-)

The card below uses a puffy, glitter-filled sticker and holly border die cut by you-know-who, a golden doily, some pretty patterned papers from Anna Griffin, and sequins from Pretty Pink Posh....and it was done! 

Paper: patterns - Calisto - Anna Griffin; River Rock - Stampin' Up! Accessories & Tools: gold doily - Wilton; puffy sticker, holly border die cut- K & Co.; gold sequins - Pretty Pink Posh  

The next card has a more vintage flair. It started with a sweet little vintage embellishment, given to me from a friend. The old-fashioned image of children on a sled, surrounded by wine-colored frame encrusted with glitter and topped with a mini clothespin, was my starting point. Then I added a striped die cut frame, another golden doily, chipboard numbers from Girls' Paperie, and poinsettia stickers from...K & Co.

I used a piece of text-y patterned paper from My Mind's Eye behind it all.

Feels good to be blogging on a Saturday morning. :-)

Enjoy your day!!

Paper: Handsome Hunter, Sahara Sand - Stampin' Up!; text -  Lost & Found Union Square - My Mind's Eye Ink: Frayed Burlap, Old Paper - Ranger Fibers: twine - May Arts

Accessories & Tools: vintage embellishment - a friend; poinsettia stickers - K & Co.; gold doily - Wilton; striped frame die cut - Bo Bunny; chipboard numbers - Girls' Paperie

You & Me

Hey guys! Gah, life is whooshing by!  I've got oodles and oodles of cards yet to photograph, and plenty that had been photo'd, but not edited (you know, to brighten them up so you can see them better!), and I am just quite behind with blogging.

However, I found this one in my photo files that I can share for now:

I sent it to my mom.  The inside says, "Best Friends."  She is definitely my best friend.

I'm keeping it short and sweet, as I've got to get ready for tomorrow with lunches, coffee preparation, and some laundry.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to those of my readers who celebrate!

Stamps: Weathered Background - Stampin' Up! Paper: Sahara Sand - SU; floral, triangle prints - Cosmo Cricket? Ink: Sahara Sand - SU Accessories & Tools: doily - Wilton; scalloped circle die - Spellbinders; gold sequins - Pretty Pink Posh; cork; chipboard alphas - Girls' Paperie; flower die cuts - Cosmo Cricket; Rounded Rectangles Clear Cut Stackers die - Wplus9

Tinsel & Twig Christmas

Happy Monday!  I've got some Christmas Joy to share today:

Nearly everything you see here is from the Girls' Paperie Tinsel & Twig collection.  I picked up one of these kits for $20 a few years back at a Tuesday Morning store in North Carolina.  It has so many cool things in it:  a stamp set, alpha chipboards, snowflake embellishments, ribbon and laces, and die cuts.  I remember how excited I was to happen upon it.  :-)

I've tucked this card into my Christmas stash, all packed and ready to be sold when the time comes.

Hope you have a blessed day!

Stamps: text, snowflakes - Tinsel & Twig - Girls' Paperie Paper: green cardstock Ink: Early Espresso - Stampin' Up! Fibers: crochet lace, red scallop trim - Girls' Paperie; twine - Creative Impressions Accessories & Tools: alpha stickers, snowflake die cut embellishment - Girls' Paperie; Champagne Liquid Pearls - Ranger

Damask Christmas Greetings

I went big and bold for this Christmas card:  6" x 4.5".  The drama of gold, red and chocolate demanded something larger than my normal A2-size.

The damask pattern is Hero Arts, and the distressed sentiment is from Tinsel & Twig, an older Girls' Paperie set.  Are they even in business anymore?  I'm not sure.  How excited I was to find that stamp set -- and other fabulous goodies -- in a big kit for $20 at a Tuesday Morning store in Nags Head, North Carolina.  Felt like I'd hit the jackpot!

This is yet another magazine-reject.  I sure do seem to have quite a few of those!

Stamps: Large Fabric Design Background - Hero Arts; Tinsel & Twig - The Girls' Paperie Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Early Espresso - SU Ink: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: sheer chocolate ribbon Accessories & Tools: oval die - Spellbinders; gold embossing powder - SU; Scallop Diamond punch - EK Success

The Flat Christmas Card Trio

I love this twiggy wreath from Close To My Heart's Remarkable Wreath.  The set was a birthday gift from my friend Chris earlier this year.  (thanks again, Chris!)   It makes the cutest berry-laden Christmas wreath.

After stamping the berries in red, I added Ruby Red Liquid Pearls on some and iridescent Stickles glitter glue on others.  That iridescent glue changed the color of the ink beneath, so now they have more of an apricot hue.  This happy accident works for me!  The sentiment below is from Tinsel & Twig / The Girls' Paperie.

The next two cards use the same wreath, and a different sentiment from Tinsel & Twig.

I'm showing the before and after pics of these next two cards.  They seemed too bare to me at first, so I added a strip of red cardstock to each.

Card #1 Before:

Card #1 After:

Card #2 Before:

Card #2 After:

In real life, I liked those cards better with the strips of red added, but now that I see them in photos, I'm not so sure!

Chair-ish Today

I'm bringing you another 'just because' card that I made weeks ago.  I LOVE this Damask Chair set by Stampendous, which is new to me (at a discount from Michael's; even better!).

Adding some Glossy Accents to the fabric portions of the chair made them really pop.  It reminds me of vinyl coverings on upholstered seating.  I've never been a fan of that practice, but to each his own!

Today I edited the photos of my craft studio.  There are quite a few!  When I get my post ready, be warned that it's going to be a long one.  I want to give you a proper tour!  :-)

Have a wonderful day,



Stamps: Damask Chair - Stampendous; ruler - Paper Girl - Girls' Paperie; sentiment - Strawberries - Flourishes
Paper: white - PTI; Early Espresso - SU; Lost & Found Union Square - My Mind's Eye
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso - SU; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: crochet trim - Hero Arts
Other: Glossy Accents - Ranger; pearls
Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"

Garden Shamrock

Top o' the mornin' to ya!  Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you, and Happy Birthday to me.  :-)  I have a St. Patrick's Day card to share, which was inspired by THIS card by Ann Fitzgerald, which I found on Pinterest.  I love her card, but decided to take a different spin on mine.

The shamrock (planted in Early Espresso 'dirt') is made with hearts from Stampin' Up!'s Heart-to-Heart punch, and the stem is from their Extra Large Bird Punch.  I creased each heart down the middle and applied a thin line of craft glue to adhere it to the card.  The Houndstooth pattern behind it is a stamp, from Market Street Stamps.

Love this sweet, simple St. Patty's day sentiment, from SU.  The little bit of ruler peeking out is a scrap I had left over from Heaven-knows-what, a long time ago.  It's a Girls' Paperie stamp.

I've been so very busy here in my little corner of the world.  I'm putting the finishing touches on my new craft sanctuary in my attic (I'll be sharing pictures when my final piece of furniture arrives), and taking online courses to help make me more appealing to employers.  My job hunt continues and it sure is tedious.  The kids keep me very busy with their various 'things', too.

Since today is my birthday, I plan to be spending time in my new craft space (somebody, pinch me!  I am so excited!), and will probably go see my niece do her Irish dancing at a nearby pub.  She's only 8, but she's got a wicked set of dancing legs!  It's been AGES since hubby and I went out drinking on St. Patty's Day, but since we'll be at a pub already, well....might as well have a drink.  ;-)

Cheers!



Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes - SU; ruler from Paper Girl - Girls' Paperie; Houndstooth - Market Street Stamps
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive, green pattern - SU
Ink: Frayed Burlap - Ranger; Old Olive, Early Espresso - SU
Fibers: twine - Creative Impressions
Other: Word Window, Heart-to-Heart, Extra Large Bird, corner punches - SU; large corner rounder, Dotted Scallop punches - EK Success; doily - Wilton; pearls; button

Christmas Apron

Hello my friends!  I feel like I've been away from my blog for a long time.  We went to North Carolina for several days to celebrate Thanksgiving with family, and whenever I go away, it takes me a while to catch up back here at home.  I wasn't always like this, so I fear age is creeping up on me!  It's either that, or LAK (Life After Kids) is taking its toll on me.  LOL

This card I'm sharing today....can I just say how much I love it?  ;-)  I'm not sure if I can bear to give it away!  That's crazy-talk, I know.  Why make a card if it'll just sit around?  I don't know if any of you feel this way, but sometimes I keep a card for a while because I love the outcome.  I like to look at it as I pass through my dining room (where I craft...and eat...and pay bills, and do work, etc.), until one day, it's simply ready to go to someone special.

See the black die cut behind the sentiment panel?  I chose that because it reminds me of wrought iron, which is featured in the JUGS challenge inspiration photo (further below).  Fancy wrought iron is something I've always been drawn to.  They just don't make it like they used to!  The sentiment is from Inspired By Stamping.

All the best-dressed dress forms should wear pearls!  Or, Liquid Pearls, in this case.  The stamp is from Girls' Paperie, and it is wearing a lace 'apron' from my stash (it's gotta be, like, 20 years old already!).

Has this ever happened to you?  When I dot the White Opal Liquid Pearls onto an image that was stamped in red ink, the pearls turn pink!  The ink isn't wet when I apply, but the 'pearls' still turn pink anyway.

Challenges entered:

• Just Us Girls - photo inspiration (above) - I took my cue from the red, gray and white color palette; the wrought iron planters beneath each window I interpreted with lacy die cuts surrounding the sentiment; red bows on the planters show up as a red bow on my dress form's apron.
• Shopping Our Stash - Odds 'n' Ends or Waiting to be used.  I used a lace scrap that I've had FOREVER in my ribbon bag, and that little bow was in a $1.00 Scrap Bag from my Stampin' Up demo, already tied (thanks, Gail!).
• Simon Says Stamp and Show - 'A Project with Heart' - create a heartfelt card for someone dear to you, create a mixed media canvas with a heart focal point, use hearts as embellishments on your next layout, or art journal about what is dear to your heart.  My project includes things dear to my heart:  a shabby chic feel, some lace, some pearls, and a feminine touch.

Do any of you have the November issue of CARDS Magazine?  I have a card that is published in there, but cannot find a copy of that issue, so I don't know what page my "Give Thanks" card is on.

I'd like to thank the gals at Papercraft Star for choosing my 'Pretty Pink Thanks' card as a runner-up.  :-)  That was nice news to receive today.

And to each of you...I'm glad you came for a visit...thanks so much!




Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: music notes - Tinsel & Twig - Girls' Paperie; dress form, flowers - Paper Girl - Girls' Paperie; sentiment - Elegant Christmas Sentiments - Inspired By Stamping
Paper: white - PTI; Basic Black - SU
Ink: London Fog - Memento; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko; Riding Hood Red - SU; Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap - Ranger
Fibers: lace, gingham ribon
Other: Persian Motifs, oval dies - Spellbinders; White Opal Liquid Pearls - Ranger

Christmas Card In A Tin

Are you ready for a photo-heavy post?  I want to show you some Christmas cards made from tins, which I bought at a Stampin' Up! sale a year or so ago.  I hung onto them for the longest time, not knowing what to do with 'em.

These each became different because of the glittery accent pieces.  I have a bag of glittered die cuts (K & Co., I believe), but no two are alike.  

Some exterior details:

The snowflakes are from the Martha Stewart
'Himalayan Snowflake' extra large punch, with a smaller 'Glacial Snowflake' on top.  I glittered each one, then glued together with craft glue.  The rhinestones also had to be glued on.

Let me show you the insides:

Each tin contains magnets, made with layered cardstock and the Lovely Letters alphabet stamps from Stampin' Up!.

These tins were mailed in padded envelopes to the recipients, and I think most of them have by now received them, so it seemed safe to post about it.  :o)

Thanks for joining me today!  I will see you on Thursday with a new Play Date Cafe creation.

Colleen

Stamps:  Lovely Letters - SU; Bright Spirits - Verve; Tinsel & Twig - Girls' Paperie
Paper:  white - PTI; Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp - SU; glitter paper - Target; patterned paper - Our Holiday Traditions - Me & My Big Ideas
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Punches:  corner rounder - EK Success; Himalayan Snowflake, Glacial Snowflake, Doily Lace Trim - Martha Stewart; 1 1/4", 1 3/8" circles - SU
Other:  glittered die cuts - K & Co.; ribbon scraps; bling; magnet-on-a-roll