Picture Perfect

Hello! How is everyone? This is a beautiful day here in North Carolina. Sunny and temps in the mid-60s...can't beat that!

This card was created as a DT for The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge. The image is from A Day For Daisies, and I colored it with Copics. The flowers are from a border sticker I've had for YEARS! See, never throw anything away because you never know when you might need it! I layered everything onto blue and yellow paper from my stash. The base is a light yellow shade. I happened to have a ribbon that matched perfectly.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon!

Elegant Bestie

Hello! Merry Christmas! I thought it would be nice to have a post today in celebration of the Christmas Holiday. I hope you've had a good day and have been able to celebrate with friends and family.

This card was made for The Outlawz Paper a la Mode Saturday Challenge. I used a Besti image from Scrapbook Stamp Society, added some die cut snowflakes (from Simon Says Stamps), a die cut strip across the bottom and a sentiment (both from Gina K Designs) before layering onto a white card base. I colored the image with Copic markers and added some Wink of Stella to her coat collar, hat and muff. I added a touch of red chalk to the edges.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon!

Winter Wishes

 

Hello! Is everybody ready for Christmas? It's almost here, so I sure hope so!

I realized over the weekend I needed to create more Christmas cards to give to some friends at my church. After making several attempts, I finally turned to videos at Gina K Designs. Gina shows how to create this beautiful card using the Winter Wishes Stamp TV Kit, which I just received. This is my CASE (Copy and Share Everything) of Gina's card.

This card shows the beautiful color of Ocean Mist as a base. The birch trees in the background were heat embossed in white, and the window was cut from a die I purchased from Gina K Designs. I colored the snowmen with Copics before fussy cutting them out and putting them on the front. Finally, I stamped the sentiment.

I think this is one of my favorites for this year. Ocean Mist is one of my favorite colors, and I absolutely love the stamp with the trees.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Candy Canes

Hello! I decided to join in on Curtain Call's challenge. You can see the Inspiration photo above mine. The far right candy cane seems to be sliding down the ribbon a little in this photo, but I later fixed it.

The paper layered on top of the patterned paper is all glitter. This card looks a lot better in real life. I added a sentiment from Inspired By Stamping after stamping off the mitten image first on the label. I used some Gina K Designs ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

You Warm My Heart

Hello! Hope your day is going well. It's a quiet one for me...just playing with my stamps and inks, which I love.

Today's card is similar to a previous post. I again used Lawn Fawn's Joy to the Woods and Snow Day stamp sets and dies, along with their Stitched Slopes dies. I absolutely LOVE these sets!

This time I inked the edges of the slopes, and I like it much better. I put the snow bunnies on after adhering the birch trees with the ornaments. (Somebody told me one of the ornaments looks like a carrot that the bunny is going after! lol) I inked the background much lighter (than the last time) with Distress Inks. Getting the Distress Inks to ink cardstock without marks is a work in progress for me. I think this one turned out much better.

Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Peace, Joy and Love

Hello everybody! How's your weekend? It's been a nice, quiet Sunday here in NC. I got brave and tackled the Mall today. I had to return some items and needed replacements. The crowd wasn't too bad. Heard some nice Christmas music being played by students. I enjoyed that immensely.

A couple of weeks ago, I won a Challenge at Inspired By Stamping, which got me $30 worth of free merchandise. WooHoo! Was I ever excited! That's a site where I always wanted to shop but never did because it's out of Australia, and I didn't want to pay the shipping costs. Well, that anxiety quickly disappeared once I got to shop for free!

This card uses two sets I won from Inspired By Stamping--the images from Christmas Wreath and the sentiment from Poinsettia.  I absolutely LOVE their products and will plan to purchase from them again in the near future. The branch stamp was curved, so it went around a circle perfectly for the wreath. The bow was stamped, colored with Copics, touched up with Stickles, then cut out and placed on the wreath. I had added some berries in red on the wreath before adding the bow and ribbon. Everything was layered onto a gold sheet of scrapbook paper by Stampin Up! and then glued onto a white card base.

I am posting this in the Addicted to Stamping Photo Inspiration Challenge.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to hear from you again real soon.

Noel

Hello! How is everybody doing? If you've been out much this week, you know traffic is getting worse by the day. That's just part of the Holiday Season, though. We can bet after the New Year is here, things will get back to normal. Just think of all the celebrating we'll be doing in the meantime!

I told you I did a little online shopping soon after Thanksgiving. Today's card uses some of those new purchases. I was really wanting the Joy to the Woods and Snow Day sets by Lawn Fawn. Well, they finally arrived, and I've been playing ever since! The dies were back-ordered, but they arrived while I was playing with the stamps. I also got some stitched slopes, which I love.

This card uses all three sets, and I'm very happy with it. I'd make several of these if there wasn't so much involved making it. I might change my mind and do it anyway.

The birch trees, bunnies and birds were colored with Copics. I used several shades of blue distress inks for the background. Finally, I added a touch of Stickles on the trees.

Hope you like today's post! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Season's Tweetings!

Hello! Long-time no see, I know! I've been traveling again, this time to Boston to see my brother for Thanksgiving. Boston was fantastic! We went to see The Messiah at Symphony Hall while I was there -- perfect performance to begin the Holiday Season!

In case you didn't notice, I changed the header again to make it a Christmas scene. I owe this again to my friend, Kevin. He did an awesome job piecing it together to fit in the required space. Thank you, Kevin!

While I was gone, I'm afraid I made good use of the Black Friday sales and purchased this fun Lawn Fawn stamp set called Winter Sparrows (along with some other things you'll see in the near future). Soon after it arrived, I went to YouTube and watched some videos, trying to figure out the best use for a card. This creation stood out to me, but I can't remember who did it. So sorry!

The birds were watercolored with some Tim Holtz Distress Markers. I love them--this was the first time I tried them. It was so fun to color just a little bit then finish with some water and a brush. It's been way too long since I tried anything like that, and I love it! Anyway, I added the sentiment, a little heart and some twine  before layering onto some cherry red cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by today! I promise it won't be so long before I post again. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Used Cards 2

Hello again! I'm here with yet another card using an old card that had been sent to me, years ago. Amazing how we hang onto things, isn't it? I knew one day I'd have a reason to cut it up and reuse the pretty picture.

This image came from an old Christmas postcard sent to me from Guideposts. I love all the kids on their sleds in the snowy hills. I added snowflakes from two Gina K Designs stamp sets: Snow One Like You and Cheers. The sentiment is from Gina K Designs' Season's Greetings Stamp TV Kit from last year. The ribbon is from a kit, also.

Stamp TV has a Mix It Up Monday Challenge going on requiring use of old cards and new stamp sets. I absolutely love the style of the sentiment on this card, and I love the ribbon along with it.

In my previous post, I neglected to thank Kevin, my friend who created the above Banner in the heading of this site. I appreciate all his patience and hard work putting it together. Thank You, Kevin!

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again soon!

Used Cards

Hello friends! How are you today? I hope you're staying warm and dry. We've had loads of rain lately. Very, very wet around here!

Did you notice anything different on the header of this blog? I finally got the Thanksgiving Banner up! My friend, Kevin, created that for me last year, and I saved it to use again this year. Hope you like it!

Okay, now for the card...

Today on Gina K Designs' Stamp TV, the Mix It Up Monday Challenge is to create a card using an old, store-bought card along with something new. I found this PEACE card in my stash and cut it out before adding it to two layers of paper. I also added a snowman, colored with Copics, from Snow One Like You stamp set by Gina K Designs. All the little extra pieces on the PEACE were part of the store-bought card.

This is my second card this season using an old, store-bought card. I really enjoy doing this. It feels good to be recycling while creating! Hope you can find an old card YOU can use to create a new card of your own. It's fun!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much. Hope to see you again soon!

SSS Flickr Challenge No. 6

Hello everybody! I hope you're having a good day. The weather has been real nice in North Carolina, and it feels good to enjoy a little sunshine this close to Thanksgiving.

I was looking at Lin's blog, Sending Hugs, and saw she joined in on the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #6, which requires you to use a Simon Says stencil, stamp or die and then post it to the Flickr link. Once I realized I had one of each item required, I jumped in and joined, too. Last year I received the Christmas deal from Simon Says Stamps and have loved it ever since.

My card includes three Ashlynn Snowflake die cuts, a Peppermint Stripe stenciled pattern that I used with white embossing paste, a Holiday Hellos Stamp, some Little B Gift Package stickers and a Me and My Big Ideas sticker of Holly. I also used some woodgrain paper from Simon Says Stamp and some red Baker's Twine from my stash. The red card base is from Gina K Designs.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon!

Admiring the Star

Hello everybody! How's your day coming along? It's so cold outside I can hardly keep warm. Wearing lots of layers helps, but there is still a chill in the bones!

I created this card for the Outlawz Paper a la Mode Challenge, using a digital image called Admiring the Star from Squigglefly.

I kept it fairly Clean and Simple. The center circle comes out to be used as an ornament and is held in with the glitter band across the front. The sentiment came from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. I used Stickles for the snowflakes and colored the image with Copic markers.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon!

Peace

Hello friends! How are you today? I hope you haven't forgotten me...it's been a while since I posted. This time of year I am doing a lot of traveling and don't always have access to a computer. It's also impossible to take my stuff with me to create while I'm gone. It's a bummer, because I truly miss it when I'm not working on cards or scrapbooks.

This time I got to see my other son, Coleman, who was in West Virginia. He lives in Los Angeles, so I don't get to see him very often. The trip was only a few hours away for me, so I went to visit him, friends, and other family that I was close to when I lived in West Virginia. We had a great time eating out, walking to our favorite bookstore, visiting the mall, and having a small dinner party. We stayed busy, and now that I'm home, I'm POOPED! He finally made it back after waiting at the airport for 17 hours. I'm sure his wife was just as happy I was he arrived safely!

I really wanted to get something new on my blog, so I went through my stash of Christmas stuff and found some ivy pieces, doilies and old cards that had been cut up. I gathered some and put them together on this card with no stamping needed. The paper is foil cardstock, and it's layered onto a pure luxury white card base from Gina K Designs. The branches are from a punch, and the ribbon is from Gina K Designs as well.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again soon!

Holiday Card Workshop 2014 Day 3

Hi everybody! How are you today? I'm slowly coming back down to earth after the fantastic game with Duke over the weekend. Thought it was about time I got back to homework from Holiday Card Workshop 2014!

Day 3 showed us examples of using watercolors with our stamps. I used Kristina Werner's example of attaching stamps along the edge, top and bottom of the stamp press and then stamping in VersaMark ink. You follow that with heat embossing in white, then adding Watercolors. The images will stand out after the paints are applied.

Instead of adding watercolors, I added Distress Inks in shades of blue. The inside has a layer of white cardstock with snowflakes stamped on it. I like how this turned out, but would probably do better on another try. I simply ran out of time because I was preparing for my trip at the same time I was creating this card. Ever do that? Have too many things going on at once to focus on any one project?

The images and sentiment are from a mix of stamps from Gina K Design and Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. There's also another stamp set I used but it has no name on it.

I appreciate your visits and comments very, very much, and I hope to see you again real soon!

Betsy Bobbins and Basketball!

Hi everybody! Hope you had a good weekend. Mine was very busy, as my son, who is an Asst. Men's Basketball coach for University of Central Missouri, had a game at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. That's only a few hours from me, so I made the trip and had the experience of a lifetime.
Nothing like seeing your son coaching a game at a school like that! I'm still full of excitement and joy!

Before I left, I created the card for The Outlawz Paper a la Mode Challenge, where I'm a Design Team member. It is made with DCWV glitter paper and has trees and a sentiment from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. The image is Bettsy Bobbins from Rick St. Dennis. I cut out the trees, image and sentiment before placing on the glitter paper. The sentiment was created on a banner and stamped with stars. The main image was colored with Copic Markers, and I added Glossy Accents to the stars, the fur on her coat, hat and candy cane.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon!

Holiday Card Workshop Days 1 and 2

Hello everyone! How are you today? I am enjoying Online Card Class's Holiday Card Workshop 2014! Can't believe a whole year has passed since I took the last class for the Holidays!

Day 1 was all about easy-to-duplicate cards. When day 2 came around, which was about interactive cards, I realized I could easily duplicate this card for both lessons. It's a great way to combine two days worth of homework into one card.  :)

I used images and a sentiment from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. The center circle is actually a die cut that comes out. I layered the piece several times and covered the back since it's meant to be used as an ornament, then I punched a hole at the top and added a piece of Baker's Twine so it would hang easily. The sentiment is heat embossed onto a piece of vellum that's wrapped around the cardstock. This will hold the ornament in place. I colored the image with Copic markers. I really enjoy working with this flexible glitter paper by DCWV. It's quite beautiful and does NOT get glitter everywhere. I also added glitter from a Wink of Stella to the image.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and if you're in class, I'll see you there!

Thankful

Hello everybody! Sorry it's been so long since I posted. My camera is acting up and I can't get pictures downloaded. Fortunately, this card had already been processed before the camera started giving me problems.

I thought it was about time I remembered we DO have a holiday coming up before Christmas, so instead of creating another Christmas card, I made one for Thanksgiving.

This is an image from A Day For Daisies that I used at The Outlawz where I am a Design Team member for Paper a la Mode Saturday Challenges. The background paper is from Gina K Designs, and the ribbon is from my stash. I colored the image with Copic markers and put all this on a Tomato Soup card base, also from Gina K Designs. I love this background paper!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon ~

CASE My Own!

Hello everybody! How are you today?

This card is one of my favorites. (Do I keep saying that?)  The stamp set is called Christmas Joy and it is from Gina K Designs. I gold embossed the sentiment and the image. The background is embossed with Swiss Dots and a ribbon was added to go behind the image. All this was layered onto Cranberry Cardstock and put on a pure luxury white card base.

If this looks familiar to you, it's a CASE (copy and share everything) from one of my own cards from last year. I just love it and had to have one this year but on different colored cardstock. I'm happy with the result. That image is wonderful!

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon ~

Christmas Penguin

Hello everybody! Here's another Christmas card for the Mix It Up Monday Early Christmas Challenge at Gina K Design's Stamp TV. I will also be adding this to the Mod Squad Challenge where we're supposed to post something using one of our favorites. Well, this Penguin is definitely one of my favorites! In addition, with these colors, I'm adding this to the Inspired By Stamping Inspiration Challenge #87.

I love this Penguin. It's from last year's release at Gina K Designs, and he's one of my favorites for the year! I heat embossed him after stamping him in VersaFine Black ink. Then I colored the hat, scarf, beak and feet with Copic Markers. I added Diamond Stickles to the ball on the end of the hat and also the snowball. I also added white dots on the hat and scarf with my Signo White Pen, which I love. The ribbon was in my stash, although it may have been from Gina K Designs, also.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon!

Tree

Hello everybody! How's your day coming along? I'm here with another Christmas card for the Mix It Up Monday Challenge at Gina K Design's Stamp TV.

I used an image and sentiment from Season's Greetings stamp set by Gina K Designs and heat embossed it before adding a ribbon and layering onto patterned paper.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Early Christmas!

Hello! How is everybody this glorious day? I'm so glad the sun is shining and the weather is (somewhat) warm. Makes me happy!

This card was included in the Mix It Up Monday Early Christmas Challenge at Gina K Design's Stamp TV. I felt the word "Celebrate" could cover the entire holiday, including New Years. I got the idea from the I'm in Haven blog where I fell in love with the design. I really like this color palette of red, turquoise and white. I think I might use it for most of my Christmas cards, although I still have quite a pile of that red, white and green I started out using a couple of months ago. We'll see. Things change, right?

I used Gina K Designs products for this card. The ink is Turquoise Sea, Ocean Mist, Red Hot and Innocent Pink. The stamp set is called Lots of Lines and is one of my favorites. I love the large style of the words. The snowflakes are from various stamps sets from Gina K Designs. I just went through about 5 or 6 different stamp sets and pulled out any snowflakes I saw. I think it turned out to be a good mix.

Here's another card I creating using the same colors. I love those snowmen!

I'm so happy you came by today! Thank you for your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon ~

Recessed

Hello friends! How are you today? I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy some good weather where you live. It's bright and sunny here in North Carolina today. Love it!

Despite the warm weather, I decided to bring out some more Christmas stamps I purchased last year. The set used for this card is from Gina K Designs and is called Season's Greetings. I love the little Santa, the Snowflake frame, and the style of the sentiment. This is one of my favorite cards, and I CASEd (Copy and Share Everything) it from last year! I changed the way I added the sentiment, and the use of glitter is different.

The green snowflake frame was stamped with Memento's Northern Pine ink, and for the sentiment, I used Gina K Designs Red Hot to match the red paper. The Santa circle is on a piece that's recessed from the back. I colored him with Copic markers and then used Wink of Stella Glitter Pen on his beard, hat, belt and shoes.

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again soon!