Embroidered Christmas

Hello Everyone!  This is a card that we did at my last stamping class.  It was so much fun!  The pattern for the tree was a free download offered by Karen Werner.  I pierced holes all along the tree pattern, used baker's twine and a needle to thread the pattern.  Red rhinestones became the ornaments.  The real red ric rak is a PTI die.  The snowflake brad is from Making Memories.  The brad is sitting on top of a garden green circle punched with the 3/4" circle punch.  The sentiment is from Christmas Greetings--Stampin' Up!  I really like the clean look of this project.   
Thanks for stopping by.

Nut'n Better

Hello Everyone!  I fell in love the the Autumn Acorn stamp set from PTI the moment I saw it.  The variety in the acorn caps is so adorable.  And, love the fact that there's a coordinating die set for the acorns and the leaves in the set as well.  Edgers #1 die was used to add an interesting addition to the bottom of the vanila cardstock.  The colors used are SU very vanilla, tangerine tango, early espresso and crumb cake.
Thanks for stopping by!

Soft Sympanthy

Hello Everyone!  I needed to come up with a quick sympathy card today.  I turned to some softer colors, but didn't want it to be too pastel.  The card base is Pure Ivory by Gina K.  It's a fantastic weight for a card base.  The next layer is Baja Breeze.  I put it through the cuttlebug with the dotted swiss embossing folder and cut a window in it, using a Spellbinders nestability die.  So, the main image is really stamped on the card base.  The stamp set I used is Soft Summer (SU) with baja breeze and pear pizzaz inks.  The sentiment is from Through the Trees stamp set by PTI.  The pear pizzaz frame was made using 2 different sizes of the nestability dies.  One smaller die is placed inside a larger die and run through the cuttlebug together.  A Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon finishes this one off.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Halloween Fun

Hello Everyone!  Halloween is almost here!  Can you believe it?  We're well into fall and the colors on the trees here in the midwest, are spectacular!  I thought a fun Halloween card was in order.  For this one, I used PTI's Friendship Jar and Friendship Jar Fillers Fall.  The papers are from SU--cajun craze, black and Frightful Sight dsp.  The Friendship Jar stamp has a coordinating die.  I used it to make the clear, polka dot "glass".  I think it turned out really cute and really gives the jar some interest.  A coordinating envelope is in the background.  
Thanks for stopping by.

Waiting!

Hello Everyone!  It's been ages since I posted.  I guess I haven't been a very good blogger lately.  Half the time, I forget to take a picture of cards that I've made.  Rolling eyes here!  Well, I remembered to take a picture of this card that I made for a baby shower for our first grandchild!  He's due in November and I can't wait to be a grandmother! 
I used the Baby Bundle stamp set from Stampin' Up.  Aren't these the cutest images?!  Card stock colors used are bashful blue, old olive and soft suede.  I love the way this turned out.  After the shower, my daughter-in-law put the card on a shelf in the nursery.  Happy Days!  Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrate a Birthday

Whenever I think of birthdays, cake always comes to mind.  How could it not?  What goes better with a birthday than cake!  This little cupcake, from the Create a Cupcake stamp set by Stampin' Up, fills the bill.  I used soft suede and blushing bride inks to create the little sensation.  After stamping the "frosting", I covered it in versamark ink and heat set it, using iridescent embossing powder.  Such a pretty shimmer.  The sentiment is on the inside of the card.  It reads "happy birthday with a cherry on top".  This is from the A Word for You stamp set, also from Stampin' Up. 

I love all the polka dots throughout this card.  It really gives such a feminine and fun feeling to the birthday celebration. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Baby Shower

Hello Everyone!  I promised a friend of mine that I would post a picture of the baby shower invitation that I made for our first grandbaby!  He's due in November and I can't wait to be a grandma! 

The colors I used are bashful blue and soft suede.  The little giraffe is from the Wild About You stamp set from Stampin Up!  Inside is all the shower information. 

This post is for you Darla!

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthdays Byte

Hello Everyone!  This card is for my husband's birthday.  I really like the way it turned out.  Sometimes it's difficult to know when to stop with a masculine card.  I didn't want to make it too "cute".  So, in this case, less is more.  I stamped the images in Memento ink and colored them with Copic markers.  I love the blending that happens with these markers.  To make it look as if the computer, mug and mouse were sitting on a desk top, I lightly drew in lines with a crumb cake marker and ruler along the bottom of the card.  I think it gives just the right effect.  The mug and mouse are up on pop dots.  The stamp set used is Tech Talk from Gina K.
Thanks for stopping by.

Hangin' With Friends

Hello Everyone!  Today's card was inspired by a funny thing that happened to me over the weekend.  We had our next door neighbors over for an evening and when they were leaving, they spotted a bat clinging to the bricks on the wall of our front porch!!!  YIKES!  So, in jest, I made this card to send them.  I computer generated a sentiment inside the card that says "hanging out with you!"  I think they'll get a kick out of it.  I used the Stampin Up set Out on a Limb for the branches and bats.  I masked a circle punch out for the moon, outlined it with a glue pen, and sprinkled yellow glitter to make the moon really shine.  Thanks for stopping by!

Soft Sunflower

Hello Everyone!  This card is a variation of one I created for a card class this month.  This uses the fabulous Sunflower background stamp from Stampin Up.  I inked it up in So Saffron  and stamped it onto white cardstock, then ran it through the Cuttlebug using the a dotted swiss embossing folder.  The ribbon is some that I've had on hand.  It goes so well with the Chocolate Chip cardstock used for a frame around the main panel.  I tied a gold flower charm and a tiny tag punch, used for the sentiment, into the knot of the bow.  This is one of those cards that could be used for any occasion. 
Thanks for stopping by!

Quick Wedding

Hello Everyone!  I was kind of under the gun to get a wedding card made for tonight!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute right?  The card doesn't need much explaining except maybe for the colors.  Not sure why this pictured turned out looking kind of pink.  I'll have to play with my lighting a bit for future pictures.  The cardstock colors are Saraha Sand, Black and Shimmer White.  The ribbon is some that I've had in my stash forever.  I made a 3 loop bow and attached it with a glue dot.  I think pearls were the perfect touch and gives the card just the right look.  Thanks for stopping by.

New Baby Girl

Hello Everyone!  Are these baby stamps just the most adorable?  The images are a PTI stamp set called Hanging Out.  To begin with, (look closely, it's there) I used the SU Pretty Pattern stamp to create the background.  I love the subtle look of tone-on-tone ink.  It creates such a soft pattern.  The baby clothes were cut out using matching PTI dies.  I sponged the cloud background using bashful blue ink.  The tiny flowers at the bottom were done with a Martha Stewart punch.  The dsp is certainly celerty.  I gave the onsie a little bit of oomph by popping it up on a dimensional.  Doesn't this just make you say aww?  Thanks for stopping by.

Latte Love

Hello Everyone!  I wanted to make a cute card for my daughter's birthday using my Make the Cut software.  I'm always inspired by Jin's blog Under A Cherry Tree.  If you haven't visited her blog, you don't know what you're missing.  She gives the most amazing tutorials using the software.  I saw a darling card she made using this coffee cup and I had the svg file to make one too, so here it is.  The file is available at Lettering Delights.  The sentiment was computer generated.  The background is a Rubberneckers stamp.  I think it makes a perfect compliment for a female card.  I really like how this turned out and thank you to Jin for her inspiration. 
Thanks for stopping by today.

Yummy Birthday

Hello Everyone!  Do you like chocolate as much as I do?  You know that craving you get in the pit of your stomach that only chocolate will cure?  Yep, I know you know what I'm talking about.  M & Ms are some of my favorite "go-to" candies to cure the crave.  Today's card uses several colors to create these little chocolate cuties (real red, crumbcake, daffodil delight, lucky limeade).  The stamp set I used for this is All Wrapped Up--SU retired.  The sentiment is from Crazy for Cupcakes.  Can you see the textured white background?  I used the new SU striped embossing folder.  The pattern is kind of subtle in this picture.  I stamped the chocolates in the dispenser and punched some small cirles out of cardstock and layered them.  I have an alphabet set and used the "M" to make them into M & Ms.  This card is for my nephew's birthday and I decided to create his name out of candies as well.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Tropical Oasis

Hello Everyone!  Doesn't this card make you want to pack your bags, grab a passport and head for the tropics?  I had such a good time making this card.  I used several mask layers and sponged the entire background.  I started by die cutting an oval shape, using a nestie die.  I then sponged the sky with bashful blue, the ocean with marina mist and the beach with soft suede.  It's kind of subtle, but I used the spritzer tool and a soft suede marker to give a little texture to the sand. The palm tree, from the Tropical Party stamp set-SU, was inked using chocolate chip and old olive markers and stamped onto the beach.  The margarita drink sparkles from yellow stickles.  Don't the palm fronds look great on the corners?  I added a couple of pink flowers for a splash of color.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Blue Leaf Birthday

Hello Everyone.  Today's card was guided by the designer paper used--Autumn Vine.  I liked the leaf and color scheme.  I needed a masculine birthday card and this is what I came up with.  The panel stamped with leaves in more mustard ink is also dotted with early espresso marker using the spritzing tool.  I love the texture this tool gives.  The main leaf was made with a leaf die and stamp from PTI.  Espresso ribbon, white brads and some textural embossing finish this one off.  Thanks for stopping by and taking a look around.

Much Needed Rest

I am in love with this sweet stamp set called On My Couch from PTI.  There are a couple of coordinating dies that punch out the side chair and a sofa that's also a part of the stamp set.  It turns out the cutest images. 
I stamped the chair in mambo melon, the rug in pear pizzaz and the table in early espresso inks from Stampin Up.  Look at what's on the side table.  It's a steaming cup of coffee and a stack of books just waiting for a good sit down and relax time.  This is going to a friend of mine that recently had surgery.  I hope it brightens her day. 
Thanks for stopping by.

Warmed by Friendship

Hello Everyone!  You know that feeling when your creative juices are flowing and everything comes together so easily?  Well, I'm surprised that this card isn't dripping wet, because my juices were flowing!  I really like the clean look and simple layout.  The construction of the card is pretty self-explainatory, so all that's left are the supplies. 
Stamps:  Warm Happiness, Warm Happiness Too, Tiny Tags--PTI
Paper:  Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Perfect Plum, White, Green House Gala--all SU
Accessories:  PTI doily, heart tag and cup dies, MFT Dynamics Scallop border die, plum ribbon, pearls, dimensionals, dotted swiss embossing folder, nestability die, sponge.
Thanks for stopping by!

Let the Journey Begin

Hello Everyone!  A good friend of mine is taking a dream trip of a lifetime to Italy.  She is so excited, so I knew I had to make her a card to wish her a wonderful time and safe travels.  My Favorite Things Goin' Places was the perfect stamp set to create this special card.  I stamped the main image on white cardstock and colored the map and suitcase with prisma colors and blended with mineral spirits to create the shading.  The dress is paper pieced using Beyond the Garden dsp.  The blue background cardstock is Pacific Point.  See the tone on tone circles on the card base?  That's the retired On the Spot background stamp.  I really love how it goes with the circle of the doily from PTI.  A few nail head brads complete this fun card.  Thanks for stopping by!

Tone on Tone

Hello Everyone!  I've been in a tone on tone mood lately.  I love the look of blue on blue, green on green and so on.  Today, it's white on white.  Even though there's no colored border around the embossed white piece of cardstock, it stands out all on it's on because of the texture.  The birdie is from A Touch of Nature--SU and the sentiment is from PTI's Delightful Dalhlia.  The photopolymer stamp is flexible and allowed me to curve it to fit the shape of the cardstock.  A few pearls and ribbon finish this one.  Thanks for stopping by!

For a Happy Couple of Many Years

Hello Everyone!  I needed to come up with a special card for a very special couple.  My in-laws are celebrating their 53rd wedding anniversary this week!!!  Can you believe 53 years?!  That's a wonderfully long time and they are such an inspiration for our family. 
All the stamp sets used today are from PTI (Delightful Doilies, Twinkle, Mega Mixed Messages).  The doily images are stamped onto very vanilla cardstock using regal rose ink.  The card base, die cut doily and ribbon are all rich razzleberry.  The sentiment is stamped in that wonderful razzleberry color.  I LOVE that color!  A couple of rhinestones finish this one. 
Thanks for stopping by!

For a Happy Mother's Day

Hello Everyone!  This card is made with the new Stampin' Up! embossing folder from the current Summer Mini catalog.  It's called Flower Garden.  I embossed a piece of whisper white cardstock, then water colored the flowers using blushing bride and old olive reinkers.  The background (base of the card) is stamped tone on tone with the French Filligree large background stamp.  Take a look at this adorable tag!  I realize I'm getting all excited about a tag, but it's made from a PTI stamp set called Tiny Tags.  There's so many sentiments included in this set.  It also has a coordinating tag die set.  LOVE IT!!!  The doily is also made from a PTI die.  The pretty bow was made from some raffia I have in my stash.  A row of pearls finish this one off. 
Thanks for stopping by and a Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

True Love Anniversary

Hello everyone.  I needed to make an anniversary card for my sister and brothr-in-law and thought I would make it with Papertrey's Friendship Jar and Friendship Jar Fillers-Spring stamp sets and coordinating dies.  The base is Pear Pazzaz and stamped with one of the PTI's Twinkle background stamps.  The camera didn't pick up the shine, but I cut a transparency layer to place over the jar to make it look like glass.  The hearts were colored with Copic markers.  The dsp is actually a another PTI background stamp called Gingham.  Some real red gingham ribbon, a layer of real red punched with scalloped border punch and some bling on the tag complete this one.  Thanks for stopping by. 

For a Special Occasion

Hello Everyone.  I know I've been pretty lame about blogging lately.  Things just keep getting in my way.  With that said, the card I am posting today, is for my nephew. This was really clean and simple and I love the way it turned out. Marina Mist and Bashful Blue were the colors used.  The shaped layers of cardstock were done using my Cricut electronic die cutting machine and an SVG file image that Penny Duncan generously shared.  If you haven't visited her blog, hop on over and look around.  She is one talented computer genius.  She has many SVG files that she shares and are ready for download and cutting. 
The cross and sentiment are from the Special Blessing stamp set. 
Thanks for stopping by.

PTI Trees

Hello everyone!  This card features a couple of stamp sets from PTI;  Through the Trees and Leaf Prints.  I think it made a great masculine card.  I started by making a mask with a circle.  I sponged Baja Breeze ink to create the sky circle.  The tree leaves are a combination of Wild Wasabi and Always Artichoke ink.  The two leaves at the bottom were made using one of the coordinating dies.  Some Baja Breeze ribbon and a couple of brads finish this one off. 
Thanks for stopping by!

Vellum Butterfly

Hello everyone!  Can you believe that spring is nearly here?  I am tired of the colors of winter, so I broke out some soft spring colors.  I love the combination of Blushing Bride, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla.  The base of the card is one piece of 4.25" x 5.5" piece of cardstock.  The vanilla piece is actually is what is folded and opens to show the inside of the card.  The decorative label punch was used to create the framed base for the butterfly.  This is a sneak peek of a set that will be available in the new Stampin' Up catalog this summer.  It's called Four Frames and coordinates beautifully with the punch.  I punched out a Soft Suede layer, cut it in half and layered it behind the ends of the vanilla piece. 
To create the butterfly, I ran my Blushing Bride ink pad over a piece of vellum cardstock, then sprinkled clear embossing powder and some glitter on top.  As I heat set it, the embossing powder melted, and set the glitter into it as well.  I then punched out this MS butterfly and glued it to my card.  A couple of pearls and some lace ribbon finish this one off. 
Thanks for stopping by!

Ahoy!

Hello everyone!  I needed a card for my brother-in-law that will be retiring from his job in a few days.  He's an avid fisherman and is retired from the Navy some 20 years ago.  I thought this stamp set would be a perfect fit.  It's called Boatloads of Love.  The boat was stamped with black StazOn and colored with peach parfait and baja breeze markers.  To make the waves of water, I took the guide off the ticket corner punch (SU's old style punch) and lined the pattern up end to end to create the points.  I made three layers of "water" with baja breeze and night of navy cardstock, stuck them together and ran them all through the Cuttlebug using the swirls folder.  What's water without a little bit of sparkle.  The camera doesn't show it, but I ran a glitter pen over the swirls of the water.  I hand drew the fish and fishing rod.  The All play and NO work sentiment was computer generated.  It says Happy Retirement on the inside of the card.  I added eyelets for the port hole windows and a hand written "Good Times" name for the boat. 
I really think my brother-in-law will get a kick out of it. 
Thanks for stopping by today!

Overlooked But Not Forgotten

Hello Everyone.  For today's card I reached for my much overlooked mulberry paper.  I wanted a really soft effect for this feminine card.  The mulberry paper was cut the same size as the pink pirouette cardstock behind it.  I then carefully (and I took my time) tore the paper, leaving the whispy, soft edge.  To adhere the mulberry paper, tape was placed only where I knew the main image layer would cover it. The edges were kept free so that it could stand up a bit.  I love how it turned out.  The main image is the Elizabeth stamp.  I used Basic Gray ink and colored in a few of the blooms with Pink Pirouette marker and added a bit deeper color in the center of the blooms with a Pretty in Pink marker.  A few pearls finish this one off.
Thanks for stopping by.

I did It!

Hello everyone!  This card has been a long time coming.  I don't know what took me so long to play!   I downloaded the Make the Cut software quite a long time ago and came upon a wonderful blog by Jin.  She is an SVG genius!  She had a great tutorial on how to manipulate an SVG file with Make the Cut and turn an image into a card. 

Did't it turn out darling?  If you're at all curious, check out Jin's tutorial and the Lettering Delights website for the wonderful SVG file called DB Animal Occasion.  To give this peguin my own touch, I used the dotted swiss folder for a little bit of texture on the chest and stamped the happy birthday sentiment from the Stampin Up So Happy For You stamp set.  I had to add a ribbon because it's so darn cute and the card is for my little niece. 
Thanks for stopping by today.

Cherry on Top

Hello everyone.  Can anything be more fun than a birthday cupcake?  I really like these colors together--Certainly Celery, Marina Mist and Rose Red.  The Create a Cupcake stamp set and coordinating punch were used to make the cupcake.  It's the star of the show on this one.  I framed it with a couple of nestie layers to highlight it.  While the white nestie layer was still in the die, I sponged Marina Mist ink on top.  When removed fromt the die, a nice white outline is created.  The camera didn't capture it too well, but the cherry on top is punched out of red glitter paper.  Almost looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? 
Thanks for stopping by today. 

Support for a Rainy Day

Hello Everyone.  Today's card was a lot of fun to make and I just love the clean look of the design.  I used a MFT stamp set called Rain or Shine.  The 3 windows in the card front were done using a die from PTI called Take Three.  I punched 3 white squares using the 1 1/4" punch and stamped the raindrops using Marina Mist ink.  These were glued onto a strip of Marina Mist cardstock and positioned it in the inside of the card.  Each raindrop, the dots on the umbrella and the puddle around the boots were dabbed with a clear glitter pen.  It looks so pretty and sparkly.  Thanks for stopping by!

Valentine's Day for My Honey

Hello Everyone.  Today I thought I'd show you the Valentine's Day card I came up with for my husband. I really love the simple, but elegant look.  Perfect for a man, don't you think?  I used the Have a Seat and Filled With Love stamp sets.
The card base and the main image are made of white cardstock.  The striped designer paper is from the Taste of Textiles collection.  The scrolled cut out is done with a  Spellbinders die and the sentiment is punched out using the small oval punch.  All red layers are Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  The shadow under the bench was done using a Copic Marker.  It gives the bench a solid foundation so that it doesn't look like it's floating. 
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind comments.

An 80th Celebration

Hello Everyone!  This card was created for a very special lady for her 80th Birthday!  Can you imagine celebrating an 80th birthday.  I hope I make it! 
The card base is white, the next layer and the main card color is baja breeze.  I added a layer of not quite navy and on top of that, 3 strips of woodland walk designer paper.  They're cut just small enough to leave some of the not quite navy paper to show through, creating frames for each strip.  Nesties were used to create the circle and scalloped layers.  Before taking the white circle out of the die, I hooked up a light blue copic marker into the air brush tool and sprayed lightly so that when I removed the paper, a white ridge on the edge remained where the die covered the paper.  I paper pierced the circle using a round plastic canvas sheet used for cross stitch or needle point.  It's got a grid of different sized circles, making it easy to find the right size needed. 
A white piece of cardstock was run through with an embossing folder and placed at the bottom of the card.  I created the numbers using my cricut.  A sheer organdy ribbon and a heart charm complete this one.  The ends of the ribbon were slightly curled by carefully heating it with my heat gun.  It takes just a second and gives it a slightly crinkled look. 
Hope you enjoyed this one.  Thanks for stopping by!

A Mask Isn't Just for Halloween

Hello Everyone.  I made this card using a masking techique.  The "frame" on the main image was created using one of my Nesties.  First I inked up the French Script background stamp in River Rock ink and stamped it onto Very Vanilla cardstock (look closely, it's pretty subtle).  I then took the shape I cut out with the Nestie and placed it over the center of the Vanilla cardstock.  I sponged River Rock ink all around the perimeter of the shape, creating the pretty frame.  I then inked up the plant image from Kind and Caring Thoughts in Always Artichoke and stamped it on top of the sponged frame.  The sentiment is from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set.  I used the word window punch to add a little interest.  A couple of brads and Artichoke seam binding ribbon complete this one. 
Thanks for stopping by.

So Forgetful!

Hello Everyone!  I made this card around Thanksgiving and completely forgot to post it. 

I used the beautiful medallion from the Day of Gratitude stamp set.  I stamped it in black craft ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  I made two slit punches in the center and inserted a ribbon and added 3 nailhead stickers to the knot.  The background is stamped tone on tone using the French Script background stamp.  It's subtle, but it's there if you look closely.  The colors used are black, white, and more mustard. 
Thanks for taking a look.

Getting Caught Up Finally!

Hello Everyone,
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.  It was a whirlwind around our house, but I'm glad to have such a great family around.

This card was made with some great colors.  I really like the combination of cajun craze, certainly celery and more mustard.  I created this latch card using these beautiful colors.  The image was stamped on water color paper.  I inked up the image with markers and then spritzed the stamp with water before stamping it.  The water gives the image that true watercolor look.  I embossed the latch with a Cuttlebug border folder.  I love how the scalloped punch design stands out layered on the darker cajun craze base.  I tried a new product (well, it's new to me) for accent on ths card.  It's called Pearl Pen by Viva Decor.  This product comes out of the tube as a liquid and dries hard and flat, just like the pearls that you purchase and have to remove from a paper sheet. It does take some time to dry, but they turned out lovely.  Some ribbon and a couple of brads finish this one off. 
Thanks for stopping by today.