Carolynnes Crafty Business

Blog update in progress!.....

2011-10-13T07:57:00.001-05:00

Birthday cake(s)!

2011-08-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

So, I promised I would share this with you... My daughters birthday fell on the first day of school, so we decided to have her birthday sleepover party the weekend before... Yes, shes like the Queen of England and had 2 birthdays this year!! For her party she had a very specific design and instructions... It all started with the invitations....

The color scheme for the cake was the same..

She wanted a two tier round marbled cake with fondant and circles of turquoise, green and purple! ARGH!!
Ive never dealt with fondant before (and will be happy to never do it again!) but always up for a challenge I gave it a go!! Heres the result!...

Base layer covered...

Top Tier covered.

Supports added and cake stacked!! So far so good!

Next we had to roll a thousand little circles and add the balls of fondant around the edges...

And.... Drumroll please...

Final result...

The cake went down well although nobody liked the fondant and it was really hard to cut!! Im quite happy in the future to pay someone enormous amounts of money to make our family birthday cakes...!

Of course on her 'Official Birthday' we had to have cupcakes.... She is a strange child and loves watching the 'annoying orange' clips on YouTube... (really annoying!!) Her latest favourite stars a Marshmallow who sneezes glitter (!) So, she gave me yet another challenge... (sigh)

I made a tower of German Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and found glitter-like sprinkes and tiny marshmallows... RESULT!!!...

Again, I kept with the color scheme and found purple and green cupcake cases.... I made the top cake just for her and we put letter candles in each cake spelling out Happy Birthday!

Thank goodness I have a year to recover!!

Thanks for looking

C xx

Birthday Projects.

2011-08-24T18:53:00.001-05:00

This week my daughter celebrated her 11th Birthday and of course I had to make some thank-you notes and a very special birthday card...

Cute huh? These are the colors she used for the birthday cake she designed.... (I managed to make it almost as she wanted. I was actually pretty pleased with the result and will share it with you later in the week.)

Shes a big lover of glitter and I managed to find some random sparkles in my stash that coordinated with the SU! Colors!!

Now the stamp I used for the greeting actually says "on a scale of one to ten youre an 11" so I stamped it twice and trimmed it down to read "youre 11"! Neat huh?

A little doodling round the edges, a splash more glitter and it was done!!

Recipe:

Stamps, Precious Butterflies (Hostess) and Perfect Words (Hostess)

Card: Tempting Turqoise, So Saffron, Whisper White.

Ink: Old Olive, Perfect Plum. Tempting Turquoise, Perfect Plum and So Saffron Markers.

Glitter from stash.

Heres the Thank You card...

Again I used the same colors Old Olive, Perfect Plum and Tempting Turquoise.

Stamp set is Awash with Flowers.

I kept this one simple as I had to make a few of them!!...

All in all she had a great time... Photos of birthday cake(s) to follow later!

Thanks for looking,

TTFN

C xx

Swap Cards...

2011-07-28T20:48:00.002-05:00

I recently took part in a swap over on Splitcoast Stampers.... We chose which color family we wanted to swap and made 9 cards of the same design in that color-family.... I decided to challenge myself and use the Neutrals Color Family... I sent my cards to a lovely lady called Lisa who organised the swap and LO! a couple of weeks later I received some amazing creations from the other swap-ee's!! I thought Id share with you!!

Now I want you to scroll down quickly and make a note of which card you think I made. Then read the notes underneath and see if you are right!! Let me know if you guessed right in the comments section!!!

Number 1.

Number 2.

Number 3.

Number 4.

Number 5.

Number 6.

Number 7.

Number 8.

Heres whom made what....

1. Amanda Corbet. 2. Debbie Walter, Nevada.

3. Carolynne Hedrick, Texas. 4. Jenny Fulton, MN.

5. Laura Simpson. 6. Deb Lippert, Wisconsin.

7. Mary Jane Wellington, Maine. 8. Pam Steckman.

Arent they stunning? Im so glad I did this swap and I plan to do a couple more. Its a great way to see what ideas and techniques other people can come up with given the same basic rules and colors.... These are definately going onto my display board!! YAY.

Now did you guess right? Leave me a comment in the section below...

TTFN

C xx

NEW!! In colors..

2011-07-22T18:18:00.001-05:00

So, as youve probably noticed, Stampin' Up! have a BRAND NEW catalog with loads of lovely new stamps and accessories for your crafting needs. They also have introduced 5 BRAND NEW In-Colors for the next 2 years.... I decided to use all of these on one card to introduce you to them....

I LOVE the feel of these colors, very beachy and summery and im SOOOOO glad theres a pale purple once again (missed my pale plum!) and my favourite is the pale blue!

From left to right the colors are:

Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder and the background is Calypso Coral.

Aren't they lushious?? I love the fact that SU! is keeping up with the current trends in fashion and home designs and keeping the colors fresh and new! Well done!

The layout is from week 194, June 6 over on the Mojo Monday Blog. This is a go-to place for me when Im needing inspiration.. Check it out!

Heres a close up of the flower detail...

I got the inspiration for this flower from a lady called Wendy Weixler who has some tutorials on her blog, HERE. I dont have the punch for the rose so I played with my scallop circle punch and came up with a little Chrysanthemum flower! Cute huh?
Stamp set is My Friend. Another new item from the catty and rapidly becoming a favourite of mine.

So, whats your favourite(s) from the new colors? What would you like to see next time? Please leave a comment as I love to hear from you all!

TTFN,
C xx

Planning an Evening of FUN!!

2011-07-20T12:12:00.000-05:00

Soooo, Ive got this idea in my crafty little mind....

Who wants to come along to a "Scrapbook in an Evening" class?

You will end the evening with a bunch of instructions, cutting guides, cardstock and patterned paper all (hopefully) assembled into 20 completed scrapbook pages ~ ready to fill an 8x8" album. You will also have enough patterned paper leftover to make 2 more albums! You will have the instructions to use over and over so theres no excuse! I will provide all supplies for the pages (except your own glue, paper cutter and photographs!) and expertise. I will bring along my punches and big-shot and help you customise your album with hand-made embellishments....

Interested??
Class will be Aug 26th, place and time to be determined... You dont have to be here either... I can provide all instructions and kit to you by post (USA Only) you just pay extra postage... Cost is only $35 (in advance for pre-order of supplies)... Theres only 6 spaces SO BOOK NOW!! (Class fees are payable to me by Aug 12th... paid fees guarantees you a space and kit)

Hope to see you there, should be a FUN night!!

C xx

Randoms!

2011-06-25T18:04:00.000-05:00

Wanna see some random stuff I have on my Camera SD Card? Most of my crafting photos are on the external drive of the other laptop, currently being used and abused by my boys... they are quiet and not asking for food or complaining they are bored, so Im not gonna disturb them!! LOL!

This 'love'ly card was one of our club projects back in January I believe!

This little box of goodies was the inspiration for the last project our club did together. Each panel inside used a different technique that we had learnt over the 6 months...

This pretty one is a non-SU card... I made it for a very dear friend of mine who taught my daughter ballet. Sadly she and her family left for sunnier (?) well more comfortable climbs. Such is the life of a military family Im afraid!

And this unfortunate mess is what happens when someone tries to mail English Chocolate to Texas in 100f weather... Not very pretty! But tasted good!!

There will be more crafty-ness in the next couple of days... It seems we have a few months of club projects and some other goodies to look at!...

Back soon,
C xx

Really really bad blogger!!

2011-06-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

OK, ok.... SO Ive been neglecting the old bloggitute for long enough! I plan to get things back up and running here in the next week or so. Lots and LOTS of projects to share with you - obviously!! Including a swap I have just participated in over on the SU Demo forum... Lots of NEW things to share too.... We have a BRAND NEW catalog coming out on July 1st!!! I will have a class to share with everyone also.

Stay tooned peeps!

I pwomise, pwomise, pwomise I will return vewy vewy soon!

Lubs ya!
C xx

Bad blogger!

2011-01-09T12:06:00.000-06:00

Wowzer! Is it really so long since I posted anything? OOPSIE!
Well, as you can imagine its been crazy-busy here with Christmas and New Years! I think now the decorations are put away and I can actually see my craft desk again (Thanks for sorting the garage hunny xx!) I may be a little more productive once again!!
I have some club projects to share but wont till later in the month as December class was postponed till January due to extreme busyness by everyone!! Unfortunately this means we will be making Christmas boxes in January, but, Oh well!! Early start for this year!! LOL!
I have a few photos to scrapbook and plan a session this afternoon so stay tuned for some DIGI pages!! WOO HOO!!!

Dont be a stranger!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

C xx

Exciting stuff!!

2010-12-15T10:11:00.005-06:00

(KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR NEWER POSTS!!)

Yes you heard it right!! 20% off select products from Stampin' Up!

from October 19 thru December 16th!!

This is a promotion after my own heart.... I LOVE making boxes and packaging at Christmas-time. These Bundles are truly a great deal... All you have to do is decide which one(s) you want to snag!!

Heres the details a little closer...

Vintage Christmas Card Bundle (Mini catty):

Bells & Boughs set (p.19) and Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (p. 18)

Wood-mount: 124067 $23.92

Clear Mount: 124068 $19.92

Contempo Christmas Card Bundle (Main catty):

Contempo Christmas set (p. 45) and Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper (p. 174)

Wood-mount: 124071 $20.72

Clear-mount: 124072 $17.52

Tags Till Christmas Bundle 1 (Mini catty):

Tags Till Christmas set (p. 24) and Decorative Label Punch (p. 25)

Wood-mount: 124077 $38.32

Clear-mount: 124078 $31.92

Tags Till Christmas Bundle 2

Tags Till Christmas set (mini catty p.24) and Ornament Punch (main catty p. 203)

Wood-mount: 124478 $38.32

Clear-mount: 124477 $31.92

Gift Packaging Bundle

Gifted set (main catty p. 30) and Mini Lunch Sacks (mini catty p. 13)

Wood-mount: 124083 $26.32

Clear-mount: 124084 $19.92

Simply Adorned Gift Bundle (main catty)

Charming set (p. 130), Simply Adorned 1" x 1 1/4" charm (p. 189) and

Simply Adorned 24" Chain (p. 189)

124076 $39.88

Frame Gift Bundle (mini catty)

Definately Decorative Chunky Frame (p. 9) and Small Chocolate Chip Dotted Flourish

Decor Elements (p. 23)

Wood-mount: 124075 $19.92

Its worth noting also that the Bells & Boughs and Tags Till Christmas stamp sets are also available in Spanish. The Contempo Christmas, Tags Till Christmas and Gifted stamp sets are available in French too!!

If you would like to order these just follow the link on the Right-hand side of the page to my Stampin' Up! Website or you can leave me a comment with your email address if you have questions...

Hmmmm.... decisions, decisions!.....

Busy Busy Bee!

2010-12-01T19:48:00.000-06:00

Well, Ive been as busy as a bee for the last few days... We had a lovely Thanksgiving Holiday here... Although Hubs was working the night shift he was able to join us at the table for a scrum-diddly-umptious knees up at a friends house! Since then we have resisted the urge to put up our Christmas Decorations (Unlike many, many in town!!) as I object to doing this before December 1st!!

Ive been really busy in the craft room!! Making lots of things I cant share just yet... a couple of birthday cards for people I know read this!! Hi Mom, Hi Mum!! a lovely Christmas Box project for my next club meeting, and a little something for my lovely girlies!!

I CAN share an ongoing home decor project with you. I went to the local craft shop the other day (Yes, Im allowed to visit once in a while!!) and picked up some styrofoam cones in 3 different sizes. So far Ive decorated 2... Not decided what approach to use for the third one, but I will, eventually get it finished! So here you go. I think the photos are pretty self-explanatory!...

So, I started with strips of double sided patterned paper (this is old Christmas DSP from SU UK) and cut strips 6" x 3/4". These were looped over and just pinned onto the form. I didnt want to use any glue as these will not last till next year without some serious squishing, so I thought it would be nice to be able to change the paper & color scheme each year!

Can you see how I just made some pen marks to keep myself on a straight line for each layer?

And heres the finished tree... Aint she pretty!? Not a dab of glue in sight!!

The next one was a bigger cone, and took soooooo much longer to do...

I punched out loads and loads of Scalloped Circles and cut them in half... I think it took 2 sheets of A4 cardstock to cover the base.

I love the way it looks like an evergreen... although my son said it looked like dragon scales! Thanks son!

Next I used the 5 petal flower punch on Cherry Cobbler, Real Red and Bravo Burgundy cardstock... scrunched up the flowers and randomly layered 3 together with a little burgundy flower in the centre. I found some old green DSP hiding in the corner and punched one for the back. I used my crop-o-dile to punch a hole through the centre of all the layers and threaded a silver sequin onto a pearl topped pin, using the pin to attach the flowers.

It still looked a bit naked to me so rather than make another dozen or so flowers (!) I just added some more sequins & pins in the gaps....

So, whadya think??

Not sure when I will get around to number 3, but I'll let ya know!!

Off to clean up the mess!

TTFN,

C xx

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:27:00.002-06:00

Just popped in to wish those who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving Day today.

If you dont celebrate, its a great opportunity to stop for a second and think about what you are grateful for in your life. As hard as you may think you have it, theres nearly always someone worse off than you and ALWAYS something to be thankful for...

Back soon, Im off to friends to gobble some turkey!! NOM NOM NOM!!
TTFN
C xx

ANOTHER SALE!!!

2010-11-22T14:32:00.000-06:00

You have to check out my Stampin Up Web Page for some more OUTSTANDING offers... limited time only till November 30th.... Many products at 30, 40 and even 50% discounts.... Online purchase only.... DONT MISS OUT!

Heres the link... http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/carolynneh/promotions to ALL the spectacular offers SU is having at the moment.... PHEW!!
C xx

November Club Projects.

2010-11-22T07:25:00.000-06:00

This month we made a 3D ornament card for Christmas, to take advantage of the Christmas Bundles available at the moment (see above) and a cute thanksgiving turkey using the scallop circle punch.

I must state that I did not design or come up with the idea for either of these.... I love blog-hopping and perusing peoples ideas and inspiration... Unfortunately I didnt make a note of the ladies who originally designed these projects or I would link to them and say thank you...

If it was you please let me know and I will give you the credit you deserve!!

3D Ornament Card

1. Cut a standard size card base from Cherry Cobbler cardstock (8 ½” x 5 ½”), score and fold in half at 4 ¼”.

2. Cut a layer (#1) of Shimmery White card to 4” x 5 1/4”. Stamp greeting at bottom centre of card. Using the pricking guide & mats, prick a pattern into each corner.

3. Glue white layer onto card base. Put aside.

4. Cut another layer (#2) from Shimmery White cardstock to 2 ¼” x 3 ½”.

5. Cut a mat from Crumb Cake card to 2 ½” x 3 ¾”.

6. Stamp the ornament onto the white layer (#2) in Crumb Cake ink towards the top.

7. Using sticky tape - stick a piece of twine in the middle of the stamped image, fold over the top edge and stick with tape on the back.

8. Using scrap pieces of Shimmery white card stamp the ornament once in Crumb Cake ink, and twice in Cherry Cobbler ink. Using the Ornament Punch upside down, position the stamped image and punch out. Fold the punch-outs in half vertically and glue back to back, making sure the Crumb Cake color is in the centre. Using Stampin Dimensionals adhere the 3D ornament over the stamped image on the card.

9. Glue this layer (#2) onto the Crumb Cake mat. Tie Cherry Cobbler seam binding around bottom and fasten in a knot. Use Dimensionals again to glue to the front of the card.

10. Add rhinestones or pearls for added effect.

Thanksgiving Turkey

1. Make the turkey by punching 2 scallop circles from More Mustard card. Cut one as shown for the body. Cut the second one straight across keeping 7 “bumps” to use for a tail piece. Punch three more scallop circles (I’ve used Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy and Cajun Craze) Cut two of these straight across keeping 7 “bumps” and one to 6 “bumps” for tail pieces..

2. Punch one large flower from So Saffron card and cut down for feet and beak. Punch one small flower in Real Red and trim down for the “dangly” bit!!

3. Assemble turkey as shown. Draw 2 eyes with Black or Early Espresso Marker.

4. Use some patterned paper across the bottom of a 4” x 2 ½” piece of Whisper White card and glue your turkey onto it. You can fold this over and use for a nameplate at your thanksgiving table or add a greeting and make into a card.

Hope you enjoy!

TTFN
C xx

Great week!

2010-11-20T09:22:00.000-06:00

Im soooooo excited! I now have 2 lovely ladies who have taken advantage of the AMAZING offer for the starter kits at 50 percent discount... You still have a few days left so call me if you dont want to miss out!

I also have a few more Operation Write Home cards to share and this months Club projects so...

Operation Write Home "people cards"!

As before, images were all colored with the Stampin' Up! Marvelous Markers...

Arent they fun! Im working on some very famous characters at the moment so come back soon!

Club projects to follow in another post!

TTFN

C xx

Random Cards!

2010-11-07T12:29:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share with you a few of the cards that are wending their merry way to distant hot climbs as we speak! Im only showing cards that I made for Operation Write Home as I dont have permissions to show any others....

Arent they fun?... The Background papers, inks, punches and ribbons are all Stampin' Up!

More to come another day!

Comments please....!

TTFN

C xx

October Class projects....

2010-10-27T07:30:00.031-05:00

Heres the projects our group did this month... The theme was "getting the most from your inks". I gave everyone a sheet of paper, divided into sections and instructed them how to use different techniques in each space... we did stamping off, rock n roll, wheels, markers and 2-step stamping. Consider them all edumatated!!

Then we used the stamping off technique to make this Christmas Card using the Lovely as a Tree stamp set...

You cant really see the sparkle here, but on the centre tree we used some wet glue (tombow Multi) and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. BLINGIN!!

I made the girlies a little thank you gift...

And inside were these little pots of Halloween Hand Sanitizer from Bath & Body Works... There was an orange bottle too, called Candy Corn! Arent they cute?

I used some Basic Grey cardstock, Basic Black ink, the Wicked Cool stamps and some of the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, along with the Rich Razzleberry 1/8" taffetta ribbon and some punches.

I found this idea from a lovely lady called Kimberly Van Diepen...(Instructions and VIDEO HERE). You should take a look at her blog HERE. She is amazingly talented and generous with her designs too!!

Lastly as a quick project I had pre-cut all the pieces for this 8x8" scrapbook page, and told them to go for it and see what layouts they could come up with.... Everyone's was different!! Fabulous!!

Instructions:

Christmas Card

1. Cut your Crumb Cake card base (8 ½” x 5 ½”), score and fold at 4 ¼” to make a standard size card.
2. Cut a piece of Early Espresso card to 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Use the scallop edge punch along one long edge. Put aside.
3. Cut a piece of Very Vanilla card to 3 ¾” x 5 ½”. Using the Night of Navy Ink, stamp the main tree image about 1/3 of the way along the vanilla card (on the left side). Immediately (without re-inking) stamp again on either side of the main tree, slightly overlapping the first image. The second and third tree will be lighter in color and look like they are in the background…
4. Stamp your greeting on the right side using the stamp-a-ma-jig and Early Espresso ink.
5. Glue the Vanilla to the Espresso card stock.
6. Tie the Vanilla ribbon around and tie into a knot below the main (darkest) tree.
7. Glue to main card.
8. Use wet glue to add highlights on main tree image, add glitter and set aside to dry.

Spooky Scrapbook Page

1. Cut a piece of Old Olive cardstock to 8” x 8”.
2. Cut your “Wicked Cool” patterned paper to 4” x 8”.
3. Cut a Basic Black photo mount to 4 ¼” x 6 ¼”. (for a standard 4x6 photo)
4. Cut a piece of Tangerine Tango card to 1 ¼” x 4 “ for your title.
5. Use the Curly Label Punch on some Rich Razzleberry card. Fold the punch out in half. Cut one large tag from the large tag punch also in Rich Razzleberry.
6. Using some Old Olive ink, & stamping off once, stamp the witches hat (from the Wicked Fun set) onto white card. Using Basic Black ink, stamp “spooky” over the top… Center the image in the window of the large tag punch and punch out.
7. Assemble the tags on top of each other, slightly offset. Add a brad. Wrap ribbon around the photo mount, add tag. Assemble page as shown.

Hope you enjoy!!

TTFN

C xx

Operation Write Home....

2010-10-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

So I know you are all curious to see the cards from my all-day Operation Write Home card Party... So here goes..

107 Cards!

I offered 4 kits for those inexperienced card-makers. Everything was pre-cut and I typed up instructions for each card. I had all 4 kits at one table, one kit per seat, and the ladies had great fun rotating around... Was a bit like musical chairs at one point!!...

These are the finished Kits!!

These cards were donation by 2 lovely ladies... The blue cards (at the top) were illustrated and watercolored by a HUGELY talented lady!... Thank you girls!!

These cards were "free-styled"... (alot are mine... I seem to have got the coloring bug!!)

So, yesterday I spent the day coloring a whole village of people!!

16 more cards to add to the pile once I finish!!

I would like to thank everybody who came along to help, made donations or dropped cards off. This was a huge success and lots of fun too! YOU ROCK!!

Back tomorrow with those Class Projects I promised....

TTFN

C xx

Fun Times!!

2010-10-25T06:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I think Ive finally recovered from my 12 hour stint on friday!! Operation Write home was a HUGE success! I had 10 people either show up or drop by and donate cards and we made a grand total of 107 cards for the troops in one day!! (Oh and a cash donation of $60!!)

Now, Im not mailing the box out till Friday, as I have a few card fronts given to me by my friend and Upline and I have to mount those onto a card base and then stamp the OWH logo on the back of all the wonderful cards.... SO!! If you have any spare cards laying around that you arent going to use.... Leave me a comment with your email and I'll give you my address to send them too!

I will take some photos of the cards before I mail them out so you can see the AMAZING work the girls did!!...

Thank you again to everyone who helped make such a difference for the boys and girls who risk their lives for our freedom on a daily basis.

C xx

Whats been keeping me busy...?

2010-10-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

You may well ask? Where have I been? Well, this is a pet project Ive organised for next week. Im really excited to be supporting this organisation. I have a friend who's husband used their cards while in Iraq and she really loved recieving them.

The concept is simple. Please take a minute to visit their website and if you can make a donation. If you want to just send me some of those extra cards you have in your stash, please email me or leave me a message... Im more than happy to pass them along.

Normal service should resume shortly, I have a couple of cute class projects and instructions to share next week so stay toooned!!

TTFN
C xx

Being Wicked!!

2010-09-18T09:22:00.003-05:00

Well, my first official Stamping Class was last week and I promised to share our projects with you... To start with I handed everyone an instruction sheet which also had a chart on it. This had some of the standard card sizes on it, what size card you need to start with, where you score, and how to make a gatefold card in each size too. I then had the ladies cut a few of these and write the sizes on them. I think it was quite helpful to actually see and cut these themselves (it also helped them "get to know" their paper trimmers). I hope so anyway.

So from that we moved on to our project which was a standard A2 gatefold card...This was based on a card in the SU catalog, but I adjusted it to the standard size. Here's the instructions...

1. Cut your Rich Razzleberry* cardstock to (A2)

8 ½ x 5 ½” . Score at 2 1/8” and 6 3/8” to make a gatefold card.

2. Use the “Bat” stamp randomly all over the (folded) card front with VersaMark Ink. Stamp the “Cobweb” in white craft ink on 2 opposite corners. Set aside to dry.

3. Cut 2 pieces of white card (small) 1 ¾” x 2” and (medium) 1 7/8” x 2 ¾”.
Cut 2 pieces of black card (small) 2” x 2 7/8” and (Large) 3” x 3 ¾”.
Cut 1 piece of patterned paper to 2 ¾” x 3 ½".

*If your card base is a dark color you will need an insert of white card cut to
3 ¾” x 5”.

4. Use Black ink to stamp your candlestick onto the SMALL white panel. Then using the stamp-a-ma-jig, stamp your greeting onto the bottom of the MEDIUM white panel with Black ink. Set aside to dry.

5. Glue the patterned paper onto the LARGE black panel.
Paying attention to how the card opens(!) put glue on back of ONE HALF of the LARGE black panel. Glue into place on card front.

6. Once ink is dry, glue MEDIUM white panel onto SMALL black panel. Use dimensionals to attach SMALL white on top of this and add Rhinestone.

7. For the button, cut a small sliver of black card, thread through the holes and tie like thread. Stick to card with a dimensional.

8. Stick liner to inside… decorate if wanted. Decorate envelope.

And heres the Supplies you will need...
Wicked Cool stamp set. Wicked Fun Designer Series Paper. Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock. Basic Black Classic Ink. White Craft Ink. VersaMark Ink. Brights Buttons. Rhinestones. Dimensionals.

Hope you likey!

Enjoy...
C xx

New look blog! New Projects!!

2010-09-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

Woo Hoo!!
I think Im almost there tweaking the blog... Bear with me as there might still be a few little gremlins hiding out somewhere. If anything goes awry while youre visiting, please let me know so I can fix it!

Im so excited to be starting a new Stamping Club next week with some of my favourite ladies. I hope to teach them some basic stuff as well as the fun bits! So heres a few little packages of "Card Candy" Ive been creating for the last couple of days. Each hostess will get to choose one as a little thank you. (And there will be new ones added so hopefully we wont come to blows over who wants what! Although... with this bunch... its possible!)

Fun Huh?
I actually really enjoyed making these little treats, something I will be doing alot more of I think! Let me know what you think & which is your favourite...
Please also feel free to give some some ideas what Im missing on my new-look blog! Thanks for visiting!

TTFN
C xx

Under Construction!

2010-09-04T22:40:00.001-05:00

Or should I say having a makeover!!! Bear with me for a couple of days... Its time for a good old re-vamp-a-roonie in blog city.... in a few days it will all make sense. I hope.
Luvs ya!!

Back soon

2010-08-21T08:52:00.002-05:00

When the kids go back to school and I get a spare minute to myself I will have a new post for you!! Honest!
C xx

Its here!!!

2010-07-19T20:38:00.000-05:00

WOO HOOOOO!!

C'mon now... You all knew didnt you...?

My exciting news was that I signed up as a US Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!!

It was only a matter of time really wasnt it!? I must admit although its been lovely to have a break for the last year its actually nicer to now have a purpose again... just as before (When I was a demo in the UK) if all I do is break even and get my products at a discount then Im happy!! If I happen to make friends, have fun and share my love of all things crafty.... BONUS!!

The box came about 15 minutes ago, my lovely hubby lugged it inside for me. I promptly then said it had to go back on the doorstep so I could take a photo of it! Sad huh?

Needless to say things will change a little here... (But not too much!) I will have to add some links to SU & Abide by all the legal stuff but I still aim to add some tutorials and some projects... maybe blogging a little more regularly now too! (If youre wondering what ever happened to the video... The SD memory card broke on me and I havnt replaced it yet... Im working on it ! Promise!!)

So, heres to a happy and productive blogger !!! CHEERS!!

TTFN

C xx

V. V. Exciting news....

2010-07-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

OK, I hate to keep you all in suspense (or suspenders!) but I have some extremely exciting news I will share with you this week.... Im just waiting for an email to confirm it then I will tell you all!!

Some of you may already know, and some may guess.... Lets make it interesting.. Leave your thoughts in my comments box & lets see the funniest/weirdest answer... coz you are a funny and weird bunch!

Luvs ya!

C xx

Recital...

2010-06-13T12:45:00.000-05:00

For those that have been following along... The recital is over! YAY! As happy as I am to lend a hand backstage when needed and support the girls on the day, its always nice when its over...! I must admit this recital was lovely, stress-free and happy for all involved. It was only one performance and free to attend. All those in the audience were friends and family who were just as proud as punch of their little dancers... All the girls behaved beautifully and looked so pretty in their outfits... It made for a wonderful atmosphere of support and smiles...

I wanted to share the card that accompanied flowers and gift for the wonderful Ms Jennifer, the amazing woman that runs the school and managed such a wonderful morning...

I love this set from SU!.. I have used it before but I love the sentiment so much and it really does sum up Ms Jennifer... I embossed the outline image with clear powder over black ink and then coloured with markers and blender pens... Adding a little glitter for a touch of bling.

The background was stamped with versamark and again embossed with some clear powder... (Remembering the old formula for cardmaking... B L T... Background Layering and Texture...)

On the inside of the card I glued some punched hearts that I covered in glitter... all 3 girls in the senior class signed the card and I hope she liked it!...

OK Proud Mummy moment... Heres Abbi in her recital outfits...

Ballet solo.

Group Tap.

Group Ballet.

Abbi and Ms Jennifer.

A good time was had by all!

C xx

Ever Wondered ...?

2010-05-28T12:16:00.001-05:00

Whats a One Sheet Wonder...?

Have any of you stampers heard that term before? What is it?

Basically a One Sheet Wonder is a sheet of cardstock that has been stamped with a pattern and then cut into various sizes and shapes to make lots of cards... Heres an example...

I used the vintage vogue stamp set and randomly stamped the flowers, leaves and twirly gig bits all over a sheet of A4 card. This I then cut up and layered onto some coordinating colour card and then onto a base... I made 4 cards of this design and have about 1/4 sheet left to use another time. Pretty huh?

The same theory and same stamps have been used to make 2 more colourschemes and card designs...

And heres a green one...

I love this technique as its a fast way of making lots of cards in a session... I made 4 each of these cards with different sentiments on them and now have enough to last me a good few months... I also still have some leftovers (although not of the green as I only stamped an A5 page) to use for other projects...

I hope you give this trick a try... Im gonna show you all how I stamped the flowers to get the 2 tone colour effect (shown best on the yellow card) ... Im hoping a video will appear very soon. Ive recorded a couple but am still getting used to hearing my own voice so will tape another over the weekend!

Well, the kids are getting out of school at lunchtime today and have officially broken up for the summer hols.... I know, already? Yep! In Texas we have 12, thats TWELVE weeks of vacation. Im really looking forward to not having to get up at crack of dawn o'clock but dreading trying to keep a 9yr old and a 13yr old amused... We are off to the pool this arvo, so I shall probably look like a lobster tomorrow... Hey, thats a good excuse to craft!!!

Back soon,

TTFN

C xx

Technical Difficulties....

2010-05-25T08:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack in posts... its the kiddos last week of school and things are getting pretty hectic here... also we had Laptop issues which we hope to get sorted later this week. So at the minute we are hooked up to my trusty lappy but have no USB ports to spare and no printer etc... I hope to post some new projects later this week, and Im still working on the video.... I just hate the way I sound on film so may have to get a stunt double!!!

Laters...

C xx

New Music...

2010-05-20T08:20:00.000-05:00

Just in case you are wondering... Only 3 songs on the jukebox for a while... these are the songs Abbi is dancing to at her recital on June 5th... Etta James is Group Ballet, Hit the Road Jack is Group Tap and Fireflies is her Solo.

Just wanted to share the joy of hearing these tunes over, and over, and over, and over! Enjoy!!

C xx

New Toy!!!

2010-05-17T22:03:00.001-05:00

Ok, so today i bought a cute little Kodak Video camera!!! Im gonna take the plunge and do a video tutorial for you good folks...

Now I NEED SOME FEEDBACK please!

What would you like me to show you...

1. Basic stamping methods.
2. Advanced stamping (i.e. rocking & rolling/ 2 step stampin & stamp-a-ma-jig etc)
3. 3d projects (boxes & bags)
4. scrapbooking pages.
5. Cardmaking basics (standard sizes/matting & layering etc)
6. Other ideas... you name it!

So please leave a comment, by clicking below (where is says "Comments Please!!")... It may ask you to sign up for a google account if you havnt got one.... dont get scared... just do it! I need to know what you want to see!

Im off to have a play!!

TTFN

C xx

Happy Card Number 3!

2010-05-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

My third and favourite little happy guy!

Baaaahhhhh!

The minute I saw this guy I knew I wanted to echo his fluffiness. This one took some advance thinking. Hurted my head it did! First I stamped sheepie onto the card. Then again onto a post-it note, up on the sticky end, cut him out and popped him over the card sheepie. Next I sponged the clouds. I punched a scallop circle from some scrap paper and starting at the top of the card sponged some light blue ink over the scalloped edges, kinda random. (I think the sponge I used actually had some antique linen ink on it so it looks a little greenish in places but it still works! Another Happy Accident!!)

The rest I think is pretty self explanatory... The strip of green is glued to the back of the card front. Ribbon tied in a knot and the little labels just tied with some twine. Im waiting for my tiny tag punch to arrive so I just hand cut the tags today... Looks ok, yes?

Recipe.

Stamps: Pun Fun, SU!

Carstock: Whisper White, Rose Red and Certainly Celery, SU!

SU Markers in blush Blossom and Rose Red

Ribbon and twine from SU!

Martha Stewart Edge Punch

Thats it for now... I have another series of 3 cards coming next week...

TTFN

C xx

Happy Card Number 2!

2010-05-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

Heres my next Happy Little Fella!

Stinkin Cute!!!

Again I started with the image. Inked it up and coloured the flower. This then led me to the yellow circle in the background. Next I needed some texture and something to "ground" the image. So I took a strip of black cardstock and ran it through my ribbler in both directions... almost a checkered effect. I added some cute black and white ribbon and unintentionally made it look a little like a road. Quite funny if you think about it. I know here in Texas the only skunks you see (Or rather smell) are laying squished on the side of the road!

Heres a close up on the image. I think I may go back and even out the green grass on the right a little. At the mo it looks like hes on a hill! Easy to fix!!!

Recipe.

Stamps: Pun Fun, SU!

Cardstock: Whisper White, Black and Summer Sun, SU!

Ink: Black SU! and SU Markers in Green Galore, Summer Sun and Only Orange.

Ribbon from stash. Dimensionals from SU!

Number 3 coming soon!

TTFN

C xx

Happy Cards!

2010-05-05T20:37:00.002-05:00

Ive fallen in love with this stamp set. Its called Pun Fun and I LURVE the little images and funny sentiments that go with them... Ive actually made 3 just this evening! Im also having fun with these little cards. Im making them 4 1/4" square... such a cute size... and they fit in a standard sized envelope ~ Bonus!!!

So, where did I start with this card? With the image. Then I chose a coffee coloured ink. Next I looked for some gender neutral papers with tones of brown to continue the coffee theme. I stamped the image then picked up some Turquoise and brown with my trusty blender pens and shaded for some interest. To soften the edges of the main panel and the card base I sponged with the same brown ink.

Im loving the colour combo here... also ~ no bows, no flowers, no glitter so it could be used for a boy or a girl...

Recipe.

Stamps: SU!, Pun Fun

Cardstock: SU Kraft and Vanilla

Ink: Brown from Colorbox, Turquoise Gem from VersaMagic

Papers: Just Chillin 8X8" pad from Making Memories

Blender pens, dimensionals and ribbon from SU!.

STAY TUNED...

I have 2 more cards in this series...

TTFN

C xx

Quick Makes for some Lovely Ladies!

2010-04-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

Today I wanted to share some friendship cards with you... I had a few letters to post back to good ol' Blighty and needed a few little cards made fairly quickly...

So I decided to see if I could just use some pretty papers and minimum stamping... Heres what I came up with...

And this is just a variation on the theme...

I was inspired by these cute papers I earned for FREE thru Stampin' Up!,...( I think it was for ordering over $50 or something silly...) Arent they cute... Its a 6X6" pack of papers which I just trimmed down and layered together to make a simple card.... The finished articles are 4X4"... The stamp is fromt he Pocket Silhouettes Stamp Set..

Enjoy!
C xx

Anyone up for a Challenge?

2010-04-21T16:48:00.000-05:00

I seriously lost my mojo the last couple of weeks but managed to get it back by doing not just one challenge but 2 challenges in one card! PHEW! It was a struggle, the layout took 3 tries but Im (almost) happy with the end result...

First here are the challenges...

http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/2010/03/color-throwdown-84.html

These are both oldies but I visit these (and a few others) regularly for inspiration and some of the completed cards are awesome.... take a look if you ever get stuck...

Heres my card...

And a close up on the detail for you...

Do you see how I stamped and cut out her dress from Designer Paper? Pwetty!

Recipe

Stamp: "Little Miss Attitude" by Suzanne Woolcott

Ink: Black Stazon and SU Markers

Cardstock: All SU! Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie

Papers: SU! Bashful Blue DSP

Scallop and plain ovals from Nestabilities, ribbon from stash. American Crafts white gel pen.

Seriously reminds me of my daughter I can tell you! Ive been asked by a few people when I was going to update the ol'bloggage... Its nice to know you are all still looking... As always, COMMENTS are gratefully recieved... YOU tell ME what YOU want to see!

TTFN

C xx

Scrapping pages...

2010-04-13T16:16:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share with you how much Im in love with digital scrapping.... I am a classic pro-crastinator... I have boxes and boxes of photos from teenage years till now, Im not even sure what is in them! Now these boxes have moved with me from house to house, country to country and have never been looked in. Nowadays though I have a yummy digital camera and even though printing actual hold-in-your-hand photos is still a nightmare digi scrapping is easy peasy...

The point of scrapbooking (in my opinion) is to get your photos out of those mystery boxes, into something safe thats going to preserve them and your memories for generations to come... Digi is doing it for me! I can sit at my trusty laptop with my photos stored on it and get dozens of pages done in one go. No longer do I find myself thinking "I wish that photo was bigger" or "I want to crop that one" or "I'll never find paper to match these colours"... Zip Zap Zop... Im done in a flash! I think the fact that I can crop and resize photos on the go and colour match papers to the actual photo is what won me over. No more taking photos to the craft shop and holding them in front of papers to match up (only to get them home and discover in real light they are nowhere close!)... No more planning a page then having to wait for a week while an enlargement is being printed...

GET IT PRINTED! You can add embellishments and hand-write journalling afterwards...

thats what I do & Im a happy bunny!!

My tip at the moment is to use 8x8" pages in your digi scrapping then you can print at home and maybe, just maybe get an album finished! NOWAY!!!

Its nothing fancy... There are some gaps for me & the kids to journal and Ive missed Poppys name from the last one as I have some glittered chipboard letter to use... But you know what... Ive done an album.. It took me about an hour from start to finish... Pretty good huh?

Enjoy, and give it a go!

TTFN

C xx

Bad blogger, BAD I SAY!

2010-04-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Im officially a bad blogger! I totally forgot to prepare some more posts to pop up automatically for you. Im off to the craft cubby in the morning for a good sort out... who knows what creativity shall appear!

I apologise... we have been super~busy, unpacking, organising, cleaning 2 houses & having a social life! Things are back to normal now so, I should be able to get the creative hat out of the cupboard and plonked squarely on my noggin!

If you are interested I do have some Digital scrapping pages I could share...??

TTFN

C xx

Little Monkey!

2010-03-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

Last week I made a card for a little monkey who turned 2! I loved making this one, I smiled the whole time I was creating it. I call him 'a little monkey' all the time so I thought this was appropriate!

And heres the inside...

A real combination of SU products here... A border from a Scrappin Kit, stamps from various sets, and the vines from a sizzlitz die for the big shot...

Fun Huh?

Recipe.

Stamps: 'Monkey' from Fox and Friends, Words from Wild About You and Vintage Labels. Frame from Vintage Labels.

Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive. (SU)

Ink: SU! Close to Cocoa and Pumpkin Pie.

Border strip from Confetti Scrappin Kit, Sizzlits Small leaves (?) die.

Back soon,

TTFN

C xx

New Moon! YAY!

2010-03-19T13:11:00.000-05:00

Well, today is a good day!... Ive had one of those mornings that I will remember for a long time! I went to a friends house for some scrapping and chat and one of the girles had been away during the week for her birthday. Not one to be left out of a celebration I had secretly made a cake, and a card and got some pressies... She is a Twilight nut like me (although team Jacob... - but I can forgive her for that!) so what better card than a New Moon theme... We are both going out tonight at midnight to get our copies when they are released too.... !!

So heres the card...

And a little close-up on Edward and Bella...

Can you see Edward sparkling!?

And this is the most precious thing I will remember... Karens reaction to the card when she yelled "And look - he sparkles!" Priceless!

We luvs ya babe!!

TTFN

C xx

Purple Flowers

2010-03-18T07:41:00.000-05:00

Really quick post today, as Im typing weeks worth of posts in advance and losing the will to live!

Card made with Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set (weeely pwetty!) and pale plum ink (from SU!) I stamped the background and lightly coloured with blender pens and ink pad. Stamped the main panel and coloured with more ink to give extra depth. The dots are just my doodling!

Cardstock is Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Confetti White (?)from SU!

Off to clean/paint/unpack/organise/throw away/SUMMAT!

I hope to craft something soon!!!!

TTFN

C xx

Hybrid Card

2010-03-15T07:39:00.001-05:00

WHAT???? I hear you, I hear you!!!

"Hybrid" is a scary word to alot of us. As is "Digital Scrapping". BUT!... Im a recent convert. I bought the My Digital Studio from SU! last year and mainly wanted to just get my photos organised, into something, and printed. However, Ive been having SOOOOOOOO much fun! Im putting together a whole 8X8" book that covers about 3-6 months from last year and will send it off to be printed professionally and everything! In the meantime Ive been just playing with cards... I havn't figured out the settings for my printer yet to print straight onto cardstock and theres the finished result but, I thought, how about just printing some background images?

I have the Extreme Guitar stamp in my stash but not the background set. I DO however now have it on MDS (I got brave and paid for some downloads~ super easy!) So now not only do I have the stamp set but I can print it in any colour I want and make it any size I want too!

So thats exactly what I did! HA!

The main image was stamped over the printout and then I just stamped again for the shadow effect without cleaning my stamp... Looks cool huh? (although Ive just realised he looks like hes levitating in mid-air... hmmm will have to fix that later!)

Again all products SU!

TTFN:

Not sure what I will be doing today! Typing this 2 weeks ago... I think the kids are on spring break so I might actually be realxing with a nice hot cuppa! We can only hope!

C xx

Joy Fold

2010-03-11T07:30:00.000-06:00

I know alot of you will know this style of card.. Its called the Joy Fold. I think most of us first saw it after SU Convention when it was demod by someone (Maybe Shelli or Pam?). Much as I liked it ~ Im not one to jump on the bus just cuz(!) so its taken me till now to try it.

Again I used the Fab Speciality Papers from SU (Yes I have ordered some now!!) and all other products are SU! OOOO APART FROM! D'ya see the button? Ive been doing the old DIY button made from cardstock for a while but I saw this punch in my craft store and its amazing... Its from Martha Stewart and not only does it punch the button shape and the holes in the middle but it embossed around the edge so you get the raised look of a real button! SO this one I punched out several times and stacked on top of each other and just look at my chunky button! WOWZER! Would look even better with some crystal effects on top huh?

And the stamps - Pocket Silhouettes of course!

Probably off the clean and sweep the old house today.. (I dont really know as Im typing this last week... ha ha!)

TTFN

C xx

Pink and Friendly

2010-03-08T07:40:00.000-06:00

Another quickie for you to enjoy!...

The layout for this one I got from (I believe) Splitcoaststampers (if you dont know it~you should) or maybe it was a layout challenge from somewhere... Anyways! My lovely SU demo & friend Karen, GAVE me (yes - for free! shes FAB!) some of these gorgeous Speciality Papers from the spring Mini catty and they are Lushious! all glittery and girlie... Yummo.
Again all products from SU!... If you look close enough on the main panel you will see some little glistening bits... I used some of the Champagne Mist painty stuff that was in the Christmas Mini (way back when...) and mixed with alcohol in a spray bottle its amazing! Just a quick spray and it makes everything sparkle...

Another box is calling my name... Back soon!

TTFN

C xx

New Home!!!

2010-03-07T09:08:00.002-06:00

YAY!!!! We are in!

The moving truck has gone... We still have a few boxes to unpack ~ most importantly the one with my coffee and creamer in it ~ but things are looking good.

So heres our new house!

And this is the back... Lovely covered porch...

The downstairs is nice and open... HUGE lounge and behind the little 1/2 wall is a seating area and the kitchen is off on the left with an island and a bar...

And the main draw for the kiddos. This is the view from our front porch... Theres more park-idge tucked behind the houses. Theres a total of 6 parks, batting cages, tennis courts and bbq areas all over the community. So far we are loving it. Cant wait for the summer!

For those of you who dont live in Texas this wont be a big deal...

If you do live in Texas... Look! Stairs!!!

I KNOW!!!

Anyway, Im off to unpack another box... Not sure why but this time round the unpacking is going much faster, we only have a couple left in the living room and I just have a "mystery box" in the kitchen then we are done... In 3 days!.. Probably because Im purging as I am unpacking each box (OMG it feels good!) and we have more space to actually put things away!! Yipeee!

Do y'all want to see photos of the house after unpacking? Bit of a nosey round? Let me know!.....

TTFN

C xx

Silhouette thanks

2010-03-05T07:30:00.000-06:00

Pretty huh?

I think Ive made about 20 of these design over the last couple of months. Its a nice stand-by card to have in your ansenal huh? Really simple, the colour in sponged on through a template just made with a piece of card with a 2" circle punched out. Keep this in place while you stamp the silhouette over. Remove and stamp your greeting...

One of my favourite sets this... You should all know it by now! Pocket Silhouettes from SU!

Move going well... Off to unpack another box....

TTFN

C xx

Coral Butterflies...

2010-03-02T07:45:00.000-06:00

I seem to be on a butterfly theme at the moment. Maybe its because spring is on its way... Hopefully anyway!

This card I wanted to keep fairly simple - although my cards never seem to finish fairly simply - heres what we ended up with.

Im liking the monochromatic style on this. Cameo coral is NOT one of my favourite colours but I think it looks quite pretty.

I know you want to know all the details but bear with me... All crafting supplies are stacked neatly away waiting for the packers to come tomorrow and then move to the new house on thursday... Can you say EXCITED!!! I will be posting regularly for the next week or so but will be keeping things short and sweet as Im typing all the posts in advance and I have things to sort before the move.... If you have specific questions about a product used just leave me a comment with your email or blog address and I will eventually answer you, I promise!
Im gonna go to the house and take photos for you all today too! Looks lovely and empty and clean... give it a week and I'll show you the difference a family of four + dog can make! ha ha !

TTFN

C xx

Pre-Teen Birthday.

2010-02-25T07:25:00.000-06:00

Ok, if you are lucky enough to have a pre-teen girl in your home you will probably know what and who these colours represent... My daughter (bless her heart!) wanted me to make a Hannah Montana card !?!?!?!?!? Ok! says I feebly... thinking to myself how the bloomin heck am I gonna do that without infringing copywright & messing up the logo royally! Well... this is what I came up with. A compromise!

I abandoned the idea of copying the Logo and just followed the colours and the star theme... Luckily the colours matched pretty darned well with Stampin Up colours so away I went. Now the nesting stars was another challenge... How did I do that? I went to my Digital Scrapbooking software (You could use Photoshop or even just shapes in MS Word) printed up the sizes I wanted, used dotto temporary adhesive and cut round the templates onto coloured cardstock!

Im actually quite pleased with the results... The dots in the background were just freehanded to break up the pink!

Im told the recipient was very happy and knew the reference too! PHEW! Mission accomplished!!!

All products SU!

TTFN

C xx

Clean and simple....

2010-02-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Well, its been lovely and warm and spring-like here for the last few days and I was inspired to make some clean and spring-gy(?) cards...

I also am in Lurve with this cute butterfly punch from Martha Stewart... Perfect size for cards and also perfect for using all those odd bits of paper and card you (or maybe just me) cant throw away!...
The panel in the centre of the card is scored on an angle to form a lattice effect... I also scored lines about 1/4" from each edge...

The butterfly's are only glued in the very centre and the wings folded up slightly...

What do you think?

Recipe:
Cardstock: Whisper White, SU!
Papers, offcuts from SU!
Martha Stewart butterfly punch and scoreboard.

I love photography!

2010-02-17T06:57:00.005-06:00

Even though I only have a little point & shoot Fujifinepix camera I managed to take some amazing (I think) photos of the kiddos while we were away for the weekend... I actually love my camera as it fits in my bag, has loads of settings for close-up, snow, text, portrait, sports etc... I do have an old Zenit manual SLR (and I mean OLD...) which I learnt on and I have a Cannon EOS Rebel SLR which is the next step up.... What I would KILL FOR is a new Digital version of this... But thats a whole nutha story!!! For now Im happy with what I have...

Im waffling arent I? Heres the piccies...

It was a lovely afternoon and I got some really nice shots of the kiddos... doesnt happen very often as they usually run and hide from me!

TTFN

C xx

Anniversary Card (mk 2!)

2010-02-15T18:41:00.002-06:00

Ok, so a couple of posts ago I shared a card with you... I had seen a really simple card like this in the supermarket, it had a panel with glitter and then just a really simple flower on top... They wanted $5.99 for this card! I KNOW!!! Well, I redid the card and showed to hubs... he expressed that he didnt like the glitter... So heres the remake ~ minus the glitter!

This one I made for our anniversary.

Same stamps, but black panel with clear embossed wedding rings to form the background this time. And I matted & Layered with gold mirri card... Havnt used this stuff for a looooong time! Still really simple layout. This is a layout you can use again and again... And I probably will! Ha Ha Ha!!!

Enjoy...

More cards this week!
C xx

Still here!

2010-02-11T08:31:00.004-06:00

I havn't forgotten you all I promise!!! I am waiting for a day with decent weather so I can take a photo of the anniversary card (mark 2!) and will post when Ive snapped it... We had a lovely weekend, the weather was great - I may have even caught a little sunburn! Although personally I think it was the glow of panic on my forehead that caught the sun... I dont do well in confined spaces and heights are not my fave (unless Im strapped in very tightly - on an airplane Im belted in the whole time Im in my seat!!!) so the Sonora Caverns was probably not the best place for me to visit... (Must to better research next time!)

Heres a few photos...

Going down... and down... and down... over 150ft down... Bleurgh!

Intimate huh?

Can you see the panic in my eyes! Im really quite proud of myself as I managed to keep control for the whole 2 hours we were down there... Only because there was only one way out and I didnt know the way! When we came back up to the entrance there was another group about to go in, but one man followed us back to the gift shop, where he promptly asked for a refund as he couldnt make himself go through the door! It was weird, and beautiful, it was warm (a constant 71f!), it was wet (dripped on all the time!) it was interesting, (kids LOVED it) and it was tiring (going down was ok but coming back up was not!) Would I go again? I will happily drive there and watch as they go through the door.

All in all, if youre in the neighbourhood its worth a visit. The gift shop is amazing! If youre into fossils, semi precious stones, handmade Indian blankets, stuffed annimals and handmade fudge you'll love it! You can pan for precious stones under the porch and they even had lollipops with scorpians inside! YUMMO!

I have more photos but blogger is being naughty and wont let me upload them... I plan to digitally scrap these so stay tuned!!!

I also managed to get some REALLY nice shots of the Kiddo's climbing a tree so I will share those with you soon.

We will be moving house in 3 weeks! But there shouldnt be a blip in service for you as I have LOADS of cards in reserve and I will schedule the posts to go ahead during the move... Im really excited! We will be in a family neighbourhood where 2 of my good friends live and the kids will have others to play with too. Lots of parks, tennis courts and places to hide while having Nerf Gun battles! I will share photos too!!!...

Enough waffle... Im off!

TTFN

C xx

Happy Anniversary...

2010-02-05T07:47:00.003-06:00

Sunday is Hubs & my 15th Wedding Anniversary! (15... I know!!!) Seeing as he actually has some time off work (SHOCK!!) we are taking the kids out of town for a little break and some family fun.

This morning Im really excited that Im meeting up with friends and scrapbooking. Although, I have to make a sneaky card aswell!!...

Im planning (and we know how good my plans usually turn out!) to re-make this card...

I showed the finished card to hubs and he declared he didnt like the glitter(!?) Im not sure why but I always ask his opinion and bless him he has learnt some really good responses over the years (i.e. ones that dont get him wacked around the head with a rolled-up newspaper!) and usually I just ignore him anyway (its good to let him feel I appreciate his input now and again!, hee hee!!). But I think Ill listen this time...

Ive packed up some Vanilla and some black cardstock (although now Im thinking Id like to match the Blue of his uniform... Hmmmm) some embossing powder and some ribbon!... Stay tuned and I will post the finished result...

Oh! AND...

Happy Anniversary Matt.
I love you still!
I know, AMAZING huh?

Its ok! He doesnt look at my blog!!!

TTFN

C xx

Last Commission card...

2010-02-02T10:26:00.002-06:00

This is the last of the cards I made recently to order. I made a little recessed window card and used the Rose is a Rose set to make a bouquet of flowers.

I wasnt too sure on this one (some people arent flower people...) so I made the patchwork card and this one to give the client a choice. Both cards matched the box...

I even remembered to decorate the inside again!!!

Well, the customer decided she liked this one the best so its winging its way to sunnier climbs as we speak. Hope they like it!

Recipe
Stamps: Rose is a Rose, and Yummy (Both SU!).
Cardstock: SU! Kraft & whisper white
Paper: SU! Designer series in So Saffron
Ink: Rose Red & Old Olive
Ribbon from SU! Punch from Martha Stewart. Glue and glitter from SU! Tag on Box made from SU! Punches.

Enjoy!
TTFN

C xx

Patchwork card... made easy!

2010-01-29T14:11:00.002-06:00

Ive seen alot of these cards around recently and liked the look, although the thought of pulling out my sewing machine and threading the darned beast up just to sew on cardstock was beyond me! Heres my effort, the cheats way!

Ive turned the patchwork on its side and using a pricking tool and my white gel pen just addes Faux Stitching... I think it works.. The patchwork was glued onto a separate piece of scrap card with some pencilled guide lines then I trimmed to size after gluing all the squares...

I sponged a little green around the sentiment panel, just to make it stand out a little more. Little bit of ribbon and some sticky pearls...

What do you think?

Recipe.
Cardstock: SU! Kraft Whisper White and Rose Red.
Ink: Rose Red and Old Olive.
Patterned paper: All SU! Offcuts.
Ribbon from SU! Pearls from stash.

Again please leave a comment or just tick in a box below!!!

TTFN

C xx

Best Offer EVER!!

2010-01-29T07:33:00.000-06:00

Want to snag the bargain of the year? Stampin' Up! is offering an opportunity to get over $310 of product for $87.50!!! Yep you heard me!! I am amazed at this offer!

(SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS..... WAAAAAAY DOWN!!!)

"Demonstrator Starter Kit for 50 percent off! November 15-30, 2010"

What do you call it when you get over $310 in crafting and business supplies for only $87.50? You call it an amazing deal, but we are calling it an amazing opportunity! From November 15-30, you can purchase either our Standard or Digital+ Starter Kits at 50 percent off the regular retail price of $175 (plus free shipping!)...

Thats great I hear you say, but me... A Demonstrator? Well, theres many different types of Demonstrator, the beauty of Stampin' Up! is that YOU make it what YOU want. Its your business, you decide!
Have you been thinking about the My Digital Studio Software? Well, look at the amazing extras you can get for just $7.55 more than the individual price of just the software!

The Digital+ Starter Kit (valued at over $320) includes;

My digital studio software
2 wood mount stamp sets
1 clear-mount set with clear block
2 cardstock packs
4 classic ink pads
2 stampin write markers
buttons
ribbon
stampin dimensionals
stampin scrub and mist
mini glue dots
SNAIL adhesive
Decor Elements piece with applicator
8 catalogs, business supplies, forms and tools.

Our Standard kit (valued at over $310) includes;

3 wood mount stamp sets
1 clear-mount set with clear block
1 Stampin' Around wheel with ink cartridge and handle
1 ink refill
2 cardstock packs
1 Patterns Designer Series paper stack
4 classic ink pads
1 VersaMark ink pad
2 Stampin' Write Markers
ribbon
Stampin' Dimensionals
stampin scrub and mist
stamping sponge
SNAIL Adhesive
Blender pen
Decor Elements piece with applicator
8 catalogs, business supplies, forms and tools.

If you need advice, just contact me... Im happy to explain anything and answer all your questions.... NO PRESSURE! Even if you are not interested in becoming a demo... you should take advantage of these amazing offers... but hurry! Offer ends Nov 30th!!

TTFN
C xx

2yr old Birthday card...

2010-01-27T07:04:00.004-06:00

Im posting this hoping that the recipients mother doesnt see my blog... So far I think Im ok... This was another of my Commission cards... This time the brief was to make a Birthday Card for a 2 yr old Boy...

So I thought, bright colours, a truck, ballons and presents... What more would a 2 yr old boy want!?? I had fun with this one. Stamped with StazOn and coloured with my blender pens and SU ink. I lifted one of the baloons, and the presents on 3d foam and then decided that the card still needed a little Oomph... I used some 3d gloss, (Crystal Effects or Glossy Accents are two really good ones if youre shopping) and filled in the blue balloon, the red number 2 and the hub caps of the truck. (The number was cut out with a cuttlebug alphabet/number die using my big-shot. I cut out a red and a blue and layered the blue underneath to look like a shadow. The photo doesnt show it very well but I also did some sponging on the background and theres little fluffy clouds too! This was just done with some bashful blue ink and a scallop circle punch-out.

Again I remembered to decorate the inside with some strips of coloured cardstock.

What do you think?

Recipe
All products SU! Except red ribbon and 3d gloss.

Commission Cards!

2010-01-23T08:44:00.006-06:00

Well, how excited was I last week when I was asked to make some cards for a paying customer!!! My First Commission!!! The process was actually harder than I thought it would be... I usually work from an idea I get from anywhere, clothes, fabrics, home decor, magazines... then I sketch out my ideas and get working. Hardly ever do the cards end up looking the way I thought they would at the start. So, working to a strict brief of likes and dislikes was more challenging...

The first card was quite easy... My brief was Betsey Johnson (the fashion designer) and vintage jewellery... I found this gorgeous Betsey Johnson dress and the ideas started to flow....

A close-up of the detail....

This is the box I had to make for the card... Cute HUH?

Heres the card... I LOVE IT!!

Ive often tried the vintage 'collage' look on cards and cant seem to quite pull it off, I cant deal with the dishevelled, random, placement of trinkets and lace etc.... I love the look, but I cant do it. I have to have things simple, elegant and overall STRAIGHT! (Ask my friends. Im not quite as bad as I used to be... Before becoming an SU! Demo my favourite tool was my trusty ruler! YES! I would measure EVERYTHING to make sure it was centred and straight... Just a little anal huh? Im not so bad now, but I can still walk in a room and tell you which pictures hanging on the wall are not straight.) I think this is a happy compromise... what do you think?

Heres a close-up of the gorgeous flower detail... I lurve making these now... And the lace is a new fave too!!

So lastly a photo of the card and box together. The box was needed as the card was going in the post and wouldnt fit in a standard envelope. Im sooooo proud of this project. Oh yes, the customer was more than happy too! YAY!

Recipe.
Card...
Cardstock: SU! Pixie Pink, Basic Black, Very Vanilla.
Ink: SU! Basic Black and Pixie Pink
Stamps: SU! Frames with a Flourish and Happy birthday from stash...
Cuttlebug embossing Folder "Textile" (Folder brayered with black ink before running through Big-Shot) Flower detail-circles punched with SU! scallop circle punch. Button and pink pearls from stash. Lace made with Martha Stewart Punch.
Box...
Cardstock: SU! Very Vanilla, Pixie Pink, and Basic Black.
Ink: Basic Black & Pixie Pink.
Stamp: SU! Best Yet.
SU! Pink Taffetta Ribbon. Martha Stewart Punch for lace. SU! Small Oval and Scalloped Oval Punches.

I will share the other two commission cards soon...!

Enjoy!

C xx

Book of love...

2010-01-21T09:15:00.003-06:00

A really quick post today...
My daughter (who will cringe if she sees this post!) is at that certain age... Ive noticed shes doing her hair every morning, cant wait to get to school, and theres some scribbled heart shapes with initials inside on her school folder... I decided to make her a little scrapbook so she could put 'whatever' inside and no-one would look in it.

Heres what I came up with...

Its a little 4x4" scrapbook made by cutting several pieces of cardstock measuring 4x8", scored at 4", and gluing the pages back to back to make the inside. The cover was made by cutting a piece 4x8 1/4", scoring at 4 and 4 1/4". The extra 1/4" allows for the bulk of the pages. This it glued to the front and back pages. The inside is decorated too but I promised not to look inside anymore so I cant show you!!!

The box is just made 1/4" bigger all round, and the lid 1/8" bigger than the base. Hope that makes sense...

The gorgeous papers came free with a magazine! Hard to believe but they did!!! Ive had them in my stash for over a year, but the pink, flocking and glittering screamed my daughters name! The letters came free too! And the glittered chipboard flower!! AND the thin ribbon!!! Black cardstock from SU! Pink Taffetta Ribbon from SU! Ink from colourbox. "Lace" made from SU! Very Vanilla Cardstock and Martha Stewart Punch. The flower was made from SU! patterned paper and the scallop circle punch.

Anyone interested in a tutorial for making the flowers or the lace? Let me know!!!

More posts to come... I got my first commission! I have to check with the comission-ee before posting cards on here... IYKNWIM!!

Enjoy.
C xx

Colour!

2010-01-18T08:53:00.004-06:00

Remember my resolution to use more colour....? Well heres another of those cards. I was aiming for a male card but im not sure I pulled it off.

The colours are very male but what do you think of the finished card? I stamped the main image onto the card blank then again onto another piece of white, then I cut the centre of the medallion out. Next I covered the whole centre with VersaMark ink and sprinkled with clear embossing powder which I then heat set... I love the medallion stamp its nice and big and fills a card on its own...

I need your opinions on this one people! Is it still too feminine? Would it work for a man? Why do we cardmakers have such a hard time making 'men' cards?

Recipe: All SU!
Whisper white, tempting turquoise, basic black cardstock.
Tempting turquoise ink.
Medallion background stamp.
Versamark & SU! Clear Embossing powder.
Stampin Dimensionals, square scallop punch, paper piercer, rhinestone brad.

TTFN

C xx

Craft Monster!

2010-01-12T07:27:00.004-06:00

In the long, long, looooong week between Christmas and New Years my daughter left a little message for me on a note pad... Can you make a box lid for me? There were some measurements and a little heart.. Cute! "Ill do it when I craft next honey... Im trying to think of 1,000 ways to cook with leftover turkey at the moment!"

Well, a few days later I was subtly reminded. She asked me for some pink card... I told her to take it from the scrap bag and she handed it to me and asked me to make the box lid. I did, then she told me to go away! I did!! (shes scary!) Other than the bits with sharp instruments involved this is what she made... Before & after photos...

It fits a treat, nice and tight, so no need to glue it on. And (as she pointed out to me) we can take it with us when we move!!!

Ive created a creative monster! ARGH! I have visions of 'Elbows at Dawn' poised and ready to fight over the craft mat and the trimmer... AHA! BUT - Only I know where the heat gun lives!!!!

Anyway enough early morning ramblings from me (Sorry - Im typing this pre-caffeine today!) Im off now to walk the dog in thick fog. Ooo. That rhymes. Boy do I need caffeine...?

TTFN

C xx

New Year, New Colours!

2010-01-10T10:20:00.006-06:00

Well, for me anyway! I rarely make New-Years resolutions but this year I made a crafting one... To use colour.... More of it, and using colours I havnt used in a while! Heres the first one.

This card has a 'recessed window'. I didnt think of the idea, I got it from Splitcoast Stampers, but the instructions were for a square card and window, so I changed it up and offset the window in a regular sized card. I also did some colouring with my SU! Markers and a blender pen...

Papers are from SU! Tea & Crumpets DSP, card is Kraft. Inks are SU! Markers.

Heres a link to the tutorial for the recessed window....

Top 10 Countdown... Part 2..

2010-01-02T07:30:00.000-06:00

As promised, heres the last 5 projects...

Number 5.
Really two techniques here or even three! : 1) Two-step stamping. 2) Decoupage (cutting out and sticking back on!) 3) Paper Piercing - Ideal for a simple border.

Number 4.
Bling!!

Number 3.
Watercolouring. This was all done with the SU! Markers and a watercolour brush pen...

Number 2.
Not really a technique but an essential in my book... A sense of humour. The story behind this was... I was completing a challenge on ILWS, the category was 'Anything Goes'. The Mod (Rachel) stated 'Anything, as long as its not Santa doing the Hula'. Well I had to... Didnt I?

Number 1.
The technique is to use stamps another way... (Roses at Christmas?) I wasnt too sure of this after I made it but got some lovely comments and it has now become my favourite card of the year... Unfortunately I posted it to a lovely lady for Christmas and will have to make another one to keep for myself!!!

I hope you have enjoyed my top 10 list. I feel like a DJ! (Now then, Now then Pop-Pickers!!!) PLEASE leave some comments and tell me your fave techniques and projects. I may even feature your picks in upcoming posts...

Wishing you all A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS 2010.

Thanks for visiting, TTFN!

C xx

Top 10 Countdown, Part 1...

2010-01-01T11:25:00.009-06:00

Well, I thought I would do a countdown of my favourite cards & techniques from last years blog posts. Heres part 1... (10 thru 6)

Number 10.
Shaped cards... I love to do these when I have the time...

Number 9.
3d projects, boxes, bags n stuff. Makes a gift really special...

Number 8.
Layering. I loved doing this card for Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. It was so simple to just layer and collage the papers. I like the effect. Definately one I will use again.

Number 7.
Sponging. I have now got a set of SU! Sponges and I have to say its soooo much easier now... Right tools for the right job!!

Number 6.
Not the box, but the flowers! Gorgeous! Mental note... MAKE MORE OF THESE!...

Tomorrow I will finish my top 10 faves of the year so come back soon!!!
TTFN

C xx

Christmas Scrapping...

2009-12-30T08:17:00.004-06:00

Ive been playing with My Digital Studio... I havn't really played with it (other than a couple of hours) since I bought it... BOY! do I wish I had used it more?!! In the space of 2 hours Ive finished about 7 pages. Im only doing 8x8" scrapbook pages because I can print them off at home but am finding I like this smaller size. For those of you starting with scrapbooking you should try the smaller 8x8", 6x6" or even the A4. Its not as intimidating as the larger 12x12" page which I still find hard to fill.

The kids actually cooperated on Christmas Day and posed for some really nice pictures in front of our tree.. I think I bribed them with more presents and Cadbury's Chocolate!
Anyway heres some more photos from Christmas...

Grandma & the Monsters.
Those of you who know your SU! Will be wondering what the colour is in the blue scallop square and the date... Well, its not a SU colour. Theres a nifty little button called "Colour Match" and you can select a portion of your photo to use as your colour. I chose Abbis sweater as I thought it was such a dominant colour in the picture I needed another 'pop' somewhere to balance it. Clever huh?

As you can see I kept the basic layouts really very simple. With these last two I ended up with the same layout for both and just highlighted the faces with a little frame over the top of the photo. I love how you can do this with the software, and you can also change the opacity (strength of colour) in your shapes so it looks transparant like vellum.

Well thats it for today. Back soon!!

Enjoy
TTFN

C xx

Randomness...

2009-12-28T08:32:00.002-06:00

A few Random photos from our first Christmas in Texas...

An elf broke into my kitchen and made mince pies, and cherry pies, and bluberry pies! Yep! He made waaaay too much pastry!

The results of the excessive pastry making. An incredible feat of engineering... An Exploding Mince Pie!!! Dont ask me how... I have no clue!

For about an hour on Christmas Eve we thought we would have a white Christmas! Yes! We had more snow!!! The day before it was 75f, but in the evening it dropped about 40f in 1/2 hour (!) and was freezing overnight with high winds, hail and thunderstorms. Next morning we woke to blowing snow... It didnt stick though... No white Christmas here. For all of you in the UK who got gobs and gobs of the stuff, be grateful! Dontcha love Abbis face... 'Hurry up and take the picture already... its COLD'...

I bought a Gingerbread House Kit this year. The plan was to just stick it together and let the kids go for it. Well, said kids got bored waiting for the 'glue' to set and decided to watch TV instead. One came back every now and again, looked at the box and demanded I make it look like the photo! Ha ha ha ha ha! Heres MY effort... sad.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, filled with fun, family and laughter. I should be back in a couple of days with a fun post... Im planning to do a top 10 favourite post of the year. Hopefully...

TTFN,
C xx

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T12:31:00.003-06:00

A festive photo of our Christmas Tree... With Best Wishes and Love for the holidays.

I will be back after Christmas with more updates...

TTFN
Carolynne xx

Holiday Baking...

2009-12-22T14:33:00.002-06:00

I know you are all wondering whats happening here.... Well, not a lot of crafting I can tell ya!

Why do we feel the need at this time of year to suddenly spring into 'Suzy Homemaker' mode and start making things from scratch? I must admit that I make alot of these sugary, buttery goodies as teacher gifts but somehow this year I still have about 6 bags left over!!!

And this is whats inside...

Yummy homemade Vanilla and Pecan Fudge, made with the pecans from the tree in our yard!

This is Holiday Bark. Really simple, I just melt some dark chocolate and some white chocolate in separate bowls. Crush up some Christmassy Mints and stir 1/2 into each of the chocolates. Drop blobs of the choccy onto some wax paper, lightly mix the 2 choccies together and smooth out then pop in the fridge to set. Break it apart and pop into bags. Super Simple!

Now this last photo is in tribute to my fellow Military Wives... Out here at the base every christmas the students all go home. Its called Exodus. Now the lovely wives like to send all the single boys and girls home with a little bag filled with homemade treats and cookies. Some good friends of mine had about 200 baggies to organise and needed a silly number of dozen cookies to fill them. This is my small offering... only 4 dozen, but I hope it helped a little. I know the boys and girls were really thankful, I think they went away with about 5 cookies in each bag along with some other bits n pieces...

You girls are superstars!

I will be back with more holiday photos soon. The kids & I have made a Gingerbread House! ARGH!!!!!!

Enjoy,
TTFN

C xx

My favourite link from last Christmas...

2009-12-17T13:42:00.002-06:00

** BEFORE YOU WATCH THIS VIDEO - SCROLL DOWN THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE AND TURN OFF THE MUSIC FROM MY PLAYLIST **

Amazing Grace 2008 - Holdman Christmas Display from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Still my favourite this year! There are lots of songs with different light combinations, visit the website to see more and to make a donation to the Make A Wish foundation...

Enjoy...

C xx

Promised Projects

2009-12-16T20:30:00.005-06:00

So heres the projects I made this week... The first one was for Abbis class. They all had to take in their Christmas Stocking and enough little treats for each child. On Friday the class will have a little party and look in their stockings which should be filled with 17 goodies from their classmates...

As money is tight I must admit we visited the Dollar store... BUT we found these fab marshmallow candy cane thingys! And of course me being me(!) I HAD to decorate them...

Very simple... I punched the green with my curly label punch, stamped the greeting and the little star. I used my Crop-o-Dile and SU silver eyelets then threaded some silver cord in a loop so they could be hung on the Christmas Tree! Makes something out of nothing really! Im told I do that alot...

The next project is a cute little box (Which gave me a huge headache due to its size - 4X4X4" and me only having A4 paper...Hmmmmmm!). Anyways I went to a Christmas dinner with some of the girlies from my craft club (Thanks Karen & the girls it was a blast!) and we did an ornament exchange. My ornament didnt come in a box so I made one...

I thought that putting a window in the box would be a good idea and then took it a step further and extended the window to the front aswell.

Kraft carstock, white craft ink and some stickles glitter finished the project. If you make a box like this please remember to decorate before you assemble... Ask me how I know...?!

Please enjoy... If I remember I will take photos of the foodie projects Ive been working on too!

TTFN

C xx

Away with the Christmas Faries!

2009-12-16T07:54:00.003-06:00

Apologies for the absence (it make the heart grow fonder you know!) The usual pre-Christmas hysteria has well and truly set in. The kids are off school as of friday so we are running around like loons trying to get everything done before then. Plus you have gifts and wrapping and cards and boxes and posting to the UK and other distant parts of the USA, plus last week of school/dance presents and festivities.

To top it all off I have developed a nervous twitch in my left eye!!! Looks like Im winking at you. The trash man at Walmart was giving me strange looks yesterday so I smiled at him (you know Christmas Spirit N all that!). Then I realised he thought I was winking at him... OMG!!! Aim High thats what I say!!!

I do actually have a couple of projects, a box for an Ornament Exchange with my craft group and my Daughters presents for her class... AND today Im making fudge... GALLLONS of the stuff! Teacher gifts etc... I might even take some photos of that if all goes well!

I will post tomorrow I promise... Dont desert me!

TTFN

C xx

Nutcracker Gifts

2009-12-06T09:55:00.004-06:00

Ok, so Ive probably bored you already with The Nutcracker Ballet but I have gotten something crafty out of it too! I wanted to show you the gifts we made for all her co-dancers in the production...
This is the gorgeous outfit for the Gingerbread boys and girls...

And heres the gifts they will be getting today from Abbi.

Just a little baggie with some sweeties inside but I managed to use my punches and make a Gingerbread Girl that looks like Abs! The boys gift tags are mounted on blue, the girls on pink.

Next, heres the outfit for the Mice...

And heres the gifts!

I found some pink and silver organza bags in my stash and used those this time (same sweeties) and again used my punches to devise a mousie (I have seen something similar online but cannot find it again to give credit... if it was you - thanks!) I added the pink hands coz the girls wear little pink glove... Too Cute!

Its been really hard work this week between late night rehearsals and long nights performing... Last show today and its a matinee so by 4.30pm everyone can collapse in a heap and congratulate themselves on a job well done. The show is amazing! The girls (and boys) have done themselves proud and I look forward to next year... (do I, really?)

All cardstock is SU! Too many colours to mention. Anyone like a tutorial? Let me know and I might just come up with one!

TTFN

C xx

Christmas Star...

2009-12-04T18:56:00.003-06:00

I was invited into my son's middle school today to see all the Christmas Trees he has decorated this last week... I must say I was impressed! The little 'grotto' area in the entry-way is really sweet and I was told that the little kids from the after school club run up to it every day for a good look... Well this tree needed a star so I made one for him...

This is a better look...

Theres alot of instructions around in blog-land on how to do this star but I got mine from the lovely Abi. Great instructions and easy to follow... Only thing I added was a star punch in the middle... This is 2 layers with the bottom layer punched with 2 small holes and some elastic cord threaded through. The 2 stars are glued together and I added gobs and gobs of red glitter to the top. The star is just tied around the centre and the ends of the cord are used to tie the star to the top of the tree.

I used some spare papers from the SU!- I wish Scrappin Kit from last year! For those that remember... Its the same one I used for my Craft Class! Nearly all gone now!!!

Enjoy..

TTFN

C xx

Snow in Texas...? Surely not?

2009-12-04T09:28:00.002-06:00

Yep! It happened!!!

If you are on my facebook friends list, check out some really cute photos from Abs Dress Rehearsal...
Might be another post later - I made the star and it now sits proudly on the tree at Lewis' school...

TTFN

C xx

We have Mice!

2009-12-03T09:27:00.004-06:00

First dress rehearsal for Abbis Ballet Show last night and the costumes are so stinkin' cute!

This is her mouse costume for Act I... The Gingerbread costume for Act II is even cuter! I didnt get a photo of that yet, will try tonight. I actually took some really nice group photos and a video of the rehearsal but out of respect for the other families wont post them here...

Final Dress Rehearsal tonight with full make-up and the professional dancers from New York will be here too! Exciting!

Sorry theres not been much crafting this week as things are pretty hectic, rehearsals every night till late, trying to make sure both kids are fed before practice, homework done... Things will be back to normal next week...

I do plan to make a Christmas Star today for one of Lewis' teachers. He has been the head Christmas Tree decorator at his school and decorated the trees for classrooms. One however is missing something for the top soooo... Come back to see what I come up with!

Back soon...

TTFN

C xx

By the way, the music you should be hearing is the music for the Gingerbread Dance!

SWU Challenge

2009-11-27T13:49:00.009-06:00

Dontcha love the holidays....?

Well after giving up on the post Thanksgiving sales today (Not a great idea with a 13 yr old and a 9yr old in tow...!) I find that I have some spare time! The turkey hot-pot is in the slow cooker and the kids are plonked in front of yet another movie, happy with Pecan-chocolate-chunk bars and rice crispies treats (With CARAMEL marshmallows... Yum!) filling their never full bellies... So whats a girl to do? CRAFT!

This is a card I made for the SWU challenge this week... It was to use 1 Stamp, 2 Patterned Papers, and 3 brads.

My effort is nice and simple, easy to reproduce for all those thank you cards we will be needing after Christmas!. I stamped the main greeting onto cardstock and coloured the edges by swiping with a SU! Marker. Mat and layer and pop up on some dimensionals to give some height. The strip on the left is just scored and folded, then glued down for some texture.

Love the sentiment on this stamp. When you use pretty papers you really dont need to over-embellish a card.

Recipe All Stampin' Up!
Card: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, So Saffron
Stamp: Simply Thanks
Ink: Always Artichoke Marker.
Papers: Brocade Backgrounds (Retired SU!)
Brads: SU!

Hope you enjoy!
Im off to fight for the last rice-crispy treat!

TTFN

C xx

Twelve Blogs Of Christmas...

2009-11-27T03:55:00.000-06:00

Im really excited about this event... Over on ILWS we have organised a Christmas blog hop... Each of us in the hop have created some amazing Christmas Projects and shared them on our blogs. Each blog will have the '12 Blogs of Christmas' emblem which you just click on to take you to the next faberoonie stop on your travels where you will see more gorgeous projects. If you click the links on each blog (unfortunately due to illness there are only 11 blogs this time...Shhh dont tell!) eventually you will come full circle back to where you started, (Bit like the M25!) and your brain will be ready to explode with all the fabulousness you have just seen! Ha ha!

For those who have joined us from Debbi's Blog... WELCOME! Hope you are enjoying the inspiration...

So heres my little efforts...

Project 1.

Its all in the packaging!
Money is tight for us all this year so make the most of what you have... I found the templates (Anna Griffin) for the pillow box and the flowers hidden in my stash and decided to give it a go! Im lurving these!...

All made with Stampin' Up! (Bella Bleu) papers and cardstock (coz Ive got LOADS!!!) The bow is different but really easy. I tied 2 regular bows from ribbon, overlaid one across the other and tied with some silver elasic cord. I added some snowflake buttons from my stash and Ho Ho Ho!! There you go!

Just add some glitter and you are bling-i-licious baby!

Project 2.

My Christmas Survival Kit! How many times have you run out of cards 2 days before Christmas...? Lots! This box has 3 Christmas Cards and envelopes, 12 tags and of course CHOCOLATE!

This one is actually going to be a gift for someone (gosh I hope they dont read my blog!). Ive seen alot of these little boxes online recently so decided to try one for myself.. It was suprisingly easy! I simply measured the envelopes, chocolate and tags and after some sketching and some maths I had a box!

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON OUR BLOG TOUR... Your next stop on the tour will be lovely Jo who has a wicked sense of humour and makes some amazing things! Love ya Jo... CLICK HERE to be magically whizzed to her blog... (or click on the icon on the right.)

Please, please, please leave me some comments. Its always good to get some feedback and hear what people want to see from you! (Or not see as the case may be!)

Happy Hopping!

C xx

PS. I had so many people wanting to join in the hop that we made 2 groups... Click Here to jump to the other 12 days of Christmas Tour!.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T09:43:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to pop in and say a big Happy Thanksgiving to all me followers... Take some time today to think about all that you have to be thankful for. Health, family, friends, home.... I am thankful that Matt is actually here this year (although working nights and currently sleeping...!)

Spare a thought today for those who are not able to be with loved ones, those who are ill, friendless or homeless. Appreciate what you have.

Back over the weekend... Hitting the sales tomorrow, with 2 kids and grandma! OH FUN!

TTFN

C xx

Im Excited dot Com!

2009-11-18T07:57:00.002-06:00

See the brand new pretty box on the right hand side...? Hmmmm what could that be..? Come visit over the weekend and you will have a fabulous time!

I and a few of my friends have got together for the '12 Blogs of Christmas' tour. We will be featuring 2 Christmas themed projects each and some people may offer some prizes and blog candy too! You can join the tour wherever you like but if you keep going you will come full circle - back to me! A bit like the M25 but without the roadworks!

The point? To provide you with some Christmas Cheer and share inspiration and ideas for the coming season and meet some new friends...

Come back over the weekend and see what we have made...!

C xx

Out of action.

2009-11-14T08:50:00.002-06:00

Been felled by a nasty virus the last few days so no crafting. Trying desperately not to breathe on the Children so they dont get it... fingers crossed. Anyway Next week I will share with you all something Im really excited about. I hope it all works properly as Its my 'baby'... oooo, the pressure!

Stay tuned....!

C xx

Couple photos from the Parade...

2009-11-07T15:15:00.002-06:00

Abbi is tired from rehearsals and after effects of the Flu Shot so we are going to veg out in front of the TV and watch girlie movies... Lewis is on his laptop and Matt is snoring away coz he's on nights...

Laters...

C xx

Santa's Doin the Hula!

2009-11-07T13:16:00.003-06:00

Over on InLoveWithStamping this weekend we are having some Cinderella Effect Challenges... The reason being that those who were unable to go to the SU! Convention in Germany were feeling a little sad... So, swish and flick, behold! You shall go to the ball!

Well, Rachel gave us a great challenge yesterday, to make a modern Christmas Card. Modern image, modern colours, modern layout... She had one proviso, no Santas doin the Hula... Soooooooo...

Just for you Rachel!

YOU KNOW ME! How could I resist a challenge like that?
Well, it had to be done didnt it? Recipe to follow later...

Just got back from the Veterans Day Parade in town and it was great! So encouraging to see all the support for the military in this town... I have pictures to share but it will be a little while before I can edit them...

Bye for now,

C xx

Say a Prayer Please.

2009-11-06T11:38:00.003-06:00

Please say a prayer today for those in Ft Hood, Texas who are injured or have loved ones who are affected by the diabolical act that one man did yesterday.

We are not far from Ft Hood which is near Abilene, about 2 hours away. Luckily we dont know anyone posted there who was involved but I find the whole thing sickening. As a Military Wife (Notice the Capital letters... It is a JOB!) I have supported my husband in his chosen career and ALL the enlisted boys & girls know that deploying is part of the job. Whether they like it or not. When its your turn, its your turn. You suck it up and deal with it.

NEVER in a milllion years would anyone have thought that this act could happen. On-base has always been thought of as a safe place, with no threat of violence from outside influences. NEVER in a million years would anyone have thought that murder and mayhem would be inflicted on innocents by one of our own.

Thats all for today. Shocked, horrified, apalled, puzzled.

TOmorrow is Veterans Day in the USA. Think on.

C xx

Happy Birthday Matt!

2009-11-04T06:48:00.008-06:00

Today my old man is officially an 'OLD MAN'! for the next 25 days we are the same age, and boy do I give him schtick for it! Then after I turn a year older again he gives me schtick for the next 11 months... Fair huh?

I used this weeks MojoMonday layout for his card and got some inspiration from an old flannel shirt he used to wear ALL THE TIME when we first met.

So heres the card...

I love the way the background turned out! I just used some red and black card stock cut into 1" squares and lightly sponged some Grey ink on a few of the red squares to get the different tone...

The stamped image of the man has considerably more hair than Matt but I can dream!

Ill be back later with the details... I hear a-stirring from the bedroom and he hasnt opened this card yet... Shhhhhh!

C xx

Ok, I think were safe... The bear just grumbled and rolled over!

Recipe.
Stamps: Cheers to you from SU!, My Guy Ian from The Greeting Farm
Cardstock: All SU!. Basic Grey, Very Vanilla, Rose Red(!), Basic Black, Kraft.
Ink: StazOn Black. All others SU! Black, grey, image coloured with Markers and blender pens.
Buttons from stash.

Couple of the details Im lovin are the black brads... Theyre not brads! I couldnt find any black ones so I used my crop-o-dile and punched out some circles. I glued these down and added some highlights with a white gel pen. Did you notice the buttons are all 'threaded' well, thats not real thread either. I just cut a really thin strip of card and threaded through the holes... Cool huh? I saw this recently on somebodys blog, but for the life of me I cant remember who... Thanks whoever it was... coool tip!

We will be in and out most of the day today... I havnt bought gimpy anything yet coz the answer to the 'what do you want for your birthday' question was 'Uh Dunno'! We will be spending a few hours in Hastings I think! Then out for a family dinner tonight and who knows I might even have a spare 5 minutes to bake and decorate a birthday cake along the way...!

Enjoy...

C xx

Crafting today...

2009-11-03T06:33:00.002-06:00

I WILL be crafting at some point today honest! I have a little shopping to do as its hubs birthday tomorrow and I have to make a card for him at some point today! What...? Me...? always leave it till the last minute...? Nah! Im planning a little something based around this horrible red check shirt he has had since before we met, kinda an inside joke... I will take piccies and let you have a peek.

Come on back y'all!
(d'ya like the texas drawl Ive picked up...?)

TTFN

C xx

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:25:00.000-05:00

Ive not had time to do anything crafty this week so Im showing a project I worked on a while ago...

Happy Halloween everyone... Dont eat too much candy!

We are in and out with rehearsals and photo calls and haunted houses... Cant wait till tomorrow, clocks go back tonight so an extra hour in bed for us here!

Recipe.
Stamps: Recollections - Clear Halloween, and Inkadinkadoo - Creepy Crawly.
Cardstock: Basic Black, Only Orange Lavendar Lace and Green Galore, SU!
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black. SU! Markers.
SU! Dazzling Diamonds Glitter & 2way glue pen. White Gel pen, Bling from stash.

Enjoy,

C xx

Hmmm, Not Sure...!

2009-10-27T19:08:00.003-05:00

Ok so what do you all think of this for a Christmas Card?

I like it, but im not sure it screams 'Christmas'... Please leave some a comment and let me know what you think... I need some objective opinions on this one.

Recipe.
Stamps: A Rose is a Rose.
Cardstock: Ruby Red and Whisper White
Paper: Holiday Treasures.
Ink: VersaMark, Ruby Red, Old Olive.
Clear Embossing Powder. Dazzling Diamonds glitter and Tombow Mono Glue, Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon. Dimensionals. Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Back soon with some new projects... Still catching up on the shopping and laundry and housework - Post Holiday! I hope to get to crafting tomorrow... Got some new toys to play with - ha ha!

TTFN
C xx

Woo Hoo! I won a competition!

2009-10-22T22:10:00.002-05:00

How luvverly was it today? We finally found a hotel on our travels with decent t'internet connection (all week its been 'interesting' - picture me at midnight in my pjs running around outside, laptop raised above head trying to get more than 1 bar!)... I get to blog hopping, catching up on the weeks comings and goings and what do I find? Remember the card I made for Lewis' birthday? Well, it won a challenge! Talk about a nice suprise! I get a brand spanking new blinkie on my blog- Look on the right hand side, it says I made Stamp With Us Top Spot! YEAH!

Thanks to the girls on SWUS, they are a lovely bunch of girls who work really hard with the challenges every week and all the design team come up with some great projects, Im always inspired and itching to get crafting due to them...

Anyway, Im off to claim my prize, I think I won some On-line craft classes... Pop over to Stamp With Us and take a look!

I will be back after the weekend... Still on my travels...

TTFN

C xx

Oh Christmas Tree...

2009-10-22T12:02:00.003-05:00

Oooo Sparkleeeeee!

Another Christmas Card with the Lovely as a Tree set. Almost the same layout just turned on its side. Same basic elements. This time I used the single tree as the main image. Same papers, but I used the Cuttlebug Embossing folder in my big shot to add some snowflake 'blobs' in the background...

Again Nestabilities for the large oval and scalloped oval, SU punches for the small.
I used some silver elastic cord on this one instead of the usual ribbon, I wanted the tree to be the focus and thought the ribbon would distract...

Recipe. same as last post but whisper white cardstock and silver cord.

Sparkle!

2009-10-19T11:51:00.000-05:00

Whats a Christmas Card without a bit of sparkle?
I hope you can see it in the photos, in real life its soooooo pwetty!!!

A very soft card using one of my fave sets now.. I had this one sitting on my shelf for a long time and never used it, now I have used it I realise how versatile it is! Lovin it!
Bit of a different idea going on with the ribbon too. I claim no responsibility for the idea, it came straight from the SU catalog!

The glitter was added with 2 way glue pen and some Dazzling Diamonds from SU! They are really sparkly and I still have glitter in my hair a week later!

Recipe.
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Best Yet
Cardstock: Kraft, Very Vanilla
Paper: Bella BleuInk: Bashful Blue, Soft Suede
Nestabilities, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon.

No stamping today! But you still get a card...

2009-10-13T08:07:00.003-05:00

Shhhh! Dont tell...
You can make cards without stamping!

I had some papers bought and waiting last week for a specific card and then I saw what the Colour Challenge was this week over on Stamp With Us...

Talk about coincidence!...

Heres the card...

I actually managed to make this from start to finish with the recipient in the room and he didnt even notice! To be fair he was sprawled out on the sofa watching cartoons and other than for food and pee breaks you can rely on him being oblivious to earthquake, plague and the nuclear bomb!

I realised while planning this that I am seriously lacking in my stamped image collection. I have no boy stamps! Yes, I have trees and some graphic cirles but nothing that really suited a teenage boy! WOW!!! Im going to invest in some soon... I think I overcame the lack of stamps though...

Ive gone a bit 'Kristina Werner' and whipped out the gel pen for some faux stitching.

Pretty easy card, just glued the paper onto the chipboard numbers (make sure you glue to the front... ask me how I know...?) After the glue has dried you can roughly cut around the chipboard and then go at the edges with a sanding block or a large nail file (NOT the metal ones - ask me how I know...?) I assembled the card and then added the faux stitching on the edges of the chipboard to make them stand out a little more...

Well, my son officially becomes a teenager tomorrow... although he has had the attitude for a couple of years now...! Please send the men in white coats with copious amounts of chocolate and vodka in my direction asap!

Happy Birthday Son!

Recipe.
Cardstock: Basill
Paper: from Hobby Lobby
Chipboard numbers: Stampin Up!
Buttons from stash, Old Olive Ribbon from SU!. White gel pen and SU! Night of Navy Marker.

Enjoy,
TTFN

C xx

Just for Fun!

2009-10-09T14:17:00.004-05:00

A PINK card today as its October, Cancer Awareness month... Have you had your annual (yukky) checkup? Make that appointment and do a self-exam in the shower tonight, it only takes a minute and could save your life... End of lecture.

So heres a little pink and girlie card I created last week. I must admit that this card was the inspiration for the Colour Challenge card in the last post...

I started with the main image... I wanted to emboss it for the raised effect and remembered some hot pink embossing powder that I had in my stash for - literally - YEARS! Well it started off hot pink and then when I heated it... it wasnt hot pink anymore but sugary pink!

The original plan I sketched out had just a panel on one side that was a patchwork effect of 6 squares... Well I wanted a bit more texture so started to collage the panels. I thought they looked like fabric swatches and kept on layering...

I could have carried on with the dressmaking theme but thought this was enough detail...

Im still not 100% happy... I think it needs a shadow under the dress 'form' but Im scared...!

Recipe.
Card: SU! Certainly Celery, Cameo Coral, Whisper White.
Ink: Cameo Coral Marker.
Stamps: Stampabilities 'Wire dress form'. SU! 'Sanded' background stamp.
Paper: Sweet Always, Paper from Shes too cool scrappin kit (Ret) & Celery DSP.
Pin, buttons and embossing powder from stash.

Enjoy
TTFN

C xx

Divas Coffee Break Design Challenge 148

2009-10-07T22:15:00.002-05:00

Heres this weeks challenge over on Divas Coffee Break Design blog.

I love these colours but didnt want to do the first thing that sprang to mind, which was pumpkins, so I went autumnal instead!

I had some 6X6" paper which had some blending around the edges so I cut this up and blended the cut edges to match a little better...

Please excuse the poor photo, I whipped this up at 10pm so the light is a little dim!

Recipe.
Cardstock: Kraft, SU Garden Green, Very Vanilla.
Ink: Garden Green, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry.
Stamps: Organic Grace, Holiday Best
Papers, Basic Grey - Scarletts Letter.

Its late, going to bed!

Enjoy!
TTFN

C xx

Oh Happy Day!

2009-10-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

Today is my favourite holiday... What? Its not a holiday...? Well, it should be!
What are you doing today? Me...? Ive got to run Abbi to Nutcracker rehearsal and do some yardwork (Matts got a bad back...) and then Im crafting the afternoon away! I have to plan and prep for a really exciting idea that brewed in my sick little mind! Look out mid-Nov for the outcome...!

Have a great holiday today (Who do we lobby to add National Holidays to the calendar?)

Please leave a comment and link to your projects... I will do a round-up of my fave blog WCMD projects next week!

Enjoy,

TTFN

C xx

Christmas Cards, Set 5... PHEW!

2009-10-02T07:05:00.000-05:00

Heres the last 2 cards from my mammoth making day! These are a bit more traditional and I used some old stamps I had from last year, one which I havnt even used yet! SHOCK HORROR!

This again is using the new Christmas Cocoa papers from SU! and a re-discovered stamp set...

I bought this set last year and didnt use it till now... Bad me!

I love the sentiment that comes with it so thought I would give it a try... Its growing on me, more contemporary then I usually go for but I will deffo use it again!

And lastly a more tradional colour scheme...

Recipe.
Stamps: SU! Wondrous Gift, Snow Burst and Best Yet.
Card: Kraft, SU! Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Real red
Paper: Christmas Cocoa Speciality, I Wish Scrappin Kit.
Ink: SU! Real Red, Night of Navy, Soft Suede, Summer Sun for star.
SU! Ribbons & twine. EK Success and SU! Scallop border puches. Stickles glitter, liquid pearls.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this series... Please leave some feedback for me - Which were your favourites? What do you think of the pink? Brown at Christmas? Favourite stamp sets? What about the flocked paper?

I hope to have a MAJOR project to share with you soon. My Wedding Album. Now bear in mind that we have been married for 14 1/2 years (!) and you will appreciate how significant this is!... To be fair I only started the album just over a year ago and its been finished for a while now...

Enjoy...

TTFN

C xx

Challenge yourself today!

2009-09-30T08:54:00.007-05:00

Ok, Ok! So I know by this point you are probably REALLY fed up with me this week...! What does this woman think she is doing? Posting this much in a single week cant be good for the health...! SORRY ;P

I need to post these cards as they were both for a challenge and only run for a week.. Well its Wednesday already so here you go. For those of a weak dispostition who feel their strength waning at all these cards - feel free to close your eyes!

(If youre looking for the DCBD Challenge card... Scroll down!)

Here is this weeks challenge from Stamp With Us. Its a layout challenge and for me was tricky!

While I was struggling with the layout trying to get it to look balanced I realised I should have made a square card. Would have made the process alot easier!

This is a fabbo new stamp set from the US Stampin Up! Catalog called Charming... The stamps are made to coordinate with some really sweet jewelery and Charms that you can change and stamp little panels that go inside... Really sweet!

Recipe. (All SU!)
Stamps: Charming
Card: So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Paper: Tea & Crumpets DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, So Saffron.
........................................................................................

Sooo, sorry to overwhelm you but this card was made from the same sketch and ALSO a Colour Challenge from Diva Coffee Break Design.

Can I tell you... This one made my head hurt! I am still not happy with the card.. Cant get my head around it. But hey ho!

The whole reason for doing this colour challenge was the ribbon... I had a small length in my stash - you know the type you get free on the front of a crafting magazine and as soon as I saw the colours I knew...

Like I said, not 100% happy with it but... Its funny anyway!

Recipe. (All SU! unless stated otherwise)
Stamps: Wanda's Wit and Wisdom, Crazy for Cupcakes
Card: Very Vanilla
Papers: Real Red DSP
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede, Real Red SU Markers.
Blender Pens. Ribbon from stash.

Go visit these websites... Challenge yourself today!

TTFN!

C xx

Christmas Cards, Set 4...

2009-09-30T07:33:00.000-05:00

Nearly there...!

Ive gone all unconventional again with this set... The first card gave me the idea for the second... PINK!

Pretty straight forward again, just embellished with a clear button to which I glued a stamped piece of card to the base and then glittered the top.

Now this is where I went wild and crazy!

Pink AND flowers on a Crimbo Card! Whoa Nellie!!

Please let me know what you think of the pink?!?

Recipe.
Stamps: SU!, Occasional greetings, Gifts of Christmas.
Card: Kraft, SU! Whisper White, Pretty in Pink.
Paper: From SU! I Wish Scrappin Kit.
Ink: SU! Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede.
Ribbon from SU!, EK Success border punch, liquid pearls, stickles glitter. Clear button, brads and silver elastic cord from SU! Pink button & flowers from stash.

TTFN

C xx

Bonus Card... Mojo Monday 106

2009-09-29T12:23:00.003-05:00

Heres a little bonus for you... The next installment of Christmas Cards will be with you tomorrow but I thought I would try this weeks sketch over on the Mojo Monday blog...

Bit of a challenge for me as I dont usually do so many layers. I had bought these papers a while ago, loved the colours but never got round to using them. I thought they were a bit too bold for my liking. SO, I thought about how I could soften them. I think it works... What do you think?

I know theres a couple of spotches where I sponged around the edges... It was an equipment error, honest! I dont yet have a sponge that Im happy with. I picked some triangle sponges up from the craft shop but they are a bit too dense and have hard edges... Hence the blotchiness...!

This was alot of fun and alot of mess! My fingers are purple and green now! Tee Hee!...

Recipe. All SU!
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes.
Ink: Old Olive, Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry.
Card: Whisper White.
Papers: Cottage Wall.

Pop over to the Mojo Blog sometime... You will see some amazing cards and might get the urge to try a layout challenge! Let me know...

TTFN

C xx

Christmas Cards, Set 3...

2009-09-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, so, prepare yourself... When you see this next set and the AMAZING flocked paper you will more than likely fall off your chair. They are even better in real-life trust me!

First one is pretty simple... Stamp, layer, dab glue, glitter. The hard part was tying the bow...

This bow took me 20 MINS!!! NOT normal for me but I couldnt get it to look pretty so in the end I just wrapped it around the paper, tied one separately and stuck it on with a glue dot.. THAT only took 2 minutes!

This next one was made with my new Top Note SU Die and the Big Shot. I cut out 2 layers and trimmed the red paper along the perforation line so the white frames it...

The swirlies on this were glittered with some stickles after I glued them down.

Recipe.
Stamps: Best Yet, Holiday Best SU!
Card: Kraft, SU Whisper White.
Paper: Christmas Cocoa Speciality (SU!)
Ink: SU! Real Red.
Ribbon is SU! organza, Sissix Swirls Die, SU! small oval and small scalloped oval punches. Fiskars border punch.

Part 4 is a goodie...
Enjoy...

TTFN

C xx

Christmas Cards... Set 2.

2009-09-27T12:01:00.003-05:00

So who says Christmas Cards have to be red & green? Not in my house they dont!

Well, Heres some of that lushious flocked Speciality DSP from SU!... The white snowflake is all fluffy and stroke-ie...

Bling-a-licious!

For the next one I pulled out my Big Shot and a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder for the background...

I think I also broke another rule and put a flower on my Christmas Card... Boo yah!

Im loving this Speciality Paper sooo much, I may have to buy another pack already!
Recipe.
Stamps: SU! Gifts of Christmas and Occassional Greetings.
Card: Krafr and SU! Very Vanilla.
Paper: Christmas Cocoa Speciality paper from SU!
Ink: Chocolate Chip and Real Red (SU!)
Tafetta ribbon in Kraft from SU!. Scallop edge punch, Martha Stewart Punch, Liquid Pearls, Flower and bling from Stash. Rhinestone brad from SU!

Come back for part 3!...

TTFN

C xx

(PS. for those who I left dangling after saying the dog wasnt well, heres an update... We have been struggling for a while here with a nasty ear infection. Apparantly because of the heat dogs with floppy ears tend to be more succeptable because theres not enough air circulating around the ears to keep the insides dry...
Well, shes not been herself, extra barky, extra tired so we phoned our vet who is out of town. Turned out to be a blessing! Found an ACE Vet who stuck a cool camera inside and we got to see on a screen what was going on... Yuk! She had to stay with him and under general anaesthetic have both ears flushed from bottom to top. Well, as you can imagine she is glued to my side now and its taken a good couple of days for her to get over the happy gas! All seems to be going good. Daily ear washing, drops and anti-biotics twice a day, keeping me busy! Hoping it all goes well as the final option is surgery...