Autumn Bounty

Well now that the cooler weather is upon us, I am thinking all things Autumn. The trees are already showing the slightest signs of turning colors, which makes me feel excited and a bit sad at the same time. In a couple of weeks I plan on just taking a scenic drive with maybe a picnic lunch and drive the country roads until I find a beautiful spot to enjoy the colors. 

In the meantime, I've created a card to reflect my mood...

I love the way the embossed background came out, it almost looks like tooled leather. This was done using an impression plate rather than an embossing folder. Lighter impression but much finer lines and detail.

Thanks for peeking in on my blog, have a great weekend!

Autumn Roses

Hello friends! I think I'm going to be slowing down on the blogging for a while, I'm feeling a bit burnt out. It's been almost 4.5 years of faithful blogging and it's getting harder and harder to do it regularly. I'm going to take it easy for a while, see what happens.

I haven't felt like coloring much either lately, so it's back to simple color stamping for me. I like these multi step roses from Papertrey Ink.

Rust colored roses and Autumn colors. I love Autumn colors!

I know most of you are here to see my colored cards, and I will keep posting my Lili of the Valley projects, but I'm also doing other things that I love. Which could be a CAS card, or a 'no coloring' card. This hobby is something I do to make me happy, help me relax, and release some of my creative energy, and I share what I love to do. I hope you'll stick with me, but if not, I understand.

Take care!

Twinkling Star

Good morning friends. Should I take a break from Christmas cards yet? That's hard to do since it is my favorite holiday. I love all things snow, Santa, snowmen, trees, holly, berries and the list goes on. I never get tired of it. Not to worry, I've got some other projects up my sleeve that do not involve Christmas. I think...

Anyway, I am so pleased with this card. I rarely use silver so it was a bit of a challenge for myself, and I am so happy I tried it. I colored a TON of images while our power was out this past week. I just sat out on my back deck with my Copics and a stack of stamped images. Since I didn't have a particular color scheme from patterned paper I would use, I just winged it and used whatever I wanted. So now I had this pretty little doll in green and white fur and I didn't have matching PP. This called for some neutral colors. 

As I was digging through my stash, I came across this flocked snowflake paper from Stampin Up. Right on my table was a scrap of silver shimmer cardstock. I tested it and it looked perfect together! So the white/silver/green color scheme was born.

A few silver flourishes from a Marianne Creatables die, some snowflakes and silver ribbon finish off the card perfectly. 
I may be keeping this card...lol!


I thought I'd share another project I just finished, nothing to do with cards. I'm sure I'm not the only paper crafter out there that dabbles in several different hobbies, and one of the other things I love to do is beading/jewelry. I am obsessed with Swarovski crystals! I have tons of them in so many gorgeous colors my mouth waters when I pull out my bead box and start digging through them. I could spend hours shopping for beads! Anyway, usually I make simple necklaces, cell phone charms or charm bracelets but about a year ago I started making these dangles to hang from my rear view mirror in my car. I spend a LOT of time in my car driving to and from work everyday, so it makes sense to have some bling in my car, right?


Here's what I'm talking about...

It's simply strung on some invisible elastic string with a loop on top that easily fits over my mirror. If you could see the way these crystals sparkle and shimmer in the sunlight, it's amazing! There is nothing like Swarovski IMO!

A close up of the cluster on the bottom of the dangle...

I came across these beautiful matte Lucite leaves in an Etsy store and knew I had my autumn car bling project ready to go! There's even an acorn crystal to tie in with the autumn theme. I've been making different dangles so I can change them out for all the seasons/holidays. I'll show you all more if you'd like to see them.


Pheww! Long post! Are you still with me? Thanks for visiting, I hope you've gotten some inspiration today!


Card supplies-
Stamps: Lili of the Valley 'Twinking Star' & Verses clear set
Ink: Memento
Paper: Heavenly White card base, Hammermill, Stardream, Bazzill, Silver Lustre, SU
Tools & Accessories: silver satin ribbon, snowflake charm, Copics, Marianne Creatables dies, Martha Stewart snowflake punches, Viva Decor Pearl Pen, Stickles

IO Thursday Challenge Hostess Gifts

Hello everyone! It's time for our Impression Obsession Thursday challenge. This week we're making hostess gifts. I love making projects like this, a pretty package and a coordinating card make such a nice presentation. 

I made a little gable box with a window using my Gazelle and filled it with some fall colored Reese's Pieces. Some pretty patterned papers from Stampin Up and a gold silk bow finish the box off nicely. 

The wreath image was colored with SU and Tombow markers using a blender pen to give it that nice watercolor look. I love fall colors, deep reds, golds, rich browns, just gorgeous!


See the good thing about being a paper crafter is that we can always come up with last minute gifts using the supplies we have on hand. Some pretty papers, nice ribbon and tag and you can bang out a box or a bag in no time. You don't even have to have the chocolates or candy in the house, just stop at the convenience store on the way over to the dinner party and fill 'er up, lol!


Thanks for stopping by!


Stamps: Leaf Wreath, Happy Thanksgiving
Ink: Memento
Paper: Core'dinations, SU
Tools & Accessories: Silk ribbon, Spellbinders labels, EK Success scallop punch, SU markers, Tombow blender marker, Crystal Laquer, Stickles, Gazelle

For more hostess gift ideas check out what the other DT members are making:

Jeanne

Julie

Daniela

Dina

Laura

Gliding by...

Hello blog friends, I know it's been a while since I've shared anything. We took a long weekend spent at the lake a couple of hours away from us and it's proving difficult to get back into the groove. It seems like any interruption to the creative process stalls my engine and takes forever to get started back up, lol!

So I'll share one of the cards I sent off to CHA with Impression Obsession. This cutie is called 'Little Witch'.

I wanted to color the entire background and knew doing it with Copics would take forever AND not look the way I wanted it, so I chose to airbrush it. I'm not 100% in love with the Copic ABS system, when I can get it to work the way I want it to. I used some liquid art masking fluid to paint over the stamped image to keep it white and when it dried I airbrushed the BG with a dark blue Copic. The masking fluid rubs right off with an eraser and I can color the main image as usual. I like using masking fluid for detailed images instead of tape or Post its, a lot easier to paint over it with a small paint brush than trying to cut all that detail out with scissors! I wish I'd found this stuff a long time ago....


Anyway, tomorrow it the LOTV challenge, be sure to stop by and check it out!


Thanks for looking!


Stamps: Impression Obsession Little Witch and Gliding By
Ink: Distress
Paper: PTI, Hammermill, Graphic 45, Core'dinations
Tools & Accessories: Cuttlebug EF, striped ribbon, Spellbinders Labels, Copics, Copic ABS system, Stickles

A Winter Day...

I can't believe I've never inked this adorable snow guy 'Twigs' from Whipper Snapper! I came across him when I was sorting through my stamps and immediately put him to paper. A little bit of coloring with my colored pencils, some red Viva Decor berries and Stickles and he's gorgeous!

 I tried something different with my stitching around the paper edges too. I've seen some people alternate between a straight stitch and a Zig Zag stitch and I think it looks so cute!

The little mitten brad is from Oriental Trading, I think. I've had it forever. I thought it went perfectly with this card's theme.

Thanks for peeking in, see you soon!

Stamps: Whipper Snapper, Catslife Press
Ink: Memento, Distress
Paper: PTI, Core'dinations, We R Memory Keepers
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders Labels/Nestabilities, colored pencils, OMS, Viva Decor, Stickles, mitten brad from Oriental Trading, snowflake charm, sewing machine

Under the Mistletoe

Good morning everyone! I thought I'd share this card with you all today, using this adorable Pure Innocence digital stamp from Heather Ellis. These images are so simple yet sweet, I just love them!

 I colored it with my colored pencils in very soft, subtle shades to coordinate with the patterned papers from We R Memory Keepers 'Merry January' collection. I recently got a giant paper pad of the whole collection so you'll be seeing a lot of these patterns! I really wish all scrapbook paper manufacturers would make papers in smaller sizes for card makers too, I love the papers, but I just don't think I'll ever use them all!

Well I'm off to try and get warm, we've got this awful cold/windy front that came in a few days ago and my toes have been frozen for days! Maybe I need to put some warm fuzzy socks on my Christmas list this year, lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Digital image from Heather Ellis, PTI sentiment
Ink: Fluid Chalk
Paper: Papertrey Ink, W R Memory Keepers
Tools & Accessories: Martha Stewart pine branch punch, gingham ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Copics, Stickles, Sakura Glaze pens

Old Skates

A couple of weeks ago I was looking around for an ice skate stamp. I liked the new one PTI released, but wasn't gotta-have-it-crazy for it. I wanted something a little different. So I'm searching, and searching, finding a few but nothing I'm too crazy about. So I'm on Splitcoast, as usual, when I click on a message that has a picture attached of a card using this stamp. The poster was trying to identify the stamp maker. I knew as soon as I saw it, that was the ice skate stamp I wanted. To make a long story longer, it turns out the stamp was no longer being made, it was from several years ago. Well, I guess quite a few of us emailed the company (DRS Designs) asking about the stamp,  that they brought it back into production! How cool is that?! 

Anyway, here it is in all it's glory!

Pretty, huh? I don't know what it is, I just think they're so cute. I paper pieced them with some Cosmo Cricket Be Good paper, and matted them with these gorgeous Spellbinders Labels. The background paper is Cosmo Cricket Wonderland, gorgeousness!!

I colored the metal part of the skates with a silver Copic Spica pen, then went over it with some clear Liquid Glass. It looks like real shiny metal!

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, I'm still feeling under the weather, but feel a bit better. I tried to do too much yesterday, and immediately felt worse, so I crashed on the couch for the rest of the day. I'm definitely taking it easy today, I need to recuperate before resuming my usual hectic days!
TTFN!

Stamps: DRS Designs, Gina K
Ink: Memento, Distress, Versamark
Paper: PTI, Gina K, Cosmo Cricket, Stardream
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders Labels, Sizzix/Basic Grey embossing folder, PTI twill ribbon, PTI button, vanilla embossing powder, Copic sketch & Spica pen, Liquid Glass, cotton thread

Basket of Pumpkins

Well it's official, I lovelovelove Papertrey Ink's newest color, Fine Linen. Finally!  A new neutral to use instead of white, cream, kraft. It does get tedious using the same colors over and over... This warm tan color is just perfect though. For today's card I paired it wit Ocean Tides, and Terra Cotta for an autumn color scheme.

I colored the picnic basket and pumpkins with some Copic markers, although I did add some deeper shadows with a colored pencil or two. I stamped the background paper with the Tin Types background set as well as the wheat bundle from First Fruits. I used the pumpkins from the Autumn Tags set too, but they all got covered up when I decided on a layout for my card. I hate when that happens, lol! 

Thanks for visiting!

Most supplies from Papertrey Ink except for Spellbinders labels, Fiskars edge punch, and SU word window punch.

Fall Pumpkin

Remember these beautiful stamps from last year? Plum Purdy released some of her awesome designs in rubber (and clear) that made me a very happy camper. Unfortunately I haven't seen anything new since then :-(

I colored this image with my colored pencils, then I decided to add some brown flocking to the sunflower centers. I always add two layers of flocking when I use it, it's too thin in a single layer IMO. 

Instead of my usual ribbon I opted to use the awesome pumpkin flourish border EK Success just released. There are so many beautiful designs! I also found these felt flower die cuts in my stash and layered them to make a pretty embellishment.

Fall is in the air, because of the dry weather we've had then the big storms yesterday there are leaves all over the place now. Time to pull out the rake!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Plum Purdy

Ink: Memento

Paper: PTI, SU

Accessories: Colored pencils, OMS, Studio G flocking, felt, PTI button, EK Success border punch, Viva Decor pen, Adirondack dimensional pearls, Tonic corner rounder, SU edge punch

Dancing Leaves

Well the nights are definitely getting much cooler around here, a sure sign that fall is almost here.  Here's a card that has the best of autumn, the colorful leaves! I heat embossed and water colored this Covered Bridge scene with Distress Inks. Some Stickles highlight a few leaves here and there, can't make a card without that sparkly stuff!

Such a gorgeous stamp, no matter how you color it. The sentiment is also from Impression Obsession, I love the elegant script. 

Well the long weekend is over, and it's back to work for many of us! Come back soon to visit me again!
Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Impression Obsession
Ink: Versamark, Distress, Memento
Paper: Heavenly White, Kaisercraft, Core'dinations, SU, water color paper
Accessories: Fiskars border punch, sheer striped ribbon, brown embossing powder, Stickles, Spellbinders Labels

Sneak Peak...New LOTV stamps!

Lili of the Valley will be releasing a new collection of Christmas animals stamps either today or tomorrow, and they are just to die for! The sweetest little penguins, bears and little critters! Here's a peek at one of the images to give you an idea of what's in store. 

This one's called Igloo for Two. I colored it with my colored pencils. I used lots of sparkle with Copic Spica's and Stickles. The background paper was stamped too, with a PTI snowflakes set. I embossed a little snowflake border with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and tied a ribbon around it.

Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley

Ink: Perfect Match, SU

Paper: Heavenly White, PTI, SU

Accessories: Martha Stewart snowflake border punch, SU ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Copic Spica pens, Stickles, Cuttlebug border embossing folder

Spring Bunny

How about a perfect spring/Easter card? If this doesn't make you long for the warmth of the sun, I don't know what will! This is another older Penny Black stamp that I found on the PB Stamps web site. If you're ever on the lookout for what you think is a discontinued Penny Black stamp, look at this store first. More than likely, Dick can still get it for you!
I stamped the pretty lavender background paper with one Papertrey Ink's newer background stamps, then embossed it with white embossing powder. The other patterned paper strip behind the twill ribbon is also PTI, from their new Easter paper collection. I can't get enough of PTI, they just keep coming out with more deliciousness every month! And I just saw a sneak peek of their new floral set coming out later this month, and ohh, ahhhh... I think I'm in trouble. LOL!

Well, hope you like it, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Penny Black, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Versamark

Paper: Papertrey Ink

Accessories: Martha Stewart scallop punch, SU scallop punch, PTI ribbon, Nestabilities, colored pencils, OMS, white embossing powder

The most adorable bunny I've ever seen...

...and sure enough it's a Penny Black (1033E) stamp! When it comes to adorable critters, PB is KING, lol! I didn't have much in the way of Easter/Spring stamps, particularly bunnies, so I went browsing through the old Penny Black catalogs Dick from PB Stamps has on his web site. I had to use a LOT of restraint when doing this, because I could easily buy up hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of cuteness from there! I settled for a few bunny stamps (three if you can believe it!) and this is one of them.
I colored him very, very softly with Prismacolor pencils. I had to use a very light touch so he would look like a fluffy white bunny. I sponged some SU Soft Sky ink around him for a little bit of a background.

The patterned paper and circle stamp are from Papertrey Ink.

Hope he makes you smile, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Penny Black, PTI

Ink: Memento, SU, Perfect Match

Paper: Heavenly White, The Paper Co., Bristol vellum

Accessories: Nestabilities, polka dot ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, sewing machine

We love the SNOW!

Used some more of my new Eat Cake Graphics stamps to create this fun winter card. Colored them with Copics. Am I getting better at using them? lol. I have to admit, even though I love the way they look all colored up, I think Copic coloring takes a lot loooonger than my trusty colored pencils. All that blending so you can't see the lines between different shades--phew! Takes forever!
The paper/ribbon and sentiment is all from Papertrey Ink.

Well, I think I'm done sharing my Christmas cards for the time being. I've started working on V-Day and even some everyday type cards. I'll continue making winter themed cards, though. Winter birthdays and such. I do love winter color schemes.

Christmas is almost here...I'm just about done with my gift shopping. One stop at the bank for cash gifts and that's it! My kids had VERY short Christmas lists this year, they just wanted money or gift cards to their favorite clothing stores. My daughter is 12 years old and the only things that interests her are new clothes and her cell phone, LOL! Easy for me!

Well thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Eat Cake Graphics, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, PTI

Paper: PTI

Accessories: Nestabilities, SU scallop punch, metal snowflake brad, PTI ribbon, Copics, Spellbinders Label die

SNOW DAY!!

I woke up early this morning to see almost 6 inches of snow on the ground! We still had snow left over from a few days ago, and now this! This must be a bad sign...snow before Christmas. It's going to be a whopper of a winter.

Since I'm not risking the hour long commute to work, I'm sharing this 'Snow Day' card with you all. How can you not love the adorable images from Eat Cake Graphics? So whimsical and sweet.
Somehow, I ended up using all pastel colors, which wasn't the plan, LOL! Just turned out that way. The card background is all stamped with Papertrey Ink's Beyond Basic Borders. I really enjoy making my own patterned paper, it's a lot of fun. The image is colored with a combo of Copics and colored pencils.

If you're snowed in like we are, have fun! If not... oh well, so sorry... ;-)

Stamps: Eat Cake Graphics, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink, Stardream

Accessories: Satin ribbon, PTI button, Martha Stewart snowflake edger punch, colored pencils, OMS, Copics, Stickles

IO Shaker Card Challenge

It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge, this time shaker cards! You too can join in on the challenge, check out all the details HERE. (You can win a $25 gift certificate for IO.)
I have never done one of these before, but I have seen the tutorials on SCS. It involved acetate, foam tape, measuring, cutting, layering, glitter or flocking scattering everywhere.... NOT for me, lol! I loved the idea of shaker cards, just not the work involved. SO, when I saw these new shake it 'pouches' Impression Obsession came out with, I danced with joy! What an awesome idea to make these cards soooo much easier!

These little plastic 'pouches' make it so easy. They come in circles, squares, ovals, several different sizes. If you have Nestabilities, it's even easier to use these. I simply stamped my image, colored it in, traced the shake it pouch around the image and used the right size die to cut it out. I sprinkled some flower soft, glitter and some tiny snowflake punches into the pouch, peeled the plastic backing off the tape (yes, the pouches have adhesive already on them), put the image face down over it and that's it. I cut a scalloped circle 'frame' and adhered that over the pouch, then layered it as usual. So simple, and a fabulous effect! This was my first one, so I tried to keep it simple, but I have SO many ideas for future cards. Imagine beads, tiny leaves, flowers, anything that will fit!

Well if you have never tried them, you really should, they are a lot of fun. Need more ideas? Check out the other IO design team blogs for more inspiration:

Shirley

Julie

Dina
Kelli
Laura
Jenny
Deborah

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession 'Snow Baby 2'

Ink: Vivid, CTMH

Paper: PTI, Bristol vellum, Oriental Trading Co.

Accessories: Nestabilities, PTI ribbon/button, Sm. Circle shake-it pouch, Flower Soft, Martha tewart snowflake edger punch, Copic Spica pen, colored pencils, OMS, gitter, silver cord

Snowy Winter's Eve

For the longest time I could not figure out where the heck this stamp came from! I've had it for a while and because it's UM rubber, and I put it in an unmarked CD case, I didn't know where I got it. So I searched, and searched, trying to remember which stamp companies I was buying from several years ago. Eventually, I found it, it's from Cherry Pie Art Stamps. I immediately marked it so I wouldn't forget again!

I decided to try a different card again, this time it's a Joy Fold card. The little 'Peace' medallion on the bottom left holds the folded image closed. It's very pretty, but I don't think I will be making many of them. I really can't see the recipient (that is not a cardmaker) being able to figure it out without tearing it somehow, LOL.

The image was the simplest thing I've ever colored. I just used a SU Soft Sky reinker and my waterbrush. Very soft and pretty though.

Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Cherry Pie Art Stamps, PTI

Ink: SU, Perfect Match

Paper: Arches water color paper, SU, PTI, The Paper Company

Accessories: Nestabilities, Martha Stewart edger punch, silk ribbon, Stickles

Silent Night

Another card that goes onto the Family/friends pile. This image is from a retired Stampin Up set, 'Country Pleasures'. I colored it with Copics and colored pencils. The sentiment tag is Waltzingmouse Stamps, I love using them to enhance the Spellbinders die cuts. The sentiment is from PTI's Silent Night.

It's hard to see in the picture, but there are white speckles of 'snow' all over the image. I used to use this technique all the time when I was doing decorative painting, you take an old toothbrush, dip it in some watered down acrylic paint and flick your finger over the bristles to spatter all over your surface. I love the effect. However it's best to use a nice opaque acrylic paint, which I could NOT find anywhere in my craft area, every other color under the sun, but not white! So I ended up using Gouache, which wasn't as opaque, which is why the white 'snow' doesn't show as much as I'd anticipated. But IRL, you can see them fairly well, and I was happy with the end result.

Anyway, hope it inspires, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampin Up, Waltzingmouse Stamps, PTI

Ink: Memento, Memories, SU, Versamark

Paper: Close to My Heart, PTI, SU

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels die, Martha Stewart deep edger punch, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, gouache, PTI ribbon/button/twine, brown metallic ribbon, copper embossing powder, antique silver brads

Finally! My Own Shopping List!

If you've read a couple of my posts when I make these notebooks, you'll know that I haven't made one for myself yet, even though I desperately need one! Well, I finally made one that suits me to a tee! And I'm going to make myself use it even though it's too pretty, LOL. I use a lot of lists for grocery shopping, so I made a double notebook. The template from Nichole Heady's blog makes it sooooo easy, no measuring, you just print it out on your cardstock, make a few cuts, score, and that's it! Actually, I don't print it directly on my cardstock anymore, wastes too much paper, and you have twice as many cuts. So I printed one onto heavy cardstock, cut it out and use that to trace onto my cardstock. This way, I can line it up to two sides of the paper, eliminating two cuts, and save some paper, as well.

Here's a closer look at some of the modifications I made to mine:

I wanted my list to hang on my refridgerator, so I needed to attach a magnet to the back cover. I bought a bunch of magnetic sheets for cheap at the hardware store. They're 'Vent Covers' and only cost like $3 or $4 for a package of three. A lot less costly than the sheets you buy at the craft store! I just cut it down to size on my guillotine trimmer, and used Scor tape to adhere it. Then, I ran across another problem. The cover kept opening when hanging on the fridge. So I dug through my tool stash for the wafer thin magnets by Basic Grey. I found that if I adhered them to the inside back covers of the notebooks, they were still strong enough to keep the whole notebook closed, even through all the sheets of paper.

I love it, and you should really try one! Pretty and practical!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Perfect Match, Versamark
Paper: SU, PTI

Accessories: Marvy Uchida clever lever snowflake punches, PTI button, SU ribbon, Nestabilities, flocked mitten brad from Oriental Trading, Martha Stewart scallop punch, SU Heat n Stick powder, Art Institute glitter, PTI notebooks, magnetic sheet, Basic Grey magnets