Beyond the Sea....

I have been oh-so-lucky to spend part of my winter at the beach for the last three years.  I have a wonderful friend who has a house in Laguna Beach, FL just west of Panama City Beach. Oh, how I love the white sands and emerald green water of the Gulf. It is truly a happy place for me and I love being down there in the winter. It's not tropical in the Florida Panhandle in the winter...it's not sunning yourself on the beach kind of weather but I love the cool crisp air and the sound of the waves. And the winter sunsets are so spectacular! Happy. Place.

Anyway, I always make a few cards for my friend as a little additional thank you and they are done with a beachy or ocean theme.  This is what I came up with for this year:

I made several different versions before setting on this one....I tried different backgrounds...different ways to do the little sea turtle...etc.  But was pretty happy with this fun and cheerful card when it all came together.
I used Lawn Fawn's Critters Under the Sea for the turtle and coral. They were colored with Copics and cut out to adhere to the little water scene which was done with Ranger Distress Inks and blending tools.  I used a die from Paper Smooches called Stitched Flourishes to do the little flourish behind the turtle...I thought it made it look like there was movement and of course, there is...the turtle is swimming! LOL! And the little turtle was popped up on some foam tape to give a tad of dimension.  Since these will be mailed, I presume, I didn't want too much bulk.
I used some circle dies from Lifestyle Crafts and cut the scalloped circle from a Spellbinder die onto some orange paper which I embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder called "Tiny Bubbles".
I used a sentiment from an old stamp set that a friend gave me.  There is no name on the set so I don't know who the manufacturer is and Google did not help me! I set the stamp up on my friend, MISTI which made stamping the image in the very same place (since I made multiple cards!) very easy!

I brushed some clear Wink of Stella glitter shimmer over the turtle and the coral and added some glossy accents for "bubbles".
I think my friend will like them.  I would love to receive one of these! :)
They make me want to head south and back to the beach!

And that is it for today...it is wet and gloomy here in Atlanta. We have had so much rain recently but it certainly has helped with all of the pollen!

Happy Crafting!

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is another card made with the Simon Says Stamp May Card Kit.  I love how it turned out....I was inspired by a card which I thought was made by Kristina Werner but I've just spent 15 minutes searching for it and can't find it.  The card was similar with a few of my own touches, though.

The background was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. 

Here it is:

There is a little envelope on the front and I have a tag inserted in it. 
Here is the tag pulled out a little ways...I heat embossed three roses from the stamp set included in the kit and on the bottom right which you can't see....is a little heat embossed sentiment.

I also used one of the little chipboard hearts that came with the kit and put some white Enamel Accents on it.

I think the recipient will love it!

:)

I am entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes.

Happy Crafting to you!  It's rainy here in Atlanta today and I'm hoping to get into my craft room and work on my Project Life!

Simply Valentines

Here is a simple Valentine's Day card for you!
White on white which I always love with a hint of color.  I used the Cuttlebug hearts embossing folder and then a tiny heart stamp from the Hearts2DieFor stamp set from the Stamps of Life.  I embossed the little stamp with some white embossing powder and then I used Glossy Accents over the top.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I keep meaning to tell you my tip about Glossy Accents which I just happened upon by accident.  My tip would always clog up and I would use a straight pin or needle to unplug it.  Well, one time I accidentally left the straight pin in it.  And it wasn't clogged.  And since there is some gooey Glossy Accents in the top when I unscrew the cap the straight pin usually stays with the top.  I have used over a half a bottle of Glossy Accents and it still is flowing freely and I've never had to unplug it!  So keep a straight pin in your bottle.  It works!

Most inventions were probably by accident.  I wonder if I could patent this! LOL!

Anyway, here is my card:

Sympathy Card

The cards most challenging for me are cards for boys and men and sympathy cards.  I don't know why cards for boys and men are so tough...I get why sympathy cards are difficult.  There is a fine line between tasteful and over done, I think.
I made this card last night for someone who recently lost her mother and it came together pretty quickly.  I had seen new Cuttlebug embossing folders at Joann's that had a border strip with them.  I bought a couple and was wanting to use one so decided on this chevron which is called "Charles".  I don't know if chevrons translate to sympathy cards well but I liked the way this ended up.

 I used Papertrey ink paper, ink, and the die and stamp are from Mat Stack 3.  The sentiment is a Hero Arts sentiment which fit perfectly in the little space!  The butterfly is an EK Success punch.

 Not a great photo below but I was hoping  you could see the embossing.  I love this combo of the larger embossing folder and the smaller design on the strip.

And that's it for today.....
Happy Crafting!

I entered this in the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Challenge: Your Favorite (my favorites are dies with coordinating stamps)

You Are So Thoughtful!

I had a little time in my room yesterday....Hubby was on fixing things and putzing around the house mode and I certainly didn't want to do anything to thwart his progress!  Plus I didn't really want to help! LOL!  So under the guise of "I have some things I need to do downstairs"....I went and played while he worked.  :)

Here is a card I made using some Papertrey Ink products....a Flower Fusion set, some PTI felt and cardstock.

 I also used the fabulous new Tim Holtz embossing diffusers that my friend Melissa at Created by Sunshine Honeybee gave me recently.  They are pretty fun....the set comes with 3 diffusers....I used the circle one.  You can see how it did not emboss in a circle in the center....which then becomes a great place to stamp! 

I plopped a big ole pearl in the center....
I used a little lace that I'd gotten at Hobby Lobby. 

 



Simple but turned out well, I think.  I also stamped on the felt which was easy and worked better than I thought it would.  I just used Memento Ink....nothing special....but it did give a little more dimension to the flower.

Thanks, Melissa, YOU are so thoughtful! :)

I entering this in the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Simon Says....Emboss!

Happy Crafting!

Congratulations!

A friend of mine commissioned me to make a card for her college freshman daughter who pledged the Sigma Kappa sorority at Auburn, University.
The sorority "things" (don't know what they are called) are doves, pearls and hearts so I incorporated all of those into this card:

 The dove was cut on my Silhouette Cameo with a design from the Silhouette Store.  Isn't she pretty?  Love the swirly layer which cut so nicely!  I used some Bazzill cardstock as well as some purple cardstock from a huge pack I had been hanging onto following a baby shower for a friend several years ago.  I don't use purples all that much, I guess....because that pack has just been sitting here!
The backgrounds were embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder run through my Big Shot.  The hearts were punched out with a Martha Stewart punch.
I found the Greek font at DAFONT and it is called "Ancient Geek" (not Greek, mind you!) and cut them out with offset to create a nice backing.  The banner was from cut with a Die-Namic die and stamped with a Papertrey Ink stamp.  I added some pearls and a purple pearl for the little doves eye.
Oh, and the border was cut with a Papertrey ink edger die (which I LOVE!).

 I adhered some of the pieces with foam tape to give more dimension.
And I also decorated an envelope....with the young lady's name as well as  few more hearts....and....

 ...Sigma Kappa symbols on the back.

That's it for today!
I entered this in the following challenge:
Use it Tuesday: Challenge #39: Anything Goes! (what have you been hoarding?  I've hoarded that purple paper pack!)

Happy Crafting!!!

More Copic Coloring

I love the cute little Mimi stamps from Penny Black.  They make me think of my little granddaughter, Taylor.  Although she's not quite as "big" as Mimi is....I can see a lot of Taylor's sweetness in cute little Mimi.
This is a wood block stamp....I don't usually buy woodblocks anymore because of the storage space they require but I couldn't resist this cute one.
After stamping with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar Crest cardstock I colored with lots of different Copics.

 I actually stamped her and then cut her out.  I don't know why....probably could have saved myself that step but initially I was going to mount her on some colored paper.  That just didn't look right so I went back to putting this cute little gal on white to make her stand out.  I cut the mat out with a Spellbinders die.  The printed paper is from Imaginisce and I also used an embossing border from Cuttlebug.

I added a little Scattered Straw Stickles on the little bluebirds beaks and the flower centers. The sentiment was From Papertrey Ink's Fillable Frames #6.  The rickrack border was cut with a Papertrey Ink die.
And 4 hours later she was done!  OK, she didn't really take that long!  LOL!  And every second spent was total fun! :)
I heart Copics.
I hate Copics.
It's a love/hate relationship.  A definite learning curve which I am still at the bottom of! LOL!

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Simon Says Put a Stamp on It
Perfect Sentiments Challenge: PSC48: All Creatures Great and Small
Simple Salutations Challenge 10: Animal

Happy Crafting!

A Teensy Bit of Mojo....

....ok, so I wrote earlier how my Mojo had up and disappeared!  Once it's gone it sure is hard to locate!  :)
So, I went in my craft room today to play with a few of my toys and to see if I could locate some creativity.  I'm not sure I was all that successful except I did get a card made!
This is a new Spellbinders and Hampton Arts set....clear stamps with coordinating Spellbinder dies.

 I embossed some plain white cardstock with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I stamped the cupcakes image with some Memento ink and then colored it with Copics and adhered it to the card base with some foam tape.  FUN! I also added a little rickrack that I made with a Papertrey Ink die.
I finished with some Glossy Accent and that was it!

4 hours later.....

Not really....this didn't take all that long....and I also stamped and cut out a whole bunch of images to keep on hand for the next birthday card in need of making!

Happy Crafting!

RATTOONS!

When I was actively doing speech therapy with preschoolers a few years back I had a precious little boy named Ryan who could NOT get the "k" sound.  All "k's" came out as "t's".  Hence a "car" was a "tar", a "cat" was a "tat" and a "raccoon" was a "rattoon".  He loved to play "rattoons" with me.  He was very imaginative in his play and his rattoons had magic powers and were always stronger than the poor little rattoons he gave me to play with.

I miss little Ryan but I am happy to say that after a LOT of hard work....that little guy FINALLY picked up the "k" sound....and is now a happy little all boy 3rd grader.

Here's my Rattoon...er, Raccoon card:

Raccoons2Love is the new stamp of the month set from the Stamps of Life.  It's a cute little set.  My friend Melissa at Created by Sunshine Honeybee has a plethora of "favorites"....she has favorite wild animals, favorite domestic animals, favorite Snoopy characters, favorite Disney characters, etc.  I'm not a favorite sort of gal but I do kind of like raccoons especially when they take me back to days of Rattoons in the Jungle! :)

Here is the card I made using Papertrey Ink cards stock, a whole lot of embossing folders (3...count 'em), some dye inks from various sources, PTI ribbon, a DieNamic die for the little pennant and I think that's about it!  Whoops...oh, the frame behind the raccoon is also a PTI die.  And I used PTI cardstock and some Kraft cardstock I had purchased at Joann's.  The racoon and tree stump were stamped on Neenah Solar Crest with Memento ink and I colored the raccoon and the trunk with Copics.

Don't you love the way I "man-tied" that ribbon? 

 I popped ol' Rattoon Boy up on some foam dots.

 And here is the sentiment for the inside:

And that's my wish for you....that your day is just a little wild!

Update:  I entered this in the following challenges:
A Blog Named Hero: Challenge 10: A Krafty Crafter 
Paper Pretties Monday PPMC 52: Anything Goes 
Fresh Brewed Blog: FBC #109 - No Digis! Rubber Stamps Only
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Animal Antics
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Favorite Technique (my new is coloring with Copics)
TotallyPaperCrafts Challenge #130: Inspired by a Song (mine is WILD THING!)
Wags 'n Whiskers Stamp Challenge: Favorite Color Combination (I love blues and browns)


 Happy Crafting!

Hugs to You

Another one of my new toys I got at Scrapbook Expo is the Stephanie Barnard/Sizzix Framelits Fancy Labels #2.  This is what they look like:

  I love this set....as you can see, it comes with several sentiments and stamp frames AND a whole bunch of coordinating wafer thin dies...as well as an embossing frame.

Anyway, I had a great time playing around with this set....this card came together quickly.

I used My Mind's Eye Honey Cake papers, Papertrey Ink cardstock for the base as well as ribbon and some Enamel Accents on the hearts which were punched out with a Martha Stewart punch.

What a fun set...lots of possibilities with this one!

I'm entering this in the CAS-ual Fridays CFC60 Challenge to use text on a project.


Happy Crafting!

Using Burlap and Favorite Hero Arts Stamps

I saw some cute sample cards with burlap as an embellishment or background recently so made a few cards with one of my favorite Hero Arts/Sizzix sets ....you know, this is the set which comes with the stamps and the corresponding dies.  Love them!
I colored with Copics (not (!)...I made a huge mess so need to do more research on inks to stamp with for Copics coloring) pencils and used Gamsol (odorless minerals spirits) for some simple blending.  The Happy Easter sentiment is from Close to My Heart.  I used some Core'dinations cardstock and ran it through my Cuttlebug for a little embossing and then sanded the cardstock a bit.
After I took these photos I added a little Rock Candy Stickles to the bees and the center of the large flower but didn't retake the photo so you will just have to imagine how cute that is!

Here they are:

And a little closeup:

Also...there is a new blog in town called A Blog Named Hero which is a blog devoted to all things Hero Arts.  I love Hero Arts....it's my all time favorite stamping company (and I have a lot of favorites!).  There is a challenge going on there now so check it out!

 Happy Crafting!

Omie and Tay

My daughter took this picture of Taylor and me when she was just a couple of weeks old.  And even though we know this is not a TRUE smile my daughter snapped the shutter at just the right moment to get this cutie pie look.
And that's me...her Omie!

I did this in a very Clean and Simple way and love the way it turned out.  I used Color Core'dinations cardstock that was a very pale green on one side and a darker green on the non textured side (this picture does not do it justice, I swear!)  After running a piece of it through my Cuttlebug with 2 different Cuttlebug embossing folders I sanded it to bring the darker green out and give a bit more dimension and texture.  I added a bit of ribbon where the two embossed edges met up.  The ribbon slide was done with a Spellbinder die and the date was done with some very old rub-ons from Memory Makers.

I love using enlargements in my layouts...especially when the subject (the baby....not me!) is so darned cute!  A 4x6 just wouldn't have worked, you know?

Here are a couple of closeups:

I am entering this in the  Challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot "Spring is in the Air".  (Thanks to Melissa at Created by Sunshine Honeybee for the heads up on this challenge.) I also used my new favorite Hero Arts stamp which I've used in card making and shared here on my blog in the past couple of weeks.  I used Ranger embossing powders and Versamark ink as well as a Versamarker pen. 

Happy Crafting!

Eras in Paper Crafting...

Do you go through "eras" or "periods" in your paper crafting?  I do....sort of like Monet and his "Blue Period".  I went through my "mat everything on black" period.  My "embossing with a light box" period.  My "make a border on everything" period.  My "gotta have a circle" period.  Know what I mean?  I apparently am in my heat embossing period again...although maybe I never totally left it. 

I did a few more cards with the multiple colors of embossing powder that I've shown the last couple of days.  I really like this technique...really pretty and fairly easily done. 

The first was done with my new tulip stamp which I also showed on Saturday.  I love this stamp and think I will use it frequently.  I like that...use something again and again! LOL!

I used a Paper Trey Ink die to cut the top of the card and mat.  I liked the way that ended up!  Need to remember to do it again!

I used a Versamarker on some of the stems and leaves and bases of the flowers as well as a few words in the sentiment and then sprinkled Bridal Veil embossing powder which has a glittery sheen to it.

Maybe you can see that here:

And then again...maybe you can't!  But I do think it shows up in the base of the big flower or at least I can see it on my screen.  A little bling and a tied piece of tulle finished it off.

And here is the second card I made with another stamp I purchased.  I Used a little tulle tucked under the stamped image and a little cotton trim below it.  I also embossed a mat with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

And that's it for today!  My little hurricanes (David and Taylor) will be here shortly!

Are you in a "period"? 

Happy Crafting!

Sometimes it Works! (FTL152)

Maybe you don't have this "issue"...but sometimes the ideas in the head do not compute to the result on the paper!...or maybe that's just my "issue"! :)  But the card I made for today's blog posting just came together quickly.  What was in the head made it to the paper! And I'm happy with the result:

 I made this for the Clean&Simple Challenge FTL152 which was to use this sketch:

And what did I use to make this card?  Why I'm glad you asked...I used some of my new Papertrey Ink toys...the Flower Fusion #6 die and stamp, Damask printed paper as well as the Mat Stack 3 die I already had.  I used Stampin' Up inks and some metal "blingage" for the centers of the flowers.  The flower on the right was popped up with some foam tape.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.
And that's it!  I loved the clean and simple look!

And this card is for each of you because "You ARE the Best!"

Happy Crafting!

Toiling with a Doily!

Who has been using any of the doily dies out there for card making (or scrapbooking)?  I had bought a doily die from Paper Trey Ink a while back...this one is called Parisian Doily but I had yet to use it.  I decided that it was time to break it out and try it! 

I had also bought the punch out tool to help remove the teensy punched out pieces but still am not sure exactly how that is supposed to be used.  I did find (after a few attempts) that running the die through my Cuttlebug several times and even rotating the die on each pass through helped me get the best cut.

I made two cards both the same with just different background papers.  The papers I used were from Crate Paper's Portrait Collection.  The sentiment and the butterfly which were both embossed with gold Zing embossing powder were from Bevy of Butterflies by Unity Stamps.

I inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink (Ranger) and used a little American Craft dotted ribbon. 

I love that doily die...look at the detail here:

It really is lovely, isn't it?

and here is a picture that shows the embossing...I know that you know what embossing looks like but I thought it turned out so cute!  And sometimes it's just fun to put up more than one picture! :)

Is it hot where you are????  I played tennis today for just an hour and thought I was GONNA DIE!  We have had one hot summer so far...and I think it is going to be worse tomorrow!  But I'll take the heat over cold any day....

Happy Crafting!

Cuttlebug "Sandwich" Recipes

The Gadget Queen (me) already posted on the Cuttlebug and how great a tool it is to have on hand.  It cuts and embosses....one little handy dandy machine does it all.  I really hesitated to get one because I am such a Cricut lover and thought I could do about anything with it and I didn't want to get into static (those you can't change) dies!  That hesitation lasted for about a second and I got a cute little Cuttlebug a few months back.  I have lots of Cuttlebug embossing folders, a few Sizzix dies, a few Paper Trey Ink dies, Spellbinders Nestabilities, etc and needed to know how to put them through the Cuttlebug to cut or emboss.  I did a search of sandwich recipes and found this a while back...not exactly sure where I got it from so if the author just happens to stop in here on the Avenue let me know and I'll give you credit!  There are lots of different sandwich recipes out there...I've used many on this listing and have found them to be good guides for cutting.

So...here you go: 

(NOTE: The entire menu will most likely not show on your computer screen.  Double click on the image and it will pop up in another window but be too small to view.  Click again and it will enlarge the image.)
This is a great resource...I have mine printed out for easy reference!

Happy Crafting!

Easter Card

Sometimes I create something and don't like it.  (Refer back to my WHERE'S MY MOJO? Post!).  Sometimes things just don't seem to come together.  I made this card and didn't love it...but the more that I look at it now I think it's really sort of cute! I am patting myself on my back saying "Great job, Susan!"  OK, not really but it is actually a cute design I think.
This happens to me on occasion...I'll make something and think it's awful...put it down...come back the next day and have a totally different outlook!
So here is a simple Easter card:

I used We R Memory Makers printed papers and Core'dinations Cardstock which is some of my favorite cardstock.  I used some ruffled American Crafts ribbon...love that stuff!
I cut the butterfly out with my Cricut...this image was cut from the Graphically Speaking cartridge....I think he looked really cute with some extra bling on him.  He's all dressed up in his Easter BEST!  I put a little foam tape under his body and slightly bended his wings so that it looks like he just alighted on the card. The scalloped ovals were cut with my Fiskars punches and inked to give them a little more pop.  The stamped sentiment is from Close to My Heart. I used the Cuttlebug A2 Embossing Folder-Birds & Swirls which gave a wonderful embossed design on the cardstock.
I really like these colors and I love the layered Cricut butterfly.  I think it makes for a bright and fun Easter card!