Happy Birthday to You!

Three friends have birthdays today...Debbie, Peggy and Susette!  A big shout out to you...and hope you are all having a fabulous day.  Interestingly I think all are on beachy vacations.  Lucky them!

I recently purchased the Sizzix Flip Its die set at Michaels.  I wasn't too sure about the shape but I loved the assortment of round dies...some with stitching and some scalloped...that came with it.  I am a sucker for round dies that have edges to them.  It's just something you can't cut by hand, you know? 

Anyway, I needed a birthday card for a little boy and thought I'd use these papers.  After it was done I decided it's too "old" for him but maybe I'll find someone else to send it to. 

I used My Mind's Eye Lost and Found papers.I worked very hard to get the circles to line up when the card was closed.  LOL.  Ok, "worked hard" is a silly way to put it. 

BTW, the lighting in my photography studio kitchen was terrible this morning...it's dark and gray outside.  Oh well....

Anyway, this is the card and you can see the circle stuff.  I love the circle stuff.

Here is what it looks like all closed up.  My little fingers are holding it closed at the bottom but I cropped those babies out.  I'm telling you that because it looks like my little circles do not line up...but trust me...they do! LOL!

And here is the card opened up so you can see the flip side of the circle.

The problem with these flip cards is where do you WRITE?  I guess I can write on the white panel or maybe even on the backside of the card. 

Oh well...it was fun to do and I loved the circles.  OK, I'm repeating myself...

Simple to do...and very fast.  But now I need a child's birthday card!  LOL!!!

Happy Crafting and Keep Creating!

Stencils!

I have stencils from at least several hundred years ago when I first started scrapbooking.  I had tons of those letter stencils that I would painstakingly trace and then cut out by hand for titles and sentiments on both cards and scrapbook layouts.  Fast forward a couple of centuries and I couldn't tell you the last time I hand cut letters out with any regularity!  I have the fabulous Silhouette Cameo who does all that hard work for me and I also have some letter dies, as well.

But stencils have made a resurgence in the paper crafting field (at least to me) and it isn't about lettering so much...they are being used in so many other ways.

In the August Simon Says Stamp Card Kit shown below a stencil was included.  It is a Simon Says Stamp exclusive stencil and has that Moroccan look to it.

I got out my Ranger Distress Inks and just splotched here and there...and blended a bit.  It was very fun and quite easy to make the background.

 Kind of reminds me of a winter sunset at the beach...
I used some Sizzix framelits to cut out the circles and create the black circle frame.  I mounted with some popdots and added the flair and thought "how fun!".  I was happy. 
Here is another picture of the flair without out the glare....Flair with no GLARE!  I'm a poet! ;)

Happy Crafting!

You're the Best!

I wanted to make a quick card for my nephew, Scott, who took care of us so well while we were in NYC last weekend.  We were only there 2 full days but he jam-packed those days for us and we had a fabulous time.  On Friday my Fitbit Flex showed we did over 18,000 steps and over 7 miles WALKING!  Woohoo...and I love, love, love city walking.  My grandmother lived in a city in Germany and I have very fond memories of city walking.  Love the smell of that exhaust! LOL!!!

Have you read the book The Lovely Bones?  I love that book.  Anyway, when the main character died (no spoiler alert needed as she dies in the first few pages!) and goes to heaven she learns that every person's heaven is slightly different.  Her heaven smells a little like skunk because she always loved the smell of skunk.  My heaven will smell like diesel!

Anyway, Scott was so sweet to spend his weekend with his mom and his aunt and I wanted to send him a little thank you to let him know how much I appreciated him.

He works at the Standard Hotel at the Highline in lower Manhattan so if you're in the area look him up!  He's in charge of special events.  The stories he could tell! :)

Here is the card made with Sizzix dies and stamps and My Minds Eye papers.

It says "Thanks so much" on the inside.
I used Hero Arts ink.
I also decided to spiff up the envelope a bit.  I lined it with some yellow print from the pad although I didn't take a picture of it.  Trust me...it matches...

And then I used some Simon Says stamps to dress up the front a bit:

and there is a stamp on the back that says "Open me ASAP".  Too cute.

And that's it for today...it was good to get back in my room and MAKE SOMETHING!!!

Right now though I'm addicted to watching tennis.  The women's final is today...Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka...both are huge grunters...should be a fun match!  Go, USA!

Happy Crafting!

A Goodie!

I love bright and bold colors!  I can do pastels...but muted colors sometimes are difficult for me!  I was totally happy making this card.  Bright and bold.  So me.  That's my personality too...bright and bold.  HAHA!  Maybe not.  Probably a little too bold sometimes...but I don't know how bright! Heheh...

Have you all seen this wonderful video by Linda of her internet shopaholic ways?  My friend, Donna, shared it with a few of us addicted folks and it's also floating around on Facebook.  This is about a crafter named Linda who watches YouTube crafting videos and then has to go buy the stuff that was used in the video.

 It is hilarious....and I am so right there with her.

Case in point.  Inktense pencils.  Saw Jennifer McGuire using them...saw Darlene of Darlene Designs use them...saw others.  Had to have them.  Waited until I had a 50% off coupon at Michaels one day and went and bought them 'cuz I HAD TO HAVE.  Sat here in the case.  For. A. Long. Time. And. I. Mean. A. Loooong. Time...

Finally opened them to play with them and I LOVE THEM.  What in the world was I waiting for??? I love water color pencils but sometimes the color is PASTEL OR MUTED!!! These are so bright and intense.  Inktense is what they are called.  Water soluble.  And you can blend with them.  But since I still have not mastered the whole blending thing I just colored my flowers.

Here is my card:

  
The flowers are from a Hero Arts set that comes with the Sizzix dies. Love that.  I used Archival Ink since it's water proof and then colored away with the pencils using my Aqua Painter.  Added a bit of Wink of Stella glitter pens to parts of the flowers and the bees wings.  The chevron background is so bold, isn't it?  It's from Amy Tangerine....as is the green dotted paper which I cut with Martha Stewart fringe scissors.

The little banner is from the Stampin' Up Itty Bitty Banners set which also has some awesome dies.

And that's it for today.

I do love the Inktense pencils and I think I am glad I have them in my collection now.

And today I saw Kristina Werner (another favorite blogger) talking about Memento Luxe inks.  They are really vibrant pigment inks.  Oh my....  I do have an ink addiction...and a pen addiction....and a paper addiction...  *yawn....

Happy Crafting!

'Tis the Season...

.....ok, not really the SEASON yet but it's getting close and for the crafters "time is a'wastin'"!

I took a class at Archiver's last night where we created 10 Christmas tags.  I love this class and try to take it each year.  The tags are all so doable and most I think are just so cute.  We did 10 tags in 2 hours so it was a quick class but fun, fun, fun!

We used Hero Arts stamps, sizzix dies, stickers, washi tape....all kinds of fun stuff!

Here are the 5 of those we made and I'll put the other 5 up tomorrow:

 The one below was done with a sticker, a stamp and a couple of piece of washi tape.  So easy!

Fun, fun, fun!!!

Happy Crafting and for those of you in the U.S. I hope you get out and vote if you haven't already!!! I did advance voting and waited in line an hour.  My kids went this morning and were in and out in 15 minutes.  Aaarghhhhh.... At least when I waited in line it was really pretty out and today it is rainy in Atlanta.  I think I will get an absentee ballot next time! :)

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!

Sewing Machine-a-Phobia

I love the look of stitching on paper crafts.  I enjoy hand stitching but I love when I see cards and scrapbook layouts done with machine stitching.

I, however, am DEATHLY AFRAID OF MY SEWING MACHINE!  We have a love-hate relationship...mostly hate on my end and I think the machine's love part is probably that it loves seeing me so frustrated with it.  My mom was a great seamstress.  She could do anything with a machine.  She made clothes, coats, drapes, tablecloths, all kinds of crafts.  I just knew when I grew up I would be like her.  Didn't happen.  I have had my sewing machine about 25 years...I got it shortly after my son was born and I was home on maternity leave.  I just knew I would learn how to sew all kinds of stuff while I was home with him.  I never did learn to sew from a pattern well...but I did make some curtains and some crafts...but mostly I was just plain scared of the machine.  It always seems to be possessed...had a mind of it's own and our minds were never on the same page.

But every now and then I pull out said machine and see if I can tame the monster.  Nope....I still haven't tamed it but I did do a little sewing tonight on a few cards.  I'll post one tonight and the other tomorrow:

 This card was made with papers from the Sidewalks line of the October Afternoon stash I've been using lately.  I used another new Hero Arts set which came with the Sizzix dies (just LOVE those sets).  It was fun and worked up pretty fast.  And yes...I sewed all 4 sides AND an extra part on the bottom just for the heck of it! 
Probably need to increase the tension a little but I'm afraid to do anything like that because the monster will certainly retaliate!

Happy Crafting!

Thank You Card

I bought some new toys recently including this set of stamps and coordinating dies from Hero Arts and Sizzix which is an awesome little set! It's simply called "Bicycle" and you can see what the set looks like here:

And here is the card I made with the same October Afternoon papers I used in the layout I posted yesterday.  I just love the vintage feel of this line...just brings back my childhood!  I swear I will see Sally, Dick, Jane and Spot (Run, Spot, Run!) running across these papers!

Other than the papers and twine from October Afternoon, I used some Close to My Heart Ink, a couple of silver brads on the tires and my Martha Stewart fringe scissors to make the "grass".  I love mixing up prints and using them unconventionally in my cards and layouts...for example, using the yellow floral print for the grass.  I just pat myself on the back when I do this and go..."you go, you artist girl, you!"  HAHA!  I did pop the bicycle up on some foam tape to give it a little more dimension.  I love the banner, too...they are so trendy right now, aren't they?

I think it turned out really cute and these dies and stamp sets work up into wonderful looking stuff very quickly!

Happy Crafting!

Merry Christmas to Me!

Since I've been such a good girl this year Santa told me to go to Archiver's today and stock up on some of the brand new Hero Arts stamps which were released today.  I just couldn't resist and justified my ridiculous purchase on Christmas.  My husband who is the most giving and generous person is terrible at gift giving so I always buy what I like, wrap it up and put it from him under our tree.  At least one of us is surprised.  HAHA!

So here is my little haul...

I picked up that cool chevron background stamp...and you know what...I'm a little intimidated by background stamps so I am going to make it a goal in the New Year to be more comfortable stamping with them.  I bought some cursive sentiments...some gems and pearls, a set of round stamps which have different themes on them (thank you, birthday, etc.) but the really novel new items are these stamp and Sizzix dies packages.  Hero Arts has come out with some great cling stamps and Sizzix has created open dies to coordinate with them.  Archviver's put out a video by Jennifer McGuire (my favorite stamper) showing how to use them and if you haven't seen it and would like to it's HERE.