A hard card to make …

… for a couple of reasons.  A very good friend of mine lost her grandpa yesterday to cancer.  So, to let her know that I’m thinking of her at this hard time I wanted to make a card.  However, I only have one sympathy stamp and it’s a tiny little thing.  So, I ended up using the hydrangea stamp from the ‘Because I Care’ set from Stampin’ Up! along with my little sentiment stamp (thanks for the idea Sarah).

I coloured the flower in with nice subtle shades of pink, purple and blue and then stamped the sentiment on a piece of vellum (thanks Natasha for the tip!) to use as an overlay.  It’s a pretty simple card, but I didn’t want anything too ‘flashy’ considering what it’s meant to say.

   flower without the vellum overlay

Materials used:

• card base cardstock: Papertrey Ink
• paper for stamping and vellum, inks and ‘Because I Care’ stamp set: Stampin’ Up!
• patterned paper: DCWV ‘Luxury Stack’
• sentiment stamp: Inkadinkado

Thanks for stopping by.

A Lazy Sunday

After working overtime at work yesterday I decided that today is going to be a relaxing day. So, I’m organizing my scrap space (for what seems like the thousandth time) and working on a few projects and cards today.

So far I’ve finished one birthday card …

Materials used:

• cardstock & stamp – Papertrey Ink
• patterned paper & die cut – Basic Grey’s Kioshi collection
• ink – Colorbox Chalk in Chestnut Roan
• random ribbon from my stash

Thanks for stopping by!

I know it’s a little late, but …

Happy New Year!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something and I have a feeling that this could be a long post.

First I just wanted to share a couple of photos of my fur-babies on Christmas morning while they opened up their gifts …

Smudge opening a gift

Maizie looking at all the toys

Smudge posing with the toys

my fur-babies checking out the anchovies

Now for something crafty … I’m hoping that I’m going to be better about updating my blog this year. I think my biggest problem is that I always forget to take pictures of what I create and I either end up giving them away or I put them away and don’t think about them anymore. Well, it’s not my New Year’s resolution (‘cause I just think those are made to be broken) but I’m going to try and take at least one picture of whatever I make when I’m done. *fingers crossed*

My mom’s aunt is turning 95 next week and wanted to create an card for her that was special and I really like the way it turned out. It’s pretty simple, but I think it’s pretty elegant.

close up

I think that’s it for now … hope everyone’s New Year is off to an amazing start.

Material list:

• patterned paper, cardstock, ink, ribbon & embossing folder – Stampin’ Up!
• stamps – Recollections
• stardust embossing powder
• rhinestones - CTMH

Thanks for stopping by.

Yay … I finally started!

This past weekend was a self made long weekend … I took a much needed day off work and it was fabulous! It was a nice, relaxing day filled with the smell of double fudge cookies baking in the oven. I decided to use the rare bit of free time I have to start working on my Christmas cards … I wanted at least to have them started before December arrived.

I had an idea in mind, but wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I have to admit that I’m thrilled with the final card … it’s better than I had hoped!

So far I’ve only made a dozen …

and have about 2 dozen more to go. Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze a few moment in a day to work on them … ‘cause they need to be in the mail in the next week or so.

*fingers crossed*

Materials list:

• kraft card stock - Papertrey Ink
• Dasher stamp, ink & rhinestones – Stampin’ Up!
• Holiday Trinkets stamp – CTMH
• Wonderful Winter patterned paper – My Mind’s Eye

Thanks for stopping by.

A rainy Saturday …

What’s a girl to do when it’s raining outside?  Make a few cards, of course!

Thanks for stopping by.

A few cards

Just wanted to share a couple of birthday cards I've made ...

Hope everyone's having a fantastic Easter weekend.

stampsets used: polka dot basics by Papertrey Ink & birtday stamp set by BG

GM used: key lime pie, sea glass & timeless lilac

A Couple of Cards

Two of my friends just told me that they are expecting ... actually, they are due within a week or two of each other. So, I decided to make each of them a card congratulating them on the exciting news. However, I didn't want to make the conventional 'Congratulations, you're expecting' card. So, when I saw this stamp in the dollar bin at Michaels (actually, it's a $1.50 bin in Canada) I knew it would be perfect. I stamped it a few times on a piece of patterned paper from the K&Co 'Wild Raspberry' collection and cut out the dress portion of the image. Then I decided to give it a little more 'pop' and cut the belly part out of a couple more images and attached it to the dress with some pop dots. I then stamped the image on some white card stock after I had added some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose. I then added some ribbon and rounded the corners on the smaller card.

The cards definitely have a 'girly' feel to them, but I figured it's ok 'cause the cards are for the moms-to-be.

Thanks for stopping by.

Two Peas in a Bucket challenge

I recently discovered a great site called Two Peas in a Bucket. They have an education section that has several different 'classes'. The one that caught my eye was 'A Year In Cards'. So, I decided to give their challenge a whirl. Here's what I came up with ...

I know it's a short post today, but I have to run and finish up some laundry and dusting ... fun. Hopefully I'll have some free time later in the week for some crafting.

white & kraft cardstock: PTI, patterned paper: Sandylion, New Fallen Snow stamp set: CTMH

Simple and elegant card

What a busy week. I knew I would be out of town for the weekend, so I had to get everything I normally do on the weekend finished during the week. Where did I go you ask? On my annual shopping trip across the border with 5 of my girlfriends. The trip started out like a fun thing to do when my best friend was turning 30 and we had so much fun that we made it into an annual event. I'd post some pictures of all the fun we had, but there was too much shopping going on. But I can tell you that on several occasions we were all doubled over with laughter.

I do have a quick card to share ... it's simple, but elegant (I think).

Hopefully I'll have more to share soon.

Kraft card stock: PTI, patterned paper: Sandylion, New Fallen Snow stamp set: CTMH, sparkles accents: CTMH

A relaxing Sunday - and my first sketch challenge

I've had very relaxing and productive weekend (just like I had hoped). I made some chicken chili, calzones, split pea soup and English onion soup. I know that may sound like an awful lot of food, but I'm freezing most of it. I'm finding that it's not only a time saver, but also a $$$ saver ... I'm only doing one major grocery shop a month (I pick up milk and fresh produce when needed) and when I come home from a long day of work I can just quickly get dinner ready. Plus, I can take it all to work for my lunches so that saves a lot of $$$ too.

Anyway, I saw a sketch challenge over at Paper Craft Planet and I thought I'd give it a try. So, here's what I came up with ...

I think it turned out pretty good.

stamp set: New Fallen Snow (CTMH); inks: outdoor denim & twilight (CTMH); white card stock (Papertrey Ink); patterned paper scraps

It's been a busy week

I can't wait for this week to be over. It seems like I was always on the go ... and the worst part about it is that the rest of the month is looking like it will be the same way.

I'll fill you in on what's been going on this week. First I got a new vacuum as my other one broke. I have two cats so there's fur everywhere. I had a gift card to Lowe's that I wanted to use so I went there to see what they had. I ended up getting a Bissell Lift Off Revolution Pet which is fantastic. It has special attachment to get pet fur off of the furniture.

my new vacuum =P

It came in this pretty big box that my cats are having a blast playing in ... they're having so much fun that I haven't had the heart to break it down for recycling. I'll give them 'til the weekend and then they'll have to find somewhere else to play.

Smudge in a box

I did find a little time to work on some cards. I wanted to try some new things to see if I liked the way turned out.

snowflake card

snowflake card - open

That's all for me for today. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week.

An early start to Christmas

I'm still struggling to get rid of my cold ... it just doesn't seem to want to leave. Since I have been sick I've had a lot of time to blog surf and start working on some projects. The first project I'm going to share with you is a boxed set of Christmas cards. I've been thinking about making a set of cards to give away as a gift, but I couldn't really think of a nice way to package them up. That is until I saw this great video tutorial on how to make a card box.

I started by making the set of cards ... I didn't want them all to be the same so I changed up the colours and the layout. I made a set of 6 cards and then used the same design to decorate the front of the card box. I think it's absolutely fabulous. And so did the person I gave the set to ... my mom. She's always liked the cards I've made, so I thought this would be a nice little surprise 'no occasion' gift for her. And the fact that it came with a surprise dinner of fish and chips from our favourite place didn't hurt either.

card set

box with cards inside

close up of box

I'm definately going to make more card sets ... I'm thinking a birthday set and then an all occasion set would be a good place to start.

Now I'm off to finish making my 'famous' tomato sauce.

Happy crafting!

(sorry, but I can't remember the name of the stamp set I used - it was one I got from Michael's and I threw out the packaging. The next time I'm there I'll make a note of which one it is.)

It's been far too long!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to everyone in Canada!!!

It's been too long since my last post ... things kept coming up which would keep me away from home and then I got sick. I still have a nasty cough, but I've been able to make the most of my 'recovery' time to work on some projects.

The first one I'll share with you is a gift-card holder. I had made one before, but this time I took some inspiration from a very creative lady, Dawn, because instead of using ribbon to tie the gift card holder shut she made a paper band. I must admit I do like this a lot ... it gave it a much cleaner look. Here's the one I made ...

front

inside

I have a feeling I'll be making a lot of these this Christmas as my mom and I like to give gift cards to the local coffee shop to our neighbours.

That's it for me today ... I have to get ready to go to another Thanksgiving gathering today.


(sorry, but I can't remember the name of the stamp set I used - it was one I got from Michael's and I threw out the packaging. The next time I'm there I'll make a note of which one it is.)

thank you card

I've been having a very relaxing weekend ... it all started Friday night when a friend and I went and had our first (of many) pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. That kind of got me in the 'autumn' spirit, so I made a batch of soft ginger-apple cookies (but I didn't add the icing the recipe calls for.

I also wanted to try making this clever gift-card holder I saw on on the Chic'n Scratch Live website ... I just love this site 'cause it has so many great ideas. My card isn't quite finished as I haven't added anything to the inside, but I'm happy with the way it's turned out so far ...

front of card

inside of card

I'm off to clean up my kitchen ... I love baking and cooking, but I don't really like the cleaning-up part.

Thanks for stopping by.

all stamps used were from CTMH ... solo T & adorning corners

A challenge ...

I'm still a rookie when it comes to this 'blog thing', but I think I'm catching on. I came across this great challenge over on the Moxie Fab blog. You should all check it out ... seems like a lot of fun. Here's what I've made for the challenge (stampset used is 'All Decked Out' from CTMH).

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend ... thanks for stopping by.

Another baby card

I had made a card for the arrival of my cousin's baby, but after my mom went out searching for just the right card to give she came home empty-handed. So, I decided I'd give her the one that I had already made. This gave me an opportunity to create a cute 'onsie' card that I saw on Lauren Meader's blog. It was quite easy to do ... the hardest part was figuring out how to embellish it. After I made this one I've had quite a few requests for more ... I can't wait to see how I can make them all different.

Thanks for stopping by.

Just a couple of cards

I went to my friends wedding this weekend and decided it would be nicer to make them a card to wish them well with their new life together than just picking one up at the store. I took my cue from the invitation ... there was burgundy and pinks on the velum overlay. Using a pretty rose petal paper I found at Michael's, ribbon from the dollar store and CTMH's Sparkles here's what I came up with ...

I also needed to come up with another birthday card for a friend of mine who's birthday is tomorrow. I found these 'Simply Easy' blank card pack at Michael's on clearance and decided to use the CTMH Rustic Flowers stamp set with sweet leaf ink to create a pretty inlaid pattern. I also used that stamp set with smokey plum ink to create a background pattern on the tag (I used the 2nd generation stamping technique I learned when I attended a card workshop with Krista) along with the Say It In Style to add the sentiment. I hope my friend likes it.

Thanks for stopping by.

My First Challenge

I came across this challenge on Krista's blog the other day and figured it was the perfect one for me to try this whole 'blog challenge' thing out. The challenge is to make a card with a card base and stamped images only, no additional paper. If you're a scrapbooker, only stamps and your photos. So, here's what I came up with (I used CTMH Rustic Flowers stamp set and smokey plum and sweet leaf stamps).

Thanks for stopping by.

Birthday card

It's been a while since my last post, but with with us actually having sunny weather on a long weekend and the arrival of my cousin's baby life has been a little busy. Anyways, my friend's birthday is just around the corner and I decided to make her a waterfall card (since I liked the way the card I made for cousin turned out). I'm not sure where the papers came from (since all of my stuff is mixed together, but it probably came from Michael's) but the stickers came from the Sandylion sticker outlet.

Thanks for stopping by.

Patiently Awaiting ...

My cousin's first baby is due any day now ... actually he's 2 days overdue. All of our fingers are crossed that the ultrasounds were correct and that he is, indeed, a 'he'. Whenever he does decide to make his way into the world I've made a card to welcome his arrival.

Thanks for stopping by.