A New Years Eve Birthday

My sister in law's birthday is today ... Last year I sent an appletini card.  This year I thought I'd make a classier one ...

 I love MFT's a la mode stamp sets!  This is one of the new ones I just got and thought it was perfect!

Its a little hard to see, but after coloring with Copics, I went over the dress and shoes with a Spica clear glitter pen.  Its sparkly IRL :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps: Cheers [MFT]
Ink: Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko]
Paper: Concorde Crush, Real Read, Whisper White [SU!]
Other: Spica glitter pen, Sketch Markers: R59, 29, 24,01; E53, 55; Y21,26; C1 [Copic]

OWH Valentines Party

A few friends from church came over tonight and made valentines to sent in to Operation Write Home.  I'll be whipping them tomorrow but wanted to do a quick post tonight with all my friends working hard


 
    
        


We made about 100 cards tonight .... most were valentines with a few that can double as thinking of you, plus a few birthday cards thrown in for good measure.

Thanks for stopping by!

Last OWH Card

Besides Valentines, Operation Write Home always needs birthday / thinking of you / general purpose cards so whenever I do specific themes I try and make some of those as well to replenish my shipper's supply of those always in demand cards (my shipper is Kris in Kansas.  She ships everything for the Midwest region of the US ... big hand for Kris!!)

Here is the birthday card we'll be making:

My friend who is helping my is making  mostly these general purpose types of cards so we'll send in about half and half.

Thanks for stopping by!

{ Supplies - PTI unless noted }
Stamps: Mat Stack 2, Damask Designs, Round and Round
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Fizz
Paper: Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Fizz, Vintage Cream
Other: Raspberry Fix satin ribbon;  rectangle punch [SU!]

One More OWH Valentine

I tried to keep the cards for this party simple.   I don't know for sure how many people are coming or their stamping history ... one party I had there were a lot of first time stampers. They had a ball, but I learned that I need t keep the cards pretty straightforward.

Pretty simple, but cute.


Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Heart Prints [PTI]; XOXO [SU!]
Ink: Real Red [SU!]; Fresh Snow [PTI]
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red  [SU!]; Dark Chocolate [PTI]

Another OWH Valentine

This is a rather non traditional valentine, but what the heck, I'm kind of a non traditional person myself :)

I love the heart "steam" from warm happiness too.  I didnt want to make it too valentine-y, but this could work for Valentines or Thinking of You as well.

Since I got the die in my last order, I had to die cut the mug (I'm sure you'll be seeing die cut teapots soon as well :)

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - PTI unless noted}
Stamps: Warnm Happiness, Warm Happiness Too, Mat Stack 2
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides
Paper: White, Ocean Tides

OWH Valentine

Here is another valentine for the party coming up soon:

I made one similar to this a few months ago, but I love the look and thought a purple version would be awesome to anyone who might have a red-aversion :)  Who could really, but you never know!

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - All PTI}
Stamps: Framed, Heart Prints
Paper: White
Ink: Plum Pudding, True Black

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone in blog-land a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Oh the weather outside is frightful ...

... so the Christmas Eve trip out of town to go see the fam got postponed for a few days.  But that gave me extra time in my craft room, so I made this card:

It was inspired by Dawn McVey's poinsettia card  I fell in love with this card and almost bought the YOF: Poinsettia set, but I decided to wait til the whole year (YOF=Year of Flowers by the way) is available and I have nothing else I want, and then I'll just buy them all at once.

Since I restrained myself (for a change) I did not have the same flower, but used In Bloom instead.  The blossom is a little smaller, but I think it still works.

To make it a little different I stamped the blossom also on a piece of scrap and colored it to match, then popped it up on some foam tape to add a little dimension.

Thanks for stopping by

{Supplies - PTI unless noted}
Stamps: In Bloom, Background Basics: Music
Ink: Dark Chocolate; Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko]
Paper: Dark Chocolate; Rose Red, Whisper White [SU!]
Other: Sketch Markers: R83, R85, R89, C1 [Copic]

Starting Valentine Card Season Out With Glitter

Operation Write Home will be sending thousands of valentines to deployed soldiers.  Here is one that I am sending in

Valentines should be sparkly shouldn't they.  But glitter is a major no-no for OWH because it can call flake off and became a hazard for the soldier (it reflects light and can make the soldier a target in a night vision scope, making glitter beautiful but deadly in this arena).  So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw glitter paper in the SU! spring mini (available January 4).  Another benefit of being a demonstrator is I get to order early!

Seriously its so sparkly it looks like Dorothy's shoes in the Wizard of Oz!  But I love red, I love sparkle and I love this card....

A friend and I will be hosting an OWH valentines party next week, so I'll be posting the cards we're making over the next few days.  I'll try and get pix f the party itself, but I usually end up getting caught up in the fun and forget to capture it on film :)

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - all SU! unless noted}
Stamps: Banner Builder, Fillable Frames #2 (sentiment) [PTI]
Ink: Real Red Craft, Basic Black
Paper: Glitter Red (coming soon), Whisper White
Other: Letterpress plate: Lots of Love

One Final Christmas Card

Here is the last design that I made this year ... I had to make a banner :) I actually saw something similar to this in Paper Crafts (either on line or in the print version)

 I made the background using Holiday Tree and cut the banners from Crumb Cake and a patterned paper from last year .  I got hung up on this color scheme this year and made a lot of cards using Ocean Tides and Aqua Mist.  Non-traditional to be sure, but I really like how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - PTI unless noted}
Stamps: Holiday Tree, Fresh Alphabet, Banner Builders
Paper: Crumb Cake [SU!]; Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, White, Patterned
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides
Other: Banner Builder dies

Some more quick and easy cards

 I finally finished off my Christmas cards today ... in between laundry, shopping and configuring a netbook and new laptop (Merry Christmas to me!! :)

The first card uses Jolly Bingo Bits and Holiday Button Bits ... I love the little reindeer and true to the theme this year, I added a little bling for Rudolph's nose :)

The second card is a variation on the first.  I used the tiny Christmas tree from Jolly Bingo Bits and paired it with a sentiment from Merry Little Christmas .... love the song, love the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - Merry Christmas}

Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits [SU!]; Holiday Button Button Bits [PTI]

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White [SU!]; patterned [PTI]

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy [PTI]

Other: rhinestone [PTI] colored with R59 Copic sketch

{Supplies - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas}

Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits [SU!]; Merry Little Christmas[PTI]
Paper: Whisper White [SU!]; Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist [PTI]
Ink: Chocolate Chip Marker, Garden Green Marker, Yo Yo Yellow Marker [SU!]; Dark Chocolate [PTI]

Gift Cash Holders

Tis the Season ... and half the presents I give are cash because as nieces and nephews get older, that's just the easiest thing to do (and most appreciated)

I made a couple ones this year in the style my mom always uses ... a tri-fold money holder. 

The paper size is 7.5 x 8.75.  I scored it at 2.75" and 5.75" along the long side, then just decorated away.  I love the rustic look the wood grain background gives.  This is for my oldest nephew

And this one is for another nephew who's birthday is on the 30th.  

He wanted a video game that no stores in town had, so I opted for cash ... he might not appreciate the "packaging", but I know his mom will :)

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - AJ's Money Holder}

Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons, Simple Alphabet [PTI]

Ink: Ripe Avocado, True Black [PTI]

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White [SU!]; Scarlet Jewel [PTI]

Other: Rhinestones [Kaisercraft]; Sketch R59 [Copic]

{Supplies - Zack's Money Holder- SU! unless noted}

Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits; Simple Alphabet [PTI]

Ink: Basic Black, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Real Red

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Other: Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon

Another Fast Christmas Card

This card is the fastest one I've ever made .... one swipe through a Big Shot with a Letterpress plate, adhere layers and add bling - bam its done!

The plate is a new Letterpress plate from SU! ... this one is called Joyful Season, available in the Holiday mini until January 3 [page 42].  You simply ink it up with craft ink, layer the Sizzix plates, paper and letterpress plate, run t through the Big Shot (or equivalent machine of your choice) and bamm-o instant card.

I added some red rhinestones just because in addition to fast and easy, bling seems to be the theme for this year's Christmas cards.  Whether a little or a lot, sparkle makes it seem more festive, doncha think

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - SU! unless noted}
Paper: Crumb Cake, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red Craft
Other: Joyful Season Letterpress Plate;
Bling: Rhinestones[Kasiercraft]; Sketch Marker R59 [Copic]

Quick and Easy Christmas Card

I'm in full "gotta get it done" mode .... and boy howdy do I have lots to get done.  I spent some time this weekend making Christmas cards.  I wanted simple, but I find that I don't like to mass produce - too boring - so I end up sending out lots of different designs each year.   But they need to be fast to make, because I really am mass producing them, just in tiny quantities :)

Here is one of the cards I made ...

The sentiment and swirl are from Big and Bold Holiday Wishes.  I stamped and cut out the holly cluster  from Jolly Bingo Bits and used some Kaisercraft rhinestones colored with a R59 Copic for the berries

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies }
Stamps: Big and Bold Holiday Wishes [PTI]; Jolly Bingo Bits [SU!]
Ink: True Black, Ripe Avocado [PTI]
Paper: Crumb Cake [SU!]; Ripe Avocado, Scarlet Jewel [PTI]
Other: Rhinestones [Kaisercraft]; Sketch R59 [Copic]

A complete and total CASE

I got my January/February Issue of PaperCrafts magazine in the mail yesterday ...  things are so crazy I didn't even have a chance to open it until this morning.  I normally like most of the cards, even the ones that aren't my style, but I tend to get intimidated by a lot of the uber fancy ones.  In this issue I found a card that I adored!  It was absolutely stunning and {miracle} I even had the supplies to make it myself!

The original card is Peace Within by Jean Cross {page 66} 

Here is my CASE of it:

My sponging of the gray area turned out a little heavy.  I figured Jean had airbrushed it.   Had I read the directions first I would have seen that she used a brayer ... next time I'll read ahead first :) I still like how it turned out.

The other change I did was use a Basic Gray card base and a Real Red layer ... love that color combo!

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies}
Stamps: Through The Trees [PTI]
Ink: Basic Gray, Real Red [SU!]
Paper: Basic Gray, Real Red, Whisper White [SU!]

Gift tags

I decided to make a few gift tags this year.  I don't know why, but I usually don't bother to (lazy I guess)

Anyway I decided to this year and here they are:

 Nicole's is Cherry cobbler and Not Quite Navy.

and Erin's is Concorde Crush and Cherry Cobbler

Both use the Background Basics: Christmas candy strip stamped in Fresh Snow.  I punched the corners using a tag corner punch from SU! (retired).

I created the striped paper using a 45 degree triangle from my college Engineering Drafting class and an R35 copic sketch marker.  Cut the letters with Sizzix Shadowbox Alpha set and the circles with a 2" and 1.75" circle punch

The ribbon is Enchanted Evening satin and a white organdy I had laying around.  I colored the organdy with a Concorde Crush marker.  Both are tied with silver cording at the top of the tag.

Thanks for stopping by

Birthday Cupcakes

December isn't the birthday blitz that October is but I still have a few birthdays to celebrate ... my daughter's my sister's and my own (although I probably won't make myself a card :)

Here is the card I made for my sister:

 I wok e up this morning wanting to make a mosaic card so I cut scraps up and made the border ... then made the cupcake layer to go over the top.  I used Copics galore to color int he image and even added some glitter so they sparkle and shine

 Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - SU! unless noted}

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Delightful Daffodil, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizazz

Ink: Tuxedo Black [Tsukineko]

Color: Copic Sketch: RV10, RV13, Y32, Y35, BG11, BG13, R59, R29, E55, E57, E59, T1, T4, T6, C1

Other: Snow Glitter

Fancy Shmancy Christmas Card

Well fancy shmancy for me anyway ... I've seen much more elaborate ones on the net!

This is for my niece in NY ...

I used Snow Swirled and Baroque Motifs from SU! and Background Basics: Text Style from PTI.  The color scheme is Garden Green and Concorde Crush.

 I actually had some purple thread that matched pretty close so I used that for my zig zag stitching.  I also added some Kaisercraft rhinestones on the one snowflake.  The tree image is popped up on foam dimensionals and spritzed with Vanilla Shimmer smooch spritz.

Inside I mirrored the front layer and added a sentiment from Snow Swirled that I think says it all this time of year.

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - SU! unless noted}
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Baroque Motifs ; Background Basics: Text Style [PTI]
Paper: Garden Green, Concorde Crush, Very Vanilla
Ink: Concorde Crush; Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tea Dye [Ranger]
Other: Vanilla Shimmer smooch spritz; Rhinestones[Kaisercraft]; Thread [Walmart]

Banner Birthday

October is the big birthday month in my family but I have a few in November as well

I gave this card to my sister who's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving

I am completely in love with this banner set and dies.  I know for the triangles I could easily make those by hand, but the other shapes are faboo, plus all the banner fillers in the stamp set ... hea-ven!

 I decided to pair it this time out with the Birthday Bash set .... the candle and the sentiment are both from that set

I pick some sort of fall colors (oranges and reds and yellows) but these are quite bright and cheerful.  The perfect colors for a birthday card!

Thanks for stopping by!

{Supplies - SU! unless noted}
Stamps: Banner Builder, Birthday Bash [PTI]
Ink: Delightful Daffodil, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Early Espresso
Paper: Crumb Cake, Real Red, White; Striped paper from The Boyfriend mini deck [Cosmo Cricket]

Calendar Class: Day 5 - Autumn

Well here it is the last day ... Fall is my favorite time of year.  To be honest, the whole color scheme for the calender was driven by December ... I knew I wanted Cherry Cobbler - a rich red color.  I selected colors  for the other months that would move in concert with this one color .... so fall got reds and rusts (Riding Hood Red and Cajun Craze).  This blended into the oranges and yellow I used for summer.  Those blended into the yellow greens of spring, and I went dark to light in the blues to slide into the lighter green without too much conflict.  I love the rainbow look it gives on the side of the case

November was another hard month to do.  I have a few thanksgiving sets, but they were a little more cheesy images and didn't go with the rest of the calendar pages.  I settled on pumpkins ... what's Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie right ... In the end I think it worked well.

Thanks for stopping by!