Upsy Daisy

I have seen so many great cards made with this stamp; I finally had a chance to get it inky myself and to complete a couple of challenges! Yippee; I love when I can combine a couple challenges and knock them out. I'm learning to love challenges, it stretches your creativity but also gives you great layouts for later.

The two challenges featured on this card are:

SCS Sketch Challenge #208
Gina K Designs Black and White

The Sketch Challenge is a very simple layout and Gina knows what elegant cards can be made with only black and white!

The card is straightforward and very simple; a combination of PTI White, SU! White, SU! Basic Black and Cuttlebug's D'Vine Swirl embossing folder. The main image and saying are stamped with SU! Craft Black and embossed with black detail powder. I edged the final piece in black and added 3 black brads. I finished the card with some black and white polka dot ribbon from Michael's.

I hope you're having a great week and let me wish you a Happy New Year! May 2009 bring many blessings your way!


Thanks for popping in; hugs, ~M.

JOY!

I needed a couple of Christmas cards this weekend and decided to use a couple challenges to get me going.

The first challenge I used was over at SCS, WT198, called Creative Letters. You were to use letters and images to create your words. Let's just say I need to work on my spacing, k girls? No comments needed on that part! LOL

The other challenge I used was issued by Gina K Designs called "Off-Kilter". You were to use some patterned paper at an angle.

I added some glitter to the "J" and "Y"; hopefully you can see that a bit better in this close up.

Have a great week; hugs, ~M.

Flaunt It!

I purchased this set called "Hey Chick" from Unity stamps a couple of months ago and have left them on my desk for a moment of play time.

I have also had Sketch Challenge #205 from SCS laying on my desk for a couple of weeks. I had 1/2 the card done but not the final bird image. I worked on it last night and it drove me nuts, I just could not find the right 'fit' for the image, colors, etc. The layout was easy; I was following SC205, but sheesh, never knew the main image could be so difficult. LOL

I haven't been feeling great today, but after catching up on some laundry I headed back downstairs to try and defeat the beast. HA!

I stamped the main image 3 times in Brilliance Coffee Bean on SU! Whisper White; I colored one completely; I colored the entire tail on the 2nd one and then just the smaller portion of the tail on the 3rd image. I pulled the colors for the bird from the DP by My Mind's Eye; these were some scraps I had left over. The base card is SU! Purely Pomegranate; all DP and card stock were edged with SU! Close to Cocoa and SU! Chocolate Chip. All coloring was done using Sketch Copics.

As you can see the base of each piece of the tail is adhered to the bird, but the 'feathers' are popped up on the 2nd and 3rd layers. Hopefully you can see that from this picture. Here's the full card:

I'm going to send this card to our oldest daughter's drama and music teacher; the inside says "if you've got it flaunt it!" - because I felt the drama presentations and music presentations for Christmas were OUTSTANDING! This is her first year to teach drama so both the kids and she have learned so much - I was very impressed. Our daughter said the teacher would get a kick out of the card, so hopefully that holds true and she doesn't think I'm a mom off my rocker!

Hope you each had a fabulous Christmas; I head back to work tomorrow and I'll admit...I'm not too anxious to head back. I had Friday off and just enjoyed a really long weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs, ~M.

Winter Birds

We've had such incredible flux this year at work and I've so many various bosses that I decided to take the easy way at Christmas time and made treats for all of them rather than buying individual gifts.

I had seen a card made with the Winter Birds set by Inkadinkado and fell in love with the images. Took me awhile, but I finally purchased the set and its what I used to make Christmas cards for my various bosses.

All cards are 4" x 4" made with SU! Real Red. I layered with some Dashing DP also by SU! cut in two sizes for a nice variation; I also embossed the bottom portion of the card with Cuttlebug's Snow Dots. I sponged on some Vintage Cream Pigment ink from Papertreyink to emphasize the embossing.

The main image is stamped on SU! Very Vanilla with Tsukineko Lady Bug Red. I colored the swirls with a clear glitter pen; used my Quickie Glue Pen to add Martha Stewart's glitter to 3 snowflakes and then added a pearl to the center of the large snowflake on the bird. I added a photo corner punch in SU! Real Red and Dashing Paper in the upper left-hand corner.

I also added a small 1" strip of dashing paper to the inside of the card. Have you noticed how popular decorating the inside of the card is? Thought I'd jump on the bandwagon with something extra easy!

I hope your Christmas was fabulous; we had a GREAT time; upon returning from Oklahoma on Christmas Eve, we went to the 11 p.m. service at our church - it was PHENOMENAL! We were all very tired when we left church; but all so glad we went!

Thanks for popping in; it's great to see you! Hugs, ~M.

Merry Christmas

Sometimes it just doesn't turn out the way you want it to. LOL There's not a thing about this card that I like! The image is Curly Surpriseabella from Stamping Bella.

The ornament and the flower in her hair are from a wonderful Christmas RAK I received last year. Sad I hoard things so long eh?

But she delivers the right message - Merry Christmas - I hope you receive everything on your wish list and more!

Merry Christmas! Hugs, ~M.

My Other Ride is a Pole!

Merry Christmas dear friends; I'm glad you stopped by! In case I don't get to see you again before the end of the year, we wish you a very happy holiday season filled with love, laughter, joy, family, friends...and food!



If you remember, I celebrate my birthday for more like a "season", not just a day! :D I have a very sweet co-worker that never says a thing about her b-day. Well this year our Activity Committee posts a sign with all the b-days for the month - a-ha, she could no longer hide. Besides, I had someone look up her b-day for me so I could help her celebrate this year! I took her to lunch and waiting for us was a large group of co-workers, she was so surprised.

Of course working so close together, we have lots of funny secrets so this card came together in a heartbeat and had me laughing as I finished. I used Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #64 for the layout and my Inky Antics Holiday Girl.

The inside says "My Other Ride is a Pole" from MFT Stamps Twisted Sentiments. I once again used the puff paint, heating to get the 'fur-like' appearance; I also used Crystal Effects on her outfit and hat. Cute he?

The base card is Mellow Moss; all DP is by My Mind's Eye (left over scraps - OH YEAH BABY!!). The two scalloped strips were made using SU! Slit Punch and then doodle with a white gel pen.

Thanks for popping in!! Hugs, ~M.

More Mass Production - and I'm tired

I mentioned last week I had a few more Christmas cards and Baby Shower Invites to do. I finished with the baby shower invites today (40 of them) and didn't even take a picture - I was so tired of doing them. LOL

I do much better with variety! :D

But here are the other mass production Christmas cards I did. The base card is SU Old Olive; ribbon was purchased at Michael's; the buttons are from two different button packs purchased at our LSS. The DP is by My Mind's Eye; the stamp set is Snowflake Serenade by Papertreyink. Love this set.

The quote was stamped in SU Chocolate Chip and the words Joy and Peace were stamped with an Olive. I colored each of the words Joy and Peace with a Clear Spica atyou Glitter pen; you can't tell from the pictures; but they are very sparkly IRL! I used a Nestability rectangle cut and embossed and then stamped the verses.

See those buttons? I threaded hemp in EVERY SINGLE ONE and tied it off - oh my gosh; that alone was exhausting. tee hee But worth it as I thought they turned out really cute!

Here are some close-ups of each individual card I did; the layout is totally inspired by Mish Mash (*heart* her work).

If I don't see you before Christmas, I wish each of you a joyful holiday season filled with love, laughter, friends, family, food and the true Reason for the Season...Jesus!

Thanks for popping in! Hugs, ~M.

Working my fingers to the bones!!

Oh my gosh; I have been soooo busy! A good kind of busy, but soooo busy! I feel like I've worked my fingers to the bones; of course smashing my right hand in the truck door yesterday might have something to do with that feeling. Can you say OUCH!?!

I've had a couple Christmas card orders; some candles in a box orders and now I have some baby shower invites to do. Whew! Here's a look at the first group of Christmas cards I did using PTI's Snowflake Serenade set.

The base card is Bazzill's Sea Breeze layered with SU Chocolate Chip and then the DP is by My Mind's Eye. Such scrumptious DP!!

The quotes are stamped in Jumbo Java and Sea Breeze ink both by Tsukineko; they were stamped onto SU's Whisper White and then layered on SU Chocolate Chip. As you can see, I used the ticket corner punch on everything. The ribbon is also by PTI, Dark Chocolate Twill - can you say YUMMY!!

Here are the individual cards close up; I traced each of the "Joy's" with the Clear Spica atyou Glitter pen which looked so awesome; but I had no interest in tracing all those "Peace's" - LOL!

The cards were a huge hit and my client was thrilled. Now...if I could only learn to do "simple" when it comes to custom orders.

I'll have pictures of the other card order and more candles in a box later this week.

Hope you had a great weekend; I'm thrilled you popped in! Hugs, ~M.

PSA: Sunglasses Needed

I guess I should know better than to ask a "tweenager" what they think of a card I am creating! LOL

I made this card for the 2nd b-day party this weekend; the little girl loves orange...so, that's my Public Service Announcement. Get your sunglasses out, we've got some bright colors going on here! Sorry, this picture makes the card stock look white; but it's actually SU! Very Vanilla.

I once again used the Crystal Effects on each of the flowers (don't forget, you can click on an image to get a better view). The base card is by Memory Box (I purchased several different colors from Ellen Hutson - love that you can try a variety of colors!. This particular one is Cranberry; the great thing is the front is this deep, rich color; but the inside is pure white. So nice for stamping!

I then layered the base card with SU! Pumpkin Pie, then SU! Very Vanilla. The DP is by My Mind's Eye, Day Dream, I'm really loving their card stock right now! I used Taylored Expressions cupcake challenge #45 for the layout. Love it!

The cupcake is brand new for me from Verve Visual called Cupcake Affair, SO many options! I colored the cupcake wrapper and flowers to match the colors of the DP. I used a nestie oval and nestie scalloped oval for the cupcake image. The sentiment "hey there cupcake" is by Stampendous; the great thing is these are clear stamps, so I was able to make them curve on my acrylic block to match the oval.

I also participated in the "Ways To Use It Challenge" on SCS (WT195) which was to decorate your envelope. I ALWAYS decorate my envelopes; but seldom take a picture of them; but this time I did. Nothing fancy, just added a strip of SU! Pumpkin Pie and My Mind's Eye DP.

The 3 floral brads were ones I had on hand (oh, I may have mentioned I have quite a few things on hand? LOL); they matched perfectly.

Thanks for popping in; you can remove your sunglasses now! Hugs, ~M.

Happy Birthday Little Gal!

I purchased one of Kim Hughes stamp sets, Little Gal. OK, the truth? I purchased THREE of Kim Hughes stamp sets - I {heart} her whimsical designs! This little ice cream cone, "Let's Party" and the "Happy Birthday" (which is on the inside) all come from the Little Gal set.

I have soooo many Christmas card orders I'm working on, but our middle daughter has 2 birthday parties this weekend; one was actually last night (Friday). As I'm downstairs working away Thursday evening, I realize - oh...that party is tomorrow, better get a card made! Um yes, I think I've mentioned procrastination before? Yep, that's me!

I have a few pieces of left over paper from My Mind's Eye - I also had an order for some candles in a box in which I used the My Mind's Eye paper (click HERE to see a candle in a box), so I quickly reached for the great girly paper and set to work. It had to be quick ya know!

First I covered these two bottles; one is lotion, one is shower gel - both Strawberry scented - YUM! This particular little girl likes pink, so how could I go wrong with Strawberry scented items, right?

The ribbon is by Papertreyink, the flowers and brads were just ones I had on hand...I have quite a few things on hand. LOL

Then I went on to the ice cream cone card. The base is Purely Poppy also by Papertreyink, the floral paper is My Mind's Eye. I colored the center of each flower with a Clear Spica Glitter pen to give them a bit of shimmer, you can't see it in the picture, but it looks great IRL. BTW, I {heart} Papertreyink paper; it cuts just like BUH-TAH!

I stamped the ice cream cone on SU! Very Vanilla and colored with Copics; I also punched a scalloped circle from SU! Tempting Turquoise and Purely Poppy. I dotted each of the scallops with my SU! Chocolate Chip marker. I stamped the cherry onto a polka dot on the My Mind's Eye paper; cut it out, mounted with dimensionals and then added Crystal Effects for some yummy shimmer! The ribbon is actually from Ellen Hutson, she always includes ribbon when you place an order and it happens to match this Purely Pomegranate perfectly!

I love the whimsical lettering in Kim's sets; the "Let's Party" is just so cute!

Thanks for popping in; today I'm back to work on the Christmas cards and candles in a box; then I have another birthday card to make as the next party is tomorrow (Sunday)! Hope you have a great weekend!! Hugs, ~M.

Animal Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

***WARNING*** Dead Animal

If you don't hunt or your hubby/brother/boyfriend doesn't hunt, this picture may offend you!

Our livelihood is guns; my DH is a custom stockmaker meaning he builds custom rifles and shotguns and has lots of opportunities to hunt. Our oldest daughter and our son went hunting with DH in Texas over the Thanksgiving holiday. They arrived Wednesday afternoon and Jared took this 8 point within 30 minutes of being in the blind on the afternoon they arrived. Unfortunately, our daughter didn't get one - but that's okay; she'll try again!

The other gentleman in the pictures is a frined of my DH's; its his land they were hunting on and staying with he and his wife - they all had such a great time!

Don't miss Bev's Blog Candy

It's DEE-LISH!

:D

Hugs, ~M.

Naughty or Nice?

I have been working on these two cards for a week; hence my frustration with needing to find Liquid Applique. Wow, spent too many hours doing that; thankfully Barbra B. from my online stamping group convinced me to use the puff paint I had...AND I didn't have to let it dry before I could make it puff. YEAH - what fun. Next time I'll add some sparkles to it...it'll make great snow!

I made these cards for Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - I really love her challenges!

The "Holiday Girl" is by Inky Antics; isn't she cute? And yes, she's looking a bit naughty AND a bit nice, don't you think? I colored her using Copics and then added the puff paint for the fur around her dress and hat. Her boots were colored using a black glitter pen. She's stamped on SU Very Vanilla and then layered onto Old Olive and Real Red. I distressed all the edges because she's a bit 'rough around the edges'. LOL Don't panic mom, I'm kidding!

The Naughty or Nice stamp comes from My Favorite Thing's Tis the Season set. The inside says, "Don't worry. I hear Santa grades on a curve!". How cute is that? The polka dot paper is Dashing by SU layered on Old Olive; the base card is also Old Olive. The scallops are made with SU's slit punch and doodled with a white gel pen.

These cards were fun to make and I just love how the puff paint turned out. So...which are you? Naughty or Nice? Santa knows; I'm telling you!

I'm glad you stopped by; hope you're having a great weekend. Hugs, ~M.

Is it REALLY this hard?

I have gone to 3 stores looking for Liquid Applique - no one seems to have a clue what I'm looking for. URGH...HELP...I know I can buy it online, but is there not anyone local that carries it? Wal-Mart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby? I've looked everywhere...it's driving me nuts! I know...that's really not a very far drive. LOL!

And a little update on our daughter; we decided to take her to the doctor today...good move...she has pneumonia. She's on the tail end of it and feeling MUCH better today; but we got an antibiotic and she'll be back to her old self in no time flat!

Hope you have a great weekend. Hugs, ~M.

SCS Challenge - Christmas Style

But first, let's start with a joyful picture I received from our middle daughter. Poor babe has been sick since Monday. She's had a fever, tummy ache, headache, nasty cough and just feels rotten. She made it through 1/2 a day of school on Monday, then missed the rest of the days they attended. Needless to say Thanksgiving was spent at home just the two of us; however, I must report she is feeling MUCH better. Praise God! When I finished my shower this morning and headed to the other bathroom to get ready; this was propped up behind the sink waiting for me.

Pretty good little artist huh? She was so proud of the picture and I was beyond thrilled with it!

If you've stuck with me this long, I'll move along to stamping stuff now.

:D

I used the SCS sketch challenge and was totally inspired by "sn0flakes" card which you can see HERE. Isn't it GOJUS? Seriously!

Not sure mine does it justice, but I love the inspiration she provided, so here's a sneak peek of mine. Lots of red for Christmas and some sparkle to go along!

I love this swirly ornament from Inkadinkadoo; its one of my all-time favorite Christmas stamps. For card stock, I used Pure Poppy from PTI, SU! Very Vanilla and one small square of DP from SU! The ornament is stamped in Pure Poppy and then colored with a clear Spica Glitter Pen for the sparkle. I added "Wishing you" from PTI's Snowflake Serenade set and the inside says "Joy". I cuttlebugged the base Very Vanilla and the small strip of Very Vanilla with the D'vine Swirls folder and then highlighted the swirls with more Pure Poppy. The ribbon is actually from my stash, just a small piece received when I placed an order with Ellen Hutson (*heart* her store); it matched nicely, added 3 medium sized pearls and we were good to go.

So, what do you think of my first Christmas card? Are you in the mood for Christmas? Making your list, checking it twice? Santa is you know!

I hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving with your friends and family...Christmas is just around the corner!!



Thanks for stopping by; hugs, ~M.