Out On a Whim

Time marches on...

2010-09-28T23:01:00.001-04:00

More than 6 months since I've last posted...but I'll be back with cards again soon. It has been crazy and very busy time for our family all spring, all summer, and all fall...I am tired, but ready to dig in for the coming winter and just stay put for a while.

C-Ya soon!

Having Long Distance Technical Difficulties...

2010-03-24T22:37:00.003-04:00

Hello - been seeing some busy times the last few months, with trying to get things at home organized while planning to spend some time in Grand Rapids, MI with my oldest daughter and her family helping out where I can as they await the arrival of their soon-coming twin girls. I am now "there" and I will openly admit that I am not being totally selfless in this endeavor, as I (& 5 year old Auntie Nattie) am/are truly enjoying this time getting to see all my grandchildren, the youngest one being just one year old last week, and this was my first visit with him...and he is adorable...as all are of them and I would LOVE to show them off...but it is with great anxiety that I am not able to use my 'puter until I work out some kinks in the system. I am hoping I can figure out how to get pictures up tomorrow... so please don't give up on me...I also will have a card set to share and a challenge... IF I cannot get pictures in, I will at least write out a good description of the card challenge...and see how many will try it!

Until then!
Cheryl

Vintage Vogue Valentine

2010-02-03T23:27:00.004-05:00

This card is to be my Mom's Valentine card - for she truly is a WONDERFUL mom to me! When I was working on it, I grabbed papers that struck my fancy and only realized after it was all together that I used "Vintage Violet" cardstock on the base, which was an In-Color back in 2007...so for the campers that made this card we used Brocade Blue, which looked equally vintage.
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On the bottom Pale Plum panel of the card front, I used Versa Mark on the the new Jumbo Stampin' Around wheel called "Very Vintage" (page 27, Occaisions). I then dabbed my Stampin' Pastels over the VersaMark in various colors to bring out the pattern. I used texture plates (page 195 Idea Book) on the Always Artichoke and Rich Razzleberry smaller panels on the top half of the card. I punched a strip of cardstock that matched the card base with our new Scallop Trim Border (Get this free with a $50 purchase until March 31 during Sale-aBration! page 9) After layering a white panel on an Always Artichoke panel, I added some Mellow Moss leaves (Sizzlets Little Leaves on page 196 Idea Book) and Rich Razzleberry Flowers stamped on White with the Vintage Vogue Set and then cut out by hand (Paper Snips, page 191 Idea Book) Lastly, I selected the greeting from Well Scripted (page 19 Occaisions).
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Have a great week!

C-ya later!

Bear Hugs!

2010-02-01T07:45:00.004-05:00

This was a very quick card to make. Using the bear from "Under the Stars" with Chocolate Chip ink on a Creamy Carmel cardstock oval, I then re-matted it onto a larger Chocolate Chip oval. Using the "Woodgrain" background stamp, (first time used) I decided to stamp the image and move it over ever-so-slightly and re-stamp it without re-inking. to give it a more grain without overpowering. It has a blotchier (is that a word?) look, but I did get the campier

(is that a word???) look I desired. I used an old image from my vast collection for the greetings as it seemed perfect for my 14 year-old grandson who is too big for hearts and birdies from Grandma!

Have a great Day and C-ya soon!

Back to Stay!

2010-01-30T22:54:00.004-05:00

Life in our home has taken some interesting turns in the last 2 months, but we are adjusting and in spite of the fact that my DH is unemployed and at home all the time now (in the county with the highest unemployment rate in the state). We knew this was coming a while back and were well prepared when it came to pass. What I wasn't prepared for, was all this "togetherness time." It sure is different to be under the surveilance of my "beloved boss" 24 & 7. As I said, we are adjusting. We've worked on some long overdue projects around the house and of course homeschooling our little girl goes on and I have been working harder on weaving my rugs for a local gallery where my stuff will be at this summer. It sounds so busy, but I realized that I have apparently been finding quite a bit of time for stamping, when I started taking photographs of my recent cards. So here is the first of a bunch of cards I have to share...I am committing to posting more regularly in 2010.
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My LoveBirds card has a Pretty in Pink base card and Mambo Melon Scalloped Heart, with both pieces being run through my Bigshot with Stampin' Up!'s Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder. The birds and the branches were all punched with SU's new Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch from page 10 of the Occaissions Mini Catalog. I sponged the birds' bellies and wings and the branches with Platinum Shimmers that was in the Holiday Mini Catalog (and still available as are all the Big Shot items in there as well). The label was punched from Modern Label and Word Window, and the words were from the set "Three Little Words" available for sale in the Big Catalog, or as one of the free choices for a Sale-a-Bration selection. To finish the card, I dotted the birds' eyes with tiny spots of black shiny paint, and added stick-on diamonds on the word window.

C-ya later!

Felted Sweater Tote Bag Gift

2009-11-09T06:25:00.014-05:00

Here I am with another secret sister gift I have been working on, this time for a new secret sister. The gift theme this time around is to be “making something new from something old” or in other words to recycle something, but the catch is…something we haven’t done before! What a challenge that turned out to be to just find something I haven’t done before, since I have been crafting and recycling since I was old enough to read, beginning with a potholder loom and trying everything I could find.

Felting is something I have wanted to really try for a while. Last year I attempted to make slippers, the wool didn’t felt properly, so I “felt” it would be all right to try again and pray for success this time. My research to find an easy pattern with good instructions was found here, and I began with a sweater that was already partly shrunken.

One thing I realized about felting wool, is that one needs the agitator in a washing machine (top-loader) to do this quickly. Having a front-loading washer, I ended up doing the agitating by hand (my 5 year old daughter was delighted to help) in a sink of hot water…and had better success when rubbing the sweater against itself, especially the inside, which I needed to make as meshed together as possible.

Then it was a matter of drying it and cutting it out, which was easy. Stitching took a bit more time, I thought a “blanket stitch” would work well, but after having most of it stitched, my stitches looked too uneven, so I pulled all that out and used my sewing machine to turn the edges under.

I added a deep narrow pocket on the front for her cell phone or checkbook, and used an old Sizzix flower die on my Big Shot to cut out the flower trims, adorned with old buttons and carpet thread to detail them a bit. I threw a few flowers on the backside of the bag for good mearsure too. I saved the sleeves to maybe use on another pair of slippers for my little girl.

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Remember when I said I started crafting with potholders? The rug used for a background under the felted bag in the photos, is one that I wove with loopers very similar to what I used way back then!

Hope she likes it!

Cheryl

Photo Collage Gift Project

2009-10-12T11:54:00.004-04:00

This framed photo collage is a gift I made to give my Secret Sister at our revealing dinner this evening. The theme for the gift exchange is "For their Heart." My secret sis is all about her family, and so this is a project that I hope will touch her heart each time she sees it, if for no other reason is that she will see her family members.

Okay ---not one stamp image was used here, but it is mostly all made from odds and ends of various pattern papers I had around my stamp room.

I recycled a picture frame I bought cheap from a hotel that was changing the decor, so this was a rather large piece (for me) to paperscape, so not only a work of my heart, but also a frugal gift.

I went with colors that coordinated with the existing matting, and offset 12x12 pattern paper to fill in the backround. I finish the edges and gaps with paper strips, ribbon, and some metallic gold eyelash yarn. {I could not get a photo without the satin center ribbon showing alot of shine and color variation from my camera's flash, but I promise you, the entire thing blends and looks better in real life.} Then I hunted around for colors that would kind of bring up the not-so-noticeable colors from the background. After finding a few, I made my photo mats and frames using my Big Shot, some Sizzix frames and ovals and put together several photo mats and frames, and used the ones I liked best when I was done with that. (I saved the others for the next project...I have 3 more the same size frames to do, but because I am using scraps, they will all be different!)

Lastly, I added butterflies and gold bows around to glam it up a bit, and am leaving it the way it is, until I help my Secret Sister (who will learn my secret identy tonight) put her photgraphs in it, so we may add a few stamped images or phrases at that time, depending on what she chooses.

Hope she likes it!
C-ya Later!

Merry Little Christmas Skaters

2009-10-08T11:06:00.006-04:00

I am experimenting with various ideas for Christmas cards for this year's cards. I like to make many before I decide which is "the one" that will be our family card.

This card combines the "Winter Post" skaters and reindeer with the "Scenic Season" pines, and the greeting comes from the Level 2 Hostess Set "Christmas Punch."

Using Card Pattern's Sketch #35 as inspiration, I also used the Stampin' Addicts Color Challenge 32 with Soft Suede, Kraft, Old Olive, Real Red with Very Vanilla as my neutral color.

Tools that I used on this card include the Top Note Die with my Big Shot, the Wide oval punch and the 1-1/4" and 1-3/8" circle punches and colored pencils.

Have a great day!
C-ya later!
Cheryl

Hope I can remember how to post here!

2009-10-08T01:03:00.004-04:00

Hello! I believe I am finally back to stick around. What a summer it has been! I am truly looking forward to a long white winter that will enable me to sip coffee, keep the home-fires burning, and do some serious creating. Summers are brief and busy around our home, more-so with our 5 year old, who sees each day as a chance to do as much as she can to pack the day full. They definately can give anyone a new perspective on the world we live in.

This is a WCMD challenge card I did last weekend, with the requirement to use "words" as the main focal image. It is a very simple design, but I fiddled with the frame to give it a textured look about it.

Begining with a 5.5" x 11" Ivory Naturas lcard base, I attached a piece of 5.5" x 5.5" pattern paper, and added brown ogandy with a tiny strip of Old Olive card stock over the top.

The sentiment stamp is from the retired Stampin' Up's "Sampler Sayings" and stamped it with Basic Brown onto Ivory Natural oval (coluzzled) that had the retired SU retired "Linen" background stamped with Creamy Caramel on it. This makes it look more stitched to me. i sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip and layered it onto an Old Olive oval (coluzzled again) and the Chocolate Chip frame was also Coluzzled on the inside and outside diameter as a frame.

To get the ouside frame's edging, I used an old pair of Stampin' Up!'s retired scissors (Antique Elegance, I think --- they were fabulous edgers!). Still lacking the "ooomph" I wanted, I then ran the frame through my Big Shot with the Finial Press Folder and was happy when I saw how it looked. Really a very simple card, once I figured out how I wanter to do it!

Enjoy your day!

Miss you a Latte!

2009-07-07T16:20:00.002-04:00

As my first attempt to get back into regular daily stamping, I found a great "Clean & Simple" challenge at this site. After seeing the sketch challenge, I knew I needed to make a coffee card. For me, "coffee" is always the best place for me to start - for projects, road trips, mornings, even card making! This card went together quickly and I confess I do like how it turned out!

My card base is made from a cardstock I picked up several years ago, and while I cannot tell you the maker, I do remember it was called acurately "Gingerbread" if that helps anyone trying to replicate it. Real Red and Chocolate Chip trim for the Very Vanilla panel. I used Real Red Classic ink for the cup (What's Brewing?) and clear embossed over that with Faith's Miracle Embossing Powder, and added a light bordering blue for the steam swirls and some gingham ribbon. I used VersaMark with White embossing powder for the "Miss you a latte!" (Like it a Latte). The coffee bean pattern paper was a real find for me, as my love of coffee keeps me on the lookout for theme papers and stamps. This was a scrap from a GFS advertisement, and with careful trimming, I can make about 6 cards with the beany borders around the one page.

C-ya tomorrow!

A Drive by Posting

2009-07-07T00:40:00.008-04:00

Seems like forever since I've posted anything. I've been busy lately, but truthfully, I've just been in a stamping rut and thought taking a break would do me some good. These are a set of 4.25" square cards I did a while back, that I came across while organizing my stamp room for the new Stampin' Up! year that is now under way. I believe I made them for a challenge, (or cased them, so if you recognize them, please let me know so I can give credit where it is due) but can't recall which one it may have been. All the cards were done with SU markers, direct to rubber.

Stem Silhouettes and Oval All Sets. Mellow Moss base with Very Vanilla panels and Always Artichoke and Perfect Plum layering and scraps of retired SU pattern paper. Scallop Scissors, MS Scalloped Punch, and SU large oval and scalloped oval punches.

Stamps: Stem Silhouettes, and random SU word (?) Sage Shadow Card Base. Very Vanilla Panels and Perfect Plum layers. Scraps of Retired SU pattern paper. Scallop Scissors, SU Eyelet Lace Punch, small, large and scalloped SU Oval Punches.

Stamps: Stem Silhouettes, Very Versatile. Pale Plum card base, Perfect Plum layers and Very Vanilla panels, and scraps of retired SU pattern paper. Scalloped scissors, MS scallop punch, and small and large oval punches, and a satin ribbon scrap.

C-ya soon!

Cheryl

CPS117 Card Sketch Challenge

2009-05-30T22:12:00.003-04:00

Hi there! I found a neat sketch challenge site called "Card Positioning Systems" that offers a place to start when card-making. I used Blush Blossom for the card base, textured with a Cuttlebug "Dotted" embossing folder template on my Big Shot. The flower image is from SU's retired set "Live your Dream" which I direct-to-marker colored with Really Rust, Bravo Burgundy, Chocolate Chip and Always Atrichoke (don't know why, but I want to always say Always Avocado instead). I layered the panel with the Artichoke, which I also used in the Scallop circle and stayed with the Rust for the dot, backed with a small rim of Mellow Moss, which was also the body for the butterfly which was stamped with rust. The butterfly is punched from a Martha Stewart punch, and the design was a detailed butterfly that I stamped on the Moss before I punched it out, to give it a few details. The birthday greet, stamped in white was from SU's currently available Crazy for Cupcakes. The colors are a bit odd for this time of year, but it's been pretty cool here and feels more like the chill of late fall right now, so that must be where my color scheme came from.

C-Ya Later!

Back to the Blog!

2009-05-05T21:25:00.004-04:00

I can hardly believe it's been over a month since I last posted! Life has gotten very busy for my husband and I, as he is seriously working hard to accomplish the starting up of a business, and I will also be a part of that business as well. Add that footwork to his job (he is still working his full time job where 90% of the workers are laid off, so the remaining crew is jumping through hoops as they try to keep things going), our 4-yeal old (soon to be 5 years old) who thinks that Daddy hung the moon, and just normal daily living issues that happen every day, and "whoosh!" another month has flown by!
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Anyway, I have done a few cards in this time, got some rugs finished, and will try to catch up somewhat in my posting of both this week.
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Diva Coffee Break Designs had a sketch this week (#125) that got me rolling this afternoon. It was so easy, it would have been hard NOT to have an idea pop into my mind. I went with a monochromatic theme of Kraft, Chocolate Chip and Ivory, but relented and added the ribbon with a bit of red to zazz it up a little. If you don't have that Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel from Stampin' Up!, feel free to order one from me! It is so very nice of a background to use for easy cards. If you don't wish to order on-line, you may call me directly and I can order it for you! The birds used were from the retired SU! See with the Heart set.
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More later!
C-ya soon!

New Goodies!

2009-04-03T13:33:00.002-04:00

Does this little deer melt your heart? Another set from the new Occaissions Mini Catalog! Perfect for all the "deer ones" in your life...cards or scrapbooks...accompanied by a rabbit and owl and a tree! Too too cute!
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This card I did for yet another challenge you can find out about here- CPS109. With an Old Olive card base, I added plaid pattern paper (sorry, it was a leftover scrap, I don't know who made it). The grosgrain ribbons were layered, because the orange had white stitches that clashed against the plaid. (ew!) Then, I hand-cut around the white circle with old SU scallopped scissors to make the Tempting Turquoise frame.
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I know that a large portion of my cards are inspired by challenges. There are challenges for using certain colors, sketches or layouts, themes, techniques, limited supplies, folds, styles. Truth is, I have so much stuff to choose from that I could spend all day just looking for a starting point. So I check out the challenges and use the ones that can help me get started. I stamp with some friends that like to use stamping catalogs or magazines to case from, and we have found we get alot more done by having certain perameters set for us. I'd be interested in knowing, where do you get your "starting points" from?

C-Ya Later!
Cheryl

New Goodies!

2009-04-03T09:13:00.002-04:00

I got in my Stampin' Up! pre-order for the new Occaissions Mini Catalog - and looky here what they came up with to go with out 2 beloved Small & Large Oval Punches!!! There is now a Scallop Oval that fits the Large Oval perfectly! To make matters even better yet, there is a set of 4 stamps, called "Oval All" to give you something extra to use with it, other than all the little words and phrases we've been using all along. I really like the new Mini Catalog offerings!
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Using my markers directly on the rubber images, I played, colored and punched and made a whole bunch of labels ready to pop onto a card as needed. These are really quick and fun to do! Then I made the card above choosing to use a label I particularly liked.
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The card is for a fairly new weekly "Clean and Simple" challenge on Splitcoast. (CAS08) An 8.5" x 4.25" piece of Sahara Sand folded into a square card, with a strip of Perfect Plum along the bottom, I added matching ribbon across the seam and popped the label on top. Easy & super quick!
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C-Ya later!
Cheryl

Rodeo Clown Cowboy

2009-04-03T09:03:00.002-04:00

This is a card I did for the mini vsn (virtual stamp night on Splitcoast) last weekend. I had it done in time, but didn't get it posted as an entry. The challenge was to use a circus theme - and not having clowns in my vast array of stamps (as I am not fond of clowns for the most part), I wondered if I could give the Cowboy Kid a new costume...so here he is, did you recognize him?

C-Ya later!
Cheryl

Best Kind of People

2009-04-02T12:50:00.006-04:00

This card is one I made using a direct-to- rubber technique to color the image. Not having the in-color blue marker that I needed on the leaves (because SU doesn't offer them), I improvised by using a blender pen on the ink pad (oops! guess I didn't order the refill when I ordered the pad). As you can see, it worked pretty well. The upper pattern paper is the brand new "Walk in the Park" Collection by Stampin' Up! The lower pattern is the jumbo wheel "Friendly Words" inked with white and rolled on Basic Gray card stock. The sentiment is from the set "Soft Summer" offered in the current Mini Catalog, which has a great selection of new goodies. You can see the on-line copy at www.stampinup.com
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Then, you can order on-line (please list me as your demonstrator), book a workshop with me, or call me and I'll do it for you. Easy as that!
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I've been away a while to catching up on things, moving some things and preparing for the coming spring and summer....stamping when I could, but sometimes, just needing to take a break and do something different! At least, that was my "forced-to-make-a plan" plan after having my computer screen post a message on my screen saying "hard drive failure is imminent, save files now!" Fortunately, ALL of my stuff was saved, but I had to wait until a new one was ordered, arrived and was re-installed. (I thank my dear husband, without whose computer knowlege I would have been doomed back to the dark ages for the rest of my life!) This only took about a week or so, but I then had to finish up at least some of what I had started.

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One of the major things I did, was clear out (read: made space to move around in) my 'Loom Room' and started making carpets again. #5 is on the loom now, so when I take them off the loom, (several rugs are woven before taken off the loom) I will share some photos of my rugs here. Generally, all my carpets are made from recycled garments or re-claimed materials. I wove quite alot up until the time I started stamping...while recouperating from knee surgery, and got away from it for the last several years.

I'll be posting more as I can - I really did do quite a bit of stamping in this interim too.

C-ya soon!
Cheryl

Cards are a gift of "Thyme!"

2009-03-12T14:45:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow evening, my husband, Mark, will be attending a Men's Retreat at the church he helped to build last fall. (Anyone remember the 350 cards I cranked out for the building help?) This time there wasn't as large a project, but I volunteered to make a set of cards for the baksets of 2 of the pastors that will be there.

Our church is famous for baskets, I think, because anytime something is going on, there are gift baskets to be put together. They are always very nice and thoughtful, but try as I might, I just don't have the knack for putting all that stuff together and making it look all foo-foo and nice and all...but I have found that I can make cardsto help fill them up and I am helping out the best way I know how to. But this is the first time I have made cards for the guys' retreat.

So I picked out some masculine paper and it matched the former in-color "True Thyme," of which I am in very short supply of. So I stamped and I sponged and used the smallest pieces up, trying to conserve all I could, because once the in-colors are gone, they are gone! I did not stamp the insides, as I wouldn't know what would need to be said at the time they wanted to use the cards. I will also stamp an all-occaission verse on the envelopes, so they won't have to (if they even noticed) a certain card to a certain envelope.

Here are the individual shots below, with a quick name of the set I used, so 3 are pretty vintage for Stampin' Up! sets, which I am thankful that I got them way back when.

2009-03-12T14:43:00.001-04:00

This card is from the current SU set called "Winds of Grace."

This image came from SU's retired "Beauty of Life."

This eagle is from the Retired SU's "Birds."

This is the card from SU's Retired set, "Set Sail."

Bitty Bunny Purse

2009-03-09T09:45:00.003-04:00

This Bitty Bunny Purse is the Technique Lover's Challenge (TLC211) today ar SCS. It is so fast and easy to do that I plan to make several more for my daughter's girlfriends. The first time I saw these was on the 'Paper Pleasing Ideas' blog and I wanted to try them then, but didn't...so today when I went to check out the challenge for today, there it was again with a diect link to Julie's tutorial - so I did it up quick and just love how my little project turned out!
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I used Certainly Celery card stock and the matching Designer paper that came in the 6 color stacks of 6"x6" paper. The stamp was from a vintage Stampin' Up! set called 'Spring Things' that came out in 1991. I punched the rabbit image out with a McGill scallop Punch, and colored the bunny details with my Prisma Pencils. I added the little curls around the outside edge of the square with the celery colored pencil, and if you click on the picture above, you will see that I went around the whole shape of the bunny with a very light gray,which almost seems to lift it up from the paper. Stampin' Up!'s new Eyelet Lace Punch trimmed the top and inside pocket of the purse. One last detail that I changed was using 3/8" white grosgrain instead of the handles as paper just wouldn't hold up against my 4 year old little girl!

Inside the purse, I stuck 3 small bottles of Bath & Body Works Hand Gel to show size only. I would strongly advise against ever giving these to any small child as they are primarily alcohol based, and could (and have actually) caused alcohol poisoning resulting in injury or death in children that were tempted to taste those pretty smells. These hand-wash gels are great to use when you need clean hands, but you should always watch and make sure that children rub their hands until totally dry so they do not try this. {In case you didn't realize this, it is good information to know!}

C-ya later!

Cupcakes Anyone???

2009-03-07T20:58:00.004-05:00

I love this set! I've had it for months now and I hate to admit it, today is the first time I have ever used it! I decided to participate in a Sketch Challenge by CPS (Card Positionin System) and having chosen the colors I did, the cupcakes were just begging to be used.
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Starting with a Pirhouette Pink card base, I then chose my new Pattern Paper, SU's Sweet Always. I picked the paper and then chose Pumpkin Pie to do my framing with. I used Fiskars "postage stamp" decorative scissors to trim around the tiles, and pink ric-rac over pumpkin paper for a ribbon effect. I used my Prisma colored pencils to color the popped-up image...no fancy techniques with the pencils, but I do love how even the coverage is when I am done. Someone gave me a cheat sheet that matches the SU colors to the Prismas, and that really helps me keep it close. Wanna Cupcake?

C-ya later!

Sweet Stem Flowers "Friends" Card

2009-03-06T23:55:00.002-05:00

I tried this Weekend Sketch Challenge for the first time with this card. Upon seeing the challenge, I reached for a scrapbook set of papers I had bought at a book sale (actually I bought 2 sets). Finding this flowery warm-colored flower print, I wondered if I had any stamps to match? Honestly, I have so many flower stamps that I would have been astounded if I didn't, but "Could I find one to match?" was really the question of the hour!
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My first thought was Doodle This or That...but then I saw my new Sweet Stems set, and by golly, they were the right sizes and pretty close of a match. I stamped in Stazon Black and colored them with my prisma pencils. Having used Office Max Cream for my stamped paper, because it so closely matched the pattern paper, it looked pretty pale against the print...so I found a "brownier" tan and scribbled the backgrounds behind the flowers until it got pretty close to what I wanted. I scalloped the Bravo Burgundy piece and the holes "disappeared" on the print, so I repunched with the cream and attached that piece behind the burgundy and oriented the holes directly above the burgundy holes so it would 'light up' the lace. After trying to fill up the space to the left of the image with a variety of ideas, I just added a little of some punched green last to the edge. Still, I needed something else...so I took the "friends" label off a card I had recieved from a friend, and it worked so that I can pass it on to another friend. I guess that's what "friends" are for!

Have a good weekend!
C-ya later!

Why, Thank You!

2009-03-05T23:27:00.003-05:00

Stampin' Up! has offered a selection of single stamps in our last catalog, and to be able to show it, one must buy it to demo it...so this is the one I chose. Yesterday while filling orders that had come in (yes, I pack the bags for the hostesses), and I usually try to remember to stamp a Thank You on the invoices...so I grabbed this one...the one featured in the framed diamond.
When it came time to stamp the hostess's order form, I wanted to stamp it 3 times, and it happened to turn out in a pattern...hmmm...wonder if I could do something with that idea?
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So last night, I pulled out my Stamp-a-ma-jig and did the background in about 10 minutes. I thought I could use this idea for SCS Limited Supply challenge (LSC209) to make a background paper out of one set, and comeplete the card with only stamps from that set...so, having used a single stamp to do the background, I also needed to use it for the greeting. I used Pacific Point ink on Certainly Celery, but the better match for the quarter sheet behind the card was actually Not Quite Navy. Grosgrain ribbon and Nesabilities squares to highlight the single image.
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If you haven't gone past the index in the Stampin' Up!'s Spring & Summer Idea Book & Catalog, you should! Not only is the Ronald McDonald House Charities set there, but you will find several single images as well as two very affordable starter Mini Note kits, perfect gifts for the new stampers who are curious, or maybe someone you would like to help become a stampin' buddy!

C-ya later!

Sheetloads of Birthday Cards

2009-03-05T23:05:00.003-05:00

For as forgetful as I am. birthday cards are always seem to be in short supply, especially when I need them in a hurry, so I thought I would get a little pile of them ready for last minute well wishes. This layout was from the February Sheetloads sketch found here
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"Sheetloads" is a great little site that actualy has a sketch layout each month. You can download a free little magazine that gives you the sketch and all the measurement for each card part...for just a single card, or a whole batch! They even chart it out so you know exactly how to cut each page up to get the most from your paper stash. The rest is up to you! You decide what colors, papers, occaission and adornments you want. It's a great way to stretch your creativity...and of course you can change the dimensions to suit your own images or purposes, the main idea is to get those cards made! You can also post your projects there too, and sometimes they even have prizes...

As you can know, it is now March...but nevertheless, they are finished, 6 of them! (that is good for me) and now I can allow myself to go and look at March's issue. Go take a look!

C-Ya!

Bluebird Blessings Card

2009-02-27T15:12:00.001-05:00

I have been re-organizing all my little S&Fs into a pocket hanger, and I found this little piece of glossy cardstock with Polished Stone technique, so I thought I would see how glossy cardstock goes through my BigShot with a sizzlit. (wonderfully) You like?
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I used the Marvy Mega and Giga Scalloped Oval Punches, CB Fine Vine folder, the SU Scallop Border Punch and the Graceful Words retired set from SU. One more note: I had to put scotch tape under the folded wing as a reinforcement because the glossy cardstock tended to crack and I didn't want to to break off, and the tape actually will help the wing pop up when it comes out of the envelope again.
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Not having looked at other bird die-cut cards until after this one was finished, I now see that most people turn the wings to flap to the back, and not up and down...so this is a rare bird!
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C-ya later!

"A Little Note" from my Secret Stamper!

2009-02-27T11:31:00.002-05:00

I got this card the other day from my Michigan Mingle Secret Stamper and it is an adorable card! I love the colors and the images, and the more I looked at it the more I liked it. Something I have never tried (or thought of even) is to "cross the sacred boundary" of layering over the edges of the front quarter-sheet panel onto the card back (see the yellow flower panel positioned over the white edges of the card base?) It is perfect to draw the eye upward to the corner to where the butterflies are flying. Makes me happy to look at it! I love this card and thank you Secret Stamper for a wonderful box of goodies too!

"Polka Dot Punches" Flower Card

2009-02-21T09:39:00.005-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card that I made starting with a sketch that lost all meaning as I went along, and using punches to do alot of the work for me. "Polka Dot Punches" is one of the 6 selections offered for free with $50 orders made in Stampin' Up!'s annual Sell-a-Bration held in February and March.
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Learning from a tutorial I found here using the Five Petal flower punch, and the matching stamp from the Polka Dot Punches set, I followed the tutorial and put the flower together. I made my leaves from punching the Large and Small Oval punches, folding them in half and then running them through my crimper. (Yes, I did end up snipping the round tips of leaves to make them pointed, but it was a good starting point.) I also used a crystal brad (from the Pretties Kit) for the center of the flower. The bottom strip of designer paper is from the Raspberry Tart collection with the Scalloped Border Punch on the bottom edge. The sentiment actualy came from another Sell-a-Bration set called Botanical Blooms, using the Large and Small Oval Punches for the framed effect.

Have a great weekend
and I'll c-ya later!

Round Topped Box Project

2009-02-16T10:40:00.001-05:00

Good Morning!

I went to Splitcoast Stampers this morning and found the Technique Lover's Challenge for today was the template for this cute little box. I printed out the template on Creamy Carmel card stock, cut it out, decorated it with rest of the scraps leftover from an 8 card set of 3x3s that I made on Friday...to use some scraps! I love this little box - it was quick and easy and although I made it to fit the cards, it would work well to put a few cookies in it, make it into a "get well" package of a instant cup of chicken noodle soup, tissues and cough drops or Tylenol, or a little giftie trinket nesting in some paper shreds.

2009-02-16T10:35:00.002-05:00

These are the 3x3 cards that I made last Friday (inspired by CarolineInToronto's cards), I used Stampin' Up!'s "Puns from the Past" and found the set to be very versatile and easy to spin out more ideas as I used them. The images work very well with a wide variety of SU's punches. This set was a gift to me from my good friend Theresa, and you can expect to see more of this set, as it is already a favorite of mine.
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That's it for now!
C-ya later,
Cheryl

Trio of Cards from my Secret Stamper

2009-02-11T09:13:00.006-05:00

This entry is featuring 3 cards I have gotten from my Secret Stamper in Michigan Mingle Group. I do not know who she is, so I can not give her the credit she deserves! (YET!) But, please leave comments for her on this entry, because I believe she did a fabulous job on all of them!
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How I LOVE my coffee! Anyone who knows me knows that I practically live with a mug in my hand, from morning til bed-time. (Caffeine has never bothered me - unless I was pregnant, which then was doctored with milk and sugar to accomodate my changing cravings, LOL).
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But I have a full cup cupboard for my ever changing fancies durring the day about which cup I feel like sipping out of...and this would be one I would grab for a morning-blend coffee. Great card and colors!

This pocket card sporting Spring colors (and I long for spring to get here!) has an adorable window filled with springy flowers, and the ribbon pull tag lifts the card from the pocket

See when it is lifted? Really very sweet!

Have you heard of the Michigan Mingle being held in Bay City Michigan? There's only a little more time to sign up, but you can read about it on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ under the forum label "Get it Together" on the spot called Michigan Mingle. For anyone who wants to attend, act quickly and let me know if you want to carpool - I'm driving from Baraga.

I think that this card is called a "squash card." Made from a 12x12" piece of beautiful cardstock (and I would love to know who makes such a heavy double-sided paper as this!). My Secret Stamper used the patterns on both sides to make a large 6x6 card with a unique fold and fun to open note inside. I am thinking I found the correct ribbon to put back through the holes in the bottom. My 4 year old daughter likes to "find" (read: "filch") things for her little stamping cubby, and this looked like a recent "finding" when I found it there! She has great taste!

Remember - please leave some comments for Secret Stamper's awesome cards.

C-ya Later Today!

NO stamps here!

2009-02-05T21:51:00.005-05:00

Here is a card I made today for a challenge and when I had finished and started noting what I had used in the process, I realized I had not used a single stamp!

Another 6x6" card - I seem to be on a roll here, and using K&Co Paper from the Blue Awning Pad. I guess the nice thing about using 12 x 12 paper is that I get 4 card fronts from each sheet.

Today's SCS "Ways to Use it" Challenge was to use a pile of embellishments...and so I started with a monogram chipboard letter that came white with a glitter pattern all over it, so I sponged a deep blue over it to get the white out of it. (warning: you will probably get glitter all over your pad! LOL). Next I used Brocade Blue and Night of Navy to die-cut my Nesties Scallop and Plain Ovals, at which time I had one of those AHA! moments.

***When cutting Nesties, I've been layering the top over a bottom piece. But today, I realized that if I were to die cut a frame for the back layer of my Nesties, I would also have a pre-cut smaller oval for another card...and there are times, when I am making my "sheetloads of cards," that I could end up with a stack of pre-cuts all ready for a future batch of cards! This can save me time and card stock and no one will ever even know the difference!***

The flowers were some I had here (odd-looking to have green in the centers, but I think they sorta go with the green on the Pattern Paper). After removing the plastic centers, I secured the blooms with rhinestone brads, and stuck a few "diamonds" over the navy organdy ribbon that runs under the oval. I

The last part to go on was a brass hummingbird. I liked the idea, but not the brass, so I grabbed my Gold & Silver Painty Pen and painted over the brass with the silver part of the pen and it dried quickly and I stuck it on...and done.

Have a great day and stay warm if you aren't already in the tropics!

Cheryl

Recessed Frame Challenge Card

2009-02-03T08:51:00.003-05:00

This is the card I posted last night for SCS Techique Lover's Challenge to make a Recessed Frame Card. I could see what the directions were saying to instruct us to do, but tinkered with it and wasn't satisfied with how mine turned out. I then found a way to make it an easier task. If I had know it would have worked so well, I would have taken pictures along the way to show you - and as it seemed many had trouble, I am going to try to do another one and take pictures to post another attempt at a tutorial.

For this card, I used an image I did a while back from my "S&F box" that used the Heartfelt Thanks bachelor buttons stamped 3 times with the White Craft Pad and dusted with the Chalk Pastels. The edge was Faux Stitched and measured 4.25x2.5 inches. The designer paper (K&Co.) base I used is 6x6 inches. I also used a piece of HodgePodge brass for the "love you" frame, and a touch of ribbon. Getting that far, I decided to put my Martha Stewart Punch to use and make a lace border al the way around the card. I cut the lace edges straight off and filled in the gap with a 1/2" circle of matching paper to fill in the corners. I put a 6x6 (12x6 folded) base on the back and it works quite well to stand up on its own.. which was what I had hoped it would do, as it will be sent to my dear sister-in-law as an encouragement to her.

Please check back here later today for the tutorial! I just had my "vision" for what I am doing with my next card.

C-ya Later!

Cheryl

January Sheetload of Cards

2009-01-31T00:23:00.003-05:00

I love doing challenges from this website called "Sheetloads of Cards"

Although I looked and studied the sketch early this month, I have just now finally made my cards and posted one. The sketch comes with photos of cards using this sketch, plus the cutting plans to cut each compnent the right size to do only one of or a set of eight...it's all right there and it's free...and you might even win something! What a great way to use up all those "extra" papers!
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This card is very bright and cherry. I used Stampin' Up!'s "Pun Fun" for my images (I did 8 cards, using one stamp of everything but the jet and 2 latte cards. I used Green Galore and Pink Pirhouette for the solids, choosing them after I had decided which patterns I wanted to combine. Then I chose the stamps according to the size panel alotted for the card...although I could have chosen the image first and then cut my panels to fit; they give you the sketch as a pattern but we CAN take the scenic route if we want to! It's all about "artistic license!"
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The ribbon I had...and the flowers were an afterthought as the sketch indicated a little something in that area. The coloring on the images was done with Prisma Pencils. I picked this set up almost a year ago, and have been dabbling with them here and there, I knew about Gamsol technique, but other than a dab here and a dab there I couldn't see what it would do.
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But after coloring on the paper, I tried a timid interpretation of Gamsol with Oderless Mineral Spirits (what is used for the gamsel technique) to smooth out the pencil marks and it worked great! I don't have all the technicalities of this coloring style - but you will be hearing more about this from me. Okay, I'm turning in!
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Goodnight!

Retirement Card

2009-01-28T13:06:00.004-05:00

Last week I was asked to come up with invitations to my Pastor's Retirement Party. While he is not retiring from the ministry or pastorship, (which I thank God for that!) he is retiring from his secular job with the local power company after over 20 years of faithful service there. Being in a small community, it was common to see him driving around the area in the company truck, which I have tried to depict using Stampin' Up!'s "Loads of Love" truck.
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I began by printing out the wording for the invitation on full sized card stock and cutting that cardstock down to 8x5.25". Then I scored at 4" and creased the cards well to stay flat while I was stamping the truck image with Black Stazon. My dear husband was kind enough to do the detail striping down the sides of the truck...the first of his contributions on this project. Next, I cut a clear plastic mask that covered the truck while I tried brayering. The mask worked well and will remain in the set case for ever more, but the sky was "liney and then I remembered I had a sponge brayer I had never tried, and suddenly, the sky brightened! :)
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Once again I cut another clear plastic image to sponge the grass...and added stamped tufts of grass for texture. Again, I stamped the truck on a clear template and cut out the tires, and sponged them with Basic Grey. (Are you tired of working on these yet? Uh-huh!) At this point, we gave the truck chrome (silver on the Painty-Pen) hub caps, fenders and headlights. Oh yes and Red Gel pen on the tail lights. The door decal had to be traced around a very small oval, and printed UPPCO (Upper Peninsula Power Company) and then hand cut out that oval and glued on.
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Then came the trick of sponging on the dirt road holding a masking piece over the sky and the and a masking piece over the grass, and another over the truck. Also to be done was the stamp out the "celebrates" and cut them by hand (of course!) and glue them onto the the back of the truck...and hey! what are these little spots on the sky???? Okay, we'll stamp some smiley faces on the snow blossom punch and call it a sun...stick them on the spots, and add them where it looks good if there isn't any spots...oh yeah, and then glue all the green quarter sheets tot he cards! Is that all? Now, how many do we have to do???
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What started out to be a simple invitation, turned into a regular marathon to get nearly 60 of these done before my family left Friday morning on a 5 day trip to help out my husband's brother and sister-in-law make the adjustment from hospital to home after my sister-in-law had a stroke as a result of brain surgery, 2 days before Thanksgiving.
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She, Nancy, is doing amazingly well, and although she has alot of PT and work to do, she's a fighter and will do well. God has been very merciful to Nancy, and she has more ability, in spite of the severity of her stroke that even the doctors had hopes for, and a patient husband that would die trying to help her the best he can. I cooked up a bunch of meals ahead and went grocery shopping with my brother-in-law to help him figure out how to work in this area of the house-chores. My husband helped with hand-rails and other aids to help mobility within their home. She needs to do "laps" around the staircase (rooms go around in a way that you can go in a circle) Steve is going to encourage/bribe her with lattes. No, things will not likely ever be the same as they were, but life is still good and God is awesome!

C-ya later!

Snap to It!

2009-01-24T09:25:00.003-05:00

Good Saturday Morning! I have been very busy this last week and although I am away from home, I thought I would try to add a card to my blog, once I remembered I had the photo of it in my e-mail. This is the 3rd card from my January Card Camp, featuring Stampin' Up!'s now retired "Crab and Company" set. We colored the images with Prisma Colored pencils and used nestabilities for the oval and the scallop as well as glossy cardstock in the "swirls" cuttlebug template in my much-loved & used Big Shot. We sponged Tempting Turquoise on the glossy texture and trimmed around some of the swirls to give the effect of waves. The beach is cut from sandpaper and laid under the waves, and the card base is again Tempting Turquoise. I must add that I have no idea how bad sandpaper would be on your paper scissors, and I used an old pair of "old schoolteacher's"scissors (no insult to any teachers here -they just remind me of the ones my grade schoold teachers had - big long metal scissors with painted black handles that look like they came out of the basket from the Wizard of Oz witch) I know - weird associations going on here, because I loved all my grade school teachers --- must have been the long road trip yesterday!
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C-ya later!
Cheryl

NEW!!! Echoes of Kindness

2009-01-19T13:05:00.006-05:00

I thought of this set as soon as I read the Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoast today...a technique that I used to do alot, several years ago...so I hopped right back to that technique and it's alot easier than it looks. Hence, here's a tutorial with my hints along the way.
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First you want to raid your scrap pile. If you want to make tile, cut them on a cutter, use a punch, freehand cut (like I did) or tear. Such a great way to use up ALL your scraps!
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***I use 2 sided carpet tape, that I use a great deal of, when I am card-making. Unless you're very lucky, you cannot usually remove a piece once you tape it. It's about an inch and a half wide, and you first stick it on your piece to glue on, and then peel the remaining backing off. It is a dollar at a dollar store for 47 feet, and if you can't find an easy method to peel the backing off, grab your Tupperware orange peeler and it'll flip it up for you. I would not recommend this wonder-tape for scrapbooking, as I am not sure of it's acidity.***
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Stretch out a piece about 6 inches long to a lightweight sheet of paper. I used one width, but if you want wider, lay the tape lengths out, side by side with no gaps, so that you can peel up the tops without messing up the adjoining edges when you peel them.
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Peel the top/tops off.
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Put your little pieces all over the tape, leaving spaces between for the embosing powder to stick to (like the cement between bricks).
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**Here is where I invented tools to help pick up those itty bitty pieces. Use your 2-Way glue on the end of a crochet hook, stylus or a pencil-end eraser. Let it dry for a few minutes and then you can pick up pieces and put them where you want them on the sticky stuff. So easy now!**
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Fill in your area and then cover the in-between spaces with your embossing powder. Heat. Check after it has cooled for any spots you may have missed and re-heat those areas. It is easy to do, since you have so many edges to keep track of. Now cut down the mosaic to size and use on your card.
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Let me know if you tried this!
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On my card I used Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Brocade Blue, Soft Sky, Almost Ametyst, and Not Quite Navy, White cardstock. Copper embossing powder. A touch of Pearl-Ex (over the tiles) and a the "Alligator" Cuttlebug embossing folder, and Nestabilities Ovals and Scallops, Watercolor Crayons.

Paper Roses Tole Card

2009-01-19T00:05:00.003-05:00

First of all, please click on the photo for a close up of the roses, so you know why I am so anxious to share these with you! I found this great "sneak-preview" tutorial last week which explained how to make these roses with a brand new 'deckle cut" rectangle set of Nestablilities, to be released later this month. So I, not having a set to try this out immediately after seeing it, grabbed my old-fashioned deckle scissors and cut my own out to see how it would work. I was way-less than enthused by the time I was finished shaping it...but when it dried, it seemed like it came to life!...hard to explain it, so you have to try it and let me know. (No deckles? then tear your paper!) I alternated Bravo Burgandy and some old Baroque Burgandy rectangles (slightly elongated squares), and staggered the corners when I laid them together and glued with Fabri-tac. You wouldn't have to stick with the deep reds. I actually think So Saffron and More Mustard word work well too - and they are just scrap sizes so go crazy! The other weird thng about these roses, is that after getting paper wet and letting it dry after you've done your shaping, the roses become very stiff like cardboard! If you try this, link back and I'd love to see how yours turned out!

Howdy Cowboy

2009-01-17T00:28:00.003-05:00

Howdy Strangers! I'm back to posting again after a few weeks of getting into the New Year routines...my DH was on vacation over the holidays and although he got a few things done around here, we mostly stayed around the homefires and sipped hot coffee. But it sure seemed I had lots to catch up on around here when he went back to work!...and this long stretch of a cold spell here in the UP has just about put me into hibernation! Maybe I'm getting old but it seems I can't warm up and stay warm like I used to. I've taken to wearing knee-high leather slippers and a knitted red shawl over my shoulders (when I'm not donning a bathrobe I use to help stay warm). Enough about the weather now, I know spring is c-c-c-c-c-oming...just seems alot further away than it did last year about this time. BRRRR!!!

This is a topper-card I did this week for my card camp. Featuring some of retiring sets, I had to have this set included in the class. Using the Top-Note BigShot die, I cut-out, stamped and sponged it to distress it, tied on the rope and set it over a piece of western pattern paper with clipped corners. ***The folded card base is 4 1/4" square, and I always do this style of card laying the base on an A-2 envelope, aligning the bottom edges of the card and envelope's side together. You will see where to attach the topper and still be able to fit it into the envelope, rather than make the card too long.***

That's it for tonight, I've got more cards to post tomorrow!

C-ya later!

Cheryl

Watercolored Winter Card

2008-12-31T01:16:00.002-05:00

Often when my family camps, I take stuff to watercolor with me, so that I have something to do without packing an extra trailer full of stuff. I have a small space that is my Stamping Cubby, and it is just right to bring my watercolor crayons, colored pencils, and Aqua Painter brushes and clipboard. That's how I found time to come up with a card with all the watercoloring detail in December, that part was done last August! Wanting to keep a coutry homespun look to it, I opted to use the Ivory Naturals card stock and cuttlebugged the dotted texture onto the card...I love how these textures look on the Naturals card stocks. The Stampin' Up! set "Quilted Quotes" was a Level 3 Hostess set of 4 ~ Way. way, way back in 2001. Has it been that long?

C-Ya Later!

Cheryl

Flopsy Bunny & Puppy Cards

2008-12-31T00:52:00.007-05:00

These cards were the result of a sketch challenge tangent that I went on a few weeks ago. Splitcoast Stampers skech challenge (SC207). I have a box full of pieces of work I started and then went a different direction, or stamps several of one thing and put these aside until 'later' when I figure out what to do with them next. In my flipping through looking for one I could use on this card, I had pulled out a few possibilities and when I was done with the first one, I finished these also. The panels are glossy paper, with the background being made by scribbling a few markers on acetate, a quick spritz of water, and squashing the glossy side on it. (Can't think if the name of that technique!) Then I stamped the critters over the background and watercolored them, punched the corners, layered them and stored the in my S&F box, until now. Knowing how to mount them with the ribbons made it a quick job to do these two cards...wonder if I'll get that box emptied by next year...naaww! not a chance! :)

P.S. The little stuffed animal images were from 'The Angel Company'

Sheetloads of Cards Challenge

2008-12-31T00:21:00.005-05:00

This is the card I did to get the December Challenge Card done, before the month's end. I found this great fun little blog in November and have become really enthused about it. They have taken card making to a new level of creativity, by coming up with these card sketches, once a month. I do quite a few challenges to broaden my idea pool, and a sketch is kind of like a map that gives you a layout to use for your card. "Sheetloads of Cards" has gone one step better and besides giving us the sketch, they give you the measurements for one card, and also for a batch of cards. This sketch gives you the cutting guide for 8 cards, last month it was given for 6. i think it goes by the convenient size to get the most out of your cardstock and pattern paper. They (SOC) even tell you exactly how much ribbon you will need. You can read about this here. Please look at a few posts to get the gist of it, clicking on the e-magazine you can save it or view it...it's a free publication and you can go back to their earlier issues as well too.

I love "free" and sharing "free" is fun too!

C-Ya Later!

Cheryl

Very Fast Ornaments on Cards

2008-12-23T08:19:00.008-05:00

I finally finished mailing out all my Christmas cards yesterday - I did it a little differently than I usually do this year. I wrote out all the envelopes first and wow did I have a lot to mail out! I had made many cards throughout the year, but not quite enough to fill them all. So, when I was looking last Friday for some quick cards to mail to local friends and relatives (I mailed the out-of-state and Lower Peninsula cards last week), I came across a few challenges I thought I would like to try - but NO inspiration at that moment. Later in the day, when I was at the local St. Vinny's store, picking up some furniture for my daughter's apartment, I saw they had Christmas stuff marked 75% off...so I took a look and as soon as I saw these ornaments, I "saw" my cards.

The challenges were (1) to make a card that was at least 75% blue, and only one embellishment that wasn't paper...which would is the single brass ornament. (2) to make a card that was beyond quick, or average about 5 minutes per. I set my timer for 30 minutes and went to work.

Once started, the framing and attaching took a bit longer to figure out how to get the look I wanted, because the ornaments I used were slightly varied in sizes, and I had to use a combination of a colluzzle circle first, and then the scallop punched around the circle hole to make the frame. Next I needed to figure out how to attach the ornament so that it would be simple to take apart, and not show the string on the front. So, I when I attached the ornament, I pierced a hole through the middle of the card front and poked the string through it, pulled the string up (which would be down on the inside) and taped it with clear tape, and then covered the hole with the scalloped frame on the front, which makes it nearly invisible. As I was finishing my first card, the timer went off. I was amazed time went so quickly, but realized I had to put some design-time into the "little glitches" which seemed to be worked out.

So I re-set it, and started on the remaining 5 and was done with them before the timer went off. A set of Nestabilities Circles would have definately made things much quicker, but I don't have the circle set in my collection yet!

So there you have them! And they are all on their way to dear friends or family. Today - my daughters, Gretchen and Natalie and I are going to do all our baking, so I better clear the decks!

Enjoy your day!

Last Minute Gift & Tutorial (attempted)

2008-12-18T13:01:00.010-05:00

Today Splitcoast Challenge for "Ways to Use It" was to come up with a last minute gift that would be quick and easy to get done, little coloring and other fal-da-ral and foo-foo. I skimmed through my mind all the ideas I have meant to try to get done, and as I poured myself another cup of coffee, my eyes stopped on a magnetic phone number thingie on my fridge...you know the kind of thing that school kids bring around on flyers to raise money for camp or new playground stuff? Anyway, when I got this thing, I really liked the idea of it because it kept my phone numbers hidden, some of which are unlisted numbers and was very easy to flip it open, like a child's 'little golden book.' I had planned to try do one "someday" which might turn out to be today. I looked at it again and wondered how quickly I could figure out how to cut and score the cardboard and get the covering designer paper to adhere without flubbing up at the corners and folds...quick? Not quick enough for me...so I ditched the idea and came back into my stamp room and saw a CD case...AHA! Now I could carry on with the idea of making a phone # case but use a different avenue to get there.

Here's how I did it!

Materials you need:
1 fat CD case (not the skinny ones)
5"x 6" Pattern Paper (or whatever you have planned
Image/Sentiment to fit on PP
I used UHU Twist and Stick glue - needs to be clear
A business card sized magnet

First of all, my CD case measured 5-7/16" x 4-5/8" for the FRONT/LIST TOP and 4-13/16" x 4-3/4" for the BACK/LIST BOTTOM.

Please, measure yours and see if they are the same!

You will have to carefully remove the disc holder portion so you have a plastic box.

Now, let's get started!

1- Measure carefully the Larger side of your CD case and trim to fit as perfectly as you can. Add your Image/Sentiment to the front and set aside. (Keep the theme good for all year).

2- Next, create your Name/Phone List. I did this by setting up a paper (I used generic white cardstock) to print in an area 4-5/8" wide, then change all the margins and headers to "zero". Start the line in Bold and Underlined "Name & Phone" in the type you choose (I used Harrington 24). after the first line I just help down the underscore key and ran it down to the bottom of the page. Print it out.

3-Trim the sides of the down to the larger width of your CD case (my larger width was 4-3/4"). Then trim on the top of the list to where you want the Name-Phone list to start. Measure top to bottom and cut the list to make a perfect fit (or use your Image/Sentiment front to size). At this point, you can adhere the Image/Sentimet and the list top together but please MAKE SURE the Name/Phone list bottom is attached to the top of the Image/Sentiment, or it will be wrong when it is opened. Now, the bottom should fit as it is the wider piece.

4-Adhere the pieces to the case. I used UHU Twist and Glue and it worked great! The adhesive dries clear and it is almost invisable. If you have something else that works, use that.

5- I glued a business magnet to the back, and it was actually the thinnest one I could find, just to see how well it would hold, and it did. There really won't be any added weight to this, unless you count ink!

This would be a great gift for anyone with a refrigerator or metal file cabinets!

Please, if you make one, please send me a link to see yours!

Thank You ! Happy Stamping!

Cheryl

Pattern of Friendship & Accident Update

2008-12-17T14:28:00.003-05:00

This is a Sketch Challenge Card for today that I started out with the front most panel (from my S&F box, so it was already stamped, pieced and sponged), and worked to the back. My biggest challenge was deciding what colors to compliment the paper-pieced dresses with. My cold is still miserable and I am truly challenged for picking colors when I am sick. When I got to the ribbon, I was stumped, so I asked for the helpful advice of my stamping buddy, Natalie, who is also my 4&1/2 year old daughter. I gave her about 5 choices and she chose the one I least liked and based her decision on the white flowers matching the pinked white layer and daisies, and the pinks daisies matching the dress. I had asked, so I did put it on, added some buttons and made it "our" card. It's a cheery looking card if nothing else!

An update on my parents, who were in a car accident last week: I can not express my gratitude to all who have prayed for them...and me. All I can say is that God is truly merciful. My mom's face is continuing to bruise, but she is doing all right...probably overdoing it if I know her. My dad's shoulder and wrist pain brought him to the doctor's office yesterday to be examined again, and his wrist was broken after all. His shoulder also looks to have some rotator cuff?/cup? (not sure what she said) problems as well. So he is looking at having his wrist cast tomorrow, and not sure how long he'll have to wait for help on his shoulder. I dearly wish I could be out there to help out more, but until I recoup from my cold, I'm keeping my distance. The woman in the other car, has some neck injuries, 2 fractured neck bones, but not paralyzed, thank God! Still, she is restricted on what she can do, so Ill be continuing to pray for her too.

It's just Stuff!

2008-12-13T23:13:00.007-05:00

I had a pretty life-shaking experience on Thursday night. My Mom and Dad had their truck packed and ready to leave for the rest of this Michigan winter to their winter place in Mission, Texas. I always dread to see them leave as I know how much I will miss them over the holidays and during the winter when things slow down and there would be more time to play cards, dominoes, and other games we like to play; time that is not so easy to find in the business of summer. We agreed to meet them along with my oldest sister, who also lives in the area, at the local pizza parlor and have a few pizzas as a going-away dinner, kind of a tradition for us, and they will leave in the early morning. My sister joined us for a while and left a little early as her son (a star player!) was playing in the basketball game at the high school, and we finished up the dinner and the pumpkin pie my mom brought along for desert.

Earlier on Thursday, I had taken my 4 year-old daughter to my good friend, who is very good (and very patient!) with her camera, to get in on the Christmas background she had set up for her own two daughters Christmas photo shoot. I planned to print out a picture of Natalie so they would have a new photo in-hand when they arrived to show-off to all their friends in Texas. Tammy was to e-mail me the pictures so I could print them on our printer...but they hadn't arrived in my e-mail when we had to leave, so my hope was to have my folks drop by after dinner to print it out then, if my dad was willing to do that...otherwise it would have to be mailed.

So as we were leaving, the plan was to head up the hill to our house, and we got in our cars and we backed out of our parking spots and I followed. I had driven down the hill with my mom and my husband had ridden with my dad, so I assumed it would be the same going back up, but Mark jumped in the passenger seat and my mom got into the truck and we were right behind my folks. I watched them start across the road and pulled forward a bit and in the swirl of snow, I saw a car in the ditch down the road, a wheel traveling by itself down the road and a man jumping out of a car down the road a ways from where I was. I looked ahead and saw another vehicle in the ditch backwards, and debris flung everywhere. I surveyed and tried to make sense of what I was seeing. My husband jumped out of the car and ran and was across the highway when it finally struck me that I was looking at my Dad's truck. OH JESUS! To say I freaked out would be mild. I couldn't run...my daugher was in the back seat. My husband was running around the truck and waved me to cross and put on my flashers by the truck to warn other drivers. Natalie was very quiet...and promised she would stay in her seat and not move...and she kept that promise. (A policeman gave her a stuffed moose for being good)

My dad got out of the truck first, with blood on his hands and mouth where the seatbelt must have restrained him. and a large lump forming on his head. He went to see about the other car, parents of people my sisters and I went to school with...My mom was tangled up between her coat and seatbelt and the mangled door. That the car had not impacted at her door was truly the Hand of God because the truck box was anihilated. Once freed, she started going around and picking up stuff. I did too. Police cars filled up the roadways, ambulances came. What else could we do? It was icy cold outside. She had a bump forming on her forehead, now the size of a small orange. It was freezing cold, and we were digging and kicking our feet through snow with socks on hands and shoes not made for snow. BRRR!!! Every plastic tote that they had packed shattered. Several pieces of Tupperware shattered like glass too. (I picked those up too, as they are lifetime garaunteed, and as a TW dealer, I can do that for them) I picked up my dad's socks, my mom's bras, shorts, spices, vitamins, chocolate chips, coffee grinders, shoes, sewing table, cookbooks, quilt projects and started pitching it in the back of my van. Others pitched in and found all the golf clubs out of the caddy and the caddy too. Shoe bags, a broken lazy suzan, both sets of binoculars were found (and although the tops and bottoms were blown off the cases, the binoculars were both in perfect tact!). It was amazing how much stuff was found. Really, at that time, there was nothing else we could do.

My parents agreed to go to the hospital as did the other couple (that woman needed a stretcher). After 6 hours, my parents were released from the ER and I brought them home and stayed with them until the next afternoon. My sister from 2 hours away came to check things out too. My sister that was out of town at her son's college graduation will be home today. I'll be calling my parents often as I am now thoroughly sick and don't want to pass that on to them. They are pretty banged and bruised up and will be sore for a while. My mom is predicted to have the bruise on the whole right side of her face, and it seems like the lump on her forehead slid down to her eye. My dad's wrist is terribly sore, but no broken bones for either of them. This whole thing could have been so much worse. God is so good!

My parents will heal. (The other couple will too.) I will recover from the severe cold I now have. But when I think how quickly they could have slipped out into eternity, I realize that I haven't told my parents (sister, brother, husband, wife, daugter, son, friend--insert your own word) nearly enough how much I love them...how thankful I am that God saw fit to make me their daughter (son, grandson, grand-daughter, husband wife, brother, sister, friend, parent--insert your own word)...and how much time and energy I have wasted in my own life on things that don't really matter.

...Like I said before, we didn't know what else to do, so we kept picking up stuff but if not one thing was found from the accident it wouldn't have mattered. If we had found everything in perfect condition and nothing missing, that wouldn't have mattered either, because the four most important things that mattered weren't things, they were people...The rest? It's all just stuff.

C-ya Later!
Cheryl

Cedar Moose Card

2008-12-13T22:26:00.002-05:00

I did a dozen of these cards in about an hour last week. So easy and simple, yet I do like how they turned out. I am a "gadget girl" and this card helped me play with a few of them, but it did make the job go quickly. I began with half sheets of Natural Ivory cardstock, creased with my Score-Pal, and then I cut my Chocolate Chip cardstock into 5.25" x 4.0" size. Next I used my Nestabilitie Ovals on the center of each. When that was done, I used the Stressed Stripes cuttlebug Folder on brown frames. I adhered the frames to the front of my cards and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the moose...(***HINT: Do not lift the handle of the Stamp-a-ma-jig until you are satisfied that the image is dark enough! If you keep holding it in place with one hand, you can re-ink the moose and restamp until you get it as sark as you want it!***) Lastly, I decided to send a piece of "Home" to my friends and kin that are afar off at Christmas time, and picked a danglin little branch of cedar of a tree in our yard, picked it apart and and attached pieces and bowls with "Fabri-Tac" glue - (wonderful stuff at WalMart in the crafts - which also works great for gluing bulky stuff on cards, mending clothes, purses and gluing velcor back on my little girl's shoe straps. Like hot glue with out the hot!) On a second look back on the stack, I realized they would not be the same without some 'snow'...so with a little two-way glue on the branches, I added Dazzling Diamond Glitter along the top parts and these cards are good to go!

CHEAP TRICK: Save the ovals with your Nestabilities or with your Colluzzle templates, and you will save the time and paper of re-doing it when you need brown ovals or layers. Of course you were probably going to save them somewhere anyway, but if they are there with your tools, you may be able to use them sooner.

A Di Hickman Sketch Challenge

2008-12-02T08:51:00.002-05:00

I was able to participate in a Sketch Challenge posted by Di Hickman and this is the card I came up with for it. This sketch challenge celebrates her 2nd anniversay for doing her card sketches. Di Hickman is the author of one of my favorite blogs for inspiration and simplicity. She does a combination of digital and stamped pages and cards and one of these days I will figure out more about the digi-part of paper arts. (Right now, I'm still working on blogging-eese.)

This card is great to use up all those little scraps - My snowman was from SU's retired "Tags and More" set, and I think 'Happy Holiday's was from "Frosty." I used blue and green glitter to bring it to life. Although I wasn't sure of it, I did have a few people see it and tell me they liked it...so this is the one I am putting up from the chalenge.

One of the perks of getting in on her sketch challenge was getting a free bottle of glue from UHU, a manufacturer of several types of glue. I was limited on choices and chose one I might not have normally chosen, but it was a good thing for me to try. I got the UHU "Twist & Glue", which came in a 3.21 ounch bright yellow plastic bottle, which makes it easier to find for its size and color on my very cluttered table. When I pulled the chunkier-looking top off, I was surprised to see that inside was a slim nozzle (much like sewing machine oil) sticking up to do the detail "spot-specific" (how do you like that term?) gluing I often need to do. Then, when I saw the arrow on the nozzle cap, I gave it a twist and the top raised itself up to make itself into a great glue spreader! It was a much thinner adhesive than I expected and flowed freely and quickly from the bottle and adhered all the pieces very quickly - so quickly and fast drying that I I had to start over again! ...oops! Knowing this though, I took heart that this isn't one of those products that you are going to squeeze and squeeze and wait and wait, so it is great for quick gluing. I did glue down the 5 area lightwieght pattern paper pieces onto my card and it did warp my card. I wouldn't use it for gluing lightweighted stuff to a card front, but I would use it on a heaver cardstock and get the strength one needs for good results. It would also work great for gluing things on your projects. Lastly, when I was to put the top back onto the bottle, I wondered if the nozzle would tend to get plugged and that's when I noticed that UHU designed the top to "put the needle in the nozzle" for you with a stem that goes in when the top goes on. This glue is great and the design of the bottle is terrific!

Chistmas Snowman

2008-11-24T09:53:00.005-05:00

I made this card as a result of a fun-looking challenge at SheetLoad. Although it should have been a quick card, it took way longer than I thought it would, but only because I was 'finger-inking' the black & white gingham ribbon and kept smudging red on my Bordering Blue card. The stamp is an older PSX image I got when I was a newer stamper, and the greeting is from SU's 'Heard from the Heart' set. I watercolored the snowman, using SU's Wonderful Watercolor Crayons and the Neutral Crayons, which is where I got the white from. I Liquid Appliqued the carrot with orange, and fastened my finger-inked ribbons with red brads.

'Finger-inking' is my own name for a technique I use to color ribbon to match my need without having to buy every shade and variety of color...but you wouldn't know that from looking at my ribbon stash! LOL I did not make up the technique, but gosh, I have to call it something when I am explaining it! I simply take my ribbon, (usually it's white grosgrain or satin but in this case, gingham) and the ink color pad that I would like it to match. Then I hold the ribbon end tightly between two fingers with one hand and push my index finger over the top of the ribbon, close to my gripping fingers, and pull the ribbon through the inkpad. Flip it over and do the other side for 'evenness.' (is that even a word?) You may have to do this a couple of times for the color you want, and then let it dry a bit so you don't smudge the paper when you attach...then be sure to wash your hands well before going back to work on your project. Soap doesn't always get the darker colors out, but use a cleaner like 'Awesome' (from Family Dollar or a dollar store - works great on everything and CHEAP!) directly on your skin and it should come right off.
Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend!

Silhouette Nativity Peace Card

2008-11-13T15:05:00.001-05:00

In my last post, I told you about the new Blog I found called Sheetloads of Cards. Here is my card I am entering for the contest. I am having trouble getting it on their gallery, but when I do, this is the one following the sketch this month. I first chose the Stripe Pattern Paper, and upon searching for a coordinating pattern, I cam across a sheet I stamped last year for some of the One-Sheet Wonder Projects I was working on...so that's what I went for. With the snowflakes on the front, I began to dig in my winter/Christmas drawer to find the right sized image for the squares I had cut out, and the Nativity Silhouette stamp was what I chose. Not your typical Christmas card colors, but I do like how they turned out. The batch to cut made 6 card fronts. So, tell me what you think!

SheetLoad's Blog Candy Blow Out

2008-11-13T15:04:00.003-05:00

I found this neat Blog this weekend called SheetLoad of Cards. It has a free monthly

e-magazine with ideas for a new card sketch each month and the cutting diagram to get the best use of your paper and make your cards quicker, by batches with your colors, patterns, stamps, embellishments and let you spend more time having fun with your hobby, and less time figuring it all out. I love this place and its concept! Anyway, they are giving a few good prizes away, and you might want to stop by and see what SheetLoads of cards is about. You have until the November 16th to get your card entered!

C-Ya soon!

Wil Wild West Cowboy Card

2008-11-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

This was my card for yesterday's Sketch Challenge #202. I made it using the retired set of Wild Wild West and watercoloring the images. I'n not sure I like painting over images that are so shaded as this one, as the lines don't seem as natural as layering darker colors to get the effect of shadows., but it's is a good guy card. The copper squares on the bottom of the pictures were a part of the sketch and I grabbed a scrap of leftover Heated Pearls from a PearlEx class I did way back when. With all the re-arranging things going on in my stamp studio, I am findind a lot of long-forgottens and needs-to-be-used-up stuff! Have a great day!

Enjoy the Little Things!

2008-11-07T22:22:00.002-05:00

This is the Sketch Challenge card for Splitcoaststamper this week. I really wish the photo showed the sparkle it has, but many, many pictures later, this was the best one.

I really kinda fell into the design before I even realized it was the card I thought I wouldn't be able to think up. Everyone has seemed to be doing these neat square frames from the border punches, so I was playing around and found a way to elongate the square (could I just say rectangle? :). Then I dug around to find something that fit the size I had made..."Enjoy" worked like a charm. I embossed it with some black embossing powder that had glitter in it, and stamped "the little things" in black stazon. Still having the cupcake stamp in the table from a previous card, I put one in the middle and colored with gel pens, popping up the cherry with Red PolyMark (very cheap at Walmart!)

I am not sure why I felt the the card base had to be Cameo Coral, must have been the way the cupcake paper looked...but then I needed pattern paper to anchor the two colors together. I ran into this same problem last week with a color challenge using odd colors together, I found that making my own background paper was the most handy. Surely I must have sweet little candies in my stamps somewhere!!! Oh yes! here they are, haven't seen daylight in a few years, but I used the candy border from retired "Fun Frame Borders" at an angle and then painted them with the green and coral to match the solid colors...it looked okay, but after I added that sugary Dazzling Diamonds, it looked great. I stuck them together and I was done! Yay! Now, on to other things! Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Harmony Card

2008-11-07T22:06:00.003-05:00

Yet another Angelosity Sketch Challenge Card #11! One more after this and then I am done! When I was working on these cards, I just seemed to pick up parts left froma different card - using up the scraps so I dont have to put them away! This set 'Happy Harmony' was one of the most beautiful Sell-A-Bration sets in my opinion. Having these 3 simple flowers in a grouping, and several really nice sayings, I stamped it all over with the springy flowers I imagined (desperately hoped) to see soon, in the chilly everlasting February days when Sellabration took place. But I never "saw" it though in terms of a nice fall set as well a spring set. Until today. I used the direct to rubber technique, using the markers to color the rubber for the stem (olive) and blooms (rust). I used Stazon for the words...in my opinion, lettering just comes out better. The Navy and Rust colors on the card make it sing "Autum Card!" Unless I come up with a better one, I think may use this for my parents' anniversay card this month...58 years! I love them both very much!

One more entry to do tonight! See ya there!

Another Angelosity Challenge Card

2008-11-07T21:52:00.002-05:00

Wish Big Card

I have had a great time working on her challenges at her blog this week. I didn't do them all, as I found this site about half-way through, but it did inspire me to try some...I expand my spectrum of creativity when I force myself to use colors I wouldn't think of, or sketches I hadn't considered.

This was a sketch that required a small image or phrase in the center of a card. Once I found the phrase in the Short & Sweet set, I used the little cupcakes to embellish the work. Colored with markers, I used tiny dots of Red PolyMark (from Walmart and it's cheap!) to pop up the cherries.
For the Barely Banana background I stamped the retired background stamp called "Birthday Greetings" with So Saffron ink. Seriously lacking the sugary sparkle it needed, I used a stray ribbon from my drawer and topped it off, with a real bow...which is funny for me though, because I am usually a 'knotty' girl!

Off to another card post!

Coast to Coast Lighthouse

2008-11-07T21:06:00.004-05:00

Angelosity's Day 17 Challenge Card

You may recognize this image and the way it's watercolored as being very similar to a card I posted a while back. That's because once I pull oout the image and the Stazon, I feel like it makes more sense to stamp several images and clean the stamp once. Then, as long as I have the Aqua Painters and Watercolor Crayons out, it is super quick to paint the extra images and the brush is all ready with each color I'd probably pick the next time anyway...and it does help me get some card put together quick.

Do you do this? Do you have a time-saving secret you would share with me? Post it in the comments for this card and you may win some images from this retired Coast to Coast set for you to have ready for a quick card set! I'll draw a name on December 1st - a long time away I know, but traffic here isn't too busy, and I really would like to find extra time when I stamp - can't we all? Please share!

On to the next entry!

One Sheet Wonder Card

2008-11-02T16:44:00.000-05:00

Another challenge from Angelosity brought this card out of the corners of my imagination. The challenge was to use Olive, Red, Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue all on the same card. Not in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought this up on my own, but after trying to lay my papers together in a variety of ways, I decided that a One Sheet Wonder might help me tie these shades together to come up with something. It came out a bit retro-looking...reminds me of vintage wrapping paper.

In case you are wondering, a "One Sheet Wonder" is rather like making your own hand-stamped background paper that you would use in projects, like cards, journals, scrapbook pages. By using your own images and colors, each print is unique and ideal to make sets of cards and accessories. More on that later.

Here is where I found the card challenges, when I was blog-hopping the other night and found a great site that has not only a lot of great ideas, but right now a celebration of 18 days of Angelosity with prizes, sketches and treats! It's not too late to join the fun!

C-ya Later!

Cheryl

Angelosity Sketch Challenges #1

2008-11-01T14:43:00.000-04:00

I like to blog-hop around when I have some quiet time to really look and think. Last night, I was checking out a blog and found a link to a new one which happens to be having and "18 days of Angelosity" celebration and I was drawn right into the challenges...I did these two card sketches, the lower sketch being closer to the sketch and the upper one is the same sketched turned on its side. The color for that day was red, and I chose to work specifically with Riding Hood Red. I put Sticky Diamonds on the flower centers of the "Simple Florals" card, which background paper was from the K&CO McKenna Collection. The "Reverse Prints" card is just solid paper, Riding Hood Red, Black and White...I topped the image with a flourishy thing from the "Frames with a Flourish," added a black satin ribbon and had 2 very easy cards!

Make it a good day! Take time to stamp today!

http://angelosity.blogspot.com/ and you may have to go to October 20th to get the details...we have until November 7th to participate...so pop in over there and check out the fun! There are prizes...

C-Ya Later!

Cheryl

Golden Days of Fall

2008-10-31T18:03:00.000-04:00

I did this card at a recent Card Camp I held and after searching for an image that would fit this scallop punch, I was delighted to find that these birds from SU!'s retired "See With the Heart" set are an excellent match in art style for the Bella Toile background stamp, new in this season's catalog. Done in the splendid autumn gold of More Mustard and Whisper White, add the help of a ticket corner punch and a Coluzzle circle and an organdy ribbon, this card was done in about 5 minutes...if you don't count the thinking time - sometimes that takes me a little while!

Twinkling Snowflake Card

2008-10-29T12:50:00.000-04:00

Ther SCS Sketch Challenge today is my fist card in about 2 weeks or so. I tried and tried to catch the sparkle of the rhinestones on this card, and they still look like brads! I used the snowflake from SU's retired "Perfect Presentation" set and the Cuttlebig Snowflake embossing template in my Big Shot. I punched the squares with what I thought was Baja Breeze, and turned out it was Soft Sky (last year's In-Color). Since I already had the snowflakes stamped in Baja, I decided to combine the 2 colors, as they do blend well together, and used Baja Brezze cardstock on the card's bottom side. The Black ribbon, is actually paper, and I had grosgrain in a light blue that matched. I added the sparkles, on the ribbon and on the snowflake centers. Easy card!
Although I wanted to put a greeting on it, there didn't seem to be a place for one that looked right without being overmuch. Suggestions would be welcomed!

IN THE PINK AGAIN!

After 2 weeks of not participating in any challenges, I am back to making cards again. I saw the Pink Week come up and I absolutely couldn't bring myself to jumping on the bandwagon when I knew that I myself, hadn't had a mammogram in over 5 years. (Yikes!) In that period I had a pregnancy and extended nursing, but had put it off an extra couple years. I felt to participate would have been kinda hypocritical and I made an appointment for myself on that first pink day - and yesterday I finally had the "squish." In and out in 20 minutes - why do some of us procrastinate? We really do owe it to ourselves to take precautions. Our daughters, grand-daughters, nieces, and mothers might just follow our footsteps! So, I kept busy with another project.

THINGS TO PILE UP, DON'T THEY???

I have been re-arranging stuff in my stamp room for the past 2 weeks. My sweet husband was able to get a hold of a desk-hutch from his workplace about 2 weeks ago so I finally have a good place for all my 12x12 Stampin' Up! card stock and designer papers. scrapbooks & kits and stuff like that. I got that all set up and then he brought home another one! This was a bigger project because, I had this huge place of stacking stuff and tower-style piles of things in various containers and things jammed on top of my stamp sets drawers, which was where it needed to go... Excited to begin, I took everything off the top of my cabinets and filled 3 tables 1 foot and a half high with stuff...Oh my! I have been sorting, gathering and making use of this new-found storage space, and am down to a half a table left to clear. Monday, my husband the brought home the last of the 3 hutches they were getting rid of at work...but this one is going over HIS desk area, because now that my space is looking pretty good now, his space is looking pretty bad.

Well, I have typed way too much and realize I should have split this day's entry up a bit... and now I find I cannot 'copy' and paste on another entry.

Hope you didn't mind...have a great day!

For Unto Us a child is born...

2008-10-12T22:53:00.001-04:00

Today's Featured Stamper was Anne Ryan, and while I don't always have time to stamp much on Sundays, I did get a quiet time this afternoon and set off to play. A Featured Stamper Challenge is when a certain talented person is chosen and stampers wanting to play along are sent to their personal gallery on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ Players then select a card they wish to 'CASE' (which means Copy And Steal Everything) and copy it MOSTLY, but have to change at least 2 things about it, and tell how we did it, and what we changed about it.

First of all I 'flipped' her sketch (turned it sideways), and then I went with an old retired Christmas image (SU's A Gift From Heaven) that seemed like fun watercoloring to do on an embossed image. (This image reminds me of "The Friendly Beasts" children's carol - Does anyone know it?) I opted for a banner instead of Anne's string of beads. I also used a pattern paper instead of a solid background. Anne Ryan's card is found here. So now you can compare and see how they are much the same, yet very different.

Have you tried this? I do this often with the Stampin' Up! Catalogs, when I need a good idea...find the card design you like and re-make it with your own stamps and colors.

C-Ya Later!
Cheryl

"C" is for...

2008-10-12T22:41:00.001-04:00

Coffee, Cocoa, Chocolate, Cup, Company, and Cheryl. Working on a Monogram Challenge last week, I decided if I were going to do my own monogram, I wanted to personalize the frame to reflect a bit more of myself, and I am a true Coffee Craver. So I used the little cup from Flourishes' Coffee set and put the "c" on the cup. I made a set of them, but will plan to send some to a friend that I happen to know who not only likes coffee, but shares my initial too.

C-Ya Later!
Cheryl

5 Minute Framed Snowman Card

2008-10-12T22:22:00.000-04:00

My friend Jody dropped by the other day with a new border punch she wanted me to check out. (It was from Micheal's and was light blue in color) ...The funny thing was that I was at the very moment she arrived, fooling around and trying to come up with ideas to use with my own Border Punch Collection, including Stampin' Up!'s new scallop border punch...so I picked up one of my precut white pieces and gave her punch a whirl and in about 10 seconds had the frame done. Since it had the snowflakes, I grabbed a little snowman image from the Merry & Bright set and stamped it in the middle, touched it with a couple markers and pulled out the red ribbon...decided I also needed a red backing for the white piece, so I used a scrap. At this point I wished I had used light blue on the little guy's hat, but I went with Bashful Blue anyway (It does look more like Cool Carribean, doesn't it? That would work good too, but it is Bashful!). I ran it through my new Big Shot with my Cuttlebug A2 Snowflakes Template to add a tough of frostiness to it, attached it to the front and Voila! My quicky card! How do you like it?
C-Ya Later!
Cheryl

World Card Making Day with my Daughter

2008-10-04T15:43:00.000-04:00

This is my youngest daughter,
Natalie Miracle, who is not quite
4 and 1/2 years old. She is truly
a miracle girl as she was the baby
I was told by doctors that I would never have another. But God had other plans. Usually when you
ask God for something, the answer
is 'yes' or 'no.' In this case, His
answer was 'wait.' And wait we did!
I also have 3 other daughters, who are now 30, 23 & 21 years old...
and 3 grandchildren, 12, 11, & 4 (almost 5) and one on the way.
What a joy and blessing she is to my husband (Mark) and me!

Natalie has been very involved in my stamping business since day one. She gets her own little stampers and art supplies (even a sidekick) and we work together at times...all right, I don't get as much done myself, but that's all right, I'm raising a stampin' buddy!

What amazed me today is how much she put things together without alot of direction. I started by helping her die-cut the first heart and put tape under it. She decided it all from there out.

She practices the the layout...

Studies for what to do next.

Makes a goofy face while thinking.

It is now a butterfly and it needed a head.

Making his ears (antenaes)

Gluing on his legs.

Having a good time!

TA-DAA!!!!

This momma is very proud!

Hope you had a chance to stamp today! See ya soon!

My Artist and her Work of Heart!

2008-10-04T15:42:00.000-04:00

The finished work!

Espresso-ly Inspired Card

2008-10-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

This espresso can has been hanging around my kitchen all summer as an unbreakable vase for my little girl to keep filled with forget-me-nots, dandilions, daisies, Queen Anne's Lace and other such rare teasures that might be found in a backyard.

When I found the reindeer stamp for a dollar at Micheal's last week, I instantly thought of that can! It took all of a few minutes to cuttlebug the snowflakes and layer the deer with some square scallop punches. I layered blue grosgrain over the chocolate organdy and it was done!

2008-10-03T20:30:00.000-04:00

I used almost the same method of operation on this card as the one with the three silhouettes. This leafy one is just too big to fit in the Key Tag Punch, so I Scallop-Circled it. I have a couple of friends that have birthdays in the fall...Hmmmm...
I wonder if one of them is reading this entry?

2008-10-03T20:23:00.000-04:00

Back to Upsy Daisy set again...I think the designer paper doesn't look so hot with the Real Rust in this photo, but IRL it really is a great match. Paper ric-rac and those ovals again...no mistakes, I actually planned this one and went with the bandage idea after this one was done.

2008-10-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

Pocket Silhouettes are such a fun card for quick cards...I used a fall designer paper stack for the pattern paperm and those tiny little acorns were a great match for my leftover retired River Rock paper. I used the Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip and Tangerine Tango on the keytags and matched the bases. The ribbon was a strip of paper, to accomplish a challenge card today on SCS...where we were not use embellishments on our cards...only paper. I used a real ribbon last night when we made cards, so now I have 2 of the same.

Autumn Harvest of Cards

2008-10-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

Stamping with friends! Who can think of a nicer way to spend a cool Autumn evening together. Last night we had fun laughing and talking while we whipped up a few fall greeting cards (no two alike) and I want to show you what I came up with.

The set is called "Upsy Daisy" and I am so liking all these new silhouette stamps! On this card I also used my new Big Shot with the Top Note die cutter to make the Rust layer on the bottom and the vanilla layer on top. This die has stitch lines around the edges, so after I cut the vanilla layer, I used the stitching line for a cutting line and made the layer a smaller size. How easy is that? I originally stamped the phrase onto the panel and it didn't come out so good, so I used my small and large Oval punches to put an oval shaped "bandage" over it and now it's all better.

The Big Shot that I am talking about is featured in Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Catalog that you can see here. Once there, Click on "SHOP." This Mini Catalog is only the beginning of Stampin' Up!'s line of die cutting machine, and we can expect more exciting tools to use on this marvelous machine in the future. This Big Shot can use a variety of different die-cutters, so it will be my one tool that enables me to use all of my old sizzix dies and embossing folders, my fiskars texture plates, my cuttlebug dies and embossing folders, my Nestabilities...and the regular Sizzix dies are able to cut through a list of 50 materials!!! (thin and wafer types)
Other die-cutting machines offer a variety of layers of varying thicknesses of layers to accomodate other manufacturer's dies. But Big Shot made it easy by giving you one tool to use to accomade all the rest. Resembling a book, you don't need to try and remember the combination and look for the right assortment of layers, you just find the die or folder you want to use on the layers that are hinged like pages, and it is printed which page to use and which ones to leave open. Even I don't have to rely on my memory and that is a good thing! The Big Shot is ideal for righties or lefties, just turn it around, but to tell the truth, cranking the paper (or whatever of the 49 other material you can use) is so easy, it doesn't matter which hand I use to turn the handle.

You'll find the Big Shot in Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Catalog here, and be sure to check out the sales and promotions too. You can now order directly through me - online - see my website for more details. Call me if you have any questions or want me to do it for you!

Christ is Born!

2008-09-15T08:19:00.000-04:00

I made this card using one of the 2 new sets I got for Christmas Card making this year. As the title of this posting proclaims the good news, 'Christ is Born' is the name of this set. Over the years I have collected many images having to do with Christmas and Winter themes, so when I saw this new word image, I knew it would be a good addition that I could make good use of by combining with my other sets.

This card was my Technique Lover's Challenge card that charged us with using glitter and a background stamp on the same color paper as the glitter. I used an "Essential Glue Pad" to glue the glitter onto the Garden Green card stock with the retired SU! background stamp called 'Holiday Print'.

(SU! also had two called 'Special Day' and 'Birthday Print' which all had a background made of words pertaining to their themes). While the glitter dried, I stamped the words with Real Red onto white cardstock, a few times with my Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure the image was dark and crisp. Layering that onto green and red cardstock, I wish I had thought to trim out the corners before attaching them...and I will next time. After attaching that to the left side of the card, as it is a gate-folded card that opens in the middle, I then wished I had centered the panel up-and-down to make room for the star so that it wouldn't have had to crowd it onto the corner of the panel...but that's what I love about stamping...I learn by doing, and even more by re-doing.

TIP: If you have/get an Essential Glue Pad, make certain that you keep the clear plastic cover over the pad under the pad's cover to keep the moisture in. These pads are sold dry and you get the refill with the pad itself when you first buy it. Ink it up and use it, but before you put it away, be sure to spritz a couple of sprays of water onto the pad, to keep the moisture in. This has helped me save on refilling as often and knowing that unless it has been a while since I've used it, it is juicy when I want to take it out again. Also, I store it upside down.

Have a great day!

350 Lighthouse Cards!

2008-09-11T15:16:00.001-04:00

I have good friends in Hancock, Michigan that are building a new church! I am excited for them as can be and when I thought of what I might be able to do to bless them and take some pressure off, I volunteered to make the "Thank You" card for them...all 350 of them! I knew that it had to be single layer (or drive myself crazy trying to keep count of how much I need, how much I need to cut, how much needed to stick all together...you get the idea, So I decided upon an image first, and of course a Lighthouse is what it HAD to be, because the church is to be called "The Lighthouse Church." I thought brayering would be a great way to get the color on, and so I chose this TAC set because it had a non-existing landscape I didn't have to worry about. Then I made a stencil and went to town. The stamping was done with Basic Gray. The beach is chalked, the sky is bayered with a 'Late November' Spectrum pad and the light and roof are watercolored red and yellow. Enjoy your day!

Sock Monkey Swap Card

2008-08-29T09:05:00.000-04:00

Here's my swap card that I gave at the "Stampin' in the U.P. of Michigan" weekend. Having just gotten Stampin' Up!'s new set Sock Monkey, I just had to play with it. I used Chocolate Chip to stamp Weathered background on So Saffron card stock. I stamped the monkey in Brown Stazon and watercolored him, The "ribbon" is actually strips cut from some K & Co. Designer Pattern Paper. Cupcake is backed with the 1 1/4", 1 3/8" circles and the Scallop Punch. Corners are punched out with the Corner Ticket Punch. I made a Sock Monkey when I was in High School...and have made a few over the years for the special children in my life when I am lucky enough to find the Rockford "Red Heel" Socks. The "smile" on the mouth is actually the heel of one sock...and the monkey's butt was the other heel, but not marked on the stamp, but it was easy to marker the color in place. I love this nostalgic set!

Stampin' in the U.P. of Michigan Challenge Cards

2008-08-29T07:44:00.000-04:00

Three challenges were given at this weekend event, and here are 2 that I did third. The one above is a challenge by my friend Debbie (DeborahLynneS), who I grew up with and went to school with from kindergarten-first grade & on. Her challenge was to use acetate and she gave us a half sheet of this wonderful sturdy stuff. (I'll find out where she got it from if anyone asks). It is difficult to see that my card has the acetate stamped with the stems (Garden Silhouettes, retired) in Black Stazon, and overlaid the pattern paper with the greeting (Elegant Greetings, retired) on the underside. (I guess you could see it if you clicked on the card and examined the holes at the top.) I punched holes with my Cropadile and 'sewed' the pieces together with some narrow black ribbon I brought along, and then attached that to a neutral card base that I scalloped the bottom edge with my then fresh-outa-the-box Stampin' Up! Scalloped Edge Punch. There were many beautiful cards...obviously the ideas are unlimited with acetate.

This other card was a challenge given by JoAnn (SarahZoe), who shares my hometown that I have gotten to know over the years. She gave us each a 6x6 square of black & white patern paper, and a half a sheet each of Basic Black, Whisper White, and Cool Carribbean, retired, along with a peice of black or white ribbon. All I used of my own was the Scalloped Edge Puncher, piercer and the Stem Silhouettes set, retired, and I loved this challenge! I even loved this card I did. What was the most amazing discovery for me, was how, when all our cards were put together, they looked like a huge set of elegant cards - all individually and uniquely beautiful, a gorgeous set...I'll look for a photo if someone else posted it, and link it here. They were all terrific!

The third challenge I didn't do a new card, as I was the one to throw out that challenge. My challenge was to use at least 2 different sizes of circles in a non-concentric design (not layered like a target) and so my sample card was one I posted here on July 17th.

My Shoe Box Swap Cards

2008-08-28T23:45:00.000-04:00

Our Stampin in the U.P. of Michigan get-together had a great turnout for all who came...and those of you who missed it, missed meeting alot of very nice, fun-to-be-with folks, and a great time too. Hope to see everyone next year, and those of you who missed it too! Truly, I stamped my heart out!

The ShoeBox Swap is a project box that each participant brings that has all the supplies needed for everyone else to each make one of your cards. You include instructions and samples in your box so swappers can pretty much follow the samples and instructions on their own...as we are all working on completing our cards. I have taken part in a few of these and always look forward to doing all the cards.

One issue I had with my shoebox swap card this year, is that I didn't have enough designer pattern paper to have everyone do the exact same card, so I had to do three sets with different papers and colors...hence, I had to also have 3 sample put together, and here they are, featuring one of my most favorite sets, Abundant Joy, which is retired :( Fortuneately, the instructions were the same for all three cards...but if you hang around here much, you will know that I love this style of a card.

More Later!

2008-08-28T22:36:00.000-04:00

WT181 Sharpen Up Card Challenge

Today's challenge was to use my Colored Pencils anyway I wanted in the design of my card. I began with a brand new image from Eastern Influences, a new set from the new Fall and Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog. I had splurged last spring on a set of 120 Prisma Colored Pencils, and not having done much more than look at them and sharpen a few, today was definately the day to use them! I began by stamping the rose in Stazon Brown on Vanilla Card Stock and then colored in the image with just the yellow on the rose on the darkened areas, and 2 shades of greens on the leaves. Then I pulled out some stumps (think chipboard in the shape of pencils) which I dampened in ordorless Mineral Spirits to use to blend the colors together. The yellow seemed to all go to one color...maybe I didn't use enough contrast, or blended too long, but looked okay. The 2 greens blended nicely, and I was just getting into it, and it was done. I used a tan and a grey pencil to do the twig portion of the rose, and blended that too. (I just realized that you can see a close up if you click on the card picture!) The flower finished, I then tried to shade around behind it, and outlined the flower with a lavendar color (no idea why I chose it) and a blushy-colored thick sketching kind of thing past the lavendar. I blended them witht he Mineral Spirits too. Not sure if there was existing color left on the stumps before I blended the shading, but it passes for my first attempt. I chose Old Olive for the card base, to pick up from the leaves. Not being able to decide on a pattern paper or a background stamp, I used a Scor-Pal tool to make a dry-embossed lattice pattern over the entire card front. I used Choclate Chip card stock for the oval backs and some brown organdy ribbon, with the knot on the inside for an added touch of detail. The rose was cut out with a Scallop Oval Giga Punch with a Coluzzle Oval behind, and a large SU Oval for the phrase (from the new SU ''Best Yet" set). I backed the oval phrase with a scrap of brown that I cut around the oval with scalloped ProvoCraft scissors, to them in together. And there you have it!

Much Obliged

2008-08-28T22:26:00.000-04:00

TLC183 Faux Dry Embossing Challenge

Tuesday's "Technique Lover's Challenge" challenge was to use Faux Dry Embossing on our cards. This was a new one for me, but one I would most likely try again with all the new silhouette sets in the new catalog begging to try them out out with this fun technique. It looked so easy that I grabbed the first scrap I found that fit the first set I grabbed (Bronc Buster by SU). I stamped the bronc with the White Craft Pad and let it dry real well. Then I used a Stampamajig to restamp Chocolate Chip Ink over it about a 1/16" above the white bronc. You want to line the stampamajig up exactly with the first image, and then slide it just a smidge north, which leaves you with the illusion that it is raised. I held the Stampamajig down very firm and actually stamped a few times before I was happy with the brown intensity overlaying the white. (If you a careful not to move the handle at all, you can do this many times!) I distressed the edges of the brown mat and the white confetti, and layered them together before attaching them to the 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" Really Rust card folded in half. The trick to making sure that this this fold of card will fit in the envelope properly is to lay the 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" on top (bottom edges together) of the invitation size A2 envelope and place the image piece so that it is within the limits of the envelope (top of card not longer than the envelope)I used the "Sanded" background and a Much Obliged (Club Stamp) sentiment that I also did a Faux Dry Embossed technique with. Having less success with this second attempt, I corrected it a bit more white onto the words with my wonderful White Signo Gel Pen from Stampin' Up. Hmmm...Faux-Faux Dry Embossed!

More Later!

Awesome August!

2008-08-28T21:14:00.000-04:00

What a busy month it has been! I started the month off with the "Stampin' in the U.P. of Michigan" Stamper get-together in my beautiful hometown Baraga. Then my family and I were off for a week of Family Church Camp in the small community of Forest Junction WI. We got home from there and found all these wonderful new Stampin' Up! Fall & Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalogs waiting on my front porch along with about 6 other boxes of stuff that had been delivered while I was gone. I spent a week catching up on laundry & mail and getting ready for the next big thing..."A Church in a Day" Project being prepared for by some dear friends of ours that have a Home Missions church they began in Hancock, MI about 4 years ago. Of course, with all the help they are going to get, I volunteered to make the 350 Thank You Cards they figured they would need, while I impatiently waited for my Stampin' Up! order with all the NEW stuff in it. Cards, got done, new stuff arrived, and I am revved up and ready to go! But, we are camping this weekend, and so I plan to bring stuff to "detail" with watercolors, pencils, you know... stamp the pictures and color/pierce/cutout at a picnic table. Then home and back to real life again, with the addition of starting my youngest daughter a Kindergarten Home Schooling. SO...now you know what I've been up to, still lots to catch up on - I have lots of cards (yes, I made a few while I've been on the run) to show you pictures and details, but I'll do a bit at a time and get caught up. I would apologize for being gone so long, but hey, we use electric blankets 11 months of the year, so when summer's here, we go with it!
August was Awesome!!!

Fairy Nice Card

2008-07-30T00:49:00.000-04:00

My how time has flew by since my last post! That's how summers seem to go around here - FAST!!! I did this card over a week ago and am just getting to post it now. It was a SCS Challenge that challenged us to make out card using an all white card base, no layers, I think, although that may have been only my interpretation of it. The idea being to enjoy the white space and not clutter it up with so much stuff. (I could take some life lessons on this! LOL)

So, I dug out a set, Stampin' Up!'s retired Fairy Nice set, and stamped the image and words in Stazon Black. I watercolor-crayon painted the image and outlined it with a glue pen for a thin outline of the image. Next I sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds over the glue, and dug through my ribbon drawer until I found a ribbon that matched part of her dress and put on a ribbon across the top. I like the look more than I thought I would...definately I need to try some more of these cards with 'white-open spaces!'

Have a Fairy Nice Day!

Cheryl

Stamp Camp Card Kits Available

2008-07-22T11:40:00.000-04:00

Today I am adding a link to my page to let you see what cards have been done at my card camps, and they will be available to see and purchase per the information on that page. My July Camp cards are at the earliest entry on that blog, and then as an afterthought, I added cards that were held a camps some time ago that are still available for purchase. (Please write or call me if you have any questions - I accept Paypal or Money Orders.) No time limits, just go back to whatever you see, and let me know what you need. :)

You can go here to see the Stamp Camp Card Kits

Cinnamon Moose

2008-07-17T09:04:00.000-04:00

Here is today's "Ways to Use it Challenge" which required us to use something out of the spice cupboard to make a card. I instantly thought of Cinnamon, as I had played around with this some years ago...but last night I didn't have the greatest results with several attempts at adhering it so it wouldn't brush off easily. I did end up using a glue pen around the the outside of the moose and it left a great smelling card to boot. I had no plan for the card, beyond getting the moose done, and I was working without a sketch. The moose being finished, I punched it out with the biggest circle punch I had. Then I had to coluzzle a larger circle of Not Quite Navy to background the vanilla circle. For some reason, the idea of off-setting the circles appealed to me for this card, so I went with that idea. The Olive card base was stamped the Canvas Background with Garden Green on the lower front of the card. I used a scenery set from TAC to put a few trees behind the circles. Now the circles (too plain) need something else too. Eyelets? Yes, they'll work. Mark the spots and put them in with the Crop-a-Dile...that tool is the perfect way to get the job done quickly and quietly so I don't wake up Natalie, my sleeping 4 year old in the next room. Next, a Pumpkin Pie belt to divide the 2 images on the base. Now it looks way too flat! So I crimped the belt and popped up the moose...and it's done! Hooray!

Have a great day!

Yooper's Quincy Mine Landmark Card

2008-07-17T08:43:00.000-04:00

This (SC185) sketch called for the right shape to use a new stamp from a set that features some major landmarks for the Copper Country, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where I grew up and live.

This is the Quincy Mine in Hancock, MI. It is also this copper mine that my grandfather first worked in 1925, when he was 15 years old, before moving to the Chicago area a few years later. Mining is a huge part of history in the UP. My great-grandfather also (other side of my family) worked in the iron Mines over in Ishpeming while he moved his wife and children over from Finland, sometime before 1910 when my Grandma was born here in the USA. My dad also worked briefly in the iron mines when my parents were first married.

Although in recent years the Quincy Mine building has been re-sided with new gray siding, and is open for tours, I chose 'rust' to color it, for in my childhood there are vivid memories of a very rusty building that resembled (in my mind) a huge robot shaped like a kangaroo that might move if I didn't keep my eyes on it. A nostalgic moment here...gee, what a strange imagination I had! LOL Have a great day!

Scripture Encouragement Card Set

2008-07-17T08:22:00.000-04:00

Hello,

This is a set of Scripture Encouragement Cards I whipped up the other night after looking at card sketches in a catalog. To look at the cards individually, you can just click on the phots and it will enlarge for a close-up.

What exactly is a 'Card Sketch?' It could be looked at as a 'map' of where you are going to place your images on a specific arrangement of paper or layers. You use whatever images, colors, patterns, ribbons and or embellishments that the sketch inspires you to use. Everything will be variations on a theme and that is a great starting point for me...As you have probably noticed, many of the cards I do are inspired by sketches, or challenges (which I will cover on the next post :)

C-ya then!

Grid Card Challenge Card

2008-07-14T11:39:00.001-04:00

Hello,
This morning's Technique Lover's Cahllenge was to make a grid card using a scoring tool. As I have used both the score blade from the Fiskars Personal cutter, and more recently acquired the Scor-Pal from my husband, I used the latter tool for my card this morning...and did it ever work wonderfully easy!
Here's how I did the my card. I began by looking at this Grid Tutorial and then grabbed a piece of Kraft Paper to try it out. Well, it turned out well, so I just decided to use that scrap for my project. I chose Real Red for the card itself. Next, I determined that my grid needed to be a window frame, so I used a large square punch and punch it from all four sides to make a larger square...I'll do a tutorial later this week how I do this. I planned to do a single inking of red on my Canvas Background stamp and for some reason, it cme out weird, so I huffed the stamp and put the paper on again, then again, and kept trying to get an even look to it. Not to be done, but it did come out with a kind of "shabby chic" look about it (read: LAZY), but I was satisfied, so Iwent on to stamp the Queen Anne's lace silouette from Garden Silhouette...and then dotted the tips with my White Signo Gel Pen. I would have liked to do something white on it (words or something) but my white Craft Pad is missing in action somewhere, so I settled for the white dots. Then I tied a very ravel-lish ribbon aound the frame, like a gift ribbon. This is a very fun technique...and I'll probably be looking what else I can do with this tool I have not used to full potential yet.

So there you have it! Have a very good day!

Cheryl

2008-07-12T12:25:00.000-04:00

Hi Again!

So after doing the pink card, I began to think of other options...Stampin' Up!'s soon-to be-retired 'Simply Said' came to mind as this soon as I saw this scrap of pattern paper. It took a little cutting for the daisy itself, then I used my paper crimper to try a different style of leaves, and used a big thick Dimensional Glue dot for the center and pressed Dazzling Diamond Glitter to give it the glimmer and take away the stickiness. These cards were quick, simple, and easy, and I like how they both came out.

Talk to you later!
Cheryl

2008-07-12T12:21:00.000-04:00

Hello again!

I haven't been around alot this week - summers are short and very busy around here - but I did manage to get some stamping time in. This card was totally inspired by Julie's Paper Pleasing Ideas Blog (This is my all time favorite blog to read). She is one very talented woman and the idea came not only with her 'Flipped Sketch' pattern, but with a tutorial that show exactly how to make torn paper roses. On this card, I used pattern paper and a ornate corner punch on the white background - other than that, it's pretty much CASED. I love this style, and hope to come up with some masculine ideas (probably not with roses) and see what I came up with.

You can check Julie's blog and how-to's by clicking *here* so go have some fun!

On to the next post, as I don't know how to do 2 photos on one post yet!

Cheryl

French Swans on the Lake

2008-07-02T15:30:00.000-04:00

I loved making this card, once I decided on the image and background paper. That's alway the hardest part of getting started. Although I have a LOT of stamps and cardstock, sometimes it is a hinderance to getting started. The image, I decided would have to be based on the size I needed for the measurements given. In the way back of a drawer I found a set (SU's Birds, ret.) that had NEVER been used! So I stamped it with Going Gray and Watercolor Crayon painted it with Celery and Bordering Blue, and Pumpkin on the beaks. Then, I found one pattern paper I really waned to use, and nothing else in the K&Co Bailey collection matched. So, I found a muted celery-ish pattern there and stamped French Script over it with a Blue Bayou, to tie it to the piece I loved...on the right. I bordered the pieces with Going Gray and used Soft Sky as my card color...then I wondered if there was a way to pull our the swans a little more.

2008-07-02T15:21:00.000-04:00

I took some PolyMark Bright White Dimensional Paint and put a few new beads of it on the necks and wings. Well, that looked weird, so I picked up my paper piercer and started trying to move it around and smooth it out. That wasn't working either, but by this time the white goo was beginning to dry a little and it made it thick enough to leave the textureof little comb marks where the feathers are. It did do to it what I was hoping to do.

We see swans from time to time in Lake Superior, such a spledid graceful sight.

Have a great Day!

Cheryl

July Already!

2008-07-01T19:35:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's July already? At over 80 degrees, I think this is about the warmest it's been (or the muggiest) this summer here, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The card above is from the SCS color Challenge today, to use Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, and Purely Pomegranite on the card. For the background, I used Wild Wasabi on retired "Linotype" on Certainly Celery. I love how it puts such a bold pattern on my paper. Then I selected the Artfully Asian Branch and stamped on White with the Wild Wasabi. I drew ink off the pad with my Aqua Painter to fill in the leaves. Then I stamped the floral dot posie images from the Three for You Punch Box Kit (Purely Pomegranite on Purely Pomegranite), and high-lighted the blossoms with a White Signo-Gel Pen.
Meanwhile, I used the Colluzle to cut 3 ovals, White and Wasabi were the same size and Pomegranite was a notch bigger. Then after I had stamped the branch, I used my Fiskars Cloud Scissors to go around the White paper with the floral image. When I use scallop scissors to go around a circle or an oval, I always start at the bottom of the image, because if it doesn't come out even, I can always camoflauge it with something, but in this case, I didn't mind the little bump at the bottom too much.
Then I took my flowers and the rounded end of a paintbrush (not the bristle end) and pushed the flowers into the palm of my hand to make those blossoms "cup." I glued them with Crystal Effects to the stem.
Next, I added my "much hoarded" Pomegranite Ribbon that was in the Mini Catalog last fall. I made a slit in the fold of the card and tied the ribbon around front of the card and knotted it. I am frugal with my supplies and often tape or glue ribbon on and trim the edges even, but this ribbon was just too yummy to not share some with the inside of the card. Once the knot is tied, I just trimmed the ends and moved the knot to where I wanted it and attached the oval next to the knot. Finally, I used my Poly-Mark Crystal Glitter (WalMart, with Craft Paints) under a buck) to add a dab of glitz to the flowers....voila...it was done!

Happy Monday!

2008-06-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

I got my SCS technique challenge done early in the day for a change. Today was a technique called Chalk Pouncing, which is much like Poppin' Pastels, except that you first rub your chalk as a background before popping your pastels in the forefront. What an easy way to get a card done quickly! I poked (pierced) the corner holes using my Mat Pack and backed the roses with triangles of Real Red behind the corners only...then I used a card from my S&F box that had happened to already have the Stitched Background stamped on it. I put a little ribbon on the stem, and wished I could think of something more to add...but couldn't think of any, so here it is!

What is an S&F Box, you ask? It is a box of stuff I have from cards and paper projects that were begun and for some reason or another I didn't finish. Sometimes, I don't know what I am going to end up with when I start a project. So I begin it and in trying to find the right look (the one I'm not sure what I'm looking for), I might try a few things and then go another direction and end up with all these trims and images, backgrounds and unfinished possibilities. I throw them in a box to grab and paw through when I need something for a different project. My mom actually has one of these boxes too, and I laughed when she told me what she called hers...but it is what I call mine now too. (I love my mom!) I shortened the name here to S&F and if you want to tell me what you think the initials stand for (two words and not swear words), I'll let you know only if you are right. In the meantime, maybe you would come up with an even better name for the box for me to use in its entirety.

Now, go and enjoy your day!

Cheryl

From 'Out of the Box' to 'Out on a Whim!'

2008-06-26T19:13:00.000-04:00

This was my SCS "Ways to use it #172" challenge card today. Although I have a lot of bird stamps, I decided to put an idea of mine to work before the 'Polka Dot & Paisley' set retires this August. I got the idea quite a while ago, when I first saw the paper design...so I dug a scrap up today and there it is. I paper pieced the body and wing colors. The head is a 3/4" punch, the head feathers were one of the stamps. The branch is from 'Artfully Asian' another set I will really miss when it retires in August also. Hope you like it!

Have a great evening!

Cheryl

There's a Lighthouse on a Hillside...

2008-06-25T21:47:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know this song? It's a favorite of mine. I made this card to encourage my beloved Son-in-Law who is going through some bad storms in his life right now. I really liked painting with the inks on the previous card, so I just kept on the same technique. 'Coast to Coast' is one of those sets I could never part with, and because I helped him outfit his first apartment with a lighthouse theme, this had to be the set I needed for him. I used 'Sanded' for the background, and took a word saying from 'Refuge & Strength' and cut the rust rectangle and punched the circle to finish the Designer Label Punch...makes that punch get even more mileage!

See you later!

Cheryl

My Technique Lover's Challenge Card

2008-06-24T13:32:00.001-04:00

Good Afternoon!

Here I am practicing my newly acquired skills again and showing my card from yesterday's Technique Lover's Challenge on SCS. It involved using re-inkers to paint the cards with. Needing to come up with a layout, I also checked out the sketch challenge from last week and came up with this greeting card. I'm not sure who it's for yet, but perhaps will use it for a stamp camp card at some point. I really do like how delicate the simpe details are on this 'Embrace Life' set, especially the leafy stem twig.

See ya later!

Cheryl

Posting with a Photo...Here we go!

2008-06-23T23:42:00.000-04:00

Hello!
I told you I'd be back, and although this is day #3 of reading and re-reading tutorials in short bursts of how to put a picture up...and I think I may just have it this time!
In honor of Summer having officially arrived this past weekend, I thought it was fitting to post a beach card with real sand. Real sandpaper, that is, all torn and layered, and it even sparkles like beach sand too. I used SU's "Crab & Company."
If this post works, I'll keep studying the tutorials and learn something else to do here!
Have a great day!
Cheryl

Testing...one, two, three

2008-06-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

Hello!

My first entry...now, what to say? Usually I am not usually at a lack for words, but it is kind of like the first time talking into a microphone and one might say something like "is this on?" So now I guess I'll go check! I'll be back! Stay tuned!

Cheryl