bye bye 2014

Not at all happy that my last card of the year is a sympathy card. And for someone too young. For someone who lost his short battle with cancer the day after Christmas. For someone who made one of our favorite Spatburgunder.

But happy that I stumbled upon Melissa's MIM over at Papertrey to help me along.

I used Rustic Cream CS, stamped the WMS pine branches around the edges and then one on a die cut Mat Stack. Die cut and gold dipped a Spellbinders pine cone. Heat embossed my sentiment from PTI Cutting Garden.

I'm hooking up at:
Papertrey MIM #195 - A la carte
AAA Cards #31 - Use a little gold game
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anything Goes

Here's hoping the new year will be happier... Hugs everyone.

loo rolls and masterboards

Whew! I assume if you are reading this you have found your way out from under wrapping paper and leftovers. I certainly hope you had a magical Christmas with family and friends.

I'm over at the STAMPlorations blog today with a tutorial on masterboards and a card I made with one. Check it out.

And whatever you do on Dec. 31st, I hope 2015 brings you health and happiness. Thanks for your lovely comments here. Here's to lots of lovely cards in 2015. Keep on creating!

plenty of happy around

Happy between-the-holidays, folks! Hope Christmas was special. And if you need an idea for a quick Happy New Year card, here's one for ya.

I don't even want to know how many stamps or dies I own with the word "happy". Bet it's the same at your house. That being said, all you need in addition is a stamp that says "New Year" (like this one from Sentiment Builders: Christmas and New Year) or some die cut alphas or alpha stickers. I think it's the mix that makes it work.

Please don't judge me by the imperfectly stamped "happys". I was trying something I learned from Mayuri - two-tone inking using dye ink and Delicata gold pigment ink, then spritzed with a bit of water. I picked the WRONG stamp for my first attempt (a completely solid image would be much more tolerant of the puddling ink) but hey, you get the idea.

I also stamped a few PTI sketched circles with gold ink and swiped some onto a strip of white CS which I used for my heat embossed sentiment. A sprinkling of sequins kept up the sparkle and shine, party design too.

I hope you are enjoying the holidays. Big plans for New Year's Eve?

BTW, in case the big guy left you some crafty spending money in your stocking... Shery is offering free shipping plus a free stencil over at STAMPlorations from today through the 31st ;)

CAS CASE

Revisited another design of mine for this set of cards. I decided to make a set as a hostess gift, and of course waited til the last minute, so another CASE was in order.

Grabbed the wonderful Geometric Borders from Aha Arts and went all Christmassy with it. Paired it with some of my favorite Christmas sentiments from Technique Tuesday's Jingle All the Way. Picked two different red/green combos andused them with some Delicata Gold. Easy peesy.

Joining the CAS fun at:

CAS on Sunday #49 - Christmas
Addicted to Stamps and More #126 - Anything Goes (with a love twist - I didn't twist)
Stempelkueche #9 - Stretch your Stamps

Ready for Christmas?

JIT magic slider

I remember when "just-in-time" (JIT) was something new in the automotive world. Now it's pretty much the story of my life when it comes to Christmas shopping. Where would I be without online shopping?

It also applies to today's card. DD asked me to make a magic slider (after I'd made this card) for her girlfriend whose birthday was back early November. Her party is today. I made the card... yesterday. See? JIT. Dang.

Can't say I whipped it up in ten minutes. Cuz my non-spatial-thinking brain still has to wrestle with the slider card concept each time. But it does get easier with practice. I'm happy with the result, it's a slider, although not 100% magic ;)

Found a sketch and some colors for inspiration and then created, stamping (in my case heat embossing) with white cuz I wanted to join the Take It, Make It December Challenge at Craft Stamper too.

DCWV December

CQC 272

I knew I needed a magic slider. The sketch had me at the star. Which led to the PTI Star Gazer Additions stamp set. Which I decided to stamp in white on black. And although you'd normally go with blues for the firmament on the colored portion of the slider, I'm not normal. That didn't feel right to me for DD's friend. These colors did.

The rest was cosmetic. Some stars sponged through a stencil onto the card front. Some star PP. Some gold stars, including one as the pull mechanism for the slider! See the tiny "pull here" up top? That has been my most used stamp of the PTI Movers and Shakers set!

So I'm curious. What percentage of your Christmas shopping did you do online this year?

There's a good deal at STAMPlorations should you still need a quick present for a crafty friend...

i'll have a CASE of myself

Normally, this time of year that would read "I'll have a case of Spätburgunder" but the theme at the Mixed Media Card Challenge this month is "home" so I revisited this card of mine from awhile back.

Wanted to use that Hero Arts house and go with the lights from their Far Out Holiday again. But add some mixed media. As in "texture, dimension and techniques".  As in chunky glitter on die cut star, Glossy Accents on stamped lights, glitter on the roofline, dry embossing dots and candy cane stripes and heat embossing the stamped image.

As you can see, my hate relationship with white glitter continues. Now I suppose it might have to do with the black CS, but this time instead of turning out pink, it turned out blue. It's white. I swear it is.Like snow, ya know? That's why I put it on the roof! Argh.

Can you see the bit of color I added to the embossed image with colored pencils? And the candy cane stripe dry embossing along the bottom of the card?

I used the current sketch #207 challenge from My Favorite Things. And the sentiment stamps from their Holiday Subway Art set.

And I'm hooking up to the Anything Goes challenge (last of 2014) over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges. So much inspiration from the DT over there this week!

focus

Just popping in with a STAMPlorations card I made channeling my inner Yana S.

Created the BG of the panel using a brushstroke from Holiday Artsy and some gray and yellow Simon Says Stamp inks. Then I drew a frame around the panel. Notice the dots in the corners of the frame? Learned that from the amazingly talented Mayuri.

Then I inked up a sentiment from Typografia and stamped it on the panel. Adhered the panel, held my breath and stamped the arrows from Chevron and Arrows so that they were on both the panel and cardbase. Whew - it worked!

I'm joining the last challenge for 2014 over at Simon Says Stamp Monday - Anything Goes.

Hope your holiday preparations are going well. I'm trying to not try to make it all perfect this year! Wish me luck ;)

deck the halls...

... which reminds me of a card I made for a submission call for bows. My card became "deck the walls with bows and holly". Gotta find that and share it with you.

But back to business at hand. Motivated by the Deck the Halls hop over at Hero Arts, I headed to the basement and created a few more shaker tags to adorn the cellophane bags of Christmas cookies for neighbors which should get distributed tomorrow. I'm thinking the neighbors might find them so cute they want to either hang them on their trees or pass them on to someone else on a gift. And I even gave a 3D ornament a try (did you see the ones in the hop?) Figured it can function as a bag decoration first and an ornament afterwards.

I used images from Hero Arts Jolly Christmas and Holiday Sayings and Spellbinders dies. Here's the lineup:

Off to see who the Voice of Germany winner will be...

melancholic

The mailman just came. And gave me a box. From Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking. *sigh*

This will be last box to come, returning some published cards and those that were in the queue for upcoming issues.  *sigh*

But peeking out from beneath the melancholy, just like the tiny bit of sun trying to poke through the never-ending cloud cover here, are warm feelings of thanks for the relationships formed, the inspiration provided and the good times had with the crew over at the mag. They didn't have to, but they sent a handwritten note with each box. Class act, eh?

Since it won't be gracing the April issue, that polka dot card made for a private call is heading over to the Dots challenge at Addicted to CAS.

Thanks for coming by. Have a wonderful day. And keep on creating!

coffee lovers blog hop

Gotta come clean. I'm a one-cup-a-day kinda girl. Unless it's a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. Which only happened once, a month ago on a trip to Heidelberg. Yummy. It was like drinking a Yankee Candle. Good thing there's no Starbucks near my house!

But a graphic image of a coffee cup? Especially if it's steaming. That's all good ;)

When I got my November release STAMPlorations stamps, I saw this image in Eat Drink Be Merry and had to put it to ink first. I stamped the outline circle (from SSS Lots of Dots) and then the cup, both with white pigment ink on kraft card. Then I stamped the cup again, offset slightly with chalk ink. One cup I heat embossed with bronze glitter embossing powder.

I fussy cut one cup to hang on my sentiment loop along with the vellum banner and a couple bronze sequins. I think this card would make a coffee lover's day perk up, don't you?

And cuz I think the sparkly coffee cup and sequins add pizazz to my kraft card, I'm hooking up at JUGS #270 - Sparkle.

Want to hear a story?  I had actually made today's card for the PCS Stamp It submission call. I figured if it didn't get picked up I could post it during the STAMPlorations November release hop (although I ended up posting this card). I was right smack in the middle of stamping my coffee cups when blogville's Coffee Lover #1 popped into my mind. A few emails later Amy T. was on board as a special guest for the STAMPlorations hop. What a treat! Now take a peek at Amy's card for that hop. How freaky is that? Mind you, we did not discuss designs. I gotta say it. Gotta. May I? Great minds think alike.

Let's hear it for blogville's Coffee Lover #1 pulling together this hoopla of a hop. There is a linky tool over at Amy's blog where you can a) see all the fantabulous sponsors she has lined up with prizes and b) hop around to the various participants' blogs and c) link up a coffee card too if you'd like to participate. You have until the end of the day on Dec 12.

And should you need a bit more time, our gracious leader over at STAMPlorations is offering up a couple more prizes just for commenting at the blog and on FB before Dec 15.  Check it out!

I hope you have time to grab a coffee and hop along! I hear there will even be cool recipes shared.

eat. drink. be merry merry merry.

Dropping in with a quick and fun card using Sketch #24 over at STAMPlorations. The challenge is open all month (Dec. 28) this time around.

I picked up the Eat Drink Be Merry set and this is what happened. Circle dies, green, red and gray inks and stamps. Oh, and a little more candy cane red thanks to the twine.

There are gift certificates to be won. Play along with us here. And don't forget to eat, drink and be merry this holiday season :)

BTW: I'm joining the Christmas fun at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge and  The Craft Spot where #160 is about the Sentiment as Focal Point. Um, ya kinda can't miss it, eh?

roses in december

Death comes in threes. Do you believe that? I don't know, but there are certainly times when there are more deaths in my world than at other times. DH thinks it has to do with the gray days of November. Who knows. I know it's a part of life (isn't that paradox?). But it's a sucky part of life.

There's one quote I always turn to to seek comfort. Or to write on a card. I used it on this card .

Memories. All that's left when the loved one is gone. I have a couple rose bushes that, even without leaves, still proudly display a couple buds in December. And that makes me smile. Thanks, God. For roses and memories.

So, the card. Roses. Because roses! It also happens to be a stamp designed by the recipient. Blue. Well I feel a bit blue. Hole-y die cut. The holes represent something missing. Splodging. Because splodging.! Gold thread. Well, just cuz. Gotta be something to bring a smile, right?

Shirley-bee, I hope you've received the card by now. And I hope you have lots of wonderful memories to eventually bring you roses in December.

STAMPlorations december challenge

You're probably a busy little elf right about now, but if you've got a spare moment maybe you'd like to join us at STAMPlorations for this month's nearly-anything-goes challenge.

Your choice. In other words, pick a challenge from 2014 (sketch or theme) and go with it for December. I chose last month's Stamps and Layers. Lots of eye candy in the gallery if you missed it.

Layer 1 - cardbase

Layer 2 - white CS

Layer 3 - alpha BG stamped in white

Layer 4 - stripes stamped, misted and stamped again

Layer 5 - splatters

Layer 6 - black CS

Layer 7 - subway art sentiment from It's Your Day heat embossed white

Layer 8 - Distress Inks

Whew! You must check out the beauties the DT created using their favorite challenge themes. And our guest designer, Laura Jane, has created a blue beauty you won't want to miss. The challenge is open until the end of Christmas day. The winner gets one 3x5 stamp set, two if STAMPlorations stamps were used, and a guest designer spot in February.

The sketch challenge #24 is open all month this time around with more prizes to be had. And if you are interested in applying for the new STAMPlorations Digi Design Team the deets are here.

Appreciate your stopping by in the midst of the December rush. Have a great day.

visiting the cousin

Did you see the PC &S Thanks! blog hop yesterday? Lots of amazing and thankful cardmakers sharing their talents in a final nod to the team at the magazine which is closing its doors.

I shared a card made with heat embossing and die cutting.

And today I am sharing its cousin,

Notice the family resemblance?

I swiped Distress Inks in an ombre pattern across a piece of white CS. I heat embossed the tiny leaf CHF BG on another and sponged on gold ink. Then I ran them through my Xyron sticker maker and die cut the PTI oak tree. After that it was just a matter of filling in the puzzle pieces.

Two wow! cards for the price of one. Thanks for visiting.

Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine Special Thanks! Blog Hop

Joining the fun today to express my gratitude to the gals at Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine. What a short but wild ride it was for me!

Started with this published card I made back in January 2013, one of several I created for my first submission call (thanks to the nudging of some fellow cardmaking bloggers).

Back when Cath E. left Moxie Fab  I compared it to the Grand Central Station of Cardmakingland shutting down. Now, with PC&S,  I feel like the Drama Club at Cardmakingland High School is disbanding. Gone the tryouts (submission calls) and nail biting waiting to hear if you've gotten the part. Gone the buzzing crowd clamoring to see the cast list posted on the bulletin board (Friday FB parties). Gone the drama teacher encouraging you to keep on trying (SRO). Not to forget the whole production crew who, now jobless, must find other outlets for their talents.

So my wild ride ends 76 pubs later. My card today is one of a bunch I made in November for the now-to-be-known-as-last-and-never-to-come-to-fruition-submission-call for the Stamp It issue. Boy did I go to town creating for that call.  Stamping and techniques? You don't have to ask me twice. I was ecstatic when the deadline was extended cuz I had so many projects to write up and upload, I would never have made the original deadline! I digress :) Here's my card.

I'm diggin' that STAMPlorations sentiment. "Believe". And then, of course, take the first step. Reminds me of submitting for the first time. And it's my attempt at "cheerleading" the whole "production crew" today.

A closeup of all that Delicate Golden Glitz shimmer sponged on over the turquoise embossing. Extra for SRO ;)

I'll miss the mag. I'll miss the blog. I'll miss the lovely ladies at the mag. Thanks for a wonderful ride! And thank goodness for social media :) CU around.

My farewell to PC&S from Rhine wine country and me and my first pub, in Birthday Creations Vol. 3. Should you ever find yourself in the neighborhood, stop by. There's always a Riesling cold. Cheers to you on a job well done and good luck with whatever comes next!

You should have come from something colorful from the lovely Laura Williams and your next stop is certain to be something beautiful at Lisa Arana's blog. Enjoy. Thanks so much, Taheerah A., for making this hop happen.

Mixed Media Card Challenge #6

This month's theme at The Mixed Media Card Challenge is "Home" with an optional element of "Lace". Why does that make me think of an old granny in her Victorian house?!?

Well, my stash of dies doesn't include many houses, so I went with this one from PTI's Love Lives Here set and the trees from City Scene. Added some artificial snow (man that stuff gets all over the place!) and embossing paste stencilled through SSS Falling Stars to the sky which I watercolored.

For a bit more texture I dry embossed my kraft cardbase with a doily (kinda like lace, right?) embossing folder from Crate Paper and then inked over it lightly to make the impressions pop.

A sentiment from STAMPlorations Joyful on a tag accompanied by a perching cardinal from Impression Obsession finish off my card.

I think I managed a mixed media card that's still kinda CAS ;) Check out the DT's fabulous creations and show us your take on "Home". If you need a refresher, here's the deal on what makes a card a mixed media card. Basically, it's about TEXTURE, DIMENSION and TECHNIQUES. The challenge runs until December 25th.

I'm joining the Anything Goes fun over at:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge 
Uniko Studio

christmas tags

Doubt that there is much traffic in blogland today, but I'm sharing a couple tags I finally got around to after being totally inspired by Tracey M.'s series 25 Tags of Christmas. Which is ending today. There is a Flickr group if you want an inspiration overload :)

There were multiple shaker tags. What a cool idea. Loved the idea of letting a pretty PP shine as the shaker backing. Used a PTI tag and Waltzingmouse sentiment. I'm joining the Anything Goes fun at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

On this one I was inspired by some tags which were heat embossed and watercolored with shimmery paints. I didn't achieve nearly the same shimmer, but oh well.  Thought the floating vellum circle with the embossed circular Penny Black sentiment worked well with the rest of the tag.

I did heat emboss a couple of the snowflakes (PTI) with holographic embossing powder which adds some interest and a bit more sparkle. And added a big ole sparkly Marianne Creatables snowflake. Can ya see it? (tee hee hee)

It's actually a tag card. Did some simple stamping of the images on the inside and softened them a bit with my water brush. I'm playing at Cards and More #120 Simply Blue and Inkspirational #70 No Red or Green and Time Out #19 Embossing with Sparkle.

This was the result of my post-perusing (Tracey's blog) crafting session. The ornament tag is blogged here. These were such fun to make and will adorn the bags of cookies we are making for neighbors this year. Yippie! More to come soon. Thanks for visiting.

oh christmas tree... which isn't

actually a Christmas tree stamp.

See the Sweet Stamp Shop Sparkle and Shine set?

 Meet my card.

Started with a stitched rectangle die cut stamped with that gem (once in Adirondack Bottle and once in Lettuce and then swiped lightly with my water brush) and given white embossed dot trunks. Balanced with a die cut Impression Obsession cardinal and a Technique Tuesday sentiment, stamped onto the base and die cut for interest.

Now, See the Aha Arts Geometric Borders set?

Meet my card.

Get the picture.

Squeaking in before the gates close at Craft Stamper's Take It, Make It for November. Use a non-Christmas stamp to make a Christmas card. OK :)

Also joining the fun at Stempelkueche #8 Untypische Weihnachtskarte. I think this qualifies as a non-typical Christmas card.

And cuz I really do love red and green at Christmas and that's what Bonnie wished for over at Merry Monday.

Thankful... for your visit. Have a lovely Thanksgiving.