Saturday, June 30, 2012

Freebie Feature

I'm sharing a card Patti  made using my free tree images.
I love how she paired the image with the wood-grain embossing on the left...such a neat idea!
Thank you Patti for 1) your note of thanks and 2)sharing the link to how you used it!
You'll want to stop by Patti's blog (Patti's Paper Creations)  and check out all the other pretty creations she's made! 
Would you like to be featured here in the future? 
Send me the link to how you've used my FREEBIES and I'll showcase them for you!

Friday, June 29, 2012

Crows and Roosters

Sharing two card sets I made with a friend in mind. Both are in themes I think she'll enjoy!
Rooster Card supplies:
  • Linen stamp (Background and Beyond Creative Stamping)
  • Ribbon
  • Red and Black polka dot mini folders
  • Rooster die (Sizzix)
The second set (Something to Crow About)  is made from this cute little stamp set on clearance over at Clear Dollar Stamps. I highly recommend their sets....check out the clearance and sale pages for some really good deals!
I popped his hat, added glitter to his flower, and gave him wiggly eyes to make him a bit more fun.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Sunshine

Here's a fun little card I did with paper scraps.  I turned them into sunshine rays for my little smiling sun.
While I didn't use the free template Mel offers (because I didn't have access to my computer at the time I was making this card) -- I will probably use them next time. I sewed between the rays with my sewing machine and then chalked over it with coordinating chalk (saves having to have all those colors of thread)...I then added faux stitching with a marker -- just because I thought it still "needed something."

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Scottie Dogs

I made this set of six cards as part of a hostess gift for a sweet friend of mine.
Click here to see the beautiful card that inspired this set.
For the second set I used a free pattern from Paper Crafts Magazine -- click here to access it!
The shape card was very much inspired by Julia Aston's cute little card -- click here to view it. 
Here's a view of all six of the cards in this set.
You'll notice the middle card on the left uses slightly larger circles to make the scallop...not sure which I like better, maybe both of them equally.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Bee Happy

One more set of cards from when Emily was here.
I'm sure you guessed that the challenge this time was to use bee's in our creations.
I popped the bees up and added glitter to the flowers...here's a better view:
Supplies used:
  • Printable Journaling Circles (link below)
  • Ribbon and Ric Rac
  • Measuring tape stamp
    • stamped on white ribbon)
  • Twine
  • Yellow button
  • Bee stamps from
    • Fun Borders (Recollections)
    • Pattern Bugs (Inkadinkado) 
  • Sharpie Markers
  • Scallop Circle Nestabilites
Here's the card Emily did...I love how she stamped the background with a word stamp...on my "to try" list!
 
Just for fun I thought I'd link to some free printable journal circles you could use on your paper creations. 
The first set of circles are the ones I used.


Monday, June 25, 2012

Birds

More cards from my time spent with Emily.  This time our challenge was just to use birds on our creation.  I chose to make a bit of a humorous card on this one -- the bird who stole the laundry line.
Supplies used:
  • Cloud template
  • Blue chalk
  • White colored pencil
  • Scripture Inspirations Stamp
  • Martha Stewart dove punch
  • Dress Ups Sizzix Dies (clothes)
  • Twine
Then I did something totally outside my comfort zone.....a single layer, stamped card (well, o.k. I did layer the trees).
Supplies used:
  • Owl Garden Stamp Set (Hampton Art)
  • Fun Borders (Recollections)
  • Twine
Here are the beautiful bird cards my niece, Emily, made. 
This post linked to:
Word Art Wednesday

Friday, June 22, 2012

The Blues

Here are some more cards made while my niece was here last week.  This challenge was to use blues and a sketch with 4 stripes down the card and 3 elements on the left side. You can see I cheated a bit with the added white.  
Supplies used:
  • White ric rac
  • Homemade Baker's Twine
  • Studio G Glitter
  • Happiness stamp (Hero Arts)
  • Punches
    • Small star
    • Small square
Here's the adorable cards that Emily made...I love how she embossed all the layers with different embossing folders on the left one, and stamped sea shells on the background papers of the right one.  Oh, and look she added white and black to the challenge too!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

House Tags

Here's the second sketch and color challenge Emily and I did together last week.
I made mine into tags while Emily made hers into classy cards.  
Once again - the picture doesn't do them justice....she used pearly looking paper on the tops and bottoms and embossed her hearts.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Sandcastle

My nephew's wife (Emily) was here for a few days last week, and we had a lot of fun making cards together.  It was therapy to me having a few days to do something fun with her.  She came up with the idea of picking a sketch and color scheme for us both to work with.  It was interesting to see what we each came up with in our own unique styles.
Here's my first creation....a sandcastle.  The sketch came from Go To Sketches from Paper Crafts and Joy of Cardmaking also from Paper Crafts. The color patterns came from Color Inspiration for Card Makers (Paper Crafts).

Supplies:
  • Sandpaper 
  • Homemade Baker's twine
  • Threading Water Border Punch (Fiskars)
  • Spritzer
  • Bic/Sharpie Markers
  • Under the Sea die and embossing folder (Provo Craft)
  • Swirls Embossing Folder (Provo Craft)



Here are a few sandcastle templates for you to try out on some summery cards!

A simpler one from Scrapbooks Etc.

 And last but not least -- one from Creating Keepsakes


Friday, June 15, 2012

Grilled Kielbasa

A friend of mine did these in her grill basket for Memorial Day this year.  I LOVED them, and since I don't have a grill basket (yet!), I used skewers and made them into kebabs.
Grilled Kielbasa Kebabs
1 package kielbasa (cut in bite sized portions)
1 can pineapple chunks
1 green pepper (cut in chunks)
1/2 onion (cut in chunks)
Catalina Dressing
(I used Zesty Catalina the first time and Tangy Bacon Catalina the second time -- both were delicious!)

Thread the above onto skewers (OR throw all the ingredients in a grill basket), cover with dressing, grill till warmed through and peppers/onions are tender.
Serve over rice and ENJOY!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Cookie Bouquet

I'm sure you're not surprised to see yet another "food bouquet" on my blog.....this time it's made of chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies!  I made it for a lady who lost her daughter 7 years ago yesterday.....just a little "in memory, sorry your heart hurts" gift. 
Here's the stoneware mug I put it in:
To view my other bouquets click here:
  1. Cinnamon Roll Bouquet
  2. Easter Candy Bouquet
  3. Candy Bar Bouquet 
This post linked to:
Sharing the Shelter

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Graduation

Here's a graduation card a friend of mine custom ordered for her nephew.  I based it on a card in this book:
Supplies used:
This card is a money holder.....here's a view of the inside.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Ship Ahoy

Another masculine card.
Supplies used:
  • Stamps
    • Set Sail (Stampin' Up)
    • World Travels (Creative Stamping)
    • Alphabet (Studio G)
  • Twine
  • Canvas

Monday, June 11, 2012

Window Cards

Here are three card fronts I did with the Madison Window Dies. They were SO MUCH FUN to create, and honestly, I got most of my inspiration from my 9 year old daughter.

~She's the one who thought of tearing a brown strip of paper and putting dirt in the window box (I absolutely LOVE the look it gives them!).
  
~She's the one who used my frond punch and put just 3 pretty flowers in each box (I tend to overcrowd them!).


~She also placed the shutters on top of the window instead of in back like I usually do.
 ~She's the one who ask for some "glass" for the window -- I used some leftover clear packaging from scrapbook supplies.

So...more than 1/2 the credit goes to my daughter for coming up with some pretty nifty ideas for me!
 

Here's an up-close look at each card front:
Supplies used:
  • Dies
    • Small Window Die (Memory Box)
    • Small Shutter Die (Memory Box)
    • Small Window Box Die (Memory Box)
  • Punches
    • Front punch (Martha Stewart)
    • Butterfly Punch
    • Small Flower Punch
    • Threading Water Border Punch (Fiskars) - Roof
    • Scalloped Daisy Border Punch (Fiskars) - Curtain
  •  Stamps
    • Fern --- Garden of Bee Balm Wreath (Rubber Stamp Tapestry)
    • Roses (Treasures by Shabby Chic)
  • Studio G glitter
  • Crayola Markers (inked up stamps with)
  • Mulberry paper (inside wall of house)
Supplies used:
  • Same basic supplies as above
  • Butterfly Fancy - flower stamp (Creative Stamping)
 Supplies used:
  • Same basic supplies as above
  • The small flowers are from the Scalloped Daisy Border punch (Fiskars)
I made the siding by cutting strips of paper and lightly running a marker along one side of it. Then I glued the strips, one on top of the other - starting from the bottom.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Embossed Brads

I'm on a roll with masculine cards of late....trying to get my stash built up for up coming birthdays and get well wishes. 
Supplies used:
  • Kraft Cardstock
  • Twine
  • Star Template
  • Backgrounds and Beyond linen stamp
  • Paper Crimper (Fiskars)
  • Embossed Brads
Wanted to share a short picture tutorial for making brads to match your project. It's not original with me, not sure just now where I saw it first....somewhere in the world of blogs! 

You can see from the pictures I used plain ole office brads.  Here's the steps to embossing your own brads.
1. Holding the brad with pliers (it gets HOT when you emboss)--- tap the top of it on your embossing pad
2. Tap in selected color of embossing powder
3. Heat set with heat gun
4. While it's still hot you can re-dunk it in the embossing powder and re-heat for a thicker coat if you like

Wa-la you can now color your brads to match your project!
This post linked to:

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Happy Birthday

I made this card for a sweet friend who turned 30 this week!
(Happy Birthday Tammy!)
Supplies used:
  • Stamps
    • Fragrant Shower (House Mouse)
    • Greetings 4 U (Stampin' Up)
  • Pink Embroidery Floss
  • Homemade Mini Roses
  • Studio G Glitter
  • Colored Pencils
  • Pink Chalk
Here's a little closer view of those glittered flowers