Christmas Cards x 2

I managed to miss my goal of doing at least one Christmas project a month this March so I am doubling up here in April.

First up is a Lili of the Valley stamp Collecting the Tree which I paired up with Crate Paper dp. I tried a different Memento ink to stamp the image, Expresso Truffle which gives a softer look than the Tuxedo Black that I normally use. I used a piece from one of the label sheets to stamp the PTI sentiment. A combo of Ranger Stickles and Polar White Flower Soft emulated snow.   

Products: Lili of the Valley stamp, PTI sentiment stamp, Crate Paper dp, Linen Thread, American Crafts ribbon, MFT and PTI buttons, Ranger Stickles, Flower Soft, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Bears-E40, E41, E42; Scarves-W00, E81, BG10, BG11, BG34; Tree-YG0000, YG21, YG01; Snow-G0000, G00; Shadows-C00, C1

I used the same Crate Paper pad for my second card using Sugar Nellie Christmas Garland stamp. I bought some 4x8 envelopes this winter so the card size is 3.75x7.5. I cut down the base  top 3/4 of inch in order to allow the front panel to reflect the snowflake top cut with one of The Cat's Pajamas Holiday Toppers CutUps. The small sawtooth border at the bottom of the image was cut with The Cat's Pajamas Pinking Border CutUps.

Products: Sugar Nellie stamp, Crate Paper dp, May Arts ribbon, Basic Grey fabric brad, The Cat's Pajamas CutUps, Copic Markers
Copics: W00, E81, BG10, BG11, BG34, YG0000, YG21, YG01, RV00, R81, R83, R22, R24, R27

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas in April cards! Thanks for stopping by.

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Home is Where the Heart Is

Good morning. Happy Friday to you! 

I have another card today featuring the Market Street Home Sweet Home stamp set. I stamped the surburbanite looking home and colored up with Copics. I stamped the shrubbery separately and after coloring and fussy cutting out, added to the scene adhering with pop dots for dimension. Lots of layers comprised of the My Mind's Eye Collectable Remarkable 6x6 pad which includes the more traditional colors of our lives.

Products: Market Street Stamps, My Mind's Eye dp, American Crafts ribbon, PTI felt and button, Kaisercraft pearls, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Y0000, YR30, YR31, Y11, C0, C1, C3, R32, R35, R56, W00, E81; Shrubs-G40, G43, G46; Shadows-BG70, BG0000

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

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All That Scraps Review - Sweet November Josie's Brella

It's review day on the All That Scraps blog and I am joining other members of the design team in showing you more projects using the April release stamps and dies. Today we are concentrating on the Sweet November line. 

Josie is my favorite Fairwee so I decided to stamp up Josie's Brella again pairing her up from papers from the Crate Paper On Trend paper pad. I cut out the image with Spellbinders Nestabilities allowing part of the flower to fall outside of the circle. After coloring up with Copics, I then stamped a simple sentiment from the C.C. Designs AmyR Eggstra Special set directly onto the image panel.

Products: Sweet November stamp, C.C. Designs stamp, Crate Paper dp, May Arts ribbon, PTI button, Kaisercraft pearls, My Favorite Things Die-namics, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Skin-E0000, E000, E11, R20; Hair-C3, C5, C7; Dress-RV00, RV10, R81; Wings-W00, E81; Flower-Y0000, YR30, Y11, G40, G43, W2, W5, W7; Shadows-W00, E81

Check out the All That Scraps blog for more review projects.


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You Make my Flowers Bloom (April TCP Tuesday)

The April TCP Tuesday challenge is going strong. Have you made your card yet? The theme is flowers everywhere - to use flowers as the focal point of your project, not just as an embellishment.

I kept things rather simple this time, using the sentiment from the Bloom stamp set as the centerpiece. I attached flowers cut with the Flower Button CutUps to a flourish cut with the Heart Swirl CutUps which is a favorite new die. The tiny flowers in the upper right hand corner were left over from another project which was cut with the Lacy Floral Doily CutUps. The paper is from the American Crafts Soho Garden pad and I followed the current Sweet Sunday Sketch (SSSC182) for the layout.

Products: The Cat's Pajamas stamp and CutUps, American Crafts dp, Kaisercraft pearls and jewels, Spellbinders Nestabilities


Here are the details to the challenge:

1. The first Tuesday of the month Alma will post a challenge on the Dancing in Pajamas blog. The challenge will also be posted on the TCP Splitcoaststampers forum and on the TCP Facebook page.
2. If you want to play along you just upload your design right on Dancing in Pajamas blog using the InLinkz button. (The challenge button will be posted on the right hand column of this blog so you don't have to search around). If you want to display your pretties on Splitcoaststampers using keyword TCPTUESApr13.
3. The Challenge will be a month-long challenge and you can play as many times as you like during that month.
4. Cards and projects must have at least one Cat's Pajamas Stamp or CutUps die in the project.
5. On the First Monday of the Month a winner will be chosen from the previous challenge and crowned Swanky Stamper.
6. The Swanky Stamper will not only be acknowledged as the Swankiest Stamper for that month, but will also receive some of the stamps from our next release and get to play along with us at our Pajamas Party and Blog Hop. AND... They'll even get a special spot in the Gallery highlighting the project that won them the gig AND as snazzy badge to display on their blog.
7. The winner will be announced the First Monday of the month on Splitcoaststampers, Facebook page and this Blog. 

Now get busy with those floral themed cards!

 

Hello

First of all, the people of Boston and West, TX continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

I have another card using a There She Goes stamp, Love Birds. I stamped the birdcage image and then the bird separately. I colored both with Copic markers and then fussy cut out the bird and attached it with dimensional dots for a 3D effect. The sentiment from another TSG set was stamped onto a piece punched with a Stampin' Up punch. I wanted everything to be fresh and bright so I used papers from the Pebbles Family Ties pad against a pure white background. I generally followed this week's Tuesday Morning Sketch for the layout although I flipped it to portrait style (oops! I was too late for this).

Products: There She Goes stamp, Pebbles dp, Kaisercraft pearl, Stampin' Up punch, Copic Markers
Copics: W00, E81, YR30, YR31, Y35, B41, B32, B21, BG70, BG0000

I want to mention some changes I've been forced to make to the internal workings of my blog. I've noticed that I've had quite a bit of spam over the past few weeks and consequently some traffic from a site that has no reason to be here. Most of the extra visitors appear to be from one particular country. I know I have some fabulous regular readers from this not-to-be-named country because I see your wonderful comments and even receive emails occasionally. I couldn't go the blocking of IP addresses because of that so I've taken a few steps which I hope will help. I have no desire to moderate comments but I have done so on those posts that are older. I've also closed comments on some of the posts that appear to be getting the most unwanted hits. These are my last ditch efforts before turning on word verification again.

Hoping for a Better Week

I know you are not suppose to wish your life away but I am really glad to see the end of the past week. So much horror and destruction all rolled into one week for our country. From the marathon bombings, to the nut sending letters laced with ricin to the earthquake sized explosion of a fertilizer plant in Texas which caused so much devastation.

We were literally glued to our television all day Friday. We slept later than usual. So while I was waiting on the coffee to brew, I fired up my laptop to find out that the terrorists had been identified and that in fact one was dead and the authorities were hot on the trail of the other one. So of course I immediately ran to the television. We just couldn't stop watching. The sight of a major American city completely shut down was both amazing, disconcerting and surreal to see.

The only good thing about sitting around all day watching the news is that I got several images colored and cards planned. Today's card represents one of those. I colored up one of my new There She Goes Nutmeg stamp and then fussy cut her out along with the extra skull. What a fun new character! I'm already anticipating next month's release! I matched her up with papers from the Carta Bella Paris Girl paper, giving her some fun pink hair.

Products: There She Goes stamp, Carta Bella dp, Doodlebug button and jewels, My Favorite Things Die-namics, Stampin' Up punch, Copic Markers
Copics: Skin-E000, E00, E11, R20; Hair/Clothing-RV00, R81, R83, R85, N1, N3, N5, N7, W00, E81

I doubled up on challenges with this card including the There She Goes (TSG203) "just because" challenge and also following this week's Deconstructed Sketch (DS98) for the layout.

Let's all hope for a much better week. Have a great Sunday.

Despite everything that has happened, there is beauty is this world

After a week of such ugliness, I think it is appropriate to talk about some beautiful things in our world.

I was drawn to the My Favorite Things Inspired by the Front Porch-Spring stamp set because it contained the dogwood image. Dogwoods are everywhere around the south. We personally lost a lot of trees in the April 11, 2011 tornadoes that ravaged our state but our two dogwoods survived.  It is one of my favorite trees not only because they are beautiful but because of their religious connotation.  The legend of the dogwood is that in biblical times, it was a tree as strong as the oak and therefore was a popular choice for crucifixions. Sensing the dogwoods distress over this Jesus said that the dogwood would never be used for this purpose again by changing it to a more slender and bent tree. The petals were made to appear as the cross with two short petals and two longer petals. The ends of each petal were stained with blood from the nails and the center a crown of thorns so that all who see it would remember.

Here are what mine look like right now:

And now for my card. I created my own dogwood blossoms using the Lucky Charms Cutters using Christa's tutorial here. I took the tutorial a step farther by snipping the ends with scissors and then using Copic Marker R56 to add the blood stains.  I wanted the colors to be fresh and serene so I chose paper from the new Webster's Pages Composition and Color pad. The "branches" behind the flowers were cut using the My Favorite Things Fancy Flourish Die-namics which I cut in two. The sentiment is from a Verve set. I generally followed this week's My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club sketch.

Products: My Favorite Things stamp and Die-namics, Verve stamp, Webster's Pages dp, Kaisercraft pearls, C.C. Designs Cutters, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Dogwoods-W00, E81, R56, G40, G43; Shadows-BG0000, BG70

Here are a few more photos from my yard. The camellia bush is fading as they are the first to bloom - often times when it's actually still cold. The camellia is the Alabama state flower. We actually have to stake the bush because when it blooms, it is so heavy it starts to droop.

Azaleas are another southern tradition and are in full bloom right now. They are only a couple of years old so they still have some growing to do. When one of the tornadoes I mentioned above blew threw our neighborhood early that morning, I was sure they would be gone as they had only been planted a few days before. But there they stood.

This week has been so heartbreaking. And ugly. And difficult. It's hard not to hate. But there is still hope and there is still beauty in our lives. Let's wrap our arms around one another and become as one. United. Let's stand strong for the greatest country in the world.

And in closing, I want to share this organization that I found through one of my favorite stampers, Joanne. The One Fund has been established to help victims with medical expenses beyond what their insurances will pay. So many of these victims will be affected by the bombing for the rest of their lives, both physically and mentally.

Miss You

I had this card ready to photograph and post for yesterday afternoon but frankly after I saw what happened in Boston, I could just not motivate myself to get it done. I just kept thinking. Not again. Not again. Please not again. My heart and my prayers go out to the people of Boston, especially to those people who have injured or lost loved ones. And a huge thank you to the first responders who did such a magnificent job of saving lives while risking their own.

So anyway, my card today features a stamp from the Taylored Expressions Let's Chat set. I really wanted a clean and graphic look, combining paper from the Fancy Pants The Good Life pad with  a chipboard arrow that I covered with patterned paper and an old school metal rim tag for the sentiment. 

Products: Taylored Expressions stamps, Fancy Pants dp, Maya Road chipboard, Kaisercraft pearls, My Favorite Things Die-namics, Copic Markers
Copics: R22, R24, R27, G0000, G000, G00, N1, N3, N7; Y11, Y15, Y35, W00, E81, W1, W2

At times like these I can't help but wonder that crafts and cards are too trivial to share. Yet I also know that allowing terrorists (whoever they are) to interrupt our way of life and take away the small pleasures gives them a win that we can't allow them to own. 


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Happy Birthday Camper

I have a masculine card to show you today that I made it for one of my husband's best friend's birthday recently. He is on his second career after some setbacks. Since he has always been a fabulous cook he decided to become his own employer by purchasing and running a food truck which he parks at a nearby university. The camper image from the Market Street Gone Campin' set reminded me of his set up so I decided to feature it on his card. After stamping the image, I cut it out with a Spellbinders Nestie and then colored with Copic Markers. I kept things rather simple with the sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas Simply Said set stamped directly onto the background panel and then added a couple of buttons as embellishments.The paper is all from the Studio Calico Here and There pad.

Products: Market Street stamp, The Cat's Pajamas sentiment stamp, Studio Calico dp, PTI buttons, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Camper-C00, C1, C3, C5, B0000, B000, B01, YR20, YR01, YR12, B41, B32, B93, N1, N3, N5, N7; Pavement-C1, C3, C5; Shadows-W00, E81

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a fabulous weekend.

All That Scraps Review - Tumbleweeds Lipstick

It's review day on the All That Scraps blog and I am joining other members of the design team in showing you more projects using the April release stamps and dies.

I am featuring Lipstick from the Tumbleweeds collection. Of course I went all girly girl with her. After coloring the image with Copic Markers I added some Liquid Pearls on her pearl necklace. I used the Gals Cutters to cut the tube of lipstick and the purse, adding Ranger Glossy Accents to the lipstick portions on the image and the diecut. The sentiment came from the new For My Gal clear set.

 

Products: C.C. Designs stamps and Cutters, My Mind's Eye dp, Ranger Liquid Pearls, Ranger Glossy Accents, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Skin-E000, E00, E11, R20; Hair-E31, E35, E37, E57; Clothing-YR30, YR31, B0000, B000, BG11; Mirror/Lipstick/Hair Accessories-W00, E81, R30, R32, R35, R37; Floor-W00, W1, W2; Shadows-BG70, BG0000

Thank you so much for stopping by. Check out the All That Scraps blog for more review projects.


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Bloom (April TCP Tuesday)

The April TCP Tuesday challenge is in full swing. The theme is flowers everywhere - to use flowers as the focal point of your project, not just as an embellishment.

What a perfect challenge for spring. We are in full bloom around here. It is a gorgeous time of year here in Alabama. Along with the beauty, there is a downside unfortunately. Pollen, pollen everywhere! As we were on our way to church on Sunday we noticed that it looked like dust was blowing around in the air. But we quickly figure out that it was pollen in the air! Instead of a dust bowl, we are in a pollen bowl right now. I'm not going to complain though, especially since the midwest is getting snow right now. 

Now on to my card. I started out by cutting a white basket using the Eggs in a Basket CutUps adding a few highlights with Copic Markers W00 and E81 here and there for more definition. I then cut out several flowers from various colors of felt using the flower center from the Pinwheels CutUps. I used one of the newest CutUps, the Heart Swirl to create some vines and leaves curling around the flowers and the basket. The sentiment is from the Bloom stamp set and the bottom border was cut using the Icing CutUps.

Products: The Cat's Pajamas stamp and Dies, Doodlebug dp and sticker, PTI felt, Kaisercraft pearls, Ki Memories mini brads, Copic Markers

Here are the details to the challenge:

1. The first Tuesday of the month Alma will post a challenge on the Dancing in Pajamas blog. The challenge will also be posted on the TCP Splitcoaststampers forum and on the TCP Facebook page.
2. If you want to play along you just upload your design right on Dancing in Pajamas blog using the InLinkz button. (The challenge button will be posted on the right hand column of this blog so you don't have to search around). If you want to display your pretties on Splitcoaststampers using keyword TCPTUESApr13.
3. The Challenge will be a month-long challenge and you can play as many times as you like during that month.
4. Cards and projects must have at least one Cat's Pajamas Stamp or CutUps die in the project.
5. On the First Monday of the Month a winner will be chosen from the previous challenge and crowned Swanky Stamper.
6. The Swanky Stamper will not only be acknowledged as the Swankiest Stamper for that month, but will also receive some of the stamps from our next release and get to play along with us at our Pajamas Party and Blog Hop. AND... They'll even get a special spot in the Gallery highlighting the project that won them the gig AND as snazzy badge to display on their blog.
7. The winner will be announced the First Monday of the month on Splitcoaststampers, Facebook page and this Blog.

I hope you will join us this month.

 

 

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Come Sail Away with Me

I confess to a serious nautical phase right now, assisted by the fab Fancy Pants Down by the Shore paper and the Taylored Expressions Bon Voyage stamp set.

I stamped the sailboat image onto Copics X-Press It cardstock, cut out with Spellbinders Nestabilities and then colored with Copic markers. I cut the cloud using The Cat's Pajamas Cloud Border CutUps and then stamped the sentiment on it. The waves were cut with the Taylored Expressions Wave Die and I wrapped bamboo twine around them and secured with a button. The red and white chipboard button is a coordinating piece from the Down by the Shore collection. 

Products: Taylored Expressions stamp and Die, Fancy Pants dp and chipboard button, PTI button, Basic Grey jewels, The Cat's Pajamas CutUps, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Sailboat-R22, R24, R29, W00, E81, B000, B01, B04, Y0000, Y13, Y15, Y35; Shadows-B0000, B000

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Masculine Birthday Card

When I first bought this There She Goes Vroom stamp I had visions of a bright yellow or even hot pink but when I saw this week's There She Goes (TSG201) challenge to make a masculine card, I knew I wanted to go in another direction with it. I combined it with some really cool paper from the Studio Calico Here and There pad. Since it was a masculine card I kept the frou frou to a minium, adding a tabbed birthday sentiment, some bamboo cord, silver brads, a washer from my husband's tool box and a wrench cut with My favorite Things Die-namics. I "think" the sentiment is from Stamping Bella and the dots stamp came from The Cat's Pajamas Simply Said set.

Products: There She Goes stamp, The Cat's Pajamas stamp, Studio Calico dp, My Favorite Things Die-namics, Copic Markers
Copic Markers: YR20, YR23, YR24, C00, C1, C3, C5, W00, N1, N3, W00, W1, W2, W5, E81

That's it for this Friday. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

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All That Scraps 6th Anniversary Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the All That Scraps 6th Anniversary Blog Hop! I am so excited you could join us. All That Scraps is the perfect place to find all your stamping and scrapbooking needs.

If you have arrived here from Martine's blog you are in the right place. If you just happened to stumble upon this post, you can start at the beginning of the hop at Simone's blog. 

I am proud to say that I have been associated with All That Scraps in some capacity as part of the Sweet November team, the challenge team and now as a member of the ATS design team for approximately two fun and exciting years.  I've enjoyed every minute of my experience and am glad to be joining others in congratulating Christine and All That Scraps on six years of success.

And now for my card. I used one of the images from the new For My Gal clear stamp set, stamping onto Copics X-Press it cardstock and then cutting out with Spellbinders Nestabilities. I also stamped the flower portion of the image again and fussy cut out. After coloring both images with Copic markers, I placed the second flower image over the original attaching with pop dots for extra dimension. I generally followed this week's Mojo Monday sketch (MOJO287) for the layout.

Products: C.C. Designs stamps, Pebbles dp, Wilton paper doily, PTI button, Kaisercraft pearls, May Arts ribbon, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Flower-W00, E81, YG0000, YG01, YG91, YR30, YR31, Y35; Flower Pot-E13, E15, E19; Shadows-B0000, B000, B01

This blog hop will be open until Saturday, April 6 at 12:01am. There is a $25 gift certificate available to a lucky commenter. To be eligible to win, you must comment on each of the participating blogs.

Thanks for stopping by! Eva is your next stop on the hop.


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Sweet November Preview - Jilly and Emaline's Secret

Welcome to the last of the April  Sweet November previews for All That Scraps. Some of my favorite characters, the Fairwees are making another appearance.

Today's card features Jilly and Emaline's Secret which I cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities and colored with Copics as per usual. The sentiment from the AmyR Be Happy Sentiment set was stamped onto a banner shape which I anchored with a trio of buttons, I combined papers from the Echo Park For the Record 2 (Tailored) pad keeping the layout simple and graphic.

Products: Sweet November stamp, C.C. Designs stamp, Echo Park dp, PTI buttons, Kaisercraft pearls, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers
Copics: Skin-E000, E00, E11, R20 (Jilly) and E50, E0000, E21, R20 (Emaline); Hair-N1, N3, N5, N7 (Jilly) and E50, E51, E53, E57 (Emaline); Dresses-YR30, YR31, Y21 (Jilly) and R20, R22, R24 (Emaline); Shoes-G43, G46; Wings-G0000, G000; Shadows-BG70, BG0000

Amy, the illustrator of the Sweet November line has a creative card to share with you and also outlines the details on how to win some blog candy which includes the stamp we are all using today. All you have to do is leave comments on both our blogs.

This stamp along with the other April stamps and dies are available for purchase at the All That Scraps store NOW. This card along with many other Sweet November projects are also on the All That Scraps blog today.  
 

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