TROPICAL VALENTINES--One month from today!

Just one month to Valentine's Day!


The backgrounds for these two cards came from a 6x6 pad, "Botanicals" I found at Hobby Lobby.  The heart on the first card was popped up with dimensionals and coated with clear Wink of Stella--simple and easy.


The second card is more ornate with flowers and leaves on a heart.  The embellishments (pearls and clear sequins) help make everything pop.

FUNNY STAMPING STORY a la Jeanne Robertson

I just spent 20 minutes looking for a die I had used while working on some Valentines.  It was nowhere to be found--not my table, my desk, the floor, under some scraps???...nowhere!  Finally, I looked down and there it was, attached to the magnetic clasp on my bracelet!

BTW, if you don't know who Jeanne Robertson is, I suggest you head over to her YouTube posts and check out her FABulous sense of humor. (All clean, by the way...) She is a story-teller that will make you laugh so hard, tears will be running down your cheeks. 

PAPER PLAYERS #424--Color Challenge

This snowlady is ready for anything!  She also knows the value of good friends that can melt your heart...

Check out the other Paper Player entries HERE!

THE PERFECT MATCH--Rich Razzleberry

(Sorry--this is a bit out out of focus.  It's not your eyes.)

This card got started from one tiny scrap of dsp that happened to match the card base, so I carefully die cut two flowers from it.  One of the flowers is missing part of its petals, but I was able to tuck it underneath the other blossom to use it.

There was just enough of the dsp scrap to turn it over and cut three yellow flowers from it.  I also found three last matching purple sequins for the centers.  The greeting was stamped on the side of the yellow and cut by hand.  All this from the original scrap which was 3 1/4" x 2 5/8."

I sure got my money's worth out of that scrap!

VALENTINES GALORE!

As you can see by the shadows on these cards, the sun is shining today!  It's cold and windy outside, but just delightful in the stamping tower where I have been working on Valentines.

The first card is on a green card base with a floral panel on top.  To highlight the flowers and sprigs, I mounted everything on a Watermelon Wonder oval.

The square card is harder to see in the sunlight.  The heart is cut from a scrap of white glitter paper, and the pink flower beneath the heart has 3 pearls in the center.  I also added some copper threads under the flower and heart--all washed out in the sun...but I'm not complaining about too much sun!

IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW...

POSTAGE WILL BE GOING UP AGAIN!  WE HAVE UNTIL JANUARY 26th TO PURCHASE A ROLL OF FOREVER STAMPS OR SOME CHRISTMAS STAMPS FOR NEXT YEAR AT THE PRESENT RATE.

ON JANUARY 27th THE PRICE WILL GO UP TO 55 CENTS.

THREE OF A KIND--Snowflakes

In keeping up with my resolve to use supplies I already have in my stash, I came up with these three cards.  The card base for each came from a box of coordinated cards and envelopes I got at AC Moore a few months ago.  The dsp is from a 6x6" pad I purchased last Fall at Hobby Lobby which has a mix of floral and black & white designs.

The first card features fireworks I stamped with Versamark and clear embossed.  The greeting is a die cut and has a thin strip (barely visible) running along the top of the wood grain dsp.

The second card has a more bold dsp, some white stitching on the fold side and three snowflakes along the line.  I added clear sequins and tiny light blue gems in the center of each.

The third card was the easiest, although they're all simple and easily made.  It features a larger snowflake  die cut from silver cardstock.  I also added a tiny light blue gem in the center.

I have been drawing a lot of inspiration lately from Tina on Cards and Coffee Time (YouTube.)  One day a week she posts cards made with supplies in her stash, and they're always great!

FRUGAL CRAFTER RANT

I finally figured out why I've been in such a funk lately:  I turned from a card maker to a stamping shopper/collector!  I spent more time last year on line than in making cards and maintaining my blog.  Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter on YouTube, set me (and others) straight with her accurate analysis.  Some (or many) of us have been  keeping up on the latest stamps and supplies instead of using what we already have.  Thank you Lindsay for helping us get un-addicted to the habit of thinking we need so much stuff.

Think about it...haven't we all complained about not having enough time to get things done?  If we just practiced being content with what we already have, we wouldn't be buying more and wondering where to store it.  The time we've spent surfing YouTube and Pinterest, as well as all the on-line suppliers, could have been spent using our imaginations for cards that would actually get mailed to people who need a kind word or a chuckle.

This card was made with just one set that has been sitting here for months since it arrived in the mail.  It is a Hero Arts set of stamps and dies which also includes 15 greetings!  I guarantee you'll be seeing more of this set in the very near future...

COLOR, STAMP, STAY

Are these adorable or what???  My daughter gave them to me for Christmas, and I just LOVE them!  I decided to use them for snacks in the Stamping Tower. 

One for chocolate, one for chips, one...nah...I'll use all three for chocolate.

CAT-LESS IN NEW JERSEY

It was a busy Christmas season and a wonderful celebration.  The tree is trimmed with blue lights, 100 pine cones, 40 birds and a dozen glass icicles (as in years past.)  However, there are no longer any cats and, although we miss them, we are enjoying our new furniture in the family room.

The sectional couch was 30 years old, so it was way overdue for an update.  We chose a more modern sofa and a leather swivel chair.  We also purchased an end table with a drawer.  The piece in front of the sofa is a family heirloom and very handy as a coffee table.  The bottom shelf holds a box with puzzles and small items that would otherwise make the room look cluttered. (and we don't want that...)

The little table next to the swivel chair was made by Rick.  On top is a stuffed squirrel in front of the sliders where we watch the "real" squirrels play and try to get to the hanging bird feeder.  They are always fun to watch!

By the way, the carpet looks like new thanks to the Hoover Dash shampooer that magically "erased" all the pet stains.  It's amazing!  My sister was so impressed with the results, she ordered one for herself.

In preparation for Christmas and two house guests, this house got a thorough cleaning upstairs and down.  So if you've been wondering why I haven't posted in over a month, these photos should give you a clue.  I can't go and teach "De-clutter de House" with my house a mess, can I?  I also made and sent over 100 Christmas cards, shopped for gifts in brick and mortar stores (and small shops,) caught up on the laundry and visited my chiropractor numerous times.

Thanks for visiting.  Have a Happy New Year full of good health and happiness!


P.S.  Watch for another Decluttering series -- coming soon!

Shiny Metallic Birthday Card

This card and front panel were sitting on my table for ages because I just couldn't find a way to use it that I liked.  When I ran across some large scraps of the same copper paper, I had the best solution (finally!)

After punching out the flowers and gluing them together, I discovered that the large flower fit the stem of one of the large flowers in the dsp design.  The smaller flower fit the greeting strip.  All I needed to finish were two clear gems and the greeting.

As Frenchie would say, "Voila!"

PAPER PLAYERS #420--Sketch

Thanks, Paper Players, for a quickie sketch!

This came together in about

15 minutes total.

Great way to use up some scraps, too!

MORE FANCY FOLD CARDS

This is the first card with my new SU Sprig Punch, and I think I'll be giving it a lot of use.  These double gate cards are fun to make!  You just have to remember to use adhesive only on one side. (Ask me how I know...)

The flower makes use of layered SU punches that are sponged and stacked with glue dots and embellishments on top..

This second card is a creative mistake with the folding.  It was to be another double gate fold card, but I cut off too much on the one side.  Instead of throwing it away or using the paper for scrap, I folded back one side and kept the right side triangular. 

The flower and sprigs are mounted to the left side.  I tucked the right flap between the petals to keep it closed.

I plan to add a greeting when I'm ready to send it.


TIP:  My "rule" for how many scraps to keep, I save only those that are bigger than an index card.  It used to be business card size, but I still had too many to keep.

DOUBLE-PLEATED FOLD CARD--Snowflakes

The more double-pleated cards I make, the easier they get.  I plan to use this for a January birthday.  The greeting will go to the right of the large snowflake.

This design and dsp would make a good masculine card.

DIE CUT NATIVITY

Thanks to Evelyn, who lent me this die, I now have 20 of these cards ready to go.  The inside reads:   "May your season be peaceful, your New Year be bright."

Sharing supplies is a great way to expand your possibilities!

I MISS SUMMER ALREADY!

...AND INDIAN SUMMER, TOO!

I sure hope the weather improves by winter.

We had very few hot days without rain,

and the wet weather followed right through this week.

I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of snow this year.

At least it's still summer in the Stamping Tower--

Bring on the pink flowers!

PAPER PLAYERS #417--Give Thanks

It's my favorite squirrel again!  Just in time for this week's Paper Players challenge.


For a peek at other entries, click HERE

THREE OF A KIND--Always Artichoke panel

I had some precut green panels laying on my work table, so I used them for these cards.  The wreath was very simple to make and embellish.


The second card was even easier. I used glitter pens for
the ornament and silver cording for the bow.  The "blessings" die cut was time consuming to cut and glue, so I made only one card with it.  (Not practical for making a lot of cards.)

The large oval ef served the purpose well with the flower on the side and the gold embossed verse in the center.

ALL 101 CARDS DONE--yay!

This was the very first design I came up with for this year, and I really like the way it came out.

Starting with the top panel, I used my MISTI to stamp the words.  Next, I die cut the largest star and mounted it to the card front with dimensionals.  Then I die cut the silver fancy star and glued it to the white cs underneath.  For embellishment, I glued a smaller gold star in the center and later added a small gem (hard to see here.)

Thankfully, the MISTI made stamping the front sooo easy!

75 DOWN & 25 TO GO!

With everything that was going on here this Fall, I got off to a later start than usual with my 100 cards for Christmas.  I'm coming into the final stretch now, though!

This is the only design I came up with this year that uses dsp.  Thanks to Evelyn for loaning me her pine ef and SU Peaceful Wreath stamp set.  I like how this turned out--not only for the look, but also for the ease of using the assembly line technique.

I highly recommend using a stamp positioner like the MISTI or the ones from SU and Tim Holtz.  It really helps things go much faster with less errors, especially when you have a bunch of cards to make at one time.