Glittery & bright

The number of family members feeling under the weather has grown to include... all of us.  I still managed to crank out a card on the weekend that I haven't shared yet:

I used the hanging snowflakes image from "friendship jar: holiday fillers" and stamped them 3 times across my white mat in versamark ink.  I then heat-embossed them all in silver.  I colored each grouping, including the rhinestones, with a different blue-green copic marker.  The main image was matted onto a sheet of silver cardstock, and then to a white card-base.

The sentiment is from "in the meadow," and was stamped in black ink.

I'm linking this card to the CAS-ual Fridays challenge - I used their sketch for my card.

Thanks for looking!

lawnscaping challenge: fall apples

A fall photo-inspiration for the newest lawnscaping challenge:

To this card:

I used 3 lawn fawn sets: "silly valentine," "blissful botanicals," and "critters in the burbs."

I created several masks for my smiley-apples and stamped them repeatedly into a large pile.  They were colored in with copics.  The leaves and tree were also stamped and colored with copic markers.  

Thanks for looking!

Winter birthday wishes.

I'm going to keep the writing short and sweet since I'm still a bit hopped up on Nyquil, head-swimming from hearing dry coughing in stereo sound...

Our latest Papertrey Princess challenge is to create a birthday card.  Awesome, since my dad and my sister have birthdays coming up in a few weeks, and I'm pretty sure my mom will be contacting me to create their birthday cards *wink.*

I used the "lost & found Christmas" paper-pack, from My Mind's Eye - aren't they so rich and cozy looking? The sentiment is from PTI's "in the meadow," and the mug and spoon images are from Paper Smooches' "hot concoctions" set.  To add to the cozy feel of the card, I distressed the edge of my white mat, beneath all the patterned paper, and sponged all the edges in "vintage photo" distress ink.

Thanks for looking!

PTI blog hop: christmas cozy.

Out with the turkey, in with the Christmas!  (We had our Canadian thanksgiving in October, and have been itching to have our American friends catch up - hee hee!)

Here's the PTI blog hop inspiration photo:

I'm a traditional kind of gal when it comes to holiday decorating, so this fits in perfectly with my color scheme!  I pulled the garden greenery and the bright red and white gingham from this photo and came up with a set of holiday tags:

I used this week's MIM technique to layer sentiment stamps onto my kraft tag-base.  I then stamped a whole sheet of paper with the larger gingham strip in SU's real red ink.  Once the entire sheet was gingham-ed, I was able to make fast work of running my "in the meadow" dies through and ending up with this trio of gingham cuties.

I die-cut just as many white tags as I did kraft tags, so that I could tear the bottom half to look like snow drifts.  I gave each tag the finishing touch of holly leaves - the green leaves were embossed with an SU embossing folder, and the berries were given a hit of glossy accents.  Love how they shine!

I've created 10 of them so far, but I'll definitely be needing more of these before long!  I'm also entering these into the current simon says stamp challenge: tags!

If you're interested, here's a little peek into our holiday decorating - it's still a work in progress, but I hope you like it!

our tree, complete with ribbon accents from SU's clearance rack :)

I picked up these plain white letters on the cheap, and covered them with scrap papers

embroidery hoops, leftover fabric, felt, and PTI dies.  Love!

our sweater stockings

my favorite ornament: the scary woodland owl (my hubs hates it)

If you've scrolled all the way to the bottom, thanks for looking!

First snow!

Happy Thanksgiving, American peeps!

Yesterday morning, we woke up to the first snow of the season - it's so beautiful, so magical!  (Until I bundled up my youngest and found myself sweating, trying to get her to keep her toes uncurled so they'd slide into her boots.)  Just kidding - we had a fun playtime outside:

This mama didn't want to get her camera wet, so the pics were snapped on our backyard deck before we ran around downstairs... btw, did you notice Thomas' scarf already all wet?  I couldn't resist - I shot him a little snowball! haha - he thought it was hilarious (lucky for me!)

Thomas turned at one point and said: "I wish we could always have snow - maybe we could put it in a box or something."  Hmmmm....

How about in a jar?  I stamped the main image from "friendship jar" onto a die-cut jar shape, and also stamped the snowman from the "holiday fillers" set.  I then created a mask for the snowman, and lightly sponged blue ink around him.  I just wanted a hint of blue haze... His hat was colored in with copics, but his scarf was paper-pieced.  I used some SU "dazzling details" to create the shiney blizzard-in-a-jar.  The large bow at the top was also paper-pieced, and from the "summer fillers" set.  The candy cane background on the larger white mat was created by stamping rows of the stripes from "candy cane christmas" - they didn't line up seamlessly, but I think it's still very festive and cute :)

Thanks for looking!  Come back tomorrow for the PTI blog hop!

Thank you, Leigh!

I got some new stamps in the mail the other day, courtesy of the awesome Leigh Penner (click on her name to check out her blog - she's got serious scrapbooking/cardmaking chops!)  

I'm only sorry that my first card with the "daydreamer" images had to be a sympathy card.... but I think it turned out so soft and pretty, and will hopefully lift the spirits of a family going through a tough time...

Apart from the button and the embroidery floss frame, the card only has 2 layers:  a kraft card-base, and a mat of PTI's "guide lines grid cardstock."  I used the negative of a mat-stack 5 shape to create a mask on my white paper.  I then sponged in some tumbled glass distress ink and then stamped images from the set in various soft colors.  The sentiment was added once the mask was removed.

To stitch the frame all around, I used a little SU kit that comes with a paper-piercer and a paper-piercing template.  I made the holes, and then made quick work of passing the pink floss through them all.

Thanks for stopping by!

MIM #42: backgrounded sentiments

This week's MIM challenge is to make a layered background, using sentiment stamps.

I layered some "think big sentiments," and a few sentiments from "tiny treats: christmas" and "friendship jar holiday fillers."  I stamped them in full strength, but kept them tone-on-tone to still treat them as a background pattern.  To add some extra depth, I opted to stamp the hero arts envelope pattern background stamp over the whole red mat.  I love that stamp so much - it's subtle, and adds the perfect amount of texture.

My snowman duo was die-cut from the "in the meadow" dies and propped up with foam squares.  The tiny snowflakes to the left of the "merry and bright sentiment" are from lawn fawn's "making frosty friends."

I also dry-brushed some shimmer paint onto my little snowmen.  They glimmer in real life, even though they may look a little dingy here...

I'm also entering this card into the CAS-ual fridays challenge - I used their lovely sketch for my card :)

vintage pooh.

I was asked to create a baby shower card, to match the event's "vintage winnie the pooh theme."  I don't have any pooh stamps, so I had to think, think, think.

Oh, stuff and fluff.

sorry, just wanted to throw that one in :)

I searched online and found some vintage pooh images, printed them up on a sheet of cardstock, cropped them with a circle punch, and aged them with some distress inks.

I love the original winnie-the-pooh artwork.

I know you can't really see it in these pictures, but the kraft cardstock base is stamped with a newsprint background, in versamark ink.  I did a similar subtle stamping on the flag, and then stamped "baby shower" over-top in chocolate brown ink.

This was a fun card to make!  Now I've a "rumbly in my tumbly.  Time for something sweet."

See you tomorrow!

If it ain't broke...

There is so much amazing inspiration for holiday cards in blogland (hope I've given some of you some inspiration for your own, too!) that sometimes I don't want to come up with my own design.  If it ain't broke...

Michelle Wooderson's card.

and mine:

Different color palette, faux stitching on mine, and some tiny other differences - but essentially, the same card.

I love how switching up the colors can give it such a different feel!

Have a great weekend, and thanks for swinging by :)

another day, another snowman.

We're putting up the tree this weekend!  I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Christmas, but I think the fact that I make new cards for each of my card classes (and I'm teaching 2 this weekend) is telling...

I used PTI's snowman die, and gave him center-stage on this card.  

I used my wonderful word dies for the "happy", and stamped "holidays" using a lawn fawn alpha set.

I love his little rosy cheeks, like he's been playing outside for a little too long.  I would warm him up with some hot chocolate, but we all know he'd make a huge wet mess in the kitchen.

s-n-o-w

We get alot of snow in Montreal.  It's not uncommon to be digging yourself out of a knee-deep bank that just happened to fall while you were shopping for a few hours...  Canadian winter tip no. 1:  keep a shovel in your trunk.

I used to love the snow.  But then, and this will sound incredibly terrible, I had kids.  You'd think I'd love to share the magic with them, right?  I mean, I do - but not 4 months worth.  And not all the bundling, and the "I have to go pee" that inevitably happens as soon as you go play outside...

One thing I'll always love is building a snowman with them.  And apparently, you can't spell snow without a little white cutie in the center!  I was inspired by this card, which led to my making this one:

I used lawn fawn's "making frosty friends" and stamped that adorable snowman and the little birdie, colored in their little parts and stuck them down with foam squares.  The letters were cut out with my sizziz die, and adhered to the strip of different patterned papers.  The holly leaves add a cute little touch to the top corner.

Thanks for looking!

ps.  I'm featured on the lawn fawn blog today - like, just by myself!  I did a double-take when I spotted my name in my google-reader feed - crazy happy!

Christmas stocking.

 Here's to the softer side of Christmas, and a more girly stocking... hopefully, the lady of the house will get hers stuffed (and won't have to fill her own! *ahem*)

I used some PTI dies, an SU stocking punch, basic grey patterned papers, and some lawn fawn stamp sets.  sigh.  Christmas really does bring it all together, doesn't it?

Thanks for looking!

it's a girl!

A little breather before I show you the next round of Christmas cards for upcoming classes...  and truth be told, this was a very welcome break...

My friend asked if I could create a card for a baby shower, for a baby girl.  A day later, I was asked to create all the paper-decor for this shower!  Chantalle, you will have the match-iest card of the party ;)

I used PTI's cupcake die to create the shaped card, and accented the top with a swirl of pink icing.  I added some glitter accents with SU's new dazzling details - it's like a glitter-glue with a really fine tip.  I'm pretty sure it's just like the stuff my daughter uses, except it has a very fine tip that makes me feel like I'm that much more of an adult artist....

I used the PTI linen impression plate to add a subtle texture to the white of the cupcake.

The sentiment (from lawn fawn's "plus one") was stamped onto white cardstock.  I stamped the banner (from lawn fawn's "bannerific") and added a pink stamped layer of SU's "A to Z."  The banner then got the snip-and-stick treatment, onto the cupcake base.

Thanks for looking!

MIM #40: reverse applique

This week's challenge on Nichole's blog is to add stitching around the negative of a die-cut.

I didn't trust myself with a sewing machine for these delicate snowflakes, so I drew my stitching lines instead.

I used my MFT snowflake dienamics to cut into a sheet of kraft cardstock.  I stamped Hero Arts envelope pattern background over the entire area, and used a brown marker to add my stitching lines.  The sentiment is from PTI's think big favorites.  I love that font!

Thanks for taking a peek!

featured!

I'm so thrilled to have a little shout-out on the paper-smooches blog today!

check it out

scroll down a bit to see my mustached-mug card :)

I'll be back with a card tomorrow!  There is absolutely no natural light for picture-taking right now, and also - go ahead and take a break before I bombard you with more Christmas goodness...

By the way, we're thinking of putting up our tree soon... thoughts?  chastisements?  support?

Have a good one!

oh, christmas tree...

Another card we made at last night's card class:

10 gals, sitting around a large dining room table, (11, if you count the little lady who had to leave the party at 8pm) with crafting supplies flying everywhere is my idea of a great night out.  Plus, there are usually baked goods involved, so... YUM!

This card is so simple, but so elegant (in my opinion, right?  wink.)  I die-cut a christmas tree shape into a piece of cream cardstock and then embossed the negative with a woodgrain impression plate.  Using an ink-blending tool, I rubbed some antique linen distress ink over the layer, bringing out the woodgrain pattern.  Behind the cream mat, I stamped a piece of green cardstock with Marketstreet's vintage wallpaper background stamp.  The top layer was adhered to this green layer using foam squares, to show off the 3D effect.  Hanging from the kraft taffeta ribbon is a gold-embossed-tag, from PTI's holiday photo-finishers set.

I love a card that looks more complicated than it really is.

Thanks for popping by!

Shimmery Christmas.

Another sneaky peek at a card we'll be making in the card class I'll be teaching tonight.  I'm knee-deep in all things Christmas, so expect to see a few more of these in the days to come :)

I used PTI's YOTF: poinsettias set, and heat-embossed the large flower twice.  I cut out what I deemed to be the "top layer" of the flower, and adhered it to the bottom layer using foam squares.  The greeting was also heat-embossed, and glued down on either side of the mat stack 5 cut-out.  The whole card got a healthy dose of shimmer spray.

If you're attending tonight's class, see you soon!  And get ready to have shimmery fingertips - hee hee!

Thanks for looking!

Gratitude.

Our current papertrey princess challenge is to create 5 "thankful" cards to give out.  I've decided to pay-it-forward and create a box set of thank you cards to give to the hostess of my christmas card class tomorrow evening.

Inside a cute little package...

5 little thank you cards...

all a little bit different,

but with the same smiling, happy flower faces!

I'm also posting my set to the lawnscaping challenge.  Thanks for popping by!



stamps: on the mend (lawn fawn), simple sentiments (PTI), clouds background (hero arts)
ink: pool party (SU), memento black, copics
paper: various patterned paper, crumb cake (SU)

mini blog hop!

One of my blogging buddies (I love making blog buddies!) remarked on how many lawn fawn stamps I've been accumulating (not enough, in my opinion - they're so darn cute) and wondered if I had "clear to see" in my stash. I do, I wrote back, and it hasn't seen ink yet!  What to do, except invite another friend and organize a "clear to see" mini-blog-hop!  So, here's the oh-so-extensive lineup for our lawn fawn mini-hop - hope you'll check us alllllll out, and leave some love along the way.


Elena - that's me!

Joyce

Gayatri

Since we heard talk of early snow, I put on my cold-weather glasses for this one (groan, I know!)  I used the folded glasses from "clear to see" and stamped them repeatedly to make my own background paper.  I also stamped them to form the double "O" in "cool" onto my mat stack 4 shape.  The "c" and "l" are paper-pieced, and from "quinn's abcs". 

My winter-dude was completed with the ear-muffs and scarf from "making frosty friends."  I stamped the die shape with snowflakes from the same set, and stamped over the glasses on the background paper too. 

Thanks for looking - now hop on over to the blogs of my other cool friends ;)