SSnotime56

The challenge issued was to do a card inspired by nature and add wide ribbon if you had it. It was also suggested that Sharon Johnson's favorite card size is 5.5 x 5.5, but I forgot that. Sorry 'bout that. I started out with the pine boughs from Peaceful Wishes and added the Poinsettia from Flourishes new stamp set. Once they were both on there, I didn't like it and decided I would have to cut out the poinsettia and use it elsewhere because they just didn't go together. Just for fun, I started coloring the flower. I used my blender pens and Rose Red ink for the darker color. Then I used my Twinkling H2O's for the rest of the flower. I sponged Pink Pirouette around the white areas on the card and wanted to put my wide pink satin ribbon but wasn't able to do that with the flower in the way. Then I realized that I could cut out part of the flower and overlap it onto the ribbon. I stamped the "Joy" sentiment, also from "Poinsettia and Boxwoods". I added some snowflakes in Pink Pirouette and dotted the centers with my Star Dust Stickles. I also added that to the center of the poinsettia and the pine cone, although I did manage to put my thumb down right on the still-wet stickles on the pine cone. I mounted it all on Sage Shadow and decided I like it pretty well afterall. I usually put Fray Check on the edges of my ribbon to keep them from raveling, but in this case I added a small line of the Stickles. I might just make more of these for Christmas cards. Up close, where you can see the "glow" of the Stickles, it looks pretty fancy. Thanks for the fun challenge and thanks for looking.

Will the Real Amanda HM Please Take a Bow

Well, my conscience did not allow me to post a moose to the HM challenge, and I did not have time to get to the real Amanda until today. So, without further ado, here she is. I must ask that you read the previous post to know the conflict surrounding this ballerina and her confused designer. I used my Pumpkins Embossing Folder for my CB, as well as the Swiss Dots for the Riding Hood Red paper. I colored the pumpkins, etc. with my Twinkling H2O's. I got the brilliant idea to use my labelmaker for the sentiment, adhered it to the black paper and cut it out with my word window punch. Amanda is trying out some new ballet slippers. Thanks for looking and have a great week-end.

A Mouse in Moose Costume

This week's HM challenge is a Halloween theme, represented either by the image itself or the color scheme. Since I've already posted my two Halloween HM images, I decided to go with the color idea. The only problem is that this is a moose, not a mouse. (Shhhhh......) I thought about trying to see if anyone would notice, but alas, I'm afraid you would. :) Then, I thought that this could be Amanda in her Tu-tu, disguised as a moose, but again, I'm sure you wouldn't buy that either. The funny thing is that this idea came to mind with the intent of using Amanda in her tu-tu. However, I just received my order of Rileys and I simply grabbed Sophie instead of Amanda. Since I worked hard on my ballerina, be it moose or mouse, I am posting it anyway, at least to my blog. I'll have to decide if the HM DT will ban me from future participation if I post this to the HM challenge. I would still like to use Amanda, but I have now used my ballet-slipper charm with Sophie. Oh the woes of having "stampers confusion." I need to write Dear Paperlicious for help. I want to give this to my granddaughter for Halloween. She's been asking grandma for ballet slippers, so this is a start. My DP is Basic Grey's Ambrosia. Yellow CS and ribbon are PTI. Thank you for looking and I'll really work on my "animal confusion."

Great "shows" from Card Night

Last night was my monthly card class, and we did some great cards. We employed a variety of techniques and tools to come up with these cards. I got to try SU's new die cut machine, and I had to get the adorable envelope die on the lower left card since it is supposed to work fine in my Cuttlebug. (I do love my CB and have no desire to replace it.) It makes the cutest little envelope and could be used for so many things. Anyway, just thought you'd enjoy seeing these fun cards. The scarecrow is in the new Holiday Mini Catalog. There are so many products out there to stamp with - it's amazing. There is also so much talent out there and it's so much fun for me to see what all you stampers come up with. These cards we did were cased, and I'm not sure from who, but whoever you are, your designs are inspiring and we thank you for sharing. Happy World Cardmaking Day! KrB

One more for the Tag challenge

I made this card a few weeks ago for my daughter's birthday because she LOVES the Fall. I decided to add it to this week's HM challenge since it has a tag of sorts. I'm busy working on another project for my church ladies. This time they've asked me to do a Christmas workshop, so I am busy coming up with cards so I can get my supplies ordered. I'm honored that they asked me and hope they enjoy it. I'll post the cards I come up with as I go along. I need to be playing some Mannheim Steamroller to set the mood, don't I. Thanks for stopping by.

HM Monday Tag Challenge

This week's HM challenge was "Tags". The DT made the cutest cards. They're all fabulous. This is my contribution. I really like how it turned out. It just kind of evolved, although I new that I wanted to use this image and this sentiment. I made my own tag using SU's Summer Picnic DP. I cut out my stamped image and mounted the tag and the image to an oval Nestie mounted to a rectangular Nestie. I'm loving my new MS leaf punch. (Can't find the fern punch to save my life.) The rest of the papers are all from PTI and I used my Prima flowers from Michael's. I got my lightbox, finally, and I'm hoping this will enhance the pictures that I post. HM cards are always fun to make. Be sure to check out the DT entries, as well as those who posted to this challenge. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Tuesday.

Blessings in a Bowl

This is one of my favorite cards. I got the idea to do a bowl like this since I love yellow and blue and I have a miniature set in these colors. The image is "Mixed Greetings" from Flourishes. It is one of their new sets, and there are several possibilities with this set, just as there were with Forest of Trees. I stamped the bowl in More Mustard and drew the blue line with my Prismacolor Pencil. I cut it out and mounted it to give it some dimension. I also colored the fruit with my Prismacolor Pencils, used my scalloped Nesties for the ovals (PTI White and SU More Mustard)and my Label Tags trio Nestie (Brilliant Blue). My background papers are So Saffron and Blue DP from SU!, and Bravo Burgundy as my card base. I used my double-sided ribbon that I got from Flourishes, and attached the blue brads in the corners. Fairly simple, but it's one of my favorites and I will use it for the Holidays, so.....another one done. Yay!

Flourished Holiday Card

This is a card that I did with my new set from Flourishes called "Forest of Trees". I kept it simple, but I like how it turned out. This set has a lot of possibilities, and I'm sure you've seen several cards lately using one of the images from this set. I've got some ideas for more as soon as I get a chance to do them. I stamped the tree with Dark Hunter ink on White CS. I used Ruby Red for the background paper, stamped in red with a flourished design from Flourishes "Rejoice" set. The green paper is also Dark Hunter and I attached black brads down either side of it. The lace punch is Martha Stewart's Lace Punch. The "Joy" sentiment is also from the Rejoice set stamped in gold. The ribbon is May Arts Dark Red Sheer ribbon, also from Flourishes. The main CS is River Rock.
Tomorrow I hope to post one from another new set. Thanks for stopping by.

Holiday Series, Part III

Well, here is the last in my series. I really do like this set, and will probably do a version of these for my Thanksgiving cards, so hurray - I've already started. My next two posts are more Holiday featuring my new stamps from Flourishes. I'm really trying to use them as I get them and not let them sit idle.
I also got "tagged" yesterday, but I'm awaiting some final information before posting that. But, I wanted to finish the series and keep up with my posting. Happy Friday and thanks for looking and for the encouraging comments. They always brighten my day.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been Tagged.....
My friend Carolyn, tagged me. Thank you, Carolyn,....I'm very honored! Carolyn does the neatest cards....I do hope you'll check out her blog. Her HM cards got my attention instantly. She's also a delightful person who is truly an encourager.

So, here I go with 7 things about me:
1. I am a wife of 40 years, a mother of 38 years, a grandmother of 14 years, and Molly's mom for almost 2 years. I've loved being a homemaker and mother and am so privileged to be a grandmother to 8 fabulous kids.
2. My husband claims I accepted his marriage proposal in college so that I could drop the accounting class I was in the process of failing. Thirty-some years later, I went back to school and took accounting classes and got all A's. Before finishing the course towards a degree, I went to work for our church as the Financial Secretary and have been handling all financial matters for 6 years now.
3. I'm scared of balloons. Well, not so much the balloons, but the popping of them. Any time I'm around a child with a balloon, I want to run. I don't like sudden loud noises!!!
4. Over the years I've invested in supplies for and indulged myself in painting, sewing, (lots of sewing), smocking, crocheting, cross-stitching, quilting, scrapbooking, and now of course, stamping. I love stamping! I love looking at card creations....both my own and everyone else's. My other crafts, for the most part, are sitting dormant, but stamping is alive and well.
5. I love coffee. My grandkids know me for that. Is that wrong? :)
6. I'm faithful to exercising and try to eat healthy. That doesn't mean I don't like tasty stuff, cause I really do, but I do try to be sensible with eating and take care of myself.
7. I love the color red. I drive a red van and have a red leather chaise lounge in my craft studio.

Before I list the ones I'm tagging, here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

The following seven have been tagged:

1. Joan Bardee @Paperlicious - A Delightfully funny and talented blogger and stamper
2. Sharon @No Time To Stamp - A Very talented stamper and encouraging blogger
3. Susan @Rainy Day Creations - A Very creative lady and fabulous stamper
4. Stacy @Twinshappy - A creator of great cards and a Colts fan
5. Cindy @ Stampin Therapy - A great blogger with delightful cards
6. Julie @ Out to Impress -A fabulous stamper and DT member for Flourishes
7. Jan Marie@ The Caruso Manner - A Very creative and talented lady and #1 Flourish

Ladies, I'm tagging you because I love following your work. I hope you don't mind playing along.
There are so many fabulous stampers and bloggers, so this was a tough decision and I hate leaving others out. If you find it too time-consuming to play along that's certainly understandable. I did want to pass on my "Tag, You're it" but the tagging of 7 other bloggers takes a bit of time and thought. I also added the comments next to your links - that's not part of the rules....just my encouragement to others to check out your links.

Holiday Series, Part II

This is the second card I did from the "First Fruits" set from Papertrey Ink. I did the background the same as the first card I posted. I kept it very simple so it's pretty self-explanatory. I used PTI papers. The flourished leaves in the corners were stamped with Versa Magic Chalk Ink in Wheat. Then I stamped over them in Palette's Dark Chocolate so they would show up in a subtle way. I mounted half-pearls on top of circles cut with my punch. Tomorrow I'll be back with the third card. I really do love this set. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, KrB

Holiday Series

I finally had a chance to make some cards - more than one, in fact. So, tonight I'm going to post the first in a "series" from the set called "First Fruits" from PTI. I really like this set and challenged myself to use all the elements in the set. Apart from a few sentiments and two images, I managed to use the rest of the 12 images and 5 of the sentiments between the 3 cards. I used PTI's Summer Sunrise and stamped off one of the images to create a background. I did the same thing on the green background paper. I took Vintage Cream, mounted on Mellow Moss, and sponged Always Artichoke and then stamped the pine boughs, then went over all of it lightly with River Rock. I used my Nestabilities, both Classic and Scalloped, and I used my double-sided ribbon from Flourishes, as well as my half-pearls in Chocolate from Flourishes. My daughter likes this one the best of the three, but I'll see what you all think. I'll definitely use it for a Thanksgiving card. Thanks for stopping by and I should have Card #2 for you tomorrow.

Fancy Floral

Well, I finally got to do a non-HM card tonight. Just needed a change of pace, and this was one of those stamps I hadn't yet had a chance to open. What I ended up with was not what I had in mind when I started, but this is how things developed. I was planning to use my new Parisian Summer DP from SU!, which I did use, but the colors in the pack, while gorgeous, are very soft so the pink that I planned to use looked too washed out. I had to go with Perfect Plum for the main CS paper. All the other papers are from the Parisian Summer, except for the ivory which is from PTI. The image is the snowflake flower from Flourishes Summer Botanicals. The ribbon is Lemon Tart from PTI's Perfect Match series. The half-pearls are Kaiser pearls in the Chocolate. The buckle is from SU's Antique Brass Hodgepodge. I've got new stamps coming, but I also have company coming, so hopefully it won't be too long and I can play with my new stamps. Hope you have a wonderful Friday. Thanks so much for stopping by, and thanks to all those who left birthday wishes for DH. He enjoyed that. Will be by to see what you all have done as soon as I get a chance. Hugs, KrB
A quick edit to this post....One person who left a comment on my card at SCS does cards for the military and anyone can get involved. Check out this blog: http://cardsforheroes.org/ Wonderful idea. I'll be looking into it further.

Paper Pieced Birthday

Tonight I have a "twofer" (to quote Bert Stratton.) I needed to make a card for my husband's birthday, which is tomorrow. He seems to like my little HM's, and I got this one because I thought it would be great for putting about any message on it that you want. It's called "Chalky Consequences" and it features Maxwell. I also wanted to participate in the HM challenge for the week, which is paper piecing. So, this card will satisfy both the birthday card and the challenge. I cut out the stamped image of the mouse on the chalk rail and used dimensionals to place it on top of the same stamped image on the card. The chalkboard still looked a bit bare, so I made up a "writing chart" from what I remember them looking like back in good ol' school days. That helped and I also put it on with dimensionals. The balloon paper is from Basic Grey's "Cup Cake." The Happy Birthday was done by masking the mouse and then stamping the HB in VersaMark and embossing with white embossing powder. Be sure to check out the cards that the DT did at the HM site. They're all just too cute. Have a great Tuesday and I'll hopefully be back with more before too long.

If the Shoe Fits, Stamp It

I'm almost done with a week-long project of making gift tags to accompany the give-away at our church's ladies luncheon this coming week-end. The speaker that is coming is going to speak on "shoes", and I was asked to come up with a tag that would coordinate with her theme AND include a Bible verse. I ordered "Retro Boutique" from Gina K and used the shoe on the table. I ended up doing lots of colors and attaching half-rhinestones to each shoe. I colored with either PrismaColor pencils or Copics. (I'm still building my Copic inventory). I used my scallop punch, plus a 2" and a 2-1/2" punch. My son-inlaw and I created a circle in Photo Shop that was 2-1/2" that included the prescribed Bible verse and a greeting from the Ladies Ministry. In order to save on using up the black ink from my printer, I printed out one page and then had copies made. I did 108 tags in all (9 pages with 12 on a page.) I used spray adhesive to adhere the copied circles onto black CS and then punched them out together. I finished them off with ribbon and after I tie a few more tags with ribbon I should be done. I hope the ladies like them. I won't be able to attend because it's my daughter's birthday that day and we're expecting out-of-town company. Now I have birthday cards and a few miscellaneous cards to do and get out. Hopefully I can also participate in the HM Monday Challenge. Hope you all have a wonderful week. My heart goes out to those that have experienced the flooding and destruction from Ike. I wish I could make a card that would make it all better, but things just don't work that way. Still, we need to uphold them in prayer. Thanks for stopping by.