A Merry Christmas Pup

Crimbo Crackers winner

Coffee of the Day - Nutty Fudge

It's time for a new challenge over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra! the theme is always 'Anything Christmas Goes' so get a head start on those holiday cards and link them up! :)

I used the most adorable image from Bugaboo called 'Candy Cane Charlie.' he reminds me so much of Mick's dog, Brutus, so I am in love with this entire series of digis! :) I tried to color him to match Brutus a little bit, too. hubby thought I was nuts to make a card for Mick this early, but hey, why not? ;)

papers are from the Basic Grey Evergreen collection. are you as sad as I am that they are closing shop? I can hardly bear it!!! you know how much I use my beloved BG papers.... sigh.... moving on.... kinda.....

the sentiment die is by Tim Holtz. I love these dies so much! the whole 'Handwritten' series is so versatile. the plaid ribbon (yes, more of my little saved scraps!) & green burlap string are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, buttons & jingle bell are from my vintage stash, and burlap ribbon is by May Arts. stickles has been added to the Santa had and the clear spica get pen used on the ornament.

I do hope you will play along in our Christmas challenge!

thanks so much for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with more to share! :)

Challenges:
Crimbo Crackers - anything Christmas goes
ABC Christmas - B is for baubles (on his collar)
Christmas Card Ch - anything goes
Southern Girls - anything goes
Addicted to Stamps and More - Holidays
Fab 'n Funky - Christmas

A Different Kind of Cupid for Valentine's Day

Coffee of the Day - Bourbon Pecan

When we think of Cupid we often think of the little nearly naked baby angel flittering through the air. but when I came across this wonderful digital image of a young boy dressed in a vintage style as Cupid, I knew I had to have him! in fact, hubby even stopped what he was doing when he saw the card on my computer to comment about how much he liked the vintage look.

and thanks to the Paper Temptress store, you can get the papers to make a card for YOUR sweetie, too! :) I started with a base of spirit red feltweave cs. a little banner was punched from black Basis cs and then a sentiment generated from my label maker added over the top. I tied a ribbon of the poppy red splitz ribbon to a fun red & white paper clip. this ribbon is cool because it is both satin and grosgrain all on one ribbon. the color was a little too bright orangey-red for my papers, so I dyed it to match by just adding some ink. super easy! :)

Boy Cupid image is by A Day for Daisies, papers are from the Basic Grey Bittersweet collection, die is Spellbinders, and buttons are vintage. I love how the one even has a bit of fabric still attached to it. :) I added some faux stitching to the decorative paper panels. paper clip is by K & Co., I believe.

I gave the little fella some cool stripes to his pants and painted his wings with my wink of stell pen. the hearts on his bow and hat were painted with shimmerz.

so glad you stopped by today! hello to my newest followers, too! :)

Challenges:
ADFD - all my love
Brown Sugar - anything goes
Crafting with Friends - anything goes
Polkadoodles - love and romance
Wags 'n Whiskers - with love
CRAFT - love/Valentine/Anniversary
DL Art - Valentine
Outlawz Twisted Thurs - anything goes
Whimsy - with love
Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes

Feel Better Fairy

Coffee of the Day - Amaretto

Just a quickie post this evening. it's been crazy around here with the flu and car troubles. yuck to both of those. hope like at your house is much more fun! :)

I wanted to play along in a neat challenge going on at both The Outlawz group as well as the Scrapper's Delight Facebook group. Outlawz had a sketch challenge and Scrapper's Delight had a freebie image challenge. I combined both on my card. :)

image is from Scrapper's Delight, papers are from the Basic Grey Typeset collection, sentiment stamp by My Favorite Things, butterfly die by Cat's Pajamas, flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, and buttons & seam binding are vintage.

fairy wings are covered with a wink of stella clear glitter pen. butterflies have similar accents as well as dots made with a white gel pen.

I'll be back tomorrow with a post for Paper Temptress. see you then! :) until then, enjoy your weekend!

Challenges:
Outlawz Wed Sketch - sketch
Craft for the Craic - January Blues
Aud Sentiments - anything goes with a sentiment
Crafty Ribbons - Fabulous Flowers with ribbon
Through the Purple Haze - things with wings
Crafting By Designs - add a flowers
Simon Says Stamp Wed - anything goes
Fan-Tastic Tuesday - anything square or rect. goes with flower twist
Scrapper's Delight - anything goes
Creative Fingers - anything goes

A Valentine for My Hunny Bunny

Coffee of the Day - Chocolate Peppermint

So have you started thinking about making Valentine's for your sweeties yet? I am the only girlie in a house filled with men, so as much as I would LOVE to make frilly, fussy, lacy, gorgeous Valentine's covered in doilies and such, there just aren't that many people I can give them to. my guys kinda frown on receiving them. ;) they tend to also like to receive the most simple cards, which goes against my grain, so I do my best to keep embellies to a minimum when I craft for them. but I can't make a card without ribbons! just not happening!

that is when I pull out my natural fibers and trims for their cards. I'll still add a flower or two, because guys still like flowers, just usually not a whole card full of them.

it's time to get creative with your ribbon choices on those masculine cards!

plaids, stripes, and polka dots are always great picks. I went for the simple, but always fashionable 2 1/2" cotton ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon as a base for my trim across the bottom of the card.  love the frayed edges to it! :) this was topped with the gorgeous 1/2" red wrinkled ribbon that has such a fabulous texture. it looks wonderful against that natural cotton ribbon.

a pretty carnation makes a simple accent. flowers similar to this one can be found in the RRR store. in fact, a brand new shipment of Wild Orchid Craft mulberry flowers has just arrived, so have fun filling up your shopping cart! there are some I can't wait to get my crafty hands on! :) click on the 'new' tab at the top of the page to see all of the fun new goodies!

and by the way, since I first started my blog, I have called my hubby my 'hunny bunny.' when I came across this stamp from Unity, I had to grab it!

bunny image is from A Day for Daisies, paper is from the Basic Grey True Love collection, dies are both by Spellbinders, and buttons are vintage. a bit of faux stitching was added to the heart.

thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
A Day for Daisies - stitch it up (faux stitching)
Choux Choux Paper Art - Valentine/Hearts linky party
WAW - anything encouraging goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Craft Your Passion - anything goes
Eureka - Love is in the Air/Valentine
Paper Girls - forest friends
Incy Wincy - tic tac toe (ribbon, red, button)
Double Click Skittles - anything goes
Ruby's Rainbow - animal magic
Outlawz Mon Greeting - anything goes
Scribbles Designs - have a heart

Show Me the Pink Challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon!

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

Happy Friday to all of you ribbon lovers! it's been quite the week here at our house.  so happy to see that it's Friday at last! how about you? ready for the weekend?

well let's get it started off right with a fun new challenge over at the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog. it's all about pink with our theme of "Show Me the Pink!" adding ribbons and trims of course! :)

Our neighbor is expecting a new baby girl in the next few months, so it seemed the perfect time to make a card for her.

I used one of the pretty ribbons from this month's ribbon kit to make the big bow. I actually ordered more of this gorgeous  3/8" hot pink quatrefoil satin, and still only have a tiny smidge left after finishing this card. yep, time for another shopping trip! :)  vintage buttons were also added, with one being tied with pink burlap string.

the card is made with a fun template from Shape EZ, papers are from the Authentique Crush collection, and the adorable little baby card is a printable from Free Pretty Things for You.

When the gorgeous flowers don't quite matchy match the papers I'm using, it's super easy to watercolor them! I took one of the white magnolias and painted it several shades of pink. so very easy and lots of fun to do. a quick hit with the heat gun causes the flowers to dry super fast if you don't feel like waiting.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you play along in the challenge with all of us! :) and have a great weekend!

Challenges:
Outlawz Twisted Thurs - anything goes with baby/toddler twist
Crafting With an Attitude - anything goes
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes
Little Miss Muffet - anything goes
Scrap & Craft - new beginnings
DRS Designs - color challenge
Crafty Gals Corner - new for you (new ribbons and papers!)
WAW - anything goes
Craftin' Desert Divas - shaped card
Crafty Boots - ribbon or lace
Crafty Cardmakers - new (this time I have it right!)
Crazy Ch - ribbons
Classy Cards 'n Such - buttons
Morgan's Art World - add ribbon
Crop Stop - anything goes with a product from their store (pink burlap string, Authentique)

Celebrate!

Coffee of the Day - (not sure, because when this posts I am actually off camping in the woods of Pennsylvania!)

Hey there all you ribbon lovers! we are going to have a bit of a lesson in Cardmaking 101. grins!

I'm here to show you how to use your purchases from Really Reasonable Ribbons to accent the designs on your cards. don't ever feel that you have to use big fluffy bows every single time you make a card. (although you most certainly CAN!) sometimes it's fun to use the smaller things you can find in the RRR store. you'll be surprised at how well they actually highlight your focal point, be it a stamped image or sentiment, or perhaps a vintage bit of clip art.

on the card I am showing here today, the digital image of the boots and flowers from A Day for Daisies is our focal point. the doily serves as a matting piece.

I used a die from Tim Holtz to cut the sentiment, but needed something to help draw the eye to it. that is where a little piece of the Judy crochet trim came in handy. yes, I do save every little snippet of ribbon and trim! :) by stapling the piece directly under the sentiment, it draws attention in that direction. a vintage button adds a bit more interest.

next we go directly below the image to the piece of polka dot decorative paper (all papers from the Basic Grey Lemonade collection.). while the border punch helps add some fun and the scallops are similar to the other shapes on the card, the addition of the pink burlap string helps give a bit of grounding to the main image. it also adds a nice texture with the great fibers and bow.

finally we make our way around to the flowers. the colors pick up those found on the digital image but also give a great texture to the card without overwhelming it. notice that the flowers accent what is there. that is the key. when using an image of any sort, your embellishments should never over power and draw all of the attention away from your focal point. (this is especially true in scrapbooking.) believe it or not, you can have a lot of embellishments on a project that all still bring attention to the focal point. several of the designers at RRR are fabulous at doing just that. :)

what I love about the Wild Orchid Crafts flowers is how easy they are to adapt to the colors of your project. the yellow of the  Cottage Rose didn't quite match the papers, so I watercolored it a bit. I LOVE the way they take the inks! :) if you don't want to wait for it to dry naturally, just give it a quick hit with your heat gun.

buttons are all vintage, and flowers on digi have all been accented with shimmerz paint.

thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
Paper Creator's Crafts - anything goes
Sisters of Craft - anything goes
A Gem of a Challenge - female birthday
Crafting With Friends - anything goes
QKR - lots of layers
Cardz 4 Galz - something new ('celebrate' die and pink vintage button in upper right corner are new to me)
Southern Girls - one for the girls (made for a special friend's birthday)
Through the Purple Haze - anything goes
Double Click Skittles - flower, plant, or tree
Outlawz Paper a la Mode - birthday

Miss U, Paris

Coffee of the Day - Spiced Pecan

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that my most fave item in the Paper Temptress store is the Desert Storm Kraft cs. I use it ALL the time! not only does it make the perfect card base, but today I'm showing you how you can use it for your digi images, too!

I am an oddball and watercolor my digis. I use stamping inks and watercolor brushes, so finding a cs that can take the inks well is not always easy. the Desert Storm Kraft is so fun for my needs. :) regular watercolor paper does not always go through MY printer with ease, plus I don't always want that particular look. sometimes it's just fun to mix things up every once in a while! you can see here how neat the watercoloring looks on the kraft cs.

 PT Black Basis cs was used for the Eiffel Tower die cut and itty bitty banner. a little snippet of 1/8" red & white polka dot ribbon & black ric rac were stapled to a denim belt loop in the upper left corner.

papers are from the Basic Grey Adrift collection, flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts, buttons are vintage, and sentiment stamp & Eiffel Tower die are by MFT. image is by Sandra Caldwell.

Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
Brown Sugar - movies madness (Midnight in Paris - I LOVE this movie!!!)
Simply Papercraft - anything goes
Crafting With an Attitude - anything goes
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes
Inspiration Destination - anything goes
WAW - anything goes

Sending Warm Winter Wishes

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

I realize my post is late in the day, but it's actually going live over in Europe at the proper time. ;) and it's a two-fer, too! not only am I here with a reminder for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra, but I was privileged to be asked as a Guest Designer over at Paradise of Stamps for their newest challenge.  because the themes coincided, I thought I would combine it all into one fun card for you! I hope you enjoy! :)

The theme at Paradise of Stamps is 'Winter', and what says winter here in northeast Ohio more than SNOW! while we didn't have much before Christmas, we have been making up for it this week. I wanted to add a sentiment on the outside, but just ran out of space. so I did add it to the inside and it reads, "Sending Warm Winter Wishes." this makes it perfect for any kind of a winter holiday card!

The cute bear image comes from Sandra Caldwell, papers are from the My Mind's Eye Winter Wonderland collection, snowflake template is by Shape EZ, pale blue ribbon and burlap string are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, and buttons are vintage. beautiful doily die for the iridescent vellum is by Prima and the pretty tree dies are by Sue Wilson for Creative Expressions. I added snow to the trees with acrylic paints and to the main image with stickles.

I hope you will play along in both challenges since you've seen how easy it is to combine them into one card! :) and just think - you'll be getting a head start on your holiday cards, too!

thanks so much for stopping by!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Crafty Time - make it sparkle (stickles on the snow & snowballs)
Creatalicious - snowflakes (template & paper)
Southern Ridge Trading - anything winter
Stempelgarten - Winter Wonderland
Creaine Ch - bingo: blue, flowers, glitter (stickles)
Craft for the Craic - January Blues
The Stamping Boutique - winter
Christmas at Sweet Stamping - bows

Altered Vintage Valentine Bingo Card for RRR Blog Hop!

Coffee of the Day - Chocolate Peppermint

Hello to all of my fellow ribbon addicts! tee hee! I know there are secret (and not so secret!) ribbon hoarders out there who have a ribbon addiction like myself. well today is your day to swoon as the Really Reasonable Ribbon Design Team shares projects featuring the ribbon club kit for January on our monthly blog hop. :)

If you have come here by way of GINNY's gorgeous blog, then you are indeed in the right spot! grab a cuppa and settle in! :) if at any time you get lost during the blog hop, just head back over to the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog for the complete list of players.

Many of you know that I love to find vintage goodies for crafting while my hubby and I are out antiquing. we came across these fun old bingo cards a while back, and I knew immediately that they would make some neat projects.

wouldn't you know that I actually had an old bingo marker in my collection, too?! just had to add it on here. :) a beautiful old Valentine, dated 1921, steals the show. normally I would scan the vintage piece and then print out a copy rather than use the actual old card on a project - at least with something that old. but this project is being sent to someone very precious to me, so I was glad to put the real deal on here for her. :)  this has already been mailed to my dear cousin, so she will be quite surprised when she receives it in the mail. :)

papers are from the Authentique Crush collection, chipboard cupid is by Blue Fern and was brushed with gold ink & gold spica glitter gel pen, rose flair button is from Pink Paislee, flourish die is Sizzix, banner die is SU!, sentiment stamp on banner is by MFT, buttons and button card are vintage, and doily is from my stash. all ribbons are from the monthly club kit with the exception of the little piece of Judy crochet trim, which is dyed with glimmer mist. Wild Orchid Crafts flowers were used: sweetheart blossoms, baby pink aster daisies (these are my new fave flower!! I love these precious little sweeties!), 2 tone pink large rosebuds, as well as hip rosebuds and lilies.

your next stop on the blog hop is to AMBER's  lovely blog. please be sure to tell her hello! :)

thanks so much for stopping by! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Deep Ocean - something new (paper, chipboard cupid, little flower asters, ribbon)
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - hearts
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes
613 Avenue Create - anything goes
Craft Your Passion - anything goes
Inky Chicks - anything goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Crafty Gals Corner - buttons and bows

Quick & Easy Thank You Card Set

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

Hello, Everyone!

I hope your new year is off to a roaring start so far! how are those resolutions going? broken any of them yet? one or two? just a few? maybe all of them! grins!

I needed to make quite a few thank you notes, but I am a slow crafter since I spend so much time adding bits and bobs to each card. I decided it was time to just throw caution to the wind and try for a 30 minute challenge! pretty bold, don't ya think?!

 

 
I grabbed a few sheets of Paper Temptress Brown Bag Kraft cs, cut & scored to basic size for mailing, and then did some very simple layered stamping, using stamps by My Favorite Things. still needed a bit of 'zing,' but I was really wanting to keep the cards flat for mailing, so I grabbed my handy dandy glimmer mist. voila! just a few sprays added the exact amount of shine the cards needed while still allowing me to mail them with only 1 stamp.

I felt pretty happy and actually accomplished the challenge! wooo hooooo! granted, they aren't my usual style, but they get the job done. so I challenge each of you to step outside of your comfort zone and try something different. Paper Temptress has all of the card stock to help you with your projects, whatever style you are trying to make!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

A Valentine Tussie Mussie

Coffee of the Day - Highlander's Grog (Butterscotch & Hazelnut - one of hubby's faves!)

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!

Have you seen the pretty pinks in the new January Club Kit over at Really Reasonable Ribbon yet? oh gosh, I almost squealed in delight when this gorgeous pack was released! you know I am a pink lover from the word 'GO"! :)

I needed to get started right away with Valentine gifts, as this one was heading off to college with my son when he goes back for the new semester. Girlfriends (as well as friends, family, neighbors, etc.!) expect handmade presents from this mom, as any of you who craft can understand. grins! I asked my son what he wanted me to make her, and a tussie mussie was his request. no, not in those words exactly..... he IS a guy afterall!

I used several of the ribbons available in the monthly ribbon club assortment, as well as white Wild Orchid Crafts magnolias and several sizes & colors of their roses.

papers are from the Authentique Crush collection, velvet leaves are by Prima (and quite old. not sure if they still sell them or not.) lots of touches with stickles, too. pretty dies by Sizzix and SU!

btw - if you ever want to see any of my photos in more detail, just click on the desired piccy. it will take you to a new window with a larger photograph. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Don't forget to stop back by the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog in just a few day for our newest challenge. :)

Challenges:
Glitter 'n Sparkle - anything goes
Crafting By Designs - anything goes
Simon Says Mon Ch - something new (papers, ribbons, & Sizzix heart dies)
Crafty Gals Corner - anything goes
Inspiration Destination - anything goes
TTCRD - anything goes
L'il Patch of Crafty Friends - anything goes
Craft Your Passion - anything goes
Not Just Cards - anything goes
Ooh La La - girly
Robin's Fetish - anything goes
Our Crafty Corner - anything goes

Next Chapter, with Coffee of Course! ;)

Coffee of the Day - Caramel Nut Fudge

A most happy day to all of you!

I am quite the sucker for any and all book and coffee related images. so when I saw this cute digi over at Simply Betty's a while back, there was no resisting! the problem I have when drinking coffee or tea while reading is that I get so consumed with my book that the drink goes quite cold! ;) does that happen to any of you?

the wonderful sentiment I added comes from Create with TLC.  I really feel this way about 2016. I am trying to change attitudes and so many other things that need adjusting about myself. it's time for a new chapter! I am going to embrace the woman God created me to be. I am not going to let other people steal my joy. I am going to let bitterness and old resentments go. I am going to have confidence in who I am (or at least work on it! grins!) I am going to ignore the nay-sayers, but listen to constructive criticism in an effort to better myself. I will strive to LEARN so that I may grow ever stronger. I will treasure who I am and my unique-ness. :)

I just couldn't resist pairing these 2 digis together! I hope you like the results as much as I do. :)

paper is from the Basic Grey Herbs & Honey collection, flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts, little dew drop skittles are by Double Click skittles, and gorgeous lace is vintage.

I'll see you tomorrow! have a fabulous day and thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
Come and Get It - something new (sentiment digi, pink flowers, & skittles)
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes
Crafty Boots - something old (paper, SU! punch for sentiment, & lace), something new (sentiment digi, pink flowers, & skittles)
Love to Scrap - new beginnings
Sweet Stampin' - something new (sentiment digi, pink flowers, & skittles)
City Crafter - say hello, wave goodbye
WAW - anything encouraging goes

A Big Snowman Thank You

Winner at Paper Sweeties

Coffee of the Day - Dulche de Leche

Today I am honored to be the Guest Designer over at My Sheri Crafts! thank you so much for having me! :) the theme for the new challenge is "Let's Build a Snowman."

I am always in need of thank you cards, but most especially at this time of year. I thought it would be fun to incorporate a winter theme with my thanks, and it's always fun to create a shaped card!

I started with a base of Paper Temptress  Desert Storm Kraft cs and cut out my Shape EZ snowflake template. other shapes were cut from Basic Grey Aspen Frost paper. edges were covered with either Prima chalk ink or white acrylic paint and stickles. the white pure elegance organza ribbon ties such pretty bows, and you can see how the iridescent stripes catch the light! just gorgeous!  the absolutely precious red satin with white polka dot 1/8" ribbon ties a few little twigs to the bow, mimicking the snow angel's arms stretched ever so wide. :)

cutey snowman angel image is by Sassy Cheryl, sentiment is from Create with TLC, flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts, and cute little dew drops are from Double Click Skittles. I just received them in the mail as part of a prize package I had won. couldn't wait to put them to use! :) stickles on main image for snow and wink of stella pen on wings for some sparkle. he sits on a ticket and is surrounded by mini doilies from Etsy.

whew.... lots going on, but it turned out so nice, I think. :) perfect way to say thank you to someone for their kindness!

Challenges:
Double Click Skittles - something new (my skittles and new stamps from them!)
Di's Digi Designs - new to you (skittles and stamps on sentiment piece)
Allsorts - what's new (skittles and stamps on sentiment piece)
Card Mania - winter fun
Cute Card Thurs - anything goes
Pile it On - anything Christmas/Winter
Crafty Calendar - something new (skittles and stamps on sentiment piece)
Bastel-traum - winter
World Wide Open DT Ch - anything goes
Paper Sweeties - photo inspiration
As You Like It - anything goes
Star Stampz - Winter Wonderland
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Crafty Boots - snow and sparkle
Eureka - snowman or snowflakes

A Pirate Parrot's Adventure

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

Happy New Year to all of you!
yes, I just shared a card with you a short time ago and now have another! no, it's not going to be like this all year long in 2016, I promise!  just at the beginning of every month, so I hope you will bear with me. :)

Crafts Galore Encore is sponsored by Fabrika Fantasy Digi Stamps in January, and our theme for the challenge is 'Anything Goes.'

I have used the cutey Pirate Parrot 2 on my card. he just makes me smile and was such a joy to paint! :)  designer papers and anchor sticker are from the Basic Grey Adrift collection, little flower is by Petaloo, and enamel dots are some I made. Black burlap string is from Really Reasonable Ribbon. I used my SU! ink squirty tool on the main image. some day I'll figure out the name of that thing! ;) little banner punch is also by SU!  oh yes, I partially embossed the card base with the parquet embossing folder by Crafter's Companion.

Enjoy your day! I look forward to what 2016 has in store for all of us! :)

Challenges:
QKR - Feathers or Fur
Inspiration Destination - anything goes
Paper Shelter - anything goes
Creative Card Crew - anything goes
Allsorts - anything but Christmas
4 Crafty Chicks - anything goes
CRAFT - anything goes