Super Bowl Sunday

Are you ready for some football??  I know we sure are here at my house!  I’ve got the chicken wings and nacho supplies all set to go and the excitement to go along with it.  And while the Super Bowl is definitely “must-see-tv”, I am even MORE jazzed to watch The Who rock the half-time show!  I mean, how cool is that???  Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey still have it, in my book.  I popped over to the NFL blog this morning and watched this awesome video of their press conference, and I.am.ready.to.go.  Bring it on!

I have long been a fan of sweet Melissa Phillip’s blog.  I could spend hours staring at her artwork, and have never once visited her without having my jaw fall open in amazement.  Lately, Melissa has been hosting fun photo inspiration challenges, and this week, I played along.

February being the month of love, I decided to make a Valentine card.  The inspiration photo made me think of mailing supplies and missives, thread and string and baker’s twine, old buttons, and the colors red, white, and cream.  These are the images I kept in mind while making my card.

Used some old shipping tags from my stash, a french script background stamp and a post card stamp from Club Scrap to represent the mailing images from the photo.  Added texture with red zig-zag stitching, baker’s twine, Melissa Frances vintage lace, and May Arts ribbon.  The buttons belonged to my grandmother.  I’ve been waiting for just the right, special project to use those on.  Made a chipboard heart from the negative image on a sheet of used chipboard shapes, and the red and kraft journaling card and heart are from Fancy Pant’s Vintage Valentines line.

Here is the inspiration photo, courtesy of Leslie at a Creative Mint.

So gorgeous, isn’t it?  Definitely another blog to take a peek or two… or three at.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a Super Fabulous Super Bowl Sunday.

Oh, and GO TEAM!

Wishes Come True

Isn’t it wonderful when you get the chance to see wishes come true?

I’ve had that chance this week with the news that a very old and dear friend and his wife have just welcomed their first baby into the world.

Sending out a HUGE welcome to sweet Baby Simon and love and congratulations to his lucky parents!

Made this card using the Nature’s Storybook collection of papers and Storyteller Alpha Stickers from Webster’s Pages.  Trim is the Natural Trim from their Elegant Trim Collection.  I created the tag from a Dawn Houser stamp by Inkadinkado and a rub-on from my stash.  Card is based on the current sketch over at the CPS blog.

Made a little gift from the heart for the new family.  This is one of my favorite ideas for newborns.  So quick and easy, and makes me smile every time!

Stamped on a Onesie using black fabric ink by Fabrico and my favorite baby stamp from Stampin’Up’s Year Round Cheer (2001) set.  How simple is that?  The only tip to this is make sure you slip a piece of chipboard or cardboard into the Onesie so the ink won’t bleed through to the back-side during stamping.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I always love to hear from you!

Emboss Resist

Hello everyone!  I’m back this evening with a quick post to share a little card I made to join the party going on over at Papertrey Ink this week as they celebrate their 3rd anniversary.  Nichole has issued a fun challenge to make a card using the stamping emboss resist technique, and you all know I am always up for a good challenge.  What better way to get me using my vast stash of dusty stamps?

To begin the project, I stamped a script background stamp on a piece of white cardstock in light moss ink.  I then stamped the three Hero Arts flowers with Versamark ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder.  I then came back in and added a darker olive ink to the entire piece using a stamping sponge, wiping away the ink from the embossed areas when I was done.  The embossing will “resist” the ink application and retain the color of the original cardstock.  This is a fun technique to use with both clear and black embossing ink, which gives a unique silhouetting look to your stamped image.

There’s all sorts of fun going on over at Papertrey Ink.  Be sure to stop by and check it out.  I hear tell you could win all sorts of fabulous prizes!

Have a great night everyone!  I’ll see you all tomorrow.

Rainy Day Play

Happy Friday everyone!  What a gloomy, gray, rainy day we’re having here in North Carolina.  Forecasts predict 1 to 3 inches of rain to fall in our area over the next 24 hours, and there’s still a bit of talk about more snow being tossed around, too.  Sounds like a perfect day to stay inside and scrap and play, doesn’t it?

I thought so!

Played along with this week’s sketch over at 2Sketches4You this morning.    KLM Digital Designs is the sponsor this week.  The winner of the challenge will get to select 5 images of their choice.  Hope you get a moment to play along.

I pulled together some of my favorite scrappy, happy things for this little card.  Eskimo Kisses paper by Basic Grey and the new Valentine line by Pink Paislee.  The vintage trim I found at the antiques store last week.  Buttons and bows and my favorite tiny ledger alphas from Making Memories.

Here is the sketch for you all to play along.  Can’t wait to see what you make with it!

Also been playing with my Tattered Angel’s goodies for the product share the Webster’s Pages design team girls are hosting for the month of February over at inspireME.  Hope you’ve been popping into the forum to check out the fabulous projects going up every day.  The inspiration just never stops over there.  If you haven’t had a chance yet, you can check it all out here.

Here’s a small peek at what I’m working on.

Don’t forget to take a look at the Tattered Angels Blog.  I SO love to see what their team is doing with the beautiful Webster’s goodies, and I know you will, too!

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone!  Hope your weekends are off to a wonderful start!

Thawing Out

Good morning!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  We are having quite the wild week here in North Carolina.  After our snowfall last weekend, and three days of canceled school in a row, we are finally settling into our old routine.  School buses are once again able to safely access the back country roads, and folks are able to get their cars out of their driveways and off to work.  We sure enjoyed the snow and the unexpected days off, but it’s good to get back to our regular schedule, too.  Although I do admit….there was some grumbling from the wee people on their way out this morning.  I believe they would have enjoyed one or two more snow days. But since we have the possibility of more snow in the near forecast, they may end up getting their wish yet.

I have been so struck by the peace and beauty of this gentle snowfall.  Loved every minute of it, including the gradual thaw and meltdown that we are having now.  Makes me smile to see a remaining patch of lone snow hiding under the bushes or off to the side of the road.  But nothing is making me smile quite as much as watching the gradual transformation of our little snowman in the front yard.

Here’s our guy yesterday afternoon.  Silly little thing.  You can see he’s about to loose his hat, and his arms are drooping on the ground.  And if you’re wondering what happened to his eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons….well, here they are.

He’s in even worse shape this morning, of course.  His head is now entirely missing and his little bike helmet lies upturned on the ground beside him.  I do wonder if he’ll make it through the day???

I have a card to share with you all this morning that I made for the Sketch This blog.

A little Valentine using Making Memories’ Love Struck line.  The sentiment came directly from the patterned paper, as did the single heart that I cut out and layered with a Prima Say It In Pearls embellishment.  The die cut journaling block is Anna Griffin and the trim is vintage Melissa Frances.

Added a few more pearls and a bit of machine-stitching, plus a touch of hand-stitching, to finish the card off.

Here is the sketch.  I do hope you will come and play with us!

Have a great day everyone!

Webster’s Pages Meets Tattered Angels

Hi everybody!  Happy Tuesday morning to you!  We are still under a blanket of white from our snow last weekend, and for the second day in a row, schools are closed in our county.  Right now, the skies are “spitting” at us with a light rain that is supposed to turn into freezing rain as the day continues.  And we have yet more snow predicted for this weekend.  Looks like we are truly getting to experience a Winter Wonderland here in North Carolina.

My two kiddos and I took full advantage of the snowy fun yesterday with a snowball fight, jumping on the trampoline all covered in snow, and a bit of sledding down our back embankment.  Nik and I even built a sweet little snowman…….snowgirl……….er……..snowperson.  Not quite sure what it is.

Don’t you just love the hat?  That’s a handmade bicycle helmet Nik made for her teddy bear awhile back, decoupage style.  Looks rather sporty, don’t ya think?

In scrappy news, I am very excited to tell you all about a partnership between Webster’s Pages and Tattered Angels for the month of February.  Each day this month, the Webster’s Pages design team will be bringing you fabulous projects pairing products from both companies.  Be sure to check out the special section here in the inspireME forum every day and prepare to be blown away.  And take a peek at the Tattered Angels blog throughout the month, too, to see what their girls have created using Webster’s products.

I launched off the month with this little wall hanging I made for my scraproom using papers from Postcards From Paris and Nature’s Storybook along with lots of the gorgeous Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists.

Started this project with a 9″x9″ plaque wall hanging I found at the thrift store.  It was white plastic, originally.  For the background, I tore up lots of pieces of white tissue paper that was leftover from Christmas packages and adhered them to the hanging using a mixture of 50/50 Mod Podge to water.  Any liquid glue will work.  This gave me a fun textured background to play with.  Once finished, I masked off the center area and then sprayed the edge of the frame with English Ivy Glimmer Mist and then a lighter coat of Gold Glimmer Mist.  I then laid a piece of lace paper over the center area and sprayed with Blue Skies Glimmer Mist, which gave me a unique patterned look.

Cut some clouds from the Paris Couture paper for the top and flowers from Soar Blue Skies for the bottom.  The tree was created from the die-cut cardstock stickers using a fun negative/positive treatment to get a double image.  I used the tree from the Winter’s Wings diecut stickers and cut around the outline of the tree from the Nature’s Storybook stickers.  Layered them together for a fun outlined shape.

The house is part of a chipboard album from Maya Road that I covered in Grow Dreams, Soar Blue Skies and Romantique chic papers.  Created the windows using chipboard frames covered in Heidi Swapp tape and backed with the Nature’s Storybook designer vellum.  Used the Nature’s Storybook Storyteller Alphas for the wording.  Sprayed the house with Gold Glimmer Mist.  Love how that shines!

I silhouette cut photos of my kiddos in black and white, using pop-dots to adhere them in place.  Created a sign post from patterned papers.  Added butterflies from the diecut sticker sheet and a couple of the Whimsy Threads for some fun texture.  The gated Whimsy I cut into two pieces so they could flank the house.

Loved using the Mists on almost every item here, including the frame edge and background, the papers, the small flowers in the tree and the pearls in their centers, and even the white resin frame in the attic rooftop.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you’re having a wonderful day in your neck of the woods!

Inspired by Snow

Hi everyone!  Happy Sunday to you all!  And what a beautiful Sunday it is.  We still have a gorgeous carpet of snow on the ground and lots of bright sunlight to make everything sparkle.  Such a lovely combination.  The world looks so crisp and clear while the earth is wrapped in a blanket of white.  Have you ever noticed how quiet and peaceful the snow is, yet how the air is filled, if you listen very carefully, with the small sound of whispers?

I took my camera out early this morning to try to capture and preserve a piece of this beauty.

A view of my backyard.

The sled and winter wreath by my front door and the concrete lion on my driveway.

The shrubs out front

A self-portrait.

After I froze myself to the bone and got my fill of photos, I was struck by a recurring theme in what I seeing through the lens of my camera.  First of all, snow has a glow, like a giant brushstroke of glitter that paints the landscape.  And second, the neutral colors of the winter landscape really shine through with their own natural beauty.

I was thinking these thoughts as I wandered my way into my scraproom, and sat down right away to re-create what I saw outside.

4 You card: French Script stamp by Stampin’Up (2000). Ticket stamp by Club Scrap (2004).  Botanical stamp by Endless Creations, Inc.

Thank You Note: French Script stamp and the cardmaking clear stamps from Making Memories.

And you all remember these from the other day, right?  The vintage hat flowers I picked up at an antiques store…

Vintage Bird Card: French Script stamp and Nature Speaks clear stamps by My Sentiments Exactly.

You can see that I was totally inspired by nature and the colors white, kraft, brown, and gray.  What do you think?  Anyone up for a little challenge?  Come play along with me!

Just create any project, be it a card, scrapbook page, or altered object inspired by nature and using the above color combo.  Throw in a little sparkle and glam and a touch of your favorite trim and link your project back to this post by midnight EST on Feb. 14th.  I will put together a gorgeous goody package for the winner, including some of the vintage flowers you saw today. Check back later this week to see a photo of what you could win.

Sound good?  Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!  Happy scrapping!

It Worked!

Well, my little card worked yesterday.  We did get our snow.  Not as much as predicted, but some.  And now that the sun has gone down, it is extremely icy out there, so road conditions are bad.   Still, it’s been beautiful!

Perfect weather for staying indoors and scrapping.  I broke out more of my old stamps and made a set of kid’s Valentines.  This is the first year neither of my own kiddos will do Valentines.  They grow up so quickly.  Good thing I have my Etsy so I can play anyway.

Love making a little pocket Valentine to hold a sweet treat like this heart lollipop.  Because as my kids told me years ago, Valentines are “all about the candy”.

Each card measures 2.5″ x 3″ with a pocket that’s 2.5″ x 2″.  I stitched down the pockets with my machine for durability since a candy needs to be slipped in.  Used some of my old Scenic Route Loveland scraps and my Stampin’Up Animal Valentines (2000) stamp set.  Colored the images with chalk pastels.

Also played along with this week’s sketch over at CPS.  Lovely, simple sketch this week.

Used Basic Grey’s Lemonade and Love Bugs lines, old KI Memories ribbon and 7Gypsies cardstock stickers.  Still trying to use up my stash.

Here is the sketch for you all to play along.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I always love to hear from you!

Let it Snow!

Do you think if you say something enough, you can make it happen?  Well that’s kinda what I’m hoping will happen with this little card.  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

There’s no sign of anything yet…….but we honestly are supposed to get some snow today.  Yesterday was 60 degrees.  And today it’s supposed to snow.  I’m not sure if I believe it.  There wasn’t even any frost on the ground this morning.

Oh, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I made this little card using scraps from my stash and more of my old stamps.  I really am trying to use my stamps more this year.  The sledding stamp is from Stampin’Up’s Winter Play (2001) set and the greeting is from the Let It Snow (1997) set.  Stamped the kiddos with SU’s Basic Black ink, colored them with their chalk pastels and my Sakura glitter pen, cut them out and popped them up for a touch of dimension.  Stamped the greeting in SU’s Going Gray.

Papers are October Afternoon and KI Memories.  White lace trim is from Melissa Frances, and the cream trim is a vintage find I picked up at an antique store yesterday.  How fun is that?

Card is based on the current sketch over at 2sketches4you.  They really have awesome sketches if you card-makers are looking for inspiration.

I have to show you all another vintage treasure I found yesterday.  I am so excited to play with these.  I’m envisioning using my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists on them…….but they are truly beautiful as is, too.

Last night, my little peanut and I made a batch of these.  Oh, my word, are they ever GOOD!  Definitely recommend them if you’re in need of a little chocolate fix. And when are we not in need of a little chocolate, right?

My card still isn’t working yet.  No snow! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Thanks for stopping by everyone!  Hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Toasty Toes

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I have a quick scrappy share for you this morning before I head out the door and start the day.  I made this tag just for fun using some of my older stamps and goodies from my stash.  One of my goals for this year is to use my stamps more.  I sure have enough of them!

This uses the Snow Family Wishes (1998) set from Stampin’Up!  Stamped the greeting directly on the Melissa Frances tag and added two snowmen that I stamped on a separate piece of white cardstock, cut out, and popped on foam dots for dimension.  I water-colored the snowmen using both my watercolor pencils and chalk pastels, and lightly sprayed them with Blue Skies Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels.  Gave the snowmen some french knot buttons, too.

Added a strip of polka dotted paper and several trims, plus a pair of star buttons as a final detail.

Feels good to use up old stuff, doesn’t it? That way, you can make room for some new.  And who doesn’t like that??

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you have a great day!